Vox Magazine June 2019

A NIGHT OUT AT WAFFLE HOUSE

THE FIGHT TO KEEP HER DAIRY FARM

NOT JUST NAMES ON A MAP

AN ODE TO COMO’S SLICE CULTURE

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THE VOICE OF COLUMBIA  JUNE 2019

Finally home “It will be wonderful. Wonderfully insane.” The story of how a family of eight became so much more. PAGE 26

PAGE 54

KCBS Sanctioned

Smokin’ on the Harbor

Backyard BBQ Competition

Saturday, Aug 3 Places 1-5 Plus Reserve Grand Champion & Grand Champion/People’s Choice

Categories: • Chicken • Pork Ribs • Beef Brisket

www.visitbentoncomo.com

112 Seasons of Bringing Performers of Prestige to Mid-Missouri

BOX OFFICE 203 S 9th Street | Columbia

573-882-3781 www.concertseries.org

FROM THE EDITOR

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

E DI T OR -I N -CHI E F KEEGAN POPE DE PUT Y E DI T OR STEN SPINELLA M AN AGI N G E DI T OR ELIZABETH ELKIN DI GI TAL M AN AGI N G E DI T OR MCKENNA BLAIR

S

ix-hundred-fifty-five days ago, I arrived in Columbia after 13 hours of driving, grabbed a bowl of meatball macaroni and cheese from Noodles and Co. and collapsed onto my bed at the Ramada Inn at the intersection of I-70 and Highway 63. I’d never been to Columbia, Missouri, or the state of Missouri in general. The next morning, I searched for a lunch spot downtown and happened upon Booche’s, where I sat down, ate my food and rarely looked up from my phone before paying my bill in cash and walking out without noticing anything about the place.

During my first two weeks here, I relied on a GPS to get me to restaurants, the grocery store and even around MU’s campus. I passed by street signs and buildings and schools and landmarks with no concept of the history or importance of any of them. Each road was simply a means to an end — the most efficient route to my destination. Much the same way I originally viewed my time in Columbia.

I arrived here 21 months ago with one goal in mind: to leave, eventually. My two-year master’s program at the Missouri School of Journalism was my way to better connections, an internship, a job, a career. Columbia was a map dot on my way to something bigger and better. And unfortunately, I think that’s how many students view this place. Not as a

“I can only hope whether you’ve been here for a while or you’re just on your way through town, you’ll slow down to appreciate what this city is really all about.” permanent — or even temporary — home, but as a collection of places and people that move us along to our next chapter. We get so stuck in our own little bubbles that we forget this city existed long before we got here and will continue even longer after we leave.

In this month’s feature package (p. 34), a team of Vox writers provides an exceptional history lesson on some of the most important — or in some cases, most infamous — members of our community and the landmarks that have taken their names over time. Each place connects us, and, ultimately, teaches us.

They welcome us into this city we call home, whether we’re here for two years or 20.

As I leave Columbia for my next adventure, I’m already nostalgic for a place I never thought I’d miss. These places and the people who inhabit them have become part of the fabric of my life. I can only hope whether you’ve been here for a while or you’re just on your way through town, you’ll slow down to appreciate what this city is really all about. I wish I had just a little sooner.

KEEGAN POPE Editor-in-Chief

BEHIND THE ISSUE A name, as a central part of our identity, can mean as much or as little as we want it to. In this issue, our features explore names. Discover the hidden and not-so-hidden histories of street and building names throughout Columbia. Stay the night at Waffle House, a 24-hour diner that serves up much more than its name might imply. Tour the farm of a woman who, after the death of her husband, took over their business and made a name for herself by shaking up the male-dominated dairy industry. And meet five siblings who took a new last name: Nevels, the name of the eight-member family that became their home. –– Mac Blair, digital managing editor

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ON L I N E E DI T OR LAUREN PUCKETT CR E AT I V E DI R E CT OR KELLYN NETTLES ART DI R E CT OR S SHAOYANG CHEN, HOPE JOHNSON PHOT O E DI T OR JESSI DODGE M ULT I M E DI A E DI T OR SAM MOSHER

AS S I S TAN T E DI TO RS CULT UR E CAMERON R. FLATT, KATHERINE HERRICK, BROOKE JOHNSON, CONNOR LAGORE, LUCY SHANKER E AT + DR I N K KAELYN ADIX, MCKENNA BLAIR, JESSICA DUFFIELD, ABBEY PERANO CI T Y L I F E JENNA GRUNDTNER, TEDDY HANS, NAT KAEMMERER, MADISON SKAHILL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JENNA ALLEN CON T R I B UT I N G W RIT E RS ANTHONY ASHLEY, ISAAC CARMICHAEL, ALLISON CHO, SHANNON HENDERSON, ASHLEY JONES, DANIELLE PYCIOR, MORGAN SPEARS, JOE SIESS, ETHAN STEIN, SAVANNAH WALSH, TAYA WHITE DI GI TAL E DI T OR S DRU BERRY, MARGARET DONOHUE, ASHLI ELLERMAN, BROOKE KNAPPENBERGER, EMILY HURLEY, NICOLE JIE YI FONG, CARY LITTLEJOHN, HANNAH MCFADDEN, LIBBY MOELLER, BIANCA RODRIGUEZ, RUNJIE WANG M ULT I M E DI A E DI T OR S MAKENZIE BAGLEY, INLANA HENDERSON, RAN HUAN DE S I GN E R S CLAIRE HARMAN, HAYLEY ODOM, ALYSSA WEISBERG

E DI T OR I AL DI R E CT OR HEATHER LAMB DI GI TAL DI R E CT OR SARA SHIPLEY HILES E XE CUT I V E E DI T OR JENNIFER ROWE OF F I CE M AN AGE R KIM TOWNLAIN

Vox Magazine

@VoxMag

@VoxMagazine

VoxMag

ADVERTISING 882 - 5714 CIRCULATION 882- 5700 EDITORIAL 884-6432 vox@m i s s o u ri . e d u CALENDAR send to vox@mi ssouri . e d u o r subm i t vi a onl i ne form at vo x m a g a zi n e . c o m TO RECEIVE VOX IN YOUR INBOX sign up for email newsletter at voxmagazine.com J U N E 2019 V OL UM E 21, I S SU E 6 PUB L I S HE D B Y COL UM B I A M I S S OU RIA N 320 L E E HI L L S H A L L COL UM B I A, M O 6 5 2 1 1

MAGAZINE

Cover photography by Caryn Meyer, design by Claire Harman and couresty of Pexels

FEATURES

44

Milk Made Marilyn Calvin has been a dairy farmer for more than 50 years. Since her husband’s death, she has run the farm and fought for her business amid the challenges of a struggling industry — and a man’s industry, at that.

BY EMILY NEVILS

p.

20

Waffle House of the Rising Sun Two Vox editors staked out the overnight shift at the iconic 24-hour breakfast chain to explore what can be gained from 13 hours inside the haven of waffles and hash browns.

BY BROOKE JOHNSON AND CONNOR LAGORE

p.

26

Hers, His, Ours and Theirs When the opportunity arose to adopt five siblings who needed a home, Christy and Matthew Nevels took the leap of faith to open their hearts and grow their family from eight to 13.

BY MIMI WRIGHT

p.

34

What’s in a Name?

You might have seen these places around town countless times, but do you know the stories of how their names came to be?

BY VOX STAFF Photography by Emily Nevils

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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SECTIONS

12

IN THE LOOP

CULTURE

7

15

Run this town with these three local routes.

Discover the beautiful affliction of being a professional dancer.

9

17

Stigma often keeps men who are living with mental illness from getting the help they need.

The rock ‘n’ roll sounds of The Record Company are coming to Rose Music Hall.

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18

Trails for Your Treks

An Emotional Reckoning

Q&A: Kendrick Smith The local filmmaker mixes comedic influences into his art.

13

Vox Picks

19

Usher in summer with this month’s picks for food and fun.

Grit Behind Grace

Out of the Living Room

Making Art Work Meet the four women sculpting the Columbia Art League.

19

Love Amid Confusion Talking Horse’s BOY expands the representation of different identities on stage.

54

EAT + DRINK

CITY LIFE

51

57

You Had Me at Martini Cool off this summer with one of these local twists on a classic concoction.

53

Delivery Dilemma

Through the Pipeline The city has a plan to save its aging infrastructure before the price tag gets too high.

59

Cory Crosby: Man of Many Hats

What’s the city’s relationship with third-party delivery services? It’s complicated.

There’s very little that this local entrepreneur hasn’t done.

54

Ode to the Slice

Saving City History, Brick by Brick

One Vox writer. Six stops around town in search of the most supreme pizza.

Columbia’s century-old brick roads hold history and possibilities alike.

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60

57

MASCULINITY VS.

NEW FILMMAKER

MENTAL HEALTH P.9

ON THE SCENE P.12

Trails for your treks In a running rut? Explore these three paths to spice up your routine and surprise your legs.

BY NAT KAEMMERER Have you ever been stuck on the same path for too long? Legs know all the tricks of the hills? Barely tugging on your trainers? Ditto.

When I get lazy about my runs and bored with go-to routes, I remind myself of one thing: If you think you’ve run all the trails in Columbia, you’re probably not even close. Satellite paths and faraway-yet-connected parks abound around town.

To give you the mid-spring push you need to run out the door, here’s a firsthand guide to a few of CoMo’s gems, explored by yours truly.

Photography by Brooke Johnson

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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IN TH E LOOP OUTDOORS

Free to Public

Missouri Symphony Society “Strike up the Band” Thursday, June 6, 2019 | 7 p.m.

Stephens Lake Park, 100 Old Hwy 63 (Beach entrance to park) Opening the MOSY’s 2019 Hot Summer Nights Season is this “Strike Up the Band” performance. Don’t miss this opportunity to see the Missouri Symphony Orchestra for free!

RJ’s Italian Ice will be vending.

Sponsored By:

Presented By:

MISSOURIAN COLUMBIA’S LOCAL NEWSPAPER

CELEBRATE SUMMER AT THE BERG!

Enjoy our roof-top patio!

KITCHEN OPEN LATE

410 S 9th Street | Columbia 573-449-6927 8

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

www.theheidelberg.com

MKT Trail No matter where you enter the MKT, one of the most well-known and adaptable trails in town, you’ll have the camaraderie of fellow runners, cyclists, walkers and, best of all, dogs.

This 8.9-mile trail can be used for almost any workout, so bring your whole training crew for a tempo run or fartlek — where runners line up in a column and the poor soul in the back must run up the length of the group to overtake the first runner, ad infinitum. The trail is mostly gravel, so you’re unlikely to totally wreck a new pair of shoes. It’s also easy on the legs; there are few hills, and the path rarely curves or winds.

When and where to go: 501 S. Providence Road, anytime Rhett’s Run Go for a solo trek on this tough and gritty 4-mile loop, but save the group run for another trail; this one is skinny and hard to navigate side-by-side. Keep in mind trail etiquette; you’ll be expected to sound out loudly when running past another traveler.

The path gets muddy quickly because of its quad-crushing hills and runoff that pools at the bottom of each. By the end of your workout, everything on your body might end up the same shade of Missouri-mud brown.

When and where to go: Inside Cosmo Park at 1615 Business Loop 70 West, east of the Antimi Sports Complex, 6 a.m. to midnight Hinkson Creek Trail A classic tree-covered trail run awaits you along Hinkson Creek. Zip through the trees, and take in the miles (4.25 to be exact).

This trail alternates between concrete, gravel and dirt. Start at Grindstone Nature Area — you’ll hit multiple parks if you thread through the entire trail, including the Waters-Moss Conservation Area and Capen Park. Shade is abundant on most of this trail, which stays blissfully tranquil and free of other people most of the day.

When and where to go: 2011 Old Hwy. 63 South, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

I N T HE LO O P ESSAY

An emotional reckoning Expectations of what makes a “man” mean it’s often harder for men with mental health issues to take steps to heal, or even see the problem.

BY BROOKE JOHNSON

L

ast spring, I wrote a 3,200-word story about the particular ways in which men suffer from mental illness. The story’s main subject was a man I met in a mindfulness-based therapy group, which I was attending to help myself recover from my own mental health nosedive. Like many of the anxiety-ridden people I’ve known, the man was smart and well-spoken, and he was working to recover from decades of hidden anxiety — pain that he had never named until now.

He talked about how he used to accidentally break plates against each other Photography by Antranik Tavitian

as he unloaded them from the dishwasher to put them away. “It’s not like I was angry,” he told me. “I was just trying to do shit. Get it done. Get a checkmark.

Move onto the next obstacle for the day.”

Unbeknownst to him, his constant agitation was setting the tone for his entire household. His wife, his young son, even the family dog — they all walked on eggshells and cowered away from this man who couldn’t even see that he had a problem. He had no idea that the “internal explosions” he’d experienced since childhood weren’t happening inside everyone else, too.

Men often express symptoms of mental health issues as anger or irritability, leading to a lack of literacy on emotions, according to a New York Times article.

As I reported the story, I spent hours listening to him talk about how the dissolution of his marriage sent him into a pit of suicidal thoughts. He told me about his daily phone calls to the suicide prevention hotline and his abject despondency. He did self-therapy in the form of intense interval workouts, the only thing he found that could quiet his screaming mind during the dark days — and even those only worked sometimes.

After I finished writing the story, I tucked it into a folder on my laptop, where it has stayed for the past year, unpublishable because this man, who had VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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IN THE LOOP ESSAY

already clawed his way out of a desperate place, had yet more to fear. He was certain that publishing his ruminations about ending his life would obliterate his chances in the job market. He’d laid bare for me the intimate workings of his heart and pain but couldn’t give me permission to write his name.

The weight of stigma There is a double-edged sword with mental illness. Those who are suffering must deal not only with the illness itself, but also the accompanying stigma.

According to a 2015 Psychological Medicine report, stigma is the fourth-highest reason people do not seek help when suffering with their mental health.

Jodi Frey is a social worker and researcher at the University of Maryland focusing on adult mental health and well-being. One of her projects is Man Therapy, a mental health website geared toward, you guessed it, men. Frey told me that much of the stigma for men grows from concepts of masculinity and a lack of mental health literacy — they often don’t realize mental health issues are real things to watch out for. Men are expected to be able to fix themselves, which contributes to the stigma. They are supposed to be providers and fixers, and unfortunately, mainstream U.S. culture excludes the possibility that a provider and fixer can be both strong and vulnerable.

None of what Frey told me was a surprise. Everything I learned validated why I wanted to write the story in the first place. While I’ve wrestled with maintaining stasis in my own mind, it has also been difficult to battle the mental illness of the many men I’ve cared about over the years. These men have often not realized how much they’re struggling, let alone put in any real effort to examine the demons in their minds.

So often, we encourage this way of thinking. We shame little boys for expressing sadness or pain. We tell them not to cry, or if they do, it better be for a good reason — and then we’re confused when adult men can’t express how they’re feeling. As the subject of my story told me: “It’s all about strategic presentation. The moment you start

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babbling, you lose that ability to help shape how people see you.” When being considered a validated and verifiable member of your gender is dependent on showing no weakness, shaping how people see you is paramount.

We teach men from a young age to transmute emotional suffering into anger, according to a 2016 New York Times article, so it made sense when Frey told me men’s battles with depression or anxiety are often marked by anger and irritability. Also, women seek help with mental health issues more often than men, which means that we know less about how men react and deal with their mental health problems, and that affects how men are treated, Frey says.

