Barbara Baird

The managing editor of Kaleidoscope, Barbara Baird (aka, “the Accidental Ozarkian”), writes and photographs for several magazines and newspapers, including National Wild Turkey Federation publications, AAA publications, the “Springfield News Leader” and the “Columbia Tribune.” Her bylines have appeared in “The Missouri Conservationist,” “Missouri Life,” “Rural Missouri,” “Show Me Missouri,” “The St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” “Kansas City” magazine, “Heartland Trails” and a host of other publications. For the past eight years, Baird’s column, “The Accidental Ozarkian,” has appeared in several Missouri newspapers and is based on finding interesting and sometimes quirky places and people in the Ozarks. From being underground in a cave to climbing Missouri’s tallest peaks, Baird has done it. From falling out of a frog gigging canoe into a muddy slough to staying upright and onboard a fish gigging craft in freezing weather … Baird has tussled with Mother Nature in order to bring a story to her readers. She is presently practicing sprints for an upcoming hog hunt in the Ozarks. Baird worked as an editor at a newspaper and at a magazine before coming to “The Kaleidoscope,” a publication that aims for fresh, rural folksy news ­ more along the lines of “Capper’s” or “Rural Missouri,” than an ad circular. Baird invites readers to contact her with interesting story ideas. Contact Barbara Baird

Cindy Scott

Thanks for your interest in “Finders Keepers.” I began writing this column in October of 2006 at the request of friend and the Kaleidoscope’s managing editor, Barbara Baird. Left wondering what I could possibly write about, I went with what I know, this being antiques and collectibles.

I am originally from the flat farmland of northern Missouri … the land of soybeans, corn and hogs. My background in antiques begins with my mother and her penchant for turning trash into treasure. When my father died, she was stuck in a man’s world being the sole proprietor of a Massey Ferguson dealership. She opened an antique shop within this family business, thereby keeping her own interests alive. I spent many hours with her at auction … observing her keen eye for things with “potential.”

My educational background begins with a B.S. in Elementary Education and ends with a MA in Library Science from UMC. My training and love of research helps with each column of “Finders Keepers,” as it is impossible to know everything about the wide-open field of antiques and collectibles. Not being a licensed appraiser, I rarely evaluate the price of collectibles in my columns.

I have had the experience of selling antiques and collectibles for more than 20 years, though I’ve been a collector much longer. My selling experience began as a participant in my mother’s antique store, then, on to the paper ads of “Antique Trader,” followed by antique booths in both Rolla and Salem and today, only on EBay.

I welcome your input on “Finders Keepers” and hope to hit on your favorite collectible in one of my columns. We have years to go. So, if you’d like to see something about your favorite collectible soon – drop me a line! I look forward to hearing from you.

Look for "Finders Keepers" under my byline in "Show Me Missouri Magazine". I'll keep you up-to-date on where to shop statewide for your treasures.  Contact Cindy Scott

Dave Weinbaum

Dave Weinbaum is a businessman, writer, publisher, and part time stand-up comic. Known as the One Line Philosopher, Weinbaum’s original quotes and jokes have appeared multiple times in Reader’s Digest, Forbes, and the National Enquirer. Dave is a regular pundit on www.jewishworldreview.com. He has authored 8 annual quote calendars. Weinbaum co-hosts a local TV program weekly with his brother Marty and Steven Leonard and lives in Rolla, MO. with his wife Joni, 3 children, 2 cats and 2 dogs. You may contact Dave by clicking here…but all complaints go to Helen Waite.

Jim Whitaker

I’ve been asked to write a brief biography of myself. Let’s hope this works out because I flunked biography in high school. I refused to dissect the frog and I never did get a handle on the reproductive system. 

“Hill of Beans” is my column. Wonder why it’s called that? Well, just read it once and you’ll figure it out. Then you can help me figure it out.

The column has been running for about 20 years. And I’ve been running about 19 years off and on because of the column. It first appeared in the Palmyra (MO) Spectator weekly and then in the Hannibal (MO) Courier-Post daily newspaper. At the Spectator I was a reporter and photographer. Then they found my hands fit well around a broom handle and I swept out the place for a few extra bucks. At the Courier-Post I was an editor, then a department head in several capacities. And then, without benefit of a broom handle, I was swept out of the place. I didn’t write for almost a year due to a visual impairment disability. And some people concluded themselves lucky. Thanks to adaptive equipment, and some really big fonts, I am writing again.

At age 50, I am returning to school for 18 months to pick up a degree in organizational management - whatever that is. Just kidding. I know what it is. Would someone please email me as to what that is?

My column won a first-place award once. Well, that’s enough about that. It was voted best humorous column. Well, that’s enough about that. Best in the whole state. Well, that’s enough about that. Contact Jim Whitaker

Jo Schaper

Jo Schaper has spent most of her life in the foothills of the Ozarks on the rural suburban fringe southwest of St. Louis. No Disneyland for this young girl – she was taken on vacation to places like Turner's Mill wheel, Ink, Czar fire tower, and in 1969, AlleySpringState Park. Her first major writing effort was a 50-page report on the springs of South Central Missouri when she was 16. That spring report led her to find the caving community in 1986 and changed her life. Her passion for Missouri includes its rocks, history, water and the unique people who live here.

