Our Missouri

In this episode of the "Origins" series, Bill Eddlemen, regional director of the SHSMO-Cape Girardeau Research Center, joins host Sean Rost to discuss his upcoming presentation on June 30, 2026, at the Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia, "The Role of the Revolutionary War and its Veterans in the Settlement of Southeast Missouri." Also, be sure to check out Bill's YouTube presentation for SHSMO's Basic Genealogy series on "Documenting Your Revolutionary War Ancestor." Episode Image: King's Highway, El Camino Real, Sikeston, ca. 1916 [Ethel Massie Withers Collection (C1440), SHSMO] About the Guest: Bill Eddleman earned a PhD in Biology from Oklahoma State University. Eddleman served as a professor in the Department of Biology at Southeast Missouri State University from 1995-2014. He served as vice provost and dean of the School of Graduate Studies from 2011-2013 before being appointed as the provost of Southeast Missouri State University. After retiring as provost in 2016, Eddleman became the regional director of the State Historical Society of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Research Center. He is also past president of the Missouri State Genealogical Association.

In this episode, Sean Rost talks with Nick Kromrie of Missouri State Parks about Grand Gulf State Park. Episode Image: A person gazes out at Grand Gulf [Gerald R. Massie Photographs (P0016), SHSMO] About the Guest: Nick Kromrie is park superintendent of Grand Gulf State Park, Bryant Creek State Park, and Eleven Point State Park

Continuing the "Cave State" series, Alice Johnson, superintendent of Graham Cave State Park and the Mid-East Section of the Katy Trail State Park, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the unique features of Graham Cave State Park. Episode Image: Graham Cave Quilt Patch by Linda Ann Eatherton, 2021 [Missouri Bicentennial Commission Records (CA6643), SHSMO] About the Guest: Alice Johnson is Superintendent of Graham Cave State Park and the Mid-East Section of the Katy Trail State Park. She has worked for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources since 2018. She holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Missouri State University.

To conclude the 2025 Summer Series, Coby Ellison joins host Sean Rost to discuss the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. Episode Image: Wabash, Frisco and Pacific Live Stream Miniature Railroad, 1950. [Arthur Witman Collection (S0732), SHSMO] About the Guest: Coby Ellison is the Museum Curator at the National Museum of Transportation

Next up in the 2025 Summer Series, host Sean Rost talks with Kenneth C. Barnes about his new book, Mob Rule in the Ozarks: The Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Strike, 1921-1923. Episode Image: Scene on the “Devil’s Eye Brow” near Seligman, Missouri, date unknown. [John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection (R1551), SHSMO] About the Guest: Kenneth C. Barnes earned a PhD from Duke University and is professor emeritus of history at the University of Central Arkansas. He is the author of several books, including Nazism, Liberalism, and Christianity: Protestant Social Thought in Germany and Great Britain, 1925-1937; Journey of Hope: The Back-to-Africa Movement in Arkansas in the Late 1800s; Who Killed John Clayton?: Political Violence and the Emergence of the New South, 1861-1893; Anti-Catholicism in Arkansas: How Politicians, the Press, the Klan, and Religious Leaders Imagined an Enemy, 1910–1960; The Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Arkansas: How Protestant White Nationalism Came to Rule a State; and Mob Rule in the Ozarks: The Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Strike, 1921-1923.

Welcome to our 2025 Summer Series which is all about the history of railroads in Missouri. You know the names, the Hannibal and St. Joseph, Northern Missouri, St. Louis and Iron Mountain, Missouri and North Arkansas, Wabash, KATY, Frisco, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Houck Line, BNSF, AMTRAK, and many others. From the depot, to the roundhouse, to the shops, and to the tracks, this series takes us all across Missouri and neighboring states to learn about the bygone era when train travel provided the main source of transportation for many Missourians. We will also stop in to visit some historic sites that are preserving the history of railroads. So, all aboard. To open the 2025 Summer Series, Kyle Chattleton, Manager of Volunteer & Public Programs, and a Public Historian, at the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, joins us to talk about the Durham Museum and Omaha's role as a gateway to the West. Episode Image: Quincy, Omaha and Kansas City Railroad train leaving Novinger, Missouri, ca. 1920s. [Cyrus R. Truitt Scrapbooks (C1432), SHSMO] About the Guest: Dr. Kyle Chattleton is The Durham Museum's Manager of Volunteer & Public Programs and Public Historian. In addition to regularly sharing stories from the past with the public, he has presented his research at the Society for Ethnomusicology, the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, and the Association for the Study of Law, Culture, and the Humanities. He is originally from Southern California, where he graduated from Chapman University before studying the history of local protests and sounds in Charlottesville, Virginia and at the University of Virginia, where he earned his PhD in 2022. Prior to working at The Durham Museum, he led over 2,000 tours for over 30,000 visitors at Monticello, the historic home and plantation of Thomas Jefferson.

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. Next up in the State History series, Scott Alvey, executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Bluegrass State. Episode Image: Kentucky Culture Caravan, 1961 [Arthur Witman Photograph Collection (S0717), SHSMO] About the Guest: Scott Alvey, a 30-year museum professional, is the executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society, where he is responsible for directing the organization’s mission, values, and strategic priorities through programming, publications, exhibits, and other public resources. His career began as an education volunteer for the Museum of History and Science in Louisville. Over the next 15 years, Alvey played an integral role in implementing a long-range strategic plan to transform the museum into the Louisville Science Center. He joined KHS as design studio director in 2008, became deputy director in 2012, and was named executive director in July 2018.

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. Next up in the State History series, Kelsey Berryhill, State Government Records Archivist at the State Archives of Iowa, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Hawkeye State. Episode Image: Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa, 1913 [Arnot M. Finley Photograph Albums (C3422), SHSMO] About the Guest: Kelsey Berryhill is a State Government Records Archivist in the State Archives of Iowa, a division of the Library and Archives Bureau of the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI). Previously, she was SHSI’s Reference Librarian and a Reference Archivist at the Missouri State Archives. You can learn more about SHSI’s collections, upcoming programming and events, and planning a visit at history.iowa.gov.