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Museum needs roof, but could use a grant
It’s almost a cliche in the home improvement world: If you don’t have a good roof, there’s no use in fixing anything else.
Simply put, a leaky roof will let rainwater in, damaging everything underneath it. And the Excelsior Springs Museum & Archives staff is learning that this is true not just in a home, but also in a museum.
The museum is currently in fundraising mode, trying to gather about $26,000 to redo the roof over the former Clay County State Bank building and neighboring former Francis Hotel. These buildings now house the museum and Gallery 105.
But times are tough, and they know that. Charities are suffering because of lean economic situations, and they know it will be an uphill battle to amass such a sum—while they’d prefer donations of $500 or $1,000 at a time, they know most of the money will likely come in smaller chunks.
Unless... There could be another way... A Web site, preservationnation.org, is hosting a “This Place Matters” community challenge. Visitors to the site are asked to vote for their favorite “place that matters,” and the prize is a $25,000 grant... which would just about pay for the roof. And only three Missouri sites are currently in the running.
Just go to the Web site and follow the voting directions. Your support is vital.
Maybe you’re the type of person who prefers to skip Halloween, and doesn’t think much of the creepy ghost stories that often accompany the holiday. If that’s the case, you may as well stop reading now, because we’ll be talking about those stories at some length.
But if you thrill at the chill that runs down your spine when you hear a good ghostly tale, keep reading—and feel free to join in.
Like most towns, Excelsior Springs has its share of ghost stories. Over the years, I’ve heard of a haunted old cabin out near Wolf Hollow east of town. I’ve also been told of a few spirits that roam the grounds at the Elms, not to mention a couple at the Job Corps Center (which used to be a VA Hospital). I have also heard of a phantom car that pulls into a driveway and promptly vanishes.
As I say, I’ve heard those stories. What I’d like to hear are YOUR stories. I know you probably have some—maybe once you saw an eerie light in an attic window when no one was supposed to be there. Or perhaps there was a room in your house that the dog absolutely refused to enter. Maybe you’ve seen flashes out of the corner of your eye, and couldn’t explain why.
Here’s an example. When I was in the first grade, my beloved pug mix Scuffy was hit by a car and died. My parents didn’t want me to see her afterward, and had already buried her at a friend’s farm before I got home from school.
I was heartbroken, naturally. That night I practically cried myself to sleep. But sometime between midnight and 1 a.m., I heard Scuffy scratch briefly at my bedroom door. I got up and looked, but of course didn’t see anything. I believe it was Scuffy, saying goodbye to me.
I have heard other personal stories of encounters with the unknown, too. My wife tells of once when she saw a face looking out of her father’s window—when no one was home. And we both used to see movement through a window at the back of our house, when no pets or people were around that window.
My brother told me stories of strange occurrences in the largely unused space above a local restaurant where he used to work.
I’m sure each of you also has stories to relate—anything from a persistent cold spot in your house to the sighting of a full-on apparition, and everything in between.
You can send your best (preferably true) ghost stories to me here at the Standard — either through regular mail at P.O. Box 70, Excelsior Springs, MO 64024, or via e-mail at editor@leaderpress.com.
I’ll print these stories, or excerpts from them, in the newspapers right around Halloween.
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Contact your elected officials:
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS
City Council:
Carolyn Schutte, Mayor
Ambrose Buckman, Mayor Pro Tem
Ken Fousek
Jim Nelson
Sonny Parker
School Board:
Bill Halberstadt, President
John McGovern, Vice President
Roy Arnold
Susan Edwards
Tray Harkins
Jim McCullough
Kristi Shewell
FEDERAL & STATE
Senator Kit Bond
274 Russell Senate Office Blvd.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 22-5721
Send Email
Senator Claire McCaskill
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6154
Send Email
Congressman Sam Graves
1407 Longworth House Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-7041
Govenor Jay Nixon
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-3222
State Sen. Bill Stouffer
Rm. 332, State Capitol
Jefferson City, Mo. 65101
(573) 751-1507
Rep. Bob Nance
Rm. 201D, State Capitol
Jefferson City, Mo. 65101
(573) 751-1468
Send Email
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