New friends

My Beermaster Tour included nine people and I made friends with a retired couple from Zephyr Hills, Fla. Gary and Carol Woodward were in St. Louis visiting family and decided – like me – find out what goes on behind the brewery’s walls.
“I was shocked and awed by it,” Gary told me after our tour. “I grew up here and never realized it was as large as it is. You drive by and don’t even know that it’s 100 acres of buildings. It’s amazing what they do. I was impressed.”
Gary said he was wowed by the cleanliness and organization of the plant.
“I’ve taken a lot of factory and industrial tours before, but nothing like that,” Gary added. “If I have friends going to St. Louis, there are two things I will tell them to go see: The (Gateway) arch and the Bud tour.”
Carol, Gary’s wife, was impressed, but for different reasons.
“I knew I wanted pictures of the Clydesdales and I wanted to go to the gift shop,” she said. “I think it’s a great thing for couples to do. It’s a lot of fun.”
Carol said she thought the prices at the gift shop were reasonable.
“Everybody was so nice and the tour was a lot of fun. I loved it because the group we went with was so small.”

Sample time

Both Carol and Gary told me that they were shocked when – during the tour of the final finishing cellar – the guide, Kelly Kuhnert, poked a curly tube into a port on a tank and out poured Budweiser into our commemorative Beermaster glasses.
“When we went into the last cold room (finishing cellar) and the guide stuck that pigtail in that huge tank and out came that fresh beer, that was impressive,” Gary said.
“I’m not necessarily a big beer connoisseur, but I guess I had never tasted beer that fresh before,” Carol said. “That was good stuff.”
Like Gary and Carol, I was impressed.
The walking tour took us from the Tour Center – a temple to Bud and their products – through the brewhouse where kettles brew up 600-barrel batches of AB’s beer. From the brewhouse it was off to the lagering cellar where primary fermentation takes place. Each giant overhead tank holds the equivalent of125,000 cases of beer.
After a walk through the plants packaging center, where thousands of Bud Light bottles sped past my group at breakneck speed (1,300 per minute). After watching labels attached to the brown bottles, it was off to the 35-degree finishing cellar where we tasted our first brews of the day: Bud and Bud Light straight out of the tanks.

“Spoiled rotten”

A highlight of the tour for many was the Clydesdale’s stable. Friendly Dalmatians greeted us at the door and a couple of Clydesdales posed for pics. The horses are crazy big, but as docile as the Dalmatians with which they share the stable. A few horses stay on the brewery grounds, but most of them live out at the AB farm in Boonville, Mo.
Kelly, our guide, laughed and said the iconic horses are “spoiled rotten.” Each set of the horses tack weighs 130 lbs. and a set of tack for a team of eight is valued at more than $200,000.
The tour took around two hours and I never felt rushed. Back at the tour center a few more beer samples and some good conversation with the other visitors capped off the experience. Included in the price of the tour was a Beermaster Tour ball cap, my comparative sample glass, four beers, a Clydesdale photo and an official Beermaster certificate. That’s a pretty good haul for around $25.
Sue O’Leary, senior manager for tours and the gift shop, said the Beermaster Tours have been a success since they started in 2008.
“I think it’s a unique, behind the scenes experience that we offer,” she told me later by phone. “Visitors get to see how we brew our beers. I think the tours have a wide appeal. It’s great for beer enthiusiast, but it’s also great for those looking for an exclusive experience.”
Sue said the public reaction to the Beermaster Tour has been overwhelming positive. It was for me.
If you find yourself in St. Louis and have a couple of hours on your hands, take the AB Beermaster Tour. It’s a great way to spend the afternoon.
Cheers!

Want to go?
The Anheuser-Busch Brewery is located at 12th and Lynch Street in St. Louis. The Beermaster Tour lasts two hours. The cost is $25 for those 21 years and up and $10 for those 13-20. Most major credit cards are accepted. Reservations are needed. Closed-toe shoes are required. Go to www.budweisertours.com or call 314-577-2153 for tour information.

Bud by the numbers
* The St. Louis brewery is a 100-plus acre facility, with three National Historic Landmarks.
* Anheuser-Busch has more than 200 Budweiser Clydesdales.
* The St. Louis brewery produces 15 different brands.
* The St. Louis brewery has a total beechwood aging capacity of 20 million gallons of beer.
* The St. Louis Brewery serves 14 states.

Blanchard is taking a look at the groundswell of support for an arts center in Joplin. He will also provide his own video filming and editing for our online product.

And, if you haven’t taken a look at some of Blanchard’s videos, check them out at www.joplinglobe.com. Blanchard is not the traditional journalism major looking for some summer experience. Instead, the NYU student, who graduated two years ago from Thomas Jefferson, is majoring in English literature and film and television.

I first met Blanchard in 2008 when he visited the Globe while participating in the Joplin Chamber’s Tomorrow’s Leaders Today program. He randomly selected me under his choice of folks here at the Globe he wanted to visit.

Later, we ran into Blanchard again when he created a film documentary on the career of his grandfather, Karl Blanchard Sr.  Scott Meeker interviewed Blanchard . I remember thinking at the time that it was a touching triubte to his grandfather.

I’m always impressed  when young people take a shot and call to see if there’s any work available for them during the summer. Generally they aren’t looking for a lot of bucks, but rather the experience. Blanchard did just that and we took him up on his offer, particularly because we’re always looking fo ways to enhance our video skills.

Blanchard, who will be doing work for us through the end of August, said he’s learned that writing for a newspaper usually means writing fast and under pressure.

“I think it makes you a better writer,” he told me last week.

His favorite assignment that’s made it into print to date was a food story about Joplin’s Eagle Drive-In.

