Latest News & Announcements

This week, April 21-27, is National Volunteer Appreciation Week. However, at the State Historical Society of Missouri, we value our volunteers 365 days a year for the work they do year-around! This past year, we have 43 volunteers working at our facilities and remotely, doing a variety of necessary tasks in areas including digitization, editorial, art, conservation, manuscripts, oral history, events, communication, hospitality, and more. The number of hours contributed by SHSMO volunteers is over 68 hours a week – almost as much as two fulltime employees! 

The State Historical Society of Missouri is seeking proposals for two Center for Missouri Studies fellowships to begin January 1, 2025. Each fellowship carries a stipend of $5,000 for a project that results in the completion of an 8,000 to 10,000-word scholarly essay on one of the two topics listed below. The deadline for submitting proposals is Sept. 3, 2024. The competition is open to both academic and independent scholars.

Topics for 2025 Center for Missouri Studies Fellowships:

The public is invited Thursday, April 18, to hear four celebrated writers who will discuss the connection between their experiences as veterans and their creative work. Authors Brian Turner, Dewaine Farria, Jerri Bell, and Matt Gallagher will be in conversation with moderator Andrew Visscher, an MA candidate at the University of Missouri. Visscher is a literary scholar and serves as captain in the U.S. Army Advanced Civil Schooling Program. 

The American Dream holds a powerful place in our imagination. When did this idea come about, how did it change over time, and how have we come to define it? These questions and more will be probed by author and “celebrity historian” Raffi Andonian, who will be the featured speaker at the State Historical Society of Missouri’s History on Elm program, Tuesday, April 9, noon- 1 p.m. at the Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm St., Columbia.

Author and Columbia University professor Samuel G. Freedman will deliver a presentation on how the crusade for civil rights won the White House and the election of President Truman at the 1948 Democratic Convention. The author will speak about his recent book, Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights, April 3, 2 p.m., at the State Historical Society of Missouri, 605 Elm Street, Columbia. The public is invited to this free program.

The Hazel Henderson Papers, recently donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri’s National Women and Media Collection, offers study of an environmental thought leader whose work included nine books and hundreds of articles on sustainability and the growing “green” economy.  Henderson is best known as a futurist, whose book, The Politics of the Solar Age, published in 1981, forecasted the need for the current transition from the fossil fuel era to the 21st century green economy worldwide.

A public open house and reception will be held on Thursday, March 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the State Historical Society of Missouri, 605 Elm St., Columbia, featuring costumes worn by Hollywood actress Ginger Rogers during her lengthy career as an entertainer. The exhibition Ginger Rogers: Dressed to Impress opened in March and runs through August 2024 at the SHSMO Art Gallery. A public reception is in conjunction with the Missouri Conference on History, which will be held in Columbia March 13-15.

A trailblazing journalist who wrote stories about the Ozarks and covered much of its development throughout the 20th century is featured in a new biography, Newspaperwoman of the Ozarks: The Life and Times of Lucile Morris Upton, written by Susan Croce Kelly. The author will speak about her recent book as part of the State Historical Society of Missouri’s History on Elm series, Tuesday, March 12, noon- 1 p.m., at the Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm St., Columbia.

This week begins a new series, Stories from the Archives, on KSMU Ozarks Public Radio, written and hosted by SHSMO Archivist Haley Frizzle-Green. Airing at 8:30 a.m. on the last Monday of each month, Frizzle-Green will highlight collections from Southwest Missouri region. For the inaugural episode, listeners will learn about the Mark Twain National Forest Historical Photograph Collection and wildfire prevention efforts of the 1930s. 

SHSMO congratulates Bill Eddleman, coordinator of the Cape Girardeau Research Center for producing and hosting the 50th episode of “Tales from Days Gone By,” airing on KRCU Public Radio and available for download on the station’s website. The series explores the rich history of Southeast Missouri including unique places, celebrated figures, and interesting stories of ordinary people.