Writer Brooke Johnson spent two years working at a suicide prevention hotline and is certified in Mental Health First Aid.

WE TELL [BOYS] NOT TO CRY ...

AND THEN WE’RE CONFUSED WHEN ADULT MEN CAN’T EXPRESS HOW THEY’RE FEELING.

More than men I once dated a guy whose mental health problems were so severe (and so unchecked) that he would sometimes black out in the cereal aisle because the colorful boxes were too much for his anxious mind to handle. He had anger issues, Tourette’s, anxiety, OCD, and he refused to see a therapist. He didn’t think any of his problems were connected to his broader mental health; he thought he needed to take more vitamins and start running again.

He treated me like shit, and he all but destroyed me because I saw his pain.

I thought that if he couldn’t fix himself, maybe I could do it for him.

This rebound effect on the female partners of men with mental health issues was discussed in a March 2019 Harper’s Bazaar article. The increasingly popular term “emotional labor” describes the often-exhausting work that people, frequently women, do in order to process their own and others’ feelings. Because we don’t teach boys how to identify, express and manage their feelings the way we teach girls, men are less likely to take initiative to do this type of work for themselves. This, combined with the already-present stigma towards seeking help for mental health issues and the idea of maintaining a “masculine” facade, leads to emotional illiteracy. As such, the responsibility for men’s emotional health often ends up falling on the shoulders of the women around them rather than on the men themselves, or on someone more qualified to provide actual help with mental health issues.

Girlfriends, wives, sisters and friends end up functioning as de facto therapists for the men in our lives, providing support for free on top of the work they do to maintain their own mental well-being.

A supportive society No issue in our society exists in isolation.

It’s a problem for everyone, even those of us not bearing the heaviest weight of it.

Perhaps it’s the friends and lovers toiling to help a man who can’t (or won’t) help himself; maybe it’s the employer whose employee is taking yet another sick day because he can’t get out of bed. Men are almost four times more likely to die by Photography by Antranik Tavitian and Nat Kaemmerer

I N T HE LO O P ESSAY

suicide than women, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Perhaps this means the weight of mental illness shifts to the child of a man who died by suicide because he felt he couldn’t withstand his depression a moment longer.

The point is, it doesn’t matter who you are. Man, woman, gender non-binary — the incompatibility between this toxic version of what it means to be a man and a person with well-rounded mental wellness is your problem, too.

Shifting attitudes When I was reporting my original story last year, I talked to Sally Spencer-Thomas, a clinical psychologist who spoke at the White House in 2016 about men’s mental health. She says she believes we’re at the beginning of a paradigm shift. Part of what Spencer-Thomas was referring to is a slate of “industry blueprints” — manuals for mental health, as well as other life factors, geared toward work industries that

typically employ a lot of men. The manuals work to catch men falling through the cracks, Spencer-Thomas says.

The spark was a suicide prevention manual for the construction industry, which was widely well-received after its release in 2015 but became even more relevant after a 2016 report by the CDC stating that the construction industry had the second-highest suicide rate for men, surpassed only by the farming, fishing and forestry industry.

The industry blueprints now include the police force, firefighters and first responders, and the goal is to catch signs and symptoms that something’s wrong long before a person reaches the point of desperation and takes drastic steps to end his or her pain. For the man in my story, perhaps that would’ve meant seeing those broken plates as more than just a casualty of having clean dishes.

Basically, if you think of mental illness like cancer, says Spencer-Thomas, it’s a lot easier to treat it before it reaches the latter stages.

MAN THERAPY

Jodi Frey’s project is “a platform to try to reach men wherever they might be at any time.”

For men who might need help, there’s Man Therapy, which works to co-opt elements of toxic masculinity to end the stigma around getting help and also offers a mental health assessment.

Reaching out Of course, there are many different types of men, and each group faces its own particular struggles. Black men, for example, have historically been emasculated by white society, such as the derogatory use of the word “boy,” which creates an even greater push toward hypermasculinity. Author bell hooks talks about this in her book We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity.

There are also the many men in the LGBTQ community who have reported being denied health care. Even when they are able to access it, lack of understanding and sensitivity from professionals can affect the quality of the care they receive, according to Mental Health America.

While there is a long way to go toward mental wellness, the wave of discussion of toxic elements of manliness, emotional labor and all the other consequences of men’s mental illness is promising. In the meantime, we can raise the boys of today to be the emotionally intelligent men of tomorrow.

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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IN THE LOOP Q&A

Lights, camera, collaboration In the past year, Kendrick Smith has gone from college student to production company CEO.

BY MADISON WISSE

A

s a filmmaker, writer and improv comedian, Kendrick Smith works toward a more collaborative film community in Columbia. He graduated from MU in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in digital storytelling and a minor in English.

Since then, Smith has begun filming and producing the indie feature film I Love You, Elliot, which focuses on a young man who has to come to terms with his family and health issues. Smith, along with his business partners Marcelese Cooper and Parker Mitten, wrote the film after listening to the Miles Davis jazz record Bitches Brew.

Cooper says the album inspired them to begin writing the film because listening to music spurred their creativity. After they finished writing, they realized they were going to need a production company to make the film. That’s when Kill My Dog Productions was formed.

Smith has also begun working on a series of short films, a podcast and a reality web series about a group of roommates called Glam, created by actress and producer Clotilda DeMauro, which are all produced by Kill My Dog Productions.

As the inaugural year of running his own production company comes to a close, Smith shares his thoughts about the film community and his passion for the industry.

Kendrick Smith and Marcelese Cooper met in a screenwriting class at MU. They say their feature film I Love You, Elliot was a side project the two worked on in between classes.

What was the inspiration for the company name?

My sophomore year at Mizzou my friend was telling me this story about another friend of his. Whenever he got angry, he would just yell, “Kill My Dog!” I don’t know what it was about that story, but I latched onto it, and it accidentally became part of my regular vocabulary.

Describe your film I Love You, Elliot.

It’s a dramatic comedy about this young man who has a lot of familial issues. On a mission trip from Vietnam, he learns some troubling information about himself and his family. The film is about him trying to pull his life together while also learning that he’ll probably need to deal with some of these issues. So, it’s a coming-of-age story.

Upon learning this information, he starts to struggle with insomnia.

During our research of insomnia, we learned that it can often lead to hallucinations. This spiraled into us deciding to push ourselves to make the film half live action, half animated.

How does comedy overlap with filmmaking?

In my writing, I lean toward more serious topics, but I inevitably insert comedy in there somewhere. Some of my favorite directors do the same, like the Coen brothers and Vince Gilligan. That style of taking very serious topics and finding the natural moments of comedy that sometimes happen in our everyday lives is somewhat ingenious, and I try to instill that in a lot of my work as well. I think doing improv comedy has helped me write dialogue because you’re constantly having to adapt to things people are throwing at you.

What do you like about filmmaking?

I think film is at its best when it’s pushing the boundaries of what people have done and really finding new ways to experiment to tell fascinating stories that resonate with people. Hearing how many people relate to a story and that they’ve had those life experiences is what I think makes storytelling so powerful.

If you want to know more...

Follow the film and the production company on Twitter: @ILYElliotMovie and @KillMyDogProd

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Photography by Caryn Meyer

I N T HE LO O P VOX PICKS

Vox’s picks for

JUNE

Each month, Vox curates a list of our favorite shops, eats, reads and experiences in and around Columbia. We highlight the new, trending or criminally underrated — so you’re always informed of the best our city has to offer.

BY ABIGAIL PERANO

Sing…

Along with the Columbia Entertainment Company’s take on the timeless musical Hairspray. Based on the 1988 film of the same name, the story, set in 1960s Baltimore, follows overweight teenager Tracy Turnblad on her journey to becoming a performer on local dance television program The Corny Collins Show. Not only does she break down body stereotypes, but she also addresses diversity and inclusion in the entertainment business. June 13-16, 20-23 and 27-30, Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m., CEC, 1800 Nelwood Drive, $14; seniors, students (with ID), and children 12 and younger, $12; $10, Thursday night special

Eat…

A little bit of everything at The District’s semiannual Restaurant Week. Indulge in all things culinary including special menu items and deals all week long at local favorites like Addison’s, 44 Canteen and more. Gift cards for participating restaurants will be available in a drawing — you just need to pick up a Restaurant Week Passport at any of the participating eateries and visit three of them. Restaurant Week runs from June 9-15, and prices vary at each restaurant. Visit The District’s calendar for more information.

Run…

In the Fast and Furriest 5K and help benefit the Central Missouri Humane Society, Unchained Melodies and the Spay & Neuter Project. No, Vin Diesel won’t be there, but after the race, there will be a K9 carnival that features a plethora of family- and Fido-friendly events including bounce houses, raffles, health and wellness vendor booths, and an animal petting area. June 8, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. (race starts at 8:30 a.m.), Anytime Fitness, 1729 West Broadway, $30 general registration, $35 day of

Celebrate…

Father’s Day on June 16. Hit the links with your dad at one of Columbia’s five golf courses such as A.L. Gustin or Lake of the Woods. Dad can’t tell the difference between a 4-iron and a par 4? Head over to Midway Golf and Games for some miniature golf instead. And let him tell all the dad jokes he wants; it’s his day after all. Daily fees and tee times available at course websites. Midway Golf and Games is $8 per person ages 4 and up.

Photography by Liz Goodwin and courtesy of freepik.com

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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Save a life. Don’t Drive HoMe buzzeD. BUZZED DRIVING IS DRUNK DRIVING.

FROM GARAGES TO

LEADERS OF THE

SOLD-OUT GIGS P.17

LEAGUE P.18

Grit behind grace To Missouri Contemporary Ballet dancers, injuries and stress are small sacrifices for art.

BY EMILY LENTZ

Wake up at 6 a.m. Go to the gym, and warm up on the elliptical before heading to the studio at 8:30 a.m. Class until 10:30 a.m., a 15-minute break and then practice until 3 p.m. A short rest before teaching students after school. Finish up the class, and head to another job, maybe as a waitress or a bartender. Work the shift, and finally head home to sleep. Wake up, and do it all over again. That’s the grueling schedule for a dancer with Missouri Contemporary Ballet — a schedule that despite the long hours and aching feet, dancers insist is worth it.

MCB will finish its 2019 season this month and give its dancers a welldeserved rest.

Photography courtesy of Jeff Bassinson

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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CULTURE ARTS

it.

For ballet dancer Alice Wells, performing has been the norm since before she could do much else; Wells started taking classes at age 3. Now she has professionally danced her way across the country and has landed here in Columbia. Her chosen career path is a lot for a 22-yearold, but she says it’s more enjoyable than any other job. Ballet isn’t just a sport; it’s a form of expression, an all-consuming passion for dancers around the world.

José Soares Jr., 26, knows about its reach better than most. His first introduction to dance was when he was 11 years old, living in his home country of Brazil, and the Bolshoi School held open auditions. For Soares, his passion for ballet wasn’t immediate, but he is now fully in love with the art form, despite backlash from those who consider it to be a women’s sport. “Brazil is very far behind still in thinking ballet is just for girls,” he says. “Even when I moved (to the U.S.) some of my friends pushed back a little.”

Although there can be emotional

stressors, physical challenges and injuries are the more pressing issues for professional dancers. Foot and knee injuries, such as stress fractures or broken ankles are a concern for women dancing on pointe, while back and shoulder injuries are typical for men from doing lifts. “If we get injured, we just try to work through it,” Soares says.

Dancer José Soares Jr. says ballet must look effortless on stage, which requires a lot of hard work and self-care behind the scenes.

Taking care of their bodies is a major concern, but the pressure while performing isn’t purely physical. “There is so much you have to remember,” says MCB dancer Nicole Bell, 23. “After one 15-minute rehearsal, you might get 30 notes that you then have to apply.”

Even in the summer off-season, rest is limited. Wells and Bell spend time teaching and taking additional classes while balancing part-time jobs. Soares travels around the country with other dance companies before returning to Columbia in the fall. For a sport so focused on delicate beauty, the work that goes into the effortless lifts and turns is endless.

Soares likes to tell himself there is never a “good enough” and that he needs to always strive for more. Wells reminds herself if she doesn’t get her steps right, someone else will, and she’ll be out of a role. Despite the harsh mantras, there is an undeniable joy in each of these dancers when they speak about their work. As Bell puts it: “It’s what we love to do. It’s worth

Presents

art in the park june 1 & 2, 2019 Stephens Lake Park 16

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

Sat 10-5 and Sun 10-4 Photography by Ethan Weston

I N T HE LO O P ESSAY

Out of the living room L.A.-based bluesy rock trio The Record Company makes a CoMo pit stop on its new tour.

BY REED KOUTELAS

W

hen it comes to rock stardom, Chris Vos is a square peg in a round hole.

The singer and guitarist was born and raised on a rural Wisconsin dairy farm, and he moved to Los Angeles for practical reasons. His wife got a job offer from the Los Angeles Times, so it made sense for the blues musician to look for opportunities in a place famous for music. “I wanted to find work and do what I loved,” Vos says. “I was fortunate to find Alex and Marc.”

That’s Alex Stiff and Marc Cazorla, the bassist and drummer, respectively,

who complete The Record Company, a rock ‘n’ roll band fresh off its second record, All of this Life. The group will bring its blended style of blues and rock to Rose Music Hall on June 13.

When Vos got to Los Angeles, he made a Craigslist post looking for a bass player, which is how he met Stiff.

Cazorla, who already knew Stiff, joined the mix not much later, and that’s how the trio ended up in Stiff’s living room in Los Feliz, where it recorded, mixed and produced its first album, 2016’s Give It Back to You. It garnered massive critical success, including a Grammy Award nomination for best contemporary blues album.

As the band’s impact has grown larger, so have the sizes of the venues. It’s moved past half-empty cof-

Not familiar with The Record Company? Fans of The Black Keys and Gary Clark Jr. will dig the mix of hard rock and cool blues.

IF YOU GO

Rose Music Hall June 13 Doors at 6 p.m.

Show at 7 p.m. $20

fee shops, now rocking sold-out 1,000-plus-seat theaters and opening for acts such as John Mayer and B.B. King. This has forced the band to adapt in some ways. “You change just as anything changes when it grows,” Vos says. “When the rooms get bigger, your sound gets bigger.”

What Vos says the band doesn’t plan to change is the inherent spirit that led to its formation in the first place.“You’re always trying to play the best music that’s from your heart, that’s honest and authentic to who you are as a person, no matter what.”

Don’t mis s Taco Tues day and Soul Food Everyday !

Located in Vandiver Plaza | 1301 Vandiver Dr, Suite E - Columbia OPEN TUESDAY TO SUNDAY | 10:30 am - 6:00 pm Dine In • Carry Out 573-424-3718 Menu Changes Daily • 10 Minutes From Downtown

Mrs G’s A Touch Of Soul Photography courtesy of The Record Company

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

17

CU LT URE ART

Making art work The captains of Columbia Art League and Art in the Park are the women behind the scenes.

BY OLIVIA JACKSON

C

olumbia Art League is about more than the art hanging on the walls or standing on displays. Founded in 1959, the league provides Columbians with a place to learn, appreciate and create. For the four women who compose the main staff — Holly Stitt, Karen Stout, Louise Sarver and Taylor Boyce — it’s also about finding community. Read about the journeys these women took to arrive at Columbia Art League and how they’ve been preparing for its biggest event of the year, Art in the Park.

