Jim Owen Float Trip down the White River of Missouri 1940

The Branson Regional Arts Council is working to preserve and protect the legacy of Jim Owen and his 1936 Historic Owen Theatre built in downtown Branson, Missouri. Branson's first theatre became the home to the Arts Council in January 2018 and now serves as the area's official Community Theatre and Conservatory of the Performing and Visual Arts.
The Historic Owen Theatre Capital Campaign Fund is managed by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, and donations to this cause are welcome and appreciated. For more information visit bransonarts.org....
A float trip on the picturesque White River in the Ozarks of Missouri. Home of the Black Bass. Conducted by Jim Owen Float Trip
Fishermen arriving at the Jim Owen Boat Line office, located in the Jim Owen Hillbilly Theatre, aka Historic Owen Theatre, in Branson, Missouri, the Capital City of the Ozarks. The are met by Elsie Bates (artist and HIL-GIRL) and Harold Herse, the business manager.
The film includes rare footage of the Owen Theatre, with a marquee for the film "Rascals" starring Jane Withers. The fishermen then stop by "Pop Owens" Drug Store to pick up their Missouri fishing license. Pop guarantees his "snake medicine" too. The head guide, Charley, and the ladies pay for the commissary. The fishing guides bring in the boats. Each boat is thoroughly scrubbed and washed. The boats are loaded on the trucks and taken to the Owen Boat Line headquarters where the equipment is picked up.
The headquarters is now the same location of the "Rock Room Art Gallery" inside the Historic Owen Theatre. Elsie Bates and Harold Herse wave to the fishing tourists as they leave the theatre on their way to catch fish in the White River, not known as Lake Taneycomo.
The following are a few of the well known Sportsmen who make these trips each year under the guidance of the Jim Owen Boat Line:
Ray Bergman - Outdoor Life Magazine
Harry Shuttee - well known Missouri Sportsman and outdoor columnist
Guy W. Von Schriltz - nationally known sports writer
Townsend Godsey - Director of Publicity, Missouri Conservation Commission
Allen Quinn - Editor, of the Hunter and Angler Column for Kansas City Journal Post
Ed Cochrane - Chicago Tribune
Robert Page Lincoln - Sports Afield
Joe Sanders - "The Old Lefthander"
Gene Autry - Movie Star
Ivar Hennings - President of the South Bend Bait Company
The film also includes famous White River fishing guide Charlie Barnes preparing the evening meal.
The film concludes with the Fisherman's Prayer:
The Fisherman's Prayer
Oh Lord, suffer me to catch a Fish so large
that even I... when talking of it afterwards...
may have no need to lie.
Original video uploaded by Kyle Kosovich
• The White River 1940, ...