JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Celebrate National Trail Day by walking two new trails and experiencing both history and nature in Missouri state parks and historic sites.
On Friday, June 1, Missouri State Parks officials will dedicate the new Brogans’ Trail at Fort Davidson State Historic Site in Pilot Knob. The 1 p.m. ceremony will officially open the historic site’s first hiking trail and kick off National Trail Day activities.
Brogans’ Trail is a relatively flat one-half mile loop that leads visitors from a new parking lot on the east branch of Knob Creek along the east side of the Battle of Pilot Knob battlefield. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at the parking lot on Industrial Drive in Pilot Knob and the public is invited to attend.
The trail is named for the shoes worn by most Civil War soldiers on both sides of the conflict. A brogan was a heavy laced, usually ankle-high shoe that had the sole attached to the upper part by wooden pegs. The wooden pegs would swell when wet and shrink when dried, causing Brogans to be repaired quite frequently.
"Missouri state parks and historic sites have more than 230 trails and these two trails illustrate how diverse our trail system is. There’s truly a trail for everyone, whether you’re looking for great recreation, windows into nature or stories about our history,” said Bill Bryan, director of Missouri State Parks, a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The new trail at Fort Davidson State Historic Site and others throughout the state are only two options for celebrating National Trail Day. ke.
“All trails provide endless opportunities to celebrate National Trail Day on June 2 and kick off the entire month of June as Great Outdoors Month,” Bryan said.
Fort Davidson State Historic Site, the site of the Battle of Pilot Knob in 1864, is located on Highway 221 in Pilot Knob.
In the fall of 1864, Confederate armies east of the Mississippi River suffered an almost endless string of defeats. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac had trapped Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in the trenches around Petersburg, Va., and Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta on Sept. 2. However, Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith's army, encamped west of the Mississippi River, faced no immediate threat. In an attempt to relieve the increasing pressure on his fellow armies to the east, Smith sent a massive mounted raiding force far behind Federal lines into the state of Missouri.
Smith appointed Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, Missouri's most famous Confederate, to lead the raid. Price's goals were to divert Union troops from east of the Mississippi River, gather Confederate recruits, capture and destroy Union war materials and, if at all possible, capture St. Louis or Jefferson City. Price entered Missouri on Sept. 19, 1864, with an army of 12,000 men headed for St. Louis. This was the largest Confederate cavalry raid of the war.
While en route to the St. Louis area, Price decided to attack the weakly defended post of Fort Davidson at Pilot Knob. Fort Davidson was a small hexagonal earthwork fort defended by Gen. Thomas Ewing Jr. and his 1,450 Union soldiers. Capturing Fort Davidson would provide arms for Price's 3,000 unarmed soldiers, prevent Ewing's garrison from reinforcing St. Louis or Jefferson City, and provide combat experience for the nearly 6,000 untested Confederate draftees.
The Confederates paid a heavy price during the Battle of Pilot Knob. As many as 1,000 troops were killed or wounded, and more importantly, Gen. Price no longer posed a threat to St. Louis. The Union force suffered 200 casualties, with 28 killed.
Price continued his advance into Missouri following the battle. Eventually, he encountered two Union armies at the battle of Westport, near Kansas City. It was there, in the largest battle fought west of the Mississippi River, where he was defeated and forced to return to Confederate Arkansas.
To reach the Brogans’ Trail lot, turn from Hwy. 221 (South McCune) onto Industrial Drive. Drive about one-half mile and the parking lot is on the left prior to reaching railroad tracks. The trail will be open during normal site hours, sunrise to sunset daily. For more information about the event or the trail, contact Fort Davidson State Historic Site at 573-546-3454.
For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
ShowMe Times Editor
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
It was an awfully important night. It was the kind of event that is a life milestone, when parents and grandparents beam with pride and snap photos, a night when the teachers share in the pride and sense of of the students' accomplishments. For the youngsters it can be a little scary getting up in front of all those people, but also a happy and excited time – when they know they have done something big – and getting ready for even bigger things in the future.