Holly Stitt Stitt’s mother and grandmother are both avid artists who impressed upon her the value of creativity. As she got older, though, Stitt grew distant from the art world and focused instead on business ventures in Jefferson City.

In 2009, she dipped her toes back in with a drawing class at Columbia Art League. Stitt later got so involved with the art league that one year she even received an award for taking the most classes.

In 2014, she joined the Board of Directors. She soon became the board’s treasurer, then its president. Today, she is the executive director of Columbia Art League, a role that entails overseeing basically everything the league does, including Art in the Park, where local and regional artists take over Stephens Lake Park for two days to sell their creations.

Karen Stout Art isn’t instilled in everyone from a young age. Stout is one of these people.

“I had probably some of the worst art teachers you can imagine,” she says. Despite these rocky beginnings, Stout eventually discovered an affinity for aesthetics and antiquities. After studying studio art,

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VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

Holly Stitt, left, along with Louise Sarver, center, and Taylor Boyce have been hard at work the past several months coordinating Art in the Park.

ART IN THE PARK

June 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; June 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free Stephens Lake Park

art history and interior design at Stephens College, she pursued a master’s degree in art education.

Halfway through her graduate program, Stout was offered a role at the art league as education director. Since then, she has developed classes the league offers and found artists to teach them. In preparation for Art in the Park, she has also spent time coordinating activities for children at the festival.

Louise Sarver Sarver is proof that one need not be an artist to succeed in the art world. While majoring in political science, Sarver always wanted to work in an organization centered around community, so when Stitt hired her to be operations manager for the art league, it was a perfect fit. “I just loved the organization as a whole, and that’s what drew me to the art league: the community of our organization, the people that were here, and seeing all the things that they were creating,” she says. Since beginning her current role a year and a half ago, she has curated quarterly exhibits and aided in event planning.

Taylor Boyce While pursuing her degree in education, Boyce realized she enjoyed teaching art.

But she didn’t want to teach in a public school because she says she believes the enforcement of curriculum hinders kids’ abilities to freely create.

So last summer, Boyce joined the Columbia Art League as an intern teaching children’s classes, such as one developed for home-schooled kids. While Stout takes time for maternity leave, Boyce has also assisted with the role of educational director.

Photography by Sarai Vega

C U LT U RE STAGE

Love amid confusion Talking Horse Productions tackles identity and the relationship between doctor and patient.

BY LAURA SIGMUND

W

hether identifying as a man, woman or someone outside the binary, everyone wants to see themselves represented honestly and thoroughly. Although major films and television shows have progressed in showing more forms of gender expression, local representation is often a rarity.

But Talking Horse Productions aims to start a conversation here in Columbia.

In June, LGBTQ Awareness month, the theater will be putting on a production of BOY, which follows the story of a male who is raised as a female after a botched circumcision surgery.

Rachel Bauer’s actors rehearse for BOY, which will be her directorial debut.

BOY

Talking Horse June 7-9; 13-16 7:30 p.m.; Sundays 2 p.m., $15; seniors $13

Telling underrepresented stories seems to be a common interest among the theater’s staff. Director Rachel Bauer says what drew her to the script was how BOY diverts from traditional cisgender narratives. It allows people to either find a character they identify with or discover situations they didn’t even know existed.

MU junior Molly Hart identifies as queer, and she says the play is helpful

to those wanting to learn about communities they are not personally part of.

“A lot of times, when people meet someone of an identity they haven’t met yet, they have all sorts of inappropriate and awkward questions that they don’t know are inappropriate and awkward,” Hart says. She adds that having an onstage figure answer some of the tough questions can take part of the uncomfortable burden off oneself.

Stories like BOY put new identities into the spotlight, but comprehensive representation is not yet present in society. Even in LGBTQ stories, Hart says there is still too much focus on white cisgender male stories and the process of coming out.

“I guess I hesitate to praise media representations of queer people because I think when you praise it, people are going to assume there’s no more work to be done there,” Hart says. Accurate representation is within reach as long as more narratives like BOY continue to reach audiences.

See our schedule online at theatre.missouri.edu Performances at the Rhynsburger Theatre and at Studio 4.

Tickets Rhynsburger Theatre box office, (573) 882-PLAY(7529) or online at theatre.missouri.edu

By Barry Kornhauser Based on the children’s book by Don Freeman

Book by Terrence McNally Music and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty KENNEDY CENTER AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL REGION V

Directed by Dr. Matt Saltzberg

GOLD MEDALLION WRITING FOR PERFORMANCE PROGRAM

Come join Corduroy on his delightfully of a department store in search of his missing button. The tender, enduring story about true friendship stirs up the stage with a rumpus of action!

Photography by Sarai Vega

Musical Director Christine Jarquio Nichols

Set in the ever-changing landscape of turn-of-the-century New York, three distinctly American tales are woven together.

destructive chase through every section

JUNE 19 — JUNE 23

Director Dr. Joy Powell

JUNE 11, JULY 2

JULY 11 — JULY 21 VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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Two Vox writers documented a night spent in separate Columbia Waffle Houses. Their journey is brought to you by five cups of coffee, four waffles, three strips of bacon, two orders of eggs, one biscuits and gravy, hash browns — smothered and covered — and the wonderful employees they met along the way.

BY BROOKE JOHNSON AND CONNOR LAGORE • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN WESTON

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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f I could have done one thing differently, I’d have brought a sweatshirt. For a majority of the 13 hours I spent in the Waffle House on Vandiver Drive on Oct. 12, 2018, I sat directly under an air vent. Shivering.

There’s something fantastical about those windowed walls — a limitless feeling. My friend and fellow writer Brooke Johnson and I decided to spend an overnight at two different Columbia Waffle Houses to witness the dark hours of the third shift.

Since its founding in 1955 by neighbors Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner, the 24-hour diner has amassed more than 2,100 locations, mostly throughout the South, and the lore to go along with them. There’s a Waffle House record label; FEMA uses a Waffle House Index of closings as an informal determination of the severity of hurricane damage; customers know without consulting a menu how to order their hashbrowns smothered, chunked or covered.

As food adventurer and chef Anthony Bourdain put it, the franchise is “an irony-free zone where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts; where everybody regardless of race, creed, color or degree of inebriation, is welcomed.”

As I sat down at restaurant #1531 on Vandiver Drive, Brooke took a seat at #1791 on South Providence Road. We’d made a pact to stay in our respective locations from sundown to sunrise, about 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 a.m. And we found that Bourdain was right. While every Waffle House is distinctive in its own right, they are bound by the same inherent ideals: community and waffles.

–C.L. #1531, 7 p.m.

Her name is Chris Michael, but her name tag says Cinnamon. “It’s my Native American name,” she says. She’s short and slim, and she looks wise beyond her 49 years.

Cinnamon makes her rounds, checking in on the late-night customers. She runs the overnight show at Waffle House #1531.

She zooms around the restaurant, taking orders and jawing with patrons. To her, they’re all “sweetheart” or “honey.”

Once I explain I’m here to write a story, she gives me a quizzical look but nonetheless directs me toward a small table, her bony arm poking out from a blue Waffle House oxford. The booth sits in the north corner of the store, barely big enough for two. She says that’s where I’ll have the best view for the evening. #1719, 7:30 p.m.

The Waffle House on Providence is nearly empty when I arrive, but I introduce myself to the few employees there: Mi-

randa Wilson, Judy Saffell and Josh Ware, who no longer works there. The three share that particular bond of people working together in the service industry, the one earned through batter, stress and tips.

The shenanigans begin as Judy tells me of her recent move here from California. Josh and Miranda mill about, quiet but for the two words they alternate uttering: “Marco” and “Polo.”

Judy and her husband moved here in July. Marco.

Judy is retired but hates sitting around, so she got this job for something to do. Polo.

Judy says, “The kids here are real easy to get along with.” Marco.

Judy with a slice. Miranda says “Polo,” and it’s back to Josh. They’re up to five slices — three on Judy’s right shoulder, two on her left. The pickles stay in place surprisingly well.

While talking with Judy, I accidentally drop my notebook. I bend to pick it up, and something wet falls from my body and slaps on the ground. A pickle.

Wow, I think. I am welcome here.

8:15 p.m.

Josh wants to play me a song from Waffle House’s signature label. “It’s (one of) the only restaurant that makes its own music,” he boasts. He feeds a dollar to the machine, and a slow, plucky melody drifts through the air.

“With coffee that’s fresh like the morning, she’ll smile when I walk through the door ... Special lady waiting for me at the Waffle House ...”

The game continues, and I watch as pickle slices pile up on Judy’s shoulders. Each recital of the explorer’s name is accompanied by another duo of dill pickle slices placed there by Miranda and Josh. Josh says “Marco,” signaling that it’s Miranda’s turn to anoint the unaware

8:45 p.m.

A man who looks like an old-timey bandit enters: He’s wearing all black and sporting a thin mustache. He walks behind the counter. It’s Karl Lueck, the manager.

He eyes the empty counter space in front of me. I’ve been here more than an hour and haven’t ordered a thing. I bet Karl thinks I’m a scoundrel.

After a while, he asks, “Got any friends?”

Ah, he doesn’t think I’m a scoundrel — just a loser.

“I do. Why?” I answer.

“They need jobs?”

One of Karl’s 9 o’clock servers is a

no-show; the other called in to say he won’t make it until midnight.

Luckily, the cook tonight, Ben Chamberlain, shows up right at 9 p.m. It’s just Karl, Ben and I now.

WAFFLE FACT: Waffle Records has made roughly 40 original songs since the ’80s.

Waffle House sells its specialty diner mugs in restaurants and online.

#1531, 9:40 p.m.

A quartet of teenagers strolls in and sits at the high bar in the middle of the restaurant. After ordering, two of them walk over to the jukebox. I look away, but when the first couple notes of Elvis’ 1957 “Jailhouse Rock” fill the mostly empty restaurant, my head snaps back up to see the two dancing in the middle of the dining area. They are unbelievably in sync. An amused Cinnamon laughs from behind the counter. “Oh, look at you two!” she says. The other two kids observe with slight amusement, but they’re not as captivated as Cinnamon or me. It seems they’ve seen this before.

Eventually, their food is ready, and they sit down to eat like nothing had happened. Cinnamon and I marvel at their bravery, and I ask her if she’s ever witnessed anything like that. “You never know,” she says. #1719, 9:50 p.m.

A group of boys sporting varying combinations of athletic shorts, sweatpants and purple Tolton Catholic High School T-shirts and hoodies walks in. They cram themselves into two booths. When two more boys enter, there’s only one seat open with their friends.

“There isn’t room in this Waffle House for both of us,” jokes Luke Guinn, one of the newcomers. Luke and his compatriot Joe Jenner depart to claim a booth of their own.

They tell me about the football game they just won against Warsaw High School and how they come to Waffle House after every game, win or lose. Two of their close friends established the practice a few years ago.

Luke and Joe began accompanying them shortly after.

“It’s probably the highlight of my week to be honest,” Luke says. His love for this tradition rings through every word, especially as he tells me he hopes to keep it alive even after he and his friends graduate and move away to different colleges. It’s sweet and idealistic and, I think sadly, unlikely.

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

23

Even during the late-night hours, Cinnamon is a positive presence, and she serves a side of sarcasm with every plate.

#1531, 10:30 p.m.

A regular named Nick sits down and orders before heading to the jukebox and putting in some money — a lot of money.

Cinnamon will later estimate he paid $20, which buys hours of music. Songs from Prince and The Beach Boys drift out of the sound system, but there aren’t enough songs queued up to fill out his credit. He invites Cinnamon to choose one. I don’t have any expectations as to what she might play, but Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” was certainly not high on my list of guesses.

As Nick’s queued songs begin to run out, Cinnamon calls me over and points me toward the Waffle Records archives.

I scroll past aptly titled ditties about Waffle House steaks (“Waffle House Steaks”) and the number of ways to eat a hamburger (“844,739 Ways to Eat a Hamburger”), and I find a couple songs I’d like to hear.

I go back and sit in my small booth.

Soon enough, the sounds of “Why Would You Eat Your Grits Anyplace Else?” waft through the speakers. #1719, 10:30 p.m.

“Rockstar Grill Operator” is embroidered on the back of Ben’s blue cap, and rightfully so; Ben is Karl’s best employee.

Karl says that if he could, he’d saturate his staff with Bens.

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WAFFLE FACT: The first location in Avondale Estates, Georgia, is now a museum.

Even when the restaurant is empty or I’m peppering him with questions, Ben moves about with tunnel vision on his tasks. He says it’s like driving on the highway: “Maintain your lane. Maintain your speed. Maintain your cool.”

It’s not just that Ben is a good worker.

Ben actually cares about the work he’s doing. At one point, I watch him ladle pale, runny batter into two of the waffle irons, set the timer for three minutes and turn around to ring up a customer.

The timer goes off. “Bottom ones, Karl,” Ben calls behind him.

Then, to the customer, “Thank you for your generosity; we’ll see you next time.” His manner is far more formal than one might expect, but it suits him.

A few minutes pass. In a restaurant-full-of-customers time, that’s ages.

Karl might as well have delivered those steaming waffles to their recipients in the Stone Age. But Ben never forgets.

“That work out OK, those two waffles?” he asks Karl.

1 a.m.

I squat next to DJ Stegman. He has pulled up a chair to a booth crammed with his four friends, Jon Anderson, Logan Richardson, Ethan Lesko and Tyler Hoerschgen. They’re all from Jefferson City,

where they used to work together at the GQT Capital 8 movie theater. Their shifts often ended late at night, when there was a paucity of options for post-work grub.

There’s a 24-hour Steak ‘n Shake there, but they preferred making the drive to the nearest Waffle House, which was this one in Columbia, about a half hour away.

Those days have ended, and the group has moved on. Tonight is a special occasion, though, a celebration of their weekend reunion. Their conversation is lively despite being continually derailed by their, to be frank, constant bullshitting.

At one point, Jon offhandedly refers to what they’re doing as “Waffle Bois.”

“Wait, so is this,” Tyler gestures vaguely around the restaurant, “‘Waffle Bois?’ Or are we,” he gestures around the table, ‘the Waffle Bois?’”

“The experience is ‘Waffle Bois,’” Jon says. #1531, 3 a.m.

For most of the evening, 52-year-old Rodney Coe speaks only occasionally — once to let me know that he’s worked at the store since 2014, and another time to let me know that every other cook puts cold chocolate chips on the waffles. “I don’t,” he says. “I put ’em on warm.”

That’s all I get until around 3 a.m. as he’s waltzing around the kitchen, cleaning up

AT 3 A.M., THE EARLY MORNING REGULARS START TO DROP IN. grease, drops of waffle batter and crumbs of toast. He talks to no one in particular, or so it seemed. “Motherfuckers bring their problems into Waffle House.” Eventually, I realize he’s talking to me.

Most of his remarks circle back to the restaurant. “I’m workin’ for my kids,” he says, whom he’s tried to raise with respect and manners. He tells them, “I’m not gonna be around forever, so I have to teach you now, so you can do good in society.” He’s filled with metaphors that offer more than I expect to learn at 3 a.m.

“If you’re in the fast lane going slow,” he says, “that’s disrespectful.”

Eventually, the early morning regulars start to drop in. One asks Rodney how he’s doing. “My back hurts like hell, and I’m

tired,” he responds honestly. But no matter; he keeps on cleaning and humming. #1719, 3:30 a.m.

Karl swaps his Waffle House baseball cap for his beanie and puts on a jacket. He’s been awake for 22.5 hours, almost all of which he’s spent at this diner, and finally, he’s going home.

