Missouri Life December 2009/January 2010

Insider's Guide to K.C. Plaza

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

r’s e k a b a zen do

★

Holiday Festivals

traditions tempting

Missourians share favorite recipes

GIFT

73+± K P O± N J H @± GD ? < T J DI ±T J P M ±&

IDEAS

silver rails The train town

capitol secrets

Brawls, pranks & pistols

sacred places 7 religious homes

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An Old Time Christmas Silver Dollar City's annual Christmas festival is ranked as one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top holiday events by CNN.com, and one of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top by USA Today, Good Morning America and The Travel Channel.

November - December 30

Silver Dollar City

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PLAY

Tony Orlando and The Lennon Sisters

WIN A VACATION “SHOW Your Family a Great Time”– A 3-day, 2-night stay at Thousand Hills Resort with a round of golf. The next day, board Titanic – World’s Largest Museum Attraction, and that night marvel at the Acrobats of China.

On day three enjoy thrilling rides, great food, live shows and family fun at the award-winning Silver Dollar City theme park.

To enter a drawing to win this vacation for a family of four, please visit MissouriLife.com or send your name, address, and phone number or email to:

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

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

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

10/28/09 12:43:06 PM

S 6

f

The Miracle of Christmas

Ozark Mountain Christmas Just like the finale of a fantastic show, Branson's Ozark Mountain Christmas brings together a mix of world-class entertainment, recreation and holiday spirit to provide a truly exhilarating vacation experience.

Debby Boone Branson Area Festival of Lights

Santa's Reindeer at Titanic Museum Attraction

Beginning in November, Branson transforms into a holiday wonderland featuring spectacular lighting displays, shows celebrating Christmas, theme parks in all their holiday glory and seasonal special events.

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Celebrate the season with your family with one of the area's two drive-through Christmas light displays: The Branson Area Festival of Lights and the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights.

Lake Taneycomo Bridge

10/28/09 1:51:40 PM

61st Annual Adoration Parade

After the lighting of the area's largest Nativity Scene overlooking Lake Taneycomo, enjoy the 61st annual Adoration Parade on December 6. More than 60 entrants, including floats and bands from throughout Missouri, will participate in this non-commercial event where the community comes together for the sole purpose of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Keeping Christ in Christmasâ&#x20AC;?

Branson is a holiday shopper's paradise with three major outlet malls featuring more than 200 name brand shops.

Hundreds of area boutique and specialty stores offer one-of-a-kind heirloom gift items.

Shopping at Branson Landing

Hughes Brothers

White Flight at Butterfly Palace November - January 15 Be enthralled by thousands of white butterflies and twinkling lights.

Polar Express Comes to Branson The Branson Scenic Railway is offering an officially licensed train ride based on the beloved "Polar Express" book and movie. At the North Pole, Santa will board the train and has a gift for those who truly believe - a silver sleigh bell.

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

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[10] MissouriLife

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CONTENTS Features

December 2009

28 ❊ Road Trip: Silver Rails

John Robinson discovers how to put together a train party in Missouri’s train town, La Plata.

34 ❊ A Surprising Promised Land

Seven sacred places in Missouri are the headquarters for internationally recognized faiths, from Mormon predecessors to Protestant sects, to an organization that recognizes all spiritual beliefs.

40 ❊ Capitol Secrets

Take a tour of Missouri’s legislative house. If the walls of the Capitol building could talk, these are some of the stories they would tell.

64 ❊ Safe & Sound: Missouri’s Banks

Missouri’s community banks would make George Bailey proud. Find out why Missouri banks have fared well throughout the recession.

66 ❊ Insider Knowledge: The Plaza

Get a glimpse of Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza from insider and outsider perspectives, and find meaning and appreciation for its beginnings and what it has become today.

71 ❊ 2010 Holiday Gift Guide

We searched the state to bring you these unique made-in-Missouri gift ideas for this holiday season.

From hammocks to massages to wooden puzzles, find what you need for everyone on your list.

In Every Issue 56 ❊ Restaurant Recommendations

Our recommendations for local and organic fare at Café Berlin in Columbia and trendy eats at Niche in St. Louis.

58 ❊ Wine

Tony Kooyumgian is the mastermind behind the awardwinning wines of Augusta and Montelle wineries.

62 ❊ Musings

Crisis averted: Ron Marr offers mid-life musings about what it means to reach fifty years.

85 ❊ All Around Missouri

TINA WHEELER

48 PAGfEor Christmas

Ice and snow-filled events, holiday festivals around the state, Eagle Days at Clarksville, and more. Go to MissouriLife.com for the most complete listing of events around the state!

ies from Cook treats made six e m o p H , lus inners w i r u Misso s. recipe

98 ❊ Missouriana

Words from Maya Angelou, Winter Games with a special visit from Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson, plus Christmas tree farms and reindeer herds.

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Show Me Missouri Get on board Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner and experience the beauty of changing seasons across Missouri. Relax and take the train to your favorite fall festival or winter wonderland activity. It’s a great way to discover Missouri.

Visit morail.org or call 1-800-USA-RAIL for reservations.

CONTENTS

December 2009 14 ❊ Memo

Back from the 2009 International Regional Magazine Association conference, the publisher talks trends in print media and the editor bakes cookies.

21 ❊ Letters

Two famous authors to add to “Literary Lions,” and Branson is a great place to unwind.

Zest of Life 21 ❊ Show-Me Essentials

Award-winning pirate cake, a gourmet oil and vinegar

In Every Issue

emporium, and ceramic Christmas ornaments by a Hermann artist. Plus, carolers with a cause, Missouri books, a city for cyclists, a new home for the National Archives, and America’s Best Restroom.

Missouri Lifestyle 61 ❊ Inspired Ideas & Savvy Solutions

A Missourian who has donated 323 pints of blood and a teen who started his own clothing line to poke fun at a major brand.

Cover photo: Cookies for Christmas by Tina Wheeler.

.

This Issue on MissouriLife com Cookies for Christmas Sharing his family traditions through prose, Walter Bargen conveys his mother’s cookie recipe as only a poet laureate would. Plus, find bonus recipes from the Missourians featured in the story on page 48, and enter your own cookie recipe for a chance at winning Kids Cookies by Susan Manlin-Katzman, also the author of our story.

Defining Religions Find the basic beliefs of the 7 major religions that have headquarters in Missouri.

Silver Rails John Robinson, the King of the Road, travels to La Plata on page 28. See the trains come through La Plata on a live web cam, plus find links to plan a train party of your own.

Shopping and Travel Assistance Look for unique gifts for your holiday list. See the 2010 holiday guide on page 71, and visit the Guides on MissouriLife.com. Our guides provide shopping, lodging, art gift, and dining ideas for the person who has everything. Plus, you can enter your own business on the guides as well!

Kansas City  Independence Lee’s Summit Warrensburg  Sedalia Jefferson City  Hermann Washington  Kirkwood St. Louis

COURTESY OF BOB AND AMY COX, SHOW-N-OFF PHOTOGRAPHY; TINA WHEELER

Just Warming Up Enjoy a track from rising jazz musician Erin Bode’s new album, A Cold December Night.

And find videos of some of her other works.

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www.muchildrenshospital.org

M

U offensive lineman Kurtis Gregory and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon prove their toughness on the football field. Jaden proves his toughness, too, since his first days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital. Sean, Kurtis and Jaden share a fighting spirit and determination. Please join Sean, Kurtis and the Mizzou Tigers in cheering [1] onApril Jaden 2009 and the dedicated specialists at MU’s Children’s Hospital. To support Children’s Hospital, please call (573) 882-7500.

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O I MEM MISSOe TaUleR s Behind the Stories Telling th

you will be able to read Missouri Life magazine on

what industry gurus are calling “digital paper.” Instead of holding an ink-and-paper magazine, you will instead be holding a thin flexible screen that can connect to the internet from anywhere. How soon?

According to Bob Sacks, president of The Precision Media Group, forty such products are already on the market.

The change that we are talking about is a little hard to fathom, but we heard all about it while attending the International Regional Magazine Conference in New Mexico where Bob Sacks presented.

The resounding message was this: Print will change forever.

So what does this mean to you, our loyal Missouri Life readers?

Will you still be able to subscribe and receive a paper magazine?

ABSOLUTELY YES! You will be able to hold our printed magazine in your hands for as long as you want! But we will continue exploring digital options, as we try to keep up with the opportunity to deliver you an enhanced Missouri experience. Imagine having one flexible device that can fold up and fit in your pocket or purse, which would allow you to read any book or magazine no matter where you are. Imagine being able to read the story on

Print will Change

the Capitol on page 40, and at any point, click through to our web site with even more photographs, or maybe a video tour. You can enjoy Missouri Life any way you wish.

Paper won’t go away. It may eventually become a product for the collector, but it will change.

We’ll take this fascinating journey down this digital highway together, and that makes traveling more fun for everyone.

To see this issue as Missouri eLife, our digital issue, with extra bonus ries,

Greg Wood, Publisher

features visit

on

publication/3c7f2ae6.

Award-Winning

Misisfoeu.r..i L

2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 2008 2007

some

sto-

viewer.zmags.com/

THERE ARE TIMES when being the editor of Missouri Life is wonderful and rewarding, and there are times, frankly, when it is, well, challenging.

This past month has brought me a mix of both. The wonderful and rewarding part came in two big hits last month. First, I was lucky to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to attend the International Regional Magazine Association, where we picked up four awards: Finalist for Magazine of the Danita Allen Wood, Editor in Chief Year, Silver for Single Photograph, Silver for Overall Art Direction, and Bronze for our food columns. The talented staff here, especially Managing Editor Rebecca Smith, Creative and Art Directors Andrew Barton and Tina Wheeler, and our talented contributors Notley Hawkins (for the photograph) and Nina Furstenau (for the food columns) are the ones who get the credit.

Then the other rewarding part began as a challenge. Greg and I took a few extra days to explore New Mexico, and we had been gone for ten days. When we returned, we had only five days before deadline. At the last minute, we expanded our cookies story, giving it more pages and recipes.

The result is the cookies story on the cover, which brings you favorite cookie recipes of different Missourians, and the story on page 48. The entire staff pitched in. Calendar Editor Amy Stapleton, Assistant Editor Callina Wood, and I made cookies, as did Rebecca, Tina, Nina, and Andrew (mentioned above). Both Tina and Andrew photographed cookies, and Tina took the cover photograph, with Editorial Assistant Molly Moore assisting. Senior Account Executive Sherry Broyles brought Christmas decorations. Andrew created the cover, and Greg brought pizza to keep us all going. New on our staff, Account Executive Josh Snoddy volunteered to taste test.

I am so proud of how dedicated this staff is, to go the extra mile, spending evenings to make cookies, take pictures, and give you the best that we can. That’s almost as tasty as the cookies to me, and a wonderful gift of themselves to you, in the best spirit of the holidays. We hope you like the cookies and the stories behind each.

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

EVAN WOOD, TINA WHEELER

One day soon

OUR COOKIE COVER

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Search our statewide listings at

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

listing for free!

Publisher Greg Wood

Editorial Editor in Chief Danita Allen Wood

Career Training Close to Home with 7 Missouri Campuses!

Managing Editor & Web Editor Rebecca French Smith Assistant Editor Callina Wood Editorial Assistants Cassandra Belek, Lesley Grissum, Molly Moore

Joplin, Kansas City, Springfield, St. Joseph, St. Louis area - O’Fallon, NorthPark and Sunset Hills.

1-877-206-5844 www.vatterott-college.edu

Art

•

Attractions

•

Dining

• Shopping • Food & Drink • Lodging • Weddings • Higher Education • Real Estate

Contributing Writers Denise Bertacchi, Katlin Chadwick, Kent D. Curry, John Fisher, Doug Frost, Kathy Gangwisch, Susan Katzman, Dawn Klingensmith, Ron W. Marr, W. Arthur Mehrhoff, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, John Robinson, Whitney Spivey, Kathie Sutin

Art & Production

Family Fun, By Nature.

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

For more information,

visit www.clintonmo.com

Creative Director Andrew Barton Art Director Tina Wheeler Contributing Photographers and Illustrators Seth Garcia, Brad Shields, Ben M. Shields

Advertising Senior Account Managers Linda Alexander, 816-582-7720, Kansas City area Sherry Broyles, 800-492-2593, ext. 107 Josh Snoddy, 800-492-2593, ext. 112 Advertising Coordinator & Calendar Editor Amy Stapleton, 800-492-2593, ext. 101

Circulation & Administration Subscription Services 877-570-9898

MISSOURI LIFE, Vol. 36, No. 6, December 2009 (USPS#020181; ISSN#1525-0814) Published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December by Missouri Life, Inc., for $21.99. Periodicals Postage paid at Boonville, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Missouri Life, 515 E. Morgan St., Boonville, MO 652331252. © 2009 Missouri Life. All rights reserved. Printed by The Ovid Bell Press, Inc., at Fulton, Missouri.

[16] MissouriLife

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[17] December 2009

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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 877-570-9898 • Or mail a check for $19.99 (special offer for 6 issues) to: Missouri Life 515 E. Morgan, Boonville, MO 65233

Advertising CUSTOM STRINGED INSTRUMENTS FOR THE UNCUSTOMARY MUSICIAN t Cigar Box Guitars t t Strum Sticks t t Wind Harps t t Door Harps t t Dulcimers t . . . and much more

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

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 Lifelines, 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

A great holiday gift idea!

Cost is $9.45, which includes tax and shipping. Order from web site, call, or send a check.

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

$24.99

plus tax, shipping and handling.

Written for novices and Civil War buffs alike, The Civil Warʼs First Blood: Missouri, 1854-1861 takes you by the hand and walks you down back roads, with thorough reports on ALL the action here during the war, with 143 photos and illustrations of every major player. This 144-page, softcover, illustrated will be a great addition to any bookshelf.

Change of Address Send both old and new addresses to MOLcs@magserv.com or Missouri Life, 515 E. Morgan, Boonville, MO 65233

International Regional Magazine Association

800-492-2593, ext. 102 missourilife.com [18] MissouriLife

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11/1/09 3:23:53 PM

Boonville

KCPT VIDEO

Experience Holiday Charm & Events In Historic

Watch entire episodes of your favorite regional programs at www.kcpt.org.

Discover Our Treasures

KCPT BOX OFFICE

Information and tickets at www.kcpt.org.

TransSiberian Orchestra December 23, 2009 Sprint Center

KCPT Presents: Riverdance February 20, 2010 The Independence Event Center

Lang Courtesy Edward

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Checking out art in their own backyard

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

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Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations

Watch Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. on KCPT or online at www.kcpt.org.

Check local listings for broadcast times on KETC St. Louis and Ozarks Public Television!

[20] MissouriLife

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10/30/09 4:09:29 PM

YOU R LETTERS Sha

ring Opinions & Your Stories

COURTESY OF DALE CARNEGIE TRAINING

LITERARY LIONS Your panel of literary scholars (“Literary Lions” October 2009) seem to have overlooked two prominent Missouri authors who were northwest Missouri natives: Dale Carnegie and Homer Croy.

Carnegie, noted for his book How to Win Friends and Influence People and developing Dale Carnegie self-improvement courses, is a name recognized throughout the world. He was born on a farm eight miles southwest of Maryville. He attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg and rose to prominence following publication of his first book, which detailed how to change others’

behavior by how we react to them.

Homer Croy was born on a farm four miles northwest of Maryville. He authored numerous short stories, more than thirty books, and dozens of screenplays. His early writing consisted of short stories, followed by a number of novels, including West of the Water Tower, Family Honeymoon, and They Had to See Paris.

He authored semi-autobiographical books detailing life in the Midwest. Toward the end of his career he wrote biographical works on various historical figures.

I would hope that in some future edition of your wonderful Missouri Life magazine that you might include an article on one or both of these northwest Missouri authors.

Rod Couts, Maryville

Unwind and Renew We appreciate your latest issue’s (October 2009) attention to Branson—it is a special place, and Missouri should be proud of its attributes. The Ozarks are a place to really unwind and renew, be it the golf, the lakes, the entertainment, or the wonderfully special craftspeople!

Patti Jo and Harlan Tappemeyer, Des Peres

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

[21] December 2009

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The Ribbon of the Missouri A Heritage from the Revolutionary War to Now!

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[22] MissouriLife

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ZEST OF LIFE

YO HO HO ...

NINE HOURS was all Mike Elder of Clinton had to decorate a cake worthy of a tenthousand-dollar prize on TLC’s Ultimate Cake Off. Mike and his mother, Cheri, the duo behind Cakes by Cheri & Mike, are in the business of creating sugary masterpieces and have won multiple competitions, including the Grand National Wedding Cake Competition.

In the Ultimate Cake Off episode that aired in August, Mike had to create a cake for the Pirate Invasion Faire and Festival in Long Beach, California. Mike prepared a rum butter cake with a blood orange filling before the nine hours of decorating began. Those nine hours went by too quickly, he says. The constant presence of the camera crew and people interrupting him to ask questions were challenging.

In early October, Mike competed individually for the first time at the Grand National Wedding Cake Competition. This time, his main competitor wasn’t a stranger—it was his mother. Mike won the People’s Choice award and placed seventh. Cheri placed sixth. Call 660-8853707 or visit www.cakesbycheri.com for more information.

—Cassandra Belek

COURTESY OF MIKE ELDER; COURTESY OF VOM FASS; COURTESY OF HEINRICH LEONHARD

Tannenbaum:

Show-Me Essentials

FROM THE CASK > A new Maplewood shop, Vom Fass (German for “from the cask”), reveals a unique concept—sample before you purchase. Customers can sample some of the products— balsamic and fruit vinegars and oils—straight from the cask, keg, or stoneware they come in.

Vom Fass features small, artisanal producers, says CEO David Gibson. Oils and vinegars are sealed in containers in Germany for shipment to the stores.

Maplewood is the company’s second U.S. location. Madison, Wisconsin, was the first. Vom Foss has more than two hundred shops worldwide.

Vom Fass is located at 7314 Manchester Road in Maplewood. Visit www. vomfass-usa.com for more information.

—Kathie Sutin

German for fir tree and also the name of the

Heinrich produces a new bell

craft studio Heinrich Leonhard founded with his mother, Ida, in

design each year, as people collect

1982, a quarter-century after the pair immigrated to Columbia

them. Heinrich’s other work often

from Germany. Heinrich was in his mid-twenties at the time, with

accompanies the bells; his assort-

a young family, and saw an opportunity to start a business that

ment of ornaments, sculptures, figu-

would allow him to capitalize on his creative side. He had taken

rines, candle holders, ceramic fish,

watercolor classes while he was a student at the University of

tea sets, and tiles are also covered

Missouri and was inspired by the traditional German themes

in brightly colored German patterns

that his mother, a self-taught artist, had painted

and can be found online and at arts

on refurnished wooden trunks. The Leonhards

and crafts shows. Heinrich’s upcoming

incorporated similar Old World European

stops include the CedarHurst Craft

designs, such as delicate snowflakes and supple fir trees, onto small, hand-

Fair in Mount Vernon, Illinios, in September and the Pink Palace Crafts Fair in Memphis, Tennessee, in October.

Call 573-874-1340 or visit hleonhard.com for more

painted ceramic bells.

information. —Whitney Spivey

Decades later, these Christmas tree ornaments remain among

Creative Ceramics

Heinrich’s most popular items; they’ve

been

featured

in

a

Smithsonian catalog and were hung on a White House Christmas tree.

[23] December 2009

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ML

Zest of Life

The singing group,

The Missourians,

looks like it comes straight from A Christmas Carol, but there are no Scrooges in this bunch. Dressed in period clothing, the group performs throughout the Christmas season to help young singers year-round.

Suzie Nichols, former member of the University Singers (MU’s top choir), founded at Disney World. She was inspired to start a Christmas a cappella group whose performance proceeds would provide scholarships

Carolers with a Cause

for the University Singers. Twenty-three years

St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Tipton for the

performance. A group that size ensures

and about seventy thousand donated dollars

last ten years and have regularly performed at

that the sound they produce will be as full

later, Suzie and the Missourians still don their

Central Bank’s open houses in Jefferson City.

as possible and pleasing to the ear. Singing

period costumes each holiday season and

The group’s repertoire consists of more

with the Missourians not only lets them pro-

travel around central Missouri to perform for

than fifty songs, varying from spiritual songs

vide financial assistance to young singers,

concerts, parties, churches, and schools.

and traditional carols to modern tunes.

it also enhances their own holiday season.

