Missouri Life June/July 2012

[ D I N E I N A C AV E

DISC GOLF

WE PAIRED

DIRT RACER]

THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY

12 FOUNTAINS with Fun!

BENTON COUNTY THE SECRET LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES GOURMET ICE CREAM RECIPES AND ARTISAN SHOPS FRESH FOLK MISSOURI MUSICIANS BLEND OLD & NEW ML0412_Cover_AB_1.indd 1

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2012 The Year of Titanic

NEW GALLERY IN BRANSON: Margaret “MOLLY” Brown LIMITED TIME EXHIBIT By the time Margaret Tobin Brown boarded Titanic at Cherbourg, France, she had already made a significant impact in the world. She and her daughter Helen, who was a student at the Sorbonne, had been traveling throughout Europe and were staying with the John Jacob Astor party in Cairo, Egypt, when Margaret received word that her first grandchild, Lawrence Palmer Brown, Jr., was ill. She decided to leave for New York immediately...

Board Titanic to find out the rest of her story and see her artifacts.

Reservations: (866) 488-7817 • www.TitanicBranson.com Find us on Facebook: Titanic Museum Attraction & Twitter: TitanicUSA [5] June 2012

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Upcoming Events JUNE 6-9: Miss Missouri Pageant MISSOURI MILITARY ACADEMY 573-581-2765 | www.missmissouri.org JUNE 8: Miss Missouri's Outstanding Teen MISSOURI MILITARY ACADEMY 573-581-2100 | www.missmissouri.org JUNE 9: Mexico Young Farmers 7th Annual Truck & Tractor Pull AUDRAIN COUNTY 4-H FAIRGROUNDS 573-581-2765 |www.mexicoyoungfarmers.com JUNE 23: 101 Dalmations PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-5592| www.presserpac.com JULY 8: Rat Pack Concert & Ice Cream Social PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-5592 | www.presserpac.com JULY 13-17: Audrain County 4-H & Youth Fair 4-H FAIRGROUNDS 573-581-2765

Mexico is a perfect combination of small town charm and urban style. Artsy boutiques, jewelry, quilt shops, scrapbooking, antiques and cultural offerings give Mexico a sophisticated air, but with a family-friendly attitude. Come visit us today!

PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER With a 920-seat auditorium, Presser Performing Arts Center has many arts education programs for the public, such as Dance, Piano, Voice, Film, Writing, Photography, and of course THEATRE!!! The calendar fills up fast year after year with concerts, ballets, plays, musicals, lectures, gallery shows, special events, and classes. Our summer camps draw students from the surrounding area and many from out of state. We strive to offer the BEST professional highly qualified instructors in the state of Missouri. Summer 2012 offers a Film Camp for participants 14 years old and up. The art of filmmaking includes writing, cinematography, directing, and editing. The ARTS. Ask for more! Presser Performing Arts Center is centrally located in the state of Missouri, serving mid America with quality cultural performing arts. Dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of the arts. Check out the upcoming events page at www.presserpac.com.

JULY 14: 2012 Mexico Jaycee's Soybean Festival MEXICO, MISSOURI 573-581-2765 | www.mexicosoybean.org JULY 14-15: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory PRESSER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 573-581-5592 www.presserpac.com

MEXICO AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE We work hard as a Chamber of Commerce to be the pulse of the community, assisting all to provide services that will nurture and encourage our businesses and strengthen our community. www.mexico-chamber.org | 573-581-2765 Tour the AUDRAIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY Tues.-Sat. 10 AM-4 PM and Sun. 1 PM-4 PM www.audrain.org | 573-581-3910

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Contents JUNE 2012

departments>

Fountains and Fun

[12] MEMO

[34] A GUIDE TO KANSAS CITY

Summer farm work and invaluable interns

Kansas City is known for elaborate, European-influenced fountains. But if you look beyond the water, you’ll find each

[14] LETTERS

fountain has more to offer than meets the eye.

Traveling with Missouri Life and “Missouri Rick”

[16] ZEST FOR LIFE Joplin native Langston Hughes, 4th of July bears, a new aquarium, and a soulful singer, plus new books and an artist who makes her own fabric

[28] MADE IN MISSOURI Soy shampoo, gorgeous gowns, and hot pretzels

[114] DINING DELIGHTS

featured>

[116] WINE AND BEER

[44] BEYOND THE BASKET

Beer Festival favorites and a country winery (118)

National champion disc golfer Nikko Locastro takes our writer on a journey to learn the underground sport.

[121] MUSINGS

[52] THE DING-DONG RACER

On moving past politics and getting along

DIRTcar racer Danny Crane’s fearless racing style earns him trophies and life lessons.

[133] CALENDAR

[60] FACES OF FOLK

Our listing of 81 summer festivals and events

Missouri folk musicians take old country sounds to new heights, pleasing fans of all ages.

[146] MISSOURIANA

[66] SIGNS OF HEALING More than a year after Joplin’s major disaster, the city shows signs of healing and repair.

[106] AN ICE CREAM GURU Kansas City’s Christopher Elbow churns out inventive ice cream flavors at Glacé Artisan Ice Cream, plus recipes.

[122] STEALING THE SHOW The Cave Restaurant and Resort in Richland gives visitors a one-of-a-kind meal—in a cave.

special sections> KEVIN SINK

[73] BENTON COUNTY: Where Life is Good

ML

Content by Location

16, 24, 34, 16 60, 106 118 54, 52, 114 60, 116 114 16, 28, 28 44, 60, 114 122 60,114 114 16, 60, 66

[124] ROUTE 66: Drive Missouri's stretch of historic Route 66

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– THIS ISSUE –

On the Web www.MissouriLife.com

all that jazz >

LISTEN TO THE soulful voice of St. Louis musician Brian Owens. We’ve got an exclusive track off his new album, Moods and Messages, “I Just Want to Feel Alright.”

folk tunes >

HEAR THE twang of The Ben Miller Band, Big Smith, and The Mississippi Sawyers.

Songs about love, whippoorwills, and rural living will have your feet stomping in no time.

tips from a pro >

LEARN THE BASICS of disc golfing with writer Andrew Lovgren as champion discs to use, how to throw, and where to play.

tornado touchdowns >

HOW MANY total tornadoes has your county had? Which county endures the brunt of Missouri twisters? Check out our online guide to find out how your county compares.

Kansas City’s Fountains >

FOUNTAINS AND FUN Photographer Kevin Sink captures the beauty of the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain. Check out page 34 for more Kansas City fountains and a taste of Kansas City’s food, art,

COURTESY OF BRIAN OWENS AND THE BEN MILLER BAND; KEVIN MANNING; SARAH ALBAN; KEVIN SINK

player Nikko Locastro teaches him the best

architecture, and more!

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Summer’s Made for Fun

in

THE SPIR IT OF DISCOV ERY 501 High Street, Ste. A, Boonville, MO 65233 660-882-9898 Info@MissouriLife.com

Centrally Located, Just 30 Miles North of Columbia at the Junction of Highways 63 & 24 Moberly’s Aquatic Center is a great place to spend a summer day. Watch out for the big bucket as it dumps a refreshing splash of water in the kid’s zone! Zero depth entry, a zippy water slide, and plenty of shaded spots make this pool great for everyone.

Check MoberlyMO.org for the Parks & Rec page.

Publisher Greg Wood Editor in Chief Danita Allen Wood Executive Office Manager Amy Stapleton EDITORIAL & ART Creative Director Andrew Barton Associate Editor Lauren Hughes Associate Art Director Sarah Herrera Associate Art Director Thomas Sullivan Calendar Editor Amy Stapleton Editorial Assistants Emily Adams, Lauren Schad, Lauren Young, Ashton Zimmerman Columnists Tom Bradley, Ron W. Marr Contributing Writers and Editors Sarah Alban, Tina Casagrand, Kathy Gangwisch, Nic Halverson, Nicole Heisick, Andrew Lovgren, Joe McCune, Emily McIntyre, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, Caitlin Roller, Jackie Smith, Nathan St. Clair Contributing Photographers Sarah Alban, Nichole Ballard, Kathy Gangwisch, Kevin Manning, Joe McCune, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, Caitlin Roller, Mark Schiefelbein, Kevin Sink

It’s fun for all ages!

Ride the Rothwell Park Mini Train every Sunday afternoon, spring-fall, from 1-4:30 pm.

MoberlyMiniTrain.com

MARKETING Sales Manager Mike Kellner Sales Account Executive Paula Renfrow

The Moberly Five & Drive is one of only about 500 drive in theaters still in operation in the US. Check showtimes at BBTheatres.com

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

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

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

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

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

There’s nothing better than a quiet day of fishing at one of the Moberly Area’s fishing holes. Rothwell Lake, Water Works, and Sugar Creek lakes are all in Moberly.

Thomas Hill Lake just a pleasant drive to the North edge of Randolph County, and Rudolph Bennitt is to the South.

See what’s happening in Moberly at:

www.MoberlyChamber.com

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VisitMO.com

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Memo

MISSOURI

SUMMER FUN

INVALUABLE INTERNS

GROWING UP

on a farm in rural northwest Missouri meant summer was filled with all the “pleasures” of farming, including digging potatoes, working cattle, building fence, and, of course, hauling hay.

The big round bales had not been invented or at least didn’t make their known in our neck of the woods until the year after I left the farm for college. This, I think, is the epitome of what is referred to as the Cosmic Joke.

But one good thing about bucking bales all day long, in fact the only good thing, is that there was money involved—very little, but enough to get a burger and shake at the Dairy Queen or maybe to take a date to the movies or GREG WOOD, play mini golf next to the PUBLISHER And we only got paid if we put up someone else’s hay. If we were putting up our own hay it was all gratis.

I clearly remember pulling into one neighbor’s field with my brother, Mike, and our other trusted crew member, Gregory. I looked around me, and hay bales covered the ground for as far as I could see.

And, what that meant was we were going to see each one of them four times—pick it up, stack it, unload it, and stack it in the barn.

That one job had more than 5,000 bales. Our pay was a bale, split three ways but not equally. Since my brother owned the tractor, he took five cents and Gregory and I split the other nickel.

I bring all these pleasant memories up because it makes me remember how much fun we had when we weren’t working. The old maxim, “Work hard and play hard” was our rule of thumb.

I know that Missourians are hard-working folks that love their fun. So, take a good look at this issue because it is literally packed full of fun stuff to do from discovering new Missouri musicians (Page 60) and going to DIRTcar races (Page 52) to the fountains of Kansas City (Page 34) and The Cave Restaurant and Resort in Richland (page 122).

And don’t forget all the great things to do and see all along You’ll find a special section including a calendar of events sponsored by our friends from Rolla, Pulaski County, Lebanon, Joplin, and the Missouri Division of Tourism (Page 124).

And I’m especially looking forward to going to the Asleep at the Wheel concert on the historic courthouse square in my home town of Albany on July 7. This special event coincides with my 40th high school reunion. I expect all my old hay-hauling buddies will be there. And you are all invited to the concert, too.

For tickets to the concert, call 660-726-3396.

presence

bowling alley.

10 cents

Route 66.

INTERNING WITH

Missouri Life is serious business. I should know—I started as an intern. The summer between my junior and senior years at the University of Missouri-Columbia, I was a part of the team. I fact checked, edited, and wrote short articles for Zest and Missouriana. I spent the summer working on a feature article on Missouri’s craft beer culture, from homebrewing and brew clubs to microbreweries and brew pubs.

The internship was, and still is, one of my best learning experiences. The Missouri Life editors —they encouraged me to push my writing to its limits and taught me some important basics of magazine editing. I left my internship feeling I was both a better writer and editor.

My career path led me right back to MisLAUREN HUGHES, ASSOC. EDITOR souri Life after I graduated. Transitioning from editorial assistant to assistant editor to associate editor has been an enriching journey. One of my favorite parts of the job is working with our editorial assistants.

Our editorial assistants come from the MU School of Journalism, Central Methodist University, and smaller colleges in the area such as Missouri Valley College. We cater our internships to the experience desired, whether it’s writing, editing, photography, or marketing. Our goal is to give them an opportunity to be published, while also teaching them how to be better writers and editors.

As I was editing this issue, I noticed something. Our editorial assistants are Take a look at the feature on the fountains of Kansas City (Page 34). It was written by our former editorial assistant, Nicole. And former intern Andrew wrote the profile on champion disc golfer Nikko Locastro (Page 44). (Andrew was a great sport when he learned how to toss discs with Nikko.) Our food feature (Page 106) was written by Jackie, another former editorial assistant, and Nichole rose to the challenge when we assigned her to photograph DIRTcar racer Danny Crane in a feature profile on the fearless driver (Page 52).

Even after their internships are over, many of our editorial assistants continue a relationship with Missouri Life. Sarah, who wrote the very touching piece on Joplin’s recovery (Page 66), started as an editorial assistant and is now a regular freelancer. We loved Nichole’s photography so much, we’ve assigned her several freelance photography gigs for upcoming issues. And, well, I was an intern, too.

We truly value our interns. They bring to the pages of Missouri Life. We want to see them succeed and are happy to be a rung on the hopefully very long ladder their careers climb. We strive to challenge them. We teach them. And when we get to see their hard work printed on the pages of Missouri Life, we celebrate them.

Missouri Life

proved tough

absolutely invaluable.

new voices

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October 2 - 12, 2012 Pikes Peak via the Cog Railway Garden of the Gods Monument Royal Gorge Bridge and Park Great Sand Dunes National Park Mesa Verde National Park Four Corners National Monument Grand Canyon National Park Sunset Crater National Monument Evening Tour of Las Vegas 20 Mule Team Borax Museum Sequoia National Park Yosemite National Park Full day in San Francisco

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JUNE 2012 Missouri Rick

The Katy Bridge is a part of the MKT rail line and straddles the Missouri River near the Isle of Capri Casino in Boonville.

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

LOVE FOR MISSOURI

while waiting on a flight from Sharana Airfield,

me. What a wonderful representation of all

I wrote you a couple years ago to thank you for

this photo was taken of me reading the April

things great about our state.

the awesome Boonville bridge/Missouri River

issue. Of course my nickname around here is

photo, and I think I mentioned how Missouri Life

“Missouri Rick,” and the picture helps to show

would be one of three magazines I’d subscribe to

why. Thanks for putting out this great publica-

Hello and greetings from Texas. I wanted to share

for the longest time. National Geographic is nice,

tion which gets passed around until worn out.

that my husband, Robert Powell, was born in Jop-

but their philosophical leanings wore on me so I

—Rick Schulten, Emden

lapsed the subscription. Outdoor Photographer

—Jim Shoemaker, Sedalia

lin but raised on Main Street in Belton. We’ve returned to Belton on an average of every 18 months

holds a special place for me because I discovered

Whenever I travel, I should carry a copy of

to two years since we got married in 1975. We

it shortly after I met my wife, and it inspired us on

Missouri Life with me. When people ask me

used to visit all our relatives at the Belton United

trips we’ve taken. But it’s hard to keep up with

about Missouri, I could just hand them a copy

Methodist Church, but now too many are at the

it anymore. And then there was just Missouri

and let the articles and photography speak for

Belton Cemetery. My husband will retire next summer (2013), and we are so very happy to share

publication. I truly look forward to it. I am using

SEND US A LETTER

it to plan things we can do with each other. I am blessed by your relentless pursuit to help us all love our state. Keep up the great work, and keep God forever as your inspiration.

—Mike VanVooren, Ballwin As a lifelong resident of northeast Missouri, I

that on a recent visit, while walking down Main Street in Belton, I fell in love with a house over 100 years old with a huge wrap-around porch. We’ll now retire and live out our lives in Missouri! Right

Email:

after we purchased the house, I subscribed to

Fax:

Missouri Life, and I have not been disappointed.

Facebook:

I am looking forward to exploring with the issues

Address:

I am accumulating now. We have many cousins

always enjoy reading Missouri Life magazine.

still in the greater Belton area (on this side of

For the last several years I have been working as

the grass) and hope to enjoy many years living in

a civilian contractor in support of the U.S. mili-

Missouri.Thanks for a great magazine.

tary mission in northern Afghanistan. This week

—Pam Howell, Houston, Texas

NOTLEY HAWKINS; COURTESY OF RICK SCHULTEN

Life. Thank you for your consistently awesome

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Zest FOR LIFE

Joplin

MISSOURI’S OWN: LANGSTON HUGHES JOPLIN NATIVE James Langston Hughes knew the power of the pen. Born in 1902, Hughes found his calling for poetic harmony early, but his father wanted him to study engineering instead. After a year at school, Hughes dropped out to dedicate his life to words. One of his most famous poems was “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” It was also his first published poem, reflecting the racial tensions of the time. Hughes dabbled in many careers as an author, anthologist, songwriter, columnist, and jazz musician.

He traveled the world, writing poetry and jazz music in Harlem and developing his artistic style in Europe and Africa. Although he proved to be a jack-of-all-trades, his message and motivation stemmed from his African heritage and the racial inequality he

experienced. Hughes died in 1967, during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. His poems, artwork, and empowering words live on not only in Missouri’s museums, libraries, and classrooms, but his broader impact has been recognized nationally as one of the personalities that forever changed America.

—Emily Adams

Hannibal

Patriotic Bears WHEN THE WEATHER turns hot, it’s time for Doris and Russell Beatty to dress the bears. For the Hannibal couple, it’s as much a Fourth of July tradition as fireworks. At their Bear Creek Acres farm along Highways 24 and 36, the Beattys’ four bears mark the holidays with costumes. To celebrate Independence Day, they decorate every-

Kansas City

thing in red, white, and blue.

A chain saw carver made the 12-foot-tall Papa

The Sea is Calling

Bear in 1997. In nontraditional fashion, the two Baby

EXPLORE THE majesty of the ocean up close by visiting Kansas City’s new

cially ambitious, Doris has been known to dress the

Bears arrived in 2000, before Mama Bear came in 2001. The Beattys put costumes on the bears for Easter, school graduations, back-to-school, Halloween,

bears for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day, too.

Sea Life Aquarium. Opened in late April, Sea Life Aquarium is located in Crown Cen-

The ursine family is made of catalpa that Russell paints with a gallon of deck sealer every two years

ter and features more than 5,000 sea creatures including jellyfish, sea horses, octopi,

to maintain the wood’s warm brown finish. The wooden family has become a landmark that travelers

cow-nosed rays, clown fish, Blacktip sharks, and Zebra sharks. The aquarium offers

anticipate seeing when they pass through, and local families bring their children out just to see the bears.

hours of fun and education, with 30 displays and a touch-pool where visitors can

But it’s not just regional folks who enjoy the bears.

The Beattys’ son, Jeff, is a truck driver. He was at

hold a crab and touch a starfish. Presentations and feeding shows are given through-

a rest stop in Utah and started conversing with a trucker from the state of California. One thing led to

out the day. One can’t-miss experience is the underwater tunnel—it’s almost as if

another, and Jeff mentioned he was from Hannibal.

“Have you ever seen those bears along the highway?”

you’re swimming with the fish you see gracefully floating

the California trucker asked. “Uh, yeah,” Jeff said.

around you. Celebrate the sea! —Ashton Zimmerman

tradition? “Probably as long as we’re able to do it,”

www.visitsealife.com/Kansas-city

Doris says. —Joe McCune

So just how long will the Beattys keep up the

COURTESY OF CARL VAN VECHTEN; JOE MCCUNE; COURTESY OF SEA LIFE AQUARIUM

Thanksgiving, and Christmas. When she feels espe-

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Zest FOR LIFE

St. Louis

YOUNG IN AGE but old in soul, Brian Owens is the sincere, soulful voice captivating his hometown of St. Louis. You might have noticed the post-9/11 veteran and father of three singing lead male vocals for the military band Sidewinder on Good Morning America or seen him perform on The Wayne Brady Show.

Recently, St. Louisans were touched by his rendition of the national anthem for St. Louis’s Welcome Home Foundation. And in April, First Lady Michelle Obama invited Sidewinder, which performs at various military ceremonies and functions, to perform at the White House.

Brian appeals to all generations, from nostalgic Sam Cooke and Otis Redding lovers to the vibrant soul and jazz communities growing in St. Louis today. The 32-year-old’s music is centered on St. Louis-style blues with an infusion of gospel.

Brian stands out from his musical peers with his faith-driven lyrical message and positive life attitude, despite his difficult journey to a successful career as a musician.

Brian always knew he had been blessed with a gift that he would someday share with the world. When Brian first pursued a career in music, he wanted it all right away—the fame, the fortune, the acclaim.

But, this musician’s career didn’t become a sensation overnight. Instead, his career unfolded slowly after a long series of events.

After too many almosts, a failed self-produced tour, and losing his home to debt, Brian says he had never felt so broken.

Music was the key to his healing. “Last year, I was broken down by life,” he says.

“I wrote music out of necessity to fix my brokenness. Music connects me to a greater purpose. It is one of the most therapeutic tools we have at our disposal.”

Hitting rock bottom was just the motivation Brian needed to truly believe in himself and have faith in a greater plan. “I am so thankful to God that things didn’t happen the way I wanted them to,” he says.

“Everything that is about to happen is happening how and when it should happen.”

Even though Brian is on his way to a wider platform, he is certain he will never leave his home state of Missouri. The St. Louis music scene affords Brian the luxury of not having to choose a certain niche, which ultimately transcends his artistry to new heights.

“I have so many things here that anchor my life,” Brian says. “If I have to leave to do music, I won’t do it.”

Brian’s new album, Moods and Messages, comes out this June. The soulful album expresses messages of faith and hope during dark and trying times, something Brian knows firsthand.

“Nothing turned out the way that I planned in my career,” Brian says. “But I’m blessed that it didn’t. My life has been led by divine guidance. I can’t wait to see what’s next.” —Emily Adams Hear a song from Brian’s album at www.MissouriLife.com.

COURTESY OF BRIAN OWENS

SOULFUL IN ST. LOUIS

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Find Inspiration in the amazing life of Susan O’Brien Fischer with her new book In My Corner.

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

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

Like

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John William “Blind” Boone was one of the country’s most beloved concert performers who overcame obstacles created by disability, exploitative managers, and racial prejudice. Melissa Fuell-Cuther’s biography, Blind Boone, is reprinted with essays describing the Missouri environment in which the artist lived, his place in American music, and his achievements that carved a path for future generations.

Noodlers in Missouri

Fishing for Identity in a Rural Subculture Mary Grigsby $30 pb • 176 pp. • 5.5x8.5”

A look at the folk tradition of hand-fishing, Grigsby interviews 30 Missouri noodlers who catch spawning catfish with bare hands and how their sport creates a sense of individual worth and a collective identity as they hold on to a way of life they fear may become lost.

Missouri Armories

The Guard’s Home in Architecture and History Robert P. Wiegers $34.95 pb • 216 pp. • 185 b/w images • 7x10”

The armory buildings in most Missouri towns are the local face of the Missouri National Guard and they provide hallowed spaces to the Guard. This volume presents a comprehensive inventory of the architectural and historical development of these buildings.

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tsup.truman.edu 800.916.6802

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Zest FOR LIFE

SUMMER STORIES Find these reads at bookstores or publishers’ websites unless otherwise noted.

BY ASHTON ZIMMERMAN

Liar’s Moon Elizabeth Bunce, 360 pages, Scholastic Inc., hardcover, fiction, $17.99 Lord Durrel Decath once saved Digger’s life, but now he’s soon to be executed for killing his wife. Digger must use her street smarts as a thief to find out who framed Durrel and save him from his fate. The sequel to Star Crossed, Liar’s Moon was awarded recognition on the 2012 ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults list as fantasy noir by author Elizabeth Bunce, who lives near Kansas City.

The Jester and the Sages: Mark Twain in Conversation with Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx

The Light Bringer

Forrest G. Robinson, Gabriel Noah Brahm Jr., and Catherine Carlstroem, 174 pages, University of Missouri Press, hardcover, nonfiction, $35 American humorist Mark Twain certainly was a unique thinker. But surprisingly enough, this jokester had similar views on politics, religion, philosophy, and social issues as Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx. In this book comprised of essays, scholars relate their findings on just how much these sages had in common with the jester.

Chris DiGiuseppi and Mike Force, 336 pages, Health Communications Inc., softcover, fiction, $14.96 Missouri authors Chris DiGiuseppi and Mike Force bring their experience in law enforcement to tell the unfolding tale of police officer Alan Crane. Crane is a former marine who finds he has the ability to see 16 recently departed individuals. As the Illissia Alona, or the light bringer, he now has the responsibility of bringing them to the light.

Janice Tremeear, 128 pages, The History Press, softcover, nonfiction, $19.99 Brothels, kidnappings, gangsters, trickery at the World’s Fair, and the murderous Jack the Ripper (supposedly fleeing after his London killing spree) all take center stage in this book by St. Louis native Janice Tremeear. Wicked St. Louis will give you the inside scoop on the Gateway to the West, past and present.

Laura L. Valenti, 254 pages, Infinity Publishing, softcover, fiction, $14.95 Sheriff Dale Harper is struggling with the day-to-day duties of his job as well as the nightmare of the shooting of his wife. The new Christian mission director, Milagro Palacios, may be the one to give him the spiritual guidance he needs. Author Laura L. Valenti is an Ozark freelance writer and a 10-year veteran of the Laclede County Sheriff’s Department.

ANDREW BARTON; COURTESY OF SCHOLASTIC INC.

Between the Star and the Cross: The Choice Wicked St. Louis

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Concert Series 2012 Guy Clark - September 15 Leo Kottke - September 22 Mark Farner - September 29 Marshall Tucker Band - October 5-6 Brewer and Shipley - October 6 Little River Band - October 12-13 Dave Mason - October 19-20 Poco - October 26-27 Ozark Mountain Daredevils - November 2-3

www.wildwoodspringslodge.com

'SQI NSMR YW SR SYV HE]

September 4 - 14, 2012 September 15 - 25, 2012 Steamboat Arabia Museum Corn Palace Badlands National Park Wall Drug Custer State Park Ride the 1880 Steam Train Mount Rushmore Yellowstone National Park Old Faithful Geyser Grand Teton National Park Glacier National Park Albeni Falls Dam Cruise on Lake Pend USA Tours, Inc.

Rolla, MO

Only $1830 Per Person... Maximum 16 People Price Includes: Custom Motorcoach - Airfare - Airport Shuttle - Lodging Hotel Breakfasts - Home Cooked Lunches - Snacks - All Venues Shown Pick up in most cities in Missouri then return directly to your home.

Come join us on our custom-built luxury motorcoach, fully equipped with reclining seats, kitchen, bathroom, card tables, video systems and a lounge area with couches.

Enjoy delicious picnic lunches as you take in some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. Trips are designed exclusively for 16 people for the ultimate vacation.

This is not an ordinary bus trip

1-800-492-2601

www.usatoursmo.com

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Zest FOR LIFE

Magic

THE

OF FIBER A Kansas City fiber artist tells stories through her work.

MANY OF THE colorful wall tapestries created by Susan Hill have a story behind them. She often turns to her garden for inspiration, and one day she observed a pair of cardinals frantically flitting around. Susan quickly realized that one of the pair’s chicks had fallen out of the nest. “They were just going crazy,” she says.

The Kansas City artist went outside and picked up the tiny baby bird and placed it back in its nest. This experience inspired one of her works, Parenting.

It’s not a surprise that Susan is an artist. “As a child, I was always coloring and drawing,” Susan says.

Susan’s career as an artist began during her high school years.

Her parents converted their utility room into a painting studio for her. Susan recalls that whenever her family needed to get into the freezer, they would always have to move her painting supplies out of the way. But her “very serious hobby” earned Susan a bit of extra cash while in high school when she sold her paintings to friends.

She attended Kansas State University originally to study painting but graduated instead with a bachelor’s degree in interior design because she needed a way to make a living. “It turns out I didn’t do that for too long, and I’ve made a living as an artist,” she says.

Susan transitioned from interior designer to fiber artist in 1970 when she and her husband at the time, Steven Hill, decided to try their hand at being completely self-sufficient. Inspired by the book, Living the Good Life, Susan started to spin her own yarn and taught

COURTESY OF SUSAN HILL

BY LAUREN YOUNG

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COURTESY OF SUSAN HILL

Opposite left: Pieced fabric runner.

Left: Like Birds on a Wire.

Below: Summer Storms.

herself how to weave on a small Navajo loom Steven built for her.

Soon, she graduated to a larger loom. Susan is predisposed to love fiber arts—her grandmother was a tailor and a milliner, her mother was a seamstress, and other family members sew.

Today Susan makes beautiful wall tapestries, pillows, and table runners. The bold, cheerful colors of her work light up any room.

Thanks to her training as a painter, she approaches her work as a fiber artist much as she would with a canvas and paint. Her inspiration often comes from nature. Color is a driving force behind Susan’s pieces, and she finds many colors in nature, including her own garden. Her favorite colors to work with are reds, oranges, and greens.

Fifty percent of the fabric Susan uses in her artwork she weaves herself. She weaves each piece specifically to fit perfectly in her artwork.

“The magic happens when I gather all the yarns around me,” she says.

Besides weaving fabric and using other readily available fabrics made from natural fibers, Susan uses multiple sewing techniques to add dimension to her creations. She uses machine stitching to draw on the material. Hand embroidery is used for shadowing and defining spaces. “If I need an area to have more interest, I might take a thread of the same color and do lots of stitches on top of it to give it an interesting shadowy effect,” Susan says.

Susan sells her artwork on her website and at five or six art fairs throughout the year. Her pieces range from $200 to $3,000. www.susanhilldesign.com

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www.thebenttree.com www.stacyleigh.etsy.com www.thebenttreegallery.blogspot.com

Bent Tree Gallery

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

The

NATURAL ANTLER-HANDLED LETTER OPENER

features original, hand-etched scrimshaw.

Choose a cardinal, hummingbird, dogwood, or rose. $25, plus $3 shipping/handling Check/Money Order/Visa/MasterCard 31 High Trail, Eureka, MO 63025 • www.stonehollowstudio.com

MACAA.net Your connection to Missouri’s community arts agencies, artists and arts events!

Artists: Click on the

icon to list yourself on Missouri’s Creative Artist Resource Directory. It’s FREE!

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Made

SOY FOR YOUR HAIR WANTING A MORE natural line of hair care products, Soya System Professional Hair Care Products were developed for the Grabber School of Hair Design and its five salons in St. Louis.

Created in 1981, Soya System hair products were the first hair products in the world to use hydrolyzed soy protein. When owners Dennis and Chris Matteuzzi received notice that a national research corporation was looking for a small company to test a new protein with the aim to naturalize hair products, they were thrilled. Using hydrolyzed soy protein, Dennis worked with researchers to make the hair care products free of animal proteins, waxes, and harsh chemicals. Call 1-800-533-9599 to find the nearest Soya distributor, or order online. —Emily Adams www.soya.com

St. Louis

Twisted Pretzels JUST LIKE CARDINALS baseball and toasted ravioli, Gus’ Pretzels is a St. Louis tradition. A third-generation business, Frank Ramsperger started twisting pretzels in 1920. His son-in-law, Gus Koebbe Sr., purchased the business in 1956. Now, Gus Jr. and his brother Dave have been managing the pretzel shop since 1980. Customers visit daily to indulge in Gus’ fresh pretzel sticks and twists, which are made in the open for visitors to see. The soft pretzels are served with Gus’ Pretzels own mustard and dip line, featuring flavors like honey, horseradish, German, and pub beer mustards. The pretzels can also be shaped into special designs such as stars and footballs for special events.

