Feature Story
Monumental Missouri
M
issouri heritage has always been and continues to be driven by its citizens' diverse and ruggedly individualistic style. The people, the land, and the wildlife of Missouri are all the noteworthy fabric in the tapestry of American exceptionalism. Here the mighty Mississippi and Missouri Rivers join to define American river culture. Monumental Missouri blessed America with President Truman of "the buck stops here," fame. Accountability in Washington, what a novel idea! Bigger than life, Mark Twain advised, "Get the facts first, then you can distort them any way you wish." About today's Washington, would Twain say, "I told you so!" Bush Wacker Bill Wilson, a Civil War renegade, was always on the run, no recorded quotes available.
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CONSERVATION FEDERATION
My grandpa, Roundy Craine, lived on a farm near the Wilson Place in Phelps County. Like many others that I have talked to in Phelps County, he has never said anything wrong about Bush Wacker Bill Wilson. Most of us are ordinary citizens like Charles Burden. We will stand up for the downtrodden and abused even if it's an old coon hound. Old Drum Missourian Charles Burden stood up for his true friend, "Old Drum, the dog that never lied." In monumental northern Missouri, on the banks of Big Creek stands a monument to a black and tan coon hound. The words on the monument are only three words with the date 1869. The words read "Killed Old Drum."