Boy Scout troop in the 1963 White River Festival parade

This innocuous picture of a Boy Scout troop marching in the White River Festival parade has a darker context. These young men were segregated from the other Independence County Boy Scout troops.

Boy Scouts of America was founded by W. D. Boyce in 1910. When he left the organization, he urged the executive board not to discriminate on the basis of race or creed. The board disagreed, establishing the position that the inclusion of African American youths could be permitted following the same policies of local schools. With Jim Crow, this called for “separate but equal” troops.

Most of the southern states contained “colored troops” for Boy Scouts until almost 1950. Even this was met with disdain, with many southern scout troops promising to leave BSA and burn their uniforms if African American boys were permitted to join. The revolt was quelled by James E. West and the “separate but equal” troops were allowed to wear the Boy Scout uniforms.

This picture was one of many on display for Old Independence Regional Museum’s Black Heritage celebration last Thursday, February 22, 2024. We would like to thank our patrons for supporting this event; our speaker, Dr. Jennifer Wallach, was thrilled with the turnout and the comments she received. We are grateful for Citizens Bank for sponsoring this event.

Dr. Wallach wrote the commentary for a portion of our Smithsonian Institution/Old Independence Regional Museum exhibit, “A Taste of Community”. Come by and see the exhibit; it is here for a limited time and contains hundreds of local artifacts and stories for your enjoyment. We will see you at the museum!

Milk Trough

Modern refrigeration has only been readily available since the 1930s. Before that, milk had a short shelf life unless it was somehow preserved.

The methods used for storing milk vary across the world. In some indigenous tribes, milk was stored in the animal. In other words, the cows were close enough at hand that when milk was needed, the owner would simply milk the amount necessary into a container for immediate use.

Not everyone was within arm’s reach of their milk producing animal, though, and storing milk for later use was essential.

A spring house was a simple wooden (usually) structure built atop a spring. Milk and other items stored in jars would be placed in the cold spring water beneath the structure to keep it temperate throughout the hot summer months.

Many methods utilize porous terra cotta pots. In one, the pot is first submerged in cold water to infuse the porous surface. When the milk, which arrived fresh from the cow at a piping 110°, entered the terra cotta pot, the milk’s temperature decreased rapidly. A cloth rinsed in cold water acted as a top to the pot.

Pot-in-a-pot refrigeration, or zeer, proves helpful in arid regions where humidity levels remain low.  A terra-cotta pot is lined on the inside with wet sand, then a second terra-cotta pot is placed inside it and a wet cloth covers the opening. The inner pot can have a glazed interior to keep anything from penetrating the milk within it.

This milk trough is yet another example of ingenuity if a creek is a distance from the settlement and a spring house is not practical. This stone milk trough has a sizeable hole perfect for inserting a corncob plug. Once it was filled with cool creek water, the milk was placed in terra-cotta pots and covered with wet cloths. Any time the water’s temperature rose, the corncob stopper was removed to drain the water and cooler water was added.