TBY: The Best Years

People love their pets, and pets love their people. It’s a bond built on love, service and dependence. They need us, but it seems we need them, as well. And as much work as they add to our lives, what they give in return is invaluable. They are loyal, loving and make us laugh. ...

Three State College Indian football greats were seen as Little All-America prospects in November 1955. Here, they take a last look at their red jerseys and numbers that identified them to thousands of area football fans over a four-year period. On the left is Jim Lohr, a magnificent tackle; center is John Schneider, one of the greatest all-around ends in school history; and right is Larry Yeargain, a quarterback without peer in Missouri. ...

Back in January, a friend recommended “The Year of Living Biblically,” a funny and interesting book by a man who decided to spend an entire year obeying all the commands found in the Bible. When I shared with another fellow book-lover that I’d read and enjoyed that book, she suggested I read Shonda Rhime’s “Year of Yes,” which I also enjoyed...

When I was perhaps 8 years old, I remember being sick, and my mother, Cecelia Bender, would sit beside me holding my hand. She was with me when my wisdom teeth were cut out, and when it came time for my appendectomy in junior high, I remember waking up in the hospital with Mom sitting beside my bed. She had stayed all night...

When Megan Malone moved to Ireland from Austin, Texas, and became a professional chauffeur with Leprechaun Limos, she never expected to find herself amidst one murder investigation, let alone three. Yet, here she is again, with a dead client and a murder mystery to solve...

Whether young or simply young at heart, taking care of mental health is more important now than ever. The Southeast Behavioral Hospital, located at 639 Silver Springs Rd. in Cape Girardeau, opened its new, 22-bed geratric unit Oct. 18. Here, Dr. Pavan Palepu, physician and chief medical officer, answers questions regarding mental health and the hospital’s newest addition...

From buying residents’ favorite candy bars to mending their clothes and remembering birthdays before they appear on the calendar, employees at Jackson Manor strive to create a community through little acts of caring. Director of nursing Cheryl Hanners says employees care about their residents as if they’re family, going to great lengths to ensure the happiness and well-being of each resident...

I’ve devoted hours I have no memory of to a hodge-podge group of hobbies and passions — some of which have become somewhat central to my identity throughout the years. I think this happens to everyone: As one aspect of your life gains more and more importance, others have to take a backseat. These changes have been happening slowly and steadily as I’ve gotten older, but recently — especially during the last two years of high school — that shifting has accelerated...

This is Part II of a three-part series. Look for Part III in the December 2021 issue of TBY. Maybe it was a ‘60’s phenomenon: the talent show. They used to be held all around the area. They were all much the same. Outside venues in the summer or in the school gym in inclement weather, these were well-attended local variety shows that were mini Ed Sullivans featuring local dignitaries as emcees and home-groan talent. ...

One of my twins recently got a concussion playing football. We had several days of dark rooms, sunglasses and quiet time. One of his restrictions was no screen time, which is torture to a 15-year-old. We had to search to find other ways to entertain him. ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many areas of society in the past two years, but it hasn’t put an end to scammers trying to contact you through the telephone. If you answer your phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live voice on the other end, it’s a robocall. ...

When veteran Dustin Johnson returned from his service in the Navy, his mother Tina Johnson says her son had difficulty adjusting. “He just found himself kind of lost,” she says. “Not having that kind of structure from the military, it’s very common to not know what to do next.”...

Musicians Billy Swan and Jim “Jolly” Oliver’s journeys with music started as classmates at a Cape Girardeau high school. The songwriters and lifelong friends, now residents of Nashville, Tenn., will return to Southeast Missouri for a fundraising concert Nov. 11...

In the early 20th Century, Sikeston is said to have had more millionaires per capita than any other city in America its size. Many of the homes still standing in Sikeston were built by these millionaire families in the 20th Century or by wealthy farmers in the 19th Century, and some are still occupied by the same families. Behind the ornate walls of three historical homes, residents reveal the century of history associated with their space and their special connection to it...

