Chautauqua Dates/Venues for 2008

The 2008 Chautauqua tour, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!, will visit the following towns this June:

• Kirkwood, at the Kirkwood Park Amphitheatre - June 5-8
• Osage Beach, at the School of the Osage High School Auditorium - June 12-15
• Pike County, at the County Fairgrounds - June 19-22
• Carthage, at Carthage High School Auditorium - June 26-28
• Webb City, at the Route 66 Theatre, June 29.

We'll post program details on the MHC web site in early April.

Audubon Chautauqua in Rolla

Brian "Fox" Ellis, a renowned Chautauqua performer from Illinois, will present a "must-see" program as John James Audubon in Rolla on December 10 at 7:00 p.m. The program is sponsored under an MHC grant by the Ozark Rivers Chapter of the National Audubon Society. It's at the Ozark Actors Theatre, 701 North Cedar. For more information, contact Constance Roberts, (573) 426-5616.

Local Chautauquas Enliven the Fall

Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln will hold a town meeting-style Chautauqua on Saturday, September 15, 2:00 p.m. at Northwest R-1 High School in Cedar Hill (south of St. Louis). This "Taste of Chautauqua" has been put together with MHC support by The Highway 30 Foundation. Carl Sandberg will be there to introduce them. Read on...

See Harry S Truman, Thomas Hart Benton, Mark Twain, and George Washington Carver, along with several others at the two-day "Chautauqua in the 'Burg " in historic downtown Warrensburg, along Holden Street, from the evening of October 5 through the afternoon of the 7th. A special treat will be piano music by John William "Blind" Boone, played by Bob Ault. Sponsored by the Greater Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce under an MHC grant.

Chautauqua 2008: "That's Entertainment"

My colleague Patricia Zahn has finalized the roster and program for the return of our touring Chautauqua festivals in 2008. The theme is "That's Entertainment!" Four historians from all over the U.S. will interpret some important figures in the growth of the entertainment industry in the U.S. They are:

P.T. Barnum portrayed by Jeffrey Smith

Walt Disney portrayed by William S. Worley

Thomas Edison portrayed by Hank Fincken

Margaret Mitchell portrayed by Debra Conner

(txt) McPherson's Antietam Lecture, MHC Grants, Chautauqua, On-Line Courses, St Joe, Neosho, AASLH

Volume 4, No. 6: June 14, 2007
Monthly E-News from Michael Bouman, Executive Director
and the Missouri Humanities Council



McPherson's Antietam Lecture in Digital Audio Podcast
Somehow, I got on the e-mail list of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City. The Institute was formed in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman. Gilder and Lehrman were awarded the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush in 2005. The work of this organization is national in scope, influencing the teaching of history in American schools and the appreciation of history by the general public.

They have begun to create an interactive way for people to listen to and exchange ideas about lectures by prominent historians. An e-mail in early May caught my attention. It offered me a chance to hear James McPherson talk about his book, Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam shortly after its publication in 2002. McPherson is one of my favorite authors, and I've heard him "live" only once. This digital audio brought back memories of the pleasure his books have given me over the years.

What I like especially about the web page is the way it allows you to play the audio file, to download it, and to subscribe to new lectures. But that is not the only great feature of this web site. There are a number of on-line exhibits, and some of them are interactive.

The URL of the Gilder Lehrman Institute is http://www.gilderlehrman.org/institute/index.html



Amazing Array of New Activities
The Missouri Humanities Council has just funded a large number of exciting projects. The 2007 grant budget has been fully expended. We are now accepting grant applications for activities that will take place after November 1, 2007, the beginning of a new fiscal year.

I've created a quick summary of each new project on a June-grants page at http://mohumanities.org/E-News/June07/june-grants.htm




Chautauqua 2007 and 2008
Several organizations have made use of our National Directory of Chautauqua Performers since we put it on line last August. Our regular touring Chautauqua is taking a year off for redesign. This year two communities have created their own Chautauquas:

"Celebrating Our Missouri Heritage" is the theme of the Warrensburg Chautauqua on October 5-7. A grant of $5,000 to the Greater Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau made this possible. We'll provide details in our September E-News.

"A Taste of Chautauqua" is a "starter" Chautauqua for Jefferson County. A one-day program on September 15 will feature Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and we will provide details in our August E-News. A grant of $6,000 to The Highway 30 Foundation supports the Chautauqua and its related local programming.

