Speaking of a Hidden Spot
Well, you found the secret spot in the Arcadia Valley [“Do It All, Plus Pickleball,” October 2025], one we enjoy visiting every time we visit family in the Arcadia Valley.
Pickle & Perk is a true diamond in the rough, and your article in Missouri Life will surely help increase traffic not only to the establishment, but also to the valley itself.
Keep up the good work. There are a lot of diamonds just like Pickle & Perk throughout the state (especially along US Highway 160), and they are all true Missouri gems … just sayin’.
— Tony Dolle, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
Adding More Context
“Shifting the Shape of Our State” [October 2025] by Ron Soodalter discusses the Platte Purchase in northwest Missouri. He writes “the Indian Removal Act, a draconian law that President Andrew Jackson had ramrodded through Congress in 1830.” The Smithsonian Magazine of 2018 has a broader perspective: “How Native American Slaveholders Complicate the Trail of Tears Narrative.”
“What you probably don’t picture are Cherokee slaveholders, foremost among them Cherokee chief John Ross. What you probably don’t picture are the numerous African-American slaves, Cherokee-owned, who made the brutal march themselves, or else were shipped en masse to what is now Oklahoma aboard cramped boats by their wealthy Indian masters. And what you may not know is that the federal policy of Indian removal, which ranged far beyond the Trail of Tears and the Cherokee, was not simply the vindictive scheme of Andrew Jackson, but rather a popularly endorsed, congressionally sanctioned campaign spanning the administrations of nine separate presidents.”
Rarely is history simple.
— Charles Shoup, Kansas City
Commending Columns
Danita Wood, I have read the latest Missouri Life and the articles that you and your husband, Greg Wood, wrote about your father and his cat [“The Gift of a Pet,” November/December 2025] and how there really is love at first sight [“Love at First Sight,” November/ December 2025].
I wanted to thank you for sharing these wonderful stories, especially about your father. My Dad had a cat, Peanuts, that would only be around when my Dad was and only let my Dad play with him. Love your magazine, and again, so appreciative of the two articles.
— Ron Franklin, St. Charles
Lorry, I cried a little, as usual, as I readyour story [“What You Best Day,” January 2026]. I love all of your stories. I’m a teacher, so I have seen kiddos with life situations that seem terribly unfair. I’ve tried to make their lives a little better. My husband died shortly before yours did. I have felt a close connection to you. Thank you for sharing.
— Joan Obermark, Washington, Missouri
These letters were originally printed in the March/April 2026 issue of Missouri Life.
