2006 Governor's Humanities Awards Conferees

The Missouri Humanities Council is pleased to confer the 2006 Governor's Humanities Awards on these outstanding Missourians:

BOOK AWARD
Joseph Kinyoun Houts, Jr., St. Joseph
Edward C. Matthews III, Sikeston

COMMUNITY HERITAGE
Brad Belk, Joplin
Barbara Gill, St. Louis
John Paul Skaggs, Fredericktown

EXCELLENCE IN SECONDARY EDUCATION
Kathleen Yonker, Bowling Green


And special recognition of the eleven Missouri students who were finalists at National History Day, and their teachers, from Hollister, Carl Junction, Risco, Joplin, and Greenville

 

Joseph Kinyoun Houts, Jr.
St. Joseph
Book Award

Joseph Kinyoun Houts, Jr. is the author of Quantrill's Thieves, which was published in August 2002, and A Darkness Ablaze.

During the Civil War, Missourians sympathetic to the South carried on a guerrilla campaign of terror, led by William C. Quantrill and his Raiders. The war in Missouri progressively advanced in brutality and destruction. Author Joseph K. Houts, Jr., whose own ancestors rode with Quantrill, gives a fascinating and scholarly account of this period in the history of Kansas and Missouri with an engaging peek into the lives of 93 "Quantrill's Raiders." This was a group of men that in relatively small engagements, and over a relatively brief period of time, immortalized themselves in fame and infamy and gained an important place in American history.

A Darkness Ablaze presents a chilling, detailed account of American medicine during the Civil War. The basis of the book is the medical diary of the author's great-great-grandfather, Dr. John Hendricks Kinyoun, surgeon of the Sixty-Sixth North Carolina Infantry Regiment. Dr. Kinyoun served with this unit from September 1863 until April 1865, when his regiment surrendered at Durham Station, North Carolina, at the war's conclusion.

Author Joseph Kinyoun Houts, Jr., is a graduate of Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri, and Lewis University College of Law in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, now known as Northern Illinois College of Law, with his Juris Doctor degree. Houts has worked in banking for twenty-seven years and is currently Commerce Bank as a Vice President in charge of Community Development.

Besides his passion for writing history, he is very involved in his community, having served twenty-five years on The Salvation Army Advisory Board of Directors and in 2006 became a Life Member of the organization, eleven years as member of the Board of Trustees of the Pony Express National Museum, Pony Express Museum Tuesday Night Talk lecture series, Advisory Board member of the Heartland Foundation emPower Plant, Publications Committee of the Oregon-California Trails Association located in Independence, Missouri, Board member of the Mount Mora Preservation and Restoration Cemetery Association Foundation, Board member of the InterServ Foundation, Co-Founder and member of the Border War Society, Board member of the Buchanan County Conventions and Visitors Bureau, which serves the greater St. Joseph metropolitan area, and Chairman of the St. Joseph Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration Committee. He is married to Noreen Mahoney Houts and has two children, Joseph Kinyoun Houts III, and Katherine Mahoney Houts.

 

Edward C. "Ned" Matthews, III
Sikeston
Book Award

Matthews: The Historic Adventures of a Pioneer Family, the biography of the Matthews family in Southeast Missouri, brings to life the individuals whose ambitions and perseverance made an indelible mark on the region. Spanning more than two hundred years and eight generations, the story of the Matthews family is an account of the birth of a nation, the settlement of the Louisiana Territory, and the subsequent growth and development of Southeast Missouri. Described in detail are events from the lives of family members which capture their personalities, public achievements, as well as their private tragedies.

At the heart of the story is C.D. Matthews. Born a poor farm boy in the 1840s, he risked his life supplying corn and wheat to the South during the Civil War and went on to amass a fortune in banking, lumber, railroads, and land. As his holdings and his family grew, so did the region and nation around him, all part of the same expanding story—the good times and bad, the wild days, the tame, and the unforeseen.

Edward C. "Ned" Matthews has been involved in his family's businesses throughout his adult life. He has served as vice president of the Bank of Sikeston; president of the Bank of Sikeston Holding Company; director of the Bank of Sikeston and AmeriFirst Bancorporation, Inc., Bucoda Gin Company, Scott County Milling Company, and Semo Grain Company. Matthews currently serves as general partner of the B.C. Matthews Limited Partnership, director of the Matthews Cotton Company, and agent for the Matthews Mineral Account. He continues to live in Sikeston, located in Southeast Missouri—the Matthews family's homegrounds for more than two centuries.

