December 3 — The Monett Times Midweek

Good old Days Page 2 | Go Guide Page 4 | Dear Abby/Comics Page 8 | Classifieds Page 11

Free distribution to thousands of local residents Thursday, December 3, 2015 V olume 2, I ssue 48

The Monett Times

Midweek Monett Shopper

Serving Barry and Lawrence County, Mo., since 1899

Christmas at Rocky Ridge

- Page 3

The Monett Times Midweek

Page 2 • Thursday, December 3, 2015

Back in the Good Old Days EIGHTY YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 1935 • In Monett now are some accurate case records that look like they offer wonderful opportunities to persons who want to help Santa Claus a bit. The Kiwanis Club work among the underprivileged children has been going on a long time. A lot of things are known about deserving families that are not for the public ears. They are stories of bravery in the face of terrible distress in some instances. In other cases they are stories of the bad results of ignorance. Some of them are stories of neglect causing innocent ones to suffer. In many cases a bit added to the relief obtained would bring untold gladness.

• It’s getting so you can’t tell whether a Monett young lady is getting ready to whistle or knit. The knitting craze has hit the town hard. Knitters squirm in some manner, and the most common squirm is about the mouth. Other young ladies sit forward on their chairs, toe in awkwardly and lift the thread and loop it over the needle as though it weighed eight pounds a foot. The gum chewing knitter is another type. The jaws close on the gum as the thread goes into the loop and open on the purl. But the really nonchalant knitter has a pose all her own, sitting far out on the chair back so when she leans forward she can reach things easily. But you want to watch where you sit. It isn’t the cat you’re sitting down on every time. It may be a ball of yarn with several needles in it.

SEVENTY YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 1945 • A plan to present

Christmas gifts to all Gold Star orphans of World War II was approved on Dec. 7 at a meeting of the Monett War Dads. The social committee will call at each home in the Monett trade area, where a father was killed during the war, and will give a gift to the Gold Star children. Alarmed at the acute housing shortage in Monett, the War Dads also voted to launch a survey of the city to see what needs to be done.

• An epidemic of influenza has eaten into school attendance figures. Attendance figures for Monett schools on Dec. 11 showed a slight decrease in the number of absences due to illness, dropping from 239 to 215.

Meeting in special session the Monett Board of Education voted to keep schools open despite the epidemic. Superintendent E.E. Camp, however, said that plans for the evening Christmas program at Central school on Dec. 20 had been abandoned so children recovering from the flu will not have to get out that night.

SIXTY YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 1955 • In an effort to stop the spread of tuberculosis, county health department and TB Association staff will be helped by the local American Legion Auxiliary in an effort to X-ray all Barry County residents 15 years of age and older, with a goal of 14,266 X-rays in the county. Winford Atwell, Monett chairman, reminded residents there is no charge for the X-rays, which will be done at City Hall.

• Nearly 100 city blocks of new water mains are being laid in Monett by the Cannady Construction

Company of Monett.

Trenches are being dug and pipe — six, eight and 10 inch — is being placed immediately.

Several streets have already been cut through as the pipe laying has gotten underway.

The new water mains are part of a $340,000 project to alleviate the inadequate water supply system in Monett.

FIFTY YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 1965 • One of the biggest problems postal employees face is illegible handwriting. At Christmastime, when mail volumes skyrocket, this can become a major problem, Postmaster John W. Hunt said. Zip codes will help if the city and state are unreadable, he noted, and clerks in that post office may be able to figure out the person. Badly wrapped parcels are also a big problem.

FORTY YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 1975 • The newly completed sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church, 700 Sycamore in Monett, was slated for dedication on Dec. 14. The dedication will be the culmination of nearly a year of work on the new sanctuary.

Groundbreaking was held on Jan. 19.

• A $238,000 project to improve telephone service in Monett is in progress.

Southwestern Bell is working on the west, south and east sections of the Monett exchange to provide additional telephone lines, especially to rural areas.

All 111,000 feet of new cable involved in the project will be buried, reducing the likelihood of interruption from bad weather.

THIRTY YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 1985 • Despite stormy weath-

Proudly admiring his new Ford, the first car to be delivered in Monett in 1945 and the first to be sold, is Edward Sweeney, commander of the American Legion Post and a veteran of World War II. The Mason Motor Company announced on Dec. 12, 1945 that Sweeney had purchased the car, a blue sedan coupe, the first and only 1946 Ford yet received by the firm. Sweeney has returned to his law practice here after serving as a lieutenant in the infantry in the South Pacific. File photo/The Monett Times er, which threatened momentarily to douse both participants and spectators, and finally did just that for those at the end of the parade route, a large crowd was on hand for Monett’s first-ever night Christmas parade on Dec. 9 and thrilled to the beautiful floats, queens, bands and other entries which made up the nearly hour-long procession.

