What company or organization do you work at right now? If you’re retired, where did you last work?
Author, Speaker, and Conference Leader. Retired newspaper and magazine editor.
Why do you support Missouri Humanities?
As a member of the Missouri Speakers Bureau, I have opportunity to travel across the state and see the amazing work rural communities are doing to promote their history and sense of place. Missouri Humanities supports and enhances many of these communities’ efforts.
I volunteer with organizations in my community that have benefited from Missouri Humanities grants. I have seen first-hand the difference grant money makes in local non-profit organizations.
Why did you become a Missouri Humanities member?
Missouri Humanities helps us understand how we are shaped by our past, people and places. Our past informs us as we move into the future, as we leave our distinctive mark on history and encourage future generations to do the same.
I believe in the mission of Missouri Humanities, especially the promotion of life-long learning. I became a member to financially support programs that support its mission.
When did you first develop an interest in humanities?
When I was in high school, I was selected for a semester-long honors English project. I chose prohibition as my topic, inspired by a 1924 whiskey prescription I bought at an antiques show. That scrap of paper led me to realize the impact of history on our culture. It also led me to become interested in our community’s history, as I researched the physician who wrote the prescription as well as the drugstore that filled it. The project resulted in my interest in the people and places that shape our communities—and how, in turn, our communities shape them.
Provide a short biography about yourself.
Dr. Becky Imhauser is an author, educator, keynote speaker, and conference leader. She has been named Missouri’s Best Local Author for the past five consecutive years based on her 22 published books. She holds a doctorate degree in Education. Her dissertation focused on researching and communicating site or organizational history.
Becky is a presenter for the Show Me Missouri Speakers’ Bureau, Missouri State Fair, Sedalia Chamber of Commerce, Katy Depot Historic Site, Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival, Queen of the Prairie Art Festival, Leadership Sedalia, and numerous civic, service, and educational organizations. She enjoys sharing her community with guests by being a tour guide for the Sedalia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival. Becky serves as a board member of the Sedalia Historic Preservation Commission, Scott Joplin Ragtime Foundation, and Sedalia Area Tourism Coalition. She has also served as a board member for Sedalia Main Streets (Downtown Sedalia), Pettis County Historical Society, Liberty Center Association for the Arts.
Because of her interest in history, Becky enjoys historic preservation. She and her husband, Bill Imhauser, purchased and restored two historic buildings (built in 1884 and 1905) in downtown Sedalia. Becky and Bill enjoy being involved in their community, serving on civic boards and through the First United Methodist Church.
Becky’s goal is to help people find a sense of place. She seeks to help them connect to their community through relationships and involvement, and through an awareness of local history.
What are you reading or listening to?
I am re-reading All the Ways Our Dead Still Speak by Caleb Wilde. I resonate with the way he describes the influence of our ancestors and reminds us of our influence— that we, too, will become ancestors.
Fun fact that people probably don’t know about you!
Playing accordion was on my bucket list when I turned a certain age that ended in a zero. My son bought me an accordion as a gag gift, and I turned the gag around by finding a nearly 90-year-old accordion teacher. My lessons were more inspiration than education. Now I play accordion in parades, when bell ringing for the Salvation Army at Christmas, and at civic and church events.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Peanut M&Ms
Describe what a perfect day outside of work would look like for you.
Spending time on one of our family farms – specifically, riding through fields and woods and fishing from a pond bank.
What would be the theme song of your life right now?
I keep “What a Wonderful World” as recorded by Louis Armstrong playing in the back of my mind as I care for my 93-year-old mother. That is her favorite song, which she frequently quoted before dementia overtook her.
Most days it’s nearly impossible to see “wonderful.” Yet, I remember the wonderful aspects of Mom’s life that she described when she referred to the song title. Now I rejoice with her when she re-lives snippets of them.
Best restaurant you’ve ever been to?
Kehde’s BBQ in Sedalia, where you can dine in a restored train car. More than the outstanding food, the “best” for me is the Kehde family, now in its fourth generation of serving customers. The Kehdes have supported and continue to our community in a wide variety of ways.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever done?
When I research for history books and projects, I sometimes live in the past and feel I know people personally. One day I encountered a research puzzle while writing a book about Inter-State Studio, North America’s largest family-owned school photography and yearbook publishing company. I left my office and went down the hall to visit with Mary Alice Snyder. I knew she could clarify my research, as she was wife of the company founder’s. It took a few minutes for me to return to present-day and remember that Mary Alice had passed away nearly 20 years before.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
I’m an early, early morning person. Actually, I’m a middle-of-the-night person. I love to rise around 3 a.m. and write in the stillness of the night, fueled by successive mugs of coffee.
What life or career advice do you life by? Who gave it to you?
Mary McLaughlin shared a saying from her mother with me at a time I felt “placeless.” The statement pointed out that there was a place that needed me, and that I needed a place. Mary helped me bring the two together.
I met Mary when she buried my first husband through her family-owned McLaughlin Funeral Chapel. My husband had died unexpectedly, and I was struggling to navigate as a single mother with a two- and seven-year-old. I also was finding my way in a new community, where I had moved after his death.
Mary buried my husband and resurrected my life. She helped me find a place in the community by connecting me with civic groups and organizations where I could volunteer. Mary was a former bookstore owner and remained in touch with publishers. One day, she handed me a packet from a publisher seeking history book submissions. My query, submitted with Mary’s encouragement, was accepted. That was the beginning of my second career as an author and, as from my published books, a speaker.
Mary continues to be a mentor, encourager, and role model to me and many others.