Most performances are repeat engage-

The Missourians have about twenty

ments. The Missourians have performed at

members, and at least twelve attend each

For more information, call 573-634-4154.

—Cassandra Belek

Book List

The Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook: The Mother Lode of Recipes from the Mother Road

Hear the Roar! The Resurgence of Mizzou Football

Recipes and history combine in Norma Maret Bolin’s new cookbook, The Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook: The Mother Lode of Recipes from the Mother Road, to provide a taste of what the famous thoroughfare once was: a veritable smorgasbord for hungry travelers. Some of the restaurants featured in the book, like Johnny Gitto’s, Ted Drewes, and Goody Goody Diner, still serve up their memory-making dishes, and some restaurants, like The Diamonds, Green Parrot Inn, and White Squirrel Tavern, are gone but have left a rich, remembered history and a few recipes of their famous fare. Bolin’s compilation serves as a reminder of the heyday that Route 66 enjoyed and provides a way for the next generation to experience it. ­—Rebecca French Smith

By St. Louis author Darin Wernig, University of Missouri Press, 241 pages, $24.95 hardcover, non fiction

A Night with St. Nick

By Springfield author Adam K. Nelson, Tate Publishing & Enterprises, 175 pages, $12.95 softcover, fiction, children’s book

City for Cyclists The League of American Bicyclists has designated St. Louis as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the bronze level. St. Louis has more than seventy miles of on-street bicycle lanes and a three thousand-foot-long bicycle lane spanning the Mississippi River between Missouri and Illinois. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay says, “This is a great recognition for four years of hard work by the city and our partners.”

By Norma Maret Bolin, St. Louis Transitions, 174 pages, $19.95 softcover, nonfiction

A Home for the Archives The National Archives at Kansas City is now settled into the historic Adams Express building in the heart of the city’s Union Station complex and Crossroads District. The National Archives houses more than sixty million pages of historical records dating as far back as 1815.

MO Info

Luxurious Loo

The Shoji Tabuchi Theatre in Branson won Cintas Corporation’s eighth annual America’s Best Restroom award. Orchids sit beside every granite and onyx sink, and stained glass, chandeliers, and an elegant ceiling create a regal atmosphere for the ladies. The gentlemen’s quarters feature imported black lion head sinks and a handcarved mahogany billiards table.

courtesy of suzie nichols; courtesy of national archives at Kansas City

The Missourians based on a group she saw

[24] MissouriLife

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[25] December 2009

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PROMOTION PROMOTION

Awaken to Fulton’s rich history with exciting sights and sounds all wrapped up in the warmth of small-town charm, with brick streets, elegant architecture and 67 buildings on the historic register.

Unwind at two of Missouri’s Top 10 Inns: the historic Loganberry Inn

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

Connect to our history at the newly renovated National Churchill

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

Immerse yourself in the arts and music at Kemper Center for the Arts or Westminster Gallery.

Apple Wagon Antique Mall and Home Decor Outlet has more than 20,000 square feet full of antiques and outlet-priced home décor.

Marvel at the impressive collection of 84 historic automobiles displayed in Hollywood-style sets for their era at the new Backer Auto World Museum.

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

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

Backer Auto World Museum displays an impressive collection of 84 [26] MissouriLife historic automobiles in Hollywood-style sets.

AD-DEC 09.indd 26

11/1/09 11:33:43 AM

PROMOTION PROMOTION

FOR FULTON GET-A-WAY COUPONS VISIT

Sample some distinctive Missouri wines and a creative bistro menu at Summit Lake Winery.

WWW.VISITFULTON.COM

Savor scrumptious dining at one of our great

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

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

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

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

Revisit the 1930s by sharing a shake at Sault’s authentic soda fountain with

locally made premium ice cream.

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

Calendar of Events Blithe Spirit December 2-6 Dulany Auditorium, William Woods University, Fulton Smash Comedy hit of the London and Broadway stage.

573-592-4267 Holiday House Tour December 5 Tour 5-8:30 p.m. followed by music.

573-642-4222 www.callawayarts.org No Fancy Wrappings December 11, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

777 Shepherdsfield Rd. Music, drama, dance, and refreshments.

Free.

573-592-5234 Brett Family from Branson December 12, 7:30 p.m.

Hazel Kinder Lighthouse Theater 3078 Lighthouse Theater 573-474-4040 www.lighthousetheater.com

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

Enjoy a variety of live concerts at Lighthouse Theater.

Beacon Band Christmas Show December 19, 7:30 p.m.

Hazel Kinder Lighthouse Theater 3078 Lighthouse Theater 573-474-4040 www.lighthousetheater.com Girlfriend Getaway Spa Weekends Loganberry Inn Bed and Breakfast All December and January Weekends 573-642-9229 www.loganberryinn.com Kansas City

128 miles

I-70

St. Louis

100 miles

FULTON

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

AD-DEC 09.indd 27

[27] April 2009

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

For more information and calendar of events, visit www.visitfulton.com or call 573-642-3055.

11/1/09 1:39:31 PM

G Trips O,IN GEes,TGeG taways & Road

Adventur

THERE’S SILVER IN THOSE RAILS

By John Robinson

COURTESY OF BOB AND AMY COX, SHOW-N-OFF PHOTOGRAPHY

T R A I N PA R T Y: 8 0 T R A I N S , A R A I L R O A D M U S E U M , A N D A D E P O T I N N |

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Road Trip Two highways intersect on La Plata’s eastern shoulder. On the map, they form a plus sign, slightly bent at the top so the road doesn’t miss Kirksville. Good thing. People in Chicago depend on that road. So do people in Galesburg and Ft. Madison and Dodge City and Kansas City. Those are towns along the route of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, which rolls across Missouri on the same rail bed that’s routed passengers from Chicago to Los Angeles since 1926.

The Amtrak version of the old Santa Fe Chief stops daily in La Plata to shuttle students, alumni, parents, and professors to and from Truman State University.

Pursuing its goal as “America’s premier public liberal arts and sciences university,” this Kirksville knowledge factory takes fertile minds and turns them into bountiful yields.

Ol’ Harry would be proud, even though he rarely visited the school, according to one state senator who opposed the name change from Northeast Missouri State University.

I suspect Harry would be pleased, too, that the old Santa Fe Chief survives in some form. And in an hour, I would board the eastbound train for Chicago.

I left Highway 63 and entered La Plata, the Spanish word for silver. I found the old railroad station. A solitary figure sat trackside on a bench outside the depot. As I approached, I noticed he held a portable two-way radio.

“Train on time?” I asked.

“Three hours behind,” he responded. “But they’ll make up some of that time.” He didn’t seem concerned. He told me he comes down every day to greet the train and answer queries from passengers. As we talked trains, I was reminded that La Plata’s oldest industry is its newest industry. And with three hours to kill, I decided to check it out.

I walked into La Plata. You can walk anywhere in La Plata, population barely into four digits. But something big is happening here. I walked to the Depot Inn & Suites.

Somewhere in the world, there may be a hotel more dedicated to the history of train travel, but I haven’t found it.

Sure, every town with a caboose in its park has a railroad museum of sorts. But the Depot Inn is a rail fan’s dream: a railroad museum with a hotel built around it. People come from all over the nation—by train—to stay here.

I passed a pair of retired Amtrak mail cars packed with railroad displays, and a handcar, all sentries near the entrance to the inn. The front desk and lobby are modeled after a train depot ticket counter and waiting room. Throughout the hotel, railroad memorabilia hangs everywhere, even in the indoor pool area. But don’t assume that the décor is all track and no treat. The suites are luxurious. Hundreds of The Southwest Chief runs through La Plata daily.

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Get Going > Road Trip

visitors from every corner of the world roll out of La Plata impressed with this little gem in the middle of America. There’s even the Train Watching Lookout Point Cabin, a covered shelter overlooking the railroad tracks, where folks listen to a radio scanner with conversations from approaching trains. Hotel guests can tune to the local rail cam on their room’s cable TV. They never have to wait long since the rails feel the rush of eighty trains per day.

That’s one reason TrainWeb relocated from Fullerton, California, to tiny La Plata. Never heard of TrainWeb? Neither had I. But millions of rail fans know TrainWeb.com hosts more than a thousand independent railroad-related web sites. That’s a lot of choo choo.

There’s a bigger reason the business moved to La Plata. Even with all those web visits, the bulk of their revenues come from a spin-off business called TrainParty.com. “For years, people had been calling us asking if we could recommend where they could purchase party supplies with a railroad theme,” says Stephen Grande, one

of the founding members of TrainWeb. “Most often, they were parents of small children.

But sometimes it would be someone from a railroad museum that wanted partyware for an event at the museum or the family of a retiring railroad employee that wanted to throw them a railroad-themed retirement party.” Generally, existing party supply stores didn’t have adequate supplies or selection of railroad-related party items.

So the TrainWeb folks started TrainParty.com. As the business skyrocketed, La Plata’s central location jumped out as a perfect distribution point.

Liberty had been the group’s first choice. “But fate had other plans in store for us,” Stephen says. Depot Inn owner Tom Marshall called TrainParty to order a large number of train whistles to celebrate the grand opening of his new railroad-theme hotel. The hotel and the supplier “hit it off right off the bat,” Stephen remembers, “as both certainly understood the concept of operating a business around a railroad theme.”

Fate Had Other Plans for nd TrainWeb a La Plata.

Counter clockwise from top: Eighty trains come through La Plata daily. The Depot Inn & Suites offers amenities like an indoor pool and billiards to passengers who decide to stop for the night.

TrainWeb partners Ray Burns and Shivam Surve visited La Plata, and the locals rolled out the red rails. “They did a lot to help make this a good move,” Stephen says.

La Plata rides the crest of its newfound rail resurgence. Downtown, the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation is restoring one of La Plata’s historic buildings by converting it to the new Silver Rails Gallery and the Silver Rails Memorial Library. The gallery will be the first of its kind to focus exclusively on art, photography, and railroad-related creative works.

The developers are building up steam.

And borrowing inspiration from the world’s chief imagineer, who grew up in neighboring Marceline, they have big plans. On the drawing board, the Silver Rails Resort features a forty-eight-suite Pullman Court, with three tiers of track-mounted sleeping cars on a bluff overlooking the railroad. A Tour Train will loop through the resort and make seven stops, including a railroad theme park, retail stores, a water/air park, even an energy farm featuring wind and solar. The resort will house an eighty-

Courtesy of Bob and Amy Cox, Show-N-Off Photography

ML

[30] MissouriLife

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Courtesy of Carl morrison, Mo knows photos

thousand-square-foot museum devoted exclusively to the history of passenger rail travel, past, present, and future. At the north end, a 250-room resort hotel will feature a spa and convention facilities. A convention with fifteen hundred attendees would more than double the population of La Plata. Too ambitious, you say? Don’t underestimate the rail fans of the world. If you build it, they will come.

Of course, some facets of the resort project have been slowed by the recession. For the moment, visitors can avail themselves of several guided tours to nearby destinations along the Avenue of the Greats (also known as Highway 36), including Twain to the east and Disney to the west.

During my walk back to the depot, a van slowed, and the driver asked if I needed a lift.

It was the hotel shuttle that runs to the Amtrak station. I demurred, in favor of exercise.

It reminds me of a story my father told me.

In the 1930s, he was a student at Truman, called Kirksville State Teachers College back when he hitchhiked home on the weekends.

One Friday afternoon, he packed his suitcase and walked to the highway to thumb a ride home. On Highway 63 near Kirksville’s south city limits, he placed his bag down, a

Kirksville college pennant plastered on its side.

A multitude of cars bypassed him on his goal to reach the Macon junction and head east to Hannibal. In the distance, he noticed a sleek black limousine approaching. He figured it was useless to stick out his thumb, but he did anyway. The limousine slowed. He couldn’t see anything inside the car because the windows were tinted. The car passed him slowly and pulled onto the shoulder. He was still hesitant to run after the car but picked up his bag and ran to catch up. A chauffeur got out.

“Where you headed?” the chauffeur asked.

“Hannibal.”

“Well, we’d like to give you a lift, if you’re a Kirksville student.”

“Well, I am, and I appreciate it,” Dad beamed.

The driver put Dad’s bag in the trunk and opened the passenger door. Seated inside was a distinguished-looking, white-haired man who could have passed for Twain’s ghost.

The chauffeur made the introduction: “This is J.C. Penney.” Even back in the ’30s, Penney was in his sixties. “We’re happy to have a Kirksville student to ride with us,” he welcomed Dad. “Well, I appreciate the ride, especially with you,” Dad stammered. Penney explained why he stopped, “It’s Friday. You look like a student.

The Train Watching Lookout Point overlooks Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway dual rails. A heated, enclosed room allows viewing year-round.

You have the emblems on your bag. I enjoy conversations with college students because I get ideas about merchandising. I don’t get enough opportunities to learn about people’s wants and needs for merchandise.” They talked for the hour it took to reach Macon.

In those days, old Highway 63 rolled right through La Plata. Nowadays, one could argue, the major thoroughfare through town has tracks of silver.

For more information, visit www.amtrak.com, www.trainparty.com, www.depotinnandsuites. com, or www.cityoflaplata.com.

Nobody knows Missouri like John Robinson.

King of the Road

John, a former Director of Tourism for Missouri, is dedicated to driving every mile of statemaintained highways.

This makes him King of the Road. To date, he has covered 3,827 state roads, with 97 to go. As he drives each road, he marks it on his map, which truly has become his treasure.

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Promotion

������� J�� S���� ��� H������

E

very small town has a friendly atmosphere, a variety of shops, and its own downtown experience. We wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deny that all of that is true about downtown Mexico, but we believe our town offers something different, especially for the holidays.Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find the usual gift shops but with unusual twists. Buy a Hallmark ornament without standing in a long line at Charmsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hallmark.

Browse through a collection of items by Jim Shore and Dan DiPaolo at Stubblefield Furniture. Pamper yourself with a mini facial and a new look for the holidays at Merle Norman.

Remember This will help you record your holiday memories with scrapbook materials galore: stickers, stamps, and more paper patterns than you can imagine. They also offer classes!

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to visit Hometown Glass and Frame It for painting and decorating supplies, remodeling ideas, and framing services for all your family photos.

Quilt Squares in the Village Square Mexico is home to three quilt shops. Stickey Wicket has a country flavor, offering fabric reminiscent of earlier times, plus holiday patterns and a selection of gifts and beverage mixes.

Homestead Hearth features period fabric and a smattering of antiques. Mexico Sewing Center offers a more contemporary style of fabrics including batik. It is also an authorized dealer of Elna and Singer sewing machines and offers classes and instruction in the latest styles and patterns.

Rudolph the Ruby-Nosed Reindeer?

Maybe that red nose came from one of Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jewelry stores!

From Pilcher Jewelry Store to Melodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quality Jewelry and Simply Elegant, these shops add a sparkle to the Square.

Making a list â&#x20AC;Ś As it begins to look a lot like Christmas in Mexico, decorations are being placed throughout the downtown area, stores are preparing for holiday shoppers, and other activities are included in the holiday rush. Take time to shop and stroll. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find all kinds of unique items and gift ideas throughout the town.

Visions of Sugar Plums Well, maybe not sugar plums, but the Village Square offers a lot of options for hungry shoppers. The Jackson Street Diner has a down-home atmosphere with friendly conversation.

Pizza is always in season, and the Village Square offers Coachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pizza World and Pizza Works.

Or if pizza isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t your taste, try the China Restaurant,, an old Mexico favorite.

SANTA ON THE SQUARE

Come see Santa on our historic square throughout the holiday season!

1.800.581.2765 [32] MissouriLife XXX NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH t XXX NFYJDPNJTTPVSJ OFU t JOGP!NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH AD-DEC 09.indd 32

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Promotion

DISNEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S â&#x20AC;&#x153;BEAUTY AND THE BEASTâ&#x20AC;?

December 3-6 The City of Mexico, Mexico Area Community Theatre, and Presser Performing Arts Center, present Disneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beauty and the Beast. Tickets will be available online October 1 at www. presserpac.com, the City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, or at the door. $10 for adults; $5 for children 12 and younger. For more information, call 573-581-2100 ext. 234.

THE NUTCRACKER BALLET

December 11-13 Presser Performing Arts Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ballet Ensemble and the Missouri Contemporary Ballet will present The Nutcracker Ballet December 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. and December 13 at 2 p.m. Tickets will be available online November 1 at www.presserpac.com and at the door. $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. For more information, go to www.presserpac.com, call 573-5815592 or 573-473-0919, or e-mail lois@presserpac.com.

HOLIDAY EXPRESS

December 17 Led by KCSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Southern Belle business train, the six-car Holiday Express includes a smiling tank car, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rudy;â&#x20AC;? a flat car carrying Santaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sleigh; reindeer and a miniature village; a gingerbread boxcar; the elvesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; workshop; the reindeer stable; and a red caboose. Mexico Parks and Recreation and the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce provide hot chocolate and treat bags for all children. Festive music and lights complete the package. There is no charge, and all ages are welcome. No reservations are required; however, the line has been known to stretch for more than a city block, so dress accordingly.

December 17, 4 p.m. Contact sbenn@mexicomissouri.org, visit www.mexicomissouri.net, or call 800-581-2765 for more information.

LIVING NATIVITY

December 20 The First Christian Church will hold its 53rd Annual Presentation of the Living Nativity Scene on December 20 beginning at 6 p.m.

This event, held at First Christian Church at 307 West Jackson, is a long-standing tradition during the holiday season. Neither rain, nor snow, nor freezing weather will keep this event from happening. Church members assist with making costumes, makeup, lighting, and representing various characters in this very special holiday event. The Living Nativity scene can be viewed from your car complete with music and narration.

1.800.581.2765 [33] April 2009 XXX NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH t XXX NFYJDPNJTTPVSJ OFU t JOGP!NFYJDP DIBNCFS PSH AD-DEC 09.indd 33

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YOU MIGHT THINK the Show-Me State is the Promised Land, overflowing with milk and honey, due to the number of religious organizations that have established headquarters here.

Two-thirds of Missouri’s residents are of Protestant faiths, but what is it about the state that attracts religious groups and an international eye? It could be the green rolling hills of Perry County that reminded Lutheran immigrants of Germany. It could be the early Mormons’ mission of spreading the Bible to American Indians residing here. Most church representatives say that Missouri’s central U.S. location with its early pioneer shaping of values was a large part of the draw. Although some religions were drawn to the heartland from afar, others originated from within.

Though there are numerous religious organizations that call Missouri home, we include those that have world headquarters here, physical churches, and worldwide congregations of at least seventy thousand. Six of the seven fall under the branch of Evangelical Protestant—the largest identified denomination in Missouri. The seventh is a movement associated with New Thought. The seven organizational headquarters include: Assemblies of God in Springfield Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) in Independence General Association of General Baptists in Poplar Bluff Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Kirkwood Pentecostal Church of God in Joplin United Pentecostal Church International in Hazelwood Unity Church in Jackson County

a surprising [34] MissouriLife

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7 religious headquarters call Missouri home

BY KENT D. CURRY AND KATLIN CHADWICK

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ynod

souri S

Assemblies of

Assemblies of God

The World Assemblies of God Fellowship is sixty-one million believers strong, and the Assemblies contribute to the fourth largest international body of Christians. Statewide, the Assemblies maintain more than fifty-six thousand believers in 454 churches.

When the Assemblies outgrew their headquarters in St. Louis, they found other property there too expensive and relocated to Springfield in 1918. As legend has it, in 1913, a woman named Rachel Sizelove saw a vision of a sparkling fountain at this location. The fountain was springing up and flowing in all directions until water covered the entire land. Now the land is used to fulfill the vision of spreading the Gospel.

This might best be represented by how the headquarters spread out in Springfield. A complex of eighteen buildings covers ten city blocks. The Assemblies of God owns and operates a retirement facility, with about five hundred residents, three colleges, and a seminary (Evangel University, Central Bible College, Global University, and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary) in Springfield. Almost three thousand students make up the three campuses.

“Faith matters are very important to most Americans. Church headquarters not only bring a faith focus to a community, but they also contribute through hiring many local people, serv-

ing on faith-based committees, and heading up faith-based initiatives for the community,” says Juleen Turnage, director of communications and public relations for the General Council of the Assemblies of God.

