C.P. Dewey: Entrepreneur

By Josephine Grammer Munson

Geary County Historical Society

EDITORIAL NOTE:  Today’s article is the first in a series of four on two of this area’s most colorful characters, the flamboyant real estate developer C.P. Dewey and his notorious son, Chauncey, both of whom, in the years surrounding the turn of the century, put this part of Kansas “on the map”-- in more ways than one.  Written and researched by former GCHS board member Josephine Munson, these articles represent a long-held ambition for the author, who had personal encounters and vivid recollections of the Dewey family from her youth.   

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            Traveling east from Junction City on Interstate Highway 70 one sees the tall grass of the Flint Hills where cattle are grazing.  As one approaches Highway 177, on the north side of the road, the area called the “Konza Prairie,” which has been leased by the Nature Conservancy to Kansas State University for research, come into view.  This Konza Prairie is part of the large ranch known as the Dewey Ranch.  The three-story ranch house built of native limestone along the McDowell Creek Road serves as the headquarters for the Konza Prairie Research Center.

            Just who were the Deweys? A research paper published in the K-Stater Magazine of March 1977, and written by Roy D. Bird, gives some answers.  Much of the information in this column comes from Bird’s article titled, “C.P. Dewey Had A Ranch.”

            Charles P. Dewey was a Chicago industrialist who made a fortune with his brother in real estate after the Chicago Fire of 1871.  In the late 1880s he came to Kansas in invest in real estate mortgages.  Times were hard in Kansas then, and he saw the opportunity to acquire land when owners could not pay taxes or pay off mortgages.

            The first Dewey Ranch was in northeastern Geary County near Manhattan and included 10,000 acres in Riley, Geary, and Wabaunsee Counties.  He also leased some land from the Government for a total of 80,000 acres.  When Dewey decided to fence the land, he often included some that he did not own, which caused considerable distrust among the people in the area.            The second Dewey Ranch was in Cheyenne and Rawlins Counties in Northwest Kansas.  Through foreclosures and buying of additional land at tax sales, he accumulated 60,000 acres in a checkerboard pattern for 53 miles, and was from three to 14 miles wide.  He named it “Oak Ranch.”

            1900 stocked C.P. Dewey’s ranch near Manhattan with 3,500 cattle, 300 horses and mules, and 2,000 hogs.  He built huge corncribs to supply feed for the Dewey Cattle Company of Kansas.  The ranch employed 60 men.  The northwestern Kansas ranch could accommodate an additional 10,000 cattle.

            C.P. Dewey was an entrepreneur at heart, and he became involved in many enterprises.  The Topeka Capital of March 21, 1902 had this to say about Mr. Dewey:  “Beyond the fact that he is a genial gentleman, and that he spends money with a lavish hand, little is known of Dewey’s personality.  He comes to Manhattan, spends a few days, or weeks, makes arrangements to spend some more money, and is away to his West Virginia iron mines, his Chicago ice and rental business, or his Rawlins County ranch.  The only thing Manhattan knows for sure about Dewey is that his check is good for any sum of money he chooses to spend, and that when he decides to build a new house, summer resort, or buy more land, enough money is always placed in local banks to cover the expense.”

            In Manhattan Dewey operated a livery stable, started the first livestock sales pavilion in the state, co-founded the First National Bank in Manhattan, operated an ice delivery service, and along with Harry P. Wareham developed a privately-owned sewerage system, and the Dewey-Wareham Telephone Company.  His feedyards fed 2,000 head of cattle ready for the market each year.  “In addition to cattle, Dewey buys every stable horse and mule that are brought to him, and his shipments run into the thousands of animals every year.”

Another Dewey enterprise which staggers one is his livery and transfer business in Manhattan, the Topeka Capital article stated.  “There is nothing in the livery line west of Chicago to equal his horses and vehicles.  He keeps more than a hundred head of horses and every conceivable sort of vehicle is available to serve the public.  He introduced the brougham, the stanhope, and the tally-ho to Kansas.”

The service afforded by the electric light plant in Manhattan didn’t satisfy Dewey, so he bought it and equipped the powerhouse with the best machinery money could buy.  He put in a new plant to go with his machinery.  As a result, Manhattan had a lighting system not excelled anywhere in Kansas, according to the Topeka Capital article.

Dewey found many houses in Manhattan that were very poor, so he bought them, had them razed, and then built fifteen or twenty new homes with blue grass lawns and brick side walks.  In them he introduced sanitary plumbing, light and heat and porcelain bathtubs.  He also built two dormitories for students at the Kansas State Agricultural College.

One of Dewey’s most interesting projects was at Eureka Lake, west of Manhattan.  The “lake” was apparently caused by changes in the Kansas River over the years, and was a narrow, hook-shaped, two-and-a- half-mile body of water north of the present K-18 Highway.  Eureka Lake varied in width from 200 to 400 feet and was about 40 feet deep in places.  Trees bordered the shores and a heavily wooded area filled with shrubs covered about 27 acres at the east end of the lake.

Dewey planned and constructed a fashionable resort at the lake in 1899, mainly as a place to entertain his wealthy friends from Chicago; however, local people were welcome to go there too.  He built a luxurious hotel at the water’s edge, with attractive rooms for guests, a large dining room, and spacious parlors for entertaining, receptions and weddings.  The grounds were beautifully landscaped; a boat dock and diving tower were built at the on the lake where row boats were kept for rental, and a launch was available for hour-long trips.  Paths were built along the lake for guests to walk and enjoy the country air.  A barn and stable had space for 20 or 25 horses available for riding and driving.  Slaughter houses and poultry houses provided beef, pork, and eggs for the hotel, and vegetables were purchased from surrounding farms.

With the grand opening in 1900, people came from near and far to see the resort and to enjoy horseback riding, swimming, and boating.  A tally-ho coach with a four-horse team and coachman provided transportation from Manhattan.  The Union Pacific Railroad created a “flag-stop” depot with a narrow country road across the fields to connect the depot and the hotel.

Business boomed at the Eureka Lake resort until the Flood of 1903 destroyed the lake and grounds, filling the lake with mud and debris. Soon after this disaster C. P. Dewey died unexpectedly.  Attempts to renovate the area failed, and the resort was sold in February of 1906 to the Odd Fellows and Rebecca State Assembly of Kansas to become a home for the aged and orphans.  A fire in 1916 destroyed the original hotel, but new buildings were constructed for the home.  In more recent years, the Job Corps has taken possession of the property, and the additional structures have been added.  These buildings can be seen east of the old Manhattan Airport.

