Members of the White River Valley Historical Society have announced plans for the 2013 exhibits in the Society’s museum and the Branson Centennial Museum. The first exhibit at the Branson Centennial Museum will include a celebration of birthdays in the area, ranging from Powersite Dam and the Taney County Jail to assorted businesses in the Branson area. The WRVHS museum in Forsyth will feature ‘The Creative Ozarks’, with studies of several creative Ozarkians, including Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey, John Neihardt, Rose O’Neill, and Silas Turnbo. Both exhibits will be completed by mid-February; however, miscellaneous displays are ongoing at both locations.
In mid-March and April, both museums will host an original exhibit by author-photographer Chris Engholm. “White River Memoirs” is an exhibition of art, objects and photography that celebrate the White River and its inhabitants compiled by Engholm, in conjunction with the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History and a grant from the Arkansas Humanity Council. In 2012, Engholm paddled his handmade canoe over 550 miles of the 700-mile river, now part of a series of lakes including Table Rock, Taneycomo, and Bull Shoals, conducting oral history interviews and creating a multimedia interpretation of the river. Featured in the exhibit are images of two of the WRVHS’ original John Arnold historic paintings, and photographs from the Willard Cornett and Sibyl Parrish collections.
Exhibits scheduled for later in the year include an eclectic mix of topics, from washday and Branson-style romance to judicial history and family migration. Several of the exhibits will also feature educational events and workshops.