The community group behind the county's Gray Ghosts Trail informational Civil War panels will meet Tuesday to plan Phase II, the future programs carrying its mission past 2020. It will be a work session but will also welcome additional volunteers and prospective board members.
"We are extending the mission of Callaway Civil War Heritage beyond the war to the 1865-76 Reconstruction period," founding chair person Martin Northway said. "This was often a dark time in Callaway County history, but it is a story that needs to be told."
The session will begin at 5 p.m. at Presbyterian Manor's AL Living Room, 811 Center St., Fulton. There is ample parking along Court Street and at the nearby Callaway County Public Library.
New projects will include marketing featuring a large, extended color map, at least three more informational panels, and new public programs. The first new panel will tell the story of the historically African-American neighborhood north and northeast of Westminster College.
"This neighborhood developed before and after the Civil War," Northway said, "so we would especially like to have volunteers to research this history or to seek funding for the panel."
Other volunteers especially welcome are those interested in helping the community group grow, or who have PR experience, ideas for new programs, or a willingness to carry the organization's message to local civic groups.
Those interested can simply show up or email McCoskrie at [email protected] or Northway at [email protected] in advance.
Previously called Kingdom of Callaway Civil War Heritage, the group remains the local affiliate of Missouri's Civil War Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization sponsoring both the Gray Ghosts and U.S. Grant Trails driving tours through Missouri. The local group has sponsored eight interpretive panels as well as directional signs across the county, held well-attended community dedications, organized public historical programs, pioneered the library's Civil War Living History Day, and has both a Facebook page and Web site under Callaway Civil War Heritage.