Find Gus’ Pretzels in the frozen section at several grocery stores in the St. Louis area.

Gus Koebbe Jr.

—Lauren Schad www.guspretzels.com • 314-664-4010

Camdenton

Design the Dress ERIN COLEMAN, owner of Design The Dress in Camdenton, strives to help brides find the perfect dress. Her company specializes in custom-made wedding dresses. Erin not only makes dresses for brides in Missouri, but also for brides across the country and around the world. Brides can submit dress designs that they would like to be replicated or altered via Design The Dress’s website.

Custom changes can be made to the designs if the bride wishes. —Lauren Young www.designthedress.com

COURTESY OF SOYA, GUS’ PRETZELS, AND HAZEL BROWN & BLUE PHOTOGRAPHY

St. Louis

WARRENSBURG RESIDENT FRED BRUENJES DISCOVERED A NEW COMET IN FEBRUARY.

IN MISSOURI

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Marriott Residence Inn

Homestead Studio Suites

Days Inn

Courtyard by Marriott

Homewood Suites

Studio Plus

The perfect place to stay & play while visiting the area! Centrally located in West St. Louis County, enjoy our hospitality while visiting all the regions attractions conveniently.

Maryland Heights Convention & Visitors Bureau 888.MORE2DO • www.more2do.org

Staybridge Suites by Wyndham Quality Inn Westport LaQuinta Inn & Suites Hampton Inn Westport Holiday Inn Express Comfort Inn Westport

Red Roof Inn Westport

Harrah’s Casino & Hotel

Drury Inn & Suites Westport

Sheraton Westport Chalet & Tower

Stay and Play

Extended Stay America

Doubletree Hotel Westport

La Quinta Inn & Suites

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n for Kids o i t a c a V e t a m i t l U The

It’s that time of year again.

Going Bonkers Experience a lively summer day at Going Bonkers, where your kids’ energy will be let loose on the gigantic soft play center, more than 60 arcade games, and four levels of indoor adventure. The air conditioned playground was designed by a physical therapist and was created as a healthy and playful source of exercise and fun for kids.

3812 Buttonwood Drive | 573-499-0366 www.goingbonkers.com

Twin Lakes This 60-acre site is a prime spot for fishing and nature walking. Non-motorized boating is allowed at the lake as well, but there is no boat ramp.

Pirate’s Landing, a water playground for young children, is a great way for the young ones to cool off. 2500 Chapel Hill Road | 573-874-7201

Spray Parks Take a day running through the sprinklers to a new level at the spray parks of Columbia. Kids will go crazy over the variety of water sprayers such as spray rings, water columns, and stream jets. The Douglass Spray Park, Stephens Lake Spray Park, and Flat Branch Spray Park all offer the perfect way to cool down a scorching summer day.

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Parkside Skateshop An icy summer treat can make for one of the best ways to stand the sweltering heat.

Get cooled off with a stop at Parkside Skateshop for yummy shaved ice with all of your and your child’s favorite flavors.

1614 Business Loop 70 West | 573-447-5283

COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PARKS AND RECREATION

Cool Of f

The last day of school approaches all too quickly, and the kids are already restless. They are looking forward to the summer that they’ve been dreaming of all year. Columbia provides an idyllic mid-Missouri summer vacation or getaway for the young and the young at heart with its wide array of family-fun activities and kid-friendly attractions. No matter what your family wants out of the long summer days ahead, Columbia has what you need.

5/4/12 3:49 PM

promotion

COurTESY OF COLuMBIA PArKS AnD rECrEATIOn, FInGEr LAKES STATE PArK; LAurEn huGhES; COurTESY OF DAn BrEnnEr

Play Outdoors

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Columbia Skate Park At Cosmo Park you’ll find 28,000 feet of an elaborate street course that incorporates many popular features, including transitions, flat ramps, spine ramps, pyramids, curbs, 525 feet of coping, and 75 feet of grind rails. Entrance to the skate park is free, so let your kids glide, fly, and soar until dark. 1615 Business Loop 70 West www.gocolumbiamo.com

Finger Lakes State Park For the more adventurous family, Finger Lakes State Park is one of only two ATV parks in the state park system. Zoom over the rolling hills to the roar of your ATV or off-road motorcycle.

The landscape was shaped from a former coal mining area, and is prime for motocross tracks.

Let them roll at the site of one of the state’s newest mountain bike trails. 1505 E. Peabody Road | 573-443-5315 | www.mostateparks.com/ park/finger-lakes-state-park Pinnacles Youth Park Pinnacles Youth Park is a 70-acre park that features a thin 75-foot high and 1,000-foot long Burlington limestone ridge. Take a trip to explore the rock formations of the Midwest, and then use one of the various grills and picnic tables for a picnic. During the summer, discovering Pinnacles Youth Park is the perfect familyfun activity. Off Highway 63 North

Show-Me State Games Get active as a family for the Olympic-style sports festival with more than 40 sports for all ages and ability levels. Visit www.smsg.org for a list of sports and dates in June and July.

Mighty Max Kids Triathlon On Saturday, July 21, kids will be healthy and fit after completing the Mighty Max Kids Triathlon. This swim-bike-run triathlon has categories from six and under to 14 years of age.

Visit www.ultramaxtri.com/mightymax for more information or to register.

Shelter Insurance Gardens A peaceful and historically enriching day can be found at Shelter Insurance Gardens, with its more than 300 varieties of trees and shrubs and more than 15,000 annuals and perennials. The award-winning five-acre garden displays a replica one-room schoolhouse, a “sensory garden” designed for the visually impaired, a memorial to Vietnam Veterans, a waterfall and reflecting pool, stream, rose garden, gazebo, giant sundial, and more.

Free concerts are featured on select nights.

1817 W. Broadway | www.shelterinsurance.com/ aboutshelter/sheltergardens Family Fun Fests On the third Wednesday of April through August, Columbia’s Flat Branch Park transforms into the ideal spot for family fun. Entertainment that ranges from live music, hands-on activities, special performances, art activities, bounce houses, balloon animals, and face painting will give every member of your family a reason to get out during the week.

101 S. 4th Street

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Enns Entomology Museum Kids like bugs, so don’t miss a chance to visit this museum where you can view approximately six million specimens of insects, arachnids, fossils, and a large collection of aquatic insects of Ozarks streams. The national and international significance of this museum lies in the fact that it is the primary source of insect and arachnid specimens representative of the Ozark Plateau, an area of biogeographic and systematic significance. Regionally, the museum holds importance because it serves as the cornerstone of the entomology program of the University of Missouri, and works with the USDA Biological Control of Insects Laboratory, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Conservation, and Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Don’t miss this educational experience. Agriculture Building, MU Campus | 573-882-2410 | www.museum.insecta.missouri.edu Village at Boone Junction The Village at Boone Junction exhibits a furnished pioneer log cabin and the restored Easley Country Store complete with everything the 1920s family would need. A joint project of the Boone County Historical Society and Columbia Parks and Recreation, Boone Junction also offers guided tours that showcase three historic Boone county properties—Maplewood house (1877), the Gordon-Collins cabin (ca. 1821), and the Easley Country Store (ca. 1890).

3801 Ponderosa Street | 573-443-8936 www.boonehistory.org

Museum of Art and Archaeology The Museum of Art and Archaeology is the only AAM-accredited art museum in mid-Missouri, with its galleries featuring archaeological materials and ancient art from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Anatolia, Greece, and Rome—including the mummy shroud of Taathyr, the daughter of Thatres—and a separate gallery showcases artifacts from the Byzantine and medieval periods.

Other galleries include modern and contemporary works by artists including Pablo Picasso, N.C. Wyeth, Dale Chihuly, Thomas Hart Benton, and Charles Demuth. A host of traveling exhibits accompanies this long list of worthwhile galleries.

Pickard Hall, MU Campus | 573-882-3591 | maa.missouri.edu

Drive-In and Diner 63 Diner The 1950s diner still survives in Columbia!

From its burger, fries, shakes, and homemade pies to its décor—complete with jukebox—to its family-friendly prices, the 63 Diner brings the golden decade back to life. Take a trip back in time!

5801 Highway 763 North | 573-443-2331 www.63dinercolumbia.com [32] MissouriLife

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Mugs Up One of the best-kept secrets of dining in Columbia, Mugs Up features phenomenal drive-in style cuisine, from root beer to the notorious Zip Burger. This restaurant has been a stand out since 1955, and your kids will enjoy the restaurant’s practice of the classic drive-in. Waiters take your order from your parked car, and then bring the food, hot and fresh, right to your window. For a fun and tasty way to try a classic, it can’t be beat.

603 Orange Street | 573-443-7238

COURTESy OF ENNS ENTOMOLOGy MUSEUM AND THE MUSEUM OF ART AND ARCHAEOLOGy

Learn Something New

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PROMOTION

Get Messy

COURTESY OF THE MUD ROOM, COLUMBIA ART LEAGUE, AND JONATHAN STEPHANOFF

Peach Tree Farms Letting the juice of summer fruit drip down your face defines the season for a youngster.

Starting June 25, there’s no better way to taste a fresh peach than at Peach Tree Farms off Highway 98. The straw maze, animal farm, and wide selection of freshly harvested and picked peaches make it more than just a means of produce— it’s an experience that your kids will cherish.

660-882-8009 | www.thepeachtreefarm.com

The Mudd Room Imagination will run wild for the inner artist at this contemporary ceramics studio.

Kids and adults can make their own pottery or paint hundreds of pre-made ceramic pieces. Supplies are included. You’ve never had so much fun making a mess!

1103 E. Walnut Street | 573-441-1683 www.mudroomstudio.com

Art in the Park Free and family-oriented, the arts-and-crafts festival held in Columbia the first week of June is a can’t miss event. With 110 artists from around the country showing off works of photography, jewelry, sculptures, garden art, ceramics, paintings, wood, and more, it’s a cultural experience that all ages will enjoy. Children will have a blast at a hands-on art workshop or by starting their own collection at the Young Collectors Tent. Live music and magic entertainment provided. Stephens Lake Park 573-443-8838 | www.artintheparkcolumbia.org.

Stay Out Late Laws Observatory Let the mysteries of the stars unfold at the University of Missouri’s observatory. On clear nights, come out to view the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and other cosmological phenomenon. Located on the roof of the Physics Building, at the corner of Rollins and College Avenue, you can become your own amateur astronomer by studying the sky through professional equipment. Free of charge. www.cmaaastro.com

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Empire Roller Rink A flashback to the old Swing Era rink, where Columbia college students and soldiers home on leave would go to mix, mingle, and date, this modern-day version of a classic Friday night on the town is a great way to spend a family night in summer. Rent skates or bring your own, take classes, or host a private party. Concessions available.

1305 Business Loop 70 East | 573-443-7375 www.empirerollerrink.com

Galactic Fun Zone Star Battle Laser Tag, Neptune Boom Bowling, and a 60-game arcade area all under one roof—a kid’s dream. Enjoy the Galaxy Bar & Lounge’s out-of-this-world wings as your kids explore the only fun zone of its kind, started by former Missouri Tiger football players Lorenzo Williams and Monte Wyrick. You won’t find so much inexpensive entertainment anywhere but Columbia. 2412 Grindstone Parkway 573-777-3861| www.thegalacticfunzone.com

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

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CITY OF

FOUNTAINS

HENRY WOLLMAN BLOCH MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN [34] MissouriLife

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and FUN

Kansas City’s fountains offer more than meets the eye.

By Nicole Heisick | Photography by Kevin Sink

PICTURE THIS: As you stroll along a sidewalk, water gurgles from one of the many fountains you pass by. The fountains lead you to stunning European architecture, beautiful works of classic and modern art, melodious live music, delectable cuisine, and luscious wine. Where are you? Spain? Italy? Maybe somewhere in France?

No. You are in Kansas City, the City of Fountains.

Only Rome has more fountains than Kansas City. But if you take the time to go around the corner or walk a few blocks, you will discover some other surprises. So yes, see the beautiful fountains in the City of Fountains, and keep going to find the fun we’ve paired with the fountains, from booming nightlife and historical treasures to amazing eats and activities for the kids, too. Kansas City is the City of Fountains and Fun! [35] June 2012

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BARNEY ALLIS PLAZA FOUNTAIN

DOWNTOWN LIFE The Barney Allis Plaza Fountain, Sea

Horse Fountains at City Hall Fountains, and Muse of the Missouri are some of Downtown Kansas City’s most famous fountains. Located in the middle of this booming metropolis, these fountains bring tranquility to daily hustle and bustle.

The Barney Allis Plaza Fountain runs nearly a block’s length and is made up of a set of 112 computer-controlled geyser jets that propel water in varying heights and colors onto a series of granite steps. The Sea Horse Fountains at City Hall Fountains are comprised of intricate, terraced fountains. The towering Muse of the Missouri personifies a goddess bestowing guidance on the Missouri River and to all those who pass by her.

Take a step over to the neighboring Power and Light District. Start out at one of the area’s restaurants before heading out to enjoy the night at one of the 20 bars or other nightlife entertainment options, such as the AMC Mainstreet Theatre or Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge.

SEA HORSE FOUNTAINS AT CITY HALL FOUNTAINS

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PAYING RESPECTS Located in Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, the Vietnam Veterans Fountain is a must-see for any history buff, veteran, or citizen wishing to show gratitude. This fountain’s pools represent the United States’ growing involvement in the war, ending in two pools symbolizing the divided opinions over the war at the time. It was constructed as a salute to all those who served in the war, especially those from the Kansas City area. The backdrop’s curved wall is etched with the names of 451 fallen soldiers from the Kansas City area.

After you visit this special fountain, take a side trip to nearby Union Cemetery. The cemetery, founded in 1857, is the final resting place for many of Kansas City’s founders and developers. It holds the graves of veterans from every war, from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War. The cemetery cottage is filled with files providing a wealth of genealogical and biographical information on its inhabitants. Then head to the National World War I Museum, which offers a variety of permanent exhibits with vivid displays, hands-on learning experiences, and historical artifacts providing a unique look into the First World War.

VIETNAM VETERANS FOUNTAIN

MUSE OF THE MISSOURI FOUNTAIN

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J.C. NICHOLS MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN

TASTE OF ITALY Toss your leftover change from shopping at the Country Club Plaza into one of the nearby Plaza fountains. The Plaza fountains, including the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain, Neptune Fountain, Pomona Fountain, and Boy and Frog Fountain are visited by both Kansas City natives and tourists. The J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain is the most photographed fountain in Kansas City. With a 30-foot water spray, this fountain is overflowing with symbolism. The four sculpted horsemen represent four mighty rivers of the world— the Mississippi, Volga, Seine, and Rhine.

The J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain is quite worldly as well, as it pays homage to the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome, (but its rivers were the Nile in Africa, the Danube in Europe, the Ganges in Asia, and the Platte in South America). The Neptune Fountain is another worldly fountain.

The fountain honors Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, as he holds his trident and rides in a chariot pulled by mythological sea horses. The Pomona Fountain depicts Pomona, the Roman goddess and protector of vineyards and orchards. And like the Pomona Fountain, the Boy and Frog Fountain was sculpted by an artist from Florence and imported from Italy.

These Italian-inspired fountains are likely to leave you longing for a taste of Italy.

Just down the street from the Plaza fountains is Figlio Italian Restaurant, which serves wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and desserts. A short car ride away you’ll find BRIO Tuscan Grille, featuring Italian food inspired by Tuscany, as well as Coal Vines, a pizza and wine bar.

BOY AND FROG FOUNTAIN

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NEPTUNE FOUNTAIN

POMONA FOUNTAIN

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SEVILLE LIGHT FOUNTAIN

SHOPPING IN SPAIN

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A triangular traffic island smack in the middle of the Plaza’s busiest intersection provides the setting for the ornate Seville Light Fountain. An exact replica of the Plaza de Los Reyes Fountain in Seville, Spain, this marble tower stands 30 feet tall and is topped with intricate iron moldings.

Though the fountain is shut off today and in need of repairs, water used to flow from the mouths of four masked faces lining the 20foot square base. Paying homage to Seville, this fountain is still a beauty to behold, with or without water.

You don’t have to leave Kansas City to soak up some Spanish influence. The entire Country Club Plaza was designed with Spanish architectural influences. Designed in 1922 as the nation’s first suburban shopping district, the Plaza boasts stores ranging from small boutiques to high fashion brand names.

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JOY OF YOUTH “The bronze figures represent children everywhere to whom this fountain is dedicated and the activities that shape young lives making childhood a joy,” reads the dedication for the Children’s Fountain. This large pool features sculptures of six local children at play, surrounded by a spray of jets and bubbling water. One of the largest fountains in a city of hundreds, this fountain was created by Kansas City artist Tom Corbin to remind us of the joys of youth and to inspire us to never underestimate its power.

Make like a kid again and head out for ice cream after seeing this fountain. Sit down at Murray’s Ice Creams and Cookies in Westport and enjoy the old ice cream parlor feel.

Or, for a unique taste, visit Glacé Artisan Ice Cream, which features fun flavors such as Fleur de sel Caramel, Caramelized Fig, and Pineapple Cilantro. (See story on page 106.)

Get a taste of all-natural snow cones made with fresh fruit and herbs at Fresher than Fresh Snow Cones. Then, take your sweet treat to one of the city’s many parks or playgrounds. Loose Park, Swope Park, Berkley Riverfront Park, and Hyde Park all offer enjoyable scenery and spacious spreads. Want to spend the whole day feeling like a kid again? Visit the Kansas City Zoo.

CHILDREN’S FOUNTAIN

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THE MAGIC OF ART AND SCIENCE The Henry Wollman Bloch Memorial Fountain combines the arts and sciences for a stunning display. On the technical side, it is composed of 232 jets arranged in three concentric rings and is controlled by a computer to create an ever-changing display. On an aesthetic note, the rings are situated in the middle of an ellipse of flat black granite, covered by a thin sheet of water that reflects the monumental architecture surrounding it. Every half hour, the scientific and artistic aspects combine to create a five-minute show displaying a celebration of water in movement.

Located just outside Union Station, this fountain is only a short walk from the city’s engineering and technical background exhibits, such as the KC Rail Experience and the Engineerium. Some of the city’s most renowned artistic displays are close by, too. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is known for its neoclassical architecture and wide collection of Asian art. The museum was ranked at the top of TIME Magazine’s list of The 10 Best (New and Upcoming) Architectural Marvels. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts features live shows in a variety of genres, including theater, ballet, and music.

CROWN CENTER ENTRANCE FOUNTAINS

HENRY WOLLMAN BLOCH MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN

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ER UNTAINS FUN AT CROWN CENTER

CROWN CENTER FOUNTAIN

Cool off on a hot summer day at the Crown Center Fountain, where visitors can run through 49 streams of water shooting into the air. The underground water and colored light system of this fountain is contained under special grating, allowing for the programming of various water and light displays.

Explore Crown Center further, with its fantastic blend of shopping and dining opportunities. The Hallmark Visitors Center provides exhibits on the history and craft behind Hallmark Cards, and Kaleidoscope gives children a chance to be creative and make art using leftover materials from Hallmark’s manufacturing processes.

For some musical fun, the American Heartland Theatre features live Broadwaystyle productions in a variety of genres, including family comedies, musicals, dramas, and thrillers.

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BY ANDREW LOVGREN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN MANNING

beyond the BASKET

Champion disc golfer Nikko Locastro and the sport he loves He looks at the plastic disc, bends it a bit in his hand, and tosses it into the air while he slowly scrapes his feet against the front of the cement tee pad. He glances across the pond at the basket which lies nearly 400 feet away.

A tough shot. To make things more complicated, 40 feet farther is out-of-bounds, as is 35 feet to the left.

Nikko Locastro needs a hole-in-one on the final hole to force a playoff at the Fountain Hills Thrills—a threeround tournament in Fountain Hills, Arizona—and have a chance to win the tournament. The St. Louis native, who now lives in Winfield, stares down his target as he backs up for his throw, takes five quick steps forward, and hurls the disc with a quick spin to finish, never breaking eye contact with the basket. In a white blur, the disc flies through the air, ending in the clang of the basket’s chains, a perfectly timed ace. >>> [45] June 2012

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beyond the BASKET A pro at 17

In 2004, then 15-year-old Nikko began competing in amateur and youth disc golf tournaments. Disc golf holds many similarities to traditional golf, except players use specialized discs (close relatives of the Frisbee) and baskets (metal containers with chains to trap the airborne saucers). A few years later, at the age of 17, he went pro.

Now, the confident wunderkind is one of the top-ranked players in the world.

In order to compete in such an unusual profession, Nikko must focus intensely on becoming continuously better through constant practice. He often travels from his home in Winfield to St. Louis to play round after round on the area’s lush green courses.

“I thought I was gonna be a professional skateboarder before I found disc golf,” Nikko says. “I was pretty good at that. Thought I was gonna be a professional fisherman. Anything I did, I thought I was gonna be a professional.”

He was introduced to his now favorite pastime by his uncle, David McCormack, who owns Gateway Disc Sports in St. Louis. Just like traditional golf, disc golf offers a highly challenging form of outdoor recreation. The ease with which the sport can be picked up and the difficulty of mastering the game captivated Nikko.

“Disc golf offers a lot of variety when you compare it to other sports because there are always more technical challenges when it comes to different courses,” Nikko says. “Some have low-ceiling shots, some you have to throw distance; sometimes the hole is only 150 or 200 feet. That’s what makes disc golf so awesome and special to me. There’s always a new challenge. You always have something new when you play disc golf. There’s always something more to learn.”

Sweden, Japan, and everywhere in between

The 23-year-old professional disc golfer travels the United States and international locales such as Sweden, Japan, and Finland year-round to compete in the rapidly growing sport. Wearing a t-shirt with windbreaker pants and his long hair pulled back, Nikko’s casual, though determined, nature is instantly evident.

“I was going to get somewhat dressed up, but that’s not what disc golf is about,” Nikko says. “It’s something you can do after work, during lunch, or whenever. It’s all about being relaxed and having fun.”

Nikko takes his love of the game on the road, playing in around 40 tournaments each of the past three years. Even so, many active St. Louis area enthusiasts recognize him and follow his progress on tour.

They ask him for a few tips while he’s playing on one of his favorite home courses.

“I’m on the road quite a bit because I have to follow the tournaments to make money,” Nikko says. “I’m a full-time disc golfer. I don’t always get to come back home.”

Despite the more than 3,000 registered courses in the United States (64 in Missouri), the professional disc golf circuit is still

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Above: Professional disc golfer Nikko Locastro began pursuing professional disc golfing at the age of 17. Nikko gives lessons to area disc golfers when he is not on the road traveling to various disc golf tournaments around the country.

Below: Nikko offers tips to and shows writer Andrew Lovgren the correct angle to throw a long-range driver from the tee box.

Left: Nikko explains the difference in the flight of various disc types. In his own disc collection, Nikko has 2,400 discs he bought, found, or traded.

relatively new. This translates to lower payouts and stiffer competition for the winnings, especially when compared to those of other professional sports. For most, the game is a second job or a hobby.

“I’m out there trying to make a living at it, but there’s just not a whole lot of money to be made,” Nikko says. “So the people who are trying to make a living at it, they’re all good, passionate disc golf lovers. They do it more for the passion of it, rather than the money. We call it a professional sport, but it’s more of an underground sport.”

Disc golf doesn’t require nearly as much money to get started as traditional golf does. While a new TaylorMade driver might cost several hundred dollars, a top-of-the-line disc only costs $20.

With no greens fees and such thrifty equipment, the game can be enjoyed by a larger market but carries a very small spectator following. Sponsors provide equipment and perhaps a few bonuses to their professional players, but big name sponsors are hard to come by.

Still, Nikko has done well in the past three years, earning more than $40,000 in 2010, the most of any professional disc golfer.

Though most tournaments have a payout of only around $2,000, others—such as the United States Disc Golf Championship—carry a purse as large as $75,000.

After expenses, tournament winnings don’t amount to much.

At Fountain Hills Thrills, for example, Nikko went on to win the playoff. The difference in winnings from first to second was $500 to $275. Subtract travel expenses and a $50 entry fee, and even the top winners don’t have much left over. To win enough money to live on, you have to consistently be the best.

More than 2,000 discs

Nikko puts in many hours throwing each of his different discs—including distance and fairway drivers, mid-ranges, and putters—to help him know exactly where each will land when he releases it.

As a demonstration of his accuracy, Nikko points out a tree about 250 feet uphill, winds up, moves quickly down the tee pad, and unleashes his disc with a quick spin that resembles that of a discus thrower.

“I can do better,” Nikko says, as the disc lands just 20 feet away from his target. The second disc falls in roughly the same location after hitting an overhanging branch. On the third try, the disc soars directly through the opening. “There we go. It’s all about the timing.”

When it’s time to put the disc in the basket, it just takes concentration for Nikko to sink each shot. While he throws casually, a miss isn’t unheard of. However, when he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and focuses, the trajectory of the disc is a given, and the clatter of the chains becomes familiar. His unique putting style is effective in form and preparation. Before each putt, he visualizes the basket while lining up the disc, moving it back and forth slowly with the goal in mind.

“I need to stay mentally focused for all 18 holes or for all four rounds of the tournament,” Nikko says. “You just have to be there mentally grinding it out the whole time. You have to stay focused and be competitive. You can’t just let the easy strokes slip away because

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beyond the BASKET

Above left: Andrew throws his driver using the techniques demonstrated by Nikko.

Above right: After focusing intently on the goal, Nikko releases his putter to finish out a hole. Nikko was the Professional Disc Golf Association Player of the Year in 2011 and 2009. In 2010, he shared the title with another disc golfer, Dave Feldberg.

Right: Aside from a few staples, Nikko’s disc golf bag varies from round to round. Each one that he carries has a distinct use for different distances and trajectories.

where to PLAY Missouri is home to 64 registered disc golf courses, which means that disc golf is never far away, no matter where your home is. Visit www.pdga.com/ course_directory to find a course near you.

BEGINNER COURSES A S H G R OVE CIT Y PARK , A S H G R OVE | The perfect

to provide a strong challenge

through each round. Beware the

to beginners and experts alike.

water here. You may want to play

course for any beginner, Ash Grove

Despite the challenge, this course

it safe to avoid losing a disc.

City Park houses this nine-hole

is easily navigated and offers a

course in an open area. Some light

clean, fun experience for first-

elevation and wooded patches

time players.

offer brief challenges, but this is an

P ROCTOR LAKE PAR K, CALIF ORn IA | Stop by Proctor Lake Park in California, Missouri, for

easily navigable course.

ROTARY PARK , K IRK SVILLE | The Rotary Park disc golf

a simple starting course with few

BER JuAn PARK, ROLLA | This

course offers nine simple holes

Some of the longer holes may offer

18-hole course is heavily wooded

that will help new players grow

a challenge for new players.

trees and a mostly flat landscape.

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sometimes one or two strokes end up costing you the win.”

As Nikko pulls out a disc from his bag, he adjusts his throwing speed, power, and disc angle according to each type and weight.

With so many varieties and attributes, knowing the necessary force and direction of each disc is crucial. This familiarity comes with repetition and is a huge strength on the course. Each can be used for different shots, allowing for a game plan that changes from throw to throw.

The disc collection that fills his basement currently holds a staggering 2,400 discs. With many different colors, designs, and stamps, these discs have been bought, found along courses, traded for, or won. Each one has a story behind it, but very few are actually used, allowing him to master the core group of his favorites. These make it into his bag for tournaments.

“They’re different,” Nikko says, as we walk from hole to hole, searching for one of his favorite discs that had been lost earlier that day. “They’re all different.”

More players, more talent

Although the concept for the game was created as early as the 1920s, it wasn’t until the ’70s that the game really began to catch on, leading to the founding of the Professional Disc Golf Association in 1976.

The sport grew, formal rules were introduced, and courses began popping up around the country. The once fledgling sport is gaining momentum among today’s youth, as schools look into the game and cities begin adding more courses.

“The talent level has gotten a lot better. It’s definitely on the uprise,” Nikko says. “There are a lot more kids playing, and people are just getting better. The disc technology is getting more out there, and so the discs are going farther. People are throwing farther and getting more competitive about it now.”

Those who enjoy the sport should find amateur tournaments organized by the PDGA or local clubs. As these small-scale events become more available and grow in popularity, the professional realm of the sport will become more competitive, as more talent is added to the player pool.

“It’s good to have fun because the game’s supposed to be all about fun,” Nikko says. “But to get good you have to be competitive and actually get into it a little bit more than just having fun.”

Not yet a world champion

Being a national champion and a world-class disc golfer is just the beginning. Though he won the United States Disc Golf Championship in 2009, receiving $15,000 (then the largest payout in PDGA history), and PDGA named him the 2011 Male Player of the Year, the young star has not won a world championship. At last year’s World Championship in Monterey Bay, California, Nikko made his first final cut and ended up placing fourth overall.

“My top goal right now is to win a world championship,” Nikko says. “I’m a national champion, sure, but I’m still not a world champion.”

Just as often as he wins, he finds himself only a few strokes out of the lead, rarely falling further than fourth place. Having consistent high placings in several tournaments with steep, often more experienced competition is an incredible achievement. Part of this fortune he attributes to something similar to karma.

“Good things happen to good people,” Nikko says. “I pick up a lot of trash when I walk by, so I’ve got myself convinced that as long as I’m doing good things, I think disc golf is going to treat me good. The trees are going to treat me good if I treat the environment good.”

When he’s not on the road, working out, or training, Nikko uses some of his free time to give lessons. These range from an introduction to the game to advanced details and techniques for those ready to take things to the next level. Not only does this help cover some travel expenses, but it also helps spread the love of the game that has meant so much to him.

“Gotta give back sometimes,” Nikko says. “I’ve done enough taking from the sport. Now I’m tryin’ to give back a little.”

Follow our writer’s journey as Nikko gives him pointers on disc golfing at www.MissouriLife.com.

N I K KO ’ S FAVO R I T E S I N D I A N FO OTH IL L S PA R K , M A RS H A LL | This 18-hole

E N D IC OTT PARK , S T. LO U IS | A heavily wooded

JE F F E RSON B ARRACK S PARK , ST. LOU IS | This hilly,

OZARK MOUN TAIN , VICH Y | This almost 10,000-feet

course offers a good variety of dif-

course with hills and brush, Endi-

rolling course has 18 holes and is

private course is spread over 300

ferent shots through wooded and

cott Park was designed by Nikko’s

used regularly for tournament and

acres and is only a 72 par, a difficult

open areas. Although some holes

uncle and offers 18 holes with

league play. Though certainly only

number for any disc golfer. With

may be tough for beginners, most

alternate pin locations. Though

for the more advanced golfers,

areas that require long walks and

offer straightforward shots that

challenging enough for tourna-

the course is generally well-

constant elevation changes, this

are perfect for learning the game.

ment play, weekend players will

maintained and could provide a

course is one for new golfers to

enjoy the stretching play of the

challenge for new players.

avoid playing but would certainly

forest course.

be a good one to walk through, admire, and perhaps aspire to.

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PROMOTION

CROSS-STATE

RIVALS

Bob Cochran and Tom Stephenson

by Jim Healey

L

ong before the infamous Don Denkinger miscue in 1985, or before the Chiefs/ Cardinals rivalry, and certainly years before the Rams arrived in St. Louis, the passions for their respective communities–St. Louis and Kansas City–were fueled by years of debate and civic pride. As one Kansas City professor noted in class one day during my collegiate days at Rockhurst College: “What’s the difference between Kansas City and St. Louis? I’ll tell you. Kansas City has the American Royal while St. Louis has the Veiled Prophet; one is a rodeo, and the other is a

black-tie affair. Now do you understand?”

