Articles > Columns

A Bootheel Refuge

Big trees, a boardwalk to beauty and a ridge with a view By John Robinson   Tucked in rolling hills on the brink of the Bootheel, the Bloomfield Cemetery tells a story. The chapters unfold one by one on the white tombstones of Confederate soldiers from around Bloomfield who died during the Civil War. Many were laid to rest on this beautiful spot atop Crowley’s Ridge, that towering geologic oddity that slices across southeast Miss…... Read more >

French Lessons

Ste. Genevieve helps us look back … and forward

By Arthur Mehrhoff

Some people sample and collect fine wines, but I like to collect and savor vintage museum experiences. Following a workshop last spring at Cape Girardeau, I visited the Felix Vallé House State Historic Site in historic Ste. Genevieve. The experience of discovering a truly unique aspect of Missouri life interpreted by a first-rate museum made this French-American …... Read more >

Carefree Comfort

Tucked in and around Branson with the King By John Robinson   “Historic?” The chamber of commerce lady didn’t buy my logic. I persisted. “If I were a vehicle, I’d have a historic tag. And Rock Lane Lodge was already historic when our family stayed there thirty years ago.”

She motioned down the narrow peninsula called Indian Point. “It’s near the end of the road, and now they call it R…... Read more >

The Acid Test For Gold

By Danita Allen Wood

The story started out as a special project by a University of Missouri journalism graduate student, Ali Ryan, who was working for us. She initially surveyed readers, prominent Missourians, and state travel experts to propose a list, and then we had the excruciating task of narrowing it down to a mere one hundred. Rebecca French Smith came onboard to complete the project and proved so savvy an editor of the pack…... Read more >