A common challenge among churches for the past year-plus has been finding a way to get the message to the congregation when the congregation could not get to the church.

Each night at dinner tables across the country, family members share a meal and enjoy conversation, often starting with rehashing the day’s events at school or work. For the Vissers, that first conversation is usually shorter because they already know what happened at work. When it comes to …

For many area residents, the 50th anniversary of Six Flags St. Louis brings back memories of visiting the park as children — the heat of a sunny day in July, the taste and sticky sweetness of cotton candy, the smell of  waffle ice cream cones fresh from the oven. 

When Fred and Serena Stuart sit down to a meal at their Gerald farm, they can often name the exact acre of land that each item on their plates comes from. They grow the vast majority themselves, and other goods are sourced from farmer friends and markets where they have a relationship with t…

If all goes according to plan, the morning of Aug. 10, 2046, will be an exciting one at the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO) in Columbia. On that day, museum staff will unveil a project that, 25 years earlier, in the present day, staff members and partner organizations say they a…

For Washington High School alumna Paige Hall, the road to success has often been more like an obstacle course than a straight sprint. Not unlike the drills she completes every weekday as an ROTC cadet at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE), Hall’s path requires determination and…

In the mid-1900s, neither St. Gertrude School nor St. Francis Borgia Regional High School offered formal art classes — but by the time artist Sally Dill graduated in 1962, she knew what she wanted to do with her future.

As a longtime mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, Kevin Knight and his mail delivery truck are what you might call age-old friends.

If the family resemblance wasn’t enough to link brothers Mark, Pat, John and Tim Zoellner in the minds of those who meet them, the American flags sticking out of their helmets would do the trick.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Genevieve Latting was in search of a new hobby. The Union-based licensed clinical social worker needed something to cure the restlessness she — and her two border collies — were facing amid their new routines. 

“They’re all what I call ‘stuff you’d find on a farm.’ Nobody wanted them, so I took them and fixed them up. They’re really educational and neat to see.” – Stan Laubinger

“There is a lack of understanding of what an organ is and its importance, but I will say again, the fascination with the instrument is still there.” – Joseph Eckelkamp, Organist

In the seventh round of the scholar bowl’s High School National Championship Tournament, the Washington High School A team was down 30, 40 points — up until the last two toss-up cycles.

Traci Siebert and William “Bill” Schwab received the Velma Jones Stroetker Library Service Award for volunteer service to the Washington Public Library. They were selected in 2020, but due to COVID-19, they received the awards in a small ceremony this May.

When Emily Presley was a child running around with her siblings and riding horses on the family farm, she says her mom anticipated the “tough,” energetic child might one day become an athlete.

Union chef Trenton Garvey said he got great preparation for dealing with a fiery television chef at East Central College.

A few minutes before Maurice Gritzman casually mentioned he once worked at NASA, he jumped from his seat, walked to his high schoolers' tables and showed off the robots the students built. He was boisterous about them; the NASA info could wait.

For friends Amanda Koch, Washington, and Deanna Hudson, Union, their matching pink satin sashes are treasured mementos of a joyous day.

Miriam Weseman has celebrated more birthdays than most. Just weeks before her first birthday, the U.S. Congress voted to declare war on Germany, beginning the country’s direct involvement in World War I. On her second birthday, the world was preparing for a global pandemic, one that until re…

Growing up in Washington, Heather Jensen Suerig spent almost every day with her grandmother, Toledo Thorpe. Already 70 when Suerig was born, Thorpe still played with her granddaughter each day. She also taught Suerig basic sewing skills, so she could help the neighborhood women who would com…

DeAnn Fiedler is stitching new life into old band uniforms.

For Matt Brennecke, Augusta, with its rolling vineyards and historic winemaking, has always been home. The 47-year-old is production manager at Mount Pleasant Winery, where the view from his office window is a dramatic valley scene he’s known well since boyhood. His first view of the wine-ri…

“This little boy sees me and takes off down the sidewalk running toward me. He jumps on me and does not let go. That completely warmed my heart. I fell in love with doing this after that.”

– Daniel Feth, Midwest Batman

“When someone wins, the family is so proud. It means they’ve put a lot of heart and soul and work into their yard, so they are quite honored to be rewarded.”

