After 85 years, my Mother recalls her time as a Missouri Nature Knight

I love this time of year as families post their back to school photos and their children anticipate the start of another school year. So, I thought it might be an appropriate time to share a few comments on the impact of an elementary learning activity that still influences my mother after eighty-five years.

The Missouri Conservationist published a couple of references to a Nature Knights program over several issues this spring. One Letter to the Editor from the May 2025 issue caught my mother's attention and triggered memories of her time attending a one room school house. Amazingly, she was able to find a scrapbook she kept as a youngster recording her school activities and it included a pledge card and pin for the Nature Knights program, one of many accomplishments on her path as a lifelong learner that continues today. 

She is also still very proud of her time in the program and recalls how it supported her passion for learning about nature that she developed growing up on a farm in the Loutre River Valley south of Minneola, MO. 

She maintains a subscription to this day for The Missouri Conservationist and reads through each issue before passing them along with notes when she finds a particularly interesting article. She has also over the years made sure to encourage a love of nature by giving various Missouri Conservation Department publications to her own children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. 

 

The Missouri Nature Knights program was aimed at every Missouri boy and girl between the ages of 

six and fifteen. You can read more details about Missouri Nature Knights in "Conservation Commission Sponsors Plan For Young Missourians to Aid Wildlife Program," from the January 1939 issue of The Missouri Conservationist, pp.1, 2 and 7.

The article explains that any elementary student could become a Missouri Nature Knight by signing a pledge card designed by Walt Disney. 

The program included ranks of Squire, Knight and Conservationist, each with unique buttons or badges awarded on completion of activities prescribed by the Conservation Commission. The highest award was the gold medal awarded for outstanding achievement. 

Participants kept their own records of "...self-improvement projects such as bird, tree and animal identification, starting conservation museums and libraries, exploration of brooks and farm lands, winter feeding of birds, planting food patches, building bird houses, making conservation posters, making field trips."

Nature Knights was part of a broader effort by the Conservation Commission to provide cumulative experiences over a number of years to help restore Missouri's natural resources.

Consider leaving a note below if you or someone you know has an experience with the Missouri Nature Knights or a similar program.

RV Shipments thru June 2025

Data from the RV Industry Association’s monthly survey of manufacturers for June 2025 was recently posted.  Total RV shipments for the first half of 2025 that ended in June were up 6.8% with 190,705 units. Additionally, this 6-month total represents over on-half (57.1%) of all 2024 shipments.

In June 2025 29,332 units were shipped, a 15.9 percent increase over the 25,308 units shipped in June 2024. 

For comparison, shipments for all of 2024 were 333,733 well below the peak of 600,240 reached in 2021. 2024 shipments were also higher than the 45-year mean of 295,146 units. So, it looks at this point 2025 RV shipments will maintain the upward momentum building since 2023.

You can see in the chart below that most of the volatility arises from Towable RV shipments. These include four categories [travel trailers, fifth wheels, folding camping trailers, and truck campers]. Motorhome shipments have been more stable in recent years and include those from the larger Class A's and C's, as well as, the Class B vans. 

While the motorhome shipments have been relatively stable overall, there is more variability month-to-month when looking at the subcategories. Class C's are the largest of the three categories. And, Class A shipments historically exceeded those of camper vans. Though this latter pattern changed in late 2021 and since then, more Class B's are shipped each month. 

While relatively small when compared with other categories, Class B shipments of 8,349 units in 2024  were several times larger than the 2,123 units in 2012 or 2,177 units shipped in 2013. However, they were quite a bit lower than the 17,026 units shipped in 2022 or 11,932 units shipped in 2023. 

With 4,265 Class B units shipped through the first six months of 2025, it looks like Class B units shipped this year will just about equal the total for 2024.

Class B's represented roughly 7% of motorhome units shipped from 2012 through 2016, they peaked at 29% of motorhomes shipped in 2022. Since this peak, the number of Class B units shipped has fluctuated in a range between 20% and 30% of all motorhome shipments.

