Loraine Ricehouse

As the official photo documentarian for the 59th annual Missouri Photo Workshop, I was assigned to get a “picture of Chillicothe”  as my first duty. So I set out to get a vignette of life and ran into Loraine Ricehouse, who was having her house painted on Monday.

Loraine Ricehouse, of Chillicothe, supervises Bruce O’Dell, of Breckenridge, and his crew as they paint the trim on her garage Monday afternoon. Ricehouse, 83, won Chillicothe’s Retired Senior Volunteer Person award this year after 22 years of volunteering to teach first graders at the school directly across the street. “As long as I can walk over there and get up the stairs, I’ll be doing it,” she said. Ricehouse also stays sharp by completing crossword puzzles during the rest of the week.

Ricehouse describes herself as a traditional woman with traditional values. “I’m kind of old fashioned,” she said. “I’m probably the only woman in town who still wears an apron.”

Ricehouse picked these up from the street in front of the school and promptly disposed of them.