Detours Summer 2014 Issue

ADVICE: IDEAS FOR A PERFECT DAY TRIP

Summer 2014 Vol. 18 No. 2 $3.99

TALKING WITH A

SUPERNATURAL

HISTORIAN

VACUUM CLEANER COLLECTOR

OUR COVER STORY

WAYSIDE WAIFS MAKE VOLUNTEERING PART OFYOUR NEXT TRIP TO MISSOURI

harr y

A bi-annual journal produced by the Truman Institute at Truman State University highlighting research and innovation. http://institute.truman.edu/harry

contents FOOD

08 Icing on the Cake

Cupcake shop finds a sweet way to give back

12 From the Kitchen Detours recipes

ENTERTAINMENT 14 Ghost Writer

A conversation with an optimistic skeptic

ADVICE 18 One Day, One Adventure

Itineraries offer single-tank vacations

22 Searching for Starlight

Tips for an out-of-this-world stargazing trip

DESTINATION 24 Ward of the Wings

Columnist reflects on benefits of bird sanctuary

25 A Shop with Pop

Store brings fine handcrafted goods to Columbia

26 From Wayside to Wanted

Kansas City shelter gives animals new hope

18 08

RESOURCE 32 A Century of Suck-cess

Collector shares history through vacuum collection

36 Catching Light

Photo contest winners

42 Take Next Exit 25 roadside stops

48 Calendar

Upcoming events in the tri-state area

>>TABLET EXCLUSIVE Beauty On the Go

Makeup bag essentials for the traveler

Behind the Shed

Restaurant fuses food with farming

25

32 summer 2014

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Editor-in-Chief ELIZABETH McBRIDE Executive Editor MELISSA BRADFORD Art Director REBECCA REITZ Digital Editor CARLY ROBISON Managing Editor SARAH GOO Advice Editor KATY SPENCE Destination Editor ABBEY NORTHCUTT Entertainment Editor ELIZABETH McBRIDE Food Editor EMILY BRENNAN Resource Editor MELISSA BRADFORD Contributors MELISSA BRADFORD, RACHEL FOSTER, DAWN KOHLER, ELIZABETH McBRIDE, MIA POHLMAN, ROWEN SEARS, MARY TOMLINSON, ALLISON TRAY, EMILY WICHMER and FORREST WILSEY Designers SARAH DOWNEN, LAUREN MOLL, MORGAN O’NEILL, SHANNON SPICKLER and THERESA WILDHABER Photographers MORGAN O’NEILL and REBECCA REITZ Freelance Photographer NICHOLAS BECKER Adviser JAMES CIANCIOLA In Memoriam ELIZABETH KOCH (1991-2012) • WEB • Online Editor EMILY WICHMER Copy Editors SARA HETTEL, ALLISON TRAY and CHELSIE YOKUM Blogger HEIDI TRIPP Contributors MELISSA BRADFORD, RACHEL FOSTER, DAWN KOHLER, ELIZABETH McBRIDE, HOLLY PLACKEMEIER, MIA POHLMAN, ROWEN SEARS, MARY TOMLINSON, ALLISON TRAY, EMILY WICHMER and FORREST WILSEY • ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY • Publicity Manager GENNIE AVELLINO TMN Advertising Manager ADAM ANTOR TMN Advertising Representative COLBY BYCROFT Publicity Representatives KELLY CUNNINGHAM, RACHEL FOSTER, KATHERINE GINNARD, CAROLINE HAMERA and ROWEN SEARS

detours 04 summer 2014

EDITORIAL POLICY detours Truman State University Barnett Media Center 100 E. Normal Kirksville, MO 63501 Phone: 660.785.7438 Fax: 660.785.7601

LETTER FROM THE

EDITOR DEAR READER, During a recent visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, I spent roughly two hours passing through the galleries devoted to the French Impressionists. It was summer 2013, and Gilles Bourdos had recently released “Renoir,” a biopic of the legendary painter whose classic “Two Sisters” held me entranced for minutes as I allowed it to leave its mark on my consciousness colored by previous encounters with his work — both in and out of the Midwest.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir himself was French. He painted scenes capturing the essence of French experience and sensibility, yet the art seems to maintain international acclaim and seems in certain ways to address needs of humans that transcend culture — to the extent that such transcendence is possible. Needless to say, this phenomenon isn’t exclusive to the works of Renoir or that of any individual artist working in any specific style. The idea that art can transcend lived experience is simple and not particularly original, but I find it intriguing in its implications regarding the way we as Midwesterners approach travel. Specifically, it reminded me of an idea someone close to me brought up — the idea that, in all their

WINTER

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editor@detoursmagazine.com tmn.truman.edu/detours

complexity and tangled contradictions, humans are similar in fundamental ways.

Throughout the Summer 2014 issue of detours, we offer stories that showcase these similarities while allowing readers to look at travel through new and diverse lenses.

Our main feature considers travel in conjunction with volunteer work, outlining how volunteers at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City, Mo., attempt to counteract the effects of abuse and abandonment on shelter strays (pg.

26). Ordinary travelers have the opportunity to become educators facilitating animal rehabilitation and human engagement.

Travelers opting instead for a historical approach to Midwest exploration can consult our Q-&-A with acclaimed author and supernatural historian Troy Taylor (pg. 14).

He offers ghost tours across the United States and in Midwest cities including Decatur, Alton and Chicago. Join him for a history lesson you won’t soon forget. Or head to St. James, Mo., where Tom Gasko’s Vacuum Cleaner Museum and Outlet offers yet another take on American history (pg. 32). Gasko’s collection of 578 vacuum cleaners from different time periods offers a window into what consumers valued during any given era.

We also brought back our recipe section with ideas featured on our own staffer’s

detours is a copyrighted publication, produced biannually by Truman State University students. No material can be reproduced in any form without prior written consent of the detours adviser and staff. The editor-in-chief is responsible for all decisions. detours is distributed across the country, mainly in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. Opinions expressed in detours are not necessarily the views of staff. detours is not responsible for the full cost of an advertisement if an error occurs.

popular food blog (pg. 12). Be sure to check out the winners of our latest photo contest (pg. 36), themed “Catching Light.” And if you’d like to catch light through your own lens, consult our tips for planning a rewarding stargazing experience (pg. 22).

Remember to take detours with you on the go. This issue includes ideas for single day trips (pg. 18) and long adventures on the road (pg. 42). Wherever you choose to venture, our latest tablet edition is available on iTunes and features two exclusive stories.

I’m also pleased to announce the launch of our sub-brand, Detours-Adair County.

Those specifically interested in exploring the best of northeast Missouri can access additional content on tmn.truman.edu/ detoursadaircounty. But as always, visit our main page for the latest in blog entries and stories from across the tri-state area.

Embrace life’s detours wherever you are,

Elizabeth McBride Editor-in-Chief

The theme for the Winter 2014 photo contest is Pushing the Limit.

The contest is open to any and all kinds of photos. Entries must include the photographer’s name, address and telephone number as well as the photo’s location and title. We also encourage contestants to include a short caption about the photo.

The deadline for entries is October 3, 2014. The winning photo will be published in the Winter 2014 issue, and the winner will receive a free, two-year subscription to detours.

For full rules and regulations, visit tmn.truman.edu/detours.

Submissions should be emailed to photo@detoursmagazine.com.

summer 2014

05 detours

ARCHIVES

FROM THE

SOPHIA M. SACHS BUTTERFLY HOUSE

CARRIAGE HOUSE BED AND BREAKFAST

Chesterfield, Mo.

Grinnell, Iowa

Summer 2011

Winter 2009

At any given time, visitors to the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House can walk through its conservatory as 2,000 butterflies from Costa Rica, the Philippines and Malaysia flutter around their heads. The first of its kind in the Midwest, The Butterfly House opened during 1998 as a division of the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Since then, visitors of all ages and diverse backgrounds have come to witness not only the butterflies, but also 150 tropical plant species.

A stay at Carriage House Bed and Breakfast is like a stay in a dollhouse. Victorian architecture recalls a time when the elite of Grinnell, Iowa, mingled and waltzed in dresses and suits. A small covered entryway once allowed women stepping out of their carriages to avoid muddying their footwear. Today, the B&B provides guests with a homemade Irish breakfast each morning and antique-filled lodging in proximity to Grinnell College and the downtown area.

ANDERSON JAPANESE GARDENS Rockford, Ill. Summer 2008 Amid the metropolis that is Rockford, Ill., the 12 acres of vegetation that comprise the Anderson Japanese Gardens offer visitors the opportunity to absorb the tranquility of nature. The Roth Journal of Japanese Gardening ranked these gardens No. 1 out of 300 Japanese gardens in North America.

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ON THE COVER

At Wayside Waifs in Kansas City, Mo., hundreds of animals meet volunteers who walk through the doors each day to interact with them. Dogs, cats and other small animals arrive at the shelter abandoned and frequently suffering from abuse both physical and emotional. Learn more about their journeys to health and the role volunteers play on pg. 26. (photo by Rebecca Reitz)

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ak

Ici

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e

FOOD

C on the

CUPCAKE SHOP FINDS A SWEET WAY TO GIVE BACK STORY AND PHOTOS BY EMILY WICHMER

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CUPCAKE EMPORIUM

Although the store offers a cycling menu, customers can call ahead to order their favorite cupcake flavors.

F

or Tawnya Zerr, following her passion and giving back to her community has never been sweeter. Zerr, owner of Cupcake Emporium in Ames, Iowa, said owning her own business always has been a dream. She said she had considered opening a vintage clothing store, but after raising enough money to start her business, she changed her mind after a conversation with a friend.

Customers choose from the ever-changing selection of cupcakes.

“We both really, really wanted a cupcake, but we didn’t want to make a whole batch,” Zerr said. “We just wanted one, good cupcake.

But there wasn’t any place in town to get something like that.”

So during 2010, she founded Cupcake Emporium. Zerr used the money she had saved for a vintage clothing store to buy a small shop on the corner of Main Street in downtown Ames. A self-professed vintage girl, Zerr said she wanted to keep a retro feel to the store. She said once she saw the black and white checkerboard floor tiles, she knew she had chosen the right spot. Along with the black and white tiles on the floor, Cupcake Emporium is filled with items from the 1950s, like the rocking horse hanging from

the ceiling, the blue refrigerator where customers can buy a coke or the retro bike sitting in the entryway to the store.

Zerr said she is a big fan of color and currently sports purple- and pink-streaked hair.

“This is weird for me,” she said, pointing to her hair. “I can’t believe I don’t have more color.”

Customers can see this love for color in the shop’s décor. Bright lights shine down on a rainbow of frosting containers behind the counter. Chalkboards with brightly colored chalk display the many different soups, cookies and, of course, cupcakes available each day.

“Most cupcake bakeries have two cake flavors — chocolate and vanilla,” she said. “Then they change their frosting or add sprinkles. We actually have unique cake flavors, like apple pie, cookie dough, peppermint and dozens of other flavors. And that’s just the cake.”

