Good News!

Our stake clerk Brother Scott Thomsen has a list of all the brethren who have served in the stake presidency during the last 25 years. What a relief! We'll be receiving that this week and will get to work contacting those men and their families for any memorablia they might be able to share. All physical items shared will be scanned and returned. It would also be great to collect personal memories and meaningful stories. Please leave a comment below or email me if you have something to share.

So the project at hand now is putting together an accurate (or as close as possible) list of those who have served in auxiliary presidencies. We decided to begin with the Relief Society. Many generous sisters have already given of their time to help compile this beginning of a list:

1985
Edna Sargeant, President

1989(?)- 1994(?)
Marge Kramer, President
Bonnye Clugston, Education Counselor
Helen Englehart, Homemaking Counselor

1994(?)
Lena Halbert, President

1995(?)
Bonnye Clugston, President
Joan Cowell, Education Counselor
Linda Schack, Homemeaking Counselor
Sandy Hatchett, Secretary

1997(?)
Joan Cowell, President

1999 (?)
Cindy Johnson, President
Bonnye Clugston, Education Counselor
Linda Schack, Homemaking Counselor

(?)
Linda Schack, President

(?)- 2005
Karen Redfearn, President
Gaye Hayes, Education Counselor
Taffy McMullin, Education Counselor
Brandon Brazel, Homemaking Counselor
Pam Fleming, Secretary

2005-2010
Taffy McMullin, President
Bonnye Clugston, 1st Counselor
Brandon Brazel, 2nd Counselor
Tonia Burke, 2nd Counselor
Hilda Jenkins, 2nd Counselor
Erin Windbigler, Secretary
Jane McClanahan, Secretary

2010
Shirley Kimber, President
Jane McClanahan, 1st Counselor
JoAnne Mihlfeld, 2nd COunselor
Janet Weaver, Secretary

Of course, this is not yet complete or entirely accurate. Can any of you help fill in the blanks or offer corrections? We know there are many more sisters who should be on this list.

Also, this photo was taken of the Stake RS Pres. in March 2010. I bet there are some similar photos hiding in scrapbooks out there. Could you take the time to find and share them. Wouldn't that make a wonderful Sunday afternoon project?

History Project

Ten years ago I was an English major, not a historian, so this is uncharted territory for me. But I am very eager to enlist the help of others in this project. Let me know by leaving a comment, if you are able to offer any assistance by way of names, dates, photos, etc.

We are attempting to compile a history of the Cape Girardeau Stake in honor of the 25th anniversary of its organization.

Primarily, we will be completing a history containing those who have served in stake callings during these years. It would be ideal to record any specific goals focused on, in addition to names and dates.

Secondarily, we will also attempt to collect personal memories in the form of quotes and stories from these individuals and their families. Any pictures, newspaper clippings, or already compiled histories for individual branches or wards would be helpful to collect, scan and document.

Finally, we hope to also record any major activities held and projects completed on the stake level.

This will take help from so many, and we already have a lot of people to thank for helping the project get started. So get out your old journals and scrapbooks and take a moment to remember all that we've been through together. Then let us know if you have any information to share.

Getting Started

All efforts must begin somewhere. This project began with a prompting several years ago. I saw a picture of a choir from our stake that sang at a dedicatory session for the St. Louis, MO Temple. The thought occurred to me that it would be so valuable to collect photos from activities that our stake has participated in. Unfortunately, I did little with that prompting at the time. So when I snapped a picture of the Stake RS Presidency in February, and felt a very similar feeling, I knew the time was now to do something about it. Such photos should be gathered together and organized and (perhaps most importantly) shared.
More recently, I have felt impressed to begin a project that would record the efforts of those who have helped the Lord's work to progress in the Cape Girardeau, MO Stake. This impression was strong enough that I shared the idea with those close to me, just to test the waters. I have received nothing but positive feedback. My mother, Taffy McMullin has agreed to assist me in this project and many others have already spent time helping me compile a rough outline of those who have served in stake presidencies.
Then I mentioned the project to Bro. and Sis. Kramer about a week ago. They agreed to share any information they could and started to list dates and names right then. Everything clicked when Bro. Kramer said, "Well, it was 25 years ago this October that the Cape Stake was organized." I just knew that this was why I had been feeling so prompted to begin this work. The time is NOW, and everytime I sit down to work I feel the same energy and excitement pushing me forward.
Today, I spoke with President Scheon who enthusiatically endorsed the idea and offered his help by giving me a brief list of people to contact. So here we go. Wish us luck and please feel free to comment and leave helpful suggestions!
Sarah Burke