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At the Heart of it All
by Crystal Narr
Remembering the Past
First there was the voice that everyone recognized, an activist actress, and the pop star who defied gravity with a moonwalk . Then we lost a newscaster whom everyone believed in, a jazz genius and a choreographer of the sublime and avant
garde.
Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Walter Cronkite, George Russell, Merce Cunningham. Individually these deaths seem fleeting—the loss of someone who defined their fields and made a place in their particular corners of the world. Together they represent an America defined by television, movies and pop culture—of innovation and radical creativity; an America whose history cannot be documented solely by the written word but through the realm of multi media.
In our face paced world where we are bombarded with modern messages, it is nice to take the opportunity to see how else our America is remembered through the preservation of bricks and mortar. The State of Missouri has a long history of keeping the treasures of the past alive through thoughtful and careful restoration of longtime landmarks. Missouri is home to nearly 40 State Historic Sites ranging from boyhood homes to the first Capitol building. Finish the summer on a high note with a quick trip to view some of our State riches.
Keeping it close to home, venture to our immediate southwest and you are able to visit several State Historic Sites. Watkins Woolen Mill offers visitors the chance to view many of the original buildings that have been restored, and the re-introduced livestock and plants which create an 1870s farm. During summer months, the site's Living History Farm Program offers visitors the chance to watch an 1870s family live, work and play.
Travel on into Kansas City to experience the creative space of Neosho-born renowned painter, sculptor, lecturer and writer, Thomas Hart Benton. Virtually untouched since his death in 1975, the two-and-a-half story, late Victorian-style house and converted carriage house turned art studio, remain as he left it, with coffee cans full of paintbrushes, numerous paints and a stretched canvas waiting to be transformed into another of his masterpieces.
Our State’s central region boasts several unique sites but the most inclusive would be the entire town of Arrow Rock which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Once a thriving riverport, the town is dotted with architectural treasures from the past. Limestone gutters of carefully carved blocks line the main street, marking the toil of earlier generations. Wooden sidewalks and overhead canopies still line store fronts, recalling the grace and aura of times long past.
Although there are many more assets within our State lines, these are just a few that showcase the restorative nature of our State that allow us to remember places, people and times gone by. Along with the voices, faces, and movements of people passed on, the foundation of our Nation is also to be remembered through restoration and preservation of our spaces.
For more information on Missouri’s State Historic Sites, visit
www.mostateparks.com.
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