Officials with the Ozarks Heritage Research Center (OHRC) at Missouri State University-West Plains will host a presentation titled “Celebrating 250 years of America in the Ozarks” at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St., in West Plains. The event is free and open to the public.
To hear more about the event, residents can tune into local radio station KUKU 100.3 FM from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. Wednesday during the show "High Noon in American History with Cowboy Rick.”
The presentation will be facilitated by Jason McCollom, associate professor of history at the university. It serves as the introduction to a series of conversations scheduled from April through August that will focus on different eras of history and how they transformed America.
Facilitated by OHRC supporters and board members, the conversations will invite attendees to share stories and thoughts about how the Ozarks are part of the American tapestry. Tools and resources of the OHRC will also be highlighted as components to preserve the cultural distinctions of the region.
Following the April introduction with McCollom, the series will continue with discussions on immigration in May with Brooks Blevins, the Civil War in June with Vincent Anderson, the World Wars in July with McCollom and modern times in August with Carol Silvey.
The series is made possible with funding from Missouri Humanities. The event is sponsored by the OHRC and the West Plains Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the Missouri Arts Council.
For more information about the event, contact Rebekah McKinney at 417-255-7949 or RebekahMcKinney@MissouriState.edu. More information about the center is available at WP.MissouriState.edu/Ozarks.
