2024 Conference – Eminence – Missouri Preservation

We would like to thank all of the friends, speakers, vendors, supporters, volunteers, attendees and everyone else that made the 2024 Conference possible! Planning this event is always a huge undertaking and we can not do it without all of you.

For the 25th conference hosted by Missouri Preservation, we decided to do things a little differently. First was the choice to stray from our norm and host in a remote location. While we love all of the communities who have hosted us in the past, we were still lacking representation of a huge portion of our state. Although the historic fabric is less contiguous, spread out across many miles and tucked away in the hills and hollows, it is there and it is worthy of preservation! We were so excited to bring attention to the Upper Current River region and host at the beautiful Echo Bluff State Park in the Betty-Lou Lodge.

On Wednesday morning we started later than normal to allow for more travel time. Echo Bluff State Park is situated on the very twisty Highway 19 in Shannon County — and we knew some folks would be daunted by the roads! But we also knew in the end that they would see how worthwhile the trip was. Sessions kicked off at 10 a.m. Throughout the week, the State Historic Preservation Office led the Preservation 101 track, and presented on National Register Nominations, Section 106 Review, the CLG Program, Grants, and the Historic Tax Credit. We also heard about preservation strategies for communities of all sizes from Brad Wolf, City Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Kansas City. Lunch was not provided on Wednesday, leaving attendees to enjoy a meal at the Lodge restaurant or give those traveling in some more time before the next round of sessions started.

The Architecture and History of the Upper Current River Tour on Wednesday afternoon took 20 individuals on a bus to various historic sites, both cultural and natural, along the Current River. Stops included the historic community of Shannondale, Mt. Zion Church (a Missouri Preservation Place in Peril), Devil’s Well, and the ruins of the hospital at Welch Spring. This was the longest tour (and the most stops) that we have organized for the Conference in many years. We could not have done it without the generous sponsorship of Enhanced Historic Credit Partners, the planning efforts of Ruth Maxwell and members of the Ozark Riverways Foundation, and the awesome bus services provided by Carr’s Canoe Rentals.

Those who did not attend the tour had the opportunity to attend other sessions. The Rustic American Tradition Models for Missouri State Parks provided an overview on the influences that contributed to the design of many of our Missouri State Park buildings that were built during the mid-20th century. Donna Deetz and Rachel Senzee discussed the creation of a Historical Legacy District to recognize a historic Black neighborhood in Jefferson City which had no existing resources but was still worthy of record. Attendees also had the opportunity to learn about Historic Structure Reports through a case study on a rural HSR completed by architects from Trivers.

*The former Alton Club at Current River State Park.*

Things kicked off bright and early on Thursday morning. Eric Schwarz, founder of Refab, spoke to a packed room about deconstruction as the final option when nothing else can be done to save a historic building. Later in the morning, Marie Taylor and Jeremy Spiegel led a session on the history of steel windows which was held in conjunction with the Steel Window Workshop they hosted later in the day. We were very excited to host a window workshop featuring a different medium.

*The Steel Window Workshop, sponsored by STRATA Architecture + Preservation, was held in the Barbeque House at Current River State Park.*

The Conference was officially kicked off at the Opening Reception on Wednesday evening, held up the road at Current River State Park. Attendees were given free rein to explore the buildings of the former Alton Club, a summer retreat built in the 1930s by the upper management of the Alton Boxboard Company. The weather was beautiful for an evening spent outdoors in the old Barbeque House. A few attendees even braved the hiking trail spanning the miles between Echo Bluff State Park and Current River State Park!

Our 2024 Keynote Luncheon was generously sponsored by Lawrence Group. Jason Lott, Superintendent of Ozark National Scenic Riverways, gave a unique Q&A session about the trials and tribulations of managing the massive park that stretches along 134 miles of the Current River. He was joined by Marla McEnaney from the National Park Service Midwest Regional Office, who gave an update on the plans NPS has for the preservation work on a variety of historic structures within the park bounds. Missouri Preservation thought it was important for preservationists to hear from the National Park Service about the difficulty of balancing proper preservation practices with their limited budget, and the sometimes hard decisions that must be made.

Thursday afternoon sessions covered a variety of topics, from preservation through the lens of sustainability, to case studies on materials and architects. We also heard from our partners at Missouri Humanities about their Small Town Showcase program, which emphasizes an important part of the preservation process: getting others to care about a place’s story.

That evening, attendees were encouraged to visit restaurants in nearby Eminence for dinner. At dark, we invited everyone to join us for a campfire behind the Lodge. We had s’mores!

Unfortunately we lost our beautiful weather to torrential downpours on Friday. As is tradition, we invited the Department of Economic Development and State Historic Preservation Office to speak on updates to the Historic Tax Credit program here in Missouri. After the passing of new program legislation earlier in the summer, the update from the panel of speakers was highly anticipated. Attendees also had a chance to learn about structural systems no longer used in current construction, considerations to mitigate risk on historic projects, and the process taken to document nearby Alley Spring Roller Mill. This last session paired with a tour that afternoon to the Alley Spring Roller Mill. Those that stuck around and braved the rain had a great time exploring the site with the group who completed the Cultural Landscape and Historic Structures report and National Register nomination. We would like to thank STRATA Architecture + Preservation, Deb Sheals, and Stephanie Redding for sharing their work, and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways for helping us coordinate this tour.

During Friday’s State of Preservation lunch, Executive Director Riley Price updated attendees on the status of Missouri Preservation. She shared information on 2024 Honor Award recipients as well as good news on a few of the 2023 Places in Peril.

Despite the many technical snaffus, twisty roads, rain, and lack of cell service, the 2024 Conference proved to be a wonderful time of learning and networking! The conference had barely begun before talks for the 2025 Conference began. We are looking forward to next year in St. Louis!

This year proved to be the last year for our spare laptops. Do you have an old laptop you no longer use but is still running smoothly? Consider donating it to Missouri Preservation! We need HDMI and USB ports and the ability to connect to the internet. Microsoft Powerpoint and Microsoft Word installation not required. Our spare laptops are primarily used for conference presentations and occasionally used in-office by volunteers. If you are interested in making an in-kind donation, reach out to Riley at director@preservemo.org