Sikeston Rodeo Museum, Sikeston
August 2026
Saddle up and gallop on over to the Sikeston Rodeo Museum. Even if you’ve never ridden a horse or been to a rodeo, chances are you will enjoy this hometown gem that celebrates the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo.
The newly revamped rodeo museum and visitor center opened July 31, 2025, in the renovated former post office building, now called The Sikeston Post.
Begin your visit with a brief video overview, then follow the boot prints painted on the floor to explore the three rooms packed with exhibits that show the traditions, history and hometown pride of the Sikeston rodeo. Step inside the old post office vault to check out the display. Pause for a fun photo opportunity with a bull and a chute gate. Browse the entertainment timeline wall to see decades of rodeo stars and legendary moments. Be sure to allow time for some retail therapy in the cashless gift shop, which is stocked with apparel, souvenirs, western swag, and rodeo-themed merch.
And in case that’s not enough, there’s more to come, explains Kathy Medley, executive vice president of Sikeston Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development, and Tourism. Another photo op with an authentic rodeo-clown barrel is in the works, she says, and an interactive touch-screen table that will allow you to “try” barrel racing and other rodeo sports is in development.
“We believe this is the only rodeo museum in Missouri and several surrounding states,” says Medley. The museum’s goal is to preserve, celebrate and share the history and traditions that make the rodeo an integral part of Sikeston’s culture and heritage.
“The rodeo means a lot to this community. It started in 1953 and has inspired many stories and memories,” says Medley. The rodeo is run entirely by Sikeston Jaycees volunteers, with support from community members. Rodeo proceeds are donated to the community each year.
According to the museum website, “The Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo isn’t just an event—it’s a way of life that embodies grit, determination, and passion. From vintage tickets and legendary contracts to photos of roaring crowds at this iconic local event, each piece tells a story that connects the past to the present.”
Speaking of the rodeo, the dates this year are August 5 to 8. After visiting the museum, you just might want to come back for the rodeo. Yeehaw!
Sikeston Rodeo Museum and Visitors Center is located at 215 North New Madrid Street. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Groups are welcome. The museum is handicap accessible. For more information, call 573-471-2498, visit Sikeston Rodeo Museum on Facebook or go to SikestonRodeoMuseum.org.
Campbell's Service, Pacific
May 2026
This is definitely the year to get your kicks on Route 66 in Missouri. Folks around the country—and even the globe—will be celebrating the centennial of the Mother Road, which was “born” on April 30, 1926, in Springfield.
Missouri is fortunate to have many segments of the historic road still intact, plus a number of original attractions scattered along the route from St. Louis to Joplin.
A new attraction that looks and feels vintage is Campbell’s Service, a museum of petroliana (or petroleum memorabilia) on Historic Route 66 in Pacific. The collection showcases artifacts related to service stations from the early days of the 1920s through the height of Route 66 usage in the 1950s and 1960s and beyond.
The museum is the project of Larry West of Kirkwood, who owns West Contracting next door to the museum. West had been collecting automotive items for 30 years, decorating his office with them. He recently bought three acres next to his company with a small unused church building on it. About that time, he acquired an extensive petroliana collection from Duane Campbell of Union.
Realizing that all the items would not fit in his office, he decided to remodel the church building to look like a vintage service station and use it as a museum to hold his newly expanded collection.
“I named the station ‘Campbell’s Service’ to acknowledge the 40-plus years that Duane and his family dedicated to assembling this notable collection,” says West.
The Route 66 Centennial gave West a deadline. The museum opened in 2025 and has already seen lots of traffic.
“I have already had many guests from all over the world,” says West. “A large portion of the visitors from other countries fly to Chicago, rent a car and drive the existing sections of Route 66 to Santa Monica, California. It’s a great way to see the heartland of America.”
You can’t miss the museum, with its tall Phillips 66 sign out front, the fuel tanker truck parked near the building and two vintage gas pumps under the portico. Inside, you’ll see a 1929 Model A Ford and a 1956 Ford 100 pickup, both beautifully restored.
There’s a heavy emphasis on Phillips 66 memorabilia, most of which is from Campbell’s collection. Among the many restored gas pumps, the clockface pump is West’s favorite. You’ll find vintage road signs, advertisements, automotive equipment, toys, maps and much more.
Campbell’s Service is located at 18625 Historic Route 66 in Pacific. The museum is open by chance or by appointment; use the contact form on the website to arrange a visit. There is no admission fee but donations are welcome. For more information, visit Campbell’s Service–Route 66 Museum on Facebook.
Sixkiller Funeral Museum, Thayer
February 2026
People collect all sorts of stuff, but funerary items are not particularly common. Which is why the Sixkiller Funeral Museum in Thayer is almost certain to contain things you have never seen or known about before.
How did Chris and Laila Sixkiller get started in this unusual pursuit?
“My dad was in the funeral industry,” says Laila, who has been collecting funeral-related items for the past 12 years. “When I met my husband, he was driving hearses. Chris is a fan of station wagons and Cadillacs; hearses are the quickest way to get both. We took our interests and combined them.”
The couple was living in Springfield when they found the three-story building in Thayer for sale. “It had ample garage space for our five hearses, and I wanted to use the storefront for the museum.”
The ground floor houses the museum while the couple lives on the second floor. Laila operates an auto upholstery business on the third floor. The building is built into a hillside so each level has road access, and “we can drive into the second- floor garage and the third-floor upholstery shop.”
They moved to Thayer in July 2023 and opened the museum in October of that year during the Thayer Fall Festival. Although much of the building was basically a shell and needed lots of work, the 2,500-square-foot storefront was useable with just a fresh coat of paint.