Regardless of your allegiance, on the fields of competition, the matter can be settled in the purest of settings. At least it’s supposed to be that way. However, during the 1958 Missouri Amateur Golf Championship, the passions spilled over into the competition, with the battle for the state title on the line.

The two combatants were St. Louis’ Bob Cochran and Kansas City’s Tom Stephenson.

Both of these men were fierce competitors, never willing to give an inch while stretching

the rules right to the edge as they fought to take their titles.

Kansas City’s Stephenson, playing out of the old Blue Hills CC at 61st and Flora Avenue, had, since the end of WWII, been one of Kansas City’s top amateurs, qualifying for the U.S. Open and several U.S. Amateur’s.

He won at least one Kansas City Match Play title and reached the finals a number of other times. However, the state crown had eluded him, while his running mate at Blue Hills, Bob Willits, had taken his trophy home in 1947.

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PROMOTION

It became a matter of pride for Stephenson to claim his title, while leaving the cross-state players in the cold.

His St. Louis counterpart, Bob Cochran, had been on the golf scene since 1930. Cochran was a winner of eight St. Louis District Championships, and like Stephenson, he had qualified for a number of USGA events, even advancing to the semifinals on one occasion.

However, unlike Stephenson, Cochran had won the 1940 State Championship and was gunning for another.

A bit older, and perhaps wiser, Cochran had spent the war years competing on the PGA tour as an amateur, battling against Byron Nelson, Bob Hamilton, Sam Snead, and others from 1942 to 1945. In 1943, at the Decatur Open, Cochran had posted three rounds of 66 and won the tournament. When Byron Nelson’s streak of 18 consecutive wins was snapped at Memphis in 1945, Cochran was in the field and finished ahead of Lord Byron. He had competed in the Masters in 1946 and was counted among the top amateurs in the country.

That meant little to Stephenson, as he knew he had the talent to defeat anyone when he played up to his capabilities. There was another reason why the Kansas City crowd wanted to beat Cochran more than other St. Louis players: Bob was not above employing a little gamesmanship during a match to test the mettle of his opponent. It might have been as benign as moving his shadow a bit, or jingling the change in his pocket at just the right moment to disturb a player’s concentration.

All legal, mind you, just part of “playing golf at the highest amateur levels,” noted Cochran on more than one occasion. “If they can’t take that, maybe they shouldn’t be playing tournament golf,” was his usual reply when asked about it. Still, Kansas City golfers were more than a little determined to defeat “the old grey fox,” as Cochran was often called.

When Stephenson and Cochran each ran Clockwise from top: Bob Cochran’s scorecard; Tom Stephenson; Cochran’s ball on the first hole at Kansas City CC at the start of the afternoon round was for a “gimme” 3 birdie.

their bracket in the 1958 Missouri Amateur at Kansas City Country Club, it was now up to them to settle it in the 36-hole final. On the eve of the championship match, Stephenson did a little gloating to his fellow players. “Tomorrow, Cochran’s going to get what’s coming to him,” Stephenson said, “I’m going to kick his butt.”

While this comment never got back to Cochran (at least that’s what he told me years later), a number of those in the gallery were aware of it.

Needless to say, everyone was anxious to see if the final would live up to the hype.

The morning round went as most expected, with both players trying to ensure they would not do something to lose the match earlyon, yet Cochran managed a 5-up lead after shooting an “average” 73. Still, Stephenson was an experienced player. All he needed was an opening, and he knew he could get back in the match. That opening would never come.

On the first nine of the afternoon round, Stephenson showed his skill, yet he lost six holes in the process as Cochran posted a blistering 29, including a “gimme” birdie on the very first hole.

The match ended on the ninth as Cochran won by a record 11 and 9 total.

Cochran had his second State Amateur crown 18 years after his first. He would go on to win two more, finishing with four, one of five tied at the top with this total. Two years later Cochran would be selected, at age 48, to the Walker Cup team, a highlight of his career.

For his part, Stephenson would not reach the finals of the State Amateur again, settling for this runner-up performance as his best finish. In the end, it was not an East versus West match. It was a great performance by one great champion over another.

Tom Stephenson continued playing for the next decade. He passed away on October 31, 1968. Cochran would live to see 90, and though he stopped competing years earlier, he could often be found on the practice ground at Norwood Hills, giving tips and swing lessons to promising junior players. On April 19, 2003, while out for his nightly walk, and with a golf club in his hand, Bob had a heart attack and died instantly, still gripping his favorite club.

HALL OF FAME GOLF CALENDAR It’s time to knock the rust off the irons and re-grip the driver. With three tournaments already under our belt, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame has a full slate of golf events on tap for 2012. As with all of our tournaments, your foursome will enjoy golf, cart usage, lunch, on-course snacks, beer, cola, and games. In addition, each team member will receive a great golfer’s gift pack and an 8 x 10 color team photo.

Springfield Celebrity Golf Classic presented by Great Southern Bank June 3 and 4 at Highland Springs Country Club, Springfield. Sunday Registration and Breakfast 7:00 am, Shotgun 8:00 am. Monday Morning Flight Registration and Breakfast 6:00 am, Shotgun 7:30 am.

Monday Afternoon Flight Registration and Lunch 12:00 pm, Shotgun 1:30 pm. $1,250 per foursome.

Shoeless Joe’s Celebrity Golf Classic presented by Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network June 13 at Norwoods Country Club, Hannibal. Morning Flight Registration and Breakfast 6:30 am, Shotgun 7:30 am. Afternoon Registration and Lunch 12:30 pm, Shotgun 1:30 pm. $1,000 per foursome.

Ozarks Water Watch Golf Classic presented by Country Mart June 20 at Murder Rock Golf Club, Branson.

Registration and Lunch 11:30 am, Shotgun 1:00 pm. $1,000 per foursome.

Kansas City Celebrity Golf Classic presented by Hillyard, Inc. October 2 at Tiffany Greens Golf Club, Kansas City.

Registration and Lunch 11:30 am, Shotgun 1:00pm. $1,250 per foursome.

For additional tournament information, call the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame at 417-889-3100.

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THE

Ding-Dong RACER

CAREENING DOWN Highway 63 in his F-350 diesel truck, DIRTcar racer Danny Crane flips on his radar detector as he hits 80 miles per hour. Normally, he’s rewarded for driving like a hellion, but behind this steering wheel, it’s against the law.

Outside the truck’s air-conditioned cab, it’s a pit-stained Sunday afternoon, mid-August, 2011.

The 42-year-old Crane is in his usual mood— cranky, cocky, and ridiculously charming.

Behind him he’s hauling a 36-foot gooseneck trailer berthing his No. 78 race car, a black and red, Pro-Modified beast outfitted with a 780-horsepower engine that has been collecting checkered flags across the dirt tracks of central Missouri all summer long.

Tonight are the weekly DIRTcar races at the 24 Raceway in Moberly where Crane has been so untouchable this summer, he now has a bounty on his head.

The stubbly Crane is an intimidating and brawny figure, glowering at the asphalt

through the windshield. His broad, granitechiseled jaw is the token of his super-heroic profile and the stuff of American folklore. Recipients on the other end of that glare know enough to look away.

On the other hand, the Columbia-native is quick to flash a benevolent, smirking grin, especially when he becomes animated like he is now.

His hands are off the wheel and stabbing the air with punctuating gestures. Crane is uncommonly tall for a race car driver, and his long legs serve him well. He activates the cruise control and begins steering with his knees.

“Did you hear what the track owner is doing tonight?” Crane asks his best friend sitting in the front seat.

“No, what?” asks 24-year old Andrew Page, also Crane’s wingman in the pits.

“He said I’m winning too many races,” Crane replies. “So he’s offering three free pit passes to any driver who can outrun me tonight. We’ll see about that.”

STORY BY NIC HALVERSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICHOLE BALLARD

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Mid-Missouri racer Danny Crane, No. 78, prepares to run qualifying laps at a race in mid-August of 2011 at 24 Raceway in Moberly. He qualified for the second starting position.

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Crane

had a banner year last year, by far the best of his racing career. He was atop the leader board in points for Missouri’s United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) Modified series. He was also ranked 10th in the national championship standings—a personal record. He was on pace to break his personal best of 16 wins on the year and was poised to take home track championships at Fulton’s Callaway Raceway, Lake Ozark Speedway, and Moberly’s 24 Raceway. But because he spent some time chasing bigger money at bigger races, he finished second in points at all three tracks.

The race on this night has some added drama. NASCAR Truck Series driver Ken Schrader, who also races on the DIRTcar circuit, is expected to race. Because he’s a successful driver who banks big paychecks, owns his own NASCAR team, not to mention I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Schrader is a walking, talking montage of the dream many racers chase.

“I’m not going to fawn over him. I don’t care who he is,” Crane says.

“He’s just a person. He puts on his jeans the same as I do. He wants to be treated like any other dirt track racer, not a NASCAR star.”

a hand-painted sign of a cartoonish man bawling his eyes

Above: The car is stripped of its aluminum covering after the races to clean off mud and dirt. Below: Crane’s crew listens intently as he discusses mechanical issues.

out greets those entering the pits at 24 Raceway. It reads, “No Crybabies Allowed.” Sound advice, for the infield is a cauldron of migraineinducing exhaust fumes belched out by motors loud enough to rattle rib cages and all but guarantee hearing loss. Spider web tattoos, oil-slicked denim, and construction-worker tans. A non-smoker’s nightmare with loudmouths and grease monkeys galore. Some people go to church on Sunday, these daredevils race stock cars on a muddy track. And those that watch yell themselves hoarse. Good luck convincing them it’s not a religion.

Crane pulls in and parks his truck and trailer in the usual spot—turn three. Water trucks lumber around the half-mile banked track, wetting the dirt and making it tacky—just the way Crane likes it.

“I’m not a finesse driver. I like to manhandle the car—balls to the wall, no pussyfootin’,” Cranes says, as he scans the track. “A tacky track lets me do that. Gives me a better grip so I can hammer down.”

The infield fills up with trailers unloading similar cargos of candy-colored cars that look like steroidal hornets, from the smaller Hobby Stock and Sportsman cars on up to the big boys—the A-Mods that Crane races.

For Page, it’s time to go to work. Once the car is backed out of the trailer, he puts on his sunglasses, lights a cigarette, and jacks up the back end. Off come the back wheels and out comes an industrial grinder.

“The tires get so hot while racing, the rubber glazes over,” Page says, skimming the tread with the grinder. “This helps open the tires back up and gives them whiskers for better grip.”

Page has grown up around racing most of his life. Going to the races as a kid, he idolized Crane. “I just loved the way he drove—fast, wide-open all the time and not scared of nothin’,” Page says.

It’s obvious when Schrader and company roll onto the infield. He has a gleaming double-decker trailer with a spare car and full-time pit crew in uniforms. Fans and drivers linger, trying to strike up conversation. Crane pays him no mind and his nonchalance pays off. Schrader walks over to Crane’s trailer and inquires about track conditions.

“It was lookin’ good when I showed up, but they need to get that water

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truck off the track,” Crane says. “It’s turning sloppy.”

“It don’t stay wet all night, does it?” Schrader asks. “Does it cushion up any?”

“Depends. You never know,” Crane answers. “Track’s got asphalt underneath, so it doesn’t soak up real well. At least it’s not dusty. That’s the last thing I need.”

“Why’s that?” Schrader asks.

“Capital Speedway, 2001,” Crane says. “It was so dusty you couldn’t see the cars in front of you. Got spun out in turn one after the first lap.

Guys coming down the straightaway couldn’t see anything. Got T-boned on the driver’s side.”

“Get hurt?” Schrader asks.

“Crushed my femur. They hauled me to the hospital, put a rod down the middle of the bone with screws everywhere. Had to sit out eight weeks. Hell, I put together a new car while I was still in a wheelchair.”

Their conversation is interrupted by the P.A.’s loudspeaker, alerting drivers when hot laps begin. Schrader drifts back to his trailer. What Crane didn’t tell him about was the tacky groove that develops on the outer edge of the track, up top in the turns. Crane uses this groove to juggernaut down the straightaways and into the corners at 105 miles an hour.

“A lot of guys are afraid to go up there. Not me,” Crane says. “I’m ridin’ high and not afraid to die.”

In the heat laps, Crane qualifies for the second starting position for the feature race. Schrader will line up behind him in the fourth spot. The track isn’t to Crane’s liking, and when he pulls in, there’s a look of concern on his face.

“Track’s too greasy,” he says, climbing out of his window. “Gonna have my work cut out for me tonight.”

Off the restart, Crane cuts low with Schrader in hot pursuit. Crane owns the top groove. Schrader has no choice but to shadow and look for the smallest opening. It’s Crane’s race to lose.

Mid-race, Page has widened his arm signals indicating Crane is not only holding off tonight’s celebrity, he’s stretching his lead. With five laps to go, the track announcer hypes the crowd.

“We got a dog fight out there between No. 9, Ken Schrader and No. 78, ‘Ding-Dong’ Danny Crane,” echoes the loud speaker.

Crane is driving in a sheer panic, but poised. He knows who’s behind him. From here on out, the throttle remains wide open.

Last lap, white flag thrown. Crane runs high in turns one and two, paranoid not to let Schrader make a move. He muscles his way down the backstretch, wiggling the car’s back end should he need to cut off Schrader. But there’s no need. He catapults hard off of turn four’s cushion and rockets down the straightaway under the checkered flag.

Page pumps his fist, bites his bottom lip, and nods. No words needed.

Fans have already gathered around Crane’s trailer when he rolls in after his victory lap and finish line photo. He takes off his helmet, climbs out of the window, and puts the trophy on top of the car’s roof. Tonight’s purse is $1,000.

“That’s how it’s done, boys,” he says, pounding the roof.

“I just loved the way he drove— fast, wide-open all the time and not scared of nothin’.”

Watching a Pro-Mod DIRTcar explode out of turn four once the green flag is dropped is like watching a wild bull get shot with an adrenaline-laced dart. The car’s haunch lifts off the ground in a diagonal skid, and its entire body flexes. Huge rooster tails of mud spout from the back tires. Pupils dilate, fists clench, and pulses skyrocket.

Crane screams down the front straightaway and Schrader gives chase.

Down the backstretch, they’re already running one and two. Page has positioned himself behind the waist-high cement wall on the inside track, just before turn three. From here, he gives alligator-jawed arm signals to Crane as he drives by, letting him know how big of a lead he has.

It doesn’t take long for Crane to find the sweet spot up top. Schrader’s no fool and follows suit. He’s never raced on this track before, so he’s mirroring the local stud. Despite Crane’s pre-race withholding, the cat’s out of the bag. Up top is where it’s at.

Just as Crane is flirting with a sizeable lead, there’s a dust up in turn one and out comes the race’s second caution flag. Schrader’s No. 9 car catches back up with Crane. Back to square one for No. 78—running scared with a professional NASCAR driver breathing down his neck.

after a muddy

weekend of racing, it’s midweek back at the garage. Fifteen miles south of Columbia, at the bottom of a hollow, Crane’s father, a mechanic, runs a repair shop that doubles as his son’s racing headquarters. It’s here where the car is stored, cleaned, and maintained.

It’s a few hours before twilight. Outside the garage, Danny squeezes the trigger on a power washer and hoses down his chariot. Great plumes of mist bounce from its panels in a sunny haze of tangerine. When he’s finished, Page uses a high-torque cordless impact to take off the side panels. They’ve incurred a few dents, so he lays them on the ground and pounds them out with a wooden mallet. When that’s not enough, he stomps on them.

Once the repair shop closes for the evening, the garage becomes Crane’s de facto clubhouse—a place to talk strategy and spit humble brags over mugs of Mountain Dew mixed with Jack Daniel’s. Friends, family, and fellow race enthusiasts can usually be found sitting among 40-gallon drums of racing fuel watching old race footage on the shop’s TV. Crane’s wife, Sandy, routinely films his races and over the years they’ve accrued a vast archive.

The shop’s back corner is a cluttered cove of trophies. No room left on the shelving units for any more awards. On the wall is the mounted head of a 12-point buck and photos of Crane and his cars over the years.

“This black one here is the first car I raced,” Crane says, pointing to a photo from his rookie year in 1993. “It was an old mid-70s Camaro. Dad named it Midnight.”

He laughs, thinking about his first race.

“I looked like a monkey humping a football. I didn’t know what I was

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Danny Crane speeds around the third turn, neck and neck with another racer. The purse for that night’s race totaled $1,000.

doing, but I wasn’t scared at all,” Crane says.

Despite being a late bloomer to DIRTcar racing, Crane’s father saw his son’s passion and helped him finance a more complete car.

“When I actually started racing correctly, I slowed down and started learning how to make laps. I finally calmed down instead of going so freakin’ gung-ho,” Crane says. “Once I did that, I started getting consistent.

With consistency comes speed.” That year he won two races, enough for Capital Speedway to name him Rookie of the Year. Since then he’s amassed 192 feature wins and 10 track championships.

Crane, who grew up drag racing on Columbia’s Business Loop, says he got hooked on DIRTcar racing while going to races as a little kid. At eight years old, he recalls watching his mentor, Howard Hall.

“He was ridin’ high, not afraid to die,” Crane says. “I put my hand on my dad’s shoulder and said, ‘When I grow up, I’m going to drive just like that.’ ” Responsible for much of this year’s success has been Crane’s main sponsor, Columbia car dealership Joe Machens Ford, who doubled their yearly funding. Crane is reluctant to go on record about how much they gave him, but combined with other sponsors, Crane says it’s helped him race two to three nights a week.

“Without Machens,” he says, “no way would I be in contention for the top 10 in points. To go for a national championship you’ve got to run three, four, five nights a week. You need to have the financial backing.

Right now I have enough to run about three.”

Six years ago, DIRTcar benefactor Wray Homan—one of the

dealership’s top salesmen—helped Crane land Machens as a sponsor, a gesture that still brings Crane to tears.

“Wray suggested me, and it all escalated from there. As you can tell, it’s all pretty emotional for me. Whenever I talk about him, this happens,” Crane says as his eyes well up.

Crane and his wife were so thankful for Homan that Sandy often drove out of her way to take him to races because the elderly Homan had trouble getting around. (Sadly, Homan passed away in February of 2012 at the age of 76. His death devastated both Crane and Sandy.)

“I always had the ability, but never had the backing to go after it,” he says.

Still though, it’s never enough. DIRTcar racing may be the sand lot to NASCAR’s major leagues, but it’s still expensive.

“When you add all it up—a $15,000 chassis, a $1,500 seat to keep me protected, an $800 driving suit to keep me from burning up, transmission, wheels, gauges, and God knows what else; by the time that race car pulls out of the shop, that’s $50,000 my butt is sitting in,” Crane says.

“And that’s before the $20,000 spare motor.”

Making those ends meet is never easy. Sponsorship money helps, but it evaporates quickly. “When I went to my first race this year, there was only about $2,000 left of my sponsor money,” Crane says. “I race off of what the car wins and my dollar. It’s not like there’s this monster savings account that we’re pulling money from.”

For the first time in his career, the 2011 sponsorship money allowed Crane to focus solely on racing and not a day job. In years past, he’s done

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road construction, operated heavy machinery, built race car engines, and for a while, he owned his own dump truck. Still, family support from his father and wife help see him through.

“Sandy is a provider. She’s my destiny. She’s my everything,” Crane says about his wife of 18 years. “Without her I wouldn’t be anything. She’s the one that works so I can do this.”

Sandy, whom Crane calls a “true racer’s wife,” is behind her husband 110 percent, evident by her “My Heart Belongs to 78” tattoo on her ankle.

“I know how much he truly loves racing. It’s always been his dream to drive, but it’s not easy,” says Sandy, a realtor in Columbia. “There are times where I want to kick and scream. I also know he wouldn’t be a very happy person if he wasn’t racing. I was raised not to take someone’s dream away.”

Though Crane tries to downplay his wistful NASCAR dreams, one thing he’s candid about is where real racing competition can be found.

“There’s way more pride in racing at our level. There’s more competition with DIRTcar because track conditions change every night. Half those guys in Sprint Cup racing aren’t true racers in my opinion,” Crane says. “They’re too busy trying to play the good guy or the bad guy character so they can sell souvenirs for the owners and sponsors.”

The sun has been down for a few hours and the summer night spills through the open garage door. Dogs are off running in the woods. Their barking has quieted the barred owls. Crane and Page are kicking back in their chairs, watching old racing videos.

“Hey Andrew,” Crane says, taking a sip from his mug. “Why don’t you dig out that old VHS tape that’s got ‘Carl and Me’ written on it.”

Page digs around in the stash and finds it. He wheels around a TV and VCR rig on a cart and shoves the tape in the slot.

“I do some ding-dong stuff out there on the track that either makes me a hero or zero,” Crane says as the video cues up. “I’ve won races because my alter ego comes out, which is Ding-Dong. I’ve also lost some races.

This tape shows why.”

His second year racing, Crane made a foolish move and another racer called it a “ding-dong” move. Ever since then, the name has stuck.

“A couple of the announcers at the track got wind of it,” Crane recalls.

“Then they started to announce me as ‘Ding-Dong Danny Crane.’ Then the fans started calling me that. Now I’m proud to be a ding-dong.”

This particular video is from a race at Capital Speedway in 2000 when Danny raced in the Sportsman stock car class. That night featured a local racer who was on the brink of fame and fortune.

“Carl Edwards, who was winning anything and everything on dirt track, was getting ready to go NASCAR,” Crane remembers. “When he showed up that night to drive another guy’s Sportsman car, the race was on.”

Page pushes play, and the race begins. Edwards takes an early lead, finding the faster groove. Crane sticks right with him, but can’t get around him.

“I literally pulled every trick out of my hat that night,” Crane says, pointing at the screen. “I drove my heart out.”

Crane had nothing to lose. He trailed Edwards the entire race, but on the last lap, he decided to go for broke.

“Danny drove for 15 and three-quarters laps,” Crane says. “Ding-Dong drove for the last quarter, and he never made it out of the corner.”

Going into the final turn, Edwards takes the high cushion. Crane, trying to cut him off, slashes inside.

“I drove the car underneath him, did a big slide job, and went up and over the corner and off the track because there’s no wall,” Crane says, narrating the video play-by-play. “The car damn near barrel-rolled and Carl went ahead and won the race.”

A kamikaze move, but Edwards never forgot it.

“Three years ago at a NASCAR race, Carl did the same move on Jimmy Johnson, trying to win the race,” Crane says. “He did the same big slide, but he had a wall to hold him in. About tore his car all to hell.

“Carl said on TV, in the newspapers, and everywhere else that ‘a local racer back home, Danny Crane, showed me that move, and it didn’t work for him either.’ ” The video continues. After Edwards does his signature back flip off his car, Crane eventually crosses the finish line.

“Watch. I swallow my pride, pull up, and shake Carl’s hand,” Crane points out. “That was the most humiliating and proud moment of my life because I didn’t go down running second to his ass.”

Page rewinds the tape several times to watch the ding-dong move.

Each viewing leaves the two friends cackling with commentary.

“That’s Ding-Dong for ya. Blowin’ up motors, crashing cars, sliding off the track,” Cranes says, with a jackknife grin. “Victory or death, baby.”

Danny poses for the camera after winning a race against NASCAR driver Ken Schrader at 24 Raceway.

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[59] June 2012 [55] December 2010

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Big Smith

Folk

By Tina Casagrand

THE BEN MILLER BAND’S OZARK STOMP The Ben Miller Band’s rise has advanced almost as quickly as their tempo. They converged at Joplin open mic nights in 2004 and have recorded dozens of original songs since then, including an upcoming benefit album for Joplin tornado victims. In 2011, they took their selfdescribed “Ozark stomp” to two shows at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Although record labels have courted the band, for now they’re sticking with Nashville’s Blackbird Studio. The independent track suits their style.

“From my little world in southeast Kansas, the music world was driven by the record companies and the bands on the radio,” Scott says.

He snorts and recalls his first epiphanic encounter with Delta blues two decades ago. At age 52, he’s about a generation older than his two bandmates, and he began playing before the Internet created easier and less expensive music distribution. “Nowadays, the more individual you are, the more attention you get.” The music The Ben Miller Band plays is all over the board: Americana, folk, honky-tonk, blues, jazz, Cajun, African, reggae, and Indian. It’s music that makes purists balk.

Ben dismisses genres as marketing strategies. He sees his band as a link in the chain of an ever-evolving art form.

COURTESY OF BIG SMITH

N A SHORT STAGE in a Columbia bar, Ben Miller howls into a telephone strapped to his mic stand.

Below the phone, a lightbulb casts sharp shadows on his expressive face and flaming red hair. To his left, Scott Leeper plays washtub bass; and to his right, Doug Dicharry scrapes thimble gloves against a metal washboard. The washboard sounds otherworldly, stuck somewhere between percussion and cicada, and the bass works deep into your core. Doug’s tank top reads, “The Guy Your Mother Warned You About,” and he verifies that by taking off said shirt and announcing, “This next song’s about drugs.” The college kids cheer. He furrows his brow and says, “Yeah, but it’s about meth.” Welcome to Missouri folk music, full of old-time instruments and honest stories.

In another era, these were the trailblazers that pushed American folk music toward modern blues and bluegrass. In Missouri, these were The Dillards and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, who rejected conservative styles to blend country and rock. Today we have new faces of folk. And while the look and sound has changed, the ethos stays the same: work hard and innovate. That’s how music stays alive.

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COURTESY OF THE BEN MILLER BAND

The Ben Miller Band

MISSOURI FOLK ARTISTS TAKE OLD SOUNDS TO NEW HEIGHTS

Indeed, when bluegrass began in the late 19th century, it was a time when sheet music cost a bundle and the poor folks’ instruments couldn’t stay in tune anyway. Hillbillies, both black and white, taught each other to pluck and fiddle everywhere from front porches to dance halls. This was their entertainment and expression. It wasn’t church music. It was the music of rural people who struggled. They sang about pretty women, hard work, and the places they were from.

Over time, other genres broke off: blues, modern country, folk, rock, and gospel. Missouri saw its share of stars with Springfield’s Ozark Jubilee, the first network show to feature country music. It premiered in the 1950s and featured guests such as Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, and Patsy Cline. Then in the ’60s, some of Missouri’s biggest bands— The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and The Dillards—caused a stir by rejecting conservative styles, adopting electric instruments, and blending country and rock.

GOODBYE TO BIG SMITH Today the state’s most popular contemporary folk band is Big Smith, who will finish their farewell tour this month. Many mistake Big Smith for bluegrass because of their instrumentation. But we’re not in Appalachia.

The Ozarks are a whole different set of mountains. “As an anthropologist would put it, our music is polluted,” says Jody Bilyeu, the band’s doctorate-holding mandolin player. “We’ve been corrupted by gospel, blues, and jazz. It’s American roots music in our own idiom, in the proto-country vein.”

Band member Rik Thomas defines it more simply. It’s “hippity hoppity hillbilly music,” and it comes direct from the hills.

Five of the band members—all the men are cousins—had a grandfather named Hosea Bilyeu, whose fiddling was in high demand for Saturday night dances in the Ozarks’ hills. “Those were pretty rowdy scenes,” says his grandson and Big Smith founder Mark Bilyeu. “Grandma influenced him to start playing gospel instead.”

Hosea’s children started a popular Branson gospel group called The Wayfarers. At family events, “invariably several guitars would come out,” says Rik, and when the band began, they would pay tribute to gospel.

“If there was any musical tradition that would be the base of our music, it would be our family’s, with a lot of singing, a lot of gospel, a lot of three-part harmonies sung by ear,” Mark says.

Gospel was pushed to the wayside as the band became more popular and wrote more music with Americana and southern rock. They’ve since

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Mercer and Johnson

Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company

MERCER AND JOHNSON: HIPSTER AMISH Mercer and Johnson take a different approach to drawing in crowds, with a more cohesive sound and edgier image. Their look defies logic: it’s “hipster Amish,” according to a fan overheard at a show. Brock Johnson’s suspenders, black dress pants, and blue dress shirt contrast with full-arm tattoos and dreadlocks. During musical interludes, Shannon Mercer faces Brock and trills out a tune on his mandolin. It’s hard to dance to the tinny high strings, so Brock just stomps onstage like a mule. “I joke that he’s the second-best mountain dancer in the nation,” Shannon says, “and people started thinking it’s true.”

Their sound is hard to pin, at once familiar and very new. Brock hails from the Lake of the Ozarks, Shannon comes from northwest Missouri, and they converged in Columbia. “We want to take the ingrained music of this area and evolve some of these sounds, if it’s possible without ruining things,” Shannon says.

They write all original songs. Subjects cover women, home, and travel, and the broad appeal has taken them all over the country, playing out of state for more than three weeks at a time. Despite national exposure, they’re still happy to play events such as the Lebanon Combat Veterans Motorcycle Club and the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture’s Harvest Hootenannies. “We’ll play in your living room if you give us money,” Shannon says, and he’s completely serious.

More often, though, they sound best paired with other bands of the same Americana ilk, opening for bigger acts such as The Ben Miller Band and Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company.

ADAM LEE’S HONKY-TONK This Kansas City band plays honky-tonk that’s reminiscent of greats such as Elvis and Johnny Cash. At a show with Mercer and Johnson, Adam Lee offered little in stage banter, simply prefacing songs with deep-voiced introductions: “This song is about getting in trouble with the police.”

The young audience relived old country bar scenes just like their grandparents used to enjoy, complete with an upright bass, tilted cowboy hats, and lyrics like “Gonna build a bar in the back of my car and drive myself to drink.” Classic country.

Like Ben Miller, Adam doesn’t want to get pigeonholed into a single genre. “A good song is a good song is a good song is a good song,” Adam says. “So if you’ve got a good song, it doesn’t matter what you want to call it.” He can’t say it enough. “More than anything now with country, you need to write good songs.”

Like any music genre, country has gone through cycles of authenticity and money-making pop hits. Adam cites Merle Haggard, George Jones, and Johnny Cash as influences and appreciates Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam for fighting against the grain of pop country in their day. He also draws inspiration from contemporary bands such as Wayne Hancock and Junior Brown. “Seeing new music on the shelves is reassurance, I suppose,” Adam says. “It’s nice to not have to go digging in the thrift store bins to find new country music.”

Although their sound is a little more electric, they fit with their fellow Missouri brethren by merit of a hard-working ethos and original song writing. They began in 2008 as a duo playing Americana-type music.

“Right around the genesis of the band, I’d been writing more and more, moving in the classic country direction,” Adam says. “And so Johnny Kay, the guitarist, and I talked about, what if we put on a real, full-on country band?” The result has been thrilling: a swingin’, hollerin’, good time where young and old can dance and feel nostalgic.

COURTESY OF LACEY SCHUETZ AND ADAM LEE & THE DEAD HORSE SOUND COMPANY

played countless shows, including halftime at a big Arkansas game and in the state of California’s Great American Music Hall. After the farewell tour is over in June, the band members will head their separate ways, musically and professionally.

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The Mississippi Sawyers

For Adam, the draw of the music is also about its authenticity. “I listened to country when I was younger; and when I came back to it, the simplicity and the honesty of it really grabbed me,” he says. “Lots of songs about carousing around and drinking too much. That’s super relatable.”

