Archives of Community

meet along the way: Gracie Aguirre

By Jasmine Jones This story was first published in the September 2023 issue of The Best Years. Gracie Aguirre grew up in Durango, Mexico, where she says everyone knew everyone. As a child, Aguirre enjoyed “rolling all over town” on her bicycle and playing volleyball, but she spent most of her after-school hours working at […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Becky Brown

By Amanda Flinn This story was first published in the August 2023 issue of “The Best Years” as “Faces of Southeast Missouri: Becky Brown.” Becky Brown grew up on her family’s farm near Olive Branch, Ill. While the farm harvested wheat, corn and soybeans, her grandfather’s garden was her personal favorite. As he walked through […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Shirley K. Davis

This story was originally published as “The Pie Angel: Local woman blesses people with homemade food and hospitality” in the May 2023 issue of The Best Years. It seems everyone who knows Shirley K. Davis has a story about the ways the “Pie Angel” has touched their life. For example, she cooked for disaster relief […]
1 year ago

meet along the way: Taffy McMullin

By Jasmine Jones This story was originally published as “Community Cookbook: Barbecue Brisket, by Taffy McMullin from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Cape Girardeau” in the May 2023 issue of The Best Years. Taffy McMullin grew up on a farm between Sikeston, Mo., and Dexter, Mo., with her mother, father and 14 […]
1 year ago

Home is a Purple School Bus: Local couple embraces tiny living

By Jasmine Jones When Kara and Evan Steffens drive by a schoolyard full of buses, Evan points at the rows of yellow and jokingly exclaims, “Look at all those houses!” It’s because the couple has transformed a 68-passenger school bus, which they bought in September 2020, into their full-time home. Many people said the couple […]
2 years ago

The People Who Know Our Names: Let’s get to know them.

On many Thursdays, members of the flourish crew go to Burrito-Ville for lunch. It’s a ritual we call Burrito-Ville Thursday, and amidst the orange, yellow and red-muralled walls, we break bread — or burritos and tortilla chips — together and find a sanctuary of friendship. There each week, we’re greeted by the people who work […]
2 years ago

Homage to the House Plant (and those who grow them): Abby Koch

I started collecting about five years ago, I think. At first, it was just for the aesthetic, but now, I think, it’s just really fun to see them grow, and they really reciprocate all the energy and time you put into them. It’s just a fun hobby. A lot of them I found when they’re […]
2 years ago