• Todd Fleer, five-foot nine-inch Monett High School senior, has received the ultimate football honor when it was announced on Dec. 11 that the Cubs defensive back had been named to the Class 3A All-State team. Fleer had been named to the First Team All-Conference.

Fellow Cub Skip Schaller was named Honorable Mention at defensive tackle on the all-area team.

TWENTY YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 1995 • Deciding there was need for another dispatcher at the Monett Police Department, the full city

council voted to hire a seventh dispatcher, effectively ending the debate on moving dispatch duties to the fire department.

• A major management change has been announced at the BarryLawrence Association fro Retarded Citizens (BLARC), resulting in a new administrative arrangement for the organization. The Clark Community Mental Health Center assumed day-to-day management.

BLARC executive director Nancy Allman was no longer with the organization, though if she resigned or was fired was not revealed.

TEN YEARS AGO Dec. 6-12, 2005 • The Monett Chamber of Commerce has decid-

ed to drop the community bus tours of lighting displays. Begun originally as part of the City of Lights campaign, the bus tours started in 1989 in an effort to get residents to put up over a million lights in town to make Monett “glow” for the holidays.

Part of the drop in attendance has been the success of the Chamber’s Festival of Lights at South Park.

• On Dec. 6, the Monett City Council had its first chance to look at architectural drawings for a new police station. After Monett personnel suggested alterations in the plan similar to the Republic station, architects from Creative Ink returned home with a lot of ideas to wrestle into their plans.

ON THE COVER: Pictured is the original farmstead, Rocky Ridge, where Laura Ingalls Wilder and her husband, Almanzo Wilder, settled in Mansfield. The couple started with a two-room structure and added additional rooms as money and time allowed. The two-story home features six rooms on the main level and three on the upper level. It is partially-furnished with items made by Almanzo Wilder. Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com

The Monett Times Midweek

Thursday, December 3, 2015 • Page 3

Christmas at Rocky Ridge Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Mansfield home will be decked out for the holidays

By Melonie Roberts

A

reporter@monett-times.com

rea residents will have the opportunity to step back in time to a pioneer Christmas this year at the Rocky Ridge home of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Mansfield.

Officials at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum plan to host a traditional pioneer Christmas, complete with samples of goodies from Laura’s own recipes, from 5-8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 4, at the historic homesite of the Missouri author.

Ingalls Wilder penned a series of books about her pioneer childhood, growing up in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and then moving to Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakota Territory before she married Almanzo Wilder and settled in Mansfield.

The stories of her traveling family and their settlements in various parts of the newly-developed nation became touchstones in the lives of many young readers throughout the subsequent years.

Starting with “Little House in the Big Woods,” Ingalls Wilder describes the daily details of pioneer life, from growing their vegetables in a garden and her father, Pa, hunting for food, bringing in the harvest and preparing for a cold winter. The family celebrates with homemade toys and treats, and Ingalls Wilder recalling the sound of Pa’s fiddle as she and her sisters drifted off to sleep each night.

In the next book, “Little House on the Prairie,” Ingalls Wilder tells of the family packing up and traveling by covered wagon to Kansas until they find a place to build their new home. There, the family encountered Indians and witnessed cattle drives, both new experiences to young Laura.

Next comes “Farmer Boy,” the story of Almanzo Wilder’s childhood on a farm in New York. Almanzo’s story eventually intertwines with Laura’s in “The Long Winter,” spent in the Dakota Territory.

A tour guide at the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield tells a group the history of the Rock House, a gift from Rose Wilder to her parents, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder. Plans for the English cottage-style home were purchased from Sears Roebuck, and the home was constructed in 1928. It was in this home that Laura Ingalls Wilder began writing the Little House series, the first four of nine books, “Little House in the Big Woods,” “Farmer Boy,” “Little House on the Prairie” and “On the Banks of Plum Creek.” Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com “On the Banks of Plum Creek” takes up the adventure when the Ingalls family moves to Minnesota. There, the family’s crops are beset by a plague of locusts, and a terrible blizzard threatens the survival of the family.

They prevail and relocate to the Dakota Territories, as told in “By the Shores of Silver Lake.” It is there that Pa puts up the first building in what will eventually become a new pioneering town.

In “The Long Winter,” Ingalls Wilder tells of the harrowing winter that threatens the survival of the town until a young Almanzo Wilder and another young man make a treacherous journey across the prairie to find wheat.

“The Little Town on the Prairie” continues with spring socials, parties and working to make money to send Laura’s oldest sister, Mary, at the college for the blind.

Continued on Page 7

A historic marker notes the site of the Rock House, where Laura Ingalls Wilder began authoring her series of books telling of her pioneer family and their travels from Wisconsin to Kansas and on to Minnesota.

