The Moniteau County Historical Society honored the late Dorothy Hughes posthumously with its "Spirit of the Manitou" award at its annual dinner meeting Nov. 11.
The award is given annually to a member of the Historical Society the group agrees has made significant contributions throughout the past year. Hughes passed away in September. The award was accepted by her husband, Gail Hughes.
The group also selected officers for the upcoming year. Steve Weicken will serve as president, Paul Jungmeyer will serve as vice-president and Debbie Sparks will serve as secretary. Board members at-large will be Richard Schroeder, Brian Hufendieck and Dolores Burger. Shirley Elliott will continue to serve as treasurer, an appointed position.
Following the meal, the meeting was preceded by guest speaker Clint Winn, a historic re-enactor. Winn performed as John Colter, a member of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery.
During its business meeting, the Historical Society discussed some larger-scale projects taking place among other California-area groups - namely California Progress, Inc.'s ongoing efforts to raise money to purchase the Latham Sanitarium property. Of the $85,000 in donations CPI has been seeking to acquire to help with the total purchase price, only $59,000 remains in unraised funds.
A mural will be painted nearby on the side of the CenturyLink building depicting the old hospital, once the mural being added on the side of California Lanes is complete.
After it was tabled at the Historical Society's last meeting, the group agreed following further discussion to continue offering a $250 community scholarship. The group decided to "pass the hat" in an initial effort to fund the award, and had raised the entire scholarship amount by the time the meeting had adjourned.
Finally, the Historical Society welcomed a new lifetime membership - Michael McCulloch, of Midland, Texas.
The Moniteau County Historical Society will not meet again until after the new year.