CPI looks to historic society wall to feature fair

Train mural on library dropped

The mural project to tell California's history through a series of paintings on area buildings has moved its focus to telling the Moniteau County Fair story on the south wall of the Moniteau County Historical Society.

Gail Hughes, representing the California Progress Inc., asked the society at its regular meeting July 9 to consider the idea at its next meeting.

The first mural had been intended to tell the city's railroad connection on the north side of the Moniteau County Library. However, the library wall needs some reinforcement at a cost of more than $40,000, which will have to be addressed in a later budget year.

So, California Progress abandoned that combination for the time being and has moved on to its next idea, Hughes said.

The historic society's location is perfect for the fair mural, as it is on the way from Missouri 87 to the fairgrounds, he said.

Society members were worried about such a use for its "new" addition, but voted to discuss the proposition at the Aug. 13 meeting.

"If we don't get that wall, I don't know where to put it," Hughes concluded.

In other business, the society learned that $200 has been donated to the museum on behalf of Paul Jungmeyer's birthday through a Facebook request and $50 from an individual in Colorado for the genealogy library.

The featured speaker was Sean Rost, oral historian from the State Historical Society of Missouri, who discussed one-room schools and other projects the state society is working on.

He invited those interested in sharing their oral history to contact him. As of yet, there are no stories in their one-room schoolhouse project from Moniteau County.

Other oral history projects include German heritage, environment and farming, veterans and innovation and exploration.

"We're constantly in search for interviews," Rost said.