He hands me a bill for the biscuits and gravy I recently demolished. Missing from the slip of paper is my waffle from earlier and the abundance of coffee I drank.

“Karl, did you want to charge me for the waffle and coffee?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about it,” he responds.

I really do feel like a special lady at Waffle House. #1531, 7 a.m.

Cinnamon never seems to slow down during her 17-hour shift. Whenever I’d ask how she was doing, all I’d get in reply was a chipper, “I’m all right.”

Waffle House #1531 runs on Cinnamon. She bridges the gap between the kitchen and dining area, warmly shout-

WAFFLE FACT: The ID numbers for each location are assigned chronologically.

The 24-hour southern diner has amassed roughly 2,100 locations across the U.S. since 1955.

ing to customers from the waffle irons or teasing Rodney while clearing a table.

Once she greets you, she’ll take your order, bring your food and say goodbye, but not before busting your chops a bit.

“Can I have some gravy?” a customer asks. “No, I can’t give it to you,” she says devilishly. The sarcasm goes right over the customer’s head, but it does nothing to discourage her from cracking wise.

One of her favorites is when she brings the check. “OK, it’ll be 915 pennies!”

She’s intertwined with the restaurant, or at least with my time there. Which is why when her shift is over, it feels like mine is, too. The sun comes up, and Cinnamon goes home.

Before I leave, she says goodbye. I enjoyed my 13 hours with her. I’d like to think the feeling is mutual. She makes me and Brooke, who’s joined me for the last half hour and one final waffle, each put on a paper Waffle House hat usually given to children. She writes “13 hours” on the brim. Before heading out the door, I ask her how much I owe her.

“A zillion dollars.”

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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The Nevels family pauses for a family photo in their yard. From left: Lillyana, 4; mom Christy; Alex, 7; Christian, 12; Yareli, 9; David, 15; Ben, 11; dad Matthew; Sofia, 3; and Wesley, 9. Not pictured are Samuel Gurnesy, 22; Mollie, 20; and Olivia, 18.

Hers, his, ours and theirs 26

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

Photography by Photographer Name

When five siblings needed a place to call home, Christy and Matthew Nevels offered them that and more.

STORY BY MIMI WRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARYN MEYER

ADOPTION DAY At 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2018, Christy and Matthew Nevels walk into courtroom D10 of Boone County Courthouse responsible for the care of six children.

At 8:57 a.m., they walk out responsible for 11.

In just 12 minutes, they become a family of 13.

Before entering the courtroom, Ben piggybacks on David, his soonto-be-adopted older brother’s back.

Mollie holds the hand of Lillyana, her soon-to-be-adopted little sister, while she twirls in circles. Alex hops on Ben’s back before Ben carries Sofia, his soon-to-be-adopted little sister, in his arms. He stoops down to wipe her face with her dress. Alex jumps on the multi-colored tiles while the family waits to enter the courtroom. The others entertain themselves before Christy, their mom, wrangles them in for a family photo.

Photography by Photographer Name

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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After they enter and take their seats in various spots around the courtroom, the adoption proceedings begin. As Judge Leslie Schneider reads off the legally changed names, smiles spread over the faces of the oldest three — Yareli, Christian and David — and Judge Schneider declares it a record number of children she’s seen adopted by one family. Ten of the 11 children are present in the courtroom. The only one absent is Samuel Gurnsey, Christy’s oldest, who attends college in Rexburg, Idaho. Their guardian ad litem, Bill Ellis; their caseworker, Kirstin Cardwell; and the Nevelses’ attorney are spread throughout the courtroom, as well as Matthew’s father and stepmother. As soon as the adoption is finalized, newly adopted David takes a selfie with Judge Schneider.

Christy and Matthew adopted five siblings: David, 15; Christian, 12; Yareli, 9; Lillyana, 4; and Sofia, 3. All took the last name Nevels that day. The five adopted children joined the Nevels family’s biological children. Christy has one child, Samuel, 22, from a former

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VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

marriage. Matthew has two from a former marriage: Mollie, 20; and Olivia, 18. And together, Matthew and Christy have Benjamin, 11; Wesley, 9; and Alexander, 7.

Judge Schneider asks how many children are present. Mollie jokes, “Too many.”

FIFTEEN MONTHS EARLIER So today is Wednesday, July 12, 2017 about 3 a.m. I have sleeping children. I have unresolved decisions and needs. I have a full heart. I have gratitude. I feel like my life is full and has complete purpose and meaning. I feel humbled and blessed. I feel overwhelmed.

I wonder how this will unfold. How will this work out? How will it not? … I will need help. I will have to include the Lord in my life! I must become more like him, because I have more people to serve. I feel that I have put my boulders in my jar and can now fit the pebbles and sand around with much more satisfaction. I have a forced priority list. It will be wonderful. Wonderfully insane.

Christy Nevels journaled this the month she and her husband took in the

five children. Before then, the five kids were in and out of foster care. The four youngest had been put in protective custody at the beginning of summer 2016 and were fostered by two families, including a couple Christy and Matthew know through church, Suzanne and Aaron Bonsall, who fostered the children in 2016 and 2017.

At the time his younger siblings were first taken into protective custody that summer, David, the oldest, was visiting his grandparents, so he was placed with a different family than his siblings upon his return to Columbia.

In Missouri, once a report is made to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline, a worker from the children’s division of Missouri government verifies the safety of the child and coordinates with local law enforcement when necessary. Under state law, only a juvenile court judge can make the final decision to remove a child from their parents’ custody. According to the Missouri Department of Social Services, most children who are taken from their fam-

Ben, 11, currently has two pets of his own, but he hopes to eventually get a new kind of pet. “If I ever get a spider, then David is never coming in my room again,” he says.

“He hates spiders.”

ily home end up reunified with their parents, a parent, a grandparent or another relative.

For a brief period in fall 2016, the five children were reintroduced into their home with their mother and the father of the four youngest, David’s stepfather. But that didn’t last long. By September, their mother had served jail time and struggled with substance abuse. In November 2016, their father was arrested for being an undocumented immigrant. He had previously been arrested for domestic abuse; David reported the abuse to the police, and the children were again taken out of their home and placed in protective custody.

Matthew Nevels says David in particular wasn’t treated well at his original home.

For the Nevels family’s adopted children, the primary reason they were taken from their home was neglect, both educational and medical. Matthew says they missed a lot of school, with absences totaling in the hundreds, and that numerous people reported their situation to child protective services.

The neglect escalated to the point where teachers at Lillyana and Sofia’s child care believed the children were staying at strangers’ homes.

“We worked very hard to try to reunite the kids and their birth parents,” says Bill Ellis, the children’s guardian

ad litem. “But it wasn’t able to happen.”

When the state of Missouri removes children from their parents’ homes, a guardian ad litem is assigned to the case.

Ellis was first appointed when the children were taken into protective custody.

He says his job is to be an independent advocate for the children. “I think it’s in every child’s best interest to have a healthy and happy and safe and stable home to live in permanently with par-

After the family gets home from Sunday morning church, one of the children leads a prayer before lunch (below). Once he finishes eating, Christian (above), 12, plays a game of catch with brothers David and Ben.

ents who love them and with siblings that they love,” he says. “Basically, the same family sort of dynamic that everyone would hope for, for themselves or their own children.”

Their biological father was officially deported to Mexico in November 2017.

After not following the reunification plan, the kids’ biological mother, a U.S. citizen, willingly terminated her parental rights in August 2018. The children officially became orphans.

David joined his four siblings at the Bonsalls’ at the end of the 2016-17 school year, but as summer 2017 rolled around, the Bonsalls planned to relocate with the children to Arizona for a new job. However, the court decided against those options. There was talk of the children going to a temporary children’s home or to an aunt, but the caseworker determined the Nevels family was the best option.

“They’re just very open,” Cardwell says of the family. “They already have a large family of their own. … They’re very loving and welcoming. I just felt that they really wanted these children.”

As the caseworker, Cardwell’s job is to oversee the placement of children in foster care. Cardwell says this is the largest group of siblings she has ever been assigned. Because the Nevels family already merged children from previous marriages, Cardwell thought they would be prepared to take on more.

VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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(From left) Mom Christy, 9-yearold Wesley and 7-year-old Alex look through gifts that dad Matthew (right) brought for the family after he returned from a business trip.

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Photography by Photographer Name

Christy met Christian while she was a Cub Scout leader and met Lillyana while she was a Sunday school teacher. She says both children were difficult and hyperactive, and she was looking forward to them leaving the state with the Bonsalls.

Christian was especially oppositional, but despite this, she spent more time with the children around the time of the Bonsalls’ move. Christy helped them by picking the five up from school and watching them at the Nevelses’ home. The children, especially David and Christian, grew close to the family and asked Christy if they could stay there.

“I was like ‘Yeah, no, that won’t work,’” Christy says.

But she saw the need and didn’t want the children to go to a temporary home.

She offered to care for them until there was a permanent home, though she didn’t tell Matthew. The situation soon became anything but temporary.

ONE WEEK BEFORE ADOPTION DAY Some of the children sit in the cramped kitchen of the Nevelses’ old house at a folding table and a children-sized picnic table eating ramen noodles, apples and oranges for lunch. Christy and Matthew have temporary furniture set up while

The situation soon became anything but temporary. they move to a bigger home in Fulton.

Cardwell talks about what sacrifices the Nevelses have made to accommodate the additional children in their lives; they’ve bought a 15-person Ford Transit van and renovated a larger home. “They’ve never given me concern to think that it was too much or something that they couldn’t handle,” Cardwell says. “I think it helps that they were already a blended family, and now we’re blending it some more.”

David practices writing his full name and new initials on the whiteboard in the kitchen of their old ranch home.

Because David is 14, he must consent to his name change and adoption. He writes out his current name, David Antonio Baires, then writes what his future name would be with the name change:

MISSOURI FOSTER CARE BY THE NUMBERS àà In fiscal year 2018, the state of Missouri had 73,924 reported incidents of child abuse and neglect, up 8.7 percent from 2017. A total of 106,090 children were involved, which is the highest number in the past five years. àà Of the reported incidents, Boone County accounted for 2,413 children. àà In Boone County, the average length of out-of-home placement was 25.2 months. The average age was 8.9 years old. àà In fiscal year 2018, 106 new family-centered services cases were opened in Boone County. The state as a whole had 4,605 cases opened. àà By the end of the fiscal year, 103 cases were closed in Boone County, and 5,155 cases were closed in the state. àà As a state, 2,260 children were in foster care. àà 164 Boone County children entered or reentered out-of-home placement. àà There were 39 adoption finalizations in Boone County in 2018. In the state, there were 1,737.

David Baires Nevels. Christy says they thought it would be a good idea to keep their birth surname as their middle name to retain some of their history.

Later that day, eight of the 11 children climb into the van. Classical music plays while Matthew drives the family to the Grasslands Trail south of Columbia. They hop out one by one, zooming in all different directions. Christy occasionally scoops up Sofia into her arms when she gets tired of keeping up. The children crunch along the fall leaves and soon come upon an old, fallen tree, which they all climb, including 2-yearold Sofia. Christy says they want the children to test their own skill, so they can learn their limits.

ONE WEEK AFTER ADOPTION DAY On a cold November school night, the first snow of the season falls as five of the 11 children read before bedtime. A harsh white ambiance is emitted by a long, skinny rectangular light resting on a tall moving box full of clothes.

The coming winter season has made the surrounding area almost pitch black a little bit past 8 p.m. Deer can be seen in their front yard only by the headlights of a car. The children are entranced by the snow but are told to finish their reading. They read a variety of children’s books while sitting on the floor, a tall bar stool and the sofa.

Yareli reads The Adventures of Pinocchio out loud as Christy listens. She gets stuck on Jiminy Cricket’s name until Matthew steps in to help her sound it out. Christian quietly reads about a yellow python in Verdi. Reading skills are a primary focus of Christy and Matthew’s; the adopted children were behind in school.

The biological mother of the five can speak Spanish and English, though the children never fully grasped Spanish, so there was a communication barrier with their biological father, who spoke only Spanish. David told Matthew that he knew Spanish before kindergarten, but Matthew says David’s grasp of Spanish is minimal. Matthew finds it interesting that the four younger children know so little about their Mexican heritage. “The kids say that

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24 HOURS IN THE NEVELS HOUSEHOLD 5:15 A.M.

David, 15, wakes up and gets ready for his day. His ride takes him to seminary, a religious class for high school students.

6:15 A.M.

Christy gets up and heads upstairs. She first says good morning to Yareli, 9, who usually responds promptly. Then she heads to Christian, 12, and Alex’s, 7, room. She says good morning to Wesley, 9, and then Ben, 11, until she sees them get up. She goes back to Alex’s room to see if he has gotten out of bed.

6:25 A.M.

Christy waits downstairs for the children. Christian rarely needs any reminders, but Wesley needs to be told to be calm. Yareli needs to be reminded to take another bite because it’s almost 7 a.m. Alex needs to be reminded to focus.

Ben sometimes needs to be reminded to not be mean to the others. Lillyana, 4, and Sofia, 3, wake up, and she reminds them to sit on the couch until the big kids are ready to leave.

7:11 A.M.

The kids go to the end of the driveway to wait for their 7:14 a.m. bus. Alex is almost always the last one out; Christy rushes to get him there.

7:15 A.M.

After feeding the two youngest, Christy helps them get ready.

Then the girls have pretend play.

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the TV was always on in Spanish, that their parents always spoke in Spanish,” he says. “But these kids know so little Spanish that I have a difficult time understanding what kind of actual relationship they could have had with him.”

Matthew once asked Yareli if she ever had a conversation with her father, and Yareli said yes. But Matthew says he thinks the children don’t understand the depth of a real conversation. “They never learned what a relationship is,” Matthew says. “They don’t understand the difference between a conversation and speaking.”

Christian and Yareli were placed in English Language Learning courses at Columbia schools, and they continued with this program when the Nevels family transferred to North Callaway School District in the move.

The lights aren’t on overhead as some of the electrical work is still being done in their newly renovated home in Fulton. The house, which they moved into in early November, is Matthew’s childhood home, where he grew up the third of eight children.

Matthew remembers spending a lot of time playing outside while growing up in Fulton. “I was on the older side of all the kids, and so I always had younger siblings that we were taking care of,” Matthew says. “There were

babies around for quite a bit of time, so I learned how to work with young kids very well. And still that’s one of my favorite things to do, is to work with little kids.”

The five children sit quietly while Matthew reads. Alex lounges on his right, Wesley reclines on his left, Christian and Yareli sit on the floor, and Ben rests on a bar stool listening. Sofia and Lily have already gone to bed. David is at the year-end banquet for his cross country team.

Copies of the Book of Mormon are stacked on top of the piano and then are dispersed among the children, their names written on the bottom in black ink. Matthew begins reading with Jacob 4:1.

Matthew and Christy are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They hold religion closely in their lives and have introduced it to their adopted children as well.

David, Christian and Yareli have all expressed interest in getting baptized.

Because the three are converts to the LDS church, they must be taught by missionaries about the religion; they started lessons in late November and chose the last Saturday in December to get baptized.

Although Christy and Matthew are active in their faith, they didn’t want to

On a Sunday afternoon, the family has lunch together where Sofia (above) slurps up a ramen noodle.

Then the Nevelses have a family quiet time, during which Wesley (left) peers out the window.

force their children to join the church.

