Missouri Life April/May 2013

[ TH E OZ A R K S ’ D I SA PPE A R ING TR E E

1 1 2 SPR ING FE STI VALS ]

THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY

BREATHTAKING

WATERFALLS SWEET!

7 DESSERT AND MISSOURI WINE PAIRINGS

FOLLOW

Ulysses S. Grant’s CIVIL WAR TRAIL

APRIL 2013 | $4.50

(Display until May 31)

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Full Service Spa

e Rock Lake On the shores of Tabl

Lots of Family Activities

BigCedar.com

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Escape...

& Rejuvenate.

The Lodge of Four Seasons has been a travel destination for nearly 50 years.

Featuring 54 holes of award-winning championship golf, the Lake’s largest full service marina and nationally acclaimed SPA SHIKI, where you will experience personalized attention for the ultimate in relaxation.

After a full day on the lake, treatments at the spa, or a day on the golf course, lounge at any one of our four swimming pools, including our indoor/ outdoor pool.

With a myriad of entertainment options and awardwinning restaurants and lounges, it’s no wonder The Lodge is one of the top destinations at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Use our advance purchase plan and save 20% per night Booking in advance can help you save big. Just book the Advance Purchase Rate and enjoy the savings on your next trip! Must be made and booked at least 21 days in advance of arrival to qualify.

Play the best With accolades from the Missouri Golf Association and Golf Magazine, enjoy the opportunity to play three legendary golf courses - Porto Cima designed by Jack Nicklaus, The Cove designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr and The Ridge designed by Ken Kavanaugh.

THE LODGE of FOUR SEASONS A T R A D I T I O N AT T H E L A K E

Horseshoe Bend Parkway | Lake Ozark, MO | 800.843.5253 | 573.365.3000 | www.4SeasonsResort.com [3] April 2013

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Kayaking on Table Rock Lake

Acrobats of China

Cat’s Pajamas

Payne Stewart Golf Club

Titanic Museum Attraction

Big Cedar Lodge

SIX

Ride The Ducks

YOU WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF THINGS TO DO IN

BRANSON FEATURING OVER 100 LIVE SHOWS • SILVER DOLLAR CITY • TITANIC MUSEUM THREE PRISTINE LAKES • BRANSON LANDING • FISHING • BOATING • MUSEUMS • SPAS • GOLF ZIP LINES • OUTLET SHOPPING • DINING • RESORTS • HISTORIC DOWNTOWN

877-BRANSON - ExploreBranson.com [4] MissouriLife

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NEW IN

Branson Landing

2o13!

Branson Convention Center

Liverpool Legends

Branson Zipline

Bass Fishing

The Duttons

WHAT’S NEW IN BRANSON!

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES COMING TO BRANSON AIRPORT Southwest starts flights in and out of Branson on March 9, with daily nonstop service to Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby and Chicago Midway, and Saturday-only service to Orlando. Southwest will assume all flying from AirTran Airways, its wholly-owned subsidiary, with AirTran’s operations at Branson fully converting to Southwest Airlines.

NEW AT SILVER DOLLAR CITY – OUTLAW RUN Thrill ride enthusiasts around the world will mark a first-of-its-kind ride debut at Branson’s Silver Dollar City in Spring 2013 when the 1880s-style theme park makes history with the opening of Outlaw Run, the world’s most daring wood coaster.

THE CHILDREN OF TITANIC The world’s largest museum attraction will bring Titanic’s littlest heroes out of the shadows and into the hearts of guests when they find new stories in a gallery dedicated exclusively to the Children of Titanic. Each child who boarded Titanic had a dream and a story to tell.

877-BRANSON - ExploreBranson.com [5] April 2013

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Watch LIVE At

BransonVisitorTV.com

Your Guide To Branson, Missouri!

Shows Dining Lakes Outdoors Shopping History

Channel 5 In Your Branson Hotel Room &

Online At BransonVisitorTV.com

Branson Spotlight

New in 2013 OUTLAW RUN AT

Outlaw Run will feature the world’s first and only double barrel roll on a wood coaster.

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John Knox Village East

THE SPIR IT OF DISCOV ERY

Live more. Enjoy the ride.

501 High Street, Ste. A, Boonville, MO 65233 660-882-9898 | Info@MissouriLife.com

Publisher Greg Wood Editor in Chief Danita Allen Wood Executive Office Manager Amy Stapleton EDITORIAL & ART Creative Director Andrew Barton Associate Editor Lauren Licklider Associate Art Director Sarah Herrera Associate Art Director Thomas Sullivan Graphic Designer Taylor Blair Calendar Editor Amy Stapleton Copy Editor Sarah Alban Editorial Assistants Briana Altergott, Tina Casagrand, Winn Duvall, Rachel Kiser, Andrea Kszystyniak, Madeline Schroeder, Jenner Smith Columnists Ron W. Marr, Danny R. Phillips

Ask us about this surprisingly affordable retirement option.

660-584-4416 • www.johnknoxvillageeast.com • Higginsville, MO

MO LIFE scooter.indd 1

The State Historical Society of Missouri Explore Missouri’s Historic Newspapers!

2/18/13 9:08 AM

Contributing Writers Sarah Alban, Alan Brouilette, Carol Carpenter, Stephanie Edwards, John Fisher, A.J. Hendershott, Jiaxi Lu, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, Debra Pamplin, James Rada Jr., John Robinson, Joe Stange, Jim Winnerman, Gregory Wolk Contributing Photographers Sarah Alban, Carol Carpenter, A.J. Hendershott, Notley Hawkins, Dustin Holmes, Mike McArthy, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, Joe Stange, Gregory Wolk MARKETING Sales Manager Mike Kellner Senior Account Executive Tom Votrain Sales Account Executive Paula Renfrow DIGITAL MEDIA MissouriLife.com, Missouri Lifelines & Missouri eLife Editor Cathy Rodr TO SUBSCRIBE OR GIVE A GIFT AND MORE Use your credit card and visit MissouriLife.com or call 877-570-9898, or mail a check for $19.99 (for 6 issues) to: Missouri Life, 501 High Street, Ste. A, Boonville, MO 65233-1211.

Change address: Visit mol.magserv.com/scc.php and enter email address or your label information to access your account, or send both old and new addresses to us.

OTHER INFORMATION Custom Publishing: For your special publications, call 800-492-2593, ext. 106 or email Greg.Wood@MissouriLife.com.

Back Issues: Order from website, call, or send check for $7.50.

EXPLORE HERE! http://shs.umsystem.edu/newspaper/mdnp/

This project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

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Contents APRIL 2013

[46] braNsoN, redefiNed Branson’s performers are mixing old traditions with new thrills, and a Las Vegas lover and Branson skeptic heads to the entertainment city.

featured >

[24] mo music Blues-rock band Don’t Mind Dying gears up for its new album of original content.

[30] missouri artist Artist Karl Timmerman plays with photography.

[74] show-me flavor Our go-to guide on how to pair Missouri dessert wines with our favorite desserts.

[128] show-me homes A renovation in Cape Girardeau reveals a secret.

[133] musiNGs oN missouri On the ironic nature of social media.

special features >

[36] happy birthday missouri life! take a tour through forty years of content as our writer notes changes and similarities through the years.

[42] the falls of missouri photographer mike mcarthy captures the tranquility of ozark waterfalls.

[54] Ghost tree comeback Courtesy the BaldknoBBers JamBoree

once considered long gone, the ozark chinquapin is making a surprising comeback.

[58] followiNG GraNt

special sections > [70] fueliNG the ruN

the ulysses s. Grant trail showcases the president’s legacy as a civil war leader.

Learn how protein powers the members of Team Beef.

[62] battlefield aNGels

[91] fraNkliN couNty

the st. louis daughters of charity comforted wounded civil war soldiers.

Explore the beauty of Franklin County.

[66] off the rocks

[134] katy trail

our writer finds herself in bourbon and hopes to buy the mayor a drink.

Embark on an adventure with our handy guide.

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Contents

CONTENT BY LOCATION 86

APRIL 2013

departments > [12] MEMO

Life Brewery in St. Louis.

Celebrate Missouri products, farms, wineries, breweries, and more with the

[26] SHOW-ME BOOKS

Missouri Life Festival and a new book.

Adventurer John Robinson pens a book on his travels across Missouri, and food

[16] LETTERS

writer Nina Furstenau explores Mis-

A memorable postcard of Valentine

souri’s food secrets.

58 58 58 58 22, 58, 84 24 62, 126 30 66 58 33 21 54 42 42 33 58 22 42 42 33 58, 128 21 58 22, 42, 46, 50, 86

[145] ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Tapley, a tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright, fans of Missouri French, forty covers,

[33] MADE IN MISSOURI

more Missouri tees, help for 4-H, photo

K. Hall Designs makes inspired scents,

contest rules, and a closed restaurant.

W.F. Norman crafts historic tin ceilings,

[162] MISSOURIANA

and Circle B. Ranch raises tasty pork.

Last bits on Branson, Civil War nurses,

Our listing of 112 events and festivals.

[21] MO MIX

Missouri dogs, waterfalls, and Grant.

Sleep in a train off of the Katy Trail,

[84] DINING WORTH THE DRIVE

try sucker fish at Nixa’s Sucker Day

Dancing Bear in Corder is a country ex-

Festival, get goods delivered on the

perience, White Rose in Mound City is

river, take a ride on Silver Dollar City’s

a quaint cafe, and Billy Bob’s Dairyland

new coaster, and grab a pint at Civil

in Branson is a throwback to the fifties.

– THIS ISSUE –

On the Web

NEW BLOGS

HEAR THE MUSIC

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Writers John Robinson, Arthur Mehrhoff, John

Check out two covers from Columbia’s blues-

Former Missouri Life editor Jeanne Nunn Lafs-

Brown, and Nina Furstenau bring you tales

rock band Don’t Mind Dying: “Evil” and “Too

er shares her side of the story in this exclusive

and stories on Missouri Life’s blog, MO!

Much Woman.”

interview for our fortieth anniversary.

Mother’s Day Gifts

A gift subscription to Missouri Life is the perfect Mother’s Day gift. You’ll also find T-shirts, books, cards, and more at www.MissouriLife.com.

on the cover > DEWEY COVE FALLS Ozarks Photographer Mike McArthy captured this shot of Dewey Cove Falls, located outside Branson in the Henning Conservation Area off Highway 76. The falls flow from Dewey Cove Creek.

COURTESY JOHN ROBINSON, DON'T MIND DYING, AND JEANNE NUNN LAFSER

Sign up for Missouri Lifelines, our free e-newsletter, and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MissouriLife or on Twitter @MissouriLife.

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SEASON PASSES on saLe Beginning apriL 8

Season passes include a ticket to all four concerts in an exclusive up-front seating area and a FREE Farmer’s Pick Buffet® valid the night of the show – all for only $115!

2013 concert lineup includes: Tracy Lawrence on May 17 Four Tops on JuLy 12 LoreTTa Lynn on augusT 9 LiTTLe river Band on ocToBer 18 Season passes available online at www.jestersjam.com and at the hotel front desk.

100 isle of capri Blvd. • Boonville, Mo 65233 www.isleofcapricasinos.coM • 1-800-tHe-isle © 2013 Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Must be 21 to attend. Season passes are non-refundable. Subject to change/cancellation without notice.

Bet with your head, not over it. Gambling problem? Call 1-888-BETS-OFF or e-mail freehelp@888betsoff.org. www.isleofcapricasinos.com

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MISSOURI

emo

COME CELEBRATE MISSOURI!

SAVOR MISSOURI

ON MAY 4TH, you are invited to come and experience the best

TWO THINGS I like to do are to eat and travel, especially travel

food, wine, and art of Missouri all gathered in one place. It is an honor and privilege to host the Missouri Life Festival at the world famous Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. The festival starts at 11 AM and runs until 7 PM. Bringing forth a festival like this is something we have been kicking around for several years. Missouri now has more than 130 wineries, hundreds of farm-to-table food producers, and dozens of microbreweries. We even have several distilleries offering fine vodka, whiskey, and moonshine. We wanted to bring these great producers together in one place at one time to let you sample and enjoy the fruit of their efforts. And, we wanted to hold it in one of GREG WOOD, PUBLISHER Missouri’s iconic locations.

I could think of no better venue for our festival than the Nelson-Atkins and was so thrilled that the director of administration, Mark Zimmerman, invited us to come to the museum to discuss the possibility. He was as enthusiastic as we were about holding the festival at the Nelson-Atkins! He offered to have us hold the event in two grand rooms that adjoin each other: Rozzelle Court and Kirkwood Hall.

Here’s just a short list of vendors that will be there that day: Amigoni Urban Winery, Baltimore Bend Winery, Belvoir Winery, The Berry Nutty Farm, Burnt Ends BBQ Pub and Grub, Caldarello Italian Sausage, Cass County Mercantile, Circle B Ranch, Cooper’s Oak Winery, Copper Run Distillery, Fahrmeier Family Vineyards, Float Trip Pickles, Heartstone Foods, Hermannhof Winery, Hummingbird Kitchen, Lost Creek Vineyard and Winery, Pinckney Bend Distillery, Shawnee Bluff Winery, Stone Hill Winery, St. James Winery, T’s Redneck Steakhouse, Traver Home Winery, Troutdale Farm, Uncle Bob’s Spice and Blends, Van Till Family Farm Winery, Wenwood Farm Winery, Westphalia Vineyards, The White Rose Winery, Wind and Willow, and many more!

And let’s not forget the fantastic art you’ll be surrounded by at the Nelson-Atkins, including Missouri artists Thomas Hart Benton and George Caleb Bingham. The museum now includes more than thirty-three thousand works of art from around the world in all art forms, including a sculpture park on the expansive lawns surrounding the museum.

Entrance to the museum is free, but there will be an entrance fee of $20 for advance ticket buyers to attend our tastings. Plan to spend the entire day so you can have time to take it all in! There will be plenty to eat and drink. Buy your tickets now at www.MissouriLife.ticketbud.com/ missouri-life-festival. Or, just call us at 800-492-2593 ext. 101 or email amy@missourilife.com, and we’ll get you fixed up. See you there!

around Missouri. So when my writer friend Nina Furstenau proposed a book that is combination travel guide and cook book, I was hooked. That the book would also promote some of Missouri’s small farms and restaurants was yet another bonus.

We planned the book while riding our bikes on the Katy Trail, which seemed somehow fitting, planning a guidebook to some of Missouri’s food trails while enjoying another famous Missouri trail.

Nina did the enjoyable but time-consuming work of visiting many farms, restaurants, and other destinations along the way in the River Hills County.

But that was just the beginning. Then one of our art directors and a foodie herself, Sarah DANITA ALLEN WOOD, EDITOR Herrera, took over and made the recipes Nina had collected, both to make sure everything worked well and also to photograph the result.

The result of their team effort is the book Savor Missouri: River Hills Country Food and Wine. The book features more than seventy of Missouri’s finest food producers and restaurants or other destinations and seventy-two of their recipes along the Missouri, Mississippi, and Meramec Rivers on the eastern side of our state. Our hope is that the book will turn into a series, and we’ll get to cover the rest of the state as well.

We think most of you will want to try the recipes. But there was another complicating side effect to reading the book. It made me want to raise more of my own food. I already have four hens and am getting fresh eggs. But as I read every short story, I wanted to jump into the business.

As she wrote about Steve and Veronica Baetje’s cheese-making operation at Bloomsdale, I wanted a goat. (I have the barn. Why not?) Then there was Karlios Hinkebein, who raises pigs at Cape Girardeau. And as I read about Connie Cunningham, the Goose Lady at Morrison, I thought, sure, why not add a few geese?

We even have the perfect southern slopes for growing grapes. (There are eighteen wineries featured in the book as well.) There are also fifteen restaurants in the book, and yet, I don’t feel at all compelled to start one of those. I guess it’s my farm heritage at work here.

All this dreaming of the animals I’d like to raise would complicate the other part, traveling around Missouri a bit more. But I will figure that out. Greg, when can I get a goat, a pig, and a goose? Oh, and a pony for my new grandbaby to ride?

For more information on Savor Missouri: River Hills Country Food & Wine, see page 28.

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Over 1500 Varieties

Join us for

Annuals & Tropicals

selection of

Perennials

here on the

Lonnie Whitaker’s novel, Geese to a Poor Market, has been a source of entertainment to readers who love great stories, great characters, and wit mixed into one great book. “Geese to a Poor Market is a novel of the Ozarks, with an ensemble cast of crooks, moonshiners, preachers, lawyers, and odd-ball characters. It has one leg that wants to boogie, and the other planted on a pew.”

a fantastic

plants grown

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April

Letters from all over You write them. We print them. long BeArds We collect postcards, and when i saw the blurb about valentine tapley (Missouriana, February 2013), a lightbulb went on—i think we have a postcard of that guy. here it is. if you have seen the picture, it won’t amount to anything, but at least we have the rest of the story of why he did it in the first place. thought you’d want to know.

—Bob and Mary Voorheis, Independence Great find! Valentine Tapley, a democrat from Pike County, swore he would never shave again if Lincoln was elected. He didn’t shave from 1860 until he died in 1910.

His beard was twelve and a half feet long. –Editors

TriBuTe To FrAnk lloyd WrighT i was able to buy Missouri Life (February 2013) this week and saw and read the article. it is outstanding! the photography is amazing. thanks for taking so much time to hone the article and make it as interesting and as accurate as possible. We are going to distribute the article widely to our friends and patrons. it is a great tribute to your perception and to the house. thanks so much.

—Joanne Kohn, Board Chairman for the Frank Lloyd Wright Home

FAns oF Missouri French Bonjour monde! Local folks are really talking about the article on the Washington county Paw-Paw French. the author did an excellent job. he made five trips to old mines and area to research this story. Il a fait bon! the local distributors are going to run out. you could probably sell a hundred from some place around or in Potosi.

—Kent Bone, Potosi hi there. i’m one of the people who is head over happy about your great old mines article in Missouri Life. Kent and natalie and dennis are genuine folk heroes in the efforts they’ve put forth to save their heritage. your article will help keep the Paw-Paw French front and center in current efforts to build the creole corridor. contemporary old miners endure the same prejudice from st. Louis and ste. Genevieve heritage efforts that their ancestors suffered as laborers in global mining and fur trade ventures. i don’t have any particular complaint about the development of the creole corridor. it is, in fact, a much needed corrective to the very limited version of missouri history tiff, desloge, mineral Point, cadet, blackwell, French village, valles mines, even up in to Jefferson county and down in to st. Francois county, deserves as close a look as the more well-known histories of st. Louis and ste. Genevieve.

Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. i loved this issue of Missouri Life enough to become a subscriber. there is some very nice writing in the magazine. there has probably been some very nice writing in previous issues as well, and i’ve been missing it.

—Emily Horton, St. Louis

courtesy bob and mary voorheis

we all grew up with. but the Paw-Paw French history at old mines, richwoods, Potosi,

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APRIL FORTY YEARS OF COVERS

In just over ten years, the MCC has raised over $95,000 for youth scholar-

It’s good to see some info about all the covers and let everyone have the

ships to the college of their choice that is associated with agriculture. It’s

chance to see them. There were several times during the years that I won-

amazing that agriculture is the number one industry in our state! We boister-

dered “Why save these?” Now I’m glad I did. It was a fun trip in October to

ously thank you for your participation in this past success. We are wonder-

bring the collection down there and to meet all of you. One recent letter did

ing if you would be able to provide a similar donation this year? It would be

not like all the ads. I do as it lets me know a lot more about our great state

greatly appreciated.

of Missouri.

Thank you for bringing such a beautiful production to our citizens. I have mul—Moe Dearing, Kansas City

tiple old copies of your magazine on my living room end tables. I find that they

Your complete collection of Missouri Life has been an invaluable resource to us as we

are a great permanent resource for when we get to an age where traveling will

celebrate our fortieth anniversary. Thank you! –Editors

become more of our personal schedule.

MORE MISSOURI TEES

Thanks for the kind words! We are happy to help you out again this year, and your

I don’t know if you’re the right person to email, but maybe in the future you could make

letter is so nice, we’ll throw in a T-shirt too. –Editors

—Melanie S. Thurnau, Callao

some T-shirts with the Miss-our-ee pronunciation (the correct one!) on it. Thanks!

—Dawn Brancato, St. Louis

PHOTO CONTEST RULES Looking for contest rules and information, but I can’t find them. Must be right

Visit www.MissouriLife.com to see our current collection of T-shirts. –Editors

under my nose? These are for Mpix Missouri Life Photo Contest. Help!

HELP FOR CATTLEMEN

—Janice Kay Harris

I’m contacting you on behalf of our Macon County Cattlemen group in north central

You’ll find a complete list of rules and deadlines at www.MissouriLife.com/photocon-

Missouri. I live in Callao in Macon County, and we attend this event and have been

test. Deadline for entries is May 31. We look forward to seeing your entry! –Editors

members in the past. Our eleven-year-old son, Evan, is now in the beef program in our county 4-H program, and he is a direct beneficiary of the work of the Macon

CLOSED RESTAURANT

County Cattlemen. In the past, you were kind enough to provide a sample magazine

Due to a family illness, Rebecca’s Cafe in Augusta, featured in the February 2013

and a free one-year subscription to our fundraiser for college scholarships.

issue, has closed.

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Mo Mix Nixa

Don’t be a Sucker!

At nixA’s annual Sucker Day, you could spend hours enjoying vendors, pony rides, parades, a pie eating contest, a beauty pageant, and other attractions. But really this is about sucker fish, which most people will never taste. Sucker fish (Catostomidae) get ignored on the food chain because they eat the organic junk on the bottom of rivers and streams: plants, decaying fish, mud, and worms. That makes for a strong fish taste.

“To me, it’s like largemouth bass but a little less gritty,” says twenty-two-year-veteran Sucker Day worker Randy Collins.

Catching and cooking a sucker fish is … let’s just say it takes more than a sucker to do either. To catch a sucker, you have to steer a johnboat into cold nighttime water and light up the murky surface while trying to spear a fish with a multipronged spear. And if you think you’re in for a delicacy just for having caught a sucker, guess again, sucker. The traditional experience comes from frying it. But first you have to score the meat so the

Windsor

frying oil can seep between the meat and vaporize the bones.

Asleep in a Train An Adventure off of the Katy Trail awaits you at Cruces’

The Sucker Day tradition began about fifty-five years ago when former Nixa mayor Finis Gold thawed out the suckers he’d caught, fried them, and handed them out. “He’d never think it’d get this big,” says Glenn Scott, Sucker Day Committee president. Today,

They have never seen a real caboose.”

Besides riding the Katy Trail, tourists

Sucker Day Committee members volunteer their fridges to freeze and collect the more than one thousand fish that end up at the festival. Profits are funneled straight back into

Cabooses in Windsor, where you can

may also enjoy activities at Truman

stay in a renovated train caboose. About

Lake, which is about seven miles away,

So when you truck into Nixa in mid-May and bite into your sucker, you’re going to

ten years ago, Damon and Patti Cruce

and in Clinton during weekends. Cruces’

taste a sharp river flavor. You might feel some grit. But you don’t eat sucker fish because

wondered where everyone would

Cabooses also provides accommodations

it tastes like chocolate. You eat it with appreciation, knowing it’s what goes into the

stay when the trail opened between

for horses because they are allowed

meal that makes it special. —Sarah Alban

Clinton and Sedalia. When his neighbor

on the Katy Trail between Clinton and

For more information on this year’s festival on May 18, visit www.nixasuckerday.org.

suggested he put a railcar on his land,

Sedalia.

the idea stuck. Damon grew up in a

Nixa—$10,000 has gone into local schools and families in the past five years.

Although it has been an adventure

railroad family. His dad’s parents worked

for the Cruces, it’s something more for

on the railroad, and Damon worked on

other Missourians, Damon says. “Three

the rails in Detroit during college. “It

guests in two years have told me this is

must be in my blood,” Damon says.

the best kept secret in Missouri.”

He began searching for cabooses to

—Jiaxi Lu

restore. Damon and Patti cleared land,

www.crucescabooses.com • 781 N.E. 901

ran utilities, and laid roadbed and track

816-229-8389

before two cabooses were delivered.

Open from April to November, a one-

You don’t eat a sucker fish because it tastes like chocolate.

courtesy cruces’ cabooses; sarah alban

night stay for two costs $106, and a continental breakfast is included. The green Burlington Northern caboose sleeps six people, and the red Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe caboose sleeps five. Both have air conditioning and fully equipped bathrooms.

“I love to watch kids’ faces as they try to figure out if it’s a shower or a bathroom,” Damon says. “Some guests say I’m preserving history for these kids.

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Mo

Mix

Jackson

Delivery on the river He’ll deliver aNytHiNg—

consistent customer base.” A nineteen-year veteran

well, except babies. That is Jon Craiglow’s promise

crew member and now captain for a major barge line,

to customers. For more than a year, his business,

Jon saw a need for such a service after talking with

Craiglow’s River Delivery, has provided delivery service

crew members and noting nothing like this existed in

to barge line crews in the areas from Chester to Cairo,

the Cape Girardeau area. Plus, he wanted to offer a

Illinois. The company offers grocery and supply delivery

personal service from someone who actually works

as well as transportation services for crews to and from

on the boats. The business has one boat, and Jon’s

the boats, including midstream and dockside services.

nephew Tyler and sister Laurel help Jon when he is

If crew members have hankerings for tobacco, fresh

on duty with the barge lines. The trio fulfills requests

razors, or, as in one case, high definition stereo

and delivers on a specific schedule; items are delivered

speakers, then Jon’s the guy to call. “Our success has

usually twenty-four to thirty-six hours after orders

been favorable,” Jon says. “It takes a while to get

have been placed, reminding crew members they are

started and established. We’ve developed a pretty

never far from home. —Rachel Kiser

Record-Breaking St. Louis Roller Coaster Neighborhood Brewery New for 2013, Silver Dollar City unleashes

amoNg tHe things that characterize our age: (1) People talk through tech instead of face to face.

the world’s most daring wood coaster, Outlaw

(2) TV screens have invaded public spaces. (3) High alcohol content in beer and wine has led to a boozy arms race.

Run. This wooden coaster claims some world-first

Conversation killers, all three. The Civil Life, then, is an anachronism. This neighborhood-oriented brewery and pub not

titles, including world’s steepest drop on a wooden

far south of Tower Grove Park in St. Louis has its stools, tables, and nooks arranged to encourage chatter among friends

coaster, world’s only wooden coaster to twist

and strangers. Most of its beers are below five-percent strength, facilitating what British drinkers would call a “proper

upside down, and world’s fastest coaster on steel

session.” The ales arrive in mugs and

wheels. Outlaw Run is higher than sixteen stories

each customer’s tab is scrawled in

and features a 162-foot drop at eighty-one degrees,

chalk directly on the bar. There is

leaving riders nearly vertical. There are also three

exactly one TV set in the corner, and it

record-breaking inversions, including a 720-degree

switches on only when the Cardinals

double barrel roll. Reaching sixty-eight miles per

are deep into post-season baseball.

hour, this coaster is the second fastest in the world.

Smartphones are welcome here, but

—Debra Pamplin

why be rude? —Joe Stange

www.silverdollarcity.com • 399 Silver Dollar City Parkway

www.thecivillifebrewingcompany.com

417-336-7100

3714 Holt Avenue

courtesy craiglow’s delivery; joe stange; courtesy silver dollar city

Branson

[22] MissouriLife

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Upcoming Events APRIL 12: Prairie Pine Quilt Guild Quilt Show AUDRAIN COUNTY 4H CENTER 573-581-2765 | www.mexico-chamber.org APRIL 18-21: Leaving Iowa PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-2100 | www.mexicomissouri.net APRIL 27: Music Festival PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-5592 | www.presserpac.com MAY 4: Bluegrass Jam PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-2100 | www.mexicomissouri.net MAY 31: Board Band Concert PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-5592 | www.presserpac.com JUNE 5-8: Miss Missouri Pageant MISSOURI MILITARY ACADEMY 573-581-2765 | www.missmissouri.org JUNE 7: Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen MISSOURI MILITARY ACADEMY 573-581-2765 | www.missmissouri.org

Mexico is a perfect combination of small town charm and urban style. Artsy boutiques, jewelry, quilt shops, scrapbooking, antiques and cultural offerings give Mexico a sophisticated air, but with a family-friendly attitude. Come visit us today!

JUNE 8: Mexico Young Farmers 8th Annual Truck & Tractor Pull AUDRAIN COUNTY 4-H FAIRGROUNDS 573-581-2765 | www.mexicoyoungfarmers.com

JUNE 22: Jungle Book PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-5592 | www.presserpac.com JULY 13: The Little Mermaid PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-5592 | www.presserpac.com

Visit These Local Sites

MEXICO AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE We work hard as a Chamber of Commerce to be the pulse of the community, assisting all to provide services that will nurture and encourage our businesses and strengthen our community. www.mexico-chamber.org |573-581-2765 Tour the AUDRAIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY Tues.-Sat. 10 AM-4 PM and Sun. 1 PM-4 PM www.audrain.org | 573-581-3910

PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER With a 920-seat auditorium, Presser Performing Arts Center has many arts education programs for the public, such as Dance, Piano, Voice, Film, Writing, Photography, and of course theatre. The calendar fills up fast year after year with concerts, ballets, plays, musicals, lectures, gallery shows, special events, and classes. Summer 2013 offers a Film Camp for participants 14 years old and up.

The art of filmmaking includes writing, cinematography, directing, and editing. Our summer camps draw students from the surrounding area and many from out of state.

New this year is a wild week of creative dramatics for graduates of the first and second grades! We strive to offer the BEST professional highly qualified instructors in the state of Missouri. Ask for more! Presser Performing Arts Center is centrally located in the state of Missouri, serving mid-America with quality cultural performing arts.

Dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of the arts. www.presserpac.com | 573-581-5592 [23] April 2013

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MISSOURI Blues-rock band Don’t Mind Dying began in 2008. The band performed at the 2012 Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in Columbia and is currently working on an album of original music.

DON’T MIND DYING IN THE MINDS of most, the blues conjure images of the Mississippi Delta, cotton fields, and roadside juke joints with regret stacked up in every dark corner. Columbia’s Don’t Mind Dying is vying to change that conception by quickly becoming one of Missouri’s leaders in the blues-rock charge; they are ready, willing, and able to put the Show-Me State prominently upon the blues map.

Don’t Mind Dying’s Facebook page states that lead singer, BC, “sings naked sometimes.” The thought of that image made me cringe and laugh simultaneously, but then I listened to the music. BC sings naked in the figurative sense, too; his vocals have been stripped of pretense, leaving only honesty and power. Together five years now, with BC and bassist Graham Greer being the only original members, Don’t Mind Dying has built a strong following in the region through powerful, incendiary playing, raucous shows, and the imaginatively titled EP of cover songs, “The Don’t Mind Dying 4 Song EP.” By word of mouth, the EP, which includes an excellent turn of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” earned the band a spot at the 2012 Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in Columbia’s historic downtown district. They took the stage alongside legends such as Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson, Marty Stuart, Reverend Al Green, and newcomers Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Trampled Under Foot, and Elizabeth Cook during the weekend-long festival.

The music of Don’t Mind Dying flows as a joyous amalgamation of

influences such as those of the Faces, The Rolling Stones, Spencer Davis Group, The Zombies, The Kinks, The Animals, John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers, and metal gods Slayer.

Drummer Brian Kent switches his playing style easily between using delicate, graceful finesse to pummeling his drum set with technical precision and massive, earth-shaking force. Guitarist Jason Caton coaxes riffs with the velvet touch of a flamethrower operator and a hand that is equal parts mid-era Rolling Stones Mick Taylor, Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes, and the late great Muddy Waters. Bassist Graham lays down the low end for the tunes much like a mason lays down the foundation of a stone building: strong, sturdy, and ready to stand for three lifetimes. Keyboardist Rudy Brynac brings elegant flourishes to the material without overstating his presence or weighing down the groove. Everything falls together perfectly to finish the wild jigsaw puzzle that is Don’t Mind Dying.

Last year was a banner year for Don’t Mind Dying. Many shows were played, large audiences were exposed to the band’s music, and all had a great time. With a planned album of original material, 2013 should be an even bigger year for the little blues band from Columbia.

My friends, now is a good time to sing the blues.

Listen to two covers at www.MissouriLife.com.

Facebook: Don’t Mind Dying

DANNY PHILLIPS

COURTESY DON’T MIND DYING AND BROOKE KUYKENDALL

It’s always a good time to sing the blues. BY DANNY R. PHILLIPS

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Exercise Science Club French Club Global Outreach Health Science Club Honors College Jazz Band Petit Jean Yearbook Roosevelt Institute

Pursue your passion.

Whatever their academic pursuits, Harding University students can cultivate friendships and interests within more than 110 academic and professional organizations and 29 social clubs.

Ranging from the arts, music, politics, business, diversity, children, missions, service and the environment, organizations on campus offer a variety of interests to explore.

Faith, Learning and Living Harding.edu | 800-477-4407 Searcy, Arkansas [25] April 2013

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SHOW-ME

Books

THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED

John Drake Robinson tells the tale of his trip across Missouri’s back roads. BY BRIANA ALTERGOTT noticed that something seemed strange.

“I thought I had driven a lot of places in Missouri, and I got out a highlighter to trace where I had gone,” John says. “I was really surprised that I hadn’t been to as many places as I thought. I just kept that map and made a conscious effort if I was going from Columbia to Kansas City, I didn’t just take I-70.”

In the beginning, it wasn’t a conscious attempt to explore every road in Missouri. But the more John drove in his car, which he affectionately calls Erifnus Caitnop (Pontiac Sunfire spelled backward) throughout the book, the more territory he yearned to cover.

“It basically became an obsession,” John says. “Along the way, I would show the map to people, and they would say, ‘You’ll never be able to do that.’ And it was daunting. But one by one, I completed every road.”

After thirteen years of wandering off of Missouri’s beaten paths and maintaining more than forty notebooks with thousands of scribbles and observations that he made along the way, John relayed his experiences into a column titled “King of the Road” for Missouri Life for several years. After a while, he felt compelled to take his writing one step further and began to write the book.

“I struggled with the way to tell the stories,” John says. “It wasn’t like other journeys that happen from Point A to Point B. Mine was more like mowing a sixty-eight-thousandsquare-mile lawn. In a lot of ways, what I was doing was completing a jigsaw puzzle. I had a lot of individual pieces that I needed to make into a coherent portrait.”

A Roadtrip into America’s Hidden Heart John Drake Robinson, 185 pages, AKA-Publishing, softcover, nonfiction, $18 At first, A Roadtrip Into America’s Hidden Heart consisted of about one thousand pages.

It needed to be cut down, but John didn’t want to part with the extra material completely.

“This is just my first effort,” he says. “I anticipate that I will write three to four more books in total on my experiences in Missouri.”

Because of his former position as a Missouri director of tourism, John hopes readers won’t assume his story is just a travel guide. “It’s an individual going out into the world,” he says. “I wanted to tell the story of what happened to me on the road. Maybe people will be amused or even angry at me, but it’s meant to entertain.”

ANDREW BARTON; TINA WHEELER

JOHN DRAKE ROBINSON didn’t wake up one morning and decide to drive every road in the state of Missouri. But after a key moment of inspiration and more than a decade of travel, he ended up doing just that.

In his book, A Roadtrip Into America’s Hidden Heart, John shares the long journey he made across the back roads of Missouri and his encounters along the way. A notorious travel bug, he recalls that the idea was first planted in his mind in the 1990s when he opened a map to see where he had ventured throughout the years. John had been to many different countries and to all fifty states, but he quickly

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3/1/13 12:42 PM

National Photo Competition & Exhibition

March 9 – May 5

Presented by Freeman Health System

NATURAL ANTLER-HANDLED LETTER OPENER Features or iginal, hand-etched scrimshaw. C hoose a springtime-fresh design: cardinal, hummingbird, dogwood, or rose. $25, plus $5 s/h

JUROR

Natasha Egan, Director

Museum of Contemporary Photography Columbia College Chicago

Check/Money Order/Visa/MasterCard 31 High Trail, Eureka, MO 63025 • www.StoneHollowStudio.com

Diva D Apri ay! l 27

www.thebenttree.com www.stacyleigh.etsy.com

We give workshops! Call for information: 573-242-3200 Convention and Visitors Bureau

GEORGE A. SPIVA CENTER FOR THE ARTS detail: untitled (object) 2011, Jim Kazanjian

222 W 3rd St Joplin, MO 64801 417.623.0183 www.spivaarts.org

Bent Tree Gallery The

HISTORIC CLARKSVILLE MISSOURI

Rustic Furniture, Handcrafted Handbags, Fiber Art & Baskets 573-242-3200

MACAA.net Your connection to Missouri’s community arts agencies, artists and arts events!

Artists: Click on the

icon to list yourself on Missouri’s Creative Artist Resource Directory. It’s FREE!

[27] April 2013

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SHOW-ME

Books

UNEXPLORED

EATS

Nina Furstenau’s guide to Missouri’s hidden tastes.

BY BRIANA ALTERGOTT

a trademark food item that the place is known for.

Deep-dish pizza is Chicago’s claim to fame, fish and chips in the United Kingdom attract both locals and tourists, and Philadelphia just wouldn’t be the same without Philly cheese steaks.

Here in Missouri, dishes such as Kansas City barbecue, St. Louis-style pizza, and toasted ravioli come to mind when thinking about well-known foods. Sure, they are delicious, and they attract both locals and tourists from far and wide. But for University of Missouri science and agricultural journalism professor, food-lover, and author Nina Furstenau, some of the best eats can be found off the beaten path.

In her new book, Savor Missouri: River Hills Food and Wine, Nina describes her journey across the state in search of small towns with big tastes.

Savor Missouri: River Hills Food and Wine

By Nina Furstenau, 176 pages, Missouri Life Inc. and Acclaim Publishing, softcover, nonfiction, $24.95

“I have a connection to food and culture and a connection to the region,” she says. “The idea for the book was born because I wanted to see the links we have to the land.”

While writing, she focused on areas outside of Missouri’s urban centers in order to highlight Missouri’s food trails, people, and places.

After Nina hashed out the initial plans for the book, she had to determine which small towns to explore for their local specialties. This proved to be quite a challenge. Her strategy consisted of finding where food patterns developed and why.

After doing some digging, she found that the places with the most appealing edibles were often nestled along rivers. But location wasn’t Nina’s only criterion.

“I picked towns with interesting things around them,” Nina says. “My favorite spots were where there were long vistas or orchards or valleys. But the draw for me was the people. I enjoyed everyone I met.”

