August 2018 Preview

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VOL. 46, NO. 3

AUGUST 2018

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Make sure to eat at Paula’s when passing through SEMO

By MATTIE LINK

P

mattie@sextonmediagroup.com _____________

aula’s Home Cooking, located in Lesterville, Mo., is on the “must eat at” list for locals and travelers through southeast Missouri.

“We were located in Centerville for a year before moving to Lesterville,” said Paula Henson, owner.

“We owned the grocery store, too, but decided to turn it into the restaurant because it’s just more fun.”

Henson ran the grocery store for 10 years, and before that she stayed home to raise her children.

Before going in to the restaurant business, Henson did some catering on the side.

Trail of Tears State Forest Tower (above) and the geodetic marker at Bald Knob (below).

more

Tower power

T

By Bob Frakes he July edition of the River Hills Traveler featured a piece on the Shawnee National Forest.

I quickly received several emails asking if I had information on the fire towers there.

Although most of my focus has been on the towers in Missouri, I have collected folders on the Shawnee Forest Towers over the years.

In fact, to separate the towers east

B

By Roger Smith ig business and corporations seem to rule most of the trade in this country these days and there is nothing wrong with that.

Big businesses boost the economy and make life simpler for some folks, along with supplying jobs, but going back to a prior article in the Traveler there is a downside.

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and west of the Mississippi is something that was not done even within the Forest Service at one time.

You see, from 1953 to 1962 (in a head-scratcher for some then and now), the Fristoe and Wappapello Units in SE Missouri were assigned to the Shawnee National Forest headquartered in Harrisburg, Illinois.

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“I’ve always liked the food industry and it’s fun to see the same people and all the summer visitors,” said Henson.

According to Henson, everything she learned about cooking she learned in her home economics class in high school.

“That class taught me a lot of

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It has closed most of the “mom and pop” stores and made it much harder for the small businessman to survive.

Here in the Lead Belt of Missouri, small businesses at one time were our shopping venues, but as the area started to grow the larger chains started moving in and one by one we watched our daily shopping places put up a Please see GUNS, 15A

Page 2A • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Fishing for rainbow on the Meramec River

I

By Bill Cooper have enjoyed float-fishing trips in the Ozarks with people from all walks of life. Most proved enjoyable. A handful did not.

Recently, however, I enjoyed a daylong float on the Meramec River with Air Force veteran Travis Tackett.

Tackett grew up on the Gasconade River, about 40 miles away, and knows his way around rivers. He grew up catfishing and chasing crappie and bass, but had never caught a rainbow trout.

Our only stated objective for the day was for Tackett to catch his very first trout. I assured him that it would happen that day.

We shoved off into the current at 7 a.m. at the Missouri Department of Conservation Highway 8 Access. We were alone. Most floaters start much later in the day.

Tackett and I both took deep breaths as we negotiated the first bend in the river. The tumbling river water tossed intoxicating aromas into the air.

“I love river smells,” I muttered to myself.

“All I want to do today is to hide for a while,” Tackett said.

“That mission won’t be hard to accomplish,” I responded. “I don’t think we will see many people on the river on a Monday.”

Travis Tackett, an Air Force veteran of Afghanistan, shows off his very first rainbow trout.

“We’ll pull over on the gravel bar where Maramec Spring branch hits the river,” I said to Tackett. “The water is pretty skinny between here and there, so we will have to drag the canoe over the rocks in a few places. The exercise will add to our appetites. We’ll be there in 45 minutes.”

“Look,” Tackett whispered. “A deer.

How cool is that?”

A fat doe, perhaps still pregnant, had been drinking at water’s edge.

She slowly climbed a steep 10-foot bank and paused to crane her neck and gaze at us down the length of her spine.

Tackett yelled, “Got one.”

The first fish of the day turned out to be the rainbow fish of the Meramec. It wasn’t a rainbow trout, however.

The little fish was the spectacularly colored long-eared sunfish, which we commonly call pumpkinseeds. It’s colors of blue, orange, gold and black polk-a-dots shined with an uncommon brilliance.

“Man, if this is all I catch on this trip, I will be happy,” Tackett said. “This is so relaxing and I needed it. I miss being on the river.”

“I’ve been floating these rivers for 50 years,” I said. “I never tire of it. In recent years, our rivers have changed dramatically. Floating familiar stretches tells the tale.