Review from The Southeast Missourian

 

Brad Belk
Joplin
Community Heritage Award

Brad Belk has been a practicing public historian in southwest Missouri for the last nineteen years. He is an educator, archivist, exhibit designer and conservator. In addition, Belk has authored three hard-bound history books entitled The American Photographic Series: Best of Joplin, Orley's Legacy-The History of Freeman Health System, and Murwin Mosler's Gift to Joplin. He has co-written two books featuring a compilation of historical essays, as well as researching, co-creating and co-producing a series of award winning historical documentaries for Ozarks Public Television.

Since 1997 he has created a weekly feature for The Joplin Globe titled "The Way We Were". Belk co-chaired the City of Joplin's 125th celebration, directed the rediscovery of Crystal Cave, participated on the Jasper County Centennial Courthouse commission, and served as past president of the Ozark Museums Association. He has also served on the boards of the Missouri Alliance For Historic Preservation and the Route 66 Association of Missouri. He is a member of the Joplin Elk's Elkland, Missouri Southern Alumni Association, the Association of Science Museum Directors, the Archaeological Conservancy, the National Council on Public History and an honorary Life Member of the Joplin Historical Society. Belk is the historian for the Joplin Rotary Club and the Merle Evans Circus Tent No. 27.

Brad Belk graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History and Art History. Currently he is finishing his Masters degree in American History from Pittsburg State University. Belk attended graduate school at the University of Oklahoma studying Museum Science and attended the University of Kansas studying Marketing and Public Relations.

Belk has been with the Joplin Museum Complex since 1987 and serves as the executive director of the museum. The JMC is committed to preserving the history of the tri-state mining district and southwest Missouri. The JMC has dramatically changed under Belk's leadership. During his tenure a major addition has been added to the museum, which includes a large exhibit/multi-purpose hall and storage collection area. All the exhibit and display areas were reworked and renovated. New exhibits were created that explore local subjects such as the Spook Light, Crystal Cave, Route 66, the Civil War, the infamous shoot out with Bonnie & Clyde, the McGee Drugstore, the House of Lords, the Joplin High School Rose Bowl Parade, and an area devoted to the pre- historic animals of the region. The seventy-five year old Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral wing was completely overhauled in 2004. Today visitors enter the wing in a replicated underground setting which leads them to the most extraordinary set of lead and zinc mineral specimens in the world. The JMC experience has been further enhanced with the addition of the Joplin Sports Hall of Fame, the Empire District Electric Company Museum and the National Cookie Cutters Historical Museum. Belk has also been responsible for putting in place a personnel system that utilizes highly trained and dedicated professionals. The JMC staff provides expertise, knowledge and a wide array of community outreach services and programs. In addition Belk merged four specialized libraries to one environmentally controlled centralized archive.

In 1991 he married Belinda Porter. Both are extremely active in serving the Joplin community with their time, talent, and careers, and are honored to do so.

 

Barbara Gill
Brentwood
Community Heritage Award

Barbara Gill is known to people throughout Missouri for her tireless and enthusiastic promotion of the Missouri Humanities Council. She retired from the Council in 2005 after twenty-five years of service. Barbara served as Acting Director during a leadership transition in 1995 and was promoted to Deputy Director early in 1997. A native St. Louisian, she graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and history from Maryville University, Saint Louis.

Barbara has always taken an active interest in her community. She was one of the organizers and first President of the Mark Twain Elementary School Mother’s Club, served on the Mark Twain PTA executive Committee and was a delegate to Brentwood’s Conference on Public Education She also served as Secretary of the Brentwood High School V.I.P. Club for 3 years. Barbara was elected to the Brentwood School Board and served for 12 years, holding several offices including President in 1990-91.

In 1985, Barbara organized the Brentwood Historical Society. She served as President for 16 years and is currently Treasurer. She has been instrumental in developing historical displays and “manning” the Historical Society booth for Brentwood’s annual community celebration from its start as Maddenfest to present Brentwood Days. For the city’s 75th Anniversary, she and a friend gathered information, conducted interviews and wrote articles about the history of Brentwood, which culminated in a commemorative newspaper published by the “Pulse”. The Brentwood Chamber of Commerce chose her and her friend, Regina Gahr, as Citizens of the Year for 1994.