Once she had a travel plan, Nina faced yet another task. As an outsider to each area, she had to decide which specific restaurants and shops to explore for the best dishes.

“I had to narrow down the possibilities,” Nina says. “After I chose a community, I called business

owners there to see where word of mouth would take me. Often, certain farmers, or restaurants, or winery names would overlap.”

From there, the interview process began. Over the course of nine months, Nina would visit an area and speak with around fifteen people about the local food.

She would then choose a location and one of its original recipes to include in the book. Because she enjoyed every experience, the selection process was tough.

“Every stop I made stays with me now,” Nina says.

Nina hopes that Savor Missouri will help readers get excited about the lesser-known specialties that the state has to offer. The book features seventy destinations and seventy-two recipes.

“I want people to connect to our food story in Missouri’s less populated areas,” she says.

“I’ve always thought Missouri was beautiful, but I never went out to these spots until I did the interviews for the book. It was more than I expected. I want to draw people out to experience our state and the people that create our food story for themselves.”

To order the book, visit www.MissouriLife.com or call 800-492-2593.

ANDREW BARTON; ANASTASIA POTTINGER PHOTOGRAPHY

ALMOST EVERY place in the world has

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Columbia Appliance was started back in 1957, with the promise of always putting the customer’s needs ahead of their own. Now, 56 years later, current owners Royce and Susan Palmer are proud to say that mission still stands.

“The Golden Rule never goes out of style,” says Royce. “Competing with national chain stores isn’t easy,” says Palmer, “but we’ve been doing it successfully for decades.” Store Manager Rob Clarahan says that service and customer support is a very important component on any major purchase, and that’s why our customers choose Columbia Appliance for their appliances. We consistently win the Whirlpool Regional Service Award for Outstanding Customer Service. “Hiring the right people makes the difference,” says Sales Manager Ricky Fontenot. “We have a lot of second-and-third generation customers who know they can trust us.”

Columbia Appliance has plenty of FREE PARKING at 1805 Westfall Drive in Columbia.

And Remember… Royce is the Choice!

COLUMBIA APPLIANCE 1805 Westfall Drive Columbia Mo 573-814-2244

1805 Westfall Dr Columbia, MO 65202 (573) 814-2244 | www.columbiaappliance.com

[29] April 2013

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Missouri Country Road Sunset.

Taking The Time itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S eaSy to

feel transported to another world as you gaze at photographer Karl Timmermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work.

You might be standing in the middle of a colorful sunset or peering through the weathered wood of a forgotten homestead. Colors and textures leap off the canvas, drawing you deeper into the image.

Karl, who lives with his wife, Susan, in Holden, says although he uses his camera to capture the image, it is a limited tool. It is what happens after he takes the shot that sets him and his work apart. After he captures an image with the camera, Karl downloads it onto his computer.

But, he says, the shot the camera took is not the same picture he saw in his mind. When he sees the subject of his photograph, the colors are much brighter, more vibrant, and clearer than the photograph represents.

The image he sees is more like the image he produces in his final product.

After downloading his shots, Karl uses digital imaging technology to manipulate the light and colors to match the colors he saw in his mind in the first place.

When he is satisfied with the color and the lighting, he prints the image onto a canvas and applies an acrylic gel that protects against UV

rays and enhances the color. Karl applies the gel in brush strokes, which gives it the appearance of an oil painting.

The effect gives his pictures a color vibrancy and depth that is almost three-dimensional.

Karlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skills and methods are all self-taught, acquired after years of trial and error.

He got his first digital camera in 1996 and has been practicing and perfecting his art since, capturing the attention of Missourians across the state.

He was named Artist in Residence for the 2012 Missouri State Fair and has collected numerous other awards, including the Fine

courtesy karl timmerman

A Holden photographer captures the vibrancy of nature. By Stephanie edwardS

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courtesy karl timmerman

artist karl timmerman was born in oldenburg, Germany.

He moved to new york in 1960 and served in the u.s. army from 1967 to 1970. since 1982, he has practiced law.

Arts Award from the State Fair in 2004.

Several of his art pieces were featured with the Mid-Missouri Artists Summer Exhibit at the University of Central Missouri Gallery of Art and Design in 2012.

Karl was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States as a child. He served in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s, and following his time with the Army, he set out to see America.

Karl received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1982. He came to the small town of Holden in 1987 and has made it his home since. Today, he practices law in his own firm and serves as city prosecutor.

Art and photography serve as an escape for Karl. Photography gives him a chance to forget the demands of his job.

“My art is a way of bringing back beauty into some of the ugly aspects of my life,” he says.

As an artist, he is drawn to the beauty he finds in nature and old objects.

Karl has been known to pull over on the side of the road on the way to and from court just to take a photograph when something catches his eye.

“When I see it, I know it,” he says.

While his subjects may seem ordinary— country landscapes, old barns, homesteads, and sunsets—his end product brings out an extraordinary beauty.

“I’m just trying to share the beauty of God’s creation,” he says.

That beauty, Karl says, can be found everywhere if one is willing to simply take the time to look.

From top: Harvest Sunrise.

Two Roads, One Less Travel By. Abandoned Barn.

www.karltimmerman.com

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3/1/13 4:31 PM

Specializing in Classy 922 Main St., Lexington, MO 660-259-4050

Experience the Difference A welcoming, fun environment offering great wine without intimidation. Come learn more about Missouri wine and find your favorite.

Open Mon.-Sat. 11AM-6 PM and Sun. 1-6 PM. 27150 Hwy. 24, Waverly, MO www.baltimorebend.com ∙ 660-493-0258

Visit our web site!

660-548-3600 www.kaitlynns.com 121 E Broadway St., Brunswick, MO

Cheesecakes•Ice Cream•Sandwiches•Deli

Featuring

Slow Roasted Prime Rib Choice Hand Cut Steaks - Grilled Salmon BBQ Ribs - Hand Battered Chicken Tenders Pork Chops - Catfish - Breaded Tenderloin Home-made Desserts & More!

For Full Menu and More Info Visit Us At

www.railyardsteakhouse.com

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Made in Missouri Nevada

old is new the W.F. NormaN Corporation in Nevada in southwestern Missouri is likely one of the most unusual success stories in America. The small firm produces architectural sheet metal, such as tin ceilings and elaborately designed cornices, and sells from the exact same catalogs it published in 1908.

Even the plant equipment was purchased used when the firm began in 1898.

Ornamental panels are made by operators who pull down on thick ropes to lift heavy embossed forms, which are then repeatedly dropped onto flat panels of sheet metal about as thick as a soda can. With the continual thud of the dropping forms, a visit to the factory feels like a visit to the Industrial Revolution. Stamped

Brentwood

sheet metal ornamentation for building interiors and exteriors was in fashion

natural Fragrances

from 1880 until the 1930s, when the firm switched to other pressed tin products.

Around 1980, architectural ornamentation returned to popularity in both new buildings and renovations of older structures, and the firm was ready to fulfill the

Kelley hall-Barr, co-owner of K. Hall Designs alongside her

demand. Company owners had never disposed of any machinery or embossed

husband, John Barr, has a nose for fragrance. She started a career as a fragrance buyer

plates that were put back into service, and old catalogs were reprinted. Today,

and discovered the industry could use some inspiration. So she started K. Hall Designs,

W. F. Norman’s products can be seen in such diverse locations as Disneyland, the

specializing in a variety of aromatic products such as scented candles, soaps, body care

Smithsonian Institution, state capitols, and other elegant buildings throughout

products, perfumes, and reed diffusers. Kelley’s creations are popular far beyond K. Hall

the world. —Jim Winnerman

Designs’ headquarters in Brentwood. Her products are available for purchase online

www.wfnorman.com • 800-641-4038

and in more than two thousand stores around the world, including retailers such as Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, and Herrods in London. Each fragrance is made with natural ingredients, is never tested on animals, and does not contain any parabens or other synthetic additives. “They’re natural fragrances, and they smell very honest,” Kelley says. “K. Hall Designs is a green company and always has been.” —Briana Altergott www.khalldesigns.com • 314-961-1990

Seymour

courtesy companies

Marina’s Meatballs

“There’s nothing on the content labels that you can’t read.”

Not maNy people looking to

pork to their customers, including ham,

change careers think of pigs. But when

bacon, brats, and high-end chef cuts

John and Marina Backes left New Jersey

such as ears, cheeks, bellies, and chops.

in 2009, hog farming was exactly

They also carry a variety of homemade

what they wanted to do. The couple had farm experience but decided to focus on hogs

sauces and Marina’s popular Italian-style meatballs made from Circle B Ranch pork and Missouri beef.

at their Seymour farm. All of

All of these products and more are

their meat is range grown

available at the farm, the Farmer’s Mar-

and certified humanely

ket of the Ozarks in Springfield, and loca-

raised and handled.

tions in St. Louis and Springfield. John

“There’s nothing on the content labels that you can’t read,” John says. As a result, Circle B Ranch offers fresh, additive-free cuts of

and Marina also ship online purchases around the country.

—Briana Altergott www.circlebranchpork.com 417-683-0271

[33] april 2013

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2/28/13 9:16 PM

Visit Liberty and Clay County!

Bradford’s Antiques

EXPLORE

Historic downtown

Liberty

Cruise Night Join the fun as car enthusiasts crowd downtown with classic autos of all kinds!

5-8 pm Saturdays April 27, May 25, June 29, July 27, and August 31

1317 E. County Rd. H, Suite D Liberty, MO • 816-781-4022 www.BradsAntiques.com

A DESTINATION BOUTIQUE LOCATED ON THE HISTORIC LIBERTY SQUARE

• Fashion Forward Clothing For Women Of All Ages • Unique Accessories • Fun, Personalized Customer Service Monday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm

17 N. Water St., Liberty, MO • 816-781-9288 • www.QuotationsBoutique.com

Saturday, May 4 The award-winning

Historic Downtown Liberty Farmers’ Market opens for the 2013 season.

Lively, local & luscious!

Every Saturday 7 am to noon through October.

May 31 & June 1 Immerse youself in the arts!

Visual, literary, performing and children’s arts. Music, food and fun for all.

Antiques and Vintage Items Handmade Artisan Pieces Old-Fashioned Candy and Soda

The world’s largest selection of Missouri Wines!

16 North Main Street In Historic Downtown Liberty, MO 816-781-6839 Find us on Facebook

249 E. Broadway Excelsior Springs 816-630-(SHOP) 7467 shopthemercantile.com

"Enjoy life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ..." in an 1889 Victorian in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Free admission & parking For more information visit www.libertyartssquared.org

816-781-3575 www.historicdowntownliberty.org

Open Tues.-Sun.

Stone - Yancey House

Bed and Breakfast

www.stoneyanceyhouse.com 421 N. Lightburne, Liberty, MO 816-415-0066 Carolyn and Steve Hatcher, Innkeepers stay@stoneyanceyhouse.com

[34] MissouriLife

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Celebrate Mom with our Mother’s Day

! r e ff o l a i spec

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HAPPY 40TH, MISSOURI LIFE!

Tell me something new!

By Sarah Alban

F

ORTY-TWO YEARS AGO, Bill Nunn quit his job as public information director of the State Highway Department. At fifty, when many people are looking ahead to retirement, Bill had another project in mind.

Within two years, he was ready to start it. Bill had his wife’s blessing. But before changing his family’s future, he approached his daughter, Jeanne, seeking approval.

“What would you think about your mother and me starting a magazine?” Bill asked, eyebrows raised, waiting. The longtime newspaperman and editorial guru would start the magazine, and it would last more than forty years. It would withstand name changes, ownership changes, and paper-price changes, not to mention increasing postage costs. It would survive hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, two mergers, three recessions, the onslaught of the Internet and apps, and eventually, daughter Jeanne taking the magazine over. But before we jump decades ahead, Jeanne is still just seventeen in this story: “Great!” Jeanne said, which she recalled in her first letter to readers. “May I borrow the car?”

Thus blessed, Bill started Missouri Life.

“This new magazine is published in the belief that Missouri is different,” Bill wrote in the first issue, “and is dedicated to showing that difference in a bimonthly publication of excellence.”

In March 1973, the first issue published out of Bill’s Jefferson City home, where he worked with a few magazine staff. The first feature was a photo essay, “Quiet Places,” featuring a pasture, the Missouri River, a snowstorm, and a log. The first ad didn’t show up until nearly the end

of the issue on page 43. The first poem (yes, poem) was printed in gargantuan text over several equally jumbosized pages, which had the effect of absolutely swallowing a reader, never mind if he or she liked poetry.

“You have never seen Missouri at its best and prettiest unless you have looked at an issue of the new statewide bimonthly magazine, Missouri Life,” James A. Kirkpatrick wrote the following year in the Lamar Daily Democrat.

Missouri’s “best and prettiest” meant barns, wildlife, and long colorful landscapes captured in Bill Nunn’s first issues of Missouri Life, which didn’t try to elevate these objects to art so much as capture what Bill already perceived as the obvious art of the state. Missouri Life would cover as no magazine had Missouri’s scenery, history, culture, business, travel, and recreation.

“And of course, its people,” Bill wrote in 1973. “To you, we say we hope that you enjoy Missouri Life and find it entertaining, beautiful, and informative— that it will find a place in your home or office and in those of your friends.”

We still hope that.

What follows are observations on the past forty years of the magazine. A recap of its unlikely covergirls: Walter Cronkite, Thomas Hart Benton, a wooly worm, and so on.

A return to its timeless stories, like that of a Wonder Dog who could predict Kentucky Derby outcomes and a Howard County sheriff who befriended his jailers. But more than anything, what follows is an overview of Missouri Life’s endeavor to record our state’s people and places, past and present.

We too hope you find it entertaining, beautiful, and informative.

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A BRIEF

ENTERTAINING You could follow Missouri Life’s first recipe in your sleep. The recipe, from Mag Landreth in 1978, called for two ingredients: grass from the backyard and bacon grease.

“Grandma Landreth said you could eat poison ivy if you put enough grease on it,” Mag said.

Note: Missouri Life no longer condones eating poison ivy, no matter how much grease you put on it.

In the 1970s, our stories often began with captivating quotes like Mag’s or otherwise stunning sentences, like this one: “Margaret Els could not be faulted if she thought she was confronting a lunatic, when, after driving up her farm lane, I explained that I had a Border Collie that was trying to herd my children” (1978).

You were in good hands if you let Missouri Life writers unravel the story further than the first line.

The Border Collie was just one of many dogs Missouri Life befriended. In 1975, we profiled Jim the Wonder Dog, who answered questions about pop culture, history, and the Kentucky Derby from people speaking English and French. Jim died on a fishing trip, but you can still see his grave in Ridge Park Cemetery in Marshall.

In 1984, we dedicated a half-page to a picture of Russ the Wonder Dog pushing a grocery cart in his short shorts. In 1997, we introduced Vivian and Russell Salmon, who raised Chihuahuas because their pet dander reduced asthma symptoms in their son, Kevin. Silly you say? Undoubtedly these stories are. Yet, didn’t Jim encourage us to explore life’s quirks? And Russ to stop taking ourselves too seriously? And the Chihuahuas to remember what to take seriously after all?

Dog stories—and this is the last one before my editors put this article in the you-know-what house—have shown off what Missouri communities do: unite. That’s why some of the best characterizations of Missouri towns came through stories of their dogs. In 1991, six pages under the headline “Two Lucky Dogs: And the town that loved them,” showed the canine tramps Grandpaw and Butch being cared for, fed, and kept from the pound by Hannibalians.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI LIFE March/April 1973 First issue of Missouri Life published

by Bill Nunn.

March 1974 Advisory Board created to suggest editorial direction.

Members include Gov. Kit Bond and Thomas Hart Benton.

Sept./Oct. 1977 Clyde G. Lear becomes president of directors.

Dec. 1977 Clyde G. Lear buys Missouri Life.

Jan./Feb. 1979 Production moves out of Bill Nunn’s home and into a new location in Jefferson City.

Nov./Dec. 1979 John Hall becomes editor.

With Missouri Life, founder Bill Nunn set out to showcase life in Missouri, including this personal essay written in 1973

by Walter Kaufmann about his first visit to the fair.

From Christmas Eve 1944 to March 1961, Hannibal helped Grandpaw survive. When Grandpaw struggled during a bitter February, the month before he died, a shopkeeper stuck a can outside his store reading, “Toll Crossing: five cents for Grandpaw.” Hannibalians paid.

Missouri Life was lucky enough Nancy Morriss recorded the story. But it was far luckier Hannibalians, and people like them, existed in the first place. All over the state.

Deputy Tom Asbury existed. A stranger to no one, the Howard County official with a crooked smile knew most people he locked up before they committed the crime. “We’ve had a few that’s been very bitter at us,” Tom says. “But like I said, we’ve had several come by to visit with us and we’re always glad to see them. We think just as much of them now as when we arrested them.”

Luckily, our readers share Tom’s forgiveness.

The pages haven’t always sung perfection. In 1980, we forgot to credit photographers John Donica, Bob Barrett, Bill Kirk, and David Rees.

(Missouri Life still regrets the omission.)

May 1, 1981 Jeffrey and Debra Gluck purchase the magazine.

Jan./Feb. 1982 New editorial leadership: Douglas J. Carr is executive editor and Diana Reese Gard is the editor.

March/April 1982 Douglas J. Carr, executive editor, becomes the only editor.

Nov./Dec. 1982 Jeffrey Gluck becomes editor.

March/April 1983 Tenth anniversary issue.

Bill Nunn returns as editor.

May-Aug. 1984 Debra Gluck becomes editor.

Editorial office moved to St. Louis.

March-Oct. 1985 No issues were published due to financial woes.

1986 Missouri Life published as a quarterly magazine.

Winter/Spring 1988 Instead of a regular issue, Jeffrey and Debra Gluck publish a calendar.

CONTINUED

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To mollify readers who were losing magazines in the mail, Bill Nunn offered an apology for the postal blunder in a magazine issue—which one can only hope did not get lost in the mail.

One of the first letters to the editor complimented Missouri Life’s beauty. Below it, a letter asked for a refund of the remainder of someone’s subscription.

“Our readers are our most valuable resource,” Bill Nunn wrote in 1980, “and I believe you should have a place to say what you think, positive and negative. So let’s hear from you.”

That was a beautiful thing of Bill to say. (Still true.) Of course, Bill published only the beautiful.

BEAUTIFUL In the magazine’s first year, the most commonly used word to describe Missouri Life was “beautiful.” Newspapers, readers, and journalists used the word. Bill printed illustrations—of cotton pickers, a sanitarium, Abraham Lincoln, a turkey.

Thomas Hart Benton murals were printed at the courtesy of Thomas Hart Benton, not of museums or historical societies.

No topic was too small to be captured visually.

MISSOURI LIFE

FIRSTS Fishing story: 1974, not until the fourth issue Repeated subject: St. Louis Cathedral, first featured in 1973 and featured again in 1974 and 2000 Mention of Bingham’s Order No. 11: May 1974 Cave story: Summer 1974, on Meramec Caverns International Circulation: 1974 First Budweiser Ad: 1975, and it wasn’t light beer Mushroom story: 1975, on the state’s poisonous amanitas and edible morels and oysters Crossword Puzzle: Spring 1987, by John Hert Hunter’s guide: 1981 ... but for hunting Bigfoot only First phone ad: March 1976, with a cord and everything Moved up to nine issues per year: Jan. 1981 Mention of Lambert’s throwed rolls: Winter 1998 Use of website URLs: 1999

Tarantulas made the graphics twice.

Photos documented a Little Red-Tail from week one, when it looked like a fluffy cotton ball, to week five, when it resembled a Jurassic-beaked, hideous dark puffball stilted on talons.

Photographers captured flies, tomatoes, cantaloupes, three consecutive pages of bluebirds, apples with real blemishes, the Hercules Glades, and skies blasting with lightning above rolling farmland. If captions were sometimes lax (e.g. “A clump of trees in a field”), the photos made up.

In the 1980s, Paul Fisher redesigned the pages.

He increased font size, added space between lines, and promised “only changes that will make the magazine more beautiful.”

“Everyone at Missouri Life,” Paul wrote, “is committed to bringing you the best magazine man can make.” We still are.

In 1988, Missouri Life offered its first free-standing calendar, much like the one you could order today featuring vivid prints by Notley Hawkins.

Two years after that, the trademark jumbo pages shrunk because of production costs but for just a few issues. Readers complained, rightly so, and then-publisher Jeanne, whom you might recall as Bill Nunn’s car-coveting teenager, quickly reinstated the jumbo pages.

Shortly after the University of Missouri Journalism School began contributing in 1994, Missouri Life took another redesign. Under the auspices of an art director who had studied for a summer at National Geographic World, the magazine launched with breathtaking graphics and new typefaces to accompany stories about the St. Louis massacre, insects, poetry, and sports. Gorgeous 1990s graphics almost made up for a 1980s domination of flowers on the front cover.

No matter what changed, an explanation followed. Information remained the top goal.

INFORMATIVE Missouri Life producers have always strived for accuracy. Perhaps that struggle lies as much in their journalistic backgrounds as their Missouri ones.

When Bill Nunn sent Joe and Rita Orr to New York City in 1978 for a forty-minute interview with St. Jo-born Walter Cronkite, the first minute or two went like this: Orr: “Do you mind if I have my tape recorder on?”

Cronkite: “No, I’ll tell you what, if you don’t mind, I’m going to run mine.”

The St. Louis Arch has graced the Missouri Life cover twice, once in the Summer 1994 issue and another time on the cover of the February 2000 issue.

Exclusive interviews were hardly new. In 1973, Thomas Hart Benton explained why he could never go into lawyering like his father. A few years later, Benton passed away after finishing the Joplin Centennial Mural in 1973. His friend and fellow muralist Sidney Larson helped us understand Benton better.

“If the wall stands up to its purpose,” Sidney recalled Benton stating about the Joplin mural, “I shall have defeated one of the forces of nature and thus arrived at my greatest achievement.”

The mural still stands. As does Arthur Bryant’s Bar-B-Que, which Kansas City food writer Calvin Trillin would be pleased to know was the first restaurant Missouri Life recommended. In an exclusive interview, Bryant took Missouri Life behind the counter to a cubbyhole office in the kitchen, where Bryant answered a question about the celebrities who have eaten at his restaurant.

“Son, everyone who ever walked through that door is important to me,” Bryant said. “They’re all

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tWenty Missouri Life CovergirlS Missouri Mules* (Fall 1975) Harry S. Truman, U.S. President (Jan. 1976) Don Faurot, Football Legend (Jan. 1977) Ceres, Greek Goddess (March 1978) Walter Cronkite (July 1978) Marlin Perkins, Zoologist (Sept. 1978) Mark Twain, Author (Jan. 1979 and Oct. 2010) George Brett and Keith Hernandez, KC and STL Baseballers (July 1980) Christopher “Kit” Bond, Governor (Jan. 1981) R. E. Voorheis, auctioneer (Oct. 1981) A Wooly Worm (Nov. 1981) Jesse James, Bushwhacker (April 1982) A Starfish (Spring/Summer 1990) U.S.S. Missouri, the World’s Last Battleship (Fall 1992) Six-month Otter Pup (Fall 1994) Whitey Herzog, Legendary Cardinals Manager (Fall 1995) Matt Blunt, Governor (Dec. 2005) Jay Nixon, Governor (Dec. 2010) Abe Lincoln, U.S. President (Feb. 2013) * Top selling reprinted cover of first three years: Missouri Mules (Fall 1975)

important. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be here where I’m at today, and you wouldn’t be here asking me these questions.”

In 1979, Cyril Clemens wrote a story about his mildly famous cousin, Samuel. Seventeen years later, Missouri Life published photos of a pudgy two-year-old Rush Limbaugh holding a doll. The story was an exclusive interview with the Cape Girardeau-born Rush. In 1995, writer Jonathan Pitts interviewed 1982 World Series-winning Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog. The story detailed one fortuitous (and humorous) meeting between Herzog and eighty-three-year old Gussie Busch, who offered Whitey a lifetime contract.

“Tell me something, chief,” Herzog had said.

“Whose lifetime we talkin’ about?”

Bill Nunn could never have predicted the longevity and lifetime of Missouri Life.

But Bill had faith.

Faith In the mid-1990s, Missouri Life got new parents.

Danita Allen Wood and Greg Wood adopted the

magazine and led it through an uncertain fate as the media industry began a steady shift into its twenty-first-century iteration.

As I perused old magazines to research this article, I sat in a conference room lined with awards from the past decade. Photography awards, writing awards, international awards. They teased me dauntingly of the mammoth task at hand of trying to convey Missouri Life’s contribution to this state.

But on my last day, I overheard Danita talking with two men in her office. The men had popped into the office unexpectedly, and Danita, her door ever open and welcoming folks in, dragged in an extra chair and had a delightful conversation, the content of which was slightly overheard by yours truly.

They talked about family and upcoming magazine stories. Must’ve talked for twenty minutes or so. That’s when I realized my task wasn’t to convey what the magazine had done for Missourians—but what Missourians had done for the magazine.

You give us stories. You’ve given us stories like those of Missouri’s “Top Ten Women” in the February 2012 issue. You’ve given us stories of tremendous courage in the face of cancer, of sports heroes who occupy our pastimes, of Mark Twain facts that, despite our insistence we couldn’t possibly know more about the author, astound us.

In recent years, you’ve shared with us your Christmas traditions, your French and German and other heritages, your taste for barbecue.

You’ve done some incredible stuff.

Most graciously, “You have responded as we thought Missourians would—with pride in the magazine’s purpose and faith in our efforts to produce it.”

By the tenth year of production, Bill got asked a lot, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll run out of material?”

We wonder that sometimes. But the answer today remains as it was forty years ago: “The answer is a hearty ‘No!’ ” Bill wrote in a memo to readers. “Not with Missouri as the kind of state it is, not with the multitude of writers and photographers out there who are unable to pass by the unending stories that they run into.”

And not without you, making life happen every day so we have stories. Thanks for reading, forty years later. We hope you still find these pages entertaining, beautiful, and informative.

See forty years of covers and read an exclusive interview with Jeanne Nunn Lafser at www.MissouriLife.com.

Fall 1989 Jeanne Nunn Lafser, Bill Nunn’s daughter, takes over and changes the name to Missouri Magazine. Bill Nunn returns as contributing editor.

Dec. 1990 Bill Nunn passes away.

Spring/Summer 1991 Tribute to Bill Nunn.

Winter 1991-1992 Jeanne Lafser’s last issue. Tony Nolan Adrignola, St. Louis, becomes publisher.

Spring 1992 Tony Nolan Adrignola becomes editor.

Winter 1992 Ed Lang becomes publisher.

Fall 1992 Paul Adrignola, CME, becomes publisher.

Winter 1993-1994 Partnership with the University of Missouri Journalism School announced. Students produce editorial content as part of their coursework.

Summer 1994 Inaugural partnership issue.

Spring 1996 Under partnership with MU, Danita Allen Wood comes on as editor while teaching at the journalism school. Editorial offices move to Lee Hills Hall. Tony Adrignola becomes Editor Emeritus.

Spring 1999 Greg Wood and Danita form partnership with Paul Adrignola to publish and edit the magazine.

Due to Danita’s new ownership interest, MU students no longer contribute through classes.

Name changed back to Missouri Life.

June/July 1999 Once again published bimonthly. aug. 1999 Greg and Danita buy out Paul Adrignola and publish Missouri Life from their basement.

Jan. 2001 Offices moved to Fayette.

2005 Danita resigns from teaching and devotes full time to the magazine.

December 2006 Missouri Life offices move to Boonville.

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Dewey Cove Falls is located outside Branson in the Henning Conservation Area off Highway 76. The falls, which flow from Dewey Cove Creek, are hidden away off the nature trail and flow generously after substantial rainfall. This area is beautiful in the springtime when rare wildflowers bloom on the glades.

Photography by Mike McArthy [42] MissouriLife

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A haven for gorgeous scenery, the Ozarks is brimming with stunning waterfalls. April and May are great months to enjoy our waterfalls, as water flow is at its peak from spring showers.

Mike McArthy of Photozarks loves hunting for and photographing waterfalls. He has spent more than twenty years searching them out, exploring falls at Taum Sauk Mountain, Lower Rock Creek, Rocky Falls, Rocky Creek, Dewey Creek, Grand Falls, and more.

To capture the flowing, glassy effect on moving water, Mike photographs waterfalls in low-light conditions with slow shutter speeds.

Located on Taum Sauk Mountain, Mina Sauk Falls is the tallest waterfall in the state at more than one hundred and thirty feet. A three-mile round-trip hike to Mina Sauk reveals breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. There are hundreds of smaller waterfalls to see on your visit. The best time to visit the falls is during the wet weather season.

At the foot of Taum Sauk Mountain, Johnsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shut-Ins is home to volcanic rock carved out by the East Fork of the Black River. You can approach the falls from countless angles, which allows you to capture shots from above and down in the shut-ins.

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Rocky Falls in Shannon County is one of my favorites. Located just off Highway NN, it cascades down sixty feet of igneous rock. Shooting the falls in early morning or just before dark is the best way to capture the smooth flowing effect.

Black Mountain Falls is next to Highway E, between Mark Twain National Forest and the St. Francis River, west of Fredericktown on the edge of a proposed wilderness area called Lower Rock Creek. This photo was taken during a dangerous storm with lightning striking around me.

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One winter after a storm, I stumbled on Black Mountain’s Little Rock Creek Falls while hiking the area west of Fredericktown on Highway E. Because of dim lighting conditions, I had to keep the camera’s shutter open for a full second.

Grand Falls near Joplin tumbles twenty-five feet over a ledge on the Grand River. In this photo, it’s also flowing through a sycamore tree trunk wedged up against the falls. You never know what you’ll find when you go exploring in the Ozarks. Take your camera along to capture some of these memories.

They’ll last you a lifetime!

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The Haygoods, a group of five brothers and one sister from Texas, have performed in ten thousand concerts for more than five million people. The family moved to Branson in 1993.

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changing of the

BARD

ls. ril th w ne th wi es rit vo fa old ix m s er m or rf pe ’s Branson

BY SARAH ALBAN

COURTESY THE HAYGOODS

With the passing of entertainment icon Andy Williams, a light shines on an empty spot in the Moon River Theatre. There’s an opening for Branson’s next big act. But there’s always been an opening. Always an audition for a hungry performer. Always a young person practicing somewhere today to become a Missouri starlight tomorrow. Always a Hollywood performer dreaming of a life less artificial than the one California offers after curtain call.

The Branson talent pool is less a melting pot than a sundae: A base of live, active performers whose recipe started in 1959 but stays fresh with creative additions. Not M&M’s and chocolate chips but new faces, sharper costumes, and modern special effects. The result is a five-decades-old formula folded with new flavors each year, and just like at the ice cream shop, there are more flavors than you can try in one visit.

What follows is a deconstruction of the Branson formula, a peek into how the old recipe has spread from one show in 1959 to more than one hundred today, and a glimpse at how new performers crack into the competitive schedule. We start with the old kids on the block: the Baldknobbers and the Presleys, who host Branson’s oldest show on the famous Country 76, or the Strip. We end with a preview of what’s to come, and we trace everything in between.

Act I: 1959 and Table Rock Dam There weren’t many cameras in 1959. But there were lights and action, for 1959 is when Branson banged big.

That year, construction finished on Table Rock Dam, which brought massive electric power to the area. Fishermen swarmed to try some of the country’s best trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo. Mary and Bruce Trimble put on the inaugural outdoor performances of Harold Bell Wright’s 1907 novel, Shepherd of the Hills, at a stage a mile east of Branson. The year marked eighteen years since John Wayne had appeared in The Shepherd of the Hills movie and nearly eighty years since caves brought spelunkers to the area. One year later, Silver Dollar City would open around its single attraction, Marvel Cave.

More importantly, 1959 was the year Branson got its first live act: The Baldknobbers Jamboree Show.

Brothers Bill, Bob, Jim, and Lyle Mabe performed a routine of country songs broken up by Ozark comedy twice a week at a skating rink. They used a four-part formula: God, country, comedy, patriotism.

Through everything that developed in Branson entertainment, those four ingredients remained. >>>

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Four years later, another family picked up instruments—inside a cave marketed as the Underground Theatre—and started a Saturday night show with the same formula. Although the Baldknobbers and Presleys share a formula, their shows differ a lot. Both are worth seeing, and, incidentally, both remain family-owned.

“There’s no business like show business,” says Brandon Mabe, grandson of Jim Mabe. “And there’s also no business like family business.”

Brandon and his cousin, Denton Mabe, used to sing “Tears in Heaven” into a plastic microphone when they were twelve. All night long, they crooned the Eric Clapton song to an audience of each other. Then at age twenty-one, each endured the rigorous rounds of Baldknobber auditions. Each made the cut. You’d think they were groomed for the stage. The catch is, their parents never groomed Brandon and Denton for the stage. The two groomed themselves. They wanted to enter their granddad’s business more than they wanted to become astronauts or play football. Plenty of Mabes wanted nothing of the sort. (Plenty more Mabes did want to join the show, but they didn’t have the chops at auditions.)

A half-mile west, the Presleys share the attitude that sons and daughters should choose to enter the business. Twenty-three-year-old Sarah Presley always assumed she would join the stage full-time after graduating from college in Nashville.

“But once I went away, I realized I didn’t miss performing, per se,” Sarah says, laughing lightly.

“There’s enough Presleys on the stage.”

Today, Sarah works the business side behind

the scenes. “We haven’t come up with a good name for it yet, honestly,” she says of her title, “but you can go with secretary if you want.”

For now, both the Presleys and Mabes draw just part of their casts from family. Each family has plenty of young potential heirs today, but some of them might want to become astronauts or secretaries. And that’s OK. The stage is reserved for those who seek it.

Silver Dollar City’s Showboat Branson Belle is about the same size as a football field.

Act II: Branson Explodes in the 1990s The Presleys built the first theater on the Branson Strip in 1967, the Baldknobbers built one the year after, and more followed. Branson was getting a buzz in the music business. The 1970s and 1980s brought Roy Clark, Ray Stevens, Shoji Tabuchi, and Buck Trent. Then in 1991, Branson exploded nationally. Big media realized what was going on in Missouri’s southwest corner. Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal, People magazine, and 60 Minutes all ran stories. Audiences rushed to the

scene. Ray Stevens, Buck Trent, and Andy Williams built theaters. Johnny Cash, Wayne Newton, Tony Orlando, and The Osmonds performed.

Dolly Parton built Dixie Stampede, a rodeo dinner show with real buffalo. Silver Dollar City built the Showboat Branson Belle, a three-story dinner ship with music and comedy. Silver Dollar City also got new roller coasters, Kirby VanBurch brought a magic show, and Yakov Smirnoff served a comedy show with a side of breakfast. By 2005, Branson could out-seat Vegas or Broadway for audiences. It surpassed Music Capitol status. It had become an Entertainment Mecca.

Entertainment Meccas need lots of performers.

Jim Moeskau has hired hundreds from other cities, states, and countries. The general manager for the Showboat Branson Belle and former talent scout for Silver Dollar City traveled to New York City to see—and then sign—violin-playing acrobat Janice Martin. He pulled award-winning unicyclist Anthony Mokrousov and his awardwinning trapeze-ballerina sister Vanya from Russia. If someone outside Branson wants to perform here, Jim’s a good person to wow.

“In two to five minutes, I can tell if I want more,” Jim says. “You just know it.”

Jim seeks performers with experience, no matter where they get it. The ones who get contracts pour buckets of elbow grease into demanding performances. Every day. For months at a time.

Branson is a long-term contract city, with shows running six to ten months, which means it’s hard to get a one-night-only deal. More importantly, Branson entertainers have to want to be in

CourteSy the BalDknoBBerS jaMBoree anD ShowBoat BranSon Belle

Members of the Mabe family audition for and perform for The Baldknobbers Jamboree, but there are just as many family members not on stage, says Brandon Mabe.

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Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady on The Brady Bunch, performs in the now retired show, Lunch with the Brady Bunch. He now performs in ’70s Music Explosion.

COURTESY ’70S MUSIC EXPLOSION

Branson. The shows Jim struggles to book are the ones that want to stop over for a few nights and then head back to the touring circuit.

“We couldn’t come to an agreement with pay, schedules, and showtimes,” Jim says of an America’s Got Talent act he tried to book, emphasizing the scheduling aspect.

One of Jim’s biggest success stories—certainly his longest-running—is the Haygoods, a group of six brothers and one sister Jim booked out of Texas in the 1990s. More than twenty years after playing their first gig at Silver Dollar City, which ironically was a two-week contract, Jim kept renewing until somehow eight years passed. The Haygoods have built a multimillion-dollar, multitheater business on the Branson Strip. With ages from eighteen to thirty-five, the siblings manage more than a dozen shows, including 3 Redneck Tenors and Todd Oliver and his Talking Dogs, in a city where dozens of theaters host hundreds of shows, many of which fail. Yet most of the Haygoods’ shows succeed.

As it turns out, Jim’s longest-running success story might beget Branson’s next longest-running success story: The Haygoods might have tweaked the formula forever.

Act III: Something Old, Something New The Haygoods not only know their audience, they data-mine it. They’ve hired a full-time researcher who tracks which people attend their shows in summer, in winter, and so on. They know an audience makeup by age and gender and even know

who’s not attending their shows. The only thing the Haygoods don’t know is how an audience will react to a new song or dance. Everything else, piece of cake.

And the data are singing a new tune: Branson’s audiences are getting younger. Average age has fallen to the fifties. The Baldknobbers have noticed this, the Presleys have noticed this, and you might notice this: The Boomers have arrived.

The Haygoods are adjusting their shows accordingly. God, country, comedy, and patriotism remain, but they’ve added Michael Jackson, lasers, and fog machines to the mix. Whatever they’ve done, it works. The Haygoods have played for more than five million people.

A drive down the Branson Strip teems with billboards of the past. Not Branson past. Boomer past. Billboards promise the Beatles, the Eagles, John Denver, the Blues Brothers, the Rat Pack.

“They’re paying to see Elvis,” says Dean Z, a baby-cheeked impersonator born after Elvis died but who just nailed a performance at the Legends in Concert show in front of hundreds. Right now, Branson has a few Elvises (Elvii?) running around. Dean expects today’s pop stars such as Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake to replace his act on Branson’s billboards decades from now.

As for that prediction, the data will tell.

The formula will adapt, but only so far. God, country, comedy, patriotism—and Gaga? Not scheduled yet.