Christy says the older three adopted children were begging to be baptized, but she wanted them to be educated and learn about the faith first. David, Christian and Yareli were baptized Dec. 30 and continue to be active in their faith.

Additionally, members of the LDS church believe marriage and family lasts for eternity. This means that commitment is highly revered in the faith, as is motherhood and familial relationships. Christy says it is more common in the faith for women to be stay-at-home mothers. Being committed in a relationship is also something that Matthew and Christy wanted to uphold for the adopted children because they had both been through a divorce. Matthew says that as divorced parents, he and Christy have a stronger desire to see problems through and not quit.

“Taking in somebody else’s child as your own is a difficult thing,” Matthew says. “I think us both having taken in

our spouse’s child as our own has prepared us in many ways for taking these other children in. I’m not sure that I would have had what it takes to do this if I hadn’t done that already.”

Christy says it was difficult at first because she was in a much later stage of motherhood with their older children.

But she realized the foster children needed love and a family.

Matthew and Christy had never fostered children before. They had discussions about being foster parents but weren’t planning to until their children were fully grown. Despite this, Matthew believes that they were able to offer a better home than what the five were being offered elsewhere.

“Really, our greatest purpose on Earth is to provide and love our families and teach them more about how to become the best they can,” Christy says.

Matthew also decided that if they could take care of the children for a short period of time, adoption was possible. “If I could help them for a week, why can’t I help them for a month?”

Matthew says. “If I could be committed to them for a month, why can’t I be committed for a year? I mean, why not? If I can help them, then I should be able to commit to helping them.”

After the children go to bed, Christy heads into the kitchen and undoes her braids. She sits at one of two kitchen tables and combs through her hair. Lice have worked their way into their household from Sofia’s daycare. Earlier in the night, she patiently combed through several of the children’s hair, rinsing out the comb here and there.

Finally, David returns home from his banquet, proudly showing his certificate and letters to his mom and dad.

He displays his letters on the piano, and he reads his certificate aloud: “This certifies that David Nevels has been awarded this certificate for participation in cross country during the school year 2018.”

Christy pipes up when she hears his name. “That’s your first official David Nevels thing, isn’t it?”

8 A.M.

Matthew leaves for work at Calibration Technologies in Columbia. In the next eight-anda-half hours before the children return from school, Christy has a list of chores to complete: one to three loads of laundry, tidying the kitchen, sweeping and mopping the floors and other housework.

Then onto paperwork: scheduling, bills, etc. After the girls’ nap at noon, Christy goes on a walk or plays with them at home.

4:30 P.M.

The school kids come home and attack the kitchen. Then homework starts for those who have it. For those who don’t, it is often, “Can I play on this electronic?”

5 P.M.

Christy starts dinner.

5:45 P.M.

Matthew picks up David from track practice. They return just after 6 p.m., and everyone is eating by 6:30.

7 P.M.

Bedtime routine starts. Older kids are sent to prepare for bed.

Younger kids are in bed for story time by 7:30 p.m. after getting into their pajamas and brushing their teeth.

7:45 P.M.

The older kids are all downstairs reading and ready for family Scripture study and prayer.

8:30 P.M.

The oldest three or four stay to listen to Matthew read a story. Christy and the kids proceed to bed.

9:30 P.M.

Matthew comes to bed, and lights are out around 10-11 p.m.

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WHAT’S You’ve taken them for granted your entire life: the hospital of your birth, the road of your childhood home, the high school of your formative years, even the buildings that make up your city. Most have names chosen for specific reasons, but you likely don’t know what those reasons are. A team of Vox writers sought to demystify the history behind

IN A

some of Columbia’s most recognizable buildings, proving T H E R E I S A LOT I N A N A M E .

NAME? Photography Illustrations

by Photographer

by Hope Johnson; Namephotography courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and The City of Columbia

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THE MEDICINE MEN These three doctors helped turn mid-Missouri into a health hub.

BY JASMINE-KAY JOHNSON T H E H E A LT H C A R E I N D U S T R Y is an important part of Columbia today, and the city has been the site of several medical breakthroughs throughout its history.

Three Missouri doctors, who were all transplants to the area, shaped the medical world through passion and desire for change.

N I F O N G B O U L E VA R D , N I F O N G PA R K As a teen with a penchant for the arts, Chris Campbell was no stranger to Maplewood Barn Theatre. However, he didn’t recognize the name that graced the boulevard’s sign: Nifong.

“Little did I know that 45 years later, I would know all of this: exactly who Nifong is and was and that I would be the executive director of the historical society and museum that is headquartered right next to his house,” Campbell says.

It wasn’t medicine but the heir of a wealthy Columbia family who brought Dr. Frank G. Nifong to central Missouri from St. Louis. He married Lavinia Lenoir in 1900. Shortly after, Nifong began working as an MU clinical surgeon before starting a private practice.

In 1917, the Missouri General Assembly passed a law that allowed counties to fund the construction of health

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facilities through bonds. Construction for the Boone County hospital started in 1919 after support was gathered

by Nifong and others posing petition signatures through newspaper ads by asking one question: “What is your life worth?” Campbell says Nifong pressed for a county hospital because people were dying of preventable ailments due to distance from the city and harsh road conditions.

When the hospital opened in 1921, Nifong became its chief of staff. In 1954, he donated $100,000 to help with improvements and the construction of a new wing.

Lenoir mourned her husband’s death later that year; she died four years after him of breast cancer in the same hospital that her husband helped build. Both the hospital and Nifong were inducted into the Boone County Historical Society Hall of Fame in 2011.

ELLIS FISCHEL CANCER CENTER “Many precious lives will be saved by the prompt treatment made possible by this law.”

Those were the final 15 words in Missouri Gov. Lloyd C. Stark’s telegram to Dr. Ellis Fischel in 1937. It was in reference to a bill that established the

future Ellis Fischel Cancer Hospital on MU’s campus.

Hailing from St. Louis, Fischel was a veteran physician and advocate for improving cancer care in rural Missouri.

He was appointed chair of Missouri’s Cancer Commission following the passage of the 1937 bill. The National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, was the only place that focused on cancer treatment at the time, making Ellis Fischel Cancer Center the second facility in the nation.

Fischel pushed for Columbia as the location of the cancer center because of MU’s role in cancer research. Unfortunately, Fischel died in a car accident one year later en route to Jefferson City for work related to the Cancer Commission.

The hospital opened its doors in 1938 and was dedicated in Fischel’s name on April 26, 1940.

S A P P I N G TO N D R I V E Born in 1776, John Sappington was the third child of seven. The Sappingtons were Maryland residents before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, when he was nine years old. Sappington’s father trained him and his brothers in medicine, which eventually led him to Franklin, Tennessee. It was here in 1804 that Sappington met his wife, Jane Breathitt. U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton from Missouri later persuaded him to move his family of 11 to Arrow Rock, Missouri.

Sappington provided medical help to the public while also giving loans and importing and exporting products such as cotton and medicine. His success and soaring sales can be largely credited to the work of his family’s slaves.

Sappington is known for the invention of anti-fever pills in 1832. For people living along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, exposure to malaria, influenza and the fevers (both scarlet and yellow) were commonplace.

Sappington experimented with quinine, derived from cinchona trees, years after he began importing them from South America. Against the advice of his family, he published the pill’s formula in a medical treatise in 1844.

Photography courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and The State Historical Society of Missouri

IT’S THE HOUSE THAT MUSIC BUILT John William Boone used his art to bring together a city divided by racial boundaries.

BY ABIGAIL PERANO A M O N G T H E R A N K S of Scott Joplin and James Scott, John William Boone was a world-renowned black ragtime pianist in the late 1800s. Despite the racial disparities and segregation laws in mid-Missouri at the time, Boone broke down barriers and brought black and white communities together.

Born in 1864 in Miami, Missouri, Boone was given the nickname “Blind” Boone because he lost his sight when he was 6 months old due to meningitis.

As a child, Boone attended St. Louis School of the Blind where he learned to make brooms and read Braille. But he was not interested in either of those things; he was enchanted by the sounds of the piano that he heard down the hall in the advanced students’ classrooms.

People began to take notice of Boone’s innate skill: He could play a tune after hearing it just once.

According to The State Historical Society of Missouri, Boone would spend up to six hours a day practicing new music because he believed the only way to achieve greatness was through study.

And he didn’t let his disability limit him.

“He maintained his commitment to not see himself as a victim,” says Clyde Ruffin, the president of the John William Boone Heritage Foundation. Boone’s motto, “Merit, not sympathy, wins,” was written on all of his old concert flyers and brochures.

Boone was known for simply enjoying the music. Selling records was never his main priority; he just wanted to play.

The Boone Foundation Board describes him as a concert artist first: Only those who heard him perform live ever felt the full impact of his music.

Boone’s performances were attended by large crowds of both black and white concert-goers. Although segregation laws kept the two groups physically seperated within the venues, Boone’s song choices allowed each to hear music from the other’s culture. Ruffin says Boone would start his concerts by playing Negro spirituals ahead of the classical music. He called this “putting the cookies on the lower shelf.” Boone wanted to make all forms of music accessible to his audience diverse races.

Not only was he famous for his classical music, but he was also known for his philanthropic work in the Columbia community. Boone helped fund the construction of the chapel on the Christian College campus and contributed funds for the building Second Baptist Church.

T H E B L I N D B O O N E H O U S E sits on a lot that overlooks Flat Branch Creek, which is commemorated in one of Boone’s compositions entitled “Strains from the Flat Branch.” On Sept. 4, 1980, the home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The grand opening and dedication of the house was held Sept. 18, 2016.

Ruffin says the Boone house itself is important because it represents more than just Boone himself. “It’s the one monument that we have for African-American achievement at the highest level.”

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WHAT THE FONT?

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BEYOND THE BADGE

BY NICOLE SCHROEDER

Two Columbia police officers lost their lives, but their legacies live on.

A battle has been waging for the past 15 years — one that will likely never appear in any history textbook. It’s the fight of road sign fonts, between capital letter Highway Gothic and mixed-case Clearview. Its battlegrounds are the hundreds of pages of the Federal Highway Administration guidelines and street signs across the country.

The controversy began in 2004 when the FHWA granted the mixed uppercase and lowercase letters of Clearview interim approval and deemed it more legible. But soon, a defense mounted in favor of Highway Gothic. People worried the changing fonts could become hazardous if drivers spent too long trying to read them. To avoid such casualties, the decision to use Clearview was rescinded, and no new signs were printed in the font.

But it wasn’t that simple. As time passed, compliments on the readability of the already-printed Clearview signs came flooding in. So in 2018, the FHWA deemed research against the font insufficient, and usage of Clearview was once again allowed alongside Highway Gothic.

In Columbia, signs were printed in Clearview from 2009 until 2016. Since then, local signs employed a mixed-case version of Highway Gothic. As for old signs, regulations only require newly made signs follow the updated guidelines. For now, old signs printed in any of the approved fonts will remain in use until they need service. Still, only time will tell if the font feud is truly over.

BY KRISTIN BLAKE

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MICK’S JOURNEY HOME F R O M H I S F B I T R A I N I N G TO H I S S E N S E O F H U M O R , Mick Deaver was a well-rounded MUPD associate director. Although he died in a car collision in February 1980, his legacy lives on — be it on the street of his namesake or a university staff award.

MU was in Mick Deaver’s blood before he ever joined the force. After graduating from the university in 1966, he returned to his college stomping grounds as an MUPD officer in 1972. He continued learning and received training from the FBI and the Secret Service on protection of high-profile people. Retired MUPD Chief Jack Watring, who also completed the trainings, says he and Deaver covered President Jimmy Carter when he visited MU. “He wrote several articles on crowd control for both the FBI and a law enforcement organization for colleges and universities around the world.”

Deaver’s son, Shawn Deaver, remembers his father always cracking jokes and his unbelievable sense of humor. “He was very well-respected in not only the law enforcement community but also the university community,” he says. And his student-selected title of Homecoming Grand Marshal in 1979 is a testament to that. “If you’re going to have a beer with someone, Mick would’ve been a guy to have it with,” says Randy Boehm, retired Columbia Police Department police chief.

Shawn Deaver says the MU Board of Curators appointed a special committee to name a street in his honor. Now, M I C K D E A V E R M E M O R I A L B O U L E V A R D runs between the Hearnes Center and Memorial Stadium. “He was a big University of Missouri sports guy,” Watring says. In addition to a fraternal order of police for MU officers in his namesake, in 1980 the Staff Advisory Council created the Mick Deaver Memorial Award for Student Relations Excellence, which is given annually.

Photography courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Missourian Archives and The City of Columbia

MOLLY’S MEMORY T H E Y K N E W W H AT T H E Y H A D TO D O , but they didn’t want to. It was Christmastime, and officers Molly Bowden and Geoff Jones were investigating a case of stolen customer credit card information. After figuring out which K-Mart employee had stolen the customer’s financial details, Bowden paid a visit to the woman’s home only to find out the employee had used the stolen credit card to buy gifts for her two children. Bowden and Jones had to collect the gifts as evidence.

After returning the stolen items to the store, Jones says Bowden, a Hickman High School graduate who had served on the force for more than three years, had the idea to buy a majority of the gifts back and give them to the children. They hopped in line and did just that.

Her generous spirit embodies the kind of person Bowden was. She would later become the only Columbia police officer to be killed in the line of duty.

On Jan. 10, 2005, Bowden was shot three times by 23-year-old Richard Evans during a routine traffic stop at the corner of Nifong and Forum boulevards. She died exactly one month after the shooting.

But her legacy and name are still a staple of the Columbia community. Since her death, a scholarship at her alma mater, Columbia College, and an annual blood drive have been established. A part of Nifong Boulevard was named O F F I C E R M O L LY B O W D E N M E M O R I A L B O U L E VA R D .

In May 2016, the Molly Bowden Memorial Park was dedicated, and in April, the third annual Molly’s Miles memorial run was held in this park.

Her thoughtful spirit will also live on at the Molly Bowden Neighborhood Policing Center, which is set to break ground this summer. “Molly is an embodiment of what it means to have relationships in the community,” says Jones, who is currently serving as interim police chief.

START OF SHOW-ME The story behind Willard Vandiver and a road in north Columbia.

BY MATT NOWORUL A R OA D O N T H E N O R T H S I D E O F TO W N shares its name with the Missouri politician who would eventually inspire the state’s nickname. Willard Duncan Vandiver was born in Virginia in 1854. Three years later, his family relocated to a Boone County farm. Vandiver attended Central College in Fayette to study law and graduated in 1877.

He spent his early career as a professor of natural science at the Bellevue Institute in Caledonia before eventually becoming its president from 1880 to 1889. Four years later, Vandiver became the fifth president of Southeast Missouri State University.

Just last year, a professor at the university started a petition to change the name of the school to honor Vandiver. However, Vandiver’s biggest mark on Missouri didn’t come until 1899.

From 1897 to 1903, Vandiver served as a U.S. representative. According to the the Missouri Secretary of State archives, during a speech at a Naval banquet in 1899, Vandiver said: “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces me nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”

“Show-me” eventually became Missouri’s state nickname and unofficial motto.

The state has used this motto to create a brand for Missouri. Scott Kington, executive vice president of strategy at Woodruff Advertising says, “It connects on a very emotional level and many Missourians take great pride in their pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to life.”

Vandiver settled on a farm in Columbia and focused on agricultural pursuits. He died in 1932 at age 78 and rests in the Columbia Cemetery, roughly two miles south of V A N D I V E R D R I V E that bears his name.

