Why Sons of Auxvasse Creek

I grew up in Calwood, Missouri (known as the Crossroad of the World) located in the Kingdom of Callaway near the center of the state of Missouri in Callaway County the only county north of the Missouri River to succeed from the Union during the Civil War. Callaway County wasn’t admitted back to the state until after 1900 hence, “The Kingdom of Callaway".

Calwood is where most of my relatives still live. One of my older brothers lives on the farm our ancestors moved to in 1855 and another older brother and my little brother own and operate Wright Brothers Store. They were the third generation in the store until recently a nephew joined the operation to represent the 4th generation since 1916 and a great nephew is working parttime to represent the 5th generation. My sisters live nearby as well and my hero and oldest brother is buried there in the cemetery.

Anyway, The Auxvasse Creek is the primary watershed east of Calwood and Crows Fork Creek is the primary watershed west of Calwood. The Auxvasse and Crows Fork creeks join south of Calwood to form the Missouri River. As a kids in a small (about 40 people) town we would spend a lot of time at the Auxvasse Creek fishing, swimming or for some of the kids that’s where they took their baths. If we went east of Calwood it was about a mile to the creek, if we went south it was about 3 miles or north it was about 3 miles as well. We could ride our bikes, walk or hitchhike when the trucks were hauling out creek gravel. As we got older we often went to the Auxvasse Creek after hauling hay (the small square bales) to wash off the sweat and hay residue.

The Auxvasse Creek is where they baptized folks that joined New Hope or Unity Baptist churches. Those joining Ebenezer were baptized in the Crows Fork Creek. The Auxvasse Creek has several holes, which is where the water stays when the creek is down or not running. There is the Dunn Hole, Ice House Hole, Horseshoe Bend, Grave Yard Hole and the Austin Hole. The Austin Hole is still one of my favorite spots in the world.

It was near the Grave Yard Hole that I nearly drowned my two oldest sons and myself in July of 1982. I was 32 and they were 9 and 7. It was the most terrifying experience of my life. The creek was up and we were in a canoe, when we came around a bend in the creek a tree had fallen across the creek which forced the water to go under the tree. We couldn’t get out of the current and when the canoe hit the tree our canoe did a 180 degree flip. I was in the back and the boys in the front. The current swept me away and I came up about 30 yards down stream. The boys were no where in sight.

I swam to the bank got out and ran downstream trying to find my boys. I didn’t go far until I decided they couldn’t be that far away. I began running back to where the canoe was when my oldest son popped up out in the creek. I dove in and brought him to shore. He was OK, I ask him if he had seen his little brother (looking back that was a stupid question) to which he replied no. But soon he said he could see his little brother’s hands reaching out from under the canoe which was wedged beneath the tree. He was trapped under the canoe. I dove in to retrieve him at about the same time the current washed him out. I did manage to catch up with him and get him out as well. He was OK as well. The canoe suffered some damage but we were OK if you don’t count the nightmares that followed for the next few years.

All of that to get to why “Sons of Auxvasse Creek”, it seems a fitting name for a team that was spit up out of her muddy waters. My oldest son and I completed the MR340 in 2009 while the other survivor of that July, 1982 experience brought food to us.