An Independence Day tradition will continue this weekend as youngsters dress up in their red, white and blue and participate in the 19th Annual Fourth of July Parade.

The annual parade will begin at 10 a.m. from the Banken Home at 213 S. Elm.

The “just for kids” parade was started 19 years ago by Janice Barney, Lisa Greer and Jean Rahm. The parade leadership has passed to a new generation, as Kristi and Jason Banken now host the parade.

The Bankens began hosting the parade five years ago, and have continued to build upon the Independence Day tradition.

“Jason dresses up as Uncle Sam,” Kristi Banken said. Jason’s uncle, Fire Chief Al Banken, brings a fire truck to the event, thrilling young and old alike.

The parade will follow its traditional route down Elm Street to Stoddard Street with kids on bicycles, tricycles, wagons, scooters, skates, on foot, or in strollers (most anything non-motorized). Once the parade rests at Stoddard Street, the gaggle of youngsters break “parade formation.”

The youngsters will gather on the steps of the U.S. Post Office to salute the flag with the Pledge of Allegiance, sing a few patriotic songs, and pose for photographs for all the parents and grandparents in attendance.

The parade will get moving again, east down Stoddard Street to Poplar Street, where it will turn south at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) back to Vine and turn west and return to Vine and Elm. Upon returning to Elm Street, the youngsters will be treated to some 4th of July lemonade and refreshments in the Banken’s front yard.

Children are invited to participate; they may walk or bring their bikes and other means of transportation for the parade. Parking will be available for grownups in the city parking lot on Vine Street across from the Dexter Municipal Building.

In a 2004 photo, the children in the 4th of July Parade pause on the Post Office steps. While at the Post Office they children say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing some patriotic songs and pause for photographs before continuing the annual parade. (Archive photo by Annabeth Miller)

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

Four young Dexter ladies had the opportunity to participate in one of the leading leadership development programs in Missouri last week.

Dexter was well represented at Missouri Girls State by Malinda Mayo, Jennifer Aslin, Rosa Lara and Sarah Langley. The young ladies were among the 750 girls from throughout the Show-Me State at the weeklong event held on the campus of University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.

The American Legion Auxiliary sponsors Missouri Girls State each summer. The purpose is to promote pride in America and to create a fictitious state that the citizens will govern at the city, county and state level. We will have speakers who serve as leaders in our Missouri government as well as hold important offices in our communities.

During the week at Girls State, the Dexter ladies were busy with a wide variety of activities:

• Jennifer Aslin: resident of Compton City and Bacon County, elected mayor of Compton City; a Bacon County Committee member; City Problem Committee; a Nationalist Party delegate.

• Sarah Langley: resident of Pershing City and Scott County; Scott County Collector; Banner Committee.

• Rosa Lara: resident of Boone City and Davidson County; State Fair Committee; City Problem Committee.

• Malinda Mayo: resident of Benton City and Barton County; ran for governor; City Problem Council; City Committee. Mayor also was a member of the Girl State Choir. The chorus performs during the week and the main performance is before the Inauguration on Friday evening.

The girls will all be seniors this fall at Dexter High School.

Also attending Girls State were Natalie Riley, who served as a Girls State Committee member; Dee Wamble, a counselor; and Karsen Adams, who attended Girl State last summer and returned this summer as an assistant counselor.

Photo Above: Participating in Missouri Girls State from Dexter were (from left) Malinda Mayo, Jennifer Aslin, Rosa Lara, and Sara Langley.

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

For hundreds of Mizzou football fans, the ground at Faurot Field is pretty “sacred ground.” So they would probably be surprised to know that this last week there were over 200 girls on that field … playing softball.

That’s right … the place where the Mizzou Tigers will play football this fall was converted last week for Tiger Softball camp.

And Kendra Stevenson of Dexter was there … playing softball practically from sunrise to late at night with the coaching staff of the Mizzou Tigers softball program.

Stevenson just finished her freshman year – and first high school softball season - at Dexter High School. She was a member of a young Bearcat softball squad that graduated just one senior – Alec Jackson. Stevenson and Jackson shared pitching duties for the Lady ‘Cats this spring.

Faurot was just one of the fields where the girls worked with Tiger softball head coach Ehren Earlywine and other Mizzou coaches.

In just four seasons, Earlywine has led the Missouri softball program to almost unheard of levels of success in such a short time. In his first season, he took a team that posted just 26 wins and had a losing record the year before and turned them into a 40-win squad that finished the year with a regional bid and a top-20 national ranking.

“There were 250 girls there,” Stevenson said. Most were from Missouri, with some girls from out-of-state as well joining the camp.

“We did defensive drills – with infield, outfield, pitchers and catchers,” she explained. “The first day I went to the catchers, the second day I went pitchers, and the third day I went to infielders. We could go to different drills.”

Participating in drills helped Stevenson overall game skills. She said that while she pitched some this past season, she really likes catching and playing infield. The girls also did a hitting circuit.

“We hit off T’s, did front toss, and we did different things with the girls (Mizzou team players) who were there helping us,” she said.

One of the highlights for Stevenson was being in the Mizzou Athletic Training Complex. Stevenson said they had classes in the Onofrio Team Room – named for Tiger football coaching legend Al Onofrio.

“Coach Earlywine would have a DVD up on the screen and would teach us the fundamentals,” she said. Earlywine would compare batting skills of professional softball players to video of previous campers, pointing out the finer points of skills.

“He showed us the absolutes and what you need to do to hit the ball well,” she said.

“We had a tour of the training center,” she said. “It is so nice! I want to hang out there! When we were on the tour the football players were there. They all walked out of the football locker room - they were giants!”

