Sandy's Blog
I’ve
been the editor-in-chief of Inside Columbia
magazine since it launched in April 2005. It’s the city
magazine of Columbia, Mo., and in the seven years of its
existence, it has grown from a 72-page magazine with 12,000
monthly readers to a 200-page magazine that reaches 61,000.
In 2009, it spawned two ancillary publications: Prime (for
active, affluent baby boomers) and CEO (for
mid-Missouri business owners and managers).I
work with some of the most talented, dedicated people I’ve
ever known, and together we have produced award-winning
magazines that hold their own against any city/regional
publications in the country. It’s a dream job, but it’s
also a big job — too big.
In March, I’m starting a stress-reduction plan, which means handing Inside Columbia to an energetic new editor. I can’t make myself go cold-turkey, though, so I’m hanging on to the two ancillary publications and I’m going to manage Inside Columbia’s fancy-schmancy new website, which we’ll be launching on March 9. I’ll fill the leftover hours with some freelance web management, design and editing work.
On the face of it, it doesn’t seem like I’m taking much off my plate, but here’s the best part: I’ll be working from home four days a week. I have a comfortable home office and it’s a fine place to work on a cold day, but starting with that first warm spring day, I’ll be setting up shop on the cozy chaise in the corner of my wraparound porch. I’ve always had enough self-discipline to be productive at home so I’m not worried I’ll succumb to the siren song of long lemonade breaks and afternoon naps, but it will be nice to look up and see a neighbor strolling by and to be available for Switzler House guests who want to check in a bit early.
For me, it’s the best kind of change — one that doesn’t require me to turn in my press credentials, but still allows me to spend my days in the village I love. Now that’s a dream job.
P.S. I’m reviewing proofs of
my new book — Images
of America: Arrow Rock — this weekend. It’s
on track for a May 7 release date, but is available for
pre-order at Amazon.com.
In With The Old
Here we are on Dec. 31, the day when
just about everyone takes a look back at what they’ve
accomplished over the past year and commits to some
big changes for the next. For me, 2011 was certainly a
year worth remembering. It was the year Marty and I
went into business as B&B hosts, the year our
beloved St. Louis Cardinals clinched an improbable
World Series championship on the same night as our
Spirits, Shadows & Secrets event (we added
frequent score updates to our ghost hunting
adventures), and the year I wrote a book I never
expected to write.
The book, part of Arcadia
Publishing’s Images of America Series, became an
80-day adventure that I will never forget. I was approached
by the publisher in late summer and given the green light to
proceed with the project on Sept. 1. The book contains 207
photographs, many of which have never been seen before
except in family albums, that trace the history of Arrow
Rock from the late 19th through the early 21st
century. Before the project began, I felt confident in my knowledge of Arrow Rock history. At the project’s conclusion, after I had spent all those weeks researching so many aspects of this fascinating place, and writing 18,000 words worth of captions, I feel confident I don’t know much at all. Arrow Rock is an amazing place with historical depth that is truly astounding. I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to document even a small part of that.
But the best part of the project for me was how the community responded. Many of the photographs I used came from the archives of the Friends of Arrow Rock and the Arrow Rock State Historic Site, but plenty came from personal collections. One person after another entrusted me with their precious family photos, and I was awed by their kindness. Thanks to their generosity, readers will come to understand that this community is so much more than restored buildings and lovely museums. It is a family.
The book will come out during the week of May 7. It will be available here in Arrow Rock, online at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, and, of course, to our guests at the Switzler House.
Speaking of the Switzler House, I couldn’t be more pleased about our first year in the hospitality business. Each and every guest felt like a new friend and all treated this historic little cottage with such respect. We hope to see a lot of familiar faces come back for a stay, and can’t wait to introduce the Switzler House and this very special village to some first-time visitors in 2012.
Marty and I make a great team because between the two of us, we know a little about a whole lot of stuff. Admittedly, one big gap in our collective knowledge was the ins and outs of running a B&B. Since we were essentially starting from zero, we put this whole venture together based on the answer to one question: what would we want if we were guests at The Switzler House.
