Fitness 3

Prom mothers 6

Women with Altitude 8

Ladies of the Law 14

Gift of Time 18

Relaxed in Flight 20

She magazinea special publication of The Marshall Democrat-NewsP.O. Box 100Marshall, MO 65340www.marshallnews.com660.886.2233

PublisherShelly ArthEditorSarah ReedAd DirectorMike DavisCover DesignJacob HatfieldContributing WritersMarcia Gorrell, Maggie Menderski,Brenda Randolf, Sarah ReedAd RepresentativesJared Brewer, Scottie DavisAd DesignersBetty Meyer, Jacob Hatfield

Table of Contents

Credits

FUNCTIONALFITNESS

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Bring some focus and calm

rejuvenation into your day

with the three most popular

yoga poses. They’ll improve

your balance, digestion,

mood and stamina in just a

few short minutes.

Warriorpose

3

Bend the frontknee directlyover the ankle,keeping yourthigh parallel tothe floor. Keephips squared tothe front. Bringpalms out tothe sides thentouch themabove yourhead.

Down-ward Dog is a rest-

ing pose and a greatway to stretch the back. Let

your head relax, andtighten your quads to

take the weight offyour arms.

Bend the right knee, bringing the sole of the foothigh onto the inner left thigh. Press the foot intothe thigh and the thigh back into the foot. Keepboth hips squared toward the front. Find some-thing to focus on to maintain your balance, thenrepeat the move on the other foot.

Balance yourself on the fitness ball with yourlower back touching the ball. Support yourhead and neck while keeping your knees at a90 degree angle. Use your abdominals tocrunch in a forward motion. Reps: 20Sets: 3

BridgesBridges

Crunches

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With your elbows and forearms onthe ball, stretch out until your bodyis in a straight line. Pull one knee to-ward your chest, then alternate. Thisisometric exercise will challengeyour balance and your core.Reps: 20 per legSets: 3

Balanced on your lower back, drawyour right knee and left shoulder in.For all crunches, rely on your abs tocreate the movement. Do not pullwith your arms. This will target mul-tiple core areas of the body.Reps: 20 per sideSets: 3

A great hip-shaping exercise,bridges let you relax your upperback on the fitness ball while youlift your hips to create a flat body.This move also targets the glutes. Reps: 30Sets: 3

5

This was the phrase that served as thedriving force behind the beautiful lifeand caring actions of 16-year-old Rebecca Kirtman.

“Little things can make a big difference ...”

Rebecca was a Florida teen who started net-working with her friends to get gently useddresses to girls who might not have been able

to go to prom due to the expense. She then waskilled in a car accident and, in her legacy, her parentspromoted the program nationwide. Many churchesand civic organizations have picked up the programas a local outreach. The “Rock” Church was the firstin Missouri to link up.

There have been articles in various magazines aboutBecca’s Closet. One Sunday, Rev. Sebastian gave a ser-mon, challenging the congregation to think how it canimpact others in a positive manner. The very next dayI read an article about Becca’s Closet online. It reallytouched my heart, and I felt like this was somethingour congregation could really promote. Rev. Sebast-ian agreed, thus, FPM was born and has been in “busi-

Con

trib

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By Brenda Randolf

ness” for five years. To date, it hasserved approximately 135 girls.

FPM works by the church taking indonations of gently used dresses,evening bags, jewelry, new make upsamples, colognes, etc., sometimeseven receiving cash donations. Some-one may say, “I couldn’t afford a $200dress, but here’s $10.” So FPM’smotto is: “Donations accepted but notexpected.” Though a teen doesn’thave to return her dress, many timesshe does, which is a great way to passon an act of kindness.

Many local salons even donate afree updo, and Viking Cleaners do-nates its energy to clean the dresses.

With monetary donations fromcivic organizations and individuals,FPM also hits the prom dress sales inthe summer to restock.

Girls make private appointmentsor can come to the March SaturdaysOpen Houses. As long as FPM has agood supply of street length dresses,eighth graders may shop also.

