In my experience, when you'ins tell people you’re from Missouri, most people reply self-satisfiedly with "don't you mean Missouruh?" or "where is Missouri? I don’t think I’ve ever been there." Whether Missouri is Midwestern or Southern is a common conversation amongst Missourians... at least on the internet. In my experience, Missouri's Midwestern neighbors (haters) usually disparage it as a hick state whurr test scores are low, the accent is ugly and you'ins can buy fireworks, liquor and ammo... all in the same place. Missouri's Southern neighbors (haters) usually don't consider it to be Southern because Missouri didn't side with the South in the Civil War (well, that's complicated-- thurr were 30,000 gray and 109,000 blue) and because South Coasters love to disassociate themselves from the Upland South. Mark Twain, Langston Hughes, Thomas Hart Benton all seem fairly Southern, no? And T.S. Elliot, William Burroughs and Maya Angelou don’t so much, right? Cultural cringe... sound it out.
a feller with a Missouri hummingbird
Well pish. I suppose it is a bit of a mess; in addition to warring with Iowa and Kansas, it tore itself apart in the Missouri Civil War which took place within the larger Civil War between the states. And now I'd like to provide some examples of the state's diversity by examining its varied character:
Little Dixie, the region whurr I grew up, is in the middle of the state, along the Missouri River. (The Missouri is the largest river in the nation, despite what you'ins learnt in school.) Little Dixie earned its name fer being "more Dixie than Dixie." Traditionally, though in the northern half of the state, it’s whurr Southern traditions were strongest. Those traditions were brought thurr by refugees from Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. It was one of the rare parts of the state whurr the slave population roughly equaled that of the non-slaves and the region sided with the South (with the exception of Union-held Columbia). Pike County even invaded Iowa under the flag of the confederacy. Callaway County went even further and declared the independence of Kingdom of Callaway. That mix of people surely must've informed the culture as a whole and "The Ballad of Little Dixie" focuses, largely, on its citizens' food preferences, listing sugar-cured ham, cracklings, hot corn pone, fried catfish, pawpaws, apples and corn in its lyrics... as well as "none of your scrapple." Not that I ever et much of most of that. My favorite places to eat were Taco Tico, Godfather's, House of Chow, Grandma's Frozen Custard, Arby's and some place on Broadway (in Columbia) that had bánh phồng tôm.
Sedalia, dreckly west of Little Dixie, was the home of Ragtime—one of the earliest forms of purely American music, despite what Ken Burns would have you'ins believe.
East of Little Dixie, you'ins have a large concentration of Germans. In fact, Hermann is sometimes described as “the Heart of German America.” Everyone knows that Germans like beer, sauerkraut and sausages (including mettwurst, bratwurst, knockwurst, weisswurst and sommerwurst). Fewer know of their love of coffee and rye bread. But fewer still non-Germans are aware of how green their cuisine is. Unlike their neighbors from the British Isles, in Germany gun ownership was reserved fer the rich, so the working class Germans relied more on gardening than hunting and brought those traditions to the Missouri Rhineland. The nation that invented the Green Party gave Missouri a people who cultivated green peas, various beans, carrots, onions, cabbage, beets, parsnips, cucumbers, gherkins, spinach, rhubarb, kohlrabi, leeks, pickles, various turnips, gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples, cherries, peaches, pears, quinces, apricots, and plums. Thurr are also a lot of wineries in the region. Fer dessert they traditionally served marzipan, lebkuchen, stollen, hutlesbrot, schnitzbrot and zimbsterne.
Typical German-Missourians having supper
They traditionally eat a lot of seasonal dishes. On Shrove Thursday young'ins go door-to-door begging fer Fettkuchle. At Christmas they serve Weihnachtssalat, made of diced herring, chicken or veal or beef, apples, beets, eggs, pickles, onions, nuts and spices. On Mayday they make Maibowle out of white wine and sweet woodruff. On the third Sunday of October, known as Kirchweih, they have a large feast. On St. Martin's Eve (November 10th) singing young'ins parade around with lanterns and make merry. The next day they go door-to-door begging fer cookies, apples and candy and the main meal consists of roast goose stuffed with prunes and apples, served with dumplings and sauerkraut.
