Christmas? Yes! The holiday season is not far away, and a local artist has the perfect way to help folks get in a festive Christmas mood.
Buddy Heaton of Bloomfield has just released a new CD chocked full of Christmas spirit. The CD, "Christmas Memories with Buddy Heaton” arrived this week and is being distributed throughout the area.
“Well, you might think I’m rushing the Christmas holidays, but the time to start preparing is now,” Heaton said. He is excited about the new CD, and his excitement about the holiday is evident as he talks and as he sits down at his beautiful grand piano and starts his musical magic.
“Growing up in Bloomfield with a large family, singing around the piano was an all day event during Christmas! You had no choice but to gather in at 310 S. Prairie Street where Mom and Dad and all of the Heaton Clan would share Christmas Day,” he said. Buddy has 11 brothers and sisters. “We were like the Osmond Family and we actually thought we could sing like them, too.
Heaton’s mother plays a central part in his musical Christmas memories.
“Mother would sing ‘Silent Night’ and we would all just be in awe as she sang. Dad would just listen,” he remembered. “Since their passing we still get together, but none of us can make it through ‘Silent Night.’ Mom and Dad were the best!”
So many of his brightest Christmas memories are centered with family and singing around the piano. So it was just a natural that he would want to record these wonderful Christmas memories.“So many memories – I thought I would share the songs we would sing around the piano,” Heaton said. “Christmas when I was growing up didn’t mean how many gifts you would get, but sharing our hearts with one another in music, laughter, and stories – and always remembering the Birth of Jesus and how He blessed us with our family.”
Heaton is known throughout for his musical talent – especially at the piano keyboard - and he shares that talent at church, school and throughout the community. He says he has had music and the piano as a central part of his life for as long as he can remember.
“My father would tell the story that when I walked in the VA hospital an older man asked him, ‘Well, James, how long has that boy been playing the piano?’ Dad replied ‘since the cradle’,” Heaton recalled.
Heaton’s love for his parents shines in his stories about holidays in the Heaton home and it shines through the music on the CD. His goal is for he and his brothers and sisters to continue the old tradition going – singing around the piano.
“How much I loved my parents is in every note that I played on the Christmas CD,” he said.
Heaton and his wife Pam traveled to Nashville this summer to record the CD at Classic Recording Studio. The recording includes a dozen Christmas classics – from “Sleigh Ride” and “Jingle Bell Rock” to “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” and “Mary Did You Know.” Heaton also provides vocals for “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.”
All the songs will lift your spirits and help put you in a mood to celebrate the season. Heaton‘s performances and arrangements are traditional and beautiful. He puts just the right touch to evoke wonderful Christmas memories and leads you to ponder pulling out the holiday decorations – all while playing this CD and singing along with each track.
“This is what ‘I’ll Be Home For the Holidays’ is all about ,” he said. “Let’s take the time to make this holiday a holiday that will last a lifetime!”
"Christmas Memories With Buddy Heaton" is available for $10 at Corner Cottage, Petal Stone, the Metro Art Gallery and from Buddy's niece, Lori Hawkins, at Leon's Dexter Queen.
Hitting The Books!
Mrs. Cindy Warren's classroom at Central Elementary School in Dexter has really been hitting the books! The class received an award this week for being the class in the school to earn the most points in the Accelerated reader program for the first quarter of the year. The class will receive a Popcorn Party for being such good readers. Accelerated Reader is a program designed to help motivate and encourage reading and reinforce reading skills. April Aldridge directs the Accelerated Reading program at Central Elementary. (SMT Photo by Annabeth Miller)
Pursuing his passion, Terry became very involved in his own pottery business during his younger years. He established his own shop and was able to provide people in the Hot Springs, Arkansas area a place to fire their clay. He also taught pottery classes through his business.
A move back to Southeast Missouri, raising a fantastic family, and a change in his career from businessman to educator, Terry has never allowed his desire to create art slip away.
In the classroom, Terry shares his love of art with middle school students in the Dexter Public Schools. He also can be found offering his talent to local causes, such as the Charles “Seed” Bland Award. Alan Gibson created the original masterpiece, but Terry was willing to step in and re-create the additional trophies in order to continue that tradition for local athletes.
Terry was very young when he discovered his love for art. He soon found that his gift was something special that he could share with others.
Currently, the Hester’s Gallery is filled with great names such as Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce and Lou Brock. Terry also has a category of religious and inspired art, as well as an incredible collection of “Pen & Ink” renderings.
In celebration of the Cardinals headed to the World Series in 2011, Terry has created a copy of a lithograph of the “The Perfect Swing”, a beautiful depiction of Albert Pujols in full stride.
The ShowMe Times and County Wide Insurance Agency, working in conjunction with Terry, will be offering the print to raise money for 18 Fore Life. These prints are limited and will be available at our office at 140 S. Walnut Street in Dexter. You can simply come to the front desk of County Wide Insurance Agency and request your copy for $25.00.
