Remembering Marvin VanGilder

The voice of Carthage was silenced Sunday night.

Marvin L. VanGilder, whose list of accomplishments boggles the mind, died at age 83.

The reference to Marvin as the voice of Carthage contains a double meaning. Not only was he the city's biggest booster and a repository of its history, but with his booming, radio-trained voice, he commanded attention, while the words he spoke commanded respect.

I was a bit intimidated by Marvin when I joined The Carthage Press staff as the area reporter in April 1990. Having worked at the Lamar Democrat for nearly a decade, I was familiar with Marvin's book, "The Story of Barton County," and had even used many of the events he chronicled in that book when I wrote the pageant for the Truman Centennial in 1984.

Marvin was not only a historian, but he had a lengthy career as a reporter, both for newspapers and radio, and had at one time been the managing editor of The Press. It did not take long for me to understand that Marvin was not one of those hidebound 'old timers"  who demanded that things be done the way they had been done for decades. He was the go-to source for all younger reporters at The Press, sharing with us  historical background that enabled us to provide a context to our stories, something seldom seen in journalism, either today or 20 years ago.

The influence Marvin had on The Carthage Press and the community are still evident today. Last week, Marvin's illness forced him to miss the latest re-enactment of the Battle of Carthage, but that re-enactment, the ones held in the past, and those that will be staged in the future, would not have been possible had it not been for Marvin's steadfast championing of the city's history.

Marvin turned history into front-page stories, not just through coverage of the re-enactments and the planning sessions that led to those events, but through his thorough embrace of history as a gateway to understanding the present.

When Bill Webster ran for governor in 1992, Marvin was able to provide readers with a clear understanding, not only of what Webster's candidacy could mean for Carthage, but the historical background of Webster's father, the late Sen. Richard Webster's 1952 bid for lieutenant governor, the last time a Carthage resident had sought statewide office.

One of the biggest regrets I had upon taking over the managing editor position at The Press in 1993, was the knowledge that my promotion came at the same time that Marvin was retiring. I would have loved to have had Marvin as a sounding board, but Marvin had other work he wanted to accomplish.

And what a glorious "retirement" it was.

For the last 17 years of his life, Marvin VanGilder wrote history, he spoke to different groups, adults and schoolchildren, bringing the past to life in a way that textbooks never could. And despite his "retirement" Marvin never left the pages of The Carthage Press.

At one point, he was writing three different columns per week, one on Carthage history, one on genealogy, and one offering his perspective on current events. And for 49 weeks from 1996 to 1997, he made it four columns, also writing a history column for our short-lived Lamar Press newspaper. He also wrote three editorials per week for the newspaper. In recent years, he provided The Press readership with a weekly religion column.

It was 40 years ago this year, that Carthage Chamber of Commerce named Marvin as its Citizen of the Year. He spent the rest of his live proving the wisdom of that selection.

During his nearly 84 years on this earth, Marvin was a preacher, a teacher, a historian, a poet,  a musician, an author, and a reporter and he excelled at all of these- what a remarkable life.

Thankfully, his writings and recordings have been preserved and Marvin's influence will continue to be felt for generations to come.

Death has taken Marvin VanGilder from us, but his voice, the voice of Carthage, will live forever.