Saturday, January 19, 2019

Read and Recycle books at Taneyhills!

Used books are bringing in the tourists. That statement is true at the Ye Olde Book Shoppe inside the lower level of the Taneyhills Community Library.

“Tourists are our biggest patrons,” attests Kenton Olson, Bookstore Manager. “We have many repeat visitors who come in. They will often buy $20 to $40 worth of books.”

The Ye Olde Book Shoppe sells hardcover books for $5 or less. Bargains can be found in the $3 room.  That is another surprise.

The bookstore gets its inventory from Taneyhills supporters and decommissioned books from the library upstairs. With a living room setting complete with a sofa and stuffed chairs, the bookstore is like a miniature Barnes and Noble. Besides a huge fiction selection, it carries just about every non-fiction subject from politics and religion to “Star Wars” and paranormal. We also have a selection of children’s books.

The store recently received a significant donation of hardback novels by prominent and favorite authors such as James Patterson, Stephen King, C. J. Box and Dean Koontz.  Olson stated these authors might be priced a little higher due to their collectability.

All book sales from the store are part of the vital income contributions toward keeping the library open. Unfortunately, Taneyhills receives no tax funding from the federal, state, county, or local levels.

The Ye Olde Book Shoppe is open Tuesday – Friday 10:00-4:00 pm; Saturday’s 10:00-12:30 pm. It is located on the lower level of the Taneyhills Community Library, 2000 S. 4th street in Branson, across the hall from the Library’s Thrift Store.

Taneyhills Community Library
200 S. 4th Street
Branson, MO 65616
417-334-1418


Friday, January 18, 2019

Wandering around Forsyth MO in January 2019!

It was mid January, 2019 and I got it in my head to do a drive-around in Forsyth Missouri. As I live there and am curious, I wanted to tally up any changes that I could observe. For those with any interest, the town has a population of about 2,300 - It's been around since 1837 and is named after John Forsyth, 13th United States Secretary of State. A Civil War battle was fought there and it is currently the County Seat of Taney County, Missouri!

For such a small Midwestern town, Forsyth enjoys over ten eateries, which might explain why some of the locals (me included) are just a tad overweight...


Bull Shoals bridge and roundabout!

It had been a month or more since I had visited the site of the new Bull Shoals bridge and roundabout construction area, just to the east of Forsyth on Highway 160. I was happy to see that most everything had been done and found the roundabout to be very easy to navigate. I really did think that the traffic flow is vastly improved both now and in the years to come. Kudos to MoDot for a job well done!

Peggy's Park Place closed!

I was with some consternation that I learned that the Park Place convenience store had closed. A friend had texted this news to me and so I drove down to the store, located near the Bull Shoals bridge, to see what was going on. The sign on the door plainly indicated that the venue had 'gone out of business'. Sad.





Shadowrock Lodge not yet open!


While I was in the area, I stopped by the Shadowrock Lodge to try and learn whether or not they planned to open the bar and grill anytime soon. I had observed various workmen over there, from time to time, but saw no real indications (signs, etc) of any sort of opening date. When I drove by on January the 19th, there was no one present on the premises, as best I could tell.




Mexican- Burrito restaurant closes!


What had been a laundromat many years ago, and which had been the site of numerous restaurant startups, the latest edition aka the Mexican-Burrito restaurant had apparently also taken a siesta and was now closed. I was unable to get any information as to whether or not the establishment will re-open or will remain closed.


That leaves just Oaxaca as one of the only venues left to get authentic Mexican cuisine and I've heard a rumor that it too may be relocating soon...



Charlie's restaurant still up for sale!

Now going into its second year of being for sale or lease, the former Charlies Steak Ribs and Ale restaurant remains available. When it was open, Charlies was arguably one of the most upscale restaurants in the area. (That honor perhaps now going to either Fat Daddy's or the Long Horn Family Dining establishments). In any case, I was hoping to see this fine establishment under new ownership very soon!


Shadowrock and River Run Parks!


On a better note, both Shadowrock and River Run were looking great. I noticed that the entrance to River Run, off Highway 76 had really been cleaned up (pic at left), making the Park area easy to see from the road. Both parks were open, which was somewhat surprising, as during the last government shutdown under Obama, River Run was closed! That said, it was looking as though all we really had to worry about come the spring of 2019 would be heavy rains... I'll try and keep tabs on this at my weather site.

Update: March 8, 2019 - River Run was closed. Why? I had no clue. Please see this post!

www.taneyweather.com