Find FPM on Facebook, contactthem at 660-886-5112, 212 E. North St.in Marshall, or visit www.beccas-closet.org for more information.

Fairy Prom Mothers operates in First Presbyte-rian Church in Marshall. (Sarah Reed/Democrat-News)

and applied for a job with TWA. “I thought the chances of passing the

interviews would be tough,” she said.“Bless my mother, she encouragedme.”

The requirements were very strin-gent at the time: women had to be sin-gle, under age 35, have no bridges intheir mouth, natural-colored hair andmaintain a certain weight. They alsohad to have two years of college orthree years of job experience.

After six weeks of training in KansasCity, she and three other hostessesshared a Plaza apartment, paying $40each out of their $285 a month salary.Huston, saving for a future trip to Eu-rope, had $100 withdrawn from hercheck each month.

“We could have a food allowanceand our salary,” she said. “We all optedno food allowance because we wantedmoney.”

Their main job was to serve the pas-sengers. At the time, there were severaldifferent airlines to choose from, but,regulated by the government, the cost

of flights were all the same. Betweenthe many airlines, hostess service wasthe competitive edge.

“The incentive was for us to be sureand do the best job, so that peoplewould fly TWA,” Huston explained.“That was why we were hired on.”

Huston carried a seating chart oneach flight. Hostesses called each pas-senger by name when they took re-quests or answered questions. Theyoffered gum and playing cards on sil-ver trays, along with magazines, blan-kets and pillows. Full elegant mealsand coffee were served with chinadishware and silver service.

The hostesses were checked on flightby supervisors about the neatness oftheir hair and uniforms. They also hadto weigh in periodically.

“As a rule of thumb, a hostess couldweigh five times the inches above fivefeet, plus 100,” she explained. Thatmeant a 5’3” hostess had to weigh 115pounds or less. For Huston, at 5’8”, hertop weight was 140 pounds.

Their uniforms were green in the►►

summer and brown in the winter. Theywere made by famous Italian designerOleg Cassini.

The food, which was warmed up inflight, was top-notch, especially com-pared to today, when most airlines nolonger offer meals.

“They’ve gone economy,” she said,of today’s flights. “In my day, it wasfilet mignon and beef stroganoff.”

Movie stars and entertainers flew onTWA, including Jimmy Durante, CarolBurnette, Vic Dimone and others, es-pecially in and out of Las Vegas, shesaid.

In addition to serving, the hostessesspent a lot of time visiting with the pas-sengers.

“There were no cell phones, noiPads, no movies, just wonderful con-versation.”

Some passengers would purchasefour seats as a “berth” for cross-countrytravel, and the hostesses would makeup the bed for them.

“Needless to say, that is a priceynight’s rest,” she said.

There were a few scary times, how-ever.

“I was sitting at a baseball game, andthey announced there was a collisionof United Airlines and TWA over theGrand Canyon. I was flying that routethe next day,” she said. “It was a scarysituation.”

Another time there was a bomb

scare called in, and the plane wasdragged back into the hanger andsearched.

Eventually, an economy class wasintroduced on the Constellation to ac-commodate families. Nicknamed the“Vomit Comet” by some of the hoste-ses, three of them would serve the 71passengers. The seating and aisles werenarrow and more crowded than theluxury flights.

“When we got to this tourist classlater on, I carried babies around to helpmothers, I heated baby bottles,” she ex-plained.

The hostesses weren’t allowed totake tips unless it was $50 or more —that was considered a gift. Huston wasgiven a gold coin, which she still keepstoday in a safe deposit box at the bank.

Because hostesses had to be single,there was a lot of turn-over, and Hus-ton soon earned seniority.

“I was going to substitute teach, butthat was kind of hard, every monthyou bid your flights and the more sen-

11

Eric Crump/Democrat-News

►►

ior you got, the better flights you got,”she said.

As former head of the Marshallswimming program, she taught swim-ming to handicapped children duringher time off flying.

Eventually she could plan her flightschedule to take advantage of weatherand sight seeing.

“I got so I could fly to Washington inApril for the cherry blossoms, fly toL.A. in the winter, and I could fly toNew York in the spring and the fall,”she said.