Community of Christ

The Mormons’ early missions to Missouri had two objectives: to share the Gospel with American Indians and to create God’s kingdom on earth. They were met with resistance in the Missouri counties, though, and were expelled from the state following violent conflict in 1838-39. They fled to Illinois, but after a tumultuous string of leadership changes, the headquarters began its move back to Jackson County in 1906. Construction on the temple in Independence started in 1990.

Of the 250,000 international members in thousands of congregations in the Community of Christ, there are 121 congregations in Missouri.

The decision to return to Missouri was an expression of the early focus on Independence and Jackson County as the future home of Zion. “We now view Zion not as a specific place but as a signal community anywhere that is committed to sharing Christ’s peace with the world,” says Jenn Killpack, communications specialist for the Community of Christ.

In downtown Independence, a distinctive

God

silver spire rises three hundred feet into the air.

It belongs to the Community of Christ Temple, a building designed to impress. “Its unusual structure takes its shape from the nautilus shell, a pattern found worldwide,” says Kendra Friend, communications specialist. “It is dedicated to the pursuit of peace.” Daily prayer for peace takes place there 365 days a year.

The Community of Christ auditorium hosts Independence-area high school and college graduation ceremonies, as well as fine arts events and worships.

General Association of General Baptists

Although the General Baptist movement radiated from Evansville, Indiana, in the early 1800s, the General Association organized in 1870. It began a publication called the General Baptist Messenger in 1886, which influenced the move to Missouri. The association was searching for a publication office. The local newspaper in Poplar Bluff gave the magazine the best offer, and the local chamber of commerce, the best support. The first official office for the General Association soon followed. Today, both the international headquarters and Stinson Press have their home in Poplar Bluff.

Within the United States, the General Association has more than seventy thousand

COURTESY OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD; COURTESY OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD;

rch-Mis

n Chu Luthera

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l Baptists

tion of Genera

General Associa

COURTESY OF GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF GENERAL BAPTISTS:; COURTESY OF INDEPENDENCE TOURISM

members in eight hundred churches. The association is involved in church planting, primarily in six Midwestern states, but there are more of its churches in Missouri than in any other state.

The General Association’s international missions, founded in 1902, have churches and do missionary work in six countries in Asia, South America, and the Caribbean. Domestically, the General Association has a Bible College, two training institutes, and numerous schools and mission points. Over the past two and a half years, they have either started or adopted fortyfive churches.

The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod

The LCMS represents over 2.4 million Lutherans around the globe, with 145,000 LCMS Lutherans in 313 churches in Missouri.

It traces its roots to 750 German immigrants who traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, seeking religious and political freedom they couldn’t enjoy in Saxony. The green rolling hills of Perry County reminded them of home, so they settled there in 1839. Twelve years later, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was founded in a Chicago meeting with German pastors from around the nation.

Since then The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in Kirkwood has grown to be one of the

Community of

Christ

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Sacred Places

BY LESLEY GRISSUM AND CASSANDRA BELEK

Also found across Missouri are these sacred sites from additional religions and spiritual practices.

MID-AMERICA BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION Augusta (pictured above)

The MABA became a non-profit organization in 1994, and it purchased land for a Chinese Buddhist retreat

ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN

in Augusta that same year. With the guidance of two

Daviess County near Independence

Chinese monks, the monastery grew to include the

The Mormon Historic Sites Registry claims the area

Guan Yin Pavillion and Dizang Hall, a mausoleum.

along the east bluffs above the Grand River was the

The MABA works to promote Buddhism in the

dwelling place of Adam and Eve when they left the

Midwest, especially in the St. Louis and Chicago

Garden of Eden. The name Adam-ondi-Ahman means

areas. The monastery’s current abbot is Master Ji

“Valley of God, where Adam dwelt.” Much of the land

Ru, a Malaysian who was ordained in the Chinese

is owned and held sacred by Mormons, with a sign

Buddhist tradition in 1986.

proclaiming the land as Adam-ondi-Ahman.

www.maba-usa.org

BLACK MADONNA SHRINE AND GROTTOS Near Eureka

SHANTHI MANDIR HINDU TEMPLE AND COMMUNITY CENTER OF MID-MISSOURI

Polish immigrant Brother Bronislaus Luszcz of the

Columbia

Franciscan Missionary Brothers built the shrine in

This mid-Missouri Hindu temple’s name means

1937. In Poland, the most famous shrine to Mary

“temple of peace.” Since 2005, it has conducted

was the Jasna Gora monastery in the town of

Hindu religious, social, cultural, and educational

Czestochowa, where the people refer to her as Our

activities. Following Hindu guidelines, alcoholic

Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna. Brother

beverages, smoking, controlled substances, and

Bronislaus built a cedar chapel and altar in order

non-vegetarian foods are not permitted on the

to share his faith with others, but the chapel later

premises, and guests may not wear shoes inside

burned down. The shrine remains today, and offers

the temple.

tours and liturgical services.

shanthimandir.missouri.org/index.htm

www.franciscancaring.org/blackmadonnashri.html

iillllaage Uniitty V

largest worldwide Christian denominations.

“When secular issues require a statement from the church, our opinions and positions are seen and heard around the world,” says Vicki Biggs, director of public affairs and media relations.

“The LCMS seeks to reach the lost for Christ and to serve the world’s poor and vulnerable citizens, participate in community outreach, and increase volunteering—all things that generally serve to improve individual communities,” Vicki says, adding that the LCMS is involved in the local Chamber of Commerce.

In Kirkwood, The LCMS International Center looms over an acre-sized lake and features a glass-walled chapel with a 1,700-pipe organ. The church’s Missouri network also includes the Concordia Historical Institute, Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, and the International Lutheran Laymen’s League.

TEMPLE ISRAEL CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF ST. LOUIS

Springfield

St. Louis

The Springfield Jewish population banded together

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis broke ground

during World War II but slowly dwindled throughout

in 1907 and took eighty years to complete. It was

the ’50s and ’60s. A new group of Jewish profes-

consecrated on June 29, 1926. In 1997, Pope John

sionals arrived in the area from the east coast

Paul II designated the cathedral a Cathedral Basilica

by the mid-1970s. The Temple Israel, a Reform

and visited it in 1999. The Cathedral Basilica fea-

synagogue, was built in 1996 and combines the

tures a bronze replica of Michelangelo’s Pietá and

two congregations of Jews. It offers a place to pray

ornate mosaics representing a cosmic story.

and gather as individuals and family.

cathedralstl.org

www.springfieldsynagogue.org

Pentecostal Church of God

The Pentecostal Church of God began with a small Chicago group in 1919 attempting to unite efforts for evangelism. In 1933, the general offices were moved to Kansas City and twenty years later to Joplin, where the international headquarters are today.

Joplin is the hub of the church’s worldwide ministries. Internationally, the church has

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United Pentec

urch of God

ostal Church Int

ernational

ANDREW BARTON; COURTESY OF UNITY VILLAGE; COURTESY OF THE UPCI; COURTESY OF PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF GOD INTERNATIONAL

608,000 constituents in 4,823 churches and preaching stations, as well as 6,750 ministers in fifty-eight nations.

Nationally, the church reported more than eighty-eight thousand constituents in more than one thousand churches, as well as 2,796 ministers. The Pentecostal Church of God participates in national outreach ministries such as Shelter Homes, First Response, and Inner City.

United Pentecostal Church International

The UPCI emerged out of the Assemblies of God in 1916. They withdrew because of differences in doctrinal issues over the oneness of God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. The UPCI represents more than four million believers in thirty thousand congregations worldwide, with about ten thousand in 138 churches in Missouri.

“We only hire church members from within our own ranks, so there is a commonality of purpose and spirit,” says David Jackson, executive assistant of the UPCI. “Our employees serve with a dual purpose. They are providing for their families in the usual way, but they also have an additional motive of serving the kingdom of Jesus Christ. They work with the knowledge they are in the nerve center of our entire worldwide organization, and that orga-

Pentecostal Ch

nization only exists to promote and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.” That three-story nerve center, surrounded by suburban lawns, is hard to miss at the intersection of Interstate 170 and Interstate 270 in north St. Louis.

Unity

The story of the Unity movement began in 1889 with a young couple, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, who lived in Kansas City. When Myrtle was diagnosed with tuberculosis, she discovered the power of prayer and healed herself through a holistic approach of body, mind, and spirit. The couple began to share these discoveries of healing prayer and other spiritual ideas and practices from their home, and a publication soon followed. The spiritual work unfolded from publishing and prayer into education and became known as Unity School, world headquarters of the Unity movement. In 1929, Unity began its move to its present village in Jackson County. The Great Depression put the move on hold until the late 1940s.

Unity has a broad-ranging theme in its geographical reach but also in its overarching purpose. Unity defines itself as a vehicle for instruction for any other church, regardless of denomination. It focuses on the “practical application of the teachings of Jesus and other spiritual masters,” says Paula Coppel, vice

president of communications at Unity Village.

“There is not one path to God, but many, and we honor them all.” The open-mindedness resonant in the name makes it easy to spread Unity teachings worldwide, with an especially large following in Nigeria.

Unity’s formerly self-sufficient village includes fourteen hundred acres of Unity School, Unity House Publishing, formal rose gardens, fountains, space for retreats, an extensive metaphysical library, bookstore, and the Unity Village Chapel.

The Grand Scheme of Things

Regardless of the reason, the choices that religious pioneers and leaders made to locate here connect our landlocked state to the rest of the world in unique ways. Missionaries and churches from these Missouri-based headquarters can be found in more than two hundred other countries. These worldwide headquarters play an integral part in their host cities—from the cultural to the economic to the political.

Regardless of the face of each denomination, the towns where they exist would undoubtedly be diminished without them.

These symbiotic relationships demonstrate the importance of a faith well-lived in this promised land Missourians call home.

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X l o t i p

ca i’

ur Misso

ve

ati l s i g e sl

as h e s hou

Photos by Seth Garcia

a

st

pa d e i r sto

N MONDAY NIGHTS in 1924, prisoners from the Missouri State Penitentiary danced on the State Capitol fifth floor roof with local Jefferson City girls.

It all came down to celebrity.

In 1923, an itinerant piano player with a drinking problem by the name of Harry Snodgrass got in big trouble in St. Louis. He and a buddy went out one night and each downed seventeen shots of moonshine until they ran out of money. Harry, in a stupor, decided the way to get cash for more booze was to go home, grab a couple pistols, and he and his friend would stage a holdup.

They walked into a confectionery shop, unaware that the proprietor also had a firearm.

A shootout ensued, and Harry inadvertently shot and killed his accomplice. Segue to Harry behind bars at the Missouri State penitentiary, where he joined the prison band.

A few neighborhood girls would gather near the prison on Monday nights to walk behind the group of musician-prisoners escorted by guards to their weekly gig about a mile away. The band

played live on one of the first radio stations in the nation, WOS, located on the fifth floor of the Capitol. Harry, after a while, was voted the most popular radio entertainer in America; his incarceration didn’t mar his notoriety one bit.

The local girls were enchanted by Harry’s fame.

As the band played, some members didn’t chime in on every number, and they would “trip the light fantastic” with the ladies before guards escorted the men back behind prison walls.

Oh, if those Capitol walls could talk, the stories they could tell!

Noted Missouri historian Bob Priddy tells all in his upcoming book about the Capitol, One Great Feast: Art and History in Missouri’s Capitol, due out next year. And the walls he writes about just might remember that, in 1925 when the Capitol building was just eight years old (rebuilt after a fire destroyed the previous structure), a state representative stepped into the hallway outside his office and was accosted by a gunman.

The legislator, a tall strong man from Greenfield, wrestled the gun away from the offender, who then fled. The pistol is still in the building, part of the ground floor museum stockpile.

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From top: The bronze doors went astray on their way to the Capitol during World War I. They open to a thirty-foot-wide granite stairway. This .44 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver was kept loaded in Governor Thomas Crittenden’s desk drawer for possible defense against retaliation by the James gang. The House and Senate Chambers feature the original 1917 legislators’ desks.

Opposite: The bronze statue of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase was cast from artwork originally on display at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.

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l o t i cap The museum, by the way, is an official Missouri State Park, full of remarkable artifacts with new exhibits offered frequently.

That hallway altercation wasn’t the only one. Legislators through the years have been known to come to blows. In the late 1980s, two opposing lawmakers launched fisticuffs in the speaker’s office. Neither was badly injured.

All of these happenings took place behind the two enormous bronze doors atop the Capitol’s front steps—the largest ones cast since the days of ancient Rome. They were created in Brooklyn, New York, and loaded on a freight train to Missouri during World War I. But they went missing.

The U.S. War Department had authority to stop any train, unload the cargo, and reload with Army supplies, which is exactly what happened to the bronze doors headed for Jefferson City. When they didn’t arrive in a timely fashion, the search began. The Capitol Commission Board tried to find where the doors had been stashed. So did Missouri’s U.S. senators, congressmen, and the secretary of war. Their efforts turned up nothing. About a year later, however, completely unannounced, the massive doors arrived in the capital city aboard a train. No one ever learned where they’d spent their lengthy stint.

Stroll around back to where the Capitol faces the river, and across the street is a giant bronze grouping of men gathering to sign the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, which brought Missouri into the United States.

The statues, originally made of plaster, were first seen at the entry gate of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. After the fair closed, the statues were taken to the Saint Louis Art Museum for storage. They next went on display at the 1915 World’s Fair in San Francisco and were then offered to the Capitol Decoration Commission. The commission brought the big set to Jefferson City where it

remained for many years in the rotunda under the grand staircase. After some time, the piece was shipped to New York City where it was the model for the bronze casting seen today.

And there is much more to take in when touring the Missouri Capitol. Folks can see the House and Senate Chambers and the legislators’ desks, which are the originals installed in 1917. Back then, to provide cooling to both chambers before the introduction of air conditioning, blocks of ice were trucked into the Capitol basement where fans would blow over them to send cool air up through grates in each chamber. Too much ice and too many blowing fans, however, caused the house and senate to become downright cold; it wasn’t unusual for representatives to don long john underwear under their suits to conduct business in comfort.

Another intriguing story is about the 1861 theft of the original Missouri State Seal, a bronze medallion about three inches in diameter. Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson made off with it in the heat of arguments over the state’s allegiance toward the North or South during the Civil War. Jackson, who favored the Confederacy, along with like-thinking legislators, copped the seal and headed toward Texas on horseback. Their trek led through Arkansas where the governor died. Lt. Governor Thomas C. Reynolds picked up the gauntlet and hightailed it to Marshall, Texas, carrying the seal in his saddlebags.

There, the Lt. Governor and several legislators formed a new Confederate state.

Missouri, though, was left in chaos. There was no quorum of lawmakers here, nor in Texas, and the state could not legalize any document without imprinting the seal.

In 1869, the great seal of the state of Missouri was returned to Jefferson City where

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From top: The eight-thousand-pound and more than two-thousand-piece chandelier that has hung in the rotunda since 1918 crashed onto the state seal replica in the floor below during a 2007 cleaning of the fixture. Fortunately, the seal was protected and suffered no damage.

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it now sits in the secretary of state’s Capitol office. The public can see it and make an imprint with it, but nobody can swipe it again—the original seal is immovable.

More than 130 years later, there was a different hullabaloo. In November 2007, the gigantic chandelier suspended from the rotunda dome fell. Workers had lowered the huge piece into a wooden cradle to clean and re-lamp it. As the workday ended, they raised the chandelier above the cradle, tethered it in place, and left.

At eight that evening, when only the housekeeping staff was in the building, chains holding the chandelier broke. It crashed into the wooden cradle below, and the whole shebang landed on the large state seal replica in the middle of the floor. Luckily, when work began on the giant light, the seal had been covered in thick plywood and canvas, so it received no damage from the fall. The chandelier, however, was hurt to the tune of half-a-million dollars.

Once repaired, the workers all signed it, and up she went again high above the floor.

That chandelier is surrounded by breathtaking murals. Those in the rotunda were created

by London artist Frank Brangwyn, considered the greatest muralist of the time. Brangwyn never set foot on U.S. soil, but was, instead, sent copies of blueprints of the dome to study.

He built a mockup of the rotunda in his studio, then set to work painting on canvas from picture topics provided by the chairman of the Capitol Decoration Commission. In correspondence, Brangwyn kept referring to the building as The Missouri Parliament in St. Louis.

The murals were shipped to Jefferson City and unrolled on the Capitol lawn where white lead glue was affixed to the backs. More glue was put on the rotunda walls, and the murals were set in place. In the early 1980s, the picturesque scenes needed cleaning. They were also pulling away from the walls in some places, so workers used hypodermic needles to inject

more glue for reattachment.

Speaking of the Capitol dome, the Whisper Gallery high in the dome is quite clever. While not on the official tour, occasionally members of the public are invited to step onto the circular balcony. The gallery boasts a perfect parabolic reflection. One person can stand at the far side facing the wall while another faces the wall on his or her opposite side. One can lightly whisper words that the other person can hear clearly.

Descending several hundred feet to the basement, few know that there are two large underground steam tunnels that connect the Capitol to the Missouri Department of Transportation building across the street. The power supply for the Capitol, for MoDot, and for the nearby Supreme Court building is supplied by a single power station not far down the railroad tracks.

In essence, one could enter the Capitol and exit two blocks away, although nowadays the tunnels are somewhat thick with wires.

It’s been written that Missouri’s Capitol building is the most elegant of the fifty states.

Its style is reminiscent of the nation’s Capitol in Washington. The cost to purchase the land, construct the Capitol, and furnish it in 1917 was more than four million dollars— $4,044,154.29 to be exact.

Part of the renown of the Capitol is the work of Missouri muralist Thomas Hart Benton. In 1936, he painted the mural that wraps around the entirety of the House lounge, and in doing so created a flap from several quarters, according to Priddy.

House Speaker John G. Christy thought Benton had ruined the room because the mural is so vivid (“people jumping off the walls at you”). Christy tried to get it painted over, but lost that battle.

One of the biggest howls was about the naked baby in the political rally scene. Nakedness in public places, even in art, was regarded some-

t eight that even ing, when only the housekeeping st aff was in the b uilding, chains holding the cha ndelier broke. It the wooden cra crashed into dle below, and the whole sheba the large state se ng landed on al in the m iddle of the floor.

l o t i cap

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Xcapitol

what more conservatively in the ’30s. Benton argued that “you can’t have history, you can’t have a state, if you don’t have babies.”

A number of people objected to the portrayal of Jesse James above the main lounge door. He’s shown in a red shirt robbing a train (and also in the background robbing a bank).

Again, Benton went to bat for his mural. “You can’t be honest about a state’s history if you ignore the seamier aspects, and Jesse James was one of the most famous Missourians in the world.”

Another criticism Benton had to face was the fact that he’d portrayed some prominent Kansas City businessmen attending a business lunch that featured scantily clad dancing girls.

Benton reminded his naysayers that he’d been to some of those luncheons and had, in fact, painted the girls with considerably more clothing than they actually wore.

Falling under the “boys will be boys” axiom, pranks and shenanigans have been known to occur now and then in the Missouri Legislature, particularly near the end of a session when lawmakers have had their noses to

the grindstone for a long time.

One event concerned cell phones. No cell phone calls are allowed on the floor during sessions, but one workday a member’s cell rang, and he answered. The Speaker heard, became upset, and ordered the Sergeant at Arms to bring the phone up to him on the dais. He raised the big, heavy gavel and hit the phone so hard that pieces of it flew several feet. The floor became deadly silent.

Then the Speaker, the Sergeant at Arms, and the legislator who’d answered his cell began laughing. It was all a joke, a setup to surprise the room of lawmakers.

The Capitol is full of surprises, levity, and seriousness. Secrets hide around every turn, and discovering them is an adventure itself.

The Missouri State Capitol and Museum are open to the public from 8 AM to 5 PM every day except Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Tours are given Mondays through Saturdays every hour on the hour for walk-in guests. Reservations are required for groups of ten or more. For more information, call 573-751-4127.

London artist Frank Brangwyn, a foremost muralist of the early twentieth century, painted the murals in the Rotunda on canvas in his studio. Once they arrived in Missouri, they were mounted to the walls with glue.

The Capitol Building:

■ Stands on 285 concrete piers, which extend to bedrock at depths ranging from 20 to 50 feet.

■ Is 437 feet long by 200 feet wide in the wings and 300 feet wide through the center.

