T H E
S P I R I T
O F
/ / / F E B R U A R Y– M A R C H 2 0 1 8
D I S C O V E R Y
W H AT NOTORIOUS SKIDMORE IS R E A L LY L I K E
Go South This Winter
THE
N EW
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FEB.-MAR. 2018 /// $4.99 $4.99 US
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(DISPLAY UNTIL MAR. 31)
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MISSOURILIFE.COM
Final Weeks Tickets available at nelson-atkins.org.
DREAMS of the
KINGS
A Jade Suit For Eternity
See life-size complete suit in the Chinese Temple Galleries.
Life-Size Jade Burial Suit with Gold Thread (detail of head) China, Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.–9 C.E.). Excavated from the tomb of the King of Chu at Shizishan, Xuzhou, in 1995. Total length: 69 inches.
Free general admission | 45th & Oak, Kansas City | 3 blocks east of the Plaza
Nlloro (detail), 1991, collagraph, in 9 parts, 82 1/2 x 117 3/8 inches, ©Estate of Belkis Ayón
NKAME
A Retrospective of Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967–1999)
JANUARY 25–APRIL 29, 2018 Curated by Cristina Vives. Exhibition organized by the Belkis Ayón Estate, Havana, Cuba. Exhibition Tour Management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.
KANSAS CITY, MO | KEMPERART.ORG #NKAME at #KEMPERMUSEUM
AT THE
DO TIME IN
JEFFERSON CITY
MISSOURI STATE PENITENTIARY History and Ghost Tours Available
www.MissouriPenTours.com 866-998-6998
/missouripentour
#missouripentour
/MissouriPenTours
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
F E AT U R E S 32
The New Nightlife Instead of bellying up to the bar, sample the new nightlife. Play board games while you sip on wine. Play pickleball and have a beer. Create woodwork or paintings while you enjoy a cocktail. Take your pooch!
32
40
Skidmore, Revisited Horrific events have happened here, but the small town is still a tight community and focused on improving. Spend a little time with the town that shot the bully.
IN EVERY ISSUE 1 3 - 3 1 / MISSOURIANA
DREAM, EXPLORE, AND DISCOVER. 1 4 / From-scratch dining in Hermann 1 5 / Dance a jig with The Elders 1 6- 1 7 / Tasty new snack trends 1 8 / A Parisian tradition locks on KC
COURTESY WESTPORT SOCIAL
On the Cover
1 9 / French dining with romance 20 / Sink a hook into Catfish Kettle
Explore the Bootheel and
21 / Cherry Mash has a sweet history
see plentiful proof that
22 / A sunny story for dark times
Missouri is the eighth-
23 / Wear the galaxy’s best jewelry
largest cotton producer
24 / Two unique clothing boutiques
in the country. Photo by
25 / 3 books featuring strong women
Hannah Busing.
26 / Visit the Village of the Blue Rose
52 28
ARTIST Playful Patterns Alicia LaChance mixes more than paints. Composed of many textures, shapes, and even mediums, her work brings order to chaos. 80
FLAVOR First St. Louis Cidery Known for its beer brewing, the city is getting its first cidery. Brick River Cider Company opens a pub this month.
3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Explore the Bootheel Writer and traveler John Drake Robinson shares some of his favorite observations of Missouri’s southernmost territory. 58
Earthquakes: Then and Now In the winter of 1811-12, earthquakes rippled up and down the New Madrid fault line, leveling settlements and changing the landscape. Find out what the fault line's future has in store.
ALL AROUND MISSOURI
Contents
21 43
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
15 16 18 30 31 35 82
THIS ISSUE ON THE WEB
40 44 44 10
CONTENT BY L O C AT I O N
23 37
31 26 13
96
26 10
10 30
24 20 24
31 10 16 25 30 34 96
96
96 96
25 56
Sign up for Missouri Lifelines, our free e-newsletter, and follow us on Facebook
D E PA R T M E N T S
at Facebook.com/Missourilife or on Twitter and Instagram @Missourilife.
8
My Missouri Life: Shakedown TODAY
Editor Danita Allen Wood used to fuss about paying for earthquake insurance— until she and her husband felt one in mid-Missouri.
IN
MISSOURI H I S T O R Y Impress your friends or rock your trivia night! Follow us on Facebook and check our website for a daily dose of history.
R E C I P E S
10
Letters From All Over Our readers recommend some swinging sights and a Rolla restaurant. We stay on this side of the border and try to clear things up. 30
Our Picks: Events Worth the Drive Hungry yet? Taste our cider syrup and brighten your winter table with more cozy recipes. Spiced potatoes, anyone?
R
I
D
E
B
I
G
B
A
M
Lorry Myers: No Place Like Home Car trouble is usually a recipe for disaster. The flashing tow truck lights rescue Lorry’s mom in more ways than one. 84
Recipes: Cook with Cider You’ll be the apple of any diner’s eye with these recipes for cider-glazed pork chops, baked cider apples, hot cranberry mulled cider, and more.
We chose chocolate festivals, Mardi Gras parties, and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Plus, pay tribute to Black History Month with the Springfield Symphony.
90
76
The Back Story: We’re Setting Records
Ron Marr’s Musings on Life Join the Big BAM (Bicycle Across Missouri) ride along Route 66 this June 17-22 or on the Katy Trail October 7-12. BigBAMride.com
78
One hot summer spent painting fence posts left a bad taste in Ron’s mouth. So what happens when his walls need a little color?
4 / MISSOURI LIFE
More Around Missouri 80 additional events to cure cabin fever 96
Publisher Greg Wood explores Missouri’s presence in the Guinness Book of World Records and urges you to help Willard set a record this summer.
14 31
16, 17 19, 22 25, 30 34, 35 36, 64 80, 96
96 55 55 55 31 56 54 58 54 57 53
62
Pla n Y ou r Get a wa y!
So m uch to se e an d do in Le ba no n!
Opening Day of Trout Season March 1 | Bennett Spring State Park www.lebanonmo.org/calendar “It’s A Gas” Swap Meet February 10 | Cowan Civic Center www.lebanonmo.org/calendar
RK Gun Show February 24–25 | Cowan Civic Center www.lebanonmo.org/calendar Missouri National Wrestling Championship February 3–4 | Cowan Civic Center www.lebanonmo.org/calendar
Lebanon is known by its motto, “Friendly people. Friendly place.” These events are only part of the fun we have to offer.
LebanonMissouri.org | 417-532-4642
WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE
THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY
501 High Street, Ste. A, Boonville, MO 65233 660-882-9898 | Info@MissouriLife.com MissouriLife.com PUBLISHER Greg Wood EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Danita Allen Wood
EDITORIAL & ART
We have a new calendar format with
will be there, and we hope you’ll stop
this issue. We highlight some events,
us and say hi when you see us. We’ll
picked by the editors as “Events Worth
be wearing Missouri Life shirts or name
the Drive,” on page 30. Then, we have
tags. See page 12 for details.
our listings, “More Around Missouri,”
If you want to see north Missouri in
beginning on page 90. Finally, you can
comfort and style, consider our jaunt
find even more events online by visiting
around the top half of our state in May or
MissouriLife.com. We invite you to sub-
October. Learn more on page 88.
online. It’s easy now.
We’re also gearing up for four different bicycle tours this year sponsored
We’ve also launched our revised and
by Missouri Life. You can choose from
redesigned website. Browse around
two separate small group tours on
and enjoy. We’ve tried to reflect the best
the Katy Trail in August or September,
features of the magazine on the web.
which offer the luxury of bed-and-
We are happily in the final stages
breakfasts or hotel stays—or two dif-
of preparing for our Best of Missouri
ferent large group Big BAM (Bicycle
Life Market Fair April 28–29. Plan on
Across Missouri) rides: one on Route
visiting with us at Powell Gardens. We
66 in June and one on the Katy Trail in
have unique made-in-Missouri products,
October. See page 70 for information
entertainment, and of course, Powell
on the two small group tours, and pag-
Gardens’ lovely spring blooms. Our staff
es 24-25 for the two Big BAM events.
F RO M O UR MISSO U R I LIFE TEAM
PROUD MEMBERS
GROWING UP IN A MISSOURI FAMILY, I truly appreciate the family atmosphere of the Missouri Life team, and I enjoy learning new things about my home state. Missouri offers an amazing diversity of activities. My favorites include camping, hiking, bicycling, road trips, powwows, and other such fun. I enjoy Missouri’s wonders, especially Johnson Shut-ins and Elephant Rock State Parks. I live close to the Katy Trail and can avail myself of frequent excursions there. When I am not working, I enjoy volunteering as a part of the mid-Missouri theatre community. In fact, I’m standing in front of Thespian Hall in Boonville in this picture. I also enjoy renovating my old brick house built in 1920 in Boonville. Those chores can be challenging to negotiate with my four-legged assistant, Bandit. Winter is my favorite time of year—I love snow. I hope you are able to venture forth to enjoy all Missouri has to offer. Don’t let the cold deter your spirit of discovery!
/// CONTRIBUTING WRITERS /// Emma Beyer, Pamela Clifton, Shannon Cothran, George Denniston, Jill Draper, Rose Hansen, Cynthia Hulé, Robin Seaton Jefferson, Porcshe Moran, Eddie O’Neill, John Drake Robinson, Ron Soodalter Columnists Ron W. Marr & Lorry Myers /// CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS /// Hannah Busing, Jill Draper, Rose Hansen, Notley Hawkins, Evan Henningsen, Michael Pera, Tim Vollink
MARKETING 877-570-9898
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES Marc Metz, 618-600-4647 ADVERTISING & MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE, KANSAS CITY Mary Leonard, 816-868-7498 ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE, LAKE OF THE OZARKS Bob Schwartz, 314-650-5767 ADVERTISING & MARKETING COORDINATOR Jolene Metzen, 660-882-9898, ext. 206 CIRCULATION MANAGEMENT Russell Marth, Circulation Specialists, LLC
DIGITAL MEDIA MISSOURILIFE.COM, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER Evan Wood MISSOURI LIFELINES, DIGITAL EDITION Kath Teoli
FIND US ONLINE OR SOCIAL MEDIA Search for Missouri Life Magazine on Facebook to send us a message, or tweet us @MissouriLife. Share pictures with us on Instagram @MissouriLife.
Jolene Metzen
MISSOURI LIFE, Vol. 45, No. 1, February 2018 (USPS#020181; ISSN#1525-0814) Published eight times a year in February, April, May, June, August, September, October, and December by Missouri Life, Inc., for $21.99. Periodicals Postage paid at Boonville, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Missouri Life, PO Box 433330, Palm Coast, FL 32143. © 2018 Missouri Life. All rights reserved.
6 / MISSOURI LIFE
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COURTESY POWELL GARDENS, EDWARD LANG
mit your own community group’s events
MANAGING EDITOR Laura Heck CREATIVE DIRECTOR Andrew Barton ART DIRECTOR Tom Sullivan COPY EDITOR Kathy Casteel CUSTOM PROJECTS MANAGER Kath Teoli MULTIMEDIA SPECIALIST Edward Lang CALENDAR EDITOR & OFFICE MANAGER Amy Stapleton EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Meghan Lally
POSTCARDS FULTON
DISCOVER
CALLAWAY COUNTY SAVOR
Savor the heartland at bakeries, a craft butcher shop and worth-the-drive rural restaurants throughout the county. Serenity Valley winery sits on 60 acres near Mark Twain National Forest. Canterbury Hill Winery offers views of the Missouri River. Plan your visit around some of our great events in 2018! A 17th-century church brought from London houses the National Churchill Museum. The museum honors Winston Churchill and his 1946 "Iron Curtain" speech, evoking the Cold War. A sculpture from the Berlin Wall marks the end of an era. Backer Auto World offers nearly 80 rare and vintage cars displayed in historic venues. Crane's Country Store and Museum highlights life from the late 1800's to early 1900's .
BROWSE
Interesting shops, delicious food and sweet treats can be found in FultonĘťs charming Brick District. Be sure to visit the Art House, a thriving art and fine craft gallery that offers classes, exhibits and events. Unique gift shops await in the villages of Millersburg, Holts Summit and Williamsburg. Stops include a barn wood furniture maker, scrapbooking, quilting and antique stores.
PLAN
SPRING: Morels & Microbrews Callaway Plein Air SUMMER: Fulton Street Fair 4th of July Parade & Fireworks Mokane Fair Callaway County Fair Renaissance Festival FALL: Bluegrass & BBQ Hatton Craft Fair Autumn on the Bricks Willys Jeep Reunion Historic Military Vehicle Convoy Renaissance Festival WINTER: Brick District ‘s Holiday Open House * De t ails at v isi t f ul ton .com /e ve n ts
For more information, call:
(573) 642--7692
MY MISSOURI LIFE
Greg and I were among the thousands of people who felt the earth move on September 3, 2016, from the nearby Oklahoma earthquake, a 5.8 magnitude. It was early Saurday morning, and we were still upstairs in bed. I’d been awake just a few minutes before I felt our bed trembling. I thought Greg was
the Missouri River as the crow flies.
preparations are over the top, I was
“Earthquake tremors travel up riverbeds,” he would say. “Remember
New
grateful for his preparedness during “Snowmageddon”
Madrid,”
he
would say. And I’d grumble and pay the bill thinking, “Not going to happen.”
here
back
in
February 2011 when we had that nearly two-foot snowstorm and lost power for days and days. His at-the-ready wood piles fed our
So when one of our favorite writers,
wood-burning stove in the basement
Ron Soodalter, proposed doing a sto-
and our fireplace on the main floor,
But when he asked me “What was
ry on the historical New Madrid earth-
which kept the entire house warm. That
that?” I knew he wasn’t the cause. We
quakes, we said, “Sure, as long as you
water kept us from thirst, and we had
both sat up, looked around, and de-
tell us what we should know about the
plenty of food in the house, which we
cided, “Maybe one of the dogs on the
next big one, too.”
cooked in a Dutch oven in the fireplace.
having a nightmare and trembling.
DANITA ALLEN WOOD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Greg Wood made a sledge out of a tub filled with gear to reach our truck at the bottom of our steep lane. Our truck couldn’t get back up the hill because of the ice under the snow.
porch was doing something.” And then
Greg has always been a master of
We live in the country, nine miles
it happened again. We jumped up and
keeping us prepared (well, except for
from town, and it was three days before
looked all around but couldn’t find any-
the one time we saw bears running to-
the snowplows cleared our gravel road.
thing amiss, so we went about the busi-
ward us in Cades Cove in the Smokey
We still didn’t have power, but we were
ness of breakfast. While browsing the
Mountains in Tennessee and realized
able to get to the office, after tortuous
news that morning, we learned of the
we’d left the bear spray in the camper,
effort. The snow in our long driveway
earthquake.
but that’s another story).
was too heavy for our smaller tractor
I’ll never question Greg’s insistence
Seriously, Greg brings duct tape
and blade. Greg hand-shoveled the
on earthquake insurance again. When
when we travel; he carries Fix-A-Flat in
3/8-mile-long lane to clear enough for
he finished building our house back in
every vehicle trunk; he has waterproof
our truck to make it down the lane, but
1995, he asked for earthquake cover-
containers for matches when we ca-
the truck wouldn’t make it back up the
age, and it’s so rare that it comes from
noe. We’re prepared for emergencies,
steep hill. We left it at the end of our lane
another insurance vendor, not the one
too, with a rifle under the bed, a freezer
for several days, walking to and from
we use for our farm, house, and even
full of meat, 25-pound bags of rice and
house to truck.
our business. I bet I’ve fussed about that
beans in our pantry, and a 5-gallon can-
After reading Ron’s earthquake sto-
small premium every year I’ve paid it.
ister of safe drinking water in our base-
ries beginning on page 58, I’ll happi-
But he has always demanded we leave
ment. I’ve always felt secure.
ly continue paying that premium. And
it, since we’re only about four miles from
And lest you think some of these
8 / MISSOURI LIFE
we’re as ready as we can be.
DANITA WOOD
Did the Earth Move?
ENJOY HOT WATER AND
LOWER YOUR ENERGY COSTS UP TO 20 PERCENT WITH A PROPANE WATER HEATER.
PROPANE GIVES EVERYONE SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT. Your old water heater could be costing you money; age, use, and other factors make water heaters less efficient every year. By switching to a high-efficiency propane water heater, you can cut your annual water heating costs by up to 20 percent compared with electric water heaters. Find out if it’s time to pull the plug on your old water heater by taking the quiz at KnowYourWaterHeater.com. Call your local Missouri propane supplier who can help you make the switch to propane, for the savings and performance you deserve. For a limited time, participating Missouri propane suppliers are off ering up to $300 in rebates when you install a new high-efficiency propane water heater. For more information, visit PropaneMissouri.com.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
LETTERS from all over YOU WRITE THEM. WE PRINT THEM.
SWINGING BRIDGES
were honored to be included as one of Missouri’s “25 Architectural
I use your articles to find places throughout the state for bus trips
Treasures.” Thank you so much for a very interesting issue. We re-
for our landowners in Miller County. I also use the dates for upcom-
ally enjoy your magazine and look forward to each issue.
ing activities and festivals to help landowners make plans. I love to
Day Kerr, Prairie Village, Kansas
see the new places you have come across. If your editor would ever be interested in doing an article
In case you think we’ve now strayed into Kansas, the architectural
on swinging bridges found in Miller County, I would love to be
treasure was the William B. Sappington House on the Prairie Park
the tour guide and help with getting information about the neat
plantation near Arrow Rock—in Missouri. William was the son of
structures that are used every day here in Miller County.
John Sappington, the famous quinine doctor. The house is now
Bonnie Pryor, district manager, Miller County Soil & Water
owned by Day and Whitney Kerr.—Editor
Conservation District, Eldon
READER RECOMMENDED Bonnie, we’ll take you up on that. Count on us to come—when
We love reading Missouri Life and learning about our state
it’s warmer!—Editor
and things to see and do. Recently we enjoyed dinner at a new elegant restaurant in historic downtown Rolla, not far off
ROAMING REINDEER I enjoyed your article about the reindeer (December 2017). My
Interstate 44 and US 63, by the name of NaCl+H2O, at 817 North Pine.
wife and I wanted to take our grandchildren to visit them. We
The owners, Matt and Sue Banhalzer, opened a lovely restau-
reviewed the list of locations but could not find Belleville in
rant in an old building and serve delicious meals. Steak and sea-
Missouri. That’s because it’s located in lllinois, which is fine but
food are their specialties! This would be a great feature in your
your publication didn’t indicate that. I see that you listed two
publication. Thanks for your time.
appearances in Illinois, so I assumed that all other cities were
Pat and Jon Grob, St. Charles
in Missouri. Just thought you should be more specific next time.
2 GOOD COLUMNISTS
Thanks for listening. Doug Scott, Parkville
A few years ago I picked up a dog-eared copy of Missouri Life in
How did we let those rascally Illini sneak into the magazine?
the article and decided if he was a regular contributor, I would
Just kidding, we don’t mind sending Missourians over the line if
become a regular subscriber. He was, and I am. He has a way
it serves our readers.—Editor
with words in a funny, quirky fashion. It’s been a few years, and I still enjoy the magazine. Lorry Myers is a nice addition.
ARCHITECTURAL TREASURE
Lorry, don’t be too hard on the woman from Overland Park.
This is a very belated but warm thank-you to Missouri Life for the
She has to live in Kansas, after all!
lovely article about Prairie Park in your February 2016 issue. We
Dave Weddle, Springfield
10 / MISSOURI LIFE
BONNIE PRYOR
a dentist’s office and it fell open to an article by Ron Marr. I read
1 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Best of Missouri Life Market Fair at Powell Gardens April 28-29, 2018 Join us at the beautiful Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s botanical garden, for a market fair featuring Missouri-made products you can buy straight from the artists and producers. Peruse dozens of booths with everything from artisan products to good eats right off the farm. • Historical reenactors such as Mark Twain and Daniel Boone • Special flower display with 44,000 bulbs • Kids crafts and education programs • Food trucks
For more event information, visit MissouriLife.com/market-fair-info General admission tickets are available at the door. Vendor booths are available at MissouriLife.com/market-festival.
MISSOURIANA
“Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.”
february march 2018
1 3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
A G U I D E T O W H AT YO U ’ L L F I N D I N T H I S S E C T I O N
GREG RAKOZY ON UNSPLASH
— DAL E CAR NE G I E AU THO R O F HOW TO WI N F R I E ND S AND I NF LUE NC E P E O P L E , BO R N I N B E LTO N, M I S S O UR I
ARTIST p.28 SHOW-ME BOOKS p.22, p.25 DINING p.14, p.17, p.19, p.20 EXPLORE p.18, p.26, p.30, p.31 MADE IN MISSOURI p.16, p.21, p.23, p.24 MUSIC p.15
Seriously Handmade HERMANN
chefs at the New American/Italian
fettuccini. Nick mixes his handmade
restaurant—they don’t even have
noodles with a 4-ounce poached lob-
sous chefs.
ster tail, sautéed shrimp, blistered to-
The Renfroes take their food prep
matoes, and champagne onions in a
seriously. “Pretty much everything is
Parmesan cream sauce. Another fa-
made from scratch,” Nick says. He
vorite is a seafood twist on a St. Louis
spends about three hours a day mak-
classic: lobster toasted ravioli.
ing all of the pasta by hand, a skill
To accompany the seafood and
set he learned at the French Culinary
pasta dishes, Black Walnut serves
Institute in New York City. His studies
hand-cut, wood-aged steaks; don’t
at culinary school and Nick’s time in
miss out on the bacon-wrapped fi-
For the past seven years, every sin-
Italy inspired the Renfroes to build a
let. Nick also recommends the crisp
gle dish to come out of Black Walnut
menu using Italian and Mediterranean
zucchini for a lighter-tasting bite. It
Bistro’s kitchen has been handmade
flavors and techniques.
comes with lemon aioli and freshly
by Nick or Brittany Renfroe.
Black Walnut’s seafood dishes
grated ricotta salata.—Laura Heck
The husband-wife co-owners of
have always been customer favor-
222 East 1st Street • 573-486-3298
the Hermann restaurant are the only
ites, especially the lobster and shrimp
Facebook.com/BlackWalnutBistro
14 / MISSOURILIFE
COURTESY BLACK WALNUT BISTRO
D I N I N G
MISSOURIANA
MISSOURIANA
M U S I C
The Elders Take a Bow KANSAS CITY It’s a bittersweet year for The Elders.
flawless musicians. Even with record-
This year marks the band’s 20th an-
ing success, fans know that the magic
niversary of playing together, but the
of The Elders happens on stage.
members of the powerhouse Irish/
Appearing as a showcase act at
Celtic band recently announced that
venues throughout North America
2018 will be the last year they plan
and Europe, The Elders perform
to perform together—at least for the
at many Irish festivals, with year-
foreseeable future. They’re simply
ly appearances at the Kansas City
ready to move on.
and Weston fests. “It’s inconceiv-
“I don’t think any of us ever
able to have an Irish festival without
imagined performing together for
The Elders,” says Michael Coakley,
this long,” says Steve Phillips, one
co-owner of the Weston Brewing
of the original members, along with
Company, which has hosted the
Norm Dahlor and Brent Hoad. Other
Weston Festival for 13 years.
STORY George Denniston
Hoolie … Who?
band members include Irish-born
The group’s chemistry on stage
singer Ian Byrne, who joined the
is perhaps best experienced during
hoolie, an annual celebration of
original members in 2001, his son
the song “Appalachian Paddy” from
Irish music and dance, will take
Kian on guitar and drums, and fe-
the Building a Boat album. While The
place at the Knucklehead’s Garage
male fiddler Diana Ladio. In spite of
Elders sing and play on stage, fans
in Kansas City on March 17. Get
changes throughout the years, the
link arms and shout the lyrics:
more information and check other
energy and the musical style have remained steady. COURTESY THE ELDERS
C E L E B R AT E T H E I N F E C T I O U S E N E R G Y O F T H I S I R I S H B A N D.
The group is ending on a high note; its eighth studio album, True, released in October, solidified the band’s reputation as storytellers and
The
Elders’
St.
Patrick’s
Day
performance dates at EldersMusic.
