I’ve spent at least a week per month of the last two years traveling around the country. Never has it ceased to amaze me, and last week was the ultimate such experience.
I was in the Bootheel, a region of the country I’d never heard of. By the journey’s end, I’d have been on a Mississippi River tugboat, met a Son of the Confederate Veterans, and sat down with a woman who is fully illiterate in 2026.
She’s the cover of this week’s edition, and I tell her story in this article.
Nearby, Max Towey has a fantastic piece about how the South has taken over American culture. He gives the proof – and his theory for why – in this story.
Next, Gen Z correspondent Max Hudgins breaks down why so many of his peers feel like losers. Read it here.
And then two more: Stefano Montali interviews a linguist to understand why certain Americans – particularly Appalachians – have the unique dialects they do. Read it here.
And then Ryan Hinske breaks down the corporate takeover of fantasy football.
That’s this week’s Roca Mag. We hope it makes your weekend a bit more enjoyable.
If you’d like to support Roca’s original journalism and access the magazine’s full contents, you can upgrade your subscription here.
–Max Frost
Editor-in-chief
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Cooter, MO
In the front lawn of their trailer, the trio sat in wheelchairs. It wasn’t that they needed them, but they kept their belongings in their yard and used them as needed. They all looked to be roughly the same age, perhaps 60, maybe 70.
A fourth man, much younger, walked back and forth across the yard shirtless. Apparently unable to speak, he made grunting noises and repeatedly gnashed his teeth toward his shoulder.
It was a picture of downright American poverty. And yet, this was not a sob story.
After all, the oldest of the group – Margaret, resting on a cane with her shoulder-length gray hair – should never have even owned this land, this trailer, these wheelchairs. She bought it by walking nine miles twice daily, picking up cans off the roadside, and selling them.
“Wasn’t there an easier way to earn money?” I asked.
“Not for me,” she replied.
“Why not?”
“I can’t read or write.”
Margaret’s story, which I’ll tell in full below, was but one example of how Missouri’s Bootheel region remains, for better and for worse, remarkably stuck in time.
Thanks for reading this week’s Roca Mag. We think this is our best issue yet. You can find all the articles from this issue, as well as from past issues, here.
As always, we want to hear what you think about our reporting. Let us know your thoughts and reactions here, or leave a comment below. We’ll choose some responses to feature next week. Have a great rest of your weekend!
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