My parents raised me to not be a quitter. When I was 8 years old, I told them I wanted to stop taking piano lessons just a few months after starting. They explained it was wrong to walk away from something just because it was no longer fun. Throughout my childhood, I watched my parents follow through on commitments and finish projects I was sure they’d love to walk away from. ...

Over the past 15 or so years, I’ve mentioned several of my dogs in this column, including my late labs Belle (yellow) and Abbie (chocolate), and more recently, littermates Dawn and Violet. But I don’t recall ever writing a story about my first lab, Otter...

Between the endless array of agriculture exhibits and the dazzling lights of the ferris wheel, what’s not to love about The SEMO District Fair? The fair, 166 years in the making, has fun for the whole family — the young and the young-at-heart. Here, Pete Poe, SEMO District Fair director since the 1980s, shares his tips for you to get the most out of the annual festival...

“The Hummingbirds’ Gift” is a nonfiction story that follows Sy Montgomery as she volunteers at a hummingbird sanctuary to nurse and rehabilitate two orphaned hummingbird chicks. In her introduction, Montgomery talks about hummingbirds and how fragile they are, as well as how she and Brenda met and became friends. ...

After staring at their living room walls for a year and a half, Americans are taking to the nation’s roadways and skies to enjoy beach and mountain views and even ocean vistas from cruise ship decks. With the widespread distribution of vaccines, a growing number of travelers have been carefully venturing out. ...

The Shipyard is back after a brief pandemic hiatus for its third year of food, fun and your favorite people in one place, raging to your old favorite bands and discovering new music to put on repeat. This year, we’re on The Grounds at Century Casino Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17 and 18, with two stages, where we’ll have 10 nationally-touring bands and seven local musicians from our Scout Sessions playing...

In some ways, this past summer has felt like my last real one. It’s been my last summer to officially be a kid, to be eligible for library summer reading programs and to end with me waking up at 6:30 in the morning on some mid-August day with an excitement to go to school that I know won’t last the entire school year. ...

With long, sunny days and an abundance of free time, summer is the perfect season to slow down, breathe and enjoy the simplicity of existence. Summer is also the season to appreciate the company of those around us, and for many churches in Southeast Missouri, summer is the time for hosting community picnics. Here, three churches show what it takes to host their summer picnics...

In a world dominated by COVID-19 headlines, it can be difficult to remember there are other illnesses that can make us sick. Everything we had before is still around, it just does not make the news. So, how does Medicare cover vaccines and immunizations?...

This column is dedicated to all the sounds that give us pleasure. My appreciation of pleasant sounds is restricted a bit by my hearing loss. Even with my hearing aids, some sounds don’t sound exactly like they did when I was younger. When I was in my teens and 20s, I would go to see (and hear) such loud rockers as The Who, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. ...

Most people eventually pair up with someone of the opposite sex, enter into a serious relationship and reproduce themselves. However, certain individuals have chosen, for whatever reason, to refrain from reproduction and exist entirely heirless (although ideally not hairless). As one of those people, I have an interesting slant on the adult/child relationship. Which is to say, I’ve always enjoyed being an uncle...

This is pretty new to me. Not the writing part — I’ve been doing that for the better part of my life, but the whole having an audience thing. It’s a little strange, writing something that belongs to just me while knowing that in not too long, others will read it, and it will belong to them, too...

Rotarians from Cape Girardeau, Chaffee and Jackson enjoyed a cool evening excursion aboard the steamer Avalon on Aug. 6, 1953. In this picture, the Avalon is tied up at the Cape Girardeau wharf. The old traffic bridge can be seen in the background. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)...

Tips for living fully

Bob Keathley’s life as a handle mill owner and woodworker

Suja, an intern with the Rodong Workers Newspaper, and Jin, a scholarship student from the countryside, are born into vastly different North Korean social circles but meet during their years at university and fall in love, anyway. Suja’s family has social status. ...

