May Connection 2019

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May 2019

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A Magazine Dedicated to Southwest Missourians

Connection Magazine | 1

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2 | May 2019

Connection Magazine | 3

STAFF EDITORIAL

May:

A Month to Celebrate!

M

ay is upon us offering huge and important celebrations.

May is not only the fifth month of the year but also the month of flowers. I am sure you all have heard “April showers bring May flowers.”

Before getting into the three celebrations that we are familiar with for May, I wanted to share some interesting facts about the month that I found on the internet that I thought might be some tidbits about May that you did not know.

1. The month of May was

named for Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility.

2. In any given year, no month ever begins or ends on the same day of the week as May does.

3. May’s birthstone is the

emerald, which is emblematic of love and success.

4. May was once considered

a bad luck month to get married. There is a poem that says “Marry in May and you’ll rue the day.”

5. The United Kingdom cele-

brates May as the National Smile Month.

6. On May 1, 1931, the Empire

State Building was officially opened.

4 | May 2019

Now that I may have broadened your knowledge about May, which I thought was interesting, we do have some awesome celebrations in the month that we all know about.

Memorial Day is an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the United States military. It originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Originally it was called Decoration Day, which is why when you drive by the cemeteries, you will find on that day many graves with flowers and United States flags on those who have fought in the military for our freedom.

Mother’s Day is in May to give us the opportunity to honor all of our mothers and show them how much they are appreciated and loved. The role of being a mother can be a hard one, especially if you are also working out of the home, but it is a rewarding one.

And in my case, after you have the little ones raised you get to graduate into the role of being a grandparent, which is even more enjoyable. It is a wonderful time of life to be involved in.

Another event in May is graduation for numerous students. This marks the end of one chapter of their life and the beginning of another, whether it be college or a job. This can be very scary, but exciting at the same time. Whatever road is ahead of the graduating seniors, I wish them nothing but the best and lots of success at whatever they choose to do with the rest of their life.

May is a very busy month and it is usually full of birthday celebrations. I'd like to take this opportunity to pay my respect and homage to all of the men and women who have served and died for our country.

I'd also like to honor all of the mothers who have taken on the role of being responsible for the little ones, making sure they are raised with love and respect. These moms are doing their best to teach and protect these adults-in-the-making.

We wish to extend to all of our area graduates best of success and hope their future dreams will be fulfilled.

Happy May folks!!

Lisa Craft

General Manager, Connection Magazine Lisa Craft is General Manager of Connection Magazine, The Monett Times and Cassville Democrat. She can be reached at monettcommunity@gmail.com or connection@monett-times.com

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M AY 2019

Features 10 | Fostering love

Local mothers open their hearts and their homes to foster parenting in a self-less act of caring

32 | Habitat for Humanity Seventeen years later, the organization continues to work with the community to make dreams come true

38 | The letter trail Archivist catches a glimpse into the foundations of Barry County

Connection Magazine | 7

Contents 19 Parenting Column: Way to go, Mom! 22 Recipes: For her

25 Guest Column: You Lift Me Up 27 Cutest Kid

29 Healthy Connection: Plant-based diet 44 Cutest Pet

45 Rescued, My Favorite Breed 48 Photo Essay by Pete Rauch 51 Community Calendar

52 Connection on the Go 53 Familiar Faces 58 Parting Shot

Cover photo by Christina Leach Photography

ON THE COVER

Whitney Kloss said this photo was taken after the adoption as they left the courthouse, in August of 2018. This was the majority of the friends and family who joined them to celebrate the day we became a forever family.

Have an idea for a story you would like to see in Connection Magazine?

Email it to connection@monett-times.com

Facebook.com/MyConnectionMo Twitter.com/MyConnection_Mo 8 | May 2019

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Photo courtesy of Christina Leach Photography

This is the Kloss family photo the day of adoption in August 2018.

10 | May 2019

What is a mother?

W

hat is a mother? She is a full time worker with an incredible bond to her children. She is a caring and stern person to turn to. Being a mother will change a woman’s life, but it also give her the opportunity to change the life of her child.

Foster parents take in children who need a safe, warm and loving place to be. A foster mom opens her heart up for the children who sometimes need it the most.

Sherah Farris did just that in May 2018 when she had a child placed with her through kinship placement.

“When we got our foster daughter, we had planned a camping trip for our four children for the first time of the summer,” she said. “Kinship placement is when a child is placed with a family member, and that is what our licensing is for.”

Farris said when the case worker asked if they would consider taking the little girl.

“Around 7 p.m. we were at the camp site, and the case worker called and said they were on the way with her,” she said. “We actually hadn’t considered fostering before. We were asked because we were family members, and

Story by Jordan Privett

we were licensed afterward.”

Farris said it just happened that way and that is how we got her.

“She will be three years old soon,” she said. “Now we have five children, and we keep a open mind about our future.”

Farris said as far as advice for mothers... she would say that the key is figuring out the personality each child has.

“You have to cater your parenting styles to every child’s personality,” she said. “You have to let them shine that way, and you can’t put them into a box of what you think they should be.”

Farris said that being a mother means that a little piece of your soul is given to your child.

“They take that piece and they have that wherever they go,” she said. “That is a wonderful thing.”

Farris said the thing that sticks out in her mind the most during Mother’s Day is roses.

“My siblings and I would buy my mom a rose bush every Mother’s Day,” she said. “A couple of them lasted for years and years. They grew over an arch that my mom has, and they bloomed every year on Mother’s Day. “We would look forward to the roses blooming for our mom.”

Foster moms share stories, advice for Mother’s Day

Being a mother means that a little piece of your soul is given to your child.

-Sherah Farris Connection Magazine | 11

Janet Turner is a Cassville local who got into fostering children through respite care. Respite care is temporarily fostering for another family’s foster children.

“My husband had always worked with special needs children, and I did the hair of a foster mom,” she said. “I have always been a hairdresser, and I felt like God wanted me to do something with children as well. As I did the foster mom’s hair, she told me that if we were licensed when things came up for families, we could step in and help.”

Turner said it took a long time to get the process started, and they were told that they could do the respite care in the meantime.

“Once we got into the respite care my husband said, ‘If we can change a life, I would rather do it permanently rather than temporarily.’”

Turner said she and her husband wanted to adopt the children they first had in respite care.

“The children came to live with us in May 2014,” she said. “We legally adopted them on January 15, 2015.”

Turner said she and her husband had three other children before this that were grown.

“We continued to do the respite care for a little while, but we felt like these were the children we were meant to have,” she said. “We had a grandson living with us at the time, and our house was pretty full.”

Turner said she and her husband had been trying to sell their house for five years.

“We felt like it was God’s plan for us to adopt them,” she said. “My dad told me that maybe God didn’t plan for us to move. I wondered what God had planned for me that I would have to stay in that specific house for. Then, after three years, we decided to adopt the children and knew we couldn’t downsize.”

12 | May 2019

Turner said if she had any advice for a mom it would be to keep God centered in the home.

“You have to do what God wants you to do,” she said. “You let kids be kids, and that is what is so special about raising children.”

Turner said she has learned a lot about herself through raising children in different situations.

“It takes God in your life to make parenting work,” she said. “When you have children, usually it is because you want a child. When adopting, it is a choice to give a child the love that they may not have experienced. We knew we could give them love, a home and parents.”

Turner said a Mother’s Day that always comes to her mind is the first Mother’s Day after adopting.

“It was so special to me that first time they saw me as their mom,” she said. “I knew this is what God had planned for us.”

Amy Driskill home-schools her two oldest children and teaches English as a second language to children in China.

“I have been a part of a kids camp for foster children for eight or nine years now,” she said. “As I got to know some of the children there, I just grew a heart for the children and families.”

Driskill said she suffered a miscarriage on Mother’s Day weekend nine years ago.

“Mother’s Day has always been a tough time for me,” she said. “We had to go through a grieving process,” she said. “I took a couple of years to get to the point that we were ready to adopt.”

Driskill said they had gone through the licensing process and were an adopting-only family.

“The important thing to realize is that a child can’t just be a good fit for you, you have to be a good fit for them, as well,” she said. “After a year of being

It takes God in your life to make parenting work.

-Janet Turner adoption-only, we had decided to be foster parents and help out where we could.”

Driskill said she and her husband decided to foster, and if adoption came later, that would be great.

“We felt that God would direct us where we needed to go,” she said. “We got a phone call just four days after we had decided to switch to fostering.”

Driskill said the caseworker asked if they would be willing to foster three little boys.

“That happened on June 29, 2018, and I called my husband to make sure we would have the room because we had two biological children at home,” she said. “We called the caseworker back quickly and said yes. She dropped them off that Friday afternoon and left to go get their clothes. When she pulled back up to drop of the clothes there were three police cars in our driveway.”

Driskill said the police were there because there were horses in the front yard.

“It was a completely unrelated event from the boys, but I can imagine her eyes were huge when she saw that,” she said. “It ended up being a great ice-breaker for the boys to pet the horses and really distracted the boys from being scared and nervous.”

Driskill said there is what foster parents call the ‘honeymoon period’ where the children do really well and seem comfortable. Then, they begin to test the waters, like all children.

At a wedding celebrating in 2018, Amy Driskill, far left, and her husband Mike, to her right, following Mike is Mark and Lynnie Richardson and their daughter Carissa. Front row, from left: Noah Driskill and Hannah Driskill. This photo was taken just three days before they got the call about the placement of their three foster children.

Being a mother means to be connected to a whole other person.

