Missouri Life October/November 2009

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Dining Worth the Drive

★

160 Events and Festivals

2008 IRMA MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR

BRANSON’S NEW GROOVE The Beatles, comedy, fine dining, magic, nightlife in a golfer’s paradise

MOTORCYC LE

MECCA 3 literary landmarks 21 Missouri authors

prized pork

Top choice of überchefs

road trip

Caledonia & the Arcadia Valley

www.missourilife.com ML1009_Cover_1_AB.indd 1

9/9/09 11:00:53 AM

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Silver Dollar City

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PLAY Titanic

WIN A VACATION “SHOW Your Family a Great Time”– A 3-day, 2-night stay at Thousand Hills Resort with a round of golf. The next day, board Titanic – World’s Largest Museum Attraction, and that night marvel at the Acrobats of China. On day three enjoy thrilling rides, great food, live shows and family fun at the award-winning Silver Dollar City theme park. To enter a drawing to win this vacation for a family of four, please visit MissouriLife.com or send your name, address, and phone number or email to:

play (pla) vi. {ME plein < OE plegan, to play, be active} 1 to amuse oneself, as by taking part in a game or sport; engage in recreation 2 to give off sounds, esp. musical sounds 3 to be performed or presented in a theater

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Missouri Life/Win Branson Vacation 515 E Morgan Boonville MO 65233

Winner will be drawn and notified on January 30, 2010, and winner’s name will be announced in the magazine and also at MissouriLife.com. Entry gives permission to announce your name as winner.

8/27/09 7:09:34 PM

LedgeStone Golf Course

Titanic German Passenger and Crew Celebration and Wood Carving Event

Because the lakes are located just minutes from the center of town, it's easy to plan a vacation filled with outdoor recreation, shows, attractions, theme parks, shopping, amusement centers, plenty of dining options and more.

Oct. 1 – 31, 2009 The live shows in Branson offer families with children high-tech magical illusions, Chinese acrobats, and daredevil skateboard exhibitions.

Oak Ridge Boys

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Broadway productions, comedy characters, talking dogs, Longhorn stampedes, high-flying trapeze artists, and a variety of musical styles and eras await you.

Lee Greenwood and the Bellamy Brothers

8/27/09 7:10:20 PM

Historic Downtown Branson

Branson is home to more than two hundred outlet stores, Branson Landing with its array of galleries, boutiques, and specialty stores, and the Historic Downtown Shopping District with quaint shops and flea markets.

Branson Landing

Branson is one of the top family vacation destinations in the country and for good reason. With more than one hundred live shows, three area lakes that offer an abundance of recreational opportunities and a vast array of lodging accommodations from which to choose, families of all ages and sizes select Branson as their destination for leaf-peeping and fall fun.

National Harvest Festival Silver Dollar City welcomes more than one hundred visiting craftsmen and more than four hundred of the nation's finest musicians.

Sept. 12 - Oct. 31, 2009

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Hughes Brothers

National Harvest Festival

1-800-226-6316 or visit www.ExploreBranson.com Call

Fall Fun in Branson! AD-OCT 09.indd 5

for special offers

8/27/09 7:11:22 PM

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[8] MissouriLife

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1 2 3 WEEKEND ONE

t t t t t

Oct 17-18

Outdoor Days w/Camping at Lake Springfield Pre 1840s Mountain Man Rendezvous Canoe/Kayak Races Outdoor Skills Villages 4H – Wonders of Wildlife and others Nature Hikes & more!!

WEEKEND TWO

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Oct 24-25

Kids & Youth Run Cycling Event (100-70-35-9 mile) 50K-25K Trail Run Rhonda Vincent in Concert

WEEKEND THREE

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Oct 31-Nov 1

Marathon Marathon Relay Half Marathon 10K-5K Halloween Run Wellness Walk Corp Wellness Conference & Expo

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CONTENTS Features

October 2009

46  Road Trip: Roads to Glory

King of the road John Robinson takes a trip, meandering down Route 21 to Potosi, Caledonia, and the Arcadia Valley. He discovers Moses and a daring Civil War escape along the way.

52  Branson’s New Groove

Not just country—see how Branson’s new shows, nightlife, dining, golf, comedy clubs, and unique attractions make it the ever-evolving entertainment capital of the Midwest.

60  Literary Landmarks

Explore Missouri’s vast literary landscape with a tour of a few of our most famous authors’ homes, plus a list of all the Missouri authors you should know and what you should read.

76  A First-Year Perspective

A University of Missouri at Columbia sophomore shares lessons learned from his first year at Mizzou.

118  Hog Heaven

See why “porkaholics” and überchefs, like Mario Batali, choose the heritage Berkshire pork raised at the Newman Farm in the Ozarks.

In Every Issue 23  All Around Missouri

Our listing of more than 160 events, plus fire dancers, Survival of the Fittest, Farm Aid, the American Royal, and fall festivals throughout the state. Go to MissouriLife.com for even more great events and the most complete listing in the state!

116  Musings

Ron Marr recalls everything he swore he’d never do and learns to “never say never” as he, in fact, does one of them: He joins Facebook.

122  Restaurant Recommendations

NOTLEY HAWKINS

66 PAoGrcEycle Mecthcreae

to Mot home to the uis is St. Lo s devoted re m u e m s d u n o m ycle a r motorc nts that cate uld ra o u c ta u s o re an y . ers th to bik to in a day ride

Our recommendations for Cajun cooking in Monett, farmfresh fare in St. Joseph, a taste of Tuscany in Hannibal, barbecue in Kennett, and seafood in Jefferson City.

126  Wine

Doug Frost tells the story of America’s oldest winery and its legacy today: winning wine competitions.

130  Missouriana

Mark Twain’s birthday, Missouri turkey trivia, Veterans Day, and fall prose from Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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CONTENTS

October 2009

In Every Issue

14  Missouri Memo

The publisher shares his favorite author, and the editor discusses the finer points, and words, in town slogans.

Jayne, a founding member of The Darling Boys from The Andy Griffith Show. Plus, 5 other books by Missouri authors or about Missouri places or topics.

20  Letters

42  Made in Missouri

Missouri Medley 39  People, Places, & Points

Show-Me Flavor 128  Missouri Recipes

Zest of Life 40  Show-Me Essentials

Missouri Lifestyle 75  Inspired Ideas & Savvy Solutions

Artists from Branson and Rolla and a composer from St. Louis, plus Missouri’s state invertebrate.

A promising HIV prevention drug, tips for this year’s flu season, and fall fashion comes to Missouri via L.A.

41  Missouri Books

Cover photo: Courtesy of Payne Stewart Golf Course/Rob Perry.

We missed a spot. A reader shares another favorite barbecue spot in southeastern Missouri.

St. Louis opens its new Citygarden, J. Seward Johnson’s The Awakening comes to Chesterfield, and Springfield’s Askinosie Chocolate goes to Singapore.

A memoir from a cancer survivor and a book by Mitch

Build your own dinosaur, find St. Louis’s favorite potato chip, and prepare for hunting season with a turkey call.

Grilled pork chops and habanero whipped potatoes from the Wine Cellar and Bistro in Columbia and roast Newman Farm pork ham Cuban-style.

. This Issue on MissouriLife com Bonus Recipes Try a recipe for Crabmeat Au’Gratin submitted by one of our restaurant recommendations, The Bayou in Monett, on page 122.

The Vote is In For 38% of you, it has been more than five years since you’ve made the trip to the Midwest’s entertainment capital, but some of you have discovered Branson’s latest evolution in entertainment (see the story on page 52).

For the Biker in You Find recommended rides in the St. Louis area, plus an extended photo gallery for Motorcycle Mecca (page 66).

Missouri eLife Don’t miss out on Missouri eLife, our digital editions. They’re free to subscribers and include additional features like videos, photo galleries, live web links, a search function, and more. You can find all of the 2009 issues in our Marketplace for $3 each.

COURTESY OF BRANSON CVB

What’s the Buzz? Chuck Berry played on Ninth Street in Columbia in August. Were you there? Get a review of the show, and more on our staff blog, ML Buzz.

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    [13] October 2009

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Tellin

Nothing gave a young Sam Clemens

more motivation to

WHAT’S IN A WORD?

make a change in his life than being shot at during his two-week stint

I RECENTLY SAW a town slogan

as a member of the Southern-sympathizing Missouri State militia.

that I didn’t think quite worked. It was a town name, and then “unsurpassed expectations.” I couldn’t help thinking, “What? You might meet my expectations but won’t surpass them?” A little sarcasm sometimes creeps out during deadline. But maybe it’s me missing something. At least one Marriott hotel uses the same language: “Uncommon comfort and unsurpassed expectations are the norm of the JW Danita Allen Wood, Editor in Chief Marriott Grand Rapids.” Hmmm. I’m not a fan of “generic” town slogans, either. If the words can be used by nearby towns, they don’t work, in my opinion. I’ll pick on both Kansas City and St. Louis. They’re big cities; they can take it. For St. Louis, I’ve seen both “St. Louis All Within Reach” and “There’s More than Meets the Arch.” I don’t get these; maybe I’m thinking too literally. Kansas City says “Change Your Perspective,” and I’m thinking, “What am I changing my perspective from or to?” Then, there are some memorable, whimsical ones: ■ Where the Odds are With You—Peculiar ■ Smart Dog, Nice Folks—Marshall ■ Where the West Officially Started Getting Wild—St. Joseph ■ Where the Lake Meets the Trail—Clinton ■ Where the Trails Start and the Buck Stops—Independence I like those slogans because they’re memorable, unique to that town, and they also entice visitors to want to explore, I think. I have also always liked Columbia’s slogan: The smart, innovative, artsy, eclectic, clever, savvy, vibrant, too-dynamic-to-fit-into-a-shorttagline city. I confess, I can never remember it word-for-word and had to look it up. But it does stick that Columbia is too cool for a short tagline. So what’s your town’s slogan? E-mail your favorites to me (danita@ missourilife.com), and we’ll share more. We like to play with words and will give you our two cents, as long as you remember that’s all our opinions are worth.

“I was a soldier two weeks once in the beginning of the war, and was hunted like a rat the whole time. Familiar? My splendid Kipling himself hasn’t a more burn’t in, hard-baked and unforgettable familiarity with that death-on-the-pale-horse-with-hell-following-after which a raw soldier’s first fortnight in the field—and which, without any doubt, is the most tremendous fortnight and the vividest he is ever going to see.” Anxious to give up the soldier’s life, Clemens jumped at the chance to join his brother, Orion, who was heading out West to become a secretary to the governor of the Nevada Territory. It was 1861, the Civil War was well under way, and Clemens had had all he wanted of it. Clemens grew up in Hannibal (see page 60) and ventured forth as a riverboat pilot’s cabin boy, then cub pilot, and finally full-fledged riverboat captain, and nothing gave the self-named Mark Twain more pleasure than traveling. Roughing It documents his journey out West and epitomizes his genius humor through exaggeration. From the short story that made him famous, The Celebrated Jumping Frog

Twain’s Travels

of Calaveras County, to his account of his trip up the Missouri river on a steamboat, Twain’s imagination comes to life—even when he’s bored out of his skull: “We were six days going from St. Louis to St. Jo—a trip that was so dull, and sleepy, and eventless that it has left no more impression on my memory than if its duration had been six minutes instead of that many days.” It was across the river from St. Joseph that the two brothers changed from steamboat to stagecoach. St. Joseph was certainly a jumping-off point for him as he truly came into his literary being as a

Greg Wood, Publisher

result of this journey west.

Award-Winning

Misisfoeu.r..i L

2009 2009 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2007

Best Issue, August/September 2008, Missouri Association of Publications Best Single Article Presentation, Missouri Association of Publications Magazine of the Year, International Regional Magazine Association Gold Award, Overall Art Direction, International Regional Magazine Association Silver Award, Single Photograph, International Regional Magazine Association Bronze Award, Profile Writing, International Regional Magazine Association Bronze Award, Cover, International Regional Magazine Association Merit Award, Culture Feature Writing, International Regional Magazine Association Best Magazine Design, Missouri Association of Publications Gold Award, Travel Feature Writing, International Regional Magazine Association

EVAN WOOD; TINA WHEELER

EMOies MISgSthOe TaUleRs BeIhiM nd the Stor

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The Spirit of Discovery 515 East Morgan Street, Boonville, MO 65233 660-882-9898 info@missourilife.com

Publisher Greg Wood

Editorial Editor in Chief Danita Allen Wood Managing Editor & Web Editor Rebecca French Smith Assistant Editor Callina Wood Editorial Assistants Cassandra Belek, Katlin Chadwick, Lesley Grissum, Molly Moore, Whitney Spivey Contributing Writers Stephanie Callahan, John Fisher, Doug Frost, Kathy Gangwisch, Gregory Holman, Dawn Klingensmith, Ann Leach, Ron W. Marr, Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley, John Robinson, Scott Rowson, Kathie Sutin, Jim Winnerman Contributing Photographers and Illustrators Notley Hawkins

Art & Production Creative Director Andrew Barton Art Director Tina Wheeler

Advertising Senior Account Managers Linda Alexander, 816-582-7720, Kansas City area Sherry Broyles, 800-492-2593, ext. 107 Advertising Coordinator & Calendar Editor Amy Stapleton, 800-492-2593, ext. 101

Circulation & Administration Administrative & Accounting Assistant Karen Ebbesmeyer, 800-492-2593, ext. 102 Subscription Services 877-570-9898 MISSOURI LIFE, Vol. 36, No. 5, October 2009 (USPS#020181; ISSN#1525-0814) Published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December by Missouri Life, Inc., for $21.99. Periodicals Postage paid at Boonville, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Missouri Life, 515 E. Morgan St., Boonville, MO 652331252. Š 2009 Missouri Life. All rights reserved. Printed by The Ovid Bell Press, Inc., at Fulton, Missouri.

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Boonville

ic

our holiday treasures! The lighting Discover of Winter Wonderland and the smell of roasting chestnuts are just some of the holiday traditions Boonville brings to life.

t Take a carriage ride through our decorated historic neighborhoods. t Hear strolling Christmas carolers. t 5PVS UIF GBNPVTMZ EFDPSBUFE %"3 IPVTF t Enjoy holiday treats from the Hain House Cookie Walk. t Bring your holiday wishes to the Jaycee Christmas parade. Santa will be waiting to see if you’ve been naughty or nice.

December 4 and 5

Visit the events calendar on goboonville.com for details 6 6 0 • 8 8 2 • 2 7 2 1 [17] October 2009

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International Regional Magazine Association

ď€?ď€?ď€ˆď€‘ď€†ď€˘ď€?ď€Œď€›ď€ˆď€Šď€Œď€•ď€Šď€žď€˜ď€Šď€•ď€ [18] MissouriLife

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Pilot Grove’s

est v r a al Saturday H v i t s 5TH ANNUAL Fe October 17, 2009 From our Pumpkin Patch Kids Area, Baby Contest and Pedal Pull to our Classic Car Show, Karaoke Contest and Craft Booths, Pilot Grove’s fifth annual Harvest Festival offers fun for the whole family.

Gourmet breakfast • 5 luxury suites, most with jetted tubs • Within walking distance of Columbia’s downtown District with its 110 unique shops, 70 bars and restaurants and 45 live performances each week

Mizzou’s own bed and breakfast gatheringplacebedandbreakfast.com 573-443-4301

Apple Tree Quilts, batiks, and mixed media fabrics. Barb Rasa

Best of Missouri Hands Artisan 19499 Bell Rd. Higginsville, MO 64037 660-584-7379 barbrasa@ctcis.net Jackson County Parks & Recreation

Jackson County Parks and Recreation

presents the

34th Annual

Missouri Town 1855

Fall Festival

of Arts, Crafts and Music

October 3, 2009  10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. October 4, 2009  11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. For more information about this or other events contact

816-503-4860 • www.jacksongov.org/missouritown [19] October 2009

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R LonEs &TYoTurEStoRrieS s YOrinUg Op ini Sha

YOU M Y MISSED A SSPOT I wanted to commend John Robinson for his great article on BBQ and all its spellings in the June (2009) issue. Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area of California since 1956, when I married my high school boyfriend from Bloomfield High School, where we both graduated in 1952, I get a tremendous longing for southeast Missouri barbeque and have eaten it at both of the Dexter places that were mentioned in the article, as well as Strawberry’s in Holcomb. They deserve the accolades, but you have “missed the boat,� in my opinion, by not including Leon’s Dexter Queen, which is just down the road a ways from both Dexter Barbeque and Hickory Log. The Dexter Queen has a long history, having opened in 1949, and it is the first place we

stop on our way into town when we go back to visit and the last place we stop as we leave, having eaten there as many times in between as possible. Just driving by, one might not realize it is famous for its “Lotta Pig� sandwiches, as its name “Dexter Queen� belies the fact that it is not just a place to go get ice cream. I simply wanted to make John Robinson aware that the next time he is driving through Dexter, he should stop and give Dexter Queen a try! I can hardly wait for my next visit there so we can once again taste that wonderful smoky pork shoulder with the magical mustard sauce. Thank you for a great article, John. It brought back many great memories.

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Fax: 660-882-9899 Address: Missouri Life 515 East Morgan Street Boonville, MO 65233-1252

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[20] MissouriLife

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Picture Yourself in Cuba, MO!

Cuba Fest Oct. 17-18 Trolley tours, crafts, food, and family fun.

cubamomurals.com cubamochamber.com

Ex pl or e Je ff er so n Ci ty ’s Ri ch Hi st or y Th is Fa ll Jefferson City has tons of fun fall events for you to enjoy, so hit the road! Enjoy outdoor art at Art Inside the Park, hop on the Katy Trail for a ride through the fall foliage or visit the Governor’s Mansion for their Halloween party. Go to www.JeffersonCityLife.com for all the details.

800-769-4183

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[22] Missouri MissouriLife

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ALL AROUND

MISSOURI

Events in Your Area

October & November

COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN ROYAL

Featured Event

THE AMERICAN ROYAL Sept. 26-Nov. 21, Kansas City. 110th year of celebrating the region’s agricultural heritage. BBQ contest, livestock exhibitions, one of the top five ranked rodeos in the nation, national championship horse competitions, championship bull riding, national cutting horse tour stop, and a Sara Evans concert. Call 816569-4025 or visit www.AmericanRoyal.com for more information.

>>>

Look for our staff ’s picks.

These listings are chosen by our editors and are not paid by sponsors.

Visit MissouriLife.com for more in your area! Northwest & Kansas City Area Hoot of a Holiday Oct. 1-31, Independence. Display of gourd art. BinghamWaggoner Estate. 10 AM-4 PM Mon.-Sat.; 1-4 PM Sun. $2-$5. 816-461-3491, www.bwestate.org Gladfest Oct. 2-4, Gladstone. Carnival, fireworks, model train exhibit, carnival, and classic car show. 70th Street and N. Holmes. 5-10 PM Fri.; noon-10 PM Sat.; noon-5 PM Sun. Free. 816-407-3650, www.gladstonechamber.com Apples, Arts, and Antiques Oct. 2-4, Lexington. Open-air market, crafts, art show, exhibits, apple auction, carnival, and Air Force band concert. Downtown. 6-11 PM Fri.; 9 AM-6 PM Sat.-Sun. Free. 660-259-3082, www.historiclexington.com

Ghost Tours on the Square Oct. 2-20 (Fri. only), Independence. Hear ghost stories and take a tour on a covered wagon. Independence Square. 7, 8, 9, and 10 PM. $12-$18. Reservations. 816-461-0065, www.theindependencesquare.com

Curtain Up! Oct. 2-Nov. 1, Kansas City. Performance celebrates the songwriters who shaped the Broadway musical. Quality Hill Playhouse. 1, 3, and 8 PM on varying days. $24-$26. 816-421-1700, www.qualityhillplayhouse.com Jazz and Wine Festival Oct. 3, Excelsior Springs. Wine tastings, jazz performances, arts, and crafts. Elms Resort and Spa. Noon9 PM. $20-$25. 816-630-7467, www.eswinefestivals.com Fall on the Farm Danita’s pick Oct. 3, Lawson. 1870s demonstrations. Watkins Woolen Mill State Park. 11 AM-4 PM. Free (except tours). 816-5803387, www.mostateparks.com/wwmill/index.html

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ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Festival of Arts, Crafts, and Music Oct. 3-4, Lee’s Summit. Traditional arts and crafts. Missouri Town 1855. 10 AM-5 PM Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. $7-$20. 816-503-4860, www.jacksongov.org

Oktoberfest Oct. 10, Sweet Springs. Arts, crafts, contests, children’s activities, dog show, and beer and wine garden. Historic downtown. 10 AM-midnight. Free. 660-335-6366

Applefest Oct. 3-4, Weston. Apple butter and cider, apple pie, artisans selling and demonstrating crafts, children’s activities, and parade. Main Street. 10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 11 AM5 PM Sun. Free. 816-640-2909, www.westonmo.com

Antique Show Oct. 17-18, Platte City. Variety of antiques and collectibles. Platte County High School. 9 AM-5 PM Sat.; 11 AM4 PM Sun. $3. 816-858-2822, www.plattecitymo.com

Fall Festival Callina’s pick Oct. 8-10, Plattsburg. 5K run/walk, carnival, vendors, car show, parade, chili supper, and kiddie parade. Downtown. 6-10 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 8 AM-11 PM Sat. Free (donations for run and chili). 816-539-2006, www.plattsburgmo.com

Missouri Day Oct. 17-18, Trenton. More than 40 bands march in a parade and competition, flea market, arts, crafts, car show, and quilt show. Grundy County Fairgrounds. 9 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. Free. 660-359-4324, www.trentonmochamber.com

Living History Festival Oct. 9-11, Lathrop. Wagon rides, apple butter, steam engines, and American Indian drumming. Antique Show Grounds. 9 AM-5 PM Fri.; 9 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-3:30 PM Sun. $3. 816-528-3511, www.lathropantique.com

Dogtober Fest Amy’s pick Oct. 18, Blue Springs. Dog walk, obedience match, agility runs, frisbee competition, and demonstrations. Kemper Outdoor Education Center. 10 AM-4 PM. Donation of dog food accepted. 816-503-4860, www.jacksongov.org

Pony Express Pumpkinfest Oct. 9-11, St. Joseph. Carnival, crafts, costume parade, two stages of music, and the Great Pumpkin Mountain lighting at 8 PM Fri. 5-9 PM Fri.; 11 AM-9 PM Sat.; noon5 PM Sun. Free. 800-530-5930, www.ponyexpress.org

Cemetery Tour Oct. 24, Lexington. Friends of the historic Anderson House portray people buried in the Machpelah Cemetery. Battle of Lexington State Historic Site. 4-8 PM. Free. 660-259-4654, www.mostateparks.com/lexington/

Octoberfest OCT. 9-10, SMITHVILLE Celebrate the fall with something for the entire family. Contests, shows, bands, dance competitions, beer garden, a parade, food and craft vendors, hog calling contest, a Gerby Derby (mouse races in the beer garden), and a children’s area with inflatables, face painting, and clowns. Held in downtown from 5 to 11 PM Friday and 10 AM to 10 PM Saturday, this event is free. For more information, call 816-5320946 or visit www.discoversmithville.com.

COURTESY OF DEBORAH MUESSIG

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Family Fun, By Nature. We are Clinton, Missouri; where small town life is still alive and well. From the Trail head of the Katy, to the Shores of Truman Lake, from our Historic Square to our welcoming Hotels and Inns, we invite you to come be our guest. This Golden Valley in which we live offers a multitude of opportunities for you to connect with our natural surroundings, so if you are a hunter or fisher, biker or hiker, or even a professional shopper, come see what Historic Clinton has to offer. Visit our amazing Henry County Museum, dine with us, and let us show you that We are Clinton, and we are great people, by nature.

For more information, go to www.clintonmo.com

[24] MissouriLife

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Courtesy of Jenny Wheat

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All Around Missouri

NOAPS Best of Missouri Show Oct. 24-Nov. 21, Marceline. Juried show featuring oil and acrylic paintings. Artists reception Oct. 24 5-7 pm. NOMO Arts Center. 9 am-5 pm Mon.-Fri.; 11 am-5 pm Sat. Free. 660-376-2350, www.nomoart.com

Candlelight Homes Tour Nov. 20-22, Weston. Tour antebellum homes and a downtown loft, and Father Christmas will light up the streets. Throughout town. 5-8:30 pm Fri. (hors d’oeuvres, wine, and tour of Avalon Cafe) 2-8 pm Sat.; 2-7 pm Sun. $10-$25. 816-640-2909, www.westonmo.com

American Indian Galleries Nov. 7, Kansas City. New gallery honoring the artistic achievements of native peoples from across North America. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. 10 am-4 pm Wed.; 10 am-9 pm Thurs.-Fri.; 10 am-5 pm Sat.; noon-5 pm Sun. Free. 816-751-1278, nelson-atkins.org

Cinderella Rebecca’s pick Nov. 21, St. Joseph. Classic tale with a unique twist performed by the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara. Missouri Theatre. 8 pm,. $10-$50. 816-279-1225, www.saintjosephperformingarts.org

74th Ararat Shrine Circus Nov. 12-15, Kansas City. Municipal Auditorium. $10-$15. 7:30 pm Thurs.-Sat.; 2:30 pm Sat.; 1 and 5 pm Sun. 816-923-1975, www.araratshrine.com/circus/

Holiday Lighting Ceremony Nov. 25, Platte City. Holiday lights, singing, and crafts. Courthouse lawn. 5:30-8 pm. Free. 816-858-5627, www.plattecitymo.com

Lighting Ceremony and Parade Nov. 20-21, Cameron. Music, lights, Santa, and parade. McCorkle Park and Downtown. 6:30 pm Fri.; 2 pm Sat. Free. 816-632-2005, www.cameronmochamber.com

Plaza Lighting Ceremony Nov. 26, Kansas City. More than 80 miles of multicolored lights come on with a flip of the switch. Country Club Plaza. 6:45 pm. Free. 816-753-0100

Best Little Arts and Crafts Show Nov. 20-21, Independence. More than 120 booths featuring original crafts, candies, and Christmas decor. Sermon Center. 10 am-7 pm Fri.; 10 am-6 pm, Sat. Free. 816-325-7370, www.ci.independence.mo.us

Christmas Homes Tour Nov. 27-28, Blue Springs. Tour six homes decorated for the holidays and enjoy refreshments. Throughout town. 5-9 pm Fri.; 11 am-7 pm Sat. $8-$10. 816-419-8304, www.bluespringshistory.org

WaterFire Oct. 24, Kansas City An extraordinary multi-sensory experience of music, water, and fire. Torch-lit boats make their way down Brush Creek and light a series of 55 floating bonfire sculptures. The fires are set to music. Fire dancers and other performances enhance the experience. The free event starts at 6:45 pm and goes until midnight.There will also be food vendors. For more information, call 816-2215242 or visit www.visitkc.com/events/ waterfire/index.aspx.

