LETTERS: COUNTY RECORD STORAGE IS IMPORTANT

To the editor:

The July 3 article regarding the county's mounting records storage problem is an issue important to every citizen of Cape Girardeau County and related individuals nationwide. It is imperative that we preserve historic documents relating to citizens of the county for future generations. Genealogists and historians use these documents to prove or disprove folklore and to build a solid foundation of historical facts that contributes to the expanded knowledge of our past. The records are extremely useful in researching and evaluating the lives and ancestry of the culturally varied citizens of Cape Girardeau County.

I support a decision to preserve and provide greater access to these historical records. Currently, people who work between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. are limited to days of vacation to study these records. Kent Library at Southeast Missouri State University would be an excellent location because of the expansive hours open to the public for research.

I commend the Cape Girardeau County government for appointing a county records advisory committee to look for acceptable solutions to the storage problem. I encourage the committee to advocate a location which would expand availability of the records to better serve the citizens of Cape Girardeau County and visiting historians. Let us serve and understand our past so that we can build a brighter future.

MARGARET CLINE HARMON

Cape Girardeau