For some time in the 1920s and 30s the Free Methodist Church conducted a camp at the Eureka Lake area with cabins for summer campers and visitors.  By this time the lake had dried up.   Today there is no sign of the beautiful Eureka Lake or Dewey’s dream resort, which he called “Manhattan Beach.”

Charles P. Dewey died on June 7, 1904, while visiting a niece in Wheeling, West Virginia.  He was 61 years of age.  His death was thought to be caused from blood poisoning, the result of a carbuncle on his face. He was buried at his native home in Cadiz, Ohio.

The Dewey Ranch in Riley County passed from Dewey ownership in 1930 after a foreclosure suit.  It was held briefly  by a partnership, then in 1933 it was purchased by the Davis Group of Kansas City.  From 1941 to 1956 the Dewey Ranch was operated by Orville Burtis, a prominent Kansas cattleman and breeder of quarterhorses.  George Davis owned the ranch from 1954 until he died, and it was sold in 1956.  Frank McDermand was the next to possess the ranch.  He later sold it to Dr. David McKnight, a Manhattan radiologist, who stocked it with Hereford cattle.  In 1977 the Nature Conservancy acquired the ranch and at present time the land is leased to Kansas State University.

In leasing the former Dewey Ranch, the university has been able to study the best way to preserve the original prairie ecosystem and the tall prairie grasses growing there.  From observation areas located on the east side of the Konza Prairie range along highway 177, one can see the beauty of the native grassland on the ranch that Dewey built.

  COMING NEXT WEEK: Enjoying the “good life” with C.P. Dewey at Eureka Lake.

At  the turn of the century, the owner of the vast Geary /Riley county ranch that is today the Konza Prairie reserve, Charles P. Dewey, constructed the Manhattan Beach Hotel on the shores of Eureka Lake, once located where the Manhattan Airport is today.  The colorful developer, photographed here on the veranda of the hotel about 1901, first planned this fabulous facility as a private resort where he could  entertain his visiting friends and business associates. However, he soon open it up to the public and for the first five years of the century this fabled spot was a favorite recreation area for both the Manhattan and Junction City communities.   

   Editorial Postscript: As C.P. Dewey came to Kansas alone about twenty years before his death, not much was known about his background. With the exception of his son Chauncey whose involvement in a gun fight at the Rawlins County ranch a year earlier garnered headlines all over the country, little was known about C.P. Dewey’s family either.  It was not until terms of his Last Will and Testament were made known that much was revealed about his personal life or other family members.  As three of these colorful people would later live in Junction City, we’ve pieced together the following information.

Dewey’s first wife and the mother of his children was Emma Scott, “a daughter of the Confederacy” from Kentucky. Though she lived abroad after her divorce from Dewey, her last years were spent in Junction City where she died in 1920. According to the memorial markers placed in Highland Cemetery, three children were born of this union. An infant son Charles Edward, born in December of 1875, died when he was seven months old.  The second son Chauncey, of whom we shall learn more in articles to come, was born in Austin, Texas, in May of 1877.   The couple’s daughter Emma Scott Dewey was born in May of 1880, also in Austin. At the time of her father’s death she was living with her mother in Paris, where she had been educated.  However, she later lived for a good share of her adult years in Junction City. Apparently, Emma Scott Dewey Lockwood-Roberts, was an eccentric but memorable member of the community here from the 1930s through the 1950s.  She died in 1980 and is the only member of the immediate Dewey family that is actually buried in Highland Cemetery.

At the time that C.P. Dewey died, he was still married to his second wife, Gertrude M. Dewey. However, a newspaper article in the files of the Kansas State Historical Society published the day after C.P. Dewey’s death reveals some interesting facts about the relationship:  “Two years ago Mrs. C.P. Dewey arrived in Manhattan.  She was quiet, reserved and unassuming.  She took up her residence in one of the dwellings Mr. Dewey had erected for Manhattan tenants.  Mrs. Dewey did not become well acquainted here. She was too reserved.  Mrs. Dewey filed a suit of separate maintenance last December. In her petition she alleged that C.P. Dewey’s property holdings were valued at two million dollars.”

On June 7, 1904, just three days prior to his death, Mr. Dewey made a new will which superseded all previous documents.  This will gave  $37,000 to his nieces, one million dollars to his widow, $5,000 to his daughter and divided the remainder of the estate equally between his son Chauncey and his private secretary Charles Killen of Chicago, who was with him at the time the new will was drawn up. 

In July of 1904, it was reported that Dewey’s son, daughter, and former wife planned to file suit contesting the will on the grounds that C.P. Dewey was in no condition to make a new will at that time.  The estate was reported to have been in the millions of dollars.         

Geary County Cowboys

Last week, we took a look at the very brief history of Junction City’s claim of being a Cowtown. Although the Cowtown status was very short lived, the working cowboy did not die with the Cattle trail. Geary County has a great tradition Cowboys that have been inducted in the Kansas Hall of Fame. The Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame is located at the Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City. In our column this week, we will learn about four individuals who were inducted into the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame, who were working ranchers, farmers and cowboys locally in Geary County.

The first person who was inducted into the Hall of Fame from Geary County was Fred Germann, who was born to G.F. and Blanch Germann on March 3, 1921 in the Blue River Valley are. Growing up on a farm, Germann knew from a young age that he wanted to carry on the family tradition of farming and ranching. In 1939, Germann enrolled at Kansas State College of Agriculture and was very active in the livestock judging program. When the Tuttle Creek dam was built on the Blue River Valley Germann was forced to relocate to the Humboldt Valley southeast of Junction City, where he acquired 3500 acres. Although primarily known as a cattleman, German was also known as a prominent hog farmer. Fred has been the only person to have served as President of both the Kansas Livestock Association and the Kansas Pork Producers Council. Germann was honored as stockman of the year in 1989. Fred Germann passed away in 2010 and was inducted that same year as a Rancher/Cattleman.

William F. Ebbutt was the next person who was inducted in 2012 as a Rancher/ Cattleman. Born on February 25^th, 1892 in Geary County, Ebbutt began riding and farming at a very young age. Stories of his riding experience as a young adult would circulate around the area. It was very well known that William would ride about 30 miles round trip to Dry Creek to visit and court his future wife Margaret Black, who he married in 1913. Ebbutt was primarily a pasture man who worked between Chase, Geary, Wabaunsee and Morris counties running between 3000 and 5000 head of cattle. In 1928, Ebbutt was able to rent about 910 acres north of Skiddy in Geary County and later purchased 640 acres in 1932 and 320 more in 1938. Due to his great knowledge of cattle and horses, Ebbutt helped promote the ranching industry in the Flint Hills by being able to improve the life and quality of cattle in the area.