Put your arms around each other And sing to the angels up high, Shake your fist to the devil and begrudgers, Give a kiss to the one by your side.
1 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
com.
MISSOURI PRODUCERS ARE BETTING ON THE B E N E F I T S O F KO M B U C H A .
MAPLEWOOD
Tea 2.0
Kombucha, a fermented tea that re-
culture,” Tom says. The couple spent
sembles a slightly sweet, sometimes
a lot of time convincing buyers about
tangy sparkling beer, has gripped the
the benefits of the tea, they say.
beverage industry. With yearly kom-
Packed with probiotics, kombucha
bucha sales approaching $600 mil-
has been linked to a variety of health
lion, beverage giant PepsiCo recently
benefits, including enhanced diges-
acquired industry pioneer KeVita.
tion and more energy.
The state now has a few brewers
Confluence Kombucha, a St. Louis
of its own. They’re considered brew-
gastrolab in The Grove, serves owner
ers because the fermentation pro-
William Pauley’s craft-brewed kombu-
cess yields traces of alcohol, which
cha in the tasting bar. In Kansas City,
can vary by brewer.
The Brewkery owners Amy Goldman
Tom and Tricia Nieder kicked off
and Sean Galloway produce the wild-
Companion Kombucha, better known
ly popular Lucky Elixir Kombucha. In
as ComKom, in 2015. The Maplewood
Springfield, Chris and Jessica Ollis
company has grown to become one
plan to open their Spring Branch
of the largest producers in the state.
Kombucha processing plant and tast-
The commercial side of the kombucha
StoneHillWinery_ML_2018.indd 1
brewing
business
ing room this spring.
started
Find a locally made brew near you
slow for the Nieders, but demand is
with the refrigerated drinks at your
blossoming. “It’s a Show-Me State
grocery store.—Meghan Lally
16 / MISSOURILIFE
12/13/17 3:05 PM
COURTESY COMPANION KOMBUCHA
M
A D
E
I N
M O
MISSOURIANA
MISSOURIANA
D I N I N
COURTESY DOUGH CO. STL
Dough Mind if We Do
G
DES PERES Have you ever eaten cookie dough by the spoonful? Get your guiltfree fill of delicious and safe-to-eat goodness at Dough Co. in the food court of West County Center mall. The dough is made with pasteurized eggs and heat-treated flour, so it’s safe to dig right in. The shop, which opened in November, serves up cookie dough in cups, in double-dipped cones, and as icing on cupcakes. Flavors run the gamut from chocolate chip to a sugar cookie with cinnamon and white chocolate chips dubbed Buzzydoodle. “Our slogan says it all,” says owner Martha Sneider. “You’ve always wanted to, so ‘Go ahead, lick the spoon.’ ”—Robin Seaton Jefferson
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The Old Red Bridge has spanned the Blue River since 1859. More recently, its love lore has made it a popular spot for weddings and Valentine’s Day.
The bridge in Minor Park gets its decoration inspiration from the Pont des Arts Bridge in Paris, which is covered in locks that were clicked shut around the railings as pledges of love and commitment.
KANSAS CITY Love is in the air, literally, at Minor
after a new structure for vehicles took
Park’s Old Red Bridge, where a charm-
its place in 2013, Heidi says it was
ing, old-world tradition has traveled
made for heavy traffic and has plenty
halfway across the world to the south
of room for pledges of love.
side of Kansas City. High above the
The bridge has been rebuilt sever-
Blue River dangle more than 2,500
al times since it first spanned the riv-
love locks. Couples—and sometimes
er in 1859, but each version has been
entire families—engrave or mark their
painted red. It’s now a popular place
names on a lock, affix it to the steel
to get married, and around Valentine’s
railings, and throw away the key.
Day the parks department puts up
Heidi Markle’s locks were the
twinkly lights to add to the romance.
first to appear: one pledged a bond
Heidi’s love for her dog, Harley,
with her then-fiancé and another with
remains true, though the fiancé didn’t
her puggle dog, Harley. Heidi, who
work out. That turn of events, however,
handles marketing and events for
has given her another idea for the old
Kansas City’s Department of Parks and
bridge—an “Unlock Your Love” day six
Recreation, got the idea from the Pont
months after Valentine’s Day.
des Arts Bridge in Paris. The bridge
Whether it’s the key to your heart
there is so popular that officials have
or an unwanted token of love gone
removed nearly 45 tons of locks to re-
wrong, if you’re tossing something,
lieve the bridge of the extra weight.
please use the trash cans supplied by
The Old Red Bridge can stand to
the parks department. “Show some
hold many more locks. Even though
love for the river and the environment,
it was decommissioned to a walkway
too,” Heidi says.—Jill Draper
18 / MISSOURI LIFE
JILL DRAPER
Love Locked
MISSOURIANA
D I
Pair your entrée with a glass of champagne or vintage French wine, and then satisfy your sweet tooth with a French delicacy. “Our
COURTESY BAR LES FRÉRES
most popular, without question, is Tucked away in charming Clayton,
people at a time with an authentic
Grand Marnier chocolate mousse,"
Bar Les Fréres offers a taste of Paris
French menu created by executive
Nick says. "It’s really light chocolate
on meticulously prepared plates.
chef Ny Vongsaly.
mousse with a nice citrus to it.”
Deep wine-colored walls, cozy light-
Begin with hors d’oeuvres such
Patio and bar seating is first-
ing, and limited seating bring an in-
as brioche toast points or lobster tail.
come, first-served, but call ahead for
timate and exclusive ambience to
The restaurant’s les plats include
reservations if you want to wine and
“the most romantic restaurant in
duck confit with purple yams and
dine that special someone for a spe-
Missouri," according to Elle Decor
red cabbage or double-cut French
cific occasion.—Meghan Lally
magazine.
lamb. “Our filet mignon au poivre,
7637 Wydown Boulevard
which is a peppercorn-crusted filet,
314-725-8880 • BarLesFreres.net
Bar Les Fréres serves only 28
State parks, cute little shops, microbreweries, underground art galleries and award-winning dining, all within walking distance. Or at least a short bike ride away. Columbia offers everything you need for a quick getaway. And you don’t have to take out a small loan to get here. visitcolumbiamo.com
1 9 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
G
being a steakhouse.”
N
best steaks in the city, despite us not
I
have told me it is one of the very
N
tender Will Brawley. “Many people
CLAYTON
A Little Romance
is very traditional French,” says bar-
Keep the Catfish Comin’
M A D E - F R O M - S C R AT C H COMFORT FOODS
Not many Missouri restaurants
salad round out the menu. You can
greet guests with baskets of pork
finish with pie.
rinds, but Catfish Kettle excels in
Owners
comfort food.
Hutson
and
Jeremy Horton have ensured the
Not surprisingly, the menu’s centerpiece
Keith
is
the
down-home, Southern-style eatery
delicious-
crispy potato wedges, fried corn
has been swinging for 31 years. In
ly seasoned catfish fillets. The
on the cob, baked beans, and fried
proper comfort food tradition, ev-
Farmington
prepares
okra, plus optional pickles and on-
erything from the sauces—tartar,
about 400 pounds of catfish during
ions. The moist chicken tenders
cocktail, and sweet-and-sour—to
a typical week to feed its regu-
and crispy popcorn shrimp are also
the chicken batter are made from
lar customers and accommodate
main dish staples. Golden hush-
scratch using hand-written recipes
large groups, parties, and catering.
puppies are a customer favorite;
from years ago.—Pamela Clifton
Served family style, catfish is paired
snow crab legs, crab cakes, mac-
755 Weber Road • 573-756-7305
with sweet and creamy coleslaw,
aroni and cheese, and cucumber
CatfishKettle.com
restaurant
20 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY CATFISH KETTLE
FARMINGTON
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MISSOURIANA
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chocolate and fresh-roasted peasnack.
A D
Twenty employees use 15 tons of
E
nuts, Cherry Mash is the ultimate sweet-and-salty
crunchy
crushed cherries to produce the
COURTESY CHASE CANDY COMPANY
ST. JOSEPH
include recipes printed on the back of the wrappers. “Customers say it’s Grandma’s favorite or Dad’s favorite, or they The third-oldest candy bar in the
say they order it every Christmas for
country celebrates its centennial this
someone,” says Barry Yantis, chief ex-
year. The iconic—and nostalgic—
ecutive officer of the candy company
Cherry Mash has been produced
since 1990.
by the Chase Candy Company in St. Joseph since 1918.
The Yantis family is the only other family to own Chase since the
The candy starts with a mound
Chase family sold it during World War
of crushed maraschino cherries to
II. Barry’s son, Brett, is vice president
create the creamy, vibrant pink cen-
and will become the third generation
ter. Double-dipped in a mixture of
to lead the business.—Pamela Clifton
Kick Up Your Heels 2018 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival at the
Sedalia, MO
May 30 thru June 2, 2018
VisitSedaliaMO.com 800-827-5295
2 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
M O
100 Years of Cherry Mash
about 50,000 full-size bars daily; all
I N
treats each day. The company makes
When Kindness Begins at a Cemetery
The first glimpse New York Times
AUTHOR ELIZABETH BERG
bestselling author Elizabeth Berg
The Story of Arthur Truluv springs
caught of Arthur Truluv, he was sit-
from Elizabeth’s reaction to the tu-
ting in a fold-up chair in a cemetery,
multuous times of the past few years.
eating a lunch wrapped in wax paper
“The times have been so dreary and
and talking gently to the grave be-
sad, and you can lose faith in people,”
fore him. As Arthur came to life in her
she says. “But I have a Pollyanna-ish
mind’s eye, he also came to life on
instinct that we are mostly good.”
the page in Elizabeth’s latest novel,
C R E AT E S A F I C T I O N A L
The Story of Arthur Truluv.
MISSOURI TOWN TO SHINE
Soon, Elizabeth saw another fig-
A LIGHT IN UNCERTAIN TIMES. REVIEW Laura Heck
THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV Elizabeth Berg, 240 pages, fiction Random House, hardcover, $26
This gentle, optimistic tale confirms that instinct. “I wanted to show that, no matter what, this kind of
ure in that cemetery: a young, goth
life-affirming
girl, sitting under a tree. “I thought,
through,” she says.
kindness
can
shine
‘What’s she doing there?’ ” Elizabeth
Elizabeth’s pursuit of wholesome-
says. She named the girl Maddy and
ness led her to place the story in a
gave her a dreamer’s heart encased
fictional Missouri town: Mason, popu-
in a hard shell.
lation 5,000. “The spirit of small-town
The third major player in the de-
and middle America is really import-
veloping novel was a surprise, even
ant to me,” Elizabeth says. “I wanted
to Elizabeth. “With Lucille, here’s a
a place where things might be a little
stereotypical sweet old lady, and she
slower, a little simpler. Not naive, but
turned out to not be that way at all,”
more open to goodness.”
Elizabeth says. She laughs as she
She often brings in midwestern
begins to describe Lucille, but then
themes and settings to her books.
grows somber. “She’s one of those
As what she calls “an Army brat,’
people who is such a pain, but you
she grew up all over the world. She
love her anyway.” Elizabeth pauses,
finished her final two years of high
then adds, “She’s vulnerable, too.”
school in St. Louis in 1964 and ’65—
In the book, Elizabeth nimbly ex-
just as the Gateway Arch’s supporting
plores the relationships between
columns were taking shape. Elizabeth
these three as circumstances bring
has lived in Chicago for 17 years, but
them together. The three end up liv-
she’s been back to St. Louis for book
ing together in Arthur’s home, joined
tours and witnessed the Arch grow
by Arthur’s cat, Gordon.
from two columns to meet in the mid-
The tender heartbeat of the nov-
Elizabeth Berg
all connected,” Elizabeth says,
dle as one structure.
el is the soft, gradual realization that
The fictional town of Mason
these three people have more com-
meant so much to Elizabeth that she
monalities than they do differences.
couldn’t leave it behind. “I was hap-
“I think that when I finished the book,
py to be there,” Elizabeth says. “I was
I realized that a big thing in writing it
so sad to leave Mason that I sat down
was understanding that we really are
and wrote another book.”
22 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY THE PUBLISHER, TERESA CRAWFORD
B
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MISSOURIANA
MISSOURIANA
M A D
a note that said, “Whenever you look at your solar system bracelet, remember I think you’re out of this world.” Over the past few years, Bea’s project has blasted off into its own company called Astronobeads. Now a senior marketing major at the University of Missouri, she and her five-person team are shipping pieces of the universe all around the world. With items such as the Pluto Choker and the Earth, Moon & Sun bracelets, each piece of jewelry represents a different part of the solar system and has a special message. “Each is kind of bigger than just a bracelet,” Bea says. “They give you a different perspective on your wrist or teach you something about the universe.” Astronobeads have reached great heights, with celebrities such as actress Whoopi Goldberg and astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson sporting Bea’s designs. But the young entrepreneur sees all of her customers as celebrities. “The mission behind my brand is ‘everything is universal,’ ” she says. “At the end of the day, we’re all just humans on the pale blue dot. I love how my brand kind of speaks to that equality. Astronomy unites us all together.” Bea and her team work simultaneously out of her home and in an office in the basement of Memorial Student Union on the Mizzou campus. Astronobeads show up at pop-up booths at festivals, but Bea doesn’t plan to open a permanent COURTESY BEA DOHENY
store. “I love spending my time online because I can reach so many more people,” she says. Visit Astronobeads.com to shop and read more about Bea and her quest to bring the cosmos to customers.—Meghan Lally
2 3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Bea Doheny
M O
friends. With each bracelet she gave, she attached
I N
ing bracelets inspired by outer space as gifts for
WHOOPI GOLDBERG HAS SOME, AND THEY ARE SHIPPED ALL O V E R T H E W O R L D.
E
As a senior in high school, Bea Doheny began mak-
Cosmic Jewelry
COLUMBIA
PARK HILLS & STE. GENEVIEVE
crafting connections
CUSTOM CHARM BRACELETS AND MOTHERS’ NECKLACES
Iris Richardson has a flair for selling
hand-painted signs, infant clothing,
items that connect to customers. Iris
pillows, and more—to support other
began making jewelry 10 years ago
artists because that’s how she built
to supplement her family’s income
her business. “There’s a lot of talent
and to help pay for her son’s medi-
in our area,” she says.
cal bills. When she began her ven-
Queen Anne’s Lace unique jew-
ture, Iris wore her jewelry and carried
elry includes custom charm brace-
items in a suitcase with her every-
lets and popular mothers’ necklaces,
where in hopes of making impromptu
which have their children’s names
sales. “I was a peddling person,” she
specially
says. Soon, she had worked herself
distinctive handwriting. She recalls
into a full-time job and launched her
one piece she made for a customer
Park Hills boutique in 2014. The Ste.
whose father passed away; she used
Genevieve shop opened last fall.
a sample of his handwriting and en-
written
in
Richardson’s
Richardson uses her one-of-a-
cased it in metal to create a memo-
kind creations as anchors to the
rable piece. “I want people to cherish
clothes she sells at her boutique
these things that I make,” she says.
stores. She stocks her shop with handmade items—scarves, soaps,
See more on Queen Anne’s Lace page on Facebook.—Pamela Clifton
bigbamride.com 24 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY QUEEN ANNE’S LACE
E X P L O R E
MISSOURIANA
MISSOURIANA
B
CELEBRATE WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH IN MARCH WITH THESE 3 READS.
O O
REVIEW Meghan Lally
K
Feminine Mystique
S
A Prairie Girl’s Faith: The Spiritual Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder
In 1894, Laura Ingalls Wilder and her husband, Almanzo, moved from De Smet, South Dakota, to Mansfield, Missouri. Although as a child and into her adult life, Laura moved around the country, no trek was as great as the faith journey she experienced. This book delves into Laura’s great trust in God and the faith that gave her strength and hope to survive life on the rugged frontier.
A Wolf in the Woods: An Ozarks Mystery
Springfield native Nancy Allen releases her fourth book in her fictional series Ozark Mysteries. The series revolves around prosecutor Elsie Arnold and the cases she investigates. A Wolf in the Woods presents Elsie with the challenge of finding two young girls who go missing, but as she gets deeper in the investigation, Elsie also falls victim to the captor.
Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
It has been a quarter of a century since Life Doesn’t Frighten Me was first published, and this past January, Abrams released a new edition to celebrate 25 years of success. The poem by St. Louis native Maya Angelou combines with paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat in a collaboration that empowers readers and reminds them of their courageousness, even if it’s buried deep inside. This new edition includes a bibliography of Maya’s books and a list of museums that showcase Jean-Michel’s art.
Stephen W. Hines, 224 pages, nonfiction, WaterBrook, hardcover, $21.99
COUTESY THE PUBLISHERS
Nancy Allen, 320 pages, fiction, HarperCollins, e-book, $2.99
(Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition) Maya Angelou, 40 pages, children’s poetry, Abrams Books for Young Readers, hardcover, $19.95
Howard
Boone
Boonville Pettis
Sedalia
Cooper
Register Today
October 7-12, 20188
Jefferson Hermann City Warren
St. Charles
St. Charles St. Louis City
Henry
Clinton
Montgomery Callaway
bigbamride.com
2 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Roses in Bloom
Down a wooded, winding road
Gronemeyer, a former special ed-
can be spotted here at the right
atop a hill near Clarksville sits the
ucation teacher who taught for
time of year.
Village of the Blue Rose. The 60-
almost 40 years at Sacred Heart
The village’s Red Barn Shop,
acre village boasts a charming
School in Florissant. The village
just down the road from the lodge,
restaurant, a bed-and-breakfast, a
opened in 2000.
is stocked with donations. It is
barn packed with antiques, and a flea market.
The lodge houses the restau-
full of antiques and one-of-a-kind
rant and bed-and-breakfast. Guests
gift items for sale, and volunteers
Most importantly, the village
can stay in three unique rooms,
keep the doors open. The village
is home to a small community of
each with stunning vistas of the
is open to the public from 11 am to
adults with special needs. There’s
Mississippi River. An overnight stay
3 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.
currently room for three men and
includes a home-style breakfast
A cross-stitched sign at the
three women in the village’s resi-
in the morning. At the restaurant,
village best states its philosophy:
dential facilities. The residents work
lunchtime meals of chicken-fried
“Blue roses are rare and require
at the lodge and the shops, learn-
steak, mashed potatoes, and bis-
special attention and care for
ing professional skills and gaining
cuits and gravy are served with a
them to grow. Much like our res-
a sense of independence. The res-
smile. Patrons feast on apple pie
idents, with a little extra care, en-
idents become jacks of all trades:
with coffee for dessert.
couragement, patience and love,
manning the cash register, cooking in the kitchen, and waiting tables.
Outside, strategically placed
they will grow into something
bird feeders provide the lunch-
beautiful.”—Eddie O’Neill
Rose
time entertainment as various col-
12533 Route 79 • 573-242-3464
sprung from the vision of Rose
orful species come and go. Eagles
VillageOfTheBlueRose.org
Village
of
the
Blue
26 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY VILLAGE OF THE BLUE ROSE
Village of The Blue Rose residents Tom Friedel (left) and Donald Ringling display a quilt at a fundraising auction at the village’s Country Picnic held the third Sunday of September.
CLARKSVILLE
E X P L O R E
MISSOURIANA
Quaint, family-owned winery
Lost Creek Vineyard The largest sutlery in the Midwest! Relive the 1800s as a civilian, soldier, cowboy, mountain man, and more! Our local seamstresses and tailors use historically accurate patterns and fabrics that transport you back to western Missouri and eastern Kansas in the 19th century. Visit our store to try on outfits and live the history! Custom orders at no additional cost!
Our clothing is American made! 111 N. Main, Liberty, MO • 816-781-9473 www.jamescountry.com • jamescntry@aol.com
• Free wine tasting with this ad • Enjoy our new seasonal deck enclosure • Sensational views • Award-winning wines Located on Hwy 94, 8 miles east of Hermann 21356 Gore Road, 63357 Mile marker 93.8 on the Katy Trail (636) 932-4142 – www.LostCreekVineyardMO.com
Show Me
Love
Your
$14
tax +s/h
Show-me your $14
tax +s/h
ShopMissouriLife.com
Visit or call 877-570-9898, ext. 101 to order 2 7 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
painted patterns
A R
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MISSOURIANA
Alicia LaChance uses a number of processes in her work, including the use of fresco, paint, and screen printing to create vivid images. Her pieces are often symmetrical and draw inspiration from nature.
STORY Emma Beyer
Alicia LaChance
The artist has come a long way from
Lambert International Airport. Alicia’s
painting on her kitchen floor and work-
art has also been featured in collections
ing in a studio she says was “the size of
of the Museum of Contemporary Art
a crawl space with some mice running
San Diego and in private collections in
around.”
Japan, Israel, France, Switzerland, and
Today, Alicia LaChance creates her
the United States.
work in a spacious, open St. Louis studio.
Composed of vivid patterns and pas-
Under the roof skylight is a room packed
tels, her work is inspired by multicultur-
and stacked with paintings accumulated
al design and street art. It’s hard to put
over the last eight years, layers of years
a specific label on her work, but she
of paint. Next to a large table where she
refers to it as “maximalist abstraction,”
paints is the “boneyard”—the pile of dis-
stemming from the concretist move-
carded paintings that, as Alicia puts it,
ment. Inspired by graphic language,
“didn’t work out.” The studio also hous-
sacred geometry, expression, and the
es one of the largest print presses in the
importance of color, she uses a plethora
country.
of materials—fresco, acrylic paint, pow-
“It’s the ideal scenario,” she says.
dered pigments, and screen printing—
Travelers will recognize Alicia’s work
to create layers in a work and give it a
in a 27-foot floor installment called New Village in Concourse B at St. Louis 28 / MISSOURI LIFE
sense of “otherness.” For Alicia, creating art is more like
COURTESY ALICIA LACHANCE
C O LO R , P A T T E R N S , TEXTURES, AND MEDIUMS C O M E T O G E T H E R T O C R E AT E CONTROLLED CHAOS.
MISSOURIANA
an “archeological project.” Her paintings can take months, beginning with hand building each canvas to looking for inspirational patterns, colors, and relationships. She sits with the paintings for a while, scraping and adding paint, changing patterns, until the painting feels complete and resolved. “It’s like you’re battling the painting until it reaches a proper balance,” she says. “It becomes more like chemistry with the materials
This 27-foot terrazzo floor piece brightens the St. Louis International Airport.
than a painting.”
“Something bubbled up that was more
Her muse springs from everything—
relatable for my experience,” she says.
whether a piece of modern graffiti or an-
“I started to bring in notions of design,
cient folk tradition. “It’s about bringing
switch up philosophy, to get free with my
those things together,” Alicia says, “to
paintings.”
see how the language shakes up.”
She sold her artwork on the internet
Although she didn’t study art in a for-
and the world responded. “The first year,
mal sense, the St. Louis-born artist has
I did a show in Miami for the internation-
been entrenched in artwork throughout
al art fair, Art Basel,” she recalls. “I real-
her life. Both her mother and her broth-
ized things were kind of happening.”
er were painters, and Alicia studied and
Alicia’s art travels another circuit
worked in design. She became a full-
these days. Her works have been se-
time painter in 2002 and two years lat-
lected as a survey of American painting
er co-founded the Hoffman LaChance
by Julie Rodriguez Widholm, associate
Contemporary gallery in Maplewood.
curator of the Museum of Contemporary
After living in New York, Seattle, and
Art Chicago, and by Kelly Shindler, as-
Paris, she returned home to raise her
sociate curator of Contemporary Art
three children in Missouri: twin boys
Museum St. Louis.
Hugo and Lucas and daughter Ava. While her children were still toddlers, Alicia came to a crossroads about
COURTESY ALICIA LACHANCE
mimicked old European landscapes.
The brick building is Alicia’s studio and gallery, Hoffman LaChance Contemporary, founded in 2004. She hopes it will serve as a community exhibition space.
Most recently, the Duane Reed Gallery of St. Louis featured the New Village series at Art Palm Springs 2017,
her choice of career and personal life.
and the series was also exhibited last
“I asked myself, ‘How can I be a good
year at the Evansville Museum of Arts,
mom and still be there for my family? ?”
