Special Display of 1895 Maps.

The Powers Museum opens its 2000 year of public programming this Sunday with a special display of 1895 maps of Carthage and other area towns.

These large-sized maps illustrate the towns of Carthage, Joplin, Carterville and Webb City and were originally found in the 1895 Jasper County Atlas but were published in fold-out format and inserted into the atlas. Because they were not bound into the book, these maps have often been separated from the original atlas publication.

Due to the large format, their permanent display at the museum is impossible, plus the hand-coloring on them is very susceptible to fading when exposed to artificial light. Therefore, the museum is beginning a series of special Sunday afternoon displays so people can consult the maps.

Beginning with March 26, these maps will be on display in the museum’s library area once a month from 1 to 4 p.m. The display will be repeated the last Sunday of each month through August 2000. Anyone needing to consult the maps at other times must make an appointment to do so, and such appointments will be made subject to availability of space to display them at the discretion of the museum director.

Industrial/Commercial buildings, mines, quarries and other information is printed on the maps. Any residence built by 1895, is marked with a square. Those needing more detailed information on residential buildings should consult the Sanborn Maps on microfilm available at the Carthage Public Library.

The museum’s next program will be an open house to mark the completion of 2000’s main gallery exhibit on April 15-16. The exhibit is devoted to life in Carthage in the year 1900. Special period music and a video on the United States in 1900 will be offered throughout the open house. Carthage Junior High School History Day projects will also be on hand for viewing as well. These mini-exhibits participated in the regional competition at Missouri State College in March, and will be on hand at the Powers Museum until April 28.

For any further information, please call 417-358-2667 or email pmuseum@ipa.net. The Powers Museum is located at 1617 W. Oak Street across from Municipal Park in Carthage, Missouri. Admission is free. Beginning April 1, the museum is open Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. For the remainder of March, the museum is open on the same days above at 11 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m.

Two Old Rules Conflict.

news release Congressman Roy Blunt

A couple of age-old common sense practices are coming into conflict this year. First, you don’t tell a stranger your personal family business. It is private and noone else needs to know how much we make or how much we pay in taxes or how we take a bath.

Second, you do your civic duty and that includes filling out the census form. The problem is the 2000 Census wants to know too much of what you’re not suppose to tell anyone in the first place.

One of the first acts of the new government of the United States in 1790 was to take a head count of all its residents. Every ten years, the Constitution requires an "actual enumeration" of every person in the country. The U.S. Census sends legions of people into neighborhoods, campgrounds, parks, and apartment buildings to make sure everyone is counted and fulfill that constitutional obligation.

In a society where nearly one-fifth of the population moves every year, counting 275 million people is a $4 billion challenge. But the modern Census has become more than a simple head count.

The Census is the only source for most of the detailed information that planners in every community in America use daily. It provides a statistical and demographic snapshot of America we take only once every 10 years.

Decisions about levels of basic public services, like police and fire protection, schools, hospitals and highways, water and sewer construction are based on Census data. The population figures generated by the Census also predict the amount of federal money that flows into a community.

The Congress distributes more than $200 billion a year in hundreds of different programs based on Census numbers, ranging from aid to local education, employment services, housing assistance, to services for children and seniors. City, county and state leaders understand the importance of the Census and its impact on their community.

People who receive the 53 question long-Census form find it offensive, intrusive and irritating. Why does the Census need to know when you leave for work; how much you earn; how much real estate taxes you paid and whether you can bathe yourself. "Why do they want to know all the information about my family," people ask? They remember the FBI files that showed up at the White House or the IRS files that were leaked. They believe that is far too much information for the government to have at its fingertips, no matter how strict the safeguards at protecting the responses.

I have added my voice of concern about the intrusiveness of the Census in a letter to President Clinton saying that this essential civic exercise should not become an excuse to seek information on any detail that some Washington bureaucrat has an interest in. The national machinery of government services will not cease to work if the federal government doesn’t have a central database of when we generally leave for work and whether we have personal situtations that create difficulties for us in bathing. So why should we be asking those kinds of questions?

However, the Census is the only source of information that people use every day to work at solving community problems. The Census gathers a wealth of statistical and demographic data that aids community planners in determining trends, problems and solutions to growth and development issues. The information sought in the forms this year are almost identical to the forms used in 1990.

