Stars and Stripes association members celebrate newspaper's 150th anniversary

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Stripers are gathering in Southeast Missouri for a sesquicentennial celebration.

The Stars and Stripes Association, which is made up of current and former employees of the Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military's newspaper, began arriving in Sikeston Thursday for their annual reunion, according to R. Sue Mayo, librarian at the Stars and Stripes Museum/Library in Bloomfield.

The reunions are mostly attended by former Stars and Stripes workers but they do get people who are on the newspaper's staff today as well.

"One of our interesting guests this year will be the librarian from the Stars and Stripes office in Japan, and there will be two from the Washington, D.C., office," Mayo said.

The group has met annually for reunions since 1989, she said.

"This will be our third year to host them," Mayo said. "The first time they visited here was in 1999."

The Museum/Library hosted the reunion a second time in 2005, when Andy Rooney was the guest speaker.

"We had probably close to 100 the first time," Mayo said. "The one this year is not going to be so large because so many of them that were involved have aged and are not so able to travel."

While it may not have as large of a turnout, it is a special year for the reunion: They are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first printing of the Stars and Stripes at an abandoned newspaper shop in Bloomfield, Mo., during the Civil War.

"It was printed by 10 Union soldiers," Mayo said.

A banquet is planned for tonight at the Miner Convention Center.

"The speaker this year will be Virginia Vassallo," Mayo said. "Her topic will be her grandfather, Guy T. Viskniskki. He was the first editor of the World War I issues which were printed in France."

Vassallo has written a biography, "Unsung Patriot: Guy T. Viskniskki, How the Stars and Stripes Began," which details her grandfather's successful efforts to re-establish the newspaper as a weekly publication written by American soldiers for American soldiers.

Stars and Stripes resumed publication again during World War II, remaining in continuous publication and expanding into regional editions.

"At the present time the paper is set up in Washington, D.C., and sent by satellite to countries where we have military personnel. It is then printed there and distributed from those locations," Mayo said. "It is also available online for anyone to read."

The online edition can be viewed at www.stripes.com.

On Saturday, Stripers will gather in Bloomfield.

"They will be coming to the unveiling of the new historical marker that tells the story of the printing of the first Stars and Stripes that took place here in Bloomfield on Nov. 9, 1861," Mayo said. "The unveiling is at 10 a.m. Saturday. That will take place at the new government building at the courthouse square. We feel like that is the area where it was printed originally."

The local FFA chapter is slated to put the marker in place today, according to Mayo.

"This is part of the Stars and Stripes Cultural Byway," Mayo explained. "We are placing monuments around the town giving the history. We placed one a month ago for Amos Stoddard, for whom the county is named. We will be publishing a brochure with a map so we can do a driving/walking tour -- we already have 12 or so in place and we will probably be adding another 10 or so."

Stars and Stripes Association members also have a visit to the Stars and Stripes Museum/Library and luncheon scheduled Saturday before returning to Sikeston.

Pertinent address:

Sikeston, MO

Bloomfield, MO