Stories from Sunday, December 26, 2004

Carol Pierceall died on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004, at the Primrose Healthcare Center where she was a resident. At the time of her death she was with family members. She was born Nov. 29, 1934, the daughter of the late J.R. and Ethel Chambers of Hume. She attended Southwest Missouri State University and graduated from the St. ...

Beth Spencer, 94, Nevada, died Friday, Dec. 24, 2004, at Moore-Few Care Center, Nevada. Funeral services and family information will be announced later by Ferry Funeral Home.

Associated Press It was over in the blink of an eye. Getting swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox was something the St. Louis Cardinals will spend the winter trying to forget. ''I think what's going to gripe me the most is we got beat in four games,'' manager Tony La Russa said one mostly sleepless October night after the stunning end to one of the best seasons in franchise history. ''That wasn't us.''...

Although there are still a lot of hunting seasons open in Missouri including archery deer and turkey, rabbit and squirrel, quail and pheasant as well as waterfowl in some areas, there are places dotted all across the state that attract hunters this time of the year...

Only the most optimistic or foolhardy among us could have imagined prior to the start of this NFL season that the Chiefs would match their 2003 record of 13-3. Just as off base we might have thought of those who figured they would be out of the race at the half way mark...

Special to the Herald Ernest and Barbara Nikodim celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Dec. 19 at the Walker Community Building. The Nikodims were married Dec. 26, 1954, near Virgil City, Mo. At the anniversary reception, family and guests were served cake, punch and snacks. The Nikodims received many written memories from friends and family members...

Special to the Herald "He had been waiting for a girl like Connie to come into his life and Connie had been waiting for a guy like Doug to light up her life." These will be theme songs presented to each other at the wedding ceremony of Doug Meister and Connie Phipps on Saturday, June 25, 2005, at Oakton Methodist Church west of Lamar...

The past year has been filled with joy and tears, change and comforting traditions that have endured through many years. Through it all, the people of Vernon County reached out to one another -- to grieve together, to celebrate together, to honor the past and to dream of the future. Here, as the year comes to a close, we take a moment to look back at some of the events and people that shaped our community. In this edition are some of 2004's most vivid moments...

By Peter Kinder and Steve Ehlmann Scholars have often noted that one can't begin to understand historical voting patterns in Missouri without an understanding of the Civil War in our state. In Missouri, open warfare commenced not in 1861, but seven years earlier with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. An increasingly bloody war erupted between Missourians and Kansans over the issue of slavery...

Hi neighbors. MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you are all reading this over a cup of hot coffee and watching the children play with their new toys. I also hope they have toys you can actually watch them play with, or play with them. Many of today's toys seem to exclude the parents while isolating the young players in their room connected by wires to their television set or computer screen...