-Amy Driskell Amy Driskill and her children Hannah and Noah Driskill at a 2016 youth event with their church.

Connection Magazine | 13

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I want people to know that people are more important than things.

-Whitney Kloss “The thing that I have learned from being a mother is that it doesn’t matter the circumstance or what the child comes from, they love their biological parents,” she said. “That bond is so hard, and I don’t think you should break that bond but rather recognize that relationship.”

Driskill said the ultimate goal for children is to be connected with their mom and dad. If that were not the case with any foster child, she said she has to look at adoption as a secondary goal.

“Children want to be loved,” she said. “Even when there is bad behavior, that is still the child communicating with you.”

Driskill said another piece of advice is to find a group of women that as a mother you can connect with.

“Being a mother means to be so connected to a whole other person,” she said. “They depend on you, even when they grow up, a child still needs you to guide them. Being a mother is challenging and stressful, but it is also very rewarding in so many ways.”

Driskill said even though Mother’s Day is a bitter-sweet time for her, time still goes on.

“My biological children were still very young when I went through the miscarriage, and they still wanted to celebrate Mother’s Day with me,” she said. “They brought me flowers and

hugged me. Mother’s Day is also a time when people miss their mothers that are passed or that maybe they don’t have a relationships with. It is important to acknowledge that as well.”

Whitney Kloss is a Cassville resident that got started in fostering children in 2013.

“We have three biological children, and we were hesitant at first because our children are young,” she said. “The Lord kept putting people into our life that led us to foster care and adoption.”

Kloss said she didn’t feel like she was 100 percent adequate to take in more children, but the Lord continued to push her in that direction.

“When we licensed in 2014, our goal was to have a short-term or emergency placement home,” she said. “We first started to feel the call to go into foster care in 2013.”

Kloss said she and her husband have fostered 11 children and adopted four.

“Our second placement was supposed to be an emergency placement,” she said. “But when the situation changed for those children we had them for more than four years before we finally adopted them.”

Kloss said that adoption took place in August 2018.

“In the state of Missouri there is a limit to how many children you can have in your home to be an active foster home,” she said. “We now have seven, so we no longer qualify and closed our license after the adoption of the four siblings.”

Kloss said she learned quickly what is important in life and what is not.

“It wasn’t really our plan to adopt,” she said. “In fostering the main goal is relocation and getting the children back with their parents.”

Kloss said the the Lord doesn’t give everyone to be a mother of this magnitude, and that is a true blessing for her.

“If I had advice for a mother it would include three things,” she said.

“First, I sat at the feet of my mother and grandmother and listened to their stories and learned how to parent from them, and that is what molded me into what I am today. Second, cereal is a completely acceptable dinner. The children go to sleep happy, safe and with a full belly. Finally, I want people to know that people are more important than things.”

Kloss said with seven children it is impossible to live a glamorous lifestyle.

“There are things that we can’t do, and sacrifices that we have to make,” she said. “But the most important things are the lessons you learn from people and experiences.

“There is more value in the people around you than in the stuff around you.”

Kloss said that to her, being a mother means that she is privileged.

“The way that God built our family, my daily prayer is that the magnitude of that is never lost on me,” she said.

“Being able to celebrate Mother’s Day is an honor. I remember my first Mother’s Day; my family had gone to church, and my grandmother was recognized as the oldest grandmother, and I was recognized as the youngest mother.”

Kloss said that was special to her because there was so much honor and respect for her grandmother growing up.

Christi Eden is a Barry County local who initially got into fostering when some children at her church went into care.

“We were asked to be a kinship placement for a boy,” she said. “We had wanted to adopt for a long time, but originally we didn’t plan to foster children.”

Eden said the boy was 15 years old at the time and friends with her children.

Connection Magazine | 15

“When we were asked to take him and his sister we said yes,” she said. “And that is how we got started. We had them for about a year or so before they left.”

Eden said it was about a year later when they were asked if they would be interested in taking classes to get licensed for foster care.

“About 20 minutes after we signed the final papers, we got a call asking if we would take a five-month-old boy,” she said. “That was 10 years ago, and he is now our 10-year-old son.”

Eden said it took a couple of years to get through the adoption process. The adoption was scheduled for May 2011, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer during that time.

“I was so scared that they weren’t going to allow us to adopt because I wasn’t healthy enough,” she said. “But my doctor wrote a prognosis, and everything worked out fine, and we were allowed to adopt him.”

Eden said since May 2007, when they originally took in the boy from her church, they have had about 50 foster children.

“We have adopted four times,” she said. “We foster a lot of big sibling groups.”

Eden said two of her adopted children are brother and sister.

“I try to keep the door open for the biological parents to know how the children are doing, but sometimes that doesn’t always work out,” she said.

Eden said over the last couple of years she hasn’t really taken on any new foster cases.

“Then we got a call about a little boy,” she said. “He was 11 months old and when they described him and his case I remember saying that I have been waiting for him my whole life. I never asked another question.

“We adopted him on December 7, 2018.”

16 | May 2019

Eden said he is African American, and there was a lot of care going into making sure he was placed in the right home.

“The only advice I would have for a mother would be to rest, but never quit,” she said. “We have nine children total and six grandchildren. Our oldest daughter has actually adopted children that we had had in foster care, so some of our first grandchildren were children that were in our home.”

Eden said she never differentiate between what children are adopted or biological.

“Sometimes I get asked if the children are adopted, and I always say yeah, but I don’t remember which ones,” she said. “If someone points out that one of them has brown eyes I say ‘Well, if you try long enough you will get one of those.’ When I get asked if our African American son is adopted, I always say no.”

Eden said she doesn’t hide from the children that are adopted and answers any questions that they may have.

“The point is that they are my children,” she said. “They are not set apart from any of my other children.”

Eden said things can get hard, but what she does is just keep doing it through the difficult days.

“Sometimes people think that getting a baby is the best way to go,” she said. “That is not always true; sometimes babies are the hardest and older children are easy. Sometimes it is the other way around.”

For Mother’s Day... the most important thing for Eden is to see her children.

“They bring gifts sometimes, but I would always just rather have time with my children,” she said. “There are difficult moments in parenting, but in the end you have to keep going.”

Cody Murray, children’s services supervisor at the Barry County Children’s Division, said according to data from December 2018 in Barry County there are 161 children in our home placement.

“This office serves Stone and Lawrence counties as well,” she said. “There are 97 children in Stone County and 162 in Lawrence County according to the same data,” she said. “For people interested in licensing, it consists of a 27-hour course that can be taken in three-hour weekly sessions or weekend classes.”

Murray said it can take anywhere from three to six months to be finalized.

“The biggest need we have is for families that are willing to not only be a temporary home for these children, but to also be willing to partner with the parents and teach skills that will get the parents to place where the children can return home safely,” she said. “One thing that gets overlooked sometimes is that the child still has a bond with their parents and environment even if they were removed in less than ideal situations.”

Murray said there is an upcoming orientation in Barry County on May 15, where people can learn the process of fostering, ask questions, and be able to decide if that is something they are truly interested in. 

For more information, people may contact Barry County Family Division at 417-847-4761, and speak with the licensing supervisor.

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Connection Magazine | 17

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parenting column

Because Moms Can Do Anything I really don’t know when I started saying, “Because… moms can do anything,” but I do know that I’m glad that it’s part of my many phrases of being a mom.

With Mother’s Day coming up this month, it’s important to not only recognize each other for the tireless work we do raising children, but for the infinite amount of ways we inspire other human beings.

If you’ve forgotten how amazing you are, let me take a moment to remind you. Here is a list of 10 reasons why moms are simply the best.

1. You can multitask like no other.

Who else can make dinner, help a kid study for his spelling bee, talk on the phone, and fix a boo-boo all at the same time?

YOU can!

2. You are stronger than you think.

This year may have thrown you for a loop. Maybe something happened that you didn’t see coming. Did you lose a loved one? Did you go through a divorce? Did you lose a child? A job? A pet? Did you get diagnosed with post-partum depression? Chances are, any one of us reading this has experienced one of these life-altering

moments. But guess what? You are still here and you are still standing. You are stronger than you think.

3. You are smart.

Do not discount what you already know. You may have a doctorate in your field of study or maybe you are a high school graduate who went straight to beauty school. Whatever your trade is from work-in-the-home mom to work-out-of-the-home mom; you are smart. Whether you get a paycheck or help someone else get a paycheck by staying home and raising children; you are smart. You are a mom and moms are smart.

4. You are beautiful.

Those stretchmarks you see looking back at you in the mirror are a daily reminder of the life you birthed. No stretchmarks? That’s okay. Maybe you are one of the few who did not get any or maybe you brought your child into the world a different way. The point is, you are a mother and are a beautiful one at that. Even on the days when you feel like you are at your ugliest or when life gets a little too crazy and the gym classes slip out of sight, remind yourself of how beautiful you are.

Connection Magazine | 19

enjoy your day!

Enjoy Mother’s Day this year, knowing how amazing you are. This is your day to relax, unwind, and bask in the love of your family. Happy Mother’s Day to you and to all of those moms out there who wonder if you can make it through one more sleep-deprived day, yes.

Yes, you can!

5. There is no one like you.

As moms, we always wish we could clone ourselves to help with the laundry, and the dishes, and this and that. Reality is…there is only one you which means, there is no one like you. The good news is that you possess something so special that your children can only get from you; a mother’s love.

7. There is no TLC like a mom’s TLC.

20 | May 2019

What’d you say? You think your 5-year-old wasn’t listening when you let that word slip but…surprise…she did! No fear. You can whip out a word that makes total sense and you are both on with your day like nothing ever happened.

