Today's Feature

Powers Museum Displays.

Summer displays at the Powers Museum will feature a variety of selections from the founding collection of the museum given by the Marian Powers Winchester Estate. Some of the items selected to be displayed are visitor favorites such as the historic quilts used by the Wright-Powers families of Carthage ranging in date from the late 1840s to the early 1940s. These will be displayed through September 29.

Other items to be displayed on a rotational basis during July 10 through October 6 will be artifacts never displayed before in the museum’s nineteen years of operation. Missouri Southern State University intern Emily Cabrera has been working with Museum Director/Curator Michelle Hansford in researching such holdings within the Winchester Estate including Iranian batiks, Japanese prints, and other selected decorative accessories and art works. While generally speaking these pieces do not fall within the "local history" mission of the museum, nonetheless, these items were acquired during the travels of the Wright and Powers families and graced their Carthage homes. Many of the items were selected personally by Marian Powers Winchester to be part of the core collection of the Powers Museum once it was established after her death. Other selections ranging from historic books, documents, photographs, travel souvenirs and other decorative textiles and clothing in the founding collection will be displayed later this summer as they are processed within the context of an ongoing collection management inventory and storage re-configuration project, the first since moving into the building almost 20 years ago. The museum is seeking volunteers to help with the updating of the collection computer records and scan artifacts into digital files. Persons interested in such work will be trained by the museum in mid-July and can work on a flexible schedule throughout the fall.

Also during July, the museum is repeating its popular historic storybook hour on Wednesdays during July. Stories come from Mrs. Winchester’s childhood books and each session features some take-home activity associated with the story. Storyhours will be held on July 11, 18 and 25 and all presentations will be at 11 a.m.

July 11 story hour will focus on teddy bears and you will meet Toots’ special teddy. Bring your teddy to storyhour and he/she just might win a prize.

July 18 storyhour will spotlight Robert Williams Wood’s nature analogues on flowers, birds and other animals. Coloring sheets adapted from his book will be available to all attending.

July 25 storyhour will revolve around play cooking and the "Mary Frances" books. A special recipe will be given to all participants.

Admission to the museum’s displays and programs is free. The museum is located at 1617 West Oak Street (Old Route 66) on the west side of Carthage. Public hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For further information call 417-358-2667 or consult the Powers Museum’s website at www.powersmuseum.com

The big diesel rigs really started changin’ once the function of gettin’ better gas mileage became desirable, but pickup designers evidently didn’t figure mileage was all that important cause they were the last ta make radical changes. Maybe pickup truck drivers wouldn’t accept the new style as readily. I hear that older style full-sized pickups are demandin’ high prices at auctions.

I guess "functional" people don’t really care much about style, they base their life-style on things that get the job done.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

This Is A Hammer
By Samantha Mazzotta

Hard-to-Read Knobs on Stove

Q: I have a huge complaint about the burner controls on stoves, and I haven’t seen any information on how to fix it. Since my mid-40s, my vision has steadily declined, and I need to wear strong glasses to see. However, despite having a new eyeglass prescription, I still cannot see the little printed indicators that show which burner is controlled by each knob! Is a stove available with large-format indicators? If not, how can I fix the indicators so that I can see them? Thanks. -- Pat in Atlanta

A: A temporary fix is to repaint the small red indicator dots in a brighter color, like fluorescent yellow or pink. Not much paint is needed for this, so pick up the smallest can available. The paint department manager at your local home-improvement store can also guide you toward the right type and color. To apply, use a small, pointed-tip artist’s brush and place a dot of paint over the old color on the indicator.

The paint dot may not last too long, and you’ll need to redo the dots every few months. It also doesn’t solve the problem of the indicator dots being too small. I don’t know if indicator stickers are available that can be applied over the old indicators, but you can contact an appliance store to see if those are available.

The most expensive option is to replace your stove with a new one that features larger indicators. The biggest benefit in this case is choice and safety: you can pick out exactly which stove works best for you, and select one with additional safety features such as larger control knobs and burners that shut off automatically.

HOME TIP: Stove burner indicator guides can fade with frequent scrubbing or be obscured by grease. Use a nonabrasive cleaner and soft cloth to clean the stove surface.