Ozark Saints

“OZARK SAINTS. From the heart. That is what Howard Cavner’s refreshingly personal remembrances about family, friends, and his beloved Ozark homeland are all about. The cast of characters – from a pipe-smoking great aunt to French-speaking hillbilly neighbors, to a one-legged granny, to a bearded lady, and beyond – weaves a cocoon of safety and love that nurtured him and allowed him to thrive. To know Howard and his personal philosophies is to know the people in his stories as reflected on and in him. If one wants a taste of growing up in tiny Branson, Missouri, when Branson was really Branson, Howard’s anecdotes will take you there. The “Real Branson,” in the 1960s Ozarks of 1,200 souls, were generally supportive and protective of one another. Howard captures it all in Ozark Saints. I know because I grew up there and then as well.”

“Who were the folks that helped shape your life? Cavner’s stories will tweak your memories and give you an enjoyable walk through the Ozarks. He illustrates life as a tangle of short stories rich with experience. As lifelong residents of the Ozarks, we have known people he reveals in the small town of Branson, Missouri. Chapter five will make you want one of Howard’s homemade biscuits!”

“These charming and affecting tales take us into the Branson, Missouri of the fifties and sixties. They are filled with unforgettable characters drawn from the author’s memory and imagination, along with the sensory details of an Ozark childhood. Hot cobbler, bumpy hayrides, and a speckled dog share the pages with news from the wider world. Tenderhearted but never maudlin, both parochial and cosmopolitan, these stories have a sense of place without being confined to that place. They are a welcome addition to the literature of the Ozarks.”