Behind the Scenes:
Shepherd of the Hills

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

Wile E Coyote might not be in the cast of characters at the Shepherd of the Hills outdoor theater in Branson, Mo., but he is definitely busy working behind the scenes.

Above: The cast of the outdoor drama, The Shepherd of the Hills, in Branson. (Shepherd of the Hills Historic Homestead photo) Below: Thomas Reemes works tirelessly behind the scenes at The Shepherd of the Hills Historic Homestead. He’s shown here with a reproduction 1908 DeWitt automobile that is used in the outdoor drama. (Barbara Gibbs Ostmann photo)

Also known by his real name of Thomas Joel Reemes, this jack-of-all-trades does everything from driving trams to laundering costumes to performing first aid and doing safety checks. He also repairs burns, bullet holes and barbed wire tears in costumes. He drives the fire truck to water down the dirt stage prior to the show. He repairs guns, cobbles shoes and even closes up the park around 1 or 2 a.m. On top of all that, he acts, dances and plays the banjo. 
   
“It’s job security,” says Reemes with a laugh, taking a sip of coffee from his signature Wile E Coyote mug. “In the entertainment business, the more you do, the more you’re worth.”
   
If that’s the case, Reemes must be worth a mint.

A Branson original
   
The site of Reemes’ industriousness is the popular Branson attraction, Shepherd of the Hills Historic Homestead and Old Mill Theater. The nightly outdoor drama is based on the best-selling book, The Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright, published in 1907. The book, which was made into a movie four times and was required reading in Missouri schools for decades, triggered the beginning of tourism to the Branson, which was then an isolated and little-known part of the country.
   
Today, the original cabin of John and Anna Ross, who were the inspiration for the book’s characters of Old Matt and Aunt Mollie Matthews, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the heart of the entertainment complex.
   
The 2,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, which opened in 1960, features a set the size of a football field. The production includes 40 horses, five mules, a flock of sheep, a donkey, 30 pistols and shotguns, a reproduction 1908 DeWitt automobile, and several buggies and wagons.

A family affair

Officially, Reemes works in five different departments at the Shepherd of the Hills homestead, but in reality, he pitches in wherever needed. That’s what everyone on the set does, according to Reemes. Sure enough, when our interview ran overtime, other cast members voluntarily pitched in to take care of his pre-show duties while we finished our behind-the-scenes tour of the homestead. 
   
The cast and crew are like a family. There are many long-timers among the 96 cast members, many of whom were born and reared in the area.
   
“People literally grow up here [at Shepherd of the Hills],” says Reemes. “It’s a family feeling.”
   
A case in point is Michael Coffelt Jr., one of the show’s horsemen, who began performing in the show at age 3 and is now 37. There are several family groups among the cast. It’s not unusual, says Reemes, to have three generations of the same family on stage at the same time.
   
Reemes even met his wife, Monica, here. He was playing banjo and she, still dressed in costume, joined the listeners. It was love at first sight, he says.
   
“I chased her shamelessly and finally caught her in a weak moment and she agreed to marry me,” he says. They live near Forsyth, just outside of Branson. She works at the theater as an usher and a square dancer. They often ride onto the set together in a horse-drawn wagon.
   
Although not a Branson native, Reemes has lived in the area for 20 years. He started working at the homestead in 1989, the same year the Inspiration Tower was built. He credits his upbringing at his grandparents’ farm in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina for his ability to do what needs to be done on the set.
   
Little did his grandparents know they were raising a Wile E Coyote.
   
Barbara Gibbs Ostmann is a contributor from Gerald, Mo.