Everyone Wins!!! Please join with us in celebrating with the Cardinals while helping a great local charity in 18 Fore Life.
October 19th is Missouri Day—a day set aside to commemorate Missouri’s history and to celebrate the achievements of all Missourians.
During the 1900s a native Missourian named Anna Brosius Korn decided students and adults in Missouri needed to study and appreciate the history of their state. In Korn’s own words, the day is designed to “foster a love for our state’s history and to teach rising generations of boys and girls the glories of Missouri.” In March of 1915, the 48th General Assembly designated the first Wednesday and later moved to the third Wednesday in October, as Missouri Day. Today we once again observe this day to honor our state.
Missouri’s history begins in 1673, when Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet were voyaging down the Missouri River and became the first Europeans to step foot on Missouri soil. This discovery led the French to establish the first permanent settlement in Ste. Genevieve in the 1730’s. Ste. Genevieve was the lone settlement in the expansive Louisiana territory until St. Louis was founded in 1764.
Since the first settlement, the Show-Me State has been and will continue to play an important role in the past, present, and future of this great nation. Missouri was admitted as the 24th state in 1821 and in its 189 years of history, Missouri has served as a gateway to Western expansion, been a pivotal player in freeing slaves and given birth to many noteworthy leaders, entertainers and citizens.
As was discovered when it was extensively explored, Missouri’s land is rich with a variety of mineral resources, including zinc and silver. The state’s early development is tied to lead mining after French settlers discovered significant deposits in the Mine La Motte and Potosi areas. Today, we are still a leading lead producer and possess one of the largest lime stone deposits in the world. Missouri also continues to be an important industrial and farming state. Our location and the Mississippi River (North & South) and Missouri River (East & West) that flow through Missouri have helped stimulate agricultural growth, create jobs, enhance transportation, and attract businesses.
Missouri’s geographical makeup is especially unique. The nearly 70,000 square miles of Missouri landscape host more caves, more free-flowing streams and more types of wildflowers than any other state. The state boasts 81 state parks, 5,475 caves, 14 major lakes and more than 30 rivers and creeks.
The diversity is also seen in the state’s population. From the anchor cities of Kansas City and St. Louis, to the quaint charm of the small rural towns in between, Missouri is home to a range of people with Native American, Amish, German, French, English, Asian, African and Hispanic ethnicities. A
nd among all the citizens from all walks of life are famous people who also call Missouri home, such as Walt Disney, Mark Twain, George Washington Carver, and the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman.
By Annabeth Miller, SMT Editor
They have grown up together, they have played together, and now, as seniors, they are about to move on and out and up.
They’ve played at the old gym on Park Lane, the T.S. Hill Middle School gym, the DHS gym and now the Bearcat Event Center – the place where this spring they will receive their high school diplomas. Their futures are bright and full of promise.
The four senior members of the Dexter High School volleyball team were recognized Monday evening at the last regular season home game. Memories were made as the four girls and their parents were introduced to the hometown crowd on hand for Senior Night.
The quartet includes Lindsey Hindman, McKenzie Mitchell, Erika Mouser and Lauren Ward.
Hindman is the daughter of Scott and Paula Hindman. After high school graduate she plans to attend college and eventually get a masters in social work.
Mitchell is the daughter of Kevin and Ann-Marie Mitchell. She plans to attend Ole Miss after graduation this spring and become a dentist “like my father.”
Mouser, the daughter of Eric and Pam Mouser, plans to attend Missouri State University in Springfield. He career plans include becoming a nurse practitioner.
Ward is the daughter of David and Joy Ward. After graduation from DHS she plans to attend college and major either in nursing or physical therapy.
The four girls – who are serious about their volleyball and have developed into close-knit, fun-loving group – are leaders on the court and in school. They have a talented group of younger players who will be following their footsteps next year on the court.
So, what advise would they give these younger girls as they approach the end of their high school volleyball careers?
- “Always have been and play your heart out – never give up,” writes Lindsey Hindman.
- “Don’t grow up too fast and leave it on the court,” advises Erika Mouser.
- “Enjoy every moment and memory because it truly flies by,” said Lauren Ward.
- “If you want something, go for it with determination and all your heart, and never, ever give up,” said McKenzie Mitchell.
The regular season is history for these four seniors and the rest of their teammates. The Lady Bearcats begin district play on Monday at the Bearcat Event Center.
The bracket and schedule have not been released; watch The ShowMe Times for additional information on the district tournament.
Photo Above: The four senior members of the DHS Volleyball Team (from right): Erika Mouser, Lindsey Hindman, Lauren Ward, and McKinzie Mitchell. (SMT Photo by Annabeth Miller)