The family finally settles in the Dakota Territory.

Melonie Roberts/ reporter@monett-times.com

The Monett Times Midweek

A look at area events this week

By Murray Bishoff

SPRINGFIELD: “Imagine,” the annual John Lennon tribute concert, is offered at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central East.

Jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon presents a Christmas concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

Drury University presents a Christmas vespers concert a 3 and 7 p.m. on Sunday in the Stone Chapel on campus.

Evangel University’s music department presents a music concert at 7:45 p.m. on Friday in Spence Chapel.

Song stylist Kim Crosby presents a cabaret show of show tunes and holiday must at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Springfield Contemporary Theater, 431 S. Jefferson.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.: Symphony Orchestra of Northwest Ark. performs with an airing of the film “The Snowman” at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson.

At George’s Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson, playing this week at Black Tiger Sex Machine on Thursday; the Belairs, Good Luck Slim and Here Come the Mummies on Friday; and Cody Canada and the Departed on Saturday.

At the Faulkner Arts Center, 453 N. Garland, University of Arkansas Men’s and Women’s Choruses perform at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The UA Symphony Orchestra plays at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 7. The Schola Cantorum choir performs at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10.

The University of Arkansas Latin American Ensemble plays at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9 in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, 340 N. Garland.

FORT SMITH: The Fort Smith Symphony plays a holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the ArcBest Performing Arts Center, 55 S. Seventh St. SPRINGDALE, Ark.: The Arts Center of the Ozarks Chorale presents its Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at 214 S Main.

BELLA VISTA, Ark.: The Bella Vista Men’s Chorus gives a Christmas concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Community Church, 75 E. Lancashire Blvd.

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark.: Native American flutist John Two-Hawks performs his holiday concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday at

the Auditorium, 32 S. Main.

JOPLIN: Missouri Southern State University’s sixth annual Seasonal Choral Flourish, featuring the Concert Chorale, Chamber Signers and Jazz Unlimited, will be offered at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 812 S. Pearl Ave. The MSSU Wind Ensemble will perform its winter concert at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Taylor Performing Arts Center.

At the Downstream Casino, west of Joplin, Ricky Fugitt plays country on Friday. Asphalt Cowboys play country and rock on Saturday.

NEOSHO: “A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” will be presented by the Crowder College Community Chorus at 7 p.m. on Sunday at the United Methodist Church, 224 S. Wood St. MIAMI, Okla.: The Northeast Oklahoma A&M College presents a Christmas concert with the “Lessons and Carols” program at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Turnpike Troubadours perform at 9 p.m.

Friday at the Buffalo Run Casino.

TULSA, Okla.: Lyle Lovett and his QuasiCowboy Band performs at 8 p.m. on Friday at the River Spirit Events Center, 8330 Riverside Parkway.

Tulsa Symphony under Ron Spigelman presents a Christmas pops concert at 7::30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. in the Chapman Music Hall at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 S. Second St. At Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main, performing this week are Gaelic Storm on Thursday; The Neighborhood, Atlas Genius and Wolf Alice on Dec. 7; August Burns Red, Everytime I Die, Stick to Your Guns, Polyphia and Wage War on Dec. 8; and Hot Club of Cowtown on Dec. 9.

Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience concert is offered at 8 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Brady Theater, 105 W. Brady.

TobyMac, Britt Nicole and Colton Dixon perform at 7 p.m. on Sunday at the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver.

BARTLESVILLE, Okla.: The Bartlesville Choral Society presents Handel’s “Messiah” at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Bartlesville Community Center, 300 S.E. Adams Blvd.

PITTSBURG, Kan.: The Pittsburg State University Wind Ensemble presents a holiday concert at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, 1711 S. Homer.

A Holly Jolly Tuba Christmas is offered at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Bicknell Center.

Pittsburg State University music department presents its annual holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Timmons Chapel, 409 E. Ford.

NEVADA: The Cottey College Chamber Singers performs Christmas music at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Raney Dining Room

on campus.

AREA THEATRE

AREA MUSIC

Go Guide

Page 4 • Thursday, December 3, 2015

SPRINGFIELD: The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s traveling show, “The Ultimate Christmas Show,” is offered at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

Springfield Little Theater’s stage version of the film “Miracle on 34th Street” has shows at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday, 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 10 with more shows through the next weekend at the Landers Theater, 311 E. Walnut.

Final performances of Springfield Contemporary Theater’s presentation of the musical “Xanadu” has shows at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday at 431 S. Jefferson.

OZARK: Ron Boutwell’s play “From the Harvest Fields,” reenacting the Biblical story of Ruth, runs through Dec. 19 at the Stained Glass Theater, 1996 W. Evangel.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.: Rick Elice’s play “Peter and the Starcatcher” opens at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 with shows at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m.

