Communities of Southeast Missouri

Stoddard County

__A great place to ... chat with a farmer__

Jamaica native Dr. Anserd Julius (A.J.) Foster came to the United States as a student, and he stayed to pursue his career in agriculture.

He holds a bachelor's degree in environmental management and a master's in agronomy/soil chemistry from Louisiana State University; a master's in agronomy from Mississippi State University; and a Ph.D. in crop science from Oklahoma State University. In early 2014, Foster moved to Southeast Missouri to work as an agronomist at the University of Missouri Extension Office in Bloomfield.

"It's great. The people are fantastic," he says. "The farmers are the best to work with -- they're the most progressive farmers I've met in my whole life. They're great thinkers and innovators. They're very welcoming and very open, and they have a lot of new ideas. Most of these guys are very open to trying new things, and they're trying to improve all the time. They're looking for ways to do the best job they can, and I enjoy working with them."

As an agronomist, Foster is available to help people with agriculture-related problems and questions, relying either on his own expertise, researching for answers or consulting other experts in the "field," so to speak. Foster says his best days are spent outdoors, visiting with farmers and learning about their day-to-day work.

"What I enjoy is planting and harvest season, and spending time with farmers doing their operations," he says. "I learn what they're doing and I'm exposed to what problems they have, and we talk about how we're able to address those issues. It helps us put research ideas together or decide where we're going with our research."

Outside of work, Foster enjoys spending time with his wife, playing soccer with friends and going to church.

Bollinger County

__A great place to ... make a difference__

Nick Hendricks, mayor of Marble Hill, Missouri, poses inside City Hall. (Laura Simon)

Nick Hendricks has lived most of his life in Marble Hill, and in 2013, he was appointed mayor of his hometown. In 2014, he was elected to a full two-year term as mayor.

"It's important for younger people to get involved in the community," says Hendricks, who is 28. "If they see someone like myself in the position (of mayor), they might look at it differently and see that they, too, could be the person who makes and drives changes that make the community better."

In addition to his work as mayor, Hendricks is a warehouse supervisor at Coca-Cola in Jackson, a student at Southeast Missouri State University and is married with two children, ages 7 and 4.

"I stay pretty busy, but my family is very supportive of what I do, which makes life easier," he says.

In his spare time, one of Hendricks' favorite things to do is go for a drive with his family and enjoy the scenery of Bollinger County.

"When things get bad, everybody joins together, and you don't find that in larger cities. Right here in Bollinger County, people are the most loving and caring people," he adds.

Cape Girardeau County

__A great place to ... cook up something delicious__

From left, Sebastian, Abby, DeWayne, Amy Schaaf and Daisy Dog laugh after their artisan soda tasting April 6. (Laura Simon)

As executive chef at Celebrations Restaurant in Cape Girardeau, DeWayne Schaaf likes that Cape reminds him of a small town, but has the shopping opportunities of a larger city -- and for Schaaf, that means a variety of farmers markets and a nice selection of meats and cheeses at local grocery stores.

"It's always something unique, delicious and fresh," he says of the fine dining options at Celebrations, where he has worked since 1998. "I like to play around with different dishes that people aren't as familiar with."

Schaaf describes his cooking as rustic with a basis of French, German and Italian styles. The restaurant is especially known for its dishes featuring game and fish -- duck, elk, antelope, moonfish and rockfish have been big hits recently. Celebrations even has fish flown in weekly, and the menu changes depending on what ingredients are fresh and available.

"It's whatever sounds good and is looking good that day. Sometimes the menu changes three or four times a week ... or it might not change for two weeks," says Schaaf. "I like the artistry and instant gratification (of cooking), along with the eating and drinking and camaraderie."

Schaaf has a number of other interests, including home-brewing, collecting records, sampling artisan sodas and spending time with his wife and four children, especially in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Perry County

__A great place to ... grab a burger__

Carisa Stark, owner of Mary Jane's Burgers & Brew in Perryville, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

After 20 years working in the hospitality industry from Iowa to Colorado, Carisa Stark returned to Perryville nearly a year and a half ago to open her own restaurant: Mary Jane Burgers & Brew.

