News from the Monroe County Historical Society

By Jackie Barrow, Member

The Monroe County Historical Society had a busy Fall and has plans for many interesting activities in the new year. 

In August and September, the Society held its regular monthly meetings, led by President Twana Hulen and the Board, at the Historical Society office in Paris. 

After one of the meetings, local author and Member of the Society, Wayne K Johnson, gave a presentation about the stories he has written that have recently been published. These include three books in his Stories from the Heartland series for children that feature life in rural Missouri, most notably southwestern Monroe County where Mr. Johnson lived his whole life until recently. He and his family were lifelong farmers and owned the John Deere dealership in Madison for over three decades. His parents and grandparents were residents of the county dating back to well into the 1800s. 

Mr. Johnson's discussion also included his story, The Gold Tooth, a murder mystery that takes place in Middle Grove, which was accepted for publication by the Hannibal Writer's Guild's first anthology, Good Nonsense. His presentation also included a discussion about how he got started writing at age 90! 

In October, the annual banquet was held. For any of those who have not attended these banquets in the past, you are really missing out. The food for these banquets is just beyond compare and is well worth the price of admission. Both years, members were presented with a virtual feast that was well prepared by cooks from or related to the county and served with a smile by friends and neighbors. Many thanks for their preparation and service! It was good to see everyone. 

In addition, this year, Member Chuck Barrow, husband of Monroe Countian Jackie (Johnson) Barrow from Madison, and his jazz trio including Jamie Baker and John Bales, both from Macon, played music before and after the meal. Last year, poster presentations were put together by members and presented at the Banquet by a number of members detailing the history of towns around Monroe County. It was highly educational and very interesting. 

The Banquet was held at the Paris Country Club in 2023 and at the Madison Community Center in 2024. Many thanks to all who worked tirelessly to make these banquets such a huge success! 

In addition to a wonderful time to relax and visit, the annual banquet also serves as a fundraiser for the Society. So, the price of the ticket isn't just for the food and entertainment. It also helps support the activities of the Society. A quilt raffle is also held in conjunction with the Banquet to raise additional funds. Several ladies work hard for many months preparing for the raffle including finding just the right quilt for the raffle, arranging the ticket sales, displaying the quilt, etc. Many thanks to these ladies - Karlena Shatzer, June Ewing, Rebecca Bybee, and several others, for putting this together! 

The winner of the raffle this year was Carol Comstock. Congrats Carol! 

Also, the quilt raffle is part of a county-wide effort. It is held in conjunction with the Mark Twain Birth Place Historical Site in Florida, MO. Many thanks to those individuals for working together on this fundraiser!! 

In addition to the raffle, an annual quilt show is held at the Mark Twain Historical Shrine in Florida. All proceeds go to support the Monroe County Historical Society. The event is open to the public and anyone can enter a quilt for the show. An amazing 100+ quilts are typically displayed at this show each year! 

Many thanks to Robin Wood Gregg for taking photos at the Banquet for the Appeal! 

The most recent meeting of the Historical Society was Monday, November 25th, at the Society's office located at 124 West Caldwell Street, in Paris. It was led by the new Board with the new Board President, Sonny Raines, taking the helm. The new officers and Board members for 2025 are: 

President: Sonny Raines (Virgil) 
Vice President: Guy Callison 
Secretary: Rebecca Bybee 
Treasurer: Karlena Shatzer 
Board Members: June Ewing, Libby Williams, and Becky Vanlandingham. 
Facebook Page Administrator and Quarterly Editor: Jan Smiley Carter 
Thank you to all for your service! 

Approximately twenty members were present at the November meeting. 

New ideas for growth and development were brought forth by President Raines with members excited about the new suggestions. 

As part of the new agenda, we are looking at having regular speakers at our meetings in addition to the business meetings. Anyone with an interesting topic is welcome to share their idea with the Board. Anyone who may be interested in presenting to the group should also get in touch. Tell us what you've got! Our goal is to grow in knowledge about the history of our fine county and the more people we have contributing, the better. Come! Get involved! It really is a lot of fun. 

Another new idea brought by President Raines is a project near and dear to his heart involving local military engagement and veterans. The members voted to pursue this project in 2025. Anyone interested in this project is invited to come and be a part of it or share any information and materials you have about family members, neighbors, or the county in general. 

The annual high school scholarship that the Society provides each spring at graduation was also discussed. Ideas for possibly inviting high schoolers from the county to research and write papers about the history of the county and then the top winners presenting them to the Society was discussed. This is a great opportunity for high schoolers to get involved and learn more about our county. It is also a nice scholarship at $500.00. Watch for more information about this opportunity in the near months. Feel free to inquire with a Board member if you are an interested student or teacher. This is available to all high schools and their students in the county. 

In addition, a possible art show in the Fall was discussed whereby members of the public as well as students in Monroe County schools would be invited to submit artwork depicting something related to the county. Again, watch for more information as this is a new idea, too, and will be open for discussion in upcoming meetings. 

Anyone with thoughts, ideas, and/or interest in doing research and writing about the county or getting involved in a possible art fair is encouraged to attend our January and February meetings when these topics will be discussed further. 

Another topic of interest to some of the members was possibly further developing the genealogy research activities and assistance available at the Historical Society. President Raines has a strong background in genealogical research and is involved in other organizations around the State involving this type of research. Please let the Society know if you are interested in being a part of this genealogical research! 

In addition, he and his wife have the ability to assist those interested in submitting an application to the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution. A possible class was discussed whereby members and others from the county could attend and go through the application process and get their applications submitted. If anyone is interested in such a class, please let a Board member know. 

The Historical Society office will be closed December 20 - January 1. Regular hours will resume in January, which are Tuesday - Friday from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. Please note that various members volunteer their time to be at the office during office hours. Many thanks to these loyal members! It takes quite a commitment to be there each week and it is greatly appreciated. 

Meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. These meetings are open to the public but we hope at some point you will decide to become an active member! 

The Historical Society has a Facebook page, which is also very active. Many individuals throughout the county, as well as many who don't live in Monroe County but did in the past or who have some tie to the county, regularly participate in the page. Members of the public are welcome to join the page for interesting tidbits about the county past and present, and to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with others with similar interests. People are always posting interesting articles, old pictures, etc. You can also ask questions and will likely find a number of people jumping in to help you find the answer! Check it out! 

Anyone interested in helping study and preserve the history of Monroe County and bring it to life for the present generation is invited and encouraged to attend the monthly meetings of the Historical Society at the Paris office. For those who might like to become a member, membership is open to enrollment at any time during the year and is only $10.00 per year. For those who are unable to attend but might like to support the activities of the Historical Society, you can still be a member! And...donations are always welcome and appreciated. 

Hope to see you in January! It's going to be another great year at the Historical Society! Come join us!