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It’s the people who make Missouri’s Silver Dollar City a treasured experience

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June Ward (left) visits with correspondent Tom Wilmer at Silver Dollar City's candy factory where she's worked for the past 55 years.
Missouri Partnership
June Ward (left) visits with correspondent Tom Wilmer at Silver Dollar City's candy factory where she's worked for the past 55 years.

Silver Dollar City amusement park, situated in the heart of the Ozarks offers incredible thrill rides such as the legendary seven roller coasters, but it’s the staff that makes the destination world-class. Many of the employees have been there for decades with a treasured few working there for more than a half century.

Gabriel Bllodworth & Sean Watt visit with correspondent Tom Wilmer in front of their Silver Dollar City glass blowing shop.
Missouri Partnership
Gabriel Bllodworth & Sean Watt visit with correspondent Tom Wilmer in front of their Silver Dollar City glass blowing shop.

Come along and join correspondent Tom Wilmer as he visits with some of the iconic artisans, including June Ward who’s been lovingly making candy there for fifty-five years. Back in the day June was a stand-in for Ellie May when the Beverly Hillbillies filmed a series on location at Silver Dollar City in the 1960’s.

June Ward, candy maker art Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, also worked as a stand-in for Ellie May when the Beverly Hillbillies filmed on location at Silver Dollar City back in the 1960s
CBS Television Studios
June Ward, candy maker art Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, also worked as a stand-in for Ellie May when the Beverly Hillbillies filmed on location at Silver Dollar City back in the 1960s

Silver Dollar City is an international award-winning theme park located in the hills surrounding Branson, Missouri.

D.A. Callaway (right) American Bluegrass legend visits with correspondent Tom Wilmer at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.
Missouri Partnership
D.A. Callaway (right) American Bluegrass legend visits with correspondent Tom Wilmer at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.

The theme park features more than 40 thrill rides and attractions, live shows and concerts, and more than 100 resident craftsmen, 18 restaurants and 60 unique shops—and it all started with a historic cave—one of Missouri’s deepest—and of course cave tours are a highlight and the roots of the theme-park’s 1880s theme.

Funding for Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer is provided by the Foundation at Hearst Castle

Foundation at Hearst Castle

Conserving the past to inspire future generations of dreamers and preserving the legacy of Julia Morgan. Experience authentically curated historical events that recreate what it was like to be a guest of William Randolph Hearst—click here to learn more about becoming a supporting member of the Foundation at Hearst Castle.

You are invited to subscribe to the six time Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast DirectoryApple Podcast, the NPR One App & Stitcher.com and more than twenty other podcast hosting sites including iHeartRadio

Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.
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