Perry County Missouri Republic Monitor
Published onFriday, December 13, 2002 12:00 AM CST
Correspondents help 'keep communities alive'
Republic-Monitor Community Correspondent Mary Jane Buchheit (right) stopped for lunch Friday at Bill's Place in Biehle, where she visited with owner Bill Hotop. Buchheit has written a weekly column about Apple Creek, Biehle, and Friedheim for The Republic-Monitor for nearly two years. (staff photo by Kate Martin)
by Kate Martin, The Republic-Monitor
Mary Jane Buchheit has spent so much of her life traveling "up and down the creek," it's only natural that she write about it.
"That's my theme in my newspaper column each week," said Mary Jane, who writes the Apple Creek/Biehle news for The Republic-Monitor. She has been a Community Correspondent for about two years, when she joined four other county residents who share news including Flora Wunderlich of Altenburg/Frohna, Alice Bert of Sereno, Ruth Ann Dodds of Yount/Whitewater, and Laura Corse of Crosstown. The columns appear each Thursday on the Neighbors page.
"I spent 67 of my 68 years here," Mary Jane said. "I love these little communities and I'm glad I can bring our news to the whole county."
Mary Jane raised her six children in Old Appleton and in the St. Joseph Catholic Parish. Her son Nick is in the auto body business in St. Louis. Russ works with Richard Petty's truck racing division in North Carolina, and Todd is a Navy flight engineer in Brunswick, ME. Daughter Sherry Stark of Perryville works at Miraculous Medal and does freelance digital photography and graphic design. Leslie French works at McDowell Ford in Perryville, and Renee Doza works at TG-Missouri. Daughter Janice Winkler died in an automobile accident.
She has 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. "And I have another on the way," she said.
Mary Jane spent Friday morning making her round of Apple Creek, Biehle, and Friedheim.
"Those are the villages that lie along Apple Creek," she said, "so those are the three that I write about. The folks from those communities are like an extended family, with ties going back years and years, so it works out well. Reading about them in the paper kind of keeps the communities alive for people.
"I usually go up the creek one week and down the creek the other," Mary Jane laughed. "This week I'm starting at Old Appleton and heading up Highway 61 to Apple Creek.
"St. Joseph's Catholic Church and school are very active," she said. "I volunteer here at church for things like seasonal decorating and the annual parish picnic. I run into a lot of people at church events and sometimes pass on their news if they don't mind."
Mary Jane travels a few miles down Highway F to Highway B and pulls into the lot at St. Maurus Catholic Church in Biehle.
"I love this little town," she said. "Our two parishes share a priest, so when Father (Mark) Bozada isn't saying Mass at St. Joseph, we all attend church here at St. Maurus. I worked at Rudy Buchheit's store years ago, and I still love the way the store has the false front that makes it look like a little town. I used to decorate that second-story porch with a Santa waving at everyone."
Mary Jane stops for lunch at Bill's Place in Biehle, where "the best fish on earth" is served.
"It really is the best," she said. "Bill does something with it to give it a little bit of Cajun flavor. Mmm-Mmmm."
After lunch, she stops at the counter to visit with Bill himself and chats with the other customers.
"This is a family place, so I usually end up jotting down a few notes here that might end up in this week's column," she said.
Back on the road, Mary Jane continues south on Highway B, passing JoAnn's Greenhouse and turns onto Highway KK.
"This is all on the other side -- or Cape County -- side of the creek, but the scenery out here is just as beautiful," she said. "The town of Friedheim has two beautiful little churches, Trinity Lutheran and Friedheim Methodist. I know a lot of folks who live out this way, and it seems like the Friedheim area is really starting to grow again. There are lots of new homes."
Throughout the drive, Mary Jane, an artist, is noting the beauty of the snowy landscape.
"I love to write about the changing seasons and the breathtaking scenery we enjoy in this neck of the woods," she said. "I notice everything -- the different trees, the brooks, the animals, the flowers. I even love the weeds which are so beautiful in their own way.
"I'll be able to describe this drive in my n
ext column."
Mary Jane said it only takes about 20 minutes to actually write her column each week.
"I jot notes all week to remind myself of events or news items that people have shared," she said. "But when I actually sit down to write, I decide which way I'm going on the creek, and it comes together very quickly."
Mary Jane said she's loved the response to her column.
"I'll be out places and people stop me and tell me how much they enjoyed my column that week," she said. "That's so gratifying. People around here like to see our community in the paper.
"I spend a lot of my time talking about nature and the things happening around here, so it helps people who've moved away feel close to home, too."
Bert reminds readers of days gone by
Alice Bert of Sereno said she mostly writes about her family.
"So often people tell me happy news that I'd love to share and then say 'Oh, I don't think that's news' or 'I don't want that in the paper,'" Alice said.
"That's so frustrating because I love to share happy news like awards the children receive or give updates on our young people who go to college or families from the area who have moved away."
Alice joined The Republic-Monitor's cast of correspondents about five years ago at the request of former Features Editor Cecilia Fallert.
"Cecilia called me because she wanted to see more of the small communities in the paper," Alice said. "I thought I'd give it a try since I already had newspaper experience -- I used to be the reporter for our 4-H club. I've been doing it ever since."
Alice and her husband John have lived in Sereno since they moved into their home Jan. 20, 1950.
"We built a new home and moved in with our new baby," said Alice, who raised six children in Sereno. "All our kids went to the old Sereno School, which is now ABC Pet Grooming." John and Alice have six grandchildren.
The couple belongs to Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church.
"We built a new church a couple of years ago and we're all well-pleased with it," Alice said. "In our old church, we had to go outside after Mass to visit. Now we have a nice vestibule which is wonderful when you have company from out of town and they want to visit with folks after church."