Congratulations to our 2008 Missouri Chautauqua towns hosting "That's Entertainment!" next summer:

* Carthage- co-hosted by the Powers Museum, Carthage Public Library, Friends of the Carthage Public Library, and Friends of the Webb City Public Library
* Kirkwood- hosted by the Kirkwood Public Library
* Osage Beach- hosted by the City of Osage Beach
* Pike County- hosted by the Pike County Museums Association

Free On-Line Courses
My colleague, Beth Felice, is very tuned-in to finding interesting things on the internet. This morning she gave me a link to a web page that lists 236 "open courseware" collections. The page is titled, "Take Any College Class For Free."

http://oedb.org/library/features/236-open-courseware-collections



Neosho's Living History Festival, June 23
The City of Neosho in southwest Missouri is holding its second annual living history festival on June 23. Among the scenes depicted this year are an Osage Indian scene, a mountain man scene, an early surveyor's scene, a covered wagon homestead scene and lastly, a scene depicting the homestead of Moses Carver.

Charles Brown, Park Director for the Newton County Historical Park invites one and all to call for a free ticket for this evening event. Call 417 451 4940.



New Exhibits Opening at the St. Joseph Museum
The St. Joseph Museums, Inc., will open a new series of exhibits dedicated to the early years of the museum on Friday, June 15, at the 3406 Frederick Avenue site. The exhibition is being presented to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the St. Joseph Museum, which was founded in June 1927.

Many of the items that will be on display were donated by the founding members of the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., such as a candlestick mold and a South African war club, which were donated by Dr. F.P. Cronkite, the grandfather of Walter Cronkite. Other items relate to the businesses created by the founding president of the museum, William Geotz and the founding vice-president, N. S. Hillyard. These artifacts will be displayed against a backdrop of photographs of each of the locations that have housed the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., over the years, along with photographs of early festivals, crafts classes, and other museum sponsored events.

Other exhibits will include 1920s items from the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., collections such as clothing and accessories, newspapers, magazines, records, and Noma decorative Christmas lights. Many of the items relate to the history of St. Joseph such as high school yearbooks and a Krug Park Bowl program on the “Passion Play” that was performed in 1928. One exhibit case will be devoted to the history of early St. Joseph companies such as the Hillyard Chemical Company, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

To give visitors an idea of the technology and the new products that were introduced to the public in the 1920s, there will be an exhibit of the modern representations of those products. Items such band-aids, Q-tips, and aerosol products are just a few of the items that became available during the 1920s.

“I think visitors will be amazed at the products that first became available in the 1920s that we take for granted today,” said Sarah Elder, Curator of Collections, the St. Joseph Museums, Inc. “These exhibits also offer a look at what St. Joseph residents were interested in collecting during the early years of the St. Joseph Museum which is also fascinating. They donated items from all over the world.”

The new exhibits will be open through December during the regular museum hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for students, and free for museum members. Admission includes the Black Archives Museum and the Glore Psychiatric Museum. For more information, call 816-232-8471.



AASLH Scholarships
The Small Museums Committee of the American Association of State and Local History is offering two $500 scholarships for individuals to attend the 2007 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Applications must be postmarked or received (via email or fax) by June 30, 2007 to be considered.

This scholarship is available to a full or part time paid or volunteer employee of a small museum (annual budget of up to $100,000) and will cover the cost of registration, plus $300 to assist with travel and/or lodging expenses. The scholarship is open to AASLH members and is a benefit of membership.

To apply, email Bruce Teeple, Small Museum Scholarship Committee Chair, at mongopawn44@hotmail.com for a copy of the application and then mail, fax, or email your completed application to: AASLH Small Museum Scholarships, 1717 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203; fax to: 615-327-9013; email to: beatty @ aaslh.org. Notification will be made by August 16, 2007. Deadline for Applications: June 30, 2007.



Person-To-Person in the Museum
A couple of weeks ago I heard an amazing story about a transformation in the experience of volunteers at a house museum. I've written a short piece about what's going on there at my blog, creatinginterest.blogspot.com.

(txt) Chautauquas, Between Fences in Mansfield, Kirkwood Sac and Fox

Volume 4, No. 5: May 2007
Monthly E-News from Michael Bouman, Executive Director
and the Missouri Humanities Council


Making More of Web Pages

A web site about a raid on the village of Deerfield, Massachusetts in the winter of 1704 is worthy of being our lead article. I saw mention of this site in the Summer 2006 edition of History News from the American Association of State and Local History. The web site undertakes to tell the story from the point of view of each of the five cultural groups who had a stake in the outcome of that raid.