In 2002, the Historical Society published a book on the history of Brentwood. Barbara, along with her husband Joe, was a driving force behind the book. The Brentwood Historical Society currently has a building on the parking lot of City Hall, which is open to the public on Fridays. Barbara volunteers every Friday and other times as well. She continues to serve on committees in Brentwood and St. Louis. She is currently co-chair of the Arts Roundtable.

Barbara has received proclamations from both the House and the Senate of the State of Missouri for her work.

 

John Paul Skaggs
Fredericktown
Community Heritage Award

John Paul Skaggs was born in May of 1924 in Fredericktown, Missouri and has spent his life in his home town. He grew up helping on the family farm raising prize winning cattle and a variety of crops. As a teenager he drove a team of horses. John Paul lived on the farm with his parents, two brothers, and three uncles until he married in the early 1950's.

At a young man in school, John Paul had a keen interest in learning about everything from science and agriculture, to tools and mechanics, and current events. He spent much of his time reading and listening to radio news or working on motors and farm implements. He read everything he could get his hands on. His mother used to tell stories about how his curiosity sometimes got him into trouble when he used his brothers in his experiments.

Books and reading have always been very important to John Paul. In the first grade he wrote his first book at St. Michael's Catholic School. In the 1930's, Fredericktown had a fairly new library. Every day John Paul would walk a few blocks to check out a book, go home and read it and return it the next day. In the 1960's it was a family routine for John Paul to lead all six of his kids to the library every Tuesday night to read and check out books. The librarians through the years have welcomed and taken great care of John Paul Skaggs.

At the age of 82, John Paul spends his days either at the library or at the Historical Jail Museum any day of the week. His adult children consider the local library to be Dad's 'office.' From promoting the books and history resources to bringing unusual items to share and display, or donating books from his own collections, John Paul is by far the library's biggest supporter and best customer. As part of a county 'Reading for the Blind' program, John Paul weekly selects, reads and tapes audio of newspaper articles and historical items of interest to be distributed to those who cannot read. When the librarian recently had car problems, for several days John Paul gave her a ride to make sure the library was open.

He is often asked to provide local and state history programs and tours for school children. In the 1970's John Paul, along with others interested in local history, revived the county historical society. Serving as the society's president for nearly 40 years, John Paul has committed his life to preserving and communicating local history. An amateur photographer, John Paul has worked hard to rescue, copy and preserve countless old photographs of people, places and activities in Madison County. These photographs have been instrumental in the publication of several books that fund the historical society. John Paul is never without some unusual item or puzzle in his pocket to show people and start a conversation. An avid collector, John Paul preserves many types of hand planes, hammers, mining related items, old books, medical instruments, and maps.
--submitted by his daughter, Ruth Ann Skaggs

 

Kathleen Yonker
Bowling Green
Excellence in Secondary Education Award

Born and raised in rural Osage County, Kathleen Yonker is a baby-boomer and the daughter of a World War II veteran. Conversations and stories about the war were vivid and frequent during my childhood, instilling in me a love of oral history and a desire to see the world. I graduated from Linn High School and received a degree in secondary education from Hannibal-LaGrange College. Graduate work was completed at Southwest Baptist University. During my career at Bowling Green High School I have taught courses in language arts and social studies, with world history being my favorite. I retired at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. My husband and I reside in rural Bowling Green. We have two daughters and five grandchildren. Presently I am working on a collection of short stories about growing up in Osage County.

 

2006 National History Day Finalists from Missouri
Special Recognition

Sponsored by the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia at the University of Missouri, National History Day in Missouri (NHDMO) is an educational outreach program for students in grades 6-12, affiliated with the National History Day (NHD) program. Students research topics of their choice related to an annual theme, and present their research in various format categories, including museum-style exhibits, original live performances, multimedia documentaries, or traditional research papers. They compete in junior (grades 6-8) or senior (9-12) divisions at local, regional, and state contests, where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. More than 2,300 Missouri students participated in the program in the 2005-2006 school year, competing at local, regional, state and national contests.

Missouri has not received a gold medal in any category at the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland-College Park since 1994, but on June 15, 2006, FIRST PLACE in the Senior Group Exhibit category went to two Missouri ninth-graders, Randall Bonnell and Jordan Butler, of Hollister High School, for their entry entitled, Powstanies Warszawski: Warsaw takes a Stand, about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during WWII. Karen Ellison, the 2006 National History Day in Missouri (NHDMO) Joseph Webber Teacher Award winner, was their sponsor.