9. You make things fun.

When you give a mom a few minutes of unplanned time, she will have a brilliant idea all thought up and ready to go. The next thing you know, everyone is laughing, time is flying, and endless memories are being made all because a mom knew how to make things fun.

6. You have eyes in the back of your head.

If you are a newly minted mom, you will get the hang of saying this all too soon. For all of you veteran moms out there; you know what I am talking about.

I don’t know if it is sheer luck that helps us know exactly what our kids are doing at any given moment but whatever it is, it allows us to have some sort of sixth sense that makes our kids believe that we really do have eyes in the back of our head.

Meagan Ruffing can’t wait to spend this year’s Mother’s Day with her three children, Dylan, Hannah, and Elinor. She’s hoping for breakfast in bed now that her kids are school-aged and know how pour a bowl of cereal. Visit her on Facebook at writermeaganruffing to read more about parenting.

8. You come up with the most random words.

Moms just have a special touch. It just is what it is. Call it what you like, but kids just need their mom sometimes.

It is in our DNA. Our kisses are healing. Our tears are reviving.

Our hugs are healing, and our words are sweet like honey.

Kids need tender, loving, care and moms can dish it out at the drop of a hat.

10. You are selfless.

This is an unspoken, in-uswhen-we-become-motherstype-of-quality. Selflessness comes with the territory and requires nothing but love. Just the other day, my daughter and I were on a walk when I noticed she was cold. I offered her my jacket and she looked up at me, her eyes big and wide, and said, “But what about you mom? Won’t you be cold?”

“Well, it hadn’t crossed my mind but now that you say it, yes, I will be cold. But that’s okay. I would rather have you be warm. I’ll be ok.” And with that, we continued on our walk with big smiles on our faces.

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Simple ‘N’ Delicious Chocolate Cake Ingredients

Morning Glory Muffins Ingredients 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 1/4 cups white sugar 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups grated carrots 1 apple - peeled, cored, and chopped 1 cup raisins 1 egg 2 egg whites 1/2 cup apple butter 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts 2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ

1 cup white sugar 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup cold, strong, brewed coffee

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8-inch pan (see Editor’s Note).

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, apple butter, oil and vanilla.

In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in carrots, apples and raisins. Stir in apple butter mixture until just moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.

In a small bowl, combine walnuts and wheat germ; sprinkle over the muffin tops.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.

22 | May 2019

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool before frosting.

Cheesecake Crepe Roll-Ups Directions Whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, honey, and salt in a bowl to make a smooth batter.

Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add flour mixture, alternating with coffee. Beat until just incorporated.

Ingredients 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons milk 2 eggs 2 teaspoons honey 1 pinch salt 2 tablespoons butter, divided 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened ½ cup confectioners’ sugar ¼ cup mixed frozen berries, slightly thawed 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, or as needed

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick crepe pan over medium heat until the foam disappears. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan, and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of batter. Cook until the crepe is no longer runny, about 1 minute; flip and cook the other side for an additional 1 minute. Repeat with additional butter and crepe mix, to make 4 crepes.

Set the crepes aside on paper towels.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese with 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar to make a creamy spread. Very gently stir in the berries. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the crepes and roll up.

Refrigerate until chilled; slice in 1-inch sections to serve.

Recipes from Allrecipes.com

Rayna | AllRecipes.com

recipes

Baked Apple Roses Ingredients 1 large red apple, cored and very thinly sliced 1/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed 1/4 cup melted butter 1 egg 2 teaspoons water 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter 2 small ramekins (6 to 8 ounce) and dust with white sugar.

Place apple slices on a plate, overlapping slightly if necessary.

Microwave on High about 45 seconds just until slices have softened a bit. Cover plate with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.

Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Roll puff pastry sheet to less than 1/8-inch thickness. Using a pizza cutter, cut two 3-inch by 12-inch rectangles. Reserve remaining pieces for another use.

Special treats just for

mom

Spread melted butter over dough; top with a generous amount of cinnamon-sugar.

Place apple slices along 1 long edge of dough, about 1/4 inch beyond edge of dough, overlapping slices slightly. Fold bottom half of dough over the apple slices to form a long “folder” of dough with rounded edges of apple slices exposed.

Beat egg and water together in a bowl. Paint surface of dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar, to taste.

Starting from one end, roll dough not too tightly to form a roseshaped pastry. Seal roll with end of dough strip.

Transfer roses to prepared ramekins. Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon-sugar. Place ramekins directly on middle rack of preheated oven.

Bake until well browned, about 45 minutes. Remove ramekins with tongs and place on baking sheet to cool 5 to 10 minutes. Remove apple roses from ramekins and finish cooling on rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Connection Magazine | 23

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Guest column

You lift me up

W

as it Reba McEntire who sang “you lift me up, up, up to heaven, and you’ll never let me down”?

Why is it this song comes to mind when I am in the tractor and my man is in the bucket? Then there is always the thought of ‘if you tell me one more time how to operate this tractor using your outside voice, I will show you that I know which handle dumps the bucket.” Perhaps I should have thoughts of encouraging words to lift him up instead of a big orange tractor. On the ranch (AKA, farm) there are always dead limbs that need trimming, and what better time than in the winter when they can be burned in the stove to heat our home.

It was another one of those days when I had other plans. I drank a couple of glasses of water, skipped breakfast and threw on my boots and jacket, because I was ‘just going to be driving the tractor’ and ‘only for a few minutes.’

I was ‘just driving the tractor’ until I had him lifted up in the bucket and began to gradually accelerate forward and uphill closer to the tree to be trimmed. At that point, he noticed the tractor was rolling backward, I informed him that

my bottom had slid back in the seat and my feet could no longer reach the brake pedal. I think in a real job this would fall under reasonable accommodation for an employee.

I recalculated and got him positioned where he needed to be and he transformed into Paul Bunyan with a pole saw until the saw became wedged into the large limb.

Houston, we have a problem!

“If you tell me one

The bucket is as high as it will go, and the saw is on the end of a pole.

After some strategic thinking,

which handle

more time how to operate this tractor using your outside voice, I will show you that I know dumps the bucket.”

pam wormington

Connection Magazine | 25

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I was instructed to get off the tractor and throw up a rope. Safety first, right? The rope would be tied to the pole saw and secured to the tractor to prevent it from crashing to the ground when it becomes dislodged.

Then I was instructed to throw a big rock up into the bucket, this would be used along with a wedge to loosen the saw teeth from the limb. I threw the big rock and came nowhere close to the bucket. I threw a smaller rock, it made it to the bucket and struck the other chainsaw. Optimism says it’s a good thing it wasn’t the big rock or it could have done some damage.

Apparently, that wasn’t a good move on my part.

I grabbed the big rock again, shored my footing and gave it a whirl with all I had. At that point, I fell backward into the brush pile losing ALL control along with those two glasses of water I drank earlier. I now understand the saying “go big or go home” or better yet “go big and go home.” Good news, he caught the rock, and I composed myself after a good laugh and climbed back on the tractor. The saw came loose along with the limb crashing to the ground causing a slight ding in the tractor. Thankfully, my man was in the bucket, and I was in the tractor and not still on the ground.

At that point, I decided it was time for a wardrobe change. So, along with Murph the dog, I headed for the house. It’s always a good day when you can work together, laugh together and love life on the ranch. *As I proofread this story to my rancher, I was corrected that one can only be ‘in’ a tractor if it has a cab, otherwise, you are ‘on’ it. I’m always ‘on’ it because I don’t have driving clearance to operate anything bigger than the Kubota tractor — something about too much power, too many gears and buttons. In a real job that would be classified as unqualified, which is definitely what I am, but sometimes you get what you pay for.

Ava McKinley Luebbering, 16 month old daughter of David and Rachel Luebbering of Pioneer

cutest kid

Congratulations

Ava

Email your child’s photo to: connection@monett-times.com Photos should be sent in the original JPG format at the highest resolution possible. Remember to include your child’s name, parent’s name, age, city and your contact information. The contest is open to children ages 10 and younger. The photos submitted will be used for the sole purpose of this contest.

Connection Magazine | 27

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healthy connection

Whole food, plant-based eating

H

ave you ever wanted to change your diet to improve your health?

Have you struggled with losing weight in a sustainable way?

A whole food, plant-based diet might be what you are looking for.

There is a lot of controversy about what kind of diet is best for you and there is likely not one right answer.

Luckily, a whole food, plant-based diet is versatile and can be modified to fit just about anyone’s lifestyle.

What is a whole food, plant-based diet?

A plant-based diet is often confused with veganism or vegetarianism.

While there are varying degrees of

plant-based diets, “plant-based” simply refers to focusing on mostly plant consumption, for example, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts. The amount of animal products included in your diet is completely up to you and your needs; just remember that certain meats can be highly processed. “Whole foods” refers to consuming food in its natural form, minimizing highly processed foods.

Other principles that the whole food, plant-based diet suggests are eliminating refined foods, like added sugars, white flour and processed oils as well as paying attention to food quality, promoting locally sourced foods, and eating in season. Eating in season means that you buy foods that are being

grown and harvested at the same time as you are buying and cooking them. This not only maximizes the nutritional value of the foods you eat but can also save you money.

What are the benefits?

Weight loss can feel like an uphill battle at times. Fortunately, making dietary and lifestyle changes can help to facilitate and promote lasting impacts on health. Rather than crash dieting, why not make a change that will be lifelong with benefits that surpass the initial weight loss period?