No matter the venue or the audience, Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company hope to strike that chord with people.

COURTESY OF THE MISSISSIPPI SAWYERS

THE MISSISSIPPI SAWYERS REMEMBER As night falls over the Arcadia Valley Bluegrass Jamboree, a disembodied voice announces The Mississippi Sawyers from St. Louis. A black curtain splits and slides open. The reveal: a four-part bluegrass band dressed in striped, throwback vests. Stage lights gleam off instruments.

After the first song, the guitarist, Jeff Griffy, asks how many people have heard the band before. Cheers follow. “What took the rest of you so long?” he teases, laughing. Then they launch into “Lonesome Road Blues,” a lightning-fast song with soaring vocals and plunky strings that sound as if they are careening through Ozark hills. They also play a kazoo-laden cover of “Pistol Packin’ Mama” and a classic Texas swing tune, “Dixie Cannonball,” which alternates from singer to singer like popcorn.

They pay tribute to and remember The Dillards, whose sound captures the Sawyers’ spirit. In a powerful cover of “Whole World Round,” Dave Mueller’s mandolin trembles like autumn leaves and Nate Free’s banjo rattles like bones. The song is about choosing to settle down in the woods and leave behind the city life. Perfect topic for a band from the Ozarks.

And like most Missourians, the musicians also had distinct styles. “I love Doug Dillard’s banjo playing,” Nate says. “It’s quirky, on a higher capo.”

The Dillards, a Salem-based band, have a distinctive sound and more than a dozen albums. But perhaps their most notable attribute was a regular guest appearance on The Andy Griffith Show as a fictional band, The Darlings. Historians also credit them with ushering a country rock

movement into the state of California. The Sawyers likewise strive for a unique sound, which sometimes runs them into trouble.

“Almost everybody has at least one song that they like,” Jeff says.

“Yeah, out of 12, they’ll have one,” the bass player, Candice Hale Griffy, says, laughing. At a wedding reception a few years ago, the band got an icy welcome as they toted in their instruments. “A guy looked over, rolled his eyes, and mocked us to his wife,” Candice says. “Twenty minutes later, that same guy had his foot tappin’ and boppin’ his head. And we were like, ‘Aha! We got you!’ ” she says, pointing her finger.

“I like getting people away from the stereotypes of what they think bluegrass is,” Jeff says. That’s why they shoot for playing to crowds who have never heard folk and bluegrass, rather than playing at festivals where most of the audience already knows the classics.

“That’s why we try to write as much stuff as we do,” Dave says. “It makes it ours.”

Like Big Smith, they’re calling off the band at the end of this year. Dave is leaving for North Carolina so he can learn from mandolin players there. Jeff and Candice are hoping to start a family. They might reunite later; but in the meantime, they’ve planted the seeds for future folk fans by bridging gaps between old-time and modern music.

Missouri’s folk music today balances the grand tradition of homage and inventive styles. New acts such as The Ben Miller Band and Mercer and Johnson stand ready to fill the shoes of legendary bands like Big Smith who are bowing out.

At the end of a show in St. Louis, Big Smith finished with a gospel song, proving at the end of the night, you have to acknowledge your roots. And that’s just what these Missouri folk bands intend to do.

For more Missouri folk bands, a list of festival dates, and to listen to music from The Ben Miller Band, Big Smith, and The Mississippi Sawyers, visit www.MissouriLife.com.

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One YearLater:

SIGNS OF HEALING

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH ALBAN

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This time last year, six days after the tornado, I was rolling into Joplin on a highway crowded with trucks of supplies, vans of volunteers, and cars of insurance assessors.

My trunk sounded like an upset stomach, tossing inside with food, bottled water, and toilet paper. I prepared myself to see disaster and help in any way I could.

THINKSTOCK.COM

The city’s southwest side was flattened, but the residents had great attitudes.

I went to Joplin looking for signs of hope and found them in the spirits of people for whom little else was left.

I went to Joplin looking for signs of hope and became overwhelmed by just how many physical signs blazed with inspiring messages.

I went to Joplin looking for signs of hope—and I would’ve had a hard time ignoring them.

This year, Joplin looks a lot better. The donations of time and money have helped the residents make visible strides. You can walk down any sidewalk without tiptoeing over glass or feeling like a car-sized piece of aluminum might fall from a tree and smack you like a bolt of lightning. You can talk to survivors who have a lifetime supply of donated toothpaste.

That’s not to say the city is without scars. But residents have cleaned their wounds. Joplin is healing.

Some high points: Tens of thousands of volunteers from all 50 states have helped clear debris. Many are still arriving. Each week, they come. They clean, build, and smile. They are needed.

Milk cartons torn from fridges, fridges torn from homes, and

homes torn from foundations have been trucked west 10 minutes to a dump in Galena, Kansas. Workers at the dump sometimes called residents if they could identify the owner of a valuable, such as a purse that had a name inscribed.

Authorities have let stand an “H” and “E” that someone stuck onto the old “Joplin High School” sign, off of which the tornado ripped the J-L-I-N. Now it says, “Hope High School.”

Someone spray-painted over a nearby sign that said, “Distribution Center 4 Tornado Victims.” Victims? Not in Joplin. Today the sign reads, “Distribution Center 4 Tornado Victors.”

As for the real signs of healing, well ... I’ll let the victors tell you themselves.

SHELTERS FROM THE STORM No, really. The storm has spawned a new type of home shelter.

While touring Joplin to witness what his brother had survived, Russel Gehrke, an engineer who writes science textbooks, noticed something stunning.

Every so often, he’d see a fast-food place destroyed, shredded like string cheese. That wasn’t stunning—at least, not after miles of buildings that looked the same. But amid the splintered restaurants, plastic playgrounds stood tall.

Left: In the Duquesne neighborhood, this block of homes was almost totally pulverized in 2011. Fence posts divide lawns of debris. Right: One year later, homes are reappearing in the distance of this neighborhood.

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One Year Later: SIGNS OF HEALING “Every playground I saw survived,” says Russel, of Springfield.

So Russel went home and brewed up batches of the playground material. He used waste plastic (polyethylene and polypropylene) that would’ve been recycled anyway. He turned this plastic into strong blocks by adding iron-bar and strengthened cement. Eventually, he perfected a block strong enough to withstand a Joplin tornado.

Then he shaped it into storm shelters and started giving them away.

Russel’s nonprofit, Project JOMO, distributes the storm shelters today to Joplin families who apply online. Businesses can donate plastic waste and get a tax credit instead of otherwise paying about 50 cents a pound to recycle their plastic.

“I call it ‘capitalized philanthropy,’ ” Russel says.

Most—but not all—families having their homes rebuilt want a storm shelter, says Kate Massey, Rebuild Joplin’s director of development.

“To have that when they move into a home a month before storm season begins gives them peace of mind,” Kate says. No word on why someone wouldn’t want a shelter. The decision is personal, Kate says.

Rebuild Joplin built three homes between December 2011 and February 2012. The organization has pledged to rebuild 100 homes in 2012 by partnering with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.

The St. Bernard Project, which organizes reconstruction of New Orleans homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, consults with Rebuild Joplin on managing reconstruction.

Kate says all the money donated to Rebuild Joplin goes to families. The organization cuts overhead by getting donations itself: a content-management system donated by Toyota; more than $4 million in high-end power tools donated by DeWALT; and Kate’s and her colleagues’ salaries, paid by the Community Foundation of Southwestern Missouri.

Folks who get Rebuild Joplin homes include anyone who ran out of insurance coverage for a full rebuild project or those who never had any. Their circumstances, being caught without insurance in Tornado Alley, have drawn some criticism, Kate says.

But Rebuild Joplin doesn’t discriminate against anyone in need of rebuilding. “These people,” she says, “at the end of the day, are just people who want to go home.”

FAR FROM HOME Like a dozen pint-sized Indiana Joneses, students from the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, a St. Louis suburb, move through the former Joplin Middle School.

Their Holy Grail? Easy: smartboards, whiteboards, Wi-Fi equipment, doors, hinges—really anything worth a wad of cash that the school district would have to pay to replace.

They didn’t encounter snakes, no. But they did have to deal with a six-inch slurry of green goop on the floor—the remains of ceiling tiles that had collapsed from water weight.

Bottom line: They had to wade through a pasty, moldy, green papier-mâché of sludge to get to a smartboard.

“We weren’t going to let that stuff stay in there,” says St. Paul’s supervising volunteer Jack Chong the day after, his boots still coated with ceiling powder.

Jack’s colleague is surveying the Des Peres students, who are now raking light debris off a yard. Rebuild Joplin has been giving them tasks for each day they’re here on this long February weekend. (Spring Break was overbooked with volunteers.)

“We could strip out all the partitions in a bathroom in about a half-hour,” says Don Meyer, beaming with a smile as he talks about the muscle aches everyone has today.

“We were just determined to do it,” Jack says.

That yard they’re raking used to be a home, not a yard of dirt.

But the owners sold it to a neighbor and left. The neighbor wants to turn it into a garden.

“For Sale” signs are common in Joplin. Lots of residents, especially older ones for whom the task of rebuilding an entire home seemed just too much, have left for places such as Florida.

But not everyone is fleeing. You can see a salon on South Byers Avenue that rebuilt—from nothing—and reopened in just a month. Its owners employed the beauticians as debris and construction workers.

You can see the seven homes rebuilt by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on South Connor Avenue. (You’re likely to be joined by a lot of other people who want to see that. Figure one car every couple minutes drives by and slows down.)

But unless you look hard enough, you might not see the little things.

THE LITTLE THINGS Rebuilding Joplin’s skyline means, well, building on top of the old one.

The truckloads taken to the Galena dump? Those weren’t trash.

Those were pulverized trophies, report cards, first-grade turkey handprints, wedding photos, whole closets, heirloom jewelry and furniture, savings bonds, receipts, computers, and pets. Those were memories.

Those were homes, a label dozens of new houses are trying to attain.

Cindy and Gary Sundy built a new house on 24th Street. The mail comes faster but only because other homes on the street haven’t been rebuilt yet. Of course, a long dirt yard stretches from the mailbox to the house.

The Sundys’ 12-year-old dog, Gypsy, who survived the tornado by crawling underneath the foundation of the old home, has to walk a little farther to find a patch of grass. It’s the little things.

I met Cindy last year while photographing two piles of rubble behind the foundation of her home, which looked like a cartoon home the cartoonist had decided to erase.

I was on assignment and reporting the “Signs of Hope” article that ran in Missouri Life’s August 2011 issue. Cindy crossed her foundation, walked up behind me and watched me for a moment, and then said, “You’ll have to excuse my housekeeping.”

The Sundys’ neighborhood, Duquesne, was one of the hardest hit.

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Top (2011): Bathroom pipes mark where Cindy Sundy and her family survived the tornado in a bathtub.

Bottom (2012): Cindy and her dog, Gypsy, who survived by crawling underneath the house foundation, look out from their rebuilt deck.

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One Year Later: SIGNS OF HEALING They lost one neighbor down the street, a man who’d shielded his wife in the bathroom until a car flew into him. (She lived and moved away.)

But the Sundys stayed. They tried to convince their insurance company they’d installed custom-built cabinets before the storm.

But where were their receipts? The company wanted to know.

“Let’s see, where would those be?” Cindy says. “The Gulf of Mexico?”

Their new kitchen shines like a QVC showroom: empty drawers, sparkling counters, and years of crumbs eerily absent, like new shoes that are missing dirt stains.

Cindy’s car is new. The old one, a Mercedes named Lola, was totaled. The new one, a Chrysler, doesn’t have a name. “The Chrysler,” Cindy calls it.

“It’s the little things,” she says.

This year, the Sundys are hosting their annual July 4th party, last year’s being the first they missed in decades.

“We’re calling it the ‘FU-F5’ party,” Cindy says, her smile too wide for words.

It’s mostly the little things.

LASTING SCARS “It’s hard to go through it all,” says Jim Hardy, of the Hardy, Wrestler, and Associates accounting firm on South Jackson Avenue. Jim means the six bankers boxes of photos and documents he has at home. These serve the same purpose—though Jim doesn’t know it—as a jumbo Tupperware box of personal items in the Sundys’ new house. Neither has touched these since salvaging them.

Jim is the only person in the office on this Sunday. He would have been the only person in the office the Sunday the tornado reduced it to a pile of powder—if he hadn’t been celebrating his grandsons’ joint birthdays north of town.

Jim and his business partner, Roger Wrestler, were the first to rebuild on South Jackson Avenue. They designed their new office around a central safe room. Its everyday task will be to store documents. But when needed, the room can hold employees during a storm.

“I told the contractor, ‘Don’t tell me; I don’t want to know,’ ” Jim says of the price.

The new office is an upgrade. The partners added on a children’s room with video games and a flat-screen TV and a new conference room with a smartboard.

They even bought a lot to the north of them (which incidentally faces the Extreme Makeover “Seven”) and turned it into an additional parking lot. Their employees, each of whom has bankers boxes of personal items at home, got ergonomic desks.

Everything seems new. Except for an old oak plaque which Jim’s brother had spent 46 hours carving Jim’s name into. Jim found that in the wreckage.

Jim and Roger carved, too. Two bricks from the wrecked office were saved. Into one went the word “Survived,” and into the other, “May 22nd, 2011.” These two bricks stand out in the façade of

their new office, like two teardrop tattoos a prisoner gets for his fallen comrades. In a way, that’s just what they are.

The bricks survived, but 25 years of photos didn’t. Jim tears up describing them: head shots he and Roger had taken each year of every employee. Multiple shots of some employees.

The foyer had overflowed with them, before the tornado cleaned it out.

“There was barely any room for more,” Jim says.

Today’s foyer has just one photo. In it, Jim, Roger, and their employees are standing on the old office, or its pile of rubble. A sign in the middle reads, “Temporarily Relocated.”

“Lost Photos of Joplin” is a Facebook page dedicated to helping survivors find lost photos. People upload found photos to Facebook hoping someone will identify those pictured. But hardly any photos have comments. They need eyes on them.

EYES ON MISSOURI After an EF-2 tornado ripped across 22 miles of Missouri on February 29 of this year—notably damaging a handful of Branson building icons—the U.S. Department of Homeland Security partnered with the University of Missouri Extension’s Fire and Rescue Training Institute to train 24 emergency-response crews in southwestern Missouri on how to rescue people inside fallen buildings after tornadoes.

David Burton, who created a Facebook page called “Branson Tornado Info” ominously one month before February 29, learned about the actual tornado by watching his Facebook fan base multiply. “[The Facebook] page had jumped from two fans to 50 before I even knew there had been a tornado hit Branson,” David wrote in a March 2 press release. “Before the end of that first day, we were up to 14,000 followers.”

Heads are turning toward southwestern Missouri.

THE BEST VIEW OF JOPLIN On the night of the storm in 2011, Cindy got in touch with her son by using a relative’s cell phone. Shawn Sundy, now grown and working at an Arizona tool shop, hung up with his mom a little dazed, but determined to get from Phoenix to the stricken Joplin, where he’d grown up.

He loaded his car with tarps, axes, and cable pullers from inventory. Then he drove 20 hours to Joplin.

But first, he posted to Facebook, sharing how he used to feel about the city: “ ‘I used to think the best view of Joplin was in my rearview mirror,’ ” Cindy recites from memory, wiping her eyes. She pauses. “But anyway, he doesn’t feel that way anymore.”

Joplin residents are remembering what life was like before the tornado, but they aren’t trying to live in the past. They’re moving forward.

Occasionally, they check the rearview mirror to see how far they’ve come.

But they all know the best view of Joplin lies ahead.

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Pieces of a playground stand in the foreground beside the Ozark Center for Autism, where children often visited before the tornado. Bottom: Hardy, Wrestler, and Associates’ new building incorporated two inscribed bricks from the previous office that the tornado damaged.

HOW YOU CAN HELP www.rebuildjoplin.org Volunteer and/or donate. www.projectJOMO.com Donate or apply for shelter. www.joplinmemorial.com Read, comment on, and contribute to life stories of the 161 lost. www.facebook.com/lostphotosofjoplin Identify recovered Joplin photos. www.lantzharefoundation.org Donate.

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COLE CAMP LINCOLN WARSAW

Benton County

COLE CAMP • LINCOLN • WARSAW

www.visitbentoncomo.com

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Benton County

Secrets of the Land Between our Lakes

COLE CAMP LINCOLN WARSAW

By JOE McCUNE

A bird catches the wind, wings stretched out as wide as a tall man’s arms, riding the slight thermals upward, higher and higher. You notice its head first—bright white against the blue-gray sky—and then the tail feathers, also white, the telltale signs of a bald eagle. Higher still, a dark spot in the sky’s ceiling, another bald eagle (at least, that’s what you figure it is), riding its own thermals. A nesting pair, perhaps, one of 50—or more—along the Osage River from Truman Dam to the wide open Lake of the Ozarks.

But this isn’t some secluded section of the river, civilization just a suggestion and wilderness all around.

It’s Gordon H. Drake Memorial Harbor, the whole of downtown Warsaw spread out beneath the eagles’ eyes.

Barbara and husband Dana Odle are walking the harbor footpath, and they stop to watch the eagles. Shawnee Mission, Kansas, residents, the Odles have been coming to the Warsaw area for years, they said, and in 1997 they bought their first place at Osage Bluff Marina. These days they own a house northwest of Warsaw’s downtown, and they split time between their Kansas and Missouri homes.

Dana wouldn’t mind staying year-round.

“I hate going home,” he says, referring to Shawnee Mission. “Going back across 435 …”

They’re advocates of the unhurried Truman Lake lifestyle, where nature is more up close and personal.

Bobcats, coyotes, eagles, deer, and turkeys are their neighbors. The Odles, both 65 years old, prefer Truman’s pace to the party atmosphere found at the Lake of the Ozarks; Party Cove visitors, they’re not.

“Things don’t change down here,” Barbara says, “and that’s good. Things are familiar.”

And that’s what you find as you spend time in Benton County. Warsaw, Lincoln, and Cole Camp–the county’s dominant communities–have a sense of place, of time, of history. They don’t put on airs. What you see is what you get.

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COLE CAMP

Benton County

COLE CAMP • LINCOLN • WARSAW

LINCOLN WARSAW

Benton County is bordered on the east by the Lake of the Ozarks and on the west by the western edges of Truman Lake. In it’s farthest northern reaches, gently rolling, windswept prairies still exist, grassland made for grazing cattle, or, less preponderantly, row-crop farming. Heading south, you run into the northernmost outcropping of the ancient Ozark Mountains, hills and hollers marching across the karst topography. In between are thousands of acres of woods: oak and hickory, red cedar and ash, elm, maple, cottonwood, and sycamore. Look closely during the spring, and you might see the white petals of Missouri’s state tree, the flowering dogwood.

Best Hunting in the State

Hunting among those woods is big—and big business—in Benton County. The deer, especially, are thick in Benton County, and the word has gotten out with hunters. In 2011, more deer were shot with a firearm in Benton County than in any other of Missouri’s 114 counties.

According to the Department of Conservation, 4,680 whitetail deer were tagged in Benton County, including 1,472 antlered bucks. A display at the Harry S. Truman Regional Visitor Center says that in 1925 there were only 400 deer in the whole state of Missouri; now, less than 90 years later, the state’s herd numbers are about 750,000.

Benton County is also a prime spot for turkey hunting, with about 70 percent more birds taken than the statewide county average. During the 2011 fall turkey season, 148 birds were turned in, with 22 adult gobblers and 50 adult hens among the take.

Quail, pheasant, dove, duck, and goose hunting opportunities

abound in Benton County, whether on the prairie or on the water. You can hunt squirrels and rabbits, raccoons and possums, bobcats, foxes, and coyotes —and if you’re really adventurous, try your hand at hunting or trapping the striped skunk, although buyer’s remorse is a definite possibility.

Prime Fishing and Spoonbill

For those more enamored of the piscatorial arts—you know, fishing— Lake of the Ozarks and Truman have trophy largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish just waiting to be fished for. (It’s not called “catching” for a reason.)

And then there’s the spoonbill, which also answers to “paddlefish”— or is it the other way around? Whatever you call it, the Benton County portion of the Lake of the Ozarks, basically the Osage River writ large, is prime paddlefish territory. A primitive, prehistoric animal, the spoonbill is native to Missouri, and since 1997, it has been our state’s official aquatic animal. It is one of the largest freshwater fish in North America.

Like sharks, it has a cartilage skeleton rather than bone. It can grow to five feet or longer, weigh 160 pounds, and live for 30 years.

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Left: Children and families enjoy a fishing day at the Lost Valley Fish Hatchery, just east of Warsaw. Above and right: Fishing guide Anthony Ford takes people on guided trips for the prehistoric spoonbill fish.

For Randy and Joni Jacobs, owners of the Last Resort Campground outside Warsaw, spoonbill season means their campground is full.

Located on the Lake of the Ozarks’ main channel, it has its own boat ramp and 60 full-service camper hookups. Nearly half of the camper trailers are there year-round, with decks and porches built alongside them, and one of them even has a gazebo. For something to do and to make a little extra money—and to get him out of the house on a regular basis—Randy drives a school bus for the Warsaw school district. It can make for long days when spoonbill season is in full swing. And although he said the 2009 season was much better than 2010 and 2011, if there’s one guide Randy would trust to find paddlefish, it’s Anthony Ford.

The season runs from March 15 to April 30, and experienced fishermen, like 10-year guide Anthony, will take you out on the water for a full-day excursion. Towing giant treble hooks weighted down with pounds of lead sinkers, Anthony trolls along likely and known spots, hunting for the prehistoric fish. Even though he makes part of his living hunting down the fish for clients, he wouldn’t want a steady diet of spoonbill.

“A lot of people like it,” Anthony says. “I personally don’t. I’ve had a lot of people tell me the meat is a lot like shark meat.”

Once spoonbill season is finished, Anthony takes folks fishing for the giants of the lake, blue and flathead catfish that can easily tip the scales at 50 pounds or more—sometimes much more. Bald eagles are a

common sight during his guided fishing trips.

“They’re as thick as crows,” he says between shots playing eight-ball during karaoke night at Valley Bar and Grill in Warsaw. And he’s finally taking advantage of the one animal he doesn’t have to catch, booking guided eagle-watching trips.

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Benton County

COLE CAMP • LINCOLN • WARSAW

LINCOLN WARSAW

By the Numbers Lots of water, fast growth, and room to grow

752.48 Size of Benton County in square miles 46

Square miles of water in Benton County

19,056 2010 Census population 10.9% Population increase in past 10 years 31.5% People over 62 (A popular retirement destination) 27.1

More Outdoors

People per square mile (A far cry from the overall Missouri average of 87.1)

4,000+ Seasonal homes used by vacationers 118°

Highest temperature ever in Missouri in 1954 in Warsaw

-40°

Lowest temperature ever in Missouri in 1905 in Warsaw. Warsaw is one of only two cities in the United States to share the highest and lowest temperature in their state.

56+

Different riverboats that docked in Benton County during the 1850s.

144

Bales of deer skins shipped on one riverboat in 1854

5

Native American tribes that called Benton County home: Delaware, Shawnee, Sac, Kickapoo, and of course, the Osage

Dozens of Civil War battles and skirmishes throughout the county.

You don’t have to be into hunting or fishing to enjoy Benton County’s outdoor recreational opportunities.

There’s boating, of course, on the lakes, whether for a pleasure cruise or for waterskiing and tubing. You could go swimming at one of the many public beaches at Truman Lake: Shawnee Bend, Thibaut Point, Long Shoal, Windsor Crossing, Sparrowfoot, and Berry Bend Parks all have U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managed beaches as well as a swimming beach at Harry S. Truman State Park. (Safety first: Don’t forget your sunscreen.)

Hiking trails abound for day trips or weekend adventure. At Harry S. Truman State Park, choose from the two-mile Bluff Ridge Trail or the Western Wallflower Trail, just under one mile.

If you don’t feel like walking, have your horse do the heavy lifting at Berry Bend North Horse Park near Truman Lake, which has nearly 25 miles of developed horse trails. If you want to ride something a little more powerful, head to the Cooper Creek ATV area, which is managed by the Corps of Engineers, Harry S. Truman Project. The 400-acre park is for ATVs and dirt bikes, and dune buggies and four-wheel-drives are prohibited. For two-wheeled adventure and a good workout to boot, head to the Truman Lake Mountain Bike Park & Hiking Area for 23.5 miles of biking trail. The Truman Lake Bike Club holds a “Feel the Burn” winter mountain bike racing series with events in December, January, and February for first-times, beginners, sport class, and experts.

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Left: The Last Resort and Truman Lake are perfect for outdoor fun.

Above: Gordon H. Drake Memorial Harbor is one of the many places to enjoy the lakeside grandeur. Windsailing and archery are other outdoor experiences found at Truman Lake.

There are more than 25 parks and campgrounds, many with amenities—such as laundry facilities and showers—that take the “rough” out of roughing it. (For information on camping in Benton County, visit www.visitbentoncomo.com.)

Warsaw’s Shawnee Bend Golf Course is a nine-hole, par-36 public course with affordable rates for greens fees and rental clubs if you’ve left your slice-makers at home. (It’s always the club’s fault, right?)

In Cole Camp, head to Triple Creek Golf Course, a hybrid 18-hole, par-71 course that combines nine holes of executive par-35 golf with nine holes of championship par-36 golf.

Truman Lake Visitor Center

If you’re more into history and touring than outdoor recreation, Benton County’s got places for you, too. And if you’re interested in mastodons—perfect.

At the Truman Visitor Center, exact copies of mastodon bones and teeth are on display. The Ice Age relatives of the mammoth and today’s elephants went extinct about 11,000 years ago.

In the 1960s, the Corps of Engineers and other agencies excavated

Stay and Play

Find great lodging around the lake

For the hundreds of hotel rooms, cabins, and more, visit www.visitbentoncomo.com.

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LINCOLN WARSAW

Benton County

Warsaw Festivals

Warsaw boasts a lineup of festivals and events, including Jubilee Days in June and The Dam Experience Fireworks show in July, which gives you a chance to watch fireworks on land or in your boat.

Truman Lake’s Heritage Days in October brings thousands to Warsaw to see how everyday life was in the 1800s. Watch and learn techniques used by Missourians more than 100 hundred years ago. Exhibitors will show visitors the techniques and skills that have been passed down to them. There will be musicians, cooks, cabin builders, old machinery, pottery makers, yarn spinners, Civil War reenactors, and a variety of other things to see and do. Heritage Days takes place at the Harry S. Truman Visitor Center and Drake Harbor in downtown Warsaw.

A Christmas lighting and parade in December are just the start to the holiday season. The Kaysinger Christmas celebration brings an old-fashioned 1800s Christmas to Warsaw. Enjoy hay wagons, singing of carols, fireplaces, wood stoves, candles, luminaries, buildings decked out in old-fashioned décor, hot chocolate, and hot cider. Find that unique gift at the new Kaysinger General Store. Visit www.visitbentoncomo.com for more information.

June June 6-9 Jubilee Days June 30 The Dam Experience

July July 29 Sprint Triathlon

October October 20-21 Heritage Days

December December 1 Santa Day December 1 Christmas on the Harbor December 1 Lighted Parade December 7-8 Kaysinger Christmas

The walkway along Drake Harbor provides an enjoyable stroll.

five springs, including Boney Spring, in south Benton County before Truman Lake was built, uncovering mastodon and other bones. This came 20 years after St. Louisan Albert Koch led an expedition to the region to excavate ancient bones. When all was said and done, Koch put together a beast that was 15 feet tall and 30 feet long, and he called it the Missouri Leviathan. Well, there were a few problems with Koch’s creature, the least of which is that a “leviathan” is a sea monster in Biblical usage. The bigger problem was his skeleton was made of several different mastodons—and the bones of a giant sloth were thrown in for good measure.

In the past 50,000 years, you had to be tough to survive in Benton County, what with alligators—yes, alligators—and saber-toothed cats living in the region. The area also was home to giant beavers, black bears, bison, musk ox, deer, horses, and even camels. Ancient man had plenty of game to hunt and plenty to fear.

Fast-forward more than 10,000 years, and missionary-explorer Father Jacques Marquette is traveling down the Mississippi River in 1673. He takes a detour and runs into what they called the “Ochage” or “Ouchage”—the Osage Indians.

During the 1700s, the French and Spaniards traded with the Osage for furs to sell on the international market.

Spain was the area’s legal ruler from 1763 to 1800, but the fledgling United States bought the area from the French in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1806, Zebulon Montgomery Pike surveyed the Osage River, and the U.S. government negotiated a treaty with the Osage Indians where they gave up their land but retained hunting rights.

Fighting and the loss of game led to the tribe’s decline, and in 1825 the government began a harsh relocation program and expelled the Osage from the area for good.

The Heritage Days festival is a big draw to Warsaw. Explore many fine things of days gone by such as music and crafts.

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Jacob Coonce was an early hunter and trapper, plying his trade in the Osage River Valley in 1827. Eight years later, Lewis Bledsoe was licensed to operate a ferry across the Osage River at Warsaw as traffic from the upper Mississippi and Missouri river valleys flowed through the Osage.

In 1857, the U.S. Congress authorized the establishment of an overland stage route from the Mississippi River to San Francisco, and John Butterfield was granted a six-year franchise that paid him $600,000 a year to carry mail on what became known as the Butterfield Overland Mail route.

Two years earlier, the area was growing fast, and in 1855 the Missouri Legislature appropriated $50,000 to improve the Osage River for navigation. The 1850s to 1860s were the heyday of steamboat traffic on the Osage, but the start of the Civil War in 1861 plunged the area into turmoil. No place in Benton County knows the turmoil of the Civil War better than Cole Camp. Though Cole Camp was in a predominately secessionist-supporting region, the high number of German immigrants in the area supported the Union. These German-American settlers formed a Home Guard force, aiding the Union cause.

On the night of June 18, 400 troops armed with muskets camped on a farm just east of Cole Camp. They were given warnings—several of them—that secessionist troops were heading that way prepared to clear the area of possible Union obstruction so that Governor Jackson could safely flee toward southwest Missouri. But they ignored these warnings, sleeping away in two barns on the farm.

At three in the morning on June 19, 350 local State Guardsmen led

by Captain Walter S. O’Kane attacked, peppering one of the barns with

At the Truman Visitor Center at Truman Lake, you’ll find mastodon bones and discover the rich history of the Benton County area.

rifle shots—nearly 35 German-American Home Guard troops were killed and 60 were injured. The outcome of this battle allowed Jackson to escape to southwest Missouri and rally forces for the Confederacy.

Today, Cole Camp visitors can remember this significant battle off of Highway 52, two miles east of town where a memorial plaque commemorating the battle rests. The Union Church cemetery, located two and half miles west of Cole Camp on Highway F, is also thought to be the site of a mass grave for Civil War soldiers. Not everyone believes it is a grave, but some believe that victims of the 1861 Battle of Cole Camp are buried in the grave that is 43 paces long and 12 paces wide.

In the years that followed the Civil War, the railroad came through the area, and buttons made from Osage River mussels were a big business, with a factory based in south Warsaw. Despite river traffic and a burgeoning industrial base, however, the Osage River population declined from 1900 to 1930 because of flooded farms and low crop prices. The advent of automobiles helped the exodus, but it also brought tourists and fishermen to the area.

