1 of 5 Summer Displays Highlights Trenton Native Rex Eugene Burress

Gabe Stark
Reporter

The Grundy County Museum has opened a new group of exhibits for the summer, including five displays recognizing notable former residents whose lives and accomplishments helped shape the history of Grundy County. The museum is located at 1100 Mable St.

Among those featured in this year’s “Notables of Grundy County” exhibit is Rex Eugene Burress, a Trenton native who became an award-winning artist, photographer, naturalist and author. The display dedicated to him includes photographs, examples of his artwork, published books, articles and other information documenting a lifetime devoted to nature and environmental education.

Now in its fifth year, the “Notables of Grundy County” project highlights people who lived in Grundy County and have since died. Museum volunteers spend months researching each honoree and gathering photographs, newspaper articles, family information and other materials that help tell the individual’s story.

Burress family history

The Burress exhibit traces how a childhood spent exploring the forests, streams and bottomlands around Trenton grew into a lifetime of art, writing and conservation.

According to the museum exhibit, Burress was born March 9, 1933, in Trenton, to Leslie and Ethyl Burress. An only child raised on a Missouri farm, he developed an early fascination with wildlife and the rural landscape surrounding his home.

He documented what he observed through sketches, photographs and wildlife journals, beginning creative and scientific pursuits that would remain central to his life.

As a young man, Burress traveled west to Arizona and later California. There, he met Joanne “Jo” Cain, with whom he shared an interest in the ocean and coastal tide pools. The couple married on Thanksgiving Day in 1957, and their marriage lasted 61 years.

They raised two children, Rebecca Jo “Becky” and Benjamin Starr “Ben,” and provided them with a childhood that included camping trips and opportunities to explore parks and landscapes throughout the western United States.

Later in life, Burress shared his appreciation for nature with his three granddaughters.

Burress’ accomplishments

Burress spent 15 years as camp naturalist at Oakland Feather River Camp near Quincy, California. He later helped establish the Feather River Nature Center along the Feather River near Oroville, California.

He also served as a docent for California State Parks in Oroville and for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area.

Burress worked for 32 years as a naturalist at Lake Merritt Wildlife Refuge and the Rotary Nature Center in Oakland. In addition, he published two books, “Of a Feather: Insights into Nature” and “Life on No Creek, Missouri Rural Days.” His “River Watcher” column also appeared regularly in newspapers in California for many years.

In his 80s, Burress continued writing columns for monthly newsletters published by the Sierra Club’s Yahi Group, the Altacal Audubon Society, the California Native Plant Society and the Bidwell Bar Association.

According to the museum display, he produced enough written material to fill dozens of books.

The museum collected many of Burress’ articles and placed them in a scrapbook as part of the exhibit. Two of his published books also are included in the display.

Burress was equally productive as a visual artist. He became an award-winning painter and photographer, creating works inspired by wildlife, landscapes and the places he visited. Examples reproduced in the museum exhibit include paintings of a tiger, an eagle, waterfowl, stone architecture and mountain scenery. His family has preserved hundreds of his paintings and plans to donate one of his works to the museum.

Beyond writing and painting, Burress was also an avid rock collector. Over the years, he collected tons of crystals, gemstones, minerals and petrified wood.

His work as a naturalist and advocate for conservation received national recognition when he was presented with the John Muir Association Conservation Legacy Award on Earth Day in 2016.

However, the museum display notes that Burress found his greatest satisfaction not through awards, but through the daily work of sharing and teaching others about nature. He led nature walks, gave presentations and used his writing to encourage others to observe and appreciate the environment around them.

Burress died Oct. 2, 2019.

How exhibits are curated

Museum representatives said research and planning for each year’s exhibits can take nearly a full year. Suggestions come from board members as well as members of the public, who may recommend future honorees through a suggestion jar at the museum.

The “Notables” project is intended to preserve the stories of people such as Burress while reminding residents that individuals from Trenton and other Grundy County communities have made important contributions in art, agriculture, transportation, medicine, government, science and many other fields.

“We want to keep our history alive,” museum board member Pam Johnston said.

Museum admission is free.

“Visit the museum at least yearly because we change things all the time,” Johnston said. “Some people just have their favorite things they still want to go visit because they remember them from their youth.”