Aged 37 years, 8 months, & 27 days.

Suger Creek Cemetery Moberly, MO.

Mary died on September 10th, 1870. She was the wife of William Culp and had "Aged 37 years, 8 months, & 27 days". Having passed away almost 140 years ago I wonder if Mary's family still tend to the grave or does any family still survive?

It seems that when I visit cemetery's be it to lay a loved one to rest or to walk among the departed and look for photographs the weather is rather gray and ominous. Last Sunday was no different. A cold wind was blowing, and a very dark sky was following it.

I believe that infrared photography is quite suited for the cemetery, it help set the mood. You will most likely see more IR cemetery's in the future.

GAW

Canon S5 IS converted to IR. 1/80 @ f4.0 ISO80. Custom WB.

Pizza Works

Pizza Works, I have a bit of history with this pizza joint starting before I was old enough to drive. When one of my school buddy's (J.U.B.) got his license it was like getting out of prison, at least to a 15 year old living in a town of about 700-800 people with one stop sign, a gas station and a beer joint. A car load of us would go to the Pizza Works pool our money and order a pizza, typically we ate the majority of the pizza with the rest expertly applied to the wall's, table, seats, floor, and window. We were only asked to leave a few times and occasionally we were threatened by the waitress to clean up our mess or else!

I turned 16 in 1984 and became the owner of a 1973 VW Super beetle (see Pizza Files post). I soon found out that gas money didn't grow on trees, so I made the rounds to the Wal-Marts (just think how much stock I would have if I had got that job and still worked there today, I would probably still be mopping the floors, but...), IGA's, McDonald's, etc. At some point I found my self filling out a application at of all places Pizza Works. I learned quite a few lessons while working there.
1. It can be a lot of fun working in a pizza joint.
2. It can be a lot of WORK working in a pizza joint.
3. If you work at a pizza joint everybody you know wants free pizza.
4. How to mop the floor.
5. How to make a really good pizza.
6. To despise insulate teenagers that make a mess for the sake of making a mess (I think that was me).
7. To like and/or eat onions, mushrooms, olives and anchovies.
I worked at Pizza Works until Christmas Eve 1986 when I had had enough, I left the manager a note stating I wouldn't be back, EVER! Some time after that I became a customer again, a better customer this time, I didn't blow the tip money in video games and I didn't make anywhere near as big a mess.

To my knowledge Pizza Works has been around since the early 1980's with at least 5 or 6 restaurants. The first being in Mexico, MO, I don't recall the other locations out side of Moberly. They were owned by a couple of Guys named Ken and Bruce, whom I met once or twice while working there.

Pizza Works has a pizza style all their own, with their crust being what sets them apart from the rest. The crust has a uniform thickness that gives it some structure when holding it. It is cooked in a pizza pan with a small lip so that the sauce and other ingredients don't run over the edge of the crust. When done the crust is light golden brown and just a bit crispy on the bottom. The dough and pizza sauce were made fresh on site in the past and I suspect they still are. The pizza's are round but cut on the square. It must be a mental thing but I prefer their pizza square cut over pie.

At this point I would normally tell you that I ordered pepperoni, Canadian bacon, meatballs and onions, or some variation of that pie, but it's a different story at the Pizza Works. My favorite is the BJ special (named I believe after one of the owners Bruce Johnson?), it has pepperoni, sausage, onions and a dash of parmasan on top (before baking) of course there is also a thick mild red sauce and a generous helping of mozzarella cheese. One of the things that make the BJ special different is that the pepperonis and sausage are under the cheese, the other is that the sausage is used very sparingly, and for me a little sausage goes a long way. The combination works great, the sausage doesn't have a chance to overpower the other ingredeants. As stated above the crust is sturdy and can be easily handled with one hand (forks not allowed). I usually order mine to go, and this time was no exception. By the time you get home the pizza will have reached that ideal eating temperature. If I'm the only one eating I must physically restrain my self from eating the whole pizza, and you can imagine how hard that is...

My take-out expirance was excellent, and the pizza passes the "Would I pay for it?" test with a most definently Yes. Pizza Works is located at 319 N Morley St. Moberly, MO. You can reach them at (660) 263-8102.

Highly Recommended.

GAW

Pizza House, Merrill's Pizza or...

The phone rings, when I answer it's my contact. "How many do you want? I need to know by tomorrow". My reply as always is "I can do three, let me know when they are ready". Let me set the record straight right here, I said contact and that would be my pizza contact, not my drug dealer.

To make a long story short, this review starts in the early 70's, and if you read my earlier post you will have read a bit about the Pizza House and my humble beginnings in the world of pizza. So in the beginning (1970's) there was the Pizza House, next came Merrill's Pizza (mid 80's), the short lived McKenisey Junction steak house (late 90's early 00's) that sold more pizza than steak, until the new highway came along. When McKenisey Junction was closed we (Pizza House fans, I'm not alone) thought that was the end, but as you can see from the photo above we were wrong. I don't know who's idea it was, Merrill's (chief pizza maker and all around good guy) or a fan, but with in a year's time word spread Merrill would be making pizza again. The way it works is, Merrill goes down his phone list asking how many they want and telling them when the pizza's will be ready. Ever since his phone list has grown, he makes something like 800 pizza's a session. My contact and I are small time, combined we may order up to 10 pizza's. Once the call comes in I have about 2 weeks to plan the 6 hour round trip to pickup my pizza's. My 3 pies will last about 4-5 weeks, with the first gone within 2-3 days.

Once the pizza's are in my freezer, I'm only 20 minutes away from 35 years ago. Preheat the oven to 450, place the pizza directly on the middle rack and cook for 15 minutes, put it in the pizza box, cut it into 8 pieces, and close the box and let it rest for a few minutes. When you open the box it's just like you walked in the house from the pizza joint, if you really want the proper experience sit in your car with the pizza for 10 minutes (if you can last that long). I'm a creature of habit, so this is the same pizza we would order back in the day. Back then it was a Spartan Special with hamburger, today it's pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and hamburger. Starting at the bottom, the crust is thin, but not so thin it can't hold up whats on top, the edge is almost crunchy. I believe the crust has evolved since the early days, but it's been so long that I can's say which is better. The sauce is thick and not over spiced, it's spread around in just the right amount. The cheese is "100% Real Mozzarella Cheese" and what ever you do don't ask for extra cheese, Thats a whole other story. The Canadian bacon is the real thing, not just sliced ham, the pepperonis bight back just the right amount, and the hamburger comes from a local butcher shop. I have to make myself stop eating without some strong will power I will power through the whole 14inch pizza, and not realize what I've done. When I hear the word Pizza this is what pops into my mind.

At this point I would normally give you some contact information, but I have none to give. Even if I did have a phone number or email address I probably wouldn't give it out, as it may get me stricken from the next round of pizza's. If you aren't in Merrill's phone book you are out of luck, that includes me as I rely on an intermediary. So for those in the know (you know who you are) I highly recommend Merrill's One Man Pizza Show. for the rest of you to bad...

Highly Recommended.

GAW