History & Science in Indiana. Her body
That’s when her brother suggested she
of work, Ornament of Grammar, was se-
begin painting. Sitting on the kitchen
lected for the 2017 three-woman exhibi-
floor, she painted, creating a livelihood
tion Flatbed Picture Planes at Georgia
for her family and a professional identity
Southern University.
for herself.
Visit her website, AliciaLaChance
Working with oils, Alicia’s first paint-
.net. The studio and gallery are open to
ings used old auction catalogs and
the public by appointment. 2 9 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
MISSOURIANA
Events Worth the Drive
OUR TOP PICKS
The Springfield Symphony will honor Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. with a special program on February 17. The concert—with music from Porgy and Bess, spirituals, and an interpretation of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech— is part of the orchestra’s 2017-2018 season called Revolution, which pays tribute to notable anniversaries in history. The celebration begins at 6:30 pm in Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at Missouri State University. Find out more at SpringfieldMoSymphony.org.
Soulard Mardi Gras
To s e e m o r e e v e n t s t u r n t o pa g e s 9 0 - 9 4 , a n d v i s i t M i s s o u r i L i f e . c om f o r a c om p l e t e l i s t i n g !
The historic Soulard neighborhood in St. Louis celebrates Mardi Gras in style. On February 3 and 4, enjoy the Taste of Soulard, the Run for Your Beads 5K, and the Weiner Dog Derby. On February 9, you can dance the night away at the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball. The Grand Parade and the Party Tent are the places to be on February 10. Finish up the celebration on the 13th with Fat Tuesday events. Visit StLMardiGras.org for information.
Mardi Gras Pub Crawl
Celebrate Mardi Gras at the biggest annual party at the Lake of the Ozarks on February 17. The buses start running at 4 pm and go until 2:30 am. There are 17 stops on the crawl and each one has live music or a DJ and drink specials. This event is for ages 21 and older and costs $10, which gets you a wristband to get into each venue. There are also hotel packages available. For more information, go to LakePubCrawl.com
30 / MISSOURI LIFE
P&L Pub Crawl
The Kansas City Power & Light District is a great place to celebrate Mardi Gras. On February 25 from 9 pm to midnight, you can enjoy contests, fire jugglers, and street performers. Get your beads and masks to complete your experience. The general admission package is $30 and the VIP package is $50. Visit PowerAndLightDistrict.com for more information.
COURTESY SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY, DAVID W. PRESTON, LAKE PUB CRAWL, KANSAS CITY POWER & LIGHT
A Revolutionary Concert
MISSOURIANA
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Chocolate Wine Trail
COURTESY ADOBE STOCK, HERMANN WINE TRAIL, JEFF SAMBORSKI, DOWNTOWN SIKESTON, LARS GANGE
Snake Parade
In 1983, the first parade took place in the parking lot of the Rodeway Inn. Come see how it has grown! On March 10, a Paint the Town Green themed parade and festival takes over downtown North Kansas City. The festivities celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a carnival and a Lads and Lassies contest. The festival starts at 11 am and ends at 4 pm and is free. Call 816-548-3133 or visit SnakeSaturday .com for more information.
This is one sweet event. If you have a passion for all things chocolate, Historic Downtown Hannibal is the place to be on March 10. Purchase a Chocolate Passport, which includes coupons and discounts to local shops. Where else can you get a cocoa hand scrub while enjoying a chocolate martini? Call 573-221-9010 or visit ChocolateExtravaganzaHannibal .com for more information.
St. Patrick’s Day Homebrew Competition
Celebrate everything Irish at this homebrew competition at Legion Park in Sikeston on March 17. Top brewers compete for prizes while visitors taste craft beers. There will be live music, a corn hole tournament, a costume contest, and great food. The event starts at 11 am and ends at 4 pm. There is a $12 fee to sample beers. Call 573-380-3801 or visit DowntownSikeston.org.
110th St. Patrick’s Day Celebration In 1908, a tradition was born at Missouri S&T. This annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration continues on March 17 in downtown Rolla. The Street Painters’ breakfast starts at 6 am, followed by the Pine Street Turns Green event. Enjoy the Best Ever St. Pat’s 5K and Beer Run. The famous parade starts at 11 am on Pine Street, followed by The Grateful Board Concert. Visit StPats.mst.edu for information and a schedule of events. 3 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
E
The sixth annual festival takes place in Springfield at the E*Plex East Hall at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds on February 3 and is for ages 21 and older. This is the place to taste and learn about four great food groups! There will be live music, educational seminars, and live cooking demonstrations. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online. Visit OzarkEmpireFair.com for more information.
Chocolate Extravaganza
R
What a romantic way to spend the Valentine’s Day weekend. You can follow the wine trail on February 17 and 18 to seven wineries in Hermann where you can taste wines paired with chocolate creations. The wineries are open from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Tickets are $30 and must be purchased in advance; admission includes a souvenir wineglass. Call 800-932-8687 or visit HermannWineTrail.com.
O
Beer, Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Festival
32 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY WESTPORT SOCIAL
THE
NEW
NIGHTLIFE E Find a new hangout that caters to your competitiveness, your creativity, or your canine with these wide-ranging activities. STO RY | P O R C S H E N . M O R AN
You want to go out with your friends. You want to socialize, relax, and unwind. Your options just got more interactive. Several creative bar owners are now offering unique experiences along with the craft beers, specialty cocktails, and wine list. Whether your tastes run to COURTESY WESTPORT SOCIAL
enjoying a beer while you play fetch with Fido, sipping wine while you paint, or nursing a Donkey Kong cocktail during a pinball match, welcome to a whole new world of entertaining nightlife.
3 3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
W E S T P O R T S O C I AL
COURTESY WESTPORT SOCIAL
ESt. Louis
34 / MISSOURI LIFE
Lounge & Play W E S T P O R T S O C I AL ESt. Louis This lively establishment is not your typical watering hole. It’s located in a 42-acre business and entertainment district in the city’s Maryland Heights suburb, and it serves up beer, wine, and handcrafted cocktails seven days a week with a side of friendly competition. Visitors have access to an expansive selection of free games, including indoor bocce ball, shuffleboard, Pop-A-Shot, table tennis, darts, foosball, and a soccer/pool combo called snookball. Game instructions and murals, hand-painted by local artist Phil Jarvis, hang throughout the bar. Guests can
subhead here
lounge inside or around a fire pit on the open patio as they
R S V PAI N T ESpringfield & Joplin
munch on upscale pub foods such as smoked wings, burnt-
This sip-and-create studio offers diverse projects, such
end nachos, bison chili, and lobster ravioli. There are stag-
as wood designs, personalized wineglasses, and can-
es for live music, private karaoke rooms for rent, and large
vas paintings. Owners Fred and Amanda Carper are the
TVs broadcasting sporting events. With so much to see and
owners of RSVPaint. The husband-and-wife duo bought
do, Westport Social represents the rising trend of activity-
the business from its original founder in 2013 and moved it
driven bars that provide alternatives to traditional nightlife
from a 700-square-foot space to a 4,000-square-foot loca-
choices.
tion. The Carpers opened a second RSVPaint in downtown
“The millennial crowd, and even older generations,
Joplin in 2014.
don’t just want to sit on a bar stool and drink a beer,” says
The couple invested $12,000 to build a full bar made
Todd Hotaling, vice president of revenue and marketing
from reclaimed barn wood. The bar, which overlooks the art
for Lodging Hospitality Management, the company that
studio, offers mixed drinks and Missouri-made wines and
owns Westport Social. “People want to go out with a group
craft beers from Ste. Genevieve Winery, Mother’s Brewing
of friends and have a shared experience in a fun and ap-
Company, Lost Signal Brewing Company, and Boulevard
proachable environment.”
Brewing Company. Fred says sweet drinks—moscato and
910 Westport Plaza Drive
fruit wines—are the most requested among his customers.
314-548-2876 • WestportSocial-STL.com
People can also bring their own beverages for a $5 fee. “Our culture is inundated with technology,” Fred says.
COURTESY WESTPORT SOCIAL AND RSVPAINT
“People want a way to unwind without the screens and interact with their friends and family. The bar adds to the social atmosphere and provides liquid courage. People have a drink and it helps to settle their nervousness about exploring their creative side.” Springfield: 440 South Campbell Avenue 417-413-4331 • RSVPaintSGF.com Joplin: 223 West Third Street 417-680-5434 • RSVPaintJOP.com
3 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
S I LV E R B AL L EColumbia A selection of premium frozen drinks and more than 40 arcade favorites attract crowds to Silverball in downin September 2017 after more than a decade of owning a pinball machine company. In recent years, Nic noticed that many of his customers across the country were opening bars with arcades, also known as barcades. “I am 39 years old,” Nic says. “I don’t want to go to a bar and listen to loud music or just sit there and stare at sports on a TV. There needs to be something fun for people to do while they drink to make it worth them coming out instead of just staying at home. When you come here, people are laughing and cheering each other on in the games. It’s a different energy than what you find at other bars.” Nic says most of the barcades he has toured emphasize craft and on-tap beers, and video games from the ’80s and ’90s. He decided to go a different direction for Silverball by installing 12 frozen drink machines and a mix of modern and vintage pinball, video arcade, Skee-Ball, air hockey, Pop-AShot, and foosball games. Some have a small pay-as-youplay charge, but all the pinball machines and some of the classic arcade games on the main level are free. Beer and wine are available at the bar, but the most popular drink is the Silverballer, a slushy mixture of 190-proof grain alcohol and orange juice. Other icy concoctions, such as the
Game On P I E C E S B AR AN D R E S TA U R AN T ESt. Louis More than 750 board games are the draw in this Soulard neighborhood establishment, along with local craft beers, wine, and specialty libations. It costs customers $5 per person to play the games, but patrons get $1 off the fee for each food or drink item they purchase. Cocktails such as the After School Snack (vodka, lemonade, and club soda garnished with a rocket pop), the Floating Yoda (coffeeflavored liqueur, vodka, splash of milk, and mint chocolate chip ice cream) and the Creamsicle (whipped cream vodka, orange liqueur, orange juice, and lemon-lime soda) are part of the lighthearted drink menu. Pieces also serves dinner Tuesday to Sunday and brunch on weekends. “I used to love loud bars,” says co-owner Laura Leister. “But now, I like to be able to talk and have nice conversations without having to compete with loud music. You can come here to have a good time in a bar atmosphere without all the noise and heavy drinking.” 1535 South Eighth Street • 314-230-5184 • STLPieces.com
Donkey Kong (white rum, banana liqueur, cacao-flavored liqueur, and vanilla soft serve) and the Princess Peach (white rum with fresh peach puree) take their names from characters in the bar’s featured games. 122 South Ninth Street events@silverballbar.com • SilverballBar.com
36 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY SILVERBALL, PIECES BAR AND RESTAURANT
town Columbia. Proprietor Nic Parks opened the venue
P I E C E S B AR AN D R E S TA U R AN T
COURTESY PIECES BAR AND RESTAURANT
ESt. Louis
3 7 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Pickleball For All Pickleball and more than 30 craft beers are changing the
The on-site restaurant specializes in wood-fired rotisserie
face of nightlife here. Pickleball is a fast-paced paddle
chicken, salads, sandwiches, and sides made from high-
sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and
quality, local ingredients. Handcrafted cocktails and the
Ping-Pong. Chicken N Pickle is a complex that has eight
craft beers are served at the main bar inside the restau-
pickleball courts available for casual play, lessons, leagues,
rant, at the heated rooftop bar, and in the covered beer
and tournaments. “Pickleball is a game for all ages and
garden. Chicken N Pickle is always family-friendly, but it
skill levels, and it is easy to learn,” says marketing manager
also offers weekday happy hours and 21-and-over events,
Amanda Unruh.
such as spirit tastings, open-mic nights, and beer-pairing
But diners can find more than pickleball at the eat-
dinners, a few times a month.
ery; games such as giant Jenga, giant Battleship, hula
1761 Burlington Street
hoops, cornhole, and washers round out the options.
816-537-1400 • ChickenNPickle.com
38 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY CHICKEN N PICKLE
C H I C K E N N P I C K L E ENorth Kansas City
Paint & Sip B AR K L AB EKansas City
PAI N T T H E T OW N EColumbia
If your dog is your best friend, take it with you. The
Paint-and-sip bars, which combine arts and crafts with
16,000-square-foot bar and indoor dog park hybrid is
adult beverages, were pioneers of the activity-bar trend.
housed in a former warehouse in the West Bottoms
Entrepreneurs Monty and Kim Murphy opened Paint the
neighborhood. Co-founders Leib Dodell and Dave Hensley
Town in Columbia in 2013. The establishment, which is
launched the venture because they struggled to find places
open seven days a week, has a full bar with mixed drinks,
that welcomed both their human and canine companions.
20 wines, and 15 craft beers. The signature cocktail is the
“We love our dogs, and we enjoy taking them out,” Leib
RumChata Colada, a blend of RumChata liqueur, piña co-
says. “Options for where we could go with them were limit-
lada mixer, Malibu rum, and vanilla ice cream. Patrons can
ed, so we set out to solve the problem. In the process, we
paint on their own or as part of a guided class. Murphy says
ended up solving a problem for a lot of other people too.”
Paint the Town is a popular spot for date nights, girls’ nights
Bar K Lab has craft beer and kegged cocktails for hu-
out, and bachelorette parties.
mans. Pooches can have Beer Paws, a Kansas City-made,
“This gives adults an opportunity to go out, away from
nonalcoholic doggy beer with a beef base, malt extract, and
the college student crowd, and not just sit and drink,” Monty
vegetarian K9 glucosamine.
says. “They can come in and experience doing art in a re-
The dog park—membership-based and professional-
laxed environment, and they have something they can take
ly staffed—features games, custom play equipment made
home with them at the end of the night.”
from wood pallets, a bone-shaped swimming pool, and
2703 East Broadway, #127
an automatic ball launcher. Leib says 450 members have
573-777-7795 • PaintTheTownColumbia.com
joined Bar K Lab since it opened in January 2017. The current location is a practice run for Leib and Dave’s permanent vision; new construction is underway at Berkley Riverfront Park. When the new location opens this spring, it will be a seven-day-a-week, 80,000-square-foot destination with a bar, a two-acre, off-leash dog park, full-service COURTESY BAR K LAB, PAINT THE TOWN
restaurant, and a coffee shop. Leib believes specialty bars like his and others provide a much-needed retreat. “People want to focus on the simpler things and share a common experience,” he says. “We can already see the success of this model. Dogs are natural social icebreakers. Friendships are being formed, and everyone is having a great time.” 515 Liberty Street • 816-599-3656 BarKDogBar.com
3 9 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
SKIDMO RE
revis i te d
T H E T OW N B E C A M E N AT I O N A L LY K N OW N F O R T H E M U R D E R O F A B U L LY. BUT THE PEOPLE WHO CALL IT HOME KNOW WHAT IT’S REALLY LIKE.
Even now, all these years later, it’s not unusual for strangers to appear in downtown Skidmore, population 284, seeking the place where it happened. Was it there—that tall brick building with arched windows? Or maybe there—this empty lot where something once stood? Or here—this squat metal structure that could have been the old D&G Tavern? For the record, the latter would be right. That metal building was the D&G Tavern, the place where a hated man was famously killed by gunshot in front of 45 witnesses, none of whom has ever named the shooter. And if you’re tempted to stop and ask a resident about that July day in 1981, or about him—the thief, the rapist, that wicked Ken Rex McElroy who forever duped the law— you’d probably hear one of two responses: “I wasn’t there,” or “Read the book,” by which they mean In Broad Daylight by Harry N. MacLean. And then, they’d change the subject to something more pleasant, like the weather or the new restaurant downtown.
STORY & PHOTOS Rose Hansen
Notorious bully Ken McElroy cast a long shadow over Skidmore. He died in front of this building, the former D&G Tavern.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS Andrew Barton 40 / MISSOURI LIFE
4 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
In Skidmore... Perched on the Nodaway River in northwest Missouri, the small community that has suffered so many tragedies is home to fewer than 300 residents.
If you visit modern-day Skidmore hoping for insight into McElroy and the vigilante town that shot him, you won’t find anything that hasn’t already been covered in the book, the movie, or the hundreds of newspaper articles and magazine profiles. Although McElroy is long gone, his reputation looms ever-present, even over a series of nonrelated disturbing events, including the death of Wendy Gillenwater, stomped to death by her boyfriend in 2000, the disappearance of Branson Perry in 2001,
Partly because the values themselves—
and the brutal 2004 murder of Bobbie
independence, self-sufficiency, dislike of
Jo Stinnett, whose live baby was carved
outside authority—and partly because of
Sandy Wright’s memories of a Skidmore
from her body. The northwest Missouri
the economic decline of the communi-
childhood invoke all the sweetness of
town has a grisly reputation that just
ty and the continuing loss of the young
small-town life: a place where kids played
won’t fade.
people, the community doesn’t steer
freely in unsupervised yards while their
But crime, perhaps ironically, seldom
a strong course; it seems, instead, to
parents ran simple errands such as cash-
concerns Skidmore residents. Most lo-
maintain barely enough momentum to
ing checks and buying groceries in the
cals don’t bother locking their doors.
avoid losing steerageway altogether.”
cozy but bustling downtown.
The town’s biggest problem echoes
The book was published in 1988,
“We had a grocery store, hairdress-
those of most small, rural communities.
and downtown’s still-vacant buildings
er, Masonic lodge, two gas stations,
Its once-vibrant downtown is shuttered
appear to reaffirm MacLean’s initial ob-
tax office, the fertilizer company, a café
and dark. Houses stand empty. The
servations. At least, that’s how it seems if
called Mom’s. There was always traffic
school is long gone. The post office tee-
you’re just passing through, if you’re just
on the road,” she recalls. “We had every-
ters on closure.
a tourist chasing grim stories.
thing to sustain. You didn’t have to go to
Anyone who has read MacLean’s
But Skidmore is more than its sin-
Maryville to get basic items.” Sandy fin-
bestselling book won’t find this desolate
gle narrative of tragedy. No one under-
ished high school in 1984, then left town
scene particularly surprising. In its ear-
stands this better than its own residents.
for college and eventually joined the
ly pages, the writer paints Skidmore as
To locals, their hometown is a complicat-
military. When she returned in 2011 to be
a place trapped between two strange
ed place and far from bleak. In recent
near her mother again, she was stunned
tensions:
years, a few citizens have dedicated
by the town’s transformation. “It was …
“Despite the commonality of values
themselves to reviving the communi-
desolate. There was nothing there any-
and the similarity of life experiences of
ty and building a better future, a more
more. It was depressing. So many of my
most of the residents, Skidmore does
hopeful future—one in which the goal
childhood memories of places I used to
not have a strong sense of community.
isn’t just to survive, but to thrive.
go were either torn down or shut down.”
42 / MISSOURI LIFE
Instead of tossing her hands in
decided to become an investor herself,
work,” says Russ Wetzel, a Skidmore
helpless despair, she ran for mayor.
buying cheap commercial properties
resident who works for a geographic in-
And though she’d been absent from
that had long stood empty. As mayor,
formation system company in Maryville.
Skidmore for more than 25 years, she
she joined a regional council of govern-
“Some of these little houses you can get
won. Once in office, Sandy decid-
ments and networked with other town
for $10,000 to $20,000. Yes, you might
ed to focus on the city’s most obvious
leaders, learning the aspects of pro-
have to fix them up. But if you had the
source of population drain: economic
moting economic growth. She revived
means to spend $150,000 on a house in
stagnation.
and became president of the Skidmore
Maryville, it’d be fairly small and maybe
Community Betterment group.
not as nice as if you spent $30,000 on a
Surrounded by rippling fields of soybeans and corn, Skidmore has been a
Her goals are to pretty up the town,
house here and put $100,000 into it. As
farming community since its founding
improve the city park, install walking
a geographer, I am convinced you could
in 1880. In the preceding decades, its
trails, restart flag ceremonies at the cem-
increase the size of these towns. I’m
downtown bustled with hotels, phar-
etery, and bring back the Punkin Show,
convinced a single mother in Cleveland
macies, restaurants, banks, grocery
an annual fall festival that began in 1899
wants to get out of the city and crime
stores, an opera hall, hardware stores,
but died in the early 2000s. Ultimately,
and have a nice place, fairly inexpen-
and more. Trains passed through town
Sandy wants to rebrand Skidmore as a
sively, where a bus driver comes to the
as often as six times a day, carrying ev-
nice place to live—an even better place
front yard and picks kids up and takes
erything from people to produce to live-
to live than Maryville. And she isn’t the
them to a nice school. On a Sunday, you
stock. When the school was torn down
only one who sees the potential in her
won’t hardly see a car go through the
after consolidating with schools in oth-
hometown.
entire day. I personally like that.”
er towns into the Nodaway-Holt R-VII
“You could market this as a little bed-
Ask anyone why they like living here
School District in 1964, downtown traffic
room town where you drive 15 miles to
and you’ll receive an endless list of its
began to slow. Many locals point to the railroad’s 1977 closure as the trigger to Skidmore’s biggest decline. Business owners eventually retired or relocated, and laborers followed opportunities into places such as nearby Maryville, just 19 miles away, or St. Joseph, an hour to the south. “No one could stay local,” Sandy says. “There were no jobs. So between the youth leaving when they graduated and the older generations dying off, there just has not been a reason for more people to come to town.” Lacking specific business plans to entice commercial investors, Sandy A former service station stands empty at the main intersection of downtown Skidmore. Residents hope that services like this could one day come back.
They want to rebrand the town as a nice place to live. 43 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
In Skidmore... positive qualities: In Skidmore, trash collectors leave treats for dogs. In Skidmore, neighbors mow each other’s yards without asking. In Skidmore, children can bicycle in the road without dodging traffic. In Skidmore, news travels fast—a blessing when someone falls ill and needs a ride to the hospital or a freshly baked pie to brighten hard times.
charm about it all that suddenly makes
hope that Skidmore could be more than
the slow pace of good country living
a dried-up place where only bad things
seem wholesome and possible.
seemed to happen.
“It’s peaceful here. Nobody ever messes with you,” says Jim Blessington, a tattooed retired marine who volunteers
If Skidmore’s future lies in drawing
with Skidmore Community Betterment.
newcomers to town, Tim and Annie
With a chuckle he adds, “Our reputation
Slagle are a perfect fit. They moved to
as a bad place keeps us safe.”
Skidmore just two years ago but are al-
It could be Skidmore’s greatest irony. In spite of its reputation, dangers rarely
ready fierce defenders of the community. Tim even serves on the city council.
And once you start actually looking
come from within. There hasn’t been a
“People are super nice here. They
around Skidmore, it’s easy to start see-
murder in Nodaway County since 2012.
truly are. Friends back in St. Joe say, ‘I
ing the same potential its residents see.
But ever since Ken McElroy’s sensation-
can’t believe you moved to Skidmore.
The streets are wide and flanked by
al death, every negative occurrence
They kill people up there!’ ” Annie says
leafy trees. Many of the charming homes
proves irresistible to national news out-
with a laugh. “I’m like, have you not read
are easily more than a century old, with
lets. Meanwhile, all the quiet positives
your paper? You guys have shootings
lovely broad porches and original win-
of an otherwise normal community get
every day! We haven’t had anything hap-
dow glass. The Nodaway River south of
overshadowed.
pen in 12 years.”
town meanders peacefully around the
Sandy’s initial push toward Skidmore’s
On weekdays, Annie commutes 50
bend, and at the height of summer, the
revival was cut short when a family health
miles to St. Joseph, where she’s worked
surrounding countryside is a green, diz-
crisis called her to New Mexico, splitting
as a nurse in the Buchanan County Jail
zying quilt of lush crops. There’s an easy
her time between there and Missouri.
for the past 15 years. She met Tim there,
But she still owns many downtown
while he was working as a sergeant for
buildings, and her ambitious vision has
the Missouri Department of Corrections.
left a lasting impact that mobilized her
It was love at first sight; they married 10
neighbors. She instilled in them the
weeks from the moment they met.
Rippling corn blankets the rolling hills surrounding Skidmore, along with soybeans and cattle. A century ago, farms here were more diverse.
