TBY: The Best Years

Recipes tell the stories of communities and the people who shape them. Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients and steps; it is a written legacy of the individual who created the dish, their family and history. This monthly series highlights one of these legacies and gives readers the chance to create the recipe themselves...

The Golden Angels Senior ladies’ group gathers to eat, learn and share life Words and photos by Jasmine Jones Every Thursday, a group of women known as the Golden Angels meet at the old May Greene School on Ranney Avenue in Cape Girardeau. Phyllis Johnson, who became a member of the Golden Angels in 2008, acts as the leader, taking attendance, coordinating activities and contacting members to make sure they’re up-to-date on the group’s happenings. ...

Shu-Chuan Wang-McGrath loves tea. She drinks it every day and travels the world to purchase it. And as a communication studies and languages professor at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), she uses tea to teach students about culture and history...

Some of meteorologist Grant Dade’s earliest memories are of weather. One impactful instance stands out to him, in particular: During tornado warnings, he and his family watched supercell thunderstorms 20 miles in the distance move across the plains on the front porch of their home in Rapid City, S.D...

I love quirky protagonists! In “Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,” author Alan Bradley introduces one who definitely fits the bill. Flavia de Luce is a precocious 11-year-old chemistry whiz who specializes in poisons and is equal parts horrified and delighted when she discovers a dying stranger in the cucumber patch...

The month of March 50, 40 and 25 years ago saw the beginning of the end of a police action in Vietnam, the ramping up of the Cold War between the U.S. and USSR, and a papal apology for inaction during the Holocaust. 1973 50 Years Ago On March 29, 1973, two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement in Paris, the last U.S. ...

“Good morning, Douglas,” a bright voice says after I stop my phone’s alarm. “The time is 5 a.m. The weather today in Hannibal is cloudy. The temperature is 25, and the high will be 39. It will be rainy, and there’s a chance of snow. You have five events on your calendar; here are the first three. …” All those statements are generated by stock functions, but next up is one I customized myself. “The sun will rise today at 6:39 a.m. and set at 5:57 p.m.”...

In my past articles, we’ve focused on whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diets as the proven ticket to health. A WFPB diet is one that maximizes the intake of whole foods that come from plants — think “no ingredient label” or only real foods that are listed. It also minimizes the intake of processed and animal-derived foods...

“Are you shy? I wrote you a poem to make you courageous,” a sixth grader says. “I have a dog named Frankie!” a fourth grader says. “You sound like a clown when you talk,” a second grader says. “Is my mom gonna die?” a kindergartener asks. I listen to them, as they open their filterless minds to me, and think about what I should say. Oftentimes, they do quirky things like address me as Ms. Karen after I’ve told them my name name is “Erin” repeatedly. I’ve come to terms with it...

Not Dorothy's yellow brick road, or Aladdin's famous carpet, or palm branches laid for a conquering hero, or flowers strewn in the path of the Pope. But my own driveway, showered with pear and tulip blossoms, ushering me out to do battle not with giants,...

Wayne Givens wasn’t a fan of school. On his first day of kindergarten, he says he came home and told his dad, “I’m glad that’s over,” and was disappointed to learn he had to return the next day. It’s not that he wasn’t smart; he loved to learn and had been reading since age 4. ...

Irony is my guilty pleasure. It certainly was ironic, then, that midway through “The Year of Living Danishly” by Helen Russell, I was disappointed and confused, like the author was after she moves to Denmark with her husband “Lego Man.” My disappointment, though, was for a different reason. ...

Most The Best Years readers who are country music fans instantly recognize the name Narvel Felts. Felts was born near Keiser, Ark., in 1938, raised on a family farm in Poe, Mo., attended Bernie High School and has called Malden home since 1962. Some of his most-recognizable country hits from the 1970s include “Driftaway,” “Somebody Hold Me (Until She Passes By),” “Lonely Teardrops” and “Reconsider Me.”...

Quentin Kimbrell is in the cockroach business. In the morning, he turns the lights on at his facility, and even on the sunniest days, he hears rain. The rain is not the sound of water hitting the roof: It is the sound of more than 300,000 cockroaches scattering inside plastic bins...

A knight, a horse with three crowns and the “King of Suede” walk into a bar. No, it’s not a bad joke — it’s nostalgia! 1973 50 Years Ago On Feb. 26, 1973, a horse, once known as Big Red, sold for $6.08 million. A bright-red chestnut stallion with three white socks and a star with a narrow stripe on his forehead, he won the Triple Crown at three years old, and the world learned the name “Secretariat.” The first to win the Triple Crown since 1948, he is regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. ...

Last year, I attended a quilt show. As I wandered from one beautiful quilt to another, I was amazed at the skill and creativity each contained. It made me appreciate the dedication, care and love that had been poured into each stitch. The flood of color and pattern overwhelmed me with awe. Each displayed a true artist who took what we think of as an ordinary, everyday object and made it cherished and special...

Recipes tell the stories of communities and the people who shape them. Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients and steps; it is a written legacy of the individual who created the dish, their family and history. This monthly series highlights one of these legacies and gives readers the chance to create the recipe themselves...

