In what ways is Southern Missouri southern, and in what ways is it not? (Kansas City: high school, live in)

[ShadowCaver]

Ya know,,, I still say that Southern Missouri is southern, well, because it is Southern Missouri... Right? It is "Southern" Missouri we are talking about, right?

[Hillman]

Originally Posted by ShadowCaver

Ya know,,, I still say that Southern Missouri is southern, well, because it is Southern Missouri... Right? It is "Southern" Missouri we are talking about, right?

Sounds good South of the Mason Dixon Line.

hillman

[Hillman]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I agree. Most of the vegetation in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas seems fairly similar to what you find in southern Missouri. The only exception is that northern Arkansas seems to have more pine trees.

I've been trying to change this.I've been planting hundreds of Pine trees every year on my place for the past several years.They are my Babies.

Oh other things I'm working on Good Grits,Squirrel Dogs,Mud Bug Eating,Catfish and Goobers.

hillman

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by Hillman

Sounds good South of the Mason Dixon Line.

hillman

Most of Missouri is above the Mason Dixon line. Most of the state lies to the north of where the Ohio River river borders it. Southern Missouri is called Southern Missouri because it's the geographically southern half of the state. Yes it has noticeable Southern influences, but is not entirely culturally Southern and Southern speech patterns are not predominant unless you are in Mississippi Delta portion of Southeast Missouri. The Ozarks have both Southern and Midwestern influences. Even Springfield and Joplin are not decisively Southern or Midwestern. they retain strong Midwestern feels to them. The weather and plant and tree species are also different from those of the South. Southern Missouri typically sees more snow and ice than the rest of the South and it can get bitterly cold there in the winter. Even Monett, where my grandparents are buried, feels more Midwestern than Southern. You would never guess Arkansas was only about 60 miles to the south. I saw a lot of flat farmland and cornfields as well as dairy farms. Wineries and dairy farms are common throughout all of the state. Tobacco and cotton are grown in less than 10 counties in extreme Southeastern Missouri.

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Wow a highway divides dialects in America, it's almost like how villages divide dialects in England!

Knock it off. It's a rough estimation, not an exact literal division. What I meant was that Southern dialects are far less dominant north of Highway 60 than they are south of it. I'm also not sure that all of Missouri is classic Ozark, not anymore at least. The Ozarks may have been settled by Southerners way back in the day, but Germans and Northerners migrated to the area even before the Civil War. Yes, I agree, the hillbillies in Missouri can be quite similar to those of Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, but you hear far less Southern accents and Southern culture in Southern Missouri than in the other 3 states. Southern Missouri has as many Midwesterners living there as it does Southerners now. To me, while the landscape of Southern Missouri as a whole might not be different from the northern half of Arkansas, the Southern speech patterns and Southern culture and cuisine are nowhere near as strong or common most of Missouri. It is NOT identical in every sense to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The Southern half of Missouri contains strong Midwestern influences, such as cuisine, tree species, speech patterns, lifestyles at least where the urbanized areas are concerned, etc. The Ozarks have noticeable Midwestern influences for sure.

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I agree. Most of the vegetation in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas seems fairly similar to what you find in southern Missouri. The only exception is that northern Arkansas seems to have more pine trees.

I don't disagree with that. They wouldn't be the Ozarks if they didn't contain similar geography. The lifestyle isn't incredibly different, but I've definitely noticed that speech patterns are definitively Southern, and the culture is much more Southern without any noticeable Midwestern influence. It should also be noted that the Ozarks cover far less than half of the state of Arkansas. The original meaning of Ozark meant "to Arkansas" if I recall. That in itself reflects how unique and mixed the Ozarks are in culture. They are more their own region than the Upper South or Midwest.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by ajf131

I don't disagree with that. They wouldn't be the Ozarks if they didn't contain similar geography. The lifestyle isn't incredibly different, but I've definitely noticed that speech patterns are definitively Southern, and the culture is much more Southern without any noticeable Midwestern influence. It should also be noted that the Ozarks cover far less than half of the state of Arkansas. The original meaning of Ozark meant "to Arkansas" if I recall. That in itself reflects how unique and mixed the Ozarks are in culture. They are more their own region than the Upper South or Midwest.

Ozark is a corruption of the term "aux arc". The French coined that term when mapping out the Arkansas River. It literally means wide arc, and was used to name the northernmost bend in the river.
The term eventually was used to define the area we know now as the Ozarks.

[Kinsey6]

Originally Posted by Hillman

Well I'll have you know I was born and raised in Southern Missouri.My Families Name is a good Southern Name.There is Blacks that carry our name from the time my ancestors freed their ancestors.

Over 60,000 fought under this Flag including my Ancestors.We are not no dang Yankee and Southern in every way



hillman

What flag is that? Some fundamentalist Christian flag or something?

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by Kinsey6

What flag is that? Some fundamentalist Christian flag or something?

~rolling eyes in dismay~ here we go again!

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by Kinsey6

What flag is that? Some fundamentalist Christian flag or something?

Just for the heck of it, I'll reply to your post... but first, must ask, why do you pose your question in such a baiting manner? No need for that. If you've no respect for others, you are welcome to take leave of this forum.

Now, if you sincerely have interest, this flag was hoisted by those of Bowen's 1st Missouri Brigade. You can find more info on this flag, and others here: Historical Flags of Our Ancestors - American Civil War Flags

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by ShadowCaver

Just for the heck of it, I'll reply to your post... but first, must ask, why do you pose your question in such a baiting manner? No need for that. If you've no respect for others, you are welcome to take leave of this forum.

Now, if you sincerely have interest, this flag was hoisted by those of Bowen's 1st Missouri Brigade. You can find more info on this flag, and others here: Historical Flags of Our Ancestors - American Civil War Flags

Shadow, thank you, as usual. Do you think we need to enlighten this person as to which side Bowen's was on?

[Nu2pomona]

It's been interesting reading through these posts. To a family from a northern state like Wisconsin, the Ozarks seem very southern. I look at the seed catalogs and shake my head in disbelief when they lump Missouri and Wisconsin in the same growing zone. That's simply nuts. The growing season easily starts a month earlier and lasts six to eight weeks longer than it does in east central Wisconsin.

I'm in Howell County, and all of our restaurants sell sweet tea. As a matter of fact, if you order iced tea and don't specify unsweetened, sweet tea is what you'll get.

Hotel breakfast buffets all have bisquits and gravy, something you'll not find in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and the upper part of Illinois. Brown beans are another restaurant staple that simply is not found in those states. We do serve "baked" beans, sweetened with brown sugar and loaded with chucks of either bacon or pork fat, but you won't find them on a restaurant menu, just at picnics and barbeques.

There's another difference. Here, barbeque is pulled pork or beef served with sauce on the side. Back there, a barbeque could be burgers and bratwurst on the grill, racks of ribs, precooked in beer, or chunks of chicken, slathered with sticky sauce. A "barbeque" is an event, not a food item.

In those northern states I mentioned, fish fry is generally served on Friday nights only and the fish would not be catfish. It should be fresh water perch, but in the last few years it is more than likely cod or haddock, breaded and deep fried.

Here, it is common to see men in restaurants with bib overhauls, something you'd never see in most parts of the states that border on Canada. Here, cowboy boots are common place. There, not so much.

There, you can choose from ten different kinds of rye breads in the food stores. Here you're lucky to find one.

Nothing wrong with any of this stuff (in case OB reads this), I'm not complaining, just pointing out the differences.