It’s an exciting evening for pre-history buffs, as they flock to a 3-D screening of the movie “Pangea: the Biggest Breakup in History.” The event has been organized by a local scientist, Dr. Viola Figueroa. Unfortunately, she is unable to attend, having taken ill. In her place, she has sent her nephew Alfredo. He arrives at the last minute, flustered, clutching a list of written instructions that he has not yet had time to read.
As the lights dim and the movie begins, a narrator’s voice says, “Prepare to journey more than 250 million years into the past, to a time when the earth contained only one supercontinent, known as Pangea.” Dozens of large dragonflies dart right out of the screen and the audience gasps in amazement at the realistic effects.
A buzz of cicadas fills the air, while huge ferny plants appear all around. Audience members realize they are no longer in theater seats, but rather are perched on rocks or sitting flat on the ground. Colorful beetles scurry about, and in the distance a lizard-like animal with a fin on its back lumbers between the trees. This is no mere movie. Continue reading “Escape Room: Breaking Up Pangea”
The Columbia City Cemetery is the oldest and longest running business in Columbia. Burials began as early as 1821. The original entrance to the cemetery was actually on the east side where Locust Street becomes the entrance of Lucky’s Market. You will notice that most of the stones face the east. It was much later that the current entrance on the north side — off Broadway — became the main entrance. The cemetery’s original gates were removed and placed at the entrance of what is now the Maplewood Home in Nifong Park.
The Friends of the Historic Columbia Cemetery will be hosting their second annual History Comes Alive event on Memorial Day, May 28 from 1-4 p.m. Seven different “well-knowns” who are buried in the cemetery will come alive in monologues given by local actors. Chris Campbell, executive director of the Boone County History and Culture Center, wrote the scripts for these actors. In charge of costuming for the event is Monica McMurry of the Stephens College Theatre Department.
Countless numbers of people suffer with illness, some acutely, some chronically, some with mild, non-debilitating symptoms and some with devastating symptoms that severely impact their ability to lead normal lives. Often we aren’t aware of it because they don’t appear to be sick — they have “invisible” illnesses.
At the same time, many suffering with invisible illness are “missing,” because they are incapacitated to the point of being home bound or bedridden. They may be able to engage in life to a certain extent, but the quality of their lives is significantly altered by not being able to participate fully. For instance, taking care of basic necessities may be possible, but then there is no energy left for things that bring joy, connection or build community. Continue reading “May 12: CIND International Awareness Day”
On Monday, May 28 from 1-4 p.m. the Friends of the Historic Columbia Cemetery will be hosting their second annual History Comes Alive event to teach attendees about notable citizens buried in this historic cemetery. Seven different “famous” former residents of Columbia will be represented by various talented actors in period dress who will explain why they were important to local history. The actors are being directed by Chris Campbell, executive Director of the Boone County History and Culture Center. Monica McMurry of Stephens College Theatre Department is in charge of costumes. You will be guided to each of their graves to experience these brief monologues.
Have Memorial Day plans? Mark your calendar to spend time with us as some old faces of Columbia come to life at the Columbia Cemetery. On Monday, May 28, the Friends of the Historic Columbia Cemetery will be hosting their second annual History Comes Alive tour of notable people buried in the cemetery. This free event will have local actors portraying the lives of seven of the citizens who helped make Columbia the community it is.
Last year’s event was very successful — many enjoyed the sunshine while re-enactors explained their lives and what they did to become a “notable” in their lifetimes. This year should be just as great! Below are highlights of just a couple of the citizens being featured. Continue reading “History Comes Alive: Victor Barth & John Lange, Sr.”
Posted on Monday, April 30, 2018 by The Biblio-Buckaroo
Did you have a disappointing spring break? Did you miss it altogether? Was the weather dreary? Or did you have so much fun that you want more? I say, do it again! Logistically, you may not be able to luxuriate for a week at a beach, especially if you live in Missouri, but you might be able to squeeze a little extra fun into a weekend. So set the bar a little lower than snorkeling in Cancun, and head somewhere closer to home.
Do you enjoy spelunking? You’re in luck! Missouri has over 6,300 caves, second only to Tennessee. Approximately two hours southeast of Columbia, you will find Onondaga Cave State Park. It is one of the most beautiful caves in the state due to its variety of cave formations and its well-placed lighting. Plus, if you are in the area, you are very near plenty of floating and camping sites. Spend a day relaxing on the Meramec River. Continue reading “Spring Break Do-Over”
Several years ago the New York Times published the article “Plan your Digital Legacy, and Update Often” about a little-emphasized pitfall of our digital age: without ongoing curation of digital videos, photos, passwords and other items on computer hard-drives and devices, those items may be lost forever when the owner passes away. Indeed, without a digital legacy plan most personal archives will be in shambles. Several organizations have come together to help people with their personal archives, which is among a myriad of issues surrounding preservation in general. The culmination of this effort is National Preservation Week every year in late April.
Occurring between April 21-28, Preservation Week is sponsored by the Library of Congress and the American Library Association. It was established to assist non-specialists and laypeople with preservation, and offers many free webinars, online tutorials and tip-sheets for best practices in preservation and conservation techniques. In celebration, the library is offering seminars at both its Callaway and Columbia branches. These seminars, Preserving Your Memorabilia,offer the opportunity to come learn about the proper care and storage of old family books, photographs and documents for future generations to enjoy. Continue reading “National Preservation Week”
The first reference I heard to orphan trains was when my dad and I were at the New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery located southeast of Centralia, and he said, “That guy buried there came on the orphan train.” Dad was head deacon of the church at that time, and he knew most of the people who were buried in the small church’s cemetery. I later found out Charlie Rose came to the area on the orphan train, lived with a local family and later married a local girl, Maggie Mayes. His brother Donald Rose — also an orphan form New York — was sent to a family in the Rolla area. Both brothers settled around Mexico, MO for a while, and Donald married Maggie’s sister Janie. Though Donald would later die near St. Louis just months after his wife Janie, both couples were buried in this little church cemetery outside Centralia.
Fourteen children came to the area from the Children’s Aid Society on June 10, 1910 in hopes they would find a new home. Ranging in ages from 4 months old to 14 years old, 11 of them went home with families in the area. I have been able to locate either the names of the children or the names of the families that took in these children, and I’ve also discovered a total of 25 orphans who came to northern Boone or western Audrain counties to live with new foster families homes. A partial list is provided below.
The library will be hosting several programs this spring highlighting the orphan train experience. Phillip Lancaster and Alison Moore will be performing a multimedia program combining live music and storytelling along with interviews of survivors: Continue reading “The Orphan Train Comes to Central Missouri”
On the 25th day of the Corps of Discovery Expedition, Lieutenant William Clark noticed some rock paintings on a bluff that he wanted to examine. On that day, June 7, 1804, he noted in his journal, “a Short distance above the mouth of [a] Creek, is Several Courious paintings and carving on the projecting rock of Limestone inlade with white red & blue flint, of a verry good quallity.” Clark also included drawings of three of those rock carvings in his journal. That bluff was a short distance above a creek they called “Big Monetou” and we know as Moniteau Creek. Lewis & Clark had stopped in the area where the town of Rocheport, Missouri now sits. Continue reading “Lewis & Clark in Missouri and Beyond”
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