Missouri Life August/September 2012

[ SEA LIONS, TIGERS, AND POLAR BEARS, OH MY!]

THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY

WESTWARD TO WINE! 8 WINERIES ON NEW TRAIL

80 FESTIVALS

SPACIOUS SKIES OUR OWN PRAIRIE SPLENDOR

AUGUST 2012 | $4.50 (Display until Sept. 30)

THE ART OF BARBECUE

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www.missourilife.com

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On The Lake of the Ozarks F o r r e s e r v a t i o n s c a l l 8 8 8 . 2 6 5 . 5[3]5August 0 0 o r2012 v i s i t w w w. 4 s e a s o n s re s o r t. c o m

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!

WARNING

Visiting Pulaski County will likely result in fun times, splashing, giggling, and memories being made.

VISIT AT YOUR OWN RISK

EVENT SCHEDULE:

Aug. 31 - Sept. 3: Labor Day Bluegrass Pickin’ Festival, Dixon, MO Sept. 1: Railroad Days, Crocker, MO Sept. 8: Show Me Shrimp Farms Shrimpfest 2012, Dixon, MO Sept. 14 - 15: Dixon Cowdays, Downtown Dixon, MO Sept. 21 - 23: Kickin’ Country Festival Dixon, MO Sept. 22: ATV Rodeo and Swap Meet Richland, MO Oct. 6: Frogtober Fest, Downtown Waynesville, MO Oct. 13: Hometown Harvest Festival Richland, MO Oct. 20: Octoberfest - Rt. 66 on the Square, Downtown Waynesville, MO Oct. 26 - 27: 14th Annual Southern Visit our website for details Gospel Reunion, Waynesville, MO about all of our events:

PulaskiCountyUSA.com/MLM

Pulaski County Tourism Bureau • St. Robert, MO

877.858.8687

Call today for your FREE visitor’s guide

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Contents AUGUST 2012

departments>

Wild River

[14] MEMO

[34] THE ELEVEN POINT

Obscure books and surprising survey results

As Missouri’s only nationally designated wild and scenic river,

[16] LETTERS

the Eleven Point offers fun in floating and fly fishing.

Covering the whole state and our $100 winners

[19] ZEST FOR LIFE Canoe art, the State Fair Fire Department, a new chocolate factory, the Burr Oak Nature Center, Missouri’s only dinosaur, and a new champion tree, plus books and an artist who paints outside

[28] MADE IN MISSOURI Elegant scarves, healing soap, and spicy pickles

[81] BEER Piney River Brewing Company in Bucyrus

featured>

[82] DINING WORTH THE DRIVE

[44] MORE THAN A ZOO

[95] MUSINGS

Our writer goes behind the scenes of the Kansas City Zoo to share the stories behind the animals.

On not being chained to a clock

[50] LOST IN THE PRAIRIE

[99] ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Discover the simplistic beauty of Prairie State Park in Mindenmines and nearby Joplin and Carthage attractions.

Our listing of 80 events and festivals

[56] WHICH SCHOOL IS BEST?

[118] MISSOURIANA

Use our guide to Missouri colleges and universities to find the best fit for you.

[64] BIG BARBECUE COMPETITION Follow our writers as they judge barbecue and become part of a barbecue team. Plus, recipes for your own grill.

[86] NEW WINE TRAIL Visit eight wineries on the Great Northwest Missouri Wine Trail in the northwest corner of the state.

LAUREN HUGHES

special sections>

Content by Location

86 44, 64, 82

82 19

20 28

[42] 20 RIVERS, 5 LAKES: The best water for fishing [76] STEAK TO PLATE:

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Family farming on a feedlot

50

76

26 81

28, 64 28

20,24 82 19

82

34

20 82

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VisitMO.com

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THE SPIR IT OF DISCOV ERY 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

1 2 3 4 5

Swim at thE Moberly Aquatic Center

EDITORIAL & ART Creative Director Andrew Barton Associate Editor Lauren Hughes Associate Art Director Sarah Herrera Associate Art Director Thomas Sullivan Calendar Editor Amy Stapleton

Play at our two 18-hole golf courses

Editorial Assistants Andrew Bridges, Rachel Kiser, Kelly Moffitt Columnists Tom Bradley, Ron W. Marr

Go Camping in Rothwell Park

Contributing Writers and Editors Emily Adams, Sarah Alban, Alan Brouilette, Andrew Lovgren, Wil Mara, Emily McIntyre, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, Lauren Schad, Lauren Young, Ashton Zimmerman

go Shopping IN THE Historic Downtown District

Contributing Photographers Sarah Alban, Nichole Ballard, George Denniston, Matt Faupel, Jim Licklider, Wil Mara, Emily McIntyre, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

Have a Spa Treatment

MARKETING Sales Manager Mike Kellner Senior Account Executive Tom Votrain Sales Account Executive Paula Renfrow Marketing Assistant Mary Trier

6

SHOP AT UNIQUE Antique and Specialty Stores

7 8

DIGITAL MEDIA MissouriLife.com, Missouri Lifelines & Missouri eLife Editor Sarah Herrera

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.

Take the Family to the Drive-in Theater Take the Kids Fishing in Rothwell Park LAKE

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.

9 10

Go Bowling At Community Lanes pLAY A ROUND OF Disc Golf at Rothwell Park See what,s happening in Moberly at:

www.MoberlyChamber.com

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– THIS ISSUE –

On the Web www.MissouriLife.com

MO’ books >

COOL OFF THIS summer by diving into the pages of a Missouri book. We’re bringing you even more new books than you’ll find on page 22. Start reading!

day at the zoo >

Check out these great upcoming events in Lee’s Summit!

MEET MORE animals in a photo gallery as our writer Andrew Lovgren goes behind the scenes

NowOct. 7

Fairy Houses & Forts Powell Gardens

Aug. 3

Blues & Jazz Fest City Hall Plaza

Aug. 3-5 & 10-15

Festival of the Butterflies Powell Gardens

Aug. 24-26

Fall Open House Downtown Lee’s Summit

to give you a better idea of your best fit.

Aug. 25

good food >

Longview Horse Park 13th Anniversary Benefit Horse Show Longview Horse Park

Sept. 8

Thunder on the Border Missouri Town 1855

Rediscover charming cafes, trendy eateries,

Sept. 14

Fall Fun Paradise Park

Sept. 15

Old Summit Country Antique Show John Knox Village

Sept. 28-29

Oktoberfest (pictured above) Downtown Lee’s Summit

Oct. 5-7

Heart of America Sport Aviation Classic Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport

Oct. 6-7

37th Annual Festivals of the Arts, Crafts and Music Missouri Town 1855

of the Kansas City Zoo. Plus, check out a video showing the changes in ice caps from 1978 to 2008.

pop quiz! >

NEED MORE HELP finding the right college or university to attend? Head to our website for a collection of online quizzes sure

COURTESY OF THE PUBLISHER, KANSAS CITY ZOO, AND JOE ANGELES/WUSTL; LAUREN HUGHES

WANT MORE restaurant recommendations? and more good eats by browsing reviews and recommendations from past issues.

secrets of the Eleven Point

FLOATING AND FISHING Writer Lauren Hughes snapped this shot of a beached canoe while enjoying a summer float trip with friends on the Eleven Point River.

The river is Missouri’s only nationally designated wild and scenic river.

For complete details including times, addresses and event descriptions visit lstourism.com or scan the QR code to the right.

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PROMOTION 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 one of Missouri’s top 10 Inns, the historic Loganberry Inn where Margaret Thatcher 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 and a creative bistro menu at Summit Lake Winery or bottle your own wine at Serenity Valley Wine.

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.

Have some fun at our Summer and Fall events.

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.

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

[54] MissouriLife MissouriLife [12]

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ADVERTISEMENT

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

Calendar of Events Callaway County Fair

July 30 to August 4 Callaway County Fair Grounds Fair Events, Tractor Pull, Demolition Derby, Livestock Events, etc. callawaycountyfair.com 573- 642-9470

Girlfriend Getaway

August 1 to September 30 Loganberry Inn B&B, Fulton Two nights stay, 2 breakfasts and spa services $239/person www.loganberyinn.com 573-642-9229

Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater Shows every Saturday, call or go online for full schedule.

3078 Lighthouse Lane, Fulton 573-474-4040 www.lighthousetheater.com hazelkinder@yahoo.com

Bluegrass & BBQ

September 9, noon - 6  600 East Fifth Street, Fulton Five groups performing and great food $5 per person 573-592-2209

Crane’s 4,000-square-foot museum is a one-of-akind viewing experience featuring rural Missouri history dating back to the 1800s.

35th Annual Hatton Craft Festival Enjoy outstanding food and wine in historic Fulton.

October 6, 9  - 4  Throughout Hatton 175+ exhibitors with handmade items for sale - dolls, hand-painted china, paintings, pillows, wooden toys, florals, seasonal items, and much more.

573-529-1541

www.callawaycivilwar.org

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

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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.

7/3/12 2:57 PM

Memo

MISSOURI

MISSOURI READS WITH THE BUZZ

YOU SURPRISED US

surrounding Mizzou’s venture into the Southeastern Conference, you may not have heard the University of Missouri Press is closing. The public-run university is cutting expenses to the tune of $400,000 a year by not subsidizing the operation.

While we understand the need for the University to make some serious cuts, like many businesses have had to do, we mourn the loss of any publisher, and we praise the 54-year-old institution’s efforts to expand the scope of knowledge, as books do.

I have a place in my heart for delving into unknown areas and for publishers who create books. I like that stumble upon hidden truths about man and his surroundings—truths that are often overlooked or not considered important by the best-selling crowd.

GREG WOOD, PUBLISHER I like discovering interesting facts, such as that Mormon founder Joseph Smith used “seer stones” to communicate with God. Or that Ulysses S. Grant never back-tracked or crossed his own path, even if it meant going miles out of his way. He considered it bad luck.

For both men, time spent in Missouri defined their very destinies.

Read The Morman War by Brandon Kinney and published by Westholme Publishing. It features the story of Joseph Smith and the only order ever issued in America to exterminate an entire population.

Or read Captain Sam Grant by Lloyd Lewis and published by Little Brown and Company. This of Grant shares that he was never named Ulysses; the name was an accident that occurred when he enlisted. He spent time in Missouri as a private citizen and an officer in both the Mexican and Civil Wars.

If you want lighter reading, I recommend The Good American by Columbia attorney Alex George, published by Penguin Books, who has created a town, settled by Germans along the Missouri River. It begins around 1900 and continues on through many generations.

And check out bookstores in places you might not think of immediately, such as the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, the NelsonAtkins Museum in Kansas City, Wilson’s Creek National Monument near Springfield, or the Mark Twain Museum in Hannibal. These are great places to find unique books, and they all have books about Missouri.

We also take great comfort in knowing Missouri still has a university press, the fine and self-sustaining Truman State University Press.

Because, the is you can’t Google everything, and thank God for that!

obscure books

biography

Beatrice,

THANK YOU to those who took the time to fill out our survey about the magazine. You surprised us with a few things.

We already knew you love Ron Marr because he gets so many letters.

We were actually surprised to see how many of you read Greg’s and my column. In many magazines, columns like this are not read very often, but 91 percent of you read us! Thanks for making us look good in front of our staff and Ron! was how many of you read our Books page, featuring books about Missouri or by Missouri authors. We were pleased to learn 87 percent of you read that, as sometimes we’ve thought we produce that page just to please ourselves.

It was at all to learn 98 percent of you value our All Around Missouri DANITA ALLEN WOOD, EDITOR calendar. It did surprise us how many of you act on the information, with almost 68 percent interested in events outside of your own region and 64 percent attending something you’ve learned about in our calendar.

Another was that 61 percent of you already use some type of e-reader, such as an iPad, Kindle, or Nook, although many of you hastened to add you still wanted to read the magazine in print.

All of us especially enjoyed the you gave us.

One of you has collected from Volume 1, Number 1, and told us you now have 191 issues! And one of you wrote, “Never Nascar. I’d cancel my subscription if you cover Nascar.” (We hope you missed the story on the race car driver in April and are still with us!) One of you even reads so closely that you noticed we asked two more questions than I said we would when we announced the survey.

You might enjoy knowing how we will use the information. While none of us here believe in “editing by the numbers,” (you can’t get fine art with Paint by Number, can you?) we used the survey as inspiration for a retreat where we dreamed up ways we’d like to elevate the magazine.

Your feedback prompted the most session we think we’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot for this bunch.

Stay tuned for changes we’ll be introducing, and see page 16 for who won the prize money for filling out the surveys.

And you can give me your thoughts and ideas anytime by emailing danita@missourilife.com.

One surprise

truth

no surprise

big surprise

special comments

creative

Our staff, front row from left: Lauren Hughes, Greg Wood, Danita Allen Wood, Amy Stapleton, Tom Votrain, Mike Kellner, and Sarah Herrera. Not pictured are Andrew Barton, Tom Sullivan, Paula Renfrow, our editorial assistants, and our great writers and photographers throughout the state.

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AUGUST 2012

LETTERS from all over You write them. We print them.

JERRY LEE LEWIS: FOLK ARTIST? On page 146 of the June 2012 issue of Missouri Life, I enjoyed several bits of info and quotations relative to Missouri. One quotation by Jerry Lee Lewis was especially interesting to me. I am a Jerry Lee fan but cannot ever think of him as a “country/folk singer,” as described in your magazine on this page. He was, is, and always will be a rock-and-roller of the first order. Country? Yes, in his later career he was successful in that genre. Folk? Never. Rock and roll? Emphatically yes! Please direct me to any folk recordings by Jerry Lee, and I will stand corrected.

—Nelda Griggs, Silva

MISSOURI AREAS I really enjoy opening Missouri Life every month.

The story on great women of Missouri was outstanding; I hope you revisit the list of women of Missouri again. Your articles always inform and entertain my family. However, when you have a viable product, it’s often best to always keep looking for ways to improve it. Would it be possible to divide Missouri into sections or regions and find freelance journalists or hire writers to cover the missing areas of our fine state? Missouri doesn’t start with Columbia and end at St. Louis. Missouri is so much more than the small area you’re now

showing Content by Location. Each dot represents a

covering. Please, live up to your magazine’s title,

different town or city in Missouri that was featured in

Missouri Life, not just “Another small section.”

a story. We strive to cover our entire state and always

—Victoria Mathis, Springfield

appreciate story ideas from our readers.—Editors

During the War of 1812, many members of the Osage tribe sided with the United States against Great Britain.

SAVE AND CUT zine. We like it very much. We had been reading

I was born in St. Louis and attended Holy Name

it for free at SEMO’s Kent library but decided to

School grades kindergarten through second; Ash-

contribute to the cause, so to speak, and get our

land School grades third through fifth; Lowell

own magazine so that we could save the issues

School grades sixth through eighth; and Beaumont

or cut out something we liked. Unless a financial

High School. Your most wonderful article, “War

disaster surprises us or you get weirdly political

Email:

of 1812: Missouri Territory” in the April 2012 issue

in your columns, I imagine we will keep renewing.

Fax:

brought to mind the fact that during all those years,

—David K. Harper, Cape Girardeau

Facebook:

we never had a class in Missouri history. I have lived

Address:

in Hawaii since 1967 and before that had left Mis-

$100 WINNERS

souri at the end of WWII. But St. Louis and the rest

Congratulations to Kendy Wallace, Phil Shreves, and

of the state will always be a part of me. I hope you

Donna Wankum! They each won $100 by complet-

will continue articles on Missouri history.

ing our reader survey. Thanks for helping us make

SEND US A LETTER

—Muriel M. Jenkins, Keaau, Hawaii

Missouri Life that much better!

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI

My wife and I are new subscribers to your maga-

MORE MISSOURI HISTORY

On our Table of Contents on page 7, you’ll see a map

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Mom thrives. You smile.

Discover why our families love our senior living communities as much as our residents do!

With locations in Columbia, Jefferson City, and throughout St. Louis.

Independent Living < Residential Care < Memory Care Skilled Nursing < Short-Stay Rehabilitation

LSSLiving.org

LSS12803 Missouri Life Magazine - 7.6” x 4.8” - Due 6/18/2012

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Upcoming Events JULY 30-AUGUST 11: Film Camp PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER www.presserpac.com | 573-581-5592 AUG. 11: Film Festival PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER www.presserpac.com | 573-581-5592 AUG. 24-25: Mexico Soybean Festival DOWNTOWN MEXICO www.mexicosoybean.org | 573-721-4269 SEPT. 28-30: Walk Back In Time AUDRAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY www.audrain.org | 573-581-3910 OCT. 26-28: Kitchen Witches PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER www.presserpac.com | 573-581-5592

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!

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

NOV. 3: 5th Annual Photography Gallery Show PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER www.presserpac.com | 573-581-5592 DEC. 6-9: Sound of Music PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER www.presserpac.com | 573-581-5592

WALK BACK IN TIME - A LIVING-HISTORY CHRONOLOGY The Audrain County Historical Society invites you to the 11th Anniversary of the “Walk Back In Time” festival, Sept. 28-30 held on the Grounds of the Audrain Historical Museum Complex, with historical camps in a unique time line: 1770s Colonial, 1830s Mountain Men, 1860 Pony Express, 1860s Civil War, Native American Village, 1880s Wild West, 1918 World War I, 1920s Between-The-Wars America, 1940s World War II, Patriot Guard, and this year’s special feature, Demise of the Dalton Brothers Gang 1892.

Books and chalkboards have their place in understanding our proud nation’s history, but nothing can surpass taking a “Walk Back in Time” at the Audrain County Historical Society’s livinghistory chronology, always held the last weekend in September.

Visitors travel, beginning with George Washington’s personal wishes for a successful journey, through our dramatic national experience. A family-friendly event, no American or visitor from distant lands should miss this most informative and entertaining adventure. Visit www.audrain.org or call 573-581-3910.

Tour the AUDRAIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM Tues.-Sat. 10 AM-4 PM and Sun. 1-4 PM www.audrain.org | 573-581-3910 [18] MissouriLife

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Zest FOR LIFE

Steelville

CANOE ART THE STEELVILLE Arts Council is stretching the boundaries of its gallery.

For its 2012 Great Steelville Canoe Float exhibit, the gallery happens to be the city

limits of Steelville, a town nestled in the Ozarks and known as the floating capital of the state.

The Great Steelville Canoe Float exhibit is a public art display that the Steelville Arts Council is hosting for the second year. Last year, artists—professional artists, students, teachers, and community members—painted 21 actual canoe halves.

This year, the design revolves around the theme “The Great Outdoors.” Around 18 painted canoes will be placed at public places around town and will act as a fundraiser for the arts council come October when they are auctioned off. There will also be prizes awarded for the people’s choice winner and for the most artistic, clever, and appropriately themed canoes.

This year, the arts council is hosting three canoes that have been painted

exclusively by elementary, middle, and high school students. There is also a canoe that the youth of the town will gradually paint.

Children can submit a drawing of an animal they would like to paint on the canoe, and retired art teacher Barb Bryan will help them make their submission part of the final masterpiece.

Steelville Arts Council Secretary Gary Sanders got the idea for the exhibit from his involvement in the 1999 Chicago exhibit CowParade, which featured fiberglass cows. The exhibit has since been held in more than 50 countries and in Kansas City.

Though the Steelville exhibit doesn’t include any bovine like the Kansas City exhibit, it shows the aquatic culture of the Steelville community. —Rachel Kiser www.steelvilleartscouncil.org

Sedalia

All Fired Up COURTESY OF STEELVILLE ARTS COUNCIL AND THE STATE FAIR FIRE DEPARTMENT

THE MISSOURI State Fair Fire Department is celebrating 50 years of service to the state fairgrounds in Sedalia at this year’s Missouri State Fair.

“The MSFFD provides a service that is unheard of throughout the country,” says Joe Jennings, MSFFD public information officer. “The department provides exceptional fire protection and emergency medical care for only 11 days a year, staffed completely by those who volunteer their time.”

The MSFFD was established in 1962 as a partnership between the Fire Fighters Association of Missouri and the Missouri State Fair. Its original purpose was to educate the public on fire safety.

fairgrounds through the Centennial Gate.

Today, in addition to fire safety education, MSFFD provides 24-hour fire sup-

A parade through the fairgrounds will feature vintage and modern tools and

pression and emergency medical services during each state fair. The permanent

equipment from fire protection agencies across the state. The equipment will be on

fire station houses the volunteer staff and serves as the center of operations for

display for fair attendees after the parade. The parade will also highlight the Missouri

educational presentations and interaction with fair goers.

State Highway Patrol, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and several honor guards.

Several events will honor the MSFFD’s accomplishments at the State Fair

“It is truly a showcase of the Missouri fire service and shows the dedication

on August 16. Free admission to the fair will be granted to any firefighter,

of those serving the public in our great state,” Joe says. —Lauren Schad

EMT, or paramedic who presents identification. Children under the age of 13

Facebook: Missouri State Fair Fire Department

will receive a free plastic fire helmet while supplies last when they enter the

www.mostatefair.com

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Zest FOR LIFE Blue Springs

Nature in the City TAKE ADVANTAGE of the extra sunlight summer has to offer and visit the Burr Oak Nature Center in the heart of Blue Springs. Open until 8 PM during the summer, the

St. Louis

1,071-acre nature center is a surprise for families and nature lovers of all types. Six hiking trails (two paved) wind through forest, prairie, swamp, and limestone bluffs. The ½-mile

A Taste of Chocolate CANDY LOVERS, rejoice! Chocolate

Missouri Tree Trail is perfect for a short family walk; it is handicap accessible and has two beautiful overlooks. For a longer hike, try the Hickory Grove Trail, a 2 1⁄3-mile hike.

The nature center features free admission, daily nature films, a 3,000-gallon aquarium, a

Chocolate Chocolate Company is opening a new

wildlife viewing room, and live amphibians and reptiles. —Emily McIntyre

factory this August—and it’s open for tours and

www.mdc.mo.gov/regions/kansas-city/burr-oak-woods-nature-center

free tastings. The company, which has six retail

1401 NW Park Road • 816-228-3766

is owned by Dan Abel, his wife Rosalie, and their children. Mastering the craft of making chocolate

Marble Hill

took Dan across the country before returning to his hometown of St. Louis in 1980. Dan and Rosalie opened their first chocolate shop in 1981, and for years, customers would follow the sweet smell of

NAME THAT DINO

chocolate to the storefront of Chocolate Chocolate

WANT A CHANCE to name the

Chocolate Company, gazing and smiling at the mar-

first—and only—dinosaur ever found in Missouri? The Bollinger County Museum of Natural History in Marble Hill is holding a contest for children from kindergarten through eighth grade to name the Hypsibema missouriense, a duck-billed dinosaur discovered in Bollinger County.

Missouri is home to its fair share of wild critters, but many don’t know that hadrosaurs once roamed here as well. The museum proudly displays the bones of Hypsibema missouriense, and a 30-foot life-sized replica of the only dinosaur ever found in the Midwest is on permanent display in the museum. Collections of natural history specimens and artifacts from Missouri and around the world also take their place in the exhibits of the museum.

For more information on how to submit

vel of chocolate being crafted in front of their eyes.

With the new facility, the Abel family can double the production on the first day alone and increase production tenfold. The factory’s 100-foot chocolate machine will make six and a half pounds of candy every minute.

“In keeping with Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company’s tradition of inspiring curiosity and passion for chocolate, my family will be offering tours to curious visitors so that everyone can experience the art of chocolate,” Dan says. “Our mission is to bring the joy of chocolate to all and deliver a smile in every box.”

Call the company for more information on tours, including hours. Admission is free, and tastings are included. —Andrew Bridges

www.chocolatechocolate.com 5025 Pattison Avenue•888-222-7710

a pick for the dinosaur’s new name, visit the museum’s website. Submissions must be made by the child’s teacher or parent, and they must be submitted by September 15.

—Ashton Zimmerman www.bcmnh.org•207 Mayfield Drive 573-238-1174

COURTESY OF CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE COMPANY, BURR OAK NATURE CENTER, AND BOLLINGER COUNTY MUSEUM

stores in the St. Louis area and two stores in Illinois,

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Find Inspiration

John Knox Village East

in the amazing life of Susan O’Brien Fischer

Meet the neighbors.

with her new book In My Corner.

Find words of inspiration, humor, and frank advice from Susan, who shared her thoughts during a very difficult time.

Read excerpts of her incredible story and get your copy today at susanobrienfischer.com.

Ask us about this surprisingly affordable retirement option.

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

MO LIFE Hank 2.indd 1

Like

025.29871 Mid Missouri Life Book Ad.indd 1 4/13/12 9:47 AM

4/16/12 10:47 AM

O n l y u n t i l A u g u s t 19

Experience the most engaging and forward-thinking innovations of their times.

“The World’s Fairs exhibit is full of fabulous treasures.”

– Barbara, Kansas City

45th & Oak, Kansas City, Missouri | 816.751.1ART | nelson-atkins.org

National presenting sponsor

Presenting sponsor

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GOOD READS Find these reads at bookstores or publishers’ websites unless otherwise noted.

BY EMILY ADAMS AND ANDREW BRIDGES

Blue Highways Revisited Edgar I. Ailor III, 336 pages, University of Missouri Press, hardcover, $34.95 Father and son photographers Edgar I. Ailor III and Edgar I. Ailor IV retraced William Least Heat-Moon’s 14,000-mile journey, exploring the American spirit.

Through photography, Ailor and son captured the local color of the backroads, taverns, and people of Heat-Moon’s original journey. This book reminds readers of the insatiable attraction of the “blue highway” as well as follows the tracks left behind by Heat-Moon, born in Kansas City and a graduate of the University of Missouri Journalism School. In 2011, the Sante Fe Review, a prestigious juried review with participants from 13 countries and 23 states, accepted Blue Highways Revisited as one of 100 worldwide photography projects. The duo started Ailor Fine Art Photography in Columbia in 2005.