■ Is 88 feet from the floor of the basement to the top of the exterior wall.

■ Is 262 feet tall from the basement floor to the apex of the dome.

■ Covers three acres and more than 500,000 square feet of floor space.

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

Resta

FOR CHIRSTMAS HOMEMADE TREATS FROM SOME MISSOURI WINNERS | By Susan Manlin Katzman

ANDREW BARTON

EVEN SCROOGE WILL TELL YOU THAT DURING THE HOLIDAYS THE BEST THINGS COME IN SMALL PACK AGES LOADED WITH SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE. ’TIS THE SEASON FOR COOKIES—TO BAK E WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS, TO GRACE TABLES AT FESTIVITIES AND FEASTS, AND TO SHARE WITH THOSE NEAREST AND DEAREST. AS COOKIES WIN TOP PLACE IN HOLIDAY HEARTS, WE ORNAMENT THIS CHRISTMAS ISSUE WITH SOME WINNING MISSOURIANS’ FAVORITE RECIPES, GIFT WRAPPED IN HOLIDAY MEMORIES.

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From left: Lauren McCreight’s butter ball cookie recipe has been handed down through four generations.

Made with a paste of ground sesame seeds, Linda Lighton’s Tahini cookies have a unique nutty, earthy flavor sure to please; peanut butter or sunflower butter can be used to vary the recipe.

Lauren McCreight

COURTESY OF LAUREN MCCREIGHT; ANDREW BARTON; COURTESY OF LINDA LIGHTON; TINA WHEELER

SPRINGFIELD

Seventeen-year-old Lauren McCreight is down to earth, genuine, and perfectly charming. Average and normal are the words she most commonly uses to describe herself. She is also the 2009 Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen.

Lauren finds time between her official duties and school activities, which include National Honor Society, student council, Pay it Forward, Small Business Leaders of America Club and choir, to bake cookies.

“My favorite cookie, butter balls, came from my great-grandmother,” Lauren says. “She gave the recipe to my grandmother, who passed it along to my mom, who made the cookies with me when I was a child. Now, of course, I can make the cookies myself, but I still like to cook with my mom and keep it a family affair.

“We make all kinds of cookies to serve at our Christmas Eve smorgasbord dinner of appetizers, but butter balls remain my favorite. And they were always Santa’s favorite too. How do I know? Not only did he eat the plateful of butter balls we set out for him on Christmas Eve, he always went into the kitchen and ate a bunch from the Tupperware container where the cookies were stored.”

Linda Lighton KANSAS CITY

Ceramic sculptor Linda Lighton, winner of the Missouri Arts Council’s 2009 Missouri Arts Awards, says her work is about transition. “We are born and move forward through the life force,” she says. “I want my work to show moving forward with grace.”

Linda uses transition words when talking about her work. Her softly colored flowers “unfold.” Her human figures convey the “courage to move on.” With more than 46 individual shows and 117 group exhibitions, Linda’s body of work moves through the dictionary picking up a variety of descriptors: seductive, organic, humorous, and sexual among them, but the one word Linda chooses to summarize her work on her web site is “succulent.”

It is a word Linda also applies to cookies.

“I have a passion for baking cookies, and my cookies are renowned,” she says. “I have the best-ever chocolate cookie recipe that I make for my open studio. This show takes place in the fall of the year and is generally timed so that people can buy Christmas gifts. I also make sugar cookies for the sale, and my daughter and I go crazy decorating From top: Linda Lighton’s them, sometimes with gold or silver leaf. sculptures unfold, creating Sometimes we make X-rated ones. People the illusion of movement.

She focuses on transition come to the studio show for the cookies as and grace both in her artwork and in life. well as the art.”

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SHOW-ME FLAVOR > COOKIES FOR CHRISTMAS

Tara Osseck

VERSAILLES

ST. CHARLES

“I believe you have to have a passion for something in order to do it well, and I have a passion for baking cookies,” Rhonda Vogt says. “If I know someone is feeling low, or if someone new moves into the community, I’ll bake them cookies. Everyone is so appreciative of the gift. You can buy nice cookies at groceries and bakeries, but nothing beats home-baked.”

For sure nothing beats Rhonda’s home-baked cookies, as she is a top prizewinner at the Missouri State Fair, taking first place in three separate categories.

In addition to baking, this prize-winning cook likes studying the science of cooking and knowing such things as brown sugar gives cookies a chewier texture than white sugar and that taking cookies from the oven when they look under-baked produces a tender cookie.

Since retiring as secretary at the Morgan County School District, Rhonda says she has more time for baking and is at her busiest at fair time and Christmas, when she bakes cookies not only for gifts, but also to serve at parties.

For Christmas, she likes to dress up favorite bar cookies by cutting them with fancy cookie cutters. “You get some pretty odd-shaped leftovers that way,” Rhoda says, “but not to worry, the ‘scraps’ are always devoured by family members!”

No doubt Tara Osseck won the title of Miss Missouri 2009 due to her talent, beauty, and brains, but it is her intelligence that is doing the most for young people. Tara holds a degree in health science, specializing in health education, and is using her Miss Missouri platform to teach kids about eating disorders. “I believe an important part of the healthy lifestyle is not to deny yourself foods perceived as high calorie, but to enjoy them in moderation.

“I actually love baking cookies,” confesses Tara, “My grandpa on Dad’s side used to be a professional baker. All of my mother’s family bakes. Baking is in my genes.”

Tara’s favorite cookie, gooey butter, is a perfect example of her concept of moderation. “I grew up loving gooey butter cake but now prefer the cookies,” Tara says. “I adapted my cookie recipe to be a bit lighter and healthier than the original, and, of course, the portion is smaller.

“Every year on Christmas Eve, my mom’s family gets together, and we have a cookie exchange. We all make our own special recipe to share with others. I enjoy gooey butter cookies year-round but especially like them at this party, when in addition to tasting great, they bring a sense of family sharing and togetherness.”

COURTESY OF RHONDA VOGT; TINA WHEELER; COURTESY OF LANCE TILFORD, LIMELIGHT STUDIO

Rhonda Vogt

From left: Magic Christmas Bars, made by Rhonda Vogt of Versailles, took first place in the Missouri State Fair cookie competition.

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From left: Tara Osseck, Miss Missouri 2009, makes gooey butter cookies at Christmas. She has altered her traditional family recipe to reflect her views on living a healthy lifestyle.

Walter Bargen

COURTESY OF TARA OSSECK; NOTLEY HAWKINS; TINA WHEELER

ASHLAND

As a philosopher-poet who won the title of Missouri’s first Poet Laureate, Walter Bargen usually focuses on more lofty concepts than cookies. But Walter is as generous as he is gifted and in response to our request for Christmas cookie memories, he sent a veritable feast of wonderful words from which we excerpt the following portion: “Around the beginning of December, the weather unpredictable, with a first snow often circumscribing Thanksgiving, then relinquishing any project toward whitening the world. No easing our worries with the erasure of troubling details, no sitting at home dreaming vast cold possibilities, relinquishing the need to act. Book-ended by

holidays and Christmas still ahead, my mother would bake three types of cookies. The first was a whipped egg white with chocolate chips beat into the white froth with an added touch of vanilla and brown sugar dusted across the swirl-peaked top. There was little substance to them, and with each bite, they dissolved in my mouth almost before I could swallow, which created a craving for more.

“If there are recipes for these cookies, they’re not accessible. My mother is eighty-seven years old, and I don’t believe she’s ever used a recipe.

She goes by consistency and looks when she is mixing ingredients, and she always gets it right.”

Read Walter’s entire essay about all three cookies on MissouriLife.com.

Walter Bargen, Missouri’s first poet laureate, published his latest book in September.

Days Like This Are Necessary is a compilation of old and new poetry from the author.

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SHOW-ME FLAVOR > COOKIES FOR CHRISTMAS she says. “My father, who is always very health-conscious, would pick one up without fuss, and it would be gone. My mother would sip tea and nibble, and my brother, who was more into quantity, always had his particular requests.”

Baking and icing cookies was a new tradition for her family, and it was one she is happy to maintain in a home where the traditions of a new country were balanced with the traditions of an old country.

Amy Stapleton

Nina Furstenau dips Lemon Pecan Shortbread into chocolate for celebrations.

Nina Furstenau FAYETTE

Baking cookies was Nina Furstenau’s way to help her family develop new traditions in a new country. “My parents came to Kansas from northern India, so when I was growing up, we were putting together our new traditions in this country,” she says.

Nina says cookies were the first food she learned to make. Now she is a food columnist for Missouri Life, and her department, “Tasteful Traveler,” recently won bronze at the 2009 International Regional Magazine Association awards. Nina is also writing a book about growing up in Kansas and maintaining cultural ties through food. Next year, she will begin teaching a food and wine writing class at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

But everything started with those cookies. Growing up, she was especially fond of buttery shortbread cookies because they went well with hot tea. One of her favorite recipes is for Lemon Pecan Shortbread, which she dips in chocolate for special occasions.

“It started with just a simple buttery shortbread recipe, and then over the years it became something that combined some of my favorite tastes—butter, pecan, lemon, and chocolate,” she says.

Nina says her baking always left her with a warm feeling of being able to offer something to her family.

“The best thing for me, other than licking the spoon when I was finished, was the way my family would eat my cookies without question,”

Missouri Life’s Amy Stapleton believes food is love. She has always loved to bake and cook and says her art shows through the beauty of her food.

Amy also loves horses, and she’s been a winner in the horse arena for years. Clamenza, the horse Amy rides, won the blue ribbon at a dressage show this year. The two have won many awards over the years. In 2007, Amy and Clamenza won the Missouri Horse Show Association reserve championship, and in 2008 won at the Missouri Dressage Classic.

Amy bakes Mint-A-Lot Cookies, or peppermint chocolate sandwich cookies, because they travel well and she can easily take them to horse shows. Mint-A-Lots are good for their convenience, but Amy holds on to her belief that food should still be beautiful.

“My mom is a spectacular cook, and she’s an artist,” Amy says. “One of the things we were taught from a very young age is food is beautiful.”

The colors of the food and the presentation are important.

Mint-A-Lots let Amy bring her love of baking out of the kitchen and into the arena, where she spends time with her other love—horses.

Find selected cookie recipes on page 53, or visit MissouriLife.com for all the cookie recipes featured.

—Cassandra Belek contributed to this story.

Amy Stapleton’s Mint-A-Lots taste delicious and travel well.

TINA WHEELER; COURTESY OF AMY STAPELTON; COURTESY OF STEVE DOTSON

FAYETTE

[52] MissouriLife

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SHOW-ME FLAVOR > MISSOURI RECIPES – MissouriLife –

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meringues

Mint-A-Lots

Amy Stapleton, Fayette 2007 Missouri Horse Show Association Reserve Champion

Ingredients: ¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks) 5 squares unsweetened chocolate 2 ½ cups sugar 3 eggs 1 tablespoon peppermint extract 2 ¾ cups flour Peppermint Filling 4 ounces cream cheese, softened ¼ cup butter softened (½ stick) 2 to 2 ½ cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons peppermint extract 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream 5-6 drops green food coloring

read Lemon Pecan Shortb – MissouriLife –

Lemon Pecan Shortbread

Nina Furstenau, Fayette Bronze Award Winner, Tasteful Traveler Department, International Regional Magazine Association Ingredients: 1 stick unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 cups flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet.

Microwave butter and chocolate on high for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until blended; mix in eggs and extract. Stir in flour until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls, flatten slightly, and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Do not over-bake. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Mix cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and combine. Add extract, cream, and food coloring. Mix until color is even and the filling has a smooth, spreadable consistency. Add more powdered sugar and cream as needed.

Spread filling on bottom side of cooled cookie, top with another cookie, and refrigerate until filling is firm. Drizzle with melted chocolate chips.

Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies or colorful sprinkles.

Yields 24 cookies

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually blend flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in nuts.

Walter Bargen, Ashland Missouri’s First Poet Laureate (Recipe from Kids Cookies, Time-Life Books, 1998,

by Susan Manlin Katzman, adapted for Walter Bargen)

Ingredients: 2 egg whites, at room temperature ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Pinch of salt ½ cup sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Directions: Adjust two oven racks to be in the center of your oven. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Drop by heaping teaspoonful an inch apart onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 1 hour, then turn off the oven. Let meringues sit in stillwarm oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a rack until completely cool. Carefully peel meringues from the paper.

Yields 24 cookies

Shape dough into 2 rolls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

TINA WHEELER

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meringues

Put egg whites in a large mixing bowl. With electric mixer on low speed, beat whites just until foamy.

Add cream of tartar and salt, and beat on high speed until whites stand in soft peaks when beaters are lifted. With mixer at high speed, beat in sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until whites form stiff peaks. Beat in vanilla.

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease baking sheet and unwrap dough. Cut into ¼-inch slices, and place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Cool completely on baking rack. If desired, dip ½ of each cookie into melted chocolate and place on wax paper to dry.

Yields 24-30 cookies

– MissouriLife –

Mint-A-Lots

Note: This is a basic meringue recipe. For variations add: chocolate chips and dust the tops with brown sugar before baking to duplicate Walter Bargen’s mother’s recipe, ½ cup chopped nuts to make Nut Meringues, or omit the vanilla and add ½ teaspoon peppermint extract and ¼ cup crushed peppermint sticks to make Peppermint Meringues.

[53] December 2009

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SHOW-ME FLAVOR > MISSOURI RECIPES – MissouriLife –

Magic Christmas Bars

Chocolate Cookies

Linda Lighton, Kansas City Winner of the Missouri Arts Council’s 2009 Missouri Arts Award: Individual Artist Category

Ingredients: 1 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips 1 stick of butter 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon vanilla Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave. Stir.

Mix in sweetened condensed milk, flour, and vanilla.

Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let set for a minute, and carefully remove to a piece of wax paper to cool.

Yields 24 cookies

– MissouriLife –

Magic Christmas Bars

Rhonda Vogt, Versailles Three-time Missouri State Fair Cookie Champion

Butter Balls

Ingredients: 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted 1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped 1 cup toffee bits, finely ground 12 whole graham crackers 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 8 ounces milk chocolate, chopped coarse 1 cup crisped rice cereal ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ½ cup butterscotch chips 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon vanilla

– MissouriLife –

Butter Balls

Lauren McCreight, Springfield Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen 2009

Ingredients: 1 cup butter, softened ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup nuts, finely chopped Confectioners’ sugar for rolling dough

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 13 x 9-inch pan with foil, and coat with cooking spray. Toast coconut and pecans separately on a baking sheet until golden (5 minutes for the coconut and 8 minutes for the pecans). Process toffee bits in food processor to a fine powder. Add graham crackers and process to coarse crumbs.

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chill dough about 1 hour. Roll dough into one-inch balls in the palm of your hand, and place about an inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. While cookies are warm, roll them in confectioners’ sugar. Set aside until completely cool, and then roll in sugar again.

Yields 24-30 cookies

Combine condensed milk and vanilla in small bowl and pour over coconut. Bake until golden brown 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack about 2 hours.

Chocolate Cookies

Using foil overhang, lift from pan and refrigerate until cooled. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes.

Yields 24 cookies

TINA WHEELER; ANDREW BARTON

Transfer mixture to bowl and stir in butter. Press mixture firmly into prepared baking pan. Bake until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle crust with milk chocolate to soften it, about 2 minutes. Using spatula, smooth chocolate, scatter crisped rice cereal over chocolate, pressing to adhere. Add layers of pecans, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut, in that order, pressing each layer to adhere.

With an electric beater, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add flour and salt, and beat until just blended. Stir in nuts.

[54] MissouriLife

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10/31/09 3:04:06 PM

N O BO DY C AR E S MO R E .

The commitment by America’s pork producers to quality, safety and responsibility goes back decades. From ethical principles to industry-leading education, we have a track record of responsible practices and continuous improvement.

We’re proud to say that today, more than ever, our production practices are focused on food safety, responsibility — from the environment to animal care — and the quality of life in our communities.

Every day, here in Missouri, and on farms across the country, pork producers continue to demonstrate our dedication to the care and concern that is our legacy.

Funded by Missouri Pork Producers and their Pork Checkoff Program © 2009 We Care Initiative

[55] December 2009

AD-DEC 09.indd 55

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Show-Me Flavor > Restaurant Recommendations

Creative Organic Café Berlin

Columbia has a reputation for cre-

a late-night weekend menu that accom-

chipotle gravy. Other meals are more

ative breakfast and lunch dishes that

modate everyone from vegans to lovers of

traditional. Dinner entrees vary from the

feature local and organic ingredients. In its

local pork. The Starving Artist, a popular

barbecue chicken melt and pork chop

new home on the north side of downtown

breakfast and lunch item, is half of a house-

plate to the burger and tempeh curry

Columbia, co-owners Allison Starn and

made biscuit topped with Café Berlin’s sig-

plate, and prices are affordable enough to

Eli Gay have expanded the restaurant’s

nature roasted potatoes, sautéed greens,

squeeze into a college student’s budget.

offerings to include a dinner menu and

two eggs, and a smooth, spicy vegetarian

573-441-0400 —Molly Moore

Niche

St. Louis The Golden Touch > Niche, a hip, stylish restaurant in the Benton Park neighborhood west of Soulard in St. Louis, is always packed. The restaurant opened in 2005 and quickly racked up a bevy of awards, which includes Chef Gerard Craft being named one of ten Best New Chefs for 2008 by Food & Wine magazine. The menu varies frequently, but the restaurant’s web site shares the most recent seasonal offerings. Pork always stars in some form—pork belly, pork cheeks, even fried pig’s head—a dish Gerard loves to make.

“It takes something that most people throw away and turns it into gold,” he says. 314-773-7755 I www.nichestlouis.com —Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

molly moore; andrew barton

Café Berlin

[56] MissouriLife

REST RECOMM-DEC 09.indd 56

11/1/09 2:48:36 PM

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[57] December 2009

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With more than ninety wineries in Missouri, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unlikely that any particular winery would stand out above the rest, though St. James is the biggest and Stone Hill, not long ago, provided Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quality benchmarks.

Today, there are many wineries making high quality wines, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still possible to say that one winemaker rises above the rest. Over the last ten years, Tony Kooyumjian of Augusta Winery has made so many great wines (and spirits for that matter) that all other winemakers in the state must at times shake their collective heads and wonder what they have to do to compete.

Tony works at two of Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top wineries along the Weinstrasse, and both Augusta and Montelle wineries have garnered more than their fair share of medals at the Missouri State Fair judging, as well as any other judging the wineries bother to enter. In the last five or so years, Tony has bested other winemakers in the state; his touch extends to every grape in the Missouri arsenal: brilliant Chambourcin, elegant Norton (yes, I just wrote elegant), tangy Vidal Blanc, complex Vignoles, aromatic Traminette, gorgeous Icewine, rich Port.

The 2008 crop has done just as well as those in the past: His Icewine 2008 and Vignoles 2008 both won Gold Medals at the Missouri State Fair, and his Cynthiana 2006 won the Sweepstakes for Best Red Wine at the Mid-American Wine Competition. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m one of the judges at both those events, and I was head over heels about the Cynthiana.

Augusta winery isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t one of those places with acres of refurbished, beautiful structures.

But the winery has a very pretty beer and wine garden with frequent musical entertainment, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a nice place to sit if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the mood to taste some of Missouriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best wines. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not only on the Weinstrasse, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the midst of the Augusta American Viticultural

By Doug Frost Area, the very first AVA ever approved in Doug Frost is one of the United States and a place with surprising three people in the wines. Indeed, Tonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wines represent the best world who is both a Master Sommelier and examples of most of these grapes anywhere a Master of Wine. He in the world. lives in Kansas City.

courtesy of Augusta Winery; Seth Garcia

Winning Winemaker

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[58] MissouriLife

WINE-DEC 09.indd 58

11/1/09 12:06:36 PM

[59] December 2009

WINE-DEC 09.indd 59

11/2/09 3:43:28 PM

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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 2009 issue. Total number of copies printed: average 21,417; actual 21,000. Total paid and/or requested circulation: average 18,634; actual 19,130. Free distribution by mail: average 532; actual 130. Free distribution outside the mail: average 1,212; actual 1,203. Total free distribution: average 1744; actual 1333. Total distribution: average 20,378; actual 20,463. Copies not distributed: average 1,039; actual 537. Percent paid and/or requested circulation: average 91.4%; actual 93.5%.

