Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum Archives

October 3, 2014

Perryville Pumpkin Farm

Bob Campbell did a story on the Perryville Pumpkin Farm in the September 28, 2014, Missourian. When Friend Shari and I wrapped up our business at the Altenburg Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum, I suggested we head up the road to take a look at it.

I had never seen so many different colors, shapes and varieties of pumpkins and squash. They aren’t ALL orange and round, children. Bob’s story said the farm raises 146 varieties of pumpkins. There are some that have long necks like swans; others are covered with “warts” and look like brains.

Rides, mazes and more

We got there late in the afternoon, so we didn’t take advantage of a lot of the things the farm had to offer like rides out to the fields, the one-mile corn maze, the pumpkin slingshot or Sophia the simulated cow. I couldn’t even convince Shari that it would be fun for her to crawl through the straw tunnel while I photographed her head sticking out from time to time.

We bought some small items

We both bought some small, colorful pumpkins and squashes to take back to our mothers. It’s little things like that that keep you listed in the will (sorry Brothers David and Mark).

Shari was kitty-captivated

Shari, who is owned by two cats, fell in love with this kitten. Mom Meckler said they were overstocked on kittens, noted how Shari was “the only one the cat would allow to pick her up,” and brought out a cardboard box for her to take it home to St. Louis. I tried to guilt her into taking it, but she called that evening to say she was going to have to pass this time, and to find the critter a good home.

Curator Jessica saw this photo and said she wants the black and white cat. She’s coming to Cape in November, so maybe it’ll find its way back to Ohio.

Pumpkins in the semi-wild

One of the farm’s pumpkin patches bumps up against the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. It’s a bit disconcerting to look in one direction and see hundreds of pumpkins, then look over your shoulder to see hundreds of tombstones.

How to get there

Here is the Perryville Pumpkin Farm’s website. They are open 7 days a week, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., from September 1 through October 31.

If you want to make a Perry County day of it, stop by the Altenburg museum for the new exhibit, Revision: Recovery, Repair, and Transformation by artist, Kurt Mueller of Minneapolis. Mueller is the fifth generation descendant of the 1839 German-Lutheran immigration to Perry County, MO This extraordinary exhibit consists of sculptures, paintworks, and assemblages including detailed narratives of the artist’s journey.

The opening reception is Saturday, October 4, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. It is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be shown from October 4 through November 7, 2014. If the exhibit is half as impressive as its catalog, it’s going to be worth a scenic drive to see.

September 21, 2014April 9, 2021

2014 Altenburg Fair

The real name of the event is the East Perry County Community Fair, but everybody I know calls it the Altenburg fair. It’s way less commercial than the SEMO District Fair, more family reunion than midway carnie ride.

I parked Mother in the shade where she could listen to the live music (“It was LOUD!”) and watch people while I roamed around shooting the animals, crafts and agricultural stuff I neglected at the SEMO Fair. She has attained such notoriety than several folks recognized her and stopped to talk.

I pigged out

Carla Jordan, at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum, gave me a list of foods I had to try. She was on the money. The grilled cheese sandwiches (if you can believe that) were excellent. It’s easy to see why there was a line at the stand.

I spotted this woman in the grandstand holding something that looked like what a ground crew would use to give signals to a jet airliner on the tarmac at an airport. The sighting led me to a stand that sold the biggest, must succulent ears of corn I’ve ever put in my mouth. I tried almost all of the dozen or so seasonings they had on the counter and found they ALL tasted good. The thing was so juicy that I felt like I had taken a bath after I was done. I’m still swabbing corn juice and corn splatters from my camera.

The pork burgers were excellent. The longest line was at the stand selling potato ribbons like I photographed at the Cape fair. The big difference was that the person slicing the potatoes in Altenburg didn’t have greasy fingernails.

The Senior Shuttle

I have to single these fine women out for special thanks. They run the Senior Shuttle that gets feeble folks like me back to their cars. (I used Mother as the excuse, but I sure wasn’t going to turn down a ride.) After looking around at the crowd, I asked them if there was anybody at the fair who WASN’T a senior. The driver said, “That’s what keeps us busy.”

Photo gallery

Click on any image to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

August 7, 2014January 4, 2024

Lyndon Moore Tool Exhibit

Lyndon Moore and his wife, Margaret, travel all over the country in a truck with six dogs collecting vintage tools and hauling them back home to Bloomfield. The have an exhibit at the Altenburg Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum August 1 through September 25.

Official press release

Here’s the official press release: The Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum, 75 Church Street, in Altenburg, MO is proud to announce an exhibit opening. The L&M Tool Collection of Lyndon and Margaret Moore, of Bloomfield, MO, is one of the premiere American tool collections in the country. This exhibit is a special selection of the L&M Collection featuring tools manufactured in Missouri, rare tools, tools with broad public appeal, and tools used in the early settlement of Missouri. Also included in the exhibit are rare regional hardware photographs and historic hardware store exhibit cases. The exhibit will be open every day from Friday, August 1 through September 25 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Pictures and press release can’t do it justice

Snapshots and a press release don’t do the exhibit justice. Friend Terry Hopkins and I stopped by there Wednesday. I told him to open this saw display case and take a sniff inside.

He reeled back and, with a strange expression on his face, said, “That’s Grandpa Hopkins’ workshop.”

He was right. Some combination of oil and linseed oil or something brought back memories of old-time hardware stores and workshops. I’d love to have a bottle of that fragrance. It’s as much a part of my olfactory memories as the smell of diesel fumes and freshly pushed dirt on one of Dad’s construction sites.

Lyndon is the real treasure

Friend Shari and I happened to be there when Lyndon was in the museum. Director Carla Jordan, staffer Gerard Fiehler, Lyndon, Shari and a couple of other folks sat around eating an excellent carryout lunch from Nickie’s Cafe and Sweets. Carla has a way of making strangers instantly feel comfortable with each other.

Lyndon regaled us with a funny tale of scandal in downtown Bloomfield, then switched gears and told us a poignant story of a “pedal car” that got away from him when he was five years old. Forty-some years later he saw that same car, in mint condition, hanging from the rafters in a fellow collector’s “piddle shop,” and finally acquired it. He said it was a good thing his father couldn’t get it for him when he was 5, because he’d have torn it up playing with it.

Carla said Lyndon will be spending a lot of time in the museum. You might be able call ahead to see if he’s there. The number is 573-824-6070.

Be prepared to hear story after story about the history of every item in the exhibit, how he acquired it and how it works.

This is not your usual exhibit, trust me.

Gallery of the tool exhibit

The glass cases that house some of the exhibits are as interesting as their contents. You can appreciate the tools for their utility, their artistry or their history. Click on any image to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

April 21, 2014

Celebration of Red and White Quilt Exhibit in Altenburg

I live with a quilter and have several friends who are deeply into the craft, so I can appreciate how much work goes into a handmade quilt.

The Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum in Altenburg is hosting A Celebration of Red and White quilt exhibit through the end of April (not much time left to get up there). The exhibit is the personal quilt collection of Ann Meyer Hazelwood: author, former president of the National Quilt Museum, quilt appraiser, public speaker, and quilting expert.

The exhibit features world class examples of historic and modern quilts with a red and white theme, as well as a large collection of ornate Victorian-era red embroidery on white linen “Splashers”–used to protect the wall from wash basins.

The exhibit is open daily through April 30, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; 75 Church St., Altenburg, MO. Admission is Free. For more information call: 573-824-6070 or go to the museum website.

The staff and volunteers are friendly folks who will make you feel like you’ve known them forever. Tell ’em I sent you.