44 / MISSOURI LIFE
Tim, who once ran a bar and grill in
town. That bothered me,” says Bruce
Forest City. They initially declined. But
Roberts, Tim’s uncle. He’s 82. He holds
after a year, Tim started to reconsider.
the keys to the town’s museum in the old
He had loved running his restaurant, but
train depot and has lived in Skidmore
Tim’s family is from Nodaway County.
hated day-to-day logistics such as meet-
since graduating from high school. His
One day, driving home from Maryville,
ing vendors and bookkeeping. Sandy,
hopes for the restaurant are cautiously
he detoured through Skidmore to show
however, had a knack for just that sort of
optimistic: “Got to give an E for effort.”
Annie his grandmother’s old house. A
thing. They agreed to a partnership, and
Bruce’s hesitation proved apt. In
block off downtown, they also spotted
a restaurant—Good Time Charlie’s of
August, health problems interfered with
one of the oldest homes in Skidmore,
Skidmore—was planned for downtown.
Tim’s ability to manage the restaurant,
a grand, two-story Victorian with pock-
“Sandy says, ‘If you plan small, you’re
and he eventually bowed out. It was a
et doors and a beautiful garden. It re-
only going to be small. Let’s go big,’ ”
disappointing strike against the town’s
minded Annie of the home where she’d
Tim says. “This is never going to be a
hopes for a restaurant, but like so many
grown up. They moved in on a snowy
booming metropolis. Let’s face it. But
setbacks Skidmore has endured—that’s
day in January.
we’re trying to get a little bit of some-
just life. In the following months, Sandy
thing going on.”
returned to town and readied Good
Ken McElroy drove up and down the rural roads of Nodaway County, terrorizing neighbors and townspeople for years.
From their front porch, the Slagles can see the main intersection of Elm
Good Time Charlie’s of Skidmore has
Street and Route 113 as the state high-
built plenty of supportive buzz among
way turns south, passing in front of a
the neighbors. The only place to get a
“It went slower—a lot slower than I
block of empty buildings owned by
cup of coffee in town before it opened
thought it would be,” she admits. Still,
Sandy Wright. As a city council member,
was at the fertilizer plant, where farm-
progress creeps forward. The plumbing
Tim became acquainted with Sandy and
ers gather on rainy mornings and throw
and sinks were installed in November,
was impressed with her commitment to
money into a shared pot while they wait
and a ribbon-cutting for the restau-
improve the town.
out the weather. The nearest place to
rant with the Maryville Chamber of
buy a soda was in Maitland, some seven
Commerce took place January 4.
When Skidmore’s only café went out of business three years ago, Sandy offered the empty building to Annie and
slow miles away down a country road. “You couldn’t even buy a cookie in
Time Charlie’s for its opening earlier this year.
Although the path toward opening wasn’t perfect, Sandy remains hopeful.
Children can bicycle in the road without dodging traffic. 4 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
In Skidmore... Newcomers Tim and Annie Slagle moved to Skidmore two years ago. Tim’s family was from Nodaway County, and he now serves on the city council. Annie commutes to St. Joseph to work. The train depot museum is cluttered with yellowed newspapers, community awards, typewriters, photographs of local boys who never returned from wars. Bruce’s favorite artifact is a note that dates back to a 19th-century robbery: “I want one thousand dollars or I will shoot you.” Buffered by time, that particular crime amuses him, a call back to the town’s past. Bruce knew Ken McElroy, whom he calls Ken Rex, as a teenager. “He was in trouble so many times,” he recalls. Of the shooting, Bruce says he wasn’t there. But in the years after, he attended church with Ken’s sister. “Nobody ever held any of that against the rest of the family,” he says. Such is the easy nature In addition to a family-friendly atmo-
downtown building in Skidmore: a gro-
sphere and live music, she envisions
cery store sat on that corner, and then
the space as a catch-all for community.
the old movie theater, and then the
There will be an ATM and a dry-goods
Legion hall, and then the produce house.
section with items like soda and chips.
That blue building was once orange and
“I’m trying to get stuff in there so that we
housed a store called the Peter Punkin,
don’t have to run to Maryville for those
which sold the first television Bruce ever
things,” she says. “It’s not far, but when
saw. It was broadcasting a baseball
you have people with limited incomes
game. He remembers Saturday nights,
and who are elderly, it’s nice to have
when everyone came to town to go to
those services in town so they don’t
the theater and get a haircut and then
have to try to get someone to go get
pick up groceries.
something for them. It’s a way to maintain autonomy.”
“It was a lively town,” he recalls. “And then guess what came along? Television.
Standing on the sidewalk outside of
Gunsmoke. And people started staying
Good Time Charlie’s, Bruce can identi-
home to watch their movies. That was
fy the long-gone businesses of each
the beginning of the end.”
46 / MISSOURI LIFE
of Skidmore—then and now. The walk from the museum to the restaurant passes an alley that runs along the backside of Good Time Charlie’s. On the building’s loading dock is where Ken McElroy shot Bo Bowenkamp, a 70-year-old grocer, in the jaw. Bullet holes from the confrontation still pepper the ceiling. The whole event was something that Bruce quietly calls “a heck of a deal.” A dog barks in the distance, and another answers. A turquoise pickup rumbles down the street. Warm rain begins falling. Then Bruce starts describing how he passes the time these days—mainly delivering Meals on Wheels and playing horseshoes—and that summation
feels just as significant to understanding
“I know there’s not a lot to offer, but
continued decline is the community’s
Skidmore’s story as does talking about
with our projects, people might think it’s
hope that the post office will remain
a bully who’s been dead for more than
not such a bad place to live,” she says.
open. Although the city received a new
36 years.
With Sandy invested in downtown
post office in 2010, the widespread shut-
real estate, Tracy is redirecting city hall’s
down of rural post offices that began in
attention to building a stronger sense of
2011 has kept locals on high alert.
Of the town’s dark past, the current
community. When someone new moves
To invested residents like Kenny
mayor, Tracy Shewey, sees the notori-
to town, she volunteers her husband to
Shewey, Tracy’s husband, such an event
ously awful events as small, isolated inci-
carry boxes out of moving trucks. When
would be devastating. Like many locals,
dents, dismissing them as “weird things”
her son flipped his car last July, neigh-
he wears several hats—serving triple
that she’s never bothered to explicitly
bors brought cookies.
duty as the town’s commercial vehicle
explain to her children. She assumes it’s
Tracy and other residents would like
enforcement officer, volunteer fire de-
to find a way to make that Skidmore
partment member, and vice president
“Just because those bad things hap-
goodwill more visible to newcomers.
of Skidmore Community Betterment.
pened doesn’t mean the whole town
The methods don’t have to be elabo-
He’s watched for years as communities
and the whole community is bad,” Tracy
rate. One idea Tim plans to propose to
in a constellation surrounding Skidmore
says. “For newcomers, it does come up.
the city council is a Yard of the Month
have shrunk. He looks at the near-
And what we say is, ‘That’s not all that
prize. Annie’s garden, with its irises and
ly extinguished community of nearby
we’re about. We’ve had a couple of
roses, happens to be one of the most
Quitman, which lost its post office sever-
things that have been not so pleasant,
beautiful in town.
al years ago. From the state’s perspec-
like that for most Skidmore parents.
but to us that doesn’t define the town.
“Okay, so you get a cheesy sign
tive and that of any nonlocal, Quitman
Please see past that. If you can’t, you’ve
stuck in your yard that says Yard of the
is gone. These days, Quitman residents
got to move on.’ ”
Month. But you know what? I want one,”
When Sandy stepped down as may-
he admits. “I would hope that out-of-
or in 2016, Tracy seamlessly carried the
towners see a nice, well-kept commu-
momentum forward. As a lifelong res-
nity. Compared to what it was a couple
ident of Skidmore, she knows most of
years ago, it’s a lot better. We’re getting
its families, streets, and even the rooms
there. We’ve lived in other towns that
of many of its houses. Tracy’s family has
have accepted everybody moving away,
been in the Skidmore area for genera-
and they don’t do anything about it. If
tions; she married a local man named
Skidmore completely dies out, it’s not
Kenny, had a family, and raised her chil-
going to be from lack of trying.”
dren here. Armed with memories of her
One form of soft protest against
own upbringing and family life, she considers it a near-perfect place to raise kids, and she wants to market its smalltown appeal for other working families.
Though these buildings stand empty today, people like the mayor and a local entrepreneur choose to view them as opportunities with good potential for investors.
“It’s not going to be from lack of trying.” 4 7 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
In Skidmore... The Skidmore Museum is open by appointment only, and longtime resident Bruce Roberts holds the key. Send a message to the Skidmore Community Betterment group via Facebook to see it. receive mail through the Skidmore district. To Kenny, maintaining the post office is vital to the town’s preservation. After all, he says, “It’s our name.”
Before media impressions were hijacked by the Ken McElroy killing, Skidmore had gained some notoriety as the home base of a band called Festival Family. Aghast by the public’s treatment of returning Vietnam War servicemen, a Skidmore resident and veteran named Britt Small organized the musical group in 1973. The 12-piece show band performed patriotic music to express ap-
Good Time Charlie’s is the Max Stout
“I didn’t grow up here, but I think a
preciation for veterans. For the next 28
(pronounced “Maxxed Out”) recording
lot of people are remembering, ‘Oh,
years, the band traveled more than 2.5
studio, which draws dozens of regional
when I was young, we had the Punkin
million miles to perform. Among the most
artists and bands a year, including the
Show and parades, this and that.’ And
notable venues were Mount Rushmore,
St. Joseph Symphony and bluesman
they want that for their kids,” says Rana
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC,
Jerry Forney. “Max Stout is here be-
Killingsworth, who moved to Skidmore
and at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
cause [Festival Family] ended up here,”
in 1995.
Festival Family was the only band to
says owner Mark Reinig, who was the
Although many residents speak wist-
ever perform at that site in the nation’s
assistant band leader, drummer, French
fully of past Punkin Shows, there doesn’t
capital. And every year, the band re-
hornist, and one of the lead singers of
seem to be quite enough of a push to
turned to Skidmore to play at an annual
Festival Family for 28 years. “It is the
fully revive it as it was in the old days.
event called Freedom Festival.
best recording studio in town. And if
Back then, Skidmore’s farmers were pro-
you want qualifiers, I am the world’s best
ducing diverse crops, and the surplus
Skidmore recording studio.”
kept the town fed and money within the
“Freedom Fest was the best thing to ever happen to this town,” says Jim Blessington, blinking back tears.
With Good Time Charlie’s located
community. According to the Centennial
Freedom Fest emerged from Festival
next-door to the studio, the restaurant
History Book by Skidmore Community
Family in 1987 as a patriotic tribute for
is an ideal spot for traveling artists to
Betterment, local business leaders want-
veterans every September. The band
patronize. Sandy also plans to host live
ed to “show their appreciation by mak-
stopped performing in 2001, and with-
music occasionally, which is a nice nod
ing things pleasant for the farmer,” and
out it, the beloved Freedom Fest sees
toward the town’s musical past. There
founded an annual celebration to honor
little chance of revival. But music hasn’t
seems to be a renewed desire to con-
the farming community. That first year,
left the town completely. Next door to
tinue efforts to foster community pride.
the prize-winning pumpkin was awarded
48 / MISSOURI LIFE
$5 in cash—a hefty sum for 1899.
The Crimes, the Killing, and the CoverUp
But where there once were apple orchards and cabbage fields, the area that surrounds Skidmore today is an endless
Ken McElroy
patchwork of corn, soybeans, and the
he learned how to scare people into submission. He destroyed property
occasional cattle farm. The Punkin Show
and used threats to keep people silent. He stole animals, grain, and farm
was called off in 2004.
chemicals. He pulled a gun on Skidmore’s town marshal, David Dunbar,
To recapture the spirit of the Punkin
was born in 1934 and grew up in Skidmore. As a child,
who resigned after fellow police officers refused to act.
Show and Freedom Festival, Sandy be-
In the early 1970s, McElroy began stalking an eighth-grader named Trena
gan promoting Skidmore Community
McCloud, raped her repeatedly, lit her house on fire, shot her family dog, and
Day in 2015. The event features a flea
then bullied her family into letting him marry her to avoid criminal charges.
market, live music, a horseshoe compe-
In 1976, he shot a neighbor named Romaine Henry in the stomach, but
tition, and barbecue. In 2016, organizers
before the case went to trial, McElroy burned down the judge’s barn and
added a bike and car show, horseshoe
stalked jury members. He was found not guilty. That was typical, locals say.
pitching, and a softball tournament.
McElroy always outfoxed the criminal justice system.
There’s also the annual Mud Run. This
Four years later, McElroy shot a 70-year-old grocer named Ernest “Bo”
year, it attracted several hundred people
Bowenkamp in the neck, resulting in a 1981 assault conviction. He should
and 30 trucks, and it will likely become
have gone to prison. Instead, the court released him on bond pending
an annual community staple.
appeal.
Sandy Wright sees these events as
A few days later, McElroy was spotted with a gun—a direct violation
potential drivers for economic growth. If
of his bond—and witnesses signed an affidavit against him. The bond
Skidmore is capable of drawing crowds,
hearing was set for two weeks away, on July 10. But when the court date
there’s an opportunity to be seized.
arrived, residents learned the hearing had been rescheduled. An uneasy
“Now we just have to have a reason for
crowd gathered in town to discuss the situation and how to protect the
them to stay,” she says.
witnesses. And then Ken McElroy arrived.
In recent years, the city council has
He had a drink at the bar, left, started his truck, and lit a cigarette. And
worked tirelessly to pass ordinances
then someone shot him in the head, in broad daylight, before 45 witness-
requiring people to keep tidier yards;
es, with Trena at his side.
those efforts have improved first im-
After decades of terror, the bully was finally gone.
pressions of the town. But the tax base
During the investigation into his death, every witness denied seeing
in Skidmore is still tiny, and there are
anything, and most concurred that McElroy deserved it. Media outlets sen-
more practical problems to attend to,
sationalized the killing as vigilante justice. Trena identified one Skidmore
such as updating the city sewage sys-
man as the killer, but the prosecutor never pressed charges. FBI inquiries
tem. While Sandy works on finding ways
floundered and failed.
to attract and encourage new business,
McElroy is buried in St. Joseph.
Skidmore Community Betterment focus-
His killer was never identified.
es on making the town a nice place to
Music hasn’t left the town completely. 4 9 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
In Skidmore... Several times a year, Skidmore residents gather to socialize over fundraising dinners hosted by the Skidmore Community Betterment group.
DIG DEEPER
In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri For a mesmerizing read, pick up Harry N. MacLean’s In Broad Daylight, which details Ken McElroy’s life and legacy in the town of Skidmore. The 1988 book won an Edgar Award for Best True Crime and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 12 weeks. A TV movie with the same name aired in 1991, starring Brian Dennehy, Cloris Leachman, Marcia Gay Harden, and Chris Cooper. It’s worth noting that despite his seven years of dedicated research and reporting, a number of residents still insist MacLean got it wrong. That said, he’s the only writer who got it down. Whether it depicts the true and total story, you’ll have to decide for yourself., CreateSpace Publishing, 536 pages, paperback, $20
live. The major projects on the agenda
But these things take time.
right now are building a new basket-
“Hopefully, little by little, we can help
ball court and walking trails. Funds for
where we can,” Tracy says. “Maybe we
these recreational sites and general city
can at least hold steady to what we
park improvements largely come from
have. Maybe we can gain a little bit. I’m
community efforts with the Skidmore
hopeful. I can’t see how it hurts anything,
Community Betterment group.
that’s for sure. We’ve got to do some-
“We have a handful of people in town who like to take walks, and it’d be
thing. We don’t want to waste away and be nothing.”
nice for them to have a place. It matters,” Tracy says. “It’s important to give people something about their little town that
In the 1800s, Newton Hall was a ho-
they can use and be proud of.”
tel and cafe, so it seems fitting that it
The estimated cost for these two
serves as today’s hub for community
projects hovers around $50,000, though
betterment dinners in Skidmore. During
there is talk of asking for new estimates.
the week, the building serves as the
So far, Skidmore Community Betterment
town library, as evidenced by the hap-
has raised roughly $9,000. Eventually,
hazard bookshelves that line the blue
the group plans to apply for a match-
wallpapered walls. But today, it has
ing grant, but that won’t happen until
been transformed for the fried chicken
the local funds reach perhaps $25,000.
dinner the betterment group holds a
Doubling it would easily cover the costs.
few times a year to help raise money for
50 / MISSOURI LIFE
Criminal Podcast Episode 66: “Bully”
From Radiotopia at PRX, Phoebe Judge speaks to In Broad Daylight author Harry N. MacLean, with additional interviews from then-Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney David Baird and Skidmore resident Kirby Goslee. iTunes.com/CriminalShow, 29 minutes, released May 5, 2017, free
Teresa Carter serves fried chicken at a fundraising dinner. All funds raised will go to recreational improvements like a walking path and basketball court for the town.
the betterment group’s youngest member, 19-year-old Brandon Adkins, rolls napkins around silverware.
fellowship.” For the next few hours, the dining room is noisy with chatter. The meal
“We’re going to tie him to a tree just
stretches into early afternoon. There
the basketball court and walking path
to keep him here,” Jane jokes. “Who
are no formal speeches or petitions
projects. The mood is bright; the goal is
else is going to do these things once
about the importance of community or
to raise $500.
we’re gone?”
raising funds. When Kenny tries to hold
Brandon just laughs shyly.
a banner against the window, it keeps
line a long table. Some are already filled
Silver buffet trays and receptacles
Around 11 am, people begin trickling in,
rolling back across his hands, spark-
with gleaming slices of ham, another
dropping small bills into a large glass jar as
ing a flood of laughter and friendly jabs
boasts country-stewed green beans
Tracy writes down their names to track at-
from the diners. The atmosphere in the
and bacon. Lindy and Jim Blessington
tendance. A young woman visits with peo-
room evokes all the familiar banter of a
toss their kitchen sink salad right in
ple at various tables, sharing photos of her
family dinner table, of people who love
the pan. In the kitchen, Terry Diggs is
wedding dress. Bruce Roberts shows up
each other enough to move past chid-
frying chicken. Kenny Shewey mashes
in his Sunday best, eats a meal sitting at
ing without apology. The pie is eaten,
the potatoes. The dessert table glistens
the table, and then takes a to-go box for
the chicken gets cold, and the remain-
with donated sweets—banana bread,
his wife, Anna, who couldn’t make it but
ing leftovers are boxed up to be taken
German chocolate cake, butterscotch
didn’t want to miss the food.
to shut-ins.
pie, lemon pudding cake, a local curi-
“It’s fun to sit back and watch peo-
A few days later, Rana tallies up the
osity called grape pie, and more. Jane
ple,” Kenny says. “Families of four or five
Martin, 90, is cutting towering slices of
people will come in and eat, but they’re
It’s not much.
her famous fruit cocktail cake. Nearby,
coming to visit. People come here for
But it’s something.
funds raised from the dinner: $443.40.
“Maybe we can hold steady. Maybe we can gain a little bit.” 5 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Head South TAKE A ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE BOOTHEEL.
This Winter
HANNAH BUSING
STORY JOHN DRAKE ROBINSON
52 / MISSOURI LIFE
ONCE UPON A TIME, JOHN DRAKE ROBINSON DROVE E V E R Y M I L E O F E V E R Y S TAT E H I G H W AY I N M I S S O U R I . WARM UP WITH HIS ADVENTURES THROUGHOUT THE S O U T H E R N M O S T PA RT O F O U R S TAT E . H E R E A R E E XC E R P T S F R O M T H R E E O F H I S B O O K S , I N C LU D I N G A R O A D T R I P I N T O A M E R I C A’ S H I D D E N H E A RT . Down here, the Missouri map dangles a strange appendage that looks like a boot heel, thanks to the “Czar of the Valley,” a rancher named John Hardeman Walker, who wanted to be a part of the new state of Missouri and not the Territory of Arkansas. So Congress carved out the Bootheel. The Bootheel is influenced more by Memphis than by St. Louis, and the area definitely is a member in good standing of the Old South. Stuck like a hatchet in the forehead of Arkansas, the Bootheel and its people, for the
5 3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
most part, feel alienated from the rest of Missouri. I have no control over that, since the issue was settled centuries ago by Walker, Bootheel Ranger. Even so, I formed a plan to crisscross these 88 roads in the most efficient manner, and peel back the cotton curtain to reveal real life. I drove down to tag the very bottom of Missouri, paralleling the Pole Cat Slough past Senath, through Bucoda and Europa, a town built for the purpose of selling whiskey. I didn’t stop to buy any, but I made many other stops along the way.
SWAMPLAND
still one more preserved swamp in the
The landscape of Crowley’s Ridge can-
Bootheel at Big Oak Tree State Park.
not hide as it cuts across the Bootheel’s
I assumed the centerpiece of Big
instep. This unusual geologic phenome-
Oak Tree State Park was a big oak tree.
non towers an average 200 feet above
Well … it used to be. Back in 1937, when
the surrounding flat farmland along 42
the state acquired the land, the big oak
Missouri miles of designated National
tree was the alpha tree among the other
Scenic Byway. The ridge is visible from
giants. Even then, it was 481 rings old,
Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and just
meaning it germinated in 1456. This thousand-acre forest is Mother
Mingo preserves a part of the old
Nature’s secret recipe for greatness,
swamp and features a surprisingly acces-
blending swamp and soil so fertile that
sible glimpse into a vibrant ecosystem
a remarkable variety of trees grow to
with all of its critters. Migrating waterfowl
steroidal proportions. Fact is, six state
appreciate the courtesy of this preserve,
champion trees have towered over the
and they reward visitors with up-close
park, including two national champs.
views of their habits and habitat.
Now, sadly, that roster doesn’t include
The visitor center presents the single
the big oak tree. A few years back, it bit
most awesome display I’ve ever seen
the dust. But I found a cross section of
anywhere in my life. Walking through
the mighty oak at the visitor center.
the front door, I saw two buck deer, giant
By far the most common visitors
antlers locked together so their snouts
to Big Oak Tree are birds. More than
are inches from each other. Their ritual
150 different species, some rare, have
territorial fight had changed into a fight
clutched a branch in the rarified air,
for survival when they realized they
dropping an occasional present onto
were hopelessly locked together. They
what might be Missouri’s longest board-
were found in the swamp, where they
walk. The park makes a great rest area
drowned when they couldn’t cooperate
along the Mississippi flyway. With a tree-
for a drink of water.
top canopy reaching 140 feet, there’s
“We wish more people knew about this place,” a ranger told me. I agreed. This preserve shows what the land
plenty of room in the high-rise and an unobstructed view for miles and miles.
looked like more than a century ago,
BEAVERS GET THEIR DUE
before what may be the most dramatic
My car and I drove across the Castor
transformation of swampland to farmland
River, and crossed the Castor River
in North America. The engineers of this
again and again and again and again.
massive drainage feat included teams
We crossed the Castor River so many
fresh from dredging the Panama Canal.
times that I stopped to study my map.
Before the swamp was drained, the
The map shows two Castor Rivers,
Bootheel area provided great cover for
at one point flowing within five miles
animals large and small. Clear-cutting
of each other. Apparently, when they
and a complex network of drainage ca-
drained all this swampland, one Castor
nals have left precious little cover among
River became two.
the cotton fields and rice paddies and
Castor is French for beaver, and
the occasional shrimp farm. Yet there is
the beavers built dams all through this 54 / MISSOURI LIFE
TOP: The cypress and tupelo forests drew industrious 19th-century settlers to what is now the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. BOTTOM: Before the formation of drainage districts in the early 1900s, beavers and river otters ruled the swamp.
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
about everywhere else.
swampy region. Despite their reputation
Many Arkansas counties still ban the
as the hardest working hydraulic engi-
sale of liquor, a virtue Missouri counties
neers on the planet, beavers don’t get a
abandoned around the same time Pat
paycheck, so they have a right to be the
Nixon’s husband abdicated the throne
namesake of multiple waterways.
to Betty Ford’s husband. Latching onto
The beavers must’ve been disap-
the rim of this massive Arkansan dearth
pointed when engineers turned the low-
of spirits, Missouri entrepreneurs sit
er Castor River into a drainage canal,
like vultures, just a bunt away from the
sucking precious swamp water away.
