Moberly’s Ice Rink provides wintertime fun for families

Gracie Jamerson has a new favorite holiday tradition — ice skating with her best friend, Madeline Schmidt, at Moberly’s Ice Rink. The two 7-year-olds were first-time ice skaters last year, but they are now huge fans. They made about a dozen trips to the rink in 2023 and can’t wait for it to open on Nov. 29.

“Skating is not so hard, but we fell a lot,” Gracie says. “We’re pretty good skaters now.” The pair of second graders were just two of the 8,600 visitors to enjoy Moberly’s new wintertime destination, which hosted its first season last winter. This year the rink will be open Nov. 29 to Dec. 29.

Moberly’s Ice Rink provides fun for adults and kids between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

Even if you’ve ice skated before, skating in Moberly will be a unique experience, as it features a synthetic ice rink. “You’re actually skating on plastic,” says Troy Bock, director of Moberly Parks and Recreation. “While it isn’t the same, synthetic ice offers the benefit of more consistent skating regardless of Missouri temperatures.”

The rink is made of synthetic plastic tiles that mimic ice. The surface is smooth and allows you to try fancy skating tricks, such as spins and jumps. You also wear traditional ice stakes. “Our rink does require a little more work from the skaters because it has more friction, so when you push off you don’t glide as long as you would on normal ice,” Troy says. “It’s not the same as ice, but it does allow folks to get the feel of ice skating.”

The rink hosts several special events tied to the holidays, such as extended hours during the Downtown Christmas Festival, glow parties and special guests like the Grinch.

The synthetic rink was a great fit in Moberly, Troy says, because it doesn’t require frigid temperatures, expensive equipment to maintain it or excessive maintenance. Instead, his team just cleans it each week and applies a conditioner. “If it snows or rains, we do have to shovel or squeegee that off,” he adds.

Beyond skating, visitors to the rink can purchase hot chocolate and cookies. Each week a civic club or nonprofit group runs the rink, with the assistance of the city’s parks and recreation department. Troy says the groups receive $1,500 in exchange for their time.

The ice rink is a great option for families to experience holiday magic and wintertime exercise. “With the rink and our other holiday events, we are trying to create that old-fashioned, small-town Christmas feel,” Troy says.

Several special events will take place during the rink’s season. Visitors may find themselves skating alongside the Grinch or a real-life Barbie. On Dec. 7, Moberly hosts its annual Mid-Missouri’s Christmas Festival, which includes a parade and vendors. The ice rink will be open extended hours. 

“The rink is a great way to drive people to downtown Moberly,” says Troy Bock, director of Moberly Parks and Recreation. “It’s also a fun way to be active in the offseason and try a new sport.”

For the full Christmas experience, Troy recommends visiting Moberly’s Christmas Lights in the Park, which is a drive-through light display in Rothwell Park and open Dec. 1-23. Another option is the Moberly Mega Tree, which is a 40-foot animated tree that’s synchronized to multiple songs at Timber Lake Christian Church. It’s also open most of December. 

Gracie’s mom, Andie Jamerson, says the rink has been a fantastic addition to Moberly for family fun. “The unique ice rink provides for smooth skating, which is easier for younger kids who don’t know how to skate,” she says. “It is affordable, fun and there are snacks. What else could you ask for?”

If You Go…

• Open Nov. 29 to Dec. 29 on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 3 to 7 p.m.
• Cost is $5 per person or $25 per family per hour (includes skate rental). Hot chocolate and cookies available for purchase.

To learn more about the Moberly Ice Rink, visit moberly.com or www.facebook.com/thefennelmoberly. The rink is located at 315 North Clark St. in Moberly.

Originally Appeared Here

The terrain was more difficult than what these lineworkers were used to. The damage was more extensive than a Missouri windstorm. The days were longer and the sleeping conditions were tougher. However, these hundreds of lineworkers who traveled to Georgia did what they do in Missouri: work until every light is turned back on.

Hurricane Helene made landfall late on Sept. 26, leaving behind unprecedented damage and devastation along its path. In response, 353 Missouri lineworkers from 33 electric cooperatives traveled to southeast Georgia to restore power to the members of five rural electric co-ops. In total, 2,500 electric cooperative lineworkers from across the country and thousands more contractors would assist in restoring power to 450,000 Georgia electric cooperative members.

Helene will never be forgotten in the Peach State, says Harry Reeves, the vice president of training and safety for Georgia EMC, the statewide electric cooperative association.

United Electric Cooperative lineworker Derek Hailey assesses the damage while restoring power at Excelsior EMC in southeast Georgia.

“I’ve been doing this 51 years and this is by far the worst we’ve ever seen,” he says. “We had 100-plus mph winds with tornadoes thrown in. Luckily we didn’t have the flooding that North Carolina had, but this was high winds and total devastation. Houses, buildings, pecan and pine orchards — all gone, just like that. It’s going to take us a long time to fully recover.”

The first wave of crews left after Helene made landfall to assist co-ops on the Gulf Coast. When the storm turned east, so did they. “Every storm is different,” says Johnie Hendrix, vice president of risk management and training for Missouri’s Electric Cooperatives, which coordinates the mutual aid. “We had crews heading to other co-ops and thanks to our staff we were able to shift them to southeast Georgia where they were needed.”

Missouri’s crews are usually staged at the same cooperative during storm response, but that wasn’t the case for Helene. It caused so much damage that the first wave of 200 lineworkers was the most ever sent by Missouri, and they were followed by 150 more a few weeks later.

Half of the initial wave was sent to far southeast Georgia to assist Okefenoke REMC where nearly 80% of the cooperatives’ 43,000 members were without power. Right after the storm, the co-op struggled to assess the damage due to a loss of cell service and radio transmission. 

