The Society of

  THE FRIENDS OF MISSOURI TOWN 1855

 

u UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

 

            June 8           Herbal Heritage

                                 Blacksmithing

 

            June 9          3 Legged Stool-pt 1

 

            June 20         Toothbrush Rug

 

           June 22         Blacksmithing

 

           June 23         3 Legged Stool-pt 2

 

           June 29         Fire Starting

                                 Pin Keep

                                  

u  UPCOMING EVENTS

      June 1 — Children’s Day

July 4 — Independence Day

August 10 — Country Fair

 

Click on the Events button for details

   The Society of the Friends of Missouri Town 1855 is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1976 to promote and support Missouri Town 1855, a living history village located in Fleming Park in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

 

   Our goal is to help preserve our heritage by passing along the culture, lifestyles, crafts and skills indigenous to western Missouri settlers and promote the preservation of mid-nineteenth century Missouri history.

 

   Charter members of the Friends were key figures in the early developmental phase of Missouri Town 1855. The organization has matured with the site and continues to provide financial and volunteer support to help keep the village alive and relevant — 30 years later!

 

History is who we are and why we are the way we are.

                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                     David McCullough

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PHOTO GALLERY!

Dear Friends,

     June in the Village is the month we celebrate the young!  June 1 is Children’s Day, an event that you are all intimately familiar with.  We can look forward to youngsters playing at tug-of-war, walking on stilts, making rope and handkerchief dolls, experimenting with tin punch, and sailing toy boats, among other things.  What a happy occasion when the Village is filled with so much fun and laughter!  I am often surprised how deeply the day touches the hearts of “older folks,” who find much about the day to remind them of the pleasant, sweet days of their own youth!

     This year we have even more to celebrate:  our newest milking shorthorn calves have just arrived and have taken up temporary residence in the back of the livery, next to Dusty.  Just three weeks old when they arrived, they weighed in at an impressive one hundred fifty pounds!  And they are beautiful—reddish brown with patches of white on their faces and bodies!  The first of the ewes have just given birth and the Red Barn next to the Riffie serves as the nursery for the lambs and their mothers.  More lambs are on their way--though how many we’ll end up with only Mother Nature knows.  Some ten years ago we had three sets of triplets --so three lambs had to be taken from their mothers and bottle fed.  This happy duty fell to my daughter Anne, who worked at the Village at the time.  She would tend the wee ones during the day and at night transport them home to our garage in “pet taxis.”  The little lambs took up less room than our cats!  At night Anne would bottle feed the babies every four  hours.  Come daylight, they’d return to the Village.  And so it went for a while.  What a happy memory this is!

     On another note, new life is springing forth in both the Herb Garden behind the Blacksmith’s House and the Interpretive Garden adjacent to the Tavern.  The gardens are coming along splendidly.  Judy and Jody and their helpers have worked their magic once again!  I look forward to exploring the herb garden, taking in the scents and textures and tastes of the herbs.  It is a place I love to interpret and I hope I will be even more know-

ledgeable after taking the Herbal Heritage class on June 8^th.

     I think sometimes we have become so familiar with the Village and all it offers that we forget the profound impact it can have on visitors.  As a case in point, I offer a quote from Karen Hendricks, one of our Friends who “came out” to the Village recently:  “I do want to thank you for the invitation to participate in the event for the Girl Scouts on Sunday, April 28^th.  My  music partner, Martha Haehl, and I spent a truly delightful afternoon playing  music on the tavern porch, in the company of the other ladies who were demonstrating handwork, cooking and laundry.  The weather was glorious.  We laughed at the one speckled hen who kept coming up onto the porch, trying to enter the kitchen, only to be shooed out by the cook.  Not a smart chicken, as chicken and noodles were cooking on the fire.  When all the visitors had left we were treated to hot biscuits with freshly churned butter.  I never ate a better biscuit!”  Thank you, Karen, for sharing your experience with us!  If you have been especially moved by a visit to the Village, I encourage you to put pen to paper and share your experience with us as well.

     Hoping you can soon “come out” to the Village, I am cordially yours,

 

Jean Loughran

President,

The Society of Friends of Missouri Town 1855

A Word From Jean

TRISH BROWN WINS VOLUNTEER AWARD FOR MISSOURI TOWN 1855

Trish was instrumental in bringing Elizabeth Stewart Clark’s Sewing workshop to the Volunteers and Staff of Missouri Town 1855.  Mrs. Clark’s engaging style and extensive knowledge of period clothing, educated and entertained all attendees about appropriate clothing and how it enhances our interpretive efforts without saying a word!  If it weren’t for Trish’s time and great organizational skills, this workshop would not have been possible!

BABIES EVERYWHERE!