[60] MissouriLife

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11/1/09 12:24:20 PM

MISSOURI LIFESTYLE

SOFA SCIENCE

Inspired Ideas & Savvy Solutions

JON MCKINNEY wants to fingerprint your sofa. He hopes to identify, CSI-style, the criminal chemicals lurking in your home that may cause asthma, cancer, or other diseases. Jon, a twenty-one-year-old environmental engineering student at Missouri S&T in Rolla, is exploring the science behind building forensics. He wants to measure the “fingerprints” indoor pollutants leave behind in the walls, floors, and furniture of a home.

To find hidden toxins, he takes a sample from building materials, couch cushions for example, with a thin needle. Inside the needle, a fiber absorbs chemicals, which can be studied in the lab. The building material reveals information much like a geological core sample: Chemicals near the surface of the sample are recent, while those further in are older. He hopes his research will lead to a readily available method for use in determining a building’s forensic record.

The problem with many illnesses is that, at times, exposure to dangerous pollutants is not known until sometime after a person begins to show symptoms, Jon says. The only way to find indoor pollutants right now is through testing air quality, which can only show researchers what chemicals are currently in a room. Jon’s method could reveal chemicals that were in the environment years ago.

Dr. Glenn Morrison, Jon’s professor, laid the groundwork and developed the first computer models before he invited Jon to work on the project for his undergraduate research. A forty-five thousand-dollar fellowship from the Environmental Protection Agency has paid for Jon’s tuition and research so far. He’s currently looking for another fellowship so he can continue researching building forensics as a graduate student.

—Denise Bertacchi

Eighteen-year-old Jimmy Winkelmann

was just aiming

to get a few grins when he started poking fun at The North Face apparel brand by starting his own line called The South Butt two years ago. But The North Face found out and demanded that he quit selling The South Butt. That is when selling T-shirts and fleece jackets to his high school buddies led to national media attention and sold-out shelves.

Jimmy, who is from the St. Louis area

South Butt

and is now a freshman at the University of Missouri at Columbia, simply wanted to satirize the brand and sell his clothing to people who are “fed up with The North Face.” As for the brewing legal troubles, Jimmy has no intention to comply and says he is certain that his customers can tell the difference between “a butt and a face.”

COURTESY OF MISSOURI S&T; COURTESY OF SOUTH BUTT

For more information, visit www.thesouthbutt.com. —Callina Wood

From left, Jon McKinney and Glenn Morrison

Give life > January is National Blood Donor Month, and Missourians who are interested in giving blood might learn a thing or two from Maurice Wood of St. Louis. This eighty-threeyear-old has donated a record 323 pints of blood over his lifetime. Although Maurice has been the record holder for most blood donated, the Red Cross of St. Louis reports that a man from Oklahoma may have recently caught up with him.

Each unit of blood can help save up to three lives, so Maurice’s dedication to donating has potentially saved up to 969 lives. Blood donated to the Red Cross is often used locally but can be transported to wherever needed.

Visit www.givelife.org for more information.

—Callina Wood [61] December 2009

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MISSOURI LIFESTYLE

Musings

TWO SCORE AND TEN

I SEEM TO BE IMMUNE to the malady that often affects many males of my age bracket. Though I recently turned fifty years old, the warning signs of impending midlife crisis appear to be wholly absent. There is no urge to get a hair replacement, but that may be because I still have most of my hair. The tidal forces that prompt some of my half-century brethren to acquire a classic Corvette and a young girlfriend hold no sway over my ocean. Corvettes always struck me as highly uncomfortable vehicles—the ride is akin to sitting on a splintery, pine plank—and a young girlfriend would make me look older than I am. It would also make me look really, really stupid.

I can make myself look old and stupid without any outside help, thank you very much. It’s an art and a talent in which I excel. However, the real reason that mid-life madness does not darken my mental doorstep is much more simple. Looking back, I cannot recall having a single desire that has gone unfulfilled. I have friends who are starting to mention the creation of their own “bucket list,” a tally of all those things they wish to do, all the places they hope to see, before they kick the bucket. I’d have a hard time compiling such a morbid manifesto. Succinctly put, I’ve done everything I ever wanted to do, gone everywhere I ever wanted to go.

As I’ve told many people over the years, my mid-life crisis was a slowmoving entity that arrived at about age twenty and began packing its bags roughly two decades later. It entered my bloodstream in drips. It prompted me to move all over the country, engage in odd adventures with strange people, and spend inordinate amounts of time averting early departure via falling off mountains, becoming an entrée for the grizzlies, or myriad other misadventures. At age fifty, my cantankerous, mid-life house guest has departed for other, less lethargic pastures. It appears that I bore him, though I hold no grievance over this blatant slight.

Truth be known, there are some days when I even bore me. In my world, that’s actually a far worse fate than even the most malevolent mid-life crisis.

The fire and curiosity that compelled me to spend my entire adult life moving forward, to bounce around like a demented ping-pong ball, emits just a wisp of smoke now and again. I can still spot a few hot

embers in the ashes, but amassing the fuel required to rekindle that blaze requires more effort than I currently wish to expend. Risk does not turn me on as it once did. The unknown does not attract me like a moth to a flame.

The appetite to touch the elephant, to see what is over the next hill, has apparently flown the coop. None of these things has ever scared me, and they still don’t.

What does scare me is that their presence is on sabbatical, that their shine has lost its luster.

If age fifty is a time to take stock and resolve the unresolved, then I have but one fear. It is the old fear, the one I’ve always known and held at bay. It is the fear of boredom, the fear of stagnation, the fear of living within the desolate landscape of the status quo.

In short, it is the fear of living a “normal” life, a life devoid of mystery, surprise, and excitement. I’ve always found it funny that so many people strive for a normal life, while I seek to avoid it like the plague. I don’t condemn or judge the desires or others, and in fact the routine and security inherent in the popular conception of normalcy (the white picket fence, the two-car garage, the steady job, the wife and kids) seem to give many a great and blooming happiness.

But, they are simply not for me. They never have been.

So, I ponder the passage of fifty years, and wonder. I don’t think that age itself brings wisdom. Experience, on the other hand, is a dandy teacher, so long as you pay attention to the lesson plan and remember what has gone before. Gazing in the rearview mirror, again, I’m reminded that mystery, surprise, and excitement don’t just happen. Wishing for them will usually have the same result as wishing for the winning lottery ticket. It is imperative that the individual desiring such qualities sets them in motion, that they take some sort of action, that they push the wheel and make it roll.

Fifty may not be a stopping point; it might be just a brief rest. Like the answers to most questions, the solution is far less complex than we first assume.

The elementary principle taught by experience is that, before leaping into the abyss, one must Ron Marr first get out of the chair.

ANDREW BARTON

By Ron Marr

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MISSOURI LIFESTYLE > SHOW-ME SOUND

ERIN BODE WARMS UP

COURTESY OF ERIN BODE

By Greg Wood

ERIN BODE’S VOICE is warm and soothing, like sipping a cup of hot chocolate next to a glowing fireplace. Erin, a St. Louis jazz vocalist, has a new album, A Cold December Night, that will take the frost right out of you from your toes to your nose. She has a smooth sweet voice that lends comparisons to Norah Jones and Joni Mitchell. She has performed on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion and the CBS Early Show.

Erin grew up in Minnesota and came to Missouri about eleven years ago to attend Webster University and has stayed in the St. Louis area since—when she’s not traveling the world with her band, The Erin Bode Group. “I travel about one week a month which is about the right amount for me,” she says. She also says she has found her career a little slow-going at times but is very happy being able to perform her music in a way that she and her band appreciates. Her fan base is growing as audiences warm up to Erin’s renditions of tunes like Paul Simon’s

“Graceland,” in addition to her originals.

“St. Louis is a great place to get a musical career started from,” she says.

“There are many venues to perform at offering a wide diversity of music.” And it doesn’t hurt that St. Louis has such a great appreciation for jazz vocalists.

Visit www.erinbode.com for more information on Erin’s schedule and her albums. In December, she performs at Jazz at the Bistro downtown on December 9 and 10, The Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles on December 12, and at J. Buck’s downtown location on New Year’s Eve.

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R EMEMBER !

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MISSOURI LIFESTYLE

SAFE &SOUND

MISSOURI COMMUNITY BANKS WATCH OUR MONEY WELL || By Dawn Klingensmith THE PHRASE “YOU CAN BANK ON IT” used to mean a proposi-

banks,” Wilson says. “People trust them. They know the people running them. The distrust is of the big guys—the national banks.” tion was reliable—a sure thing. The ongoing banking crisis that began in In fact, compared with other states, Missouri banks as a whole are far2007 blackened the industry’s eye, but the idea that banks don’t look after ing “pretty well,” says Craig Overfelt, senior vice president of the Missouri the little guy predates current events and is steeped in our popular culture.

Bankers Association. “These are definitely challenging times due to the George Bailey almost jumps off a bridge in It’s a Wonderful Life because a economy, but Missouri in general never got too crazy or out of control money-grubbing banker nearly succeeds in running his building-and-loan with the subprime loans” that brought investment banks to their knees. company out of business. In the film, it’s the “little guys” who end up bailThat circumspection “is kind of a reflection of the people,” he adds. ing George out because he’d always looked after their interests.

Missouri ranks fifth in the nation in the number of state-chartered In real life, big investment banks made colossal blunders that reverberbanks, with 284, and sixth in the number of total banks. The preponderated throughout the global economy. And who came to the rescue and ance of state-chartered institutions is “probably because we have so many affected, in part, our recent upturn? The little guys—taxpayers—but not small towns and communities in Missouri,” says Travis Ford, a spokesnecessarily in a warm-hearted, Hollywood fashion. “I can’t tell you how man for the Missouri Division of Finance, which oversees state-chartered many critical comments I’ve heard about bailouts, and it’s not subsidbanks. Small-town banks tend to be state-chartered in part because “state ing,” says Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, about the federal government’s regulators know and understand their local economy, community, and the approval in fall 2008 of a seven-hundred-billion-dollar bailout to prop types of loans they originate,” he adds. up the crippled economy, with roughly Regardless of size, Missouri banks are half going to financial institutions. In feeling the effects of the Great Recession.

February, he filed an “economic declaration of independence” on behalf of “What we’ve found is that 2008 was a very (as of October 22) his outraged constituents. The resoludifficult year for banks in Missouri, but gia or tion never got a hearing. it was a difficult year for every industry,” Ge 19 However, in what some might regard Ford says. “They still made money, but ois 16 - Illin profits were down.” Missouri banks genas poetic justice, the global banking crisis 10 - California erally have strong capital and ample loanmight have brought about a victory ida 6 - Flor loss reserves, so “they’re well-positioned to of sorts for one group of “little guys:” 4 -Minnesota a, ad ev weather a difficult economy,” he adds.

N Missouri’s state-chartered banks, and , - Arizona, Colorado 3 August news and government reports n community banks in general, which have Oregon, and Washingto painted a grimmer picture. The FDIC seen increases in deposits while larger s, sa an K 2 - Missouri, Alabama, reported that Missouri’s commercial banks banks have suffered losses, according to a, lin New Jersey, North Caro suffered a combined loss of $67 million for Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) aryland, Texas, M n, iga ich M the three-month period ending June 30.

Statistics on Depository Institution Report and Utah By comparison, the banks earned $152 for the second quarter of 2009. million during the same period in 2008.

“It took the meltdown of megabanks However, to put that in perspective, “a couple of banks that are really strugto get consumers thinking about where gling can pull the whole average down,” Ford says, adding that Division of they’re putting their money and who they can trust,” says Don Shafer, Finance figures reveal that the dramatic overall decline was largely attributchairman of BancVue, an Austin, Texas-based provider of products and able to three banks. consultant to community banks.

“Minus those three banks, we actually had a slight increase in net Wilson agrees that the George Baileys of the world might come out income, or profits,” he says. “It’s not as good as the boards of directors ahead, particularly in the Show-Me State. Missouri bankers tend to be would like, but it could be worse.” conservative, he says, and as such, the majority of state-chartered banks did As of press time, only one state-chartered bank—First Bank of Kansas not make risky subprime mortgage loans or trade in subprime securities.

City—failed this year, and a buyer was found so promptly that depositors “If anything, the larger banks’ failings have probably helped local

©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

2009 Bank Closures

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weren’t inconvenienced, let alone harmed, Ford says. The federally chartered American Sterling Bank in Sugar Creek also failed in 2009. In 2008, Hume Bank in Hume failed but the cause was fraud, not economic conditions. It was the first state bank failure since 1992. (Federally chartered Douglass National Bank in Kansas City also failed in 2008.) By contrast, in neighboring Illinois, at least sixteen banks have failed in 2009.

Hurt by bad loans, states that experienced real estate booms, such as Florida and Georgia, also racked up greater numbers of bank failures.

Nationally, more than four hundred banks are on the FDIC’s “problem list,” whereas only a few Missouri banks are deemed problematic, says Rudolph Farber, chairman of the board at Community Bank & Trust in Neosho.

Missouri’s Division of Finance has a rating system, and banks that fall below certain measuring sticks are subject to greater scrutiny. These ratings aren’t released to the public, in part because a poorer rating on the 1 to 5 scale (with 1 being the best) doesn’t mean a bank is bound to fail.

On the contrary, the point of the rating system is to provide assistance and leadership to guide struggling banks to “safer ground,” Ford says.

In an August 10 interview with the St. Louis Business Journal, Rich Weaver, Missouri’s commissioner of finance, revealed that 89 statechartered banks earned a 1 rating, 144 earned a 2, 36 have a 3, 10 have a 4, and only five banks have the lowest rating of 5.

Smaller community banks, like George Bailey’s in It’s a Wonderful Life, have fared well over the last couple of tulmultous years in the banking industry.

Even if the banking industry worsens, no consumer has ever lost a single penny of federally insured deposits, and coverage has been boosted from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor through 2013, Ford says.

While Farber agrees trust in local banks such as his, which has been around 125 years, makes for good business, he says the federal government’s actions—and the public’s response to them—show that the “little guys” are still vulnerable. Stricter government regulations and standards for judging asset quality, which were put in place following the national bank crisis, are a burden to community banks that weren’t the cause of the problems.

Moreover, “With the knowledge that the federal government is standing behind their deposits, people aren’t looking at the solvency and strength of the institutions where they’re doing business,” Farber says.

As we’ve seen, “certain institutions are too big to fail,” he adds. “The federal government will let small institutions fail. But large institutions will not be allowed to fail.”

Depositors can check a bank’s stability by checking the “total risk-based capital ratio” from its quarterly report, which the bank should provide on request or on its web site. A bank that maintains a total capital ratio of at least 10 percent is considered well-capitalized; below 6 percent might mean a bank is struggling.

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Missouri Lifestyle

Native Knowledge

ML

you look upon a place

“From the outside,

By W. Arthur Mehrhoff

as a traveler might look upon a town from a distance;

you experience a place, from the inside,

An insider’s view of Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza |

are surrounded by it, and part of it.”

—Edward Relph, Place and Placelessness

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Missouri Journal FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME who are intrigued by the subject of special places, our interest and understanding often began with cultural geographer Edward Relph’s Place and Placelessness. Relph was one of the first to explore the complex ways in which we give meanings to geographic locations, particularly the tensions between how “insiders” and “outsiders” understand the same place. Relph says insiders come to feel at home in a place through personal experiences and cultural conditioning, such as family traditions, over time, while outsiders regard the same location more objectively, perhaps as a tourist or a businessperson. To truly understand and appreciate Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza, the world’s first automobile-based shopping center and a model of urban design, look at it from insider and outsider perspectives.

Outside Looking In Unlike native Kansas Citians for whom the Country Club Plaza is part of their natural habitat and heritage, it has taken me many years to learn what makes it such a special place. Over three decades, my professional and teaching career in urban design and heritage preservation brought the Plaza into the spotlight. Research of the best examples of urban design kept highlighting the name and images of the Plaza until it glistened like Camelot. However, like Camelot, it didn’t seem very familiar or even real to me.

“Miller time” finally opened my eyes to the Plaza. For many years I worked closely on the Minnesota Design Team with architect Jim Miller and maintained our friendship when he took a job in Kansas City. Each time I visited Jim, like all good Kansas Citians, we would go to the Plaza. Jim carefully explained its urban design excellence, but it was the food, fun, and friendship that made the Plaza something more than just great urban design.

I began to experience the Plaza—surrounded by it and a part of it.

My wife, Sheryl, and I now go to the Plaza whenever we can, enjoying the museums, shops, restaurants, architecture, fountains, and especially the people watching. We sat at a sidewalk cafe one evening and laughed heartily at a fellow happily cruising a Segway (an upright scooter) around the sidewalk. With that memorable experience, I segued to insider status. However, even outside experts on special places agree that the Plaza is a very special place.

BRAD SHIELDS; COURTESY OF COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA

The Starting Place Fred Kent, president of the internationally recognized urban design consulting firm Project for Public Spaces, spoke as a guest of the Kansas City Design Center. Kent ranked the Plaza along with Rockefeller Center as the two high points of American urban design before World War II. Project for Public Spaces also ranks the Plaza as one of the world’s sixty great places, as well as one of its five best districts in North America.

Although the design elements that make the Plaza one of the world’s special places have matured over decades into a rare vintage, they were intended from its very beginning. The Kansas City Star astutely reported in 1922, “The new Kansas City development may set a new

An Insider’s Top 10          

Coffee at Latte Land.

See the lights from carriage rides or from the top of Halls parking garage, both choice spots to take annual family holiday pictures.

Sampling at Williams Sonoma, especially the peppermint bark.

See a movie while enjoying cocktails and dinner in the VIP room at Cinemark The Palace.

Happy Hour at reVerse.

The best bathrooms can be found at Barnes and Noble.

Enjoy the nightlife at O’Dowd’s Little Dublin, an Irish pub with great live music and the only rooftop deck at the Plaza.

K.C. strip steak at Plaza III. Browse unique home décor at Superlatives, which has been on the Plaza for thirty years, or shop at exclusive stores like Tiffany, Apple, Burberry, and Anthropologie.

Dessert on the heated outdoor patio at the Cheesecake Factory.

—Recommended by Cassandra Belek and Kara Lowe

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MISSOURI LIFESTYLE > MISSOURI JOURNAL

standard for outlying business districts all over the country.” The Plaza is and has always been a poster child for great urban design.

That impressive status didn’t just happen, however. Unlike most Main Street shopping districts, the Plaza was carefully planned from its very beginning. Developer J.C. Nichols announced in his 1922 promotional brochure that “the outstanding feature of these plans is that the ultimately immense project is planned in advance, assuring complete architectural harmony of the buildings, all placed according to landscape and ground plan adopted in advance for the entire area.” Nichols and his staff conducted market analysis of American and European shopping districts and crafted an overall vision and detailed design of the site. Today, such techniques have become standard practice for shopping center development; in 1922, they were quite visionary.

The Plaza was designed to serve the shopping needs of a wide variety of new developments in rapidly growing southwest Kansas City. In addition to Nichols’ prestigious Country Club District and the exclusive Rockhill neighborhood, cottage homes, a neighborhood of small houses, a rapidly growing apartment district, and hotels generated a wide variety of shoppers who could and did easily walk to the Plaza. Today, new urbanist neighborhoods such as New Town St. Charles and the Village of Cherry Hill in Columbia revisit the Plaza’s strategy of including mixed residential uses within walking distance of retail. Meanwhile the Plaza itself has evolved into a powerful tourist magnet.

Every Plaza merchant was required to become a member of The Plaza Association, dealing with “all matters of common interest” such as signage and advertising. Today, every mall merchant would recognize that as basic contract language.

“Avoidance of traffic congestion is a first consideration of Country Club Plaza’s impressive street system,” the 1922 brochure declared.

The Plaza was the nation’s first automobile-oriented shopping center.

Filling stations were some of the first Plaza resi-

From top: While careful planning assured consistency in architectural design, the automobile was a foremost factor in the design of the Country Club Plaza.

dents; their revenues drove the entire enterprise during the Great Depression. Perhaps because J.C. Nichols originally owned far more land than buildings, he always treated paved, lighted, and landscaped offstreet parking as a design and merchandising asset for the Plaza. Unlike many contemporary shopping centers, parking at the Plaza does not dominate the shopping landscape.

