Excelsior Springs Museum & Archives

09/01/2026

Want to help? Donate! Right now, our most pressing need are donations of cases of bottled water for visitors and volunteers at Piburn Field during this five-day event. We’re so grateful to Fluesmeier Leasing & Sales for supplying the ice for this event. We’re also seeking to borrow 10x10 canopy tents to provide shade during the Veterans Luncheon on Sept. 10. Tent donors: Be sure to mark your tent so we can return it to you asap.

09/01/2026

NOTICE OF MUSEUM BOARD ELECTION
Nominations are open now through Oct. 1 for three positions on the Excelsior Springs Museum & Archives board, with terms running from January 2027 through December 2029. To nominate yourself or another candidate, contact Nominating Committee members Monte Railey, Jody Pasalich, or Kathy Duncan, or mail the nomination to the Nominating Committee, 101 East Broadway, Box 144, Excelsior Springs, MO 64024.
Three three-year positions are open. Under the Museum bylaws revised at the Nov. 13, 2019, membership business meeting, no election is required when the number of candidates who file equals the number of available seats. New members will take their seats at the January 2027 board meeting.
Board members approve policies and funding decisions, meet monthly on the third Tuesday, and serve on committees such as Finance, Fundraising, Membership, Marketing & Publications, and Building. Members are also expected to participate actively in fundraising and Museum events.

09/01/2026

Sounds interesting!

🎙️ New Episode Incoming: Beyond the Frontlines

Join us on September 9th as our host Nick Lopez sits down with Adam Magers, Army combat medic, IED Hunter, and author of Odysseus & the Oar: Healing After War and Military Service.

Together they explore how Odysseus's journey home mirrors the path many veterans walk after service, plus they dive into Adam's own time in the Army and his work today as Clinical Manager at The Battle Within.

🎧 Drop in next week! In the meantime, catch up on previous episodes at pod.link/1582696425

08/31/2026

We are honored to introduce Raleigh “Lee” Godley as our “Man on the Mantel”. Lee joined the Navy in 1949 serving 17 years at the time of his death serving in Vietnam. Lee was KIA while serving on a Swift Boat on the Mekong River. His name is one of the over 58,000 on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Come learn more abut our Veterans at the ES Museum. The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be in ES Sept 9-14. Thank you for your service.

08/31/2026

Want to Help? Volunteer! We’re only about two weeks away from the arrival of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall Sept. 9, and the Museum needs many more volunteers to greet and guide at both Piburn Field and at the Museum each day of the five-day event! The Volunteer Form can be downloaded from the Museum’s website at www.esmuseum.com, or sign up at the Museum at 101 East Broadway. Regular Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Note that the Museum will have extended hours Sept. 9-13: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday while the Traveling Wall is in town.

08/30/2026

1st Week of September
10 years ago
Sept. 2, 2016 – “No tickets issued after boy runs into path of car” The accident occurred as 8-year-old Xavier Gilbert attempted to cross Isley Boulevard around 7:42 a.m. last Friday. Excelsior Springs resident William Cook was driving eastbound on Highway 10 when Gilbert darted out in front of him. Cook's statement to the ESPD said he did not have time to stop before striking the youth. Gilbert has since returned to school and is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries, which included a broken pelvis, scrapes and bruises.
25 years ago
Sept. 5, 2001 – “Barry Dale honored by Excelsior Springs golf course.” "After all these years, this will always be my home course," he said. When Dale was four, the course became his home address as his father, Raymond Dale, became Course Manager. First employed in 1957 as assistant pro, Dale is retiring Sept. 30 after 23 years as manager.
50 years ago
Sept. 1, 1976 – “Lice rumor nixed.” East High Principal Ramon Bartlett and local pharmacist Don Greim have nixed a rumor that "East High School is loaded with crab lice.” Pharmacist Greim confirmed a few cases but at a normal rate.
75 years ago
Sept. 2, 1951 – “City offers immediate employment”. City Manager Hugh Smith said the city is advertising employment for laborers to relieve a worker shortage and backlog of work for the street department. Three periods of high water have added to the workload.
100 years ago
Sept. 1, 1926 – “Start movement to oil Lawson Road.” There is a movement under way to oil the surface of the dirt road to Lawson and connect with the Chillicothe-Richmond highway. Currently, the road is graded and in good condition for dry weather but is out of condition when wet. The project is estimated to cost $3,000 to $4,000.
Sept. 1, 1926 – “Bass are striking at Lake Maurer.” Lake Maurer has reopened for fishing after two years and the lake is lined with anglers. Clay County State Bank President Hugh Craven reported landing five big bass before banking hours, the entire catch taking 20 minutes. Cecil Beck was equally fortunate, catching his limit of eight pounds before noon.
Sept. 1, 1926 - The Chicago Minneapolis & St Paul Railway is offering a special $10 round trip fare to Chicago for Sept. 4-6. The promotion is in conjunction with the Chicago Cubs playing the Pittsburgh Pirates on those dates.
Compiled by Monte Railey from digitized newspapers at the Excelsior Springs Museum & Archives

08/30/2026

Veterans! Share your story—We’re seeking Vietnam veterans to participate in the Museum's Oral History Project, funded by Missouri Humanities. Be the narrator of your own story, and help increase our understanding of the impact of Vietnam War on you and your family during this time and place. Our goal is to preserve and tell the personal stories of those who lived through this life-changing era, and your future generations will bless you for telling your own story. [All veterans are welcome! We invite you to share your stories, too!] Right now, we are scheduling Vietnam veteran interviews. If you’re interested, please send an email to the Museum at [email protected], or stop by the Museum at 101 East Broadway to provide your information.

08/29/2026

Attention, Veterans! We need your reservation NOW for the noontime Veterans Luncheon following the Opening Ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. Download the Veteran’s Luncheon reservation form from the Museum’s website at www.esmuseum.com; pick it up at the Museum, or send an email request to [email protected], and we’ll email it back to you. All veterans are welcome! The luncheon is free for veterans and $5 for their guests. We’ll have golf cart transportation for the veterans and “plus ones” from the field to the luncheon site at the Museum. The buffet will be set up in the Museum, and the tables will be in the circle drive between the Museum and the Hall of Waters. We’re also seeking loans of 10x10 canopy tents to protect our veterans from the elements during the luncheon. Please call Deb Foster at 816-305-9117.

OUR STORY Procure | Preserve | ProvideSharing the past with each generation Plan Your Visit Become a Member About the Museum Museum Gift Shop What you experience at the Museum When you enter the Museum, you are experiencing a visit to a building designed by Louis S. Curtiss, one of only about 35 str...

08/27/2026

Update: Motorcycle riders will meet at 7 a.m. Sept. 9 at the Ameristar Casino parking lot. With their es**rt, the Wall is expected to arrive in Excelsior Springs between 8:45 and 9 a.m. that day. Due to safety concerns for the riders, private automobiles will no longer be a part of the es**rt. Instead, we encourage you to honor the Wall as it travels along the sideways and byways to the downtown via Highway 10, St. Louis Avenue, Thompson Avenue, and Broadway to Piburn Field on Penn Avenue, where it will be installed. The Wall is expected to open that day by 1 p.m. and be available 24 hours daily during its five-day visit to our community. The host organization, the Excelsior Springs Museum & Archives, 101 East Broadway, will have extended hours while the Wall is here: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Don’t miss the local companion exhibit: “Not Forgotten: Local Stories of the Vietnam War Era.” Patriot Rider contact: John Hoffman (cell or text 816-728-6760.)