With Jammin’ in JC about to be in full swing,
we at the Geary County Historical Society would again like to highlight the
great tradition of musicians from the area by sharing the story of local
musician, Abbie Clarke Hogan.
Sanborn and Harriet Clarke came to
Junction City from Michigan in 1872. The family moved to Wakefield in 1874
where they welcomed their second child, J. Abbie Clarke on February 1, 1875. The
family returned to Michigan when Abbie was about a year old but returned to
Junction City in 1878.
The Clarke family loved music and enjoyed
sharing their love with the community. Every Sunday morning their church would
send a wagon to pick up the family pump organ so that Harriet could play during
the service.
Mrs. Clarke also gave piano lessons in the
community. When Abbie was five years old her mother attempted to teach her how
to play the piano. Abbie was not interested in the instrument and her mother
soon gave up the lessons.
When Abbie was eight she heard a traveling
violinist. She was captivated by the music and immediately asked her parents
for a violin. Her mother was shocked because the violin was a “man’s
instrument” and not at all proper for a young lady. But Abbie persisted and in
a fit of exasperation her mother said that if she wanted a violin she would
have to buy it herself. Abbie promptly marched downtown with her savings and
bought herself a violin.
The next problem was finding a violin
teacher in the wilds of Kansas. In a strange twist of fate K. Dome Geza, a
Hungarian violinist trained at the Vienna Conservatory had become stranded in
New York at the end of a concert tour. Down on his luck he met a very
persuasive army recruiter and ended up being sent to Fort Riley where he served
as the chief musician of the 5th Cavalry
Band.
The Clarke’s convinced Geza to teach
Abbie. He taught her for three and half years until fortune favored him and he
left the Army to become the head the music department at Bethany College.
Mr. Geza thought that Abbie showed a lot
of promise and he advised Mrs. Clarke to take Abbie to Germany and have her
audition for the violinist Joseph Joachim.
Just before the audition Abbie
injured her hand, despite the injury Abbie performed admirably. Mr.
Joachim was not impressed with her technique but he agreed that she did have
talent and he would teach her.
Abbie lived in Germany with her mother and sister, LuCelia. She attended the
Royal Hochschule. She was so talented that she performed a solo with the Royal
Hochschule Orchestra at the age of thirteen; making her the youngest member of
the orchestra.
Abbie came back to Junction City after
spending two years in Germany.
Abbie was eighteen years old when she won
a statewide music contest in Hutchinson, Kansas. The winner would represent
Kansas at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. While in Chicago preparing for her
fair performance, she auditioned for and won a scholarship at the Chicago
Musical College.
Abbie stayed in Chicago to attend college.
She graduated in 1894 with honors. After graduation she traveled around the
county performing as a soloist with many well-known groups. But she never
forgot her home.
In the fall of 1896, at the age of 21,
Abbie worked with the local school district to organize a high school
orchestra. During this time Abbie was still touring around the country so her
sister LuCelia, also an accomplished musician, took responsibility of the high
school orchestra.
In August of 1898 Abbie took a break from
her musical career to marry, Thomas Hogan, who was in the milling business with
his uncle, Mr. Fogarty. They made their home in Junction City and were blessed
with two boys, Cornelius born in 1899 and Theodore born in 1903.
When Mr. Fogarty passed away in 1901
Thomas took over managing the mill. The Hogan’s bought the mill in 1907.
Marriage, children, and business
responsibilities kept Abbie close to home but she still made time for her
music. To keep her schedule manageable she only performed in the Midwest. Her
other passion was working with community and high school orchestras. With her
help curriculum was developed for music education in Kansas.
Abbie was also very active in the
community. She was a member of the Ladies Reading Club and gave concerts to
raise funds for the clubs many activities and good works. She also volunteered
at Fort Riley by bringing music to injured soldiers.
It was by chance that Abbie was passing
through Wakefield in September of 1950 and learned that the old hotel was going
to be auctioned off. She stayed and bought the hotel with the intention
of tearing it down and selling it for salvage. But she just couldn’t tear down
the beautiful old building, so she moved into it. One day some workers at Fort
Riley asked if they could stay at her hotel and the next thing she knew she had
a new career.
Abbie helped run the hotel among her other
interests until her death in May of 1964. The Hogan Hotel, originally built in
1905, was bought by the Corps of Engineers and torn down to make way for
Milford Reservoir.
The Geary County Historical Society will
have a booth at this weekend’s Jammin in JC on both Friday and Saturday. We look forward to seeing you there.