Nichols collaborated with legendary Superintendent of Parks and Boulevards George Kessler to develop the “impressive street system” and network of parks in and around the Plaza, modeled upon Paris’s broad boulevards and Vienna’s famed Ringstrasse of the late nineteenth century.

Kessler regarded the valleys entering Brush Creek from the north and east as ideal roadways, so he located important boulevards like Paseo there.

Meanwhile, the J.C. Nichols Companies developed the nearby Country Club District, directing one hundred miles of residential streets into monumental boulevards. Today, the Brush Creek Riverwalk has become a major destination, and Mill Creek Park along J.C. Nichols Parkway is “the place” to jog, walk your dog, or exercise.

However, it is what you see when you get to the Plaza that makes it special. Every shopping center now has a theme, but few followed Nichols’ lead and sent their architect to Spain, South America, and Mexico for design ideas in order to “create the feeling of an old marketplace of picturesque Spain in Kansas City.” The promotional brochure continued, “Towers here and there interrupt the even cornice lines.

COURTESY OF COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA; BEN M. SHIELDS

ML

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Some three thousand lights outline the distinct architecture throughout the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City during the holiday season each year.

Color harmony gives a restful feeling. Parks and open squares at unexpected turns have been beautified by art objects from the galleries of America and the Old World. … Liberal planting of trees, shrubs, and flowers carries out this garden idea.”

Details delight at the Plaza, with its tile and stucco buildings, towers, lights, fountains, statues, and special community events. People toss coins for Children’s Mercy Hospital into the Wild Boar fountain in front of the Balcony Building and rub the boar’s nose for good luck.

That touching ritual is where we can come inside the Plaza.

courtesy of Country club plaza; Notley Hawkins

Inside Looking Out Once we enter a special place like the Plaza, a very subtle but powerful shift takes place inside us. The physical features of the site might look the same from both inside and outside, but what changes is how we feel about them. Because of that, I now look very differently at the Plaza.

Insider status involves being part of a place rather than just being an observer. The Plaza Art Fair has been a Kansas City tradition since 1932 and has evolved into a nationally juried art show each September attended by more than one hundred thousand. J.C. Nichols quickly recognized the importance of Christmas sales for retail success and

by 1925 had started to use decorative lights and Christmas trees to highlight the architecture. The annual Plaza lighting ceremony on Thanksgiving night now attracts 250,000 people. Visitors often cite these two events as part of their family traditions.

However, even Camelot changed over time. Tremendous development pressure exists on the historic residential buildings surrounding the Plaza, some threatened with demolition.

How, then, can we keep our special places alive in meaning as well as appearance? Returning to Edward Relph’s insights, we need outsider perspectives to appreciate the outstanding qualities of these places and the forces against them, but we also need to safeguard them like an insider.

In his book The Plaza: First and Always, urban historian William Worley wrote of a lady who called the Plaza Merchants Association W. Arthur to “report that one red bulb had found its Mehrhoff way into the array of white bulbs outlining the tower on the Plaza Time building.” Such W. Arthur Mehrhoff is the academic insider devotion is the ultimate bottom line for coordinator at the Museum of Art and our special places.

Archaeology at the Visit www.countryclubplaza.com for more University of Missouri at Columbia. information.

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Avenue Q

Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Band Swing Party

Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

St. Louis Balletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Nutcracker Saturday, December 5, 2009, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Columbia Chorale Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Messiah Sunday, December 6, 2009, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Wynonna, A Christmas Classic

Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

Cirque Dreams: Illumination Sunday, December 13, 2009, 7 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium

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ML

Missouri Lifestyle

Holiday Gift Guide

By Cassandra Belek and Callina Wood

Dazzle and Sparkle Why look at art when you can wear it? Designer Tammy J. Kirks from Springfield handcrafts jewelry made from sterling, fine silver, and high-carat gold, using techniques such as granulation and cloisonné to construct pendants, earrings, and more. Red Bee Designs can be purchased at DB Design and Waverly House Gifts in Springfield and Salt of the Earth in St. Louis. Prices range from $35 to $150, with one-of-a-kind granulated pieces running higher. Visit www.redbeedesigns.com for more information and to view a gallery of Red Bee Designs’ current line.

Tub Therapy Herbaria soap makers LaRee DeFreece and Ken Gilberg, a husband-and-wife duo, produce soaps made from all-natural, plant-based oils. Soaps with names such as Black Forest Chamomile, Indonesian Safflower, and Triple Mint Oatmeal could be stocking stuffers or gifts on their own.

Individual soaps start at $5.95, and gift sets start at $20. Herbaria products are available in the company’s store and factory at 2016 Marconi on The Hill in St. Louis and at www.herbariasoap.com.

Courtesy of retailers; ©IStockphoto.com

18 Holes, A Beer, and Then ...

Golfers Delight Massag e

A Golfer’s Delight massage at Spa Shiki at the Lodge of Four Seasons resort in Lake Ozark is the perfect gift for the golfer who already has everything else. Let your golfer indulge in a massage that is tailored to a golfer’s needs, including relief for tense upper body muscles and work on the lower body to improve balance and flexibility. Massages range from $80 for fifty minutes to $115 for eighty minutes. Visit www.spashiki.com or call 800THE-LAKE for more information.

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Missouri Lifestyle > Holiday Gift Guide

Come Fly with Me! Breathtaking views of the Lake are the highlights of Lake Ozark Helicopters aerial tours. Get a bird’s-eye view of Bagnell Dam, Grand Glaize Bridge, Party Cove, Ha Ha Tonka Castle, and more with the various tour packages available, ranging from $25 for a short six-mile tour to $199 for forty miles. For a pre-Christmas celebration, Lake Ozark Helicopters will offer night flights to view Christmas lights from December 4-18, by reservation only. www.lakeozarkhelicopters.com, 573-302-0022.

The Spirit of Giving Multi-task gift-giving by making a tax-deductible donation in a loved one’s name.

<Make a donation for homeless animals at the Animal Protective Association of

Missouri

(www.apamo.org), and they will send a gift acknowledgement.

<Support

the Department of Conservation and the Department of Agriculture’s

conservation awareness initiative to increase the usage of Missouri’s native plants

in landscaping (www.grownative.org).

<Make a donation to the State Historical Society of Missouri (www.shsofmissouri.org)

and specify how you want your gift money to be used, whether it’s to support newspaper

conservation or to acquire a George Caleb Bingham painting.

Tiger Paws

The Great Outdoors

Snow Flake Glass’s Peggy King from Columbia

For the family who loves to explore, give a gift certificate

offers gifts for Tiger fans. Peggy handcrafts

to Missouri State Parks. From Meramec to Roaring

Mizzou-themed glass jewelry, plates, and coast-

River, gift certificates can be used at any Missouri

ers and specializes in incorporating dichroic tiger

State Park with a campsite. Certificates range from

paws into her designs. Prices start at $30 and

$11 to $24, plus a 75¢ shipping fee. Recipients can

can be purchased by e-mailing her at

make reservations, or use it on a first-come, first-served

glasslady@snowflakeglass.com.

basis. Visit www.mostateparks.com/campgift.htm or

Her work is also available at

call 1-800-334-6946 for more information.

Bluestem in Columbia. Visit Courtesy of retailers; ©IStockphoto.com; Courtesy of Lake of the Ozarks CVB

www.snowflakeglass.com for more information.

Take Your Best Shot A.E. Schmidt Billiard Co. has been building pool tables in St. Louis for more than 150 years. Every table is handcrafted with high-quality materials like mother-of-pearl imported from Germany.

The tables can be custom-built, with prices starting at around $2,000. Schmidt also offers a handicap accessible dining pool table with a removable top. Visit www.aeschmidtbilliards.com or call 1-800-325-9676 for more information.

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Y ea r - r o u n d gifts YouZeum, Columbia Membership packages for this health-centered interactive museum in Columbia run from $35 to $1,000.

Harry S. Truman Library Institute, Independence Honorary Fellow membership packages run from $35 to $750. Membership for the Buck Stops Here Society starts at $1,000.

Saint Louis Science Center, St. Louis Give a Family & Friends Membership and save ten dollars. Up to six science-lovers can enjoy this membership for the discounted price of $75.

Nuthin’ But Net Basketball fans will have a ball (pun intended) at the College Basketball

Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

Experience in Kansas City. From slam dunks to free throws, visitors get

Memberships for these beautiful gardens start at

to test their skills at energetic activity stations that simulate the experi-

$65 for a regular member. The package includes

ence of a real game. Gift certificates are available in any amount. Adult

entrance for two adults and any children twelve

admission is $12, youth admission is $9, and six-month and annual

and under.

passes are available for $85 to $200. Call 816-949-7500 or visit www.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City

collegebasketballexperience.com for more information.

Membership for this museum in the Historic 18th & Vine District starts at $25.

Happiness in a Hammock Mary Hoelterhoff of Ava weaves MoonWeavers hammocks and hammock chairs using every

For the Puzzled

color of the rainbow. The 450-

It’s hard to beat a wooden puzzle for good old-fashioned

pound capacity hammocks come

fun. You’d be hard pressed to find one in traditional toy

in watercolor, earth tone, fire, and

stores, but you can get them from American Puzzle

rainbow patterns, as well as sol-

Company, based in New Lebanon. From farm animals

ids. Prices are $78 for solid-color

to scenes with Santa, there’s a wide variety of puzzles

hammocks and $100 for multicol-

to bring a little cheer to any child this season. Prices

or. Hammock chairs are $55 for

range from $8.99 to $24.99. Call 573-985-4800 or visit

solid colors and $60 for multicol-

www.americanpuzzlecompany.com for more information.

ored. Mary’s products can be purchased by calling 417-683-3610.

Visit www.rainbowhammocks.com for more information.

Film-Lovers’ Special courtesy of retailers

Film buffs will enjoy access to movie screenings, parties, field trips, discussions, swag bags, and more with a pass to the True/False Film Fest in Columbia. Pass levels range from $60 for a Simple Pass to $500 for a Super Circle ultra-deluxe pass.

Visit www.truefalse.org or call 573-442-TRUE for more information.

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$30 per volume.

Includes S&H.

To receive this 304-page, hardback, limited edition cookbook with Betty Hearnesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; story (and many previously unpublished photos), send check to: Hearnes Book Fund, P.O. Box 509 Charleston, MO 63834 â&#x20AC;˘ 573-683-6011

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‘Tis the Season!

Columbia Holiday Joy

Get ready for fun-filled shopping, events, and excitement for every girl and boy!

T

his year, start a new tradition: a relaxed and enjoyable holiday shopping experience in Columbia. Trade your usual last-minute run to the mall for a leisurely shopping getaway with friends and family. Not only will you have fun while you shop at Columbia’s finest retailers, you’ll also find the perfect gifts for everyone on your list.

M

cAdam’s Ltd. offers a treasure trove of gift ideas in every price range. Browse through their wide selection of art, antiques, estate jewelry, European Christmas ornaments, and more. McAdam’s, located at 32 South Providence Road, also offers complimentary gift wrap. Mark these dates on your calendar for even more fun at McAdam’s this holiday season: December 4 Gentlemen’s Night with billiards and bar service. Take your best shot and beat a pro at billiards while you shop for the ladies on your list, and enter to win a foosball table.

December 10-12 Antique jewelry trunk show.

D

owntown Columbia, or “The District,” is alive with holiday cheer during the season. Festively lit windows with holiday trimming will put a smile on your face, and you’ll love browsing through the unique shops. For the collector on your list, Calhoun’s, on Broadway, offers Christopher Radko and Corolle dolls, as well as a great selection of jewelry, candles, and children’s gifts.

J

ust across the street, A la Campagne has a fabulous selection of fine gifts for your home and garden. Find accessories, jewlery, antiques, and more, and tempt your tastebuds at their olive oil tasting bar. From there, wander into Poppy, where you’ll find whimsical, artistic gifts for girls and boys of all ages.

T

ake a break and fill your stomach and your spirits with a delectable lunch at Bleu Restaurant and Wine Bar at 29 South 8th Street. For dessert, treat yourself while you shop for others at The Candy Factory at 701 E. Cherry Street. Snack

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promotion

Poppy

on a handmade truffle and go upstairs to watch the “chocolate elves” at work. Popular gift ideas include gourmet flavored popcorn, cherry cordials, chocolate-covered cookies, hand-molded chocolate lollies, and more.

S

troll down Ninth Street, and you’ll find eclectic, artsy boutiques like Bluestem and Makes Scents. You’ll also find Top Ten Wines, which is a must if you need a great bottle for a holiday party or gift. Top Ten Wines has more than 4,000 different wines to choose from, including wines from Argentina, Spain, France, and more. Top Ten Wines offers weekly tastings in a fun, laid-back environment each Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

D

rop into Lakota Coffee Company across the street and warm up while you’re shopping with a cup of fresh, locally roasted coffee. While you’re at it, grab a pound of holiday flavors like pumpkin spice, mistletoe mocha, and eggnog for the coffee-lovers on your list.

The Candy Factory [79] December 2009

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‘Tis the Season!

More Holiday Hot Spots W

hile The District is a great place to start your holiday shopping in Columbia, there is plenty more to discover when you venture around town. Head to Frameworks Gifts and Interiors at 901 Old 63 North where you’ll find distinguished home décor, accessories, gourmet food gifts, art and collectibles, baby gifts, and more. Frameworks carries popular items like Vera Bradley handbags, Polish Pottery stoneware, Peggy Karr glassware, Mizzou accessories, and more. The friendly staff will gift-wrap, ship, and customize gifts for the special people on your list.

T

he Tinder Box is located in the Broadway Shops off Highway 63 and East Broadway, and is the perfect spot to find gifts for all the gentlemen on your list! Surprise them this holiday with fine cigars, wine, single-malts, and more.

Frameworks Hoss’s Market

O

n the other side of town at the corner of Nifong and Forum, Hoss’s Market offers gourmet food gifts, and has also been voted the best caterer in town.

For more information about Columbia’s unique shopping, dining, and holiday hotel packages, go to www.visitcolumbiamo.com.

Ci t y

lk sidewalks, busy sidewa s

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t as e shoppers rush home with their re ures

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tart a new family tradition and come to Columbia for your holiday shopping! Go to www.VisitColumbiaMO.com to learn how to save on hotel rates for your holiday shopping experience.You’re only a few short hours away from checking everything off your gift list! We have everything you need to make this holiday spectacular—you might even find a partridge in a pear tree!

Living Windows Festival in the District December 4, 6-8 p.m. www.DiscoverTheDistrict.com

MUMC Christmas Celebration and Messiah Sing-Along December 12, 7 p.m. www.moumc.org

Annual Holiday Home Tour December 5, 10 a.m.

December 6, noon www.MOTheatre.org

First Night Columbia® 2010 December 31, 6:30 p.m. to midnight firstnightcolumbia.org

Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau 300 S. Providence Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 1-800-652-0987 www.VisitColumbiaMo.com [80] MissouriLife

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Hotel Bothwell

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In historic downtown Sedalia • Distinguished spirits and wine • Specialty and imported beers • 1,000 international wines • Over 250 Missouri wines!

• Large selection of gifts

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• Prices to match your pocketbook!

Let our experienced staff make your holidays memorable!

Open Mondays through Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Call us at 660.826.WINE (9463) or visit www.mywineandmore.com.

Art Show & Sale

www.seeSedalia.com [81] December 2009

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‘Tis the Season!

Give the Gift of History

5@G>JH@±&JH@ ±'I>

We shall not forget those who have served.

More than 1,500 homeless veterans have been serviced by shelters in mid-Missouri, but many more are still in need.

Just One Restless Rider

Reflections on Trains and Travel

Photographs and Essays

by Carlos A. Schwantes “Just One Restless Rider is an intensely personal reflection . . . a great read.”—Don L. Hofsommer, coauthor of Iowa’s Railroads: An Album. 224 pages, 119 color and 28 b&w illus., $34.95 cloth (978-0-8262-1859-9)

The Resurgence of Mizzou Football Darin Wernig

This large-format book combines stirring recaps of games with exciting gridiron photos. Tracing both seasons game-bygame, Wernig brings back the decisive action and the Tigers who played pivotal roles.

252 pages, 90 color illus., $24.95 cloth (978-0-8262-1865-0)

My Grandfather’s

Prison

A Story of Death and Deceit in 1940s Kansas City Richard A. Serrano

Part memoir, part investigative report, My Grandfather’s Prison recounts longtime journalist Serrano’s search to discover whether his alcoholic grandfather was murdered in solitary confinement. 168 pages, illus., $24.95 cloth (978-0-8262-1864-3)

You Can Make a Difference.

This holiday season give a donation in someone’s honor.

Welcome Home, Inc. will send an acknowledgement of your gift. Donations will be used to build a new shelter in Columbia that will serve the unique needs of our veterans.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS

http://press.umsystem.edu. • (800) 621-2736

Non-profit, tax deductible.

Visit www.welcomehomelessveterans.org or call 573-443-8001 or send your donation to 1206 Rangeline, Columbia, MO 65201.

[82] MissouriLife

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[84] MissouriLife

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ALL AROUND

MISSOURI

Events in Your Area

December & January

COURTESY OF ICE VISIONS

Featured Events

BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE Bundle up and enjoy the season with these icy events around the state in December and January. Ice skating, speed skating, figure skating, skiing, polar plunging, and ice festivals abound. Take a leisurely spin around the rink, take lessons, learn to snowboard, or jump in the lake for charity. We've showcased a few events filled with chilly fun.

>>>

Look for our staff ’s picks.

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

Visit MissouriLife.com for more in your area!

Ice Terrace Dec. 1-Mar. 14, Kansas City. Outdoor ice skating. Crown Center Ice Terrace. 10 AM-9 PM Sun.-Thurs.; 10 AM-11 PM Fri.-Sat. (Feb. and Mar. 10 AM-9 PM). $6 with $3 skate rental. 816-274-8411, www.crowncenter.com Speed Skating Championships Dec. 5, Jefferson City. More than sixty skaters compete in this unique event. Washington Park Ice Arena. 9 AM1 PM. Free. 573-634-6580, www.visitjeffersoncity.com

Skiing at Hidden Valley Dec. 19-Feb. 21, Wildwood. Snow skiing. Hidden Valley.

1-9:30 PM Mon.-Thurs.; 9 AM-10 PM Sat.; 9 AM-8 PM Sun. $26-$70. 636-938-5373, www.hiddenvalleyski.com Ice Sculpting Competition Jan. 16, Branson. Competitors start with 250-pound blocks of ice. Titanic Museum Attraction. 10 AM. Free.

417-334-9500, www.titanicbranson.com

Skate With Santa Dec. 5 and 12, St. Louis. Skate with Santa and visit his live reindeer. Steinberg Skating Rink. 1-3 PM. $5.50$6.50. 314-367-7465, www.steinbergskatingrink.com

Loop Ice Carnival Amy’s pick Jan. 16, St. Louis. Live ice carving demonstrations, 5K and 10K frozen buns run, putt putt pub crawl, ice slides, trolley car tour with Frosty the Snowman, fire performers, artists, and other performers. Loop Neighborhood.

10 AM-6 PM. Free. 314-727-8000, www.visittheloop.com

Winter at Snow Creek Dec. 12-Mar. 14, Weston. Snow boarding, skiing, and special events. Snow Creek Ski Area. Noon-9 PM Mon.-Fri.; 9 AM-9 PM Sat.; 9 AM-8 PM Sun. $27-$69. 816640-2200, www.skisnowcreek.com

Polar Plunge Callina’s pick Jan 29, Kansas City. Fundraiser for Special Olympics.

Longview Lake. 9 AM-4 PM. Donations accepted. 913-7890332, www.somo.org

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All Around Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution headquarters.

Throughout town. 1-4 and 7-9 pm. $13-$20. 888-5881477, www.goboonville.com

Central Enchanted Cave Christmas Nov. 27-Dec. 20, Richland. Hayrides, festive lights, caroling, nativity scenes, and a traditional holiday meal. Cave Restaurant and Resort. 4-9 pm. Free (except meal). 573765-4554, www.thecaverestaurantandresort.com Give the Gift of Art Dec. 1-Jan. 9, Columbia. Eclectic show and sale. Columbia Art League Gallery. 11:30 am-5:30 pm Tues.-Fri.; 11 am5 pm Sat. Free. 573-443-8838, www.cal.missouri.org Candlelight Tours Dec. 4-5, Jefferson City. Tour the Governor’s Mansion decorated for the holidays. 7-9 pm Fri.; 4-6 pm Sat. Free.

