Book to be released in 2010 will feature historic photos of Sikeston

SIKESTON, Mo. -- If a picture is worth a thousand words, a forthcoming book about Sikeston may be worth half a million.

"Sikeston, Missouri: A Pictorial History" is slated for release in 2010, according to the book's committee/section editors, Janice Matthews, Betty Johns, Dottie Limbaugh and Mike Marsh.

The editors said this is just a working title, but it does describe the book's content well. The book's 144 pages will consist almost entirely of historic photographs of Sikeston.

Matthews said the project really began when the photographs from the Dysart/Baugher Studios were donated to the Sikeston Depot Museum.

"This collection was given to the Depot so we had these hundreds and hundreds of photos," she said. "We thought a book would be the best way to preserve these photos for the public."

Combined with the Depot's existing inventory of other historic photographs that had been donated over the years, the editors had thousands of pictures to choose from, Johns said.

"There's no way we could include everything in this book," she said.

"We're presenting history for future generations in a book form," Johns said.

While the book's release is being timed to coincide with the city's 150th anniversary celebration, "it's more than a sesquicentennial book," Limbaugh said. "We want it to be timeless."

Initially conceived as an 8 1/2-by-11 inch hardcover book, the editors ultimately decided to go slightly larger.

"We thought that the 9-by-12 size would better display the photos," Limbaugh said.

As all the photographs from the Dysart/Baugher collection are black and white, only the cover will be in full color.

The committee decided to divide the book into four sections, each of which is introduced by a short narrative to provide a framework for the photos.

The project is being financed by the Sikeston Cultural Development Corp., which owns and operates the Sikeston Depot, Matthews said. "This is an in-house project," she said.

The book will be published in Sikeston by Acclaim Press. The first printing will consist of 750 copies with a second printing planned if the first run sells out.

"We hope people will buy them for their grandchildren," Limbaugh said. "It would make a wonderful gift."