August 5th, 2021 … Summer of Fun continues! Day 9 Route 66 Caravan – Springfield, MO

Today, we caravanned from Cuba to Springfield MO, yes we were already in Springfield, but that was Illinois! Just outside of Cuba, there is an Airplane on a Pole. It’s a small private airplane on a low pole, in a grassy field, just off the road. Labeled with the town’s name, Cuba. It pays homage to a Cuba small town airport. The refinishing on the airplane was done by students at Rolla Technical Institute.

I thought I was seeing things, because I saw rows and rows of grapes! Yes, it’s a vineyard! The St James Winery in St James Missouri. When they opened in 1970, Jim and Pat Hofherr reinvigorated the local Italian wine heritage by creating wines that were easy to drink and share with friends and family. They make wine that reflects where they are from — the Meramec Highlands. This rich, fertile region is a stretch of communities forming the heart of Missouri. The Meramec Highlands provide winemaking conditions unlike any other region in the world, and they believe that is not an exaggeration. Missouri’s distinctive weather patterns and the unique soil in the vineyards are exactly what they need to make wines that continue to win fans from around the world. Italian immigrants settled in the St. James area of the Meramec Highlands in the late 1800s. The railroad carried them to new and inexpensive land where the immigrants built a life and eventually began to use their agricultural knowledge to grow high-quality Concord grapes. Initially, these grapes were used predominantly for juice and jelly. However, the pristine growing conditions helped build new markets and more than 1,000 acres of grapes and over 200 wineries surrounded the St. James area by 1922. This community of winemakers helped make Missouri the second-largest wine-producing state in the US, until Prohibition wiped out the family wineries that had come to define the region. The ground was still fertile, but without any place to sell their wines, the families who had come to call St. James home were forced to close their wineries.

Is Uranus Missouri a real town? Uranus is located in the Heart of the Ozarks. It is a tourist attraction along the former US 66. Uranus has 25 residents but no formal local government and proclaims on the entrance sign, "It's Not a Town, It's a Destination." As a unique and popular stop on Route 66, Uranus offers a fun, offbeat, humor that is popular with travelers on Route 66 and I-44. Rumor has it, the idea for a tourist destination with a quirky name came from a brainstorming session among a group of friends. There is a fudge factory, a bar and grill, an indoor ax-throwing facility called The Uranus Axehole, and so much more.

Located along the banks of the beautiful Roubidoux creek, Waynesville is a true gem of the Ozarks.  Its roots go deep, far before the Civil War. Waynesville was established in 1833. Most of the native population in this area came by wagon train from Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and some from even further south. Waynesville first began as a trading post for settlers and trappers.  

Later, during the Civil War, a fort was built on the bluff that now faces Interstate 44 in Waynesville by the Union Army to protect the Wire Road, a main supply route that ran from St. Louis to Springfield. Waynesville is also home to one of the only Nationally Certified Historic Sites along the Trail of Tears, located in Missouri. From an era closer to our time, Historic Route 66 runs through the center of Waynesville adding charm and nostalgia to our vibrant little town.  It was Waynesville, in 1990, that then Governor John Ashcroft signed legislation that designated the 307 miles of Route 66 that travels through Missouri as a historic byway.  Missouri was the first state to award the Highway with such status and since then, our community has celebrated its history with festivals and events that are held all year long.

Yankee RV Tours secured a bus to take us on a detour off Route 66, to Branson. For a long time, the Southwest Missouri area was just like any other frontier, wild, rugged and unclaimed. Slowly civilization began to trickle in from more densely populated areas, and in 1882, a man named Reuben Branson opened a post office and general store in the Ozark Mountains and Branson Missouri was born! Locally, the Bald Knobbers Jamboree is credited as being Branson's first show. In 1959, the Mabe Brothers, Bill, Jim, Lyle, and Bob began performing twice a week in a converted building on the Lake Taneycomo waterfront. The brothers combined popular country tunes with Ozark Mountain music and threw in a dash of comedy to entertain audiences wherever they could find them. Jim Mabe created one of the most recognized characters in Branson history, Droopy Drawers, and has entertained visitors from around the world. In 1968, the Bald Knobbers built a theater on Highway 76 making their act the longest continuously running show in Branson.