Arkansas line.
Henry Schoolcraft, the first chronicler
An archipelago of liquor stores
of the Ozarks, had another name for the
stretches across Missouri’s south border,
Castor. He called it Crooked Creek. It’s a
along the most unlikely outpost roads,
simple name. One can understand why
amid cotton fields and nothing else.
he preferred simple names. His wife’s
There, capitalism takes root, with prime
name was Obabaamwewegiizhigokwe,
commercial frontage along the battle
which in her native Ojibwa language
lines of sin. Fagus is one such outpost,
means “the sound that the stars
sitting on the map like the head of a cob-
make as they rush across the sky.”
bler’s nail in the instep of the Bootheel.
in rugged hills and wholly
Henry called her Jane, which means
It used to be a timber town, until they cut
“Jane.” I think I know why. Her mother,
down all the trees. The entire zip code
surrounded by the thick woods
Ozhaguscodaywayquay, probably didn’t
that surrounds this little town shows only
object, since she herself adopted the
31 people.
Lake Wappapello is isolated
of Mark Twain National Forest.
Anglo name Susan Johnston.
COURTESY MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
LAKE WAPPAPELLO
thrives. Stores perched on Missouri’s borders sit like 80-proof ATMs to ser-
If you wanted to hide from hit men or
vice the needs of Arkansan back-door
creditors, Lake Wappapello would do
Baptists who drive 60 feet into Missouri
nicely. Isolated in rugged hills, whol-
to buy enough hooch to wet their whis-
ly surrounded by the thick woods of
tles. They come from neighboring Piggot
Mark Twain National Forest, the lake
and Rector and Corning. “They used to
stands apart from the crowd. Literally.
not sell lottery tickets, either,” said the
The nearest three towns—Williamsville,
young woman who rang the cash reg-
Wappapello, and the Wayne County seat
ister at Robison & McIver Gro. and Pkg.
of Greenville—combine to fall short of a
about her good Arkansas neighbors.
population of 900 and dropping. Local
“But now they do.” So that cut into her
fishermen hope it stays that way—less
business. No matter. John Barleycorn
competition for fish.
still provides a good living, down here
SELLING SIN In an area that has been economically
In 1938, the US Army Corps of Engineers dammed the St. Francis River and created the central waterway in Lake Wappapello State Park. The lake is considered a winter refuge for a great many birds, including eagles, great blue herons, and many kinds of owls.
Yet the town’s solitary industry
in the land of cotton and the mindset of Cotton Mather.
depressed since the shoe factories shut
STRAWBERRY’S
down and moved overseas a generation
Dunklin is Missouri’s tallest county,
ago, Missouri holds one big advantage
standing almost 44 miles from its sole
over neighboring Arkansas: the power-
to its crown. It’s shaped like the left side
ful economic benefit of sin.
of an hourglass, and it’s stuffed mostly
5 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
with cotton. Near the tiny waistline of
Indeed, the slabs at Strawberry’s are so
this corseted county sits Holcomb. And
tender, the meat falls off the bone from
Strawberry’s Bar-B-Que.
the vibrations of your voice. The sauce
I went south through Peach Orchard
stands up to any Kansas City master-
and White Oak, around the horn into
piece, and if you want dry ribs Memphis-
Holcomb, to rediscover what I still be-
style, Strawberry’s rivals the legendary
lieve to be the best smoked ribs in the
Rendezvous near Beale Street.
TOP: John Robinson thought he knew where the best barbecue in the state was, until he visited Strawberry’s in Holcomb. Now he’s sure. BELOW: Buster Brown of the Brown Shoe Company originated from Hornersville.
Town Dining Room serves excellent
BUSTER BROWN
slawburgers and fried green beans. But
Down near the border, just three miles
folks come for the ribs. A large rib plate
from Arkansas, I uncovered an icon from
will set you back nearly 15 bucks and
my childhood. Southwest of Hornersville,
send you back home wondering why
down a dirt road, a cemetery holds the
other smokers even bother.
remains of Buster Brown.
Finding out about Strawberry’s for
Most kids who grew up wearing
the first time was a barbecue epiphany.
Buster Brown shoes probably thought
Several years ago, just outside Puxico at
Buster himself was a kid. Not so. He
the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge wel-
was born William H. Ray at the begin-
come center, a crowd had assembled
ning of the Civil War, and he stopped
to discuss agritourism. When it was my
growing when he reached 44 inches tall.
turn to speak, I tried to flatter the locals.
He made a living as a circus performer
“When Americans talk about barbecue,
known as Major Ray until he retired to
they mention Kansas City,” I offered. “But
Hornersville and opened a general store
I know where to find the best barbecue
where he not only sold Buster Brown
in Missouri. It’s right here in Stoddard
shoes, but he also convinced the Brown
County, down the road in Dexter.” As
Shoe Company in 1900 to make him
soon as I mentioned two of my long-
spokesman. At 40 years old, Major Ray
time favorite southeast Missouri bar-
became Buster Brown. He died in 1936,
becue stops—Hickory Log and Dexter
and sometime thereafter folks erected
Bar-B-Que—folks started squirming and
a tombstone with his likeness, dressed
shaking their heads, flailing their arms
as Buster Brown. He’s a memory now,
and shouting “Strawberry’s!” I was puz-
same as the empty shoe factories that
zled, not knowing what strawberries had
dot the Bootheel landscape.
to do with barbecue. The crowd kept chanting, “Strawberry’s … Strawberry’s.” I bit. “Strawberries?” “In
Holcomb
…
THE BLUFF They call it The Bluff for short. Poplar Bluff
Holcomb,”
was founded as a timber town, served
they chanted. Next day was my first
in
by a succession of major railroads such
Strawberry’s, a dark cozy bit of rustic
as the Missouri Pacific, Frisco, and Iron
where the table menus double as yel-
Mountain, and smaller railroads such
low pages, with ads for car parts, fu-
as the Current River Railroad, the Cairo
neral homes, bail bonds, and real es-
Arkansas Texas Railroad, and the Butler
tate, if memory serves me. That was
County Railroad. The poplars in the
just window dressing. When that slab
town’s name refer to the magnolia of the
of ribs came, I didn’t read another word.
north, the yellow tulip trees commonly
56 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY STRAWBERRY’S, CREATIVE COMMONS
Milky Way Galaxy. Strawberry’s Mid-
known as poplars that grew on the
than his family, and I still struggle to
hills overlooking the Black River. It’s
read at a college level. I kept silent,
the home of America’s first patented
though, and headed back into the wil-
adding machine. The adding machine
derness, with no TV. It is refreshing to
company left before World War I, and
sequester myself from the electronic
a shoe factory moved into the build-
trappings of modern civilization.
ing. Now the shoe factory is gone,
Then my cell phone rang.
NOTLEY HAWKINS, TIM VOLLINK
too, along with every other shoe factory in the entire region. When the
WHERE COTTON IS KING
shoe factory shut down, folks had to
The old cotton gin at Pascola looks
scramble for jobs.
abandoned, but a flatbed wagon in
But it’s not the first time Poplar
back betrays cotton balls stuck in
Bluff reincarnated. Local records
its cage. The gin is a giant on the
show that shortly before the Civil War,
flat landscape, a sprawling, rusted
residents tried to raise money to build
two-story tin shed. But come the har-
a courthouse by selling swampland at
vest, contraptions like this one spring
a dollar an acre. Buying swampland
to life, digesting enough cotton seeds
might not have seemed like a good
to panel your basement.
investment at the time, but it paid
Missouri ranks eighth in US cot-
off handsomely a half century later
ton production—all of it grown in five
when the Inter-River Drainage District
Bootheel counties.
began to drain the swamps. In the
I’ve heard stories about the rigors
meantime, hungry railroads had cut
of picking cotton, but never in the ex-
all the area’s pine forests, and by the
cruciating detail described by a friend
end of World War I, harvesters had
who offered a first-hand account.
depleted the hardwoods, too. So the
“As a kid, it’s one of the first things
lumber industry pretty much died out,
I remember,” Bob recalled. Children
and King Cotton took hold in the rich
have one advantage: they don’t have
soil exposed by the drained swamps.
to bend over as far to pull cotton off
Less than a decade later, the 1927
the scrubby plants. “We were dirt
tornado tore through town, killing at
poor, and the cotton harvest was one
least a hundred people and razing
of the biggest opportunities to make
much of downtown.
some money to buy food and shoes.
Earlier in the day at a Poplar Bluff
Mom had us kids out in the fields at
McDonald’s, I overheard a man tell-
dawn with our gunny sacks, ready
ing people at the next table: “I have
to start pulling cotton bolls off the
eight kids at home. No TV. I tell them:
plants. Mom was smart. On the first
read. They don’t like it, but that’s why
day, she told us kids, ‘I’ll give you two
they read at a college level.” I hoped
cents a pound.’ We picked like crazy,
they read about their town’s tumul-
and she paid us at sundown. Next
tuous history. He opened his laptop
day, we were up early again, ready to
and ate his McBreakfast. I almost in-
go, and she said, ‘Now, you must pick
truded into their conversation, volun-
as much as you did yesterday.’ She
teering that I just came from a wilder-
didn’t pay us for that.”
ness campsite, with fewer amenities
TOP: Migratory birds follow the Mississippi River, making the Bootheel a terrific place to birdwatch in winter. BELOW: Since its founding in 1850, the town of Poplar Bluff has seen many industries come and go, including logging, cotton, and manufacturing.
Life’s lessons are hard. 5 7 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
‘struck with a
panic of terror’
IN 1811, THE EARTH OPENED UP AND THE PEOPLE OF NEW MADRID F O U N D T H E M S E LV E S S TA R I N G I N T O T H E G AT E S O F H E L L . STORY Ron Soodalter
On December 15, 1811, William Pierce was traveling the rivers of the West in a flat-bottomed boat, about 116 miles below the mouth of the Ohio River and just south of New Madrid. The evening was unpleasant—“dark and cloudy,” Pierce recalled, “and the weather unusually thick and hazy.” Suddenly, the world erupted under and around him. In a letter to the New York Evening Post, he wrote, “Everywhere Nature itself seem tottering on the verge of dissolution.” As Pierce and his traveling companions watched, the earth opened up before them, sending “a volcanic discharge of combustible matter” skyward. “The earth, river, etc., torn with furious convulsions, opened in huge trenches. There through a thousand vents sulphurous streams gushed from its very bowels leaving vast and almost unfathomable caverns,” wrote Pierce. The travelers found no haven in the river. “The bed of the river, was excessively agitated, whilst the water assumed a turbid and boiling appearance. Never was a scene more replete with terrific threatenings of death.”
58 / MISSOURI LIFE
On Sunday night, you all may know, As we were all a sleeping; The Lord from heaven look’d down, And set the earth to shaking.
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—Anonymous, “A Call to the People of Louisiana,” hymn No. 222 in Selections of Hymns and Spiritual Songs
A color engraving from the 19th century shows the unknown artist’s depictions of the aftermath of the earthquakes in New Madrid, Missouri, 1811-12. 5 9 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
‘struck with a
panic of terror’
A COVE OF FAT Established as a trading community on the Mississippi River in the southeastern corner of what is now Missouri, the site of New Madrid had been a prime location for local tribes long before the coming of the Europeans. Game was plentiful, and when the French arrived in the 17th century, they named the area L’Anse a la Graisse—cove of Based on eyewitness accounts
the San Francisco earthquake of
fat, or grease—for its profusion of
and geological evidence, seismol-
1906, as the most dangerous in
bear, bison, elk, and antelope.
ogists estimate the groundbreak-
North America, the quakes from
The American iteration known
ing earthquake to have been 8.0
1811 to 1812 that erupted from the
as New Madrid was laid out in 1789
on today’s Richter scale. The shock
New Madrid Seismic Zone were
by the speculator, Revolutionary
waves were felt from the East
the most destructive. The fault
War veteran, and Indian trad-
Coast to the Rocky Mountains, and
line runs some 150 miles from
er George Morgan. The location
from southern Canada to north-
Marked Tree, Arkansas, to Cairo,
seemed ideal for farming as well
ern Mexico. Following along like
Illinois, passing through southeast
as fur trading because the land sat
malevolent handmaidens, some
Missouri.
higher than that around it, ostensi-
2,000 aftershocks ensued.
The series of disruptions that
bly protected from river flooding. It
The December 15 earthquake
history has singularly dubbed the
would not be long before the set-
was merely the first of five major
New Madrid Earthquake left their
tlers would witness firsthand just
quakes and hundreds of trem-
marks on more than two doz-
what type of cataclysm had long
ors that ravaged the southeast
en states and territories. Several
ago elevated the site.
Missouri
towns were destroyed; some had
For years after the estab-
disappeared before the earth
lishment of New Madrid, the
calmed
settlers—French,
landscape
for
three
months. One regional historian de-
several
months
after
British,
and
scribed the seismic event as “the
the first quake hit in 1811. Rivers
American—lived in their log and
most violent earthquake that ever
changed course. The few survi-
frame houses in relative security.
happened within the recorded
vors from the area were home-
By winter 1811, the bulk of the sea-
history of humans on the North
less, their communities scattered.
son’s work was done; the crops
American
Although
The people living in the area filled
had been harvested, and supplies
many people think of California’s
churches, seeking reprieve from
of food and stores of firewood
San Andreas fault, which birthed
God’s wreckage of the earth.
had been laid in for the winter.
continent.”
60 / MISSOURI LIFE
PUBLIC DOMAIN
A wood engraving by artist Alfred R. Waud show typical mid-range flatboats.
S H A K E , R AT T L E & R O L L
A s s e s s i n g t h e T h r e at of Earthquakes in M i s s o u r i To day
1811-1812
1. Dec. 16 1811 2:19am CST Magnitude ~ 7.7 Type: main shock 2. Dec. 16, 1811 7:15am CST Magnitude ~ 7.0 Type: aftershock 3. Jan. 23, 1812 9:15am CST Magnitude ~ 7.5 Type: main shock 4. Feb. 7, 1812 3:45am CST Magnitude ~ 7.7 Type: main shock
New Madrid Earthquakes
Perceived Shaking Extreme Violent Very Strong Strong Moderate Epicentres New Madrid SeismicZone Limit of perceived shaking Note: Modern city locations and state boundaries shown. Sources: Magnitude and time of earthquakes from U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program, “New Madrid 1811-1812 Earthquakes.” Perceived shaking information from Ohio W. Nuttli, “The Mississippi Valley Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812” (1973); and U.S. Geological Survey
It could happen again. The faults are still there, running a serpentine course for about 150 miles, from Marked Tree, Arkansas, through southeastern Missouri, to Cairo, Illinois, just as they have for millennia. The faults are known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), and Rob Williams, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey (USGS), says they constitute— along with faults in Oklahoma—one of the two most active seismic areas in the United States
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east of the Rocky Mountains. Geologists have evidence of major quakes here dating back to 300 ad. A few hundred quakes of magnitude 2.0 and larger, have occurred in southeast Missouri since the early 1990s, extending from the Bootheel in the south to the center of the state. Rob, who is also a coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program east of the Rockies, says the NMSZ experiences more than 200 earthquakes a year—an average of more than one every two days. Most are small, or microseismic, and generally not felt above the surface. However, once or twice every 18 months, they are large enough to shake southeastern Missouri’s taller buildings. A series of aftershocks usually follow quakes of any magnitude.—Ron Soodalter
6 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
my my
my
‘struck with a
panic of terror’
Artist Ray Brown shows an early cargo boat that might have carried furs, salt, lead, lime, flour, pork, or whiskey before the Revolution. During the great migration of settlers west of the Appalachians after 1873, they may have also carried salted pork and tobacco to early pioneers. This appeared in Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse, by Michael Allen. Then, in the middle of the night of December 15, residents awoke to thunderous roars that reverberated like cannon fire. Houses began to shudder and move. Furniture slid across floors, brick chimneys collapsed, and heavy logs screeched as they skidded against one another. Everyone in the community rushed out into the winter night, to be met with the overpowering stench of sulfur. In the bitter cold, the settlers remained outdoors throughout the night, as the temblors renewed evnations of smoke, water, dirt, and steam, amid an overpowering sulfurous stench, blocked the view of the moon and stars as a cacophony of terrified animal sounds and the roar of the quake engulfed the stunned community standing in near-total darkness. Resident schoolteacher Eliza Bryan painted a vivid image of people running aimlessly in the dark, while around them “the earth was horribly torn to pieces.” Recalled one settler: “The night (was) made loud with the cries of fowls and animals, the cracking of the trees, and the surging torrent of the Mississippi.” The lower Mississippi River was indeed roaring and roiling along its length in high, violent
waves that collapsed its banks,
inescapable vision of hell had de-
swept forests into the water, and
scended upon New Madrid, and
claimed countless boats, along
there was no place to hide.
with their hapless crews and pas-
Four hours later, a third quake
sengers. A British naturalist travel-
rolled through—the strongest yet.
ing by keelboat was spared. “The
The nucleus of this megaquake
banks above, below, and around
emanated from the town of Little
us,” he later wrote, “were falling
Prairie (now Caruthersville), south
every moment into the river, all na-
of New Madrid.
ture seemed running into chaos.”
That night, Little Prairie res-
Some witnesses claimed that, for a
idents abandoned their homes.
short time, the river ran backward.
Unaware that New Madrid had
Around 7 am December 16, an-
been devastated by the same nat-
other quake struck, every bit as
ural disaster, the refugees set out
powerful as the first. By this time,
on foot for the 30-odd-mile jour-
the air had filled with fog and the
ney to New Madrid. The clearly
vapors spewed from within the
marked trail was no more, beset
earth. As the settlers watched,
with crevasses and fissures, felled
the ground bucked and rolled,
trees, and newly made quicksand
opening fissures that spit rocks
bogs with muddy water that went
and sand high into the air. An
from shallow to deep without
62 / MISSOURI LIFE
ALAMY.COM
ery few minutes. The earth’s ema-
The ability to scientifically evaluate an earthquake at the time of the devastating New Madrid quakes of 1811–12 was virtually non-
Seismologists regard the
existent. Despite the tremendous advances in geological science
New Madrid zone as one
over the past two centuries, it is still impossible to predict the zone’s future activity. USGS scientists suggest that the likelihood of another earthquake over the next 50 years with the magnitude of the 1811–1812 New Madrid quakes is around 7 to 10 percent. The probability of
of the most potentially dangerous earthquake regions in the country.
quakes exceeding a 6.0 magnitude is roughly between 25 and 40 percent. These figures, however, come with the caveat that forecasting earthquakes is still an uncertain science.—Ron Soodalter
Indoors: Avoid objects that could fall.
When It Hits
Backwoods: Move away from cliffs and steep embankments where there might be falling debris or a landslide. After the quake, get away from riverbeds, which may be carrying debris or surges of water and mud.
Avoid bridges and underpasses.
Don’t go outside, or use stairs or elevators, until the shaking stops. In crowded public places, such as a store, do not rush to the exit. Move away from the shelves and other objects that could fall. In an auditorium or stadium, crouch down between the rows and cover your head and neck. Duck under a sturdy table, desk or counter, and cover your head and neck to prevent injury from glass and debris. Hang onto a furniture leg and move with it if the shaking is severe.
Parking garages are especially vulnerable during quakes. On Foot: If you’re among highrises, duck into a lobby. In other areas, move away from buildings. Falling bricks, debris, and glass pose the greatest risks.
In Transit: If you are driving, stop your vehicle away from buildings, Outside: bridges, and utility Move to an open lines. Set your area, away from parking brake. Stay buildings, streetlights inside your car until and utility wires. the shaking stops.
If there’s no table, go to an inside wall, a corner of the room or lie down next to a couch.
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Coastline: If you are near the water, move to high ground immediately to escape a potential tsunami. If the epicenter is near, you could have only a few minutes before the first wave hits.
Rock Hard An earthquake in Middle America would be felt over an area roughly 10 times larger than an earthquake of the same magnitude in California. That’s because the rocks that comprise a part of the earth’s crust in the central part of the United States are harder, cooler, and less fragmented than those in the western states; these rocks would transmit the shock farther.—Ron Soodalter 6 3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
h e av e n s y to bets
S H A K E , R AT T L E & R O L L
What Are The Chances?
‘struck with a
panic of terror’ behind.
south from St. Louis, Arkansas en-
icked snakes and other creatures
New Madrid may have been
gineer and surveyor Louis Bringier
desperately seeking safety—as
decimated, but it offered more
witnessed it, recording a descrip-
were the settlers—from the unpre-
than Little Prairie, whose refugees
tion a few months later. “The roar-
dictable toil.
had no town to return to; the sec-
ing and whistling of the air escap-
ond quake had virtually leveled
ing (from the earth) seemed to
Pervading everything was the sickening pall of sulfur.
Little Prairie when it ripped off the
increase the horrible disorder of
It was a daylong journey. When
entire river bank, dropping it into
the trees blown up, cracking and
the travelers from Little Prairie ar-
the foaming, turbulent river. With
splitting and falling by thousands
rived on Christmas Eve at what
nothing to hold back the water,
at a time,” he wrote. “In the mean
was left of the once-busy market
the town and surrounding country-
time, the surface was sinking and
town that had been New Madrid,
side for miles flooded to a depth of
a black liquid was rising up to
they saw the same devastation
three to four feet.
the belly of my horse, who stood
they had left behind. None of
motionless, struck with a panic of
New Madrid’s residents remained;
NO REPRIEVE
most were camped in the woods
Minor
to
Many thought they had seen
a couple of miles outside of town,
shake the earth for weeks, and on
the worst of the quakes. Two
the skewed and twisted ruins of
January 23, a fourth major quake
weeks later, at 4 in the morning of
their homes, barns, and shops left
hit the New Madrid area. Traveling
February 7, a fifth quake struck, the
eruptions
continued
terror.”
largest yet. Those who had dared return to their damaged homes watched the earth split in seemingly endless lines of fissures, each running southwest to northeast, hundreds of feet or more in length, and deep enough to swallow livestock. One crack split the earth for a distance of five miles. And through it all, the ground continued to pitch and roll, a stomach-churning
motion
that
threw people about like rag dolls. With
this
fifth
quake,
the
Mississippi River outdid itself. The water rose 20 feet above its normal level in some places, overThis steamboat, painted by Washington, Missouri, artist Gary Lucy, represents the beginning of steamboating on the Western rivers in 1811, when Nicholas Roosevelt, great-granduncle of Theodore Roosevelt, piloted the New Orleans from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. The trip began in October, 1811. The boat laid over for five weeks in Louisville, Kentucky, where Roosevelt’s wife gave birth to their son, Henry. The journey resumed on December 8, passing over the Falls of the Ohio and continuing downstream to Shippingport, Kentucky, and Yellow Bank, Indiana (December 14). While at this latter place they experienced the first shocks of the New Madrid earthquake (December 16). The boat reached the Mississippi on December 18 and passed New Madrid, Point Pleasant, and Little Prairie (the epicenter of the quakes) on December 19. They spent the night near the mouth of the St. Francis on December 22, where they learned about the disappearance of the steamboat Big Prairie, which was also descending the river at this time.