Alice, who is originally from Florida, met John during World War II.
"He was in the Army," she said. "We married in 1945 in Columbus, MS and after the war ended, John brought me home in October.
"I remember going to the Belgique Tavern to welcome the boys home from war. Now they are all dispersed around the country and it's nice to remember them sometimes in my column because so many older people know who I'm writing about."
Alice keeps a tablet of paper nearby and frequently jots notes about Sereno happenings.
"John and I see people when we're out at the doctor's office or the store and they give me snippets of news that I write down so I don't have to try to remember it on Sunday, which is when I put my column together each week. I start at 2 p.m. and am usually finished by 4 p.m."
Some of Alice's favorite columns feature folks who no longer live in Sereno.
"Mrs. Brewer calls me from San Antonio," she said, "and I always pass on her news because so many people here remember her. Her brother lives in North Carolina and also takes the paper and likes to read what's happening with her in Texas."
Dodds enjoys sense of history
Ruth Ann Dodds, who writes the Whitewater/Yount area has been a correspondent for about four years.
"So many people tell me they read my column each week," she said. "I've even considered not writing it and people say 'Oh, please don't stop. It keeps me up with my neighbors.'
"Lots of historians and people interested in genealogy also clip and save the correspondents' columns each week, so I'm very careful to explain the relationships of different people in my column."
Ruth Ann, who suffers from emphysema, said the responsibility of writing a weekly column helps her stay in touch with her community.
"I can't do as much for our community as I would like," she said, "and I don't get around as much. But knowing I have to put m
y column together makes me take time to call around to my neighbors each week.
"I know they're supposed to call me with the news, but life is so busy now people forget so I'll call and they're glad I did."
Ruth Ann sends her columns to the newspaper via email.
"Oh, it might take me a couple of hours to go through my notes and write that week's news," she said. "But it's something I enjoy doing."
She and her husband Roger moved to Thompson's Hollow in 1980.
"My family settled here in 1857 before the Homestead Act of 1865," she said. "My father's grandfather got the land grant.
"I lived here 12 years and moved away, then Roger fell in love with the area and we moved back. My homeplace, which my dad built, became a Century Farm in 2000. You have to have 150 years of farming on the land to be a Century Farm."
Ruth Ann said that she knows that her column is taking its place in Perry County's history.
"I know how much we enjoy reading the '20 and 40 Years Ago' and 'Way Back When' articles each week, and people 100 years from now will also enjoy that," she said. "They'll get a chance to see what daily life was like for people in Thompson Hollow, Whitewater Yount, Yount, and Corman Hollow."
Wunderlich long-running
Flora Wunderlich of Altenburg is currently the longest-running correspondent. She writes about Altenburg and Frohna each week.
"I have no idea when I started," she said, "but it's been years and years now."
Flora said she enjoys hearing from readers.
"Oh yes, I hear from them and not just from around here," she said. "I hear from a lot of people who used to live in Altenburg and now live in different places.
"They really can't wait for me to write the Altenburg and Frohna news," she said. "It's their way of staying in touch with their home."
Flora said she calls around for news, but also receives calls about news and corresponds with several people who provide information.
"That's one of my favorite parts of being a correspondent," she said. "I like to find out what's going on in the territory and visiting with the people who are telling me what's going on."
Special features of Flora's columns include updates on natives who have moved away and the church news and calendar.
"People like to see those each week," said Flora, a lifelong resident of Altenburg.
She has one daughter, Cheryl Heck, who lives in Texas. Her sons James and Carey live in Jackson and son Duane lives in Altenburg.
Corse realizes everyday life can be news
Laura Corse has been writing the Crosstown news for at least 10 years. She also shares news from Menfro, which no longer has its own correspondent.
"I do get lots of comments about my column from people around town," she said. "But I was surprised to learn just how important the Neighbors page is to out-of-town people. I've had so many people who have moved away tell me to keep writing because it's the only way they can keep up with their hometown; it's how they find out if people are still living and how they're doing.
"A lot of my childhood friends from St. Mary read the column each week and tell me how much they like it, too."
Laura said the most difficult part of writing a community news column is getting people to share their news.
"Everyone wants to tell you their news, but a lot of people don't want it in the newspaper," she said. "That's very frustrating when it's good news that you'd love to share."
She said she calls some friends regularly and others call her with news.
"There aren't many families left in Crosstown or Menfro," she said, "but we have three churches that remain active and I like to share their news when they pass it along."
Laura moved from Minnith to Crosstown when she married her husband Harold in 1959.
"My husband was from Menfro," she said, "so we settled here. My daughter Cynthia Alfaro lives just down the road from me. My daughter Linda Kiefer lives in Perryville, and my daughter Sandra Koenig lives in Florida." Laura has six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Laura said sometimes she feels like what she writes isn't "news."
"I don't think it's n
ews because I'm here and I know these things each day," she said. "Then I'll get a call from someone who was raised here who now lives out of state and they'll tell me how much they enjoyed reading what was happening in Crosstown.
"That's when I realize that everyday life really is news to someone."
Newspaper needs more 'Neighbors'
Perry County's community newspaper needs help bringing the news of each of the county's communities to its readers.
The Republic-Monitor is seeking new Community Correspondents to write weekly columns about their own communities.
Five "Neighbors" columns currently appear in each Thursday's issue. See related story. Correspondents include Flora Wunderlich of Altenburg/Frohna, Alice Bert of Sereno, Ruth Ann Dodds of Yount/Whitewater, Mary Jane Buchheit of Apple Creek/Biehle and Laura Corse of Crosstown.