PERSHING STATE PARK (MO)



SUNDAY - Boy did I get into trouble for saying the reason we didn't have any travel day pictures for the previous post was because Tricia was too busy knitting the whole time because according to her there was nothing to see.

Well today she didn't knit a stitch, but she did manage to snap eight very boring photos of the country side we traveled though as if to prove her point.

I did find Photo #8 just "a little bit" interesting.

It reminds me of the opening scene from the 1980s TV series Dallas, where you see a long view of the driveway leading up to their Southfork ranch house.


A short time later we arrived at Pershing State Park here in Laclede, MO. which is the birthplace of John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", who was "General of the Armies of the United States" during World War I and the only soldier to ever hold that rank.

Pershing would later become a mentor to the generals of World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Lesley J. McNair, George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur.



MONDAY - Today we have some sightseeing to do here in Laclede and the nearby surrounding communities of Sumner and Meadville.

First up is visiting the boyhood home of General John J. Pershing in Laclede. You'll find it on the corner of Worlow Street and Pershing Drive. The entire block is now a State Historic Site that includes the boyhood home, a school and a church.

No tours were being offered during our visit...

...so we didn't have access to the home's interior.

The lot next door included a Memorial Garden...

...complete with a 10-foot tall bronze statue of "Black Jack" Pershing.


Next up on today's tour is a visit with Maxie, the World's Largest Goose. You'll need to travel to the small community of Sumner, MO which claims to be the "Wild Goose Capital of the World".

Sumner sits along a migration path that sees a large number (around 100,000) of wild geese land in the local lakes each year.


Our final stop for the day is another State Historic Site, the Locust Creek Covered Bridge.

"Locust Creek Covered Bridge was built in 1868 on a budget that amounts to a little over $100,000 present day. White pine and iron in a Howe-truss structure created the spot for fishermen and romantics.

John J. Pershing, a World War I general, visited the bridge often in his youth. Its interior is carved with initials and sweet nothings. According to local residents, the bridge was a place to profess your love. The romance of the Locust Creek Covered Bridge spun tales until it was bypassed in 1930, when the course of the creek changed after World War II. It then became a dry creek bridge, resting on nothing but mud and silt.

Luckily in 1968, the state of Missouri acquired the bridge and taxpayers funded the repairs, turning it into the state historic site it is today. In 1991, the bridge underwent another renovation, it was elevated six feet to keep the wooden floor off the creek bed." - Taken from Atlas Obscura website

Today you'll have to park you car and walk the ¼-mile to the bridge's original location.


Next stop for us? Hannibal, MO! Does anyone know of someone famous who grew up there?
HINT: Maybe one of our older and more "well-read" followers will know the answer.




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