MIDDLE WEST

SPRINGTIME SCENES IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 

Spring time took forever this year.  

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RURAL LIFE - OUR FIRST ZINE

The…Guide is the product of many hands and minds working joyously, without hope of individual reward or recognition, to accomplish something of which by and large they are proud, and diffidently offering it to the public of travelers and scholars and general readers. 

—Oregon, End of the Trail (WPA, 1940)

Folks, here in our hot little hands, we have a hard copy of our very first American Guide zine. Sounds of excessive glee are echoing through the stately halls of AG HQ.

Rural Life is the unbelievably fantastic product of curator and writer Brett Klein, designer Tammy Mercure and the photographic delights of Guides EE Berger, James Bernal, Mitch Borden, Aaron Canipe, Dan Caruso, Michael Cevoli, Matt Curtis, Breonne DeDecker, Elicia Epstein, Christian Hendricks, Ben Hinceman, Roger May, Noelle McCleaf, Peter Spear, Rob Walters, and Tara Wray.

Wouldn’t you like to own one of these beauties? This full-color publication can be yours for the price of $15 + (very cheap) shipping. All profits go to supporting the amazing hard work of the photographers and creators whose words and images are featured.

We diffidently offer it to you, the public of travelers and scholars and general readers.

Get one today! Purchase on MagCloud here.

RAILROADS - NEBRASKA

Then the railroads came. The town was elated when Abraham Lincoln selected Council Bluffs as the terminal of the Union Pacific Line; later, engineers and Douglas County bonds brought it across the river to Omaha. In 1863 the construction of the Union Pacific formally began. Two years later, the first train from Omaha ran to Salings’ Grove with Gen. W.T. Sherman, of Civil War fame, and 20 leading citizens riding on flat cars with nail kegs for seats. 

—Nebraska: A Guide to the Cornhusker State (WPA, 1939)

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LIQUOR STORES - OMAHA, NEBRASKA

The Omaha map of alcohol outlets shows 68102 as the ZIP code area with the highest concentration of alcohol outlets, at 19.7 per 1,000 residents. The 68102 ZIP code is located within Douglas County and includes the following notable locations: the Old Market, TD Ameritrade Park, CenturyLink Center, Omaha Civic Auditorium and Convention Center, and Heartland of America Park.

Data Source: Nebraska Liquor Control Commission; United States Census Bureau

—”Underage Drinking In Nebraska,” University of Nebraska Medical Center (August, 2013)

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OCALA, FLORIDA

When I think of Ocala, Florida two things come to mind: thoroughbred horses (Ocala is one of the major thoroughbred centers in the world) and John Travolta (he has a home there, complete with a 747 air strip). Now, given that there are no photographs of horses or Mr. Travolta, I’m questioning the practicality of my Ocala guide; however, what I do experience ever time I take the trip up there from South Florida is a beautiful, traditionally southern topography. Located in Marion County, the northernmost county in central Florida, Ocala is where the old southern oaks begin to give way to the tropical palms.

To be honest, I don’t know much about the history of Ocala besides what I just read on its Wikipedia page, but I’ve been taking the trip up there twice a year for the past five years and it’s always a welcome break from the resort-filled beaches of South Florida. It’s a pretty rural area, although the town seems to be sprawling more and more every year. I think I even saw a Chipotle when I was up there this past October.

Ocala’s downtown is quaint and comfortable—what you’d expect from an old Southern town. Around the outskirts of the city is where I like to go. Old motels, service stations, drive-in theaters, and the Ocala National Forest line much of the area’s highways. The rural landscapes of the Ocala National Forest could be explored for weeks. The mildly hilly terrain is covered by dense pine forests and you’re liable to come across an orange grove, or a local farmer selling fruit or boiled peanuts out the back of their old Chevy. The rivers, lakes and natural springs scattered throughout the forest make for an oasis during the hot summer months. 

Maybe next time I take the trip to Ocala, I’ll try to arrange a flight with Mr. Travolta and mingle with the thoroughbred elite, but I have a feeling I’ll keep revisiting those old country roads.

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