West Central Electric Cooperative lineworker Jesse Underwood pulls a line through a member’s backyard while restoring power just outside of Statesboro, Georgia.

David Smith, manager of safety training, loss control and human resources, says his lineworkers battled the outages on their own for about the first 36 hours. “Those Missouri trucks started rolling in and once we got them situated and paired up with our guys, their trucks rolled out and boy were our lineworkers and members happy to see them. It’s a big morale boost to see help come in.”

A similar situation played out 100 miles north at Excelsior EMC in Metter, Georgia, where not a single one of the 25,000 meters on their system was turning. Missouri cooperative lineworkers would spend two weeks at Excelsior rebuilding the entire distribution system.

In total, Missouri had boots on the ground for more than three weeks. Whether it was a honk of the horn, a homemade thank you card or a drink, they were met with unwavering hospitality from locals thankful for their work. 

Crews from Licking-based Intercounty Electric Cooperative may have been the biggest benefactors of that hospitality while assisting Little Ocmulgee EMC. There were seven tent cities — simple cots lined up under tents —  located throughout the state. The Intercounty lineworkers were housed at a consolidated tent city in Vidalia, Georgia, which served three cooperatives. Little Ocmulgee was the westernmost co-op at that tent city and Intercounty’s 10 lineworkers were working on the far western part of the co-op, leaving them an hour’s drive to start and finish their day.

Crawford Electric Cooperative lineworker Bob White helps restore power after Hurricane Helene devastated southeast Georgia.

When parishioners at nearby Pleasant Hill Church heard about the Intercounty crews, they stepped up and gave them a close spot to stay. “They put us up in their community room with sleeping bags, showers, snacks, meals in the fridge and they would do our laundry while we were working,” says Intercounty’s Aaron Scantlin. “We were able to get to work right away each day and I think it sped up the restoration process.”

Aaron says he and the other lineworkers were sure to leave a donation for the church before heading home.

The most important goal for Missouri’s electric cooperatives is ensuring each employee returns home to their families safely. The last of Missouri’s 353 lineworkers were back in the Show-Me State 24 days after Helene hit. Their hard work and desire to turn lights back on left an indelible impact on those they helped.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard people brag about crews during a storm any more than what I heard about the Missouri crews,” says Harry. “We hope we never need you again; but if we do, y’all are on our speed dial.”

Originally Appeared Here

Baked Broccoli Mac

• 16-ounce box pasta noodles, such as cellentani, elbow or penne
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream or half-and-half
• 2 cups mozzarella
• 1/2 block pasteurized cheese product, such as Velveeta, cubed
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste

Topping:

• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain well then add broccoli, chicken broth, cream, mozzarella, pasteurized cheese product, garlic powder and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well.

To make topping: In bowl, mix breadcrumbs, butter and Parmesan cheese.

Pour macaroni mixture into large baking dish then sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture. Bake 30 minutes.

recipe courtesy Cookin’ Savvy

Spinach Christmas Tree Salad

• Two 5-ounce packages baby spinach
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, divided
• 1/3 cup pistachios, divided
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, divided
• 1 red pepper, cored, cut into thin strips
• 1 large apple, thinly sliced, cut into star shapes

Dressing:

• 1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
• 3 tablespoons cranberry juice
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In large bowl, toss baby spinach with 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/6 cup pistachios and 1/4 cup feta cheese. Transfer to Christmas tree cake mold. Neatly arrange spinach leaves to create smooth surface. 

Arrange red pepper strips, trimming as needed, to create garland. Arrange remaining dried cranberries, remaining pistachios and remaining feta cheese as ornaments on top of spinach. Create tree topper with one apple star; place remaining apple stars around tree. 

To make dressing: In blender, process cranberry sauce, cranberry juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, olive oil, brown sugar and salt until smooth.

recipe courtesy Family Features

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• 2 large sweet potatoes, washed and cubed
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Oil, for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In bowl, mix cubed sweet potatoes with garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle with oil; mix well.

Place sweet potatoes in baking dish and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon butter over sweet potatoes, mixing well.

recipe courtesy Cookin’ Savvy

Grape and Burrata Crostini

• 3 cups red or black grapes
• 1/4 cup white or traditional balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 8 ounces burrata cheese
• 3 tablespoons roasted, salted pistachios, coarsely chopped
• Fresh basil, chopped
• 24 soft or toasted baguette slices

Heat oven to 425 degrees and line baking sheet with 

large piece of foil; fold in sides slightly to form rim.

Place grapes on foil and top with vinegar, olive oil and sea salt. Stir lightly to coat grapes. Roast 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Place cheese in bowl and top with grapes. Sprinkle 

with pistachios and basil. Serve with baguette slices.

recipe courtesy California Table Grape Commission

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

• 2 quarts water
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into 8 slices, divided
• 16 ounces sour cream
• 1/4 cup horseradish, prepared and squeezed of moisture
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped chives, plus additional for topping

In saucepan, bring water and 1 teaspoon salt to boil. Add potatoes and boil 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup liquid. 

Drain potatoes and place in bowl. Add six slices of butter and mash potatoes coarsely. 

In medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, horseradish, remaining salt, pepper and chives. Add mixture to mashed potatoes. Add reserved water. Mash to combine. 

Transfer to serving bowl and top with remaining butter pieces and additional chives.

recipe courtesy Culinary.net

Fresh Ginger Cookies

Originally Appeared Here

Cape Girardeau veteran honored for his role in Vietnam War

by Jason Welch  |  info@ruralmissouri.coop

It was a hug 50 years in the making. Lt. Col. Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau had just been inducted into the Missouri Veteran’s Hall of Fame for his role in Operation Linebacker II during the Vietnam War. The valor he and his fellow pilots flew with in their B-52s helped free 591 prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. During his induction ceremony, one of those POWs approached Wayne and gave him heartfelt thanks and a hug.