Born in Skiddy, Kansas on March 1, 1922, Dusty Anderson, the third inductee, was well versed in herding cattle and competing in rodeos as early as 13 years old. At the age of 15, Dusty quit high school and got a job on the world famous Clyde Miller Rodeo Company. At 17, he joined the Army and served in WWII, later receiving a Bronze Star for the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign. After the war, Dusty returned to the rodeo, but was his real passion was working with cattle. He was able to work with ranchers in the Flint Hill area providing them with head counts, health and conditions, doctoring and pasturing. Along with his work with cattle, Dusty was good at raising horses. He was able to raise and train a World Champion Colt. He enjoyed riding horses so much that he did not own a vehicle until his early 30s. Dusty received a Gold Card from the Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1951. Mr. Anderson’s impact in farming and ranching in the Flint Hills area was greatly felt and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Working Cowboy in 2014. 

The most recent addition to the Cowboy Hall of fame was Gerald “Jerry” Peck in 2015.

Peck was born in Wakefield, Kansas on August 4, 1928. He grew up with cattle and horses and began breaking and riding horses as a young man. In 1946 around the age of 18, he started working for the late Bud McLinden in rural Marion as a ranch hand and, in his early 20's, began a lifetime journey as a foreman of the Big-4 pasture located on Highway 77 six miles south of Junction City. In the 1950's he helped drive Texas cattle from railroad cars in Cassoday, Kansas to local pastures. In 1955 Peck moved to Skiddy and rented 980 acres from the Ebbutt ranch. In addition to the 980 acre Ebbutt Ranch, he rented and managed another 1,600 acres of pasture. At Skiddy, Jerry was a friend of, and rounded up cattle with, 2014 KCHF inductee Dusty Anderson. Here, Jerry began building up a cowherd and, throughout his lifetime, had a close connection with his cattle. In 1976, Jerry was finally able to buy his own ranch and was also able to rent it out to other farmers. During this time he worked in the stockyard on sale day and was a cattle field representative for the Herington Livestock Commission Company until his death on April 1, 2002. Mr Peck was inducted in 2015 as a working cowboy

If you want to learn more about Junction City’s Cowboy history from a fellow Cowboy Hall of Famer, join us at the museum on March 19^th to hear Gary and Margaret Kraisinger talk about Cattle Trials of Kansas and their book, “The Western Cattle Trail” at 1:30 pm. A special thanks to the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame for the information on the Cowboys! 

This was a business card the belonged to Dusty Anderson. As the business card can tell you, Mr. Anderson was a well versed man. This business card was donated by Ella Maloney. 

JC Cowboy History

When Kansans are asked to name or list all of the famous Cowtown’s of the state, some of the more popular answers would be: Abilene, Dodge City, Newton and for some Wichita. Those would all be good answers, but not many will say Junction City. Not many know that Junction City, once upon a time, was a very prosperous Cowtown back in 1867. Although it seemed that the cattle industry was bringing in money, many of the local citizens of Davis County, (Geary’s old county name) were not happy that the Texas longhorn could infect their local cattle with fatal diseases. We will take a look at the quick rise and subsequently fall of the Cattle industry in Junction City.

After the Civil War, the state of Texas was overrun with longhorn cattle and markets on the east coast were in dire need of beef. Because there was no one to attend to or work the cattle during the war, many of the Longhorn cattle were roaming Texas unowned. Farmers or really anyone who was interested in making a name in the cattle industry went to Texas and started a “Cattle Rush” of sorts.

After the longhorn population was under control, the next hurdle to clear was to figure out a way to get the cattle to the rest of the hungry, war-torn country. Famous cattle trails in Kansas were: the Chisolm, Great Western and the Shawnee. The Shawnee was then spilt up into two separate branches, the east and west. The western portion of the Shawnee Trail is the one that passed through Davis County.

 Now that the cattle were being brought up from Texas, there needed to be a way to ship them out to the rest of the country. Two newly completed railroads in Junction City were the answer. The completion of the railroad to Junction City in November 1866 provided a shipping point for markets across the country. Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad Company shipped east and west and was the second railroad line to have reached the area that year after the Kansas Pacific railroad. In 1866 Junction City became a destination for Texas Cattle making their their way up, via the West Shawnee Trail. During this period, it was estimated that about 300,000 heads of cattle reached Junction City.

The cattle business in Davis County did not last very long. Town officials were discouraged by the cattle trade. It seemed that local owners of cattle in Geary County had had serious concerns over the introduction of Texas cattle into the area. This fear steamed from the fact that the Texas Longhorn often carried infected ticks that carried the dreaded, “Texas Fever” a disease that could kill and devastate the local cattle population. The Texas Longhorn was immune to the disease, but because they carried the deadly tick, any mingling with the local cattle could prove catastrophic.

In the spring of 1867, a public meeting was held on Clark’s Creek to organize the resistance to Texas cattle in Geary County. In an article written in the Saturday 5^th, 1867 edition of “The Weekly Union” the author of the article details the future meeting of those in the county to try and ban the cattle drives in Davis County, “We understand that the people of Davis County, south of the Smoky Hill river, will meet at the place of Samuel Orr, or on the 15^th of January, to petition the Legislature, concerning the introduction into the State of these infected cattle... during the past season, the people of Humboldt, McDowell and Clarke’s creek, in this county , have lost over six thousand dollars’ worth of cattle. It is proposed, if legal steps are of no avail in stopping such cattle beyond the State line, that the farmers turn out and drive them back. The people of the neighborhood have suffered greatly…”

This meeting ultimately ended the cattle trail business in Junction City. The rest of the state soon followed as the Kansas legislature, in 1867, modified the law to permit Texas Longhorns to come into Kansas only on the west side of the sixth principal meridian and south of a line drawn through the center of the state. This quarantine line was constantly changed and pushed further west. By 1867, Dodge was the only major cattle town in Kansas and by 1883; the cattle Trails in Kansan were all but extinct. By 1885 all the cattle trails were pushed to Colorado and the Rocky mountains where they went on to disappear completely

Although it might have been a short period of time, the influence that the cattle and the Cowboy had on Geary County is still felt to this day.  This can be seen Geary County is well represented in the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame which is located at Dodge City’s Boot Hill museum. Fred Germann, William Ebbutt, Dusty Anderson, and Gerald “Jerry” Nelson-Peck have all been inducted in the Hall of Fame. We will take a closer look at these Hall of Famers next week.