The Final Mission of Bottoms Up A World War II Pilot’s Story

The Heart of the Spring Lives On

Dennis R. Okerstrom, 272 pages, University of Missouri Press, hardcover, nonfiction, $29.95 Missouri native Lieutenant Lee Lamar’s tragic wartime saga is told through a retrospective lens examining a time and heartbreak that few dare to explore. After Lamar’s B-24J Liberator, Bottoms Up, went down under German fire, he was captured as a prisoner of war, forced to endure nearstarvation and Europe’s coldest winter in a century. Now, more than 60 years later, Lamar dives into his past in an effort to pursue reconciliation and closure. Narrating his journey is Dennis R. Okerstrom, an author and professor at Park University in Independence.

Laura L. Valenti, 232 pages, Infinity Publishing, softcover, fiction, $14.95 In a tale set in her own beloved town of BenSpring, Laura Valenti tells a love story surrounding the Depression-era workforce that built many of the characteristics of Bennett Spring State Park in rural southwest Missouri. The story follows Ben Darling, the town’s new deputy, who is conflicted with grasping his new and challenging career and his love for Jessica, a woman whose true identity is hidden in a changing world.

n e t t

Gibson’s Last Stand: The Rise, Fall, and Near Misses of the St. Louis Cardinals, 1969-1975 Doug Feldmann, 242 pages, University of Missouri Press, hardcover, nonfiction, $29.95 Doug Feldmann takes a new perspective on the history of one of Missouri’s most prominent pride and joys, the St. Louis Cardinals, on a backdrop of pop culture phenomena and national turmoil. At the center of this tale is Bob Gibson, renowned pitcher and teammate in what is sometimes referred to as the Golden Era of baseball and the final years of his career.

Paul Kirkman, 160 pages, The History Press, softcover, nonfiction, $19.99 Known as the “Gettysburg of the West,” the 1864 Battle of Westport was the largest battle of the Civil War west of the Mississippi. Thirty thousand men met in a bloody and shocking moment in history after the Confederate Army, led by Gen. Sterling Price, made its way to Westport, just outside the frontier community of Kansas City.

Paul Kirkman captures this legendary clash in his recounting of the aftermath, the survivors, and the hero’s loss.

For more Missouri books, please visit www.MissouriLife.com.

ANDREW BARTON; COURTESY OF PUBLISHERS

The Battle of Westport: Missouri’s Great Confederate Raid

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American Girls, Beer, and Glenn Miller GI Morale in World War II James J. Cooke 232 pages | $40.00 cloth 978-0-8262-1984-8

Broken Butterfly My Daughter’s Struggle with Brain Injury Karin Finell 224 pages | $29.95 cloth 978-0-8262-1993-0

Teaching in the Terrordome Two Years in West Baltimore with Teach for America Heather Kirn Lanier 256 pages | $19.95 paper 978-0-8262-1986-2

“Play Me Something Quick and Devilish” Old-Time Fiddlers in Missouri Howard Wight Marshall 386 pages | $29.95 cloth 978-0-8262-1994-7

Voodoo Priests, Noble Savages and Ozark Gypsies The Life of Folklorist Mary Alica Owen Greg Olson 208 pages | $30.00 cloth 978-0-8262-1996-1

The Missouri State Penitentiary 170 Years inside “The Walls” Jamie Pamela Rasmussen 136 pages | $16.95 paper 978-0-8262-1987-9

The Patience of Pearl Spiritualism and Authorship in the Writings of Pearl Curran Daniel B. Shea 296 pages | $60.00 cloth 978-0-8262-1989-3

From Missouri An American Farmer Looks Back Thad Snow Edited by Bonnie Stepenoff 352 pages | $25.00 paper 978-0-8262-1990-9

Strong Advocate The Life of a Trial Lawyer Thomas Strong 320 pages | $29.95 cloth 978-0-8262-1997-8

The Brothers Robidoux and the Opening of the American West Robert J. Willoughby 280 pages | $45.00 cloth 978-0-8262-1991-6

University of Missouri Press

For more information on these titles, visit http://press.umsystem.edu.

Order toll-free: (800) 621-2736.

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St. Louis

A NEW CHAMPION

Measuring is a delicate art; when Matt went to measure it after initially seeing the tree, he brought his brother Jim, a certified arborist, along. Their initial measurement brought the tree within six points of the current champion and made it a contender when submitted to MDC. Any tree within 30 points of the current champion is automatically made a contender.

Perry Eckhardt, who has measured six champion trees in the past two years, is an urban forester with MDC and measured the cottonwood in May, several months after Matt turned his nomination in.

“Cottonwood trees can be very large—I wouldn’t be surprised if there are bigger ones out there,” Perry says. “What’s most surprising is that it took that long for someone to notice it out in the open like it is.”

Perry estimates the tree to be about 197 years old (based on rule-of-thumb

calculations) and says going to see these large trees is one of the best parts of his job.

Everyone is invited to become a state champion tree pioneer—if you see a tree that you think could be big enough, fill out the nomination form on MDC’s website at www.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/habitats/ forests/missouri-state-champion-trees.

The nominator of a tree that becomes a champion receives a plaque certifying its record title. —Kelly Moffitt Find the tree in north St. Louis County by going north 2.8 miles from the I-270 Riverview Drive exit—which becomes Columbia Bottom Road at its intersection with Larimore Road.

To see the cottonwood, take the service road north from the canoe/kayak access point at the eastern part of the park. Representatives at the visitors center at the entrance to the park can direct you.

MATT FAUPEL

EVEN IN A modern metropolis, it’s still possible to be an explorer like Lewis and Clark. At least that was what it felt like for photographer Matt Faupel when he discovered the new state champion tree at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in St. Louis last January.

“It feels pretty neat to discover something like this,” Matt says. “You think all of Missouri has been explored but you can still find things people haven’t appreciated yet.”

Standing tall at 127 feet with a spread of 103 feet and circumference of 310 inches, the eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides, makes an impression against the bottoms of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Eastern cottonwoods are one of the largest North American hardwood trees and are characterized by white bark that becomes dark gray with deep cracks that form as the tree grows older.

Matt, whose father fished in the area as a boy, initially saw the tree when he was out with his wife to observe the waterfowl in the area. Matt noticed the tree stood out from the rest—from a photographic standpoint, the tree isn’t buried among other trees. It stands in the open in the bottoms of the confluence with only a sister cottonwood to its side.

“I go out hiking a lot, and I’m aware of my surroundings as a photographer, so I can tell when a tree sticks out,” Matt says.

Not only does its size make the tree the champion of the eastern cottonwood species but also the state champion with 463 points—six points ahead of the American sycamore in Polk County that previously ruled. Points are determined based on a formula used by American Forests and the Missouri Department of Conservation using circumference, height, and crown spread.

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NATURAL ANTLER-HANDLED LETTER OPENER

features original, hand-etched scrimshaw.

Choose a cardinal, hummingbird, dogwood, or rose. $25, plus $5 shipping/handling Check/Money Order/Visa/MasterCard 31 High Trail, Eureka, MO 63025 • www.stonehollowstudio.com

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

We give workshops! Call for information.

Bent Tree Gallery

Rustic Furniture & Accents Handcrafted Handbags Fiber Art and Baskets H I S T O R I C C L A R K S V I L L E M I S S O U R I 573-242-3200

The

Manitou Studio

25805 Millersburg Rd., Lebanon, MO 65536 417-588-7993 • www.maccreedsgallery.com Thurs.-Sat. 10 am-4 pm (6 pm through Aug.) Featured artist Louise Thies’s work is on display and for sale at MacCreeds Gallery.

A gallery of fine crafts in clay and fiber.

302 Columbia Street, Rocheport, MO 573-698-4011 ∙ www.preusceramics.com

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!

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Top right, clockwise: Morning Commute, Umbrella in Waiting, Waiting for a Breeze, and Contemplation.

Far right: The Perfect Male.

COURTESY OF LOUISE THIES

Above: Louise Thies is an artist who specializes in plein air painting. She uses oil to paint anything from people and animals to landscapes and still life.

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INTO

Plein Air

A Camdenton artist specializes in outdoor painting. BY LAUREN YOUNG

COURTESY OF LOUISE THIES

LOUISE THIES finds her greatest inspiration in open air.

That’s why she specializes in plein air painting, a method of painting originally popular in the early 20th century. The method is characterized by the fact that paintings are created outdoors.

Much like more recognized plein air painters—Claude Monet, for instance—light is critical to Louise’s paintings. Once she finds a scene she would like to paint, she has to paint it quickly before the sun moves.

The result is beautiful images bathed in a soft light.

Before painting full time, Louise worked as a taxidermist. Even then, she worked in an artistic manner. As she puts it, she sculpted the animals as she worked with them.

Louise has always loved art. It started at a very young age while living in Houston, Texas. On her website, she tells fans of her work she was “consumed with copying the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that were on her hand-me-down chalkboard instead of practicing her alphabet.” A self-declared art nerd in high school, she was offered a scholarship to go to art school. But her father would not let her go because he insisted “there are too many starving artists.”

Louise moved to Missouri in the early ’80s, and after being unsuccessful in finding a job, she opened her taxidermy shop, which had originally only been a hobby. It wasn’t until she was two classes away from completing her biology degree at Southwest Missouri State University, now Missouri State University, that her love for art fully resurfaced. One of the classes she took was art history, and she loved it so much that Louise changed her degree to art

education. But she quickly realized her teaching style did not mesh with the regimented education system, so she never became a teacher. Instead, Louise turned to her own painting and never looked back. She has been painting full time for 12 years.

“I just go full force,” Louise says. “I want to be the absolute best at what I do.” At 50 years old, she finds inspiration everywhere and loves new knowledge.

Louise uses oil to paint a variety of subjects from landscapes to people to animals. One such painting, The Perfect Male, was created while she was taking care of her son’s Rottweiler. While the dog was lying on the floor she decided to paint it, and as Louise puts it, it turned out pretty well.

The painting of her son’s dog will most likely not be sold; however, Louise does sell her art in galleries in Missouri and Texas.

Currently her paintings can be found in Missouri at The Hawthorn Gallery in Springfield, MacCreed’s Art Gallery in Lebanon, and The Vine at Osage Beach. Her paintings range in price from $350 to $1,800 depending on the size of the work.

Besides painting, Louise also does etchings on stone for several monument companies. For one of her etchings, she recreated a man’s favorite painting on his gravestone. Painting, however, is still her favorite.

“There is just so much you can say through painting that I haven’t found in any other medium. It calms me.” www.thiesart.com

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Made

WEARABLE ART A WINDING road led Polly Rillstone from Walmart fashion analyst to accessory artisan. Her unique handmade scarves catch the eye of visitors to her Etsy website, and it’s no surprise why. Hand-painted and dyed with Polly’s own special techniques and adapted from her experience in the fashion industry, these scarves are more than a breathtaking addition to any ensemble—they’re a work of true talent. Polly creates what she calls wearable art by freehanding and self-creating her dyes, making each piece an inimitable style. To order, visit Polly’s Etsy page. —Emily Adams www.etsy.com/people/pollyannedesigns

Springfield

Float Trip Pickles THE NEXT time you head out on a float trip with family and friends, don’t forget a treat that will wet everyone’s whistle. Float Trip Pickles are a crunchy, sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy—and always tasty—snack. What makes these particular pickles mouthwatering is the jalapeño flavor, a heat that kicks in three to four seconds after a sweet, juicy bite. Order the pickles online.

—Emily Adams

www.floattrippickles.com

Osceola

Soaps for the Soul FOR THREE generations of the Bousman family, Evening Shade Farms has been on a mission to naturalize a product that everyone needs—soap. Gayl Bousman spent every summer with her grandmother, who lived in Arkansas, making lye soap from scratch. When Gayl was diagnosed with psoriasis in adulthood, she didn’t like the products and pharmaceutical chemicals normally used to treat the skin condition; they never worked and were harmful to her skin.

Remembering her childhood, she went to her kitchen and began to craft her grandmother’s soothing recipe.

Today Gayl’s soap business is co-owned by her daughter Cindy and has grown more than the family ever imagined. With 20 kinds of soap, including the pine tar soap Gayl used to cure her psoriasis, Evening Shade Farms is one of Missouri’s most popular natural soap sources. It offers quality ingredients grown on its 80-acre organic farm.

The company also provides Elder Cream Healing Moisturizer, which uses Missouri’s famous native elderberries to replenish skin, along with an assortment of botanical body products in every shape, package, and color. Call or visit online to order. —Emily Adams

www.eveningshadefarms.com 417-282-6985

COURTESY OF POLLY RILLSTONE; ANDREW BARTON; COURTESY OF FLOAT TRIP PICKLES

Cassville

ICED TEA BECAME POPULAR AFTER THE 1904 WORLD’S FAIR IN ST. LOUIS.

IN MISSOURI

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The art of AWESOME

COLORS. And views.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville

Golf at Village Creek State Park

Ramble around The Natural State to see stunning fall foliage framing scenic views and exciting attractions like the world’s greatest new museum of American art, a Victorian mountain village and legendary spas.

Visit our website or call 1-800-NATURAL to order your free Vacation Planning Kit.

Eureka Springs

.com SCAN FOR VIDEO TOUR

Want to get away?

Go on tour with us!

Upcoming Trips Cards vs. Cubs Tour 2 Games Sept. 21-23, $582* pp, dbl occ Edwardsville, IL pickup Pilgrims & Patriots: Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, Philly Oct. 7-15, $1,776* pp, dbl occ

Dea Hoover and Declan Rutan having fun at the Dogtown Parade.

Dea and Declan, Tour Directors For more info: (314) 304-3508 888-785-TOUR (8687) dea@arewethereyetdea.com

WWW.AREWETHEREYETDEA.COM We are at your service: Pre and Post night hotel stays plus transportation options to the airport and departure hotel. One call does it all!

International in 2013

Avalon Waterways River Cruise: Holland Tulip Festival, April 7-15, $5,195* pp, dbl occ Book by Sept. 15 and save $500 Fire and Ice: Experience Alaska and Hawaii in one tour! May 21-June 2, $6,180* pp, dbl occ Scandinavian Serenade Aboard the Oceania Marina: London to Stockholm Aug. 9- 24, Starting at $6,699 (174 sq. ft cabin)

Brunch Cruise with Pat Joyce on piano and Richard Garey as Mark Twain Nov. 3, $79 Sells fast - sign up early!

Crystal Bridges Museum plus Eureka Springs and Peabody Hotel Nov. 7-9, $494* pp, dbl occ Biltmore Christmas plus Opryland Hotel in Nashville & Miss Patti’s 1880s Settlement Nov 28-Dec 2, $854 pp, dbl occ San Antonio Cowboy Christmas by Motorcoach Dec 5-11, $1,028* pp, dbl occ, Stay 3 nights at Drury Inn Riverwalk plus visit Cherokee Nation, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma, and Ft. Worth Stockyards. *3% discount when paying by check or money order.

Call for current catalog.

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Fall in love with Columbia

Mizzou football

These Columbia fall traditions are sure to make your autumn one to remember!

By Rachel Kiser

ROAR Mizzou football NEW CONFERENCE, SAME TRADITIONS Put on your black and gold and get ready for the best Saturdays of the fall: Mizzou Game Day. The switch from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference may bring new team opponents, but the rich Tiger traditions—attending Tiger Walk and cheering on the players as they head to Memorial Stadium, hearing the classic MIZ-ZOU cheer echo off the stadium walls, and swaying to the alma mater at the close of the game—will no doubt continue. With seven home games, you’ll have plenty of chances to admire the new team uniforms and cheer on the big cats to victory. The season opens with a fight against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.

September 1 | 1-800-CAT-PAWS or www.mutigers.com for ticket information

TAILGATING 101 A tradition as entrenched in the Mizzou spirit as any, tailgating season is right around the corner. Even if you aren’t a University of Missouri donor, there is still plenty of room to set up the crock-pot that holds your family-secret chip dip and find the perfect grassy area to situate your washer’s board. Lots north of Rollins Avenue and east of College Avenue are available to the general public, and fans can use lots along Research Park Drive for a fee of $20. Sites open at 8 am each game day and must be cleared or cleaned by midnight or three hours after the game, whichever is later. Be sure to arrive early for the Tiger Walk two hours before kickoff.

For extensive tailgating information: www.mutigers.com/gameday

COURTESY OF MIZZOU ATHLETICS

The change of seasons comes with a change of pace in Columbia. Summer days may be long and hazy, but when the leaves start turning colors, the town succumbs to bubbly fall energy, infused with new sounds and flavors and igniting all five senses.

Music festivals will have your ears prickling at the trill of saxophones and pianos, the smell of a perfect tailgate spread will travel through your nostrils, and you might even experience the feeling of grape juice oozing between your toes. The color orange will dominate your vision as you pick the perfect pumpkin, and you’ll savor the taste of a seasonal brew.

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artlandish gallery

Celebrate

Courtesy oF ArtlAndish gAllery, heritAge FestiVAl, les Bourgeois VineyArds, roots n Blues n BBQ

heritage festival

Crush Festival

Artrageous Weekend spend the weekend on a self-guided art crawl at Artageous Weekend. This annual event unites and celebrates art establishments around Columbia. Many of the 25 venues and galleries are located in The district and north Village Arts district. Artlandish gallery’s dynamic artist market, orr street studios’ gallery, and Poppy’s jewelry, clay, and glass are just a few of the creations that will be unveiled.

October 12 and 13 | Downtown Columbia www.artrageousfridays.com Crush FestiVAl Crush in the grape harvest—literally. The Crush Festival at les Bourgeois Vineyards lets families get their feet sticky as they stomp the plump fruit and celebrate the harvest. Along with the tart grape aroma, live music will fill the air while games and a fishing derby will offer more entertainment.

September 29, 2-6 pm | 12847 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, www.missouriwine.com

hArtsBurg PuMPkin FestiVAl What’s more fun than carving pumpkins? hand-picking the gourd that will soon be your canvas! do this and more at the hartsburg Pumpkin Festival. in its 21st year, the festival has evolved from a small community gathering into a statewide event, hosting more than 200 food and craft booths along with rows and rows of the classic fall vegetable.

There will be thousands of locally grown pumpkins to pick as your own, along with pumpkin painting, a corn maze, apple butter making, and musical entertainment.

October 13-14 | Hartsburg www.hartsburgpumpkinfest.com heritAge FestiVAl get lost in the past for the weekend at the heritage Festival. Artisans and tradesmen will don fashion from the 19th century while showing off their trades and selling their wares. two stages will offer a smattering of entertainment such as dancing and storytelling. several activities, such as candle dipping and rope making, will be available for younger festival goers. Be prepared to get spooked at an evening of ghost stories, and top off your stay with a tour of the historic Maplewood home.

September 15 and 16 | 2900 E. Nifong www.gocolumbiamo.com/ParksandRec/ Activities_and_Programs/heritage-festival.php roots n Blues n BBQ Follow the music and savory smells to downtown Columbia. discover for yourself the musical notes and savory sauces that have festival goers in a tizzy. Musicians and listeners alike will flood Columbia, eager to experience the pairing of bluesy melodies and homestyle barbeque that make this festival what it is—a midMissouri fall staple. in its sixth year, the festival is more than outdoor concerts and street food. it also features a barbeque contest, half marathon, and a 10-kilometer race.

September 21-22 | Downtown Columbia Tickets: $55-$75, www.rootsnbluesnbbq.com

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COLUMBIA STAR DINNER TRAIN

ShrYoCkS CallaWaY FarmS Plan an evening spent at Shryocks Callaway Farms where the crisp fall air, rolling pumpkin patch, and 15-acre corn maze are sure to cultivate a cornucopia of new memories. The maze takes around two hours to complete, so make a night out of visiting the farm and getting lost. once you make your way out of the maze, head over to a roaring campfire, heat up a mug of apple cider, roast a marshmallow until it’s gooey, and enjoy the bright twinkling stars. hayrides are available for groups of 25 people or more.

2927 County Road 253 | 573-592-0191 www.callawayfarms.com PeaCh tree Farm hold on to one last bite of summer as you transition into fall with a visit to the Peach tree Farm in boonville. The farm carries more than 15 varieties of tree-grown peaches so you’ll have plenty of picking options to choose from. There is also a pumpkin patch with a variety of pumpkins, gourds, and squashes, as well as a barnyard that is home to sheep, goats, donkeys, ducks, and more eagerly awaiting some attention.

24863 Hwy. 98, Boonville | 660-882-8009 www.thepeachfarm.com PiCk anD PiCk at Pick and Pick, a simple red barn sits amid rows and rows of lush vegetables and fruits waiting patiently to be picked. Pick and Pick operates 10 acres of a berry patch and garden. Come fall, the berry patch is bursting with succulent raspberries.

The berries begin ripening in the fall and continue until the first frost of the season.

5910 Rangeline | 573-214-2029 www.pickandpick.com

notleY haWkinS; CourteSY oF ShYroCk’S; JuStin leeSmann

Columbia Star Dinner train if you’re looking for a new way to admire the crisp oranges, yellows, and reds of fall, book a seat on the Columbia Star Dinner train. You’ll be whisked away in vintage passenger cars as you cruise along the missouri countryside.

The ride lasts around three hours and includes a four-course gourmet meal that is prepared on the train. You’ll dine at tables dressed in white linen and fine china with candlelight for a soft ambience while enjoying entrée options such as Whistle blower chicken, smoked trout cakes, or a mustard-glazed pork chop. a Sunday brunch option is also available where guests can pick from options such as biscuits and gravy, belgian waffles, or a classic american breakfast that comes with eggs, bacon, and a biscuit.

6501 N. Brown Station Road | 573-474-2223 www.dinnertrain.com

Explore SHRYOCKS CALLAWAY FARMS mightY mo Canoe & KaYak tourS Follow in lewis and Clark’s footprints and book a canoe trip down the missouri river with mighty mo Canoe rental as you marvel at the tree-lined landscape in its fall splendor.

The guided tour starts from rocheport and continues toward huntsdale while passing the manitou bluffs, the most photographed portion of the mid-missouri river valley. This stretch of the river is for both novices and long-time paddlers. tour guides use the river and sandbars as classroom aides as they teach paddlers about lewis and Clark’s history, how the river has changed since the 19th century, and the missouri landscape. tours depart from the katy trail bed and breakfast located on the katy trail in rocheport and last around four hours.

101 Lewis Street, Rocheport | 573-698-3903 www.mighty-mo.com

MIGHTY MO CANOE & KAYAK TOURS

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COURTESY OF BROADWAY BREWERY; EVAN WOOD

BROADWAY BREWERY

SPARKY’s

Savor FLAT BRANCH Pumpkin might be fall’s signature flavor, but Flat Branch Pub and Brewing adds a twist to the spice: the restaurant serves it cold and in a glass in its annual Great Pumpkin Ale. The recipe calls for more than 275 pounds of fresh pumpkins that are mashed and added to the brew. The aroma of fresh-from-the-oven pumpkin pie comes from the addition of five spices that swirl together to make a dessert flavor the perfect pairing with dinner. Relax on the shady patio, pair a pint with a tasty appetizer, and say hello to a fine fall evening. The savory flavor is available starting Halloween.

115 S. Fifth Street | 573-499-0400 www.flatbranch.com BROADWAY BREWERY Along with its spiced pumpkin beer, a stout and a milk stout will be making their way onto this brewery’s menu come fall. The dining menu will focus on highlighting the flavors and textures of produce that is in the peak of its season, such as squash, hearty greens, and juicy apples.

Meat that pairs well with this fusion of tastes will tie the meal together, such as pork chops, pork tenderloins, or warm shepherd’s pie, leaving your taste buds puckering for more.

816 E. Broadway | 573-443-5054 www.broadwaybrewery.com

SPARKY’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM It isn’t quite your momma’s pumpkin pie, but it’s close: fresh batches of Sparky’s pumpkin pie ice cream are making a comeback just in time for autumn. Grab a table outside the parlor, settle in for a people-watching afternoon, and dig in to the creamy dessert (seconds are encouraged).

21 S. Ninth Street | 573-443-7300 Facebook: Sparkys Homemade Ice Cream SYCAMORE Fresh fall flavors will make their way onto Sycamore’s menu this fall, eager to satisfy taste buds.

Seasonal vegetables will make plates colorful, vibrant with the oranges, browns and greens of the season. Entrees will include options reserved only for autumn, and you’ll want to order fall dessert and share it with no one but yourself.

800 E. Broadway | 573-874-8090 www.sycamorerestaurant.com

573-875-1231 | www.visitcolumbiamo.com 300 South Providence Road

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S T O RY A N D PH O T O G R A PH Y

BY L AU R E N H U GH E S

Wild

AND

Free

T H E E L E V E N P O I N T R I V E R : A H I D D E N G E M F O R F L O AT E R S [34] MissouriLife

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7/5/12 6:23 PM

Dark clouds consume the blue morning sky as we wait.

In every group of friends, there are those that are always late. These are the friends I trick: “Yes, we need to leave by 6:30 AM,” I tell them, when really, we need to leave at 7. And usually this works, but today my fool-proof trick has failed.

And so we wait some more, starting an impromptu whiffle ball game. Our gear is ready to go—coolers packed full of snacks and drinks, tents, sleeping bags, sunscreen, and dry bags. I’ve yet to have a canoe flip, but you never know.

Rain drops start to fall. “Katie and Matt took the wrong turn. They’ll be here in 20 minutes.” This is a true test of patience: late friends and a thunderstorm are threatening my float on the Eleven Point River.

The Eleven Point River is Missouri’s only designated wild and scenic river. While it’s not completely below the radar, it isn’t far from it. It twists and turns through wildly beautiful and rugged Ozarks terrain. This is why in 1968, when Congress created the National Wild and Scenic River System, 44 miles of the Eleven Point River were included in the original eight rivers. (The remaining were: Clearwater and Salmon rivers in Idaho, Feather River in California, Rio Grande River in New Mexico, Rogue

River in Oregon, St. Croix River in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Wolf River in Wisconsin.)

