Alongside the nostalgic appeal of Route 66 lurk ghostly roadside hitchhikers, the Goatman of Rolla, amusement park spirits, Civil War dead and the shadows thrown by the mighty Thunderbird. Spanning three hundred dangerously curving miles, the stretch of the Mother Road in Missouri earned the title of "Bloody 66, "? and some of its stopping places are marked by equally grim history. The Lemp Mansion saw family members commit suicide one by one. Springfield's Pythian Castle was an orphanage before becoming a military hospital and housing World War II prisoners of war. Follow Janice Tremeear as she takes a detour down Zombie Road, peers into the matter of the Joplin Spook Light and even stays overnight in Missouri's most haunted locations to discover what makes the Show Me State such a lively place for the dead.
Missouri's Wicked Route 66:
9781609497668
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Tracing Route 66 through Missouri represents one of America's favorite exercises in nostalgia, but a discerning glance among the roadside weeds reveals the kind of sordid history that doesn't appear on postcards. Along with vintage cars and picnic baskets, Route 66 was a conduit humming with contraband and crackling with the gunplay of folks like Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James and the Young brothers. It was also the preferred byway of lynch mobs, murderous hitchhikers and mad scientists. Stop in at places like the Devil's Elbow and the Steffleback Bordello on this trip through the more treacherous twists of the Mother Road.
Harry Truman's Independence
9781609495961
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Even after leaving presidential office at a time when America was in its ascendance to global power, Harry Truman would call Independence, Missouri, the "center of the world." It was already a town rich in the history of westward exploration and spiritual pilgrimage before he began sixty-four years of residence there, but the way it shaped Truman and was, in turn, shaped by him has defined Independence's legacy. That defining relationship is explored here by Truman expert Jon Taylor as it never has been before.
Haunted Graveyards of the Ozarks
9781609499846
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From the neatly tended urban necropolis to the long-forgotten family plot at the end of a winding gravel road, these "quiet cities" of the Ozarks have the power to send chills up and down the spine of the most hardened skeptic. Be it the restless Civil War soldiers of Greenbrier, the mass murderer who stalks Peace Church or the red eyes that persecute visitors to Robinson, tales of ghostly activity abound in every burial ground carved out of the ancient Ozark hills. Follow Dave Harkins as he explores the fascinating history and unsettling lore clinging to these haunted graveyards.
Missouri Ozarks Legends and Lore
9781467150408
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A crossroads energy is the heart and soul of the Missouri Ozarks, where earthquakes, monster lore and UFO sightings are as familiar as limestone bluffs along historic Route 66. When Momo the Missouri Monster materialized amid auditory phenomena and UFO sightings, mayhem consumed a sleepy river town. The Joplin Spook Light has appeared nightly for more than a century. At sunset, park guards at the legendary Zombie Road turn away ghost hunters for their own good. Learn about how historic earthquakes reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. See Missouri native Mark Twain's lifelong interest in the paranormal following a lucid prophetic dream. Join Cynthia Carroll--author, tour director and sixth-generation native--as your guide through the magic of the Missouri Ozarks.
Iconic Restaurants of St. Louis
9781467145121
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St. Louis has an appetite for sure. The places that made it that way have fascinating tales of hard work and good flavor. From the white tablecloths of Tony's to the counter at Woofie's, the Gateway City came to culinary prominence. The glories of Union Station's Fred Harvey restaurant and simple spots like the Piccadilly highlight the variety. Mai Lee serves as the city's first Vietnamese restaurant, and Mammer Jammer was home of St. Louis's hottest sandwich. Recipes are included, like a favorite soup of Missouri's own Harry Truman. Ann Lemons Pollack, author of Lost Restaurants of St. Louis, found these stories and more, all to whet your appetite.
Notorious Missouri
9781467146692
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From the duel on Bloody Island to the "Missouri Miracle'? kidnapping and recovery of Shawn Hornbeck, Missouri has seen its share of notorious crimes. The Show-Me State was home to the first Western gunfight on the town square between Wild Bill Hickok and Dave Tutt. The three trials of the alleged murderer of Colonel Thomas Swope, the founder of Kansas City's Swope Park, enveloped the state. Residents also saw the killings within a few blocks of each other that inspired the songs "Stagger Lee'? and "Frankie and Johnny.'? Vicki Berger Erwin and James W. Erwin explore crimes, criminals, and victims from the violent history of the last two hundred years in the Show-Me State.