MO’ NAMES, MO’ PROBLEMS

BY KATE ROBBINS Why does one road sometimes have multiple names? You think you’re moving along Paris Road, only to have it turn to Rogers Street — oh so briefly — before becoming Worley Street.

One particularly outrageous offender is Nifong Boulevard. Or should I say, South Brushwood Road, West Vawter School Road, Nifong Boulevard, Grindstone Parkway and, finally, East New Haven Road. These recurring name changes are often the result of roads being connected by new construction and development, which is why they frequently happen where streets cross a highway or enter a roundabout.

The original route would have just ended there, but as Columbia expanded, more roads connected to one another. So although the names might change, the roads stay the same.

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FROM THE ASHES Despite a disastrous fire that threatened its success, the Harold Building housed a flourishing press for decades. BY KATE ROBBINS

LACK-ADEMIC INTEGRITY

BY MEG DONOHUE Before this year’s college admissions scandal, there was another controversy involving the University of Southern California and a high-profile billionaire’s daughter – this time in our own beloved college town.

On Nov. 19, 2004, ABC’s “20/20” aired a segment that rocked Columbia.

Just three weeks prior, MU had opened its $75 million Paige Sports Arena. A $25 million gift from Bill and Nancy Laurie, daughter of Wal-Mart co-founder Bud Walton, gave the couple naming rights.

The proud parents chose to honor their daughter. Paige didn’t attend MU, and the fact that the stadium was named after her angered alumni and Tiger fans.

The segment called “Big Cheats on Campus” revealed the Wal-Mart heiress, who had graduated the previous May, cheated her way through college.

Elena Martinez, Paige’s freshman year roommate, estimated Paige paid her $20,000 to do assignments for her during her career at USC. If Tiger fans weren’t upset with the name before, they definitely were now. Bill and Nancy surrendered naming rights. The straightforward “Mizzou Arena” was unanimously approved by MU’s Board of Curators just days after the news broke.

Following months of investigation by USC, Paige surrendered her degree and is no longer considered a USC graduate.

Elena went on to major in communications, telling the Chicago Tribune, “I liked the classes Paige took so much, I’ve decided to major in the same thing as she did.”

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O N T H E C O R N E R of Hitt Street and Broadway stands a tall brick building looking out onto downtown. The building has seen a revolving door of businesses — from the Pasta Factory to its current resident, Seoul Taco. But before it became a home to Columbia’s beloved eateries, it housed a lively publishing company.

In 1870, E.W. Stephens, son of the founder of Stephens College, began the E . W . S T E P H E N S P U B L I S H I N G C O M PA N Y .

It was a prosperous press and a bustling newsroom that published the Columbia Missouri Herald, the local weekly. It also printed everything from novels to newspapers.

And then, on an autumn evening in 1892, a fire broke out.

It was a little past 6 p.m., and nearly everyone had already gone home for

the day. The only employees left in the building were the janitor and the engineer, who had stayed late. Fumes from gasoline caused the eruption of fire, and the flare-up caused the gas can to ignite, triggering a second explosion.

However, the source of the gasoline is still a mystery.

The fire burned so intensely that by 7 p.m., the E.W Stephens Publishing Company had burned to the ground, and nothing except for a few articles could be saved.

But the loss of his original building didn’t stop Stephens. He rebuilt his printing press at a new downtown location — this time with flame-resistant brick — which is the building we know today. By the next year, the publishing company was the second largest employer in Columbia until it closed in 1913.

Photography courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Missourian Archives and The State Historical Society of Missouri

THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL EDUCATION FIRST OF HER CLASS Mary Paxton Keeley’s ingenuity and perseverance laid the foundation for centuries of female journalists. BY NICOLE SCHROEDER I N 1 9 0 8 , the Missouri School of Journalism was just a handful of students, and class was held in the basement of Jesse Hall. Among them, Mary Paxton Keeley was the only woman.

Born in 1886, Keeley became known for her pioneering spirit in more than one arena. In the journalism school’s inaugural class, she studied under the school’s founder, Walter Williams, and she helped choose the graduates’ tassel color when she became part of the school’s first graduating class in 1910.

According to the State Historical Society of Missouri, when Williams asked, Keeley suggested “any old color as long as it is red” — the same color worn by the school’s graduates today.

Keeley’s list of firsts didn’t end when she graduated. Just days later, The Kansas City Post hired Keeley and made her the first female reporter in Kansas City. The newspaper was known for yellow journalism, sensational or exaggerated reporting, she said, but she didn’t have much choice. “The Star wouldn’t take a woman.” At The Post, Keeley covered investigative and human interest stories, once researching alleged abuse at a girls’ reform school in Chillicothe.

Despite her success, Keeley left the profession 15 months later when she developed a severe case of debilitating appendicitis. Still, it wasn’t the end of her community involvement. Over the years, Keeley worked with 4-H groups across the U.S. and even traveled overseas to work with the YMCA in France during World War I. When she returned to Columbia in 1919, she taught creative writing and journalism at the school that is now Columbia College. She tried to develop a close relationship with all her students, asking them to call her Mary Pax instead of Mrs. or Professor.

It was Keeley’s strength, dedication and adventurous spirit that inspired the naming committee for Columbia’s newest elementary school in 2002, M A RY PA X TO N K E E L E Y E L E M E N TA RY . “She was very passionate and always followed her dreams and really stretched herself,” says Elaine Hassemer, the school’s first principal.

Keeley died Dec. 6, 1986, at 100 years old, but her legacy is preserved in the school’s collection of written works, photos and memorabilia donated by members of the community. Most importantly, her memory is honored in the faculty’s efforts to instill her spirit of independence into their students.

Muriel Battle helped bring equality to Columbia’s schools as the first black principal after desegregation.

BY ABIGAIL PERANO M U R I E L B AT T L E and her husband, Eliot, were both educators in Columbia for more than 30 years. Most notably, they helped integrate Columbia Public Schools during the late 1950s and 1960s. When the time came to name the new high school in 2013 in northeast Columbia, Battle was a front-runner from the get-go.

Irene Haskins, a Columbia Daily Tribune writer, once wrote that Muriel’s surname, Battle, was fitting because of the couple’s struggle against prejudice in spite of obstacles. In 2010, the Columbia School Board wouldn’t name a building after a living person. Eliot Battle asked that his name be removed from consideration, so the school, now called M U R I E L W I L L I A M S B A T T L E H I G H S C H O O L , was named in memory of his wife.

Battle began her career in 1956 as a social studies teacher at Douglass High School after graduating from MU where she earned a master’s degree in secondary administration in 1976, a specialist degree in 1980 and a doctorate in general administration in 1983. Battle was the first black principal in the city’s integrated schools from 1979 to 1991, and before she retired, she served as the first female associate superintendent of Columbia Public Schools from 1992 until 1996.

Battle died at age 73 on March 2, 2003. The high school adopted her name in 2010 and opened in August 2013.

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MULE IT OVER Technology changed the farming landscape, but two brothers still bet big.

BY CARY LITTLEJOHN W H AT D O YO U K N O W A B O U T M U L E S ? That they’re hybrid animals, the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse? Did you know that in 1995, state law designated the mule the official animal of Missouri? Or that according to The Evening Missourian in 1920, Columbia was “a determined bidder for the capital of the greatest mule district in the Middle West”?

That claim was made possible by brothers Bill and B.C. Wright. In August 1920, they opened W R I G H T B R O T H E R S ’ M U L E B A R N to much fanfare. The structure began construction in May 1919, was 150-

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by-150 feet and cost a reported $30,000 to construct. It was deemed “modern in every detail” with running water, electric lights and newfangled feeding troughs. Another writer marveled at its rows of windows on each side of the building, which changed “the inside appearance from that of an ordinary barn.” It was spacious, with the ground floor divided into three sections. Each section contained a number of compartments, and each compartment held roughly 25 mules at a time. The paper jokingly mentioned “Each mule will have ample room to eat his dinner in courses and kick his neighbor at leisure.”

The brothers were bullish on the future of those mules. In an interview before the mule barn opened, Bill said: “Tractors have filled an important place but not the place of the mule. Most small farmers cannot afford tractors. This much is certain. You can’t make a corn crop, a cotton crop or have a war without mules.”

Bill’s rationale was sound, but his prediction was not. He and his brother were coming in on the tail end of the mule boom. By the conclusion of the decade, tractors were becoming more popular.

The trend would continue, with modernization changing just about everything except the building itself.

That massive structure looks nearly the same as it was in 1920. It sits at 501 Fay Street, between the Wabash Railroad and Logboat Brewery. Today, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places and home to various businesses, notably Woodruff, a marketing agency started by Terry Woodruff in 1992. “At the time of the purchase we were needing more space, and the uniqueness of the building was conducive for a creative agency,” Woodruff writes in an email to Vox. The building epitomizes history.

“The railroad spur in the back was used to ship mules all over the country so that aspect is a good reminder of the original purpose,” Woodruff writes.

But a reminder is all that remains.

Of its many clients, Woodruff proudly represents CLAAS and Kubota. Those companies make the modern incarnations of the tractors that Bill Wright regarded with such skepticism a century ago — the ones that put Bill out of business.

Is it poetic or ironic that a mule barn built on the assumption that the mule would remain essential to farmers one day became the home of a marketing agency helping companies sell more tractors? “I don’t think anyone really thought that the mule would withstand the advancement of the tractor,” Woodruff writes.

But that’s not true, is it? Bill and B.C. Wright did. They made a big bet on the mule. About $30,000 worth.

Photography courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Carillon Historical Park

UNBRIDLED TALENT One Boone County native helped shape the equestrian world.

BY MEG DONOHUE J O H N A N D E R S O N O F T E N I M P E R S O N AT E S his great-great-great-uncle. No, this isn’t the kind of impersonation people do of their crazy aunt at holiday gatherings. Anderson performs in historical showcases as his ancestor — slave-turned-equestrian-extraordinaire, Tom Bass.

“I’m proud to be able to tell his story,” Anderson says. Despite Bass’ fame and the more than 3,000 awards he collected in his lifetime, Anderson says Bass was always a humble man. He was born in 1859 into slavery near Ashland, Missouri. After the Civil War, he moved to Mexico, Missouri, to work as a stable boy for famed horse buyer Joseph A. Potts. Under Potts’ guidance, Bass became known for his ability to train horses and opened his own stable in 1883.

Word of Bass’ training abilities spread quickly, and it wasn’t long before his talents and showmanship garnered attention far beyond Missouri and the equestrian circuit.

In 1885, he rode in President Grover Cleveland’s first inaugural parade. He was later visited at his Mexico farm by presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley and William Howard Taft. When invited to ride in Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, he declined due to a fear of traveling by sea.

In 1905, Bass was asked to go to Kansas

City to help organize the first American Royal Horse Show. Today, the American Royal is recognized internationally, and the warm-up arena is named after Bass.

Bass was known for caring deeply about animals and for his humane training techniques. He invented the “Bass bit,” a mechanism that is commonly used today to protect a horse’s mouth from injury during training. Anderson says Bass never patented the bit, and therefore he never made a profit from it. “He considered animals to be the greatest stars,” Anderson says. “He just tried to bring out the best in them.”

Bass’ legacy could be outlined by the remarkable things he did including representing Missouri in the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893 or for training horses for the Ringling Brothers Circus. But it isn’t these accomplishments that he’s remembered for. “It’s about his values,” Anderson says. It’s about humility and working hard. That legacy will live on in Anderson’s reenactments, on the quiet TO M B A S S R OA D , off Old 63, near Bonne Femme Creek and in Mexico, Missouri, where Anderson says some community elders still remember Bass. Anderson’s connection runs deeper. “I’m inspired by Tom every day.”

THE NAME ON THE SIGN

BY MATT NOWORUL A road sign is composed of two primary parts: the name and the suffix. Names can vary from the obvious (College, University) to the perplexing (Gypsy Moth), but all go through the same official process. Suffixes, the description of the road (drive, street), while initially seeming arbitrary, have specific definitions.

The process of naming a road: • The name is submitted as part of the proposed subdivision or city project.

• The city’s addressing staff and Boone County Joint Communications review the name in order to make sure the name isn’t duplicated elsewhere in Boone County.

• They send it to the city’s Planning Commission, and then to the City Council for final approval.

• If approved, the street names are reserved and cannot be used in future developments.

The meaning of street suffixes: • Road: the broadest term, used to describe a connection between two points.

• Street: considered a public way with buildings on both sides and usually runs perpendicular to an avenue.

• Avenue: similar to streets but will have trees as well as buildings on either side.

• Boulevard: tends to be wider streets with a median.

• Lane and way: usually used to define small, short roads.

• Court and place: describes streets with no throughways.

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M I L K M A D E

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PHOTO STORY BY EMILY NEVILS

Marilyn Calvin takes a container filled with iodine solution off the wall at her dairy farm located outside of Mount Vernon. She milks the cows twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening, and after milking she dips each teat in an iodine solution to prevent bacterial infections.

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When Marilyn Calvin’s husband, Kenneth, died suddenly of an aneurysm about 10 years ago, her neighbors began bidding on her land. Everyone expected her to sell the farm and buy a town home, she says. But Marilyn wasn’t ready to give up the dairy farm and the land she and her husband had fought for since the 1960s.

This comes at a time when Missouri’s dairy industry is shrinking: The number of commercial farms fell by 45% from 2000 to 2014, according to reporting from the Missourian. On top of that, a nationwide oversupply of milk from large-scale dairies has led to cheaper milk prices. Marilyn says she hasn’t had a solid year of business in four years. Despite these challenges, Marilyn continues to milk her cows at sunrise and sunset.

She stands up for dairy farmers, her livelihood and especially women in agriculture.

While cows gather in the milking barn, Marilyn checks on the remaining few that are still waiting to be milked. “It’s not a glorious life, but I guess we get a lot of exercise,” she says.

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Marilyn looks through a box of old cards and memories from her deceased husband.

After his death, Marilyn continued to operate and manage the farm, even with neighbors preparing to make offers on her land. “I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself — the cows still had to be milked.”

Marilyn takes a moment to rest after a morning of milking. Marilyn says many dairy farmers, herself included, have expressed frustration with the current economy that seems to be booming for everyone except them. “Everyone’s talking about the Dow Jones and unemployment, but what happened to us?”

Marilyn reads market reports at her computer while her son, Kenlee Calvin, looks through vaccination records for their cows. Kenlee and his wife have their own beef cattle farm, but he spends part of his day working on Marilyn’s farm. Getting to work with her son is one of the reasons Marilyn says she continues to run the farm. “How many people have a job where they can work with their kids every day?”

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ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Marilyn writes checks and pays bills at her kitchen table. She refers to the business side of farming as her “other job,” and she spends about 40 hours a month managing the books, paying bills and salaries and keeping track of taxes. She has managed all the finances since she and her husband bought their first farm in 1968.

While working on my photojournalism capstone projects last fall, I became interested in stories about strong female leaders in traditionally male-dominated fields. Marilyn’s story inspired me, and I was honored to spend three days photographing her and learning about her impact on the Missouri dairy industry. – Emily Nevils

During a going-away party for a friend, Marilyn speaks with a group of other dairy farmers. Dairy farms in Missouri are overwhelmingly run by men, Marilyn says. She has witnessed this while serving on several dairy leadership boards, where she is one of the few elected women.

