Missouri Life Magazine October/November 2017

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MISSOURIANA

FUN

SHOW ME COSTUMES

DRESS UP AS A MISSOURI ICON THIS HALLOWEEN.

If you need a bit of costume inspiration for All Hallows’ Eve, how about adding in a little Missouri flavor? We’ve put together some iconic Show-Me State figures for you to emulate, along with lists of what you’ll need to pull off the costume. Enjoy representing your home state, and may you receive many more treats than tricks! Tag us on social media or send us photos of your Missouri-centric costumes and we may share them in a future issue.—Evan Wood

Mark Twain

Mark Twain is probably the most recognizable Missourian of all time. Aside from the wig and mustache, this costume can be assembled from clothes you already have or could borrow from a friend. You might also find the suit and tie at a thrift store for a reasonable price. If you really want to go the extra mile, add a steamboat captain or gold prospector twist, making your costume specific to a couple of Twain’s most famous books. Yes, some Philistines are going to mistake you for Albert Einstein, but that just means you’ll have an opportunity to illuminate them about Missouri’s most beloved author.

Harry Caray

Before landing in the Windy City for the Cubs, Harry Caray called games for a vastly superior team, the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louisborn, Harry spent 25 years calling, cheering, and singing his way through Cardinals highs and lows, longer than his tenure with any other team, including the Cubs. Frustrate and confuse your Cubsloving friends by donning Harry’s famous oversized glasses and a Cardinals cap, and then crack open a can of Budweiser.

WHAT YOU NEED: White curly wig | White mustache | Light-colored suit | Bow tie | Cigar or pipe BONUS: ”Hello My Name Is Samuel Clemens” name tag | Captain’s hat | Notebook and pen | A longstanding hatred of that hack James Fenimore Cooper

WHAT YOU NEED: A blazer or suit jacket | Oversize glasses | Tie | Dress shirt | Khakis | Old-timey microphone BONUS: Cardinals hat | Bewildered friend from Chicago | A thorough study of Will Ferrell’s classic Saturday Night Live impression

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Perhaps you’ve already binged the third season of the Netflix hit Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The sitcom has already earned 11 Primetime Emmy Awards. The show stars Missouri-born Ellie Kemper, and this costume is the perfect tribute to one of the biggest shows in the 2010s.

Here is a great couples, best friends, or group costume. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had many traveling companions, so, in theory, a whole gaggle of folks could dress up as old-timey explorers for this one. The pair set out from St. Louis to explore the Louisiana Purchase, later called the Missouri Territory, in 1804. They were among the first to document the state, and as a little bonus Missouri tie-in, they were both among the first territorial governors of Missouri. Drop that miscellaneous fact on some unsuspecting partygoers this Halloween, and you’ll come off like a certified history buff!

WHAT YOU NEED: Yellow sweater | Pink pants | Brightly colored sneakers | Floral shirt | Backpack

WHAT YOU NEED: Coonskin or tricorn hat | Tan jacket with fringe | Fake musket or large knife in a sheath | Boots

BONUS: Map of New York City subways | Infectious happiness | The ability to escape a Dooms Day cult

BONUS: Spyglass | Walking stick | Working knowledge of native flora and fauna | Experience fighting grizzly bears

24 / MISSOURI LIFE

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, NETFLIX

Lewis & Clark















































Springfield

P R IS O N E R S O F P Y T H I A N World War II prisoners left their marks on the dungeon walls and history of Pythian Castle. During World War II, at least 70 men were held as prisoners of war in the basement and outbuildings of Pythian Castle in Springfield. The ghosts of the German and Italian POWs are said to still wander the halls, calling out the names of visitors to the Gothic castle.

Then the US military took over the

as well as those who died by their own

Originally intended as an orphan-

property in 1942, using it as a rehabil-

hands. The castle, listed on the National

age and retirement home for fami-

itation center with bowling and danc-

Register of Historic Places, has been

ly members of deceased Knights of

es, movies and music. But just past a

featured on television shows such as

Pythias, a fraternal order established

barred door to the basement “dun-

Haunted Collector and Ghost Lab and in

in 1864, construction wrapped on the

geon,” the castle held and housed

the documentary Children of the Grave.

building in 1913. Until World War II, chil-

POWs. The prisoners’ paintings and

Today, the castle is privately owned, and

dren lived and labored in the castle

writings still adorn the walls.

visitors can attend events and ghost

under severe rules. Siblings were kept strictly separate by gender for years.

