Chapter Six: 1932: Washington

Virtual Event Aired: September 2nd, 2020 

Even though the country was in the Great Depression, the Missouri River was creating activity in Washington – both on the river and in its busy downtown. Projects to tame the flooding of the river were underway and the construction on the city’s first bridge across the Missouri was about to begin. A few miles east in Gray Summit, the countryside provided a refuge for a valued orchid collection from St. Louis.

Special Guest: 
Peter H. Raven, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden and George Engelmann Professor of Botany, Washington University. Dr. Raven, world leading botanist and recipient of the National Medal of Science, will discuss the smog problem that forced the Missouri Botanical Garden to move its orchid collection from St. Louis to Gray Summit in 1925.
Missouri’s rich German heritage is highlighted throughout “Growing Up with the River.” In this activity you will have fun learning German as you explore how to say words from the book in German.
The below image illustrates the different towns featured in Growing Up with the River.  
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