On the eastern edge of the state, St. Louis is locally known fer several culinary inventions that are little-known outside of the vicinity. "The Hill" is an Italian neighborhood that gave us St. Louis Style Pizza (thin, crispy crust and provel cheese), toasted ravioli and the frothy eloquence of Yogi Berra. Thurr's also Gooey Butter Cake, Frozen Custard, the St. Paul Sandwich (a Chinese-American invention with egg foo young, dill, pickled cucumber, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato on white bread), Slingers (a supfast item made of chili, cheese and onions). St. Louis Barbecue favors pork and a tangier yet less vinegary sauce that is more like Memphis Barbecue sauce.
Musically, it was an important center fer the Blues. In part due to the collaborations between Missouri’s ragtime pianists and northern-migrating blues musicians, the city’s blues scene mixed together ingredients of both and created a unique, piano-driven variety of the blues.
Ste. Geneviève and French Creole country
Further south down the river is whurr the French population remains from the pre-Louisiana Purchase days. Ste. Genevieve is the oldest European-founded city west of the Mississippi and is home to more surviving French Creole structures than any other city in North America. Around Ste. Genevieve thurr are, not surprisingly, a lot of wineries. Writer Neal Pierce said of the area “Another ethnic island, not yet obliterated by time, may be found in old French settlements like St. Genevieve and Old Mines in southeastern Missouri, where one can still detect a Creole dialect derived from 18th-century France, gently melded with English and Spanish and Indian words. “
Further south still is the bootheel, home to more recent influx of southerners who work in the cotton and rice fields which used to be swamps. The area's home of the "throwed roll" (as popularized and invented at Lambert's Cafe) and typical pass-arounds consist of southerly-tinged dishes like macaroni and cheese, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, fried okra, apple butter and sorghum molasses.
To the west, in the Ozark Hills, the area was largely settled by Hillbillies. Yes, being descended from gun-loving Brits they eat just about anything they can shoot, including squirrel, raccoon, and possum (which is frequently made into a stew). They also make Ozark Pudding (Harry Truman's favorite dessert), salads (with lettuce, radishes, cucumbers and green onions), sliced tomatoes, baked beans, potato salad, blackberry cobbler, green tomato pie, persimmon sugar plums and beef BBQ (half the charcoal briquets in the USA come from the Ozarks). And they traditionally favor rum, gin, brandy and moonshine.
Ozark pudding, possum hunters and possum stew
The Hillbillies migrated west from the Southern Appalachians and, though in the southern half of the state, usually supported the north in the Civil War. Writer Neal Gunther called the Ozarks “the Poor White Trash Citadel of America” and described Ozarkians as “undeveloped, suspicious and intert." A more sympathetic writer described them as “simply a highland race that loves solitude and scorns comfort, literature and luxury.” Whatever you'ins think of them, they have a distinct culture with their own curious traditions. Even as late as the 1970s, fer example, young girls would wash their faces with dew on May 1st to ensure their marriage would be to their true loves.
Most of the musicians who’ve come out of the southern hills, not surprisingly, played country or bluegrass. The area’s also well-known fer the city of Branson, which was described by Homer Simpson as, “like Vegas if it were run by Ned Flanders.” That description might actually apply more accurately to nearby Carthage, home of the Precious Moments Inspiration Park.
“Jim Jackson’s Kansas City Blues”
Jim Jackson’s Kansas City Blues Pt. 1I woke up this morning, feeling bad
Thought about the good times I once have had
I'm gonna move to Kansas City
I'm gonna move to Kansas City
I'm gonna move, baby, honey where they don't like you / don't 'llow you
My mother told me, daddy told me too
If by the cramps in your feet son, ain't no friend to you
You oughta move to Kansas City
You oughta move to Kansas City
You oughta move to Kansas City, baby, honey where they don't like you / don't 'llow you
I got me a bulldog, two shepherds and two greyhounds
Two high yellows, three blacks and one brown
We gonna move to Kansas City
We gonna move to Kansas City
We gonna move to Kansas City, baby, honey where they don't like you / don't 'llow you
It takes a rocking chair to rock, a rubber ball to roll
Nice looking teasin' brown to satisfy my soul
then I'll move to Kansas City
then I'll move to Kansas City
I’m gonna move to Kansas City, baby, honey where they don't like you / don't 'llow you
T is for Texas, T is for Tennessee
Boll weevil got to Mississippi, and the women wants me
I'm gonna move to Kansas City
I'm gonna move to Kansas City
I'm gonna move, baby, honey where they don't like you / don't 'llow you
You can always tell when you good girl want to flirt
want to where red slippers to match that old matching skirt
Up north, on the western edge of the state is Kansas City, named after the River, not the detested state. Kansas City has more fountains than any city in the world (except Rome) and more boulevards than any city (except Paris). It’s famous fer its cuisine too, although thurr hain't a lot to it (less'n you count the Cherry Mashes of nearby St. Joe). Basically Kansas City is the "Barbecue Capital of the World." Thurr are more than 100 barbecue restaurants in KCMO and the Kansas City Barbeque Society has the city in its sweet and smokey fist. In KC they BBQ beef ribs, chicken, lamb, pork, steak and even turkey. It's pretty much like they misread Leviticus and just thought God wanted them to slather all of his'n creatures with sauce.