One of the newest shows to Branson’s schedule is ’70s Music Explosion, produced by the Haygoods and starring Barry Williams,

better known as Greg Brady.

“Barry was looking for a new place, and we were looking for a seventies show,” Timothy Haygood says.

The data basically said, “Ye Haygoods, getteth ’70s music!” So they grabbed Barry.

Act IV: Big Hearts and Big Shows Branson performers come from all over. Some weigh the hefty choice to enter the family business. Some audition for enormously competitive attractions. Some get recruited by theater owners. Some practice Elvis moves in front of the TV while they’re toddlers. Most come to Branson because they’ve made a choice. They live by the formula: God, country, comedy, patriotism.

Russian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff sold his $2.5-million mansion in Los Angeles because he dreamed of raising his kids, Natasha and Alexander, in Missouri, a place where he hasn’t locked his car in twenty years.

“My first words were ‘Marcia, Marcia, Marcia,’ ” Yakov jokes. (I think he was joking.)

Lasers, fog lights, data, cave performances, and celebrities aside, Branson is a place for people with big hearts to come and have a good time.

So where does Branson get its performers?

They breed them, recruit them, train them, and even import them from Russia.

Optimism and openness to learn define performers who happen to have talent.

Are you still looking down on The Strip, Andy?

We think you’ll like what you see.

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BY ALAN BROUILETTE

a skeptic goes to

BRANSON

I’m a Sin City guy. I yield to no one in my love of Las Vegas. But Missouri has a major tourist destination, too. Four million people visit Branson every year. I was on my way to Springfield, driving past the billboards for magic and music and comedy, when I started to wonder: Could an unabashed Las Vegas fan enjoy himself in Branson? Could I, a cynical thirty-something who prefers casinos to roller coasters and bar stools to banjos, find fun in what might be the most picked-on town in America?

When I started wondering this, I was blind to Branson. I knew about Yakov Smirnoff, and what I expected beyond that was bluegrass and hillbillies. That is to say, I expected country music and cheesy jokes, and I expected to be bored.

I was right about the first two but completely wrong about being bored.

I drove to Branson with an itinerary jammed with as much entertainment as a photographer, Sarah Alban, and I could squeeze in. My first clue that I might be wrong about Branson came that afternoon at the Branson Welcome Center, where the woman behind the desk, who had more tattoos than I do, gushed about how much she loved “family-friendly” Branson. I didn’t expect my first contact in Branson to have ink sleeves. I expected pearls, maybe, and a beehive hairdo.

My theatrical introduction to Branson came at Monday night’s performance of SIX, a show comprised of six singing brothers who make all the accompanying music—percussion, guitars, horns—vocally. It was similar to a Vegas-style show, though I was thrown by the directional

change that the show took in the second act. They switched to religious and patriotic songs and delivered a handful of heartfelt speeches. This was something I have never seen at a concert before, though the audience was clearly moved by the spirituality and delighted by the patriotism. After the show, the brothers invited the audience to join them at a restaurant next door for karaoke.

Wayne Newton would never have done that.

First thing Tuesday, we walked to Branson’s downtown. We went into a wine shop called Palate because there was a sign outside advertising moonshine. Turns out, the moonshine is made at a local craft distillery called Copper Run. (Which moonshine always is, come to think of it.)

On our way back, we stopped at Dick’s 5 & 10, a legendary variety store. This, I loved. Entire sections were devoted to tchotchkes and amusing novelties: rubber chickens, windup dancing flamingoes, a selection of bacon-themed items, and magic tricks. Dick’s 5 & 10 would have won my vote for “Greatest Store in the World” when I was eight. At thirty-eight, it’s still in my top ten.

Next up on my list of must-sees was the Titanic Museum. This you cannot miss. There is a model of the ship scaled to the size of a kayak and an outstanding gallery of photos taken aboard ship

by Father Francis Browne, a priest who sailed from Southampton with the Titanic but disembarked before the ship left Ireland for New York.

The walk-through mock-up of the bridge and promenade give an eerie sense of the conditions that night; there is piped-in fog, dimmed lights, and air-conditioning on full blast. Spoiler alert: The great ship sinks at the end, and the computer-animated rendition of this part is very graphic, especially for those of us already leery about deepwater cruising.

After the ship sank, we stopped by Bradford House, our bed-and-breakfast for the week, and then went to Waltzing Waters.

Waltzing Waters is a fountain-and-light show controlled by a machine played like an organ.

When the show started and the fountains burst into action, swaying and spraying to American music standards such as Gershwin and Sousa, I couldn’t stop beaming with delight. I laughed with childlike delight like my toddler niece does at balloon animals and magic tricks.

Sadly, Waltzing Waters is largely forgotten. It has no headliner, no 3-D ride, no horses or roller coasters. It’s just an old theater with something wonderful hidden inside, but in 2006 it closed

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COURTESY BRANSON CVB

The Titanic Museum in Branson opens a new exhibit for 2013 showcasing the children aboard the doomed ship.

Above: Six brothers perform popular music using only vocal talent in the Branson show, SIX. The Knudsen brothers made their first national television debut on the Donnie & Marie show in 1978.

Left: Dolly Partonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dixie Stampede is a lively dinner show featuring live animals, dramatic lighting, and pyrotechnics.

Presleysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Country Jubilee, a blend of country, gospel, bluegrass, and comedy in one show, is performed by the Presley family.

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From left: A herd of baby goats greets Silver Dollar City park-goers. Many artisans, including this glass blower, work at the park.

Photographer Sarah Alban helps prepare succotash, a mix of beans, corn, squash, okra, and chicken, atSilver Dollar City.

when the original co-owner died unexpectedly.

It re-opened in 2010, but the four-year layoff has made it difficult to recapture the audience. That’s a great shame, because the show is stunning, oneof-a-kind, and a ridiculous bargain. Waltzing Waters deserves better than to be forgotten.

We played eighteen holes at the gorgeous Hollywood Minigolf. The groundskeeping is flawless, which is rare at miniature golf courses.

All the holes are challenging even for an avid golfer. (The ball rolls back to the tee with frustrating regularity.) The course provides a number of excellent photo opportunities, including my favorite, one with a giant Oscar statue. It’s a fun course for kids, with audio and effects. And if you are looking for a date night activity on a summer evening in Branson, it’s hard to beat miniature golf.

That night, we saw Presleys’ Country Jubilee, a variety show, like a country version of the old Muppet Show; half comedy, half music. At intermission, I went to the lobby, and audience members all around me were buzzing with joy, repeating the punch lines of jokes and humming the choruses of songs. The Presleys have been on the Branson showbiz scene longer than I have been alive, and the show is seriously polished.

I was beginning to worry the five days I had in Branson were going to be woefully insufficient.

On Wednesday, we drove out to the fish hatchery a few miles off the Branson Strip. I had read glowing comments about the hatchery on the Internet, describing it as the best free attraction in Branson. While the visitor center and hatchery grounds are free, the best part does have a modest cost: For a quarter, I could buy a handful of fish food and incite the trout into a frenzy of eating. Upon learning that the hatchery is more of a trout farm—the trout are raised here then trucked to Missouri lakes for sport fishermen—I asked where to buy one of the trout for grilling.

The hatchery guides had, I suspect, never gotten this question before, but they went to great lengths to find out where I could get one. (They came up with a local grocery and a local restaurant as possibilities; sadly, neither of them had trout when I called.)

Locals going to great lengths to help visitors is a pattern in Branson. Upon leaving the visitor center, Sarah gushed, “Everybody here is so nice.”

We had only been there for forty-eight hours at that point, but she was right: Everybody we encountered in Branson was helpful and just so nice.

(And I can spot fake helpful cheer; I worked for Disney for eight years.)

GREG WOOD; SARAH ALBAN; ALAN BROUILETTE

The Victorian-style Bradford House has twenty guest rooms, all decorated and themed differently.

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BRANSON CVB; SARAH ALBAN

That afternoon and evening belonged to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, a dinner theater. The warm-up act, a jack-of-all-trades named David Lucas, was brilliant. In the course of his act, the Asian-Latino David told us he had recently performed for the Prime Minister of Canada. Then he played the banjo; juggled tambourines, glowing Frisbees, scarves, rings, and knives; and balanced a chair on his face. If I were the Prime Minister of Canada, I would declare him an honorary citizen and national treasure in the hope that he would move to Canada and perform for me nightly.

The dinner show was worth watching. It was a lumberjack-rodeo kind of thing with stunt riding and tree-chopping games and clowns. Then came a magic trick, the kind of trick where a smug jerk like me thinks he has it figured out, and upon the big reveal at the end of the trick, learns that he was ridiculously wrong.

The Stampede also had audience members participate in games. I know this because Sarah and I were wiping our mouths and watching the rodeo clowns when the waiter tapped us on the shoulders and asked, “Would you two like to be in the show?”

We were whisked downstairs by a crew member and quickly briefed by one of the clowns.

(They’re much more serious offstage.) We were told we would be racing stick horses. Sarah and I mounted our two-man steed and waited for the starting gun. When it came, we galloped majestically around the course, winning by a Secretariatlike margin. My medal hangs proudly over my desk as I write these words.

Thursday morning, we toured Table Rock Dam. How the dam tour guides can be so cheerful while they give the dam tour is beyond me, because there’s a lot of dam data to give the dam tourists, and I bet they don’t appreciate all the dam details. Maybe they make a lot of dam jokes.

Next was the Tiger Sanctuary. For $50, you can feed a tiger by pushing chicken thighs down a chute with a broomstick. When I asked the owner if the numerous dogs on the property ever got too close to the fence containing the cats, he told me, “Only one species is dumb enough to ignore a fence.”

Near the Tiger Sanctuary is Copper Run Distillery, the first legal distillery in the Ozarks since Prohibition and the birthplace of the moonshine I found at the wine shop on the first day. I met Jim, the owner, and had a tasting and a tour. I bought a bottle to take home.

Thursday night, we drove out to the Showboat

Branson Belle. The Belle is a paddleboat on Table Rock Lake, holding seven hundred for a dinner cruise and a show. I had to leave town before the Belle’s first show of the year the following evening, so I finagled an invitation to the friendsand-family dress rehearsal.

The emcee, Christopher James, was also the magician. He made the only nod to the corniness of Branson comedy I heard all week, saying after one particular groaner, “These are Branson jokes, folks.” I liked him a lot for that.

And there was the Belle’s headliner, Janice Martin. Janice is billed as the “world’s only aerial violinist.” She plays the violin while hanging upside-down. She also sings and plays the piano.

Janice could work anywhere she wants, and she chooses to work here. She made a speech about how much she likes the wholesomeness of Branson and how the local values led her to settle in the region after three years in the Army.

Friday, we went to Silver Dollar City, going to Marvel Cave first, because that is the attraction the whole thing grew up around. They warn you that it is fairly strenuous and that there is no bathroom. You should heed both those warnings. You walk down a lot of steps, many wet, and into a huge wonderful cave. And then you begin the climb out through the other side of the cave. The cave is a tight squeeze in places and there are bats, but it is all totally worth it. It’s gorgeous.

Silver Dollar City is an Ozark-themed amusement park somewhere between Colonial Williamsburg and Six Flags. We visited the Christmas store, appreciated a jug band, tasted apple butter, and rode a giant swing. We rode a boat through a mine, ate cinnamon ice cream, and rode the train.

We left Silver Dollar City completely happy.

The secret to Branson is to engage and accept the town for what it is. A trip to Branson is like going on vacation to 1958. I’ve never been to a better vacation spot to take kids. And everybody in Branson is in fact so nice.

As we left Silver Dollar City, we got into the car and were hit with the smell of raw whiskey.

The bottle of moonshine had been in the hot car all day, and the wax seal had melted, popping the cork and flooding the glove box.

I was disappointed, so I called Jim at Copper Run to see how late he’d be open. He’d just closed, but he offered to wait a half-hour for us.

When we got there he examined it, pronounced the seal defective, asked to take it for study, and replaced it with an unopened one.

Even the moonshiner is so nice.

Children observe trout at Branson’s trout hatchery.

The National Tiger Sanctuary keeps its animals for life, and the animals are not taught tricks or trained.

Waltzing Waters is Branson’s only aqua theater, with a thirty-six-thousand gallon fountain three stories tall.

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ghost tree

ComebaCk

The ozark Chinquapin

“You are on a ghost hunt.”

These were frank words for Steve Bost to hear. It wasn’t exactly what he expected, either. Steve, a park naturalist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, has always been passionate about the Ozarks. So when he found out about the Ozark chinquapin, a tree related to the American chestnut, he wanted to find some. He was told by a more experienced naturalist that the trees didn’t exist anymore. It would have been disheartening if he had believed it.

Steve has discovered Ozark chinquapin trees in numerous places throughout the Ozarks and has founded the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation with a mission to keep the trees from vanishing forever. Each remaining tree is a precious resource for the future of the species. Steve has no intention of letting this tree pass quietly into the night.

Ozark chinquapins share more than chestnut family resemblances. With the same leaf shape and spiny burrs around the nuts, Ozark chinquapins also share the same Achilles heel: the Chinese chestnut blight. This villainous fungus was introduced near New York before World War I. By the middle of the century, it had spread from the East Coast to the Great Plains. Every chestnut relative was touched by its grip. This decimated the native chestnut clan in the eastern

United States, including the Ozark chinquapin.

Today, the chinquapin is a faded memory, its uses and former high esteem a mere apparition.

The tree’s presence is slipping from the landscape, leaving only decay-defiant trunks. It was only a few generations ago that these nut-producing trees were highly sought after and distributed throughout the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas. The passing of the Ozark chinquapin has been surprisingly quiet and unceremonious except as noted by those who remember its glory days.

Glory days Darrell Williams has memories of the Ozark chinquapin near Verona, Missouri. There, he used to find and make use of the tasty chinquapin nuts.

“Nuts don’t lie under a tree for very long because little mice and squirrels get them. They’re sweeter than any pecan,” he says with a chuckle as if he had one just yesterday.

Oak acorns are common forest nuts, and all sport a bitter-tasting substance known as tannin.

The marble-sized chinquapin seed resembles an acorn but lacks the acorn cap and has low concentrations of tannins. This, combined with high sugar content, produces a pleasant flavor.

BY A.J. HENDERSHOTT

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illustration by a.j. hendershott

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Ozark chinquapin nuts are tasty and high in nutrition.

They lack the bitter taste of acorns and have more protein and carbohydrates than any acorn in the Ozarks.

“We used to hunt for chinquapins when I was a kid,” Darrell says. “They covered the ground. The burrs generally open up enough for the nut to fall out. If the burr didn’t open, you’d have to stomp them with your foot and that involved shoes. If a good wind came by or you shook the tree, the ground would just be covered with chinquapins. You might get an acorn crop like this occasionally but not very often. If you shook a chinquapin, you could gather all you wanted without raking the leaves back.”

Paul Corbin was born in 1914 and grew up in southern Bollinger County. He remembers the spiny-burred chinquapin.

“We had one that leaned over in the school yard of the old Step School on Cato Slough,” Paul says. “We used to eat chinquapins at recess. They were rather prolific. You could pick them up by the handful. They would just cover the ground, and you could crack them with your teeth.”

The chinquapin nut is highly nutritious, too. According to a laboratory evaluation done by SGS North America, a company

that performs chemical and nutritional analysis of food, nuts from the chinquapin tree have high percentages of protein and carbohydrates. When compared to oak acorns or the American chestnut, the Ozark chinquapin’s nut comes out on top.

“That makes the chinquapin king of the Ozark Mountains,” Steve says. “But chinquapin importance doesn’t stop there.

They were reliable and prolific nut producers.”

Steve found that an average-sized white oak in an average year could produce one thousand acorns. In a good year, that same tree would produce two thousand nuts.

“The American chestnut left them all in the dust by producing six thousand nuts from the same size tree,” Steve says.

“Chinquapin trees are slightly smaller than chestnuts and only hold one nut in their husk instead of three like the chestnut.

However, the Ozark chinquapin will produce four to sixteen nut clusters on the ends of a branch. I think if it had good pollination, it would actually produce more nuts per same size tree because you have more nuts produced per branch. ” Another leg up for the chinquapins is the timing of their pale white blooms. Oaks bloom in March and April when ill-timed frosts can damage blooms and the resulting acorn crop. Chinquapins bloom in May, when frost isn’t a threat, which means they can produce a more reliable crop of nuts every year.

“You have a tree that produces one of the most nutritious and tasty nuts available to the Ozarks, produces a lot of them, and is reliable every year. They were important to people and wildlife,” Steve says.

When Darrell was just a boy, the chinquapins were highly sought after.

“We’d take buckets with us chinquapin hunting,” he says. “Everyone who was young had chores back then, so you’d get a pocket full of chinquapins and eat chinquapins

Volunteers cross-pollinate blight-resistant trees and place bags to prevent competing pollen from reaching the female flowers.

A.J. HENDERSHOTT

NUMBERED DAYS

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A.J. HENDERSHOTT

Ozark chinquapins bloom in May or June when the threat of frost is well past.

At a distance, a tree in bloom may look like it is covered in snow.

“If a group of trees has been impactwhile you did your chores.” ed by the blight with one that seems to But there is a trick to storing the nuts. be doing fine, that is a significant find,” “Once you collect them, keep the he says. “It stands to reason there may nuts in a jar with a lid, or they’ll get be a genetic trait for blight resistance wormy. I guess something lays eggs in that might be passed on to the offspring the bloom,” Darrell says. of such a tree.”

Settlers found the lumber virtuous.

Steve formed the nonprofit Ozark Chinquapin lumber did not warp, had a dark appearance, and glued together like Range maps of the Ozark chinquapin show the trees are Chinquapin Foundation to repopulate mostly found today in southwest Missouri, northwest the species. Foundation members and a dream. It was used to make furniture Arkansas, and the eastern portion of Oklahoma. cooperators search for surviving trees such as chests and tables. The Ozark that are blight-resistant, collect pollen from those trees, perform hills were filled with music born of dulcimers, violins, and guipollination crosses with other blight-resistant trees, collect retars crafted of Ozark chinquapin wood. This wood was also rot sulting nuts, and distribute them to places where they have the resistant and often used for the construction of split rail fences, best chance for survival. coffins, shingles, and siding for buildings.

“One amazing thing about all this is the remarkable people Then the blight came to slay the chinquapin. The tree was who have sacrificed unselfishly their time and efforts to help once as common as an ash tree is today, but it was more remake all of this happen,” Steve says. “Without that support, stricted in distribution. none of this would be possible.”

Today, less than ninety-nine percent of the early twenThe potential benefits of population restoration include a tieth-century population of Ozark chinquapins survives. good source of food and lumber, but there is something more These are rare trees, but the decay-resistant wood left clues at play for Steve. for savvy ecologists such as Steve.

“This is an ecological wrong, and we want to put it right.”

Darrell believes the quest for chinquapin restoration is valuDAYS OF RESURRECTION able for another reason.

Steve’s ghost hunt was facilitated by the presence of the trees’ “For a kid to go out chinquapin hunting, it is worth more grayish-white corpses strewn about the forest. “The trunks have than what they are doing now,” he says. “They have no idea a distinctive look about them,” he says. “There is a certain twist what they’re missing.” and color with down-turned limbs that give it away.”

Steve hopes the ghost tree will again cover the Ozarks as a Those dead trunks give Steve a reason to slow down and inliving, contributing resident, even if it is a slow process. spect the landscape.

“I feel like Johnny Appleseed telling people about this tree “Sometimes a tree that had its main trunk killed by the blight and giving out seeds, and no one knew what the apple was.” will send up sprouts that still live. Some of those even produce Become a member of the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation or nuts,” Steve says. report a tree at www.ozarkchinquapin.com.

There may be hope yet for the tree.

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following

By Gregory Wolk

ULYSSES S. GRANT

may be America’s most underappreciated politician. Most people who study military history acknowledge he stands in the top tier of military leaders this nation has produced. In the public mind, though, his legacy is oddly clouded. The perceived failure of his presidency and a slanderous charge of habitual drinking probably account for this. But with the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, it is time to recognize that Grant is the most accomplished Missourian in military history.

Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Ohio; he died and is buried in New York. Those things aside, all of the touchstones of domicile point to Missouri. When he left West Point in 1843, embarking upon a life of a career soldier, Grant was assigned to Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. A reticent man, we can imagine he eschewed the social scene that swirled around the young officers at the barracks. Nevertheless, Grant met Julia Dent, the daughter of a Southern family, the sister of his West Point roommate. They married in 1848. He served in the Mexican War, but like most military men, home was with his family. This was Whitehaven, the Dent plantation on Gravois Road southwest of St. Louis.

When Grant resigned his Army commission in 1854, he came

home, where he built a modest home and farmed Dent property that he and Julia had received as a wedding gift. Unsuccessful in civilian life, Grant uprooted his family in 1860. The Grants left Missouri for Galena, Illinois, where Ulysses secured a job as a clerk in a branch office of his father’s leather business. After war broke out in the spring of 1861, Grant went in search of an army command in Illinois and was rebuffed several times. In June of 1861, Grant got his command, an unruly new regiment being raised in central Illinois. Its first colonel had resigned in disgust.

In 1861, during his second homecoming, Grant began his remarkable Civil War career. That he began his ascendancy as a colonel of Illinois troops is an accident of history, born in failure. That it began in Missouri is no accident. In July 1861, this was the hotbed of the struggle that would consume the nation.

In 1863, the Grants began purchasing tracts of the Dent estate.

Eventually, they would own all of the core area of Whitehaven, the only home that Grant ever owned. It was his retreat during the Civil War and throughout his presidency. It was to be his and Julia’s retirement home. Today, Whitehaven is the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis.

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI

GRANT G R A N T T R A I L S H O W C A S E S A P R E S I D E N T ’ S L E G AC Y.

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Grant’s Cabin at Grant’s Farm

West Quincy, Missouri July 10-13, 1861

Grant’s new command, the 21st Illinois Infantry, ferried across the Mississippi and disembarked on Missouri soil on July 10, 1861.

The regiment had been bound for southern Missouri after completing basic training at Springfield, Illinois, but was diverted opposite Quincy, Illinois. An emergency brought Grant to Missouri.

Another Illinois regiment, the 16th Illinois Infantry, was trapped in Monroe City, a hamlet twenty miles inland by rail.

The 16th Infantry was surrounded by the Missouri State Guard, which was allied with the Confederate States. It had ventured too far into Southern-leaning north Missouri after marching toward Florida, Missouri, to find the rumored camp of State Guard Gen. Thomas Harris. The 16th then retreated to Monroe City.

The emergency subsided soon after Grant established camp in West Quincy. During the next several days, Grant’s men busied themselves guarding the Quincy & Palmyra Railroad, a branch line constructed in 1860 to connect Quincy to the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad (H&SJ) at Palmyra in Marion County. That branch line was to become part of the main line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.

Trains still rumble through the area (now the BNSF), and a place called West Quincy still exists. But the town site, north of the new Quincy Bayview Bridge, disappeared years ago.

On the Salt River, Shelby County

GREGORY WOLK

July 14, 1861

Grant moved west through Palmyra and Monroe City to take position near the ruins of the H&SJ bridge over Salt River, thirty miles west of Hannibal. This critical structure was destroyed three times during the Civil War, the first time during the operations around Monroe City on July 10, 1861. The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Hunnewell Access point, a mile west of Hunnewell on Old Highway 36, is close to the modern bridge.

Grant’s regiment camped on this ground for a week, protecting

the crews that were rebuilding the span. Their stay here was interrupted by a two-day foray to Florida, Missouri, in Grant’s first overland march of the Civil War. The regiment returned to Salt River after the march.

A marker signifies Grant’s time at Salt River.

Florida, Missouri July 17, 1861

Now it was Grant’s turn to chase Harris. The 21st Illinois approached the town from the north, only to find that Harris had abandoned his camp. Grant entered the undefended town and established headquarters in the home of Dr. James Goodier.

Mark Twain claimed he was in Harris’s camp near Florida before the camp was abandoned in the face of Grant’s approach. Twain did serve two weeks in July 1861 in a company of the Missouri State Guard attached to Harris’s command.

The Florida town site was once a thriving commercial center, but now much of the area is part of the Mark Twain State Park.

The Goodier House is in ruins on private property along Route U.

Mexico, Missouri

July 20-August 7, 1861 The 21st Illinois was next assigned to Mexico, Missouri, where Gen. John Pope had established headquarters. Grant arrived here with his regiment, by rail, traveling west from the Salt River bridge to the junction of the H&SJ and North Missouri Railroad at Macon, then southeast on the North Missouri. Mexico, the seat of Audrain County, remains an important rail center; the North Missouri Railroad is now the Norfolk Southern.

At Mexico, Grant took de facto command of two additional regiments and spent two uneventful weeks guarding the railroads in this vicinity. He set up camp west of town and north of the railroad, in an area bounded by Monroe and Jackson Streets, ranging west from Missouri Avenue.

While stationed here, Grant visited Graceland, a private

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antebellum mansion. In Mexico, Grant learned President Lincoln nominated him for a promotion to the rank of brigadier general, which Congress confirmed.

Open to visitors, the magnificently restored Graceland is now home to the Audrain County Historical Society.

St. Louis to Cape Girardeau

August 28-September 4, 1861

Grant arrived in St. Louis on August 28 and reported immediately to the headquarters of Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont, located at Eighth Street and Chouteau Avenue. This was the fourth time that Grant rode the rails to St. Louis in August August 8-19, 1861 1861 to deliver intelligence or receive orders, and it would be Eighty miles south of St. Louis on Highway 21, Ironton danhis most eventful trip. gled at the end of the St. Louis Iron Mountain railroad line, Controversy surrounds the events of August 28, 1861. One which was deep in hostile territory. Grant rushed here from version of events is that Grant reported to headquarters as Mexico when authorities learned a Confederate army had adordered, where he was recognized by an old army comrade. vanced from Arkansas to within forty miles of the place. His Grant waited to be received by Fremont, who was meeting brigadier’s commission caught up with him in Ironton at the with senior staff, including Grant’s friend, about the appointheadquarters camp he established next to a spring two blocks ment of an officer to push down the Mississippi from southsouth of the town square. east Missouri. Grant’s old friend exclaimed, “I know just the Grant was abruptly relieved at Ironton by Quincy native man, who is waiting downstairs.”

Brigadier Gen. Benjamin Prentiss. Prentiss’s belief, evidently More likely, during the week Grant languished in Jefferson shared by St. Louis headquarters at the time, was that he City, Fremont realized that outranked Grant. During Graceland in Mexico, Missouri Grant outranked Prentiss the following week, Grant (still in command at Ironton), pressed his claim over Prenand Fremont summoned tiss’s, while Grant, dejected, Grant to his headquarters served in Jefferson City. In to recompense Grant with nine days in Ironton, though, a higher command. WhatGrant had organized the regever the case, orders in hand, iments under his command Grant repaired to the Planters and put them on the roads House hotel near St. Louis’s to confront his adversary to Old Courthouse, where he the south. The legend, supassembled a staff. On August ported by a witness’s account 30, he boarded a steamboat written long after the war, is and arrived in the Mississippi that Grant sat in his tent by Grant’s Headquarters in Cape Girardeau port town of Cape Girardeau. the Ironton spring and drew the plan that ultimately led him His headquarters for the next four days was a brick building on the to victory at Vicksburg. waterfront, known now as the A statue built in 1886 by vetPort Cape Girardeau Building. erans of the 21st Illinois Infantry Grant collected troops on duty and the spring are located on the in southeast Missouri and moved grounds of the St. Marie du Lac his headquarters to Cairo, IlliCatholic Church. nois. His stay in Cape was not without incident, however. On September 2, Prentiss arrived August 21-28, 1861 in Cape Girardeau; he had been ordered from On August 21, Grant arrived in JefIronton to join Grant with four regiments. Grant expected ferson City, the state capital occupying a bluff on the south Prentiss to remain with his troops outside of town. Mindful side of the Missouri River one hundred miles west of St. Louis, that Prentiss could no longer dispute his authority, Grant on the Pacific Railroad. As in Ironton, he immediately started ordered Prentiss to rejoin his regiments. When Prentiss reorganizing his new command. Grant made his headquarters at quested Grant to relieve him of command, Grant refused. The the old City Hotel at the northwest corner of High and Madiincident caused Prentiss to place himself under arrest so he son streets. Again, Grant was abruptly relieved of command by could plead his case for seniority in St. Louis. orders that he report to Army Headquarters in St. Louis.

Grant was now firmly in charge and headed south. Two The City Hotel was demolished one hundred years ago. The days after he left Cape Girardeau, Grant marched into old Central Bank Building now occupies the site.

Ironton

GREGORY WOLK

Jefferson City

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Paducah, Kentucky, and claimed that place in the name of the United States. After Cape Girardeau, Grant never again commanded from a headquarters on Missouri soil.

Grant’s family cabin is still standing in St. Louis at Grant’s Farm, open to visitors.

The Port Cape Girardeau building, which served as Grant’s headquarters, is still standing at Water and Themis streets.

Belmont

ILLUSTRATTION BY ANDREW BARTON

November 7, 1861

1. Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum This museum highlight’s Mark Twain’s career, including his time spent as a soldier and his connections to Grant.

2. Old Baptist Cemetery The oldest cemetery in Hannibal contains the graves of Civil War soldiers.

3. Grave of Thomas J. Higgins Sergeant Higgins was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Vicksburg during Grant’s assault on Confederate troops.

Cairo, Illinois, a staging area while Grant com10. Elmwood Cemetery Home to the remains of at least manded from September 4, 1861, until Janutwo hundred Civil War soldiers. ary 1862, was the natural place to mount an 4. Old Marion County Jail Home of the Palmyra Massacre, 11. Danville expedition into the southern heartland. The where ten men were shot for joinThe target of a guerilla raid led by ing Confederate Calvary.

William “Bloody Bill” Anderson. town was the southern terminus of the Illinois Central Railroad, at the confluence of the Mis5. Brush Creek Church 12. Washington Historical The baptismal site of slave Augustin Society Museum sissippi and Ohio rivers.

Tolton, who fled Missouri in 1864 afGrant passed through Washington Soon after his arrival in Cairo, Grant fortiter his father joined the Union Army. on his way to take command in Jefferson City. fied a beachhead at Bird’s Point, opposite Cairo.

6. Site of Monroe Institute That is where another railroad, the Cairo & Grant reinforced Union forces that 13. Veterans Hall of Honor fought at the brick building that Museum honoring the nation’s Fulton, had its terminus. once stood on these grounds. veterans.

Grant’s command struck out from Bird’s 7. Grave of A.V.E. Johnston 14. Vitt’s Mill Point on November 4, 1861, focused on secur18. West Quincy Home to the remains of Union Maj. Attacked by advancing Confedering the Cairo & Fulton Railroad and eliminatAndrew Johnston, who was the ate troops that were a part of Gen. 19. Salt River highest ranking soldier killed at the Sterling Price’s expedition. ing a Missouri State Guard force occupying Battle of Centralia.

20. Florida 15. Blackburn Park Bloomfield. Grant remained in Cairo under or8. John Wade Grave A bluff-top cannon commemorates ders from Fremont to make a “demonstration” 21. Mexico Home to the remains of John the Battle of Pacific.

Wade. in the direction of Columbus, Kentucky. This 22. Ironton 16. Pacific Junction was the Confederate’s Gibraltar along the Mis9. Old Village Cemetery Historical marker at the site of a 23. Jefferson City Fifty-two Union soldiers were laid railroad junction that was a stratesissippi, located on a bluff that overlooked the to rest here days after the Battle of gic military resource. small Missouri town of Belmont.

24. Cape Girardeau Centralia. Their remains are now at Jefferson Barracks National 17. Battle of Pacific Site On November 6, Grant loaded three thou25. Belmont Cemetery in St. Louis.

Home to the Battle of Pacific. sand Union troops on river transports, landing them several miles north of Belmont. He knew These are the Civil War sites on the official U.S. Grant Trail.

For more detailed information about the trail, visit www.mocivilwar.org. then that in the days since his orders were issued, Fremont had been relieved of command in the West. Grant seized the opportunity and, contrary to orders, attacked the Confederates at Belmont. accomplishing the first significant Union victory of the war.

This was the first battle of the Civil War in which Ulysses Grant’s fame, established at Donelson, carried with him Grant commanded troops in the field. The Union lost the Batto Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Petersburg, and Appotle of Belmont. Grant himself was nearly captured as he led a mattox. retreat to the boats; he scrambled up a gangplank to make his After the war, a grateful nation elevated him to high office. escape as the last boat departed for Cairo.

He was the only president from Andrew Jackson to Woodrow Wilson to serve two full consecutive terms.

Grant’s drive up the Tennessee River in 1862 and down the Mississippi to Vicksburg in 1863 was relentless, but not withGrant departed Cairo on February 2, 1862, at the head of sevout occasional setback. enteen thousand troops. Bound for the Kentucky-Tennessee Seventeen weeks in Missouri had prepared Grant for setborder, he was not the only Union commander to realize the back, just as it prepared him for greatness. north-flowing Tennessee and Cumberland rivers were highways into the Confederate heartland. He struck rapidly.

Gregory Wolk is a St. Louis lawyer and author of On February 16, 1862, Grant accepted the surrender of Friend and Foe Alike: A Tour Guide to Missouri’s Civil War. a whole Confederate army at Fort Donelson, Tennessee,

Prepared for Greatness

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Missouri’s Daughters of Charity

In the Missouri Military Hospital, a sister on her nightly rounds came upon a soldier who was suffering from pain in his forehead and temples. He had caught a cold, and the inflammation spread to his eyes to the point where they had swollen until he could no longer see. The soldier said the pain was so intense that he thought he wouldn’t live until morning. The sister asked the man to allow her to bind his head with a wide bandage.

“Oh, Sister, it is no use,” the man told her, his voice straining with desperation. “The doctor has been bathing my forehead with spirits of ether and other liquids, and nothing will do me any good. I cannot live until morning; my head is splitting open. But you may do what you like.”

The sister took a wide bandage, and unknown to the soldier, saturated it in chloroform. She bound up the man’s head and left him for the night once the chloroform had eased him into sleep.

The next morning she returned and asked him how his night had been.

“Oh, Sister, I have rested well; from the moment you put your hands on my forehead I experienced no pain,” the grateful patient told her.

—Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton

harper’s weekly

By Jame s R ada, JR.

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l

Mullanphy Hospita

how the sisters in Missouri should handle the request when the time arose.

That time came the summer of 1861. On August 12, Union Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont “desired that every attention be paid to soldiers who had exposed their lives for their country, visited them frequently, and believing that there was much neglect on the part of the attendants, applied to the Sisters at St. Philomena’s School in St. Louis, for a sufficient number of sisters to take charge of the hospital, promising to leave everything to their management,” according to Annals of the Civil War, a collection of first-person accounts of wartime experiences submitted by the Daughters of Charity following the war at the request of Father Burlando.

The tragic situations found at St. Mullanphy Hospital served as the perfect training ground for what the sisters would face in the Civil War.

“The country had only six hundred trained nurses at the start of the Civil War. All were Catholic nuns. This is one of the best kept secrets in our nation’s history,” Civil War chaplain Father William Barnaby Faherty once said.

And many of them were in St. Louis during the Civil War. Nearly seven hundred Catholic sisters from twenty-two orders provided service during the Civil War. The American Daughters of Charity provided the largest number—around three hundred—to serve in the war. They ran schools, including St. Philomena’s School in St. Louis, as well as hospitals. In St. Louis, the Daughters ran DePaul Hospital, which began as St. Louis Mullanphy Hospital in 1828. Although education was held in high esteem, nursing wasn’t considered a profession for women. In public hospitals, nursing was done by other hospital residents or the poor. No formal training program for nursing existed.

Even so, the Daughters’ success in caring for the sick at the Baltimore Infirmary in Maryland in 1823 prompted the organization to open the first hospital west of the Mississippi River, St. Louis Mullanphy Hospital, in 1828. The sisters gained expeMother Ann Simeo rience working with victims of violence, n accidents, yellow fever, and cholera.

As their reputation as nurses grew, they opened additional hospitals.

maj. gen. fremont requested the sisters Public perception of female nurses began changing in the 1850s. The French Daughters of Charity, in existence since 1617, had served as battlefield nurses during the Crimean War. Their service had been so exemplary that, once the Civil War began, many people began looking at the American Daughters of Charity and wondering if they could do the same thing here.

Founder Saint Vincent de Paul once told the sisters, “Men go to war to kill one another, and you, sisters, you go to repair the harm they have done. … Men kill the body and very often the soul, and you go to restore life, or at least by your care to assist in preserving it.”

As the United States broke apart, Daughters of Charity from Emmitsburg, Maryland, found themselves serving soldiers in both the Union and Confederacy. Father Francis Burlando and Mother Ann Simeon visited St. Philomena’s in St. Louis in 1861. Foreseeing the sisters in Missouri being called on to serve as nurses as they were in other states, they left directions for

Twelve sisters from St. Philomena’s went to the Military Hospital House of Refuge in the suburbs of St. Louis. The sisters took charge of hundreds of patients.

Peter Kenrick, Archbishop of St. Louis, sent a chaplain to say daily Mass for both the sisters and any wounded. It soon became the primary location to send wounded Confederate POWs who were brought up the Mississippi River on hospital steamboats. Wounded Union soldiers were sent to City Hospital.

At first, the sisters were a wonder to behold because of their strange dress, and some patients asked them if they were Freemasons. The patients were grateful for the fine care they received, and because of that, they gave the sisters their respect and cooperation.

Women from the Union Aid Society visited the soldiers every other day. These women grew to admire the peace that reigned in the wards overseen by the Daughters of Charity and found the patients “as submissive as children.”

St. Louis was inundated with wounded soldiers after battles. Hospital steamboats would pick up patients from battlefields, treat them, and take them to St. Louis for further treatment and recuperation. In one instance, more than eight hundred wounded soldiers arrived in the city in a single day, and the Daughters of Charity cared for many of them.

COURTESY WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY ST. LOUIS

get to the sisters

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Gratiot Prison Often when the soldiers returned to their regiments, they told other sick or wounded soldiers, “If you go to St. Louis, try to get to the House of Refuge Hospital. The Sisters are there, they will make you well soon,” a sentiment expressed to one sister, who then wrote about it after the war.

Sisters from St. Louis also visited Jefferson Barracks Hospital nine miles from the city. The primary duty of the military camp would shift from training soldiers to saving their lives by 1862 when it became a Union hospital with more than three thousand beds.