Sunday, with more shows Dec. 9 through Jan. 3 in the Studio Theater, 505 W. Spring St. CARTHAGE: “Uh-Oh, Here Comes Christmas,” a seasonal version of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” opens Thursday, running through Sunday, with more shows next weekend, at the Stone’s Throw Theater.

JOPLIN: The original play for children, “Christmas at the Old Toy Store” by Lyndall Burrow, is offered at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at MSSU. The Christmas play, “Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus: the Musical,” opens Dec. 9 and runs through next weekend, with weekday shows at 7:30 p.m., at the Joplin Little Theater, 3009 W. First St. A stage version of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” opens Thursday, with shows at 7 p.m. through Saturday, 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, with more shows Dec. 10 through next weekend at the Stained Glass Theatre, 2101 Annie Baxter.

NEOSHO: The children’s play “Charlotte’s Web” is presented at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Elsie Plaster Auditorium at Crowder College.

The Monett Times Midweek

SPECIAL EVENTS

TULSA, OKLA.: At the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 S. Second St., Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” is presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday, with more shows next weekend in the Liddy Doenges Theatre. Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is presents at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 with more shows running through the next two weekends in the John H. Williams Theatre.

The “So You Think You Can Dance” tour performs at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Brady Theater.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, with more shows Dec. 10 through next weekend at the Henthorne Performing Arts Center, 4825 S. Quaker Ave. The Broken Arrow Community Playhouse presents a stage version of “Cheaper By The Dozen” at 7:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, with more shows next weekend at 1800 S. Main.

South Tulsa Children’s Ballet presents “A Children’s Nutcracker” at 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at 9353 E. 95th Ct. BARTLESVILLE, Okla.: A touring production of “Ragtime: the Musical” is offered at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 at the Bartlesville Community Center, 300 S.E. Adams Blvd.

MONETT: The Monett Chamber of Commerce’s Festival of Lights runs nightly through December at Monett’s South Park.

SPRINGFIELD: An RK Gun Show runs Saturday and Sunday at the Ozark

Thursday, December 3, 2015 • Page 5 Empire Fairgrounds.

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark.: The 49th annual Silver Tea will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 at the Crescent Hotel, 75 Prospect.

The 33rd annual Candlelight Tour of Homes runs 3 to 8 p.m. on Saturday in numerous locations around town.

SPRINGDALE, Ark.: Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S Main, offers Breakfast with Santa, with treats and activities for kids, on Saturday morning. Time slots limited.

CARTHAGE: The Way of Salvation Christmas light show runs nightly Thursday through Sunday at the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix, 1900 Grand Ave., through Dec. 27.

WEBB CITY: The Midwest Clay Artists 2015 Fall Show and Sale runs Friday through Sunday at the City Pointe Shopping Center, 501 S. Madison at Highway 171 and Range Line Road.

NEOSHO: The 2015 Dickens Christmas Faire Holiday Market, featuring more than 50 booths of gift and decorating ideas, runs evenings Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Mills Park Centre, 100 N. College St. TULSA, Okla.: At Expo Square, 4145 E. 21st St., the U.S. Team Roping Championships Oil Capital Stampede is offered Friday through Sunday in the Truck Arena.

The Grand American Arms Show runs Saturday and Sunday in the River Spirit Expo Center. The Holiday Circus Extravaganza runs Saturday and Sunday in the Pavilion.

ST. LOUIS: Comedians Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood perform at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Touhill PAC at the University of Missouri.

Filmmaker John Waters presents a one-man show, “A John Waters Christmas: Holier and Dirtier,” at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

PICK

THREE

Murray’s top picks for the week

1

Winterfest opens at the Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts in Springfield on Friday, running from 5 to 10 p.m., and all day Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Visual arts on display augment live music performances by local choirs and instrumental groups.

Winterfest is like a stroll through a holiday landscape indoors, a pleasant and scenic way to while away an afternoon, with good music thrown in.

Fans who can’t get enough of Handel’s “Messiah” will have two chances for Missouri’s best performance competing this weekend. In Kansas City, Handel’s “Messiah” is performed with a 250-voice KC Symphony Chorus and Independence Messiah Choir with the Kansas City Symphony at 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Kauffman Center, 1601 Broadway. In St. Louis, the St. Louis Symphony and Symphony Chorus performs “Messiah” at 8 p.m.

Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Powell Hall, Grand and Delmar.

3

If you need your annual dose of Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Nutcracker,” you have several choices. The Moscow Ballet’s touring production, which uses recorded music, is presented at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central East in Springfield. Kansas City Ballet’s production, which uses a live orchestra, runs through Dec. 24 at the Kauffman Center, 1601 Broadway. Tulsa Ballet’s production, which also uses a live orchestra, runs for the next two weekends at the Tulsa PAC, 110 S. Second St.

