Looking upriver from the Hermann bluff, I could almost see Sonora Chute. It was a cold February day in 1856 when Captain Bill Terrill ran his sidewheeler Sonora through ice floes near Portland, Missouri. At 363 tons, the Sonora was … Read More
Local flavor. Local stories. Missouri’s back yard.
In the aftermath of the tragic events of 9/11, folks wanted to stay closer to home, closer to loved ones. They didn’t trust travel, especially airline travel, until airlines started offering round-trip fares for fifty bucks. Then, magically, people felt … Read More
Old names along a meandering drive
“Next morning we caromed across Lyon Township, named for the first Union general killed in the Civil War, at Wilson’s Creek. We passed Neeper, and the hill where the old Cracker-Neck School stood, and the site of an old place … Read More
Rite of Passage
The train was late. That didn’t matter to seven men awaiting its arrival. “I’ve learned to be patient,” said Mason, sitting next to me in his prison issue gray trousers and white T-shirt. Earlier that morning, seven inmates had been … Read More
The Road By Gads Hill
Boarding a railroad car at Gads Hill, Missouri, Frank James quoted Shakespeare, announcing to startled passengers his gang’s intent to rob them. Just the rich, mind you. Not the working poor, with calloused hands. No women. No children. The Bard … Read More
Monumental
She watched over a hundred harvests. Now at rest, she offers her shoulders to red-tailed hawks on the lookout for a meal.
Looney Creek
It’s a peaceful spot to rest in eternity. Surrounded by forest between Bethel and Emden, Looney Creek Cemetery may have a longer future than the crumbling Old Brick Church, the ambassador for these bones. Frank Drake is buried here. A … Read More
Surfboards everywhere.
The good people of Hawaii are outnumbered by three things. Cats, chickens and surfboards. More later about cats and chickens. For now, hang ten.