Wise surgeons recognized the growing respect for the sisters and used it to help their patients. Where a patient might reject a doctor’s ministrations, it was not so with the sisters. Once treated, if the patient recovered, the sister got the credit, which only added to the power of their reputations and their ability to help others.

One day, the sisters were walking through the wards at the St. Louis Military Hospital when a soldier raised himself up in bed and said, “Ah, sister, how glad I am to see you. Ah! If you were here to take care of us, that poor boy”—pointing to the soldier in the next bed, — “would be well long ago.”

—Sister Betty Ann McNeil, archivist for the Daughters of Charity, wrote in her book, Dear Masters: Extracts from Accounts by Sister Nurses.

SCRIBNER’S MONTHLY; WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

anti-catholic prejudice In August 1862, the Provost Marshal requested the sister servant of St. Louis Hospital send sisters to the Grathat morning, but he hadn’t received it. tiot Street Prison. When Sisters Othelia Marshall, Mary The sister found a nurse and asked why the docAgnes Kelley, Melania Fischer, and Florence O’Hara first tor’s orders had been ignored. The nurse told her that arrived, the patients refused their assistance due to antithere were no hops in the hospital with which to Catholic prejudice. make the poultice. The hospital steward had gone “Prejudice greeted us everywhere. The patients would 00 into town for supplies that morning before it was not even speak to us, though, bereft of every consolation after 19 Sisters of Charity known that hops were needed, and there had been of soul and body. However, we were not discouraged but no other opportunity to send someone else into town. persevered in our work of mercy,” one sister wrote.

The sister went across the yard to another building and got hops from a One of the doctors commented that “the only kindness received in the bakery that was nearby. She then had the poultice made. prisons has been from Catholics and Sisters of Charity.”

The man said once he got relief, “The Sisters find ways and means to relieve The sisters prepared food for the prisoners at their hospital and brought everyone, but others who make a profession of the work do not even know how it to the prison at noon each day. The food helped win the prisoners over to begin it.” —Angels of the Battlefield, written by George Barton so they accepted the sisters. One sister wrote: “Now that they looked on us with confidence, they would flock to us like children around a mother, In Missouri, where both Union and Confederate loyalties set neighbor to make known to us their little wants, which Providence never failed to against neighbor, the Daughters of Charity showed that anger should be supply to their great astonishment. They would frequently ask us how we met with kindness and patience for healing to begin. could provide for so many. We replied that our Lord made the provision.”

It is this kindness and hospitality that marks the lasting legacy of the The sisters had a calming effect on the men at the prison. “A check or two Daughters of Charity. The sisters’ tireless efforts in treating and healfrom a sister would be enough so that an improper word was rarely heard. ing soldiers during the Civil War wore away at strongly held prejudices Others who loved their glass of liquor feared only the sisters knowing it,” against Catholics. one sister wrote.

James Rada, Jr. is the author of Battlefield Angels: The Daughters A sister on her nightly rounds came upon a soldier whose hand had been of Charity Work as Civil War Nurses, a book he spent five years amputated. The man was suffering, and his arm looked bright red and swollen. researching and writing.

The soldier told the sister that a doctor had ordered a hot poultice for his arm

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BOURBON,

Off the Rocks:

The Well Aged City Ferments Growth

Robert Gargus

Phyllis Arnett

BARREL FOR BUILDERS In 1794, President George Washington had trouble in Pennsylvania. Farmers wouldn’t pay excise taxes on corn whiskey, so Washington sent in troops and nipped that conflict. For condolences, the president gave the Irish and Scottish farmers sixty fertile acres in Bourbon County.

Et voila: Bourbon County, Virginia

(today Kentucky), had whiskey makers.

The Irish and Scottish farmers made whiskey from corn, which made it fundamentally different from barley-based whiskey across the Atlantic. Theirs was a strange cousin of iskie bae, or “water of life” in Gaelic. But Irish and Scottish pioneers down the Mississippi River, who got barrels via the Ohio, started asking for the firewater from that old county in Virginia.

“Old Bourbon whiskey,” they asked for.

By 1840, they wanted just “bourbon.”

Bourbon was what Richard Turner’s customers wanted. Richard’s general store, seventy miles southwest of St. Louis in St. Cloud, intercepted all the Irish and Scottish builders of a railroad to Rolla. Turner stuck a barrel outside his shop, and the workers—whose sweat, shovels, and picks laid the tracks— flocked toward the barrel like flies to light. Parched flies. “BOURBON” called to them like the water towers do to drivers today. Only difference is that the barrel contained what it promised.

“I’m going to Bourbon,” the rail workers would say.

A postmaster opened shop on September 27, 1853. That day, a Tuesday, he submitted to the government the name “Bourbon in the Village of St. Cloud.”

And “Bourbon” it became when the city incorporated about fifty years later.

PART OF ROUTE 66 With a painting of the Bourbon water tower behind him on a diner mural, Josh Ware points out every Circle Inn Malt Shop customer by name. He should know. He’s grown up in this diner.

“I care about what happens to Bob,” Josh says, nodding to a diner sitting

BY SARAH ALBAN

DUSTIN HOLMES; SARAH ALBAN

DRIVE DOWN Interstate 44, and you’ll see four water towers in Bourbon. Each one scrapes the sky, a cask promising “BOURBON.” You’d think they were full of whiskey, but Bourbonites barely touch the amber drink. That might account for the city’s longevity: Bourbon celebrates one hundred and sixty years in 2013. And some of its people seem to have lived nearly as long.

I visited Bourbon with hope to buy the mayor of Bourbon a bourbon. Mayor Leonard Armstrong was out of town, committed to a family reunion. But he sent his right-hand man, Alderman Bob Gargus, and right-hand woman, Phyllis Arnett, to show me around town instead. They wouldn’t drink either.

Not bourbon, at least. Bob and Phyllis would drink another aqua vitae. More on that soon. But first, about the name: It started with a French homage and with George Washington kicking butt.

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notley hawkins

The iconic Circle Inn Malt Shop started wooing travelers in 1955 with its circle-in shtick: Order on one end, circle around, and pick up the food on the other end. This was twenty years before McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adopted a drive-thru, but eight years after Esther and Harry Snyder had invented the fast-food drive-thru at an In-N-Out Burger in Springfield, Missouri.

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daily specials, neon “OPEN” signs welcome walkers, three sleek black Dodge by a window. “I care about what happens to Jim. I care about what happens to Chargers sit in front of the police department, and two taverns serve firewater their wives. If they stopped coming in here, I’d still care.” on Pine Street, Bourbon’s main spigot off Historic Route 66 and I-44.

Josh and his brother Justin have been running Circle Inn since 2011, when When those two highways starved rail traffic in the late sixties, Bourbon their father, Bob, died of a heart attack. The brothers never talked of letting businesses survived by about-facing. Their storefronts transformed into the diner close, and they each relocated a wife and two kids to Bourbon from backs, the backs into fronts, and stores that once pulled traffic off the trains Jacksonville, Illinois, and St. Louis respectively. Even though Bourbon’s big started doing the same off highways. Bourbon, the whiskey of adaptation, is boom of the 1960s had burst, four grocers had left, and factories had shut also the city of adaptation. It has grit in its guts. down, they stayed.

“We feel a part of Route 66,” Josh explains. “Everyone can talk about having their cheeseburgers here in the seventies.”

SOMETHING IN THE WATER Everyone can remember the ice cream too. They just can’t taste it anyThe four water towers drink from well water 810 feet deep. Bourbon’s aqua more. The forty-year-old ice cream machine Bob Ware bought in 1971 to comes with a delicious mint aftertaste. Drink it, and mix milkshakes and make cones with curls on top you might forget about the namesake aqua vitae. “stopped working two months after he did,” Josh “Our water is good here,” Bob says. says. A new one costs about $20,000, but Josh says Bob likes to see things happen fast “because I’m they will find the money. He says Circle Inn will seventy-five years old.” In the past five years he, stay open by focusing on food and friendliness.

Leonard Armstrong, and three other aldermen have “What I want to do is completely different than revamped the budget. They paved Bourbon’s stretch what might happen,” he says. “We hope that Dad of Route 66, installed a half-mile walking trail in the would be proud. We think he would.” city park, grabbed the city a $70,000 backhoe parOutside, cars whiz loudly down I-44. No train tially through a grant, built a high-school baseball whistles. The old Pacific Railroad, today the Frisco, diamond, poured concrete sidewalks down Pine from St. Louis to Rolla was Bourbon’s lifeline in the Street, and oversaw twenty duplexes’ construction.

1880s. Sixty-four trains a day stopped at the BourThey persuaded Kline’s Down Home Cafe, lobon Depot to load up with apples, fresh milk, cattle, Josh Ware holds up a plaque a local kids’ sports team donated cated in Rosebud, to open its second branch in to commemorate his father, Bob. When Bob died, Josh and his pigs, chickens, and iron ore before heading west to brother took over the historic Route 66 family diner.

Bourbon and are luring other businesses with an Rolla or northeast to St. Louis. In WWII, the trains incentive program that goes like this: Rent in Bourcarried soldiers. Today, whatever they carry doesn’t stop in Bourbon. The debon’s industrial plots for ten years, and you can buy the land for $1. pot was torn down in 1969 as I-44 construction was finishing.

Their grit is enough to make anyone wonder if some superhero mineral is On the north side of the tracks where Turner General Store once stood, in Bourbon’s mint water. weeds stretch like veins across nineteenth-century facades. Faded signs pale Bourbon water hydrates some of the longest-living people in the country. against old bricks. But walk away from these tracks and into the buildings’ Fifteen percent of the city is sixty-five or older, which is slightly above averbackyards, and the veins disappear. Buildings come to life. Chalkboards hawk age for the country’s population. Vera Veiman lived to be 105. She bought

SARAH ALBAN

Behind Pine Street, houses and old rail tracks mark where Bourbon’s original main street used to be. The town about-faced in the 1960s, after the highway started offering more business than the tracks.

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Chuck Ray points out a portion of his favorite goto health-food book, which sits in CDR Naturals health-food shop for all to peruse.

Chryslers all her life, and on her one hundredth birthday, a local Chrysler plant gave her a high-end model. Ninety-year-old twins Marge and Marie Friesenhan make nightly appearances at the Town Tavern.

Dorothy Benthal’s grandparents lived to be one hundred. Her dad, ninety.

Her mom, eighty-eight. At eighty-three, Dorothy was en route to make it that far, too, but was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. She didn’t want chemotherapy, having seen it weaken her husband, so she changed her diet instead. She stopped eating sugar, meat, and dairy.

Thirty pounds lighter and cancer-free less than a year later, Dorothy whips a loaf of organic bread out of a freezer at CDR Naturals, Bourbon’s healthfood shop. People like Dorothy are enough to make one wonder if something super is in Bourbon’s water.

If any business helps Bourbonites live longer, it’s CDR Naturals. The shelves are ribboned with herbs, shampoos with avocado and bamboo, environment-friendly toilet paper, and something called “Uber Greens.”

Chuck Ray, who co-owns CDR with his wife, Donna, puts down the Uber Greens to talk to me.

Chuck and Donna never ate this healthily until Chuck and their son, Josh, were diagnosed with hypoglycemia. That’s when the trio cut white sugar and flour from their diets.

In 1995, the high-school sweethearts moved to Bourbon from St. Louis, opened a shop, and filled its shelves with items they’d researched and tested down their digestive tracts. In a town named for an inebriating indulgence, CDR Naturals was the first store of its kind.

CDR sits between two taverns, Uncle Ernie’s Bar and Town Tavern. But by the time I left to meet Phyllis Arnett for a bourbon, I hardly wanted any.

“I’m just not sure how I want to die tonight,” Phyllis says, looking over the menu.

Brian has poured more than bourbon at Uncle Ernie’s. (Although if you visit, Evan Williams bourbon is the top seller and cheapest, so don’t be shy ordering the standard.) “Around here, it’s like Cheers,” Brian says. “Everybody says, ‘Hey!’ ” Bourbon’s other tavern, Town Tavern, is also like Cheers. Behind a deceptively residential-looking unmarked white door lies a jubilee: food, drinks, balls knocking around pool tables, smoke billowing to the ceiling, and neon lights making shadows on couples dancing to rock and kids eating finger foods. When a good song comes on, pull your singing voice out of your gut— because that’s what everyone else does. Town Tavern has been serving good times since before Prohibition.

“Officially, we didn’t serve during Prohibition,” owner Mike Vink says, grinning.

Bartender Sherrie Kempf-Belle puts a bourbon and soda in front of me and shows Phyllis and me competition awards from 2012: barbecue pork, barbecue ribs, and bloody Marys. Phyllis and I toast Bourbon, and as we do, Sherrie checks her watch.

“They’re usually here by now,” she says cryptically. She means the ninetyyear-old twins.

At mention of the centogenarians, I begin to think I should have had the water instead of the bourbon. There is something in this eight-hundred-footdeep aqua vitae. Real water of life.

Outside Town Tavern, Phyllis points out landmarks. An old jail across the street with the whitewashed ghost of a door. Beneath us, a sidewalk barely older than a toddler. It was poured by volunteers Mayor Armstrong recruited.

I finish my bourbon and soda. On a sidewalk the mayor helped create, I stood beside Phyllis, who knows enough people in Bourbon to qualify as ad hoc mayor, and I knew I had accomplished my mission as close as was going to be. Phyllis and I hugged.

“All the stories we heard today,” she started to say. “I never knew all of that.

I’ve never been so proud of Bourbon.”

saRah alBaN

two bars and twins A glass of water collects condensation on the bar at Uncle Ernie’s Bar. This is not the first incarnation of this bar. The wood comes from a 1978 barn salvaged by owner Brian Hartung. The tin siding that holds up the bar comes from Mayor Leonard Armstrong. (That’s as close to having a drink with the mayor as I’ll get.)

Uncle Ernie exists. He’s seventy-one. No fewer than seven burgers are named for him. (One is for Ernie, Jr., his son.) Uncle Ernie—everyone calls him that—likes ordering the Original Big Ernie Burger. Hardly anything at Uncle Ernie’s comes without a half-pound of bacon.

Donna Ray wraps up organic bread for eighty-four-year-old Dorothy Benthal, a cancer survivor.

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PROMOTION

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Team Beef has a story to tell. Well, more like 150 unique stories that make up one huge success story. Missouri Beef Council runners are diverse in their backgrounds, lifestyles, locations, and running goals. But one thing they all have in common is their love for and desire to promote beef as an important centerpiece of their race training and recovery methods.

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T

ara Cassidy has six slow cookers and five children— more, if you count the day care she runs every weekday. And as long as we’re counting, let’s note something major she lost: seventy-five pounds in four years. It’s a weight-loss story fit for TV, and her voice bubbles with warmth as she tells it.

Tara grew up running past the orchards in Murphysboro, Illinois. In high school, she ran track and cross country. She joined the Army, “and they made me run there,” she says. “Then I took a ten-year hiatus from running. I realized I had gained some weight, and then I gained a little more weight, and next thing I knew, I was morbidly obese.” Diabetes and high cholesterol followed. When her doctor suggested starting metformin, a diabetes medication for overweight and obese people, she realized she didn’t want to depend on a medication for the rest of her life. “I like to say I’m self-motivated, but that was a big kick in the butt,” she says.

She remembered what crossing a finish line feels like, but she had to walk for six months before being able to run. “It was so tough,” she says, drawing out the long ‘o.’ “I was very, very heavy. And I was really worried that I was the fat chick and people were looking at me.” But runners support one another. Tara joined a group of local ladies who run together.

“Every Saturday morning, doggone, before the sun comes up, there we are running the streets of St. Charles,” she laughs.

After walking a half marathon, a friend encouraged her to join Team Beef. “I thought, ‘I like beef; we just bought half of a side of cow! This is easy!’” Tara says. She attended the group’s annual webinar. As a mother

of active children, the nutrition lessons were especially important. She learned that eating beef is not purely for protein. “A serving of beef has a ton of B vitamins and ten different vitamins and minerals. There’s zinc, riboflavin, you know, all the things you see in your women’s one-a-day, that’s part of your whole health,” she says. Exercise and a healthy diet freed her entire life. “My diabetes is gone, cholesterol gone, mild depression gone,” she says. “One of the biggest things is that I can just go shopping at a regular store.” Now Tara shares her story and knowledge to anyone who will listen.

A serving of beef has a ton of B vitamins and ten different vitamins and minerals. There’s zinc, riboflavin, you know, all the things you see in your women’s one-a-day.

“I read somewhere that if you play a sport when you’re a kid—any kind of sport—when you become an adult, it’s easier to go back to doing that sport than it is to do something new,” Tara says. “I think that’s why I’ve pushed my children to be athletic, so they can have something to go back to.” Her seven-year-old just won a one-mile race, and her elevenyear-old daughter aims to run a half marathon and join Team Beef.

“I’ve inspired seven or eight different people that I know to start running,” she says. “That’s like, the coolest thing! I didn’t think that I’d have that kind of influence over anybody.”

A recent study, Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet (BOLD), found that including lean beef daily is as effective at lowering cholesterol levels as traditional heart-healthy diets such as the DASH diet.

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PROMOTION

CASEY BUCKMAN

PROTEIN POWER Lois East, Tom May, Nick Hayden, and Tara Cassidy are part of Missouri Beef Council’s Team Beef.

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PROMOTION

Lois EAST

To choose lean cuts of beef, look for “loin” or “round” in the name.

46, Clinton Federal Loan Officer for USDA Rural Development Events: 5ks, 10ks, Half Marathons

Nick Hayden

27, Columbia Runs golf course operations at the Columbia Country Club Events: 5ks and 10ks, Half Marathons, Half Ironmans, Full Marathons, Full Ironmans, and Ultra Marathons

N

ick Hayden thrives on encouragement. A lifelong athlete, he was coaxed into Ironman triathalons by one of his best friends.

They ran to stay healthy, increased their mileage, and then his friend suggested cycling. “Oh yes, I loved biking as a kid,” Nick thought, and he loved it just as much in college. “You need to go faster,” his friend said, and so Nick bought a road bike. His friend suggested he was a decent swimmer, and convinced him to sign up for a Half Ironman. “Not realizing what I was getting myself into, I agreed,” Nick says. “I had no idea the distances or challenges that lie in a race like this.” But it was too late to go back. He had already registered. Thinking, “I’m in over my head,” Nick worked out with an All-American swimmer and the university’s swim club. He dove headfirst into the race and, at six hours, beat his friend by forty-five minutes.

That was four years ago. Since then, Nick began noticing that everywhere he ran, people cheered for Team Beef. After asking around, he joined the team, and now people cheer for him. “If you’re running by yourself, it’s just like ‘uh,’ ” he says, mimicking defeat. At the St. Louis Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon this past fall, random spectators shouted, “Go Team Beef!” and every few miles musicians on the trail announced, “This is for you, Team Beef.” A stranger found Nick after the race and said, “Man, you’re a great runner. You motivated me, and I kept up with you until mile ten. I wish I could buy a shirt.”

“Nothing beats a steak... I love my wok; if I could take it everywhere I would have one in my bag.”

The crimson jersey has become iconic at Missouri runs. “I’m very proud to have it and very proud to wear it,” Nick says. “I make sure it’s always in my bag.” Running for Team Beef has other benefits, including educational seminars and a $100 stipend for entry fees. That’s about the price for a half marathon. Supporting beef came naturally to the twentyseven-year-old. His family is from Wisconsin, where livestock rivals even Missouri’s ample cattle collection. And as for diet? Beef is indispensable.

For lunch and dinner, beef is often on the table, sometimes from the grill, sometimes as fajitas. “Nothing beats a steak,” Nick says, adding, “I love my wok; if I could take it everywhere I would have one in my bag.”

Being a triathlete is “probably the best thing I need from a fitness standpoint: three disciplines, great cardio, and I have goals,” Nick says.

He trains for two disciplines a day. This day was a six-mile run and a twenty-five to thirty-five-mile bike ride. He was considering swimming and working out at the gym for the next day. “A lot of people think I’m crazy as it is for what I do,” he says. “I just keep finding new adventures and seeing how far I can push my body.” He and his friend run most of their races together and have coaxed their families to support or join them on the course. Nick shares a quote from track star Steve Prefontain: “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

W

hen Lois East started running almost three years ago, she never intended to like it. Attempts at a Couch-to-5k program came and went, until she had an epiphany that gaining more weight just wasn’t an option. The only resources she had were her training program and running shoes. “Frankly, I was too out of shape to deal with people,” she says. “Running is private, without pressure.” This time she stuck with it, replaced carbohydrates with protein, and made running a habit.

“I went from thinking, ‘oh my gosh, this is miserable,’ to ‘it’s kind of like brushing your teeth, it’s one of those things you don’t think about, so you just do it,’ ” she says. She commemorated good runs and new records through Facebook and text messages, and friends bombarded her with positive feedback.

Knowing she would never run fast, Lois found she loved races “where simply finishing is really the key.” After the first half marathon she finally had fun and felt like a runner. “Crossing that finish line was a really empowering feeling. You feel like you can conquer the world.” She sings loudly, “I. Am. Awesome. In that moment!” As a mom in her mid-forties and in her career for more than two decades, Lois feels like those moments are rare. “You get to the point where you don’t often get tangible achievement rewards, and running is a place where I have really gotten that.”

“My son, a thirteen-year-old boy, will claim that we are ‘meatitarian’.”

Joining Team Beef was a natural choice. “I don’t know when there weren’t farmers in my family,” she says, laughing. “Yeah, pretty much back to the beginning of time.” She is happy to educate others about beef ’s health benefits and loves getting recipes through the Missouri Beef Council’s website. The Easts raise their own beef, so they always have a freezer full of meat.

Though puzzled at first by her new running lifestyle, Lois’s family now assume she’ll keep a running bag at hand, leave before 6 a.m. to run, and cook nutritious meals that replace empty carbohydrates with protein. “When I look at a recipe, like taco soup or chili, I will typically double the meat in that, so that it’s more nutrient rich,” Lois says. “If we have spaghetti, there’s very little noodles. My son, a thirteen-year-old boy, will claim that we are ‘meatitarian’. One of the things that I have found, and my husband will certainly echo, is that increasing the protein helps you stay full longer, and the energy stays with you longer.”

Lois’s favorite thing about being a part of Team Beef, and running in general, is seeing people of all shapes, sizes and ages looking to achieve their personal goals. “In my mind, long-distance runners look like the people you see on the Olympics: zero fat, you can see every muscle fiber on their being,” Lois says. “It’s actually all about completing it to your experience. It might not be about your time, but about how you feel at the end of the race.”

There are twenty-nine cuts of lean beef with less than ten grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat and less than ninety-five milligrams of cholesterol per 3.5 ounce serving.

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PROMOTION Add lean ground beef to scrambled eggs along with sliced fresh peppers and onions to create a delicious omelet.

Visit mobeef.org for more recipe suggestions!

Tom May

46, Columbia Director of employee and public relations for MFA Oil Events: 5ks, Half Marathons, Marathons

W

hile most Columbians sleep like slugs, still and warm in the wee hours of the morning, an entire subculture is putting them to shame. Athletes run industrious paths through the city’s trails.

Like ants. Even in mid-January. In 11.8-degree temperatures. About thirty runners gather at a trailhead, headlamps bobbing, dressed in such thin and sleek clothing to make even the best-dressed journalist look frumpy. Many have facemasks. They check in before running off.

Each bad-weather run or first-place finish earns a bead, and after meeting twice a week, some runners enjoy fully bedazzled race lanyards by the end of each year. Every Tuesday and Thursday is like Mardi Gras.

Staying behind to sign in latecomers, one masked runner admits, “We were hoping the wind chill would be negative today so everyone could get a skull bead.” Already on the trail, probably secretly grateful there’s no skull bead today, runs Tom May, an original Team Beef member. At Beef Council-sponsored runs, you’re likely to meet him at the Team Beef booth, talking about what he loves: running and nutrition.

“It’s a fun way to promote a healthy lifestyle,” he says. “People think, ‘oh gosh, I can only eat skinless chicken,’ but there are all kinds of lean cuts that people enjoy.” That’s good news for a lot of people, and the questions come flooding in. Beginning and experienced athletes are interested in the nutrition side of a healthy lifestyle and want to know how beef can fit their diet. Tom emphasizes meat’s role in recovery and replenishment. He’s also thrilled to talk about supporting Missouri farmers. Although now a self-professed “city boy,” he raised small livestock as a kid in Sedalia, and his grandparents kept a few head of cattle.

It’s a natural extension to his work in public relations with MFA Oil. Socially, Team Beef has opened up a new world, including the daylight-running crowd. “These are everyday folks who are doing first-time things,” Tom says. He enjoys that aspect of it and encourages other people to find joy in running, asking, “How’s it coming? How are you training?”

His positive influence has affected many fellow runners. When talking about the team, many members ask, “Have you talked to Tom May yet?”

He is an ambassador inside and outside the community. When he starts a Team Beef spiel with friends, he says they joke with him, saying, “Okay, here we go, tell us about the twenty-nine cuts of lean beef.”

“My absolute favorite thing after a race is going to Texas Roadhouse and ordering the biggest rib-eye steak they have in the place.”

Tom keeps those cuts integrated in his diet on regular basis. “After running a half or full marathon, I’m looking for a reward,” he says. “My absolute favorite thing after a race is going to Texas Roadhouse and ordering the biggest rib-eye steak they have in the place. People laugh, because I’m a really skinny little guy, and they think, ‘how can you eat such a big piece of meat?’ It’s so flavorful! There is nothing more thrilling or satisfying than a big piece of meat after a long race.”

Glendoria Elliott

50, Florissant Biologist Events: 5ks, Half Marathons, Marathons

G

lendoria Elliott laughs when she recalls how she got into running. It was her fourth year working at Washington University, and she would run six miles around Forest Park on her lunch break.

“Running that long, you really should do a marathon,” someone told her. So she did—and found that races help support her community. She does benefit runs for scholarships, medical research, and charity. She says that “giving back to the community and running for folks who can’t run,” can get emotional during races such as Coleman’s Run, a 5k to benefit autism awareness.

“All we knew was hamburger and spaghetti, so I really do appreciate the menus, recipes, and health questions that I get off Facebook.”

Bill Nash, her colleague in the university’s genome research lab, encouraged her to join him on Team Beef. He told her about how runners share their enthusiasm about healthy lifestyles and the social benefits of exercising with others. That sounded great to Glendoria, who had never ran with a team before. She has since learned about the benefits of beef.

“All we knew was hamburger and spaghetti, so I really do appreciate the menus, recipes and health questions that I get off Facebook.”

The Missouri Beef Council helps by posting menus on its Facebook page, and anyone can visit for inspiration. “I see beautiful place settings and get all kinds of ideas from there,” Glendoria says. Her friends have even joined in.

She now volunteers at the Team Beef booth for sponsored events, offering food items and sharing information about lean beef. When fielding questions about high cholesterol and fat, she gently explains that those notions come from a lack of understanding. “Over the years that’s what we’ve been taught,” she says. “The lean part of the beef is healthier for you, and after a race, it just gives you that energy and restores your body.”

Having worked in a genetics lab, she also recognizes the importance of finding a diet that works for individuals. “Health history does boil down to family traditions, what we eat, and how we’re eating,” she says.

“If you want to live longer, you have to go out and find the right foods.”

She goes directly to the meat market to get her perfect cuts.

Turning fifty in April, Glendoria is working closely with her doctor on diet and exercise to keep health in check. She now eats regimens of small, vegetable-based meals with lean beef on the side. “I’ve been running a lot lately,” she says. It helps with stress relief, and it also helps her husband keep his diabetes under control. “We don’t eat any fried foods or soda and all that,” she says. “No, we bake everything. It’s so important to stay healthy and positive, especially with all that’s going on in my life.”

Fortunately for Glendoria, Team Beef is standing by to make some of those challenges a little bit easier.

For more beef bits on nutrition, recipes, and health, visit mobeef.org!

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SHOW-ME

Flavor

How

Sweet It IS

Dessert wines from Missouri are even sweeter with Missouri-made desserts.

By RAcHel KISeR

When it comes to wine pairings, there are more rules than you can follow: Pair white wine with white meat and red wines with red meat. Serve sweet wines with spicy foods. Rarely should you chill a red wine.

But when it comes to the heralded last courseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; dessertâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the rules for pairing become less rigid. If someone hands you a piece of gooey apple pie or molten chocolate cake dripping with hot fudge, what sort of vino should you fill your glass with?

Here Missouri Life presents seven splendid types of Missouri-made dessert wines and great desserts you can serve alongside. After all, the less time you spend figuring out which dessert to serve with which dessert wine, the more time you have to spend indulging in the sweet dish.

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SPARKLING WINE IT’S ALWAYS a good idea to have a bottle of bubbly around. Many Missouri sparklers are made using French-American hybrid grapes, such as Vidal or Chardonel, says Danene Beedle of the Missouri Wine Board. And many Missouri winemakers produce their sparkling wines using methode champenoise, the same method used by winemakers in Champagne, France.

Pair a dry sparkling wine with sorbet or white chocolate, says Jacob Holman, the winemaker at Les Bourgeois Vineyards in Rocheport. Shaun Turnbull, winemaker at Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, suggests fruit-based desserts. For sparkling blush wines, chocolate-covered strawberries are the go-to dessert because the sweetness and creaminess of chocolate cuts through the acidity of this type of wine, Shaun says.

If you pick up a sweeter Missouri sparkler, such as a sparkling blush, the bubbles will make it perfect for rich desserts.

If the wine is made with Catawba grapes, those will blend well with fruit flavors as well, says Jessi Pearcy, local marketing manager at St. James Winery. Desserts with strawberry, caramel, and creamy flavors would be especially succulent.

Sweeter bottles also pair well with light, creamy cheeses or fruit pastries with fresh fruit such as raspberries or a member of the citrus or stone fruit families, Shaun says. A light, fruity cheesecake will work well too, as the wine’s acidity cuts through the creaminess of the dessert.

FLUFFY LEMON BERRY PIE

From“Boonville’s Women’s Club” Ingredients >

¼ (4-ounce) package 1 graham cracker pie cream cheese, crust softened 1 cup blueberries, 2 packages lemonraspberries, or flavored instant sliced pudding strawberries 1-½ cups cold milk 8 ounces whipped topping

Directions > Stone Hill Spumante Blush (Hermann) www.stonehillwinery.com

1. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Gradually beat in milk until well blended. Add pudding mixes. Beat two minutes or until smooth. Immediately stir in fruit and half of the whipped topping.

2. Spoon into crust and top with remaining whipped topping. Serves 8.

Les Bourgeois Brut (Rocheport) www.missouriwine.com

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SHOW-ME

Flavor ICE WINES

THE PECULIARITY of ice wines is in their harvesting process. The grapes are left to hang on the vine until temperatures drop below freezing. The berries freeze, and the sugars within are concentrated, creating a silky, sweet mouthfeel. For a label to bear the name ice wine, the grapes must freeze on the vine rather than being picked off the vine and then frozen.

“Traditional ice wines are stunning,” says Patty Held, a wine consultant from Hermann.

If the grapes stay on the vine too long or the freeze is too harsh, the crop can be lost. These wines are common in Canada and Germany because they have conditions conducive to producing them. In Missouri, our falls can be warm, and by the time the grapes freeze, birds and critters have snacked on the berries, Patty says.

Those Missouri winemakers who do create ice wines rely primarily on Vidal, Vignoles, and Chardonel varieties.

“These dessert wines are usually very rich and a big calorie bomb to go with the desserts, but in a good way of course,” Shaun says. “Creamy desserts and robust cheeses would be the best to benefit from these sweet and balanced wines with citrus notes. I would also recommend any baked fruit dessert with similar fruit as what is noted on the nose and palate. Key lime pie and crème brulee are also good choices, especially the crème brulee. That’s my favorite.”

CRÈME BRULEE From “The Cookery Book”

Ingredients >

1 quart light cream 8 egg yolks 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons vanilla

1 cup brown sugar 1 quart strawberries, cleaned and quartered

Directions >

1. Heat cream in a double boiler until light skim appears.

2. In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, and vanilla.

Pour hot cream over egg mixture and beat well.

3. Pour mixture into a casserole dish set inside a roasting pan full of hot water. Bake at 325°F for 30 to 45 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

4. Put half of the brown sugar through a coarse sieve and sprinkle over the top of the baked and cooled crème brulee. Place under broiler and brown, watching carefully. Remove from the oven and repeat brown sugar procedure.

5. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours but no more. Crack the caramelized top with a spoon and serve with fresh strawberries. Serves 8.

Augusta 2010 Vignoles Ice Wine (Augusta) www.augustawinery.com

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LATE HARVEST WINES PROCRASTINATION ISN’T always a bad thing. Take late harvest wines, for instance. Grapes are harvested later in the growing season. This extra time on the vine allows the grapes to naturally dehydrate, so the sugar becomes more concentrated, leaving a sweet wine.

“The longer the grapes hang on the vine, the more the aromas, flavors, and sugar concentrates,” Shaun says. “This, in conjunction with good winemaking

practices, will create a dessert wine with aromas of pineapple, ripe citrus fruit, dried apricot and peach, cotton candy, and marmalade. The palate is juicy and sweet with lots of texture. The aromas carry over nicely into similar flavors leaving a long finish due to the balanced acidity.”

Although these wines can develop higher sugar levels, they still maintain their acidity, and it’s this acidity that helps late harvest varieties, such as Vidal, Vignoles,

and Chardonel, age as well as they do, Danene says.

These can be very full-bodied wines and would go well with flavors that can marry those intense, almost raisin-y flavors, Jessi says. Try one with baked fruit, or a dessert with rich, spicy flavors, such as cinnamonpoached pears with caramel sauce.

A fruit tart, grilled pineapple, or pumpkin pie would marry well with the tastes as well, Patty says.

POACHED PEARS with CARAMEL NUT SAUCE

From “Past & Repast: The History and Hospitality of the Missouri Governor’s Mansion” Ingredients > 4 ripe pears 1 cup water 1 cup white port ¾ cup sugar 6 lemon slices 4 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick 1-inch piece vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Nut Sauce: 4 teaspoons butter ½ cup pecans or almonds, coarsely chopped

1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup heavy cream

Directions >

St. James Winery Late Harvest Seyval (St. James) www.stjameswinery.com

1. Peel and core pears. Cut in half lengthwise.

2. In a non-aluminum saucepan, bring water, port, sugar, lemon, cloves, cinnamon stick, and vanilla to a boil. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves, and add pear halves. Reduce heat, simmer for 30 minutes or until pears are tender but not soft. Cool in syrup. Drain, chill pears, and discard syrup.

3. To make sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and add nuts. Cook, stirring frequently until nuts are lightly toasted. Add sugar and cream. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce boils and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool.

4. Drizzle caramel nut sauce over each pear half. Serves 8.

Stone Hill Winery Late Harvest Vignoles (Hermann) www.stonehillwinery.com

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Flavor

FRUIT WINES FRUIT WINES pair well with desserts because they showcase the fruit that is used as a base, from apples and peaches to cherries and cranberries.

“These wines are overlooked as a wine to have with dessert,” Patty says.

For the best dessert pairing, Danene suggests a simple trick: The dessert and the type of fruit wine should match. If you uncork a bottle of blackberry wine, make a blackberry cobbler or blackberry pie to accompany it. You can also use the wine as an ingredient in the dessert, such as a strawberry wine cake, Patty says.

Tiramisu also pairs well with a lighter fruit wine.

BLACKBERRY WINE CAKE

From Hemman Winery in “Savor Missouri,” published by Missouri Life this spring Ingredients >

½ cup pecans, chopped 1 box white cake mix 4 eggs 3 ounces blackberry Jell-O (may substitute raspberry Jell-O)

½ cup oil 1 cup blackberry wine

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar ½ cup blackberry ½ cup butter wine

Directions >

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease and flour Bundt pan. Put nuts in bottom of pan.

2. Mix cake mix, eggs, Jell-O, oil, and wine.

Pour batter over nuts and bake 50 to 60 minutes.

3. While cake is baking, make the glaze. Combine powdered sugar, butter, and wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour half of the glaze over the warm cake. Wait 30 minutes and pour the remaining glaze over the cake.

Serves 12.

Stonehaus Farms Strother Ridge Winery Apple Cranberry (Lee’s Summit) www.stonehausfarms.com

Sainte Genevieve Winery Pear (Ste. Genevieve) www.saintegenevievewinery.com

OOVVDA Winery Black Raspberry (Springfield) www.oovvda.com

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PORT MORE IS better. This fortified wine averages twenty percent alcohol by volume once brandy is added to the vat during the fermentation process.

Port has a rich, sweet flavor, which is why serving it after dinner works. “Norton is a beautiful grape to use for port production in Missouri,” Patty says.

Depending on the style of port, the ideal dessert changes. Three popular styles include ruby, tawny, and vintage.

Ruby ports are lighter in style and have more berry notes in them, Shaun says.

“I would serve milder cheeses with it because the sharp ones can be too overpowering,” Shaun says. “A baked dessert with similar fruit would work great.”

Tawny ports are aged in oak barrels before they are bottled, and they lose some of their primary fruit characteristics, Shaun says. Aromas and flavors include those of leather, spice, chalky earth, nuts, and mild wood notes. A cheese, such as an aged Brie, pairs nicely.

“Puffing on a cigar with tawny after dinner isn’t too bad either,” Shaun says.

Vintage ports are made with grapes from a specific year, unlike the other styles, which can be a blend of years.

Vintage ports are more intense and rich, and they age well. These ports can be enjoyed a number of years after vintage.

Vintage ports have aromas of dark chocolate with a smoked coffee bean

note or black pepper and clove with a hint of fresh red earth. The port is full bodied with ripe black currant and burnt sugar or caramel.

Serve these with ripe, strong cheeses, such as blue and Stilton, Shaun suggests.

“This will help cut back on the intensity, especially if the port is consumed young.”

Rich chocolate desserts like chocolate pudding, chocolate cheesecake, or even truffles will be good, too.

“The chocolate accentuates the aromas and some of the flavors while the creaminess of the blue cheese just tones down on the aggressiveness of the palate ports can have.”