Whole food, plant-based diets have been shown to be an effective way to promote weight loss. In a 2016 study in the Journal of General

To learn more, visit:

Seasonal food guide: https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/ Nutritional Updates for Physicians, Plant-Based Diets: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/ Olivia everitt is a Dietetic Intern at Cox College. She grew up on a farm in northeastern Pennsylvania where her family raised beef cattle and grew a backyard garden. Her interests in the field of nutrition include sustainable food systems, preventive nutrition and nutrigenomics.

Connection Magazine | 29

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Internal Medicine, health professionals reviewed 12 studies on plant-based diets v. traditional diets, and found that participants consuming plant-based diets lost 4.5 pounds more than those consuming a traditional diet. The longterm sustainability of weight loss for those who maintained the plant-based diets were positive as well.

Not only can a whole food plant-based diet help you lose weight, but it also can lower your risk and reduce symptoms of certain chronic diseases. Chronic diseases that can be improved via a whole food, plant-based diet are heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline, and diabetes. The effectiveness of this diet is dependent on the quality of the foods that you include in your plant-based diet. For example, if you have high amounts of sugary beverages, fruit juices and refined grains, it will not be as affective.

What makes a whole food, plant-based diet effective in reducing symptoms and risks is the foods that it promotes.

This includes foods that are higher in fiber and have more antioxidants. It is important to be aware of what is fueling your body. Processed foods contain more chemicals, preservatives, and often added sugar, salt, and fat. Foods to avoid are fast food, sugary foods, refined grains, packaged and convenience foods, and processed animal products.

Checking ingredient labels is a good way to find out how processed a food is. Foods with long ingredient lists are often more highly processed.

A whole food, plant-based diet can be modified to fit your lifestyle and your taste preference. Whether you want to reduce inflammation, such as arthritis, or reduce risk for heart disease, nutrition is a good starting point. You can enjoy many delicious foods when following a whole food plant-based diet, some would even say it tastes a little better when you know it’s benefiting your health. As Michael Pollan concludes in his book In Defense of Food: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

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Connection Magazine | 31

Habitat for Humanity builds homes, hope in Monett for 17 years

Going up

I

Mark Lassman-Eul, of Springfield, center, in Monett in January 2004 to bring official word that the Monett/Purdy affiliate was accepted into Habitat as of Dec. 16, 2003. Board members, from left, are Ron Overeem, Bob Mareth, Gail Ellis, Bill VanEaton, Stan Pyper, Walt Hamer, Julie Townsend, and Linda Schelin. All became a director, committee chairperson or officer.

t was January 2002.

The availability of housing in Monett was limited, especially for lower income households. Even apartments were limited, and becoming more expensive.

The Monett Ministerial Association, whose chairman at the time was Walt Hamer, pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Monett, reached out to local leaders to contact Habitat for Humanity to see if that national organization could help shape a response to the local situation. On Jan. 15, 2002, Linda Schelin helped moderate a Habitat for Humanity needs assessment meeting at the Monett City Hall.

“It’s all Walt's fault!,” Schelin recalled. “He and the Monett Ministerial Association asked me to get a group together to start a Habitat organization in Monett. I sought info from HFHI and found out that a steering committee to research the community needs would have to be formed, with a series of 30 questions that would have to be answered. That committee included one-to-seven people and we worked for 11 months before submitting our answers in order to become affiliated with HFHI. Our official affiliation, as the Monett/Purdy HFH, was in December 2002. At that time, we formed our first board of directors and since then we have had 80 people on the board.”

Habitat Board President Frank Washburn, right, and construction manager Jim Copeland, left, cut the ribbon for the eighth Habitat for Humanity house at 111 East Nellie. New owner Annie Reed is pictured behind Copeland at right.

32 | May 2019

Story by Murray Bishoff | Monett Times file photos

On the original site of one of Monett’s first churches, the Monett/ Purdy Habitat for Humanity affiliate broke ground for its first home on a lot purchased from the city on the northwest corner of Sixth and Bond on June 22, 2004.

The Habitat for Humanity sign outside of house No. 8 on Nov. 15, 2014, bore witness to the completion of the second house on East Nellie the day of the dedication ceremony.

The unique design of the first Habitat house, with prefabricated foam rubber blocks to make them withstand tornadic winds, were on view in the wall-raising ceremony on Aug. 1, 2004. Congressman Roy Blunt and volunteers for his staff were present to help and promote the Congress Builds America program that contributed funds to the project.

Connection Magazine | 33

With their arms raised, symbolic of roof tresses, the Fred and Carrie Jobe family stood at the center of what would be the third Habitat for Humanity home built at Eighth and Cale in Monett. Jon Suit, Habitat affiliate vice president, at right, directed Habitat volunteers to get ready to make the symbolic house into a home. (center) On Habitat’s 11th house, now under construction on West Logan Street in Monett, volunteers from the First United Methodist Church on Oct. 13, 2018, helped to put up wall frames. Volunteers from numerous Monett churches and businesses have taken turns working on Saturdays to advance construction on Habitat homes. (far right) The foundation to the new third Habitat for Humanity house at Eighth and Cale was framed on the first day of work, April 4, 2009, with new owner Carrie Jobe at right.

Organizing such an undertaking for newcomers not associated with previous organizational infrastructure or Habitat builds presented challenges. Work progressed slowly. Churches were urged to pledge a financial commitment to the organization. A dinner fundraiser, billed as “A Potluck of Biblical Proportions” was held in April 2003, only unlike Biblical accounts, the food ran out before the crowd did. Progress was slow. But once the Habitat affiliation was approved, eyes turned toward the real work — building the first house.

The site of the first house reflected renewal, the essence of the Habitat mission. The northwest corner of Sixth and Bond streets had been the location of one of Monett’s first churches, the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

After the Methodist congregations merged, the building was renovated, ultimately into a two-story house, then into apartments, and then it deteriorated to condemnation. Here Habitat staked its first undertaking.

“In May 2004, then Congressman Roy Blunt was looking for a group to sponsor a house that would have withstood the 2003 tornado that ripped through Pierce City and north Monett,” Schelin recounted. “Jim Copeland, local contractor, became our con34 | May 2019

struction manager pro bono, and we built the first house on the corner of Sixth and Bond with Congress Builds America donating significant funds and labor, as well as local donations and site workers from the surrounding area. The groundbreaking was July 2004 and the dedication was February 2005 with work being done every Saturday, weather permitting.

“The first house was built with insulated foam blocks, which has provided more efficient heating/cooling as well as protection from storms. The city lot was purchased for $1, but asbestos had to be removed, prior to the build. It was an exciting time for all. The Mike Campbell family was thrilled to move out of their less than desirable conditions in Exeter, as Mike had been walking to work in Monett! The first house cost was $43,000. After renovation in 2016, Amanda Slater and her two teens live in this house now.”

At the dedication ceremony for the first house, held in the City Hall Auditorium and attended by Congressman Blunt, Schelin commented, “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the Called. We have been his willing instruments, so to Him be the glory, honor and praise.”

A number of certificates of appreciation were distributed to a variety of

businesses who contributed to the project, contributions ranging from carpet and vinyl, plumbing, siding, electrical work, dirt work and legal counsel. The precedent had been established that would help in future undertakings.

Unlike many Habitat affiliates, the Monett/Purdy group moved slowly. It would be three years, in April 2008, before the second house reached completion.

“Don Lindquist donated the property at Third and Wishart for house No. 2, but we paid $5,500 for the demolition of the burned house on the lot,” Schelin said. “This house was a challenge to build as we ran into a stumbling block with applicants.

House No. 2 was started in September 2005 and dedicated in April 2008. Ron Overeem was the construction manager. The Brandi and Jody Cooper family deserves kudos as they have never been behind on a payment.”

After that, the pace picked up.

“St. Lawrence Catholic Church donated the third lot at Eighth and Cale,” Schelin continued. “Thrivent for Lutherans provided a great lesson on how to build a house in record time with deadlines and lots of financial and labor assistance. The Fred Jobe family of six has occupied that home since August 2009. Their house sold for $66,500.”

Homes built with “sweat equity” nonetheless require a binding contract and a detailed arrangement with the family selected.

“The partner family must have a need, be able to pay for the house with a steady source of income—30-50 percent of the area’s median income—and be willing to help build their own home and any future homes that we construct,” Schelin said. “Annual income for a family of four would be $14,670 to $29,340. The family is required to put in a certain number of sweat equity hours as they help build their own home. The number of hours depends on the size of the family—usually 250350 volunteer hours. Friends and relatives may help with the sweat equity hours. Many people don’t realize this is not a hand-out but a hand-up. The local affiliate takes a second mortgage, along with the partner family’s first mortgage.

“The partner family gives us monthly payments on a 20-year mortgage, but we do not charge them interest like a regular lending organization would does. The partner family also pays their own insurance and taxes in an escrow account, as well as closing costs for the sale of the house. The local affiliate keeps all house payments in a separate account and uses that income to help

build new homes. Today, a home will cost about $85,000.”

A house construction project is not simply a Habitat undertaking, because volunteers from across Monett and employees within the business community pitch in during construction season.

“Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for each house and money from members of the Groundbreakers Club helps pay the initial house costs, such as survey, city building permit, abstract search, etc.,” Schelin said. “A Groundbreaker pledges a minimum of $50 per house. Other businesses, churches, social and civic clubs, and individuals can, and have, received tax exempt 501(c)3 receipts for their generous donations of any amount. All monetary gifts and gifts in kind—materials, labor, discounts—are very much needed and appreciated. We have received monetary gifts from grants, funds, and foundations.

