| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 2, 2007 |
CONTACT: Beth Felice (800) 357-0909 beth @ mohumanities.org |
Each year the Governor of Missouri and the Missouri Humanities Council celebrate the accomplishments of people who have made exceptional contributions to our understanding of Missouri, its people, and its stories. The Community Heritage Award recognizes a person who has made a special contribution to a community’s understanding of its heritage.
A lifetime of interest in American history has propelled Gary Chilcote into the national spotlight, promoting Missouri history and tourism. Through his efforts a National Historical Landmark has been preserved, and the undocumented history of St. Joseph is now available for research by future generations.
As founder of Patee House Museum, and volunteer Museum Director for the past 45 years, Gary’s efforts have brought writers, researchers, and tourists to St. Joseph to learn about the American West and St. Joseph’s role with the Pony Express and Jesse James. And when the national media looks for a spokesperson for St. Joseph, or the history of Jesse James, as with the latest Hollywood offering about James, they seek out the thoughtful reflections of Gary.
Gary was a reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press & Gazette for 40 years, and taught electronics and construction at Hillyard Technical School for 27 years. In 1963 he helped found the Pony Express Historical Association to preserve the 1858 Patee House Hotel to create a museum in the location where much of the city’s important early history occurred. Today that museum includes an 1860 Hannibal & St. Joseph train and railroad depot, the historic Buffalo Saloon, and a 1941 carousel. In 1979, the home where Jesse James was killed was added to the museum grounds.
He served as vice-president of the National Pony Express Association (the group that annually rides the 2,000-mile Pony Express trail to California) for 13 years, is a former president of the National James-Youger Gang, and served as a pall-bearer for Jesse’s last funeral in 1995.
For 35 years he has been editor of the museum’s award-winning monthly newsletter, Pony Express Mail. He helped restore two railroad cabooses that were used as tourist information centers in St. Joseph and Cameron. He is an authority and public speaker on late 19th century America, the Old West, the Pony Express and Jesse James.
Gary has appeared in dozens of videos and documentaries on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, Home & Garden TV, and Good Morning America, as well as documentaries filmed for British, German, French, and Japanese television.
He and his wife, Mary, are graduates of Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. They are the parents of a son, Doug Chilcote, and daughter Carolyn Chilcote. Next April the Chilcotes will mark their 50th wedding anniversary by donating a life-sized 9-passenger Concord Stagecoach for the museum’s front lobby.
“You rate museums by The Wow Factor,” Gary recently told visitors from Roadside America. “If people have fun, they’ll soak up the history.”
These awards are based on nominations from the public, for outstanding contributions by a person, group, or organization to the humanities in Missouri. The deadline for submission for next year's awards is Friday, January 25th, 2008. To submit a nomination, please complete a one page information form, and include a one page summary and any supporting material to illustrate the nominee's accomplishments.
Missouri Humanities Council
543 Hanley Industrial Ct., Ste. 201
St. Louis, MO 63144-1905
(314) 781-9660 (800) 357-0909