The 15-year-olds are the sons of Carl and Donna Bonnell of Branson, Brenda Butler of Hollister, and Wayne Butler of Nashville, Tennessee, and have participated in History Day for the past four years. Every year, Butler and Bonnell have competed together in the group exhibit category and improved their standing each time. As 6th-graders, their exhibit placed 3rd in the state and that fired their enthusiasm for more. The next year they made it to Nationals, but just missed qualifying for finals. Last year, as 8th graders, the boys ranked 5th in the nation in their category and also won a $1,000 award for best entry on military history.

We are proud to say that Missouri had six other entries qualifying for finals this year.

Kelsey Murphy, a 9th grader from Risco R-II Schools, placed 5th in the nation in her category with her senior individual documentary, The Unofficial Man, a study of Raphael Lemkin, the man who put a name to the crime of genocide. Kelsey has participated in the documentary category at the state and national levels every year since she was in 6th grade. Kelsey is the daughter of Shawn and Misty Murphy of Malden, and her teachers are Michael Murphy and Melanie Tipton.

Logan M. Skelley, a senior at Joplin High School, placed 7th in the senior papers category for his entry, Raoul Gustav Wallenberg: Taking a Stand for the Jewish Nation. He competed at the state level every year for the past seven years, in either performance or paper categories, moving on to nationals all but two years. Logan is the youngest in a family of History Day national finalists going back to the mid-1990s. He is the son of Mark and Billie Skelley of Joplin and his teacher is Andy Ritter.

Hannah Smith, 8th grader at Greenville Junior High, placed 9th for her junior individual exhibit, “Before the Little Rock Nine”: Hoxie School Takes a Stand against Segregation. She is the daughter of Clifford and Angela Smith of Williamsville and her teachers are April Wilder and Ellen Becker. Hannah also comes from a History Day family – both her mother and older brother Joshua have participated in the program.

Sagan Graskemper and Scott Knutzen, 8th graders at Carl Junction Junior High, placed 9th in the nation in the junior group documentary category for their project, Campaigning for Urban Reform: Jacob Riis’ Battle with the Slums. Scott has made it to NHD each of the past 3 years, first teamed with his sister, Elisabeth, and for the last two years with Sagan. They also presented their documentary at the Smithsonian during the contest in June. Sagan is the daughter of Doug and Amy Graskemper of Joplin and Scott is the son of Jeff and Lisa Knutzen of Carl Junction. Their teacher is Vicki Farrill.

Klacee Klaver and Collin Wilson, 6th graders at Carl Junction Intermediate School, placed10th in junior group exhibits for their project entitled, John Adams: Taking a Stand for the Enemy. They made it to national finals the first year they competed! Collin is the son of Sheila Wilson and Klacee is the daughter of Kelsee Klaver Shanks and Scott Shanks. Their teacher is Vicki Farrill.

Cassie Vise and Ashley Moore, 8th graders at Risco R-II Schools, placed 12th in the nation for their junior group performance, Maverick Muckrakers: The Stand of Nellie Bly and Ida Tarbell. Ashley and Cassie have both competed since 6th grade, but they began in the documentary category. When Ashley switched to performance last year, she and her partner made it to nationals. Teaming with Cassie this year created the combination that got to finals. Cassie is the daughter of Jim and Theresa Vise and Ashley is the daughter of Madeline and James McCormick. Their teachers are Melanie Tipton and Michael Murphy.
-Diane Ayotte, Coordinator of the National History Day in Missouri program.




Nominations for 2008 Humanities Awards

The application deadline is January 25th, 2008.
To nominate a person, group, or organization, please submit:
• a nomination form with contact information and signatures of one nominator and two supporters   PDF   DOC
• a one page summary
• more detailed information which may include additional letters of support, longer documentation of accomplishments, articles and news clippings, publications, programs--in short, anything that you feel will help make the case for your nominee.

mail to:

Missouri Humanities Council
attn: Megan Cahill, Governor's Humanities Awards
543 Hanley Industrial Court, Suite 201
St. Louis, MO 63144-1905

Please note that we are unable to return supporting materials.



Information on the 2004 Awardees


updated 11/06/06