This unknown man is believed to have been a cowboy in the area during the 1870s. 

Black History Month Essays Part 4

By

Retired Executive Director Gaylynn Childs

Our records at the Museum indicate there was an African-American presence in Geary County right from the beginning, finding information about them is another matter, Often it appears that personal or family histories of these early residents are non-existent, and then, out of the blue, in a newspaper or via a letter from a descendent information surfaces that brings these pioneers to life. Such was the case with our subjects for today's article.

In the Main Hall of the Museum is our Pioneer Settlers photograph collection. The faces that peer out above the names "Geo. Young" and "Mrs. Geo. Young," don't differ greatly from the other 243 images on the wall. They are dressed in the fashions of the time, the 1860s, and their hairstyles look very much like those of the other subjects. But they are different.

George and Mariah Young are the only African-Americans represented in the collection, which was compiled by photographer Louis Teitzel in 1909 in observance of the 50th anniversary of Junction City's founding.

We at the museum knew little else about the George and Mariah Young until 1995, when one of their descendants, Greggory Hickman-Williams of KC, MO, presented the museum with a wedding photograph of one of their sons, John Huston Young, and his bride Mary Hart, made in Junction City in 1888. Then Susan Lloyd Franzen, while researching her multicultural history "Behind the Facade of Fort Riley's Home Town," contributed some additional information. Most recently, we learned a bit more about the impact the Young family had on early Junction City while researching the article on Junction City's first school.

According to Gregory Hickman-Williams, the George and Mariah Young family was one of the first, if not the first, African-American family to settle in Junction City, coming in 1864, prior to the end of the Civil War. George Young was a barber by trade.

Susan Franzen, writing for Museum Musings in 1999, noted that Union editor George W. Martin provided unusually good coverage of African-American achievements in that early era: "When Love's Barbershop was opened by four black men in 1867, the Union made note of it. By the time of the US Census of 1870, one of the barbers, George Young from Tennessee, was quite wealthy. His real estate was valued at $1000. A white grocer and a physician in the same census each had $1500 in real estate, so George Young was successful by local standards of the day.”

One of those children born in Tennessee, the Young's oldest son, Willowby, caused considerable uproar in Junction City only a short time after the family's arrival.

At the beginning of 1866, although the Civil War had ended eight months before, feelings were still strong and loyalties divided in Junction City. There was yet to be built a permanent school building in Junction City, so from term to term, school was held in rooms located above the businesses downtown.

In 1865-66, school was being conducted in Ganz Hall, located in the upper floor of the stone building that housed J. H. Blake dry goods store. It was situated across from the City Park on West Sixth Street, where the Bartell stands today.

At the beginning of the new school term, in January of 1866, Willowby Young, was enrolled in this city school. The presence of the one African-American boy in the public school caused a great uproar and much heated debate, both on the street and in meetings and gatherings all over town. The Youngs immediately withdrew their son, but this did not end the dispute.

The Union reported that a meeting was held the next evening, with a lively debate on the subject of school integration. Those in favor of educating young Willowby with the white children of the town finally prevailed, and the school board ruled to that effect. However, inflammatory letters and articles continued to appear in print. On January 18, 1866 the Ganz building mysteriously burned down.

The general supposition was that the fire was the result of this racial controversy, and Editor Martin went so far as to accuse segregationist parents of arson, saying that they'd rather burn down the school than have it integrated.

Little else on the Young Family is in our files, we know they stayed in JC, and it is apparent by their presence in the Pioneer Photo Collection that they were considered contributing and significant citizens within the community they had helped to build. Now if we just knew the rest of the story from their perspective....

May be some of you out there can help us. Little by little, our files on the African-American community are growing. However, we do send out a plea to those within the community here to share their family and personal histories with the museum so our records and archives can more accurately reflect the whole history of our town.

George and Mariah Young, who arrived in Junction City in 1864, were believed to be the earliest African American settlers in the community. This picture was taken of them during their wedding in 1888.

Black History Month Essays Part 3

I grew up in a small town of Cooksville, Maryland, current population 424, which is quite amazing being that it has grown so much since I have left there.  Growing up in Cooksville was a wonderful experience, it was rural, farming community, open spaces, and plenty of places to ride bicycles, play baseball.  My family grew produce, raised hogs, cows, we had chickens for a while, and we ate well growing up on our farm.  I attended Cooksville Elementary School, a four room segregated school, for five years before desegregation. 

As a child I found myself able to drive a tractor almost sooner than I could ride a bicycle.  As I matured more responsibilities came to me, opportunities to operate bigger equipment, to be out all day working the fields.  Many of the other farms had equipment, but sometimes lacked the workers to operate equipment, so when I was finished with my chores I would work, or help out on other neighbor farms.  At the age of twelve or thirteen I had a savings account, and was able to support myself.

Mr. Mullinix was a farm equipment dealership whose kids attended school with me, was always looking for hired help.  I saw a great opportunity to work on a large farm, and operate a lot of new equipment; I jumped on this excellent opportunity.  It wasn’t pretty right away, because all I initially did was stack hay and/or straw on the bale wagon; however if I arrived early enough I would help milk the cows.  Milking was done long before daylight, but the reward was usually eating a good meal of chocolate pancakes.  Mr. Mullinix treated me like one of his sons in most cases.  He would visit us in the fields almost every morning, but never leave without checking the weight of the bales.   We would put away roughly 1000 bales per day, which sometimes took the entire day. 

I graduated from Glenelg High School in 1971and began work at the Howard County Police Department as a dispatcher.  Working on shift work with numerous police officers, I found most were veterans of the Vietnam War.  I joined the U.S. Army in 1972, leaving the state of Maryland and traveling the world and enjoying a wonderful life of adventure and excitement.  I tell most people I served in the military for two days, the first and the last; everything else for me was an adventure.  My adventure lasted for thirty years bringing to the great state of Kansas, and my home in Junction City.  Junction City is my home, where my wife Erin and I live and are very involved in our community. 

Jim Sands is very active in the community as shown here. He stopped by the museum to give a great presentation on the History of the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Riley.