We enjoyed a bountiful dinner at the Grand Country Buffet. The food was plentiful and good! But naturally, you eat too much! After dinner, the bus took us to the Clay Cooper Theater to see The Haygoods. They are definitely one talented family!

The Haygoods grew up in very humble beginnings in a small mobile home in the backwoods of The Ozark Mountains. In 1983, at the age of 5, the oldest brother Timothy was watching “Sesame Street” on PBS and world famous violinist, Itzhak Perlman, was performing on the show. Afterwards, Timothy was inspired and begged his mom to get him into lessons, so Mom Haygood enrolled him into classical violin lessons. Timothy’s brothers grew up watching him play the violin and they wanted to be just like him, so they began learning the instrument as well, except for Patrick who chose the marimbas as his instrument. In 1987, Timothy began taking country fiddle lessons. Due to his classical violin training, Timothy was an accomplished fiddler very quickly at a very young age. Pretty soon the Haygood kids were singing in harmony, playing fiddle tunes, and dancing as part of the act. As children, they played music and sang at festivals and fairs all across the Midwest.

In 1993, the family moved to Branson, Missouri and began performing daily shows at Silver Dollar City. For eight years, the family grew up at the theme park, performing six shows a day, six days a week while taking music and dance lessons as well as completing schoolwork. The drive and persistence of oldest brother Timothy resulted in the family show becoming the most successful, highest rated show in the history of Silver Dollar City. The Haygoods completed over 6,000 shows during their time at Silver Dollar City.

With a generous loan from Grandma and Grandpa Haygood, The Haygood brothers took a giant risk and opened their own show on the Branson Strip in 2001. The move from a theme park to town was more than a location change, the three oldest Haygoods also took creative and financial control of the show and began to make their mark on the show and music scene. The Haygoods became the youngest performing family in the history of Branson to ever open their own show on the 76 Strip.

At the end of a tough first season, The Haygoods had to make the decision to push ahead despite financial hardships or to give up the music business and lead “normal” lives. The choice was clear and they set out to make their show the most exciting on the Branson Strip. With Dominic as music director, they began to take classic songs and put their own musical twist on them. Familiar songs were updated with modern dance moves and unique harmonies. At the same time, the always energetic Haygoods began reclaiming their childhood by filming their wild BMX and paraplane stunts which made them a YouTube sensation.

In 2009, The Haygoods set about creating their own original music with the hope of reaching a national audience. Daily jam sessions and boxing matches led to recording studios and bringing in producers to help refine their music. Their first album “Leaving It All Behind” was released in 2010. Without any radio support, record label support or even digital downloads, the album sold over 10,000 physical copies in its first two months of release. It went on to sell over 100,000 physical copies without any radio support at all.

In 2011, a huge change occurred in the show and brothers Aaron and Shawn both left to pursue careers outside of music. The brothers leaving the show was a monumental change for the remaining siblings but the parting of ways was amicable and understandable. Both Shawn and Aaron continue to pursue careers outside the music business today.

In the fall of 2011, The remaining six Haygoods took two very big steps in their careers, they teamed up with the RFD-TV Network, a cable channel distributed in over 50 million homes in the USA and many more worldwide, to create a reality/music television show. In addition, The Haygoods also agreed to move the live show to RFD-TV The Theatre, also in Branson, on the famous Highway 76 Strip. The television show called “Adventures of The Haygoods” did extremely well on the RFD-TV Network and garnered very good Nielson ratings, especially for a completely unknown show. During the winter of 2011, The Haygoods toured throughout China playing 30 shows in 20 major cities in under 35 days. The Chinese people loved The Haygoods so much that a security detail had to be assigned to them for their own protection! The Haygoods remember the China trip as one of the greatest adventures of their lives.

