Opening of the Ozark Folk Center with Congressman Wilbur Mills, Dr. Bessie Moore, and Jimmie Driftwood holding hands. Standing: Jo Luck Wilson, Governor Orval Faubus, and State Legislator Pat Ellis.
This Legacy Photo is in memory of Dr. Bessie Boehm Moore who founded the
Committee of One Hundred for the Ozark Folk Center.
With appreciation, Chloe Kirksey, former chair of the Committee of One Hundred
One of the key figures in the development of the Ozark Folk Center was Dr. Bessie Boehm Moore. Her interest in the development of the Center ultimately led to her founding the Committee of One Hundred for the Ozark Folk Center.
Dr. Bessie Moore’s influence throughout the state likely comes from her personal history. She was born prematurely in Owensboro, Kentucky. Her mother died giving birth, so her father put her in a wagon and traveled to her aunt’s home, stopping along the way to ask for milk to keep the baby alive. Perhaps her survival at that time was an indication of the strong will and life of excellence that Dr. Moore would have.
When she was 12 years old, young Bessie Boehm moved to Arkansas with her father and his new wife and settled on a homestead on Luber Road in Stone County. From the very beginning, attending school was difficult for Bessie with the distance from Mountain View and road conditions in those days. But her father played word games and used the dictionary constantly, instilling in her a love for education.
One day young Bessie knocked on the Mountain View door of Mrs. Nettie Brewer with some of her handwork to sell. “Miss Nettie” immediately saw her potential, and after a visit or two, suggested that Bessie live in town with her and perform small household chores in return for room and board so that Bessie could attend school.
At age 14, Bessie took the teacher’s exam and was assigned to St. James school in Stone County. It was 1916 and a lot of anti-German sentiment due to the war. When Bessie arrived at her new school on the first day of class, there was a sign tacked to the door: “We ain’t agonna have no German teacher here.” She took the sign down, put it away, never mentioned it, and never had a discipline problem from that time on.
Bessie continued teaching and began to increase her own education as she taught throughout Arkansas. Everywhere she taught, she influenced the people with whom she came in contact, and it was as a teacher that she began to be a mover and shaker. She started a campaign to establish county libraries in the state and was later instrumental in setting up the regional library system in Arkansas. She served on the National Library Commission under several Presidents and became the driving force in economic education in Arkansas. She traveled the world, was on a first-name basis with Presidents, Congressmen, governors and notable business people throughout the country. When Bessie spoke, everyone listened.
Richard Davies, former Executive Director of Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, nicknamed her, affectionately, the USS Bessie Moore because, as he told it, when she had an idea it was going to happen and nothing was going to stand in her way. Fifty years later, Dr. Bessie Boehm Moore would be proud to see the success of her vision.
Entry by Janice Sutton
The Committee of One Hundred Tribute Wall recognizes contributions to the preservation of Ozark folk culture.
If you would like to help preserve the folk culture of the Ozarks, consider a
The Committee is made up entirely of volunteers so, except for transaction fees, all of your donation funds music, craft, or the herb gardens and, as a 501c3 entity
your donation is tax deductible.
Dr. Bessie Moore was kind to me. During one of her visits to the Ozark Folk Center I approached her to apologize for some misstep I imagined I had committed. She said "For Heaven's sake, no one died".