With more than 100 flavors, and a rotating menu, Zerr said

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FOOD

Cupcake Emporium offers a constantly changing menu of cupcake flavors.

“I get to make cupcakes for a living.

What could be more fun than that?”

— Tawnya Zerr customers can come day after day and never get the same flavor twice — although they can order their favorite flavor ahead of time.

“I get ideas for new flavors from whatever is seasonal, or what sounds yummy to me,” Zerr said. “So when I want cookie dough, my customers can get cookie dough, too.”

Cupcake Emporium customer Randy Mortvedt and his wife, Connie, have been enjoying Zerr’s cupcakes and other desserts for two years. “[Zerr’s] cakes are my favorite,” Randy said. “I mean, you can’t forget the cupcakes.

But her cakes are to die for.”

Randy said he comes back to Cupcake Emporium partly because the people who work there have a positive and welcoming attitude.

For Connie, something else makes

Cupcake Emporium special — its role in the community of Ames.

“After closing every day, they donate leftover cupcakes to different organizations,” Connie said. “They’re so involved in the community, and it’s inspiring to see.”

Zerr said she tries to spread the cupcake donations across the community, changing the place of donation every day or so. She donates most often to a local homeless shelter, the Boys & Girls Club of Story County and Youth & Shelter Services, Inc. Although her business is small, Zerr said she makes between 200 and 600 cupcakes each day to meet demand. Because of space limitations, all her cupcakes were made using a single oven, which she said could be tricky when larger orders come in.

Owner Tawnya Zerr handles the register at Cupcake Emporium.

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Tawnya Zerr said she takes inspiration for cupcake flavors from her own cravings.

“Once we had an order for a thousand cupcakes,” she said. “I had one person mix, one person add flour, one person watch the oven — we had a system going. But we got it done.”

Even with the small location, Zerr said she loves her store. Being able to serve and give back to her childhood community of Ames is a dream come true.

“I get to make cupcakes for a living,” she said. “What could be more fun than that?”

>>WEB EXCLUSIVE Read more about Zerr competing on the TV game show, Cupcake Wars, on our website, tmn.truman.edu/detours.

CUPCAKE EMPORIUM

5 Tips for Baking & Decorating Cupcakes

Customers can eat surrounded by items dating back to the 1950s.

Want to make your homemade cakes and cupcakes taste even better? Here are five tips from Cupcake Emporium owner, Tawnya Zerr.

up your chocolate or vanilla 1cakeVamp recipe. Try adding fun-flavored oil or extract. Mix in chopped candy or cookie pieces, or toss in some fruit or nuts.

2

To tell if a cake is done baking, stick a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it’s done. To tell if a cupcake is done baking, tap the tops with your finger. If it leaves an indent, the cupcake needs more baking time.

If the cake springs back, it’s done.

3 Cupcake Emporium frequently hosts Iowa State students.

Add a surprise to the middle.

Once your cupcakes are cooled, poke a coin-sized hole in the middle using the handle of a spatula or serving ladle. To fill the hole, try spooning or piping in pudding, pie filling, chocolate or any other delicious “injectable.”

4

Shop your local craft store’s baking section for disposable or reusable pastry bags. Buy a few different shapes and sizes of frosting tips to go with it. These will allow for a more creative and professional look to your cupcakes, and they’re easy to use.

5

Put the box mix down! Preparing a homemade cake takes about the same time as one made with processed mix and preservatives. You probably have all the ingredients in your home, and you can feel good when you tell someone, “I made this!”

Cupcake Emporium donates leftover cupcakes to local businesses and shelters around Ames, Iowa.

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FOOD

From the Kitchen DETOURS RECIPES

STORY AND PHOTOS BY ROWEN SEARS Chili

Ingredients: 1 onion, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 2 cans tomatoes and green chiles 4 tablespoons chili powder 2 tablespoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon onion powder 2 pounds ground chuck, 80/20 or better 2 cans chili beans

Chili prep Chili

SautĂŠ the onion, pepper, tomatoes and chiles together with 1 tablespoon of chili powder. Cook the ground beef with the garlic powder, onion powder and another tablespoon of chili powder. Put the beans and remaining chili powder in a slow cooker. Set the heat for low, and add veggies and beef. Do not drain. Stir and let simmer for 4 to 6 hours. Serve with crackers, chips or garnishes of your choosing.

Jambalaya

Ingredients: 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast 1 package smoked sausage 1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp with tails removed 3 cups brown rice 3 tablespoons chili powder 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper 3 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes 1 dried green chile, diced 2 cups water 2 cups chicken stock salt and pepper for taste SautĂŠ and dice the chicken. Slice the sausage into small rounds, and combine in a deep skillet. Add 1.5 cups of water and 1 tablespoon each of chili powder, cayenne and red pepper flakes. Bring up to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the shrimp during the last 5 minutes.

In a separate pot, combine the rice and the remaining seasoning with the diced chile over medium heat. Toast the rice and spices for 5 minutes before adding the chicken stock and water. Cook the rice for 20 minutes, stirring constantly. After 20 minutes, add the meat and stir again. Serve in a bowl garnished with additional red pepper flakes.

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for more recipes by rowen,

jambalaya

visit fantasticflavor.wordpress.com

jambalaya prep

MIDWEST RECIPES

SPINACH Flatbread

Ingredients: 1 bag chopped, frozen spinach 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper salt and pepper for taste 1 roll pizza dough 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 1 tomato

flatbread prep Spinach Flatbread

First, sautè bag of chopped spinach, seasoned with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Roast the tomato under the broiler, remove the skin, and dice. Add diced tomato to the pan and season with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Stretch the dough on greased baking sheet and spread spinach and tomato mixture on top. Cover the flatbread with shredded mozzarella and bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. Slice into squares after cooling.

Soup prep Italian Sausage and Kale Tomato Soup Ingredients: 1 roll ground Italian sausage 1 large bunch of Kale 4 large tomatoes 2 tablespoons dried parsley 1 tablespoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons fresh diced basil

italian sausage and kale soup

Start by browning off the ground Italian sausage, and chop the kale. Add kale to the pan after the sausage has rendered drippings. Fire roast tomatoes under the broiler for 15 minutes, remove the skin and puree until smooth. Strain the purèe and blend again with the fresh basil. Add the puree to the pot of sausage and kale, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

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ENTERTAINMENT

The deceased resting in the grounds of Greenwood Cemetery aren’t all documented.

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TROY TAYLOR

T

roy Taylor isn’t a ghost hunter, but a teacher. He has traveled the United States as a supernatural historian to engender in tour groups an awareness of their own cities and the events and values that shaped them. His method, however, depends not on lectures and exams, but bona fide exploration of locations whose factual histories perhaps require from pupils more imagination than photographic memory.

A self-described “optimist skeptic,” his work involves peeling back layers of history and reviewing discoveries through the lens of someone sensible enough to speak the language of the mainstream but crazy enough to appeal to their need for reality beyond the day-to-day.

He uses no equipment and boasts no superhuman senses. He has only his stories, recorded in more than 45 books and elaborated on Discovery Channel, Syfy and Travel Channel.

Now he shares these experiences with other open-minded adventurers.

When was the first time something happened to you that you couldn’t explain?

Some friends of mine took me out to an old cemetery that was supposed to be haunted, and the big thing to do was to walk across the cemetery and back. The thing was, you parked

A CONVERSATION WITH AN OPTIMISTIC SKEPTIC STORY AND PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH McBRIDE your car at the cemetery gates and left your headlights on so you could see. And as we were walking back across the cemetery, the headlights went out. We thought the battery had died, but when we got to the car we found out that the doors were locked but somehow the lights had been turned off — the knob had been pushed in. And I couldn’t explain it — can’t explain it now. But I didn’t go back to that cemetery for like 10 years. Now I’ve had other things that have happened. You know, I go to places, or travel to places, or take people to places with the idea that maybe something will happen. And maybe it will — maybe it won’t.

But it’s always exciting to see.

mostly taverns, and gambling parlors, and brothels and that kind of thing. I mean, we had a red light district here in Decatur that operated legally until 1936.

One night, in 1935, [a man] was shot to death, and it was never solved. I mean, it was a huge mystery. It was always just kind of one of those things that hung over everybody.

And my grandfather knew him pretty well, so he used to always tell me that story because he told me that after he died, his ghost began haunting the railroad yard. They used to see

You’ve talked about your greatgrandfather. Can you share a story from him that solidified your interest in the supernatural?

Well, I grew up in Decatur, [which] has a pretty long history of crime. My grandfather worked down in the railroad district — that was where his patrol beat was. He always had a lot of stories to tell me because that was probably one of the worst areas in town. That’s where the train stations were, and back in the Civil War — soldiers traveling though looking for entertainment — local merchants decided to provide it. So the area became known for

Troy Taylor’s history books are far from what most students find in a lecture hall.

summer 2014 15 detours

ENTERTAINMENT the light of his flashlight, and it would be out traveling along the trains like he was still out walking. Everybody had seen it — it was kind of one of those stories that all the guys working in that area knew — and it was one of those stories that stuck with me because when I was a little kid we used to go down and park in the railroad yard and watch for the light. He was full of stories.

“My use of the history is what gives it credibility.”

— Troy Taylor

So, as a kid, how did you feel listening to those stories? What stuck with you?

Oh, they were terrifying! I mean, they were terrifying stories, but I loved them — because everybody loves to be scared. I mean, that’s what I do. I tell true stories of things that frighten us. I take people to places that are truly supposed to be haunted, or where they may experience something on their own. Or I write a book, or write an article, or a blog, or something about things that are supposed to terrify us. These things, you know, there’s always that little doubt in the back of your mind — “this could happen to me.” Everybody loves a mystery. We’re fascinated by things we don’t understand or can’t explain. Everybody has a ghost story. If you don’t have one yourself, you know someone who does. We gravitate toward that kind of thing.

Where have you traveled that has truly frightened you?

Like many local spots, the Culver House sits atop an old Native American burial ground.

There’s a cave in Tennessee called the Bell Witch Cave, and it’s attached to a really old story from the early 1800s about a ghost they called the Bell Witch that haunted the Bell family and eventually led to the death of John Bell. It’s a classic American ghost story. But the cave is still on the farm property, and the cave is one of those places that, over the years,

have come to be regarded as really, really haunted. And that’s probably one of the only places [where] I have been more than just a little scared because it’s such a weird place. I had back in the late ’90s the chance to spend the night in there and didn’t make it. I was in there for about an hour, and that was all I could take. And believe me, I am psychic as a fence post. I don’t make any claims to being able to talk to dead people or anything like that, but there was just a bad vibe. It’s just a really weird place. There were times when I thought I heard voices. But, you know, it’s a cave, and there was some water. So I’m sure my imagination was working overtime, but it left me so unsettled and so unnerved that I couldn’t stay in there — not by myself.

