One of Steve’s colleagues from Crete Public Schools sent us a couple postcards this summer from her vacation in the beautiful Ozarks. Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in The Ozarks of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. The lake is impounded by Table Rock Dam and was constructed from 1954-58 on the White River by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. There are several commercial marinas along the lake and a popular tourist destination, Branson, Missouri, is nearby.
I was so delighted to see this postcard from Table Rock Lake. When I was a kid, my paternal grandparents retired and sold their home in Nebraska City, Nebraska, and moved to a house on the shore of Table Rock Lake in Shell Knob, Missouri.
Every summer, our family would drive down to the Ozarks to spend time with my grandparents. My Grandpa Shrewsbury was an avid fisherman and just loved it there. He would get up before the sun, put on a pair of overalls (I rarely saw him in anything else) and perch himself on a log at the end of their property near the lake. He’d cast his line and wait for a bite as he gazed across the lake and at the hills in the distance. This was his happy place.
Found this photograph of my Grandpa (the one in overalls) fishing at Table Rock Lake in Shell Knob, Missouri. On the back of the photograph, my grandma wrote, “This is one of my favorite pictures.”
My grandpa loved to take us out on his boat for a trip around the bend or pull us behind the boat on water sleds or skis. But what he enjoyed most, was teaching us how to fish. We’d spend hours fishing with him and then come back to the house where Grandma had likely been cooking or baking our favorites like Mexican Fiesta, fried catfish, or a made-from-scratch pies and cakes.
I have so many fond memories of our time at Table Rock Lake and am so thankful Jo sent us a postcard from there. It was a great reminder of relaxing days and the love of family.
When you’re traveling next, be sure to send us a postcard at Postcard Jar, P.O. Box 334, Crete, NE 68333. We’d love to hear from you!
