BEEN THINKIN’ ABOUT… DARK TOWN SNOW. The painting hangs in the gallery, testament to a thousand small towns, a thousand Americas across the winter, a thousand winter nights. The weathered, lonely red bricks of an easily overlooked downtown, the black of the sky, white snow piled on old wooden steps. Unseen street lamp illuminates the…
THINKING’ ABOUT… THE MINSTREL OAKS. The shadow of the afternoon sun’s heat remained, covering the deep greens of the tightly mown fairgrounds, covering the land and sky itself and making the forest beyond the gravel road wave slightly, a shimmer as though of another time and place. Beyond the line of dark forest, the sun…
As the Battle Found Them (Remembering the Battle of Carthage, July 5, 1861) by Lisa Livingston-Martin & Joshua Heston The low May clouds are heavy with rain. A biting blackberry winter wind whips at the tall Missouri grass and the Civil War Ranch’s parking is in danger of turning to mud. The temperature falls. A…
Elias Tucker Goes to War… Well, Sorta BY DALE GRUBAUGH On the bank of Wilson’s Creek the battle lines had been drawn. We advanced a few feet, then upon command, we retreated a few. Moments later we were ordered to advance back to our previous position only to be pushed back to where we had…
PLATE 1. Confederate Church (Methodist Episcopal Church South) was a safe haven for Confederates during and after the war. A Confederate Church & Jesse James by Clint E. Lacy You might never guess the treasures hidden in your own background. That’s what I learned after buying our house at the corner of Englehart Lane and…
Beneath the Willow by Dalton Quick (with art by Freeman) Josiah often fell asleep beneath the willow. He would come home – his body worn physically and mentally in equal measure, his heart racing with the pains of today, his mind anxious with the thoughts of tomorrow. He would walk around the house, careful not…
Civil War Days at Hulston Mill by Joshua Heston Some stories are better told with photos. On June 10-11, hardworking re-enactors led by Brent Paschall brought the realities of war in Missouri to life. “I always tell people, ‘Once that first bullet goes past your head, it’s not about sides. It’s about surviving.'” War is…
Peace Church Ghosts by Joshua Heston The road winds north of Joplin, across the creek and up the hill. To the right, Peace Church Cemetery spreads into the little valley, shaded here and there by imposing oaks. Always-green spider grass is bright in the afternoon sun. Yucca abounds and, despite the hard work of preservation…