Spring 2014
Yes, we had some cold weather and plenty of snow and ice here in Missouri during this past winter. It kept many of us inside more than we might like and made us ready to greet the gentle touch of a Missouri spring. Now that Spring is here, we are ready to get out and see Mother Nature replace those white mounds of snow and ice with the green fields and beautiful trees that show new life and hope.
We can travel by our computer screens when time is short or to plan a longer IRL trip. I have researched some spring in Missouri sites for you on the World Wide Web.
I grew up on a Missouri farm, and one of my chores was to milk our cow. My mother made butter and we drank fresh milk. Many young people today have not ever seen a cow up close and have little idea of where their food comes from. Additives and purity are big concerns today. If you are close to Kansas City, you might want to make a family trip to the Shatto Milk Company, located just north of the city on a 400-acre family farm. It is the home to 120 Holstein cows that produce the milk. They raise most of the cattle feed on the farm and process the milk gently before bottling it in glass bottles. Shatto boasts a big assortment of whole, 2 percent and skim milk and offers a number of flavor choices. They also have shirts, caps and other items (for humans, not cows) that are for sale in their store. Their web page tells their story and includes many photos of the farm and the cows. Visit them online at ShattoMilk.com/. You can also read about their tours and special events, and can sign up for a free monthly newsletter with news, recipes, special offers and more.
A place you could visit near St. Louis is a reminder of the ravages of war. It was not the scene of any battles, but was the location of the world’s largest explosive factory. Between 1940 and 1941, the U.S. Army purchased 17,000 acres of land in St. Charles County. Three towns—Hamburg, Howell, and Toonerville—were evacuated and all the buildings either demolished or burned.
Within a few months these towns ceased to exist, and the Weldon Springs Ordinance Works was built on the land, employing more than 5,000 workers in 1,000 buildings. Before they ceased operation in 1945, they had produced more than 700 million pounds of TNT.
After the war, the Army disposed of all but 2,000 acres of the land, and several of the sold off portions became conservation areas. The Atomic Energy department used the 2,000-acre area as a uranium processing plant to make concentrated ore, which was then shipped to other plants for more processing. This also produced huge amounts of radioactive waste including thousands of gallons of contaminated water.
The government closed this operation and began cleaning up the area in 1966. In 2001, a safe storage mound was completed. Covering 45 acres, it is the highest point in St. Charles County. This giant rock pile stores 1.5 million cubic yards of hazardous material. It is completely safe and you can take the steps to climb to the top where you can read a plaque that describes the whole site. There is a large center near the bottom where you can also read about the site.
Their web page at AmusingPlanet.com/2013/05/a-pile-of-nuclear-waste-now-tourist.html has some photos and other information about the site. I believe I’ll limit my visit to online.
Missouri’s oldest town, Ste. Genevieve, was settled in the 1700s. It is Ste. Genevieve (VisitSteGen.com). As you might expect, the town is rich in history. It was the site of the first Freemason lodge west of the Mississippi. Western Star Lodge #105 was established in 1807. The original meeting hall still stands.
I have visited the town many times. If you eat there, try the leberknödel or liver dumplings. They are much better than they sound!
We can travel by our computer screens when time is short or to plan a longer IRL trip. I have researched some spring in Missouri sites for you on the World Wide Web.
I grew up on a Missouri farm, and one of my chores was to milk our cow. My mother made butter and we drank fresh milk. Many young people today have not ever seen a cow up close and have little idea of where their food comes from. Additives and purity are big concerns today. If you are close to Kansas City, you might want to make a family trip to the Shatto Milk Company, located just north of the city on a 400-acre family farm. It is the home to 120 Holstein cows that produce the milk. They raise most of the cattle feed on the farm and process the milk gently before bottling it in glass bottles. Shatto boasts a big assortment of whole, 2 percent and skim milk and offers a number of flavor choices. They also have shirts, caps and other items (for humans, not cows) that are for sale in their store. Their web page tells their story and includes many photos of the farm and the cows. Visit them online at ShattoMilk.com/. You can also read about their tours and special events, and can sign up for a free monthly newsletter with news, recipes, special offers and more.
A place you could visit near St. Louis is a reminder of the ravages of war. It was not the scene of any battles, but was the location of the world’s largest explosive factory. Between 1940 and 1941, the U.S. Army purchased 17,000 acres of land in St. Charles County. Three towns—Hamburg, Howell, and Toonerville—were evacuated and all the buildings either demolished or burned.
Within a few months these towns ceased to exist, and the Weldon Springs Ordinance Works was built on the land, employing more than 5,000 workers in 1,000 buildings. Before they ceased operation in 1945, they had produced more than 700 million pounds of TNT.
After the war, the Army disposed of all but 2,000 acres of the land, and several of the sold off portions became conservation areas. The Atomic Energy department used the 2,000-acre area as a uranium processing plant to make concentrated ore, which was then shipped to other plants for more processing. This also produced huge amounts of radioactive waste including thousands of gallons of contaminated water.
The government closed this operation and began cleaning up the area in 1966. In 2001, a safe storage mound was completed. Covering 45 acres, it is the highest point in St. Charles County. This giant rock pile stores 1.5 million cubic yards of hazardous material. It is completely safe and you can take the steps to climb to the top where you can read a plaque that describes the whole site. There is a large center near the bottom where you can also read about the site.
Their web page at AmusingPlanet.com/2013/05/a-pile-of-nuclear-waste-now-tourist.html has some photos and other information about the site. I believe I’ll limit my visit to online.
Missouri’s oldest town, Ste. Genevieve, was settled in the 1700s. It is Ste. Genevieve (VisitSteGen.com). As you might expect, the town is rich in history. It was the site of the first Freemason lodge west of the Mississippi. Western Star Lodge #105 was established in 1807. The original meeting hall still stands.
I have visited the town many times. If you eat there, try the leberknödel or liver dumplings. They are much better than they sound!