Celebrating 50 Years of Historical Preservation in Bates County
~1961-2011~
The Bates County Historical Society celebrates its Golden Anniversary this year! Fifty proud years of preserving the heritage of Bates County. As we commemorate this achievement we must look to the future. The continued financial support for the mission of this organization is vital. By working together, much has been accomplished since our founding in 1961. Today we are reaping the vision of the founders of this Society and it is now our responsibility to do all we can to insure the Society will celebrate its Centennial Anniversary in the year 2061. The vision of the founders remains strong. The commitment to excellence, the commitment to honor their vision, and the commitment to strengthen the Society is stronger now than ever. Please join us in keeping the Bates County Historical Society & Museum, “A Beacon of Culture for Bates County.”
Future generations are depending upon us to be good stewards on our watch...
February 5th, Sat, 10:00 am — Annual Membership Meeting & Election of Directors, the ever popular Show & Tell Gathering, and a free will offering Soup Dinner. Plan to join us as we kick-off our Golden Anniversary season. Bring a friend and introduce the Society to someone new!
April 2nd, Sat, 10:30 am—3rd Annual Ladies Spring Brunch. This has quickly become one of our most popular events. This year, we celebrate, “1961.” The fashion, the people, the music, news, movies, latest inventions...all of it! You will travel down memory lane, enjoy another fabulous brunch and tour the museum. This is a ticketed event, with limited seating. Tickets are $12.50 each. (We’ve moved this to April to hopefully avoid a blizzard like last year!)
April 15th, Fri, 6-8 pm— 50th Anniversary Ceremony & Reception. A Golden Anniversary deserves to be celebrated! Join us in Robertson Hall for a come & go reception. At 7:00 pm a brief ceremony of congratulations and recognition will take place. Come sign our 50th Anniversary Guest Book, receive a Commemorative Program flyer, and see some Special Displays that will recall our first fifty years. We’ll all be making ‘history’ together, so please help us celebrate!
Annual Election for Board of Directors February 5, 2011, Saturday, 10 am
It’s election time again and we have a great slate of candidates who have agreed to run for election to our Board. The candidates running for re-election are Terrie Jessup, Doug West, Jim Fisher, and Stan Sechrest. Also on the ballot are Wesley Merritt, Joyce Grainger, and Alan Mundey. Members will be asked to vote for 6 of these candidates in order to fill the seats for the 2011-12 Board term. Ballots are enclosed in this newsletter and for the first time, mail-in proxy votes will be allowed. The Board voted to allow the proxy votes in order to give more members the opportunity to vote. Mail-in ballots must be received no later than Wednesday, February 2, 2011 in order to be counted.
At the conclusion of the November 2010 Bates County Historical Society Board Meeting, President Doug Thompson tendered his resignation and appointed Vice– President Donna Gregory as President. Doug’s tenure with the Society has provided outstanding leadership over the years and the organization will be long indebted to him for the unwavering commitment and devotion he gave to the Society and Museum. Imparting a vision of excellence, Doug moved the organization toward goals once thought unachievable, however, under his leadership great things were accomplished, many goals realized, and a standard of historical preservation excellence prevailed that will long serve the people of Bates County. The Board extended deep gratitude and thanks to Doug for his many years of service.
Memorial Donor Plaque and Historical Preservation Visionary Plaques
The Museum is proud to announce the addition of a donor plaque that will display the names of those who have contributed a donation of $1000 or more. The $1000 level can be reached by contributing money over the course of time. Once contributions total $1000, the donor’s name will be added to the plaque. We are also pleased to advise our members that both Helen Hallam and Edgar Lee Robertson have individual plaques that acknowledges each as, “A True Visionary of Historical Preservation.”
On March 19th, a gathering of people from up and down the Jefferson Highway will meet in Lee’s Summit, MO to discuss the possibility of organizing a JH Association.
2011 Marks Many Significant Anniversaries for Bates County
As thoughts turned to the 50th Anniversary of the Historical Society, and knowing that the Civil War was commemorating its 150th Anniversary, we began to notice a bit of a pattern. Bates County has several significant anniversaries to celebrate in the year 2011. Here’s a list of them. If there are more, please let us know!
190 years ago—1821, Harmony Mission Founded
170 years ago—1841, Bates County Established
150 years ago—1861, Civil War Begins
130 years ago—1881, Butler Becomes Electric City
110 years ago—1901, Bates Co. Courthouse Built
110 years ago—1901, Nyhart School Built
50 years ago—1961, Minuteman Missiles Arrive
50 years ago—1961, Historical Society Founded And
10 years ago—Edgar Lee Robertson Passed Away, Leaving His Estate to the Society. 2011 is certainly a year of remembrances and milestones for our county. We will include some of these happenings within our program schedule for the season so please keep watch for further information.
The Border War Network (BWN) met in December at Mahaffie House in Olathe, Kansas to hold their annual election of officers and to celebrate Christmas. Peggy Buhr, Bates County Museum Marketing Director, was elected President of the organization and will serve a two year term. Carol Bohl, of the Cass County Historical Society, had served as President since 2006 when the organization was founded. The BWN has strengthened ties between historical organizations in both Missouri and Kansas. Stories of the Border War and Civil War years are inextricably linked along the MO-KS border and by learning about the various sites, people and regions, the BWN group is able to tell these stories with a greater understanding of what truly happened during those dark years.
The 150th Civil War Commemoration events will begin in 2011 and continue through 2015. The BWN will play a significant role in planning and participating in many of the events scheduled by member organizations. The BWN has gained recognition throughout the states (Missouri & Kansas) for the coordinated efforts that have mutually served to further the cause of remembering and honoring the people who lived along the Border during the years 1856-1865.
The group has formed, The Burnt District Players, and have presented programs that include first-person portrayals and readers theater presentations. In February 2011, Peggy will portray her Great, Great Grandmother Elizabeth Wheatley in a play, “Murder in the Courthouse,” in Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri at the Old Historic Johnson County Courthouse. This portrayal holds special significance because the Wheatley’s all lived in Johnson County during the Civil War and it is quite possible that some of Peggy’s ancestors were at the Courthouse the day the 1861 murder occurred. (www.moksbwn.net)
Kansas City Star to Publish Book About the Civil War
The Kansas City Star is working on a book about the Civil War in our region. We are thrilled that they are including the story about the Battle of Island Mound in the book. No release date has been set. We’ll let you know when it becomes available.
Plan to visit the Museum soon!
Bates County Museum
802 Elks Drive, PO Box 164
Butler, MO 64730
660-679-0134
email bcmuseum@earthlink.net
web page www.home.earthlink.net/~bcmuseum
Highlights taken from the Bates County Museum Spring 2011 Newsletter. Become a member today- Call or email for information and lets keep our local history alive!
Highlights taken from the Bates County Museum Spring 2011 Newsletter. Become a member today- Call or email for information and lets keep our local history alive!
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