Did You Know May 7 is a Statewide Holiday in Missouri?

If May 7 isn't marked on your calendar, you may want to do so. Especially if you work for the state of Missouri..

May 7 is recognized as Truman Day. It's in honor of the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, who is the only U.S president to have come from Missouri.

Usually the day is celebrated on May 8 but since the 8th falls on a Saturday, this year the statewide holiday moves back a day to Friday, May 7. (A three-day weekend...even better!)

So what's even better than a day off...a paid day off. Truman Day is paid holiday for state employees. Along with state offices being closed on May 7, the Missouri Department of Conservation reminds everyone that all its nature centers, education centers, staffed shooting ranges, offices, and other staffed facilities will be closed.

For a quick history lesson about Truman...

• Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar and grew up on his family's farm near Independence.
• He was an artillery officer in France in World War II
• He joined the Democratic party after the war and his first elected position was in 1922 as an county official.
• In 1934 Truman was elected as a United States Senator for Missouri
• After being a senator for a decade he became the vice president under FDR and succeeded Roosevelt in 1945 after Roosevelt's death.
• It was Truman that made the decision during the last couple months of World War II to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.