“Volunteer groups that work on Saturdays, provide lunch for their group, as well as the regular Habitat workers. Every volunteer, 18 years and older, must sign a waiver releasing the local affiliate from any liability. We are most grateful for every person who has helped build.

We average over 100 different people working on each house, including the new homeowner’s extended family,

friends, and co-workers.”

With help from the Edna Fair Estate, Habitat purchased lots for its fourth and fifth houses outside of the center of Monett on County Road.

The Alberto Peralta family moved into their home in January 2010, and the Guadalupe Castro family into theirs in June 2011. Jim Copeland became a paid employee on those homes.

Next Habitat moved to the north end of town, on East Nellie Street, acquiring four lots donated for the price of paying three years of back taxes.

“Over a period of six years, houses No. 6 through No. 10 were built with each family helping to build their own.

The Floyd Misener, Patti Kyle, Annie Reed, and Courtney Shaw families live on this street,” Schelin said.

The lot for house No. 10 on East Nellie was in the flood plain and unusable. With the addition of fill and assistance from the city, Habitat was able to acquire it as well and finish filling up the street “Danny Evans was the construction manager for House No. 10,” Schelin said. “Christy Kerns and her children moved in March 2018 with a sale price of $75,500.”

Between houses No. 9 and No.10, another project developed renovating the first home. Contractor Thad Hood Connection Magazine | 35

was hired, repairs and improvements made, including adding a storage shed, and another family placed in the home, Amanda Slater and her two children. It was rededicated in January 2017.

For its 11th house, Habitat also turned to the city, acquiring the lot at 526 W. Logan, acquired in a condemnation. The city demolished the house at the site and tacked the cost onto a tax lien. The city reduced the tax lien to $2,500 so that Habitat could purchase the lot.

“We’re not in the habit of reducing tax liens, except for Habitat,” said City Administrator Dennis Pyle.

Schelin noted that unlike typical lots, the Logan Street location is deep and narrow, requiring different house plans. She said there is enough room to place two mirror image houses on the property.

“Building in the winter is less than desirable, as we are finding out with current house No. 11,” she said. “We have had to cancel four Saturdays and the late start may give this house the booby prize for length of time.

“All houses are single story with about 1,200 square feet. The number of bedrooms, bathrooms, siding, flooring, paint, kitchen cabinets and light fixtures are chosen by each family and completed by volunteers. Professional sub-contractors are hired to do plumbing, electric, heating and air conditioning, roofing, insulation and sheetrock.

Whirlpool partners with HFHI by providing a stove and refrigerator for free.

Bedroom venetian blinds are donated

by Hunter Douglas. If the weather cooperates, the dedication for No. 11 should take place in April.”

Contractor Jim Copeland remains Habitat’s only paid employee. He has designed every house including the current one, which has a garage and a back porch. All the others have detached out-buildings, which were do36 | May 2019

nated.

Leadership for the affiliate has remained steady over the years, with some new faces coming as others have left. Schelin served as the early board president, followed by David Hutchens, Ron Overeem and Karen Nevin Standerwick. The late Jon Suit served for several years as vice president. In 2010, Ron Stair became president, with Frank Washburn stepping into the top spot in 2014.

“The reason almost everybody is involved, I think, is it’s a great way to provide a hand-up, not a hand-out,” said Washburn. “The people on the board are all great organizers and active people. Linda [Schelin] is organizing volunteers. Bill [Van Eaton] is organizing fundraising. Robert and Vicky [McGuire] are taking applications.

They’ve been at it long enough that they’re pretty skilled at it. I do try to fill out the form each year with International to verify we’re doing their procedures. We work diligently to achieve all those standards.”

Habitat bylaws call for four two-year terms on the board, ensuring a turnover in leadership. The local affiliate is supposed to maintain a board with a minimum of 12, “men and women from all walks of life and hopefully represents a well-rounded sampling of our community,” Schelin said.

“One can be a director for eight consecutive years, at which time he/ she must take at least a year hiatus before becoming a director, again. All are encouraged to stay active regardless of no vote on business matters. We are always seeking new directors. Over the years we have had 80 directors,” she continued.

Washburn would like to build participation in the Groundbreakers Club back to where it was 10 years ago. He noted there are many ways to help.

“Volunteers get to work with the

new homeowners,” he said. “You get hands-on experience doing things on a home. Truth is, it’s a Christian-based organization. I think we’re showing God’s love in the process.”

On Friday, May 17, Habitat will hold its second annual Trivia Night fundraiser. Last year’s event packed the fellowship hall at the First United Methodist Church with teams.

As a brand new venture, Habitat has joined with the Southwest Missouri Board of Realtors in the creation of the Neighborhood Revitalization program. This effort seeks local homeowners who need minor home repairs. The territory includes the Monett school district, Purdy, McDowell and Butterfield. Pre-application is separate from Habitat clients and are being accepted.

Interested persons may call 417-6352034 and leave a message.

“We are grateful for every individual and group that has donated their time, talent, and treasure,” Schelin said. “We are especially thankful for Chris Weber and Mike Garrett who have volunteered their legal counsel expertise.

Those interested in knowing more, are welcome to attend a board meeting usually held on the third Tuesday, at 5 p.m. at the First Christian Church, Fourth and Wishart.

“Yes, it is all Walt Hamer’s fault, but concurrent with [Habitat co-founder] Millard Fuller’s design. Walt served as a director for 10 years and was our treasurer for 8 consecutive years before his retirement. The fruit of this request has given several local families their dreams come true and this community has shown its true colors by supporting us with a multitude of giving hearts, hands, and pocketbooks.”

The Habitat board has approved beginning house No. 12. Applicants are currently being sought. Information is available by leaving a message at 417235-3333. n

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Connection Magazine | 37

Barry County Spring River — January 18th, 1844 Most people have received a letter from a family member at some point in their lives.

Sometimes the information within is the down-home, cozy chatter outlining the everyday events in the lives of the people and places of which they are familiar. At other times, the seemingly insignificant chit-chat can reveal a tremendous wealth of information.

The letter, below, includes an exact transcription of the document, including spelling and punctuation errors, as determined by researchers at the Missouri State Historical Society.

Dearest Gentleman, I received yours of the 21 of December last nights and I will answer yours as near as I can as to winding up your business it is uncertain when it can be done. I have collected but little Since you left and I believe I can’t get anymore of the notes that I have. As to our cases they have been altered So that it is difficult to get a man own in less than 18 months and off the debt is small the best will over run the principal our justice courts once in 3 months, an Circuit Court once in 6 months, I had thought I had Seen hard times for Cash but I never Seen Such a time as it is now there is no money among the people. Old B Jennings Below me at the Big Spring; his land of 160 acres was sold at our Court last November for $30 at Sherriff Sale there will be more land Sold at our may Court if men Cant get money and I don’t See any Chance for it. I will name them . Jessee Williamson, Jessee Duncan, and Robert Jennings near me.

Mr Isbell was at my house in October last and he told me he had Collected $500 for you. as to Selling Clocks for Cash I think the Chance would be low. but you might trade them for horses. The Credit Sistem [sic] is entirely done a way when there is any trading done hear hears on and theres tho other the fall has been rather wet and no great deal of rain but light showers the winter so far has been pleasant and no Cold weather only 2 days the first of this month. Our legislature at their last Session made 3 counties of dade and Barry and next winter the middle County will be organized an the Center of the middle County will be at Leland Mullins on 80 acres that I own I think it would be a good Chance for Some merchant to Commence with a Store if he

38 | May 2019

Could Sell as low as at Springfield and keep up an assat ment [sic] At our last Circuit Court last fall our County Seat of Barry was moved to Cars on the State road up flats our new County is attached to Barry to do all Business until the New County is organized the name of the new County is Lawrence. There was a woman fell out with her husband in Barry County on Shole [Shoal] Creek and when she found him a Sleep she took an ax an Struck him across the face and then Struck it in the Back part of his head up to the Eye and left and She has been Sent to the penetentiary [sic] for 5 years and is at work. Be mindful when you get a wife to learn and See iff [sic] She us good natured the Shorts have had their trial for Killing Lock and has been acqutted [sic] Short that killed lock is not Dead but I think he will die the wound is Still running and Bones coming out there was 3 ribs but in two and your ?? See the Stieffin?? round his hart the hole was wider than your hand, Lost him the reason it did not kill him he Said he had So much wolf Blood in him was the reason.

A Company of men took Skidmore out of his bed and took him to the woods and gave him 75 Stripes well laid on thinking they would make him lave [sic] Some few days after at a Justice Court the Same Company and Some others run Skidmore to his own house and then to get him out to whip him again and he Shot one man and killed dead on the ground and then they left.

My family has had bad health for the last 18 months we are at this time in tolerable health yours.

Respectfully

Sampson Wright

What's In a Letter?

Little clues reveal historical treasure trove

J

ami Lewis, an archivist with the Missouri State Historical Society, said there is a lot of information to be gleaned from this missive.

“What makes this letter so awesome is that it is written right at the formation of our county,” she said. “The letter was written before Mt. Vernon even existed.

The gentleman who wrote the letter was named Sampson Wright, born in 1792 in Virginia. His family migrated to Kentucky, and then to Howard County in Missouri, in 1820, which is actually a pretty common migration at that point in time.”

