(Photo illustration by Ryan Davis. Photos courtesy Google Images)

WARRENSBURG, Mo.--Johnson County residents will soon get a chance to experience a Smithsonian exhibit without having to travel to Washington, D.C.

Warrensburg is one of six communities chosen in the state to showcase the traveling exhibition “New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music.” Lisa Irle, curator of the Johnson County Historical Society, applied for the exhibit.

The month-long exhibit runs from Oct. 3 to Nov. 7 at the home of the JCHS – the Old Courthouse Square at the corner of Main and Market streets.

The main exhibit will be inside the Zinn & Leland Culp Building behind the museum and library. The exhibit, which is free, features five categories of music: country, blues, sacred, dance and revival. There will be information panels, listening stations, interactive displays and some instruments people can play.

Numerous concerts, movies, lectures and other events that complement “New Harmonies” are scheduled throughout the community and on the University of Central Missouri campus during this time. One requirement of the exhibit is communities must include a local component.

“I think it’s just great that the Smithsonian has picked us to have this exhibit,” said Jack Landers, JCHS vice president and UCM professor emeritus. “I think it’ll be a real boon for us.”

Landers said the exhibit should draw more people and attention to the Historical Society. The JCHS is a nonprofit group that relies on volunteers, donations and memberships.
The exhibit has already sparked improvements inside the Culp Building, including a new restroom and new exhibition space.

Members of the Chilhowee Antique Farm Machinery Collectors’ Organization are building a stage for performances and antique farm equipment displays. The traditional timber frame structure is supported by notched posts and covered by shake-shingle roofing.

“This was the trick we needed to get things together,” Landers said of the exhibit.
Wendell Stegner, president of the Chilhowee group, said the JCHS and his group have a similar focus on preservation.

“We focus on the preservation of our agricultural heritage,” Stegner said. “So, I think it’s great the two groups could work together on something like this.”

Irle has already modified exhibits inside the Mary Miller Smiser Heritage Library and Museum to focus on Johnson County’s musical roots. There are displays in the museum on some local stars, such as pianist John William “Blind” Boone and radio performer Arkie the Arkansas Woodchopper. There’s also an enlarged music sheet for a song dedicated to Pertle Springs under a painting of Lake Cena at Pertle.

Patricia Zahn, associate director of the Missouri Humanities Council, said Warrensburg was one of 33 applicants vying for “New Harmonies.” The exhibit was produced by the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program and co-sponsored by the Missouri Humanities Council.

Zahn said the Humanities Council has partnered with the Smithsonian since 1998 to bring a variety of portable, small-scale Smithsonian exhibits to Missouri communities.

“There was a need to take the Smithsonian to smaller communities and people throughout the U.S.,” she said. “For sure, that may be the only opportunity they have to see a Smithsonian exhibit. They may never make it to D.C.”

Zahn said the Humanities Council was invited to host “New Harmonies” again in 2010 due to the number of applications this year. She said this will be the first time they have been able to host back-to-back exhibitions.

Irle said docent training is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Zinn & Leland Culp Building for people interested in assisting visitors interact with the hands-on features of “New Harmonies.”

For more information, you may call the JCHS at 747-6480, e-mail curator_jchs@embarqmail.com
or visit www.museumonmainstreet.org/newharmonies. The local Web site is http://newharmonies.missourihumanities.org/Warrensburg.