Archives of Community

Let’s Talk: Tameka Randle and Rachael Long, community strengthening

Tameka Randle and Rachael Long work together daily with residents of South Cape and other partners and volunteers to transform the South Cape neighborhood through education, housing and wellness initiatives, using the Purpose Built Community model. Tameka works as the executive director of People Organized to Revitalize Community Healing (PORCH) and serves on the Missouri […]
1 year ago

What’s in Your Bag?: Kayla Johnson, mom and registered dietitian

One can tell a lot about a person and their life by the items they carry with them: the stage of life they’re in, what they value, the belongings they consider necessities.  We wanted to get to know local women better through the contents of their bag. So, we invited them into our photography studio […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Ethel Priest

By Jasmine Jones This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Rosettes, by Ethel Priest from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson” in the February 2024 issue of The Best Years. Cooking has and always will be a big part of Ethel Priest’s life. She says she makes most of her food from scratch, because […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Carol and Tony Glueck

This story was first published in the September 2023 issue of The Best Years as “Racing Moto-Trials: Couple passes love for sport to son, grandchildren.” When Tony Glueck started riding moto-trials bikes in the late 1970s, he didn’t know he would pass on his interest in the sport not only to his son Joshua Glueck, […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Shirlee Wilson and Fred Jones

This story was first published in the Winter 2023 issue of mind + body as “‘Sugarhouse:’ Local couple creates feature-length film to share message of hope.” Wife and husband filmmakers Shirlee Wilson and Fred Jones of Jackson co-directed their first feature-length film “Sugarhouse” in Perry and Cape Girardeau Counties in Southeast Missouri, as well as […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Donna Gales

By Diane Beck This story was first published as “Faces of Southeast Missouri: Donna Gales” in the January 2024 issue of The Best Years. Donna Gales earned a degree in floral design from the American Institute of Floral Design and went on to become head spokesperson for the American Floral Society (AFS), traveling around the […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Sue Jones

This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Fruitcake Recipe, by Sue Jones from Jackson” in the December 2023 issue of The Best Years. By Jasmine Jones Sue Jones spent her childhood on a farm located off of Highway 72 in the Fruitland/Jackson area. Those years on the farm were full of wholesome adventures: Jones […]
1 year ago

Focus in the Moment: Self-defense with black belt Veronique Bayer

By Karey Schaitel When Veronique Bayer was 8 years old, she begged her parents to take her to the martial arts studio near their house. Her dad agreed to take her to taekwondo classes if she agreed not to quit until she received her black belt. “Eight-year-old me did not really understand what I was […]
1 year ago