Listening to the Jar Flies
To the casual visitor, Wheaton and Rocky Comfort, Missouri, are just two tiny towns on the edge of the Ozark hill country. In this collection of remembrances, author Jimmy R. Lewis tells tales of the extraordinary and colorful characters who lived there between 1907 and 1960.
There’s an aging former cowboy who bested Old West legend Tom Horn in a knife fight and a faith-healing preacher who came to town seeking converts with a four-foot bull snake slithering around his shoulders. There is the one-eyed newspaper editor who sparked a community to build a first-class high-school gymnasium. And an air force fighter pilot who narrowly averted firing a missile that could have started World War III.
Each story is rich with humor and humanity as Lewis paints a portrait of rural America that resonates with anyone who ever lived in a small town ... or wanted to.
Lewis is a talented storyteller. Reading these accounts is like being at a family reunion, hearing lively tales – preferably told outdoors in late summer, with the titular jar flies, or cicadas, buzzing in the trees ...
Five Stars out of Five
Clarion Review
Thoughtful recollections of beloved residents, eccentric characters, and memorable events ... bring local history to life.
Missouri Historical Society
