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Discover Mid-America — July 2008

Years of collecting create
unusual Ozarks museum

As a young boy, Winfred Prier collected Indian trading cards, firecracker labels and “pretty rocks.” As the years went by, his interests branched into baseball cards, antique glass, firearms, lunch boxes, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis collectibles, black memorabilia, and much more.

After being married in 1961, Winfred and his wife, Leeona, devoted most of their free time to collecting. The result is the Golden Pioneer Museum, more than 5,000 square feet of beautifully displayed collections. Located in Golden, MO, a small town on Hwy. 86 and J between Branson, MO and Eureka Springs, AR, the museum building doesn’t confront travelers with gaudy signs and tourist trap come-ons. The one sign that did catch my eye advertised the “world’s largest turquoise carving.” Pleasantly, there is no admission charge, only an inconspicuous donation box for those who’d like to help maintain the facility.

In Eureka Springs a few miles to the south, my wife and I picked up a brochure that listed a few of the thousands of items that make up the museum’s collections, including the “largest double terminated single quartz crystal in the world - 1,250 pounds.” Probably quite an improvement over Prier’s original collection of “pretty rocks.” And there was more – a LOT more.

Florence Howerton, a volunteer, greeted us and described some of the things that make the museum unique. “This is the result of consistent collecting,” she said. “For more than 45 years, the Priers have spent at least one day a week collecting. All their lives they’ve worked hard in their service station and convenience store, and their one recreation has been their collecting.”

Professional, well-lit display cabinets are seen throughout the museum. “It’s a unique place,” said Howerton, “designed to show the collections to their best advantage.”

Obviously, a lot of thought has gone into the museum’s planning. Clean wide aisles separate the display cases, which provide their own illumination, making them stand out against the unlit background.

Winfred Prier said the museum began in 1993 when he acquired the Trail of Tears Museum, a collection of Native American artifacts and minerals. That collection was created by the Arlis Cogar family of Huntsville, AR, and commemorated the relocation of the Cherokees from the eastern U.S. to Oklahoma in 1837.

“When my wife and I first acquired the Trail of Tears collection, we put everything in storage,” Prier said. “For a long time, whenever we got off work, we’d work at the storage place, boxing and cataloging the artifacts. There were more than 800 pottery items alone.”

He said a second major acquisition was the Frontier Village Museum in Oklahoma City. The acquisitions make the Golden Pioneer Museum three museums in one.

“My wife and I collect just about anything that’s collectible,” Prier said, but admitted that Leeona was instrumental in developing the huge collection of antique glass that occupies much of the museum.

“Some of that glass is nearly impossible to find now,” Prier said. “We’ve got the only known National Star Cranberry Vaseline table set, and our frosted stained amber, made in 1899, is really rare.”

Prier said his wife favored Northwood, a Fenton rival that started glassmaking in 1896. Much of the glass in the museum’s collection is Northwood, including the iridescent, custard and much of the carnival glass. The Northwood Company closed in 1925, a few years after the founder died.

Display cases contain glass of all kinds — in a larger variety and quantity than would be found at many collector shows. When the Vaseline Glass Collectors group visited the museum a few years ago, they proclaimed the display of Early American Pattern Glass to be “one of the best in the United States.” Examples include Vaseline, custard, blue, red, green opalescent, clear and decorated. In separate cases are groupings of toothpick holders, baskets, vases, cruets, rose bowls, tumblers, and novelty miniature shoes.

The brochure promised a “giant quartz crystal over 4,000 pounds, plus many smaller groups, a petrified tree (7 feet tall) estimated to be over 1,000 years old,” and “hundreds of mineral specimens from around the world.”

Minerals containing properties that fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light are displayed in special rooms. The visitor flicks a switch, and the darkened room glows with eerie light in various colors. Impressive.

The turquoise carving, said to be the world’s largest, dominates a special case. A Chinese craftsman produced the elaborate work from a 68-pound nugget.

And that was just the “pretty rocks” part. Indian artifacts make up a large section of the museum, including more than 10,000 arrowheads and spear points, hundreds arranged in 35 “imagery pictures.” There are 800 pieces of pottery, beads and peace pipes from the “Trail of Tears” collection. This addition to the Golden museum also purports to include the world’s largest collection of “Tussinger points,” a trove of eccentrically carved arrowheads originally excavated in the early 1940s from the Spiro Mounds in Delaware County, OK. Other historic points are reputed to have been flint knapped some 8,000 years ago by Native Americans living along the White River in Arkansas. The entire collection may contain some 20,000 points, according to estimates given by Prier in earlier interviews.

Although it’s not the largest part of the museum, the Prier gun collection takes up five display cabinets and includes some unusual items. A Derringer pistol, one of few made and very similar to the one used in the Lincoln assassination, is on display along with other pistols, rifles and ammunition from around the world.

Still, the museum is a work in progress. Prier told me he had several other collections that would eventually go into the museum’s basement area.

“I’ve got an iron collection with more than 100 irons — charcoal, gas, funny designs. A lot more Indian artifacts, too, and a collection of BB guns. There’s also a collection of 55 car vases — the little vases that fancy cars used to have that you could put a single rose in.”

Prier said he’s happy that people of all ages love the museum, especially the kids. Many probably get a kick out of the “black light” room where the iridescent rocks are displayed. “Yeah,” Prier said, “I think the older ones call that room the kissin’ room.”

The Golden Pioneer Museum is open April 15 to Oct. 31. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 417-271-3300 or 3457.

Ken Weyand can be reached at kweyand1@kc.rr.com

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