In September, the Branson, Missouri American Presidents Museum participated in the fourth annual Museum Day, presented by Smithsonian magazine. Museum Day is a day when museums and cultural institutions nationwide open their doors free of charge to Smithsonian magazine readers and Smithsonian.com visitors. A celebration of culture, learning and the dissemination of knowledge, Smithsonian’s Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine, and emulates the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, DC-based properties.

“It is important that our museum to participated in this event, as it again showed our community and surrounding areas that we are a museum and cultural center for them,” said Stormy Lynn Snow, executive director of the museum located in Branson, Missouri. “We have so much to offer our visitors; we are happy that many in Branson, Missouri took advantage of this free day to learn more about our collection.”

The American Presidents Museum in Branson, Missouri is the collection management division of the National Center for Presidential Studies. The museum features dozens of exhibits tied to American history, many unique displays including a partial replica of the Oval Office, and hundreds of political artifacts and memorabilia.

Attendees to the Branson, Missouri museum presented Smithsonian magazine’s Museum Day Admission Card to gain free entry to participating institutions. The general public, including Branson, Missouri visitors, participated.

The Compton Ridge Fiddlers’ Convention has been an annual event in Branson, Missouri for many years, and many of this year’s participants have been coming for most of those years. According to several of the fiddlers, the Branson, Missouri convention has been going on since the mid-1970s.

One thing that keeps bringing these musicians back to Branson, Missouri over the years is the friendships they have with others across the country. One player said he has been playing fiddle since he was a teenager and these conventions — which happen in May and September each year — are his favorite events.

“We’ve had some good times here in Branson, Missouri and the music is heavenly,” said one attendee. “I never get tired of hearing the fiddle.”

Leroy Harris, of Purdy, who plays the guitar, has been coming to the convention in Branson, Missouri for the past 10 years. “I love this,” Harris said. “I get a chance to play beautiful music with some great fiddle players.”

Another player said the convention is also a good chance for him to spend time with his grandson, a champion fiddle player in Branson, Missouri. The grandfather-grandson pair enjoys spending time together playing music.

Organizers of the Branson, Missouri convention said they expect the event to continue to grow. “Currently, the convention consists mostly of sitting around playing music and eating good food,” said the manager. “Next year, we are looking at expanding the convention to include some contests and prizes. It’s always a fun event here in Branson, Missouri.”

The actual population of Branson, Missouri is somewhere around 7,000. However, a great many people also call the mountain areas surrounding Branson home. It was these mountains that greeted and served as home for Branson’s initial entertaining families in 1959, beginning with the Mabe brothers.

The Mabe brothers started as a Branson family who performed twice a week in a converted roller skating rink on Lake Taneycomo in what once was downtown Branson. This trailblazing Branson foursome blended popular country tunes with traditional Ozark Mountain music. They also treated Branson, Missouri visitors to a bit of comedy for further entertainment.

In 1968, the Mabe brothers built a theater on Highway 76, which runs through Branson, Missouri. Here, their act and audience flourished further. Today, the ‘Bald Knobbers,’ as they called themselves, are recognized for having the longest continuously running show in Branson, Missouri.

However, the Bald Knobbers weren’t Branson, Missouri’s only family with entertainment on their minds. In 1960, Hugo and Mary Herchend fulfilled plans to open a small, old-time Ozark village attraction in Branson, Missouri. The attraction was established on top of Marvel Cave, nearly 10 miles west of Branson on Highway 76.

Marvel Cave, which was located where Silver Dollar City theme park now sits, was the first attraction to draw visitors to the Branson, Missouri area over a century ago. Although various stars, mainly country music singers, began coming to the Branson, Missouri area in the 1980s, the city’s long, rich history shows itself in Branson entertainment – even today.

Visitors began being drawn to the Branson, Missouri area over 100 years ago, enticed by Branson’s inspiring natural beauty and plentiful outdoor recreation activities. However, people did not arrive then in the droves that now make Branson, Missouri one of America’s most popular family vacation destinations.

The early beginnings of the Branson, Missouri area involved minister Harold Bell Wright, who moved to the Ozarks in 1898. While in Branson, Wright lived at the homestead of John and Anna Ross. He later immortalized them as “Old Matt” and “Aunt Mollie” in his famous novel, “The Shepherd of the Hills.” Published in 1907, the novel offers tales of the strong, self-sustaining people Wright encountered in Branson, Missouri and its wooded valleys, among other interesting local discoveries and details.

The book, set in Branson, Missouri, sold millions of copies in multiple languages. It was so famous, in fact, that four movies were filmed – including a version in 1941 that featured John Wayne. It was Wayne’s first Technicolor film. Following the publication of “The Shepherd of the Hills” and particularly upon the release of the movies, Branson, Missouri residents began noticing a greater onset of visitors.

Lake Taneycomo was created with the building of the Ozark Beach Dam (also known as Powersite Dam) in Branson, Missouri in 1913. At this point, the Branson area became even more attractive to outdoor enthusiasts. The Branson area and such Branson resorts as Chateau on the Lake Resort & Spa continue to attract vacationers who prefer fishing, boating, swimming, hunting and enjoying the rugged natural beauty of the Ozark Mountains and Branson, Missouri’s plentiful lakes.

Nothing quite sums up the wholesome values of life in the United States like “America’s hometown,“ Branson, Missouri, USA. With a central location, Chateau on the Lake, Branson, Missouri’s only AAA Four-Diamond resort, offers the perfect meeting point for people from all over the country.

This all-American Branson, Missouri resort brings visitors a wide range of family-friendly entertainment that can’t be found elsewhere. Plus, the Branson area exudes a nostalgic atmosphere that brings back the days when you didn’t have to worry about letting your kids go out and play, and life was simple.

When most people think of big-name stars, they think of Hollywood. But here, with names like Andy Williams, the Osmonds, Ann Margret, Barbara Fairchild, Jim Owen and Hector Olivera, there’s no denying that Branson, Missouri offers guests some of the biggest stars and legends of entertainment history. Regardless of whether you’re a country-western fan, a comedy junkie, or someone just looking for the unique, you’ll find that in Branson, Missouri, there are plenty of shows and attractions to keep you coming back for more.

You can also see the memorabilia of the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West, including their personal photos and costumes. And when you visit Branson, Missouri, you can even spend time with Elvis and Marilyn Monroe (or at least spitting images of them) when you see Legends in Concert. The area provides a broad scope of talent and entertainment.

Perhaps the most impressive of Branson experiences is the Shepherd of the Hills performance, based on the book that helped make this Ozark area town one of the most visited in the country. See Harold Bell Wright’s novel come to life right before your eyes, in the very area in which the masterpiece was written. It’s a true Ozark experience.

Good, clean American fun doesn’t get much better than Branson, Missouri. Whether you see a dinner show like Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, take a dinner cruise on the Branson Belle, or visit one of the many attractions like Celebration City or the Hollywood Wax Museum, you can be sure that you’ll have the time of your life at Chateau on the Lake and in Branson. The beloved city of Branson, Missouri attests to the wonderful fact that wholesome entertainment can indeed be fun.