By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
Once upon a time (Tuesday morning), the children gathered and listened to none other than Mother Goose herself, as she read wondrous rhymes and sang songs at Story Hour in Dexter.
Mother Goose read nursery rhymes to the young children who attended the weekly Story Hour. From rhymes familiar to singing rhymes together, the youngsters sat (or perhaps rolled around) the story time rug and listened intently.
Jack be nimble,
And Jack be quick;
And Jack jump over
The candlestick.
Dressed in her traditional tall hat, full apron and practical dress, Mother Goose was even accompanied on her visit to Dexter by the famous goose itself. And for once, the goose was quiet and let Mother Goose and the children do the talking.
Jack and Jill went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
After listening quietly to Mother Goose and her famous rhymes, the youngsters had the opportunity to make some crafts to take home to remind them of their guest reader and her famous rhymes. There were even heart-shaped cookies to share!
Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow.
Mother Goose was portrayed by Melanie Stoelting, director of the Dexter Parents As Teacher program.
ShowMe Times Photo Gallery
Story Hour at Keller Public Library
Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.”
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
There is nothing that can replace the soft and graceful flutter of a snowflake. For a time Monday afternoon - with the snow just beginning to fall – the sight of those first snowflakes was There were no thoughts of slushy streets and cancelled meetings; of the cold and wet, traffic snarls or of freezing feet and fingers that needed to thaw by a warm fire.
No. There was just the joy of a long-awaited snowfall. There were thoughts of playing in the snow, of using that new snowboard that was under the Christmas tree. There were thoughts of crafting the perfect snowman, hoping for enough now for a snowball scrimmage, playing in the snow, catching snowflakes and making a wish in the winter fun.
For young Kylee Carter it was an afternoon for giggles and new experiences; of enjoying the delights of the first flakes of snow to fall on a winter afternoon.
Kylee (also known as Peanut and a ferocious Cardinal baseball fan) was ready to catch snowflakes. Kylee liked playing in the snow, and yrying to catch snowflakes on her tongue - except her daddy thought she tried to do it with a very narrow tongue! Nevertheless, there were big smiles, giggles galore as she kept her tongue out, happily catching snowflakes.
Kylee is daughter of Kim and Kyle Carter, former Dexter folks who now live in Sikeston. Kylee's dad snapped these keepsake photos.
It’s good to know that kids still have fun being naturally fun kids – and giving the rest of us a chance to remember what it is like to still be a kid at heart.
By Joe Foster,
Special to the ShowMe Times
ESSEX - Richland High School celebrated its 51st annual Homecoming Friday evening. With a gymnasium of Rebel fans, the traditional Homecoming Court was presented at halftime of the Richland-Clarkton varsity basketball game.
Crowned King and Queen this year were sophomores Tyler Maddox and McKenzie Hillis. Chelsea Freeman is the retiring Queen.
The representatives from each class, descending, are:
- Austin Maddox and Mallory Hillis
- Nick Daniels and Jessica Hill
- Tyler Maddox and McKenzie Hillis
- Charlie Atchison and Hailey Laws
When I asked McKenzie her thoughts about tonight she said, “I was really surprised, I wasn’t expecting to win. I had fun doing it though, but I was sad Mallory didn’t win. I’m glad that I got the opportunity to do it. I was just really shocked, but glad I won.”
Later in the night girls from kindergarten through the third grade got the opportunity to dance with the cheerleaders during halftime. Captain Mallory Hillis told me, “It was really a win-win for everyone. It’s a lot of fun teaching them cheers and dances and they love learning them.
Chelsea Freeman said, “They did really well! I’m ready to see how the older girls are going to do on their more challenging performance on Thursday at Senior Night.”
The Homecoming Celebration also included a high school art show, the annual History Day and the Richland Book Fair.
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
Were you a Girl Scout? Did you sing around the campfire at Camp Latonka? Did you make s’mores at day camp? Have fun times with your troop? Go to Girl Scout Round-Up?
In observance of the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting in America, the ShowMe Times wants to celebrate with a very special photo gallery featuring your photos of your Girl Scouting experience!
This March 12 will mark the 100th anniversary of when Juliette Gordon Low called her niece in Savannah, Ga., and declared: “I have something for the girls of the Savannah and all America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!” And so Girl Scouting in America was born.
Girl Scouting came to the Bootheel as early as the 1920s when a “Lone Troop” was formed in Kennett. A troop was established in Dexter in 1934.
The Cotton Boll Girl Scout Council was established in 1948 and from that time until today literally thousands of girls and young women enjoyed the Girl Scout experience. From Peach Orchard to Puxico, Dexter to Deering, New Madrid to Naylor, the Cotton Boll Girl Scout Council took Girl Scouting throughout the region to make sure the program was available to every girl.