Tragedy runs through the castle’s history—natural and accidental deaths,

tours that include trips down the winding, haunted tunnels underneath.

Republic

The site of a Civil War battle along Wilson’s Creek stands as a vivid, sometimes unearthly reminder of lives lost in 1861.

As first light hit the hazy air of Wilson’s

momentum to Southern sympathizers

Creek on August 10, 1861, Union forces

throughout the state.

launched a surprise attack on the gath-

Today, many say that the restless

ered Confederate troops. A shot rang

spirits of a war-torn Missouri still haunt

out, and so it began—the first Civil War

the area. While visiting the site of this

clash between Union and Confederate

designated National Battlefield, many

soldiers west of the Mississippi.

have reported seeing the ghostly ap-

For more than five hours, the battle

paritions of those long-ago soldiers,

at Wilson’s Creek raged. Fighting was

hearing noises that can only be de-

brutal and bloody and often at close

scribed as guns and cannons, feeling

quarters. Casualties were heavy on

cold spots that raise goosebumps, and

both sides—more than 2,500 killed,

at night, hearing the sounds of sol-

wounded,

including

diers walking and talking in the near-

Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union gen-

by woods. The battleground has been

eral killed in battle. Known solemn-

preserved by the National Park Service

ly as the “Battle of Bloody Hill,” the

and is open to the public throughout

costly Confederate victory brought

the year.

or

captured,

70 / MISSOURI LIFE

COURTESY JO NAYLOR

THE BATTLE OF BLOODY HILL


A HIDDEN HISTORY (cont.) of time; many left behind accounts of un-

St. Louis

A F AM I L Y H AUNTE D B Y TR AGE DY

explained noises, voices, and sights within

several

regulations as a personal attack on his

In his resulting investigation, Steven

deaths and suicides, and many

family. A failing business and a messy

consulted paranormal investigators, psy-

believe their spirits are still

divorce led Billy into a deep depression.

chics, and priests. He says the Catholic

trapped in the family mansion.

He killed himself in his office inside the

the walls.

The

Lemps

endured

COURTESY LEMP MANSION

Church released a 156-page report classi-

Lemp Mansion on December 29, 1922.

fying the case as demonic infestation, op-

The Lemp family’s story begins in

Charles Lemp, the third son of

pression, obsession, and possession.

1838 when a German family set sail

William Lemp Sr., moved back into the

Finally, after one particularly scary

for America. By the dawn of the 20th

Lemp Mansion, a now decrepit, dilapi-

night when the door to the children’s room

century, the family had hit it big with its

dated skeleton of what it used to be, in

wouldn’t open and the house was report-

German lager, a signature brew called

1929. Charles was a reclusive but sen-

edly shaking with booms and crashes,

Falstaff Beer. Yet the American Dream

timental man, and soon an illness ren-

they left for good. Steven says he saw a

proved elusive for the Lemps. The fam-

dered him unable to care for himself. On

ghostly figure that’s been referred to as the

ily faced tragedy after tragedy, leaving

May 10, 1949, Charles committed suicide.

Screaming Man roaming the house after

behind a legacy of distress, torment,

they fled to the car.

and mystery.

Built on land owned by Captain John T.

Johann “Adam” Lemp settled in St.

Crowe, first captain of the first Missouri mi-

Louis in the mid-1800s. By 1868, he’d

litia in the Civil War, the house was erected

opened a grocery store and brewery

in 1932. It was set on the portion of land

near the riverfront, prompting the Lemp

where slaves of Captain Crowe’s wife,

brewery fortune.

Minerva, had lived. Historical documents

Adam’s son, William, took over the

suggest Minerva had affairs with at least

family brewery after his father’s death.

one of the men, which may have led to her

Tragedy first struck when William’s son

death and the deaths of all the young men

Frederick died suddenly of heart failure

who were slaves on the property.

on December 12, 1902, at the age of 28.

He was the only Lemp suicide victim to

Crime and death seemed to sur-

When his good friend, Frederick Pabst—

leave a note: “In case I am found dead,

round the Screaming House. Most nota-

of Pabst Blue Ribbon—passed away on

blame it on no one but me.”

bly, in 1974, a murder-suicide took place

January 1, 1904, William was overcome.