573-751-7929, www.visitjeffersoncity.com

A Sedalia Christmas Dec. 4-5 and 10-12, Sedalia. This play celebrates Sedalia’s historic holiday traditions and customs with an emphasis on the Depression and war eras. Liberty Center Association for the Arts. 7 pm Thurs.-Fri.; 2 pm Sat. $5.

660-827-3228, www.liberty.macaa.net Holiday Homes Tour Dec. 5, Boonville. Tour homes, a church, and the

Jaycees Christmas Parade Dec. 5, Fulton. Theme is 150 Years of Christmas in the Kingdom: Christmas Past. Downtown. 1 pm. Free. 573220-2613, www.callawaychamber.com Christmas Dance Dec. 5, Linn Creek. Dance to the big band sounds of the Lake Jazz Band. Camden County Museum. 7-10 pm. $6.

573-346-7191, www.camdencountymuseum.com Christmas Folk Sing Dec. 6, Arrow Rock. Folk music performance by Cathy Barton and Dave Para. Federated Church. 4 pm. Donations accepted. 660-837-3231, www.arrowrock.org Christmas on the Boulevard Dec. 12, St. Robert. Santa and Mrs. Claus, elves, live nativity, caroling, decorations, horse-drawn carriage rides, and hot cocoa. Comfort Inn. 6-8 pm. Free. 573-4512500, www.visitpulaskicounty.com Gardens by Candlelight Sherry’s pick Dec. 12-13, Kingsville. Hundreds of luminaria, seasonal music, hot soup, and make-and-take holiday crafts.

Powell Gardens. 5-7:30 pm. $3-$7 (extra for soup and crafts). 816-697-2600, www.powellgardens.org

Live Nativity Tina’s pick Dec. 13, Cole Camp. Live nativity featuring live animals and characters. Mt. Hulda. 6:30 pm. Free. 660-668-2295, www.colecampmissouri.com A Small Town Christmas Dec. 19, Fayette. Visit Mr. and Mrs. Claus, enjoy refreshments, and watch a lighted parade with Grand Marshalls Paul Pepper and James Mouser. Couthouse Square. 5:30 pm. Free. 660-248-2300 Bluegrass Music Awards Greg’s pick Jan. 15-17, Jefferson City. A variety of bluegrass bands perform and compete for awards, plus a gospel sing on Sunday. Capitol Plaza Hotel. 2 and 7:30 pm Fri.; 1 and 7:30 pm Sat.; 10 am Sun. $7-$35. 660-665-7172, www.spbgma.com Bridal Expo Jan. 17, Warrensburg. Photographers, caterers, florists, door prizes, and wedding fashion show. Ballroom at UCM campus. 11 am-3 pm. $5-$10. 866-541-9595, www.visitwarrensburg.org Shedding Light Jan. 22-Feb. 18, Columbia. Exhibit by two artists includes photography, light sculptures, light boxes, and silkscreen posters and paintings. Davis Art Gallery at Stephens College. 10 am-3 pm Mon.-Fri. Free. 573-876-7233, www.stephens.edu

Make your own in Jefferson City December 4: Living Windows in downtown Jefferson City from 6-9 p.m.

December 4-5: Candlelight Tours of the Governor’s Mansion, 7-9 p.m. on Friday, 4-6 p.m. on Saturday December 5: Old-Fashion Christmas Parade, “Christmas Traditions”, in downtown Jefferson City at 4:30 p.m.

Go to www.JeffersonCityLife.com for all the details.

800-769-4183

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[1] April 2009

ad-DEC 09.indd 1

11/2/09 1:09:01 PM

Discover Missouri-made gifts in the

MissouriLife.com Marketplace

• Art

•Gifts

•Food

•Books

•And More!

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All Around Missouri

Northwest & Kansas City Area Holiday Park Callina’s pick Nov. 27-Jan. 3, St. Joseph. Drive-through displays of lighted arches and trees, and the park’s Italianate building outlined in lights. Krug Park and Hyde Park. 6-10 pm.

Donations accepted. 816-233-9652, www.stjomo.com Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting Dec. 3, Grandview. Lighting of the tree, music programs, Santa, and candy canes. City Hall. 6:45-8 pm. Donations accepted. 816-316-4800, www.grandview.org First Friday Art Walk Dec. 4, Kansas City. One of the nation’s largest art walks.

Crossroads Arts District. 7-9 pm. Free. 816-994-9325, www.kccrossroads.org Holiday Lighting Ceremony Dec. 4, Raytown. Lights are turned on, carols are sung, and Santa arrives. Downtown Pocket Park. 6:30 pm. Free.

816-353-8500, www.raytownchamber.com Christmas on Main Dec. 5, Belton. Visit Santa and Mrs. Claus and take a sleigh ride to see the decorations. Main Street. Free.

816-331-2420, www.beltonmochamber.com Rho Gamma Craft Fair Dec. 5, Brunswick. Christmas crafts and gifts, Santa, raffles, and door prizes. School Gymnasium. 9 am-2 pm. $1. 660-548-3022 Holiday Homes Tour Dec. 5, Excelsior Springs. Tour five decorated homes.

Throughout town. Noon-7 pm. $10-$14. 816-630-9335. www.exspgschamber.com

courtesy of Independence Missouri Tourism

Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas Dec. 5, Independence. Actress Nancy Eppert portrays Laura’s memories of Christmas with her family on the plains. Tour the museum and take a wagon ride. National Frontier Trails Museum. 11 am. $5-$7. 816-325-7575, www.frontiertrailsmuseum.org Christmas on the Farm Danita’s pick Dec. 5, Lawson. Open house at Watkins family home featuring caroling, reading of family letters, holiday treats, flaming plum pudding demonstrations, children’s crafts, holiday music, and Father Christmas. Watkins Woolen Mill State Park. 2-7 pm. Free. 816-580-3387, www.mostateparks.com/wwmill/index.html Patriotic Christmas Dec. 5-6, St. Joseph. Children can get their picture taken with Santa in a helicopter. National Military Heritage Museum. 3 pm. $2. 816-233-4321, www.nationalmilitaryheritagemuseum.com Meet the Grinch Dec. 5, 12, and 19, Kansas City. Bring three or more canned goods to donate and get your picture taken with

Spirits of Christmas Past Homes Tours Dec. 1-30, Independence Tour three historic homes decorated for the holidays. The Bingham-Waggoner home is decorated with a Dickens Christmas theme, the Vaile Mansion is decorated with a Victorian Christmas wedding theme, and the 1859 Marshal’s Home and Jail are decorated in frontier era decor. The tour is

the Grinch. City Market. 11 am-2 pm. Free. 816-842-1271, www.thecitymarket.org House Tour and Civil War Music Dec. 6, Lexington. Tour the Anderson House, enjoy Victorian-era goodies, and take in a Civil War-era piano recital. Battle of Lexington State Historic Site. 1-4 pm.

Free. 660-259-4654, www.mostateparks.com/lexington/ Christmas at Pharis Farm Dec. 6, Liberty. Tour the recently renovated home built in the 1850s and enjoy refreshments. Pharis Farm. 4-8 pm.

Free. 816-736-8500, www.claycogov.com Holiday Concert Dec. 8, Maryville. Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble perform holiday classics. Houston Studio Theatre at Northwest Missouri State University. 8 pm. Free. 660-5621212, www.maryvillechamber.com Christmas at the White House Dec. 12, Independence. Experience the Truman family’s holiday celebration with photographs, Christmas cards, and sound recordings and take home a Truman-family holiday recipe. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

11 am. $3-$8. 800-833-1225, www.trumanlibrary.org

open 10 am-4 pm Mon.-Sat. and 1-4 pm Sun. (closed Dec. 23-25). Tickets are $12 for all three homes or $5 per home and $2 for children. Dec. 6 take a twilight tour from 4-7 pm and enjoy music and refreshments For more information call 816-325-7111 or visit www.bwestate.org

Windows on the Past Dec. 12, Lee’s Summit. Guided tour lit by luminaria, traditional German, English, and French celebrations, and refreshments. Missouri Town 1855. 6-8:30 pm. $7.50.

816-503-4860, www.jacksongov.org/missouritown/ Bob Milne Ragtime Concert Dec. 12-13, Blackwater. World-famous ragtime pianist, composer, and historian. West End Theatre. 2:30 pm. $12.50. 660-846-4511, www.blackwater-mo.com How the Symphony Saved Christmas Dec. 12-13, Kansas City. Santa brings the spirit of the season to life. Lyric Theatre. 2 and 7 pm Sat.; 2 pm Sun. $15-$35. 816-471-0400, www.kcsymphony.org

The Nutcracker Rebecca’s pick Dec. 16-27, Kansas City. Kansas City Ballet’s enchanting presentation of a holiday classic. Music Hall. 1, 2, 5, and 7:30 pm. $25-$80. 816-931-2232, www.kcballet.org A Charlie Daniels Band Christmas Dec. 18, Independence. Classic country band performs holiday classics including “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.” Independence Events Center. 7:30 pm. $30-$50.

816-795-7577, www.independenceeventscenter.com

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ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Holiday Ice Skating Dec. 22-24, Independence. Skate in a winter wonderland, marvel at the decorated trees and lights, and a skating Santa. Independence Events Center. 9 AM-8 PM. $4-$6.

816-795-7577, www.independenceeventscenter.com

Rodgers and Hart and Hammerstein Jan. 22-Feb. 21, Kansas City. Intimate cabaret revue featuring music by these classic composers. Quality Hill Playhouse. Show times vary. $24-$26. 816-421-1700, www.qualityhillplayhouse.com

Joyeux Noel Callinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pick Dec. 26, Kansas City. Movie tells the true story of the 1914 Christmas Truce along the war-torn Western Front.

J.C. Nichols Auditorium at National World War I Museum.

1 PM. Free. 816-784-1918, www.theworldwar.org

Bach to the Future Jan. 23, St. Joseph. Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart performed with a modern jazz, African, and Latin flair. Missouri Theatre. 8 PM. $10-$35. 816-279-1225, www.saintjosephperformingarts.org

Takacs String Quartet Jan. 9, Kansas City. Performances of Beethoven and Hayden. Folly Theatre. 8 PM. $25-$35. 816-561-9999, www.chambermusic.com

Life on the Mississippi Gregâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pick Jan. 26-Feb. 28, Kansas City. World-premiere musical based on Mark Twainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s autobiographical coming-of-age novel. The Coterie Theatre. Show times vary. $9-$15.

816-474-6785, www.coterietheatre.org

Puppets-Depression to Recession Jan. 1-31, Collection of puppets made during the Depression and an exhibit of unusual needle felted puppets. Puppetry Arts Institute. 10 AM-5 PM Tues.-Sat. $1.

50-$3. 816-833-9777, www.hazell.org

Tullentrain Scottish Pipes and Drums Jan. 29, Moberly. Scottish music, dancing, and storytelling. MACC Auditorium. 7 PM. $5-$3. 660-263-4100, ext.

262, www.moberlyarts.org

Mid-America Boat and RV Show Jan. 15-17 and 22-24, Kansas City. Boats, marine products, and RVs. Convention and Entertainment Centers.

Noon-9 PM Fri.; 10 AM-9 PM Sat.; 10 AM-5 PM Sun. $8.50.

816-931-4686, www.patrinaproductions.org

Stefon Harris and Blackout Jan. 30, Kansas City. Jazz performance filled with modern styles and classic rhythms. James C. Olson Performing Arts Center at White Recital Hall. 7:30 PM. Free. 816-235-6222, www.conservatory.umkc.edu

A Christmas Story NOV. 27-DEC. 27, KANSAS CITY This beloved Christmas movie set in the 1930s comes alive as a musical. Ralphie, a small town boy, only wanted one thing for Christmas, a BB gun. Hilarity ensued and the infamous words â&#x20AC;&#x153;youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll shoot your eye out, kidâ&#x20AC;? were born. The world premiere, pre-Broadway production is held at Kansas City Repertory Spencer Theatre. Show times vary and tickets cost $15-$60.

For information, call 816-235-2700 or visit www.kcrep.org

COURTESY OF KANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATRE

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December 2009

10/30/09 5:08:00 PM

ML

All Around Missouri

Northeast & St. Louis Area Christmas Traditions Nov. 27-Dec. 26, St. Charles. Santa parade, carolers, and authentically dressed Santas. Each Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 pm. Historic South Main Street. Free (except special events). 800-366-2427, www.stcharleschristmas.com Candlelight Christmas Tour Dec. 4-12, Defiance. 19th-century decorations, lanterns, bonfires, and music. Historic Daniel Boone Home and Boonesfield Village. 6-10 pm Fri.-Sat. $8-$15.

636-798-2005, www.lindenwood.edu Cocoa and Carols Dec. 4, Moberly. Performance by the Missourians and the Boonslick Chordbusters and cookies and cocoa served throughout the show. MACC Auditorium. 7 pm. $5-$10.

660-263-4100, ext. 262, www.moberlyarts.org

Christmas Candlelight Walk Dec. 4 and 11, Augusta. Luminaries light the streets, bonfire at the Town Square, plus Santa, decorated homes, and holiday music. Throughout town. 5-10 pm.

Free. 636-228-4005, www.augusta-chamber.org Holiday House Tour Dec. 5, Hermann. Tour unique homes decked out for the holidays. Throughout town. 2-7 pm. $10. 800-932-8687, www.visithermann.com Christmas on the Plaza Tina’s pick Dec. 5, Pacific. Vendors, crafts, carolers, Santa, and hot chocolate. Pacific Station Plaza. 10 am-1 pm Free. 636271-6639, www.pacificchamber.com Loop Holiday Walk Dec. 5, St. Louis. Arts, crafts, children’s area, music, and entertainment. Loop Neighborhood. Noon-6 pm. Free.

314-725-4466, www.visittheloop.com Biker Santa Dec. 5 and 12, Villa Ridge. Pictures taken with Santa on a Harley-Davidson. Bourbeuse Valley Harley Davidson.

10 am-3 pm. Free. 636-742-2707, www.bvhd.com Breakfast With Santa Dec. 6, Kirkwood. Hotcakes, Santa, and holiday decorations. Magic House. 10 and 11:30 am, and 5 pm. $15$18. Reservations. 314-822-8900, www.magichouse.org

Holiday Show Dec. 6, Moberly. Area musical groups and choirs perform holiday classics. Municipal Auditorium. 3:30 pm. $3-$5.

660-263-6070, www.moberlychamber.com

Eagle Days Dec. 15-Feb. 28, Clarksville This is the time of year the bald eagle returns for its winter stay. The most popular nesting site is near Lock and Dam No. 24 and is considered one of the largest numbers of Bald Eagles in Missouri.

Stroll the new walking paths along the Mississippi at Riverfront Park and watch the eagles hunt and fish. On Jan. 30-31

Christmas House Tour Dec. 6, St. Charles. Tour six homes decorated for the holidays. Throughout town. 1-5 pm. $12. 800-366-2427, www.historicstcharles.com Holiday House Tour Dec. 6, Washington. Tour seven homes and one business and see the decorations. Throughout town. 2-6 pm. $10$15. 636-239-5704, www.ymcastlouis.org/fourrivers Make Your Own Gingerbread House Dec. 8 and 10, Hazelwood. Ages 5 and younger create their own house on Tues. Dec. 8 and ages 6-12 on Thurs.

Dec. 10. St. Louis Mills food court. 10 am Tues.; 4:30 pm Thurs. Free. 314-227-5900, www.stlouismills.com Star Wars: In Concert Dec. 10. St. Louis. Multi-media event features music from all six Star Wars scores with symphony orchestra and choir, footage of the films displayed on a three-story screen, plus an exhibit of costumes, artifacts, and videos. Scottrade Center. 7:30 pm. $35-$75. 314-241-1888, www.scottradecenter.net

The Missouri Department of Conservation hosts Eagle Days. Enjoy live eagle presentations, watch the video Where Eagles Soar. Stroll along the riverfront and see this magnificent bird up close. Held along Riverfront Park and at the Apple Shed, this event is open from 9 am-4 pm Sat. and 10 am-3 pm Sun. and is free.

For information, call 573-242-3336 or visit www.clarksvillemo.us/eagledays A Christmas Carol Danita’s pick Dec. 10-13, St. Louis. Charles’s Dickens’ classic tale set to music. Fox Theatre. 7:30 pm Thurs.-Fri.; 2 and 7:30 pm Sat.; 1 and 6 pm Sun. $17-$35. 314-534-1678, www.fabulousfox.com Comedy for Historic Preservation Dec. 11, Hannibal. Two nationally-known comedians do stand-up to help raise money for the historic preservation of Hannibal. The Star Theatre. 6 pm doors, 8 pm show. $10. 573-221-7771, www.visithannibal.com The Ambassadors of Harmony Dec. 11-13, St. Louis. A capella chorus with more than one hundred male voices perform both light-hearted and traditional Christmas carols and music. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. 8 pm Fri.-Sat.; 2 pm Sat.-Sun.; 7 pm Sun. $23-$31. 314-516-4949, www.touhill.org Holiday Santa Walk Dec. 12, St. Louis. Featuring farm animals, Santa, and refreshments. Suson Park. 5, 5:45, and 6:30 pm. $3-$5.

314-615-5572, www.stlouisco.com/parks

courtesy of Lori Purk

Julio Iglesias Sherry’s pick Dec. 4, St. Louis. Performance of his classic hits including “To All the Girl’s I’ve Loved Before,” “Nathalie,” and “Ae, Ao.” Powell Hall. 8 pm. $45-$135. 314-534-1700, www.slso.org

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All Around Missouri

Off the Wall at City Hall Dec. 12, St. Louis. Food, music, culture, art, and silent auction. City Hall. 7-11 pm. $10. 314-853-6257, www. artdimensions.org Kristkindl Markt Rebecca’s pick Dec. 12-13, Hermann. Traditional German arts, crafts, food, costumed carolers, music, demonstrations, and Father Christmas. Historic Hermannhof Festhalle and Hofgarten. 10 am-5 pm Sat.; 10 am-4 pm Sun. Free. 573486-3276, www.hermannfarm.org Church Walk Dec. 13, Louisiana. Walking tour, singing, and refreshments. Throughout town. 3 pm. Free. 888-642-3800, www.louisiana-mo.com Holiday Parlour Tour Dec. 13, St. Louis. Tour ten Victorian-era homes and get a glimpse of early holiday traditions. Historic Lafayette Square. 10 am-5 pm. $15-$18. 314-772-4762, www.lafayettesquare.org Irving Berlin’s White Christmas Dec. 15-27, St. Louis. Classic holiday stage performance.

Fabulous Fox Theatre. 8 pm Tues.-Fri.; 2 and 8 pm Sat.; 2 and 7:30 pm Sun.; 8 pm Mon. Dec. 21; 1 pm Thurs. Dec. 24. $30-$72. 314-534-1678, www.fabulousfox.com

Wedding Show Jan. 9-10, St. Louis. Fashion show, wedding vendor showcase, entertainment, and door prizes.

America’s Center. 11 am-4 pm. $8. 636-530-7989, www.stlbrideandgroom.com

Chain of Rock Bridge Eagle Days Jan. 16-17, St. Louis. Viewing scopes and education programs featuring a live eagle. Old Chain of Rock Bridge.

9 am-3 pm. Free. 314-416-9930, www.trailnet.org

RV Vacation and Travel Show Jan. 14-17, St. Louis. More than 350 RVs on site, vendors, products, and services. America’s Center. Noon9 pm Thurs.; 11 am-9 pm Fri.; 10 am-9 pm Sat.; 11 am-5 pm Sun. $3.50-$8. 314-355-1236, www.stlrv.com

Race: Are We So Different?

Jan. 17-May 2, St. Louis. Interactive exhibit features the history of race, the role of science, and the expressions of race and racism in daily lives. History Museum at Forest Park. 10 am-5 pm (8 pm Tues.). $4-$8.

314-746-4599, www.mohistory.org

Fantastic Folk Series Jan. 15, St. Louis. Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder perform their trademark blend of classic bluegrass and modern charisma. Sheldon Concert Hall at Grand Center.

