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Eastern Jackson County, MO —
At this is the time of year, when our attentions tend to turn to “giving to others,” I hope you may join me in remembering to support nonprofit organizations that gallantly perform worthy missions, usually with scant resources. There are all kinds. Some help kids, homeless, or single parent families. Others help defenseless animals.
Then there are history and heritage organizations (like museums and historic sites and historical societies). Giving gift memberships, buying tickets or making purchases is a good place to start. There may also be year-end tax incentives by giving tax-deductible, charitable donations to these organizations.
The Jackson County Historical Society has a rich past, and the products, services and programs it offers to the public continue to increase and improve all the time. They also acknowledge others who have made attempts to educate and preserve local history through an annual dinner and awards program.
The 2010 Annual Awards Dinner and Annual Meeting of the Jackson County Historical Society will be held on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, from 6 to 9 p.m.
The “Grand Affair” will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Scarritt Building, at 819 Walnut, downtown Kansas City. The Scarritt Grand Ballroom, built in 1907 and renovated in 1985, provides the luxury and beauty epitomizing Kansas City’s finest era, complete with the marble staircase in the lobby that leads to the lavish ballroom.
The Society will be honoring the following six award recipients:
n Henry Marnett, of Raytown, will be accepting the Jane Fifield Flynn Lifetime Achievement Award in Historic Preservation. Marnett, a World War II veteran, started taking photographs as a young man, and is in the process of donating many of his snapshots to the Historical Society. Among them are photographs of the first Santa-Cali-Gon festival in 1940. Marnett is also a trolley and railroad buff, and he has chosen to archive many of his Kansas City-related materials in the Society’s archives on Independence Square, where he also volunteered for more than two decades. He has truly spent a lifetime creating and collecting local history-relate materials… and his lasting legacy is a collection of materials that he is donating for future generations to learn from and enjoy.
n The Society will be acknowledging for Historical Book of the Year, Bruce Mathews, editor of the newly published book, “Elmwood Cemetery: Stories of Kansas City.” Mathews wrote the introduction to the book, provided color photographs, and recruited and worked with several authors, each who contributed stories to share in a beautifully illustrated book retelling the life stories of just a few of the 43,000 people buried in historic Elmwood Cemetery.
At this is the time of year, when our attentions tend to turn to “giving to others,” I hope you may join me in remembering to support nonprofit organizations that gallantly perform worthy missions, usually with scant resources. There are all kinds. Some help kids, homeless, or single parent families. Others help defenseless animals.
Then there are history and heritage organizations (like museums and historic sites and historical societies). Giving gift memberships, buying tickets or making purchases is a good place to start. There may also be year-end tax incentives by giving tax-deductible, charitable donations to these organizations.
The Jackson County Historical Society has a rich past, and the products, services and programs it offers to the public continue to increase and improve all the time. They also acknowledge others who have made attempts to educate and preserve local history through an annual dinner and awards program.
The 2010 Annual Awards Dinner and Annual Meeting of the Jackson County Historical Society will be held on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, from 6 to 9 p.m.
The “Grand Affair” will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Scarritt Building, at 819 Walnut, downtown Kansas City. The Scarritt Grand Ballroom, built in 1907 and renovated in 1985, provides the luxury and beauty epitomizing Kansas City’s finest era, complete with the marble staircase in the lobby that leads to the lavish ballroom.
The Society will be honoring the following six award recipients:
n Henry Marnett, of Raytown, will be accepting the Jane Fifield Flynn Lifetime Achievement Award in Historic Preservation. Marnett, a World War II veteran, started taking photographs as a young man, and is in the process of donating many of his snapshots to the Historical Society. Among them are photographs of the first Santa-Cali-Gon festival in 1940. Marnett is also a trolley and railroad buff, and he has chosen to archive many of his Kansas City-related materials in the Society’s archives on Independence Square, where he also volunteered for more than two decades. He has truly spent a lifetime creating and collecting local history-relate materials… and his lasting legacy is a collection of materials that he is donating for future generations to learn from and enjoy.
n The Society will be acknowledging for Historical Book of the Year, Bruce Mathews, editor of the newly published book, “Elmwood Cemetery: Stories of Kansas City.” Mathews wrote the introduction to the book, provided color photographs, and recruited and worked with several authors, each who contributed stories to share in a beautifully illustrated book retelling the life stories of just a few of the 43,000 people buried in historic Elmwood Cemetery.
n Historical Film of the Year award will be presented to Gary Jenkins, filmmaker/producer, for his 2010 work, “Negroes to Hire, a documentary on Slavery in Missouri.” The title of the film is taken from a 19th century advertisement in the Liberty Tribune. Jenkins based the film on the “American Slave Narratives” that were gathered by writers and journalists from 1936 to 1938 across Missouri. Jenkins’ film also features commentaries by several educators who have published extensively on slavery: Dr. Jimmy Johnson, Dr. Diane Mutti-Burke (UMKC), Dr. Antonio Holland (Lincoln University) and Dr. Harriet Frazier (retired, CMSU).
Two Historical Society volunteers will be highlighted in 2010 for their long-standing, weekly, and continuing contributions to the Society’s mission.
- Gary Kimball, of Independence, will be recognized for his 10-plus years of project work in the Society’s archives. His main function is cataloging historical photographs; but, he also lends a hand (and pliars and other tools) to help construct shelving and sometimes fix a lamp or other broken appliance.
- Another Independence resident, Bud Vitt, will be recognized for assisting the Society in operating the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum. You can find Vitt on duty at the museum’s giftshop each week, and his invaluable service is much appreciated.
- Last, but “certainly not least,” as the saying goes, the Jackson County Historical Society will be commending the John B. Wornall House Museum for agreeing to accept responsibility for the Alexander Majors Home on State Line in Kansas City. In the 1970s the Historical Society helped save and restore the Wornall House. It is a mark of achievement that they have, in turn, stepped forward to look out for a neighboring historic site.
Reservations for the Jackson County Historical Society’s Annual Dinner may be made by contacting Steve Noll at 816-461-1897; or, snoll@jchs.org. Invitations to members are enroute. Individual tickets are $65 for Society members ($75 for non-JCHS members). Event sponsorships are also welcome and start at $250.
Happy holidays, and thank you for supporting local history!