At “78 years young,” Wayne is the Missouri Department of Revenue director. He remained in the Air Force until the 1990s serving home and abroad while also working as an aerospace professor at Southeast Missouri State University. After retiring from service, he worked for Pepsi and McDonald’s corporate offices and represented southeast Missouri in the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate.

Wayne began his military career in college and never intended to join the Air Force. “I went to the University of Nebraska, majored in business administration and wanted to hit the business world,” he says. “But they had the Air Force ROTC training classes there, and I thought it might be fun. The deeper you get into it, they start dangling the wings in front of you. ‘How would you like to fly, see the world?’ ”

After flight school, Wayne was sent to Asia, where he took part in Operation Linebacker II, an 11-day air raid against the North Vietnamese Army in December 1972.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 13, 1972, the North Vietnamese walked out of negotiations at the Paris Peace Accords. “When Henry Kissinger told President Nixon about that, he was very upset, he was looking to end the war,” Wayne says. “It was not a popular war; he was looking to get our POWs back. So, he gave the North Vietnamese an ultimatum to come back to the bargaining table within 72 hours. The mistake they made was saying they were not going to come back and probably not going to release the POWs. President Nixon says, ‘OK, be that way, we’re going to send in the big guns, our strategic bomber, the B-52.’ ”

Wayne flew out of U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in Thailand. The American commanders didn’t want the bomber in South Vietnam because the North Vietnamese would travel south and sabotage the planes. “They would have loved to have blown up our B-52s — a $29 million aircraft — and it would be easy for them to throw a grenade.”

Wayne explains targets were concentrated in and near two cities. “Haiphong, which was the port where they would have supplies come in, and of course Hanoi, which was the most heavily defended area in the history of aerial warfare, even more than Moscow was,” he says. “They had more than 200 surface-to-air missile sites defending Hanoi, which was the capital and where the POW camps were.”

Their goal was to destroy infrastructure such as railcars, railroads, radio stations and missile and petroleum storage areas.

Wayne later learned from them what it was like to be on the ground when the bombs struck. They told him the ground just shook violently and rolled and went on forever and Wayne says they looked at each other and said ‘Pack your bags boys, were goin’ home, the B-52s are here!’ ”

B-52s faced threats from antiaircraft guns, North Vietnamese MiGs and surface-to-air missiles. The main threat Wayne faced was surface-to-air missiles because B-52s flew so high. The Vietnamese preferred a specific type of missile, the 35-foot-long, 2-1/2-ton SA-2.

Throughout Linebacker II, the North Vietnamese fired almost 1,300 SA-2s. “It felt like you could walk on the tips of those missiles because there were so many up there,” Wayne says. “We lost 15 B-52s to surface-to-air missiles, nine more were damaged. You would try your evasive maneuvers. Hopefully, you could outmaneuver them; but if you didn’t, they were deadly, they would blow a wing off and your plane would crack open like an egg.”

Originally Appeared Here

Southern Missouri farmers shipping camel milk across the country

photos by Sara Schafer and Ricki Spargo

At 6:45 a.m. sharp, the first three ladies are ushered into their stalls. In an adjoining pen, their corresponding calves line up, ready for breakfast. The three calves nurse until they are full. Then the farmers hook up state-of-the-art milkers and the white gold begins to flow. 

am Hostetler and his grandsons regularly milk 30 to 40 of the camels twice a day in their FDA-approved milk parlor. The milk is pasteurized, bottled, frozen and shipped from the farm.

The scene is similar to the many dairies across Missouri. But this farm isn’t filled with cows — it’s home to camels. With a herd of 200, Amish farmer Sam Hostetler likely runs the largest camel dairy in the country. The milk is sold in more than 650 markets and grocery stores throughout the U.S. under the brand Camel Culture.

Sam’s path to milking was far from straight. When he was a child, his parents bought a few exotic chickens. He was hooked. When he became a farmer, his love for exotic animals expanded to ostriches, hippos and crocodiles. His work in the alternative livestock trade led him to owning a few camels, which he would lease to Dolly Parton’s Stampede in Branson for their dinner shows.

Camels will only produce milk when their babies are present, so calves spend most of their time near their mothers.

One day, a doctor reached out to Sam saying she was looking for someone who was milking camels. She wanted to provide camel milk to a patient. Even with all of his exotic animal contacts, he didn’t know anyone who fit the bill. But it gave him an idea.

 “I’ve been known to do some crazy things,” says Sam, a member of Ozark Electric Cooperative. “I milked one camel for a year. That camel gave 6,000 pints. She wanted more milk, so I started milking a few more camels.”

Early on, Sam converted a small stall in his barn to a makeshift milking parlor. He milked the camels and filled bottles by hand. As milk demand grew, he added more camels and officially founded Humpback Dairy in 2010.

A few years later, Sam received a call from Ryan Fee of Seattle, Washington. Ryan was volunteering with a refugee resettlement program and was looking for a way to bring some element of home to a few Somali families he met. He asked them what they missed most about home. Their answer: camel milk.

Ryan, like most Americans, didn’t know people in Middle Eastern, Asian and African cultures have drunk camel milk for centuries. Of the 9 million camels in the world, around 7 million are in Somalia. But the U.S. is only home to around 5,000 camels, according to USDA. Ryan started researching the few U.S. camel farms, which led him to Sam. The two businesses joined forces, growing Camel Culture into one of the largest distributors of camel milk.

“We make a good team,” says Danny Thompson, chief operating officer of Camel Culture. “We’re the distributor, and they are the manufacturer. We don’t own the farm but we buy milk from that farm and distribute it all over the U.S. We have grown together in the camel milk business.”

Camels are docile, friendly and social animals.

