Volume 75 17 CONTENTS | JULY 2022 | Number 7 30 36 8 Storm safe IN EVERY ISSUE Ozark Border Electric teams with first responders 12 Giving back Jared's Jams shows off its namesake's abilities 17 Summers on the vine Droke Family Farms fuels Missouri's melon mania 24 Handcrafted harmony Maysville man creates one-of-a-kind instruments ON THE COVER 36 An incredible journey Events celebrate the historic Black bicycle corps 52 Truth and exaggeration Jim Dyke colors the world as he sees it For more than 40 years Droke Family Farms has been growing the sweet juicy treats of summer. Read about the multi-generation family business on page 17. MISSOURI RURAL JULY 2022 | ruralmissouri.coop 4 Cooperation 5 Perspectives 8 Community 30 Eats 40 Outdoors 45 Recipes 48 Events 52 Neighbors 55 Just4Kids Jared's Jams | Spanish Street Farmacy | Buffalo Soldiers July22_Cover 1.indd 1 6/7/22 10:35 AM JULY 2022 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 3http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP