In the last few years, the McDonald County Historical Society has been greatly rejuvenated. Now, regular meetings are held, a newsletter is produced, and a county museum has been opened.

All this has been made possible because dozens of county residents have come together. And, for the past three years, this hardworking group has been led by Raylene Lamb.

“The most exciting thing to me,” Lamb said, “is how the group has come together — worked as a team.”

If you listen to Lamb, you might wonder how she ever was selected to lead this group and its many projects.

“I think you could say I was an ‘at risk’ student in Neosho High School,” Lamb said. “I only made it through school because I had some caring teachers. I just barely squeaked through school — at the bottom of my class.”

Although she can point to several teachers who motivated her, Lamb has special praise for Robin Montz, her high school psychology teacher. Thanks to his encouragement, she decided she wanted to do something to help students such as herself.

Eventually she enrolled at Crowder College and, once again, had classes with Mr. Montz who was a part-time teacher there. By this time, she had two children so it took her four years to get through Crowder College and get an associate’s degree. And, after nearly failing to graduate from high school, she finished second in her class at Crowder.

But with persistence, she moved on and received a degree in psychology at Missouri Southern State University.

Now, Lamb is a private contractor with the Division of Family Services, working with disadvantaged families in McDonald County.

Besides working a full-time job, she is also a full-time student at Missouri State University, working toward a master's degree in social work.

Lamb and her husband, Fred, are ranchers in McDonald County. Their oldest daughter teaches in Kansas City and their youngest works at Freeman Hospital in Joplin.

As if a full-time job and a full college schedule isn’t enough, Lamb finds time to lead the historical society and do genealogy research.

“I guess history is my hobby —my only hobby,” she said. “I think it’s important for young people to know about their grandparents. I believe people who have a foundation and know their roots seems to be more settled. I’ve heard kids say they don’t know who their grandparents are, so I hope our society and the museum can teach them about their ancestry here in McDonald County.”

Collecting, preserving and making information available is the focus of Lamb and other members of the McDonald County Historical Society.

“There are so many who have made this possible,” she said. "I hate to start naming people because I would leave someone out. But I have a wonderful group to work with. I’m really blessed.”

On the other hand, a good many people in McDonald County would say they are blessed to have Today’s Woman, Raylene Lamb, working on their behalf.