“Bones of Texas” exhibition wins praise for MSU faculty

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Morgan Page and her fiancé, Dustin Rice, have turned an MSU grant into a possible book and museum exhibitions across the state.

Page is an Associate Professor of Art at MSU with a background in photography, while Rice is a Texas history buff, writer, and photographer. They combined their talents to create the “Bones of Texas” exhibition, which compiles three years of road trips to forgotten places on Texas’ back roads into a collection of photos and stories.

The exhibition is currently on display at the River Valley Pioneer Museum in Canadian, Texas. It will then travel to the Red River Valley Museum in Vernon on Sept. 7, where it will remain until Oct. 23. The project was previously shown at the Museum of North Texas History in Wichita Falls.

Inhabitants of Boothill Cemetery had to die with boots on to be buried there. Ruben Juice was a... — Inhabitants of Boothill Cemetery had to die with boots on to be buried there. Ruben Juice was a cook in the town. Rice has written a short story about him to be included in the book.(Morgan Page)

The project began with a grant from the intramural office at MSU Texas, and the couple is currently working on realizing their initial goal of turning the project into a book.

“Bones of Texas” has also recently won praise from media, with good press coming in from the Texas Standard, Texas Monthly, and Texas Highways magazines.

“I’m so grateful for all of the interest we’ve received. People have emailed us from all over the state,” Page said.