Steve Hartley, owner of Dick's 5 & 10 in historic downtown Branson, isn't slowing down in response to economic conditions. He's just done his annual inventory, and it amounts to about 160,000 items. That doesn't include the stock rooms, he said.
Hartley already is putting out new merchandise for spring, he said.
He recently spent four days at markets in Atlanta and will head for the Toy Fair in New York City in mid-February. Of course, he has to play with the toys to make sure kids will enjoy them, he admitted.
Sometimes in a touchy economy, vendors produce fewer new items, but Hartley said he's been pleasantly surprised by the variety available this year. One of his popular items is Betty Boop merchandise. The store also carries hardware, kitchenware and notions of all sorts.
"I'm so excited about this year," Hartley said. "2008 ended up OK, but we're bullish on 2009. I think people will want to get out."
Dick's 5 & 10, 103 W. Main St., is a well-known Branson attraction. Steve's father, Dick Hartley - who passed away in 2006 - opened the store in 1961. Steve recently was joined in the business by his brother-in-law, Dave Montgomery.
Learning is business at Ripley's
Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum has been open year-round in Branson for 17 years, and one thing officials have learned is that schoolteachers are among the best customers, said Marketing Director Heather Cognito. Most group tours through the museum are children from area schools and churches.
"For one thing, it's a great way for kids to see something of other cultures," Cognito said. She invites teachers to tour the museum with its 400 artifacts in advance, and helps them develop a curriculum.
Music teachers, for example, enjoy the variety of unique instruments, and many teachers bring new classes each year to the museum, which operates daily 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
The museum's Web site, www.ripleysbranson.com, claims the building - a replica of a structure that endured a severe earthquake in 1812 in New Madrid - is the most photographed in Branson.
Robert Ripley was a cartoonist who visited more than 200 countries pursuing the unusual. Items are displayed in 27 museums. About 80 percent of items in each museum is unique, although each site also has some common oddities such as two-headed cows. Ripley, who was born on Christmas Day, died of a heart attack in 1949 at the age of 58.
Watch ice carvers
The owners of the World's Largest Titanic Museum Attraction are masters of the special event. It's been part of the Joslyns' business plan since they opened in 2006, said Mary Kellogg Joslyn.
She and her husband, John Joslyn, are huge collectors of Titanic items, and currently are building a Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., to open in 2010.
The Branson museum was scheduled to hold its third annual ice-carving event Jan. 17. Ice sculptors from across the country were invited to transform 250-pound blocks of ice into unique designs - all done outside near the ship's bow.
Weather permitting, they'll keep the sculptures in place for a few days so people can view them while driving through the parking lot. The museum also offers an exterior Web cam at www.titanicbranson.com.
About 5,000 people attended the ice-carving event last year, including visitors from Oklahoma, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, Mary Joslyn said. About 40 percent also went through the attraction.
Fish don't know it's winter
Phil Lilley, owner of Lilley's Landing Resort and Marina on Lake Taneycomo, says that winter is the best time to fish for trout. For fly fishing, he recommends a fly that resembles the tiny bugs rainbow trout like to eat.
"Big billows of bugs rise and fall with the breeze and all the while, our rainbows are cruising the film of the lake looking to pick-off one drying its wings on the water's surface," he said.
Among the fishing tips at www.lilleyslanding.com, Lilley said he also likes to fish where there's a choppy surface because it distorts the fish's view.
Lamar Patton, who bought Scotty's Trout Dock on Taneycomo near Branson Landing just more than a year ago, said the primary reason fishing is especially good during winter is because there are fewer people fishing while the Missouri Department of Conservation continues to stock the lake. In January 2008, the department put in 45,000 trout, said Patton, who also offers guide services at www.scottystroutdock.com.
During the spring floods, Patton's dock temporarily came loose from its moorings, but the rest of the season has been great, he added.
Kathryn Buckstaff, membership public relations manager of Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, can be reached at kbuckstaff@bransoncvb.com.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