After saving $1,800, Huston and an-other hostess took her long awaitedtrip to Europe, where they spent sev-eral weeks touring.

When she came back to the U.S., shereceived a promotion as one of justthree TWA instructors. The promotionallowed her unlimited flying passes,which she used to take her parents ontrips.

At TWA, owned by HowardHughes, there did seem to be more op-portunities for women than other com-panies of the time. Miriam Filkins, wasa vice-president in charge of in-flightservice, and there were women whobecame supervisors in hostess serviceand education.

“I thought if I stayed I could get oneof the jobs of a supervisor,” she said.

In fact, marriage was far from hermind. However, a chance meeting with

John Huston, five years her senior inMarshall, quickly turned into a whirl-wind courtship. As per the rules(which were later changed) she gaveup her budding career and movedback to Marshall. Fifty-two years, foursons and numerous grandchildrenlater, Huston said has her life has beena “great ride.”

Through the years, she’s scoured an-tique shops for TWA memorabilia,having found some of the silver traysused to serve customers.

Her collection, along with her uni-form, are now on display at theNicholas-Beazley Aviation Museum inMarshall.

Thanks to others’ kindness, she hasbeen able to add items to the display.She was recently given a couple ofsmall 1950s liquor bottles and old TWAluggage tags.

Today, she is a member, along withother former hostesses across the coun-try, of the “Clipped Wings” group andkeeps in touch with some of her formerroommates.

Although flying has changed im-mensely since that time, she remem-bers her years with TWA during the“Golden Age” of flying very fondly.

“It allowed me to spend four to fiveweeks in Europe at a reduced cost,” shesaid. “My parents were able to fly free.I got a wonderful education (traveling)and made lifelong friends.”

12

of the

14

Law

Ladies

Liere Dancy, Cindi

Mullins and Shelley

Zinn prepare for

work each day, but differ-

ently.

Dancy’s brown hair hides

beneath the rim of her Mis-

souri State Highway Patrol

Trooper hat. Zinn’s Mar-

shall Police Department car

radio doesn’t blare the

hottest music, but announces

the latest emergency. Chief

Deputy Mullins doesn’t

chose her outfit, but her ac-

cessories are always in check

— cuffs, gun and spray. She

knows where each one is,

and after 15 years with the

Saline County Sheriff’s De-

partment, she knows when

to use them. ►►

By Maggie Menderski

Sara

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Dem

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Just as their accessories differ from the

average woman, their methods differ from

their male colleagues. The trio handles law

enforcement differently, but certainly not

less effectively.

“I think as a female in a predominantly

male career, you maybe try a little harder,”

Mullins said. “I’m obviously not going to

go out and jump on a guy that’s 6.3 and

weighs 300 pounds for obvious reasons.

That’s just a good way to get hurt.”

Even though Zinn’s year in the Marshall

Police Department has left her badge less

worn than Mullins’s, she echoed the same

call of a different duty. Striving for excellent

people skills, integrity, trust and honesty,

Zinn considers communication a high pri-

ority in her career.

“I think a lot of that, too, is that we’re

good communicators,” she said. “We’d

rather communicate with someone and talk

them down, as opposed to getting in a

fight.”

Dancy, the first female trooper in Saline

County, says once drivers fumble through

the “yes sir —I mean, ma’am” and initial

shock of a female trooper, typically they’re

less nervous. Like Zinn and Mullins, she

prides herself on her verbal skills.

“It seems like I put them more at ease,”

she said. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m

a smooth

talker, or

if (it’s be-

cause) I’m

female ... I think they listen to me better.

Maybe they see me as their mom or their

sister.”

That family feeling stretches beyond

civilians though and into their departments

as a whole. Law enforcement officers un-

derstand the profession’s strange hours,

commitments and emotional strains. These

mismatched families function like a normal

nuclear family — plus a high security fa-

cility, minus a white picket fence.

“You get along with some better than

others, but when it comes down to it,”

Mullins said. “I’d fight a buzzsaw for any

of them.”