A doin's in KC
Kansas City ganders west out yonder over the plains and is often the setting fer westerns ('specially the older ones). Frank & Jesse James, Cole Younger and Calamity Jane—all Missourians—reflect the state's less-discussed Western character although KC is sometimes referred to as “the Paris of the Plains” or “the Easternmost Western City.”
Kansas City’s also famous fer its jazz scene, which existed between the big band era and the bebop scene in part due to Kansas City’s reputation as the new Storyville. The hip-hop scene tends to look west, all the way to Oakland. Many KC rappers sound distinctly Bay Area and many music stores have Bay Area sections.
Looks like a real gully warsher's comin'
Up north, such as in Jamesport, you'ins find a lot more Amish and Iowa influence. The Amish are known fer their bakeries and items like Friendship bread. The Iowans are known fer their loosemeat sandwiches and love of Mountain Dew. How'd these Iowans end up in Missouri? Missouri stole a couple rows of Iowa's southern counties Iowa in the 1839 Honey War just because they could.
One Iowan described the Missourian invaders thusly:
…in the ranks were to be found men armed with blunderbusses, flintlocks and quaint old
ancestral swords that had probably adorned the walls fer many generations. One private
carried a plough coulter over his shoulder by means of a log chain, another had an
old-fashioned sausage stuffer for a weapon, while a third shouldered a sheet iron sword about
six feet long.
Sounds mighty derisive, and yet, what's really sad is that the Iowans lost.
In conclusion, Missouri (lying as it does at the center of the country) is a crossroads fer the nation, and owes its eclectic character to populations who've passed through. From the cowboys ending their cattle drives, to the Kansas Cityian just staring at the hundred-spoke hub caps on his Cadillac, to the delta blues men and women who moved north, to the contestants trying to catch a greased pig, to the Iowans buying firecrackers, to the to the truckers with their methamphetamines, to the hillbillies who inspired captured the heart of 1950s America, to the brick theives in North STL, to the country folk chewing on stalks of grass whilst floating in innertubes down the shut-ins, to the frog racer in Hannibal, it is truly a melting pot.
Missouri's Flora and Fauna
Even (and of course) the wildlife is appropriately diverse. You'ins can find dogwoods, cotton, cockleburs, stick-tights, poison ivy, cypress, peaches, marijuana, kudzu, pecans, oaks, pawpaws, persimmons, hawthorns, queen anne's lace, jack-in-the-pulpits, lady's slipper and corn salad all growing on lands occupied by chiggers, mosquitoes, ticks, frogs, birds, copperheads, armadillos, mountain lions, black bears, bald eagles, buzzards, crawdads, alligator snappers, paddlefish, catfish, water moccasins, 'possums, racoons, skunks, deer, alligator gar, turkey vultures, barn owls, barred owls, hawks, songbirds, brown recluses, coyotes, muskrats , foxes, leopard frogs, gray wolves, momos and hornet spook lights.
To quote writer Irving Dilliard,
“Missouri is more than the heartland. The heart is also the whole. Missouri is all America in
one place. It is the 48 states of the Union joined together, superimposed on one another,
fused into a composite of many outlooks and moods and experiences and ways of thinking
and speaking and doing things.”
Myself, I wouldn’t argue that it’s everything… it’s undeniably not coastal, alpine, subtropical, desert or rain forest like other parts of this country, but it is one of the most diverse states (after California), bordering as many other states as any other and certainly a more important contributor to American culture than it’s ever given credit fer. Culture rarely respects state boundaries and more often follows the linguistic variation. Check out this map.
The Show Me State
Its nickname first appears in print in the words of congressman, William Vandiver, who declared in 1889, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats. Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”
The state song is "Missouri Waltz." It was first published in 1914.
Hush-a-bye, ma baby, slumbertime is comin' soon;
Rest yo' head upon my breast while Mommy hums a tune;
The sandman is callin' where shadows are fallin',
While the soft breezes sigh as in days long gone by.