It was graduation night this week for Small Wonders Child Development Center in Dexter, and from the moment the 49 youngsters marched in their caps and gowns to the front of the Worship Center at First Baptist Church it was an exciting time for parents and families, teachers, and the students, too.
The kids sang rousing songs (has there ever been a more enthusiastic singing of “How Great Thou Art”?), and they told the audience just what they want to be when they grow up. From firemen to doctors, big 'monster' truck drivers to “just like my daddy” the youngsters knew exactly what they were going to do someday. And, they ended it all with a declaration of God’s love and care.
Then the moment they waited – the presentation of diplomas. Walking to the front of the stage when their name was read, each student accepted their diploma from Small Wonders Director Tonya Guthrie. Most stood in the center of the stage for photos - just as they had rehearsed. Parents snapped photos, some shed a few tears, and applauded enthusiastically when all the class was presented.
Kindergarten – here they come!
Miss Ann/LeaAnn’s Class
Averee Ackman, Kayden Craft, Laney Edwards, Joseph Fortner, Christiaan Haasbroek, Olivia Maldonado, Carly McMunn, Fisher Menley, Stryker Muzny, Logan Pullum, Avery Riley, Payton Short, Tucker Temples
Miss Angelea’s Class
Ben Dowdy, Ethan Glaus, Tanner Guiling, Kaydence Hessling, Jackson Howard, Kate Nichols, Isabella Pittman, Caroline Stone, Nolen Stone, Sage Wallingford, Korbin Williams
Miss Christy’s Class
Nolan Alford, Luke Bishop, Christian Chappell, Cameron Griffin, Kasmira Hester, Cali Jones, Grady McGhee, Sawyer Rascher, Camden Stevens, Maddie Sutton, Bella Voss
Miss Lynne’s Class
Elizabeth Bolin, Beau Carrier, Ben Christian, Hunter Farmer, Bailey Henry, Parker King, Kenady Krapf, Caden Lee, Kenna Parris, Carly Patterson, Emma Pennington, Drexler Pope, Cale Robinson, Cooper Worley
ShowMe Times Photo Gallery
Every minute of every day, someone needs blood – and blood can only come from a volunteer donor.
A special Red Cross Blood Drive will be sponsored Saturday, May 12 at Wesley Hall of the First United Methodist Church in Dexter. The Blood Drive will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
“The Red Cross tells me their blood supply is low already and it isn't even summer yet,” said Loretta Reid, outreach coordinator of the church. “When you make a blood donation, you join a very select group. Currently only three out of every 100 people in America donate blood.”
From its beginning, the American Red Cross has formed a community of service, of generous, strong and decent people bound by beliefs beyond themselves. The American Red Cross blood donor embodies this principle.
For additional information about the Blood Drive, contact Kristi Williams at the First United Methodist Church at 573-624-3344.
The First United Methodist Church is located at 501 South Walnut Street in Dexter.
Photo above: Owen Flowers and Kendra Stevenson were aong the blood donors at a Red Cross Blood Drive in Dexter. (ShowMe Times archive photo by Annabeth Miller)
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
The students in Shannon Putnam’s first grade class at Center learned all about changes, growth, and letting go recently, as the class watched a group of butterflies grow, mature and then freed.
The class watched as butterflies travelled through their life cycle from larva, pupa, and finally adults. The class this year had the Painted Lady variety of butterflies, and studied the life cycle and butterflies as they developed.
“We learned some butterflies are poisonous,” said Putnam. “We didn’t know that! And some butterflies taste with their feet!”
Putnam said it was a tad chilly outside and the “day of freedom” when the class set the butterflies free. But that didn’t deter the students or dampen their spirits as the butterflies flew away.
“The first one we called ‘Lucky’,” she said. Seems the Lucky was knocked a bit as a chrysalis, but was the first butterfly to hatch. It only seemed natural that he should be the first to experience freedom.
Photo Above: Students in Shannon Putnam's first grade watched as butterflies grew and were then ready to be set free. The students learned about the cycle of life and some interesting facts about butterflies. (Photo by Shannon Putnam ... Thanks, Mrs. Putnam!)
