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Signs of the Old Times

February 2, 2012 in: Reflections on the River

I learned about some “signs” of times gone by during the Tuesday Night Talk at the Pony Express National Museum this week. Some were more obvious than others. Ruth Rother, a retired school teacher, gave a presentation about the Underground Railroad.                             [...]

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Reflections on Mark Twain’s river

November 28, 2011 in: Reflections on the Riverseparator=, &Writing

The first time I read Huckleberry Finn was in third grade. If memory serves correctly, I had to get special permission from Mrs. Gates the librarian to check it out for an extra week so I could finish. She was good at encouraging kids to read that way. Much of the symbolism was lost on [...]

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Night at the Museum

November 18, 2011 in: Reflections on the Riverseparator=, &Writing

The St. Joseph Women’s Press Club met at the St. Joseph Museum this week and hostess Jackie Lewin helped us experience the Civil War. We started with an authentic Civil War era meal made by club members.                         Jackie made “interpretive” tags for each [...]

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Pumpkin Fest at the Pony Express

October 16, 2011 in: Reflections on the River

One of the fun things about living in historic St. Joseph is that each morning on my way to work, I drive by the Pony Express Museum. As the museum prepared for its annual Pumpkin Fest, I witnessed the tents, carnival rides and pumpkin mountain going up. Pumpkin Fest, one of the museum’s main fund [...]

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Surviving a summer of storms

September 7, 2011 in: Reflections on the River

Straight up noon on Friday in an all-American town, somewhere between the end of summer and the start of school. Dad and I were eating lunch at the pizza buffet. The food was good, the conversation comfortable and we were in no hurry. In these waning days of August, moments of calm seemed like rare [...]

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Taking it easy this awesome August

August 14, 2011 in: Reflections on the River

August used to be my absolute most hated month of the whole year. July was all popsicles, water slides and fireworks, but the moment the calendar turned over, a sense a dread settled in my stomach. A big old circle around a certain date gave full notice that my wild and carefree days were numbered. [...]

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Through the Year in a Garden

July 25, 2011 in: Reflections on the River

January. This is the year. I’m going to eat better, exercise more and save money. The garden will help me do all three! Besides the usual, boring stuff, I’m going to try new exotic produce. And this will be the year I master the pressure canner. Next January, we’ll be feasting on zucchini corn relish, [...]

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The Air In Joplin Stings

July 10, 2011 in: Reflections on the River

The air in Joplin stings. The wind sweeps down a clear-cut channel through the middle of town. No buildings, no tree limbs and almost no grass  - it’s been covered by collapsed houses – block the breeze. The wind stirs up dirt, tiny particles of insulation, debris and who knows what else and blasts them [...]

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Playing on the farm d-fence team

April 15, 2011 in: Reflections on the River

When Snow-mageddon was bearing down on us this winter, I called Dad to check on him and make sure he was prepared. Dad reported that he’d already brought in a bunch of firewood and had drawn off some water. I looked around my house at what I had done to prepare for a power outage [...]

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Peanut brittle is brain food, if you can remember where you put it

March 12, 2011 in: Reflections on the River

There’s a good reason why I’m eating three-month old peanut brittle. Okay, not a good reason, but at least I can explain. It all started in December. I was at the store getting a few purchases and sitting there on the counter was a display of peanut brittle. I love peanut brittle. Especially at Christmas [...]

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About Susan

I'm Susan Mires, writing reflections from my perspective on the Missouri River in St. Joseph, Mo. I am a newspaper columnist, free lance writer and aspiring novelist. I enjoy keeping up with local issues and the things that make everyday life so interesting. Book reviews and devotions are also featured here. Find out more on the Reflections page.