What does the Midwest offer for someone interested in supernatural history that no other place can?

For me, the Midwest has always been one of those places that, for a good part of our country’s history, this was the frontier. Before the west was really opened, Illinois was as far west as you went. And so there’s a lot of really great history here. We’ve got the Mississippi River on one side, we’ve got Chicago, we’ve got the Great Lakes. And this is an area that, not that long ago — 200 years ago — was filled with Indian massacres and war. And I think that Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa — all these areas have a lot to offer as far as history goes, and I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface with some of the really interesting stuff that’s still to come.

So, in picking out locations to include in your books, what kind of criteria did you use in establishing whether or not a place would be worthwhile?

Well, it had to have a good history behind it.

I’ve never been one of those writers who has an interest in writing about the time I saw great aunt Tilly standing at the end of the bed. A personal encounter at a place that has a great history behind it is fascinating. Just somebody talking about the time they saw their dead grandma — for me, it’s not that interesting.

That falls into that category of, “everybody’s got a ghost story and knows somebody who’s got one.” Every story that I write or every place I write about has to have a great history, or it’s not a good story. If I stayed at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast where the axe murders took place in 1892 and [something] happens, that’s a little more interesting than, “I live in a condo and my aunt came to see me.”

So if a person wants to travel the Midwest, how do they begin to approach their experiences in the way you do?

The now closed rooms above the shops on Merchant Street, once hosts to drinkers and gamblers passing through Decatur, might not sit completely empty.

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I mean, if you go someplace and you’re determined that the only reason you’re going there is so that you’ll have an encounter with a ghost, you’re going to be disappointed because

TROY TAYLOR nine times out of 10, nothing happens. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time.

But if you just want to go someplace and be able to experience a location that has a rich history behind it and a history of people having experiences with ghosts, that’s pretty easy to do. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s easy to find places that are supposed to be haunted, because over the last 10 years or so, a lot of places have really started to embrace that. When I started out, it was really hard to get people to admit that their restaurant, tavern, bed-and-breakfast, hotel, whatever was haunted because they thought that would scare people away. They didn’t understand that there was a market for it then. But there’s certainly a market for it now.

Oh, absolutely. And how do you see that market evolving?

It keeps getting bigger because there’s demand for it. People are fascinated. And one of the reasons we do it — it’s not just for the ghost tours, it’s also for the history. A lot of people don’t know the history of their own community. I found that out a lot over the years. When I started doing the haunted Decatur stuff, suddenly we had a generation of people who knew more about the history Decatur than their parents and grandparents did. You find that people will absorb the history if you give it to them in a way that makes it entertaining. Nobody wants to sit and read just a dry history book, but throw a ghost story in there? They’ll eat it up. Now we get to show people the history as well as the ghost stories, and that, I think, is what makes it different.

It seems some of the criticism of supernatural historical research comes from the fact that it doesn’t include any objective authority. What are your thoughts here?

The beauty of it is, when you use the history the way that I’ve done over the last 20 years, you have created maybe not proof but some

By day, the notorious Avon Theater looks much like any popular downtown cinema.

historical evidence of it. Family moves into a house and suddenly finds that it’s haunted and has seen the ghost, and talked about the ghost, and finds that everyone who has lived in the house before them, none of whom they knew, or met, or had any contact with before saw the same ghost. How do you explain that?

Is that scientific? No, it’s not, and I’m the first person to admit it, but there’s a lot of historical evidence, and we all want to believe there’s something after this life. My use of the history is what gives it credibility.

And I think some can argue, too, that accepted history itself is subjective.

Troy Taylor’s repertoire includes more than 100 books detailing the histories of reputedly haunted places throughout the United States.

“Everybody has a ghost story. If you don’t have one yourself, you know someone who does.

We gravitate toward that kind of thing.”

— Troy Taylor

Oh, absolutely! I mean, if you read firsthand accounts of anything, you’re going to find five different views of the same event. There’s 30 different versions of what happened at the O.K. Corral, and it only lasted for 10 seconds.

History is totally subjective, so it’s as skewed as ghost stories are.

Troy Taylor travels the country with tour groups in search of history behind that recorded in textbooks.

With his Haunted Decatur Tours, he takes travelers through his hometown, stopping at these noted locations with unexplainable pasts.

Greenwood Cemetery The Culver House The Avon Theater The Lincoln Theater Milikin University Wabash Station Shellabarger Grain Tower Peck Cemetery summer 2014

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[ONE DAY,] ADVICE

E N O EN V D A

The retro interior of City Diner fosters a hip atmosphere for enjoying breakfast in St. Louis.

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Fresh produce lines the sides of the City Market Farmers’ Market, open year-round.

The Vermeer Mill, the tallest the United States, towers o of Pella, Iowa.

CITY DAY TRIPS

E R U T N

t working windmill in over the Dutch town

ITINERARIES OFFER SINGLE-TANK VACATIONS

H

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARY TOMLINSON

ave the desire to explore the Midwest but don’t have a week’s worth of vacation?

Look no further than these itineraries, which allow you to pack a full adventure into just one day. Focused on the hubs of St. Louis, Kansas City and Des Moines, these step-by-step guidelines take you all the way from breakfast joint to dinner destination, with exciting stops in between. Follow the itinerary, or use your own knowledge of the area to personalize the trip to make the best one-day vacation for you.

After breakfast, take a walk or drive to Tower Grove Park, only a few blocks from City Diner. Navigate the winding roads of the park and check out the 11 decorative pavilions sprinkled throughout the park, all constructed in different historical styles, such as the AngloChinese style Chinese Pavilion or the NeoClassical style Pool Pavilion. If you want to stretch your legs before you hit the road again, walk along the Ruin Pond and get an up-close look at the stone façade constructed of blocks from the remains of the old Liddell Hotel, which burned down during 1867.

Pi Pizzeria, your lunch stop, is a wellST. LOUIS known pizza joint started during 2008 in Your day in St. Louis begins on South the Delmar Loop. It has five locations in the Grand in the downtown area. City Diner has St. Louis area. For this itinerary, the most the quintessential diner atmosphere and makes convenient stop will be the Kirkwood location. an easy breakfast stop in the city. The shiny Pi has the beloved St. Louis style thin-crust countertops, colorful 1960s memorabilia pizza and a deep-dish San Francisco style lining the walls and, of course, the jukebox all contribute to a nostalgic atmosphere. Eat popular pizza, giving options to please all kinds of pizza lovers. President Obama even visited the breakfast menu items such as the meatloaf restaurant while stopping in St. Louis during omelet or deep-fried French toast while the 2008 presidential campaign. humming along to classic Motown music.

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ADVICE

Visitors to Shaw Nature Reserve in St. Louis can visit the Bascom House to learn more about the reserve’s ecosystem.

This casting of Donatello’s Pomona is one of many classical fountains that line the streets of the Plaza in Kansas City, Mo.

Choose from topping combinations, all named after St. Louis neighborhoods. The dry rub wings remain a favorite among customers. You can eat your lunch at the restaurant, or take your order to go and eat it picnic-style at Shaw Nature Reserve, the next stop for the day.

Shaw Nature Reserve, an extension of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, offers a peaceful sanctuary for a $5 admission, or $3 for students and seniors. You can enjoy your to-go lunch from Pi Pizzeria on the newly built pavilion overlooking the prairie. After lunch, enter the Bascom House, a post-Civil War home open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and check out the displays offering information on local plant and animal life. Or learn about the history of the reserve. If you’re feeling outdoorsy, explore the wildflower garden or hike on one of seven main trails.

End the day with ten blocks of cobblestone streets and classic Victorian street lamps in St. Charles’s Historic Main Street. Both sides of the street are lined with specialty shops such as Knit and Caboodle or Frenchtown Bangles and Beads. Many businesses close by 5 p.m., so check out as many boutiques, spice shops and antiques

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A family enjoys breakfast at City Diner in St. Louis while surrounded by pop art, Motown music and shiny countertops.

galleries as you can before dinner, or simply window-shop and take in the sentimental quality of the neighborhood. The trail ends at Trailhead Brewing Co., a working brewery and restaurant. The restaurant brews six craft beers on site and you can see the serving tanks right from your table. Trailhead Brewing Co. is also known for its barbecue and burgers, a hearty way to end a long day on the road.

KANSAS CITY

Eggtc., KC Magazine’s “Best Brunch/ Breakfast Restaurant,” offers a friendly neighborhood place to start your day of exploring. The menu offers a variety of takes on eggs, such as the Apple and Goat Cheese omelet or the Ranchero omelet featuring mango salsa, but the make-your-own omelet always is a safe bet. If you’re not in the mood for an omelet, Eggtc. has other standard breakfast fare as well. No matter what you are hungry for, freshly squeezed orange juice made right to order can accompany your breakfast.

After having your fill of eggs and fresh orange juice, combine two of Kansas City’s claims to fame — the plethora of fountains and the Country Club Plaza — into one morning

activity. Spend your morning shopping at the Plaza at more than 100 stores while enjoying the Italian-inspired architecture and famous fountains lining the streets, such as the Neptune Fountain and Fountain of Bacchus. If you feel like venturing outside of the development, some of Kansas City’s fountains — such as the fountains at Antioch Park or Loose Park — are within 15 minutes of the Plaza by car and offer a little more seclusion.

Shopping and sightseeing can work up your appetite, and Oklahoma Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que can satisfy that need for food. Don’t let the gas station exterior fool you. Oklahoma Joe’s has world-renowned barbecue inside. USA Today and Travel Channel recognize it as a great stop for lunch in a city known for excellent barbecue. The pulled pork is the restaurant’s house specialty, and The Z-Man Sandwich, named after former Kansas City radio host Mike Zarrick, is a customer favorite.

The River Market district has both history and entertainment and makes for an interesting spot to spend the afternoon. Located along the Missouri River, it became the ideal location for trading and selling more than 100 years

CITY DAY TRIPS ago, and that tradition continues today. The City Market Farmers’ Market is open yearround for shoppers looking for fresh veggies, international snacks, the occasional street performer and the energetic feel of an open market. If you’re not a foodie, you can spend the afternoon exploring shops not found in commercial malls, such as River Market Antiques, The Folk Store, Thistle Vintage Studio or the 100-year-old Planters Seed Company.

After the River Market, head south to the Waldo area for dinner. This neighborhood embodies the balance between urban and suburban, and Governor Stumpy’s Grill House mirrors that comfortable atmosphere. An Irish pub and grill, the “Gov,” as locals call it, always has a sports game on, increasing the jovial pub feel. With a wide selection of beers and fan-favorite burgers, it’s a warm place to end your long day of traveling.

DES MOINES

Start your day off in Pella, a small town southeast of Des Moines with thriving Dutch heritage and an annual tulip festival.