Black History Month Essays Part 2

My husband, Dennis Bobbitt and I, are natives of Rocky Mount, North Carolina.  Our military duty station at Fort Riley was 1987- 1994. We purchased our first home in 1988 and retired in Junction City.

Growing up,  Rocky Mount had a “small town feel.”  Everyone knew each other, neighbors looked out for one another, and traditionally, most people in the community had similar life styles and values. When you attended the local school, it wasn’t uncommon to have your school teacher as your youth or choir director at church.

When Dennis & I visit North Carolina on holidays and other various occasions, things have changed somewhat due to economy, but there is still that “small town feel” when we visit family, relatives, friends, and home town church. Things may look differently, but “our roots” are still there.

North Carolina is a reminder of the struggles and accomplishments of my ancestors and parents,              Rev James & Anna (Edwards) Joyner. The Joyner & Edwards “Family Tree Heritage,” traces back from 1832 to 1870 during slavery and the Civil War.

To me, Junction City has that same “small town feel” atmosphere, even though it’s a military- connected community. You are exposed to different diversities, cultures, prospectives, and opportunities. Being a transient community, the opportunity arose for me to establish The I.C.A.R.E. Center not-for-profit Organization in 2009. The organization connects youth & older adults to build positive relationships.                      My husband is well-known in the community, and is known for his love for the outdoors, sense of humor, and gardening.  Dennis was the English Speaking Minister at a Korean Church in the community for several years. Currently, he’s a minister at Second Missionary Baptist Church.

Both children, Tonya & Dennis, attended USD 475 Schools since the 4^th & 5 grade.  They graduated from JCHS. Tonya graduated from K-State in 1996. Her career has taken her to various states. One in particular, is Orangeburg, South Carolina. She was Store Manager of Claffin University Book Store.  She was told by one of the college professions, “you’re not from here, are you”? The professor knew from the very beginning that she was different, by her educational background, technical knowledge, and adaptability.

Tonya contributes her career goals and accomplishments to her military experiences as a dependent, education in Junction City, and K-State University. She also contributes her spiritual development to her caring Youth & Sunday School Teachers at Second Missionary Baptist Church.

Her mentors were Mrs. Ruby Stevens, her Komomantyn Teacher at JCHS, and Dr. Larry Dixon, Principal at JCHS. Tonya enjoys visiting Junction City, because it allows her to relax from the busy city life. She’s always running into former classmates at Dillions or Walmart. Tonya is engaged, and resides in Kansas City, Kansas. She has her graduated degree as a Licensed Professional Counselor. 

My son, Dennis Jr. (DJ) was intrigued with ROTC from the 9^th- 12 grade. He entered the US Navy in 1994 after graduating from JCHS at age 17. During his earlier military career, he would come home on leave and visit formal teachers at JCHS. His mentors were Deacon Augustus Evans and Deacon Ulysses Carter of Second Missionary Baptist Church. They were always “keeping him in check” when his dad was overseas for two years. They are no longer with us, but their memory lives on.  Dennis Jr has ventured in rental properties, and was the previous co-owner of “Deli by the Bay” in Washington State. He contributes his career choice and accomplishments to his military experiences as a dependent, formal teachers, ROTC Instructors, and church mentors.

Even though career & travels in the Navy have taken him to many places, Dennis still looks forward to visiting his roots in Junction City. He enjoys looking up some of his classmates who are still here, showing his daughters places where he hung out, going to church, and just relaxing. Dennis Jr. is currently an E-7 Chief Petty Officer, and looking forward to retirement from the military in the next two years. He has his degree in Business, and is working toward his Masters. Dennis resides in Virginia with his wife and three daughters.

Granddaughters, Alivia & Jasmine, have traveled to Junction City by themselves on several occasions. They’ve enjoyed spending time with grandparents, going to the carnivals, fishing, bowling, swimming, church, and other recreational areas in Junction City and Fort Riley. They particularly enjoy hearing,      “old stories” told by their granddaddy about himself, growing up down South during the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s era. The youngest granddaughter Lani, is 2 years old, and will have extended visits to Junction City when she’s older.

Junction City was a great place to raise our children! It offered new experiences and opportunities for the entire family.

-Vickie Bobbitt-

Black History Month Essays Part 1

EDITORIAL NOTE: This February, the Geary County Historical Society will celebrate Black History Month by taking a look at 4 different accounts of African-Americans who have lived in this community. These stories will look at different aspects of their life in Junction City, and how race played a part in their everyday life. This is the first part of a four part series that will run through February.  

That Look Like Me

When I reflect on my childhood in Junction City it is inevitable to question the significance of my skin color. Born with deep dark skin shortly after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I came into the world and Junction City when things were changing for everybody.  I, not unlike JC, progressed and grew through the 70s and 80s.  From my early childhood I can remember feeling different. Sometimes it was different good and sometimes it was not so good.

I have fond and fun memories of attending Nursery School at the Methodist Church on Jefferson in the early 70s. The building housed spacious classrooms and a basement big enough to race around on the coveted Big Wheel.  My classroom was delightfully scattered with books, toys, and arts and crafts supplies. The latter included magazines used to cut out people in our likeness and paste them on construction paper to recreate our family.  I immediately realized I had quite a dilemma.  I could not use these magazines. As a matter a fact, my Mother had to supply some because nobody in any of their books looked like me.

Later in early elementary school my skin color would come into play again. During an activity we were asked to hold up our pinky. After spending a few seconds looking at my little finger I readily complied after informing the teacher that I indeed, had a brownie. 

As I progressed through Franklin Elementary and enjoyed Play Days and Fun Night, I began to understand the impact of the color of my skin. During an activity in the fourth grade, the teacher needed to select an “IT”.  She proceeded with the classic “Eenie, meenie, miney mo however in her version, the object to be caught was not a tiger but a “nigger”.  Though I did not perceive hostility, I was shocked at encountering a real life person that used that word. I also realized that not all people followed the golden rule when it came to people that looked like me.  I wrote a poem in fifth grade that scored an A+. The teacher praised its greatness and I excitedly waited to hear her announce that it would soon hang on the Principal’s Board. When this never happen I asked why and was informed that my cursive x was incorrectly crossed. Several changes later I realized it would never be good enough. Eventually, I discovered the same teacher taught my sister and was not very fair to her either.  In sixth grade, I called a white male classmate to get a reading assignment. His mother haughtily assumed I was calling with a romantic interest and was not pleased.  She was nice enough to me in person however she did not want this dark skinned girl dating her son.  My Golden Rule lesson was reiterated not only by my own personal experiences but by external factors as well. Roots aired on television and sometime around then I saw Gone with the Wind. The Colonial Theater showed the movie “Tough”, the story of a young black male.  We studied Black History in school but stayed on the safe subjects like Dr. King, or Fredrick Douglass. Junction City is just two miles from Fort Riley, however the Historical Buffalo Soldiers were rarely discussed in school. The Freedom Train came to Topeka in 1976.  It was Kansas cold and the line was long but the reward was priceless. The sight of President Lincoln’s Coat and Dr. Mr. Luther King’s Robes brought the reality of racism home.

