Author Archives: Laura L. Valenti
John David Roper
Family: Wife, Elaine; daughter, Emily; and sons, Elson and Tristan Hometown: Lebanon, Mo. In Town: Having grown up in Lebanon and coming from a long line of salesmen, John David…
A One-Of-A-Kind Museum
St. James, Mo., is home to the only vacuum cleaner exhibit in the To call Tom Gasko a walking encyclopedia on the history of vacuum cleaners is no exaggeration, but…
Old House Claims a Rich and Spooky Past
The Talbot House is filled with relics of the past, and some say the spirits of those who have passed In 1885, Albert Washington Davis, a Methodist minister, built a…
Paula Love
Hometown: Bennett Spring, Mo. Family: Husband, Delbert; three children; and 10 grandchildren In Town: Paula Love has worked at the Bennett Spring Park Store for the last 17 years. She…
Hatching a Business
Shawn and Karen Fisher began a poultry operation two years ago that offers a variety of birds On an unseasonably warm afternoon in the Ozarks, life is celebrated at S…
Dr. Shad Hilton
Hometown: Richland, Mo. Family: Wife, Morgan; children, Madilynn (10), Reece (7) and Russell (2) In Town: Named for one of Silver Dollar City’s most famous early residents, the blacksmith, Shad…
Always Improving
Brothers Ed and Walt Wittorff continually look for ways to improve their family’s dairy herd Tucked away in the hills of rural Douglas County outside Ava, Mo., brothers Ed and…
No Place Like Home
Marlene Robertson returned to her family’s Wright County, Mo., farm to build a cattle operation As a single woman, raising cattle in the Ozarks, Marlene Robertson of rural Wright County,…
Research Pays Off
Del Downs incorporates Brahman and Waygu into his own line of crossbred cattle Del Downs was born in Ava, Mo., but left as a youngster to grow up in Washington…
Standing the Test of Time
Church constructed in 1882 continues to minister to its rural community The Rev. John Uder is the current pastor of what is today known as the Oakland Community Church. He…