The National Wild and Scenic River System was established as a way to preserve rivers that possessed significant natural beauty, scenery, and wildlife and were free of shoreline development. Today, these rivers, or sections of rivers, are protected from being dammed and flow in their natural condition, wild and free.

As soon as Matt and Katie arrive, we pack everything up and leave.

It’s a two-hour drive to Eleven Point River Canoe Rental in Alton, and it storms the whole way. Heavy rain falls; windshield wipers work furiously as I become furious. How dare it rain on my float trip?

Just as I begin planning how to fashion a makeshift poncho out of a large black trash bag, the sky clears. And just this once, I am happy my friends were an hour late. They’ve saved all of us from starting our float trip in a storm.

When we reach Eleven Point Canoe Rental, we load everything into large vans pulling stacks of canoes. The vans wind down a brown-dirt road for miles until we reach the Turner Mill access point, the start to our 14-mile float trip.

Turner’s Mill, located at mile 21.5 on the Eleven Point River, is the perfect starting point. It comes after Greer Spring, which more than doubles the Eleven Point River, and the old mill site is still intact.

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Taking a break from paddling, Katie Woods and Matthew Mims Wall float the Eleven Point River. The river is fed by Greer Spring, the 10th largest spring in the world.

Turner’s Mill used to be the site of a small community named Surprise, which had a general store, post office, school, houses, and, of course, Turner’s Mill, which was fully functional from the 1850s to the early 20th century. The mill was used to saw lumber, grind corn, and mill wheat into flour.

Historic Turner’s Mill was acquired by the Forestry Service in the 1970s, and the only remnants remaining are Surprise School and a rusted wheel in the spring’s branch. Today, there are picnic tables and a boat launch as well as several campsites for overnight floaters.

The morning fog rises over the running turquoise water. Green leaves rustle as the wind blows. The canoe is packed, and with a gentle push off the ramp, we are in the water.

The current is stronger than I am used to—little paddling is needed. Still, I dip my paddle into the water and feel the canoe push forward, inching further along the Eleven Point River.

I begin to realize why someone wanted to protect this river and all of its beauty. I start to understand how important it is to keep it preserved and remote.

I didn’t expect to encounter such contemplation while floating on a Saturday in June, yet the Eleven Point River is so wonderfully remote, that’s exactly what I get: the sound of birds, the trickle of water, and the breeze through the trees. We spot wildlife throughout the day—an eagle soaring over the flowing river and turtles perched on broken logs.

Broken logs. These are enemies to be on the lookout for. They rise up out of the water, their gnarly branches hoping to grip and flip your canoe. And if they are lucky, you will lose.

Around Horseshoe Bend, one canoe in our party becomes prey to

the river’s bank. Katie’s paddle is lost forever, sucked below the cool water by a too-strong current. A little ways from this battle, another battle ensues. One canoe encounters a broken log, peeking out of the water. My friends float around the bend too widely, and when they hit the log, their canoe capsizes.

I avoid this log by taking an inside path around the bend and staying close to a gravel bar—a prime spot to watch both battles, which quickly become humorous after I am sure everyone is safe.

After a very kind stranger with a motor boat helps my friends round up their belongings and reclaim their canoe, we are ready to embark again along the Eleven Point River.

The rest of the afternoon goes smoothly. The boys fish, hoping to catch trout for dinner. I try my hand at fishing, but I have a slight problem with it, in that if they aren’t biting, I’m not interested. We stop along the river’s gravel bars, wade in the river, fly fish, and climb trees to retrieve tangled fishing lures.

Several float camps along the Eleven Point River are open to floaters: Horseshoe Bend, Barn Hollow, Whites Creek, Greenbriar, and Boze Mill are all float camps we pass on our 14-mile float. Some float camps are near the abandoned mills of the Eleven Point, which make for a great opportunity to explore.

The Boze Mill Float Camp is near an old mill and spring.

Boze Mill Spring, at mile marker 33.5, adds an average of 15 million gallons of water to the Eleven Point River each day.

Vibrant hues of green pop under the clear, rushing water at Boze Mill. The only remnants of the mill are the turbine and turbine housing as well as the mill dam.

This mill has history—it began in 1859 and went through a

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series of owners and drama, including a murder at the mill. Before Prohibition, a distillery operated at Boze Mill. In 1977, the mill was sold to the National Scenic River System. Our group takes a break here, leaving our canoes beached on the bank as we walk across the mill dam and revel in the history.

Just past Boze Mill Spring the current picks up. We approach rapid currents, and skillful maneuvering is used to avoid a repeat of the day’s earlier catastrophe. As we near Halls Bay, the river divides, and we veer to the right, which delivers a fast run over a ledge past the currents.

The Riverton Access is close. I can feel the float coming to an end as the bright orange sun sets behind trees and evening fog begins to snake its way off the water.

We meet the Highway 160 bridge, our end point, and are back to civilization. I see cars, other people, and it is bittersweet. I am sad to leave this beautiful river, but I am starved in a way that only hot dogs and s’mores will satisfy.

We leave the canoe rental in Alton and drive back to our starting point, Turner’s Mill. It is here we set up camp for the night. There are several well-spaced sites promising seclusion and privacy.

Before heading into my tent for the night, I walk to the boat access and take a midnight swim, washing off the sunscreen and bug spray. My flashlight sits on a rock and points out over the river. The sky is black, and there are hundreds of stars.

I plunge into the cold water, slightly terrified because I cannot really see anything but also exhilarated.

The Eleven Point River flows around my body, and I feel wild and free, just like the river.

Top, clockwise: Fog rises over the Eleven Point River. The founder of Turner’s Mill, James Letcher Clay Turner, ordered this over-shot wheel in 1914 from Indiana. At Boze Mill, Carroll M. Rice murdered his wife, Mary, and later became the second man in Oregon County to be hanged.

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BY L AU R E N H U GH E S

Adventures

Fly Fishing IN

ON THE ELEVEN POINT

Brian Sloss, owner of Eleven Point River Canoe Rental, observes and coaches writer Lauren Hughes as she casts her line. Right: Before starting down the Eleven Point River, Brian teaches Lauren the basics of fly fishing.

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Fishing is a thing of patience, of waiting quietly until you obtain your

JIM LICKLIDER

prize. There are two problems with this. One, I am not patient. And two, I do not wait quietly. Throw in the nice little caveat that I don’t even know how to fly fish, and well, it’s not exactly my idea of a good time.

But fly-fishing on the Eleven Point River? That’s an entirely different story. After my adventures in floating the only designated National Wild and Scenic River in Missouri (see page 34), I knew I’d have to trek back down to the Ozarks soon. This river is a thing of beauty unlike any other—it inspires the kind of unbridled tranquility and peace that jives perfectly with fishing: rod in your hand, eye on the water, quiet in your mind.

I set out on a stunning fall day in late September with my fiancé, Jim Licklider, and Brian Sloss, the owner of Eleven Point River Canoe Rental.

Brian and his team were great on our float trip, so much so that I knew he’d be the perfect fit to teach me how to fly fish. Plus, Brian is an avid fly fisherman. Though he grew up in Fulton and lived in Columbia for many years, he spent much of his time fly fishing on the Eleven Point. When an opportunity presented itself for him to buy a canoe rental business in 2004, he took the bait. After a couple years getting the canoe rental business down, he added guided fly fishing tours.

The great thing about learning with Brian is that he takes care of everything. He has all of the equipment, he packs lunch, and best of all—he rows the boat so you can focus on fishing. This isn’t necessary, but it’s something that is of great importance if you are a fly-fishing newbie like me.

We start at the Greer Spring Boat Access ramp. Here, he unloads his custom-built boat and pulls out his fly rods, ready to teach us the basics. I go first. He shows me the maneuver used to get the line out into the water. Fly fishing is different in that the fly line and lure are so light, you can’t just tip your rod back and cast normally.

You have to flick the rod up quickly, stop at the 12 o’clock position abruptly, and then bring the rod back down quickly, loading your rod (a fancy way of saying: Lauren, wait patiently for the line to unwind, please). By doing this, your rod acts as a springboard for the line, and it is propelled out into the water.

I spend the next 10 minutes practicing this move. Up. Stop. Down.

Up. Stop. Down. It becomes a mantra on repeat in the back of my mind. Unfortunately, I lack a certain quality most fly fisherman have perfected, that of hand-eye coordination. It takes me a while to get this maneuver down, and I don’t think I ever truly perfected it. But when Brian deems my moves suitable enough, he shows me how to reel in a fish. It’s a little different than a spinning rod. With a spinning rod, you just reel in the fish by spinning the reel. Pretty simple.

But with a fly rod, you have to pull the line with your finger. This move is easier for me to grasp, and I start feeling more confident.

Then Brian throws more maneuvers my way: “Mend upstream,” (a nifty move used to cast across fast water, thus delaying the moment your line starts pulling the fly downstream).

“Good, now mend downstream,” (a move used to cast across slow water).

“Try high stick nymphing,” he says last, making it sound easy. High stick nymphing is a common strategy used to fish in fast flowing shallow currents, where you let the bobber skim the top of the water with your rod tip held high to follow it.

After about 20 minutes of practice, Jim takes his turn. He’s had a little bit more practice than me with fly fishing, so he doesn’t take very long, putting my newly hard-earned skills to shame. This gives Brian time to add a lure to my line. Then, he adds the bobber, which serves as an indicator for when a fish bites. I spend most of my day fishing with a stone fly lure until a fish bites it off. After, I use a lure that mimics a minnow. It’s less traditional, but it gets the job done.

From the Greer Spring access to the Turner Mill access, there is a Blue Ribbon Trout section with special regulations. In this wild trout management area, anglers are limited to keeping one 18-inch trout, caught with only artificial lures and flies. Past the Turner Mill access, regulations are less stringent—anglers may keep up to four trout, caught at any size or with any method, including natural, soft

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Top, clockwise: Brian paddles the canoe so Jim Licklider, Lauren’s fiancé, can focus on fishing. Brian and Jim talk about the conservation efforts behind keeping the Eleven Point River wild and scenic. Lauren proudly shows off one of her catches from Little Hurricane Shoal.

plastic, and scented baits such as dough bait.

Brian, though, has his own stipulations on his guided fishing tours.

In my experience floating in Missouri, I’ve encountered some great outfitters and some that are a little less than great. Eleven Point River Canoe Rentals is one of the greats. Brian is passionate about what he does. Not only is he passionate, but he is deeply aware of the importance of protecting and conserving the pristine nature of the Eleven Point River. On his guided fishing trips, he does not allow his guests to keep the fish they catch in an effort to preserve the trout population. For me, this sort of business ethic is refreshing, and I don’t mind having to slip the fish we catch back into the cool current of the river.

We set out in the boat, finally, and I am eager to start. Brian takes the boat upstream first to try out a fishing spot near the banks of the Eleven Point. We cast into areas that fish hide in: boulders, rocks, fallen trees, and weed beds. After some time here (and no caught fish), we start heading downstream and reach a fork in the river.

Brian shares that the island created by this particular fork is the largest island on the river. We take the left fork, known as the “Stair Step Hole” because of the historic concrete steps on the steep left bank, and continue casting out. Still having troubles with casting, it takes me some time to feel like I am doing anything resembling fly fishing.

But, the sun is shining and there is a light breeze. I take a break and lean back in the boat. After a while, my feet begin to warm up in the black rubber boots I am wearing. (Normally, anglers wear waders, but since I’m new to this whole fly-fishing thing, I don’t have fancy waders.) I pull the boots and my

socks off and dip my toes into the cool waters of the Eleven Point.

The sky is a perfect blue with puffy white clouds, and there are yellow leaves falling everywhere around me, a sure sign that Missouri fall is coming. Jim continues fishing in the front of the boat, and Brian gives him pointers on his form.

In the next hour or two, Jim and I each catch a couple fish, but not as many as Brian expected us to. Over lunch, Brian wonders aloud why the fish aren’t biting much today. Then he remembers.

A couple days before, the Missouri Department of Conservation electroshocked the river so they could spend time evaluating the trout population. The Eleven Point trout population was heavily overfished by settlers and fishermen in the early 20th century. The river is stocked periodically. Spawning season happens in late November, making late September and October prime fishing times.

During spawning, it’s best to be judicious when fishing.

Usually, Brian can see large groups of fish spawning in parts of the river during spawning season, but he chooses to never fish those areas at that time.

“If you catch a female, she could be laying eggs, and that’s a lot of future trout that just ended up in your boat if you reel her in,” he says.

Jim studied forestry at the University of Missouri-Columbia, so he and Brian spend the rest of lunch discussing the conservation efforts in the area. Brian tells us MDC recently began a black bear study in the area, and he explains the intricate relationship that MDC and the U.S. Forest Service have in managing the Eleven Point River. Neither entity manages the river

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Explore the Eleven Point Get on th e Wate r Eleven Point River Canoe Rental Owner Brian Sloss knows his stuff. Floating with Eleven Point Canoe Rental in Alton guarantees a fun, worry-free float trip.

Rt. 2 Box 2522 | 417-778-6497 www.11pointcanoe.com

Richard’s Canoe Rental Richard’s Canoe Rental has been family owned and operated since 1976.

Rt. 2 Box 2427 | 417-778-6186 www.richardscanoerental.com

Hufstedler’s Canoe Rental This outfitter offers canoe and tube rentals.

LAUREN HUGHES; jim LickLidER

RR 1 Box 1280 | 417-778-1605

alone; the two work together to keep the Eleven Point wild and scenic.

Sandwiches in our bellies and the day’s lesson in conservation finished, we hit Little Hurricane Shoal, and Brian steps out of the boat to position us just below white caps. He says there is great fishing here, but it is difficult. “If you can catch a fish here, you’re doing a good job,” he says.

Jim casts out and gets one bite, but the fish leads his rod near a rock and unhooks itself. “If the fish takes your lure anywhere near a rock, you’re done,” Brian tells us. “It’ll escape.”

I cast out next and land a bite. I pull in the line, giving the fish some room to pull when it needs it but still pulling the fish in closer to the net. Bringing a fish in takes patience. When you snag a fish, you can’t just reel all the line in. You must gently pull it in. If the fish wants to run away for a second, you must let it, Brian reminds me.

“Just always be guiding it close to your net. Once its head is out of the water, then you can net it easily.”

Finally, the fish is in my net. I am elated that I, a girl with no patience, exercised superb self-control and patiently brought in a beautiful rainbow-colored trout at one of the harder areas to fish. I begin to think maybe, just maybe, I’ve got what it takes.

Mary Decker Shoal, one of the most talked about points of the river, comes next. The boulders at Mary Decker are left over from an old logging dam. Supposedly, Brian says, during the Civil War, a Union soldier from an Iowa regiment drowned here and still haunts the shoal today. I see no Union ghost, but I do see a couple of good areas to cast. We finish out the day fishing here with some luck as Jim catches a fish.

As we near the end of our fishing trip, Jim and I try to remember how many fish we each caught. We can’t exactly remember, but I know for certain I caught more than he did.

Not bad for a girl with no patience.

www.hufstedlers.com

Fuel up Alton Burger Palace This slice of Americana is sure to satisfy the biggest of burger cravings.

Alton Burger Palace serves up burgers, fries, and creamy milkshakes.

304 N. Market Street | 417-778-7276

Grandma’s Kitchen Come hungry, and Grandma will feed you. Or at least the friendly folks at Grandma’s Kitchen will. Fried chicken, open-faced roast beef, meatloaf, and mouth-watering sides await at this quaint country kitchen.

14 Court Square | 417-778-7577

La Pastorella Bistro, Mammoth Springs, Arkansas Venture just past the state line, and you’ll discover German homecooked meals. A married couple owns this charming bistro. She hails from Germany and serves plates such as pork chops and sauerkraut.

355 Main Street | 870-625-3000

Stay ov e r If camping isn’t what you want, Eleven Point River Canoe Rental also offers rental cottages for small or large groups. www.11pointcanoe.com

hi k e to Gr ee r S pr i nG Off Highway 19, Greer Spring is the second largest spring in Missouri, and it doubles the Eleven Point River. Access to Greer Spring is by a one-mile trail that descends 250 feet. The hike can be challenging, but it is beautiful, taking hikers through hardwoods and pines. There is no fishing, boating, floating, or wading allowed in the spring. www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mtnf/recarea/?recid=21722

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TOP FISHING RIVERS AND LAKES

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by Kelly Moffitt

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The waters of Missouri are the lifeblood of the state: From the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to springs, creeks, and lakes, Missouri’s waterways provide industry, agriculture, and recreation. Bountiful and bubbling, Missouri’s rivers encapsulate a perfect day of escape by jumping in swimming holes, plunging a paddle into currents, or casting the perfect line.

We’ve selected some of the top rivers in the state and included five of the best lakes for luring fish into your net and enjoying the scenery, with help from the Missouri Department of Conservation’s online resource “Fishing Prospects.” These rivers and lakes provide you with unique fishing opportunities all over the state. What better time than now to wade into Missouri’s life aquatic?

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PROMOTION

1. Nodaway River: Fish and consume history on the Nodaway River. Lewis and Clark camped at the mouth of this river in 1804. Catfish, sunfish, sauger, and bullhead roam these waters.

2. Platte River: When William Clark persuaded native American tribes in the area to sell their land in Northwest Missouri for $7,500, it was called the Platte Purchase. The biggest river in this area offers some of the largest fish in Missouri: common carp, buffalo, freshwater drum and gar, as well as gigantic flathead, channel, and blue catfish call the waterway home.

3. Grand River: The lack of dams on the largest watershed serving the Missouri River make this a natural paradise. The deep holes this river boasts make it the perfect place for those on the hunt for channel catfish, too. Anglers using live bait have been known to catch flathead and blue catfish weighing more than 30 pounds.

4. Chariton River: Just call it Missouri’s version of the continental divide: streams east of it flow into the Mississippi, and streams west of it flow in the Missouri, where it also flows. For fishing, that translates to channel and flathead catfish, as well as carp.

5. Blue River: If wading’s your thing, there’s a shallow section of the Blue River from the border of Kansas that offers largemouth bass, sunfish, and channel catfish. Deeper areas of the river offer common carp.

6. Lower South Grand River: This year-round fishing river boasts good numbers of catfish, but the craftier white and hybrid striped bass make fishing fun.

ISTOCK; MISSOURI DIVISION OF TOURISM

7. Meramec: Numerous caves and lush landscape surround the Meramec, and the fishing’s not bad either. Bass fishing is great within the Stream Black Bass Management Area. Fish 12 inches and smaller must be returned to the water, but 15-inch fish are abundant.

8. Roubidoux Creek: The submerged cave system from which Roubidoux Creek rises is a popular attraction for cave diving, but the coldwater spring inside is what beckons those on the hunt for rainbow and brown trout. Trout and rock bass are plentiful for those willing to brave the chilly water.

9. Courtois Creek: The Courtois offers excellent wading for anglers. Longear, sunfish,

MDTspread-Rivers.indd 43

and bluegill abound in this cover-filled stream.

Branches, vegetation, and boulders are a call for large quantities of smallmouth and rock bass.

10. Niangua: The Osage term “Niangua,” meaning “many springs,” should conjure up images of pristine water and bountiful trout.

Whether you are looking for rainbow or brown, the numbers are sure to be plentiful because there is a White Ribbon Trout Area near Bennett Spring State Park.

11. Big Piney River: An abundance of sandbars for relaxing, gorgeous limestone bluffs, and smallmouth and rock bass make this secondary tributary of the Missouri River a great place for fishermen as well as those looking for beautiful vistas, especially in the autumn.

12. St. Francis River: If you seek the excitement of white water but still want to go fishing, the St. Francis is the place for you.

Spotted and largemouth bass as well as buffalo, gar, and a variety of catfish can be encountered on the river.

13. Crane Creek: According to “Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams,” this stream is a jewel. Clear-as-glass spring-fed water and limestone sinks make this a great place to find rainbow trout.

14. James River: Float trips for anglers reportedly originated on the James River near Galena. A preferred mode of fishing here is by johnboat, which offers stability for fishing many bass species, sunfish, catfish, walleye, and paddlefish.

15. Jacks Fork: If you’re in the mood for canyon-like scenery, the 44-mile long Jacks Fork is the place you should go. Submerged in a deep valley, this area promises a different bassfishing experience.

16. Current River: With origins in the Montauk State Park, pristine trout fishing conditions in the Current are a standard. With catch-and-release, fly-fishing-only, and speciallure-specified sections, anglers are sure to see rainbow and brown trout.

17. Elk River: Anglers out for the joy of the catch, and nothing more, will enjoy the prospects of Elk River; it was designated a Black Bass Special Management Area by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 2004. Bass under 15 inches must be returned to the water,

but fish over 15 inches are abundant.

18. North Fork: Another Missouri river to make it into “Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams,” the best flyfishing water in this area is lower in the system after the double springs that add a steady flow of cold water to the river.

19. Eleven Point: One of the most protected areas in the state also bodes some of the best fishing in the state: longear sunfish, bass, chain pickerel, walleye, and sauger. Rainbow trout are the main attraction, however.

20. Black River: For anglers looking to catch something a little more prehistoric, head to the Black River during spring and fall seasons. The paddlefish are a hard catch but fun for those looking for a challenge.

Five Lakes

21. Bilby Ranch Lake: Because of its northerly location, Bilby Ranch boasts one of the longest ice-fishing seasons in Missouri; panfish and catfish are “willing biters” during the wintertime. In other seasons, walleye and largemouth bass are plentiful.

22. Mark Twain Lake: Crappie, walleye, catfish, bluegill, perch…you name it, the 18,000-acre Mark Twain Lake’s got it. Fun for the kids can be found at the nearby Lake Tom Sawyer, where they can fish from the shore for largemouth bass.

23. Lake of the Ozarks: White crappie abound in the brush piles of Lake of the Ozarks—which are placed specially by the MDC. While the kids have fun at a nearby waterpark, you can enjoy a good catch of largemouth and spotted bass, catfish, white bass, and walleye.

24. Lake Wappapello: Eat, sleep, hike, backpack, fish, and do it all again the next day is the way at Lake Wappapello. Crappie, bass, and catfish abound, and the night fishing is spectacular at specified locations in the state park.

25. Lake Taneycomo: Before the Table Rock dam was put in, Lake Taneycomo was a warm water lake. Not anymore! Since the dam was put in, the area was flooded with cold water—turning it into a trout angler’s paradise.

Approximately 90 percent of the fish caught in the lake are rainbow trout, and the lake also boasts a trout hatchery.

VisitMO.com

7/6/12 9:16 AM

The Kansas City Zoo brings education and conservation efforts to the forefront.

The almost 1,000-pound animal, covered in white fur, paces back and forth, as if waiting for something; he takes each step with a powerful—though light—touch. In the blink of an eye, he pounces and heads straight into the clear, blue water.

Nikita, the Kansas City Zoo’s 5-year-old polar bear, swims playfully with one of his favorite toys, a white plastic barrel that shows the wear and tear of being a bear’s plaything. Brought to the zoo in 2010, the loveable, entertaining bear is part of a newly renovated entry area that is the beginning of more than four miles of trails that cover the expansive zoo.

COURTESY OF KANSAS CITY ZOO; LAUREN HUGHES

BY ANDR E W LOVGR EN

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courtesy of kansas city zoo

Since opening in 1909, the Kansas City Zoo has grown from a single building to 202 acres. Home to more than 1,000 animals, the private non-profit is about more than just having fun. The zoo’s mission includes four points: education, research, conservation, and entertainment.

“I always go back to our mission because it drives and gives purpose to what we do,” says Debra Ryder, director of education. “Few people view zoos as anything but a place to take the family for a fun afternoon.

This is very important, and we appreciate our visitors. They financially allow us to keep the lights on and care for the animals. We spend countless resources trying to make our guests happy and comfortable, but our purpose is driven by the animals. They need our help, and they need us to tell their story.”

During a visit with Debra and several other zoo staff members, I was able to learn some of these animals’ stories.

playing with his many toys, some of which may come as a surprise.

“Just like with a pet, a favorite toy they have every day no longer becomes a favorite,” says Sean Putney, the zookeeper in charge of Nikita’s exhibit.

“It’s not enrichment if they have it every day.”

Enrichment is a staple for the animals, and it involves stimulating all five senses through the use of many items. Though some of these toys, such as his ball and plastic syrup containers donated by Coca-Cola, are meant to be played with, others merely stimulate him. A rotating disco light, small television for videos, and snake skins are just a few of the many things that are used to add a change of environment for Nikita.

“It’s not just about buying toys and letting him play with them,” Sean says. “It’s important to keep him on his toes and switch things up. So we make a lot of our own things for him. We have to be creative.”

Nikita the Polar Bear

The Sea Lions

Nikita represents all four of the Kansas City Zoo’s directives. Polar bears are becoming more and more threatened as the ice caps they rely on for a steady food supply continue to disappear. Since they’re not fast swimmers, polar bears must hunt from atop ice floes. These hunting grounds are becoming scarcer. Because of this, Nikita represents the zoo’s focus on conservation. Through the zoo’s association with Polar Bear International and the Association of Zoo and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan, organizations and programs that specialize in the protection of the threatened species, Kansas City was able to bring Nikita to its zoo from the Toledo Zoo. Part of a multimillion dollar entryway reconstruction, Polar Bear Passage includes a 140,000-gallon filtered pool, a sand pit, and a grassy area. The exhibit was also built to be as green as possible, with a filtered pool, plant insulation on the roof, and a next door rain garden. The exhibit received LEED Silver certification.

“LEED certification communicates to our community that we are serious about conserving and protecting our environment,” Debra says.

Nikita has quickly become the star of the zoo. Guests often see him swimming through his 65-degree pool or

Just through KidZone and across from Tropics, an exhibit with primates, birds, and stingrays, lies the sea lion exhibit.

