Show Me The State
Missouri has had a curious history, with many iterations and incarnations powered by changes in its political, cultural and religious climate. Show Me The State explores Missouri’s strange and misunderstood past as it relates to the present.
Mon, February 22, 2021
Show Me The State: The Disappearance Of Paw Paw French
French settlers colonized southeast Missouri over 200 years ago. And with them came the French language and culture.
Tue, February 09, 2021
Show Me The State: Which State Saved The Wine Industry?
About 150 years ago in the vineyards of southern France, winemakers start to notice their vineyards aren’t looking healthy. They rack their brains but can’t figure out what is devouring the crops. Samples are taken, scientific investigations mounted and letters for help are sent out across the globe.
Mon, January 25, 2021
Show Me The State: Barbara Papish
In 1969, graduate student Barbara Papish hands out an underground newspaper on the University of Missouri Columbia campus. The Free Press Underground issue features a cartoon on the cover depicting police officers raping the Statue of Liberty and Lady Justice. The words “With Liberty and Justice For All” encircle the image.
Tue, January 12, 2021
Show Me The State: Diamond Billy
On some days in the early 1900s, you could walk out to the railroad tracks near the Iowa border and watch rail cars full of horses moving in and out of Missouri. Occasionally, also in those cars are elephants, lions and monkeys. Missouri businessman William Preston Hall is trading in horses for wars and exotic animals for circuses. He hires his neighbors in Lancaster to care for the animals, supply the feed and more. It’s not uncommon to see an elephant wander by your kitchen window.
Sun, December 27, 2020
Show Me The State: The Fulton Flash
Helen Stephens starts high school in Fulton in 1931. She’s a gangly, gravelly-voiced farm girl dressed in homemade clothes. Her classmates tease her with the unfortunate moniker “Popeye.” Helen takes it in stride with humor, attempting to own her identity - a feat for any teenager.
Tue, December 15, 2020
Show Me The State: Percy Green
When the St. Louis Arch was being built in 1964, no Black workers had been hired for the construction crew.
Mon, October 28, 2019
Show Me The State: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s journey to becoming a worldwide author is interlaced with pure hardship.
Mon, October 21, 2019
Show Me The State: Lake Of The Ozarks
Today, on a map, Lake of the Ozarks looks like a sprouting, twisting tree root that covers 86 square miles. The over 1000 miles of shoreline are dotted with resorts and cabins.
Wed, October 09, 2019
Show Me The State: Sunken Steamboats Of The Missouri River
In the steamboat’s glory days right before the Civil War, there would be on average, 60 boats traveling through different ports along the Missouri River each day. Cargo of agricultural products, furs and settlers would move up and down the river. From St. Louis to Montana.
Tue, October 01, 2019
Show Me The State: The Gay Purge
In the 1940s and ‘50s, designated police officers and university administrators were on the lookout for gay students and faculty.
Sun, September 22, 2019
Show Me The State: The Lost Disney Park
Walt Disney famously spent a good chunk of his youth growing up in Missouri. Just ask the residents of Marceline, Walt’s boyhood town.
Mon, March 25, 2019
Show Me The State: Jim The Wonder Dog
How many tricks can your dog do? Sit? Stay? Rollover?
Mon, March 11, 2019
Show Me The State: The Honey War
Did you know Missouri and Iowa almost went to war in the 1800s? Each claimed ownership over a strip of land along the border and believed it had the right to tax the people living there.
Mon, February 25, 2019
Show Me The State: Missourah? Or Missouree? Who's right?
How do you pronounce Missouri? And why do you say it that way?
Mon, February 11, 2019
Show Me The State: Sedalia Tries To Steal The Capital
What would the state look like today if the capital wasn't Jefferson City? But Sedalia?
Mon, January 28, 2019
Show Me The State: The Legend Of Doc Annie
If you grew up in 1970s Poplar Bluff, you likely heard of the story of Doc Annie. Legend has it, Doc Annie was a witch-like woman who operated a haunted hospital in the woods. She kept fetuses in jars of formaldehyde there. She also would throw babies into an old well called “the pit.”
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