Newspapers

Newspaper Collections in the Museum

Never Take Your Newspaper for Granted

Isn't it a first amendment right for one to have a newspaper to read everyday? If not, it should be! All thru the years, the local newspaper has been our eyes and ears into the world. Even in difficult times and unpleasant situations, the events that shape a community are presented thru the eyes of reporters and editors of the local newspaper. We have some good ones today, and they deserve our thanks for making every effort to keep the community informed and aware!

The whole point, however, is to brag a little on the Excelsior Springs Museum and Archives. As one who frequently gets a thrill out of reading old newspapers -I am a genealogist and volunteer researcher at the Museum- I am in a good position to appreciate the efforts of reporters and editors of newspapers from Excelsior Spring's past. Just recently, the Museum received the full compliment of past Excelsior Springs' newspapers from the Excelsior Springs Standard's storage facility. A big "Thank You" is in order for the Standard's generosity!

These newspapers are stored in the Museum's archives and preserved with as much care and protection as possible, for they hold many clues to the mysteries of the past. Spanning the decades from 1900s until 2000s, including the original holdings of the Museum, these newspapers represent a picture of the day to day life of the inhabitants of Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The bound volumes of these papers span the dates 1903 to the present, with a few months and years missing, and include such early newspapers as the Excelsior Springs Journal, the Daily Call, the Weekly Call and the Northwest Missourian. Within the files of individual newspapers on microfilm are copies of The Daily Phunn from the 1890s and The Excelsiorite from 1919-1932.

Contemporary newspapers from the 1970s to 2007 are available on microfilm and in print. All these newspapers can be viewed at the archives within the Excelsior Springs Museum and Archives. With a ten dollar museum membership, one can read old newspapers all day long - from 11 AM until 5 PM, Tuesday thru Saturday. If one would like someone else to research, the fee is just $10.00 per hour. Perhaps a view thru these windows to the past would place the present ills of the world and society in a better perspective for us today. And, one will certainly gain a greater appreciation for the newspaperman's responsibility to illustrate with words all the events happening in our city and our world today!

Shirley Griffin, Excelsior Springs Museum and Archives researcher

Phone 630-0101