Those who didn’t work in the tourism industry had a hard time of it

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The Lost Valley Fish Hatchery is an ideal spot for visitors enamored of fish. The hatchery produced 10,529,817 fish in 2011.

in the Great Depression, with many unemployed folks living in tent-city “Hoovervilles;” eventually, some got jobs on New Deal projects, and the area slowly recovered.

From the 1800s to the mid-1900s, Benton County was wracked by periods of floods and droughts, exacerbated by the fluctuating Osage River. As early as 1929, the Corps of Engineers began surveying to find a site suitable for a dam to control floodwaters. It wasn’t until 1964, however, that Congress passed the first appropriation of the present dam. Three great floods in 10 years resulted in the final appropriation.

The dam project got a push from President Lyndon Johnson, who met with the Osage South Grand Association’s Judge Haysler A. Poague.

Finally, in 1964, work began on the dam, but it wasn’t without problems. Work was suspended in 1966 during the Vietnam War and didn’t resume until 1971. The concrete work—which used 327,000 cubic yards of concrete—was finished in 1975, and it took the next three years to install the powerhouse machines and finish the earthen portion of the dam (which is 5,000 feet long and took 8.5 million cubic yards of excavated earth). After 15 years and $500 million, the project was completed in 1979.

When the dam was closed, it took the Grand and Osage rivers 28 days to fill the reservoir. In the first 20 years, the dam has prevented an estimated $1.8 billion in flood damage.

Today, nearly two million people use the lake each year, bringing $34

million into the regional economy and employing more than 1,700 people in the recreation and tourist industry.

Lost Valley Fish Hatchery

Take in another of Benton County’s indoor tourist activities. Lost Valley Fish Hatchery, just east of Warsaw, is the biggest state-owned hatchery in Missouri, one of the largest in the United States. Aquaculture biologists Lesly Conaway and Kara Entrop are happy to show you around.

In 2011, the hatchery produced 10,529,817 fish: walleye, muskellunge, largemouth bass, striped and hybrid bass, hybrid sunfish, bluegill, and channel catfish. The fish go to private and public waters throughout the state. There are 61 one-acre ponds, 14 half-acre ponds, and three one-tenth-acre ponds at the facility, all with polypropylene

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Where Life is Good Lincoln Festivals

Lincoln has its fair share of family-friendly festivals.

The Old Time Fourth of July Celebration is small-town fun with events, music, food, entertainment, and great fireworks. In September, experience the early days of flying and landing on a grass field at the Lincoln Fly-In. All types of aircraft are welcome, and you might just want to take a ride in some of these beauties. For more information on festivals and events, visit www.visitbentoncomo.com.

June June 9 Outlaw/MSTPA Tractor Pull

July July 4 Fourth of July

September September 8 Fly-In September 22 Lincoln Days September 14-16 Rock and Gem Festival

October TBA Pumpkin Festival

December December 8 Christmas Parade liners for ease of maintenance and to keep crawdads from burrowing in and ruining the ponds.

Inside the visitor center, open from 9 am to 4 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays, is the hatchery’s drawing card, its 12,700-gallon fish tank. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, muskellunge, crappie, and the biggest, fattest bluegill you’ll ever see—seriously, they’re serving-plate sized monsters—drift around just waiting for feeding time, not a worm-baited hook in sight.

A Rare Swinging Bridge

Take a stroll north to the Swinging Bridge. According to the marker on the bridge’s east side, Joseph A. Dice built the original structure in 1904 as a toll bridge. A tornado destroyed it in 1924, but Dice didn’t let Mother Nature stand in his way, rebuilding the bridge in 1928. The suspension bridge you see today is made with 720-strand cable, and it was dedicated to the city of Warsaw in 1974 to be preserved as a historical site and walking bridge.

OK, now that the specifics are over with, here’s the scoop. On a warm, calm day, the bridge’s wooden floor moves almost imperceptibly, a slight, gentle sigh. That is perfect if you’re prone to motion sickness.

On windy days, however, the bridge comes alive, swaying side to side, the floor undulating, a sine wave created by the breeze. You can stand in one spot and watch the floor move up and down, and you walk as if you’ve had just one potent potable too many.

Above left: The swinging bridge comes to life as it sways side to side on windy days. Above: Lincoln holds many festivals throughout the year, including the Rock and Gem Festival, the Fly-In, and a Cemetery Walk.

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From top, clockwise: The Lincoln Antique Mall is among the many shops to uncover treasures. Judy Smasal at the Handel Haus also provides beautiful home décor, floral arrangements, and gifts.

Antiques and Shopping Galore

Once you get your land legs back, walk downtown and find that perfect vintage item for your office or living room in one of Warsaw’s many shops and antique stores, such as the Wooden Wagon, Ladybugs Flea Market, the Warsaw Antique Mall, or the Touch of Glass Workshop and Fudgery. If you can’t find it there, check out the stores on the Truman Dam Access Road, such as the Persimmon Tree or the Pecan Grove Gift Shop.

Still looking? Head north up Highway 65 to Lincoln where Susan and Ralph Johnson run two antique malls—the signs say “Antiques”—right along the highway, prime location for folks going to or coming from the lakes. (As you cruise through town, you’ll notice the street signs aren’t green, they’re red—Cardinal red, the cardinal being the mascot of Lincoln’s public school athletic teams.)

Still looking? Go farther north, and turn east on Highway 52 to Cole Camp. Check out Shelly and Gordon Ives’ Barn Loft antique store.

They’ve lived in Cole Camp since 1982 but just opened the store in March 2011.

Or walk across the street to the Handel Haus, located in the old Cole Camp Mercantile building. Judy Smasal bought the building in 2001, and today she sells antiques, home décor, floral arrangements, and locally [84] MissouriLife

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The Last Resort is an ideal stay for an escape to the lake. Bicycle rentals and repairs are available at Truman Lake Bicycles.

produced gifts such as Raintree Bath & Body soap made in Cole Camp.

Inside is a tearoom that serves light lunches. The 4,400-square-foot store completely changes four times a year to correspond with the seasons and holidays.

Judy lives in Sedalia but opened her store in Cole Camp because of the lake traffic that passes through—and all the festivals Cole Camp puts on throughout the year.

Retirement Bliss

At the BB Bar and Restaurant located about 12 miles east of downtown Warsaw—which is full to bursting with Kansas City Chiefs paraphernalia—its patrons reflect the county’s demographics. Many, like Kay and John Stratemeyer, are older than 65 and retired. John worked on the railroad for 33 years before they retired to the Cole Turkey Acres community along the Lake of the Ozarks.

When the weather is cold and dreary, BB patrons drive their pickup trucks to the bar for steaks or barbecue or whatever the special of the day is. But when the weather’s nicer, they break out the golf carts because, the locals will tell you, nearly everyone in Cole Turkey Acres owns one.

And in 2011, the folks there held their third-annual Memorial weekend

golf cart parade. Brenda Teters, one of the parade instigators—she at first suggested golf cart races—says the first parade had 80 carts, 245 people, and 14 dogs tour its three-mile route through the community.

She isn’t sure how many were involved in 2011, but she says it has grown every year. The entry fee is $10 or 10 food items, all the money going to the Benton County food pantry.

On an early afternoon, the BB’s bar stools are full, folks drinking long necks. Sandy Kelly, Judy “Who” Handt, and Brenda sit talking like longtime friends do, ribbing each other with inside jokes (“We’re a very close-knit community,” Brenda says). Suzie Jaekel, tending bar, is one of the gang with husband Bill sitting at one end of the bar. Suzie and Bill have been Cole Turkey Acres residents since 1988, and while Suzie tends bar part-time, Bill works out of town on Superfund cleanup sites such as the one in Times Beach, Missouri, and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Manufacturing, too

Benton County, and Warsaw in particular, isn’t simply a retirement destination, of course. According to an early February article in The Benton County Enterprise newspaper—“Serving the Osage Valley

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From top: Rhonda Weston tends bar at the BB Bar and Restaurant. The Old Oar House is another local favorite in Benton County.

since 1879”—manufacturing is a growing concern in Benton County.

Four companies alone combine to provide jobs for more than 200 people.

The biggest is Regal Beloit. Located in Lincoln, the company makes “permanent magnetic direct current electric motors” that are used in, among other applications, truck steering systems and sporting equipment. It employs 130.

Elbeco in Warsaw, part of a uniform manufacturing company, employs 69 people making pants and shorts for police and fire departments, postal carriers, corrections officers, tactical units, and more throughout North America. It’s been in business for about 12 years.

Burr King Manufacturing in Warsaw, located in the area for 16 years, employs 14 people making belt grinders, mass finishing systems, and polishing equipment.

And Profitpackaging in Warsaw supplies equipment for the newspaper industry, including papers such as the Chicago Sun Times and the Anchorage Daily News. It regularly employs 10 people.

Phoenix Manufacturing is a leading national metal fabrication operation.

This Cole Camp-based firm provides a diverse array of metal tanks, containers, and specialty fabrication products for some of the largest companies in the world. They employ over a dozen skilled workers.

Cheese and Goat Soap

Chapel Ridge Goat Milk Soap employs two people, Donna and Jim Wik, on their 50-acre country farm located about halfway between Cole Camp and Lincoln. Tired of the seemingly interminable winters, the Wiks—who have been married 23 years—moved from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to Missouri two years ago. They brought their love of goats with them.

The Wiks have been making goat’s milk cheese for about eight years, and they recently began making goat’s milk soap, too. Drive out to the Wiks’ farm, and their dogs greet you in the front yard, tails wagging. The Wiks are friendly and outgoing, inviting a stranger into their home and willing to talk all about their farm, their cheese, their soap, and their doit-yourself lifestyle.

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Where Life is Good Cole Camp Festivals

In 2012, the only months Cole Camp doesn’t have some sort of festival or event planned are January and April.

The other 10 months are packed with a gun show, chili cookoffs, barbecue contests, motorcycle shows, tractor pulls, a citywide garage sale, Saengerfest, Oktoberfest, Christbaumfest, and Christkindlmarket. (Yes, there were a lot of German settlers in Cole Camp.)

The biggest event, however, is the Cole Camp Fair held in September. For three days, Highway 52 passing through downtown is closed as rides and games and beer gardens take over. Public Works Director Klark Bohling says the town has to apply for a permit from the Missouri Department of Transportation six months in advance to be able to shut down the state highway. As far as he knows specifically, Cole Camp is the only town in the state that gets a permit to close a state highway. Because the fair is a longstanding tradition, Cole Camp was grandfathered in with an exception when Highway 52 was built. But, Klark says, if someday the town fails to apply for that permit, it won’t get another. Visit www.visitbentoncomo.com for more information on festivals and events.

May May 18-19 BBQ Contest/Motorcycle Show May 26 MSTPA Tractor Pull (Sanctioned Event)

June June 2 June 2 June 9 June 16

Citywide Garage Sales Antique & Classic Car Show Saengerfest Kite Festival, KC Kite Club

July July 21 Zucchini Races

September September 6-8 Cole Camp Fair

October October 13 Oktoberfest October 13 Antique Bicycle Show October 13 5th Annual Prairie Day

Above: Donna and Jim Wik have been making goat’s milk cheese for eight years and recently began making soaps as well. Right: Cole Camp’s heritage is celebrated during a Saengerfest.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get to sample some of their cheese, which they only sell by word of mouth out of their house. Cheddar, Swiss, and mozzarella so creamy and smooth it’s almost like dessert—the taste somehow more pure than cow’s milk cheese, so good you want to take home an eight-pound wheel of each and eat nothing but cheese until you can’t stand it anymore. They also make Romano, Gouda, pepper Gouda, mascarpone—basically anything Donna can dream up. In his

November November 17 Christbaumfest

December December 7 Christkindlmarket

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Above: Red Baron not only serves up delicious tasty catfish and savory steaks but also live music. Right: Former Warsaw Coach Randy Morrow led the Wildcats to the state football championship four times.

shop, Jim is perfecting a stainless steel chamber so they can smoke the cheese before they encase the wheels in wax.

Donna milks the Nubians goats twice a day, at 8 am and 5:30 pm, and her best goat can produce a gallon and a half between the two milkings.

Using her milking machine, it takes her about 40 minutes to milk her five goats.

And although they produce milk, the Wiks’ goats are as much pets as they are farm animals. Standing in the long, narrow barn, Jim calls the goats. They come bounding up the pasture and into the barn, the kids looking for a treat or to be petted; a little ornery, they try to nibble on Jim’s blue jeans through the fence. One goat that is due to give birth—“freshen”—within a day or two, waddles into the barn looking as uncomfortable as a goat can.

When she decided to start making soap, Donna bought books and scoured the Internet for tips. It came out right the first time she made it, and they were off and running with another sideline business.

They make eight soap varieties, each of which takes two months to cure. Dirt Buster, which contains poppy seeds and corn meal, is for hands and feet only. Lavender smells like heaven. Bug-B-Gone contains ingredients that the Wiks say repels biting critters such as mosquitoes 10 times better than Deet. Oatmeal has, well, oatmeal added to work as an exfoliant. They cure the soap for two months in flat, shallow pans before cutting and packaging it for sale online or at Ruth Humphrey’s Wooden Wagon fabric, quilting, and antique store in Warsaw.

If a batch doesn’t come out right, if it doesn’t cut right or breaks apart, the soap goes into a plastic tub. Donna won’t re-batch that soap, instead giving it away to friends.

Making cheese and soap is part of how the Wiks try to be selfsufficient. They butcher their own chickens and hogs, they make bread

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Where to Eat

Cole Camp has perfect pizza.

• The Maple Street Café offers up home-style staples, serving breakfast and lunch from 8 am to 3 pm. Try the biscuits and gravy, and get a scrambled egg with cheese grated on top.

• Down the street and across Highway 52, the Red Baron Pub and Deli features a full bar and serves up everything from catfish filets to steaks and toasted subs to burnt ends.

• Calgaro’s Family Pizzaria, with locations in Cole Camp and Warsaw, is a Benton County favorite, and many residents of both towns sing its praises—with good reason. Sauce makes a pizza, and Calgaro’s sweetness is the perfect counterpoint to spicy, salty sausage and pepperoni and the cheese that covers it all.

Lincoln offers BBQ and nostalgia.

• In Lincoln, there’s Estes Drive In, serving up nostalgia with a cup of malt or milkshake. It’s been a Lincoln institution since 1969.

• Also along Highway 65 is Rick’s Lincoln Inn. With rustic hunting lodge décor, Rick’s offers barbecue, steaks, and shrimp in a cozy, warm atmosphere. And the salty dogs are made just right.

Warsaw shares meals and faith.

• Farther south in Warsaw, El Camino Real is an authentic Mexican restaurant that fills you up on chips and fresh salsa and then brings you way more food than you could ever (or should ever) eat. Wear loose-fitting clothing when eating there.

• The Smoke Shack Bar-B-Que will fill you up with a burnt end sandwich—the brisket ends are perfectly crisped—and fries. Especially if you get a cold beer or two to go with it.

and noodles, and they try to buy as little as possible from the grocery store, believing what you make is better—and better for you. Living off the land—Jim hunts deer and turkeys for the freezer, too—isn’t just a saying for this Benton County couple, it’s a way of life.

Wildcats, Bluebirds, and Cardinals

In small towns across America, nothing brings a town together like high school sports, and Benton County is no exception, a festival of community togetherness from early fall until early spring. People— teams and coaches, parents and relatives, cheerleaders and classmates— pack the gym for Cole Camp, Lincoln, and Warsaw basketball games on

• The Rusty Skillet in downtown Warsaw never met a license plate it didn’t like; the restaurant is decorated with tags from seemingly every U.S. state and several foreign countries. It serves staples such as fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and white gravy.

• Calgaro’s Family Pizzeria is here, too.

• The Common Ground Café is also downtown. It is three floors of exposed oak beams, live plants, stained glass hanging lamps, polished wood slab tabletops and chair seats with hickory legs and leather inlay backs, and a huge third-floor picture window overlooking the harbor. The owners, members of the Twelve Tribes community, are happy to engage in conversation while your meal is being prepared. There’s no proselytizing, but they’ll answer any questions you have about their beliefs, which come from Acts 2:44. With slight variances depending on your version of the Bible, it basically says, “All who believed were together and shared all things in common.”

Michael Morgan and Brett Harris represent two of the seven families who own the restaurant�a community of about 30 people lives communally. Brett acknowledges that the members met some resistance when they first moved into the area, but that has abated in the years since.

The Common Ground Café serves sandwiches, soups, and salads with a choice of a couple dinner entrees. The asparagus is perfectly prepared.

cold winter nights, fans removing coats as the stands fill up, the smell of popcorn wafting through the air, Kaysinger Conference basketball on tap. The boys and girls league tournaments have outgrown their high school homes, so now they’re held at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center in Sedalia, on the State Fair Community College campus.

Before basketball season kicks off in earnest, football holds sway on first warm and then increasingly colder Friday nights. And for 20 autumns, no team in Benton County captured a town’s imagination like coach Randy Morrow’s Warsaw football program did. During two stints coaching the Wildcats, Morrow’s teams won 184 games and lost 57 (a 0.763 winning percentage) and captured two state titles, in 1990

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The Benton County Courthouse pays tribute to veterans from the county on its memorial wall. There are 929 names on the wall.

and 1993. Warsaw won in ’93 after falling in the state semifinals the year before. Warsaw won in ’93 despite losing a host of All-State players to graduation, including the Wildcats quarterback. Warsaw won in ’93, not losing once all season behind senior and first-year starting quarterback Brandon Morrow, Randy’s son.

Randy built a juggernaut at Warsaw, from practice in the hot August sun to state semifinal and championship appearances in the cold of November. His Wildcats went to the state championship game four times and to the state semifinals eight times. His teams piled up district titles on a nearly annual basis, filling the Warsaw trophy case with hardware year after year.

The 2010 season was Randy’s last as Warsaw’s coach. Including a stint at Adrian High School in the 1970s and ’80s, his overall coaching record was 258-85-3. In 2010, Randy was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Cole Camp High School started playing varsity football in 2006, and in six seasons the Bluebirds have compiled an overall record of 28-31.

The team’s best season followed its worst: In 2010, Cole Camp went 7-3 after one year earlier compiling a 2-7 record.

Lincoln High School just started playing football in 2010. With a new program just getting started, the sledding was as tough as you might imagine, the Cardinals going 0-10 in both of its seasons, including 0-4 in the Kaysinger Conference.

A World War II Memorial

So, in the final analysis, what is Benton County, Missouri?

Benton County is more than just a place, a geographic area with defined boundaries, with familiar characteristics, with constant features.

More than that, it’s home to the people who live there—and the people who came before them.

Go to the Benton County Courthouse, up the north-side steps and walk down the main floor hallway. On the wall are 929 names, all veterans of World War II. Roughly speaking, those 929 men who served America during the war represented nearly 10 percent of Benton County’s population according to the 1940 U.S. Census. Some were drafted, many volunteered—and 28 gave everything they had to give; by their names, a red star is painted.

With approximately 1,000 World War II veterans dying each day, their stories are being lost to history, but here in the Benton County Courthouse, their names will remain. Look and you’ll see 11 Millers on the wall, from Elvin R. to Wilford A. Think of your own family, maybe with a soldier or Marine serving today in Afghanistan. Now try to think of 10 other family members—brothers, sisters, cousins—also serving in that war zone.

And be awed by what these men did.

They were fighting for their country, sure. But they were also fighting for each other, for their way of life, for their home—their Benton County home.

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Member FDIC

Farmers Bank of Lincoln and Warsaw Your Home-Owned Bank Since 1890

FARMERS BANK is proud of its heritage as an independent bank.

It has been serving the needs of the community and their customers since 1890. With locations in Lincoln and Warsaw, its bankers are ready to help start a business, ● 101 S. HWY 65, Lincoln buy a home, purchase a vehicle, ● 660-547-3311 or help with retirement savings.

Farmers Bank strives to enhance ● www.fblmo.com its products and services to ● info@fblmo.com

make banking easier and convenient.

It offers online banking, debit cards, many types of loans, safe deposit boxes, and deposit accounts including free checking and a Christmas Club Account.

Full-service banking conveniently provided at both Lincoln and Warsaw locations.

City of Lincoln

Recognized home of the state rock, Mozarkite LINCOLN, MISSOURI is a small town located in the central part of Benton County. Although several pioneers, many of them German, had settled the area, it was not incorporated until 1869 and took its name from the martyred President.

From the beginning, it has been a prosperous agricultural community and today retains its rural roots. One of its most treasured traditions centers around the Fourth of July celebration which was originally held in Rotermund’s Woods.

The Rotermund family were successful breeders of livestock, including champion Percheron draft horses. The celebration has continued over the years but today it is held in the large city park and is celebrated with pulling horse events and a spectacular fireworks known far and wide.

In September, three annual events draw visitors to the town. Early in September, the City hosts a fly-in at their airport on the north edge of town. The grass airstrip is one of the few remaining in the state and is a large draw for small and antique aircraft. Lincoln is also recognized as home of the state rock, Mozarkite, and annually hosts a gem and mineral show in the city park. On the fourth Saturday of September, “Lincoln Days” is held in the downtown city park. The event has been cre- ● 122 E. Main St., Lincoln ated to instill civic pride in the commu- ● 660-547-2718 nity and bring to life the town’s history. ● www.lincolnmissouri.com

The town is named after President Lincoln. The president and the state rock, Mozarkite, are celebrated in September.

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Member FDIC

Hawthorn Bank

Committed to the Warsaw Community WHETHER YOU ENTER OUR BANK at the historic Main Street location, from which banking services have been offered since 1891, or our contemporary facility in North Town Center, you will experience hometown friendliness and personal attention at Hawthorn Bank in Warsaw.

We offer a full range of deposit accounts, loan products, trust services, and cash management products in 24 Hawthorn Bank locations as well as 41 Hawthorn Bank ATMs and access to any of the hundreds of Ultra SF ATM machines around the state. As our customer, you are never far from your bank no matter where you travel. Our branches are statewide, but our commitment is to our hometown, the people and businesses

In addition to the contemporary location, Hawthorn Bank has been operating out of the historic Main Street location since 1891.

that make Warsaw a community. Whether the task is building an 1890s barn with the Heritage Association, selling nuts to raise money for the home-delivered meals program or Food Pantry, working to build a home for Harbor Village (Warsaw’s new health, wellness and senior center) or serving on local boards and in civic organizations, ● 200 W. Main St., Warsaw the Hawthorn Bank ● 1891 Commercial St., Warsaw staff devotes hundreds ● 660-438-2847 of hours each year ● 800-663-0465 working in support of ● www.hawthornbank.com our community.

Truman State Park Marina Family-Owned Since 1982

TRUMAN STATE PARK MARINA is located in the heart of beautiful Truman Lake. The lake covers 55,000 acres with glorious shorelines filled with wildlife, and some of the best crappie, catfish, bass, and hybrid fishing happens year around. There are many acres of Corps ground available for hunting deer, turkey, duck, geese, and small game.

The marina has been owned by the Steenburgen family since 1982 with an emphasis on family fun. It has boat rentals and nightly and seasonal slips.

There are more than 200 campsites in the park, swimming beaches, public ● 14950 State Park Road E. Warsaw boat ramps, shower houses, and play- ● 660-438-2423 grounds for the kids. ● www.trumanlakefun.com

Catch some fish, enjoy the shoreline, or cruise the lake covering 55,00 acres while visiting Truman State Park Marina.

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Newman’s Country Mart Family owned and operated full-service supermarket

THE FAMILY STARTED IN THE grocery business in 1968 when they purchased IGA Foodliner. Over the years the store relocated to the current location and expanded to meet the changing demands and customer needs in the area. Not only did the store size increase but many amenities were added.

In 1997 Newman’s converted their store to Country Mart to take advantage of the promotions, merchandising direction, and advertising programs that added quality and value though the County Mart concept.

The family saw this as a real benefit to their customers.

Newman’s Country Mart has been serving Warsaw and the Truman Lake area for more than 44 years. It offers fresh-cut, top-quality meats, including a full-service meat department offering USDA Choice Angus Beef, all natural pork and chicken, homemade sausage, custom smoked meats, and seafood. Its produce department offers a large variety of fruits and vegetables as well as seasonal produce and floral items. The fullservice deli offers a variety of hot and cold foods, sliced meats, salads, party trays, fried chicken, rotisserie ● 1000 E. Main, Warsaw chicken, smoked ribs, and ● 660-438-5179 other hot food such as madeto-order sandwiches and ● www.mycountrymart.com

At Newman’s Country Mart, you’ll find not only a great grocery store but also the friendly faces of Ed Massey, Craig Massey, and Mark Newman to help you find what you need.

the local favorite, a hand-breaded fresh-cut pork tenderloin sandwich.

Carry-out is available. In the full-service bakery, there are custom made birthday, wedding, and anniversary cakes. Fresh baked breads, cookies, pies, cinnamon rolls, and a host of other tasty treats are among the many delights Newman’s Country Mart has to offer. There is also a large variety of beers, wines, liquors, tobaccos, and lottery tickets.

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Bothwell Health Center–Truman Lake The Better Choice for Health

AT BOTHWELL HEALTH CENTER-TRUMAN LAKE, we couple caring, compassionate staff, and physicians with the latest medical technology to provide the very best patient-centered care. With extended hours of 7 am to 7 pm and walk-in appointments, Bothwell makes it convenient to receive health care when you need it.

Bothwell Health Center-Truman Lake provides comprehensive medical services for the entire family. Our medical staff includes three family practice physicians, an internal medicine specialist, and an ob/gyn physician who sees patients once a week.

We have Benton County’s only computerized tomography (CT) scanner, as well as digital mammography, bone density scanning, x-rays, and ultrasound. Our digital imaging services allow tests to be done in Warsaw with results available for viewing online in a remote location.

Specialists at the center also provide physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Contact Bothwell Health Center-Truman Lake at 660-438-6800 to make an appointment or for more information.

Bothwell Regional Health Center and Bothwell Health Center-Truman Lake provide comprehensive services for your best health care.

1765 Commercial, Warsaw 660-438-6800 ● www.brhc.org ● ●

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special advertising section

Where Life is Good

Bothwell Regional Health Center Exceptional Care, Close to Home

BOTHWELL REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER is a 140-bed regional health system serving west-central Missouri with comprehensive health and wellness services, including cancer, cardiovascular, women’s health, rehab therapies, and sleep medicine.

It also provides surgical and critical care services as well as joint replacement, pain treatment, and a 24/7/365 emergency department with a FastTrack area for less serious emergencies.

Bothwell recently completed construction of the new Canon Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Care, a major step in enhancing cancer and cardiovascular services in the area.

The Susan O’Brien Fisch● 601 East 14th, Sedalia er Cancer Center has a new, ● 660-826-8833 state-of-the-art linear accelerator to provide radiation ● www.brhc.org

therapy and a spacious, attractive area for chemotherapy featuring 14 semi-private infusion cubicles. Cardiovascular services were enhanced with new cardiac testing areas and a cardiac cath lab that includes four pre- and post-procedure recovery rooms.

Bothwell’s Women’s Health Services have been improved with a $1.1 million renovation, which includes updates to the unit’s 18 private patient rooms and the addition of two new and two renovated labor-delivery-recovery rooms.

Bothwell Healing Arts Center, a new medical office building, opened in August 2011 and houses Bothwell OB/GYN Associates, Bothwell Family Health, Retina Associates, and Missouri Heart Center, the practice of Dr. Henry Marquez. The Healing Arts Center adjoins the Bothwell Diagnostic Center, which provides open MRI, CT scanning, digital mammography, ultrasound, and bone density testing.

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COLE CAMP

COLE CAMP • LINCOLN • WARSAW

LINCOLN WARSAW

Benton County

Harbor Village

One Place, One Focus–Better Health WE ALL GO THROUGH many stages in life. Physical problems, family issues, financial issues, aging, grief, anxiety, and many other day-to-day concerns make it hard sometimes to live a happy, healthy life.

If you are serious about your health or just simply want to feel better, we can help. We are Harbor Village, and we provide a team approach to your health and happiness through “Shared Care.” That is because we “share” the experts at Katy Trail Community Health, Pathways Community Health, and Care Connection for Aging Services to address the physical, mental, and social aspects of your health and happiness.

These groups form the Harbor Village Corporation, a non-profit group to oversee the development and management of our new facility.

This partnership has adopted a singular mission: To improve the overall health and wellness of the Benton County region through integrated quality health, wellness, recreation, and care coordination provided at one location.

Harbor Village will provide a one-stop access point for a variety of needed health and community services.

Katy Trail Community Health provides medical, dental, and behavioral health services. At Katy Trail Community Health, we’ve created an approach to primary care that’s a refreshing change from a typical doctor’s office. Above all, we believe that health care should be personal, accessible and affordable. From the way you make your appointment to the ease with which you can follow up with your doctor, we’ve rethought everything and can ensure you that your needs always come first. Put it all together and you have a patient-centered medical home and a health care experience centered around you.

Pathways Community Health is a not–for–profit community mental health center providing a full continuum of mental health care and access to services. Our focus is achieving and sustaining optimal wellness for individuals and communities. We do this by providing accessible mental health, alcohol and drug treatment, and prevention services. Services are based on the individual needs of each person and utilize the most cost– effective and affordable methods of care.

Care Connection for Aging Services is a not-for-profit organization designated by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

to assess the needs of older adults in the county we serve, develop necessary public and private resources to meet their needs, and deliver to our constituents a comprehensive and coordinated system of services, information, and access to needed services.

When it comes to your health, there are no magic cures or simple solutions. However, by working together with the Harbor Village Shared Care Team you can take charge of your life, develop a plan, and find the support you need to make it happen.

Katy Trail Community Health: 1-877-733-5824 ● Pathways: 660-428-1280 ● Care Connection: 660-438-3300 ● www.harborvillageonline.org ●

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Where Life is Good

Harbor Village will provide a one-stop access point for a variety of needed health and community services.

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COLE CAMP

COLE CAMP • LINCOLN • WARSAW

LINCOLN WARSAW

Benton County Grand River Resort

Maples Ford

LOCATED IN THE HEART of the Truman Lake Recreational Area at 11919 Hwy. 7, the resort is nine miles northwest of Warsaw and 13 miles southeast of Clinton and 1/4 mile from Long Shoal Marina. The cabins and A-Frame units offer fully equipped kitchens, living rooms with satellite TV and Wi-Fi, and decks with BBQ grills.

The property features a swimming pool, miniature golf, homemade ice cream shop, kiddie play area, horseshoe pit, and on-site fish cleaning station. Call 660-438-2741 or visit www.grandriverresort. net for more information or to make reservations.

MAPLES FORD, located at 900 East Main in Warsaw, has offered new Ford vehicles and a great selection of pre-owned inventory for 50 years. They specialize in clean pre-owned cars and trucks. The dealership features a full-service department, capable of meeting all of your vehicle service needs. The factory-trained technicians are friendly, knowledgeable, and strive to service your vehicle with quick, accurate work. Owners Tom and Monty Maples proudly serve the Truman Lake area, including Warsaw, Sedalia, Clinton, Cole Camp, Wheatland, Versailles, Harrisville, Blue Springs, Warrensburg, Urbana, St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia. Call 660-438-7324 or visit www.maplesford.com.