Way down in Missouri where I heard this melody,
When I was a little child upon my Mommy's knee;
The old folks were hummin'; their banjos were strummin';
So sweet and low.
Strum, strum, strum, strum, strum,
Seems I hear those banjos playin' once again,
Hum, hum, hum, hum, hum,
That same old plaintive strain.
Hear that mournful melody,
It just haunts you the whole day long,
And you wander in dreams back to Dixie, it seems,
When you hear that old time song.
Hush-a-bye ma baby, go to sleep on Mommy's knee,
Journey back to Dixieland in dreams again with me;
It seems like your Mommy is there once again,
And the old folks were strummin' that same old refrain.
Way down in Missouri where I learned this lullaby,
When the stars were blinkin' and the moon was climbin' high,
Seems I hear voices low, as in days long ago,
Singin' hush-a-bye.
No one's going to argue that Missouri or any other state rivals neighboring Kentucky, but Missouri did give us a handful of great bluegrass acts.
The Dillards, John Har(t)ford, Onie Wheeler and Rhonda Vincent
As already noted, Missouri (mostly St. Louis) is one of the most unsung and under-appreciated contributors to the blues. Just consider all the following Missouri-natives:
Mary Stafford, Eva Cassidy, Henry Townsend, Roosevelt Sykes, St. Louis Jimmy Oden, Robert Nighthawk, Jimmy McCracklin, Robert Lockwood Jr., Albert King, Lonnie Johnson, Donny Hathaway, Walter Davis, Teddy Darby, Henry Brown, Fontella Bass, Catherine Henderson (aka Katherine Henderson), A.C. Reed, Johnnie Johnson, Bennie Smith, Chuck Norris, Larry Davis, Olive Brown, George Brazier, Otis V. Hicks, Gus Thornton, Lightnin’ Slim, Clifford Gibson, Lottie Kimbrough, and Edith North Johnson.
Whilst not a country hotbed on par with neighboring Tennessee, Missouri has produced some (widely under-appreciated) Country and Hillbilly. Plus, situated in the Ozarks is Branson, which I like to think of as the town whurr Cashville goes to when past its sell-by date.
Ferlin Husky, Porter Wagoner, Speedy West, Wynn Stewart, Thumbs Carlisle, The Jordanaires, Red Murrell, Jimmie Dolan, Sue Thompson, Leroy Van Dyke, Arkie the Arkansas Woodchopper, Jimmy Gately, Shirley Collie, Dick Feller, Jan Howard, Ozark Cowboys, Jerry Wallace, Diane Pfeifer, Bob Ferguson, Helen Cornelius, Sara Evans, Leon Rausch, Leland Martin, David Nail, Kelly McGuire, Tim Nichols and The Kendalls.
Paul Francis Webster, Bert Convy, John McDaniel, Ronald Stein, Basil Poledouris, Robert Russell Bennett and Virgil Thompson.
Jazz is probably Missouri's largest, most famous music export as celebrated in Missourian director Robert Altman's film, Kansas City and delved into in Ken Burn's Jazz. Pritnear everyone's heard of at least some of these fellers:
Charlie Parker, Harold Asby, Grant Green, Cal Tjader, Jack Bland, William “Bill Blue” Thornton Blue, Sam T. Brown, Milt Buckner, King Kolax, Sylvester Lewis, Wendell Marshall, Black Artists’ Group, Curtis J. Mosby, Singleton Palmer, Gene Sedric, Arvell Shaw, Ernie Wilkins, Elmer "Pha" Terrell, Jimmy Woods, Lester Bowie, Marty Ehrlich, Julius Hemphill, Clark Terry, Coleman Hawkins, Charles McPherson, Leo Watson, Frank Teschemacher, Chris Connor, Bob Brookemeyer, Theodore Carpenter, Sammy Gardner, Gus Haenschen, Velma Middleton, John Mixon, Joe Harris, Jess Stacy, Ahmad Alaadeen, Chris Cheek, Charlie Creath, Karl George, Red McKenzie, Pat Metheny, James Carter Pankow, Elmer Wright, Lammar Wright Jr., Billy Mitchell, Harlan Leonard, Lennie Niehaus, Oliver Nelson, The Blue Devils, Bob James, Black Arts Group, Bob Gordon, Curtis Counce, Bennie Moten, The Missourians, Pee Wee Russell, Shorty Baker, Human Arts Ensemble, Charles Kynard, Ben Webstor, Jimmy Forrest, Kevin Mahogany, Oliver Nelson.