We
spent months creating a place that matched our personal
vision and then opened the doors to guests who (hopefully)
didn’t realize they were being hosted by rank amateurs.
Dreams often fade in the harsh light of reality, but I’m happy to say that in the case of The Switzler House, the reality so far has surpassed the dream. Our guests have all been delightful people who seem to appreciate the privacy and charm of this historic home. The arrival of each new guest is a fresh opportunity for us to create special memories by providing them with unexpectedly fine accommodations in our unpretentious little house. I can’t imagine ever getting tired of that.
Maybe
the biggest surprise for me is that despite my already
busy life and career, I don’t mind the extra work
innkeeping takes. The baking and the laundry and the
cleaning have actually been enjoyable — not the drudgery I
was prepared to endure. In fact, those conversation-filled
evenings Marty and I spend cleaning the cottage have
become a welcome break from our summertime rut of computer
work and baseball on TV.
We’ve been given a rare gift: a reality that exceeds our greatest expectations. We won’t take that for granted.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
- I would fail Hotel Bedmaking 101 if the final was a timed test. I iron the sheets and fuss and fluff and can spend an hour or more in my effort to make a beautiful bed. Fortunately, I’m not nearly so persnickety when it comes to making my own bed every morning so I do manage to get to work on time.
- We created three little monsters by indulging the neighbor cats with treats during the months we were prepping the cottage. We assumed the kitties would be too shy to visit strangers, but it turns out we set a standard all human visitors to the Switzler House are expected to follow. Beginning in our second week of business, we started including a bag of cat treats in the guests’ welcome basket. Fortunately, our kind-hearted guests have been willing to pass out treats to these furry mooches.
- You can make wonderful iced tea with a Keurig coffeemaker. Maybe that’s why I’m enjoying housekeeping duty so much!
- I love the music of a ringing phone. When every call could be a potential guest and a future friend, it’s all the more reason to answer the call with a smile in my voice.
Seven months ago when Marty and I decided to transform our former weekend home into a B&B, we had a vision of how it would look and feel to guests when they walked in for the first time. Back in October, the house held only a smattering of furniture and the cabinets were bare. If we were going to transform the cottage to match the ambitious dreams we had for it, we had a lot of work to do.
Marty has always said
that the universe sends you messages. When something isn’t
right, those messages come in the way of obstacles and
subliminal alarms that go off as you head down the wrong
path. If that’s the case, this venture is absolutely,
positively right. Th
ings came
together in such an effortless way. If we needed to fill a
space, we’d stumble upon the perfect piece of furniture
or, better yet, discover the answer in something we
already owned.
Yesterday,
as we awaited the arrival of our open house guests, we
took a few minutes to look around at what we had done and
were pleased to see the reality of what we had created
exceeded our vision.
It’s a warm and welcoming cottage — exactly the kind of
place we would want to stay if we were traveling. But no
matter how much thought and care goes into a home’s décor
and amenities, it’s just a lovely, lifeless place until it
is filled with the laughter of friends. That was the
finishing touch we needed.
We didn’t smash a bottle of champagne against the wall but we christened The Switzler House Guest Cottage all the same by telling stories, sharing memories and raising a toast to a new chapter in the story of this old house.
A Love Letter
Arrow Rock slumbers in the winter. Many of our shops are
shuttered, our restaurants take a break and Main Street
may not see a car for hours at a time. For our residents
and merchants, winter is a time to rest up from the busy
tourist season gone by and gear up for the one to come.
Yet even when the pace here slows to a crawl, one door
stays open to welcome visitors and townspeople alike. It’s
where we go to catch up on the news, greet our neighbors …
and pick up our mail. It’s our post office, and now it’s
in jeopardy.
The United States Postal
Service isn’t willing to get specific yet, but they are
saying that small post offices like the one in Arrow Rock
are on the budgetary chopping block. If a USPS bureaucrat
decides to close the Arrow Rock Post Office, I hope he
does so fully aware that whatever infinitesimal savings he
might reap from one tiny post office’s demise will cost
Arrow Rock a big piece of its heart.