Jo has a degree in writing from SMSU and a geology degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a member of entirely too many caving organizations, the Association of Missouri Interpreters and the Association of Missouri Geologists. She is a Fellow and Life member of the National Speleological Society (NSS, aka, the cavers).

Although she began writing at age 13, it took a while to get paid to do so. Since 1998, she has written a geology column for “Outdoor Guide,” a sportsmen's newspaper. She also does occasional articles for “The River Hills Traveler,” “St. Louis Labor Tribune,” “Missouri Life,” “The Missouri Conservationist” and now, features in “The Kaleidoscope.” She has authored two scientific issues of “Missouri Speleology,” articles in the “NSS News,” and wrote monthly for five years for “The Meramec Caver.” She has published two poetry books and has an entire filing cabinet drawer full of unpublished poems.

Jo has presented geology and history programs for Missouri's state parks, Elderhostel senior seminars, the St. LouisScienceCenter, the BonebrakeCenter and led tour busses down Ozark gravel roads. Since 1996 she has been the Web mistress/author of www.missouriworld.net – where she explains geology and hydrology to laymen and students in plain English. The United States Geological Survey, the U.S. EPA and many others have linked to her site and used her material. Once, she called the USGS in Rolla, and they sent her to her own site!

After 25 years in the printing industry, Jo now earns her living by writing, editing, speaking, doing graphic and Web site design and in-home residential computer help, the latter for seniors in Franklin and St. Louis counties. She is married. She and her husband, Eugene, spend as much time away from big cities as life permits. Contact Jo Schaper

Bill Cooper

Bill Cooper originates from the delta swamps of southeast Missouri and swears that he has webs between his toes. The imagination may have been spawned from reading too much Mark Twain at any early age and hanging out at pool halls and old country stores, where storytelling sessions occurred daily and were accepted as gospel, at least by a gullible kid in holey jeans and worn out shoes. Fearsome memories include the descriptions of a monster cat fish supposedly caught out of the Mississippi River by one of the regulars at Bennett’s Store daily yarn session. Cooper recalls getting caught up in the drama, when, without warning the smelly, snaggle-toothed liar of the day, i.e. cat fisherman, jumped from his stool and stuck a crooked, blackened finger in his face and snarled, “ that cat was so gal-darned big it could ah swallert a skinny runt the likes of you.” Cooper’s quickness to scamper for his life provided the laugh for the day.

The adventure of outdoor experiences and the desire to develop the power to capture the attention of fellow outdoorsmen and hold them spellbound is the force that motivated Cooper to share his stories. Equipped with a Masters’ in Outdoor Education and experience as a park naturalist and Director of Interpretive Services, Cooper launched his professional writing career in 1973 with the article: The Aesthetics of Turkey Hunting, which appeared in the Missouri Conservationist. Over the last 35 years his byline has appeared in numerous newspapers, outdoor tabloids, and publications and websites including: Turkey Call, Turkey and Turkey Hunting, Rifle and Shotgun, Rabbit Hunting Journal, Missouri Game and Fish, Chevy Outdoorsman, Shelter Insurance, Bass Pro, Buckmasters, Cabela’s.com, Guideoutdoors.com, Outlaw.com, Discovertheoutdoors.com, Extremepredator.com, and Trophycatch.com.

“Outdoors with Bill Cooper” aired on six radio stations across the Ozarks for almost a decade and his “Outside Again” TV series aired on Channel 13 out of Jefferson City. He has taught outdoor skills in a variety of settings including state parks, scout camps, church camps, Women in the Outdoors events, and Bass Pro’s Wonders of the OutdoorWorldConservationEducationSchool. He has organized youth (JAKES) hunting camps for the National Wild Turkey Federation for the last 15 years, and won national awards on two occasions. He also ran youth hunting camps for the Land Learning Foundation for two years. The Conservation Federation of Missouri awarded him the “Conservation Educator of the Year Award” in 2000.

Cooper is now serving his second term as the president of the Missouri Outdoor Communicators, the first individual to do so. He also belongs to the Professional Outdoor Media Association, and the International Travel Writers Association.

Coopers sense of humor and outdoor life style permeates everything he does, including his marriage to his wife, Dian, last December. After the ceremony, which took place in the historic Shannondale United Church of Christ, in ShannonCounty, Bill promptly paid the minister for his services with a used, climbing deer stand. Contact Bill Cooper

Steve Felgenhauer

“I’m just a country boy that lives to hunt and fish,” TheKaleidoscope columnist Steve Felgenhauer claims. “If I can help someone catch more fish, shoot better or get a chuckle from doing that stuff, well, I am doing a pretty good job.”

Just getting a good start in the field of freelance writing, Steve writes “Trailside” each week for TheKaleidoscope. He also writes features and a column for 7/24 Outdoors and has been published in the Outdoor Guide and Southern Illinois/St Louis Labor Tribune. His day job finds him working as a gunsmith for Browning Arms Company in Arnold, Mo.

“I am always looking for new places and ways to hunt or fish. Making new friends while doing it … it doesn’t get any better than that,” concludes Steve.    Contact Steve Felgenhauer

Bio coming Soon     Contact Karen Smith

Bob Hooper

Bio coming Soon   Contact Bob Hooper

Lois Ann Marler

Bio coming Soon   Contact Lois Marler