The Windmill Café, on the main square of Pella, is known for its pancakes and

omelets. The restaurant accepts only cash, so make sure you prepare accordingly. After breakfast, embrace the Dutch tradition by heading a block over to the Historical Village Complex, a collection of shops arranged to mimic a small Dutch town. Shops include a blacksmithing shop, a carpentry shop and a Dutch shoe shop called Werkplaats — meaning “workplace” in Dutch — and they focus on sharing information about Dutch heritage.

After spending your morning in Pella, head into the East Village neighborhood of Des Moines. Noodle Zoo, a staple in the East Village, offers more than just noodle dishes.

The menu consists of wraps, sandwiches and salads in addition to noodles, and many dishes come with freshly made focaccia bread and Noodle Zoo’s famous house salad. Enjoy your lunch while admiring the view of the urban East Village from your table.

With murals, sculptures and architectural features inside and out, the Iowa State Capitol is a worthwhile destination in Des Moines and is conveniently within walking distance of the East Village. There is no charge to enter, and the capitol offers free tours every half hour.

You may explore the building on your own,

but the tour allows access to normally closed areas such as the House and Senate Chambers, the library and the Whisper Gallery in the dome. Once you’ve had your fill of the capitol building, move back down to the East Village for shopping and coffee.

End your adventure with classic Midwest cooking at The Machine Shed Restaurant in West Des Moines. Inspired by the motto “Dedicated to the American Farmer,” the founders strive to support local farms with their restaurant. Because of the business’s success, the Washignton Post named it one of the “top 12 things about Iowa.” The menu has classic Midwest cuisine, which features generous portions of made-from-scratch dishes, including award-winning pork, served family style.

Hundreds of antique postcards are among the thousands of vintage objects inside River Market Antiques.

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ADVICE

Searching for

TIPS FOR AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD STARGAZING TRIP

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STORY BY FORREST WILSEY PHOTOS BY NICHOLAS BECKER

ach night, over open miles of land between cities, millions of stars illuminate the Midwest.

Although these stars always are out, the sun, moon and even city lights dilute them and render them invisible. Having a clear view for stargazing often is not about having the proper equipment or staying up into the earliest hours of the morning, but simply finding the right conditions. With millions of stars to see and thousands of locations to choose from, following these guidelines should help turn any stargazing outing into a fruitful exploration on catching light.

Light

Light pollution is light from sources other than the target object. Extraneous light dampens the clarity of the stars being viewed, which can dramatically affect the stargazing experience. Although individual lights do not have a large impact on how bright the stars appear, cities and highways can be light-intensive with the combined lights from buildings, streetlights and headlights.

Nidha Khan, a student and assistant for astronomy labs at Ferris State University in Michigan, is an avid stargazer.

“Looking for an ideal spot is part of the fun,” Khan said. “Back in Saginaw, Michigan, I was near the wide open space of commercial farming area, which meant light

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pollution was at its minimum if you just went in the right direction.”

Although it might seem like a chore to find a dark enough spot, using a map of highway systems is a good indicator of places to avoid in search of the clearest viewing space.

Light levels generally decrease as the density of towns and cities increase, so finding a location away from the highway and outside of road-dense areas is a simple way to find clear skies. Additionally, it is wise to look at the lunar cycle to find out how full the moon is, as a new moon is the best time for viewing stars.

Location

Some of the best places to stargaze are both secluded and clear. Fields, beaches, prairies and similar spots are often distanced from cities and light from tall buildings.

Vayujeet Gokhale, astrophotography enthusiast and astronomy professor at Truman State University in northern Missouri, said finding the proper location depends on a number of factors. Gokhale said stargazers should avoid the city and seek the darkest possible place. He said state parks are some of the clearest locations he has ever found.

“Some of my best photos are taken in national parks in the Southwest, ” Gokhale said. “Even if you find [a state park] off of the highway, they are usually very good, as long as you can get out from under the trees.

There are plenty of other places between highways and cities, and finding a spot by the side of a country road can make for a memorable stargazing experience.

Weather

Clouds can visibly block the stars, but humidity also has an effect on the clarity of the sky. Moisture in the air can cause stars to appear blurry, and even equipment like binoculars or telescopes are unable to peer through the haze.

“If there are no obstructions from clouds you might think it’s the perfect time, but with large amounts of humidity comes a lot of hazy viewing as well,” Vayujeet Gokhale said.

“Usually fixing that is as easy as checking the weather for humidity levels.”

Safety

Nidha Khan also suggests checking the forecast for inclement weather and severe temperatures, as well as for humidity and cloud conditions.

“It’s also wise to check your weather conditions to make sure the sky will be clear,” Khan said. “You wouldn’t want to be stuck on a cloudy, or even too dangerously cold of a night.”

Many areas can be cold compared to towns where buildings lock in heat and cut down on wind, but even on warm nights there are risks depending on the area. It’s important

STARGAZING National parks are typically distanced from cities, making them ideal dark locations for stargazing.

Cameras with tracking functions can capture detailed photos of stars.

to be wary of nocturnal animals. Although back roads might be clear stargazing spots, adventurers stand out of the way of any sort of traffic. As with other outdoor expeditions, notify a friend or family member of where you will be and how long you will be out, even if you are out with a friend. Having someone know about your whereabouts and the approximate time you’ll be back helps keep both of you safe. Additionally, avoiding private property is important both for safety and to avoid trespassing.

Equipment

Both Nidha Khan and Vayujeet Gokhale suggest binoculars and a telescope for particularly faraway objects. However, appropriate equipment depends on where a stargazing experience takes place. Bringing a telescope on a hike might be inconvenient, but binoculars do not enhance images nearly as much as telescopes.

Regardless of how long the hike is, knowing how to use a planisphere should be part of a any stargazing trip. Planispheres are handheld, circular charts that display where stars should be at specific times in the year and night. Often, these maps can be adjusted to match the time of year to accurately display where the stars should be located, which makes them a good choice when looking for certain planets or constellations.

Photography

Many people enjoy astrophotography, or photographing celestial bodies. DSLR cameras generally come equipped with a tracking function. A tracking function on a camera traces the motion of the stars to process a clear photo that isn’t impeded by Earth’s rotation.

The rotation would normally cause streaks of light instead of clear stars, but with a tracker, they come out clear and in high detail.

High-end cameras also come with the ability to delay the closing of the shutter or lengthen the shutter speed. The altered shutter speed allows for more light to enter the lens of

the camera. The build-up of light on this image can enhance colors or minute details that would otherwise be unnoticeable in a shorter shutter speed.

>>WEB EXCLUSIVE Read more about where to stargaze in northeast Missouri on tmn.truman.edu/detoursadaircounty.

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DESTINATION | BIRD SANCTUARY

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started learning about birds of prey during 2003 when I was eight years old. My dad, a Missouri falconer, started flying hawks again that winter, and some of my fondest childhood memories involve stumbling after him, his Red-tailed Hawk and our Jack Russell Terrier as we tried to flush rabbits and squirrels for the hawk to catch and eat.

As a small child, I thought the billows of grass in our pastures seemed giant. The woods were thick with blackberry bushes, rocks and fallen limbs I often tripped over. I raced to catch up with my dad as he ran after his hawk in hot pursuit of a cottontail rabbit the dog flushed. Although I know I slowed my dad down, he never complained. He would sometimes pause for me to catch up, and he always made sure he could see me in my bright orange stocking cap.

One night a couple years ago, my dad was driving on a winding rural service road near our house when he saw a Red-shouldered Hawk that had just been hit by a car, flapping one of its wings by the side of the road. Knowing this wasn’t normal hawk behavior, my dad stopped his truck and got out. He brought it home to show us, gently restraining the bird and trying to assess its injuries. Although it was scared and spreading its wings, we could tell one of its wings was injured by the way it hung loose at the creature’s side.

“Its wing is definitely broken, guys,” my dad said as he gently prodded the injured wing with his fingers. “I’m going to try to give it a drink, then put it in a cat carrier so it isn’t as scared. I’ll take it to World Bird Sanctuary in the morning on my way to work.”

COLUMNIST REFLECTS ON BENEFITS OF BIRD SANCTUARY STORY AND PHOTO BY DAWN KOHLER My father has been interested in wildlife and birds of prey for most of his life. He volunteered at World Bird Sanctuary in his twenties, so he knew exactly where to take the injured hawk. The news that the hawk’s wing was broken brought tears to my eyes. A couple months later, I learned hospital volunteers and staff at the World Bird Sanctuary healed the hawk and released it back into the wild.

I enjoy visiting World Bird Sanctuary and have visited during open houses and other events since I was born. I went back for a full tour during 2013, and I got a behind the scenes tour of the Wildlife Hospital. Jeff Meshach, director of World Bird Sanctuary, showed me around.

Without its sign, people might never realize the one-story building with a covered porch in front is the Wildlife Hospital. When concerned bird lovers arrive at the sanctuary with injured birds of prey, they can watch as a member of the World Bird Sanctuary staff or an experienced volunteer assesses the birds’ injuries in the examination room through the observation window connected to the waiting room.

Through the window, I could see the blue covered examination table, a scale and other instruments, along with an x-ray slide of a Redtailed Hawk. The x-ray showed a broken wing and several shotgun pellets that were imbedded in the hawk. Despite the trauma this bird has endured, it will survive its injury, and I’m once again amazed at the resilience of these creatures.

From the examination room, Meshach and I walked down the hall to the intensive care room, where an American White Pelican and a

Bald Eagle were recovering from their injuries in two large cages.

A volunteer asked if I wanted to watch her feed a pelican. The large white bird opens its scoop-like beak wide to take the fish from the woman. The pelican quickly tried to spit the fish out when it realized it tasted like its daily medicine. After several failed attempts to spit it out, the pelican finally ate it.

We then turned to look at the two other birds in smaller cages. A Red-tailed Hawk with a broken wing stood on the floor of its cage while a tiny Screech Owl stood silently on its perch. Seeing the Red-tailed Hawk with its wrapped wing made me shiver as I remembered watching my dad’s falconry Redtailed hawks glide swiftly to his glove.

Meshach said the World Bird Sanctuary usually admits one bird to the hospital every day. He explained most bird injuries result from collisions with cars and power lines, adding they recently rescued some birds that had been shot. Not only is shooting hawks and other birds of prey illegal, it hurts the environment because these creatures eat mice, snakes and sometimes even insects.

On my family’s annual holiday drive to Topeka, Kan., we pass the five hours counting the birds we see. One year, we counted more than 100 Red-tailed Hawks and saw several other species. My experiences at the World Bird Sanctuary taught me to appreciate these birds of prey, and I always hope others might grow to appreciate these creatures and their place within the ecosystem.

>>WEB EXCLUSIVE Read more about the sanctuary’s “Birds in Concert” series for children on our website, tmn.truman.edu/detours.

