Missouri Life December 2008/January 2009

Best Java Joints

★

Ozark Holiday Recipes

T H E S P I R I T O F D I S C O V E RY

SEASONS GREETINGS

+@@O

$<OC@M±!CMDN OH <O ±5@NOJI <N

Celebrate Around the State

ROAD TRIP:

CIRCLING ST. LOUIS

k.c.’s best kept secret The renewed Nelson

a christmas mansion Tour DAR’s Roslyn Heights

DECEMBER 2008 | $4.50 (D i sp l a y unt i l J a nua r y 31)

wilmore lodge

1 2>

The story of the Lake 7

25274 94452

1

www.missourilife.com ML1208_Covers.indd 1

10/29/08 1:38:07 PM

-",&4*%& 03 '*3&4*%& 4 5 " 3 5 * / ( " 5

+"/6"3: ° UISPVHI ° . "3$) 46/%": 5)306() 5)634%": 0/-:

'"--4 -0%(& %06#-& 26&&/ 300.4

8JUI B MVYVSJPVT ZFU SVTUJD GFFM UIFTF SPPNT IBWF UXP RVFFO CFET XJUI QJMMPX UPQ NBUUSFTTFT B QMVTI GFBUIFS CFE BOE EPXO EVWFU 0UIFS GFBUVSFT JODMVEF +BDV[[J CBUI TJUUJOH BSFB BOE TFNJ QSJWBUF QBUJP PWFSMPPLJOH UIF MBLF

'"--4 -0%(& %&-69& ,*/( 300.4

-PDBUFE PO UIF UPQ GMPPS PG UIF 'BMMT -PEHF UIFTF SPPNT GFBUVSF B LJOH CFE BEPSOFE XJUI B QJMMPX UPQ NBUUSFTT B MVYVSJPVT GFBUIFS CFE BOE EPXO EVWFU 0UIFS IJHIMJHIUT JODMVEF +BDV[[J CBUI TJUUJOH BSFB HBT GJSFQMBDF XJUI IBOE DBSWFE XPPEFO NBOUMF BOE CBMDPOZ PWFSMPPLJOH UIF MBLF

Private On e Rnoo m Log Ca bi

Fa lls Del u x e KLinodggRe oo

13*7"5& 0/& 300.

-0( $"#*/4 m

5IFTF BVUIFOUJD BOE FMFHBOU POF SPPN MPH DBCJOT JODMVEF B LJOH CFE BOE B MBSHF MJWJOH BSFB XJUI B QMBTNB UFMFWJTJPO &WFSZ DBCJO GFBUVSFT B DPNGPSUBCMZ FRVJQQFE LJUDIFO PVUEPPS HSJMM XPPE CVSOJOH TUPOF GJSFQMBDF BOE +BDV[[J CBUI UP IFMQ ZPV SFMBY JO MVYVSZ

'03 3&4&37"5*0/4 1-&"4& $"-- #$-0%(&

-0$"5&% .*-&4 4065) 0' 413*/('*&-% .0 .*-&4 4065) 0' #3"/40/ .0

Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Premier Wilderness Resort

%FWJMµT 1PPM 3PBE º 3JEHFEBMF .0 Â&#x2026; .-

-JNJUFE BWBJMBCJMJUZ 4VSDIBSHF JT BQQMJFE GPS BEEJUJPOBM HVFTUT 0GGFS OPU BWBJMBCMF UP HSPVQT PG PS NPSF PO DVSSFOU SFTFSWBUJPOT IPMJEBZT PS XFFLFOE TUBZT

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

10/29/08 12:12:21 PM

[1] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

10/30/08 3:53:48 PM

PCCVB_MOLife Ad4.qxd:Layout 1

10/29/08

P L A T T E

2:23 PM

Page 1

C O U N T Y ,

M I S S O U R I

Kansas City A Genuine

Destination

Plan your get away to historic Weston, Missouri. Only a few miles north of KCI airport, step back in time and visit our antebellum town with shops, restaurants, hotel, quaint bed & breakfasts, Irish pub and brewery, wineries, museums, city/state parks and skiing. For holiday events and activities, visit westonmo.com

Zona Rosa is Kansas City’s ultimate holiday experience. Come see the colorfully lit, magical crowns, fabricated from Kansas City’s original designs. Share your holiday wishes with Fairy Princess, sponsored by the Kansas City Museum. For a complete listing of holiday events and activities, visit zonarosa.com.

Tis the season for a hometown holiday in Parkville. Make the quiet pleasures of historic Parkville’s trendy shops, artsy galleries, and great eateries part of your holiday tradition. Unique treasures and fabulous finds await you all season long!

For a complete listing of holiday events and activities, visit parkvillemo.org.

Discover Riverside’s small town charm and big city connections. An easy drive just north of Downtown Kansas City, Riverside, Missouri is known for its rich history, scenic beauty and promise for progress. Come visit and see for yourself. For a complete listing of holiday events and activities, visit riversidemo.com.

Request your freeVisitors Kit: (888) 223-9755 or www.co.platte.mo.us Platte County_1208.indd 1

10/29/08 4:18:52 PM

CONTENTS Features

December 2008

40 ❊ Java Joints

Missouri Life asked readers to send us their favorite spots to grab a cup of joe. Here are 5, one from each region of the state, to find good company and great coffee.

46 ❊ Circling River City

The King of the Road journeys to St. Louis’s outer bands and finds Mississippi River ferries, apple pie, a DC-3, and Joe-Mama’s Hilltop Tavern.

58 ❊ K.C.’s Best Kept Secret

Awe-inspiring works by Van Gogh, Caravaggio, Warhol, and others grace the walls at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which has been a muse for the masses for the last seventy-five years.

64 ❊ A Chirstmas Mansion

Tour Roslyn Heights, the home of the Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution. The Victorian gem is a Main Street mansion.

68 ❊ Wetter than the Mississippi

From college students to college professors and regular Joes to moonshiners, Missouri residents and bootleggers defied Prohibition.

80 ❊ Family Traditions: Ozark Recipes

Family traditions compete with traditional Ozark recipes for center stage. Plus cookbooks and recipes!

110 ❊ Missouri Journal: Willmore Lodge

Lake of the Ozarks’ Willmore Lodge houses the best view of Bagnell Dam and an interactive museum.

In Every Issue 19 ❊ Missouri Medley

Heartland Unplugged jams once a month in South Kansas City. Sheryl Crow comes home to Kennett with a new Christmas album. Missouri’s first hydrogen fueling station opens at Rolla.

31 ❊ All Around Missouri

NOTLEY HAWKINS

PAGE 52

Greetings Seasons ents ay 7 holid ev ions and destinat to celebrate state. around the

Our listing of more than 149 events includes everything from a living Christmas tree and First Night to a boat show and an underground groundhog run.

72 ❊ Civil War Series: The Prelude

The Battle of Little Blue sets the stage for the Battle of Westport and the end of Gen. Sterling Price’s hopes for regaining Missouri for the Confederacy.

114 ❊ Musings

After a brush with moving, Ron Marr discovers neither he, nor his dogs, are ready for city life.

[5] December 2008

TOC.indd 5

10/31/08 12:25:26 PM

For all your soy candle needs.

Jars, pillars, loaves, votives, tealights, melters, custom candles, diffusers, gift baskets, parties, special occasions, and accessories. www.candleberrybriar.com

Knitcraft Yarn Shop

CONTENTS

December 2008

In Every Issue continued

8 ❊ Missouri Memo: Magazine of the Year

86 ❊ Missouri Artist

International Regional Magazine Association names Missouri Life Magazine of the Year along with six other awards, plus Christmas ideas galore.

14 ❊ Letters: Indelible Impressions

You praise Notley Hawkins, John Robinson, and Ron Marr.

17 ❊ Symbol: North American Bullfrog

A Complete Knitting & Crocheting Experience

Fourth graders lobby the state legislature to have this bullfrog named the state amphibian.

215 N. Main, Independence, MO

84 ❊ Missouri Wine

816-461-1248 www.knitcraft.com

We Service What We Sell

37 ❊ Made in Missouri

Temple Organs at St. Joseph preserves the royal pedigree of the king of instruments.

Even California winemakers are surprised by Missouri’s award-winning wines.

Joplin artist paints en plein air from Missouri to Maine, plus 5 juried artists with unique passions.

103 ❊ Trivia: The Thirty-Third

Test your knowledge about Harry S. Truman.

105 ❊ Healthy Living

Volunteerism helps more than the recipient of the kind deed. Find volunteer opportunities near you.

106 ❊ Books: A Mother’s Faith

A collection of e-mails, My Miracle Marine chronicles one woman’s faith that her son would survive the deadly sniper bullet that could have killed him in Iraq.

On the Cover: Father Christmas peeks in the window at Decori, a Christmas store at Parkville, and strolls Weston’s streets on weekend afternoons in December. Photo by Notley Hawkins.

Special Advertising Section 91 ❊ Ultimate Holiday Guide

Our exclusive guide features an eclectic mix of the best gift ideas, events, destinations, and more that Missouri has to offer this holiday season.

.

This Issue on MissouriLife com

Genuine, Native Missouri Wildflowers Get Your Holiday Gift Certificates Now ❁ You need our excellent catalog!

Father Christmas Tom Hooper brings joy to the streets of Weston in December as Father Christmas.

Meet the man behind Santa.

Ozark Recipes and Cookbooks In addition to the three featured recipes in Tasteful Traveler, you will find twelve more Ozark recipes online, plus purchase information for the cookbooks mentioned on page 80.

Home for the Holidays Hear Sheryl Crow’s “Blue Christmas,” a track off of her new holiday CD, Home for Christmas, available at Hallmark.

Missouri Wildflowers Nursery 9814 Pleasant Hill Rd. Jefferson City, MO 65109 phone: 573-496-3492 fax: 573-496-3003 e-mail: mowldflrs@socket.net ❁ www.mowildflowers.net ❁

Java Joint Recommendations Download the complete list of coffee shop recommendations statewide, from small-town community centers to big-city specialty shops.

[6] MissouriLife

TOC.indd 6

10/31/08 2:09:33 PM

OATS takes us anywhere we want to go like when we need groceries or if we just need a place to have lunch.

-OATS Rider

I do appreciate that there is an OATS bus here around town. It helps people like me who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drive and are unable to go to work. They are a very, very reliable form of transportation.

-OATS Rider

www.oatstransit.org | 1-888-875-6287 AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

10/29/08 5:55:41 PM

Os EM I inM MllIinSgSthOe TaUleR s Beh d the Storie Te

2008 MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR

By Danita Allen Wood, Editor in Chief

We’ve belonged to an organization called the International Regional Magazine Association for several years. In fact, our rare travel outside Missouri has usually been to one of its conferences. In recent years, we’ve been to Montana, Virginia, and Oklahoma, but this year, the conference was in Nova Scotia. We thought long and hard before going, but are we ever glad that we did.

Christmas Ideas Galore

This crèche was made by artisan Dodie Eisenhauer, who has used wire mesh as a medium since 1989.

If you’re looking for unique ornaments and great gifts, start on page 90 to see the artwork of five of our artist friends, all juried members of the Best of Missouri Hands. That’s the artist group in the state that I know best and can highly recommend. Visit the web site (www.bestofmissourihands. com) to browse among other artists. Many members make special holiday items. Then go on to page 91 to get other ideas from our Holiday Guide.

Below left is my latest addition to my Christmas decorations. I also have candy canes to line our front walk, a rope of tiny mittens that goes across a kitchen window, several paper mâché or wooden Santas, and three metal angels that go on the piano. I have ornaments the kids made in elementary school, some pink paper angels that we made with a glue gun at my mom’s house, and knitted Santas, Mrs. Claus, candlesticks, and snowmen that my late grandmother made. I have handblown glass ornaments from Silver Dollar City, wooden ornaments from Mexico, and a long garland with ribbons for our staircase.

I inherited the propensity to overdo the decorating from my mom.

She has boxes and boxes of decorations, such as some little cloth elves, which we positioned climbing a huge cactus when we were kids. She even made them new clothes from fabric scraps so they wouldn’t all look alike. She has yule logs—coffee cans covered with plaster of Paris—that were made by my sister Danielle and me. She still shops for new decorations during the after-Christmas sales.

I can’t get myself organized enough to do that, and really, I don’t need more. It takes me a full day already to decorate. Still, I continue to collect ornaments made by Missouri artisans.

I treasure my Christmas decorations, not so much for themselves, but for the happy memories they helped create and still bring forth.

May the genuine joys of the season be yours!

2008 Awards Gold Silver Bronze Bronze Merit Merit

Overall Art Direction, up to 40,000 Circulation Single Photograph, “In the Garden” June 2007, Andrew Clay Barton Profiles, Erin Richards “Old Man River” April 2007 Cover, August 2007, Notley Hawkins Culture Feature, Arthur Mehrhoff “Shepherd of the Hills” August 2007 Most Improved Magazine

TINA WHEELER

We were delighted to be chosen as the 2008 Magazine of the Year for our circulation category. (There are two categories, one below and one above forty thousand.) We won six other awards, too, and they are listed below. At one point, they seemed to be coming so fast, I leaned over and asked Managing Editor Rebecca Smith, “Now what was that one for?”

She and the rest of our production team, comprised of Andrew Barton, Tina Wheeler, and Amy Stapleton, and our talented photographers and writers get the credit for our design, photography, and stories.

The Magazine of the Year is the big one. Almost as nice as the award was the unexpected standing ovation the members gave us.

I had practically run to the front of the room when they called our name for Magazine of the Year. (Maybe I was afraid they didn’t really mean it?) After the awards committee chairwoman handed this nice award to me and gave me a hug, I turned to go back to my seat and was shocked again to see everyone standing. I almost cried.

We thank you for reading. The award is as much for you and our sponsors as for those of us on staff. (We’ll keep it here though!) We simply follow your lead in discovering the best Missouri has to offer.

Danita Allen Wood, Editor in Chief and Rebecca French Smith, Managing Editor

[8] MissouriLife

MEMO.indd 8

10/31/08 8:20:04 AM

Marshall, Mo

Antiques

OLD TRAILS REGION

In the heartland of the nation, Marshall is home to folks who believe hospitality is our calling. Enjoy the Christmas parade and Christmas Homes Tour, or browse a nearby winery. Visit the Nicholas Beazley Aviation Museum with interactive exhibits.

Visit these local shops and sites: Adventure Quest Travel 2007 Uniglobe Franchisee of the Year

MARSHALL................................. 660-886-3675

Arrow Rock, Missouri

Hanging of the Greens - Sat., Nov. 29 - 1 p.m.

Christmas in the Village - Sat., Dec. 6, 13, 20

Historic Arrow Rock

ARROW ROCK............................ 660-837-3231

Comfort Inn - Marshall Station

Winner of the Platinum Hospitality Award

1356 WEST COLLEGE................ 660-886-8080 Court Street Classics Antiques & Collectibles

Hours: Mon. - Fri. 10-5:30; Sat. 10-5; Sun. 1-5

69 SOUTH LAFAYETTE ............. 660-886-2260

Rich History

Nicholas Beazley Aviation Museum

Open 2008 featuring antique airplanes & displays from Marshall historic aviation school and factory.

1985 SOUTH ODELL .................. 660-886-2630

PahloArt Center & Kazoos

Featuring 20 artists in 15 gallery rooms as well as Kazoos children’s hands-on art center.

Charming

868 SOUTH BRUNSWICK .......................

660-831-1000 Rod’s Hallmark Store

Shops

A store for you to enjoy!

Aviation Museum

941 SOUTH CHEROKEE ............ 660-886-4412 Square Corner Gift Shop

Custom framing, bridal registry, kitchen gadgets

72 NORTH JEFFERSON ............. 660-886-3716

3 Friends

Mastectomy Products & Nursing Uniforms

161 SOUTH BENTON ............... 660-831-5304

Wood & Huston Bank

Four locations in Marshall to serve you

27 EAST NORTH ST ....... 660-886-6825-

[1] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

www.visitmarshallmo.com

10/27/08 7:14:19 PM

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 Editorial Assistants Elizabeth Galloway, Jennifer Gerling, Rebecca Legel, Porcshe Moran, Regan Palmer Contributing Writers Robbi Courtaway, John Fisher, Doug Frost, Nina Furstenau, Dawn Klingensmith, Ron W. Marr, Hannah Martine, W. Arthur Mehrhoff, Lynn Pickerel, John Robinson, Sara Shahriari, Hugh Welsh Contributing Photographers and Illustrators Dennis Caldwell, Glenn Curcio, Seth Garcia, Brandon Gillette, Notley Hawkins, Timothy Hursley, Andrew Johnmeyer, Stephanie Phillips, Brad Reno

Art & Production Creative Director Andrew Barton Art Director Tina Wheeler Marketing Art Director Eric Larson

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 Special Projects Coordinator Callina Wood

Circulation & Administration Circulation Director Karen Ebbesmeyer, 800-492-2593, ext. 102 Proofreader Lisa Guese Chief Financial Officer Mark Gandy, B2B CFO®, www.b2bcfo.com Accounting Lammers & Associates CPAs, P.C., 660-882-6000 Webmaster Insite Advice, www.insiteadvice.com MISSOURI LIFE, Vol. 35, No. 6, December 2008 (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 65233-1252. © 2008 Missouri Life. All rights reserved. Printed by The Ovid Bell Press, Inc., at Fulton, Missouri.

[10] MissouriLife

MASTHEAD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 10

10/24/08 3:21:42 PM

Gift Subscriptions Order a new gift subscription for $21.99 and get t‫ ה‬2nd one FREE! Give as many as you wish.

(Offer does not apply to renewals)

The Gift That Gives All Year Long!

Your family and friends will remember you with every issue packed full of beautiful photography, fun places to visit, surprising history, and other wonders of Missouri.

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

Missouri Life has the highest paid circulation in the state, and there’s a reason! The magazine delivers secrets of the big cities, charming small towns, great getaways, the most complete state-wide calendar of events, and terrific restaurants and cafes.

Make Holiday Shopping Easy!

To order, call

1-800-492-2593 ext. 102, or visit

MissouriLife.com Type in HOLIDAY in coupon box at checkout to receive the special offer.

10/29/08 10:43:27 AM

THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY 515 East Morgan Street, Boonville, MO 65233 660-882-9898 info@missourilife.com

To Subscribe or Give a Gift • Visit MissouriLife.com • Call 800-492-2593 • Or mail a check for $21.99 (for 6 issues) to: Missouri Life 515 East Morgan Street, Boonville, MO 65233-1252

Advertising Call 800-492-2593. Information for display and web advertising and for other marketing opportunities are posted at MissouriLife.com.

Custom Publishing Get Missouri Life quality writing, design, and photography for your special publications or magazines.

Call 800-492-2593, ext. 106 or e-mail Publisher Greg Wood at greg@missourilife.com.

MissouriLife.com Find Missouri-made gifts, services, and other Missouri products at our web site, or sign up for Missouri Life Lines, our free e-newsletter.

Reprints Missouri Life provides reprints on high-quality paper.

E-mail info@missourilife.com, or call 800-492-2593 for rates.

Back Issues Cost is $7.50, which includes tax and shipping. Order from web site, call, or send a check.

Expiration Date Find it at the top left corner of your mailing label.

Change of Address

1,500

$

s PM n PM

ENCORE DRAWING

s 3TART EARNING ENTRIES AT PM

Send both old and new addresses to karen@missourilife.com or Missouri Life, 515 East Morgan Street, Boonville, MO 65233-1252

s /NE $ WINNER CHOSEN EVERY HALF HOUR International Regional Magazine Association

[12] MissouriLife

2ND MASTHEAD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 12

10/21/08 2:16:38 PM

̽ÃÊ> Êà iÃÊ>ÌÊ «iÊ* Ì

Missouri’s Finest SPA Professionals

UÊ Õ« i½ÃÊ >ÃÃ>}iÊEÊ

Õ« i½ÃÊ*>V >}ià UÊ V> Ê >V > ÃÊÜ Ì Ê*ii à UÊ `ÞÊ7>Ý } UÊ-* Ê > VÕÀiÃÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ EÊ*i` VÕÀiÃ

At Hope Photo Studio in Boonville, smiles come naturally.

They start with Julius Udinyiwe, proprietor and photographer, who greets you with a smile and knows good smiles make good photos. He does it all...weddings, portraits, passport photos, families, children, and pets. His staff even repairs PC computers, PS2, Xbox and DVD players, and he offers one-hour photo processing. Now that’s something to smile about!

ÜÜÜ° Þ «i« Ì °V ÊUÊÜÜÜ°L Û iÌÛ°V " iÊ« Ì Ê«À Ì }ÊÃiÀÛ Vi\ÊÜÜÜ° «i« Ì ° vi« VðV

(660) 882-9797

nä£Ê > Ê-Ì°ÊUÊ Û i]Ê "ÊÈxÓÎÎ

UÊ- i `iÀ+ÕiÃÌÊ `ÞÊ 7À>«Ã UÊ À ÃÊ >ÞÊ"ÕÌÊ-«>Ê*>ÀÌ ià UÊ >ÀiÊ ÃVi ÌÕ> îÊ-«>Ê vi>ÌÕÀ }Ê °`°Ê >ÀiÊÊ Ê iÀ> î

6 à ÌÊÜÜÜ°L `ÞÜ À Ã`>Þë>° iÌ v ÀÊ ÃÌ> ÌÊ vÌÊ iÀÌ wV>Ìið

3111 W. Broadway Thompson Hills Shopping Center Sedalia, MO • 866-827-2452

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 Seamanʼs Journey with Lewis and Clark.

Lewis and Clark’s Journey Across Missouri $24.95 114 pages, 124 illus, softcover

This beautifully photographed and illustrated book explores in depth Lewis and Clarkʼs time in Missouri, through journal excerpts, one-of-akind maps made by nationally known geographer James Harlan that locate the Corps of Discoveryʼs campsites, and an along-the-river guide for travelers who wish to explore the historic towns, state parks, and other points of interest.

Plus tax, shipping, and handling

800-492-2593, ext. 102 missourilife.com [13] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 13

10/29/08 6:12:29 PM

R onLsE&TYoTurEStoRrieSs YOU g Opini

Sharin

INDELIBLE IMPRESSIONS I want to commend Missouri Life on your August/September 2008 cover and the cover story; that image of the Boonville Bridge and the complementing border, fonts, and color scheme make it one of the finest covers I have ever seen in a publication, including the strongly imaged Outdoor Photographer and National Geographic. Hats off to your Notley Hawkins for the image and for sharing and to your graphic/cover staff for such an inspiring work.

I want to thank you and John Robinson for the King of the Road series. Through this role, John has one of the best â&#x20AC;&#x153;jobsâ&#x20AC;? in the world. While only John can show us the state through his articles as well as he does, I

still wish I were in his shoes whenever I read it. And I am 100 percent okay with living vicariously through the articles and planning to show the kids as much of it as Ann Marie and I can over the upcoming years.

I want to thank you and Ron Marr for Missouri Musings. He is a well-written man with perspectives I wish more people in Missouri, and elsewhere, would carry through life (especially on the environment).

Michael VanVooren, Ballwin

The Sky is Not Falling I have just recently subscribed to your magazine, and I love it.

I was reading the article by Ron Marr (August 2008). I think his stretch of bad luck

is over. Yes, we had an earthquake this year that was felt from Illinois to Kansas, but it was minor. He does not have to move again.

I can also sympathize with the feelings of doom. Every place I have worked before in my lifetime has closed its doors, permanently, except for where I am working now.

Business is booming. I hope it continues.

Judy Richardson, Keytesville

Central Missouri Tour We are subscribers who read each issue, cover to cover! We especially enjoy the places to visit that you have showcased.

Last week, we stopped in a store in Hallsville called Sassafras Moon World Gifts.

We had a great time wandering through the

NOTLEY HAWKINS

Hats Off to Notley, Ron, & John

[14] MissouriLife

LETTERS-AUGUST 2008 Copy.indd 14

10/27/08 9:54:43 AM

store and choosing from their inventory. It is worth a trip to look it over. This tiny little town is like a step back in time, but the gift store carries free trade items from all over the world.

We did stop in the Hotel Frederick and looked over the hotel dining room (no lunch served on Tuesdays). Boonville is beautiful, with lovely historic homes and pretty gardens everywhere. We enjoyed driving around there and looking down 8th Street at the river.

We chose to drive around and take the lower road rather than drive down that steep grade!

Wayne and Jan Vinyard, Kansas City

New Technology Woes I enjoyed “Can you Hear Me Now?” by Ron Marr (October 2008). He talks of the cellphone pandemic, internet insanity, e-mail epidemic, and instant message misery.

Specifically he said, “Never have so many been able to communicate so easily ...”

Sadly, there is a large portion of rural Missouri that is “left behind.” We cannot get cellphone reception in the areas where we live, and more frustrating, we cannot get high-speed broadband internet service.

I believe we rural Missourians deserve to be treated equally and not left behind by our politicians and big corporate businesses that have the power to bring these services to all Missourians.

Carolyn Dunkin, Gatewood

Thanks for the Troops Thank you for your donation of twenty-five magazines every other month, which are sent in our care packages to area service men and women serving overseas. They appreciate being able to read about interesting places to visit and things to do once they get home.

Kathryn Carroll, Marshall

Send Us a Letter E-mail: info@missourilife.com Fax: 660-882-9899 Address: Missouri Life 515 East Morgan Street Boonville, MO 65233-1252

[15] December 2008

LETTERS-AUGUST 2008 Copy.indd 15

10/27/08 10:19:51 AM

Breakthrough hearing technology helps you enjoy the beautiful sounds of music and life!

With todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advanced digital hearing technology, enjoying the important, wonderful sounds of life has never been easier.

Rhapsody delivers clearer, crisper, more natural sound, even in noisy settings like a restaurant.

The science of nanotechnology created a hearing device that automatically activates features you need to enhance every listening situation: at the symphony, in a restaurant, in the car, even at home.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simple Rhapsody delivers clarity!

Professional Hearing Aid Center 1306 E. Sunshine St. Springfield, MO 65841

Steve Flanagan NBC-HIS

Call us today for a free demonstration of this giant leap forward in hearing technology!

417-889-4327 1-800-658-1319

[16] MissouriLife

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 16

10/29/08 6:34:59 PM

MISSOU RI SYMBOL Icons of the Show-Me State

STATE AMPHIBIAN:

NORTH AMERICAN BULLFROG

©ISTOCKPHOTO

THAT LOW-PITCHED, guttural “jug-o-rum” call often heard on warm summer evenings arising out of a nearby pond or creek emanates from one of Missouri’s newer state symbols, the North American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), adopted June 5, 2005, as the state amphibian. The idea for a state amphibian originated with a fourth grade class at the Thomas B. Chinn Elementary School, a part of the Park Hill School District at Kansas City. Rep. Susan Phillips sponsored the bill.

The students wrote notes to the legislators giving reasons why the bullfrog should be recognized as the state amphibian, made frog lapel pins, and even testified when the bill was in committee.

The bullfrog’s color ranges from green to olive to brown, with dark brown bands on the rear legs. This is the largest North American frog, reaching six inches in length and weighing a pound or more.

Bullfrogs are also recognizable by the large, circular tympanic membrane, or eardrum, located on the frog’s skin behind each eye, and their large, powerful back legs. Bullfrogs can be found anywhere in Missouri with a suitable aquatic environment. They require permanent areas of water. Being an amphibian means much of its life is spent in the water, but they prefer feeding along shorelines. Males are very territorial and tenaciously guard their stretch of shoreline.

Bullfrogs will tackle about any prey they can swallow such as insects, small fish, crayfish, birds, mice, snakes, and even other frogs. They catch prey by waiting patiently then quickly grabbing the unfortunate creature with their powerful tongues. Adults and tadpoles are prey for birds such as herons and kingfishers, snakes, raccoons, and turtles.

The mating season for bullfrogs usually runs from mid-May to early July in Missouri. Males fertilize eggs as they are laid by the female.

Each female usually lays twenty thousand eggs, which hatch in four or five days. Bullfrog tadpoles require just over a year to change into froglets. At this stage, they still have a tail but possess legs and breathe air through lungs. From this stage, another two to three years are required to reach adulthood. Bullfrogs usually live from seven to nine years.

Attempts to raise bullfrogs in ponds or other controlled settings for commercial production have met with limited success. Their territorial nature makes it difficult to keep large numbers in confined areas.

–John Fisher is the author of “Catfish, Fiddles, Mules, and More: Missouri’s State Symbols.”

Illuminate your holiday season

December 5 & 6 and December 12 & 13 Historic Daniel Boone Home & Boonesfield Village Annual Candlelight Tour

Enjoy a traditional 1800s candlelight tour featuring an evening of magic and wonder framed by over 3000 candles, lanterns and bonfires.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m., Tours from 6 — 10 p.m. (Please allow 2 hours) Advance Ticket Sales Nov. 1 — 21, Adults $13, Children $8 After November 21, Adults $15, Children $10 For more information please call 636-798-2005 or visit us on-line at www.lindenwood.edu/boone.