There’s a level of protection and pride

that links the badges together like a blood-

line.

“When you get into a scuffle, you know

that someone else is in route and is going to

be there shortly,” Zinn said. “A lot of the

guys here are very good about backing up

and aren’t afraid to get hands on when they

need to.”

As a trooper, Dancy’s experience is less

about backup and more about training. Her

patrol car takes her out to the far rims of the

Liere Dancy

Cindi Mullins

PERSPECTIVE

15

►►

Photos courtesy of Maggie Menderski/Democrat-News

16

county. In a pinch,

it could be awhile

before her backup

arrives. However,

MPD officers,

deputies and other

troopers have

stopped to assist

her. Even outside

of the troopers,

Dancy said all the

Saline County agencies work well together.

“We have a pretty good relationship,”

Dancy said. “We joke around, but if push

came to shove, they’d be right there to back

me up.”

Even though the three officers come

from three separate entities, their answers

harmonized. Back up. Camaraderie. Fam-

ily. These words fired throughout the dia-

logue, as they described their work in the

community.

Just after her interview, Mullins’ voice

came through the telephone receiver. She

spoke calmly, but with a note of concern.

She had chatted lightheartedly about her life

as a woman in law enforcement. But an

hour later, she wanted to ensure she hadn’t

slandered the men she respected.

She hadn’t, of course.

“None of the guys have ever treated me

like a girl,” she said. “I’ve always been

treated as part of the team. It’s just a per-

sonal thought. It’s one of the things you

kind of worry about though because you’re

different.”

Zinn carefully tightened her answers

around the same concern.

“We hear that people respect females

more on the streets and are less apt to be

hands on and get physical,” she said. “I

don’t know if that’s true, but ...”

She paused mid-

sentence.

“I’m trying not to

offend the guys,” she

said.

Just as a brother

would tug on his sis-

ter’s pigtail, but

smack the next guy

that tried it, Zinn said

her fellow officers

embody the same protective role.

In this profession, the law enforcement

families keep secrets and protect blood. So

much of their work is confidential, and con-

sequently, Mullins explained friendships

form easier with those who understand the

lifestyle.

“You tend to hang with people who un-

derstand what it’s like,” Mullins said.

“When something bad happens, we kind of

cling to each other.”

Those in law enforcement know the

training, procedures and importance of their

role in the community. Zinn explained the

drama laced into episodes of “CSI” and

“Criminal Minds” doesn’t match her life

patrolling the Marshall streets.

“That’s not how it’s handled in the real

world,” she said. “It would be nice if it was

that easy.”

Even after 15 years of service, Mullins

said some things never come easy.

“There are things they teach you in

school, but they can’t teach you experi-

ence,” Mullins said. “Seeing little kids hurt,

or taking little kids out of their homes is just

one of the things that rips my heart out. You

never get used to that. Never.”

But breaking up fights, ticket writing and

high speed chasing is the view from the

other side of the cell. Beneath the badge and

Shelley Zinn

►►

17

uniform, the public sometimes overlooks

the core of protect and serve.

“A lot of people see law enforcement of-

ficers as a whole, as brutes, maybe,”

Mullins said. “But I see us more as peace-

makers and problem solvers. That kind of

sums up more what I do than going out and

busting people.”

Dancy too, doesn’t enjoy writing tickets,

it’s just part of her job. As a trooper, she

wants passengers to obey the speed limit,

wear seatbelts and ultimately, stay safe.

“I’m not a robo-cop or anything like

that,” Dancy said. “I joke with people dur-

ing traffic stops. I try to put them at ease.

Because I’ve been pulled over once, and

my experience was awful. I just want to

change everyone’s opinions about cops.”

In HER own wordsadvice to women pursuing law enforcement

“If you think you want to do it, and you think you’ll be rewarded byit, if you can make it, it’s the best deal going. People either love it, orthey hate it. There’s no middle of the road, and you’re certainly notgoing to get rich doing it. You’ve got to love it. That’s what brings mehere every day.”

