The State Historical Society of Missouri

Spring 2006 Events

Talk: “There’s More Than Meets the Eye – Historic Clothing”
April 4, 7:00 p.m.
Gwynn Hall, Room 101, University of Missouri-Columbia campus

Laurel E. Wilson, professor of textile and apparel management at the University of Missouri-Columbia, will give a presentation on Civil War-era garments. Participants will be invited to view an exhibit featuring thirteen garments dating from the 1850s through the 1870s. Contact the Society at (573) 882-7083 for location and parking information.

National History Day in Missouri
April 8
University of Missouri-Columbia campus

The public is invited to attend National History Day in Missouri. About 2,300 Missouri students, grades 6-12, participate in local and regional contests across the state; 500 advance to this state contest to vie for a chance to go to the national contest in College Park, Maryland. The students will present historical research in various formats: exhibits, dramatic performances, multimedia documentaries, Web sites, or research papers.

Talk: “Researching Family and Community History in Stoddard County”
April 24, 7:00 p.m.
Hickory Log Restaurant, Dexter

Gary R. Kremer, Society executive director, will speak on researching family and community history in Stoddard County. Cosponsored by the Stoddard County Historical Society and the Stoddard County Genealogical Society. For more information, contact Jim Mayo at (573) 568-2055.

Talk: “Cultural Regions of Missouri”
May 20, 10:00 a.m.

Walter A. Schroeder, an associate professor emeritus in the University of Missouri-Columbia Department of Geography, will discuss the settlement patterns of Missouri’s diverse population. Schroeder will present an overview of the cultural groups that have settled in the state’s various regions, explain why they chose their locations, and identify characteristics of the visible landscape they created.




Talk: “Remembering Columbia”
May 21, 2:00 p.m.
Boone County Historical Society, Columbia

Do you remember “Jelly Dates” and Jane Froman? This talk and slideshow will focus on life in Columbia during the 1930s-1950s as seen through the photographs, letters, and oral histories held by the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. Presented by William T. Stolz, senior manuscript specialist for WHMC-Columbia. Cosponsored by the Boone County Historical Society.

Jane jellying
Rocheport Bridge and Tunnel [WHMC-Columbia]

Talk: “Local History: Parks and Waterways”
May 24, 7:00 p.m. Daniel Boone Regional Library, Columbia

Did you know that Finger Lakes State Park was once the site of a coal mining operation? The natural areas, waterways, and parks of mid-Missouri have a rich and interesting past. David Moore, associate director of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia, will dig into this history using a wealth of historical images and documents. Cosponsored by the Daniel Boone Regional Library Foundation.

Document Preservation Day
June 17

Morning Workshop: “Mending and Repairing Old Newspapers for Preservation and Duplication,” 10:00 a.m.

This session is open to individuals and historical organizations wanting to mend and preserve old newspapers in preparation for duplication or archival storage. Seth Smith, a reference specialist in the Society’s Newspaper Library, will lead the workshop. He has been involved in the preparation and mending of historical newspapers since 2004.

Afternoon Workshop: “Basic Paper Preservation,” 2:00 p.m.

Claudia Powell, document conservation specialist at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia, will highlight the preservation procedures of humidification, cleaning, mending, deacidification, and encapsulation of paper documents. She will also address care of books and photographs and environmental issues. Participants will have the opportunity to try some of the preservation techniques.

The workshops are free for Society members and $10 per workshop or $15 for both for nonmembers. Each workshop is limited to 15 participants, and preregistration is required. To register, call (573) 882-7083. The Society will be open for research.

“...the retired artist sat on a barrel...” by Thomas Hart Benton

Exhibit: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as Illustrated by Thomas Hart Benton”
June 9 through December 16

Two giants in Missouri history were joined in 1939 when the Limited Editions Club tapped Thomas Hart Benton to create illustrations for the Mark Twain classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. A selection of Benton’s seventy original pen-and-ink drawings will be on display in the Art Gallery, along with a copy of the first edition of the book, published in 1876, a copy of the Limited Editions Club edition, and a copy of an edition featuring illustrations by Norman Rockwell. .