“It’s kinda like attending a high school reunion. You can’t believe the changes in classmates you haven’t seen in years. Rivers are like that.”

We dragged the aluminum canoe up on the gravel bar across from Maramec Spring Park, the grating noises of gravel on aluminum interrupting the natural noises of the river corridor.

“Tackett, grab your rod and wade out into the river to belly-button deep water and start casting,” I instructed.

“I’ll start breakfast.”

“Dang, Cooper, that water is cooooold,” Tackett responded. “It’s early. I think I’ll wait until it warms up a bit, before I tackle that cold water.”

I broke out my old Coleman backpacking stove and started a pot of coffee.

“You can drink coffee, wade cold water and fish all at the same time,” I teased.

“The coffee and fishing sounds good,” Tackett fired back.

Within minutes we blew on hot cups of steaming coffee to cool it down enough to take the first sip. Sausage patties sizzled in the skillet.

“Life is good,” Tackett said.

“It’s gonna get considerably better as soon a I get these potatoes and onions and eggs done,” I said.

“Yep,” Tackett answered, while he made another cast.

“Come and get it,” I hollered, as I flipped the last eggs on Tackett’s plate.

Only the sound of the river flowing by graced our tiny camp as we dove into breakfast. Two miles of paddling had sharpened our appetites.

With our energy rekindled, we shoved off and headed downstream.

Bill Cooper cooks up a riverside meal of steak fajitas.

A huge sawed-off sycamore came into view. “There,Tackett. At that big tree. We need to beach above it and line our canoe around it. It’s a canoe-eater.”

Several deep pools lay within the next 150 yards.

“Start here, Tackett. Cast your spoon towards the other bank and let it drift.

There are lots of trout in these pools.

I’ll walk downstream a ways.”

I looked back upstream when I heard aluminum on gravel. Seconds later yet another canoe was swept under the sycamore tree and tipped over. The

couple reacted quickly and saved all their gear, but fishing rods.

A few minutes later, Tackett yelled, “Got one.”

I walked to him to see and photograph his very first rainbow trout. The grin on his face spoke volumes.

Far down the river, we broke for lunch. Steak fajitas relieved our hunger pains. We chatted, each expressing our enjoyment of the day.

Our wars were a generation apart, mine in Cambodia, his in Afghanistan.

Neither of us mentioned them.

August 2018 • Page 3A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Feather painter grabbing national attention

By MATTIE LINK

F

mattie@sextonmediagroup.com _____________

or many, it is hard to find a job that is also their passion. For Tina Richards, that is not the case.

Richards, 49, from Columbus Junction, Iowa, has been in the Branson area for 13 years and she’s been following her passion for six years by painting.

“When I started painting, I didn’t know I could do it,” said Richards. “I always drew and I used to draw cartoony things, but I never took art past grade school.

“My teacher would always have us sketch, I’m so glad that she did that because that really challenged us and it was always my thing.”

When Richards got older she would draw cartoons for kids’ rooms and church but nothing that really went beyond cartoons.

Six years ago, a friend took Richards to an outdoor festival at Silver Dollar City (SDC) and there she saw a lady painting feathers.

“I thought they were beautiful and the lady told me ‘it’s a paycheck,’ and that stuck with me and changed my life forever,” said Richards.

“This lady only did it for the paycheck, and I thought if she could do it for that, I could do it because I love it.”

Richards had never painted before, but found two goose feathers and then painted her very first feather.

Within the first year of her painting feathers, it took off.

Richards then got invited to several Duck Unlimited live auctions for her painted feathers and for her, it took an entire year for her success to sink in.

“Because I started on feathers, that was all I knew how to paint but Ducks Unlimited asked me to try for a contest for their duck stamp and at the same time SDC asked me to paint at their festival,” said Richards.

“I know how to drive a Volkswagen, I don’t know how to drive a semi, so I was very nervous about it, but did it and sure enough, I won the 2015 Ducks Unlimited Sponsor print duck stamp.”

The entry was made into a print and a stamp that really changed everything for Richards. The stamp is now one of the Ducks Unlimited collectors stamps.

“I was the most surprised by it all and the canvas stamp that I had made sold for $10,000,” said Richards.

After that, Richards took the painting that won the stamp and entered it in a contest for the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources 2017 calendar for November — and won.

Other than painting, Richards’ favorite thing to do is to encourage people to try something new and see what happens.

Now, six years later, Richards is a cohost for an online talk show “Be Encouraged” that is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7 a.m.