Mainstage Series

Landing Series

High School Musical The Lion in Winter Willy Wonka Harvey South Pacific

Always...Patsy Cline Holiday in Plaid Doubt Steel Magnolias Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical

Bravo Series Bra

Special Event

Glenn Miller Orchestra Rave On! Buddy Holly Tribute Late Nite Catechism

! " # $ % & ' ())) ! * $ + , -

Alex Reymundo

30th Anniversary Season .++ ! ). / 0 0 1 23)+4 5)2 3.) 25++

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www.rrtstjoe.org 816-232-1778

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All Around Missouri

Northeast & St. Louis Area Taste of St. Louis Oct. 2-4, St. Louis. Celebration of food, art, and culture featuring more than forty restaurants, an Iron Chef competition, artists village, and local and national acts in concert. Soldier’s Memorial and downtown. 4-11 pm; 11 am-11 pm; 11 am-9 pm. Free (except food). 314-3061162, www.tastestl.com

Augusta Bottoms Beer Festival Oct. 3, Augusta. Enjoy beer tasting, live music, and brewery items for sale, plus get a commemorative glass. Benefits families affected by childhood cancer. Augusta Bottoms near Katy Trailhead. Noon-5 pm. $25. 636-4822337, www.augustabottomsbeerfest.com Mid-Missouri Alzheimer’s Walk Oct. 3, Macon. Celebrate and remember those affected by Alzheimer’s. Walk as a group or individual, and enjoy entertainment, door prizes, hot dogs, chips, and cookies. Long Branch Lake. 9 am-noon. Donations accepted. 660-385-4744, www.alz.org/mid-missouri Miniature Fair Show and Sale Oct. 3-4, Chesterfield. Exhibits and sales of a variety of miniatures and supplies. Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center. 10 am-5 pm Sat.; 10 am-4 pm Sun. 314-261-7439, www.miniaturemuseum.org Historic Shaw Art Fair Oct. 3-4, St. Louis. Artists from around the country display works in a variety of media and styles. Flora Place at the historic Shaw neighborhood. 9 am-5 pm Sat.; 10 am5 pm Sun. $5. 314-771-3101, www.shawartfair.com Fall Festival and Craft Bazaar Oct. 9-10, O’Fallon. Live music, show, children’s activities, arts, crafts, and Log Cabin Museum tours. Civic Park. 5-9 pm Fri.; 9 am-4 pm Sat. Free (except special events). 636-379-5614, www.ofallon.mo.us

Farm Aid

Amy’s pick

Oct. 4, Maryland heights Farm Aid artists and board members (from left) Dave Mathews, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young host and perform at this all-day annual concert to raise funds to support family farms. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised nearly thirty-five million dollars to support programs that expand the reach of the Good Food Movement and to help small farms thrive. Its mission is to build

Fall Festival of Local Flavor Oct. 10, Kirkwood. Celebrate all things homegrown, locally owned, and environmentally friendly, plus an art show, children’s craft area, and live music. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 314-822-0084, www.downtownkirkwood.com Chili Cook-off Oct. 10, St. Clair. Sample the competition chili and live music. Main Street Park. 3-8 pm. $6 to sample. 636-7955488, www.stclairmo.com

a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. The concert is held at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and features additional performers Jason Mraz, Wilco, Jamey Johnson and Phosphorescent, as well as family-farm, local, and organic food concessions. The Homegrown Village showcases hands-on activities and a chance to meet farmers. Tickets are $39-$169. For more information, call 877-598-8703 or visit www.farmaid.org (visit www.livena tion.com for tickets).

the Gateway Arch. Starts at the Ameristar Casino and ends at Trailhead Brewery. Registration 6:30-7:30 am. $35-$50. 314-416-9930, www.trailnet.org Magic House’s 30th Birthday Oct. 16-18, Kirkwood. Magicians, balloon creations, ice cream, and cupcakes. Magic House. Noon-9 pm Fri.; 9:30 am-5:30 pm Sat.; 11 am-5:30 pm Sun. $1.50-$2 (free on Fri.). 314-822-8900, www.magichouse.org

Arts and Crafts Festival Oct. 10-11, Hermann. Handmade arts and crafts. Middle School. 9 am-5 pm Sat.; 10 am-4 pm Sun. $1 donation. 573-486-2633

Folklife Festival Oct. 17-18, Hannibal. Artisans demonstrate lifestyles and folk arts of the mid-1800s, street musicians, and storytellers. Historic District. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 573-2216545, www.hannibalarts.com

O Pioneers! Oct. 9-10, St. Louis. New opera by Barbara Harbach (see p. 40) based on Willa Cather’s novel of tragedy, transformation, and redemption. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. 8 pm. $35. 314-516-4949, www.touhill.org

Fall Bazaar Oct. 11, Marthasville. Home-cooked meal, crafts, woodworking, homemade apple butter, quilt auction, flea market, and pumpkins. Emmaus Homes campus. Noon-5 pm . Free ($8 for meal). 636-561-7747, www.emmaushomes.org

Deutsch Country Days Oct. 17-18, Marthasville. See 80 juried period artisans demonstrate early 1800s German pioneer folkways and life skills. Tour the 1840s log home and enjoy period foods. Luxenhaus Farm. 9 am-5 pm. $15-$5.50. 636-4335669, www.deutschcountrydays.org

Home and Remodeling Show Oct. 9-11, St. Charles. Featuring 200 exhibitors with products and services, seminars, and hands-on demonstrations. Convention Center. 11 am-9 pm Fri.-Sat.; 11 am-5 pm Sun. Free. 314-994-7700, www.stlhomeshow.com

Ride the Rivers Callina’s pick Oct. 11, St. Charles to St. Louis. Take a 100-mile bike ride that passes through the Great Rivers area, universities, parks, ferry crossings, historic Route 66, trails, and

Craft Show Oct. 17-18, Washington. Browse 50 booths of handcrafted items. St. Francis Borgia Grade School gym. 9 am-4 pm Sat.; 10 am-4 pm Sun. Free. 636-239-4246, www.sfbparish.org

courtesy of Paul Natkin, Photo Reserve, Inc.

Fall Art Roundup Tina’s pick Oct. 2-3, Eureka. More than 40 local artisans and fine craftsmen, raffle, demonstrations, and concert. Meet members of the MERS Team, see demonstrations of large animal rescue equipment, and sample gourmet foods. Harvest Arts Gallery. Noon-10 pm Fri.; noon-5 pm Sat. Free. 636-938-7667, www.harvestarts.com

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All Around Missouri

Pet Expo Oct. 24, St. Charles. More than 200 exhibitors, agility trials, and games for dogs. Convention Center. 10 am-6 pm. Free. 314-481-7337, ext. 107, www.stlpetexpo.com

courtesy of Betteanne Smith

ARTstravaganza Tina’s pick Oct. 23-25, Clayton. Fine, folk, and fun art by juried members of The Best of Missouri Hands. Moonlight reception Fri. evening. St. Louis Artists’ Guild at Oak Knoll Park. 4-9 pm Fri.; 10 am-5 pm Sat.; 11 am-4 pm Sun. Free. 314-727-9599, www.bestofmissourihands.org

Weavers’ Guild Sale Nov. 6-7, St. Louis. Demonstrations of weaving and spinning, plus hand-woven clothing, handmade jewelry, rugs, and baskets for sale. Brentwood Community Center. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 636-343-5643, www.weaversguildstl.org 50 Miles of Art Rebecca’s pick Nov. 7-8, Hannibal to Clarksville. Artisans open their studios for a unique view of how their work is created. Follow scenic Hwy. 79. All Day. Free. 573-221-2477, www.50milesofart.com

Halloween Happening Oct. 25, Mexico. Non-scary event followed by a hike through the haunted woods with frightening live spooks. Scattering Fork Outdoor Center. 4-9 pm. $2-$4. 573-5813003, www.scatteringfork.org

Feast of the Hunters Full Moon Nov. 14, St. Louis. Candlelit pathway to a tour of the historic house, five-course meal, and music of the era. Daniel Bissell House. 6-9:30 pm. $50. 314-615-8840, www.stlouisco.com/parks

Tuesday at the Pops Oct. 27, Florissant. Music from films, marches, and big bands. Civic Center Theatre. 7:30 pm. $6-$8. 314-9215678, www.northwindsconcertband.org

Little House on the Prairie Nov. 24-29, St. Louis. Melissa Gilbert plays “Ma” in this charming new musical. Fabulous Fox Theatre. 7:30 pm Tues.-Wed.; 1 and 7:30 pm Sat.; 1 pm Sun. $21-$55. 314-534-1678, www.fabulousfox.com

History Hayrides Amy’s pick Oct. 30, St. Louis. Hayrides, candlelit tours of Thornhill and the Historic Village, and refreshments around a bonfire. Faust Park. 6, 7, and 8 pm. $10. 314-615-8328, www.stlouisco.com/parks

Mark Twain’s 174th Birthday Nov. 30, Florida. Craft demonstrations and refreshments. Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site. 10 am-4 pm. Free. 573-565-3449, www.mostateparks.com/twainsite.htm

Apple Butter Festival Oct. 24-25, Kimmswick Enjoy the fall aroma with apple butter cooked in copper kettles over open fires, and take a jar of fresh apple butter home. There are several hundred craft and art vendors, with bluegrass and dulcimer music, and children’s activities featuring a miniature train ride, petting zoo, and pony rides. Open from 9 am-5 pm, this event is free. For more information, call 636-4646464 or visit www.gokimmswick.com.

THE 25TH. ANNUAL •••• 3rd. Weekend of October

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www.louisiana-mo.com • 888.642.3800 [27] October 2009

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All Around Missouri

Southeast Cotton Carnival Sept. 29-Oct. 3, Sikeston. Local groups and organizations offer burgers, chili, and other tasty treats, carnival rides, and games. Rodeo Grounds. Free admission. 573-4718164, www.sikeston.net Fall Art Show Sept. 29-Oct. 16, West Plains. Art competition and show featuring oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, pen, and ink. Harlin Museum. Noon-4 pm Tues.-Sat.; Reception Oct. 3. Donations accepted. 888-256-8835, www.harlinmuseum.org Ozark Regional Timberfest Oct. 2-3, Doniphan. World-class draft horse pull, logger relay, Ironjack decathlon, antique logging and sawmill equipment displays, fine crafts, and educational activities. Wings of Wonder feature a live eagle and raptor display and show. Ripley County Fairgrounds. 8:30 am until all teams are finished. $3-$6. 573-996-2212, www.ripleycountymissouri.org

Heritage Days Oct. 3, Cape Girardeau. Historical crafts, music, storytelling, and exhibits. Red House Interpretive Center. 10 am-4 pm. $3 (12 and under are free). 800-777-0068, www.visitcape.com Arts Festival/Art on the Run Oct. 3, Poplar Bluff. A 10K run, children’s hands-on art activities, live entertainment, and fine arts and crafts. Margaret Harwell Art Museum. 9 am-3 pm. Free. 573-6868002, www.mham.org Oz Fall Fest Callina’s pick Oct. 3, Willow Springs. Music, crafters, Auntie Em’s quilts, Uncle Henry’s antique tractors and trucks, Toto’s friends dog show, and The Wizard of Oz stage production. Downtown. 9 am-4 pm (play 7 pm; $3-$6). Free. 417-469-2588, www.willowspringsmo.com

Arts and Crafts Festival Oct. 24, Rolla More than seventy vendors line the closed off street with colorful booths at this thirtyfirst annual festival. There are homemade foods including jams and jellies, handmade jewelry, clothing, woodworking, blankets,

cloggers, and crosscut sawing. Maramec Spring Park. Noon-5 pm. $10 per car load; $30 per bus load. 573-2657124, www.maramecspringpark.com/maramec/oldiron New World Symphony Oct. 13, Cape Girardeau. Dvorak’s symphony featuring three harpsichords. Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall at the River Campus. 7:30 pm. $13-$18. 573-651-2265, www.semo.edu/rivercampus/events

1860s Children’s Day Oct. 10, New Madrid. Participate in common chores and games from the 1860s including dipping candles, churning butter, and walking on stilts. HunterDawson State Historic Site. 1-3 pm. Free. 573-748-5340, www.mostateparks.com/hunterdawson.htm

Ghost Storytelling Oct. 16, Cape Girardeau. Spooky stories told by two of the nation’s best ghost storytellers: Donna Washington and Milbre Burch. Historic Old Beech Tree at SEMO’s River Campus. 7 pm. $10 (under 12 free). 800-777-0068, www.capestorytelling.com

Autumn Daze Oct. 10-11, Ste. Genevieve. Artisan and crafts booths, music, and games. Lion’s Club Park. All day. Free. 800-373-7007, www.saintegenevievetourism.org

An Evening of Piano and Song Oct. 16, Marquand. St. Louis performers Deborah Sharn and Rocky Tucker. Homan Hall. 7 pm. $10. Reservations. 573-783-5262, www.homanhall.com

Old Iron Works Days Oct. 10-11, St. James. More than 40 craft booths, demonstrations, displays, bluegrass concert, kids’ games,

Ghost Walk Oct. 16-17, Rolla. Guided tours of the log cabin museum, wooden foot bridge, and Civil War-era courthouse. Starts

quilts, and candles. Businesses along the street have specials for festival-goers. This event is held in the downtown area on Pine Street from 9 am-4 pm and is free. For more information, call 573-341-2562 or visit www.visitrolla.com.

at Eugene Northern Hall. 7-9 pm. $8-$10. 573-578-5569, web.mst.edu/~whmcinfo/pchs Fall Mountain Music Festival Oct. 16-18, Ironton. Four concerts. Bring your instrument and join in the pickin’ sessions, plus the Arcadia Valley parade, Scarecrow Festival, crafters, artisans, quilters, and hay baling exhibition. Iron County Courthouse Square. 5-10 pm Fri.; 9 am-10 pm Sat.; 10 am-6 pm Sun. 573-598-1064, www.mountainmusicfestival.net Ghost Tours Tina’s pick Oct. 16-17 and 23-24, New Madrid. Tour buildings that are said to be haunted, join a paranormal investigation, and hear tales from the area’s past. Begin at the Chamber office. 7:30 and 9:30 pm. $10. Reservations. 877-748-5300, www.wix.com/hauntednewmadrid/hauntedtour Cuba Fest Oct. 17-18, Cuba. 18th annual chili cook-off, narrated trolley tour of twelve outdoor murals, and trolley tour of Kinder Cemetery, where historical figures from Cuba’s past tell their story. Recklein Commons area. 11 am-3:30 pm. Free ($3 chili samples). 573-885-2627, www.cubamomurals.com

courtesy of Rolla Downtown Business Association

Ozark Craft Fair Oct. 2-4, Ozark. Arts, crafts, and food vendors. Finley River Park. 9 am-7 pm Fri.-Sat.; 9 am-5 pm Sun. Free. 417-581-4545, www.ozarkcraftfair.com

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America in Concert Oct. 23-24, Steelville. Band made famous by the songs “A Horse With No Name” and “Ventura Highway.” Wildwood Springs Lodge. 6-10 PM. $129.79-$147.50 (with dinner). 573-775-2400, www.wildwoodspringslodge.com Halloween Happenings Oct. 24, Bonne Terre. Hike to meet creatures of the night, plus enjoy Halloween vaudeville, singing, and children’s activities. St. Francois State Park. 7 PM. Free. Registration for hike. 573-358-2173, www.mostateparks. com/stfrancois.htm Fire Truck Rally Oct. 24, Cape Girardeau. Fire truck displays, firefighter games, refreshments, and parade (starts at Broadway and Lorimier streets). Capaha Park. 9:30 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-334-3211, www.visitcape.com Harvest Night Celebration Oct. 30, Farmington. Trick-or-treat downtown, plus games, activities, storytelling, and a costume contest. Harrison Street and Long Memorial Hall. 4-7:30 PM. Free. 573-756-3615, www.farmingtonmo.org Harvest Hayride Oct. 30, Ste. Genevieve. Live music, wine, s’mores around the firepit, and a wagon hay ride through the vineyard. Crown Valley Winery. 6-10 PM. $20. 573-7569463, www.crownvalleywinery.com 56th Annual Regional Art Exhibit Nov. 1-29, Poplar Bluff. Art competition open to artists living within a 100-mile radius of Poplar Bluff. Margaret Harwell Art Museum. Noon-4 PM Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 PM Sun. Free. 573-686-8002, www.mham.org Dailey and Vincent Rebecca’s pick Nov. 7, Steelville. Award-winning bluegrass artists perform. Meramec Music Theatre. 7 PM. $8.50-$17. 573-775-5999, www.misn.com/mmt Antique and Collectible Show Nov. 8, Cape Girardeau. More than 25 vendors with a variety of items for sale. VFW Hall. 9 AM-4 PM. Free. 573-335-3066, www.visitcape.com Crafts, Gifts, and Collectible Show Nov. 20-22, Cape Girardeau. All types of crafts and gifts. Bavarian Hall. 5-9 PM Fri.; 9 AM-6 PM Sat.; 9 AM-3 PM Sun. 573-266-3688, www.visitcape.com River Valley Craft Fair Nov. 21, Cape Girardeau. Handcrafted items. 10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. 573-332-8662, www.visitcape.com Ozark Community Crafts Fest Nov. 21, Ozark. More than 100 booths featuring handmade arts and crafts. Junior High School. 9 AM4 PM. Free. 417-581-6881, www.ozarkccf.org Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza Nov. 22, Cape Girardeau. More than 300 crafters display and sell handcrafted products. Osage Community Center and Show Me Center. 10 AM-6 PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. $3-$5. 573-334-9233, www.visitcape.com

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All Around Missouri

Southwest National Harvest Festival Oct. 1-31, Branson. Demonstrating craftsmen, authentic harvest-time foods, music, and a tribute to Missouri’s Best. Silver Dollar City. 10 am-6 pm. $40-$50. 800-4759370, www.silverdollarcity.com Show-Me Missouri Film Festival Oct. 1-31, Springfield. Screenings, filmmaker discussions, and workshops. Various locations downtown. $7-$50. 417-862-2787, ext. 40, www.missourifilm.org Wayne Hamilton Fall Golf Classic Oct. 2, Branson West. Four-person scramble to raise money for the Chamber. Ledgestone at StoneBridge Village. 7:30 am and 1:30 pm shotgun starts. $125-$500. 417-739-2564. www.visittablerocklake.com First Friday Art Walk Oct. 2, Springfield. New shows, live demonstrations, music, and local art. Downtown. 6-10 pm. Free. 417-8498255, www.ffaw.org Harvest Moon Festival Oct. 3, Forsyth. Car show, chili cook-off, Kids Village, crafts, and entertainment. Shadow Rock Park. 8 am-5 pm. Free. 417-546-2741, www.forsythmissouri.org

Woodcarving Competition Oct. 9-11, Branson. Professional woodcarvers compete, the theme honors the Titanic’s German passengers and crew. The Titanic Museum. 9 am-6 pm Fri.-Sat.; 9 am-4 pm Sun. Free. 800-381-7670, www.titanicbranson.com Apple Butter Makin’ Days Oct. 9-11, Mt. Vernon. Crafts, games, parade, car show, and apple butter. Town Square. 9 am-6 pm Fri.-Sat.; 10 am-4 pm Sun. 417-46-7654, www.mtvernonchamber.com Fall Festival Rebecca’s pick Oct. 10, Hartville. Dress your pet contest, local bands, magic show, horseshoe pitching contest, talent show, Guitar Hero contest, carnival, crafts, chili cook-off, pie auction, and parade. Main Square. 9 am-3:30 pm. Free. 417-741-6040, www.hartvillegrovespringcc.com Octoberfest Oct. 10, Nevada. Chili cook-off, home-baked goods, and pet show. Great Southern Bank lot. 10 am-2 pm. Free. 417-667-5563, www.visitnevadamo.com Concert and Car Show Oct. 10, Nixa. Classic cars, motorcycles, and a concert. Crimson Plaza Shopping Center lot. 3-5 pm. Free. 417-725-1545, www.nixachamber.com

Fall Crafts Fair Oct. 10, Republic. Arts, crafts, and a craft area for children. First Christian Church. 9 am-6 pm. Free. 417-7322139, www.republicchristian.org Art in the Park Oct. 10-11, Springfield. Fine arts, contemporary crafts, and meet the artists. Sequiota Park. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 417-859-4532, www.artcraftguild.org Home Remodeling Expo Oct. 10-11, Springfield. Hundreds of displays and demonstrations featuring products and services. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. 1-7 pm Fri.; 10 am-7 pm Sat.; 11 am5 pm Sun. 417-881-3711, www.springfieldhomebuilders.com Music in the Park Oct. 11 and 25, Joplin. Different concert each week. Landreth Park Amphitheater. 6-8 pm. Free. 417-6233254, www.joplincvb.com Missouri’s Black Bears Oct. 13, Springfield. Biologist presents the latest news on black bears and information on how to avoid unpleasant encounters with them. Conservation Nature Center. 7-8 pm. Free. Registration. 417-888-4237, mdc.mo.gov/ areas/cnc/springfd/

Fall Festival Oct. 3, Neosho. Arts, crafts, parade, and live entertainment. Historic Downtown Square. 9 am-6 pm. Free. 417-451-1925, www.neoshomo.org Symposium at Wilson’s Creek Oct. 3, Republic. Follow up to the PBS mini-series National Parks—America’s Best Idea, a presentation and discussion on living history in the national parks. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. $5. 417-732-2662, www.nps.gov/wicr Walking with Water Callina’s pick Oct. 3 and Nov. 7, Joplin. Take a hike, listen to stories, and learn about the wildlife. Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center. 1:30-3 pm. $3-$6. 417-782-6287, www.wildcateglades.audubon.org

Taste of Springfield Oct. 3, Springfield. Taste a sample of foods, cooking demonstrations, cake decorating event, sandwichbuilding contest, music, and beer garden. Park Central Square. Noon-4:30 pm. Free (food sample tickets $10). 417-831-6200, www.itsalldowntown.com ArtsFiesta! Oct. 9, Springfield. Mexican mariachi music, dancers, games, and authentic food. Founders Park. 6-9:30 pm. $3. 417-864-1191, www.springfieldmo.gov/sistercities

Maple Leaf Festival Oct. 10-17, Carthage This 43rd annual festival is a week-long celebration of fall. Events held throughout the area include quilt show, pageants, kids’ bike safety rodeo, craft fair, dog show, lip-sync contest, pancake breakfast, auto show, the Marching Cobras, wine festival and tasting, marching band festival, petting zoo,

antique car and tractor show, and a huge parade with floats, bands, Shrine cars, and clowns. Most events are held around the historic downtown square and most are free. For more information, call 417-358-2373 or visit www.carthagechamber.com/maple leafhomepage.html.

courtesy of Carthage Chamber of commerce

4-H BBQ Oct. 3, Nevada. BBQ chicken and side dishes meal to benefit the 4-H. Vernon County Fairgrounds. 5:30-8 pm. $6. 417-448-2560, www.visitnevadamo.com

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ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Homestead Days Festival Oct. 17-18, Ash Grove. Demonstrations of early 19th century crafts, life skills, and Ozark agriculture. Living history camps represent Nathan Boone’s life as a hunter, soldier, businessman, and explorer. Nathan Boone Homestead State Historical Site. 10 AM-5 PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 417-751-3266, www.mostateparks.com/boonehome.htm

As You Like It Oct. 20, Springfield. Shakespeare’s classic comedy. Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. 7:30 PM. $13-$23. 417-836-7678, www.hammonshall.com

CUSTOM STRINGED INSTRUMENTS FOR THE UNCUSTOMARY MUSICIAN

Museum Christmas Oct. 22-25, Bolivar. Christmas displays, decorated log cabin, and refreshments. Northward Museum. 5-8 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 3-8 PM Sun. $1-$3. 417-326-6850, www.bolivarchamber.com Chili and Salsa Cook-Off Oct. 24, Cassville. Chili and salsa competition, crafts, music show, pet parade, and entertainment. Square on Main Street. 8 AM-7:30 PM. Free (music show $7). 417-847-2814, www.cassville.com

Wild Files Rebecca’s pick Oct. 31, Joplin. Take a ghost walk with professor John Knapp and discover history, mystery, and unexplained events in the area. Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center. 2:30-4 PM. $3-$6. 417-782-6287, www.wildcatglades.audubon.org Halloween Cave Tour Oct. 31, Springfield. Learn myths, facts, and history while touring the cave. You might get wet and muddy. Giboney Cave at Doling Park. 11:30 AM-4:30 PM. $3-$5. 417-833-8647, www.parkboard.org Enchanted Forest Light Display Nov. 1-Dec. 31, Branson. Drive through colorful lighting displays. Indian Point Village. Free. 417-338-2772, www. indianpoint.org

COURTESY OF SPRINGFIELD-GREENE COUNTY PARK BOARD

Veterans Day Parade Nov. 11, Branson. Parade and ceremony honoring our veterans. Historic Downtown. 11 AM. Free. 417-337-8387, downtownbranson.org

Turkey Trot NOV. 26, SPRINGFIELD The 15th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot is one of the largest 5K races in Missouri and the largest in southwest Missouri. In 2008, a record number of 5,028 runners and walkers participated in this run. Awards were presented to the overall winners, with the top three racers in each age group receiving prizes. All proceeds benefit the Developmental Center of the Ozarks and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board Scholarship Fund. Participants are asked to bring three cans of food for the Ozark Food Harvest. More than 5,475 pounds of food were donated in 2008. The race starts at 8 AM at the Springfield Expo Center. For more information, call 417-8311545 or visit www.dcoonline.com.

Tripping the Light Fantasia Nov. 14, Springfield. A performance by the Springfield Symphony. Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. 7:30-9:30 PM. $9-$14. 417-864-6683, www.springfieldsymphony.org

Holiday Auction Nov. 21, Joplin. Variety of holiday gift and decoration items and home-baked goods for auction. First Community Church. 1:30-3:30 PM. Free. 417-623-3290, www.joplincvb.com

Death of a Salesman Nov. 20-22 and 27-29, Springfield. Tragic tale of an American salesman facing defeat and disillusion. Gillioz Theatre. 8 PM Fri.-Sat.; 3 PM Sun. $5. 417-863-9491, www.gillioz.org

Festival of Lights Nov. 26-Dec. 28, Monett. Animated drive-through display of twinkling lights and holiday-themed displays. South Park. 5:30-9:30 PM. Donations accepted. 417-235-7919, www.monett-mo.com

HANDMADE IN THE E OZARK

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Lord of the Dance Oct. 27, Springfield. Adventure in sight and sound. Juanita K. Hammons Hall for Performing Arts. 7:30 PM. $19.75-$51.75. 417-836-7678, www.hammonshall.com

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All Around Missouri

Central Pecan Festival Oct. 2-3, Brunswick. Magic show, pecan pie auction, parade, and pony rides. Downtown. 7-9 pm Fri.; 9 am-9 pm Sat. Free. 660-548-3340, www.brunswickmo.com Occasional Moo-Dah Parade Amy’s pick Oct. 2, Columbia. Come out, act silly, and compete for great prizes, or come out and cheer on the entrants. Downtown (starts at Flat Branch Park). 2:01-5 pm. Free. 573-875-1231, www.visitcolumbiamo.com

Multicultural Fall Festival Oct. 3, Jefferson City. Embrace the diverse cultures of mid-Missouri with entertainment, an art contest, vendors, arts, children’s crafts and storytelling, and community information booths and exhibits. Memorial Park. 11 am4 pm. Free. 573-636-3763, www.jcmcf.org Old Tyme Apple Festival Oct. 3, Versailles. Parade, booths, children's games, and live entertainment. Downtown on city square. 9 am-5 pm. Free. 573-378-4401, www.versailleschamber.org Cemetery Born: Foreign Born Oct. 4, Warrensburg. Tour the cemetery while costumed reenactors tell the stories of people who came to the area from foreign lands. Sunset Hills Cemetery. 2-5 pm. Free. 660-747-9515, www.warrensburg.org Apple Butter Days Oct. 9-10, Linn Creek. Crafts, demonstrations, quilt raffle, apple butter, and apple pies. Lunch available. Camden County Museum. 9 am-4 pm. Free. 573-346-7191, camdencountymuseum.com Fall Fest Oct. 10, Blackwater. Antiques and crafts. Downtown. 9 am-5 pm. Free. 660-846-4411, www.blackwater--mo.com Heritage Craft Festival Oct. 10-11, Arrow Rock. Craftsmen demonstrate and sell old-fashioned crafts and a showcase of Missouri modern crafts. Throughout town. 10 am-5 pm. $1. 660-837-3330, www.arrowrockarts.org/craftfest.html Artrageous Weekend Oct. 10-11, Columbia. Fine art and photography shows and art-inspired events. Throughout downtown in the District. 9 am-5 pm Sat.; 10 am-4 pm Sun. Free. 573-4438838, www.artrageousfridays.com Pumpkin Festival Rebecca’s pick Oct. 10-11, Hartsburg. Crafts and one of the area’s largest pumpkin patches. Throughout town. 9 am-5 pm. Free. 573-657-4556, www.hartsburgpumpkinfest.com

Survival of the Fittest Nov. 14, Columbia Halloween costumes and running shoes? Why not? Get out and take a four-mile run or walk through the woods while having a ton of fun. There are no time limits, so you can set your own pace. Challenge yourself to an extreme cross-country race featuring an outrageous obstacle course, zombies, and chain saw-wielding madmen. Run up hills, get muddy splashing through creeks, climb fences and hay bales, and crawl through spooky obstacles.

There will be a post-race party at the finish with music, food, drink, and a bonfire. Awards for best costume, most muddy, and more will be awarded. The awards are unusual and worth coming to see. Registration is at 8 am, and the race starts at 9 am. Meet near the parking lot of the Midway Sandbar on Highway 40. Race fee is $25 (late $30). Family and group discounts are available. Spectators are free. For more information, call 573-228-7476 or visit www.xcxtreme.com.

