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Darkow Draws: Potholes

Historical Remodel: Renovating a 90-Year-Old Bathroom

She was stressed, and I knew why. Cheryl wanted to redo our master bath. I had promised her that once we stabilized the foundation in our house — soon to celebrate its 90th birthday — we would tear into the bathroom, a process I welcomed like a colonoscopy. But the most important room in the […]

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A New View: Cutest Pets Photoshoot

Assignment: Cutest Pets Photoshoot The Location: The L.G. Patterson Studios Comments: Coach Norm Stewart famously said, “If you find a turtle on a fence post, you can bet your butt he didn’t get there by himself.” I was reminded of his quote when I was photographing Morty the turtle for our Cutest Pets feature. Coach […]

Darkow Draws: New Year

newview

A New View: Penny

Photo by L.G. Patterson While enjoying a beautiful day downtown, I thought it was my lucky day while jaywalking across Cherry Street. I looked down and saw a penny in the middle of the street. I know most people wouldn’t waste time to stop and bend over to pick up a penny. It’s pretty much […]

george washington carver

Get to Know George Washington Carver on the Road

It’s a peaceful spot, tucked into the beauty of the Missouri Botanical Gardens. George Washington Carver would approve of the Carver Garden, while gently reminding us of his simple prescription for healthy plants. It’s understandable that in America’s fast-food appetite for history, we know little more than peanuts about George Washington Carver. In too many […]

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Celebrating a Century: Columbia Business Stands the Test of Time

How many businesses make it to 100 years old? According to a 2021 online article published by Family Capital, approximately 1,000 businesses, or less than one-half of 1% of all businesses in the United States have survived more than 100 years. In Columbia, Booches comes to mind. And up on Broadway, a 150th birthday bash […]

Lily pads

A New View: Lily Pads

Assignment: Family Farm Visit The Location: Rural Shelby County My family owns a small chunk of land near Shelbyville, Missouri. I grew up hunting, fishing and cutting a lot of wood on that land. It’s very scenic with big old oak and walnut trees that speckle the rolling hills of tall grass. I’ve spent many days sitting […]

Darkow Draws: Roll Carts

Bees in Boone County

A New View: Bees

Assignment: Fiddle & Stone Bakery The Location: Rural Boone County I had a nice surprise while photographing Chris Foley making bread in his wood-fired oven near a garden in rural Boone County. There was an active hive of bees nearby. When I was growing up, my dad raised a few hives of honeybees in the woods behind […]

Hartsburg Hitching Post

Post Up: Fun Times at the Hartsburg Hitching Post

She was voted least likely to ever tend bar, according to her obituary. Not so fast. If you live to be 102, you can pack in a lot of living. Margaret Moyer left this world a year ago. She was a mother, nurse, U.S. Navy veteran and, yes, a bartender. When Margaret and Richard Moyer […]

Darkow Draws: Tailgating

Roaming

A New View: Roaming

Assignment: Roaming The Location: Shelbyville, Missouri My family owns some farmland just outside of Shelbyville. We use the land for hunting and fishing, and usually harvest hay on a big chunk of the property. This year, we decided not to harvest hay and instead let nature do what she wants with the land. So when I stopped […]

Melody Parry

Sweet Melody: A Legacy That Hits All The Right Notes

Photo by L.G. Patterson  Good fences. Good neighbors. Melody and Fred Parry have been our neighbors for four decades. We first became neighbors when they moved into a house across the street from my wife and I. Immediately, Melody arranged to build a white picket fence. I don’t think she did it to keep us out. […]

Darkow Draws: Youthful Energy

Flower arranging

A New View: Flower Arranging

Assignment: Flower Arranging The Location: Columbia Area Career Center While working on my University of Missouri class schedule my junior year, the late great Walter Johnson insisted that I take two specific classes offered by the university. The first was Shakespeare. I took his advice, and it surprised me how much I enjoyed reading Shakespeare’s […]

junk

Finding the Difference Between Relics and Rubbish

It’s a good bet you have a place in your house for storage, where you keep things you haven’t used in many years.It could be in your garage or your basement, maybe a back room or a shed.Mixed into the stacks and piles are items that have fallen from everyday use: the old dining room […]

Darkow Draws: Easter Eggs

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A New View: Cutest Pets Contest Winners

Assignment: Cutest Pets Contest winners The Location: Zimmer Communications Photographing animals can be easy, fun and challenging. For this issue of Inside Columbia magazine, I got the opportunity to take photos of a cat (easy), two dogs (fun) and a ferret (challenging). Surprisingly, the cat was mellow and regal. She sat on her perch watching […]

Exotic pets - bird

Beauty and the Beasts: A Look at Interesting Exotic Pets

Elsewhere on these pages you will find the winners of Inside Columbia’s Cutest Pet Contest. It’s a fun contest, filled with lots of dogs mugging for the camera and cats posing as, well, cats. But as we all know, even before the cutest pet takes the podium and wears the sash, the cutest pet is […]