Unwind and Enjoy the Outdoors

Great cars and trucks for 50 years

Shawnee Bend Golf Course Golf with a Spectacular View

SHAWNEE BEND GOLF COURSE presents challenges you won’t find on many area courses. Plus, the views from the course are nothing short of spectacular. Beginning in 2011, Shawnee Bend has worked closely with the U.S. Army Corps ● 29353 Golf Road, Warsaw of Engineers to create ● 660-438-6115 a panoramic back drop ● www.shawneebendgolf.com without compromis● golf@welcometowarsaw.com ing the natural tree-

lined bluffs. This has created a pleasing golf course with breathtaking views of the lakes. Whether you are looking to play a relaxed 9 holes or challenge yourself with 18, Shawnee Bend has four different sets of tees to give you the option to do either. The course is only two miles northwest of Historic Downtown Warsaw and one-quarter mile west of Truman Dam. Enjoy beautiful scenery while you enjoy a round of golf at Shawnee Bend Golf Course.

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special advertising section

Where Life is Good

Parkfield Inn

A Great Stay While You’re Away PARKFIELD INN IS LOCALLY OWNED with two locations in Warsaw and Clinton. The Warsaw location, 151 North Dam Access Road, has 57 rooms and was built in 2006. Parkfield Inn has standard rooms and mini suites with refrigerators, microwaves, and jetted bath tubs. Its loft rooms will accommodate up to eight people. It also has two suite rooms with large Jacuzzi tubs. It has a large indoor heated pool and spa. The continental breakfast is hard to beat. Parkfield Inn takes pride in having clean rooms and friendly staff. Call 660-438-2474 (Warsaw), 660-890-6188 (Clinton) or visit www.parkfieldinn.com to make your reservations.

Truman Lake Bikes

Bike, Skateboards, and Kayaks TRUMAN LAKE BIKES is the area’s only full service bike, skateboard, and kayak shop. In addition to new bike sales, Truman Lake Bikes offer bike service, repair, parts, and bike and kayak rental. The shop now offers single and multi-day bike and kayak tours. Located at 304 Seminary Road in Warsaw, the shop is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am-7 pm. Call 660-438-0039 or visit www.trumanlakebikes.com for more information.

Warsaw Area Cycling and Walking Trails Beautiful and Safe Trails

DRAKE HARBOR, with its ¾-mile looping trail along the Osage River, provides a unique experience to enjoy the Lake of Ozarks in a relaxing outdoor setting. With the recent completion of Steamboat Landing Boardwalk and the connection from Drake Harbor to the Joe Dice Swinging Bridge, the ¾-mile-trail system can be expanded by an additional four miles along a smooth surface levy system. Steamboat Landing is an actual boardwalk. It is part of a land and water trail system directly behind historic downtown Warsaw.

Bledsoe Ferry Trail and the Kickapoo Island Trail are two other trails on the levy. They can be accessed from the historic Joe Dice Suspension

bridge, known by locals as the Swinging Bridge.

The bridge was originally built in 1904 and has been an important feature of the Warsaw transportation system. In 2006, it was converted to a safe pedestrian and bicycle crossing of the Osage River. Another unique feature to our outdoor adventures is the Truman Lake Mountain Bike Park and Hiking Area. It is the home of some of the best trails in Missouri. These trails are a beaten path single track that offers 20 miles of mountain ● 660-438-2312 bike trails. ● www.welcometowarsaw.com/bikeparks

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COLE CAMP

Benton County

COLE CAMP • LINCOLN • WARSAW

LINCOLN WARSAW

Reel & Trigger Resort

Arrive as a Stranger, Leave as Family

Clean cabins provide an excellent stay for your time at the lake.

Fishing fun awaits all those who visit Reel & Trigger Resort.

REEL & TRIGGER RESORT has always been a family-owned business. Since 1984, it has been the best gathering place for fishermen, hunters, family reunions, and get-a-ways. Many of its customers are third generation guests.

When you come to Reel & Trigger Resort the first time, you will be warmly greeted and welcomed to the family. You may have been a stranger upon arrival, but you will feel like family by the time you leave.

It is a short walk to a beautiful bluff approximately 150 feet above Truman Lake that gives you an amazing view of the lake including the mile-long bridge and the Corps of Engineer Visitor Center. This is a very popular spot for weddings.

Its cabins are not fancy, but they are exceptionally clean and everything works. The resort has picnic tables and Weber grills at every cabin. It has a fish cleaning station and keep ice on the premises as a convenience for our guests. There are three fire rings shared by all the guests.

It is not uncommon to have a large ● 29720 Hwy UU, Warsaw group gathered around the fire ring ● 660-438-2580 toasting marshmallows or a group of kids playing on the playground. ● www.reelandtrigger.com The resort looks forward to adding ● Like us on Facebook you to the Reel & Trigger Family.

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special advertising section

Where Life is Good Advantage Real Estate Service You Expect

Citizens Farmers Bank of Cole Camp Locally owned and operated Advantage Realty has been offering excellent real estate since 1987.

ADVANTAGE REAL ESTATE is located at 14613 Hwy 7 in Warsaw.

Owner and broker Paul Shinn is a lifelong realtor in Benton County and believes it is a great place to live and play. Since 1987, Advantage Real Estate has been offering retirement and lake homes, cabins, farm land, small tracts, and businesses for sale in the heart of Truman Lake. For more information, contact Advantage Real Estate at 660-438-0070 or advantageland@embarqmail.com, or visit www.advantageland.info.

THE CITIZENS FARMERS BANK OF COLE CAMP, 121 E. Main, was established in 1929 during the Great Depression by the merger of two local banks. The main bank is housed in a two-story building built in 1898 and is the centerpiece of the Cole Camp Historic District.

The bank was the only financial services provider in the community for decades. Today, The Citizens Farmers Bank continues to provide traditional and electronic banking services as a locally owned and operated financial institution. Call 660-668-4416 or visit www.citizensfarmersbank.com.

Cole Camp Public Schools It’s a Great Day to be a Bluebird!

THE COLE CAMP R-I SCHOOL DISTRICT is nestled in northeast Benton County, “Where the Plains Meet the Ozarks,” and houses all 700 elementary, middle, and high school students under one big roof.

Cole Camp R-I is an A+ School accredited with “Distinction in Performance” for eight consecutive years by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. It has been honored as a “Gold Star School of Missouri,” and as the Missouri Association of Rural Education’s “Outstanding Rural School District.” The United States Department of Education recognized the high school as a “Blue Ribbon School,” and U.S. News and World Report listed it as one of “Best Schools in America.”

We feel that the quality of a school is determined by the ability of the staff, students, parents, school board, and community to work together and project the ● 500 Keeney St., Cole Camp commitment of excel● 660-668-4427 lence for themselves and everyone around them. ● colecamp.schoolwires.net

Cole Camp R-I is an A+ School accredited with “Distinction in Performance” for eight consecutive years.

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COLE CAMP

COLE CAMP • LINCOLN • WARSAW

LINCOLN WARSAW

Benton County Eichenberg Winery

The Low German Club of Cole Camp

Fine Wines and Friendly Atmosphere

Plattdüütscher Vereen von Cole Camp

IN THE MID-1800s, northern Benton County became home to immigrants from northern Germany, who brought with them their native language, Plattdüütsch. In 1989, as part of Cole Camp’s sesquicentennial, the Low German Club was formed for the purpose of preserving this very unique language.

The club’s singing group, whose repertoire includes both Low and High German songs, is active throughout the year. Highlights are the annual Saengerfest the second Saturday of June and the Christmas program in the first part of December. Call 660-668-3157 for more information.

Eichenberg Winery currently offers 12 types of German-style wines.

EICHENBERG WINERY, located at 103 North Olive in Cole Camp, opened its doors for business in 2002 with six varieties of wine.

Proprietor Rodger Luetjen’s German heritage made the Germanstyle wines a natural success. Currently, they offer 12 types, ranging from sweet whites to dry reds. The tasting room is open Friday at 3 pm, Saturday at 11 am, and Sunday at 1 pm. The staff invites you to enjoy a bottle with friends in the winery or the wine garden. Call 660-668-3511 or visit www.eichenbergwinery.com.

The Gentle Landscape Gallery

Cole Camp Singers perform at Saengerfest (singers’ festival).

The Red Baron BBQ & Steakhouse

Gallery and Studio of Neil Heimsoth

Hickory Smoked BBQ and Choice Steaks THE RED BARON BBQ & STEAKHOUSE located at 104 N. Maple in Cole Camp is owned by Russell and Alicia Niccum. It’s known for hickory smoked BBQ and hand cut choice steaks. The restaurant serves a variety of sandwiches, gyros, salads, homemade side dishes, and homemade desserts. There is a fresh salad and fruit bar daily.

Enjoy a full bar with entertainment on the weekends. People love to drive to eat at Red Baron!

Call 660-668-4404 or visit www.redbaronbbq.com.

A QUAINT OLD BRICK HOUSE at 209 E. Main in Cole Camp is the gallery and studio of local artist Neil Heimsoth. The gallery displays about 40 of Heimsoth’s oil paintings featuring mostly local landscapes.

Heimsoth has studied under some of America’s best artists such as Siegfried Rinehart of St. Louis and internationally acclaimed portrait artist Nelson Shanks of Philadelphia. Heimsoth’s long and interesting career includes 11 years as an illustrator with the U.S. Forest Service and being a participant in the Silver Dollar City Craft Festival for 10 years. Call 660668-3157 or visit heimsothfineart.com.

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Where Life is Good

Discover the secrets of the land between our lakes in and around Cole Camp, Lincoln, and Warsaw.

Where Life is Good. www.visitbentoncomo.com

Photography by Notley Hawkins, and Courtesy of Cole Camp Chamber of Commerce, Dianne Peck, Missouri State Parks, Mozarkite Society of Lincoln, Warsaw Chamber of Commerce, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Harry S. Truman Project [103] June 2012

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COLE CAMP LINCOLN WARSAW

Benton County

“And that’s what you find as you spend time in Benton County. Warsaw, Lincoln, and Cole Camp–the county’s dominant communities–have a sense of place, of time, of history. They don’t put on airs. What you see is what you get.” www.visitbentoncomo.com [31] June 2012

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SHOW-ME

Flavor AN ICE CREAM

Guru

ONE OF THE BEST

summer treats is cooling down with a tasty scoop of ice cream. And in Kansas City, you’ll want to try the gourmet ice cream spooned out at Glacé Artisan Ice Cream.

Owner Christopher Elbow, of Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates, has been satisfying Kansas City’s sweet tooth since 2003 with his one-of-a-kind beautifully detailed and national award-winning homemade chocolates. Recently, Chris expanded his talents to Glacé Artisan Ice Cream.

UNUSUAL FLAVORS, LOCAL INGREDIENTS Some of the fundamentals of both making chocolate and making ice cream are the same. With chocolate, Chris says, balancing the strong flavor of cocoa can be difficult; but with ice cream, there is a neutral flavor, which gives him a vehicle to play with a wider variety of flavors.

Creative combinations—including Pineapple Cilantro, Rose Water, Ricotta with Honey, Caramelized Fig, and Vietnamese Cinnamon—weren’t, and still aren’t, the traditional flavors seen in an ice cream shop.

But being different proved to work in Glacé’s favor when the average number of daily transactions was pushing 400 during its opening summer in 2010 at the Main Street location, just a few blocks away from the Plaza Branch Library.

“Making chocolate and ice cream are actually pretty similar to me,” Chris says.

“In both cases, small-batch production, precision, and using all-natural ingredients as well as local ones are important factors in both production processes.”

Using local ingredients can be challenging when it comes to chocolate, but Chris uses other local products as much as possible. For example, he buys apples from a local farm to use in apple flavoring and uses locally grown corn for his Sweet Corn ice cream.

Small-batch production is the only way Chris will craft his ice cream. The strict system allows him to control the process from start to finish.

Being able to pay close attention to each step ultimately produces the unbeatable textures, flavors, and quality that Chris is known for. A small batch of ice cream consists of two gallons for Chris and his staff.

“Once you start mechanizing and changing recipes to get bigger, changes will occur whether you want to think they do or not,” he says.

Commitment to using only the freshest ingredients makes all the difference in Chris’s final frozen product. Using seasonal herbs and fruits are another reason that Glacé’s flavors are one of a kind.

Chris says he also likes using seasonal spices to bring out unique flavors, especially during the holidays. Pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg are some of his favorites.

He buys his milk from Heartland Farms, located in northwest Missouri. The most important aspect of using Heartland Farms is that their milk is free of growth hormones.

Chris makes his ice cream using the French-custard style, which starts by using the basic ingredients of milk, eggs, sugar, and Left: Christopher Elbow is a master chocolatier with a passion for ice cream. Right: Glacé Artisan Ice Cream uses local, seasonal ingredients to create unusual flavors.

COURTESY OF RON BERG AND GABE HOPKINS

Glacé Artisan Ice Cream’s Christopher Elbow churns out gourmet flavors. BY JACKIE SMITH

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responsible for inventing and crafting 24 flavors, available at any given time. Ten to 12 of the flavors are standbys, and the rest are seasonal, such as Basil Lime Sorbet or Toasted Coconut. Popularity and ingredient availability play a large role in featuring new concoctions.

The process of brainstorming new flavors is an ongoing exchange of food experiences and ideas between Chris and his production staff. It’s unusual for Glacé’s production team to come up with a flavor idea that sounds good but tastes bad. Pine Needle was a comical and unsavory exception.

Above: The word “glacé” means frozen in French.

Below: Employees at Glacé craft 24 flavors available at any given time. Half are regular flavors, and half are seasonal.

VEGAS TRAINING, NATIONAL REPUTATION Born and raised in Liberty, and long before his successes with ice cream and chocolate, Chris had an interest in cooking and creating. Tuning in to food programs was a childhood hobby, and his favorite television shows often involved pastry chefs executing their artistic talents. The manipulation of sugar and desserts fascinated him.

“I really never wavered on what I wanted to do with my life,” Chris says. “I knew from a really young age that I wanted to be a chef.”

After high school, Chris attended the University of Nebraska, where he majored in Restaurant and Business Administration and worked at a restaurant as a student. In 1996, degree in hand, Chris headed back to Kansas City to work as the head chef of Shiraz Restaurant.

After three years of working in Kansas City, Chris heard about the planned 1999 opening of Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant, Delmonico Steakhouse, in Las Vegas. He submitted his resumé, crossed his fingers,

COURTESY OF GABE HOPKINS

cream. The style he uses to make his cream is also what inspired the name for his shop.

“Glacé means frozen in French; and since we use the French-custard style to make our ice cream, we felt that the name ‘Glacé’ was elegant and appropriate,” he says.

His memories of hand-cranking ice cream in the summers with his family inspired his appreciation for classic custard. Old-fashioned ice cream with rich texture and flavor was his goal for Glacé from the start.

“Some of the stuff on the market is too fluffy and not very good, so that really great custard texture was something I wanted to bring back for customers.”

Just because Chris advocates for old fashioned ice-cream making doesn’t mean that he follows old-fashioned health protocols, or the lack thereof.

Traditional ice cream recipes use raw eggs to achieve the creamy texture everyone loves, but uncooked eggs also impose the risk of bacterial contamination, specifically salmonella.

In order to eliminate the possibility of bacteria, while still achieving that rich and creamy consistency, Chris only uses pasteurized eggs. When eggs are pasteurized, they are heated, while still in the shell, to a temperature that kills any potential bacteria without actually cooking the egg.

Chris and his team of flavor experts are

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and hoped for the best. Two days later, he had a job as a pastry chef.

While in Vegas, Chris worked a second job with acclaimed chef Jean Joho at Eiffel Tower Restaurant. This second job honed Chris’s talents as a pastry chef and helped him learn the fine art of French cuisine. It was also his first real introduction to the fundamentals of topnotch chocolate-making.

After seven months, with his passion for sweets reignited and feeling that Las Vegas wasn’t the right fit, Chris came home to Kansas City and, briefly, to the Shiraz and then The American Restaurant, where he was the pastry chef. There, he put his passion for chocolate into action.

Chris’s chocolates were so popular that customers started asking where they could purchase more.

Boosted by the praise, Chris began supplying local markets with limited quantities of his product.

Eventually, the demand for his chocolate delicacies grew; and with the support of friends and family, Chris opened Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates in 2003.

The new chocolatier quickly won over the taste buds of Kansas City. And in 2004, Chris and his team won Best of Show at the Next Generation Chocolatier national competition. After winning, his chocolates were lauded in magazines including Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and O, The Oprah Magazine.

COURTESY OF GABE HOPKINS

MORE SHOPS, SPLIT TIME In 2007, Chris opened the doors of his second location—in San Francisco.

“The idea was that if I was going to open more chocolate shops in different places, I wanted a coast-to-coast feel in the major food cities,” he says.

His time is split between his shops depending on the season. During the winter months, from Christmas through Valentine’s Day, he spends about 80 percent of his time working with his chocolates.

He still goes to San Francisco every other month for three or four days at a time to make sure everything is running smoothly on the West Coast.

Shortly after the opening of his chocolate

The first Glacé Artisan Ice Cream location opened on Main Street in Kansas City in 2010. Just a year later, a second location in Overland Park, Kansas, opened.

shop in San Francisco—and backed by his supportive wife Jenifer—Chris turned to his second love, ice cream. He opened Glacé Artisan Ice Cream in May of 2010, on Main Street. Then in 2011, he opened his second ice cream shop in Overland Park, Kansas.

These days, during the summer, chocolate takes a breather for Chris, and he is able to focus on ice cream about 75 percent of the time.

Chris may consider opening more ice cream shops in different cities and using the local products they offer.

“I would love to open Glacé in San Francisco and use the local products in California that aren’t always available in the Midwest.”

But for now, Chris says his big project is to revisit one of his favorite childhood flavors that he has never worked with before—butterscotch. www.glaceicecream.com www.elbowchocolates.com

WHERE TO GO Glacé Artisan Ice Cream

Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates

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SHOW-ME

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—MissouriLife —

Butterscotch Sauce From Glacé Artisan Ice Cream

Ingredients >

3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup light brown sugar 1 tablespoon corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher salt or sea salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions >

1. in a medium saucepan, melt the butter, and add brown sugar and corn syrup. Cook one minute while stirring.

2. add the cream and salt, and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat, and cook until sauce thickens, stirring often.

3. remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Use right away or store in the refrigerator. Microwave for 30 seconds, and stir before using.

—MissouriLife —

—MissouriLife —

Caramel Ice Cream

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

From Glacé Artisan Ice Cream

Ingredients >

2 ¼ cups milk 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher salt or sea salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tablespoon corn syrup 10 large egg yolks Large bowl filled with ice and water

Simple Chocolate Sauce

From Glacé Artisan Ice Cream Ingredients >

1 1/2 pounds high quality bittersweet chocolate 20 ounces heavy whipping cream

andrew barton; gabe hopkins

Directions >

3 ounces unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Chop the chocolate into fine pieces, and place in a metal or heatproof glass mixing bowl.

2. heat the cream over medium heat until almost simmering.

3. pour over chopped chocolate, and let stand for about one minute. stir with a whisk until all of the chocolate is melted.

4. whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time until incorporated, followed by the vanilla extract.

5. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Microwave for 30 seconds, and stir prior to each use.

Ingredients >

2 cups milk 10 large egg yolks 2 cups heavy cream 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 cup granulated sugar extract 2 vanilla beans, split Large bowl filled with and seeds scraped ice and water

Directions >

Directions >

—MissouriLife —

From Glacé Artisan Ice Cream

1. in a microwaveable bowl, heat milk, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract until just warmed through, about one to one and a half minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

2. put sugar into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and cover with enough water to coat, like wet sand. add the corn syrup, and cook over medium to medium-high heat until it turns golden caramel in color. during this process, gently swirl the pan to get even color. do not stir with a spoon, as it will cause the sugar to crystallize.

3. when the proper color is achieved, slowly pour the warm milk and cream mixture into the sugar. stir with a whisk until all of the mixture is incorporated and the sugar is dissolved. it should only take about 30 seconds. remove from heat and cover with plastic wrap.

4. whisk yolks until they are light and fluffy and pale in color. slowly pour the milk mixture into the yolks while constantly whisking until combined.

5. return to saucepan, and cook over very low heat for three to four minutes until slightly thickened. be sure to stir with a rubber spatula constantly during this step to prevent the egg yolks from cooking on the bottom of the pan.

6. remove from heat and submerge the pan in the ice water. stir to stop the cooking process. once cool, cover the mixture and cool in the refrigerator at least four hours or overnight.

7. process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. the ice cream will be like soft serve at this point. place in freezer for several hours to harden.

1. in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the milk, cream, four ounces of sugar, and the vanilla bean seeds and pod. heat over low to medium heat. once small bubbles form around the edges, remove from heat. Cover with plastic wrap to let the vanilla bean flavor infuse.

2. in a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining four ounces of sugar until pale in color. slowly pour the milk mixture into the yolks, while constantly whisking until combined.

3. return to saucepan and cook over very low heat for three to four minutes until slightly thickened. stir with a rubber spatula constantly to prevent the egg yolks from cooking on the bottom of the pan.

4. remove from heat and submerge the pan in the ice water. stir to stop the cooking process. once cool, strain the mixture into a container. Cover and cool in the refrigerator at least four hours, or overnight.

5. process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. the ice cream will be like soft serve at this point. place in freezer for several hours to harden.

Visit www.MissouriLife.com for more recipes.

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Visit Legendary Lexington

MILLER HOUSE ANTIQUES

ANTIQUES THAT FIT TODAY’S LIFESTYLE! 1109 Main Street, Lexington, MO 660-259-2444 • www.millerhouseantiques.com Visit us on Facebook!

Limrick’s fine things

Boutique apparel, accessories, & jewelry for real women!

920 Main Street, Lexington, MO Mon.-Sat.: 10am-5pm, Sun.: noon-4pm 660-259-4545

MISSOURI RIVER

Antique

C O M PA N Y 912 Main St. Lexington, MO 660-259-3097 Mon-Sat:10am-5pm Sun:12pm-4pm

The VelVeT PumPkin

817 Main Street, Lexington, MO • 660-259-7700

Gypsy Vardo Gifts, Boho apparel and accessories, antiques, and lots more!

908 Main St., Lexington, MO 660-259-9129

Located in a two-story mid-1800s building filled with shopping excitement, the Velvet Pumpkin is known for its traditional furniture and complementary accessories.

The Art and Wine Gallery on the first floor features original art by local artists and a wide selection of fine wine from local vineyards. The Garden and Primitive Gallery are located in the lower level featuring the original brick decor. Visit our adjoining shop, Gigi’s Boutique, for the latest in fashion.

central missouri

tomorrow Increasing numbers of Missourians produce, sell and consume organic food. Learn about the locally-grown food movement in Central Missouri when UCM president Chuck Ambrose visits with Beverly Rollings of the Sedalia Area Farmers’ Market and Jeanne Schwarz of Show-Me Produce.

June 8 and 14 at 8 p.m. www.kmos.org KMOS-TV broadcasts in HD on channel 6.1, and is carried in many communities on channel 6. You can also see broadcasts of lifestyle/how-to shows on 6.2 and international programs on 6.3.

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Explore the Old Trails Region Unique & Affordable Gifts, Extraordinary Period Antiques ...

Bucksnort Trading Company A STORE AS UNIQUE AS ITS NAME Saloon and Living History Museum, Civil War, Native American and Old West Clothing and Accessories, Turquoise Jewelry, Pottery and more.

Blackwater, MO ∙ 660-846-2224 www.blackwater-mo.com

ARROW ROCK ANTIQUES c & MERCANTILE c One Unforgettable Shop on the Boardwalk in Arrow Rock, MO

VisitArrowRock.com/ArrowRockAntiques

NOSTALGIC ∙ SCENIC ∙ TIMELESS

GARDEN MARKET & GREENHOUSE 660.259.2410 660-259-2410 22552 HwyHwy 24 • Dover 22552 24 Hours: March 9am-5pm Dover,Daily MO 8am-8pm (Starting April 1st)

hilltopfarmandgreenhouse.com | 9 am - 8 pm daily

hilltopfarmandgreenhouse.com Starting June 1: Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 11am-5pm Locally & Family Since1985!

1985!

LocallyGrown Grown and Family Owned Owned Since

ston Tavern u H .

J

Arrow Rock Serving meals to travelers along the Santa Fe Trail since 1834.

Voted Best Fried Chicken: 2011 Rural MO Contest Lunch: Tues.-Sun. 11 am - 2 pm Dinner: Sat. 5-7 pm and before every Lyceum performance.

Book your special event, business meeting or Christmas party now!

For reservations: 660-837-3200 or jhustontavern@pfoodman.com www.jhustontavern.com

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Hartsburg

Dinner at Home EATING AT Claysville Store in Hartsburg is just like eating in your own home—but better. The quaint building, with its warm wood trim and cute country décor, is inviting and homey and so is the food. A special home-cooked meal—juicy fried chicken, savory green beans, creamy mashed potatoes, and the best lemonade you’ll ever taste—is just another night for the Claysville Store. The coconut cream pie and blackberry cobbler are a sweet end to a satisfying, hearty meal. The restaurant is located right off of the Katy Trail, so it’s a nice stop after a long day of biking. Reservations recommended. —Lauren Hughes 5650 Claysville Road • 573-636-8443

Springfield

St. Louis

Cool Creperie

LARGEST VODKA COLLECTION

AS SPRINGFIELD’S only creperie, the Aviary Cafe and Creperie is destined to stand out. Located in the heart of downtown, this

HOME OF THE world’s biggest

small, locally owned gem offers a relaxed, intimate

vodka collection (500 types), Sub Zero Vodka Bar is the place to go for a stunning smorgasbord-sized sampling of creative beverages you’d expect to find only in Las Vegas. Drinks are $8 to $10, ordered off a menu longer than the restaurant’s food menu. There’s a blue Curacao-based cocktail containing a Jell-O shot (Jelly Fish); a sushi Bloody Mary served with fourpepper mixer, shrimp, ginger, wasabi, and chopsticks (Sushi Mary); a wintry martini with cream on top drifting down like in a snow globe (Root Beer Float); something with a real caviar-stuffed olive (Moscow Millionaire); and the Bison Grass Martini (Frisky Bison). Drinks so good you don’t need to trust me—I saw someone wearing an employee shirt from the neighboring

atmosphere that is as unique as the items on its menu. While Aviary offers several non-crepe items pastries for which the restaurant is named. But if you think the only thing that goes in a crepe is fruit and jam, think again. The creperie offers a diverse selection of entrees, containing everything from seafood and chicken to scrambled eggs and fried okra. The true knockout here, however, is the selection of dessert crepes. The Limoncello is particularly incredible, with a blend of lemon

bar ordering a round after his bar closed.

Come for the drinks, but the burgers and sushi happen to taste good as well. Reservations encouraged, especially on the weekends. —Sarah Alban

curd, berry jam, and sweet meringue that is simply

www.subzerovodkabar.com

www.aviarycafe.com

308 N. Euclid Ave. • 314-367-1200

400 E. Walnut, Suite 100 • 417-866-NEST

unrivaled by anything else on the menu. Take a date or go out with friends; the Aviary Cafe and Creperie is a relaxing evening out that is truly one of a kind. —Caitlin Roller

LAUREN HUGHES; CAITLIN ROLLER; COURTESY OF SUB ZERO VODKA BAR

for variety, its true stand outs are the paper-thin

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Lake Lotawana

Rustic Lodge step into the Canoe Club in Lake Lotawana and you’ll find yourself immersed in the friendly, rustic atmosphere of a hunting lodge, complete with a hanging canoe, vintage photographs of good times on the water hung over every table, and rich colors on the walls. Famous for their Phish Tacos served with fresh toppings, Canoe Club also offers appetizers including the best spinach artichoke dip, delicious sweet potato fries, and, in a nod to the famous Missouri-Kansas Border War hero,

Quantrill’s Calamari. The Philly steak sandwiches are hefty, made from sirloin steak and topped with red and green peppers and an abundance of cheese. Burgers are substantial and flavorful. Whether you find yourself in the main dining area or on the spacious deck, your experience will be exceptional.

—Emily McIntyre www.canoeclubkc.com 27905 e. colbern Road • 816-578-5700

Missouri life TAsTEs MEnus worTh ThE drIvE. Cape Girardeau

Kickin’ Cajun BRoussaRd’s in downtown Cape Girardeau evokes the essence of Emeril Lagasse and Cajun cuisine. A mix

courtesy of canoe club and broussard’s

between a sports bar and a down-home Louisiana diner, this is as close to the Bayou as you’re going to get in the Midwest. The first thing ordered—the first thing everyone orders—is the Gator Tails,

Cajun spice blend as the Gator Tails. Broussard’s cranks it up a

deep fried with a spicy kick. Another star is the étouffée dinner,

notch with fully painted wall murals depicting colorful Mardi Gras

served with a thick cream-based sauce, green peppers, onion, and

scenes. It’s creative Cajun food, upriver. —Nichole Ballard www.broussardscajuncuisine.com

chili peppers. The fries are also delicious, seasoned with the same

120 n. Main street • 573-334-7235

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FESTIVAL FAVORITES The Missouri Beer Festival showcases new breweries.

THIS COLUMN is about beer. And it’s my duty to visit breweries across our fine state, sample their craftsmanship, and report back to you. But sometimes, I don’t have to do the traveling. Sometimes, the beer comes to me!

Thus was the adventure at the 2012 Missouri Beer Festival this past April in my hometown of Columbia at the Stoney Creek Inn. Missouri Life sponsored the gathering of more than 50 craft beers.

With only four hours to enjoy, I had to select my samples carefully. I knew I couldn’t taste all 50 beers, so I set my sights on a few breweries I had never experienced plus visited a few old friendly flavors along the way.

Since canoeing and fishing has often led me to the Little and Big Piney rivers, I knew I’d have to check out Piney River Brewing Company. They had several varieties on hand; but once I tasted the Old Tom Porter, all other beer thoughts vanished. Hearty and dense with a coffee and chocolate

finish, it’s the kind of beer you sip and continue to enjoy long after the glass is sitting back on the table. Piney River’s other beers include the Missouri Mule IPA, Bronzeback Pale Ale, and the McKinney Eddy Amber Ale. As lovers of the outdoors, Piney River cans their beer for distribution, as opposed to bottling. Good. I’ll enjoy a few this summer while gliding down the Big Piney.

Next, I had to stop by and say hello to the gang from Griesedieck Brothers Brewery out of St. Louis. As in Griesedieck Brewing, which disappeared in 1957. I was surprised to find out that the Griesedieck family is actually at the helm, not another corporation paying for the use of their name. In fact, a member of the family was in the booth at the festival when I swung by and tried the Golden Pilsener. They were serving it on tap, and the four-ounce sample was pure, simple, and refreshing. I hope they’re able to duplicate that in their bottling efforts.

Now for a confession. I visited the Shock Top booth by accident. I’ve never been a

big fan of the original Shock Top (which is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev), with its orange, lemon, and lime peels. But as I was confronted with a gracious offer, something interesting caught my eye—the Shock Top Wheat IPA. Wow, was I glad I stumbled upon this vendor. It won’t be everyone’s favorite, but I’ve already picked up a six-pack and enjoyed a few at home.

Another new player? Rock Bridge Brewery.

This brewery plans to distribute its beers, such as the Farmer’s Daughter Peppered Rye Saison and Sif’s Blonde Ale, to restaurants around the Columbia area.

Wish I could have TOM BRADLEY spent more time sampling the other beers available at the 2012 Missouri Beer Festival, but then again, there’s always next year!