“Shane Grady is great and the show has done amazing,” she said. “It has reached people in Australia... and everyone needs to be encouraged.

“I’ve always wanted to minister to people and I just think, Lord, you are so amazing for allowing me to do what I’ve always wanted.”

Richards has been married for 24 years to her husband, Eric, and has three children ages 13, 15, and almost 17.

“This has all been a huge blessing for us and they are very supportive of mom,” said Richards.

When Richards first started painting at SDC, they put her right next to Buck Taylor and he has encouraged her and inspired her for several years now.

“It has been the cherry on the cherry on top of the cake for me,” said Richards. “I didn’t have to go buy the

biggest easel, I just started where I was.”

Richards has several things that she really enjoys painting, such as horses, but really likes to paint “realistic” paintings.

“I also paint on the feather and launch it onto the background,” said Richards.

Bev Dolittle is a Native American cowboy artist that hides things in her paintings, and Richards has done several works in which she also hid things in her paintings.

“I also do a lot of pet portraits. The first one I ever did was a poodle, and I painted it on a feather and I put it in a 5x7 frame,” said Richards.

“It’s easy to do, doesn’t take a lot of time, but once it took me a whole week to paint this guy’s dog because I wanted it to look exactly like the dog. I always want it to be perfect and that’s probably the hardest thing I do.”

Richards also gets several calls from people seeing roadkill and wondering if she needs the feathers.

Richards can only paint on certain feathers and she mostly uses turkey feathers and goose feathers.

“I really love female peacock feathers.

They are beautiful and when I get those I paint a lot of owls and sell them quick,” said Richards.

To see Richards’ work, check out her facebook page at Tina Richards Studio.

“I have just been so blessed to do what I love. Yes, it is a paycheck, but that’s a perk. I do it because I love it.”

Richards recently changed studios but is still located in the Branson Mill on Highway 248 in Branson.

“My new studio turned out amazing.

It is smaller, but in a better location,” said Richards.

“I have become part of Crooked Sky Trading Post. It is part of the Branson Mill that looks like an old-time trading post."

According to Richards, Rattle Snake Eddie is the big pull to Crooked Sky Trading Post, as he is in lots of movies and is part of the new Shepherd of the Hills performance.

“It is a great team and I am so very thankful for them,” said Richards.

Page 4A • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

New MDC center, caving tips & traveling through MO

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ildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center in northern Newton County, Mo., is closed until further notice while the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) makes some changes to the center.

A year ago, the National Audubon Society decided to turn over the operations of the center to the MDC, connecting its funding to the state budget.

“At that time we asked the public to be patient with us as we get a plan together for the future and they have done that, and we are so thankful to everyone,” said Aaron Jeffries, deputy director of the MDC. The MDC has developed an operational plan for the center with the help Jimmy Sexton of a local task force ———— that was made up of Journey On individuals in the community, and they are continuing to work on the plan.

“Our ownership began July 1, 2018, so we are currently working on getting staff in there to see what kinds of repairs are needed, and see what kinds of changes that need to be made,” said Jeffries.

Some of the changes that will be made to the center are renovating the exhibits, the aquarium, and the HVAC system.

“We have also renamed the center to Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center,” said Jeffries.

The grounds are still open for hiking for visitors, but the center itself is closed for several months, according to Jeffries.

I

In addition to making renovations to the interior of the center, new signs for the building will also be made and some landscaping will be done to the outside.

“Since it will be a MDC facility and offer MDC programs, everything will be free for visitors, which is something that the Audubon did not always offer,” said Jeffries.

The MDC is currently trying to get in and see what needs to be done to get the center up and rolling again for visitors.

“Everything has gone very well during this transition and now we are going to make the necessary changes so we can offer the best center we can,” said Jeffries.

——— We haven't given caving much publicity in the Traveler lately, and I'd like to change that starting now. Here's some information about caving and cave story that came across my desk recently, that I'd like to pass on.

Here goes: Caves are cool in more ways than one here in Missouri. Caves remain a constant temperature all year long.

During the winter Missouri caves feel warm, but as the temperature outside rises, the cave, even with its near 100 percent humidity, feels cooler and cooler by comparison.

At Fantastic Caverns, for example, the temperature hovers at a comfortable 60 degrees all year long.

Caves are also cool in that they

beckon exploration. Caves are hidden worlds that are so close, yet seem so foreign.