2

Murray Bishoff is a veteran theatergoer, traveling weekends to many of the venues within driving distance, from Tulsa to St. Louis. From dance recitals to operas, he’s been there and shares his recommendations.

The Monett Times Midweek

Page 6 • Thursday, December 3, 2015

Smartphones overtake desktops for holiday shopping

By MAE ANDERSON AP Technology Writer

NEW YORK — If the beginning of the holiday season is any indication, it could be a merry mobile Christmas for shoppers.

For the first time, there’s expected to be more people visiting retailers’ web sites through their smartphones than on desktop computers or tablets during the first weekend of the holiday shopping season that begins on Thanksgiving Day. Mobile traffic during the fiveday start to what is typically the busiest shopping period of the year is expected to reach 56.9 percent of total traffic, up from 48.5 percent last year, according to IBM Watson.

And even though everyone who “window shops” on their phones isn’t going to buy, mobile sales are jumping too. Mobile sales are expected to account for 36.1 percent of online sales, up from 27 percent last year, according to IBM Watson Trend.

The bumps in traffic and sales come as retailers try to make

the mobile shopping experience easier by improving their mobile apps and adding coupons and other deals. Shoppers also have gotten more comfortable browsing retailers’ web sites as smartphone screen sizes have gotten bigger, making it easier for them to see photos of the items they want to buy. Digital wallets and apps that let shoppers store payment information are helping too.

“It’s very convenient,” said Seth Reineke, 25, an insurance worker from Iowa City, Iowa, who plans to peruse Amazon’s weekend deals from his phone.

“It allows me to keep track of time-sensitive sales without being tied to a computer or having to leave a holiday event or get-together.”

Overall spending this season is expected to be somewhat muted.

The National Retail Federation, a trade group for storeowners, expects industry-wide sales to be up 3.7 percent in November and December, less than the 4.1 percent of last year’s holiday season.

But online spending figures are stronger. Forrester predicts online sales will rise 11 percent to $95 billion. And mobile sales are becoming a bigger piece of that pie. Forrester expects them to account for 35 percent of e-commerce this year and 49 percent in five years. That compares to 29 percent in 2014.

Adobe, which measures 80 percent of online sales from the top 100 U.S. retailers, predicts 40 to 45 percent of all retail traffic during November and December will come from mobile devices, up from 37 percent last year.

Mobile sales are expected to total 20 to 25 percent of total online sales, up from 16 percent last year.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, expects that 75 percent of U.S. traffic to its website will come from mobile devices this holiday shopping season.

That’s up from 50 percent two years ago. Likewise, eBay says it expects mobile sales during the holidays will be “significantly” higher than the 41 percent

mobile sales made up of total revenue in the third quarter.

Thanksgiving and the day after the holiday known as Black Friday are expected to be particularly mobile-friendly shopping dates because people can use their phones to take advantage of limited-time offers wherever they may be. Adobe predicts mobile will drive the majority of shopping traffic, 51 percent, for the first time on Thanksgiving Day. “There’s a lot of opportunity to do ‘shopping under the table’ on Thanksgiving Day,” said Tamara Gaffney, director of Adobe Digital Index. “In between cooking, watching football and in general hanging around family and friends, there’s down time to glance at the iPad and smartphone and do some shopping.”

Take Danyell Taylor, 34, a writer in Washington, D.C. who likes the “easy access” of smartphone shopping. Taylor plans to start looking for holiday deals on Wednesday and continuing through the weekend, specifical-

ly for Converse shoes and Kate Spade home accessories.

“I’m going to sit on my couch with my phone and my laptop and buy from there,” she says. “I don’t plan on going into the store at all.”

Mobile shopping still has its problems, including security concerns, sluggish apps and hard-to-navigate mobile web sites. And much of mobile traffic doesn’t translate into sales.

But for shoppers, the convenience factor is hard to beat, says Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

“While retailers may lament their low conversion rates and slow download speeds on mobile devices, shoppers still keep shopping on those devices,” Mulpuru says, adding that shoppers “appear to have greater tolerance for imperfection, much like in the early days of desktop.”

Jill Markiewicz, 38, a personal shopper in New York, says she shops frequently on her iPhone 6s on Saks Fifth Ave and J.Crew’s mobile web sites.

There’s a holiday gift out there to make every TV fan happy

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES — Pity TV fans back in the day, eager to buy really cool merchandise tie-ins to their favorite series but victims of bad timing.

There weren't 1950s "Team Desi" or "Team Lucy" T-shirts proclaiming viewer devotion to husband or wife on "I Love Lucy." ''The Fugitive" board game of the 1960s pales next to a video game.

The 1970s "Flying Nun" vinyl lunch bag was admittedly cute but lacking designer flair.

