Writing

Journalism

As a journalist, my love for writing and reporting can be traced back to elementary school, when I would often take notes on field trips to write about later. Since, I have written countless articles for many publications: My high school's newspaper, the Pirate Press; the Boonville Daily News; city council summaries for KMZU-FM; The Muleskinner at the University of Central Missouri; the Jefferson City News Tribune and the California Democrat.

My experience with journalism extends beyond writing, but also includes multimedia elements - including videos, audio, infographics, and interactive elements - for a truly rounded package.

Skills: Interviewing, research, journalistic writing (AP style), multimedia elements, photography, videography, collecting/interpreting data, Sunshine/FOIA requests, social media content management

Software: WordPress, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, GPS

Dick's Mill to be moved and restored

March 20, 2024 • California Democrat

A grist mill in southeastern Cooper County long forgotten by many was once the core of a community. After years of private restoration, the Missouri River Valley Steam Engine Association is moving the three-level wood structure to its Brady Showgrounds to further restore it, preserving it for generations to come.

This article is behind a soft paywall. To request a copy, please contact me.

Railroad mural completed

Nov. 29, 2023 • California Democrat

A mural honoring California's railroad ties — which caused the city to grow into the "Twin Cities" as industry sprang up around the Missouri Pacific line — was completed after months of work. A child of a former Missouri Pacific employee assisted Jefferson City muralist Dennis Holliday with the installation.

This article is behind a soft paywall. To request a copy, please contact me.

Basketball tournament honors California student

Sept. 25, 2023 • California Democrat

Basketball was in Lucas Oswald's heart.

After Lucas' death in July 2021, his heart changed Ken Fager's life. The recipient of Oswald's heart made the 600-mile journey from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to attend the third annual Lucas Oswald Memorial three-on-three basketball tournament in California, Missouri.

This article is behind a soft paywall. To request a copy, please contact me.

Moniteau County hosts Missouri Young Farmers tour

July 19, 2023 • California Democrat

Several points of interest — local farms, manufacturing facilities and other businesses — throughout Moniteau County were highlighted in the 2023 Missouri Young Farmers and Young Farm Wives Association's annual rotating tour.

This article is behind a soft paywall. To request a copy, please contact me.

California barber celebrates 70 years of cutting hair

Nov. 30, 2022 • California Democrat

A lot has changed in 70 years, but Roy Dean Simpson's shop in California, Missouri, has been a constant since he opened it in 1952.

This article is behind a soft paywall. To request a copy, please contact me.

Holts Summit Lions Club celebrates 50 years of service

Nov. 9, 2021 • Jefferson City News Tribune

In November 2020, the Holts Summit Lions Club celebrated its 50th anniversary. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club had to postpone its 50th anniversary celebration a year late.

Despite that, many community members and Lions — from Holts Summit and surrounding clubs — joined the celebration, which featured free food, an oral presentation about the history of the club and dedication of the building to a long-time member of the club. Another member of the club was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship award, one of the highest honors in the national organization.

This article is behind a soft paywall. To request a copy, please contact me.

Elevator Outages Drop Despite Aging Equipment

Jan. 30, 2019 • The Muleskinner

Elevator outages are a common occurrence at the University of Central Missouri. So common, in fact, that a Twitter page memorializing the elevators was setup and memes covering the elevator outages became a part of campus culture.

My article, written for The Muleskinner, explored the reliability of the 31 passenger elevators on campus. The average age of the elevators was 27 years old, with the oldest dating back to 1964. Despite aging equipment, elevator reliability improved year-over-year since 2012.

This article featured an interactive map made using Google Maps to show details about each elevator. Each pin, representing a campus elevator, included photos, inspection results, and number of outages. Data for the map was acquired from UCM's Facilities, Planning and Operations office via a Sunshine Request.

This article was mentioned in Elevator World, a trade magazine for elevator technicians.

A Look Back In Time At University High

Oct. 24, 2018 • The Muleskinner

Between its inception as a teaching (normal) school in 1871 to 1976, the University of Central Missouri operated a training school on campus to not only train aspiring teachers, but also teach local children. The University operated two training schools - an elementary school (Central Elementary), and a high school (College High, later University High.)

My article, featured in the 2018 Homecoming issue of The Muleskinner, discusses the history of the training schools. I talked to three College/University High alums who are still active in the University community.

The story takes a look at their memories of College/University High and how alumni continue to connect today through reunions.

A photo slideshow featuring historic photos gathered from the McClure Archives and University Museum was created to complement the story.

Diemer, Yeater Halls Remain Vacant Despite Long History

Sept. 6, 2018 • The Muleskinner

Every day, thousands of students at the University of Central Missouri pass by two vacant residence halls: George Diemer Hall and Laura J. Yeater Hall.

My story offers a glimpse into the history of both residence halls, as well as their future. Officials in University Housing spoke about the state of the residence halls and their potential futures.

The story features photo slideshows showing the present state of the halls, as well as archived photos from the 1940s and 50s when they were still new. Archived photos were gathered from the McClure Archives and University Museum.

The story was published on The Muleskinner's social media as a way to engage with University alumni and hear their stories.

This story won third place for Multimedia Package in the division 1 newspaper awards at the 2018 Missouri College Media Association's annual ceremony. The award was shared between me and Britain Bray, who illustrated the Yeater facade as the story's featured image.

Blogging

On my personal blog, I cover a wide variety of topics that pique my interest. Majority of the content relates to my interest in vintage computers, such as my vintage computer collection. Below is a selection of just a couple of my self-published works.

Software: WordPress, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop

Computing History @ UCM

As the University of Central Missouri celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary in 2021, this self-published project discusses the early days of computing at UCM. The project covers the mainframe era, 1963 to the 1980s, as well as the early days of microcomputers (personal computers) on campus.

The article is the result of three years of research using primary source documents, such as previous issues of the Rhetor yearbooks and The Student and The Muleskinner newspapers, acquired from the McClure Archives and University Museum at the James C. Kirkpatrick Library. Work on the project started in January 2018 and continued through February 2021.

AT&T Long Lines - A Forgotten Tale

Before the era of fiber optics and satellites, microwave relay and coaxial cable networks were used to get telephone calls, radio/television broadcasts, and other data from coast to coast.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, American Telephone and Telegraph - a part of the infamous Bell System - operated the Long Lines microwave relay network to connect the nation. Long-distance telephone calls, television broadcasts and more were relayed from tower to tower until they reached their destination.

Since the 1990s, the towers that once played the backbone of the American telephony infrastructure have went unnoticed. The towers have been demolished or repurposed for cellular phone or ham radio use while newer technologies, like fiber optics and satellites, have taken over their previous purpose.

My article sheds light on the once-crucial role these mysterious towers once played in daily American life.

Basilisk II: Classic Mac Emulator

From its introduction in 1984, Apple's Macintosh line of computers has had a long history. Today, vintage Macintosh computers are collectors items, as the people who grew up with them or used them "back in the day" want to relive old memories.

Without purchasing a bulky and expensive vintage Macintosh (like the one I'm typing this from), one can play all of the Macintosh games and software they remember directly from their modern computer using an emulator such as Basilisk II.

In this post, which is the first in a series reviewing various vintage Macintosh emulators, I discuss the installation and configuration process and review classic Macintosh software and games running in Basilisk II.

Technical Writing