by Pa Rock
Missourian
Missouri celebrated its 200th anniversary as a state last Tuesday, and on that same date the US Postal Service issued a stamp honoring the event. The stamp features the pre-Civil War "Bollinger Mill" which is located in the community of Burfordville, in Cape Girardeau County - in the southeastern corner of the state.
The mill looks like an old brick institutional structure and is not really appealing for artistic value, although the nearby covered bridge, also pictured on the stamp, is interesting. The image was taken from a stock photograph of landscape photographer Charles Gurche and designed by the USPS Art Director, Greg Breeding, with apparently no involvement from actual Missourians. As US postage stamps go, it is a very "plain Jane."
Alley Springs Mill near Eminence, Missouri, was used on one of the state quarters (Ozark Scenic Riverways in 2017) and has a much more rustic mill appearance than does Bollinger. Hodson's Mill near Dora, Missouri, also has more natural charm that Bollinger.
But, at least the designer had the good sense to forgo using the St. Louis Arch on his version of Missouri history. The arch, which was completed on October 28, 1965, is used on virtually all art work highlighting Missouri, and it was the centerpiece of 2003 Missouri state quarter with a depiction that seemed to show it spanning a river - which in reality it does not do. The "Gateway to the West" arch is completely in Missouri along the Mississippi River at St. Louis, and does not span anything other that riverfront land.
But the St. Louis Arch is iconic, and when it is featured on anything people instinctively think of St. Louis, and sometimes even Missouri.
I'm not planning on being around for the my state's sestercentennial (250 years) anniversary in 2071, but here is my nomination for that stamp: Old Matt's Cabin on Highway 76 near Branson. It was the focal point "Shepherd of the Hills," the 1907 novel by Harold Bell Wright which alerted much of the world to the natural beauty of the Ozarks, and that story has since gone on to foster the country music and tourism industry of Branson and southwest Missouri.
And, Old Matt's Cabin evokes a far more realistic depiction of Missouri's rugged history than does a four-story brick mill with no visible waterwheel. Just sayin . . .
1 comment:
Seems those who make these decisions never consider that the television tower for KCTV5 was, when built, the tallest self supporting structure on planet earth. But there is so much of interest in Missouri that also never gets consideration.
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