Hollywood comes to town

Hi neighbors. I hope you plan on attending the Vernon County Historical Society's quarterly meeting at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 19. The program will feature John Graham who is bringing a Vernon County woman's journey full circle.

Alice Ghostley was born in the railroad depot building in the tiny village of Eve, the daughter of a telegraph operator. She died in California in 2007 at 84 years old.

A widow with no children, she left a lifetime's worth of photos, memorabilia and personal memories with her friend John Graham. He is traveling from California, carrying her Tony award with him, to give a presentation about her life and adventures.

Ghostley had many talents and her career spanned almost every facet of performance.

She was in 20 movies, including Grease, The Graduate and To Kill a Mockingbird. She was in many Broadway plays and musicals including Nunsense. You might remember her as a television actress. She had recurring roles in two long-running television series -- Bewitched and Designing Women and appeared on many other shows on television.

That's quite a career for a little Vernon County baby girl born in the back room of a now non-existent railroad depot.

No matter how big of a star she became, Ghostley never forgot her roots. There was an oil painting of the little depot where she was born that hung above the mantle of her home.

The presentation will be one not to be missed. I hope you plan on making time for it. I know I'll be there.

Summer is coming on and after the kids get out of school, the seemingly endless "take me" routines start. Summer ball teams, summer school, summer camp, play dates, gymnastics classes, swimming classes, baseball games, fishing trips, weekend camp-outs -- the list seems endless.

Then there are the "honey dos" as well. Mowing the grass, trimming the hedges, painting the house, cleaning out the garage... Oh, let's not forget the afternoon barbecues, dance parties, etc.

In the middle of all that -- if you want a couple of hours of downtime in an air-conditioned quiet place -- consider volunteering as a docent at the Bushwhacker Museum. The museum season starts Tuesday, May 5 and is open all summer. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Mondays had to be dropped due to a lack of docents!

What is a docent? A docent is a volunteer host or attendant who welcomes and guides museum visitors. I've been a docent and it was fun.

You don't have to know everything about all the artifacts and exhibits in the museum to be a docent! You do have to have a gift of gab and enjoy meeting visitors from around the world who come to Nevada and visit the Bushwhacker Museum. The docents work in teams of two so you are never alone.

When there are no visitors -- which is a rare thing at the Bushwhacker Museum! -- you can take your own tour, do some research, read a book, or simply sit and chat with the other docents. It is a pleasant way to spend your three hour shift.

If you are a history buff, a people person, or someone just wanting a place to enjoy some peace and quiet, come in or call the museum and volunteer. There are no contracts and no minimum amount of hours you can volunteer for -- you pick the days and hours you want to be a docent. You can work three hours a week, or three hours a month -- or three hours a day! What ever works best for you. For more information call the Museum at (417) 667-9602.

You may have seen Peggy Pyle around the square Monday passing out free copies of the award winning Vernon County Historical Society newsletter -- the Musings. Yes, it was a blatant attempt to get people interested in the Museum, the Historical Society and the upcoming FREE admission meeting Sunday the 19th with Graham's presentation on Alice Ghostley.

If you were fortunate enough to receive one of these free Musings you probably don't care about why it was given to you -- you're just enjoying the great articles.

Until the next time friends remember those big stars we see in Hollywood movies are just folks working their job and trying to keep it real. One of the luckier ones came from Missouri. Some of we Missouri folks will be lucky enough to see one of them come back home -- at least in spirit.