In total, Sam has around 200 dromedary camels, which are the one-hump variety. He and his grandsons regularly milk 30 to 40 of the camels (whenever they have calves). On average, the camels produce 15 pints of milk per day, and are milked twice a day. Three years ago, Sam and his family built an FDA-approved and licensed processing, pasteurization and bottling facility for their dairy. After it’s bottled, the milk is frozen and shipped with dry ice to Halal grocery stores, international markets and natural grocery store chains. They also ship directly to homes through their company website and sell products on Amazon.

“There are all kinds of people living in the U.S. from the Middle East, North Africa, East Africa and Central Asia,” Danny says. “The mission of Camel Culture is to help bring a taste of that homeland here to the U.S. market. We talk with people all the time who have not tasted camel milk in years. We love to see people’s faces light up with joy when they taste a piece of their home culture again.”

Camels have bushy eyebrows and two rows of long eyelashes to protect their eyes from sand and dirt.

A handful of markets carry Camel Culture milk in Missouri, primarily in the metro area of Kansas City. Missouri actually has the seventh highest population of resettled Somali refugees in the country, according to RefugeKC. In fact, Somali is the third-most-spoken language in Kansas City after English and Spanish. These growing numbers make Danny excited for the future of camel milk.

“A lot of people drink for nostalgia for their home, as well as the health benefits,” he says. The protein structure of camel milk is similar to human mother’s milk and can boost your immune system. Camel milk contains high levels of iron, many vitamins, calcium and antioxidants. It is low in cholesterol and lactose. It can also be a good fit for people who have dairy allergies.

Camel milk can seem expensive compared to cow milk, Danny says. It’s an issue of supply and demand, as in one year, a cow gives over 10,000 liters of milk, while a camel gives around 2,000 liters. Cow milk costs about $1 per liter, while Camel Culture milk retails for $26 per liter. “Camels only produce a little bit of milk, but what they produce is super nutrient-dense, which is one of the reasons why the price is so high,” he says.

On the farm, Sam and his family drink camel milk, which is bright white in color, all the time. “We keep other milk for company, but my wife and I drink it every day,” he says. “It’s good. By nature, it has a little bit of a salty aftertaste. We eat it with cereal. If you use it in soup, puddings or pies, you wouldn’t ever notice the difference.”

In early September, Camel Culture hosted an open house for their store owners, families and friends at the Miller farm. Guests were able to tour the facility, interact with camels and view the twice-daily milkings

While the U.S. camel milk industry is in its infancy, Danny is excited for the niche Camel Culture fills. “It takes a lot of education,” he says. “When you say camel milk, people’s first reaction is, ‘You can milk a camel?’ ”

For more information about camel milk and Camel Culture visit camelculture.org.

Originally Appeared Here

Each week at FOCUS begins with about two dozen veterans flying in from across the U.S. The group of strangers — likely surrounded by like-minded veterans for the first time since leaving service — begin their week with equine therapy, archery and other activities around a sprawling property in rural Augusta. The location — served by Cuivre River Electric Cooperative — is only 10 miles from the hustle and bustle of suburban St. Louis, but feels like 100.

Eventually volunteers from across the country join and begin the real work. “The first few days are self-discovery,” Jennifer says. “What are your core beliefs and how did they get there? What’s potentially causing problems in your relationships? What are the costs and benefits of what each of us do?”

Participants also learn the effect their actions have on others. Greg M. of Illinois was introduced to FOCUS after his son committed suicide 18 months following his discharge from the Marines. Greg was invited to observe a session in Augusta. “They felt comfortable being around brothers and sisters,” he says. “They talked openly about their exposure and their traumas. It resonated with me because I could hear the pain and suffering of my son in them.”

Today, Greg serves on the FOCUS board and gives a presentation to participants about his son’s life and death. “I talk about his suicide being 12 years ago, but it still feels like yesterday to me,” he says. “I present the picture of what the lasting effects of suicide are on the survivors.”

Midweek, participants move from learning about themselves to plotting a path forward. During that transition, one of the heaviest moments of the week is when participants are allowed to share what has been weighing them down.

“Whatever it is, we want them to get it out and take the power away from it so they can move on,” Jennifer says. “Whatever it is, they’ve probably had it in them for a long time. It’s a nonjudgemental space, we’re not reporting to the VA. We want them to let it go to move forward.”

The rest of the week is spent developing goals and a plan for when they return home. Paul M. from New Jersey attended FOCUS in 2015 and says he still uses the tools he learned and goals he made every day of his life. “I was a platoon sergeant in Iraq and lost some close friends of mine, guys I was commanding,” says Paul, who has volunteered at FOCUS nearly every session since he graduated. “I was constantly grieving and felt like I couldn’t live a good life because they obviously couldn’t. This place changed my perspective; it changed my life. Now, I live my life to honor those guys every day.”

On one of the last days, participants spend an afternoon fishing on a lake, reflecting on the week and laughing with their newfound friends. “The energy is so different at that point,” Jennifer says. “When they first get here, they’ve got their hats pulled down and their guard up. By the end, the energy is so much lighter and more positive. Some of them are unrecognizable from earlier in the week.”

Paul adds: “There’s a certain point in the week where you just see the light come back in their eyes.”

Once they’re FOCUS graduates, participants are still buoyed by volunteers through Zoom buddy checks, online Re-FOCUS sessions and private communities just for graduates. “Once you’re part of our program and you participate, we don’t ever cut you off as long as you want to stay engaged,” says Jennifer.

Participants apply online and attend free of charge. FOCUS is funded entirely through grants and private donations, and they post their financials on their website. Every April, they host the FOCUS Mess Night gala in St. Louis, their only fundraising event of the year.

