Missouri Life June/July 2013

[ T H E DE M I S E O F FAR W E ST

the

125 S UM M ER FE ST I VALS ]

THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY

RODEO

LIFE

ON-THE-GO EATS FOOD TRUCKS STORM THE STREETS

ESCAPE TO THE ELMS INDULGE AT THIS HISTORIC RESORT

JUNE 2013 | $4.50

(Display until July 31)

www.missourilife.com

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Musical Schedule For The Wildwood Springs Lodge 2013 Concert Lineup SEPTEMBER 14: BREWER AND SHIPLEY AND BOB WALKENHORST SEPTEMBER 21: PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE WITH CRAIG FULLER

PHOTO BY DREW REYNOLDS

Earl Thomas Conley

SEPTEMBER 28: LOS LOBOS

Los Lobos

AUGUST 10: MOON SHINE IN THE OZARKS WITH THE HILLBENDERS AND SELDOM SCENE

OCTOBER 4-5: THREE DOG NIGHT OCTOBER 11-12: THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND OCTOBER 18-19: POCO OCTOBER 25-26: AMERICA NOVEMBER 1-2: OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS

The Marshall Tucker band

COME FOR THE

Music

hillbenders

FOR INFORMATION ON VARYING TICKET PACKAGE OFFERS VISIT WILDWOODSPRINGSLODGE.COM

Restless Heart SEE THE STARS PERFORM MORE THAN 75 TOP HIT SINGLES IN STEELVILLE, MO!

Visit many of our local shops in downtown Steelville!

poco

Historic Wildwood Springs Lodge Dining Room

LeFevre Quartet

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ExploreSteelville.com

Meramec Music Theatre 2013 Show Schedule JUNE 1, 7 PM: JEFF & SHERI EASTER GOSPEL

JUNE 2, 3 PM: DOYLE LAWSON AND QUICKSILVER BLUEGRASS

swinging

Canoeing

JUNE 22, 3 PM: RESTLESS HEART JUNE 29, 8 PM: THE YADKIN CREEK BOYS BLUEGRASS MUSIC BRUCE TURNBOUGH AND JERRY BEERS FROM NASHVILLE CHERRY RAIN JULY 20, 7 PM: THE TALLEYS GOSPEL JULY 28, 2 PM: RAY PRICE AUGUST 3, 8 PM: FIREFALL AUGUST 10, 7 PM: THE HOPPERS GOSPEL

STAY FOR THE

Fun!

Camping

SEPTEMBER 7, 7 PM: LEFEVRE QUARTET GOSPEL SEPTEMBER 21, 8 PM: EARL THOMAS CONLEY SEPTEMBER 29, 3 PM: RICKY SKAGGS AND KENTUCKY THUNDER WITH THE LONESOME HILL GANG OCTOBER 13, 2 PM: OAK RIDGE BOYS OCTOBER 26, 7 PM: THE ISAACS GOSPEL OCTOBER 27, 3 PM: DAILEY AND VINCENT

Horseback Riding

NOVEMBER 2, 2 PM & 7 PM: PATRIOTIC SHOW NOVEMBER 9, 8 PM: CLINT BLACK NOVEMBER 16, 7 PM: TRIUMPHANT QUARTET CHRISTMAS/GOSPEL

Swimming

Rafting

Kayaking

NOVEMBER 29, 7 PM & NOVEMBER 30, 2 PM: MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHY COWBOY CHRISTMAS DECEMBER 7, 2 PM & 7 PM: SUZY BOGGUS CHRISTMAS SHOW FOR TICKETING INFORMATION VISIT MERAMECMUSICTHEATRE.COM Stone Cottage Westoverfarms in Steelville

m

[5] June 2013 OUTDOOR ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES A. LEICK 004 ML0613.indd 5

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Marshall

Photo courtesy of Kelsey Alumbaugh / MDN

Intriguing

Come to Slater on June 29 for the 10th annual Bear Creek Blues Fest. This popular music extravaganza features several live blues bands beginning at 3:00 p.m. and going until midnight.

Pre-sale tickets are available online for ages 13 and above for $20. Gate prices are $25. Tickets for ages 5-12 are available at the gate only for $10.

No charge for ages 4 and under. Don’t miss one of the biggest events in the area for blues, brew and food. To learn more, visit www.bearcreekblues. com or call 660-529-2212

Photos courtesy of Marshall Democrat News

Photo courtesy of Kelsey Alumbaugh/MDN

M I S S O U R I

Photos courtesy of Tracy Lawrence

Each summer descendants and friends of Pennytown, the largest of Saline County’s historic Black settlements, gather for a prayer service and reunion. Step back in time on August 4 and learn more about the hamlet born in 1871 when Joe Penny purchased the first parcel of land 6 miles south of Marshall. The prayer service will be held on the site of Pennytown Freewill Baptist Church on Kittyhawk Road from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. followed by the reunion at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Marshall. The reunion will be from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. and will feature a catered meal. Cost of the meal is $5.00. For more details, visit www.pennytownchurch.com or call 660-886-2234.

Photos courtesy of Marshall Bowhunters

Come watch area youth at the annual Saline County Fair as they showcase their talents and hard work. FFA and 4-H members will take part in livestock shows, family fun and other projects at the Saline County Fairgrounds. The fair kicks off on July 13 with funfilled family entertainment at the fast-paced lawn mower races. Events continue from July 17-21, featuring a sanctioned rodeo on July 20. A highlight of the last day’s events is an all-you-can-eat country breakfast on July 21. Admission to the fair is free.

Tickets for entertainment events are $10 for ages 13 and older, $5 for ages 6-12, and free for ages 5 and under.

Visit www.marshallmochamber.com or call 660-631-2862 for more information.

Join other bow hunters at the 15th Annual Ozark Selfbow Jamboree July 18-21 to learn the art and science of building bows and arrows from natural materials. This event, sponsored by Marshall Bowhunters, gets started at the archery range in Indian Foothills Park at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 18. In addition to bow building, other primitive skills such as flintknapping, fire making and cordage fabrication will be demonstrated. Raw materials for bow making will be available for sale. Come test your skills and knowledge of primitive life. Donations accepted.

For more information visit www. marshallbowhunters.org or call 660-886-2714.

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June 1 – MO Civil War Commission Tent Display – Indian Foothills Park – All day www.battleofmarshall.org or call 660-815-0258 June 1 – “If Textiles Could Talk” Lecture and Demonstrations – Arrow Rock – 10:00 a.m. www.arrowrock.org or call 660-837-3231

If you like good food, plan to attend the Saline County Fair Barbecue on June 1. Mid-day you can enjoy a mouth-watering pulled pork sandwich meal.

In the evening you can feast on slow-cooked brisket and pork with traditional sides while enjoying a talent show and queen contest. Proceeds from this event go to Fair premiums for 4-H and FFA youth.

Don’t miss this great day of food and fun. For more information, visit www.marshallmochamber.com and to buy advance tickets, call 660-886-6908.

Photos courtesy of Marshall Democrat News

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Saturdays – Marshall Market on the Square – Downtown – 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. www.marshallfarmersmarket.org or call 660-886-3324

Photo courtesy of Kelsey Alumbaugh / MDN

Photo courtesy of Maggie Menderski / MDN Photos courtesy of Marshall Democrat News

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Upcoming Events

The Battle of Marshall 150th Anniversary Commemoration promises to be an extraordinary weekend on September 14-15. A variety of summer events are leading up to 2 days’ worth of demonstrations, re-enactments, lectures, camp tours, musical entertainment and much more. On June 1 the Missouri Civil War Commission will host a tent display on the Marshall Square. There will be a photo exhibit, including 3-D images at 8:30 p.m. on June 8 on the grounds of the Marshall Habilitation Center.

For more information on other summer events, visit www.battleofmarshall.org or call 660-815-0258.

June 2 – 3-D Bow Shoot – Indian Foothills Park, Marshall – 7:00 a.m. www.marshallbowhunters.org or call 660-886-2714 June 8 – Civil War Photography Display – Marshall Habilitation Center – 8:30 p.m. www.battleofmarshall.org or call 660-815-0258 June 8 – “Tom Sawyer” Film and Tour of Movie Sites – Arrow Rock – 2:00 p.m. www.arrowrock.org or call 660-837-3231

Scan this QR code to visit our website!

www.visitmarshallmo.com

July 4 – Impromptu Parade – Main Street, Arrow Rock – 2:00 p.m. www.FriendsofArrowRock.org or 660-837-3231 July 4 – Annual Fireworks – Indian Foothills Park, Marshall – Dusk www.marshallmoparks.net or 660-886-7128

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THE SPIR IT OF DISCOV ERY

John Knox Village East

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

Meet the neighbors.

Publisher Greg Wood Editor in Chief Danita Allen Wood Executive Office Manager Amy Stapleton EDITORIAL & ART Creative Director Andrew Barton Associate Editor Lauren Licklider Associate Art Director Sarah Herrera Associate Art Director Thomas Sullivan Graphic Designer Taylor Blair Calendar Editor Amy Stapleton Copy Editor Sarah Alban Editorial Assistants Briana Altergott, Winn Duvall, Madeline Schroeder Columnists Ron W. Marr, Danny R. Phillips Contributing Writers Andrew Bridges, Alan Brouilette, Tricia Despres, John Hussey, Hannah Kiddoo, Dawn Klingensmith, Geno Lawrenzi Jr., Colleen Mahon, Carol Moczygemba, Porcshe Moran, Dianna Borsi O’Brien, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, Tiffany Schlarman, Ron Soodalter

Ask us about this surprisingly affordable retirement option.

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

Contributing Photographers Sarah Alban, Alli Inglebright, Hannah Kiddoo, Ron McGinnis, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, LG Patterson, Dan Rockafellow, Lisa Sorrenson, Courtney Tompson, Adam Williams

The State Historical Society 4/13/12 of Missouri Explore Missouri’s Historic Newspapers!

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MARKETING Sales Manager Mike Kellner Senior Account Executive Dale Monteer Sales Account Executive Paula Renfrow Advertising Coordinator Jenny Johnson DIGITAL MEDIA MissouriLife.com, Missouri Lifelines & Missouri eLife Editor Cathy Rodr

TO SUBSCRIBE OR GIVE A GIFT AND MORE Use your credit card and visit MissouriLife.com or call 877-570-9898, or mail a check for $19.99 (for 6 issues) to: Missouri Life, 501 High Street, Ste. A, Boonville, MO 65233-1211.

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

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

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

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

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

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Contents june 2013

[42] exceptional animals Purina Farms in Gray Summit showcases talented dogs and remarkable farm animals.

featured >

[28] mo music Immerse yourself in bluegrass with Branson’s Missouri Boatride Bluegrass Band.

[36] missouri artist A Springfield couple turns a welding hobby into a job.

[74] show-me flavor

special features >

Food trucks storm the streets of Missouri, plus three tasty recipes hot off the truck!

[46] escape to the elms

[126] show-me showcase

the elms hotel and spa in excelsior springs offers a luxurious respite full of history, including a roaring boomtown, al capone, and president harry s. truman.

The art of basket-making in the Ozarks brings a Missouri couple closer together.

[54] the life of a cowboy

[128] show-me homes

our writer shares his summer of missouri rodeo adventures.

At the Hansel and Gretel home in Columbia, a log cabin is transformed into a gingerbread house.

[62] the promised land of far west Discover the ghost town of far west, a mormon settlement in northwest

[135] preserving missouri The St. Louis City Hospital power plant is repurposed as a climbing and bouldering gym.

missouri that was deserted almost overnight.

[66] memphis: no place like it a memphis native shares the secrets of her hometown, including a rare airplane,

[137] musings on missouri

an eight-foot-tall giantess, and a hoppin’ town square.

On an unexpected third canine companion.

special sections > [70] trails west

[91] clay county

take missouri’s trails westward to the grand canyon and beyond.

Discover the charming appeal of clay county.

[80] Beef along the Katy

[138] summer of route 66

a trip along the Katy trail wouldn’t be complete without beef.

Don’t miss a summer’s worth of route 66 events and festivals.

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Contents

CONTENT BY LOCATION 66

JUNE 2013

46 62 86 25, 39, 128, 32, 74 54 34, 74

departments >

25

[12] MISSOURI MEMO

[32] SHOW-ME BOOKS

To celebrate our fortieth birthday, we

A Q&A with Keija Parssinen, author

bring you a special Memo: a reminiscence

of The Ruins of Us. Plus, why William

on the magazine’s relaunch in 1999.

Least Heat-Moon’s new book Here,

39 74, 132, 135 42

36, 74, 84 39 126 28

25, 86

There, Elsewhere is especially appeal-

[19] LETTERS

ing to Missourians.

Discussing the merits of Ulysses S. Grant, sharing digital editions, Missouri

[39] MADE IN MISSOURI

[143] CALENDAR

French dictionaries, a tour around Mis-

Deadly Dick’s Peppers add heat, Faultless

Our listing of 125 summer events.

souri, and a case for Missouri-uh.

Starch makes laundry staples, and Ozark

[162] MISSOURIANA

Mountain Coffee roasts perfection.

[25] MO MIX

Last bits on The Elms and Excelsior

Meet Missouri’s X Factor season-two

[84] DINING WORTH THE DRIVE

Springs, the Mormons’ promised land,

winner, brush up on Missouri legends,

Crosstown BBQ in Springfield serves a

flags, and waterparks.

celebrate Kansas City’s energy

side of inspiration, Pilot House in Cape

efficiency, learn the art of etiquette,

Girardeau evokes nostalgia, and Lula’s

and honor our state flag’s centennial.

Tavern in Moberly knows good burgers.

– THIS ISSUE –

On the Web

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

RODEO IN MISSOURI

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

READER’S CHOICE!

Learn more about rodeo events such as steer

Hear tunes played by X Factor season-two

The deadline for our first-ever photo contest

wrestling, calf roping, barrel racing, and more.

winner, Tate Stevens, and see a video perfor-

has passed, but now is your chance to pick

Plus, we’ve got an exclusive photo gallery of

mance by longtime Branson performers,

your favorite of the submissions! Head to our

cowboys and cowgirls in action!

Missouri Boatride Bluegrass Band, above.

website to view and vote.

Father’s Day Gifts

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

on the cover > THE RODEO LIFE Photographer Ron McGinnis captured this photo of a rider at the 2012 Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association state finals competition at the state fair in Sedalia.

www.MissouriLife.com

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MISSOURI

emo

REMINISCING ON THE RELAUNCH When we first started planning Missouri Life’s fortieth birthday celebration, we couldn’t help but reminisce. So many stories from the magazine’s relaunch in 1999 kept coming up, squirreling their way into meetings, and we knew we had to share those memories with our readers. This issue, we bring you Missouri Memo not only from Greg Wood, our publisher, and Danita Allen Wood, our editor-in-chief, but also from a few of the people who helped make the relaunch of Missouri Life possible.

THE OLD SOW’S TAIL

By Danita Allen Wood, Editor-in-Chief

WHEN I think of launching the magazine, these are the pictures in my head: • Katey Charles, now president of Katey Charles Communications in St. Louis, sitting at the computer in her home in Columbia, where we produced the first issue. We picked up an iMac, or an eMac, or whatever it was, and had two computers, one on her kitchen table, for the second issue.

• Then we moved the magazine to our home’s walk-out basement so I could pull the allnighters in the relative comfort of our house. There, we took over a guest bedroom, an exercise room, and the kid’s recreation room—no more pool table for them.

• Ara Clark, in her pajamas, staying up all night with occasional naps on the couch in our basement television room, to babysit the slow, slow process of post-scripting files to ready them for delivery to the printer. Ara is now the editor-in-chief of Missouri Conservationist.

• DeaAnna Adkins, now content management coordinator at University of Missouri Extension, coming into the basement to proofread.

Just when we thought we’d finished an issue, she’d find countless grammar errors, from dangling modifiers to subject-verb disagreements.

All had to be fixed, sometimes restarting the postscripting process.

• Brian Kratzer and Renee Martin-Kratzer, a photographer and editor team, now director of photography for the Columbia Missourian and an online professor, respectively.

I hope you’re discerning the pattern here.

The picture that really comes into my head was the extremely talented pool of people we put together to help us launch the magazine. Without them, who knows if we’d exist today. I can’t think of the early days without being grateful to the people who were so passionate about making a good product that they indeed would stay up all night with me to make a deadline.

But then, there’s another side. I remember some potentially devastating things that happened, any one of which could have possibly put us out of business.

• The very first year, in what we hoped would give us a big circulation boost, we ran a special holiday gift campaign, much as we do today. But when it came time to deliver, the fulfillment firm we hired sent all of the bills to the people who were supposed to receive the magazine as a gift, and they sent all of the magazines to the people

who were supposed to get the bill. What a nightmare of complaints we got! “I didn’t order this magazine!” Once we figured out what had happened, we instantly sent an apologizing letter to all, and readers were gracious and patient in their understanding as we reversed the records.

• Then there was an original piece of artwork that got burned. In those days, we still received artwork in the mail even if the sender sent a floppy disk or CD or original photographs for us to scan. Remember, we were working in a home.

We had been stacking empty delivery boxes behind an armchair, and one day, Greg decided to clean up a bit. He checked the first several boxes and all were empty, so he took them outside in our country backyard and burned them.

Later, an art director asked, “Where’s that box that had the original painting for the earthquake story?” OH MY GOSH! It had been burned.

We were terrified, thinking perhaps we were going to have to pay thousands of dollars in money we didn’t have to compensate the owner. But we bit the bullet, called the owner, confessed, and again were met with compassionate understanding. Fortunately, we later

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Artwork by Don Greenwood for The Earthquake America Forgot by Dr. David Stewart

Featured in “1000 Years, 100 Moments” in February/ March 2000, this original artwork was accidentally burned.

Thankfully, the artist understood, and we had a digital scan.

FAYETTE IS COVERED IN PESTO discovered we did have at least a digital scan of the artwork to share with the owner.

• Finally, I’ll never forget one weekend when my parents had come to visit, and my father was helping us move these heavy desks Greg had found for twenty-five or fifty dollars each.

They were used construction desks called “tank desks” because they were built like tanks and weighed about as much. I must have been exhausted from a recent deadline, and I know Greg and I were both stressed about the financial obligation, probably running out of money to build circulation, print, and fulfill our obligations to writers and photographers.

I remember mumbling something about “probably shouldn’t have started the magazine.” I might have used a swear word.

I’ll never forget what my farmer father said, which was something like, “You know how hogs used to have a reputation as a mortgage burner for farmers? You just have to grab the old sow’s tail and hang on. She’ll pull you through. I think your magazine will be like that. Just hang on.”

I’m glad we hung on, and I thank everyone who’s ever worked with us and all of you for reading!

By Colleen Mahon, Former Administrative Assistant

I INTERVIEWED

for the job of office assistant when Missouri Life was just about to mail its third issue in August 1999.

I heard about the job through the Fayette “wanted” ads, and I scrambled to put a quick and rough résumé together.

When I went to deliver it, I caught the staff on deadline. I pulled into Greg and Danita’s driveway with my five-year-old daughter, Mackie.

I expected to put my résumé in the mailbox and be on my way, but Danita came out to say hello and asked if I had time to do an interview right there on the spot!

I was dressed to mop floors and hang laundry, not for an interview! Not to mention I had my kid with me. But two of Danita’s children, Marissa and Evan, offered to watch Mackie while we visited.

We were just about to finish up when we heard crying. Turns out Marissa had put Mackie on a horse, and Mackie had fallen off. She wasn’t really hurt, just a little dirty and scared. It was absolutely my most

memorable and unique job interview.

Another memorable event was September 11, 2001. We were still in the Church Street offices in Fayette, and I will never forget how the day unfolded. Tricia Mosser, the managing editor, went home to bring back a television so we could keep up with the horrific news that day.

When Missouri Life was located at Morrison Street in Fayette, I remember Killer Diller being filmed right in front of us in May 2003.

That summer, we also experienced a monumental hailstorm. The steps on the courthouse lawn became waterfalls, and hail was flying in different directions from the front of the building to its backside. Hail blocked the storm drains and caused rain to overflow and gush through the doors of the town’s elementary school.

Fayette looked like it was covered in pesto afterwards—not a leaf was left on any tree.

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Missouri

emo A loT of WAiTing And dieT Coke

By Andrew Barton, Creative Director

My fIrst issue working with Missouri Life was the covered bridges issue in June 2001, and in some way or another, I have been a part of the design, photography, or creative direction of every issue since.

At the time, I was working in California when I received the phone call from Danita asking me to help redesign the magazine long-distance.

You see, we had originally met when I designed for one of her magazines at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. So, being from small-town Missouri and realizing the great opportunity presented to me, we came to a quick agreement and started our collaboration from halfway across the country. Needless to say, technology was not the same as it is today, and speed just did not seem to be on our side.

Back then, every image was a slide, transparency, or print that needed to be mailed from Missouri to California, where I scanned, cleaned, and color-corrected every image. Then I would package all of these things in San Francisco and mail them to Fayette (where the magazine office was at the time). Little did we know that digital cameras would advance

so quickly, and over the next ten years, we transitioned to digitally captured photographs. Today, ninety-nine percent of our images are taken with digital cameras. I do think there is a scanner in a closet somewhere just in case.

In those days, we built the artwork in an application called Quark and then went through a ten-step process to turn each individual page into a PDF the printer would use. This process involved a lot of waiting and, if you know anything about me, a lot of Diet Coke. We finally learned that we could batch the files overnight and check them in the morning. More times than not, I would wake up to an error message and only a few finished pages. Now, we work in InDesign, and PDFs are created with just a few clicks.

Ten years ago, I moved back to Missouri, and through Missouri Life, I have been able to see so much of our beautiful state. The stories and photos we run try to represent what surrounds us, but they just cannot capture the experience of seeing these places firsthand. My goal is to get closer and closer to capturing that beauty, no matter how the technology may change.

A TemporAry helper Amy Stapleton, Executive Office Manager and Calendar Editor

It was only temporary after all.

In February 2000, I found myself without a job. The restaurant where I had been working for ten years closed its doors. Because Andy and I had just bought our farm, we were too afraid to take on more debt, so I didn’t buy the restaurant. Instead, I took some time off. Soon, though, it sunk in. I needed a job—any job. I hadn’t been without one since I was sixteen.

Former designer Ara Clark holds Grindy, a kitten that Amy Stapleton, now executive office manager and calendar editor, rescued. Today, Grindy weighs a hefty eighteen pounds.

My friend Colleen was working for these folks who had started a magazine. She had a huge circulation project to finish those records that got switched, which Danita wrote about. They needed someone to answer the phone. I had never worked in an office, but I could answer a phone.

When I drove up to the house where the magazine office was located, I saw cats and dogs and then horses. Yahoo! These folks are into horses, I thought. So am I! My first desk was a countertop between two filing cabinets with a phone on it.

(Today, I have a gorgeous “salmon mousse” colored office with two computers and a bank of filing cabinets. And, of course, a phone.)

My strongest memories of the good ol’ days all involve animals. One of my favorite memories was seeing the new baby foals born each spring at the farm. During lunch breaks, I went outside to pet the dogs, play with the cats, and gaze at Greg and Danita’s beautiful herd of Missouri Fox Trotters.

One day as I drove up the driveway, I saw

Greg’s stallion, Cody, making tracks across the yard. “Hey Greg, Cody is out again,” I told him.

Off Greg would go to bring his wayward horse buddy back home.

Another day, my friend Jim brought in a whole basket of puppies. Ara, our designer, and another employee each had a sleeping puppy in their laps while they worked. It was deadline, and you could feel everyone’s shoulders relax when they had those puppies in their laps.

And, of course, I can’t forget Grindy. A friend of mine called with a kitten crisis one day. A mother cat had abandoned a tiny one-hour-old kitten. I rescued the little guy, and for several weeks, I had to take him to work with me. How many places can you work where that is okay? Everyone took turns taking care of Grindy.

When Missouri Life moved from Greg and Danita’s home to its first office in town, Grindy came with us.

To this day, I still have Grindy, and I still work for Missouri Life.

I guess it wasn’t so temporary after all.

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Creative Director Andrew Barton illustrated scenes from stories told by an eleven-year-old from midMissouri who had competed in the National Youth Storytelling Olympics in the June/July 1999 issue.

To The AdverTisers!

By Greg Wood, Publisher

It all starts with an idea. Anyone who has ever

An advertisement for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Historical Sites graced the pages of the first issue Greg and Danita published on their own, Spring 1999.

started a business will tell you that. But it takes believers to make the idea work, and it takes some faith to become a believer. When we started in 1999, Danita and I believed that with our experience in the magazine industry—more than twenty years each in publishing at that point—we could create a product that people would want.

Our idea was pretty simple. We believed one thing: This state needs a magazine. Not something that was published by a government entity or an association, but a real magazine that you could go into almost any store in the state and buy, if you liked what you saw. But how do we take a nearly defunct magazine like Missouri Life was at that time and make that idea happen?

At the University of Missouri School of Journalism, there is a quotation imprinted on a large bronze plaque that states simply, “Advertising is the fuel of a free enterprise and a free press.”

I like to follow that thought with my favorite Missourian wordsmith Mark Twain, who wrote: “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising,” in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

We all know what Twain said is true. Why else would we see a sign that simply states “Coke” or “Got Milk?” We all know it works, but who is going to put their money on the line to find out? And who would put their money into a magazine that was almost non-existent? That’s the question I had to ask myself before we relaunched in 1999. All we had was hope, a prayer, and an idea.

So before we could attract advertisers, we needed real readers, subscribers, and paying customers buying

our product at newsstands, issue after issue, year after year. But before we had paying customers, we had to have advertisers. This chicken-or-the-egg deal was for real. Some people like to call it gambling, but what business hasn’t at some point in time? I often think of Missouri’s Walt Disney, who mortgaged everything he had to produce and distribute his first animated feature, Snow White, now referred to as a timeless classic. And he turned a lot of doubters into believers.

So, like many before us, we rolled the dice. We went out with the first issues, twenty thousand copies mailed for free to select lists of proven magazine buyers. That was enough to attract a few brave advertisers and get our ball rolling. That also got us many of you, our subscribers. We now print and mail close to thirty thousand copies, mostly paid circulation going to subscribers and newsstands.

If there is one thing I learned, it is that if you have a product customers truly enjoy and appreciate, then you can make an idea work. And I want to thank every one of our advertisers who has ever invested one dime in our simple idea.

And thank you, readers. You like what you see in these pages. That’s a simple concept, but it is what makes publishing work. Because without you, we can’t attract advertisers. And without advertisers, we would have to charge four or five times what you are paying now for a subscription.

Plus, you would lose out knowing about all the great things to see, do, and buy in this state. (I have actually heard some people say they like the ads as well as our stories because they’re so targeted!)

From all of us at Missouri Life: Thanks for making this work!

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MISSOURI

emo

THE BASEMENT DAYS

By Carol Moczygemba, Editor from August 1998 to May 1999

IT WAS

the only job I ever interviewed for in my overalls. Danita, Greg, and I sat at their dining room table on a mild summer morning in August and talked about their dreams for resurrecting Missouri Life. It was my chance to be part of a publishing adventure; learn more about this lovely state; participate in the decisions that would define the magazine; take on the roles of editor, writer, and photographer to my heart’s content; and work in a walk-out basement. But I loved it.

There was no stuffy, cubicled, fluorescent-lit space for this enterprise. This was downhome, complete with cats and dogs, horses, a swimming pond, and one big window to the outdoors.

DEADLINE NIGHTS Ara Clark was smart. She packed her toothbrush for these deadline crunches. There’s something about working through the night with colleagues toward a common goal that creates a kind of kinship you don’t get in an eight-to-five job.

Sometimes I’d get cranky with the proofreader, DeeAnna Adkins, a grammar ace and style queen imported from MU.

“Your story has these dangling participles, Carol. Fix them.”

“No. It’s a style thing. I like the way it reads.”

“Exactly. It’s a style thing. It’s the wrong style.

Fix them.”

On those nights, I would drive home around 2 AM, exhausted but high from the satisfaction of putting another issue to bed.

Yes, I fixed the dangling participles.

QUIET WAYS One of the advantages of a small staff is that one has the opportunity to do it all. I was free to write about the places and people I was interested in, and the Amish community in Jamestown had long been a mystery that I wanted to explore.

After driving up and down farm roads a few times, I overcame my temerity and parked in a driveway where a farmer and his young daughter were doing chores. I apologized for the intrusion and explained that I was with Missouri Life.

Much to my surprise, this man was friendly, open, and welcoming. He directed me to another farmer, who introduced me to more families.

One woman invited me inside her home. Plain wood table and chairs. A gas lamp. No clutter.

A woman’s white bonnet was on the table. Next to the window, the woman had left her quilting ring and needle and thread.

I visited with young mothers baking together in a large kitchen. Little children scrambled around the kitchen, getting underfoot. It didn’t seem to bother the mothers, who went about their baking, happily chatting with one another. (Is that a dangling participle?)

Writing that story made a lasting impression in my mind and heart. The Amish people’s quiet ways and kindness still inspire me.

JAZZ CREATIONS What a contrast with the Amish. The Kansas City Jazz Museum story took me on a historic journey into the 1930s when the Pendergast political machine had opened the city to all

forms of activity that were illegal in the rest of the country: booze, prostitution, nightclubs, and something almost as sinful—jazz. In the museum, I created my own jazz composition using an interactive exhibit. I listened to original recordings of Charlie Parker. I had never been a jazz fan until then. Working on that story opened a new world of music for me.

GETTING ITS LEGS I’ll end this little reverie with a scene still clear in my mind’s eye. In a pasture beside the Woods’ front yard, the horses grazed. One morning as I drove through the gate, I watched a just-born foal wobbling on its legs, trying to stand, collapsing to the ground, getting up again, legs not cooperating, crisscrossing over each other. I stopped the car. I just had to wait for that little guy to get on his feet. He was so determined and so clumsy.

I felt privileged to be there when the foal managed to stand on all fours. It was a once-in-alifetime experience for me and a nice link to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, both literally and figuratively, to be on the ground floor as Missouri Life got its legs.

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THE MISS AMERICA ORGANIZATION is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women.

Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations provided more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. This assistance is available to the more than 12,000 young women who compete in the local as well national competitions.

Mexico has been home to the Miss Missouri pageant for forty-four years. The beautiful campus of the Missouri Military Academy is the home of the pageant, with all competitions on stage in the Centennial Gymtorium. www.missmissouri.com | 573-581-2765

With a 920-seat auditorium, PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER has many arts education programs for the public, such as dance, piano, voice, film, writing, photography, and theatre. The calendar fills up fast year after year with concerts, ballets, plays, musicals, lectures, gallery shows, special events, and classes. Summer 2013 offers a Film Camp for participants 14 years old and up. This includes writing, cinematography, directing, and editing. Summer camps draw students from the surrounding area and many from out of state. New this year is a wild week of creative dramatics for graduates of the first and second grades. PPAC strives to offer the bests professional highly qualified instructors in the state of Missouri. Presser Performing Arts Center is centrally located in Missouri, serving mid-America with quality cultural performing arts and dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of the arts. www.presserpac.com | 573-581-5592

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You write them. We print them.

June

Letters from all over Grant’s Greatness? i have always appreciated the generous terms and manner in which Gen. Grant extended to Gen. lee and the army of northern Virginia at appomattox in april 1865. this effectively ended the War Between the states. i am not sure i would attach the term “greatness” to Grant’s life, however. he accomplished some noteworthy things despite a poor record at West Point, very poor generalship at places like the Battle of cold harbor, and continual drunkenness. some historians count him as one of our very worst presidents. he labored on his memoirs until almost the final stages of his life. many said he was just too trusting, which caused his failed presidency.

But one report i saved just about destroyed much respect i had for Grant, as follows despite lack of source now: “January 2007 marked the 144th anniversary of the overturn of civil War era law that has gone down in history as america’s worst act of official anti-semitism. in December 1862, union Gen. ulysses s. Grant issued General order No. 11, which expelled Jews ‘as a class’ from territories under his command; the edict gave Jews in Kentucky, tennessee, and mississippi twenty-four hours to flee northward. By the time the law was rescinded by President abraham lincoln, Jewish families from those areas had been humiliated, terrified, jailed, stripped of their possessions, and expelled.” i believe Grant’s life demonstrates that if we are honest with ourselves as historians, we must look at our events and people in totality and not only in revisionist writings.

—James N. Drane, Boonville Ulysses S. Grant did issue General Order No. 11 in 1862. It called for the expulsion of Jewish Americans from their homes in a widespread area under Grant’s command.

This is not to be confused with a separate General Order No. 11 enacted by Union Gen. Thomas Ewing a year later. This order called for the evacuation of all residents in four Missouri counties: Bates, Cass, Jackson, and parts of Vernon. –Editors

the merits of ulysses s. Grant as a military leader and president are hotly contested.

state historical society of missouri

sharinG DiGital eDitions loved your article in the april 2012 edition, “missouri territory and the War of 1812” by

column, “the anti-social Network,” to the extent that i would love to send it to

ron soodalter. i’d like to forward it to others. is it online or in some format that i can

a number of people whom ron precisely and eloquently described in his article.

share this well-written and informative article? i will be subscribing to the magazine.

unfortunately, i cannot find access to this article on your website, so could you

—David Pope, Chesterfield

please advise me how i can obtain a digital copy for forwarding? i’ll appreciate

As a subscriber, you are emailed a link to the digital edition, and you are more than

your assistance. i also could find no procedure for online ordering Nina furst-

welcome to share with friends and family. When you subscribe, be sure to include your

enau’s new book, Savor Missouri: River Hills Country Food and Wine, on the Mis-

email address when you fill in subscriber information. –Editors

souri Life website, as indicated at the end of the book article (Page 28).

i just finished reading my subscription print copy of the april 2013 issue of Mis-

You receive a link to the digital edition as a subscriber. If for some reason you don’t receive

souri Life (one of the best issues in a while—enlightening, informative, infor-

this email, contact info@missourilife.com. As for Savor Missouri, the book is now avail-

mation-packed, i hasten to add) and was particularly taken with ron marr’s

able for purchase on our website at www.MissouriLife.com. –Editors

—Charles Ballew, Kansas City

[19] June 2013

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JUNE A corrected map from April’s story, “Following Grant,” clarifies site eight, the Old Village Cemetery. The remains of the soldiers laid to rest here were moved to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

ANY FRENCH DICTIONARIES?

one time on the eastern vs. western pronunciation. I will always say Missour-uh,

I was intrigued by the article on Missouri French. I was wondering if there had ever

and it certainly does not hurt the state, which I love even though I grew up in

been any dictionaries (French English) or textbooks published on this version of

Kansas. That state I love, too. People move around so much now, so we are all

French. One book of stories was mentioned in the article; where could I get a copy?

mixed up on this pronunciation. It doesn’t matter, just that this is a great state

—Jim Caplan, Columbia

just as Kansas is, also.

—Lois Hughes, Riverside

There aren’t any Missouri French dictionaries. If there had been, it would have made writing and editing the article much easier! Instead, we relied on the few remaining people in the area who have a working knowledge of the language. The book It’s Good to Tell You:

CORRECTIONS

French Folktales by Rosemary Hyde Thomas is available on Amazon. –Editors

In “Following Grant” (April 2013), we incorrectly stated that the Old Village Cemetery was home to the remains of fifty-two Union soldiers. The remains of the soldiers, most

A TOUR AROUND MISSOURI

of whom were killed at the Battle of Centralia, were laid to rest at the cemetery, but their

Once again, I enjoyed this latest Missouri Life issue. Each issue is like a tour around

remains were moved to Jeffer-

Missouri. I still remember seeing your first issue displayed many years ago in the

son Barracks National Cemetery

school library where I was teaching in northwest Missouri. My first thought was

near St. Louis in 1867.

SEND US A LETTER

that this is a very fine magazine. I would never miss reading an issue. After I retired,

In “Bourbon, Off the Rocks”

I had to subscribe to continue the enjoyment of learning about this state. Thank you

(April 2013), we incorrectly

for your fine work to bring all of Missouri a little closer to my home and my heart.

stated that Vera Vieman was

Email:

a 105-year-old woman who

Fax:

LOVE FOR MISSOUR-UH

received a free Chrysler on her

Facebook:

I grew up on the Kansas side of this metro area, but after remarrying thirty-five

one-hundredth birthday. She

Address:

years ago, I moved to Missour-uh. All of us in and around Wyandotte County said

actually lived to be 108, and

Missour-uh. Also, I have seen several articles on how to pronounce our state

she was merely honored by

name, and they found that those in the eastern half said Missour-ee and those of

Chrysler on her birthday, not

us in the western half said Missour-uh. Even Bill O’Reilly on Fox News commented

given a car.

—Jan L. Coffman, Columbia

[21] June 2013

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[24] MissouriLife

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Mo Mix Belton

tate stevens

X Factor Winner Tate Stevens was content with never seeing his musical dreams come true.

After a stint touring with various bands,

star is now realizing his musical dreams.