Now, in this oft-proclaimed golden age of television, the goods are as

impressive as the shows themselves, and just as legion. Some industry insiders, in fact, are fretting that there's too darn much TV being made and warn that a bubble looms.

It may burst someday, but for now the bedazzling amount of TV-related products make shopping for small-screen addicts easy. Here are suggestions, all available from network and cable channel websites: BINGEWEAR: Help a bleary-eyed friend get comfortable while consuming every hour, again, of "Breaking Bad." From CBS' "The Big Bang Theory," consider

the Soft Kitty sleepwear set decorated with Sheldon's favorite feline.

To ward off the winter chill for the binge-viewer — and summon sitcom nostalgia — there's NBC's "The Office" Dunder Mifflin terrycloth robe, with the company name proudly but tastefully placed on the front.

FASHION FORWARD: What gives Raymond Reddington such style?

It's not just his wit, private plane and tendency toward violence. It's also the hat that NBC's "Blacklist" star James Spader wears as Red. The Stetson Mercury in brown can be yours for $189.95

to give to someone special.

Or keep.

A sharp-looking handbag is always welcome. For a devotee of AMC's "The Walking Dead," there's one emblazoned "In Daryl We Trust," carrying actor Norman Reedus' image as the character. In a nice touch for the flesh-eating zombie show, it's billed as a non-leather, vegan-friendly choice.

THE PROUD FAN: Know someone who would lay down their smart phone to help Taraji P. Henson's "Empire" matriarch, Cookie? Help them show that loyalty with a "What Would Cookie Do?" T-shirt.

For a "Game of Thrones" admirer who's been very good this year, you could fork over $250 for a replica of Jon Snow's longclaw sword — with the caveat that the recipient must avoid taking it out into public, for safety's sake. As a much cuddlier and cheaper alternative, consider a Direwolf cub stuffed animal.

"NCIS" fans are plentiful, but perhaps only a few could truly appreciate this: A 19-by-73inch cardboard cut-out photo of Special Agent Gibbs, aka series star Mark Harmon. CBS suggests the $39.95 "standee" would be "great for

your next 'NCIS' party."

Where's our invite?

THE OVERDUE PRESENT: Forgot a pal's wedding gift and can't recall where the couple registered? You can make it up to them with a suitable holiday present. Consider going retro with a set of NBC's "Seinfeld" oversized coffee mugs proclaiming "No Soup for You," or HBO's set of "Girls" coasters, with series' quotes including, "All adventurous women do."

A thoughtful added touch: Downton Abbey Afternoon Garden Tea, to drown a fan's sorrow over its looming finale on PBS.

The Monett Times Midweek

Thursday, December 3, 2015 • Page 7 Sears and Roebuck sold everything from textiles to pre-fit houses in 1928, and that is where Rose Wilder ordered the plans for the English cottage-style modern home she had built for her parents, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder. The Rock Cottage is located on property that had been owned by the couple in 1928, but was later sold after they returned to the original farmstead at Rocky Ridge in Mansfield.

A historic marker notes the site of the Rock House, where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in Mansfield with her husband, Almanzo Wilder. The then-modern home was a gift from their daughter, Rose Wilder, who continued to live at the original farmstead about one-half a mile from the Rock House. Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com

Melonie Roberts/ reporter@monett-times.com

Christmas: Ingalls Wilder’s daughter also became a renowned writer

Continued from Page 1A

The relationship between Almanzo and

Laura continues to blossom in this book.

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“These Happy Golden Years” details Laura’s experience as a teacher living away from her close-knit family for the first time. She would return home on holidays in a horse-drawn buggy driven by Almanzo.

The saga continues with “The First Four Years,” when she and Almanzo finally make their home at Rocky Ridge, in Mansfield, where the young family farmed and sold firewood for 50 cents a wagonload.

Eventually, they turned the Missouri homestead into a profitable poultry, dairy and fruit farm.

Their daughter, Rose

Wilder Lane, went on to become a renowned writer, authoring “Let the Hurricane Roar” and “Free Land,” both based on Ingalls Wilder family stories told to her as a child.

At that point, Wilder Lane was financially secure from the proceeds of her books, and she ordered plans from Sears Roebuck to built an English cottage-style modern home for her aging parents. It was built about one-quarter mile from the original homestead at Rocky Ridge, and it featured the modern amenities of electricity, running

water and refrigeration.

It was in the Rock House that, at age 65, Ingalls Wilder started penning “The Little House” series in pencil on legal pads that cost 5 cents each. Income from the publication of the books gave Laura and Almanzo a comfortable income to live out the rest of their lives. Since first being published in 1932, the books have been translated into 40 languages and continue to be an inspiration to young readers around the world.

Since Ingalls Wilder’s death, the properties have been acquired by the

Wilder Home Association and converted into a museum, preserving the historic structures for future generations.

