New Volunteer Opportunity

Last fall on a day trip to the Chariton County Historical Society and Museum, I filled out a membership form and told the hostess on duty that day that I would start volunteering when the season began in April. Even though my husband’s family has deep roots in Missouri – especially Chariton county – I had found that some of my collateral relatives also had lived and died here. What better way for me to learn about the area I now call home than to spend time at the Historical Society.

My first “volunteer” opportunity came on April 1st during the 150th Anniversary for the city of Salisbury. The museum was open and even provided sheets of clues for a scavenger hunt. It was advised that I participate as well in order to familiarize myself to the location of items and genealogy files. I had spent two hours there a few weeks before learning the new microfilm scanner and printer so I knew the location of many items.

I volunteered to be there one Wednesday in April. We didn’t have any visitors that day so I spent time inserting obituaries from 1954 into binders – in alphabetical order – or creating a new page if it wouldn’t fit. On my next day there – in early May – I scanned several photos from a large 1967 news magazine. Then I downloaded them from the hand held scanner (I want one of those!) onto the computer and used photo editing software to crop and save them. That day there were several visitors. It was enlightening to hear about a military hero that had grown up in Chariton county from a man who had spent time doing research. Soon, his information will be on display in the military section of the museum.

Some of the other high profile people from this area include: Cal Hubbard, Vernon Kennedy, Gen. Maxwell Taylor, and Sterling Price (Governor of Missouri and also a Confederate General).

I urge to find your local genealogy or historical society and join. Not only will you have access to the holdings, but you will also learn more about the history of your area. And if you are in Chariton county or close by, I invite you to stop in and visit the Chariton County Museum & Historical Society.

(Photo: Depiction of a school room located in the “Main Street” section of the Museum; photographer: Wendy Littrell)