The fence surrounding the exhibit and the bleachers above are filled. As the sea lion show begins, I hope for nothing more than a cool splash to ease the early morning heat.

The show stars Vince, a large nine-year-old California sea lion, and two younger females, Sunny and Delilah. The two girls were abandoned by their mothers in southern California. The zoo sent two zookeepers to California in an effort to train them—not to do tricks but rather to survive. Sunny and Delilah had to learn how to swim, fish, and walk, and zookeepers cared for the pair around the clock for two weeks. After training, they were transported to the Kansas City Zoo where they are still under continuous training.

All of the tricks the three sea lions perform are taught using the sea lions’ natural instincts and behaviors, making them extensions of their normal actions. Each show is a continuation of the training they receive with new progress made every day.

Sunny represents some of the research going on at the zoo. It is believed she has domoic acid poisoning, a condition that affects the brain and causes epilepsy. The disease is caused by a phenomenon known as Red Tide, which is

Nikita the 1,000-pound polar bear lives in a LEED Silver certified exhibit. His exhibit has a 140,000-gallon filtered pool, a sand pit, and a grassy area, plus plant insulation on the roof and a rain garden next door.

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Penny the Wallaby Just past the polar bear exhibit lies Australia. As a special part of my tour, I join up with one of the zoo’s educational programs. The Keeper for a Day program, a day camp for kids ages 7 to 18, gives students a feel for the life of the keeper. Part of the program involves helping the keepers let some of the animals out into their exhibits before the zoo opens for the day.

First, the singing dogs and emus are let out of the Australia pen, a barn-like building that holds the emus,

singing dogs, kangaroos, and wallabies. In the kitchen area, a board with each of the animal’s diets, along with any special needs, hangs next to large barrels filled with different types of food. The back of the building houses a research project on Wyoming toads that aims to introduce more of the endangered toad species into the wild.

In the food area, David Dillard, a zookeeper, pulls out several small red biscuits that are typically fed to orangutans and other primates. “They’ll chew it, get a lot of spit together, and then make it into a ball,” David explains while handing them out to anyone willing to try. “Then, they’ll take it out of their mouths and eat it like an apple.”

I take one to try. Perhaps it’s the grassy, dry texture, but the red biscuit makes me gag. Unlike the red biscuits meant for primates, the kangaroos get a special treat most humans recognize—bread.

Before letting the kangaroos out for the day, the participants in Keeper for a Day step inside the ’roo pen and offer them bread. Each of the red kangaroo’s distinct personalities is evident at first glance.

Some shake nervously, while others grab hands, seemingly begging for attention or a snack. Others are noticeably older and hide near the back. Two of the animals have joey legs sticking out of their pouches. As they hop around slowly, coming forward for some bread—some more tentatively than others—David easily names each one

lauren hughes

Top: Vince is a 9-year-old sea lion who performs with Sunny and Delilah, two younger sea lions.

Bottom: Penny the wallaby enjoys human interaction, which can happen with animals that are abandoned by their mothers.

the buildup of ocean algae. The algae reduces oxygen levels and releases dangerous toxins such as domoic acid.

Though the cause is uncertain, many believe the increase in algae is due to either increased pollution or altered weather patterns. Whatever the cause, sea lions that are exposed to domoic acid during fetal stages have a chance of developing seizures and drowning once born.

Both girls show minor symptoms of domoic acid poisoning and know to swim out of the water before they start seizing.

Zookeepers continue to monitor and care for the girls, and both are doing well today.

Sunny and Delilah’s rescue goes far beyond giving them a comfortable life and entertaining zoo guests.

The research and education going on at the Kansas City Zoo will help prevent more sea lions from suffering the same effects.

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without looking at their numbered ear tags.

“This one’s my favorite,” David says, scratching the chest of one of the kangaroos, who bends back and squints his eyes contentedly.

Just past the ’roo pen are the wallabies. These smaller marsupials typically shy away from humans, avoiding any contact even with those that are familiar. Penny, a 1-yearold wallaby who was abandoned by her mother, is a different story. She scampers up as soon as anyone comes into the pen, begging to be held. In fact, while the other wallabies scurry inside at the end of the day, Penny waits to be carried off the exhibit. As David picks her up, she is content, holding onto a piece of bread and chewing quickly in a manner that is reminiscent of a squirrel. Penny is not like other wallabies—this close human interaction is not typical but occasionally does happen with animals that have been raised by humans instead of their own mothers.

A holding area near the exit holds only a few kangaroos, all sleeping quietly. One of them, Dunbar, is no longer allowed on exhibit. David calls him “our great escape artist,” as he has learned the train schedule, waits by the gate, and springs out as soon as it opens to let the train through.

Dunbar must wait to be shipped to another zoo where he can live safely and comfortably. (Editor’s note: Dunbar now lives in his new home at the San Diego Zoo.) David opens the gate and lets the animals out into the exhibit. They move sheepishly at first, cautiously searching for any possible threat. Soon, the group bounds into the grassy area, burning off the energy built up over the night.

The kangaroo exhibit is expansive. With a large, open grassy area in the center, the exhibit is surrounded by trees and has a path that passes through the exhibit. A gate on both ends of the path prevents the kangaroos from escaping while allowing visitors to walk inside the exhibit with the kangaroos, though they still shy away from humans.

lauren hughes

Little Lorikeet On our way to Africa is the lorikeet pen, a roughly sevenfoot-tall cage that guests can enter, providing an interesting, entertaining learning experience. Every hour on the hour, zoo visitors are welcome to stop by and feed cups of nectar to the talkative birds, native to Southern Asia and Australia.

I step through the two sets of doors into the cage where the birds with emerald green wings and rainbow-colored chests are interacting with many of the other guests, comically in some cases. The birds jump up and perch on the arm, finger, knee, and back of anyone who enters their territory, happily interacting with the guests.

I get my cup of nectar, hold my arm straight, and soon an eager lorikeet hops up on my arm, walks over to my hand,

The zoo’s lorikeet exihibit gives writer Andrew Lovgren a chance to interact with the birds. He holds out a cup of nectar, and the lorikeet quickly finishes the treat.

and begins lapping up the sweet drink. With little feelers all along the tongue, the little lorikeet is a quick eater, and, consequently, needs to relieve himself soon after. This particular bird decides to turn off of my arm, a courteous gesture to be sure and lucky for me.

This feeding is not the main diet of the birds. They receive other fruits and food at the beginning and end of the day. The hourly feedings are a part of an enrichment program. The ritual also allows the zookeeper to interact with guests and give them a hands-on experience.

“Kids especially want to touch the animals,” Sean says, “and while they can’t get up close and touch a rhino or an elephant, they can get an up-close experience with Nikita eats 16 pounds of fish, five pounds of the lorikeet and some of the other dog food, and 1 1/2 pounds of lard each day. exhibits.”

AnimAL TriviA

African Oasis Dumasani, a large male lion, rolls over lazily, repositioning himself without opening an eye. Two female lions lie in the shade, and another one lies upon a rock, sunning her stomach in the extreme heat.

As a group of visitors sit inside air-conditioned viewing areas, a zookeeper comes out for the Keeper Chat, which takes place daily with times and frequencies varying by exhibit. The keeper comes out and gives a short talk about the animal and then answers any questions the audience may have.

This particular Keeper Chat ends in an especially wild way. With a plate of newspaper-wrapped raw

Kangaroos can have up to three joeys in succession from one fertilization.

Not all male lions have manes.

The Bornean Orangutan’s gestation lasts 244 days. One mother will give birth to one baby (very rarely two) every four years.

Giraffes have the same number of bones in their necks as humans do in their bodies.

The original 1909 zoo building, which housed the entire zoo when it first opened, reopened in 2009 as the Tropics, an indoor rainforest area.

The Red Panda must be kept cool because it gets heat stroke at only 85 degrees.

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THE BEST OF THE ZOO In America’s Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans and Families, the Kansas City Zoo was named one of the top 60 zoos in the country. The zoo ranks as the top zoo in the nation to see chimpanzees and kangaroos and for “African Animals and Exhibits.” At 202 acres, the Kansas City Zoo is the second largest zoo in North America.

The Black Rhino breeding program is among the most successful in the world with two calves born in the past 10 years.

exhibit is heavily wooded in back with a shaded area up front where the chimps spend most of their day. Behind the tree line of the exhibit is a large 30-foot wall that can barely be seen through the dense trees.

With mannerisms like humans, one chimp leans against the viewing building—hands behind its head and legs crossed—contentedly eating a few leaves. Next to him a younger chimp builds a sort of bed out of twigs and leaves, occasionally burying itself in what appears to be a game.

Creatures of habit and routine, all of the chimps leave the front area to walk around the perimeter of the exhibit and check for anything new and unusual.

In April of 2004, a severe thunderstorm brought down a tree, causing it to lean against the back wall. Upon discovering the new option of escape, the chimps quickly climbed the tree and stood up on the wall, which lies level with a hill.

“When it was discovered, everyone was accounted for and lockdown was initiated. Lost chimps are a code red alert,” Debra says, referring to the dangerous, aggressive nature of chimps. “As soon as they got out, they were terrified and rushed back into the exhibit. The keepers placed some treats in their holding area, and they rushed right back in.”

From the chimp exhibit, the journey to the front gate covers the entire length of the zoo. On the way, I pass

george denniston

Two female lions bask in the sun before a zookeeper comes out and tells visitors about the lions. Keeper Chats are one way the zoo educates the public about animals and conservation.

meatballs, we head out to one of the outdoor viewing areas. After a few shouts of their names and a few meatballs thrown as incentive, two of the lumbering beasts begin slowly walking over to investigate. The two search for the little treats—still with no sense of urgency—as part of their enrichment. While another lion joins in, Dumasani continues sleeping in the shade, not to be bothered by such a small snack with supper only a few hours away.

Africa is an expansive 95 acres. To make the trip to the other side easier, the zoo added the Sky Safari, an eightminute chairlift ride that travels over the wide African exhibits.

The ride travels roughly 1,500 feet and takes visitors 35 feet off the ground, directly over giraffes, zebras, and several other animals, all running about freely in the expansive, open area. Many different animals share the area, which is broken up into two large exhibits.

In one, the giraffes—including two young calves—rest in the shade by the water while the antelope walk around slowly though the middle of the exhibit.

In another, zebras graze freely with the kudu and the scimitar-horned oryx, which is extinct in the wild but breeds well in captivity.

Back in the 1940s, hunters saw the odd animal from the distance, and, with the curved shape of their horns, believed them to be the fabled unicorn.

Now, zoos around the country, including the Kansas City Zoo, are breeding them and attempt to reintroduce them into the wild.

On the far end of Africa lies the chimps’ exhibit. The lush

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A kangaroo mother and her joey are let out into their exhibit for the day.

The kangaroo exhibit is an expansive, grassy area with a path that cuts straight through. This openness gives visitors a chance to walk among the kangaroos.

a lumbering herd of elephants, century-old tortoises, lounging cheetahs, and several other exhibits.

lauren hughes

More than a Zoo The mission of the Kansas City Zoo—to educate, entertain, research, and conserve—is evident throughout the massive zoo complex.

It’s easy to spot how the zoo educates through its Keeper of the Day program and Keeper Chats. Guests are entertained throughout the day as they feed lorikeets and walk freely among kangaroos. Sunny and Delilah the sea lions are a perfect opportunity for the zoo to share its research efforts with guests. And you can see the zoo’s conservation efforts in its LEED certified polar bear exhibit.

As I walk the tree-lined path leading back to Nikita, who is swimming playfully in the cool, clear water, I can see that his exhibit is much more than just an animal in a cage, and that the Kansas City Zoo is much more than a zoo.

The Kansas City zoo is open year-round. Hours and exhibits vary during certain seasons. Zoo memberships are offered for individuals or families to provide unlimited visits all year.

Membership and single admission prices can be found online at www.kansascityzoo.org.

For a special online gallery of extra photographs and to see the shrinking ice caps from 1978 to today, visit www.MissouriLife.com.

GOING GREEN The Kansas City Zoo is going green. One of its efforts, The Green Team, is a group of workers from each area of the zoo that thinks of ways to decrease the zoo’s carbon footprint. Changes have been as simple as increasing the number of recycling bins around the zoo or as widespread as arranging for efficient lighting, heating, and cooling for all exhibits and buildings. The zoo even uses dung around the park for fertilizer and sells it to area residents for their use as well. The group also helps educate other zoo workers on how to live green with the hope that they will, in turn, educate friends and family. More than just creating a greener zoo, this program aims at creating a change in the community’s impact on the environment.

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Lost in

Photography by Matt Faupel

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Tall grasses swaying in the gentle summer breeze. Enormous clouds speckling a blue sky.

Vibrant wildflowers dotting the landscape. Missouri prairie is nothing short of breathtaking in its beauty. These stunning images by photographer Matt Faupel showcase Prairie State Park in Mindenmines. Spend a day getting lost in the simplistic splendor of our stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prairie.

When you visit, check out nearby Joplin and Carthage to eat, play, and stay.

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prairie state parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resident bison herd

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ornate box turtle

a summer storm

IndIan paIntbrush

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Gray doGwood

prairie phlox

a small pool in the hills of the prairie

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Eat!

PARK INFORMATION

fired pizza, subs, wings, and salads. The restaurant

Prairie State Park is home to Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie landscape. The park has four tallgrass prairies designated as the Regal Tallgrass Prairie Natural Area: East Drywood Creek, Regal, Hunkah, and Tzi-sho. Prairie State Park features five hiking trails, ranging from one mile to 4 ¼ miles. The nightly basic camping rate from April through October is $13, plus a reservation fee.

The visitor center is open from 10 AM to 4 PM, Wednesdays through Saturdays.

has an outdoor seating area and is great for fami-

www.mostateparks.com/park/prairie-state-park

JOPLIN Big R’s BBQ Big R’s BBQ is a family-owned restaurant that serves hickory-smoked meat and homemade desserts. The restaurant features family recipes and boasts, “We Have the Meat You Can’t Beat!” www.bigrsbbq.com 1220 E. 15th Street | 417-781-5959 Woody’s Wood-Fire Pizza A Joplin tradition, Woody’s offers delicious wood-

Play!

JOPLIN George Washington Carver Monument and National Park Visit the boyhood home of George Washington Carver, a teacher and agronomist. The national park contains the 1881 Moses Carver house, museum, nature trail, theater, and a gift shop. www.nps.gov/gwca 5646 Carver Road | 417-325-4151 Grand Falls

lies and large dining groups.

The largest continuously flowing natural wa-

www.782wood.com

terfall in Missouri, Grand Falls offers a beautiful

Stay!

destination for visitors to the Ozarks.

Watch rodeo events over dinner at this steak-

JOPLIN

Turn left on Jackson, and cross over a low-water

house connected to a rodeo arena with a great

Bit of Eden

bridge. Immediately after the bridge, turn right on

family and western atmosphere.

With an atmosphere suggestive of the simplistic

Riverside Drive, and follow for two miles. Grand

www.luckyjarena.com

1920s, owners Bill and Marge Meeker are sure to make

Falls will be on your right.

11664 E. Fir Road | 417-358-2370

you feel at home in this lovely bed and breakfast.

1831 W. 7th Street | 417-782-9663

CARTHAGE Lucky J Steakhouse & Arena

The Carthage Deli

Directions: From I-44 West, take Exit 6 (MO-86 South). Follow for two blocks, and turn right on Glendale Road. Follow for one and a half miles.

www.bitofedenbnb.com

Route 66 Carousel Park

3546 S. Pearl | 417-782-8592

Carousel Park features fun for everyone in the

Stop by and pick up a deli-style lunch and enjoy

family. The park has go karts, miniature golf,

a freshly baked cookie, brownie, or other dessert.

Capri Motel

batting cages, and several amusement park rides.

www.carthagedeli.com

The Capri Motel is easy to spot by its 30-foot

www.route66carouselpark.com

301 S. Main Street | 417-358-8820

vintage sign.

3834 W. 7th Street | 417-626-7710

3401 S. Main Street | 417-206-0604

SPECIAL EVENTS

CARTHAGE

CARTHAGE White Rose Winery

Grand Avenue Bed and Breakfast

Spend a day in the countryside tasting some of

The Queen Anne Victorian home was built in 1893

the winery’s 14 wines and eating dinner among

Bison Hike

and continues to feature Victorian architecture

friends. The winery also boasts a bed and break-

August 4, 10 AM-noon Venture to the prairie for this naturalist-guided hike to see bison.

and furnishings. Choose from four rooms for a

fast with four decorated rooms.

charming stay in Carthage.

www.whiterosewinery.com

www.grand-avenue.com

13001 Journey Road | 417-359-9253

1615 Grand Avenue | 417-358-7265

Prairie Jubilee September 29, 10 AM-4 PM Celebrate the prairie! This 30th anniversary event shows you what it was like to live on the prairie. Enjoy live music, and ride out to see bison.

Civil War Museum Boots Motel

This museum features artifacts and art from the fa-

This retro motel was built in 1939 on Route 66 and

mous Battle of Carthage in southern Missouri, includ-

once housed Clark Gable. Today, the motel is un-

ing a 7- by 15-foot mural by artist Andy Thomas.

dergoing renovations and has five restored rooms.

www.visit-carthage.com/attraction/civil-war-museum

www.bootsmotel.homestead.com

205 S. Grant Street | 417-237-7060

107 S. Garrison Avenue| 417-310-2989

By Lauren Schad

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Which School Is Best?

F I N D I NG T HE R IGH T M I S SO UR I CO LLEGE

THINKSTOCK.COM

By Sarah Alban

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At 18,

you might be a politician-in-grooming, a budding researcher, an artist, an irreplaceable singer in choir or theater, a carpenter or weightlifter with callused hands, or an athlete: old enough to realize you can’t be all these things at once but young enough to suspect maybe, after all, you can. Picking the right college is key to pursuing these passions, and chances are, Missouri has one for you.

Missouri has the 10th-most colleges in the country. Since 1818 with the founding of St. Louis University—the oldest university west of the Mississippi—this state has been educating those you might recognize (Gov. Jay Nixon, Rush Limbaugh, Brad Pitt, Chase Daniel, Olympic medalists, Rhodes Scholars, and Nobel laureates) and those you might not (farmers, technicians, teachers, donors, politicians, accountants, computer programmers, managers, researchers, activists, and performers). Missouri’s higher-education institutions have brought our communities to life with these career specialists.

Statistics say this year’s high-school seniors will change careers—not jobs—up to seven times in their lifetimes. So picking the right school can determine a lifetime of experiences.

Missouri Life decided to explore higher education in the state. We’ve broken down the findings into four common categories high-school seniors will be looking at as they choose their colleges: academics, cost, recreation and size, and getting in.

l

?

sarah alban

Prepare for 7 careers

When Colter Cantrell of Fair Play was graduating high school, he wanted to become a coach. Or an engineer. Or scores of other things (remember: seven career changes) until he stopped asking, “What do I want to do for the rest of my life?” and instead started asking, “What do I want for the rest of my life?”

The answer? He wanted a good job, to start a family, and to get retirement and benefits. So Colter picked a college program as practical as his aspirations.

Every day his first year at Linn State Technical College, he started the mornings with pole training. Not the Paris Hilton kind.

The electrical lineman kind: installing electric poles, clipping in conductors, and taking down the poles.

“Working on poles can be kind of taxing on your body, but I’m young and able,” Colter says.

Linn State is the only school in the region that offers this

program. Next closest one? Georgia. Getting in means scoring high on the ACT, a good GPA, and a personal interview. About 100 applicants vie for 25 lineman-training spots each year, hoping to become one of the 97 percent who land jobs after graduation.

Linn State’s backstory to becoming one of the foremost technical training schools goes like this: An electronics program started in a high-school basement in 1961 has grown into the region’s only school oflinn state fering motorcycle, ATV, and aviation technical college maintenance programs; a partnership with heavy-equipment behemoth Caterpillar; a collision-repair program where students work on real vehicles; and a commercial-lawn program that just sent one student to a minor-league baseball field in Detroit with room and board compensation.

About 90 years before Linn State, the first technical school west of the Mississippi, Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, was beginning. ConKRisten cUneo, sistently ranked by U.S. News and World william woods UniveRsity Report, Missouri S&T steals the show in programs for aerospace engineering, architectural engineering, chemical engineering, computer engineering, and industrial engineering.

There’s a program for English, too, but you get the picture: Most go there for engineering. One program, explosives engineering, trains students hands-on in mining explosions and fireworks.

About two hours north of Rolla in Fulton, William Woods University draws students from around the world to participate in its equestrian sciences degree, which, established in 1972, is the oldest U.S. degree of its type.

Sarah Track, whom I met while she was overseeing a final exam that mandated students ride one of 157 horses in one of two indoor arenas, came to WWU from Wisconsin after seeking out colleges across the nation.

“I wrote to 18 schools, and this was the only one that taught riding,” she says.

Two hours north of WWU in Kirksville, Truman State University lets you tame another wild beast: research. Undergraduates get handson research experience similar to that at Washington University in St. Louis, the state’s most elite school.

At Washington University, students come from more than 110 countries. The school has so many libraries—14—they get their own portion of the website.

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WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS

Research, horses, and technical training are just three programs Missouri schools offer, in addition to scores of high-ranked liberal arts programs, not to mention that journalism school in Columbia.

When sifting through all these, Director of Guidance Betsy Jones at Rock Bridge Senior High School in Columbia says to focus on gaining 21st-century skills: engineering, accounting, creativity, leadership, analysis, problem-solving, critical thinking, and adaptability. If you’re going to have seven careers anyway, they might as well be lucrative.

Cost … and return on investment

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Ironically, as first-year economics students get this typical firstday lesson, they’re also being swarmed with offers for free food in campus common areas such as student centers.

But as four years add up, the burden of paying for college begins

LET ROTC PAY YOUR WAY

to stack up. In 2008, two-thirds of students graduating with a bachelor’s degree had some debt, with the average being about $23,000.

But all that debt could be avoided by getting scholarships and work-study programs, which Missouri might do better than any other state. Case in point: Hardwork University.

Hardwork University, or College of the Ozarks, got the nickname that now graces its logo from a visiting Wall Street Journal reporter who was covering a story that went like this: “Will work for tuition.”

Students at Hardwork U work about 10 hours a week plus one full-time week each semester at assigned work stations. They can bake fruit cakes, landscape, clean, cook, build a chapel or dorm, or work in about 80 other jobs. In exchange, through a combination of donations and grants, the college pays their tuition.

Yes, it’s hard work getting into Hardwork U. It’s the second-most selective college in Missouri, after Washington University. (Both accept fewer than 25 percent of applicants.)

Students have to demonstrate financial need and can’t get in without an interview. The return on an investment of 10 hours a week?

Eighty-five percent of graduates get jobs upon graduation. That number might be higher if so many recent graduates didn’t opt into mission trips.

“It’s not unusual to hear someone say they’re moving to Cameroon or Papa New Guinea after graduation,” says Elizabeth Hughes, public relations director. “And I’m like, ‘What? Who does that?’ But that’s not atypical of this place.”

Hardwork University is a private institution, which Betsy says might have a higher sticker price, but offers plenty of scholarships, making it less costly than public universities.

Washington University, also private, can afford to meet 100 percent of all applicants’ financial needs through student loans and grants.

That’s no guarantee for money, but at almost all schools, most new students get some amount of aid. Here’s a sampling:

At William Woods University, all students can participate in LEAD (Leading, Educating, Achieving, and Developing), which rewards campus and community involvement with a $5,000 per year tuition reduction ($2,500 for commuters). LEAD is intended to provide students with a well-rounded liberal arts background by encouraging them to attend lectures, cultural and sporting events, and participate in community service.

Drury University in Springfield also lets students attend events

STEVE STELZER/WUSTL

Stephens College: 99 percent of new students Westminster College: 99 percent of new students Rockhurst University: 98 percent of new students Truman State University: 98 percent of new students Missouri University of Science and Technology: 97 percent of new students Drury University: 91 percent of new students University of Missouri: 80 percent of new students

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for money. Students earn cash that can be applied to college costs or other expenses.

Despite programs like this, though, the best bet for many students in a tough economy remains knocking out general education in a community college, says Betsy.

Moberly Area Community College, which has the lowest indistrict tuition in Missouri ($2,430), has seen enrollment increase by double-digit percents since the bottoming out of the economy.

MACC students get jobs almost as easily as Drury’s graduates.

Drury’s employment rate after graduation stands at 95.9 percent—just 0.9 percent higher than MACC’s placement.

Understanding what you want after graduation, such as a job and benefits and family, can help relieve some of the stigma attached to going to a smaller school. Betsy says too many graduates pay for advanced degrees only to find the job market doesn’t want them.

“We’ve got people with doctorates and advanced degrees working at Walmart and Taco Bell,” she says.

Once you’ve found schools with the right programs for you, you can start thinking about that weekend kayaking at WWU or a Drury university, springfielD slink down the lazy river at the University of Missouri.

in Neosho.) These three schools also have lively music and drama programs, including choral groups, concert band, music ensembles, theater, and jazz band.

Rockhurst University in Kansas City is so service-minded that its students graduate with two transcripts: one academic and one for service activities.

At William Woods University, junior class president Katherine Wortmann says the 1,000-student population gives her a chance to be involved in anything she could want.

She holds a campus job, works at the school’s Phonathon, acts as a WWU ambassador, writes for the paper, has studied abroad three times, counsels incoming freshmen, and participates in Greek life. (And she still made time to talk with Missouri Life!).

“I like being known,” Katherine says.

And as for class size, her courses couldn’t get more intimate. One of her Spanish classes had two students.

“You want to talk about student-professor interaction, that’s about as interactive as you can get,” she says. “Professors know when College of the ozarks, you miss a class or a meeting.” point lookout

Other student-professor ratios by the numbers: Drury University: 12 to 1 Missouri University of Science and Technology: 17 to 1 University of Missouri: 20 to 1 Webster University: 15 to 1 Westminster College: 15 to 1

courtesy of college of the ozarks and drury university

Recreation and size

All work and no play makes college students a mess, but luckily every school we encountered had some release for students.

