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Today was bus tour day and my first picture is of a brand new bridge at
the tour's first stop. The stop was to recreate a ceremony from 1923 at
the point where the Jefferson Highway, Ozark Trails, and Commercial
Highway came together. Just as was done 99 years ago, bottles of milk,
grape juice, and water were broken to mark the occasion.
A pillar at the site contains a photo of a gas station that once stood
there. A member of the family that owned that station was present and
shared some memories of life in the area.
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On the way to the Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, Chris Wilson provided
some background on the area's extensive mining history. A sign in front of
the museum marks an even that will be the subject of one of tomorrow's
presentations. One of the company built houses that miners lived in has
been moved to the museum grounds and furnished appropriately.
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At Fort Scott, we divided into two groups. While one half headed off for
lunch, the other half boarded a trolley for a tour around town. That's the
group I was part of and I quite enjoyed the tour and commentary from the
on board guide although I failed to note his name.
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When it was our turn for lunch, we headed straight to the
Nu Grille. It's
been in operation since 1946.
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The tour's last stop was at the Gordon Parks Museum inside the Danny and
Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center in Fort Scott. The world famous
photographer, musician, writer and movie director was born in Fort Scott
in 1912.
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After returning to the motel, we were able to check out the ongoing
restoration of the Colonial Fox Theater in Pittsburg.
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The day ended with about a half-dozen five teams competing in a
trivia contest. It was close all the way but the team I was a member of
emerged victorious after a tense tie-breaker. If it's totally unimportant,
we (Nick, Mark, Denny, Mike) probably know it.
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