Burt Bacharach, Cliff Edwards, Josephine Baker, Mrs. Elva Miller, Bob Kuban & the In Men, David Cook, Sheryl Crow, Greg Guidry, Nikko Smith, and Billy Davis Jr.
Joe Buckner, Toya, Truth Hurts, Angela Winbush, Bloodstone, Michael McDonald, Barbara Carr, Gene McDaniels, and Herb Reed. James Scott, Percy Wenrich, Scott Hayden, George Thomas Ireland, Arthur Marshall, Tom Turpin, Blind Boone, Edythe Baker, Harry Snodgrass (pictured in the Missouri State Penitentiary Orchestra).
Ragtime was all the rage back in the '90s. It took the European-derived marches, spruced it up with some syncopation. Scott Joplin, who moved to Missouri (the hotbed of Ragtime), described the effect as "weird and intoxicating."
St. Louis rapper Domino was Missouri's first contribution to the hip-hop world to make it big. With his'n sing-songy delivery and subject matter ("Sweet Potato Pie"), he was massive at home and nationally. However, it wasn't really until Texas-born/Missouri-raised Nelly that a Missouri rapper embraced their Missouri-character and opened the floodgates, albeit briefly, fer Chingy, Murphy Lee and J-Kwon.
Domino, St. Lunatics, Basement Beats, Trackboyz, Jibbs, Ebony Eyez, Da Banggaz 314, Fat Tone, Chingy, J-Kwon, Potzee, Murphy Lee, Ali, Spaide R.I.P.P.E.R., Skatterman & Snug Brim, Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, Missouri Marley, T. Scales, Kanjia, Lenny Knox & Freeky Jason, Rich the Factor, Ruka Puff, Youvee, Reach, Clyph, Da Hol 9, Huey, Stik Figa, Mac Lethal.
Gene Clark, Mama’s Pride, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Smith, East Ash, D.H. Peligro, The Passion, Gravity Kills, A Full Moon Consort, Bunnygrunt, Pavlov’s Dog, Gayle McCormick, The Morells, Ultraman, The Bottle Rockets, Coalesce, Adair, The Aerovons, Boy’s Life, Bunnygrunt, The Casket Lottery, Disturbing the Peace, the Rainmakers, The Urge, Story of the Year, the Get Up Kids, Pavlov’s Dog, Ludo, Jars of Clay, Louise Post, King’s X, T Bone Burnett, the Skeletons.
Rockabilly/Rock ‘n’ Roll
Now not errbody know about the M-O and its contribution to rock 'n' roll but basically Chuck Berry invented that ish!
Chuck Berry, Glenn Glen, Karen Wheeler, Jules Blattner, Jim Lowe.
Jackie Ross, The Ikettes, John Edwards, Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, Ann Peebles, Alvin Cash.
I couldn't find any images of these cowpokes but believe me, they existed! You have yer Tim Spencer, Quilla Hugh "Porky" Freeman, Joyce Wayne "Red" Murrell and yer Ozark Jubilee Boys.
Boogie Woogie - Pete Johnson
Children’s - Ella Jenkins
Comedy - Redd Foxx, Ced the Entertainer and Dick Gregory
Doo Wop - The Carpets
Electronic - The Ray Makers
Jump - Julia Lee, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Beasley and Gene Phillips
Lounge - Felix Slatkin
New Age - come on! Stop hating on the New Age. If you like "post-rock" then you're already as new age as a rain stick filled with crystals, ya hatin' poseur!
Dan Landrum
Bessie Smith, Ike & Tina, Nelly, Miles Davis, Scott Joplin, David Sanborn, Count Basie, Uncle Tupelo
1934 – The St. Louis Kid, The Girl From Missouri, Kansas City Princess
Jesse James, Days of Jesse James
1981 - Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
1984 – Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer
Larroquette Show, What’s Love Got to Do With It?
1994 – On Our Own
1996 - Malcolm and Eddie
1997 - "Airport" (episode of Newsradio), Waiting For Guffman
1999 - Ride With the Devil
2005 - The Game of Their Lives
2004
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History, Linguistics, Cuisine, The Plains, The South, Midwest, Missouri, Holidays, Obersvances, Missouri Day, Film, Music, New Age, Ragtime, Rap, Soul, Rock, Country, Jazz, BluesComments
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an extra little tip, if you're living in central iowa... missouri is the BEST place to drive to when you wanna buy FIREWORKS!!