It’s great that people take enough pride in their state to compare one to another. Some even take it to the extent of a rivalry. Take Missouri and Kansas.
Some years ago, it’s said the legislature in Missouri acceded to the plight of the state’s farmers who were having trouble with sunflowers springing up in their corn and wheat fields. Birds ate the sunflower seeds which, in turn, passed through their system as they flew over farmer’s fields. Then, new, huge sunflowers grew and contaminated those crops. Consequently, Missouri agreed to label sunflowers a “noxious weed” so farmers could eradicate them. Problem solved? Nope....
The Missouri politicos failed to remember the sunflower was the state flower of neighboring Kansas. When word got back, tempers in Kansas flared. The response was quick. Kansas senators submitted their own proposal to allow year-round hunting of the Bluebird – the state bird of Missouri. A compromise was eventually reached. Either way, both measures underscored the embrace people have for their state.
Missouri has a 200-year legacy of that pride. 2021 is the 200th anniversary of Missouri statehood. Actually, it dates earlier than 1821. It was the jumping off point for the Lewis and Clark Louisiana Purchase expedition 18 years before in 1803. Prior to that, St. Louis had been a pivotal frontier city for river traders and fur trappers.
When statehood was pending, in 1820, there was the famed “Missouri Compromise.” That’s when the Federal government got a little too involved in the state’s goings-ons. The legislation came about when Maine and Missouri were both set to enter the Union. To maintain a balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, Missouri was declared a slave state and Maine a free state. Curiously, most people in Missouri at the time did not own slaves and opposed the institution. Didn’t matter. It passed. Talk about Federal government overreach. That ended in 1865 with the Civil War.
During that war, Missouri had its share of battles. A goodly number of soldiers are buried there. Many homes and structures dating to and before the war still stand. Today, the state is so central it is “the population center of the United States.”
Much of the natural beauty of the state remains in its rolling Ozark hills and scenic waterways. Certainly, Mark Twain’s Mississippi River is prominent as is the legendary Missouri River which meets the Mississippi at St. Louis. The longest river in the US, the Missouri extends over 2,300 miles beginning in Bozeman, Montana.
Even more picturesque are the smaller rivers and streams that cover the state like veins sending lifeblood through its farms and communities. Years before white settlers came, Native American Indians relied on those waters for their existence. Later, the tributaries supplied power for grist mills. Today, they are flowing playgrounds for vacationers on float trips relaxing away days in canoes or on rafts.
The newest offering from the US Postal Service honoring Missouri’s 200th anniversary showcases an image of the historic Bollinger Mill and the iconic covered bridge. Both date to before the Civil War along the banks of the placid Whitewater River near Cape Girardeau in southern Missouri. It’s the ideal representation of the ageless scenes floaters still enjoy along Missouri’s rivers.
The 55-cent “Forever” First Class stamp goes on sale nationwide at post offices on August 10, at Missouri’s capital in Jefferson City. Special First Day of Issue cancels will be available at the ceremony and by mail.
The visual is a nice alternative to earlier stamps issued honoring the state. Those have shown typical images including the Mississippi River, a riverboat, a Thomas Hart Benton painting of settlers heading west and the majestic Gateway Arch – the tallest monument in the US.
Newspaper columnist Bill McClellan once pointed out the irony of the Arch known as the “Gateway to the West.” He noted Missouri has the only monument created honoring people who left.
Given all Missouri has to offer, and that the Arch stands on the extreme eastern edge of the state in St. Louis, perhaps it might be better known at the “Gateway to the Rest – of Missouri.” After all, there is clearly much to see and enjoy.
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