1868 Highway F, Defiance, MO 63341

[17] December 2008

SYMBOL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 17

10/27/08 2:07:30 PM

*OIN US IN *ANUARY AND &EBRUARY FOR Hot Winter Fun! 4PNFPOF ZPV MPWF JT BMXBZT QMBZJOH JO #SBOTPO Over 300 Shops!

Live Music Shows!

Over 250 Restaurants!

Over 200 Holes Of Golf!

Lakeside Resorts! s %XPLORE"RANSON COM Mo Life half page.indd 1

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 18

[18] MissouriLife

10/24/08 2:49:53 PM

10/29/08 6:25:55 PM

MISSOU RI MEDLEY Notew orthy People and Places

Clockwise from top left: Carl Gustafson, Nancy McCurdy, Harvey Heidbreder, Russ Davis, and Dale Sullivan bring their instruments to life once a month at South Kansas City.

HEARTLAND UNPLUGGED

COURTESY OF FRANK VAIL

LOCAL MUSICIANS JAM MONTHLY IN SOUTH KANSAS CITY | By Hannah Martine

CARL GUSTAFSON does not return many phone calls. He’s not rude; he just doesn’t have time to return them all. Carl is a very busy man. He is a full-time engineer at Honeywell, a Boy Scout leader for Troop 110 in South Kansas City, on the evangelism committee for St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, organizes monthly country breakfasts for the public, and bowls every week during the fall in a local league.

On top of his already-packed schedule, Carl wanted to help create a musical outlet for local guitar pickers. Along with friends Wes Robinson, Dave Taylor, Eric Webb, Ralph Potter, and a few other church members, Carl launched Heartland Unplugged.

“I used to think it was to bring people to church,” says Carl about why he started the jam session. “But now I see it’s more of a family thing.”

Heartland Unplugged meets every fourth Friday of the month at St. Luke’s at South Kansas City. In a region full of acoustic venues, jam sessions and open-mic nights, it’s sometimes hard for a new one to survive. But Heartland Unplugged has a comforting quality that sets it apart from many other groups.

On a typical Friday evening, players and fans start trickling through the church doors around 6 PM. Regulars and newcomers mingle while the players get situated in a circle and tune their instruments. Guitars are most common, but fiddles, mandolins, upright basses, and others are present as well. When everyone has played a few warm-up notes, a

player takes the microphone and begins the jam.

“It’s the friendships that you build in the process that keep everybody coming,” says Gary Russell, who organizes a bluegrass jam at the nearby Community of Christ church. “People basically become family.”

Others have similar reasons for coming to Heartland Unplugged.

Melvin Jones has been a fan of bluegrass for about five years. His wife, Nellie, recently passed away and is missed every week. Nellie’s Alzheimer’s inhibited her ability to talk, but music affected her brain and soul in an astounding way. “She could sing the words, but she couldn’t talk,” Melvin says. “There’s something about music.”

Heartland Unplugged doesn’t limit itself to just one genre of music. “The majority of people like to come for bluegrass,” says Melody, Carl’s wife.

“Anything acoustic is what we promote,” says Doc Kimball, one of the original founders with Carl.

There are about forty players and thirty audience members on a typical evening. A busy week is about one hundred people, Melody says.

“I think it’s made a difference in the way people feel,” Carl says. “It gives them a spark in their lives. And they give me a spark too.”

St. Lukes’s United Methodist Church is located at 9420 James A. Reed Road. Call 816-313-6144 or visit heartlandunplugged.blogspot.com for more information.

[19] December 2008

MEDLEY-DECEMBER 2008.indd 19

10/27/08 5:30:53 PM

ML

Missouri Medley

Sheryl Comes Home to Kennett Grammy award-winning artist Sheryl Crow will be singing a new tune when she comes home to Kennett this holiday season.

“For as long as I can remember, the Crow family tradition has always been to go to Christmas Eve service,” says the Kennett native, “then have friends and family over to gather around the piano and sing our favorite Christmas carols, while enjoying wonderful food and fellowship.”

This year, she will be adding a new song to the repertoire: Crow’s first original Christmas song, “There Is a Star That Shines Tonight.” This song is just one on Crow’s first Christmas CD, Home for Christmas—a sassy collection of traditional, funky soul, blues, and gospel tunes.

The artist, whose hits include “All I Wanna Do,” “If It Makes You Happy,” and “Soak Up The Sun,” says, “Because of where we are in our country’s history, I think the strongest example I can leave from this time period is the idea of love and compassion—that is the true meaning of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas, after all, shouldn’t be about just one day—it should be about every day. I think music generally is an incredible heart opener, and the tradition of Christmas carols and hymns really taps into the spirit and the meaning of Christmas. When I recorded this album, I envisioned delivering the kind of music people could relate to during this season.”

Visit MissouriLife.com to hear a sample. The CD is available through December 31 at Hallmark Gold Crown Stores. Call 800-HALLMARK or visit www.hallmark.com for more information.

Courtesy of A & M Records

By Lynn Pickerel

[20] MissouriLife

MEDLEY-DECEMBER 2008.indd 20

10/24/08 4:00:21 PM

W

entworth Military Academy & College

Co-Ed, Grades 9-14

Accelerate your child’s education

• Challenging andenable tailored • Academic programs that allcurriculum students to improve •• Traditional Traditional high high school activities: activities: Clubs, Clubs, athletics, dances, and more •• 94% hold advanced advanced degrees degrees 94% of of faculty faculty hold • Ask about our early degree completion program— • Qualified students willdiploma graduateand with earn a HS ana high school diploma and associates Associates degree at the samedegree time

Seats are limited for grades 9-11!

Call Today:

1.800.962.7682

Lexington, MO www.wma.edu [21] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 21

10/27/08 7:48:49 PM

ML

Missouri Medley

Where you’ll find...

Culture

7 Museums 10 Historic Register buildings 2 Universities Civil War battlefield Kirksville Arts Center

Rolla Gets First Hydrogen Station

Summer on the Square concerts

Country

Huge white-tailed deer Muskie, bass, and trout fishing Kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking 1000 Hills State Park Antiques Amish Weekly Farmer’s Market Red Barn Arts Fair

Missouri is on the road to sustaining hydrogenpowered vehicles with the opening of the state’s first hydrogen refueling station in Rolla. The station opened in August at Missouri University of Science and Technology’s E3 (E-cubed) Commons development. The opening of the station coincided with the nineteen-state Hydrogen Road Tour. The National Hydrogen Association lists sixty-one operational hydrogen fueling stations in the United States, twenty-eight of which are in California.

Missouri S&T started using hydrogen shuttle buses at Rolla and to and from Fort Leonard Wood in 2007. The buses and the opening of

Comfort 294 hotel rooms 2 B&Bs 38 restaurants 6 hunting lodges

the station are part of the university’s Show Me the Road to Hydrogen project, a study of the safe deployment of alternative fuel.

“We are looking to the future at a time when we really need this technology,” says Angela Rolufs, director of the Missouri Transportation Institute and Institute for Environmental Excellence.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy, hydrogen fuel burns cleanly and can be economically competitive with gasoline or diesel. In September, Washington D. C.’s only public hydrogen pump charged $8.18 per kg,

nosium e l a mp

C r ou

or y 66 et S 7 n -3 ck 65 one. sto omp 6 e iv R 60 ble , 6 @ca ri L deer u m o co m iss Rein le. uris l M i U to sv 5-6 ATS irk at kv . k c t i si De ec. 6 .vi Deb w t D ww ntac o c

Y k ar

M

Although there are no privately owned hydrogen cars on the road in Missouri currently, drivers would be permitted to use the fueling station as long as appropriate arrangements were made at the university, says John W. Sheffield, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

The E3 Commons is the site of several planned renewable energy, environmental, and educational initiatives. Missouri S&T was selected as one of seventeen universities to compete in EcoCAR: The Next Challenge. Students participating in the North American contest plan to improve the fuel economy and lower the greenhouse gas emissions of a Saturn VUE by using new technologies and fuels.

Call 573-341-6073 for more information. —By Porcshe Moran

Courtesy of B. A. Rupert/Missouri S&T

! r a d

and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid FCHV gets eighty miles per kg.

[22] MissouriLife

MEDLEY-DECEMBER 2008.indd 22

10/27/08 10:50:40 AM

Dinner Theater

December 12-14, 19-21

May 8-10, 15-17 Reservations Required - Purchase Tickets Online

103 W. Francis St. Joseph, MO 64501 www.rrtstjoe.org 816-232-1778

Reserve and move into a

two bedroom independent living apartment before December 31, 2008, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll pay your moving expenses

for your local move.

As this season turns, experience the joy of good neighbors, wonderful amenities and helpful staff to help you through lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s changes. Call Ed Gorsky or Peggy Evans today!

A full continuum of exceptional senior living

1202 Heartland Road St. Joseph, MO 64506

(816) 671-8500 www.lcosj.com

[23] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 23

10/30/08 5:50:30 PM

Women’s Symphony League Holiday Home Tour

MU Choral Union: Gloria – French and Italian Style!

Saturday, December 6, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sunday, December 7, 12 - 4 p.m.

Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts www.motheatre.org (573) 875-0600

Thursday, November 20, 2008, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium www.concertseries.org (800) 292-9136

Neil Sedaka

Handel’s Messiah - Christmas Section

Monday, December 1, 2008, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium www.concertseries.org (800) 292-9136

Sunday, December 7, 2008 8:50 am and 11 a.m.

Missouri United Methodist Church www.moumc.org

Chip Davis’ Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller

Nebraska Theatre Caravan: A Christmas Carol

Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium www.concertseries.org (800) 292-9136

Thursday, December 4, 2008, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium www.concertseries.org (800) 292-9136

MU Department of Theatre presents Agnes of God December 4 – 7, 2008, 8 p.m.

Corner Playhouse, www.theatremissouri. tix.com

Downtown Living Windows Display

Columbia Chorale/Columbia Civic Orchestra Mid-Missouri Dance Company Saturday, December 13, 2008, 7 p.m.

Missouri Theatre www.motheatre.org (573) 875-0600

Saturday, December 6, 2008, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium www.concertseries.org (800) 292-9136

Ain’t Misbehavin’ starring Ruben Studdard

Sing-Along Messiah Columbia Chorale & Columbia Civic Orchestra

Saturday, December 6, 2008, 7:30 p.m.

Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts www.motheatre.org (573) 875-0600

Christmas From Dublin starring the Three Irish Tenors

Christmas Celebration

The St. Louis Ballet’s The Nutcracker

Christmas with the Chordbusters, Barbershop Harmony

Friday, December 12, 2008, 7 pm Missouri United Methodist Church www.moumc.org

Friday, December 12, 2008, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium www.concertseries.org (800) 292-9136

Friday, December 5, 2008, 6 p.m., The District www.discoverthedistrict.com 573-442-6816

Saturday, December 6, 2008, 7 p.m.

Missouri United Methodist Church www.moumc.org

Organ Advent Concert, Bradley Welch, Organist

Sunday, December 14, 2008, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium www.concertseries.org (800) 292-9136

Visit www.kbia.org for savings coupons from local hotels, restaurants and retailers participating in the 2009 holiday festival.

[24] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

10/30/08 1:33:44 PM

ALL AROUND

MISSOURI

Events in Your Area

December & January

COURTESY OF KEVIN LOWDER

Featured Event

FIRST NIGHT ACROSS MISSOURI Dec. 31. Columbia, St. Louis, Springfield.

Celebrations feature visual and performing arts, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities, and fireworks. Columbia begins at 4 PM, with fireworks at 9:30 PM and midnight. From 5:30 PM to midnight, St. Louis festivities include magicians and a grand procession at the Grand Center. Downtown Springfield features theater and film from 5:30 PM to midnight. Admission is $5-$30. Call 573-874-7460, 314-289-8121, or 417-831-6200 or visit www. firstnight.missouri.org, www.firstnightstl.org, or www.itsalldowntown.org for more information.

Visit MissouriLife.com for more in your area!

Central Lake Holiday Lights Dec. 1-31, Osage Beach. Drive through eighty light displays and a holiday village with refreshments for sale. City Park. 5:30-9 PM Wed.-Sun. and Dec. 29-30. $10 per car. 573-964-1008

A Sedalia Christmas Dec. 5-7, Sedalia. Traditional holiday music and local author, Becky Imhauser, brings Christmas to life with stories and images of past celebrations. Liberty Center Association for the Arts. 7 PM Fri.-Sat.; 2 PM Sun. $5.

660-827-3228

Living Window Festival Dec. 5, Columbia. Live window displays, strolling carolers, Santa, holiday treats, thousands of twinkling lights, live Nativity, live music, and hayrides. The District. 6-8 PM. Free. 573-442-6816

Merchant Holiday Open House Dec. 5-7, Rocheport. Decorated shops, tree lighting, Santa, and caroling. Throughout town. 10 AM-5 PM Fri.; 10 AM-6 PM Sat. (followed by tree lighting); 1-5 PM Sun. Free. 573-698-2088

Candlelight Tours of the Mansion Dec. 5-6, Jefferson City. Tour the decorated Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mansion featuring twinkling lights, candles, carolers, and floral arrangements. 7-9 PM Fri.; 4-6 PM Sat. Free.

573-751-7929

Old-Fashioned Christmas Dec. 6, Boonville. Sip cider, stroll the Cookie Walk, and purchase holiday goodies by the pound, plus collectibles and gifts for sale. Historic Hain House. 10 AM-3 PM. Free.

660-882-7977

[25] December 2008

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 25

10/31/08 11:14:26 AM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Christmas Parade Dec. 6, California. Holiday-themed parade. Throughout town. 5 PM. Free. 573-796-3040 Christmas on the Square Dec. 6, Camdenton. Games, music, ornament making, Santa, and prizes. Downtown Square. 2:30 PM. Canned food donations accepted. 800-769-1004

Holiday Homes Tour Dec. 7, Warrensburg. Tour homes and mansions, plus a Christmas tea. Benefits the local United Way. Throughout town. 1:30-4:30 PM. $10. 660-747-3107

MoHiP Theatre Workshops Dec. 16 and Jan. 20, Columbia. Workshops for developing script and performance technique. State Historical Society of Missouri. 7 PM. Free. 660-882-3367

Lions Club Christmas Parade Dec. 7, Waynesville. Parade travels from the Middle School to Downtown. 1:30 PM. Free. 573-336-7122

To Kill a Mockingbird Jan. 8-10, Jefferson City. Adaptation of Pulitzer-prize winning novel. Miller Performing Arts Center. 7:30 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 2 and 7:30 PM Sat. $8-$15. 573-681-9400

It’s a Victorian Christmas Tour Dec. 6, Fulton. Tour four vintage houses decorated for the holidays followed by a musical performance at the First Christian Church. Throughout town. 5-7:30 PM. 573-642-2080

A Dickens Victorian Christmas Dec. 7-9, Columbia. Authentic re-creation of a Victorian Christmas celebration featuring holiday music, period dance, and refreshments. Historic Senior Hall Parlors at Stephens College. 7:30 PM. $14. 573-876-7199

Christmas Parade Dec. 6, Sedalia. Held for more than fifty years. Downtown.

10 AM. Free ($5 entry fee). 660-826-2222

Teddy Bear Tea Dec. 13, Sedalia. Bring a teddy bear for tea and a story, and decorate a cookie. Historic Katy Depot. 12:30 PM. $7-$17. 660-826-2932, ext. 19

Fragrance Garden Jan. 10-Mar. 8, Kingsville. Visit the Conservatory and experience plants with scents from fruited to spicy to honeyed.

Powell Gardens. 9 AM-6 PM. $2-$6. 816-697-2600

Bob Milne Ragtime Concert Dec. 13-14, Blackwater. Ragtime pianist. West End Theatre. 2:30 PM. $12.50. 660-846-4511

Bridal Expo and Fashion Show Jan. 18, Warrensburg. Booths, door prizes, and grand prize. University of Central Missouri Ballroom. 11 AM-3 PM. $5-$10. 866-541-9595

Symphony League Home Tour Dec. 6-7, Columbia. Tour four homes and the newly restored Missouri Theatre, plus a bake sale, gypsy boutique, and silent auction. Start at the theatre. 10 AM4 PM Sat.; noon-4 PM Sun. $12-$15. 573-875-0600 Christmas Craft Show Dec. 7, Tipton. Variety of gift items and bake sale. Larry’s Convention Center. 9 AM-4 PM. Free. 660-473-6425

Holiday Open House Dec. 13-14, Osceola. Handmade gift items and refreshments. Evening Shade Farms. 10 AM-4 PM Sat.; noon-4 PM Sun. Free. 417-282-6985

Carl Acuff, Jr. Concert Jan. 9, Versailles. Performance featuring country classic, gospel, nostalgic rock, and comedy. Royal Theatre.

7 PM. $5-$10. 573-378-6226

Missouri Wind Quintet Jan. 24, Columbia. Classical music. United Methodist Church sanctuary. 7 PM. $10-$15. 573-443-3111

MissouriLife

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation Missouri Life (ISSN 1525-0814) is published bimonthly (6 times/year) by Missouri Life, Inc., 515 E. Morgan, Boonville, MO 65233-1252.

Publisher: Greg Wood; Editor: Danita Allen Wood; Managing Editor: Rebecca French Smith; Owners: Missouri Life, Inc. (Greg Wood and Danita Allen Wood).

Extent and Nature of Circulation: Average denotes the number during the preceding year. Actual denotes number of single issues published nearest to filing date, August 2008 issue. Total number of copies printed: average 20,178; actual 21,000.

Total paid and/or requested circulation: average 17,308; actual 19,165. Free distribution by mail: average 529; actual 0. Free distribution outside the mail: average 1,125; actual 922. Total free distribution: average 1,654; actual 922. Total distribution: average 18,962; actual 20,087. Copies not distributed: average 1216; actual 913. Percent paid and/or requested circulation: average 91%; actual 95%.

Where the lake meets the trail Explore our natural beauty, step back in time in historic settings or wrap up your holiday shopping.

Visit soon ... an adventure awaits!

Holiday Lighting Ceremony & Lighted Parade Historic Downtown – Nov. 28

Clinton

660-885-2123 or www.clintonmo.com

[26] MissouriLife

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 26

10/31/08 7:56:03 AM

Puppet Museum Special Exhibits Birthday Parties Puppet Repair

Puppet Shows Puppet Library Puppet Appraisals Workshops

816-833-9777

www.hazelle.org

11025 E. Winner Rd. Independence Ind , MO “In Englewood”

A Winter Stay At Weston’s Bed & Breakfasts Pamper yourself with the comforts of our state-of-the-art lodging facilities. Whether you stay in a historic Victorian, an Irish Inn, or a refurbished Barn THE INN AT WESTON LANDING in the country you will enjoy old-fashioned hospitality and warm friendly charm.

McCormick is the oldest distillery in the United States operating at its original site. McCormick Country Store, the showcase store for the distillery, carries a full line of McCormick products plus logo items.

420 Main Street in Weston, Missouri Tues.-Fri. 11-5, Sat. 10-6 and Sun. Noon-5 Closed on Mon.

Come see us for unique Christmas gift ideas.

We offer a different kind of stocking stuffer. w w w. m c c o r m i c k d i s t i l l i n g . c o m

LIFE IS SHORT. DRESS WELL.

Only a few miles north of KCI airport you can step back in time and visit our antebellum THE BENNER HOUSE town with shops, restaurants, hotel, bed & breakfasts, brewery, wineries, museums, city/state parks and skiing. Make your LAUREL BROOKE FARM reservations today to get away to BED & BREAKFAST historic Weston, Missouri.

FINE WOMENS’ CLOTHING, JEWELRY and ACCESSORIES

512 Main St. Weston, MO 64098

816-640-2770

Mon.-Thur. 10AM-5PM Fri. and Sat. 10AM-6PM Second Sat. 10AM-8PM • Sun. noon-5PM Online store www.missouribluffs.com

GOOD MORNING MISSOURI! Basket Includes The Civil War’s First Blood Lewis & Clark’s Journey Across Missouri 1-Year subscription to MissouriLife 2 coffee mugs & 1 lb. gourmet coffee

THE MURPHY HOUSE

Only $69.99 To Order Call 1-800-492-2593

Visit www.westonmo.com

for all information on Weston and its Bed and Breakfasts with links to each website or call the chamber WESTON BED & BREAKFAST office 816-640-2909.

FOR MORE UNIQUE GIFT ITEMS VISIT

MISSOURILIFE.COM [27] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 27

10/30/08 4:06:22 PM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Northwest & Kansas City Area

Groundhog Run |

By Amy Stapleton

Queen Victoria Christmas Nov. 28-Dec. 30, Independence. Tour the mansion decorated with thirty-five trees and jewel-toned garland. Vaile Mansion. 10 AM-4 PM Mon.-Sat.; 1-4 PM Sun. (bell choir tour Dec. 7 from 4-7 PM). $2-$5. 816-325-7430 Gingerbread Village Nov. 28-Dec. 31, Kansas City. Three locomotives, reindeer stable, a rocking horse, and Santa’s sleigh garage are all made of gingerbread. Crown Center. 10 AM-9 PM Mon.-Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. Free. 816-274-8444

Christmas in Song Dec. 1, 4, and 6, Kansas City. Cabaret-style revue of traditional and contemporary holiday songs. Quality Hill Playhouse. Show dates and times vary. $22-$24.

816-421-1700

A Tuna Christmas Dec. 1-28. Kansas City. Comedy. American Heartland Theatre. $18.50-$34.50. 816-842-0202 Christmas in the Park Dec. 1-31, Blue Springs. Drive through 300,000 lights and 175 animated displays. Longview Lake Campground.

5:30-10 PM Sun.-Thurs.; 5:30-11 PM Fri.-Sat. Donations accepted. 816-503-4800 Photography Exhibit Dec. 1-Jan. 4, Kansas City. Color photo exhibit by Anthony Lepore. Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. 11 AM-4 PM Tues.-Thurs.; 10 AM-9 PM Fri.-Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. Free. 816-753-5784 Railroads and World War I Dec. 1-Jan. 17, Kansas City. Exhibit features photographs, railway tickets, maps, and documents that explore the role railroads played in World War I. National World War I Museum. 10 AM-5 PM Tues.-Sun. $3-$10.

816-784-1918 Faces of Ailey Camp Dec. 1-Jan. 18, Kansas City. Twenty years of photos exhibit. American Jazz Museum Changing Gallery. 9 AM6 PM Tues.-Sat.; noon-6 PM Sun. Free. 816-474-8463 Dialog in the Dark Dec. 1-Mar. 29, Kansas City. Visitors are escorted through the gallery in the dark and challenged to perform tasks without their sight. Union Station. 9:30 AM-6 PM Tues.-Sat.; noon-6 PM. Sun. $18-$22. 816-460-2020 Lighting of the Mansion Dec. 4, St. Joseph. Holiday lighting ceremony of the exterior of the home, a tour of the decorated interior, and live holiday music. Wyeth-Tootle Mansion. 6-8 PM. Free. 816-232-8471

JANUARY 25, KANSAS CITY Join Gus the Groundhog for a 5K or 10K race. Runners from across the nation travel to participate in this unusual race. The MidAmerica Runners Association believes the race to be the only undergound run in the nation, a distinction made possible by the generosity of Hunt Midwest Enterprises.

With a consistent temperature of 65 to 68 degrees year-round, the SubTropolis, an underground business park, is an ideal venue for the more than 3,200 runners who participate in this annual event.

Al l proceeds benefit Children’s Therapeutic Learning Center, which provides high-quality preschool education and

First Friday Art Walk Dec. 5, Kansas City. Explore galleries and shops.

Crossroads Arts District. 7-9 PM. Free. 816-472-5701 Christmas on the River.

Dec. 5, Parkville. 1,000-voice choir, lighting ceremony, and fireworks. Downtown. 4-10 PM. Free. 816-741-7676 Holiday Homes Tour Dec. 5-6, Orrick. Tour five homes decorated for the holidays, and visit the wreath and gift booths at the community center. Throughout town. 816-770-5562

The Women of Brewster Place Dec. 5-Jan. 11, Kansas City. Musical examines the lives of ten women. Unicorn Theatre. 7:30 PM Tues.-Thurs.; 8 PM Fri.-Sat.; 3 PM Sun. $20-$30. 816-531-7529

therapy services to more than five hundred children with disabilities throughout greater Kansas City. Children’s TLC provides multiple therapy services, including occupational, physical, aquatic, speech, and pediatric feeding. Many sponsorship options are available for this fundraiser.

Runners must preregister before race day. There is a $30 fee to participate in this race. Spectators can watch the race for free.

Racers’ check-in is at 7:30 AM. The 5K starts at 9 AM, and the 10K starts at 10 AM. Runner’s World has ranked the Groundhog Run as one of the top 65 races in America.

Call 816-756-0780, ext. 2104, or visit www.childrenstlc.org for more information.

Christmas Homes Tour Dec. 6-7, Lexington. Self-guided tour of five decorated homes from historic to modern. Throughout town.

Candlelight tour 6-8:30 PM Sat.; noon-5 PM Sun. $8-$15.

660-259-3947 Mineral Water Bowl Football Game Dec. 6, Excelsior Springs. In its forty-third year, this fundraiser football game helps raise money for local athletic and academic activities. Tiger Stadium.

1-5 PM. $10. 816-630-6161 A Visit from St. Nicholas Dec. 6, Kansas City. See how Christmas was celebrated from 1830 log cabin to 1900 brick mansion and take a horse-drawn sleigh ride. Shoal Creek Living History Museum. 11 AM-5 PM. $3. 816-792-2655

COURTESY OF DOROTHY GAUTREAUX PHOTOGRAPHY

A Christmas Carol Dec. 1-27, Kansas City. Victorian London comes alive in this classic holiday musical. Kansas City Repertory’s Spencer Theatre. $20-$60. 816-235-2700

[28] MissouriLife

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 28

10/31/08 7:54:17 AM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Victorian Christmas Dec. 6, Lexington. Tour the Anderson House decorated for the 19th-century holidays, plus refreshments and music. Battle of Lexington State Historic Site. 6-8:30 PM. $2.50-$5. 660-259-4654 Homes Tour Dec. 6, Platte City. Tour decorated homes throughout the area. Noon-5 PM. $5. 816-858-4526

COURTESY OF INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI TOURISM

Christmas Lighting Ceremony Dec. 11, Kearney. Santa, hayrides, and holiday music.

Lions Park. 6:30 PM. Free. 816-628-4229

Farndale Christmas Dec. 12-14, St. Joseph. Dinner theater featuring a parody of the classic A Christmas Carol. Robidoux Landing Playhouse. 6 PM Fri.-Sat.; noon Sun. $30. 816-232-1778

Boat and Sports Show Jan. 7-11, Kansas City. Exhibits featuring boats, marine accessories, RVs, hunting gear, and vacation resorts.

Convention and Entertainment Centers. 5-9 PM Wed.; 2-9 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 10 AM-9 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. $5-$9. 816-513-5000 Turpin Tyme Ragsters Jan. 16, Trenton. Ragtime performance that reflects the diversity of music from the turn of the century. Wesley United Methodist Church. 7 PM. $8. 660-359-3763

Nunsense Jan. 17, St. Joseph. Hilarious musical comedy starring Sally Struthers. Missouri Theatre. 8 PM. $10-$45.

816-279-1225

Winterfest Cookie Exchange Dec. 13, Independence. Stroll through decorated shops, and see Swedish Santa Lucia, plus cookies. Independence Square. 10 AM-6 PM. Free. 816-461-0065

Legends Jan. 23-Feb. 14, Excelsior Springs. Slapstick comedy featuring a wheeling, dealing producer; a script for the play Star Wars; and battling divas. Paradise Playhouse.

7 PM Thurs.; 6:30 PM Fri.-Sat.; noon Sun. $16.95-$28.95.

816-630-3333

Littlest Angel Dec. 13, 20, 27 and 29, Independence. Puppet show.

Puppetry Arts Institute. 11 AM and 9 PM Sat.; 7 PM Mon. $5. 816-833-9777

The Princess and the Pea Jan. 31, Chillicothe. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story presented as a play.

Gary Dickinson Performing Arts Center. 3 and 7 PM. $5-$10. 660-646-1173

Visit With Harry DEC. 26-28, INDEPENDENCE In 1993, Niel Johnson dressed up in his best bow tie, hat, cane, and double-breasted suit and greeted Truman biographer David McCullough, who recognized Niel immediately as Harry S. Truman, and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been playing the part ever since.

Visit with Niel at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum located at 500 W. Highway 24 from 10 AM to 2:30 PM. This event is free. Visit www.trumanlibrary.org or call 816-274-8444 for more information.