“From a very young age, I remember my dad bringing me up on stage and singing a tune,” says Tate, whose

he returned to his Missouri home in Belton

father was also a talented musician. “I started playing the

and dedicated himself to taking care of

drums at four and taught myself to play acoustic guitar in

his family. He was fine with giving up a life of music.

high school. I knew I was meant to perform.”

Now with his self-titled debut album released this

His family, however, was not.

April and its lead single, “Power of a Love Song,” Tate

“My wife and kids pushed me to go

says he is beginning to realize that his musical dreams

try out for X Factor in the first place,” he says. “X Factor was coming to Kansas City, but the last thing I wanted to do is go stand out there with thousands of people. That’s when my wife said she would stand with me. I couldn’t say no.”

are coming true. Joining icon Alan Jackson on tour dates later this year, Tate says his hometown of Belton remains near to his heart.

“I am commuting back and forth to Nashville, but I miss home all of the time,” he says. “I love what I am doing, but my career will never change me. My family and friends will

Armed with gentle humility and a voice compared to Toby Keith’s, The X Factor season-two winner and budding country music

Local Legends

make sure of that.”

Hear songs from Tate’s album at www.MissouriLife.com.

—Tricia Despres

2345 grand, Kansas city

Few things are more satisfying than telling a non-Missourian about the famous people who hail from our midwestern home. Fortunately, journalist John Brown created a resource exactly for that purpose. His website is a comprehensive, ever-evolving list of the many celebrities, athletes, politicians, and pundits to come out of the Show-Me State.

John, who has kept a running list of famous Missourians since childhood, started the project with his book Missouri Legends: Famous People from the Show-Me State.

Although it seems like a daunting task, John’s background gave him a lot of the material. “I lived in about twenty places growing up, all in Missouri and all before age twenty-four,” John says. “Everywhere I moved, I would hear about more famous people from Missouri.”

Many of the featured people on the website are still alive, which means their stories continue to change. Because the site is easy to edit, John is able to include people on the cusp of being famous and update courtesy david nail, ePa, missouri legends

their entries. The website will soon have another feature that the book doesn’t. This summer,

Kansas City

Missouri’s Energy Star

John hopes to launch a “Houses of the Famous”

Kansas City was included in a list of twenty-five cities with the most Energy

section, which will include both where prominent

Star-certified buildings for the first time in 2012. With eighty-two buildings that

people live in Missouri and famous houses around

meet the requirement, Kansas City shares twenty-third place with Portland,

the state.

Oregon, in the Environmental Protection Agency’s annual rankings. The Energy

John, who lives in Orlando, Florida, wants to con-

Star certification means that when compared to an average building, a certified

tinue creating resources for everyone from schools to

building uses thirty-five percent less energy and produces thirty-five percent

history buffs in Missouri. —Winn Duvall

fewer greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to local schools, retail stores, and

www.missourilegends.com

commercial buildings, Kansas City’s Bolling Federal Building and the Charles Evans

Check out John Brown’s blog at www.MissouriLife.com.

Whittaker Federal Court House also carry the distinction. —Winn Duvall

[25] June 2013

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Mo Mix

Cape Girardeau

Centennial Celebration for the State Flag

Jefferson City

The Art of Etiquette

The birthplace of Missouri’s flag design rang in the flag’s one-hundredth anniver-

Missouri Mansion Preservation be-

communication skills, table-setting

Years later, Dr. Bert and Mary Ann Kellerman purchased the Oliver home with

lieves a little kindness can never go

placements, manners, and cell

plans to renovate. The house, now called the Oliver-Leming House, is also known

wrong. That’s the lesson taught at

phone and texting etiquette. Each

as the Flag Home. The celebration included guided tours of the historic Oliver-

Manners at the Missouri Governor’s

child receives a booklet and certifi-

Leming House followed by speeches and presentations from descendants of the

Mansion, a summer program started

cate of completion, and each enjoys

Oliver family and historians. “The Kellermans completed the renovation in time

by former First Lady Jean Carna-

a luncheon with invited adults,

for the centennial,” says Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr, president of the State Historical

han in 1993 that teaches children

typically parents or grandparents.

Society of Missouri, which co-sponsored the centennial celebration. “It is luxuri-

etiquette lessons. To begin the

The event, held July 24, 26, and 27,

ous and altogether magnificent inside.” And though the town couldn’t get the

day, First Lady Georganne Wheeler

is open to children ages eight to

original flag that Mrs. Oliver designed for the celebration, which is now housed at

Nixon greets the children with the

twelve and costs eighty dollars per

the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center in Jefferson City, it did show-

First Dog, Daniel Boone. Then, vol-

child. —Madeline Schroeder

case the first flag that flew over the capitol. —Briana Altergott

unteer instructors teach verbal and

www.missourimansion.org • 573-230-3118

sary with an impressive celebration this spring. In 1913, Marie Watkins Oliver, wife

The Flag Home is luxurious and altogether magnificent inside.

courtesy missouri governor’s mansion; thinkstock.com

of state Sen. R.B. Oliver, designed the flag at the couple’s home in Cape Girardeau.

[26] MissouriLife

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MISSOURI

BLUEGRASS

Way of Life

MISSOURI

Boatride Bluegrass Band, a Branson band that draws its name from a line in the classic Clint Eastwood western The Outlaw Josey Wales, is steeped in bluegrass tradition and pedigree.

Bassist and vocalist Larry Sifford grew up in a home filled with a love for this music. His mother, Helen, and his uncle, Ralph Cook, both sang at the same radio station where the legendary Porter Waggoner got his start. Missouri Boatride began a decade ago playing nightly dinner cruises aboard the American DANNY R. PHILLIPS Star on Table Rock Lake.

The Missouri Boatride Bluegrass Band has been playing together for a decade. The group is comprised of seasoned performers, including a member of The Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

Currently, the band’s lineup is as tight and professional as you can find in the genre. Mandolin player and vocalist Dean Webb was a member of The Dillards (The Darlings on The Andy Griffith Show) and was inducted into The Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2009. Lead vocalist, guitarist, and funny man Justin Sifford performed for five years with The Sons of the Pioneers at Shepherd of The Hills Homestead before joining Missouri Boatride. Bob Gideon is an excellent banjo player, and Dennis Pritchard is a fiddler extraordinaire, well-versed in the mountain style. The players combine their powers to create one of the best traditional bluegrass bands running.

Missouri Boatride has released several wellreceived albums, including its debut in 2003, a traditional gospel offering in 2004, and the superb Ghost of Carney Branch in 2007. In 2011, Boatride recorded Band of Brothers as a tribute to the Civil War’s sesquicentennial.

What makes that album special and, in my mind, quite impressive, is that every song on the album was written before the end of the war in 1865, a time when the spirit of bluegrass was alive and well.

That bluegrass way of life—a strong sense of tradition, family, and a deeply rooted love of the past—still lives strong in rural Missouri.

Festivals showcasing bluegrass include the Starvey Creek Festival in Conway (the town that gave Conway Twitty his first name), Back Forty Bluegrass Festival in Curryville, and the Big Muddy Folk Festival in Boonville. And of course, Missouri Boatride is at the forefront, pushing young ones into its light. The band has performed at countless festivals, including the Silver Dollar City Bluegrass and BBQ Festival and The John Hartford Memorial Festival in Bean Blossom, Indiana.

The future of bluegrass is bright. Many nationally known bands, such as The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, and Springfield’s own Hillbenders, are forging into the uncharted territory of mainstream music.

But for truly traditional bluegrass, look no further than our own home state. The Missouri Boatride Bluegrass Band is here to lead the way.

Watch videos of the band performing live at www.MissouriLife.com. www.missouriboatride.com

COURTESY MISSOURI BOATRIDE BLUEGRASS BAND

The Missouri Boatride Bluegrass Band pays respect to its roots. BY DANNY R. PHILLIPS

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S OM E S H OW S E N C O U R AG E AU D I E N C E PA R T I C I PAT I O N .

A R O U N D H E R E , W E C O U N T O N I T. From the depths of Sea Lion Sound to the colorful confines of Legoland Discovery Center, the Show-Me State is what being a kid is all about.

Enjoy the magic.

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er,

See more of the Saint Louis Zoo at VisitMO.com [31] June 2013

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SHOW-ME

Books

EXPERIENCES FROM AN EXPATRIATE A Columbia author’s childhood spent in Saudi Arabia inspires her work. BY TIFFANY SCHLARMAN

The Ruins of Us

By Keija Parssinen, 352 pages, Harper Perennial, softcover, fiction, $14.99

WHAT WOULD you do if you fell in love with a man whose culture allows him to take a second wife, and he does? How do you put your family back together? Columbia author Keija Parssinen explores these questions in her literary debut, The Ruins of Us. Published last year, the novel is loosely based on her experiences. The thirty-one-yearold author was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years. The Ruins of Us, which received a Michener-Copernicus Award, tells the story of Rosalie, an American, and Abdullah, her Saudi husband. When Rosalie discovers her husband has taken a second wife, she is faced with the decision to stay with the man who betrayed her or move back to the United States, leaving her children behind.

Over a caramel latte in downtown Columbia, Keija discusses her book.

Q: How does the novel illustrate the cultural gap between the United States and Saudi Arabia?

A: I love the quote, “It’s not fiction’s job to answer questions but to ask them.” I feel my book does that. It poses a lot of questions about subjects, such as intercultural marriage, but doesn’t give an answer to them. There exists in people a common denominator if you strip away the cultural differences, and this book gets to the heart of our commonalities. For Rosalie and Abdullah, family is important, and that’s a universal sentiment. As foreign as the Saudi culture is to Americans, they value families, they love their children. When we can get past the more superficial trappings of difference, human beings share many core values.

Q: The abaya (veil) is mentioned throughout the novel. What does it mean to a Saudi woman that an American woman might not understand?

A: Westerners see a Saudi woman in an abaya,

Author Keija Parssinen was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years. Her experiences as a third-generation expatriate inspired the plot of her book, The Ruins of Us.

and they see an oppressed, subjugated woman.

But a Saudi woman will say, “I’m not those things.

I am empowered, but I wear a veil because I value my modesty.” Most Americans don’t understand this. We are secular; our government is constructed around the separation of church and state, which is an alien notion in most Muslim countries, where faith is integral to governance.

Q: What is Columbia’s writing scene like?

A: Columbia is a vibrant, creative community that values the arts. In 2010, I started the Quarry Heights Writers’ Workshop, a community for writers. I am on my sixth workshop, and I’ve made many writer friends through teaching.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Columbia’s community-wide reading program, One Read, just selected The Ruins of Us as its 2013 selection. I’m also working on a final draft of a new book with the working title, The Girls of Port Sabine.

COURTESY KEIJA PARSSINEN

Q: Do you feel you could have written the book had you not lived in Saudi Arabia?

A: No, I don’t. The sensory aspects affected me— my memories of how things looked and smelled, the different foods and their tastes. However, writing also required a lot of imagination because it’s a novel about a Saudi-American family, which wasn’t my experience. It’s not a novel about an American family on a compound, which was how I experienced Saudi Arabia. I didn’t necessarily write what I know, which is what fiction writers are always exhorted to do. I wrote what I wondered about. It really sparked my imagination.

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

Antiques and Vintage Items Handmade Artisan Pieces Old-Fashioned Candy and Soda 16 North Main Street In Historic Downtown Liberty, MO 816-781-6839 Find us on Facebook

A DESTINATION BOUTIQUE LOCATED ON THE HISTORIC LIBERTY SQUARE

• Fashion Forward Clothing For Women Of All Ages • Unique Accessories

EXPLORE

Historic downtown

Liberty

9th Annual Taste of Liberty

• Fun, Personalized Customer Service M�����-S������� 10 ��-5 ��

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

Main Street on the Square June 8, 5-8 pm Sample the cuisine of Liberty, plus enjoy a free concert KC Prime performs at 7 pm

Celebrate liberty in Liberty!

Gladstone Theatre in the Park Bringing you two FREE live performances in 2013!

Historic Downtown Square July 3, beginning at 5 pm Beer garden, food booths, dessert competition, and car cruise plus free concert Neon Blue performs at 7:30 pm July 4, 10 am - after dark Parade, car cruise, BBQ competition results, then gates open at 8 pm Greene Stadium, William Jewell College: 9 pm Summer Band Fireworks at 9:45 pm!

2nd Annual Dog Days of Summer Craft Beer Crawl

Guys and Dolls July 5 - 7 at 8:30 p.m.

Music Man August 5 - 7 at 8:30 p.m.

All performances are at the Oak Grove Park Amphitheater located at N.E. 76 Street and N. Troost.

Concessions are available with ample lawn seating. All performances are FREE to the public.

Scan our QR Code for a complete listing of all attractions and events in Gladstone!

Saturday, August 17, 3-7 pm Sample unique beer flavors as you shop local stores, plus enjoy a free concert!

Samantha Fish performs at 7 pm

816-781-3575 www.historicdowntownliberty.org

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SHOW-ME

Books

AUGMENTED REALITY

WILLIAM LEAST HEAT-MOON, perhaps Missouri’s most famous living author, has released a new book called Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories From the Road. A collection of twenty-eight pieces written for various magazines from 1983 to 2009, the book takes a powerful look into his travels, his life, and his mind.

In the essays, Heat-Moon augments reality, but he doesn’t need a sophisticated software program or a three-dimensional laboratory to do it. If you accept the definition of augmented reality as a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical and real-world environment whose elements are augmented by sensory input, then Heat-Moon delivers in a wonderful way through his poetic prose. His sensory input is not computergenerated, though, and the reader is richer for it.

Heat-Moon manages, with elegant words, to let you tag along with him and his older brother at Thanksgiving dinner with his rebellious uncle, Whispers-to-Hawks, who battled with his Aunt Tott: “He liked to sow little upsets like dragon teeth.”

In “With a Good Stick in Hand,” he lets you feel the century-old walking stick that belonged to his great-grandfather: “When a walking stick stands in the corner by the door, always ready like a faithful canine to be taken out on a saunter, the lure to touch primal and

sacred things of the earth can be strong.”

You almost taste the difference between the microbrews and the bigbrand beers of 1987 in “A Glass of Handmade.” You covet the taste of “The Smoked Ciscoes of Gitche-Gumee” as you join him on his quest.

Heat-Moon remains a mysterious figure in many of the essays, and he explores the balance between memoir and reporting on other lives and places in an essay called “Writing Prairyerth,” which should be required reading for any writer or wannabe; in fact, the entire book could be a text for any student of writing. But he does give rare glimpses of the man behind the byline in his opening note to some essays.

In his note preceding “A Fallen Yew, an Oaken Pillar, a Forgotten Birch,” he shares that traveling with a friend or partner interferes with his reporting to the extent that it can take two days of travel with a companion to equal a single day of reporting solo. He wistfully writes, “Call this near necessity the loneliness of the long-distance writer.”

The same theme emerges in his note introducing “The Nose of Chaac,” where he writes about an interpreter who reminded him of an earlier Japanese interpreter who accompanied him on a different story.

“I again found friendship that entered the story. Both Berto and Tadashi … interpreted far more than just words: Their presence shaped each

COURTESY LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY

William Least Heat-Moon shares stories of his travels. BY DANITA ALLEN WOOD

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courtesy little, brown and company

narrative in ways past ready explanation.”

Best known for his 1983 book Blue Highways, a narrative detailing his road trip across the United States on the small, forgotten roads that connect rural America, Heat-Moon’s Missouri roots are deep.

He grew up in Kansas City with English, Irish, and Osage heritage. At the age of thirty-six, he began studying photojournalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia. He has been known as Least Heat-Moon since he was fourteen years old, but fellow students at school knew him as Buck Trogdon, as he had not yet adopted his Native-American heritage byline. He has called Columbia home before and after Blue Highways became a best-seller.

In the course of twenty years, he traveled every mile of federal and state highways in Missouri to learn what his home state looked like.

He’s been in every single county in the lower forty-eight states in the last forty years, although he began consciously pursuing that as a goal only five years ago.

“Now, the challenge is to return to certain places for a longer look and a deeper inquiry,” Heat-Moon says, speaking of Missouri’s caves, courthouses, cafes, and more.

He credits Missouri with a critical role in his writing career. His first two published pieces were a letter to the editor in The Kansas City Star when he was sixteen years old, and his second piece appeared in Missouri Life in 1977. “Stamps of Missouri” was one of the few published articles that used the byline Buck Trogdon. The editor then, Bill Nunn, paid him fifty dollars for both the story and the photographs.

He also credits KMOX in St. Louis and a bookstore in Webster Groves that worked together to publicize Blue Highways and drive sales, which got the attention of his New York publisher, who then became a believer in the book and began pushing national publicity.

Missouri readers especially should be delighted by this new offering, which includes a paean to the Missouri River, “Of Time and a River,” which is an amalgam and reworking of stories from different magazines, including National Geographic Traveler and Countryside Living.

Reading the essays will be pure pleasure for people who love words; even so, you’ll want to read with a dictionary at hand, unless you share his same astounding vocabulary, where “prolegomenon” and “prolepsis,” “cordillera” and “chalcedony” appear as though commonplace. Curious readers will appreciate his respect for them, even as they reach for a dictionary.

Heat-Moon explains he’s been reading widely for two-thirds of a century and that he loves dictionaries. He says the Merriam-Webster Second International Dictionary, a massive tome now out of print that he bought for fifteen dollars in 1965, was without question his best book buy. And his library today has about sixteen thousand volumes, which doesn’t include hundreds he’s donated to libraries over the years.

Heat-Moon is known for his travel reporting, of course, and he

Here, There, Elsewhere Stories from the Road

William Least Heat-Moon, 416 pages, Little, Brown and Company, hardcover, nonfiction, $29.99 teaches as he tells what he found. Readers learn what an eighteenthcentury ha-ha was, what the earliest handwriting of a woman ever found anywhere said, and what a cisco is. And everyone who enjoys travel should read “The Here Within There,” which was written as an introduction to the book and was the most challenging to write, he says.

But his deep thinking about what he has seen truly makes reading his stories a joy, just as travel is a joy of personal discovery for him. Like the computer-generated augmented reality in a three-dimensional laboratory, Here, There, Elsewhere, using words alone, enhances our perception of reality and overlays insight on the real world.

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MISSOURI

HOBBY

TURNED

JOB

AFTER MANY TRIPS TO the southwest, Jim and Cheryl Jones became inspired by the large garden sculptures displayed in art galleries there.

The couple had already been rock hounding, silversmithing, and jewelry-making at the time.

But the southwestern art sparked visions of making larger metal sculptures.

“I thought, ‘Oh here we go, another hobby,’ ” Cheryl says.

The couple has adopted many hobbies—constructing kites, scuba diving, boating, and raising parrots, to name a few. But they never figured one would become their profession.

After one of their southwest visits, the couple returned home to Springfield, and Jim pulled out the welding equipment Cheryl had inherited from a cousin.

Then he got to work researching the technique.

“He’s very much a self-taught person, and if he doesn’t know how to do something, he’ll look on the Internet and go to the library and read and read and read,” Cheryl says.

Their interest in sculpture came at a particularly ideal time for Jim. Unlike Cheryl, who painted and sold artwork in college, Jim never

showed a glimmer of artistic talent. He studied biology and chemistry in college and worked night shifts as a supervisor for many years.

Feeling unsatisfied and frustrated with his work, Jim decided to take his skills from silversmithing to the next level. He gave up his supervisor position to pursue welding full-time.

Through trial and error, Jim learned to weld. “He can’t even draw a stick figure, but for some reason, he can do fantastic things with a piece of metal,” Cheryl says.

Jim started by welding old tools and metal scraps. He created small bird sculptures meant to be set on a patio. The birds attracted instant attention in their neighborhood and among friends.

“They were so cute and everyone loved them, so we started selling them,” Cheryl says.

Jim and Cheryl sold every single “patio pecker” at their first Greater Springfield Farmers’ Market, and from that point forward, they knew they’d found their niche. Cheryl retired from teaching special education, and the couple made art their profession.

In 1995, they started Silver Wings, a full-time metal sculpting and

COURTESY JIM AND CHERYL JONES

A Springfield couple takes their metalwork hobby to the next level. BY MADELINE SCHROEDER

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Silver Wings metal sculptures range from geometric kinetic sculptures that move with the wind (pictured left and right) to sculptures inspired by nature (pictured center).

COURTESY JIM AND CHERYL JONES

These copper wall hangings showcase the couple’s abstract art. Jim and Cheryl are beginning to move into creating more abstract art and have been experimenting with texture and color.

silversmithing business out of Springfield. Together, they form the perfect combination for collaborating and producing artwork.

After a few attempts at welding, Cheryl fully accepted it is not her skill. Instead, she uses her art training to help design pieces while Jim, the science-minded builder, is the mechanic.

“I’ll draw a sketch, and he always says he can make it. He’ll be gone for a while, cutting and hammering, and then there it is,” Cheryl says.

Since starting Silver Wings, the couple has experimented with many techniques and styles. The majority of the art today is seven-or-eightfoot-tall kinetic metal sculptures with flag glass and marbles. The kinetic mobility allows the sculptures to move in the wind.

The sculptures are fashioned from recycled copper and other metals, including titanium, brass, and steel. Often, the art incorporates texture achieved by hammering or cutting.

Jim and Cheryl get most of their inspiration from industrial designs and nature. “We like stuff that blends into your scenery more naturally,” Cheryl says. They sculpt metal fish, flowers, and praying mantises, and they are known for their signature lily pad and dragonfly combination.

But they have also become interested in more abstract art with subtler hints of nature. Almost all of their pieces include glass of varying greens and blues to reflect colors in plants, water, and the sky.

Jim has experimented with applying chemicals and torching copper to give the metal a different effect.

The technique adds shades of blue, orange, and purple, and occasionally, they add a pop of red.

“Artwork has to evolve; it cannot become stagnant,” Cheryl says.

One of the couple’s favorite venues is the annual Best of Missouri Market at the St. Louis Botanical Garden. Their art has also been featured at Bluestem Missouri Crafts Gallery in Columbia as well as other fine art and craft shows throughout Missouri.

The couple travels the country showcasing art at festivals and fairs in Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and more. These festivals around the country give Cheryl and Jim a chance to share their passion for art.

“We want people to buy the art, but if they just enjoy it, that’s really the whole purpose,” Cheryl says. www.swsculpture.com

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Sunf lo Days wer : July 27-28

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The perfect gift for groomsmen, Father’s Day or graduation! Letter opener ($25) and money clip ($30) each have deer antler handles, stainless steel blade and hand-etched scrimshaw. Shown with golf or a wolf; other designs available.

We give workshops! Call for information: 573-242-3200

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Make your mark on

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Creativity and America an interactive festival of the arts MAY 16 – JULY 7, 2013

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e ve n t l i s t i n g s a t w w w. s p i v a a r t s . o r g

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Made in missOuri Wright City

One Hot Pepper From Fighting fires to creating them in his customers’ mouths, Rob Kifer of Deadly Dick’s Peppers has followed a theme in his work. While working as a volunteer firefighter in Wright City, Rob and a friend stumbled across what the New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute called the world’s hottest pepper, the bhut jolokia. Rob decided to grow them and see for himself. Today he produces between two hundred and three hundred peppers a year and sells other products that feature them, such as pretzels, almonds, and dips. The bhut jolokia has been surpassed as the number-one hottest pepper, but Rob likes it specifically for the type of heat it has. “It’s kind of like wine,” he says.

“Each pepper produces a different kind of heat. With these, it’s in the side and back of your mouth, so you can taste the food first.” That also means you won’t get the full impact right away, but Rob says that after a few minutes, it’s easy to see why it was once called the world’s hottest pepper. —Winn Duvall www.deadlydickspeppers.com

Ozark

mountain Coffee a Focus on family and quality defines the Ozark Mountain Coffee Company. Larry and Kathy Gifford purchased the company in 2006 when founders and close family friends John and Patty Merritt fell in ill health.

The Giffords had experience in the restaurant business but were ready

courtesy companies

Kansas City

to get out of management, so they cashed in

A Laundry staple

their various investments and purchased the

Faultless starch

opportunity to learn how to read. This

Today Larry and Kathy, their sons, and one

has been a family endeavor since the late

original idea allowed the company to

other employee continue the pattern of

1800s, when Maj. Thomas G. Beaham’s

combine philanthropy with strategy. The

excellence that began with John and Patty

formula for dry white starch revolution-

Beaham family still runs the company even

Merritt. What really sets the company’s

ized the way housewives did laundry.

after 125 years. Today the family operates

product apart is its small-batch roasting

Since then, the Faultless brand has always

out of Kansas City’s Central Industrial

technique. When it roasts its beans, which

been at the forefront of innovation. The

District. Once again on the front lines of

are collected from thirteen countries around

company worked on strategic and unique

creative development, the Faultless/Bon

the world, it keeps the quantity between six

marketing plans a century before they

Ami company rebuilt its headquarters

and twenty pounds. The small scale allows

were industry buzzwords. From the 1890s

in 2009 on a foundation of eco-friendly,

it to keep a close eye on quality. However, its

to the 1930s, the company published its

“green” design. Carolyn Beaham West, the

custom flavoring is the true standout; it even has

own books to be delivered with boxes

director of sustainability, works to make

a trademark blend called B-52, a Kahlua- and Irish-cream flavored coffee. It

of starch. These books were designed to

sure the company will be around for the

also sells a variety of teas that can be custom flavored, as well as chocolate-

supplement school textbooks and primers,

next 125 years. —Winn Duvall

covered coffee beans. —Winn Duvall

and they gave Faultless customers the

www.faultless.com

go.ebizwebpages.com/ozarkmountaincoffeeco/home • 800-877-4174

company. As of this January, the Giffords paid off the business, and it is officially their own.

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PROMOTION

Historic past • exciting present • Glasgow, MO www.glasgowmo.com

C

RADLED IN THE HOWARD COUNTY HILLS overlooking the Missouri River is the town of Glasgow, Missouri.

Once a bustling steamboat port and home to the first all-steel span bridge, Glasgow’s historic past is preserved in its antebellum and Victorian homes and buildings. Imagine seeing steamboats loaded with hemp and tobacco, and retrace the footsteps of Union and Confederate soldiers.

Tour the Lewis Library, the oldest continuously operating library west of the Mississippi, and then head down a treelined brick street to the Community Museum.

Stroll down Main and Market streets to enjoy a stack of pancakes, comfort food, pastries, pie, or fine dining.

Have a milk shake at the local drug store’s old fashioned soda fountain, and then shop for unique art, antiques, food, wine, and gifts. You can set up camp and launch your boat at Stump Island, take a hike at Kuemmel Park, or rest and watch the world go by at Veterans or Pocket parks. End the day watching the sunset over the river with a glass of wine, or if kicking up your heels is more your style, visit the local saloon. Finally get ready for some pampering, relaxation, and rest at one of the several bed and breakfasts or the inn.

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FOOD AND Beverage BECKETT’S 510 First Street, 660-338-9978 BUSHWHACKER BEND WINERY 515 First Street, 660-338-2100 FISH BEAK SALOON 418 First Street, 660-338-2884 HENDERSON’S DRUG 523 First Street, 660-338-2125 PERRY’S DRIVE-IN 1009 Randolph, 660-338-5100 RIVER BEND CAFE 615 First Street, 660-338-2450

Shopping GLASGOW TRADING POST 619 First Street, 660-338-5900 MARKET STREET FLORAL 111 Market Street, 660-338-2300 RIVER CITY ANTIQUES 609 First Street, 660-338-2450 RIVERPORT MARKET ART & ANTIQUES 106 Market Street, 660-338-9989 RIVERPORT MARKET TASTE OF MISSOURI, RANDOLPH MERCANTILE 518 First Street, 660-338-2020 THE CORNER STORE 101 Market Street, 660-338-5869

THE COOLER 520 Water Street, 660-338-2200 THE ROLLING PIN 104 Market, 660-338-0800

Lodging Events

CHARITON LODGE BED & BREAKFAST North of Glasgow on Hwy 5 660-338-2408

History

JULY 20-21 Smokin’ on the River KCBS sanctioned BBQ Contest at Stump Island Park

HILLTOP BED & BREAKFAST 907 Union Street, 660-338-5824

COMMUNITY MUSEUM 402 Commerce Street 816-338-2435

JULY 23-25 Missouri River 340 Canoe and Kayak Race

RIVERVILLA BED & BREAKFAST 735 Randolph Street, 660-338-2771

LEWIS LIBRARY 315 Market Street 660-338-2395

AUGUST 10 Glasgow Jamboree and Heritage Festival

FISH TALE INN 107 Market Street, 660-338-9989

[41] April June 2013 [69] 2012

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Exceptional AnimAls at Purina Farms PhotograPhy By adam Williams

If there were ever a need for an exclusive location for exceptional animals in the same vein as the need for summer sports camps for kids or elite college prep schools, Purina Farms in Gray Summit has satisfied it.

There are the expected farm animals—horses, cows, chickens, geese, and sheep—in their stables and yards, but the farm’s stars are the dogs.

Every day, dogs that have been adopted and trained strut their stuff as part of the Pro Plan Performance Team’s agility, flying disc, and diving activities. Visitors delight in these shows as they watch the dedicated trainers and talented dogs work seamlessly together.

Over at the Purina Event Center, another type of show takes place. Owners and handlers from around the country bring dogs of nearly every breed to participate in purebred and competition dog shows.

The farm is also a place where the general public can engage with all the animals that call Purina Farms home. Visitors often crowd the farm’s venues by the school-bus load.

They flow through the barn, peeking into stables and saying hello to the farm’s residents.

And when the crowds of school children and families who visit on any given day start to thin, the farm animals continue their quiet, exceptional lives.

An Australian Shepherd races through the agility course during a Pro Plan Performance Team show.

Dogs of varied breeds—retrievers, cattle dogs, and shepherds—get to show off daily for visitors.

The dogs are adopted by the performance team’s trainers, who develop the dogs’ natural skills for agility, flying disc, or diving.

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A Dalmatian stands at attention before beginning a competition.

He will be tested on his ability to follow the commands given by his owner as she travels a circular route on a horse-drawn carriage.

Piglets rest on a heating pad in a corral opposite the horse stables inside the barn. The piglets are easily within reach of a curious child and other passersby.

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Dalmatians wait their turns to be evaluated by a judge during a conformation show in the Purina Event Center. The center hosts many dog shows.

Sheep, like the cows and horses in the barn, can freely rest, eat, and pass between their indoor and outdoor spaces to get fresh air and meet visitors.

A Belgian Draft horse stands quietly in the doorway to his stable. The dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rush of visitors having passed through, the horse calmly poses for the one admirer who remains.

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A father and son enjoy the barnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peace and quiet in the late afternoon after the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visitors begin to leave.

John Casey, the head dog trainer, entertains the crowd with one of his flying disc dogs. The routine mixes long-distance throws of the disc that the dog races to leap and catch with discs tossed in rapid succession that the dog quickly retrieves.

During a cow-milking demonstration in the barn, children get the opportunity to see the process up close. If they muster the courage, they are welcome to try their hands at milking the cow.

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Escape to the

Elms

Fi nd m agic at the n e w ly r e novate d e lms hote l a n d s pa .

By lauren licklider

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On nOvember 2, 1948, rOOm 300 at the elms hOtel and spa made histOry.

courtesy the elms hotel and spa

President Harry S. Truman, fearing he had lost his reelection to Thomas Dewey, quietly slipped away from the media camped out on the lawn at his Independence home. With Secret Service staff in tow, Truman drove thirty miles away to The Elms and checked in. He made his way to the spa, where he indulged in a massage and a mineral bath.

When he was done, he went to Room 300 and ate a ham and cheese sandwich while listening to election coverage on the radio. At around nine, Truman told his Secret Service agents to wake him if anything important happened. Then he went to bed.

Something important happened at four in the morningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Truman was ahead by nearly two million votes, an unforeseen and surprising outcome. The Secret Service woke him up, and a few hours later, Truman traveled to his headquarters in Kansas City. Dewey conceded the race later that day. And that afternoon, Truman headed straight back to The Elms for another mineral bath and a quiet nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rest in Room 300.

Of course, Room 300 is just one room in the historic hotel. And, of course, The Elms is no stranger to serving as an escape and a cure for dejected, tired souls.

What I really wondered: Does The Elms still have that magic? I was going to find out.

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The Healing Waters

You can’t talk about The Elms without first bringing up the history of the town in which it lives—Excelsior Springs.

The area was chock-full of springs, but their strange odors and colors kept most people away. That is, until a man with a mission found them in the late 1800s. Legends vary— some say his daughter suffered from a mysterious skin disease, and some say she had tuberculosis. Finding no relief or cure elsewhere, the pair turned to the mineral waters at Excelsior Springs to heal the girl. Lo and behold, it worked.

By 1880, Excelsior Springs was a boomtown. With twenty known springs at the time, bathhouses and medical clinics lined bustling streets. Countless inns, boarding houses, and hotels popped up to take in the incoming wave of hopeful visitors who flocked to the town to be healed by its magic waters.

The first, and perhaps most majestic, of those hotels was The Elms. Built in 1888, the hotel offered guests a true destination experience. They could soak in mineral water baths or enjoy beautiful gardens. Soon, the hotel was one of the most talked-about destinations in the country.

But the powerful waters at The Elms were no match for a destructive fire that completely burned the building on May 9, 1898. By 1908, a second Elms hotel was being built, all while Excelsior Spring’s mineral waters were being bottled and sold worldwide. On July 31, 1909, the second Elms opened and welcomed train travelers from around the country. That is, until October 1910, when another fire burned the hotel to the ground.

The healing waters fought back yet again, and on September 7, 1912, The Elms opened its third (and current) hotel constructed of steel, concrete, and limestone.

“There were advertisements touting the new fireproof hotel,” says Keith Winge, director of special projects. (Much later, sprinklers were added throughout the hotel.) “We are

known as a romantic hotel, so people will ask if they can light candles,” Keith says. “We joke that we’ve already had two fires, so no candles are allowed in guest rooms.”

The twenties were just as roaring of a time for The Elms as elsewhere, and the hotel enjoyed its fame as a national health resort. Then the Great Depression hit, and The Elms filed for bankruptcy in 1931. New owners came to the rescue, and The Elms was once again revitalized, attracting politicians, athletes, and even gangsters. Al Capone is reported to have hosted illegal gambling and bathtub gin parties. Legends say police once raided The Elms during Prohibition, and they stumbled upon a cocktail party that included a Missouri governor, Keith says. The governor (which one it is, Keith doesn’t know) told the cops to go out and bust someone who was really breaking the law.

“It’s just one of those tales that’s been passed down through the years,” Keith says.

The hotel’s charm faded by the 1960s, and in 1970, The Elms closed its doors for the next eight years. In 1981, The Elms reopened, touting a new spa renovation, a European-style lap pool, and a waterfall tub. The eighties were good to The Elms, and people were lured by its magnetism.

As if two fires, one bankruptcy, and eight years of closure weren’t enough, in 1991, the hotel filed for bankruptcy a second time. But The Elms stayed opened and continued serving guests, and in 1995, the city of Excelsior Springs purchased the hotel.

“I heard stories of the hotel in some of the periods it was closed and heard how that made the community feel,” Keith says. “They didn’t have pride. They saw an empty building and knew the potential.”

In 1996, the Elms underwent a $16-million renovation (that’s when the sprinklers were added) and reopened in 1998. This renovation tackled serious infrastructure problems and gave the hotel a facelift. But for some reason, the hotel still struggled. It wasn’t the destination it had once been, despite the renovation. Many people clung to old

Luxurious amenities are a staple at The Elms. In each room, guests enjoy fine microfiber linens, a signature memory foam mattress, top-of-the-line bath and body products, and an iPod docking station.

COURTESY THE ELMS HOTEL AND SPA

A sitting room in the original 1888 Elms building exemplifies the hotel’s grandeur. Visitors from around the country came and stayed at The Elms for its healing mineral waters and springs.

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notions of a failing hotel.

“In the last renovation, it probably lost its way there,” Keith says. “It was supposed to be a luxury property, but they ran out of money in the end and couldn’t finish it the way they wanted. And we had to live with that for thirteen years.”

A company called Widewaters, which owns hotels in St. Louis, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New York, saw potential in The Elms. It bought the hotel in 2011 in the hopes it could do the grand hotel justice, says Eric Busick, general manager.

In November 2011, The Elms closed for renovation— again. Because the 1996 to 1998 renovation focused heavily on infrastructure, the 2011 renovation, which cost twenty million dollars, focused on creating an extravagant retreat.

It was to become a completely new, revitalized property worthy of The Elms’ luxurious roots.

“We have moved the hotel from a dated property to a four-diamond, four-star property with impeccable customer service,” Keith says.

Boy have they.

Strikingly Regal

On a frigid Friday in February, I made my way to The Elms.

I was tired and worn thin. My husband, Jim, had recently changed careers, and we’d just come to the end of a rather

stressful, tense journey. I was burnt out from weeks of not knowing the future of his career, of not knowing what my life would be like six months from then.

On top of that, I had just seen many of my friends moving on and forward with their lives. My childhood friend moved across the country to California, and two of my good friends were planning their move across the country and Atlantic Ocean to Ireland.

