Growing Up with the River: Nine Generations on the Missouri

In Growing Up with the River, you will meet children from nine generations who grew up along the Missouri River from Hermann to St. Charles and share in a long list of adventures and changes they see in the river valley.

A bur oak tree grows from an acorn to a majestic symbol of this history as it bears witness to many changes in the natural world – the extinction of the beautiful Carolina parakeet that roosted on its branches, the building of levees to control the flooding that covered its roots, the over-hunting and return of wildlife that rest in its shade.

What hasn’t changed in two centuries is the natural scenic beauty of Missouri River Country and the small river communities that sprung up along the river and the railroads. Readers can become explorers and follow the map and stories in this book to plan their own visits to these rural landscapes beginning at the Gateway Arch. The Arch, one of the most recognized symbols in the world, was created to be a lasting symbol to the Missouri River and the history that unfolded along its banks.