Missouri: a living portrait. (1974)

[Music] Missouri. Who can describe it? It is a state of many faces, a thousand aspects. As lasting as the Ozark Hills, yet as changing as the winds that blow across Little Dixie, as restless as the currents of its mighty rivers. Perhaps there is no one Missouri, even men and women who have known Missouri long and well, view it differently. But one, at least, has this to say. >> This is my home country. From this big rocky bluff, I can see for miles up and down the Roman Missouri River. This is where it makes its mighty band flows eastward through the heart of the country, through the heart of the state. Now, I was born and raised southwest of here down in the Hill Country near what used to be Indian territory. But here, up in this river valley, I get a kind of a sense that all Missouri belongs to me just as I belong to it. These are the words of Thomas Hart Benton, artist and Missurrian. He has told the story of his state in these famous murals in the capital at Jefferson City. Some of his neighbors thought Tom didn't make the state look pretty enough, but the eye of the artist often finds beauty in the common place and drama in the everyday scenes of life. In these murals, as in the works of a lifetime, Tom Bettton has caught the spirit of Missouri in all its infinite variety with the perceptive eye of the painter. He has painted men at work, children at play, the charm and beauty of her countryside, the romance of her history. To Tom Bettton, Missouri is a source of endless fascination. Uh this Missouri folks is a very interesting country. It's also an ancient country. My house from my house here I look down on a great growing city. But long before the white man came, this place was at the conjunction of two great trails which led across Missouri and out into the west. They became later the Santa Fe and the Oregon Trails. Missouri long before the day of the white man was at the very center of the United States. It still is. And it's a place that was always changing in the past and continues to change today. It's an immensely interesting country and a country of infinite varieties. Rivers, hills, mountains if you call them, not too high but rugged enough when you start climbing them. We have all kinds of sports here. We have all kinds of matters for those who are interested in history. This is a very fascinating state and I think that anybody that comes out here and merely to look at it will find some of the uh fascination that I found in it. >> This is a portrait, a composite of Missouri as Tom Benton or you yourself might see it. A portrait starting with the canvas, the background in this case, the land itself. And here, nature has been almost overly generous, for Missouri has something of everything, something for everybody. Here's part of the canvas, the rolling green hills of North Missouri. This is land friendly to blueg grass and therefore to horses. Missurrians are proud of the bloodlines which have made the Missouri saddle horse world famous. And nothing perhaps is more typically Missouri than that symbol of stubbornness, the Missouri mule. Also part of the background of our portrait are the ancient storied Ozarks slanting southwest across the state almost from the edge of St. Louis. Stretching fold upon fold to the far horizon, these mountains have a grandeur all their own. Anyone who knows these hills will return to them year after year and find on each visit some new profile of crag or cliff, some new beauty in the autumn colors. The Ozarks stimulate the imagination of the artist or tourist when they reveal their great age as in the elephant rock formations. [Music] The picturesque Johnson shut-ins on the East Fork of the Black River were carved by eons of time, water, and weather. Below ground as well as above, formations of startling beauty are revealed in the wondrous caverns of Missouri. They too must be a part of our portrait. [Music] A more fragile touch of beauty is provided by the blossoms of the red bud and dogwood which herald the coming of spring throughout the Missouri countryside. Yes, the delicacy of spring flowers is a part of the picture, but so are the great rivers that drain the continent, the Missouri and the old man himself, the slow, ponderous, always fascinating Mississippi. In contrast are the smaller rivers and the sparkling crystal streams with their waterfalls and rapids. [Music] Great underground waterways gush to the service in many places throughout the state. Bennett Springs, the trout fisherman's paradise. [Music] There is alley springs, graceful rocky falls, and round spring. The all inspiring big spring at Van Buran pours forth nearly a billion gallons of water each day. One of the world's largest springs. Each adds its beauty to the portrait. This then is the canvas. Upon it, the portrait of Missouri has been painted layer by layer. History forms the undercoating showing through the portrait of Missouri, giving it depth and richness. A French touch to our picture. St. Genevie, Missouri's oldest town. Founded in 1732 when the territory was under the flag of France, its architecture reflects its old world heritage. Old iron furnaces still standing date from the Civil War when Missouri's mineral resources played an important military role. Reminders of other early day mining ventures can be seen in these shafts at Silver Mines Park. [Music] In contrast are Missouri's new mining developments at Viburnum and P Ridge, helping Missouri maintain its rank as one of the nation's most important mining states. [Music] Reminders of the past are easy to find in Missouri. Old grist mills. Landmarks of the shepherd of the hills country are old Matt's cabin and the post office at the forks. at Lamar, the birthplace of the 33rd president of the United States. In old independence, his home on a pleasant tree-shaded street nearby, the papers and momentos of his years in the White House are collected in the Harry S. Truman Library. The gleam of marble from the famous quaries at Carthage, Missouri is reflected in our portrait. Marble that forms the facing of Missouri's imposing capital building at Jefferson City. Missouri's history is people with romantic figures. Long before Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1821, settlers had established trade with the Indians. First outpost of the United States in the vast Louisiana Purchase Territory was Fort Oage built in 1808 near what is now Sibly, Missouri. Daniel Boone was among early visitors. Today, Tom Bettton often studies the authentic reconstruction of the old fort with its blockouses and trading post. The Pony Express was