When Bob Neathery stepped off the train from St. Louis and got into a horsedrawn cab that would take them up the muddy street to the hotel, he said, his mother remarked that she felt like she had come to the end of the earth. They were in West Plains. It was 1913. Bob was five years old. He remembered that, and everything else that passed before his eyes in his 90-some years of life. And he told it to me in a series of taped recordings over a period of two years. "I wish I had someone to tell my story," he said to me one night as we walked out of a public event. So I did. Neathery was responsible for bringing the first radio station to West Plains, along with cable television, the Horsetrader, and the skateboard park.
Get a copy of West Plains as I Knew It
Vada, also from Elder Mountain Press and penned by Marideth Sisco.
Marideth tells about writing these two works.
Listen to or read the narrative of the latest installment of the classic Ozarks commentary by beloved Ozarks singer and storyteller Marideth Sisco, host of the long-running series, These Ozarks Hills.
my life and times 
I grew up in West Plains Missouri and was wondering how I can get a copy of West Plains As I Knew It
The Neathery family is handling that, but I think Tony Aid is carrying them at his Aid Downtown Antiques, on Court Square. If he doesn’t have one, I’ll bet he can get one for you.
Good luck getting anything from Mr Aid. I met Tony a few years ago when I came down to West Plains to research my family history. He was not very friendly at all. After reading his book I was looking forward to meeting him. When I met him he didn’t want to answer any questions and told me just go upstairs and look thru all the information they had up there. I only hope he was having a bad day that day. If not maybe he should retire or pursue another line of work. You would think that someone who writes about such a historical town would want out of towners to visit and ask questions. I was totally caught off guard with his response. But I did enjoy my time in West Plains and will return some day. West Plains is a great town with a great future.