When John Barber attended Brazeau School from 1950 to 1958, the school at Seventy-Six, Mo., an unincorporated community in the Brazeau Township of Perry County that depopulated in the 1950s, had just closed. Although there were eight grades represented at Brazeau School, the teacher only taught six grades each year, and John started school during a year that got skipped, going from fourth grade to sixth grade to fifth grade to eighth grade to seventh grade throughout his time there. ...

Recently, some of the “Hospice Ladies” came by our office to check in with us and see how we were doing; these women are some of the kindest, most compassionate people I know. One of the things we discussed were the misconceptions and under-utilization of hospice care...

This past spring, I took the first steps in following my dream of traveling around the U.S. in a motorhome or travel trailer. I purchased a minivan, removed the rear seats and had a Murphy bed installed, and on April 8, began my “advanture.” Over the next six weeks and over the course of three legs of travel, I visited all but two of the states east of the North-South line extending from North Dakota down to Texas. ...

Having a labrador retriever to take duck hunting is an asset when needing to pick up downed birds. But duck season lasts only so long, with many months to go before the next season. By keeping duck dogs busy in the off months, it can help them progress when the fall flight returns. One way to keep retrievers tuned up is attending hunt tests offered through the Hunting Retriever Club (HRC)...

Guess what! The ol’ girl’s not quite finished yet. Close, but no cigar. Life can sure throw you for a lulu when you least expect it. I was just breezing along through the month of March doing all the things we old gals do: puzzling, playing Rummikub and card games like Bridge and Three 13. I was just waiting for spring and hoping for a better year than last. Weren’t we all??...

Banjos, harmonicas, violins and a wide assortment of guitars spill their sound across the Cape Girardeau County History Center on a Saturday evening in June as audience members sway to the beat. Smiles abound, but Carla Jordan, executive director of the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society, wears the widest one. She welcomes everyone into the room like she is hosting a family reunion, because this is a reunion. A reunion of Cape Girardeau Historical Society’s Traditional Music Night.

This is the first bucket of cement poured in July 1962 on the Cape Girardeau section of Interstate Highway 55. The site is two miles north of Wedekind Park at a point just north of Old McKendree Chapel. The construction train shown here was a concrete pavement assembly line. Rolling on tracks, the assembly poured the concrete, leveled it, removed any air pockets, finished it and left behind a complete project. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)...

After witnessing the bus accident that killed her old acquaintance Barbara, Astrid Strick realizes she was right there — it could have been her. And now that she has gotten a new lease on life, Astrid is determined to share the truth about her life. ...

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic when many nursing homes did not allow visitors into residential facilities in order to protect residents from the virus, admissions director Charlene Foeste says the family-like atmosphere of Jackson Manor in Jackson helped guide residents through the difficult time...

“Minnie the Moocher” by Cab Calloway blared through the signature speaker installed on the roof of a 1974 Plymouth Blues Mobile replica made famous by the film “The Blues Brothers” as Louisiana resident Stephen Haybert drove into Cape Girardeau with his brother-in-law for the 37th-Annual Hemmings Motor News Great Race June 22. Each wore the respective black fedora and sunglasses to complete their transformation into Jake and Elwood from the movie...

Life is returning to normal: Restaurants and stores are open, people can gather again, and meetings have returned to in-person events. In addition, we at Aging Matters are starting our Medicare Matters Workshops and other events. Medicare Matters Workshops are in-person meetings where we go over all of the parts of Medicare from A to D. ...

Farming is in Jerry Davis’ blood. As vice-president of the River Hills Antique Tractor Club, he helped organize the 43rd-Annual Old Timer’s Day that took place at the Seminary Picnic Grounds in Perryville, Mo., May 29-30, 2021. Although it was a two-day event for the community, the knowledge passed on at it is something that’s part of Davis’ everyday — every day...