[29] December 2008

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 29

10/31/08 7:53:27 AM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Northeast & St. Louis Area

Radio City Christmas |

By Amy Stapleton

Sorry! Wrong Chimney!

Nov. 28-Dec. 14, Macon. Holiday farce. Maples Repertory Theatre. 2 and 7:30 PM Wed. and Sat.; 7:30 PM Fri.; 2 PM Sun. $12-$22. 660-385-2924 Festival of Trees Gala Dec. 3, St. Louis. Elegantly designed trees will be auctioned to benefit the Judevine Center, plus entertainment and refreshments. Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet.

6 PM. $200-$250. 314-432-6200 Living Windows Dec. 4, Moberly. More than 60 store windows come to life with music, dancers, and holiday scenes, plus carriage rides. Downtown. 5:30-7:30 PM. Free. 660-263-5251 Historic Holiday Candlelight Tour Dec. 4, St. Louis. Tour six of the area’s historic attractions: Campbell House Museum, Samuel Cupples House, DeMenil Mansion, Eugene Field House, Scott Joplin House, and Old Courthouse. Shuttle buses available.

3-8 PM. $5-$25. 314-421-4689

Missouri Livestock Symposium Dec. 5-6, Kirksville. Dinner, live entertainment, and educational programs on horses, beef cattle, sheep, stock dogs, and wildlife conservation. Middle School. 6-8:15 PM Fri.; 8 AM-7:30 PM Sat. Free. 660-665-9866 Here Comes Santa Dec. 5-6, 13, and 20, Washington. Santa arrives on Fri. at 5:09 PM on Amtrak. See Santa and get your picture taken on Saturdays. Farmer’s Market building. 10 AM-4 PM. Free ($6 for picture). 636-239-1743 Candlelight Christmas Walk Dec. 5 and 12, Augusta. More than 1,000 luminaria, Christmas carolers at the church, chestnuts roasting at the bonfire, and scavenger hunt. Shuttles available.

Throughout town. 5-10 PM. Free. 636-228-4005 Reindeer Romp Dec. 6, Kirksville. Four-mile run or 1.5-mile walk throughout the downtown area with jingle bells provided to run with. Start and finish at Il Spazio Restaurant. 10 AM. $15 runner fee; free to spectators. 660-626-2213 Fun With Santa Dec. 6, St. Clair. Visit Santa, play games, get a goody bag, shop at Craft Day, plus a Christmas Parade. Downtown.

8 AM-8 PM. Free ($5 for Santa visit). 636-629-0715

The Nutcracker Ballet Dec. 6-7, Chesterfield. Narrated production of the classic holiday ballet. Purser Center at Logan College. 7 PM Sat.; 2 PM Sun. $6-$15. 636-519-1955

DEC. 11-28, ST. LOUIS The world-famous Rockettes’ well-known high kicks and precision choreography are the highlight of Radio City Christmas.

This dynamic holiday celebration also features the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and “New York at Christmas.” Delight in watching teddy bears dance, Santas kick up their heels, reindeer fly, and an inspiring Living Nativity where the true meaning of Christmas comes to life, all set to big-band sounds and many holiday favorites.

This show has dazzled theatergoers for

Christmas at the Cathedral Dec. 7, St. Louis. Performance features the Archdiocesan choirs and orchestra. Cathedral Basilica. 2:30 PM. $20$45. 314-533-7662 Holiday Express Dec. 13, Mexico. Holiday lights adorn the Kansas City South Express train as it rolls into town and opens its decorated cars for tours with hot chocolate and treat bags for the whole family. South Jefferson Street Crossing. 4 PM. Free. 573-581-2765 Kristkindl Markt Dec. 13-14, Hermann. Featuring handcrafted soaps, jewelry, art, watercolors, fruit butters, dolls, and furniture, live music, art demonstrations, and samples. Historic Hermannhof Festhalle and Hofgarten. 10 AM-5 PM Sat.; 10 AM-4 PM Sun. Free. 573-486-3276

more than seventy-five years. The Rockettes first came to life in 1925 at St. Louis, high kicking as the Missouri Rockets before moving to New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

The show is held at the Fox Theatre located at 527 N. Grand Boulevard. Several morning, matinee, and evening shows are scheduled through December. A Christmas Eve show is also scheduled. A grand buffet is available for pre-show dining in the Griffin Room.

Visit www.fabulousfox.com or call 800293-5949 for more information.

Living Nativity Dec. 14, Mexico. Fifty-second year of Living Nativity. First Christian Church. 6:30 PM. Free. 573-581-4628 Holiday Parlor Tour Dec. 14, St. Louis. Walking tour of decorated Victorian homes, plus carriage rides. Lafayette Square Neighborhood. 10 AM-6 PM. $15-$18. 314-772-5724 Holiday Houses and Christkindl Markt Dec. 14, Washington. Traditional German Christmas market. Farmer’s Market building. Noon-4 PM. Free. Tour seven decorated homes. Throughout town. 4-8 PM. $10$15. 636-390-8257 Christmas Craft Show Dec. 20, St. Louis. Local crafters. Daniel Bissell House Barn. 10 AM-3 PM. Free. 636-532-7298

COURTESY OF FOX THEATRE

Candlelight Christmas Tour Dec. 5-6 and 12-13, Defiance. 19th-century decorations, period music, refreshments, and thousands of candles, lanterns, and bonfires. Daniel Boone Home and Boonesfield Village. 6-10 PM. $12-$15. 636-798-2005

[30] MissouriLife

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 30

10/31/08 9:03:46 AM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Oz with Orchestra Dec. 27-28, St. Louis. Classic 1939 movie remastered and restored with the score performed live by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Powell Symphony Hall at Grand Center. 7:30 PM Sat.; 3 PM Sun. $17.50-$80.

800-232-1880 Best Bridal Show Jan. 4, St. Charles. Products and services including ceremony and reception sites, florists, cakes, photos, and limo services and prize drawings. Convention Center.

Noon-4 PM. 314-744-5777

COURTESY OF LET’S GO PROMOTIONS, INC.

Cornet Chop Suey Jan. 11, Hannibal. Jazz concert with cash bar and food available. Quality Inn & Suites Convention Center.

5-8 PM. $7-$15. 573-769-2499

African Heritage Exhibit Jan. 18-Mar. 7, St. Louis. Exhibit features three St. Louisbased artists that are either African descent or born on the continent of Africa. St. Louis Artists’ Guild. Noon-4 PM Tues.-Sun. Free. 314-727-6266

Sleeping Beauty Jan. 21, St. Louis. Performance by the Russian National Ballet. Lindenwood Center for Fine and Performing Arts.

7:30 PM. $35-$65. 636-949-4433 Pilobolus Jan. 23-24, St. Louis. Radically innovative dance company who intertwine amazing feats and humorous antics.

Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. 8 PM Fri.; 2 and 8 PM Sat. $29-$50. 314-516-4949

Loop Ice Carnival Jan. 17, St. Louis. Ice sculptures, snowboarding, music, games, arts, crafts, and chili cook-off. Loop Neighborhood. 10 AM-6 PM. Free. 314-727-8000

Eagle Watch and Trail Walk Jan. 24, St. Louis. Live eagles and other birds of prey on-site and two guided hikes on a three-mile trail.

Refreshments served. Fort Belle Fontaine. 11 AM-2 PM. Free. 314-821-1209, ext. 14

Eagle Days Jan. 17-18, St. Louis. Educational programs featuring a live eagle and viewing scopes to see eagles feeding on this section of the Mississippi River. Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. 9 AM-3 PM. Free. 314-416-9930

Jungle Jack Hanna Jan. 24, University City. Hanna has traveled the world to discover interesting animals, which he brings with him for this educational and entertaining show. COCA Theatre. 11 AM, 3 and 5 PM. $25-$35. 314-725-6555

Row Your Boat JAN. 16-18, ST. CHARLES Boats, boats, and more boats! The show features a variety of boats including pontoons, deck boats, cruisers, ski boats, runabouts, aluminum and fiberglass fishing boats, and personal watercraft. Held at the St. Charles Convention Center.

Show hours are noon to 10 PM on Friday, 10 AM to 8 PM on Saturday, and 11 AM to 5 PM on Sunday. Admission is $3-$6 with ages 5 and under free. On Friday, seniors age 60 and above are $3.50.

Call 314-355-1236 for more information.

St Louis, MO

ne Great selection of fi fine hand-built acoustics

by Bourgeois, Breedlove, Goodall, Martin, Santa Cruz, & more!& more!

Taylor CALL US TOLL FREE 888-MUSIC-00 www.FaziosMusic.com [31] December 2008

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 31

10/27/08 4:44:14 PM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Southeast

Country Church Tour |

By Amy Stapleton

Twelfth Night Dec. 3-6, Cape Girardeau. Traditional holiday comedy by William Shakespeare. Bedell Performance Hall at River Campus. 7:30 PM Wed.-Fri.; 2 and 7:30 PM Sat. $12-$14.

573-651-2265 Bi-City Celebration Dec. 4, Leadington and Park Hills. Double tree lighting and a holiday parade that starts at Leadington Plaza and ends at Park Hills Farmer's Market. 6:30 PM. Free.

573-431-1051

It's A Wonderful Life Dec. 4, Perryville. Uplifting holiday story. Perry Park Center.

7:30 PM. 573-547-8382

Old Town Cape Open House Dec. 5, Cape Girardeau. Carolers, refreshments, pictures with Santa, carriage rides, door prizes, face painting, and chances to win a $2,000 shopping spree. Downtown. 6-9 PM. Free. 573-334-8085 A Rita Coolidge Christmas Dec. 5, Rolla. Two time Grammy-Award winning vocalist performs original songs and holiday favorites with the local youth chorus. Leach Theatre. 7:30 PM. $25-$30.

573-341-2419 ChristmasFest Dec. 5-6, Salem. Artisans display and sell their crafts and holiday gifts. Bonebrake Center. 5-8 PM Fri.; 8 AM -1 PM Sat. Free. 573-729-3400 Lighted Parade Dec. 6, Cuba. Lighted floats, Santa, lighting of the tree, showing of the movie “Polar Express,” popcorn, and hot cider. Starts at Old Town and ends at Recklein Auditorium. 6 pm. Free. 573-885-2531 Country Christmas Festival Dec. 6, East Prairie. Pancake breakfast, lighted parade, crafts, flea market, Victorian carolers, pictures with Santa, decorated shops, carriage rides, and chili supper. 7 AM-8 PM. Free (except food and carriage rides).

573-649-5243 Christmas in the Valley Dec. 6, Ironton. Pancake breakfast, pictures with Frosty and Rudolph, craft and gift show, cookie decorating, parade, and “Bob Hope Style White Christmas” music show. Throughout town. 8 AM-8 PM. Free. 573-546-7117 Festival of Lights Dec. 6, Jackson. Luminaria light up the Jackson County Courthouse square. 5 PM. Free. 573-243-8131

DEC. 18-19, SOUTH PERRY, NORTH CAPE GIRARDEAU, AND BOLLINGER COUNTIES Three years ago, several members from a group of churches planned a Christmas Country Church Tour. Seven churches of different denominations participated. The next year seventeen churches opened their doors, and today the tour involves more than twenty churches in nearly as many towns throughout the area. More than four hundred guests have made this tour a part of their holiday traditions.

Each church displays special decorations for the holidays. Some of the churches prepare

Christmas Bazaar Dec. 6, Kennett. Crafts and baked goods. American Legion Building. 9 AM-4 PM, Free. 573-888-9472 Home for the Holidays Dec. 6, Marquand. Christmas village window displays, tour the decorated park, and a performance of Hometown Holiday, a musical performance. Throughout town. Noon7 PM. Free ($3-$7 for performance). 573-783-4769 Parade of Lights Dec. 6, Salem. Lighted floats, Santa, and marching bands. Downtown. 5:30 PM. Free. 573-729-6900 Santa at the Band Stand Dec. 6, Sikeston. Pictures with Santa, carolers, hot chocolate, and cookies. Malone Park. 11 AM-1 PM. Free.

573-380-3801

elaborate tables filled with refreshments.

Special displays, decorated trees, garlands, crèches, and live Nativity scenes enhance the tour experience. Some churches even have live Christmas music performances.

Members of each church give tours and convey the history of the church. The tour runs from 3 to 9 PM each day.

Admission is free. Some of the churches set out baskets for freewill donations to be used for local charities.

Each stop will have a map of the entire tour, and signs will be placed in front so tour guests can easily find the churches.

Call 573-833-6188 for more information.

Country Christmas Walk Dec. 6-7, Ste. Genevieve. Parade, historic homes tours, tree lighting, stores decorated and refreshments served, and bell choir and Christmas concert. Historic Downtown.

11 AM-8 PM Sat.; 11 AM-5 PM Sun. Free. 800-373-7007

Christmas in the Country Dec. 6 and 13, Steelville. Holiday variety show for the whole family. Meramec Music Theatre. Dec. 6, 2 PM.; Dec. 13, 2 and 7 PM. $8.50-$17. 573-775-5999 Festival of Lights Dec. 6-25, St. James. Walk or drive through lighted displays. St. James Park. 5-10 pm. Free. 573-265-7124 Home Tours Dec. 7, Rolla. Tour five decorated homes. Throughout town. 1-4 PM. $10. 573-341-8055

COURTESY OF AILEEN PETZOLDT

Oliver House Tour Dec. 4, 7, 14, 21, and 28, Jackson. Tour the historic home of Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Oliver, Missouri's “Betsy Ross,” decorated with a Victorian theme. Oliver House Museum. 5-7 PM. Thurs. candlelight tour; 1-3 PM Sun. $1-$5. 573-243-8131

[32] MissouriLife

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 32

10/30/08 11:16:49 AM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Christmas Parlour Tour and Bazaar Dec. 7, St. James. Tour six decorated homes and a live Nativity scene, visit Humane Society open house, and shop for gifts, crafts, and art. Throughout town. Noon6 PM (2-5 PM tour for $10). Free. 573-265-3671 Christmas Homes Tour Dec. 7, Sikeston. Guides at each of the three decorated homes give a tour and tell the history of the home.

Throughout town. 1-4 PM. $10. 573-481-9967

Peter and the Wolf Dec. 9, Cape Girardeau. Symphony orchestra presents classic story in music. Bedell Performance Hall at River Campus. 7:30 PM. $11-$15. 573-651-2265

COURTESY OF MICHAEL COMER

The Nutcracker Dec. 11-13, Farmington. Ballet. Civic Center. 7 PM Thurs.-Fri.; 2 and 7 PM Sat. $10.50. 573-756-0900

A Victorian Musical Christmas Dec. 13, Salem. Performance by the Salem High Chamber Choir plus appetizers. Bonebrake Center. Reservations.

7:30 PM. $5. 573-729-3400 Downtown Stroll Dec. 13, West Plains. Music, dancing, art exhibits, demonstrations, and refreshments. Historic Court Square.

5-8 PM. Free. 888-256-8835 French Christmas Open House Dec. 14. Ste. Genevieve. Celebration highlights the music, food, and decorations of an early French Christmas. Free.

573-883-7102 The Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Elvis Presley Jan. 3, Marquand. Exciting performance by Elvis impersonator. Homan Hall. 7 PM. $3-$7. 573-783-6482

Christmas in the Park Dec. 12-21, Rolla. More than sixty holiday displays. Lions Club Park. 6-9 PM Sun.-Thurs.; 6-10 PM Fri.-Sat. Free.

573-364-4386

Paper Mosaics Exhibits Jan. 5-27, Poplar Bluff. Russell Irwin creates mosaics from layers of torn paper accented with acrylic paints.

Margaret Harwell Art Museum. Noon-4 PM Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 PM Sat.-Sun. Free. 573-686-8002

Christmas in Mountain View Dec. 13, Mountain View. Parade and caroling. Downtown.

3 PM. Free. 417-934-2794

Winter Garage Sale Jan. 24, Cape Girardeau. Variety of items. Osage Community Center. 8 AM-noon. $1. 573-334-2859

Candlelight Tours DEC. 13-14, NEW MADRID In 1860s Victorian Christmas grandeur, the Hunter-Dawson Home features three decorated trees, a staff in period costumes, and candlelit tours. The New Madrid Museum and Higgerson School will also be decorated and open for tours. Carolers, hot chocolate, and Santa will be on Main Street.

Tours are available from 6 to 8:30 PM and are free. Visit www.new-madrid.mo.us or call 877-748-5300 for more information.

[33] December 2008

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 33

10/31/08 7:49:21 AM

ML

ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Southwest

The Living Tree |

By Amy Stapleton

Decades of White House Christmas Dec. 1-31, Branson. More than twenty trees decorated with First Lady themes and past traditions and White House holiday cards, gift prints, and trivia. American Presidents Museum. 9 AM-5 PM Tues.-Sat. $7-$10 (17 years old and younger are free). 417-334-8683 Midori Dec. 5, Joplin. World-renowned violinist performs.

Webster Hall at Missouri Southern campus. 7 PM. Donations accepted. 417-625-1822 Tour of Homes Dec. 5-6, Kimberling City. Fundraiser for local charities featuring a tour of five decorated homes, silent auction, hospitality room, holiday gift boutique, and prize drawings. Throughout town and Kimberling Area Library.

10 AM-5 PM. $15 for tour. 417-779-1412 Winter Arts Festival Dec. 5-7, Springfield. Visual and performing arts festival.

Juanita K. Hammons Hall. 5-10 PM Fri.; 10 AM-10 PM Sat.; noon-5 PM Sun. Free. 888-476-7849

Second Time Around Dec. 6, Joplin. Design, create, and build crafts from recycled materials and create handmade holiday gifts.

Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center.

2-4 PM. $6. Preregistration. 417-782-6287 Christmas Parade Dec. 6, Neosho. “A Picture-Perfect Christmas” themed parade. Downtown. 5 PM. Free. 417-451-1925 Dickens Christmas Faire Dec. 6, Neosho. Crafts show, carriage rides, breakfast with Santa, and Christmas videos and craft projects for children. Civic Auditorium and downtown square. 8 AM7 PM. Free (except carriage rides). 417-451-1925 Miss Merrie Christmas Pageant Dec. 6, Springfield. Competition focuses on the academic achievements and character of the contestants, not just their beauty. Gillioz Theatre. 6 PM. 417-766-8517 Adoration Parade and Lighting Ceremony Dec. 7, Branson. Lighted parade and Adoration scene.

Downtown. 5:30 PM. Free. 800-214-3661 Live Nativity Pageant Dec. 7-13, Springfield. Watch a live performance from your car. West Lot on the grounds of the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. 6:30 and 7:30 PM. Free. 417-833-2660 Christmas Parade Dec. 13, Ava. “Storybook Christmas” theme. Downtown Square. 1 PM. Free. 417-683-4594

DEC. 4-7, JOPLIN Sixty choir members will adorn a thirtyone-foot-four-inch tall and eighteen foot wide, twelve-ton Christmas tree structure as living ornaments during a performance of A Little at a Time.

The performace below the tree, which will also sparkle with ninety-five hundred lights, will take you on a wistful holiday journey, helping you learn the joy of celebrating Christmas year-round.

The accompanying festival also includes loft tours of renovated historic buildings, a stained-glass tour of St. Peter’s Church,

Christmas Parade Dec. 13, Monett. Floats, clowns, bands, and jolly St. Nick. Downtown. 10 AM. Free. 417-235-7919 Memorial Illumination Dec. 13, Republic. More than 2,500 luminaria light up the five-mile tour. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield.

5:30-9:30 PM. Free. 417-732-2662, ext. 224 A Christmas at the Movies Dec. 13, Springfield. Themed parade featuring floats, marching bands, Santa, and candy for the kids.

Downtown. 10 AM. Free. 417-831-6200 Santa Train Dec. 14, Hollister. Santa arrives on the train, refreshments, children’s activities, and holiday music.

Community Center. 3-5 PM. Free. 417-334-3262

musical presentations and refreshments at several churches, a holiday parade with a “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” theme, a display and sale of local artwork, breakfast with Santa, and the crowning of Miss Merry Christmas.

Events are held throughout town at various locations. Most events are free. A Little at a Time runs Thursday through Monday at 7:30 PM with matinees at 4 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $5-$7.

Call 417-626-1234, ext. 2400, or 800657-2534 or visit www.OCC.edu or www. visitjoplinmo.com for more information.

Cowboy Christmas Dec. 14, Springfield. Michael Martin Murphey performs old-fashioned songs, stories, and a message of Christmas cheer. Juanita K. Hammons Hall. 7 PM. $19-$29. 888-476-7849 A Genius Remembered Dec. 20, Diamond. Film explores the life of George Washington Carver, told by the people who knew him.

George Washington Carver National Monument. 1 PM. Free. 417-325-4151 An Old-Time Christmas Dec. 20, Joplin. Decorate the tree outside with treats for the birds and squirrels, plus crafts and gifts, holiday storytelling, and hot cider. Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center. 1:30-3:30 PM. $6. Preregistration.

417-782-6287

COURTESY OF LEASA FRYE

Christmas Parade Dec. 6, Forsyth. “Do You See What I See” themed parade featuring Santa, floats, and three marching bands.

Downtown. 2 PM. Free. 417-546-2741

[34] MissouriLife

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 34

10/31/08 7:45:00 AM

ML

All Around Missouri

Sound the Horn Jan. 10, Springfield. Classical music performance featuring Springfield native Julia Pilant. Juanita K. Hammons Hall. 7:30 pm. Free. 888-476-7849 Ice Carving Competition Jan. 17, Branson. Ice sculptors compete by chiseling 250-pound blocks of ice in amazing designs. Titanic Museum outdoor entertainment center. 9 am-3 pm. Free.

417-334-9500

Courtesy of Ralph Pokorny, Nevada Daily News

Eagle Viewing Jan. 17, Cassville. Educational video presentation on bald eagles and go outside to watch eagles coming in to roost for the night. Roaring River State Park. 3 pm. Free.

417-847-3742

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Jan. 23-25, Springfield. Tony Award-winning new musical comedy teaches adolescents and grown-ups that winning isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t everything. Juanita K. Hammons Hall. 8 pm Fri.; 2 and 8 pm Sat.; 2 pm Sun. $12-$45. 888-476-7849 Baby Quilt Sew-In Jan. 27, Springfield. Join guild members to make quilts that are then given to local hospitals for newborns.

Deliverance Temple. 10 am. Westway Center 6 pm. Free.

417-882-5989

Big Smith and BBQ Jan. 31, Springfield. Nationally known local band performs acoustic music that captures the spirit of their native Ozarks, and BBQ is served in the lobby. Juanita K. Hammons Hall. 5 pm BBQ for $10; 8 pm show for $16$26. 888-476-7849 Greater Springfield Garage Sale Jan. 31-Feb. 1, Springfield. More than 400 booths featuring antiques, collectibles, art, electronics, and furniture.

Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. 9 am-6 pm Sat.; 10 am-4 pm Sun. $3.50. 417-833-2660

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 and fill out the form, e-mail amy@missourilife.com, fax 660-882-9899, or send announcement to Missouri Life, 515 E. Morgan St., Boonville, MO 65233

Lights at the Lake Nov. 27-Dec. 31, Nevada Radio Springs Park has a small lake that at one time was touted as having healing waters. This holiday season you can drive through the park and view decorated trees and lighted displays. The twinkling lights reflecting on the lake create a winter wonderland. Local charities collect freewill donations. The display is open from 7-11 pm daily.

Visit www.nevada-mo.com or call 417448-2742 for more information.

[35] December 2008

AAM-DECEMBER 2008.indd 35

10/30/08 5:08:47 PM

The District & Stephens College

DECEMBER 31, 2008 Stay Overnight!

Visit

www.visitcolumbiamo.com for lodging information.

ENTERTAINMENT 7 pm to midnight

G Music G Dancing G Magic G Puppets G Children’s Activities & Art G Children’s Procession with Fireworks (9:30 pm) G People’s Procession G Midnight Finale with Fireworks G 5K Run / Walk (4:00 pm)

More than

60

PERFORMANCES & activities at 13 locations for all ages!

For information on admission and schedule, visit http://firstnight.missouri.org or call

573.874.7460 First Night is sponsored by Stephens College, KPLA 101.5 and KFRU Radio, Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau Tourism Development Program, Columbia Daily Tribune, City of Columbia, Missouri Arts Council (a state agency) and KOMU-TV8.

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 36

10/27/08 6:46:30 PM

MADE IN MISSOU RI Su rprising Show-me Busines

ses and Products

THE KING OF INSTRUMENTS S T. J O S E P H F A M I LY B U S I N E S S P R E S E R V E S R O YA L P E D I G R E E |

COURTESY OF TEMPLE ORGANS

MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES ago, in 1777, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart called the organ “the king of instruments.” Seven centuries before Mozart’s time, pipe organs started cropping up in cathedrals, though early Christians initially resisted their use during worship. Today, organ music tends to be associated with church.

In recent times, however, the instrument’s kingliness gave way to commonness, and newer organs made music that wasn’t as solemn and churchlike.

“The American organ of the first half of the twentieth century followed the new technology of the time, which included the advent of the electric blower … and the early use of electricity to open the valves that allow air into the pipes,” says David Cool, owner of Temple Organs at St. Joseph.

In the silent film era of the early 1900s, smaller theater organs were developed to provide live, mood-appropriate music and sound effects for theatergoers, including sirens, doorbells, car horns, and drums.

“The popularization of this type of organ influenced the art of church organ building, introducing a voicing style not considered before this time to be orthodox and spiritually uplifting,” David says.

Temple Organs and its founder, David’s father, moved organ building forward by turning back the clock. N. Frederick Cool started the company in 1953 after apprenticing at Kansas City with the late Charles McManis who, along with some other builders, aimed to revive the classic tonal style of the previous century in Europe.

Frederick designed each stop (a means of turning a particular sound on or off) so that each offered a unique “voice” while blending with all the others. David likens the process to orchestrating many kinds The First Christian Church at Trenton houses one of Temple Organs’ instruments. David Cool (right) and his nephew, Bob Cool, construct the organ at the Lutheran Church and Student Center, Norman, Oklahoma.

By Dawn Klingensmith

of instruments so they join together into a symphony.

“The organ is by far the largest man-made instrument,” he says.

An average church organ has more than a thousand pipes, ranging from sixteen feet long down to half an inch. Each instrument is composed of blowers to supply air pressure, a reservoir and regulators to stabilize the pressure, one or more wind chests with valves that control airflow to the pipes, and the console, which is the organ’s equivalent of a piano keyboard, though it’s much more complicated.

Temple Organs has been at St. Joseph since 1975. It’s a small company, producing three or four organs each year. New organs often are built for newly constructed churches, and David likes to get involved during the design phase to make sure the instrument will fit in and complement the space. That doesn’t always happen, though.

Sometimes, he draws on his ingenuity to design an organ for an existing church where no space was planned for such a major installation.

Rebuilding projects make up a large part of David’s business because old organ pipes are salvageable. Pipes are designed to last for centuries, he says, while other mechanisms will degrade or obsolesce as new technologies become available.

“Just as a vintage violin may need to be restrung, the working parts of an organ will finally need replacement,” David says.

One such project currently underway is for St. Patrick’s Catholic Oratory at Kansas City. A donated organ from a church in Massachusetts will be revitalized over a six-month period and installed in a rear balcony.

After every installation, the organ’s pipes are tuned to match the acoustics of the space and the congregation’s worship style. The result is a rich, warm, unified sound that’s perfect for church—and fit for a king.

Call 816-232-2008 or visit www.templeorgans.com for more information.

[37] December 2008

MADE-DECEMBER 2008.indd 37

10/30/08 12:36:20 PM

∑

∏ • Shoot inside and outside. Producers look for the perfect interior shots as well as exteriors.

Help the Missouri Film Commission and Missouri Life identify great new potential film locations for every season to share with Hollywood producers.

We’re looking for a range of ideas, and anything could be the grand prize winner.

Take those digital cameras and start snapping. Major prizes will be chosen quarterly for a year.

Go to MissouriLife.com home page, click on Location Scout and follow the directions for uploading your entries.

You will upload a low resolution photo, but you will need to keep a larger image for possible printing. You will also need to give us a two-sentence description of the photograph and precise directions for finding the location. Get permission to shoot private property if you do not own it.

Enter photographs of public sites, too. Hollywood is happy to work out filming permissions and fees, should the site you shoot be chosen.

• Location, location, and location are the criteria we’ll use to judge the contest. Think fascinating locations more than beautiful photography.

• You must include the precise location. We have to be able to tell scouts how to find your entry.

• The location must exist as shown in the photo today.