We long for the before and after, clinging to the past, impatient for the future. But we live in the in-between, always having to let go and move on. Don't miss the beauty of each present moment. Make of it a perfect marriage of memory and desire. Robert Hamblin is emeritus professor of English at Southeast Missouri State University, where he taught for 50 years and served as the founding director of the school's Center for Faulkner Studies. ...

Situated along the Mississippi River, river transportation is vital to the economy in Southeast Missouri. The SEMO Port provides 2,925 jobs, $174.5 million in labor income, and $20.9 million in state and local tax revenue, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s 2018 Economic Impact for Public Ports study. In 2016, public ports in Missouri moved 4 million tons of freight, equivalent to the freight that could be moved by nearly 100,000 trucks...

Throughout the past semester of school, I’ve gathered that senior year is more. There is more excitement, more pressure and more moments to make count. There is an overall need to stay present and focused, because soon, the high school experience will be nothing but a memory...

Even from a young age, Victor Wilburn knew he wanted to make sure whatever he does “counts.” Currently, he is a professor and chair for the Department of Family and Child Studies at Southeast Missouri State University, but this wasn’t always the path he envisioned for himself. He ended up in the field of child development after years of education, research and experience in other fields before finding the “right role to serve.”...

Every Sunday at approximately 4 p.m., folks gather at the barbershop Hombre Hair in Cape Girardeau to play music, sing and enjoy each other’s company. They spread out in a large circle in the middle of the shop, some seated in barber chairs and others on folding chairs, giving themselves plenty of room for their instruments and music stands. ...

Learning became fun in 1973, we had sweet dreams in 1983 and Gretzky was named the GOAT in 1998. 50 years ago 1973 On Jan. 6, 1973, kids watching Saturday morning cartoons got to see something new and amazing between episodes of “Scooby-Doo” and “The Flintstones:” “Schoolhouse Rock!” premiered on ABC with “My Hero, Zero” a musical animated short about how Zero is the hero of multiplication. ...

It’s the year’s turn and time for my annual exercise in casting a look back before I peer up the path. “There are scars you didn’t have the last time we did this,” my mirror says. “Remarkably few, given the opportunity,” I observe. Glasses cover the lumps by one eye. Pretty good for a 30-stitch misadventure the ER doc called “making hamburger of your face.”...

For many, sustainable farming is a pipe dream, or a fancy idea on the internet, but for Jim and Mary Maginel of Cape Girardeau, it is a way of life. Throughout the past 35 years, they have worked to cultivate 120 acres of farmland in Southern Illinois using methods practiced by their ancestors in the early 1900s, long before heavy equipment and chemical fertilizers came onto the agriculture scene...

For the first time in 20 years, fewer Americans are regularly drinking alcohol. Along with it, nonalcoholic beverages are becoming more available to help individuals who need time to transition away from the flavors and experience they’ve become accustomed to with alcohol, and the lower cost, lower calories and health benefits are great. ...

With the new year, there is a sense of change. It’s crazy to think that while this year’s events are unknown, we can rule out the possibility of them being the same as in 2022. Identical situations don’t exist, especially over an extended period of time like 365 days. In this change, it seems the world has assumed the fad we all know as “New Year’s Resolutions.”...

We all have secrets, bits and pieces of ourselves we keep hidden from those around us, even those closest to us. Many readers would agree that is the point author Louise Penny tries to convey in the mystery novel “Still Life.” Every character — from murder victim Jane Neal to Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec — harbors secrets. Secrets that, by the way, slowly come to light in subsequent installments of the now 18-book series...

Even in the dead of winter, if you look closely enough, you’ll still find touches of green. And in the most surprising places. All the surrounding trees and bushes, the glory of the other seasons, have given up the ghost in concession to severe cold...

With the new year comes a focus on healing and becoming better, healthier versions of ourselves. Here, meet Carrera Williams, APRN at PC Medical Centers in Cape Girardeau, who shares her knowledge about the power of integrated medicine and the difference having a team of experts under one roof can make in a patient’s journey toward mobility. May her expertise usher in a year of health and movement for all...

Recipes tell the stories of communities and the people who shape them. Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients and steps; it is a written legacy of the individual who created the dish, their family and history. This monthly series highlights one of these legacies and gives readers the chance to create the recipe themselves...

Recipes tell the stories of communities and the people who shape them. Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients and steps; it is a written legacy of the individual who created the dish, their family and history. This monthly series highlights one of these legacies and gives readers the chance to create the recipe themselves...

The oldest Protestant house of worship west of the Mississippi River that is still standing is tucked off of the Interstate 55 Business Loop and Old Orchard Road Drive just outside of Jackson. What was once a “chapel in the woods” is now, as McKendree Memorial Chapel Board of Directors president Mary Harriet Talbut says, a chapel surrounded by a subdivision on one side and an interstate and connecting roads on another. ...

When Joann Lester walks into the dining room of Chick-fil-A in Cape Girardeau, she instantly begins serving people: grabbing their trays and trash, rushing to open doors, chatting with the regulars and giving out hugs. Still, even more than her joyful attitude, Lester is known for singing throughout her shift...

