STE. GENEVIEVE – Missouri State Representative Dale Wright presented two proclamations at the Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center (SGMLC) Tuesday afternoon.
The first was specifically for Guy Darrough, Museum Learning Center curator, for his significant discoveries and accomplishments surrounding the Missouri Dinosaur.
In presenting the proclamation to Darrough Representative Wright read the proclamation aloud and added, “You are a marvelous asset to the State of Missouri and we want you to know how much we appreciate your efforts. We congratulate you and thank you for all you’ve done.”
The second presentation given to Darrough and the museum board members recognized the Parrosaurus Missouriensis as the official dinosaur of the State of Missouri in accordance with House Bill 1738.
Rep. Wright added in his presentation that the number one industry in Missouri is agriculture and tourism is the number two industry.
“I can’t think of a county in the state that represents tourism more than Ste. Genevieve,” said Wright. “You all are doing more than your fair share in bringing people into the state of Missouri from all over the United States and the world. We’re honored to present this to you.”
In appreciation for Representative Wright’s support, Fred Darrough, SGMLC General Manager, presented Wright with a large piece of petrified wood, thousands of years old, which rep. Wright said he will proudly display on his desk.
The story of the Missouri Dinosaur continues to unfold as more finds are discovered at the dig site in Bollinger County. The fossilized remains of a juvenile Parrosaurus Missouriensis, found by Guy Darrough, are on display at the Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center’s lab. Visitors will find out the whole story of how this dinosaur came to be discovered.
The Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center has vast displays of paleontology, archaeology, geology, ancient cultures, mining, farming, history and more. The museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The text of the Darrough proclamation:
Whereas, the members of the Missouri House of Representatives welcome with the opportunity to recognize a remarkable Missouri citizen whose efforts and accomplishments have made him a source of inspiration to all those around him; and
Whereas, Guy Darrough, a resident of Cadet, has distinguished himself in the world of paleontology, as well as in the Show-Me State as a whole, by his discovery oi the Parrosaurus Missouriensis. a species of dinosaur that has only been found in Missouri; and
Whereas, Guy Darrough discovered the juvenile skeleton of a Parrosaurus Missouriensis, a duckbilled dinosaur that grew to twenty-five to thirty feed long; and
Whereas, when Guy Darrough discovered the skeleton of the juvenile Parrosaurus Missouriensis earlier this year, he had it transported to the St. Genevieve Museum Learning Center prior to calling the Field Museum in Chicago with the incredible news, and
Whereas, a curator from the Field Museum, along with his team of experts, unearthed an adult Parrosaurus Missouriensis right next to the juvenile found by Guy Darrough in southeast Missouri, one of the best and most dinosaur locals east of the Great Plains; and
Whereas, Guy Darrough’s find was eighty years in the making, as the original owners of the property found bones in the 1940s which were sent to the Smithsonian Institution, where they were confirmed to be that of a dinosaur but nothing more ever developed; and
Whereas, Guy Darrough can take pride in knowing he has consistently given more than one hundred percent to all those activities in which he has so generously and enthusiastically participated;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, the members of the Missouri House of Representatives, One Hundred first General Assembly, join in extending our most hearty congratulations to Guy Darrough for his discovery of Parrosaurus Missouriensis and in further wishing him continued success in all future endeavors; and
Be it further resolved that the Chief clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for Guy Darrough.