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Published Nov/Dec 2005 |
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At the College of the Ozarks near Branson, students work their way through school making sweet treats, working a gristmill, growing orchids and more.
Story and photos By Diana West |
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 Throughout the year, the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo., offers educational opportunity to its students that perhaps they couldn’t otherwise afford. But during the holidays, we can enjoy the fruits of the students’ labors: fruitcakes. “From January through October, students make and bake about 30,000 fruitcakes,” said Mynette Ulrich, supervisor of the campus’ fruitcake and jelly kitchen, says. “In addition, they make thousands of jars of jellies, preserves and apple butter.” A sweet spot Students at the college, located just south of Branson, Mo., earn their education by working at more than 80 job sites on campus. Travel up Opportunity Avenue and turn left on Patriotic Place to find the sweetest site on campus: the fruitcake and jelly kitchen, where students can be seen mixing, decorating, baking and packaging fruitcakes. In November and December, visitors can tour the kitchen and see the packaging process or purchase items. The fruitcake business began in 1934 when Annabelle McMasters, home economics instructor, developed the recipe as a gift for benefactors of the school. “They wanted to purchase more to give as gifts,” Ulrich says. Fruitcakes are made in an assembly-line fashion with students rotating jobs. About 20 students work 15 hours a week, plus two 40-hour weeks during the spring and fall semesters. This work program pays for their tuition. They may work full-time for 12 weeks during the summer to pay for room and board. While the fruitcake and jelly kitchen is a popular place this time of year, it isn’t the only site to see while touring the 1,000-acre campus. Milling around Cross Opportunity Avenue onto Vocational Way to visit Edwards Mill. Students, a full-time miller and supervisor operate the replica of an 1800s water-powered gristmill year-round. Cornmeal, grits, cracked wheat and whole-wheat flour are ground there, and a variety of mixes are packaged for sale. Students weave rugs, shawls and placemats on Depression-era looms in an upstairs studio. In addition, basket-weaving skills are demonstrated downstairs. Orchid legacy blossoms Next to the mill are the greenhouses, which contain more than 7,000 orchids that were bequeathed to the college by its first enrollee, Clint McDade. Greenhouse supervisor David Ray oversees about 75 students who tend the award-winning orchids, approximately 175,000 bedding plants and the campus landscapes. Each of the orchid plants is tagged, showing when it last bloomed, the number of blooms and the quality of the blooms. Each plant has a pedigree that can be traced back to its origin. “Each year in the spring, we repot one-fourth of the orchid collection, which amounts to about 2,500 plants,” Ray says. The best time to visit the greenhouses is November through early February when most of the 6,000 cattleyas are in bloom. The aroma is intoxicating. “The greenhouses are ablaze with color,” Ray says. An array of items Plan to spend some time in the Ralph Foster Museum, so named after the Missouri radio pioneer and philanthropist. Follow Opportunity Avenue north to Cultural Court, then left to the museum. Students are on hand to answer questions about the exhibits and Foster, who helped found radio station KGBX in 1924. Later, he purchased another station and renamed it with the call letters of KWTO (keep watching the Ozarks). Live broadcasts featuring talented performers dominated the station’s programming, and several country music singers–including Porter Wagoner and Chet Atkins–appeared on the station. A popular attraction on the first floor is the 1921 Oldsmobile truck that appeared on “The Beverly Hillbillies” television series. There is also a 1931 Rolls Royce and collections of coin banks, Kewpie dolls, cameos, chiming clocks, pipes and pocket watches. The music room tells the story of “The Ozarks Jubilee,” a country music show televised in the 1950s and ’60s that was produced by Foster. Firearms, Indian pottery and life-like animal exhibits fill the second floor. The third floor has a history of the Ozarks, life-like birds, butterflies, Ozark rocks, minerals and fishing lures. Near the museum is the Williams Memorial Chapel and Hyer Bell Tower. Stunning stained-glass windows in the chapel tell a chronological history of the Bible. The bell tower contains 96 bells that can be heard on the quarter hour and hourly. Finally, don’t miss the Keeter Center at the entrance of the college. Fashioned after Dobyns Hall, the first building at the college’s current location, the center has 20 fireplaces and big pine beams, giving a rustic appearance. The Keeter Center provides hands-on experiences to students in the hotel and restaurant management program at the college. Students work at the gift shop, reservation desk, restaurant and kitchen. Dobyns Dining Room is a 275-seat restaurant that serves lunch and dinner daily, plus brunch on Sunday. A bakery offers fresh pastries and coffee. A full-length balcony allows diners to look out over the campus. Items produced at the college are on the menu. Potato chips, called Lodge Chips, are cooked in the kitchen. The Keeter Center also offers three rooms for overnight lodging. All open to a balcony and have a fireplace. Prices range from $169 to $229/night and include a continental breakfast. Motel rooms are also available at the Good Memorial College Center on campus for $59 nightly. Among America’s Best College of the Ozarks began as a residential high school in 1906. Students worked for their room, board and tuition. The college has been ranked among America’s best liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Christine Swyasa, a hotel and restaurant major from Bali, Indonesia, says, “The practical training while pursing an education is invaluable.” Katy Blaty from Chaffee, Mo., adds, “You get to work your way through school and graduate debt-free.” It might be work for the students, but it’s a vacation for visitors. From the flowers to the fruitcakes, the weavings to the whole-wheat flour, you’ll appreciate the students’ enterprising efforts. Diana West is a contributor from Joplin, Mo. |
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