Stars and Stripes Museum to mark 160th anniversary with event in Cape

The Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield, Missouri, will be celebrating the military newspaper's 160th anniversary this year with its second annual Spirit of Democracy Celebration and dinner and silent auction on Nov. 6 at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau.

The dinner will feature Stars and Stripes editor Terry Leonard, publisher Max Lederer, Medal of Honor recipient James McCloughan, Maj. Gen. Cassie Strom and others. The Jerry Ford Orchestra will perform patriotic music.

The museum has been led for the last 25 years by Jim and Sue Mayo.

"It's been a labor of love," Jim Mayo said in a recent article by Brian S. Brooks, former editor of Stars and Stripes Europe. "The founding of Stars and Stripes is probably the biggest thing that ever happened in Bloomfield, and it's what puts our town on the map."

The museum displays the very first issue of Stars and Stripes that was printed by Union troops in November 1861, and other issues through the 20th century into the modern era. According to its website, "The mission of the National Stars and Stripes Museum and Library is the documentation, preservation and communication of the iconic story of the Stars and Stripes newspaper and the commitment and service of the Stripers, our military, and everyday citizens."

Table sponsors of the dinner event are available for purchase, which includes a Stars & Stripes Commitment and Service pin, a commemorative certificate, membership to the National Stars and Stripes Museum and Library, a choice of a veteran or service member being honored on the Facebook page and an ad in the Southeast Missourian listing all the table sponsors.

To reserve a table, call the museum at (573) 568-2055 or visit www.donorbox.org/spirit-of-democracy-2021-1.