64 / MISSOURI LIFE
flowing and collapsing its banks. As the schoolteacher Eliza Bryan watched, it “seemed to recede from its banks, and its water gathered up like a mountain, leaving … boats stranded on the sand.” Beached crews ran for their lives
PAINTING “THE NEW ORLEANS, STEAMING UPSTREAM BY MOONLIGHT, 1811” BY GARY R. LUCY GALLERY, INC. WASHINGTON, MO-WWW.GARYLUCY.COM
warning. The settlers dodged pan-
AN EARTHQUAKE IS THE SHAKING OF THE GROUND CAUSED BY SUDDEN MOTIONS ALONG FAULTS OR FRACTURES IN THE EARTH’S CRUST
FAULT: A FRACTURE IN THE ROCKS THAT MAKE UP THE EARTH’S CRUST EPICENTER: THE POINT AT
THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH DIRECTLY ABOVE THE FOCUS
PLATES: MASSIVE ROCKS THAT MAKE UP THE OUTER LAYER OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE, AND WHOSE MOVEMENT ALONG FAULTS TRIGGERS EARTHQUAKES
SEISMIC WAVES: WAVES
eel ove f m ! ld ou arth feet c i e e my th der un
THAT TRANSMIT THE ENERGY RELEASED BY AN EARTHQUAKE
FOCUS: THE POINT WITHIN THE EARTH WHERE AN EARTHQUAKE RUPTURE STARTS
Damage Would Be Worse Today The damage caused by the cataclysmic New Madrid quakes of 1811–1812 would not compare to the destruction wreaked by a similar event in the 21st century. At the time, only two Missouri settlements were in the worst zone of the quakes: Little Prairie and New Madrid. The structures then were mostly low, one-story log houses and barns, fairly flexible and resilient. Today, the area’s tall, narrow buildings—many of which were constructed before considering earthquake resistance—are the structures of greatest concern, especially when they stand within close proximity to one another. Both St. Louis and Memphis lie within the New Madrid Seismic Zone, making the risk much more drastic for the older tall stone, brick, and concrete buildings and their dense populations. Earlier structures containing large open spaces such as auditoriums, arenas, churches, atria, schools, factories, and hospitals are also at risk. Not all earthquake destruction is wrought on man-made structures. Because the Bootheel is primarily rural, the greatest disruption, both immediate and long term, would be to agriculture, brought about by damage to the earth itself.—Ron Soodalter
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Be Prepared State agencies today try to prepare for a
three million people registered for the 2016
natural disaster. Every October, the annual
Shake-Out drill, including more than half a
Great Central US Shake-Out—a multistate
million Missourians.
earthquake drill spanning much of the cen-
SEMA is also in charge of the Missouri
tral United States—takes place. Participants
Seismic Safety Commission, which assesses
include the Red Cross, Federal Emergency
the state’s earthquake readiness. The agen-
Management Agency, Central United States
cy inspects schools within the New Madrid
Earthquake
Geological
Seismic Zone to determine vulnerability. Visit
Survey, and READY (a national campaign
Consortium,
US
MissouriLife.com for more information on pre-
promoting disaster preparedness). Nearly
paring for an earthquake.—Ron Soodalter
6 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
S H A K E , R AT T L E & R O L L
Anatomy of an Earthquake
‘struck with a
A tinted engraving, with a Czech title, shows the clearing of a passage on the Missouri River for riverboats. This is from the Kozak Collection at the Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley.
as the river crashed upon them
radical makeover. Islands had van-
century later, just 450 people
and their vessels. The riverbed
ished from the Mississippi River;
lived in New Madrid. Only gradu-
split and cracked into the same fis-
five entire towns in three states
ally did it reclaim its place as a vi-
sures as were occurring on land,
had simply disappeared; lakes
able river port town. “It was a long
causing the water to boil and form
had suddenly appeared overnight,
time,” writes Bagnall, “before the
whirlpools and geysers.
in some cases swamping forests.
people and the land in southeast-
Two waterfalls appeared on
The quakes had affected more
ern Missouri healed.”
the river, a mile from New Madrid.
than one million square miles—
Although they existed for only a
more than 16 times the area strick-
END OF DAYS
brief interval, they were lethal; 30
en by the famous San Francisco
Those who survived coming face-
boats went over the New Madrid
earthquake of 1906.
to-face with a disaster of biblical
falls, and 28 of them sank. Most of
Many lost their lives during
proportions sought answers. Not
the crew members of the doomed
the months in which the quakes
surprisingly, the people who had
vessels drowned. Another 19 boats
deviled the region, yet there are
witnessed the quakes firsthand—
tied to the New Madrid docks were
no accurate records to help es-
as well as countless thousands
ripped from their moorings and
timate the number of fatalities.
who had merely heard or read
swept to destruction. The wreck-
According to New Madrid histo-
the accounts—saw in them the
age of vessels was everywhere.
rian Norma Hayes Bagnall, “It is
sign of divine intervention, an in-
The months-long New Madrid
assumed that most deaths result-
dication of God’s dissatisfaction
earthquakes left their mark upon
ing from the New Madrid earth-
with humankind. As the hymn “A
the land and the water. By the
quakes were caused by drown-
Call to the People of Louisiana,”
time the quakes had subsided,
ing.” By March 1812, few people
penned months after the quakes,
the landscape had undergone a
remained in the area. A quarter
proclaimed:
66 / MISSOURI LIFE
PUBLIC DOMAIN
panic of terror’
The US Geological Survey monitors seismic activity in cooperation with a number of other agencies and organizations. USGS seismologists and geologists work closely with the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information to oversee a series of more than 50 seismometers located in affected states. They coordinate data from various sources to determine magnitude, location, and position relative to known faults.—Ron Soodalter
Richter Scale A one-point increase on the Richter magnitude scale indicates a 10-time jump in an earthquake’s energy release. Therefore, an earthquake measuring 8.0 is not double the scope of a 4.0, but rather demonstrates a 10,000-times greater release of energy— roughly the difference in size between a basketball and a hot-air balloon. Seismologists rarely use the Richter scale and now employ the Moment Magnitude, which is similar, however, to the Richter in its continuum of magnitude values.—Ron Soodalter
if t a ro he hou bot ckin’, se is her d kno on’t ckin ’.
MAGNITUDE
DESCRIPTION
Mercalli Intensity Scale The Mercalli Intensity Scale gives a picture of the range of actual damage the quake does to the physical world around us: how many buildings were damaged, how much damage was inflicted, and so on.
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The measured intensity often varies depending on how far from the quake the measurements are taken, but it can also vary depending on the firmness of the geologic deposits below the measured site. The Mercalli Scale is one of the only methods available with which to measure the actual size of a historical quake, one that occurred before the introduction of instruments. The results, however, are not always accurate.—Ron Soodalter
6 7 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
S H A K E , R AT T L E & R O L L
Earthquake Magnitude Scale
Seismic Scales
‘struck with a
panic of terror’ Photographer and artist David Anton of Santa Fe, New Mexico, interprets the New Madrid quakes of 1811-12, for an original look at the devastating earthquakes in the book, New Madrid: A Mississippi River Town in History and Legend, published by Southeast Missouri State University Press in 2009). More than six months have past and gone, And still the earth keeps shaking; The Christians go with bow’d down heads, While sinners’ hearts are aching. The great event I cannot tell, Nor what the Lord is doing; But one thing I am well assur’d, The scriptures are fulfilling. Adding to the fear of divine disaffection was another natural phenomenon that occurred several months before the earthquakes. In March 1811, a comet appeared and remained visible for 260 days (a recomet of 1997), revealing a coma— the luminous cloud surrounding the nucleus in the head of a comet—that was purportedly one million miles long, or 50 percent larger than the sun. Known to history as the Great Comet of 1811, it has also been called Napoleon’s Comet, believed to have presaged the emperor’s ill-fated invasion of Russia. With the comet still visible when the earthquakes began, the doomsayers had considerable clout. “Earthquake Christians,” as they came to be called, suddenly sought to get right with God, and membership in the local Methodist and Baptist churches soared. According to historian David W. Fletcher, “Preachers
attested
significant
numbers of baptisms and conversions, since sinners wanted to avoid
further outpourings of God’s wrath.”
the earth shook in the tiny city of
As one minister recalled, “It was a
New Madrid, caused by a rela-
time of great terror for sinners.”
tively small earthquake.
In many cases, the ferver didn’t last. “A good number of these new
Since then, the fault line has remained still.
believers turned away from the
The city’s population, which
church once the earthquakes sub-
hovers around 3,000, tends to
sided,” Fletcher found.
look at the geological possibili-
Human nature being what it is,
ties philosophically. One observ-
once the immediate threat of de-
er sums up the town’s combina-
struction had passed, the proph-
tion of caution and inevitability:
ets of the end of days found them-
“Its citizens … keep one eye on
selves addressing ever-smaller
the Mississippi and one eye on
crowds. The earth gradually set-
the hills.” New Madrid folk singer
tled into a more tranquil if some-
Lou Hobbs put it another way in
what altered state.
his signature song, “Living on the
From time to time over the
New Madrid Fault Line”:
past two centuries, there have been prophesies of another cat-
The good Lord, He put us all here
aclysm from the fault line that
And only He’s gonna take us away.
runs deep beneath our feet.
Living on the New Madrid fault line,
Notably, on September 26, 1990,
You gotta live it day by day.
68 / MISSOURI LIFE
ALAMY.COM
cord not broken until the Hale-Bopp
S H A K E , R AT T L E & R O L L
How to Prepare Missourians need to educate themselves, says Jeff Briggs, earthquake program manager at Missouri’s State Emergency Management Agency. “You can’t learn what to do when the siren goes off,” he advises. “You have to know it well in advance.” The information is out there, with several state and federal agencies making it available and user-friendly for Missourians. For a list of websites with good information, visit MissouriLife.com. The settlers in 1811 had no idea of the chaos they would face; we do.—Ron Soodalter
did you f e e l t hat ?
Crowd-sourcing quakes Should a quake occur, the US Geological Survey employs a software program called “Did-You-Feel-It,” to alert first responders to the areas most in need of immediate aid. People who have been affected by the shaking of the earthquake can tap into the program and answer several questions on the nature and intensity of their experience. As many as 100,000 people respond in a one-hour period, whereupon scientists build a map within minutes based on the input. The map is then distributed to police, firemen, and other emergency management facilities, telling them where to respond first and fastest.—Ron Soodalter
PINTEREST.COM, YOUWORKFORTHEM.COM
To Insure or Not to Insure
Missouri is the third-largest earthquake insurance market in the country. Earthquake insurance is not your standard policy. While fire and water damage due to burst water or gas pipes is generally covered in most homeowners’ policies, the damage to a home that is directly impacted by a quake is not. A separate earthquake policy is required for both a home and its contents. According to Missouri Department of Insurance Director Chlora Lindley-Myers, “Knowing what to do during an earthquake is very important; but it is also important to protect your financial assets should you need to rebuild or recover. Missourians should add earthquake coverage to their homeowners’ policy if they live in areas that may be impacted by an earthquake.”—Ron Soodalter 6 9 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
visit
New Madrid
TA K E A D A Y T R I P T O E X P LO R E . E N J O Y W AT C H I N G T H E R I V E R R O L L BY A N D T O U R A M U S E U M W I T H Q U A K E EXHIBITS, A HISTORIC HOME, AND A ONE-ROOM SCHOOL.
New Madrid Historical Museum
Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site
Mississippi River Walk
Located in what was once the Kendal Saloon, the museum houses interactive exhibits about the 1811–1812 earthquakes, including state-of-theart seismic monitoring equipment. The museum also displays artifacts from regional Indian tribes and the Civil War, including letters, clothing, and weaponry. 1 Main Street • 573-748-5944 NewMadridMuseum.com
An easy, 0.2-mile walk from Riverfront Park will take you to an observation deck that overlooks eight miles of the mighty Mississippi at the New Madrid Bend. Exhibits along the levee walk include commemorative interpretive plaques of the route for the Trail of Tears—the journey of the Cherokee and other eastern tribes to Indian Territory in Oklahoma as ordered by the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Levee Road • New-Madrid.mo.us
Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site
New Madrid County Veterans Park
This state-run site offers another snapshot of Civil War life in southeastern Missouri. Visit the 15-room mansion of a wealthy family from the area. Finished in 1860, the home still holds many of its original furnishings. 312 Dawson Road • 573-748-5340 MoStateParks.com
Higgerson School
Learn what it would have been like to be a student in a one-room schoolhouse, when eight grade levels were taught at the same time by one teacher. The Higgerson School served the Higgerson Landing community on the Mississippi River from 1930 until 1968. 307 Main Street • 573-748-5716 HiggersonSchoolHistoricSite.com
Located next to Higgerson School, the memorial park pays tribute to all branches of military service. Eight large granite stones display the engraved names of New Madrid men and women who served or are currently serving in the armed forces. Main Street • New-Madrid.mo.us
Join this locally guided &
supported small group ride... Pedal the Missouri countryside along the Katy Trail on a six-day adventure that includes breakfast and lunch and a uniquely ‘Missouri Experience.’ We share insider knowledge of special places in these charming small communities and Missouri wine country.
What’s Included...
- Breakfast and lunch each day and dinner on your own to explore the towns. - Sweep rider and SAG support. - Unique Missouri experiences such as visiting wineries, museums, and historical monuments. - Shuttle service from St. Charles to Clinton (to begin or after the ride) will cost an extra fee. - Luxury accommodations include boutique hotels and nostalgic B&Bs.
DINING
Average day ride: 37 miles, ranging from 26 to 49 miles.
Fat Franks serves up fried chicken. 599 Main Street • 573-521-2662 Willy Bill’s satisfies your barbecue cravings. 411 US 61 • 573-748-4001 El Bracero takes you south of the border for a Mexican meal. 530 US 61 • 573-748-6166
DEPARTURE DATES AUGUST 26 AND SEPTEMBER 16
ONLY $1,695 per person (Double Occupancy) (Single Supplement $295)
Contact Kelly Elliott at kelly@missourilife.com or at 573-489-1785
70 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY MISSOURI STATE PARKS
STORY Meghan Lally
Photo Contest
ENTER TO WIN
Celebrate your MissouriLifeMoment Life in Missouri is full of beautiful moments. We want to share those moments with you! We are excited to announce our #MissouriLifeMoment Photo Contest to our readers. Enter to win prizes, including books and gift certificates for lodging and merchandise, and the chance to have your photograph published and shared with thousands of readers across the state. The top photos in the Lifestyle, Nature, Fun, and Food & Drink categories will also receive special prizes. So what are you waiting for? We want to see your special moments! Tag us on social media by using the hashtag #MissouriLifeMoment, and/ or email your photo to photos@missourilife.com for consideration. NATURE
FOOD & DRINK
LIFESTYLE
FUN
CONTEST RULES Photos must be original, taken by the person who submits it, and taken in Missouri. Photos may be edited but not substantially altered. Readers may submit more than one photo, but each must be sent in a separate email or in a separate social media post. Any subjects identifiable in the photos must have given permission for the photo to be submitted to the contest. Missouri Life staff reserve the right to exclude any photo from the contest. Submitting a photo to the contest grants Missouri Life Media, Inc., a royalty-free, nonexclusive, non-cancelable copyright license to print, publish, display, perform, reproduce, and use all forms, works and derivative works of their work assigned by Missouri Life, which the licensor warrants is original and which Missouri Life will have the right to publish first. 7 13 / / FM EB O RNUTAHR 2Y 021 07 1 8
WE AT MISSOURI LIFE HAVE SLEPT our way across the state, from a lovely little B&B in a ranch house on a hilltop overlooking the bright lights of Branson in the south to an elegant Victorian mansion B&B in St. Joseph in the north, from a B&B in the historic part of St. Charles in the east to a beautiful boutique hotel in Kansas City in the west that has fine dining and jazz. A lovely historic inn with a beautiful flower garden backyard in Ste. Genevieve was memorable, as were many B&Bs along the Katy Trail, including a romantic Victorian country home in Augusta. And we have a favorite B&B, or should we say balcony, from which we enjoy sunsets over the Lake of the Ozarks. Exploring Missouri by staying in bed-and-breakfasts adds an extra dimension of discovery, especially with tasty breakfasts. Learning the local lore and special insider tips for places to visit and shop from the hosts is a bonus. Sweet dreams!
Stone-Yancey House B&B
Garden House Bed & Breakfast
The Garden House Bed and Breakfast at Lake of the Ozarks Enjoy a full breakfast on your private patio with spectacular views of the lake. All of our beautiful rooms have a view. Peaceful, yet close to everything. This B&B was voted number one in the Midwest by Midwest Living magazine two years in a row. Lake of the Ozarks 573-365-1221 TheGardenHouseBnB.com
Inn at Harbor Ridge
Celebrate Romance at the Lake’s most inviting bed-and-breakfast. • Trip Advisor Certificates of Excellence 2010 to 2017 • Trip Advisor Hall of Fame Property 6334 Red Barn Road, Osage Beach 573-302-0411 • 877-744-6020 HarbourRidgeInn.com
Loganberry Inn
Located in the beautiful historic town of Fulton, Loganberry Inn is within strolling distance to the Brick District, live theater, art, shops, restaurants, museums, night life, and biking trails. Nearby are wineries and alpaca farms. The inn offers wedding, Ultimate Romance, Chocolate Lovers, and Girlfriend Getaway packages. 310 West 7th St., Fulton 573-642-9229 LoganberryInn.com
Enjoy your stay in one of three elegant rooms, with a three-course breakfast and evening sweets. 421 N Lightburne St., Liberty 816-415-0066 StoneYanceyHouse.com 10 / MISSOURI LIFE
Yankee Peddlers Tea Room
A fun tradition in fine taste at the lake. Open at 11 AM daily. More than just lunch! 1011 Main St. At The Landing, Osage Beach 573-348-5045 YankeePeddlersTeaRoom.com
Big Cedar Bed & Breakfast
Explore French Colonial Heritage in Ste. Genevieve
31358 Aqua Vita Road, Laurie 573-746-2204 BigCedarBandB.com
PLAN YOUR NEXT ROMANTIC GETAWAY in Missouri’s most historic town. Famous for its historic sites and wineries, Ste. Genevieve has been extending gracious hospitality to visitors since the 1700s. Only an hour south of the big city of St. Louis, this charming small town has some of the highest-rated bed-and-breakfast inns in the Midwest. Find out why Ste. Genevieve was named one of the “Top 10 Coolest Small Towns” by Budget Travel magazine and “One of the 50 Most Beautiful Small Towns in America” by House
Beautiful magazine. Explore French Colonial architecture and 25 charming shops and art galleries in the center of the Historic District, try the fabulous regional dining, and choose from more than 10 awardwinning wineries & microbreweries. Mention the code Shop Small to receive $10 in Fleur de Lis shopping tokens at the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center before March 15, 2018. Start planning now at VisitSteGen.com or call 800-373-7007 to request a free visitor’s guide.
Bent Tree Bed & Breakfast
Main Street Inn
White Cliff Manor
Experience the tranquility of the Ozarks. Located on 5-87, just past Bridal Cave Road in Camdenton.
Recently renovated and reopened, we welcome guests to have a truly wonderful experience.
Spend your Ste. Genevieve Getaway in Luxury On the Bluffs of the Mississippi Valley
1491 Neongwah Bend Road, Camdenton 573-346-0190 On Facebook @BentTreeBedandBreakfast
221 N Main St., Ste. Genevieve 573-880-7500 MainStrInn.net
Cottage by the Castle
Inn St. Gemme Beauvais
Somewhere Inn Time
Relax, refresh, rewind. Located next to Ha Ha Tonka State Park in a quiet country setting.
Tea time, wine, hors d’oeuvres, and full breakfast served at candlelit tables.
Located in Historic Ste. Genevieve, we’re an easy walk to restaurants, shops, and historic homes.
3395 State Road D, Camdenton 573-525-8688 CottageByTheCastle.com
78 North Main St., Ste. Genevieve 800-818-5744 • 573-883-5744 InnStGemme.com
383 Jefferson St., Ste. Genevieve 573-883-9397 • 800-883-9397 SomewhereInnTime.info
Rustic country charm at Lake of the Ozarks! Join us for a comfortable, relaxing stay.
7 3 / FEBRUARY 2018
First-Rate Accommodations • Deluxe American Breakfasts
573-543-5445 WhiteCliffManorBedAndBreakfast.com
Inn on Crescent Lake
The most relaxing getaway in the Kansas City area, the Inn on Crescent Lake is located in Excelsior Springs, a mere 30 minutes from downtown Kansas City. Our 10-room 1915 Georgian colonial mansion offers many modern amenities, including a full-size, in-ground pool, spa services, paddleboats, fishing, and a walking trail. 1261 St. Louis Ave., Excelsior Springs 816-630-6745 CrescentLake.com
Payne Jailhouse B&B
Southmoreland on the Plaza - An Urban Inn
An urban oasis offering 12 rooms plus a Luxury Carriage House Suite, each with a deck, fireplace, or Jacuzzi. Leisure and business guests experience midwestern hospitality with a local flair. Includes gourmet breakfast and amenities galore. Culture, cuisine, shopping, theater, and nightlife are right outside our door!
Located in Historic Downtown Excelsior Springs. “We’ve got hospitality, ‘locked up!’ ”
116 E. 46th St., Kansas City 816-531-7979 Southmoreland.com
426 Concourse Ave., Excelsior Springs 816-582-6798 PayneJailhouseBAndB.com
Cedar Crest Lodge
• Award-winning B&B less than one hour from Kansas City • 111 acres of ponds, trails, and breathtaking views • Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2012-2017 • Top 10 Farm to Table Inns
Prime Plaza Location in the Heart of Kansas City
Green Tree Inn
• Top 10 Breakfasts • Top 10 Romantic Inns • On-Site Spa and Pool 25939 E 1000th Road, Pleasanton, Kansas 913-352-6533 CedarCrestLodge.com
Green Tree Inn is located in the historic Village of Elsah just off the Great River Road and 45 minutes from downtown St. Louis. Each guest room has its own private bathroom. Rates include homemade afternoon snacks, a delicious home-cooked breakfast
74 / M I S S O U R I L I F E
and access to our common area stocked with water, soda, tea, and coffee. Recipient of Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2014-2017. 15 Mill St., Elsah, Illinois 618-374-2821 GreenTreeInnElsah.com
England, Scotland & Wales Cycling September 4-14, 2018
Ride with the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Missouri Life!
Join Us on this Exclusive Overseas Cycling & Hiking Tour Missouri Life invites you to join Publisher Greg Wood & Editor-in-Chief Danita Allen Wood on a festive and immersive travel adventure as they bike through the heart of scenic England, Scotland, and Wales. You’ll visit medieval, imperial, and literary landmarks, as well as experience some of the United Kingdom’s most spectacular countryside biking routes. Photos courtesy VisitBritain
11 Days • 22 Meals Double: $4,977; Single: $5,481 Round-trip air from Kansas City or other cities, bikes and gear, fees, English-speaking guides...Included! Days 1 & 2: Welcome to England Day 3: Cycle Tour of the Cotswolds Day 4: Coventry to Llandudno Day 5: Cycle Tour Along Coast Day 6: Llandudno to the Lake District Day 7: Lake District Cycling Day 8: Seaside Cycling Tour Day 9: Isle of Bute Day 10: Loch Lomond Island Hiking Day 11: Farewell
MissourLife.com/BikeGreatBritain • 855-744-8747
MUSINGS ON LIFE
Fence Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder By Ron Marr
For many years I had a psychological
led me to avoid all things paint- and
to my surroundings. There were many
aversion to painting. This exceedingly
brush-related for decades.
daily responsibilities—and the notcrises—concerning
Mom
Time doesn’t heal all wounds—
ents decreed—during a hellishly hot
that’s just something people said in the
and Dad’s maladies (both are in their
Missouri summer—that all the fence
days before penicillin and anti-anxiety
90s). I viewed my house as strictly util-
posts surrounding our family farm
meds—but it usually makes them less
itarian, but after both of them moved
should display a glossy-white counte-
itchy. Over the course of time, I came
into a local nursing home, I took a
nance. It takes nearly forever to pretty
to understand that I did not suffer from
breath and looked around.
up 400 acres of posts, especially since
pigmentumphobia (which I understand
And so, out came the paint, brush-
my folks insisted I apply three coats
to be a fear of paint or pigs or painted
es, tarps, and rollers. The stained,
to each one. It was an interminably
pigs). I simply harbored extreme preju-
wooden cabinets were removed, sand-
boring job, imbued with a level of mo-
dice against tedious tasks.
ed, and reimagined in antique white.
notony generally unknown to all save
In fact, I eventually became adept
The 50-year-old pulls, knobs, and hing-
those poor unfortunates who incurred
at bringing new life to walls and cab-
es, which I dismantled, cleaned, and
the displeasure of ancient Greek gods.
inets. As long as no one hovers over
primed, have been transformed from
Sisyphus might still be miffed that
my shoulder offering sage advice in the
grease-covered black to shiny red. I’ve
he spends eternity striving to push a
vein of “you missed a spot,” I find the
done similar to trim, baseboards, doors,
boulder uphill, but that’s only because
activity calming and pleasant. On oc-
closets, and shelves, and am in the pro-
he never experienced Fence Post
casion, I’ve even been offered painting
cess of replacing worn and threadbare
Traumatic Stress Disorder.
jobs, but I inevitably turned them down.
carpets with new vinyl.
