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Almost Yesterday is a glimpse into the rich history of our region. Dr. Frank Nickell takes listeners on a journey to specific moments in time, such as the first radio broadcast on KFVS, the history of Farmington’s Carleton College, and the short-lived safari on a Mississippi River island. A gifted storyteller and local historian, Dr. Nickell’s wit and love for the past are combined with sounds and music that augment his narrative.On Saturday, June 7, 2008, Almost Yesterday received First Place in the "Special Programs" category at the Missouri Broadcasters Association Awards Banquet in Kansas City, Missouri.Almost Yesterday airs every Wednesday at 5:42 and 7:42 a.m. and 5:18 p.m.

A Grand Voice from Grand Tower

Christine Brewer of Grand Tower, Illinois
Southeast Missouri State University

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Ms. Christine Brewer appeared on the stage of Shryock Auditorium in Carbondale as a featured artist in the Southern Illinois Music Festival of 2008. For Ms. Brewer this was very much a homecoming.

Born and raised in Grand Tower, Illinois, Ms. Brewer graduated from Shawnee Community High School near Wolf Lake, Illinois and graduated from McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois. Following her college graduation she taught school in Marissa, Illinois and continues to make her home in Lebanon. She was recently described as “a great down-home Southern Illinois woman.”

She is also recognized as possessing one of the leading soprano voices in the world. From 2002 when she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera to the summer of 2010, this native of Grand Tower has performed before some of the great operatic audiences in the world: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Fe, London, and Paris.

Ms. Brewer continues to be recognized by music critics around the world, and was recently named by the BBC as one of the top twenty soprano voices of the twentieth century.

Her great success has regularly come from powerful performances of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, Mahler, Verdi, and Wagner.

But no matter how far her fame carries her, Grand Tower and Marissa, Illinois remain as special places for her. She regularly returns to sing in her church, and to teach students in the classroom in which she once taught in Marissa.

From her first performance at age three, Ms. Christine Brewer continues to bless us all with her grand voice.

Frank Nickell is a retired history professor at Southeast Missouri State University.
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  • It seems like Almost Yesterday that the University of Missouri football team achieved one of its greatest victories. The date was Saturday, November 18, 1978 and the Missouri Tigers were in Lincoln, Nebraska to play the second-ranked Cornhuskers.