Growing up I never let my skin color prevent me from enjoying the community.  I participated in Girl Scouts and a multitude of activities at the First Presbyterian church where a lot of the time the only other people that look like me were my Sister and Mother.  I joined softball leagues and participated in the Drama community at the Little Theater. Though most of the plays were Caucasian based, I was filled with pride and ambition when a stage full of actors that looked like me presented the play “9^th Street”. Written by a black local author, “9^th Street” was based on Junction City’s famous East 9^th street.  The Fourth of July’s Sundown Salute was going strong at Milford and Piñata was the meeting place for everybody of all races. We had two Dairy Queens, an arcade, a new movie theater with multiple screens and a skating rink. All enjoyed pretty peacefully by people of all races. The city was growing and so was I.

It wasn’t until I was commuting to and from Topeka that I encountered racism again. When my card failed to work at a gas station on the west side of South Washington the clerk demanded to see my ID. She then contemptuously informed me I did not have enough money, however the white customers before and after me were advised of a “system issue”.  During same time I made an appointment to speak with a broker two blocks up the street to get information on investing. The enthusiasm he depicted over the phone to share his knowledge changed to more than subtle disdain and a “you’re wasting my time” demeanor when he saw my dark skin. 

                On my most recent visit it was good to see businesses that depict Junction City’s growth in diversity as well as the community’s stability. I drove by Mark’s Beauty Salon and Foster Cuts, both owned and operated by people that look like me. I visited the Groove where a warm Junction City welcome awaits patrons of all races. Central National Bank, where I opened my first account is going strong and the ever loved Daily Union is still the paper of choice.  All places where people that don’t look like me and people that do are joined together by the love for Junction City. 

                                                                                                                                   By : Karren Kilpatrick
 

Happy Kansas Day!

Happy Kansas Day everyone! Kansas turned 155 years old this past Friday and Geary County, or as it was known as back then as Davis County, played a big part in how the government of the territory shaped Kansas before and during the Civil War. To help commemorate the occasion we’re going to take a look at the history of how the short lived town of Pawnee came to be the capital and the subsequent history of the first territorial capital building.

In the summer of 1852, Colonel T.T. Fountleroy, former commander of Fort Leavenworth, recommended that there should be an establishment of a new post “at or near a point on the Kansas River where the Republican rivers unite,” this would later play a big part in the naming of “Junction City.”  Because of this request, soldiers would establish such a site later that fall. It would be called “Camp Center” since it was believed that this location was the geographical center of the United States. When it turned out that “Camp Center” was not actually in the “center” it was renamed to Fort Riley to honor the Mexican war hero, General Bennett C. Riley.

Soon after the settlement and building of Fort Riley the Pawnee Town Association wanted to establish a town that was adjacent to Fort Riley in the early months of 1854. The first of six territorial governors came along with the Pawnee Town association. It was Reeder intent to name the newly established town site as the capital of Kansas and to hold the first territorial legislature at Pawnee. Once word got out that Pawnee was to be the capital of the Kansas territory, people came to town in droves. Infrastructure was heavily invested in Pawnee as many believed this would become the booming metropolis of Kansas. The stone capital building was built almost as soon as it was announced that Pawnee would be the capital. Laborers were recruited from among those who were arriving in Pawnee for the first time.

During the creation of the Kansas territory, there was a fired up debate on whether or not states should be allowed to enter the union as a free state or a slave state. Kansas became the hottest debated state in US history. This is why when it was made public knowledge that the election for territorial delegates for the legislature were to take place on March 30^th, 1855, groups of armed, Pro-Slavery Missourians, crossed the border to vote in the election. For this reason, the first legislature that met in Pawnee was called the “Bogus Legislature” by the free-state opponents.  Approximately 5,000 of these “Bushwhackers” voted to make Kansas a pro-slavery state, making it an invalid election. Evidence of fraud was blatantly obvious. When the elections started, Kansas only had 2,905 eligible voters. After all the votes were counted, there were a total of 6,307 ballots. With the events that unfolded, Governor Reeder was outraged and demanded a new election and deemed the recent election invalid. But with the result they wanted, the first legislature did not even bother to acknowledge, let alone participate in the second election.

With the drama unfolding, the “Bogus” legislature decided to convene in Pawnee, Kansas on July 1855. Those in the Pro-Slavery legislature were not too fond of the location of the Capital. They believed that it should be closer to the border to make travel easier for them as many had to commute from Missouri. The legislature only lasted a few days and left on July 6, 1855 with the intent of never returning again. The building which many had put such hard work into building would be abandoned and left behind. Perhaps more importantly, those who had established a life in what was supposed to be the capital city were disheartened and were looking at an uncertain future.

Just a few days after the legislature had left Pawnee and the building was cleared out and left empty. The bottom half was used as storage and the top half of the building was used as the living quarters for the Morris family of Pawnee.  The town site of Pawnee would soon be integrated into Fort Riley and all the previous buildings, except for the capital building, would eventually be razed. The capital building then had an erratic history following the departure of the legislature where it was turned into a warehouse and was even a location where many homeless people would occupy without permission.

One of the more devastating events happened in 1877, when the roof was torn off by a tornado and leaving the inside exposed to the harsh Kansas weather. The movement for the buildings preservation began around 1900, but it wasn’t until 1926 when Geary County Senator G.W. Schimdt was able to get a bill introduced into the Kansas Senate for a $1,000 grant to help fix up the site. August 1, 1928 marked the first time since 1855 that there was an official meeting place at the old building. It was estimated that 15,000 had shown up to help celebrate the occasion. Finally in May of 2001, there was a “grand reopening” celebrated with an exhibit opening which told the history of not only the capital building but the short lived capital of Pawnee.