NORTON BROWNIES

From Cave Vineyard in “Savor Missouri,” published by Missouri Life this spring Ingredients >

1-½ cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup butter 1-¼ cups sugar 2 eggs

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup Norton wine 1 cup walnuts (optional)

Chocolate Frosting: 3 tablespoons butter 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

¼ cup milk 3 cups powdered sugar Milk, to thin if needed

Directions >

Bommarito Estate Almond Tree (New Haven) www.bommaritoestatewinery.com

Chaumette Winery and Vineyards Port (Ste. Genevieve) www.chaumette.com

Crown Valley 2008 Fine Old Ruby (Ste. Genevieve) www.crowncountry.com

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, melted chocolate and vanilla; beat well. Add dry ingredients and Norton wine alternately to the beaten mixture. Stir in walnuts.

4. Turn batter into the pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

5. To make the frosting, heat butter, chocolate, and milk over medium heat until chocolate melts. Stir in powdered sugar. Thin with milk, if needed, to spreading consistency.

6. Cool cooked brownies on a wire rack. Spread with frosting. Makes 36 bars.

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SHOW-ME

Flavor

APRICOT PIES

From “Missouri Sesquicentennial Cookbook”

SHERRY

Ingredients >

LIKE PORT, sherry is a fortified wine, but sherry undergoes intentional and controlled oxidation. These types of dessert wines are the only wine product where oxidation is desirable, Patty says.

The wine is allowed to ferment before the addition of brandy; thus, the yeast consumes all the sugar in the grape juice, and a dry fortified wine is the result. This is a labor-intensive process, and consumer demand keeps this category as a niche market. Because of this, there are few Missourimade sherries. “Port is far more popular than sherry because it is sweeter,” Patty

says. “The only sweet sherry is cream sherry, which has a rich, nutty caramel flavor.”

Sherries have notes of roasted nuts and butterscotch with white pepper, pumpkin spice, and some floral notes, Shaun says.

The palate is rich and sweet with a touch of acidity and a peachy aftertaste.

Many sherries are served as an aperitif, but the drink shouldn’t be ignored as a dessert pairing.

“Ours goes really well with pastry desserts made with apricots or peaches,” Shaun says. “Also anything Amaretto-flavored, pecan pie, or crème brulee.”

1 cup butter 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese 1 tablespoon sour cream

2-¾ cup flour, sifted ¼ teaspoon salt 1 (12-ounce) can apricot filling

Directions >

1. Blend butter, cream cheese, and sour cream in a large bowl. Stir in flour and salt until well blended. Knead dough with hands until smooth. Wrap in wax paper and chill for at least 3 hours until firm enough to roll out.

2. Cut dough into 4 pieces. Roll out thin. Cut with biscuit cutter or 6-inch saucer if you want big pies. Spoon apricot filling into middle of each. Fold over and seal with fork tines. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350° F for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely on wire racks. Yields 4 six-inch pies.

Stone Hill Cream Sherry (Hermann) www.stonehillwinery.com

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MEAD IN ITS SIMPLEST form, mead is honey, water, and yeast, but its flavors are far more complex. The alcohol content comes from the sugar of the honey rather than sugar in grapes. Like wine, there are many varieties of mead, such as melomel (mead made with fruit), pyment (mead made with grapes), or metheglin (mead made with herbs and spices). Additionally, some mead can be carbonated, but not all varieties are packed with bubbles.

Depending on the flavor of mead, incorporate mead into the recipe, such as a mead soufflé or raspberry mead cookies, Patty says. Or simply use it as a topping to dress up that carton of vanilla bean ice cream, Danene suggests.

7C’s Winery Clover Mead (Walnut Grove) www.7cswinery.com

Pirtle Winery Blackberry Mead (Weston) www.pirtlewinery.com

7C’s Winery Wildflower Mead (Walnut Grove) www.7cswinery.com

HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM

From “The Kansas City Barbeque Society Cookbook” Ingredients > 2 cups milk 1-¾ cups sugar ½ teaspoon salt

2 cups half-and-half 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 4 cups whipping cream

Directions >

1. Scald milk in saucepan until bubbles form around edges of pan. Remove from heat.

2. Add sugar and salt, stirring until dissolved. Stir in halfand-half, vanilla, and whipping cream.

3. Chill, covered, for 30 minutes. Pour into ice cream freezer container. Freeze using manufacturer’s directions. Serves 12.

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ADVERTISEMENT

AWAKEN to Fulton’s rich history with exciting sights and sounds all wrapped up in the warmth of small-town charm, with brick streets, elegant architecture, and 67 buildings on the historic register.

UNWIND at a Missouri top 10 Inn, the historic Loganberry Inn where Margaret Thatcher and other famous guests have stayed.

CONNECT to our history at the newly renovated National Churchill Museum.

This four-million-dollar museum inside a priceless piece of architecture will give you a look back at living history.

IMMERSE yourself in the arts and music at Kemper Center for the Arts or Westminster gallery.

MARVEL at the impressive collection of 84 historic automobiles displayed in Hollywood-style sets for their era at the new Backer Auto World Museum.

SAMPLE some distinctive Missouri wines at Serenity Valley Winery.

SAVOR scrumptious dining at one of our great restaurants, like Beks, for a unique blend of old and new where Internet and espresso meet 1902 architecture.

CAPTURE a sense of local history at the Historical Society Museum, or pay your respects at the Missouri Firefighters Memorial.

The National Churchill Museum features interactive displays that engage and educate visitors of all ages.

SMILE at the offbeat collection at Crane’s Museum in Williamsburg, and before you head out, stop by Marlene’s Restaurant. A pulled-pork sandwich and warm slice of pie will leave you grinning.

REVISIT the 1930s by sharing a shake made with locally made premium ice cream at Sault’s authentic soda fountain.

For knock-your-socks-off beautiful watercolors, check out the national exhibition in April and May.

Backer Auto World Museum displays an impressive collection of 84 historic automobiles in Hollywood-style sets.

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ADVERTISEMENT

Wonderful breakfasts and romantic accommodations await you at Loganberry Inn B&B.

Calendar of Events Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater Shows every Saturday April to December Full schedule online. www.lighthousetheater.com hazelkinder@yahoo.com 573-474-4040

Cox Gallery Art Exhibits

William Woods University Campus Visit website for schedule of exhibits. www.williamwoods.edu 573-592-4245

Watercolor Missouri National National watercolor competition and show April 1- May 17 National Winston Churchill Museum 501 Westminster, Fulton www.mowsart.com 573-642-6410 Crane’s 4,000-square-foot museum is a one-of-akind viewing experience featuring rural Missouri history dating back to the 1800s.

Girlfriend Get-A-Way

April 1 to May 30 Loganberry Inn B&B, Fulton Two nights stay, 2 breakfasts and spa services $239/person www.loganberyinn.com 573-642-9229 Our distinctive locally owned restaurants offer fresh, local, seasonal fare for lunch or dinner, an extensive beer selection, and hand-selected wines.

For your next getaway or family vacation, visit Fulton and Callaway County.

For more information and calendar of events, visit www.visitfulton.com or call 573-642-3055.

Savor a Brown Cow at Sault’s authentic soda fountain.

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SHOW-ME

Flavor

Missouri Life tastes menus worth the drive.

Corder

Bela, an aging

Great Pyrenees,

of-the-century rafter beams. I sat next to an old

every drop of the accompanying cream to tame

greeted us in the yard with a friendly bark that

pump organ as faint sounds of John Hiatt’s “Mem-

the Tabasco gravy. Through tears of joy, I devoured

said, “What took you so long?” Bela had a point. It

phis” played from the kitchen. I looked around

the whole thing. My wife had roast loin of pork,

took me three years to get here. Mostly my fault.

at the rugs, tablecloths, and tapestries working

cooked in a red ale and served with tender corn

Procrastination. Missed signals. Still, in the interest

together to wrap the room in layers of comfort.

cakes, roasted red pepper salsa, black beans, and

of full disclosure, dinner at the Dancing Bear re-

Layers is the operative word, because this house,

a cilantro lime crème fraiche. It was the best corn

quires a commitment, and therein lies the charm.

my friends, was originally built as a chicken house.

cake I ever stole off her plate. The rest of our party

You’re in the sticks. Yes, you need reservations. An

The laying hens are long gone, of course, and the

had macadamia nut-crusted salmon, rubbed rib

onboard GPS will come in handy, too, as you drive

place has been scrubbed but not screwed up. Be-

eye steak, and capiello chicken with prosciutto and

east of Higginsville and south through Corder,

hind its overstuffed chairs and the warmth of a fire

a sauce with mushrooms and artichoke hearts. We

then down a gravel road sorely lacking signage.

in the hearth, it’s still an old chicken house, and

brought our own wine because the Dancing Bear

That doesn’t deter Kansas Citians from venturing

that sets the stage for a food extravaganza. The

serves no liquor, and the server gladly uncorked

out to taste this hidden gem. It’s worth the trip.

food, lovingly prepared by chef Katie Crutchfield,

it for us. And yes, even though we were stuffed,

We walked into a monument to country style: soft

is tremendous. We started with ginger butternut

we couldn’t resist desserts all around: cheesecake,

yellow light from lamps with earth-tone lamp-

squash soup and home-baked breads. I had Red

caramel torte, and blackberry cobbler. After all, it’s

shades, chairs that don’t mind if they don’t match

Hot Shrimp & Peppers sautéed in a spicy lemon

a long way outta here. —John Drake Robinson

the tables or each other, and a low ceiling, but

and butter hot sauce with bell peppers and black

Facebook: Dancing Bear Cafe • 24509 Peacock Road

not so low that you bump your head on the turn-

olives, served on top of a cheesy polenta. I used

660-394-2334

courtesy dancing bear

Country Cookin’!

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©

SAGE CO. U A S & M EAT SINCE 1969

The Official BraTwursT Of

MizzOu® aThleTics we have over 60 varieties of award winning Bratwurst!

12 miles south of Hermann on Hwy. 19 in Swiss, MO 1-800-793-swiss y 2056 s. hwy 19 y hermann, MO 65041 y swissmeats.com

picture yourself at

STONE HILL WINERY in historic Hermann, Missouri

- tour -

- taste -

- shop -

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Visit us today!

- dine UPCOMING EVENTS

April 13: Norton Tasting & Dinner April 20: Grapes to Glass May 4 & 5: Wild Card Wine Trail May 18 & 19: Maifest

Or purchase our award-winning wines at your local retail outlet.

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SHOW-ME

Flavor

Mound City

Cowboy Eclectic the White Rose Restaurant & Gift in Mound City serves hearty Midwestern cuisine at affordable prices. Decorated with amusing cowboy country and eclectic hunting lodge decor, patrons can perch on shellacked wooden barrel booths or small tables in the tiny dining area. With fast and friendly service, the breakfast menu includes fluffy omelets, biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls, French toast, and pancakes. The Country Boy breakfast (two eggs, choice of meat, hash browns, toast, and a halforder of biscuits and gravy) will satisfy any appetite.

For lunch, the White Rose offers burgers, sandwiches, salads, baskets, and a daily special. Try the Patty Melt with waffle-cut sweet potatoes fries. The sandwich is tasty, and the fries are delicious. I rounded off my meal with a slice of German chocolate cake. In addition to breakfast and lunch, the White Rose offers take-out broasted (pressure-fried) chicken, Saturday evening buffet, and a lunch buffet on Saturdays and Sundays. Owners Larry and Diann Knapp are currentseating. The restaurant also has a quaint gift shop.

The White Rose Restaurant & Gift is sure to satisfy a

Branson

hearty appetite. —Carol Carpenter

Burgers, Fries, and Shakes

Facebook: White Rose Restaurant & Gift 515 State Street • 660-442-0139

Don’t be put off by the

American Bandstand Theater

sites. The menu includes burg-

location of Billy Bob’s Dairyland.

stands today. Around 1990, it

ers, hot dogs, barbecue beef,

The 1950s-style diner on The

was purchased by its namesake,

pork tenderloin, corn dogs,

Strip in Branson is right next to

the original Billy Bob, who sold it

chicken tenders, grilled cheese,

a gas station. Inside, you’ll find a

in 2000 to the current owners,

green salad, French fries, onion

mix of locals and visitors digging

Don and Nancy Gibson. In 2006,

rings, Frito pie, old-fashioned

into plump hamburgers, foot-

Billy Bob’s moved to its pres-

fried pies, sundaes, and peach

long chili dogs, hand-dipped

ent location beside the Phillips

or blackberry cobbler. Hand-

malts and shakes, battered

66 EZ Center. The Gibson fam-

dipped shakes and malts come

onion rings, and fried pies. The

ily continues the traditions of

in cherry, chocolate, banana,

diner is decorated with a statue

old-fashioned good food and

pineapple, raspberry, strawber-

of Betty Boop holding the fried

friendly service. Don still cooks,

ry, vanilla, caramel, or peanut

pie menu (nineteen flavors!)

and Nancy still waits on tables a

butter. With only forty-eight

and a shiny jukebox in the cor-

few nights a week. Their daugh-

seats available, the diner fills up

ner. Families, singles, couples,

ter, son, and two granddaugh-

fast. Be sure to go hungry—the

young, old—you’ll see all types

ters also work there. The word

portions are huge!

there, most with big smiles

is out about Billy Bob’s, and the

—Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

as they dig into their food.

diner has been featured on the

Facebook: Billy Bob’s Dairyland

The burger joint began in the

Food Network as well as sev-

1901 W. 76 Country Boulevard

1960s near where Dick Clark’s

eral online restaurant review

417-337-9291

barbara gibbs ostmann; carol carpenter

ly remodeling the adjacent building to provide more

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Cooper‘s Oak Winery

e h t o c i l Chil hings reatest T

Join one of our three wine clubs and get exclusive private barrel tastings and receive a 15% discount on wine cases!

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downtown chillicothe, mo • june 15, 2013 For more information go to www.visitchillicothe.com or call 877-224-4554

100 E Pope Lane, Smithville, MO 816-866-4077 · www.ladogaridgewinery.com

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Visit the Historic Westphalia Inn Serving our famous pan-fried chicken, country ham and German pot roast family-style since 1930 106 East Main Street Westphalia, Missouri

Reservations Accepted Walk-Ins Welcome

573-445-2000

Sample our wines in the

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on the top floor of the Westphalia Inn www.westphaliavineyards.com AMERICA’S PREMIER SULFITE-FREE WINERY

Open Fri. at 5pm, Sat. at 4:30pm, and Sunday at 11:30am [87] April 2013

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Step on over to Columbia

Enjoy University Concert Series events in Jesse Auditorium & Missouri Theatre The Addams Family

Thursday, April 4, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Saint Louis Symphony

Tuesday, April 16, 7 p.m.

Missouri Theatre

Doc Severinsen and His Big Band Sunday, April 21, 2 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

MU Choral Union: A collection of Opera Choruses Thursday, April 25, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Rock of Ages, the musical Sunday, April 28, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Moscow Festival Ballet: Romeo and Juliet

Tuesday, April 30, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Missoula Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Theatre: Hansel and Gretel Saturday, May 11, 3 p.m. & 6 p.m.

Missouri Theatre

University Concert Series | 573.882.3781

www.concertseries.org

[88] MissouriLife

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presents

Missouri Life’s

PHOTO CONTEST

GIVE US YOUR

BEST SHOT We are delighted to present our first-ever photo contest!

Our state has so much to offer, from breathtaking views and charming small towns to stately buildings and friendly people, we thought it was about time we let our readers share with us how they see Missouri—from their cameras, of course! Winners will be unveiled in our October 2013 issue.

Award Categories • Beauty in Missouri Send us your nature, wildlife, and landscape photography!

Rolling hills, rocky cliffs, mighty rivers, gurgling creeks, still ponds, brightly colored wildflowers—let the natural beauty of Missouri shine.

• Fun in Missouri Show us the fun! Missouri’s full of adventure, action, and smiling faces. Share your photos of people having the time of their lives, right here in Missouri.

• Life in Missouri We want to see the people, places, and things that make up the fabric of Missouri. What does life in Missouri mean to you?

Send us photos that capture what it is to live in Missouri and be a Missourian.

Prizes The grand prize winner of the photo contest will receive a Canon EOS Rebel T3i with an 18-55 mm lens, along with $50 in lab credits at Mpix. Each category will also be awarded prizes for first, second, and third place.

Contest Rules Visit www.MissouriLife.com/photocontest for contest rules and submission information. Entry deadline is May 31, 2013.

Your Life. Your Photos. Endless Possibilities.

Evening in the Wildflowers at Roaring River State Park, Terry Jamieson

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April 17 - 21

June 7 - 16

June 22 - 30

July 10 - 21

July 27 - August 3

August 10-17

August 24 - September 01

September 7-15

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FRANKLIN COUNTY A County Ben Would Love

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FRANKLIN

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N COUNTY A County Ben Would Love

BY JOHN ROBINSON

“Take time for all things.”

Y

—Benjamin Franklin

ou can almost hear Benjamin Franklin say that as his statue lounges on the park bench in front of the courthouse in the county that bears his name. Ben’s advice is timeless as he urges you to allow plenty of time to explore his namesake, the 922 square miles of Franklin County. After all, it’s one of the largest and most diverse counties in Missouri.

How diverse? It’s a blend of rivers and forestland, vineyards and wineries, and vibrant downtown districts that shout shopping and history. Franklin County’s lifeblood courses through three legendary rivers, two historic railroads, and a pair of the most storied highways in America, including the most celebrated Mother Road, Route 66.

Long before Route 66 rolled across its shoulders, Franklin County was a hideout for Jesse James. Today, it’s a favorite getaway for neighboring St. Louisans seeking fun and relaxation. City dwellers appreciate the laidback lifestyle of Franklin County because they remember ol’ Ben’s reminder, “Great haste makes great waste.”

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Take a look around Union at its blend of rural lifestyle and modern amenities, and you’ll know why the town got its name...not from Civil War or organized labor, but from in this centrally located county seat.

“coming together of people and ideas”

Union

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NEW HAVEN 100

WASHINGTON PURINA FARMS PACIFIC

UNION

185

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50

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ST. CLAIR

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SULLIVAN

MERAMEC CAVERNS

MERAMEC STATE PARK

30

Take the Tour

FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI Two routes follow rivers: 1) The roads that hug the Missouri River along the northern border.

2) The Meramec River meanders through the southern part of the county.

The other two great routes are legendary: 3) Historic Highway 50 winds through the heart of the county.

4)The Mother Road—Route 66—slices diagonally through the Ozark foothills.

Take a seat with a statue of Ben Franklin in front of the Franklin County Courthouse in Union and you’re only a block from the world’s best breakfast—any time of day—at Union’s legendary White Rose Café. Ben would approve, as you’ll need energy to explore.

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.”

—Benjamin Franklin

Yes, Ben said that, too. So while you’re at White Rose, take some time to plan your tour. Your map will give you four great routes from which to branch out. Two routes follow rivers: 1) the roads that hug the Missouri River along the northern border; 2) The Meramec River meanders through the southern part of the county. The other two great routes are legendary: 3) historic Highway 50 through the heart of the county, and 4) The Mother Road—Route 66— slicing diagonally through the Ozark foothills.

Because Ben reminds us that “time is money,” start where he sits on the courthouse grounds in Union and follow Highway 50.

70

FIND SMALL TOWN CHARM IN UNION “Small Town Charm with Big City Opportunities!” No, Ben didn’t say that, since the town got its start thirty-five years after his death.

Union was founded in 1827 as a way to unite the citizens of the newborn Franklin County.

Take a look around Union at its blend of rural lifestyle and modern amenities, and you’ll know why the town got its name—not from the Civil War or organized labor, but from “the coming together of people and ideas” in this centrally located county seat. Just like ol’ Ben, the town retains its folksy and rural charm even as it transforms into one of the most popular commuter communities in the St. Louis region and America. Because of East Central College, this small town offers educational, cultural, and sporting opportunities unusual in a small town, such as theatre, concerts, and more.

You can hear jazz and blues performances at one of the town square’s watering holes or shop at the Old Post Office Antiques or Union Furniture Company. The historic courthouse houses a Veterans Hall of Honor and historic documents. Then, take your camera and head west on the backroads that drape over beautiful hills, leading to the picture postcard towns of Krakow (St. Gertrude church) and Clover Bottom (St. Ann Church). Drop down to Highway 50 and stop to see uniquely transformed wine bottles fired in the kiln at St. Jordan Creek Winery near Beaufort. Head through Leslie and turn north at Gerald on Route Y to New Haven.

Begin your Missouri River experience with a Bias. That’s Bias Winery at Berger. Overlooking the Missouri River, Bias Winery sits in the hills, 70

guarded by a classic antique Chevrolet flatbed truck that looks like it ran moonshine. The familyowned winery continues a long tradition of Missouri vineyards. Up on the hill and across the highway, RÖbller Winery and Bommarito Winery hide along the backroads among the rolling hills.

Yep, you’re in the heart of wine country and right by the Missouri River, to boot.

ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER Highway 100 stretches across the top of Franklin County like a clothesline, draping over gorgeous bluffs and peeking down ravines at the road’s traveling companion, the Missouri River. Between the river’s more talked-about sisters along this road—Hermann to the west and Washington to the east—old town New Haven awaits your discovery.

Nowadays, it takes an extra turn to reach these historic little towns because the river has meandered to the other side of the flood plain. And the new highway follows the ridge at the top of the hill, a mile or so from historic downtown New Haven. That just makes these tiny downtowns cozier as you wave to Amtrak passengers who whiz by four times a day.

TREASURE HUNT IN NEW HAVEN Driving past Berger Creek, approaching Big Boeuf Creek and Little Boeuf Creek, you’ll enter the newer part of New Haven. But it’s

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FRANKLIN COUNTY

Museums

John Colter Museum/Visitor Center Main and Miller Street, New Haven Old New Haven School and Springgate Museum 810 Maupin, New Haven Meramec Valley Historical Museum 115 E. Osage, Pacific 636-257-5652 Phoebe Apperson Hurst Historical Soceity Museum 2945 Sycamore Lane, St. Clair St. Clair Historical Museum 280 Hibbard Street, St. Clair 573-629-3199 Harney Mansion 332 S. Mansion, Sullivan 573-468-6847 Veterans Hall of Honor Main and Church, Union Historic County Courthouse Franklin County Historical Society 15 N. Oak, Union Washington Historical Society and Four Rivers Genealogical Society 4th and Market Street, Washington 636-239-0280 Washington Depot and Train Museum 301 W. Front, Washington 636-239-7575 Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame 8 W. Second Street, Washington 636-239-7575 Missouri Meerschaum Museum 400 W. Front, Washington 636-239-2109

The Riverfront Cultural Society, located along the levee walk in New Haven, provides live music, acoustic jam sessions, music lessons, workshops, poetry readings, and other art related activities.

historic downtown where the action is, at the Riverfront Arts District. The renaissance taking place in New Haven was originally fueled by the renovation of the Walt Theater. Front Street Artisans gallery was the next building block, followed by Astral Glass Studio, one of only three places in the state to watch live glassblowing. That was the critical mass needed to fill the other buildings. Millers Landing Bed and Breakfast, Somebody’s Restaurant, Zia Gallery and Bed and Breakfast, and Elizabeth’s Gift Shop all helped make this one of the fastest growing art districts in the state.

After you shop, stretch your legs on the Levee Walk, a winding, scenic path by the Missouri River, or sit and watch the river go by.

During the first weekend in November, visit the Fire Festival, where fire dancers, blacksmiths, glass-blowers, and chainsaw carvers take over New Haven streets for a night of fun.

Residents build a "House of Fire and Ice" with more than twelve thousand pounds of ice, and then they light a bonfire inside.

When you’re tuckered out and hungry, head to Somebody’s, a river-themed restaurant with special fish-shaped lights. Or go find a great burger at Buck’s Hilltop Lounge. Buck’s has braved the hilltop in New Haven for almost eighty years. It’s comfort food on this road, the attic route across Franklin County.

After you’ve eaten your fill, head to Second Shift Brewing for a unique and locally brewed beer. Or maybe you would enjoy sampling wine at RÖbller’s Winery or gin or vodka at Pinckney

Bend, an award-winning distillery.

After a quick rest, hop back on Route 100. The roadway is the Missouri River’s concrete shadow.

The river was about the only east-west route when John Colter traveled upriver with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. See the John Colter Memorial and a pair of museums. (See sidebar at left.)

Just down the block is the old Central Hotel Bed & Breakfast and the art-deco ambience of the Walt Theatre.

BROWSE GALLERIES IN WASHINGTON When you walk into the visitor’s center at Washington, Missouri, you can be forgiven for thinking you’re about to board an elegant passenger train in the 1950s. The center finds a perfect home in the historic old railroad station.

Adorned with photographs and displays of old trains and riverboats, it’s a living museum that doubles as the Amtrak depot. Amtrak trains stop here four times a day. Vivian at the visitor’s center typifies the friendly attitude of Washingtonians. “I’m a volunteer,” she says, “But I love it. You learn something new every day.”

There’s a lot to learn about Washington; it’s part arts community, part history museum, and all charm. While you’re in the neighborhood, peek into America’s only corn cob pipe company still in operation.

The wonderful restaurants on almost every corner are outnumbered only by the historic buildings and art galleries throughout downtown.

The Firehouse, the Missouri Photojournalism

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N

Nowadays, it takes an extra turn to reach these historic little towns. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because the river has meandered to the other side of the flood plain. And the new highway follows the ridge at the top of the hill, a mile or so from historic downtown New Haven.

That just makes these tiny downtowns cozier, as you wave to

Amtrak passengers who whiz by four times a day.

New Haven FRANKLIN COUNTY [97] April 2013

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The trick to enjoying Route 66?

Get off I-44. Nothing against big crowded interstate highways. But follow those directional signs along the superhighway that point to historic Route 66.

Begin your Route 66 odyssey at Pacific.

PaciďŹ c

FRANKLIN COUNTY Above: Pacific

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A Civil War-replica cannon located atop Sandstone Mountain at Pacific with a view of Meramec Valley pays tribute to the battle history of Franklin County.

Hall of Fame, the Pogue Sculpture Studio, the Art Center, and the Mid-Missouri Fine Arts Gallery. And to find the home of the finest Missouri River artist since Bingham, look for the pair of rocking chairs in the alcove in front of The Gary R. Lucy Gallery.

It’s easy to see how an artist gets inspired here.

Washington’s riverfront is a picturesque spot.

And the town doesn’t miss the opportunity to connect to the river. Take some time to stroll down by the riverfront, browse the antiques and museums, enjoy lunch at an outdoor cafe, and sit on a park bench and watch the grain barges come around the bend.

If you arrive by train, stay near the riverfront at a bed-and-breakfast with a charming name such as Old Dutch Hotel, the Brick Inn, or the Glenrich. You can also choose from more than 120 motel rooms, some pet-friendly.

Take a beautiful drive east from Washington to Labadie. Stop for lunch at the Hawthorne

Inn Restaurant. This family-owned restaurant serves American and Italian cuisine and has an extensive wine list. While you’re there, visit The Tin Rabbit Gallery, a restored farmhouse that is now a shop featuring antiques and Americancrafted furniture, folk art, textiles, pictures, and lighting.

Wander further east from Labadie to visit St. Albans, a beautiful small town on the bluffs above the Missouri River. Meriwether Lewis, the leader of the famous expedition, almost fell to his death after exploring a cave at Tavern Rock Bluff. He stopped his slide by digging his knife into a rock bluff.

The Studio Inn at St. Albans makes an idyllic retreat. The European-style bed-and-breakfast was originally built as a summer home in the early 1900s for the family of the co-founder of International Shoe Company. Also visit Heads Store, a general store that was established in 1893 and still exists today.

GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66 Route 66 is an attitude. Freedom. Adventure.

Kicks. Its songs have become anthems. As the most famous road in America, the Mother Road will live in eternity, immortalized into our culture through chapter and verse.

The trick to enjoying Route 66? Get off of I-44. We don’t have anything against the big interstate highways when you must make haste, but follow the directional signs along the superhighway that point to historic Route 66. Begin your road trip at Pacific.

FOR RAILROAD FUN, VISIT PACIFIC On the other side of I-44 from Six Flags, sitting beside old Route 66, is the Pacific depot for both the Frisco and the Missouri Pacific Railroads. The names have changed, but the trains still barrel through the heart of this historic town. Pacific, like many towns in Franklin County, was built by the railroad. In

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Purina Farms Kids can play in the loft, milk a cow, ride in a wagon, and watch flying discs and

diving dogs shows.

fact, the town changed its name from Franklin to Pacific in 1859 to honor the railway.

Down by these historic tracks, the Pacific Brewhouse anchors the historic Daly Building, which has been lovingly restored. The old wooden dance floor in the building’s top story can tell a thousand tales about concerts and sock hops and awaits the next big act—and you. While you’re downtown, check out the Route 66 Railfan Visitors Center and Museum, in “The Biggest Little Railroad Town in the USA!” The Meramec Valley Historical Museum is scheduled to open in 2013.

LEARN PET CARE AT PURINA FARMS Head out of Pacific north on Route MM about a mile, and when you spy the ancient smokestack with Purina emblazoned down its barrel, you’re about to get up close and personal with barnyard animals and extraordinary dogs and cats at Purina Farms, which covers more than three hundred acres of rolling hills.

Check out the new 84,000-square-foot Purina Event Center, a state-of-the-art indoor facility designed to host a variety of canine activities from conformation shows to performance events such as obedience, agility, and flyball. It’s an all-inclusive destination for competitive dog sports.

Enjoy a snack at the visitor’s center while the kids play in the hayloft, milk a cow, ride in a tractor-drawn wagon and watch the “flying disc” and “diving dog” canine shows. Children can learn pet care while you absorb the history of Purina and the process for making pet food.

Purina Farms is open mid-March through mid-November but is closed on all major holidays. Call 314-982-3232 or 888-688-PETS

(7387). Admission and parking are free except when noted during special events.

PLAY AT SHAW NATURE RESERVE Or head south out of Pacific and stop and stretch your legs among the Missouri wildflowers at the Shaw Nature Reserve, established in 1925 by the Missouri Botanical Garden to save orchids and other plants when air pollution in St. Louis threatened the city garden’s plant population.

The reserve surrounds the 1879 Joseph H. Bascom mansion, where an exhibit chronicles this area’s twelve thousand years of humans interacting with nature. Outside, the reserve is a natural classroom. Surrounding the house, the Whitmire Wildflower Garden will make your thumbs green with envy.

Hike through the 2,500-acre reserve, across glades, through tall-grass prairie and savanna, oak, and hickory woods. Or ski cross-country after a snow. Learn how native Americans used fire to control growth on prairies and keep canopies from crowding out the native grasses.

Or attend Native Plant School, a year-round series of mostly outdoor lessons. Learn about the evening primrose with its five-inch cone pollinated by the Sphinx moth with a five-inch tongue. Nifty.

Descend even further south from Pacific into the hills to Robertsville State Park, a favorite camping spot. For a spectacular view, take a short detour along Route AM and head toward St. Mary’s Church along a towering ridge, its precipice overlooking Meramec valley.

RELAX IN ST. CLAIR “Come on in, the water’s fine.” Ben Franklin may have said that at some point in his life, and it fits

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Civil War History

Before the war, Franklin County was torn politically. Most of the German settlers sided with the Union while most Southern-born Americans sympathized with the Confederacy.

In the summer of 1864, Washington was the site of Gen. Sterling Price’s Raid, an attack by the Confederate army. Thousands of Confederate soldiers entered nearby Sullivan and prepared to attack Washington. The town’s small militia had little chance to defeat the large army and most fled by steamboat. Confederate soldiers broke into Busch Brewery, where they drank beer and dumped the rest. The army killed two and took most of the food, clothing, furniture, and horses.

Pacific was the only area near St. Louis that had a Civil War battle. Price’s army moved into Pacific and began to destroy the railroad. The Union sent about three thousand troops on a train, and they made it to a spot two miles east of Pacific before discovering that a bridge had been destroyed, stopping them quite literally in their tracks. The Union troops were forced to disembark and continue on foot to Pacific, where they prevailed and stopped Gen. Price’s advance to St. Louis.

There never was a good war or a bad peace.

—Benjamin Franklin

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Olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ben would relish this town

with its interesting history and great food.

St. Clair

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Shaw Nature Reserve Explore the three-hundred-foot-long boardwalk in the wetland or the picturesque Pinetum Lake within Shaw Nature Reserve. Take trails alongside the natural habitats and diverse geology.

St. Clair perfectly. Ben would have relished this town with its interesting history and great food.

In the heart of town, Spray Park lives up to its name with a new water jet fountain for kids.

St. Clair is a great spot to relax, refresh, refuel, and rest: Two great restaurants offer comfort food. In its third generation, Lewis Cafe downtown has been serving homegrown and home-cooked meals since the 1930s.

On historic old Route 66, Shane’s restaurant parking lot is always packed, a good sign for the hungry traveler seeking a hearty meal.

Wherever you look, St. Clair serves up history.

Just down Route 66 from Shane’s is the Old Bus Stop Coffee Shop and Art Gallery. Sure, Maxine will serve you a good cup of coffee, but the star of this show is the quality artwork produced by local hands. There are some tremendous finds.

Downtown, the St. Clair Historical Museum recounts the town’s rich mining heritage. Just outside of town, Friendship Park celebrates St. Clair’s most famous philanthropist, Phoebe Apperson Hurst, founder of the PTA (Parent

Teachers Association) and mother of William Randolph, who founded the newspaper dynasty.

“Tell me and I forget.

Teach me and I remember.

Involve me and I learn” —Benjamin Franklin

EXPLORE MERA MEC CAVERNS It may be the most famous—or infamous— hiding place in America. That’s because the legend of Jesse James comes right through Meramec Caverns. No doubt, while the James Gang divided up their gold, they marveled at the formations in this spectacular cave.

Ben Franklin never met Jesse James, of course, because they lived two generations apart. But they would have enjoyed each other’s company: the writer loved a good story, and the legend knew the value of a writer.

The cave is legendary all by itself. The area’s first European explorers were intrigued by Native American stories of shiny yellow metal

in the walls of the largest cave west of the Mississippi. It turns out the yellow metal wasn’t gold. It was saltpeter, which is good as gold if you’re making gunpowder! That was probably a bonus for the James Gang.

Its nickname, America’s Cave, is no idle boast. If you’ve ever been anywhere on Route 66, you’ve seen the Meramec Caverns signs painted on barn roofs. There are dozens of them across America.

Unfolding beneath the fertile rolling hills of the Meramec Valley, the cave is a complex of mineral formations and color as rare and unique as they are beautiful. These precious underground jewels took thousands of years to grow, according to geologists.

The cave is wheelchair accessible. Trained rangers escort you on guided tours along welllighted walkways, where you’ll see the Stage Curtain and the Theater Room and learn how the ancient Wine Table (the world’s rarest cave structure) was formed completely under water.

The entire cave complex stretches upward past the height of a seven-story building with so many unique formations that admirers call it “America’s hidden treasure.” School groups can

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It may be the most famous–or infamous–hiding place in America.

That’s because the legend of Jesse James comes right through Meramec Caverns. No doubt, while the James Gang divided up their gold, they

marveled at the formations in this spectacular cave.

Meramec Caverns

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FRANKLIN COUNTY

Farmers’ Markets Labadie Saturday, 8 AM to 1 PM April-October Located on Front Street

New Haven Thursday, 4 PM to dusk April-September Next to Levee Walk at the riverfront downtown 573-237-5100 St. Clair Saturday, 8 AM to 1 PM May-October On the green at St. Clair Health Mart Pharmacy Sullivan Saturday, 8 AM to noon May-October Thurmond Memorial Drive Union Wednesday, 3 PM to 6 PM Saturday, 6 AM to 11 AM April-October First Baptist Church parking lot Highway 50 Washington Saturday, 8 AM to 2 PM April-October Wednesday, 3 PM to 6 PM May-October 317 West Main Street 636-239-2715

Soar through the air on a ninety-minute zipline canopy adventure at Meramec Caverns. Reach fifty miles per hour on the four zip rides, varying in length from two hundred to 1,250 feet.

learn about bats and fossils, rocks and minerals, and hydrology and topography.

The caverns are only a stone’s throw from the Meramec River. And for river fun, all you have to do is pick your activity. Want to canoe?

No problem. Or if you’d rather let somebody else do the driving, hop aboard the the Cavern Queen cruise boat for a cool delightful tour.

You’ll think you boarded a luxury cruise liner.

Take it up a notch and strap onto the zip line to see the river the way the herons do. You may have so much fun, you’ll want to stay two or three days. No problem. Meramec Caverns is built with the traveler in mind, with RV hookups, a tent campground, a restaurant, and kennels, too!

On your way out, stop and see the Jesse James Wax Museum, which asks the question: “Was Jesse James gunned down by Bob Ford over one hundred years ago, or did he pull off the greatest escape of his career and live happily ever after until 1951? You be the judge.”

Ben Franklin would call Meramec State Park 6,896 acres of learning. Fishing and floating, too!

Just outside Sullivan and minutes off historic old Route 66, you can hike the park’s 8.5-mile Wilderness Trail or learn from a park naturalist about the Meramec valley ecosystem, one of the oldest and most complex in North America. Or you can rent a canoe, a raft, or a tube.

Fisher Cave is one of the park’s most spectacular natural wonders, and on a bluff above the Meramec River Valley, the Hickory Ridge Motel and Conference Center blends modern conveniences and privacy, perfect for a family getaway or your office retreat. A nearby observation platform overlooks the valley.

Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.

—Benjamin Franklin

CHILDREN FLY FREE AT SULLIVAN Oh, there’s one more spot to see. After spending some time by the Meramec, head to Sullivan, where you can see the historic Harney Mansion, the summer home of Maj. Gen. William S. Harney and now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sullivan is full of history. The town was founded in 1856 by husband and wife Stephen and Dorcas Sullivan, who donated property to the rapidly growing railroad. Trains still rumble through the town, and you can also see a huge gun from World War II, which sits at the edge of downtown.

Today, kids look forward to airplanes much the same way kids of old looked forward to trains. Sullivan Regional Airport hosts an annual Fly-in and Car Show every summer, and area pilots volunteer to take children up on

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Trains, planes, and automobiles

Sullivan

are all noteworthy at Sullivan.

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There’s a lot about Washington–part arts community, part history museum ...

all charm.

Washington The third largest fair in the state, the Town and Country Fair, is always the first Wednesday through Sunday of August in Washington.

free flights. Last year, they took up eighty-one children, who also enjoyed an Army climbing wall, hot air balloon, helicopters, and other entertainment, including a large car show. Yes, that makes trains, planes, and automobiles at Sullivan.

Sullivan has many parks that host several fairs and festivals, and many leagues choose the fine facilities for their baseball or softball tournaments. The Meramec Community Fair is generally the last weekend in June.