The biggest school in the state, the University of Missouri, offers the most options, including national-headline-making football and basketball seasons, intramurals, workout classes, three pools, and a recreation complex consistently topping Sports Illustrated’s lists of best campus gyms.

But even at Linn State, with 1,200 undergraduates, soccer games start up sporadically among dorm students, and a new archery range is starting to get broken in, says Garret Donovant, a sophomore.

Truman State University, with about 6,000 students, has nine sports open to each gender, plus intramurals and competition in NCAA Division II games. At Maryville University of St. Louis, students can hike trails and soak in two small lakes on its 130-acre campus or compete in NCAA Division II. MACC, the state’s least expensive school, boasts basketball and cheerleading. Three of the four next-cheapest schools offer scholarships to athletes. (Those schools are North Central Missouri College in Trenton, East Central College in Union, and Crowder College

The University of Missouri, which has about 36,000 prospective students each year, tells applicants up front they’ll have lectures with hundreds of students, which break down into groups for discussions.

To help students adjust to the new environment, schools such as Mizzou and Drury put freshmen into learning communities. (At Drury, they’re called Living-Learning Communities. At Mizzou, they’re called Freshman Interest Groups.) Freshmen live together in residence halls, take similar classes, and study in groups.

But getting into these programs means first getting in to the school.

Getting in

How hard it is to get into a school doesn’t determine how successful a student will be.

“They get into their head that if they don’t get into Yale, their world’s going to crumble,” says Betsy.

At Mizzou, students who score 25 on the ACT or have a certain

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class rank are automatically accepted. But at Hardwork University, tests don’t matter as much. “Willingness to work can’t be tested,” Elizabeth says.

At Truman State, students have to meet or exceed something called a “Combined Ability Score” of 140, based on class rank and test scores.

Director of Admissions Melody Chambers says she’ll often review students’ applications individually if they don’t meet 140 but still show promise at being ready for rigorous curriculum, often in the form of what course work they’ve taken.

Many students tend to apply near home, too. MACC takes 85 percent of students from 16 surrounding counties. Eighty percent of Drury’s 1,618 students last year came from Missouri, and up to 30 percent of those students came from the Springfield area.

Geography, size, and how rural or urban WILLIAM WOODS a school is can affect how well students UNIVERSITY, FULTON adjust to campus life. But sometimes students don’t consider this when applying.

“Many times, I am impressed by the depth of thought and individual attention students have given to finding the right fit for them,” writes Matt Miltenberg, a high school guidance counselor, in an email, “while at other times it seems they make their decision entirely based on what their friends are doing or what the path of least resistance is for them.”

Regardless of which school a student selects, Betsy has one piece of advice for success: Don’t sleep through classes.

“It’s the number one downfall,” she says.

Finding the right college isn’t something to sleep through either.

“The most important thing is always for students to remain open and honest with themselves and their families as they go through this process,” Matt says. “And to make sure that the thoughts they have and decisions they make are ones that they have made and are prepared to live with for the future.”

Visit www.MissouriLife.com for a collection of online quizzes to help you find the right college or university.

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aside from its well-deserved nicknames “the City of Fountains,” “Cowtown,” and “paris of the plains,” Kansas City is also known as “The Barbecue Capital of the World.”

That seems justified considering there are more than 100 barbecue joints within city limits. Kansas City’s reputation in this area of the culinary universe began in the 1900s when Tennessee native and former steamboat cook Henry Perry began selling smoked meats from an alley stand in the town’s garment district. His method of barbecuing set the tone for what would become Kansas City’s signature style—low and slow on the heat, smoke from fragrant woods such as hickory and oak, and a heavy molasses-andtomato-based sauce that ranges from sweet and tangy to hot and spicy.

Kansas City was something of a meat Mecca in those days, and as a result, Kansas City barbecue became known for its broad selection of carnivorous delights. Today, Kansas City’s pit masters are using a variety of woods and sauces and complementing their entrees with a startling array of side items. Nowhere is Kansas City’s proud barbecue tradition celebrated with greater enthusiasm than at the American Royal barbecue competition.

When I was given the opportunity to attend the three-day competition in 2010 as a guest judge, I jumped on it.

There are actually two contests involved, the Open and the Invitational. The Open, the competition I would be a guest judge for, is for anyone, whereas the Invitational is for the best of the best. Entrants submit samples in four main categories: beef brisket, pork ribs, pork shoulder, and chicken. There are optional categories as well: sausage, side items such as potatoes and baked beans, and desserts. Roughly 500 teams compete for more

Wil Mara

story an d p ho to g rap h y B y W i l Ma ra

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nichole ballard

T h e 2012 Am e r icAn r oyA l World SerieS of BArBecue Will Be held ocToBer 4-7. f o r m o r e i n f o r mAT ion , v i S i T W W W.Am e r icAn r oyA l.com.

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competition and the start of my duties. I was led into a judging area that had hundreds of tables arranged into rows. I was assigned a table with five other judges, all of whom were Kansas City Barbeque Society-certified and more experienced than me, since I wasn’t certified. A group of officials explained the rules.

We were to fill out judging slips for each item we would taste. Our impressions would be translated into a numeric grade on a scale of 1 to 9, 9 being excellent, 2 being inedible, and 1 being something that had to be disqualified.

There were also three criterion: appearance, taste, and tenderness for meat entries or texture for side items and desserts. We were not allowed to use pens; just pencils. We could not throw away our slips if we made mistakes or changed our minds; we had to instead report any such problems to our table captains.

And we were forbidden from talking to our fellow judges during the tastings. The KCBS officials then asked us to stand and repeat the Certified Barbeque Judge’s Oath, which everyone did with solemnity. I knew then how serious Kansas Citians took their barbecue.

Then the judging began, starting with sides and desserts. Samples were brought to us in Styrofoam boxes.

Above: Crowds at the American Royal barbecue competition wait for live music.

Below: Writer Wil Mara became his table’s captain, handling entries and showing them to other judges.

The first criterion we had to evaluate was appearance. For this, the table captain would open each box, hold it out, and move it slowly back and forth. I was knocked out by the painstaking efforts each contestant put into simply making their food look good. I imagined contestants hunched over boxes with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass.

Next came taste and texture. With each entry, we were required to place a small portion on our official KCBS plate. Then, with plastic forks, we dug in.

This was the real reason I came—to see what the best was really like, and I was impressed most of the time. There was an amazing creamed potato entry and a small cup of baked beans that forced me to rethink my own trusted recipe. One of the desserts, a simple-looking slice of pumpkin pie, was so light, fluffy, and flavorful I was tempted to write “10” in the score box.

Other entries were not as stellar. One was a pile of potato wedges that I would say

wil mara; courtesy of wil mara

than $100,000 in cash and prizes.

Contestants were already setting up equipment when I arrived on Friday. Soon it looked like the world’s biggest tailgate party. As a judge, I was not allowed to fraternize with anyone, so I kept my mouth shut and stayed behind my camera.

Even though there was nothing for me to do as a judge that day, there was plenty for the public to enjoy. Award-winning barbecue vendors are everywhere. For the amateur grillmaster, there are educational cooking demonstrations. And for youngsters, there is a petting zoo, sauce contest, and even a junior version of the World Series of BBQ. Day two saw the beginning of the Open

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wil mara

had been intended for the previous year’s competition and reheated. There was also a casserole dish with sauce so runny and vegetables so mushy it wouldn’t have made the cut at a school cafeteria. And one of the desserts, a cherry pie with a hint of liquid smoke, struck me as an experiment gone wrong.

I returned to the judging arena the following morning to begin meat judging. Every contestant, I was told, would be submitting entries, and thus there would potentially be six or seven samples per category.

In a surprising turn of events, I became the table captain that day, which meant I was responsible for showing samples to the other judges at my table.

The first category was chicken. I held the seven samples out for my team to evaluate for appearance. Then each judge removed one piece for tasting.

One entry had to be disqualified; when I opened the boxes, I found the chicken lying on a bed of purple cabbage rather than greens.

This was a violation of the rules, and the entry—heartbreakingly, as it looked to be quite good—was rejected.

The other judges took only a bite or two of each item before scoring, while I, with proof of my rookie status, was cleaning everything down to the bone. By the time we got to spare ribs, I felt like I’d been on a ship in a hurricane.

A few hours later, I headed to Hale Arena for the awards ceremony. A stage had been set in the center, with floor mats for the 20 placers of each category.

As each winner’s name was read, the audience applauded enthusiastically. The Grand Champions of the Open were Lotta Bull BBQ, owned and operated by Mike and Debbie Davis of Oklahoma. Their booty included a three-tiered trophy and automatic entry into the following year’s Invitational.

The American Royal is an impressive and dedicated organization. Everyone I encountered was friendly, generous, and efficient.

The opportunity to sample the work of some of the most talented pit masters in the nation not only aided the development of my own cooking skills but heightened my appreciation for the too-often-overlooked art and tradition of Kansas City barbecue.

History of the American Royal

The American Royal got its start in 1899 during a weeklong cattle exposition; or, as it puts it, “…in a tent in the Kansas City Stockyards at a national Hereford Show.” In 1905, it began hosting a horse show as well, and in 1921 work began on its first dedicated site, which covered more than seven acres and was completed the following year. In 1928, a group of young members launched the Future Farmers of America, which operates to this day as the National FFA Organization, during a Royal event.

The Royal added rodeos to its list of annual attractions in 1950, and in 1974, a particularly significant year for the organization, it completed construction of the massive Kemper Arena, also located in the stockyards district. With a seating capacity of more than 17,000, Kemper would be the first structure on the site of what would become the American Royal Complex.

In 1992, the Royal Center was added. This included Hale Arena, the Governors’ Exposition Building, Wagstaff Theatre, and two levels of exposition halls. The complex features numerous Royal events each year, including the prestigious horse and livestock shows, PRCA-sanctioned rodeo, and of course, its legendary World Series of BBQ competition.

The Royal has also added scholarships and other endowments to its growing list of youth-oriented programs.

Kansas City Barbeque Society Certified Barbeque Judge’s Oath

I do solemnly swear to objectively and subjectively evaluate each barbeque meat that is presented to my eyes, my nose, my hands, and my palate. I accept my duty to be an Official KCBS Certified Judge, so that truth, justice, excellence in barbeque, and the American Way of Life may be strengthened and preserved forever.

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BY ALAN BROUILETTE PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICHOLE BALLARD

Saturday morning, 5:15 AM. Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep!

“Jim! Get up. JIM!” Very little will wake you up as quickly as a shrill alarm and the smell of smoke. Despite (okay, maybe because of) the sudden adrenaline surge, it took me a minute to get my bearings. When I did, I realized just how bad it really was: Our brisket was in danger.

Let me back up.

It’s pretty much impossible to bite into barbecue you made at home and not get a little chesty. Maybe you’ve even been to a big cook-off.

If you have, you’ve wondered, ‘What’s it like to enter a competition?’

Jeff White and Jim Tyson were those backyard guys once. But they decided to go pro, and now they’re the Big Woodie BBQ team. They graciously allowed me to join them for the Sertoma Summer Sizzle in Springfield last September. The Big Woodie team is anchored by Jeff and Jim and staffed by friends and relatives. I got there around noon on a cloudy Friday and received a very informal briefing: “We’ll light the smoker tonight. We’ll prep ribs, chicken thighs, a couple butts, and a brisket at some point. We’ll put them on the smoker between midnight and tomorrow. This is Stan, Rob, and William. You ready for another beer?”

This is my kind of competition.

For contrast, I went to the contest organizers’ official meeting for first-time competitors. Dave and Peg, a husband-wife team, were the official representatives of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the

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Jeff White (front) puts finishing touches on a box of barbecue for the judges. From left: Rob Terrell, Jamey Johnson, and Jim Tyson.

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governing body of competition barbecue.

Organizers of competitions hire KCBS representatives to oversee local cook-offs, transforming them into KCBS-sanctioned events, raising both the profile and the stakes.

Subjects covered in the meeting divided neatly into three categories: procedural, legal, and judging.

The procedural part was a very basic overview of the contest itself. Teams must compete in four categories: chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket. Teams must submit entries in the correct 10-minute window on Saturday. Chicken is due within five minutes on either side of 11 am. Ribs at 11:30. Pork shoulder, noon. Brisket, 12:30. The legal part was a long list of policies—read briskly—you are not to violate.

The challenge of judging competition barbecue is that it’s not fair if it is subjective. One

judge who prefers his ribs a little dry or one who likes her sauce sweet can confound everything. The KCBS solution to this is to have official standards. The standard for pork butt goes something like this: Pork must be tender without being mushy. It must taste of pork.

Color is irrelevant. Mushy, stringy, fatty, or dry meat, or meat that tastes only of marinade and sauce, are to be downgraded, no matter how much you personally might like it.

I left the competitor’s meeting and went outside to help prep the meat. The guys pulled out two big jugs of premixed liquids and injected one into the brisket and the other into the shoulders. This is a way of flavoring and tenderizing the meat and adding moisture without a long marination. The ribs were injected with a smaller amount of the same solution that went into the butts, then rubbed with brown sugar and seasonings. Jeff prepped the chicken thighs, marinating the meat in salad dressing overnight.

There’s an intensity to the competitions that isn’t always apparent, but sometimes you can sense it just below the surface. I asked Jim what was in the marinade they injected into the pork butt. He shrugged and said,

Jeff White, Jim Tyson, and William Wilson inject a premixed liquid of apple juice,vinegar, sugar, and spices into ribs.

“Uh, there’s apple juice, and some vinegar, sugar, some spices. We’re still working on it.”

I suspect he could have given me the recipe in grams and milliliters and possibly cited its molecular weight. But a secret recipe isn’t a secret if you tell everybody.

The Big Woodie smoker is a black metal box that looks like a side-by-side refrigerator crossed with a bank vault. Two bags of hardwood lump charcoal go down each of the twin chutes at the back, and the heavy doors at the top are closed and clamped. A small computer controls the air intake to regulate temperature. The computer is connected to four probe thermometers that can monitor the temperature of the smoke chamber and the meat. It even has an alarm that beeps loudly when the meat reaches a preset internal temperature or if the temperature inside the smoker falls outside the desired range.

Smoking wood, which produces aromatic smoke to flavor the food, is slipped in through two small doors at the lower back.

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Top, clockwise: Chicken thighs are seasoned before smoking. The team listens as results are called. (Foreground, from left:Stan Whitehurst and William Wilson.Background, from left: Rob Terrell and Jeff White.) Ribs are prepared.

Once the smoker is lit, the computer begins the process of bringing up the temperature.

This takes hours.

For the Big Woodie guys, at least, this competition is as much a social event as a competitive one. I met families and wives and girlfriends and kids, and I eventually came to the point of asking Jeff, “Did you go to high school with everyone?”

Eventually, Jim and Stan and I went into Woodrow, the team RV, to prep the white foam clamshell presentation boxes for the next day.

Under KCBS rules, “garnish” is officially optional. I was assured, somewhat sourly, that garnish is, in practice, mandatory. The garnish is limited to “chopped, sliced, shredded, or whole leaves of fresh green lettuce, curly parsley, flat leaf parsley, and/or cilantro.”

Stan and Jim and I carefully sliced lettuce and meticulously snipped parsley for nearly four hours. In fairness, this would prob-

ably have taken an hour and a half if there had been no beer and no lengthy pauses to complain about having to garnish.

The evening wore on. There was more beer.

We put in the brisket around midnight. At some point we broke out sweatshirts. People began to drift off to bed. Jim and I were elected to stay up and put the butts in around 3 am.

We sat in the RV and tried to get warm and watched an episode of a show called BBQ Pitmasters. It was set at the American Royal Open at Kansas City, which is the KCBS’s biggest event of the year (see page 64). The show featured a man named Myron Mixon, who is a major star in the barbecue galaxy.

Jim summarized the appeal of competitive barbecue when he pointed out that, once they’re in the contest, “It’s a level playing field.

We can put our stuff right up against Myron Mixon’s stuff. He’s won more than a million dollars with his barbecue, and we can go against him. That’s cool.”

We slipped the butts into the smoker, checked the brisket, and went to bed. Jim slept on the RV’s sole bunk. I made a sort of nest of blankets on the floor of the RV and crashed. It was 3:45 in the morning.

Ninety minutes later…

Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep!

“Jim! Get up. JIM!” Jeff had come back from the hotel to find the alarm going off on the smoker, but the rain on the roof of the RV—and possibly the beers— had kept Jim or me from hearing it. Once my shoes were on, I rushed outside to find Jim and Jeff analyzing the computer readout.

“It over-fired,” Jim says. The smoker, which should be around 225 degrees, is at 281. Among other complications, that means the brisket might be done. It also means that something might be wrong with the smoker.

They insert an instant-read meat thermometer into the thinnest part of the brisket then another into the thickest.

Then two more. They determine it is not quite done and return it to the smoker. It will be done perhaps five hours ahead of schedule. This is a problem that can wait, however, while Jim and Jeff start trying to figure out how to solve the immediate problem: the heat.

Opening the door would relieve the accumulated heat, but in a box where the temperature is regulated by controlling the

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Liam Bell takes a bite of freshly sauced ribs.

The competition isn’t only about barbecue.

Whole families come to support participants. oxygen, opening the door is going to feed the fire. They decide the best option is to try to build a sort of heat baffle with tinfoil. Making emergency repairs in the dark in the rain inside a big metal box that’s billowing smoke is even more difficult than it sounds.

We put the ribs in the cooled smoker at 8 am and test the brisket. It is done, four and a half hours ahead of schedule. The guys wrap the brisket first in tinfoil, then in an old sleeping bag, and park the whole package in a cooler. The cooler’s insulation keeps the meat hot and juicy without adding more heat and without circulating air, which would overcook and dry out the brisket.

Crisis averted, the team began drifting in.

The ribs we had seasoned last night were already in the smoker, and the chicken went in around 9. We monitored the meat in the smoker, and the team gave me the competitor’s view of how it works: 1) You must turn in your meat on time.

Screwing this up equals death.

2) Carrying the box with the meat in it is a great honor. Don’t screw it up.

3) If you are entrusted with the box on a day the team does well, you may be required to come to all future events.

We began packing boxes. Jeff and Jim were in charge of slicing and saucing the meat. Stan manned the boxes in which we had arranged the parsley. Once each box was loaded, Rob lifted it with care and whisked it off to the judging area. When Rob strides off, it looks as if he is rushing a kidney to a helicopter.

Six portions of meat per box leave a lot of barbecue that doesn’t get turned in. I have been waiting for this moment. I’ve been making barbecue in my yard for 10 years. The stuff that comes out of my smoker is better than anything I can get in any restaurant.

And yet everything that came out of the Big Woodie smoker made my home-smoked stuff taste like sloppy joes from a school cafeteria. I have much to learn.

An interesting mental shift occurred around turn-in. At 8 am that morning, I walked with a volunteer while she wished all the teams good luck. She’d say, brightly, “Hey, good luck to y’all today!” And they’d gloomily respond: “We sure are gonna need it,” or “I don’t know ’bout this one,” or a “Well, thanks.”

But after turn-in, everyone gets hopeful. I could even tell who had sent off their boxes and who had not based on body language.

And my team was no different. Before turnin, they were worried. After turn-in, there was laughter and fist bumping.

At the awards ceremony, the top 10

finishers in each category were read off in reverse order to much applause, with the category champion and runner-up receiving prize money and trophies.

Next, the scores in each category were used to calculate the top 10 overall teams and crown a Grand Champion for the event.

There was also a special mention of the top two overall finishers among first-time entrants.

The first category announced was “Chicken.” We were not announced.

Then “Ribs.” Again: Not announced.

Then “Pork.” 10th! 10th PLACE! JUBILATION! OUR PORK BUTT WAS 10th BEST! I couldn’t be prouder.

Then “Brisket,” which we had thought was our strongest category, despite the early morning smoker malfunction. Nothing.

We got hold of the overall scores and huddled over them, trying to work out the weaknesses in our art by doing a lot of math. Big Woodie BBQ came in 13th overall: 21st in chicken, 14th in ribs, 10th in pork, and 12th in brisket. Way to let us down, chicken.

I sat in the trailer with Jeff for quite a while, dissecting the results. This is where the Big Woodie team tends to place, just in the upper third. Jeff’s assessment is that the team doesn’t always focus the way they should to really compete at these events.

What he meant by that reminded me of something Jeff and Jim both told me, separately.

Myron Mixon says: “You can’t win the party on Friday night and then win the contest on Saturday.” The two teams that came in first and second overall were not there to party. They were there to compete.

I’m not sure that’s Big Woodie’s motivation.

It’s not what I would be in it for, surely. The team wasn’t the loudest or the most inebriated on Friday night. And they were in the top 30 percent.

Maybe with a little more work, we could have placed higher. But we wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun. And if we didn’t win, we would have gained nothing.

I think what the Big Woodie guys have is perfect: a balance between the cookoff’s social-circus fun and its cutthroat competition.

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PROMOTION

EXPLORING MY CITY!

BBQ on Business Loop I’ll share a little secret with you, my special blog readers: In a couple of shacks on the Business Loop, you’ll find some finger-lickin’ good BBQ. I’m talking about Shotgun Pete’s BBQ Shack, located in the parking lot of the Parkade Center, and Rootin’ Tootin’ BBQ, at 1205 N. Garth. Shotgun Pete’s has some of the best ribs in town, and the coleslaw is great too. Try the Hellfire Beans—you’ll need a drink nearby! The owner of Rootin’ Tootin’ calls herself the BBQ Queen, and for good reason. Her barbecue creations are to die for.

UPCOMING EVENTS Be sure to catch these cool events around Columbia.

1 COMMENT: Ed says: Check out Shotgun Pete’s Facebook page. Sometimes the Shack is closed for bad weather.

Jazz Under the Stars: MU Faculty All Stars Aug. 16, Missouri Theatre www.motheatre.org

COURTESY OF SMOKIN’ CHICKS AND ROOTS N BLUES N BBQ; SARAH HERRERA

Epic Mud Run Sept. 2, Midway Travel Plaza www.ultramaxtri.com

Southside BBQ Since I posted about delicious barbecue on the Business Loop, I thought I’d post about some great barbecue finds on the south end of town, too. Near Rock Bridge High School you’ll find Smokin’ Chick’s BBQ, which won the Grand Champion Smoked Jerky at the Hermann Wurstfest this past spring. Owner Chick Orscheln doesn’t just sell his housemade jerky, though—he’s got a wide variety of barbecue options, including many different barbecue sandwiches. I love The Memphis, which has layers of pulled pork and horseradish coleslaw.

The kids love The Sloppy Chick, a combo of pork, brisket, chicken, and turkey tossed in barbecue sauce. Right next to Going Bonkers is Buckingham’s Smokehouse BBQ, another Columbia favorite. This restaurant has yummy smoked meats; Mark loves the brisket.

Roots N Blues N BBQ Sept. 21-22, Downtown Columbia www.rootsnbluesnbbq.com

1 COMMENT: Mary says: Buckingham’s also has a patio, which is nice.

Lutz’s is Coming BBQ lovers get excited! There’s another barbecue restaurant opening on the south side of town. Lutz’s BBQ of Jefferson City is opening a second location— in Columbia! The new BBQ joint will be in the former Blue Moon restaurant at 200 E. Nifong Boulevard. Mark and I have been driving to Jeff City for a while now just for Lutz’s delicious homemade chips. Now we’ll be able to take the money we would have spent on gas and spend it on amazing Lutz’s BBQ instead! The restaurant is set to open sometime in August.

2 COMMENTS: Bruce says: For those that don’t know, it’s pronounced “Loot-ziz.”

Natalie says: Now all we need is for Lonnie Ray’s BBQ in Harrisburg to come to Columbia too!

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—MissouriLife —

Grilled Tri-Tip

From Big Woodie BBQ Team Ingredients >

1.5 to 2.5 pound beef tri-tip Grill seasoning of your choice, to taste

Directions >

1. Light a fire on one side of your charcoal grill or on half of your gas grill.

2. While the charcoal is getting started, season the tri‐tip liberally with grill seasoning.

3. When the charcoal is ready, sear each side of the tri‐tip directly over the hot coals or flame (on gas grill) for about one minute on each side, including the edges.

4. After searing, place tri‐tip on grill away from coals or fire, fat side up. Close lid and cook until meat reaches 165º F internally.

5. Remove from grill, and let rest for 15 minutes.

6. Slice in ¼” slices, and serve immediately.

Tip: Use a wireless meat probe to avoid opening the lid to check temperature.

Serves 6-10.

BBQ Hog-Apple Beans

ANDREW BARTON

Grilled Tri-tip

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—MissouriLife —

BBQ Hog-Apple Beans From Big Woodie BBQ Team

Ingredients >

1 gallon pork and beans 2 (21 ounce) cans of apple pie filling 1 pound smoked pulled pork 2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 cups barbecue sauce 1/3 cup dried chopped onion 2 tablespoons prepared mustard ¼ cup grill seasonings

Directions >

1. Combine and mix all ingredients in a large aluminum sheet pan.

2. Place on 250º F smoker until hot, stirring occasionally.

(If you don’t have a smoker, mix all ingredients and bake in a two-quart casserole dish at 350º F until warm.) Serves 10.

Grilled Guam Wings

—MissouriLife —

—MissouriLife —

Wingapalooza Sauce

Grilled Guam Wings

From Big Woodie BBQ Team

Ingredients >

1 cup butter 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 2 teaspoons thyme 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 (23 ounce) bottle Frank’s RedHot

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon celery seed 1 tablespoon cornstarch ¼ cup water

andrew barton

Directions >

Wingapalooza Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, heat butter, garlic, and thyme over medium heat until water has dissipated from the butter and stopped bubbling.

