Taking a look at the extraordinary.
THE CAR COLLECTION
Steve Meyer
Sometimes we can be lucky enough to gain a passion from our parents, and at a young age, Steve Meyer was already hooked into the car world. His father, Paul Meyer, worked with cars and had his own collection, which included five Rolls-Royces — starting with a 1978 Silver Shadow.
Today, Steve has 16 cars of his own. His most prized vehicle? A DB7 Aston Martin. If you’re lucky, you may see him driving one of these precious items on the highway or on the back roads. Steve says every car in his collection is his favorite, but he will soon be wrapping up work on a 1971 Maserati Mexico, finished in champagne gold paint, that he is very excited about. If he could add any car to his collection, it would be a 1965 to 1967 Shelby Fastback.
As for collecting, Steve encourages other enthusiasts to research which cars are doing well, make sure to look at the history of the car, and most importantly, pick a car that they really like. For Steve, it’s about the enjoyable experiences you can have along the way. Oftentimes, when he takes one of his cars out cruising, he recalls those special moments with his father.
“Some memories of mine would be of a car,” Steve says. “He had many Porsches over the years, and Austin-Healeys, so when I drive those, I think of when I was a kid riding with him.”
THE SNEAKER COLLECTION
Keena Lynch
Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, you were always a cool kid if you had the flyest and cleanest shoes. The same could be said for Lincoln University’s Assistant Athletic Director, and local sneakerhead, Keena Lynch. Keena recalls loving sneakers since he began saving money in the fifth and sixth grade to help buy his first pair of Nike Air Max Trainers — fit with the green, gray, black, and white colorway.
“I guess I can kinda blame it on my mom,” Keena comments. “When I was little, she used to say ‘OK I’ll pay for half and you pay for the other half,’ so all my lawn mowing money went to that.”
Sneaker collecting in the ’80s and ’90s used to require standing in lines out the store doors, but now companies often expose their new releases months before they’re available. Many companies also only sell a certain number of shoes, so snagging a pair before they sell out can be incredibly competitive. Keena currently has 135 pairs of sneakers in his collection, and he’s worn most of them at least once.
“When I start my outfit, I always start with the shoes and then work my way up.”
Some of Keena’s favorite shoes he’s collected include a pair of Nike Airmax 95s, made with their legendary air bubble sole; a Lincoln University Jordan sneaker, worn and gifted to him by professional basketball player Chris Paul, who now plays for the Phoenix Suns; and a custom-made pair of Nikes that he designed himself in 2020 as part of Nike’s annual collaboration with the textile manufacturing company Pendleton, which is best known for its blankets and woolen clothing. Pendleton. Keena says he does love the aesthetics of his sneakers, but it’s the excellence of quality that impresses him. And while he is always mindful of how many sneakers he can really fit into one room, he’s always looking forward to that next email alert about a new release.
The ART Collection
JCMOMA
Established in 2015, the Jefferson City Museum of Modern Art (JCMOMA) now features seven new masterpieces by Purvis Young in addition to its beautiful collection of works by famous artists Thornton Dial and Aboudia Abdoulaye Diarrassouba. In fact, JCMOMA was inspired by just one painting, “In Chains” by Purvis, as it hung in an art gallery in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The painting depicts two child-like figures chained together at the neck. Seeing its educational potential, JCMOMA was then geared toward making a big impression on young minds.
“Young minds, particularly third grade and up, they just love it,” says founder Richard Howerton. “They see you can start out with nothing and become someone important.”
While the gallery does have a permanent collection, it also includes rotating exhibitions, giving guests something to look forward to during every visit. When visiting the gallery, the collection works to inspire creativity as well as a lifelong connection with three very unique artists. The works of each artists have become quite famous around the world for their interpretive street scenes that often depict feelings of being trapped by world issues, such as poverty, as all three artists encountered many struggles during their youth.
For Purvis Young, he is most famous for his groundbreaking exhibit entitled “Souls Grown Deep” during the 1996 Olympics and was chosen to represent the U.S. at the international Venice Biennale in 2019. Both Purvis and Thornton Dial have also been featured at the Metropolitan Museum in New York as well as the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., while Aboudia Abdoulaye Diarrassouba has been widely exhibited across Cote d’Ivoire, London, Paris, New York, and Marrakesh. To see these amazing works of art first hand, private tours with Museum Director Chris Duren can be booked through the JCMOMA website.
