Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
como is one of the finest trout-fishing reservoirs in the country, thanks to the Shepherd of the
Hills Trout Hatchery, which releases 70 percent of the 1.1 million trout it raises each year into
Taneycomo's clear, cold water), or simply enjoy old-fashioned Ozark hospitality, the Keeter
Center and its staff of determined college kids is the perfect home base for your Ozark ad-
venture.
The students will deliver a sumptuous breakfast to your room every morning with
pastries they've whipped up at their own on-site bakery and yogurt they've made at the col-
lege dairy. At night, when you return from a full day of outdoor fun followed by a heartwarm-
ing, G-rated show at one of Branson's 50-plus live theaters, you'll find homemade cookies
and milk, again straight from the very cows grazing outside your back window. College of
the Ozarks students also run the on-campus Dobyn's Restaurant, a gourmet restaurant with a
Sunday buffet to die for.
“For these kids who run the hotel, it's not about a paycheck, it's about a degree,” says
Tom Healey, general manager of the Keeter Center.
Guest Dennis M. McLaughlin couldn't agree more. On a recent evaluation form, he
wrote: “I have stayed at three Ritz-Carltons and been a guest at several hotels at one time
or another among the top ten in the world (the Peninsula and the Mandarin in Hong Kong,
the Imperial in Tokyo, and the Shangri-La in Singapore) and they don't have anything on the
Keeter Center.”
There's also plenty to do and see on the College of the Ozarks campus. You can visit the
Fruitcake and Jelly Kitchen, the greenhouses, the dairy, the mill where students and a 12-foot
waterwheel grind whole grain meal and flour, and the weaving studio where students design
and produce rugs and shawls on traditional looms.
WHILE YOU'RE NEAR BRANSON
Branson calls itself the “Live Music Show Capital of the World” and that's not wish-
ful thinking. It has stars, glitz, neon, and even a paddlewheel showboat with dinner
and a ventriloquist dog act. From about 10:00 in the morning until midnight, there
are always shows going on, from hunka-hunka boy groups to gospel to, well, you
can just about name it. Andy Williams has a theater there, as does Jim “I Don't Like
Spiders and Snakes” Stafford. The list goes on and on. Every heartwarming show is
rated G and makes you feel good about being alive.
Shoji Tabuchi, a Japanese fiddle player who opened a lavish 2,000-seat theater
in 1989, won a Missouri tourism award for drawing so many fans to the state. His
show, picked by
U.S. News and World Report
as “unequaled anywhere for show-
manship,” features Shoji playing everything from country to big band, pop, swing,