~Chief Deputy Cindi Mullins, Saline County Sheriff’s Department

“I would encourage them to do ride alongs with numerous depart-

ments and figure out where they fit in best. I’m a firm believer that they

need to fit in with the department ... The department needs to want

them as much as they want to be in that department, and that depart-

ment (needs) to be ready for females in law enforcement.”~Officer Shelley Zinn, Marshall Police Department

“Get your education first, then when you go into training, do your

best. Study. Give it your all. Because it’s going to be hard enough, be-

cause people are always looking at you like a woman can’t do (any-

thing). Always prove everybody wrong. Get the respect. Work hard,

and don’t take (anything) for granted.”~Trooper Liere Dancy, Missouri State Highway Patrol

With quiet foot-steps, Vallory Combsrummages through bagsand places donated itemsonto the retail counter at Village Cellar.

In Combs’ 31 years at the thrift store, she’s seen many people come andgo, but still maintains a favorite aspect of her position is working withthe public. From donors to shoppers and volunteers, Combs has an aptitudefor friendship, for learning about anyone who walks through the door, andnever turns away those in need.

“We help the public in so many ways,” Combs said. “Whatever theneed. They’re all different.”

Behind the daily practice of a thrift store, Village Cellar has givenback. The store has donated items to fire victims, provides residents the op-portunity to complete community service hours, as well as volunteer op-portunities for youth from Butterfield Youth Services. And Combs helpssupervise it all.

“Everything that’s donated here supports Butterfield,” she contin-ued.

When shoppers make a purchase at Village Cellar, those funds di-rectly benefit Butterfield Youth Services, which has served Missouri chil-dren and adolescents with social and emotional problems since 1963. BYSserves 80-85 youth at any given time through clinical, health and educa-tional services. The facility is also home to two intensive care residences andfour ranch houses, and provides a full-time school on site, which is an ele-ment of the Marshall Public School system.

Combs preserves the organization’s mission in all she does — evenshying away from questions about herself, an act as routine as organizingbookshelves.

“It makes me kind of blush,” she said.She’s adamant in promoting BYS and the services the organization

provides. And it’s apparent in the three decades she’s given to the store, sheunderstands that importance.

The primary goal at BYS is to return children to their own commu-nities and homes, and children within a 100-mile radius of Marshall arepriority. According to the organization’s website, children are not placedfor BYS to become their ‘new home.’ Instead, BYS intends to help themacquire the skills and preparedness to return to their own homes as posi-tive and productive family members.

Behind the counter at Village Cellar, Combs’ welcomes customers witha real conversation — stacking neat piles of folded jeans in front of her. A2011 certificate placed on the wall recognizes her 30th year of service, but

the nodding of her head anda quiet sigh speak volumesfor who she is.

“I just do my job.”Village Cellar is lo-

cated at 29 N. LafayetteAve. Call 660-886-3802 formore information.

~Sarah Reed

Jazz Anyone?In keeping with the musiIn keeping with the musi --

cal traditions of Marshall,cal traditions of Marshall,Mo., one group has takenMo., one group has takentheir love for rhythm totheir love for rhythm tothe next level. Organizedthe next level. Organizedby Marshall Culturalby Marshall CulturalCouncil, the Bob JamesCouncil, the Bob JamesJazz Festival featuresJazz Festival featuresthe synchopated sounds ofthe synchopated sounds ofregional and professionalregional and professionalmusicians while providing anmusicians while providing anopportunity for local talentopportunity for local talentto hone their skills.to hone their skills.

The full-day festival beThe full-day festival be --gins with clinical, classroomgins with clinical, classroomsessions for participatingsessions for participatinglocal musicians, andlocal musicians, andcrescendoes to a full-scalecrescendoes to a full-scaleconcert. This year, patronsconcert. This year, patronswill feel the energy aswill feel the energy asGrammy-winning jazz piGrammy-winning jazz pi --anist Bob James takesanist Bob James takesthe stage with Kansasthe stage with KansasCity-based musicians.City-based musicians.

Class registrationClass registrationranges from $10-$35, andranges from $10-$35, andconcert tickets range fromconcert tickets range from$20-$25. Visit www.bob$20-$25. Visit www.bob --jamesjazzfest.org for morejamesjazzfest.org for moreinformation.information.

