What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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Beyond peaceful vistas lie secrets of the past BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette S itting on a veranda, looking across the 462 acres that make up Branson's Top of the Rock, it's hard to imagine a more tranquil setting. The area was purchased by Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops fame in 1993 from Graham Clark, the past president of College of the Ozarks, and now boasts a 2.5-mile nature trail and cave, a nine-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, a practice course designed by Arnold Palmer, a Himalayan putting green designed by Tom Watson, a natural history museum, an all-American wine cellar, a chapel, a cabin and "endless views of Table Rock Lake and the surrounding landscape," says spokeswoman Shelby Stephenson. But Top of the Rock also includes the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum, inspired by an arrowhead Morris discovered when he was 16 years old and walking through a freshly plowed field on a fishing expedition with his dad. "It should be noted that one of Johnny's passions for Native Americans stems from them being our very first conservationists," Stephenson says. Not content with wall after wall of arrowheads and spear points, Morris has also collected a saddle pad that George Washington rode on during the Revolutionary War; the American flag that was draped over Abraham Lincoln's casket during his funeral; a canon that was used at the Battle of Gettysburg; a collection of photographs of Native Americans taken by renowned photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis; and a collection of Native American "war shirts" that is considered one of the most impressive in North America — all pieces of history that reflect what happened on this land before tourists and golfers came along. Brooks Blevins is a professor of history at Missouri State University in Springfield and is completing the third in a series of books looking at the Ozarks from its historic past into the 21st century. His first, "A History of the Ozarks, Vol. 1: The Old Ozarks," released by University of Illinois Press Top of the Rock boasts a nine-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, a practice course designed by Arnold Palmer and a Himalayan putting green designed by Tom Watson. (Courtesy Photo) JULY 5-11, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 3 GO ONLINE! Top of the Rock Covid-19 precautions specifically related to the golf experience can be found at bigcedar.com/golf. Events, pricing, dining menus and more can be found at bigcedar.com. Read More About It Buy Brooks Blevins' "A History of the Ozarks" volumes 1 and 2 at amazon.com or wherever books are sold. See Top Page 4 COVER STORY