SUSPENSION BRID GE ACROSS LITTLE

TIM KUCH TA

ONVILLE

• S MALL TOWNS • L ANDSCAPES • O ZARK M OUNTAINS • L ANDSCAPES WITH WATER (RIVER, LAKES, • U RBAN S CENES • C OLLEGE CAMPUS S CENES • C OUNTRY ROADS • FARMSTEADS • H ISTORIC B UILDINGS • M ANSIONS, I NSIDE AND O UTSIDE • O THER H OMES, I NSIDE AND O UTSIDE • C EMETERIES • A IRPORTS • THEME PARKS • C OMMERCIAL B UILDINGS • B USINESS LOCATIONS • I NDUSTRIAL LOCATIONS • TRAIN STATIONS AND TRACKS • O THER U NUSUAL LOCATIONS

PONDS)

∑

NIANGUA RIVER

MISSOURI FILM CO MM ISSION

SHOOTING SAVING GRACE IN BO

We’ll pick one major prize winner plus a winner in every category quarterly, and one grand prize winner who submits the most entries accepted by the film commission at the end of a full year of scouting. Enter as many locations as you’d like.

[38] MissouriLife

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 38

[PB] MissouriLife

10/31/08 2:15:33 PM

PROMOTION

∑

• Quarterly Category Winners: Two tickets to one movie shown at the theater of your choice.

• Community prize is a 30-second commercial using im-

ages submitted on Missouri Life’s web site to run in a theater of your choice for one week, plus special recognition in a future issue of the magazine.

See MissouriLife.com for more prize details.

• Community entries may be submitted by anyone, but must include at least 12 photographs of location-worthy spots around your community. You may define your community. Perhaps you’re a small section of a larger urban area, such as Maplewood in St. Louis, or Downtown Columbia. Separate prize for this winner.

Entries must be digital and submitted online. Winners will be judged by representatives of the Missouri Film Commission and Missouri Life. Judges’ decision are final. Winners will be notified by email or mail. Prizes may not be exchanged for cash or substitute. A list of winners names will be posted at MissouriLife.com or may be obtained by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Missouri Life at 515 E Morgan St, Boonville MO 65233. Entry gives permission to the Missouri Film Commission and Missouri Life to post name and use images submitted.

See MissouriLife.com for complete rules.

• This contest is sponsored by the Missouri Film Commission, Net fl ix, the M issou ri Motion Media Association, True/False Film Festival, and Missouri Life.

Enter By

Win By

Dec 20 Mar 20 June 20 Sept 20 Sept 20

Dec 30 Mar 30 June 30 Sept 30 Oct 15

∏

• Fall and Winter Season, • Winter and Early Spring Season, • Late Spring and Early Summer, • Summer and Early Fall Season, • GRAND PRIZE WINNER

• Grand Prize Winner: A four-day vacation to Branson with lodging and tickets to shows and attractions, plus a year’s subscription to Netflix movies (see netflix.com), plus two passes to all films shown at the next True/False Film Festival in Columbia.

• Quarterly Major Prize Winner: A six-month subscription to Netflix, plus a $100 gift certificate to the theater of your choice.

GRACE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH, FAYETTE

NOTLEY HAW KINS

ST EWART

DROLET

ILES & AUTOMOB , S IN A R T , S PLANE CH VIEW IN R A IS U O L .

T S

[39] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 39

10/31/08 2:17:00 PM

U RI ISSO OF mM BEST Quality fro Every Corner

JAVA JOINTS M I S S O U R I L I F E R E A D E R S S H A R E T H E I R FA V O R I T E C O F F E E S H O P S |

COFFEE GATHERS PEOPLE together in public spaces where they share news, food, art, and ideas over a cup. The drink first made its way out of Ethiopia and into the Middle East in the 1400s, and more than six hundred years later, many in the United States consider it a daily necessity. Missouri is no exception to coffee obsession and is home to 146 Starbucks stores alone.

Missouri Life asked readers to tell us about their favorite independent coffee shops, and now we bring you the recommendations from each of our five regions. Partisanship was rampant, the race was hotly contested, and coffee-for-votes schemes can’t be ruled out. After all, all’s fair in love for coffee. Overall, these favorite shops offer quality products, a fair price, and a comfortable environment for community conversation. Of course, each shop has its own special traits, from highly environmentally conscious business practices to a seventy-five-cent bottomless cup of coffee. So come explore some of our readers’ favorite places to get a coffee fix and reconnect with friends and neighbors.

RendezvousCoffehouse, COLUMBIA 3304 BUSINESS PARK COURT | 573-446-4034 Rendezvous Coffeehouse enthusiasts love the friendly personalities of owners Lori Sander and Stacey Slaughter.

“They’re very personable. They know you by name when you walk in the door, and they know what you want,” says frequent customer Jenna Sheffield of Midway.

“We both like to take care of people, and our first jobs were customer service, in retail,” Lori says.

“I have spent all day there several times, studying and working, because my i nternet goes out when it storms,” Jenna says. “I’ll go down and get breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner.”

By Sara Shahriari

Rendezvous, which opened in 2004, has a large coffee menu and a small meal menu that includes sandwiches, plus biscuits and gravy on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Their chicken salad, made from a secret recipe, is also popular.

Java.net Books and Gifts, CUBA 418 NORTH FRANK LIN | 573-885-4442 Java.net Books and Gifts is Missouri’s multi-tasking coffee shop. Along with serving Kaldi’s coffee, snacks, and light lunches, it hosts a gift shop, a book exchange, a library, and a quickly growing book club.

“They’ve brought a big-town atmosphere to this little-bitty burg of ours,” says Catherine Edelen of Cuba.

Java.net is located in a renovated Coca-Cola storage warehouse.

Owners and native Missourians Mary and Joe Miller renovated the building, doing much of the work on their own.

“I was real apprehensive of making such a big step after having a nine-to-five job my whole life,” Mary says.

“I originally was just going to open a bookstore.”

Kim Robinson of Cuba says that Mary will go out of her way to find a special book or gift for which a customer is searching, often finding it online and ordering it.

Mary also runs a system that allows patrons to trade in their books.

If they want cash, they get 10 percent of the original price, or 25 percent of the book’s price toward buying books at Java.net. “It has just been a lot more fun than I thought,” Mary says. “I’m living a dream, there’s no other way to put it.”

From left: If you’re a regular at Rendezvous Coffehouse at Columbia, chances are the owners know you by name. At Java.net at Cuba, Iced Mocha features chocolate syrup, chocolate sprinkles, and Ghirardelli chocolate.

[40] MissouriLife

BEST-DECEMBER 2008.indd 40

10/30/08 1:10:12 PM

Fi nd a

75m¢less

botto f cup o

from left: andrew johnmeyer; Courtesy of jane reed; Courtesy of Denny Medley/random photography

coffee!

[41] December 2008

BEST-DECEMBER 2008.indd 41

10/28/08 10:11:15 AM

JAVA JOINTS

Philadelphia CommunityCenter, PHILADELPHIA 2999 COUNTY ROAD 13 | 573-439-5008 “It’s just a little coffee shop where all the people in the community can come in,” says Faye Chitwood of the Philadelphia Community Center’s coffee shop. In a population of about 450, the shop is one of just a few places Philadelphians can get some breakfast, a cup of coffee, and catch up with neighbors in the small northeast Missouri town.

“Mostly farmers and retirees gather there for fellowship,” says Faye, who volunteers at the center.

Plus, the shop’s price can’t be beat, at seventy-five cents for unlimited coffee. Sure, there are no frozen skinny mocha cappuccinos, but as Faye says, “It’s just an enjoyable place to be.”

At the Philadelphia Community Center at Philadelphia, Missouri, Marge Plunkett makes coffee while Randy Plunkett serves George Drebenstedt (left) and Jim Wilson, who frequent the center.

The Coffee Ethic, SPRINGFIELD 124 PARK CENTRAL SQUARE | 417-866-6645 Jim Hamilton and Tom Billionis began The Coffee Ethic as a for-profit, for-good enterprise. Jim says the store, which opened in December 2007, was founded on three principles: produce the best coffee; value people, including customers, employees, the supplier, and the community; and care for the earth.

All of the store’s coffee comes from PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. at Topeka, Kansas, and is single-origin coffee. “That means that the coffee comes directly from one place,” Jim says. “It doesn’t come from a country; it comes from a single farm.” This helps ensure both the quality of the coffee and that the people producing it are being paid fair prices.

The business is located in downtown Springfield, and Tom and Jim hope its presence will be part of revitalizing the area. The store is constructed using some unusual materials. The countertops are walnut salvaged from an ice storm two years ago, and the doors that separate the store from the county library are wood salvaged from an Arkansas tornado in the 1970s.

Tom and Jim focus on buying coffee at fair prices and use a topof-the-line Clover brewer, which brews one cup at a time. They also support groups that seek to improve the lives of coffee growers around the world. Jim says growers in places like Rwanda often bring their product from their mountain farms to market on dangerously decrepit bicycles. The Coffee Ethic contributes to Bikes To Rwanda, a program that helps farmers get safer transport to market.

Benetti’s Coffee Experience, RAYTOWN 6109 BLUE RIDGE BOULEVARD | 816-516-0893 “We didn’t just put lipstick on a pig here,” Ben Helt says of the building he and his wife, Sarah, renovated to house Benetti’s Coffee Experience, which they co-own and opened in 2007. Their friend, Jeff Page, a local realtor and business owner, purchased the rundown building, and together the three undertook a massive renovation.

“We located where we did to help spark the rejuvenation of our downtown area,” Ben says.

Ben, who formerly worked in public relations for a school district, likes what the presence of a coffeehouse means for a community, both spiritually and fi nancially.

“For centuries, coffeehouses and places that serve something for indulgence’s sake have been places where people connect, where you can have those cultural discussions and share ideas,” he says.

Ben buys his coffee and roasts it with a gas drum roaster. “You’re going to find a drum-roasted coffee to be a little more earthy,” he says.

The shop also serves homemade soups and wraps.

Ben and Sarah try to bring artwork into the shop as well through juried art shows, which can range from paintings to music to edible gingerbread art. Their ultmate goal is to have art that is accessible, interactive, and relevant, Ben says.

A year and a half into the business, Ben is enjoying the work and what it brings to Raytown.

“I’ve been blessed,” he says.

Visit MissouriLife.com for a complete list of our readers’ recommendations.

Left: The countertops at The Coffee Ethic are made from salvaged walnut, debris left behind from an ice storm two years ago. Above: Owner Ben Helt levels coffee into the portafilter to make a drink for a Benetti’s customer.

COURTESY OF FAYE CHITWOOD; COURTESY OF DENNY MEDLEY/RANDOM PHOTOGRAPHY; COURTESY OF CODY HAMILTON

ML

[42] MissouriLife

BEST-DECEMBER 2008.indd 42

10/31/08 9:32:03 AM

t‫ה‬

BEST of

F E S T I VA L

Save the date!

May 1-3, 2009! in Historic Boonville, MO A great celebration of the best of Missouri culture through story, song, taste, & famous Missouri characters.

Visit MissouriLife.com for updates.

See you next year!

Missouri Life, Inc. 515 E. Morgan St. ~ Boonville, MO 65233

800-492-2593

[43] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 43

10/30/08 1:48:03 PM

VISIT FABULOUS FULTON AND CALLAWAY COUNTY

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

In the heart of Missouri is Fulton, voted one of the top 10 places to visit in the Midwest and Callaway County’s gem. Named after steamboat inventor Robert Fulton, Fulton has a rich history with exciting sites and sounds all wrapped up in small town charm.

Fulton’s downtown, made famous in the Ronald Reagan movie Kings Row has kept its historic charm with brick streets, elegant architecture, 67 buildings on the historic register, great restaurants, romantic B&B’s, antiques and one-of-a-kind boutiques. Whether you are looking for a handcrafted gift, local art, great food or outstanding museums, you will find that and more in Fulton.

The newly renovated Churchill Museum at Westminster College features interactive displays that engage and educate visitors of all ages. In addition you can walk through actual pieces of the Berlin Wall as you explore Edwina Sandys’ magnificent Breakthrough sculpture for another look back at living history.

For those interested in the local art and music scene, Kemper Center for the Arts at William Woods University is a must-see, and The Lighthouse Theater in nearby Millersburg offers live gospel and bluegrass concerts.

For outdoor lovers, there are Tanglewood and Railwood golf courses. Or rent a bike and tour the Stinson trail crossing a covered bridge and meandering below the lover’s leap bluffs. Or hike the historic Katy Trail. While you’re exploring the outdoors, enjoy the view and taste some distinctive Missouri wines and a creative bistro menu at Summit Lake Winery. Enjoy the view and unwind on the outdoor terrace or relax indoors by the snug fireplace.

Museums offering everything from whimsical to wheels are a draw for visitors to Fulton. The new Backer Auto World Museum displays an impressive collection of 84 historic automobiles in Hollywood-style sets for their era. Capture a sense of local history at the Historical Society Museum or pay your respects at the Missouri Firefighters Memorial. A museum of sorts, the

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

Apple Wagon Antique Mall & Home Decor Outlet features Fiesta Ware at half of regular department store retail.

Backer Auto World Museum displays an impressive collection of 84 historic automobiles in Hollywood-style sets.

[44] MissouriLife

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 44

10/28/08 1:23:21 PM

PROMOTION

whimsical collections at Nostalgiaville will also entertain all family members as will the Treasure Hill Doll House Miniatures museum and shop. Crane’s Museum in Williamsburg has been voted 3rd best in off beat attractions with over 4,000 square feet of regional history. Before you head out, stop by Marlene’s restaurant. A pulled-pork sandwich and slice of seasonal fruit pie will put a smile on your face.

Whether you prefer down-home country or uptown gourmet, you’ll savor scrumptious dining. Try Bek’s restaurant for a unique blend of old and new where Internet and espresso meet 1902 architecture. In addition to fabulous food, including amazing Parmesan Artichoke Dip and decadent homemade desserts, Bek’s has a welcoming atmosphere, and on Saturday nights, there is live jazz. You can even revisit the 1930s by sharing a shake made with locally made premium ice cream at Sault’s authentic soda fountain.

For overnight stays, great getaways, unique weddings and fabulous pampering breakfasts, Fulton has two of Missouri’s top ten inns, the historic Loganberry Inn where Margaret Thatcher stayed, or create a romantic memory at Romancing the Past Bed and Breakfast in the historic Jameson home.

For your next getaway or family vacation, visit Fulton and Callaway County, Missouri.

For more information and calendar of events Cranes 4,000 square foot museum is a oneincluding the Victorian Christmas in Fulton, of-a-kind viewing experience featuring rural MO, visit www.visitfulton.com.

Missouri history dating back to the 1800s.

Calendar of Events Don’t Dress for Dinner Dulany Auditorium, William Woods University Campus, Fulton This play is about a carefully planned weekend getaway where everything goes hilariously wrong.

December 3 - 7, 2008 Call 573-592-4281 for specific dates and times.

The Drifters Christmas Concert Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater 3078 Lighthouse Lane December 5 & 6, 2008 7:30 p.m. www.lighthhousetheater.com Call 573-474-4040 for details.

It’s a Victorian Christmas Fulton, MO Vintage House Tour Saturday, December 6, 2008 Tour 5-7:30 p.m. followed by music.

For tickets call 573-642-2080

Beacon Band Christmas Concert Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater 3078 Lighthouse Theater December 6, 13, and 20, 2008 www.lighthhousetheater.com Call 573-474-4040 for details.

Girlfriend Winter Get-a-Way Spa Weekends Loganberry Inn Bed and Breakfast December and January Weekends Visit www.loganberryinn.com for details or call 573-642-9229 for details.

Beacon Band End of the Year Celebration

The Drifters will be in concert at Lighthouse Theater on December 5 and 6.

Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater 3078 Lighthouse Theater December 27, 2008 www.lighthhousetheater.com Call 573-474-4040 for details.

For more information, www.visitfulton.com 1-800-257-3554 Kansas City

128 miles

I-70

St. Louis

100 miles

FULTON Loganberry Inn has hosted many famous guests such as former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher along with her Scotland Yard detectives.

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 45

The Historic Preservation’s annual [45]Christmas Decemberhouse 2008 tour features vintage homes.

10/28/08 1:24:36 PM

King of the Road Nobody knows Missouri like John Robinson.

John, who is a former Director of Tourism for Missouri, is dedicated to driving every mile of state-maintained highways. This makes him King of the Road. To date, he has covered 3,495 state roads, with 406 to go. As he drives each road, he marks it off on his map, which truly has become his treasure.

Circling River City

O u r r e s i d e n t r o a d s s c h o l a r ta k e s S t. Lo u i s ’ s o u t e r b a n d s |

It happened near Grubville.

I was minutes from Joe-Mama’s Hilltop Tavern when the thought struck—the Arch is more than a gateway to the west. Its very shape is a parabolic symbol for the roads that form widening concentric circles around St. Louis’s epicenter.

My trail already had begun in Kimmswick earlier in the day. I had just polished off a two-ton slice of homemade butterscotch pecan pie produced by America’s preeminent pie maker, the Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery. After working

off my sugar buzz by wandering among the tiny town’s disproportionate collection of antique shops and historic structures, my car and I began our predictable pattern of randomness, zigging and zagging the back roads home.

Leaving Highway 61, we traversed the semicircle separating St. Louis County from the Jefferson County countryside, tracing a county road that changes names each time it crosses a major highway spoking out from the hub of the Arch.

By John Robinson

Somewhere along that route, I realized I could drive a halo around St. Louis, Interstate 270, and the St. Louis County perimeter.

Granted, the outer bands of rural roads don’t form perfect circles. They jut and bend to connect towns. These outer bands resemble an ancient astronomer’s attempt to connect star dots into an image of a great bear or a scorpion or an archer on a horse. Still, as I looked at my map, I visualized my route, dancing on the perimeter of metropolitan St. Louis.

[46] MissouriLife

ML1208_King_1_AB Copy.indd 46

11/1/08 7:16:24 AM

KING OF THE ROAD Driving Every Mile of Stat

ANDREW BARTON

e Highway

Moving to the western edge of Jefferson County, my car zagged off Route 30 down Route W. That’s where we rubbed bumpers with Grubville and its local watering hole, Joe-Mama’s Hilltop Tavern. It’s hard to miss, despite the lack of neon signs. Casual observers can tell this is a popular spot by the number of cars parked bumper-to-bumper on both sides of the road.

We seized the only open parking spot, right beside the front porch, where folks sat around two tables framed by a pair of sleek Harley Davidsons. Near the group stood a giant tublike deep fryer. The cook and I greeted each other with mutual curiosity. He wondered who I was. I wondered how I could politely partake in some of this Grubville cuisine.

“How much for some catfish?” I cut to the chase.

“No charge,” he said. I was startled, knowing there’s no such thing as a free lunch. “Buy a beer, get some food,” he added. Fair enough. I smiled, tipped my cap, and went inside.

Joe-Mama’s is the real deal. They keep it simple, offering only two basic food groups: cans or bottles. Actually, besides beer, “Mom” serves pizza. The place was crowded. But then, from what I hear, it’s always crowded, this being the gathering place for miles around.

There were no open seats at a bar that had been polished by the elbows of a dozen generations.

Families huddled together around four-tops, taking turns refilling their plates from a table spread thick with carry-in dishes. Sliced tomatoes. Cucumbers and onions. Baked beans. This was a holiday, and the folks were celebrating. A dozen different people offered snippets of history about the place. It’s survived thirty-four years with the same name. Used to be a gas station.

Before that, it was a Model A showroom.

In my online research about Joe-Mama’s I uncovered two obscure blog entries attempting

From left: At Grubville, JoeMama’s provides beer, pizza, and a good time for patrons.

The Blue Owl at Kimmswick is home to Mary Hostetter and her nationally known Levee High Apple Pie.

to define the establishment. One featured the fantasy of a cross-country cyclist, his legs more agile than his brain. His blog disturbed me but not because he imagined stepping through the tavern’s threshold and challenging patrons to fight, before turning tail and skedaddling on his Peugeot. I was saddened at his assumption that patrons would want to fight. The second blog revealed the incomplete musings of a young student from a Chicago university with a decidedly directional name. The student castigated the backwoods folk who named the place JoeMama’s. I chuckled at this youngster’s purple pomposity and hoped that his textbook view of the world would soon be washed by the wisdom of experience. At Joe-Mama’s, if I had my way.

[47] December 2008

ML1208_King_1_AB Copy.indd 47

10/29/08 9:45:57 PM

36

19 154

19

15

Mi

ML

ssi

ssi

K ING OF THE ROAD ppi

R.

161

61

Grafton Ferry Wentzville Missouri R

Saint Charles

New Melle 47

Saint Louis

19

50

Gray Summit

63

30

Grubville

Kimmswick

47

ec R

.

19

ram

21

Me

Ga

sco

na

de

R.

68

21 19

8

8

8

51

72

49 32

61

21

32 72

21 32

72

51

72

63 137 19

67

Cape Girardeau

21

17 106

34

106

137

21

19

17

34

77

51

91 25

60

17

21

63

25

19

53

Bidding adieu to my friends at the tavern, I motored north, crossing Calvey Creek and Catawissa, then headed west through Robertsville and its state park. Driving the bluff tops past St. Mary’s Church, I spied the Meramec River below and the Mother Road that would deliver me to an icon from my memory.

The only remnant of The Diamonds restaurant is its giant highway sign—big as a baseball diamond turned on its side. In the early days of Route 66, The Diamonds represented more than a landmark. It was a stainless steel monument to modern mobility. Full service. Cold Coke in a curved glass. A hot meal in a booth. The restaurant featured stainless steel flatware and reusable dishes. Still, its roadside convenience represented an innocent step toward the inevitable trash from our daily drive-thrus.

164

25

We didn’t stay long in the busted-bottle gravel of that empty lot under The Diamonds sign. From that Gray Summit perch, we left Route 66 and wound around the hills on Route 100 and doubled back west on Route T. The scenes remain pastoral, but they feel the threat of urban sprawl. Along these twin routes, winding past St. Albans and the Rockwoods Reservation, one vigilant sentry against the sprawl repeats itself on the broad sides of barns.

They’re checkerboards, red and white reminders that there really are Purina Farms. Indeed, eastern Franklin County could be renamed Checkerboard County. Or Chow County.

As I crossed the Missouri River on Route 47, Washington reminds me that it’s a weekend in itself. I’ll be back. I drove north through the tight hills surrounding rural Dutzow and passed

through tiny New Melle. For a town barely eclipsing two hundred souls, there was a preponderance of restaurants. Turning left at the Bavarian Smoke Haus and heading north toward Wentzville, I found out why. A development boom has lowered onto the area, plastering the hillsides with enough new subdivisions to host St. Louis escapees and retirees and folks who yearn for a longer commute. Only a short crow flight from these new ’burbs, the Weldon Spring Wildlife Area is a former toxic waste dump, testament to the hope that we can reverse our mistakes and become green again.

In our travels together, my trusty auto and I have verified 142 escape routes from Missouri.

Our three favorites clump together along one twenty-mile stretch of border. My car especially appreciates these escapes since they don’t add to

[48] MissouriLife

ML1208_King_1_AB Copy.indd 48

11/2/08 8:40:38 PM

ANDREW BARTON ; COURTESY OF JACK GAMBLE

From left: The sign is all that is left of The Diamonds roadside cafe that sits on the Mother Road. The Golden Eagle Ferry crosses the Mississippi River into Illinois. A DC-3 is parked at St. Charles County Airport, once called Smartt Field.

the quarter-million miles on its odometer. I like them, too, because it allows me to park on something besides a street or a parking garage. So we left Route 79 and rode down Route N to board the Winfield Ferry. Sadly, the route was a dead N. Approaching the banks of the Mississippi, we were crushed to see signs that the Winfield Ferry is closed. Neighbors along the river confirmed my fears. The ferry seems closed for good.

So we retreated and followed a forty-mile, rectangular land route to the Golden Eagle Ferry a dozen miles downstream. We weren’t disappointed. As we took our place at the end

of a half-dozen vehicles, the ferry was already chugging toward us. With the skill of a dancer, the towboat driver maneuvered to drop the ramp onto the bank and deposit nine cars into Missouri. Then the deckhand waved our parade onboard, and in less than two minutes, we were sailing to Calhoun County, Illinois.

And back. My car didn’t question this seemingly needless maneuver because it has spent a relatively high percentage of its effort doubling back from dead ends. It would make one more loop at the Grafton Ferry, a few miles downriver from the Golden Eagle. Grafton is a delightful town. But alas, this is Missouri Life, and by definition, Illinois must remain an onlooker.

We returned to native soil aboard the Grafton Ferry. Safely ashore, we doubled back

to Route 94, pausing for a moment to admire a venerable old Douglas DC-3 airplane, sitting on the tarmac of Smartt Field. Today, folks call the airfield St. Charles County Airport, probably a name chosen from the creative mind of an economic developer. I prefer Smartt Field, named for an airman who trained there and gave his life on December 7, 1941. The airport’s sand-brown buildings betray its original purpose, as a military airfield. An air museum sits on the property now, open on Thursdays and Saturdays. With a honk and a wave, we saluted the old DC-3 and headed on down the road, humbled by flying machines and ferryboats and hoping our wheels never touch deep water or become airborne in our ever-widening circles around the Arch.

[49] December 2008

ML1208_King_1_AB Copy.indd 49

11/2/08 8:45:39 PM

Mď?Ľď?¸ď?Šď?Łď?Żâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ď?ł Eď?Źď?­ď?ˇď?Żď?Żď?¤ Cď?Ľď?­ď?Ľď?´ď?Ľď?˛ď?š Where did you come from?

Cemeteries like Elmwood attract thousands of visitors seeking answers to this question, from passionate geneaology enthusiasts investigating their ancestry to those who are simply curious to know a little more about their families.

More than meets the eye

Elmwood Cemetery, Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original cemetery, has all the features of a typical cemetery in the rural Midwest. Dig a little deeper, though, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find that the beautiful monuments, touching statues and commemorative markers each tell a very special story.

Remembering those who served

The Grand Army of the Republic, the Confederate States of America, Daughters of the American Revolution, Philippine Conflict and American Legion are just a few of the special markers added to grave sites to denote specific types of service to our country.

Find your family with genealogy resources

The Audrain County Area Genealogical Society is available to assist individuals searching for information about their past.

They can be contacted at 573-581-4939 or at audgenie@yahoo. com. Graceland, the Audrain County Historical Society Museum, also has resources available. Elmwood cemetery is located on the corner of Elmwood Drive and West Liberty Street in Mexico.

Tom Bass, the world famous AfricanAmerican horseman, is buried here. He performed for two presidents and was invited by Queen Victoria to England but declined because he was afraid to travel by ship. Bass trained and showed many of the ďŹ nest horses of his time, including Rex McDonald, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;invincible Saddlebred.â&#x20AC;?

You can research your SaddlebredĘźs bloodline in the American Saddlebred Horse Museum in Mexico, one of only two in the country and the oldest in existence. Call 573-581-3910 or visit www.audrain.org for more info.

1.800.581.2765 XXX NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH t XXX NFYJDPNJTTPVSJ OFU t JOGP!NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH [50] MissouriLife

Page 60-DECEMBER 2008.indd 50

10/31/08 2:19:59 PM

Promotion

A Mď?Ľď?­ď?Żď?˛ď?Šď?Ąď?Ź ď?Żď?Ś Mď?Ľď?¸ď?Šď?Łď?Żâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ď?ł Pď?Ąď?łď?´ Above: Confederate States of America marker, Peter McCulloughĘźs gravestone, Exercise Tiger Memorial.

Pieces of war history

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hanging Judgeâ&#x20AC;? Peter McCollough was called upon by his fellow Civil War POWs to serve as a judge for the trial of the Union gangs at Andersonville Prison in Georgia. All of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;New York Raidersâ&#x20AC;? were found guilty and sentenced to hang. McCollough became known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hanging Judgeâ&#x20AC;?.

The Exercise Tiger Memorial, located in downtown Mexico, is dedicated to the young men of Audrain County who lost their lives during the tragic exercise that was conducted in the U.K. in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944.

Touching reminders

Memorial markers like angels, flowers and lambs decorate the graves of children from the past. This angel memorial marks the grave of a seven-dayold infant.

%FDFNCFS &WFOUT JO .FYJDP â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Christmas Carolâ&#x20AC;?

Presser Hall Performing Arts Center. Tickets $10 December 4 through 7 573-581-2100 ext. 234 GFWC Christmas Home Tour Tickets $10 December 7, 2 to 6 p.m.

573-581-8129 Kansas City Southern Railroad Holiday Express South Jefferson Street Crossing No charge December 13, 4 p.m.

573-581-2765 First Christian Church Cantata No Charge December 14, 10:30 a.m.

The Messiah First Presbyterian Church No charge December 14, 4 p.m.

573-581-4927 52nd Annual Living Nativity First Christian Church No charge December 14, 6:30 p.m.

