Photo courtesy Shine Broder
Linda Caperton Broder and Mel Broder were the original candle makers at the Ozark Folk Center with their signature chunk candles.
This Ozark Folk Center 50th Anniversary Legacy Photo celebrates the entrepreneurs who moved to Mountain View as part of the back-to-the-land movement.
With admiration, Folks from Off
Mel Broder (March 9, 1937 – August 29, 2018) and Linda Caperton Broder (November 25, 1945 – June 6, 2020) were part of the 1970s back-to-the-land-movement in the country. Many people found their way to the Ozarks looking to reconnect to a meaningful life in less urban environs. They wanted to be involved in raising their own food, building their own farmsteads, and living as part of communities that placed a premium on the individual. The Ozark Folk Center was a perfect fit for these objectives. It was this shift in lifestyles that brought Mel and Linda to the Stone County area.
Melvin Ira “Mel” Broder was born May 9, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York. He was a born entrepreneur and always looking for a better way to do anything. He left the northeast and headed for Dallas in the 1960's. He met Linda there when he was working with plaster mold construction at the Dallas Furniture Mart. This is where he started thinking about a business making candle molds.
Linda Jane Caperton was born in San Antonio, Texas November 25, 1945 to an Airforce family.
Her parents were both born in Texas but lived in many places in the states and spent some time abroad in Germany. While living in the Dallas area, Linda bought land in Beebe, Arkansas.
After she and Mel were married they decided investigate the possibility of moving to Beebe. They were having lunch and overheard someone at another table talking about the Ozark Folk Center being built in Mountain View and the need for skilled craftfolk. That's all it took to get them on the road and investigating what would become a new turn in their lives. Mel was a good salesman and charmed Arkansas State Parks into allowing them to operate a Candle Shop at the new facility. This operation sold traditional dipped candles, small paraffin wax candles for children to dip in colored wax, and beeswax tapered candles. They also sold their contemporary molded candles which became their signature style.
At the same time, they built a candle making operation on their homeplace near Newnata, Arkansas. They started going to craft shows such as War Eagle and selling to the Ozark Foothills Handicraft Guild shops across the state. This allowed them to work from their home location entirely. They continued to sell their popular candles in the Folk Center Candle Shop long after they were no longer working there.
The Broders raised a daughter, Sunshine, in Stone County and we are thankful to her for the information she provided on how her parents found their way here. The Candle Shop still
operates today allowing interactive participation between the visitors and crafters, much as it was
set up fifty years ago by the Broders.
Through the years, many people have worked in the candle shop and this photo of Julie Stowe (right) shows the candle dipping equipment. These candles would next delight children as they dipped them in brightly colored wax to make their own striped candles.
This entry by Kay Thomas is based on a November 14, 2022 with Sunshine Broder.
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
donation to the Committee of One Hundred. 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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