I felt stuck, and it was difficult to feel inspired by much of anything. And though I didn’t have a mysterious skin disease or tuberculosis, I hoped the waters at The Elms could heal my soul and offer a brief respite, just as it had for President Truman.

The hotel reopened in April 2012, and from the outside, it looks strikingly regal—something I hadn’t expected. When we went inside the lobby, I was taken aback.

It was lovely. And upscale. And quaint. And modern. All of these charming characteristics I would have never expected from a hotel in a small Missouri town. Big leather sofas graced either side of a great fireplace. A small, rustic ballroom led off of the sitting area. (If I hadn’t already been married, I would have signed us up for a wedding in that ballroom immediately.) After checking in, we went up the stairs to floor three and into a room right next to Room 300, the Truman Suite.

courTEsy ThE ELms hoTEL and spa

The Elms Grand Ballroom is one of two ballrooms at the hotel open for special events. While visiting, writer Lauren Licklider saw a pop-up wedding (a wedding planned in less than a month) take place.

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The Elms is big. Really big. There are 153 guest rooms (forty-six of which are suites), two ballrooms, a restaurant, a lounge, four conference rooms, a fitness room, an indoor European lap pool, a twenty-five-thousand-square-foot spa, an outdoor pool and hot tub, and sixteen acres of grounds complete with an herb garden.

We set our sights on exploring. We found the larger ballroom, ventured off to take a look at the indoor lap pool (even though it wasn’t set to open until the next day), and stole a peek at the hotel’s spa. One look and I couldn’t wait to enjoy it.

Eventually, our exploration escapades ended at the hot tub, big enough to fit twenty people. It was about ten degrees outside that night, but the 104-degree hot tub quickly melted my stress away. That night, I slept soundly and peacefully in a room next to the one where President Truman slept.

I woke up refreshed the next morning and began thinking there really was something to that Elms magic, even though I hadn’t been there but twelve hours.

With our spa appointments set for early afternoon, Jim and I spent the morning discovering the quaint stops of downtown Excelsior Springs—a shop with the world’s largest collection of Missouri wines, a chocolate and sweets cafe, and the Hall of Waters, an art-deco tribute to the waters of Excelsior Springs.

After lunch, we lounged at the indoor lap pool, chatting, relaxing, diving into pages of good books, and dipping our toes into the pool’s water.

The Grotto

When the time came for our spa appointments, we were met by our guide, who spoke in a quiet, calming voice. He led us to the locker rooms, where we changed into swimsuits and donned the most comfortable robes I have ever had the pleasure of wearing. The second I put on the robe, I knew this was an exceptional spa.

Kevin Snedden is the man behind the spa. As its director, he single-handedly created and imagined the spa experience The Elms offers.

A massage therapist for more than twenty-three years, he was inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame last year. Kevin worked for the spa for a few years during The Elms’ last renovation in 1998.

When The Elms embarked on another renovation in 2011, Kevin wanted in.

“I’ve had so many dreams and desires and visions of what this property could truly be,” Kevin says. “To be involved with the team that is resurrecting The Elms and returning it to its grandeur—I couldn’t pass it up.”

courtesy the elms hotel and spa

the hotel, which sits on sixteen acres, offers plenty of outdoor recreation options, including a saltwater pool, a hot tub that fits twenty people, a volleyball court, bocce ball, badminton, and shuffleboard.

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courTesy The elms hoTel and spa

The Grotto is the spa’s newest addition, with a dry sauna, a steam sauna featuring aromatherapy, a mineral hot tub, a steam shower featuring custom salt scrubs, and a cold-plunge shower.

He began researching new spa treatments and attended the International Spa Conference in Las Vegas to learn what other resorts were offering. Then he landed on a big concept—it would be The Elms’ take on a modern-day Roman bathhouse, and he would call it The Grotto.

“Having been an entity since 1888, hydrotherapy and health and wellness has always been a part of The Elms,” Kevin says. “For me, it was a no-brainer to do what we could do to introduce folks to what the waters could do.”

The Grotto is a gem. It was one of the last hotel amenities to be completed, opening in December 2012. It offers a steam shower, dry sauna, steam sauna, cold-plunge shower, and a hot tub. All features have purpose, and when combined, they make for a powerful hydrotherapy session.

“The whole environment that we’ve created with The Grotto is one where we want folks to rest and relax and get in the right frame of mind before they have the spa service that they are paying for,” Keith says.

Kevin suggests first rinsing off in the steam shower, which has three rainfall shower heads. Then a ten- to fifteen-minute soak in the 104-degree hot tub will increase circulation and loosen muscles.

The body then needs to cool down, either slowly in a chaise lounge or quickly (forty-five seconds) in a fifty-fivedegree cold-plunge shower. Hydrotherapy is about more than applying and ingesting water, Kevin says.

It’s also the contrast between temperatures that treats the

body. Blood comes to the surface through heat, pores open up, and we sweat, detoxifying our bodies. With cold temperatures, everything constricts, and blood is forced more deeply to our internal organs, further assisting in the detoxifying process.

After cooling off, Kevin recommends the 118-degree steam sauna for ten to fifteen minutes, a quick trip to the cold-plunge shower, a stop in the 190-degree dry sauna, and then another stop at the cold plunge shower.

Ideally, Kevin says, you should end at the steam shower and use The Grotto’s self-exfoliation bar (offering organic lavender or rose petal salt scrubs) to scrub away dry skin cells and enhance new cell growth.

The Grotto perfectly epitomizes the philosophy behind the spa at The Elms—health and wellness take priority.

“A majority of folks are looking into alternative health care methods or means of preventive maintenance,” Kevin says. “People are tired of taking prescriptions all the time.

We want to encourage people to take better care of themselves. We want people to start understanding that there are actually some very simple things they can do to take care of themselves. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, and it doesn’t have to come out of a pill bottle.”

Jim and I spent nearly ninety minutes at The Grotto before our spa treatments. I started at the steam shower and moved to the hot tub.

Despite my hatred of heat, I tried the steam sauna and then the dry sauna, which I could handle for only about

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The hotel offers two bars: one at its restaurant, 88 at The Elms, and another in a lounge area called The Tavern. Specialty cocktails and a carefully crafted wine list round out the dining experience.

ABOVE: Chef Steven Cameron, a James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic semifinalist, was born and raised in Kansas. BELOW: Chef Steven pushes his diners to explore new tastes while still offering comfort foods.

thirty seconds. I attempted the cold-plunge shower, but the shocking temperature difference was more than I could take, and I found solace back at the hot tub.

Jim ran through the treatments one right after the other and found them to be incredibly invigorating and refreshing.

After The Grotto, we readied ourselves for our spa treatments by relaxing in the spa’s quiet room, a dimly lit cozy den full of chaise lounges, Sherpa blankets, and pillows.

Before I knew it, our spa therapists called our names.

Jim left for his therapeutic massage, and I left for my Moroccan detox ritual. It seemed exotic, and I wanted to try something completely different.

For ninety minutes, my body was scrubbed down with a mint tea silt purifier, lemon coffee blossom olive stone scrub, jasmine rose rhassoul clay polish, orange mist, and cardamom amber oil. Finally, my skin was topped off with tangerine fig butter cream.

I felt like a new woman by the time my treatment was over—a new woman ready for good food and good drinks, and Chef Steven Cameron delivered.

Adventure through Food

88 at The Elms isn’t your typical hotel restaurant and bar.

Steven is a James Beard Chef semifinalist. He’s worked at restaurants in New Jersey and a resort in the Virgin Islands.

But as Steven says, “I had been on the East Coast long enough. I’m a farm boy at heart.”

So he came back to the Midwest and heard about the remodel at The Elms. And like Kevin, he wanted in.

He’s since taken over as executive chef. He designed the kitchen and dining area, created the menu for the restaurant, cafe, and catering department, and he even crafted his own coffee blend from Kansas City’s Roasterie coffee.

“It’s a chef’s dream to be able to do all of this and get in on the ground floor and make those choices,” Steven says.

Steven’s philosophy is simple: serve pure ingredients,

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locally sourced when possible, and create adventure through food for his guests.

“It’s important to have food they recognize but then produce it with a higher quality that they aren’t used to and present it in a way that they did not expect but are thrilled with after the fact,” he says.

Foodies at heart, Jim and I were ecstatic when we saw grilled antelope with celeriac remoulade, oyster mushroom hash, huckleberry, and cured foie gras on the menu. (If that isn’t adventure through food, what is?) Jim ordered it, and it was every bit as good as it sounds.

Everything Steven does and the dishes he creates must reflect this philosophy of treating the guest. After all, 88 at The Elms is just another amenity to a hotel that offers so much. But that isn’t stopping Steven from turning it into a destination restaurant.

“That’s why the food is what it is,” he says. “It needs to be a restaurant that people drive up to from Kansas City just to have dinner. And then the great thing is that they can stay the night and have spa services the next morning.”

In the next few years, Steven will source more of his ingredients from gardens on the hotel’s property.

This summer, he’ll grow baby greens and herbs such as lavender, which Kevin can use in The Grotto’s lavender salt scrub.

Future plans at the spa include bringing a natural spring back to life. Although The Elms has a spring on its property, Kevin says they weren’t able to reclaim the well during renovation. He hopes to change that.

“We want to resurrect the natural healing waters.”

Spirit of Survival

Keith believes now is the time to resurrect the idea of The Elms as being a luxurious destination, just as it once was.

“This is the time that most represents what the hotel stood for in 1912 when it opened,” he says. “It is a retreat to get away. It is a time for people to reconnect with themselves or with their significant other or with nature or history.”

The next step is getting the word out so more people know about the hotel, starting with reintroducing it to the Kansas City area, Keith says. “We want to be a destination for the Midwest.”

It’s a secret worth sharing.

What I found at The Elms was magic. Magic in the people, magic in the waters, and magic in its spirit of survival. The Elms has endured two fires, two bankruptcies, a ridiculous amount of renovation, and a whole lot of uncertainty.

And it’s still standing, better than ever.

I left centered, ready to move on and forward in my life, just like I imagine President Truman feeling after his escape to The Elms.

Missouri’s Mineral Waters

By Loring Bullard, author of Healing Waters: Missouri’s Historic Mineral Springs and Spas and The Springs of Greene County

A MINERAL WATER “craze” once swept over Missouri, just as it did over America and much of the world. Common folk and even many doctors and scientists held that natural mineral waters possessed special healing powers. By the early 1800s, Missouri’s Daniel Boone and Thomas Hart Benton were using the water at Missouri’s earliest mineral spring resort, Loutre Lick, fifty miles west of St. Louis.

Before the Civil War, mineral spring resorts sprung up at several places in Missouri, including Monegaw Springs, Sweet Springs, Elk Lick Springs, and Chouteau Springs. In the 1830s, William Sublette, famous mountain man and Oregon Trail pioneer, founded a popular resort at Sulphur Springs near St. Louis. But the real boom of Missouri’s mineral water resorts occurred after the Civil War. Twenty-eight new resorts opened their doors between 1881 and 1890, and before the boom had faded, at least eighty sites around the state had hosted some type of resort facility.

At several locations, such as Belcher’s Bath House and Chouteau, Blue Lick, Spalding, Randolph, Sweet, and McAllister springs, patrons bathed in pools of healing water. Missouri’s mineral waters were also bottled and sold widely. Excelsior Springs’s bottled waters took blue ribbons at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Spouting, artesian mineral water wells became curious attractions in Clinton, Nevada, Bethany, and Louisiana. Promoters of Lebanon’s artesian well claimed its water was “magnetic.”

At some of Missouri’s health resorts, such as Pertle Springs in Warrensburg and Montesano south of St. Louis, the mineral waters eventually shrank into the background as resorts evolved into huge amusement parks. Faith in the healing nature of mineral waters began to fade by the first decades of the twentieth century. After the 1930s, only one mineral water resort in Missouri remained on its feet—Excelsior Springs, which by then had developed the ornate “Hall of Waters” and an extensive bathhouse district featuring “sanitaria,” an attempt to modernize mineral water treatments by adding medical supervision.

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On the Road:

The Life of a Cowboy in Missouri

By Andrew Bridges

The Missouri Rodeo Cowboys Association has preserved this rich tradition for twenty-seven years, with more than six hundred cowboys and cowgirls competing in nine events in 2012. From Kansas City to St. Louis and all the way to the borders of Iowa and Arkansas, MRCA has more than fifty rodeos a year.

It’s perfect family fun, this western way of life, and I couldn’t leave it if I tried.

ROdeO On My Mind Looking through the rearview mirror of my Silverado, I see my truck getting closer and closer to the trailer. With my wife, Christy, guiding me, I hook the trailer to the hitch on my truck. I hook up the lights and check the trailer tires to make sure they’ve got enough air.

My mind wanders to the fall of 2009 in Marshfield at a National Federation of Professional Bull Riding show. I remember what it feels like to stick my hand in the bull rope, asking for a pull to tighten and secure my hand in the rope and the rope around the bull. There is no fear, no hesitation—just the nod of my head and the eight seconds that follow.

I scoot forward on the animal from hell. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and tell myself, “Let’s make this a good dance.” My eyes flash open, and with the nod of my head, the latches open.

The bull shoots out into the middle of the arena with me on his back. We spin around to my left, then to my right. When the bull’s front feet lift off the ground, I assume he will turn left again, but instead he switches it up and goes right. I fly off

ron mcginnis

Rodeo is a window into the past—a past surging with ranchers, stockyards, and cowboys traveling the open West. While this western way of life might be nearly nonexistent today, the traditions of cowboys and cowgirls still live on through the art of rodeo, especially in Missouri.

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FAR LEFT: A fine-tuned and familiar relationship with a horse is vital for cowboys and cowgirls.

LEFT: A calf roper ties a calf as quickly as possible.

tAylor BlAir

RIGHT: An injury to Andrew Bridgesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shoulder gave him the chance to learn a new rodeo event. Andrew transitioned from bull riding to steer wrestling last summer.

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the bull, but my hand is still caught up in the bull rope. Before I can scramble to my feet, the bull flings back to the left, bringing his head to face mine. I am staring into the eyes of the beast.

Finally, my hand slips out of the rope. As I try to pick myself up off the ground, a huge amount of weight presses down on my shoulder, and I hear a pop.

I jump up, half-dazed and confused, and run to the ambulance waiting outside of the arena, where the paramedics insist I go to the hospital.

I refuse to have my shoulder taken care of that night, hoping to avoid costly medical bills.

A few months of pain passed before I made peace with the idea of going to the doctor. The bad news? I needed surgery. Afterwards, the doctor told me how bad it really was—four metal screws were needed to repair a torn labrum, AC joint, and rotator cuff.

I took a year off from bull riding after that. My buddies told me I “punked out,” but Christy and my family told people I just got smarter.

Rodeo, though—it still calls to me. I knew I couldn’t stay away for that long.

Rodeo is how I met Christy. We were both members of the Missouri State University rodeo team my freshman year. Christy, the president of the team, didn’t compete at the collegiate level because she was competing in other associations in breakaway roping.

Giving up bull riding didn’t have to mean giving up rodeo. I could still support Christy, could still immerse myself in the atmosphere of a rodeo and feel the adrenaline as I watched other cowboys compete. Better yet, I could pick up a new skill—I was going to put aside the bull rope and chaps, grab a saddle and reins, and learn some timed events.

I snap back to reality when Christy leads her horse Johnny up to the trailer. Once loaded, we hop into the pickup truck and head to a rodeo.

ABOVE: Although Christy Bridges is legally blind, she competes as a breakaway roper.

RIGHT: Christy competes in the breakaway competition at the rodeo finals in Sedalia.

ron mcginniS

Long Drive in the Dark From Marshall, we drive four hours to the Forsyth Fairgrounds for the Taney County Fair.

We find somewhere to park and unload Johnny. The first thing we do is pay Christy’s entry fee and look at the draw sheet, which tells us what calf Christy will get in her event and if she is in the “perf” or the “slack.” If a cowboy is in the perf, he competes while the crowd is watching. In the slack, cowboys compete after the performance, in some cases competing close to midnight.

Unlucky for us, Christy draws in the slack,

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ron mcginnis

We pray as a way to acknowledge one another as fellow cowboys, not as competitors. which means we have to wait. Lucky for us, though, we are at a rodeo. We talk with other competitors about the draw and how everyone did the weekend before.

When the grand entry begins, I watch the cowboys and cowgirls ride out into the arena, waving at the fans. Over the loudspeakers, the national anthem plays, and a prayer is said. This is what I love about rodeo. Being a cowboy is about respect—for yourself, for the animals, and for other cowboys. We pray as a way to acknowledge one another as fellow cowboys, not as competitors.

Of course, it is still a competition, and Christy must prepare for her turn. Calf-roping finishes up, and it’s finally time for breakaway. As they announce her name, I head back to the roping box.

I do this because Christy likes to have

someone there with her in case she can’t see the calf. As if competing in a rodeo isn’t hard enough, Christy is legally blind. She was born with hereditary dominant optic atrophy, which means her optic nerve deteriorates as she ages.

For now, she can still see, but she doesn’t see things the same way others do.

As Christy rides into the box on Johnny, the judge checks to make sure the calf in the chute is the right one. Some nights, I’m in the roping box just to look good, but sometimes I am needed.

Tonight, Christy doesn’t need me to straighten Johnny up or tell her when the calf is ready, so I anticipate Christy’s nod. When I see the nod, she and Johnny shoot out like a bullet out of a gun.

Christy swings her rope and releases it, catching her calf in 2.9 seconds.

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ABOVE: Cowboys line up behind the chute at the rodeo finals in Sedalia.

Crafting a lifestyle Although some consider rodeo to be a hobby, it’s much more than that. Rodeo is more than a weekend event. In order to justify spending money on fuel, horses, and entry fees for the rodeos we attend, we must hone our craft to perfection. And some days, even perfection doesn’t cut it.

Some days, your horse cooperates, or you draw a bull you know like the back of your hand. Other days, you draw a slow-running calf, or a bull that makes unpredictable moves.

A cowboy never knows. But what cowboys do know is that practicing lets you fly by the seat of your pants and adjust to unexpected events, so you don’t, you know, literally fly by the seat of your pants in the arena.

Every week during the summer, Christy and I try to go to a friend’s practice pen. There, Christy practices breakaway roping by running through calves as if she were actually competing in a

rodeo. She tracks the calves up and down the practice arena, making sure Johnny remembers how to hustle.

It’s here that I take up steer wrestling. Despite my bad luck with bull riding, I had to keep competing in rodeo. It helped that I knew the defending MRCA steer-wrestling champion.

Matt Freese, one of Christy’s friends, has been steer wrestling in MRCA since 2008. When he’s not competing in rodeo, he works as a salesman and laborer for Mellor Trailers.

In the practice pen, Matt teaches me techniques behind steer wrestling. I run through the groundwork and learn where to place my hands, when to drop my hips, when to plant my feet, and when to actually throw the steer. As the sun is setting, we decide to call it quits after the long day.

“I love horses and like the cowboy experience,” Matt says. “We are a dying breed; not everyone can do it.”

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some nights, others haul out guitars and start singing, some imbibing a little liquid courage to croak out the tunes.

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again later. I sit back, watch the remainder of the rodeo, and try to eye the steer wrestlers and pick up more clues and hints on their techniques.

Slack finally comes, but when Christy throws her rope at the calf, she misses.

Cowboy Christmas A special thing happens midsummer for the cowboy community. Christmas comes early.

Cowboy Christmas is the biggest rodeo event of the year. Rodeo after rodeo pops up around the state, all offering big wins and big cash for cowgirls and cowboys. This particular summer, there are nine MRCA rodeos in eight days, from towns tucked away in Missouri to towns across state lines. Most cowboys embark on this journey every year. It’s a calling, this Cowboy Christmas.

Christy and I travel to five of the nine rodeos—Perry, Shelbina, and Holden in Missouri and Bloomfield and Leon in Iowa. We travel in a caravan of four trucks and four trailers, thirteen cowboys and cowgirls ready for Christmas.

Except it is July, and it is hot. When we aren’t resting in trailers escaping hundred-plus degree heat, we are feeding and watering our horses, unloading and loading them at each new rodeo. And each night after the rodeo, we pull up some chairs and eat dinner together.

Some nights, others haul out guitars and start singing, some imbibing a little liquid courage to croak out the tunes.

Christy and I spend time with her aunt and uncle. In the twenty-seven years that MRCA has existed, Danny Smith has been to each and every final. He’s a farrier (someone who shoes horses) and a horse trainer, but he’s also roped for thirtyfive years. For Danny, the two go hand-in-hand.

You can’t be a cowboy without first knowing a thing or two about horses.

“You have to have horse knowledge,” Danny says. “You need somebody to teach you the ins and outs.”

A man of few words, Danny speaks tersely but powerfully about cowboy life. “It’s a great honor.”

The Great Finale After Cowboy Christmas comes the end of rodeo season: the MRCA Finals at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.

This is the competition everyone wants to be a part of, with a three-day rodeo and a four-thousand-dollar cash prize for each event. But only the best of the best can come. Out of a total of five hundred, only the top fifteen competitors from each event can compete in the finals.

Christy is one of them.

The Grand Entry for any rodeo is impressive, but the Grand Entrance at the MRCA Finals is especially touching. Every contestant rides out into the arena for the national anthem and a prayer. But this grand entrance is also a time for remembrance, as the cowboy community honors

FROM LEFT: Matt Freese has been a steer wrestler since 2008.

Danny Smith, a roper for thirtyfive years, also works as a farrier, someone who shoes horses.

ron McginniS

Helping Hands Being a cowboy means belonging to a community. There are times when traveling to a rodeo alone is nearly impossible, so you travel together.

A rodeo in Sullivan catches my eye, but Christy and I know we can’t justify the expenses if we go alone. So we round up some cowboys and cowgirls to haul down to Sullivan, including Matt and his friend Payden Boulden, who is a team roper.

Traveling with other competitors is what most cowboys and cowgirls do. A few years ago, there were five bull riders and five gear bags traveling together in a four-door car. It’s not a lifestyle for the rich and famous.

Competing in rodeos can be repetitive, but it’s a drill I’ve nailed down. We pull into the rodeo, find a place to park, unload, pay our entry fees, and look at the draw sheet. This time, Christy is in the performance part of the rodeo.

Tonight, Christy must use her backup horse, Goose, a blue roan mare. With just a few tune-ups during practice, Goose is ready to go.

This time, though, there’s a break in the repetition. The barrier rope snaps back and catches Christy’s foot. Goose keeps heading toward the calf as Christy is pulled back off the saddle. The audience gasps, but Christy is able to untangle her foot and pull herself back onto her saddle.

She’s given another turn in the slack portion.

Although she has a bruised and burned foot, she takes some ibuprofen and “cowboys up” to ride

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a cowboy here in missouri is not that different from a cowboy from Texas, nevada, iowa, or other states.

In the bareback riding event, cowboys slip one hand into a rigging and are not allowed to touch themselves or their horse with their free hand during the event.

at the rodeo Hit up these big rodeo events this summer!

Range Riders Rodeo, Pilot Grove July 19 to 20, Rodeo events begin at 8 PM Facebook: Pilot Grove Range Riders Rodeo

MRCA State Finals Rodeo, Sedalia August 8 to 10, Rodeo events begin at 7 PM Missouri State Fair Arena www.mostatefair.com

Tough Enough to Wear Pink Rodeo, Troy August 23 to 24, Rodeo events begin at 7:30 PM Lincoln County Fairgrounds

For more information on MRCA rodeos scheduled for this summer, visit www.missourirodeo.com.

RON MCGINNIS

Mark Twain Lake Fourth of July Rodeo, Perry July 4 to 7, Rodeo events begin at 8 PM Warren G. See South Spillway Recreation Area www.marktwainlakerodeo.org

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rON McgiNNis

FROM TOP: A cowboy competes in the saddle broncing event, where cowboys use a hack rein attached to a halter on the horse’s head. Mason Ormesher of Marshall has competed in the College National Finals.

a twenty-two-year-old bull rider who died in a bull-riding accident just a week earlier.

This is how cowboys show respect and love for those they lose. Although some may think cowboys are wild and mean, when a member of our family is lost, there is not much that can compare to the embracement of each family member of this cowboy community.

Mason Ormesher is one of those cowboys trying to disprove the stereotype of the wild and mean cowboys he so often hears about.

“Some say cowboys are rough and cruel, but we are actually just the opposite,” he says. “There is a major misconception that comes along with being a cowboy.”

Mason learned bull riding eight years ago after his uncle taught him the ropes. He’s a student at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, and he’s been to the College National Finals.

“I love being a cowboy,” Mason says. “There is no other life.”

This notion—that being a cowboy is a way of life—rings true for many involved in rodeo.

Josh “Pork Chop” Garrick is a third-generation cowboy with a twist—he’s a rodeo clown.

“Rodeo is in my blood, and clownin’ is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Pork Chop says. As a rodeo clown, Pork Chop keeps the crowd entertained when there are pauses or breaks in the rodeo.

Pork Chop, who has been going to rodeos since he was eight weeks old, is a little person.

“I look at it as a real blessing,” he says. “I have something on my side that no one else has.”

Performing at rodeos is part of being a cowboy for Pork Chop, but really, truly being a cowboy means much more to him. “Cowboys stand for the old Americana, doing what you know is right, and sealing deals with a handshake.”

As the moment of silence draws to a close, we harness our emotions and prepare for the competition. Like clockwork, I do the usual—walking around and talking to other competitors until Christy is up. I know I am not competing, but I am still nervous.

Once they announce Christy’s name, I walk back to the box and wait for her to give the signal. With her nod, she goes out and catches her calf in enough time, 3.5 seconds, to finish third the first night. The second night she isn’t as lucky.

She ropes her calf in 2.2 seconds, but because she breaks the barrier, a ten-second penalty is added to her time.

But the third night, Christy has to beat a 2.2 second lead made by her cousin, Kim. Christy shoots out of the box and throws her rope around the head of the calf, but the calf suddenly slows down. Christy ends up finishing with 2.8 seconds and finishing third for the finals.

A Rodeo Family An entire summer of rodeo leaves me spent. Although I am not ready to compete in steer wrestling, I am learning to perfect my performance as both a horseman and a cowboy.

To me, being a cowboy is a privilege. It is a way of life filled with honor, respect, and family. All cowboys and cowgirls are a part of that rodeo family. I’m in love with rodeo even though it has cost me two shoulder surgeries; thousands of dollars in entry fees, fuel, and equipment; and a lot of miles traveled. But what I prize the most is that with all those miles traveled across the country, there was no change in the people around me.

A cowboy here in Missouri is not that different from a cowboy from Texas, Nevada, Iowa, or other states.

We all live the same life, loving and respecting others and loving the animals that surround us.

Saddle up! Learn the ins and outs of cowboy events and view a photo gallery at www.MissouriLife.com.

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FAR WEST: It was a Promised Land

until all hell broke loose.

By Ron SoodalteR

Before the LDS Church made improvements to the property, this was the northeast view of the Far West temple site, circa 1965.

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courtesy AlexAnder l. BAugh

A NEW GARDEN OF EDEN WAS BLOSSOMING IN NORTHWEST MISSOuRI. Joseph Smith led his religious group, the Mormons, to Far West, an area where they hoped to live in peace and tranquility. But his vision ran smack into the resentment of prior settlers, and ultimately, Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs issued an executive order to drive out or exterminate Missouri’s Mormons.

It was the only such “extermination order” ever officially issued in the united States.

Far West, once home to thousands, was deserted almost overnight. In the words of Jeremiah J. Morgan, the president of the Liberty Missouri Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Most towns boom and bust over oil or gold or silver; in the case of Far West, it was religion.”

The early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons from their sacred text, the Book of Mormon, were largely spent in a quest for a place where they could practice their religion in safety. In the early 1830s, founder and prophet Joseph Smith Jr.’s followers had traveled from Palmyra, New York, where he had established the church, to Kirtland, Ohio. There, dissension occurred in the ranks of the church, and while some elected to stay in Ohio, most, including Smith, migrated to Missouri. Smith was seeking what he called the City of Zion, where he could build the temple that would represent the headquarters of the Mormon religion. They attempted to settle in Jackson County in northwestern Missouri in 1831 but were driven out by the locals two years later.

In December 1836, in an effort to quell potential hostilities, the Missouri Legislature passed a law creating nearby Caldwell County specifically for Mormon settlement. Smith’s followers immediately began to build a city, which they named, appropriately, Far West.

It was not a haphazard undertaking. Foreshadowing the stunning organizational skills they would later bring to the deserts of utah, the Mormons platted the city, laying out streets and a central city square, and established it as the seat of Caldwell County. They originally platted Far West to cover one square mile; it would soon grow to four times that size. Within two years, says Jeremiah, the city “blossomed from grassland.” Open fields soon transformed into the church’s thriving hub, and the cornerstones for the temple were laid

in the central square. At its peak, Far West proper contained some five thousand people, with thousands more living on surrounding homesteads and farms. By 1838, the bustling city boasted two hotels, a blacksmith shop, a printing office, several stores and mills, and about 150 houses. Far West, it seemed, was ideally positioned to become the central location and gathering place for the Mormon Church.

Once again, however, conflict arose. Settlers in neighboring counties, many of whom had lived there long before the advent of the Mormons, objected to the fact that, as the Mormon population continued to grow, they spread beyond Caldwell County and built towns such as De Witt and Adam-ondi-Ahman in Carroll and Daviess counties, respectively. Earlier, Smith had preached that Missouri was the Promised Land and “the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies.” Given the harsh treatment Smith and his followers received everywhere they had attempted to settle, perhaps it is not surprising that many viewed all non-Mormons as their enemies.

To their non-Mormon neighbors, the swiftly burgeoning Mormon population seemed to make the usurpation of private lands a very real possibility. The fact that the Mormons raised, armed, and trained its own militia did little to assuage the locals’ fears. The Mormons pointed to a simpler explanation for the trouble: religious intolerance.

The Mormons didn’t consider themselves either Catholic or Protestant, and they rejected the doctrines of both. Likewise, many Protestants and Catholics didn’t consider the Mormons to be true Christians.

“The Bill of Rights was still a new document at this time,” explains Jeremiah, “and an American culture founded on a rigidly Protestant core had serious problems with other religions.”

On Independence Day in 1838, Mormon church leader Sidney Rigdon delivered a speech that reflected his people’s deep frustration with the persecution they had suffered earlier in Jackson as well as the growing enmity on the part of their non-Mormon neighbors.

In the speech, which came to be called the July 4th Oration, he stated: “We warn all men in the name of Jesus Christ, to come on us no more forever. For from this hour, we will bear it no more, our

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issued Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the “Mormon Extermination Order,” and called out a 2,500-man militia to enforce it. The order, signed two days after the Crooked River fight, stated that the Mormons “must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace.”

Three days after the order was issued and quite possibly before they knew about it, a force of 250 local vigilantes crossed into Caldwell County and opened fire on a group of thirty or forty Mormon men, women, and children at the town of Haun’s Mill. No quarter was given to those who attempted to surrender; men were slain, and in some cases, their bodies were mutilated. In one instance, a ten-year-old boy was dragged from his hiding place and murdered on the premise that “nits will make lice.” In all, seventeen Mormons perished. Not one of the attackers was ever brought to trial.

When word of the outrage—and of Boggs’s order—reached Mormon communities, most of the residents fled to Far West for protection. The commander of the state militia, Maj. Gen. Samuel D. Lucas, marched his men to Far West and besieged the city. He demanded the surrender of the Mormon leaders and of all weapons. Those Mormons who had borne arms against the state were ordered to sell or surrender their property to compensate the state for mustering the militia and to leave Missouri. When Smith and four of his leaders rode to Lucas’s camp under a truce flag to discuss terms, they were arrested. Realizing the situation was hopeless, Smith sent word to Far West ordering the city to surrender. The Mormon War was over.

Lucas immediately convened a court martial and tried and condemned Smith, along with his four compatriots. He ordered his subordinate, Gen. Alexander W. Doniphan, to shoot them in the Far West square at nine o’clock the next morning. Doniphan, in direct defiance of his superior, gave a reply that has forever endeared him to the Mormon Church: “It is cold-blooded murder. I will not obey your order. My brigade shall march for Liberty to-morrow morning, at eight o’clock, and if you execute those men, I will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal, so help me God!” The next day, Doniphan transported Smith, Rigdon, and four others to Richmond to face a

Above: An aerial shot of the original public square at Far West shows the locations of the temple site and the Community of Christ meetinghouse.

below: A monument to the city of Far West stands at the temple site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

CourteSy InteLLeCtuAL reServe And LorI gArCIA

rights shall no more be trampled on with impunity. The man or the set of men, who attempts it, does it at the expense of their lives.

And that mob that comes on us to disturb us; it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them till the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us.”

This manifesto went far to anger an alreadyresistant non-Mormon community. To make matters worse, disaffected Mormons, known as “dissenters,” left the fold and carried with them tales of outrageous Mormon conduct. They spoke of death threats against all within the church who questioned the word of Smith. The stories grew more lurid in the telling and served to further inflame the locals. Inevitably, as harsh feelings grew on both sides, violence erupted.

The first disturbance occurred on Election Day, August 6, 1838, at the polling place in Gallatin, Daviess County, where locals attempted to prevent Mormons from voting. Although no one was seriously injured, the incident marked the beginning of what has come to be known as the Mormon War. Soon, militia forces on both sides—many no better than mobs of armed vigilantes— began burning and pillaging one another’s towns in the neighboring counties. Blood was first spilled in an armed conflict on October 25 at Crooked River, south of the Caldwell County line. When the smoke cleared, the Mormon militia had driven the locals from the field at a cost of three Mormons and one Missourian dead. As often occurs, the death toll was grossly exaggerated as the story of the skirmish was told and retold. By the time it reached Missouri Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs, it was said that half the Missourians had perished under the Mormons’ sabers and guns.

The Mormons had a long-standing and powerful enemy in Boggs. He had served as a state senator and lieutenant governor during the period in which the Mormons first settled in Missouri, and he had been instrumental in driving them from Jackson County. Elected governor in 1836, the same year in which the Missouri legislature created Caldwell County, he brought his considerable political clout to bear in opposing the settlement of Far West and its environs. As he saw it, the Mormons were in armed rebellion against the state and wreaking havoc on the homes and persons of his fellow Missourians. In response, Boggs

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CourTESy ALExAnDEr L. BAuGh/LorEnE E. PoLLArD AnD LDS hiSTory LiBrAry

Below: This is the northeast view of the Far West Temple site, taken by photographer George Edward Anderson in 1907.

Below: Jacob D. Whitmer sold the original Far West Temple site property back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1909.

court of inquiry on charges ranging from robbery, larceny, and perjury to arson, treason, and murder. The court ordered them bound over for trial, whereupon they were driven to Liberty and confined in the stone jail. After a fourmonth confinement, however, they escaped, purportedly with the help of their guards.

The old Liberty jail no longer stands, but the site is currently owned by the Mormon Church and features a state-of-the-art visitor’s center and museum. The main attraction is a cutaway reconstruction of the jail built on the original floor that features mannequins representing Smith and his fellow leaders.

By the time Smith escaped custody, Far West and the surrounding countryside were practically devoid of Mormons, as most of the former settlers made their way to Illinois searching once again for the perfect place for the City of Zion.

The so-called Mormon War might have ended in 1838, but there was a final act to the drama. On the night of May 6, 1842, Boggs, who had recently been elected again to the state senate, sat reading a newspaper by the window of his home when four blasts from outside sent buckshot into his skull, throat, and neck. Boggs hovered near death for some time—in fact, a premature obituary appeared in a local paper—and his doctors all but gave up hope. However, the redoubtable Boggs made a stunning recovery and, shortly thereafter, moved across the country to California, where he served in the state assembly. He lived nearly eighteen years after being shot.

Suspicion for the assassination attempt fell on Mormon pioneer and notorious gunman Orrin Porter Rockwell. Eight years earlier, Smith had created a secret fraternal order known as the Armies of Israel. They acted as vigilantes or, as some claimed, enforcers, and came to be referred to as the Danites. Much has been written about the Danites, but little is actually known of their inner workings.

Allegedly, Smith and his successor, Brigham Young, used them to avenge offenses against the church from without and to punish transgressors within. Of all the Danites, also called Avenging Angels, Porter Rockwell was the most feared, and for good reason. He was an accomplished slayer of men, and according to the Salt Lake Tribune, he had “participated in at least a hundred murders.” Friend and bodyguard to both Smith and Young,

Rockwell inspired such terror among Mormons and non-Mormons alike that mothers would threaten their children with a visit from him if they didn’t behave. No proof, however, could be found to link Rockwell to the shooting of Boggs, and the crime goes unresolved to this day.

Meanwhile, Smith and most of his followers had settled the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, which eventually grew to a population of twenty thousand. Once again, however, violence erupted, this time from dissidents within the church as well as from non-Mormons. Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were arrested in Carthage, Illinois, and charged with treason. On June 27, 1844, a mob with blackened faces stormed the jail and shot the brothers to death.

No one was ever convicted of the crime.

Following Smith’s murder, the Nauvoo city charter was revoked, and with it the Mormons’ right to raise a militia. By 1846, with mob violence on the rise and no means to protect themselves, the Mormons left Illinois and pointed their wagons west toward desert land that no one else wanted. That land would become the state of Utah.

