Let me introduce you to Kaitlyn McConnell, an Ozarks enthusiast and seventh generation Ozarkian, who explores and writes about the people and places that make the Ozarks unique.
Kaitlyn has published over 450 stories since the beginning of her preservation project started in 2015. The majority of her work is based on the Southwest region of Missouri, but occasionally flows into Arkansas Ozarks. She states, "My goal is to document the way life is now so it's better understood in the future." She was born in Webster County and raised actually, in the same house that her grandmother bought in the early 1900s. When she started the project, she continued working another job to support herself, then in 2022, she made the decision to make it a full-time business for herself. She said, "It has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of her life to be able to spend the time learning and sharing with others about the region. This will help us learn and appreciate and consider who we are."
Kaitlyn began writing when she was 17 years old. She graduated with an Integrated Media degree from Drury University and then moved to Norway. This is when her desire to write about the Ozarks only deepened. So, she came back home and started the Ozarks Alive. She has served as chair of Springfield's Landmarks Board and president of the Webster County Historical Society. She has penned a pictorial book on the history of Marshfield in 2011, which also was chosen as a Best Book by Missouri Life magazine, and published "Passport to the Ozarks" in 2019, and recently Volume 2 has been released.
At her talk, “Buried History: Death, Funeral and Burial Customs of the Ozarks,” Kaitlyn took us on a journey through discussion and photos of the different places that she has visited. Discussed were the different superstitions to services to the headstones and meanings. The topics were how the Ozarks and other regions have different and some similar tasks. She also shared the works that others in the know have shared on these topics. This has been documented as a part of an ongoing oral history series being produced by Missouri State University Libraries and Ozarks Alive. She explained how the different topics have evolved with time. She spoke about the coin method, the laying out, sitting up with the dead, building of the coffins, Decoration Day different from Memorial Day. How embalming had evolved into what we know it today. Funerals from long ago to today and the differences in a time frame. She gave some history on the funeral home evolution and how women became morticians during a time period that was mostly a man or family business.
I will say this was a very interesting talk, and if you ever have a chance to attend one of Kaitlyn’s talks or check out her media, I would invite you to do so. As John and I travel, we often visit different cemeteries to look for history and to pay our respects to the military/veterans that have moved from their "Earthly Bodies." If you haven't ever stopped at a very old cemetery, I encourage you to do so and look at the different shapes of the headstones. We shared with Kaitlyn that we have learned from some of the caretakers that headstones would sometimes reflect the career that the person was involved in. There are so many interesting facts in what she is doing and discovering.
Check out the Jones Memorial Chapel & Museum in Mt. Vernon in Lawrence County.
To contact Kaitlyn, email: kaitlyn@ozarksalive.com. Mail: P.O. Box 2004, Springfield, MO. 65801, or follow her on media at Ozarks Alive on ozarksalive.com or Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.
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