Interested cavers should look for caving groups and source the proper equipment before trying their hand at spelunking. Caving groups comprised of experienced cavers can bestow a lot of wisdom and share past caving experiences, both successes and mistakes.

In the early planning stages of your cave expedition, equip yourself with at least three dependable sources of light, a hard hat with a head lamp, suitable clothing, gloves, batteries, food, water and a camera.

Never go caving alone. Always go with a group of four or five people.

One of those people should be an experienced caver and aware of the dynamics of the cave system you're exploring.

Remember to tell a few people where your caving group will be spelunking and when you expect to return home.

Many caves are protected and/or are on private land, so make certain your group has permission to explore the cave first and foremost. Researching what is available on the cave you are planning to explore will let you know what you're getting into.

Keeping an eye on the weather and being aware of the cave's watershed and the role the cave plays in moving rainwater from the surface, are crucial aspects of caving.

When you get in the cave, have fun exploring. Step lightly, go slowly and quietly. As you venture deeper into the

Better keep an eye out for snakes

’m not a fan of the serpent. I’m not scared of them, mind you. I could just do without them. I’d be alright if I never saw one again.

Good thing we have some Ozark superstitions to help us better coexist with our scaly neighbors.

First of all, if you plant gourds around your home you may not have to worry about snakes at all, or at least not near the house.

Wes Franklin Snakes suppos———— edly won’t cross the Native Ozarker gourd line. They don’t like the smell.

Everyone knows that snakes become more aggressive when shedding their skins, and Ozarkers used to say that snakes go blind when the huckleberries are ripe, which is a good way to remind yourself of when the shedding period is, which is often late summer, also

called the dog days of summer.

However, in reality, snakes can shed at other times of the year as well.

When you see a blue-tailed lizard, a snake is probably close by. When you see a green tree snake, there is also probably another snake nearby.

This is because green snakes are doctor snakes and help heal other serpents.

Beware the hoop snake, which can put its tail in its mouth and roll like a wheel and chase you. Also keep watch for milk snakes, which like to suck on cows’ udders.

If you ever discover a baby playing with a snake, do not kill the snake. The child’s life is tied to that of the snake’s.

Instead, catch the snake and let it go free.

A single horsehair placed in a creek or river will turn into a snake. Water moccasins swallow their young at the approach of danger. Also, they can’t bite you if their heads are under water.

Even if they do bite you, they can’t inject poison.

You can treat snake bits by soaking

the infected area in kerosene. You can also treat the bite with a poultice of soft soap and salt.

Most importantly, if you do get bit by a snake, try to catch the snake and burn it immediately. Please remember that these are only superstitions and meant for fun. They are by no means to be considered as fact.

If you get bit by a poisonous snake, or any snake at all for that matter, you better go to the closest hospital emergency room.

Watch out when you’re outdoors the rest of this summer.

(Wes Franklin!can be reached by email at cato.uticensis46@gmail.com, or by USPS mail at 12161 Norway Road, Neosho, MO 64850.)

On the Cover Wyatt Sexton, 9, son of Traveler owner Jimmy Sexton and one of the magazine’s deliverymen, fishes for trout at Roaring River State Park during Kids’ Free Fishing Day.

cave, remember to glance back now and then, so you'll know what your exit route should look like.

Many caves only have a single access point. Caves are fascinating and should be experienced safely.

——— Planning on traveling down one of Missouri's interstates this summer?

Check this website before you go for rest areas, welcome centers and truck parking — www.modot.org/services/travel/restarea /index.htm.

On the website, click on any of the locations designated on the interactive map for more information about that facility.!

Missouri maintains eight welcome centers, 14 rest areas and 23 truck-only parking sites across the state. Located on seven different interstates, the facilities feature a variety of easy-to-access amenities to serve travelers.

Here's some contact information, if you're traveling, that would be good to write down and keep handy in you're vehicle — you never know when an emergency will arise: • General MoDOT Information: www.modot.org • Road Conditions: (888) 275-6636) • Customer Service: (888) 275-6636) • State Highway Patrol: General: (573) 751-3313 • Emergency: (800) 525-5555 or *55 (Jimmy Sexton is owner and publisher of the River Hills Traveler. He can be reached at (417) 451-3798, or jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com.)