GIFT OF TIME

Eric Crump/Democrat-News

By Marcia Gorrell

Olive Mal-ter didn’t startout to becomea pilot, but in1977 when herh u s b a n d ,Don, got his li-cense, she de-cided to learnenough in case there was an emer-gency.

“I was just going to take enoughlessons to learn to land the plane, ifwe got in trouble,” she said, “butthen I started it, and I really loved it.”

After the required 40 hours oftraining from Marshall instructorSam Dyer, she got her license inMarch 1978.

“I think that was the most funthing I ever did, was learn to fly,” shesaid.

She also praised Dyer, who stillgives lessons at Marshall’s airport.

“I think he is a good instructor, henever made me nervous at all,” shesaid. “I think he was a good man forboth of us to learn to fly from.”

To obtain her license, she had topass written tests, as well as a finalflying exam from an instructor in

Kansas. “We stud-

ied a lot ofthings I knewn o t h i n gabout,” shesaid, adding,she alwaysloved schooland studying.“Being able topass the me-

terology is the hardest part of it, but Ireally loved it. I hadn’t been in schoolfor several years, and I just really ap-plied myself .”

Although she hasn’t flown asmany hours as her husband, it is ahobby they’ve enjoyed as a couple.

“I think Donnie is proud of me,”she said. “I said I might try it, and heencouraged me to do it. Then when Itook a few lessons he encouraged meto go ahead and get my license too.”

They purchased a 1976 four pas-senger Cessna (Archer) in 1981,which they still own today.

“We’ve flown it a lot of differentplaces,” she said, including vacationsand golf trips. When road closingsduring the Flood of 1993 made get-ting to a Chillicothe tournament dif-ficult, she flew her plane overinstead.

Relaxed in Flight

20 ►►

Marcia Gorrell/Democrat-News

22

“My girlfriend up there pickedme up, and we played in the golftournament,” she said.

An injury has kept her from fly-ing for a few years, but she hopes tostart back again this summer.

“I broke my leg, and I wonderedif I should do it again,” she said.“But I am back to myself now, so Iam going to try to get back in theplane and fly.”

Although she will have to getmedical clearance to fly again, shesaid the lack of brute strengthshouldn’t keep women from learn-ing to fly.

“If you aren’t physically fit, Idon’t think you could do it. It’s ahands-feet operation to fly an air-plane, and you just have to havesome coordination and strength,”

s h esaid. “The hardest

thing is pulling the plane out of thehanger.”

Through the years, they have be-come very connected to the Mar-shall Airport and are members ofthe Marshall Flying Club. They also

w o r kf o rD y e rp a r t -time, who, in addition toteaching, has a crop-dusting busi-ness.

“I do Sam’s bookwork and takecare of his logbooks when he givescheck rides. In the summer, I do allthe billing for the spraying,” shesaid, adding she works a lot morehours in the summer than she doesin winter. A retired farmer, Don alsohelps Dyer by mixing up chemicalsfor the spray planes.

Malter wasn’t ever afraid of fly-ing, because she had been in a smallplane with her husband. However,some would-be pilots have to getover their initial fear.

The key to flying safely is to nottake unnecessary risks.

“Generally people that have ac-cidents are people who aren’t re-sponsible enough to make sureweather is something they can flyin, that they have plenty of fueland that their plane is taken careof,” she said. “You have to be asensible person to be a pilot.You can’t be careless, and youcan’t be a daredevil.”

Malter admits it can be ex-pensive to keep up a plane and payfor the necessary plane and pilotchecks, but learning to fly is cer-tainly not a decision she regrets.

“It’s like, you’re just free as a birdwhen you’re flying an airplane, andit’s just fun,” she said. “It’s just a funhobby.”

In the 1480s, Leonardo da Vinci madethe first studies of aviation, creatingmore than 100 illustrations of his theo-ries. The Ornithopter flying machinewas never created, however, today’s hel-icopter is based on that concept.

FLIGHT