Today, the site of Far West, the city that was conceived and constructed to serve as the heart of the Mormon Church, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It consists of a chapel—operated by a splinter faith known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the RLDS, or simply Community of Christ—and a recreated country store that sells gifts, souvenirs, and books.

Half a mile away in what was once the city square are the cornerstones of the temple that was never built. A monument also stands at the temple site, detailing the history of the area. The old shops and homes are long gone, cannibalized and carried off to the next settlement or simply destroyed by 175 years of summers, winters, and prairie winds.

Although the citizens of Far West have long since departed, the city’s spirit remains. Perhaps the last word on Far West should come from Jeremiah Morgan: “We hate to call it a ghost town, because it still holds a place in the Mormon consciousness. ‘Ghost town’ indicates that everything’s dead; we don’t feel that way about Far West.”

For more information and to visit the Far West Historic Site, visit www.lds.org/locations/ far-west#d or call 816-781-3188.

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Home

No Place like

A Memphis native shares the secrets of her town.

When I tell a stranger I’m from Memphis, I get the same reaction.

“Tennessee? You don’t have much of an accent.”

Then I explain: This is Memphis, Missouri. Jaws drop as I tell them about the nearest stoplight—fifty-some miles away. Want to go to McDonald’s?

Walmart? Drive an hour. Then they ask, “Why would anyone live there?”

It’s a justifiable question. Unlike the city in Tennessee, my Memphis has no Beale Street and no Graceland, though impersonator Elvis Wade does perform for the town each deer season—a gift for sharing our hunting land with him.

There is an answer to this question, though I know sometimes strangers ask it rhetorically. There has to be because people are sticking around.

Something must be going right.

For starters, Memphis has a population of 1,822. The town has a rich history, one filled with manufacturing booms and a world-famous giantess named Ella. There is a thriving hospital, a sound school system, a pool, a bowling alley, and an upgraded fitness center. But these things alone aren’t special. Many small towns have quirky pasts, and big cities offer these amenities and more.

So why do people want to live in Memphis? I needed concrete answers— some evidence to present to the curious ones I so often encounter.

FlyIng Pheasants I met with Fred Clapp at the Wiggins Family Museum. Fred came to Memphis to work for Farm Credit Services in agricultural lending and stayed at the

company for thirty-seven years. He remained in town after he retired, despite the fact that his family owned land in a nearby county.

Fred is a soft-spoken community leader who holds offices in a variety of clubs and organizations. He thinks that the friendly community has a lot going on for its size and serves as a great place to raise a family. He knows because it’s where he and his wife, Julie, brought up their sons. For Fred, the town’s isolation is a gift.

“I think that’s a benefit in that we have community services that a lot of small towns that are close to larger towns don’t have. We’re certainly not a bedroom community,” he says. “For the right people, it’s a really great fit.”

On this particular day, Fred is giving a tour to a group of teenagers at the Wiggins Family Museum. Unlike the Boyer House and Downing House museums uptown—stately 1800s homes that hold Civil War artifacts and possessions that belonged to Ella Ewing, a woman who reached more than eight feet tall and later toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circuses in the late 1800s—the Wiggins Family Museum is a machine shed off the highway. Inside, though, there’s important history.

Memphis was once home to the Pheasant Aircraft Company. Founded in 1927, the business produced the Pheasant H-10, a tandem-seat biplane with fabric covering.

At one point, the planes were in such demand that a crew of twentyfive workers produced an average of one plane a week. Six months after

courtesy bob hunolt

By hannah KIddoo

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hannah kiddoo; courtesy memphis democrat

the 2012 antique Fair was held on the memphis town square, home to small businesses and the scotland county courthouse.

the factory opened, the owner, Lee R. Briggs, and a student pilot fell one thousand feet to their deaths in a flying accident.

The tragedy stopped production, but a few weeks and a new manager later, things were back in full swing. A year later, T.W. Meiklejohn of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, bought the company. Some of the Memphis workers moved to the second location but headed home when the new company succumbed to financial problems as a result of the 1929 stock market crash. All in all, the company produced a total of thirty-six Pheasant H-10s.

Today there are only three known Pheasant Airplanes left in the world, and against all odds, Memphis has one of them. Two years ago, community leaders, including Fred, caught wind of a Pheasant Airplane for sale in Long Island, New York, and set out to bring it back home. The plane had other potential buyers, so things had to move fast.

In just four months, the town raised more than seventy-five-thousand dollars and welcomed home the 1920s airplane with fanfare, closing down streets as it was unloaded in the town center. Now tucked amid restored vintage tractors, the plane sits on display in the museum.

“It was amazing how much support we had,” Fred says. “It just struck a chord with people in the community.”

It’s one thing to see the plane in the shop, but it’s another to see it in the air.

Fred, who is an active pilot himself, says there’s talk of taking it for a flight, but at this point, no confirmed plans.

FROM TOP: Fred clapp helped organize the Wiggins Family museum, home to one of three pheasant airplanes in the world. possessions belonging to ella ewing, an eight-foot-tall woman who traveled with circuses, are displayed at the downing house museum.

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HiP to be Square

It’s easy to tell you’ve made it to Memphis because you’ll see people start waving at you while you’re driving, as though they’ve never met a stranger. After a recent trip back to Memphis, former resident Beau Beacraft said it best: No Place like Home “I’m so desensitized of Memphisian culture, I forget to wave at oncoming At ninety-seven, Florine Forrester is one of the few who can say she has vehicles when I’m home. I’m not a bad guy. I swear.” actually seen a Pheasant H-10 in action. Florine recalls her father, Clyde If you roll into town on Highway 136, you’ll notice Jackie’s Auto Sales, Garrett, bringing her out to see the planes take off from an airfield near where a 1947 Nash juts out from the second story of the brick building. her home.

The car was placed there just to let people know what they sold, says Kirby “We’d get so excited,” Florine says. “They were loud. Everybody Goosey, son of owner Jackie. The lights used to turn on, and music used to heard one and came running out.” play out of its speakers. The building is the original Pheasant Airplane factory, Florine is a lifelong resident, and her family has always lived in the but it now serves as an antique shop. area. For a time, Clyde worked at a button factory in town, where workTurn east at Jackie’s, and you’ll find yourself on the square. Even toers punched holes in clam shells that were shipped by train from area day, the square really is the center of town. Cars slow down across the rivers. Today you can still dig up remnants of punched shells at the foot square as drivers motion back and forth, politely disagreeing over who of the hill where the factory once stood. should leave the four-way stops first.

Florine continued to live in the area when On the north side of the square, a ticket to the she married her late husband, Francis. She tells movie theater is an easy three dollars, although still a me she’s traveled to all fifty states, but she never hike from when Florine paid to watch ten-cent “talkfound a place she’d rather live than Memphis. ies.” Other weekends, the Little Memphis Blues Soci“It’s home.” ety helps bring special performers, such as Samantha She says it so simply and matter-of-factly that I Fish and Mike Zito, into town. instantly know she means it.

In addition to the 1908 courthouse that stands tall “It’s a place as friendly as people could be,” she in the center, a variety of specialty shops occupies the says. “If you move in here, you will be accepted.” edges. Some of them, such as the Gerth & Baskett I want to introduce Florine to every person Furniture and Gerth Funeral Services, have been who’s asked me why people live in Memphis.

They’d learn within minutes.

A button company employed Memphis workers, who punched there for generations. Gerth’s was founded in 1904, and owners Fritz and Janet say the family’s continued In her nearly ten decades in Memphis, Flo- holes in clam shells. You can still find the buttons today. success is largely because of local support. rine says the biggest change is what people do “A lot of times, people will come here before they on Saturday nights. go out of town to look for something,” Fritz says. As I chat with Fritz at the In her youth, Florine would count down the days to the weekend furniture store, customers slip in, comparing fabric samples and arranging when she would meet up with her girlfriends for shopping and a movie delivery service. As he goes to work with them, his wife, Janet, talks with me. on the town square. Parking spots were packed—everyone else had the Janet laughs as she recalls her 1973 move to Memphis from a larger town. same idea. Later in life, Florine owned her own shop on the square, a “I thought, ‘Where’s the mall?’ ” Her attitude changed once she realized how paint and wallpaper store.

HAnnAH kiddoo

ABOVE: Florine Forrester grew up in Memphis. Her father used to work for a button company, and she later ran a paint and wallpaper store on the Memphis town square.

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Jackie’s Auto Sales grabs attention with its 1947 Nash jutting out from the building.

EXPLORE

Memphis!

CourTeSy bob huNolT; hANNAh kiDDoo

ABOVE: Memphis hosts several festivals, including the Antique Fair Celebration with a tractor parade. The city also hosts celebrations such as the Peanut Day Parade and a Valentine’s Dance.

greatly people in town care about each other. Like Florine, she fondly recalls what Saturday night was like for her family.

“When people came in to buy, they delivered immediately,” says Janet of the furniture business. “One night, Fritz was out delivering until midnight.”

Most businesses on the square now lock up around eight, and the Saturday night crowd has turned more into high-schoolers cruising the strip, although special events, such as the seasonal weekly farmers’ market and annual Antique Fair, draw large crowds.

The Gerths are the first to admit their fortune at having a well-established generational store. It can be tough to launch a business in any community, let alone a small town with fairly low demand. Still, a shift seems to be taking place. New or former residents are moving in, looking for a safe environment to raise kids or simply getting back to family roots. They’re taking up jobs at businesses they visited when they were young, and some are even taking over, starting up their own businesses or buying into old ones.

Take Keith’s Cafe, for instance. Known as much for the hundreds of coffee mugs that hang from the ceiling as for the breaded tenderloins as big as your head, the restaurant was operated by Everett and Zelda Keith for sixty years before it was put up for sale in 2008. Many were worried about its impending closure. That’s when Memphis resident Andy Boyer stepped in, purchasing the restaurant and continuing the tradition.

“It’s just a local piece of Memphis,” Andy says. “Most people appreciate that we’ve kept it going.”

He’s just one example of the passionate people who are keeping Memphis intact while some other small towns seem to fade away.

Reflecting on my weekend visit over a bacon cheeseburger and piece of pecan pie at Keith’s, I wonder if I’ve come up with a better answer to give people. Why do people want to live here? Diners chatter around me, not only with those at their own tables but also with friends and neighbors who sit across the aisle. Outside, drivers stop their cars to talk in the road, only moving when traffic approaches from behind.

Then it hits me: Why not?

The Downing House Museum Complex

Admire the hundreds of coffee cups

is open by appointment April through

that hang from the ceiling of Keith’s

September. Discover Civil War artifacts,

Cafe while you munch on a tenderloin

Pheasant Airplane memorabilia, and the

or special steak sandwich.

belongings of Ella Ewing, a giantess who

470 S. Market Street | 660-465-8581

traveled with Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey.

Knock down some pins at Scotland

311 S. Main Street | 660-465-2275

County Lanes. The bowling alley also offers an arcade and concessions.

The Pheasant H-10 is on display at the

717 Newman Avenue | 660-465-2550

Wiggins Family Museum, which also houses a collection of antique tractors.

The Catfish Place in nearby Arbela of-

Open Saturdays from 1 to 4 pm or by ap-

fers a campground and restaurant with

pointment. Admission is free; donations

a large buffet of fish. Visit on the Fourth

are accepted.

of July for a free fireworks display.

400 Grand Avenue | 660-341-2307

www.thecatfishplace.com U.S. 136 | 660-945-3917

The Memphis Theatre shows a movie on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Rutledge

7 pm from early fall to early summer.

is one of three sustainable communities

Admission is three dollars.

near Memphis. Fire-oven pizza is avail-

106 E. Main Street | 660-465-2277

able on Thursdays, and meals are served every weekend from May through Octo-

Soap, Socks and Such is operated by a

ber at the Milkweed Mercantile.

local artisan who sells homespun wool

www.dancingrabbit.org

socks, soap, and bath products. Ask for

1 Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

a demonstration of the antique knitting

660-883-5511

machine. www.soapsocksandsuch.com

The Rutledge Flea Market takes place

205 E. Monroe Street | 660-945-3093

the second Friday and Saturday of each month, March through October. Dealers

Cook’s Mens Store offers clothing, shoes

sell everything from furniture to firearms.

and western wear for men and women of

Facebook: Rutledge Flea Market

all ages. Talk with owner John, and you’re

From Rutledge, go 1.5 miles south on

sure to hear some stories, too.

Highway M to Highway V, then head

116 S. Market Street | 660-465-2511

east 1.5 miles. | 660-883-5816

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PROMOTION

Trails West GRAND CANYON

back to the Santa Fe Trail. As you hike, be mindful that you’re on a trail that literally connects all the way back to New Franklin in Missouri.

The North Rim offers a peace and serenity and stunning views away from the more crowded South Rim. There, explore the South Rim and find another Missouri connection at a cabin built by Bucky O’Neil, a Missourian who was a true-to-life Wild West hero and Roughrider.

From the South Rim, or from Williams, Arizona, you can take a scenic train ride between the two to get a sense of some real ranch country and the beautiful countryside. Stay overnight at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and see the historic back bar there.

If you can, make your reservation far in advance and hike or take a mule ride down to the bottom of the canyon. Hike down on the 7.5mile South Kaibab trail, which is a vertical mile drop to the bottom of the canyon where the Colorado River flows. Stay at Phantom Ranch and rest up some before making the ten-mile climb out. Celebrate with a bison burger at the Arizona Steakhouse next to Bucky O’Neil’s cabin.

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GREG WOOD

MONUMENT VALLEY

GREG WOOD

M

ost of the trails leading to our great Western frontier started in Missouri, and Missourians have always enjoyed exploring those connections out West. Here’s a look at just a few things to explore along or relatively near just a portion of the Santa Fe Trail.

The Santa Fe Trail started in the old town of Franklin, and you can see a marker today in New Franklin pointing the way west for five trails that started there. If you’re starting on the east side of the state, you can track part of the Boonslick Trail to get to New Franklin.

If you take the northern loop of the Santa Fe Trail through Kansas and into Colorado and then veer west to cross the Contintental Divide at Wolf Creek Pass, you can take the Old Spanish Trail to Durango.

While you’re there, jump on the Durango-Silverton Train, an authentic steam engine with indoor and outdoor seats taking you up to the high mining town of Silverton. This narrow gauge railway is one of the last in America and travels through the pristine land of the Weminuche Wilderness through the Animas Canyon along and often far above the Animas River. Don’t look down! Stay overnight in Silverton at the historic Wyman Hotel and Inn. Continuing on the Old Spanish Trail, you’ll pass through Mesa Verde National Park, where at any given time nearly 40,000 pre-Puebloans and Puebloans once lived in cliff dwellings until the 1200s, when they simply disappeared. Because of the dry and mild climate, many of the dwellings are in near perfect condition. You can hike many of the old trails once traveled by these incredibly industrious Native Americans.

Take the Old Spanish Trail into Monument Valley, which has been the icon of the American West ever since John Ford starting making movies there with John Wayne in lead roles. Little has changed since then or since these monolithic sandstone rocks were formed and carved eons ago. You can take horse back rides with a Navaho guide.

From there, head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You will cross the Colorado River on a bridge that was manufactured in Kansas City in 1927. This is still the only crossing within six hundred miles.

Serious hikers might like to tackle the North Kaibab trail, which is part of the Arizona Trail, an eight-hundred-mile long trail that connects to the Gila Trail to the south, which dates back 15,000 years and connects

PROMOTION

DURANGO-SILVERTON TRAIN

GREG WOOD

GREG WOOD

MESA VERDE

Let some professionals help you with your planning: USA Tours, Rolla: www.usatoursmo.com | 800-492-2601 Aramark Parks and Destinations: www.aramarkparksanddestinations.com | 602-331-5200 Wildland Trekking Company: www.wildlandtrekking.com | 800-715-4453 Xanterra Parks and Resorts: www.xanterra.com Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum: www.durangotrain.com | 888-TRAIN-07 Wyman Hotel & Inn: www.thewyman.com | 800-609-7845

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1

2

3

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PROMOTION

A Unique Way to See America’s National Parks USA Tours, a charter bus company located in the central Missouri town of Rolla, takes groups of eighteen people out west to enjoy some of our country’s finest national parks. They have developed a very specialized tour unlike any other in the industry.

The National Park Tours are all eleven days long, originating in Missouri and ending up in the far west. The Southwest trip winds up in San Francisco. The Colorado/Utah trip ends in Salt Lake City, and the Northwest trip finishes in Spokane. From these cities you fly back to Missouri, where you’re picked up at the airport and taken home.

The National Parks we visit on these trips are Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and more. Sights you’ll see include Monument Valley, and the Rocky and Sierra mountains.

These are one-way trips by bus and return by airline–“That’s the only reasonable way to travel so far and see so much without getting burned out,” says USA TOURS owner, Nick Barrack. “We’ve found there are a lot of people who want to see the big National Parks and we think this is the best way out there to accommodate that.”

USA Tours will pick you up and bring you back to your home–a unique feature highlighting the “super” personal and friendly Missouri service. “We know of no other company that does this, and it’s especially important to people who do not like driving into a big city or leaving their car somewhere,” says Robin Rogers, tour planner. “It’s one of the reasons these trips have been so successful. We’ve picked up people in Albany, Monett, and Dexter all for the same trip.”

Another unique feature is the customized, full-size motor coaches with eighteen regular seats as well as couches, card tables, and a kitchen in the middle. The tables are used for games and dining, and the couches provide a relaxing alternative to a regular seat. The kitchen is used by the hostess to prepare snacks and hot lunches, which are usually served on the bus. Sometimes, if weather permits, they provide picnics in beautiful places in the parks. “Having a picnic at the base of the waterfall at Yosemite National Park was just unbelievable,” says Gilbert Bisges of Jefferson City, MO. USA Tours allows only eighteen guests on each trip. This allows everyone to get to know each other and make lasting friendships. Small group traveling is the best way to travel because you get to know each

other and you’re not packed in with sixty other passengers.

These trips feel more like a family vacation and not at all like a regular bus tour. “I’ve never been on anything like this before. It’s so much different than other bus tours we’ve been on where you’re part of a crowd of people,” says Jo Winslow from Salem, MO. USA Tours likes to keep things simple and relaxed. In fact, everyone pays the same rate unless you specifically require a room by yourself.

A typical day on the road starts with breakfast at the hotel then onto the tour bus with lunch served on board or tables at a park often with a stunning view. “We try to end the day by 6 pm and get checked into our rooms so guests can have time to relax and enjoy dinner, nearby sights, and, of course, shopping!” Robin says.

By the end of the trip everyone has become close friends, and they are filled with the memories of America’s greatest national parks. This year there are sixteen trips scheduled and you can find out more at www.usatoursmo.com.

VISIT US AT WWW.USATOURSMO.COM OR CALL 800-492-2601 TODAY!

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SHOW-ME

Flavor

On-the-GO eats On an Overcast Saturday, a group of trucks is parked several feet from each other in a large circular formation at the Back Yard at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City. A crowd of people is lined up at the trucks and gathered around picnic tables in the concrete and grass outdoor space.

A DJ is spinning upbeat tunes under a tent, and local artisans are selling their wares at booths. The air is filled with a medley of savory aromas and lively conversation.

This is the annual Westport Food Truck Festival. The event, which debuted in July of 2011, is a celebration of a growing trend across the state that has elevated street food to the status of highly coveted cuisine. Last year, nearly twenty mobile eateries served up everything from organic barbecue and specialty meatballs to Mexican food and Cajun cooking.

Kansas City’s food-truck aficionados also flock to The Truck Stop, an empty lot at 21st and Wyandotte streets in the Crossroads Arts District, where a variety of trucks parks on the first Friday of every month in the spring, summer, and fall.

Across the state in St. Louis, Food Truck Friday takes place once a month

from May to October. The casual gathering, held in Tower Grove Park, brings together more than twenty food trucks from across the city.

In the southwest, Springfield’s food trucks dish up deep-fried tacos, New York-style bagels, wood-fired pizzas, cake pops, Hawaiian food, and Mediterranean cuisine.

“People like to socialize, and they like to eat,” says Doug Sayles, owner of the Smokin’ Fresh Streetside BBQ truck in Kansas City. “When we go to these events with other food trucks, we keep our portions small enough so that people will be able to go from truck to truck and try different things.”

In Columbia, the food truck scene is small but promising. Pepe’s Food Truck sells authentic Mexican fare such as tacos, burritos, tamales, quesadillas, and nachos for fewer than ten dollars each. The Sunflower Waffle Company sells its signature chicken and waffles and puts a twist on breakfast with gourmet waffles served with toppings such as hazelnut spread, peanut butter, homemade berry preserves, and cream cheese. Hot dog carts such as Mizzou Hot Dogs round out the college town’s offerings.

“Most people, including me, approach food trucks for the first time with

lg patterson

Food trucks hit the streets in Missouri. By POrcshe MOran

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LEFT: The sunflower waffle Company in Columbia keeps late nights and early mornings cheery with the truck’s bright floral motif. Food trucks serve double-duty as restaurants and billboards.

adam williams

a sense of novelty,” says Ren Bishop, a food-truck patron. “But once they try the food and taste how great it is, they keep coming back.”

Mass get-togethers make it easy for people to get their food-truck fix, but most of the time, Missouri’s mobile food producers are solo and on the go.

They park at different locations each day, from college campuses and office buildings to shopping centers, farmers’ markets, and nightclubs to bring diners a quick and inexpensive bite to eat. Despite the convenient nature of street food, the menu options go far beyond those of fast food. Brett Atkinson, owner of the Wilma’s Real Good Food truck in Kansas City, says he brings new life to homestyle classics with dishes such as his meatloaf slider, a sandwich that pairs meatloaf with caramelized onions, baby spinach, and feta mayo.

“To be successful as a food truck, you have to be creative and put out an original product,” he says. “When you walk up to Wilma’s, you won’t see things that you have seen before. I try to offer my customers something different and, of course, delicious.”

Guerrilla Street Food, named best food truck in St. Louis by the Riverfront Times in 2012, also strives to serve selections that can’t be found anywhere else in the city. Owners Joel Crespo and Brian Hardesty have created a demand for their fresh perspective on Filipino recipes. One of their most popular items is The Flying Pig—slow-roasted pork asado, chilies, a citrus fruit called calamansi, and spicy hot sauce served over jasmine rice and topped with a creamy soft-boiled egg.

“Brian likes to be creative and try new things in addition to the standard Filipino fare,” Joel says. “He is always making up new items based on Filipino ingredients.”

Food trucks have been popular on the coasts in Los Angeles and New York for decades, but the culinary trend took a bit longer to catch on in the Midwest. Praise from national media helps mobile food vendors overcome some of the misconceptions associated with their industry. Contrary to what some might think, food-truck operators have to

Jenna and Jason siebert, owners of The sweet divine gourmet cupcake truck in st. louis, took first place on a season-six episode of Food Network’s competition show Cupcake Wars.

obtain business licenses and permits and must pass health inspections.

Groups such as the St. Louis Food Truck Association, founded in 2011, promote the industry and serve as a support system for local food truck owners.

Joel and Brian make safe food handling and quality control their top priorities at Guerrilla Street Food.

“We do everything fresh every day with locally sourced and seasonal produce,” Joel says. “We hold our food to a very high standard. Our food could be served in a fine dining establishment, but it just happens to be on a truck.”

Brian, who has seventeen years of food-service experience, and Joel, new to the industry, have always wanted to own a restaurant. Instead, they embraced food trucks.

“It was something that we had talked about doing for years,” Joel says.

“We wanted to open a truck because we knew it was something we could run with just the two of us, and it wouldn’t be as much of a risk financially.

We didn’t want to have to answer to investors.”

Nevertheless, it is a challenging undertaking, as most trucks run on a crew of just one or two employees. Jenna and Jason Siebert, owners of The The sweet divine in st. louis offers many types of cupcake confections, including salted caramel, red velvet, chocolate chip cookie dough, banana cream pie, strawberry shortcake, and more.

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Flavor

Sweet Divine gourmet cupcake truck in St. Louis, started baking as a hobby and decided to get a truck after testing the waters with online orders.

“On a whim, I found this awesome deal on a great truck in Georgia, and I drove down to pick it up,” Jenna says. “We knew that a truck would be a great way to get our name out there and build up a following for our cupcakes.”

Brett, Wilma’s Real Good Food owner, has no formal kitchen training, but he uses his lifelong love of food to guide the roadside business that he operates as a one-man shop.

“I’m a food nerd,” he says. “When the other kids were watching cartoons, I was watching Julia Child. When you have a food truck, in addition to being a chef, you also have to be a mechanic, a plumber, and an electrician.

You have to be passionate about this, because it is hands-down the hardest job you will ever have.”

Unlike traditional restaurants, food trucks are at the mercy of the weather. Hazardous road conditions, chilly temperatures, or pouring rain can put a food truck out of service for days or even an entire season. Doug of Smokin’ Fresh Streetside BBQ says he closes his truck for the winter and installs sheet rock during the off-season to get by. Others, like the owners of The Sweet Divine, take on catering gigs to supplement their income.

Organic eatery Good You, which claims to have the best burger in Kansas City, beats the bad weather by collaborating with local bars to temporarily serve food out of their kitchens.

“Part of owning a food truck is being able to adapt to changing situations,” says Brian of Guerilla Street Food. “In the summer, we can rely on foot traffic, but in the winter, we go to office parks and schools so people don’t have to travel far to get to us. We are open as long as it isn’t too dangerous on the roads.”

Social networking is an essential part of what keeps food trucks rolling,

Joel Crespo, co-owner at Guerilla Street Food, takes orders during a lunch rush. Joel is new to the restaurant industry, but his business partner, Brian Hardesty, has seventeen years of experience.

and Facebook and Twitter are the owners’ primary tools for providing constant updates on truck locations. The website ShowMeFoodTrucks.com is a resource for food truck news and events in the St. Louis area and features a map that gives real-time updates on where specific food trucks are each day.

Roaming Hunger is another website with a smartphone app that tracks food trucks in major cities, including St. Louis.

City officials in Missouri are taking notice of the popularity of food trucks and doing what they can to make it easier for them to operate. In the summer of 2012, the City of St. Louis designated a block of parking spaces in the downtown area to accommodate food trucks and their fans. The area, located at Thirteenth Street between Market and Chestnut, is known as Food Truck Row. In Springfield, mobile food used to be restricted to general retail and commercial zones and wasn’t allowed downtown. In August 2012, new laws gave food trucks access to industrial, manufacturing, governmental, or institutional zones as well as downtown.

Mobile operations can be a stepping stone to opening a traditional storefront. The Sweet Divine opened a shop in 2012 after a little more than a year in business. Jenna and Jason still park their truck at various spots during the week and rent it out for private events. That Lebanese Place in Springfield, which opened as a food truck in May 2012, became a stationary Pepe’s of Columbia helps organizations such as Tiger Pantry and Children’s Miracle Network by selling Mexican food at fundraising events and sharing a portion of their proceeds.

adaM williaMS; lG PaTTerSoN

SHOW-ME

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Food-truck culture encourages partnerships. At the Westport Food Truck Festival, CoffeeCakeKC sells cupcakes made by 3 Women and an Oven, an otherwise stationary bakery.

restaurant in early 2013. Port Fonda in Kansas City started as a mobile kitchen in a retro stainless-steel Airstream. It has since transitioned to an upscale authentic Mexican restaurant in the city’s Westport neighborhood. St. Louis staple Seoul Taco, known for its Korean BBQ take on established Mexican cuisine, opened a new restaurant in a vibrant district called The Loop.

As traveling billboards, food trucks need to be eye-catching in addition to offering tasty grub. A used food truck can cost from twenty thousand to forty thousand dollars, and new ones go for as much as one hundred thousand dollars. The Wilma’s Real Good Food truck is actually a fifty-year-old antique travel trailer that was retrofitted for food service. Guerrilla Street Food’s vehicle used to be a laundry truck.

It was turned into a sleek machine with a black-and-gold color scheme, military stencil font, and a crossed spatula and knife logo graphic. Speedy Cowabunga’s in Springfield accents its island-themed menu with a colorful truck that features paintings of surfboards, palm trees, and Tiki masks.

In fewer than two years, the food-truck scene in Missouri has exploded.

Joel and Brian, founding members of the St. Louis Food Truck Association, say when they opened in 2011, there were only three or four trucks in the city. Now, they estimate there are thirty-five. Brett noticed the same increase in Kansas City with at least twenty new trucks since he started Wilma’s Real Good Food in February 2012.

Kansas City is overrun with barbecue restaurants, but Doug, whose truck distinguishes itself with organic barbecue, doesn’t mind the competition.

“The market is big enough for everyone,” Doug says. “I want to see the Guerilla street Food offers The Flying Pig, a dish with slow-roasted pork asado, chilies, a citrus fruit called calamansi, and spicy hot sauce served over jasmine rice and topped with a soft-boiled egg.

number of trucks keep growing and for there to be more places in the city where food trucks can park and rotate.”

If the rest of the country is any indication, the food truck craze won’t settle down any time soon. Missouri’s foodies can look forward to mobile eats that are more sophisticated than those of their predecessors.

“The new wave of street food in Missouri isn’t the old-school trucks that you’re used to seeing serving up frozen food and stale sandwiches on a construction site,” Brett says. “It is finally catching on that some incredible chefs are serving out of the windows of a truck.”

The 2013 Westport Food Truck Festival will be held July 14. For more information, visit www.westportfoodtruckfest.com.

Try the food trucks featured in this story!

For more information on food trucks, visit www.showmefoodtrucks.com or www.roaminghunger.com.

Kansas City Smokin’ Fresh Streetside BBQ www.smokinfreshbbq.com Mizzou Hot Dogs Wilma’s Real Good Food

Facebook: Mizzou Hotdogs

www.wilmasrealgoodfood.com

lisA sOrrensOn; AdAm WilliAms

St. Louis Good You

Guerrilla Street Food

Facebook: Good You

www.guerrillastreetfood.com

Columbia

The Sweet Divine

Pepe’s Food Truck

www.thesweetdivine.com

Facebook: Pepe’s of Columbia Springfield The Sunflower Waffle Company

Speedy Cowabunga’s

Facebook: Sunflower Waffle Company

www.speedysfoodtruck.com

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SHOW-ME

Flavor —MissouriLife —

CHICKEN ADOBO From Guerrilla Street Food

Ingredients >

2 cups jasmine rice 1 cup soy sauce 1 cup coconut or cider vinegar 8 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns 3 bay leaves

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs ¼ cup coconut milk ¼ cup water 1 tablespoon cornstarch Scallions, chopped, for garnish

Directions >

ANDREW BARTON

1. Simmer jasmine rice in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Cover and turn heat down to low.

2. Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black peppercorns, and bay leaves in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add whole chicken thighs, and boil until tender for about 40 minutes. Add coconut milk. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

3. Mix ¼ cup of cold water with the cornstarch. Slowly add cornstarch mix to the pot until the liquid becomes a gravy-like consistency.

4. Serve over the rice and garnish with fresh chopped scallions. Serves 6.

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—MissouriLife —

Garden Pasta salad From Smokin’ Fresh Streetside BBQ

Ingredients >

1 large red onion, diced 1 tablespoon sugar 1 pound rotini pasta, cooked 2 cups grape tomatoes, rinsed and drained 2 large cucumbers, sliced about 1/2-inch thick, then cut slices in half

1/4 cup sliced black olives 1/4 fresh parsley, chopped 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated 2/3 cup pomegranate or raspberry dressing

Directions >

1. Sprinkle diced onion with sugar and let sit for at least 15 minutes.

2. Place cooked pasta in a large bowl. add onion mixture, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, parsley, pepper, and parmesan. toss to distribute evenly.

3. add dressing and toss to coat. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serves 12.

—MissouriLife —

Fried Mashed Potato Balls

From Wilma’s Real Good Food Ingredients >

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered 1/4 pound bacon, chopped

1 stick butter 24 eggs 8 cups Panko bread crumbs Salt Pepper

andrew barton

Directions >

1. boil potatoes in a large pot until soft. Meanwhile, saute bacon until crispy.

2. drain the potatoes. add the bacon and butter, and mash until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside in refrigerator until cool.

3. Using a 1 ½- to 2-ounce disher, scoop potatoes into balls, and place on sheet pans.

4. beat eggs in a large bowl. dip each potato ball into egg, and then dip into Panko. when all balls have been dipped and dredged, repeat the process.

5. after the potatoes are breaded, freeze immediately on sheet pans overnight.

6. In a 350º F deep fryer, cook potato balls in batches for 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown.

7 Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or gravy.

Frozen potato balls may be stored in zip-top bags for 1 month. Yields 100 balls.

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PROMOTION

m

e Tak

the bes

po

ts

to s o p i r at

f eo

t s f Beef o n the K a ty T rail. or

by Andrea Kszystyniak

GLENN’S CAFE STEAK FREDERICK

juicy burgers. Square 109 has eight different varieties, including the Four Alarm Blaze which comes topped with jalapeno peppers, pepper jack cheese, and habanero sauce. If you can’t take that much heat in your food, there’s always a classic hamburger to fall back on. Eat your fill at Square 109 and then hop back on the trail.

There’s plenty more beef options to enjoy further down the Katy. 109 S. Washington Street, 660-890-2552, www.square109restaurant.com SEDALIA Once you make it to Sedalia, it’s easy to find good beef. Only a few blocks away from the Katy Trail is the historic Hotel Bothwell. Inside, The Ivory Grille has quality beef options in a white tablecloth setting that is sure to boost your spirits after a long day of cycling or walking. Drop in for dinner and grab the

restaurant’s signature steak sandwich, six ounces of certified Angus beef topped with house mayonnaise and your choice of cheese. The Ivory Grille also offers a variety of steaks, including The Grille Favorite, an eight-ounce filet of Angus beef, which the restaurant menu claims is their “most tender and juicy.” 317 S. Ohio Avenue, 660-829-0060, www.theivorygrille.com Venture further into Sedalia and stop in at Goody’s Steak Burgers. This restaurant offers burgers that owner Terry Goodman calls “the best burgers out there.” Terry has worked at the restaurant for twenty years and makes all of his burgers using his own specially made “goodymeat.” It’s ground for the restaurant at a nearby grocery store and is ninety-two percent lean fresh ground chuck. The beef is molded into the restaurant’s famous steakburgers which are stacked on buns to make meat treats such as

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TAYLOR BLAIR; COURTESY LES BOURGEOIS

CLINTON Your trek begins in Clinton. Spend some time in its historic downtown, where you can explore shops and the town’s museum before beginning the long hike or bike down the Katy Trail. When you’re hungry, head to Square 109, a unique family-run restaurant that’s been serving the Clinton community for more than thirty years. You can even have steak for breakfast here; country-fried steak is on the breakfast menu, which is served all day. Its extensive hot sandwich menu features a tenderloin sandwich as well as a prime beef Philly topped with grilled onions, green peppers, and Swiss cheese. For pretzel fans who still want a beefy treat, the pretzel prime beef comes on a pretzel bun with Italian horseradish. Of course, no restaurant is complete without a wide selection of

TAYLOR BLAIR

Hiking or biking the Katy Trail is a must-do for anyone who lives in or visits the state of Missouri. The trail offers beautiful views of the Missouri River and the hills and valleys of the countryside as it crosses almost the entire state.

One well-kept secret of the Katy Trail? All of the restaurants along the way offer juicy, savory beef. Whether you’re craving a bacon cheeseburger or filet mignon, there’s beef for everybody. Grab a steak burger (or three) at Goody’s Steak Burgers in Sedalia. Stop and relax with a ribeye steak at Les Bourgeois. This guide shows you where to find the beef along your 240-mile journey. We start on the western side and ride eastward, as the slight downgrade that way helps the pedaling!