destined to link the New Republic's growing Midwest with the Far West as riders left these old stables in St. Joe in April of 1860 to carry the mail to Sacramento. Century old taverns and ins still welcome today's tourists. [Music] What name first comes to mind when you think of Missouri? It might be Bull Jesse James or Blackjack Persing or maybe Stan Museio, but probably it's Mark Twain. Hannibal is Mark Twain's town. This is his boyhood home. Forever young in this statue as in Mark Twain's books are his immortal creations Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. In a yearly contest in Hannibal, today's kids show they too can whitewash a fence. Although Tom Sawyer's main accomplishment was getting out of it. And each year Hannibal picks a Becky Thatcher and a Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain knew the Mississippi in the great days of the stern wheeled packets. He would be amazed if he could see the steadily increasing traffic on the old river today, pleasure boats, great barges moving smoothly through locks such as these, carrying freight to and from Missouri's gateway to the east, its largest city, St. Louis. In this metropolis of the midcontinent, we move to the foreground of our portrait of Missouri. At the Forest Park Zoo, kids and grown-ups alike have almost as much fun as the monkeys. [Music] Much of our bright and lively foreground will be bathed in light reflected from water. Missouri's many lakes are within easy reach of all who enjoy water sports. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Missurrians have made it easy for others to see their state. Railroads converge on Missouri from every part of the nation. Jet planes mean either coast is less than 3 hours away. Broad highways crisscross the state and between them picturesque routes for leisurely enjoyment of the countryside. For the traveler, there are comfortable motel, resorts, and eating places along every road. [Music] The cities offer hotels luxurious and moderately priced. [Music] Missouri is a land of things to do and things to see. Big league baseball that attracts cheering thousands. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] And in the autumn, the color and thrills of football [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and part of the portraits might show Missurans reliving the pleasures of yesterday. Now you [Music] join hand circle left circle walk around [Music] here [Music] in the middle of the town all the way Now he go right on the heel toe left corner. [Music] >> There's fun to be had. Country style. Old time fiddlers still draw crowds. Probably nowhere do people love a centennial, a fair or a celebration more than do Missurans. Church bells signaled the opening of the traditional German Mayfest, the May festival in Old Herman, Missouri. [Music] Each fall, Kansas City's week-long American Royal Livestock and Horse Show draws visitors from all over the nation. A reminder that even as its industrial growth progresses, Missouri is firmly established on a strong agricultural base. From the great rangers of the west come cattle to these stockyards. [Music] Tom Benton suggests that Missouri's portrait would have to include the cotton fields of the bootill country. In this southeast corner of the state, some of the country's finest long staple cotton is grown. And each fall, the good folk at Systerd celebrate the harvest and choose their lovely cotton queen. The high point of the season for rural Missouri is the Sadelia State Fair. You're number one. Our portrait will show the flowers cultivated by Missurrians. Neoso is the flowerbox city. Shaw's garden in St. Louis is worldrenowned as a botanical center. [Music] Kansas cians are justly proud of the rose garden in Loose Park. [Music] And for our portrait, the beauty of the fall landscape, the grace of a well-trained bird dog on point. [Music] Quail are plentiful and the state is in the center of one of the great flyways for migratory fowl. [Music] Hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. [Music] And a prominent place in our portrait must be reserved for Missouri's specialty, the Ozark float trips of a day, several days, and even a week or more are arranged for the vacationer by experienced float operators. But for however long, you're away from the world of jangling telephones and traffic. [Music] Wise in the way of river lore are the guides, many of whom grew up on the river. Their skill in handling the Big John boats is legendary. Ozark streams, always clear and cold, are sometimes wide and deep, other times narrow and swift. [Music] This is the home of the jack salmon and the smallmouth bass. Veteran fishermen say that inch for inch and pound for pound, the smallmouth is the world's greatest game fish. [Music] Noon finds even the most ardent fisherman ready to eat. As you round a bend, you find the noonday camp set up on a gravel bar and lunch cooking. After lunch, you're on the river again. There's a quiet lull as the boats drift along in the warm sunshine. [Music] Suddenly, the fish get busy again. And so do you. [Music] When the sun drops low behind the towering bluffs, the boats once again scrape shore, and you find that the commissary department has the night's camp set up. There is a quiet time of relaxation before the evening meal. [Music] Speaking of dinner, here it comes. What's better than freshly caught fish from the cold waters? Unless, of course, you prefer charcoal broiled steaks. As the campfire burns low, you're ready for sleep. Not even Tom Benton can paint the aroma of ham and eggs cooking on a crisp morning in the Ozarks. [Music] After breakfast, you take to the river again, eager for another day of adventure, Missouri style. [Music] No picture of Missouri would be complete without some glints and highlights reflecting the future. In universities, hospitals, and research centers, stateup supported, and those privately endowed, teachers and scientists attack the problems of the future. The past, the present, the future, all are a part of our portrait of Missouri. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Tom Benton at work on his mural for the Truman Library in Independence. seems to symbolize the fact that it's a picture that is never really finished. He pauses to discuss the painting with an interested observer. There is much in Missouri to attract the artist, but anyone can share in its beauty. The picture which is Missouri, constantly changing, always challenging, ultimately peaceful and vibrant. [Music] Missurrians invite you to see it for yourself. To let the Show Me State show you its living portrait. [Music]