2. add onion power, Frank’s redHot, worcestershire sauce, and celery seed. bring to a slight boil. while waiting for this to boil, whisk the cornstarch with the water in separate bowl.

3. add cornstarch mixture to the sauce mixture once the sauce is boiling.

4. to use, coat five to six cooked wings with finished sauce.

You can funnel unused sauce back into the Frank’s RedHot bottle for easy storage and dispensing.

From Big Woodie BBQ Team

Ingredients >

2 cups soy sauce or teriyaki sauce 1 onion, diced ½ green bell pepper, diced 7 garlic cloves, crushed 3 jalapeno peppers, diced 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon black pepper Chili-garlic sauce, to taste 3 pounds chicken wings

Directions >

1. Mix first 11 ingredients together in large bowl. to make sauce spicier, you can use more than three jalapenos, or use a Serrano or habanero pepper.

2. add wings to the sauce and marinate for at least 24 hours.

3. Grill over charcoal or hardwood off direct heat so the skin doesn’t burn. Grill until the wings are golden brown with a crispy texture. this may take up to 45 minutes depending on the grill temperature. Serves 8-10.

Visit www.MissouriLife.com for more recipes.

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HOW YOUR STEAK GETS TO YOUR PLATE MEET THE SCHUTTE BROTHERS, FEEDING CATTLE SINCE 1952 Drive through any part of Missouri, and you’ll see cows dotting the countryside.

Missouri ranks second in the country in beef cow operations. What may surprise many consumers is Missouri is also a state with many cattle feeding operations, ranking 21st in the country with about 60,000 head on feed currently, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Feedlots are where cattle are fed corn or other rations, giving your steak and roasts that moist, tender, and rich flavor most people love.

Schutte Farms is one of these feeding operations and is a family-owned business that three brothers run near Mexico, Missouri. Gary, Dale, and Jay Schutte and Daniel Schafer, who is Gary’s sonin-law, now run the operation started by the brothers’ parents, Robert and Jayne Schutte. Robert passed away in 2004, and Jayne now has Alzheimer’s and lives in a care center.

Daniel joined the operation three years ago. As Jay says, “We are getting to the point we need to bring in the next generation.”

Jay has a message he wants to share with consumers: What you might consider a big corporate farm may still be a family farm like his and his brothers’.

Schutte Farms and Schutte Brothers, which was formed to expand the crop portion of the operation, may be corporations, as many small familyowned businesses are today. They may use the latest technology and cutting-edge information, but Jay wants to tell Missourians the beef you enjoy is fed at feedlots a lot like his, right here in Missouri.

Dale, Gary, Jay, and Daniel get together almost every morning on work days at the home place, where the brothers grew up, along with their three sisters. It is now bachelor Jay’s home.

Gary and Dale and Daniel have homes nearby. They meet in the machine shop behind the house, which is also outfitted with a break room, to determine what the priorities for the day are and who will do what, except for some normal chores that each brother does.

For example, Dale feeds the cattle every morning, bringing big truckloads of the cattle ration to the five different feedlots.

At any one time, the brothers may have

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PROMOTION

WHAT THE LABELS MEAN Grass-Fed: All cattle spend a majority of their lives eating grass on pastures, usually a year or more.

Natural: Most beef does not contain additives and is not more than minimally processed.

Above left: Jay and Gary Schutte, Gary’s son-in-law Daniel Schafer, and Dale Schutte, run the feeding operation and farm started by the brothers’ parents. Below left: Their grandfather George, their uncle Don Schutte, and their father Robert prepare for a day in the field. Above: The Schuttes leave buffer strips for quail and wildlife at field edges as part of their commitment to conservation.

900 head of cattle in the feedlots. The cattle are turned over about 11/3 times in a year, meaning the brothers feed and sell about 1,200 head every year.

The brothers buy calves from the farmers that have the cows you see throughout the countryside. They bring them to their farm to continue feeding the calves a scientifically formulated diet of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates to get the cattle to the proper weight to make juicy steaks, roasts, and hamburgers.

The ration the Schutte brothers feed is planned by a beef nutrition consultant in Eagle, Nebraska. They take samples of

their feed three or four times throughout the year and send to the consultant, who then sends back an analysis of any adjustments they need to make to improve cattle health or efficiency.

The brothers mix the ration on the farm. Hay, corn silage, wheatlage, a corn by-product called wet cake from a nearby ethanol plant, and needed mineral and vitamin supplements are ground together to form the balanced ration.

The brothers also grow corn, soybean, and wheat in rotation on about 3,000 acres, some of which is land rented from their widowed aunt.

Grain-finished: Cattle spend most of their lives grazing on pasture, then spend 4 to 6 months in a feedlot, fed a scientifically and healthy balanced diet of grains, such as corn, wheat, or soybeans. They may judiciously be given FDA-approved antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones, and they may be given vitamin and mineral supplements. They have continuous access to clean water and room to grow and roam.

Grass-finished: Cattle spend their entire lives grazing on pasture and may judiciously be given FDA-approved antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones. They may be given vitamin and mineral supplements. Grass-finished beef can be difficult to produce year-round in North America due to changing seasons and weather conditions.

Naturally raised: Cattle can be grain-finished or grass-finished.

Look at the label for details. They have never received antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones, but they may be given vitamin and mineral supplements. They must be certified naturally raised

by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Look for the official label.

Certified organic: Cattle can be grain-finished or grass-finished, as long as the feed is 100% organic. They have never received antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones, but they may be given vitamin and mineral supplements.

They must be certified organic

by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Look for the official label.

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PROMOTION

Dale is the oldest brother at age 57, Gary is 56, and Jay is the youngest at 48.

Gary and Daniel mainly handle the buying and selling of cattle, while Jay handles administrative work for both Schutte Farms and Schutte Brothers. He is also more involved in the crop operation.

The family buys the cattle they feed from Missouri sale barns in Bowling Green, Callaway, Cuba, and Vienna. They use an order buyer in these sales barns, and they favor cattle raised in southern Missouri. They also buy directly themselves from online video livestock auctions run

by Superior Livestock Auctions. They buy calves of about 500 pounds, and they feed heifers until they’re about 1,100 pounds and steers until about 1,300 pounds.

The brothers and Daniel generally sell their cattle to JBS, a meat-packing company

with one of its plants in Joslyn, Illinois.

JBS sells the Swift & Company, Swift Premium Black Angus, American Reserve, Aspen Ridge Natural Beef, Cedar Ridge Farms and other beef brands. (See “What the Labels Mean” on page 77.)

One of Jay’s worries about the future is that consumers fear the use of technology in agriculture today. He contrasts his father as a schoolboy shelling corn with a hand-cranked machine, but then also driving a GPS-guided combine before he died. The Schuttes also use GPS in the tractors today, to tell them how much fertilizer to apply in different parts of a field, according to soil needs.

He points out how much telephones have changed from the old hand-crank wooden boxes on a wall to the lightweight smart phones that not only work

Jay serves as a spokesperson for beef and other farm products through his volunteer service on several boards. His father Robert also fed cattle and put up the first tall silo.

fact, it often costs more to raise cattle on pasture because it takes longer for the animal to reach market weight.

FEE DL OT

FACTS

• Farmers and ranchers have finished cattle in pens for more than 100 years, after they discovered cattle fed rations of grain and other crop surpluses produced beef that tasted better than cattle finished on grass alone.

of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the entire U.S. agricultural sector accounts for only 6.4%. Some private organizations claim higher numbers in an effort to get consumers to oppose cattle feeding operations.

• Cattle are raised on range or pasture for most of their lives, usually 12 to 18 months, then are taken to a feedlot for finishing. The cattle spend about three to six months in a feedlot, where they still have plenty of room to roam.

• Today, most U.S. cattle feeding operations are small, with fewer than 1,000 head (like on Schutte farms). However, the 5% of operations with more than 1,000 head finish more than 80% of all fed cattle.

• The Environmental Protection Agency estimates livestock production in the United States produces only 2.6%

• The abundant corn crop in this country contributes to the economic viability of producing grain-fed cattle. In

• Many cattle in feedlots are given growth-promoting products that contain hormones, like estrogen, which occurs naturally in both plants and animals. These hormones are produced by the human body in amounts hundreds of thousands of times greater than that used to promote growth in cattle.

For example, a non-pregnant woman produces about 480,000 nanograms of estrogen daily, while a 3-ounce serving of beef from an implanted steer contains just 1.9 nanograms (A nanogram is a billionth of a gram.

See the estrogen chart found at www.

MissouriLife.com/mobeef-infographic in the Aug. 2010 issue of Missouri Life.)

• Cattle producers recognize the importance of animal health and well-being, both from a moral and economic standpoint. They know well-nourished and content cattle gain weight more rapidly and efficiently, thus saving them expense.

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WET CAKE GIVES THEM A BREAK The Schuttes buy a feed by-product from POET Biorefining, near Laddonia, about 10 miles from the Schutte Farms headquarters.

POET is a 25-year-old company that today has 27 plants in seven states and produces 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol, nine billion pounds of highprotein animal feed, and thousands of pounds of bio-based oils for feed or biodiesel. The Laddonia plant opened in 2006.

as phones, but also deliver email, take pictures, play music, and more.

He continues, “It takes only two-thirds of the land to feed a person today as it took in 1950,” he says.

Jay is concerned some consumers attach a romanticism or nostalgia to agriculture in a way they don’t to other industries. Yet, the agriculture industry will incorporate technology at the same pace as other segments of society. Just one example: “When I was a kid,” he says, “acid rain provided enough sulphur to the ground that we didn’t have to add it. Today, our air is so clean that there’s a shortage of this nutrient in the ground, and we have to add it to grow crops.”

Another concern he has is that sometimes issues and the science behind them aren’t thought through. “There was concern about the loss of rain forest because of the Panama Canal expansion. But think about how much more fuel would be used and how many more carbons would go into the atmosphere, if ships had to go around the tip of South America.”

The animal feed comes in two forms: DDGS, or dried distiller grain with solubles, and wet cake, which is the same by-product but not yet dried.

The dried product weighs less and thus is less expensive to ship. So the plant likes to sell as much wet cake to nearby farmers like the Schuttes, to save both drying and shipping expense. The DDGS moves by train south to many poultry producers.

Jay cares passionately about producing safe, healthy food in an environmentally sound way and in a way that uses resources efficiently. He helps spread that message through his volunteer service on many boards, such as the Missouri Corn Growers Association, Soy Labs, the advisory board to the University of Missouri Bradford Research Farm, and several others. He is also a board member at the Little Dixie Fire Protection District.

Jay worries about the impact of increasing regulations on operations like his, and the unintended consequences. If costs drive producers out of the industry, he asks, “Do we really think South America and other countries will grow food as safe as ours? Do we really want to depend on other countries for our food supply?”

For more information on the Missouri beef industry, visit www.mobeef.org.

Steve Murphy, the plant manager at Laddonia, says the ethanol industry has evolved greatly since its beginning, and by-products, or what they now call “co-products,” make ethanol an efficient product.

Ethanol uses only the starch from the corn, leaving the fiber and protein.

Schutte Farms buys about 54 tons per week to mix in the cattle ration, and Jay generally makes the trips to the ethanol plant in a truck that can haul 18 tons to pick up this less expensive form of fiber and protein.

“Before POET came along, we used to buy soybean meal,” Jay says.

“We want the higher fiber by-product. Cattle are ruminants with a digestive system set up for high fiber, so when they located nearby, it was a good opportunity.”

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NOW IN IA! O C LUMB g on if N .

E 200 -4227 573-443

Smokin’ Delicous Ribs • Beef • Pork Chicken • Turkey

WE HAVE BBQ TAILGATE SUPPLIES!

Local Flavor

3505 Missouri Blvd., Jefferson City 573-636-4227

NEW EPISODES Host Doug Frost joins regular Kansas Citians as they dine and dish on their favorite local eateries!

Production funding provided by:

Watch online & find restaurants:

kcpt.org/checkplease KEHDE’S BARBEQUE & CATERING 1915 South Limit Ave. Sedalia, MO 660-826-2267 kehdesbarbeque.yp-sites.com Open 11 am-9 pm (closed on Tuesday)

All aboard for great BBQ at Kehde’s. Enjoy ribs, brisket, pork and chicken.

Don’t forget the unique sides, salads, sandwiches, or even the posh potatoes.

All this served in an original 1928 railroad car!

KC P T- H D KC P T 2 KC P TCreate kcpt.o rg [80] MissouriLife

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CATCHING A BREW Enjoy freshly canned beer from Piney River Brewing Company.

COURTESY OF PINEY RIVER BREWING COMPANY

BY TOM BRADLEY

I DOUBT ANYONE will be surprised I decided to make a trip to Piney River Brewing Company in Bucyrus. I tasted a couple of its beers at the 2012 Missouri Beer Festival and really enjoyed them.

Naturally, I wanted more of Piney River’s beer and to learn about the brewery. But truth be told, I mostly wanted to make a day trip on my Harley that included Piney River beer and fishing.

One thing is for sure: You need specific directions to find this haven in Texas County. When the app on my smart phone stopped providing help, I resorted to calling for simplified coordinates. Piney River Brewing’s full operation is in a 1930’s-era barn in a field two miles from the nearest pavement. I don’t usually enjoy riding my ’08 H-D Fat Bob on gravel roads, but I knew what I was in for so I nervously rode on.

Seeing the “BARn”—that’s Piney River Brewing speak—was like spotting an oasis. I walked through the door and upstairs to find a hay loft that has been transformed into one great big, TOM BRADLEY friendly tasting room. Twinkling lights floated across the rafters as friends laughed and sipped pints of beer. Piney River currently brews six types of beer, and all are served on tap. I asked for a full sampling and began to settle in.

Ask owners Joleen and Brian Durham, and they’ll keep it nice and simple. They live on Piney

River, they like microbrews, and they like brewing them too—that’s how Piney River Brewing came to be. These hard-working brewers have day jobs and parental responsibilities, and they still manage to get it all done: brewing, packaging, running the BARn. Obviously they love what they do, and it shows.

Typically, I expect to find a beer or two at any given microbrew that’s less than stellar. I was amazed to find myself really loving each of the six I tried. Brian says he brews for his own palate, so all the beers carry the same family of flavor. If you like one, you’re more than likely to enjoy them all.

Some specific beer notes: First, the Bronzeback Pale Ale has a snapping hit to its flavor like the strike of the Piney River smallies.

Second, the Black Walnut Wheat gets its dark hue and earthy flavor from the local black walnuts of the Ozark Hills. And last, the Old Tom Porter was simply awesome.

Piney River’s beer isn’t bottled. It’s in tall, artful cans that allow for better consistency and lighter loads, plus it’s a tip-o’-the-hat to the environment. And hey, if you’re going to take a beer to the Piney River, it better not be in a bottle. So, I finished my samples and took a four-pack of cans to go, slowly savoring the pint I had alongside the Big Piney River later that afternoon. Yes, I caught fish. But better, I made friends and caught a vibe you can’t find with any smart phone app. www.pineyriverbrewing.com

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Kansas City

OODLES OF NOODLES THE SAME words describe both Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop’s food and its atmosphere: earthy, fresh, and quirky. Situated in the heart of the Crossroads District of Kansas City, Lulu’s new location is a multi-level building filled with polished wood, industrial metal and plastic, and live green plants of all kinds. Stunning light fixtures and large windows make for a spacious dining experience. Starting a meal with a Thai coffee is a good idea— thick, musty, hearty, and addictive, each sip of this strong coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk leads to the next. If you like coconut milk, the Tom Kha Gai soup is a fabulous choice. A savory coconut broth gently cradles fresh pea pods, cilantro, and chicken; the taste is unusual and astonishingly fresh. The Viet-

namese Spring Rolls are another offering, delicious with a side of Thai basil. As for the noodle dishes, you’re in luck. Cellophane noodles, rice noodles, and egg noodles all make for a great start to tasty noodle bowls with fresh vegetables and seasonings. For dessert, try a traditional Thai treat or one of Kansas City chocolatier Christopher Elbow’s ice creams (featured in the June 2012 issue of Missouri Life). —Emily McIntyre www.lulusnoodles.com•2030 Central Street•816-474-8424

MISSOURI LIFE SAVORS FOOD WORTH THE TRIP. For past restaurant recommendations, visit www.MissouriLife.com.

Eminence

WHETHER YOU’RE in Emi-

many trails in the area, you’ll need fuel

Others, such as the Italian-style sauté

nence to float or fish on the Jacks Fork

to fire your engines. Locals and visitors

dishes, are creations of the cook, Chris

or Current rivers, to catch a glimpse of

alike have been priming the pump for

Stumpf. Almost everything is made from

Missouri’s new elk herd at nearby Peck

more than 20 years at Ozark Orchard in

scratch, including bread and hoagie rolls,

Ranch, or to hike or ride horses on the

Eminence, just across from the Shannon

beer-battered onion rings, tartar sauce,

County Courthouse.

and ranch dressing. There are different

Some of the specialties, such as the

desserts weekly, but the blackberry cob-

seafood chowder and fried alligator, are

bler is a standard.

from the Florida Panhandle where op-

—Barbara Gibbs Ostmann Facebook: Ozark Orchard Restaurant

erator Robert Grier was born and raised.

118 N. Main Street •573-226-3604

EMILY MCINTYRE; BARBARA GIBBS OSTMANN

Food from Scratch

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Branson

Union

Fit for a King

RoaRing twentieS

Dining at Chateau Grille in Branson is a royal treat. Before you begin your evening of

altHougH BugSy’S Restaurant and Bar in

delectable drinks and mouthwatering entrees,

cooked seared peppercorn filet with Maytag

downtown Union has been around since 2009, it has a new menu, new sound, and new owners. Justin Hall and Domenic Salasso purchased the restaurant and bar in March. The Roaring ’20s style and atmosphere at Bugsy’s remains the same, but Justin and Domenic have added their own touches.

Domenic tweaked the menu, giving it a Sicilian-Mediterranean flavor. The dessert selection transports you to Europe: house-made cannoli, tiramisu, and Sicilian-style bread pudding, along with French classics such as crème brulee and chocolate pot de crème. Spinach artichoke dip, toasted ravioli, shrimp bruschetta, and fried spinach are a few of the appetizers.

Entrees include hand-cut steaks, marinated pork chops, swordfish, salmon, shrimp, catfish, chicken, and an assortment of pastas. Pizza, soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and daily specials round out the menu. Bugsy’s features live music in the bar, the dining room, and the lower level. There is usually no cover charge, but some big name groups and charity concerts are ticketed events. In the bar, it’s open mic on Thursday nights and karaoke on Friday nights. Families of local veterans from World War I onward have been invited to share photographs of their soldiers in uniform, and these portraits line the walls of the reception area. —Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

blue cheese, bacon, roasted fingerling potatoes,

www.bugsysrestaurant.com•201 e. Main Street•636-584-7832

you first walk up to Chateau on the Lake, a resort styled to look like a castle. It’s a grand entrance as you walk through the lobby, with floor upon floor of glamorous rooms and an extravagant waterfall. You’ll make your way to the Chateau Grille, and you’ll be seated in a grand dining area.

This is where the royal treatment truly kicks in.

To start, there are glasses of wine (a smooth, berry-filled Merlot and an earthy Pinot Noir) and appetizers—sweet chili Newman Farms Berkshire pork belly with pineapple chili relish, or the warm brie en croute with melba sauce, spiced pecans, and kalamata olive dust.

Then there are the entrees—a perfectly

and asparagus tips; the South African lobster tail with black truffle mashed potatoes and a mango relish; or many others such as the sorghum

Boonville

barbecue braised short ribs with sweet potato,

Diner on I-70

bacon, and corn hash.

And last, you’ll dive into dessert—a silky vanilla bean crème brulee with mascarpone cream and fresh berries. At the end of an evening at the Chateau Grille, you’ll feel like royalty living in a

Few people traveling Inter-

splendid chateau. —Lauren Hughes www.chateauonthelake.com

state 70 know about 87 Diner, and,

415 n. Highway 265•417-334-1161

barbara gibbs ostmann; lauren hughes

well, that’s a true shame. This diner knows how to do it, whipping up stick-

rich brown gravy and served on top of

to-your-ribs food that’ll leave you want-

creamy mashed potatoes. Head to the

ing more. You can’t go wrong with

87 Diner for breakfast, too. Huge pan-

regular diner features such as meatloaf

cakes and biscuits and gravy will start

and fried chicken, but try the open-

your day right. The diner is located

faced roast beef sandwich. The roast

right off Exit 87.

—Lauren Hughes

beef is meaty and tender, smothered in

19510 Steven Kole Court•660-882-0100

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Indian Creek Winer� Fine Wines from the Heartland of Missouri’s farm Country

573-590-0086

Open Saturday 10 to 6 and Sunday noon to 6.

Located on Bus. 36 in Monroe City.

805 Stoddard St., Monroe City, MO IndianCreekWine.com

FFV Mo Life Ad June 2012 v1.indd 1

4/17/12 3:18 PM

Come for a

WINE TASTING

Come on out and enjoy our outdoor grill in the summer –we’ll grill up dinner.

Sit on the tree shaded patio and try out one of our amazing side dishes. Enjoy a fabulous pasta dish any time of the year.

Menu updates are on our website. Find us on Facebook.

903 S. Main, St. Charles, MO 636-947-3883 • magpiesonmain.com

V I N E YA R D S & W I N E R Y

GOVERNOR’S CUP WINNER

BEST MISSOURI WINE AT T H E 2 011 M I S S O U R I W I N E C O M P E T I T I O N

FREE LIVE MUSIC MAY - NOVEMBER O P E N DA I LY 800-419-2245 - www.blumenhof.com - Highway 94 Dutzow, Missouri

th

1175 Anniversary

2 MILES WEST OF HERMANN HWY 100 TO FRENE CREEK ROAD 573-486-5596 WWW.ADAMPUCHTAWINE.COM

Vintage Charm

Timeless Beauty

“One of the prettiest towns in America.” — Forbes Magazine

Country Fair | September 8-9 Car Show | September 9 Wedding Trail | September 9 Civil War Days | September 22-23 BarBQ & Brats Festival | September 28-29 Oktoberfest | First Four Weekends of October Kristkindl Markt | First Two Weekends of December

800-932-8687 • VisitHermann.com On the MissOuri river just an hOur west Of st. LOuis [84] MissouriLife

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us on

The Official BraTwursT Of The sainT charles OkTOBerfesT swissmeats.com • 2056 s. hwy 19, hermann, MO 65041 • 1-800-793-swiss [85] August 2012

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Flavor

NEW WINE TRAIL Explore the Great Northwest Missouri Wine Trail

THE GREAT Northwest Missouri Wine Trail, the state’s sixth wine trail, launched earlier this year, courtesy of a group of eight wineries in the northwest corner of the state. The trail includes a mix of well-established and new wineries, offering a variety of experiences and wine types to suit any visitor’s preference.

“I’m one of the new kids on the block. We just opened last fall,” says Galen Haddock of Ladoga Ridge Winery. “Earlier this year, I saw the need for an organization of wineries up here. With eight wineries north of Kansas City and natural boundaries with the Missouri River on two sides and the Iowa border to the north, a wine trail seemed like a good idea.”

The call went out to neighboring wineries, and several meetings later, the group introduced the wine trail with a colorful brochure and website.

“There’s synergy in working together,” says Jason Gerke of Jowler Creek Winery. “When people know there is a cluster of wineries in the area, it’s an incentive to come and make a day of it.”

Sample local Missouri wines, and meet the winemakers at these Great Northwest wineries.

Activities are still in the planning stages, so the best way to check what’s scheduled for this fall on the Great Northwest Missouri Wine Trail is to visit online. www.NWMissouriWine.com

Jowler Creek Winery in Platte City is Missouri’s first green winery and uses sheep to control weeds in the vineyards.

COURTESY OF JOWLER CREEK WINERY

BY BARBARA GIBBS OSTMANN

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ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW BARTON

1. BELVOIR WINERY, LIBERTY From its early roots as the Reed Springs Hotel to its time as the Odd Fellows Home, Belvoir Winery offers 130 years of history in guided tours of the property. Established in 2011, the winery lies on 170 acres. www.belvoirwinery.com • 816-200-1811

5. PIRTLE WINERY, WESTON

2. FENCE STILE WINERY, EXCELSIOR SPRINGS Established in 2007, Fence Stile is in the rolling hills near Excelsior Springs. An indoor tasting room, outdoor patio with fire pit, and vineyard tours help draw people for live music, outdoor movie nights, picnics, and harvest parties. www.fencestile.com • 816-500-6465

6. RIVERWOOD WINERY, RUSHVILLE

3. JOWLER CREEK WINERY, PLATTE CITY

7. VAN TILL FAMILY FARM AND WINERY, RAYVILLE

The first green vineyard and winery in the state, Jowler Creek opened in 2005 and uses solar power to make wine. The winery also uses chickens to reduce insects and sheep to control weeds in the vineyards. The indoor tasting room and outdoor wine garden host wine appreciation classes, workshops, and harvest parties. www.jowlercreek.com • 816-858-5528

For an authentic farm-to-table experience, Van Till is the place to go. The business started in 2001 as Rayville Baking Company, the vineyards were planted in 2006, and the winery began in 2009. With its wines, greenhouses, bakery, and wood-fired pizza, the family produces memorable food-and-wine pairings. www.vantillfarms.com • 816-776-2720

4. LADOGA RIDGE WINERY, SMITHVILLE

8. WINDY WINE COMPANY, OSBORN

Opened in 2011, Ladoga Ridge offers wine tastings, tours, and a peaceful country setting in which to relax and reflect. Don’t miss the winery’s flock of Buff Orpington chickens that are as friendly as puppies. www.ladogaridgewinery.com • 816-866-4077

Windy Wine started with owner Kraig Keesaman making his own wine, then working at a local winery. He then planted six acres of vineyards on his family’s farm. Wine sales began last October, and the tasting room opened in May. www.windywine.com • 816-646-8641

Housed in a former Lutheran Church built in 1867, Pirtle Winery makes meads (honey wines) and produces a full range of fruit and grape wines.

