The Springfield-Greene County Park Board’s Timmons Hall will celebrate Black History Month in February with two events highlighting history and contributions of African Americans in Springfield.
The Feb. 1 People’s History Café will offer a variety of events 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., including:
11 a.m.: Welcome and introductions
11:30 a.m.: “Money Couldn’t Buy,” a show-and tell-history skit by community youth based on Springfield history complied by Irv Logan, Jr.
12:45 p.m.: Intermission and refreshments
1 p.m.: Panel discussion: African-Americans in the Medical Profession, led by J.R. Chappell, NAACP Health Committee chair, to inspire youth to consider health care careers.
2:30 p.m: Open exhibits for all ages
The People’s History Café is free and open to the public.
On Feb. 8, the Timmons Hall History Spotlight event focuses on “The Milly Project,” a play written and produced by Willard High School teacher Kendra Chappell, with research assistance from her students.
The play tells the account of Milly Sawyers, a slave in Springfield who won her freedom in 1836 and was later dragged and beaten in the streets by an angry mob. The account was discovered in 2018 by former News-Leader reporter Giacomo Bologna and Greene County Archives director Connie Yen. Chappell and her students have performed the play several times.
The Feb. 8 event includes a conversation with director and cast, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. The event does not include staging of the play. Seating is limited and reservations are required at 417-864-1171.
Timmons Hall, formerly known as Timmons Temple, officially opened to the public in 2019 following relocation to Silver Springs Park in 2015 and years of restoration work managed by Friends of Timmons Temple. The former church now serves as an event facility offering historical, cultural and educational opportunities, owned and operated by the Park Board and under the direction of Christine Peoples, coordinator.