The story of Jesse James, which I knew little of before this trip through Missouri, just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Today I visited the Jesse James Wax Museum in Stanton, a small Missouri town not far from St. Louis. Official history indicates that Jesse James...
To many students of history, Jesse James is one of the most notorious villains ever to live in the United States, robbing banks and killing enemies all over the country for decades during the mid-1800s. But for a fair number of his contemporaries in western Missouri,...
In Kansas City, Kansas, Legends at Village West is one of the top attractions for visiting tour groups. Though the complex includes a variety of retail outlets, exciting outdoor entertainment and inventive restaurants, I'm excited to say that I've found a new...
They sure didn't offer classes like this when I was in school.... At McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas, more than 100 students are enrolled in the school's Automotive Restoration Technology program, the only course of study in the country that offers four-year...
Among the most fascinating, dramatic and heart-wrenching stories of American history is one that I never learned in school. In the years before the Civil War, the Kansas Terristory was a flashpoint of conflict. As the territory went through the steps necessary for...
In my daily life I often push buttons, flip switches, turn keys and without another thought, magic seems to happen. Lights instantaneously flash on, elevators lift and car engines roar on the spot without another hint of how my simple motion jump started these complex...
I wasn't sure what to expect on my first evening in Milwaukee, but Elvis Costello certainly wasn't at the top of my list. Within five minutes of landing in the Wisconsin city, I spotted someone walking into the airport with not only the face, but also the familiar...
I beat the crowds to Maumee Bay State Park, just outside Toledo, at the bottom of Lake Erie. My waitress this morning told me that when schools up here let out later this month, to watch out. 'We'll be full the rest of the summer through Labor Day,' she said. As it...
Today I went the distance to discover a place I felt I already knew before I arrived from one of my favorite movies: Field of Dreams. I resisted the urge to quote lines from the movie out loud to my guide Karla Thompson from the Dyersville Area Chamber of Commerce as...
When I was little I always impatiently awaited my next chance to play in my friend's tree house, which we would stay in until the setting sun forced us both inside. Today, I explored a tree house in Marshalltown, Iowa that made my friend's one-room tree house seem...
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