Research reveals that in 1930, Wright was on the census in Boone County. He moved to Barry County in the late 1830s, and donated the land for the town of Mt. Vernon to the newly formed Lawrence County. He loaned money to Lawrence County for early expenses.

“In 1856, Wright immigrated to Sonoma, Calif., where his oldest son had a prosperous business,” she said.

“He died 1867 in Santa Rosa, Calif.

For those of you familiar with mid18th century history, he got out of Dodge before the Civil War, which is probably a good thing. He was very wealthy. His son ended up a multi-millionaire doing trade with the 49ers. He opened a mercantile and sold goods to miners. Sampson Wright owned quite a bit of land here. He pre-empted on some and he filed on some at the General Land Office and it's all over Lawrence County. He lived west of town on the Spring River.”

Story and photo by Melonie Roberts

Wright appears to be responding to a letter he received from some possible business associates in Avon, Conn.

“I had thought I had Seen hard times for Cash but I never Seen Such a time as it is now there is no money among the people.”

“This wasn't just a local phenomenon,” Lewis said. “A panic began in 1837, and it lasted through 1844, and the country didn't really pull out of it, especially the south and rural areas, until 1850. Of course, we were rural and agricultural, so we were hit pretty hard, too. “[The panic] started when President Andrew Jackson decentralized the Second Bank of the United States,” she said. “Prices rose, interest rates rose, banks had difficulty in raising specie and in fact, the Bank of England almost completely folded as a result. Of course, agriculture was hardest hit, especially in the south and many farmers went bankrupt. As we can see, Old B. Jennings was one of the first to go.”

Old B Jennings Below me at the Big Spring; his land of 160 acres was sold at our Court last November for $30 at Sherriff Sale there will be more land Sold at our may Court if men Cant get money and I don’t See any Chance for it. I will name them. Jessee Williamson, Jessee Duncan, and Robert Jennings near me.

“Old B. Jennings, I believe, was William Jennings, Sr., born in Virginia in 1798. He married Anna Henson in 1815 in Virginia. She died in 1877. He appears on the 1820 and 1830 census in Grayson, Va. He cultivated a farm on the original 1835 General Land Of-

fice plat. He was in Barry County on the 1840 census. He lost his father in Virginia the same year he lost his farm.

He lost a three-year-old son right after he lost his farm. He died in 1848 and is buried at the Henson Cemetery, which is out on Hwy. 39 just before you get to Rt. OO, in a field to the east. He was the father of Robert Jennings, who was also mentioned in the letter.

“The 1835 GLO plat maps were the first hand drawn surveys taken in southwest Missouri between 1835 and sometimes 1839, depending on when the Native Americans were moved out,” she said. “It actually shows he had cultivation on the Spring River in 1835. He is actually one of the first guys to get here and make a vested interest.”

Jesse Williamson, who [Wright] mentioned as about to lose his farm, also born in Virginia in 1804, and migrated to Boone County in 1812. he married Francis Lee, and they moved to Spring River in Barry County in 1835, although on the 1835 GLO plats, there's nothing improved in his name. It means that it was improved, but the cartographer just didn't mark his field with his name. He preempted the land in 1838 and purchased it in 1839.

“When these guys came and settled, nobody owned the land,” Lewis said.

“Parts were still considered Delaware lands, some of it was Kickapoo land and some was Osage territory. Pioneers settled and basically squat. They waited for the land to open up for settlement and once the General Land Office opened in Springfield, they could go in Connection Magazine | 39

This flowery script is typical of the handwriting used in the 1800s when letters were written and then took weeks to deliver. In this letter from Sampson Wright, written in Lawrence County in 1844 and sent to a business associate by the name of Devens, located in the city of Avon, Hartford County, Connecticut. During that era, envelopes had not been manufactured, so the letters were folded and addressed on the outside, and secured with sealing wax.

and file on that land and hope nobody had beat them to it. So they preempt it, and say this is where I'm already living, and then they can purchase it once the GLO is up and running.

“Jesse Duncan, also mentioned in the letter, was also very difficult to track down. Born in South Carolina in 1798, he settled in Barry County in 1833 on Spring River, but then filed on land near Center Creek in 1848. That means he actually lost the land on Spring River and went to the south part of the county on Center Creek and started a new farm. His estate was probated in 1859, and I can't find a burial or a death date on him. Just because it's probated a certain year does not mean that is the year they died.”

Our legislature at their last Session made 3 counties of dade and Barry and next winter the middle County will be organized an the Center of the middle County will be at Leland Mullins on 80 40 | May 2019

acres that I own.

“Lawrence County has previously been part of six counties and one Indian territory,” Lewis said. “First it was Crawford, then Pulaski, then Wayne and then it was Delaware Indian lands.

Then it was Greene County, then Barry County, and then Lawrence County. Maps showing all this, because the succession happened pretty quickly, are pretty hard to find. Lawrence County was smack dab in the middle of Delaware land. A lot of these early records unfortunately were burned, so the only thing that is available of their original, very old territorial court records is what people walked out of the courthouse with.

“The 1879 plat map of Lawrence County, which includes Pierce City, shows the site of the old Barry County Courthouse, which was actually standing until about 1920,” she said. “It was used as a hay barn and then it burned

down. It was on the property of the Wild family. Gisela Wild, of that family, was actually murdered and set off the lynching.”

There was a woman fell out with her husband in Barry County on Shole [Shoal] Creek and when she found him a Sleep she took an ax an Struck him across the face and then Struck it in the Back part of his head up to the Eye and left and She has been Sent to the penetentiary [sic] for 5 years and is at work. Be mindful when you get a wife to learn and See iff [sic] She us good natured.

“TLC had a show, Who Do You Think You Are?, and one episode featured Cynthia Nixon, an actress on Sex and the City,” Lewis said. “This [woman] was her third great-grandmother.

Based on the depositions, the guy had it coming.”

“Noah Casto, the man that was murdered, lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana between 1820 and 1836. We know he moved around a lot. In 1839, he married Martha Curnett. He'd been married at least twice before. What's interesting is that in some of the court documents from the [Casto] murder, he wasn't very nice to his wives. He and Martha settled in Barry County sometime before 1843, somewhere around 41-42, and then Martha murders him with an axe in July 1843. According to court documents, he told her that day that she had to get her chores done or he was going to kill her, and then he went to take a nap in the middle of the day.

According to court documents, he was very abusive to her. It was not a good marriage. She was very young when they married, she was taken away from her family, down here in the boonies with this guy. She actually testified that she was afraid when she went back to the house that if he was awake, he was going to kill her. So he was asleep, she went out and got the axe, and decided,

'Nope. I'm going to kill you.'”

Curnett was born in 1812 in Tennessee, and she had two children with Noah Casto. She was convicted of first degree manslaughter in Barry County Justice Court, and she was only the second female prisoner to ever be imprisoned in the penitentiary. At the time of her incarceration, she was the only female prisoner, kept in seclusion, and was only allowed to work in the homes of Captain Ezra Richmond and Judge James Brown, the prison lessees. They were the wardens.

“While she is in Judge Brown's house, his wife abuses her,” Lewis said.

“Then all of a sudden, in the dead of winter, Martha gives birth to a baby girl, Sarah, while in prison.

“A man imprisoned with her wrote of his experiences in the prison, and he talked about her. She gave birth in her cell. Each cell had its own little potbellied coal stove for heat, and they wouldn't give her coal, they wouldn't give her food. For the first week after the child was born, she was given no food. The only covering she had for herself and the infant was a buffalo robe.”

Curnett was pardoned in January 1845 by Missouri Gov. John Edwards.

“So what happened?” Lewis asked.

“We have one lone female prisoner, her husband is dead, she's been in there a year and all of a sudden we have a baby.

Some politicians decided it looked bad and presented a petition for her release.

So [Edwards] pardons her. We still have no idea who the father of that child is, but my guess is it was Warden Brown.

“She moved on, and she kept her maiden name,” she said. “Her children dropped the Casto name and go by Curnett. It was really hard to trace her down, and what they did for the [TLC] show was they traced her son, who died in a prison during the Civil War in St. Louis. On his paperwork, the name Curnett was crossed out and Casto was

written in, and that's how they made the connection.”

Then there is the man named Skidmore.

A Company of men took Skidmore out of his bed and took him to the woods and gave him 75 Stripes well laid on thinking they would make him lave [sic] Some few days after at a Justice Court the Same Company and Some others run Skidmore to his own house and then to get him out to whip him again and he Shot one man and killed dead on the ground and then they left.

“From here on out, it is pure conjecture on my part,” Lewis said. “So I'm hunting for a man named Skidmore.

During the March term of Jasper County Court in 1842, an indictment was found against 11 persons for riotous conduct. A man by the name of Skidmore had incurred their displeasure because he gambled, horse-raced and was also guilty of other irregularities. They constituted themselves into a vigilance committee, waited on him one night and whipped him, and then notified him that he could take his choice between leaving the country by a certain time or faring worse. He concluded to stand his ground. A few nights after the first occurrence, the party went to the house and called him to come out, but he would not do it. They then commenced an assault on the house. One man, named George Messick, went to a hole on the wall and ordered Skidmore to surrender. He replied with a shot from his gun and missed Messick, but killed a man by the name of Henry G. Archer, who was standing behind him.

The besiegers then retired. Skidmore came in and had the parties indicted for riot. The case was continued for several terms and finally dismissed.

“Here's what I think happened,” she said. “The case was dismissed because Skidmore got out of Dodge. If you don't have a witness, you don't have a case.