PROMOTION

double cheese quadburgers, a cheeseburger with four goodymeat patties. Terry also uses the restaurant’s specialty meat to make Goody’s signature lean chili. 901 S. Limit Avenue, 660-826-2828 Sedalia has one more stop for beef-lovers. A short walk from Goody’s is McGrath’s, a white tablecloth Irish pub with more than a few beef options to sample. Head cook Jake Johnson says his favorite is the prime rib. He loves the seasoning used on the beef as well as the homemade au jus. All of Jake’s beef is cut in-house, and the restaurant serves a hand-cut steak filet and a Kansas City strip steak. 2901 W. Broadway Boulevard, 660-826-9902, www.lolabull. com/mcgraths

TAYLOR BLAIR; COURTESY LES BOURGEOIS

PILOT GROVE It’s about twenty-six miles from Sedalia to Pilot Grove, but you’ll be glad you made the trip when you get to Becky’s Burgers and Cones. Hop off the trail and bike two blocks to this trailside restaurant. The restaurant is decorated like a cottage and has a white picket fence and a flower garden outside; it’ll make you feel right at home. Mother-daughter team Becky Terke and Joanna Kollmeyer run this cozy restaurant. Becky uses only 91-percent lean beef in her recipes. Daughter Joanna makes hamburger patties fresh every morning for her signature burgers. Everything on the menu is made from scratch, including beef lasagna and homemade meatloaf. Try the Philly roast beef or a hamburger steak and finish it off with one of Becky’s signature desserts, which she makes herself everyday. 208 College Street, 660-834-4000 BOONVILLE After a scenic ride from Pilot Grove, enjoy a lovely view of the Missouri River from downtown Boonville before heading into the historic Hotel Frederick. This luxury boutique hotel is home to Glenn’s Café, a New Orleans-influenced restaurant with the flair of an old speakeasy. Sit out on the deck overlooking the Missouri River and enjoy some of restaurateur Steve Cupp’s unique beef creations. The Steak Frederick is good enough to bear the hotel’s name. It’s a USDAcertified Angus tenderloin steak wrapped in grilled pepper bacon glazed with bleu cheese and a homemade Worcestershire sauce. But Steve doesn’t stop there. Glenn’s Delmonico Steak is an Angus rib-eye crusted with spices, seared, and cut into steaks. You can decide if you want it grilled or blackened. It’s so good you may want to try it both ways. Glenn’s also offers a homemade meatloaf, made with beef

LES BOURGEOIS BEEF TENDERLOIN

ABIGAIL’S

tenderloin, pork loin, and veal. If you’re looking for something a little bit lighter, the grilled tritip steak sandwich is a great choice. 501 High Street, 660-882-9191, www.glennscafe.com Walk a few blocks down the street from Glenn’s to get your beef on at one of the three restaurants at Isle of Capri Casino: Tradewinds Marketplace, Farradday’s Bistro, and the Farmer’s Pick Buffet. For an unusual beef choice, try the pot roast nachos at the Farradday Bistro. Slow-cooked pot roast, jack and cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, and sour cream lie on a bed of house-made corn tortilla chips.

If your stomach is growling for something more mainstream, choose the classic pot roast at the Farmer’s Pick buffet. It’s one of Food and Beverage Manager Jason Martin’s favorite dishes.

100 Isle of Capri Boulevard, 800-941-4753, www.boonville.isleofcapricasinos.com

ROCHEPORT Just a few blocks off the trail, you’ll find Abigail’s. This fine-dining establishment is definitely worth a stop. The restaurant has a different chef-selected menu every day. Servers bring the menu to tables on a whiteboard, and steak is on the dinner menu nearly every night. Recently, Abigail’s chefs whipped up a giant steak filet topped with lobster and sautéed in garlic and butter. Customers love to come in and treat themselves to Abigail’s decadent filets.

For lunch, the restaurant features the Bachelor, a salad topped with sliced beef sirloin, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and bleu cheese. This hefty meal will definitely give you the power of protein for miles of pedaling. 206 Central Street, 573-698-3000, www.abigails-restaurant.com Les Bourgeois’ Blufftop Bistro rests on a scenic Missouri River overlook. You’ll spot a

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PROMOTION

bike rack just east of the Rocheport trailhead where you can chain your bike before walking up the steep path to the bistro. The delicious beef is worth the climb. Chef Joshua Smith offers two different beef dishes on the bistro’s dinner menu. A twelve-ounce rib-eye comes with patatas bravas and is topped with sauce romesco and charred scallions. Joshua also prepares a six-ounce beef tenderloin filet that comes with provolone-potato gateau, chimichurri, and a horseradish crème. Lunchtime visitors can try an eight-ounce beef burger made with beef ground on-site. 14020 W. Highway BB, 573-6983401 or 573-698-2300, www.missouriwine.com

MCBAINE Once you reach McBaine, head just off the Katy Trail and to Lucy’s Beverages and Burgers, a small family tavern with burgers to nourish your tired body. Owner Ginny Coleman maintains this trailside stop. The restaurant has been a Katy Trail staple for many years. Hungry bikers and hikers stop in regularly to grab hamburgers and cheeseburgers and shoot some pool before heading out on their journey. Drop in, choose some tunes on the jukebox, and swap stories with other weary travellers as you enjoy a freshly made cheeseburger. 7149 W. Route K, 573-445-5908 HARTSBURG You’ll hardly have to leave the trail to grab a meal at your next stop. Hartsburg Grand Restaurant owner Cindy Nilges says she can see the Katy Trail from the window of her workplace; it’s that close. This newly opened establishment serves Missouri Legacy Beef,

HARTSBURG GRAND RESTAURANT

which is free range and locally raised meat from Salisbury. Open your meal with a sample of the Missouri Legacy’s summer sausage featured on the restaurant’s cheese plate. For dinner, try the Grand Burger. It’s made-to-order with Legacy Beef ground beef and topped with caramelized onions. Hartsburg Grand serves other beef treats, too. The restaurant’s twelve-ounce rib-eye comes at a reasonable price and is made to order with buttermilk mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans. 30 S. 2nd Street, 573-6571414, www.hartsburggrand.net RHINELAND Pull off to the side of the trail and take a pit stop at Trailside Bar and Grill, where manager Angie Lewis and her staff are ready to serve you in the restaurant’s casual, laid-back family atmosphere. Angie says the grill’s most popular menu item is a good ol’ American hamburger, the beef patty tender, juicy, and dressed in garnish. Or try Angie’s favorite and order the chicken-fried steak, a pound of beef that is fried then doused in gravy. 111 Bluff Street, 573-236-4411 MCKITTRICK Bike a few miles to the town of McKittrick, and you’ll find a unique restaurant with some traditional beef dishes. Inside a renovated old country store just off the Katy Trail is the McKittrick Farmer’s Mercantile. Here, chef Joey Los readies meals every Saturday and Sunday. Much of the menu is made up of healthy and affordable options. The restaurant gets most of its ingredients from local farmers. Its ground beef comes from a farm in Jonesburg.

Joey uses this meat to make hamburgers and meatball sub sandwiches. The Farmer’s Mercantile recently began serving a set-price menu every weekend. This four-course meal often includes chuck roast, pot roast, and many more fresh beef items. 500 Washington Street, 314698-9152, www.themerck.com MARTHASVILLE Marthasville’s Twin Gables is in view of the trail and has all of the beefy classics including hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and bacon cheeseburgers. Their specialty Gable burger comes topped with marinated grilled onions, lettuce, tomato,

LUCY’S BURGERS

TWIN GABLES GABLE BURGER

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COURTESY ISLE OF CAPRI AND MOTHER-IN-LAW HOUSE

The importance of muscle mass for optimal metabolic function, physical activity, and weight loss is clear. A growing body of evidence suggests muscle metabolism may also play a role in the prevention of many chronic diseases, such as type-2 diabetes and osteoporosis. However, current protein recommendations may not go far enough.

The September 2006 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition contains a thought-provoking review by Dr. Robert Wolfe of the University of Arkansas.

“The Underappreciated Role of Muscle in Health and Disease” explores the growing evidence suggesting lean muscle mass not only builds strength but also promotes active daily life and may ultimately improve overall health. The review indicated that increasing daily high-quality protein intake may optimize muscle strength and metabolism and ultimately improve overall health.

Current recommendations for protein are based on the prevention of protein deficiency. Dr. Wolfe states they may not be sufficient for building and maintaining muscle, so protein recommendations need re-evaluation He contends that at least fifteen grams of essential amino acids, or four ounces of high-quality protein at each meal, could help build and maintain adequate levels of muscle mass to enhance quality of life and prevent disease.

COURTESY HARTSBURG GRAND RESTAURANT AND TWIN GABLES; TAYLOR BLAIR

THE POWER OF PROTEIN

PROMOTION

COURTESY ISLE OF CAPRI AND MOTHER-IN-LAW HOUSE

ISLE OF CAPRI: FARMER’S PICK BUFFET

Swiss cheese, and pickles. Manager Sarah Clinton says that burgers are the most popular item on the menu. “They’re what everybody wants,” she says. If you’re not in the mood for another burger, try Twin Gable’s Philly steak sandwich.

Anyone lucky enough to stop by the restaurant at the end of the week will score a rib-eye dinner, which Twin Gables serves only on weekends.

101 Missouri 47, 636-433-5048 AUGUSTA You’re almost at the end of your trip. Rebuild your tired muscles with a healthy serving of steak at Ashley’s Rose Restaurant in Augusta.

This restaurant is only a quarter-mile from the trail and offers many different beef options. Settle down with a classic rib-eye steak served with either rice or baked potatoes and a dinner roll.

Or, if you’re feeling slightly more adventurous, owner Paul Moeser has whipped up something a little different. Ashley’s Rose offers a fall strip steak served with a red wine sauce and mushrooms. It’s a unique twist on a beef classic that’s sure to make your mouth water.

5567 Walnut Street, 636-482-4108

ST. CHARLES After more than two hundred miles of hiking or biking, tired travelers can finally hop off the Katy and take a walk down historic Main Street in St. Charles. There you’ll find the Mother-inLaw House Restaurant, a fine-dining establishment with plenty of delicious beef entrees to choose from. Reward yourself for completing such a long journey with its filet mignon or a New York sirloin strip steak. For less decadent fare, check out its lunch menu. All of MotherIn-Law’s burgers are made with top quality American Angus beef. The Main Street Supreme is a robust burger made with top-quality beef and covered with sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms, and melted Provel cheese. 500 S. Main Street, 636-946-9444, www.motherinlawhouse.com If you’re in the mood for something more casual right by the Missouri River, Big A’s on the Riverfront is just a short walk down Main Street. It has six different kinds of burgers on the menu including the Main Street Favorite, which comes topped with stuffed mushrooms and bleu cheese. Any burger can be made in

MOTHER-IN-LAW HOUSE an eight- or four-ounce size. A’s also offers pizzas topped with beef and a wide selection of steak filets. If you’re feeling fancy, embrace the nearby river with a little surf and turf. A’s serves a nine-ounce, center-cut steak filet with your choice of clams, shrimp, or catfish. 308 N. Main Street, 636-949-9900, www.big-as.com Feel free to continue on down the Katy to the Machens trailhead, the actual end of the trail.

There’s no beef here, but there are scenic views that you can enjoy. Bask in appreciation of this beautiful state and its fresh and nutritious beef.

For more information on Missouri beef, nutrition, recipes, and health, visit mobeef.org.

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SHOW-ME

Flavor Missouri Life tastes menus worth the drive.

Springfield

Minister of Barbecue “NothiNg that is worthwhile comes easy,” Jesse Williams Sr. used to tell his son, Steve. “You got to work for what you want in life. Remember that, and you’ll be okay.”

That was a long time ago when the senior Williams was trying to carve out a decent living for his family in Springfield. He managed to do it through good planning and hard labor. A master at cooking good meat and creating his own special barbecue sauce, Jesse took over the old Pascal’s Smokehouse and opened Crosstown BBQ on February 13, 1970.

Jesse has since passed, but under Steve’s hand, Crosstown is still cooking hickorysmoked barbecue along with fried catfish. Steve serves sandwiches called The Bluto, named after a classmate at Drury College, and The Memphis Beale Street, smoked pork topped with homemade coleslaw and barbecue sauce served on a fresh bun.

As Steve was graduating high school, several colleges offered him four-year athletic scholarships, but he politely turned them down and elected to help his dad run the restaurant instead. Steve stayed closed to home and attended Drury College. Three days after he graduated with a degree in business administration in 1983, Steve joined his father in running the restaurant full-time and learned how to craft finger-licking barbecue.

“My father told me to always put the fat side down before cooking the barbecue,” Steve says. “I burned a lot of meat, but I guess Dad’s message got through because my

Steve Williams carries on his father’s legacy at Crosstown BBQ in Springfield. He also serves as assistant pastor at a nondenominational church called New Growth.

customers don’t complain, and that’s good enough for me.”

In fact, customers celebrate both Steve and Crosstown BBQ. They know the barbeat New Growth, a nondenominational church on Weaver Street. He’s also established Crossway Ministry, a nonprofit organization that helps families deal with troubled teens before law enforcement has to be called in to handle them. He coached for the Springfield Boys Club—one of his students went on to play with the Colorado Buffaloes in the Big 12 Conference.

With so much on his plate, it’s a wonder Steve has room for barbecue. But he stays the course and serves up much-loved barbecue just the way his dad did.

“My dad never claimed he served the best barbecue in town,” Steve says. “He allowed his customers to make that statement. Our restaurant has served a couple of generations of Springfield folks, and we’re still going strong.”

Crosstown BBQ is open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 am to 9 pm.

—Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

“My dad never claimed he served the best barbecue in town. He allowed his customers to make that statement.”

www.crosstownbarbecue.com • 417-862-4646 • 1331 E. Division Street

daN roCkafelloW

cue joint is more than a restaurant. For one thing, they know Steve is assistant pastor

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STONE HILL WINERY in historic Hermann, Missouri

Visit us today and enjoy all we have to offer!

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SHOW-ME

Flavor

Cape Girardeau

Nostalgic Bar and Grill the Pilot house is challenging to find in the rain at night, which is how I found it.

It was worth the hunt, though.

You want to start with a Basket of Onions—onions cut lengthwise, breaded, and fried until crunchy. They call them onion petals here; imagine a rough-hewn version of Outback’s Bloomin’ Onion.

For the entree, go for a specialty sandwich such as the Big Hot Cheese (pulled pork, pimiento cheese, slaw, jalapenos, and “Fire Sauce” on grilled sourdough) or the Sweet & Special (pulled pork, swiss cheese, red onions, and sweet sauce, also on grilled sourdough).

As a barbecue purist, I was skeptical about both.

I was wrong. The Sweet & Special is especially terwith a Reuben.

Eating in a place that is more bar than grill did take me back some, in the best of ways. Inside the Pilot House, it is 1987. You can smoke, a thing so rare

Moberly

Friendly Tavern

in restaurants these days that the fifth-grader in

From its humble origins

my company mistook the ashtray on the table for a

as a neighborhood bar, Lula’s

ketchup bowl. Not that I am advocating smoking. I

Tavern has grown to become a

seems to have come directly from

cuisine, and unusual food. But

was just hit with nostalgia.

Moberly institution.

Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

there are none with better food

tablecloth seafood eateries?

And its Cajun spicy shrimp

There are restaurants with more modern menus, inventive

Located just off Morley on

But don’t think seafood is all

going out to dinner in fifth grade smelled like for me.

West Carpenter, Lula’s serves

there is. The prime rib is excel-

—Alan Brouilette

up some of the tastiest food in

lent, as are the steaks, with their

Missouri that puts everything

3532 Perryville Road • 573-334-7106

mid-Missouri.

seared, almost crisp exterior and

together in just the right way.

Keep in mind, it’s a bar, it’s

warm, slightly pink tender interior.

The drinks are large and perfect.

small, it’s crowded, and you’ll

All entrees come with a variety

The food is superb. Everything is

I felt a kinship with that fifth-grader; this is what

and service.

This is one restaurant in mid-

probably have to wait, but it’s

of side dishes. At Lula’s, the side

cooked to perfection. The service

worth it. And don’t let the fact

dishes are not afterthoughts but

is prompt, professional, and as

that it’s a bar keep you from

rather true accompaniments

friendly as you want it to be.

bringing the family; there’s some-

to the entree. Salads are fresh,

My only complaint is that I

thing for everyone.

crisp, and substantial. The large

have nothing to say about des-

baked potatoes might force you

serts because the meals are so

different, Lula’s provides the

to break the rule to never eat

substantial. The next visit, and

most unique, though limited,

anything larger than your head.

there certainly will be one, I’m

But the real draw, the raison

definitely going to try the des-

If you’re looking for something

menu for miles around.

d’etre, is Lula’s Burger. Lettuce,

serts. —John Hussey

legs could rival (and possibly sur-

pickles, and onions—the toppings

Facebook: Lula’s Tavern

pass) any found in larger white-

are fresh, and the meat is juicy.

112 W. Carpenter Street • 660-263-9610

Who would imagine its crab

courtney tompson; sarah alban

rific—imagine a barbecue pork sandwich crossed

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PROMOTION

THE

T BES

OF

BOTH WORLDS

WHERE CITY MEETS COUNTRY WHERE HISTORY MEETS THE FUTURE

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S BANK MUSEUM AME J E JESS Step inside the bank vault, where the James Gang restrained two bank employees after they committed the nation’s first daylight bank robbery.

You’ll be let out after your guided tour. (So were the two employees.)

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PROMOTION

CLAY COUNTY HISTORY MURAL IN THE WELL-PRESERVED ART DECO COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING IN LIBERTY SQUARE

THE

T BES

OF

BOTH WORLDS

By John Drake Robinson and Sarah Alban

I

t was the first daylight bank robbery in America. But few folks realize the getaway was aided by a raging blizzard. Two members of the outlaw gang entered the Liberty Bank and robbed two employees, sealing them in the giant walk-in safe. But the robbers forgot to spin the lock! Told from inside the old bank vault by our tour guide, the story comes alive.

Outside in the cold, one robber killed an innocent bystander, a seventeen-year-old student from William Jewell College. A posse followed the gang’s fading tracks. But the gang was far ahead of the posse as the blizzard set in. The robbers crossed the Missouri River by ferry. By the time the posse got to the river, the ferry and the outlaws were on the other side.

Jesse James’s footprints are everywhere in Clay County, since this was his home turf. The gang’s shocking lawlessness, clashing with the county’s refined civilization, might give you the first hint that your visit to Clay County will uncover a thousand contrasts.

Because of its location at the crown of Kansas City and because of its history, Clay County is a county of contrasts: City meets country. Gangster past meets wholesome present. Living history meets cutting-edge innovation. Outdoor adventure meets indoor recreation. Natural springs meet manmade attractions. Civilization meets Old Wild West. And plenty more contrasts collide.

EXPLO E | R R O

PLORE | E EX

XPLORE | E | E

Fun for the Whole Family , page 94 Trails and the Great Outdoors, page 96 An Itinerary for Two, page 98 Ultimate Outlaw Adventure, page 100

E | EX PL LOR XP

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GLADSTONE'S GLADFEST, HELD IN OCTOBER

Clay County is shaped like a square puzzle piece with a curvy southern border, thanks to the Missouri River. It crowns Kansas City to the north.

But the culture is partly city: Clay County sits within view of the Kansas City skyline, and part of Kansas City’s city limit actually jumps the Missouri River to join Clay County’s other communities: North Kansas City, Gladstone, Liberty, Excelsior Springs, Kearney, and Smithville.

If you plan to pass a weekend in Clay County, drive those cities in that order, counterclockwise, for a fifty-nine-mile journey of fun.

A twenty-mile trip south from Smithville to North Kansas City will take you back to your starting point.

To start, cross one of the six Missouri River bridges from Kansas City to enter the vibrant communities of Clay County.

Just north of the Missouri River is an area formerly referred to as “Harlem,” until 1912 when the city of North Kansas City was incorporated. Jesse James met his future wife there when visiting his aunt and uncle. Later, the area with its horse racing, speakeasies, and burgeoning industries became a playground for legendary “Boss” Tom Pendergast and his cronies, who controlled Kansas City politics for more than a decade beginning in the 1920s.

Today, North Kansas City has become a playground for safe, wholesome family fun as well as a bustling center of commerce. Shop the city’s historic downtown retail district or watch a first-run feature in digital 3D at the rehabilitated, 1920s-vintage Screenland Armour Theatre. Sports enthusiasts will love Chappell’s Restaurant & Sports Museum and Kelso’s, also on Armour Road. Visit the huge North Kansas City Community Center, with a swimming pool and climbing wall. See a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Liberty Memorial Park, next to North Kansas City High School, where you can stroll among tributes to American citizens and the wars they fought.

Each Friday during the warmer months, enjoy a free lunchtime concert at Macken Park and the Farmers’ Market at Caboose Park.

Then, find your wild side at a host of nightlife options before resting at one of the five major hotel chains in the city.

Like bookends along the southern coast of the county, Harrah’s and Ameristar offer more than casino gaming.

Harrah’s, located on Riverboat Drive, features two new floors of gaming surrounded by almost four hundred luxurious rooms and seven restaurants. You’ll experience some of the best nightlife and live entertainment in town,

ICE SKATING DGE G-E N I T CUT

Gladstone is on ice skating’s cutting edge, home to one of America’s first synthetic outdoor ice rinks, which allows you to ice skate whether it’s cold or not. The National Hockey League is beginning to use this technology, and you can test it yourself in downtown Gladstone’s dynamic Lyndon Square.

LIBERTY FALL FEST

SHOAL CREEK LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM

OUTDOOR FUN Maple Woods Nature Preserve (National nature preserve covering more than thirty-eight acres of wildlife habitat and hiking trails) • Atkins Johnson House (parks, trails) • Lyndon Square (synthetic outdoor ice rink) • Big Shoal Heritage Area, Happy Rock Park (trails, parks, ball fields, farmers’ markets, heirloom vegetable and herb garden) • More than 245 acres of parks and trails (Try Hobby Hill, Flora, Meadowbrook, or Little Gully Park.)

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PROMOTION

| FUN F LY O MI

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HO HE W LE FA T R

FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY Dagg Park (children’s wading pool), 715 E. 21st Avenue, North Kansas City

Shoal Creek Living History Museum, 7000 N.E. Barry Road, Kansas City Airline History Museum,

H HE W OLE FA RT

201 N.W. Lou Holland Drive, Kansas City

CAROLYN'S COUNTRY COUSINS PUMPKIN PATCH

TWA Museum,

10 N.W. Richards Road, Kansas City

Worlds of Fun,

4545 Worlds of Fun Avenue, Kansas City

Atkins-Johnson Farm & Museum, 6607 N. Antioch Road, Gladstone

Linden Square Ice Rink,

602 N.E. 70th Street, Gladstone

Clay County Museum,

14 N. Main Street, Liberty

Ruth Moore Park,

401 N. Morse, Liberty

1858 Pharis Farm,

20611 EE Highway, Liberty

Jesse James Bank Museum, 103 N. Water Street, Liberty

Carolyn’s Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze,

SHOAL CREEK LIVING HISTORY FESTIVAL

17607 N.E. 52 Street, Liberty

Corbin Theatre,

15 N. Water Street, Liberty

Frank and Jesse James Farm,

21216 Jesse James Farm Road, Kearney

Tryst Falls Park (waterfall),

off Highway 92, Excelsior Springs

Smithville Lake and Jerry L. Litton Visitor Center, NORTHLAND FOUNTAIN, ANITA GORMAN PARK

16311 DD Highway, Smithville Watkins Mill State Park, Kearney

HISTORIC PHARIS FARM

WHOLE WORLDS OF FUN You can see the Worlds of Fun water tower from just about anywhere. It’s a giant painted tower with bright colorful balloons that shout fun. And why not?

In its shadow, the rollercoasters, the rides, and shows of Worlds of Fun and the splashy waterworks of Oceans of Fun attract fun seekers from all over the world. Take the plunge; your fun times are just getting started. You might think you’re in a tropical paradise, sitting in a cabana, sipping something ice-cold while the kids entertain themselves.

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PARADISE POINTE GOLF COMPLEX AT SMITHVILLE LAKE

including the area’s best live music at the VooDoo Lounge. Check out the VIP Lounge, too.

Four and a half miles east down the Missouri River, you’ll find Ameristar Casino with Arthur Bryant’s barbecue and eight other restaurants.

Kansas City native Calvin Trillin wrote in The New Yorker magazine that Arthur Bryant’s is “the single best restaurant in the world.” After dining, play on one of the largest casino floors in Missouri, next to convenient parking in a five-level parking garage with an enclosed climate-controlled walkway that leads to the casino and entertainment center. How about a luxury hotel, eighteen movie screens, and supervised child care, too?

About seven miles north of North Kansas City sits Gladstone. The Atkins Johnson Farm & Museum is the centerpeice of the Big Shoal Heritage area here. The restored farmhouse on twenty acres of protected farmland now serves as a musem but dates back to the 1830s and is recognized as one of the oldest homes continuously occupied in Clay County.

But Gladstone is also on the cutting edge of technology and fun with its synthetic ice rink that allows skating all year long, unless the synthetic surface has been lifted for a concert or show. That’s when the rink transforms into Gladstone Amphitheatre.

Outdoor fun in Liberty, ten miles northeast of Gladstone, begins with a walk through time.

There are three downtown walking tours to show off Liberty’s impressive historic homes and buildings. Take the free guided tour, a self-guided tour with a map, or, if you are tech savvy, the cell phone and MP3 tour.

During the day, explore five hundred acres of parkland, including a multi-use trail system that covers more than ten miles through parks and greenways across the city. If the weather’s bad, get your cardio up and running at the Liberty Community Center, a state-of-the art recreation area with indoor pools.

After exercising, soak in history at the Clay County Archives, where you might even find a long-lost family connection to Jesse James. A couple blocks southwest of the archives, view Liberty’s murals at the courthouse, and then stop at the Clay County Museum.

Of course, the Jesse James Bank Museum is a must-see for both kids and adults. If you’re over-nighting here, stay in one of several historic bed and breakfasts, among them The StoneYancey House or the Terrace Avenue Inn. Just a quick fourteen miles northeast of Liberty, Excelsior Springs was a favorite hideout of Al Capone and President Harry Truman. Historically, visitors from all over the

WIMMER? A S T O N

Explore the dry Side of Smithville Lake. It’s surrounded by golf courses and trails. Listen to these names: The “Smoke and Davey Trail,” the “Bonebender,” the “Crows Trail.” You’ll find three types of trails along 5,500 acres of public land: twenty-four miles of ten-foot wide asphalt-paved walking and biking trails that are relatively level and routed to offer a scenic view of the lake. For the ambitious, try eleven miles of challenging singletrack mountain biking trails that wind through the woods or twenty-six miles of equestrian trails!

Home to the Kansas City Trapshooters Association, Smithville Lake offers public hunting, including managed goose hunts in a threethousand-acre waterfowl refuge that also attracts wintering bald eagles.

Other spots offer youth and handicapaccessible hunts for white-tailed deer and wild turkeys. There’s even a 2,300acre native grassland revitalization project. Oh, and did we mention two golf courses?

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE Macken Park (free Friday lunchtime concerts during warm months), North Kansas City

Maple Woods Nature Preserve, N. Prospect Avenue, Gladstone

Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary, Liberty Carolyn’s Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze, 17607 N.E. 52 Street, Liberty

Cooley Lake Conservation Area,

2.5 miles east of Missouri City, Highway 210

Rocky Hollow Park,

off Old Quarry Road, Excelsior Springs

Tryst Falls Park (waterfall),

off Highway 92, Excelsior Springs

Smithville Lake and Jerry L. Litton Visitor Center, 16311 DD Highway N, Smithville

Shoal Creek Living History Museum, 7000 N.E. Barry Road, Kansas City Watkins Mill State Park, Kearney

Fountain Bluffs Sports Complex, 101 E. Kansas, Liberty

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PROMOTION

OUTDO EAT O R G

PELL’S CHAP M JI

SCREENLAND ARMOUR THEATRE

| TRAILS

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RS

RS

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CORBIN THEATRE

EAT OUTDOO GR

TRAPSHOOTING AT SMITHVILLE LAKE

How does a restaurant become one of Sports Illustrated Top 10 Sports Bars in America? Pack the place from floor to ceiling with sports memorabilia—a thousand football helmets; Sylvester Stallone’s boxing gloves and the trunks he wore in Rocky; Olympic torches; Super Bowl Rings; baseballs signed by Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb; memorabilia from the Kansas City Monarchs, Kings, and A’s; and even the 1974 World Series Trophy—then serve up great ambience with hands-on host, owner Jim Chappell. There you have it: Chappell’s Restaurant and Sports Museum. It’s conveniently located on Armour Boulevard, about halfway between the Downtown Airport and Harrah’s Casino. www. chappellsrestaurant.com, 323 Armour Road, North Kansas City, 816-4210002

INDOOR FUN Liberty Community Center Clay County Archives Courthouse Murals Corbin Theatre Screenland Armour Theatre Jesse James Bank Museum Restored Old Jail (where six Mormon pioneers, including Joseph Smith, were EQUESTRIAN TRAILS AT SMITHVILLE LAKE [97] June 2013

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Who has America’s best fried chicken (besides your grandma)? Measure your favorites against this worldclass standard: Stroud’s Oak Ridge Manor is a slice of Americana. It’s a sprawling old farmhouse, complete with whitewashed outbuildings and duck ponds, and within sight of the colorful balloons on the Worlds of Fun water tower. The regular dinner is served family-style, and the pan-fried chicken has been featured in many national magazines. 816-454-9600, www.stroudsrestaurant.com, 5410 N.E. OakRidge Drive, Kansas City The old Justus Drugstore is another great place to dine. Don’t let the name fool you. Justus Drugstore’s cuisine has gotten rave reviews in many national magazines.

The restaurant sources food locally and features such unique dishes as pork sweetbreads, a stuffed rabbit, a suckling kid pot pie, and a farmer’s platter for two or four. 816-532-2300, www.drustorerestaurant.com, 106 W. Main Street, Smithville A great place to get barbecue is Wabash BBQ. It’s located in the passenger waiting room of the old Wabash Train Station near another historic icon, The Elms Hotel, in Excelsior Springs. The whole family will enjoy the casual atmosphere and the smoked meats, ribs, and chicken.

You can take your choice of bottled sauce and packaged barbecue rubs home with you, too. 816-630-7700, www.wabashbbq.com, 646 S. Kansas City Avenue, Excelsior Springs Another casual option is Ray’s Lunch & Diner in Excelsior Springs.

It’s a ’50s-style diner where patrons still order from a menu board behind the counter. Order the burger or the secretrecipe chili.

Truman was staying at The Elms the night of his victory over Thomas Dewey in the 1948 presidential election.

LADOGA RIDGE WINERY VISIT THE GREAT NORTHWEST WINE TRAIL

Two wineries on the Great Northwest Wine Trail are in Clay County. You can enjoy tastings at Belvoir and Ladoga Ridge wineries. Belvoir Winery is located in a beautiful historic complex that was the Reed Springs Hotel and later, the Odd Fellows Home, which was both a home for orphans and the elderly. Enjoy the beautiful views here. Ladoga Ridge Winery just won six medals for its wines in an international competition and offers tours and tastings. www.nwmissouriwine.com

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PROMOTION

AN ITINERARY FOR TWO The Elms Hotel & Spa,

401 Regent Street, Excelsior Springs

Harrah’s Casino,

1 Riverboat Drive, North Kansas City

Ameristar Casino,

3200 N. Ameristar Drive, Kansas City

Martha Lafite Thompson, Nature Sanctuary, Liberty Downtown Liberty Walking Tours,

Download self-guided information at www.ci.liberty.mo.us

Tryst Falls Park (waterfall),

off Highway 92, Excelsior Springs

Hall of Waters & Cultural Museum, 201 E. Broadway, Excelsior Springs

Kearney Amphitheater,

3001 N. Highway 33, Kearney

Nellie’s Sweet Shoppe,

115 E. Main Street, Smithville

Paradise Playhouse

101 Spring Street, Excelsior Springs

BODY DESERV OUR ES T Y N E M H S E REFR

• The Elms Hotel and Spa: Get the spa treatment with a couple’s massage, sauna, or Ayurveda Healing treatment.

KEARNEY AMPHITHEATER

• Excelsior Springs Golf Course: Play eighteen holes on a course designed by famous golf-course architect Tom Bendelow.

• Tryst Falls Park and Rocky Hollow: Add some vitamin D to your mineral intake with a hike.

• Willow Spring Mercantile: Sample the world’s largest selection of Missouri wines.

• Play sports at one of eleven parks: Use sports fields, trails, courts, and shelter houses on more than 113 acres.

HALL OF WATERS & CULTURAL MUSEUM

nation and world flocked to Excelsior Springs’ health spas, clinics, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment establishments.

The Elms Hotel and Spa was a favorite haunt of Capone, and Truman enjoyed its Europeanstyle spa too. Today the spa at The Elms offers Ayurveda Healing body treatments, holistic facial care, couples massages, Vichy showers, an indoor European pool, and wet and dry saunas.

The city’s alias, “Home of the world’s greatest grouping of mineral waters,” is no idle boast.

Excelsior Springs features twenty springs bringing forth four distinct varieties of water.

Local spas still offer the mineral water baths, and mineral waters are still available inside the historic Hall of Waters and Cultural Museum, built by the Works Progress Administration in a stunning art-deco style. The hall, boasting the world’s longest mineral water bar, is surrounded by a revitalized downtown shopping district.

About eleven miles west of Excelsior Springs, you can see Jesse James’s childhood home in a town called Kearney (pronounced KAR-nee). Don’t forget to see the visitors center’s museum here either. Both the James Farm and visitors center are lovingly maintained by Clay County and supported by the Friends of the James Farm. The homestead has survived time, weather, raids, and Pinkerton firebombs.

This homestead is the real McCoy, the home of the James brothers and of another force to be reckoned with: their mother, Zerelda Elizabeth Cole James Simms Samuel. She lived on this farm until she died in 1911.

Next to Jesse, in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery, lie his mother and younger brother, Archie, who was killed in that firebomb attack.

Following an outlaw can work up a hunger.

Eat like an outlaw in downtown Kearney at The Rock Inn, At Sarah’s Table, the Stables Grill, Gino’s, or JJs. Then check out the Kearney City Museum, across from the Old Fire House.

Continue on to Smithville, the namesake to Smithville Lake—and also the gateway to the water. Smithville Lake offers a paradise for swimming, sailing, waterskiing, trapshooting, mountain biking, cycling, hiking, and fishing. The 7,200-acre lake features two public beaches along its 175-mile shoreline. The lake is nearly three times larger than greater Kansas City’s next three largest lakes. Pick from among 777 campsites in three camping areas, shelters that can be reserved, and two full-service marinas, including boat rentals.

While you’re at the lake, visit the Jerry Litton Visitor Center. It’s a state-of-the-art museum about the history of the lake, which was

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Smithville

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Hodge Park

Jesse James Bank Museum Liberty

Happy Rock Park Gladstone 71

Briarcliff Village

Worlds of Fun

Cooley Lake Reservation Area

Ruth Stocksdale Park

435

Harrah’s North Kansas City

Ameristar

EPT HERE ES SL JAM E S JES

OUTLAW ITINERARY

Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Kearney James Country Mercantile, 111 N. Main Street, Liberty

Jesse James Bank Museum, 103 N. Water Street, Liberty

Frank and Jesse James Farm,

21216 Jesse James Farm Road, Kearney Watkins Mill State Park, Kearney

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Watkins Mill Jesse James State Park Farm & Museum

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originally built to harness a flood-prone river.

The center shows you dramatic displays of the area’s fauna, both on land and in the water.

Don’t miss the bobcat display there. There’s something about a wild bobcat display inside a tame welcome center that speaks to the heart of the Clay County experience: a place of contrasts.

Remember that line about Smithville offering a paradise? In a northern Clay County town across the lake from Smithville, on State Highway W, you’ll find a real Paradise along the water. Paradise is a small town—so small it doesn’t list the population on its city-limit signs. But during the lake season, thousands of visitors discover Paradise and take part in all kinds of water fun: fishing (with great catches), boating, skiing, and swimming.

On your way back into Smithville, stop at the Ladoga Ridge Winery. It offers wonderful ambience and great wines with intriguing names such as “B Cause” and “Yankee Smith,” in honor of Smithville’s first settler. Ask about the history of a red table wine called “Toad-ALope.” Then have lunch in historic downtown Smithville at one of the great little home-style restaurants on the square, before you shop in some truly eclectic shops, including antiques stores.

Smithville’s Heritage District is home to a variety of unique shops. Stroll the quaint streets and indulge at Nellie’s Sweet Shoppe, Jean’s Flowers and Gifts, and 3Link Gallery.

As the sign at Margie’s Attic reminds you, “It’s cooler inside than ya think!” You can even get a short lesson in quilting at the local fabric store.

Then visit Smithville’s parks to find walking and hiking trails, playground areas, camping, and organized activity fields for baseball, soccer, and football.

This tour of Clay County shows you that when communities work together for a common purpose, the result is both a wonderful vacation destination and a great place to live.

The county’s master plan, called Vision 2010, has been in effect for two decades now, and the results are impressive. Clay County has positioned itself to grow, while preserving the delicate urban and rural mix.

There’s a refreshing pattern of cooperation here, in a land that Kansas Citians call “the Northland.” And the treasures, the charms, the lure of the Northland have never been better, thanks to the visionary people of Clay County. They’re waiting to see you. (And honestly, they’ll let you out of that bank vault.)

WATKINS MILL STATE PARK

Jesse James may be Clay County’s most famous—or infamous— resident. Yes, you can still see his home, the James Farm, and the Visitors Center, operated by the county and supported by the Friends of the James Farm. While you’re here, see other delightfully preserved links to America’s past in Clay County.

Near Kearney, the historic Mt. Gilead Church was built in 1873, and today, it’s a favorite spot for weddings, reunions, performances, and parties.

In Gladstone, the Atkins Johnson house is the centerpiece to the Shoal Creek Living History Museum. It is a beautifully restored farmhouse museum and part of Gladstone’s Big Shoal Heritage Area. Just east of Liberty, the county operates the 1858 Pharis Farm, a walk back into life in bygone times.

No Jesse James pilgrimage is complete without a stop at Kearney’s Mt. Olivet Cemetery where Jesse James rests.