The site made a big impression on me because I've been wondering how to tell layered stories of things like the Black Hawk War, the Indian "settlement" of parts of southeast Missouri, or the curious and fascinating heritage of the white and black residents of towns like Fulton in the Civil War. An "inclusive" history of any place would approach the task in the manner of Deerfield, I think. I'll provide the link to Deerfield and some more information on this topic in the attached piece on layers.
Complete article


That's Entertainment Chautauqua Update

Now is your chance to participate in a "living history" festival that your community will remember for years to come!

MHC is now accepting applications from communities interested in hosting MHC's Chautauqua in June of 2008. Information about Chautauqua and community applications is available on the MHC website at http://mohumanities.org/programs/chautauqua/index.htm

You can request postal copies of the information by calling 1.800.357.0909 or sending an email to patricia@mohumanities.org. Applications are due to MHC no later than May 30, 2007. Three Missouri communities will be selected and notified early this summer to allow a year of planning for the event.

As announced in our March E-News, "THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!" will be the theme for MHC's Chautauqua 2008. "From circus acts to movies, and popular fiction to popular music, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! spotlights a broad range of mass entertainment by portraying innovative figures that helped democratize this field. Far from the highbrow, these figures brought often-inexpensive entertainment to new kinds of audiences."

We are also accepting applications from Scholars interested in applying to participate in MHC's Chautauqua 2008. Link here for the Call for Chautauqua Scholars and application instructions. Inquiries should be sent to patricia@mohumanities.org.


May 18-19 Chautauqua in Nevada, Missouri

Notable women from history will take the stage at Cottey College when the Women's Leadership Council of Nevada presents a Community Chautauqua on Friday evening, May 18, and Saturday afternoon and evening, May 19, 2007.

In partnership with the Woman Chautauqua Institute at Cottey College, now in its second year, the public programming will offer a lineup of characters that includes Bess Truman, Settlement House founder and Nobel Peace Laureate Jane Addams, Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Ingalls Wilder, geneticist Barbara McClintock, Mohawk writer Pauline Johnson, and more.

The Chautauqua performances will take place in Cottey's Missouri Recital Hall, located in the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the Arts, at the corner of Tower Street and Highway 54 in Nevada. There is no admission charge. An outdoor food court will offer old-fashioned foods and cold beverages at reasonable prices throughout the two-day event.

Nevada is located near the western border of Missouri, 90 miles south of Kansas City and 60 miles north of Joplin. For a detailed schedule and directions to the Cottey campus, please send an email request to: CWL@cottey.edu


"Between Fences" at the Mansfield Community Center

Nearly every year, we are able to help Missouri towns obtain a touring exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. We like the exhibits that come from the "Museums on Main Street" program (MOMS) because every town that sponsors the exhibit creates all sorts of activities to enhance its value. Typically, more people visit these activities than live in the county!

Spite Fence c. 1906-1910 by Gilbert B. Ellestad. Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Home in Mansfield is taking the lead in creating activities in Mansfield. You can see the "Between Fences" exhibit at the Community Center beginning May 11 and ending June 22. This will be your last chance to see this exhibit in Missouri. Also, be sure to visit the Wilder Home and Museum. It's a destination for tourists from all over the world.

You can find details of all the activities as well as directions to the Community Center at the excellent Wilder Home web site: http://www.lauraingallswilderhome.com


Kirkwood Public Library Hosts Sac and Fox Heritage Exhibit

The touring exhibit on the Sac and Fox Heritage will end its first year of circulation during the month of May at the Kirkwood Public Library, through May 28. Created by Sac and Fox tribal members in three states, the exhibit is a large panel with photographs and text. The exhibit is reserved by various venues through the end of this year, but is available for January and February 2008. The library web site is at http://kpl.lib.mo.us/

I'm scheduled to deliver a talk about the creation of this exhibit on Saturday, May 19 at 2:00 p.m. The Sac and Fox exhibit curator, Sandra Massey, will be with me to share the podium. Replicas of the exhibit in poster size will be available for sale at the Library's gift shop.

Lose Your Mother Book Review
I read an outstanding reflection on the long shadows cast by the institution of slavery. The book is by Saidiya Hartman, and I've quoted just one of many marked passages in my new blog, "Creating Interest" at http://creatinginterest.blogspot.com/2007/04/chosing-your-past.html