Longtime Lemp Mansion historian

in the house across the street from the

He committed suicide in the Lemp fami-

Betsy Burnett-Belanger says the spirits

Screaming House, and the suicide rate of

ly mansion on February 13, 1904.

of Billy and Charles have made them-

Union climbed to above the national aver-

Within a couple of decades, the fam-

selves known in the house to visitors

age. Historical documents note that several

ily experienced another traumatic loss.

and staff alike. Various people have

men and women committed suicide near or

Elsa Lemp-Wright, William’s youngest

complained about hearing ghostly

around the Screaming House.

daughter, died soon after re-marrying

knocks and phantom footsteps. There

Today, the Screaming House has ap-

businessman Thomas Wright. At the

are tales of glasses in the bar flying off

peared on the Discovery Channel’s A

time, authorities suspected—but never

the shelves, doors locking and unlock-

Haunting, and in the Booth Brothers’ Syfy

proved—foul play from Elsa’s husband;

ing by themselves, and lights that turn

and Chiller documentary, The Possessed.

her death was ultimately ruled a suicide.

on and off with no one at the switch.

Steven LaChance frequently speaks and

William “Billy” Lemp Jr. had become

The Lemp Mansion frequently lands

writes about his experiences in the house,

president of the brewing company af-

on lists of the most haunted places in

among other paranormal topics. The house

ter the death of his father, William, in

Missouri. It operates as a restaurant,

is still used as private property.

1904. Billy took the rising Prohibition

bed-and-breakfast, and event space.

71 / OCTOBER 2017














HEALTHY LIFE

picture This H I G H -T E C H U LT R A S O U N D H E L P S C L E A R U P T H E PUZZLE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST BREAST CANCER. Dr. Megha Garg STORY Kathy Casteel

Late last year, Ellis Fischel began offering

mammogram was inconclusive, and the doc-

automated whole-breast ultrasound exams

tor would like to order further tests. These

as a supplemental screen. The new machine

days, that call includes information about

features a robotic arm that automatically

breast density and options for supplemen-

moves an exterior probe in parallel rows over

tal screening. Those options could include

the entire breast, collecting thousands of im-

the newest tool in a doctor’s screening arse-

ages in less than 30 minutes. Studies have

nal—automated whole-breast ultrasound—for

shown the painless, radiation-free procedure

clearer answers.

is about 14 percent more sensitive than a 3-D

Dense breast tissue—occurring in 40 to

mammogram, Dr. Garg says. “It can find up to

50 percent of women—contains a higher ratio

seven additional cancers per 1,000 patients

of fibrous tissue to fatty tissue. In a mammo-

screened,” she adds. “These are generally

gram, this dense tissue shows up as a white

smaller tumors.”

mass, which is similar to how some tumors

She cautions that information is not yet

appear. It’s difficult to differentiate between

available on how the automated whole-breast

benign fibrous tissue and cancerous growths;

ultrasound screenings affect survival rates

some radiologists liken it to looking for a

because “the technology is still so new.”

rabbit in a snowstorm.

Whole-breast ultrasound is most useful for

“Dense breast tissue is not a condition or

screening women with dense breast tissue

abnormality,” says Dr. Megha Garg, an assis-

or those at moderate risk of breast cancer,

tant professor of radiology at the University of

Dr. Garg notes. “For high-risk patients, we

Missouri and director of the breast imaging pro-

have breast MRI. The ultrasound bridges the

gram at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia.

gap nicely.”

“It simply refers to the ratio of fibroglandular tis-

Whatever the diagnosis, preventive care

sue to fat in your breast. If your mammogram

starts with self-exams and basic mammo-

reveals you have dense breast tissue and risk

grams, she says. “I tell people it’s very import-

assessment shows overall high risk for breast

ant to know this is a supplemental screening. It

cancer, you could benefit from supplemental

does not replace a mammogram. You still need

screening in addition to mammograms.”

that basic screening before anything else.” 84 / MISSOURI LIFE

KNOW YOU R S C OR E MAMMOGRAMS SCORE BREAST DENSITY INTO FOUR CATEGORIES: 1. Fatty tissue 2. Scattered fibrous tissue 3. Heterogeneously dense 4. Extremely dense Missouri is one of 31 states to require that patients receive notification after a mammogram if their density score is 3 or 4. Learn more about breast density and associated cancer risks at AreYouDense.com.

? COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI HEALTH CARE

It’s a phone call every woman dreads: The


















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