1.800.581.2765 XXX NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH t XXX NFYJDPNJTTPVSJ OFU t JOGP!NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH [51] December 2008

Page 60-DECEMBER 2008.indd 51

10/30/08 12:23:56 PM

[52] MissouriLife

ML1208_Christmas_1_AB Copy.indd 52

10/28/08 5:34:47 PM

courtesy of Fox Photo/ Michael SS

c e l e b r a t e

t h e

h o l i d a y s

i n

m i s s o u r i

Seasons Greetings

Notley Hawkins

Father Christmas IS strollING the streets at downtown Weston weekend afternoons in December.

HAVE YOU BEEN NAUGHTY OR NICE?

[53] December 2008

ML1208_Christmas_1_AB Copy.indd 53

10/28/08 5:36:47 PM

DOWNTOWN HOLIDAY STOREFRONTS BECOME LIVING WINDOWS IN THE EVENING ON DECEMBER 5 AT COLUMBIA. CHRISTMAS CAROLS, KWANZAA, AND THE GARDENLAND EXPRESS ENLIVEN MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN.

Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

CHILDREN WILL ENJOY Mr. Hubble’s Universe AT THE PLANETARIUM ANY AFTERNOON ON HOLIDAY VACATION.

notley hawkins; ©iStockphoto.com/Dennis Caldwell; GlenN Curcio

Living Windows,Columbia

[54] MissouriLife

ML1208_Christmas_1_AB Copy.indd 54

11/1/08 7:29:22 AM

James S. McDonnell Planetarium, St. Louis

ML1208_Christmas_1_AB Copy.indd 55

10/28/08 5:40:22 PM

Country Club Plaza, Kansas City

ML1208_Christmas_1_AB Copy.indd 56

10/28/08 5:43:20 PM

©iStockphoto.com/Brandon Gillette; ©iStockphoto.com/stephanie phillips; seth garcia

Lake Taneycomo, Branson

HOLIDAY LIGHTS OPEN AND CLOSE THE SEASON ON THE PLAZA from November 27 until January 11.

See THE SHORELINE OF lake taneycomo FROM BRANSON LANDING AND ITS 100 shops.

Evening CHRISTMAS CAROLS FILL THE HALLS AT THE CAPITOL ON DECEMBER 9.

State Capitol, Jefferson City [57] December 2008

ML1208_Christmas_1_AB Copy.indd 57

11/1/08 7:30:34 AM

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art celebrates 75 years of inspiration

MuSe FoR ThE MaSSeS Staring deeply into Vincent van Goghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Olive Orchard leaves you in awe. Tiny rivers of blues and greens look like waves in the ocean. As you slowly move away, the waves of color blend into a cohesive masterpiece.

Each gallery in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art at Kansas City imparts the same experience. Whether it be the Buddhist temple that features the compassionate eyes of Seated Guanyin Bodhisattva, a wooden sculpture from the Liao Dynasty, or the modern and contemporary gallery where Turin, by Franz Kline, spurs contemplation, the Nelson-Atkins has been supplying goose bumps for seventy-five years.

>>>

By Regan Palmer

[58] MissouriLife

ML1208_Nelson_1_AB Copy.indd 58

11/1/08 7:25:32 AM

Timothy Hursley/The nelson-Atkins museum of art

[59] December 2008

ML1208_Nelson_1_AB Copy.indd 59

10/28/08 5:55:24 PM

Clockwise from top: Sculptures are displayed in the Adelaide Cobb Ward Sculpture Hall in the NelsonAtkins Building. The museum’s Modern and Contemporary Art Collection, located in both the Bloch Building and the Nelson-Atkins, fills almost twenty-three thousand square feet of space. Rozzelle Court Restaurant resembles a fifteenth-century Italian courtyard. Opposite: Visitors explore the Bloch Building at night.

The museum was founded by two benefactors: William Rockhill Nelson and Mary Atkins. Nelson moved to Kansas City around 1880 and founded The Kansas City Star.

When he died in 1915, Nelson left a request to establish an arts gallery, as well as the ground the museum sits on today. Mary Atkins was a retired schoolteacher who was married to a successful stockbroker. She died in 1911 and also left a request for an arts gallery. In 1927, the trustees decided to combine the three million dollars in funds from Nelson and Atkins into one art museum. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art officially opened to the public on December 11, 1933.

The newest feature of the Nelson-Atkins Museum is the Bloch Building. The Kansas City community raised two hundred million for the expansion and renovation of the museum, as well as money to grow the endowment fund. In 1999, six architects from around the world submitted designs for the new addition to the museum. Five of the six architects wanted to place the building on the north side of the old building. However, Stephen Holl, who was named “America’s Best Architect” by Time magazine in 2001, had a very different idea. He presented a creative design that ran along the east side of the old museum. Holl’s inspiration to create his one-of-a-kind design came from the art in the galleries. In particular, a painting by Zhou Chen, The North Sea, caught his eye. This silk hand scroll shows a building on a hillside that is partially hidden

Courtesy of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of art

The Original Building is Like Stone.

The New is Like a Feather.

Both Buildings Represent The Height of Style and Technology for Their Time.

[60] MissouriLife

ML1208_Nelson_1_AB Copy.indd 60

10/28/08 5:57:12 PM

Courtesy of roland halbe/The Nelson-Atkins Museum of art

by shrubbery. With his creative design, Holl was chosen as the architect for the project.

A work of art in its own right, the Bloch Building defines unique, twenty-first century architecture. Futuristic glass panels give the building a shimmering glow that is mirrored in a reflecting pool that also shows the image of the original Nelson-Atkins building. Every inch of the Bloch Building was designed for an artistic reason. The building is essentially a sixty-seven-story building laid on its side; it extends 840 feet from north to south. Sixtyfive percent of the building is underground, but from the inside, you feel as though you are both above and below ground at the same time. The building consists of five lenses (shown above) that follow the slope of the Kansas City Sculpture Park while letting light

into the gallery. These lenses are made of specially formulated sixteen-inch-wide glass planks that vary in height. At night, fluorescent lights in the planks make the building glow. Holl says the building “plays light like an instrument.”

At dusk, the walls inside the Bloch Building change to grey-green and grey-blue, rather than clear white. “It feels as though you’re looking inside a kaleidoscope,” says volunteer docent Jaymie Bonavia.

The original building is like stone, and the new is like a feather, Holl says. Both buildings represent the height of style and technology for their time. The reflecting pool outside helps unite the buildings. However, this is not just a reflecting pool, it too is a work of art: One Sun/34 Moons by De Maria. At night,

[61] December 2008

ML1208_Nelson_1_AB Copy.indd 61

10/28/08 5:57:58 PM

From left: Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness

by Caravaggio hangs in a gallery where his influence can be seen in other paintings in the room. One of the museum’s earliest acquisitions, Van Gogh’s Olive Orchard (1889), was acquired by the museum in 1932, the year before it opened.

Ikeno Taiga’s Impressive View of the Go River (1769) is a hanging scroll of ink on paper.

both buildings are united by their reflection in the water. Thirty-four circular windows inside the pool, which represent moons, provide shimmering light to the parking garage below. Fluorescent strips in the circular windows make them glow in the same manner as the Bloch Building’s glass panels.

The older Nelson-Atkins building has also undergone changes. A gallery that links the Bloch Building with Kirkwood Hall was added.

This gallery features wall murals and is also the only way the two buildings unite from the inside. The museum is also in the process of reconfiguring some of the galleries, so visitors can follow the art in chronological order.

With thirty-six thousand pieces of art in its collection, the museum keeps 7 percent on display at any given time. The museum houses art from many genres including African, European, modern and contemporary, American, Chinese, and photography. As you walk through Kirkwood Hall, the original entry into the museum, you travel through the ancient Near East, Egypt, Greece, early Christian art, and the impressionist movement.

The museum is world-renowned for its

Chinese collection, which includes ancient bronzes, Chinese tomb art, a Buddhist temple, Chinese paintings, furniture, porcelains, and exquisite Buddhist sculpture, as well as its photography collection, which has seventyfive hundred photographs from 1839 to some taken as recently as a few months past.

The museum’s mission, since it opened in 1933, has been to acquire the best of the best. The quality and scope of the pieces are tremendous. One of the most treasured works of art the museum holds is Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Caravaggio. Deep red shadows and bright light define the body of Saint John the Baptist in this commanding piece. Another treasure of the museum is Commemorative Head of an Oba, which dates to the sixteenth century and is from the Benin kingdom. Andy Warhol’s Baseball is another; it marks one of the first times Warhol used the silk-screening process.

Volunteer docents guide visitors through the vast collections housed at the NelsonAtkins. For the past twelve years, Jaymie has been a docent for Nelson-Atkins, and she will tell you that every day for the past twelve

[62] MissouriLife

ML1208_Nelson_1_AB Copy.indd 62

11/1/08 7:24:50 AM

Courtesy of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of art

years, she has learned something new. She is a walking encyclopedia with names of pieces, dimensions of glass panels, and dates. She doesn’t see it as a volunteer opportunity but rather an honor.

“It’s my volunteer job to communicate the collection in a way that makes it meaningful to people’s lives,” Jaymie says. “I have the opportunity to educate, entertain, and make connections.

“I think it’s one of the best kept secrets in the United States,” she says.

The museum now offers walk-in tours twice a day, ongoing art classes for children and adults, concerts, lecture series, art history seminars, shopping, and restaurants. The Spencer Art Reference Library is also open to the public for art history research. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is located at 4525 Oak Street at Kansas City. Hours are Wednesdays from 10 am to 4 pm, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 am to 9 pm, Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm, and Sundays from noon to 5 pm. Admission is free, except for a fee for some special exhibits.

Call 816-751-1278 or visit www.nelson-atkins. org for more information.

ML1208_Nelson_1_AB Copy.indd 63

11/2/08 8:51:11 PM

E M O H E M O C L E W vitation Into Special Places An In

M MAIN STREET MANSION

T O U R R O S LY N H E I G H T S , S T A T E H E A D Q U A R T E R S O F THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Story by Porcshe Moran and Photos by Notley Hawkins

WITH ONE THIRD of its national motto, God, Home, and Country, dedicated to the home, there is little surprise that the Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) uses an elegant 1890s Boonville mansion as their state headquarters.

Members of the society trace their lineage to those who supported the Revolutionary War. Men served as officers and foot soldiers, and many women donated supplies like cloth, hay, and guns. Names of veterans who are buried in Missouri are on display in the home.

“We call it the last of the Main Street mansions,” says State Curator Pat Holmes.

Roslyn Heights, as the “Main Street mansion” is formally known, is a historic jewel in red brick and Warrensburg limestone.

Built in the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture, the exterior is distinguished by the use of various shapes and sharp angles to create a dramatic visual appeal.

The steep roof has multiple chimneys as a result of the home’s eight fireplaces. “When you have a lot of things poking through the roof, you have a lot of opportunities for leaks,” she adds. “It is complicated to maintain.”

The maintenance of Roslyn Heights is a priority for the Missouri DAR. “I think it is one of the best-maintained historic homes in Boonville.”

Even in the 1890s, the home was a stand-

out in the community. Aside from its attractive appearance and ample size, the home was one of the few at the time with flush toilets.

It also had gas and electric lights, Pat says.

“It represents a tangible remain of a glorious time in our nation’s history.”

In the backyard, a picturesque white gazebo with brown shingles acts as the centerpiece. The landscaping is a mixture of brightly colored balloon flowers, geraniums, lilies, and a selection of trees like Missouri’s state tree, the dogwood, and a heritage tree grown from the cuttings of a hard maple at Mount Vernon.

This outdoor space, along with the house, can be rented for weddings, family gatherings, meetings, conferences, and other social events.

The interior of the home is a regal trip back in time to the Victorian era. The home was built

by Wilbur T. and Rhoda Stephens Johnson in 1895. The Johnson and Stephens families were two of the most prominent in the area.

Rhoda’s brother served as governor of Missouri from 1897 to 1901. The couple entertained the high society of Boonville frequently in their home until they moved to Kansas City in 1923. Two sisters then owned the home until 1961. The house remained

[64] MissouriLife

Wel Home- copy.indd 64

10/28/08 6:11:05 PM

Roslyn Heights, built in 1895, opens for holiday tours on December 6. Left: A woodenbracket canopy, carved with circles, moons, and stars, hangs over a parlor set. Each of the eight fireplace mantles in the home is unique.

[65] December 2008

Wel Home- copy.indd 65

10/28/08 4:33:57 PM

ML

Missouri Main Street Profile Mansion

Stained-glass windows fill the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stairway with color and light. The stairs have the original dado rails and flocked wall paper.

[66] MissouriLife

Wel Home- copy.indd 66

10/28/08 6:21:12 PM

a private residence until 1983 when former DAR State Regent Mrs. Joseph W. Towle purchased the stunning three-story house for the organization.

As the headquarters for a women’s organization, Roslyn Heights uses flowers, plush velvet, silk, and lace common in Victorian décor. These elements are balanced with materials like mahogany, walnut, and metals, creating texture and an understated comfort in the home.

“The house provides a base of operations for me,” says Missouri State Regent Lemira Parks. “I am very comfortable there. The ladies always know this is their place and they love it.”

On the top floor of the house is a ballroom. The original owners used the space for dances, but the DAR uses it to display an antique shoe collection, a doll collection, two pianos, and old-fashioned spinning wheels.

“Each time I tour the house, I realize how wonderful it is and often discover something I had not noticed before,” says Barbara Stevens,

From top: Although none of the furnishings in the home are original, the Missouri DAR members have filled Roslyn Heights with period furniture and accent pieces such as the tea service. An Eastlake-style bed and dresser sit in the tower bedroom.

past regent for the Hannah Cole Chapter.

Beyond the grand décor, the home also has practical uses. The basement is used as a gift shop and also has a kitchen and comfortable TV-room retreat for husbands. A small nook on the first floor is outfitted with a computer. Archives from Missouri DAR chapters are stored in a three-car garage behind the house.

“Old homes have to be functional,” Pat says. “It’s not like a museum where you don’t touch anything.”

Roslyn Heights is one of more than four hundred properties at Boonville on the National Register of Historic Places. “A lot of really nice old houses from post Civil War to the turn of the century were torn down,” Pat says. “This house has survived all these years.

It’s a focal point for our organization.”

Holiday Mansion Tours DAR OFFICERS

from across the

state stay at Roslyn Heights for a week in December and hold a public open house.

Members serve soup and snacks and the home is decorated with lights and Christmas trees.

Roslyn Heights is located at 821 Main Street at Boonville. The holiday open houses are December 6 through 13 from 10

AM

to 4

PM .

Admission is $5

for the tour and $5 for lunch. Tours can be arranged by appointment at other times of the year. Call 660-882-5320 for more information.

[67] December 2008

Wel Home- copy.indd 67

10/29/08 1:09:00 PM

wetter than the Mi s sou r i res id ents a nd b o otleg ger s d e f ied P ro h i bit io n

“To supplement the family income, a lot of them turned to this moonshining and bootlegging,” notes Jefferson County historian Della Lang.

risky business Breaking the law carried risks, especially out-state. In November 1924, after receiving a deluge of letters, Missouri Gov. Arthur M. Hyde ordered Sherman Tippett to be pardoned and released from the Stoddard County jail. Tippett had been sentenced to one year in jail and fined twelve hundred dollars for a first offense of making and selling whiskey. The fine cost him his farm, said to be one of the best in Stoddard County, and he was no help to his wife and family because he was in jail.

Whiskey in the streets “I know of my own knowledge that this woman is without support for herself and five small children save her labor alone,” wrote Dr. J. M. Hindman of Advance. “This man has been amply punished and is thoroughly whipped.”

The sheer numbers of liquor violators soon exhausted the resources of police and federal Prohibition agents across Missouri. Despite inherent difficulties in enforcing the dry law, police did their best to keep up. At Union Station in downtown St. Louis, for example, they looked for signs of “whiskey grip” when travelers released their bags.

“If the owner eases the grip or suitcase on the granitoid as he would if it contained eggs, that is a pretty good indication of bottles within,” a policeman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in February 1920. “Men are not so careful with grips that contain only clothing. … If it rattles, we nail it.”

By Robbi Courtaway

COURTESY OF CONGRESS COURTESY OF OF LIBRARY FOX PHOTO/ MICHAEL SS

THE DRIEST OF TIMES settled over Missouri on January 16, 1920, and before long the state was adrift in a sea of bootlegged booze.

December 5 marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the nationwide repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, which forbade the manufacture, transport, sale, import, and export of intoxicating beverages, or those with more than one-half percent alcohol, in the United States. The 1933 repeal restored a livelihood to the state’s legitimate brewers and provided a much-celebrated ending to an unsuccessful reform heralded by temperance groups such as the Anti-Saloon League and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).

By the time of the repeal, Missouri was mired in the depths of the Great Depression. Some Missouri communities had entered the depression a decade earlier when Prohibition shut down their local breweries, wineries, and distilleries.

Before Prohibition, Missouri had been the seventh-largest state in the nation in beer production; its premier brewing city, St. Louis, boasted a $140-million beer industry ($1.9 billion today). Many German communities near the Missouri River also suffered: Missouri’s wine production had been twelfth in the nation, and Hermann’s Stone Hill Winery had been the third-largest wine producer in the world.

Many grape farmers turned to general farming. During the early years of Prohibition, the bottom fell out of the post-World War I economic boom and cut by nearly two-thirds the prices farmers received for their goods. Some farmers lost their land, and the value of Missouri farm property dropped 40 percent by the late 1920s.

[68] MissouriLife

Prohibition_1_AB Copy.indd 68

10/28/08 6:05:31 PM

n Agent The strong arm of the Prohibitio

Prohibition_1_AB Copy.indd 69

10/28/08 6:07:11 PM

Makeshift speakeasy

Though some residents gave up liquor during Prohibition, many continued to drink. Even college professors at Columbia indulged in these illicit fruits of the Volstead Act. “The story is told of a university professor who received regular shipments of wines and liquor from another county under the label of ‘books,’ ” journalist Irene Taylor wrote in the Columbia Missourian in May 1968. “The freight agent of the railroad called him one day and said, ‘Your shipment of books is leaking. What shall I do with it?’ ” Faced with a market of thirsty customers, the Italian-American residents of St. Louis’s Hill neighborhood took the Prohibition lemon and turned it into lemonade. Bootlegging helped them attain middle-class standing and build new homes and renovate existing ones. By the time of the repeal, powerful political and social organizations typified the community’s progress, says Gary R. Mormino, author of Immigrants on the Hill: Italian-Americans in St. Louis, 1882-1982.

westphalia oasis “Most of all was the nutty idea, they would claim, that the government was trying to enforce a really stupid law,” Mormino says. “They’re just not going to abide by this.” Some members of the Missouri Legislature in session at Jefferson City and students of the University of Missouri found an oasis at Westphalia, a little German community in Osage County, “which has shown but little evidence that the Eighteenth Amendment ever was on the statute books,” the St. Louis Globe-Democrat noted in 1933. A Westphalian judge and banker, Ben Schauwecker, maintained his innocence after serving a year in prison for selling liquor from his home.

“I sold wine and beer and whiskey, yes, but that’s not wrong,” he told a reporter in 1931. “We don’t respect that Prohibition law.” Residents of many locales, including Cooper County, dabbled in home brewing.

“Much of the home product was a poor substitute for the real thing, often cloudy and with a considerable deposit of yeast on the bottom of the bottle,” resident Louis Geiger recalled in a paper, “In The Days of Prohibition, Cooper County (Mo.) 1919-1934.” He wrote: “Some was so ‘wild’ that the entire contents of a bottle would go up in a geyser of foam when uncapped.

It was told of one Stony Point farmer who, trying to recapture the good old days when threshing crews were treated to a keg, that he served an entire crew of some twenty men out of a single foaming bottle.”

mouse julep, anyone?

Glenn Hensley learned about bootleggers while exploring an abandoned lightning rod factory with his buddies. The factory was in Stanberry, where Hensley and his parents lived for a time with his grandfather.

“We had explored and found a basement window that could easily be swung open on long-unused hinges,” recalls Glenn, who is now eighty-eight and lives at Kirkwood. “So with our play clothes on, we inched that window open far enough we could crawl through it. A dark, moldy basement was empty of anything of interest, so we wandered up the steps … we ‘jackpotted’ up on the third floor.

“There before our eyes appeared what we thought might be a minidistillery. We saw a big iron pot full of gooey mash stuff, a batch of pipes, a burner, a flue, and a jumble of glass, gallon jugs. We didn’t really know what we’d found, but we figured we better get out of there fast. However, before departing, we left one small bit of devilment. We dumped into the vat of mash three dead mice we found on the floor. If it was a boozemaking setup, we decided a little extra protein wouldn’t hurt it.”

A larger operation was located in the shadow of the Capitol. In May 1924, Prohibition agents used twenty sticks of dynamite to blow up a still seven miles southeast of Jefferson City. Run by a gasoline engine, pump, boiler, and water tank, the several-thousand-gallon mash operation was said to be the largest ever found in Missouri.

COURTESY OF ROBBI COURTAWAY

leaky books and lemonade

[70] MissouriLife

Prohibition_1_AB Copy.indd 70

10/28/08 6:08:29 PM

FROM TOP: COURTESY OF GLENN HENSLEY; COURTESY OF FBI; COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

penitentiary moonshine

Alcoholic drinks would remain illegal Gangsters and other criminals muscled in until April 1933 when Prohibition’s precuron the bootlegging action. These included sor, the Cullen-Harrison bill, amended the Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, who once made Prohibition Act to declare 3.2 percent beer money in his home state of Oklahoma non-intoxicating. In the interim, there was selling bootleg whiskey with his brother, plenty of bootlegged booze to go around.

Bradley. After he arrived at the Missouri Penitentiary on December 18, 1925, he repeal and revival used his moonshine-making skills to manuThe passage of the Cullen-Harrison bill facture a potato-water concoction for fellow prompted celebrations across the state to convicts. He was serving time for a twelvewelcome the return of 3.2 beer. Thousands thousand-dollar St. Louis payroll robbery. of residents gathered at local breweries, held “The potato room was not visible from street parties, and in some instances, drank my office, and while I was sure he was the neighborhood tavern dry. Full repeal of still explorer Glenn Hensley, fisherman and stealing potatoes, I couldn’t catch him at Prohibition followed on December 5, 1933, it, ” Harvey Hayes, former manager of the though Missouri still had its state bone-dry penitentiary cold-storage plant, recalled in law on the books at the time and wasn’t an undated story in Somewhere In Time: 170 Years of legally able to celebrate until that law was Missouri Corrections (2004). repealed by the Missouri Legislature in January 1934.

“Finally I saw him pick up a bag of potatoes, carry Many Missourians had little respect for the Volstead them out, and throw them in a wheelbarrow with a block Act, and bootleg booze had kept the state wetter than of ice,” Hayes said, “Floyd saw me coming after him, the Mississippi throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. yd Flo " dropped the wheelbarrow, and started running. He was Residents welcomed the return of legal spirCharles "Pretty Boy rounded up in the yard. He acted insoits, produced under sanitary conditions. lent, and I batted his ears a few times.”

The beer business bounced back after repeal: St. Louis brewers, for instance, paid student kegs approximately $115 million in salaries, At Columbia, the staff of the University taxes, and equipment from 1933 to 1938. of Missouri botany department was Many family-owned wineries remained closed after the repeal, and the revival of forced by Prohibition to detail in excruwinemaking in Missouri did not begin ciatingly bureaucratic fashion the types in earnest until 1965, when farmers of alcohol—and the amounts—it used to Jim and Betty Held and their family preserve specimens or any other liquors purchased Hermann’s Stone Hill Winery. that might be laying around the classLucian and Eva Dressel followed suit in room. Outside class, enterprising students 1966 with the Mount Pleasant Winery found there was money to be made. at Augusta, which in 1980 became the “One group had the problem of makfirst region in the country to be desiging the green corn liquor they obtained nated an American Viticultural Area, or fit to drink,” journalist Irene Taylor wrote. grape-growing region. Since then, the “They scouted around and found a travelMissouri wine industry has grown to ing salesman who agreed to have a keg surpass its pre-Prohibition ranking. In of the liquor strapped to the back of his Stone Hill Winery, 198 3 2007, it was the eleventh-largest wineroadster. When he returned to Columbia a producing state in the nation, says Jim month later the stuff was aged enough to Anderson, executive director of the Missouri Wine & Grape Board, consume. The traveling man was invited to the party and left a few days with a statewide economic impact of $701 million. later with another keg. Some students worked their way through school by selling bootleg liquor, particularly during the football season.”

Author Robbi Courtaway resides at St. Louis and is the author of At the University of Missouri-Rolla, Prohibition couldn’t stop the Wetter than the Mississippi: Prohibition in St. Louis and Beyond, beer that flowed during the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, which published in October 2008 by Reedy Press. had begun in 1908.

[71] December 2008

Prohibition_1_AB Copy.indd 71

10/28/08 6:09:58 PM

THE PRELUDE Battle of the Little Blue set the stage for Westport

The Battle of the Little Blue was once regarded as nothing more than a prologue to the bigger Battle of Westport, the end of Maj. Gen. Sterling Priceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope of reclaiming Missouri for the Confederacy.

The battle carried with it a plotline rife in military bravura as well as a brand of combat so fierce that traces of its wrath still stain floorboards at the Lawson Moore Home, also known as Shelbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital.

By Hugh Welsh

Today, the area on which the Battle of the Little Blue unfolded remains immaculately preserved, a vista as handsome as it is haunting with its steep rock faces and hollows. A fury, however, is coming; not one of destruction

HUGH WELSH

While the Battle of Westport was greater in troop numbers, the Battle of Little Blue on October 21, 1864, was a daylong series of skirmishes along a seven-and-a-half-mile strip of what is now eastern Independence.

[72] MissouriLife

CIVIL WAR-DECEMBER 2008.indd 72

10/30/08 11:03:38 AM

From left: The Little Blue River runs by Ripley Junction, where the fighting began. Near here, Gen. John Marmaduke’s forces extinguished a fire set to a bridge by the Eleventh Kansas. By saving the bridge, Marmaduke’s artillery and infantry avoided wading into the steep banks of the Little Blue River. Ripley Junction will be the site of an interpretive battle marker. The Lawson Moore Home had been evacuated earlier as a result of Order No. 11, and it was one of the few structures in the area that wasn’t razed. Officers and enlisted men who died in the battle are believed to be buried next to a nearby barn.

but, rather, construction, as a four-lane, divided roadway, the Little Blue Parkway, is projected to bring with it seven thousand new homes, twenty thousand new residents, and five thousand new jobs.

The roadway’s 2010 completion date isn’t the chief concern. Far more daunting is the South Riverfront Expressway that will connect Sterling Avenue, a regionally significant north-south route, to Highway 24 in eastern Independence. The western edge of the battlefield, which is now on private property, marks an ideal route, according to the Mid-America Regional Council, responsible for the planning.

“Development is inevitable,” says Wendy Shay, historic preservation manager for Independence. But archaeological surveys are planned for key battle sites, she says, and the city’s tourism department is planning three markers on public property.

Jackman’s Surprise Prior to the morning of October 21, 1864, Col. Sidney Jackman of Price’s army had a spat with Brig. Gen. Joseph Shelby. It is not known what triggered it.

Shelby ordered Jackman on a looping movement to test the far right Union flank along Blue Mills Road. Jackman was not flattered. A mile north, he would be a nonfactor in the action.

All morning Jackman could hear the engagement a mile to the south, where Shelby and Generals John Marmaduke and James Fagan were fighting Col. Thomas Moonlight’s Eleventh Kansas Infantry, who had a small force in a field just west of the Little Blue River and the remainder on the crest of a limestone ridge overlooking the river. The Confederates, who numbered

between ten thousand and fifteen thousand (many of whom were either unmounted or unarmed), were unaware that Brig. Gen. James Blunt and fifteen hundred men under his command had been ordered by Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis to fall back to Independence, about eight miles west.

Blunt had argued with Curtis that the position was perfect: It was high ground with a clear field of fire. Blunt knew the enemy was not far behind; two days earlier he had engaged Price at Lexington. But Curtis would not relent, knowing he would be without the Kansas State Militia, who would not cross the state line for Gov. Thomas Carney’s fear of losing reelection, and Gen. Alfred Pleasanton’s cavalry, who were in hot pursuit of Price’s army from the east. Blunt was able to leave only Moonlight and his five hundred troops to slow Price’s march at the Little Blue crossing.

Jackman and his men did not take their saddles until 10 AM, two full hours after the battle began. No scout was sent ahead, assuming no threat would loom so far north.

After crossing Little Blue, Jackman and his eighty or so men traveled up Blue Mills Road and rounded a bend. What followed is known as Jackman’s Surprise. To protect his left flank, Moonlight had established some sixty men and three cannons on a ledge south of the road.

“We don’t know exactly how many men

fell,” says Mike Calvert, president of the Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri. His daughter owns the Lawson Moore Home.