LAUREN HUGHES

BY TOM BRADLEY

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Gourmet Lunches

Experience the Difference A welcoming, fun environment offering great wine without intimidation. Come learn more about Missouri wine and find your favorite.

Daily Wine Tasting World’s Largest Selection of Missouri Wines

Open Mon.-Sat. 11AM-6PM and Sun. 1-6PM. 27150 Hwy. 24, Waverly, MO www.baltimorebend.com ∙ (660) 493-0258

Gifts and Art

Open Tues-Sun www.shopthemercantile.com 249 E. Broadway, Excelsior Springs

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

573-590-0086

Open Saturday 10 to 6 and Sunday noon to 6.

Located on Bus. 36 in Monroe City.

WINE TASTING

GOVERNOR’S CUP WINNER

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

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

th

175 Anniversary 17

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

Come for a

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

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

Vintage charm

timeless beauty

the perfect wine country

Getaway wineries • b&bs • old-world charm

“One of the prettiest towns in america.”

— Forbes Magazine Missouri’s Most Beautiful town — Rural Missouri Magazine Poll

800-932-8687 • VisitHermann.com On the MissOuri river just an hOur west Of st. LOuis [117] June 2012

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NOT JUST A BARN WHEN BRANDON

Fahrmeier decided to start a winery four years ago, the barn that is now the centerpiece of Fahrmeier Family Vineyards still had three cows living in it.

Walk into the barn today, and it’s hard to imagine livestock ever living there. The renovated barn, with its exposed wooden beams, solar panels, and low-voltage lights, is a 21stcentury blend of rustic and modern.

The idea behind restoring the barn goes deeper than protecting the environment. Fahrmeier’s family has been involved with agriculture since the early 1900s, and the 1930s barn is a symbol of his family’s heritage.

Brandon’s main goal is to make good wine.

For more than 15 years, he has been perfecting his craft, which he says combines technical and artisanal methods.

“You make it technically to a point and then you taste it,” Brandon says. “You have to let the wine talk to you. The wine will tell you how it needs to be made. Every year, each vintage will be distinctly different.”

Realizing the potential of his wines, Brandon founded the winery in 2008, with 13 acres of vineyard on the Fahrmeier farm in Lexington—where fertile soil near the Missouri River makes growing grapes a winemaker’s dream.

Today, Fahrmeier Family Vineyards is a growing and vibrant winery. Brandon manages 21 acres of Norton, Chambourcin, Catawba, Vidal Blanc, and Cabernet Franc.

The barn at Fahrmeier Family Vineyards boasts solar panels and low-voltage lights, supporting owner Brandon Fahrmeier’s vision of a zero-carbon footprint.

Brandon notes that a lot of his wines are drier than what most people expect from a Missouri wine, where sweet reigns supreme.

His best sellers are Vidal Blanc, Vignoles, Catawba, and Norton. But one wine that Brandon has an especially hard time keeping in stock is a red raspberry dessert wine. “It usually sells out within 60 days,” he says. “It tastes like you are eating fresh raspberries.”

The winery also sells specialty items such as apple butter, jam, preserves, and sauces. Many of the food items are made from produce raised on the family farm by Brandon’s brother, Bret.

From the family dog resting by the front door and the kittens playing in the grass to a hearty welcome when you enter, customers never feel like strangers.

“We view our customers like family,” Brandon says, “and we treat them like family.”

The winery has a strong local customer base, but Brandon says a majority of his customers come from more than an hour away— many come from the Kansas City area. And a great deal, he says, come for the view.

“Our tag line is ‘come for the wine, stay for the view,’ ” he says.

Fahrmeier Family Vineyard sits on top of a large hill amongst other long rolling knolls that stretch as far as the eye can see.

On a comfortable Saturday evening with the fire pits blazing, customers can sit on a patio area that faces the western sky and watch the sun set while listening to live music.

“Everyone enjoys sitting in the chairs and looking up at the stars,” Brandon says. “It is a place where people can come and relax.” www.fahrmeierfamilyvineyards.com

COURTESY OF FAHRMEIER FAMILY VINEYARDS

Fahrmeier Family Vineyards has humble beginnings. BY NATHAN ST. CLAIR

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On yOur nexT SwiSS % 5 Off BraTwurST purChaSe*

The OffiCiaL BraTwurST Of MizzOu® aThLeTiCS we have over 60 varieties of award winning bratwurst! *5% discount on in-store bratwurst purchases valid only at Swiss Meat & Sausage Co. retail store. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. 5% discount for online bratwurst purchases may only be redeemed through the web address shown. Limit one coupon per customer. Coupon value 1/100th of 1¢ - Valid through 12/31/12

2056 S. hwy 19 • hermann, MO 65041 • swissmeats.com/molife [119] June 2012

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Caroline’s Columbia

PROMOTION

EXPLORING MY CITY!

Summer Music Summer in Columbia is all about music for me. Beginning in May, downtown Columbia transforms into an outdoor concert venue for Summerfest every month until September. North of Ninth Street, The Blue Note hosts performers from Wilco and Chuck Berry to the Wallflowers and Willie Nelson. This summer, Primus was the kick-off show in early May, and it was outstanding!

Mark and I had a great time. Some of Mark’s friends also introduced us to The Bridge, Columbia’s newest live music venue that features local, regional, and national musicians. It’s such a relaxed atmosphere, and the music never fails to please.

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

Art in the Park June 2-3, Stephens Lake Park

2 COMMENTS: Ed said: “I went to the Ragtime festival last year and had a blast. Definitely worth it!”

Amy said: “The Bridge is the best place to hang out with friends.”

Fireworks Galore Who doesn’t love fireworks?

Columbia puts on one heck of a show every Independence Day. This year is the 60th Annual Fourth of July Celebration, and it’s free for everyone! The fun starts at 6:30 p.m. in downtown Columbia with live entertainment and kid’s activities. The fireworks show, which is choreographed to music, begins at 9 p.m.

Boonslick Trail Quilters Guild Show June 11-13, Holiday Inn Expo Center

1 COMMENT: Natalie says: Children’s activities will be at Flat Branch Park, and the main entertainment stage will be at Peace Park.

Hot Sidewalk Sale!

Don’t miss out on the Dog Days Sidewalk Sale held July 26-29 in The District.

This is one hot sale! I scored big last year when I went with my sister. It’s the largest outdoor sale in Columbia, with major savings at favorite clothing stores such as Maude’s Vintage, shoe stores such as Dryer’s, home accessory stores such as Tallulah’s, and other special shops.

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Show-Me State Games June and July www.smsg.org

KYLE DEVLIN; NOTLEY HAWKINS; COURTESY OF COLUMBIA ART LEAGUE; DAN BRENNER

For something a little different, we’re trying out the J.W. “Blind” Boone Ragtime & Early Jazz Celebration this year on June 11-13. My parents are coming into town for this three-day festival and asked if we wanted to tag along. The music festival is held at the beautiful Missouri Theatre in honor of J.W. “Blind” Boone, a renowned ragtime musician from Columbia. If you’d like tickets, call 573-875-0600 or visit www.concertseries.org.

5/2/12 2:32 PM

Musings ON MISSOURI

WHY CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG?

BY RON MARR

ILLUSTRATION BY TOM SULLIVAN

I’VE BECOME very fond of Netflix and Hulu over the past year.

I can watch old westerns, any documentary by Ken Burns, and zombie movies without experiencing the hateful rancor that pervades our country during a major election. I’ll be taking advantage of these services more frequently in the years to come, as major elections are now perpetual.

However, this is not a commentary on politics. I can sum up my political affiliations in one brief sentence: I simply don’t care. This sounds odd even to my ears, a guy who spent about a decade being a well-published political pundit (of the right-wing variety).

Nonetheless, it is true. I have my own opinions, rules, beliefs, and code of conduct. I will probably vote, but the odds are good I might write in the name of either Snoopy, Kermit, or myself. Both sides will inevitably serve up ample scoops of stupid or micromanaging legislation.

No, what perplexes me is why so many people are at each other’s throats about something as silly as political ideology. Politicians from both sides promote such behavior with incendiary calls for partisanship, and the news media stirs the pot in order to create outrage and sell more advertising space. A part of me always thought that humans would be smart enough to see through such manipulation. As it turns out, I sorely overestimated the ability of our species to abstain from buying a pig in a poke.

Maybe it’s because of the Internet, a venue where every opinion is aired without concern for repercussions or ramifications. Online opinions would indicate that America is far more philosophically divided than it was during the days leading up to the Civil War. That’s not to say I believe America will experience a second Civil War. I don’t, no way and nohow. Most folks are pretty meek when removed from the safety of online anonymity.

What I do believe is that “we the people” are largely split into factions that exhibit zero tolerance for any utterance that differs from our own or fails to parrot a party line. The concept RON MARR of “agreeing to disagree” is gasping its last breath.

That’s a shame. It’s something I only came to understand over the last decade (prior to that I was a partisan cheerleader), but it’s a simple recipe for national unity that is endowed with inescapable truth.

Old friends of mine are stunned by my refusal to discuss the nuances of politics and often try and draw me into the fray. I refuse and insist that we talk about life, love, spirituality, science, guitars, dogs, barbecue, fishing, or zombie westerns directed

by Ken Burns.

Let’s get simple here. People matter; politics don’t. Sadly, the prevailing sentiment of the majority of Americans seems to be just the opposite.

I can’t believe I’m quoting Rodney King, but give credit where credit is due. He asked, “Why can’t we all just get along?” There’s an answer to that question, but most won’t like it.

We can’t all get along because few people think for themselves. Fewer still ponder the bigger picture, step away from the nonstop barrage of lies, fake statistics, and carefully crafted propaganda. Only a fraction consider that they are better off listening to their own hearts and minds, trusting their own consciences over the ideological dogma of parties, pundits, and political egomaniacs with well-developed Messiah complexes.

I have an easy solution for national happiness. Turn off the TV news and cancel your newspaper subscription. Trust me, after spending half my life in and around the news media, I can tell you that 45 percent of the content is half truth and 45 percent is half lies. (The 10 percent of news found in sports scores, yesterday’s weather, and the funny pages is usually accurate.)

Spend a little time thinking about how you want your life to be, not how some politician with good hair and a dandy speaking voice tells you it should be.

You don’t need a leader; you only need to quiet the din and hear the whispers that arise from your own soul. The premise behind the Golden Rule seems pretty applicable right about now.

That’s all you need—assuming you already possess a couple of dogs and perhaps another year’s subscription to Netflix.

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SHOW-ME

The Cave Restaurant in Richland opened in the early 1990s. The restaurant is located in a cave expanded with jackhammers, shovels, and picks.

Showcase

STEALING THE SHOW The Cave Restaurant in Richland offers a unique dining experience.

BY BARBARA GIBBS OSTMANN

IF YOU DIG IT,

A SPEAKEASY AND A STILL The resort began in the early 1920s as a rustic camp along the Gasconade River. The cave was known then as Dance Hall Cave. People climbed ladders to reach the cave, which reportedly housed not only a dance hall but also a speakeasy and a still. Local legend says that Al Capone used to frequent the place. The cabins and the low-water bridge near the site were built by Ed Steckle, who drowned in 1929 while trying to clear a logjam along the bridge during high water.

For decades, the resort sat empty. Then in 1984, Dave and Connie Hughes bought the old resort, fixed up the cabins, and renamed it Ozark Springs Resort. One day in 1989, Dave explored the cave in the bluff above the river. The mouth of the cave is 30 feet above ground and 100 feet above the river.

Dave came up with the idea of expanding the cave and building a restaurant in it. His wife told him he was out of his mind, but he was not deterred. He began enlarging the cave, working with a jackhammer, shovels, and picks. Before long, Connie was

MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

they will come, thought Dave Hughes when he started excavating a cave to make a restaurant. More than 20 years later, folks are still coming and returning for seconds and thirds.

As its name implies, The Cave Restaurant is in a cave—an honestto-goodness cave in the Ozark hills near Richland in Pulaski County. Just getting there is an adventure. A scenic drive on a two-lane road—a short stretch of which is gravel—brings you to the parking area for The Cave Restaurant and Resort, alongside the Gasconade River. From the parking lot, guests are transported by van or by foot up the hill to the entrance of the restaurant. Guests enter by elevator or exterior staircase.

The current owner, Gary Dyer, who formerly owned two restaurants in nearby Lebanon, purchased The Cave Restaurant in 2009 and has been busy refining the menu, refurbishing the cave interior, and restoring the old log cabins at the resort. It’s an ongoing process, or, as Gary says with a laugh, “It’s a money pit.”

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working alongside him. In four years, they and a few other helpers moved 2,160 tons of rock out of the cave, turning it into a 225-seat restaurant. The Hughes family operated the restaurant until Gary bought it three years ago.

Not just a Novelty Although the cave setting is a novelty, the food and service are what keep bringing people back. Gary has retooled and expanded the menu, which includes steaks, grilled and fried fish, Italian specialties, sandwiches, salads, and a full barbecue selection. Desserts include a luscious Jack Daniel’s bread pudding, served warm.

Because there was no space at the cave for a barbecue smoker, Gary contracted with a local supplier to smoke meats according to his recipe.

The barbecue offerings include pork, beef, chicken, and sausage, served with three choices of sauce: sweet, smoky, or spicy.

And, don’t miss Gary’s famous barbecue beans.

The décor is part of the fun. Many of the metal items were handcrafted by Dave. Mounted turkeys, bobcats, armadillos, and other critters peer from ledges in the cave wall. A fountain and a waterfall enhance the setting and also function as part of the cave’s climate control system.

Near the entrance to the restaurant, there is a row of shops in some of the former cabins. The Ozarks Crafts Shop features items made by local artisans. There is also a Yankee Candle shop, a candy store, and a fourth gift shop opening soon.

The metal spiral staircase that used to be the entrance to the restaurant is now reserved for emergency exit use only. Access to the restaurant is by a wide, exterior staircase with several platforms or by elevator.

Above: The Ozarks Crafts Shop is in one of the restored log cabins at the resort.

Below: Inside the restaurant, handcrafted metal art is displayed alongside mounted wildlife.

barbara gibbs ostmann; mark schiefelbein

CabiNs, float trips, aNd fishiNg Gary has refurbished four of the original 19 cabins for overnight rentals. Rustic is the operative word.

“We stress to people that the cabins are one step above camping,” Gary says. “You either love it or you hate it.”

The cabins have a toilet, shower, kitchen, and a window air conditioner and are fully furnished, including linens and cookware.

The big attraction of the 38-acre resort is the 1,200 feet of Gasconade River frontage for fishing or floating. Visitors can rent canoes and tubes for either a four-mile or a 12-mile trip.

You can book a cabin or a float trip. There are packages that include a cabin, a float trip, and restaurant meals as well. You can also fish for a fee at Hideaway Lake on the resort grounds.

Take exit 150 on I-44; follow Highway 7 north six miles toward Richland; turn right on Rochester Road and go two miles to the resort.

Summer hours: Open daily 11:30 am to 8:30 pm. Winter hours: Wednesdays to Fridays 4 to 8:30 pm; Saturdays 11:30 am to 8:30 pm; Sundays 11:30 am to 5 pm. Wheelchair accessible.

26880 rochester road • 573-765-4554 www.thecaverestaurantandresort.com

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p u t i Rev on

Chain of Rocks Bridge

ROUTE

66

Road Trip Stops and Sites on the Mother Road

There’s a 300-mile stretch of road in Missouri that’s as iconic as the attractions found along the way. Route 66, called “The Mother Road”, was actually born in Missouri—the official name was agreed upon in Springfield in 1926—and is known the world over as a destination for driving enthusiasts. Commemorative Route 66 signs and a map help guide your way as the highway zigzags what’s now Interstate 44 in Missouri. Along the way you find timeless treasures and legendary landmarks on one of America’s first highways, including the 66 Drive-In Theatre, Munger Moss Motel, Meramec Caverns, Big Chief Roadhouse, and the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Rev’ it up on Route 66!

Check out more great Missouri adventures at VisitMO.com!

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PROMOTION

idge

Carousel Park 1. Carousel Park-Joplin The park features amusement rides, a miniature golf course, batting cages, go-karts, and more.

3834 W. 7th Street | 417-626-7710 Route66CarouselPark.com 2. Jasper County Courthouse & Route 66 Museum-Carthage Stop in the Jasper County Courthouse to see exhibits of Route 66 history. The museum is open weekdays, but closed on state and federal holidays.

302 S. Main Street |417-625-4350 3. The 66 Drive-in Theatre-Carthage The 66 Drive-In Theatre opened in 1949 and has remained on its original nineacre plot just outside of Carthage. It was 19 added to the National Register of Historic 18 Places in 2003. 17231 Old 66 Boulevard 417-359-5959 | 66DriveIn.com 17

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4. Gary’s Gay Parita-Ash Grove Owned by Gary Turner, Gary’s Gay Parita features a historic recreation of a Sinclair filling station and contains pieces of Route 66 memorabilia. 21118 Old 66, GarysGayParita.com

NOTLEY HAWKINS

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5. Gillioz TheatreSpringfield built in 1926, Gillioz Theatre’s restoration was completed in October 2006. Now the theatre shows classic films and hosts live performances.

325 Park Central East 417-863-9491 | www.Gillioz.org

6. Hubble Telescope Replica-Marshfield Edwin P. Hubble, born in Marshfield, made powerful observations in astronomy. A replica Hubble telescope sits on the Webster County Courthouse yard. 101 S. Crittenden Street | 417-859-2169

13. Meramec Caverns-Stanton The Meramec Caverns contain mineral formations, including a “wine table” and a mansion, which can be observed on a guided tour from a trained ranger. I-44 Exit 230 573-468-2283 |www.AmericasCave.com

7. Munger Moss Motel-Lebanon Built in 1946, the motel is still easily spotted by its large neon sign welcoming travelers.

1336 East Route 66 417-532-3111 | www.MungerMoss.com

14. Jesse James Wax Museum-Stanton This wax museum contains the only live film footage of Jesse James, along with lots of other photos, vintage weapons, and personal belongings of the famous outlaw.

I-44 Exit 230 | 573-927-5233 www.JesseJamesWaxMuseum.com

8. Old Stagecoach Stop-Waynesville In existence since 1854, this historic building houses artifacts from several different U.S. wars. Guided tours are available.

East side of courthouse square in Waynesville 573-762-9683 | OldStageCoachStop.org

Elbow Inn Bar & BBQ 9. Elbow Inn Bar & BBQ -Devil’s Elbow The historic building was built in the 1930s and originally known as the Munger Moss Sandwich Shop. Today, the Elbow Inn & BBQ offers a great atmosphere for Route 66 travelers.

21050 Teardrop Road | 573-336-5375 10. Rosati Winery Museum-St. James The museum pays homage to the Italian community, which developed the Ozark Highlands wine region. It also features a tasting room with wines from the eight Missouri wine regions.

22050 State Rte. KK | 573-265-3000 www.RosatiWineryMuseum.com 11. World’s Largest Rocking Chair-Cuba This 42-foot-1-inch rocking chair was entered into the Guinness World Records in 2008, and draws visitors from all over the world.

5957 Hwy ZZ | 573-885-1474 Fanning66Outpost.com 12. Bob’s Gasoline Alley-Cuba An outdoor and indoor collection of more than 300 service station and other vintage signs, Bob’s Gasoline Alley is a unique stop.

822 Beamer Lane | 573-885-3637

15. Big Chief Roadhouse-Wildwood Big Chief Roadhouse was built as a part of the Big Chief Highway Hotel in 1929. Today this restaurant and bar is open seven days a week.

17352 Manchester Road 636-458-3200 | www.BigChiefRoadhouse.com 16. Route 66 State Park-Eureka Enjoy nature along historic Route 66 by biking, hiking, horseback riding, and picnicking. The park’s visitor center features Route 66 memorabilia. 97 North Outer Road 636-938-7198

Donut Drive-In 17. Donut Drive-In-St. Louis Known as the “Best hand-cut donuts in St. Louis on Route 66,” Donut Drive-In serves fresh donuts seven days a week.

6525 Chippewa Street | 314-645-7714 18. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard-St. Louis Ted Drewes has two South Side locations and has sold premium custard to customers in the St. Louis area for more than 80 years.

6726 Chippewa Street 314-481-2652 | www.TedDrewes.com 19. Chain of Rocks Bridge-St. Louis Just south of the I-270 bridge connecting Missouri and Illinois, the Chain of Rocks Bridge was completed in 1929 and is one of the longest steel truss bridges in the U.S. at 5,353 feet. Today it is used as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.

VisitMO.com

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p u t i Rev on

ROUTE

66

Route 66 Rest Stops

By Kathy Gangwisch

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KATHY GANGWISCH

You can still “get your kicks on Route 66” as the song lyrics say, by traveling portions of the first interstate highway built in 1926. Or, you can just stop at the I-44 welcome near Conway at the 109 mile marker.

These unique rest stops for motorists (one on each side of the highway) feature picnic shelters that represent buildings found along the old Route 66. Exit and entrance ramps to the areas have reproduced old Burma Shave signs that display messages. Neon welcome signs are similar to those found at motels along Route 66 more than 60 years ago.

Interiors of the large buildings at both stops look like 1950s diners with black and white checkered tile; one can walk the Route 66 maps on colorful terrazzo flooring. Display boards in each building depict the history of Route 66, also known as The Mother Road.

In 2005, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission dedicated federal enhancement funds to the state’s rest areas and welcome centers. Part of the requirement for use of the funds is that welcome centers must have a theme relative to the local community’s history. Since I-44 is located along the old Route 66, it was decided the theme at Conway would showcase the first interstate in U.S. history.

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COURTESY OF ROUTE 66 SUMMERFEST, STEVE BOGGEMAN, ASI PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOPLIN CVB, CAPTURED BY JESSICA, KIP WELBORN, AND DAVID J. ESLICK

Upcoming Events Along Route 66

Route 66 Summerfest June 1-2, Rolla Classic cars roll through town during the Route 66 Summerfest! The festival includes unique sporting events and girls competing for the title of Miss Route 66. Don’t miss the food, arts and crafts, and activities for every age!

Downtown Rolla. Free.

573-341-5488 | www.Route66Summerfest.com Route 66 Barbecue Challenge June 22-23, Sullivan Barbecue enthusiasts compete in the Route 66 Barbecue Challenge. Sanctioned by the St. Louis BBQ Society, teams dish up awardworthy chicken, pork, brisket, and ribs as well as compete in the optional dessert and Bloody Mary categories. Teams start cooking Friday, and John Michael Montgomery performs Friday night. Judging takes place Saturday. Meramec Community Fairgrounds.

Entry fee for the contest is $100 for the four standard categories and $25 each for the optional categories.

573-205-5296 www.MeramecCommunityFair.com

Birthplace of Route 66 August 11, Springfield Celebrate the birthplace of Route 66! This festival has a classic car show, beer tasting at Mother’s Brewery, live music, a Kids Zone, and lots of food! Discover the history of Route 66 Springfield. Old Route 66, Grant Ave. and College St. 10 am-5 pm. Facebook: Birth of Route 66 Festival.

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Route 66 Classic Car Cruise August 11, Crestwood and Sunset Hills This all-day event starts with a parade at Crestwood Court that heads west on Route 66 along Lindbergh Boulevard to Sunset Ford. Later in the day, a judged car show, poker run, awards presentation, and a concert by the oldies band Sh-Boom. Sunset Ford. Parade 10 am; Judged Car Show 1 pm; Awards 6 pm; Concert 7 pm. Free to public, $20 to compete in car show. 314-968-5400 www.SunsetHillsHs.org/Route66home.html

23rd Annual Motor Tour September 7-9 The Route 66 Association of Missouri takes the 23rd Annual Motor Tour “Westward Ho!” The tour starts in Carlinville, Illinois, and finishes in Lebanon. Registration begins Friday at 4 pm at the Magnuson Grand Hotel in Carlinville, with a car show and other activities. The tour kicks off Saturday morning, and tour goers motor through Route 66 taking planned stops along the Mother Road. The day ends at the Meramec Caverns Motel. Sunday finishes the trip with more tours and stops along Route 66.

Contact for tour costs. 314-776-7385 www.missouri66.org

Mother Road Marathon October 14, Joplin This unique race begins in Oklahoma, runs through Kansas, and finishes in Joplin. More than 80 percent of the course is run on Historic Route 66. There is also a half marathon, 5K, and a fun run. Spectators can enjoy a festival atmosphere at Victory Lane finish area with live music and vendors. Full marathon begins in Commerce, Oklahoma; half marathon begins in Baxter Springs, Kansas; and 5K begins in Joplin. All events begin at 7:30 am. Entry fee for races. 800-657-2534 | www.runMRM.com

5th Annual Race to the Rocker March 23, 2013, Cuba This four-mile race from downtown Cuba to the World’s Largest Rocking Chair in Fanning benefits local organizations in Cuba. This is a free event for spectators. For more information about next year’s event, including registration fees, visit www.jog-inc.com.

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Route 66 - The Heart of Rolla Reminders of Route 66 dot Rolla roads. Like brightly painted bookends, two historic signs stand as sentinels on Route 66, guarding either edge of Rolla.

On the west end stands a giant totem pole marking one of the oldest businesses on Route 66, Totem Pole Trading Post. On the east end, folks are welcomed by the iconic Route 66 Mule and the two-story Hillbilly. Totem Pole Trading Post and Mule Trading Post are both great places to get your Route 66 and Ozark memorabilia.

In the heart of Downtown Rolla and on original Route 66 sits Phelps County Bank, which was once known as Edwin Long Hotel. Contractor M.E. Gillioz rushed the hotel to completion in March 1931 so that it could serve as the headquarters for the Route 66 celebration.

Zeno’s Motel and Steakhouse at 1621 Martin Springs Drive was formerly Zeno’s Studio Motel. This famous Route 66 icon was family owned and operated for 54 years. Zeno’s was a popular retreat for weary Route 66 travelers.

Just about seven more miles west are the 1835 John’s Modern Cabins.

Cut off in 1957 by I-44, the cabins have been falling into decay ever since.

They are an interesting remnant of the Mother Road when it was in its prime.

The cabins are on the Sugartree Outer road in Newburg, Missouri.

Summer Events Route 66 Summerfest Bluegrass & BBQ Show Lions Club Carnival Phelps County Fair

June 1&2 June 9 July 4-7 Aug. 1-4

www.route66summerfest.com www.rollalions.org www.rollalions.org www.phelpscountyfair.com

Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce 1311 Kingshighway • Rolla, MO 65401 www.VisitRolla.com • 888-809-3817

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R U O Y T GE

S K C I K t. 66 On OUR R

Centrally Located Between Springfield & St. Louis!

der To Or EE R F r You Tour g n i v i Dr ure Broch

!

day Call To

• Unique Dining • Lodging • Scenic Sites • Museums • And Much More ALL Along Rt. 66!

Home of Fort Leonard Wood

www.SeeRt66.com Visit Our Website for Details About All of Our Events June 2 Paranormal Investigations with COPS at the Talbot House, Waynesville June 1-3 & 9-10 PFAA’s Production of “The Hobbit” June 13-17 Pulaski County Regional Fair June 16 Route 66 Freedom Music Fest on the Square, Waynesville June 16 Richland Saddle Club Fun Show, Richland June 19-24 Tri-County Fair, Richland June 23-24 25th Cave State Cruiser’s Car Show, Waynesville June 30 Buckhorn Blast, music festival, Buckhorn July 7 Paranormal Investigations with COPS at the Talbot House, Waynesville July 7 Independence Day Celebration, Richland July 14 Pulaski County Courthouse presents Civil War in Pulaski County, Waynesville July 14 Cruise in at the Crossroads car show, Richland July 21 Richland Saddle Club Fun Show July 28 Old Settler’s Day, Waynesville

Pulaski County Tourism Bureau - St. Robert, MO

877.858.8687

Downlo Our Audio Tad Smart Phon our & e FREE on OuApp r Website!

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! r e m m u S s i h T Get A wa y Lebano n, MO

Route 66 Grand Opening June 9, 10 am Ribbon cutting ceremony for historic Route 66 (new 5 lanes) and a Classic Car parade (Exit 127) | 417-532-4212 “Our Town Your Town” Festival June 9, 4 pm, Floyd Jones Memorial Airport 417-588-3256 Breast Cancer Wellness Summer Fun Car Show June 16, 9 am-3 pm, Cowan Civic Center 417-532-9863 “Salute to America” I-44 Speedway June 30 417-532-2060 | www.i44speedway.net

Take a break and “Get Away” this summer–Lebanon has something for everyone.

Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival July 5 - July 7, Conway, Missouri 417-589-2013 | www.starvycreek.com Laclede County Fair July 9 - July 14, Laclede County Fairgrounds 417-322-5349 Fiber “U” July 14-15, Cowan Civic Center 417-533-5280

www.lebanonmo.org | 1-866-LEBANON

44th Brumley Gospel Sing August 1 - August 4, Cowan Civic Center 800-435-3725

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Want to get away?

Go on tour with us!

Upcoming Trips New York City Express July 6-9 $925* pp, dbl

Canadian Rockies Train Tour July 12-16 $3,401* pp, dbl occ Chicago Insider’s Train Tour Sept 1-3 $565* pp, dbl occ, Labor Day Weekend!

Cards vs. Cubs Tour 2 Games Sept. 21-23 $582* pp, dbl occ Edwardsville, IL pickup

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

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

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

International in 2013

Avalon Waterways River Cruise: Holland Tulip Festival April 7-15, $5,195* pp, dbl Book by July 30 and save $500 Fire and Ice: Experience Alaska and Hawaii in one tour!

May 21-June 2, $6,180* pp, dbl

Pilgrims & Patriots: Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, Philly Oct. 7-15 $1,776* pp, dbl occ Brunch Cruise with Pat Joyce on piano and Richard Garey as Mark Twain Nov. 3 $79 Sells fast - sign up early!

Crystal Bridges Museum plus Eureka Springs and Peabody Hotel Nov. 7-9 $494* pp, dbl occ San Antonio Cowboy Christmas by Motorcoach Dec 5-11 $1,028* pp, dbl occ *Receive 3% discount when paying by check or money order.

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SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI

A place to Explore, Experience and Enjoy.

Good times and cherished memories are just down the road.

Call or click today to begin planning your vacation. www.VacationSpringfield.com 800-678-8767

VisitMO.com I Love Springfield, MO

@springfieldCVB

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ALL AROUND

Missouri J U N E /J U LY 2 0 1 2

featured event >

CENTRAL

ART IN THE PARK

uri’s longest running 54th year of mid-Misso e Th > bia lum Co 3, 2d live June s, children’s activities, an art of ty rie va a res tu fea arts and crafts fair Free. 573PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. -5 AM 10 rk.

Pa ke La s music. Stephen parkcolumbia.org 443-8838, www.artinthe

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE June 7, 14, 21, and 28, Jefferson City > Bring a lawn chair or blanket for a different live music concert each week. Downtown. 5:30-9 PM. Free.

