"Men of No Reputation" author to speak Thursday, Aug. 8

An historical book with an infamous connection to Webb City and Carterville will be the topic of an upcoming special event at Joplin Public Library.

Kimberly Harper, an editor for the Missouri Historical Review, will discuss her new book, “Men of No Reputation: Robert Boatright, the Buckfoot Gang and the Fleecing of Middle America” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the library.

According to the book’s description,

“Men of No Reputation” is the first account to explore the life of Robert Boatright, one of Middle America’s most gifted, but forgotten, confidence men. Boatright’s story provides a rare window into the secret world of Missouri’s criminal past, which influenced the methods of confidence men across the country.

Boatright took the preexisting big-store confidence scheme and perfected it. With the assistance of a talented coterie of confederates known as the Buckfoot Gang, this “dean of modern confidence men” fleeced the gentry of the Midwest on fixed athletic contests in the turn-of-the-century Ozarks. Working in concert with a local bank and an influential Democratic boss, Boatright seemed untouchable. A series of missteps, however, led to a string of court cases across the country that brought his criminal enterprise to an end. And yet, the con continued. Boatright’s successor, John C. Mabray, and his cronies, many of whom had been in the Buckfoot Gang, preyed upon victims across North America in one of the largest Midwestern criminal syndicates in history before they were brought to heel. Like the works of Sinclair Lewis, Boatright’s story exposes a rift in the wholesome Midwestern stereotype and furthers our understanding of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American society.

You can listen to Kyle Kellams, of KUAF public radio, Fayetteville, Ark., interview Harper when the book came out in February.

Harper earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Arkansas. She received the Missouri Humanities Council’s Distinguished Achievement in Literature (Non-Fiction) Award for her book “White Man’s Heaven: The Lynching and Expulsion of Blacks in the Southern Ozarks, 1894-1909.”

Annual iris sale set for Aug. 3

The Tri-State Iris Society will hold its annual iris sale from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Webb City Farmers Market.

In addition to the sale, there will be two demonstrations: How to plant iris at 9:30 a.m., and How to divide iris rhizomes at 10:30 a.m.

The sale and demonstrations are open to the public.

Missouri Traveler Map can now be viewed on smartphones without an app

The Missouri Department of Transportation’s Traveler Information Map is now accessible through internet browsers on mobile devices. The update allows the map to be displayed on mobile devices without having to download the Traveler Information Map App.

The map provides the traveling public with traffic updates, road conditions and closures, as well as winter road conditions. More customers can now access this information through their mobile device’s browser. The mobile app version will still be available for download and will provide the same up-to-date information. When the app is installed on a device, it will launch in place of the mobile browser version.

“MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map provides a great service to the traveling public, allowing them to check road closures and conditions and plan accordingly to avoid interruptions to their trip,” said MoDOT Safety and Emergency Management Director Chris Engelbrecht. “More importantly, when weather conditions aren’t ideal, it helps our customers stay informed of impacts to the roads and make decisions to remain safe.”

To view the Traveler Information Map on computer or phone, visit https://traveler.modot.org.