The Rocheport Museum’s restored interior is ready for paint and a new roof is going on, and the Friends of Rocheport hope to open it in spring 2027.
The Friends of Rocheport Historical Society shared the news in an Oct. 21 update to members from its president, Ina Linville, ahead of its fall dinner on Saturday.
The museum
The interior walls and the bathroom have been restored and renovated, and the museum is ready for priming and painting, according to the update. David Williams did the finishing work in the main room. He found a brick wall in the bathroom that will be left as it is. Marcia Voss is leading the project.
Work on the roof started Oct. 7. Hometown Construction is removing the old roof and reinforcing the rafters to carry a new metal roof, and Excel is to put the metal roof on about a week after that. The update says the job will use up the reserve fund the group keeps for the roof, which makes its fundraisers and grant writing more important.
Saturday’s dinner
The group’s annual chili, ham and bean dinner is Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rocheport Fire Station on Central Street, during Rocheport Live!. Steve and Lynda Baumgartner, Louise Stanley and other volunteers are cooking. Tim Carson has lined up 11 items for the silent auction so far, and there will be pies, cakes, cookies and brownies for sale. Bakers can drop off goods at the fire station starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. Proceeds go to the museum. More on the dinner.
The Friends will also sell T-shirts marking the nation’s 250th birthday and Rocheport’s 200th at the dinner, for $10.
A new park by the Katy Trail
The Rocheport Bicentennial Park near the depot on the Katy Trail is finished. Tim Carson and Rocheport Rotary led the effort with the City of Rocheport, the Friends of Rocheport, Katy Trail State Park and the Master Gardeners, and Vintage Hills did the planting. Its benches remember Kathy Carson, Donnie and Joanne Moreau, and Curtis and Martha Bourgeois, the founders of Les Bourgeois Vineyards.
Dues go up
Membership dues are rising for the first time in more than 10 years, the update says. They are now $25 for an individual and $40 for a family. The group’s mailing address is P.O. Box 122, Rocheport, MO 65279.
By Roman Clarkson
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