Destination Sparta: In search of 'true Ozarks'

I was born in Chicago and raised in its suburbs. I've lived in Missouri 12 years but have only been an Ozarker? — Ozarkian? — Ozarkanian? — two and a half years. So I'm not really sure what "true Ozarks" means.

I think it might involve the outdoors, or limited government, or beer before wine. Or maybe it's not being overly happy with the outcome of the Civil War. But, honestly, I don't know.

What I do know is that it's a phrase tossed around a lot here at the paper. My editors want true Ozarks stories that connect with readers.

That's why I decided that I would occasionally go On the Road, like American poet and novelist Jack Kerouac. But I will stick mostly to gravel roads. Even ones with ruts and fallen trees. In search of true Ozarks.

My maiden expedition was to Sparta, where I met Wayne Glenn, a local historian who in 2013 published a photo history of Sparta. Wayne had volunteered to be my trusty guide.

Sparta, population 1,759, is five miles east of Ozark and 28 miles west of Ava.

The city was founded in 1876 and named after Sparta, Tenn. A lot of early settlers of the Ozarks came from Tennessee and Kentucky. But that's all in Wayne's book. Let's go straight to the pool hall on Sparta's main drag, Highway 14.

Proprietress Roberta Davis, 65, is a bit camera shy.

"I don't want to be famous," she tells me. "I want to be rich."

She's been in business on Main Street Sparta for 13 years. Her husband, Carroll, died of a stroke a year ago. Together, they had operated a pool hall in Ava for nine years and before that, the Fun Spot in Eureka Springs, Ark., for 11 years.

"I think about selling out," Davis says. "But I would miss my friends."

The building that houses her business is narrow and deep, cave-like. It is filled with games that work and games that, perhaps, will work again someday. The big flag on the wall has 48 stars.

At this point, Wayne, my guide, says something I find very interesting: A man was shot and killed in this building.

Doctor shot dead

"The druggist was on drugs and had been drinking," Wayne says.

On May 28, 1939, local druggist Bert Henderson, whose store was on the first floor, shot and killed Sparta's doctor, Hugh Wise, whose office was upstairs.

In his book, Wayne writes: "There is little doubt that Henderson was drunk and or 'doped' up on some of his own drugs! For a number of days after the killing, Bert could not give consistent answers to basic questions about the events of that day."

After shooting the doctor, Henderson opened the front of his store to do business with the "after-church" crowd and reportedly told customers that there was a "dead man in the back."

Henderson was convicted of manslaughter in Douglas County.

Nearby, in the Main Street pawn shop, a "Don't Tread on Me" flag hangs from the rafters.

Owner Matt Thurman, 32, lives in Rogersville. He opened the Deadeye Gun and Pawn shop two years ago. Sparta, he says, is a small town where people still run tabs and barter services for goods. He recently traded guns and ammo for some drywall work.

Roughly half the businesses along downtown Main Street are empty.

It's been that way for years, says Tom Pettit, 68, who owns Knee Deep Antiques. He has lived in Sparta 40 years.

"I retired. I got bored and wanted something to do and this is what I do," he says. He sits in what he calls the "loafing area" of his store and watches the traffic flow by on Highway 14.

"People don't realize the traffic that comes through here," he says. According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, in 2012 the average daily traffic count along Missouri 14 in the Sparta area was 6,158 vehicles.

Good for business? Right?

"They don't even know I'm here."

Hizzoner's viewpoint

On many weekdays, Mike Younker dashes in and out of City Hall to fulfill his mayoral duties. He's a contractor and often works nearby.

"I don't think Sparta is that much different than any other small town I have lived in," he says. "Everybody knows everyone. Everyone helps everyone at times. Everybody gets upset with government."

Sparta's big news is that a Walmart Express will be built on the city's west side, at Missouri 14 and Industrial Park Drive. The store will be 12,000 square feet and have a gas station. Also, there are plans for an 80-100 home subdivision in that area, he says, which would increase the city's population roughly 17 percent.

The city needs a new water tower, he says. Residents in 2011 approved a bond issue to pay for that tower and other water-system improvements. But nothing has happened.

"We have had some setbacks," he says. "It has to do with state government."

Low water pressure across the city is a concern for fire protection, Younker says. The city has only an eight- to 12-hour backup water supply; it should have a full day's supply, Younker says.

Adam Struble, 30, a former city councilman, for 10 years has been cutting hair and shaving faces at his Main Street barber shop. He lives in Sparta with is wife and three children and walks to work.

On one wall is a photo of Andy Taylor, sheriff of Mayberry, and Floyd the barber — from "The Andy Griffith Show." Also on display are the heads of various animals and a "bragging board" where customers post photos of their hunting successes.

Customer Brock Smith, 10, lives in Sparta and likes it.

"It's a very good town. Nothing really bad happens. You know everybody."

Jillian Wollf, 14, and MaKayla Coble, 15, agree. They like Sparta, too.

Actually, it's bigger than Hurley, Jillian says, the city where she moved from last year.

"It is a good place to live," she says. "But I do not see myself staying here."

MaKayla migrated to Sparta from Fordland. She says Sparta is more accepting.

"Considering my looks." Her hair is neon green. "They do not make fun of me."

True Ozarks?

For my final stop, Wayne takes me to Abundance Cemetery, a patch of green on Route 125 with some headstones so old and weather-worn the names on them have long since vanished. Forty-one people were laid to rest here from the 1840s to the 1890s.

But the single gravestone for David Walker and son William is new and easily read. David was about 42 and William about 19 when they were hanged together. They were executed May 10, 1889, along with a third Bald Knobber.

The Bald Knobbers were a vigilante group that formed in 1885 in Taney County and spread to Christian and Douglas counties. The outlaws had a strict code for moral behavior and punished those who violated those standards. They whipped, beat and killed people for lapses such as use of alcohol or their sexual activities.

Wayne, my guide, tells me the Walkers have descendants that still live near Sparta.

I look at the gravestone. I don't know exactly what "true Ozarks" looks like or what it might smell like or what it might sound like. But I know I'm close.

There are flowers on the gravestone.

The book

Wayne Glenn's book is "Sparta: A Photo Legacy." It costs $40. It is on sale at Struble's Barber Shop, 7439 State Highway 14, Sparta; Christian County Library, 1005 N. 4th Ave., Ozark; Nixa Hardware and Seed Company, 510 W. Mount Vernon, Nixa; and ABC Books, 2109 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. For more information, call Glenn at 417-725-5580.