“But we do know there were significant losses.” Confederate records of soldiers killed, wounded, or taken prisoner were poor.

Jackman, despite the initial setback, managed to gain control of his men (all of whom were mounted), sending one company on a frontal charge while the remainder hurried up a ravine to the left of the gunners, forcing them to fall back to a low ridge near the old Salem Baptist Church where reinforcements, compliments of Blunt, who learned of the need through a dispatch from Moonlight, would soon arrive.

Shelby’s Tactical Brilliance It was Shelby’s tactical brilliance that ultimately broke Moonlight’s stronghold on the ridge. Despite being outnumbered, the Eleventh Kansas was able to repulse the first two attacks by the Confederates, who employed a three-pronged strategy: Shelby was positioned on the left, Marmaduke in the middle, and Fagan on the right. During the third attack, Fagan, unable to cross the steep embankments, shifted left to reinforce Marmaduke, and Shelby found himself overwhelmed. Shelby had to act soon.

Shelby did a complete shift affront,

[73] December 2008

CIVIL WAR-DECEMBER 2008.indd 73

10/31/08 1:17:33 PM

relocating his troops from the left of the attack formation, behi nd Marmaduke and Fagan, to the right where the undefended LexingtonIndependence Road awaited.

The high ground provided Moonlight a bird’s-eye view of Shelby’s troop movements and ample time to retreat what little remained of his company. He had been ordered to avoid a major conflict. If Moonlight had not fallen back when he did, Shelby could have dealt the Federals a costly blow, one that may have affected the outcome of the Battle of Westport. But when Shelby reached the outcropping, Moonlight’s troops were gone.

Behind the ridge, Moonlight was joined by Blunt’s brigade, who mounted a prompt countercharge to stymie Fagan and Marmaduke’s advance and to allow time for the arrival of Col. Charles Jennison’s Fifteenth Kansas and Col. James Ford’s Second Colorado, among others. With their arrival, the Federal forces now numbered two thousand men from five regiments backed by three batteries. They formed a line greater than a mile.

At approximately 11 AM, a cannon sounded and Shelby and Jackman, nearly twelve hundred cavalrymen strong, surged up a hollow not far from the Lawson Moore Home. Jennison and Ford’s lines bowed.

Then they sprung back.

The Red-Leggers Shelby and Jackman knew Jennison and Ford well; known as “Red-Leggers,” Jennison and Ford were said to be guilty of so much bloodshed their socks ran red with Rebel blood.

Jackman’s stock was no more chaste than that of Jennison or Ford; a former Baptist preacher, Jackman was known to unleash the wrath of God upon anyone he suspected to have allegiance to the North.

“They were dismounted and battling handto-hand,” Mike says. “There were a series of charges and countercharges, fighting rock wall to rock wall, ravine to ravine. It was bloody.”

Meanwhile, to the south, Blunt and Moonlight were enmeshed in a similar kind of brutality with Fagan and Marmaduke. The fighting raged four hours with the Federals initially shoving the Confederates back a halfmile before the Federals retreated, establishing a firing line every two miles until they reached Independence. In the engagement, the Confederates brought forward only five thousand troops, leaving the rest in defense of Price’s famed forty-wagon train.

It wasn’t only position that allowed the Federals to stall Price’s army for so long. They were equipped with Spencer repeating rifles capable of sixteen shots before reloading.

Casualties were rampant on both sides.

Blunt reported two hundred and at least one prisoner. “Blunt reported taking prisoner a young boy from Shelby’s brigade,” Mike says, noting that he suspects the boy was his great-grandfather, who served in Shelby’s brigade at age twelve.

According to local legend, in the mid-

1920s a man, haggard by old age, visited the Lawson Moore Home, named for its first owner, a Kentuckian who was an affluent landowner and slaveholder. He told the woman who answered the door that he had come to pay his respects to the officers buried by the barn. He said he had been wounded in a battle some sixty years earlier and was treated there. The woman told him she had wondered why her grandfather had always taken such exceptional care of a small area next to the barn.

According to Mike, eight officers are likely buried by the barn, and eighteen enlisted men lie beneath a row of bushes in front of the property.

The home will be within fifty yards of the planned South Riverfront Expressway.

The bluffs are still intact at Ripley Junction, and so is the rolling plain north of the Little Blue River, where Price’s Army of Missouri first appeared, tired after marching hundreds of miles and fighting battle after battle. But on October 21, 1864, there was still hope.

Two days later, it was over. Up against Blunt and eight additional brigades from the Kansas militia and Pleasanton's cavalry division, Price was overwhelmed at the Battle of Westport and forced to flee to Arkansas. On November 1, the Confederacy would not pose another major threat to any Northern state.

What Remains RIPLEY JUNCTION

is a tourist site.

It is located near the Little Blue Trace Trail, which is a hiking and biking path, off of Highway 24 at Independence. You can see the site of Jackman’s Surprise north of Blue Mills Road, although there is no parking. The Lawson Moore Home is a private residence.

For more information on the Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri, call 816- 836-1013.

MISSOURI DIVISION OF TOURISM; MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

From left: Col. Sidney Jackman more than once looped nooses around the throats of young men not loyal to the Southern cause. Maj. Gen. Sterling Price would soon have his hopes for reclaiming Missouri for the Confederacy dashed at Westport.

[74] MissouriLife

CIVIL WAR-DECEMBER 2008.indd 74

10/30/08 12:59:02 PM

Beginning

Every War Has a

J���� C������ M���������

/ .BJO -JCFSUZ .0 t t 'BY XXX KBNFTDPVOUSZ DPN t KBNFTDOUSZ!BPM DPN

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

$29.95 Written for novices and Civil War buďŹ&#x20AC;s alike, The Civil WarĘźs First Blood: Missouri, 18541861 takes a readerĘźs hand and walks them down back roads, through swamps and prairies, and over hills to experience the war that pitted Missourian against Missourian.

GREAT GIFT

FEATURING

HO

1BUUFSOT t 8FBQPOT t "DDFTTPSJFT t 3FTFBSDI 0VS 4QFDJBMUZ Â&#x2030; 5IF #03%&3 8"34

GE ME The NA D !

SP hom O E R 5IF #&45 JO )JTUPSJDBM "DDVSBDZ UN e o AT IAT PA f %Ä Ä&#x201D;ÄŚÄ&#x17E;Ä&#x2013;Ä&#x;ÄĽÄ&#x2019;ÄĽÄ&#x161;Ä Ä&#x; t 7Ä&#x2019;Ä?ÄŚÄ&#x2013; t 4Ä&#x2013;ģħÄ&#x161;Ä&#x201D;Ä&#x2013; R P RE C TT U ER YO APP NS IS

New nonstop service between Columbia and Memphis and convenient connections to the world.

Nonstop to Memphis.

144 Pages, 143 Illustrations Softcover

Northwest AirlinesÂŽ offers three daily nonstop flights to Memphis.

Enjoy the sites and sounds of Memphis or easily connect to more than 1,000 cities in 160 countries on six continents. For tickets, go to nwa.com, contact your travel agent or call 1-800-225-2525.

Connect to the world.

$29.95 plus tax, shipping, & handling.

To order, call 800-492-2593 or visit MissouriLife.com.

Š 2008 Northwest Airlines, Inc.

Northwest Airlines Missouri Life Magazine Riley Hayes Advertising 08NWAD138 - Mis Life v2 Columbia Awareness Ad

Extended Hours On Tuesday & Thursday Open ĘźTil 7 p.m.

Size: 3.646"w x 2.325" h Non-Bleed 4C Keyline Run Date: October 2008

CD/AD: Kerry Krepps AE: Erin Kelly PM: Sue Griffin PJM: Melissa Lange PA: Mike Lavine

Approvals Client AD PM

Keokuk CD AE PJM

I O WA

f the largest Winter home o Bald Eagles f concentration ossippi River. on the Missi

Visit Keokuk this winter for spectacular Eagle viewing spots.

Come celebrate the symbol of our Country!

25th Annual

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days Jan. 17-18, 2009

Simply Amish. Furniture ThatĘźs Forever.

Business 54 East â&#x20AC;˘ Mexico, MO 65265 (573) 581-0076 â&#x20AC;˘ Mon-Fri 10 am - 5 pm â&#x20AC;˘ Sat 10 am - 3pm

For more information on Eagle viewing and Bald Eagle Appreciation Days, contact:

Keokuk Area Convention & Tourism Bureau

800-383-1219

www.keokukiowatourism.org

[75] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 75

10/30/08 4:55:08 PM

C

Unique Boutiques

olumbia’s Best Holiday Shopping

FROM TRENDY TO TRADITIONAL, COLUMBIA’S BEST BOUTIQUES OFFER UNIQUE GIFTS YOU WON’T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE. HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE SHOPS

SONGBIRD STATION

2010 Chapel Plaza Ct. 800•256•2473 www.songbirdstation.com

The relaxing atmosphere at Songbird Station is a welcome change from the usual hectic pace of holiday shopping. The tranquil sounds of trickling water and chirping birds greet you inside one of the largest backyard nature shops in Missouri. Find gifts for anyone on your list who has an affinity for nature, gardening, and of course, birds, with their vast selection of unique feeders, houses, bird baths, garden gifts, books, and kids center, which features books and toys to get kids excited about nature.

BEST OF THE WEST

1408 I-70 Dr. SW 573•449•2248 www.bestofthewestindianart.com

Master silversmith and lapidary Don Hart delights customers from around the country who come to his store for the custom handmade silver and turquoise Native American jewelry which he is known for. Best of the West features stunning displays of jewelry, art, and accessories made with stones and silver from the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni nations. In addition to his intricately detailed jewelry, Hart’s selection of pottery, textiles, and home décor also makes great gifts.

THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO

36 N. 9th St. 573•443•6688 www.thebutterflytattoo.com

Featuring an eclectic selection of whimsical and fashionable gifts, The Butterfly Tattoo is a fun shop full of unique treasures like Israeli designer Dori Csengeri’s best-selling embroidered silk jewelry and highly sought-after designer diaper bags from brands like Petunia Pickle Bottom and Fleurville. Owner Amanda VanderTuig takes pride in her store’s wide variety of products in every price range, which means you’ll be able to load up on everything from stocking stuffers to special gifts.

[1] MissouriLife

For more information about Columbia’s unique shopping, dining, and holiday hotel packages AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 76

10/30/08 6:08:40 PM

PROMOTION

KEEPING GOOD COMPANY

1100 Club Village Dr. Suite 102 573•442•7004 www.keepinggoodcompany.com Keeping Good Company is a comfortable, inviting store that’s perfect for finding gifts for anyone who enjoys adding comfort and style to their home.

Find everything from furniture to delicate accessories to light up any living space. The store offers a beautiful selection of bedding, area rugs, candles, botanicals, picture frames, lighting, and more.

Keeping Good Company also offers a gift registry, gift certificates, and free gift wrapping on purchases of $20 or more.

TWO GREAT PLACES FOR GRUB & GIFTS: enjoy a delicious meal and shop for gifts, too.

Multi-task your holiday shopping by taking a lunch break and checking out the gifts these eateries have to offer.

HOSS’S MARKET

1010A Club Village Dr. 573•815•9711 www.hosssmarket.com

Stock up for your holiday parties, grab lunch and gifts for your foodie friends at Hoss’s Market. Hoss’s offers gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads, rotisserie chicken, a full-service deli, fresh seafood, and a wine and beer store. Their specialty items include artisan cheeses, garnishes and seasonings, fine chocolates, and smoked meats. They also offer gift certificates and themed gift baskets, including a holiday basket with Hoss’s famous smokedturkey and a BBQ basket complete with sauces, rubs, wood chips and a cookbook.

Best Boutiques For... the art lover Columbia Art League 207 S. 9th St. 573•443•8838 cal.missouri.org

the fine jewelry fiend McAdams’ Ltd 32 S. Providence Rd. 573•442•3151 www.mcadamsltd.com

the antique enthusiast The Marketplace 1100 Business Loop 70 W 573•443•1970 www.marketplaceonline.biz

KAYOTEA TEA ROOM & BISTRO 912 E. Broadway 573•442•TEAS www.kayotea.biz

the bike nut

Enjoy breakfast or lunch at Kayotea, where you can find menu items like panini and grilled croissants. Or enjoy a scone baked from scratch with a cup of tea chosen from a selection of more than 40 varieties. For the tea-lover on your list, take home an assortment of loose-leaf teas, a teapot, or a gift set. go to www.visitcolumbiamo.com.

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 77

Klunk Bicycles & Repair 211 E. Broadway 573•874•0090 www.klunkcycles.com

the fashionista Elly’s Couture 914 E. Broadway 573•499•4401

[1] June 2008

10/30/08 6:09:30 PM

Andrew Barton

[78] MissouriLife

TASTEFUL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 78

10/28/08 5:54:28 PM

TASTEFU L TRAVELER Our U nique Culinary Culture

OZARK TRADITIONS FAMILY AND FLAVOR SET OUR HOLIDAY TABLES | By Nina Furstenau

[79] December 2008

TASTEFUL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 79

10/28/08 5:33:33 PM

ML

TASTEFUL TRAVELER

PICTURE IF YOU WILL a crisp, clear day, snow with luck, a cozy fireplace or even a wood stove, sumptuous foods, Grandpa bringing up the Mogen David from the cellar (oops, that’s my in-laws).

But the real centerpiece: They are usually gathered, talking, and anticipating a laden table and the warmth, love, and security to be found there. Or, they are rolling up their sleeves in the kitchen and hurling instructions across countertops or opening a steamy oven. And always, their eyes sparkle as the electric knife fires up. Never mind about Uncle Ed’s brief air guitar routine with the knife as he moves toward the ham (names have been changed as a random act of kindness). The people at my table always outshine the table.

That’s no small feat when the table is covered with traditional Ozark dishes. You can see in these dishes early American Indian influence, with their reliance on corn, squash, and beans, and then the later influence of English, Scots, Welsh, Irish, German, and other settlers. One common feature: The feast was prepared from food readily available.

Walnuts and other nuts literally littered the ground in our region, and so pies baked with the nutmeat abounded. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash are ubiquitous in holiday casseroles, and wild game was abundant.

Robert Stricklin, executive chef and director of food and beverages for the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks near Branson, sees the originality of Ozark food. He had a career as a chef in Chicago, Switzerland, New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans before coming to the Ozarks.

“There were so many cultures that have been through this area, but if there is a flavor of the Ozarks, it’s probably smoked and cured foods,” Robert says. “Hams and sausages, trout and white bass were big staples.

Matron Hulda Burger is credited with the dry cure that is essentially the same used by Burgers’ Smokehouse today. The founder of the California, Missouri, company was E.M. Burger, bottom right. The other family members are youngest son Martin and from left, twins Herman and Carl, oldest son John, and father John.

Plus, Missouri is big apple country. Grapes, of course, and green beans and tomatoes.”

Settlers from southern states brought the tradition of salting and curing pork to Missouri, as did the Germans with slightly differing spices. The tradition flourished here in part because of the ideal weather for curing: cold enough to prevent the hams from spoiling as they cured but not so cold as to freeze the meats in the winter months after butchering. Plus, pigs were easy to raise, their meat easy to preserve, and the animals ate corn, the main crop of the Missouri settler.

Aged country hams are dark red, salty, and keep for one year or more. In fact, a California, Missouri, company, Burgers’, has developed from a family farm that produced six hams in 1927 to keep the family afloat to a family operation that now produces 750,000 hams, bacon, sausage, and other specialty meats yearly. The dry cure for these hams is a mixture of salt, brown sugar, spices, and nitrates, essentially the same recipe as the one brought from Germany by Hulda Burger, mother of the founder E.M. Burger.

Whatever the source of holiday recipe traditions, they are a direct link to past gatherings around the same foods. It matters not that eight U.S. presidents and forty-four years have passed, my mother still makes broccoli and rice casserole and peach parfait pie every Christmas.

See page 82 for three traditional Ozark recipes, and visit MissouriLife.com for fifteen more Ozark heritage recipes to try this season.

Great Sources of Traditional Recipes LIKE THE BURGERS,

many families have country recipes from yesteryear. Many were never written

down, but some women created manuscript cookbooks. One example, The Julia Clark Household Memoranda

Book, is housed at the Missouri Historical Society at St. Louis. Julia, wife of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Politics, and Ants in the Pantry, which also contains recipes.

Some cookbooks, like Recipes of Old Ste. Genevieve, first published by Women’s Club of Ste. Genevieve in 1959, record the French influence in the area through its sauces and preparations.

Near Branson, the College of the Ozarks' From the Ozarks’ Oven is the Edwards Mill cookbook.

Erected in 1972 and fully functional, the mill is a replica of an Ozark gristmill.

One traditionally abundant food in the Ozarks, the black walnut, is featured in Hammons Products Company’s Cooking with Black Walnuts. The Stockton company is the only commercial processor of black walnuts in the world.

The theme park Silver Dollar City at Branson may have done as much as anyone in collecting and publishing Ozark recipes in Recipes from the Heartland and Country Barbecue Recipes.

Visit MissouriLife.com for purchase information for these cookbooks.

COURTESY OF BURGERS’ SMOKEHOUSE; MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

expedition, or perhaps William himself, recorded her recipes, according to Carol and John Fisher in Pot Roast,

[80] MissouriLife

TASTEFUL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 80

10/31/08 1:50:45 PM

Promotion

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

10/31/08 11:45:44 AM

MISSOU RI RECIPES

– MissouriLife –

Ozark Pudding

Sweet Potato Hash

Bess Wallace Truman, If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get out of the Kitchen, vol. 2, Junior Service League, Independence (1999).

This dish is also featured in Missouri 1821-1971 Sesquicentennial Edition Cookbook (1971).

Ingredients: 1 egg ¾ cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons flour ¼ teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt ½ cup apples, chopped ½ cup walnuts, chopped Directions: Combine the egg and sugar in a mixing bowl.

Beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add to the sugar mixture and mix well.

Stir in the apples and walnuts. Spoon into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Serves 9.

Bourbon Pie Black Walnut and – MissouriLife –

Missouri Black Walnut and Bourbon Pie

– MissouriLife –

Sweet Potato Hash

Cooking with Black Walnuts, Hammons Pantry, Stockton

Courtesy of Executive Chef Robert Stricklin, Keeter Center, College of the Ozarks

Ingredients: 2 large sweet potatoes ½ cup pine nuts 2 tablespoons butter, softened ½ cup sun-dried cranberries 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Beat eggs with ¾ cup sugar. Mix remaining ½ cup sugar with cornstarch and add to egg mixture. Fold in bourbon, butter, black walnuts, and chocolate chips. Pour filling into unbaked 9-inch pie shell. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake 15 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden.

Serves 8.

Directions: Peel and dice sweet potatoes and blanch in boiling water. Drain and cool under cold water.

Toast pine nuts in oven. In a sauté pan, heat butter until melted. Add potatoes and sauté.

Add pine nuts, sun-dried cranberries, and cilantro, and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until serving.

Serves 4.

Ozark Pudding

ANDREW BARTON

Ingredients: 3 eggs 1 ¼ cup sugar, divided 4 tablespoons cornstarch 5 tablespoons bourbon ½ cup butter, melted ¼ cup black walnuts 1 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

[82] MissouriLife

TASTEFUL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 82

10/31/08 12:12:53 PM

tasty food and fun destinations Visit the AgriMissouri Buyer’s Guide to find local foods and destinations www.agrimissouri.com • 1-866-466-8283

For More Missouri Products Visit

Romano Cheese Dressing from an Original Family Recipe. A St. Louis Tradition & Fancy Food Show Award Winner. The Dressing for People Who Make Their Own! Tucker Food Products, Inc. P.O.Box 16072, St Louis, MO 63105-0772

M i s s o u r i L i f e. c o m

1-800-827-0778 • www.vivienne.com e-mail: ttucker@vivienne.com

.EWARK -/

Where quality goes in before our name goes on!

Make s Great Gifts

Order online at www.swissmeats.com t

Route 1 Box 2462 Urbana, MO 65767 Phone 417-993-9934

Located 12 miles south of Hermann on Highway 19.

1-800-793-SWISS

[83] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 83

10/30/08 2:34:38 PM

Wonderful Wine

Hermann

IN E U RIEvW MISCoSO nnoisseur’s aluations A

SURP SURPRISING R RI RP R SING RESULTS

Missouri’s most beautiful town in every season!

Inn•dulge Yourself!

Kristkindl Markts

First two of s weekend er Decemb

Hermann B&Bs are offering INN•credible lodging deals this winter.

Find an INN•spired getaway at hermannmo.info.

800-932-8687 • www.hermannmo.info On the Missouri River just an hour west of St. Louis

Experience the Difference

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE December 6 and 7 Barrel Tasting, Agri-Missouri Food Samples, Wine Tasting & Facility Tours JANUARY WINE SALE 10% off individual bottles of wine 15% off case purchases All month long!

Open: Mon.-Sat. 11-6, Sun. 1-6 Through Dec. 31 Beginning Jan. 2, Wed.-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.

IT WILL LIKELY SURPRISE some to know that the Missouri wine industry has a pretty strong reputation outside of the state.

Within the wine industry, there is a strong sense that there are a lot of smart people working here. Even many California winemakers have heard good things about Missouri’s state grape, Norton, even if they’ve never actually tasted one.

But the “Easter Massacre” in 2007 was unkind to Missouri’s favorite grape, most of which was wiped out. On April 8, Easter, the temperature plunged below freezing, where it stayed for at least five days. By itself, the frigid temperatures wouldn’t have done a great deal of damage, but the preceding three weeks had been unseasonably warm and most vines had begun to stir. The sap had risen up into the wood, and when that sap froze, vines literally exploded.

The initial report was that 95 percent of Missouri’s Norton crop was gone. Other grapes suffered as well. So, for the 2008 Missouri State Wine Competition, I wasn’t sure there would be many 2007 vintages.

Would there be balance?

The short answer is yes. Among the white wines, there were a number of lovely dry 2007 Vignoles, the finest of which was from the oft-awarded Montelle Winery.

■ Montelle Winery’s 2007 Dry Vignoles was judged to be the best wine of the entire show and handed the Governor’s Cup, giving Montelle’s winemaker, Tony

By Doug Frost Kooyumjian, the Governor’s Cup four out of the last five years.

Doug Frost is one of ■ Between Montelle and Augusta three people in the world who is both a wineries, Tony brought home six of Master Sommelier and the ten “Best of Class” awards. Other a Master of Wine. He lives in Kansas City. winners included: Augusta Seyval Blanc, Augusta River Valley Red, Montelle River Country Red, and two beauties, Augusta 2007 Icewine and Montelle Peach Brandy.

■ Stone Hill Winery took home the best fortified wine with their 2005 Port.

■ Blumenhof Winery had a stellar Cynthiana (Norton) from the 2006 vintage that took Best of Class for Dry Red. ■ The other winners were Stone Hill’s Golden Spumante and 2007 Vignoles.

It’s exciting that Blumenhof is back in the winner’s column.

Their victory in the Norton competition reflects a sea of change in Missouri wine. No longer is the winner for top Norton a predictable battle between the heavyweights in the state.

[84] MissouriLife

WINE-DECEMBER 2008.indd 84

10/29/08 11:00:42 AM

[85] December 2008

WINE-DECEMBER 2008.indd 85

10/27/08 1:51:16 PM

RTiviIStyT U RuitI yA SOIng MISundan & Creat t en Ab

THE CALL OF THE OCEAN

IF THIS IS DECEMBER, then Joplin artist Heather Grills is in Missouri.

But not for long.

“Our countdown starts right after Christmas as to how soon we can go back to Maine,” she says. “My husband takes off from work and comes up for a couple of weeks each summer and my son goes to camp, but my daughter and I head to Wells Beach as soon as school is out.”

It’s a familiar pattern for Heather, a selfdescribed ocean lover and self-taught artist.

“I have gone back and forth for years,” she says. “Mom was a teacher, and we would spend summers there every year, until I was thirteen. We were living in Florida, but as soon as school was out, we’d drive up the coast to Maine.”

The little white cottage with its cast iron sink and small claw-footed tub served as Heather’s grandmother’s summer home for years. Her grandmother was a Littlefield, and the Littlefields were a founding family of the town of Wells, Maine.

By Ann Leach

“You can see the ocean from the front porch, and right below the house is the Grey Gull Inn,” Heather says. “Almost all of my paintings are done there on Wells Beach.”

That is, when she isn’t working in her downtown Joplin studio.

“I wanted to separate my business from my home,” Heather says. “Having the studio allows me to commit to my art in Missouri.”

And commit she did, when her husband went to work for Freeman Children’s Clinic as a pediatrician and she found a potential art

ANN LEACH; COURTESY OF HEATHER GRILLS

JOPLIN ARTIST RIDES WAVES FROM MISSOURI TO MAINE AND BACK |

[86] MissouriLife

ARTIST-DECEMBER 2008.indd 86

10/29/08 4:06:26 PM

courtesy of heather grills

From left: Artist Heather Grills looks out to sea from the cliffs of the Marginal Way at Ogunquit, Maine. Driftwood and other beach treasures inspire Heather in her Missouri studio. In Maine, Moody Beach (inset) and Katahdin (above), a mountain at Baxter State Park, are two spots where she paints en plein air.

studio. She gutted it and began creating a space that invites visitors to experience their own beach escape through the sand-colored walls covered in Heather’s paintings of ocean scenes, the gulls, and Maine’s rocky shore.

Driftwood sits atop a table, ready to inspire a new still life, and art books abound.

“It took me ten months to get the space in shape,” Heather says. “It had a dropped ceiling that was covered in black ash. I put in a garage door in the back and a handicap-accessible bathroom because I want everyone to be able to be comfortable here.”

Heather paid homage to her Maine roots by naming her business, Studio Argonauta, after the shell.

“I was going to call it ‘coastally challenged,’ but my husband thought that was too ‘cute’

for a business,” she says. “This works for me.”

Indeed, Heather finds beauty in both states.

“They’re both beautiful places, but in different ways,” she says. “Maine is more into land preservation and conservation, and Missourians are more laid-back and their faith is more important to them. The pace is faster in Maine, but not for me; we don’t have television up there. We read a lot.”

Heather is also moved by Missouri scenery and is currently at work creating a Seasons of Missouri series, inspired by photographs she sees in Missouri Conservationist magazine.

She also enjoys spending entire days on the Maine shore, often creating a whole painting in that time.

“I am a plein air painter,” she says. “That means I work outside. I like to paint large because that’s the size I see things. It’s not so much what’s in the hand, as it is what’s in the mind.”

Heather invites area art lovers to visit her studio “by chance or by appointment” and hosts openings of new works twice a year.

She markets her paintings, portraiture, and ceramic talents through involvement in the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m the only artist they have as a member,” she says, “and I am a sponsor of their economic development tour so that those on the tour can see that art is necessary to the community.”

That message has become a ministry to Heather, who faced a career decision a few years ago.

“I had to decide between becoming a Methodist minister or an artist,” she says. “I am a lay minister, but I wanted to give more.” Her husband helped her in making her decision.

“He helped me see that God needs Christian artists, too,” she says, “and that being an artist is just as holy a calling. There is so much darkness and nastiness in art these days; I wanted to give people something beautiful as an alternative. My art is an expression of my appreciation of the creation.”

Call 417-483-0002 or visit heathergrills.com for more information.

[87] December 2008

ARTIST-DECEMBER 2008.indd 87

10/31/08 8:38:24 AM

For information on great Missouri artists and more, visit MissouriLife.com

Great Missouri Art

Heritage Days CALLING ALL ARTISTSâ&#x20AC;Ś Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alumni Weekend June 27-28, 2009

wants you!

Missouri Artisans Association, better known as The Best of Missouri Hands, is a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1989 â&#x20AC;&#x153;dedicated to the development and recognition of Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arts and artisans through education, interaction, and encouragement.â&#x20AC;?

(VEQEXMG 0]VMG WSTVERS .SERRE /STIRE &SRMR .SH] /STMRI E KVEHYEXI SJ 77 4IXIV ERH 4EYP ,MKL 7GLSSP [MPP TIVJSVQ E FIRIĂ&#x20AC;X GSRGIVX EX

8 ,)74-%2 , %00 & 332:-00) 1 -773967 %896(%= . 92) %8 4 1 .SERRE /STIRE &SRMR¡W VITIVXSMVI WTERW JVSQ STIVE XS QYWMGEP XLIEXIV XS WEGVIH QYWMG 4VSGIIHW [MPP FIRIĂ&#x20AC;X 77 4IXIV 4EYP FYMPHMRK JYRH 8MGOIXW [MPP FI EZEMPEFPI MR *IFVYEV]

* 3 6 1 3 6 ) - 2 * 3 6 1 %8 - 3 2 ' % 0 0

Our Mission: â?&#x2013;Educating the public about Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arts and crafts â?&#x2013;Educating its members and the community at large through an annual conference, a newsletter, and a web site â?&#x2013;Offering networking opportunities regionally and nationally â?&#x2013;Rewarding excellence through its jury process â?&#x2013;Preserving cultural heritage through public education, display and other projects

Join the Best of Missouri Hands today!