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Marilyn looks out into the pasture for any missing cows. She has long served as a dairy leader in southwest Missouri and was just re-elected for her fourth term as a chair on the Dairy Farmers of America board. Despite having served in this position for 18 years, she still faces pushback from several of her male peers who also work in the dairy industry.

They told her that nobody will vote for a woman, she says.

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84 million Americans

Maybe even you, have prediabetes.

Guy-who-thinks-teamjerseys-are-formal-attire.

DELIVERY ON THE RISE P. 53

IN PIZZA WE CRUST P. 54

You had me at martini If you like it dirty, you will love these summer cocktails at local restaurants.

BY XIYUAN ZHANG Americans can’t get enough of martinis. According to Forbes, the martini, which traditionally combines gin and vermouth, was the No. 2 best-selling cocktail in the U.S. in 2018, as well as the most popular choice for an evening out. The chilled cocktail glass and the mix of bitter and sweet liquors has everything you might want when gulping down an alcoholic drink in the heat. Whether you are sitting in a bar and listening to jazz music or seated at a table hanging out with friends, a martini can make you feel as if you are in a James Bond film. If you’re looking to explore some variations of this delicious drink, Vox has a list of places you can go to get a fresh martini during the hottest months of the year.

Andrew Ruth, bar manager at Barred Owl, says the possibilities are endless with a martini, especially when you explore new types of gin and vermouth.

Photography by Yanran Huang

The classic At Barred Owl, the bartenders prepare their classic gin martini by first making sure the cocktail glass is chilled. Andrew Ruth, bar manager, says the ratio of gin to vermouth is 3-to-1, and they stir the drink frequently to smooth its taste. A dash of the house-made orange bitters with a lemon twist or

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E AT+DRINK COCKTAILS

Free to Public

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skewer of olives tops it off. Depending on your choice of gin, martinis start at $7.50.

Ruth says at Barred Owl, they specialize in many unique flavor profiles and alcoholic drinks. “The martini is distinctive, and cocktail fans are always pleased to have one made proper,” Ruth says.

47 E. Broadway, 442-9323, Tues.–Sat., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

X-rated Straying from the classic bitter taste of a typical gin and vermouth martini, Room 38 gives customers a choice of a fruity martini for $9.50. The X-Rated Bellini Martini has a fresh raspberry purée and Korbel rosé champagne. Its main base is the X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, which tastes like mango, passion fruit and blood orange. The drink has a rejuvenating taste, and it’s pretty, too. Teagan Anderson, bartender at Room 38, says the martini makes for a great picture on Instagram.

38 N. Eighth St., 449-3838, Mon.–Sat., 11 to 1:30 a.m.; Sunday brunch, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Something sour, something sweet At D. Rowe’s, you can find a cocktail called the Honeydew Martini. According to the restaurant’s recipe, the chilled cocktail contains sour pineapple juice, coconut rum and Midori Melon Liqueur, which makes the drink simultaneously sweet and tangy. During happy hour, this martini is $6.75, but it’s usually priced at $7.75. Nathan Westmoreland, manager of D. Rowe’s, says this drink is good for when it’s hot outside and you want to sit on the patio.

1005 Club Village Drive, 443-8004, Mon.­– Sat., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Bar hours determined nightly.

It’s shocking Sophia’s serves a martini that will startle your taste buds: the Shock-Tart-Tini. This cocktail has a sweet taste of pomegranate to add some fruit to your summer. The PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur and the sour mix creates a punch to the martini.

Matt Jenne, co-owner of Sophia’s, says if you want something to cool you off, then this refreshment will do the trick. And you can buy this martini for $7.50.

3915 S. Providence Road, 874-8009, Mon–Sat. 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. to midnight

E AT + DRI N K TRENDS

Quality control Product quality is also a major concern for Roland Chacon, area manager for all four local Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafes.

His company was put on several delivery services a year ago and not notified until delivery drivers started coming into the store. For such outside food delivery services, understanding the restaurant’s menu is impossible for a driver who goes to numerous establishments a day. Pickleman’s has its own delivery service, and its drivers get three days of in-house training before delivering.

“I worried that when the customer gets a delivery driver from another company delivering Pickleman’s food in a Pickleman’s bag, that we might be misrepresented,” Chacon says. Last summer, he contacted several companies to get answers. “None of the delivery companies want to talk to us in any way,” he says.

“The only one that said anything to me was Grubhub and Uber and they just said, ‘Well, we think we can deliver better than you can or we wouldn’t be doing this.’”

One advantage, he admits, is that these delivery services reach more people out of Pickleman’s typical delivery zone. But each restaurant says they’ve had issues with food arriving late, cold or unsightly, and customers can sometimes blame the name on the box, not the delivery service.

Delivery dilemma Columbians can now get almost anything dropped at their door. But the growing demand has consequences for local eateries.

BY SAVANNAH WALSH

I

n 2019, leaving your living room for anything feels old-fashioned. Video rentals folded to streaming, CDs succumbed to Spotify. Ordering takeout has long been a tradition in the food industry. But with companies such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub and Postmates, delivery services have changed. Anything from produce to Panda Express can now come directly to your door for a small fee. The food delivery service boom has hit Columbia, and for establishments who already delivered, the new arrival is an adjustment.

A new opportunity Jeff Martin, a partner at The Italian Village on Vandiver Drive, says both of the restaurant’s locations are embracing the trend.

They can be found on nearly every area service such as Uber Eats and DoorDash.

When a person types “pizza” into one of Illustration by Keegan Pope

the companies’ search bars, Martin says they’d like to be one of the first results.

There are perceived advantages to being on different services, but not everyone is buying into the supposed benefits.

Toby Epstein, general manager of Shakespeare’s Pizza Downtown, says he tries not to let the demand of using other services affect his business. He admits Shakespeare’s three locations have had some issues with food delivery services.

Previously, the company was on DoorDash and the now-defunct OrderUp. Today, the restaurant isn’t on any.

“These groups will argue that they’re bringing in sales you otherwise wouldn’t be getting,” Epstein says. “We’re a little uncertain if that’s true or not.” Although Shakespeare’s isn’t opposed to partnering with services, he is cautious about allowing his business to be used by a third party and the loss of control that comes with outsourcing.

$24B

The online food delivery market in the United States is expected to grow to more than $24 billion, a 41% increase from 2018.

Embracing the delivery boom Previously, a select few restaurants offered delivery, but third-party services are now handling more than 50% of food delivery nationally.

None of the three local restaurants were able to specify if they are financially affected, but across the country, delivery services cut into restaurant profits. According to a March article in The Wall Street Journal, “food sellers pay the services an average fee of 10% to 25% on each order, which means the actual deliveries often lose money. Better placement on the services’ websites or apps costs even more.”

A once limited market has ballooned.

“Before, you only got to choose between pizza, Chinese food and sandwich shops for delivery,” says Martin of Italian Village.

“But now everybody delivers. So they’re all my competition now.”

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E AT + DRINK PIZZA

Ode to the slice

One writer’s poetic odyssey to find the best pizza slice spot in Columbia — if there is such a thing.

BY SHANNON HENDERSON

Any way you slice it, we can be cheesy about lunch. We sample and flirt with new kinds of pizza like we’re looking for love. Some of us go for the generic — it’s consistent, at least — but others prefer the taste of something distinct. In search of the latter, I journey across Columbia, land of the slice. Only the best will suffice.

I think of my childhood, eyeing the pies: the slices at SAM’S CLUB were wide as the sky. Now as I sit at the red and white benches, I can’t help but feel I’m stuck in the trenches. A constant hum clashes with unending beeps. My paper plate seeps with putrid orange grease. This soft, cheesy slice of supreme in my hands cannot be the most supreme in the land. SUPREME: $2.49

So I head to HY-VEE, and what do I see? Under heat lamps, slices sparkle with grease: Hawaiian on thin crust, pepperoni on hand-tossed, or chilled for to-go with a layer of frost. I can’t shake the feeling I’ve been here before — every store is the same, from the top to the floor. Not saying I’m mad; I just need something more. To downtown Columbia I shall explore. PEPPERONI: $1.99

LUCKY’S is home to both slices and pints. It’s the hub for

hipsters and hip moms alike. Crispity! Crunchity! Cheesy to boot! But is it my favorite? I must tell the truth. This kind-of-cold pizza won’t make for a feast. Still I ride to the east seeking new forms of yeast. CHEESE: $2.50

It seems as old as Shakespeare himself; the slices at SHAKE’S are known as top shelf. Hawaiian for me! But how can it be? Three inches of cheese and no topping in sight? I miss the old place to stop for a bite. Now there’s a heaviness no one can fight: the weight of new Brookside holding you tight. SAUSAGE: $3.25

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E AT + DRI N K

Originality is not forsaken so long as GUMBY’S continues its bakin’. A cheap eat

here, an overpriced there. I just want a slice – maybe two – but I’m scared. Will somebody judge me, or do I judge myself more? I want something special, something that soars!

VEGGIE: $3.25

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1800 Nelwood Dr. Columbia MO| 573.474.3699 | www.cectheatre.org With lunch nearly over, I wander the streets. Around the corner, PIZZA TREE peeks. Its music and colors are only the start — even the pizza is its own work of art. The Isle of Mypos or Truffled Crimini? Top it with hot sauce; don’t be a weenie. A Banh Mi for me or maybe you? I can’t decide, so I’ll get two! Wipe your hands; wash it down with a brew. BANH MI: $4.00

VOX NOVA Columbia’s Premier A Cappella

Now I feel at peace, enlightened like Buddha.

My belly is full, so let’s call it Gouda. I sought, and I sampled, and though I picked favorites, there are slices for all, so long as you savor it.

3 pm

2:45pm Pre-Concert

Sunday, June 2, 2019 First Baptist Church 1112 E Broadway in Columbia

$20 Gen /$10 Student | 573.825.0079 | OdysseyMissouri.org Photography by Antranik Tavitian

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AMERICA, LET’S DO LUNCH

TM

Julius Gaines, SINCE 1933. He’s got a curious intellect that can’t be satiated.

Now, he and 1 in 6 seniors face the threat of hunger and millions more live in isolation. So pop by, drop off a hot meal and say a warm hello.

Volunteer for Meals on Wheels at AmericaLetsDoLunch.org

FROM PRISON TO PROSPERITY P. 59

FOLLOW THE RED BRICK ROAD P. 60

Through the pipeline Columbia’s sewer system is aging beneath our feet, and the city has a 20-year plan to fix it.

BY HANNAH BRITTON B eneath the streets of Columbia, there are pipelines that will cost the city millions of dollars in repairs and maintenance. The system is aging, the city’s population is expanding, and flooding has overloaded the drainage system. All of this has caused an onslaught of issues for both sanitary and stormwater sewers. To alleviate those issues, the city introduced an integrated management plan to make fixes and updates in a methodical way.

Illustration by Kellyn Nettles

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CITY LIFE INFRASTRUCTURE

How it all works First, it’s important to understand how the sewer system works. Kori Thompson, engineering supervisor of Sewer and Stormwater Utilities, explains that the two systems are separated, thankfully, and end up in two different locations. Sanitary sewers are connected to residents’ homes via indoor plumbing and link up with the wastewater sewer underground to be transported to a treatment plant. The stormwater sewers, on the other hand, are connected to the city’s sewer drains. Those pipes hook up with the stormwater sewer and flow into various bodies of water in the area.

Changing things up Creating an integrated management plan (IMP) is a tall task for a community to undertake, so in 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency created a framework for what an IMP should look like. The guidelines give municipalities the flexibility to make infrastructure improvements that are necessary and

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cost-effective. In 2016, Columbia introduced its management plan for sanitary and stormwater sewers. It acts as a road map for the city to follow. The plan also provides a look at the next 20 years and attempts to lay out potential projects that will help address sewage issues while simultaneously saving the city money. Essentially, it attempts to fix problems before they occur.

THE OVERFLOW

Some of the biggest issues caused by aging infrastructure are sewage overflows into the environment and backups into buildings.

Regulatory red tape But it’s not as simple as just following the city’s plan. Federal and state regulations dictate what changes must be made first, regardless of urgency. However, because the city has an IMP, it can be flexible with its own 20-year timeline, rather than operating based solely on those mandates.

The city is also required to adhere to the provisions laid out by the Clean Water Act. That means that Columbia must not dump pollutants into the water, and the water has to maintain a certain quality level.

Why it matters One of the key factors in determining the success of the plan is whether it can reduce the cost of these projects. Although the exact cost can’t be calculated now, the 2016 IMP report estimates that if these problems are addressed in the next 20 years, the total cost could be in the ballpark of $100 million, which would be $75 million less than if left unattended and addressed only when catastrophic.

Ideally, the city will undertake future projects when needed over the 20-year span, saving the city money, and therefore saving citizens tax dollars. Thompson explains that the timeline allows the city to budget its funds, meaning any rate increases should be small and incremental.

Although some issues like wet weather overflows and sewer system maintenance might still need to be addressed, the IMP helps ensure that Columbia isn’t forced to handle them at the same time.

Some projects outlined in the IMP are underway including one that rehabilitates aging biosolid facilities.

Illustration by Claire Harman

C I T Y LI FE PEOPLE TO KNOW

Cory Crosby: Man of many hats

BY LAUREN BROCATO

T Newly minted children’s book author Cory Crosby held a launch event in April for When My Dad Comes Home.

he past three years of 32-year-old Cory Crosby’s life have been fueled by a passion and desire to create a better self and community. Crosby, who has several start-up businesses under his belt, is a totally self-made man, so you might not guess that three years ago he was released from an eightand-a-half-year prison stint. He’s since made a new name for himself in Columbia.

Fellow local entrepreneur Sean Spence, who has worked with Crosby on several community projects, says, “Cory’s impact is just getting started.” Take a look at what he’s done so far.

2006 Crosby’s days as an entrepreneur date back to 2006 when he launched his first business called Good Guys Auto Detail, where he provided on-site car washes. Last summer, he revisited those roots with 2 Real Mobile Car Wash, a start-up that served individual clients as well as businesses such as Veterans United.

February 2016 Despite initial difficulties obtaining a business license with a felony on his record, Crosby opened 2 Real Fitness one month after his release. 2 Real Fitness was a gym that offered personal training and workout classes. A year later, he relocated it from Sexton Road to a larger facility. In October 2018, he closed the gym to focus more heavily on entrepreneurship.

April 2018 Crosby and Spence organized an event called Hear My BLACK at the Boys & Girls Club of Columbia to give people a chance to hear black men and women talk about their struggles and triumphs within the city’s black community.

Winter 2018 Crosby has released several episodes of Da Real Plug, a motivational podcast in which he shares stories about his life and hosts local musical guests. You can listen at DaRealPlug.com.

December 2018 Three years after his release, Crosby was already a well-known entrepreneur in the community.

He was recognized as one of Columbia Business Times’ 20 under 40 for the success of 2 Real Fitness.

Photography by Liz Goodwin

2007-2016 When he was 20, Crosby was arrested for robbing a local convenience store. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He served eight and a half, the last six years of which he spent studying business and developing a passion for fitness by working out every day and even teaching a workout class.

December 2017 One of many joint projects between the two, Crosby and Spence organized Gift 4 Guns, which offered $100 to people who turned in a gun, no questions asked. Crosby wanted to raise awareness about gun violence in the community while also providing extra cash for Christmas gifts. Spence says he thought they’d be lucky to get 25 guns. Instead, they collected 41, which they then turned over to the Columbia Police Department to be disposed of.