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POP

HANDCRAFTED ART | DESTINATION

a shop with

S

STORE BRINGS FINE HANDCRAFTED GOODS TO COLUMBIA STORY BY ALLISON TRAY

hoppers walking on the corner of Broadway and 10th in downtown Columbia, Mo., will encounter a store named after a bright, colorful flower. Poppy, founded during 1981 by two women striving to bring handmade art to the Midwest, exposes local customers to the work of national artists.

The store is situated so patrons can walk in one of two doors along the street. Once inside, a short walkway leads them from one gallery to another, and a round desk connects them to employees whose job is to help them find the right handcrafted item. Each day, customers encounter jewelry, woodwork, children’s gifts and greeting cards among Poppy’s selection of goods crafted by artists across the country for the residents and visitors of Columbia.

Near the shop’s entrance, beautifully blown glasswork and colorful, glazed stoneware sit on display. In the right gallery, the glass sits on black frames, built at different levels so customers can see one piece through another. In the left gallery, wooden crates support an arrangement of ceramics, and each piece is visible through the grates of wood so no cup or plate is ever fully obscured.

Scarves and hats adorn candelabras while solid glass and ceramic necklaces, earrings and charms hang from deconstructed mattress springs, juxtaposing the non-see-through with the airy spirals of springs in the middle of the left gallery. In the same gallery’s front window, among branches in buckets, hand-knitted hats rest atop free-standing crutches.

Further into the right gallery, dolls sit in an antiquated ladder, while handmade aprons hang from the side. Visual Merchandiser Lili Johnstone, who designs these displays, said she takes her inspiration from pop culture and from the art itself.

“I don’t want the display elements to be more intriguing than the art,” she said. “I don’t want people to desire my displays more than the art.”

Johnstone explained she goes to Habitat for Humanity and picks the extra materials to craft the displays. When creating a display

for Amuck — a company that creates art with street signs — she lined the front window with air ducts and caution tape, and hung the pieces from the ductwork with magnets.

“The caution tape drew customers in,” Johnstone said. “They were wondering what happened in Poppy. Was there a crime or something?”

From coast to coast, Poppy brings sparkling jewelry, glazed plates and jugs, oil painted canvas with fiber inserts, quirky greeting cards and even children’s dolls and clothes to patrons. At any given time, there are up to 200 artists represented in Poppy. The majority of the artists are American with a few Canadian and Israelis. Liz Tucker, buyer and manager, said she doesn’t always like to stay within the nation’s borders.

“If we find something that we know is a Poppy piece, we’ll buy it,” Tucker explained.

“Sometimes we just find things and make an exception.”

To find artists and works for Poppy, Tucker attends wholesale shows like the Buyers Market in Philadelphia, Pa., a small market where all items are handmade, and the NY NOW, a huge commercial marketplace which sells everything from items a person might find in a gas station to those in department stores.

NY NOW also has a large handmade section, which is why Tucker makes a trip to New York often. Mostly she finds Poppy artists through word of mouth with the help of the network of handmade artists she created.

Twenty-five percent of the artists at Poppy are local Columbia and Missouri artists. Angie Schlotzhauer is the artist behind L.E.goods.

Schlotzhauer said she had known she was going to be an artist since kindergarten. Now, she is an art teacher at New Haven Elementary, and in her spare time she creates ceramic jewelry pieces. She started clay work in college and began making jewelry on a whim one day.

But her family really liked what she made, so she kept making pieces. Each pendant or earring is hand sculpted from clay — not shaped from molds — and is hand painted and

kiln fired in her home studio in Columbia. Her work can be found in Poppy, ordered from her Etsy store and at craft shows around Missouri.

Schlotzhauer’s work isn’t the only favorite of customers. Frequent customer Penny Komes said she enjoys visiting Poppy every time she passes through the area.

“It’s a cute store that has a lot of range in price, and it’s the only place I know of in Columbia that carries one of my favorite jewelry designers, Clara Beau.”

Clara Beau is a San Francisco Bay area jewelry company carrying modern pieces inspired by vintage design. The name Clara Beau is a play on Clara Bow, a film actress from the silent screen era.

Jewelry and greeting cards are Poppy’s bestsellers, but shoppers can find anything from homemade dishes to furniture. Paintings, prints and mixed media are plentiful.

Customers shopping with young children can turn to Poppy’s recently expanded baby and kid sections to find everything from decorations and child-size suitcases, to handmade dolls and stuffed animals.

Poppy is named so because one of its founders learned to make origami poppies from an artist friend and begun placing her own flower on each purchase. Since then, the poppy has changed from the origami design to a flat, colorful one made from recycled paper that customers receive when they check out.

However, the message remains the same.

“Every time a customer buys an item,” clerk Kim Baer said, “We place the purchase in a box, and wrap it with ribbon and put a tissue paper poppy on top. For our customers there is nothing better than seeing the poppy when they get a gift.”

>>WEB EXCLUSIVE Read more about the artists featured in Poppy on our website, tmn.truman.edu/detours.

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DESTINATION

KANSAS CITY SHELTER GIVES ANIMALS NEW HOPE STORY AND PHOTOS BY RACHEL FOSTER

W

when someone left Hot Pocket in the parking lot of Wayside Waifs in Kansas City, Mo., during January 2010, she was not a happy and healthy puppy. Only eight weeks old, she was covered in scabs and had virtually no hair on her body due to a skin disease and poor care. Wayside Waifs employees quickly discovered from observation of her deficient physical condition she needed not only medical attention to save her life, but also serious rehabilitation and love before she could find her forever home.

Sanctuary Shelter The 50-acre Wayside Waifs campus is busy daily with more than dog, cat and small-mammal adoptions. With an agility park, a cemetery with 11,000 pets buried on the grounds, funeral services and national rescue teams. Wayside Waifs provides endless opportunities for pet owners to strengthen their relationships with their pets and for pet lovers to volunteer to help save dogs and cats.

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The sun shines at Wayside Waifs during a busy Sunday afternoon.

The volunteer and visitor traffic is heavy during weekends at the shelter.

WAYSIDE WAIFS

The Wayside Waifs campus stretches across 40 acres of land in Kansas City, Mo.

After they pass through the front doors of Wayside Waifs, guests meet the receptionist as they walk under a large rotating mobile onto which Kansas City artist Christopher Duh painted an animal mural. Often there is also a resident animal wearing an “Adopt Me” bandana hanging out with a volunteer in the main lobby waiting for visitors to greet.

Nicole Fordyce entered Wayside Waifs during October 2010 with the purpose of finding a dog that would become a part of her family. She and her husband had just lost their cat, and she said they wanted to meet these family member candidates in person.

“Hot Pocket couldn’t be adopted right away, so I wasn’t sure if she would be the

one,” Fordyce explained. “But once I met her in person, I fell in love.”

As potential adopters explore Wayside Waifs, they encounter a variety of animals including dogs, cats, rabbits and even guinea pigs in the care of volunteers working around the shelter. Nicole said she knew whatever animal was the perfect fit for her family would be coming home with behavior skills in addition to physical, mental and dental health.

New owners can also obtain all the materials necessary to start a new chapter with a canine or feline companion.

“You couldn’t even tell she had gone through any hardships,” Fordyce exclaimed.

“There was nothing wrong with her.”

Dogs searching for forever homes look out from their kennels at prospective owners visiting the shelter.

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The animals at Wayside Waifs get attention from volunteers every day.

DESTINATION

Special rooms in the cat wing of the shelter contain cats getting a good stretch or just lazing around ready for adoption.

Behavior and Rehabilitation

Dogs available for adoption often wear “Adopt Me” bandanas during their walks with volunteers.

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Because of the trauma that an animal can endure in the moments before they find themselves in the hands of the animal lovers at Wayside Waifs, many arrive with stress and emotional baggage.

During 2013, Lela came to Wayside Waifs as an abandoned dog with an unknown past. At just two years old, this white Argentine Dogo needed serious rehabilitation. Lela would not wake up at the opening of her kennel door and was unresponsive to nearly any sounds and physical movements.

The Wayside Waifs behavior team realized quickly that Lela was deaf and almost completely blind. Craig, a member of the Green Team — a group of volunteers that work with shy and fearful animals — took the assignment to be Lela’s special volunteer.

Craig began sitting outside of her kennel until she was comfortable and calm with this interaction, advancing to sitting inside of her kennel, until they became friends. Craig and Lela spent the next three months working on her sign language so that she could develop the basic commands with which most adopted dogs leave Wayside Waifs.

Because of the weeks Craig devoted to earning Lela’s trust, he began to notice she was wary of strangers wearing scrubs.

She frequently growled at the veterinary staff. When employees discovered that she befriended everyone Craig trusted and introduced to her, they decided he should attend all meet and greets with Lela’s potential new owners to determine their compatibility.

On August 1, 2013, Lela went home with a woman who had another dog that needed a playmate. The woman was receiving cancer treatments and had to leave home for hours at a time. Unfortunately, Lela’s new owner got a roommate that could not live with dogs, and Lela returned to Wayside Waifs within five months. The team at Wayside Waifs said they were confident in finding a new home to successfully place Lela.

“Lela was quickly adopted again in February, and we are hopeful this is her forever home,” said Deb Bauman, Manager of Admissions and Behavior. “In her time at Wayside, she was embraced by our behavior team who really did everything possible to better the life of this special needs dog.”

Bauman explained the work volunteers

WAYSIDE WAIFS

Humane Education

and employees do with the animals’ manners, behavior, and training is crucial for successful adoptions at any no-kill shelter. An agility park on the front yard of the campus lets Wayside Waifs’ volunteers and rehabilitation team to teach dogs of all ages new tricks to burn off steam and build the confidence that makes a huge impact on a dog’s personality.

With positive reinforcement, patience, and some encouragement by this staff, dogs and cats leave Wayside Waifs in the best state they can be in physically and mentally to be a great addition to any family.

With his tail wagging, a sniffing Cocker Spaniel named Justice enters a Kansas City area public elementary school five days a week with his companion, Wayside Waifs Humane Education Manager Allison Basinger, to help teach a program called “No More Bullies!” to a third grade class.

Basinger travels nearly every day with her canine, who she says is like an employee to the shelter, too. The two teach a 60-minute lesson each day for a week, imparting to students that when they practice responsibility, humanity, self-control and compassion with animals, showing these appropriate and kind actions to people becomes second nature. Wayside Waifs Humane Education program fosters the idea that there is a direct correlation between a child’s treatment of their classmates and the treatment of animals.

“If you practice being a bully to animals, often you become a bully to people,” Basinger explained. “The most powerful part of the week is day five when we tell a story about a child the class’s age. They really connect with that.”

Basinger recalled she once noticed a boy in class who was having a particularly bad day. His teacher had just yelled at him in the hallway in front of his classmates. As she and Justice began their lesson, Basinger said she noted the child’s body language, reading that he was upset and not open to learning.