For volunteers like Greg, the mission is to give veterans a more productive path forward, ensuring they get the most out of their civilian lives through meaningful relationships. “The loss of my son was such a pivotal event in my life,” he says. “He was a bright kid and had everything in the world going for him. Anything I had done in my life up to that point is nothing compared to potentially saving another family from going through what I’ve gone through.”

For more information about FOCUS Marines Foundation, including future dates, how to apply and how to donate, visit focusmarines.org or call 314-243-4140.

Originally Appeared Here

Fine dining and comfort food converge in St. Joseph

Would you like rolls and cinnamon rolls with your dinner?” New customers at the Fredrick Inn Steakhouse & Bar might be caught off guard by this question from their server — or think they landed in restaurant heaven. The many regulars know the cinnamon rolls are just part of the draw of this longtime St. Joseph establishment.

For nearly 45 years, the Fredrick Inn has been where you celebrate a birthday, hold a business lunch, meet a friend or cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s a place to see old friends or make new ones. 

The Fredrick Inn in St. Joseph is housed in a historical building that was built in 1916. The restaurant is known for its prime rib, spinach salad, bread pudding and complimentary cinnamon rolls.

“It’s kind of like ‘Cheers,’ ” says Amber McKnight, owner of the restaurant. “We have a lot of customers who have been coming here for years. They’ll walk in and talk to every booth because they know everybody before they sit down in ‘their’ booth and eat dinner. We have certain customers who come every Friday at 6:30 p.m. and sit at the same spot. They will be here unless they call us and tell us they won’t be. I have 12 of those standing reservations.”

Those dedicated customers are a testament to the charm of the Fredrick Inn, which is housed in a historical building that was built in 1916 in downtown St. Joseph. In 1980, Karen and Fred Harris opened the Fredrick Inn. The restaurant’s name is an homage to Fred and Karen’s brother, Rick. Don’t be confused; the restaurant is not spelled the same as its address on Frederick Avenue.

At 16, Amber started her career in the restaurant industry. She worked as a busser, server and manager at several St. Joseph restaurants, while earning a finance degree. “I actually became a stockbroker for two years, but decided I could not sit at a desk,” she says. As fate would have it, she was having lunch at a pizzeria across from the Fredrick Inn and found out it was for sale. Amber and her husband, Jeffrey, members of United Electric Cooperative, became the proud owners of the Fredrick Inn.

Today, visitors flock to this hometown favorite for its salad bar, hand-cut steaks, old-school cooking and more than a dozen rotating desserts. “For lunch, the food at the Fredrick Inn is like something your grandmother made you because it’s all homemade,” Amber says. “At dinner we turn into more of a fine-dining restaurant.”

The lunch menu changes daily, although some specials you can find the same day every week. “For example, Wednesdays are the only day of the week you can get gizzards,” Amber says. “You can get them for lunch or dinner, but only on Wednesdays.”

For lunch, you can choose from a handful of flavorful salads, more than a dozen sandwiches and comfort dishes, such as liver and onions, chicken strips and catfish. A popular option is the Dill Pickle Chicken Wrap. “It’s made with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato and cheese,” Amber says. “Then we add our fried pickle appetizer and our own ranch dill sauce.”

Another popular lunch is roast beef. You can have it served with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, your choice of vegetable and a soup or salad. Or you can enjoy it as a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich. “Our roast beef is cooked low and slow,” Amber says. “It’s true comfort food.”

The Fredrick Inn’s chef selects the lunch specials each day. Amber updates the restaurant’s website and Facebook page with that list. She also faxes it to 45 local businesses so locals can plan their lunch visits. 

The Dill Pickle Chicken Wrap is a lunch favorite with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, fried pickle spears and a ranch dill sauce.

At 4 p.m., the Fredrick Inn shifts to dinner mode. The large menu features an array of appetizers, including shrimp cocktail, fried cauliflower, chicken livers and crab Rangoon. The main dishes vary from hefty sandwiches and burgers to fried and grilled seafood to hearty offerings such as beef liver, fried chicken and pork chops. 

Amber says the steaks are what keep most people returning to the Fredrick Inn. “The most popular is our rib-eye and prime rib,” she says. “But we also have wonderful salmon and grilled shrimp. Those are both top sellers, as well as our comfort food like chicken-fried chicken, country fried steak and chicken livers — those sort of dishes people can’t get somewhere else.”

The salad bar is a big draw. With every dinner entrée, customers can make unlimited trips to fill their plates with colorful greens and all the toppings, pasta salads, soups, potato salads, puddings and Jell-O fluffs. You can skip the salad bar and enjoy the ever-popular Spinach Salad, which features fresh ingredients and a sweet French vinaigrette dressing that has just a hint of onion.

Nearly everything on the salad bar, and the full menu, is made in-house. “We make all of our desserts from scratch, we hand cut all of our meat, we grind our own burger, and we cut and bread our own tenderloins,” Amber says. “Flavor profile and consistency is super important to us.”

Diners can choose from at least 15 desserts that are made fresh daily.

Don’t skip dessert at the Fredrick Inn. “We have a very expansive menu of desserts, and our customers know us for it,” she says. “We have everything from bread pudding to triple chocolate cake to cheesecake to a lemon Italian cream cake. People really know us for our pies. They range from coconut to chocolate to butterscotch to lemon to raisin. We also do homemade cobblers.”

The bread pudding is a bestseller, she adds. It’s made with their famous fresh-made cinnamon rolls. The chefs add pecans and apple filling to the mix, then top it off with some caramel sauce and whipped cream. 

The Fredrick Inn also has a full bar, serving everything from martinis to cocktails to basic beers. They also have a drink menu that reflects the seasons and the staff’s favorite team — the Kansas City Chiefs.

The seasonal Caramel Apple Martini is the perfect complement for fall dining.