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PROMOTION

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS HISTORY, THEN AND NOW Excelsior Springs’ rich history began in the late 1800s with the discovery of “healing” mineral water that flowed from the ground or could be tapped with deep wells. The first written documentation of the water reported that in 1880, a local farmer named Travis Mellion turned to the water for his daughter who was afflicted with scrofula. Mellion bathed his daughter in the water and she was healed. Word of the healing spread and eventually, A.W. Wyman, owner of the spring, had samples of the water analyzed in St. Louis. The water was declared to have curative results.

Over time, more and more wells were discovered and in the end, more than forty-six wells and springs were located within a half-mile radius of the original well, Siloam Spring. Thus began the marketing years of Excelsior Springs. Word spread around the world and for the next eightyplus years, Excelsior Springs would have thousands come to the city to partake of the healing waters in an assortment of ways from bathing to drinking. The town became recognized by its fancy pagodas denoting the location of the wells. Hotels sprang up, as did businesses, healing clinics, churches, boarding houses, restaurants, hotels, and more.

Over time, the mineral waters fell out of favor and the town experienced a downturn but thanks to the ingenuity of its residents, the city has always pulled out of its economic woes.

Today Excelsior Springs thrives once again and those mineral waters are celebrated in the Hall of Waters in the in the Excelsior Springs Museum and Archives along with a mineral well walking map. You can also

experience the healing qualities of hydrotherapy at The Elms Hotel and Spa or several local spas and salons.

Boarding houses and grand hotels have a rich history of providing great hospitality since the beginning, and today there are bed and breakfasts and a grand hotel to welcome you. The newly restored Elms Hotel and Spa or the Inn on Crescent Lake offer a historic atmosphere for a weekend stay, wedding, or corporate event.

Excelsior Springs is still growing and making its own history. The citizens of this great community are committed to the success of the city.

Nobody does it better.

• 201 E. Broadway, Excelsior Springs • 816-630-0750 • www.CityofESMO.com PAID FOR BY CITY OF EXCELSIOR SPRINGS

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EXCELSIOR SPRINGS THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Excelsior Springs has plenty of activities planned throughout the year to keep its residents and visitors busy. There is something for everyone, from the popular Second Friday Art Crawl in conjunction with Music Under the Stars; Movies on the Lawn at The Elms; Gatsby Days; the ES Wine Festival , which celebrates art, food, and Missouri wine; The Blues Garden; Golf Tournaments; BBQ and Fly-In on the River; Mineral Water Bowl, and more!

Designed to celebrate the past, present, and future, Waterfest is one of the biggest gatherings of the year and sponsored by the Excelsior Springs Chamber of Commerce. It draws more than sixty vendors, a variety of activities and entertainment and thousands of attendees for a weekend of fun. Held the last weekend in June, Waterfest kicks off in the historic downtown district. Held since the early 1980s, Waterfest is anticipated every year—it’s the chamber’s best, fun-filled weekend of the summer.

Whether you’re an aircraft enthusiast, a barbecue fan, or simply like a good time, Excelsior Springs is the place to be on the third weekend of August.

Dozens of competitive smoke-cooking teams turn out that weekend for Excelsior Springs’ BBQ & Fly-In on the River, and thousands of people follow the haze of smoke and party-time atmosphere for one of the most exciting and colorful events to take place in the downtown area.

Not only does the community offer many unique events and activities, but Excelsior Springs also offers beautifully cultivated walking trails, shopping, plenty of restaurants to choose from, several wineries, a lushly landscaped golf course, and Christmas activities to keep every visitor occupied from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve. • 461 S. Thompson Avenue, Excelsior Springs • 816-630-6161 • www.exspgschamber.com PAID FOR BY EXCELSIOR SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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PROMOTION

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS MORE EVENTS AND CHARACTER Downtown Excelsior Springs, the heart and soul of the community, has played host to the activities of the city since 1888 and will continue that role for years to come. Today the downtown is an arts and entertainment district hosting Second Friday Art Crawls each month with artists and galleries open for an evening of music, art, and dining.

In addition to the artistic activities in Excelsior Springs, we have two thriving live theaters: The Excelsior Springs Community Theatre Slightly Off Broadway Players and Paradise Playhouse Dinner Theatre and Event Center, which offer theatrical entertainment for young and old throughout the year.

From the lush, rolling hills and countryside, to the historic downtown buildings—Excelsior Springs is an open canvas just waiting for talented individuals or groups to photograph, paint, or sculpt—immortalizing what we have known for years—the ageless beauty that is Excelsior Springs.

Other activities downtown representing the culinary arts are the ES Wine Festival and ES Beer Fest. The wine festival, a celebration of art, music and Missouri Wine, is held the third weekend in June and is now a two-day event. Whether you’re a seasoned wine drinker or are still trying to figure out the difference between Chardonnay and Champagne, the Wine Fest offers an opportunity to get to know types of wines, winemaking methods, and the labels that have made Missouri famous in the American wine market.

ES Beer Fest, a new event for downtown, will feature craft and microbrew beers the last Saturday in September. Other annual events held downtown include the Chocolate Tour in February, Gatsby Days in April, Downtown Farmer’s Market running from May through September, Waterfest in June, BBQ Contest and Fly-in in August, Wabash BBQ

Blue Garden and Movies on the Lawn all summer long as well as Christmas events in November and December including a visit by the great, great, grandson of Charles Dickens performing a one-man show “A Christmas Carol” at The Elms Hotel and Spa. The future of downtown is bright with new businesses and residential housing that will keep the town center vibrant for years to come • P.O. Box 513, Excelsior Springs • 816-637-2811 • www.VisitESprings.com PAID FOR BY DOWNTOWN EXCELSIOR PARTNERSHIP

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CITY OF GLADSTONE ATKINS-JOHNSON FARM AND MUSEUM How often does a community come together to save a piece of its own history and open a museum from scratch? The answer is not very often.

The City of Gladstone, located just north of the Missouri River and Kansas City, has a wonderfully preserved piece of frontier history. The Atkins-Johnson historic farmhouse was purchased by the city in 2005 and turned into a museum. The farmland of the Atkins and Johnson families tells the story of average Missouri farm families. With so much focus paid to local legends or wealthy families connected to companies or political offices, it is rare and refreshing to find a historical home museum belonging to average Americans.

The museum opened April 27, and it offers visitors the chance to explore one of the oldest continuously lived-in homes and operational farms in Clay County. The house tells a story dating back to the earliest days of the Missouri frontier. In 1824, just three years after Missouri became a state, President James Monroe granted the land the museum stands on to William Allen. Although five different families owned the land at some point, it was the Atkins and Johnson families who lived here for 154 of the 180 years. Encased in the walls of the museum is the original log cabin built between 1831 and 1834. Visitors can see exposed sections of log walls and the extra precautions taken in applying plaster to [104] MissouriLife

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April 27 through August 31. The staff of the new Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum looks forward to offering the public a series of exhibits, annual events, festivals, cemetery tours, garden programs, and educational opportunities beginning this year.

• 6607 N.E. Antioch Road, Gladstone • 816-453-3276

seal out the Missouri cold. Sections of the ceiling and floor reveal detailed construction techniques used more than 170 years ago. All the rooms on the main floor of the house are open to visitors to explore the exhibits and architecture. Visitors will connect with the farmhouse museum as they would their grandparents’ farm; recalling memories of traditional farm life, which was considered the backbone of America.

The farmhouse is now federally protected for its age and architectural significance and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is in the Big Shoal Heritage area, which includes the original house, twenty-two acres of farmland with original barns and outbuilding, and the Big Shoal Cemetery (once the site of the popular and influential Big Shoal Baptist Church). The church and the immediate area were an important community-gathering place for much of the nineteenth century.

Visitors can see a series of exciting traveling exhibits to complement the permanent exhibit. The house will be a stage to showcase history and engage visitors in topics from the past that connect to the present.

A piece titled “Farm Life: A Century of Change for Farm Families and Their Neighbors” from the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Wisconsin will be one of many featured traveling exhibits. The exhibit runs

LINDEN SQUARE Gladstone, a suburb of Kansas City, appreciates art. Be it canvas, sculptures, or the performing arts, the town of Gladstone knows the arts are all important now and in the future.

To support the arts, Gladstone has recently completed Linden Square.

The square is located centrally in the city on N.E. 70th Street, just two blocks east of N. Oak Trafficway. Linden Square brings people together with outdoor activities and an entertainment stage for performing arts and music. It even has green space for exhibits. Live entertainment events began April 5 with a performance by Liverpool, a Beatles Tribute Band.

Performances featuring tribute bands for groups such as Fleetwood Mac, Queen, and The Eagles will continue every weekend through September. The entertainment lineup is full and many exciting acts have been booked. The best part is that all of these events are free. For a complete list of the groups and events at Linden Square, scan the QR code.

If you are an outdoor sports fan and like to ice skate, Linden Square will satisfy that yearning as well. Come and skate on the only synthetic ice rink in the Midwest. No Zamboni here. If it gets a little warm that’s okay too; you can still skate at Linden Square. Should you fall, synthetic ice adds a little more bounce to your landing. Skates are available for rent so no need to go out and buy a set. There’s plenty of fun to be had at Linden Square. This is only the beginning.

Keep an eye on Gladstone to see what comes next.

• 602 N.E. 70th Street Gladstone • www.gladstone.mo.us

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THEATER IN THE PARK Gladstone’s Theatre in the Park was made for fans of live musical theatre.

Two live shows are presented three times during two weekends and it’s all free at the Oak Grove Park Amphitheater.

This year, theatre enthusiasts can enjoy Guys and Dolls during the weekend of July 5 to 7 starting at 8:30 pm. This play is about New York, the city that never sleeps. The news seller, the chorus girl, the gambler, and the missionary are all caught up in the teeming vitality of the city streets.

First, there is Sergeant Sarah Brown of the Save a Soul Mission, vainly trying to spread the religious word and make a difference to

the sin and depravity of the streets full of tipsters, gamblers and con men. Then there is Adelaide, the showgirl who is desperate to leave behind her seemingly glamorous lifestyle for a white-picket fence.

She has been engaged to Nathan Detroit for fourteen years, but his top priority is finding yet another new location for his dice game to keep ahead of the law. Finally, the gamblers themselves, eager for just one more roll and the coolest, highest roller of the all, Sky Masterson who will bet on anything that will turn him a profit.

Don’t miss the action of this performance as Sky pursues Sarah and Nathan tries to win back Adelaide’s favor when they declare that guys will do anything for the dolls they love.

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PROMOTION

Hungry for more musicals? During August, The Music Man will be performed August 5 to 7 beginning at 8:30 pm. The musical takes place during the early summer of 1912, aboard a train leaving Rock Island, Illinois.

A stranger overhears a group of salesmen saying that Iowa is the biggest test of all sales ability. The conversation eventually turns to another topic; a con man, known as Professor Harold Hill, whose scam is to convince parents that he can teach their musically disinclined children to play musical instruments. He takes orders for instruments and uniforms on the premise that he will form a band. But once the instruments arrive and are paid for, he skips town without forming the band, moving on before he is exposed. Be sure to attend Theatre in the Park to hear the unexpected ending to this story.

Come to Gladstone with a blanket or lawn chair, and picnic basket to enjoy live, musical theatre under the stars. All of these performances are free for everyone to enjoy. Scan the QR code for a complete schedule of the attractions and events in Gladstone.

FESTIVALS Festivals bring a certain image to everyone’s mind. They send people back to the idyllic communities they’ve seen in movies, plays, or advertising. Bring those images to life at Gladstone’s annual Gladfest, an annual three-day celebration that takes place every October. As visitors meander throughout the festival area, their senses will be tantalized with a myriad sights, sounds and aromas. The glitz of the carnival lights and sounds always provide active entertainment for the young and young in spirit—add a bit of popcorn and a big fluff of cotton candy and you will

have a classic carnival experience. Hop on one of many carnival rides and be sure not to miss the parade on Saturday morning. There’s also daily entertainment at the Center Stage.

Those who prefer something with a little more energy and enjoy the sounds of great blues and jazz should consider the Summertime Bluesfest. One of the biggest blues festivals in the Midwest is now held in Gladstone each year during the second weekend of June. Join a lively, fun-loving crowd to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere of good music and food.

Relax, kick back, and enjoy a smoked sausage hot off the grill and a cool relaxing drink as the strains of music fill the air. Join with others from around the country that come for the weekend to enjoy this great music festival at Gladstone’s Oak Grove Park.

There is no charge for any of the festivals so there is no excuse not to get out there and enjoy all of the fun Gladstone has to offer.

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KANSAS CITY CONVENTION & VISITORS ASSOCIATION COME SEE CLAY COUNTY AND THE KANSAS CITY METRO North, south, east or west, Kansas City offers a wide array of things to see and do in every direction. In Clay County, visitors will discover a wealth of diversions, including these visitor favorites: Follow in the footsteps of a legend at the Jesse James Bank Museum in Liberty and his birthplace in Kearney, each drawing thousands from around the world.

Get your thrills at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, Kansas City’s sideby-side theme parks and home to more than 230 acres of family fun.

Head to Smithville to grab a bite at Justus Drugstore. The restaurant features the culinary talents of Jonathan Justus, a chef praised by The New York Times.

Enjoy a slice of nineteenth-century life at Shoal Creek Living History Museum, a charming village where buildings date back to as early as 1807.

Relax and renew in Excelsior Springs. Fresh off a major renovation, the one hundred-year-old Elms Hotel and Spa has reinvented itself with a twenty-five-thousand-square-foot spa.

At the TWA Museum, get acquainted with Kansas City’s hometown airline and the role it played in pioneering commercial aviation.

Make it a long weekend and experience one of the area’s many acclaimed

festivals, including North Kansas City’s Snake Saturday, Gladstone’s Gladfest and Smithville’s Octoberfest.

There’s plenty more to do in Clay County including visiting the 1860 Watkins Woolen Mill State Park as well as many casinos, lakes, trails and golf courses. For more information about the great things to see and do in Kansas City, go to: • 800-767-7700 • www.VisitKC.com

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KEARNEY CHAMBER COLORFUL PAST AND MODERN LIVING Kearney has kept an eye on its rich and colorful past but continues to grow today. The town has developed from its humble beginnings in 1856 as an agricultural and livestock community to its current status as a premier area for modern living. The town has a rich past; it holds its place in American history and folklore as the birthplace of one of the American West’s most notorious characters, Jesse James.

Today residential growth and increasing business development contribute to Kearney’s high-level of financial stability. The town’s growing business community and strong local economy mean residents enjoy a full range of competitive goods and services. Kearney has an aggressive probusiness approach that makes doing business easier than in your typical metro area community. The community’s desire to prosper continues to bring local merchants and business owners increased opportunities.

Kearney has a small-town environment with a unique downtown, churches for every denomination, and more than eight miles of walking trails through more than 160 acres of parkland. We also have one of the top-ranked public school systems in Missouri and the entire United States.

Whether you’re just visiting or looking for a place to settle down, Kearney is a great place to be.

• kearneychamber.org • 816-628-4229 • 106 S. Jefferson Street, Kearney

THE CITY OF KEARNEY AMPHITHEATER The City of Kearney Amphitheater in Kearney’s Jesse James Park will take visitor’s breath away. Built in 2007, the state-of-the-art amphitheater had a price tag of more than $917,000. It was funded by city lease-purchase financing as well as a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. More than $400,000 in donations and in-kind contributions was also raised. But recent renovations have made the amphitheater even better for concertgoers. The sound system has been expanded and new covered pavilion with a concession stand and beer garden has been added. Concertgoers can bring chairs and blankets and enjoy the plush lawn seating. Kick back, relax, and witness national and regional concert acts second to none, including The Band Perry, Justin Moore, Easton Corbin, Randy Houser, and Skid Row, to name a few. Don’t forget to stop in for the Annual Kearney Blues Fest or movies in the park. Visit www.kearneyamphitheater.com for a complete history of the amphitheater, photos, and a schedule of upcoming acts for the 2013 summer concerts series.

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CITY OF LIBERTY SO MUCH TO EXPLORE AND ENJOY It’s no wonder that the town was named the third “Best Town for Families” by Family Circle Magazine, the seventh “Best Place to Live” by Money Magazine and one of Missouri Life’s top ten towns. If you’re a fan of history, shopping, dining, interesting architecture or history, come see why Liberty is at the top of its class.

Founded in 1822 and incorporated in 1829, Liberty is one of the oldest cities in Missouri, and named for the principle Americans hold most dear. During its more than 175-year history, Liberty claims some of the most interesting and distinctive stories of the early expansion into the American West and of events before, during, and after the Civil War. Some of the earliest skirmishes of the Civil War took place around Liberty. Most notable of these was the theft and burning of the Union-held Liberty Arsenal, located on a bluff above the nearby Missouri River.

Today, the town is lined with century-old buildings that house boutiques and specialty shops, restaurants, museums, and other businesses, Liberty’s historic downtown continues on as the heart of the community. Each Saturday morning from May through October, visitors and residents alike seek out locally produced fruits, vegetables, baked goods, jams, honeys, and other sundries at the award-winning Historic Downtown Liberty Farmers’ Market. The square is also the site of monthly classic car cruise nights that will make attendees feel as if they’ve stepped back in time. Historic Downtown Liberty lures people to the square with special events throughout the year, including a wine-tasting event and a beer crawl.

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Those into live entertainment should drop in for some Jazz on the Square or a quality production produced by the Corbin Theatre. In the summer months, bring a blanket or lawn chair and join the community on the square for Liberty Parks and Recreation’s free summer concert series or performances by the Liberty Summer Band.

More and more people are traveling to Liberty for its annual festivals, which have nearly doubled in size in recent years. The Liberty Arts Squared festival kicks off the festival season May 31 and June 1 with a juried art show, live music, children’s activities, and more. Liberty knows how to celebrate its namesake during the Liberty4thFest, which takes place July 3 and 4. There, visitors can appreciate the town’s Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned BBQ contest, free outdoor concert, patriotic parade, car cruise, and fireworks display. The 37th annual Fall Festival rounds out the schedule from September 27 to 29. The event showcases handcrafted gifts and unique items along with a parade, carnival, music, dancing, and boundless fun.

Beyond the square, visitors to Liberty are struck by the abundance of historic homes and buildings. More than 240 structures have been designated “Century Homes” and “Century Buildings” for their historic

significance. Belvoir Winery, located south of the historic downtown, offers intact examples of Jacobethan Revival structures. Although the site shares a rich history with The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, modern day visitors to the winery will find more than just good local wines, including fine artwork by regional artists, an ice cream shop, and maybe an encounter with the paranormal.

Those who want to check out some of Liberty’s history and architecture and get a little exercise in at the same time, can take advantage of free guided and self-guided tours. The first Saturday of each month during May through October, a guided walking tour is held, free of charge. Each tour explores a different historic district or theme, such as architecture, murals, and churches.

As the seat of Clay County, a center of commerce and a gateway to westward travel, Liberty has been a great place to live, visit and explore for more than 175 years. Come explore all that Liberty has to offer.

• 101 E. Kansas Street, Liberty • 816-439-4400 • www.ci.liberty.mo.us

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NORTH KANSAS CITY AT THE HEART OF GREATER KANSAS CITY’S ATTRACTION There’s no need to leave hometown value and comfort behind when enjoying Greater Kansas City. Visitors will find an urban village that offers personable service and affordable accommodations, just north of downtown Kansas City. North Kansas City provides a variety of major hotel chains, more than sixty eating and meeting locations, and a wide array of entertainment options. The city is located at the very center of metropolitan Kansas City, which makes it the logical choice to stay for easy access to all of the great things in this burgeoning heartland region.

North Kansas City emerged a century ago as one of America’s first comprehensively planned cities. Riverboats, railroads, and industrialage businesses grew quickly in the southern part of the city. Soon after, quaint urban bungalows, parks, churches, schools, and a full-service downtown graced the city’s northern half. Today, the city’s four square miles still retains a close-knit neighborhood flavor, chock-full of amenities. Many claim the area to be one of region’s best-kept secrets, but local residents are eager to share Northtown’s unique aspects. Whether it be new craft breweries or barbecue joints tucked away off the beaten path or even the city’s well-established and vibrant downtown district, North Kansas City’s ever changing package of offerings keeps people coming back to discover more.

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North Kansas City’s one thousand businesses continue to thrive with employment in a wide variety of sectors, including information technology, medical services, and tourism. City government continues to take proactive steps to maintain its well-balanced community by offering fantastic amenities, more diverse housing opportunities, and a pro-business environment. The city leaves little to chance by operating its own library, parks and recreation, water, streets, and fiber-optic telecommunication systems. North Kansas City has arguably the most adequately equipped and staffed police and fire departments in the nation, which has helped it earn an unparalleled reputation for safety.

But it’s not all work in North Kansas City. There’s plenty of fun things for visitors to do. Key visitor attractions include: Harrah’s Casino and Hotel, the historic Screenland Armour Theatre, Macken Park, Chappell’s Sports Museum and Restaurant, The Children’s Fountain, Northtown Opry, North Kansas City School District’s Historic Stadium, North Kansas City Community Center, and a wide array of group meeting centers. Business tourism also thrives with Cerner Corporation’s Headquarters Campus and Vision Center, North Kansas City Hospital, and Cook Polymers Training Center alone attracting hundreds of thousands of people far and wide.

The city also sponsors a wide variety of festivals and such as the Snake Saturday Parade and BBQ Cook-off, which are held downtown the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. Free lunchtime concerts are held each Friday at Macken Park June through September. Get some local flavor with the Citywide Garage Sale, which is held twice a year. North Kansas City also offers quarterly local history presentations, sponsored by the area’s historical society.

• 2010 Howell Street, North Kansas City • 816-274-6000 • www.nkc.org [113] June 2013

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SMITHVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CARING SMALL TOWN SPIRIT Smithville is a hidden gem located twenty miles north of downtown Kansas City. Alive with quaint retailers, mouth-watering eateries, and a recreation lake that spans more than seven-thousand acres, Smithville is a town filled with charm and bustling with activity.

For those who love the outdoors, Smithville Lake has more than 175 miles of shoreline. The lake’s many recreational opportunities include two beaches, two full-service marinas that offer boat rentals, and one sailboat-only marina. If visitors want to stay on land, there are two public eighteen-hole golf courses within the Paradise Pointe Golf Complex as well as great fishing, twenty-five miles of walking and biking trails, eleven miles of single-track mountain biking trails, twenty-six miles of equestrian trails, 777 campsites, shelters, managed public hunting and an aggressive 2,300-acre native grassland revitalization project.

There’s plenty to enjoy in Smithville year-round but one event that should not be missed is the Annual Octoberfest. The festival takes place the second weekend in October and is hosted by the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce. It’s in the beautiful downtown Heritage

Business District. Come enjoy bands, a carnival, vendors, a parade, scrumptious food and more.

A real sense of community can be found in Smithville.

Visitors will feel welcome at the top-rated school district and with local merchants, including awardwinning Ladoga Ridge Winery, www.ladogaridgewinery.com, and a nationally recognized restaurant, Justus Drugstore, www.drugstorerestaurant.com. Smithville’s has a caring small town spirit that makes it a prime location for families to live, work, and play.

• 105 W. Main, Smithville • 816-532-0946 • www.smithvillechamber.org

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LIBERTY HOSPITAL COMMITTED TO SERVING THE COMMUNITY Located just twenty minutes north of downtown Kansas City, Liberty Hospital is a thriving medical center serving Clay County, as well as the northwest Missouri corridor.

Since opening in February 1974, the hospital has continued to expand services. What started as a 130-bed facility now has 250 licensed beds and just under 1,900 employees. More than three hundred physicians represent nearly every medical specialty practice at the public, non-profit hospital.

Liberty Hospital’s commitment to serving the community’s health needs extends beyond the hospital campus, due to its expanding network of primary care clinics in Liberty, Kearney, and Excelsior Springs.

Liberty Hospital Cardiovascular Services is one of the area’s quickest at assessing and treating individuals experiencing heart attack symptoms.

The center also features advanced diagnostic and treatment services.

Many new families get the best starts possible in life at the Birthing Center and Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Other women’s services include mammography and bone density screenings. Doctors use the da Vinci robot, a state-of-the-art surgical device, to perform minimally invasive hysterectomies and other surgeries.

Orthopedic specialists perform joint replacements, and treat sports

injuries, back injuries and trauma on a dedicated thirty-three-bed orthopedic unit. Patients recover using comprehensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services.

Diagnostic Imaging includes MRI, CT scanners, and a mobile PET scanner. Liberty was the first hospital in the area, nearly four years ago, to have a CT scanner dedicated solely for the use of diagnosing emergency room patients.

• 2525 Glenn Hendren Drive, Liberty • 816-781-7200 • www.libertyhospital.org

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BELVOIR WINERY WINE, HISTORY, AND HAUNTS Belvoir Winery is a family-owned winey and event space spanning 170 breath-taking acres in Liberty just north of Kansas City. Belvoir, French for beautiful view, offers spectacular vistas for guests to relax while sampling wine. The winery is an elegant setting for weddings, corporate events, and innumerable other celebrations.

Belvoir’s history spans 130 years. The property has undergone several incarnations including a hotel, Odd Fellows-run children’s home, and hospital. Dr. John and Marsha Bean dreamt of restoring the grandeur of the long vacated buildings while cultivating a vineyard and supporting local arts. On January 6, 2011, Belvoir Winery officially reopened to the public.

The property is considered one of the most haunted locations in Missouri and has been featured on Ghost Hunters. Belvoir provides Boos & Booze (wine tastings coupled with paranormal discussions) and paranormal investigations.

Come for the wine, support local art, and catch a glimpse into another era at this picturesque winery.

• 1325 Odd Fellows Road, Liberty • info@belvoirwinery.com • 816-200-1811 • www.belvoirwinery.com

LIBERTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS STUDENTS EXCEL AT LIBERTY SCHOOL Liberty Public Schools has gained quite a reputation for itself. The school district is one of the highest performing and fastest growing districts in the state, and people in the Kansas City metropolitan area and around the state of Missouri are starting to take notice. Liberty has been awarded for “Distinction in Performance” by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary education for eleven consecutive years. It is one of only five percent of districts in the state that can claim this prestigious honor.

The Liberty School District serves more than 11,600 students from

preschool to twelfth grade, who come from approximately eighty-five square miles in Clay County. These students excel in countless arenas. In recent years, Liberty has won state championships in girls soccer, cheerleading, and dance, and received awards in forensics, robotics, and speech and debate.

If you’re considering a move to the Kansas City area, be sure to check out the Liberty School District—you will like what they have to offer.

• 650 Conistor Street, Liberty • 816-736-5300 • www.liberty.k12.mo.us

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JAMES COUNTRY MERCANTILE

ANNA MARIE’S TEAS & THE TERRACE AVENUE INN

OUTFITTING LIVING HISTORIANS SINCE 1986 James Country Mercantile is one of the largest “sutleries” in existence, and the only storefront of its kind in the Midwest. Lady or gentleman, civilian or soldier—we can outfit the 1800s living historian from head to foot, outside and underneath! We’ll help you establish your camp, cook your grub, and generally spruce up your living history impression. 111 N. Main Street, Liberty, 816-781-9473, www.jamescountry.com

TEA AND A PLACE FOR TRAVELERS Anna Marie’s Teas hosts monthly tea parties, private events, and sells ninety premium loose-leaf teas. Terrace Avenue Inn features two rooms and one suite, with private baths. It’s a respite drenched in peace, quiet and small hotel amenities. 124 S. Terrace Avenue, Liberty, 816-792-8777, www.AnnaTeaShop.com, www.TerraceAvenueInn.com

WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE WHERE STUDENTS LIVE WHAT THEY LEARN Located in historic Liberty and minutes from Kansas City, William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college that offers a thriving living and learning community.

Since 1849, we have focused on student achievement, emphasizing critical thinking, research, experiential learning and leadership. Ranked in publications including U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes and Washington Monthly, William Jewell is cited for small class sizes, low student debt, high graduation rates, commitment to service and overall value.

The Jewell Journey is rich with opportunities for students to live what

they learn. Students can engage in our Center for Justice and Sustainability, collaborate in our new learning commons, design their own Journey Grant anywhere in the world, be a Division II student-athlete, research with a professor, join the nation’s No. 2 debate team or launch an entrepreneurial venture through our Innovation Center.

Rising up from the American frontier in 1849, William Jewell College stays committed to developing leaders who will shape a changing world.

• 816-781-7700 • www.jewell.edu

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BIG V COUNTRY MART

STONE-YANCEY HOUSE B&B ELEGANT ACCOMMODATIONS This 1889 Queen Anne Victorian home has been a luxurious bed-andbreakfast since 2007. Featuring original woodwork and stained glass windows, the Stone-Yancey House has three guest rooms with private baths, TV/DVD players, sitting areas, and wireless Internet. Room amenities include queen or king beds and rainfall showers or clawfoot/whirlpool tubs. Evening sweets, early coffee, and a three-course gourmet breakfast await you in the morning. 421 N. Lightburne Street, Liberty, 816-4150066, www.stoneyanceyhouse.com, stay@stoneyanceyhouse.com

KEARNEY’S CHOICE CUT OF LOCAL FOOD STORES It’s owned, operated, and run by smiling people from the Kearney community. Roam the aisles for more than one-thousand Best Choice products ranging from food you can eat to beauty products and health items to rejuvenate you during your stay. Best Choice, the Big V Country Mart brand, one hundred percent guarantees quality but registers at ten to twenty percent less than national brands. Check the website for weekly specials in the deli, bakery, produce, and meat departments. You’ll also find recipes for tastebud pleasers like “Bourbon Brown Sugar Pound Cake” and “Onion-Smothered Steak.” You won’t find a better grocery store. 150 W. 6th Street, Kearney, 816-628-6626, www.mycountrymart.com

FAIRFIELD PROPERTIES FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES FAIR TO SAY YOU WON’T WANT TO LEAVE FAIRFIELD You won’t want to leave our award-winning lobby with fireplace, newly renovated rooms or indoor saltwater pool and spa. But after a complimentary expanded hot breakfast on the patio, drive twenty minutes to Kansas City to fill up on jazz, baseball, shopping and museums. Then hit your pillow-top bedding again, click on the flat-screen, rest, and repeat. 8101 N. Church Road, Kansas City, 816-792-4000 , www.libertymohotel.com

HOTELS FOR ALL HATS Luxuriate in the Comfort Inn’s saltwater spa. Ride with family in the hotel van to Worlds of Fun after a SuperStart breakfast at Super 8. Or stay in business at Holiday Inn with an Executive Suite, extensive business services, and fitness center. Holiday Inn Express: 8230 N. Church Road, Kansas City, 816-781-5555, www.holidayinnkansascitymo.com. Comfort Suites: 8200 N. Church Road, Kansas City, 816-781-7273, www.kansascitymolodging.com. Super 8: 4321 N. Corrington Avenue, Kansas City, 816-454-8788, www.super8kansascity.com

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KEARNEY R-I SCHOOL DISTRICT PURSUING EXCELLENCE TODAY FOR TOMORROW The Kearney R-I School District is located in the bedroom community of Kearney, found just to the north of Kansas City. And while the community and school district continues to grow, they value the traditions that allow them to hold onto that small-town feeling. It is home to state champions in football, basketball, cross country, and wrestling as well as state and national awards in theater, robotics, and debate.

The district also recognizes and embraces the idea that school and community require a symbiotic relationship and that the highest degree of quality can only be obtained when there is a shared vision, focus, and synergy. For this reason, there are extensive community partnerships with businesses and civic organizations.

The district is progressive and high performing, with a focus on student growth in all areas: mentally, socially, physically, and academically.

It has been Accredited with Distinction in Performance by the Missouri Department of Education for nine consecutive school years. The district has some of the highest-achieving schools in the state despite having one of the lowest expenditures per pupil. Its students continually rank first in Missouri Assessment Program and End Of Course assessment scores.

Kearney R-I boasts achievement scores, attendance rates, and graduation rates significantly above state averages.

The district has dedicated and caring employees with a sense of mission, purpose, and a heart for kids. The teachers and administrators are highly qualified and in touch with the needs and desire of parents and patrons. Almost 81 percent of staff members hold advanced degrees.

There is a focus on STEM initiatives and the use of instructional technology. Kearney High School and Kearney Junior High School were recently awarded national certification for their Project Lead the Way program and Kearney Middle School was selected as a 2012 Missouri PLC Exemplary School. A cutting edge “Bring Your Own Device” pilot at Kearney High School was featured on a Kansas City news station. In addition to these three secondary buildings, Kearney has four neighborhood elementary buildings. They are Dogwood Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, Kearney Elementary, and Southview Elementary.

Quite simply put, Kearney R-I is a school district that offers the exceptional quality typically found in large districts but it does so while maintaining its small-town feel. It’s a place that still holds the homecoming parade in high regards and the entire community turns out to watch Friday night football games.

• 1002 S. Jefferson, Kearney • 816-628-4116 • www.Kearney.k12.mo.us

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Coming in 2014 Visit www.flightoftheconnie.org

NATIONAL AIRLINE HISTORY MUSEUM COME FLY WITH ME When Connie flew in 1944, she smashed a world record by half, whittling coast-to-coast flight down to six hours fifty-seven minutes. Film and flight mogul Howard Hughes—portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2004 film The Aviator—was her pilot.

Connie is a Lockheed Super G Constellation airplane.

She’s the last civilian model still flying.

Connie belongs to an extinct decade when passengers could send wafts of cigarette smoke into real, hanging curtains mid-flight. Back when flight attendants personally delivered each passenger’s coat on landing.

You can see Connie today in Hangar Nine of the National Airline History Museum, which is run by the retired pilots who saved her and devoted to bringing a future to planes past.

In 1986 the museum’s organizers, then called “Save A Connie,” ferried Connie into Kansas City from an Arizona desert. “Had the members of AHM waited any longer,” the museum website states, “it most likely would have been too late to find this kind of aircraft in restorable condition or to salvage the parts needed from other Connies.”

Connie spent eighteen months in the hangar then emerged like a butterfly, older and more ready to fly than ever. She’s since graced the world via air shows and in movies including Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and—naturally—The Aviator.

Connie’s hangar mates include a Douglas DC-3, which is nearing the end of a restoration process that has been tested by the rarity of the plane’s parts. The restoration began in 1993, when the museum members bought the DC-3 and sent three caravans of people to Roswell, New Mexico, to bundle and bring back its parts from storage. For a brief time, you could say Roswell in fact had an unidentified flying object.

The museum members discovered the DC-3 was rapt with corrosion and needed a new exterior skin, an engine overhaul, seat restoration, new carpet—the whole nine yards and then nine more. More troubling was that sixty percent of DC-3s had been used for WWII purposes, and of the forty percent left for commercial flight, very few were configured for twenty-four passengers and eight windows—like this DC-3.

The museum had bought a plane built of roughly seven hundred thousand parts—and it happened to be among the rarest such planes.

“Anybody in his or her right mind would have said, ‘it’s not worth putting any more money into this airplane,’ ” the museum organizers write on their website. “We started the project anyway!”

Hangar Nine is also home to the Moonliner II which stood atop the TWA headquarters at 18th and Baltimore in downtown Kansas City. The original Moonliner was sponsored by TWA and stood in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.

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You can now see the Moonliner II rocket and all sixty-four-and-a-half feet of the DC-3 (with Connie and other vintage crafts) on a forty-five-minute, docent-led tour at Hangar Nine of the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport. The museum is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays. There’s also a more private way to experience the hangar.

Hangar Nine is open for hosting weddings, fundraisers, luncheons, breakfasts, concerts, motorcycle shows, annual meetings—nearly anything you could fit into a hangar. Which turns out to include a lot.

When you hold your event at Hangar Nine, the event team will help you custom design the perfect setting. Choose from three areas to rent: the Hangar, the Main Gallery, or the Founder’s Room. Event facilitators are available to help with catering, lighting, staging, sound, and special décor to make your gathering unique and memorable.

When you walk outside during twilight—a time few get to enjoy the hangar—and see the jets parked on the ramp, their silhouettes stark before a blazing Kansas City skyline, you’ll be transported to another place where the sky takes center stage. It’s a backdrop fit for a movie screen. (If you don’t believe us, ask Connie.)

Every year the museum board opens Hangar Nine in a salute to the United Services Organization (USO). Headlined by a swing band, this

tribute event invites servicemen, servicewomen, and their spouses to swing dance, enjoy a chocolate fountain, and dress to win a 1940s-attire contest. The 2012 contest welcomed the best costumes yet.

“Amelia,” the winner replied upon being asked her name.

“Though missing since 1937,” museum members write on the museum’s Facebook page, “she made an appearance at our dance!”

The National Airline History Museum has a way of refinding the past.

At the USO salute, current and retired servicemen and servicewomen combine a rejuvenating energy with a historic surrounding.

Admission is $4 ages twelve to seventeen, $8 ages eighteen to sixtyfour, $5 seniors and active military. Free admission for children under 12. See website for group rates and to register in advance. Memberships for individuals, families, seniors, students, and active military available.

Please ask about benefits.