When you leave Sullivan and Route 66, head northwest toward the Bourbeuse River, a great floating and fishing stream. But before you reach the river, you’ll arrive in Japan

FRANKLIN COUNTY

(pronounced JAY-pan by locals). It’s home of the Church of the Holy Martyrs of Japan, given its name decades before the Second World War. The church name honored twenty-six Jesuit and Franciscan martyrs—Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese priests and lay brothers—who were crucified in 1597 during a three-century attempt to wipe out Christianity in Japan.

Inside the little country church is a painting of the crucifixion of the martyrs on a hill overlooking Nagasaki.

Wonder what ol’ Ben Franklin would say about that?

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Golf Courses

With more than seven golf courses at New Haven, St, Clair, Washington, Sullivan, Union, St. Albans, and Labadie, there are plenty of places to tee up in Franklin County. The county has pristine courses, set up on Missouri’s beautiful rolling hills. Whether you’re a firsttime golfer or about to compete on the PGA tour, you’ll be able to find a green to meet your needs.

For more information on these communities and other areas of interest throughout Franklin County, visit www.franklinmo.org.

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The Missouri Meerschaum Company

A high-quality smoke at a much lower price Thanks to the Missouri Meerschaum Company, Washington is the corn cob pipe capital of the world. The oldest and largest corn cob pipe company was founded by a Dutch immigrant named Henry Tibbe, a wood turner. Back in 1869, Tibbe was asked to assist a local farmer with the production of a number of pipes. They were so popular that he soon began making them full time. Their cool, sweet smoke and light body made them similar in quality to the more expensive meerschaum pipe. He decided to nickname them “Missouri Meerschaum.” Tibbe’s company thrived, and in 1878, he patented his unique pipe-making process.

Today, the Missouri Meerschaum Company maintains the same dedication to quality pipe-making. The company ships more than 3,500 pipes daily. There is a demand for these unique pipes in every state in the United States and many foreign countries. A Missouri Meerschaum pipe is constructed from a special white hybrid corn seed with a bigger cob, developed by the University of Missouri. The Meerschaum company grows more than 150 acres of this specialty corn to make its pipes. A team of about forty workers produce, pack, and ship eighteen different styles of corn cob pipes.

For years, a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe has meant a high-quality smoke at a significantly reduced price. Become part of a smoking tradition, and try one for yourself.

• 400 W. Front Street, Washington • PO Box 226 • 1-800-888-2109 • www.corncobpipe.com

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Washington In the heart of Missouri’s wine country, Washington offers the perfect scenic getaway. Whether visitors plan to spend a day or a weekend, they can enjoy festivals, dining, and shopping in this unique riverfront town.

Voted as one of the nation’s “Great American Main Streets,” experience Washington’s downtown charm and family-friendly events. The city is accessible by road, rail, river, and air, with easy walking access to retail and attractions.

Washington is only fifty miles west of the bustling city of St. Louis but a world apart. With picturesque views and a culture all its own, Washington stands out as a place to visit. There is a lot to discover in this quaint, historic city.

Economic Development in Washington Washington is a rapidly growing town with a wealth of employment opportunities. Nearly fourteen thousand people call Washington home, and that number keeps growing. Health care and advanced manufacturing are two of the most popular industries in Washington but the city has more than sixty industries that it helps to support.

Mercy Hospital is the leading employer in Washington, with 1,285 full-time employees. This 150-bed hospital provides medical services to Franklin County and much of the surrounding areas.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Aerospace manufacturing is also a popular trade in Washington.

The city is home to several tool and die shops that are key supporters to the aerospace industry. Valent Aerostuctures is the largest of these companies and supplies airframe manufacturers with the parts that they need.

The city is also very involved in the energy industry. CG Power Systems has established two plants in the city. KE2 Therm is a Washington-based group that develops energy-saving technology for commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning systems.

Improving transportation in the area has allowed these industries to grow now more than ever. Nearby Highway 100 has been expanded, and the Washington Regional Airport has a five thousand-foot

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runway. A recently built rail-transfer line will allow Washington to use the Union Pacific Railroad to ship and receive goods.

A City with Many Resources As the city grows, access to public resources does as well. Washington residents (and visitors) have many resources at their disposal. Most notable is the recently renovated and expanded library.

The Washington Public Library is a new facility that opened in April 2012. The location boasts around forty-eight thousand items available for check-out, including more than eight-hundred audiobooks, 125 magazine and newspaper subscriptions, and one thousand DVDs. The library also has e-books available. These resources are available to everyone in Franklin County, not just Washington residents.

Visitors can check out some books then go out and play at one of Washington’s many public parks and hiking trails. The Rotary Riverfront Trail offers 2.95 miles of biking and walking right alongside the Missouri River. The Bernie E. Hillermann Park is 95.6 acres of entertainment with a softball field, an open pavilion, two soccer fields, multiple playground areas, a sand volleyball court, and walking trails.

In the spring or summer, take a trip to the area’s farmers’ market.

The Washington Farmers’ Market draws a large number of vendors each year. They offer more unusual items such as bird houses and cutting boards as well as standard items such as produce, jams, and cookies. This outdoor market, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, is open rain or shine every Saturday, April through December and Wednesdays, May through October.

This is only a sampling of the things to do in this city. Take a trip to Washington, there’s a lot to uncover.

• • • •

Washington Missouri Visitor’s Center 301 W. Front Street, Washington 888-7WASHMO www.washmo.org

Celebrate

WITH THE PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON There’s plenty of reason to party in Washington. Check out some of the larger festivals that this city has to offer. But this isn’t all. Washington has many special events throughout the year. For more information, visit its website at www.washmo.org.

SUNSET ON THE RIVERFRONT Fourth Thursday in April through September Enjoy live music at Washington’s beautiful Rennick Riverfront Park.

ANNUAL ART FAIR AND WINEFEST Third Friday through Sunday in May This “all Missouri wineries” tasting takes place in downtown Washington. Sip local wines and check out the work of many local artists.

WASHINGTON TOWN AND COUNTRY FAIR First Wednesday through Sunday in August Famous entertainers, art exhibitions, midway rides, and more at the third largest fair in Missouri.

DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON’S CHILI COOK-OFF Fourth Friday in September Put your taste buds to the test at this annual event on Main Street in Downtown Washington.

FALL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS Fourth Weekend in September Vendors from a wide area put their craftwork on display.

PUMPKIN PALOOZA Saturday before Halloween This pumpkin party features a state-sanctioned pumpkin weigh-in, seed spitting, and trick-or-treating for the kids.

WASHINGTON’S OLDE FASHIONED CHRISTMAS Sunday after Thanksgiving Held at the Farmer’s Market, there’s something for everyone at this holiday event with crafts for the kids and carolers to listen to. Bundle up and take a carriage ride around Historic Downtown Washington.

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St. Francis Borgia Regional High School

Educating the mind and the spirit

St. Francis Borgia Regional High School, a college preparatory school, focuses on more than just academics. St. Francis Borgia students learn in a morally, spiritually and technologically advanced environment.

The co-ed Catholic school is located about fifty miles southwest of St. Louis in Washington but attracts students from all over. It is truly a regional high school in that most of the student body comes from areas outside Washington. Students attend from more than twenty parishes. In fact, ever since its initial founding, St. Francis Borgia has been a magnet to students in surrounding counties.

In 1901, St. Francis Borgia had twenty-three students who wanted to continue their education past grade school. From then on, it seemed as if the school constantly needed to expand. In 1934, the school grew to encompass the entire Washington deanery, which comprises parishes located in Franklin and Warren counties, as well as the towns of Augusta and St. Charles. And then in 1982, St. Francis Borgia Regional High School became a reality.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

The school received its most recent big â&#x20AC;&#x153;makeoverâ&#x20AC;? in 1998.

The renovation added thirteen classrooms, two remodeled science labs, an enlarged cafeteria, a weight room, elevator, new offices and restrooms, a four-hundredseat theater, and a two-hundred-seat chapel.

Now the school is at its finest. In many aspects, St. Francis Borgia stands out among other college preparatory schools throughout Missouri.

The school challenges students but also motivates them. Each classroom has a 15:1 student-teacher ratio, so students learn in a supportive environment. St. Francis Borgia students want to learn and work hard. More than half of the students earn honor roll, and ninetyeight percent of the graduates continue their education.

Besides a slew of flattering statistics, St. Francis Borgia is leading the way in a new area of education. In 2012, the school completed

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St. Francis Borgia prepares students for more than college by combining religion, academics, technology, and extracurricular activities into one cohesive educational experience.

its transition to entirely electronic learning. All students have an iPad, which replaced textbooks, paper assignments, and notebooks.

The iPads allow students to learn more collaboratively by watching educational videos and using apps, as well as creating their own.

Each classroom is equipped with a fifty-five-inch television used to mirror iPads for presentations. St. Francis Borgia is the first school in the St. Louis Archdiocese to switch to all electronic learning and has become a model for other schools.

This innovative environment is very important to St. Francis Borgia and is fostered in after-school programs. The school encourages students to participate in whatever interests them, providing opportunities for whatever that may be. The school prides itself in some of the top athletic, music, and drama programs in Missouri. Particularly, the theater department allows students to be involved on and off the stage: acting, costumes, makeup, stage building, and technical expertise. The school also boasts a television studio where four mornings a week a live television program, Knightly News Live, is produced. The students learn by doing. They operate the lighting, sound, reporting, and televising of the live feed.

St. Francis Borgia clearly provides cutting-edge education, but the school also sticks to traditional values grounded in its Catholic heritage. Religion is an important part of the school. Students learn moral values and practice them in the community. Students go on mission trips and retreats and together perform more than fifteenthousand Christian service hours annually.

By combining religion, academics, technology, and extracurricular activities into one cohesive educational experience, St. Francis Borgia prepares students for more than college. St. Francis Borgia graduates leave as independent leaders ready for a life filled with learning and compassion.

â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

1000 Borgia Drive , Washington 636-239-7871 ext. 197 borgia.com

FRANKLIN COUNTY

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Mercy Hospitals

Growing Services in Eastern Missouri

Growth has been a dominant theme within Mercy Clinic, the integrated physician group of Mercy. More than 570 physicians and 175 advanced practitioners (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) are now part of the team. Since it was established just less than two years ago, Mercy Clinic has rapidly grown through recruitment of individual physicians and acquisition of existing groups, including the addition of the 77-physician Patients First Health Care group in Franklin County.

“This support within the medical community is a sign that providers believe we’re doing things well, in a way that benefits patients and the physicians who care for them,” says Dr. John Hubert, president of Mercy Clinic East Communities. “Physicians and other providers want to be part of a team that is vibrant, growing, and committed to providing the best care possible.”

Mercy Clinic is physician-led and professionally managed. The organization relies heavily on physicians to provide financial and quality oversight, create strategic direction, provide management oversight, and continue board development. The Mercy Clinic management team pairs teams of physicians and operational leaders to improve clinical performance, satisfaction, and financial stewardship.

Strategic growth remains an area of focus for Mercy Clinic. “We’re very interested in growth, and we’re committed to adding caregivers who fit Mercy’s philosophy of providing care that is focused on the needs of the patient,” says Mercy Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Charles Rehm.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Mercy Hospitals In addition to the growth of the integrated physician group, Mercy’s two hospitals in eastern Missouri, Mercy Hospital St. Louis and Mercy Hospital Washington, have also expanded services to patients throughout the region.

Mercy Hospital St. Louis With a heritage of healing that reaches back more than 150 years, Mercy Hospital St. Louis continues to provide distinctive services offered by a team that cares for people, not illnesses. It is the only Level I (highest) Trauma Center in suburban St. Louis County.

The campus features Mercy Children’s Hospital, the only dedicated pediatric hospital in St. Louis County, which includes a pediatric emergency department and the largest Level III (highest) neonatal intensive care unit in Missouri. It’s the region’s leading birthing center in numbers and is the first hospital in Missouri to be recognized by J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Hospital Program for “Outstanding Patient Experience” in maternity care. Mercy added thirty-one new labor and birth suites with spa-like whirlpool tubs and soothing, multi-jet showers.

Other services include cancer care, heart and vascular, pediatrics (including pediatric oncology), burns, stroke and neurosurgery, obstetrics, behavioral health, home health and hospice, and many others.

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Mercy provides a dedicated heart hospital and cancer treatment center all on one campus and uses innovative technology to help patients recover faster and more comfortably.

Mercy Hospital St. Louis participates in a variety of clinical trials and is a teaching and research facility. Along with excellence in traditional medicine, Mercy offers integrative therapies to promote healing of the mind, body and spirit.

•

mercy.net/stl

Mercy Hospital Washington Mercy Hospital Washington provides advanced medicine and compassionate care, regardless of a person’s ability to pay. This is something it has been doing since residents rallied to build a hospital after a 1918 flu epidemic. In 1926, citizens built the first hospital on the bluffs of the Missouri River in a town settled by German families in the 1800s.

Today, Mercy Hospital Washington is a seven-story brick building that sits near the same spot as its predecessors. The hospital and the doctors of Mercy Clinic serve more than 180,000 patients in all or parts of Franklin, Gasconade, Crawford, St. Charles, St. Louis and Warren counties.

Services include emergency, heart, cancer, surgical, weight loss, wound care, obstetric, pediatric, and general medical. The hospital provides the only state designated Level III Trauma Center between St. Louis and Jefferson City. In the recently renovated and expanded emergency department, care is delivered by a staff that is specially trained in trauma care.

There are two advanced cardiac catheterization labs with a team of highly skilled cardiologists and clinicians where heart attacks are stopped as they happen. The proximity of Mercy Hospital Washington’s Cardiac Cath Labs to residents in this region is saving lives and heart muscles.

Mercy Cancer Center allows a person with cancer to receive advanced cancer treatment close to home at a time when close to home is especially where they want to be. Mercy Hospital Washington offers newly updated labor and delivery rooms as a way to welcome and comfort new parents as they are welcoming and comforting their newborns.

Mercy Hospital Washington is deeply entrenched in the community.

It is one of the area’s largest employers and one of the area’s largest economic and charitable contributors.

•

mercy.net/washington

Walk-In Convenience Mercy opened hybrid Convenient Care/Urgent Care clinics in Fenton and Washington to provide greater access to Mercy services at a single location. Benefits to patients include a higher degree of personal services including a triage nurse to help determine the right level of care that a patient needs, saving them time and money. Other benefits include convenient hours and the potential for patients to save time and money when compared to emergency room visits for less serious medical needs.

Urgent Care is also located in Eureka and Convenient Care in Union.

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Top-of-the-line patient care, labor and delivery rooms, and convenient locations are among the many ways Mercy is growing in eastern Missouri.

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Citizens Bank

Citizens Bank is a Community Owned Independent Bank. Chartered in 1934, Citizens Bank serves and supports the greater Franklin County area.

We are committed to providing outstanding customer service and play an important role in the communities we serve. Citizens Bank is a full service bank offering a variety of products and we will find something that is right for you! Stop by and visit us at any one of our five locations and get ready to experience a bank that truly cares!

Missouri Baptist University

Missouri Baptist University is located at 39 Silo Plaza in Union, Missouri, across from East Central College on Highway 50. A satellite office is located in Pacific. Undergraduate, graduate, and specialist degrees can be earned at this location. The university is committed to enriching students’ lives spiritually, intellectually, and professionally and to preparing students to serve in a global and culturally diverse society. www.mobap.edu | 636-583-6600

East Central College & Central Methodist Univeristy

One Location, Two Great Colleges

East Central College Since 1969 East Central College has helped thousands of area residents achieve their goals through higher education. As a public, co-educational community college, ECC maintains an open-door policy of accepting all students interested in obtaining a college education. East Central offers twentyfive associate degree programs for students planning to transfer and go on to earn a bachelor’s degree. For those wanting to enter the workforce sooner, the college offers more than thirty career/technical degree and certificate options.

Each semester, more than 4,100 students enroll in credit classes at the 203-acre main campus in Union or a satellite location in Rolla, Sullivan, Warrenton, or Washington. ECC is the center of fine and performing arts in the area and advances the social and economic vitality of the region through quality programs, innovative partnerships and workforce training.

FRANKLIN COUNTY • • •

1964 Prairie Dell Road, Union 636-584-6500 www.eastcentral.edu

ECC and CMU combine forces in Union to provide a dynamic range of courses for students.

Central Methodist University Central Methodist University has partnered with East Central College since 1992 to offer courses and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Union. Classes generally meet in the late afternoon and early evening to accommodate students’ work or personal schedules; online classes are available too. The staff is available in Union to assist you. Central Methodist was established in 1854, with its main campus located in Fayette.

• •

636-583-8434 www.centralmethodist.edu/cges/union.php

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Augusta Wine Co. Montelle and Augusta Wineries

The secret to its success in producing outstanding wines is its vineyards. In 1980, Augusta was recognized as the first U.S. Wine District because of its unique soil, climate, historical significance, and quality of wines produced from grapes grown in vineyards that date to the 1800s. The winery’s philosophy is to farm the vineyards with a respect for the land and the environment. As a result, its wines are fresh, fragrant, focused, and well balanced but most of all express the uniqueness of their vineyards.

Augusta Winery’s award-winning wines may be enjoyed in its Wine & Beer Garden, featuring a spectacular ten-foot arbor, craft beers, and free, live entertainment April through October.

Enjoy Montelle Winery’s award-winning wines among the trees atop the Osage Ridge. Montelle, Missouri’s most scenic winery, also aspires to reveal the pleasures of pairing fine wine and food. Choose from a wide selection of gourmet foods from its Klondike Café to be enjoyed on its multi-level decks. It is easy to lose yourself in the magnificent view of the Missouri River Valley and rolling hills of Augusta with free, live entertainment on weekends April through October. Montelle also offers fine dining May through September on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm by reservation only. Check the website for menus and reservations. Having an event? Montelle is available for private parties, corporate retreats, and weddings.

• • • •

Augusta Winery 5601 High Street, Augusta 888-MOR-WINE www.AugustaWinery.com

• • • •

Montelle Winery 201 Montelle Drive, Augusta 888-595-WINE www.Montelle.com

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Montelle and Augusta wineries are gems within Franklin County. The scenic vineyards and relaxing patio combine for a well-suited escape.

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Nothing Fancy Café

What Mom Would Cook for You Don’t be fooled by the modest name and simple red, white, and blue sign. Peggy Swisher’s Nothing Fancy Café is progressive in its menu options, her own experience with health issues has made her sensitive to others’ needs.

“I’m diabetic, and I got tired of having to pay for sides I can’t eat and not having any other alternative,” Peggy says. Nothing Fancy’s solution: two separate fryers and healthy entrees such as chicken drummies, which are made without breading for a gluten-free option.

Nothing Fancy Café also offers the best traits of a small-town diner: quick and friendly service, breakfast all day, fall-off-the-bone pork steaks, homemade pies, and “the best fried pickles ever,” according to one enthusiastic customer. Most entrees cost between $5 and $6.

Peggy has dreamed of opening a café for years. “The town of Union needed a smoke-free restaurant that was affordable,” she says. She bought a building that once housed an A&W and set up shop. A longtime Franklin County resident, she has even donated funds for a new dog park and playground just west of the café.

In February, Peggy also opened a skating rink, fully resurfaced and revamped for the county to enjoy. Neighbors can look forward to adult and youth hockey leagues, birthday party space, skating lessons, and the chance to visit with Peggy’s parrots and pet monkey.

FRANKLIN COUNTY • • •

Nothing Fancy Café 241 N. Washington Avenue, Union 636-584-0007

• • • •

Nothing Fancy Rink 181 Audrey Lane 636-584-0999 www.nothingfancyrink.com

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Union R-X1

Distinction in Performance–Where Children Come First Peppered throughout the neighborhoods of the Franklin County seat, the Union School District provides quality education for young students to become good citizens. The Union School District is a fully accredited school district and, more importantly, is where the community comes together. Serving more than three thousand students and with an overall assessed valuation at almost $300 million, Union R-XI is a major positive influence in Franklin County. More than sixty percent of the district’s educators have an advanced degree, and on average, each educator has more than thirteen years of professional experience in the educational field. The district boasts one of the largest FFA (Future Farmers of America) programs in the state and has continually provided a strong instructional program ensuring student success. This is evident by the fact that more than seventy-five percent of the high school graduates in Union R-XI go on to further their education.

At the heart of the Union community, many local businesses and citizens play an active role in the continued success of the Union R-XI School District. Furthermore, the Union R-XI Foundation, which administers teacher grants and scholarships, has provided additional support by raising funds for the high school’s football stadium. Each of the district’s six schools has its own character.

Beaufort Elementary is a K-6 building with a rich tradition; many second and third-generation families send their children here. The school features an outdoor classroom with a hiking trail, prairie, creek bed, wetland area, and other natural resources. Most recently, Beaufort students read more than nineteen-thousand books over the course of the school year which forced their building principal to dance on the roof!

Central Elementary, the K-3 home of more than seven-hundred students, boasts a motto about getting kids excited about school: “Ready, set, learn!”

Central is the newest elementary school in the district, and the students and staff working together make it an awesome learning environment.

Surrounded by two parks and a lake, Clark-Vitt Elementary provides a stimulating setting for students in grades four through six. Clark-Vitt teachers and students are very committed to the “Whole Brain Teaching” phenomena that is spreading across the United States. This instructional strategy is focused on increasing student engagement through movement and student-student teaching.

Right in the heart of the Union community, Union Middle School is home to more than four hundred seventh and eighth grade students. UMS hosts a three-hundred-booth craft show every fall that raises money to

buy new technology such as SMART Boards and Kindles. Additionally, UMS has a large group of teachers who lead and encourage after-school activities to keep kids involved and following their interests.

Union High School has some of the best facilities in the state and functions as the hub of the district.

UHS has a wide range and varied set of courses available to its students and has a student body rich with school pride. The social studies department hosts an annual Model UN conference, and many students from many other departments go on to showcase their talents all across the state and nation. Lastly, three-quarters of Union High School graduates go on to attend a post-secondary institution.

The Early Childhood Center is a great place to start for many Union R-XI students. This small but important piece of the district plays a vital role in preparing students for a thorough and far-reaching K-12 education program.

The Union School District is rich with tradition and pride and in the same breath is also committed to evolving and adapting to best meet the needs of its students in our ever-changing world.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

• 770 Independence Drive, Union • 636-583-8626 • union.k12.mo.us

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Union Fire Protection Established in 1890 as a city department and then as a district in 1971, the Union Fire Protection District provides fire protection to the Union community through education, enforcement, and suppression.

The District’s geographical boundaries consist of ninety-six square miles in the heart of Franklin County to include the City of Union and the surrounding unincorporated area.

Three fire stations located within the Union city limits serve a population of twenty thousand residents, seven thousand residential homes, eight hundred commercial properties, and eleven thousand property parcels. A staff of sixty-six firefighters are sworn to provide protection to the many homes and businesses in the community including the Franklin County court house and associated government buildings plus the East Central College campus. Other unique facilities include a rail line, a distributor of high explosives, four petroleum pipelines, ten state highways, one major interstate and thirty-six miles of river with four public access points.

The Union Fire Protection District is supported by a sales tax and reduced property taxes. A board of three directors oversees the finances and directs the affairs of the district. The operational staff consists of fifteen paid firefighters who are assigned to three shifts that rotate through the week providing 24/7 coverage. Being available for an immediate response, the paid staffs are supported by twenty-six volunteer firefighters.

The command staff consists of a volunteer fire chief, deputy chief, and two assistants. A group of fifteen senior members provides guidance and support to the organization as junior firefighters, a full time fire inspector, and an administrative secretary complete the district’s staff.

Having adopted the international series of building codes, the Fire District regulates new construction and remodels through a permit process. The fire inspector oversees the annual inspection of existing

FRANKLIN COUNTY

commercial occupancies and educational facilities. Firefighters visit local schools to perform safety talks and local businesses to teach the proper use of fire extinguishers. Many community organizations tour the fire stations to learn what firefighters do throughout their day.

Centrally located in Franklin County, the Fire District maintains mutual aid agreements with the neighboring region C fire agencies as well as participating in the statewide mutual aid program. Union also houses and maintains the USAI Strike Team 5 heavy rescue and has ten members who participate on the strike team as well as four members who belong to Missouri Task Force 1.

Having both city and rural areas, the District’s fire apparatus consists of four pumpers, two rescue trucks, one seventy-five-foot ladder truck, two water tankers, three brush jeeps, two marine units, two command cars, one command trailer, one inspector vehicle, and the USAI tractor drawn heavy rescue.

Rich in history, the Fire District will celebrate 125 years in 2015.

As pictured the senior members still maintain the original 1891 hand pumper purchased shortly after the establishment of a community fire department and a 1933 Dodge pumper. One of the senior members maintains the 1951 Ford pumper once owned by the department and the two late model Pierce pumpers are in service today.

• • • •

1401 W. Springfield Avenue, Union 636-583-2515 www.unionfd.org ufpd1@sbcglobal.net

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United Bank of Union Since 1934, United Bank of Union has been a pillar of the Franklin County seat, providing full-service banking with a hometown feel from employees that customers can trust.

At United Bank, customer success is our number one goal. We pride ourselves on taking a vested interest and understanding of our customers and finding financial solutions to fit their individual needs. Whether you are looking to purchase a new home, expand or start your local business, or just want make sure your everyday finances are in order, United Bank of Union has the expertise to set up your financial future.

We strive to continue to grow, offering the services and conveniences of larger banks but always remembering our Franklin County roots.

Our pledge is to continue to find new ways to assist you and to ensure our customer success.

United Bank is about more than just focusing on our customers. Our employees live and raise families here, and we take pride in giving back to the people and community in which we serve. We take active roles as leaders in local service organizations, churches, and volunteer hundreds of hours a year to assist in area projects. United Bank of Union has also donated more than a quarter of a million dollars to sponsor local programs and charitable endeavors over the past five years.

We appreciate your commitment to us and the opportunity for us to assist in your financial success. Thank you for being the core of our family and allowing us to be part of yours.

For more information about United Bank of Union, please visit one of our three branches or visit us online to learn more.

• • • •

FRANKLIN COUNTY

15 E. Main, Union 1440 Rebel Road, Union 210 Hwy. 50 West, Union• www.unitedbankofunion.com

636-583-2555

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Mind Body & Spirit Day Spa

Mind Body & Spirit Day Spa is the only complete day spa in the Franklin County area.

The spa offers eleven fully staffed massage rooms, a skin care center, a waxing studio, a hair studio, a barefoot sage lounge, and a full nail care center. Our professional staff has more than forty years of combined experience in the spa industry. Book your appointment today and allow us to help you find harmony and balance by rejuvenating your mind body & spirit.

636-239-3337 | www.mindbodyandspirit.co \ 1082 Washington Square

Bank of Franklin County

Bank of Franklin County is a locally owned, independent community bank chartered in 2000 to serve the residents of Northern Franklin, Southern Warren, and Southern St. Charles counties. We pride ourselves on being A Real Community Bank and operate under the core values of community banking: local people, local decisions, local commitment, and local investment.

Our mission is to provide responsive, flexible, and distinguished personal service coupled with competitive products to assure you of achieving your financial dreams. When it comes to your financial success, we’re not afraid to roll up our sleeves and do what it takes to make your priorities a reality.

Bank of Franklin County operates four convenient locations and a mortgage subsidiary, Franklin Mortgage Company. We invite you to come by

FRANKLIN COUNTY

our offices anytime and “Talk to Your Banker.” Find out firsthand how Bank of Franklin County is here to help put your financial goals within reach.

• • • • • • • •

900 E. 8th Street, Washington 636-239-6600 5702 Hwy. 100, Washington 636-239-1700 3017 Hwy. A, Washington 636-239-3087 101 Franklin Avenue, New Haven 573-237-4400

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Modern Auto Four Generations of Quality Service

John Feltmann started Modern Auto in 1919 in a barn on Elm Street just north of its intersection with Fifth Street. With only a fourth-grade education, a desire to succeed, and a German work ethic, John and his partners established their repair shop. In 1931, Modern Auto moved to the corner of Main and Jefferson. The company grew and prospered in downtown Washington, becoming a complete automotive service facility for minor and major mechanical and body repair. General Motors franchises for Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, and GMC Trucks were obtained over the years.

John’s son, Jim, joined the company in 1949 and became president in 1976. Over the next twenty-five years, Modern Auto purchased various downtown properties, expanded, and remodeled multiple times.

Jim, Jr., Joe, and John Feltmann are now the third generation of the Feltmann family ownership and management of Modern Auto. In 2004, after eighty-five years in downtown Washington, Modern Auto relocated to a new, state-of-the-art facility at 6224 Hwy 100. Modern Auto currently is a General Motors franchised dealer for Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. The service department handles mechan-

ical and body repairs for all makes and models.

Matthew and Brian Feltmann ( Jim, Jr. and Joe’s sons, respectively) joined Modern Auto after college to become the fourth generation of the Feltmann family with the company.

• • •

FRANKLIN COUNTY

6224 Highway 100, Washington 636-239-6777 modernautoco.com

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ReMax Central

ReMax Central welcomes you to Franklin County. We offer a full range of services from our full-time agents. We can assist you with buying or selling a residence, farm, or multi-family property. Our agents are all long time residents of Franklin County and know all the areas well so that we can find exactly what you are looking for and negotiate a fair price. We stick with you through closing and stay in touch after.

1510 Denmark Ste. H., Union | www.Wesellfranklincounty.com | 636-583-5124

Gary R. Lucy Gallery

Your trip to historic Washington will be complete with a visit to Gary R. Lucy Gallery. In addition to the “Inland Waterways” series, Gary’s work encompasses Lewis and Clark events and many scenes along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The gallery features custom framing services and a large gift area featuring home décor and tabletop.

Open Mondays through Saturdays at Main and Elm Streets in downtown Washington. 636-239-6337 | www.garylucy.com

Farmers and Merchants Bank

Farmers and Merchants Bank is proud of its heritage as an independent community bank. We have been serving the needs of the community and our customers in Saint Clair since 1913. Additional locations in Lonedell, High Ridge, and Eureka will provide you with that same hometown friendliness and personal attention. Our bank offers a full range of deposit accounts, loan products and cash management services including access to more than 23,000 surcharge-free ATM’s nationwide.

Our employees devote hundreds of hours each year working to support

FRANKLIN COUNTY

local charities and community events. Our Mascot Debit Card Program allows the community to team up with FMB to provide extra cash for the public schools each year for special projects. Our focus is on the community, the local businesses, and the people involved in them.

• • • • •

530 S. Main, Saint Clair 1010 Crossroads Place, High Ridge 619 Stockell Drive, Eureka 800-392-0049 www.fmb4banking.com

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Hillermann Nursery & Florist

It is well worth a stop to see the beautiful display gardens including water features! Established in 1951, Hillermann Nursery & Florist is owned and operated by second-generation family members and hosts various departments including Nursery, Garden Center, Floral & Gift, Lawn & Garden Equipment, and Landscape & Irrigation.

Beautiful items are available to accent your home indoors and outdoors. A large selection of trees, shrubs, perennial plants, annual plants, vegetable plants, container gardens, and hanging baskets are available throughout the growing season. Tropical, herb, and cactus/succulent plants are available year-round. Quality lines of lawn and garden

equipment, plus dependable service and repairs, are available in the Equipment Center. Hillermann’s Landscape Division offers residential and commercial landscape, hardscape, lighting and irrigation design, installation, and maintenance. Commercial snow removal, lawn maintenance, lawn grading and seeding, and aquatic weed control services are also available. The company hosts fun and educational events throughout the year.

• • •

2601 E. 5th Street, Washington 636-239-6729 www.hillermann.com

Cowan’s Restaurant and Mercantile

Cowan’s Restaurant is known statewide for its “mile-high” pies, but there is a lot more going on at the oldest restaurant in Washington. As its slogan says, Cowan’s is “the place to meet” for fresh made, homestyle meals. The restaurant serves breakfast all day as well as delicious sandwiches, burgers, soups, and a dinner menu complete with rib-eye steak and fried chicken. Owners Tom and Rachel Gildehaus ensure every meal is cooked fresh with high quality ingredients. Cowan’s also serves more than thirty different varieties of its specialty pie, including

traditional dessert staples such as apple and cherry as well as more outof-the-ordinary fare such as chocolate-chip pecan. The restaurant is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 6 am to 8 pm and Sundays, 6 am to 7 pm.

After your meal, visit the gift shop at Cowan’s Mercantile.

• • •

114 Elm Street, Washington 636-239-3213 cowansrestaurant.com

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Sporlan Division

Making Houses Homes

RE/MAX Gold First - Janie and Derek enjoy assisting buyers and sellers in making the biggest decisions of home ownership. We respect and appreciate every opportunity. If you are looking to move to the area we are well versed to assist you. Additionally, we love Franklin County, so we visit many events, and know most of the hidden gems in the area.

From the 1947 launch of the Catch-All®, the world’s first molded core filter-drier, to today’s intricate electronic valve and controller packages, Sporlan Divison of Parker Hannifin has set the industry standard for the development and manufacture of leading edge HVACR components.

The success and growth of the Sporlan Division of Parker Hannifin is credited to a strong employee commitment and the stalwart philosophy of founders Hermann Spoehrer and Harold Lange: “Build well-designed, quality products, instruct on installation and application, service the product and the customers, and establish equitable, firm, sales policies, but with the emphasis always on quality.” Quality materials and craftsmanship, commitment to innovation, manufacturing excellence, and service and support for our customers: that is Sporlan Division of Parker Hannifin—seventy-five years strong. 206 Lange Drive, Washington | www.sporlan.com | 636-239-1111

910 W 14th Street Ste 230, Washington | 636-231-3410 | www.janiesellshomes.com | www.janieschriewer.remaxagent.com | janiesellshomes@gmail.com | Janie Schriewer (cell) 314-805-9359 | Derek Schriewer (cell) 314-570-1351

Bank of Washington

Treating Every Customer Like Family

Since 1877, the Bank of Washington has focused on hometown friendliness, personal attention, and treating every customer like family. The spirit of the Bank of Washington is deeply rooted in the community, and its commitment is to the people and businesses that make Franklin County a wonderful place to live, work and visit.

From conveniences such as a mobile banking app to electronic bill pay and a variety of both business and personal loans and deposit accounts, the Bank of Washington is committed to offering financial solutions the Franklin County community needs. The bank welcomes the opportunity to greet you with a smile at six convenient locations!

• • • • • • • •

200 W. Main Street, Washington 1 E. Fourteenth Street, Washington 2629 E. Fifth Street, Washington Inside Schnucks, Washington – Open 7 Days a Week 2687 Hwy. 100, Gray Summit 3333 Hwy. 100, Villa Ridge 636-239-7831 bankofwashington.com

FRANKLIN COUNTY

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Mid-American Coaches

Central Hotel

You’d never know by looking at it, but New Haven’s Central Hotel is more than one-hundred years old. Current owners Mark and Ellen Zobrist remodeled the 134-year-old establishment back in 2000. The river bluff hotel maintains all of the charm of a historic inn with five uniquely designed and cozy rooms but is also furnished with modern amenities including high-speed Internet service. Call to book your next stay-cation. 1017 Maupin Street,

Travel with us throughout the United States! Powered by Clean-Engine Technology, our fleet of safe, dependable, and comfortable motor coaches is maintained in-house to the highest standard. Safety is our drivers’ number one priority. You will find them courteous and able to see to your every need. 4530 Highway 47, Washington | 866-944-8687 |

New Haven | 573-237-8540 | www.centralhotelnh.com

www.mid-americancoaches.net

Transporting Precious Cargo Since 1927

Bank of Sullivan

The Bank of Sullivan was organized on March 19, 1895, and opened for business on April 12, 1895, as the first financial institution in the village of Sullivan.

The Bank’s first offices were in the old Clark & Martin Building on the east side of Clark Street, then in Clark & Martin’s new building across the street, later known as the Clark-Lane Building. After 1904, banking offices were located on Sullivan’s Front Street, now known as Main Street. From 1904 to 1918 it was in the Bennett Building, from 1919 to 1960 it was in a structure built for the Bank at the corner of Main and Taylor, and from 1960 to the present has been at 318 W. Main.

Through the years, the Bank built a reputation of outstanding customer service, and the service area steadily increased, reaching customers in neighboring communities of Cuba, Labadie, Pleasant Hope, Sullivan, Sunrise Beach, and Union.

The Bank is a locally owned financial institution chartered by the State of Missouri. It is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Currently the Bank is served by a thirteen-member Board of Directors with Mike Hoffman, Chairman of the Board, Milt Branum, Albert Schlueter, Jim Lechten, Melvin King, J. Douglas Strauser, Dr. Matthew Tiefenbrunn, Dale Cottrell, Steve Dickey, Cliff Dudley, Kevin Mullally, Dave Schatz and Leonard Armstrong. The bank’s staff of more than one hundred offers personal service, helping you fulfill your wealth management objectives.

As of January 2013, the Bank has assets of over $333 million and

deposits of over $260 million According to the latest available reports, it is one of the largest and strongest banking institutions in Crawford and Franklin Counties. Providing services for today’s banking needs, including Internet banking, free online bill pay, free checking, e-statements and a checking account that is currently paying a higher interest rate than traditional accounts, and certificates of deposits.

A solid financial institution, growing with the communities it serves, the Bank of Sullivan anticipates continued growth in assets and services as it looks to future years.

• •

800-645-3191 www.bankofsullivan.com

FRANKLIN COUNTY

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Inspiring people

License to

Soar

Patrice Billings was the first female police officer helicopter pilot in the country. By Sheree K. NielSeN stood up on the back of my neck,” Patrice says.

The suspect, a recently released prison inmate, was driving through the Midwest robbing banks.

The culprit later stated, “It’s a good thing those helicopter pilots left when they did, ’cause I was just getting ready to blow them away.”

This wasn’t the first time Patrice faced a neardeath experience, and it wouldn’t be the last. She’s lived most of her life on the edge. As a twentyeight-year veteran of the St. Louis County Police, Patrice has lived a life of firsts: first female to graduate top of class from St. Louis Police Academy, first in firearms in the academy’s history, and first female police officer helicopter pilot in the nation.

Patrice’s mom, Esther, encouraged Patrice to “do her best and live with integrity.”

The seven-year-old often reflected on those words as she drove her shiny white pedal car

around the neighborhood. Emblazoned with the words “Highway Patrol,” this vehicle became Patrice’s gateway for a lifetime love of exploration.

“I’ve always had a natural instinct to fly,” Patrice says.