The Cemetery Club Oct. 15-17, Jefferson City. Three Jewish widows, their husbands’ graves, and Sam the butcher come together in this touching and humorous look at life after death. Miller Performing Arts Center. 7:30 pm. $12. 573-6819400, www.TLTjc.org

Retrospective Oct. 17-Nov. 21, Columbia. Retrospective show looks back at 50 years of Art League artists and artwork. Opening reception Oct. 22. Columbia Art League. 11:30 am-5:30 pm Tues.-Fri.; 11 am-5 pm Sat.; Free. 573-443-8838, www.cal.missouri.org

Haunted Hay Ride Oct. 16, Blackwater. Eerie entertainment and seasonal refreshments. Wild Cliff Lake area (leaving from Blackwater). 8 pm. $10. Reservations. 660-846-4411, www.blackwater--mo.com

Spirits, Shadows, and Secrets Oct. 24, Arrow Rock. Spooky storytellers, candlelight tours of historic buildings, ghost hunters, guided tours of Sappington Cemetery, haunted trail, carnival games, and costume contests. Throughout town. 6-9 pm. $7.50-$10. 660-837-3307, www.arrowrockarts.org

Art Inside the Park Tina’s pick Oct. 16-19, Jefferson City. Festival of visual art that combines Missouri youth and schools with professional teaching artists. County Park. 5 pm-dark Fri.; 8 am-dark Sat.-Mon. Free. 573-690-2556, www.atelier-cms.com Missouri Chestnut Roast Oct. 17, New Franklin. Research farm tours, restored 1819 Hickman House tours, children’s activities, cookingwith-chestnuts demonstrations, Missouri products, and samples of fresh-roasted chestnuts. MU Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center. 10 am-4 pm. Free. 573-8829866, www.centerforagroforestry.org/events/chestnut

Fall Color Hike Oct. 24, Columbia. Hike the scenic trails of Gans Creek Wild Area with a park naturalist, and learn about fall trees. Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. 12:30-4:30 pm. Free. Reservations. 573-449-7402, www.mostateparks. com/rockbridge.htm Spooktacular Walking Trail Oct. 30, Richland. Walk the trail, see ghosts and goblins, and vote for your favorite pumpkin, plus enjoy a pumpkin-carving contest. Shady Dell Park. 6-8 pm. Free. 573-765-4421, www.visitpulaskicounty.org

Courtesy of Alex GrigsbY

Craft Festival Oct. 3, Hatton. More than 175 exhibitors featuring dolls, paintings, wooden toys, florals, and wagon rides. Throughout town. 9 am-4 pm. Free. 573-529-1541

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All Around Missouri

Rabbit Hole Nov. 5-8 and 12-15, Columbia. Play takes a poignant look at a couple’s loss of their young son. Columbia Entertainment Company. 7:30 pm Thurs.-Sat.; 2 pm Sun. $8-$10. 573-474-3699, www.cectheatre.org Holiday Craft Show Nov. 7, Clinton. More than 100 booths with holiday crafts and gifts. Benson Convention and Exposition Center. 9 am-4 pm. Free. 660-885-2181, www.clintonmo.com An Evening of Talent and Treasure Nov. 7, St. Robert. Armed Services YMCA benefit auction, wine and cheese social, buffet dinner, and talent show. Community Center. 5-9 pm. $10-$15. 573-329-4513, www.asymca-flw.org Christmas Arts and Crafts Show Nov. 7, Warrensburg. Original fine arts and crafts. Community Center. 9 am-4 pm. Free. 660-747-6092, www. warrensburg.org Symphony Orchestra Performance Nov. 10, Jefferson City. Performance of Mendelssohn’s

Reformation Symphony and singalong with the chorus with selections from Handel’s Messiah. Richardson Auditorium at Lincoln University. 7 pm. $8-$15. 573-681-9371, www.communityconcert.com Falling Nov. 13-14, Columbia. Missouri Contemporary Ballet performance with each piece centered around the concept of falling. Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts. 7 pm. $17-$22. 573-875-0600, www.motheatre.org

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Ah, Wilderness! Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 6-7, Columbia. Eugene O’Neill’s tender portrait of young love and traditional family values. Macklanburg Playhouse at Stephens College. 7:30 pm Fri.Sat.; 2 pm Sun. $6-$12. 573-876-7199, www.stephens. edu/performing arts

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Christmas Craft Bazaar Nov. 13-14, Linn Creek. Booths with Christmas crafts and gifts. Camden County Museum. 9 am-4 pm. Free. 573-3467191, camdencountymuseum.com Weavers and Spinners Sale Danita’s pick Nov. 13-15, Columbia. Hand-woven and hand-dyed clothes, scarves, blankets, hats, stuffed animals, and baskets. Boone County Historical Society Museum. 5:30-8 pm Fri.; 9 am-4 pm Sat.; 11 am-3 pm Sun. Free. 573-443-0157, cwsg.missouri.org High English Holiday Tea Nov. 14, Jefferson City. Elegant event with music, tea, cucumber sandwiches, canapes, and pastries. First Christian Church. 1-3 pm. $15. 573-301-3468, www. firstchristianjcmo.com

Founded in 1825

HolidayOpen House November 20 - 22 November 27 - 29

www.rocheport.com

Holiday Open House Nov. 20-22 and 27-29, Rocheport. Tour a holidaydecorated village, and sample treats from the merchants. 10 am-5 pm Fri.-Sat.; noon-5 pm Sun. Free. 573-698-2088, www.rocheport.com Lighting and Fireworks Extravaganza Nov. 26, Sedalia. Traditional holiday music, lighting of downtown, and a fireworks display set to music. Historic Downtown, Hotel Bothwell, and Pettis County Courthouse. 6:30 pm. Free. 660-827-7388, www.visitsedaliamo.com

Link Famiily Concert

courtesy of Sean Burk

Oct. 9, Newburg The Link family is a true family band featuring Dad, Mom, five children, and two in-laws all from Lebanon, Missouri. They perform the traditional sounds of gospel and bluegrass. This concert is at the Lyric Live Theater at 8 pm. Tickets are $8 with or without reservations. The family will also be performing at the SPBGMA 35th Annual Bluegrass America Showcase of Bands Festival in Kirksville Oct. 16-17. For more information, call 573-3419071 or visit www.lyriclivetheater.com or visit www.linkfamilymusic.com.

Christmas Arts and Crafts Show Nov. 27-28, Lebanon. Fine arts, crafts, and Santa. Cowan Civic Center Exhibition Hall. 11 am-6 pm Fri.; 9 am-3 pm Sat. Free. 417-532-4642, www.lebanonmissouri.org

FREE LISTING AND MORE EVENTS Visit MissouriLife.com for even more great events all around the state. PLEASE NOTE: Event plans sometimes change. Call before traveling. To submit an event: Editors choose events for publication in the magazine, space permitting, but all submissions go onto the web site. Submit events well in advance. Please make sure there is a contact phone number with your event. Visit MissouriLife. com to register and enter your own events, e-mail amy@missourilife.com, fax 660-882-9899, or send announcements to Missouri Life, 515 E. Morgan St., Boonville, MO 65233.

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PROMOTION

Columbia’s North Village Urban • Modern • Artistic Columbia’s old warehouse district gets a trendy makeover as an emerging artists’ district, with galleries, warehouse lofts, and more.

The loading dock of the warehouse will be an outdoor patio for retail space under the almostfinished loft apartments. The Artlandish Gallery and Sven’s Kafe are also in restored warehouses. [34] MissouriLife

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PROMOTION

Columbia’s up-and-coming North Village is a historic area of The District with a hip, Bohemian feel. Old warehouses are being renovated into trendy loft apartments and retail spaces, and artists from all over the country are flocking to the area’s sleek studios and galleries. The North Village is also home to funky boutiques, specialty shops, and cafes. The neighborhood is still within walking distance of the entire downtown area, but its blend of historical buildings, modern renovations, and artsy vibe give it a life of its own. So the next time you find yourself in The District, head north a few blocks to Walnut and Orr Streets and explore this unique neighborhood.

ORR STREET STUDIOS You don’t have to travel to a metropolitan area for that urban, sophisticated, artsy feel—just step inside Orr Street Studios. Twenty-eight artists currently call Orr Street Studios home, and the residents’ artwork lines the walls of the modern, minimalist space, along with a rotating exhibit in the main gallery. From noon to three on Tuesdays through Saturdays, you can admire their work and maybe even catch an artist at work in his or her studio. Saturdays tend to be the best day for visiting with artists, as more of them are around with their doors open to visitors. Orr Street Studios also makes their space available for private events and workshops. Upcoming Events at Orr Street: • Featured exhibit of illustration artist Eric Seat. • Seeing Visions, Hearing Voices: every Tuesday night at 7 pm, this program is a series of salon-style discussions with visual artists, writers, poets, and filmmakers.

106 Orr Street www.orrstreetstudios.com

ARTLANDISH GALLERY Artlandish Gallery is an eclectic collection of over 30 artists’ works, including fine art, crafts, antiques, art supplies, and more. The gallery’s welcoming vibe is perfect for both serious art lovers and for those who simply like to shop for unique things such as carved gourds or handmade jewelry. Currently, the gallery hosts mixed media workshops every Monday from 1-4 pm. The workshop costs $30 and includes all supplies and even snacks, and you’ll go home with your own unique piece of art. Plans are also in the works to offer classes in jewelry making, bookmaking, and more.

1019 E. Walnut www.artlandishgallery.com

SVEN’S KAFE AND GALLERY A truly unique addition to Columbia’s many cafes, serving up Swedish fare with a side of art, Sven’s Kafe is becoming well known for its delicious breakfast menu, served all day long. Start your day with Swedish muesli, gravlax, or a lingonberry parfait; or stop by for lunch and enjoy Swedish meatballs or the “Starving Artist” Brown Bag, which includes homemade boursin cheese with local cucumbers, tomatoes, and organic greens on multigrain bread and served with a Swedish Pepparkakkor cookie.

110 Orr Street • 573-875-0840

OTHER NORTH VILLAGE ATTRACTIONS The North Village is the area in downtown Columbia north of Broadway and east of 8th Street. It’s a historic area with a hip, Bohemian feel. Of course, you’re still within walking distance of everything downtown, but here is a listing of what you’ll find in this unique neighborhood:

• The Blue Note, Columbia’s most popular music venue • Ernie’s Cafe and Steak House, voted “Best Breakfast in Columbia” in 2009

• Rock Bottom Comics, a place for a different kind of art. • Mizzou Records, a vinyl shop that adds to the art scene. • The Mud Room, a contemporary ceramics studio where you can paint your own ceramic pieces.

THAT’S ARTRAGEOUS Columbia will host a slew of art events during the weekend of October 9-11, with gallery crawls, an outdoor market, photography exhibits, and more. Artrageous Weekend, October 9-11 The weekend kicks off on Friday at 6 pm, when galleries and shops host art exhibits and activities throughout the downtown area. Stay for the weekend and enjoy demonstrations, lectures, live music, and even a 5k on Saturday morning. North Village Artist Market, October 10 You might feel like you’re in an open air market in Paris as art vendors line Orr Street and the North Village area to sell their wares. Get a head start on holiday shopping, meet local artists, and see what the North Village is all about. Other events throughout the weekend: Boone County Art Show at Boone County National Bank. Landmark Bank 14th Annual Visions Photography Exhibition and Young Visions Exhibit. Visit www.artrageousfridays.com for more information.

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PROMOTION

At Orr Street Studios, you can visit with the artists while they are working in their studios. This is Marilyn Cummins’ studio.

THE NORTH VILLAGE The North Village is quickly earning a reputation for being an art district, and it’s home to artists like Nichelle Lawrence of Life Photography. Nichelle moved to Columbia from Chicago and works out of one of the newly renovated studios. In addition to the studios, developer Jon Ott is working to renovate an old warehouse across the street from Orr Street Studios into spaces for loft apartments, offices, and retail storefronts.

ARTISTS’ SPOTLIGHT More than thirty artists currently work out of studios in the North Village community. Here are just a few names to look for: Allison Smythe works out of Orr Street Studios and produces photography, graphic design, poetry, and prose. Wayne Leal works with nails, rubber, bark, stone, sand, rope, and more to create bas relief sculptures. Marilyn Cummins experiments with a variety of media including oil and watercolor, and she plays with multiple dimensions.

MORE ART TO EXPLORE IN THE DISTRICT These are just a few of the many art venues in the downtown area. Check out www.visitcolumbiamo.com for a complete list! Bluestem Missouri Crafts With handmade arts and crafts from more than three hundred regional artisans, a treasure from Bluestem makes a great gift.

12 S. 9th St. • 573-442-0211 www.bluestemmissouricrafts.com Columbia Art League Take a class in drawing, painting, or watercolor, or just stop by to enjoy the fine art that fi lls the gallery.

207 S. 9th St. • 573-443-8838 • www.cal.missouri.org PS: Gallery The Perlow-Stevens Gallery features local, regional, and national artists representing a variety of media.

812 E. Broadway • 573-442-4831 www.perlow-stevensgallery.com Poppy The whimsical style of the handmade items Poppy offers like colorful prints and fun jewelry will put a smile on your face.

920 E. Broadway • 573-442-3223 • www.poppyarts.com

The doors to each studio at Orr Street, like the one above, are works of art themselves, created by founder Chris Teeter. Flight of Time by Allison Smythe is mixed media.

AD-OCT 09.indd 36

Missouri Art Gallery This gallery features art by award-winning artists from around the world, along with large collections of limited edition prints, with custom framing available.

9 N. 10 St. • 573-443-5010

www.visitcolumbiamo.com

9/4/09 9:13:28 AM

PROMOTION

If you’re lo ok ing for b ig music in one of M id a small se -M issou ri’s tting, The B most popu the venue lue Note is la r music was the th the perfec v enues. Bu ir d movie the continued t place. It ’s il t in 1927 a ater to mo to show m s The Va rs ve onto th ovies unti l who trave it y Theater, e th b e lo l to Colum 1960 s. It ’s n ck on Nort bia, from h 9th St ree ow home to talent. Wil up-and-co t, and so co, the Pix me of the ming indie ies, and Ry best perfo with legen a rtists to se an Adams rm ers da ry perfo asoned, m have all g rmers like ronment m ainst ream raced the Wil lie Nesl B akes it a p lue Note’s on and Jo opula r pla stage, alo hnny Cash ce for funk ng . Its fun, la y cover ba id-back e nds and lo nvical acts a s well.

ri’s u o s is M id M f One o d Music Venues Most Belove

e: t o N e lu B e on to th o S g in m o C OCTOBER r e Dead Grizzly Bea 1 Tribute to th A : g erience a w h ppelin Exp The Sc e Z d 2 Le te ltima Zoso: The U 3 irtue V d Vice an 4 berists m e arty, FREE! The Dec 7 a Watch P sk ra b e N Mizzou vs. 8 Pepper 9 rvatory land Obse 10 Ghost Face 23 Fools o 24 Lud l Bordello 25 Gogo tring Band Mountain S r e d n o Y 28 ng Band 31 Eli You NOVEMBER Quartet Pat Martino 4 e Robison h r and Bruc e id n Corey Smit S d d 6 e Keen, To Robert Earl 7 [37] October 2009 ectar 20 Bassn

AD-OCT 09.indd 37

Call 573-874-1944 or visit www.thebluenote.com

9/3/09 3:28:13 PM

Where do the locals eat in KC?

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Tune in (or log on) to KCPT and find out!

Carrying a COMPLETE LINE PG $JWJM 8BS -JWJOH )JTUPSZ Needs for Ladies, Gentlemen, Civilian, Military

FEATURING

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Check, Please! Kansas City is KCPT's wildly popular restaurant-review program where viewers become reviewers who dine and dish on their favorite local eateries!

The National Oil and Acrylic Painter’s Society

2009 “Best of America� Exhibit Schedule Sunday, Sept. 27 - Sunday, Oct. 18 Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art Bolivar Tuesday, Oct. 20 -Monday, Nov. 2 Katy Depot Heritage Site Sedalia Tuesday, Nov. 3 - Tuesday, Nov.17 Stone Crest Mall Osage Beach

Thursdays at 8 p.m. New episodes begin this fall! Watch past episodes for free with our online video player at www.kcpt.org.

Exhibit hours, venue locations, and reception details can be found at

www.noaps.org

ALL EVENTS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. [38] MissouriLife

AD-OCT 09.indd 38

9/1/09 12:52:39 PM

The

MISSOU RI MEDLEY Pe ople, Places, & Points

twenty-five-million-dollar

Citygarden in St. Louis has brought new vibrancy to three acres of land in the city center that had been vacant patches of grass. Now art lovers come to view twenty-four large outdoor sculptures created by internationally known artists. Children are welcome to frolic in the three water features, and office workers use the park to relax and eat lunch. Tourists arrive eager to enjoy it all. In clear view of the Gateway Arch, the lush park contains more than fourteen hundred trees and shrubs and twelve thousand perennials and wildflowers that attract birds and butterflies. There are no fences, so the site is accessible 365 days

Unexpected Pleasures

a year, and the green space is lit at night. There is not an admission fee, so the inspiration, exploration and enjoyment are free to all. —Jim Winnerman

GIANT ENCOUNTER

JIM WINNERMAN; COURTESY OF CHESTERFIELD ARTS; COURTESY OF ASKINOSIE CHOCOLATE

IMAGINE SITTING in the palm of a giant hand. Or maybe you’d prefer to perch atop an enormous nose or dangle from a colossal toe. Such visions can become reality on October 10 when Chesterfield Arts unveils a bronze statue of a bearded man emerging from the earth. The giant lies on his back, appendages and face protruding from the ground. He is seventy feet long, seventeen feet high, and completely climbable. He will grace the grounds of the city’s outdoor art museum. The figure is a second casting of The Awakening by J. Seward Johnson. Louis Sachs of Sachs Properties encountered the original statue on a visit to Washington D.C. and asked Johnson to commission a replica of the work to anchor his new development in downtown Chesterfield. Call 636-519-1955 or visit www.theawakeningchesterfield.org for more information. —Whitney Spivey

CHOCOLATE IN SINGAPORE > Springfield’s Askinosie Chocolate took its tastiness across the globe to a new store in Singapore. Askinosie products had been distributed in Singapore for more than a year when the idea to open a store was offered to founder and chocolatier Shawn Askinosie. The manufacturer buys its cocoa beans from farmers in countries such as Mexico and Ecuador to produce an authentic chocolate. The Singapore location is only the second Askinosie Chocolate store. Visit www.askinosie.com for more information. —Lesley Grissum [39] October 2009

MEDLEY-OCT 09.indd 39

9/1/09 2:49:22 PM

E OFenLtiaIF ZEShoST ls w-Me Ess

2007.

—John Fisher, author of Catfish, Fiddles, Mules, and More: Missouri’s State Symbols

“I am one

of the fortunate—or unfortunate—people who

knew what I wanted to do since I was five years old,” says musician Barbara Harbach. What she didn’t realize was how extensive her music career would become: She is a professor of music and the director of Women in the Arts at University of Missouri at St. Louis, a composer, recording

Melody Mistress

artist, and publisher. Barbara’s fourth CD of her own compositions was released in July. Chamber Music II for String Orchestra, Ensemble & Woodwind Quintet (Vol. 4,

MSR 1255) is mainstream, says her publicist Jeffery James. “You can hear the wide-open plains; it has an American sound to it.” And much of her personal work is similarly inspired. Her latest composition, O Pioneers!, is an opera based on Willa Cather’s novel of the same name. In 2007, she completed Freeing the Caged Bird, a tribute to Maya Angelou, Sara Teasdale, Kate Chopin, and Emily Hahn. For more information, call 314-5167776 or visit www.barbaraharbach.com. Barbara Harbach

—Whitney Spivey

Rex Morton

PRECIOUS METAL REX MORTON gets his best ideas just as he’s falling asleep or waking up. As a coppersmith, such ideas are potential designs for rich copper sculptures. Many times, that idea is inspired by nature. Wildlife is his favorite subject, and even the bird feeders he makes are organic in form. Rex had been a demonstrating craftsman at Silver Dollar City for fifteen years—since recruiters found him at a craft show in New York. Once he was finally sold on Missouri, he moved here and met his wife, Marsha. They opened Mission Metal studio in 2006, and now he is a demonstrating craftsman year-round. Rex’s work is sculpture of both the functional and creative kind. Up until about four years ago, he veered toward spoons, pots, pans, and raised pieces. In fact, the functional part of metalworking was what attracted him to it back in college, and away from his initial medium of painting. He’s been in copper work for almost forty years. Now, though, with his own space in a prime area, he has time to play with ideas and make more creatively inspired copper artwork. The initial idea finally becomes tangible through freehand shaping and torch-induced coloring. Different from other metals, which can be hammered and shaped only when hot, copper stays soft even as it cools. It hardens the more you hammer it, so reheating is often necessary before getting the desired form. And although he has an idea of what colors will materialize, different patterns are created each time a piece is heated. Colors can change again in the final step, too, when lacquer is added for protection. Rex and Marsha Morton’s work can be seen in Mission Metals at Silver Dollar City located at 399 Indian Point Road at Branson. Call 417-3388259 or visit missionmetal.com for more information. —Katlin Chadwick

©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM; COURTESY OF SILVER DOLLAR CITY; COURTESY OF BARBARA HARBACH

STATE INVERTEBRATE: CRAYFISH >  Crayfish live in a variety of aquatic environments throughout the state, including surface streams, swamps and marshes, burrows away from surface water, and underground streams in caves.  The state is home to more than thirty species, some found only in Missouri.  Crayfish, also known as crawdads and crawfish, are becoming increasingly popular as a food item. They can be prepared like lobster. Crayfish farming, the production of crayfish in controlled, shallow ponds, is a growing industry.  The idea to have the crayfish as Missouri’s state invertebrate originated with an elementary class at Reeds Spring.  The crayfish became the state invertebrate June 21,

[40] MissouriLife

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9/5/09 1:33:33 PM

Rolla’s Reeves > Natural light filters through large windows, and the lyrics of Radiohead, Steely Dan, and the Beatles often fill the air as Orval Reeves works in his Rolla studio. Reeves uses acrylic paint to develop landscape paintings from on-site sketches and photographs he’s taken around Missouri. His panoramas range from farm scenes to rock formations. Nature wasn’t always Reeves’ principal inspiration. In high school, he painted with oil. Andrew Wyeth was the artist who brought Reeves’ attention to acrylics, and since then, Reeves’ work has graced the Missouri Governor’s Mansion, the Governor’s Christmas card, and even the Carter White House in the ’70s. Reeves’ work is on display until December at the

Missouri University of Science & Technology’s fall show or at his gallery in Rolla. For more information visit www.orvalreeves.com. —Whitney Spivey

Winter Body Summer Soul By Kimberling City author Jan Kirsch, Creative Printing and Design, 117 pages, $16.50 softcover, nonfiction

Many think of cancer as something that usually happens to someone else. Jan Kirsch became a someone in 2000, and living with cancer, for Jan, is “a story of both sorrow and joy.” Ovarian cancer was the diagnosis that put her on a now nine-year journey. In this memoir, Jan shares every detail of dealing with this terrible illness, from the consuming fear to the forced immodesty to the discovery of simple and immeasurable “gifts” of love and kindness from those around her. Through her constant search for treatment and cures, she discovers a mix that works for her, which includes yoga, diet, supplements, and modern plans of attack; she sees this as a battle. Contact information for her regimen and support groups are also included—a gift for those also suffering. The revelation of emotions that surge as a result of having cancer and the realities of cancer treatments introduces readers to a new level of empathy and respect for those dealing with this disease. Jan chronicles her journey with blunt honesty and grace. —Rebecca French Smith

By Dan Terry, Missouri Kid Press, 202 pages, $14.99 softcover

The Ultimate Missouri Trivia Quiz By Zach Sims and John Brown, Reedy Press, 186 pages, $14.95 softcover

Hot Chocolate for Couples By southwest Missouri author Cindy Sigler Dagnan, Harvest House Publishers, 234 pages, $12.99 softcover, nonfiction

Love You to Death By Independence author Shannon K.

Forest in the Wind By Salem author Mitch Jayne, Wildstone Media, 148 pages, $15 softcover, fiction

courtesy of orval reeves

Missouri Shadows: A Journey Through the Lesser Known, the Famous and the Infamous Haunts of Missouri

Mitch Jayne, author and founding member of the Dillards (also known as “The Darling Boys” on The Andy Griffith Show) breathes life into the wilderness in Forest in the Wind. Originally published in 1966, this revised edition features Jayne’s stories about the forest and the creatures who live there. Jayne’s forest is complete with vivid imagery and poetic details: The setting is a soothing story in itself. The book explores themes of nature, survival, and the circle of life from a fox’s point of view. His encounters with other forest fauna and the human who lives nearby show how even small changes in their environment can upset the delicate balance of nature. Forest in the Wind is a beautiful and unusual tale that offers insight and perspective into a fascinating world you might otherwise not know existed. —Callina Wood

Butcher, Grand Central Publishing, 385 pages, $6.99 softcover, fiction

Stories from the Heart: Missouri’s African American Heritage By Gladys Caines Coggswell, University of Missouri Press, 140 pages, $15.95 softcover, nonfiction Books reviewed or on the Book List can be found at bookstores and at Amazon.com.

Book List

[41] October 2009

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ML

Zest of Life > Made in Missouri paleontologist Guy Darrough, who was creating life-size sculptures of dinosaurs. Allan was inspired and started sculpting models of his own. Soon they were on display at museums and botanical gardens in Missouri and beyond, and Allan started getting requests from dinosaur lovers who wanted something they could take home. Allan sells model kits of several different dinosaurs, including the Bambiraptor and Compsognathus, which were made popular in the Jurassic Park movies. Allan also specializes in species that could fly. While the dinosaurs are popular with

Prehistoric Possibilities of Farmington calls him-

creating life-like model kits of dinosaurs.

sophisticated touch of an adult who has the artistic skills necessary to put one together. The kits range in size from three and a half inches to six feet. Price ranges

self “a kid that never grew up.” As a child,

With a professional background in art

vary with size, but a small Pterodactyl—

Allan was fascinated by dinosaurs and

and graphic design, Allan fell into dino-

the first to be offered to the public in a

remembers watching Land of the Lost on TV

design when his wife gave him a fossil as

kit—is forty dollars.

and memorizing dinosaur names. Today,

a Christmas gift, which sparked a fire and

he owns Fossilsmith Studios and continues

renewed his interest in all things dino-

to pursue his interest in prehistoric life by

saur. Allan crossed paths with Missouri

Super-thin chips > The St. Louis-based Billy Goat Restaurant & Bar closed its doors last December, but its super-thin, signatureitem potato chips were too popular to be taken off the market. The Billy Goat Chip Company formed in February to continue production of the tasty taters. The three-person staff hand-slices, cooks, bags, and distributes every russet potato. The chips are sold in more than fifty locations in the St. Louis area, and their market is constantly expanding. The gluten-free potato slices are fried in heart-healthy canola oil and have low sodium, no preservatives, no trans fats, and no MSG (monosodium glutamate). Chips can be ordered in a variety of bag and box sizes; call 314-353-4628 or visit billygoatstl.com for more information. —Whitney Spivey

The kits are available at www.fossilsmith. com or by phone at 573-756-3484. —Callina Wood

Talking Turkey For nearly a decade, J.R.’S Turkey Calls in Ashland has been lending a creative hand to hunters wanting to call in that big Tom, and Rhon Stuckert crafts the calls by hand, one at a time. Since he began hunting, Rhon has been handcrafting turkey calls. “I started making a few for myself and friends, and it snowballed from there,” he says. “Often, I donate them to the National Wildlife Turkey Federation and auction them off at their banquets.” J.R.’S makes box calls, friction calls, and scratch boxes from a variety of woods. The calls can also be customized. Rhon says most calls are customized with hunters’ names, but he can also go as far as to laser a photo of a hunter with his or her turkey onto the call. Costs vary by the type of call you want, and Rhon says it usually takes him about two to three hours to make them from start to finish. For him, the business is a team effort with his son Jacob and wife, Sandy, from which the name J.R.’S was formed. Together they’re helping hunters all over Missouri bag their birds in style. Visit www.jrsturkeycalls.com for more information. —Lesley Grissum

courtesy of Allan Smith, Billy goat chips, J.R.’s Turkey Calls

Allan Smith

kids, the kits generally require the more

[42] MissouriLife

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CALLING ALL ARTISTS‌ wants you! Missouri Artisans Association, better known as The Best of Missouri Hands, is a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1989 “dedicated to the development and recognition of Missouri’s arts and artisans through education, interaction, and encouragement.â€? Our Mission: â?–Educating the public about Missouri’s arts and crafts â?–Educating its members and the community at large through an annual conference, a newsletter, and a web site â?–Offering networking opportunities regionally and nationally â?–Rewarding excellence through its jury process â?–Preserving cultural heritage through public education, display and other projects

Join the Best of Missouri Hands today! The opportunities are endless!

-!#!! !D PDF 0-

3TUDENT -EMBERSHIP s 'ENERAL -EMBERSHIP 4HE "EST OF -ISSOURI (ANDS s 7EST "ROADWAY #OLUMBIA -/ s 0HONE "/-( WWW BESTOFMISSOURIHANDS ORG E MAIL INFORMATION BESTOFMISSOURIHANDS ORG

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#9

#-9

+

[43] October 2009

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PROMOTION

GET�A�WAY TO HISTORIC FULTON Awaken to Fulton’s rich history with exciting sights and sounds all wrapped up in the warmth of small-town charm, with brick streets, elegant architecture and 67 buildings on the historic register. Unwind at two of Missouri’s Top 10 Inns: the historic Loganberry Inn

where Margaret Thatcher stayed or Romancing the Past B&B in the historic Jameson home.

Connect to our history at the newly renovated National Churchill

Museum. This $4-million museum inside a priceless piece of architecture will give you a look back at living history. Kansas City

Enjoy Rebekah’s irresistible homemade desserts along with the outstanding food and wine at Bek’s restaurant and wine bar.

For your next getaway or family vacation, visit Fulton and Callaway County, Missouri. For more information and calendar of events visit www.visitfulton.com or call 573-642-3055.

128 miles

I-70

St. Louis

100 miles

FULTON

The National Churchill Museum features interactive displays that engage and educate visitors of all ages.

Apple Wagon Antique Mall & Home Décor Outlet has 20,000+ sq. ft. full of antiques and outlet-priced home décor. Backer Auto World Museum displays an impressive collection of 84 historic automobiles in Hollywood-style sets.