In Decembers past, we saw a big “Blue Marble” in 1972, Jessica Lange fell in love with Dustin Hoffman and his altar ego “Tootsie” in 1982 and it was the season of “Girl Power” with the Spice Girls in 1997. 50 Years Ago: 1972 One of the most iconic images in history designated by NASA as AS17-148-22727 and more popularly known as the “Blue Marble” was taken on Dec. ...

We’ve all done it. Perceived a meaningful image in something. A tree bark that looks like a face, a rock that looks like a mouse. Why do we do that? The name for it is “pareidolia.” The definition: The tendency to read into patterns and interpret visual stimuli, even when there is no intentional meaning present...

“A Christmas Carol” is, apart from the Bible, arguably the most oft-produced piece of literature of all time. Since its 1843 publication, its plot has been the basis of countless radio, stage, television and film performances. The novella has been the inspiration for episodes of nearly 30 television programs, including “The Simpsons,” “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “Duck Tales.” Some of the 135 — yes, that number is correct — film versions adhere closely to the story. ...

At the start of my senior year, I was sitting across from my friend Lydia.We were eating at a Mexican restaurant when she presented a tattered brown shoe box before me. Gifting it to me, she commanded me not to open it until we finished our food. After a while of conversing, I was ready to open the box. I didn’t know it then, but I was holding one of the best gifts I’ve ever received...

When Lisa and Jim Dale’s son came out as gay, they decided they needed to learn more and find ways to be supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. They heard about PFLAG, a national group with chapters across the United States focused on supporting LGBTQ+ individuals, their families and allies. The closest chapter was in St. Louis, so for years, the couple drove there to be part of the group...

The Cape Girardeau Central High School Orchestra recently celebrated its 100th year in the Cape Girardeau Public School System. Frieda Rieck was its director from 1921 through 1946. Frieda Rieck was born in St. James, Mo., in 1892. She began studying the violin at the age of six. In 1907, the Rieck family moved to Cape Girardeau. Rieck’s father, Frederick, supervised the construction of the rail system in Southeast Missouri...

Sarah Geringer lives on the same square mile near Tilsit, Mo., where her ancestors first settled when they immigrated from Germany in the 1880s. She is the fifth generation to live there, and her children are the sixth. An author, blogger, speaker and artist, her roots in this region and admiring the geography of Southeast Missouri while taking walks inspired her to write her latest book about using the objects around her as prayer prompts. ...

Recipes tell the stories of communities and the people who shape them. Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients and steps; it is a written legacy of the individual who created the dish, their family and history. This monthly series highlights one of these legacies and gives readers the chance to create the recipe themselves...

One of my favorite resources is Dr. Michael Greger. He has dedicated his career to validating research, as it relates to nutrition and our health, preventing diseases and reversing them, if at all possible. He has written several books, all of which are research-based, including, “How Not to Die,” “How not to Age” and “How Not to Diet.” He also has a valuable website, NutritionFacts.org, that provides updated, interesting new information on how we can help our bodies live longer and better...

At 12 years old, Fran Scholl knew she wanted to be in the military. What she didn’t know was how unusual that was for a young girl in 1968. As the oldest girl in a family with 11 kids, she grew up feeding and rocking her younger siblings. Mothering and nurturing were second nature to her. Her dad was a Navy veteran who served in World War II, and her family’s culture was well-suited to military culture. The children were expected to use manners and respect authority...

Near the village of Old Appleton, Mo., an area boasting a population of 72, there is a creek: Apple Creek. In the bend of that bluff-lined waterway, there are 100 acres of hilly land. It is private land; some of it is used to farm, some of it is used to build homes. ...

Days of Novembers past saw a scandalous president, a thrilling “King of Pop” and an ill-fated “King of the World.” On Nov. 7, incumbent President Richard Nixon was re-elected in a landslide by winning 49 states. Nixon resigned two years later due to the Watergate Scandal. ...

I’ve known Big Awe a few times. I play my memories of it like social media videos, though there’s nothing small-screen about them. It’s a summer night when I’m 10 years old. I’ve cast myself down on a carpet of grass in the deepest shadow I can find so I can study the constellations. ...

As a former English teacher, I know more than a few people would agree with Queen Elizabeth’s character’s comment early in “The Uncommon Reader” by Alan Bennett that reading is a “duty.” Countless others — myself included — would concur instead with the queen’s later realization that reading is actually many different things. ...

Three hours ago, I was playing the last home volleyball game of my career. It was Senior Night. There were posters with pictures of me plastered all over the walls and multiple selfies of my face taped to popsicle sticks for the crowd to flail around. ...

Across the state of Missouri, The Katy Trail guides adventurers, offering a leisurely way to explore the history of Missouri’s German heritage, wine country, microbreweries, westward expansion and rural towns. The trail, which runs across the center of the state between Clinton, Mo., and Machens, Mo., is 240 miles long, with 26 trailheads and four fully-restored railroad depots along the way, according to the Missouri State Parks website. ...