OLD’N NEWS From Around the County

The North Missouri railroad was built several years before the first lot sale in Moberly and since prostitutes tended to follow railroad construction crews, prostitution was a likely activity in Randolph County before Moberly was ever founded. No records have been found to document the activity before 1866. However, Professor Ralph Gerhard has compiled documentation of its existence from 1866 to 1965 from newspaper accounts and city council records. This information is the basis of his new book called MADAMS, PAINTED LADIES AND JOHNS: A History of Prostitution from 1866-1965 in Moberly MO . It will be printed in early November.

Ralph spoke of his reasons for writing the book and gave a few highlights as part of his speech at our annual dinner meeting, which was held on September 21 at the Moberly Country Club. The book will not be an anecdotal record from the memories of people that recall the famous Sycamore bordello on Coates Street. Rather, it will be a record of prostitution taken verbatim from news stories and editorials in the newspapers throughout the years. The quoted stories will be a shock to today’s newspaper readers. Editors wrote in a colorful, slanderous and prejudicial style that would not be acceptable in the mainstream culture of the country today.

We had about 75 people at the meeting and many ordered the book at the pre-publication price of $9.50. If you would like to reserve a copy please call the Historical Center at 660-26-4990 and leave a message. You may also reserve by e-mail at rchs@missvalley.net or by writing to us at 223 N Clark, Moberly, MO 65270.

CLASS REUNIONS

We have had several class reunion groups come through the museum this year. Most of the classes, especially those prior to say 1970, have also wanted a tour of the Sycamore. Those with strong hearts, lungs and legs make the three story climb without much problem. After the tour you are eligible to buy a souvenir t-shirt that says "I Have Visited the Sycamore." Many of the groups have been given tours of the 4th Street Theater by Carolee Hazlet.

RAILROAD MUSEUM

Visitors from many states and three foreign countries were shown through the railroad museum this summer. It is hoped that next year the museum will have heat and air conditioning.

FOURTH STREET THEATER RESTORATION PROJECT

Carolee and her committee members are continuing to raise funds for restoration of the old 4th Street Theater building. Some construction should start before long. Some of it may not be noticeable from the street, since it will involve the roof, electrical system, plumbing and other interior work. Carolee is planning on an opening sometime in 2005.

NEW OFFICERS

There are now three new members of the Randolph County Historical Society board of directors; Carole Kehoe, Regina Vaughn Lee and Susan Carter O’Halloran. They all bring special talents to our board and we are lucky to have them.

Cecy Rice retired as Co-President and Carol Eckhardt retired as treasurer. Carole Kehoe will take on the treasurers job. Other officers are Bob Tompson – 1st Vice President, Ralph Gerhard – 2nd Vice President, Ingrid Jones – Corresponding Secretary, Bonnie Kilgore – Recording Secretary and I am going to be president for another year. J W Ballinger, Rita Daly, Sheryl Morgan and Walhan Kilgore are the other members of the group. We also have a advisory board made up of Margaret Block, Madeline Swetnam, Carolee Hazlet, Carey Bankhead, Dee Bale and Tom Marshall.

COLUMN INFORMATION

You haven’t missed any columns this summer. I took the summer off from writing and worked in the yard. Cecy and I had an open garden tour again this year, so that people could enjoy our hosta and daylily collection. Hostas really love cool weather and lots of rain, so they were the most spectacular ever. Now that the garden is sort of ‘put to bed’, columns should be coming a little more consistently. You can access all past columns by going to our website at www.randolphhistory.com. Mark Morgan, our web master, has indexed the past columns so that you can easily find things that have been written about in past papers.