In the museum is Pa’s fiddle, which is taken out of its display and played once a year at the Wilder Days celebration in Mansfield. Additional displays include period clothing, a carriage, photos and other family memorabilia.

The museum and homestead are located at 3068 Highway A in Mansfield. For more information and a calendar of events, people may visit www.lauraingallswilderhome.com.

The Monett Times Midweek

Page 8 • Thursday, December 3, 2015

Dad with rockin’ lifestyle rolls in and out of son’s life

D

EAR ABBY: When I was 19 and played bass in a rock band, I fell in love with a guy I’ll call “Brian.” He was three years older and also a musician. We had the best times together — we were young and wild without a care in the world.

But the years rolled on and we got older.

After six years together, I got pregnant. I thought Brian would be thrilled, but he wasn’t. It changed how I felt about him. I was heartbroken and lost respect for him.

I grew up fast, and put our son, “Ricky,” first. Brian, on the other hand, has refused to give up his rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. He shows up to see Ricky two or three times a month, but doesn’t even look at him. I can’t stand the way he ignores our son. Brian says I can’t alter who and how he is. I say, if we mattered to him, he would change on his own. This leads to arguments.

Which is worse — having my son grow up with an absent father who’s not “present” even when he’s here?

Or Ricky seeing us fight all the time, but leaving the option for Brian to be a part of his life? Or should I get my ex out of our lives for good, and risk resentment from Ricky because I moved on with our lives? — FULLY FORMED ADULT IN L.A.

Jeanne Phillips Dear Abby DEAR FULLY FORMED: If Brian didn’t care about Ricky, he wouldn’t show up two or three times a month.

What strikes me as sad, however, is that he apparently doesn’t know how to relate to his son.

Rather than exclude him entirely, stop the arguing and suggest that he and Ricky would both get more out of the visitations if he enrolled in a parenting class for fathers. Tell him that for the sake of Ricky’s emotional well-being, you would be glad to help facilitate it any way you can, including helping him to research some of them online.

DEAR ABBY: My 15-year-old son, “Todd,” has started seeing a girl he goes to school with.

“Winona” seems to be a nice girl from a good family. However, my son confided that her parents (mostly the mom) have started asking him all sorts of questions like, “I thought you were a good student. Why aren’t you on the honor roll?” “Do you keep your room clean?” “Would you change for our

daughter?”

Todd is a good kid and a good student (A’s and B’s mostly.) He has strong morals, lots of friends and is a typical teen. He isn’t asking for that girl’s hand in marriage! It’s their first “boyfriend/girlfriend” relationship. They just like each other.

Is the mom out of line, or am I being too sensitive? — DUMBFOUNDED DAD IN ILLINOIS DEAR DAD: Because this is her daughter’s first boyfriend, the mother may ask these questions because she’s protective, and it’s her way of trying to get to know your son better. Please try not to take what’s happening so seriously, because she’d probably ask the same questions if Prince Harry were seeing her pre-

cious daughter. That’s how some mothers are — until enough boys become so uncomfortable that they disappear and the daughter finds it so embarrassing she puts a stop to it.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.

Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order “How to Have a Lovely Wedding.”

Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

The Monett Times Midweek

Peanuts

Thursday, December 3, 2015 • Page 9

By Charles M. Schulz

Mutts

Garfield

By Patrick McDonell

By Jim Davis

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The Monett Times Midweek

Page 10 • Thursday, December 3, 2015

‘Annie’ on tour is led by a keeper of the flame

By MARK KENNEDY AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK — If you catch the latest national tour of “Annie,” you’re in for a treat — the original director and lyricist is running the show. That’s like drinking real Coke after years of only having New Coke.

The new “Annie” making its way to New York City to play the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn this Christmas is the 19th time Martin Charnin has directed a production of his heartwarming tale of a Depression-era orphan girl and her scruffy dog.

It’s the real thing.

“I have a responsibility to the audience,” said Charnin during a recent interview. “They’ve come for a reason. They haven’t

come for a new interpretation.”

Charnin, who turns 81 on Tuesday, is a keeper of the “Annie” flame, protective of what he created with songwriter Charles Strouse and book writer Thomas Meehan.

Messing with “Annie” means messing with Charnin.

“When you add a layer of behavior or you change lines or sequences, you are really disturbing the piece,” he said. “It’s like taking a skeleton apart, putting it together again, but the third rib is now the fifth rib. Uh-unh, because you won’t walk straight.”

The tour this winter will include stops in Arkansas, Delaware, Rhode Island, Georgia,

Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. Based on the beloved comic strip that debuted in 1924, “Annie” first opened on Broadway in 1977 and ran for almost six years, fueled by songs including “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “Tomorrow.” “’Annie’ has touched generations and each one of the generations that it has reached has a very fond, distinct, specific memory of it. Because they love it — they don’t like it, they LOVE it — they pass that memory on like a baton in a relay

race,” he said.