How I came to think that the gentleman was Elijah Skidmore, he was found on the 1840 Barry County census. He was mentioned in the Jasper County Court records in 1842 and he filed on land near Reeds, northwest of Sarcoxie.

He's mentioned as E. Skidmore and Elijah Skidmore, and other than that, I couldn't find anything.

“Until...” she said. “Sometimes a basic Google search is your best friend as a researcher. I put in Elijah Skidmore, 1850, and then started searching Arkansas, Texas and [other states.]

I found a letter written by a woman in the 1920s to her grandchildren and she talks about how 'Grandpa Skidmore' was killed by Indians in 1855 near Fort Beltnap, Texas.

“So I go searching through what is now the Bureau of Indian Affairs records, and sure enough, I pop on Elijah Skidmore who lives at the fort, and soldiers want him gone because he sells whisky to the Comanche. He's very consistent. He's an interesting feller.

And sometimes, these interesting cats, the ones who are hardest to find, are usually criminals of some sort, because they change their names, they move often.

“This guy had two daughters and a son,” she said. “I start looking and find who I believe is the son on the 1850 Texas census, near the fort, and living with him is an elderly E. Skidmore, who I believe is our friend Elijah. But, again, this is all purely speculation on my part.

There isn't enough to put it together, but I am pretty sure that this is our guy.

“The Bureau of Indian Affairs records show they were not happy, they wanted him out of there,” she said. “The family's story shows that he took off to meet the Comanche somewhere outside the fort, and his slave came behind him with a wagon loaded with barrels of whisky. Apparently, he didn't have the whisky, so the Comanche killed Connection Magazine | 41

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him and his slave later came upon the body, which was very brutally [handled] as the Comanche did. He was cut up into pieces. The slave loaded his master into the wagon and turned around and went back to the fort.

The report written about the incident shows the commander is relieved because this guy is dead.

“When you research some of these things, whether genealogical or historical, you find some of these people, like Elijah Skidmore, and we wouldn't know [anything about him] if it wasn't for this letter,” Lewis said.

“This may be the only record about what happened to him.”

But the overall lesson running throughout the letter is how, with a few brief clues, researchers can build the background on the people who migrated to this area long before our time.

“This is a really great lesson on how southern Missouri counties were formed,” Lewis said. “This was very early. We tend to think of the 1830s as being the earliest settlement, but a lot of these people moved on. Very few of them actually stayed. And that's common all across the United States with the frontier moving west. People stayed, land gets plotted out, it gets too crowded, a bad crop, a bad winter, the family dies or the law is catching up with someone, so they move on. Some genuinely came to start a new life, and that's what I think the Jennings did, because his son is still here. His grandchildren are still here.

Then you get that second wave of settlement, and it's better documented.”

The letter, which was donated by Joe Patton, along with other artifacts from the early settlements of Lawrence County, are on display at the MRC Museum, 112 W. Dallas St. in Mt. Vernon. n

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cutest pet

SADIE Sadie, the 10-year-old Labrador/ German Shorthair fur baby of Carissa and James Pettit of Aurora If you think your furry or feathered friend is the cutest in the area, let us know! We invite you to share a photo of your pet to be featured in Connection’s Cutest Pet contest.

Email your pet’s photo to:

connection@monett-times.com 44 | May 2019

Photos should be sent in the original JPG format at the highest resolution possible. Remember to include your pet’s name, city of residence and your contact information.

rescued, my favorite breed

The best friend’s sixth sense explained

I

t is Springtime and a very busy time at all of the shelters, puppies and kittens are brought to the shelters because people rely on them to find good homes. Faithful Friends currently has five litters of pups and several litters of kittens. And all of this could have been avoided by spaying and neutering the moms and dads. I know you have all seen the statistics that one female dog can produce 97,000 puppies and one female cat can produce 420,000 kittens in their lifetime. That is the primary cause for dumped and stray animals. The life expectancy of these animals unfortunately is not good, many are run over by cars, some are shot because they interfere with livestock and some simply become ill due to malnutrition and die. Not a very nice future for these animals. Please spay and neuter your pets!

Springtime is also a time of renewal and a time for spring storms. My German Shepherd does a better job of predicting severe weather than most forecasts. He always wakes me up about 30 minutes before a storm hits and demands that we go to the basement. As soon as we are there, he lays down and promptly goes to sleep (while I am wide awake waiting out the storm).

Many years ago when my family lived in a small town in Kansas, we had a German Shepherd named Boots. He was extremely smart, very empathetic and almost impossible to keep at home. We had to bail him out of doggy jail several times and the last time, while at the pound, he had climbed an 8’ fence to get into the next kennel over and keep a scared and shivering terrier company. Now, you would think if he can climb an 8’ fence to calm a neighboring dog, he could also get out of the pound himself and get home, but no, we always had to pay the fine.

Every afternoon, while school was in session, Boots would walk about six blocks to the schoolhouse, wait for the buses to arrive and he would then escort a young student home.

One time, my husband followed him and his little companion home and asked the mother if Boots was bothering her son.

Her response was that no, quite the contrary, her son had been afraid to walk home because there were other dogs along the way that barked at him and scared him. Since Boots was walking with him, the other dogs no longer bothered the boy and he was proud of his doggy friend.

Christa stout

For more information on any of the Faithful Friends animals or to volunteer, go to www.FFAANeosho.org, contact us on Facebook, or by calling the adoption center at 417.592.2512.

We always need volunteers, and we always have adoptable dogs and cats!

MABEL is a beautiful and smart dog who likes to observe, and you can just see the wheels turn in her head sometimes. She likes to love on her humans and would be great to take on walks! She would probably be best as an only dog, but might be ok with a prior meeting.

FENRIS ULF OR FEN (for short) is a big boy with an even bigger heart. He especially loves his people, but dogs...not so much. He is an adventurer, an observer and quite the lover. He was previously adopted to a home but wasn’t pleased with their dog.

PUPPIES, I couldn’t help share a picture of one of the litters, a Pile of Puppies—one of several on the next page.

Connection Magazine | 45

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46 | May 2019

Then, one day, in the spring, a snowstorm arrived and school was called early. One of my colleagues who was at home that day, called me at work and said: “Your dog has ESP”. I burst out laughing and asked her what made her think so? She told me that it was about noon and she had just received a call from the school that school would be let out early, when she looked out the window and there was Boots traipsing through the snow, determined to escort another child home. My colleague asked me “how did he know school was called early? I just received the call myself.”

Well, I truly didn’t have an answer and told my husband the story that evening. He laughed even more and told me why Boots always knew what time he had to head for the school—he could hear the engines of the buses starting up and that was his clue to get busy and do his escorting job. However, it was so much fun having a dog with ESP, I never shared that part.

It is sad to know that there are so many smart and loving dogs in shelters who just want to please a human. At Faithful Friends we get many adoption updates where humans said they thought they were rescuing a pet, when in fact, they were being rescued by their pet. Their lives were enriched, happier and healthier because of their pets. I second that!

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Connection Magazine | 47

Big Horn Ram in Lamar Valley

Old Faithful eruption catches a rainbow

48 | May 2019

Red Fox at Yellowstone National Park

Mount Moran from Oxbow on the Snake River

Photo essay of Yellowstone National Park

by Pete Rauch

Bison Lamar Valley Yellowstone National Park

Connection Magazine | 49

Bald Eagles perched

Male Cardinal

Blue Jay Bald Eagle in flight in Newtonia 50 | May 2019

Calendar

May 2019 May 1 Blood pressure checks will be taken at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob beginning at 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., and be taken at the Cassville Senior Center beginning at 10:30 a.m.

May 2 Benefit Counseling by appointment at the Cassville Senior Center. Call 847-4510.

Paint Class at the Cassville Senior Center at 9:00 a.m.

May 3 The First Friday Coffee, sponsored by the Cassville Chamber of Commerce will be held at the Community Support Services 8 to 8:45 a.m.

Special Mother’s Day Lunch served at the Cassville Senior Center, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a gift drawing to be held.

The Seligman Chamber of Commerce will host a dance at the Seligman Chamber Event Center at 7 p.m.

May 11 Power of Pink Walk, Run, Auction starts at the Wheaton City Park at 9 a.m. Checkin at 8 a.m., Auction at 9 a.m. Proceeds this year will go to help seven local women. For more info, call 417-466-5401.

Registration form available online at: www.powerofpinkmo.com.

May 20 Notary services available at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob, 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Tortoise and the Hare 5K Fun Run/Walk starting at the Chamber Park presented

by Shell Knob Subway, Shell Knob Chamber and the Shell Knob School.

May 4 The Seligman Chamber of Commerce will host a dance at the Seligman Chamber Event Center at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 each, and attendees are asked to bring a snack to share. No alcohol or smoking is allowed. For more information, call 417662-3612.

The Seligman Chamber of Commerce will host a dance at the Seligman Chamber Event Center at 7 p.m.

The 11th annual Pierce City Arts Festival and fourth annual Jolly Mill Challenge 5K and Fun Run will be held at the Jolly Mill Park, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The day of the race, the registration fee is $30. For more information, call 417-489-3041.

May 14 Stress Busters Program at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob 12:30 to 2 p.m.

May 15

May 6 The monthly dance at the Monett Park Casino will be held with Timberline Country band playing. Please bring a snack to share.

Notary Services available at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob, 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

May 7 Stamping Up—a card making class, will be held at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell at 12:45 p.m.

Stress Busters Program at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob 12:30 to 2 p.m.

A computer class will be held at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob at 12:45 p.m.