St. Louis Coffee
9781467152327
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The Gateway City was a popular stop for miners, trappers and settlers heading west, so offices and wholesaler warehouses lined the riverfront. Railroads and steamboats brought an abundance of goods, including green coffee. By the early twentieth century, St. Louis--with more than seventy roasting companies--was the coffee capital of the United States. Some coffee businesses--including Blanke, Forbes and Evans--faded, while Ronnoco remains, working alongside newer generation roasters such as Kaldi's and dozens more. Author Deborah Reinhardt traces an industry that helped shape St. Louis history and shows how today's creative coffee professionals continue to influence a culinary culture.
A History Lover's Guide to Kansas City
9781467144407
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Kansas City is often seen as a "cow town" with great barbecue and steaks. But it is also a city with more boulevards than Paris and more working fountains than Rome. There are burial mounds that date back more than two thousand years. The National World War I Museum and Memorial, opened in 1926, stands more than two hundred feet tall. Leila's Hair Museum has a collection that brings tourists from all over the nation. The Kansas City Jazz Museum features a historic district and world-class museum that document a time when dance halls, cabarets, speakeasies and even honky-tonks and juke joints fostered the development of a new musical style. Join author Paul Kirkman as he cuts a trail past the stockyards into the heart of America--Kansas City.
Missouri's Mad Doctor McDowell
9781467118880
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Body snatcher. Grave robber. Mad scientist. Brilliant surgeon. Delve into the macabre world of St. Louis's Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell, a man so loathed by the public that he wore body armor and so idolized by his anatomy students that they dug up corpses for his experiments. This ghoulish doctor cast a pall over the city and left a host of fiendish mysteries. Did his mother's ghost actually help him escape an angry mob? Did he really hang the corpse of his daughter in Hannibal's Mark Twain Cave? What very real horrors remained in his medical college after loyal Unionists drove him out? Dissect a life surrounded by speculation and a legend littered with ghosts.
Steamboat Disasters of the Lower Missouri River
9781467143257
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During the nineteenth century, more than three hundred boats met their end in the steamboat graveyard that was the Lower Missouri River, from Omaha to its mouth. Although derided as little more than an "orderly pile of kindling,'? steamboats were, in fact, technological marvels superbly adapted to the river's conditions. Their light superstructure and long, wide, flat hulls powered by high-pressure engines drew so little water that they could cruise on "a heavy dew'? even when fully loaded. But these same characteristics made them susceptible to fires, explosions and snags--tree trunks ripped from the banks, hiding under the water's surface. Authors Vicki and James Erwin detail the perils that steamboats, their passengers and crews faced on every voyage.
Lost Attractions of the Ozarks
9781467152976
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Discover the Famous Attractions of Days Gone By When you think about vacationing in the Ozark Mountains, Li'l Abner comic strip characters at Dogpatch USA or scores of their generic cousins elsewhere probably come to mind. But that would be only the beginning. The Ozarks region has scores of attractions to offer tourists and locals alike. From the early music theaters of Branson to the kitschy tourist traps of Lake of the Ozarks, it is a unique part of the nation. Author Tim Hollis details the businesses that no longer exist, from abandoned roadside relics along Route 66 to the concrete prehistoric monsters of Arkansas' Dinosaur World.
Missouri Outlaws
9781625859150
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Whether seen as a common criminal or Robin Hood with a six-shooter, the Missouri outlaw left an indelible mark on American culture. In the nineteenth century, Missouri was known as the "Outlaw State" and offered a list of lawbreakers like Jesse James, Bloody Bill Anderson, Belle Starr and Cole Younger. These notorious criminals became folk legends in countless books, movies and television shows. Author Paul Kirkman traces the succession of Missouri's first few generations and how each contributed to the making of some of the most notorious outlaws and lawmen in American history.
