Valle Mining Company Superintendent and Lost History Museum Founder / Curator Steve Frazier cited the Lost History Museum as one of the favorite stops for Pioneer Days patrons.  There, the walls and ceilings in all four rooms are clad with peeling wallpaper.  It is pretty run down, but what do you expect from an old building? This place is definitely worth a visit for history buffs. Of course some of the visitors find their way to the museum because previous generations of their families made the history on display. 

     "There was one elderly man came out of there wiping tears from his eyes," Frazier said.  "He said I saw a picture of my dad in there.   It really got to him." 

     There was an old horse buggy on display as I walked in. Most everything in the museum is touchable and hands on. Glass cases protect a few items. I saw a street guide that was dated 1901.  It was the size of an old postcard and as thick as a small address book. Many pictures of people and places were on display. Drusy quartz rocks were in abundance. All shapes and sizes and hands on if you wanted to touch or feel them. Only three people at a time are allowed on the second floor where visitors find a bed, a couple of chairs, and more old pictures of people on the walls. I like old pictures so I found this interesting, but lots of them lacked descriptions. 

     This year the 260th anniversary for Valle Mines coincided with the 180th anniversary for the town's post office, and the Pioneer Days Festival celebrated both.  The attractions, as promised, included hay rides, food, old-time craft demos, an open house at the Lost History Museum, live music and a flea market.  Frazier estimated between 1,100 and 1,200 visitors during the weekend.

     "For us out in the woods, that's pretty good," he said.  "We didn't have any big crowds all at one time, which I don't like.  We did have three days of steady traffic through here."

     I tasted the fare from food vendor Kim's Cafe of De Soto.  Proprietor Kim Dunn and friend, Kim Dames, worked the food booth and Dames's husband, Geoff Dames did the Bar-b-queuing. There were quarter pound hot dogs, pulled pork, grilled corn on the cob, potato salad, slaw and baked beans. I had the baked beans, potato salad and pulled pork. I found the portions to be large and the potato salad and the beans were tasty. 

     Cookies Galore proprietor Debbie Boren of Sunrise lake in De Soto sold dessert items, cookies and homemade pies.  Boren told me she hoped to open a shop either in the Festus or De Soto area selling her homemade fare using old and secret family recipes. 

     A nice young man by the name of Kaylob Roux from the Valles Mines area offered lemonade, water and quart bottles of soft drinks. Not much shade could be found and it seemed that Roux was doing a lot of business.

     There were no tables set up for people to sit and eat and I would have liked to see more food vendors so people would have had a choice.

     Susan Gilbert of De Soto's Primrose Herbs & Gifts makes lye soap, scented soap, natural insect repellent, jelly (sold only at the De Soto Farmer's Market) and an all natural, preservative-free first aid salve to treat cuts, burns, bruises and even chigger bites. She demonstrated the making of lye soap while several people looked on and some got in on the action. Gilbert makes this look so easy.

     "I believe that every person should be able to take care of themselves and not have to rely on going to the store all of the time," she said about how she started working with herbs.

     She openly shares information about natural products, her techniques, and a wealth of knowledge about herbs and self-reliance, something she takes to heart.  A $5.00 booklet she sells includes instructions and all of her soap recipes.  She gave out small samples of her lye soap to anyone that wanted them.  

     The Spotted Horse Antiques and Gifts, 200 S. Main in De Soto sells her products. Her website, www.primroseherbs.com, was down over the weekend, but she expects it fixed soon.  When the site is restored, it will offer the full array of her handmade products and herbs.  In the meantime, Gilbert welcomes email to susanbuddy@yahoo.com. 

     Coon dog trainer Max Poindexter was on hand with two of his five champion dogs, Georgia and Snoop Dawg. Poindexter would hang a coon pelt from a tree and then let the dogs go. They had no problem finding the tree where he had hung the hide.  These championship show dog winners were a big hit with everyone and the kids loved them. Poindexter and his family live in Bonne Terre. He says he has an out-of-state partner that raises and trains dogs.  He had skins from  several animals on hand including a black bear skin, claws still intact. This was probably as close to a black bear as I want to ever be. The claws were extremely sharp.  I also found the fur to be soft.  Poindexter said that it takes anywhere from three to five years to train a Coon dog.

     Two men demonstrated Civil War era weapons. They fired off guns and a lady dressed in Civil War era clothing explained that the bonnet, long skirt and blouse would be the same as everyday wear. 

     Frazier said that several Civil War re-enactors filled in at the last minute for others that no-showed.

     I visited the Valles Mines General Store to see what type of treasures I could find. Jesse Noble who was volunteering to run the store during Pioneer Days greeted me. He said that the store was open seven days a week to the public. It is more like a resale shop of odds and ends and very interesting. The store offers a laid-back, look around and see what you can find atmosphere. 

     The store used to weigh and accept lead as currency, as did a few other shops in town, according to local website, www.vallesmines.com.  Amongst its historical highlights, the building once saw a shootout between Confederate Bushwacker Sam Hildebrandt and Union Army Soldiers.  A tornado destroyed the original building around 1885 and the Valle Mining company built the present building around 1914 as a multipurpose space housing the shop in the front, a blacksmith in the middle, and stables in back.  It was renovated 35 years ago. 

     I drove a half mile down the road to where the festival's four flea market vendors had set up shop.  Michele Pelot of Fenton was sitting in for her friends.  She had brought along her home sewn do-rags. She said that she spends about an hour and a half to make each one. Pelot's design included a pocket in the tail of the hat that could hold a drivers license or cash.

     Nan and James Red of Valles Mines had lots of knick knacks and even a couple of chickens for sale.

     Delores Day also had her wares set up with quite a selection of stuff and she could not resist buying one of Red's chickens. She bought a little 3 month old banty rooster and named it Buck Buck. Buck Buck caused quite a stir around the area when he escaped and had everyone chasing him.

     The last time Valles Mines held a Pioneer Days Festival was 10 years ago.  Frazier said that he would meet with board members and push to do it more often. 

     "I'd like to do something similar to that, if not every year, then every other year," he said.

     Along with the Lost History Museum, the other favorite attraction, according to Frazier, was the hayride, though he saw in it evidence of an ailing economy.

     "We made about 11 or 12 trips on the hayride to accommodate everybody, but I'll say about half of them on there didn't have any money,"  he said.  "We just let them go anyway, you know?"

     The hayride only cost $5.00, which seemed to be a great deal for the hour-and-a-half, six mile round trip along the railroad right of way.  My granddaughters took it on Sunday. They got to walk through the tunnel to the old cemetery. According to legend they were told, when people use cameras in the tunnel, orbs show up in the pictures. They like being scared! They enjoyed themselves and were really impressed, especially with the idea that there might be ghosts inside.