Free parking is on south side of building. Pilots can call museum in advance, then contact ground control on arrival for taxi instructions to park on ramp. Photography and pencil-sketching allowed. Flash photography not allowed inside, please, as this can deteriorate the artifacts.

Let your mind take flight by experiencing Hangar 9.

• Hangar 9, Charles B. Wheeler Memorial Airport • 201 N.W. Lou Holland Drive, Kansas City • 816-421-3401

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LADOGA RIDGE WINERY

TWA MUSEUM TAKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME The history of this world-famous airline comes to life in its original headquarters, built in 1931. Discover the major role that TWA played in pioneering commercial aviation. Learn about the organization’s founders and the history of air travel as it moved from the age of propellers to fast-flying jets. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 am to 4 pm.

10 N.W. Richards Road, Ste. 110, Kansas City, 816-234-1011, www.twamuseumat10richardsroad.org

HANDCRAFTED, AWARD-WINNING, SMALL-BATCH WINES You’ll find Ladoga Ridge Winery nestled in a corner off Highway F near Highway 169 just one mile north of downtown Smithville. The winery is situated in the middle of rolling vineyards offering spectacular views and sunsets.

It offers affordable dry and sweet wines and wine slushies made from fruit wines in the summer. The gift shop features items from local merchants. Try one of the gourmet cheese plates and fresh bread offered daily. Ladoga Ridge Winery is a great place for intimate weddings.

Call or visit the website for days and hours open. 100 E. Pope Lane, Smithville, 816-866-4077, ladogaridgewinery.com

CINDER BLOCK BREWERY A FOUNDATION FOR CRAFT BEER Cinder Block Brewery is a craft brewery located in North Kansas City that is dedicated to creating flavorful, bold, and unique artisan beers crafted from the purest ingredients. As a local craft brewery and taproom, it is committed to its community by sourcing regional ingredients and tradesmen. The brewery strives to push the beer development envelope by using the latest brewing techniques and the newest hop varieties to create a truly unique experience. This is seen best in their limited release

“Foundation Series,” where you will find something a little sour, a little funky, and a whole lot of fun. This fall, the brewery and taproom will be open Wednesdays through Sundays with daily tours and live music on Saturdays. Look for limited release pilot beers also on tap at the brewery.

• 110 E. 18th Avenue, North Kansas City • www.cinderblockbrewery.com • Facebook: Cinder Block Brewery • Twitter: @cinderblockbrew

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WORLDS OF FUN PREMIER FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT DESTINATION IN THE MIDWEST Worlds of Fun offers an unbeatable value of 235-acres of rides, shows and the addition of six new slides, three featuring Aqua-Launch chamand attractions, including admission to Oceans of Fun’s sixty acres of bers on a sixty-five-foot-tall complex, and a complete Oceans of Fun renwater slides and soaking rides. Guests can challenge more than one ovation. Also new in 2013, Dinosaurs Alive! an interactive dinosaur park hundred rides, shows, and attractions in five themed continent areas with more than thirty-five scale dinosaurs in a forested setting. at Worlds of Fun, home to seven world-class roller coasters. For the Each fall, Worlds of Fun transforms to Halloween Haunt, the Midthrill-seeker in training, Planet Snoopy is home to the world-famous west’s largest Halloween event, including costumed characters, themed PEANUTS characters and more than an acre of children’s attractions shows and ten haunted attractions. that families can ride together.

• 4545 Worlds of Fun Avenue, Kansas City Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun celebrate its fortieth anniversary in • 816-454-4545 2013 with the combination of both parks into a single admission ticket • www.worldsoffun.com [123] June 2013

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Kearney's Jesse JaMes FesT, held in sepTeMber

MOUnT Gilead sChOOl

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Visit www.claycountymo.gov for more Clay County information!

Produced by Missouri Life â&#x20AC;˘ www.MissouriLife.com

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PROMOTION

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SHOW-ME

Showcase

woven TogeTher If practIce makes perfect, then it’s no wonder the baskets made by Eric Peterson and Barbara Sakowicz are so beautiful. They’ve been practicing for years.

Their basket-making journey began in the early 1980s. That’s when Eric started studying with Roger and Betty Curry, who were considered by many to be the keepers of the flame of traditional Ozark white oak basket-making.

“Betty said if I’d keep working at it, I’d learn. I hope I’m getting there,” jokes Eric.

He’s there, all right.

alfresco weavIng Barb got into baskets through Eric, whom she met in 1990. “I liked making baskets, but I liked LEFT: eric peterson weaves a basket with native materials, such as elm, hickory, and cedar barks, that he harvested.

the basket maker more,” she quips.

Together, they developed their expertise in making free-form or rib baskets as well as traditional white oak baskets.

Eric processes the barks needed for their native-materials baskets and collects the various vines and grasses. The trees and vines come from their property and that of friends.

Eric and Barb transitioned from students to teachers in the early 1990s when they were asked to take over basket-making classes at the Christianson Native Craft Workshop at Shannondale on Highway 19, between Salem and Eminence.

The class is taught alfresco with students weaving outside under shade trees and even foraging for some materials.

A recent series of private classes at their home was organized for women who work at White River Valley Electric Cooperative.

michael pace; barbara gibbs ostmann

Basket-making brings a Missouri couple closer. By BarBara gIBBs ostmann

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ABOVE: Students at Shannondale made these colorful baskets out of dyed reed and rattan.

RIGHT: Barb Sakowicz crafts a reed rib basket while teaching at the christianson Native craft Workshop.

“Two ladies from White River attended Christianson Native Craft Workshop and then showed off their baskets at work,” says Melissa Cutbirth of Galena. “We all said, ‘Oooh, we want to do that.’ ” So they set up classes with Barb and Eric and made a variety of reed and native-material baskets. For a recent class, they brought deer antlers to use as handles for the rib baskets.

Eric and Barb enjoy seeing the students’ creativity in their baskets. No two are ever alike.

michael pace

a renaissance life Basket-making isn’t the only thing Eric and Barb enjoy doing together. A Renaissance couple, their diverse interests range from gardening to ballroom dancing to beekeeping. Eric enjoys woodturning, throwing pots, and blacksmithing. Barb likes weaving, cooking, and home food preservation. They are active in their church and a number of charitable organizations.

Both are Master Gardeners and enjoy heirloom gardening and seed collecting. Barb teaches flower-pressing classes through the Master Gardener program, and they both volunteer each year to plant the flower gardens at the Kids Across America Camp near

Golden. About seven hundred urban youth from around the country attend the camp each week in the summer.

Eric also enjoyed teaching a staff member of Kanakuk Kamps in Branson how to harvest materials in the wild and use them to make baskets as part of the camp’s survival class series.

The campers created primitive but functional baskets.

“I’m supposed to be retired,” says Eric, who formerly manufactured brake and clutch parts for automotive and industrial purposes.

Barb’s background is in occupational health care, but when she moved to Taneyville, she couldn’t find work in that field. So she started a home-based business with Mary Kay Cosmetics as an independent beauty consultant. The flexibility of the job allows her to assist Eric in teaching basket weaving and gathering materials.

Their country home reflects their artistic natures, and their family and friends are the lucky beneficiaries of their largesse—from canned goods to floral bouquets to baskets.

Because, as Barb and Eric point out, it’s not just about weaving a basket. It’s about weaving friendships in the process.

basket classes Eric and Barb teach private classes by appointment in their home outside of Taneyville, near Branson. Classes include a homemade snack or light lunch. Class fees vary depending on types of materials used, size and complexity of baskets, and group size.

For information about scheduling a private basketmaking class for your group or about purchasing baskets, contact Eric or Barb at epwchollow@gmail.com or 417-546-5588. They have a small supply of baskets on hand and can create customized baskets to order.

For more information about the Christianson Native Craft Workshop at Shannondale taught by Eric and Barb, visit www.christiansonnativecraft.org.

Eric assists most of Betty Curry’s classes, including biannual classes in June and November at St. Louis Basketry Supply in St. Louis, the annual Gibson-Curry Split Oak Basket Workshop in early April at Shannondale Community Center, and other classes from time to time. For information, contact Betty Curry at 417-732-1258.

Eric teaches a weekly reed basket class at Marriott’s Willow Ridge Lodge in Branson for guests of the lodge. For information, visit www.marriott.com/ hotels/travel/sgfhb-marriotts-willow-ridge-lodge.

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SHOW-ME

alli iNglebrighT; COurTesy Mills r. COleMaN

This well-known Columbia home gets its nickname for its Tudorrevival style, which evokes fairy-tale imagery. The home was named as one of Columbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Notable Properties in 2004.

RIGHT AND FAR RIGHT: Nadine Coleman and her husband, O.T., bought the home for fifteen hundred dollars in 1941. The exterior of the home reflected Nadineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion for gardening.

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The

Hansel and Gretel house

A Columbia home evokes a fairy tale. By Dianna Borsi o’Brien

courtesy mills r. coleman

surrounDeD By cozy gardens, the house at 121 West Boulevard in Columbia looks like something plucked from the pages of a story book. You almost expect Hansel and Gretel to come dancing out of the tiny front door at any minute.

This house, often known as the Gingerbread House, is a short-term lease house with a difference. Kristin and Adam Kaiser bought it in 2011 with two plans in mind: to maintain its historic integrity and to open up the iconic home to as many visitors as possible.

“It’s a fun house, and we’re delighted we can share it with even more people,” says Adam. Between rentals, the Kaisers have offered the home for tours. And while the house looks diminutive, it offers three bedrooms and two baths. The cozy, seven-foot ceilings are a drawback only for basketball players. Offered via Facebook, the house sports an official name: Creekstone Cottage, bestowed for the stones from a nearby creek that decorate the outside and the mantel.

Yet, when this historic home was built around 1911, the sweet cottage wasn’t a cottage—and it wasn’t even in Columbia.

Like many homes in what was once the frontier, the house began as a log cabin in 1911 only to be transformed in 1935 by Blanche and Arch McHarg into a Tudor-revival style home, leaving almost no visible clues to its log past inside the house. Even the stones on the outside of the house, according to previous reports, serve no structural purpose

and only reflect a popular style at the time.

The allure of the home is undeniable. When it went on the market in 2010, a realtor’s open house drew more than three hundred visitors.

Mention the Gingerbread House in Columbia, and most people know what house you are talking about.

The draw stems from the combination of its fairy-tale cottage appearance and the impeccable gardens, a transformation that didn’t begin until 1941.

Historic preservation consultant Deb Sheals admits the house itself is not an outstanding example of anything and says it is instead an example of how things add up to make a home remarkable.

“It’s just so little; it’s so cute. And it’s the gardens,” Deb says. “They’ve always been immaculately kept.”

The house does represent history because it once marked the edge of Columbia, a fact one of its former residents, Mills R. Coleman, recalls clearly.

It was his mother, Nadine Coleman, who planted the beautiful gardens that now lend the house its unmistakable charm. She and her husband, O.T., bought the house in 1941.

Mills recalls his family having to install plumbing in the house, though it already had electricity. Mills, now eighty-seven, says as a fourteen-year-old he was given the job of digging a space under the house for the installation of the house’s first furnace.

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SHOW-ME

ABOVE LEFT, CLOCKWISE: A dining room was added to the original log cabin. The Coleman family added a string pull-latch on the front door, a feature reminiscent of its log cabin origins.

Mills, who returned to Columbia after a career as a ship captain, also recalls his mother’s love for the large stone fireplace, which is still the focus of the living room, and the family’s addition of another bedroom. “It was two bedrooms, and then Dad added another bedroom on the south side,” Mills says. The piecemeal expansion of the house explains the step down into the kitchen and the back bedrooms.

His family also added the beautiful wide plank floors as well as a detail often attributed to the house’s log-cabin origins: the string pulllatch on the door. A string goes through a hole in the front door, which lets someone pull up the latch from outside to open the door. But once the string is pulled in through the hole to the inside of the door, there is no way to pull up the latch and open the door.

“She was great at thinking up such things,” says Mills.

The house also has an artifact that reflects his mother’s reaction to World War II, which is when Mills served in the military. To stave off her worries about her son, Nadine opened a preschool at the house and called it the Little Female Seminary. Years later, Nadine went on to become a writer and wrote about the preschool in an article, “Borrowed Children,” published in the Columbia Daily Tribune in 1990. Today there’s a school bell in the garden, which Adam says may hail from when the house operated as a preschool.

But it was in the gardens where Nadine left her most memorable mark. In The Joyful Gardener, one of the books she wrote, she discussed filling the yard with unusual plants, many of which remain.

In 1957, Herb and Betty Brown, friends of Nadine’s, bought the house, and they continued the intensive, artistic gardening and expanded it as well. The Browns also kept the

TAylor blAir; Alli inGlebriGHT

The Gingerbread House was originally built in 1911 as a log cabin.

Although there is no evidence of this past on the exterior, the interior retains rustic elements such as a stone fireplace.

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tAylor blAir

Although the home appears to be very small on the outside, there are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, and a screened-in back porch.

house in pristine historic condition, resulting in a house that still boasts knotty pine paneling and cozy rooms with low, snug seven-foot ceilings. They did bow to some modern needs and added on a garage, probably during the 1980s.

The Browns honed and shaped the garden setting that makes the home so eye-catching.

They were ardent patrons of the arts. Betty was a docent at MU’s Museum of Art and Archeology and an active member of the Columbia Art League. Tributes after her death noted how she loved to give tours of the garden and invite painters to set up their easels there, which made the home even better known in Columbia.

In 2004, the house was added to Columbia’s Most Notable Properties List, a designation given to properties of historic significance. In 2007, Betty died, and Herb followed in 2010.

With their children living out of state, the home was put on the market, and in 2011, the Kaisers bought it.

“It’s a fun house, and we’re delighted we can share it with even more people.”

Kristin was delighted when the property became available. She’s always had an interest in historic homes, and in 2009, she served on Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission. With a focus on preserving the house’s historic feel, the Kaisers have filled the house with antique or toscale furnishings, maintaining the scale and sense of the home. The only changes to the house were the addition of new appliances and a few other updates to provide modern comforts.

They’ve also carried on the artistic vibe started by Betty. The furnishings include local art from the gallery Kristin owns, Christopherson

Art. Works displayed include those of local artists Gloria Gaus, Chris McGee, and Jack Eads.

Beyond these changes, Adam and Kristin continue to make special efforts to maintain the home’s fairy-tale feeling inside and out. All the woodwork was maintained.

“We haven’t changed that,” says Kristin.

Outside, they employ a certified botanist to make sure the gardens stay as beautiful as Nadine Coleman and the Browns left them.

“We want to keep that feeling of Hansel and Gretel going.” www.creekstonecottage.com

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Following the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec rivers, she stops at wonderful roadside restaurants, wineries, orchards, bakeries, and farms, discovering the tasteful array of quality Missouri flavors, beverages, and cuisine. Complete with contact information and 71 delightful recipes, Savor Missouri encourages readers to get out and explore the many sights (and tastes) that can be found throughout the river hill country.

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Preserving missouri

Insanely Raw

CouRTeSy CLimb So iLL

A run-down power plant in St. Louis is transformed into a bouldering gym. by Dawn klingensmiTh The brick power plant built in 1937 to serve the City Hospital in St. Louis was constructed with one purpose in mind. Aptly described as both stately and irregularly massed by architectural historian Michael R. Allen, the building soars on one end to accommodate eighty feet of vertical space specifically designed to house power plant equipment. A towering smokestack is further testament to the plant’s single purpose.

After the hospital closed in 1985, plans to convert the building into a steam plant serving downtown St. Louis fell through. It remained empty for years, deemed of little use even by looters, who stripped surrounding buildings of copper wires and pipes. Highly visible from Highway 44, the derelict hulk of a building “was not very good advertising for the city,” says Andrew Weil, executive director of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis.

While in service, the power plant had been good for one thing and one thing only. Bereft of purpose, it was seemingly good for nothing.

But developer Chris Goodson purchased the ten-acre hospital complex from the city in 2004 and has not given up on the building. In 2010, he came across brothers David and Daniel Chancellor, who weren’t about to give up on their dream. The Chancellors had been searching for a building to house a climbing gym with a fifty-five-foot climbing wall already on order from a Bulgarian manufacturer. Finally, their search led them to the power plant, which met their requirements for multiple tall walls and fall zones.

“All that huge, uninterrupted vertical space would be a challenge to overcome for any other development, but in the case of a climbing gym, it was an asset,” Andrew says.

Not that they didn’t face challenges. Touring the plant for the first time, they encountered holes in the roof. “It was a perfectly sunny day, but it was raining inside the building because water had pooled overhead from a couple of days before,” David recalls. “It was insanely raw—lots of exposed steel.

People joked it reminded them of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” the 1985 film set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

“Everyone saw it and thought, ‘We have to make it work.’ It’s too good of an opportunity to preserve this building without destroying its character,” says Brent Crittenden, project architect at Urban Improvement Company.

Today, the power plant houses Climb So iLL, short for Southern Illinois, where the brothers are from. Open for one year, Michael calls it “a testament to the transformative power of adaptive reuse.” The Landmarks Association of St. Louis, which bestowed upon the building a 2012 Most Enhanced Places award, says it successfully “preserves the industrial character of the building while creating a unique and stunning contemporary space.”

Every effort was made to enhance the structure’s tactile sense, Brent says. A wall of rusted steel and glass was lightly cleaned and then clearcoated and reglazed. “There’s still a layer of corrosion, but it’s sealed

The power plant for the St. Louis City Hospital was built in 1937. Renovated in the past few years, it is now a huge gym that hosts three rock climbing walls as well as a bouldering wall.

The biggest and most challenging wall is a grand total of fifty-five feet in height.

inside,” he says. “We even retained some of the graffiti.”

Inside, the soaring wall is dotted with colorful hand grips and footholds as well as sculptural climbing structures shaped like a tulip, an elephant, and an eyeball “about the size of a minivan,” David says.

Basement-to-ceiling windows give climbers a view of the Arch.

The eight-million-dollar renovation is part of the ongoing redevelopment of the City Hospital complex, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Chris’s Gilded Age development firm first converted the main hospital building into condominiums in a thirty-million-dollar overhaul. The old Laundry Building became Palladium St. Louis, an event space for weddings, corporate events, and galas. Different in form and function, these original buildings are unified by a Georgian Revival style.

The power plant stands among them as an exemplar of adaptive reuse— and as very good advertising for the city.

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Small Town Excitement We are Clinton, Missouri, where small town life is still alive and well. From the Katy Trailhead to the shores of Truman Lake, from our Historic Square to our welcoming hotels, we invite you to come share all the things we love: our events, our square, our nature and our people. We are Clinton, and we are great people, by nature.

Cruisinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to Clinton Cruise Nights: May 11, June 8, Aug. 10 and Sept. 14 Olde Glory Days: June 27-30 For more information, go to www.clintonmo.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH WATSON

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more to do here. Naturally.

Experience the Salem area when you enjoy our Riverways for floating, camping, fishing or visiting Montauk Park. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy our abundant natural resources!

573-729-6900 | www.salemmo.com | facebook.com/salemareachamber [136] MissouriLife

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Musings ON MISSOURI

THREE DOG NIGHT

BY RON MARR

ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW BARTON

LIVING IN a tiny house and sharing my eight hundred square feet with a couple of active and furry roommates, I’m short on excess space.

Because I am a writer in an age when our narcissistic, Internet-obsessed culture has rendered my philosophical scribbles less marketable than a butter churn with leprosy, I’m woefully short on income.

Still, the four-legged boys and I happily get by. We live simply, our days filled with thrown balls, tugs-of-war, and ear scratches. We enjoy poorly picked tunes on homemade guitars, offkey harmonica, and fishing excursions to farm ponds. We discovered long ago that a small pack like ours can ramble along on a yearly income that civilized urbanites consider either impossible or (more likely) an embarrassment.

Some folks enjoy pursuing wealth, status, and acquisition, living life fast and frenetic.

That’s good; people should always follow the path that makes them most happy. For me, the price of such an existence is too high. It requires foregoing peace, quiet, and solitude. It requires more human interaction than my soul and temperament can countenance.

With all these factors and meager resources considered, I can say with certainty that I never intended to adopt a third dog. I especially never intended to adopt a critter that tipped the scales at 116 pounds. Like I said, I live in a tiny house.

Dog food is pricey, and vet bills are high. Moreover, my pups, Jack and Hugo, are set in their ways, a wee bit alpha, and tend to crowd the bed.

But when Max the dog needed a new home, I adopted him on the spot. I never said I was the practical sort, not when it comes to canines.

RON MARR You see, Max and I were

already related. He was my uncle’s dog, a huge, friendly, slobbering golden retriever who mauled me with endless affection each time we met. My uncle loved that dog, but you never quite know what life has in store. When my uncle suddenly passed away in February (on Valentine’s Day to be exact), his loyal and gorgeous pup was left with neither home nor human.

I rationalized it like this. My uncle was the most fun and amusing relative I had, not to mention a fellow dog nut. I figured he would want Max to live in the manner to which he was accustomed, which meant he needed to move in with me.

Let’s face it, a lot of people enjoy dogs, but most treat them a little like livestock. Mine have full run of the house, sleep where they want, steal the best spot on the couch, hide my socks, change the TV channels, and basically regard me as their personal butler. I’m cool with that, as they consistently make me laugh out loud. It’s a fair trade.

My only real concern revolved around how three male dogs would get along in a small house.

Jack, a terrier, lives up to the reputation of his breed. He’s thirteen, acts like he is four, and believes he’s twenty-two feet tall. Hugo is a threeyear-old prankster, an attention hound that could outrun the Energizer bunny, leaving that batterypowered hare gasping for breath and hugging his gut. Max, at four, is friendly as all get-out. He’s also massive. I had a few nightmarish thoughts of battle royales and inadvertent squishings taking place in my living room.

Luckily, years back when I was busy playing

mountain man, I devised a secret weapon that tricks male dogs into thinking they’re long-lost chums before they’ve ever met. I won’t go into the details (I call it “scent bonding.” My former vet in Montana says I should patent the method, and that plan is in the works.), but it works like a charm and is only mildly disgusting.

Thus, on first meeting, Hugo and Max began wrestling, playing, and chasing each other around my backyard. That was months ago, and they haven’t slowed down yet. Jack put on a big show of being faux-tough, barking at Max’s ankle, but a week later I caught him curled up on the bed next to our newest family member, snoring away.

Of course, there was that crowded sleeping situation. I solved that problem by moving another mattress into my bedroom. Everyone is now happy, including (I assume) my uncle. Sleeping dogs should always be allowed to lie ... on a bed ... or wherever the heck they want.

I never intended on adopting a third dog. And now, I don’t know what I’d do without him.

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s t n e v E ng Alo

Route 66 is the ever-present day trip for Missourians. Before the drive, grab a map and circle the best sites, then get lost intentionally along the way. While detours are half the fun, here are some destinations to get your kicks in one stop, or a weekend of travel.

ROUTE

66 FOR THE BLUEGRASS FAN Starvey Creek Bluegrass Festival Conway, July 4-6 www.starvycreek.com Pack up your lawn chairs and zip down to Conway for a music festival set in the woods. Taste authentic succotash and homemade pie while enjoying headliners including Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Dale Ann Bradley and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

FOR THE NATURALIST The Wilderness Wagon at Shaw Nature Reserve Gray Summit, Saturday and Sunday afternoons May through October www.missouribotanicalgarden.org Originally established as a plant refuge from city air pollution, Shaw Nature Reserve is a notable natural asset. Ride to the river on a one-hour, narrated tour of history and nature, or stop by anytime to stretch your legs off the Mother Road.

FOR THE SUMMER LOVER Route 66 Summerfest Rolla, May 31-June 1 www.route66summerfest.com A classic car cruise, drive-in movie, and street dance take center stage, but Summerfest visitors can also cruise with their bikes in the Tourde-Phelps, race in a downhill derby, or participate in many other sports and craft events.

FOR THE CULTURALLY ASTUTE Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre Presents: O’KEEFFE! Carthage, June 8-9 www.stonesthrowdinnertheatre.webs.com A one-woman play explores the art, life, and loves of Georgia O’Keeffe, the iconic twentiethcentury American artist, who herself hails from Santa Fe, New Mexico, another Route 66 marker.

FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY Crawford County Fair Cuba, July 9-13 www.crawfordcountyfair.info First, there’s a parade. Fest-goers march the mural-lined streets of Cuba and end at Hood Park along Route 66. That’s just the beginning.

Come see the logging rodeo, tractor pull, pageants, and a dozen 4-H events in the sixty-seventh year of this historic fair.

FOR THE WORLD TRAVELER Route 66 International Festival Joplin, August 1-3 www.route66internationalfestival.com “Roadies” are Rt. 66 enthusiasts. Roadies hail from not only the Mother Road, but also from places as far as Norway and the Czech Republic. Roadies love to travel, and this year they’re traveling to Joplin—the first time the festival has ever been held in Missouri.

FOR THE CRUISERS Birthplace of Route 66 Festival and 75th Anniversary Celebration Springfield, August 11 www.itsalldowntown.com/event/second-annualbirthplace-of-route-66-festival/ Oh, give me a home where the classic cars roam, and the bands and craft vendors play. At Springfield, cruises, car shows, and a recreation of the Wild Bill Hickok-Dave Tutt gunfight commemorate history.

FOR THE ADVENTURER Meramec Caverns Lantern Tours Stanton, Fridays and Saturdays in June www.americascave.com As travelers pass on the highway nearby, you can enter another world. Underground, armed with only a lantern, visitors explore and learn about this ancient cave’s deep history.

FOR THE MOTORIST Rockin’ to the Devil, Rollin’ to the Saints: Missouri 66 Annual Motor Tour Carthage to St. Clair, September 6-8 www.missouri66.wordpress.com/annual-motor-tour Ride in style with the Missouri 66 Association this year, with an overnight stop in Devil’s Elbow, where one of the oldest 66 sandwich shops still stands. No classic car? No problem.

All Route 66 fans are welcome.

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Route 66 - The Heart of Rolla Reminders of Route 66 dot Rolla roads. Like brightly painted bookends, two historic signs stand as sentinels on Route 66, guarding either edge of Rolla.

On the west end stands a giant totem pole marking one of the oldest businesses on Route 66, Totem Pole Trading Post. On the east end, folks are welcomed by the iconic Route 66 Mule and the two-story Hillbilly. Totem Pole Trading Post and Mule Trading Post are both great places to get your Route 66 and Ozark memorabilia.

In the heart of Downtown Rolla and on original Route 66 sits Phelps County Bank, which was once known as Edwin Long Hotel. Contractor M.E. Gillioz rushed the hotel to completion in March 1931 so that it could serve as the headquarters for the Route 66 celebration.

Zeno’s Motel and Steakhouse once stood at 1621 Martin Springs Drive.

This famous Route 66 icon was family owned and operated for 54 years.

Zeno’s was a popular retreat for weary Route 66 travelers.

Just about seven more miles west are the 1835 John’s Modern Cabins.

Cut off in 1957 by I-44, the cabins have been falling into decay ever since.

They are an interesting remnant of the Mother Road when it was in its prime.

The cabins are on the Sugartree Outer road in Newburg, Missouri.

Summer Events Route 66 Summerfest 6th Annual Bluegrass & BBQ Lions Club Carnival Phelps County Fair

May 31 & June 1 June 9 July 3-6 July 31-Aug. 3

www.route66summerfest.com www.rollalions.org www.rollalions.org www.phelpscountyfair.com

Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce 1311 Kingshighway • Rolla, MO 65401 www.VisitRolla.com • 888-809-3817 Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center

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66

Route 66

ROUTE

Visit Our Website for Details

About All of Our Events

Saturday June 15, 2013 Route 66 on the Square - Freedom Fest Family Fun! Come to downtown Waynesville and enjoy tons of kids activities, super savings, local vendors, bouncy house, live music, karaoke, fun for ALL, food and much more.

GET YOUR

S KICK Rt. 66 On OUR

Sections from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s!

Centrally Located Between St. Louis and Springfield • Unique Dining • Lodging • Scenic Sites ur der Yo To Or Driving • Museums FREE rochure B • And Much More r u To day!

Call To ALL Along Rt. 66!

877.858.8687

Download The Audio Tour & Smart Phone App FREE on our Website!

www.PulaskiCountyUSA.com/MLM

A Fine Art & Contemporary AFine Fine Art andCraft Gallery

Fine Contemporary Tuesday-Friday 9:30-5:30, Saturday 10-4 2031 S. Waverly, Springfield, MO Craft Gallery 417-882-3445 •www.waverlyhouse.com

Coming to Carthage

Route 66 Quilts at Powers Museum

Tues-Fri 9:30-5:30 Sat. 10-4

October 8 - 20 2031 S. Waverly

Springfield, MO Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

417-882-3445

Sunday www.waverlyhouse.com 12:30Style - 4:30 p.m. Gallery An American Preferred

1617 W. Oak (Old Route 66), Carthage PowersMuseum.com | 417-237-0456 Produced in cooperation with the Carthage Convention and Visitor’s Bureau: visit-carthage.com

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Grand Avenue B & B Carthage, MO

Elegant lodging on Route 66. www.grand-avenue.com | 417-358-7265

Boots Court Motel

The Past is in Your Future Free Tours!

Located in Carthage at the Crossroads of America, where historic Routes 66 & 71 meet.

Historically restored!

True to 1949, we have “a radio in every room” just as was advertised back in the day.

Contact us for room information and reservations! 417-310-2989 | bootscourt@hotmail.com

417-359-9253 | www.whiterosewinery.com 13001 Journey Road | Carthage, MO

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June 7 - 16

June 22 - 30

July 10 - 21

July 27 - August 3

August 10-17

August 24 - September 01

September 7-15

September 21-28

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ALL AROUND

Missouri J U N E /J U LY 2 0 1 3

featured event >

SOUTHWEST

FAIR GROVE ICE CREAM SOCIAL

MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DINNER

July 20, Fair Grove > Old-fashioned ice cream social, live music, bounce houses and slides, huge fireworks display, and antique cars, trucks, and tractors on display. 1883 Wommack Mill and District

Park. 5:30-8:30 PM. Free. 417-833-3467, www.fghps.org

June 4, Joplin > Gourmet dinner served outside, where you can experience the sights and sounds of Shoal Creek. Redings Mill Bridge. 6:30 PM. $75. 417782-6287, www.wildcatglades.audubon.org

CIVIL WAR EXHIBITS June 5-July 21, Nevada > See “A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri,” focusing on the tumultuous history of the Civil War, and “Impressions of the Civil War,” a series of paintings featuring events during the war. Bushwhacker Museum. 10 AM-4 PM Wed.Sat.; $2-$5. 417-667-9602, www.bushwhacker.org

JUNE BUG JAMBOREE June 7-8, Bois D’Arc > Volkswagen car show, vendors, competitions, and music. Hood’s Service Center and Motel. 6 PM-midnight Fri.; 10 AM-4 PM Sat. Free. 417-844-6954, www.junebugjamboree.net

WATERCOLOR USA June 8-Sept. 1, Springfield > Juried exhibit of nationally known paintings. Springfield Art Museum. 9 AM-5 PM Tues.-Sat. (8 PM Thurs.); 1-5 PM Sun. Donations accepted. 417-837-5700, www.springfieldmo.gov/art

TEXACO SHOWDOWN June 14, Branson > America’s largest country music talent search and radio program. Branson Landing Town Square. 4:30 PM. Free. 417-239-3002, www.bransonlanding.com

LIGHT THE NIGHT FIREWORKS June 15, Aurora > Family-friendly games, rides, bounce houses, food, entertainment, and fireworks display. Baldwin Park. 3-10 PM. Free. 417-678-4150, www.auroramochamber.com COURTESY TERRY SMITH

FATHER’S DAY BOAT SHOW June 15-16, Branson > Display of the newest, fastest models of boats and accessories. Titanic Museum Attraction parking lot. 9 AM-6 PM. Free.

800-381-7670, www.titanicbranson.com These listings are chosen by our editors and are not paid for by sponsors.

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GROWING FARM KNOWLEDGE

June 20-22, Seymour > KCBS-sanctioned barbecue competition, music, carnival, and fireworks display.

South Park. 5-11 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 7 AM-11 PM Sat. $5 per car. 417-935-9300, www.rocknfreedom.com

July 18, Springfield > Adult gardening classes taught by a horticulturist featuring a presentation and training. Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park. 6-8 PM. $10. 417-837-5949, www.fogcalendar.com

BISON HIKE

BUTTERFLY FESTIVAL

June 22 and July 13, Mindenmines > Guided hike to see bison. Learn their biology, uses other than food by Native Americans, and herd dynamics.

Prairie State Park. 10 AM-noon. Free. 417-843-6711, www.mostateparks.com/park/prairie-state-park

July 20, Springfield > Butterfly exhibit, caterpillar petting zoo, vendors, and children’s activities.

Dr. Roston Native Butterfly House. 9 AM-3 PM. Free.

417-891-1515, www.parkboard.com

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

NORTHEAST ST. LOUIS

June 30, Carthage > Live performances, music, history hunt, media programs, exhibits, and refreshments. Powers Museum. Noon-5 PM. Free.

417-237-0456, www.powersmuseum.com

4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION July 4, Hollister > Sixtieth anniversary of this family-friendly celebration and fireworks display.

Historic Downtown. Starts at dusk. Free. 417-3343262, www.cityofhollister.com

FRIDAY SQUARED July 12, Cassville > Live music, concessions, entertainment, and an outdoor movie. Downtown Square.

7 PM-dusk. Free. 417-847-2814, www.cassville.com

MISSOURI STATE CHILI COOK-OFF June 1, Clarksville > Chili cook-off benefits art education. Riverfront Park. 11 AM-5 PM. $3 (Samples are 50 cents). 573-754-0335, www.clarksvillemo.com

CAMP SHAKESPEARE June 3-14, St. Louis > Be a part of Shakespeare’s play about witches, warriors, and ghosts. Learn acting, movement, and stage combat. Design and create costumes, sets, and props. Kransberg Arts Center. 9 AM-3:45 PM Mon.-Fri. $480. 314-5347528, www.craftalliance.org

ride the bull!

RANDOLPH COUNTY RODEO July 12-13, Moberly > Rodeo featuring bull riding and children’s events. Rothwell Park Rodeo Arena. 7 PM. $5-$10. 660-263-6070, www.moberlychamber.com

COURTESY MOBERLY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

ROCK ’N FREEDOM

www.rostlandscaping.com | 573-445-4465 [144] MissouriLife

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Discover & Explore

Sao Paulo & Rio de Janeiro

With the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Act Now! Limited Space Available!

Departing St. Louis June 28 - July 6, 2013 Trip Highlights • Round-trip scheduled airfare from St. Louis • Airport to Hotel transfers • Personal airport VIP greeting and check-in service • Pre-departure literature and travel documents • 3-nights in Sao Paulo with daily breakfast & 1 dinner • Flight from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro • 4-nights in Rio de Janeiro with daily breakfast & 1 dinner • City tours of Sao Paulo & Rio de Janeiro • Luxury Hotel Accommodations

Only $3,175 per person

For more information, please contact Brian Crouse at bcrouse@mochamber.com or 573-634-3511.

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OLDEN DAYS OF SUMMER June 5, 26, and July 17, Chesterfield > Learn how summers were spent in the late 1800s and early 1900 with hayrides, carousel rides, village tours, and blacksmithing and corn-husk doll-making demonstrations. Faust County Park. 10 AM-4 PM. $10-$15. 314-615-7373, www.stlouisco.com

RAILROAD DAYS June 5-8, Moberly > Tour the railroad museum. Plus, a carnival, live entertainment, a baby show, the Sycamore Queen contest, an ice cream social, and vendors.

Depot Park. 5-11 PM Wed.-Fri.; 9 AM-midnight Sat. Free.

660-263-6070, www.moberlychamber.com

June 6-July 25 (Thursdays), Hannibal > Bring your lawn chair or blanket for outdoor concerts with a different performer each week. Food and drink vendors available. In front of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home. 7-9:30 PM. Free. 573-221-9010, www.marktwainmuseum.org

family fun!

HERITAGE AND FREEDOM FEST July 2-4, O’Fallon > Carnival, headliner entertainment, children’s activities, vendors, Fireworks Spectacular, and parade. Ozzie Smith Sports Complex. 5-10 PM Tues.; 5-11 PM Wed.; noon10 PM Thurs. Free. 636-379-5614, www.heritageandfreedomfest.com

TASTING FROM THE GARDEN June 13, Ballwin > Stroll through the Jarville Gardens and watch and listen to expert gardeners as they discuss and demonstrate harvesting from your landscape. Queeny Park. 4-8 PM. $10. Registration.

314-615-8472, www.stlouisco.com/parks

COURTESY THE CITY OF O’FALLON

MUSIC UNDER THE STARS

ntiques A on Washington An upscale establishment offering quality antique furniture, primitives, glassware, tools, pottery and more.

Located on the Historic Clinton Square at 105 S. Washington, Clinton, MO. www.AntiquesonWashington.com 660-885-2752 Monday-Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm Sunday: Noon to 5 pm Find us on Facebook!

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CRUISE NIGHT June 15, Pacific > Live music, photo booth, prizes, drawings, and car, truck, and motorcycle show.