AD-OCT 2 Callaway 09.indd Fulton1009.indd 2-3

8/30/09 12:10:14 PM

PROMOTION

Immerse yourself in the arts and music at Kemper Center for the Arts or Westminster Gallery. Sample some distinctive Missouri wines and a creative bistro menu at Summit Lake Winery.

FOR FULTON GET-A-WAY COUPONS VISIT WWW.VISITFULTON.COM

Savor scrumptious dining at one of our great res-

taurants, like Bek’s, for a unique blend of old and new where Internet and espresso meet 1902 architecture.

Capture a sense of local history at the Historical Society Museum, or pay your respects at the Missouri Firefighters Memorial.

Smile at the offbeat collection at Crane’s Museum in Williamsburg and be-

fore you head out, stop by Marlene’s Restaurant. A pulled-pork sandwich and warm slice of pie will leave you grinning.

Revisit the 1930s by sharing a shake at Sault’s authentic soda fountain with locally made premium ice cream.

Crane’s 4,000 sq. ft. museum is a one-of-a-kind viewing experience featuring rural Missouri history dating back to the 1800s.

Calendar of Events 36th Annual Hatton Craft Festival Oct. 3, 2009 9am-4pm Throughout Hatton 175+ exhibitors with handmade items for sale: dolls, hand-painted china, paintings, pillows, wooden toys, florals, seasonal items, and much more. Free wagon rides. Lunch Served. 573-529-1541 Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater Events Oct. 3 - Mikel and the Blood Washed Blues Band, Nov. 14 - Salute to Veterans and 4th Anniversary Show Dec. 5,12 & 19 - Beacon Band Christmas Shows Dec. 11 - Brett Family Christmas Show 3078 Lighthouse Lane, Fulton 573-474-4040 Shows every Saturday at 7:30pm, call or go online for full schedule. www.lighthousetheater.com hazelkinder@yahoo.com 26th Annual Victorian Christmas Sale Nov. 12, 2009 National Churchill Museum Westminster and 7th, Fulton Kettledrum Tea 10am-2pm Cocktails 5-8pm, All-day shopping. 573-592-5234 Holiday Open House Nov. 20 & 21, 2009 Downtown Fulton Enjoy extended shopping hours at participating stores. Merchants will unveil their holiday windows. 573-642-3055 Girlfriend Getaway Spa Packages and “Chocolate for Chicks” Loganberry Inn Bed and Breakfast All November Weekends 573-642-9229 www.loganberryinn.com

Enjoy a variety of live concerts at Lighthouse Theater.

It’s a Victorian Christmas in Fulton, MO Vintage House Tour Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009 Tour 5-8:30pm followed by music. For tickets call 573-642-2080 Traveling Art Exhibits National Churchill Museum & Art Gallery For 2009-2010 schedule of events, visit 573-592-6242 www.churchillmemorial.org

Outstanding food and accommodations await you at Loganberry Inn B&B.

AD-OCT 09.indd 3

Savor a “brown cow” at Sault’s authentic soda fountain.

For more information, www.visitfulton.com 1-800-257-3554 8/30/09 8/30/09 12:10:43 12:06:55 PM PM

G Trips O,IN GEes,TGeG taways & Road

Adventur

Road Trip

ROADS TO GLORY MOSES NEVER MADE IT to the promised land. It’s a detail that disturbs more than a few Texans. Technically, Moses Austin made it to Texas, but he didn’t stay. In 1821, he was the first person to get permission from the governor of Spanish Texas to establish an Anglo-American colony there, and lead a group of three hundred families from Potosi to San Antonio de Bexar. He returned to Missouri and died soon thereafter. His remains rest in a cemetery in the middle of downtown Potosi. Encased beneath a slab of concrete the size of a carport, Moses has resisted body snatchers so far. Lone Star historians say Texas made overtures to remove Moses from a “neglected cemetery” and repatriate him with his son Steve in Austin. Potosi historians are a bit more blunt. They tattle on Texas undertaker Thurlow Weed, who they say drove a hearse to Potosi in the early 1930s and started chipping away at Austin’s tomb. The marshal and a posse of enraged citizens sent Weed tumbling back to Texas, bearing no pall. Texas historians say there was no posse, and that Weed returned to Texas with a Potosi City Council resolution opposing the move. In 1938, both parties agreed, the governor of Texas made one more attempt to get Moses. Texans say the Lone Star secretary of state came to make one last plea for the body, but instead came away recommending Moses rest in peace in Potosi. Local tales persist that the Texas official came to apologize, making Potosi the only American town to repel a Lone Star invasion. Moses is the grandfather of Texas, not Missouri. But among his myriad of Missouri accomplishments, he donated land for the Washington County seat of government. The town became Potosi, named for a Bolivian silver mining town. The name Potosi is a South American Indian word for “place of much noise,” a harbinger to the grave dispute. Backwards, the word Potosi comes perilously close to spelling isotope, appropriate for the region’s mining of heavy metal. Recently, my wife, Cheryl, and I headed to a wedding in Perryville. She tolerated my detours, and as we dipped into the land of Moses’ bones, we neither saw, nor smelt, nor heard heavy metal, but heavy woods stretched in every direction over these foothills to the St. Francois

By John Robinson

Mountains. Leaving the uncrooked lines of Interstate 44—the corrected smile of Route 66 after billions of dollars of asphalt orthodontistry—I dipped south into the mining exhibit at the St. Clair Historical Museum. From there, Route 47 seeks to join Route 21, and like two old friends, they share a path for five twisting miles to Old Mines. The trail could be named Memory Highway, because every two miles or so, an AdoptA-Highway sign declares “In Loving Memory of [YOUR NAME HERE].” The most intriguing dedication is “In Memory of Beef.” Well, then. Suffice it to say that this road has delivered more than one species to glory. Creeping carefully through Old Mines toward Potosi, we rolled across an ancient hillscape. As we left Potosi in a light mist, we drove down a path with a pine forest veneer and a hardwood core. Route P dances along the edge of the Mark Twain Forest, weaving through miles of woods and few signs of civilization. Cheryl and I passed another grave, the plot of Vance Heflin, a close friend who died too young. We saluted him but didn’t stop. Vance lived his life as a gypsy cameraman. His work for entities like National Geographic and The Great Chefs of Europe took him around the world. Vance and I filmed hundreds of Missouri small towns, always including the city limit signs. We were on assignment for America’s Most Wanted when we arrived one day in the Arcadia Valley. There, we learned about Fort Davidson, Pilot Knob, and what may be the single most bizarre escape in Civil War history. The Battle of Pilot Knob began when Confederate forces hurled a series of cannon fusillades from Shepherd Mountain upon Fort Davidson, a small, earthen munitions depot in the valley. Dozens of soldiers died in the daylong battle. Union leaders averted further bloodshed by fashioning an escape worthy of Houdini. Vastly outnumbered and surrounded by Confederates, the Union soldiers hunkered down to defend their earthen fort until nightfall. Then they wrapped their wagon wheels with Moses Austin has a split legacy: in Washington County and in the state of Texas. Right: The General Store at Farmhouse 1807 in Caledonia was moved to the property three years ago. Built in the late 1800s, it was formerly Barr’s Store in Quaker (Washington County).

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA; COURTESY OF FARMHOUSE 1807

MOSES, CALEDONIA, AND THE ARCADIA VALLEY |

[46] MissouriLife

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[47] October 2009

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Get Going > Road Trip

From top: Elephant Rocks State Park offers magnificent autumn views and is known for enormous granite rocks that resemble elephants. Fort Davidson, a Civil War site, provides picnic areas and a visitor center with exhibits. Right: Antiques and crafts fill Farmhouse 1807, an antique shop in Caledonia.

tents, muffled their horses’ hooves with their coats, and slithered between the rebel encampments and off to safety in St. Louis. The fort, the museum, and the story of the battle—complete with diorama—await in Pilot Knob. And we planned to return to film the area and upcoming battle reenactments. Vance won’t make it back. As it turned out on this trip, I didn’t make it there either. We weaved back onto Route 21. At Route C, a pair of memorials shared the same corner. One sign notes the spot of Bellevue Collegiate College, one of the earliest Methodist seminaries west of the Mississippi. Next to that marker is a sign with a headline in an alphabet that the vast majority of Americans can’t recite. The Cherokee language survives only in pockets of this nation. But storytellers repeat the tragedy of the Trail of Tears in the land’s newer, more dominant language. And this sign marks a spot on the trail where in 1838 thousands of American Indian families passed on a forced march westward. Descendants of European settlers in this area tell stories about how their ancestors prepared baskets of food for a people being driven to Andrew Jackson’s promised land. The Cherokees listened for the Nunnehi, the invisible spirits that would lead these displaced travelers to safety. Nearing Caledonia, we passed a sign declaring, “I buy old glass milk bottles.” In Washington County, I thought, with its chronic history of high unemployment, folks gotta make a living somehow. Yet this sign is

a poster of Caledonia’s success, which is booming in a deep recession. Boomtown? With a city limit sign that confesses 158 souls, Caledonia could have become little more than a wide spot in the road. From smack dab in the middle of town, visitors can almost see the city limit signs from every direction. It could have become one of those nagging little speed trap havens that rise and fall along Missouri’s byways, with constables who issue speeding tickets to unwary lawbreakers who test the thirty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit. Caledonia does have those speed limits, but it relies mostly on its stop signs. They’re everywhere. No, not those red octagonal stop signs. These signs shout antiques, home cookin’, and “Come on in; it’s fun inside.” Caledonia is a living blueprint for what can be done in a depressed area. Of course, it helps to have the key ingredients: location, traffic, and something worth exploring. The raw materials for this boom have waited patiently, some for eons, others for a mere century or two. Maybe the town’s collection of historic buildings survived precisely because Washington County has traditionally been one of the poorest counties in Missouri. The lack of economic development and urban sprawl have left these treasures undisturbed. Even with the steadying influence of a depression-resistant incarceration industry just up the road, the county suffers from the highest unemployment in the state, tucked as it is in the hardscrabble hills. Ah, the hills, the northern gateway to the Arcadia Valley. Caledonia scores heavily when it comes to the three most important factors in real estate. The town has a choke hold on the main route between St. Louis and one of the Gateway City’s favorite backwoods playgrounds. The Arcadia Valley unfolds at Caledonia’s southern doormat, and

courtesy of missouri division of tourism; courtesy of walt busch; courtesy of farmhouse 1807

ML

[48] MissouriLife

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COURTESY OF CALEDONIA WINE COTTAGE

From top: Guests can enjoy one of three dining rooms at the Caledonia Wine Cottage, built as a stage stop in 1824 and later used as a hospital during the Civil War. Today, the Cottage is a bed-and-breakfast.

mixes stunning beauty, history, and more natural wonders than any place this side of Shannon County. Elephant Rocks. Taum Sauk Mountain. The Ozark Trail. Millstream Gardens. Pilot Knob and Fort Davidson. And that newly reopened state favorite, Johnson’s Shut Ins State Park. Most of Caledonia’s antique stores are antiques themselves. Between the town’s bookends—Carr House Antiques and Ice Cream Shop on the southern end and Farmhouse 1807 on the north—a cornucopia of collectibles and treasures spills from the markets at Caledonia. If visitors leave hungry, it’s their own fault. On one end of town, Charlie’s Country Cafe serves plate lunches and great burgers. On the other end, Cedar Creek Diner offers home-style cooking and homemade pies. Caledonia Wine Cottage does double duty, wining and dining and offering a bed-and-breakfast to boot. Next to historic Old Village Mercantile, across from what could be the world’s smallest former Phillips 66 Station, sits Caledonia BBQ Co. Owner Rich Jenkins is proud of his slow-cooked ribs. He should be. The aroma hangs around town like perfume, and the ribs don’t disappoint. The architecture in town is intriguing. So are the progressive businesses. Down a side street, not far from the Southern Washington County Farmers Market and behind an eco-green sign sits Protect Eco Management, LLC. It fits well with idea of preserving these deep woods treasures. Mary Lou Akers moved to the area with her husband years ago. She’s proud of this town, and she stayed here even after he died

a few years ago. On this day, she’s setting the tables for a meeting in the old Masonic Lodge, “the oldest continuous operating lodge west of the Mississippi,” she says. “Caledonia has the highest number of buildings per capita on the historic register.” If you’re counting, the ratio is Nobody knows 158 residents to 30 Missouri like John Robinson. historic buildings. John, a former Director I thanked Mary of Tourism for Missouri, is dedicated to driving Lou, and started for every mile of statethe door. She told maintained highways. This makes him King me one more thing. of the Road. To date, Caledonia’s commuhe has covered 3,792 state roads, with 134 to nity betterment chairgo. As he drives each man is also named road, he marks it on his King of the map, which truly has John Robinson. I knew become his treasure. Road I liked this place.

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Promotion

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very small town has a friendly atmosphere, a variety of shops, and its own downtown experience. We won’t deny that all of that is true about downtown Mexico, but we believe our town offers something different, especially for the holidays.You’ll find the usual gift shops but with unusual twists. Buy a Hallmark ornament without standing in a long line at Charms’ Hallmark. Browse through a collection of items by Jim Shore and Dan DiPaolo at Stubblefield Furniture. Pamper yourself with a mini facial and a new look for the holidays at Merle Norman. Remember This will help you record your holiday memories with scrapbook materials galore: stickers, stamps, and more paper patterns than you can imagine. They also offer classes! Don’t forget to visit Hometown Glass and Frame It for painting and decorating supplies, remodeling ideas, and framing services for all your family photos. Quilt Squares in the Village Square Mexico is home to three quilt shops. Stickey Wicket has a country flavor, offering fabric reminiscent of earlier times, plus holiday patterns and a selection of gifts and beverage mixes. Homestead Hearth features period fabric and a smattering of antiques. Mexico Sewing Center offers a more contemporary style of fabrics including batik. It is also an authorized dealer of Elna and Singer sewing machines and offers classes and instruction in the latest styles and patterns.

Rudolph the Ruby-Nosed Reindeer? Maybe that red nose came from one of Mexico’s jewelry stores! From Pilcher Jewelry Store to Melody’s Quality Jewelry and Simply Elegant, these shops add a sparkle to the Square. Making a list ‌ As it begins to look a lot like Christmas in Mexico, decorations are being placed throughout the downtown area, stores are preparing for holiday shoppers, and other activities are included in the holiday rush. Mexico will host its annual Holiday Parade on November 21 at 10 a.m. The parade draws a large crowd as visitors watch floats and bands and an appearance by Santa Claus. After the parade, you’ll want to visit Santa’s House and all the local merchants. Downtown Mexico merchants will hold an “Open Houseâ€? on November 21 for holiday shopping. The Village Square Association will sponsor its First Annual Chili Cook-Off on the Courthouse Square. Visions of Sugar Plums Well, maybe not sugar plums, but the Village Square offers a lot of options for hungry shoppers. The Jackson Street Diner has a down-home atmosphere with friendly conversation. Pizza is always in season, and the Village Square offers Coach’s Pizza World and Pizza Works. Or if pizza isn’t your taste, try the China Restaurant, an old Mexico favorite.

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KEEP SHUTTERBUGGING

October 17 Presser Performing Arts Center announces Keep Shutterbugging! Photography Contest 2009. Deadline for entries is October 7. Gallery Show on October 17 from 1-3 p.m. with winners announced at 2:30 p.m. Gallery Show is free to the public. For more information, visit www.presserpac.com, call 573-5815592 or 573-473-0919, or e-mail lois@presserpac.com.

VILLAGE SQUARE ASSOCIATION HOLIDAY PARADE

November 21 The Mexico Village Square Association’s Holiday Parade, Open House, and the Santa House opening will be held on Saturday, November 21 at 10 a.m. New this year will be the VSA Chili Cook-off. For more information, contact the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce at 800-581-2765.

DISNEY’S “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST�

December 3-6 The City of Mexico, Mexico Area Community Theatre, and Presser Performing Arts Center, present Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.� Tickets will be available online October 1 at www. presserpac.com, the City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, or at the door. $10 for adults; $5 for children 12 and younger. For more information, call 573-581-2100 ext. 234.

THE NUTCRACKER BALLET

December 11-13 Presser Performing Arts Center’s Ballet Ensemble and the Missouri Contemporary Ballet will present “The Nutcracker Ballet� December 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. and December 13 at 2 p.m. Tickets will be available online November 1 at www.presserpac. com and at the door. $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. For more information go to www.presserpac.com, call 573-581-5592 or 573-473-0919, or e-mail lois@presserpac.com.

HOLIDAY EXPRESS

December 17 Led by KCS’ Southern Belle business train, the six-car Holiday Express includes a smiling tank car, “Rudy�; a flat car carrying Santa’s sleigh; reindeer and a miniature village; a gingerbread boxcar; the elves’ workshop; the reindeer stable; and a red caboose. Mexico Parks and Recreation and the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce provide hot chocolate and treat bags for all children. Festive music and lights complete the package. There is no charge, and all ages are welcome. No reservations are required; however, the line has been known to stretch for more than a city block, so dress accordingly. December 17, 4 p.m. Contact sbenn@mexicomissouri.org, visit www.mexicomissouri.net, or call 800-581-2765 for more information.

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The latest evolution of the Midwest’s entertainment capital SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE IN BRANSON. There are still license plates from most of the lower forty-eight and the occasional one from Alaska. And although a recent bypass system of roads has made navigation of the Ozark hills a breeze, The Strip, which was once the only way through the city’s entertainment district, still occasionally sees bumperto-bumper jams. However, some things do change. Branson isn’t originally known for famous sinking ships, fine dining, Beatles fanatics, and late night clubs, but in the recent past, this city has begun to boast the best mix of entertainment in the country. Branson’s original claim to fame was country music, and several Branson favorites are nearing the half-century mark this year. But within the past decade, many new theaters have opened, offering more than country. “The perceptions of Branson are much different from reality,” Mayor Raeanne Presley says. “There is more to do than people think, more variety. I seldom hear ‘I was bored.’ ” From left: Spirit of the Dance, performed at the Branson Variety Theatre, passed the decade mark as a Branson show last year. Kirby VanBurch was named Best Illusionist at the World Magic Awards in 2008.

COURTESY OF BRANSON VARIETY THEATER; COURTESY OF KIRBY VANBURCH

By Stephanie Callahan

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★ BROADWAY-CALIBER SHOWS ★★★

Marty Scott isn’t very hard to pick out of a crowd; just look for a moppy, bowl-cut hairdo and toothy grin. “I’ll be the one who looks like a Beatle,” he says—George Harrison to be exact. In 2006, Marty started performing with the Liverpool Legends, and fans have been screaming ever since. “There’s no other show where a high school kid could agree with his grandparent,” Marty says. “Nobody has done that before; the Beatles are some freak of nature.” George Harrison’s sister, Louise Harrison, noticed Marty playing in a Beatles tribute band in Chicago, and the next thing he knew, he was sitting on a couch next to her and Paul McCartney. Before they settled down in Branson, the Liverpool Legends toured the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa. “The Beatles will work everywhere,” Marty says. In Branson, they stick out like a sore thumb, but it works for them. Their goal is to recreate the whole Beatles mania and concert scene. “If people are sitting down, we want them to stand up,” Marty says. “We don’t want polite clapping, we want screaming!” The Liverpool Legends aren’t the only performers making waves. Silver Dollar City gave Branson a taste of Jeerk, a Swedish group that performed at the KidsFest. Brad Schraeder, director of entertainment at Silver Dollar City, described them as a mixture of Stomp and the Blue Man Group. Silver Dollar City used to travel to places like New York City, Chicago, and Dallas looking to bring performers to Branson, but nowadays the performers come to them. “We hold an annual audition, and in two days, we see around two hundred people,” Brad says. The Branson Variety Theater opened in 2003 and is the host of three very unconventional shows: The Twelve Irish Tenors, Spirit of the Dance, and Broadway! They also put on a show called Spirit of Christmas during the holiday season. “Variety is part of the equation for being successful,” says Mark Bryson, former general manager of the theater. When Spirit of the Dance opened in 1998, it was “one of the first non-country shows.” It’s been running for eleven years now. When Spirit of the Dance Productions bought the Bobby Vinton Theatre in 2003, they added Broadway! to the lineup. Broadway! offers all of those great musical theater hits without having to fly to New York to catch them. Then, The Twelve Irish Tenors opened in 2007. It showcases some of Ireland’s best voices. They sing anything from Elton John to contemporary pop music. Branson is home to some great family comedy and magic acts as well. The Hamner Barber Variety Show includes stand-up comedy for all ages, as well as original magic and illusions. Jim Barber, the ventriloquist and funny man of the show, says the performance is not only geared toward older adults but is also meant to be a shared family experience. “I do a lot of comedy that appeals towards

COURTESY OF LIVERPOOL LEGENDS; COURTESY OF HAMNER BARBER VARIETY SHOW; COURTESY OF SILVER DOLLAR CITY

★

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teens as well,” he says. “Part of my comedy act includes an Austin Powers scene with a group dance.” Jim has a variety of comedy acts, including a Chihuahua dog named Chico, acts involving audience members, and his most famous act where his own dummy carries him out on stage, which earned him a spot on David Letterman a few years back. Another aspect of the show is illusionists Dave and Denise Hamner, who are famous for a pirate-parrot act where tropical birds fly over the audience’s heads and land on stage. Dave manipulates cards and coins, making them appear and disappear, and at one point in the show, Denise can be seen levitating off the floor. Another magician calls Branson home, and his act features co-stars of a feline persuasion. Four white Siberian tigers and a lion in training star alongside Kirby VanBurch in his magic show. The show is one of the only magic shows in the world to use big cats. From a very young age, the animals are introduced to clapping, music, bright lights, and other loud noises that might normally startle them. There have never been any negative incidences with the big cats at the show, and since the Siegfried and Roy accident, the Kirby VanBurch Theatre has taken precautions to keep both the cast and audience safe; the animals are tethered at all times with a steel attachment to their collars whenever they are out of their cages. The show has a personal feel, with mind reading and illusions developed by Kirby himself. It also has many tricks that appeal to the teen crowd, including young and hip music and a cool motorcycle illusion. Plus, there is also a backstage “cat compound” tour after the show, where audience members can see the dressing rooms, costumes, and where the animals are kept.

★ 12 GOLF COURSES ★★★

★

★

The past few years, Branson has also become a different kind of destination: a golfer’s paradise. According to Kathryn Buckstaff at the Chamber of Commerce, the private investors that helped fund the new airport had golf in mind when they decided to start building. “They wanted the option to fly in and play golf for the weekend,” she says. There are twelve operating golf courses in Branson; many have just opened in the past couple of years. Many offer options for beginners and advanced golfers and make Branson a golfing destination. Most of the courses have a par around seventy and take about four hours to play. Last spring, Payne Stewart Golf Club opened in Branson as part of Branson Hills Estates Development, making it a semi-private and public course. “What makes Payne Stewart unique is the whole theme of the course,” says T.J. Baggett, director of golf at Payne Stewart. “As a tribute to Payne Stewart, it has the only museum with memorabilia, and each hole has a story from Stewart’s life.”

Clockwise from top left: Liverpool Legends toured the world before settling in Branson. Jim Barber performs at the Hamner Barber Variety Show. Jeerk, a Swedish group that’s a mix of Stomp and Blue Man Group, performed at Silver Dollar City’s KidsFest.

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Visitors can interact with the more than one thousand tropical butterflies in The Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure. Opposite from top: LedgeStone Golf Course features Bent Grass greens and Zoysia fairways. John Daly’s Murder Rock Golf and Country Club features golf carts resembling classic cars.

LedgeStone Golf Course is another top-ranked golf course in Branson, and was voted Best in the Ozarks by the Springfield News-Leader as well as one of the best places to play by Golf Digest Magazine. Champion Kansas City golfer Tom Watson played the course, a mix of mountainous terrain and water, last year for the ALS tournament.

★ WORLD-CLASS FLAIR ★★★

★

★

There’s also some great imported beauty in Branson. The Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure showcases more than one thousand tropical butterflies. It sits atop a hill at the west end of the strip. Most exhibits at Butterfly Palace are hands-on, and General Manager Sarah Bolend says that exhibits are always changing, so families can come back again and again and experience something different. “Branson as a whole had the perception as being a tourist destination for the senior market,” Sarah says, “and that’s just not the case anymore. There is so much to offer for all ages.” The Titanic Museum is another example of an all-ages destination with hands-on learning. When you enter the museum, you are issued

COURTESY OF BUTTERFLY PALACE AND RAINFOREST ADVENTURE; COURTESY OF LEDGESTONE GOLF COURSE; COURTESY OF JOHN DALY’S MURDER ROCK GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

Payne Stewart has a couple of “play and stay options,” from villa and condo rentals to a Hampton Inn managed by Hilton on site. While T.J. says it’s a course for all levels, he says it is not exactly beginner-friendly. The longest championship tees are set to seventy-four hundred yards. In October, Payne Stewart will be opening a practice facility, which will make it Branson’s only golf academy. For two years, John Daly’s Murder Rock Golf and Country Club has boasted the highest elevation in Taney County. The course features natural areas, deep grass, and elevation change. Chris Mead, course manager and golf pro, says that it’s not a course for beginners; it attracts the intermediate-to-advanced crowd. Being a semi-private and public course, Murder Rock attracts local Branson entertainers as well as John Daly himself. Branson Creek Golf Club ranks in the top ten on Golf Digest’s best Missouri courses as well as number ninety-three on the magazine’s one hundred greatest public U.S. courses, the only Missouri course on the list. Branson Creek has a very natural setting, and it’s not uncommon to see wildlife out on the course. The course is challenging for all players, beginner to advanced, with T-Boxes ranging from five thousand to seven thousand yards. Golf pro Dustin Newman says that in Branson, golf is no longer an afterthought to the shows. “Now we’re seeing more and more guys’ trips and couples’ trips coming down to play three or four courses.”

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★ FANTASTIC FOOD ★★★

★

★

If you’re looking for a different kind of tea, without little girls dressed as princesses, Chateau on the Lake Restaurant is creating a Saturday Cupcake Tea. Chateau is known for its fine dining, casual atmosphere, and great service, and menus change at least every six months. “We like to keep From left: The Andy Williams Moon River Grill offers food like Mom used to make in a star-studded environment, while White River Comedy Club and Ernie Biggs Chicago Style Deuling Piano Bar bring the “big city” to Branson.

up with the trends,” says Randy Hibbard, general manager at Chateau Restaurant. Currently, the menu features “molecular gastronomy,” where different flavors are infused into foods and have a great visual appeal. The perk at Andy Williams Moon River Grill, which offers up homestyle cooking in a fine dining atmosphere, is that the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre is right next door, and Andy often stops by the restaurant to visit. Moon River offers a chunk of history as well, with artwork, photographs, and his memorabilia gracing the walls. Beyond Branson’s chain restaurants and buffets, Bleu Olive, a Mediterranean-style restaurant (see August 2009 for a restaurant review) in historic downtown Branson, comes highly recommended by Mayor Presley, whose husband is Steve Presley of Presleys’ Country Jubilee. “It’s upscale, but not over the top,” she says. There are also many restaurants and bars in town original to the local scene. Locals and tourists alike flock to the Outback Pub for great food and live entertainment.

★ NIGHTLIFE HOT SPOTS ★★★

★

★

Branson’s nightlife is also beginning to boom with a dueling piano bar, comedy clubs, and late-night jam sessions. Many daytime show performers have their own bands and different music they enjoy playing at night. Club ’57, in the basement of the Dick Clark American Bandstand Theater, hosts local musicians every night in the twenty-one-and-over, Las Vegas-

COURTESY OF ANDY WILLIAMS MOON RIVER GRILL; COURTESY OF WHITE RIVER COMEDY CLUB; COURTESY OF ERNIE BIGGS DUELING PIANO BAR

the passport of a person who was on the ship, and throughout the tour of more than four hundred original artifacts, you learn about that passenger. In the end, you find out whether he or she lived or died. Mary Kellogg, co-owner of the museum, says, “It’s not a passive museum; it’s a celebration of the passenger.” Mary says the idea of bringing the Titanic to Branson had been in the works for more than fifteen years before an opportunity presented itself to turn the dream into a reality. Throughout the year, the Titanic Museum hosts multiple special events, like the recent princess tea party that drew more than one thousand little girls and their moms over a two-day period. The centennial of the RMS Titanic sinking is 2012, and Mary says they’re already making plans.

