Missouri

In college, I remember having a debate in the History of the American West class about where the “Real West” began.

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“Where farming stops and ranching begins.”

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“Where people start wearing cowboy boots.”

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“West of the Missouri River.”

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“Isn’t there an arch that signifies ‘the beginning of the West?’”

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Yes, there is such an arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

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St. Louis is an interesting city…it is like it does not know whether it is a part of the Midwest, Upper South, or West…maybe it belongs to them all.

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What is ground beef made with reddish orange sauce and served in a bun? Sloppy Joe? Tavern? How about a BBQ? Where I grew up, we call it a BBQ.

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I walked into a restaurant in the historic riverfront area of St. Louis and thought the special of the day looked good.

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“I’ll have the open-faced BBQ special, please.”

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“What? We don’t have that.”

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“Oh…I thought it was the special today.”

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“We have an open-faced sloppy joe…”

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I am not sure why, but I have visited the Battle of Athens State Historic Site, located in extreme northeast Missouri, twice in my life. It was the most northerly American Civil War battle fought west of the Mississippi River. The battlefield location is small, quiet, and eerily peaceful. The most interesting fact I learned while I was there is that some of the cannonballs shot during the battle landed across the river in Iowa.

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