May 8 Grace Foot Care by appointment at Cassville Senior Center. Call 847-4510.

May 10 Dinner and Auction at the Fairview Community Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. with proceeds to benefit the Power of Pink Walk, Run.

May 13 First Annual Shakin' for the Shell Golf Tournament at the Holiday Island Golf Course, hosted by the Shell Knob Chamber.

Blood pressure checks will be taken at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob beginning at 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

Live music by The Shell Knob Strings will be at the Cassville Senior Center during the lunch hour.

May 16 Alan Miller will present a program on Ledger Rock Lures at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob beginning at 12:45 p.m.

Paint Class at the Cassville Senior Center at 9:00 a.m.

May 17 The annual Cassville Chamber of Commerce sponsored Golf Tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. at the Cassville Golf Course.

Cassville Senior Center will celebrate Older Americans Month with a full day of activities. For more information, call 847-4510.

Nell’s Nails begins at 9 a.m. Call 417-8586952 for an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob.

May 21 Computer class will be held at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob at 12:45 p.m.

Free breakfast at the Cassville Senior Center beginning at 8 a.m.

Stress Busters Program at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob 12:30 to 2 p.m.

Grace Health Services at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob. Call for an appointment 417-858-6952.

May 22 WIC at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob. Call 417-2114 for an appointment.

Nell’s Nails begins at 9 a.m. Call 8474510 for an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome at the Cassville Senior Center.

Oxford Health talk presented by Susan Rauch will be held at the Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob beginning at 11:45 a.m.

May 23 The Pierce City Senior Center Dance will hold its regular monthly dance.

May 24 Memorial Day Cookout will be held at the Central Crossing Senior Center starting at 11:15 a.m.

May 25 The Seligman Chamber of Commerce will host a dance at the Seligman Chamber Event Center at 7 p.m.

May 31 Birthday lunch will be served at the Cassville Senior Center beginning from 11 a.m. till 12:30 p.m.

May 18 Multi Species Fishing Tournament at the Kings River Marina, hosted by the Shell Knob Chamber of Commerce.

Connection Magazine | 51

connection on the go

community Activities BINGO Every Thursday night BINGO at the smoke-free Shell Knob/Viola Community Building on Oak Ridge Drive, 1/2 mile south of the Shell Knob bridge beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Come early for the Horse Race, Pull Tabs and good food.

Oak Pointe Bridge Club Oak Pointe Bridge Club meets every Monday and Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Lunch can be purchased for $3.

Call 417-235-3500.

MONETT SENIOR CENTER Bingo every day at noon; Exercise every Monday at 9:45 a.m. Pitch every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30; and Pinochle every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12:30 p.m.

CASSVILLE SENIOR CENTER Dominoes every Tuesday and Friday at noon.

Exercise class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10-11 a.m. Call 417-847-4510 for more information.

Cale Jackson, a senior at Cassville High School, and Elizabeth Ray, a freshman at Cassville, took a Connection Magazine on their medical mission trip in Gonaives, Haiti, Jan. 10-19. A total of 10 people went on a medical mission trip in Gonaives, Haiti, Jan. 10-19. Those who went included: Brenda Ray, Sam Ray, Diane and Dr. Tom Sharp, Cody McDaniel, Melissa McDaniel, Wendy Rowan, Ashley Butler, Debbie McDaniel and Dr. Debbie Fairless.

CENTRAL CROSSING SENIOR CENTER, SHELL KNOB, MO. Regular events: Wii Bowling every Wednesday, 12:45 to 3 p.m. New bowlers welcome.

Friends’ Bridge every Friday. Call Quita at 417-271-9803 for details.

Cards Galore every Friday with Pitch beginning at 9 a.m.

Domino Poker, every day from 12:45.

Qigong Exercise every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m.

Come On In And See Us! Jeff & Christy Holenda Owners

Rusty Gate Flea Market

Antiques - Collectibles – Vintage Gifts Household Goods – More!

Op en 7

52 | May 2019

Days

y unda S 4 a Week 95 Mon-Sat 11

Arthritis Exercise class is held every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

484 MO Hwy. 76 Cassville, MO 417-342-9315

Mah Jongg every Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Line Dancing every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

Quilting for Charity every Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Balance and Flexibility class is held every Monday from 9:30 to 10 a.m.

familiar faces

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5 7 The Monett Historical Society is sponsoring a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spring into Springâ&#x20AC;? luncheon and fashion show on March 23 at the Monett Museum.

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Front: Lynn Kellhofer, Mary Mael, Cathy Lewis Back: Joyce Williams, Edna Haynes Carol Stidham, Mary Milhollin Ann Caraway, Martha Himebaugh Kathy Kellhofer, Toni Obermann, Coleen Sharon Norma Kaiser, Alice Heim, Norma Hilton Front: Dolores Thompson, Linda Gaines, Brenda Stanley Back: Debbie Brafford, Ruse Huffmaster, Geri Carey Kathy Parrigon, Jan Rowell, Judy Schneider, Jill Carter

6 Connection Magazine | 53

The Monett Young Professionals Group and the Monett Chamber of Commerce hosted the annual Monett Community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 6, at the Monett City Park Casino.

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Rusty, RayLeigh and Brittany Holland Front: Duriah and Grayson Tudor Back: Desi and Darissa Ennes, Durrel and Dayiah Tudor Nancy Carver, RayLynn Peetz

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2 54 | May 2019

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2 The American Legion Auxiliary hosted a 100th anniversary celebration for the American Legion and a dinner for local veterans on March 23 at the American Legion Home in Monett.

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Ashley and Henslie Stephens Sierra Golubski, holding Emberly Golubski, Aaliyah, Lakelynn and Jon Golubski Stephanie and Livia Waters Shianne and Barrett Carter Darleen, Mylee, Angel and Mariyah Aceves

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9 9. Michele Gaither, Jaylee Hoffman, Delores Forrester 10. Front: Christopher Smith, Jeremiah Campbell

Back: April Smith, Mikaila Jenkins

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James Schad, Anna-Marie Schad, Cheryl Schad June Brandt, Carol Brown, Mabel Harrell Elmer Conway, Denny Brown, Wayne Halstenberg Dick Gibson, Tresa Enos Cheryl Elbert, Debbi Netzer Bud and Rosemary Boes

Connection Magazine | 55

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9 The ninth annual Transition and Resource Expo was held on March 19 at the Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett.

56 | May 2019

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10 Debbie Salyer, Linda Schelin, Dawn TenBroeck, Leigh Salyer, Harold Schelin Debbie Bricker, Eric Crouch, Brittany Morris Mason and Kathryn Newkirk Brenda Lakin, Debbie Weathermon Robin Bucher, Suzanne Angyal

6. George Woodward, Christen Beck 7. Caitlyn Stringer, Grethcen Pounds 8. Sarah Fuller, Nancy Breen 9. Deanna Cecenas, Dani Deskin,

Michael Cassity, Brittany Brosseau 10. Katie Long, Abby Long, Donna Remington,

Angela Long

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6 The annual Southwest Missouri Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited banquet and fundraiser was held Saturday, March 16, at St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic School in Pierce City.

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Carmella Buckner, Justin Schengbier and Hailey Buckner David and Jackie Counts David, Ava and Rachel Luebbering Jenna, Zach, Mickey and Lucas Teeter Carl Nance and Ted Intessimone Quinlan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hagan and Craig Williams Alan and Callie Barbre and Nick Christman

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7 Connection Magazine | 57

Parting shot

Photo by Mica Plummer

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.â&#x20AC;?

-John Locke 58 | May 2019

ad v e r t i s e r 's i n d e x Acambaro Mexican Restaurant..............2 Access Dental............................................9 Adelita's Maxican Restaurant.............. 42 Aire Serv......................................................6 Barry-Lawrence Regional Library..........3 Bill Vance Marine................................... 30 Bruner Pharmacy.................................... 18 Carey's Cassville Florist................. 18, 28 Coast to Coast ....................................... 43 Coldwell Banker........................................9 Community National Bank................... 21 Cox Medical Center............................... 60 Cubs Café................................................ 21 Diet Center.............................................. 31 Doug's Pro Lube..................................... 24 Edgewood Creamery............................. 31 Edward Jones.............................................5 First State Bank of Purdy..................... 37 Fohn Funeral Home..................................9 Four Seasons Real Estate..................... 14 Four States Dental Care....................... 59 Freedom Bank of Southern Missouri...... ............................................................ 24 Friendly Tire............................................. 46 Guanajuato ............................................. 18 J&J Flooring Covering........................... 37 Jay Marshall............................................. 43 Ken's Collision Center........................... 30 Kiddie City............................................... 17 Lackey Body Works............................... 46 Lil Boom Town Event............................. 46 Mattax Neu Prater Eye Center............ 28 Monett Main Street............................... 43 Ozark Methodist Manor....................... 42 Peppers and Co...................................... 43 Purdy Health Clinic................................ 17 Race Brothers............................................6 Rainbow Gardens................................... 17 Riehn, J. Michael; attorney................... 26 Rusty Gate Flea Market........................ 52 Scott Regional Technology Center..... 14 Security Bank of Southwest Missouri.... ........................................................ 31 Shelter Insurance............................ 21, 28 Swartz Tractor......................................... 24 The Brown Bag Breakroom.................. 46 The Coffee Café..................................... 37 The Jane Store........................................ 42 Trogdon Marshall................................... 42 White's Insurance.................................. 26 Whitley Pharmacy.................................. 14

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Hablamos Español Connection Magazine | 59

60 | May 2019