– Sally Bocklage, longtime program coordinator

When Amber Raney and her husband became foster parents three and a half years ago, they opened their home to any child, of any age, needing any size or gender of clothes, at a moment’s notice. Ahead of their second placement, they were given about five hours to prepare their home for its two…

On almost every day of the week for most of the year, a drive past the Washington Historical Society Museum reveals a white GMC Sierra parked in the lot. The car is sometimes accompanied by others, but it’s not uncommon for it to be the sole vehicle there. Its driver spends thousands of hour…

Since its official beginnings in 1926, the legendary highway Route 66 has been bestowed with numerous nicknames: “Main Street of America,” “The Mother Road” (coined by the novelist John Steinbeck) and the “Will Rogers Highway,” among others.

Susie Lewis loves playing dress-up with her newest cat, Brighde. The cat has almost never left Lewis’ side since the animal moved into Lewis’ home in St. Charles County about a month ago. When she’s not meowing at Lewis’ feet, she’s often stretched out on the lap of Lewis’ 76-year-old father…

Several years ago, Joe Ridener made himself a promise. He was sitting in a jail cell when he says he broke down, fell to his knees and prayed. 

Spring into warmer weather with these 15 essential experiences for anyone living in Franklin County and beyond. Download a free printable list here. 

Before August and Katelyn Horstmann have even turned around, their dogs Kona and Fly hop into the small bed of a muddy UTV, their tongues lolling and tails wagging excitedly. To the right is a picturesque white farmhouse and to the left a vibrantly red painted barn. A friendly pig named Babe…

Union High School Cheer

Nine years into Coltyn’s Pajama Party, the guest list is growing. The annual fundraiser and donation drive for St. Louis Children’s Hospital put on by 9-year-old Coltyn Straatmann, his parents, Steven and Kristin Straatmann, and his siblings, Kendyl, 12, and Caysen, 6, is getting extra suppo…

The squeak of sneakers on a shiny gym floor and a chorus of shouts and cheers can be heard coming from the Ray Steinhoff Court at New Haven High School almost any night there’s a home basketball game. Inside, blurs of green or white rush past, dribbling, passing and shooting a classic orange…

For Negro League baseball history fans, Jim “Lefty” LaMarque is a memorable left-handed pitcher. He wowed fans with an .857 winning percentage in 1947 and a 15-5 record in 1948 and played alongside Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige on the Kansas City Monarchs in the 1940s, on the cusp of bas…

When Megan Rhoades was a teenager growing up in St. Clair, she got a summer job giving temporary tattoos at Six Flags St. Louis. The park was a right of passage in her family. For years, she and her brother and sister had had season passes, and her parents had met while working at the park y…

When Tim Vieth fell from a hunting stand and fractured bones in his neck and spine last fall, he had to relearn many things. Healing took time. Walking took time. Regaining strength is taking time. But Vieth says his body knew he had to get better, because he had to be on his feet in time fo…

Affixed atop one of the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River near New Haven is an unassuming 24x30 white A-frame chapel. 

“As a young child growing up, I always noticed they were different than other parents because I can remember them holding hands all the time,” the couple’s only child, Yvonne Byrne, told The Missourian. “I didn’t see my friends’ parents doing that.”

At 76 years old, Tom Adams of Beaufort died from COVID-19 on Oct. 9. His wife, LaVerne, and children Bonnie and Dennis continue to reside on the same land where he spent over 40 years of his life. His pickup truck is still parked in the driveway. 

When Grace Straatmann plays with dolls, she plays with three at a time. Since October, the 2-year-old of Villa Ridge is seldom seen with any other number of dolls. She mimes feeding them, knows to burp them and lovingly places them in her stroller — that is, when she isn’t playing with the r…

In the face of a global pandemic, wedding tradition has circled back to what was once common in the 18th century. Couples are choosing to have their weddings at smaller venues, in their homes or backyards. 

For more than 25 years, Washington has celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a community event hosted by Neighbors United Undoing Racism (NUUR). The day has been marked at several churches over the years, and for the past three Januaries has been at East Central College. 

When Rich Luecke and Mary Lee Kliethermes were children, their family, like many, didn’t own an automatic washing machine. It was the early 1950s, and the siblings’ mother, Leona, washed the family’s clothes each week in a wringer washer and hung them on a line to dry. In between loads, she …