Heritage museum adding attractions to draw visitors

Competition from the Red House Interpretive Center has challenged the Cape River Heritage Museum to increase its public attractions.

Marjorie Thompson, the director of the River Heritage Museum, said the museum has been around since 1982, but the public only seems to hear about the Red House.

"I don't know why we aren't heard of," Thompson said. "I guess we're off the beaten track."

Thompson said the Red House probably gets more attention because it is downtown. She also said she partially blames herself for not bringing more attractions to the museum.

In order to increase the number of visitors, Thompson said, the museum recently began holding regular talks at 10 a.m. every second and fourth Saturday of the month. At 10 a.m. today, Steve and Viney Mosley will discuss Steve's mother, Jean Bell Mosley, a former Cape Girardeau author and Southeast Missourian columnist. There are 15 displays celebrating Mosley's life at the museum. On the fourth Saturday of each month, the museum will feature Chief Paul White Eagle, who lives in Grassy, Mo., as he talks about American Indian history in and around Cape Girardeau.

Anne Hutson, the tour guide director at the Red House, said she didn't know Thompson thought of the Red House as a challenge. Today, the Red House hosts Steve Juhlin and Quittin' Time from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. as the group plays Scottish and Irish music. The music and instruments of the show celebrate the culture of Missouri's Ozark Hills in the 1800s, Hutson said.

Hutson said the Red House is trying to attract more visitors by hosting traveling exhibits coming from St. Louis.

She said the center has experienced an increase in visitors this summer, even though tourism across the state is down 15 percent.

"I guess this is due to gas prices," Hutson said. "People are going to more local events."

The Red House is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays from May until Sept. 14. After Sept. 14 the center will only be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The cost of admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children younger than 12.

The River Heritage Museum is open during the same hours until Sept. 14 and charges the same admission fee. Thompson said new hours for after Sept. 14 haven't been decided yet.

adohogne@semissourian.com

335-6611

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