The winery is the oldest one on the wine trail. Be sure to check out The Vineyards restaurant next door. www.pirtlewinery.com • 816-640-5728

The tasting room of Riverwood Winery, established in 2007, is located along the Missouri River bluffs. The vineyards are near Snow Creek Ski Area. Live music, live theater, food events, and wine tastings keep visitors coming throughout the year. www.riverwoodwinery.com • 816-579-9797

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Antiques and Vintage Items Handmade Artisan Pieces Old-Fashioned Candy and Soda 16 North Main Street In Historic Downtown Liberty, MO 816-781-6839 Find us on Facebook A DESTINATION BOUTIQUE LOCATED ON THE HISTORIC LIBERTY SQUARE

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

August 18: Dog Days of Summer Craft Beer Festival August 24: “Liverpool” performing at Free Summer Concert series September 28-30: Liberty Fall Festival

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Best selection of cheese and Amish-style foods in the Kansas City area!

• Amish-style jarred goods, spices, snacks and candies • 32-site RV Park • More than 140 cheeses sampled daily

7089 Outer Rd., Odessa, MO • 816-633-8720 www.onegoodtaste.com • www.countrygardensrv.com

Download the Liberty MO smart phone app to discover more about our award-winning town! #3 Best Town for Families (Family Circle, 2011) #7 Best Places to Live (Money, 2011)

816-781-3575 www.historicdowntownliberty.org

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36th Annual September 28, 29 & 30 Historic Liberty Square Join us for these family fun events: Parade • Carnival • Booths • Live Music Children’s Activities and much, much more!

Anna Marie’s holds monthly theme tea parties, private events, and sells 90 varieties of premium loose leaf tea. Terrace Avenue Inn features two rooms and one suite, all with private baths: Terrace Suite - Jacuzzi Tub, Rainfall Shower, King Bed and Private Secluded Porch. Cottage Nook - a first floor nook just off the kitchen with a queen bed, private entrance. Liberty Room - a cozy room for the traveler looking for a good price with a personal touch. Full bed.

www.libertyfallfest.com

www.AnnaTeaShop.com • www.TerraceAvenueInn.com 124 S. Terrace Avenue, Liberty, MO 64068 • 816-792-8777

111 N. Main, Liberty, MO • 816-781-9473 www.jamescountry.com • jamescntry@aol.com

Carrying a complete line of Civil War Living History needs for Ladies, Gentlemen, Civilian, Military – featuring patterns, weapons, accessories, research. Our specialty: the Border Wars.

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As a MEMBER of the Missouri Chamber YOU WILL RECEIVE:

Regular legislative and regulatory updates The Missouri Chamber is a critical, behind-the-scenes power in Jefferson City, helping draft bills to be introduced by legislators, testifying at hearings, and watch-dogging regulations. Updates and alerts are published on all major issues and sent to our members. Members can participate in issue webinars and conference calls.

MEMBER PROGRAMS: Cutting edge seminars and conferences Competitive employee health insurance programs

Member Help-line

Missouri Drug Card savings program

Access to our lobbyists and legal experts is an automatic membership benefit. Members can contact us with legislative questions concerning: • Local and state tax issues

Shipping and office supply discounts Competitive employee 401K programs

• Worker’s Compensation • Employment Law

• Environmental Regulations • And much, much more

Missouri Business Magazine The full color magazine, Missouri Business, highlights our members and gives readers a more in-depth look at the issues facing the business community.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Contact Linda Gipson at lgipson@mochamber.com, or by phone at 573-634-3511.

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PROMOTION

Len Dawson

KANSAS CITY

TEXANS CHIEFS

CELEBRATE 50 YEARS

by Marty Willadsen hen Missouri Life publisher Greg Wood asked me to write a story celebrating the Chiefs 50 years in Kansas City, my initial thoughts were, “Piece of cake. There is so much to write about.” And therein was the problem. How do you do justice to Missouri’s most celebrated football franchise in 850 words? So with that, I called my buddy Luke Shanno with the Chiefs, who promptly supplied me with a media guide. Maybe you’ll learn a few things about our beloved Chiefs.

I know I did.

W

• Lamar Hunt’s American Football League began play in the fall of 1960 with franchises in Dallas, Oakland, Boston, San Diego, Buffalo, Denver, Houston, and New York. Oakland was a last-minute replacement for Minneapolis, who withdrew to join the National Football League.

Bobby Bell

• At the helm of Hunt’s Dallas Texans was a relatively unknown coach by the name of Hank Stram, whose services were procured after Hunt had been spurned by Bud Wilkinson and Tom Landry. Hunt said of his reasoning for hiring Stram, “He really wanted the job.”

officially christened on May 26th, in part to honor Kansas City Mayor H. Roe “The Chief ” Bartle whose efforts led to the team’s relocation.

• Coach Stram immediately signed one of his former college players, Len Dawson, who had no place to play. Dawson had been the first round draft pick of Pittsburgh in 1957 but had been waived by Cleveland after spending five uneventful years with the Steelers and Browns.

• One of the more colorful tales in franchise lore transpired days before the ’65 draft. The Cowboys had wide receiver Otis Taylor (Prairie View A&M) sequestered at the Continental Hotel in Dallas. Chiefs scout Lloyd Wells, who was instrumental in the signing of many key players during the ’60s, thought he had Taylor’s services secured for the Chiefs when he learned of the Cowboys’ chicanery. After ascertaining the receiver’s location from Taylor’s mother, Wells posed as a reporter from Ebony magazine

• When Lamar Hunt moved the Texans to Kansas City in 1963, he and Stram jested about calling the team the Kansas City Texans, but thanks to a “name-the-team” contest, the Chiefs were

• Chief greats Ed Budde, Buck Buchanan and Bobby Bell were all products of the 1963 draft.

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PROMOTION

and slipped his phone number to Taylor unbeknownst to a Cowboys’ bodyguard watching Taylor’s hotel door. At 3 am one of the greatest “escapes” in franchise history was consummated as the receiver climbed out a bathroom window and into an awaiting Cadillac. Taylor and Wells boarded a flight for Kansas City later that morning, and Taylor, with a shiny new vehicle in his possession, was subsequently drafted by the Chiefs in the fourth round, beginning an illustrious Kansas City career.

• The team’s 1969 home opener at Municipal Stadium was played in a daylong deluge referred to as a “frog-strangler” by Chiefs radio broadcaster Bill Grigsby. The Chiefs and Oilers combined for 14 fumbles in a 24-0 Kansas City victory.

Lamar Hunt

• In 1969, quarterbacks Len Dawson and Jacky Lee both sustained injuries that would leave quarterbacking duties in the hand of the third-string— second-year Mike Livingston, who had taken just five snaps as a rookie in 1968. Livingston engineered a five-game winning streak which would propel the Chiefs into the playoffs.

• In the final game in AFL history, the Chiefs defeated the Raiders 17-7 at Oakland.

• Lamar Hunt became the first AFL figure to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on July 29, 1972.

• In 1974, Hank Stram’s illustrious coaching career in Kansas City came to an end when he was relieved of his duties on December 27th after compiling a 124-76-10 regular season record with the club.

Hank Stram

The Chiefs have played a significant role in Missouri’s sports culture. While several players and coaches have been inducted into the Missouri Sport Hall of Fame, four have found their way to the Legends Walkway at the Hall: Len Dawson, Bobby Bell, Lamar Hunt, and Hank Stram.

• In 1980 guard Brad Budde (USC), the son of Chiefs Hall of Famer Ed Budde, was selected as the Chief ’s first-round draft choice, making the Buddes the first father-son combination to become first-round draftees of the same team in NFL history.

• Also in 1980, the Chiefs released kicker Jan Stenerud, who at the time was the club’s all-time leading scorer, replacing him with journeyman

Nick Lowery, who had been cut 11 times by eight different teams. Lowery finished his career with the club in ’93 as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 1,466 points. In 1991, Stenerud became the first pure placekicker to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• Six-time Pro Bowl safety Deron Cherry originally joined the club in 1981 as a free agent punter.

• Carl Peterson’s very first draft choice as the Chiefs’ president and general manager was Derrick Thomas in 1989.

• The very first time Dale Carter touched the ball in an NFL contest, he registered a 46-yard punt return touchdown.

• Led by Steve Bono in 1995, Kansas City posted an NFL-best 13-3 record with unblemished 8-0 marks in both the American Football Conference West and at Arrowhead Stadium.

• When Coach Marty Schottenheimer announced his retirement in 1999 after 10 seasons, his 101-58-1 (.634) record gave him the best winning percentage of any coach in franchise history.

• In 2005, Hurricane Wilma forced the Chiefs to play their first regular season Friday night game since ’64 as a game originally slated for October 23rd was hastily rescheduled. Kansas City actually flew to Miami on the day of the game and defeated the Dolphins by a 30-20 margin.

• When 10-time Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez departed in 2009, he did so as the Chiefs’ career leader in receptions (916), receiving yards (10,940), and touchdown catches (76).

Obviously this is just a fragment of the Chiefs’ rich 50-year history in Kansas City. Players and coaches, past and present have helped shape the football landscape of the Show Me state. This summer, plan a trip to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield to learn more about the Chiefs and Missouri’s other great sports franchises. www.mosportshalloffame.com

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Unique & Affordable Gifts, Extraordinary Period Antiques ...

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Bucksnort Trading Company A STORE AS UNIQUE AS ITS NAME

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Saloon and Living History Museum, Civil War, Native American and Old West Clothing and Accessories, Turquoise Jewelry, Pottery and more.

Blackwater, MO ∙ 660-846-2224 www.blackwater-mo.com

121 E Broadway St. Brunswick, MO www.kaitlynns.com

Cheesecakes•Ice Cream•Sandwiches•Deli

Delicious tomatoes are ready! Sweet corn, too!

KING HILL FARMS is located at the foot of a hill (known as King Hill).

The family collection of antique CASE tractors is a landmark and not to be missed!

Roadside stand with garden produce grown in the heart of Missouri

4 miles east on Hwy 24 • Brunswick, MO 660-548-3972 • www.kinghillpecans.com

10th Annual

FOLK FESTIVAL

Period craft demonstrations, children’s games, music, and food Labor Day - Monday, Sept. 3 10 am - 4 pm Boone’s Lick State Historic Site Hwy 187 near Boonesboro, MO FREE ADMISSION www.boonslicktourism.org

Marr’s Guitars

Specializing in easy-play instruments for back-porch pickers and strummers Custom Design and Commissions www.marrsguitars.com 660-679-9990

Sponsored by The Boonslick Area Tourism Council and Missouri State Parks [94] MissouriLife

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Musings ON MISSOURI

LIVING ON HOUND TIME

ILLUSTRATION BY TOM SULLIVAN

BY RON MARR

ONE OF MY primary goals in life, though rather small and largely allegorical, has been to remain ignorant of specific times and dates. I’ve not worn a watch since the late 1970s, and I don’t own a calendar. Alarm clocks, above and beyond any of man’s creations, have long struck me as being the personification of a barbarous culture. Being voluntarily and precipitously roused from slumber by loud noises is somewhat akin to waterboarding yourself. The world would be a much kinder and gentler place—I suspect crime rates would drop, war would cease, and disease would vanish—if we could just outlaw alarm clocks. They make people surly and mean, prone to murderous thoughts and deeds.

I’ve actually shot a couple of alarm clocks . . . put them on a stump and blown them to pieces with 12-gauge deer slugs. It was quite satisfying (shooting stuff usually is), and for a moment or two I was able to convince myself I’d discovered how to stop time in its tracks. Still, I wouldn’t have behaved in such a fashion if the clocks hadn’t woken me up in such a dramatic and uncouth fashion.

Of course, there’s the distinct possibility that my distaste for time management devices is little but the birthright of having hillbilly blood; my red and white cells seem to espouse a philosophy based around the concept that “If it’s not rainin’ the roof don’t leak. If it is rainin’ it’s too wet outside to go fix it anyhow.” Mostly I just don’t enjoy being held captive by schedule and routine. Being compelled to engage in any given act at a mandated time might be handy in places like San Quentin or Guantanamo Bay, but it has no place in civilized and enlightened society.

If you ignore my occasional certainty that Saturday is Sunday and that March is July, this fluidic approach to chronological vagueness has served me well. We all have an internal clock that is amazingly accurate, and I can’t recall ever being more than five minutes late for an appointment. In most cases, since I’ve done my utmost to avoid working in an RON MARR office, confusing a few days or months here

and there doesn’t pose any sort of problem or conflict. I do forget writing deadlines from time to time, but I blame that on either a failing memory or having inhaled a debilitating amount of lacquer fumes in my guitar workshop. (There might be a cause and effect process on display.)

However, despite not having an alarm clock, I do not wake gently. This is thanks to the dogs. Jack and Hugo allow me to sleep on their bed—even though I bought it and it’s queen-sized and it was supposed to be mine. The sleeping part is not a problem—each of us has our own preferred spot—but come the first rays of sunrise all hell breaks loose. Hugo begins stomping my stomach, tapping, clogging and waltzing like a deranged Fred Astaire.

Jack licks my face as if it were a four-scoop waffle-cone filled with Kobe steaks.

The former causes more than a little pain.

Hugo is about 45 pounds, and though he’s only half basset, he has the giant, economy-sized claws for which that breed is renowned. The latter leads to nausea, as Jack’s breath could not exactly be described as lavender and rose water.

I suppose exhalations that can peel paint and melt certain aluminum alloys is to be expected when you cannot refrain from eating anything you find on the ground (be it living, dead, or somewhere in between).

It’s true that I don’t rise from slumber at the behest of clanging bells or a full-volume traffic deejay bellowing reports of a traffic jam on I-70. Unfortunately, it’s also true that I exit dreamland by being kicked, slashed, spat upon, and nearly asphyxiated by an invisible substance that makes mustard gas seem like a wistful hint of jasmine. People say you shouldn’t talk to them until after they’ve had their first cup of coffee. I advise people not to talk to me until after I’ve had my pain meds, tranquilizers, artificial respiration, and therapy session for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Luckily, I’m a quick healer and am usually okay by mid-afternoon. That’s time management at its finest, as mid-afternoon is when the boys insist I come outside and throw their tennis balls.

Unlike me, they apparently do wear watches.

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Paul of Seattle, Wa writes:

WELCOME TO THE

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Glenn’s Café and Bar was wonderful (including the best Key Lime Pie I’ve ever had!). I can’t say enough about my excellent experience. If I ever find myself in Boonville again, I will definitely stay at Hotel Frederick. ” June 25, 2012

HOTEL FREDERICK www.hotelfrederick.com • 888-437-3321 • 501 East High Street, Boonville, MO 65233

Great Things to Do While Staying at the Historic Hotel Frederick!

Missouri River Festival of the Arts, Aug. 23-25 at Thespian Hall • Folk Festival, Sept. 3 at Boone’s Lick Historical Site • Back to the Farm Reunion Steam Engine Show, Sept. 6-9 at Brady Showgrounds • Katy Bridge Wine Walk, Sept. 29 in downtown area

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RICK SPRINGFIELD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 AT 8:00pm Tickets are on sale starting August 20 for just $35 at www.jestersjam.com or by calling 660-882-1239.

100 ISLE OF CAPRI BLVD. • BOONVILLE, MO 65233 WWW.ISLEOFCAPRICASINOS.COM • 1-800-THE-ISLE © 2012 Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Must be 21. Tickets 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 gamblingcounselor@lifecrisis.org. www.isleofcapricasinos.com

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ALL AROUND

Missouri AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012

SOUTHWEST

featured event >

LANDS DAY NATIONAL PUBLIC e exhibits of itor’s center and view th

plore the vis Sept. 29, Republic > Ex ils, tour the battleride your bike on the tra or lk wa , cts ifa art ar W Creek Civil nnon locations. Wilson’s ca e th see d an y, str ce field, trace your an ov/wicr 417-732-2662, www.nps.g e.

Fre .

PM -7 AM 8 . eld fi National Battle

ALADDIN LAMP COLLECTORS Aug. 3-4, Springfield > International lamp show and sale with 1870-1940 antique coal-oil lamps.

University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

3-7 PM Fri.; 8 AM-3 PM Sat. $5. 573-696-3619, www.aladdincollectors.org

MUSIC MAN Aug. 10-12, Mount Vernon > Famous musical.

The MARC. 7 PM Fri.-Sat.; 2 PM Sun. Free. 417461-0295, www.notsosquarearts.macaa.net

SHOAL CREEK WATER FESTIVAL Aug. 11, Joplin > Cardboard boats, Fishin’ Magicians, live raptors, duck race, creek hike, water education booths, and Kid’s Shoebox Boat Race. Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center. 10 AM-3 PM. Free. 417-782-6287, www.wildcatglades.audubon.org

OLD SETTLERS’ PICNIC Aug. 16-18, Sheldon > Antique tractor pull, bluegrass band, 5K run, and street dance. Main St. 6-9 PM Thurs.; noon-midnight Fri.; 7 AM-midnight Sat. Free. 417-549-0049, www.sheldonpicnic.webs.com

FIDDLE FESTIVAL Aug. 24-26, Branson > Jam sessions and championship fiddling contest. Downtown. 6:30-9:30 PM Fri.; 10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. $1.50$3. 866-523-1190, www.downtownbranson.org

MISSOURI FOX TROTTERS SHOW COURTESY OF STEVE ROSS

Sept. 2-8, Ava > World championship horse show featuring the official state horse. MFTHBA Show Grounds. 9 AM-6 PM. Free to spectators.

417-683-2468, www.mfthba.com

NOT SO SQUARE ARTS FESTIVAL

Visit MissouriLife.com for more events!

Sept. 8, Mount Vernon > Art, Instant Improv, tango demonstrations, Not So Shakespeare, and children’s art. The MARC. 10 AM-5 PM. Free. 417461-0295, www.notsosquarearts.macaa.net These listings are chosen by our editors and are not paid for by sponsors.

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Missouri

ALL AROUND

AUTUMN DAZE

HERITAGE REUNION

Sept. 13-15, Branson > More than 100 arts and crafts vendors exhibit handmade seasonal and holiday items; demonstrations; dancers, comedians, and band performances; and a celebrity booth. Historic downtown.

9 AM-9:30 PM. Thurs.-Fri.; 9 AM-4 PM Sat. Free.

417-334-1548, www.downtownbranson.org

Sept. 29-30, Fair Grove > More than 250 arts and crafts booths; demonstrations of turnof-the-century crafts; parade; country music; horse and mule obstacle course; antique tractor show; and pony rides. District Park and Wommack Mill. 8 AM-6 PM Sat.; 8 AM-4 PM Sun. Free.

417-833-3467, www.fghps.org

BOONE FAMILY STORYTELLING Sept. 15, Ash Grove > Stories of Nathan Boone.

Nathan Boone State Historic Site. 7-8 PM. Free.

417-751-3266, mostateparks.com/park/nathanboone-homestead-state-historic-site

NORTHEAST ST. LOUIS KA-POW!

CIDER DAYS Sept. 15-16, Springfield > Outdoor celebration featuring more than 100 juried artists and crafters, hands-on children’s area, scarecrow village, performance stages, and apple cider. Historic Walnut Street. 10 AM-5 PM. $4. 417-831-6200

CAR SHOW FOR KIDS Sept. 22, Springfield > Hundreds of cool cars and trucks, children’s games, vendors, live musical entertainment, and vendors. American National Corporate Centre Parking Lot. 9 AM-2 PM. $5 for adults; children are free. 417-887-4990, www.anpaccarshowforkids.com

July 27-Sept. 7, St. Charles > Comic Art and Storyboarding is a juried comic art exhibition featuring panel cartoons, excerpts from graphic novels, sculpture, installations, and multimedia.

Foundry Art Centre. 10 AM-8 PM Tues.-Thurs.; 10 AM-5 PM Fri.-Sat.; noon-4 PM Sun. Free. 636-2550270, www.foundryartcentre.org

BATTLE OF KIRKSVILLE Aug. 3-5, Kirksville > Reenactments, vintage baseball game, Civil War medical tent, period dressed reeanctors, and dancing. Rotary Park.

3:30-8 PM Fri.; 8 AM-9 PM Sat.; 9 AM-5 PM Sun. Free. 660-665-2003, www.kirksvillecity.com

dancing in the dark!

MUSIC UNDER THE STARS Aug. 2-Sept. 6 (Thurs.), Hannibal > Bring a blanket or lawn chair for a different outdoor concert each week.

Downtown. 7-9 PM. Free. 573-221-9010, www.marktwainmuseum.org

COURTESY OF MARK TWAIN BOYHOOD HOME AND MUSEUM

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CONVENTION & VISITOR’S BUREAU

America’s Maple Leaf City Arts. Cultural Activities. Historic Route 66. 160+ Years of History.

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Discover Carthage. visit-carthage.com 866.357.8687

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Stay & Play...

The Grand Way

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the

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Lovingly refurbished and completely restored with a European flair

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Missouri

ALL AROUND

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

BIG MUDDY BLUES FESTIVAL

Aug. 7 and 14, Chesterfield > Trilogy on the 7th and Wizard Island Band on the 14th. Faust Park.

7-9 PM (park opens at 5:15 PM). Free. 636-5323399, www.chesterfieldmochamber.com

Sept. 1-2, St. Louis > More than 18 hours of music with 30 bands on three stages. Laclede’s Landing. 1-11 PM. Free (main stage $10-$25). 314241-5875, www.bigmuddybluesfestival.com

DAS RHEINGOLD

RV SHOW

Aug. 17-18 and 24-25, St. Louis > Richard Wagner’s epic opera. Union Avenue Opera. 8 PM. $32$52. 314-361-2881, www.unionavenueopera.org

Sept. 7-9, Hazelwood > Outdoor show featuring more than 300 RVs including travel trailers.

St. Louis Mills. 10 AM-8 PM Fri.-Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. Free. 618-288-9952, www.stlrv.com

BIG BAND DANCE Aug. 25, Hermann > Dance to the Blue Knights, a 12-piece band. Stone Hill Winery pavilion. 8-11 PM. $25 (advanced tickets). 800-909-9463, www.stonehillwinery.com

REGIONAL AIRPORT FLY-IN Aug. 25, Sullivan > Free airplane rides for kids, concessions, crafters, and entertainment. Regional Airport. 8 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-468-3314, www.sullivanmochamber.com

FALL ART FAIR AT QUEENY PARK Aug. 31-Sept. 2, Ballwin > Fine arts and crafts, live music, wine tasting, children’s activities, and art raffles. Greensfelder Recreation Center.

6-9 PM Fri.; 10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 11 AM-4 PM Sun. $5.

314-997-1181, www.artfairatqueenypark.com

outdoor stages. Grand Center. 1-8 PM. Free. 314289-1500, www.grandcenter.org

GOLDEN HILLS PLEIN AIR Sept. 22, Louisiana > Visit artists creating work outdoors, vote for your favorite piece, art sale, and wine and cheese reception. Throughout town. 9 AM-7 PM. Free ($3 for reception). 573754-5921, www.louisiana-mo.com

WALK BACK IN TIME Sept. 28-30, Mexico > Camps with reenactors portraying colonial to modern times. Audrain Historical Museum Complex. 10 AM-4 PM. Free.

573-581-2765, www.mexicomissouri.net

MISSOURI FESTIVAL OF ARTS Sept. 14-16, St. Charles > Outdoor festival where 120 juried and invited artists exhibit and sell their works. Historic Main Street. 4-9 PM Fri.; 11 AM-9 PM Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. Free. 314-4825476, www.stcharlesmosaics.org

BACON FESTIVAL Sept. 29, Kirksville > Bacon-cooking contest, 4,000 BLTS for lunch, Miss Sizzle and Miss Bacon Bits pageant, and live music. Downtown. 10 AM-2 PM. Food donations accepted. 660-665-3766, www.kirksvillechamber.com

ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL Sept. 15, Kirksville > More than 100 artisan booths, visual and performing arts, and crafts.

Downtown. 9 AM-4:30 PM. Free. 660-665-0500, www.kirksvillearts.com

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE Sept. 29, Macon > Reenactment of the Macon Massacre with encampment, a cannon, and a remembrance of those who were killed. Throughout town. 9:30 AM-2:50 PM. Free. 660-346-1455. www.maconcivilwar.westmercantile.com

DANCING IN THE STREETS Sept. 20, St. Louis > More than 1,000 dancers from 65 companies perform a variety of styles from traditional ballet to hip-hop on three

Great People, By Nature.

We are Clinton, Missouri where small town life is still alive and well. We are hardworking people who are connected to the beautiful land that surrounds us. This Golden Valley in which we live offers a golden lifestyle, filled with safety, security and a quality of life that is rare today. We are a community in every sense of the word.

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.

Civil War Reenactment Weekend!

