Grant for Hearnes Museum

Third Grant Announced By The Kellerman Foundation

Friday, August 16, 2013
User-submitted story by Annie Criddle

The Late Warren E. Hearnes

Third Grant Announced By The Kellerman Foundation The Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation, whose new office will be located at 1856 Broadway Cape Girardeau, Missouri , awarded a new grant on August 12, 2013 to Kathleen Reynolds, for further evaluation of the Warren E. Hearnes Museum in Charleston, Missouri. "This is an honor for us to be able to guide the project and it will add credibility to our mission all across the State of Missouri." --Dr. Mary Ann Kellerman, President of The Kellerman Foundation.
Warren E. Hearnes was the 46th governor of Missouri, and became the state's first two-term governor, holding office from 1965 until 1973. Governor Hearnes was raised in Charleston Missouri, and graduated from West Point in 1946. Hearnes became Missouri's youngest state representative in 1951, an office he held until becoming Missouri secretary of state in 1961. During his time as governor, Hearnes championed the underprivileged and mentally ill, establishing multiple mental health institutions, providing more funding to public education, and signing multiple civil rights reform acts, helping end racial discrimination and segregation. Upon leaving office, Hearnes became a partner in a St. Louis law firm, and moved back to Charleston, devoting the rest of his career to serving his community, as the director of Southeast Missouri Legal Services. Governor Hearnes died at his home in Charleston in 2009.

Kathleen Reynolds

The purpose of this project is to assess the current content of the Warren E. Hearnes Museum, conduct filmed interviews with Mrs. Hearnes about her husband's life in public office, create a list of resources on Governor Hearnes throughout the state for public use, and prepare a traveling exhibit on the life and career of Governor Hearnes which can be displayed at Charleston's Azalea Festival, The Kellerman Foundation office, and other events throughout the state. "The grant provides an exceptional opportunity for The Kellerman Foundation to initiate important work on the collection of papers that are held in the Hearnes Museum in Charleston. This would definitely be an important grant opportunity for the Foundation. I strongly support this." --Dr. Frank Nickell, Consultant for the Cape Girardeau office of The State Historical Society of Missouri and Member of the Board of The Kellerman Foundation. Ms. Reynolds, a 2013 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, holds an M.A. in history as well as a graduate certificate in heritage education, will be researching and compiling the list of available sources on Hearnes, and preparing the traveling exhibit. She will be assisted by Aaron Eisenhauer. Mr. Eisenhauer, a Southeast Missouri area photographer who holds a degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri, will be in charge of photographing the current content of the museum and conducting the video interviews with Mrs. Hearnes.
The purpose of The Kellerman Foundation is to provide for the protection and preservation of architectural structures, as well as preservation and maintenance of historical artifacts, history, and culture of Southeast Missouri. For more information, visit The Kellerman Foundation's Facebook page, or call Annie Criddle, Executive Director, at 573-275-1052.