Lant Elected Chairwoman of Historical Society Board

RACHEL DICKERSON/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Jane Lant of Pineville was recently elected chairwoman of the McDonald County Historical Society at the January meeting.
RACHEL DICKERSON/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Jane Lant of Pineville was recently elected chairwoman of the McDonald County Historical Society at the January meeting.

Jane Lant of Pineville was recently elected chairwoman of the McDonald County Historical Society Board at the January board meeting.

She said the outgoing chairman, Al Chapman, had been a godsend to the board with establishing policies. He agreed to chair the board for two years, and that was six years ago, she said. Chapman is on the executive board of Crowder College and the executive board of Access Family Care, Lant said.

"His philosophy is servant leadership," she said, explaining that, instead of a majority ruling, he strives for a win-win solution.

"That's a philosophy we hope to continue," she said.

She said that, after the courthouse museum was restored, education became the board's next goal. Every fourth-grader in the county tours the museum, she said. Several prominent guests have toured the museum, including State Sen. Ron Richard, State Sen. Dave Sater, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Roy Blunt.

"I'm not bragging. I'm just so grateful that it all came to fruition," Lant said.

She has been on the board for six years. She has been married almost 50 years to Bill Lant. They have three sons and six grandchildren. She was born and raised in Joplin and worked as a business manager for physicians. She and her family lived on a 100-acre farm. She decided to start a dried flower business with everything grown on the farm. She had a gift shop and held classes. She would teach people to make wreaths or baskets. She did programs at Silver Dollar City on herbs and dried flowers and was president of the Ozark Herb Growers Association. She eventually moved the business off the farm and started doing weddings and proms, and then a tornado destroyed the building. She owned the business for 20 years.

At that time Bill was elected state representative and the state realigned districts. They liked McDonald County so much they moved here.

Lant is vice president of the Crowder College Foundation for McDonald County. She is active with the Crowder College Festival of Wreaths as a designer. All the funds raised go toward scholarships.

As for what the Historical Society Board does, it makes sure all its policies are followed and that everything is done legally. It is a working board, Lant said. Everyone has duties and committees. It meets once a month and has 18 members.

She said the Historical Society has plans to try to get the old jail on the National Historical Register. The Historical Society has completely renovated the sheriff's house, and owns it and the courthouse museum. The county commissioners own the old jail, Lant said.

She said she would like to see a historical walk in Pineville to all these locations. She would love to see it used for educational purposes, she said.

The Historical Society always needs new volunteers and new ideas, she said. To volunteer with the Historical Society, call Lant at 417-529-3015 or Karen Dobbs at 417-389-1865.

Lant concluded, "No matter what endeavor I have gone into, I have gone into it asking God to show me how to do it. Faith has always been a part of whatever it is I do. I'm so grateful that God has led me to this community and that I've been blessed to work in the things I've worked in."

General News on 01/17/2019