This year’s West Side Senior Expo is sure to please attendees with bingo, prizes, guest speakers, live music and more.
Catered toward those 50 and older, the event will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, July 22, at Northwest High School, 6005 Cedar Hill Road, in Cedar Hill. Admission is free.
The event will offer free coffee and doughnuts while supplies last, courtesy of Leader Publications.
About 30 vendors will be on hand at the expo to provide information to seniors on products, services and other items of interest. Multiple vendors will hold drawings for prizes that will be announced later during the expo.
Two bingo sessions will take place, giving attendees a chance to win prizes like “I Love the Leader” T-shirts or gift cards to local businesses and restaurants. Attendees who play the first bingo session are asked to refrain from playing the second session due to limited seating.
Returning once again are expo favorites J.B. Louis and the Legends band, which will play a mix of country and rock classics.
Leader Publications will hold three more expos this year.
Leader advertising manager Katelyn Mary Skaggs said the West Side expo is one of her favorites because she grew up around the area.
“It feels like home for me, and it is just a lovely senior expo; everyone kind of comes together at the school, and we have such a fun morning,” she said.
At this expo, members of the Northwest High School student council will be in attendance to help.
“We have student council members who help us out a lot,” Skaggs said. “There’s a lot of young kids running around, which is just so fun to have all the extra energy at a senior expo, and we just we have a blast.”
Speakers
■ Cathy Baumann, a volunteer with St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness, will speak to seniors about the cancer awareness program as an ovarian cancer survivor.
■ Joseph Thurman, a Jefferson College history teacher and host of the Jefferson County Minute podcast, will speak to seniors about the history of 19th century European immigration to the Cedar Hill area.
■ Kim Sult, the director of elementary instruction and coordinator of the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program at the Northwest School District, will share information on volunteering opportunities for seniors to tutor elementary students.
Grand prize
Attendees may register at the Leader booth for a chance to win the grand prize: a luxury one-night stay at the Brinkman B&B in West Owensville and a visit to Cool Cow Cheese. This prize includes a luxury hayloft suite, sample cheeses, partaking in a gourmet charcuterie board along with the opportunity to milk the farm’s Jersey cows and feed the baby cows. People are asked to enter the drawing just once, and the winner needs to be present to win.
Schedule
8 a.m. – Doors open; free coffee and doughnuts will be served while supplies last. Vendors will be on hand to provide information about a wide selection of goods and services, along with some giveaways and freebies. Attendees are encouraged to bring pre-printed address labels to make entering drawings, filling out forms and requesting information a lot easier.
8:30 a.m. – Cathy Baumann, a volunteer with St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness, will speak to seniors about the program as a survivor of ovarian cancer.
9 a.m. – The first session of free bingo will be held in the cafeteria. Participants will have the chance to win various prizes.
9:30 a.m. – Joseph Thurman, a Jefferson College history teacher and host of the Jefferson County History Minute podcast, will share history on European immigration in the Cedar Hill area.
10 a.m. – The second session of free bingo will also be held in the cafeteria, giving participants another chance to win various prizes.
10:30 a.m. – Kim Sult, the director of elementary instruction and coordinator of the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program at the Northwest School District, will share how seniors can volunteer to tutor students.
11 a.m. – The grand prize winner and other prize winners will be announced.
11:15 a.m. – J.B. Louis and the Legends band will perform in the cafeteria.
Noon – Expo closes
Upcoming senior expos
The following three senior expos are planned from 8 a.m. to noon on a Wednesday over the next several months.
■ Arnold Senior Expo, Aug. 19, at the Arnold Eagles Hall.
■ Farmington Area Senior Expo, Sept. 16, at the Mineral Area College Tech Center.
■ Eureka Senior Expo, Oct. 28, at the Timbers of Eureka.
Directions
Northwest High School, 6005 Cedar Hill Road, in Cedar Hill
From Hwy. 30, driving north:
- Turn right at the stoplights onto Local Hillsboro Road
- Pass Enterprise Bank & Trust
- Take the next left into school parking lot
From Hwy. 30, driving south:
- Turn left at the stoplights onto Local Hillsboro Road
- Pass Enterprise Bank & Trust
- Take the next left into school parking lot
From Hwy. 21, driving north
- Take exit M toward MM/House Springs/Barnhart
- Turn left onto state Hwy. MM
- Take Hwy. MM for about 5 miles
- Turn left onto Hwy. 30
- Turn left onto Local Hillsboro Road
- Pass Enterprise Bank & Trust
- Take the next left into school parking lot
From Hwy. 21, driving south
- Take exit M toward MM/House Springs/Barnhart
- Turn right onto state Hwy. MM
- Take Hwy. MM for about 5 miles
- Turn left onto Hwy. 30
- Turn left onto Local Hillsboro Road
- Pass Enterprise Bank & Trust
- Take the next left into school parking lot
From I-44
- Take exit 264 onto Hwy. 109
- Turn left onto Hwy. 109
- Travel on Hwy. 109 for about 2 miles
- Turn right onto Hwy. W, travel for about 6 miles
- Turn right onto Hwy. 30, travel for about 4 miles
- Turn left at the stoplights onto Local Hillsboro Road
- Pass Enterprise Bank & Trust
- Take the next left into school parking lot
From I-55
- Take exit 185 toward Hwy. M/ Antonia and Barnhart
- Travel on Hwy MM for about 11 miles
- Turn left onto Hwy. 30
- Turn left onto Local Hillsboro Road
- Pass Enterprise Bank & Trust
- Take the next left into school parking lot
Northwest School District Oasis program volunteers from the 2025-26 school year.
Speaker to share ways seniors can volunteer, tutor elementary students
By Sarah Lerch
The Northwest School District offers volunteering opportunities for seniors to tutor elementary students.