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themed lounge. It also offers a full menu until midnight in addition to nightly jam sessions with local bands like Dean Z and the Gimps, a rockabilly band. Dean Z plays Elvis in Legends in Concert at his day job. Club ’57 also hosts The Jam Doctors, starring some of the Haygoods, seven brothers and their sister who put on their own show during the day, and the Horndawgs, with lead singer Bucky Heard, who plays Jake Blues/John Belushi of the Blues Brothers in Legends in Concert. While most shows and theaters don’t encourage singing at the top of your lungs along to the music, Ernie Biggs Chicago Style Dueling Piano Bar on the Landing is one place that does. A twenty-one-and-up establishment, it certainly attracts customers of all ages. “We had a lady who was eighty-two years old celebrating her birthday and stayed till close on a Tuesday night,” says General Manager Craig Clark. Craig hopes that Ernie Biggs will help diversify Branson even more in the future. “What I hope is that it becomes a place that is more inviting for all kinds of people,” he says. It’s not exactly what you call sit-down entertainment, and piano players play covers from contemporary pop to swinging jazz and anywhere in-between for a five-dollar cover charge. Another new club that opened in April is willing to take all the credit for your laughs. White River Comedy Club is a floating comedy destination on the Branson Landing on Lake Taneycomo. Owner Shane Smith was a stand-up comedian for many years before settling down in Branson and giving the Midwest a taste of big-city talent. While Branson has other

types of comedy, Shane considers White River a little more progressive and hopefully something you wouldn’t find unless you were to travel to a larger destination such as Dallas or Chicago. Since its opening, Shane has noticed people of all ages, especially since it’s an eighteen-and-over club. “There’s people who’ve never seen a live comedy act before,” Shane says. “They’ll come up and say, ‘Wow! That was really good!’ ” White River offers a “pub grub” menu and alcohol for those twenty-one and over. Branson recently saw a new addition to its dance club scene. Tabú is a late night, twenty-one-and-over club that’s open until 1:30 AM on weekends. Tabú has the largest dance floor in all of Branson, according to Kimberly Carlton, webmaster at www.bransonnightlife.com. “It also has a full sports bar with twenty-one TVs,” she says. The club boasts an upstairs VIP area for private parties, complete with its own bar, lounge, and balcony overlooking the dance floor. Kathryn Buckstaff with the Branson Chamber of Commerce notes that the shows and nightlife, like the Liverpool Legends and the Haygoods, bring new generations, new audiences to Branson. “There’s a lot of screaming going on, and it’s nice to have that element here in town.” Branson’s entertainers, managers, and restaurant and retail owners agree the city will continue to change in the future. The shows and attractions coming in are diversifying the crowds even more, but the ability to pull visitors from across the country and talent from around the world is something that will remain the same.

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An original Norman Rockwell illustration for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

By Greg ory Holm an

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Mi s s ou r i authors p ro v i d e a s e n s e of pl ac e

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Literary Landmarks T h e s e d e s ti n ation s e n r ich ou r con n e ction to th r e e of Mi s s ou r i’ s g r e at e s t lit e r a ry a r ti s t s : M a r k T wa i n , L au r a I n g a ll s Wil d e r , a n d H a rol d B e ll W r i g ht.

Mark Twain

ANDREW BARTON; easton press

(Samuel Langhorne Clemens) 1835-1910 Mar k Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, Han nibal

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Perhaps the greatest American writer (is any further description necessary?) was born in Florida, Missouri, but grew up in Hannibal, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The young Mark Twain enjoyed life: swimming, rafting, and watching steamboats float by. A nearby forest and cave completed this picture of bucolic childhood—at least until Twain’s father died in 1847, when he was about twelve. His formal schooling came to an end, but he began a different kind of education— about human nature, irony, and in spite of everything, comedy. Twain shared this

vision with millions of readers all over the world through magazine and newspaper articles, as well as more than thirty books, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. In Hannibal, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum preserves a campus of buildings that dates to the 1840s: the Clemens’ home where Twain was raised (open to the public since 1912), an office building where Twain’s father worked as a justice of the peace, and a drug store owned by family friends, where Twain’s father died. Along with historical artifacts such as a white coat worn by Twain and the gown he wore when Oxford University gave him an honorary doctorate, there are works of art such as Norman Rockwell’s fifteen original illustrations for

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Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Cindy Lovell, executive director, says that a number of initiatives are being developed for the boyhood home, particularly because 2010 is the centennial of Twain’s death. Adult writing workshops and a children’s literature festival are in the works. In keeping with Twain’s remark that “life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen,” one of the campus’s buildings, the Becky Thatcher House, is slated to become an exhibit showcasing the lives of 1840s free and slave children to give a better idea of what life was like when Twain was young. A CD of music and spokenword performance of Twain’s work, featuring Grammy-level talent, is also being developed. “Twain’s work is still relevant today,” Lovell says. “He’s got human nature down to a science. This is why he’s so relevant. He doesn’t write about fictitious events; he’s writing about human nature, whether it’s funny or pathos. He hated hypocrisy. He hated bigotry. He just cut to the chase.” Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum 120 North Main Street, Hannibal 573-221-9010, www.marktwainmuseum.org, www.twain2010.org Admission: $9; $7.50 seniors 60 and older; $4 children 6 to 12; free 5 and younger

�

Laura Ingalls Wilder 1867-1957 LAURA INGALLS WILDER HISTORIC HOME AND MUSEUM, MANSFIELD

Born two years after the Civil War, Laura Ingalls Wilder lived an American pioneer’s life, homesteading the Great Plains, teaching in the Dakota Territory, and gathering a trove of life experiences marked by strong family ties, resourcefulness, and courage. By 1894, she and her husband, Almanzo Wilder, had settled on forty acres near Mansfield, Rocky Ridge Farm. It was in this stage of life that Ingalls Wilder began writing, urged to do so by her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. These experiential writings grew into autobiographical novels known as the “Little House books.” Little House on the Prairie catapulted Ingalls Wilder to fame in 1934; since then the series has been translated into sixty languages. A dedicated crew of “Little House” enthusiasts has spent decades preserving Rocky Ridge Farm through the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum. The museum

preserves life as the author lived it, not as she immortalized it. So don’t expect to see something that looks like a set from NBC’s ’70sera Little House on the Prairie that starred Michael Landon with flowing locks. “What I remember most about the farm is the sense of it being a walk-through time capsule,” says Trint Williams, a Springfield librarian who grew up not far from Mansfield. The space does not capture the “frontier days of Little House, but a well-appointed Missouri farmhouse from the 1940s. It seems like Laura and Almanzo might have just left a few minutes ago for a church function and will be back later in the day.” “I think there’s a heritage aspect to this place that maybe isn’t covered enough,” says Jean Coday, director and president of the home and museum board since 1961. Coday says the place reminds her of the big comfortable farmhouse her grandparents called home, but “Laura Ingalls Wilder left us things we can all inherit, specifically the idea that family loves each other, takes care of each other, has fun together, goes through hard times together. You get to live in happy times; you have to be strong in other times.” If Mansfield’s secluded Ozarks locale seems an improbable literary destination, it might have seemed so for Ingalls Wilder, who Coday says was “very surprised” by

COURTESY OF MARK TWAIN BOYHOOD HOME & MUSEUM

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Laura Inga lls

COURTESY OF LAURA INGALLS WILDER HISTORIC HOME AND MUSEUM; COURTESY OF SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS

all the hoopla created by her “little books.” Rocky Road Farm is recognized nationally. Former First Lady Laura Bush made a personal visit to the farm in 2008. “She said the books had been among her favorites as a child,” Coday says, “and she wanted to visit while her husband was still the president.” Visitors can tour the farm for Wilder Days in September, which celebrates Ingalls Wilder’s works and introduces visitors to historically authentic crafts, old-time singalongs, fiddlers’ contests, and plenty of activities for kids. Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum 3068 Highway A, Mansfield 417-924-3626, www.lauraingallswilderhome.com Admission: $8 adults; $6 seniors; $4 children 6 to 17; free for children 5 and younger

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Harold Bell Wright 1872-1944 SHEPHER D OF THE HILLS, BRANSON

Harold Bell Wright wrote nineteen novels— one of the first American authors to reach such a figure—but just one book made his

Wilder

From left: Mark Twain’s boyhood home has been open to the public since 1912. Little girls enjoy the “Little House books” at Wilder Days in Mansfield. Inspiration Tower at Shepherd of the Hills at Branson offers a 230-foot view of the hills to the northwest of Branson. The tower was built in the early ’90s after the New York skyline from the observation deck of the World Trade Center inspired park owner Gary Snadon.

reputation in Missouri. The Shepherd of the Hills has become part of the literary canon for generations of schoolchildren in the Ozarks. “This, my story, is a very old story,” begins the 1907 book, which portrays the author’s ideals of love and responsibility through the woven lives of Ozarks country folk. Wright’s storytelling—with its clear, Christian understanding of truth, good, and evil—inspires millions of readers today, some of them descendants of the rural audience that vaulted Wright toward millionaire wealth. In Branson, the Shepherd of the Hills park offers visitors a direct experience of that storytelling. At the park’s outdoor Old Mill Theatre, hundreds of actors have dramatized the novel onstage in fifty seasons of performances. Director Keith Thurman has been involved for forty-two years. “Harold Bell Wright was a storyteller; he was not just a writer,” Thurman says. “He could take six or seven different groups of characters and get you interested in their lives and intertwine all of them.” It’s a kind of plot prowess that lends itself to adaptation by admirers: “You could do a

one-hour Little House on the Prairie-type of show with Shepherd of the Hills and never run out of show.” Indeed, even John Wayne starred in a Technicolor film of the book, though purists dismiss it for taking liberties with Wright’s vision. Along with the play, visitors should swing by Old Matt’s Homestead, which preserves the cabin of homesteaders John and Anna Ross, models for the beloved Old Matt and Aunt Molly in Wright’s novel. Wright pitched his tent on the Rosses’ land when he came to the Ozarks around the turn of the century, seeking respite from tuberculosis. “My first job was at Shepherd of the Hills,” says Marcia Nichols, a Branson native and Ph.D. candidate in English at a university in North Carolina. “Going into Old Matt’s Cabin always filled me with a hushed awe at the history. I knew my own forebears lived like that.” Shepherd of the Hills 5586 West Highway 76, Branson 417-334-4191, www.oldmatt.com Admission: $37 adults; $35 seniors 55 and older; $18 children 4 to 16

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�

Lions ...

Literary

After combing through a long list of other notable Missouri authors, literary scholars from universities around the state gave us their recommendations of those who had a significant influence on the world around them. The scholars who chose this list are Tom Quirk, professor of English at the University of Missouri at Columbia; Joe Benevento, professor of English at Truman State University at Kirksville; W.D. Blackmon, department head and

By Callina Wood

professor of English at Missouri State University at Springfield; and Michael Gurnow, independent scholar, freelance writer, and part-time faculty instructor at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. From Pulitzer winners and pioneers of new genres to the prolific and the political, these are just a few of the best Missouri writers worth reading and our panel’s recommendations for which of each author’s works to read first.

Kate Chopin (1850-1904) � The Awakening (1899) Eugene Field (1850-1895) � Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (1889) Marianne Moore (1887-1972), Pulitzer Prize winner � Collected Poems (1951) T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) � Four Quartets (1943) Langston Hughes (1902-1967), Writers Hall of Fame � The Best of Simple (1950-1965) Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), two-time Pulitzer Prize winner � The Glass Menagerie (1945) William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) � Junky (1953), Naked Lunch (1959) Mona Van Duyn (1921-2004), Pulitzer Prize winner � Selected Poems (2003) Evan S. Connell (1924—) � Mrs. Bridge (1959), Mr. Bridge (1969) Maya Angelou (1928—) � I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) William Least Heat Moon (1939—), Writers Hall of Fame �

�

PrairyEarth (A Deep Map): An Epic History of the Tallgrass Prairie Country (1991)

Daniel Woodrell (1953—) � Winter’s Bone (2006)

Writers Hall of Fame of America, located in Springfield

The Pulitzer Prize, born in St. Louis

The Writers Hall of Fame of America was started in Springfield, Missouri, in 1994. Dedicated to celebrating the joy of writing, the Hall of Fame inducts notable authors each year. There are thirtyone Missouri authors in the Hall of Fame.

Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian immigrant, came to St. Louis in 1868. In 1878, he bought the St. Louis Dispatch, which merged with the Evening Post to form the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He provided for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prize Board in his 1904 will. He died in 1911; the first Pulitzers were awarded in 1917. There are thirteen Prize-winning authors with Missouri ties in the categories of Drama, Fiction, Novel, and Poetry.

�

Visit MisouriLife.com for more of the modern authors’ favorite things, lists of Missouri Hall of Fame and Pulitzer winners, and to vote on your all-time favorite Missouri author!

[64] MissouriLife

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Si x con temp orary Missour i Au thors w i th a sense of plac e Favorite day trip:

Missourah or

Favorite Mark Twain

The Crown Ridge

Missouree:

quote: A person who

Tiger Sanctuary,

Missouree. I don’t

won’t read has no

antiquing in Ste.

trust people who

advantage over one

Genevieve, a visit

pronounce it the

who can’t read.

to Mo’sart Studio,

other way.

Barri L. Bumgarner

Barri L. Bumgarner is a full-time author and doctoral student at the University of Missouri at Columbia. Her latest book, Dregs, is the recipient of the Best Juvenile Fiction 2009, third place, Missouri Writers Guild, and the Walter Williams Major Work Award, second place 2008. Barri has also published two thrillers and is working on two other books. Visit www.barrilbumgarner.com for more information.

� Early aspiration: When I was real little, I wanted to be Tinker Bell. A little older, a professional

and pie at the Anvil Saloon

Susan McBride

Susan McBride is the author of The Debs young adult series, including The Debs; Love, Lies, and Texas Dips, and Gloves Off. She has also written five Debutante Dropout Mysteries for HarperCollins/Avon. Susan’s first stand-alone title, The Cougar Club, about three fortysomething friends in St. Louis who happen to date younger men, will be out in paperback in January 2010. Susan has won a Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery and a Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Amateur Sleuth Mystery. She lives in Brentwood with her husband. Visit www. susanmcbride.com for more information.

�

Morley Swingle

Morley Swingle has been the prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County for more than twenty years. He is the author of two mystery novels with legal themes, The Gold of Cape Girardeau, winner of the 2005 Governor’s Book Award from the Missouri Humanities Council, and Bootheel Man, a finalist for the 2008 William Rockhill Nelson Award for fiction. He has also written a true crime and humor memoir about being a prosecutor, Scoundrels to the Hoosegow: Perry Mason Moments and Entertaining Cases from the Files of a Prosecuting Attorney.

�

water skier. Neither happened!

COURTESY OF the authors

Judy Young

Judy Young is the author of children’s fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her first book, S is for Show Me, A Missouri Alphabet represented Missouri at the 2008 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. R is for Rhyme, A Poetry Alphabet won the 2008 Mom’s Choice Gold Award, and The Lucky Star received a 2009 Storytelling World Honor Award. Judy’s eighth book, The Hidden Bestiary of Marvelous, Mysterious and (maybe even) Magical Creatures, released in September, and The Missouri Reader releases in April 2010. Judy frequently speaks at schools and educational conferences nationwide. She lives in Springfield. Visit www.judyyoungpoetry. com for more information.

Favorite Restaurants:

Favorite Book:

Bo Ling’s, Bangkok

Raymond Chandler’s

Gardens, Main

The Big Sleep

Squeeze, Café Berlin, Sophia’s, and International Café, all in Columbia

Walter Bargen

Ashland author Walter Bargen is Missouri’s first official poet laureate. He has published thirteen books and two chapbooks (a small book or pamphlet) of his work, including The Body of Water and Remedies for Vertigo. He has won numerous awards, including a William Rockhill Nelson Award for The Feast, and his poetry has appeared in more than one hundred magazines. Visit www. walterbargen.com for more information.

John Lutz

John Lutz published his first short story in 1966 in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and has been publishing regularly ever since. He is the author of more than forty novels and two hundred short stories and articles. One of his private-eye series, Nudger, is set in his hometown of St. Louis. His SWF Seeks Same was made into the hit movie Single White Female, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh. John and his wife, Barbara, split their time between St. Louis and Sarasota, Florida. His latest book is the suspense novel Night Kills. Visit www.johnlutzonline.com for more information.

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e l c y a c c r c o e t o M M

s r e k i B e r o n -C e d v r a a H H a d s n i a s i s u r o o i L r r a St. W d n e k ee W r fo

T

he streets of St. Louis are brimming with hogs, not those of the farm variety but those of the open road. With seven HarleyDavidson dealers in a fifty-mile radius of the city, it is one of the most tightly packed areas in the country for the popular brand.

“Our chapter of the Harley-Davidson Owners Group (HOG) is one of the largest in the nation,” says Bill Ballantyne, assistant director of the club in the suburb of Kirkwood. “Last year we had almost nine hundred members in our group.” To support the cadre of loyal motorcycle riders on Harleys, Hondas, Yamahas, Suzukis, and other makes, a large industry supporting what is a hobby to most riders and a lifestyle to some is flourishing. And St. Louis is home to three motorcycle museums.

Members of the Kirkwood chapter of the Harley-Davidson Owners Group (HOG) explore near the Gateway Arch. Many in the group wear patches from rides they have taken. Right: Shady Jack’s has an area “inside” the building set aside exclusively for bike parking.

[66] MissouriLife

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erman n n i W By Jim

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number of sponsored area events are other reasons why so many bikes are on St. Louis streets.

Why St. Louis?

There is something about the open road, the wind brushing your skin, and the roar of the motorcycle beneath you. “Riding is good therapy,” says Chuck Van Camp, a retired worker for a St. Louis utility who has owned and ridden a dozen cycles in St. Louis for forty-three years. The hobby is a release from the pressures of everyday life. But there are specific reasons why the St. Louis area is attractive to motorcyclists. One is the long-term presence of some of the larger St. Louis dealerships, there even before the industry began to prosper. Doc’s Harley-Davidson, the Kirkwood club sponsor, has been in business since 1955. Two other large area dealers that sell a wide variety of brands are Donelson’s (with three stores in St. Louis) and Dave Mungenast Motorsports. Both began selling cycles in the early 1960s. Several nearby rural routes also offer spectacular country scenery with their twisty two-lane roads that lead to popular destinations within an easy day’s ride. Hermann, Hannibal, and Elephant Rocks State Park are some of the favorite Missouri spots that can be reached from St. Louis’s back roads. Another favorite is following what remains of the original, historic Route 66 to a scenic stop known as Devil’s Elbow along the Big Piney River in southwest Missouri. Chuck also believes Midwest hospitality and a large

An Expensive Hobby

Many of the riders under the helmets, dressed in their leather pants and jackets, are actually the alter egos of weekday professionals who need that good job to meet their cycling needs. An entry-level bike is in the range of three thousand to six thousand dollars, but people not associated with the sport might be surprised to learn that a good percentage of cycles on the road cost between fifteen thousand and twenty thousand dollars, and top-ofthe-line models like the Honda Gold Wing approach thirty thousand dollars.

Rev Up the Appetite!

A favorite pastime of motorcycle riders is to meet at a local gathering spot and ride together to a restaurant or bar, and St. Louis offers a wide variety of biker-friendly venues from fine dining to hard-core biker bars.

Triumph Grill

Steve Smith is a St. Louis motorcycle collector (see Moto Museum on page 70) and architect who designed and owns the Triumph Grill in mid-town St. Louis. Named after a brand of motorcycle first manufac-

[68] MissouriLife

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From left: Classic motorcycles hang from the ceiling at The Triumph Grill, and a framed collection of vintage speedometers highlights one room. Shady Jack’s is a biker bar run by Slim Shady (on left), aka Scotty Larrison, and his father Shady Jack, aka Jack Larrison. Sports fans gather at Kilroy’s Sports Bar in downtown St. Louis.

tured in 1902, the colors of this classy yet informal restaurant are subtle grays and blacks, but the motif is pure motorcycle. One dining room features a framed collection of 140 vintage motorcycle speedometers, while another is decorated with artsy motorcycle advertising posters from Europe. The foyer contains large, framed movie posters of Hollywood celebrities on top of the motorcycles they rode in classic movies. Two actors and scenes featured are Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) and Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963). But it is not just what is on the walls that is attention-grabbing. Two motorcycles hang upside down from the ceiling, and overhead lighting is made from Harley-Davidson headlights and Honda mini-bike struts. “We hope to celebrate the Triumph of human endeavors, be they sportsmen, artists, or entrepreneurs,” the menu proclaims. The Triumph Grill is located at 3419 Olive in St. Louis. Hours are 11 AM to 10 PM Mondays through Thursdays, 11 AM to 11 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sundays 5 to 10 PM. Call 314-446-1801 for more information.

welcome at Shady Jack’s, and a succinct note on the inside of the menu states one reason why: “If you don’t eat here, we will both starve.” Although only motorcycles are allowed in the indoor parking lot, Jack’s enjoys the reputation of a friendly restaurant and a clientele that also includes judges, stockbrokers, and sports fans who find it convenient before and after events at the nearby football and hockey stadiums. Jack’s is also a one-stop shop of sorts. Pass under the large “Bikers Paradise” sign, and it is only a short walk up the well-worn steps to Karen’s Leather Repair shop and the High Voltage Tattoo parlor. Somewhere between the extremes of The Triumph Grill and Shady Jack’s, at least forty other places serve good food and enjoy reputations of being biker-friendly, including That One Place and The Stratford Inn (Fenton), Jack’s Iron Horse Bar and Grill (Bridgeton), The Filling Station (St. Louis), Twister’s (St. Charles), and Kilroy’s Sports Bar (St. Louis). Shady Jack’s Saloon (biker bar) is located at 1432 North Broadway in St. Louis. Call 314-241-4644 (HOGG) for more information.

Shady Jack’s

St. Louis: Motorcycle Museum Mecca

The menu strikes a different chord at Shady Jack’s in downtown St. Louis, a restaurant proud to be known as a “biker bar,” catering to hard-core riders. On the menu cover under “killer food,” the artwork of a skull graces the page. Underneath the image are the words “House of Poison.” But in keeping with that Midwestern hospitality theme, anyone is

Dave Larsen is curator of the Dave Mungenast Classic Motorcycle Museum in St. Louis, and he has spent his entire career working on and selling motorcycles in the city, and he was the first employee Mungenast hired when he opened a Honda motorcycle dealership in the mid-1960s.

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Dave Mungenast’s Classic Motorcycle Museum is filled wall-to-wall with racing jerseys and posters, historic photographs, and classic cycles.

“St. Louis is extremely fortunate to have three quality motorcycle displays,” Dave says. “For motorcycle enthusiasts, it turns the city into a destination. Plus, all the collections are within a thirty-minute ride of each other and very convenient to visit.”

Dave Mungenast’s Classic Motorcycle Museum

The Mungenast museum has been open since 2000, and it contains a diverse mix of more than two hundred motorcycles in six thousand square feet of what was the original Honda motorcycle dealership where Dave was hired. The collection spans the history of motorcycling. “Not only is this a museum,” Dave says, “but this place retains the image of what a motorcycle dealership was in the ’60s.” The brick building still has the original 1965 showroom in front and a huge repair bay behind, both now full of vintage motorcycles. Colorful racing jerseys hang from the rafters, and every inch of wall space is filled with hundreds of historic photographs, newspaper articles, and racing posters. The premier cycles are two 1912 Indian “board track” racers that competed on steeply banked wooden courses common in the early 1900s. Nearby is a six-foot long photo of a track that was a St. Louis sports landmark in the 1920s and was only a few blocks from the museum. Several advertising posters of the era announcing upcoming races are displayed nearby. Another standout cycle in the collection is a 1913 Excelsior 1000 CC V Twin, once owned by actor and Missouri native Steve McQueen. Mungenast’s fascination with motorcycles began at age sixteen with the

purchase of a 1946 Indian Chief, which he wrecked on the way home. College tuition was earned working as a motorcycle mechanic, and he opened a Honda motorcycle dealership in 1965, which continues today. The Mungenast name is familiar to motorcycle enthusiasts because the museum’s namesake was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000. He was a leading international motorcycle racer of the ’60s and ’70s and also a Hollywood stunt man with appearances in Cannonball Run with Burt Reynolds and Harry and Son with Paul Newman. Mungenast, who died in 2006, expanded his motorcycle dealership to include Lexus, Acura, Toyota, and Honda automobile franchises. But Dave says, “The motorcycle museum is free and continues to operate as a tribute to Dave’s memory and as a ‘thank you’ to the people of St. Louis who supported his dealerships.” Dave Mungenast’s Classic Motorcycle Museum is located at 5625 Gravois Road in St. Louis. Hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 am to 4 pm and Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm, and admission is free. Call 314-481-1291 or visit www.classicmotorcyclesllc.com for more information.

Moto Museum

Only open since 2007, Steve Smith has retooled fifteen thousand square feet of vacant industrial space into an elegant, sleek museum in downtown St. Louis that is attached to The Triumph Grill. “I wanted this to look and feel like a museum,” he says, remarking on how the cycle displays are simple. Most are displayed as a work of art and are on separate

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From left: The Moto Museum features rare and vintage European motorcycles that existed before 1975 as well as early U.S. brands like the Indian, which began production in 1901. When Carl Donelson began selling motorcycles, he started with this BSA 1962 Goldstar.

stands; some are inset into walls in oversized shadow boxes. After becoming an architect, Steve renewed his interest and became fascinated with the shape and design of bikes. “I started buying motorcycles I envied but could not afford when I was a teenager,” he says. Then he began to concentrate on purchasing models manufactured outside the United States and models never imported to America. Steve is also enamored with the “naked” mechanics of cycles, the fact that nothing is hidden under a hood or passenger compartment. “All the mechanics are right in front of your eyes for everyone to study,” he says. Steve’s collection is divided into galleries representing Western and Eastern Europe, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan, and North America. Most were manufactured from 1900-1975. The collection includes a 1959 De Luxe TLF 250 CC from Hungary, a 1937 Nimbus 750 CC from Denmark, and a 1927 Bohmerland 600 CC from Czechoslovakia. The Moto Museum is located at 3441 Olive in St. Louis. Hours are Mondays through Fridays 8 am to 4 pm, and admission is $8. Call 314-446-1805 or visit www.themotomuseum.com for more information.

Carl Donelson Motorcycle Museum

The third museum is a well-kept secret, even in St. Louis. Located off the mammoth showroom floor of one of the three Donelson Cycles stores in the metropolitan area, two large bays display the personal collection of Carl Donelson, a dealer and collector since 1962. Devoted to racing motorcycles, the first gallery displays thirty dirt track bikes, which were popular due to a sport in the 1960s and 1970s. Each

cycle is signed and was once owned by leaders in dirt track racing such as Nicky Hayden, Neil Keen, Jim Rice, and Jay Springsteen. The collection also contains the racing uniforms worn by many of the famous riders. The second gallery contains motorcycles of historical interest, and since Carl started as a BSA dealer, many are BSA models. One cycle in the collection, a 1962 Goldstar, is the first motorcycle Carl ever sold. Also in the collection are one of the last BSAs produced in 1972, and one of only two BSA 750 Twin prototypes that were never put into production. Visitors also might meet Carl himself, who at seventy-three still works in the store. He willingly discusses his collection with reverence for each model and rider and happily shares the history of each bike, photo, or uniform of interest to a visitor. “I think this may be the largest collection of historic dirt track motorcycles in the world,” he says. After a while he might discuss his own racing career and the three hundred trophies to his credit. Donelson Cycles is located at 9851 St. Charles Rock Road in St. Louis. Hours are Tuesdays through Fridays 9 am to 6 pm and Saturdays 9 am to 4 pm, and admission is free. Call 314-427-1204 or visit www.donelsoncycles. com/aboutus.htm for more information. Of course, you don’t have to be on a motorcycle to enjoy the food, the museums, or the routes favored by the friendly people on two wheels. But if you arrive at the same destination, it is almost certain the bike owners will have enjoyed their journey. If you have any doubts, just ask them. Visit MissouriLife.com for ride suggestions from the St. Louis area as well as an extended photo gallery from this story.

