Monthly E-News from Michael Bouman, Executive Director
Missouri Humanities Council
Contents:
"Family Barn" by Shelly Angerer, Westphalia, Missouri
The photo above is part of the "harvest of local meanings" generated by the Osage County Historical Society in the fourth year of its annual photo contest. Shelly Angerer wrote about the meaning of this photo to her family:
SUBJECT & LOCATION OF PHOTO: My three sons, Drew, Chad, and Nick Angerer and my nephew, Ethan Scheulen, in a barn on our family farm in Westphalia, MO.
STORY: This picture of my 3 sons and nephew was taken in a barn on our family farm in Westphalia, MO. The location is important to me because it was the last time our kids could play in the barn that was built by my grandfather, Albert H. Scheulen.
My brother, Wes Scheulen, bought 3 acres of the family farm from my dad, Allan Scheulen. The barn was located on the 3 acres where my brother wanted to build a new home and expand his cabinet business. So, we made a special day to take the photos and let the kids play in it one last time before my brother had it torn down. It was a very nostalgic evening to get these photos.
This farm has been in our family since December 8, 1879 when my Great-Grandfather, John Scheulen, Jr. purchased it. On December 20, 1934 my grandfather, Albert H. Scheulen purchased the farm. In the 1980's the farm was registered as a Century Farm, which was very important to our family. After the passing of my grandparents, my dad, Allan Scheulen and his brother, Roman Scheulen bought and divided the farm in the 1990's. Of dad's acreage, my brother was able to purchase the 3 acres mentioned above in 2001
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We love the history of our farm, and we are very proud of it. The picture means so much to us in terms of that history. My children and nephew were able to play in the same place their great-grandfather Albert was able to play.
Roberta V. Schwinke has written a wonderful piece about how the Osage County Historical Society came to engage the interest of their neighbors in picturing the beauties and meanings of that special place. See her article at
http://www.mohumanities.org/E-News/Dec06/picturing.htm
Chautauqua Study Group Submits Long-Anticipated Report
Will it be "Route 66" or "That's Entertainment?" We're hoping you will help us figure that out. But first the report:
They came from distant principalities and fiefdoms with exotic, evocative names like Carthage (in the bookstores there's a new translation of The Aeneid by Robert Fagles), Osage Beach, Kirkwood (makes me think of Viking raiders on the British coast, "kirk" bring the Norse word for "church"), Pike County (named for an explorer or "Betsy" rather than a Medieval weapon, though I have not checked Wikipedia to be sure). People from these towns came to imagine a brighter future for the Chautauqua program. I asked them to define "success" for long-term stability, and they came up with exciting suggestions for a renewed program in 2008.
Since the Chautauqua program is being designed for you, I'm inviting you to submit ideas related to the two themes that are in a dead heat for selection as the focus of the 2008 tour. Click on the link below to see the summary report and the opportunities for your input. This is an exclusive opportunity, I might add. You won't see any mention of this in The Washington Post or The New York Times. (You also won't see any actual report.)
http://www.mohumanities.org/programs/chautauqua/2008input.htm
by Julie Douglas, Family Program Specialist
Recently my train-loving nephew celebrated his 4th birthday. As you might have guessed, I like to give books or magazines to my young nieces and nephews for birthdays and Christmas. So, weeks before the birthday I set out on my search for the perfect train book. After browsing through piles of Thomas the Train books, rereading The Little Engine That Could, and discovering some new additions to the Transportation book shelf, I went home with All Aboard ABC.
As soon as the wrapping paper was ripped away, the cheering and jumping up and down commenced. Immediately I was led to the sofa where we were transported, letter by letter, through the world of trains. For twenty minutes or so, the noisy activities of our large family faded into the background and my four year old friend and I were captivated by tracks and couplers and giant refrigerated cars (they haul chocolate milk…did you know that?). We talked about trains we had seen and people we knew who had traveled by train. We made up our own sound effects as we read the page that showed a photograph of a train horn. We counted the cars in a train racing towards the station. Each page elicited a squeal of joy from the tiny train expert sitting on my lap.
Certainly there are flashier gifts than books. And you probably won't see a child's Christmas list that has "bonding with an adult" or "opportunity to take part in a conversation" written in crayon. But consider for a moment the real "gifts" of reading with a child. A young child who interacts with books and stories develops a broader vocabulary and better listening skills. By reading a book with a child, we send the message that books are important and exciting. When we stop and discuss the illustrations in a book, we help the child make those important text-to-self and text-to-world connections.