We have often referred to
Postmaster Tempe McGlaughlin as the concierge of Arrow
Rock. She’s a friendly face and a font of information for
our visitors. Sure, she can figure up how much it’ll cost
to ship that birthday gift (overnight!) to your mom, but
she does so much more than that. She is therapist and
peacemaker, wise mother and free spirit. I don’t know what
we would do without her constant, reassuring presence on
the boardwalk.
Most folks in this country get
their mail delivered to a soulless box at the curb. If
they step foot in the post office, it’s to mail Christmas
packages or get an April 15 postmark on their tax return.
They wouldn’t understand that the “inconvenience” of
walking to the post office to pick up the mail is, for
Arrow Rockers, a highlight of the day. They don’t use
their post office bulletin board to tack up thank-you
cards and birthday party invitations. They’ve never ripped
open a package at the counter to show their postmaster
what they found on eBay. And they probably won’t
understand why the citizens of an itty-bitty Missouri town
are ready to fight like crazy to keep their post office
open.
Today is
the 200th birthday of Arrow Rock’s most famous
citizen, the prolific
painter and outspoken politician George Caleb Bingham. On
a recent trip to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas
City, Marty and I saw some of Bingham’s paintings up
close. Among those on display was Canvassing
For A Vote, a colorful and message-laden work set
right here in Arrow Rock on the steps of the Tavern.
Like so
many of Bingham’s paintings, this one seems to glow from
within. He is considered a master of a style known as
luminism. I, on the other hand, am a master of the
painting style known as awkwardism.
I’m not
an artist. My painting is limited to the kind done with
rollers and sash brushes. I’m quick and efficient and I
generally get the paint where it belongs without a lot of
mishaps, yet I can’t accomplish even the most minor
painting project without getting paint on my hands,
clothing, or as was the case today, my elbow.
I
decided to write this blog about paint colors before I
ever started today’s painting project – a bit of touch-up
on the Switzler House sign. Perhaps it’s ironic that I’m
extolling the virtue of color while dotted with white
matte exterior, but yesterday I was struck again by how
much color affects our perception, whether it’s delicately
applied to a piece of art or rolled across a wall.
Last
night I got my first glimpse of the J. Huston Tavern since
it was taken over by new management. A few weeks ago, the
new management team, along with the crew from the Arrow
Rock State Historic Site, put a fresh coat of paint on the
walls. The color is just a little warmer, a little
creamier than the stark white it replaced, yet the change
was dramatic. It wasn’t how the rooms looked that was so
striking — it was how the rooms felt.
I
remember the first time we ever walked into the Switzler
House. The walls were (and still are!) a soft, buttercream
color. Although we’d gotten braver with paint color
choices over the years, we never would have thought of
painting walls in that golden, candlelit shade, yet I
think the color contributes to the immediate sense of
comfort people feel when they cross the threshold. We
loved the color so much that we brought it with us when we
moved to our bigger, full-time home here in Arrow Rock; it
now warms up the walls in our library and dining room.
Bingham taught the world a lesson about the interplay of light and color and even though I’ll never create art in the same way he did, I can wield a paintbrush in my own way to create a little luminism.
60
Years Ago In Arrow Rock
It’s difficult to imagine Arrow Rock as anything other than the pristine, plucked-from-the-past village it is today Did time simply stop here in the 1800s?
Marty recently came across a compelling piece of evidence that time did indeed take a heavy toll on Arrow Rock. It is a letter written by a bank inspector on Feb. 14, 1951, but it's hardly a valentine. The inspector was looking over the home we now know as the Miller-Bradford House to determine its worth and worthiness of financing.
The location of the property is very good — for Arrow Rock. However, Arrow Rock has the appearance of a deserted village and exists largely by reason of Arrow Rock State Park and the Old Tavern there, which is furnished with antiques and curiosities representing early day history. … Under most favorable conditions, there would be practically no market for such a property in Arrow Rock, and I feel safe in saying it would be difficult to sell the property as it stands for $2,000.
If not for the perseverance of some stubborn — some might have said crazy —visionaries, Arrow Rock could have decayed into oblivion like so many other small Missouri towns. In the 1950s, the popular sentiment was to tear down the old and outdated to make room for the new and modern. A few, but very few, people bucked that trend and thanks to those restoration rebels, the Miller-Bradford House and the other historic homes of Arrow Rock survived to delight future generations.
