Missouri will be celebrating its 200th birthday next year. In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state in the Union at an exciting time in history.
The state was on the frontier and was active with people coming here to start their adventures along the rivers or to use the state as the jumping off place to the west. The Oregon, the Santa Fe, and the Mormon Trail each had roots in Missouri.
Because of her mighty river systems and, later, her roads, Missouri has always been the crossroad of the nation. Her history has been exciting and varied for all these 200 years. And her people have excelled in every profession.
Missouri will be celebrating all these 200 years and plans are being made to do so in a variety of ways. In fact, many plans are already set. A Bicentennial committee was appointed a few years ago and they have been busy.
One of the first activity is a large photo exhibition that will be traveling the state. The Coronavirus has currently stopped its travel, but when this is over, the exhibition will start again. Already it is scheduled to be shown in many places, including area towns like Joplin and Branson.
The exhibit contains 200 photos of Missouri which show people, places, events and other things. Newton and McDonald County are represented in the collection, as is Jasper County. There are some lovely scenes in Newton County and a photo of a roadrunner in McDonald County. Jasper County, which has many photos, features a lot of murals and other arts.
A forthcoming activity is a poster contest for students in grades 3-12. “Sharing Missouri’s stories: past, present, and future.” The contest is open and run through October 31, 2020. All schoolchildren are invited to create a poster.
A Bicentennial Quilt has been made and is ready for a tour around the state. The quilt contains 121 blocks and includes something about all 114 counties. Newton County is represented by an image of George Washington Carver. Jasper County features a miner and Route 66. McDonald County has a beautiful block which features a magnificent mustang, (the McDonald County High School mascot) surrounded by such things as a canoe, a log cabin, a chicken and some words that pertain to the county. The McDonald County quilt was made by the Bunker Hill Quilt Club.
The Bicentennial Committee has done much, has more to do and they invite everyone to be part of the fun. If you are interested in helping out or just learning more of their plans, you can check them out online, at missouri2021.org
On this site, you can look at all the photos, the quilt blocks and much, much more. You can find out how to enter the poster contest here along with many other things.
Just between you and me, it is certainly interesting and could be fun to be a part of.
(Kay Hively is a historian, author and former editor, reporter and columnist for the Neosho Daily News and Neosho Post.)
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