With all of the great history that the building has, it’s a good thing to see the continued efforts to keep the building in good shape!

The First Territorial Capital Building has been through some rough patches and this picture shows it. This was taken at the turn of the century after a tornado ripped through the roof of the capital building. 

Atomic Annie

The Geary County Convention and Visitors Bureau recently made a donation to the Historical Society of historic paperwork involving the creation of Freedom Park. The 202 acre park was built in the 1970s as a symbol of the peace keeping efforts of our military units at Fort Riley.

You never quite know what you are going to find when you start going through files.  These files held a real gem that shed some light on a unique military treasure that almost everyone in the area has seen at one point but very few know the history of: the atomic cannon.   

It was on October 14, 1975 in the dead of night that a railroad car pulled into Fort Riley. If anyone had seen the railroad car they would have been hard pressed to guess what was concealed underneath the tarp covering the load. The massive object hidden under the tarp was “Atomic Annie”, a M65 280mm Motorized Heavy Gun more commonly known as an “atomic cannon”.

Mystery surrounded the cannon due to antiwar sentiments of the time. Local officials were concerned that the cannon would be vandalized if word of its location got out.  In fact an article written by Bob Honeyman during the rehabilitation of the park states that Fort Riley “first denied the presence of the cannon on the military post after inquiries were made by The Daily Union.” Fort Riley eventually relented and allowed the press access to the area where the cannon was kept. It seems that their fears were founded as minor vandalism plagued the construction of the park and candle light vigils were staged by “Peacenick” students from Manhattan to show disapproval for the project.

It is interesting to note that the cannon overlooking Freedom Park was used as “a deterrent to conflict and was never fired in combat.”          

Atomic cannons were developed in 1950 for the U.S. Army in response to the Cold War. An online history of atomic cannons states that 20 of these guns were manufactured from 1951 to 1953 by the Dravo Corporation, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“Atomic Annie” is the largest “roadable” cannon in the world. It measures 42 feet in length and weighs in at 42,500 pounds.  During transport, the cannon was suspended between two trucks which could travel at 35 miles an hour. Once the gun arrived at its destination, it could be set up for firing in approximately 12 minutes, and returned to the traveling mode in approximately 15 minutes. An informational write up on the cannon states that it can shoot a projectile 11 inches in diameter over 20 miles, hitting within 20 feet of the target. 

The cannon placed at the summit of Freedom Park was in service from November 17, 1952 to August 1963. Press releases of the time note that when the Smithsonian placed the cannon on permanent loan to the Spirit of ’76 Inc. for display at Freedom Park, the cannon was one of only three such artillery pieces. When the M65 280mm Motorized Heavy Guns were decommissioned in 1963 most were scrapped.

The cannon was brought up the back of the hill with a moving rig using two cranes.  If anyone has information or photos of this feat please bring them by the museum so we can make copies to include them in our archives.  

Writer Bob Honeyman relates an amusing story concerning the placement of the cannon in one of his “bits of honey” articles. It involved the selection of the atomic cannon’s target. Many good natured suggestions were thrown out at the time including Manhattan, Ogden and Abilene as suitable targets. After much laughing and joking it ended up being aimed at the home of Jack Lacy. Jack was an ardent supporter and was instrumental in accomplishing the project.

Due to restrictions, you can no longer visit Freedom Park. But next time you travel I70 near Marshall Field look to the top of the hill and smile because now you know the history of “Atomic Annie”. 

Goldie Webster Part 4

Below follows part four of the Goldie Gorman Webster story. In 2015, we learned about Goldie’s experiences with local schools, local businesses and the general experience of growing up in early 1900s Junction City. To begin 2016, we will share her memories of the good times she had as a child in the area, and the ways she and other children her age were entertained.

“You may wonder what we did for pleasure in the early 1900s, when there was no radio or television. Well for one thing, families did things together. One that I shall never forget, is the day when the ladies went "greening". The children were taken along on those trips and we learned which greens were edible and which were poisonous. Sometimes my sister and I were asked to pick a pail full for a lady who could not go along. We were paid 15 cents for a water pail full. Our fame as greens pickers was published by word of mouth and we were in business! Billy Graham, "Billy Stix" (as he was called having one leg), cooked at the Depot Hotel. He engaged us to pick a tub full of greens now and then. They were served with corn bread to the trainmen who ate at the hotel. We were paid 25 cents for a tub full.

            Sometimes groups of soldiers who had passes to come to town, walked. When they came to our place they sometimes asked my sister or me for a drink, if we were in the front yard. We had a hydrant there and we were always glad to fetch a drinking cup. Sometimes a detachment of soldiers on a march came past our place. We loved to watch the horses, the waving flags and the rolling caissons.

            The railroaders had a ball team. We were sometimes taken to watch them practice or play a game. Then there was the circus. It set up on the railroad ground. Father because of his railroad connection received what we called "Comps." There was always plenty for us and our friends, who were invited to go with us, and for father’s workmen & their families. I thought the clowns were silly. I was scared to watch the trapeze performers. I was always sure they would fall and be smashed before my eyes. We must not forget to mention the parade. The sidewalks uptown would be lined with people. The parade was always an hour or so late. Little boys kept dodging out into the street watching for it to come. When the first sound of music was heard, the boys called out loudly, "Here, they come!"

            Once a week there was a band concert in the park. We always got a treat of popcorn when we went in. Lillie Nikirk Murphy operated a popcorn stand at the park entrance. Children played on the grass. There was not much noise then, so people could enjoy the music.

            There were socials and parties at our church, sometimes hay rack rides. When we came to Junction City, our church, the Christian, had no regular place of worship. The family who lived next to us, had a boy and a girl about our age. They went to the Universalist church and asked us to go with them. The Universalist church had once been Centennial Hall. It was at 5th and Adams. We children took part in the Sunday school Junior League. We made many friends there with whom we came in contact for many years. Mrs. Seymour, Mrs. Bradford and Captain Trott were the children groups sponsors. One summer day our Sunday School Class rode by hay rack out to McFarlands grove, west of town. We were to have a picnic dinner, play games and wade in the creek, which was said to be safe for children. When we arrived we took off our shoes and socks and went into the water. My little sister found a place where the water was fairly deep and she promptly fell in. She was rescued, looking like a drowned rat. Mrs. Seymore wrapped her in Capt. Trott’s lap robe, (they had come there in Capt. Trott’s buggy). We were hustled home at once. I was put out at having missed the fun. Mother was glad it was no worse than some wet clothes.

