Archive of month: October 2025

meet along the way: Laura Irvan

This story first published as “Survivor Stories: Surviving Breast Cancer” in the 2025 issue of Survivor Stories, inserted into the Southeast Missourian Oct. 9, 2025. While laying in bed one night reading at age 34, Laura Irvan felt a lump in her breast. Although she didn’t think much of it at the time, she called […]
6 days ago

meet along the way: Val Grant

This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Make Cornbread with Val Grant from Sikeston, Mo.” in the September 2024 issue of The Best Years.  Violet “Val” Grant grew up in a large family in Sikeston, Mo. Her mother, Hattie, birthed 18 children, with Grant coming close to the end at No. 16. Her dad […]
6 days ago

meet along the way: Jayne Ervan

This story was first published in the September 2024 issue of The Best Years. Jayne Ervin, owner of Jayson Jewelers, grew up in Cape Girardeau with a city grandmother and a country grandmother. She says her city grandmother, Grace Erlbacher Dace, was a classy lady, always well-dressed, with hair and nails to match. As a […]
6 days ago

meet along the way: Mary Rowe

This story was first published in the October 2025 issue of The Best Years as “Community Cookbook: Make pecan tassies and kolackys with Mary Rowe of Marble Hill, Mo.” Mary Rowe of Marble Hill, Mo., grew up the fourth child out of 10. Since her father was in the Navy, they often moved throughout the […]
3 weeks ago

meet along the way: Rhonda Weller-Stilson, MFA

This story was first published as “Faces of Southeast Missouri: Rhonda Weller-Stilson, MFA” in the September 2025 issue of The Best Years. Rhonda Weller-Stilson, MFA, first took the stage in the second grade when she played a fairy in a play at her public school in Cincinnati. She continued theater throughout high school and into […]
3 weeks ago