Presented by the Camden County Historical Society and Museum off Hwy. 54 near Camdenton

Sept 15-16 All day family events: witness a reenactment of the only major battle fought in Camden County, visit camps, see living history, vendors and food, free admission (parking: $5/motorcycle, $10/car) For more information, go to www.clintonmo.com

For more info, call 573-346-7191 or visit www.camdencountymuseum.com [102] MissouriLife

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The 2012-13 University Concert Series has been announced!

www.concertseries.org

ivers

an R

Boy

ISAAK

CHRIS

z

University Concert Series

2012-13

www.concertseries.org 573.882.3781

Box Office: Missouri Theatre, 203 South 9th , Downtown Columbia [103] August 2012

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NORTHWEST KANSAS CITY BATTLE OF INDEPENDENCE Aug. 11, Independence > Visit the 1859 Jail and Marshalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home, and take a covered wagon tour of the battlefield (with special tour featuring BBQ dinner and Civil War concert available for $20-$40). Tours begin at 214 N. Main. 9 and 11 AM, 1 and 3 PM. $15-$30. 816-456-4991, www. pioneertrailsadventures.com

ED PHILLIPS MEMORIAL RODEO Aug. 17-18, Maryville > Variety of rodeo events plus calf scramble for kids. Ed Phillips Memorial Arena. 8 PM. $5-$10. 660-541-4696, www. maryvillechamber.com

Aug. 17-19, St. Joseph > Fine and folk art, hands-on art activities, dramatic stage performances, main stage concerts with Tower of Power and Head East, and food booths. Civic Center Park. 5-11 PM Fri.; 10 AM-11 PM Sat.; 10 AM10 PM Sun. $10 (all three days). 816-233-0231, www.trailswest.org

MISSOURI CORNHUSKING COMPETITION Sept. 22, Marshall > Corn husking is a heritage sport where participants husk corn by hand and throw it into a horse-drawn wagon. Winners are picked by their speed. Plus, a craft show, homemade pie contest, antique machinery show, and rodeo. Saline County Fairground. 7 AM-7 PM. Free (rodeo $10). 660-886-2233, www.cornhusking.com

MARSHALL DEMOCRAT NEWS

TRAILS WEST FESTIVAL

heritage sport!

Plein Aire Event Saturday, September 22nd

Louisiana, Missouri

All day and evening.

See this site for Visitors and registration for Artists

[104] MissouriLife

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July-Aug. 8

Save $2 on regular adult admission tickets sold at Missouri State Fair Box Office and these sponsor locations:

Concert Series 2012

®

Guy Clark - September 15 Leo Kottke - September 22 Mark Farner - September 29 Marshall Tucker Band - October 5-6 Brewer and Shipley - October 6 Little River Band - October 12-13 Dave Mason - October 19-20 Poco - October 26-27

Unlimited Daily Deal $27 $6 savings! Available at Breaktime and Walgreens July – Aug. 18 Includes carnival rides for one day and one-day adult admission

Advance Unlimited Ride Carnival Wristband $18.95 $6 savings! Exclusively at Walgreens, July – August 8

Ozark Mountain Daredevils - November 2-3

www.wildwoodspringslodge.com

130.29782 Aug 2012 Mo Life Print Ad.indd 1

5/16/12 11:16 AM

www.findourcommonground.com

Join the Missouri Food Conversation

Renee, Fordyce Farm, Bethany

Jamie and Lisa, Cox Farm, Martinsburg

Sharon, Gibson Family Farm, Norborne

Missouri agriculture invites consumers to join the conversation about food, and listen to what those who actually grow the food have to say about safety and nutrition.

Visit us Thurs., July 16 in the Agriculture Building at the Missouri State Fair!

Missouri Soybean Programs, P.O. Box 104778, Jefferson City, MO 65110 (573) 635-3819

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COMMUNITY FAIR

CHAUTAUQUA IN THE PARK

Aug. 22-25, Lexington > Carnival, beer garden, children’s activities, arts, crafts, reenactment, and stargazing. Throughout town. 5:30-11 PM Wed.-Thurs.; 5:30 PM-2 AM Fri.; 8 AM-2 AM Sat. Free (except special events). 866-837-4711, www.visitlexingtonmo.com

Sept. 8-9, Chillicothe > Juried arts festival featuring arts, food, culture, children’s area, and entertainment. Simpson Park. 9 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 660-646-4050, www. chillicothemo.com/Chautauqua.html

CHALK AND WALK FESTIVAL

IRISH FEST Aug. 31-Sept. 2, Kansas City > Music, dancing, exhibits, three stages of bands perform traditional Irish music and Celtic Rock, and Irish comics. Crown Center Square and Off Center Theatre. 5-11 PM Fri.; 11 AM-11 PM Sat.-Sun. $15-$25.

86-997-0837, www.kcirishfest.com

Sept. 8-9, Kansas City > See artists work as they transform squares of asphalt into into pieces of art. Plus, street performers, hands-on activities, and live entertainment. Crown Center Square. 11 AM-8 PM Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. Free.

816-274-8444, www.kcchalkandwalk.org

OLD HOMES TOUR

SANTA-CALI-GON DAYS Aug. 31-Sept. 3, Independence > More than 500 vendor booths, country music concerts, gospel stage, carnival, and old fashioned contests. Independence Square. 6-11 PM Fri.; 10 AM11 PM Sat.-Sun.; 10 AM-5 PM Mon. Free. 816-2524745, www.santacaligon.com

ICE CREAM FREEZE-OFF Sept. 1, Arrow Rock > Concert and homemade ice cream contest. Schoolhouse Community Center. 2-4 PM. $5 (concert free). 660-837-3231, www.arrowrock.org

$5 parking (special events extra). 816-628-4229, www.jessejamesfestival.com

SOUTHSIDE FALL FESTIVAL Sept. 14-16, St. Joseph > Crafts, entertainment, and grand parade. Hyde Park. Noon-10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat.; 9:30 AM-5 PM Sun. 816-273-3370, www.visitmo.com/southside-fall-festival

FALL FESTIVAL Sept. 20-22, Slater > Carnival, kiddie tractor pull, hula hoop contest, talent show, and beer garden. Downtown. 6-10 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat. Free ($5 to enter beer garden). 660-5292271, www.cityofslater.com

Sept. 8-9, Lexington > Take a tour bus to visit five historic homes including the Historical Museum and the Anderson House. Board the bus at Tourism Bureau on Main Street. 10 AM-4 PM Sat.; noon-4 PM Sun. $13-$15. 866-837-4711, www. visitlexingtonmo.com

MUSIC FEST AND JAM

JESSE JAMES FESTIVAL

OLDE TIME HARVEST DAYS

Sept. 14-16, Kearney > Arts, crafts, demolition derby, mud volleyball, parade, Territorial Shoot Championship, BBQ cook-off, Festival Dance, and rodeo. Jesse James Fairgrounds. 9 AM8 PM Fri.; 7:30 AM-8 PM Sat.; 9 AM-2:30 PM Sun.

Sept. 22, Lawson > Bring your banjo, fiddle, or guitar, and jam on the back porch. Enjoy concerts. Watkins Woolen Mill State Park. Noon5 PM. Free. 816-580-3387, www.mostateparks. com/park/watkins-mill-state-park

Sept. 28-30, Chillicothe > Old-time harvest demonstrations, exhibits, vendors, tractor displays, and tractor pull. Livingston County Fairgrounds. 10 AM-7 PM. $5 (three days). 660-3597333, www.livcosteamandgas.com

Four treasure hunters test their knowledge and skills to buy antiques at markets across the country - competing to make the most profit.

From the creators of Antiques Roadshow.

Photo: David Aaron Troy

Mondays at 8 p.m.

John Bruno, Miller Gaffney, Bob Richter and Kevin Bruneau

www.kmos.org

KMOS-TV broadcasts in HD on channel 6.1, and is carried in many communities on channel 6. You can also see broadcasts of lifestyle/how-to shows on 6.2 and international programs on 6.3.

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Events Phelps County Fair

Aug. 1-4

The Diviners

Aug. 2-12

Cocktails with Larry Miller

Sept. 14

Celebration of Nations

Sept. 29

Presented by Ozark Actors Theatre Presented by Leach Theatre

For more information on these and other events and activities visit

www.VisitRolla.com

Help put Route 66 back on the nation’s road atlases!

Visit www.bringbackroute66.com THE ONLY SITE ON THE WEB DEVOTED TO BRINGING BACK ROUTE 66.

Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce • 1311 Kingshighway Rolla, MO 65401 • 573-364-3577 or 888-809-3817

Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2012

Get your kicks and treasures on Route 66!

The Route 66 Treasure Hunt is one continuous antique/yard sale along Route 66 from Eureka to Rolla. Participating communities include Eureka, Pacific, St. Clair, Sullivan, Cuba, St. James and Rolla. The Route 66 Treasure Hunt began in St. Clair, MO in 2004.

It has grown to include over 66 miles of Yard Sales and Flea Markets!

Want to learn more? Have space(s) to rent? Want to rent a space from someone?

Contact your participating Chamber of Commerce: Eureka, Pacific, St. Clair, Sullivan, Cuba, St. James and Rolla

For general information: 636-629-1889 or chamber@stclairmo.com [107] August 2012

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ALL AROUND

FALL FESTIVAL Sept. 28-30, Liberty > Parade, children’s activities, carnival, live music, and food and craft booths. Historic Liberty Square. 11 AM-9 PM Fri.; 9 AM-9 PM Sat.; noon-4 PM Sun. Free. 816-7815200, www.libertyfallfest.com

BLUES FEST Sept. 29, Arrow Rock > Blues bands concerts and jam sessions. Food and drink available for purchase. J. Huston Tavern lawn. 11 AM-6 PM. Free. 660-837-3200, www.jhustontavern.com

COUNTRY PATCHWORK QUILTS

home tours!

JOUR DE FETE

Photo: Stephanie Berger

Aug. 11-12, Ste. Genevieve > More than 100 arts, crafts, and collectible booths, live entertainment, and tours of privately owned 18th-century historic homes and gardens. Historic Downtown. 10 AM-8 PM Sat.; 9 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 573-883-7097, www.stegenevievejourdefete.com

Sept. 29-30, Marshall > More than 100 quilts and vendors, silent auction, bazaar, exhibits, and a tour of the Nicholas Beazley Aviation Museum. Martin Community Center. 9 AM-5 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. $3 donation. 660-886-5162, www.countrypatchworkquilters.com

SOUTHEAST PHELPS COUNTY FAIR Aug. 1-4, Rolla > Carnival, bull riding, demolition derby, mud run, truck and tractor pull, frozen t-shirt contest, horse shoe pitching, petting

zoo, pageants, exhibits, and music. Fairgrounds.

3-11 PM Wed.-Fri.; 8 AM-11 PM Sat. $8-$30. 573364-6364, www.phelpscountyfair.com

REFLECTIONS Aug. 4-Sept. 30, Poplar Bluff > Exhibit of watercolors by Sandra Schaffer. Margaret Harwell Art Museum. Noon-4 PM Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 PM Sat.Sun. Free. 573-686-8002, www.mham.org

FARM TOUR AND FIELD DINNER Aug. 25-26, Potosi > Farmer’s Market with a petting zoo, local crafts, fresh produce and products, and a self-guided tour featuring a bison ranch, an old-time dairy farm, organic vegetable farm, vineyard, and alpaca farm. Finish with a Saddle Club rodeo. Harvest Field Dinner with locally produced foods and wine on Sat. at 5:30 PM. Washington County Courthouse grounds and throughout the area. 10 AM-4 PM. Free (dinner $55 reservations needed). 573-438-8555, www.homegrownfarmtour.com

REYNOLDS COUNTY FAIR Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Redford > Musical entertainment, carnival, bull riding, mud races, crafts, and games. Reynolds County Fairgrounds. 5-9 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 10 AM-9 PM Sat. $3-$6. 573-6632358, www.elmo.ocssemo.net/programs-events

COURTESY OF ROBERT MUELLER

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history

Detectives

Tuesdays at 7 p.m. www.kmos.org

Gwen Wright, Eduardo Pagan, Tukufu Zuberi, Elyse Luray and Wes Cowan join for a tenth season to solve historical mysteries.

KMOS-TV broadcasts in HD on channel 6.1, and is carried in many communities on channel 6. You can also see broadcasts of lifestyle/how-to shows on 6.2 and international programs on 6.3.

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eum ~ Hist Trail of T ears State Park ~ Fort D Civil War site ~ Crisp Mus

oric Glenn House and more!

VisitCape.com/ BackinTime

Bollinger

Mill and Covered Bridge

et...Discover the h Ready7,7·s0068 or info@VisitCape.coimstory that can be found only in Cape Girardeau!

800·7 VisitCape

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GRAPE AND FALL FESTIVAL Sept. 6-8, St. James > Carnival, livestock exhibits, concerts, and a Saturday parade, street market, and vendors. Nelson Hart Park and downtown. Noon-midnight at the park; 9 AM-3 PM downtown on Sat. Free (except special events).

573-265-6649, www.stjameschamber.net

SEMO FAIR Sept. 8-15, Cape Girardeau > Rides, music, games, parade, livestock shows, Grandstand events including Travis Tritt concert, antique tractor pull, draft horse challenge, demolition derby, barrel racing, mother/daughter look-alike contest, and Heartland Idol Karaoke finals.

Arena Park. 11:30 AM-10:30 PM Sat.-Sun.; 1-10:30 PM Mon.-Fri.; 9 AM-10:30 PM Sat. $4-$25. 573334-9250, www.semofair.com

OLD MINE OPEN HOUSE Sept. 15, Park Hills > Tour mining/mineral museum with mining-related exhibits and demonstrations. Missouri Mines State Historic Site.

9 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-431-6226, mostateparks. com/park/missouri-mines-state-historic-site

PHOTO CAVE TOUR Sept. 22, Leasburg > Staff-led tour with photo opportunities. Onondaga Cave State Park. 10:30

AM-1:30 PM. $7-$12. 573-245-6576, mostateparks. com/park/onondaga-cave-state-park

FALL FESTIVAL Sept. 22, New Madrid > Miss Fall Fest pageant, car and motorcycle show, live music, arts, crafts, and family-friendly activities. Hunter-Dawson Park. 9 AM-4 PM. Free. 877-748-5300, www.wix. com/newmadrid/fallfestival

PIONEER DAYS Sept. 28-29, Mountain View > Bed races; bluegrass, country, and gospel music; line dancing; parades; outhouse races; crafts; mountain man teepee village; old-time demonstrations; ham and bean supper; flapjack breakfast; and concert by Candy Coburn. Downtown. 4-8 PM Fri.; 6 AM-5 PM Sat. Free (except special events). 417934-2794, www.mountainviewmo.com

CELEBRATION OF NATIONS Sept. 29, Rolla > Parade of nations, crafts, and talent contests. Downtown. 11 AM-5 PM. Free.

573-341-6237, http://nations.mst.edu

TRACTORS ON THE SQUARE Sept. 29, West Plains > Vintage tractor show.

Historic Square. 9:30 AM-4 PM. Free. 417-2551524, www.theantiquetractorshow.com

CENTRAL JAYCEES FAIR July 30-Aug. 4, Jefferson City > Carnival, games, 4-H exhibits, motorsports, and concerts.

Fairgrounds. 5 PM-1 AM Mon.-Fri.;1 PM-1 AM Sat. $5-$10. 573-893-3950, www.jeffcityjaycees.org

BBQ COOK-OFF AND CAR SHOW Aug. 4, Crocker > Cars, trucks, hot rods, motorcycles, and a BBQ contest. Frisco Park. 10 AM-5 PM. Free (except to enter show and contest). 573736-2211, www.pulaskicountyusa.com

PERSEID METEOR SHOWERS Aug. 11, Knob Knoster > View the meteor shower. Knob Noster State Park. 8:30-10 PM. Free. 660-563-2463, www.mostateparks.com/ park/knob-noster-state-park

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MTC Aug. 14, Sedalia > Celebrate the Missouri Travel Council’s 50th anniversary. Wine and craft beer tasting at 4 PM. Missouri State Fairgrounds at the Lowell Mohler Assembly Hall. 10 AM-6 PM. $8.

800-422-3247, www.mostatefair.com

Weekend Wine tastinG SaturdayS 11-3 SundayS 12-4 Includes Tour of the Mansion & Commemorative Wine Glass Wines from missouri, California, australia, franCe and more!

Garth Woodside mansion

Call ahead if traveling long distances in case of closing due to private event.

Luxury Bed & Breakfast and Private Cottages 11069 New London Road, Hannibal, MO • 573-221-2789 • www.garthmansion.com [110] MissouriLife

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Visit St. Joseph this summer and get up close with your favorite Kansas City Chiefs players during 2012 Training Camp at Missouri Western State University.

Then stay a while longer and see why St. Joseph is where the West ofďŹ cially started getting Wild!

Learn more at StJoMo.com/KCChiefs or call 800-604-4600.

KCChiefsinStJo [111] August 2012

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SHOW-ME BLUEGRASS Aug. 15, Sedalia > Bands will be picking and strumming throughout the fairgrounds; bring an instrument for the jam session. Plus a banjo contest and the Quebe Sisters Band at the Country Gold Tour concert. Missouri State Fairgrounds.

10 AM-7:30 PM. $8 fair admission; $10-$20 concert. 800-442-3247, www.mostatefair.com

JAZZ UNDER THE STARS Aug. 16, Columbia > Outdoor jazz concert by the MU Faculty All-Stars. Missouri Theatre’s roof-top patio. 6 PM. $20-$25. 573-882-3781, www.concertseries.org

CHURCHILL’S FINEST HOUR

FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS Aug. 23-25, Boonville > Classical arts festival featuring David Halen and Friends, Bach to the Beatles, and Mostly Mozart. Thespian Hall.

7:30 PM. $10-$25 ($65 all three days). 888-5881477, www.friendsofhistoricboonville.org

AQUA TOYS Guaranteed Lowest Prices on the Lake!

New Rentals –WaveRunners & Pontoons 5645 Slope Lane • MM 20 ½ Osage Beach • 573-348-1144 www.AquaToysRentals.com

fun for the whole family!

COURTESY OF CATHY THOGMORTON

Aug. 20-Oct. 26, Fulton > Traveling exhibit with shows on what made Churchill’s “Finest Hour” speech so historic. A free talk and opening reception Aug. 29 5-7 PM. National Churchill Museum. 10 AM-4:30 PM daily. $3-$6. 573-592-5626, www.churchillmemorial.org

FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS Aug. 4, Fayette > Art show featuring painters, photographers, and sculptors and a concert by the acclaimed Columbia Community Band. Performances by bluegrass, jazz, Dixieland, and oom-pah bands; singing groups; rodeo roping demonstration; quilt show; and art activities for children. Historic town square and other venues throughout town.

9:30 AM-6 PM. Free. 660-248-3864, www.fayettefestival.org

Home of the Missouri Dinosaur!

207 Mayfield Dr. Marble Hill, MO 63764 573-238-1174 Check us out at www.bcmnh.org

Cherrika’s Come experience country flavor and discover hidden treasures tucked in every alcove throughout this specialty shop.

Decorative Garden Flags Pet Boutique Spiritual Gifts Home Décor for Many Tastes Table Linens AND SO MUCH MORE!!

Eleven Point Canoe Rental

318 Market, Kimmswick, MO 63053 636-464-8270 Open Wednesday through Sunday We service the Eleven Point River, Missouri’s only National Wild and Scenic River. Rent canoes, kayaks, and rafts. Enjoy guided fly fishing. Stay in a rental cottage! www.11pointcanoe.com • 417-778-6497

Organic and Vegan Soaps

30 years in business.

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VINTAGE TRACTOR RIDE

OZARK HAM AND TURKEY FEST

Aug. 25, Fulton > Ride your tractor or come and watch as the vintage tractors tour the countryside. Starts near Readsville and travels throughout the county. 9:30 AM-3 PM. Free for spectators; $35-$40 participation fee. 573-642-0570, www.callawayvintagetractordrive.com

Sept. 15, California > Turkey drumsticks and ham sandwiches are the star of this event. BBQ contest, antique and classic car show, crafts, the world’s largest turkey sub sandwich, three stages of entertainment, 5K run/walk, parade, antique tractors, and a Figure 8 and Tough Truck competition. Downtown and Fairgrounds.

9:30 AM-6 PM. Free (truck competitions $6). 573796-3040, www.calmo.com

GUN, KNIFE, ARCHERY SHOW Aug. 25-26, St. Robert > Buy, sell, or trade a variety of guns, knives, and archery equipment.

Community Center. 9 AM-5 PM. $2. 573-4336507, www.pulaskicountyusa.com

DIXON COW DAYS Sept. 14-15, Dixon > Live music performances, kids and family games, and parade. Plus, enter a chance to win one of three cows. Downtown. 10 AM-midnight. Free (except cow raffle). 573-4330954, www.dixonchamberof.commerce.com

INSIDE THE WALLS Sept. 14-16, Jefferson City > Celebrate the 176th anniversary of the prison with themed events, kid-friendly events, car show, beer and wine garden, ghost tours, and tours of the prison. Missouri State Penitentiary. 7-11 PM Fri.; 2-9:30 PM Sat.; 9 AM-2 PM Sun. Free. 573-6322820, www.visitjeffersoncity.com

MONDAY’S HOLLOW BATTLE Sept. 15-16, Linn Creek > Battle reenactment at 1 PM each day with infantry, cavalry, and artillery, military camps, sutler village, and living history. Missouri Trap Shooters Gun Range on Hwy. A. 9 AM-4 PM. Free (parking extra). 573-346-7191, www.camdencountymuseum.com

All proceeds go to refurbish the historic Katy Bridge. Downtown. 5-8 PM. $15. 660-882-3967, www.goboonville.com

HISTORIC HOMES TOUR Sept. 30, Jefferson City > Self-guided walking tour of eight homes, live music, children’s parade, and vendors. Elmerine Ave. 1-5 PM. $12.

573-635-8512, www.historiccityofjefferson.org

FREE LISTING & MORE EVENTS At www.MissouriLife.com PLEASE NOTE:

ROOTS N BLUES N BBQ FESTIVAL Sept. 21-22, Columbia > BBQ for sale; musicians from around the world perform blues, roots, country, and soul music; and BBQ contest.

Downtown. 5-11 PM Fri.; 11 AM-11 PM Sat. $55-$75.

573-442-5862, www.rootsnbluesnbbq.com

KATY BRIDGE WINE WALK Sept. 29, Boonville > Eight businesses host Missouri wine and food tasting with music and art.

This pesticide collection event is to serve individual households and small or family farmers. Pesticides from businesses, pesticide production facilities, pesticide distributors, pesticide retailers and the like cannot be accepted. MISSOURI RESIDENTS ONLY.

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MISSOURI RIVER

Limrick’s fine things

Boutique apparel, accessories, & jewelry for real women!

817 Main Street, Lexington, MO • 660-259-7700

Antique

C O M PA N Y 912 Main St. Lexington, MO 660-259-3097 Mon-Sat:10am-5pm Sun:12pm-4pm

B. T. Dove Antiques & Gifts

Wayne M. & Jo Anne Smiley

107 Howard Street • Clarksville, Mo 63330 573-242-3422

jsmiley@tcip.net Gourmet Lunches

  

 

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Daily Wine Tasting World’s Largest Selection of Missouri Wines Gifts and Art

Open Tues-Sun www.shopthemercantile.com 249 E. Broadway, Excelsior Springs

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KCPT is your local guide to

Arts

The

in Kansas City

Putting Down Roots: Roxy Paine’s Ferment PBS Arts from Kansas City Homecoming: The Kansas City Symphony Presents Joyce DiDonato

The Local Show: The Box Gallery

Kansas City Public Television provides love-at-first-sight moments, in-depth explorations and special events, taking you inside Kansas City’s vibrant arts scene.

Randy Mason and Steph Scupham giving a behind the scenes tour of the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in “Raise the Roof”

KC PT-HD KC PT2 KCPTCreate kcpt.org

Watch videos and more at kcpt.org/arts [116] MissouriLife

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! y a d o t Call

660-837-3311

Have you been to Arrow Rock this season? Amazing!!

August 4 - 11

August 22 - 31

September 8 - 15

November 10 - 18

www.lyceumtheatre.org

114 High Street, Arrow Rock, MO [117] August 2012

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Missouriana Trivia JUST FOR FUN

We’ve saved the best bits for last!

BY EMILY ADAMS

Bet you didn’t know this!

Missouri was admitted as the 24TH state to statehood on AUGUST 10, 1821.

The MISSOURI RIVER is considered a WILD and scenic river in THREE states: Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

In 1843, the University of Missouri’s first COMMENCEMENT had only two graduates (Robert L. Todd and Robert B. Todd), but the CEREMONY lasted three hours.

We couldn’t have said it better!

“THE BEAUTY OF KANSAS CITY BARBECUE IS THAT YOU CAN ASK 10 DIFFERENT PEOPLE

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

AND YOU GET 10 DIFFERENT ANSWERS, AND THEY ARE ALL CORRECT.”

Harry S. Truman, 33rd U.S. President

Carolyn Wells, executive director of the Kansas City Barbeque Society

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TOM SULLIVAN

TO DEFINE KANSAS CITY BARBECUE,

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! y a w a t e G a t a Wh

oat the Niangua Everyone wants to fl ring State Park or fish at Bennett Sp

A leisurely float trip on the scenic, tranquil Niangua River or the ultimate fishing experience at Bennett Spring State Park can be your getaway from the daily grind.

So much to do and see in Lebanon

Day 1: You can enjoy fishing, hiking, or even ziplining during the day and then go into town for shopping or a home town event.

Day 2: Enjoy floating, swimming and picnicking along the river.

Many outfitters will even pick you up at the campsite. You just sit back and let your troubles float away….

The Lebanon area offers more than a dozen campgrounds, RV Parks and cabins for you to stay a night or two or more and enjoy your GETAWAY.

Riders in the Sky Concert August 23 Cowan Civic Center www.lionsconcerts.org Missouri Horseshoe Championship Tournament August 31 – September 2 Cowan Civic Center 573-372-3652 XVIII Case Knives Celebration September 8 Shepherd Hills Factory Outlet www.CaseXX.com

www.lebanonmo.org | 1-866-LEBANON

Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival September 13-15 Conway www.starvycreek.com

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Pulled Pork Tostadas with Slaw & Chipotle Cream

Pulled pork goes way beyond the bun with these delicious, easy-to-prepare tostadas.

Take flavor even further and add pulled pork to wraps, pizzas, chili, salads, tacos and more.

For more inspiring ideas, visit PorkBeInspired.com

Š2012 National Pork Board, Des Moines, IA USA. This message funded by Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pork Producers and the Pork Checkoff.

PorkBeInspired.com [120] MissouriLife

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