Rural Missouri - September 2012 - (Page 3)

C O N T E N T S Features 8 4 Departments Comments National and statewide news Columns Hart to heart Where the wild things are One day camp brings the heart of the wild to the heart of the child 5 12 Hit the trail New guide gets state park visitors in touch with nature 8 12 Outdoors Hit the trail 16 Out of the Way Eats Philly’s Pizza 20 Hearth and Home Kick it up! 28 Marketplace Classified ads 14 Plowing forward with a new tradition Local collector envisions West Plains as ‘Antique Tractor Town, U.S.A.’ 18 Devastating drought The worst drought in 75 years hits the Show-Me State 14 30 Around Missouri Missouri happenings 32 Neighbors A man & his monsters 34 Just4Kids Fun stuff from Buddy 24 Closing the gateway American Indians fight on both sides in southwest Missouri 32 A man & his monsters Monty Perrigo brings his love of monster trucks to life 18 About our cover eady, set, go! Or maybe not. It just depends on the mood of the mule. At the annual Clark County Mule Festival, you are guaranteed many laughs as you watch the mules and their riders at the event. This annual event, which will be held Sept. 14-16 in the northeast Missouri community of Kahoka, draws around 7,000 people, more than tripling the population of Clark County’s seat. They come from all across the United States to celebrate their love of Missouri’s state animal — the mule, like the one pictured at left. Mule fans brought 300 mules with them to the event in 2011. Last year, 227 contestants joined in fun competitions such as mule polo (shown on the cover), team penning and roping, musical tires, mule jumps and a mule parade. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve witnessed two participants barrel race while hanging onto pantyhose as they race R atop their mules around the arena in one of the many mule competitions. Another popular event that brings a lot of laughs is the “Dotty Parton” race, which involves water-filled balloons, very large pieces of a certain undergarment and mules ridden by both women and men as they race down the arena without busting anything. Want more laughs? Don’t miss the costume contest, where both the mules and contestants wear silly costumes and compete for a trophy. Last year’s winners won with a Hawaiian theme, while previous entrants have gone with Beverly Hillbilly’s attire or Little Bo Peep and her sheep outfit. This September marks the 27th year for the festival. For more detailed information about the event, log on to www.clarkcountymulefestival.com or contact Mike Schantz at 660-866-2330 or Becki Krueger at 660-727-3295. Cover and photo at left by Heather Berry. To order a print of photo at left, go to www.ruralmissouriprints.com. SEPTEMBER 2012 3 http://www.clarkcountymulefestival.com http://www.ruralmissouriprints.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - September 2012

Rural Missouri - September 2012
Table of Contents
Comments
Columns
Where the wild things are
Hit the trail
Outdoors
Plowing forward with a new tradition
Out of the Way Eats
Devastating drought
Hearth and Home
Closing the gateway
Marketplace
Around Missouri
A man & his monsters
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - September 2012