By Dr. Curtis Varnell
Vacationing growing up did not have the same connotations as it does today. My children think vacation means a week-long trip to the beach, a journey on a cruise boat, or Disneyland. I am not sure they would appreciate the great times we had as a family growing up.
Like many families at that time, we had more children than money so most of our trips were restricted to small one-day journeys or to staying at homes of relatives. I was twenty-two years old and a teacher before I spent my first night in a hotel.
Our first big theme park vacation was a one-day visit to Dogpatch. We loaded up the car with parents, five kids, and Connie, our next door neighbor. I am not sure how we managed in the days before the mini-vans but we definitely had togetherness.
Dad liked to leave early; probably because we were half-asleep and quiet and then, he would bring us back late when we were too tired to fuss. Traveling north of Dover, we journeyedthrough metropolitan Booger Hollow with its fame to notoriety of having seven inhabitants counting the one coon dog. We would stop at some of the overlooks, stretch and find a restroom and, eventually, we would find a location with a picnic table to use for lunch. Bologna sandwiches, soda, chips followed by watermelon was a real treat. Stopping in a sit-down restaurant is just not the same as sharing a picnic table while looking out over the deep valleys far below the Ozark mountain peaks.
What Dogpatch lacked in size, it made up for in availability. After arriving, a tram delivered you to the charming hillbilly village of Dogpatch, made famous from a cartoon strip created by Al Capp. Complete with moonshiners, hayseeds, and lazy backwoods hillbillies, the town offered a variety of rides and entertainment.
No standing in lines for a half-hour or more, we often could get off and right back on many of the rides. My favorite ride was Hairless Joe’s Kickapoo barrel. Rotating rapidly, the centripetal force of the barrel would force you against the wall and hold you firmly in place while the floor below you disappeared. Once, after two or three consecutive ride, one of my friends threw up with typical results. Vomit clung to the wall until the machine slowed, at which time it slowly slid down the wall with us. Needless to say, several others on the ride developed the same stomach symptoms. The log ride, stage coach, and the Po’kChop railroad were prime entertainment followed by blue-grass music in one of the several theaters.
Daisy Mae Scragg, Li’l Abner, Mammy Yokum and other characters from the comic strip wandered around the park, presenting short skits and generally entertaining the crowd. I could never, ever understand Li’l Abner trying to escape from the beautiful Daisy; I guess that demonstrated that the boy just wasn’t all there.
On a later, longer trip, we traveled to Silver Dollar City. An overnight trip, we spent the night camping at Marvel Cave, sleeping under the stars in pallets. Whipoorwills sang in the darkness, joined by a myriad assortment of insects, and the gentle snores of family members.
My kids are typical in that they travel in a mini-van, i-phones in hand, and with a video player in the back seat. Interstate highways, chain hotels, and fast food are major components of today’s vacations but I sometimes feel my family miss out on some of the best opportunities to share life together as a family.
