Arleta is a longtime resident of Marysville, Kansas who has spent a lifetime helping preserve and study the Oregon and California Trails. Living in the vicinity of the start of the trail in Independence, Missouri, and a member of OCTA, The Oregon-California Trail Association, she loves to teach and educate people on this key piece of American History. Much of the Oregon trail in Kansas was long ago plowed up for farm fields — but the route is still there and marked by volunteers like Arleta.  She has also traveled some of the Kansas trail along The Blue River in recreation wagon trains. She also supports the Pony Express re-run each year, which runs right along the stretch of the old trail in eastern Kansas. On the morning we met, she showed us one of many graves of a pioneer found by local farmers, and took us to Alcove Springs — near The Blue river,  where the first member of the Donner Party, Sarah Keyes, died in May,1846. Arleta is featured in our program Great Road West which will be released soon.