Our Past Is Present April 25, 2018

April 25, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            Today’s story is taken from an interesting account which was published in the Junction City Union newspaper in April of 1944, by a 76 year old pioneer.  His name was John Robinson.  John had been born in Pennsylvania, but when he was four years old, he left with his parents to join an uncle who farmed on Lyons Creek in Southern Geary County.  They lived first in a dugout on the banks of the Lyons Creek, west of the Katy Railroad tracks.  Shortly after their arrival, John’s mother died and she was buried on their land.  John’s father and a friend of his, enlisted in the militia to go after the Indians, who were raiding the wagon trains.  Upon returning to his family, John’s father resettled on Otter Creek, which ended up being a spot claimed by the Union Pacific Railroad, so…. they relocated again.  There was an epidemic of horse stealing going on in Geary County in the 1870’s and Robinson remembered that the thieves had two “hangouts”.  One was located at Salshow’s place on Clark's Creek and another on the Henderson farm, which was located near Logan Grove.  One of the leads to catching the thieves was that they shod their horse’s hoofs backwards to throw officers off their trail.”

            And… that is our story for today on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.