By federal law, your information is only used for statistical purposes and there are stiff penalties including substantial fines and jail time if anyone releases the survey information you tell the Census. The Census Bureau cannot sell or give the information to tele-marketers or credit reporting companies or any other federal government agency or court of law. But citizens who believe that trust has been betrayed at the FBI and the IRS and other government agencies are worried about giving out information regarded as "for family members only" to the U.S. government.

I am encouraging the President to implement increased security on completed census forms and information and have asked him to lead an effort throughout the Executive Branch to demonstrate a greater commitment to the privacy of confidential information provided by citizens to their federal government.

Opening Reception Tonight.

news release

This has been such a busy week!! We sooo glad to have had the Chamber bring their tour group through here!! We always love to get new people in to check us out!!

The double decker bus parked out front while the thirteen or so local business people wandered around. Thank goodness we got the art work up before they arrived !! AND we got to show off our new pottery and glazing rooms and the shinny new classroom!!

Tonight is the opening reception for the Women of the Heartland exhibit. As usual it is from 6 to 8pm, beverages and hors d’oeuvres are served and everyone is invited!! Well behaved children are welcome, too!!

We hope you’ll take the time to come by and see this new show. The colors are fantastic !! There are pastel paintings, acrylic and oil paintings, watercolor and watercolor collages. Those collages are wonderful. ..very unique!!

The soft colors Barbara Courtney uses in her oil paintings are great! She has used very soft, muted greens, yellows with splashes of bright spots here and there.

Mary Ellen Pitts does the pastels and they are to absolutely gorgeous !! The colors are vivid and since they are pastels they seem very soft !! They are really a wonder to look at!!

Marion Bryant’s acrylic paintings cover subject matter from old milk cans to an old farm truck and the brightest barn and fields you’ve ever seen!!

Joanne Stuart has the unique watercolor collages. Very interesting!! She also has several watercolors ranging from abstract to a wonderful teddy bear!! She also uses very vibrant colors!

It’s a great exhibit and we hope you won’t miss it. The show runs through April 20.

We had our Board meeting this last week and we really moved!! This is the greatest Board of Directors EVER!!! It is soo NOT stressful to attend these meetings!! We covered lots of ground and were out of here in an hour and a half !!

Three cheers for our SUPER Board of Directors!!!

More.......next week. 358-4404. 1110 E 13th & www. ozarkartistscolony.com under organizations. Our hours are Tues. - Sat. 9am - 3pm and Sundays 12 - 4pm.

I was one a the lucky ones. Our family only had ta fill out the "short" census form. I didn’t have to list my bathin’ habits or whether I walked to work or took my lunch.

I’m sure someone has good reason for askin’ all those seemingly whacko questions on the long census forms. I’m just not sure I woulda thought they were good enough ta warrant an answer. I’d be interested ta know how often folks trim their toenails.

I haven’t heard any clarification, but I’d have ta guess all forms will at least count heads, even if they don’t go into the detail requested.

There are some good reasons to get an accurate count of the folks livin’ in these parts. Unfortunately, the commercials bein’ run to encourage folks cooperatin’ are usin’ scare tactics to get your attention.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Oak Street Health & Herbs

After the tension of a long trip, I have had some insomnia, which, of course, gave me some late night reading time in which I checked BACK TO EDEN by Jethro Kloss to find out what he had to say about sleeplessness. He is such a down to earth author. I have always trusted his suggestions and they did not fail me this time.

As suggested in his book, a full warm bath or a hot foot bath taken with a cup of hot tea will oftentimes bring sleep immediately. The herbs he mentions as very effective in producing sleep include: valerian, catnip, scullcap and hops, chamomile. He especially spoke of hops as having a very soothing effect. Use a teaspoonful of your herb of choice and steep in a cup of boiling water for aprox. 15 minutes. In addition to encouraging sleep, many of the herbs do have other good qualities: such as soothing stomach and nerves and help in tonifing the system. "Aspirin.... taken for this purpose {sleep} may seem to help for the time, but , as theri effect is to deaden the nerves, every dose taken makes the condition decidedly worse and finally they lose their effect altogether."

If one does not have herbs on hand, hot unsweetened lemonade or hot grapefruit juice may help induce sleep.