I first met Danette House a few years ago, when she appeared at the West Plains library, sat down in front of a small group of people, opened a book and started telling stories relating to the language of the Ozarks. My husband and I have read Vance Randolph’s books, and been entertained by his stories involving language, and we wanted to learn more about Ozark speak.
Danette quickly had the room full of attendees engaged, and it became apparent that she was no stranger to a classroom setting, or to teaching. In fact, she retired from teaching, after 31 years, in 2014. She taught 6th, 7th and 8th-grade English at Howell Valley, an independent school in rural Howell County. We have since enjoyed several visits, lunches and a dinner together – always talking about storytelling and Ozarks’ history and traditions.
The Journey to Becoming a Traditional Ozarks Storyteller
Last year, on a beautiful fall afternoon, I sat on a park bench with Danette in West Plains, her hometown. As walnuts fell around us – making shotgun-like noises on metal rooves of sheds nearby – she told me her story … of her journey to becoming a storyteller: “I quit teaching because the state regulations got horrible. I hated the testing. I felt totally competent to teach kids what they needed to know, but I didn’t want to lose independence.”
She also wanted to spend time with her new twin granddaughters. She added, “I had this idea to be a storyteller, but I didn’t know how to go about it at all. I wanted to preserve the past, and I had been acting in plays throughout my life in West Plains at The Avenue Theatre.”
However, as she explained, “At my age there aren’t a lot of parts for women. If you’re lucky, there’ll be a part for a old crabby woman; I’ve played a lot of that … and then I started working backstage.” Later, she told her husband, Reggie, “I want to be a storyteller.”
History Matters
She continued, “I don’t know where this idea came from, just out of the blue. I’d always loved history and reading historical things. My family has been here (Howell County) and in the neighboring county of Ozark County since 1838. I’m the seventh generation. They came in the 1830s and I can count them on four different branches on my family tree.”
She suffered a setback in 2019, when she had a kidney transplant, but after that, she pursued her dream of storytelling. In 2021, she talked to a friend, Paula Speranio, head of the Arts Council in West Plains, and told her about her desire to be a storyteller. Paula said, “You know, there is a master storyteller here in West Plains: Marideth Sisco.” Marideth has a radio show on KSMU, “These Ozark Hills.”
Danette recalled, “When I heard her, I thought, ‘I want to do that.’”
The Apprentice
Then, she discovered a grant, the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, offered as part of the Missouri Folk Arts Program at the University of Missouri. She approached Marideth to see if she would agree to be a mentor. Marideth told her that she wanted to meet her first. Marideth later told her, “When I met you, I knew just by talking to you that you had what it took. The last two people I tried to get through this program didn’t make it.”
The Story Begins
For her application story, Danette submitted a tale of her own family and a skeleton in its closet – her grandfather, who turned out not to be her biological grandfather. The program committee for the grants later told her they wanted somebody who knew the area and had her own stories, so she fit right in.
She and Marideth worked together for a year. She said it was like getting English assignments, and learning to tie the beginning and the ending of each story together. Marideth advised her to use her own voice – which includes the vernacular of old Ozarks language.
These days she will slip in and out of old Ozarks language. She speaks American standard English, but she will occasionally say things such as, “He done. She throwed. Plum tuckered out and clumb chimbley.”
Lineup for Storytelling
Before she makes her presentations, Danette says she types a story out and then, she will highlight key phrases. She finds someone to read the story to, and if it’s acceptable, she’ll scribble it into her official storyteller book (that she bought on Amazon). (She’s holding it in the first photo in this post.)
Some of her stories include these topics:
- Scotch-Irish in the Ozarks
- Civil War in the Ozarks
- Language of the Ozarks
- West Plains History
- The Dance House Explosion in West Plains
Presently, at the request of a local teacher, she’s working on a story to present to third graders. The teacher had heard about Danette’s stories of the Ozarks, and asked her to create a story and slideshow about the history of Missouri and in particular, the Ozarks. Danette went to the Missouri school’s social studies’ standards for guidance and created a presentation that features geography, Native Americans (Osage and Missouri) who lived here and the first settlers – who came mostly from Tennessee and Kentucky.
Telling Stories in the Ozarks
Danette says she’s happy to tell a story to an audience of one, and that doesn’t bother her a bit. Her biggest crowd appeared at her church in West Plains, at the 100th anniversary of the church building. She told people about William Monks, one of the founders. She said, “Monks took over the military law aspect after the Civil War. He made everyone who had been a Confederate miserable. He had killed 50-some men. The Confederates who were killed, their wives lost their land and had to pay full-price for back taxes.” She reckons at least 200 people heard about Monks that day.
She’s told stories at family reunions, tailoring her stories to the occasion and family information. Other venues include nursing homes, civic organizations and festivals – such as the Ozark Heritage Festival in West Plains, of which she serves on the media committee.
Danette is eyeing the prospect of applying to be included in the Missouri Speakers Bureau. She also said she might be amenable to becoming a new storyteller’s mentor.
When asked if she feels like she’ll never run out of stories, she said emphatically, “No. I’ve got a zillon.”
Contact Danette at 417-505-9300, or through her Facebook page.
