1916 Bearcats Football Team

Posted on May 13, 2026 by roger

Colorized photo in the first Tower Yearbook (1917). This is also the first Bearcat team since football was discontinued after one season in 1908. That caption in the opposite order we expect today. The first row is the top row. The stylish stripes in various forms were part of the Bearcat uniforms into at least the 1930s. There are only 15 players to choose from! As the rosters grew, they moved away from group shots in later years. The team, which was 2-7, included losses to William Jewel 102-0 and Kirksville (Truman) 92-0.

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Aviation Club Forms 1940

Posted on May 12, 2026 by roger

The Maryville Aviation Club, formed in 1940 to make and fly model airplanes, had to split into two groups: junior and senior high school.  The above image is from a very poor-quality copy published by the Forum and is AI-generated and colorized.  The faces probably do not match reality.

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Original Munchkin Land Ponies and Carriage Parade to Tivoli Theatre for Wizard of Oz Screening 1939

Posted on May 12, 2026 by roger

On October 12, 1939, five Maryville area children dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz arrived at the art deco Oz-like Tivoli Theatre on a carriage pulled by two Shetland ponies that had actually been used in the movie in the scene where Dorothy rode out of Munchkin Land to begin her Yellow Brick Road journey.

The Tivoli had just opened 14 days earlier on August 28 after moving from its original location in the renovated Electric Theatre 110 E 3rd Street (site of Cobbler Corner today – the marquee is still there).

The parade to the theatre was part of an MGM promotion that went nationally where the ponies and carriage toured the country.

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Bob Bosch Present U.S. Capitol Flags Be Flown Over Washington and Eugene Field Schools 1974

Posted on May 11, 2026 by roger

BOB BOSCH (LEFT), a former Maryville R-II High and now assistant to Senator Thomas Eagleton, recently presented two American flags that have flown over the nation’s Capitol to Raymon Schuster (second from left), Washington Middle School principal; Mrs. Sharon Slagel, Washington-Eugene Field PTA president; and Dana Sharp, Eugene Field principal.  Each flag came with a letter certifying it had flown over the Capitol on a certain date. The flags will be flown in front of the two schools.  They are much larger than the flags normally flown there. (Heywood’s).

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5 Scouts Attending 1963 Jamboree in Greece

Posted on May 9, 2026 by roger

5 Maryville Scouts To World Jamboree

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All-State College Chorus and Band Featuring Mike Miller and Dennis Dau 1969

Posted on May 7, 2026 by roger

This is an unusual 1969 photo that shows of two people who are something of Maryville High School music legends — singer Mike Mike (Class of 1965) and Dennis Dau (Spoofhound band director 1979-1999).

Caption: Northwest State College students chosen as members of the Missouri All-College Band and Chorus gathered for a picture before leaving for St. Louis. Seated left to right in the first row are the Misses Linda Strain, Peggy Clausen, Connie Clara, and Diane Bergren. Second row, left to right, are the Misses Vickie Gillispie, Melody Price, Sherry Cook, Paula Florea, and Dianne Mannasmith; third row, left to right, Rick Ashby, Hugh Campbell, Dennis Dau, Jack Briggs; and fourth row, left to right, Ralph Taylor, Roscoe Porch, Mike Miller, and Gail Christiansen.

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Explaining Difference Between Stop and Yield 1964

Posted on May 6, 2026 by roger

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Alvin Gray and the Plainview Station

Posted on May 6, 2026 by roger

Gray’s Service Station and Plainview Cafe are among the most iconic experiences in Maryville.  The station dates from 1936, when Alvin Gray opened a small station where he lived above it.  He also sold apples.   It is located on the highest point of 71 for hundreds of miles (at 1,168 feet by my measurement based on topo maps — higher than the reported highest point on the Wabash between Council Bluffs and St. Louis at the Wilcox curve).

It has been hit by at least two tornadoes and was featured in a recent tornado-chaser video.  There have been 10-foot-high snow drifts by standing motorists.  Being the only place out of the middle of nowhere, it has had its share of tragic accidents.

The cafe still has the vintage charm of an old trucker diner.

On a personal note, I didn’t realize until writing this that I had delivered his Forum back in the 1960s when he lived on Sunset.  He was the nicest guy.  I couldn’t find adult pictures but I posted a picture of him at the Harmony school by Clearmont (he thought enough f the school to buy it and move it to Maryville although I’m not sure where it was or if it’s still around).

Here are some items about the station.  This is just the tip of what’s out there.

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Harry Shinabargar’s Cabin Near Hopkins (photo by Ron Houston) 1963

Posted on May 5, 2026 by roger

Here’s a colorful account of a log cabin built by Harry Shinabargar in 1931 near the Iowa border by Hopkins.  The photo was taken in 1963 by Ron Houston.  Shinabarger, who was associated with the Shinabarger store, raised thousands of turkeys and was an amateur artist.

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Open Bit Barbecue for 800 at Atlasta Stables During Pickering Centennial 1971

Posted on May 5, 2026 by roger

There are lots of very cool photos of the Pickering Centennial in 1971. This open-pit BBQ really caught my eye. I don’t recall any other public open pit bbq’s in Nodaway in my day. I generated several colorized images of this. The GPT-2 generation, which is good at avoiding repeated facial distortion, distorted the tall man’s face. The Nano Banana generation (which usually makes much more pleasing images but changes lots of things) on the left removed the tall man’s beard as well as the beard on the man on the left (growing a beard was a nitfy component, almost a requirement for the Centennial — and was kind of controversial in the era because it was considered a bit hippieish).

Another thing that got messed up in the conversion is that the meat in the pit (and on the shovel) appears to be wrapped, and AI just converted it to coals.

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