Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Our Past Is Present November 7, 2017

November 7, 2017
            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
            There were 6-8,000 visitors who were entertained during the Fort Riley Army and National Guard maneuvers in 1903.  This was almost twice as many as had come the previous year.  Most of the people who were attracted to the maneuvers planned to stay a day or two at Fort Riley.  However, they were disappointed because there were no accommodations for them.  Several weeks before the maneuvers, a Mr. Tyler, who was the President of the electric railway, sent out over a hundred advertisements to as many newspapers in the state as he could.  His ploy was to be sure that those who were coming for the maneuvers knew that Junction City was the closest town near to the Fort and was the only place in the vicinity of the big camp that had accommodations.  Besides advertising in the newspapers, Mr. Tyler had thousands of posters printed and sent them to all the towns in Central Kansas.  He spent his own money for the printing of the posters and newspaper ads, which benefitted his electric street car company in the end.  Those who visited or stayed in town rode his cars back and forth to the Post and all the Junction City business also profited from his investment. 

            Tomorrow’s story will be about how the farmers in the area profited from the maneuvers at Fort Riley.  

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