Justice, able to recognize when a human needs

comforting as many dogs can, sat in front of the boy. Basinger encouraged the boy to snuggle with Justice if he felt comfortable.

“I could see his body language immediately change from tense to relaxed as he gave Justice soft and gentle touches,” he said.

Basinger praised the boy for showing kindness to Justice and tied the child’s actions directly to the lesson on showing compassion to people. Basinger said she sees every day the ways animals can change children’s attitudes. She said “powerful” is only word that appropriately describes her experiences.

“No More Bullies!” is one of several free community programs the Wayside Waifs Humane Education team designed and operates using donations, small grants and the assistance of volunteers. The group also teaches pet owners how to act responsibly regarding the wellbeing of their pets in the event of a natural disaster. Options for children include a prekindergarten to first grade pet responsibility class and Once Upawn, an after school program. Through Once Upawn, students struggling with reading can read with Wayside Waifs animals by their sides. The dogs and cats won’t laugh if the studnets mispronounce words or stumble.

Wayside Waifs is open to volunteers who want to help others learn by fostering education alexperiences with shelter animals.

These programs benefit humans that want to learn as well as encourage animals to become comfortable with human companionship.

We’re a sanctuary shelter. We help animals most shelters don’t want to or are not capable of.”

— Ashley McCoy

Now that she is healthy, Lela is ready to find a permanant home.

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DESTINATION

Vet Clinic

Wayside Waifs regularly accepts transfers from three shelters around the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. In December 2013, it received a call from Clinton County’s animal shelter about a certain animal. When Luann transferred to Wayside Waifs, no one predicted the medical rollercoaster ride she would take.

Seven years old and a full-bred American Bulldog, Luanne had a wiggling bottom, big eyes, and showed affection to the people she encountered. Unfortunately, she weighed in at 65 pounds — 30 pounds underweight. It didn’t take long for the staff to realize she had been overbred her entire adult life and had an ear infection and spay surgery infection. Her teeth were rotting from neglect of care, and a Kansas City dentist who volunteers every week had to extract two canines and many of her incisors.

After her post surgery rest, medical staff at

Wayside Waifs continued to discover bad news for Luanne. She had degenerative hip dysplasia and a fractured hip. After another extensive surgery and pain medicine, Luanne was adoption ready.

“All animals at Wayside Waifs are micro chipped, spayed or neutered, receive all needed vaccinations and blood testing before they go home,” Vet Tech Manager Ashley McCoy said.

“Luanne was ready for her forever home.”

Unfortunately, a few weeks into her search for an owner the vet team discovered a tumor in her reproductive system. The care and attention volunteers and medical staff provided allowed Luanne to continue fighting — and winning — her medical battles. After several years, Luanne was ready for her forever home.

“We’re a sanctuary shelter,” McCoy. “We help animals most shelters don’t want to or are not capable of.”

A rotating mobile designed by Kansas City local artist Christopher Duh hangs inside the front door, an artistic and modern touch to the lobby of Wayside Waifs.

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WAYSIDE WAIFS

An adoptable dog sits in her kennel while potential owners visit Wayside Waifs.

Volunteer opportunities

Wayside Waifs promotes animal care and love.

Whatever guests’ interests are, if they like to help better the lives of animals, they can find volunteer opportunities at Wayside Waifs. Jennie Rinas, communications manager of Wayside Waifs, said many college students stop by Wayside Waifs when they are home on breaks or near visiting family members just to check out its recent expansion and renovation and leave inspired to be more involved citizens. Many volunteers started at Wayside after retiring, and others volunteer in addition to work and personal obligations.

Four-year volunteer Candy admitted one reason some people hesitate to volunteer at homeless animal shelters is the fear of being exposed to sad stories of less successful animals, even at Wayside Waifs. However, she explained the moment they feel their own hands help create a new happy ending, they are hooked.

“I think that people are afraid to come here, but when you see the good and the help that

you’re doing for these dogs, and when you see people walking out with their match, that’s what makes it all possible,” she said.

Nicole Fordyce and her husband have now been Hot Pocket’s adopted parents since 2011 and she says she knows if they ever need anything, Wayside Waifs will always be a resource for their family.

“Now looking at Hot Pocket, you can’t even tell she was ever mistreated or hurt,” Nicole said. “I attribute her being alive today to Wayside Waifs.”

>>WEB EXCLUSIVE Read more about what Wayside Waifs does for animals in need on our website, tmn.truman.edu/detours.

“I think that people are afraid to come here, but when you see the good and the help that you’re doing for these dogs ... that’s what makes it all possible.”

— Candy

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A century of

COLLECTOR SHARES HISTORY THROUGH VACUUM COLLECTION STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIA POHLMAN

T

om Gasko owns 608 vacuum cleaners. He keeps thirty of them at his home, so he can clean with a different vacuum each day of the month. The remaining 578 he shares with the public at the Vacuum Cleaner Museum and Factory Outlet in St. James, Mo., along the historic Route 66.

Gasko has been the curator of this museum since it first opened during 2009.

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TOM GASKO

The room featuring Gasko’s 1970s vacuum collection is completed with groovy burnt orange wallpaper and shag carpet.

The museum is part of Tacony Manufacturing, one of the three remaining vacuum manufacturers — the others are Kirby and Rainbow — still producing vacuum cleaners in America today. The company, which produces Riccar, Simplicity and Maytag vacuums, initially asked Gasko to bring his collection to the company to educate the engineers about the history of vacuums in order to help them design new and better vacuums.

Museum docent Connie Douglas has worked with Tacony Manufacturing since 1997. Before the museum opened, she was the Tacony Manufacturing representative who first asked Gasko if the company could look at his collection.

“The engineer department comes down here and when they’re going to come out with a new vacuum cleaner, they look at everything that worked and did not work [through the years], so they make something that’s really, really good,” Douglas said.

The museum features vacuum cleaners from the early 1900s to the present, all of which Gasko has refurbished to be in working condition.

He organizes the antique vacuums by decade and gives each group its own display room. Vacuum trivia, antique manuals and prints of the original advertisements adorn the walls next to the vacuums they advertise. The furniture, wallpaper and carpet in each room are from the specified era.

Visitors learn how times have changed as they tour the museum and hear about the labor-intensive process women used to clean the carpets

before vacuum cleaners. On the tour, visitors see a picture of the woman who bought the first vacuum cleaner without her husband’s permission in the early 1900s and 1950s vacuum cleaners that were designed to look like the new car models of that time. Visitors can also purchase new, American-made vacuums for a less than they would spend at a department store.

Gasko brought his collection to Tacony Manufacturing after he left a comment on a Riccar dealers’ webpage about their company’s new vacuum design.

“I commented, ‘That machine has actually been done three times before in history. It is not new, it is not unique and unless you solve the problems the three previous machines had, you’re destined to fail,’” Gasko said. “Immediately, I got an email back from the vice president of the company.”

Tacony Manufacturing’s vice president asked Gasko what he meant by saying that engineers had designed the vacuum before. Gasko sent another email with pictures of his own vacuum cleaner collection explaining what he meant. Representatives went to Gasko’s shop to see his collection. The next time they saw Gasko, they asked him to join the company and created the museum with Gasko’s vacuum collection.

Although this was the birth of the vacuum museum, Gasko’s interest in vacuums began much earlier. Gasko said as a child, he was interested in anything that had a motor and how that motor worked. He was six when he first took apart his mother’s vacuum.

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tips from tom Tom Gasko said a vacuum motor is designed to last for 20 to 23 years.

Here are his strategies for ensuring your vacuum cleaner lasts that long.

1. Change the bag or the filter when needed.

“Keep an eye on the level of dirt in the bag.

If you’re cleaning a lot of fine dust from around a pool table where you have chalk, or if you have a gravel driveway, or live out on a farm, bags should be changed more often because the finer the dirt, the quicker the pores clog. On a bagless vacuum cleaner, more attention needs to be paid to the filter. A bagless vacuum still has to pass air, [and] since there’s no bag, there’s a filter before the motor. So it’s really the condition of the filter before the motor that allows the machine to breathe. So a new filter or a new bag helps the machine to pick up at its best.”

“I put it back together, flipped the switch, and the lights went out in the house,” Gasko recalled with a laugh. “When my father came home, he showed me how to wire the machine … and then I knew how to wire from that point on.”

The summer before his senior year of high school, Gasko worked as a door-to-door vacuum salesman for Rainbow and earned enough money in three months to buy a brand-new Trans Am. After graduation, he worked this job again for six months before the company promoted him to training manager.

Gasko said there is little competition for vacuum repair shops because repairmen need highly soe knowledge to understand how to work on different models. Gasko said this influenced his decision to pursue the vacuum industry. During 1989, he opened his own vacuum repair shop in Festus, Mo., where he repaired different brands of vacuum cleaners and also sold Riccar vacuums.

Throughout the 20 years Gasko owned the store, many of his customers expanded his collection by donating old vacuum cleaners from their basements or grandmas’ attics. When Gasko acquired duplicates of a model, he took parts from each of them to build an exemplary model of that specific vacuum. He would then build another model with the next best parts from the vacuums to give away.

Gasko stated he is interested specifically in vacuum cleaners because there are so many different models.

“We have canisters, light weight, stick backs — all these different designs because no one design is perfect,” Gasko said.

“A vacuum really has to fit the person who’s going to use it.”

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2. Learn how to change the belt, and then change it at least every two years.

“The belt is rubber, and it transfers the power from the motor to the brush. The brush’s job is to sweep the hair but also to tap the carpet 5,000 times per minute to get the sand to jump to the surface so the suction can carry it away. If the brush is moving at the correct speed — 5,000 rpm — it will do its job very efficiently and you will only have to make one pass.

But, after a year, the belt is heated up and cooled off and it’s like socks that no longer have good elasticity. After a couple of years, those socks just fall down your leg. Well, the vacuum picks up hardly anything except what the suction will pick up because the brush is turning so slow [after being heated and cooled so many times.]”

In addition to helping the engineers understand vacuum technology of the past in order to incorporate it into new designs, Gasko tests prototypes for Tacony Manufacturing. During 2000, he designed a vacuum cleaner called the Tom Gasko Signature Series Airway for the American-made company Airway, which went out of business during 2009. Gasko included his signature on a plate on the first 100 vacuums of the series. Although they were $400 vacuums, the 100th vacuum sold on eBay for $9,000.

Gasko served for six years as the first president of the Vacuum Cleaner Collectors Club, which has 400 members.

Although he is no longer the president, he remains a member and hosts the club’s convention at his museum every year during the second week of June.

During the convention, collectors from all over the world gather to tour the Tacony Manufacturing factory where Tacony employees make vacuums. They visit the vacuum shops in Festus and Washington, Mo., and give awards for the “Best Vacuum in Show” and “Best Restored Vacuum.” In addition, they have cleaning contests to test vacuums from the same era to see which picks up dirt most efficiently. Collectors get to go through the back rooms of the vacuum shops and Gasko’s own collection to swap vacuum parts. Tacony Manufacturing makes a one-of-a-kind vacuum for a raffle.