“Since the Chiefs do their training camp in St. Joe, we started a ‘Cheers to the Chiefs Drink Menu,’ ” Amber says. You can order a Travis’s Tailgate Tea, which is Tito’s vodka and sweet tea, a Super Bowl Punch, which is the restaurant’s house Long Island Iced Tea and a splash of strawberry, or the Bloody Hail Mary, which is a traditional Bloody Mary with bacon-infused vodka.

The Fredrick Inn is a perfect mix of historical charm, delicious food and good times. “I always tell people, if I can get you in here once, you will come back,” Amber says.

Originally Appeared Here

The competition has grown greatly since its launch in 2017. That year saw 22 linemen compete and raise $24,800. “Our goal was to make $10,000 that first year,” says Craig Moeller, Missouri Electric Cooperatives’ director of field training services and also the leader of the Missouri International Program. “It’s grown into about $30,000 to $35,000 each year. We’ve also added two teams and about 10 competitors each year.”

Safety trumps speed during the competition, Craig adds. “It’s really subliminal training,” he says. “The guys come here and do the safety aspects of their jobs and have fun doing it. Safety is paramount in how we set up the events. They lose points if they don’t follow the rules. Time is only used as a tiebreaker.”

The two-day competition starts with a written knowledge test for apprentice linemen. Once they answer the 100 questions, they join the journeyman lineworkers at the training school located at the association’s Jefferson City headquarters. Here the competition is fierce as they climb poles, work from the ground using extendo sticks or jockey a 5-gallon bucket filled with cement around an obstacle course using a digger derrick truck.

“It’s a little more relaxed when you are in the field,” says Cuivre River Electric Cooperative journeyman lineman Mike Hartley. “It isn’t quite as big of a competition. You’re always giving someone a little bit of trouble to do it quicker or something like that, but it’s just friendly competition in the real world. But here it gets kind of serious. You try to do it as fast and as safe as you can.”

When the dust finally settled and the scores were tallied, Ozark Electric Cooperative took home the team trophy and the Governor’s Cup — presented since 2019 at the request of Gov. Mike Parson — with their team comprised of Jacob Ray, Isaac Spain and Seth Fortner. Ozark’s Clint Deatherage also won the journeyman division with a remarkable score of 493 out of 500 possible points. That was five points and 6 minutes better than second place Mike Hartley.

“He had a clean sweep in every event,” Craig says. “First place, best score, best time in all of the journeyman events. He was unreal.”

Cuivre River Electric’s John Sullivan won the apprentice division, edging his teammate Enoch Brown.

“Our guys had heard about the excitement, and I wanted them to come up here and see what it was all about,” says Barton County Electric Cooperative Manager Jeff Hull, whose linemen entered the rodeo for the first time this year. “The excitement they anticipated was definitely met and even exceeded in some areas. It’s just a good thing for everyone to come together and do the things they otherwise wouldn’t get to do together. This brotherhood is a good thing and will foster more involvement in the International Program.”

Barton County’s team included Clayton Buzzard, a member of the second group headed to Guatemala. Other team members taking part in the rodeo were Isaac Spain from Ozark Electric, Clay Nolte from Boone Electric, Alex Buschjost from Three Rivers Electric and Steve Martin from White River Valley Electric.

For Cody Coulter, a third-year apprentice lineman from Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, the toughest event was the Hurt-Man Rescue. This is one skill linemen prepare for but hope they never have to use. It involves climbing the pole, rescuing a 150-pound mannequin from the top, then safely lowering it to the ground.

“We hope we never have to do it. But we want to make sure we are at the top of our game if we need it,” Cody says. “It’s definitely challenging trying to get all that weight off the pole in a safe manner. You have to make sure you don’t drop it, or of course, get hurt doing it.”

For Mike, the biggest challenge came from a pair of events he said take the linemen out of their comfort zone. One is the Digger Derrick Obstacle Course which requires them to operate the truck using a remote control. “The digger kind of got me a little bit,” the Cuivre River lineman says. “We do that quite a bit but we don’t use a remote. It’s something kind of different but you figure it out.”

Then there is the Excavator Skills Course event, which required the operator to pick up a tennis ball and a ring and drop them into a bucket or over a post. “The excavator has been pretty tough on everyone,” Mike says. “Those two events are kind of the overlooked things.”

Beyond raising funds and showing off their skills, the rodeo gives the linemen a chance to get to know each other. This pays dividends during major storms where crews from different co-ops might be working closely together to restore power. That was the case immediately after the Lineman’s Rodeo ended, when many of those competing went from the rodeo grounds to Georgia where they were part of an army of co-op linemen repairing damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

Missouri’s electric cooperatives sent more than 360 linemen in two waves to the hurricane zone where they put their skills to work in the real world. “This Missouri group, they are a phenomenal bunch of linemen,” says Craig, who traveled to Georgia with the first group of linemen. “They’re a hardworking bunch of country boys who come down here and get the job done. And every co-op we went to loves our guys and wants them to stick around.”

Judging by the skills shown off at the Lineman’s Rodeo and the comments of those they went to help, today’s generation of lineworkers are taking the job to another level. “One thing I’ve heard from managers and operations managers is these guys are coming in on their own time on weekends and after hours to do some practicing to ensure they do good at the rodeo,” Craig says. “They are using their own time to do things to improve their skills. And that is showing up in the real world.”

Originally Appeared Here

Stoutland family raises goldfish and koi for nearly 100 years

photos by Sara Schafer and Ricki Spargo

Orders are flying in — six comet goldfish headed to North Carolina, 20 boxes of butterfly koi destined for California and 250 rosie red minnows wanted in Texas. The orders start a synchronized dance for the team at Ozark Fisheries.

