The Ozark Folk Center State Park's 50th Anniversary (1973-2023) celebrates the success of its folk preservation efforts and the people that made it possible. Jimmie and Cleda Driftwood worked tirelessly on efforts to create the Folk Center. From the first artisans and musicians to the apprentices who learned their trade at the state park, the skills, music, and lifestyle has passed between generations over the past fifty years.
The Ozark Folk Center also brought together two cultures: Ozark Folks and Folks from Off. The families that had been in the region for generations truly did play acoustic instruments and handed down ballads, with many songs originating in England, Ireland, and Scotland. These original families also included artisans adept at working with available materials, especially fiber and wood. The Ozark Folk Center attracted another culture, the so-called back-to-the-landers, many of whom moved to the Mountain View area because of this new state park. In Mountain View you still hear the Old English phrase from off to describe people who are from "away."
The Folk Center opened in 1973 and it readily became apparent that funds were
needed to train artisans and fund other necessities. In 1974, Dr. Bessie Boehm Moore created the Committee of One Hundred for the Ozark Folk Center, a group of women from throughout Arkansas who raised money for, among other things, the craft apprenticeship program. This apprentice program, and the craft opportunities at the Park attracted folks from off.
In 1998, the Music Roots program began and has since introduced folk music to almost 2,000 children through free music classes held during the school day. Free loaned instruments are also part of the programs and include the guitar, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, and autoharp. Some of these students have gone on to be professional musicians.
Another successful program is the Heritage Herb Garden and this repository of culinary and medicinal herbs attracts scholars from throughout the country to the Folk Center each year for herbal workshops and celebrations.
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