I am a motorcoach…
. . . with three stories for you – those of a notorious louse, a celebrity criminal, and a cultivated dream. Of course, travel is story. Every road trip is its own story, part of a bigger story, and a journey of story discoveries. I sometimes wonder if my engineers had story collecting in mind when I was “on the drawing board.” Story is what my passengers and I share most in common; it is they who gather story gems I pass on to you. You’ll recognize the locations of these stories from travels reported last week.
Selfies
(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)
A surge in immigration ushered in “wine country” status not long after Missouri’s achievement of statehood in 1821. German immigrants in particular were drawn to the state’s climate and vast untapped resources. Early reports back to the homeland described an idyllic “New Rhineland” with wild grapevines heavily weighted with tasty fruit. Soon, German immigrants bearing old world vineyard clippings became established communities in the Missouri River valley. By the mid-1800s Missouri enjoyed growing prominence in the wine industry.
In the 1870s, while things were going well for Missouri vineyards, back in Europe a pestilential louse by the name of Phylloxera was decimating old world vineyards. Feasting especially upon French vineyards, it nearly caused the annihilation of the French wine industry. Missouri bug expert (entomologist), Charles Riley, identified that certain grape vines native to America were retardant to phylloxera. He recommended a solution: graft together the American and French rootstock. Millions of Missouri rootstock clippings were shipped to Europe and the solution saved the day. Today, elite wine products of prestigious French vineyards are enjoyed throughout the world. And few serving or consuming them know they are of Missouri roots (literally).
By the turn of the 20 th century Missouri’s prominence in the U.S. wine industry was second only to California. Prohibition dealt a severe but temporary blow, and Missouri’s wine industry began its rebound in the latter part of the century. Continuing a steady growth into the 21 st century, Missouri winegrowing is once again a thriving industry. Vats are processing award winning wines at over 125 wineries throughout the state (like this one at Van Till Family Farm Winery in Ray County).
MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .
JAMES’S BOND NEWS: Frank James, brother of Jesse James, was arrested in 1884 for participation in a train robbery along the Missouri Kansas Texas (MKT) Railroad. He was brought to Booneville – the county seat situated on the MKT – and booked into this jailhouse (“the Old Jail and Hanging Barn,” current office of the Friends of Historic Booneville). Sheriff John Rogers was so enamored with the celebrity of his prisoner he decided to take him out to dinner at The City Motel two blocks east of the jail. While at dinner, the sheriff introduced his guest to a group of Booneville businessmen, who evidently shared the sheriff’s awe of the famous catch. Pooling their resources, they posted bond on behalf of James. By the time the trial date arrived there remained no living witness to the robbery. Frank James was released, having never stayed a night in the Booneville jail.
NEWS OF A Winner: We have a contest winner! Sarah Gleeson of New Haven, Missouri is the winner of the first motorcoachblog.com contest, which did come down to a drawing due to a tie. No one was able to answer all questions correctly. The question everyone missed was from week one, which was: Where am I in the Scott Trade Center selfies in blogs 20 and 21? Everyone correctly identified my reflection in the glass doors behind the foreground statue (blog 21), but no one identified in the same selfie my reflection in the glass above the word Welcome (I warned it was tricky, if you recall). Congratulations Sarah! Enjoy your print of “Epic.”
(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)
California weary, the Van Till family made their way to Missouri, where they transplanted themselves along with generations of farming expertise. Here they’ve cultivated a dream. It has a name: Van Till Family Farm Winery. The dream became a beautiful place where farm-to-table is practiced to perfection and gezellig (heh sell ick – Dutch, meaning visceral hominess) is an old world tradition. Paired with award winning Van Till wines, delectable menu items are made of premium ingredients grown in the Van Till fields and greenhouses. Located at 13986 State Highway C in Rayville, Missouri, Van Till Family Farm Winery is a destination experience in the finest of Missouri wine growing tradition.
*This aerial photograph of Van Till Farm Winery, as well as the second and third selfies in the Selfies section above were compliments of Brian Van Till, an accomplished photographer equally skilled with control of his drone. (For anyone with need of those skills: brian.vantill@gmail.com)
Quote Of The Day samples
“Wine is sunlight, held together by water.” ― Galileo Galilei
“I have been hunted for twenty-one years. I have literally lived in the saddle. I have never known a day of perfect peace.” ― Frank James
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