Girls enjoyed local troop activities, day camps, camp outs, Thinking Day ceremonies and Girl Scout Week carnivals. In the 1951, the council opened the gates to Camp Latonka, an established camp on Lake Wappapello. The camp celebrated 60 years of offering program to girls during 2011.
Today, the tradition continues with Girl Scouts of Missouri Heartland – a newly-formed council that includes Cotton Boll and four other Missouri councils.
So, send your photos – old and new – to the ShowMe Times. Just email your images to Annabeth Miller, SMT Editor, at amiller@showmetimes.com. Photos should be sent by or before March 7, 2012. Please add information about when and where the photo was taken and if possible, who is in the photo.
Please, no photos sent by Facebook; we are hoping to unveil all photos in one gallery. If you have any questions, please contact Annabeth at 573.624.7469 or 573.421.7626.
Photo Above: Cadette Girl Scout Troop 46 from Dexter trekked to Jefferson City in the early 1970s, and toured the State Capitol with the help of State Rep. Jim Spain of Bloomfield.
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
It’s an event that is years in the planning, and it is slated to be one of the most popular events for sportsmen this winter in Dexter.
First Baptist Church in Dexter is hosting its first-ever Wild Game Dinner Friday, Feb. 17. Special guest speaker is the popular Phil Robertson, known by his any fans as simply “The Duck Commander.”
“This has turned out to be a big deal,” Pastor Steve Easterwood said Thursday afternoon. Easterwood said that 425 seats are available for the dinner, with only about 30 tickets still available as of Thursday afternoon. “
Robertson is from Louisana, where he and his family have a successful duck call business.
“He’s been around for a long time,” Easterwood explained. “Some of the guys here in town started ordering duck calls from him in the 1970s. We’ve even got guys from Illinois calling and wanting tickets.”
Word about the Dexter event spread on the Internet thanks to the Duck Commander website.
This is the first-ever Wild Game Dinner for the church, and the meal will be prepared by former Dexter resident and championship barbecue master Darrell Hicks and the Cajun Cooker cooking team.
“Darrell’s doing the cooking, so it will be a great dinner,” he said.
Duck Commander
Phil Robertson was born and raised in Vivian, La., a small town near Shreveport. With seven children in his family, money was scarce and very early on, hunting became an important part of his life.
As a high-school athlete, Phil was All-State in football, baseball, and track, which afforded him the opportunity to attend Louisiana Tech University on a football scholarship. There he played first string quarterback ahead of Terry Bradshaw. Phil's been quoted as saying "Terry went for the bucks, and I chased after the ducks."
Phil and his family- wife Kay, and four boys, Alan, Jase, Willie, and Jeptha - began a quest to turn his passion for hunting and fishing into a livelihood.
Never satisfied with the duck calls that were on the market, Phil began to experiment with making a call that would produce the exact sound of a duck. A duck call for duck killers, not "world champion-style duck callers." Claiming, "No duck would even place in a duck calling contest." And so, in 1972, the first Duck Commander call was born. Phil received a patent for this call and the Duck Commander Company was incorporated in 1973.
His home became his "factory" from where the calls were assembled, packaged, and shipped. Phil traveled store to store in the early days, with most ending in rejections. A certain large store in Stuttgart, Ark., laughed him out of the building (Oh, yeah, that store is now one of Duck Commander's largest accounts.)
In the mid-70's, Phil turned his life over to the Lord and made some dramatic changes in the way he was living. Phil Robertson is not only known as the Duck Commander but is now building a reputation all over the country for his faith and belief in the Almighty. He is invited to speak to hundreds of different churches and organizations every year, telling them what the Lord has done for him and can do for them.
Duck Commander is still a family business with all four sons and their wives working for the company at one time or another. Duck calls are still being built, blown, packaged and shipped in the Robertson's home on the Ouachita River, although now their home is surrounded by several offices and warehouses to help the company smoothly, and the nets are still being run, only now the fish that they catch feed all the Duck Commander employees. Yes it's a rough life, but as Phil says "somebody's gotta do it."
It isn't often a person can live a dream, but Phil Robertson, aka The Duck Commander, has proven it is possible with vision, hard work, helping hands, and an unshakable faith in the Almighty. If you ever wind up at the end of Mouth of Cypress Road, sitting face to face with Phil Robertson, you will see that his enthusiasm and passion for duck hunting and the Lord is no act- it is truly who he is.
Easterwood said the dinner will begin at 6 p.m. at the church, with the program to begin at 7 p.m. In addition, there will be a number of prizes donated for the evening, including a shot gun to be signed by Robertson himself.
What's Happening
- WHAT: Wild Game Dinner
- WHEN: Friday, Feb. 17
- TIME: Dinner @ 6 p.m.; Program @ 7 p.m.
- WHERE: Dexter First Baptist Church
- COST: $25 per ticket
- SPEAKER: The Duck Commander, Phil Robertson
- INFORMATION: 573.624.7436