Dwaine grabs a bucket and heads to a raceway teeming with fish to hand pick each order. The chosen fish are transferred to a metal holding can and box prep begins. The computer system has processed the quantity and size of fish, as well as the destination. Martín places a plastic bag in a cardboard box, adds water and sends it down the conveyor belt. Next, the fish are added to the box and Mario adds hospital-grade oxygen. Miguel uses a machine to clamp the bag shut. The box is sealed, and it will soon be picked up by UPS or FedEx. In less than 24 hours, customers will welcome new fishy friends to their homes — courtesy of a legendary farm in Stoutland.

To move fish from the tank truck to the holding tanks, the team deploys a custom-made “fish waterslide,” which uses a pipe and gravity to transfer the fish quickly and in a low-stress way.

Welcome to Ozark Fisheries, a family-owned business that specializes in ornamental goldfish and koi. The farm started in 1926 as a trout hatchery owned by F. Lawrence Bailliere and Dr. Charles A. Furrow. In the early 1920s, goldfish became a popular fish, as major chain stores added pet departments filled with aquariums of the then-exotic fish. The pair wanted to meet that demand.

The partners converted their trout raceways to goldfish ponds, moving soil with horse teams, wheelbarrows and shovels. They brought in a Japanese fish biologist, Roy Nakashima, who specialized in goldfish. In late 1928, they sold three shipments totaling 1,035 goldfish for $55.50.

With that, Ozark Fisheries became an ornamental fish farm. Through the decades the farm’s goldfish and koi production exploded, and new generations of family members joined the business. Today the operation is run by the third and fourth generation of fish farmers, including Larry Cleveland, a grandson of Lawrence, as well as his children, Margaret and Joseph Cleveland.

The team can ship 500 boxes of live fish per day; they select the fish from several holding tanks.

With its roots back to the 1920s, Ozark Fisheries is one of the original commercial members of Laclede Electric Cooperative. “If we weren’t the first, we’re probably the only one that’s still in business,” Larry says.

While the farm has deep roots in Missouri, Ozark Fisheries has a second location in Martinsville, Indiana. In 1970, the operation purchased its biggest competitor, Grassyfork Fisheries, which is the oldest, continuously operated private fish farm in the U.S. Joseph runs the Indiana operation, and Margaret is taking the lead in Missouri, as they apprentice with their father.

An underwater view shows the variety of color in this tank of koi.

The sheer volume produced by Ozark Fisheries is almost unbelievable. The Missouri farm covers 7,000 contiguous acres and 300 ponds filled with millions of fish. “Everyone defines ponds and lakes differently,” Margaret says. “My definition is anything less than 5 acres is a pond and anything bigger than 5 acres is a lake.”

For years the team would breed fish in ponds, but that left the fish at the mercy of Mother Nature. Twenty years ago, they repurposed a building with tanks to spawn fish in outdoor raceways and bring eggs inside to hatch.

“With controlled water temperature and oxygen, the eggs will hatch like clockwork in three days, and then we take them outside to stock fresh ponds,” Margaret says. “A fry (baby fish) is the size of your eyelash, so a lot of times you can’t see them in a pond for a good 30 to 40 days. On average, we stock 1 million fry per 1 acre of water. We raise less than 40% of them to a sellable size.”

The team hatches fish eggs in large tanks indoors. One tank can hold 350,000 eggs. A mature goldfish can lay 20,000 eggs per season, and a mature koi can lay 200,000. “Our spawning and selling seasons are at the same time,” Margaret says. “So, it’s like having planting and harvesting at the same time. We are really busy in April, May and June.”

Once in the ponds, the team drives a modified feed truck down the pond levees, blowing feed into the ponds. “The fish have learned the sound of our feed truck blower,” Margaret says. “The koi associate the loud sound and vibration with being fed. They won’t respond and swim toward a gas truck, but if I’m driving the lawn mower, they’ll come across the pond to me.”

Baby fish receive a fine powder feed, while adult fish receive a larger sinking feed. “We feed sinking pellets, so the fish go down in the water,” she says. “While we love to see the fish at the top, if we can see them, so can predators. We don’t want them visible from above.”

The team can ship 500 boxes of live fish per day; they select the fish from several holding tanks.

Once the fish reach their ideal size and color, the team uses a seine or large net to catch the fish. The team drags the net through the water and slowly a big red ball of fish is inside the net and can be bucketed out.

“Our fish spend 99% of their lives in dirt ponds, but when they are ready to sell, we transport them to our raceways to be shipped,” Margaret says. “We use live-haul tank trucks to move our fish, and we use a custom-made ‘fish waterslide’ to move from the truck into their tanks so we don’t stress the fish.”

Ozark Fisheries produces five types of goldfish (common, sarasa, shubunkin, white common and red and calico fantails); two types of koi (standard and butterfly fin), as well as a handful of other critters, including minnows, crayfish, bullfrog tadpoles and trapdoor snails.

“Common goldfish is our bread-and-butter fish, and we raise the largest number of these fish,” Margaret says. “Most of them are sold at the inch or 2-inch size.”

The farm is home to 300 fish ponds and six artesian springs, which produce water at 58 degrees.

Through the years, Ozark Fisheries has found efficiencies in production and customer service. In fact, they were one of the first fish farms to ship fish in a cardboard box. In the 1950s they moved away from shipping fish in a metal container on the railroad to shipping in a cardboard box with plastic bags, water and pure oxygen.

Fish farming requires a hardworking crew. The Missouri farm employs 20 team members, many of whom have worked for decades at the farm. Ozark Fisheries also utilizes the H-2A agricultural worker program for extra help during the busy season.

Beyond the fish, the business includes a cow-calf Angus operation called Circle F Cattle Company (the Circle is for the O in Ozark and the F is for Fisheries). “Some years the fish do really well; sometimes the cattle do really well,” Margaret says. “So having that diversity really helps.”