Stevenson not only plays on the Bearcat spring softball squad, and plays basketball with the Lady ‘Cats, she plays on a summer team based in Cape Girardeau, the Orange Crush.

It was a week full of hard work and long days, but Stevenson said that looking ahead to next spring it was well worth the effort.

“I learned a lot of new stuff this week,” she said. “It was all good.”

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

The temperatures of late would make it seem summer had already begun, but according to the astronomical calendar summer officially began Tuesday.

Well, actually, summer actually began with the summer solstice that occurred Tuesday 1:16 p.m. EDT (17:16 UTC), when the sun was “as high as an elephant’s eye” - as high in the sky as possible. It was the longest day of the entire year – just a fraction of a second longer of daylight that the day before and even today.

So, on the first official day summer, we celebrated with kids at the swimming pool and lots of America’s favorite pastime being played by kids at the Sports Complex. It was a good first day of summer.

Look on the bright side: with the longest day of the year behind us, we can look forward to longer evenings spent on the deck or front porch counting lightening bugs, enjoying big, tall glasses of sweet tea and the company of family and friends.

But, on the other hand, it’s summer in the Bootheel. Sweltering, sweaty and sultry. Summer.

Of course, this all means that if we aren't swatting mosquitoes then we're going to thermostat to crank the air conditioning a bit or taking the third shower of the day or trying to find yet another recipe for yellow squash.

It's summer in the Bootheel, thank you very much!

Summer songs coming to mind? Songs to hum while counting lightening bugs or swatting mosquitoes? At the top of Billboard’s list of “Top 30 Summer Songs of All Time,” are “Surfin’ Safari” (The Beach Boys, 1962), “Summertime” (Billy Stewart, 1966), “Wipeout” (Fat Boys and The Beach Boys, 1987), “Cruel Summer” (Bananarama, 1983) and “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran, 1958).

At the top of Entertainment Weekly’s “100 Greatest Summer Songs of All Time,” are “Summer in the City” (The Lovin’ Spoonful, 1966), “California Girls” (The Beach Boys, 1965), “School’s Out” (Alice Cooper, 1972), “Heat Wave” (Martha and the Vandellas, 1963) and “Under the Boardwalk” (The Drifters, 1964).

Good tunes to celebrate the start of summer. Enjoy!

ShowMe Times Photo Gallery

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

When Caitlin Pyle was growing up in Dexter, she probably never imagined that her studies and career path would lead her to Northern California and a marine mammal center. But lo and behold, that’s exactly where the Dexter native is spending her summer.

Caitlin is interning at the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center in Crescent City, Calif. It’s a long way from the corn and soybean fields of Stoddard County where she was raised.

Caitlin is the daughter of Darrell and Toni Pyle and is a 2006 graduate of Dexter High School. She graduated in 2010 from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a field emphasis.

Since graduating from college Caitlin has “tested the waters” so-to-speak through internships. She completed two internships in 2010 – at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash. Now she is in Crescent City, working at the small marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation center. She began work there the second week in June, and her first night on the job brought a bit of excitement.

“During the 8 p.m. feed (4th and final feed of the day) we were told about an animal not too far from the center that looked weak and was on the beach,” Caitlin said. “A couple of the other workers went to assess it, and then determined that it needed to be brought in for care.”

The animal was an underweight, young Northern Elephant Seal with large gashes around his rear flippers.

“We loaded up the truck with a crate and other equipment needed for loading up the animal,” she said. “By using ‘herd boards’ we were able to coax it into the crate and carry it back to the truck. Once back at the center we weighed him (113 lbs.), gave him electrolytes by tubing him, and cleaned his wounds.”

The next day Caitlin and the staff were able to draw blood and check the seal for infections and diseases. But Caitlin said the seal was strong and a fast learner.

“After only a couple days he began eating fish on his own,” she reports. “It was an exciting end to a first day and gave me an early look at what this career would involve. It was great to quickly see how we help the animals in need.”

Caitlin reports the seal has been improving and will most likely be released soon.

“It is neat to be able to follow an animal through from rescue to release,” she commented.

The facility at Crescent City is a small marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation center covering the northern California coastline. And Caitlin reports that different times of the year bring in different species. They currently have Pacific Harbor Seal pups, young Northern Elephant Seals, and a California Sea Lion.

“During this three month internship I will assess stranded animals, assist with rescuing sick or injured animals, feed the animals (sometimes by tube-feeding), clean their pools and pens, assist with vet work by administering medications and treatments, and assist with releasing rehabilitated animals ready to return to the wild,” she said of the new internship.

While she is not certain of her career path, she says the internships have been a big help in helping her make those all-important career decisions.

“My internships have definitely helped guide me and confirm that this is the field I want to work in,” she commented. “I really enjoyed my zoo/aquarium internships, but so far I am liking the rescue and rehab aspect even more. The animals you work with change often, and you get new cases brought in to figure out so the routine is constantly changing.”

She said she changed career path plans during college – as most college students do (at least once!). She decided she wanted something a little more “hands on” – and she has always been fascinated with the oceans and the animals that live in the oceans.

“Obviously, Southeast Missouri does not provide much opportunity for work in the marine field,” she said. “I've had to search the country to follow my dreams, but look at the places it has taken me.”

Photos Above: Top Photo: Caitlin on the California coast. Middle Photo: Rasputin the California Sea Lion Bottom Photo: The Trio of friends - Caitlin, Kristen Bush and Heather Waddle. Kristen and Heather joined Caitlin on her cross-county journey to Crescent City, Calif.