Jim Reese’s reconstructed workshop south of Rolla.
© 1979
by
Nancy Beveridge
No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without written permission
of the Copyright owner.
ISBN: 0-918286-74-4
Distributed by:
Nancy Beveridge
Route 2
Rolla, MO 65401
Arranged for publication
by
The Boxwood Press
183 Ocean View Blvd.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Printed in U.S.A.
But I have lived and have not lived in vain:
My mind may lose its force, my blood its fire,
And my frame perish even in conquering pain;
But there is that within me which shall tire
Torture and Time and breathe when I expire.
Byron, Childe Harolde, IV, CXXXVII
PREFACE
WHAT are the Ozarks? Are they the oldest Mountains in the United States? Are they really mountains? Where can I find a book on the Ozarks? This publiction is in response to such queries. It is also the issue of an uncontrollable desire to talk about the adopted homeland of one with a DeKaib County, Illinois farm background who came to the Ozarks in 1939 to attend the "Rolla School of Mines" and fell in love with the area. The question regarding publications on the Ozarks is fairly easy to answer, but the answer is not a satisfying one; most of the significant publications on the Ozarks are out of print and/or several decades out of date. ...
THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH was written by Tom on November 18, 1977 and, though brief, sums up better than anyone else could what he hoped to do in the projected publication of this book. Because the material was copyrighted and because everything was found in his desk ready to be put together, it seemed imperative to conclude the effort, in spite of the realization that it would be infinitely less superior than if Tom had finished it himself.
Largely adapted from a talk on the Ozarks, these twenty-two chapters represent much research and an obvious love for his subject; the speech was given to organizations and groups at UMR, in Phelps County, and in many parts of the state as well. It was once facetiously referred to by a good friend as, "Not that (expletive deleted) Ozarks slide talk again!" Some of his audiences, whom Tom described as captive, heard the talk more than once; but nobody seemed to mind, either because he was constantly adding and subtracting material, or because most people just enjoyed listening, laughing, and learning.
Many readers will recognize that the chapters first appeared in print as a series of articles in the Rolla Daily News under the heading of "Hardscrabble Village" in the Bicentennial year. With few changes they appear here as they were written then.
Tom often said, as we sat at the kitchen window over breakfast coffee or stood on the deck at night star-gazing, "Look Ma, there are the beautiful Ozark mountains!" The geologist in him knew that they were not very big nor very fierce, but he loved also to refer to a certain saddle of land near the house as "East Mountain:' It seems no accident that in every recent picture he seems to be looking upward; a friend has said it was not so much knowledge Tom was always looking for, but wisdom.
No one would be more embarrassed than Tom by the title of this book, but it was the unanimous opinion of all concerned that it was the only thing to call it. Special credit is given to George C. Miller for the splendid photographs made especially to illustrate this book. Grateful acknowledgments are due to Tom's sister Jean and her husband Franklin Newhall who made the preliminary arrangements for publication with Dr. Ralph Buchsbaum and the Boxwood Press.
Nancy Beveridge
Rolla, Missouri
THOMAS R.
BEVERIDGE
Tom Beveridge was born June 30, 1918, in Sandwich Illinois. He was a graduate of Monmouth High School and Monmouth College in Illinois. In 1942 he earned a degree in mining engineering (petroleum option) at the Missouri School of Mines, now the University of Missouri at Rolla. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geology were earned at the State University of Iowa in 1947 and 1949.
During World War II Tom served with the Fifteenth Air Force as navigator. While returning to their base in Foggia, Italy, from a raid over the Ploesti oil fields, he and the crew of his B-24 bomber were forced to ditch in the Adriatic. Having completed 48 missions over Europe, what was left of the crew were allowed to return home. Afterward, Tom served with the Air Transport Command, ferrying planes and teaching mathematics.
While working for his degree at SUI, Tom was employed as geologist with the Iowa Geological Survey and as an instructor by the University. He became a stratigrapher for the Missouri Geological Survey in 1949 and was appointed State Geologist in 1955. From 1964 until his death in August of 1978, Tom was professor of geology and geological engineering at UMR. It was during his tenure as State Geologist that the Buehler Building was designed and built.
Also, while with the Survey Tom began to develop, along with his professional interest in the rocks and minerals of Missouri, a love for the people and culture of the Ozarks. He often said that he would have accomplished a lot more if he hadn't spent so many Saturdays going to auction sales. But where else, along with the growing knowledge and appreciation for old tools and furniture (in which often very few except himself saw the potential beauty), could he have made such warm and lasting friendships? Perhaps thereby he was accomplishing as much as many people would settle for in a lifetime.
Tom's wife Nan lives in the home Tom designed on the ridge he referred to variously as Mt. Pisgah or Tarantula Terraces. Their two daughters, Nancy and Mary, finished their formal education east of the Mississippi, but maintain a deep and abiding love for their Missouri origins.