As the fish market has evolved, the family has matched demand. Ozark Fisheries delivers large wholesale orders to distributors and pet supply businesses. In 2017, they started an e-Commerce site, Toledo Goldfish, for customers to order small quantities of fish for their home aquariums or koi ponds. This type of innovation is what has made this family business thrive for nearly 100 years.

To learn more about Ozark Fisheries or Toledo Goldfish, visit www.ozarkfisheries.com or www.toledogoldfish.com.

Originally Appeared Here

Woodworker creates art that begs to be touched

Buddy Shaw had a problem — a big problem. The woodworker’s shop was filled with trash cans of tiny blocks, slender shards and misshapen scraps of wood. The leftovers from his masterpieces were rapidly taking over his shop. What could he do with all these cool pieces of wood that weren’t big enough to transform into furniture?

The burn pile was not an option Buddy could stomach. Instead, he started playing a real-life game of Tetris. He trimmed a bunch of pieces into squares and rectangles and sanded them smooth. Then he started fitting and stacking the blocks together. The result was a one-of-a-kind geometric sculpture. “The wall sculptures are different; they’re abstract,” Buddy says. “Some days I can just literally start laying pieces together and it just flows. There is not a lot of planning involved. They tell a story because it’s all reclaimed wood.”

Buddy’s wall art started as a way to use scrap pieces of lumber. He cleans the small pieces and cuts them into various sizes and thicknesses to give his pieces dimension. “Some days I can just literally start laying pieces together and it just flows,” he says.

The first few wall sculptures Buddy gave as Christmas gifts to his family. They were such a hit, he decided to make a few more and try to sell them. The unique artwork was a perfect complement to the hand-crafted furniture he displays and markets through art shows.

Each year Buddy features his wall art pieces and furniture at around 20 art shows in Missouri and other states.

Buddy is no stranger to the craft of woodworking. His great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas Biggar, came to America from Scotland and specialized in woodworking techniques such as jointing, carving and sculpting. Thomas’ only daughter married Clarence Shaw, and the two men built a woodworking business together. That family business inspired six successive generations through the decades all the way down to Buddy — who nearly broke the streak.

“My father retired from the power plant and owned a cabinet shop in town for 12 years,” Buddy says. “But after 2008 people weren’t building houses and he was ready to retire. I could not afford a giant shop, so I went to school for law enforcement and became a state park ranger.”

Buddy liked the job and it paid the bills, but it didn’t feed his soul. “I just got tired of not making stuff,” he says.

In 2018, Buddy shifted gears and opened Biggar & Shaw, a sculpture, art and design company — appropriately named for his ancestors. “The two of them were the reason I do what I do today,” he says.

Buddy’s portfolio ranges from art to furniture, and every piece is built with a level of quality and unique design only a true craftsman can achieve. Essentially, his furniture is comfortable, sleek and built to last forever.

“There’s definitely a mid-century vibe to my style,” he says. “My pieces are very ergonomic. If you’re going to build furniture, it has to be functional — in my opinion.”

Buddy uses an array of classic woodworking tools, everything from basic saws to high-powered sanders. This sketch showcases his classic chair design.

A key selling point for Buddy’s chairs is they are completely made of wood. Instead of traditional screws, he uses tapered wooden pins and glue to secure each part. “When I started building furniture and didn’t have a lot of tools, I had the idea to not use screws,” he says. “Now I think all-wood chairs are classy and a selling point.”

Most of the time Buddy buys domestic lumber for his furniture and large art pieces. However he’ll occasionally ship in lumber from other countries for certain pieces. He’s also a big fan of transforming reclaimed lumber from barns and buildings — embracing the knotholes, bent nails and imperfections. “I do a search at least once a week on Facebook Marketplace for lumber or old barns people are taking down,” he says.

In his New Bloomfield shop, Buddy measures, designs and constructs his masterpieces from an array of hand and power tools. He’ll often crank out a dozen chair backs at a time, which he’ll follow up with a dozen chair seats on a different day. Finish work is slow, but essential. “Around 80% of my job is sanding,” Buddy says.

Mid-century inspired chairs are Buddy’s most popular furniture pieces. A key selling point is they are completely made of wood. Instead of traditional screws, he uses tapered wooden pins and glue to secure each part.

Chairs are often sealed with a clear coat and black accent paint on the arms and legs. The wall art is similar, with clear coats to put a spotlight on the wood’s texture or black or white paint to unify the piece. To match his mid-century construction, Buddy will occasionally toss in an accent of a vintage color such as teal or orange.

Buddy features his furniture and art at around 20 art shows a year in Missouri and other states. Often his wife, Tracina, and two teenage sons, Hoon and Rutger, join him for shows. His booth is filled with four or five chairs, a custom cabinet and several pieces of wall art. Chairs cost around $1,650 apiece and the wall art can range from $500 to $2,000, depending on the size and complexity.

“With my art you have to see it in person,” he says. “I’m obviously a texture person. You can literally feel the story. I’ll tell visitors my art is hands friendly. I tell people to sit in the chairs — that I’ll be offended if they don’t sit in it.”

Over the years, many people have told Buddy his work stands out because it is masculine. “I’ve never really thought about art being masculine or feminine,” he says. “It’s funny to hear that, but I guess a lot of people like masculine art.”

Buddy’s artwork was driven by the need to use up pieces and parts of wood that featured notches or nail holes. Now he’s buying wood specifically to be used for art. “I do a lot of chairs still, but half of my business is my wall art,” he says.

Whether through an heirloom-quality wooden chair or a brutalist-inspired art piece, Buddy’s work showcases the stories and individuality of wood that’s been stained by time.

To contact Buddy or see more examples of his furniture and art, visit www.thisartisbs.com. You can also follow Biggar & Shaw on Facebook and Instagram.

Originally Appeared Here