Above: in addition to becoming a pilot, patrice also served as a member of the sWat team for ten years. Below: a young patrice plays with the toy police car that inspired her career.

courtesy patrice billings

while oN routine helicopter patrol, Patrice Billings and her partner spot a suspicious looking Jeep on the ground below near a field wood line. They need to investigate, but no ground team is available.

After deciding to land the helicopter, the two discover the Jeep is nowhere in sight. Patrice notices a long scar of tire tracks cutting through the brush and disappearing into the woods. With guns drawn, Patrice and her partner approach cautiously through the wooded area as they follow the tracks to investigate. Upon locating the Jeep, they peer in through the windows not knowing what they’ll find. While conducting a search, they find explosive devices, survivalist gear and a woman’s wig littering the front seat. The tactical unit is immediately called in for an area search.

“This was the first time in my life the hairs

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Vendors Include: Amigoni Urban Winery Baltimore Bend Vineyard Belvoir Winery The Berry Nutty Farm Burnt Ends BBQ Pub and Grub Caldarello Italian Sausage Cass County Mercantile Circle B Ranch Cooper’s Oak Winery Copper Run Distillery Evening Shade Farms Fahrmeier Family Vineyards Float Trip Pickles, LLC Hearthstone Foods Hermannhof Winery Hummingbird Kitchen Kakao Chocolate Lost Creek Vineyard and Winery Pinckney Bend Distillery Shawnee Bluff Winery Stone Hill Winery St. James Winery T’s Redneck Steakhouse Traver Home Winery Troutdale Farm Uncle Bob’s Spice and Blends VanTill Family Farm and Winery Wenwood Farm Winery Westphalia Vineyards White Rose Winery

R YOU GET ET TICK !

Y TODA

Tickets: $20 per person

For tickets visit MissouriLife.com/2013festival or call 800-492-2593 Limited capacity, so reserve your festival ticket today!

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sheree k. nielsen; courtesy patrice billings

Above: patrice hopes to add author to her list of accomplishments soon; she is working on a crime novel based on her experiences.

Below right: patrice was awarded the purple heart in 2001.

Patrice’s Uncle Everett, a pilot, also piqued her flying interest with captivating tales. On breaks from Mizzou, Patrice worked part-time at a St. Louis beer can factory and managed to save enough money to enroll in flight lessons in 1976.

She received her Fixed Wing Certificate in 1978.

Upon college graduation in 1979, Patrice earned a Behavioral Sciences Lifetime Teaching Certificate but took a detour as a personnel assistant. Longing for adventure, she applied for a St. Louis County Police Officer position.

Prior to acceptance into the St. Louis Police Academy in November 1980, Patrice endured a rigorous five months of written tests, oral interviews, polygraphs, and background checks.

After four months of academy training, she became the first female to graduate with the highest ranking. In 1981, she received the Chief’s Letter of Commendation Award for being the top recruit in her class. Patrice would spend close to four years on patrol in North County, the same neighborhood she explored as a child in her pedal car.

“I’ve felt the need to be prepared for every situation,” she says. “In the back of my mind I’ve held onto two thoughts: be safe and help anyone along the way.”

In 1984, thoughts of flying resurfaced. A Flight Operations position in the helicopter unit became available, combining her love of law enforcement and aviation. A former helicopter pilot with the

department advised, “Don’t bother applying.

They’ll never take a woman in the unit.”

Ignoring his advice, Patrice applied. Out of eighty applicants, she was the only woman as well as the only individual with aviation background.

Patrice completed two months of observer training and flight instruction with a Vietnam veteran helicopter pilot. In December 1984, Patrice became the first female police officer to become a helicopter pilot with a law enforcement agency in the United States.

In 1989, Flight Operations and Tactical Operations (SWAT) in St. Louis County merged.

Patrice transitioned into a member of the SWAT team while keeping her helicopter pilot position.

In recognition of her expert marksmanship, she was selected as the sole female sniper with the unit and attended FBI-sponsored sniper skills and training schools.

But flying helicopters remained Patrice’s primary function. Patrice recalls eerie memories of September 11, 2001. Walking into the hangar, a strange silence loomed. There were no air traffic sounds, engine noise, or voices on the aircraft radio. With the exception of law enforcement, aviation was grounded. Patrice and her co-pilot flew the lone helicopter over the night sky and patrolled landmarks, power plants, and bridges in St. Louis and St. Charles counties. Air traffic controllers tracked the helicopter’s position and identity on radar screens when Patrice squawked (displayed) a discreet code in the aircraft.

Patrice was awarded the Purple Heart in 2001 for sustaining injuries in the line of duty.

After responding to a car engulfed in flames, her squad car hit black ice and spiraled backwards down an embankment.

Now retired from the force, Patrice enjoys giving back as a Safe Connections board member.

The agency provides counseling and support for women victimized by domestic violence and sexual assault. She’s also a member of the Ninety-Nines, the women’s pilot association founded

by Amelia Earhart. Patrice has also worked with Discovering Options, a program that pairs mentors with at-risk children. She was matched with a young boy while she was on the police force.

When possible, they’d visit the helicopter hangar.

Eager to learn, he’d ask Patrice about her career.

Patrice urged the boy to stay in school and keep his grades up, telling him the sky was the limit.

After a couple years of mentoring, the boy casually mentioned to Patrice he wanted to become a police officer. At that moment, she felt proud to have impacted the boy’s life.

Patrice is penning her first fiction crime novel based on real life experiences. Two dogs, four cats, and a talkative Umbrella Cockatoo share a home with her and her partner, Brenda Fraser.

In her down time, Patrice discovers the open road on her motorcycle.

She chuckles. “It’s the closest thing to flying.”

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e st a T &

WINE FOOD

top

from the

MISSOURI

PRODUCERS! Missouri Life Festival at

Join us on May 4 11 am - 7 pm in Kansas City!

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SHOW-ME

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A HIDDEN HOUSE A home restoration reveals a surprising secret.

BY JOHN FISHER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW BARTON

A HOUSE WITH A LOG CABIN INSIDE? UNUSUAL TO be sure, but that’s what Carl and Connie Armstrong discovered in 2004 when they began restoring the home Carl grew up in. The house, located along Silver Springs Road in Cape Girardeau, rests on property that is known as Silver Springs Farm. Carl’s father, F. J. Armstrong, purchased the property in 1925 and began operating a dairy, using the property’s two springs to cool milk. F. J. and Lula Armstrong moved into the farm’s large plantation-style house and raised their family there. Carl’s father remained in the house until

his death in 1992. Then the home remained vacant for more than ten years.

When Carl retired from his work as a chemical engineer, he and Connie decided to return to Cape Girardeau and restore Carl’s boyhood home. Removal of old plaster exposed walls constructed of huge hewn poplar logs, some measuring twenty-four inches across. Further investigation revealed that an intact two-story log cabin stood in the northeast corner of the house. The cabin measured about twenty feet by twenty feet.

Carl Armstrong

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SHOW-ME

It was a surprise to Carl.

“We knew some of the walls within the house were especially thick but had no idea why,” Carl says.

The Armstrongs consulted local historian Edison Shrum for help in identifying the builder of the cabin. Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University, also assisted the Armstrongs in unraveling the story of their home. Research revealed the original cabin was built by Andrew Ramsey.

Ramsey and his family moved to what is now Cape Girardeau County in 1795 after receiving a land grant from the Spanish government, which controlled upper Louisiana at that time. The Ramseys came from Scotland and were some of the first English-speaking settlers in the area. The original land grant consisted of 1,100 acres and stretched from near the Mississippi River to Ramsey Creek west of today’s I-55.

Ramsey constructed the cabin with logs from poplar trees on his property. With the aid of a wood specialist from the University of Tennessee, the Armstrongs determined these logs were from trees ranging from 125 to 135 years old at the time they were cut.

Ramsey constructed his log cabin well, using dove-tail joints on the corners for extra strength.

The fact that it withstood the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 to 1812 is a testimony to its strength.

On the second floor, the Armstrongs exposed part of the original roof of the log cabin, which was covered with cypress shingles. They have also added windows on the north side of the house, so the log walls can be viewed from outside. The floors in the house are made of beautifully finished poplar and cypress.

Ramsey occupied the property until about 1813. After that, a series of

The first English settler in the Cape Girardeau area, Andrew Ramsey, built what is now part of the Armstrong family’s home. Ramsey helped establish the first English-speaking school west of the Mississippi River, located about one mile west of the still-standing home.

owners added to the original structure. A second fireplace, electrical wiring, porches, and additional rooms were added through the years as well as repairs to strengthen sagging floors. The restoration completed by Carl and Connie took about three years.

The home now consists of a large living room, office, dining room, kitchen, and several bedrooms. Additional bathrooms have been added, and all have been updated with modern plumbing. They were able to refinish the kitchen cabinets that date to the 1930s and restore the farmhouse sink. An island was added to the kitchen and appropriately topped with a slab of Missouri red granite. To access the upstairs more easily, an elevator was also included in the restoration.

The Armstongs have decorated their home using many antique furnishings and other items of historic interest that give the home a warm, comfortable atmosphere. They have incorporated into the decor several of the original gas lights used to illuminate the house before electricity. They also display family photographs along with Indian artifacts and Civil War-era relics found on the farm, including cannon balls and musket balls.

Carl and Connie Armstrong have done a remarkable job of preserving the history hidden within their unique home and have shared it with many visitors. Their hospitality is attested to by the numerous signatures in the guest book near the front entrance.

“We knew some of the walls within the house were especially thick, but had no idea why.”

www.1795logcabin.com

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Top left, clockwise: The house is decorated with historic artifacts, including Indian and Civil War-era pieces. In 1925, the cabin had no running water, so milk was kept cold in nearby springs. Original poplar logs and finished poplar and cypress floors are showcased in a bedroom.

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USE CODE ML0413 FOR 20% DISCOUNT! (Expires June 30, 2013)

Mizzou’s own bed and breakfast WELCOME TO THE

HOTEL FREDERICK This lovingly restored historic landmark is a luxury hotel located on the Missouri River, with a picturesque view of the old Katy Bridge and walking distance to unique boutiques. www.hotelfrederick.com • 888-437-3321 501 East High Street, Boonville, MO 65233

Cameron’s Crag Bed & Breakfast

four memorable suites, each with a private hot tub and a “bird’s eye view” Quiet & relaxing with Convenient access to Branson, only 3 miles from the 76 strip 1-800-933-8529 • 417-334-4720 w w w. c a m e r o n s - c r a g . c o m

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The

Stone Haus Bed & Breakfast 107 Bayer Rd., Hermann, MO 573-486-9169 www.stonehausbandb.com

Nestled in the mountains of the Ozark’s wilderness is a bed and breakfast and cabin rental with a rustic charm and natural atmosphere that is unmatched.

Butterfly Inn

Inn at Harbour rIdge

The Lake’s Most Inviting Bed & Breakfast

6334 Red Barn Road • Osage Beach, MO 877-744-6020 • www.HarbourRidgeInn.com

We are kind of like a B&B, but: YOU MAKE BOTH, otherwise we are a completely furnished and private home, close to Missouri’s most beautiful natural scenery, parks and restaurants. Open year-round.

573-648-2509 • 2363 Buford St, Centerville www.butterflyinn-mo.com

The only place where you’ll find over 100 Inspected and Approved member Inns at Locations statewide.

The property features cozy cabins and suites, along with wooded trails, water gardens, a Missouri wine cellar, a chapel in the woods, a charming reception and special events conservatory and lots of back-country appeal.

For reservations call 417-443-0036 or visit us on the web at www.bearcreekbedandbreakfast.com

BBIM Gift Certificates Are Available

www.bbim.org [132] MissouriLife

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Musings ON MISSOURI

THE Anti SOCIAL NETWORK

BY RON MARR

ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW BARTON

MY CLOSEST

contact with Facebook consists of walking past a mirror while holding a book. Twitter is a sound made by birds and gossipy old women. Instagram might be a subset of the metric system, or it might be a grandmother who grows when you sprinkle her with water.

Then you’ve got your Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and a slew of other Internet wastelands.

Social media—the very name is an oxymoron ranking above fantasies like Congressional ethics and Aunt Jemima Light. It’s the most unsociable venue ever created.

I don’t understand the attraction, but more than half of America does (Facebook boasts 170 million American users, and Twitter receives 400 million worldwide visits monthly). The only social benefit I glean from social media is that it teaches people how to ineffectively communicate.

Slapping up pictures of your lunch or using online anonymity to behave like the malignant cousin of a horse’s behind (in 140 characters or less) does not contribute to an enlightened society.

I suppose social media is handy for stalkers, con artists, and narcissists. It’s a blessing for those with tiny attention spans. The latter group encompasses millions, as the information bombardment (largely wrong information) found within the peer-reviewed borders of the social media topography has caused the focusing skills of ardent users to devolve to that of a special-needs gnat.

But social media is a good way to sell stuff. Its addictive quality convinces people they should believe in ridiculous concepts and causes. Therein lies RON MARR the whole point of social

media (and the Internet in general). Its underlying goal is to sell you products you don’t want and convince you to accept doctrine, ideology, and assumptions that belie common sense.

More and more I feel we have traded curiosity, rationality, and creative thought for membership in frightened flocks of compliant cyber sheep.

The collective IQ has declined since the advent of antisocial networks. This is unfortunate, because it wasn’t that high to begin with. The Facebook revolution fostered crass behavior, decay in common courtesy, and inability to engage in critical thinking. It encouraged an increase in hypersensitivity, political correctness, and virtual relationships. It has led to a decrease in decisionmaking skills, self-reliance, and individuality.

After observing our connected Internet village, I’ve come to the conclusion that humans lack the maturity to abstain from abusing technology.

We’ve seen it before. Scientific marvels are inevitably converted into weapons of war. Medical and pharmaceutical breakthroughs are predictably abused in ways their inventors never foresaw. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about nuclear fission, oxycodone, plastic surgery, or texting and

driving. When it comes to technology, we are like animals, chewing through the electrical cord simply because it’s there.

But the Internet and its egregious social media spawn is the first advancement that has become an appendage; it’s with us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. People rely on it for entertainment, for pseudo-contact with people they may or may not know. They rely on it to answer their questions, define their choices, and assuage the fear that they might make a mistake due to lack of information. Risks and leaps of faith are heresy in the information age.

I suspect reliance on social media leads many to feel they are not alone, eliminating the need to engage in introspection. The truth is they are more alone than ever. Our species has forgotten that wisdom arises from missteps and errors, from personal experience, from self-analysis. Sadly, it doesn’t even realize it’s forgotten.

I’d like to say I’m totally removed from social media, but I just received a text message from Jack the Dog pointing out otherwise. He reminded me that I occasionally slap up YouTube videos in an effort to sell homemade stringed instruments that nobody wants. Jack says this is a dangerous temptation, a slippery slope that could lead to throwing a virtual ball or spending all day posting online pictures of his Kibble and Bits.

“Dogs don’t use social media,” explained my sagacious pup, “because we recognize the gaping chasm between truth and delusion. We prefer fun and tangible over vacuous and nominal. We’re graced with impeccable instincts, whereas you’re graced with opposable thumbs.

“Thanks to social media, people no longer trust their gut,” Jack continued. “They only trust what they see on Facebook and Google.”

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New Franklin

KATY TRAIL

Rocheport Boonville Pilot Grove Clifton City Sedalia

Columbia

Huntsdale McBaine Easley

Mo Hartsburg

Tebbetts

N. Jefferson

Green Ridge

Jefferson City

Windsor Calhoun Clinton

TAKE A RIDE ON THE KATY TRAIL

I

t’s the country’s longest and skinniest state park, and it’s in Missouri. At 237 miles long, the Katy Trail stretches from Clinton to Machens and is a belt of culture that captures the vibrancy of the state.

The trail has its beginnings on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad. In the 1980s, landowners fought against the transformation of the railroad into a trail. But both the National Trail Act and donations from Edward “Ted” Jones, an advocate for a Missouri bike trail, prompted the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to lay the foundations of the trail in 1988. Although the project hit a snag in 1993 when Missouri floods poured uncertainty on the development, with the help of Ted and numerous volunteer groups, it has become one of the state’s most popular recreational areas.

At 237 miles, tackling the Katy Trail is no small feat, but it’s easily doable. For cyclists who sit in the saddle for seven hours a day biking at a leisurely pace of ten miles per hour, the journey takes not quite five days of pedaling. But many cyclists break the tail into segments and do a portion at a time.

Even if you aren’t ready to conquer the Katy in its entirety, you can get a great workout while soaking in some of Missouri’s best scenery when you hit any portion of the trail.

Here, Missouri Life presents the highlights and the must-do’s of the Katy Trail.

Clinton to Boonville As you pedal through the prairies and farmland of the western-most section of the trail, you can explore lesser-known towns such as Calhoun.

With its rich earth filled with clay deposits, Calhoun was known worldwide for its pottery, and the town holds an annual pottery festival in September. Nearby Windsor has a large Amish community whose homemade products such as jams and jellies can be found at Dave’s Country Market, 502 S. Main.

Sedalia is famous for the Missouri State Fair, and it’s a great destination to get off the trail and explore for a while. The Katy Depot, located at 600 E. Third Street, was built in 1896 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The restored depot is open April through December and features an excellent Katy Trail store as well as exhibits that highlight Sedalia’s railroad history. Sedalia is also a great place to do a little shopping after your hard work on the trail. You’ll find antique shops, bookstores, sporting goods, and cycle shops. The historic Hotel Bothwell has a ragtime store dedicated to Sedalian Scott Joplin.

As you make your way to Boonville from Sedalia, the landscape changes from smooth

prairie to gentle rolling hills that will take you to the bottoms of the Missouri River.

This is where the Osage Plains transition to the Ozark borderlands, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

When you get to Boonville, sight of the historic MKT Bridge, check out the historic downtown area and the buffet at the Isle of Capri casino. If you are looking for a good night’s rest in Boonville, the Hotel Frederick is a beautifully restored boutique hotel right off the trail.

New Franklin to Jefferson City Cross the river from Boonville and you’re in New Franklin, which happens to be the location that the Katy Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail, and the Boonslick Road meet. A monument on East Broadway marks the spot.

Rocheport is an ideal place to rest along this stretch with antique stores, fine dining, cafes, a winery, bike and canoe rentals, and more. The MKT Train Tunnel is a favorite trail landmark.

Just south of Rocheport is another fun-to-find landmark: a Native American pictograph of a Manitou, or Great Spirit, for which the bluffs in this region were named. At Lewis and Clark Cave, located at mile 174.4, look twenty-five to forty feet left of the cave entrance, and look up

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KATY TRAIL

Machens

Mokane Tebbetts

Bluffton Portland

Rhineland McKittrick Treloar

erson

Defiance St. Charles Matson Weldon Spring Augusta Marthasville

Hermann

Dutzow Washington

about thirty-five or fifty feet. Search for a “V” shape with a dot. Signs at the spot will help you find it.

As you continue on the Katy, you’ll meander along with the Missouri River on much of this portion of the trail. Between the river views and the breathtakingly tall bluffs overhead, you’ll find plenty of photo-ops if you’re a shutterbug.

There’s even more to see down the trail near McBaine. The great Burr Oak tree is a beautiful thing to stop and admire. You’ll find it near mile 170, about one hundred yards south of the trail. Other nature highlights of this area include the 3,635-acre Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, which is an ideal spot to see bald eagles, great blue herons, and turkey vultures.

McBaine is also where Columbia’s MKT Fitness Trail meets the Katy Trail. This spur is a fun 8.9-mile ride into the middle of the city, with stations along the last couple miles for fitness drills that will test your strength.

Continue along the trail into Cooper’s Landing, where you’ll find “Boathenge,” a unique attraction, as well as a marina, campground, food, and more. Cooper’s Landing is also a popular place for festivals and live music throughout the summer.

Onward toward Jefferson City, Hartsburg is a great place to stop during a fall ride in October for the annual Pumpkin Fest. Nearby Claysville features one of the area’s best-kept secrets. Those who know about it travel from near

and far to the Claysville Store on weekends for its fried chicken and homestyle cooking. Call ahead to let them know you’re coming.

Next stop is Jefferson City, a town chockfull of attractions such as the Capitol, bike shops, bed-and-breakfasts, and more. The Amtrak station offers services to several towns along the Katy Trail, including Sedalia, Hermann, and Washington.

Jefferson City to Dutzow As you head to Missouri’s wine country, you’ll pass through farmland, towering bluffs, and quaint little towns that offer simple amenities. If you’re on an overnight trip, the Turner Katy Trail Shelter in Tebbetts offers hostel-style lodging for those on a tight budget.

When you get to Hermann, make it a point to explore this historic German town.

It’s the perfect pit stop for an afternoon of wine tasting, antique shopping, and historic sites. Hermann is also home to popular festivals such as Maifest and Oktoberfest, as well as the Wurstfest in March, a sausage competition and exhibition with lots of samples to try.

In Marthasville, you’ll find the Daniel Boone Monument at the original burial site of Daniel Boone and his wife, along with a few bed and breakfasts and a campground.

Dutzow to St. Charles The trail of Missouri’s Rhineland continues into the bluffs and valleys along the river and

through charming German settlements like Dutzow and Augusta. In Defiance, you can explore Boonesfield Village, which was home to Daniel Boone’s son, Nathan.

As you head east, you will find yourself in Weldon Spring Conservation Area, which features ponds, a lake, and limestone cliffs.

Eight-mile long Lost Valley Trail is a great option for a hike.

The next stretch of trail from Weldon Spring to St. Charles can be tough on tired cyclists: 16.5 miles without services. But once you arrive in St. Charles, there will be plenty of opportunity to recuperate and explore. St. Charles is an exquisitely preserved historic town with lots of amenities, including lodging, restaurants, and shops, not to mention attractions, such as the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center.

From St. Charles to Machens A new addition was added to the trail in 2011 from St. Charles to Machens. In St. Charles, the trail runs through Frontier Park and into DuSable Park, and that’s where the new section of trail begins.

The first town on this stretch of trail is Black Walnut, which has a Katy depot and a parking lot. Then the next three miles go to Machens, which has a depot and a restroom but no parking. The nearest food and services are about two miles away in Portage des Sioux.

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KATY TRAIL

We Offer a Relaxing Atmosphere Ideal for Small Groups 636-482-4856 296 Lower St., Augusta, MO www.lowerstreetinn.com sally@lowerstreetinn.com Private, antiquefilled, spacious home.

Water-garden, patios, balconies, screened porch with picnic table.

Walk to wineries, Augusta Brewery & Katy Trail

Open daily for Lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm Dinner Wednesday - Saturday 5:30 - 8:30 pm Call for reservations today!

301 S 2nd St. Clinton, MO 660-885-2117 | www.HayslerHouse.com | aebarnes58@yahoo.com

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Reeling â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Em In We are Clinton, Missouri; where small town life is still alive and well. We invite you to cruise the shoreline of Truman Lake or pedal your way down the Katy Trail. This Golden Valley in which we live offers a multitude of opportunities to shop, bike, hunt, fish or just relax. We invite you to come share all the things we love: our events, our square, our nature, and our people. We are Clinton, and we are great people, by nature.

For more information on Clinton, Missouri, go to www.clintonmo.com

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KATY TRAIL

Windsor Crossroa d s Motel www.pro-velo.com

C�����’ C�������

Bed and Breakfast

www.crucescabooses.com | 816-229-8389 781 NE 901 Road, Windsor, MO Near Katy Trail in Calhoun

A journey on the Katy Trail?

You can start or finish right here.

Clean & comfortable rooms Bike friendly, microwave, fridge, Dish TV

Like us on Facebook 606 N. Main Street, Windsor, MO | 660-647-2151

“We do what we sell. Ride and Race.”

Self-Guided Supported Cycling Tours INN-TO-INN Lodging - Shuttles Luggage Transfer

Your full-service bike source for family and enthusiasts on the Katy Trail Specializing in bike repair and sales.

310 S. OhiO Avenue, SedAliA 660-826-3322

866-269-9913

www.independenttourist.com

Katy Roundhouse Campground On the Katy Trail at New Franklin Trail Mile Marker #189 -

Historic Katy Railroad Depot RV Park with Pull Thru Sites and Full Hookup Hot Showers/RR Facilities Camping along scenic Katy Trail

www.KatyRoundhouse.com

John & Kim James, Owners | 660-848-2232

Small town friendly, a vibrant slice of Americana.

THE KATY TRAIL RIDE through the Pilot Grove area is one of the most scenic on the trail. Once arriving in town, you will find friendly folks and many services to make your trip memorable. The local park offers camping and rest facilities. Pilot Grove Bed and Breakfast offers rooms for non-campers and is located just a block off the trailhead. Casey’s Convenience Store, Deon’s Bar & Grill and Becky’s Burgers & Cones are stops for food, water and snacks. There are also two ATMs available.

Crestmead, Pleasent Green and Burwood are three plantation homes nearby that are open for tours by appointment. The Cooper County Historical Society maintains a research center near the trail for people looking for their roots in Cooper County and can also arrange a tour of the old jail. www.pilotgrovemo.org LODGING 660-834-4333 | CAMPING 660-834-4300 This advertisment was made possible by Citizens Community Bank Pilot Grove • Blackwater • Boonville Member www.ccb-online.net FDIC

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KATY TRAIL

who rides the Katy Trail.”

Whether you are a bicyclist, walker, equestrian, nature lover or history buff, Sedalia offers a great opportunity for recreation.

Area Attractions:

• The Daum Museum of Contemporary Art • Historic Downtown Sedalia • Missouri State Fair • Public Parks • Heritage Trail Tour

“Violet Chandelier” by Dale Chihuly at the Daum Museum

• Pettis County Historical Museum • Bothwell Lodge Historic Site • Liberty Center • Pettis County Courthouse Murals • Sedalia Municipal Building Murals • Public Art • Hotels & B&Bs • Unique & Family-Owned Restaurants

Bothwell Lodge Historic Site

Murals in the Pettis County Courthouse

Sicher Bridge at Liberty Park Murals in the Sedalia Municipal Building

Explore this amazingly restored architectural, historic and cultural landmark of the Katy Railroad legacy.

Sedalia’s Katy Trail Head

Year-Round Full-Service Trail Head

• Staffed Information Center • Gifts & Souvenirs • Exhibits • Events • Tours • Water Fountains • Restrooms • Secure, Long-term Parking

Mile Marker 227.1

600 E. 3rd St. • Sedalia, MO 660-826-2932 Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

www.katydepotsedalia.com katydepotsedalia@gmail.com

Champion Bicycles

Rental • Sales • Service • Accessories Championbicyclesedalia.com 660-826-7773 [139] April 2013

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KATY TRAIL

Relax, you’re here.

TRAILSIDE CAFÉ AND BIKE SHOP

Manitou Studio

On the Katy Trail for 23 years!

A gallery of fine crafts in clay and fiber.

302 Columbia Street, Rocheport, MO 573-698-4011 ∙ www.preusceramics.com 705 Third Street Rocheport, MO 573-698-2028 www.amberhousebb.com

Quality new and used bikes for sale, bike rentals, by hour or day, certified bike mechanic on duty, and great trail food, refreshments and snacks.

www.trailsidecafebike.com 573-698-2702 • 700 First St., Rocheport, MO

Have you been to

• • • •

Rocheport?

More than 12 shops & galleries Fine dining with friends Stay at world-class Inns Bike and hike the scenic Katy Trail

Yates House Bed & Breakfast Inn Rocheport, Missouri

“One of the best inns we’ve seen. Fantastic breakfast, plush accommodations and Dixie can flat cook! ………This is bed & breakfast hospitality at its best.”

-Southern Living Magazine

. . . only 12 minutes west of Columbia

Complimentary Amenities: Indoor bike parking Wi-fi Laundry service Fresh cookies and 24 hour beverage Full breakfast

I-70, Exit 115 www.Rocheport-MO.com

Mention this ad and receive two free packed bicycle lunches. $20 value.

305 Second St. Rocheport, Missouri 573.698.2129 | YatesHouse.com [140] MissouriLife

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KATY TRAIL

McKittrick Farmers Mercantile

Hartsburg MISSOURI

on the Katy Trail

The Doll House B&B

Jeff & Amanda Schaefer | aschaefer@ktis.net 573-619-9623 | 201 Lewis St. Rhineland, MO www.thedollhousebandb.com

Local foods, restaurant, lodging, dance hall and more!

Made-from-scratch menu featuring local ingredients.

573-486-2000 • TheMerck.com mckittrickmercantile@gmail.com Saturdays until 8:00 pm & Sundays until 2:00 pm

Museum

& unique gift shop at the former German School V I N E YA R D S

AND

On the Trailhead of the Katy Trail Home of the World Famous

Pumpkin Festival

Second weekend in October Nancy Grant 573-657-9581 mrodemeyer@socket.net • hartsburgpumpkinfest.com

Hermann Wurst Haus

WINERY

Located in downtown historic Hermann 46 varieties of award-winning German food & deli Convenient access to the Katy Trail One block from the Amtrak station 234 East First Street, Hermann, MO 573-486-2266 | www.hermannwursthaus.com

www.HistoricHermann.com | 4th & Schiller in Hermann

• More than 300 guest rooms in all price ranges

Vintage Charm

Timeless beauty

Missouri’s Most Beautiful Town Welcomes Katy Trail Travelers

• Voted “Best Small Town Destination” and “Best St. Louis Day Trip” by AAA readers • Voted “Missouri’s Most Beautiful Town” by Rural Missouri Magazine readers • Charming historic district with restaurants, shops, galleries and museums • Wineries and a brewery offer tasting and tours.

• Local route maps and special amenities for bikers

VISITHERMANN.COM | 800-932-8687 | McKittrick Trailhead (Mile 100.8)

• Easy access via Missouri River bridge bike lane

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KATY TRAIL

STONE LEDGE Augusta, MO

Maifest • Third Weekend of May German Music & Dancers • Crafters Parades • Bier Gartens • Brats on the Grill Family Fun...and more!

Stone Ledge Antiques 5,000 sq. ft. jam-packed with antiques, collectables and vintage clothing boutique. Open Wed.-Sun. 5500 Locust Street www.StoneLedgeAntiques.com

Miss Ellie’s Garden Inn Newly renovated historic house with outside fireplace and pergola lounging area.

Lower and Walnut Street www.MissElliesGardenInn.com

The Jefferson Guest House Newly renovated turn of the century house.

Corner of Jefferson & Walnut www.JeffersonGuestHouse.com

Stone Ledge Guest Suite 3 sun-filled rooms located above the historic “uptown” store.

Corner of Locust and Lower St. www.StoneLedgeGuestSuite.com

OPEN YEAR-ROUND IN THE HEART OF AUGUSTA WINE COUNTRY For information or reservations contact: Lisa Carmon 636-233-5347 • Ruth Touhill 314-971-1823

800-932-8687 • VisitHermann.com

-

Experience the difference at the . . .

High Street Victorian

Boonville’s Elegant Bed & Breakfast

. . . A Better Way to Stay

www.HighStreetVictorian.com innkeepers@highstreetvictorian.com 519 High Street, Boonville, MO | 660-882-7107

HannahColeCottage Let us be your home away from home.

Convenient access to the Katy Trail!

1209 E. Morgan St., Boonville 660-846-3061 • www.hannahcolecottage.com [142] MissouriLife

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Chamber Discoveries Discover & Explore

Sao Paulo & Rio de Janeiro

With the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry Missouri Step=Up Program

Departing St. Louis June 29 - July 7, 2013

MO STEP=UP program sponsored by the Missouri Dept. of Economic Development (DED) provides Missouri businesses with the incentives and assistance to develop and/or expand international exporting.

Trip Highlights • Round-trip scheduled airfare from St. Louis • Airport to Hotel transfers • Personal airport VIP greeting and check-in service • Pre-departure literature and travel documents • 3-nights in Sao Paulo with daily breakfast & 1 dinner • Flight from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro • 4-nights in Rio de Janeiro with daily breakfast & 1 dinner • City tours of Sao Paulo & Rio de Janeiro • Luxury Hotel Accommodations

International business and exporting assistance can be received for companies 1-500 employees. (Qualified businesses can be reimbursed for up to 60% of the cost of the trip.)

Businesses must apply and be preapproved prior to the trip Visit www.ded.mo.gov/mostep for more information on the MO STEP=UP program.

Only $2,975 per person

(If deposited by March 15, 2013. After March 15, price is $3,175)

For more information, please contact Brian Crouse at bcrouse@mochamber.com or 573-634-3511.

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ALL AROUND

Missouri A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 3

featured event >

CENTRAL

CHUCKWAGON WILD WEST SHOW

April 6, 13, 14, and May 4, Hallsville > Cowboy action shootout, hayride, Dutch-oven cooking demonstrations, and chuckwagon dinner. Victorian Country Inn. Buckaroo Show (preteen) 3-4:30 PM, adult show 7-9 PM. $12.50-$45.

573-819-2000, www.victoriancountryinn.com

LET THEM EAT ART! April 5, Columbia > Local chefs create tapas-style dishes to complement the “Eat Me!” art show. Columbia Art League. 6-9 PM. $25. 573-443-8838, www.columbiaartleague.org

BIG MUDDY FOLK FESTIVAL April 5-6, Boonville > Folk festival focusing on traditional, ethnic, and folk music with exhibits, workshops, vendors, jam sessions, contra dance, and classes. Thespian Hall. 7 PM Fri.; 9 AM-7 PM Sat. $22-$39. 888-588-1477, www. friendsofhistoricboonville.org

BLOOM! SPRING CELEBRATION April 13-14, Kingsville > Celebrate the splendor of the flowering trees. Powell Gardens. 9 AM-5 PM. $4-$10. 816-697-2600, www.powellgardens.org

FAMILIAR CONTEMPORARIES April 14, Lake Ozark > Symphony performance featuring music from Disney, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, and Carmen. Osage High School. 3 PM. $10.

573-365-1605, www.symphonyofthelake.com

MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL TOUR April 18, Columbia > Fifty-fifth anniversary tour celebrating the giants of jazz. Missouri Theatre. 7 PM. $19-$35. 573-449-3009, www.wealwaysswing.org

MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHY April 19, Sedalia > Special guest Sons of the Pioneers and both a pie and silent auction. Heckart Performing Arts Center. 6 PM. $30-$35 (50 meetand-greet tickets available for $10 extra). 660-8267080, www.thetrailsend.org

NEW WORKS DANCE CONCERT COURTESY BARB SPENCER

April 19-21, Columbia > Student choreography performed by members of the Stephens Dance Company. Warehouse Theatre. 7:30 PM Fri.-Sat.; 2 PM Sun. $6-$8. 573-876-7199, www.stephens.edu

These listings are chosen by our editors and are not paid for by sponsors.

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Moon over Buffalo April 19-21 and 25-28, Jefferson City > Comedy dinner theater. Shikles Auditorium. Doors at 6 pm Thurs.-Sat.; noon Sun. $30. 573-681-9012, www. capitalcityplayers.com

Celebrate earth Day April 20-21, Knob Noster > Litter Scavenger Hunt, Trail Trekkin’, nature programs, and Dutch-oven cooking demonstrations. Knob Noster State Park. 9 am-1 pm. Free. 660-563-2463, www.mostateparks. com/park/knob-noster-state-park

legally Blonde: The Musical April 26-28 and May 1-3, Columbia > Tony Awardnominated Broadway musical. Macklanburg Playhouse. 7:30 pm Wed.-Sat.; 2 pm Sun. $8-$16. 573876-7199, www.stephens.edu

art in the Park April 27, Warsaw > Fine arts program featuring live musical performances and local artists’ works. Plus, children’s nature-related craft projects. Harry S. Truman State Park. 9:30 am3 pm. Free. 660-438-7711, www.mostateparks. com/park/harry-s-truman-state-park

performance. Jesse Auditorium. 7 pm. $12-$29.

573-882-3781, www.concertseries.org

Miller Performing Arts Center. 7 pm. Free. 573681-9371, www.thejcca.org

CaPital City Corvette ClassiC

Photo sCavenger hunt

May 3-4, Jefferson City > Unique Corvette car show on the Capitol grounds and a cruise-in.

Missouri State Capitol and downtown. Noon-4 pm show; 5-7 pm cruise-in. Free. 573-632-2820, www.capitalcitycorvetteclassic.wordpress.com

May 24-26, Knob Noster > Pick up a list of things to photograph on Friday morning, then explore the park and photograph the items on the list. Winners will be drawn on Sunday. Knob Noster State Park. 9 am-3 pm. Free.

660-563-2463, www.mostateparks.com/park/ knob-noster-state-park

MagiC Dragon street Meet May 3-5, Lake Ozark > Unique show for all makes, models, and years of cars, trucks, and motorcycles; live music; vendors; drawings; and a car giveaway. Historic Bagnell Dam Strip. Noon10 pm Fri.; 8 am-10 pm Sat.; 8 am-1 pm Sun. Free.

573-964-1008, www.magicdragoncarshow.com

The Making of a king May 3-4, 10-12, and 17-18, Waynesville > Performance of Arthur’s Stone, Merlin’s Fire: The Making of a King, an imaginative retelling of the legend of King Arthur. Theater On The Square.

7 pm (2 pm Sun.). $5-$10. 573-855-6625, www. pfaa-tots.webs.com

399th arMy banD roMeo and JulieT April 30, Columbia > Moscow Festival Ballet

May 17, Jefferson City > Performance by the 399th Army Band of Fort Leonard Wood.

the PeoPle Pow wow May 25-26, Columbia > American Indian dancing, traditional crafts, Feast of Fry Bread, and camping available. Boone County Fairgrounds Covered Pavilion. Noon-10 pm Sat.; noon-5 pm Sun. $1-$3 ($10-$20 camping). 816-679-0695, www.msptv.org/powwow.htm

herb Days in May May 25-26, Osceola > Artisan handmade bath and body products; heirloom flowers, herbs, trees, and shrubs; stone carving, pottery, and woodworking demonstrations; Foot Stomping Bear Creek Folk Band performance; metal garden photo; and fiber art. Evening Shade Farms. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 417-282-6985, www. eveningshadefarms.com

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SOUTHWEST SPRING AG AND URBAN FEST

RHYTHM AND RITUAL

April 5-7, Springfield > Celebrate urban and rural lifestyles with displays showcasing livestock and agricultural, hunting, and fishing equipment. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. 9 AM-5 PM. Call for admission costs. 417-833-2660, www.ozarkempirefair.com

April 25-28, Springfield > Spring dance concert.