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t u O g n i n e v An E og Chapter 2573

Kirkwood Hessive Dinner Ride r g o r P a s e Tak

St. Louis A rch Begin: Doc’s Harley-Davidson 930 South Kirkwood Road Kirkwood www.docsharleydavidson.com Scenic Landmark: St. Louis Arch Popular Street Bridge I-55/I-64/I-70/US 40 in downtown St. Louis

Davidson Doc’s Harley-

Appetizer Stop: The Library 706 Lafayette Avenue St. Louis www.thelibrarystl.com Salad Stop: Filling Station 1924 Pestalozzi Street St. Louis Scenic Landmark: Anheuser Busch Brewery 1127 Pestalozzi Street St. Louis www.budweisertours.com

Filling Station

Anheuser Busch Brewery

Entrée Stop: Skip’s Place Too 4401 South Broadway St. Louis Dessert Stop: Ted Drewes 6726 Chippewa Street St. Louis www.teddrewes.com Nightcap: Johnny Gitto’s 6997 Chippewa Street St. Louis www.charliegittos.com

Skip’s Place Too

Motorcycle Mecca-OCT 09.indd 72

Ted Drewes

[72] MissouriLife

9/4/09 12:53:40 PM

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[74] MissouriLife

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MISSOU RI LIFESTYLE Inspired Ideas & Savvy Solutions

ELLY SWETZ; COURTESY OF DR. STEFAN SARAFIANOS

LA LA STYLE

HIV Hope > University of Missouri’s Dr. Stefan Sarafianos has found a way to stop HIV in its tracks— good news for the ten thousand Missourians living with the infection. The assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in the School of Medicine has worked with a team of researchers to show that the molecule EFdA can be used as a microbicide to prevent HIV transmission. EFdA targets the HIV enzyme responsible for viral replication and stops HIV from multiplying. The viral load becomes low, and the body is able to defend itself from infection. The compound is sixty thousand times more powerful than any other drug currently used to treat HIV. Sarafianos hopes the product will be licensed and developed and sees it as a topical ointment that women can apply, simEFdA in action: The drug (yellow) is ilar to spermicides. incorporated into the viral DNA strands (green —Whitney Spivey and red) to prevent HIV from multiplying. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

“TAXI! TAXI!” I scream out to the streets that house high-rise after

stresses that the H1N1 virus (swine flu) is no more dangerous than

high-rise. It is crunch time to fill my immediate needs for clothing, handbags, shoes, and accessories for fall and for my spring 2010 lines. Five minutes later, I am on my way down to Los Angeles’s Fashion District for Fashion Week. The market runs for five days, but I have five hours to fill the needs of Elly’s Couture in Columbia. In the Hatch showroom, Lacoste’s spring line is vibrant: cherry, raspberry, lime, pomegranate, pinstripes, seersucker. In the same showroom, Disney Couture’s jewelry is based on classic Walt Disney movies. I order the new Pixie line, full of Tinker Bell, Pocahontas, and other characters. Upstairs in the Sue Goodman showroom, I look at the Whitney Eve line. The star of MTV’s The City has added a few pieces to her fall and holiday line, so I do the same: a black blazer trimmed in a black and gold braid, perfect for Tiger Town, along with a black and metallic silver dress perfect for New Year’s, and a bright fuchsia high-waisted skirt. I also order clutches, handbags, jewelry, scarves, and Gossip Girl feathered and bow headbands. And shoes. I fall in love with the patent leather, the suede, the exposed zippers, the chocolates, the blacks, the booties! In store after store, hardware on clothes, high-waists, ruffles, and A-line bottoms dominate. For fall, it’s greens and oranges and tailored blazers paired with both neutral and vibrant-colored dresses. With only two hours left, I decide to look for staples: T-shirts, short and long-sleeved. I finally put my credit card into my bright-pink Betsey Johnson wallet and giggle to myself, “All in a day’s work.” —Elly Swetz

seasonal flu. In fact, 361 Missourians died last year due to regular flu, while H1N1 claimed only one life. Seasonal flu vaccines became available in late August, at which time H1N1 flu vaccines were still being tested. St. Louis University was one of many locations across the country to hold clinical trials; researchers there were testing patients’ immune responses from two rounds of shots spaced twenty-one days apart. The

vaccine

probably

will

become

Flu Facts

available in October and will likely be similarly administered. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recommends getting seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations separately. Those younger than five, older than sixty-five, pregnant women, and individuals with chronic medical conditions (asthma, diabetes, heart disease) are particularly at risk for developing either type of flu. Avoid falling ill by washing hands often and covering coughs and sneezes with tissues or the inside of elbows. Unless you are seeking medical help, stay home the entire time you or your children are sick. And vaccinate for both types of flu. For more information, call 573-751-6400 or visit www.flu.gov or www.dhss.mo.gov. —Whitney Spivey

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Missouri Lifestyle

A First-Year Perspective

A n M U S o p h o m o r e s h a r e s l e ss o n s l e a r n e d |

The first year of what I project will be a lengthy college career has taught me a great deal. I have learned things about life (the best way to get to know someone is to live with them), things about myself (I absolutely can’t deal with people who are crying), and things about college itself. College is far different from anything I’ve had the privilege of experiencing up to this point. It’s impossible to prepare for because everyone has a different experience. All you can do is get the facts and take a deep breath.

Get Involved All colleges offer a plethora of ways to get involved in some way. At summer orientation before my fall semester at Mizzou, I was told I should be getting into two extra-curricular organizations, one that would just be for fun and another that would be interesting and offer a beneficial experience. Or in layman’s terms, intramural sports and something boring. While I never made specific plans to do this, I ended up doing it anyway. Since I am terrible at sports, I opted to join two very distinct organizations, dorm student government and regular student government. My interest in dorm government was initially sparked by a friend who happened to be the president of the government and by my insatiable desire for power. The thrills and experiences of dorm government got me interested in other student government, so I joined the Missouri Students Association, the central student government at the University of Missouri at Columbia. MSA quickly became my true calling at MU, and I loved working on projects for the association. My interest in student government also convinced me to declare the first of my two majors, political science. In short, I went from having little or no interest in extracurricular activities to declaring a major because of them. Furthermore, the vast

By Evan Wood

experience and résumé filler I gained should be invaluable. Getting involved outside of class is probably one of the most important things you can do, especially as an underclassman.

Make the grade As a freshman, I was required to take a good deal of general education classes, most of which involved large lecture halls and class sizes of more than three hundred students. While smaller schools don’t have as many of these classes, they are commonplace at MU. Lecture classes are the easiest to skip, but probably the most important not to. Fortunately, you only need to do two things to guarantee yourself an A in almost any lecture class: go to class and pay attention. While I struggled with one of my lecture classes first semester, I quickly mastered the system second semester. I found that as long as I attended the lecture and paid attention, it didn’t matter if I was taking notes or studying for exams at all. Of course, taking notes is helpful because writing material down helps you remember it, but I rarely had to look back at the notes to study. When I was reviewing study guides around exam time, I found I already knew all the answers to the questions. Follow those two easy steps, and ye shall prosper. Those two steps are also important for smaller classes; however, smaller classes are a bit more involved and will require further effort. A review before a test is always important, if nothing else just to refresh your memory, and the less comfortable you are with certain material, the more you should review. The biggest piece of advice outside of going to class and paying attention is merely to use your peers. As my English professor pointed out second semester, college is all about collective learning, or collegially sharing and exchanging ideas with the people around you: anything from peer reviewing papers to merely doing different homework assignments at the same time so you’re peer-pressured into staying on task. Make a habit of being truly collegiate.

I went from having little or no interest in extracurricular activities to declaring a major because of them.

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Courtesy of Merit Myers

Party Smart While college focuses on education and bettering yourself through knowledge, there is also a lot of celebration. It’s only right, though. There are lots of things to celebrate—being out on your own in the world, freedom from the confines of your parents’ house, not to mention a party to celebrate the independence day of each and every former U.S.S.R. country. Alright, maybe the partying can be a bit excessive at times. While parties are hardly the only aspect of social life in college, they make up a good bit of it, and they are probably the most different elements of social life than pre-college experiences. The trick to parties in college is all common sense. For instance, it’s a bad idea to go out and drink everything in sight for the sake of drinking everything in sight, and it’s a good idea to go out in groups of three or more to establish a comfort zone for yourself (although it works against you if you are a group of guys trying to go to a frat party). Know your comfort zone, and don’t do things with which you aren’t comfortable. Assuming you follow your instincts and the rules of common sense, you can have a great time at parties and meet lots of new people.

Evan Wood is a sophomore at the University of Missouri. He is a political science and history major and a senator in the Missouri Students Association.

Stay true to yourself. There is something and someone for everyone in college, and the right things have a way of finding you over time. I found that I connected with people on a much deeper level than with a lot of my high school friends, as all of my friendships in college are based on a good deal of common ground and compatibility, which is not always the case in high school. The most important thing I learned was not to be afraid to let go of old contacts and branch out. The people you want to keep around have a way of coming back, and everything else falls into place. My experience may sound completely unfamiliar to other college students, but that’s the way it goes. Everyone has a different experience. Despite everything you learn on tours and at college days and summer orientation, you can only be prepared to an extent for what is coming. You think you know, but you have no idea. So clear your head of all of your pre-conceived notions, take a deep breath, and let the experience happen.

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

C E L E B R AT I

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

BOMH

T ING

HISTORY

25

YEARS

M

issouri Artisans Association (dba The Best of Missouri Hands) is dedicated to the development of Missouri artists and artisans through education, interaction, and encouragement. This “development” refers to the teaching and enhancing of artistic skills as well as raising public awareness of art. Founded by the Department of Economic Development, MAA spun off as an all-volunteer organization in 1989 and has remained so since, depending upon membership dues for general funding. Since receiving 501(c) (3) nonprofit status in 2002 as an educational organization, MAA has made concentrated efforts to increase its membership, encourage its members to serve as art educators in a variety of ways, and partner with other nonprofit organizations to achieve greater visibility for the arts in Missouri. Recently, on KMOX-AM in St. Louis, radio-host John Carney mentioned on-air how aware he has become of The Best of Missouri Hands banners that MAA juried members prominently display at shows. The group’s efforts to raise public awareness of Missouri’s arts are succeeding. MAA and BOMH artists are routinely the subject of magazine articles and television reports. In 2002, MAA was granted funding by Missouri Arts Council to develop a strategic plan to guide the future of the organization. With the professional services of The Rome Group of St. Louis, a highly respected consulting firm to arts organizations, the strategic plan set goals to be accomplished over a ten-year period. Through the focused efforts of a dedicated board of directors, MAA achieved all

BY MARY BENJAMIN

COVER OF 1 ST BOMH BOOK, C. 1985

The Best of Missouri’s Hands Project was a cooperative venture founded in 1985 by The University of Missouri, University of Missouri Extension and Lincoln University. It was an effort initiated by The Home-Based Business Committee of the Alternative for the ‘80s Project designed to provide marketing assistance for home-based Missouri art and craft communities, under the guidance of Executive Director Edie Pigg. Its purpose was to increase family income in rural areas where changes in agriculture and manufacturing had resulted in the loss of income opportunities. The showpiece of this project was a retail catalog featuring over 200 Missouri artists — The Best of Missouri Hands — published in 1986. Its successful, worldwide distribution increased visibility, encouraged entrepreneurship, and offered alternate marketing opportunities for the participants. As a result, this project and the catalog became the subject of wide media attention. Volume Two of The Best of Missouri Hands followed in 1988. In 1989, the Home-Based Business Project spun off from the University, and the volunteer organization, Missouri Artisans Business Development Association, known as MABDA, was formed. Volumes 3 and 4 of The Best of Missouri Hands soon followed. The last book, Profiles of the State’s Fine Artists and Craftsmen, was published in l996. In order to become eligible to apply for nonprofit state tax classification, a change in name was made in 2002. Missouri Artisans Business Development Association (MABDA) became The Missouri Artisans Association (MAA) and The Best of Missouri Hands trademarked name was acquired to use as the common organizational name. By redirecting the mission to one of education, interaction, and encouragement, the organization was able to achieve 501(c) (3) nonprofit status in 2003. Energized and governed by its members, BOMH is a shinning example of a successful grassroots organization. By bringing together a wonderfully diverse membership of nearly 500 people — artists, educators, retailers, and writers — it has developed a network of information and education, increased awareness of artists’ heritage, and provided access to the talents of Missouri artists and craftspeople.

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

Charter member Dodie Eisenhauer’s wire mesh angel but one of those goals in less than three years. Together again with The Rome Group and another MAC grant, MAA developed a new strategic plan in 2005, which continues to guide the board. A new strategic plan for the next three years is currently under development based upon membership survey input. The final goal of that first plan was met in October 2007 with the hiring of an executive director, a position vacant since 1991. After a publicly announced search, the board made its selection from more than thirty applicants and hired Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky, a former vice president, three-term president, and senior advisor to the board. The executive director’s responsibilities to the organization will provide continuity, experience, and increased accountability. With a membership of only eighty in March 2001, Missouri Artisans Association membership now numbers nearly 500 members and continues to grow. This rapid growth in membership clearly indicates that MAA meets a need in the state and that the direction and leadership of the organization are supported by the members. The members serve as teaching artists in schools where arts education is limited, as mentors to emerging artists, as speakers to groups, as demonstrators, and as arts advocates.

THE GOVEROR’S ORNAMENTS

Getting through the door of the Governor’s Mansion raised public awareness of the organization considerably. In 2001, a letter that began “Dear Mrs. Holden: Please allow me to introduce myself and Missouri Artisans Association” set in motion a project that extended over three years. Mike Ochonicky, then president of MAA/BOMH, proposed that the ornaments on the holiday tree in the Governor’s Mansion be created by juried members of BOMH. Coordinating delivery efforts from throughout the state took some doing, but 71 artists contributed 179 ornaments that first year. To accommodate the crowds wishing to view the tree that year, the traditional two-day open house at the Governor’s Mansion was extended by another day. The ornament collection, owned by Missouri Mansion Preservation, Inc., continued to grow in 2003 and 2004 with themes of Winter Wonderland and Lewis and Clark, respectively. The initial project had far-reaching results. Governor Holden initiated artists’ exhibitions of work at state dinners held in the Mansion, thereby showcasing work by juried members of The Best of Missouri Hands. As a departing gift to the Mansion, the Holden family commissioned a special walnut cabinet to house pieces from the collection

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From left, former Governor Bob Holden, former BOMH President Mike Ochonicky, former First Lady Lori Holden, Heinrich Leonhard, and Lou Swacker attend the unveiling of the Holden’s farewell gift to the Governor’s Mansion, which is the cabinet and Best of Missouri Hands holiday ornaments at left.

PARTNERSHIPS AND POSSIBILITIES

Relationships between the organization and various state and national agencies continue to expand. Collaboration with VSA Arts of Missouri, a national nonprofit that services artists with disabilities, recently formed. The MAA web site is fully accessible, and 2010 conference materials will be available in various formats to meet special needs. Recognition of the organization has extended beyond Missouri. The state of Kentucky has invited MAA annually since 2002 to send representatives and their art to the annual Kentucky Crafted Market to showcase our state. Missouri is one of only six states invited by the Kentucky Cabinet of Commerce. Artists have exhibited their work in guild booth settings at the Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; at the St. Louis Gift Show in Collinsville, Illinois; and at the ACRE Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. These venues serve as training ground for emerging artists to experience a wholesale market and meet gallery and shop owners from throughout the United States and beyond. MAA artists support the efforts of Missouri Citizens for the Arts and other arts advocacy groups by attendance, letters to legislators and donations to fundraising activities. Our executive director, board, and members remain connected to Missouri Arts Council and Missouri Citizens for the Arts to help inform legislators on various topics of concern to arts support.

that was installed in the Governor’s Mansion in 2005. Designed by BOMH member Heinrich Leonhard and made by Lou Swacker, the cabinet was in the shape of the Mansion itself. BOMH artists were invited to a private reception and unveiling in March 2005. Mrs. Holden served on MAA’s board of directors for three years after her husbands term as governor ended. The artists’ work remains on display in the Missouri Governor’s Mansion. On a national level, two ornaments were created by BOMH artists to go on the White House Christmas Tree. The artists who created those pieces, Nena Potts of Springfield and Tom and Pat Hooper of Louisiana, Missouri, attended a special re“For 25 years, the Missouri Artisans Association/ ception at the White House with First Lady Laura Bush The Best of Missouri Hands has helped encourage in 2002. In addition, P.J. the best and brightest in Missouri art. The people of Webber of Columbia was selected to create an orna- M i s s o u r i w i l l a l w a y s v a l u e o u r a r t a n d o u r a r t i s t s . ment to represent the state We w i s h y o u m a n y y e a r s o f s u c c e s s . ” of Missouri on a special tree for U.S. troops in Iraq. GEORGANNE WHEELER NIXON, FIRST LADY OF MISSOURI

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From left, former Governor Bob Holden, former BOMH President Mike Ochonicky, former First Lady Lori Holden, Heinrich Leonhard, and Lou Swacker attend the unveiling of the Holdens’ farewell gift to the Governor’s Mansion, which is the cabinet and Best of Missouri Hands holiday ornaments at left.

PARTNERSHIPS AND POSSIBILITIES

Relationships between the organization and various state and national agencies continue to expand. Collaboration with VSA Arts of Missouri, a national nonprofit that services artists with disabilities, recently formed. The MAA web site is fully accessible, and 2010 conference materials will be available in various formats to meet special needs. Recognition of the organization has extended beyond Missouri. The state of Kentucky has invited MAA annually since 2002 to send representatives and their art to the annual Kentucky Crafted Market to showcase our state. Missouri is one of only six states invited by the Kentucky Cabinet of Commerce. Artists have exhibited their work in guild booth settings at the Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; at the St. Louis Gift Show in Collinsville, Illinois; and at the ACRE Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. These venues serve as training ground for emerging artists to experience a wholesale market and meet gallery and shop owners from throughout the United States and beyond. MAA artists support the efforts of Missouri Citizens for the Arts and other arts advocacy groups by attendance, letters to legislators and donations to fundraising activities. Our executive director, board, and members remain connected to Missouri Arts Council and Missouri Citizens for the Arts to help inform legislators on various topics of concern to arts support.

that was installed in the Governor’s Mansion in 2005. Designed by BOMH member Heinrich Leonhard and made by Lou Swacker, the cabinet was in the shape of the Mansion itself. BOMH artists were invited to a private reception and unveiling in March 2005. Mrs. Holden served on MAA’s board of directors for three years after her husbands term as governor ended. The artists’ work remains on display in the Missouri Governor’s Mansion. On a national level, two ornaments were created by BOMH artists to go on the White House Christmas Tree. The artists who created those pieces, Nena Potts of Springfield and Tom and Pat Hooper of Louisiana, Missouri, attended a special re“For 25 years, the Missouri Artisans Association/ ception at the White House with First Lady Laura Bush The Best of Missouri Hands has helped encourage in 2002. In addition, P.J. the best and brightest in Missouri art. The people of Webber of Columbia was selected to create an orna- M i s s o u r i w i l l a l w a y s v a l u e o u r a r t a n d o u r a r t i s t s . ment to represent the state We w i s h y o u m a n y y e a r s o f s u c c e s s . ” of Missouri on a special tree for U.S. troops in Iraq. GEORGANNE WHEELER NIXON, FIRST LADY OF MISSOURI

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

Bon Rasmussen shares her talent with a new generation of aspiring artists.

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

From left above: At ARTstravaganza, a special show for Best of Missouri Hands artists in St. Louis, Charity Fedde shows her jewelry, and Lisa Sell shares hand-woven garments. From left below, Woodworker Vic Barr displays stacked jewelry boxes at the Celebrating Creativity show at William Woods in Fultion, and visitors browse at the Big Red Box 2008 show at The Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles.

With the assistance of a professional editor, MAA produces a newsletter for its members and is now shifting to a more timely online newsletter in 2009. Additionally, the web site (www.bestofmissourihands.org) serves members and the general public alike with information about Missouri’s arts. E-mail announcements inform artists of various art events sponsored by MAC-funded arts councils throughout the state. It is MAA artists who fill the exhibition spaces for the arts councils of Hannibal, Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Sedalia, Springfield, St. Joseph, and more, helping to make these events successful. Comfortable in the knowledge that MAA’s juried process is the mark of excellence in the arts, many fine art and craft shows automatically accept Best of Missouri Hands artists. Because of the information MAA provides on the web site and through direct e-mails, artists are kept informed of such opportunities. Each year, MAA presents a three-day educational conference,

featuring nationally known speakers and workshops to benefit both new and experienced artists. This conference is open to the public. Speakers over the years have included Eric Booth, Bruce Baker, Bill Hunt, Keith Recker, and other notable experts in the arts. MAA offers scholarships to cover conference fees to those members in need so that anyone can attend these educational programs. Additionally, in 2007, the board initiated a Continuing Education Scholarship available to an applicant who demonstrates a desire to further expand his or her knowledge of art at other art conferences.

REACH OUT AND EDUCATE

Since 2003, the St. Louis Artists’ Guild (another nonprofit organization) has partnered with MAA to present a showcase for Missouri artists called ARTstravaganza! each October. Set in a beautiful historic mansion, the works by juried members glow in a festive autumn spirit. A Moonlight Reception opens the event, with fun autumn decorations also made by members. The St. Louis Artists’ Guild building

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

Artists who attend the annual ArtSmart conference can learn new skills at the popular Friday Night Frolics.

opened to any Missouri artist. These exhibitions have provided valuable resources for professors to reference in their teaching, for students to study, and to reach the public. Now an annual event, this catalogued exhibition receives noted media attention and increased attendance. Students and instructors at the university are also able to view and discuss the work of contemporary artists. Award winners from this event may present their work in a special exhibition at The Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles later in the fall. In 2008, Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis provided a grant to fund a new program initiated by MAA to send ten professional artists to area high schools for classroom visits. These visits offer students the rare opportunity to learn firsthand what coursework and skills are necessary to have a successful career in the arts. Artists present a program and then answer questions from the students. This program was very well received by students and faculty; every school requested that our artists return again the next year to repeat the “ A s a r e s u l t o f j o i n i n g B O M H , w e w e r e a b l e t o g r o w. session. With assistance from an T h e c o n f e r e n c e s a r e w o r t h a t t e n d i n g , n o t o n l y additional Missouri Arts Council grant, MAA plans to expand for our education, but also for the lasting friendships.” this curriculum support program to other areas of the state, espeB I L L & J U L I E N E W B E R RY, F U R N I T U R E M A K E R S , cially in those areas where arts N E W B E R RY F U R N I T U R E , S T. L O U I S , M O education is underserved. and staff enables MAA to present both visual art and live musical performance free of charge to the St. Louis area. The artists present during the exhibition interact with the public and share information about their handmade work. Canned goods were collected at ARTstravaganza! 2008 for St. Louis Food Bank. In 2006, The Foundry Art Centre, a nonprofit in historic St. Charles, initiated a partnership with MAA. Big Red Box is now an annual exhibition of work by thirty Missouri artists, who are also present to discuss their work with the public during the two-day event. It’s a festive experience for shoppers to not only select handmade gifts but to meet the artists who made them, with everything wrapped in a “big, red box,” courtesy of The Foundry. In 2006, MAA collaborated with the art department of William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, to produce a month-long exhibition of MAA artists’ work. In 2008, entry to the exhibit was

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

From left above: At the organization’s annual ArtSmart Conference, a reception becomes a showcase for artists’ work. Doris Lucy demonstrates jewelry making at annual conference, where a Friday Night Frolics event allows artists to learn each other’s crafts. From left below, Jerry Ochonicky makes stars and Cathryne Loos demonstrates soap making. An additional collaboration developed with Carney’s Kids Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization that supports area children’s charities (St. Louis Crisis Nursery, Delta Gamma for Blind Children, Special Needs Advocates for Parents, Rankin Jordan Pediatric Hospital, etc.). As a result of their donated artwork, MAA members have helped Carney’s Kids raise more than five thousand dollars in the past four years. In 2005, Best of Missouri Hands artists created and donated innovative works using professional athletes’ shoes to benefit the IronMom Foundation, a group that lends support to single mothers in need. Individual members have donated their pottery skills to Bowls for Hunger, a group serving food banks in the Bootheel of Missouri. At the 2010 ArtSmart Conference, attendees may also lend their skills to decorate bowls for this group’s annual fundraiser. Members also donate pieces of their work each year at the conference to raise funds for scholarships.

A NICHE AT SILVER DOLLAR CITY

Silver Dollar City, a popular theme park in Branson, Missouri, asked MAA to provide demonstrating artists to the Festival of American Music and Craftsmanship. For ten years, six artists have served for a week at a time on a rotation schedule during the festival to demonstrate traditional crafts to the public. Due to the positive public response to our artists, Silver Dollar City opened an exclusive showcase area in autumn 2009 for MAA’s demonstrating artists. Many artists have found their niche in this festive, fun atmosphere, interacting with the public on a daily basis. Education about Missouri’s arts and crafts comes naturally to the visitors who stop to watch fine crafts in process. The juried artists who participate at Silver Dollar City are outgoing and eager to share their knowledge and expertise with young and old alike.

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

Past president Jeffrey Walker makes pottery at Silver Dollar City.

MAA AND THE MEDIA

a conference. MAA also promotes a new generation of artists by reaching out to young and emerging artists and by providing teaching artists and presenters to school districts and colleges throughout the state. Missouri Artisans Association has grown at an impressive rate in recent years. This nonprofit organization takes pride in its focus and the service of its dedicated board of directors. Now with an executive director in place to assist the volunteers, the board expects even greater development of programs. Membership dues are intentionally kept low to be affordable to anyone desiring membership. The organization operates very THE FUN IN FUNDRAISING Many MAA artists live and work in isolated areas of the state. conservatively, making every dollar stretch as far as possible. Fundraising has varied over the years and has included silent They depend upon MAA to provide necessary information about the arts. MAA supports the arts councils of the state by connect- auctions, raffles at the conference, and other special events. Most ing artists to council-run events through e-mails, newsletters, and recently, Lunch & Learn Friend-Raisers were held at a vineyard in Defiance, Missouri, complete with a T h e B e s t o f M is s o u r i H a nd s is a wond e r ful re source mini cooking and wine class. f o r find ing u niq u e, ha nd m a d e M issouri t re a sure s. Donations to the nonprofit Missouri D A N I TA ALLEN W O O D, EDITOR- I N- CHI EF, MI SSOURI L I F E MAG AZ I NE In December 2008, STL-TV (a cable station broadcast in the metropolitan St. Louis area) approached MAA to film a program on Missouri’s artists and how our organization supports and strengthens the arts in the state. That program was aired repeatedly for several months. We also work regularly with several magazines. These efforts raise public awareness of the arts in Missouri, promote our work beyond Missouri’s borders, and help stimulate economic development through the sale of art.

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Artisans Association are tax deductable, as it is a 501(c) (3) organization. The organization is now able to accept donations online, too at www.bestofmissourihands.com. In 2008, MAA developed a specific corporate membership structure to attract funding from such entities, with special benefits of interest to corporations. Support from corporate members is greatly appreciated and used to further the programs of the organization. Over the years, MAA has received support from Regional Arts Commission, Insty-Prints Grants, Google-Grants, BoardLinkStl, and Silver Dollar City. MAA is grateful for support from Missouri Arts Council in the form of Mini-Grants, Technical Assistance Grants, Capacity Building Grants, and most recently, the Art Services Grant program. Every piece of Missouri Artisans Association/The Best of Missouri Hands is the result of the creativity of its members. Those members give generously of their time to make the organization the best it can be. They share their enthusiasm for Missouri’s arts and extend their innovative ideas for the good of the entire organization. Every member is an important piece of all that is Missouri Artisans Association, and it is this organization that shows Missouri—and the world—the creativity to be found in the Show-Me State.

Member Melynda Lotven shows and sells gourd art at Silver Dollar City. Donald Marquardt demonstrates how he makes pewter at the theme park.

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stablished in 1983, Bluestem Missouri Crafts is a partnership of five artists representing nearly three hundred more, including those from The Best of Missouri Hands, as well as Missouri’s eight neighboring states. Many of our artists are nationally recognized; some are strictly local. Available are works in clay, glass, wood, metal, and fiber. Bluestem sets the standard for regional excellence in fine craft: In 2005, Niche Magazine voted Bluestem the # 1 Retailer of American Craft in North America. With Bluestem’s marvelous artistic collection, knowledgeable staff, and free, signature gift-wrapping, it’s no wonder Bluestem Missouri Crafts has also been voted by Inside Columbia magazine readers not only as one of the best places to obtain art but also as the best place to purchase gifts in Columbia. As a fellow establishment of more than five-and-twenty years, Bluestem salutes The Best of Missouri Hands! Bluestem is located in the heart of downtown Columbia at 13 S. Ninth Street, Columbia, MO. Call 573-442-0211, e-mail bluestemcrafts@earthlink.net, or visit www.bluestemcrafts.com.

Bluestem

MISSOURI CRAFTS

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am fascinated and passionate about thread and its infinite possibilities. Primarily, I dye many of my own fibers, allowing me to use precise color to create exactly what I envision in the final product, whether for body or home, functional or fun. My mission is to create art that is inspirational and pleasurable to the owner, art that adds comfort and beauty to the home, and art clothing that comes alive when worn. I believe in creating useful, attractive, and durable textiles for home and body. Each design is my own creation from start to finish. This completes my circle of love and passion for art and giving back the beauty of person and art, working in unison. Comforts of Home is located at 936 Anemone Rd., Lake Ozark, MO. Call 573-286-8808 or visit www.Allen handweaving.com for more information.

Comforts of Home JUDITH ALLEN

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ASL Pewter Foundry and Gallery Thomas and Patricia Hooper Apprentice, Brice Chandler Gallery Hours – 9:30am to 5:30pm daily. 123 S Third St, Suite 200 Louisiana, MO 63353 573-754-3435 aslpewter.com

ASL Pewter Foundry and Gallery

T H O M A S A N D PAT R I C I A H O O P E R

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n our foundry, we create and offer traditional and original pewter tableware and household items. Our work is defined by our appreciation of European and American history and historic craftsmanship. We sculpt our own originals, which we use to make molds for casting pieces unique to ASL Pewter. We have and use a collection of antique metal molds to make much of our tableware. Our oldest molds date to 1650! We also carve our own forms for metal spinning to create mugs, serving pieces, bowls, and goblets. The end result is an exceptional line of unique pewter that is functional, beautiful, and historically accurate. In September 2002, we instituted an apprenticeship program. It is important to us to pass along our knowledge and skill and to help to keep alive a traditional craft that is rapidly becoming lost.

