Monthly E-News from Michael Bouman, Executive Director
Missouri Humanities Council

Contents:

• Mark Twain Museum Charts a New Course
• UMSL Museum Studies Program Supports Twain Planning
• Read MOre - A Father's Legacy by Sandra Kaye Massey
• Call for Nominations for 2006 Governor's Humanities Awards
• Julie Douglas on a Young Father's Breakthrough

Mark Twain Museum Charts a New Course

The more I see of Missouri's towns and historic places, the more I see relationships between higher education and a network of community institutions.  This month's E-Passages puts the spotlight on a young woman from New England whose graduate studies in St. Louis led her to an exciting "breakthrough responsibility" at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal. (Web site: http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/ )

I've invited Regina Faden to describe what is at stake when a cultural site of international importance makes a change of course.  In a companion piece, I have reprinted an article from UMSL's magazine about Professor Jay Rounds and his role in helping the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum develop a new interpretive plan.  I hope you read both pieces.  They are indicative of the enormous currents of thought that are bringing our 19th century museum practices into the 21st century.

Regina's first-person account of the new conception of the museum is here:

http://www.mohumanities.org/E-News/April06/twain.htm

UMSL Museum Studies Program Supports Twain Planning

Here, courtesy of UM-St. Louis Magazine, is Jennifer Hatton's profile of Jay Rounds and the service he provided to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.  Michael DeFilippo is the photographer.

http://www.umsl.edu/services/ur/media/umstlouis/twain.htm

ReadMOre Invites Stories of Fathers

The annual statewide book-reading takes up family memoirs this year with Calvin Trillin's Messages from my Father.  The project invites people to submit their own memoir of fathers on the ReadMOre web site:

http://www.readmoremissouri.org

When our friend and colleague, Sandra Kaye Massey read about Messages from my Father, she sent the following piece that she wrote after her father's death.  With her permission, we are sharing that wonderful piece here.

http://www.mohumanities.org/E-News/April06/massey.htm

Call for Nominations for 2006 Governor's Humanities Awards

One of our favorite days of the year is the October afternoon in the Missouri Governor's Mansion when we confer humanities awards on people who have made a noteworthy contribution in the humanities.  Nominations for these awards are generated from the public, not from our board or staff, and we count on our friends to submit names of outstanding teachers, writers, or people who have taken a local museum or historic organization to a better level of service or interpretation.  Our deadline for the 2006 awards is this month -- April 30 -- so please don't be shy about checking the guidelines on our web site.

http://www.mohumanities.org/programs/awards/index.htm

A Young Father's Breakthrough

My colleague, Julie Douglas, brought back the most heartwarming story of a young man's first visit to his child's elementary school.  We'll close with the vision of what can happen when we try to create a community in which every child is read to.

http://www.mohumanities.org/E-News/April06/father.htm