In 2012 and 2013, The Haygoods became the longest running most successful first generation show in Branson, Missouri and celebrated with a SOLD OUT 20th Anniversary Show with over 2,200 in attendance. In 2014, The Haygoods moved their show and partnered with The Clay Cooper Theatre to build a brand new show experience, unlike anything ever seen in Branson. This show became incredibly successful with a phenomenal run of 62 SOLD OUT shows, setting a record in Branson.

In 2015, The Haygoods partnered with international star Barry Williams of The Brady Bunch fame to create a National TV show called “A Very Barry Branson.” This TV show explored Barry’s journey to Branson from Hollywood with The Haygoods assisting him in establishing his show in Branson, while also teaching him the country lifestyle along the way. This show premiered on the GAC Network in February of 2015. The success of the television show on GAC led The Haygoods to complete 72 sold out shows in Branson in 2015! In 2016, The Haygoods kicked off their 24th season in Branson and once again set the sold out record in Branson for the most sold-out shows in one season with 72 SOLD OUT SHOWS! In 2017, the Haygoods celebrated 25 years of performances by selling out over 75 shows in Branson! The Haygoods also released a second original music album entitled “The Lucky Ones” which was downloaded over 50,000 times on the internet resulting in music videos watched by over 200,000 fans!! Also, The Haygoods began taking the show on the road performing sold out shows in Dallas Texas and St. Louis.

In 2018 The Haygoods launched a new show experience and performed a full roster of 135 shows in Branson, Missouri selling out an incredible 80 shows! The Haygoods also took the Christmas show on the road selling out in Bartlesville OK, St. Louis MO and St. Joseph MO. The Haygoods spent an entire year in the studio as well recording their 3rd album of original music set to be released in Spring 2019. The Haygoods spent the winter of 2019 working on a brand new show experience, once again reinventing themselves, adding more state of the art special effects, more routines, more music and more of what has made them such a long term success for their 27th Season in Branson. The Haygoods also released an album of experimental songs on itunes rolling out the first new music in 2 years after 3 years of experimenting in the studio. The Haygoods sold out 85 performances in 2019 and sold out Christmas shows on the road in Bartlesville, OK, Lawrence, KS, and St. Louis MO.

For 2020, the Haygoods went back to the drawing board to create the 56th show experience they had crafted since 1993. Additions to the 2020 show included 2 new high power laser systems, a MASSIVE full stage immersive projection screen, over 15 new songs and routines, new costumes, and lots, lots more! The 2020 show opened on Feb. the 8th, 2020 to excellent reviews. A greatly expanded Christmas road show schedule was announced but unfortunately had to be canceled due to Covid – 19. For the first time in 30 years The Haygoods were forced to close the show for 2 1/2 months for the safety of guests in Branson during the pandemic of 2020.

During the entire shutdown the Haygoods worked around the clock and created 12, 30 minute, free, live music and entertainment shows streamed on Facebook, to keep folks cheered up all around the world. Upon reopening in May, The Haygoods were the first show in Branson to sell live stream tickets to stream the entire show on the internet, and experienced great success selling thousands of streaming tickets in total! The Haygoods operated the entire rest of the 2020 Season with social distancing and a greatly reduced capacity in the Clay Cooper Theatre for the comfort and safety of theatre guests. Due to decreased theatre capacity, every show The Haygoods played in 2020 was sold out a month or more in advance with hundreds turned away every show. The Haygoods felt extremely fortunate and blessed to be able to entertain folks and remain open throughout the pandemic, even under very challenging circumstances for live entertainment nationwide.

For the 29th straight year in a row, The Haygoods once again raised the bar with the new and reimagined 2021 show opening on Feb. 6th, 2021! Additions included new special effects, lots of new music and brand new concepts and ideas never before seen on a Branson stage. Plans for 2021 include a full Branson schedule, 2 new albums, and a triumphant return to the road around the Country for Christmas while playing in Branson as well!

After we enjoyed the show, the eldest Haygood, Timothy, came out to talk to us. What a special treat! The Haygoods’ mother came out too.

What a night to remember!