In the summer of 1927, Ada B. Clodfelter sold her property in Springfield (MO), where she had run a boarding house, and purchased the entire town of Garber, a tiny village west of Branson in Taney County with the idea of building it up as a tourist attraction. Located in the Shepherd of the Hills country, Garger was where J. K. Ross, the real-life inspiration for Uncle Matt of the famous Harold Bell Wright book, had his post office for many years, and it was less than a mile from his cabin.
Shortly after Ada took over the town, an official of the Missouri Pacific Railroad visited Garber to arrange for the appointment of an agent and caretaker at the village. The railroad anticipated that the little resort community, which currently had but one store and about five residences, would become a busy place, and it planned to list Garber on its map.
Already the storekeeper by virtue of having bought the town, Ada was not only appointed the railroad agent for Garber, but she was also appointed postmistress and elected mayor of the little village.
Not long after Ada took over Garber, she had a rustic hotel erected, and in the summer of 1929, she started a publication called the Buzzer Magazine, which she put out singlehandedly. The magazine promoted both women's concerns and the Ozarks as a resort region.
Ada had big plans for Garber. She was an aspiring figurine artist and wanted to start a toy factory. She also wanted to establish a church and women's home at Garber. Indeed, an old folks' home (which was an expansion of the women's home idea) was constructed in 1931, but old people did not flock to occupy the home.
Moreover, the town never took off as a resort the way Ada (and the railroad) had visualized. Its development was handicapped by a lack of good roads to reach the secluded village. For instance, the road from Garber to nearby Marvel Cave, which was already an established tourist attraction, was a mere trail unsuitable for automobile traffic. So, people who visited Garber had to arrive on foot, by horseback, or via the train, which only stopped at Garber if it carried disembarking passengers or if Ada flagged it down to pick up departing passengers.
Ada died in early 1933 at the age of 58, and her dream of turning Garber into a booming tourist attraction died with her. She was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery at nearby Notch, which was also the final resting place for "Old Matt" and "Aunt Mollie" Ross.
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