Craig Hall at Missouri State University. 7:30 PM Thurs.-Sat.; 2:30 PM Sun. $8-$14. 417-836-4400, www.theatreanddance.missouristate.edu

CHERRY BLOSSOM KITE FESTIVAL

April 26, Carthage > Self-guided tour of galleries, meet the artists, live music, refreshments, and children’s art activities. Historic Downtown. 6-9 PM. Free. 417-359-8181, www.carthageartwalk.org

April 6, Springfield > Celebrate the opening of the Japanese Stroll Garden by flying your kite or building one. Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Garden. 10 AM-4 PM. Free (fee to purchase kite).

417-891-1515, www.parkboard.org

CHRIS BRUBECK’S TRIPLE PLAY COURTESY MEADOWS IMAGES

your landscape for help in creating your own naturescape. Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center. 9 AM-noon. Free. 417-782-6287, www. wildcatglades.audubon.org

April 9, Springfield > Chris Brubeck, Peter Madcat Ruth, and Joel Brown perform jazz, folk, blues, and classics. Juanita K. Hammons Hall. 7:30 PM. $18.

417-836-7678, www.hammonshall.com

NATURESCAPING WORKSHOP April 20, Joplin > Learn how to install a rain garden and how to include native plantings in your landscape to benefit wildlife. Bring photos or maps of

DOWNTOWN ART WALK

BATTLE OF HARTVILLE April 27-28, Hartville > Encampments, reenactment of the Battle of Hartville, period ball, sutlers, and period music. Steele Mansion property and downtown. 9 AM-8:30 PM Sat.; 9 AM-3 PM Sun. Free.

417-300-4068, www.hartvilleareacc.com

ART AT THE MILL CRAFT FAIR April 27-28, Tecumseh > Handmade crafts, Plein Air demonstrations, chainsaw artist, and children’s activities. Dawt Mill. 10 AM-5 PM Sat.; 10 AM-3 PM Sun. Free. 888-884-3298, www.dawtmill.com

rawr!

PLUMB NELLIE DAYS

May 16-18, Branson > More than 130 artisans and crafters, a sidewalk sale, a street dance, a food court, and entertainment.

Downtown. 9 AM-6 PM Thurs.-Fri. (dance 6:30-9:30 PM Fri.); 9 AM-4 PM Sat. Free.

866-523-1190, www.downtownbranson.org

Mentio n Missour i L ife and rec eive a f ree bottle o f wine.

Marr’s Guitars Specializing in easy-play instruments for back-porch pickers and strummers Custom Design and Commissions www.marrsguitars.com 660-679-9990 [147] April 2013

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WOODRUFF’S DREAM April 28-Aug. 31, Springfield > Route 66 exhibit. The History Museum on the Square.

10:30 AM-4:30 PM Tues.-Sat. $3-$5. 417-8641976, www.springfieldhistorymuseum.org

DOGWOOD CAR AND TRUCK FEST May 4, Cassville > Display of more than one hundred vehicles. Main Street. 10:30 AM-3 PM. Free ($20 per car). 417-847-2814, www.cassville.com

ARTSFEST ON WALNUT STREET May 4-5, Springfield > Visual and performing arts festival featuring more than 140 artists, five performance stages, and a children’s area. Historic Walnut Street. 10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. $5. 417-862-2787, www.springfieldartsfest.org

May 4, 11, 18, and 25, Republic > Old-time music concerts with a variety of performers. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. 7 PM. Free. 417-7326596, ext. 224, www.nps.gov/wicr

sprung!

SPRING FEVER FESTIVAL

April 27-28, Fair Grove > Horse-drawn machinery demonstrations, antique tractor pulls, Dutch-oven cooking classes, handmade crafts, swap meet, pony rides, petting zoo, and down-home food.

Swap Meet Grounds. 8 AM-5 PM. $5 per car parking fee. 417-343-0183, www.fairgrovemo.org

SAFETY PALOOZA May 5, Nixa > Bicycle safety course, helmet fittings, safety tips for kids and parents, and bike giveaways. OTC Richwood Valley Campus. 9 AM1 PM. Free. 417-880-0860, www.ccoptimist.org

COURTESY FRANKLIN HODGES

ARTS IN THE PARKS CONCERTS

www.kmos.org

KMOS-TV is proud to continue our 33 year tradition of serving your community with high-quality programs for all ages.

As a non-commercial, member-supported television station, we depend on contributions from individuals, families and businesses to offset the costs of producing local programs like KMOS Live, Central Missouri Tomorrow, and Show-Me Ag. Please join us in supporting local programs on KMOS-TV, and receive our monthly program guide.* *Contact is delivered to you for an annual contribution of $50 or more. You will also receive a MemberCard to provide you with discounts for dining, entertainment, golf and more!

Visit kmos.org or call 800-573-3436.

KMOS-TV broadcasts in HD on channel 6.1 and includes lifestyle and how-to programs on 6.2 with international news and mysteries on 6.3.

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Beth Watson

Where the River Starts!

Experience abundant natural resources and warm hospitality when you visit us for trout fishing, camping, historic sites, Montauk Park, and floating on the rivers.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more to do here.

Naturally.

573-729-6900 | www.salemmo.com | facebook.com/salemareachamber

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RIVER RAT DAYS

STREET ROD NATIONALS

May 11, Stockton > Seven bands play gospel, bluegrass, classic rock, and heavy metal; arts and crafts; face painting; nickels in the haystack; and a Native-American encampment. Caplinger Mills River Front Resort. 11 AM-11 PM. Free. 417-2765409, www.caplingermills.net

May 24-26, Springfield > More than 2,200 street rods on display, games, arts, crafts, and an automobile swap meet. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. 8 AM5 PM Fri.-Sat.; 8:30 AM-2 PM Sun. $5-$14. 417-8332660, www.nsra-usa.com

TASTE OF THE LAKE

NORTHEAST ST. LOUIS

May 11, Kimberling City > Sample the culinary delights of area restaurants and take a champagne cruise on a luxury houseboat. Port of Kimberling Marina. 5 PM. $50. 417-739-2564, www.visittablerocklake.org

SPRING ART SHOW May 11-June 22, Springfield > Juried art show featuring a variety of mediums. Purchase artwork and meet the artists and judges at the awards reception. Juanita K. Hammons Hall. Call for hours. Reception May 17 from 6:30-7:30 PM. Free. 417-862-2787, www.visartalliance.com

FIBER FAIR May 18, Marshfield > Fiber animals, artists, vendors, and teachers come together for an educational day. Webster County Fairgrounds. 10 AM4 PM. Free. 417-859-7480, www.hfafiberfair.com

PETER PAN April 2-3, St. Louis > Enjoy a classic! Cathy Rigby stars as Peter Pan in this family-friendly show filled with spectacle and fantasy. Peabody Opera House. 7:30 PM. $22-$92. 800-745-3000, www.peabodyoperahouse.com

MISSOURI TARTAN DAY April 5-7, St. Charles > Scottish-American event featuring music, dance, athletics, storytelling, pipers, and traditional Scottish food. Frontier Park.

5-10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. Free.

800-366-2427, www.motartanday.com

YOUTH BASKETBALL CLASSIC April 6-7, Troy > Youth in grades five through twelve participate in the five-on-five indoor basketball

tournament. Lincoln County R-III School District campuses. 8 AM-9 PM Sat.; 8 AM-6 PM Sun. $3-$5 for spectators. 636-462-8769, www.mayb.com

BUSINESS EXPO April 13, Palmyra > Businesses showcase goods and services and prize drawings. The Sesquicentennial Building at Flower City Park. 10 AM-2 PM. Free.

573-769-0777, www.showmepalmyra.com

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! April 16-May 23, St. Louis > All-media juried exhibit featuring artwork about food and beverages.

Art Saint Louis North Gallery. 10 AM-4 PM Sun.Mon.; 10 AM-5 PM Tues.-Fri. Free. 314-241-4810, www.artstlouis.org

ST. LOUIS JAZZ FESTIVAL April 19-20, St. Louis > Monterey Jazz Festival on Fri. and Doc Severinsen and His Big Band on Sat. Both shows open with a performance by the UMSL Jazz Ensemble. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center.

7:30 PM. $35-$75. 314-516-4949, www.touhill.org

BUG BONANZA April 20, Chesterfield > Celebrate Earth Day with a bug hunt, bug-related activities, and a puppet show.

Faust Park. 9:50 AM (advanced reservations). $2-$8.

314-615-7373, www.stlouisco.com

g Experiences and more! ~ 120+ Dinin 50 0 + S tores from Antique to Boutique to Unique ~ Relaxing Spas

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Get a FREE New Brochure Delivered to You. Contact us at 1-877-748-5300 or chambernm@yahoo.com www.new-madrid.mo.us

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EARTH DAY FESTIVAL April 21, St. Louis > Live music, local food for sale, vendors, and hands-on activities for the whole family. Muny Grounds at Forest Park. 11 AM-6 PM. Free.

314-616-7354, www.stlouisearthday.org

COURTESY CITY OF CHESTERFIELD

COCACABANA: COCA AFTER DARK

sampling of more than one hundred wines, hors d’oeuvres, and music. Missouri Botanical Garden.

5:30-8:30 PM. $15-$45 (reservations and ages 21 and older). 314-577-5141, www.mobot.org/grapes

MICROFEST BEER FESTIVAL

April 26, St. Louis > Fundraiser with cocktails, dinner, live and silent auctions, artistic performances, dancing, and special guest Bill Bush from Access Hollywood. COCA. 6:30 PM. $200-$1,000. 314-725-6555, www.cocastl.org

May 3-4, St. Louis > Featuring beers from dozens of craft and international breweries, live music, homebrew competition, and Brewers’ Olympics. Upper Muny parking lot at Forest Park. 7-10 PM Fri.; noon4 PM and 6-10 PM Sat. $30-$54 (ages 21 and older).

314-588-0007, www.stlmicrofest.org

SPRING ARTWALK

DERBY DAY CAROUSEL PARTY

April 26-28, St. Charles > More than forty painters, sculptors, potters, jewelers, and fiber artists; music; and wine sampling. North Main Street. 5-8 PM Fri.; 11 AM-8 PM Sat.; noon-5 PM Sun. Free. 800-3662427, www.saintcharlesriverfrontarts.com

May 4, St. Louis > Entertainment, food, race, raffles, and carousel rides. Faust Park. 11:30 AM-2 PM. Free (rides $1). 314-615-7373, www.stlouisco.com

DIVA DAY April 27, Clarksville > Prize drawings, a Diva shopping bag (for the first one hundred registrants), and meet the artists and merchants at a chocolate and martini party. Throughout town. 10 AM-5 PM. Free.

314-315-6736, www.clarksville-mo.com

GRAPES AND THE GARDEN May 3, St. Louis > Souvenir wine glass, wine

FINE PRINT, RARE BOOKS, ART May 4-5, St. Louis > Artist demonstrations and lectures. J.C. Penney Building at UMSL North Campus.

10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. $2-$7. 314-5166740, www.umsl.edu

ART FAIR AT LAUMEIER May 10-12, St. Louis > Fine art and crafts featuring national artists. Laumeier Sculpture Park. 6-10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-8 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. $5-$10.

314-821-1209, www.laumeiersculpturepark.org

recycled art!

EARTH DAY

April 27, Chesterfield > Variety of stage performances, vendors selling upcycled and recycled arts and crafts, information on sustainability, kids’ recycled art project area, and free trees. Central Park Amphitheater. 9 AM-2 PM. Free. 636-537-4000, www.chesterfield.mo.us

MASTERPIECE CLASSIC Meet Harry Gordon Selfridge, a wheeling-dealing American who shows early 1900s Londoners how to shop. Jeremy Piven stars.

Sundays at 8 p.m.

KMOS-TV broadcasts in HD on channel 6.1 with how-to programs on 6.2 and international programs on 6.3.

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LOAFERS CLUB CAR SHOW May 11, Hannibal > More than three hundred historic and special-interest vehicles on display. Historic Downtown. 9 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-248-1262, www.visithannibal.com

REO SPEEDWAGON AND STYX May 18, Maryland Heights > Classic rock concert featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx, Ted Nugent, and Mama’s Pride. Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. 6 PM. $19-$129. 314-298-9944, www.livenation.com

May 18-19, St. Charles > Reenactment of Lewis and Clark’s discovery of St. Charles with grand parade, military encampment, candlelight camp tour, fire-starting demonstration, fife and drum corps muster, musket and cannon demonstrations, skillet throw, and period music. Frontier Park. 9 AM-8 PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 800-366-2427, www.lewisandclarkheritagedays.com

arts and crafts!

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

SPRING ART FAIR

April 5-7, Ballwin > Fine arts and crafts festival with more than 130 artists from across the country, music, wine tastings, children’s activities, and art raffles. Greensfelder Recreation Center at Queeny Park. 6-9 PM Fri.; 10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 11 AM-4 PM Sun. $5. 314-997-1181, www.artfairatqueenypark.com

Trout Streams of the Heart Chad Hanson Contemporary Nonfiction Forging a bond with rugged places and wild creatures, casting to brook trout, or reflecting on the forces that compel people to fly-fish, Chad Hanson proves himself a formidable $16.95 pb 152 pp. guide. In prose that is wise and observant, he brings us stories of travel, adventure, and concern for the state of the environment.

Any book, Any Time 15% off & free SHipping

tsup.truman.edu

May 18-June 9, Wentzville > Travel back in time to the sixteenth century with jousting knights, period skill demonstrations, comedy, music, and costumed villagers, nobles, and peasants. Rotary Park. 10 AM-6 PM Saturdays, Sundays, and Memorial Day. $8.95$49.95. 636-928-4141, www.renstl.org

COURTESY GREATER ST. LOUIS ART ASSOCIATION

LEWIS AND CLARK HERITAGE DAYS

the new r o f us of the n i o J ning ope ! eum s u dm e an t i s c ion i miss nd istor d h A d ze Free il 27th a th. ogni c e r Apr May 4 ally n o i t t na pel s firs Cha ’ e e t i n h sto the W .m.

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tsup.truman.edu (660) 785-7336 100 East Normal Avenue, Kirksville, MO 63501

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GREEK FEST May 24-27, St. Louis > Authentic Greek food and pastries, traditional music and folk dancing, Agora Marketplace, church tours, and children’s corner.

Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. 11 AM-9 PM Fri.-Sun.; 11 AM-8 PM Mon. Free. 314-966-2255, www.stlouisgreekfest.com

STAR GAZERS PARTY May 25, St. Louis > St. Louis Astronomical Society supplies telescopes, and food trucks on site. Sioux Passage Park at the Black Buffalo Shelter. 8:3010:30 PM. $5. 314-615-8841, www.stlouisco.com

COURTESY LORI MATTLER, IMAGES BY LORI

GYPSY CARAVAN May 27, St. Louis > More than four hundred antique, crafts, and flea market vendors come from twenty states and sell something for everyone: antiques, collectibles, crafts, jewelry, furniture, clothing, imports, and yard art. University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. 9 AM-5 PM. $10 (7-9 AM early bird $20). 314-727-5850, www. stlsymphony.org

THE WIZ May 29-June 29, St. Louis > Performance of the Tony Award-winning musical. Grandel Theatre.

7 PM Thurs.; 8 PM Fri. and Sat.; 2 PM Sun. $29-$47.

314-534-3810, www.theblackrep.org

outdoor village!

PARTY ON THE PLAZA

April 18 and May 16, Maryland Heights > DJ, live bands, and food and drink specials in the outdoor village. Westport Plaza. 5-9 PM. Free (except food and drink). 314-576-7100, www.westportstl.com

Events Women’s Night Out

Apr. 2

Switchfoot in Concert

Apr. 6

Cocktails with Larry Miller

Apr.19

Downtown Days Art & Music Festival Route 66 Summerfest

May 17-18 May 31-June 1

For more information on events visit

www.VisitRolla.com

Where Luxury, Relaxation, and History meet . . .

Hot Springs, AR | 501-318-1958 | www. SpringStreetInn.net

Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce • 1311 Kingshighway Rolla, MO 65401 • 573-364-3577 or 888-809-3817

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ART WALK

NORTHWEST KANSAS CITY

April 19 and May 17, Independence > See artists at work, listen to live music, and enjoy refreshments.

Englewood Station. 5-9 PM. Free. 816-252-3372, www.englewoodstation.com

WRITING WITH A FEATHER

SPRING ON THE FARM

April 6, Independence > Write with a feather, make a tin punch project, and create a folk art painting. National Frontier Trails Museum. 10 AMnoon. $10 (advanced reservations). 816-325-7575, www.frontiertrailsmuseum.org

April 20, Lawson > 1870s sheep shearing, livestock display, heirloom garden, wood stove cooking, and tours of the mill. Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site. Noon-5 PM. Free (except tours). 816-580-3387, www.mostateparks.com/park/watkins-woolenmill-state-historic-site

OLD WEST REVOLVER SHOOT April 6, Kearney > Test your skills with a cap and ball or frontier cartridge revolver. Jesse James Farm and Museum. 8 am-noon. Free ($15 to enter contest). 816-736-8502, www.jessejames.org

JUKEBOX JUNCTION April 12, St. Joseph > Glenn Miller and the Diamonds perform. Missouri Theater. 7:30 PM. $13.50$40. 816-232-1778, www.rrtstjoe.org

SECOND FRIDAYS April 12 and May 10, Excelsior Springs > Live music, pastel and oil art by Barry Teghtmeyer, and wine tasting. Willow Spring Mercantile. 5-8:30 PM. Free. 816-630-7467, www.shopthemercantile.com

EARTH DAY EVENT April 21, Trenton > Make recycled nature crafts, plant seeds, and take a guided hike. Crowder State Park. 2-4 PM. Free. 660-359-6473, www. mostateparks.com/park/crowder-state-park

GATSBY DAYS April 26-28, Excelsior Springs > The Roaring Twenties come alive with a vaudeville show, poetry reading, Best of Missouri Hands art show, and parade. Throughout town. Times and cost vary. 816-630-6801, www.gatsbydays.com

FOURTH FRIDAY April 26 and May 24, Lee’s Summit > Art, mu-

sic, and theater events. Downtown. 5-9 PM. Free.

816-246-6598, www.downtownls.org

CHALK WALK April 27-28, Kansas City > Featuring all styles of works from local and regional pastel artists, anamorphic artwork, live music, KC Kite Club, and children’s activities. Concourse at Kessler Park. 9 AM5 PM. Free. 816-483-6964, www.chalkwalk.org

DOLLS FROM OUR SISTER CITY May 1-31, Independence > Exhibit of Japanese dolls. Bingham-Waggoner Estate. 10 AM-4 PM Mon.-Sat.; 1-4 PM Sun. $3-$6. 816-461-3491, www. bwestate.org

APPLE BLOSSOM BBQ CONTEST May 3-4, St. Joseph > Grand parade, Kansas City Barbecue Society contest, and live music. Civic Center Park and downtown. 6-11 PM Fri.; 10 AM-3 PM Sat. Free (fee for sampling). 816-233-6688, www.appleblossombbq.com

BROOKSIDE ART ANNUAL May 3-5, Kansas City > Featuring 185 local, regional, and national artists, children’s activity tent, and music with a DJ. Brookside Shopping District.

5-9 PM Fri.; 10 AM-9 PM Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. Free.

816-523-5553, www.brooksidekc.org

IT’S TIME TO GET OUT AND PLAY IN

Centrally located just 30 miles North of Columbia at the Junction of Highways 63 & 24

2305 E. Malone Sikeston, MO 573-471-4261 10:30 am to 9 pm or so Also in Ozark, MO and Foley, AL

HANDCRAFTED

Natural & Organic Body Care

Take in a springtime round of golf at one of our two 18-hole courses.

Ride the Magic City Line mini-train in beautiful Rothwell Park. The 2013 season starts Mid-April.

Wrap up the Moberly Area Council on the Arts season with two great shows!

Blueprint Jazz Quintet

Saturday, April 13th, 7pm MACC Auditorium

The Legend of Johnny Cash

Saturday, May 4th, 7pm Moberly Municipal Auditorium

Mark your calendars for the family fun event of the year! The annual Railroad Days event is June 5th-8th. We’ll have games, shows, special events, and a carnival midway!

417.282.6985 Osceola, MO

See what,s happening in Moberly at:

www.MoberlyChamber.com

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MISSOURI LIFE FESTIVAL May 4, Kansas City > Join the staff of Missouri Life for a festival of art, food, and wine. The NelsonAtkins Museum of Art. 11 AM-7 PM. Early bird tickets $20. 800-492-2593, www.missourilife.com

SPRING WEDDING CONCERT May 4, St. Joseph > Symphony and choir concert.

Cathedral of St. Joseph. 7:30 PM. $10-$23. 816-2337701, www.saintjosephsymphony.org

MAYFEST May 10-11, Oak Grove > Carnival, food stands, crafts, karaoke, and children’s activities. Frick Park Arena. 4-10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat. Free. 816-6904147, www.oakgrovechamber.biz

COURTESY JEREMIAH DUMMER

SPRING CELEBRATION May 11, Lee’s Summit > Live music, food vendors, children’s activities, and farmers’ market.

Downtown. 7 AM-noon. Free. 816-246-6598, www.downtownls.org

BOB JAMES FESTIVAL May 17-18, Marshall > Bob James joins the D.J. Sweeney Quartet to perform classic hits. Harold Lickey Auditorium at Bueker Middle School.

7 PM Fri.; 6:30 PM Sat. $35. 660-815-0258, www.marshallculturalcouncil.org

stunning!

EARLY AMERICAN SILVER

April 20-Nov. 3, Kansas City > Works from the collection of Paul and Elissa Cahn explore the techniques, forms, and politics of colonial American silver. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. 10 AM-4 PM Wed.; 10 AM9 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 10 AM-5 PM Sat.; noon-5 PM Sun. Free. 816-751-1278, www.nelson-atkins.org

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CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE May 18, Kansas City >Jaguar, Austin Healey, and MGA owners from around the region display their cars. Crown Center Square. 9 AM-3:30 PM. Free.

816-274-8444, www.crowncenter.com

MO-KAN MODEL ENGINE SHOW

DOGWOOD-AZALEA FESTIVAL

SOUTHEAST MOUNTAIN MAN SPRINGDEZVOUS

May 19-20, Lathrop > Displays of gas-and-steamengine models, castings, and swap meet. Antique Showgrounds. 7 AM-4 PM. $2 entry good for both days. 816-528-3511, www.mokanengines.com

April 5-7, West Plains > Demonstrations, competitions, primitive archery, fire starting, hawk and knife throw, and black powder shooting. Twin Bridges. All day. Free for spectators. 417-2567507, www.twinbridgescanoe.com

WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL

JEFF CORWIN: 100 HEARTBEATS

May 25, Sibley > Reenactors interpret events surrounding the War of 1812. Fort Osage National Historic Landmark. 9 AM-4:30 PM. $3-$7. 816-5034860, www.jacksongov.org/fortosage/

April 10, Cape Girardeau > Animal Planet host and conservationist speaks on endangered species and ecosystems. Corwin has been working for the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems around the world for nearly three decades. The Show Me Center. 7:30 PM. $10. 573651-2297, www.showmecenter.biz

EVENING SWALES WALK May 30, Independence > Take a wagon ride, explore 1830s swales, and tour gallery. National Frontier Trails Museum. 6:30 PM. $12-$15 (reservations).

816-325-7575, www.frontiertrailsmuseum.org

SPAMALOT May 31-June 6, Kansas City > Outrageous musical comedy based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Starlight Theatre. 8 PM. $10-$85. 816-363-7827, www.kcstarlight.com

GROWING GREEN! April 13, Rolla > Family education fair features presentations, demonstrations, exhibits, displays, and hands-on activities covering a wide variety of environmental gardening. Plus free seedlings. Ministry Center of the First Baptist Church. 10 AM-3 PM. Free. 573-458-6260, www.phelpscountygardeners.com

April 18-21, Charleston > Tour the six-mile Dogwood-Azalea Trail, home tours, arts and crafts bazaars, ice cream social, fish fry, piano concerts, plant sale, carnival rides, carriage rides, and a living frontier-days exhibit. Throughout town. 10 AM-7 PM Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat.; 11 AM-4 PM Sun. Free (except special events). 573-683-6509, www.charlestonmo.net

COCKTAILS WITH LARRY MILLER April 19, Rolla > One-man show by comedian Larry Miller. Leach Theatre. 7:30 PM. $10-$35.

573-341-4219, leachtheatre.mst.edu

PHOTO TOUR OF THE CAVE April 20 and May 4 and 18, Leasburg > Amateur photographers join park staff for a tour of the cave with extra time for photographs. Onondaga Cave State Park. 10:30 AM-1:30 PM (reservations). $7-$12. 573-245-6576, www.mostateparks.com/ park/onondaga-cave-state-park

KELLY MILLER CIRCUS April 23, New Madrid > Big-tent circus with elephants, tigers, clowns, jugglers, aerial ballet performances, and acrobats. Hunter-Dawson Park. 4:30 and 7:30 PM. $15-$6. 877-748-5300, www.kellymillercircus.com

a e l a z A d o o Dogw ival Fe s t 45th Annual

13 April 18-21, 20

• Turn-of-the-Century Homes • Historic Mississippi Riverfront Business District • Restaurants, Winery & Lodging • Antiques & Artists • Located in the heart of the Scenic Byway between Hannibal & St. Louis - Route 79

www.louisiana-mo.com • 888.642.3800 photo courtesy of ASL Pewter

Our dogwoods and azaleas are the stars of the festival!

For more information, call Charleston Chamber of Commerce at 573-683-6509 or visit www.charlestonmo.org/festival

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SWAN LAKE April 26, Cape Girardeau > Classic performance by the Russian National Ballet Theatre. Bedell Performance Hall at River Campus. 7:30 PM. $34-$40.

573-651-2265, www.rivercampusevents.com

FOURTH FRIDAY ART WALK April 26 and May 24, Ste. Genevieve > Display by local and regional artists. Throughout town.

6-9 PM. Free. 800-373-7007, www.artstegen.org

WILDTHINGS PICTURE FRAMES April 28, Winona > Create a stick picture frame to take home. Twin Pines Conservation Education Center. 1-4 PM (Reservations are required). Free.

573-325-1381, www.mdc.mo.gov/regions/ozark/ twin-pines-conservation-education-center

May 3-26, Poplar Bluff > Exhibit by St. Louis artist Lenard Hinds. Margaret Harwell Art Museum.

Noon-4 PM Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 PM Sat.-Sun. Free.

573-686-8002, www.mham.org

downtown!

PERCUSSION POPS

PERRYVILLE MAYFEST

May 10-11, Perryville > Carnival rides, craft fair, car show, and live music. Downtown Square. 6 PMmidnight Fri.; 9 AM-midnight Sat. Free. 573-547-6062, www.perryvillemo.com

May 4, Cape Girardeau > The Percussion Ensemble presents this family concert. Bedell Performance Hall at River Campus. 10:30 AM. Free.

573-651-2265, www.rivercampusevents.com

COURTESY PERRYVILLE CHAMBER

PAINTINGS BY LENARD HINDS

Duck into Kennett

W H E R E T H E L I V I N G www.kennettmo.com A Growing Destination for Waterfowl Enthusiasts

I S E A S Y

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Hummingbird banding May 4, Leasburg > Join researcher Lanny Chambers as he captures, bands, and studies Missouri’s smallest flying machine, the ruby-throated hummingbird. Onondaga Cave State Park. 11 am-3 pm.

Free. 573-245-6576, www.mostateparks.com/ park/onondaga-cave-state-park

Sip and Savor May 4, St. James > Samples from more than fifteen wineries and breweries, plus live entertainment. Throughout town. 2-11 pm. $25. 573-2656649, www.stjameschamber.net

Civil War EnCampmEnt May 4-5, Ste. Genevieve > Celebrate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War with reenactors, a Civil War encampment, drilling and firing demonstrations, and a fashion show. Moses Austin Grounds.

10 am-4 pm Fri.; 9 am-4 pm Sat. 9 am-3 pm Sun. Free.

573-883-9397, www.suvcw326.org

Spring FEvEr dayS FEStival May 10-11, Ellington > Children’s rides and games; Spring Smokin’ BBQ competition; a car, boat, and tractor show; a parade; crafts; and a bluegrass band concert. Main Street. 5-10 pm Fri.; 7 am-9 pm Sat. Free. 573-663-7997, www.ellingtonmo.com

Kansas City

Fort d mEmorial day

doWntoWn dayS May 17, Rolla > Art walks, wine tastings, music, poetry readings, and sales. Downtown.

4-7 pm Fri.; 10 am-4 pm Sat. 888-809-3817, www.visitrolla.com

big Cat QuESt May 18, New Madrid > Teams fish the Mississippi River for the biggest catfish, crafts, youth fishing, rodeo, music, and games. Main Street. 9 am4 pm. Free ($200 fishing tournament fee).

877-748-5300, www.bigcatquest.com

gardEn Walk May 18-19, Ste. Genevieve > Tour public and private gardens, birdhouse contest, and farmers’ market (on Sat. only). Historic Downtown. 10 am-4 pm Sat.; 11 am-4 pm Sun. $7 (groups of 5 or more $6 per person). 800-373-7007, www.visitstegen.com

old timErS’ dayS May 25-26, Perryville > Antique farm tractors and equipment, demonstrations of wheatthreshing machine, corn shredder, hay baling, tractor games, homemade crafts, flea market, antique tractor pull, and slow tractor ride. Seminary Picnic Grounds. 9 am-4 pm. Free. 573-5872813, www.perryvillemo.com

May 25-27, Cape Girardeau > First observed after the end of the Civil War, Memorial Day honors the memory of U.S. soldiers who have died in military service. Join the Turner Brigade, U.S. Volunteers, for the fifth celebration of Fort D Days. Other reenactors will portray troops and Native Americans from various time periods. Fort D. 9 am-4 pm. Free.

573-335-1631, www.fortdhistoricsite.com

FREE LISTING & MORE EVENTS At www.MissouriLife.com PLEASE NOTE: Call or visit website before traveling as event plans sometimes change.

TO SUBMIT AN EVENT: All events go onto our web calendar at www.MissouriLife. com. Submit events well in advance and include a contact phone number. Visit www.

MissouriLife.com to fill out a form, email info@MissouriLife.com, fax 660-882-9899, or send to Missouri Life, 501 High Street, Ste. A, Boonville, MO 65233.

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Explore

Dive into Kansas City’s vibrant arts scene.

The Local Show kcpt.org/arts

Explore

Dive Get to into know Kansas City’s more of the place Kansas vibrantCitians arts call home. scene.

The Local Show kcpt.org/arts KC Week in Review Ruckus SCREENtime Check, Please! KC

Homecoming: The Kansas City Symphony Presents Joyce DiDonato aired to 96% of the national PBS viewing audience during 2012’s PBS Summer Arts Festival.

Photo credit: Chris Lee

Homecoming: The Kansas City Symphony Presents Joyce DiDonato aired to 96% of the national PBS viewing audience during 2012’s PBS Summer Arts Festival.

Photo credit: Chris Lee

Host Doug Frost and guest reviewers on the set of “Check, Please! Kansas City”

ARTS KCPT-HD KC P T2 KCPTCreate kc p t .org

kcpt.org

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kcpt.org

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Directory of our Advertisers Connect with us online! www.MissouriLife.com www.facebook.com/MissouriLife • Twitter: @MissouriLife

Amber House Bed and Breakfast, p. 140 Amtrak, p. 159 Arkansas Tourism, p. 40 Arrow Rock, p. 32 Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, p. 90 Art in the Park, p. 146 Augusta Wine Co., p. 115 Baltimore Bend Vineyard, p. 32 Bank of Franklin County, p. 120 Bank of Sullivan, p. 125 Bank of Washington, p. 124 Bear Creek Lodge, p. 132 Bed and Breakfast Inns of Missouri, p. 132 The Bent Tree Gallery, p. 27 Bert’s Corner, p. 155 Big Cedar Lodge, p. 2 Blumenhof Vineyards and Winery, p. 141 Boonville Tourism, p. 137 Bradford’s Antiques, p. 34 Branson Convention and Visitors Bureau, p. 4-5 Branson Hotel, p. 147 Branson TV, p. 6 Brunswick Wine Stroll, p. 87 Butterfly Inn, p. 132 Callaway County Tourism, p. 82-83 Cameron’s Crag Bed and Breakfast, p. 132 Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, p. 144 and 150

Central Hotel, p. 125 Central Methodist University, p. 114 Chillicothe, MO, p. 87 Citizens Bank, p. 114 City of Gladstone, p. 152 Clarksville, MO, p. 17 Clinton, MO, p. 136 Columbia Appliance, p. 29 Cooper’s Oak Winery, p. 87 Cowan’s Restaurant and Mercantile, p. 123 Cruce’s Cabooses Bed and Breakfast, p. 138 Crybaby Farm Gifts and Design, p. 34 Dogwood-Azalea Festival, p. 156 The Doll House Bed and Breakfast, p. 141 Downtown Kirkwood, p. 158 Dragon-Fly-In Bed and Breakfast, p. 155 East Central College, p. 114 Elms Excelsior Springs, MO, p. 35 Eureka Springs, AR, p. 41 Evening Shade Farms, p. 154 Fahrmeier Family Vineyards, p. 87 Farmers and Merchants Bank, p. 122 Fayetteville, AR, p. 40 Franklin County, MO, p. 91-106 Gary R. Lucy Gallery, p. 122

The Gathering Place Bed and Breakfast, p. 132 George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, p. 27 Gigi’s, p. 32 Hannah Cole Cottage, p. 142 Harding University, p. 25 Hartsburg, MO, p. 141 Haysler House Bed and Breakfast Inn, p. 136 Hermann Chamber, p. 141 Hermann Maifest, p. 142 Hermann Wurst Haus, p. 141 High Hill Press, p. 13 High Street Victorian Bed and Breakfast, p. 142 Hillermann Nursery and Florist, p. 123 Historic Downtown Liberty, p. 34 Historic Hermann Museum, p. 141 Hot Spring Village, AR, p. 40 Hotel Frederick, p. 132 Independent Tourist, p. 138 Inn at Harbour Ridge, p. 132 Isle of Capri Jester’s Jam, p. 11 James Country Mercantile, p. 35 John Knox Village East, p. 8 Kaitlynn’s, p. 32 Kansas City Public Television, p. 160 Katy Roundhouse Campground, p. 138 Katy Trail Merchants and Communities, p. 136 Kennett Chamber of Commerce, p. 158 KMOS-TV, p. 148 and 151 KT Caboose, p. 138 Ladoga Ridge Winery, p. 87 Lambert’s Café, p. 154 Lebanon, MO Tourism, p. 163 Lodge of Four Seasons, p. 3 Louisiana, MO, p. 156 Lower Street Inn, p. 136 Lutheran Senior Services, p. 19

Magic House, p. 158 Main Street Goods and Goodies, p. 34 Manitou Studio, p. 140 Marshall Tourism, p. 14-15 Maryland Heights Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, p. 19 McKittrick Farmers Mercantile, p. 141 Mercy Hospital, p. 112-113 Mexico, MO Tourism, p. 23 Mid-Americam Coaches, p. 125 Mind Body and Spirit Day Spa, p. 120 Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies, p. 27 Missouri Baptist University, p. 114 Missouri Beef Council, p. 70-73 Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, p. 143 Missouri Life Festival Art, Food, Wine, and Fun, p. 126-127 Missouri Life Mother’s Day Promotion, p. 35 Missouri Life Photo Contest, p.89 The Missouri Meershaum Company, p. 107 Missouri Pesticide Collection Program, p. 149 Missouri Pork Association, p. 164 Moberly Area Chamber of Commerce, p. 154 Modern Auto, p. 121 Mpix, p. 88 New Madrid, MO, p. 150 Nothing Fancy Café/ Nothing Fancy Skating Rink, p. 116 Old Trails Region, p. 32 Pedaler’s Jamboree, p. 142 Pilot Grove, MO, p. 138 Pro Velo, p. 138 Quotations, p. 34 The Railyard Steakhouse, p. 32 Re/Max Central, p. 122 Re/Max Gold First, p. 124 River Valley Region

Association, p. 155 Rocheport Area Merchants Association, p. 140 Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce, p. 153 Ron Marr’s Guitars, p. 147 Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, p. 149 Sedalia, MO, p. 139 Socket, p. 157 Sporlan Division, p. 124 Spring Street Inn, p. 153 St. Francis Borgia High School, p. 110-111 St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, p. 20 The State Historical Society of Missouri, p. 8 Stone Haus Bed and Breakfast, p. 132 Stone Hill Winery, p. 85 Stone Hollow Scrimshaw Studio, p. 27 Stone Ledge, p. 142 Stone-Yancey House Bed and Breakfast, p. 34 Swiss Meats and Sausage Co., p. 85 Titanic Museum Attraction, p. 7 Trailside Café and Bike Shop, p. 140 Truman State University Press, p. 152 Union Fire Protection District, p. 118 Union R-XI School District, p. 117 United Bank of Union, p. 119 University Concert Series, p. 88 USA Tours, p. 13 The Village of Arrow Rock, p. 32 Vintage Hill Farm, p. 13 Washington Economic Development, p. 108-109 Waverly House Gifts and Gallery, p. 13 Westphalia Inn, p. 87 Willow Spring Mercantile, p. 34 Windsor Crossroads Motel, p. 138 Yates House Bed and Breakfast Inn, p. 140

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Missouriana Last bits on Branson, Civil War nurses, and Missouri’s love of dogs.

We couldn’t have said it better!

BY JIAXI LU

Branson has more than 100,000 motel rooms, restaurant seats, and theater seats COMBINED. It has more theater seats than the New York BROADWAY District.

In 1888, Adeline Couzins, a Civil War nurse from MISSOURI, was the first woman to receive a PENSION from the U.S. government for her work.

Did you know this?

—President Ulysses S. Grant

GRAND FALLS IN JOPLIN IS MISSOURI’S LARGEST NATURAL, CONTINUALLY FLOWING WATERFALL.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDREW BARTON

“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.”

Missouri RANKS fourth in the nation for dog OWNERSHIP. -American Veterinary Medical Association

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! y a w a t e G r u o Y n Pl a o in L e ba n on!

So m u ch to se e a n d d

Lebanon is known by its motto,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Friendly people.

Friendly place.â&#x20AC;?

These events are only part of the fun we have to offer.

I-44 Speedway Race Season Schedule available soon www.i44speedway.net Get Prepared Expo April 6 & 7 Cowan Civic Center www.USAprepares.com Camping on the Niangua There is everything from karaoke to horseback riding, and zip lining!

List of campsites available online at www.lebanonmo.org

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