The opportunities are endless!

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

Inspirational Wine Prints by

Vic Mastis

Artist with a Touch of Gold

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Celebrate the Good Lifeâ&#x20AC;?

Matted and ready to frame ~Print- 8 x 10 Matted 11 x 14 - $40 2 for $75 ~Print- 11 x14 Matted 14 x18 - $55 2 for $95 $DI@ÂąC<I?>M<AO@?ÂąAPMIDOPM@ AMJHÂą@SLPDNDO@Âą+DNNJPMDÂąC<M?RJJ?NÂą AJMÂąOC@Âą?DN>MDHDI<ODIBÂą=PT@M www.martinratermann.com 573-698-2192

plus $5.99 for shipping MO residents add 7.65% tax

Visa, M/C, Discover

(314) 402-1959 www.FineArtByVic.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dream, Thirst for Lifeâ&#x20AC;?

[88] MissouriLife

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 88

10/31/08 8:15:41 AM

Truly One of A Kind

2C@

in the Entire Area

Opening Friday, February 6, 2009 Artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Reception 5:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Oils & Pastels De Munden Watercolors & Acrylics Alicia Farris Mixed Media Stephanie Witte Morning from Cemetery Hill De Munden

@IOÂą2M@@Âą%<GG@MT

HISTORIC CLARKSVILLE MISSOURI

0PNOD>Âą$PMIDOPM@Âą <I?Âą >>@ION *@<OC@MÂą <BN <NF@ONÂą Âą$D=@MÂą MO Mon.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Sat. 10â&#x20AC;&#x201C;5 â&#x20AC;˘ Sun. 12â&#x20AC;&#x201C;5 â&#x20AC;˘ Call for our workshop schedule.

573-242-3200 â&#x20AC;˘ www.thebenttree.com â&#x20AC;˘ www.stacyleigh.etsy.com

Exhibit continues through February 28th.

PINEBOUGH BOOKMARK Give the gift of ART to that someone special on your list!

Bookmark features original hand-etched scrimshaw on a recycled antique ivory piano key with genuine leather and handmade paper accents. $22, plus $2 shipping/handling

2031 S. Waverly â&#x20AC;˘ SpringďŹ eld, MO 65804 -!#!! !D PDF 0www.waverlyhouse.com â&#x20AC;˘ (417) 882-3445

Check/Money Order/Visa/MasterCard 31 High Trail, Eureka, MO 63025 â&#x20AC;˘ www.stonehollowstudio.com

#

-

9

#-

-9

#9

#-9

+

[89] December 2008

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 89

10/28/08 12:10:51 PM

ML

Missouri Artists

Unique Passions

discover 5 juried best of missouri hands artists |

Jan Coffman from Columbia sits at her table, pen in hand, no longer needing a darkroom to produce her fine art photography and digital art; she has a computer.

“I find myself wanting to know what computers can do,” Jan says.

Her art begins with a photograph. She puts the digital image into the computer. Using an electronic tablet and pen, she paints layers on top of the photograph, then blends the layers together for a final effect.

Visit jcoffman.home.mchsi.com for more information.

Pewter Beauties

Tom and Patricia Hooper’s love of English and American history translates to their work, creating both original and traditional pewter pieces. The husband and wife team has owned and operated ASL Pewter in Louisiana, Missouri, since 1995.

ASL Pewter has created a chamber pot for Colonial Williamsburg, a replica of one of the earliest keys found in America, and many other one-of-a-kind pieces for museums and private organizations. They were chosen to make the pewter for a miniseries about our second president, John Adams.

“Both Pat and I are history buffs,” Tom says. “Every time I go in one of the rooms with tools of how things were made, I want to try them,” he says.

Visit www.aslpewter.com for more information.

Nostalgic Relief Prints

Deby Gilley is a relief printmakter from Aldrich who bases her artwork on nostalgic and rural subjects. She carves woodcuts and linocuts to produce prints of these familiar subjects, and inspiration can come from anywhere.

“Sometimes I just drive down the road and see something,” Deby says. Occasionally, an image just "comes to mind. One time it came from a sermon. The image came to me, and I had to start drawing it.”

Call 417-694-8918 for more information.

Living Watercolors

Hermann artist Catherine Mahoney remembers her introduction to watercolor because she feels the same way when she paints today. “I don’t know exactly how to describe it,” she says. “But when I paint, I lose track of time completely.”

Catherine has been creating pencil drawings, batiks, watercolors, pastels, oils, and photographs since 1966. She enjoys contrasting shade and light in nature and is also interested in the similarities and differences in textures.

In her paintings, she says even the dark places have an “aliveness that you can sense.”

Catherine illustrated a children’s book,

Daisy and Digger, in 2007. Her work has been named to the Watercolor Honor Society, and she has been published regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Visit colorfulbrushes.homestead.com for more information.

Scrimshaw Carvings

The term “scrimshaw” has obscure origins, but the Dutch translation is roughly “a waste of time.” Sailors in the late 1700s and early 1800s carved patterns onto whale tusks as a way to pass the time on long voyages.

Eureka artist Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky loves how the medium connects her love of history and art. The subjects of her twentynine-year fascination are often traditional: ships, lighthouses, and botanicals.

Mike continues the scrimshaw tradition by creating artwork out of unwanted materials.

She recycles ivory from old piano keys and uses natural materials like deer antlers and bone from the beef industry.

Visit www.stonehollowstudio.com or call 636-938-9570 for more information.

Courtesy of the Artists

Painted Photos

By Rebecca Legel

[90] MissouriLife

ARTIST-DECEMBER 2008.indd 90

10/31/08 8:40:09 AM

special advertising section

ULTIMATE

O

HOLIDAY GUIDE

UltGuide_Cov2_1208.indd 1

10/31/08 10:47:32 AM

45th & Oak, Kansas City, Missouri nelson-atkins.org

FREE every day.

Come inside for remarkable art, unique shopping and lunch in Rozzelle Court Restaurant.

Featured Exhibition

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY HURSLEY

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 92

View the power and drama of the railroad. Now through Jan. 18, 2009.

[92] MissouriLife

10/31/08 10:36:14 AM

U LTIMATE H OLIDAY G UIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

&/2 #(2)34-!3

RU D O L PH’S R E D  L I G H T S PE C I A L

On

$20 elyach (includes shipping & handling)

CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH!

D

esigns in Gold is moving from the greater metropolitan St. Louis Area to the popular international tourist destination, Solvang, California.

James Cleland, owner, has been a featured artist at the St. Louis Art Museum and Missouri Botanical Gardens and has won one international and two national awards this year. His wife, Ginger, shares his passion for fine jewelry and designs and has become one of the largest Fine Estate Jewelry dealers in St. Louis.

In their new location their clientele will be drawn from the Santa Barbara, Hollywood, and the Beverly Hills area.

485 ALISAL ROAD UNIT 120 SOLVANG, CA 93463 VISIT WWW.DESIGNS-IN-GOLD.COM AND WWW.JCLELAND.COM

’S PE C I A L

T, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE IT,

N WE CAN MAKE IITT HAPPE

Make This Your Special Gift!

FOR THE CHILD IN ALL OF US!

T

his beautiful book tells the story of a red heeler, a blue heeler, and a little boy named Tommy — a heartwarming story for the children on your list.

Written by Kathy Meyer and illustrated by Catherine Mahoney, both of Hermann, Missouri.

Orders: camahoney@ktis.net For phone orders/information call:

s s FAX s s

Simply Solar Greenhouses

SPREAD THE TRAVEL BUG

W

e work with all major cruise lines and tour operators, or we can create a custom itinerary just for you.

Our small group sizes enable us to provide our guests with that something extra that large tour groups can’t duplicate. We pride ourselves on providing the optimum behind-thescenes experience. Our philosophy is to travel less and see more.

Contact Unique Journeys, and let’s get started planning your ideal trip or your group’s ideal trip.

GARDEN-FRESH FOR THE HOLIDAYS

N

Nancy Luechtefeld, CTC Unique Journeys, LLC 9787 Radio Dr., St. Louis, MO 63123

o matter how deep the snow is, you can still have fresh, homegrown fruits and vegetables with a Simply Solar Greenhouse. These innovative greenhouses were developed with the finest technology to allow the highest growth production, the lowest heating cost and best humidity for optimum growing. A Simply Solar Greenhouse offers the best in convenience, with delivery to your backyard and no assembly required.

Simply Solar Greenhouses P.O. Box 95 Bell City, MO 63735

E-mail: nancy@unique-journeys.com Website: www.unique-journeys.com

www.simplysolargreenhouses.com www.prismsolargreenhouses.com

s s

s s

[93] December 2008

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 93

10/31/08 12:27:43 PM

U LTIMATE H OLIDAY G UIDE Saturday, January 31, 2009

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

THE CITY OF LOUISIANA,MO

WINTER RIVER FESTIVAL

ASL PEW TER HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ASL PEWTER

2009

W

here American crafts are made by American craftsman.

Open daily 9:30 a.m. -5:30 p.m.

Enjoy Holiday Shopping!

All just a short scenic drive away!

Polar Plutcnhgine g Eagle Wastings Wine Ta Fire & Ice The House of

123 S. Third St., Louisiana, MO 63353

573-754-3435 www.aslpewt er.com

www.louisiana-mo.com • 888.642.3800

HOLIDAY SHOPPING OPPING IN ““A “AMERICA’S MERICA’S HOMETOWN” NEW SHOPPING AND DINING

DOWNTOWN HANNIBAL IBAL CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

ook no further than historic downtown Hannibal for all of your unique shopping needs. In the past three years, Downtown Hannibal has seen an array of new development and growth from shopping to dining. Hannibal’s downtown is known worldwide as Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home and Museum, but is fast becoming famous for the unique shops and artisans that have flocked to the Downtown District.

aturday, December 6, 5-8 p.m. Featuring a “Living Windows” event where all the storefronts come to life with scenes of the season. At 6 p.m., don’t miss the lighted Christmas parade and see strolling carolers and elaborate ice sculptures. For a complete listing of events, go to visithannibal. com or call toll free 1-TOM-AND-HUCK.

L

S

Hannibal CVB 505 North 3rd Hannibal, MO

s4/-s!.$s(5#+ www.visithannibal.com

[94] MissouriLife

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 94

10/31/08 11:14:13 AM

$ ! # '

# ' # ' # !<

!" #

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

$ )' , "-% !.'%% % # / 01 # ++ * ' + '

$

, # , # $ - .

. &%/

% & 23 -&!44 .&!%"' !"

1 * 1 ** ., "# $ $ , 01

"'

& % , '() 3 ) !" # 1 #

0 0 5/ .

$

! /

6 , %& 3 -%&'3- !" * 0 * 7 8 " $ 2 ! )' 3 4 3

! 6 6 ' ! 9 %' () !" ** : 1 ** 5# !,

#

$ ! , ! & % 6 ' ! , " (- ( !"

( ' $ 1

&%7 66, 3(;' .)&% % < < : 8 9# , # $ ,

# * :; < &%7

= 3 = 3 -4 %' - .-; !;' %

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 95

10/31/08 11:15:20 AM

U LTIMATE H OLIDAY G UIDE Squiggie’s Night Out Squiggie Mousenip feels like it’s his responsibility to find food for his family after his dad disappears.

Little does he know of the big adventures that await him .....

Author: Alice Gensler Illustrator: Gabriel Rimmer $8.95 (tax + shipping and handling) Alice Gensler ~ Rt. 1, Box 112, Nelson, MO 65347 ~ cgensler@iland.net Orders: www.barnesandnoble.com ~ www.iuniverse.com.

THE TRADING POSOSTT WE BUY, SELL & TRADE

Y

ou can find anything at the trading post. Bridles, halters, whips, hatbands, western track, saddles, handcrafted furniture, and décor.

301 Hwy 50 Tipton, Missouri 65081

s s

[96] MissouriLife

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 96

10/31/08 12:37:26 PM

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

T Z F M J 3 C

V

*SJTI 1

GREAT FOOD, HEIRLOOM RECIPES

FINE GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

R

iley’s is a friendly establishment, with good food and drinks, and where you can get historic information on Lexington, Missouri.

One of the owners is the great-great granddaughter of an owner of the Pony Express, William B. Waddell, whose family has been in town since 1835.

Built in the 1890s, the floor, back bar, and stained-glass windows are all original.

We have a wide variety of offerings including ice cream based on one of the owner’s recipes, and wonderful homemade salad dressing. Tasty Reuben sandwiches, clubs, burgers, steaks and shrimp are all popular choices.

913 Main St. Lexington, MO 64067

I

n order to give a truly inspired gift, one must shop at a truly inspired store. Enigma Rarities is just such a place.

The inventory, which spans thousands of years, includes antiquarian newspapers and periodicals, fine original drawings by names such as Picasso and Chagall, ancient artifacts, Chinese porcelains, rare books, and jewelry.

What do you get for the person with exquisite taste and who has everything? Come to Enigma Rarities for a completely unique perspective on gift ideas.

1117 Main Lexington, Missouri 64067

s s

s s

www.rileyspub.net

VELVET PUMPKIN & GIGI’S ONE-STOP TWO-SHOP SHOPPING

T

he Velvet Pumpkin features antique furniture, both primitive and traditional with complementing home décor. Walk through to Gigi’s, a beautiful ladies boutique featuring Brighton, Paige Wallace jewelry, Mary Francis purses, Christine Alexander, 600 West and much more.

Side-by-side stores, twice as nice.

920 Main St. Lexington, MO 64067 Velvet Pumpkin

Gigi’s

s s s s www.thevelvetpumpkin/gigis.com

COME HOME TO LEXINGTON

LEXINGTON, MISSOURI C

elebrate the holidays in style. Come home to Historic Lexington and get a glimpse of the past and gifts for the present. It’s the most wonderful time of the year in Lexington. Historic homes are decked out for the holidays.

Unique specialty shops are filled with gifts just waiting for you. And for the 186th consecutive year, townspeople and visitors are filled with the joy of the season. We welcome you to ‘Come Home to Lexington.’

HOLIDAY EVENTS AT LEXINGTON FESTIVAL

OF

LIGHTS (CHAMBER

OF

19TH CENTURY CHRISTMAS (BATTLE

COMMERCE) - DECEMBER 6 OF

LEXINGTON) - DECEMBER 6

CHRISTMAS HOMES TOUR (GFWC WOMEN’S CLUB) - DECEMBER 6-7 Visit us at www.historiclexington.com for complete details.

MISSOURI RIVER A N T I QU E CO M PA N Y CHRISTMAS MEMORIES REBORN

T

he brick-lined walls of the Missouri River Antique Company’s two floors provide charming backdrops for artistic room settings and exhibits of antiques.

Primitive and country furnishings, glassware, garden, architectural, furniture, quilts, linens, photography.

912 Main Street Lexington, MO 64067

s s

E-mail: smcgraw12@cebridge.net

[97] December 2008

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 97

10/31/08 12:32:12 PM

U LTIMATE H OLIDAY G UIDE

RU D O L PHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S R E D ď&#x161;ş L I G H T S PE C I A L

GOURMET FOR THE HOLIDAYS

A

gourmet foodiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; paradise, The Better Cheddar stocks fresh artisan cheeses from across the U.S. and around the world; more than 200 varieties, plus olive oil, chocolates, pastas, caviar, cured meats, jams and so much more. Your mouth will water.

Gift baskets are amazing! Locally owned and operated for over 25 years.

71st & Mission Rd. 7 TH 3T Prairie Village, KS Kansas City, MO s s s s

SNAPPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HARDWARE & APPLIANCE SNAPPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED FOR A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON

Y

ou can always count on Snappâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hardware & Appliance to help you find gifts for the do-it-yourselfer, power-tool lover, or anyone on your list at its store in Downtown Boonville, family-owned and operated since 1960. Snappâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offers a wide selection and personal service for all you and your loved onesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; home improvement needs, including a full line of Whirlpool and Kitchenaid appliances and Stihl power tools.

Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re shopping for a gift, a weekend project, or preparing your home for the winter, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find all you need at Snappâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

300 Main Street Boonville, Missouri 65233

s s

www.thebettercheddar.com

SHOP FOR HOLIDAY TREASURES IN HISTORIC LIBERTY UNIQUE SHOPPING & DINING

RICH WITH HISTORY AND HOLIDAY CHEER

F

ind the perfect gifts for the special people on your list at the distinctive shops in picturesque Historic Downtown Liberty, Missouri. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jewelry, fashionable clothing, home dĂŠcor, furniture, antiques, arts and crafts or specialty gifts, you can find it in Historic Downtown Liberty.

While you shop, enjoy the holiday setting of one of the most walkable, pleasant, small towns in the Midwest. Marvel at the beauty of the Square and its handsomely restored, festively lit

buildings. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be delighted by convenient parking and friendly folks spreading holiday cheer.

Take a break from shopping to enjoy a delicious meal at any of our independently owned restaurants, and stay the night at one of our charming bed & breakfasts.

SEE A LISTING OF DOWNTOWN MERCHANTS

Visit our web site for a listing of holiday events and more information. Historic Downtown Liberty, Missouri, is 1.5 miles east of I-35 just 15 miles northeast of downtown Kansas City, and 20 miles east of Kansas City International Airport.

s s

www.historicdowntownliberty.org [98] MissouriLife

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 98

10/31/08 12:45:46 PM

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Premier Furniture Outlet Fine Furniture and Interiors

THE ULTIMATE STYLE FOR YOUR HOME

#OUNTRY s 4RADITIONAL s #ONTEMPORARY s 7E (AVE )T !LL

W

e offer in-home interior design consultations, floor planning, color analysis, special orders, and layaway.

Premier Furniture Outlet features top brands like Norwalk, Broyhill, Vineyard, Sealy, Bernhardt, Justice, Winners Only and more.

311 Main Street Boonville, Missouri 65233

s s

H I S TO R I C T U R N E R H A L L

Come celebrate the holidays in President Harry Trumanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home town. More than 16 heritage sites welcome you including the Truman Library and Home, a Frontier Trails Museum, Victorian mansions and more. Enjoy a variety of holiday events including heritage homes tours, horse-drawn sleigh rides and shopping and dining on the historic Square.

AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL

FOR A FREE VISITORS GUIDE & HOLIDAY BROCHURE CALL 1-800-810-4700 OR SEE WWW.VISITINDEPENDENCE.COM/MOL

HOLD YOUR EVENT IN TOWN-HALL STYLE

H

ost your next meeting in the quiet, relaxing atmosphere of a small town meeting hall.

Historic Turner Hall, located in downtown Boonville, can provide all your needs for 15 to 190 people.

Located just minutes away from Columbia by I-70 or scenic old 40, Turner Hall welcomes you to this historic river town. Meals and snacks can be arranged.

Call and let David Oswald give you all the details.

518 Vine Boonville, Missouri 65233

s s OR s s [99] December 2008

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 99

10/31/08 11:42:33 AM

U LTIMATE H OLIDAY G UIDE

Experience Holiday Charm & Events In Historic Boonville

HIGH STREET VICTORIAN BOONVILLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ELEGANT PLACE TO STAY!

H

igh Street Victorian Bed and Breakfast was built in 1880 but provides the accommodations of the 21st century. Victorian elegance, fine furnishings, antiques, and light filled rooms are the perfect setting for a romantic getaway or a cozy overnight stay.

Christmas is a special time here. Winner of Best Interior

by This Old House TV and magazine. Come experience the Victorian charm and elegance of Christmas past as you relax and enjoy the smells of cinnamon and gingerbread.

Located a half block from the Katy Trail and near the Riverfront in the Historic District, High Street is just steps away from downtown Boonvilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holiday shopping and events.

519 High Street Boonville, Missouri 65233

s s

D

uring the holiday season Boonville brings treasured traditions alive. The lighting of Winter Wonderland brings a twinkle to your eye, the smell of roasting chestnuts lingers in the air, and Christmas trees wait patiently for you to take them home.

www.highstreetvictorian.com

t 5BLF B MFJTVSFMZ TUSPMM PS DBSSJBHF SJEF UISPVHI POF PG PVS EFDPSBUFE IJTUPSJD OFJHICPSIPPET t 4FF TUSPMMJOH $ISJTUNBT DBSPMFST t 5PVS UIF GBNPVTMZ EFDPSBUFE %"3 IPVTF

HOTEL FREDERICK CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AT HOTEL FREDERICK

S

tay at Hotel Frederick and enjoy luxuries like hot spiced cider, complimentary continental breakfast, and a free Christmas tree to take home from Star Pines Christmas Tree Farm. This season, the hotel is also offering a 10% holiday discount on your rooms.

This beautiful restored historic hotel is favored for its Romanesque Revival architecture, 19th century antique furnishings, and environmentally friendly features.

Located just footsteps away from the Missouri River and the Katy Trail, the hotel is also home to Glennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cafe, one of mid-Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most beloved restaurants.

501 East High Street Boonville, Missouri 65233

t &OKPZ IPMJEBZ USFBUT GSPN UIF )BJO )PVTF $PPLJF 8BML t #SJOH ZPVS IPMJEBZ XJTIFT UP UIF +BZDFF $ISJTUNBT QBSBEF 4BOUB XJMM CF XBJUJOH IFSF UP TFF JG ZPV WF CFFO OBVHIUZ PS OJDF

The Experience...

Brings You Back December 5 and 6

Visit the events calendar on goboonville.com for details

s s s www.hotelfrederick.com

6 6 0 â&#x20AC;˘ 8 8 2 â&#x20AC;˘ 4 0 0 3 [100] MissouriLife

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 100

10/31/08 11:53:53 AM

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

WINE, SPIRITS & GOURMET INDULGENCES

W

ine and More presents a new concept in shopping in Sedalia. Our owners want to transport you far from the maddening crowd to a place where life is slower, more relaxed and perhaps with a hint of refinement.

We feature over 700 labels from over 25 countries, including wines from California, Oregon, Washington, New York, and of course, Missouri. We also offer the largest specialty beer selection in mid-Missouri.

Our knowledgeable staff is happy to help you choose from our wide selection for your holiday gift and party needs. Whether you are shopping for gourmet foods, coffees, teas, chocolates, European imports, wine, spirits, microbrews, hand-rolled cigars or just want to sit and have a glass of wine or a cup of coffee or tea, Wine and More is here for you.

CO O L B E A N S

122-124 S OUTH O HIO A VENUE , S EDALIA

s s 7 9I 4N 6E 3 www.mywineandmore.com

GOURMET COFFEE & TREATS CLARKSVILLE, MISSOURI

E

njoy fantastic gourmet coffees and baked goods, Ghirardelli hot chocolate and other treats at Cool Beans, after a day spent shopping from some of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best artisans at Clarksville, a charming riverside community of artists within easy driving distance of St. Louis. Take a look at what Clarksville artisans have to offer:

103 E. 4th Street â&#x20AC;˘ Sedalia, MO (660) 826-5588 â&#x20AC;˘ www.hotelbothwell.com

Join

Hotel Bothwell in Celebrating the Holiday Season!

Every holiday season we celebrate in style with seasonally accented dĂŠcor, unique holiday gifts and festively adorned event settings for your special function. ĘťTis the season for a unique weekend getaway in our historically appointed suites, to indulge in ďŹ ne dining at Ivory Grille and host the event of the year all while basking in holiday ambience throughout our beautifully restored hotel.

Happy Holidays from

Hotel Bothwell and we hope to see you soon!

Enjoy a Special

s *EWELRY FROM $AWN OF #REATION s &USED GLASS ARTWORK s 7INDSOR CHAIRS AND COLONIAL DECOR s (ANDMADE LEATHER s "ENT WILLOW FURNITURE s 7HEEL THROWN STONEWARE POTTERY s "LOWN GLASS MADE IN FRONT OF YOU s .ATIVE !MERICAN DRUMS s &INE ART PHOTOGRAPHY s (AND DYED SILKS AND TEXTILES s ,AMPWORK JEWELRY Visit www.clarksvillemo.us for more information

15% OFF

&ROM 3T ,OUIS (IGHWAY WEST PAST -ID 2IVERS -ALL TO (IGHWAY EXIT .ORTH ON TO #LARKSVILLE MINUTES

Any One Holiday DĂŠcor Item With This Coupon!

108 Howard Clarksville, MO 63336

One Coupon per customer permitted.

Offer expires December 31, 2008

573-242-3232 [101] December 2008

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 101

10/31/08 11:55:32 AM

U LTIMATE H OLIDAY G UIDE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

THE LODGE G O L F

OF

FOUR SEASONS

R E S O R T

&

S P A

S H I K I

E X C L U S I V E H O L I D AY P A C K A G E S Winter Holiday 2008

Share It With Us!D G E TH E LO

C

OF

G O L getaway F R E SatO elebrate, rejuvenate, and relax with a holiday the Lodge of Four Seasons at the Lake of the Ozarks. Enjoy the luxuries of the Lodge at an affordable rate when you take advantage of special holiday packages, including offers for New Yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Eve, spa treatments, deluxe accomodations, and more.

HOLIDAY OFFER Deluxe room accommodations beginning at $79 plus tax and resort fee. Available November 26 to December 30, 2008.

NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATION Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at HKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Restaurant, 7 p.m. $149 per couple, including tax and gratuity. Includes dinner for two, access to the Marbella Party, two drink tickets per person, dessert buffet, complimentary champagne toast, and entertainment from AnnaLee and the Lucky So & Soâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Call 888-2655500 for reservations.

FOUR SEASONS

R T

&

S P A

S H I K I

AVILA 2-NIGHT PREVIEW PACKAGE Get an exclusive peek of Avila at the Lodge, a new condominium hotel. Tour the model and development, and experience the Lodge amenities and activities. s PER NIGHT FOR A TWO NIGHT STAY WITH DELUXE accomodations, based on double occupancy.

s RESORT CREDIT GOOD AT ANY RESORT OUTLET including Witchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cove, Seasons Ridge, Spa Shiki, HKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steakhouse, Resort Designs, and more.

s&OR RESERVATIONS CALL

NEW YEARS EVE PACKAGE Room, dinner and entertainment. $249 per couple.

s0RICES SUBJECT TO TAX BASED UPON AVAILABILITY AND not valid for groups or conventions. Guests must attend a two-hour Avila presentation. The time of presentation will be confirmed at the time of reservation.

MARBELLA PARTY PACKAGE Dessert buffet, complimentary champagne toast, entertainment. $59 per couple.

FRESH START PACKAGE at SPA SHIKI Start the new year off with Spa Shiki treatments to renew your health and vital energy! This special package features two 4RADITIONAL #HINESE -EDICINE 4#- TREATMENTS !CUGRAPH and Acupressure Massage. $103.50 from January 1 through February 28, 2009. Standard 18% service charge will be added.

DINNER-ONLY PACKAGE $149 per couple.

ROOM ONLY, NO PACKAGE $109 plus tax and $6 Resort Service Fee. GIFT CERTIFICATES A Lodge of Four Seasons gift certificate is always joyfully received. The certificate can be used for guest room, dining, spa, golf or gift shop merchandise.

Call us at 1-800-843-5253 to order.

215 Horseshoe Bend Parkway Lake Ozark, MO 65049

s4(%s,!+% www.4seasonsresort.com

100-DECEMBER 2008.indd 102

10/31/08 12:15:20 PM

TRIVIA Quest

ions and Answers

THE THIRTY-THIRD

By Regan Palmer

3.

In which Missouri town was the thirty-

4.

Harry S. Truman, the thirty-third president.

1.

For what does Truman’s middle initial

2.

What Independence building, signifi-

“S” stand?

5.

from 1919 to 1922 at Kansas City?

made it hard for reporters and the

Where did Truman get his famous

Around the

7.

how

Truman

Secret Service to keep up with him?

9.

With which president and royal princess did Truman’s wife, Bess Wallace

many Library,

people located

visit at

Truman, share common ancestry?

10. Why did Truman’s mother say she would

Independence, each year?

rather sleep on the floor than sleep in

What instrument did Truman play as a

Lincoln’s bed at the White House?

1. The letter “S” honors both of his grandfathers, Shipp and Solomon. 2. His boyhood home he lived in from ages eleven to seventeen. 3. Lamar. 4. A men’s clothing store. 5. The Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma, in 1946. 6. 130,000. 7. The piano. 8. Walking. 9. President Woodrow Wilson and Princess Diana. 10. She was the daughter of a Confederate family and still had strong feelings about the outcome of the Civil War.

HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY

and breakfast?

morning around the White House that

Stops Here”?

cant to Truman’s life, is now a bed

What exercise did Truman do every

What kind of business did Truman run

desk plaque that read, “The Buck 6.

child, waking at 5 AM daily to practice?

8.

third President born?

