St. Joseph

      When I first received the guidelines for this project, I thought it sounded easy and fun.  As it turns out, it was fun but not so easy.  I had thought I would just walk around my neighborhood and take some pictures for the layout.  The weather here has been somewhat dismal, so I soon became uninspired.

      After talking with my husband, who is interested in photography too, we decided it would be a shame to pass up the chance to show off some of the beautiful historic architecture and sights of this old cow town to folks who might never have been here (or who might want to visit sometime).

     Probably the event for which St. Joseph is the most famous is the Pony Express.  Starting here, mail was delivered by horseback to Sacramento.  We included the statue, the museum, and the locomotive (which replaced the Pony Express).  There is a yearly reenactment to commemorate that part of America's history.

     Another event which is preserved here is the shooting of Jesse James in the back of the head while he was adjusting a picture on the wall.  I included a picture of the house where it took place, even though it seems out of place with the other shots.  It isn't attractive, just historical.

     The downtown area of St. Joseph is covered with beautiful, massive, ornate churches.  The one which is probably the favorite of the locals is Twin Spires Catholic.  It no longer houses a congregation, but special events such as weddings are often held there.  We didn't try to capture the spectacular stained glass of the churches, but my husband has a collection of pictures he took from inside several of them (they were on display at a local art gallery).  If none of our challenges fit, I may just post them for your viewing pleasure.

     The other area we chose to include was Hall Street.  This is the street where all the VERY wealthy lived about a hundred years ago.  Some of these mansions are still private homes, some are open for the touring public, and one is a bed & breakfast (Shakespeare Chateau).  I have attended meetings, parties, and even a scrapbook retreat there.  

     We have lived here thirty years and dearly love it.  Many refer to it as "a big little town."  It has a small town atmosphere with many things a city has to offer.  Our population is about 75,000.  We are the home of the Cherry Mash, Mead (school tablets), Stetson Hats, Jane Wyman (Ronald Reagan's first wife) and Walter Cronkite.  Kansas City is just 30 minutes away.

     Sooooo, if you are ever driving or visiting in this area of northwest Missouri, please stop in St. Joseph and take in some very interesting history.  Seriously, I don't work for the Chamber of Commerce--I just love our town!

     I used dark brown grid paper for the layout.  I didn't use squares (just vertical cuts) of the focal point pictures.  I didn't think they would lend themselves to squares, so to fill in around the main pictures, I cut one inch squares of architectural parts of other structures.