Eleven Point Float Trip in 1956

[Coldspring]

 Ford Times / October 1956 

Eleven Point Float Trip

   by J. Noel Tucker

       OF THE MANY RIVERS famous for float trips in the Missouri
Ozarks, the Eleven-Point is perhaps the most beautiful of all.  A
clear, swift stream, it is readily accessible to the motorist
traveling U.S. Highway 160 or State 19, both of which cross the river
near the small town of Alton, Missouri.
        Alton makes a good base for float operations.  Good motels,
restaurants and sporting goods stores are available, and inquiries
around the town square bring information on boat rentals, guides and
river conditions.
        The most favored method of floating Missouri rivers, including the
Eleven-Point, is by johnboat, the native craft of the Ozarks.  This
boat -- flat-bottomed, square-ended, and twenty feet long on the
average --- has evolved over the years into something particularly
suited to Ozarks streams, which vary in depth and take sudden, swift
turns.  The origin of the name is lost, but visitors use it more than
natives.  In spring, or whenever the water is high, a johnboat is the
safest conveyance; in times of low water, other float-trip craft are
used.
        My son, Byron, and I made our float in October in our eight foot
dinghy which fits nicely in our Ford station wagon.  We chose the
dinghy for that reason, and we chose October for its beauty along the
Eleven-Point.
        We drove into Alton as the first rays of the sun touched the Baptist
Church, and continued around the town square on State 19.  Two miles
from town we turned right on a dirt road and entered Clark National
Forest, passing the Brasswell fire tower.  From this point to the
river, we saw October's work --- tall hickories, yellow-gold in the
morning sun, bright scarlet gum trees, clumps of sugarleaf pine adding
green accents.
        The road reached the river opposite Turner's Mill, a famous landmark
build long ago.  From Turner's Mill to the confluence of Greer Spring
Branch you'll find good rainbow trout.  The water from the Spring
Branch is cold and clear --- right for trout, but too cold for bass.
        Launching our boat, we drifted lazily along with the current through
the still October scenery, the river making its secret sounds among
the stones of its bed. I was using a fly rod and a Number Twelve Gray
Hackle, Byron a casting rod and topwater lure.  A rainbow struck my
fly with a rush that carried into the air in a gleaming arc.  I
stopped him before he reached a big tangle of roots and led him to the
boat.  He weight a good two pounds.
        We had floated down through the trout water before we knew it.  In a
deep, green hole at the base of a high cliff, Byron hooked and landed
his first bass, and not long afterwards a pike.  Another party had
beached its johnboats nearby.  They had a small fire going on a gravel
bar.  We smelled the fine odors of woodsmoke and coffee, and gladly
accepted an invitation to share the coffee.
        Moving on, we made noon camp on a sand spit and ate lunch.  There,
and again and again, we saw several white herons who had seemed to be
playing tag with us.  As we drew near, they would take wing and fly
out of sight around the next bend, moving down another bend when our
dinghy showed up.
        As an artist, I couldn't help being impressed by the constantly
changing landscape and the vividness of the fall color which seemed to
set the banks of the Eleven-Point ablaze.  This was our first float
trip, but it will not be our last.  Our memories of woodsmoke, October
sun, and the river sliding along; of the swift underwater flash of
trout or bass; and of the new view around the next bend, and the next,
and next.

[timinmo]

Great vintage stuff.  Thank you for posting. 

[moodyfour]

That is awesome. Thanks for posting!!

[steve l]

Nice!  Trying to figure if the reference to the the green hole at the base of a cliff is Stinking Pond?  The third drawing could be if you take into account artistic license?

[Brian Sloss]

and 63 years of the river changing

 

[Coldspring]

17 hours ago, steve l said:

Nice!  Trying to figure if the reference to the the green hole at the base of a cliff is Stinking Pond?  The third drawing could be if you take into account artistic license?

The watercolor art is great.  I have thumbed through several editions of this magazine, it was a great era for illustration.  The famed Charley Harper was also an illustrator of Ford Times, which was a publication given to purchasers of Ford Motors products to promote its brand and travel.   It would be nice to have the originals on a wall.