Pawhuska - The Pioneer Woman Mercantile

[SoonerDave]

Generally my opinion has been formed by those that knew her as a child. Her own words:



I will say though that her brother, Mike, is as genuine a person that there is. Have seen him around town several times and sat and spoke with him a few times. He didn't know me, but would converse with me like he was totally interested in my life and had known me for years. In case you don't know I think Mike has a bit of Down's or something. He's a bit of a local celeb are far more loved than Ree will ever be.



http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/it_takes_a_vill/

I think Ree is probably fairly on point here.

So she likes ballet and classical music, and that alone makes her some sort of fake? That quote is hardly a smoking gun. It's not like she came out and trashed small towns and called everyone in them some sort of filthy name. For heaven's sake, she abandoned that life to marry the man she fell in love with, so while she's obviously not the "average" small town citizen by any means, it hardly seems she's a *complete* phony - or surely unfair to make that inference based solely on that quote.

Look, I'm no "groupie," and I'm at best a passing fan - my wife is the one who enjoys trying her recipes because they are simple and, generally, they work out fairly well. I also realize how TV manipulates the impressions and perceptions of people, and who knows - maybe off camera she is a ravening witch who spews small-town hatred from the second she's off camera. I just have a hard time believing it, and I"m going to give her the benefit of the doubt. No one is forcing her or her husband to go to the restaurant and store and visit the people who are spending money there, there are no TV cameras filming it as a photo-op or promo for her show, or for one of her cookbooks, and to the extent we can see her public personal she is arguably as much or more genuine than most of the food-related "celebs" out there. At some point, if she's really that much a fake, it's on her conscience, not mine.

[Eric]

So she likes ballet and classical music, and that alone makes her some sort of fake? That quote is hardly a smoking gun. It's not like she came out and trashed small towns and called everyone in them some sort of filthy name. For heaven's sake, she abandoned that life to marry the man she fell in love with, so while she's obviously not the "average" small town citizen by any means, it hardly seems she's a *complete* phony - or surely unfair to make that inference based solely on that quote.

Look, I'm no "groupie," and I'm at best a passing fan - my wife is the one who enjoys trying her recipes because they are simple and, generally, they work out fairly well. I also realize how TV manipulates the impressions and perceptions of people, and who knows - maybe off camera she is a ravening witch who spews small-town hatred from the second she's off camera. I just have a hard time believing it, and I"m going to give her the benefit of the doubt. No one is forcing her or her husband to go to the restaurant and store and visit the people who are spending money there, there are no TV cameras filming it as a photo-op or promo for her show, or for one of her cookbooks, and to the extent we can see her public personal she is arguably as much or more genuine than most of the food-related "celebs" out there. At some point, if she's really that much a fake, it's on her conscience, not mine.

All I'm saying is it is no coincidence you will not see the same type of billboards for the most famous person from the area in a long time. But you will for her brother. Think about that for a second. We don't exactly have a lot of celebs up here, and more than most we almost downplay the fact that she is from here. She only seems to be a celebrity outside of this area. Not sure what they think of her in Pawhuska though so... And her brother was "famous" before Ree was, because he was always at the mall or whatnot just talking with people. Getting to know them. I know it's likely cause he is "different" but still, he doesn't have to. He cares. He has heart. It is a noticeable thing you know. While you can say you think people are hard on her for being famous (maybe some are), I don't just discount the feelings and opinions of a lot of people that knew her growing up, and as an adult.