"It seemed like the time was right. I'm very close with my family, and it was time to come home," she says.

Stark named the restaurant after her grandmother, Mary Jane Buchheit.

"She's a super-positive, strong person, fiercely independent, and that's a culture I wanted to breed in my restaurant," Stark says.

The restaurant has quickly become known for its burgers, which Stark describes as an "eclectic collection of recipes" inspired by her work and travel experiences all over the United States. Mary Jane also has about 20 craft beers on tap, plus a diverse lineup of special events, ranging from monthly beer pairings to murder mystery dinners to pub crawls.

"I knew I wanted to draw attention to the restaurant, and there are so many different, really eclectic groups out there," Stark says. "We had a 5K to appeal to the athletics, beer pairings to appeal to the foodies and craft beer enthusiasts, a murder mystery for drama and entertainment, live music for night life. The Perryville square is a beautiful area, and I wanted to bring light to the beauty of the area."

Stark herself is a self-proclaimed foodie and craft beer enthusiast, and says one of her favorite weekend activities is driving in her Jeep with the top down, visiting breweries and wineries in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois and talking with folks who own businesses like hers.

"I love that Perry County has all four seasons," she says. "It's a nice, tight-knit community that supports each other, and the German heritage, I find that fascinating. It's a quaint, cute little town and a great place to have a family."

Scott County

__A great place to ... hit the ground running__

Dr. Tiffany Brey poses for a photo in Scott City Park April 1. (Glenn Landberg)

Dr. Tiffany Brey grew up in Cairo, Illinois, but crossed the river to Missouri for her education at Notre Dame Regional High School and Southeast Missouri State University.

After graduating from Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, Brey settled into a career at Dixon Chiropractic in Scott City, where she had worked part time during college. This spring, she purchased the clinic, now called Brey Family Chiropractic.

"I immediately loved the small community feel of the town, and I've lived here ever since," she says. "It has a small community feeling, but you can still get to Cape easily."

Brey has been active in the Scott City Chamber of Commerce for five years and is now the treasurer. While the chamber started with only six people attending meetings, they now have about 20 people at chamber meetings, plus a seven-member board.

"The more involved in the community we get, the more people come to our meetings," says Brey.

Personally, Brey volunteers with the Southeast Missouri Angels Pageant for children with special needs (catch this year's event on April 25), and she's a member of the Scott City Women's Club. She also loves to run, dance, watch Cardinals baseball and spend time with her family.

Ste. Genevieve County

__A great place to ... explore your artistic side__

Artist Juanita Wyman inside her St. Genevieve, Missouri, studio. Wyman has used many mediums in her art, but is currently using pastels for her pieces. (Laura Simon)

Juanita Rapp Wyman is a retired art teacher who took the phrase "practice what you preach" to heart. After teaching for 30 years in De Soto, Missouri, and then Jefferson College, she moved back to Ste. Genevieve to paint her surroundings and steep herself in the area's rich artistic history.

"Being a former art teacher, you do a lot of everything, and not a whole lot of anything. That was always my motto," she says. "Now I work primarily in pastel, though I also work in watercolor and oils."

Much of Wyman's subject matter comes from her travels in Europe, especially Germany, where she has researched genealogy and formed relationships with distant relatives. She also enjoys painting the rural landscapes of the Midwest, including Ste. Genevieve and Sikeston, Missouri, where she will host a solo show in May.

"I consider myself a regionalist painter," she says. "I enjoy painting people and things from a specific place that I relate to."

Wyman is director of the Ste. Genevieve Art Guild and also is active in the Ste. Genevieve Downtown Renewal Project and the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve. She participates in as many local festivals and events as she can.

"I was raised around all of this antiquity," she says, adding that in high school, she volunteered as a tour guide in Ste. Genevieve. "It's the real deal here in Ste. Genevieve. Nothing has been reproduced; the old buildings are very quaint. Being surrounded by that makes it so much more enjoyable to paint, at least for me. ... When you retire, you have to wake up and want to do something. Art is my niche."