Hometown Matters

By Pauline Masson –  When the Thomas and Nancy Roberts family moved to rural Missouri in 1831 from Charlotte County Virginia, they brought along their slaves, including two small children, a boy named Joe and a girl named Nancy Lane.  Joe’s age at the time is uncertain but in a 1906 interview, he said he was “a very small child,” when he was brought to Virginia Mines.   Nancy Lane’s age is also uncertain but if she was 80 in … Continue reading “From Slavery to Local Prominence / One Family’s Place in Black History”

By Pauline Masson – City Building Commissioner Steve Brune has resigned his post, leaving a staggering gap in city services. Mr. Brune submitted his resignation and two weeks notice on February 4. His last day on the job will be Tuesday, February 18. The Building Commissioner’s action is required in every building improvement, and each stage of new home construction in subdivisions. The building commissioner is the fourth official to leave Pacific City Hall under the current board of aldermen, … Continue reading “Building Commissioner Resigns / the Fourth Pacific Official to Exit City Hall in Recent Months”

By Pauline Masson –  History has taken baseball for granted in the formation of the city, but no worries.  A few weeks run through old newspapers reveals 100 summers when weekly baseball games pulled the town together for an afternoon – and eventually an evening – of hometown oneness when everybody was rooting for the home team. Out of Pacific’s myriad baseball leagues from the late 1920s to 2025 came several minor league players, one major leaguer and one of … Continue reading “Amateur Baseball / 100 Summers When Everyone Was Rooting For the Home Team  “

By Pauline Masson – They did not consider themselves elderly 45 years ago when 14 Pacific families started an effort to build a nursing home that would provide extended care for the town’s ill, injured and senior citizens. The fact that some of them eventually came to need the facility they fought so hard to build seemed to make it all worthwhile. The late Joe Dailey was credited with the development of the nursing home, now Pacific Care Center (PCC). … Continue reading “How a Long Legal Battle that Reached the U.S. Supreme Court Landed a Nursing Home in Pacific”

By Pauline Masson – Score one for the history buffs. In local geologist and seasoned state parks tour guide Jo Schaper’s first meeting as a member of the City Tourism Commission she commented on a an agenda item that could promote Pacific as a destination. She said we should think about reviving the former annual Railroad Day celebration. It is unclear which city entity could approve reviving this annual festival but it is worth thinking about. For a dozen years … Continue reading “Railroad Day Revival Discussion Calls Up Memories of Decade of Rousing City Promotion “

By Pauline Masson-  When I called the Pacific Jaycees the guys in the white hats for their efforts to rescue the popular Halloween Spookfest that was running out of steam in 2009, they accepted the accolade in good humor by donning white cowboy hats when they delivered a check to the Chamber of Commerce to help fund the event. Good fun and Good works had been a trademark of the Pacific Jaycees from the beginning. Ever since they formed as … Continue reading “Pacific Junior Chamber of Commerce / 85 Years of Community Service and Fun, White Hats and All”

By Pauline Masson –  In October 2024, when the MVR-III school district announced its inaugural Pacific High School Hall of Fame the first name on the list of three inductees was David I. Hoven – a PHS alumn who does not fit the traditional definition of fame. The other two names on the inaugural list, George Hinkle Jr and Linda Wells, each has a history in a particular sport that gave them a more recognizable claim to fame.  George Hinkle … Continue reading “David I. Hoven: Plumber Who Captivated the City With a Love of Sports and a Winning Smile”

  By Pauline Masson –  When Scott and Kandi Wolf decided to turn the former Tom Wolf Hardware store at 410 East Osage into what they called an antique mall they started with a clean slate. They didn’t know what to expect. “It was all Kandi’s idea,” Scott Said. “She looked at the empty store and said, ‘Why don’t we,’ and I thought, yeah we can do this.” Tom Wolf, Scott’s father, built the 9,000 square foot building 45 years ago … Continue reading “Route 66 Goodies: Former Hardware Store Turned Memorabilia Mall Captures a Mixed Crowd”

By Pauline Masson – I once wrote an essay that said, “I always wanted to grow old gracefully.” I pictured myself in my seventies and eighties climbing Kilimanjaro, which seasoned mountain climbers say isn’t a real challenge like Everest, but is an easy walk in a good pair of shoes. Or, I would spend my days working in my garden, under a big hat, as Goethe, the German, poet, playwright, and statesman imagined for himself.  But its not working. I … Continue reading “Thoughts on Growing Old Gracefully”

By Pauline Masson – A tiny working Ferris Wheel – probably inspired by the 1904 World’s Fair – lured shoppers to gather on St. Louis Street and stare at the plate glass window in Alsobrook’s Drug Store in 1925, where it rotated round and round and flashed its Christmas lights through the holiday season. Bill Hirth, grandson of the man who crafted the two-foot tall wheel with ten passenger seats is dusts it off and turns it on every December … Continue reading “Snippets of Christmas in Pacific Past and Present”