Whether you are giving a child a new book, or pulling out an old favorite, use these tips to make the most of the book-sharing experience:
1. Spend some time talking about the book before you read it together. Look at the cover and title. Are there any clues about what might happen in the story?
2. As you read, find ways to bring the story to life. Use voices for the characters, encourage the child to add sound effects, or act out the story. If the story has a repetitive phrase, invite the child to recite it.
3. Stop and talk. Study the details in the illustrations. Predict what might happen next. Ask the child how he/she feels about what it happening in the story.
4. Don’t stop at "The End." Find a way to extend the story. Let the illustrations inspire an art activity. Read another book by the author. Make up a new ending to the story. Refer back to the story during the day. The very best gifts connect the giver to the receiver.
Sharing a book with a child can do that. Happy reading!
Human Invention: The No. 1 Asset in a Small Museum
I think I have seen the light, and it has a name. After working with small museums for twenty-six years; after seeing worlds and worlds of "problems," I have come out of the dark wood and into a place of hope. The life in small non-profit organizations is not going to change because of newfound competence in discipline X, Y, or Z. What is found is also lost with one change in the personnel. The natural state of all organizations, I firmly believe, is difficulty and incompetence. We can imagine much better than we can actually do.
But that makes little difference. The thing that makes a difference is within. Some of us have it to a greater degree than others, and some of us will not have much of it at all. It is the knowledge of how to make and keep a friend.
History is a social activity. No one does research or creates an account of something without an imaginary listener or reader or beholder. We conduct those solitary and meticulous actions in a context of engaging our fellow "man." How we have been socialized has a great deal to do with how we succeed in operating an organization, be it a church, a garden club, a library, or a local historical society.
Read Julie Douglas on sitting with a four-year-old friend and look at how the elder socializes the younger. This is a child who will interact with her own children in very inventive ways. Julie has the gift of invention. Many adults carry that gift. Possibly they picked it up from an inventive parent. I'd love to have some e-mails from people who remember such parents. I'll publish them here on Mother's Day or Father's Day. Better still, if you operate a historical society, collect them yourself and publish them on your web site. What people remember about their upbringing is "history." The sad thing is, most historical societies think our memories of our upbringing are not history.
Today, the "name" of that light I've seen is Carl Morgan. He's the Director of the Morgan County Museum in Versailles, a relative newcomer to the town, and a person with no formal training in museum work or teaching. I met him a couple of weeks ago, the day before the snow and ice storm of the century.
Carl is a naturally outgoing person. You want an outgoing person at the "front desk" of any service-providing organization. My own colleague, Clarice Britton, who manages the workflow in our office, is such a person. My previous Deputy, Barbara Gill, was so outgoing that I believe she could have walked away the winner in a write-in vote for Governor!
Carl is outgoing, and he has the confidence to change the museum environment when he finds it less interesting than it might be. He is using his imagination to create more interest and pleasure for his imaginary visitor, but he is also using his social skills to put a visitor at ease in what could easily be an overwhelming environment. There are simply too many objects in the environment. The museum in Versailles is typical in that, yet it's atypical in the evidence of imagination during the Morgan County Historical Society's history. You might say Carl is a natural teacher, maybe a natural host. He's not trained that way; he was socialized that way. When I met Carl, I sensed right away that I was in a zone of comfort, social comfort, and that an untrained volunteer with instincts like Carl's could succeed in the most important ways in a museum environment that may always be a "work in progress."
I don't think I've ever had such an inspiring month as last November. It began with those resourceful retired teachers at the Nodaway County Historical Society and ended with an inventive retired auto worker in Versailles. As I thought about the map of Missouri, I realized that there is an enormous amount of encouraging museum work in the latitude that connects Linn, Missouri in Osage County with Harrisonville in Cass County. Along that line is the new Ag museum underdevelopment at the Missouri Farm Bureau, the phenomenal heritage work that's going on in Sedalia, the production of exhibits at the State Archives, the fledgling association of museums that Charles Wise (the undergraduate President of the Pettis County Historical Society) is trying to pull together, the capital campaign for a Heritage Center in Linn, and the superb outreach programs of Carol Bohl in Cass County.
I imagine there are other lines one could draw with equal encouragement, but this one came to mind as I chopped ice off my rental car and drove westward through a "band of snow" that's in the history books already.