Of the hundreds of items in the collection, Laila likes to showcase things related to female undertakers. She has four women’s embalmer licenses dating from 1928 to 1950. “These are very unusual for that time frame,” she says. “You had to be born or married into the business.” She also likes the advertising pieces that feature female embalmers.
The most historic—and definitely the heaviest—item is the 1948 Champion embalming table made of porcelain and cast iron. It weighs 950 pounds.
The table is from the Gorman-Scharpf funeral home in Springfield. According to Laila’s research, Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz, died at the Medical Center for Federal Prisons in Springfield in 1963 and underwent his post-mortem examination on the table.
Halloween is a natural fit for special events and decorations at the museum, but the upcoming holiday season brings a meet-and-greet with a surprise visitor: Krampus, an 8-foot animatron that moves and makes noises. A special event is being planned; check the Sixkiller Funeral Museum’s Facebook page, for details about that and other events throughout the year.
The Sixkiller Funeral Museum is located at 203 Front Street and is open Friday through Sunday year-round by appointment by calling 417-840-4054. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted.
Dent County Museum, Salem
November 2025
Take a walk through Ozark history at the Dent County Museum in Salem, where three floors of period furniture and artifacts tell the story of the county and its residents. The well-preserved 1895 home boasts beautiful, original pine woodwork and 13 rooms full of interesting displays.
Members of the museum board, which operates the museum, are “interested in preserving the history of Salem and Dent County for future generations,” explains Jo Ann Wells, board president. Most of the board members, all of whom are volunteers, have deep roots in the county and take turns working at the museum when it is open on Sunday afternoons. For example, A.J. Seay, who was on duty the day we visited, says his mother’s family has been in the Sligo/Short Bend area since the 1860s and his father’s family in Salem since the 1870s.
As the sign in the front yard says, the museum began “with a gift from the late Margaret Ray Vickery in 1971.” The museum board bought the home in the early 1970s and converted it into the museum, which opened on May 30, 1976.
Although he was not the original owner of the house, the late William P. Elmer was its most famous resident and was responsible for the addition of the third floor. Elmer, a lawyer, was the first U. S. congressman from Dent County. Many of his descendants still live in the area.
The museum is holding the first William P. Elmer Day on Saturday, October 11. Rick Mansfield, well-known historic interpreter from Ellington, will portray Elmer and share the history of Elmer’s family and home. Homemade cookies and lemonade, plus a performance by the Community Choir, are part of the planned festivities.
The first two floors of the museum are furnished as they would have been in the early 1900s. The third floor features special collections, including a jeweler’s workbench, children’s toys and vintage typewriters. There’s a reproduction—although smaller—of the Liberty Bell, which was cast in honor of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. There are several outbuildings, including a cellar with a viewing area and an open carriage shed. Tall oak trees shade the yard and the Spring Creek Garden Club maintains the flower beds.
Dent County Museum is located at 400 North Pershing Avenue. The phone number is 573-729-6331. The museum is open from 1-4 p.m. Sundays, from the last Sunday in May through the last Sunday in October, plus special events. Other dates or group tours are available by appointment by calling Jo Ann Wells at 573-729-2643. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Memberships are available for $10 per person per year or $100 per person lifetime.
Jefferson City Fire Museum, Jefferson City
August 2025
A team of dedicated volunteers can accomplish major goals, as evidenced by the Jefferson City Fire Museum. This fascinating time capsule of mid-Missouri fire-fighting history is the result of countless hours of volunteer labor and leadership, as well as generous donations from personal collections.
Housed in the city’s original Fire Station 2, the museum features vintage pumpers and hose carts, a 1956 fire engine, two authentic poles, vintage equipment and gear and a re-creation of the living quarters of early fire fighters. Displays with signage explain major events in the city’s and the fire department’s history.
“In 2012, the fire department celebrated 100 years of full-time professional fire service for Jefferson City,” says Capt. Steve Holtmeier of the Jefferson City Fire Department. “I was the vice-president of the Centennial celebration and volunteered to be president of the museum, which was the idea of local fire fighters.”
The city owned the limestone building, but it had been structurally modified over the years. The distinctive vertical folding wooden doors with windows had been replaced with roll-up metal doors. Using historical photos for reference, carpenters in nearby Freedom re-created the original style of doors. The goal was to restore the building as it was from 1935 to 1971.
While some volunteers were renovating the building, others were preparing the exhibits. Many of the artifacts were donated by two people. Sherl Frandsen, the city’s first woman firefighter whose father and brother were also firefighters, and Bob Wilbers, retired firefighter, had both been collecting historical memorabilia for years and were instrumental in the development of the museum.
The museum features the garage on the first floor and the living quarters on the second floor. Two authentic fire poles connect the floors. The attached four-story tower was used for high-rise fire-fighting training. The building is a Designated Landmark of the city.
Two key events shaped the city’s fire department history. In 1837, the Missouri State Capitol burned as a result of a flue fire. At the time, the city had a volunteer fire department. In 1911, the Capitol burned, again, this time after the dome was hit by lightning. In response to the 1911 fire, Sedalia and St. Charles tried to have the Capitol moved to their cities. In order to keep the Capitol in Jefferson City, the city established a full-time professional fire department in 1912.
Jefferson City Fire Museum is located at 911 East Miller Street and is open by appointment only. There is no admission fee, but donations are welcome. Call 573-634-6426 or email jeffersoncityfiremuseum@gmail.com. The building can be rented for private events. The upper floor of the museum is not handicap accessible. For more information, visit Jefferson City Fire Museum on Facebook or www.firemuseumjc.com.