ESPRESSO-ETC! Want to serve delicious, coffeehouse-style drinks at your location?

Espresso Regular Coffee Chai Latte Café Latte Hot Chocolate French Vanilla Cappuccino Cappuccino Café Mocha French Vanilla Mocha Chai Tea French Vanilla Latte Chai Mocha

We have a program for you!

Call now, let’s talk!

Espresso-Etc! of St. Louis 314-732-4343 www.espresso-etc.com [103] December 2008

TRIVIA-DECEMBER 2008.indd 103

10/27/08 2:16:43 PM

Hunter, Thomas and da Vinci

Partners. Two of mid-Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest gynecologic surgeons and the amazing da VinciÂŽ Robotic Surgical System.

Mark Hunter, MD, gynecologic oncology surgeon, and Jonathan Thomas, MD, gynecologic surgeon, have discovered just how much more precise minimally invasive procedures, like a hysterectomy, can be with the da Vinci. In their skilled hands, these doctors now offer the latest surgical treatment for removal of uterine fibroids as well as surgical staging and treatment of gynecologic cancers.

This advanced technology affords them more flexibility, smaller incisions and more accuracy. For their patients, that means smaller scars, less pain, shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery. Quite simply, it makes minimally invasive surgery more minimal than ever.

Gynecologic oncology surgeon Mark Hunter, MD, and gynecologic surgeon Jonathan Thomas, MD, perform da Vinci surgeries at Columbia Regional Hospital.

For more information on the da Vinci surgical system and our skilled physicians who use it, call (573) 817-3565 or visit www.muhealth.org and click da Vinci.

www.muhealth.org

[104] MissouriLife

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 104

10/28/08 12:47:18 PM

HEALTHY LIVING Tips To Nouri sh Body And Soul

IDLE HANDS

VOLUNTEERISM HELPS MORE THAN THE RECIPIENT |

By Rebecca Legel

THE BEST GIFTS are the ones we give to others, of course, but

The Salvation Army has a host of volunteering opportunities, from serving sitdown dinner in its shelters to distributing gifts to shut-ins and hospitals.

Lend a Hand

Relieving Hunger RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE FAMILY DINNER PROGRAM

Whether your interests lie in helping the homeless, the sick and disabled, the elderly, children, animals, or the environment, organizations in Missouri offer a wide variety of opportunities. Here are a few ways to help alleviate hunger, relieve stress, and care for animals.

Helping Animals FRANKLIN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY

Union, www.franklincountyhumanesociety.org, 636-583-4300

COURTESY OF THE SALVATION ARMY

SOUTHWEST MISSOURI HUMANE SOCIETY

Springfield, www.swh.org/volunteer.php, 417-833-2526

ST. CHARLES HUMANE SOCIETY

St. Charles, www.stcharleshumanesociety.org, 636-949-9918

with the economic crunch this year, the best way to keep your heart warm could be volunteering a few hours close to home.

Missouri is full of service opportunities, and volunteers often feel a sense of accomplishment, purpose, or meaning while helping others.

The Corporation for National and Community Service released a study this year that concludes those who volunteer are also likely to have greater physical health than those who do not. By giving two hours of service per week, or one hundred hours per year, volunteers will experience better health as they grow older, whether in terms of greater longevity, higher functional ability, or lower rates of depression.

In the study, Missouri ranked twenty-fifth for volunteer rate and seventeenth for volunteer hours within the fifty states and Washington, D. C. Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1.4 million volunteers averaged 188.6 million hours of service per year between 2005 and 2007. The estimated economic contribution of the volunteer hours served is $3.7 billion annually.

St Louis, Columbia, Joplin, Springfield, Kansas City, www.rmhc.org/search/

CENTRAL MISSOURI FOOD BANK

Columbia, www.centralmofoodbank.org, 573-474-1020

HARVESTERS COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK Kansas City, www.harvesters.org, 816-929-3090

ST. LOUIS AREA FOOD BANK

St. Louis, www.stlfoodbank.org, 314-292-5397

SECOND HARVEST OF GREATER ST. JOSEPH St. Joseph, www.stjoefoodbank.org, 816-364-3663

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI FOOD BANK

Cape Girardeau, www.semofoodbank.org, 573-651-0400

Other Opportunities

CENTRAL MISSOURI HUMANE SOCIETY

STATEWIDE

LOCAL

HUMANE SOCIETY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

volunteermatch.org idealist.org www.thevolunteerfamily.org

gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer volunteerkc.org stl.unitedway.org

Columbia, cmhspets.org/volunteer.htm, 573-443-3893 x211 Cape Girardeau, www.semopets.org, 573-334-5837

[105] December 2008

HEALTH-DECEMBER 2008.indd 105

10/29/08 11:51:04 AM

SOuthoUrsR, LoIcaBtionOs,OorKTopiScs MioIS nal A

Reg

A MOTHER’S FAITH

By Rebecca French Smith

My Miracle Marine

mother, received the call she started e-mail-

By Connie McClellan, Divine Word Publishing,

ing everyone she knew, asking for prayer

242 pages, $22.95 hardcover

for John. He was not expected to live. In fact, the doctors told her that if he did, at

Marine L. Cpl. John McClellan is a lucky

best, he would be a vegetable. That was

fellow. He even has a tattoo that says

September 2006, and the prayer began.

“lucky.” He has been shot three times in

What followed can only be described as

combat and survived; lucky is not the right

miracles. John was alive. He could see,

word for this triple-Purple Heart recipient.

hear, read, and write. By Connie’s count,

While serving in Afghanistan in 2005,

twenty-four

miracles

occurred—some

John was shot twice in the arm, in the

big, some small. Connie chronicles every

same week. Tough as nails, he recuper-

step of the journey in My Miracle Marine,

ated and was deployed to Haditha, Iraq, in

which includes notes from John’s “buds”

2006 where he sustained a shot through

back in Iraq. A collection of e-mails, the

his head from a sniper’s rifle.

journal tells the story of unimaginable

The moment Connie McClellan, John’s

faith and hope.

WHAT A GREAT GIFT TO GIVE YOUR CHILDREN Peace of Mind!

e Choice of apartments to meet your individual lifestyle e Freedom from daily household responsibilities and worries e No more worries about lawn care or snow removal e No utilities to pay e Free local phone and transportation e Housekeeping e Now leasing one-bedroom units with loads of amenities e Call today and schedule a complimentary tour and lunch.

660-584-4416

John Knox Village East 1201 W. 19th Street Higginsville, MO 64037

[106] MissouriLife

BOOKS-DECEMBER 2008.indd 106

10/31/08 11:08:14 AM

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 107

10/28/08 12:32:03 PM

OLD BRICK HOUSE Daily luncheon buffet Dining Steaks & seafood Corner Third & Market

573-883-2724

Felix VallĂŠ House State Historic Site

The Stained Glass Shop Custom-designed leaded windows, sun catchers, supplies, and repairs.

-ERCHANT 3TREET s 3TE 'ENEVIEVE -/

s STAINEDGLASS SHOP SBCGLOBAL NET

FRENCH CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE â&#x20AC;˘ DECEMBER 14, 2008 â&#x20AC;˘

2EMOUNTING s !PPRAISALS s %NGRAVING 0RECIOUS -OMENTS s *EWELRY 2EPAIR

573-883-2372

-ERCHANT s 3TE 'ENEVIEVE /PEN -ON 3AT AM PM

Rosemary & Thyme Cooking School Offering a variety of specialized classes.

Maximum of 8 seatings by reservation only.

Next to the Show Me Shop.

10% OFF

Dec. 6-7, 2008

For more information and to request the newest guide to Missouri state parks and historic sites:

1-800-334-6946

Diamonds s Watches Jewelry s Gifts

3OUTH -AIN 3TREET s rosemarythymecookingsch.com

198 Merchant St.

WWW.MOSTATEPARKS.COM

STEIGER JEWELERS INC

a place to linger Missouri Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks

Somewhere Inn Time Hotel Ste. Genevieve

199 North Main, Ste. Genevieve t XXX JWZBOEUXJHT DPN

Ă&#x160;-/, /Ă&#x160;

Bed & Breakfast -iÂ?iVĂ&#x152;i`Ă&#x160; iĂ&#x192;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160; E Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ääĂ&#x2021; LĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x160;,i>`iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;vĂ&#x160; INSIDERxĂ&#x2021;Ă&#x17D; life&style magazine

Set in the dĂŠcor of yesterday is one of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest restaurants.

Steaks & seafood since 1901

Corner Main & Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ 573-883-3562

Award-winning, two-story colonial home possesses the charm and beauty of the 1920s along with the comfort of the present.

*EFFERSON s www.somewhereinntime.info

Â&#x153;V>Ă&#x152;i`Ă&#x160;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160; Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;V -Ă&#x152;i°Ă&#x160; iÂ&#x2DC;iĂ&#x203A;Â&#x2C6;iĂ&#x203A;i

£°nää°Â&#x2122;ÂŁn°Â&#x2122;ÂŁÂ&#x2122;Â&#x2122;

Ă&#x160;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;°Â&#x201C;>Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x20AC;iiĂ&#x152;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2DC;LL°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;

[108] MissouriLife

Ste. Gen-DECEMBER 2008.indd 108

Bed & Breakfast

10/28/08 3:45:02 PM

Pizza â&#x20AC;˘ Pastas â&#x20AC;˘ Samiches

Bolduc House Museum Shop Ă&#x160;1Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;ÂľĂ&#x2022;iĂ&#x160;-Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;ÂŤĂ&#x160;Ă&#x153;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;Ă&#x160; >Ă&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;iÂ&#x2DC;VÂ&#x2026;Ă&#x160; Â?>Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x20AC; vi>Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160; iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x153;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160; +Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x201C;ÂŤiĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;v>Â&#x2C6;iÂ&#x2DC;Vi]Ă&#x160; Ă&#x192;>Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x192;Â&#x153;>ÂŤĂ&#x192;]Ă&#x160; LÂ&#x153;Â&#x153;Â&#x17D;Ă&#x192;]Ă&#x160;Â&#x2026;iĂ&#x20AC;LĂ&#x192;]Ă&#x160;}>Ă&#x20AC;`iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x160; >VViĂ&#x192;Ă&#x192;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;iĂ&#x192;]Ă&#x160;>Â&#x2DC;`Ă&#x160; Â&#x153;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;iÂ&#x2DC;VÂ&#x2026;

â&#x20AC;&#x153;HERBAL CHRISTMASâ&#x20AC;?

DEC. 6-7 ÂŁĂ&#x201C;xĂ&#x160;-°Ă&#x160; >Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;-Ă&#x152;i°Ă&#x160; iÂ&#x2DC;iĂ&#x203A;Â&#x2C6;iĂ&#x203A;i]Ă&#x160; "Ă&#x160;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2021;äĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;xĂ&#x2021;Ă&#x17D;Â&#x2021;nnĂ&#x17D;Â&#x2021;Ă&#x17D;£äx

MODOC Ferry 800-373-7007

Family Dining, Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Menu, Carry Out Available

First Settlement Country Store

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A few of our favorite thingsâ&#x20AC;?

Your Olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Time Candy and Gift Store!

'JOF $IPDPMBUFT t %JFUFUJD $BOEJFT /PTUBMHJD $BOEZ t (JGU *UFNT www.stegensweethings.com .BSLFU 4U t

573-883-8002

The Anvil Saloon

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Best of Missouriâ&#x20AC;?

&ULL 3ERVICE 2ESTAURANT "AR

Wines, cheeses, sausages, gifts, gift baskets, and gourmet foods.

Open Daily 11 AM-8 PM Weekends 11 AM-9 PM Sunday 11 AM-8 PM Third Street On the Square In Historic Ste. Genevieve, MO s -ADELINE *ETT /WNER

Lunch Cafe Homemade desserts Truly unique gifts â&#x20AC;˘ Antiques

198 North Main

573-883-3078

MĂŠlange

123 Merchant Street, Suite A 573-883-7919

www.inkleinedtostamp.com e-mail: pam@inkleinedtostamp.com NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING STORE

WoodWick Candles & Reed Diffusers, Jim ShoreĘźs Heartwood Creek, custom stone plaques & crosses, monogram coasters, dip chillers, home dĂŠcor, and other gift items; Ste. Genevieve souvenir magnets, mugs, and T-shirts; 1000s of art rubber stamps & supplies.

Home of InKleined To Stamp

Microtel Inn & Suites

The

3outhern (otel

Here, the past is carefully blended with modern comforts to make your stay a very special experience.

Dec., Jan., Feb. Monday â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Saturday 6 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5 p.m.

Sunday 9 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5 p.m.

of Sainte Genevieve, LLC

233 Merchant Street

10 South Main â&#x20AC;˘ Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670

573-883-5749 261 Merchant Street Ste. Genevieve, MO

SWEET THINGS

Quality antiques featuring primitives, glassware, jewelry, toys, and much more.

573-883-3096

Ste. Genevieve

UĂ&#x160;{Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x160;`Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;LÂ?iĂ&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x153;Â&#x153;Â&#x201C;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x153;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;Ă&#x160; ÂľĂ&#x2022;iiÂ&#x2DC;Â&#x2021;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2C6;âi`Ă&#x160; Li`Ă&#x192; UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x160;-Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;iĂ&#x192; UĂ&#x160;*Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;iĂ&#x192;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x153;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;Ă&#x160; Â&#x201C;Â&#x153;`iÂ&#x201C;Ă&#x160;Â?>VÂ&#x17D; UĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;Â&#x201C;ÂŤÂ?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x201C;iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160; Â&#x201C;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160;VÂ&#x153;vvii

-

Â&#x153;V>Ă&#x152;i`Ă&#x160;Â&#x2DC;i>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Â&#x201C;>Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;>Ă&#x20AC;i>Ă&#x160;>Ă&#x152;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x20AC;>VĂ&#x152;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160; >Â&#x2DC;`Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;iĂ&#x160; Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;VĂ&#x160; Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160; Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;VĂ&#x152;°

A Historic B & B 3 RD 3T s www.southernhotelbb.com

Ă&#x201C;ÂŁÂ&#x2122;xnĂ&#x160; Â&#x2C6;}Â&#x2026;Ă&#x153;>Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;xĂ&#x2021;Ă&#x17D;Â&#x2021;nnĂ&#x17D;Â&#x2021;nnn{ /Â&#x153;Â?Â?Ă&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;iiĂ&#x160;vÂ&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x20AC;iĂ&#x192;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x203A;>Ă&#x152;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;nnnÂ&#x2021;Ă&#x2021;Ă&#x2021;ÂŁÂ&#x2021;Ă&#x2021;ÂŁĂ&#x2021;ÂŁ [109] December 2008

Ste. Gen-DECEMBER 2008.indd 109

10/31/08 2:41:46 PM

NAL M - ISSOU RI JOU R Meaning of Our Special Places The

WILLMORE LODGE M U S E U M A N D V I E W A R E T R I B U T E T O T H E D E P R E S S I O N - E R A L A K E | By W. Arthur Mehrhoff

[110] MissouriLife

JOURNAL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 110

10/30/08 5:26:39 PM

Like many young Missourians growing up in the ’50s,

generate new development of the Osage River region, and its history actually embodies the story of the Lake of the Ozarks.

One Dam Thing After Another Historic Willmore Lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It now splendidly houses the Lake of the Ozarks Chamber of Commerce as well as a wonderful museum that explores every aspect of the dam’s construction from bedrock geology to current events, one dam thing after another. It’s also become a lively focal point for special events like weddings and educational programs. The lodge was built by Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation for $135,000 (one condo today) between 1929 and 1930 as the administrative and entertainment headquarters for Union Electric officials overseeing construction of Bagnell Dam along with the vast infrastructure improvements needed to service the dam.

Willmore Lodge was designed in the Arts and Crafts style by noted St. Louis architect Louis LaBeaume. LaBeaume was the former president of the St. Louis chapter of the American Institute of Architects, member of the City Planning Commission, and president of the St. Louis Art Museum, as well as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

In Willmore Lodge, LaBeaume, who studied architecture at Columbia University in New York, created a rustic retreat reminiscent of the Adirondack Mountain resorts from the ’20s. Respect for local character characterized the Arts and Crafts style, and Willmore Lodge wraps around its site and blends easily into its beautiful natural setting overlooking the lake. Although the hand-notched timber frame structure was built in the Pacific Northwest and then reassembled on the site by hand, the structure used local stone quarried nearby and also features handforged chandeliers with intricate vegetative patterns typical of the Arts and Crafts style. The Arts and Crafts style reacted against the Machine Age and industrialization, offering a retro look back toward nineteenth century American craftsmanship, but that was not the future of the Lake of the Ozarks.

seth garcia

I always considered a family outing or school field trip to the massive hydroelectric plant at Bagnell Dam and Lake of the Ozarks exciting, as if I were visiting one of the Eight Wonders of the World. When was it built? How big is the dam? How deep is the lake? The tour guides breathed a sigh of relief when I finally left the building.

Although many of the places I experienced when I was young now seem small and insignificant in retrospect, Bagnell Dam and the Lake of the Ozarks remain monumental achievements a half century after my initial “Wow!” I still ask those same questions today, but now I also think about what all the development of and around the Lake of the Ozarks means for Missouri life and even America itself. Big lake, big questions, I suppose.

And historic Willmore Lodge overlooking Lake of the Ozarks is the perfect vantage point to view all these changes. Its National Register nomination says that the lodge “will house the history of its region,” but Willmore Lodge does even more than that. In nearly eight decades, Willmore Lodge has seen the wheel of Progress come full circle. The lodge was the first “development” caused by a monumental effort to

[111] December 2008

JOURNAL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 111

10/30/08 5:28:28 PM

MISSOURI JOURNAL

Willmore Lodge was once the headquarters of Union Electric. Today, it is home to Lake of the Ozarks Chamber of Commerce and a museum that highlights the dam construction.

A Retreat for Wealthy Sportsmen From its perch about one-half mile northeast of Bagnell Dam, Willmore Lodge oversaw the metamorphosis of the Osage River valley from a severely depressed, rural backwater to the intensively developed and rapidly growing region it is today. A dam was originally intended to provide power for southeastern Missouri and mighty St. Joseph Lead Company, but by the ’20s, St. Louis-based Union Electric Company envisioned the need for more energy to support the growth of the St. Louis region. The Great Osage River Project was the last major privately funded dam project in the United States and the prototype for major federal hydroelectric initiatives during the Great Depression, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and Hoover Dam. The whole nation looked on with considerable interest.

Hungry workers streamed to the area from every state of the Union and lined up for miles in response to new job openings. The Bagnell Dam project created around ten thousand new jobs, and more than twenty thousand workers participated during the hardest of the Hard

Times. Many of them later went on to work on vast federal dam projects in the American West. By the end of World War II, the lake and its spreading shoreline had begun to fill up with new development.

The lodge was sold by Union Electric in 1946 to prominent St. Louis developer Cyrus Willmore. Although Willmore passed away just four years after purchasing the structure, Willmore Lodge became the name everyone used. Cyrus Willmore envisioned wealthy St. Louis sportsmen coming down to the lake region in search of hunting and fishing opportunities at numerous small rustic resorts not unlike Willmore Lodge, but that dream of upper-class exclusivity quickly faded.

As Dwight Weaver, the Lake region’s historian and storyteller observed in Lake of the Ozarks: The Early Years, around the Lake of the Ozarks, “an increasing number of filling stations, roadside eating places, tourist camps, novelty stands, and brightly painted signs with arrows pointing along winding dirt and graveled roads indicated a widely publicized recreational area.”

The Lake of the Ozarks had become a democratic, Route 66-kind of American place, where bunches of Baby Boomers like me made pilgrimages with their families and schoolmates.

But the times were changing. Willmore Lodge was sold in 1969 to another prominent St. Louis developer, Harold Koplar. The ’70s brought improved highway access to the Lake region and witnessed new developments around the lake such as Tan-Tar-A Lodge and The Lodge of Four Seasons. More and more “weekenders” uninterested in rustic resorts flocked to the lake to escape the city but brought traffic and increased

SETH GARCIA; COURTESY OF KAREN KOPIS

ML

[112] MissouriLife

JOURNAL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 112

10/31/08 8:32:22 AM

demand for city comforts with them. The Lake of the Ozarks was evolving once again into an extension of big metropolitan regions like St. Louis and Kansas City.

During the ’80s, developers bought and sold stocks and companies and communities as if they were the little characters in a computer game of Pong. A large, national development organization called the North Port Company bought Willmore Lodge and its surrounding site in 1988. The company planned to demolish the lodge and build condos and a major golf course development around the site. But “man plans, God laughs” as my grandmother might say, and the development company went bankrupt in 1996. The fate of Willmore Lodge now rested on the Camden County Courthouse steps.

Union Electric (soon to be renamed AmerenUE) purchased the orphaned child at a foreclosure sale in 1996, then agreed to lease Willmore Lodge and its grounds to the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce for ten dollars annually if the Chamber would renovate it for its offices and a museum showcasing the region. With the aid of a state grant and an enormous outpouring of community support, the Chamber of Commerce quickly turned the imperiled lodge into a community focal point.

Ron Hill, Union Electric’s manager of real estate, announced in March 1997: “This arrangement extends the life of a building that is important to the lake’s heritage. It protects a valuable resource and the land around it. Perhaps just as important, it preserves from commercial development one of the most outstanding views of the lake and Bagnell Dam you’ll find anywhere.”

Preserving the first development site from further commercial development meant that the wheel of Progress had come full circle since the Great Depression. So now what?

COURTESY OF AMERENUE

Even Higher Value to the Public Today Karen Kopis, the knowledgeable and enthusiastic director of Visitor Relations for the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, observes that people expressed “horror and dismay” at the possibility Willmore Lodge might be demolished. They also consistently remark in the Lodge’s visitor comment book upon the great view of the lake, the remarkable natural setting of the lodge, and its marvelous craftsmanship. She also noted strong demand exists from visitors for the small, rustic resorts that condominium development has now pushed aside, perhaps reflecting that same impulse that gave rise to the Arts and Crafts style of Willmore Lodge itself.

Tourism today increasingly emphasizes sustainability and awareness of the natural environment.

For example, Karen notes the growing popularity of the annual Eagle Days at Lake of the Ozarks, held in January and led by a Department of Natural Resources naturalist. The event enables visitors to view our national symbol both lakeside and riverside. She says that the number of Eagle Days visitors quickly outgrew Willmore Lodge’s capacity to accommodate them, so the lodge

now serves as the event’s headquarters instead. As private development of the lake accelerates, the great public view from Willmore Lodge, so evident at times like Eagle Days, becomes even more valuable to ordinary visitors like myself.

Residents and visitors are also increasingly interested in the region’s heritage. The museum at Willmore Lodge depicts all aspects of Bagnell Dam and its construction; the museum and its handicapped-accessible layout replaced the former dam tours I remember. The museum tells the fascinating story of the region’s transformation with original photos, maps, artifacts, and interactive exhibits designed for that kid with all the questions, with occasional glimpses of the lake and dam punctuating the museum displays. You can play with an exhibit showing how Bagnell Dam generates your electricity, step back in time by viewing old photos of the untamed Osage River and its lost Atlantises—Linn Creek, Zebra, Passover, Arnolds Mills, and Nonsuch that now exist only in the memory of the museum—or follow a cutaway map all the way to the bedrock core of the dam itself.

The Lake of the Ozarks is no longer just a haven for wealthy sportsmen, a tourist paradise, or a playground for fleeing city dwellers; it has evolved into a metropolitan region that is now rapidly developing on its own. I doubt if many people want to turn back the clock to before Bagnell Dam, but from its eagle’s perch, Willmore Lodge poses a constant reminder of the challenges facing sustainable regional development. It seems to ask: What will last here? Who will care? From Willmore Lodge, we can learn how difficult it really is to develop in a rocky, hilly, marine environment; how to respect your setting and heritage in creating new development; and how to become part of the place itself.

Visit www.willmorelodge.com for more information.

Bagnell Dam is the last and largest dam built in the United States with entirely private capital. The final price tag was thirty million dollars. At the time it was built, it created the largest man-made lake in the world, which was opened for use in May 1931.

[113] December 2008

JOURNAL-DECEMBER 2008.indd 113

10/31/08 8:34:38 AM

NGS U RI YoMurUCoSI MISCoSO nsideration gitation for

Ozark

LOVE ME ...

LOVE MY DOGS I CAME VERY CLOSE TO LEAVING the Ozarks a couple months ago. I’ll spare you the grisly details, as they really are of no consequence to anyone but me. Suffice it to say that the story involved a woman, a proposed move out of state, and my two elderly dogs. As I’m still flying solo in the Ozarks (with the dogs, whose résumés state something about being lame, blind, and a smidgen incontinent), you can probably hypothesize a reasonable facsimile of what happened. Just fill in the blanks, if you so choose. It’s really not important to know the past, especially the past of others. What matters more is the future.

What matters more than both is the present.

When it comes right down to it, all we really have, the only thing of which we can be certain, is this hour, this minute, or this second.

Anything more than that is a roll of the dice. Life is all about disappointment; it’s an unpleasant and unavoidable facet of our existence.

But, if one elects to function with more light than dark, life is also about finding the silver lining and understanding the lessons inherent to disappointment.

Mick Jagger taught us that while you can’t always get what you want, you can sometimes get what you need. What Mick didn’t mention was that, more times than not, what we need is also what we really want. We’re just unaware of the fact or afraid to admit it.

I’ve become reacquainted with a truth I already knew but had chosen to ignore in the midst of an emotional fog. I am not only where I need to be, I am also where I want to be. Should events have transpired as originally planned, I suspect that my happiness, sooner or later, would have waned. I’m simply not cut out to be a city boy, and my pups are not cut out to be city pups. We are not meant for the loud and frenetic. We are not meant for the status quo or consistent responsibility to others. We function best in places where few feet tread, where the crack of a limb or the caw of a crow causes ears to perk, heads to snap, and eyes to widen. We are at our peak when we take one day at a time, thinking, pondering, and beholden to others only on a sporadic and voluntary basis.

Perhaps that is not the way of the world, but it is the way of my world.

There are few words that hold more wisdom than “to thine own self be true.” My corollary is “to thine own self and thy dogs be true.”

As I write this column, the nights are cool; the days are on the cool

side of warm. There is movement all over the Mark Twain National Forest, with which I share a border. During the day, creatures both large and small skitter about in preparation for winter. At night, the screech owls set up a never-ending chorus. You have to hear them to believe it, but their most frequent song sounds a bit like a young colt with a head cold. The coyotes are just beginning to howl—a mournful wail broken with yips and yelps of pure ecstasy.

The bugs, thank God, will be dormant as soon as we get one good freeze. I can’t wait for that, as my main job over the summer was serving as a buffet table for ticks, chiggers, and mosquitoes. The copperheads and cottonmouths are looking for a more temperate haven, which is dandy by me, as they were thick as thieves this year. Acorns and walnuts are falling with reckless abandon, splashing into the waters of the Gasconade and peppering my roof.

It is true; my dogs won’t live forever. Henry, the red dog, could last a day, a week, a month, or a year. Boris, the blind malamute, perhaps has a bit longer. They have been a part of me for a decade and a half and will be with me always. But, they will someday shed this mortal coil. On that day, I will cry, wail, and gnash my teeth. And then, I will rescue another pup that has been abandoned, just as Hen and Boris were rescued, as were an entire litany of pups before them.

But, that is the future.

For now, we celebrate each moment we have. To thine own self be true. You make exceptions to this law at your own peril, and the peril of others.

A chapter has been finished. An epilogue has been completed. A book has been written, read, and put back on the shelf. It is time for a new book, and as I await the first chapter, I am at Ron Marr peace. I am at home, where I should be.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD RENO

By Ron Marr

[114] MissouriLife

MUSINGS-DECEMBER 2008.indd 114

10/31/08 8:24:18 AM

AD-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

10/28/08 12:36:10 PM

Winter doesn’t

have to be boring...

Enjoy the warmth of The Lodge of Four Seasons this winter.

Deluxe accommodations and a $30 credit to use in Spa Shiki, or dine at HK’s Steakhouse.

119

$

per room, per night based on single/double occupancy, two night minimum

Price does not include tax and gratuity or resort fee. Based upon availability.

Good thru January 31, 2009

Romance Month FEBRUARY IS

Starting at

Deluxe accommodations with fireplace. A romantic retreat including a bottle of champagne delivered to your room, fall in love all over at The Lodge of Four Seasons.

149

$

Per room per night.

Good thru February 28, 2009 Two night minimum Feb. 13 and 14

THE LODGE G O L F

OF

FOUR SEASONS

R E S O R T

&

S P A

S H I K I

Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks 1-800-THE-LAKE (800-843-5253) N www.4seasonsresort.com BACK COVER-DECEMBER 2008.indd 1

10/28/08 12:43:19 PM

Lodge|WinterMOLIFE|10.08.indd 1

10/15/08 2:13:18 PM