Adding to the onus was a certain degree of criticism. To this day, I’m at a
I’m very slow, and people generally want things done at a dead run.
I never intended to be in this place forever, and I still don’t. It was and is a
loss to understand why anyone would
Which brings us to last September,
temporary billet that will suffice until the
feel compelled to offer art critiques of
when I first noticed my house was
future makes itself more apparent. But
painted fence posts. Considering the
gloomy. Though I’ve lived in this place
there’s no reason it can’t be a cheery
subject matter, the only logical style
for six years—coming here to aid in
haven while I wait.
was post-modern. Whatever the rea-
pressing health concerns involving my
RON MARR FORMER POST PAINTER son, the less-than-pleasant memories
parents—I’d never paid much attention 76 / MISSOURI LIFE
Just don’t ask me to paint fence posts. That’s not gonna happen again.
ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW BARTON
infrequent
rare condition took root after my par-
SATURDAY, FEB. 17, 2018 SATURDAY, 17, 2018 1 - FEB. 5 p.m. 1 - 5 P.M.
Let’s
Wine Winter About
8th A
nual
Brought to you by the participating Downtown Liberty businesses. Historic Downtown Liberty, Inc. is an American Express Neighborhood Champion for Small Business Saturday™ 2017.
www.DowntownLiberty.org
7 7 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Rescued
By Lorry Myers “Yea,” I cheered, trying to sound upbeat about being stranded. “Way to go!” my mother said, reaching to high-five Randy’s head. “Now what do we do?” Just so you know, the 24-hour truck stop repair center repairs only 18-wheelers, and now, our 4-wheel vehicle was in the way. Randy came out with the phone number for a small car dealership up the road that offered towing and repair. “Isn’t this exciting?” my mother
We were traveling west on Interstate
We would see about that.
squealed, clapping her hands in the
70, not even halfway to where we
I relayed those excuses to Hilary,
cold car.
were going, when a red light ap-
who immediately called her grand-
Minutes later, a tow truck showed
peared on the dashboard. I looked
mother and begged in her sweetest
up, lights flashing and chains clank-
at my husband whose eyes widened
voice, “Please, Grandma, I’m having
ing, bathing the back seat and my
in a way that tells me, “Something is
a birthday party for Dad and I really
mother in strobes of rotating color.
about to happen.” As Randy changed
want you here.”
yelled as she waved to the driver.
ed flashing, flashing, flashing. “What’s
Who knew the car would go hay-
Several hours and one rental car
wrong?” asked my mother, peering
wire after dark, with my 86-year-old
later, we made it. We were barely in-
over the back seat of the car.
mother and her cane in the back seat?
side before Mom was telling Hilary
When my daughter, Hilary, asked
I turned to check on Mom, thinking
what a great time she was having, de-
me to bring her grandmother to
she would be worried. Instead, she
scribing the trip like it was a parade.
Kansas to celebrate Randy’s birthday,
was grinning all over.
Mom quickly provided multiple reasons why she couldn’t go.
The next night at the birthday par-
By now, Randy had us coasting
ty, Mom watched as Randy opened a
down the exit ramp—with no power
birthday gift from his daughter; a little box with baby booties tucked inside.
It hadn’t been that long since my
steering and hardly any brakes—and
father passed away, leaving behind
my mother was giggling like a little
“Thank you for reminding me that
a woman who had never been on
girl! We were one turn away from a
this is the rest of my life,” Mom whis-
her own. For 60 years, Dad drove,
truck stop with 24-hour repair service.
pered in my daughter’s ear, as she
helped with car doors, and carried the suitcase and even her purse.
LORRY MYERS, PASSENGER
That was all it took.
“We can do this!” my mother shouted.
hugged her. That weekend, my mother got
“It’s easier for me to stay home,”
Somehow, Randy managed to
exactly what she needed when she
Mom had insisted, in a tone that
guide that crippled car right up to the
needed it the most: simple reminders
meant she had made up her mind.
giant repair doors in the back.
that life goes on.
78 / MISSOURI LIFE
ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW BARTON
lanes, every alert on the dash start-
“Love the lights!” my mother
Check Out
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7 9 / FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018
S H O W - M E F L AVO R
An Apple a Day S T. LO U I S ’ S F I R S T CIDERY OPENS, B O R N O F FA M I LY A N D TRADITION. STORY Shannon Cothran PHOTOS Michael Pera
St. Louis is the home of one of America’s
has saturated both coasts and begun to
best-loved beer makers, and now it’s
move to the center.”
home to a hard cider maker as well. This
In a twist on family moonshine, the
alcoholic drink made from fresh apple
John family has been making hard cider
juice goes down easy, gives drinkers a
for at-home consumption for 150 years.
buzz without bitterness, and is usually
“I’ve got a product that supposedly my
made by small, artisanal cideries. The
grandfather made during Prohibition,”
first St. Louis cidery, Brick River Cider
Russ says with a laugh. “If I popped the
Co., is scheduled to open a pub, The
cap, it would probably be … not good.
Tap Room, soon. “Our advertised grand
It will go on display at the cidery. I can
opening is February 16th, 17th, and 18th.
imagine it as good and keep it in the bot-
Our soft opening will be either two or
tle. It’s a better story than the disappoint-
three weeks before that,” says Brick
ment that would come from drinking it.”
River owner Russ John.
Evan Hiatt, brewmaster (left), and Russ John, the owner of Brick River Cider Co., are eager to open The Tap Room in February.
Russ’s grandfather, Theodore Jahn,
A few years ago, Russ took over
was a Union soldier during the Civil War,
his family’s midwestern farm and apple
and he ended his campaign in St. Louis.
orchard. The former toy store and real
At that time, St. Louis was a brick manu-
estate businessman began looking for
facturing hub. Theodore, who changed
ways to expand his newly acquired ag-
his last name to John later in life, began
ricultural venture. Inspired by his own
packing and transporting bricks up and
love of cider, he decided to open a ci-
down the city’s rivers. During his travels,
derworks in St. Louis. “Cider has been a
he saw much of the country and decid-
very growing thing in the adult beverage
ed to homestead in southeast Nebraska
world for six to seven years,” he says. “It
where he founded the grain and
80 / MISSOURI LIFE
LEFT: Russ John opens the valve to fill the cans on the line. RIGHT: Jeff Shulins of Mother Road Mobile Canning monitors canning equipment.
es. When Russ is at the farm, he sleeps
during Prohibition.”
in the house his grandfather built on the property in 1890. With his grandfather’s legacy in mind, Russ named his ciderworks after his family’s beginnings on St. Louis’s brick river. To brew cider, Russ uses freshpressed juice from midwestern orchards. Pressing fresh apples on location in St. Louis is not feasible, he says. “Two-thirds of the weight of an apple is juice, and the other third is dry. If you need a ton of juice, that leaves you with 1,000 pounds of dry matter at the end. I’d have to truck it back to the country to feed it to livestock.” Instead, Russ leaves the pressing to the growers. ilar in some ways, making cider is more like working with wine or other fruitalcohol drinks. Beer, made with grains, has a different process. Much like good
that supposedly my grandfather made
apple farm Russ still owns and manag-
Even though cider and beer are sim-
“I’ve got a product
ABOVE: These are the first cans off the canning line at Brick River. BELOW: Evan Hiatt (foreground) and Russ John load cans onto pallets.
wine comes from certain grape varieties, good cider comes from small, dense, heritage apples. Ciders from other varieties will end up dull, Russ says. Rainfall or frost can also affect the taste of the fruit—and the cider. “Winemakers label the year wine was made because a 2016 cabernet won’t taste the same as a 2015 from the same vines on the same ground,” Russ says. Cider flavors also vary, depending on the fruitgrowing conditions for the year. But the consumption culture is different. “People won’t be tasting ciders next to one another,” he adds. Russ hired Evan Hiatt, brewmaster at the now-defunct Six Row Brewery and also an experienced winemaker, 8 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
S H O W - M E F L AVO R
Cider Sightings T H E W E S T S I D E O F T H E S TAT E INSPIRES THE CRISP FLAVORS O F K A N S A S C I T Y C I D E R C O M PA N Y.
Before Prohibition, Kansas City enjoyed a flourishing cider scene. Now, more than eight decades after repeal, cider is making a comeback—thanks to brothers Jeffrey and Brad Means and their friend Trafe is in St. Joseph. As one of only two brewers in the state
ABOVE: Canned cider on pallets is ready to be moved into cold storage.
dedicated to cider only, KC Cider Company
because of his unique background working with wine and beer. “It’s important to have a good hand with a fruit product as well as a grain product,” Russ
takes a rustic approach to its craft cidery.
says. “Grain is inherently more stable
With a lower alcohol content than wine, KC
to work with. Working with fruit juice is
Cider is not made from concentrate and
a different animal. We’re doing it in the
contains no grains; it is dry, not sweet. The
craft tradition: work with growers; be in
company’s flagship label is So Hopped
touch with the fruit in your land.”
Right Now, packed with fresh flavors of cit-
Russ and Evan have worked in tan-
rus, grapefruit, and lemongrass. Prohi-
dem to perfect the Brick River cider. “I
bition Style dry cider offers a classic apple
have to have made a cider five or six
taste. Find locations where KC Cider is sold
times before I feel like I’ve got it to where
and tasting events at KCCiderCo.com.
I’d sell it to the public,” Russ says. “Each
Although KC Cider Company and
time to make it takes a couple of months,
Brick River Cider Company are the two
so anything you see here I’ve been mak-
major cider breweries in Missouri, sev-
ing for a year before you see it.”
eral spots throughout the state also offer
Brick River produces four craft ci-
freshly brewed cider, including Cinder
ders; two are available in stores already.
Block Brewery in Kansas City, Crown Valley
“The two canned at grocers are our
Winery in Ste. Genevieve, and Schlafly
cornerstone products,” Russ says. “The
Brewery in St. Louis.—Meghan Lally
first, actually called Cornerstone, is a clear semi-dry cider that has a slightly 82 / MISSOURI LIFE
COURTESY KANSAS CITY CIDER
Brewer. Their KC Cider Company brewery
LEFT: Workers install the Brick River sign that will give the old brick firehouse its new life. BELOW: Much of the original firehouse ceiling has been preserved, lending a warm feeling to The Tap Room.
tart, delicate flavor profile. The second,
the perfect spot to craft and serve
Homestead, is an unfiltered, cloudy,
small-batch ciders, Russ settled on
sweet, turbulent cider. We go through
a firehouse that was built in 1890 on
different making processes to get those
what was then the outskirts of St. Louis
differences.” The limited-edition Brewers
and is now a neighborhood called
Choice cider will be exclusive to The Tap
Downtown West. Cider brews at the
Room. Brewer’s Choice is a hopped cider
back of the first floor; the pub will oc-
with a craft beer or ale undertone.
cupy the front. An elevator and a wide
Russ envisions The Tap Room as a
staircase will take guests upstairs
“vegetable- and fruit-forward cider pub
for restaurant seating and the kitch-
with a menu focusing on shareables.”
en. The surrounding neighborhood is
Crafted by St. Louis chef Christopher Lee,
friendly and developing into a popular
the menu will offer meat and fish, along
area for nightlife.
with vegan and gluten-free entrées.
Russ, Evan, and Christopher are ea-
Christopher developed his bill of fare
ger to begin slinging artisanal ciders and
with the Midwest’s English and French
serving up platters for parties in the re-
heritage in mind. An English-style pork
habbed firehouse. They’ll never be like
pie shares the menu with a goat cheese
the massive conglomerate beer maker
torte with dried apricots and walnuts. For
that shares their city, but there is room
dessert, there is an apple spice cake and
for them in the welcoming market of St.
a chocolate torte with hazelnuts, caramel,
Louis as Missourians learn to love cider.
and Maldon sea salt.
2000 Washington Avenue
After searching for two years for
800-275-2273 • BrickRiverCider.com 8 3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
S H O W - M E F L AVO R
Candied Cranberry Salad
Recipes by Cynthia HulĂŠ Photos by Evan Henningsen
with cider dressing Serves 2
1 cup Brick River Cornerstone cider 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup fresh cranberries 2 cups arugula 1 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup goat cheese 2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 1/4 cup almonds, chopped 1 teaspoon pomegranate seeds
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the cider and sugar to a boil. Add the cranberries and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the berries from the syrup and roll in sugar.
Cider Dressing 1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Brick River Cornerstone cider 2 teaspoons olive oil Salt and pepper to taste
1. Combine all ingredients in a small jar, seal, and shake. 2. Serve atop the salad right before eating.
2. Place arugula and spinach on salad plates. Top with small lumps of goat cheese, the candied cranberries, and the seeds.
84 / MISSOURI LIFE
More cider recipes online at MissouriLife.com
Butternut Squash and Cider Soup
Baked Cider Apples
Cider-Glazed Pork Chops
Baked Cider Apples stuffed with oats and nuts
Cider-Glazed Pork Chops
Serves 4
and spiced potatoes
4 large apples (Gala, Granny Smith, or Pink Lady) 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup rolled oats 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup almonds, chopped 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped Zest of 1 orange 4 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup Brick River Homestead cider
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash, dry, and core apples. 2. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oats, spices, chopped nuts, and orange zest. Divide the filling into four portions and stuff into the cavity of each apple. 3. Place the apples in a glass baking dish and top each apple with 1 tablespoon butter. Pour the cider into the bottom of the dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 30 minutes until the cider has made itself into a sauce and the apples begin to brown. Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Butternut Squash and Cider Soup .com
The unfiltered, semisweet Homestead cider lends itself to a sweet glaze. Serves 2
1 cup Brick River Homestead cider 1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
1 teaspoon honey 2 large bone-in pork chops Butter
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the cider, mustard, and honey and reduce until 2/3 of the liquid evaporates and the glaze thickens. 2. In a large cast-iron skillet, melt a small pat of butter over medium heat. Sear the pork chops to medium, browning both sides. Add the cider glaze and heat for 2 additional minutes. Serve with spiced potatoes (recipe online at MissouriLife.com).
8 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Cider adds an earthy, sweet note to round out this soup. Serves 2
1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced 2 teaspoons crushed garlic 1 teaspoon tumeric 1 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 cup diced carrot 1/4 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped onion 1 cup vegetable or beef broth 2 cups Brick River Cornerstone cider Pepitas Feta cheese crumbles Olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place diced squash in a baking pan, sprinkle with the seasonings, and bake for 30 minutes, until tender and golden brown. 2. In a large dutch oven, combine the raw vegetables, the baked squash, the broth, and the cider. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Blend the soup. Top with pepitas and feta cheese crumbles, and drizzle with olive oil.
S H O W - M E F L AVO R
Hot Cranberry Mulled Cider
Yeasted Waffles
Apple Fritters
Yeasted Waffles
Apple Fritters with
with cider syrup
cinnamon cider caramel
.com
Serves 4
1 cup milk 1/2 cup butter 2 cups flour 2 tablespoons fast active yeast
.com
Makes 6 medium-size fritters
1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup Brick River Brewer’s Choice cider
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and butter until the butter melts. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes. 2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until combined. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and cider. 3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm draft-free place; the batter should double in size. 4. Pour 1/4 of the batter onto waffle iron for each waffle; cook according to your iron’s settings. Top with cooked cranberries and serve with warm cider syrup (recipe online at MissouriLife.com).
1 cup flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 egg
1/2 cup milk 2 cups chopped apples (diced small) 1 cup sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 quart vegetable oil for frying
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and oil. 2. Stir in the egg and milk. Gently fold in the diced apples. 3. In a separate bowl, blend cinnamon into 1 cup sugar and set aside. 4. To fry, heat vegetable oil in a small saucepan and drop in 1/4 cup of batter at a time. Fry for 5 to 6 minutes until golden brown. Cool slightly, and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm with caramel sauce (recipe online at MissouriLife.com).
86 / MISSOURI LIFE
Hot Cranberry Mulled Cider Stronger and deeper than traditional mulled wine, this mulled cider is fiery and tart, a cozy fireplace sipper. Serves 4
1 cup fresh cranberries 1 cup cranberry juice (no sugar added) 2 cinnamon sticks
1 apple, thinly sliced 3 cups Brick River Firehouse Red cider 1/3 cup brandy
1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the cranberries, cranberry juice, cinnamon sticks, and apple slices to a boil. 2. Turn off the heat, and gently pour in the cider along with the brandy. 3. Serve from a teapot, into small mugs or heatproof glasses. Garnish with additional cinnamon sticks and apple slices.
BEEF
SPONSORED BY
always in
season
BEEF TENDERLOIN FOR TWO Courtesy Whitney Reist
Ingredients > One 1 ½ pound center cut beef tenderloin Coarse ground Kosher salt Freshly cracked black pepper 1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon grapeseed canola, or safflower oil 1 cup chopped mushroom
EVAN HENNINGSEN AND COURTESY WHITNEY REIST
F
ebruary is a month for lovers. On February 14th, romantics celebrate Valentine’s Day--originally known as the Feast of St. Valentine--a day in which various saints named Valentinus were honored with food and drink. The romantic notion of St. Valentine’s Day goes back to the 18th Century when lovers began exchanging cards and confections to express their feelings. Not coincidentally, February was selected by the American Heart Association as National Heart Month to raise awareness of healthy diets and lifestyles in an effort to decrease heart disease, the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. For Registered Dietician Whitney Reist, February is an excellent time to honor traditions old and new by creating a feast that is both delicious and low in saturated fats. “Most people don’t realize that there are thirty-six different cuts of beef that are considered lean by the USDA,” Whitney says. “The tenderloin, though a little more expensive, is one of the leanest cuts of beef available.”
The center-cut portion of the tenderloin not only produces the tenderloin steak but the filet mignon, the Chateaubriand steak, and beef Wellington. “This makes it a nice cut for Valentine’s Day or anytime you want to eat healthy,” says Whitney. “I like to pair it with a pan of potatoes roasted with olive oil or braised winter greens such as chard and kale.” Whenever you serve it, this tenderloin recipe is an excellent way to say, “I love you” to those gathered around your dinner table. For more information, visit Whitney’s website sweetcayenne.com and the Missouri Beef Industry Council’s website mobeef.org.
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1 small shallot minced 2 cloves garlic minced 2 teaspoons fresh thyme ½ cup full-bodied red wine 2 cups Unsalted Beef Stock 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ½ teaspoon brown sugar 2 teaspoons butter
Directions > 1. Remove tenderloin from refrigeration and allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. 2. Preheat your oven to 425 and have a pan ready to go into the oven. Then heat a medium heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. 3. Season all sides of the tenderloin liberally with salt and pepper. Add the tablespoon of butter and oil to your heated skillet. Sear the meat on all sides (including the ends), for 1 ½-2 minutes per side until an even golden-brown crust forms. 4. Transfer the meat your baking pan and roast for 15-17 minutes for mediumrare. The center of the tenderloin should measure 140 degrees when it is done. Cover the meat loosely with foil and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing against the grain. 5. While your meat cooks and rests, make the pan sauce. Add the mushrooms and shallot to the meat drippings in the pan over medium-low heat. Saute until golden; about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds more. Add the wine to your pan to deglaze; being sure to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of your pan with a wooden spoon. 6. Add the beef stock to the pan and stir in the Dijon mustard and brown sugar. Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the liquid over medium to medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it is thick and coats the back of your spoon. You should end up with about 1/2 cup of sauce when it has reduced enough. Strain the sauce over a medium bowl and return it back to the skillet to keep warm while you slice the meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in 2 teaspoons of butter just before you spoon the sauce over the sliced tenderloin.
Thousand Hills State Park Jamesport La Plata
St. Joseph Hamilton Weston
Kansas City
Hannibal
Marceline Arrow Rock
Warm Springs Ranch
Boonville
Mexico Fulton
MISSOURI
Missouri Life Motor Coach Tour
FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER in the west to the Mississippi River in the east, join this exciting discovery tour across northern Missouri, crafted in partnership by Missouri Life and Country Travel Discoveries. Experience such scenic highlights as Thousand Hills State Park, historic river towns including Weston, St. Joseph, and of course Hannibal, the boyhood home of Mark Twain. Visit Jamesport, the largest Amish settlement west of the Mississippi; see stops commemorating native sons Walter Cronkite and Walt Disney; tour a working orchard, a Clydesdale ranch, and much more. Day 1 - Welcome Meet your fellow travelers for a welcome reception in Kansas City.
Day 2 – Harley-Davidson Tour/Weston/ Stained Glass/Historic St. Joseph Get an inside look at the 358,000-square foot Harley-Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations Plant in Kansas City. Here you’ll observe these legendary bikes coming to life. Enjoy a slice of America’s heritage in Weston, where you can explore this peaceful river town full of unique shops and eateries at your own pace. After lunch, visit a stained glass art studio in historic St. Joseph, where Rick and Terri Rader show off their craft and even help you build your own design to take home as a souvenir. Next, local historian Kathy Reno presents city highlights including the starting point of the Pony Express, the house where outlaw Jesse James was killed, and a memorial to news legend Walter Cronkite. Breakfast included. Day 3 – Quilting/Jamesport Amish/ Walt Disney Boyhood Town Learn how a mom and her sewing machine transformed the town of Hamilton and created hundreds of local jobs at Missouri Star Quilts. A company guide shares insights, and we allow time for fabric and pat-
tern shopping along Main Street. Then, in Jamesport, explore the largest Amish settlement west of the Mississippi. At the H&M Country Store, rub elbows with local Amish shopping for bulk goods, spices, produce, dairy, and other products. Afterward, enjoy a traditional lunch prepared by local Mennonites. Next, visit Marceline, the town where young Walt Disney “found the magic.” Explore the Disney Farm and Museum with Kaye Malins, whose family was friends with Walt when she was a girl. The day ends in Macon with a tasting by Missouri wine expert Tom Anderson, who manages the nearby Silver Rails Vineyard. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included. Day 4 – Depot Tour/Thousand Hills State Park/Hannibal Free Time La Plata is located along the busy railroad line between Chicago and Los Angeles. Start today with an insider’s tour of its historic railroad depot with caretakers Bob and Amy Cox; they share tales of ’50s-era celebrities who passed through on the famed Santa Fe “Super Chief” and explain where the freight seen today is headed. After lunch overlooking a lake, tour scenic Thousand Hills State
Park, and perhaps take the short walk to see Native American petroglyphs. Later, enjoy free time in historic Hannibal. Browse the quaint shops or perhaps stroll down to the Mississippi River landing after dinner on your own. Breakfast and lunch included. Day 5 – Mark Twain’s Hannibal/ Mississippi Cruise/Orchard Hannibal is known as the boyhood home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) and as the setting of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. After a guided tour of Twain’s Boyhood Home and Museum, freely explore or enjoy one of our options. 1. MARK TWAIN CAVE. Take an easy, flat 45-minute walk through the oldest operating show cave in Missouri, which has given tours since 1886. Mark Twain Cave, originally known as McDougal’s Cave, played an important role in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It also reportedly served as a hideout for
Jesse James. Price: $19. 2. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MARK TWAIN. This one-hour show features veteran actor Jim Waddell. Colorful tales from Twain’s speeches and writings evoke 19th-century life as America emerged from a rollicking frontier. Price: $19 (Minimum of 12 persons required to participate.) Later, set sail on the “Mighty Mississippi” with an exclusive on-boat luncheon and 90-minute river cruise. In the afternoon, tour the 200-year-old Stark Brothers Nursery & Orchard Co. The evening ends with a community cookout put on by locals in Mexico, Mo. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included. Day 6 – Zenith Aircraft/Churchill/ Clydesdales/Missouri Life Offices Start today touring Zenith Aircraft, a local designer, developer and manufacturer of experimental airplane kits, with CEO Sebastien Heintz. Then head to Fulton to visit a 1600s church rebuilt at
Westminster College to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill, who made his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in the campus gym. Enjoy a beautiful miniconcert by the chapel’s pipe organist. After lunch, spend the afternoon on Warm Springs Ranch— 300-plus acres of lush, rolling hills, and the breeding farm for the Budweiser Clydesdales. Learn how foals are selected for the famous team, and enjoy a free sample of Budweiser beer. This evening wraps up with a visit to the offices of Missouri Life magazine and a farewell dinner hosted by Missouri Life. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included. Day 7 – Truman Presidential Library/ Farewell Tour the nostalgic Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, hometown and resting place of our 33rd president. Head home amazed by the sites and good people of the Show Me State. Breakfast included.
