FUTURE OF AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM UNCERTAIN

SCOTT CITY -- Gene Rhodes walks slowly when he conducts tours of his American Heritage Museum.

He stops to pick up some items and operate others. The old coleslaw slicer still works and so does an early, manual version of today's washing machine.

Most of the items are from the early-to-mid 1900s and include just about everything the American farm family needed, plus a few extra gadgets.

Rhodes, along with partners Jim Drury, Joe Mirgeaux and Ernie Beussink, bought the collection from Altenburg resident Ray Smith eight years ago. They moved the museum to Jackson.

In 1989, Rhodes bought out his partners and moved everything to 2967 E. Outer Road, just north of Scott City. The late Charles Harris already had an antique car collection in the 12,000-square-foot building, and Rhodes added everything else.

Each move took several weeks as the collection, which is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, was carefully relocated to a new home.

Rhodes hired someone to live in the facility and operate it during the summer, but few people ever walk through its doors now.

"We never really promoted it except through word-of-mouth," he said. "I didn't have the time to."

Rhodes spent eight years as mayor of Cape Girardeau, finishing his last term in April. He owns an oil company, a chain of convenience stores and a construction company. He has an interest in an asphalt company and a rock quarry.

Still, he hangs on to the museum, letting friends conduct the occasional tour and rarely visiting the facility himself.

But it would be difficult to part with, he said.

"Most everything in here I used as a kid growing up on a farm south of Advance," Rhodes said. "It kind of brings back old memories. This was pretty much the way of life for farmers prior to World War II."

The wood stoves are some of his favorite items. They feature areas to be used as burners, others for irons, and warming cabinets.

His other favorites are the buggies, one of which was used by a St. Genevieve priest to take food to slaves and try to convert them to Christianity. A braided-leather contraption that used to keep flies off horses rests nearby.

Rhodes adds to the collection by attending auctions and purchasing antiques.

The American Heritage Museum's future is unsure. With its income not keeping up with upkeep, only outside intervention will keep the facility open.

Rhodes would like to see Southeast Missouri State University take an interest in the collection, and a few professors have.

"I think it would be beneficial to bring students here to see how their great-grandma and great-grandpa lived," Rhodes said. "They can compare it with how easy they have it today. Most people don't realize how tough it was to raise a family and make a living in the 1920s and '30s."

The museum's other savior could be riverboat gambling, especially in Scott City. The boat may attract additional traffic to Rhodes' museum.

In the meantime, tours are by appointment only. Rhodes said those interested in seeing the museum should call Ed Schilling at the Rhodes 101 Travel Center.