800-769-4183, www.visitjeffersoncity.com

CIVIL WAR LIVING HISTORY June 9, Newburg > Crafts, games, parade, Civil War camps, artifacts, period music, and ice cream. Little Piney Community Park. 9 AM5 PM. Free. 573-529-2887, www.newburgmo.org/ livinghistory/

HEIT’S POINT FESTIVAL June 10, Lincoln > Church service, BBQ lunch, and family activities. Heit’s Point ministries on the Lake of the Ozarks. 10 AM-4 PM. Freewill offering. 660-668-2363, www.heitspoint.com

DEEP SKY SIGHTS June 16, Knob Noster > Amateur astronomers help you view the moonless sky, see Mars and Saturn’s rings, and look for star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies. Knob Noster State Park. 8:3010 PM. Free. 660-563-2463, www.mostateparks. com/park/knob-noster-state-park

BLUEGRASS BAND CONCERT

COURTESY OF JONATHAN STEFFENS

June 16, Columbia > Jeff Scroggins and the Colorado bluegrass band performs. Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater. 7:30 PM. $6-$12. 573-4744040, www.lighthousetheater.com

ROUTE 66 FREEDOM FEST June 16, Waynesville > Live music, children’s activities, games, and vendors. Downtown on the Square. 11 AM-5 PM. Free. 573-774-3001, www.visitpulaskicounty.org

VARIETY SHOW

Visit MissouriLife.com for more events!

June 23 and 30, Blackwater > Musical fun for the family. West End Theatre. 2:30 and 8 PM. $6.

660-888-2300, www.blackwater-mo.com These listings are chosen by our editors and are not paid for by sponsors.

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ALL AROUND

OLDE GLORY DAYS June 28-July 1, Clinton > Entertainment, carnival, music, games, parade, and fireworks. Downtown. Noon-10:30 PM Thurs.; 9 AM-10:30 PM Fri.; 7 AM-10:30 PM Sat.; 7:15 AM-10 PM Sun. Free (except carnival). 660-885-8166, www.clintonmo.com

BUCKHORN BLAST June 30, Buckhorn > Passport Run, family and children’s games, camping, music, and fireworks. Behind the Shrine Club. 8 AM-11 PM. $5$25. 573-433-0702, www.local28forr.com

SALUTE TO AMERICA July 3-4, Jefferson City > Carnival, parade, concerts, beer garden, classic car show, and a fireworks display choreographed to music and shot over the Capitol. Downtown. 4-11 PM Tues., 11 AM-11 PM Wed. Free (except some special events).

888-415-6747, www.salutetoamerica.org

4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION July 4, Columbia > Fireworks choreographed to music. Downtown. 6:30-10 PM. Free. 573-8747460, www.gocolumbiamo.com

SUPERIOR DONUTS July 13-14 and 19-21, Jefferson City > Comedy about a 1960s former radical who owns a donut

shop and his assistant who wants to update the shop with live music and healthy food. Shikles Auditorium. 6 PM (noon Sun. matinee). $30. 573681-9012, www.capitalcityplayers.com

NORTHEAST ST. LOUIS

FIBER “U” July 14-15, Lebanon > Vendors, exhibitors, and fiber arts and crafts classes. Cowan Civic Center. 9 AM-5 PM Sat.; 9 AM-3 PM Sun. Free (fee for classes). 417-533-5280, www.mopaca.org

BLUES AND CRUISE July 17, Rocheport > Live blues music and classic cars. Throughout town. Noon-4 PM. Free. 573698-2299, www.rocheport-mo.com

THUMBELINA July 19-20, Linn Creek > Dinner theater with the performance of the play by Hans Christian Andersen. Camden County Museum. 5:30 PM dinner; 7 PM show. $15. Reservations. 573-3467191, www.camdencountymuseum.com

POW-WOW July 20-22, Sedalia > Native American crafts, song, dance, trade booths, educational information on Native Americans from the area, and concessions. Missouri State Fairgrounds. Times vary. Free. 660-826-2222, www.visitsedalia.com

GARDEN TOUR June 2, Hermann > Tour heirloom gardens, and learn about 19th-century gardening techniques.

Deutschheim State Historic Site. 10 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-486-2200, www.mostateparks.com/ park/deutschheim-state-historic-site

MUSIC UNDER THE STARS June 7-July 26 (Thurs.), Hannibal > Different live concert each week. In front of Mark Twain Boyhood Home. 7 PM. Free. 573-221-9010, ext.

404, www.marktwainmuseum.org

TRUCK AND TRACTOR PULL June 9, Mexico > Ten action-packed classes.

Audrain County 4-H Fairgrounds. 5 PM. $15. 573581-2765, www.mexicoyoungfarmers.com

BREWERS HERITAGE FESTIVAL June 15-17, St. Louis > Sample more than 80 beers and live music. Ballpark Village. 5-9 PM Fri.; 11 AM-3 PM and 5-9 PM Sat.; 11 AM-3 PM Sun. $30-$35. 888-792-2424, www.stlbrewfest.com

Family Fun, By Nature.

It’s not just a place; it’s an experience.

Join us for Olde Glory Days when we really shine! Live music, carnival, parade, fine arts show, classic cars, gospel fest, weiner dog races and great fireworks--real family fun!

ntiques A on Washington

Cruisin’ To Clinton Night June 9

Olde Glory Days Festival

An upscale establishment offering quality antique furniture, primitives, glassware, tools, pottery and more

June 28, 29, 30 & July 1

Olde Glory Days Grand Parade June 30

Mega Fireworks Display

Located on the Historic Clinton Square at 105 S. Washington, Clinton, MO. www.AntiquesonWashington.com 660-885-2752

July 1

Monday-Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm Sunday: Noon to 5 pm

For more information, call 660-885-2123

or visit www.ClintonMO.com

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July-Aug. 8 Save $2 on regular adult admission tickets sold at Missouri State Fair Box Office and these sponsor locations: ®

Unlimited Daily Deal $27 $6 savings! Available at Breaktime and Walgreens July – Aug. 18 Includes carnival rides for one day and one-day adult admission.

Advance Unlimited Ride Carnival Wristband $18.95 $6 savings! Exclusively at Walgreens, July – August 8.

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MUSIC ON MAIN

RIVERFEST

June 20 and July 18, St. Charles > Bring a lawn chair or blanket for a different family-friendly live music concert and concessions. North Main Street. 5-7:30 PM. Free. 800-366-2427, www. historicstcharles.com

July 4, St. Charles > Family-friendly event with music, vendors, parade, and fireworks display.

Frontier Park. 10 AM-10:30 PM. Free. 636-9467776, www.historicstcharles.com

June 23, Danville > See live falcons, hawks, owls, and vultures, and learn fascinating facts about these birds of prey. Graham Cave State Park.

2-3 PM. Free. 573-564-3476, www.mostateparks. com/park/graham-cave-state-park

land of the free!

FREEDOM FEST July 3-4, O’Fallon > Concerts with national entertainers and regional bands, carnival, children’s activities and games, crafters, parade, and fireworks. Ozzie Smith Sports Complex. 5-11 PM. Tues.; noon-10 PM Wed. Free. 636-379-5614, www.heritageandfreedomfest.com

HARRISON OPEN HOUSE June 24, Kirksville > Historical interpreters portray Captain Harrison, his wife, and other Civil War soldiers. Refreshments are served by docents in 19th-century period clothing. Home of Civil War Captain Thomas C. Harrison. 1-4 PM. $1$4. 660-665-3766, www.kirksvillechamber.com

BOB EDWARDS BOOK TALK July 4, Hannibal > Bob Edwards, radio journalist and former NPR “Morning Edition” host, discusses his career in radio and his latest book. Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. 6 PM. $40 (includes copy of the book). 573-221-9010, ext.

404. www.marktwainmuseum.org

ROCKIN’ ON THE LANDING July 4, and 6-7, St. Louis > Live music and river’s edge view of the fireworks displays. Laclede’s Landing. 2-11 PM. Free. 314-241-5875, www. lacledeslanding.com

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE FESTIVAL July 4-8, Kirksville > Parade, fireworks display, live theater, apple pie contest, and auction.

Downtown. Times vary. Free. 660-665-3766, www.kirksvillechamber.com

RAT PACK CONCERT July 8, Mexico > Sound-alikes of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis, Jr., perform.

Presser Performing Arts Center. 2 PM. $5-$10.

573-581-5592, www.presserpac.com

LET THEM EAT ART July 13, Maplewood > Live music, art, dream interpretation, and belly and hoop dancing performances. Historic Downtown. 6-11 PM. Free.

314-645-3600, www.cityofmaplewood.com/ltea

COURTESY OF BILL BARRETT

RAPTOR AWARENESS PROGRAM

John Knox Village East Meet the neighbors.

Ask us about this surprisingly affordable retirement option.

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

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111 N. Main, Liberty, MO • 816-781-9473 www.jamescountry.com • jamescntry@aol.com

Carrying a complete line of Civil War Living History needs for Ladies, Gentlemen, Civilian, Military – featuring patterns, weapons, accessories, research. Our specialty: the Border Wars.

The best in Historical Accuracy • Documentation Value Service

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ALL AROUND

NEMO FAIR

NORTHEND FESTIVAL

VICTORIAN TEA

July 16-21, Kirksville > Agriculture showcases, carnival, demolition derby, super farmer contest, bull riding, and entertainment. NEMO Fairgrounds. Times vary. $20-$50. 660-665-8800, www.nemofair.net

June 1-3, St. Joseph > Live music, crafts, fireworks, children’s activities, parade, Duck Races, and Bikers for Babies. Krug Park. 5-10 PM Fri.; 9 AM-10 PM Sat.; noon-5 PM Sun. Free. 816-2615430, www.stjomo.com

June 2, Lexington > Tea and desserts and a presentation on Victorian fashion and etiquette.

Battle of Lexington State Historic Site. 1-4 PM. Free. 660-259-4654, www.mostateparks.com/ park/battle-lexington-state-historic-site

BERRIES AND BBQ WINE TRAIL

ART AND MARIONETTES

ART IN THE PARK

July 28-29, Hermann > Taste barbecue creations paired with each winery’s selected wine. Seven local wineries. 10 AM-5 PM Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. $30. 314-795-9770, www.hermannwinetrail.com

June 1-July 31, Independence > Exhibit featuring artwork, including the carved wood marionettes of puppeteer Robert LeRoy Smith.

Puppetry Arts Institute. 10 AM-5 PM Tues.-Sat. $1.50-$3. 816-833-9777, www.hazelle.org

June 8-10, St. Joseph > Visual art show and sale and live music. Civic Center Park. 4-6 PM Fri.; 10 AM-5 PM Sat.; 1-5 PM Sun. Free. 816-279-3199, www.midwestartists.org

NORTHWEST KANSAS CITY

CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY

BIG FISH 32 June 1-2, Maryville > Fishing contest with a boat as the grand prize. Nodaway County Lake. 6 PM Fri.-noon Sat. Free. 660-582-2151, www.971thevill.com

STREETS ALIVE! June 1-3, Lee’s Summit > Arts, crafts, carnival, and BBQ contest. Downtown. Noon-10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat.; noon-5 PM Sun. Free. 816-2466598, www.leessummitdowntowndays.com

June 2, Higginsville > Reenactment of a Confederate Memorial Day with picnic lunch, parade, and memorial service. Confederate Memorial State Historic Site. 10 AM-4 PM. Free.

660-584-2853, www.mostateparks.com/park/ confederate-memorial-state-historic-site

STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL June 2, Independence > More than 100 booths of antiques, crafts, flowers, and herbs, with accordion and dulcimer music, carriage rides, children’s crafts, vintage cars, strawberry shortcake, and ice cream. Vaile Mansion. 9 AM-4 PM. $3-$6.

816-229-8293, www.vailemansion.org

SUMMER FUN DAY June 9, Trenton > Interactive nature tables, face painting, and naturalist-led walks. Crowder State Park. 1-4 PM. Free. 660-359-6473

ANTIQUE FESTIVAL June 9-10, Kansas City > Pottery, linens, collectibles, furniture, jewelry, and books. Crown Center Square. 9 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 816-274-8444, www.crowncenter.com

MIAMI HOMECOMING June 10, Miami > Celebration of the roots of the community. Community Church. 2-4 PM. Donations accepted. 660-852-3305, www. sullivansfarms.net/friendsofmiami

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JAZZ, BLUES, AND FINE ART June 15-16, Parkville > Multiple bands perform and food available for purchase. English Landing Park. 5:30-11 PM Fri.; noon-11 PM Sat. Free. 816505-2227, www.parkvilleriverjam.com

WILDHEART PERFORMANCE June 23, Arrow Rock > Wildheart performs songs about nature around the campfire, plus s’mores. Arrow Rock State Historic Site. 6-7 PM. Free. 660-837-3330, www.mostateparks.com/ park/arrow-rock-state-historic-site

June 24, Kansas City > 200 vintage, classic, and special interest vehicles on display. Kansas City Art Institute campus. 10 AM-4 PM. $12-$15. 816802-3426, www.artofthecarconcours.com

FIREWORKS CELEBRATION July 3, Kearney > Live music and fireworks display. Jesse James Festival Grounds. Dusk. Free.

816-628-6466, www.kearneychamber.org

KAZOO PARADE July 4, Arrow Rock > Firetrucks, vintage cars, and kazoo bands. Bring your kazoo and join the parade. Main Street. 2 PM. Free. 660-837-3231, www.jhustontavern.com

Books Make Great Gifts

anytime!

Find these and more at www.MissouriLife.com/store or call 800-492-2593 ext. 101.

Reflections of Missouri, Drawings and Watercolors from Artist John Stoeckley ($39.95), Seasons of the MKT Trail: A Pictorial Journey by Gary J. Dietrich ($35)

come out to the fair!

NODAWAY COUNTY FAIR July 19-21, Maryville > Carnival, classic car show, parade, concerts, talent shows, children’s activities, 4-H exhibits, livestock shows, and crafts. Nodaway County Fairgrounds and Downtown. 6 PM-midnight Tues.; 8:30 AM-midnight Wed.; 10 AM-midnight Thurs.-Fri.; 6:30 AM-midnight Sat. Free (except food and carnival). 660-582-4722, www.nodcofair.org

taway An unforgettable ge awaits you along the ppi banks of the Mississieau.

River in Cape Girard days Whether reliving the the at rk Cla d an wis Le of ive Red House Interpret Center, following the tragic path of the Tears Cherokee at Trail of State Park, steppingCrisp back in time at the or Museum and Fort D uri’s visiting one of Misso ed four remaining coverMill, bridges at Bollinger you’ll love discoveringof the nearly 250 years that history and heritage ced can only be experien in Cape Girardeau.

TORY S A T O G E W E V A H FOR YOU! Bollinger Mill and Covered Bridge

Me m Sto ories ries to to S Crea har te. e.

COURTESY OF GREATER MARYVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

ART OF THE CAR CONCOURS

ars State

Trail of Te

Park

Fort D Civil War Site

le tale Follow the memorab to of bygone days

ory

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useum

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I 800·777·0068 or info@VisitCape.com I

VisitCape

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ALL AROUND

4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION July 4, Cameron > Pedal tractor pull, fun run, parade, free swim, parent/child look-alike contest, baby show, and fireworks. McCorkle Park. 7 AM-4 PM; fireworks at dusk. Free. 816-632-2005, www.cameronmochamber.com

LEGENDS OF CRYSLER STADIUM July 7, Independence > Ceremony to retire the jerseys of baseball players Albert Pujols, David Haas, Rick Sutcliffe, Russ Morman, Mort Cooper, and Walker Cooper, that played high school and American Legion games at the stadium.

Crysler Stadium. 9-10 AM. Free. 816-325-7839, www.visitindependence.com

1860s PATRIOTIC DAY July 7, Lexington > Reenactors recreate an 1860s-era patriotic day complete with picnic basket auction, music, and games. Anderson House at the Battle of Lexington State Historic Site. 10 AM-4 PM. Free. 660-259-4711, www. visitlexingtonmo.com

ANTIQUE AND CRAFT FAIR

CIVIL WAR & LEWIS AND CLARK

July 14, Independence > Crafts, antiques, live entertainment, and kettle corn. Bingham-Waggoner Estate. 9 AM-4 PM. Free. 816-461-3491, www.bwestate.org

BUSHWHACKER DAYS June 6-9, Nevada > Antique tractor show, living history, parade, carnival, pony rides, Civil War reenactors, vendors, Texaco Country Showdown, and concerts. Downtown. 8 AM-11 PM. Free. 417448-7981, www.bwdays.com

SOUTHWEST WATERCOLOR NOW! June 1-July 8, Springfield > Display of works by 67 artists from across the country painting in watercolor. Springfield Art Museum. 9 AM5 PM Tues.-Sat. (8 PM Thurs.); 1-5 PM Sun. Reception June 8, 5:30-7 PM. Donations accepted. 417837-5700, www.springfieldmo.gov/art

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY HIKE June 2, Dadeville > Celebrate National Trails Day by joining a guided hike on the Umber Ridge Trail. Meet at the trailhead for a 1.75-mile hike through the wooded landscape along the shores of Stockton Lake. Stockton State Park. 9 AMnoon. Free. 417-276-4259, www.mostateparks. com/park/stockton-state-park

DAY AT THE GLADES June 2, Joplin > Glade bingo, live glade animals, management techniques, special program “Recipe for Glade,” and a visit from Cherty the Collared Lizard. Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center. 10 AM-4 PM. Free. 417-7826287, www.wildcatglades.audubon.org

ARTS FESTIVAL June 9, Pierce City > Exhibits of fine art, woodworking, jewelry, pottery, and photography; workshops, wine tasting, art auction, and root beer floats. See the Quilts on the Front Porch display. Walnut and Main streets. 9 AM-3 PM. Free (wine tasting $7 and goes until 5 PM). 417-4893041, www.piercecityartsfestival.webs.com

FOOD IN THE FRONTIER June 16, Ash Grove > Demonstrations and programs on how the Ozarks settlers grew and prepared their food. Nathan Boone Homestead State Historic Site. 10 AM-4 PM. Free. 417-7513266, www.mostateparks.com/park/nathanboone-homestead-state-historic-site

FIRE AND THUNDER July 4, Shell Knob > Watch a huge fireworks show shoot out over the lake from the shore or a boat. Table Rock Lake. 9:30 PM. Free. 417-8583300, www.shellknob.com

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42ND STREET July 5-7, 9-14, and 17-20, Springfield > Acclaimed Broadway musical featuring musical hits “We’re in the Money” and “Shuffle Off to Buffalo.” University Tent Theatre. 8 PM. $10-$60. 417-836-7678, www.tenttheatre.com

COURTESY OF SPRINGFIELD CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

HUG A HERP DAY July 7, Mindenmines > Program helps to dispel myths and rumors about reptiles and amphibians. See them up close, and make a reptile or amphibian craft to take home. Prairie State Park. 11 AM-3 PM. Free. 417-843-6711, www. mostateparks.com/park/prairie-state-park

COCA-COLA COLLECTORS July 7, Springfield > Show and sale of vintage Coca-Cola clocks, porcelain signs, and cardboards. Price guides and information about collecting available. University Plaza Hotel. 10 AM-2 PM. Free. 214-929-0555, www.cocacolaclub.org

take me out to the fair!

OZARK EMPIRE FAIR July 27-Aug. 4, Springfield > Headliner concerts including Glen Campbell and Dierks Bentley, carnival, livestock shows, Pasture to Plate cooking demonstrations, bluegrass music, tractor pulls, lawn mower pulls, demonstrations, and exhibits. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds.

11 AM-11 PM. $3-$6 (shows extra). 417-833-2660, www.ozarkempirefair.com

BOONE HISTORY DAY July 21, Ash Grove > Interpretive talks about Nathan Boone’s life, his family, and his Ozarks home with special guest speakers. Nathan Boone Homestead State Historic Site. 10 AM-4 PM. Free.

417-751-3266, www.mostateparks.com/park/ nathan-boone-homestead-state-historic-site

Fathers Are Great!

Let him know how great he is with a subscription to Missouri Life magazine! Each issue is filled with amazing things to do from dirt racing and hiking, to unexpected places to travel and great places to eat.

Give dad the gift that gives all year long.

Call 800-492-2593, ext. 101 or visit MissouriLife.com to order dad Missouri Life. Start the adventure today.

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ALL AROUND

SOUTHEAST TUNES AND TWILIGHT June 1 and 6, Cape Girardeau > Different outdoor concert each week. The Gazebo at the Common Pleas Courthouse. 6:30-7:30 PM. Free.

573-334-8085, www.oldtowncape.org

June 1-July 27 (Fri.), Ste. Genevieve > Different concert each Friday (June 1 and July 28 Saturday shows) featuring bands such as the Johnny Cash Tribute Band and Hudson and the Hoodoo Cats. Orris Theatre. 8 PM. $12.50-$20.

573-883-3686, www.visitstegen.com

boom!

LATE NIGHT CAVE TOUR

FOURTH AT THE FORT July 4, Cape Girardeau > Come out to see how patriotic soldiers celebrated the national holiday. Cannons and rifles are fired, reenactors enjoy a special meal with friends and civilians, flags are flown, and civilian ladies serve iced tea and cookies. Fort D Historic Site. 9 AM-3 PM. Free. 800-777-0068, www.fortdhistoricsite.com

June 2, 23, and July 7, Leasburg > Bring your flashlight for a late night guided tour of Cathedral Cave. Onondaga Cave State Park. 10 PM-midnight. $6-$8. 573-245-6576, www.mostateparks. com/park/onondaga-cave-state-park

MISSOURI MINES ROCK SWAP June 8-10, Park Hills > Rock hobbyists swap and sell rock and mineral specimens, fossils, and rock

COURTESY OF CAPE GIRARDEAU CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

SUMMER MUSIC FEST

Nostalgic Place B&B Inn

Simple elegance, centrally located, surrounded

by Missouri’s clearest rivers and streams.

Johnson shut-ins, Marble Creek, Silver Mines, and many locations along the Black River are fabulous places for swimming. Who needs a pool when Missouri’s best swimming and �loating is located just minutes from Nostalgic Place Bed and Breakfast? Don’t cook or clean, we take care of your needs. A large delicious breakfast is included with your stay and picnics or dinner can easily be arranged.

Nostalgic Place Bed and Breakfast: On the peaceful side of the Ozarks

www.nostalgicplace.com 573-546-1201 300 S. College Street, Arcadia, Missouri

A rca di a�Va l ley�R e gion�And� Black�R i v er�R e cre ation�Area Welcome to the peaceful side of the Ozarks, where you’ll find Missouri’s best swimming holes and the outdoor recreation capital of Missouri!

WWW.MISSOURI-VACATIONS.COM

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jewelry. Tour the historic site and mineral museum. Missouri Mines State Historic Site. 9 AM-6 Pm Fri.-Sat.; 9 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 573-431-6226, www.mostateparks.com/park/missouri-minesstate-historic-site

GAZEBO CONCERT SERIES June 24, July 22, and Aug. 26, Perryville > Live music performances. Courthouse gazebo. 5-7 PM. Free. 573-547-6062, www.perryvillemo.com

CEMETERY TOUR

CANDLELIGHT VEILLEE June 9, Ste. Genevieve > Celebrate the traditional French Colonial summer gathering with folk dancing, folk tales, candlelight tours, and traditional French refreshments. Felix Valle State Historic Site. 7-9 PM. Free. 573-883-7102, www.mostateparks.com/park/felix-vallehouse-state-historic-site

FRENCH HERITAGE FESTIVAL June 9, Ste. Genevieve > Celebrate 300 years of French culture in America with music, dance, French cuisine, reenactments, parades, lectures, and French Colonial architecture tours.

Throughout town. 10:30 AM-10 PM. Free. 800373-7007, www.visitstegen.com

THE WIZARD OF OZ June 21-24 and 29-31, Rolla > Frank Baum’s classic family favorite featuring songs from the movie. Cedar Street Playhouse. 7 PM Thurs.; 2 and 8 PM Fri.; 8 PM Sat.; 2 PM Sun. $12-$20. 573364-9523, www.ozarkactorstheatre.org

June 25, Cape Girardeau > Tour of the cemetery established in 1808. Old Lorimier Cemetery.

4-7 PM. Free. 800-777-0068, www.orgsites.com/ mo/redhouseinterpretivecenter/

FIREWORKS DISPLAY July 4, Ellington > Fireworks light up the sky.

Junction Hwy. 106 and Hwy. 21. Dusk. Free. 573663-7997, www.ellingtonmo.com

pulls, and concert. County Fairgrounds. 9 AM-9 PM. Free. 573-883-3686, www.visitstegen.com

JACKSON HOMECOMING July 24-28, Jackson > Talent show, rides, vendors, 5K race, Senior Idols, and concerts. Courthouse Square. 6-10 PM. Free. 573-335-6030, www.jacksonhomecomers.com

FREE LISTING & MORE EVENTS At www.MissouriLife.com

4TH OF JULY PARADE July 4, Salem > Parade and fireworks show.

Downtown and Dent County Commons. 6-10 PM. Free. 573-729-6900, www.salemmo.com

PLEASE NOTE:

FIREWORKS ON THE 4TH July 4, Sikeston > Huge fireworks display celebrates the national holiday. Sports Complex. 8:15 PM. Free. 573-471-2498, www.sikeston.net

COUNTY FAIR July 13-15, Ste. Genevieve > Parade, livestock shows, demolition derby, horse show, truck

VISIT BEAUTIFUL, CRYSTAL-CLEAR,

VISIT BEAUTIFUL, CRYSTAL-CLEAR, SPRING-FED CURRENT RIVER! SPRING-FED CURRENT RIVER!

Current River at Doniphan, Missouri

Nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks in Ripley County

Current River at Doniphan, Missouri

Enjoy floating, tubing, Nestled in the foothills of theboating, Ozarksfishing, in Ripley County

To US Hwy. 60

To US Hwy. 67Hwy. 67 To US

To US Hwy. 60

canoeing, & swimming!

Enjoy boating, fishing, floating, tubing, Camping, RV facilities, motels & restaurants! canoeing, & swimming!

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Visitmore Current River Heritage Museum & For information, call 573-996-5298 Pioneer Heritage Homestead Or visit our website: www.doniphanmissouri.org For more information, call 573-996-5298

Custom Design and Commissions www.marrsguitars.com 660-679-9990

Or visit our website: www.doniphanmissouri.org [143] June 2012

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Marr’s Guitars

Visit Current River Heritage Museum & Camping, RV facilities, motels & restaurants!

Pioneer Heritage Homestead

5/4/12 10:18 AM

Stay & Play...

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ESTABLISHED 1903 214 W. Main St. Branson, MO | 417-544-9814 www.theBransonHotel.com [144] MissouriLife

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July 25-27, 2012 I Tan-Tar-A I Osage Beach, Missouri Welcome to our 19thResort annual conference.

July 27 — 29, 2011 Tan-Tar-A Resort Osage Beach, Missouri CONFERENCE HOSTS

Sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Bar and REGFORM, the Environmental Conference at the Lake is the Midwest’s premier environmental gathering, where participants will hear from CONFERENCE SPONSORS experts in regulatory compliance, emerging technologies and public policy.

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry REGFORM

uri

The Missouri Bar

Ashtead Technology

Burns & McDonnell Get the helpful tips from the field on handling inspections. What works. What doesn’t. And the mistakes people make.Associates, Inc. Golder ER - Environmental Restoration LLC

Learn how the plethora of new regulations will impact your facility, community and economy and how you can stay in compliance.

Welcome to our 19th annual conference. rence.

Discuss developments in the law such as greenhouse gases, public nuisance Wednesday, July 27 SPECIAL EVENTS suits, and water issues in Missouri.Osage Beach, Missouri July 27 — 29, 2011 Tan-Tar-A Resort age Beach, Missouri

10:00 am Golf Tournament at The Oaks Course at Tan-Tar-A Welcome to our 19th annual conference.

Network industry experts during theOzarks. annual golf Get your clubs ready for 18 holes of golf on this with beautiful course nestled in the Thistournament event is forand numerous enthusiastic duffers and scratch golfers alike. breakout sessions and networking events scheduled throughout 7 LLC — 29, 2011 Tan-Tar-A Resort Osage Beach, Missouri the conference. n ENCE SPONSORS ERENCE HOSTS CONFERENCE SPONSORS 4:30 - 6:30 pm PreconferenceCONFERENCE Boot Camp - TheREGISTRATION: Anatomy of an Inspection (Redbud Room) Technology for an inspection with our special bootMissouri camp. Get helpful tips members from the field on $350 pre-conference Missouri Chamber, Bar,the or REGFORM uri Chamber Get of ready Commerce and Industry Ashtead Technology handling inspections. What works. What doesn’t.

And mistakes people make.

Find out what inspectors look for $395 Nonmembers HOSTS and ways to avoid enforcement.

CONFERENCE SPONSORS McDonnell $275 Government employees ORM Burns & McDonnell John Houlihan, EPA Max McCombs, Thompson Coburn Greg Robertson, Missouri DNR ber of Commerce andMissouri Industry ssociates, Inc. Marty Miller, DNR Shannon Haney, Greensfelder Hemker & Gale Ashtead Technology issouri Bar Golder Associates, Inc. ironmental Restoration LLC Burns & McDonnell 7:00 - 9:00 pm Welcome Dinner at Arrowhead DeckER Pool- Environmental Restoration LLC Join us by the pool at Arrowhead Deck for a relaxed dinner with a Hawaiian luau flare. A great way to start the

ar 19th annual Golder Associates, Inc. ur conference as youconference. enjoy time with colleagues, clients and friends in a casual atmosphere. If inclimate weather, this event will be moved to Salon C, nextBeach, to the main conference area.

-Tar-A Resort Osage Missouri oom) ER - Environmental LLC For more information, or to register, go to www.mochamber.com.

ForRestoration sponsorship opportunities,

on ook for

contact Sallie Keeney, Missouri Chamber Director of Conference Development, at 573-634-3511 or by email at skeeney@mochamber.com.

Conference attire is business casual.

nesday, July 27 A

souri DNR

Ozarks. This event is for

ustry ,mJuly

SPECIAL EVENTS

CONFERENCE SPONSORS

27

[145] June 2012 Ashtead Golf Tournament atTechnology The Oaks Course at Tan-Tar-A SPECIAL EVENTS Welcome to our 19th annual r clubs ready for 18 holes of golf & on this beautiful course nestled in the Ozarks. This event is for Burns McDonnell July 27 — 29, 2011 Tan-Tar-A Resort asticGolf duffers and scratchatgolfers alike. Course at Tan-Tar-A Tournament The Oaks Golder Associates, Inc. nspection (Redbud Room) 145 ML0612.indd 145

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Missouriana Trivia JUST FOR FUN

Chuck Berry and other tidbits.

BY EMILY ADAMS

Did you know this?

Route 66 DISAPPEARED from official maps in 1985

(27 YEARS AGO).

To CONSERVE energy during the war effort, the City Hall FOUNTAINS in Kansas City were TURNED OFF in May 1942 to save the city $1.50 per day in electricity COSTS from the circulating pumps.

We couldnthave said it better!

“It’s amazing

“[My mama] said, ‘ You and Elvis are pretty good, but you’re no Chuck Berry.’ ”

how much you can learn if your intentions are truly earnest.”

– Jerry Lee Lewis, country/folk singer

“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry.’ ” —John Lennon

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TOM SULLIVAN

—Chuck Berry, Missouri blues/folk/rock musician

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Italian Pork Kabobs with Summer Vegetables

It’s time to fire up the grill and savor fresh garden flavors! These Italian Pork Kabobs will get you grilling with pork all season long. Discover your next inspired idea at PorkBeInspired.com

©2012 National Pork Board, Des Moines, IA USA. This message funded by America’s Pork Producers and the Pork Checkoff.

PorkBeInspired.com [148] MissouriLife

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