The Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus will host Heritage Day on Oct. 2 with guest speakers, activities and demonstrations.
The Crisp Museum will be open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Face coverings will be required.
At 1 p.m. guest speaker Richard Flentge, a local historian and storyteller, will read excerpts by authors Tom Runnels and Mark Twain. Both writers had a way of entertaining readers with grit and humor.
At 2 p.m. guest speaker Dr. Frank Nickell, board chairman of Cape Girardeau’s Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation, will discuss the role of trees and lumber in the evolution of southeastern Missouri with a story involving two men on a bear hunt.
Samantha Keller, a Southeast student majoring in music, will fiddle around with a few popular Scotch (or Scots) Irish tunes through the day.
A one-day exhibit of handkerchiefs plus antique and modern hand-stitched quilts will show the fine detail in stitching processes such as piecing, embroidery, applique and cross stitch. Anyone interested can give stitching a try. There will also be demonstrations of candle-making and yarn spinning.
Visitors can hear and see a steam engine up close, look through parts of the Crisp Museum’s Missouri History exhibit and watch videos of Missouri archaeology, streams, swamps and caves.
A docent tour will highlight the “Inland Waterways” mural by Gary Lucy and introduce various areas of our history gallery displays of early peoples, geology, empires, transportation, land adaptations and the beginnings of Southeast Missouri State University.
Heritage Day visitors can also view “Louise Marler: Digital Americana,” a digital photography exhibit, that will be on display in the art gallery Oct. 1-Nov. 14. Marler’s artistic style integrates modern digital photography with her passion for vintage items.
Crisp Museum’s annual scavenger hunt for 33 seasonal items will be held all month long. Participants can submit their finished lists and be entered to win the Cauldron of Candy. The winner will be announced after 8 p.m. on Oct. 31.
The Crisp Museum is located at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus at 518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Missouri. For more information, email museum@semo.edu or call (573) 651-2260.