Titanic Sponsors Branson PM MOPS

I have been a member of MOPS, or Mothers of Preschoolers since my oldest was 2. He is now 8, so I guess that means I have been in MOPS for 6 years in several different towns. This year and last, I have been a member of the Branson, Mo. PM MOPS organization. http://bransonmops.com/index.htm Branson PM MOPS meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month in the evenings from 6:00-8:30 at First Baptist Church in Branson, MO. Childcare is provided through our MOPPETS program, where children will be taught age appropraite curriculum, have snack, play with other children their age and get tender loving care from the childcare workers. In the meantime, we fellowship with other moms, listen to a speaker, create a craft and enjoy dinner (without cleaning up messes). My youngest is a Kindergartner and MOPS will allow mothers to stay in the organization if your children are up to Kindergarten age. I decided for my last year of MOPS, I would really try to step it up and make a difference within the organization.

This fall, the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo. agreed to sponsor our program. http://titanicbranson.com This is so exciting because through their sponsorship, we are able to provide child care to our children while we are in our meetings, we provide diapers and gifts to expecting MOMS, and we are able to minister to the local women's shelters in our area. To honor the Titanic for their sponsorship, we invited them to our October meeting this past Tuesday night.


You know the 1st Class Maid Jaynee, that you have seen on billboards, television, and at the museum? She came dressed in her 1st Class Maid outfit. We all enjoyed her so much. She went into all of the children's classrooms and gave them bookmarks with Molly and Carter on them and taught the children to bow and curtsie. I was amazed when a little girl came up to her and said, "It's me Hannah. Do you remember?" Jaynee didn't skip a beat! She said, Of coarse I remember you. I met you at the public library. You have a cat that had kittens. How are you?" The little girl was beaming and I was so impressed that Jaynee, who travels throughout Missouri and Tennessee speaking with new children every week, remembered one little girl in Branson, Mo!      

Not only did Jaynee interact with the children, she also was invited to talk to us MOMS in our meeting. She spoke of the Mothers that were onboard the Titanic and how their protective instinct must have been on overdrive during that fateful night. She also had a drawing and gave away a family pass to the Titanic Musuem Attraction. This was a huge hit with the MOPS moms! We were honored that Jaynee and the Titanic Museum Attraction would take time out to acknowledge our group. I think we will plan a MOPS group to the museum sometime during their Christmas Event!

Every year, the Titanic Museum Attraction has been visited by Santa and His Reindeer. This Christmas entourage is coming back this year and it is such a great opportunity for MOMS to bring their children to the museum and take holiday photos with Santa and REAL Reindeer! http://titanicbranson.com/titanic_news.php#santa The entire museum will be decorated in holiday flair. The Grand Staircase, the centerpiece for this outstanding museum, will be adorned "to the nines" with Christmas trees, lights, and garland. I can't wait to take my family to see it.

Titanic's 3rd Annual Woodcarving Event, a Huge Success!

This past weekend, my husband and I took the boys to Titanic's 3rd Annual Woodcarving event. We went last year too, so the boys were excited to see some new animal carvings. First of all, October weather in Branson, Mo. is perfect. It was warm and sunny on Saturday; ideal for this outdoor event. When we arrived, men and women from ALL OVER the COUNTRY were actively carving very LARGE stumps of wood with chain saws and chisels. There were wood chips flying.

I enjoyed seeing the creativity. It is so neat to see an artist look at a giant stump and be inspired to turn it into a bear with detailed features. The carvers used torches to burn sections of the wood, which I thought was a very neat technique that gave depth and definition to their pieces.

Jaynee, Titanic's 1st Class Maid Personality from the television commercials, billboards, and print was present at the event. It is always a pleasure to see her. As you can see from the video, she picked out her favorite woodcarving, but it was too big and heavy for Jaynee to move on her own. Molly and Carter made an appearance to greet guests, and of coarse were bum rushed by all of the children. They were cute and well behaved as usual.

In my opinion, the most exciting part of this event was the auction held at 2pm each day. On Saturday, the auction started with a bear in a log. So cute. I couldn't believe how cheap these wood carvings were selling for. There were some GREAT deals happening. I wanted to bid on the Sea Turtles that were absolutely gorgeous, but I don't have any place to display them right now. Next year!

As each item sold, the LOGHOGGERS TEAM was kind enough to load the piece into the buyers car/truck. These works of art are super heavy, so that was a nice service. Anyway, we enjoyed it and are planning to purchase a big item next year.

Recommended Reading for Children-2 Heartwarming Stories about the Titanic

I want to tell you all about 2 wonderful childrens books that have recently been in the press and have really complimented what the Titanic Museum Attraction aims to accomplish for all children through the museums.


Titanicat is a wonderful childrens book that was written by Marty Crisp and published by Sleeping Bear Press, June 5, 2008. Titanicat is based on the true story of the ship's cat of the doomed Titanic. There was a young sailor named Jim Mulholland who befriended a cat that was traveling on the Titanic with her litter of kittens. He ends up being saved by the cat as it gets off of the ship with all but one of its kittens and then Jim decides to bring the last kitten to its mother. The young sailor learns later that because he rescued the last kitten of the litter off of the Titanic, he actually escaped his own demise.  The illustrations in this book are magnificent and perfect for any child in grades 1-4.

This book has been selected by the state of Missouri and the state of Tennessee as recommended reading for all schools. This selection is a very high honor to any book, and we are proud that it features the Titanic story in such an engaging way. You can purchase your copy today by visiting the Titanic Museum Attraction's online store at http://www.titanicbranson.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=125. 

The other book that I have to mention was written by a 4th grade student at Northview Primary School in Kodak, Tennessee. Nine year old Luke Copas visited the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tn earlier this summer with his Mom and Dad. See...Luke is an avid reader and loves reading about history; one of his favorite subjects is the Titanic. Luke knows so much information about the Titanic that he decided to write a book about it. When he visited the museum, he presented the book to Mary Kellogg-Joslyn, co-owner of the museum. She was so impressed with his writing and enthusiasm that she decided to help Luke get his book published.

Last week on September 16, 2010, in the library at  Northview Primary School, Mary Kellogg-Joslyn and 1st Class Maid Jaynee presented Luke with his very first copy of Facts For Kids About the Titanic by Luke Copas. The WBIR news story can be found at http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=134540&catid=8 ! Luke spent all day on Saturday at the museum signing copies of his new book and he has now been inspired to write a second book involving facts for adults. The Titanic Museum Attraction will have the book for sale in their store at the museum in Pigeon Forge, Tn and I hope that we can also include his book in our website store.

If you have any questions about how to get your hands on these two publications, send me a message or call our museum at 1-800-381-7670. Enjoy! I would love to hear your reviews!