Kim Sult, who is the director of elementary instruction at the Northwest School District along with its Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program coordinator, will share information at the Leader’s West Side Senior Expo on how people can get involved with a volunteering opportunity.
Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring is a St. Louis-founded program that pairs volunteers with children from kindergarten through third grade to work one on one as tutors, mentors and friends.
Sult said this program is not only to assist students academically, but to help develop a relationship outside of a student’s usual social interaction.
“Our goal and what our tutors have learned over the years is that it’s way more than reading and writing and math,” she said. “I think it’s great for students to see that there are people outside of their immediate family and teachers that (are here) for them.”
Sult said she has seen this program not only help students but also benefit the volunteers.
“We meet probably three or four times a year just as a group, and I show (volunteers) some different strategies and activities that that they can use with their students,” she said. “…And what I’ve learned from (volunteers) is that they are actually gaining more for themselves than the students are, which is just such a beautiful thing.”
The Oasis program is not just limited to the Northwest district but is also featured within other districts in the area.
At the senior expo, Sult said she hopes people will learn more about the program and realize that there are opportunities to make a difference with students in their own community.
Anyone interested in signing up must register through the program.
For more information on the Oasis program, visit oasisnet.org.
Joe Thurman, Jefferson College history instructor and podcaster, spoke about the history of Jefferson County’s Selma Castle at the Festus Senior Expo in June.
Speaker to discuss more Jefferson County history at expo
By Sarah Lerch
Jefferson County, and specifically the Cedar Hill area, has a deep and underlying history with European immigration in the 19th century.
Joseph Thurman, a Jefferson College history teacher and host of the Jefferson County History Minute Podcast, will share some history associated with the area as a featured speaker at the Leader’s West Side Senior Expo.
The expo will be held July 22 at Northwest High School, 6005 Cedar Hill Road.
Thurman teaches various courses at Jefferson College including U.S., world and African American history. He has been teaching at Jefferson College since 2004.
Thurman has been hosting the Jefferson County History Minute Podcast since March 2025. He was inspired to create a podcast about Jefferson County history based upon other history video podcasts. There are currently 17 episodes of the podcasts posted on the Jefferson College YouTube webpage.
At this senior expo, he will discuss the history of 19th century European immigration to the Cedar Hill area.
“I’m going to focus mostly on late 19th century European immigration (and) talk about their roles in the community, what they did, what kind of occupations they had and what their lives were like,” Thurman said.
At the Festus Senior Expo, he spoke to seniors about the history of Selma Castle, a location in Jefferson County.
Thurman said his experience speaking at the expo was great.
“I felt like the audience was very receptive, I was able to speak with a couple of people afterwards, and then had some really great and engaging conversations, not just about Selma Castle, but kind of Jefferson County history in general,” he said. “There seemed to be a lot of interest and some pretty positive feedback from that experience.”
Thurman said he hopes attendees at the West Side Senior Expo come away with a deeper and broader understanding of the importance of immigration to Jefferson County since it has such a rich immigration history.
To watch the Jefferson County History Minute, visit the college’s YouTube page at youtube.com/@JeffersonCollegeMO.
De Soto woman wins My Best Ride photo contest
By Sarah Lerch
Glenda Bass, 81, of De Soto won $100 for placing first in the annual “My Best Ride” photo contest sponsored by Leader Publications and Grand Times.
Bass’ winning photo is her pictured in 1950, receiving a bike for her sixth birthday that she always wanted.
Her mother took the photo right as she was riding the bike around the corner of her family’s home in St. Louis.
Glenda Bass, 81, of De Soto sent a photo of herself in 1950 at age 6. “As a child, I always wanted a bike,” Glenda said. “So, for my sixth birthday, I received a beautiful red bike from mom and dad. It was the best gift I ever received.”
Bass said her family had to put money away to afford the bike for her birthday.
“I wanted that bike; I have (other) pictures of me with my brother, and I kept wanting him to ride with me on his bike, because he was the only one that had a bike,” she said. “When my birthday came, my mom and dad had put a little bit of money away to get me this bike, and I was just thrilled to pieces.”
Bass said growing up, her and her four siblings would have to share items through hand-me-downs, so receiving the bike for her birthday was very special.
She plans to use the prize money to fix something around her house.
Harold Bryan, 90, of De Soto placed second, winning $75 for the photo of him age 15 in front of his dad’s 1941 Buick.
Harold Bryan, 90, of De Soto is 15 in this picture taken in front of his father’s black 1941 Buick in Hannibal. Though he wasn’t old enough to drive at the time, Harold said he loved riding in the car with his father and couldn’t wait until he could drive.
Bryan said when it comes to cars, he likes almost anything on wheels.
This photo was taken at Riverview Park in Hannibal by using a Kodak box camera.
“(Taking the photo) just seemed like the thing to do on a Sunday afternoon drive…” he said. “We were just having a little family outing.”
Sherrie Marion, 70, of House Springs placed third, winning $50 for the photo of her and her husband in 2018 on their honeymoon, riding horses in California.
Sherrie Marion, 70, of House Springs sent a picture from June 2018 of herself and her husband, Dave Marion. “On our honeymoon, my groom surprised me with a trail ride along the coast in Bodega Bay, Calif.” Sherrie said. “The absolute best moment of my life was coming atop a sand dune to the view and sound of the ocean. Definitely my best ride ever.”
“What made it my best ride is coming up over a sand dune and seeing the ocean,” she said. “It was delightful.”
The photo contest was held in conjunction with the Leader’s West Side Senior Expo to be held from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, July 22, at Northwest High School, 6005 Cedar Hill Road, Cedar Hill.
Click here to see more entries to the contest:
