A Bygone Era A time when one-room schools still populated the hills, and small-town teenagers in cars equipped with AM radios and stick shifts cruised Main Street after homecoming games. The Way We Were . . . Personal Reflections on Life in the Ozarks is a collection of articles from Lonnie Whitaker's award-winning newspaper column in the Howell County News in Willow Springs, Missouri. Engaging anecdotes and colorful characters from the author's life will transport you to a bygone era in the Missouri Ozarks of the 1950s and 60s.