Charnin’s lyrics, which helped earn him and Strouse a best-score Tony, are playful and moving: “You’re never fully dressed/ without a smile” and “No one cares for you a smidge/ when you’re in an orphanage.”

Over the years, Charnin has directed “Annie” on Broadway, on the road, in the Netherlands and in Australia, among other places. But the story has also made its way into film versions in 1982 and 2014, and a TV version came out in 1999.

While he’s allowed some changes to accommodate audiences or eras — in England, he changed a reference to Lou Gehrig to the better known Babe Ruth — Charnin is loath

to mess with much else.

He was irked by the last Broadway revival in 2012, in which the creators played up wrenching economic stress, layered on thick New York accents and didn’t have the dog Sandy arrive as the final Christmas present.

“They aren’t really big things unless you have allowed those little things to metastasize and build.

It starts with a little heartburn and it ends up with a need to buy a ton of Prilosec. There are little choices that some directors make that go against the grain of what the show is about.”

The new tour stars young Issie Swickle in the title role — and she might be someone to

keep an eye on: Charnin has previously cast in the show such future stars as Sarah Jessica Parker, Molly Ringwald, Sutton Foster and a 5-year-old Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Trends in theater have come and gone, but “Annie” remains. Born in the middle of the Nixon administration, the show keeps on delighting.

Charnin said its message — don’t worry, things will get better — never gets unfashionable. “’Annie’ is riddled with joy, tempered by some satire, some sarcasm,” he said. “Being optimistic is really not a bad thing to be. If you took it out of the equation of how you’d live, I think everything would be ‘The Hunger Games.’”

Drama ‘The Humans’ by Stephen Karam will leap to Broadway

By MARK KENNEDY AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK — A highly regarded play about a fractious family’s Thanksgiving get-together has something to really be thankful for this holiday season — it’s going to Broadway.

Stephen Karam said Tuesday his dark comedy “The Humans” will jump from off-Broadway to Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre, with performances beginning Jan. 23. It will mark his Broadway debut.

“I’d say it feels like a dream come true but it’s actually a dream I didn’t know I had. I was happy just trying to get the best version of the play out off-Broadway,” Karam said by phone.

“To be totally honest, I thought I would have a Broadway debut in the distant, distant future, maybe in my 60s

or 70s when somebody revived one of my off-Broadway plays with a star.”

The cast, all of whom are in the current off-Broadway production at the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre, will make the leap: Cassie Beck, Reed Birney, Jayne Houdyshell, Lauren Klein, Arian Moayed and Sarah Steele. Scott Rudin and Barry Diller are producing.

Tickets go on sale Dec. 11 and opening night is Feb. 18.

Up-and-coming writers earning such a Broadway transfer were much more common in decades past, but that trajectory is rare these days. “Young American playwrights tend to not get a shot at the real estate of Broadway. So I’m thrilled for him,” said Joe Mantello, the Tony Award-winning director who helms “The Humans.”

Karam was pleased sim-

ply to have the show up and running on a stage. “To see it come together — as cheesy as it sounds — that’s really the reward. That feels like the prize, when you’re able to make the thing that you’ve been dreaming of for the past four or five years.”

Both Karam and Mantello credited Rudin, who saw the play during previews and made a commitment to take it to Broadway within 24 hours, not waiting to hear what official critics said. Mantello said the playwright is one to watch.

“It’s undeniable, in my opinion, that this is a unique, compelling, essential voice for the American theater,” said Mantello. “Stephen will go on to write many other great plays and I think it’s time for people to jump onboard.”

The play will be part of a

one-two stage punch from the playwright in 2016: His adaptation of “The Cherry Orchard”

by Anton Chekhov will start previews in September at the American Airlines Theatre.

Karam, a 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his drama “Sons of the Prophet,” also wrote the plays “Speech and Debate” and “Dark Sisters.” A graduate of Brown University, his screenplays of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and “Speech and Debate” are being made into films.

“I like creating the illusion that suddenly I’ve just done five things at once,” he said, laughing. “What’s funny is I’ve never had a film made before this year and two got green-lit and filmed at the same time. I’m not joking: The shoots overlapped for two weeks in the summer.”

Ever humble, Karam, a product of the blue-collar

Pennsylvania city of Scranton, said he won’t be soaking in champagne to toast his success. “It’s so very hard for me to enjoy expensive champagne because I’m thinking how much it costs,” he said. “I think it will be awhile before I’m taking a champagne bath.”

THINK INFORMATION The Monett Times 235-3135 www.monett-times.com

The Monett Times Midweek

1a. Garage Sale

Thursday, December 3, 2015 • Page 11

16. Help Wanted

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