Before the first section of Interstate 70 opened in November 1956, U.S. 50 provided a route through Missouri from east to west. In the 1930s, it was a main artery through Missouri.
The Works Progress Administration guide to 1930s Missouri laid out 14 driving tours across Missouri based on themes or geographic locations. Driving tour No. 4 followed Missouri’s portion of historic U.S. 50, also known as the “Loneliest Road in America.”
The guide was part of an effort to get “creatives” — writers and artists — involved during the Great Depression while also making a push to document history and culture around the nation.
The 1930s version of U.S. 50 passed through a number of towns in central Missouri on the way from St. Louis to Kansas City, including Union, Schubert, California and Sedalia. A stop in those communities offers a look at their histories and what they mean to residents
Diving into the pool, doing laps at an evening swim practice is when Allison D’Agostino is in her element. A swimmer from a young age, D’Agostino, now 29, credits a lot of her personal development to the sport and to the organization for which she competes.
“I didn’t join the Special Olympics until ... after I finished high school,” D’Agostino said. “My mom was actually pushing me to join because, at the time, I was really shy.”
The Columbia native has come a long way since then. This is her 10th year participating in Special Olympics, a global organization that hosts sporting competitions and events for athletes with intellectual disabilities. In the past, she has competed in basketball and bowling, but she currently competes in swimming, which she said is her favorite sport.
Arms flying, baton in hand and a look of intense focus on his face, Scott Yoo dictates every movement of the 104 musicians before him. All eyes flit between the baton in his hand and the music before them as the orchestra reaches the pinnacle of Brahms Symphony No. 1 in D Minor. Though a grand performance, this is an average workday for the Columbia resident.
Yoo has been the chief conductor and artistic director with the Mexico City Philharmonic since early 2016. He is also the music director of Festival Mozaic, a classical music festival in San Luis Obispo, California. But conducting was not always on his radar.