Day 1: Welcome to the Show-Me State Day 2: Harley-Davidson factory tour, free time in Weston; Stained glass studio in historic St. Joseph Day 3: Quilting in Hamilton; Amish community in Jamesport; Walt Disney’s boyhood hometown, Marceline Day 4: La Plata train depot; Thousand Hills State Park; free time in Hannibal Day 5: Mark Twain’s boyhood home; Mississippi River cruise; Stark Brothers Nurseries & Orchards Co. Day 6: Tour Zenith Aircraft in Mexico, Mo; Winston Churchill Museum in Fulton; Budweiser Clydesdales ranch and Missouri Life magazine office in Boonville Day 7: Truman Presidential Library in Independence; farewell Quality Accommodations Night 1: Courtyard by Marriott, Kansas City Night 2: Drury Inn & Suites, St. Joseph Night 3: Comfort Inn, Macon Night 4: Best Western on the River, Hannibal
reserve your spot now!
Call toll-free at 855-744-8747 or visit www.CountryTravelDiscoveries.com/MOL
Night 5: Best Western Teal Lake Inn, Mexico Night 6: Hotel Frederick, Boonville Triple-room pricing and pre-/post-tour hotel nights are available. Please call 855-744-8747.
More Around Missouri
Lewis and Clark in the Kansas City Area
FEB. 10 LEE’S SUMMIT /// Hear about the three days they spent in this area. Midwest Genealogy Center. VisitKC.com
Professional Bull Riders FEB. 10-11 KANSAS CITY /// Sprint Center. VisitKC.com
Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook
MORE STAFF PICKS FROM AROUND T H E S TAT E !
NORTHWEST & KANSAS CITY Jazz on the Square
Dr. Temple Grandin
Alan Jackson
FEB. 8 INDEPENDENCE /// The Honky Tonk Highway Tour keeps on rollin’. Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. SilversteinEyeCentersArena.com
Garden Symposium
FEB. 10 KANSAS CITY /// Gardening lectures will feature PBS-TV star Joe Lamp’l. Arrupe Hall at Rockhurst University campus. GuideStar.org
FEB. 15 MARYVILLE /// Lecture by the pioneer in welfare of farm animals. Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts. MaryvilleChamber.com
FEB. 18 KANSAS CITY /// International, national, and local acts perform. Weston Crown Center. KCFolkFest.org FEB. 23-25, ST. JOSEPH /// Missouri Theater. RRTStJoe.org
Harlem Globetrotters
FEB. 26 ST. JOSEPH /// Basketball comedy that is fun for all ages. Civic Arena. StJoeMo.info
Collective: Our Stories of Cancer
Art Auction Fundraiser
FEB. 17 KANSAS CITY /// Silent and live auction of original artwork. Kansas City Artists Coalition. KansasCityArtistsCoalition.org
Missouri’s Racial Past
Folk Festival
Peter Pan
FEB. 13-MAR. 24 KANSAS CITY /// A play features a children’s literature character. H&R Block City Stage. TYA.org
FEB. 5 LIBERTY /// Live jazz concert. Corbin Theatre. HistoricDowntownLiberty.org
black and white Americans often interpret the past and the present differently. Battle of Lexington State Historic Site. MoStateParks.com
FEB. 17 LEXINGTON /// Historian Gary Kremer will focus on how
MAR. 2-4 KANSAS CITY /// Gilda’s Club, a dance troupe, and poets celebrate the lives of everyone impacted by cancer in this world premiere. La Esquina. OwenCoxDance.org
The Savannah Sipping Society
MAR. 2-4 ST. JOSEPH /// Laugh-aminute comedy during an impromptu happy hour. Robidoux Landing Playhouse. RRTStJoe.org
A TRULY ‘GREEN’ BOOKMARK!
Bookmark features original hand-etched scrimshaw on a recycled antique ivory piano key with genuine leather and handmade paper accents. $22, plus $5 shipping/handling
Check/Money Order/Visa/MasterCard 31 High Trail, Eureka, MO 63025
www.stonehollowstudio.com • 636-938-9570
WE KNOW YOU LIKE TO SHOP LOCAL and support Missouri businesses. Missouri Life introduces these fine products, places, and services to help you discover the Best of Missouri Life.
Color Splash Art by Nancy Koehler Let Best of Missouri Hands Juried Artist Nancy Koehler brighten up your world.
Authentic Austrian Cuisine in the Freight House 816.283.3234
101 West 22nd Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
GrunauerKC.com 90 / MISSOURI LIFE
nancykoehlercolorsplash@gmail.com
NancyKoehler.com
The Hot Sardines
MAR. 9 KANSAS CITY /// Footstomping jazz concert with a tap-dancing surprise. Folly Theater. FollyTheater.org
MOXsonic Festival
MAR. 9-10 WARRENSBURG /// The Missouri Experimental Sonic Arts Festival is a series of concerts and presentations. Hart Recital Hall. MoXSonic.org
The Music of Prince
MAR. 10 KANSAS CITY /// Symphony tribute. Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. KCSymphony.org
Emerald Isle Parade
MAR. 10 LEE’S SUMMIT /// Pot O’ Gold Hunt, parade, and pub crawl. Downtown. DownTownLS.org
St. Patrick’s Day Pandemonium
Wild and Scenic
MAR. 17 ST. JOSEPH /// Murder mystery dinner theater. Robidoux Landing Playhouse. RRTStJoe.org
Sweeney Todd
MAR. 23-APRIL 15 KANSAS CITY /// Gloriously gruesome musical. Spencer Theatre. KCReo.org
Bridal and Wedding Expo MAR. 24-25 KANSAS CITY /// Convention Center. BridalShowMo.com
Food Tour
MAR. 24-25 & 31 KANSAS CITY /// Guided local food tour plus tasting, and history of the area River Market neighborhood. KCWalkingTours.com
Dublin Irish Dance
Gateway to Equality
FEB. 22 JEFFERSON CITY /// Author Keona Ervin describes the struggle for economic justice for working-class black women from the 1930s to the 1960s. Missouri State Archives. SoS.mo.gov
Rocheport Roubaix
CENTRAL
MAR. 15 KANSAS CITY /// With guests RaeLynn and Kalie Shorr. Muriel Kauffman Theatre. KauffmanCenter.org
Paranormal Investigations
True/False Film Fest
Steep Canyon Rangers
It’s A Gas! Swap Meet
FEB. 10 LEBANON /// 26th annual meet sells collectible Petrolania and vintage toys. Cowan Civic Center. ItsAGasSwapMeet.com
Vintage Hitchcock
MAR. 15 ST. JOSEPH /// Grammynominated bluegrass band concert. SaintJosephPerformingArts.org
FEB. 3 & MAR. 3 WAYNESVILLE /// Talbot House. VisitPulaskiCounty.org
Saleigh Mountain
MAR. 11 COLUMBIA /// Jesse Hall. ConcertSeries.missouri.edu
Show Me Crafters
FEB. 16 COLUMBIA /// Dance troupe and Irish band and vocalist. Jesse Hall. ConcertSeries.missouri.edu
FEB. 24 ROCHEPORT /// Gravel road cycling race with a 70-, 50-, and 20-mile option. Starts downtown. UltraMaxSports.com
Sara Evans Concert
Chicago in Concert
FEB. 11 COLUMBIA /// Outdoor and adventure film festival. The Blue Note. RiverRelief.org
MAR. 1-4 COLUMBIA /// Downtown area. TrueFalse.org MAR. 9-10 & 16-17 VERSAILLES /// Live play in the style of a 1940s radio broadcast. The Royal Theatre. TheRoyalTheatre.com
MAR. 11-12 SEDALIA /// More than 120 booths. Missouri State Fairgrounds. MoStateFairgrounds.com
Lucky Scavenger Hunt
MAR. 17 KNOB NOSTER /// Follow the clues along the trails to find the pot of gold. Knob Noster State Park. MoStateParks.com
SOUTHEAST The King’s Ball
FEB. 3 STE. GENEVIEVE /// 50th-annual French-inspired celebration. VFW Hall. HistoricSteGen.org
Million Dollar Quartet
FEB. 4 ROLLA /// Musical based on the jam session of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Leach Theatre. LeachTheatre.mst.edu
Making Maple Syrup
FEB. 16 SALEM /// Learn how to identify and tap trees and cook the sap to make syrup. Montauk State Park. MoStateParks.com
Hardware of the Past
A small, family-owned business in Hermann that specializes in quality handcrafted leatherworks and shoe repair. Now selling Americanmade Filson products and Thorogood boots. Open Tues.-Sat., 9 AM to 5 PM 124 E Fourth St., Hermann 573-486-2992
SaleighMountain.com
Red Rooster Trading Co. At Red Rooster Trading Company, we believe in delivering handbuilt, durable goods that are both functional and beautiful. Shop online for coffee mills, home goods, and unique furniture.
RedRoosterTradingCompany.com
For the Present and the Future Missing a brass drawer pull on your grandmother’s dresser? Need to replace the caned seat in that chair you found at a thrift store? Hardware of the Past offers reproduction hardware and supplies to restore antique furniture so
9 1 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
your treasured heirlooms and thrift store finds can look as great today as they did back then. 405 North Main St., Saint Charles 636-946-5811 or 800-447-9974
HardwareOfThePast.com
FEB. 21-25 CAPE GIRARDEAU /// Bedell Performance Hall at River Campus. RiverCampus.org
Sweet Honey in the Rock
FEB. 22 ROLLA /// African American culture music performance. Leach Theatre. LeachTheatre.mst.edu
Annual Winter Art Show
FEB. 24 JACKSON /// Storefronts feature the artwork of Billyo O’Donnell and you can meet the artist. Uptown and History Center. UJRO.org
Rockrageous
FEB. 24 CAPE GIRARDEAU /// See rocks glow and use primitive tools. Crisp Museum. RiverCampus.org
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
MAR. 6 CAPE GIRARDEAU /// Bedell Performance Hall. RiverCampus.org
NORTHEAST & SAINT LOUIS
Ozark Small Farm Conference
Wizard World Comic Con
MAR. 8-9 WEST PLAINS /// Nationally known speakers tell how to contribute to the regional food supply. Civic Center. WestPlains.net
FEB. 2-4 ST. LOUIS /// Gaming, original art, anime, movies, manga, horror, collectibles, comics, and toys. The Dome at America’s Center. WizardWorld.com
Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
NEMO Ag Show
MAR. 16-17 SALEM /// Cross-country motor sports rally where the drivers do not know the course before competing. Throughout the Dent County area. 100AW.org
Ukrainian Egg Decorating
MAR. 1 SALEM /// Montauk State Park. MoStateParks.com
MAR. 20 CAPE GIRARDEAU /// Learn the history of legends and folklore of egg decorating. Crisp Museum. RiverCampus.org
Bootheel Quilter’s Show
Regional Womens Show
Trout Season Opening
MAR. 3-30 SIKESTON /// More than 30 heirloom and modern quilts. Depot Museum. Sikeston.net
Musical Thrones
MAR. 5 ROLLA /// Musical parody of the Game of Thrones series. Leach Theatre. LeachTheatre.mst.edu
MAR. 24 MINER /// More than 50 booths and a fashion show. Convention Center. CityofMiner. com
Cotton Tail Express
MAR. 23-24 DEXTER /// Glow-inthe-dark Easter Egg hunt. Welcome Center. DexterChamber.com
FEB. 3 KIRKSVILLE /// Trade show. NEMO Fairgrounds. 1450Kirx.com
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
FEB. 9-10 ST. LOUIS /// Rock-and-roll musical. Peabody Opera House. PeabodyOperaHouse.com
Miss Jubilee and the Humdingers
FEB. 11 MOBERLY /// This concert features swing, jazz, and rock-and-roll music from the 1920s to the 1950s. 4th Street Theatre. MoberlyChamber.com
The Sunset Limited
FEB. 15-24 HANNIBAL /// Play written by Cormac McCarthy. Bluff City Theatre. EventsHannibal.com
Reach for the Stars
FEB. 1-4 ST. LOUIS Disney on Ice presents Anna, Elsa, and Olaf from Frozen. Scottrade Center. DisneyOnIce.com
The Story Pirates
FEB. 17-18 ST. LOUIS /// Some of the best improvisers and musicians in the country turn children’s original stories into sketch comedy musicals. 560 Music Center at Washington University. COCAStl.org
Celebration of Civilian Conservation Corps
FEB. 17-19 DE SOTO /// Guided 1.5-mile hike to tour the African American Civilian Conservation Corps Company’s work. Thunderbird Lodge at Washington State Park. MoStateParks.com
Tell Them We Are Rising The Story of Black Colleges & Universities Explore the pivotal role that historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played in shaping American history, culture and national identity. Stanley Nelson traces the origins and 150+ year history of HBCUs as drivers of social, political and economic progress.
Credit: Atlanta University Center
Premieres Monday, February 19 at 8:00 p.m.
Stanley Nelson has directed and produced over 12 documentary features including Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Freedom Summer, Freedom Riders, Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple and The Murder of Emmett Till.
kmos.org Credit: Morgan State University
92 / MISSOURI LIFE
A service of the University of Central Missouri
COURTESY JASON UNDERWOOD
Mary Poppins
Photo courtesy of Aaron Eisenhauer
state of the arts
CAPE GIRARDEAU
Join us on the banks of the mighty Mississippi for live performances, touring groups, art galleries and more. Preview the possibilities or call 800-777-0068 today. Preview V the possibilities online orM call 800-777-0068 IS ITCAPE .CO /E V E N T S today.
9 3 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Jazz Fest
FEB. 23 KIRKSVILLE /// 50thannual jazz festival features workshops and concerts. Baldwin Hall Auditorium at Truman State University. UpsilonPhi.org
Makin’ Bacon Class
FEB. 24 HERMANN /// Includes a wurst lunch and a wurst, wine and beer tasting. Hermann Wurst Haus. HermannWurstHaus.com
Basket-Weaving Class
Emerging Composers
MAR. 20-22 SPRINGFIELD /// This Broadway hit features songs by pop icon Cyndi Lauper. Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. HammonsHall.com
Taste of the Ozarks
Polar Plunge
Wurstfest
MAR. 24-25 HERMANN /// Celebrate sausage-making and racing weiner dogs. Stone Hill and Hermannhof wineries. VisitHermann.com
Sunken Cities
Scavenger Hunt
SOUTHWEST
MAR. 17 KIRKSVILLE /// 24th annual event with 50 vendors. Matthew Middle School. VisitKirksville.com
Kinky Boots
MAR. 24-25 HANNIBAL /// Area artisans open their studios. Route 79. HannibalArts.com
MAR. 25-SEPT. 8 ST. LOUIS /// Antiquities from the two lost cities of Egypt found under the sea. Saint Louis Art Museum. SLAM.org
Arts and Crafts Festival
FEB. 24 JOPLIN /// VFW Post. VisitJoplinMo.com
50 Miles of Art
FEB. 24 & MAR. 17 ST. CHARLES /// Create a handmade basket to take home. First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site. MoStateParks.com
MAR. 17 DANVILLE /// A list of hints along the 4.5 miles of trail leads you to items found in nature. Graham Cave State Park. MoStateParks.com
Bridal Show
MAR. 24 WEBSTER GROVES /// This concert features the winning works of young composers from across the nation. CNS Concert Hall at Webster University. Webster.edu
Pro Musica Presents
FEB. 9 JOPLIN /// Goldstein-PeledFiterstein Trio performs chamber music. Ozark Christian College Chapel. ProMusicalJoplin.org
The Art of the Love Song FEB. 10 JOPLIN /// Annie Moses
MAR. 23 SPRINGFIELD /// Tastings, a $20,000 cash raffle, live music, and silent and live auctions. Oasis Hotel and Convention Center. TasteOfTheOzarks.com
FEB. 10 KIRKSVILLE /// Support Special Olympics. Thousand Hills State Park Swim Beach. Give.somo.org
REO Speedwagon
Band. High School Performing Arts Center. Connect2Culture.com
MAR. 24 SPRINGFIELD /// With special guests Styx and Headeast. JQH Arena. JQHArena.missouristate.edu
Luke Bryan
FEB. 16 SPRINGFIELD /// Country music with special guests Kip Moore and The Cadillac Three. JQH Arena. JQHArena.missouristate.edu
A Frozen Frenzy
Big Bass Classic
FEB. 17 SPRINGFIELD /// Performances by favorite princesses and Snow-Friends, a costume parade, and a chance to win Queen Elsa’s crown. Little Theatre. SpringfieldLittleTheatre.org
MAR. 24-25 RIDGEDALE /// Huge cash prizes, a boat, and casting rods are awarded to the winners. Table Rock Lake. BigBassTour.com
The Great Hollister Easter Egg Hunt
MAR. 31 HOLLISTER /// Hunt for more than 10,000 eggs. High school football field. HollisterChamber.net
We’ll Meet Again Compelling reunions of people whose lives crossed at pivotal moments. View history through their eyes and hear stories of heroism, hope and the forging of unbreakable bonds. Hosted by Ann Curry. Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
Credit: ©photo by David Turnley
KMOS
kmos.org
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A service of the University of Central Missouri
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COURTESY FELD ENTERTAINMENT
Cathedral Concerts
FEB. 22, MAR. 10 & 24 ST. LOUIS /// Classical music. Cathedral Basilica. CathedralConcerts.org
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Best of Missouri Hands, p.27
Missouri Propane Gas Association, pgs. 9 and Inside
Cottage by the Castle, p.73
Best of Missouri Life Market Fair, p.12
Back Cover
Inn St. Gemme Beauvais, p.73
Big BAM, p.24
Missouri Life Adventures, p.70
Inn On Crescent Lake, p.74
Big BAM on the Katy, p.25
Missouri Life Books, p.79
Loganberry Inn, p.72
Callaway County Tourism, p.7
Missouri Life Tours, pgs. 88-89
Main Street Inn, p.73
Cape Girardeau CVB, p.93
Missouri Life UK Bike Tour, p.75
Payne Jailhouse Bed & Breakfast, p.74
Clay County Tourism, p.20
Missouri Life Gifts, p.27
Somewhere Inn Time Bed & Breakfast, p.73
Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce, p.14
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Inside Front Cover
Southmoreland on the Plaza, p.74
Columbia CVB, p.19
Railyard Steakhouse, p.79
Ste. Genevieve Tourism, p.73
Grunauer Restaurant, p.90
Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce, p.11
Stone-Yancey House, p.72
Hermann Wurst Haus, Back Cover
Sedalia CVB, p.21
The Garden House Bed & Breakfast, p.72
Historic Downtown Liberty, Inc., p.77
Stone Hill Winery, p.16
The Green Tree Inn, p.74
James Country Mercantile, p.27
Stone Hollow Studio, p.90
The Inn at Harbour Ridge, p.72
Jefferson City CVB, p.2
USA Tours, p.17
White Cliff Manor, p.73
KCPT, pgs. 79 and 93
Washington Area Chamber of Commerce, p.77
Yankee Peddlers Tea Room, p.73
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, p.1
YMCA Trout Lodge & Camp Lakewood, p.77
KMOS-TV, pgs. 92 and 94 UNSPLASH.COM
All of us here at Missouri Life want to deliver excellent customer service to you. We care!
BEST OF MISSOURI LIFE
Lebanon, MO CVB, p.5
GUIDE TO MISSOURI BED & BREAKFASTS
Lost Creek Vineyard, p.27
Bent Tree Bed & Breakfast, p.73
Nancy Koehler’s Painting, p.90
Maryland Heights CVB, p.11
Big Cedar Bed & Breakfast, p.73
Red Rooster Trading Company, p.91
Missouri Beef Council, p.87
Cedar Crest Lodge, p.74
Saleigh Mountain, p.91
9 5 / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
Hardware of the Past, p.91
THE BACK STORY
We’re setting records! Kansas City Chiefs fans at Arrowhead Stadium set a record for the loudest crowd roar of 142.2 dBA, an amplitude measure of sound energy, in 2014. Rock concerts measure about 120 dBA.
If all goes as planned, Willard city officials and residents hope to break the Guinness World Record for the longest
Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield in 1999. The largest parade of BMW motorcycles consisted of 241 motorcycles and was organized by local dealership Grass
continuous line of bicycles end-to-end. “In order to do that we need about 1,200 bicycles,” says
Roots Motorcycles in Cape Girardeau in 2009.
J.C. Loveland, park director for the small southwestern
The largest crowd of people patting their heads and rub-
Missouri town. The longest single line of moving bicycles con-
bing their stomachs at the same time numbers 1,132, set by the
sists of 1,186 cyclists, a record set during an event organized
Kirkwood School District in Kirkwood in 2014. The widest vocal range of any human is 10 octaves,
by BDCyclists in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 16, 2016. Willard will get help from a Missouri Life event, when about 600 Big BAM (Bicycle Across Missouri) cyclists will be in town for the June 18 attempt. BAM this year follows Route
achieved by singer Tim Storms at Citywalk Studios in Branson in 2008. A
University
of
Central
Missouri
computer
in
66 closely. Even though Willard is about 12 miles north of
Warrensburg discovered the Mersenne prime number 2 (to
the Mother Road, Big BAM bikers will spend one night there.
the power of 74,207,281) minus 1 in 2016. The prime number
Setting records is getting to be a habit for Missourians.
has a designation M74207281. Computer science professor
When it comes to Guinness World Records, more than 50 of them were set here. Here are a few:
Curtis Cooper volunteered the computer. The longest snake living in captivity is Medusa, a reticu-
The largest dog biscuit weighed 617 pounds, produced
tainment agency in Kansas City. Medusa measured 25 feet,
The oldest operating cinema chain is Wehrenberg
2 inches in 2011.
Theatres, started in 1906 with the opening of the Cherokee
The longest scarf knitted while running a marathon is 12
Theatre in St. Louis by former blacksmith Fred Wehrenberg.
feet, 1.75 inches, knitted by David Babcock of Warrensburg
The Wehrenberg family ran the chain until 2016.
at the Kansas City Marathon in 2013.
The largest game of Duck, Duck, Goose involved 2,135
The world’s leading bird-spotter or “twitcher” was
participants at an event organized by the Logan-Rogersville
Phoebe Snetsinger (1931–1999) of Webster Groves, who re-
School District in 2011, in Rogersville. The game lasted for 15
corded seeing 8,040 of the 9,700 known species since 1965,
minutes, 55 seconds.
representing more than 82 percent of the world’s species.
The longest ride backward on a unicycle belongs to Californian Steve Gordon, but he rode the 68 miles at
Help Willard set another record. Bring your bike on June 18. The event is free. Find out more at BigBamRide.org.
96 / MISSOURI LIFE
GREG WOOD PUBLISHER
COURTESY GARY ALLEN ROTH
by Hampshire Pet Products in Joplin in 2011.
lated python owned by Full Moon Productions Inc., an enter-
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ENTER TO WIN A $25 HERMANN WURST HAUS GIFT CERTIFICATE! To register, text: "BESTWURST" TO 67076
The Best of the
Winner of 10 International Sausage Awards from the German Butcher’s Association in Frankfurt, Germany.
Wurst
Experience gourmet German dining at Hermann Wurst Haus in Hermann, Missouri. Our menu showcases 47 varieties of award-winning bratwurst as well as hickory-smoked pulled pork, deli meat sandwiches, and house-made side dishes. Sip craft beer and soda while dining in our deli or on our patio. Enjoy free samples and daily specials—seven days a week!
In downtown historic Hermann 234 East First Street, Hermann 573-486-2266 www.hermannwursthaus.com
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