Postcard, 1950s
We couldn’t fit this one into the book, but it is definitely an unusual image. While Harry Truman was born in Lamar, not terribly far from the stronghold of the Osage Indians, we haven’t seen any association of President Truman and the Osage Nation.
The “Land of the Osage” is not, by the way, just a few counties. It included all of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, and considerable amount of eastern Kansas and Oklahoma before they were exiled to northeast Oklahoma. What Harry or Lamar had to do with this we are unsure. Puzzling.
Every week we will post an unpublished image that relates to the Osage River, its ecology, history and development. None of these have been used in Damming the Osage, but they relate to the themes of the book. A brief caption identifies the location and our thoughts on its significance and meaning. Feel free to use these images for personal use if you credit “Collection of Leland and Crystal Payton.” For commercial use, email us for details and a modest fee for a higher resolution image. We have thousands of historic photographs and brochures as well as our own contemporary photos.
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