River Hills Traveler 212 E. Main St., Neosho, MO 64850 Phone: (417) 451-3798 Fax: (417) 451-5188

www.riverhillstraveler.com Email: jimmy@riverhillstraveler. com Owner & Publisher Jimmy Sexton Managing Editor Madeleine Link Circulation Manager Chloe Giles Staff Writers Wes Franklin • Mike Roux Bill Wakefield • Bill Oder Judy Smith • Michelle Turner Dana Sturgeon • Bill Hoagland Richard Whiteside • Roger Smith Advertising Jimmy Sexton & Madeleine Link

River Hills Traveler, established in 1973, is published monthly by Sexton Media Group and Traveler Publishing Company. Postmaster: Send change of address notices to: River Hills Traveler, 212 E. Main St., Neosho, MO 64850. Subscription prices: $22 per year; 2 years, $40. Back issues available up to one year from publication, $5 plus sales tax & shipping.

COPYRIGHT © 2018 No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher of the River Hills Traveler or his duly appointed agent. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising or editorial submission for any reason.

August 2018 • Page 5A

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VINTAGE OZARKS:

Women anglers’ evening camp on Owens famous float trip

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loating was never an exclusively male sport.!Fishing may have been the justification for a five-day, fournight float, but the evening campfire was its own sensual experience – a time for the universal pleasures of freshly-caught fried fish, tall tales, and leisurely conversations.

Advertisements and promotions for the float services often included an invitation for wives and daughters to join the men on a James River float.!

American women from the 1890s to the end of World War II were outdoorsy, even making the covers of hunting and fishing magazines.

(This feature is courtesy of Leland and Crystal Payton at Lens & Pen Press, publishers of all-color books on the Ozarks.

Their new book, James Fork of the White, was published in 2017. Some pages from this book can be seen on www.beautifulozarks.com. Their earlier river book, Damming the Osage, can be at seen www.dammingtheosage.com)

5 years ago • Ozark National Scenic Riverways Superintendent William N. Black invites the public to comment on a proposed Current River Trail designated for hiking only.

Presently, the section of the park from Current River State Park to the Brushy Creek area does not have any long distance hiking opportunities. Most of the Recreation is limited to activities on the river.

• In just six short months, the White River’s vast basin in Missouri and Arkansas went from being the second to receive the U.S. Department of Interior’s new Blueway designation “for rivers and watersheds of national significance” to being “undesignated” by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who has put the Blueway system on pause pending investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee.

10 years ago • We don’t know which direction it came from, or just why it came to Missouri, but a hummingbird of the Rocky Mountains was found in Farmington on Friday the 13th in June. It was the first documented appearance of the broadtailed hummingbird in our state.

Bill Reeves, attorney and noted birder, instantly recognized the “sound” of the bird as it visited the hummingbird feeders in his yard. (Bob Lewis) • Traveler territory is home to an abundance of outdoor recreation possibilities, including the finest dove hunting in the state of Missouri.

Southeast Missouri is the indisputable dove hunting hotspot due in large part to the rich Mississippi River delta soils and the abundance of agricultural crops grown here. (Bill Cooper) 15 years ago •!Deer season doesn’t open for archers until Oct. 1, but fawns are traveling with does now, and the appearance of these youngsters brings deer to mind with

REMEMBER WHEN

some frequency.

Young turkeys are getting larger by the day now, too, making them more noticeable.

Instead of getting a fleeting glimpse of a hen and some movement in the brush, there is now a whole flock to be seen.

• Over 7,000 anglers turned out on opening day this year. I can assure you I wasn’t one of them.

For three days one summer I matched wits with Missouri’s wary park fish — and I lost. It had been a particularly harsh winter, one of those that lingers on long after the groundhog says spring should arrive.

I was told crystal-clear waters trickled down from the hills past an old gristmill before charging on to form the scenic Current River.

Here, powerful luncher trout would burst out of the deep pools, take an angler’s offering, and create a momentary rainbow as they arched gracefully in the air. (Jim McCarty) 20 years ago • The Missouri Conservation Commission has agreed to continue to provide wild turkeys to the state of Texas for another five years.

Under the agreement, Missouri will send 100 to 150 wild trapped turkeys to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department each year.

Texas pays $500 per turkey, but not to Missouri. Instead, the money goes to the National Wild Turkey Federation for habitat improvement programs.

• A good fall flight of waterfowl does not necessarily translate into a good hunting season — you have to have rain enough to create wetlands, and cold just enough to bring in waterfowl without running it on south.

