A new calendar featuring McDonald County's agricultural heritage is now available.
The calendar highlights McDonald County pioneers who successfully farmed the land in years past.
The calendar's cover features a collage of colorful canning labels. Specific McDonald County historical events also are detailed every month, said McDonald County Historical Society president Lynn Tatum.
Volunteer Phyllis Chancellor assisted Tatum with the calendar, organizing materials and collaborating to make the calendar as unique and helpful as possible.
The calendar features photos that are displayed in this year's agricultural exhibit at the museum. Chancellor also thought the front and back covers would look attractive by featuring the primitive canning labels found in the county at that time.
Chancellor also spent hours and hours conducting research to find out specific historical dates in the county. After perusing Historical Society books and information in the library, Chancellor uncovered 10 dates per month that highlight specific historical happenings in the county. Those dates are notated on the calendar.
"She stepped up and did a lot of work," Tatum said.
Volunteers pulled from information and experience garnered when the new agricultural exhibit was launched. The museum featured a "Strawberry Room," but it blossomed into something much more extensive this year. Mary O'Brien mentioned that she felt the museum did not cover the critical point of agriculture, so volunteers rectified that by revamping the room into a full-blown exhibit that features a look at several aspects of McDonald County agricultural history.
As volunteers developed and launched the agricultural exhibit, they began to work on the calendar for 2018. Work generally begins on the calendar in January and February. The calendar is sent to a graphic artist who creatively makes the calendar as attractive as possible, then sent to the printer in June, with a final return in August, Tatum explained.
While discussing the exhibit, it seemed a natural segue to feature an agricultural-themed calendar.
In an interview earlier this year, Tatum explained that the county has rich historical roots in agriculture with a business focus of orchards, mules and dairy.
Family farms began to pop up in the county around 1830, then evolved into a focus on cash crops around 1900, thanks to the entry of the railroad in McDonald County.
In the early 1900s, the county was known for its abundance of apples, peaches, pears, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries.
Agribusiness began to be the focus around 1950, as the county continued to economically boom with the growth of beef and poultry companies.
That history is preserved in these unique calendars, which organizers say make the perfect Christmas gift.
Calendars are $10 and are available at Rags to Riches Flea Market in Anderson, Mustang Drug in Anderson, Corner Café in Southwest City, City Hall in Pineville, the Jane Store and the museum's gift shop.
Those who are interested may also have the calendar mailed to them.
To request a calendar be mailed, send $12 for each calendar to the McDonald County Historical Society, P.O. Box 472, Pineville, MO 64856.
General News on 11/09/2017