Gasko said his favorite vacuum is the Maytag M1200 that engineers developed based on suggestions from the museum over a span of three years. Although no vacuum can get 100 percent of the dirt out of the carpet, this vacuum removes 94 percent, which Gasko said is the most of any vacuum sold today.

TOM GASKO Tom Gasko displays a vacuum in the 1950s room of a museum, explaining how knowing the past can help predict the future.

3. Cut the hair on the vacuum’s brush if it’s long enough to wrap around more than once.

“Spend $2 and buy a seam ripper …

Now the secret is … if you run the seam ripper along, it cuts the hair in half.

You don’t have to pull [the hair] off the brush and make this pile on the floor.

You only have to run your seam ripper along it, which takes five seconds … put the vacuum in the closet. The next time you turn it on and the brush spins at 5,000 rpm, all the hair [is sucked up], and you didn’t have the mess.”

4. Don’t use carpet freshener to eliminate smells — use baking soda. “[Carpet freshener is] the worst thing for a vacuum. It’s sand and perfume … you’ve thrown two pounds of dirt into your carpet … So, as the brush rotates, there’s a ball bearing on each side so it can rotate.

The sand [is bad for] the grease inside the ball bearing. So that’s the first place that the carpet freshener destroys. The second thing it destroys is the axels and the wheel.

It gets between the axel and the wheel and it routes it out, so...the vacuum squeaks as they push it back and forth across the carpet. Throw [baking soda] down two days before you vacuum and walk it in.”

“It developed out of needs, real needs that people had,” Gasko said.

The vacuum stands upright and features a hose that stretches six stairs longer than the length of an average flight of stairs so the user doesn’t have to move it while cleaning the staircase. Its belt is an automotive serpentine belt that doesn’t break or have to be changed. It also features two suction motors and one motor to drive the brush, which a user can turn off when the brush is not in use. The vacuum sells for $699.

The 1920 Airway Sanitary System is Gasko’s favorite antique vacuum because of its many advanced features, he explained. From the side, Gasko said it looks like a grasshopper.

The motor in this vacuum swivels in order to change direction easily, and the wheels are on springs so they don’t scrape hardwood floor while transitioning from carpet to bare floor.

During the ’20s, tuberculosis was a concern, and this vacuum has a disposable bag so germs, which attach to dust, could be burned after vacuuming.

“This vacuum is 50 years out of its time,” Gasko said.

Of his duties at the museum, Gasko said his favorite is giving tours to visitors of all ages. The museum has attracted visitors from throughout America and as far as Sweden, Australia and China who stop by on their tour of Route 66. Phyllis Murphy of Rolla, Mo., visited the museum with her sister, Evelyn Cummins, for the first time.

“It kind of brings back memories of older times,” Murphy said after touring the rooms filled with antique vacuums.

Murphy described her sister as a “vacuum enthusiast.”

Cummins said she enjoys using vacuums and understanding what their diverse features can do.

“A different vacuum for a different job,” Cummins said.

“There’s a lot of technology in these things.”

During each tour, Gasko shares the history of America with visitors through changing vacuum designs and vacuum advertising. He uses the original instruction books and advertisements he has collected to help visitors imagine what life was like during each decade.

“It is really a great, fascinating job to be able to share the history of the machine with the public,” Gasko said. “It is fun to take that step back and be able to show people … where things came from and how things happen. And so that’s what I do.”

Gasko’s collection of more than 600 vacuums allows visitors to travel through the twentieth century, reconsidering the common household chore as well as how vacuums have been influenced by women’s changing role, pop culture and political concerns.

Gasko ensures that visitors leave the museum understanding how vacuum cleaner design through the century has reflected what is most important to Americans of the time.

>>WEB EXCLUSIVE Read more about how Gasko teaches others about the history of vacuums on our website, tmn.truman.edu/detours.

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PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

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PHOTO CONTEST

w i n n e r Brenda Linder “Catching Dreams” Greencastle, Mo. summer 2014

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h o n o r a b l e

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Danielle Asal “Madison Arm Morning” Hebgen Lake, Mont.

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Danielle Asal “Nature’s Stepping Stones” North Conway, N.H. detours 38 summer 2014

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Carly Robison “School of Light” Charleston, S.C.

m e n t i o n

PHOTO CONTEST

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Danielle Asal “Ocean Dugout” Ras-An-Naqura, between Lebanon and Israel

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Carly Robison “Study of the Moon” Kirksville, Mo.

honorable mention “Pre-flight”

by Ellyn Poisson Kirksville, Mo. summer 2014

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h o n o r a b l e

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Anna Wiley “Soft Dusk” Munich, Germany

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Brenda Linder Rural Firefighters Dedication Novinger, Mo. detours 40 summer 2014

PHOTO CONTEST

F a c e b o o k F a n F a v o r i t e Amy Keeve “Eye Spy” Fenton, Mo.

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Take Next Exit:

25

Roadside Stops STORY BY MELISSA BRADFORD PHOTOS BY MELISSA BRADFORD AND MORGAN O’NEILL “The Walking Ched” burger with bacon is a customer favorite, where even the “bun” is made of deep fried macaroni and cheese.

Long drives

to a Midwest destination are twice as fun if you know where to look. Break the monotony of endless interstates by stopping at one of these 25 roadside attractions.

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ROADSIDE STOPS

For the Foodie Zombie Burger + Drink Lab — Des Moines, Iowa

The apocalypse has begun, and the epicenter is Zombie Burger, where the ambiance oozes of the undead — especially on the menu. The Walking Ched burger scoops macaroni and cheese on top of the patty like brains. The Undead Elvis burger is made with peanut butter, fried banana and bacon. After eating one of more than 20 burgers to choose from, customers can order shakes, like the Zombie Bride Wedding Cake shake.

Sweetie Pies — St. Louis, Mo..

Miss Robbie, owner of Sweetie Pies, helped her mother cook family meals growing up. Now, the restaurant she opened with her son is known for its homemade Mississippi-style soul food, like fried chicken, corn bread and peach cobbler. During 2011, the Oprah Winfrey Network began airing a docuseries about Sweetie Pies to tell its story.

Two zombies greet customers as they walk through Zombie Burger’s doors.

Canteen Lunch in the Alley — Ottumwa, Iowa

The restaurant is in an alley, as the name describes, and under a parking ramp that was built around it when the community refused to see it torn down. The loose-meat Canteen sandwiches are served wrapped in paper to hold the meat and bun together. A map of the United States hangs on the wall where tourists can put a pushpin in their hometown.

Cozy Dog Drive In — Springfield, Ill.

Known for its corn dog, or “cozy dog,” this restaurant claims to be the inventor of the battered dog on a stick, making the cozy dog the most popular item on the menu.

Customers order as if at a concession stand, and after grabbing their tray of food, they can sit at a table or booth, surrounded by Route 66 paraphernalia and other road signs hanging on the walls.

Blue’s Café — Kankakee, Ill..

Not much has changed about this family-owned diner throughout the years. A blue awning juts out over the entrance, while inside a 1950s countertop seats patrons for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But what the locals enjoy the most are the pies. Every day, there are at least 11 different flavors of pie ranging from lemon meringue to cherry à la mode.

The menu is a faux newspaper that tells the story of a fictional zombie apocalypse with the zombified menu items listed on the back.

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For the Nature Lover Wild Animal Safari — Strafford, Mo. See mountain lions, giraffes and tigers all without leaving the comfort of an air-conditioned car. The Wild Animal Safari has both a drive-thru animal park and a walk-about option where tourists can see the less aggressive animals, like lemurs and peacocks. Food that is safe to feed to the animals can be purchased from the park.

Weldon Spring Site — St. Charles, Mo.

The government once used a nearby site to create TNT, and after years of letting radioactive waste seep into the environment, they have decontaminated as much as possible and piled the rest beneath 45 acres of rock, now known as Weldon Spring Site. Visitors can climb to the top and read about its history of radioactivity, knowing they are safely standing right above it all.

Spook Cave — McGregor, Iowa

Tour groups ride in a small boat as it glides through the damp cave.

While steering the boat, the tour guide teaches the group about the rock formations, the limestone in the walls and other facts about the cave with a few jokes thrown in to make the younger children smile.

Grotto of the Redemption — West Bend, Iowa

During the early 1900s, a pastor began to build a shrine for the Virgin Mary to show his gratitude after recovering from serious illness.

The nine man-made grottos are constructed of rocks and minerals, including amethyst, quartz and petrified wood. The shrine is a place for both the spiritual and non-spiritual to quietly contemplate.

Cahokia Mounds — Collinsville, Ill.

The Wild Animal Safari has animals, like the Highland cattle, that approach vehicles hoping visitors will feed them treats.

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Cahokia Mounds was once home to one of the largest Native American cities, but by A.D. 1400 its residents inexplicably deserted the site. Archaeologists have found the remains of a Cahokian ruler buried with hundreds of others as sacrifices. A reconstruction of his body is on display in the Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center where visitors can learn more about the Cahokians and climb the mounds themselves.

ROADSIDE STOPS

Mannequins are fashioned throughout the store to help shoppers visualize possible vintage outfit

Jewelry is displayed by color so shoppers can find the right match at Vintage Underground.

All of the clothing and accessories are name-brand vintage apparel.

For the Antique Enthusiast Artifacts — Iowa City, Iowa

“No boring stuff allowed!” The store’s slogan sets a high standard, but customers are not disappointed when left to explore, finding mannequins, mandolins and anything in between.

The high turnover of items means there will always be new tchotchkies, or decorative trinkets, to find during every visit.

Pink Elephant Antique Mall — Livingston, Ill.

A pink elephant has stood on the side of Highway 55 for years, drawing in curious tourists and antique lovers alike. What was once a high school gym is now an antique mall, though the basketball scoreboard remains.

Shoppers can wander around the main floor or go up onstage to see more of the antiques offered. Cold treats are sold during the summer.

Past Time Treasures — Ankeny, Iowa

What some consider junk, others consider art. Slabs of sheet metal are molded into wall art, pearl clip-on earrings are fashioned into ornate bracelets and pastel colors are painted onto refurnished dressers. This family-owned antique store “upcycles” its inventory by turning pieces of scrap into crafty decorations.

Vintage Underground — Chicago, Ill.

To enter, shoppers must go down a staircase and into the building’s basement to find the store. Vintage Underground’s jewelry attracts fashionistas from all around, selling pieces you would not find in a department store. Its selection ranges from clunky costume necklaces to delicate cameo brooches.

River Market Antiques — Kansas City, Mo. While Kansas City has an ample number of antique stores, River Market Antiques has over 30,000 square feet of antiquing to offer. Those who visit can spend a whole afternoon wandering from booth to booth. Vintage items fill up three stories and a basement, explaining why customers often compare shopping here to going on a treasure hunt.