Wicked Women of Missouri
9781467119665
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Marauders like Jesse James and the Younger gang earned Missouri the title of "Outlaw State," but the male desperadoes had nothing on their female counterparts. Belle "Queen of the Bandits" Starr and Cora Hubbard kept Missouri's sensationalist newspapers and dime novelists in business with exploits ranging from horse thefts to bank heists. Missouri native Ma Barker and her murderous sons rose to infamy during the gangster era of the 1930s while Bonnie Parker crisscrossed the state with Clyde Barrow. From savvy burlesque dancers to deadly gold diggers, historian Larry Wood chronicles the titillating stories of ten of the Show-Me State's shadiest ladies.
Kansas City 1940
9781626193239
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1940: It's the year Nazis rain bombs on London and goose-step into Paris, when President Roosevelt wins an unprecedented third term and Kansas Citians finally run the corrupt Pendergast political machine out of power. The new reform-minded city government is bent on cleaning up the sinful "Paris of the Plains" and streamlining its future with wide, new miles of trafficways. Notorious nightclubs have closed. The City Market opens. Glenn Miller swings, Bojangles taps and "Gone with the Wind" premieres. Old buildings make way for parking lots. A dying meteor lights up the night sky above a racially segregated city, home to Charlie Parker, Thomas Hart Benton, Walter Cronkite, Satchel Paige and Thomas J. Pendergast, ex-con. It's all on display here in photographs snapped by WPA workers and stories curated by John Simonson.
Truman's Grandview Farm
9781609490898
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The rolling hills of southern Jackson County still shelter the white and green farmhouse Harry S. Truman occupied in the days before his journey to the Presidency. After the death of his father, the duties of the six hundred acre farm fell to twenty-two year-old Harry, who shouldered them from 1906 to 1917. It was here, in Grandview, that his nine year courtship with Bess Wallace took place and his ties with organizations like the Free Masons were forged. Drawing on photographs, letters and even farm receipts, historian Jon Taylor pieces together a picture of the farmer from Missouri whose humble beginnings prepared him to lead the country.
The 1849 Cholera Outbreak in Jefferson City
9781467148054
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In 1849, a steamship named after President James Monroe headed from St. Louis to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The passengers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Philadelphia. At St. Louis, they were joined with a group of California gold diggers from Jeffersonville, Indiana. But their trip was interrupted when cholera broke out on board. Local fourteen-year-old James McHenry discovered the steamship after it landed at Jefferson City and observed the dead and dying victims along the riverbank. Author Gary Elliott details the history of the outbreak in the city and its far-reaching effects.
Iconic Restaurants of Kansas City
9781467145862
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Generations of families and restaurateurs have loyally turned out the delectable foods that made Kansas City the food destination that it is. Opened in 1930, the Infante family's El Nopal at 416 West Thirteenth Street is reputedly the first restaurant to introduce a wider Kansas City audience to Mexican food. The city's beloved Savoy Grill was not only one of Harry S Truman's favorite haunts but also the restaurant where many Kansas Citians remember eating their first lobster dinner. "Amazin' Grace'? Harris's tiny Kansas City, Kansas H & M Barbecue kept alive Kansas City's "Paris of the Plains'? reputation--for those in the know. Author and native Andrea Broomfield goes on a journey to discover the roots of Kansas City's favorite restaurants.
The Siege of Lexington, Missouri: The Battle of the Hemp Bales
9781626195363
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Following victories at Carthage and Wilson's Creek in the summer of 1861, the Confederate-allied Missouri State Guard achieved its greatest success when it advanced on Lexington in September. Former Missouri governor General Sterling Price and his men laid siege for three days against a Union garrison under the command of Colonel James Mulligan. An ingenious mobile breastwork of hemp bales soaked in water, designed to absorb hot shot, enabled the Confederates to close in on September 20 and force surrender. Civil War historian Larry Wood delivers a thorough account of the battle that briefly consolidated Confederate control in the region.