When we stand on the front porch of our Main Street home, we look across the street and see the stately Miller-Bradford House. It has special meaning to us as the owners of the Switzler House, which at one time was a home for the Bradford servants. The Miller-Bradford house is more than just a textbook example of Greek Revival architecture, more than just the crown jewel in the Friends of Arrow Rock’s property holdings. It’s a symbol of what is possible when dreamers imagine a better future, then roll up their sleeves and take action.
In my
world of 28 years ago, GCB stood for General Classroom
Building, a soulless rectangle on the Mizzou campus where
I made a miserable attempt to hablo Espanõl.
Today, with the trauma of Spanish 101 far behind me,
the GCB in my life is George Caleb Bingham: painter,
politician, 200-year-old Arrow Rock icon.
Tomorrow brings the first in a series of special events that will celebrate GCB’s 200th birthday. Mike Dickey, the administrator of Arrow Rock’s state historic site, will give a lecture about Bingham and the Civil War. I always enjoy hearing Mike talk about Arrow Rock history. He wrote the book on it … all 299 pages … and I always leave his presentations with a renewed appreciation for this village and the men and women who walked these streets generations before I came along.
Among
the farmers and merchants, slaves and slaveholders,
pioneers and politicians of the mid-1800s lived the
greatest Arrow Rocker of all: George Caleb Bingham. He was
an extraordinary painter and that alone cemented his place
in history, but he wasn’t one-dimensional. He was a
political force and a man of tremendous influence. His
paintings often doubled as political commentaries. But
long after those political messages have lost their
meaning, his paintings endure as beautifully rendered
depictions of 19th century life in this
thriving Missouri River town.
At the
end of this year of continuing education, I will finally
be able to call myself a GCB scholar. My Spanish
professor would be so proud.
Jan. 1, 2011 ... This is going to be a
great year … I just know it. I’m even tempted to break my
own rule about exclamation point moderation because I’m so
optimistic about 2011. Oh, what the heck.
Happy New Year!!!
Marty and I have always had an affinity for the number 11 and have been known to call each other at 11:11 just because it’s 11:11. So needless to say, we were pretty excited to crack open the new calendar this morning.
January is a quiet month in Arrow Rock, relatively speaking. Aside from a First Saturday Lecture on the 8th (which is, technically, the second Saturday but “The First Non-Holiday Saturday Lecture Series” would be a cumbersome title), there’s not much happening around here. At least not much that can be seen. It’s actually a busy month for the event coordinators, the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre staff, the merchants and everyone else here in town who is counting the days until spring arrives and brings with it the return of the tourists.
I’m certainly making good use of my January. Today, I put the finishing touches on the new website I built for the Friends of Arrow Rock (www.friendsar.org) and updated the events calendar on the village website. Marty and I will be putting in a lot of hours over at the Switzler House to achieve our goal of creating a “Little Four Seasons on the Prairie.” I’m thinking of throwing my hat into the ring for town board, which is as far as my political ambitions will ever go. And I’ll start off my work year by interviewing candidates to be my new assistant at Inside Columbia. As editors go, I’m pretty easygoing — not exactly a Devil Wears Prada boss — but I had a mind-reader of an assistant who is heading to graduate school and her replacement has a lot to live up to.
I know there will be stressful times, unexpected challenges and the occasional disagreement in the 365 days ahead, but I have a really good feeling about 2011. This is our year and it’s going to be amazing.
Oh,
Little Town Of Arrow RockDec. 25, 2010 ... I've always found Arrow Rock to be a magical sort of place, but a snowy Christmas Eve in Arrow Rock can make you feel like you've walked into a Norman Rockwell painting.
Snow fell most of the day in big, heavy flakes that clung to every tree limb and leaf. It was warm enough to get out and a lot of us did just that. There was a three-person line at the window when we went to pick up our mail, which was two people deeper than usual at our little post office. No one was in a hurry to leave, though -- it was nice to hear about everyone's holiday plans and get caught up on village news. There's such warmth in this community, even on a chilly winter day. It's the rare sort of place where people ask "How are you?" and really want to know.