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For the Pop Culture Nostalgic Superman Statue — Metropolis, Ill.

A red-caped superhero protects the town of Metropolis. The 15-foot tall Superman Statue stands in none other than Superman Square, near the SuperMuseum. The museum has costumes and props on display, allowing visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the popular Superman films.

Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum — Hannibal, Mo. One of the Midwest’s most celebrated authors is Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain. Twain took inspiration from his town and based a number of his works on actual places there. The iconic picket white fence from his book, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” is still standing outside of his boyhood home.

Walt Disney Hometown Museum — Marceline, Mo.

Walt Disney is a household name — now learn more about the man behind the animations. Photos, letters and video footage of a young Walt Disney reveal details about his early school years. The museum also displays a polished car from the 1950s Disneyland ride, Midget Autopia, donated by Disney himself.

The Super Museum displays the various Superman reincarnations seen in pop culture throughout the past century.

A mural colors part of the Super Museum’s exterior, which is across the street from the statue itself.

Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk — Riverside, Iowa

Fans of the 1960s sci-fi show, Star Trek, can visit the birthstone of the famous Captain Kirk and take photos with a piece of history from the future.

A local museum commemorates the show, and fans gather every summer to attend Trek Fest, which features a parade, trivia, costume contests and more.

Popeye Statue & Museum — Chester, Ill.

Visitors can follow the Popeye Character Trail to see statues of Popeye and his many friends, including Bluto and Olive Oyl. The town adds a new character every year, each one made of bronze and weighing hundreds of pounds. Spinach Can Collectibles, a museum and gift shop, is along the trail and stocked full of memorabilia.

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For the History Buff Glore Psychiatric Museum — St. Joseph, Mo.

In the past, psychiatric facilities used methods of treatment not acceptable today. Physicians could use bloodletting as a treatment for mental illness or strap patients in the Tranquilizer Chair for months on end as a form of calming therapy. One particular patient swallowed 1,446 items, including nails, needles and hairpins, which physicians extracted from her stomach. These items and other mechanisms for treatment are on display at the museum.

Titanic Museum — Branson, Mo.

The Titanic is anchored in Branson, Mo. — or, at least, a half-scale replica is. The Titanic Museum, shaped like the original ship, has exhibits that show what it was like to be on the Titanic.

Tourists can see artifacts from the actual ship, read survivor stories and test their endurance by sticking their hand in water as cold as the ocean was that historic day.

Jesse James Wax Museum — Stanton, Mo.

During 1882, a double agent shot and killed outlaw Jesse James. The Jesse James Wax Museum, however, has evidence to support the theory that Jesse James actually lived to be more than 100 years old under a pseudonym. Visitors can read testimonies and examine photographic proof to judge whether Jesse James did indeed fake his own death.

ROADSIDE STOPS

Villisca Ax Murder House — Villisca, Iowa

Authorities never found the person who murdered the Moore family violently in their own home. Many believe their spirits still haunt the house more than a century later. Visitors claim to hear children’s voices and witness moving objects. However, others remain skeptical. For those brave enough, overnight stays are available.

Lincoln Home and Tomb — Springfield, Ill.

The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, rests within a mausoleum that engineers built more than a century ago. The mausoleum has an obelisk and bronze statues to honor his involvement during the Civil War. In front of the memorial is a statue of Lincoln’s head with pennies piled around the base and nose shiny from tourists rubbing it for luck. Lincoln’s home is minutes away and open to the public.

At the base of the 117-foot-tall obelisk stands a sculpted Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation.

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MAYevents

COLOR KEY

Tulip Time Until May 3 Pella

Scooby Doo Live!

Musical Cape Girardeau

Kids and Kites Festival Chicago

01 02 03

Illinois

Celebrate this town’s heritage with Dutch food, parades and traditional dances.

(641) 628-4311

Iowa Missouri “The Addams Family” Peoria

Chihuahua Parade Kansas City

Solve a ghost mystery with Scooby and the gang.

(573) 335-1631

Down by the River Hannibal

A festival just for kids full of kite flying, face painting and balloon artists.

(312) 744-3316

Fur Ball Kansas City,

04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Dog owners hope to break the record for “Largest Costumed Dog Parade” (913) 742-7335

A live band, great food, cold drinks and a good time await visitors to Hannibal.

(816) 761-8151

Catch this musical comedy about the lovably morbid Addams family.

(309) 673-3200

Embrace the Race Highland Park

“The Wizard of Oz” Until May 18 St. Louis

Dinner Cruise Quad Cities

Wayside Waifs hosts a fundraiser dinner and auction to help dogs and cats in need.

(816) 761-8151

Clayville Spring Festival Util May 18 Pleasant Plains

Tulip Festival Until May 17 Orange City

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Spend Mother’s Day tackling this 10k/5k race through the scenic trails of Highland Park.

(847) 432-0800

Follow Dorothy and friends on their musical journey in Oz. (314) 534-1678

Strawberry Festival St. Jacob

Herrin Festa Italiana Herrin

Cruise the Mississippi River while enjoying dinner, music, dancing and sightseeing.

(309) 764-1952

Learn about Dutch culture while enjoying a day of dancing and family fun.

(712) 707-4510

North Band Iowa Mason City Until June 24

Hitch Hike Honey Creek

Craftmen demonstrate skills from the 1800s.

(217) 572-4984

Nighttime Ghost Tour Springfield

Twain on Main Festival Until May 25 Hannibal

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Enjoy strawberry treats and a 1,000 person bike ride in St. Jacob.

(618) 644-2142

Randolph Street Market Chicago Since June 24

Dig in to great Italian food, family fun and an arts and crafts festival.

(618) 942-5055

Nature enthusiasts can hike along Loess Hills and learn more about the history of the prairie.

(712) 545-3283

Gaelic Park Irish Fest Oak Forest Until May 29

Cook With My Family From Italy Des Moines

Enjoy four days of the best Irish food, music and theatre in Oak Forest.

(708) 687-9323

Foodies can learn how to cook traditional Italian dishes from scratch.

(515) 508-9474

Watch several of northern Iowa’s local marching bands compete.

(641) 423-5724

“The Magic Flute” St. Louis

Haunted house lovers can follow a tour guide through the ghost-ridden Pythian Castle.

(417) 865-1464

Honor the work of author Mark Twain in his home town.

(641) 423-5724

“Diary of Anne Frank” Springfield

Breakfast on the Prairie Peterson

See the words of Anne Frank brought to life

by Theatre in the Park.

(217) 632-5440

Start the day with breakfast and a hike at the Prairie Heritage Center.

(712) 295-7200

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Chicago’s bestknown indoor and outdoor antique market.

(312) 666-1200

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Experience this classic love story performed by the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

(314) 961-0644

CALENDAR

JUNE events Amazing Animal Encounters Valley Park

All-Iowa Shop Hop Across Iowa Until June 20

“The King and I” Arrow Rock Until June 14

Get up close with snakes and birds at the World Bird Sanctuary.

(636) 225-4390

Visit 94 participating quilt shops throughout Iowa.

(319) 594-7987

A local theatre performs this musical set during the mid-1800s.

(660) 837-3311

Iowa Sculpture Festival Newton Since June 7

Starry Night Waterloo

“Cinderella” Sullivan

RiverFest St. Charles Until June 8

Old Tyme Country Festival Ellsinore

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 This festival on the river has dragon boat races, sand sculptures and more.

(630) 296-7683

Superman Celebration Until June 15 Metropolis

Missouri Mines Rock Swap Until June 15 Park Hills

Check out antique cars, crafters and more at this fun family event.

(573) 998-2875

The Politics of Fashion West Branch

08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Learn about the night sky and more at the Bluedorn Science Imaginarium.

(319) 234-6357

Community artists show off original sculptures.

(641) 521-3554

Music Under the Stars Freeport

GITAP Bike Tour Oregon June 15 - 20

Enjoy the Freeport Concert Band for an outdoor performance.

(815) 990-1739

This week-long bike tour takes travelers along the Grand Illinois Trail.

(217) 782-6302

Haunted Ghost Tour Decatur

Enjoy a performance of this classic fairy tale by a cast from the Little Theatre on the Square.

217) 728-7375

Honor Superman with costume contests, fan films and more.

(573) 431-6226

Ice Cream Days Le Mars Until June 21

Trade rocks, fossils and jewelery under outdoor tents.

(573) 431-6226

Listen to award-winning author, Annette Dunlap present a program at 2 PM. (319) 643-5301

FAIRfest Fairfield Until June 22

Custer Fair Evanston Until June 22

This festival has food and entertainment, featuring the Mike Dillon Band.

(641) 209-1083

Discover handcrafted pieces by artists from throuhgout the nation.

(847) 328-2204

“You Can’t Take It with You” Springfield June 26 - 29

Des Moines Arts Festival Des Moines June 27 - 29

Laugh along with this outdoor play by Tent Theatre.

(417) 836-7678

Discover new films and upand-coming Iowan artists.

(515) 286-4956

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 “Ride the Fault” Until June 28 Sikeston

Explore the history of one of the most haunted cities in America during a guided tour.

(888) 446-7859

Cool off with delicious ice cream, live music and family athletic events.

(712) 546-8821

Bourbonnais Friendship Festival Until June 29 Bourbonnais

Balloon Race Ottumwa June 25 - 29

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Cycle across four states while learning history along the New Madrid fault.

(573) 380-7875

Enjoy rides, games, parades and more at this annual festival.

(815) 933-4444

Watch nearly 40 hot air balloons compete for prizes.

(641) 684-8999

Party in the Park Overland Hills Since June 27

29 30 This three-day festival has fireworks, food vendors and fun for the kids.

(708) 349-7211

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Cardiac services.

Right here.

At Northeast Regional Medical Center, we don’t just take care of patients.

We take care of husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, friends and neighbors. That’s why we provide cardiology services ranging from outpatient testing to emergency services with cardiologists responding #PF RCVKGPVU YJQ PGGF CFXCPEGF KPVGTXGPVKQP ECP DG EQPƂFGPV KP a diagnostic and interventional cath lab providing angioplasty and stents.

We’re working to make a real difference in people’s hearts – and lives.

MARK SHIMA, M.D. BOARD-CERTIFIED CARDIOLOGIST

DANA VALENCIA, M.D. BOARD-CERTIFIED CARDIOLOGIST

Members of the Medical Staff at

660-785-1991 Northeast Regional Medical Center is directly or indirectly owned by a partnership that proudly includes physician owners, including certain members of the hospital’s medical staff.

315 South Osteopathy Kirksville, MO 63501

Kirksville MISSOURI’S NORTH STAR Remember Kirksville? Remember the home of the Palonza and the home of the secondbest hamburger? Remember the lake?

Remember all the good times here?

Come back to Kirksville and see what is new!

K

KIRKSVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.visitkirksville.com • (660) 665-3766