May Kennedy McCord
She was called the Queen of the Hillbillies and the First Lady of the Ozarks. To others she was just May. But whatever name she was known by, May Kennedy McCord was one of the Ozarks' most important citizens.
May Kennedy was born Dec. 1,1880, in Carthage, Missouri but grew up in Galena, located in Stone County. As a child she learned the old ways from those around her. She listened and told the old stories, cured illnesses with folk medicine, and sang the songs handed down through the generations. She was continuing the heritage of the Ozarks. May married Charles McCord in 1903, had three children, and eventually moved to Springfield, Missouri with her family.
At the age of 40, she began a new career as a writer, selling a short story called "Buryin' in the Ozarks" to The Sample Case magazine. That story led to a weekly newspaper column entitled "Hillbilly Heartbeats" which ran in the Springfield newspaper for eleven years. May wrote about the people of the hills, their beliefs, and their lifestyle. She never belittled or stereotyped Ozarkers; rather, she celebrated their uniqueness.
Her newspaper career led to a radio job. She began a radio show in St. Louis in the 1940s and eventually moved it to KWTO in Springfield. The radio show was also called "Hillbilly Heartbeats". May told stories, read poetry, interviewed the occasional guest, and sang Ozarks songs for her listeners. May traveled the country telling stories and singing. May's guitar accompanied her most places and earned her the friendship of luminaries such as Carl Sandburg and Thomas Hart Benton. She was a director of the National Folklore Federation and founded many folklore festivals. In 1950 she was named Missouri Mother of the Year, a unanimous selection from among the thirty nominees.
May's career continued well into her golden years. Heart trouble eventually slowed her down, but she always had time to encourage those interested in the study of the Ozarks. She died in February, 1979 at the age of 98. A fitting epitaph for her life might be a comment she made when asked about the Ozarks hill people, "Tell 'em I love tem and I always will."
Works Consulted
Kelly, Susan Croce. "May Kennedy McCord: The First Lady of the Ozarks." The Midwest Motorist, Aug. 1973.
"'Queen of Hillbillies' Reigns No More." Springfield Leader & Press, Feb. 22, 1979.
Photograph of May Kennedy McCord courtesy of Lyons Memorial Library, College of the Ozarks.
