For families who enjoy scavenger hunts, the Poplar Bluff Museum is the place to be. All visitors need is a camera to capture memories and a history lesson or two.
There are 18 stand-up boards and accompanying hats scattered throughout the museum including:
• A French fur trapper in the front hall.
• A Mules football player in the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame.
• A Sho-Me Marching Band musician in the butler County Historical Society Room.
• A fashionable Victorian lady in the Historical Society Room.
• Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines uniforms in Kanell Hall Veterans Museum.
• Firefighter and police officer boards in the First Responders Exhibit.
• A forest ranger in the U.S. Forest Conservation Room.
• A WWII military nurse in the Medical Museum
• A telephone lineman in the upstairs hall.
• A boy or girl scout in the Scout Room.
• A mail carrier in the Post Office Exhibit, where visitors can also sort and deliver the mail.
• And James Dalton, one of Poplar Bluff’s most influential historic citizens, in the Dale Gaebler People Room.
Visitors can also play games in the Bowling Hall of Fame.
The boards were created and painted by museum board member and docent Mike Shane. They took over a year to complete.
“I had wanted to do this since I joined the museum in 2008,” he said. “Originally I just wanted to paint a soldier for Kanell Hall, but thenI just couldn’t stp. The museum board kept encouraging me and probably didn’t think I would actually do the whole museum.”
When asked why it took 15 years to finally start his project, Shane answered time and money. “I was working at the time and the museum didn’t have the funds. In 2022, I retired, and then Dr. Bill and Patsy Knoop made a generous donation to the museum, making all this possible.”
The museum is handicap accessible and located at 1010 N. Main St. in the former Mark Twain School. Open hours are 1-4 p.m. Sunday and admission is free.