Historic Downtown. Noon-9 PM. Free ($15 competition fee). 314-662-6718, www.pacificchamber.com

SINGLES BEACH PARTY June 15, St. Louis > Beach party with sand volleyball, canoeing, beach music, and bonfire for ages twentyone and up. Creve Coeur Park. 7-11 PM. $10 registration. 314-615-8482, www.stlouisco.com/parks

CARS WITH CLASS June 16, St. Louis > Display featuring cars 25 years and older, from brass cars to modern muscle cars.

Museum of Transportation. 11 AM-3 PM. Free. 314615-8668, www.stlouisco.com/parks

MERAMEC COMMUNITY FAIR June 25-29, Sullivan > Concerts, parade, FFA/ 4-H exhibits, bull riding, truck and tractor pulls, and carnival. Sullivan Fairgrounds. 6 PM Tues.; 7 PM Wed.; 5-11 PM Thurs. 5 PM-midnight Fri.; 11 AM-11 PM. Sat. $15-$35 (free Tues.-Wed.). Parking is $1 per car.

573-860-2861, www.merameccommunityfair.com

RAPTOR AWARENESS June 29, Robertsville > Program on birds of prey, including falcons, hawks, and vultures. Learn the

vulture’s secret weapon. Robertsville State Park.

3-4 PM. Free. 636-257-3788, www.mostateparks. com/park/robertsville-state-park

ROCKIN’ ON THE LANDING July 4-6, St. Louis > Main stage entertainment, concerts, and a river’s edge view of the fireworks.

Laclede’s Landing. 1-11 PM. Free. 314-241-5875, www.lacledeslanding.com

YAPPY HOUR July 18, St. Louis > Bring your dog along for competitions, vendors, demonstrations, and live music. Laumeier Sculpture Park. 6-8 PM. Free. 314615-5278, www.laumeier.org

HISTORY HAYRIDES July 20, St. Louis > Take a hayride through the historic post and listen to stories told by the guide.

Jefferson Barracks. 12:30 and 2 PM. $7. 314-6155270, www.stlouisco.com/parks

CLIFF CAVE CAPERS July 27, St. Louis > Explore the cave with a park ranger while learning the history and geology of the cave. Plus, see the animals that call the cave home. Cliff Cave Park. 10 AM, noon, 1 PM, and 3 PM. $7. Registration. 314-615-5270, www.stlouisco.com/parks

NORTHWEST KANSAS CITY STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL June 1, Independence > More than 100 booths of antiques and crafts, carriage rides, children’s activities, dance performances, and strawberry treats. Vaile Mansion. 9 AM-4 PM. Free (except special events).

816-229-8293, www.vailemansion.org

LET’S GET HOOKED June 1-30, Independence > Hooked rugs on display. Bingham-Waggoner Estate. 10 AM-4 PM Mon.-Sat.; 1-4 PM Sun. $3-$6. 816-461-3491, www.bwestate.org

SUMMER CONCERTS IN THE PARK June 2 and 30, Crystal City > Bring a lawn chair for an outdoor concert City Park. 6:30-8:30 PM. Free.

636-931-7697, www.twincity.org

SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES June 7-9, Riverside > Bagpiping, highland dancing, and Scottish athletics. E.H. Young Riverfront Park.

6-11 PM Fri.; 9 AM-11 PM Sat.; 9 AM-4 PM Sun. $5-$25.

816-361-2451, www.kcscottishgames.org

Pioneer Programmer

Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that Changed the World Jean Jennings Bartik

Mentio n Missour i L ife and rec eive a f ree bottle o f wine.

edited by Jon T. Rickman & Kim D. Todd

Forthcoming Oct. 2013 When the US military was recruiting women mathematicians for a top-secret project to help win World War II, Betty Jean Jennings (Bartik), a 20-year-old college graduate from Preorder Special rural northwest Missouri $28 pb applied for the job.

She was hired as a “computer” to calculate artillery shell trajectories and later joined a team of six programmers, all women, who programmed the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC), the first successful general-purpose programmable electronic computer. Bartik tells her story, exposing the myths about the computer’s origin and properly crediting those who began the computing innovations that shape our daily lives.

Any book, Any time 15% off & free shiPPing

tsup.truman.edu

tsup.truman.edu (660) 785-7336 100 East Normal Avenue, Kirksville, MO 63501

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STREETS ALIVE! June 7-9, Leeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Summit > Live entertainment, arts, crafts, carnival, KCBS-sanctioned barbecue contest, and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities. Downtown. Noon10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat.; 11 AM-4 PM Sun. Free.

816-246-6598, www.downtownls.org

ANTIQUES FESTIVAL June 8-9, Kansas City > More than 100 booths.

Crown Center Square. 9 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 816-274-8444, www.crowncenter.com

KC FESTIVAL OF FOUNTAINS June 9, Kansas City > Learn about the fountains, and enjoy marching bands and a bike ride. Bloch Fountain in front of Union Station. 11 AM-5 PM (8 AM bike ride).

Free. 816-842-2299, www.kcfountains.com

June 9 and 23, Festus > Lucky Old Sons performs June 9 and Accolade performs June 23. Sunset Park.

6:30-8:30 PM. Free. 636-931-7697, www.twincity.org

tally ho!

PONY EXPRESS RE-RIDE

BACK TO BASICS FISHING

June 17, St. Joseph > See the National Pony Express Association riders leave just as they did on April 3, 1860. The annual re-ride is a relay from St. Joseph to Sacramento, California.

Patee House Museum. 10-10:30 AM. Free. 816-232-8206, www.ponyexpressjessejames.com

June 15, Arrow Rock > Presentation on a fish hatchery and how the Department of Conservation manages lakes. Arrow Rock State Historic Site.

9 AM. Free. 660-837-3330, www.mostateparks. com/park/arrow-rock-state-historic-site

COURTESY ST. JOSEPH VISITORS BUREAU

SUMMER CONCERTS IN THE PARK

www.kmos.org

KMOS-TV is proud to continue our 33 year tradition of serving your community with high-quality programs for all ages.

As a non-commercial, member-supported television station, we depend on contributions from individuals, families and businesses to offset the costs of producing local programs like KMOS Live, Central Missouri Tomorrow, and Show-Me Ag.

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*Contact is delivered to you for an annual contribution of $50 or more. You will also receive a MemberCard to provide you with discounts for dining, entertainment, golf and more!

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Watch LIVE At

BransonVisitorTV.com

Your Guide To Branson, Missouri!

Shows Dining Lakes Outdoors Shopping History

Channel 5 In Your Branson Hotel Room &

Online At BransonVisitorTV.com

Branson Spotlight The Grand Village takes visitors along cobblestone streets to an unforgettable world of shopping!

For More Information Visit [149] June 2013 BransonVisitorTV.com and Click On Shopping 149 ML0613.indd 149

Located On Highway 76 In Branson 5/2/13 3:44 PM

12th Annual

Tour de Corn Charity Ride

June 22, 2013 EAST PRARIE, MO

Join hundreds of fellow cyclists!

Four Routes: Approx. 15, 30, 60 and 100 miles.

RIDERS!

Sweet Corn Festival, June 22 Main Street Party! LIVE MUSIC! June 21, 5:30 - 9:30 p.m.

For the Young and Young at Heart!

Named Missouri's Bicycle Event of the Year by the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation!

Register online at tourdecorn.com

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[150] MissouriLife

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WINE FEST June 21-22, Excelsior Springs > Missouri wines, art, food, crafts, and live music. Elms Hotel and Spa. 6-10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-6 PM Sat. $5-$25. 816-630-2811, www.eswinefest.com

WATERFEST June 28-30, Excelsior Springs > Arts, crafts, water games for kids, parade, fireworks, and classic car, hot rod, and truck show. Downtown Hall of Waters Historic District. 2-9 PM Fri.; 9 AM-9 PM Sat.; 11 AM5 PM Sun. Free. 816-630-6161, www.eswaterfest.com

PRE 4TH OF JULY June 29, Miami > Parade, cake walk, and fireworks. Downtown. 5-10 PM. Free. 660-852-3305, www.sullivansfarms.net/friendsofmiami/

FIREWORKS CELEBRATION

COURTESY KYLE PHILLIPS

July 3, Kearney > Live music and fireworks.

Kearney Amphitheater. Dusk. Free. 816-628-4229, www.kearneyamphitheater.com

LIBERTY 4TH FEST July 3-4, Liberty > Live music, car show, barbecue competition, parade, and fireworks. Historic Downtown Liberty Square and William Jewell College.

5-9 PM Wed. 10 AM (fireworks 9:45 PM) Thurs. Free.

816-781-5200, www.liberty4thfest.com

summertime!

RAYTOWN SUMMERFEST June 14-15, Raytown > More than 75 vendors, live entertainment, a carnival, the KC Zoomobile, ethnic dance groups, the Dachshund Dash, a dog costume contest, and bingo. Downtown.

2-10 PM Fri.; 9 AM-10 PM Sat. Free. 816-353-8500, www.raytownchamber.com

Visit the Historic Westphalia Inn SINCE 1930

Serving our famous panfried chicken, country ham and German pot roast family style since 1930

Sample our wines in the

Norton Room

on the top floor of the Westphalia Inn

Open Fri. at 5pm, Sat. at 4:30pm, and Sunday at 11:30am 573-455-2000 | www.westphaliavineyards.com | 106 East Main Street

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CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE

BLUEGRASS CONCERT

July 4, Independence > Children’s parade, fireworks, and live patriotic music by the Spirit of Independence Concert Band. Main Street, Independence Square, and Mormon Visitors Center. 9:3011 AM parade; 9 PM concert and fireworks. Free.

816-836-3466, www.visitindependence.com

June 2, Burfordville > Bluegrass musician Leevon DeCourley performs. Bollinger Mill State Historic Site.

2-4 PM. Free. 573-243-4591, www.mostateparks. com/park/bollinger-mill-state-historic-site

INDEPENDENCE DAY July 4, Blue Springs > Experience the 4th of July 1850s style. Missouri Town 1855. 9 AM-4:30 PM. $3$5. 816-503-4860, www.jacksongov.org

ANTIQUE AND CRAFT FAIR July 13, Independence > More than 100 booths, the Spirit of Independence Community Band, tours, and homemade cookies and lemonade.

Bingham-Waggoner Estate. 9 AM-4 PM. Free (except tours). 816-461-3491, www.bwestate.org

SPRING BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL June 6-8, West Plains > Bluegrass and gospel bands perform. HOBA Bluegrass Park. Shows at 7 PM (park open all weekend). $5-$25. 888-256-8835. www.westplains.net/tourism/events_festivals.php

MOSES AUSTIN FESTIVAL June 9-16, Potosi > Crafters, vendors, fashion shows, car and truck cruise, horse parade, queen pageant, live music, ice cream social, and fireworks. Downtown. 5-9:15 PM. Free. 573-438-5141, www.celebratewashingtoncounty2013.com

MISSOURI MINES ROCK SWAP

SOUTHEAST NIGHT CATHEDRAL CAVE TOURS June 1, 15, and July 6, Leasburg > Listen to the sounds of the night, enjoy a program, and tour the cave after dark. Onondaga Cave State Park. 9:3011 PM. $10. 573-245-6576, www.onondagafriends.org

June 14-16, Park Hills > Rock hobbyists swap and sell rock and minerals. Missouri Mines State Historic Site. 9 AM-6 PM Fri.-Sat.; 9 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 573431-6226, www.mostateparks.com/park/missourimines-state-historic-site

OLD TIME MUSIC FESTIVAL June 14-15, West Plains > Celebrate old time music and the culture of the Ozark Highlands. Plus, a

Tours River Cruises RHS Garden Tours Cruises Premium Service that’s Affordable 314-223-1224 | www.travelerslane.com travelerslane@msn.com

mule jump. Downtown and the grounds of the Civic Center. 9 AM-10 PM (Mule jump from 11 AM-3 PM Sat.). Free. 888-256-8835, www.oldtimemusic.org

BIRDS OVER BAKER June 15, Patterson > Live bird presentations, guided bird hikes, activities, and crafts. Sam A. Baker State Park. 9 AM-3 PM. Free. 573-856-4411, www. mostateparks.com/park/sam-baker-state-park

STREAM TEAM CLEANUP June 15, Salem > Bring Dad out for a Father’s Day Current River cleanup, barbecue, and a drawing for canoes and other prizes. Montauk State Park.

8 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-548-2225, www.mostateparks.com/park/montauk-state-park

MAIN STREET PARTY June 21, East Prairie > Live music on two stages, corn-dog eating contest, twirling and cheerleading exhibition, children’s games, crawfish boil, and crafts. Downtown. 5:30-9:30 PM. Free. 573-649-5243, www.eastprairiemo.net

SWEET CORN FESTIVAL June 22, East Prairie > Live music, outhouse race, Kiddie Parade, bike-decorating contest, quilt show, crafts, pig races, car and antique tractor shows, Puttin’ On The Hits, and the Tour De Corn

Washingto n Co

unty !

The 24th Annual Moses Austin Festival June 8 - June 16

Come celebrate the 200th anniversary of Washington County and the 250th anniversary of the City of Potosi with festival events all week long!

200th Anniversary of Washington County Saturday, August 17

Come celebrate in one of the oldest settlements in Washington County at an all-day event in Old Mines, MO. Featuring folk food, dance, music, and games! www.celebratewashingtoncounty2013.com [152] MissouriLife

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charity bike ride with a variety of route lengths.

Downtown. 7:30 AM-6 PM. Free. 573-649-5243, www.eastprairiemo.net

GAZEBO CONCERTS June 23 and July 28, Perryville > Bring a lawn chair for an outdoor concert with a different band each day. Downtown Square Gazebo. 5-7 PM. Free.

573-547-6062, www.perryvillemo.com

RIDE THE FAULTLINE BIKE RIDE

COURTESY OF ROLLA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

June 28, New Madrid > Watch the riders pass through town on the four-state bike ride. Downtown. Riders will come through in the afternoon and leave in the morning. Free to spectators.

573-380-7875, www.ridethefaultline.com

4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION July 4, Ellington > Fireworks display. Frozen lemonade, hot dogs, and snow cones available. Town and Country parking lot. 8 PM. Free. 573-663-7997, www.ellingtonmo.com

JULY 4TH CELEBRATION July 4, Jackson > Mud volleyball, 5K walk/run, car show, beer garden, patriotic bicycle parade, art in the park, band concerts, and fireworks display.

Main Park. 7:30 AM-9:30 PM. Free. 573-204-8848. www.jacksonmo.org

mother road!

ROUTE 66 SUMMERFEST May 31-June 1, Rolla > Celebrate Route 66 with classic cars, oldies music, a parade, an outdoor movie, arts and crafts, food vendors, an Army Jazz Band concert, children’s activities and games, a street dance, and tricycle and bicycle races. Downtown. 4-10:30 PM Fri.; 7:30 AM-9 PM Sat. Free (except special events). 888-809-3817, www.route66summerfest.com

Come See What’s New in the NEW New Madrid, MO! Get a FREE New Brochure Delivered to You. Contact us at 1-877-748-5300 or chambernm@yahoo.com www.new-madrid.mo.us [153] June 2013

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FIREWORKS DISPLAY July 4, Pilot Knob > Fireworks display. Fort Davidson State Historic Site. Dusk. Free. 573-546-3546, www.arcadiavalley.biz

INDEPENDENCE DAY July 6, Doniphan > Texaco Country Showdown, Miss Current River Pageant, and fireworks. High School Ball Park. 5:30-10 PM. $3-$5. 573-996-2212, www.ripleycountymissouri.org

PICTURES BY THE PEOPLE July 12-Aug. 25, Poplar Bluff > Regional photography competition. Margaret Harwell Art Museum. Noon-4 PM Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 PM Sat.-Sun. Free.

573-686-8002, www.mham.org

RIVER VALLEY MOWER RACES July 13, West Plains > Competitors race modified lawnmowers. Fairgrounds. 6 PM-midnight. $5.

417-255-5099, www.heartoftheozarksfair.net

CENTRAL NATURE CONNECTS June 1-Sept. 29, Kingsville > Exhibit featuring 27 larger-then-life sculptures constructed

from LEGOs. Powell Gardens. 9 AM-6 PM. $10-$4.

816-697-2600, www.powellgardens.org

PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS June 1 and July 6, Waynesville > Get a brief history and tour of the house and then conduct a supervised investigation. Historic Talbot House. 8-11 PM. $20. 573-528-2149, www.visitpulaskicounty.org

OUTDOOR FESTIVAL June 9, Lincoln > Outdoor Church Service, barbecue, homemade pie contest, live music, crafts, children’s games, basket auction, and ice cream social. Heit’s Point Ministries. 9 am-4 pm. Free will offering. 660-668-2363, www.heitspoint.com

SYMPOSIUM ON ELDERBERRIES

June 6, 13, 20, and 27, Jefferson City > Bring your lawn chair for a different concert each week. Downtown. 5:30-9 PM. Free. 573-632-2820, www.visitjeffersoncity.com

June 9-14, Columbia > International symposium with scientists from multiple disciplines who study all aspects of the elderberry plant and fruit. Stoney Creek Inn. Call or visit the website for program schedule. $85. Pre-registration. 417-466-0065, www.muconf.missouri.edu/elderberrysymposium/

OLD WEST COMES TO LIFE

PULASKI COUNTY REGIONAL FAIR

June 8, Blackwater > The South Fork Regulators stage a live shoot-out and bank robbery. Downtown Main Street. Noon, 1:30, and 3 PM. Free.

660-846-2224, www.blackwater-mo.com

CRUISE NIGHT

June 12-15, Saint Robert > Bands, horticulture and livestock shows, square dance, bull riding, carnival, and greased pig contest. Community Center.

6-10 PM Wed.; 4-11 PM Thurs.-Fri.; noon-11 PM Sat. Free (except some special events). 816-261-6051, www.pulaskicountyregionalfair.com

June 8, Clinton > Car show. Downtown Square.

5-8 PM. Free. 660-885-8161, www.clintonmo.com

MOON, MIZAR, AND MESSIERS

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE

MID-MISSOURI SOAP BOX DERBY June 9, Columbia > Gravity-powered derby race.

Downtown. 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. Free. 573-881-3471, www.midmosbd.org

June 15, Knob Noster > Amateur astronomer-led program, telescope viewing of the night sky, and naked-eye laser sky tour. Knob Noster State Park. 8:3010 PM. Free. 660-563-2463, www.mostateparks. com/park/knob-noster-state-park 2013 ARock MissouriLife 1/6 ad_Layout 1 4/15/13 4:2

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ZOMBIE WALK June 15, Lebanon > Dress up like a zombie and walk for charity; then change to street clothes for a dance with snacks and prizes. Downtown and Elks Lodge. 5 PM walk followed by dance. $7.

417-532-1002, www.lebanonmissouri.com

ROUTE 66 FREEDOM FEST

COURTESY THE JEFFERSON CITY CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

June 15, Waynesville > Children’s activities, vendors, live music, bounce house, and karaoke.

Downtown Square. 11 AM-5 PM. Free. 573-774-3001, www.visitpulaskicounty.org

RICHLAND TRI-COUNTY FAIR June 18-22, Richland > Kids’ Day, greased pig race, home economics exhibits, Redneck Olympics, art and photography exhibits, classic car show, livestock show and sale, bull riding, gospel music, and pie-eating contest. Shady Dell Park. Times vary. Free (except special events). 573-765-5911, www.richlandtricountyfair.com

HERITAGE DAYS June 20-23, Boonville > Parade, wine and beer gardens, car show, quilt show, model trains, crafts, music, carnival, mutt strut, pony rides, golf tournament, and 5K walk/run. Downtown. 5:30-10 PM Wed.-Thurs.; 9 AM-1 AM Fri.-Sat. Free (except special events). 660-882-2721, www.goboonville.com

fireworks!

SALUTE TO AMERICA July 3-4, Jefferson City > Beer garden, eagle show, performance by the Jefferson City Community Symphonic Band, parade, carnival, classic car show, and spectacular fireworks display.

Downtown. 4 PM Wed.; 11 AM-11 PM Thurs. 573-761-0704, www.salutetoamerica.org

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OZARK RODEO June 21-22, Crocker > Traditional rodeo events.

Community Park. 7 PM. $5-$8. 573-528-0940, www.visitpulaskicounty.org

possible stops, bounce house, games, entertainment, food vendors, and a fireworks display. Fort Leonard Wood Shrine Park. 8 AM-10 PM. $25-$5.

573-528-1528, www.local28forr.com

DALLAS COUNTY FAIR

DRUM CORPS INTERNATIONAL

June 26-29, Buffalo > Youth displays, livestock show, Cops and Kids event, mini horse pull, and tractor pull. Dallas County Fair Grounds. 4-11 PM Wed.-Fri.; 8 AM-11 PM Sat. Free (except pulls).

417-345-2958, www.buffalococ.com

July 11, Warrensburg > Seven Drum Corp teams consisting of brass and percussion instruments and a color guard compete. Walton Stadium. 7 PM. $20$50. 371-275-2121, www.dci.org

OLDE GLORY DAYS June 27-30, Clinton > Concerts, grand parade, fine art show, carnival, 5K run/walk, car show, Weiner dog race, celebrity bull riding, toddler tent, Gospelfest, and fireworks. Downtown Square and Benson Center. 10 AM-10 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 8 AM-10 PM Sat.; 5:30-10 PM Sun. Free (except special events).

660-885-8161, www.clintonmo.com

BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL July 4-6, Conway > Bluegrass bands perform. Camping is available. Starvy Creek. 6:30-10:30 PM Thurs.; 11 AM-10:30 PM Fri.-Sat. $15-$45. 417-589-2013, www.starvycreek.com

BUCKHORN BLAST July 6, Buckhorn > Passport Poker Run with 40

OLD SETTLERS DAY July 27, Waynesville > Kickappo Trace Muzzleloaders encampment, quilt show, decorated duck race, traditional dancers, and family-friendly activities. City Park. 10 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-435-6766, www.oldstagecoachstop.org

DINNER THEATRE July 12-13, Linn Creek > Dinner and performance of Little Women. Camden County Museum. 5:30 PM dinner; 7 PM show. Reservations. $15. 573-346-7191, www.camdencountymuseum.com

FIBER “U” July 13-14, Lebanon > More than 40 fiber arts classes, vendors, and demonstrations. Cowan Civic Center. 9 AM-5 PM Sat.; 8 AM-3 PM Sun. Free (except classes). 417-533-5280, www.mopaca.org

FREE LISTING & MORE EVENTS At www.MissouriLife.com PLEASE NOTE: TO SUBMIT AN EVENT:

BRUMLEY GOSPEL SING July 31-Aug. 3, Lebanon > Dozens of gospel groups perform, and comedians add to the fun.

Cowan Civic Center. 7 PM Wed.-Sat.; 6 PM Sun.; 1 PM matinee except Wed. $5-$85. 800-435-3725, www.brumlymusic.com

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Explore

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[157] June 2013

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Family

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Quality construction by Amish craftsmen 800-492-2593 ext. 115 | amishmade@missourilife.com

“If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”

Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Beginning June 22 Red Green and his nephew Harold are the hosts of this weekly glimpse into the lives of the men of Possum Lodge. Each week Red demonstrates new uses for everyday items like old cars, satellite dishes, and duct tape (of course).

KMOS-TV broadcasts in HD on channel 6.1, and is carried on many cable systems on channel 6. You can also see broadcasts of lifestyle/how-to shows on 6.2 and international programs on 6.3.

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NATIONAL TrAILs dAy Events are all on June 1 and free! Visit the website for more information. www.mostateparks.com/page/60400/national-trails-day

A wAlk in the pines, park hills > A naturalist-led hike through the oak/pine savanna. St. Joe State Park. 10 am-noon. 573-431-6226 shut-ins shuffle, patterson > Hike the Shut-Ins Trail with a park naturalist. See talus slopes and waterfalls and pick up trash on the way back. Sam A. Baker State Park. 9 am. 573-856-4514 spring things, lebanon > Walk the trail that connects the spring and the hatchery. See trout and visit structures built in the early 1900s. Bennett Spring State Park. 9:30 am. 417-532-3925 nAtionAl trAils dAy, sedalia > Guided hikes of the Radiant Trail will introduce the seven principles of “Leave No Trace” and teach the history of National Trails Day. Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site.

10 am and 2 pm. 660-827-0510 AmAzing rAce chAllenge, trenton > Join park staff for a challenge that allows you to experience the park’s trails. Crowder State Park. 4 pm.

660-359-6473 nAture hike, troy > A guided nature hike on the north loop of the Lone Spring Trail. Cuivre River State Park. 10 am. 636-528-7247 ozArk trAil AssociAtion hike, eminence > Meet the members of the association that built and maintain the Ozark Trail in Missouri, then hike the popular trail. Current River State Park. 11 am.

573-858-3015 gArden tour, hermann > Staff dressed in period attire welcome you to the Pommer-Gentner House’s traditional German four-square garden.

Learn nineteenth-century gardening techniques, and tour the demonstration garden. Deutschheim State Historic Site. 10 am-4 pm. 573-486-2200 mill View trAil wAlk, davisville > Walk the 1.5mile trail and learn about geology, plants, and wildlife.

Dillard Mill State Historic Site. 9 am. 573-244-3120

courtesy missouri state parks

stories of the rAilroAds, Belleview > Program of various stories about Elephant Rocks and its railroads. Elephant Rocks State Park. 10, 10:30, and 11 am. 573-546-3454 trAils dAy celeBrAtion, st. charles > Celebrate the trails with a children’s bicycle-safety program, a ride on the Katy Trail State Park, a bike mechanic station, outdoor equipment companies, demonstrations, and information on trails and organizations. First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site. 10 am. 636-940-3322 stories of the rAilroAds, pilot knob > Learn the stories of the Iron Mountain Railroad, including the Iron Mountain baby. Fort Davidson State Historic Site. 1, 1:30, and 2 pm. 573-546-3454 let’s get out And hike, danville > Take a twohour hike through open oak woodlands with park

volunteers. See wildflowers and sandstone and limestone geologic features. Graham Cave State Park. 10 am. 573-564-3476

trAils dAy hike, dadeville > Take a self-guided hike on Umber Ridge Trail. Stockton State Park.

1 pm. 417-276-4259

woodlAnd wildflowers, camdenton > Take a walk on the Acorn Trail with a park naturalist.

See native blooming wildflowers, and learn glade management. Ha Ha Tonka State Park. 10 am. 573346-2986

eArly Bird hike, warsaw > Join the park staff for a hike to watch the sunrise over the park at a scenic overlook not yet open to the public. Harry S. Truman State Park. 4:45 am. 660-438-7711

mountAinside exposed, lesterville > In 2005, waters raced down Proffit Mountain and stripped it to bedrock. Join a naturalist on a moderately-rugged two-mile loop trail to learn about violent volcanoes and ancient seas. Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park. 9 am. 573-546-2450 A puzzling hike, knob noster > Walk along three trails and search for clues to a scrambled nature word. Knob Noster State Park. 9 am-1 pm.

660-563-2463 footsteps in the forest, williamsville > A guided hike of Asher Creek Trail. Search for creatures that call the park home. Lake Wappapello State Park. 8 am. 573-297-3232 forge AheAd, sullivan > Discover the history of nineteenth-century Hamilton Iron works on this hike. Meramec State Park. 9 am. 573-468-6072 nAtionAl trAils dAy hike, leasburg > Hike the Vilander Bluff Natural Area Trail with a master naturalist. Onondaga Cave State Park. 9 am. 573245-6576 tAke A hike for your heAlth, hermitage > Forget the treadmill! Walk in nature instead. Pomme de Terre State Park. 9 am. 417-745-6909 cAVe hike, cassville > Learn how water creates caves and the unique resource they provide. Roaring River State Park. 10 am. 417-847-2539

thousAnd hills hike, kirksville > Take a hike, learn some history, and see some wildlife. Thousand Hills State Park. 9 am. 660-665-6995 sheppArd point discoVery, Jackson > See one of the park’s most popular trails from a park naturalist’s perspective. Geology, plants, animals, and the Mississippi River all converge into one unique story along this hike. Trail of Tears State Park. 10 am.

573-290-5268 exploring nAture, florida > Follow a section of the trail that leads you over scenic vistas on the bluff above Mark Twain Lake. Mark Twain State Park.

10 am. 573-565-3440 cleAnup dAy, la grange > Walk with park staff along the trails and lake shores and pick up trash.

Wakonda State Park. 9 am. 573-655-2280 find the frog, cameron > Find the hidden plastic frogs along the trail, take them to the campground check station, and receive a Missouri State Parks prize package. Wallace State Park. 10 am. 816-632-3745 Bicycle ride, lawson > Take a guided bicycle ride around the 3.8-mile trail. Rangers will conduct a bike and park safety class. Watkins Mill State Park. Noon.

816-580-3387 west ridge nAture hike, weston > Enjoy nature with a park naturalist on a guided hike on the trail overlooking the Missouri River. Weston Bend State Park. 1 pm. 816-640-5443

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[ T HE DEMIS E OF FAR W E ST

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5/2/13 10:03 AM ML0613_Cover_AB_1.indd 1

Directory of our Advertisers Connect with us online! www.MissouriLife.com www.facebook.com/MissouriLife • Twitter: @MissouriLife

12th Annual Tour de Corn Charity Ride, p. 150 Amber House Bed and Breakfast, p. 134 Amish Made, p. 158 Antiques on Washington, p. 146 Arkansas Tourism, p. 27 Arrow Rock, p. 154 Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, p. 142 Baylor Health Care System, p. 24 Bed and Breakfast Inns of Missouri, p. 134 The Bent Tree Gallery, p. 38 Bert’s Corner, p. 156 Blumenhof Vineyards and Winery, p. 87 Boonville Tourism, p. 155 Boots Court Motel, p. 141 Bradford’s Antiques, p. 33 Branson Hotel, p. 147 Branson TV, p. 149 Callaway County Tourism, p. 22-23 Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, p. 150 Celebrate Washington County, p. 152 Chillicothe, p. 150

Clarksville, p. 17 Clinton, p. 136 Columbia Appliance, p. 161 Cooper’s Oak Winery, p. 87 Downtown Branson Fiddle Festival, p. 146 Downtown Kirkwood, p. 88 Dragon-Fly-In B&B, p. 134 Evening Shade Farms, p. 156 Fahrmeier Family Vineyards , p. 87 Family Shoe Store, p. 158 Fayetteville, AR, p. 27 The Gathering Place Bed and Breakfast, p. 134 George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, p. 38 Gladstone, p. 33 Glasgow, p. 40-41 Grand Avenue B&B, p. 141 Hermann Chamber, p. 87 High Street Victorian Bed and Breakfast, p. 154 Historic Downtown Liberty, p. 33 Hummingbird Kitchen, p. 151 Inn at Harbour Ridge, p. 134 Isle of Capri Jester’s Jam, p. 3 James Country Mercantile, p. 38 John Knox Village East, p. 8 Kaitlynn’s, p. 154

Kansas City Public Television, p. 157 KMOS-TV, p. 148 and 158 Lambert’s Café, p. 87 Lebanon Tourism, p. 163 Lodge of Four Seasons, p. 2 Louisiana, p. 150 Lutheran Senior Services, p. 20 Magic House, p. 38 Main Street Goods and Goodies, p. 33 Manitou Studio, p. 38 Marshall Tourism, p. 6-7 Maryland Heights Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, p. 20 Meramec Caverns, p. 27 Meramec Music Theatre, p. 4-5 Mexico Tourism, p. 18 Missouri Beef Council, p. 80-83 Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, p. 145 Missouri Life, p. 87, 123, 134 Missouri Pesticide Collection Program, p. 72 Missouri Pork Association, p. 164 Missouri State Fair, p. 133 Missouri Tourism, p. 30-31 Moberly Area Chamber of Commerce, p. 153 Mother Road Marathon, p. 141 Mpix, p. 88 New Madrid, p. 153 Old Trails Region, p. 154 Powers Museum, p. 140 Pulaski County USA, p. 140 Quotations Boutique, p. 33 The Railyard Steakhouse, p. 88 River Valley Region Association, p. 156 Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce, p. 139 Rost Landscaping, p. 144 Route 66 International Festival, p. 140 Route 66 Museum and Kinderhook Treasures Gift Shop, p. 141 Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, p. 136 Savor Missouri, p. 132 Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, p. 24 Socket, p. 90 St. Joseph Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, p. 151 The State Historical Society of Missouri, p. 8 Stone Haus Bed and Breakfast p. 134 Stone Hill Winery, p. 85

Stone Hollow Scrimshaw Studio, p. 38 Swiss Meats and Sausage Co., p. 85 Titanic Museum Attraction, p. 11 Trails West, p. 70-71 Trailside Cafe and Bike Shop, p. 87 Traveler’s Lane, p. 152 Truman State University Press, p. 147 Uncle Bob’s Spice and Blends, p. 158 Union Station Kansas City, p. 29 USA Tours, p. 73 Washington County, p. 152 Waverly House Gifts and Gallery, p. 140 Westphalia Inn, p. 87 and 151 White Rose B&B, p. 141 The Wildland Trekking Co., p. 72 Wildwood Springs Lodge, p. 4-5 CLAY COUNTY Airline History Museum, p. 120-121 Anna Marie’s Teas and The Terrace Avenue Inn , p. 117 Belvoir Winery, p. 116 Big V Country Mart, p. 118 Cinder Block Brewing, p. 122 City of Excelsior Springs, p. 101 City of Gladstone, p. 104-107 City of Liberty, p. 110-111 City of North Kansas City, p. 112-113 Clay County Commission, p. 91-100 and 124-125 Downtown Excelsior Springs, p. 103 Excelsior Springs Chamber of Commerce, p. 102 Fairfield Inn and Suites, p. 118 Fairfield Properties, p. 118 James Country Mercantile, p. 117 Kansas City Convention and Visitor’s Association, p. 108 Kearney Chamber of Commerce, p. 109 Kearney R-1 School District, p. 119 Ladoga Ridge Winery, p. 122 Liberty Hospital, p. 115 Liberty Public Schools, p. 116 Smithville Chamber of Commerce, p. 114 Stone-Yancey House B & B, p. 118 Stonehaven Guest House, p. 123 TWA Museum, p. 122 William Jewell College, p. 117 Worlds of Fun, p. 123

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Missouriana

Final thoughts on water parks, Joseph Smith, and the state flag.

BY BRIANA ALTERGOTT AND WINN DUVALL

During the 1950s, The Elms Hotel and Spa hosted national conventions for COMPANIES such as Avon, Standard Oil, and the American RED CROSS.

Missouri has 13 WATER PARKS across the state—an easy way to ESCAPE from the summer TEMPERATURES!

God’s Promised Land

The only DIFFERENCE between the MISSOURI flag and the flag of the Netherlands is the MISSOURI seal in the middle.

“This is the valley of God in which Adam blessed his children.”

—Joseph Smith, as he overlooked the Grand River in Daviess County

MISSOURI CITY MINISTER REVEREND JOHN VAN BUREN FLACK NAMED THE CITY OF EXCELSIOR SPRINGS AFTER HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW’S POEM “EXCELSIOR.”

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDREW BARTON

Did you know this?

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! y a w a t e G r u o Pl a n Y

! n o n a b e L in o d d n a e So m u ch t o s e Our Town, Your Town Celebration

June 22 Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce Lebanon I-44 Speedway $10 per car load includes the car race and motorcycle show! www.lebanonmissouri.com 417-588-3256

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austin miller photography

Lebanon is known by its motto,

“Friendly people.

Friendly place.”

These events are only part of the fun we have to offer.

www.lebanonmo.org | 1-866-LEBANON

The Our Town, Your Town Celebration will feature a Fa mily Ga me Z one, Monster Energy’s F MX show, NASCAR racing on the Lebanon I-44 Speedway and a large fireworks show!

Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival July 4 - 6 Conway, MO www.starvycreek.com 417-589-2013

Fiber “U” July 13 - 14 Cowan Civic Center www.mopaca.org 417-533-5280 [163] June 2013

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Join the conversation at PorkBeInspired.com/PorkSocial

Honey and Spice Sautéed Pork Tacos 1 lb. boneless chops (1/2-inch thick), cut into strips 1 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 /2 tsp. ground chipotle pepper* 8 small corn tortillas,warmed 1 c. shredded romaine lettuce 1 c. pico de gallo** Sour cream or crema to taste

SERVES 4, 2 TACOS EACH

Marinade: Combine honey, olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce and ground chipotle pepper in medium bowl and whisk.

Add sliced pork and let sit for 15 min.

Heat skillet over high heat. Add pork and cook for 1-2 min. on each side. Once cooked, remove pork to plate and set aside.

Arrange 8 corn tortillas on platter. Sprinkle each with equal amounts shredded lettuce and pico de gallo. Arrange a few pieces of pork on each taco and top with sour cream or crema if desired. *Substitute smoked or plain paprika as an alternative. **Prepared pico de gallo can usually be found in your grocer’s produce department. ©2013 National Pork Board, Des Moines, IA USA. This message funded by America’s Pork Producers and the Pork Checkoff.

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