But without a good fall flight, chances of a good season are slim. This year the outlook is even better than last year, with some of the duck species that didn’t seem to be sharing in the population expansion now showing good numbers, too. Some waterfowl is actually overpopulated.

25 years ago •! When the foundations for the mill at Alley Spring were dug about a century ago, diggers reached just to the top of an archeological site that dates back almost 14,000 years.

Dr. Jim Price, doing archeological work for the National Park Service at the old mill, dug just a little deeper. It was an unexpected find.

• To be a successful naturalist requires a vast range of knowledge about nature, plus the showmanship to answer tourists’ goofy questions without dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Eugene Vale can do this well. Eugene is a naturalist at Odondaga Cave State Park, near Leasburg.

We recently followed Eugene on a tour through the came and learned about the cave’s geology and convoluted history which includes a local land war. (Bill Judd) 30 years ago • Sometimes, when you are fishing from the back of the boat or canoe, it seems as if all the advantages are with the fisherman in the front.

That’s how I was beginning to feel about midway through a fishing rip with Roy Halbert in the front of my canoe.

We’d put in late — almost mid-morning — on a stretch of the St. Francois Ricer in Madison County.

This far up, this was no float trip.

Rather, we fished our way upstream through a big hole, then waded and dragged the canoe up the riffles to the next big hole. (Bob Todd) • A $537,440 contract has been let and work is in progress on major improvements in the Redman Creek area of Lake

Wappapello.

The work includes expansion of the beach, adding to the parking spaces near the boat ramp, a tie-down facility near the boat ramp and reorganization of the road system in the Redman Creek area.

35 years ago • Dusk had settled over the Ozarks and whippoorwills had begun to whistle on the ridge, the evening I first met Paula Opossum.

From the start, we were friends; an odd friendship, based on mutual misunderstandings, but a solid and lasting one for all that.

Now, I don’t know what kind of animal she thought I was (a long sinuous arm stretching down from above, under a partially open door, to place more food on the empty tin pie plate she was pushing about on the concrete steps), but I thought she was another cat when I refilled the pan. (A.E. Lucas) • I had an ache deep inside of me, the origin of which I didn’t understand.

When I heard of the Ozark Mountain Bluegrass Festival at Eminence, I realized my problem was lack of bluegrass.

I hadn’t been to a festival in a couple of years and missed it sorely. I decided then and there I was going to Eminence on July 4th weekend. (Beau Todd) 40 years ago • With a little over 100 campsites, the Piedmont Park Campground overlooking Clearwater Lake is one of the largest federal campgrounds in southeast Missouri.

It is also a hub of activity for the lower sections of Clearwater Lake.

• Twenty-two historic sites in Missouri have recently been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places by the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

They are now being given final review. If approved, they would bring the number of historic sites listed in the national register from Missouri to about 300.

Page 6A • August 2018

Covered bridges remind us of days gone by

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eople traveling on the northern section of Highway 21 between Potosi and St. Louis have probably seen the sign north of the Hillsboro exit pointing to the direction of Sandy Creek Covered Bridge.

This historic bridge, along with the accompanying state park, is under the care and supervision of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

At one time it was estimated that Missouri had over 30 Bill Wakefield covered bridges, and ———— Jefferson County had six of them.

Presently the state has only four covered bridges left and one of them is the Sandy Creek Bridge.

John H. Morse built this wood-covered bridge — which was 74 feet, 6 inches long and 18 feet, 10 inches wide, with an entrance height of 13 feet — in 1872 as a means for people to travel from Hillsboro to St. Louis.

The bridge has the unique appearance of an old red barn.

There were many advantages to building a bridge with a roof and sides, but the main purpose behind covering a bridge was to protect the intricate structural network of iron and timber trusses from the weather.

Engineers have stated that uncovered wooden bridges typically have a lifespan of only 10 to 15 years but a covered bridge has a life expectancy at least three times greater than an uncovered bridge.

The coverings also added strength, which reduced sagging and listing. Riders in buggies and carriages often used the bridges as shelters from the wind, snow and rain.

The special design of the Sandy Creek Bridge might have given horses and other livestock the appearance and assurance that they were entering a barn and not crossing a body of water, and/or concealing the height of the bridge from the ground.

Sandy Creek Covered Bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. By 1984, extensive flood damage demanded an extensive restoration of the bridge.

Today, the bridge is open only to pedestrian traffic. Missouri’s surviving Please see BRIDGES, 7A

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