2011 Summer Newsletter

Volunteer Guide, Takes the Reigns Although I have been working for the museum for about two months now, I am still attempting to settle in the local area. Part of this settling in required my family and I to travel to North Carolina a week in June to pick up some things in storage, including two dogs. Due to my quick departure, I was not able to give a presen tation to Vintage Park of Paola senior citizens community as I had scheduled. Although I could not give the presentation, divine intervention took over and Vintage Parks most famous SFTJEFOU )FSC 'JDLFM MPBEFE VQ UIF 7JOUBHF QBSL SFTJEFOUT BOE PČ UP UIF NVTFVN UIFZ DBNF 0ODF IFSF )FSC 'JDLFM XIP IBT CFDPNF BO JNQPSUBOU ĕ YUVSF XJUIJO UIF NVTFVN JO IJT PME NJMJUBSZ XBZ EJE OPU NJTT B CFBU BOE began giving the tour on his own, to the pleasure of his friends. Patrons like Herb Fickel are what has kept the spirit of the county museum alive. Sempre Fi, Herb! Written By Joe Hursey

Herb Fickel escorting a group of friends from Vintage Park around the museum

Building Our Historical Research Department Within the last few months, we have received numerous documented research materials, which include a copy of a Civil War diary by Private Gideon Walker Gibson that will be available for public viewing and research XJUIJO UIF OFYU DPVQMF PG XFFLT ć JT JT B GBTDJOBUJOH QJFDF CFDBVTF PG JUT NFUJDVMPVT EBZ UP EBZ BDDPVOUT CZ B Civil War soldier who documented in detail the daily life of a Union soldier. Not only this, but Gideon Walker also became a prisoner of war and was sent to the infamous Confederate Andersonville Prison Camp, which a third of all Union soldiers never walked out of alive. Private Walker not only survived Andersonville, but also DPOUJOVFE IJT XSJUUFO BDDPVOUT PG MJGF JO "OEFSTPOWJMMF 1SJTPO VQ VOUJM IJT SFMFBTF XIFO UIF QSJTPO DMPTFE ć F diary now belongs to the great grandson of Private Gibson, Mike Gibson of Paola, who has allowed us to copy the diary for research and educational purposes. We also have obtained an unpublished diary written by one of the persons featured in our current exhib it, H.H. Williams. Williams wrote the diary from the periods of 1840’s to 1870’s for the purpose of documenting MJGF PG JO ,BOTBT EVSJOH UIF #PSEFS 8BST BOE UIF $JWJM 8BS ć JT EJBSZ BT XFMM BT UIF (JEFPO 8BMLFS (JCTPO EJBSZ XJMM ĕ OF BDRVJTJUJPOT UP PVS NVTFVN T SFTFBSDI EFQBSUNFOU XIJDI DBO CF VTFE UP JODSFBTF UIF EFQUI PG PVS museum’s collections for future study.

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