The Journal

Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: News

Don Corrigan.

When he was in the fifth grade, Don Corrigan would deliver some 130 newspapers from one basket on the front of his bike and two on the back. His route led him to rural areas, where he'd sneak off to spend time at the local bluffs before heading home.


"I just like the challenge of climbing up them, and I like the vistas and being able to look out and see," said Corrigan, a professor in the communications and journalism department. "There's something liberating about being on top of high places."


More than 40 years later, Corrigan's appreciation for nature has not subsided. Corrigan spent the last two years traveling the state of Missouri writing his book, "Show Me… Natural Wonders," expected to be released later this summer.


In his book, Corrigan explores what he deems to be Missouri's natural wonders. The book, about 230 pages, is divided into four parts: bluffs; springs, streams and unusual water features; caves and "just special places," which consists of nature trails, wetlands, boulder piles, unusual forests and some of Mother Nature's other marvels.


"I've always been attracted to those places," he said.


After a family trip to the Grand Canyon several years back, Corrigan said he looked at the deserts and rock and thought the Show Me State also had its share of natural wonders.


"I thought to myself, Missouri has a lot of interesting sites," Corrigan said. "We've got natural sites in our own right, and they've got a stark beauty."


And so Corrigan was inspired to write a book highlighting Missouri's nature. In his book, Corrigan said he asks people to think about what might have happened at a particular site, like a natural disaster or historical event.


"(It's) not really a tour guide, but a way to think about sites," Corrigan said. "I tried to give them (readers) a sense of place and why it's important to be at this place."


As an example, he cited the bluffs in the Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson. In 1838, thousands of Cherokee Indians were forced to migrate from their native homeland, crossing the Mississippi River, in response to the Indian Removal Act of 1830.


"That bluff was probably the last thing many of those Cherokees saw," he said.


Most of the natural wonders Corrigan writes about are accompanied by more than 100 black-and-white pencil, or graphite, drawings by illustrator Ed ward J. Thias.


"He (Corrigan) writes about what's in the drawing and the drawing indicates what he's written about," Thias said.


Thias also wrote a two-year column for the Webster-Kirkwood Times and South County Times, where Corrigan serves as editor-in-chief. For the column, "Historical snapshots," Thias took photos of buildings in the paper's readership area. Thias is an architect and used to have an office downtown. He now works from home.


The two are both college professors. Corrigan has taught journalism courses at Webster for more than 30 years, and Thias teaches art and architecture classes part-time at St. Louis Community College at Meramec.


However, Corrigan said the two differ in their political views. He and Thias would bicker about politics at Denny's and then head to the bluffs to work on the book together and everything would be fine between them.


"We get along, but we have our disagreements," said Thias, adding he and Corrigan hope to create a second book together on state landmarks.


Although Thias sometimes accompanied Corrigan on his trips around the state, Corrigan found other ways to reconnect with nature. Corrigan, who also is adviser to The Journal, would use free time on journalism trips to spend time outdoors and find new natural sites for his book.


"I always slipped out to those places," Corrigan said.


When journalism conventions were held at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Corrigan said he would sneak away to Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, also in Columbia.


"It's a great way to get away from it all for several hours," he said.


In addition to showcasing the state's "natural wonders," the book also touches on Missouri recreation, like bike riding and mountain climbing.


Reedy Press, a St. Louis-based company, published the book. Josh Stevens, co-owner of Reedy Press, said the 4-year-old company publishes books on general nonfiction, cultural studies, sports and social and regional history.


"I'm not a big naturalist myself, but it made me feel like I was there without having to go," Stevens said. "The quality of the prose is beyond what we normally see."


While Corrigan discovers an array of Missouri's natural history in the pages of "Show Me… Natural Wonders," he said he doesn't favor any particular site.


"I can't say I have a favorite," he said. "I do have to say that I have fond memories at some of these sites."

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