8 pm. $40-$45. 314-533-9900, www.thesheldon.org

Magical, Mask, Mime, and Music Jan. 22-23, St. Louis. Japanese folktales, music, ornate masks, and origami. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. 8 pm Fri.; 2 pm Sat. $18. 314-516-4949, www.touhill.org

Boat Show, Fishing and Outdoor Expo Jan. 15-17, St. Charles. Display of boats, vendors with fishing tackle and equipment, and seminars. Convention Center. Noon-9 pm Fri.; 10 am-8 pm Sat.; 11 am-5 pm Sun. $3-$6. 314-355-1236, www.letsgoshows.com

Fête De Glace Jan. 30, St. Charles. Watch professional ice carvers create sculptures using chainsaws, sanders, hand saws, and irons. North Main Street. 10 am-4 pm. Free.

800-366-2427, www.historicstcharles.com

Hot Tea Callina’s pick Jan. 15-Feb. 28, St. Louis. Teapot exhibit. Reception Jan. 15, 6-8 pm. Craft Alliance. 10 am-5 pm Tues.-Thurs.; 10 am6 pm Fri.-Sat.; 11 am-5 pm Sun. Free. 314-725-1177, ext. 325, www.craftalliance.org

Food and Wine Experience Jan. 30-31, St. Louis. Sample wines from the world’s premiere growing regions and sample chefs’ favorite recipes. Chase Park Plaza Hotel. 11 am-6 pm Sat.; noon5 pm Sun. 314-968-7340, www.repstl.org

A Gospel Christmas Dec. 17, St. Louis. Soul-stirring gospel music featuring the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Powell Symphony Hall at Grand Center. 7:30 pm. $25-$70.

800-232-1880, www.slso.org

A Christmas Carol Dec. 18-20, Florissant. Warm your holiday heart with the curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge as he learns the true meaning of Christmas. Civic Center Theatre. 8 pm. Fri.; 2 and 8 pm Sat.; 2 pm Sun. $12-$14. 314-921-5678, www.florissantvalleycc.com

courtesy of Grease Compnay photo by Joan Marcus

Wild Lights Amy’s pick Dec. 18-23 and 26-30, St. Louis. Stroll through an enchanting holiday wonderland and enjoy thousands of colorful and animated light displays and seasonal sounds. The St. Louis Zoo at Forest Park. 5:30-8:30 pm. $4-$5. 314-781-0900, www.stlzoo.org

The Nutcracker Dec. 20, Chesterfield. Holiday classic performed by the Alexandra Ballet. Purser Center at Logan College. 2 and 6 pm. $6-$15. 636-519-1955, www.chesterfieldarts.org First Night Dec. 31, St. Louis. Visual and performing arts, musicians, artists, and the grand procession. Grand Center Arts and Entertainment District. 5:30 pm-midnight. $4-$10. 314-289-8121, www.firstnightstl.org New Year’s Eve Concert Dec. 31, St. Louis. Performance by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Powell Symphony Hall at Grand Center. 7:30 pm $25-$120. 800-232-1880, www.slso.org

Grease Jan. 12-24, St. Louis The one that you want is back! The new production direct from Broadway stars American Idol winner Taylor Hicks as Teen Angel. You’ll be singing along to “Summer Nights”, “We Go

Together”, and “You’re the One That I Want.” Performances are at the Fabulous Fox Theatre Tues.-Fri. 8 pm; 2 and 8 pm Sat.; 7:30 pm Sun. Jan. 17 and Thurs. Jan. 21. Tickets prices range from $24-$66.

For more information call 314-5341678 or visit www.fabulousfox.com

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[94] MissouriLife

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ML

All Around Missouri

Southeast Festival of Lights Auto Tour Nov. 27-Jan. 1, Wappapello Lake. Drive through the decorated campsites featuring lights, seasonal greetings, and nativity scenes. Redman Creek Recreation Area. 5-10 pm.

Donations accepted. 573-222-8562, www.mvs.usace. army.mil/wappapello/ Enchanted Evening Out Dec. 4, Caruthersville. Christmas celebration for the whole family. Downtown. 5-8 pm. Free. 573-333-1222, www.caruthersvillecity.com Santa at the Depot Dec. 4, Sikeston. Stop by and get your picture taken with Santa, listen to caroling, and enjoy hot chocolate and cookies. Depot Museum. 5-8 pm. Free. 573-380-3801, www.downtownsikeston.org Chamber Christmas Parade Dec. 5, Cuba. Holiday parade brings Santa to town, then visit him at the Lions Den. Downtown. 5-6 pm. Free. 877212-8429, www.cubamochamber.com Christmas on the Prairie Dec. 5, East Prairie. Parade, wagon rides, pictures with Santa, petting zoo, pony rides, live nativity, and vendors. Throughout town. 5-8 pm. Free. 573-649-5243, www.eastprairiemo.net

Nutcracker Tina’s pick Dec. 5, Rolla. Chicago Festival Ballet performs holiday classic which incorporates many young local dancers. Leach Theatre. 7:30 pm. $25-$35. 573-341-4219, leachtheatre.mst.edu Country Christmas Walk Dec. 5, Ste. Genevieve. Strolling carolers, art guild show and sale, tour historic sites, tree lighting, and Christmas parade. Throughout town. 11 am-7 pm. Free. 800-3737007, www.saintegeneveivetourism.org Parade of Lights Dec. 5, Salem. Old Fashioned Christmas-themed parade, caroling, and the lighting of the courthouse. Downtown.

5:30 pm. Free. 573-729-6900, www.salemmo.com

courtesy of Bill Naeger

Victorian Christmas Dec. 5-27, Poplar Bluff. Exhibit featuring the 1898 Victorian trousseau of Ann Trotter West. Margaret Harwell Art Museum. Noon-4 pm Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 pm Sat.Sun. Free. 573-686-8002, www.mham.org

La Guignolée Dec. 31, Ste. Genevieve Ste. Gevenieve’s oldest living tradition, Guignolée or Guillanne, performs every New Year’s Eve and has since the earliest arrival from French Canada in the mid1700s. The 250-year old tradition features a group of singers and musicians roaming the streets, cafes, and taverns of town. The performers dress in top hats and long-tailed

Simply Sinatra Dec. 7, Rolla. Steve Lippia performance blends classic with a more modern sound that introduces a new generation to this timeless music while appealing to long-time listeners. Leach Theatre. 7:30 pm. $25-$35. 573-3414219, leachtheatre.mst.edu

Behold My Heart Amy’s pick Dec. 8, Cape Girardeau. Written by Sir Paul McCartney and performed by the University’s Choral Union and Choir.

Bedell Performance Hall at River Campus. 7:30 pm. $12$16. 573-651-2265, www.semo.edu/rivercampus/events

Christmas Craft Bazaar Dec. 6, St. James. Arts, crafts, and gifts. R-1 School. Noon5 pm. Free. 573-265-0576, www.stjamesmissouri.org

Open House and Candlelight Tours Dec. 11-12, New Madrid. Tour three decorated historic sites by candlelight, caroling, and hot chocolate. Hunter-Dawson Home, Historical Museum, and Higgerson School. 6-8:30 pm. Free. 877-748-5300, www.new-madrid.mo.us

Parlor Tour Dec. 6, St. James. Tour several homes decorated for the holidays. Throughout town. 2-5 pm. $10. 573-265-7931, www.stjamesmissouri.org

Christmas Parade Dec. 12, Goodman. Fun, floats, lights, kings, queens, and Santa. Downtown. 1 pm. Free. 417-364-7316, www.goodmanmo.net

tuxedos and some dress up as monks, trappers, French gentry, Indians, clowns, and even Keystone cops. The group dances and sings in French. Most of the performing takes place in the Historic District and starts at 6 pm and continues until midnight (and beyond!). Watching this group is a great New year’s tradition and is free.

Visit www.stegenchamber.org or call 800373-7007 for more information.

French Christmas Open House Dec. 13, Ste. Genevieve. Celebration highlights the food, customs, and decorations of an 1800s French Christmas.

Felix Vallé House State Historic Site. 1-6 pm. Free. 573883-7102, www.mostateparks.com/felixvalle.htm Warm Wool, Delicate Silk Callina’s pick Jan. 2-31, Poplar Bluff. Exhibit of works by local fiber artists Lorri Scott and Sharon Kifyle. Margaret Harwell Art Museum. Noon-4 pm Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 pm Sat.-Sun. Free.

573-686-8002, www.mham.org Yesterday and Today a Beatles Experience Jan. 10, Rolla. Interactive concert experience where the audience creates the play list for the night creating a unique show highlighting the sights, sounds, and memories of the 1960s. Leach Theatre. 7 pm. $20-$30.

573-341-4219, leachtheatre.mst.edu Sesquicentennial Costume Ball Jan. 16, Salem. Music from several eras beginning with the 1860s and costume contest for best costume from the period of 1860 to 1910. City Hall. 6 pm. $15-$20.

573-729-6900, www.salemmo.com

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All Around Missouri

Big Smith Band

Southwest Festival of Lights Nov. 26-Dec. 28, Monett. Animated drive-through light displays featuring winter scenes and holiday themes.

South Park. 5:30-9:30 pm. Donations accepted.

417-235-7919, www.monett-mo.com Christmas Parade Dec. 1. Crane. Lighted family and religious floats, Santa, hot chocolate, and chili. Parade starts and ends at the City Park. 6 pm. Free (except chili). 417-669-7294, www.cranemo.com

Lights at the lake Dec. 1-31, Nevada. Drive-through light displays featuring animated lights that are reflected in the lake.

Radio Springs Lake. 5:30-10 pm. Donations accepted.

417-667-5300, www.nevada-mo.com Live Nativity Dec. 2-5, Joplin. One of the largest outdoor drive-through nativities in the country. Landreth Park. 6-9 pm. Free.

417-623-3254, www.visitjoplinmo.com Elizabethan Christmas Dinners Dec. 2-5, Springfield. Celebrate the holiday with a tantalizing blend of wonderful performances and Olde English-style menu. Plaster Student Union Ballroom.

7 pm. $25-$30. 417-836-5182, www.concertchorale.com

Macbeth Dec. 3-6, Springfield. Shakespeare’s haunting story of victory, greed, deceit, and power. Coger Theatre at Missouri State University. 7:30 pm. $8-$14.

417-836-7678, www.missouristatetix.com Living Christmas Tree Dec. 3-7, Joplin. Celebrate twenty-five years of the living tree performance. The tree is built to hold the OCC Choir and an outstanding orchestra comprised of students and members of the community. Ozark Christian College.

7:30 pm Thurs.; 1 and 7:30 pm Fri.; 4 and 7:30 pm Sat.Sun.; 7:30 pm Mon. $5-$7. 417-626-1221, www.occ.edu Christmas Tour of Homes Dec. 4-5, Kimberling City. Tour beautifully decorated homes and enjoy refreshements, unique boutiques featuring crafts, and a silent auction at the library hospitality room. Throughout the Table Rock Lake area. 10 am4 pm. $15. 417-365-0170, www.explorebranson.com Christmas Parade Dec. 5, Cassville. Lighted floats, marching bands, antique vehicles, a drill team, and Santa in his sleigh. Downtown.

6:30 pm. Free. 417-847-2814, www.cassville.com

WinterFest Dec. 4-6, Springfield This unique festival combines performing arts with the talents of the region’s best visual artists. Enjoy live holiday music while shopping for gifts at the art show and attend exciting evening performances. This year treat yourself to Christmas with John Tesh on Dec. 4 and Big Smith Christmas on Dec. 5.

The Sounds of Christmas will be performed

by Missouri State University bands and

Lighted Parade Dec. 5, Dexter. All of the floats are lighted and decorated for the holidays. Historic Downtown. 5:30 pm. Free.

800-332-8857, www.dexterchamber.com Tree Lighting and Santa Dec. 5, Ellington. Lighting of the community tree and pictures with Santa. High school gym. Free.

573-663-7997, www.ellingtonmo.com For the Love of Christmas Parade Dec. 5, Forsyth. See classic cars, floats, and get your picture taken with Santa. Downtown. 2 pm. Free.

417-546-2741, www.forsythmissouri.net Main Street Loft Tours Dec. 5, Joplin. Tour several loft apartments. Noon-4 pm.

Downtown. $15. 417-624-4150, www.visitjoplinmo.com Christmas on Broadway Dec. 5, Monett. Broadway-themed parade. Downtown.

10 am. Free. 417-235-7919, www.monett-mo.com Dickens Christmas Faire Dec. 5, Neosho. Breakfast with Santa, carriage rides, parade, and crafts. Historic Downtown Square and Civic Center. Free. 417-451-1925, www.neoshomo.org

choirs on Dec. 6. The festival is held at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for Performing Arts at Missouri State University from 5-10 pm Fri.; 10 am-10 pm Sat.; and noon-5 pm Sun. John Tesh and Big Smith concerts start at 8 pm and tickets range from $16-$48.

Sounds of Christmas at 2 pm and, along with the other festivities, is free.

Visit www.hammonshall.com or call 417-836-7678 for more information.

Christmas Parade Dec. 5, Rogersville. A holiday parade with “A Wonderful Time of Year” theme, featuring lighted floats, Santa, classic cars, and bands. Downtown. 5 pm. Free.

417-753-7538, www.rogersvillechamber.com Tour of Homes Dec. 5, Shell Knob. Tour six decorated homes each with a unique holiday theme. Throughout town. 10 am-5 pm. $10. 417-858-3300, www.shellknob.com Breakfast With Santa Dec. 5, Springfield. Pancake breakfast and a candy cane hunt. Doling Family Center. 9-11 am. $6. 417-837-5900, www.parkboard.org Holiday Season Arts and Crafts Show Dec. 5-6, West Plains. A wide range of holiday and handmade arts and crafts for show and sale. Civic Center.

8:30 am-5 pm Sat.; 10 am-3 pm Sun. $2. 417-256-4433, www.wpoptimist.org Chili Lunch and Santa Dec. 6, Humansville. Chili lunch, pie auction, silent auction, and pictures with Santa. Community Building.

11 am-2 pm. Donations accepted. 417-754-2384, www.humansville.net

courtesy of Big Smith Band

Experience Christmas Dec. 1, Joplin. Christmas stories, art, activities, refreshments, holiday music, and parade. Mystery Church and downtown. 4 pm (parade 6 pm). Free. 417-625-4789, www.visitjoplinmo.com

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ALL AROUND MISSOURI

Christmas Parade Dec. 6, Sarcoxie. Little Miss and Mr. Merry Christmas, Santa, hot chocolate, candy, and apples. Downtown.

5 PM. Free. 417-548-7242, www.sarcoxiemo.com

Christmas Parade Dec. 12, Springfield. Floats, bands, classic cars, candy, and Santa. Downtown. 1 PM. Free. 417-831-6200, www.itsalldowntown.com

Christmas Parade Dec. 7, Carthage. Queen and holiday-themed lighted floats. Historic Square. 7 PM. Free. 417-358-2373, www.carthagechamber.com

Home for the Holidays Dec. 12, Springfield. Symphony performs a concert featuring selections from The Polar Express, Home Alone, and Messiah. Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at Missouri State University campus. 7:30 PM. $9-$14. 417-864-6683, www.springfieldmosymphony.org

The Christmas Show Dec. 11-12, Cassville. Concert featuring traditional and non-traditional Christmas songs. Crowder College.

7:30 PM. $6-$7. 417-847-2814, www.cassville.com Christmas Parade Dec. 12, Bolivar. Holiday-themed parade with floats and bands. Starts at SBU and circles the square. 2 PM. 417-326-4118, www.bolivarchamber.com Christmas Parade Dec. 12, Ava. $500 grand prize award and trophies for marching bands. Downtown. 2 PM. Free. 417-683-4594, www.avachamber.org Memorial Luminary Driving Tour Dec. 12, Republic. Drive through Wilson’s Creek Battlefield. Evenings. Free. 417-732-2662, ext. 221, www.nps.gov/wicr/index.htm

Christmas Parade Dec. 12, West Plains. A Rockin’ Christmas-themed parade. Starts at the Porter Wagoner Building. 1 PM. Free. 417-256-4433, www.wpchamber.com

The Great Russian Nutcracker Dec. 16, Joplin. Timeless classic holiday ballet with spectacular costumes and sets. Performed by the Moscow Ballet. Memorial Hall. 7:30 PM. $27.50-$67.50.

417-623-3254, www.visitjoplinmo.com First Night Springfield Dec. 31, Springfield. Family-oriented, alcohol-free celebration featuring visual and performing arts and a grand finale featuring a huge fireworks display.

Dowtown and Jordon Valley Park. 5:30 PM-midnight. $8.

417-831-6200, www.springfieldarts.org

Eagle Days Jan. 23-24, Springfield. Spotting scopes to view eagles and educational activites. Lake Springfield and Conservation Nature Center. 9 AM-4 PM. Free.

417-891-1550, www.parkboard.org Robert Burns Supper Jan. 23, Springfield. Supper celebrates Scotland’s national poet and features Scottish food, music, dancing, and bagpipes. Doubletree Hotel. 5:45-9:30 PM. $40.

417-860-7872, www.springfieldscots.org

FREE LISTING AND MORE EVENTS Visit MissouriLife.com for even more great events all around the state.

PLEASE NOTE: Event plans sometimes change.

Call before traveling.

TO SUBMIT AN EVENT: Editors choose events for publication in the magazine, space permitting, but all submissions go onto the web site. Submit events well in advance. Please make sure there is a contact phone number with your event. Visit MissouriLife.com 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

G Ac reat G tivi ty B ift! ook

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 Seaman’s Journey with Lewis and Clark.

143 pages, illustrated.

Seaman’s Journey with Lewis and Clark

$19.99

plus tax, shipping and handling 800-492-2593 ext. 101 missourilife.com [97] December 2009

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Compiled by Molly Moore

The St. Louis Zoo has more than 9,000 Zoo Parents in its animal adoption program. This holiday season, Zoo Parents can adopt a gorilla. Each of the zoo’s three gorillas receives about 22 pounds of leafy greens, 4.5 pounds of fruit, and 8.5 pounds of vegetables daily.

—Maya Angelou

There are 35 Christmas tree farm members in the Missouri Christmas Tree Association, and there are about 1,596 acres of Christmas trees growing in the state.

In 2007, the most recent year with available statistics, Missouri ranked 27th in the nation in the number of trees harvested.

The fifth annual Missouri Winter Games will begin mid-January and continue through March in Springfield. Some 2,500 athletes are expected to compete in 13 sports, which vary from gymnastics to competitive cheerleading and trap shooting to wrestling.

In addition, Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson will be speaking and performing.

Prancer and Friends in Pleasant Hill is the only licensed in the state. Owned by Barb and Ron Darst, the eight-member herd the nation during the holiday season and during the summer.

reindeer herd

travels grazes

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDREW BARTON

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.

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PROMOTION

∏

THE MISSOURI FILM COMMISSION’S QUEST FOR HOLLYWOOD’S NEXT LOCATION

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

Keep those cameras snapping! Although the 2009 contest is over, we’ll be back in 2010 for another edition! Meanwhile, you can still submit photos to our database for film professionals to see. This is a great opportunity to promote your community!

Visit MissouriLife.com/Missouri-Life/Location Scout and follow the directions for uploading your entries.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JUSTIN LEESMAN FOR HIS COMMUNITY ENTRY OF WASHINGTON, MO

Major quarterly prize winner: Justin Leesman Category

Landscape Small town Ozark mountains Landscapes w/ water Urban Scene College Campus Historic building Trains and tracks Industrial Cemeteries Mansions Homes Business Other Community

Ronald Smith Shannon Thorp Jennifer Folliard Mike McArthy Kari Mergen Mary Ann Beahan Jacob Baisch Amanda Simino Laura Filiatreau Ronald Smith Dana Stone Dana Stone Justin Leesman Dana Stone Justin Leesman

W I N N I N G

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N T R I E S F R O M T H E F O U R T MISSOURI MINES STATE HISTO H Q U A R T RIC SITE, BISMARK-LAURA FIL E R IATREAU WILLIAM WOO DS UNIVERSITY, FU LTON-MARY AN

N BEAHAN

CH RISTIN E HERR

BETH HARRIS

IES

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Meet. Network. Enjoy.

Let us take care of everything else.

A Tradition at the Lake

THE LODGE of FOUR SEASONS G O L F

R E S O R T

&

S PA

S H I K I

Horseshoe Bend Parkway | Four Seasons, MO | Lake of the Ozarks 800-THE-LAKE (843-5253) | 573-365-3000 | www.4seasonsresort.com BACK COVER-DEC 09.indd 1

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