Betty Stroud and Bess Wolf were charter members of the Committee of One Hundred.
This Ozark Folk Center 50th Anniversary Legacy Photo is in memory of our
mother and grandmother, Betty Stroud, and dear friend, Bess Wolf.
With love, Mary Vandiver and Mary Katherine Vandiver, 2nd and 3rd generation members.
Betty Stroud and Bess Wolf, both Committee of One Hundred charter members from Independence County, were passionate supporters of the Ozark Folk Center. Betty was known for her love of baskets and for years her picture hung in the basket shop as a tribute to the craft. She regularly carried a basket with a crocheted pocket attached to hold small items that would otherwise get lost. One year, Committee members attending the Fall Workshop received a similar crocheted pocket.
Betty and, husband, Robert Stroud along with Bess Wolf worked on the Committee of One Hundred's acquisitions team purchasing antiques for the Folk Center. They located "Cap" Newberry's blacksmith shop in West Plains, Missouri, and arranged for the purchase of the triphammer and other items for the Center.
In the early years of the Folk Center, Bess Wolf taught folklore classes. She had a solid foundation in folklore from her years of collecting music with husband John Quincy Wolf, Jr. Bess told stories of their travels throughout the region when they hauled recording equipment to obscure locations capturing old folk songs. Bess and John Quincy's collection of ballads and folklore can be found on the Lyon College website thanks to Bess' efforts ensuring that the work would be accessible for future generations. (https://www.lyon.edu/john-quincy-wolf-collection)
Bess was responsible for the publication of "Life in the Leatherwoods," a compilation of stories written by John Quincy Wolf, Sr., about his experiences as a young orphaned boy growing up in an Arkansas pioneering family. This book provides a glimpse into settlement of the region and is especially poignant in its description of riverboats on the White River and the stevedores' singing which provided the cadence for loading and unloading heavy cargo.
Members of the Committee of One Hundred learned history, lore, and elegance from these two women who were so deeply committed to the Folk Center and its mission of preservation.
Entry by Lenore Shoults with input from Mary Vandiver and Mary Katherine Vandiver.
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!
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