News Release

Enjoy cultural skills demonstrations at Alley Spring in October

Lye soap making was an all-day affair and often took place after the butchering of a hog.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: September 26, 2022

Contact: Dena Matteson, 573-323-4814

Contact: Josh Chilton, 573-226-3945

EMINENCE, Mo. -  Ozark National Scenic Riverways will bring Ozark history to life at Alley Spring on Saturdays in October. Join us on October 1, 8, 15, and 22 at Alley Spring from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to learn about pioneer skills and traditions  

Experience Ozark folkways such as making brooms, lye soap, rope, and candles, as well as a demonstration of how moonshine was made. Bring the whole family to Alley Mill to visit with demonstrators and see how raw materials were turned into useful household items in the past. Pioneers of the riverways region made the most of the resources and materials they had available. Because cash was rarely exchanged in the early days of settlement, it was important for inhabitants to create items for their own use or for bartering. These skills and traditions were passed down generation to generation, and some became masters in their craft. 

October Pioneer Demonstrations: 

October 1: Broom making 

October 8: Moonshining demonstration 

October 15: Lye soap making 

October 22: Rope and candle making 

Alley Spring is located five miles west of Eminence, Missouri, on State Route 106. All demonstrations are free and open to the public. For more information, phone [phone], or visit the park’s Facebook page or website at www.nps.gov/ozar. This event is open and free to the public.  

www.nps.gov/ozar

Ozark National Scenic Riverways preserves 134 miles of the free-flowing Current and Jacks Fork rivers, the surrounding resources, and the unique cultural heritage of the Ozark people.  Learn more at www.nps.gov/ozar.  Find us on Facebook @ozarkriverways and on Instagram @ozarkriverwaysnps.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.