That didn’t surprise me. What did was when he told me his most challenging assignment was one on Joplin Little Theatre’s Encore awards. Basically, Blanchard was asked to take a press release and turn it into a story.

“I didn’t want it just to be a list,” he said.

We didn’t either. Blanchard put a lead on it and went ot the trouble of asking a few questions. He went beyond being a desk clerk.

Blanchard also interviewed Gregg Allman prior to the singer’s appearance in our area. I learned that Blanchard is a huge music and film fan and an Allman fan to boot.

When I talked to Blanchard about his experience so far here,he was quick to tell me that he learned that it really is possible to be an unbiased reporter.

“There was a time when I wasn’t really sure that could be done,” he said. “I think the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are among the best papers in the world, but I see more editorializing in their stories than I do here at the local level. I’m gratified to learn there is such a thing as objective journalism.”

Since this is a blog, I can take a moment and not be objective. I think Blanchard will do fine whether he’s wriging, editing film, interviewing musicians or just talking to the folks at the Eagle Drive-In.

He’s interested in life and the people around him. He’s more than halfway there in understanding the key to being successful in any career.

Look for Blanchard’s story on Sunday and be sure to check out his video. I fyou want to drop him an e-mail send it to will_blanchard76@hotmail.com.

Beginning this week, we’re holding a number of forums with readers seeking their thoughts about how we present our news, the readability of the paper, the sizes of the type and headlines and our overall look.

These sessions with the public will take place over the next few weeks and then we’ll begin our work. Here’s how you can help:

Tell us how you read the paper. Front to back or is there a certain section you pull out first.

Consider the names of our sections: Town and Country, Your Money, Let’s Eat, Health and Family and People. We may be renaming some of our sections and we’d like your input.

How about our front-page flag?  Do you want a more contemporary look or should we consider going back to our original old English style?

Let me know by posting a comment to the blog. It will be early fall before we unveil our new look. We’d like you to be a part of the final product.

Jim is retired, lives in Joplin and has been a regular on our Opinion page as a letter writer. His participation as a commenter on our blogs led him to my attention. “Still Skeptical after all These Years”  is can be found at www.joplinglobe.com.

Thanks, Jim.

We’ll be providing a list of local storm shelters, as well as ways to survive if your home has not basement or cellar. And, we’ll be going to the experts – those who’ve experienced the fury firsthand.

We think it’s a timely story. The last two killer tornadoes here both occurred in May.

Newton County tornado

A lead on a story out of Yazoo City, Miss., that moved this morning on the Associated Press wire service read like this:

“Morgan Hayden and Joe Moton stepped carefully through nails, broken glass and pink tufts of insulation, the remnants of their home leveled by a tornado as severe storms killed at least 10 people in rural Mississippi and two in Alabama.

It’s the kind of lead we’ve found ourselves  writing here far too often. Consider in May of 2003, the three deadly tornadoes that hit Franklin, Kan., Carl Junction, Pierce City and Stockton. Then, in 2008, even as we had just completed our five-year anniversary retrospect on that killer storm, we’re hit by a tornado that began in Oklahoma and ended up as an F-4 that destroyed hundred of homes and killed 22 people.

I count myself very lucky not to be one of those 22. I was in my vehicle about a quarter mile from Iris Road when the tornado barreled across the pasture. I had just come up a hill and was at the top when I saw it. It looked like a giant sheet of rain until I looked up and saw debris swirling overhead. Moments later my Epedition was picked up and deposited into a ditch. All the windows blew out and then debris from a nearby trailer began pelting the side of the vehicle. I never expected to make it through alive. But, a few scratches and a destoryed vehicle was the extent of the physical damage. Mentally, well, it’s hard to say. All I know is when I read about storms like that one that hit Mississippi, I know exactly what they are talking about. The roar of a tornado is something you never forget.

Earlier this spring, the National Weather Service released photos we had never seen.The one you’re looking at was taken about a half mile away from where I was. I never realized the enormity of what I was driving into.

My youngest son, Joe, asked the obvious questions: “Mom, why didn’t you back up?”

Believe me, there was not time to do anything but hang on.

Nicolas, two years ago, while covering the state Legislature for Missouri Southern State College’s student newspaper, The Chart, also provided us with statehouse coverage.

Our paths crossed again a few weeks ago when we asked her to represent The Chart during our Candidate Connection, a forum for Joplin City Council candidates.

She’s a welcome addition to our staff and will help us broaden our coverage in Carthage. If you have story ideas, please pass them my way: cstark@joplinglobe.com

 I was delighted this week to see that I was several days out in front of Coffeetalk when, on Sunday, I made my plea for the health industry to redesign hospital gowns.

 On Tuesday, there is was. My answer. Only it’s happening in Europe. Those fashion-concious Europeans gave designers $37,500 each to develop prototypes for products that would increase patient dignity and prevent the embarassing “flash.”

The Labour govenment in England has promised to get the designs in hospitals across England next year, but only if it wins the national election this spring.

Come on, America. We don’t need high fashion. We need a better way to preserve our butts.

If his name sounds familiar it’s because his byline is a prominent one among local publications.

Kevin worked for us about 10 years ago as a beat reporter. He left here to work for an Arkansas paper and later returned to Joplin where he wrote for niche publications.

He is currently working for The Carthage Press as an associate editor.  We look forward to having Kevin back in our newsroom again.

Gary Stubblefield, Ruth Poage, Mary Ohler, Donna Winslow, Linda Lee, Phil McCollom, Marilyn Carey, Barbara Quin, Mary Jane Riggs and Lee Ann Morris.

I’ll be e-mailing each of you to let you know how to claim the book.

Thanks for throwing your name in the hat. You should be ready on Feb. 18 when our online book club begins.