Cedar County Historical Society news

by Judy Nichols

Members met at the museum in Stockton on Monday, Nov. 29. The society had purchased a new movie screen for future programs, so they decided to view the slides taken in 1968 of the construction of the Stockton Dam by Clarence Cavender. Clarence was a prominent citizen in Stockton at the time. There was some discussion about having the slides printed and preserved in a photo album. Ellis Benham volunteered to explore the possibility of printing and adjusting the brightness on the slides.

It was noted that Pat Hindman did a nice job on the news story about Spooky Springs in the Cedar County Republican’s Halloween issue. She obtained the information from the museum archives.

Bob Phillips noted that he had talked with Jane Bolton of the Cedar County Republican and that she planned to write an article about the small town of Bear Creek in eastern Cedar County. Bob shared his experiences of growing-up, attending school and living in the community his whole life.

Some of the society’s carved stones from the old 1888 jail in Stockton have been moved to the new Veteran’s Memorial site near the Visitor’s Center at the Stockton Dam. More stones will be moved as the project progresses.

Kelly C. Sartorius, Ph.D., Director of Advancement, Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area will be presenting a program about pioneer women along the Missouri-Kansas border during the Civil War. It will be scheduled in the spring or early summer.

Since the agenda was short, members visited, discussed Cedar County history and enjoyed cake and cookies.

There were items donated to the museum that will be noted during the next meeting in January.

Reminder: The Cedar County Historical Society will only be able to provide minimal research or look-ups for patrons. They will no longer be able to fulfill requests for genealogy due to the lack of available staff. However, the museum research library is still open for those wishing to complete their own research. Society members can suggest other resources, libraries and internet sites. Society publications, that contain a multitude of information are always available for purchase.

Traditionally, since there is no meeting in December and the museum is closed. The next meeting will be at 1 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 31, in the museum at 106 West Davis St. in Stockton. The museum is only open during the winter months, from 1 to 4 p.m. on meeting dates and are always open to the public. Admission is free. Explore the society Facebook page for open dates and special events at “Cedar County Mo Historical Society.” For information, appointments or to purchase publications, call 417-276-1142, by email at cedarcomohistsoc@gmail.com or by mail at P.O. Box 111, Stockton, MO 65785.