We were honored to make an ornament for the White House Christmas Tree in 2002. And we were delighted to be selected to make the pewter for John Adams, a miniseries that aired on HBO in the spring of 2008. We also served as consultants for that miniseries. It will be our pleasure to discuss your custom assignments and commissions. We invite you to visit us at our gallery in Louisiana, MO, and watch your family heirloom being made! Our studio is always open. Arrange for a tour or to take a class in the part of pewter work that interests you the most! And whether it’s an ornament for the White House, set decoration for an Emmy-winning program, or something distinct to decorate your home, the same special care and attention are given to each project and everything we make at ASL Pewter!

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he Copper Colorists create beautiful works of art using nothing but flame on copper. They bring out colors and patterns with an oxyacetylene torch on the surface of mostly handcrafted forms. All work is then sealed with urethane to make the colors permanent. Skip, through his trust and love for God, began developing this medium twenty-eight years ago and eventually discovered how to create intentional design and composition with the flame rather than merely happy accidents. He has been called the “father of flame-painting” by his peers. It was eight years ago that Racheal decided to apply her twenty years of training in fine arts toward flame painting copper. Now it is her medium of choice. Together they offer a wide variety of flame-painted pins, pendants, wall décor (including spectacular branches), freestanding vases, plates, and bowls. Copper Colorists are located at Branson Mill Craft Village, Branson, MO. Call 417-336-6653 or visit www.coppercolorists.com for more information.

Copper Colorists SKIP

AND

RACHEAL MATHEWS

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have been building Sculpted Rocking Chairs for more than five years. My rocking chairs are an accumulation of more than thirty five years of working with wood to provide a contoured-shaped chair that is not only beautiful, but the most comfortable to sit and rock in. Truly, working in wood is a passion. Many classic furniture styles inspired me to create sculpted rocking chairs. I developed the ability to match and contrast woods, grains, and colors into many shapes and forms that led to starting my own business. David’s Rocking Chairs is located at 116 Thomas Dr., Sikeston, MO. E-mail david@davidsrockingchairs.com, call 573-471-7078, or visit www.davidsrockingchairs.com for more information.

David Elsey

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Bebe Ann Rimer 305 N. Fulton Edina, Missouri 63537 660-397-4114 rimerbb@sbcglobal.net

BEBE ANN

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Rimer

discovered my talent at the age of thirty-nine through the inspirations of my youngest son. I describe myself as an artist for the Lord. My art has made a major impact on my community and in the lives of many people throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. My early art started as face sketches of family and friends. Then I started painting portraits, one of which was a portrait of President Nixon, another a portrait of Edward Cox and Tricia Nixon-Cox that was sent to the White House as a wedding gift for the couple. Both of these paintings were put on display in the White House. In 1971 I created my first religious painting and by 1973 had

started writing poems to go along with the paintings. I enjoy being able to spread joy and bring a sense of happiness and belief to people through my beautiful art. One of my most treasured donations is a painting called The Little Children of The World. It can be found in the youth room of the Edina United Methodist Church. The painting is done in acrylics and depicts Jesus reaching out to all the little children of the world. In one hand, Jesus is holding a dove; the nail scar is portrayed on his other hand. The canvas is fifty-nine inches long and forty-seven inches wide and took me a little over a week to complete.

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am a self-taught regional artist, the daughter of a Sicilian immigrant father and first-generation Sicilian mother. I grew up on The Hill in St. Louis, an area rich in old-world culture. Everyday life revolved around family, wonderful food, and religious devotion. Italians love life and have a passion for living. My passion is my art. And my art is a celebration of life. An impressionism, sometimes expressionism, painter and excellent colorist, I am best known for my dramatic brush work. I find the challenge and excitement of creating a vital part of the process. I work in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, and charcoal as well as pen and ink. The medium used is often determined by the subject matter and my intent for that particular piece. I am delighted when a viewer smiles or laughs at something discovered or is transported to another place or time. I am a resident artist at Framations Gallery, 218 N. Main, St. Charles, MO. My work can also be viewed at www.art foryourspaces.com.

DIANA SAFFO

Bono

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s a potter, I receive my inspiration from the ancient techniques and traditions of Native Americans. Indigenous potters use the natural world around them in firing and decorating their pottery. I feel that pottery reconnects us to the Earth and nature, so my pottery is fired and finished using a natural firing and decorating technique. Some of my pottery pieces are fired in “pits” dug in the Earth or decorated by burning natural objects such as horsehair and feathers onto them. Both of these techniques allow the pottery to feel connected to the Earth, which is one of my priorities. I also customize pottery by collaborating with horse owners and their animals. Bringing a few strands of the coarse hair of a horse’s tail in contact with a glowing hot pot burns the unique designs onto the handmade pottery. Lasting mementos of a favorite horse are made as the horse’s name is printed on the bottom of the pottery. Earth and Wheel is located at 15544 Country Ridge Dr., Chesterfield, MO. Call 636-532-0242 or visit www.earthandwheel.com for more information.

Earth and Wheel SANDY SCHULZ

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Brenda Beck-Fisher 2317 Fulton Ave. Hannibal, MO 63401 573-221-5851 beebee_wc@hotmail.com www.hannibalallianceart gallery.com

BRENDA

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Beck-Fisher

don’t remember saying I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. Maybe that was because for as far back as I can remember, I felt I was one already. I majored in art in college and learned the basics of drawing, painting, pottery, and commercial art, but I feel I am self-taught in the watercolor medium. I love working with this fluid, transparent medium. I love the vibrancy of color that I get using the layering technique. After graduating from college, I spent the next twenty years

raising my four children. In 2001, I picked up my paintbrush and have been painting ever since. I have been fortunate to win many local and national awards. I currently exhibit my work at Alliance Art Gallery in Hannibal, MO, on a permanent basis. Several of my pieces are in public and private collections. It is my desire to bring joy to those that make my art a part of their lives.

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s a recipient of the Best of Show Award at the Missouri Life Festival in 2008, I proudly realize I am not only a winner, but I am also giving old barns a voice—an opportunity to stand up and shout, “I am timeless, and I will continue to share my heritage with you!” I gather the timber of old barns and craft the wood into furniture and designs that reveal the priceless character of the past. With careful sanding and waxing, the luster and ambience of old-growth grain is beautifully showcased. Pure grit and determination is seen through perfectly distressed wood. Each unique design shouts, “I’ve been here for many years, and I plan to stay.” Come and visit my showroom in a restored, one-hundred-yearold red barn just off the beaten path. I will proudly show you harvest tables, boxes, and more. I have teamed up with fellow artist, Louise Bremer, who contributes her lovely paintings on boxes and wall hangings, beautifully blending old wood, paint, stories, and friendship. Green Meadow Barn Company is located between Columbia and Fulton, MO. Call 573-592-0331 or visit www. greenmeadowbarncompany.com for more information.

Green Meadow BARN CO. CAROLYN LINTON

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haring stories in paint, from outright fantasies to realism-with-a-twist, has always been a passion of mine. I studied art at various universities, community colleges, and with many professional artists. My first and favorite teacher was my dad. The vintage wood boxes I paint on are created by Carolyn Linton, who begins the story with her loving and skillful handling of the wood. I sketch the building the vintage wood was harvested from for the pewter medallions that are attached to each finished piece. Finally, Carolyn and I both add our written stories on the inside of the box to perpetuate its history and painted story. I enjoy painting with milk paint because it is consistent with the wood’s age and I appreciate that the ingredients are sensitive and friendly to our environment. A hand-rubbed, natural wax finish is applied to preserve and enhance the beauty and ambience of the box and its story. Bremergraphics is located at 124 Oak Tree Acres Lane, Branson, MO. Call 417-339-9814 or visit www.greenmeadowbarncompany.com for more information.

Bremergraphics

LOUISE BREMER

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Mixed Media Sculptures Joseph Farmer St. Charles, Missouri www.josephfarmer.com

CO.

Mixed Media Sculptures J O S E P H FA R M E R

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uitar Man, Saxy Dude, and Jazz Cat are a trio of musicians from my latest musical series. Standing four to five feet tall, these musicians are made from vintage wornout musical instruments, found objects, and recycled scrap metal. As with the Guitar Man and Saxy Dude, the musical instrument becomes part of the body, torso, and neck. I then construct the head, arms, hands, etc. to turn them into these musicians. The Jazz Cat, Jazz Bug on Stand-Up Base, and Jazz Bug on

Horn are also constructed out of recycled scrap metal but are built around the old musical instrument as if they were belting out a tune. Jazz Men (not pictured) are human-like figures, playing trumpets or saxophones and standing nearly six feet tall, and also constructed out of recycled scrap metal and other materials. My other series of items includes birds, animals, insects, and Shutter Bugs, insects made from old cameras.

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olor is my portal to the universe and how I experience the world and catalog memories. I’m fascinated by the relationships of color and what magic occurs in combinations of hue and texture. This fuels my passion as an artist. I love watching a piece of my art gain its soul and voice. My artistic soul is stretched when I combine the elements of my pieces. I use saturated colors and color blends. I learned the art of dyeing and work most frequently with silks. I am fluent in surface design and incorporate its use to enhance imagery and texture as well as layering of color. To me, simply working in a two-dimensional world of drawing or painting would leave out the essence of the tactile world to which I belong. I add layering, stitching, and the occasional bead or textured yarn. My large scale works are appropriate for public or corporate collections, while my smaller works—like jewels—allow a portal into my universe and invite the viewer to join me. Rebel Quilter is located at 221 N. Third St. Thayer, MO. Call 417-274-1561 or visit www.rebelquilter.com for more information.

Rebel Quilter

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SUSAN LESLIE LUMSDEN

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ade of highly-textured, hand-felted Merino and Merino-Romney wool from Missouri’s award-winning Genopalette flock of sheep, these hats are comfortable, crushable, and water-resistant. “Brims With A Twist” (pictured in photo by Helios Studio, Columbia, MO) are hand-felted hats made of hand-dyed wool integrally embellished with silk, rare-breed locks, and mixed-fiber yarns. Each hat brim contains a removable band of wool, which has been tightly hand-spun to collapse around the crown of the hat. All of my work focuses on color, texture, and function and is designed to delight, protect, and serve. A member of The Best of Missouri Hands since the late ‘90s, I have long appreciated this organization’s focus on excellence in one’s craft. Ruth Walker, Feltmaker is located at Columbia, MO 65201. Call 573-815-0485, email rwalker@feltmaker.com, or visit www.feltmaker.com for more information.

Feltmaker

RUTH WALKER

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Moonlight Studio Designs Mary Beth St. Clair 639 East Kahoka St. Wyaconda, Missouri 63474 660-479-5415

Moonlight Studio Designs

M A R Y B E T H S T. C L A I R

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began designing with beads and metal after I was commissioned to sketch Art Nouveau-style designs for jewelry pieces in 1995. After discovering the endless possibilities of jewelry art, a passion was unleashed, and I wanted to learn all I could. I draw inspiration for my designs from art, nature, and history. Some designs reflect the era of Art Nouveau, flowing with graceful lines and romance as well as modern simple asymmetrical or geometric designs. One may see the beauty of the gemstone, whimsy of the material, or elegance of the composition, but I believe that the true value of a piece of jewelry is the feeling it inspires: the

special relationship between the object of beauty and the wearer. My pieces range from simple rings to large wearable gallery pieces. My self-taught approach allows for a fresh and different, yet practical expectation of my art. My work can be found in the Missouri Governor’s Mansion; at the Granite Bank Gallery in Quincy, Illinois; Simpatico Art Gallery Co-op in Clarksville; Alliance Art Gallery in Hannibal; and Columbia Art Gallery in Columbia and in art shows and events across the Midwest. You are also invited to view my work by appointment only at Moonlight Studio Designs in Wyaconda, MO.

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have worked as a full-time artist for more than twenty-eight years. I specialize in wonderful, individually made, and hand-painted ceramic ornaments, featuring holiday scenes, contemporary designs, and custom memories such as house or pet portraits. My sculptural and functional ceramic vases and décor, most one-of-a-kind, are created with a variety of forms, colors, and embellishments. Pieces are hand-built from blocks of clay or hand-cast into “earthenware canvases” from original designs as well as commercial molds. Any cutting, carving, or clay adaptation is done on the raw clay. Each is air-dried and kiln bisque-fired. After the firing and cooling process, the piece is glazed, set on wire stilts, and kiln fired again. Metallic lusters, 22K gold, and silver require a third and fourth firing. Non-fired decorations such as inlays, jewelry elements, and surface embellishments are added at this point. Serena Boschert is an artist located at Framations Gallery, 218 N. Main St., Charles, MO. Call 636-946-1874 or visit web.me.com/serenaboschert for more information.

SERENA

Boschert

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y artwork is earthy, organic, and multimedia. I enjoy painting from nature then interpreting my images into collages using textures. I work experimentally, painting positive and negative shapes, and then I add embellishments. One of my latest passions is painting a series of grapevine collages, which were inspired by a painting trip to France, where I painted in the vineyards of Provence. I paint vivid watermedia portraits and flowers and am always looking for a way to interpret what I see in a more creative way. I have been a freelance artist and teacher for more than thirty years. I am a signature member of the Society of Layerists in Multimedia, St. Louis Watercolor Society, the International Society of Experimental Artists, and the Missouri Watercolor Society. I paint and teach throughout Missouri and other states. I am also a four-time winner of the prestigious Grumbacher Award of Excellence. Shirley’s Fine Art Studio is located at 908 Ruth Drive, St. Charles, MO. E-mail Shirley@nachtrieb. com or call 636-947-1936 for more information.

Shirley Nachtrieb SHIRLEY’S FINE ART STUDIO

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Stone Hollow Scrimshaw Studio Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky 31 High Trail Eureka, Missouri 63025 636-938-9570 www.stonehollowstudio.com stonehollowstudio@yahoo.com

MICHELLE “MIKE”

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aving been honored with many awards, my work includes murals, drawings, illustrations, sculpture, and photography. For the past thirty years, I have carved out a reputation as a master of the early American art form of scrimshaw. This art form was practiced by sailors to pass the time on their long journeys across the oceans. I graduated with a degree in art, with an emphasis on sculpture, from Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri. I first started carving when my father, who collected scrimshaw, suggested I give it a try. For me, it was the perfect medium to combine my love of art and history. Additional graduate studies in a variety of mediums continued to enrich my work, giving it a distinct style.

Ochonicky I recycle antique ivory piano keys, as well as cow bone, deer antlers, ostrich and emu eggs, fossilized ivory, and manmade polymers with the look and feel of ivory. I have even etched on tagua palm tree seedpods. As a result, I have received recognition as an environmentally conscious artist. Like the sailors, I use no patterns, stencils, transfers, or power tools. Each piece is truly hand-made and original. Working from my tiny Stone Hollow Studio deep in the woods near Eureka, Missouri, my subjects include traditional nautical themes along with the wildlife and botanicals I love so much. My sculpture-based skills infuse the scrimshaw with a three-dimensional quality, making the images appear alive.

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’ve worked with glass for more than thirteen years and am fascinated by the unique properties and abilities of the medium. In 2008, I opened a public studio where I teach classes as well as create a full range of functional and sculptural kiln-formed glass for retail and wholesale customers. Art Glass Array, LLC is located at 501 North Kingshighway, St. Charles, MO. Call 636-724-0288 or 314-581-3748 or visit www.artglassarray.com for more information.

Art Glass Array LISA BECKER

The Bent Tree Gallery

JOHN, MARCIA, AND STACY WHITT

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his family-owned gallery features fine handcrafted rustic furniture, fiber art, baskets, and designer leather handbags. The Bent Tree Gallery is located at downtown Clarksville, MO. Call 573-242-3200 or visit www.thebenttree.com (furniture), www.thebenttreegallery.etsy.com (rustic accents and fiber art), or www.stacyleigh.etsy.com (leather handbags and accessories) for more information.

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ince 1994, relief printmaking has been my chosen medium. I thoroughly enjoy the “negative” process involved in the carving into linoleum or wood to produce the “positive” print. Most of my images reflect nostalgia and Christian-based themes. I pray that my art will always give glory to God. Many art galleries in southwest Missouri have displayed my prints. Top honors include a first place award in printmaking from the Greater St. Louis Art Association, jurors choice and honorable mention awards in the Springfield Visual Arts Alliance juried shows, jurors choice at Waverly House, the MO 50 Fine Art Exhibition at the Missouri State Fair, and being selected to the biannual event of Prints USA 1999, 2003, and 2007 and MOAK 2008 at the Springfield Art Museum. Located at 4865 S. 16th Street, Aldrich, MO. Call 417-694-8918 or visit www.bestofmissourihands.com/turkeycreekstudio for more information.

Turkey Creek Studio DEBY GILLEY

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Wood Merchant Rick Braun 49 State Hwy 86 Lampe, Missouri 65681 Phone/Fax: 417-779-5324 www.wood-merchant.com woodmerchant@ wood-merchant.com

Wood Merchant RICK BRAUN

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rom an early age, I have always loved the beauty that can be found while on a leisurely walk in the woods, along a lakeshore, or down a quiet, meandering stream. These walks have allowed me to study all of the intriguing shapes and formations that only Mother Nature can create. Many times I am awestruck by the formidable power of nature to reduce a once-mighty tree to a shell of what it once was, whether it is a twisted, gnarly, rock-embedded tree root or a lightning-struck, hollow log. It is these interactions with nature that have stirred my imagination and are the basis for the furniture

and accessories that take on a new life of their own. For more than twenty years, I have had the humbling responsibility to take heirloom trees (more than 150 years old) that have completed their lifecycle and design and craft one-of-a-kind pieces of legacy furniture as a standing historical testament for future generations to see, use, touch, and admire. It would be interesting to determine who is more satisfied by my furniture—me as the designer, artist, and craftsperson or the client with a souvenir of history that will never be duplicated in his or her lifetime.

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y love of nature and travel has inspired me as an artist, and I have developed a keen eye while exploring the great outdoors. My co-op art gallery, Simpatico, is located in the historic artist community of Clarksville. The gallery is open on weekends and features a variety of BOMH juried artists’ work, including my photography. Visit www.loripurk.com or call 314-869-7427 for more information.

Captured Images LORI PURK

Coffman Design

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JAN L. COFFMAN

rt photography is my specialty. My photography combines art skills with technology training. I work with several layers. I paint and sketch my photography on the computer with the use of an electronic pen or paintbrush. Jan Coffman Design is located in Columbia, MO. Call 573356-8229 or visit jancoffman.blogspot.com or jcoffman. home.mchsi.com for more information.

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urning wire mesh into art was the last thing on my mind when I began the task of rescreening my Grandmother’s screen door in 1989. The project took a turn later when the leftover mesh begged to be transformed into a glorious new life. The pieces became even more enticing as I began to paint them different colors, using my old Kirby vacuum in reverse. Wire mesh angels became a design that graduated into a national market. Soon it became evident that the steel wire used to attach mesh pieces could be its own art form. I call the twisted, sometimes tangled mess Vine Wire. Eventually Vine Wire became coils that I bent to create trees, bowls, balls—the potential never ends. Perhaps that is the defining term for art: the potential that never ends. Village Designs is located at 310 State Hwy AA, Daisy, MO. Call 573-266-3642 or visit www.villagedesigns.com for more information.

Village Designs

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specialize in custom watercolor painting, particularly of historic homes and architectural landscapes. Every painting is saturated with details that make each home unique. My work can be seen at a variety of art venues both in solo gallery exhibitions, numerous group shows, and art fairs. Creative Art Works is located at 1248 Fenton Ridge Dr., Fenton, MO. Call 314-3139835 or visit www.artbykimfoster.com for more information.

Creative Art Works KIM FOSTER

Dogwood Spring

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ERIN VAN OMMEN

y parents taught me from babyhood to appreciate and respect nature’s wild creatures. We made wildflower gardens and learned about our amazing diversity of birds and animals. I study the favored habitats of my subjects, so I can depict them accurately in my paintings. Dogwood Spring is located at 1004 E. Hines St., Republic, MO. Call 417-732-4373 or visit www.d-s-gallery.com for more information.

I

grew up on a farm working with tools. My fascination with making things led me to college, where I earned a Ph.D., and to become a high school shop teacher. As a teacher, I stressed pride in craftsmanship and appreciation for the form and function of practical objects. My wife, Blenda, also appreciates the cool, supple feel and soft glow of pewter. She shares my art of spinning and casting and is particularly interested in free-form, hammered designs. We both value the legacy of elegant and functional pewter designs. We work in a studio we constructed in a barn on our farm south of Glasgow. The setting reminds me of my simpler rural life. Often after a long day in the studio, we tend our garden or walk to the pond to fish, talk, and watch the setting sun. Village Pewter is located at 272 State Route K, Glasgow, MO. Call 660-338-2503 or visit www.villagepewter.com for more information.

Village Pewter, LLC DONALD

AND

BLENDA MARQUARDT

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

“M

uddy Hands, Happy Heart” describes how I feel about my art. I am inspired by the peaceful view of woods, a vineyard, and fields that surround my studio. See pieces of nature come to life in my pottery. I share with you my fingerprints on each piece and invite you to experience my art. J Brick Pottery is located close to Jackson, MO. Call 573837-9941 or visit www.jbrickpottery.com for more information.

J Brick Pottery JULIE BRICKNELL

KelArts

V

DON KELLEY

intage forks turn into heirloom jewelry in my hands. I’m a self-taught silversmith of more than twenty years, and I transform repurposed silverware into scupltural art: pendants, bracelets, and pins. My Heritage Jewelry program uses grandmother’s silverware so family members can wear a piece of their history. KelArts is located at 9640 Gallop, St. Louis, MO. Call 314-302-2003 or visit www.kelarts.com for more information.

W

e are a statewide organization promoting access to the arts for people with disabilities. We envision a truly inclusive community where people with disabilities participate in the same professional, educational, and leisure opportunities in the arts as people without disabilities. Missouri has a vibrant, diverse arts community. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as many as s 17.4 percent of Missouri citizens have a disability. People with disabilities often face physical or attitudinal barriers to full participation in the arts. VSA arts of Missouri seeks to address those barriers in partnership with artists, arts organizations, and disability advocates through exhibits, publications, and performances. We offer opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to participate in and learn through the arts. VSA arts of Missouri is statewide. Call 314-920-9701 or e-mail vsamissouri@gmail.com for more information and to get involved.

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

I

specialize in colored pencil and watercolor, turning “Photo Memories into Art”®. Contact me if you are interested in having me do a work of art or if you would like to take classes. I do landscapes, animals, portraits, and more. I. Lynn Garriott-Porter is located at 729 Kaylyn Dr., Jefferson City, MO. Call 573-6351469 or visit www.hannibalallianceartgallery.com.

I. LYNN

Garriott-Porter Silhouettes Etc.

JOYCE YARBROUGH

I

“draw” with my scissors, creating a free-hand contour drawing of people, pets, and plants with delicate details. Awarded an “International Master Papercutter” award in 2007 at the International Festival of Paper Arts, my art now hangs in China’s Guangling City Museum. Come visit my studio where you can see both my silhouettes and pastels. Silhouettes Etc. is located at Studio 16 at the Foundry Art Centre, 520 N. Main Ctr., St. Charles, MO. Call 314960-9315 or e-mail jayart16@sbcglobal.net for more information.

L

aura Ingalls Wilder and I have something in common. We both grew up in Nebraska and developed our creativity early in life. From my earliest memory, I pursued artistic endeavors with my mother: painting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, and doing art projects of all kinds. She was my inspiration. This creativity has followed me all of my adult life, into careers in interior design, architectural design, and art education. When I discovered polymer clay, it spoke to me in a way that no other medium had, and designing and making jewelry has been a passion for the last twenty years. Collage came about by experimenting with handmade paper in combination with clay and adding wire, stones, wood, glass, and found objects. Each collage has its own personality. WaltonArt is located at 3520-E East Lombard Street, Springfield, MO. Call 417-227-9248 or visit www. wholesalecrafts.com for more information.

WaltonArt

SHARI WALTON

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F

or half a century, I lived with no appreciation for the beauty of glass and its amazing properties. I took a lampworking class and loved it. Then I took a fusing class and knew there was no turning back. My reward is always the greatest when a person touches or looks at a piece I have created and smiles. That smile means my art touched them. Snow Flake Glass is located in Columbia, MO. E-mail glasslady@snowflakeglass.com or visit www.snowflake glass.com for more information.

Snow Flake Glass

Martin Spilker

PEGGY KING

I

FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

n my pursuit of the art of photography, creation’s beauty inspires my imagination. I seek to capture scenes that provide a sense of peacefulness. I occasionally incorporate manmade structures in my photography while maintaining emphasis on the natural. Each photograph is a gift for the enjoyment of the beholder. The Fine Art Photography of Martin Spilker is located in Columbia, MO. Call 573-239-4070 or visit www. martinspilker.com for more information.

I

am a fiber and mixed media artist and arts educator. I love the way that fabric accepts dye. I am always surprised when I unwrap the cloth and envision the possibilities suggested by the newly revealed patterns and colors. I explore resist methods on fabric, including shibori, an ancient, highly respected Japanese method of binding and dyeing cloth. My dyed images are reminiscent of shadows in nature, water flowing, geological strata, and more. My current work is created from dyed silk fabric that is sewn, top quilted, and stretched to a frame. Themes include my flower garden, Midwestern landscapes and weather, especially thunderstorms. This image is a detail of a work commissioned by K.C. Kansas Community College. It depicts springtime and warms up sterile concrete walls, ever changing with the light in the room. Commissions are welcome, and I create wall pieces of all sizes for residential or commercial spaces. Woven Wind Studio is located in Grandview, MO. Call 620-437-7618 or visit www.wovenwind.net for more information.

Woven Wind Studio VALERIE DORAN BASHAW

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BEST OF MISSOURI HANDS PROMOTION

MAA/BOMH is proud of its affiliations with these agencies. We appreciate the support they provide to our organization.

HELPING HANDS ALONG THE WAY

Assisting artists is the cornerstone of Missouri Artisans Association, better known as The Best of Missouri Hands (BOMH). Members may participate in various local, regional, and national educational events, which promote interest in and awareness of Missouri’s art and craft heritage. The supporting culture of BOMH promotes creativity and skill development. The annual ArtSmart Conference features nationally recognized speakers, networking opportunities, and a venue for sharing ideas and experiences that focus on success. Information is everything, and BOMH takes communication seriously. A timely electronic newsletter delivers updates on member activities and presents current information to help promote artistic growth. The BOMH web site provides membership news and a connection with the Missouri art community, plus significant art organizations nationwide.

MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS BENEFITS

Juried artist status recognizes and encourages professional excellence. Members in this category are included in special events that showcase their talents. Juried members may display the organization’s banner and use its identifying seal on their work. In addition, each artist is provided a page on the BOMH web site. Several membership options are available. So, choose one that’s right for you. Benefits for all members include subscriptions to the BOMH newsletter, reduced rates for the ArtSmart Conference, and e-mail updates about shows, conferences, and other opportunities. Members are also eligible for professional development and conference scholarships. 2009 Annual Membership Fees: Student ............ $15 General ........... $30

Juried .............. $50 Juried Studio..... $75

Past Presidents Edie Pigg, Executive Director ....1989 Peggie Feagins .......................1993 Thom Rakes ............................1994 Serena Boschert ......................1995 Lee Ferber ..............................1996 Nena Potts .............................1997 Julie Taylor .............................1998 Jeffrey Walker ........................1999 Terry TenBrink .........................2000

Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky......2001 Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky......2002 Tom Hooper ...........................2003 Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky......2004 Don Crozier ...........................2005 Don Crozier ...........................2006 Sandy Schulz .........................2007 Sandy Schulz .........................2008 Mary Beth St. Clair .................2009

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN Show your support of Missouri artists and connect with The Best of Missouri Hands! Visit www.Bestofmissourihands.org/membership for details on how to join.

Look for The Best of Missouri Hands juried seal.

The seal signifies that this artist’s work has attained the highest level of quality. A panel of jurors has selected this artist as a Juried Member, and awards the right to proudly display this tag. A BOMH tag assures you that you are buying work handmade by an artist in Missouri, judged one of the best working in this state today.