Marty and I host the family gathering every Christmas Eve. It's a flurry of stocking unstuffing and gift unwrapping. We feast on our favorite foods -- in fact, the kids forbid me to change the menu. Then the kids take their gifts and goodies and we're left with a depleted tree, a messy house and some very nice memories of another Christmas Eve with the kids.
For years, the evening has always ended with me playing a Christmas Eve service at the Methodist church in Columbia where I served as organist for 26 years. I retired from that job earlier this year and was going to miss taking part in that wonderful late-night service. When I asked if the Arrow Rock Federated Church had an 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service, I was disappointed to find out it did not.
But God bless Kathy Borgman, a Lutheran deaconess, a member the Federated congregation, executive director of the Friends of Arrow Rock and the conscience of this community. She made an 11 p.m. service happen. I worked with her to put together a festival of lessons and carols. She handled the lessons, I took care of the carols and we had ourselves a service.
The Bible promises that whenever two or more gathered in His name, God will be there too. I thought we might be putting that to the test. Would it just be the four of us ... God, Kathy, Marty and me? That would have been fine but lo and behold people started coming through the church doors shortly before 11. In the end, we had a couple dozen of our dear friends and neighbors gathered to celebrate the reason for the season on a snowy and holy night. As we concluded the service in a church lit only by the candles we held, singing a spontaneously harmonized, a capella version of Silent Night, I knew God had accepted our invitation.
Ghostly Whispers
Dec. 17, 2010 ... I became a journalist because I'm naturally curious. It would be arrogant to assume I understand everything about everything, so while I'm no pushover -- I'm from Missouri and you have to Show Me -- I'm open-minded. It was with an open mind that I let the Sedalia Ghost Hunters bring their meters and recorders into the Switzler House for an investigation during the 2010 Spirits, Shadows & Secrets event.
I attended the event as its director, a volunteer position I take very seriously, but I have to admit the giddy fun I had that evening during the ghost hunt rivals any thrill ride I've ever been on. Groups of eight ticketholders moved from room to room in the darkened Switzler House, watching for lights to flash on something called a K-II meter and listening for knocks or disembodied voices. I never felt frightened, perhaps because there is safety in numbers but probably because I have always felt a spirit of welcome in that house. I figure if there are ghosts there, they are the kindly kind.
The K-II meter, which senses the kind of electrical field an entity might create, flashed often enough during the evening to keep us all interested. The third group that came through got the biggest bang for their ticket bucks when an unattended flashlight came on at the request of the paranormal investigator.
Last weekend, team members from the Sedalia Ghost Hunters returned to Arrow Rock to play the EVPs, or electronic voice phenomena, they picked up on their digital recorder that evening. You can check the recordings out for yourself here.
After hearing the EVPs, I'm still not entirely convinced I'm hearing ghostly voices, but you know what? It's kind of fun believing in ghosts, at least for one night in October.
Keeping House
Dec. 1, 2010 ... It was during the Heritage Craft Festival in 2005 when we decided to buy the Switzler House, and it was during the Heritage Craft Festival in 2010 when we decided to keep it.
By the time we became Arrow Rock property owners in 2005, we were already well acquainted with the community. We had been visiting with increasing frequency for several years but we wanted a more permanent spot and figured a weekend home would be the answer. It was love at first sight when we walked into the Switzler House and it was our weekend escape for nearly four years. The only problem was, weekends just weren't enough for us. In 2009, we bought a lovely old home on Main Street and made Arrow Rock our permanent address, fully intending to sell our weekend home.
Fate and the economy had other plans. Just as we were ready to sell, the market for second homes fell apart. After months and months of trying to sell, Marty and I had a conversation we probably should have had earlier. As we strolled down the streets of Arrow Rock on Craft Festival Sunday, enjoying again the event that had such significance five years ago, we realized neither of us really wanted to part with our charming little cottage.
So here we are, on the verge of a new chapter of our lives as innkeepers of The Switzler House Guest Cottage. It's the perfect solution for people like us who want to sell their home and keep it, too.
