Volume 8, Number 8 - Summer 1984


White River Valley Historical Society Historical Report
1983 - 84
by Kathleen VanBuskirk

The highlight of the 23rd year of the White River Valley Historical Society came on Saturday, May 12, 1984, when longtime efforts of Society members and interested Taney County citizens culminated in ceremonies in which 7th District Congressman Gene Taylor presented a plaque affirming that the Swan Creek Bridge near old Forsyth has been entered on the National Register of Historic Places.

At the March meeting of the Society, the Historical Places Committee was authorized to order six White River Valley Historical Society marker plates to be affixed at sites which have been named to the Register through efforts of the Society. To date these include the Swan Creek bridge and Downing Street in Hollister. Elmo and Betty Ingenthron and Fred and Viola Hartman also have been working on a project, still pending, to establish and mark a historic trail in the Forsyth area.

WRVHS membership for the year totaled 260, including six honorary members: Leslie Brock, Dr. Dorothy Cummings, Mary Scott Hair, Elmo Ingenthron, Jewell Ross Mehus and Lucile Morris Upton. The Society also mourned the loss of Past President, Charter Member and Honorary Member Dr. O. Myking Mehus and Charter Member Mrs. Margaret Casey. Forty-eight members were added to the mailing list and 68 were dropped. The option of paying $150.00 for a life membership in the WRVHS, established in conjunction with the 1981 increase in annual dues to the present $8.00, was accepted for the first time this year. At the new member’s request, payment is being made in three annual installments of $50.00 each.

President Fred Hartman concluded his third year in office with this year. He presided at each of the four meetings, three of which were held in the Good College Center Cafeteria at The School of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo. With the recent conversion of the College Center cafeteria to a student dining hall, the annual meeting in June was moved to Cummings Auditorium, on the top floor of the same building.

The September, 1983, meeting was attended by 43 members and guests. Vice President Ralph Lucas had arranged for Alan Schmitt, a history teacher at Ash Grove, to show his sound film on the influence of railroads on American life and specifically on life in Ash Grove. In December, 26 members were on hand to hear about "Black Powder" a presentation and demonstration by Robert Anderson, School of the Ozarks librarian, and his son Curtis, on the features of muzzle-loading guns, how they are loaded and how they are fired. The actual firing of the guns was left for a more suitable location. Forty-two persons were on hand for the March meeting, including four charter members. That day, Mary Elizabeth Bradley, of The School of the Ozarks music faculty, told of "Old Instruments and Early Music of the Ozarks," illustrating her tale with projected pictures and charts. The June program, with 33 present, was provided by Tom Snyder, director of Powersite Dam, who gave a fascinating "insider’s view" of the problems encountered in getting Missouri’s first hydroelectric dam authorized and built back in 1910-13, and the challenges of keeping it in operation through the past three quarters of a century. Notices of three of the year’s meetings appeared in newspapers throughout the area. Due to a breakdown in communications, the March meeting was not well-publicized. For the June meeting notices were sent to 21 area newspapers and radio stations.

Winners of the Society’s third annual historical essay contest read their entries and received their prizes at the March meeting. Invitations to participate in the contest had been issued early in the fall to each of the 39 high schools in the seven counties of the White River Valley encompassed by the White River Valley Historical Society. Where possible, members were asked to deliver the contest rules to schools near their homes, in order to encourage participation. The winning essays were: First place, "Schools of the Past-School of Today" by Deonna Eutsler, Hurley High School, written in the General Business Class taught by Connie F. Buell; Second Place, "Roaring River Maid" by Connie Waller, Cassville High School, written in Joanne Ellis’ college preparatory English class; and Third Place, "Spring Creek Mill-First Business in Hurley" by Kathleen DeWitt, Hurley High School, also a student in Connie Buell’s business class. All three outstanding essays were scheduled for publication in the Quarterly. Family members of the winners as well as the sponsoring teachers were among the guests at the March meeting.

Four editions of the White River Valley Historical Quarterly were published, each issue printed in 400 copies. An average of about 275 copies per issue were mailed, including one to the Library of Congress, one to the State Historical Society of Missouri at Columbia, two to the Lyons Library at The School of the Ozarks, and 25 to other libraries, colleges and universities. The remainder will be kept in stock to meet

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future requests for back issues. Printing costs for the year were $2000, with an additional $100 spent for postage.

At the beginning of the 1983-84 year, the Society’s treasury held a balance of $276.67, with an additional $2,500 invested in savings. The balance, on June 10, 1984, was $338.35 plus $3,527.01 in the savings account.

Our secretary-treasurer, Ionamae Rebenstorf, continued to respond to inquiries involving genealogy, answering between 175 and 200 queries in the course of the year. To assist in those efforts, the Society has recently subscribed to Ozar’Kin, a regional genealogical magazine.

Ten members of the Society attended the Third Annual Fall Workshop of the Ozark Genealogical Society, held in Springfield in October, 1983. The theme of the workshop was "Leaves from Carolina Trees," a subject which drew widespread interest. Family tracers also were offered information about using Missouri’s archives and about tracking down Pennsylvania ancestors. The WRVHS display table at this event cleared $56.50 in sales of back quarterlies and related books.

The nominating committee, Elmo Ingenthron, Artie Ayres and Chairman Viola Hartman, introduced the slate of officers for the coming year at the March meeting. Election and installation were held at the June meeting.

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