 Meanwhile, the percentage of motorhomes shipped peaked at over 20% of all RVs shipped in early 2023 and has been declining to where motorhomes now account for roughly 10% of all RV shipments.

Comment below if you have any insights and observations or have questions and suggestions. While we are longtime campers, I do not work in the RV industry. I initially pulled together the numbers as a Covid lockdown project and maintain them now as a hobby.

Walking at Painted Rock Conservation Area

We enjoyed a lovely March day visiting Painted Rock Conservation Area. It was our first time visiting this conservation area located in central Missouri and we weren't disappointed.

The 1,480 acre conservation area includes a pleasant loop trail through an oak and hickory forest.  

The loop trail also incorporates several impressive overlooks of the Osage River.

The loop trail is approximately 2 miles in length and we were able to complete it in just over an hour. You can see a map and other details of our walk on AllTrails, Morning at Painted Rock Conservation Area.

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We posted a short video with images of our walk on YouTube, Painted Rock Conservation Area.

Missouri CCC camps in Mark Twain National Forest

I just stumbled across a wonderful map of Missouri CCC camps in Mark Twain National Forest on Google created with MyMaps. 

You can click on a site marker for more information about the specific camp. All of these Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camps existed from 1933-1942 except one that cannot be located, which is the Hendrickson CCC Camp. Many camps still have remaining cultural features intact at the site.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ozarks History Archives at ozarkshistoryarchives@gmail.com. Ozarks History Archives stores files on every single camp listed including photographs, newspaper articles, and camp records. You can also contact the archives via PO Box 477, Willow Springs, MO, United States, Missouri 65793 or (417) 252-3361.

Vlog Recommendation...Rock On Van Life

 

We recently found the Rock On Van Life channel on YouTube and are enjoying a number of the videos. 

The vlogger, Christine, offers a variety of content and we particularly appreciate her videos showcasing various campgrounds and trails. 

Videos also prominently feature Esther, her 1997 Dodge Roadtrek 190. The vlog currently offers over 60 videos and Christine promises more upcoming adventures!

The latest video features Nerstrand Big Woods State Park in south central Minnesota.

Quick Analysis of RV Shipments in 2024

 Data from the RV Industry Association’s monthly survey of manufacturers for December was recently posted. The total RV shipments of 333,733 in 2024 were 6% higher than in 2023 and exceed the forty-four year average (1981-2024) of 295,146 units shipped. 

In 2024, shipments were well below the peak of 600,240 reached in 2021 and the 2024 shipments are still higher than was experienced through the 1980s and 1990s.

You can see in the chart below that most of the volatility arises from Towable RV shipments. These include four categories [travel trailers, fifth wheels, folding camping trailers, and truck campers]. Motorhome shipments have been more stable in recent years and include those from the larger Class A's and C's, as well as, the Class B vans. 

While the motorhome shipments have been relatively stable overall, there is more variability month-to-month when looking at the subcategories. Class C's are the largest of the three categories. And, Class A shipments historically exceeded those of camper vans. Though this latter pattern changed in late 2021 and since then, more Class B's are shipped each month. 

While relatively small when compared with other categories, Class B shipments of 8,349 units in 2024  are several times larger than the 2,123 units in 2012 or 2,177 units shipped in 2013. 

Also, where Class B's represented roughly 7% of motorhome units shipped from 2012 through 2016, they peaked at 29% of motorhomes shipped in 2022. And, while a bit lower, 23.9% of motorhome shipments in 2024 were Class B's.

Comment below if you have any insights and observations or have questions and suggestions. While we are longtime campers, I do not work in the RV industry. I initially pulled together the numbers as a Covid lockdown project and maintain them now as a hobby.

Walking at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park

 We enjoyed a lovely morning walking yesterday at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. 

We walked the loops on the Grassland Trail and Karst Trail. After lunch, we then walked a short distance counter clockwise from the Gans Creek Wild Area - Wagon Wheel Trailhead.

I quickly created a short video clip that you can view on YouTube, Walking at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park.

You can also visit AllTrails to view maps of our routes.