Slaying in South St. Louis
9781625859068
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On a crisp December day in 1963, Nancy Zanone left her young son and daughter playing in the backyard while she went inside to check the laundry. She never came back. A troubled teen prowling for unlocked doors along Chippewa in South St. Louis surprised her in the kitchen and stabbed her to death. Despite Joseph Arbeiter's confession and hard evidence, he was freed on a technicality. In response, Zanone's family fought to change how juvenile murderers are tried in the state of Missouri. Local authors Vicki Berger Erwin and Bryan Erwin investigate the senseless tragedy and the family's quest for justice.
Molly Brown from Hannibal, Missouri
9781609498719
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In the film version of the life of the "Unsinkable Molly Brown," she is rescued from the Colorado River and raised in the Rocky Mountains, but the actual Margaret Tobin Brown was born and raised in Hannibal, Missouri. Her formative years took place in the town's Gilded Age; the railroad brought in lumber barons, and as the wealth of Hannibal grew, so too did the dreams of young Margaret. Even though her future career as a philanthropist and socialite would span continents and she would become famous for surviving the sinking of the "Titanic," Molly Brown was always proud to be from Hannibal.
Paris of the Plains
9781609490621
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From the end of the Great War to the final years of the 1950s, Kansas Citians lived in a manner worthy of a place called Paris of the Plains. The title did more than nod to the perfumed ladies who shopped at Harzfeld's Parisian or the one-thousand-foot television antenna nicknamed the "Eye-full Tower." It spoke to the character of a town that worked for Boss Tom and danced for Count Basie but transcended both the Pendergast era and the Jazz Age. Author John Simonson introduces readers to a town of vaudeville shows and screened-in porches, where fleets of cream-and-black streetcars passed beneath a canopy of elms. This is a history that smells equally of lilacs and stockyards and bursts with the clamor of gunshots, radio baseball and the distant whistle of a night train.
Murder & Mayhem Jefferson City
9781467152273
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The Dark Side of Jeff City The first century of the wilderness-born Missouri capital was filled with villainous escapes from the state's only prison, resulting in theft, abuse and even murder. The grandest of escape attempts ended with the city's only triple hanging. The capital city had plenty of entrepreneurs willing to sidestep the federal Volstead Act, which attracted Ku Klux Klan activity and culminated in the election of a "law and order" sheriff, whose deputies broke laws to enforce them. Many other tragedies grieved the community, including the South Side murder of a German immigrant by a teen-aged deputy, who had been caught sleeping with the victim's daughter. Author Michelle Brooks has collected a sample of some of the shocking events of Jefferson City's first century.
St. Louis Civil War Sites and the Fight for Freedom
9781467152723
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The Monuments of a Divided State
St. Louis was at the center of several key Civil War events from the Dred Scott decision through the Mississippi Campaign that cut the Confederate States in two. Visit the site from which enslaved people tried to cross the Mississippi River to the free state of Illinois. Discover how hundreds of lawsuits by enslaved people set the stage for the Dred Scott decision that lit the fuse to the Civil War. See the military base that produced over 200 Civil War generals and the arsenal that secessionists and unionists fought to control. Author Peter Downs goes behind the monuments and historic sites to explore the people, relationships and events that influenced the course of civil war in St. Louis and the nation.
The Battle of Westport: Missouri's Great Confederate Raid
9781609490065
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The Battle of Westport, Missouri (today, part of Kansas City) was the largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi. Troops from as far away as New Jersey and Pennsylvania (as well as Texas, Arkansas, Colorado and Iowa) took part in the hostilities. The battle was the climax of a desperate Confederate raid led by General Sterling Price proceeding from Arkansas across the State of Missouri to the Kansas border. The Union victory at Westport marked the end of major military operations in Missouri and secured Kansas and the trails, rails, and communication lines to the western states. Participants included future governors of both Kansas and Missouri, notorious post-war outlaws and many notable characters that would shape the growth and image of the western states. This project will tell the story of the place, the engagement, the people, and the importance of the Missouri/Kansas border war's greatest battle. The aftermath and legacy of the Battle of Westport will be presented in the broader context of westward expansion and give the reader a greater appreciation of how far-reaching the effects were of those few days in October, 1864.
