Our Missouri Podcast

On June 14, 1933, Missouri State Highway Patrolman Ben Booth and Boone County Sheriff Roger Wilson were called to the intersection of Highway 40/Highway 63 in Columbia to set up a roadblock due to a bank robbery. In Part 2, co-hosts Sean Rost and Kathleen Seale discuss how the roadblock altered the lives of all involved and left Missouri law enforcement agencies scrambling to find the occupants of a mysterious car.

Episode Image: Missouri State Highway Patrolman on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, ca. 1935 [Charles Trefts Photographs (P0034), SHSMO]

In 1933, a crime wave gripped many parts of the United States, including Missouri. During this 4-part summer series, co-hosts Sean Rost and Kathleen Seale examine the history and legacy of the events of the Summer of 1933. In Part 1, Rost and Seale discuss the Barrow Gang and their travels through southwest Missouri during the 1930s.

Episode Image: Empire District Electric Company, Joplin, Missouri, date unknown [Whitaker Family Collection (SP0076), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Main Street, Joplin, Missouri, date unknown [Whitaker Family Collection (SP0076), SHSMO]

To conclude Season 5 and the series “African American Heritage in the Ozarks,” this episode features Christine Peoples, Timmons Hall Education Coordinator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, highlighting upcoming programs at Timmons Hall and the legacy of the History Keepers.

Episode Image: Timmons Hall, Springfield, Missouri, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

Banner Image: Alma Clay showing documents to Sean Rost, Haley Frizzle-Green, Christine Peoples, and Kathleen Seale, Springfield, Missouri, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

This episode is hot off the press! Join us as host Sean Rost discusses the contributors behind the community and society pages of newspapers such as the Kansas City Call, St. Louis Argus, Sedalia Conservator, Joplin-Springfield Uplift, and how they shared important updates on local affairs.

In this episode, Curtis Gregory, a park ranger for the National Park Service, discusses the activities and history of George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, and reflects on the life of George Washington Carver.

Episode Image: Statue of George Washington Carver as a young boy, Diamond, Missouri, 1960 [Gerald R. Massie Photographs (P0016), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Moses Carver Farm, Diamond, Missouri, date unknown [Whitaker Family Collection (SP0076), SHSMO]

In this episode, host Sean Rost looks back to Frederick Douglass' 1893 visit to Springfield, Missouri, and examines who Douglass was, why he came to Springfield, and what he advised Missourians to consider at the dawn of a new century.

Episode Image: College Street, Springfield, Missouri, date unknown [Arthur Richard Hill Photographs (SP0067), SHSMO]

This episode features Andrew Olden, a PhD candidate at the University of Missouri-Columbia and staff member for the African American Heritage in the Ozarks Project, discussing Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1743, an African American unit based at Washington State Park along the banks of the Big River near De Soto, Missouri, in the mid-1930s.

Episode Image: Thunderbird Lodge, Washington State Park, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

Banner Image: Washington State Park, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

This episode focuses on the life of Voda "Bea" Hardy Curtis, and documents the path of her family from slavery to suffrage. The episode also features audio clips from Voda Curtis' 1977 oral history (S0829) housed at the State Historical Society of Missouri's St. Louis Research Center, as well as final thoughts from past oral history interns–Cydney Smith, Cassie Draudt, and Keely Doll–who conducted research on Voda Curtis' life.

In this episode, host Sean Rost introduces listeners to the life and legacy of John A. Lankford. Born in Potosi, Missouri, in 1874, Lankford achieved immense fame as one of the most celebrated architects of his generation. Listen here to learn about Lankford's journey from Potosi to Washington D.C., along the banks of the Potomac River.

Episode Image: Forge Room at Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Missouri, ca. 1903 [Lincoln University Photographs (P1096), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Birds-eye view of Potosi, Missouri, date unknown [Missouri Postcard Collection (P0032), SHSMO]

In 2021, the State Historical Society of Missouri was awarded an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities and Missouri Humanities for a project titled “African American Heritage in the Ozarks.” Over fifteen months, staff at SHSMO identified and compiled an extensive list of primary and secondary sources related to African American life in the region, provided public programming in numerous Ozarks communities, developed physical and digital exhibits, and conducted more than two dozen oral histories preserving the voices and memories of the