On the cover

The Weaver by Brenda Beck-Fisher

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ML

Missouri Lifestyle

Musings

Facing the Music

Someday I should probably learn to quit putting myself in a position where I’m forced to eat my own words. This is not to say that I will ever acquire such tact or wisdom—in fact I’m pretty sure I won’t—but it’s still a worthy goal. Thinking back, I’ve made a number of ardent promises that I’ve had to recant, swallowing those vowels and consonants without benefit of salt, pepper, or even a large dollop of ketchup. They’re always bland, chewy, and gag-worthy, wedging between the teeth in hypothetical crevices inaccessible by metaphorical floss. At an early age, I swore I would never jump off a diving board. I did, and loved it. Later in life, I insisted I would never live in a region where the temperature dropped below seventy degrees. Of course, I soon moved to Montana and came to revel in the magical weirdness that takes place when the mercury hits forty-below. I declared I would never get married and affirmed I would never get divorced. I did both, with the former being a huge mistake and the latter being a blessing. I vowed, after moving out of Idaho the first time that I would never again return to that odd state. I did, taking a giant risk on what seemed a lucrative business deal and ended up losing my shirt and almost my life. (Note to self: Forcibly ejecting drunken Neo-Nazis from your restaurant can lead to hard feelings and attempted bushwhacking). It’s a bad idea to make an oath, as change is one of life’s few constants. The inevitable deviations from one’s initial strategy illustrate how the best-laid plans of mice, men, and Minnie Mouse go often askew. They exemplify the old adage that one should beware of that for which they wish, as they might just get it. This brings us to now and how I ended up with a page on the weirdly popular internet social network known as Facebook. If I embarrassed easily, which I do not, I’d be downright humiliated at such an admission. Instead, I’m merely choking on more of my own words, uttered with genuine conviction but with far too much haste. Really, this is something I pledged I would never do. As long-time readers of this column know very well, I don’t like computers. Heck, I don’t even own a cell phone. My idea of “high tech” is an extension ladder. The cyber world, the infamous information superhighway, strikes

me as a bleak and desolate spot. I view it as a contrivance that purports to “connect” people but that in reality leads to shallow associations, superficial behavior, and increased isolation. Why, it was just a month or two ago that I was harassing Danita Wood, editor-in-chief here at Missouri Life, about the magazine’s presence on Facebook and Twitter. I forget Danita’s response, but I’m sure it was polite. She’s too nice a person to let me hear her mutter anything about anachronistic hillbilly writers who might have spent just a smidgen too much time conversing with dogs, coyotes, and squirrels. I appreciate that. But, like I always say, it takes a big man to admit his mistakes. I also like to say that it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man, but such is neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that I joined Facebook just to get my friends to quit yammering at me about it. My best friends are spread over a continent, and it seemed every one of them brought up the topic. Yes, I finally yielded to pressure. I signed up so they’d shut up, plain and simple. And you know … it wasn’t bad. Via Facebook, I’ve been tracked down by a number of old friends whom I’ve not spoken to for twenty years. Their initial comments, which were repeated far more than once, seemed to largely consist of, “Ron? Is that you? I always figured you were dead.” This probably speaks volumes about how I was regarded by my peers after I disappeared into the heart of the Rockies for a decade and a half. But here I am, alive and well and conversing with old buddies from days long past. It makes me feel a bit like Rip Van Winkle, especially when I see photos proving that everyone has aged but me. (Note to self: You have bad vision, no mirrors, and serious delusions.) So, ya’ll are cordially invited to stop by my Facebook page and see me. There aren’t that many folks named “Ron W. Marr” there, so I’m easy to find. What the heck … if I’m going to do this, I should go whole-hog. However, I refuse to join Twitter. I will never, ever, become a part of such madness. That is a solemn covenant, never to be broken. Ron Marr Tweet, tweet. Please pass the salt.

©istockphoto.com

By Ron Marr

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Checking out art in their own backyard

B���� F����� F��� Open for Weekends in October! Saturday 10 �� to 9 �� Sunday Noon to 6 �� $9 per person.

Go to www.beggsfamilyfarm.com for bonfire packages and more, or call 573-471-3879!

Join Mike Murphy, Randy Mason, and Don the Camera Guy as they travel the back roads of America documenting outsider artists, grassroots art environments and offbeat attractions of all kinds.

12-Acre Corn Maze t $FMFCSBUJPO "CF -JODPMO t (FN 4UPOF .JOJOH t (MPX JO UIF EBSL .JOJ (PMG t $PSO $BOOPOT t 1VNQLJO -BVODIFS t )JMMCJMMZ 1JH 3BDFT t 8BHPO 3JEFT t "OE .VDI .PSF 4UBUF )XZ 6 t .JMFT /PSUI PG 4JLFTUPO .0 Off the highway is a road. Down the road, there are fields. Among the fields is a farm.

ONLY FEAR GROWS HERE!!

The guys revisit sites in Missouri!

Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations

Watch Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. on KCPT or online at www.kcpt.org. Check local listings for broadcast times on KETC St. Louis and Ozarks Public Television!

Oct. 10, 17, 24, 31 - Starts at dusk.

$15 per person - last ticket sold at 10 p.m. Located next to Beggs Family Farm near SIkeston. 573-471-3879 • www.phobiafarm.com Ages 10 and up; children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Sponsored by KFVS-12.

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R re E FCulLinAarVy O -M SHurOanW Cultu ts, Recipes, &

Resta

HOG HEAVEN D E E P I N T H E O Z A R K S O N N E W M A N FA R M , B E R K S H I R E S L I V E F R E E Story by Scott Rowson and Photography by Notley Hawkins

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“Hello, I’m Reny Alfonso, and I’m a porkaholic.” We were standing in the receding heat of an early summer night deep in the Ozarks, sipping Budweisers and offering phony confessions. An IT pro from St. Louis agreed, “I, too, am a porkaholic.” Around the group we went with the introductions: farmers, chefs, IT pros, beekeepers, restaurant consultants, and the hopelessly food-obsessed. We’d spent the day touring Mark and Rita Newman’s 220-acre hog farm, and it was almost time for the main event—a whole, roasted hog. It might seem strange that normal, gainfully employed adults would drive hours to spend a day ogling farm animals and then feast on them while their kin frolic nearby. But these were not your average pigs, and we were not on your average farm.

From left: Berkshire hogs, a breed almost three hundred years old, roam freely on the Newman farm near Myrtle on the Missouri and Arkansas border. Naturally, roasted pork was the highlight of the farm dinner.

Mark and Rita own and operate Newman Farm, a hog operation in southern Missouri almost on the Missouri and Arkansas border. The nearest town is Myrtle. The nearest city is Thayer. The pigs are Berkshires, a heritage breed that dates back nearly two centuries in the United States and is renowned worldwide for its superior flavor. “We think we have the best pork in America,” Mark announced earlier to the assembled chefs and food-nuts, there to see firsthand why the Newman’s free-range pork is in such demand. The high-quality meat is due partly to the breed of hog itself and also to the methods—and

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Show-Me Flavor > Hog Heaven

Left: Rita Newman prepares the side dishes that will accompany the whole, roasted hog. From top: Mark Newman gives chefs and visitors a tour of the meat processing butcher shop set up on their property. For part of the tour, David Newman leads a meat-cutting demonstration.

pains—the Newmans take in raising their animals. The pigs are raised entirely outdoors, so they forage, roam, and generally do things pigs are supposed to do. On an extensive walking tour, we were introduced to the Newmans’ elaborate system of pastures, farrowing pens, and fields. The takeaway is richer, more generously marbled pork than the conventional, other-white-meat variety. If you’re thinking “pork is pork,” it might be helpful to take a look at who’s buying Mark’s pigs; 60 percent of the animals end up on the menus of New York City’s best restaurants. Restaurateur, host of the Food Network’s Molto Mario, and überchef Mario Batali was an early convert. Manhattan hot spots like Bar Boulud, Lupa, and Momofuku Ssam not only serve the Newmans’ products, they often give them prime billing on the menu. “BBQ Rib Sandwich (Newman’s Farm, Mo.)” brags the menu at Momofuku. Mark claims his pork is on the menus of eighty-nine out of the one hundred best restaurants in Manhattan; the rest of the nation—Seattle and San Francisco specifically—is catching on to Newman Farm, with the Midwest coming around as well, he says. Mark is the enthusiastic front man for this operation, and his farm is truly a family affair. When you call to order some pork, Rita will answer the phone. The couple’s sons, Chris and David, lead various parts of the farm tour. David, a doctor of muscular biology, guided an afternoon

session on breaking down a freshly slaughtered hog into the cuts you’d recognize at the supermarket. “Nose to tail eating is big right now,” he says, explaining the newfound affinity Americans have found for pork beyond chops and bacon. “If I could find a way to grow a six-footed hog I would,” Mark chimes in about pigs’ feet. “We can’t produce enough trotters to keep up with demand.” The chefs nod and offer personal perspectives of the emerging trend: pig-ear salad, braised cheeks, slow-cooked head. The scene became a kind of vegetarian horror show, but it just made us hungrier. Meanwhile, Mark and Rita’s daughters, Susan and Courtney, and Chris and David’s wives help Rita prepare dinner: rolls from scratch, salad from the garden, and grilled corn on the cob. Reny, the porkaholic, mans the La Caja China whole-pork roasting box that smokes lazily by the house. A number of the chefs in our impromptu confessional are from Memphis. Reny is one of them. Newman Farm is the only pork he serves at Chez Phillipe in Memphis’s historic Peabody Hotel. Back in Missouri, we’ve always loved our pigs. The early settlers who came this way from the east and south almost always brought pigs with them. And why wouldn’t they? They’re hardy, easy to raise, and almost entirely edible. Hogs were butchered in the fall, cured in a number of

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Left: Chef Reny Alfonso fires up the smoker. From top: Chris Newman and Chef Reny prepare the pork for the dinner. About forty guests attended the Newman Farm tour and dinner that featured the fruits of their labor.

ways, and preserved for use throughout the winter. In the years before electricity, this preservation of pork was a necessity. It’s no coincidence that Burgers’ Smokehouse in California, Missouri, still churns out 750,000 hams each year. Pork is in our blood. But as agriculture became increasingly industrialized following World War II, small producers took a beating from mass production facilities and were eliminated by the thousands. What was once a vital Missouri food tradition became the sole dominion of giant factory farms. “‘Go bigger, or go home’” has become the industry standard when it comes to pork production, David says. “There’s no way we could replace all the pork that’s out there by doing it like this. But it’s something.” “Thirty years ago, there were more than four hundred pig farmers in Oregon County,” Mark says. “Today, I’m the only one left.” Each week, he drives from Myrtle to north of Kansas City to take his hogs to be processed. The Newmans survived by identifying a key component missing from modern pork production: quality. In the mid-1990s, the Newmans switched to raising 100 percent purebred Berkshire hogs. The animal, developed in England some three hundred years ago, first arrived in this country around 1820. The pigs are dark, spotted, and richly marbled with delicious fat. They will not be confused with chicken, marketing cam-

paigns not withstanding. “Other red meat is more like it,” Mark says. The switch has allowed the Newmans to lock down a pretty good niche, but the question of where they go from here comes up often, Mark says. “We don’t want to be big. When you talk to us on the phone, you’re talking to the person that also carries the feed bucket.” That doesn’t mean they’re not working to get even better. Modern confinement hog operations, which churn out almost all of our pork today, have earned a pretty grisly reputation as cruel meat factories. By contrast, the Newmans have been accredited by the Certified Humane Raised and Handled program for about four years, a source of pride for Mark. After the introductions and tours and demonstrations, it’s time to eat. We sit down to a buffet dinner under a tent on the Newmans’ front lawn. Card tables groan beneath platters of pork, grilled corn on the cob, salad, homemade rolls, and chili butter. Tubs of beer and ice sit off to the side. A hundred yards away, as if on cue, a half-dozen month-old piglets emerge from their hutch and skitter off into the fescue, feigning bravery but never venturing more than a few feet from their mama. Cafe 37 in West Plains, Sycamore and Wine Cellar & Bistro in Columbia, and the Hilton on the Landing in Branson feature Newman Farm pork. It can also be ordered by calling 417-938-4391. Visit www.newmanfarm.com for more information.

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Show-Me Flavor > Restaurant Recommendations

The Bayou

Monett

Just Like Home

As the saying goes: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and that’s exactly what Darren Indovina, owner of The Bayou, did four years ago. A native of New Orleans, Darren and his wife were forced to leave the city after Hurricane Katrina wiped out their home. The couple relocated to Monett and got jobs in their respective career fields. But Darren missed the flavors and spices of Cajun cuisine, and he decided to open a restaurant that serves the food he loved and missed.

All the dishes served at The Bayou are homemade: lightly battered Creole shrimp, hot and spicy jambalaya, the muffuletta, red beans and rice, po-boy sandwiches on authentic French bread, fries with debris gravy, and bread pudding, among them. Not so sure about the Cajun style? There are plenty of other offerings for your palate, such as steaks, burgers, and a salad bar. Prices range from $4.99 to $14.99, and the New Orleans atmosphere is free. 417-235-7800 —Ann Leach

St. Joseph order. That’s to give executive chef Jeffrey

trifecta of dining—incredible food, impec-

Keyasko time to shop the local farm-

cable service, and ambience. Where else

ers’ market and prepare the meal from

can you enjoy dining at its finest in an

scratch the day you enjoy it. Selections

Just for You

authentically

range from filet, pork, and rack of lamb

restored

and

to salmon and shrimp scampi. Jeffrey,

furnished

who started out in a SoHo bistro in

Richardsonian

the Big Apple, enjoys giving a French

Ro m a n e s q u e

twist to Midwest favorites like rib eye.

mansion, in this case the former home of

Ask in advance for the house tour, and

an affluent nineteenth-century merchant?

check out the Victorian treasure trove in

The catch? You must call at least twenty-

the Lady’s Bedroom!

four hours in advance to reserve and

www.jcwyatt.net —Kathie Sutin

816-676-1004 |

J.C. Wyatt House

Courtesy of the bayou; Kathie sutin

J.C. Wyatt House in St. Joseph hits the

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BLACKHAWK INN

$%

&

A Bed-and-Breakfast at the Lake of the Ozarks

For reservations, call: 573-480-6597 or visit www.blackhawkinn.com

'% (

!" #

Connecting Mid-Missouri Travelers to the World www.FlyMidMo.com (573) 874-7508

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Show-Me Flavor > Restaurant Recommendations

Hannibal A Taste of Tuscany > For more than a year, Tim and Stacy Ashby have brought a taste of Tuscany to Hannibal with savory family recipes and brick-oven cooking. The most popular item on the menu is the Italian Sausage Pizza with a slow-roasted tomato sauce, caramelized onions, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and triple cheese, but the spaghetti and meatballs is a close second. The wine selection offers more than sixty choices with both international and American labels and, of course, good Missouri wines. 573-221-1288 —Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley

The Brick Oven

Jefferson City

Kennett

All in the Family The Bayou

An initial player

in the revitalization of

Jefferson City’s East Side, O’Donoghue’s Steaks & Seafood has a cozy turn-of-thecentury environment with a menu rich in variety. Chef Sam Donoghue shuns preprepared foods. Everything from the bread to dressings to dessert is created in his kitchen. The Bleu Pear Salad comes highly rec-

1900s

Charm

ommended by locals, and entrées might be selected from land or sea. The twelve-ounce rib eye topped with mushrooms, onions, and provel is quite creative, but seafood is where O’Donoghue’s shines. Try the bleu cheese and walnut stuffed salmon or grilled tilapia with garlic mashed potatoes and cioppino sauce. Reservations are not required, but

Tradition best describes Bill’s Bar-B-Q. It has been family-owned and operated by four generations in the same location in Kennett since 1947 in a building originally used as a service station. Its menu is simple and has undergone few changes through the years. Bill’s signature menu item is a chopped barbecue pork sandwich, which is made with a generous helping of southern-style barbecued pork shoulder covered with slaw, for the modest price of $2.30. The slaw, which has a light, non-sweet dressing, is a bona fide family recipe. The Big Pig is a much larger version of the standard barbecue sandwich for those with hearty appetites. Both sandwiches have been known as “pig sandwiches” for generations. Bill’s barbecue sauce has also remained unchanged through the years and is a thin, spicy sauce. Chili is also available every day of the year. 573-888-8887 —John Fisher

ML Missouri Life braves

the many, tastetests the menus, and pays our own way to bring you restaurants worth the trip.

Courtesy of the restaurants; kathy gangwisch

wise. 573-635-1332 —Kathy Gangwisch

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MissouriLife

Books Sale For

Seaman’s Journey $24.95

144 pages, softcover

Children in grades 5 to 8 will learn a little math, a little language arts, a little science, and oh yes, a little history along the way with Seaman, the faithful companion of Meriwether Lewis, in SeamanĘźs Journey with Lewis and Clark.

The civil war’s first blood $29.95 144pages, 143 illus, softcover

Written for novices and Civil War bus alike, The Civil Warʟs First Blood: Missouri, 1854-1861 takes you by the hand and walks you down back roads, through swamps and prairies, and over hills to experience the war that pitted Missourian against Missourian. Plus tax, shipping, and handling

800-492-2593, ext. 102 missourilife.com [125] October 2009

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SHOW-ME FLAVOR > MISSOURI WINE

STEEPED IN HISTORY By Doug Frost

he leased a chunk of land and went gold digging. His return home took him through Nicaragua—a threatening and wild jungle of beasts, prospectors, get-rich-quickers, and just plain dangerous men. But he returned, bought land, planted grapes, and made wine, including one called Riefenstahler, named after his wife, who later died in childbirth. His good work would go to naught: Prohibition killed his wine business in 1920, though the family saved most of the equipment and continued to make enough wine to keep the neighborhood happy. It wasn’t until 1990 that the winery began creating commercial wine again. Today, Adam Puchta’s winery is stronger than it’s ever been. Great-great-grandson Tim Puchta has been running the show for years; he has one of Missouri’s most sought-after brains in the business. Tim’s got a stable of Nortons; not simply content to make a big table red, he has a Norton Port (actually two of them), two different table Nortons, and a Norton he splashes with a bit of berry juice. In the recent Missouri State Fair judging in July, Tim’s wines had their best showing ever:

Since 1855, Adam Puchta’s legacy is a variety of award-winning wines. The winery won again at this year’s Missouri State Fair competition.

one of those Norton Ports won Best of Class, beating out some fortified dessert wines that have consistently ruled that category. His sweet and tasty Riefenstahler (named, of course, for great-great-grandma) won Best of Class, too. The Adam Puchta Traminette is tangy and perfumed, as the grape can be at its best. Tim’s new Chardonel, Vignoles, and Vidal Blanc have balance and pretty fruit as well. In truth, it wasn’t so unusual to make wine back in 1855; people needed something good and healthful to drink, and wine lasted a lot longer than grapes. But what has happened to Puchta’s winery since those Doug Frost times is a lot rarer Doug Frost is one of and a lot finer. three people in the Visit www.adam- world who is both a Master Sommelier and puchtawine.com for a Master of Wine. He more information. lives in Kansas City.

COURTESY OF ADAM PUCHTA WINERY; SETH GARCIA

LOTS OF WINERIES CLAIM to be the oldest. Near Sonoma, California, Buena Vista might seem a good bet for the oldest winery: It’s been around since 1857. Few of its peers have such longevity. There are more than six thousand wineries and wine brands in America but only a few dozen or so that can trace back their pasts to the nineteenth century. Buena Vista deserves its rarefied distinction, but it doesn’t deserve to be called America’s oldest winery. That distinction should belong to Missouri’s Adam Puchta Winery, which may be able to say it’s been around since 1839. It’s possible that 1839 is the starting date; records are always a bit scanty on matters having to do with alcoholic beverages. I’m sure it has nothing do with drinking. The Puchta family had a farm in Missouri back then; they might have made wine. There’s proof that in 1855, Adam Puchta bought land in Hermann and started a winery, and the family has been making wine ever since. Nobody can top that longevity, certainly not as a continuously owned family winery. That continuity was in jeopardy numerous times: Adam Puchta himself left the family to sell cattle out west. With money in hand,

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Experience the Difference

Baltimore Bend Vineyard offers great wine without intimidation and pretense. Come experience a welcoming, fun environment, whether you’re a novice or a connoisseur. Learn more about Missouri wine, and ďŹ nd your favorite. Open: Mon.-Sat. 11-6, Sun. 1-6 Located at 27150 Hwy. 24, Waverly, Mo. Join our mailing list at www.baltimorebend.com or call (660) 493-0258.

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ML

SHOW-ME FLAVOR > MISSOURI RECIPES – MissouriLife –

Habanero Whipped Potatoes Courtesy of Chef Craig Cyr, Wine Cellar & Bistro, Columbia

Ingredients: Generous amount unsalted butter, clarified 1 cup heavy cream or milk 3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced 3 cloves garlic, peeled 3-4 ounces grated Vermont habanero cheese (or substitute a small amount of fresh habanero peppers and sharp cheddar) Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Cook unsalted butter on low heat until clarified. Then add the cream or milk, and keep warm on stove until potatoes are ready to whip.

Pork Ham Cuban Style

– MissouriLife –

Roast Newman Farm Pork Ham Cuban Style

– MissouriLife –

From Chef Reinaldo Alfonso, Chez Phillippe, Memphis, Tennessee

Grilled Berkshire Porterhouse Pork Chop with Goatsbeard Bleu Cheese

Ingredients: 1 fresh Newman Farm pork ham, about 18 pounds 2 whole bulbs of garlic 5 tablespoons salt 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 3 tablespoons dried oregano 4 teaspoons ground cumin 1 ½ cups bitter orange juice 2 pounds onions, sliced

Courtesy of Chef Craig Cyr, Wine Cellar & Bistro, Columbia

Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 shallot, minced 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped 1/8 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons canola oil Fresh ground pepper to taste Kosher salt to taste 4 12-ounce chops or favorite cut of Berkshire pork 4 ounces Goatsbeard bleu cheese

Directions: The night before baking, pierce the flesh side of the ham with a knife. Score the skin side of the ham, careful not to cut through to the meat. Place the garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin in a food processor, and purée into a paste. Add the bitter orange juice. Rub this mixture over the ham and into the holes that were pierced into it. Add the sliced onions all over the ham, and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate the ham overnight.

Directions: Mix all ingredients together, rub the mixture on the chops, and let marinate for at least 1 to 2 hours before grilling. Grill chops over hot fire to get good caramelization. Then move to medium heat and cook to preferred doneness. About 5 minutes before serving, top with crumbled Goatsbeard bleu cheese, and cover again until cheese is melted. Serves 4

Habanero Whipped Potatoes

The day of baking, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the ham in a roasting pan, skin side up, and cook for about 4 hours or until a thermometer reads 180 degrees at the ham’s thickest part. While cooking, the skin should get golden and crispy. If it gets too dark, cover with foil. Allow to rest, then slice off the bone. Serves 8-12 Notes: You can marinate pork chops or tenderloins in the same manner and cook on the grill. Also, if you cannot find bitter orange juice, mix equal parts orange juice and lime juice.

ANDREW BARTON

Grilled Pork Chop

Boil potatoes and peeled garlic in water and a sprinkling of salt until fork-tender. Drain, place in an electric mixer, and whip potatoes until smooth. Slowly incorporate cream mixture until the potatoes are creamy but not runny. Cream amount could easily vary depending on how long potatoes cook and the amount of water they absorb while cooking. Then fold in the grated cheese. Serves 4

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Cypress String Quartet: Inspired by America with video Mon., October 12, 2009, 7 p.m. Wines and Champagnes of the World Fri., October 16, 2009, 7 p.m. Tiger Hotel, Downtown Columbia Bowfire Mon., October 26, 2009, 7 p.m. School show Tues., October 27, 2009, 10 a.m. The Wedding Singer Wed., October 28, 2009, 7 p.m. Camelot Sun., November 1, 2009, 7 p.m. Mozart Festival Opera Marriage of Figaro Mon., November 2, 2009, 7 p.m. Clint Black Wed., November 4, 2009, 7 p.m. Ensemble Galilei: A Universe of Dreams with video narrated by Neal Conan Sat., November 14, 2009, 7 p.m. Burning River Brass: From Stage to Screen Sun., November 15, 2009, 7 p.m. MU Choral Union: Brahms’ Requiem Thurs., November 19, 2009, 7 p.m.

Avenue Q Tues., December 1, 2009, 7 p.m.

Kris Kristofferson Wed., February 11, 2010, 7 p.m.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Band Swing Party Wed., December 2, 2009, 7 p.m.

Gaelic Storm Tues., February 23, 2010, 7 p.m.

St. Louis Ballet’s The Nutcracker Sat., December 5, 2009, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. Columbia Chorale: Handel’s Messiah Sun., December 6, 2009, 7 p.m. Wynonna, A Christmas Classic Wed., December 9, 2009, 7 p.m. Cirque Dreams: Illumination Sun., December 13, 2009, 7 p.m. Wizard of Oz The Broadway Musical Tues., January 26, 2010, 7 p.m. I Musici de Montreal: Pictures at an Exhibition Thurs., January 28, 2010, 7 p.m.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Tues., February 16, 2010, 7 p.m. School Show Wed., February 17, 2010, 10 a.m. Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra Thurs., March 4, 2010, 7 p.m. Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Tues., March 9, 2010, 7 p.m. In the Mood Sun., March 14, 2010, 2 p.m. MU Chancellor’s Concert Mon., March 15, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

Ballet Folklorico de Mexico Sun., January 31, 2010, 7 p.m.

MU Choral Union: J.S. Bach Mass in B minor Fri., April 23, 2010, 7 p.m. Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts

Peking Acrobats Tues., February 9, 2010, 7 p.m.

Cabaret Mon., April 26, 2010, 7 p.m.

The Band of the Irish Guards Featuring pipes, drums and Highland Dancers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland Wed., February 10, 2010, 7 p.m.

Moscow Festival Ballet’s Giselle Sun., May 2, 2010, 2 p.m. Missoula Children’s Theatre: Jack and the Beanstalk Sat., May 8, 2010, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

www.concertseries.org 573.882.3781 800.292.9136 409 Jesse Hall Columbia, MO 65211 All performances are held at Jesse Auditorium unless otherwise noted.

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“All those golden autumn days the sky was full of wings. Wings beating low over the blue water at Silver Lake, wings beating high in the blue air far above it … beating them all away to the green fields in the south.”

—Laura Ingalls Wilder

Hermann’s Oktoberfest celebrates the town’s old world heritage during the first four weekends in October with oompah bands, German food, winery and brewery tours, and more!

Some 514,724 U.S. vetera ns call Missouri home. Thank a veteran on Novem ber 11.

aka Mark Twain, celebrates his 174th birthday on November 30. He was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri.

Missouri ranks 5TH in t‫ ה‬nation for TURKEY PRODUCTION, raising 21,000,000 turkeys in 2008. Happy Thanksgiving!

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDREW BARTON; SOURCES: MISSOURI VETERANS COMMISSION, HERMANN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL STATISTIC SERVICE

Compiled by Katlin Chadwick

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WESTON A Great Place To Get Away... Enjoy the fall colors of Weston, Missouri. Step back in time and visit our antebellum town amongst the colorful river bluffs with unique shops, restaurants, a restored hotel, and quaint bed & breakfasts. Enjoy an Irish Pub and brewery, wineries, museums, parks, historic home tours and special seasonal events.

ZONA ROSA

www.westonmo.com

a

FALL

a

EXPERIENCE IN PLATTE COUNTY

We’re giving away $25,000... At the stroke of midnight after Thanksgiving, Zona Rosa will once again be the first shopping center in Kansas City to welcome holiday shopping! As a thank-you, we’ll give the first 1,000 shoppers a $25 gift card when they arrive at Guest Services. www.zonarosa.com

PARKVILLE Where The Girls Go… When they need a special get-a-way. Relax at a wine tasting. Enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner. Shop for unique décor items, art & jewelry, vintage & antique wares, creative & educational hobby items, and so much more! www.parkvillemo.com

RIVERSIDE Discover fall... Enjoy the view of the skyline from our bluffs, bike along the banks of the Missouri River or stroll along the old interurban rail line. There’s an outdoor experience here for everyone just across the river from downtown KC. www.riversidemo.com

Platte Co.

Kansas City

www.visitplatte.com | 888-8-PLATTE

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Close to Home...

far from ordinary. The Cove A R O B E R T T R E N T J O N E S S R . S I G N AT U R E C O U R S E

NEW for 2009!

Our newly remodeled course has been re-named The Cove and opened this year featuring new greens and bunkers, the addition of some forward tees, a re-design of some holes, and a new state-of-the-art GPS system which will make this Robert Trent Jones Sr. signature course, THE course to play, for many years to come. With a mix of traditional and modern, The Lodge of Four Seasons truly offers the finest resort experience. We have upgraded our Lodge sleeping rooms, public space and outdoor event areas. Equally exciting is the addition of the Avila luxury suites featuring access to all Lodge amenities and offering a very upscale option for guests looking

for a modern, earthy, today’s look. Choose a single bedroom with two queens or one king bed, or a one bedroom or a two bedroom suite each with identical baths featuring oversized walk-in showers, jetted tubs and flat screen TV’s. There's even a full-service kitchen with granite counter tops, a fireplace and much more.

Spa Shiki offers a new tiled whirlpool, steam room, infrared sauna, new pedicure chairs, and new exercise equipment in the Inner Balance room. Guests love our new Parrot Bar overlooking the lake. A great place for a sandwich or watching your favorite sport on TV. We’re still here after all these years... and better than ever!

©Anderson Creative

THE LODGE G O L F

Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks

BACK COVER-OCT 09.indd 1

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FOUR SEASONS

R E S O R T

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The tradition continues at HK’s Steakhouse. Fabulous steaks, great seafood, pasta and pizza. Join us for happy hour and appetizers - buy one - get one FREE. Then dance the night away at the MIST lounge or take in the piano bar just off the lobby. Great fun for everyone!

&

S P A

S H I K I

1-800-THE LAKE (800-843-5253)

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www.4seasonsresort.com

8/30/09 11:49:37 AM

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