Vicki Berger Erwin

On a crisp December day in 1963, Nancy Zanone left her young son and daughter playing in the backyard while she went inside to check the laundry. She never came back. A troubled teen prowling for unlocked doors along Chippewa in South St. Louis surprised her in the kitchen and stabbed her to death. Despite Joseph Arbeiter's confession and hard evidence, he was freed on a technicality. In response, Zanone's family fought to change how juvenile murderers are tried in the state of Missouri. Local authors Vicki Berger Erwin and Bryan Erwin investigate the senseless tragedy and the family's quest for justice.

A Presidential Love Story When a young officer newly graduated from West Point met the oldest daughter of a gruff, Missouri slaveowner, farmer, and land speculator, it was love at first sight. Ulysses Grant and Julia Dent courted at her family farm, White Haven, until he was called away to the Mexican War. Secretly engaged, Ulysses wrote tender letters to Julia between daring exploits in battle. On his return, they were married. Ulysses' military career stagnated and after a miserable period of separation while he was stationed on the West Coast, Ulysses resigned to join Julia at White Haven before his second stint during the Civil War. Authors Vicki and Jim Erwin relate the Grants' early life, their courtship, their life in Missouri, and how that life shaped their future.

Take an Historic Tour through the Gateway City St, Louis is well known for its stunning arch that represents the Gateway to the West. But the city has many more exciting landmarks and historic sites that offer a glimpse into the past. Join Author Vicki Berger Erwin as she guides you through the rich past of an iconic city.

From the duel on Bloody Island to the "Missouri Miracle" kidnapping and recovery of Shawn Hornbeck, Missouri has seen its share of notorious crimes. The Show-Me State was home to the first Western gunfight on the town square between Wild Bill Hickok and Dave Tutt. The three trials of the alleged murderer of Colonel Thomas Swope, the founder of Kansas City's Swope Park, enveloped the state. Residents also saw the killings within a few blocks of each other that inspired the songs "Stagger Lee" and "Frankie and Johnny." Vicki Berger Erwin and James W. Erwin explore crimes, criminals, and victims from the violent history of the last two hundred years in the Show-Me State.

During the nineteenth century, more than three hundred boats met their end in the steamboat graveyard that was the Lower Missouri River, from Omaha to its mouth. Although derided as little more than an "orderly pile of kindling," steamboats were, in fact, technological marvels superbly adapted to the river's conditions. Their light superstructure and long, wide, flat hulls powered by high-pressure engines drew so little water that they could cruise on "a heavy dew" even when fully loaded. But these same characteristics made them susceptible to fires, explosions and snags--tree trunks ripped from the banks, hiding under the water's surface. Authors Vicki and James Erwin detail the perils that steamboats, their passengers and crews faced on every voyage.

During the nineteenth century, more than three hundred boats met their end in the steamboat graveyard that was the Lower Missouri River, from Omaha to its mouth. Although derided as little more than an "orderly pile of kindling," steamboats were, in fact,

On a crisp December day in 1963, Nancy Zanone left her young son and daughter playing in the backyard while she went inside to check the laundry. She never came back. A troubled teen prowling for unlocked doors along Chippewa in South St. Louis surprised her in the kitchen and stabbed her to death. Despite Joseph Arbeiter's confession and hard evidence, he was freed on a technicality. In response, Zanone's family fought to change how juvenile murderers are tried in the state of Missouri. Local authors Vicki Berger Erwin and Bryan Erwin investigate the senseless tragedy and the family's quest for justice.

Twelve-year-old Rosie is fiercely proud to be an American, and has a happy life with her family in their comfortable home in sunny Honolulu, Hawaii. Then, on the morning of December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor is bombed and everything changes. Rosie's parents, both of German descent -- but American citizens who have lived in Hawaii nearly all their lives -- are immediately rounded up by the military. Though they've done nothing wrong, they are interrogated as German spies and imprisoned, and all the family's possessions are seized. Within days, Rosie and her brother are abandoned and homeless. A relative begrudgingly takes them in until their beloved aunt (who was also rounded up, but released) comes for them. Even then, the children's once-idyllic lives are filled with darkness and discrimination as they can only wait -- and hope -- for their parents' safe return. Based on true events, Different Days tells the story of a little-known aspect of World War II: the Internment of German Americans.

After its founding in 1836, Mexico was named county seat of the newly formed Audrain County. Growth in the primarily agricultural region was slow until the coming of the North Missouri Railroad and the Graduation Act that made land available from the federal government for 12.5 an acre. With the introduction of breeding and training saddle horses, the discovery of fire clay deposits, and the implementation of more efficient means of turning the clay into heat resistant brick, Mexico's star ascended. During its heyday, the city was known as the saddle horse capital and the firebrick capital of the world. Today Mexico continues to survive and thrive as main street of the Midwest.