Officials with the Ozarks Heritage Research Center (OHRC) at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) will host the presentation “An Oral History of West Plains” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, at the OHRC.

The center is located inside MSU-WP’s Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St.

Traditional Ozarks storyteller Danette House, West Plains, will tell the story of West Plains by weaving together vivid details, personal stories, significant events and the lives of colorful characters, OHRC officials said.

“Within this narrative, we’ll experience both moments of great joy and heart-wrenching tragedies that made West Plains not just a town, but a home for generations of Ozarkers,” officials said.

House is a life-long native of the Ozarks. A seventh generation Ozarker, retired educator, and avid lover of history, House taught in West Plains for 31 years. Her Ozark and Howell County credentials go back to her three-times great-grandfather, Washington P. Hawkins (Uncle Wash) whose family moved to Ozark County near the North Fork of the White River in the 1830s.

As a boy, he visited a nearby settlement named West Plains. Apparently unimpressed he described it as “just a blackjack log house, occupied by a man named Howell,” according to House.

Hawkins served in the Union Army and later called West Plains home for many years.

The presentation is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information about the presentation, contact Rebekah McKinney at 417-255-7949 or RebekahMcKinney@MissouriState.edu.