Benton, Sikeston making plans for 2010 sesquicentennial events

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Two Scott County towns will celebrate their 150th birthdays in 2010 and the events are beginning to take form.

"This isn't as big as a centennial, but it's not something we want to let pass by," said Christy LeGrand, a coordinator of the sesquicentennial events in Benton, Mo.

Sikeston will also mark 150 years in 2010. The chamber of commerce and city are spearheading the effort.

"Our calendar is really starting to fill up," said Missy Marshall, executive director of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce.

The towns have different plans for the celebrations, although they will include some of the same events.

In Sikeston, "The New Year's Eve hospital ball will kick everything off, and I think that's going to be a great celebratory way to kick off the year," said Marshall. Other events will continue through the year, she said.

In Benton, three distinct dates are set, said Alvina Mainord, who is involved in the celebration preparations.

"Founder's Day is in April, so we plan to meet on the courthouse lawn," she said.

LeGrand said that would be the kickoff to Benton's activities. It will include a bandstand with speakers, "kind of like a mini rally," she said.

That will also be the day Benton men "bury their razors" if they choose to compete in the beard-growing contest, set to culminate in early June.

Sikeston will also have a beard-growing contest, but no specifics are worked out yet, said Marshall.

The first weekend in June, LeGrand said, organizers in Benton are planning for a community weekend that will include a street dance. "We'll also ask people to dress in period outfits and compete [for best-dressed], as well as have demonstrations of some old-time things," she said. "It's going to be our big activity weekend."

Plans are underway for a pageant that tailored to older people. The street festival is also when Mainord said the time capsule buried during the centennial celebration will be dug up.

In early September, another capsule will be buried. This will be done in conjunction with the annual Benton Neighbor Days, which will help wrap up the events. LeGrand said organizers plan to ask that Neighbor Day and its parade be centered on the sesquicentennial.

That's what Sikeston organizers, who also plan to bury a time capsule, also aim for.

"That will be the theme for the rodeo and the Cotton Redneck BBQ that we're looking at using to incorporate some of those activities. For instance, the beardgrowing contest may culminate in that event."

There are plans in the works for a large event to wrap up the year, she said.

Marshall noted that T-shirts and other sesquicentennial-themed merchandise are available for purchase online at the special website, www.sikeston.net/150.

Doug Friend, Sikeston city manager, said they ask businesses and organizations to incorporate the logo onto signs, clothing or other materials.

Of course, it's important to look at how a community has progressed over the years, too. LeGrand said several of the volunteers for Benton's celebration are interested in history and are planning to compile historical photos and articles. If anyone would like to share a photo, they are encouraged to do so, she said.

Both events remain in the planning stages. Any individual or organization with suggestions for Sikeston's event may contact city hall at 573-471-2512 or the SACC at 573-471-2498.

Those who want to get involved in Benton's events can attend the next meeting, set for 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Riverside Regional Library meeting room, or contact LeGrand at 573-545-3111.