‘Clear as mud’: Shelby County Historical Society property, funds dispute also involves Missouri Senate majority leader

SHELBINA, Mo. — The former president of the Shelby County Historical Society has been accused of mismanagement and misconduct in a civil petition filed April 1 in Shelby County Circuit Court.

Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina), the first woman to serve as majority leader in the Missouri Senate, is not named in the petition. However, she is named in a March 22 email written by Kathleen Wilham as one of four people who “helped her” enter the newly built (and locked) museum and library, just off U.S. Business Highway 36, earlier that day.

Petitioners Jim Foster, Lea Ann Oliver Robertson and Carol Hubbard — the president, vice president and treasurer of the Shelby County Historical Society — claim Wilham instructed a locksmith to drill newly installed locks, then disabled internal video cameras and security alarms to the building.

Wilham resigned as president of the nonprofit group on July 1, 2024. However, she remained on the board after stepping down. The petition accuses her of:

• Failing to insure the museum for 10 months during construction;
• Failing to provide officers of the historical society board necessary documents for the proper administration of their duties;
• Removing multiple boxes of materials that were in the possession of the historical society and either destroyed, taken or gifted items to others;
• Delivering or directing others to deliver multiple boxes of property belonging to the historical society to members of the historical societies in Monroe County and Ralls County;
• Disabling security cameras and replacing building locks, blocking other historical society officers from access;
• Operating the historical society without security or cameras in the building;
• Either destroying, giving away or selling a bookcase that was donated to historical society by the Shelby County School District, which received the donation from the Shelbina High School Class of 1913;
• Spending more than $10,000 of the historical society’s money to pay for the destruction of a church in Lentner, Mo.
• Using historical society funds to pay historical society employees to clean gutters, wash windows and clean her residence, as well as to pick up trash along a highway adopted by the Shelby County Republican Club.

Asked on March 25 if the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department was conducting an investigation, Sheriff Arron Fredrickson said, “There is an issue between board members. One board member locks the doors, another board member gets another locksmith to unlock the doors. It’s a mess. It’s all what appears to me to be a civil situation.

“If there is a crime committed in Shelby County and there is a Missouri statue that is broken, we will investigate, and we will do our jobs to uphold the law and order in Shelby County. If I get more information, I will look into it. … I mean, it is so messed up and so convoluted. It is clear as mud.”

The petition includes Wilham’s March 22 email that was sent to several historical society members. She wrote:

“Senator Cindy O’Laughlin, lawyer John Russell, Sheriff Fredrickson and (Shelby County) Prosecutor Jordan Force helped me get the museum open today. We will get all new locks and keys for the building next week. I have one key to a door, and all the other locks are disabled. 

“We will have to purchase a new security system. Lea Ann controls it. This morning, there was no way to shut the system off. Lea Ann changed the code again, and the volume on the alarm was at the max. The locksmith had to disable the base station to shut it off. I have a key fob to shut it off, but it did not disable the system. The alarm was deafening in the building!”

The building had been closed for three weeks, according to Wilham.

“We need to move forward and get this museum open for decades to come,” she wrote. “No one person has the power to shut this museum down.”

Foster, Robertson and Hubbard assert in the petition that neither Fredrickson nor Force authorized or participated in Wilham’s actions.

A Facebook post on the Shelby County Historical Society’s Facebook page (since removed) accused Wilham and O’Laughlin of burglarizing the historical society’s new building. It included a photo of Wilham, claiming it showed her moving security cameras on March 22.

“One neighboring county society was given a full trailer load of SCHS holdings. Another neighboring society was given at least 10 boxes,” the post said. “That particular society admitted that there were things in those boxes ‘that are very valuable and should have never left the museum.’ To that end, locks were changed and the museum closed until a new board can be elected.

“Well, on Saturday morning, Kathleen Wilham and Cindy O’Laughlin (knowing that all parties are represeted by legal counsel) had the new locks busted, and they dismantled the security sustem that protects our assets. Yes, believe it.”