November 2018 As KOPN’s community relations manager, Crosby founded the KOPN Bash, a monthly business networking event that connects small business owners and helps them expand their brands. Brandi Rudd cohosted the Bash with Crosby in March and says, “(Cory)’s always been very open about his story and not letting that define who he is.”

April 2019 Crosby released a children’s book entitled When My Dad Comes Home. Throughout his incarceration, when Crosby’s children would ask him when he was coming home, he’d send them drawings of the activities they could do once he got out of prison. He compiled them into a book to help other children cope with having fathers who are away, whether because of work or incarceration. The book can be purchased on Amazon or at WhenMyDadComesHome.com.

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CIT Y LIFE HISTORY

Saving city history, brick by brick Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission fights to keep the city’s century-old brick roads — charm, headaches and all.

BY CARY LITTLEJOHN

W

hen is a street more than simply a thoroughfare?

I sought answers from Amanda Staley Harrison, vice-chair of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission. She says she sees brick streets as a ubiquitous symbol that a city has a history worth exploring. “I think that’s representative of the success that Columbia has had in its last 200 years, its resilience, its perseverance and its economic vitality,” she says. She acknowledges that most people likely don’t think that as they traverse brick streets, but she says she believes it works on a subconscious level to captivate residents’ attention.

Original brick streets are an endangered entities in American cities. Waugh Street, Seventh Street and Cherry Street are three of eight exposed brick streets in downtown’s “core zone,” and at least 20 more lie beneath layers of asphalt or concrete. With barely contained excitement, chair of the Historic Preservation Commission Pat Fowler tells me, “(The city) has in storage thousands of paving bricks on pallets — historic bricks — set aside for either brick street repair or historic landscaping projects.” She’s right. I saw them. Barry Dalton from Columbia Public Works escorted me to the Quonset hut where they are stored on Parkside Drive and Creasy Springs Road. Up close, I could read the words etched in the side of some bricks: “Columbia Paver.”

Fowler says the best possible use for the bricks might come with the ex-

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pansion of Flat Branch Park, which is planned to coincide with Columbia’s Bicentennial Celebration. She likes the poetic nature of 100-year-old brick streets possibly being recycled to celebrate the city’s 200th birthday in 2021. The plaza’s design hasn’t been finalized, but Fowler says she would love to see those bricks incorporated into the combination of street surfaces and green spaces.

Fowler mentions transportation tax funds that should start to accrue around 2021 and could pay for a “demonstration restoration project.” The city could attempt to repave the bumpy bases under brick streets so they don’t cause damage to motorized wheelchairs. But, as of right now, there isn’t enough money to conduct this type of project. Another possibility would be uncovering what’s thought to be original brick under Fourth Street.

Until the city can afford it, Fowler says the policy is simple: Do no harm.

That way, if financial circumstances change, Columbia can prioritize its history. Thinking back to the historic bricks in that hut, I remember feeling like I was going through an attic or thrift store; the objects themselves exude historical importance, and my mere presence among them made me feel connected to the past. I had learned what Harrison and Fowler already knew — these weren’t just any old bricks, these were old bricks. That distinction made all the difference.

Illustration by Kellyn Nettles

CALENDAR

TO-DO LIST

ARTS

61st Annual Art In The Park Festival Come to see artists in all mediaums from across the country showcase their wares to the Columbia community. Many activities for kids, vendors to peruse, food and drink to sustain you, and entertainment for everyone. This event is free and open to the public.

June1-2,10a.m.-4p.m., Stephens Lake Park, 2001 E Broadway, free, columbiaartleague.org

Your curated guide of what to do in Columbia this month.

Jill Orr Book Launch The Ugly Truth of this event is maybe not so ugly after all. Local author Jill Orr will be celebrating the release of her newest novel, the third in a series of mysteries.

There’s no mystery here, though, just giveaways, snacks and a chance to chat with the author herself. June 19, 6 p.m., Skylark Bookshop, free, 777-6990 The Art of Asking Don’t get your panties in a twist over this art gallery. Wear your favorite pair of underwear to this exhibit of undergarments where all the proceeds go to helping with sexual health education and STD prevention. June 27, 5:30 p.m., Sager Braudis Gallery, $20, 875-8687

MKT Secret Access Trail Ride New to the trail system? This 10-mile round trip ride will help you learn the ins and outs of the MKT Trail. The ride will highlight access to neighborhoods, popular retail locations and more. June 13, 6:30–8 p.m., meet at Flat Branch Park, Ages 16+, free, 874-7460 Fun at the Fair Venture out to downtown Fulton for the 16th annual Fulton Street Fair, which will be a day filled with live music, craft and food vendors, a bike show, a 5K run, a parade and a mule derby. June 21-22, downtown Fulton, Missouri, free, 253-0862

Romeo and Juliet You know the story. A boy, a girl and some poison. Join Maplewood Barn for the classic tale of woe that is Juliet and her Romeo.

Where art thou, Romeo? At Maplewood Barn, of course. June 1-2; June 6-9; June 13-16, 8 p.m., Maplewood Barn, $10; $3 children under 10, 227-2276 Deborah Zemke Deborah Zemke founded the Grant School Book Project, which has helped over 1,000 fourth graders create picture books. But if that wasn’t enough, she’s also releasing a new book centered on Grant Elementary School. The Tree and Me is part of the Bea Garcia series; it tells the story of a 150-yearold oak tree and the kids who want to keep it standing. June 8, 2 p.m., Skylark Bookshop, free, 777-6990

p.m., free, 601 Business Loop 70 W, 489-2977

CIVIC

National Trails Day Treasure Hunt Head on out to the trails, and find the golden hiking boot to win a $100 Columbia Parks and Recreation gift certificate on this treasure hunt throughout the city. Riddles will be posted on the Parks and Recreation Facebook and Twitter accounts at 7 a.m.

June 1, All day, free, Columbia trails, 441-5495 Bike Safety Rodeo Want your kids to learn bicycle safety and get their bikes registered? This nine-step skills course is for kids ages 3 to16 in partnership with the Downtown Optimist Club. June 6, 5–7 p.m., Karis Church Parking Lot, free, 874-7460 “REEL” Time With Kids A free fishing event for kids of all ages.

Youth under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Put together by the Missouri Deptartment of Conservation and Bass Pro of Columbia. Fishing gear,

Photography by Christine Martinez/Archive

bait, nature exhibits and activities will be on hand throughout the day. Lunch will be served. June 8, 9a.m.-1p.m., Bass Pro Shops Sportman’s Center, 3101 Bass Pro Dr, free, 815-7900 Donuts with Dad Join the Tiger Tots Mommies crew for our Donuts With Dad event - a morning of food and fun for the whole family! Get your face painted, tour a fire truck, ambulance, or construction truck, and be on the lookout for a special visit from TJ! June 8, 9a.m.-10:30a.m., Dexheimer Shelter at Cosmo Park, 1410 N Creasy Springs Rd, free Canines and Cruisers This second annual event has many activities such as celebrating classic cars, participating in a silent auction and bringing home a new pup (who can resist puppies?). The Plaza Event Center at Parkade is teaming up and benefiting Second Chance. June 9, 11 a.m. to 2

DON’T MISS IT For the 61st year, you can head out to Stephens Lake Park to buy as much art as your heart desires, or just check out what’s on display. Art in the Park is perfect for not only art lovers but also anyone who just wants to enjoy the outdoors. June 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; June 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Stephens Lake Park, free, 443-8838

Butterfly Festival Kick off summer right in a picturesque garden surrounded by winged friends. The Jefferson Farm and Garden is opening a native butterfly house, which will be the second one in Missouri. Free tours on the importance of butterflies and the role they play in our ecosystem will be available.

June 22-23, 10 a.m.—4 p.m., Jefferson Farm and Garden, free, 882-4450

FOOD

Tuesday Farmers Market Shop with all of your favorite CFM vendors along with some new ones for your mid-week local groceries. You can also grab lunch from the prepared food vendors.

Don’t miss the outh educational activities and live music!

June 4, 11, 18, & 25, 10a.m.1p.m., Columbia’s Agriculture Park, 1769 West Ash St EPIC: Summertime on Tap Looking to expand your social network and enjoy a cocktail or two while you’re at it?

Head over to Twain Missouri Taproom for an evening of mixing and mingling with the city’s up-and-coming professionals.

This will help anyone who wants to build connections in the community through networking. June 6, 5:30–7:30 p.m., Twain Missouri Taproom, $10, 874-1132 VOX MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019

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CALENDAR

Tasty Pies at Bur Oak Brewing Company Pick up a piece of New York-style pizza from Curbside Pies. Not in the mood for a slice? Choose from the mobile vendor’s other Italian dishes, including pasta and subs, and don’t forget to wash it down with a cold pint afterward. June 7, 4–9 p.m., Bur Oak Brewing Company, $4-$24, 814-2178 Pride Pub Crawl Kick off LGBTQ Pride Month with a bar crawl. Although participating bars haven’t been announced yet, wristbands are for sale on midmopride.org. Purchase now to get a free koozie.

June 7–8, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., The District, $10, 442-6816 Craft Beer and Carts Do you like making a difference in the global community? Now you can by listening to live music, participating in yard games and trying out craft beer at this first fundraiser for Mobility Worldwide. All proceeds from the event go toward providing mobility carts to people in countries such as Argentina and Zambia. Cheers to that. June 23, 1–5 p.m., Logboat Brewing Company, $20, 397-6786

MUSIC

Odyssey Chamber Music Series The Columbia-based choir Vox Nova is best known for having a wide range of award-winning vocalists from around the country.

The group does not work with a conductor; instead, singers listen and follow each other to perform a wide range of music from classical Baroque to modern songs. June 2, 3 p.m., First Baptist Church, $20; $10 students, 825-0079 Aina Cook The St. Louis-based musician began her career at age 13. She has won awards such as “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the RDJ Music Awards and “Music Video of the Year” at the RTA Music Awards. She performed for Roots N Blues, and now she will be returning to Columbia with her first full-length album Aina Cook Band as a part of its tour. June 3, 7 p.m., Boone County History and Culture Center, $10 for ages 14 and up; $5 for ages 13 and under, 443-8936 Seattle Royale 2019 In the ‘90s, Seattle was known for its widely successful rock scene. It was the birthplace of bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. On June 7, The Blue Note is transporting the audience back in time to experience these groups secondhand. Four Missouri bands will perform popular songs by these legendary rock groups. June 7, 9 p.m., The Blue Note, $7 in advance; $9 day of, 874-1944 Ironweed Bluegrass This five-person folk group came together from all over the world to create music, and this summer the band is returning to Columbia for an evening filled with train tunes and moonshine.

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None of its music is on Spotify, so come downtown to hear it one of the only ways that you can: live. June 8, 6 p.m., The Station House, free, 777-5500 Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Lightfoot is a Canadian singer from the ‘60s and ‘70s who is often referred to by fans and media as “Canada’s Greatest Songwriter.” He has successfully tackled folk, folk-rock and country music, and he has hit Billboard’s Top 100 for multiple songs throughout his career. His most recent album, Harmony, was released in 2004, and he came out with a collection of live songs in 2012. June 12, 8 p.m., $35–125, Missouri Theatre, 882-3781 Jane Doe Revue: A Benefit for Safe Passage In 2017, a group of women from various musical backgrounds decided to mesh their sounds and form The Jane Doe Revue.

The group’s goal was to unite women from all walks of life, and they ended up with an entire orchestra. Now, they’re going to perform their empowering music for Columbia. Profits made from the event will go to Safe Passage, which helps victims of sexual and domestic violence. The event will also include ASL performers and guest speakers. June 15, 8 p.m., The Blue Note, $10, 874-1944 Shelter Gardens Free Concert by the Missouri Symphony Orchestra Join the Missouri Symphony Orchestra for a community concert in the park. This is an opportunity for music fans to attend live, classical concerts. June 16, 7p.m.-8p.m., Shelter Gardens, 1817 West Broadway, free Electric Six Since its formation, the sound of Electric Six has been hard to pin down. It has been described as rock music with influences of many other genres, such as metal, disco and new wave. In 2018, the band released its 14th album, Bride of the Devil.

This past fall, it began the Russia, If You’re Listening tour.

Now, as a continuation of the tour, Electric Six is coming to Columbia. June 26, 8 p.m., Rose Music Hall, $10 in advance; $12 day of, 874-1944 2019 Cancer Survivor Celebration June marks Cancer Survivor Month, and to honor the people who have fought through the illness, the Wyatt Guest House, a home for cancer patients and family members, is hosting a party. There will be fun activities, including bounce houses, face painting and musical performances from groups such as country band Dirt Road Addiction. Free parking and food will be available. June 30, Noon, 1580 Jewell Ave., free, 884-1825

SPORTS

Go Girl Run Columbia Embrace your girl power at this women’s half marathon and 5K

race series. Runners can expect a flat course for the most part, but if 13.1 miles still seems a little unnerving, just look ahead to the complimentary prizes waiting at the finish line, including a T-shirt, wine glass, smoothies and more. June 1, 7 a.m., Flat Branch Park, $40-89, 445-2664 Rock the Community: 3 on 3 Nonprofit organization Rock the Community is holding its annual outdoor celebration to empower Columbia residents through neighborhood activities and entertainment. Join a basketball team, then enjoy a community atmosphere filled with local vendors and music. June 1, 8 a.m., free, Douglass Park, 441-5544 Show-Me State Senior Games Whether you go to participate, volunteer or cheer someone on, this Olympic-style sports festival is guaranteed to be a good time. With over 40 sports, the Show-Me State Senior Games is for those ages 50 and older to promote physical fitness, sports activities and exercise. June 6–9, All day, Location and cost varies per game, 882-2101 5K for Huntington’s Disease Join Team Hope to participate in an event that will raise funds and awareness for Huntington’s Disease. It’s time to run, jog and walk for a good cause. June 8, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Twin Lakes Recreation Area, 501-920-0591 4th Annual Harold’s Doughnut Run Run or walk through a really fun course that take you on a journey through downtown Columbia! Donuts are at the finish line. June 8, 9a.m.-12p.m., Flatbranch Park Big BAM 5 The 5th Annual Big BAM will begin and end in Columbia.

Covering over 300 miles in 5 days of riding. As always, Big BAM provides SAG Support, camp sites, water stops, assistance with tuneups and maintenance, hot showers, hot coffee, beer gardens, and live entertainment each night.

June 9-14, www.BigBAMRide.com Family Fun Festival | Explore Outdoors Free fun for the whole family! Activities, crafts, live entertainment, inflattable attractions, face painting, food trucks and MORE! A Columbia summer tradition you won’t want to miss. June 19, 6p.m.-8p.m., Cosmo Park, 1615 W Business Loop SPLAT! Jr. Obstacle Course Mud Run It may be one of the only times parents won’t mind seeing their kids get dirty. Sign up your young ones for this summer’s mud run and obstacle course, replete with walls, tires, climbing nets and other challenging elements. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes so long as they’re safe for the course — and don’t forget to bring a change of clothes. June 22, 8:30 a.m., Gans Creek Recreation Area, $25, 874-7460

photo finish

Signs of summer PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTRANIK TAVITIAN Kari Kelly grips the hand of her mom, Kelsie Kelly, while she and Nailynn Spence watch the festivities unfold at the Heritage Day Block Party at Douglass Park. Music, balloons and games signal the unofficial opening of the park for the summer, with the pools scheduled to open the first weekend of June.

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Advanced Admission Tickets are Available at rootsnbluesnbbq.com