Art Gallery of Multimedia-Storyteller.com, Sarah Poff

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Art Gallery of Multimedia-Storyteller.com, Sarah Poff Sarah Poff tells stories through painting, sculpting,1st person narrative & hands on workshops with

My Journey to Keep the Constitution Aliveby Sarah Poff Many years ago, a small group of “modern-day patriots” gathered i...
09/17/2026

My Journey to Keep the Constitution Alive
by Sarah Poff
Many years ago, a small group of “modern-day patriots” gathered inside my home in Blue Springs, Missouri. It was the first Constitution Day celebration I had ever organized—and it became the subject of the very first video I placed on YouTube.

We came from different ages and backgrounds, but we shared one purpose: to celebrate the birthday of the United States Constitution by reading it aloud together.

There was no grand auditorium or elaborate stage. We signed our names, received miniature Constitution ornaments, gathered close together, and began with three words that still belong to every American:

“We the People.”

That little gathering was a beginning in more ways than I realized. It began my journey of finding new ways to help keep the Constitution alive, and it began my journey on YouTube as a multimedia storyteller.

My first video, Modern Day Patriots, was uploaded on October 1, 2010. Looking back at it now, I can see the beginnings of the work I am still doing today. The video brought together people, history, storytelling, and meaningful objects—all the things that have continued to shape my programs through the years.

As a teacher, historian, genealogist, and storyteller, I have tried to help people understand that the Constitution is not simply an old document preserved behind glass. It lives when ordinary citizens read its words, understand the rights and responsibilities it gives us, ask thoughtful questions, and teach the next generation why those freedoms matter.

Over the years, that small gathering in my home grew into programs for children, families, libraries, schools, and patriotic organizations. I learned that history comes alive when people can see it, touch it, hear its stories, and discover how their own families fit into the larger American story.

Keeping the Constitution alive does not belong only to historians, teachers, judges, or elected officials. It belongs to all of us. Each time we read it, teach it, discuss it, defend its principles, and place it into the hands of a child, we become part of its continuing story.

My YouTube journey began that day with a few modern-day patriots gathered in my home. The setting was small, and that first video was simple, but the purpose behind it was not.

We gathered to remember that the Constitution begins with “We the People.”

More than two centuries after those words were written—and more than fifteen years after I shared my first video—those words still mean

The Castles of the Midwestby Sarah Poff Yesterday we stopped by the home of some old college friends.Now, when I say “ol...
09/03/2026

The Castles of the Midwest
by Sarah Poff
Yesterday we stopped by the home of some old college friends.

Now, when I say “old friends,” I don’t mean they are old and we aren’t. Both couples have earned that title by now!

There is something special about sitting with people who knew you when you were young—people who remember who you were before careers, children, grandchildren, and nearly fifty years of life filled in the spaces between.

Thanks to social media and telephone calls that no longer cost a small fortune, we have been able to hold on to one another. Those friendships bring a richness to our lives that we may not fully appreciate until we are sitting together again, laughing about the past.

At some point, my friend mentioned my Southern accent.

I don’t hear much about it now that I live in Mid-Missouri, but it was often noticed when we lived in the Kansas City area. Apparently, when I get around people who knew me back then, my accent remembers where it came from and comes home before I do.

Some roots just refuse to be hidden.

As we continued toward Springfield, we drove through the farm country where I once student-taught. It felt a little like driving through my past—not my childhood past, but my college past, when so much of life was still waiting ahead of me.

We were also carrying part of our family’s past in the car.

Major Ernest Poff’s uniforms, photographs, papers, and other belongings were traveling with us to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield for a temporary museum display. More than sixty years ago, he coordinated the Army’s participation in the 1961 Wilson’s Creek Civil War Centennial.

Now, all these years later, we were carrying his things back to help tell his story.

As we passed through Buffalo, Alec slowed down so I could photograph the great metal grain bins shining against the blue Missouri sky.

Years ago, I heard someone on television call grain bins “the castles of the Midwest.”

I never forgot those words.

European castles held kings, queens, and royal treasures. Our Midwestern castles hold something quieter: the harvest produced by early mornings, tired hands, uncertain weather, family sacrifices, and the faith to plant again every spring.

They hold the work that feeds us.

Perhaps that is why the sight of them touched me.

I grew up in farm country. When I travel these smaller roads, something inside me recognizes home. Sometimes I remember my Bootheel childhood. Sometimes I remember my college years. Sometimes I think about my ancestors who came before me, looking for land and a place where their families could stay.

Yesterday, all those roads seemed to meet.

Old friends remembered the sound of my younger voice. Familiar fields carried me back to the beginning of my teaching life. Major Poff’s belongings rested behind us, entrusted to our care. And my American flag cap sat on the dashboard as those silver castles rose in the distance.

We hear a great deal about what is wrong with America. We should tell our history honestly, but we should also remember what is good.

America has always been held together by ordinary people—farmers, teachers, soldiers, craftsmen, neighbors, and families who quietly do the work placed before them.

Strength does not always make a lot of noise.

Sometimes it is an old friendship that survives the passing years.

Sometimes it is a family protecting the stories entrusted to them.

Sometimes it is a farmer planting once again.

And sometimes it looks like silver castles rising above the Missouri fields, reminding us to slow down, remember where we came from, and be thankful for the people who helped bring us home.
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A Sneak Peek — Major Ernest F. Poffby Sarah PoffThis is what history looks like before it reaches the museum.Right now, ...
08/30/2026

A Sneak Peek — Major Ernest F. Poff
by Sarah Poff

This is what history looks like before it reaches the museum.

Right now, our home is filled with uniforms, photographs, medals, helmets, documents, and other pieces of the military life of Major Ernest F. Poff.

Soon, some of these items will leave our family’s care for a while and make their way to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield near Republic, Missouri, where they will become part of a temporary museum display honoring Major Poff and his service.

There is a special connection.

One hundred years after the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Major Poff was the senior-ranking Army officer involved with the military’s participation in the 1961 Civil War Centennial commemoration at Wilson’s Creek. Now, more than sixty years later, pieces of his story are returning to the battlefield for this special temporary display.

As I sort through everything, I’m discovering that preparing items for a museum is a story all its own. Which uniform should go? Which photograph helps us see the man behind the uniform? What does an old helmet, a medal, a document, or something tucked away in a box tell us that a history book cannot?

I’m going to take you behind the scenes with me.

I’m preparing a video about Major Poff, the stories behind some of these objects, and what it takes to prepare a family’s history for a temporary museum display.

And perhaps that’s the part that means the most to me.

Major Poff’s story belongs to our family, but the idea behind this display belongs to many families. So many of us have a uniform, a photograph, a medal, a letter—or perhaps simply a story—connected to someone who served our country.

Those things matter.

The people who wore the uniforms mattered.

And their stories are worth remembering.

Consider this your sneak peek. There is much more of Major Poff’s story to come.

Soon, some of the things you see in this photograph will be on temporary display at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, where another generation will have the opportunity to see them, learn the story behind them—and remember.

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