When asked for an interview by Muddy River News last week, Foster replied, “I can’t discuss it.” Attempts to reach Robertson, who lives in Brandon, Miss., were unsuccessful.

Wilham told Muddy River News when she was contacted last week that her title with the historical society is “museum curator,” a position she has held since 1988.

“I’ve got a lawyer, and that’s John Russell,” she said. “And Cindy O’Laughlin is supporting me. She’ll be a good spokesperson.”

She ended a two-minute conversation by saying, “I think I better close off now. You know, I’ve been told not to talk to the media.”

Attempts to reach Russell at his offices in Monroe City have been unsuccessful.

When Muddy River News contacted O’Laughlin’s office in Jefferson City, the senator’s office issued the following written statement on March 25:

“The Shelby County Historical Museum has been run for the most part by Kathleen Wilham for decades. It was located on the main street of Shelbina, and Kathleen worked there every day, also doing her genealogical research for citizens all around Missouri. A member of the board passed away and left real estate to the museum which allowed them to build the new building in Shelbina. 

“While I have never been on the board, I’ve known Kathleen for more than 40 years and have really never encountered someone as dedicated to a cause. Few people wanted to be members or join the board, as is often the case in small rural counties. There really was very little for an operating budget, and in many cases, Kathleen used her own money to support her research and the operation of the museum. 

“It seems the inheritance of (more than) $3 million has driven new interest in the museum.  Of course, (that) requires a higher level of stewardship. Change can bring conflict, and that seems to be the case here. That conflict, from speaking with most of the board members, seems to be personality driven and also in the implementation of new procedures. The conflict resulted in the building having locks changed (without board approval) and Kathleen being denied entrance.

“I attempted to help negotiate this between all parties but thus far have not reached a general consensus on next steps. I am continuing to promote good stewardship and working relationships, and I am hopeful it gets resolved. The locks were changed back so that Kathleen can manage the building (social media inflated this to a ‘break in’) and provide tours while this work in progress continues. My only interest in this is to honor the work of the museum volunteers and historic artifacts contained in the building. I remain optimistic this can be resolved.”

The petition raises “significant concern as to the safety of the assets of the society.” Foster, Robertson and Hubbard believe Wilham’s actions have jeopardized the tax exempt and non-profit status of the society. They have requested for “injunctive relief” and a temporary restraining order, asking that:

• Wilham and her associates are barred from accessing historical society property;
• All removed materials and historical society keys be returned;
• The disabled security system be restored;
• Wilham be prohibited from representing or working on behalf of the society.

Foster, Robertson and Hubbard also are asking the court to authorize the election of the historical society’s officers and directors. Those three claim they were elected to their positions with the historical society shortly after Wilham’s resignation last July. 

Wilham and Russell contend the election was improperly conducted, since the historical society’s constitution and bylaws call for the annual meeting to be held annually in October. Foster, Robertson and Hubbard, represented by Neil Maune of Hannibal, claim the bylaws and constitution were shared for the first time with the historical society board in October 2024.

The petition said Wilham’s resignation happened after numerous questions were asked of her regarding the construction and costs of the new facility. 

The construction of the facility recently was completed, and an open house was held earlier this year. However, it has not officially opened because of a lack of handicapped accessibility. The former historical society building on Main Street in Shelbina recently was sold after materials were moved to the new facility.

Much of the money for the new facility came from the wills of two longtime members of the Shelby County Historical Society — Marjorie Kathleen Boling, who died April 30, 2022, in Paris, Mo., and Doris Spilker, who died Sept. 22, 2005, in Hannibal.

A summons for Wilham to appear at the Shelby County Circuit Courthouse in Shelbyville was issued April 1 by Judge Frederick Paul Tucker. No court dates have been set as of Friday morning.

“What needs to happen is all the board members need to come together,” Fredrickson said “They need to realize that this historical society is for the betterment of the community. They need to sit down to go over their bylaws. They need to elect new board members, and they need to work this out as an entity, not dragging out their dirty laundry on social media.”