            I must mention our Senior class banquet. It was held at the Bartell Hotel and it created lots of excitement among the students. There was the concern about what we would wear, would we have a date, etc. The hotel was the one with an atmosphere in those days, so we green kids wondered if we would conduct ourselves becomingly, whether we would use the correct silver and for fun kidded each other about drinking of the finger bowl and how to properly use our napkin. It was fun and I will never forget it. Oh yes, you are wondering if I had a date. Definitely no, I was not allowed to date until I finished High School. Either my father or the father or brother of a friend saw to it that I got to the party and returned home the same way.”

            Do you have stories of growing up in Geary County? Stop in the museum to share them. Open Tuesday-Saturday; 1-4pm.  

           

Snowfall in Geary County!

Depending on how you feel about snow (or your job), we were either blessed or cursed with some snow last week. It was estimated that about 2-3 inches fell on Geary County last week, welcoming the New Year. Although 2-3 inches might seem like quite a bit of snow for some, this pales in comparison to some of the bigger snow storms that have hit the Geary County area. Now that we are officially in winter, let’s take a look at some of the biggest snowstorms and temperature drops in Geary County history.

Perhaps the biggest snowstorm in the history of the county occurred on Saturday, April 3^rd, 1920. The snow had been reported to have been falling for 24 hours straight before it stopped.  After a day full of snowing, an estimated 3 feet of snow had fallen on top of what had previously been 6 inches of melted snow and ice from the previous days. These records might be a bit exaggerated since there were not exact measurements, but the devastation was felt in Geary County.

  This made it impossible for cars or human feet to travel anywhere around town. Everyone in town was trapped in doors, which caused a mini-panic since April 4^th happened to be Easter Sunday. It’s hard to tell whether or not many people who were left stranded attended church, but from the ads that were being run in the Saturday edition of the Daily Union, services in all churches were being held. This had been the worst storm recorded in the area since Junction City officially became incorporated in 1859.

There doesn’t have to be a large amount of snow for there to be freezing cold temperatures. The blizzard of January 1885 was an example with reports of temperatures hitting 25º below zero. While there was quite a bit of snow that hit the entire western half of the state, Junction City received very little. The temperature in 1885 was enough to shut down the entire city, “Telegraph wires were all down and communication with the outside world has been entirely cut off since Thursday morning. Business has been almost entirely suspended and travel was [deemed] unsafe.”

The snowstorm of February 1926 seemed to leave the city as crippled as the snowstorm of 1920. In the February 25 edition of the Daily Union, the newspaper told of just how bad the streets in Junction City had gotten, “the big snow of Wednesday night drifted the roads so badly, that twenty-five cars were stuck Thursday between here and the county line on the ‘South Forty’ paving west of town….By late Thursday afternoon the caterpillar tractor and snow plow owned by the county had pushed though the seven foot drifts near Witts, and pulled six cars out of the drifts…”

Streets were so bad during the 1926 snowstorm that cars could not be used. The people of Junction City got smart and found a different form of transportation that helped them get around town after the blizzard, “ever since the big blizzard of Thursday, old Dobbin [the horse] has replaced the motor car for a great deal of Geary County’s transportation. Particularly as a means of conveying youngsters to school and the back of the horse has come in very handy.”

In the winter of 1983, Geary County witnessed 17 inches of snowfall. This single snowfall made it impossible for any vehicle to travel on I-70. This was made apparent when on February 3^rd, 1983, the Daily Union reported that due to the impassible conditions on the interstate, many grocery stores in town were running out of the essential food items such as bread and milk. “Both Falley’s Market and Dillon’s have run out of bread, according to both store managers, with Dillon’s also running low on milk.”

Many people were unable to make it to work for several days and kids had been out of school for at least 3 days. But as always, the Junction City mail would not be hindered by the weather, “about 95% of the city received their mail service delivery on Wednesday, except for the ‘really bad areas’ such as Rockledge and Rockwell streets…”

For a bit of recent history, the snowiest month on record for Geary County was set just 7 years ago in Dec of 2009 when 17.2 inches of snow fell. Before that the record had been 14 total inches in February of 2004. In February of 2014, the single largest single snowfall event occurred in the county when 10.5 inches of snow fell on Geary County.  That single snowfall made it the third snowiest month. We might have had a quiet winter so far, but historically the biggest snowfalls come during the first few months of the year.

Of course we couldn’t tell the story of all the snowstorms in the area, so if you have any stories or pictures you would like to share with the Geary County Historical Society, please feel free to stop by and share them with us. We’re open Tuesday-Saturday, 1-4 PM!

This picture was taken at 7^th and Washington on Easter Sunday April 4^th 1920 

Old New Year Traditions

Happy New Year from the Geary County Historical Society! As we make the transition from celebrating Christmas to welcoming the New Year, we all have different traditions our friends and families like to do every year to help welcome and say goodbye to the previous year. Many hope to improve on their health and situation by making New Year’s resolution for a better new year. Perhaps the most common way to bring in the New Year is by having a party on New Year’ Eve. Most of the world welcomes in the New Year by throwing a big party and counting down the old year. This however might not have always been the case. In a few early reports in the Junction City newspapers, it seems as though Geary County celebrated the arrival of the New Year on New Year’s Day instead of New Year’s Eve.

One of the more common traditions that took place on New Year’s Day at the turn of the century was that it was customary to have one’s house open in an “open house” setting for different people to visit your home. An article from January 2^nd, 1895, the Daily Sentinel, an old and now defunct newspaper in Junction City, detailed an account of what a typical New Year’s Day, with these open houses, would be like in town: “The pretty old custom of keeping [an] open house on the first day of the year has been revived, and on New Year’s day of ’95 there were score of callers and many gracious hostesses all over town.” This tradition doesn’t seem like one that is celebrated often in our community now.

These open houses would be fully decorated and the women hosting and attending these parties would be dressed in their best attire, ““The ladies were very elegant reception gowns. Mrs. Humphrey was gowned in black and satin and brocade velvet. Mrs. Greene, black noire and real lace. Miss Eleanor Humphrey, black silk skirt with a fancy blue silk waist.” The article continues, “The refreshments were daintily served from small tables in the back parlors and consisted of ices, cakes, tea, cocoa, coffee and wafers.” From these early accounts of New Year’s in Geary County, it seems that the bigger celebrations took place on New Year’s Day and not New Year’s Eve.

            These “open houses” were not the only things that seemed to happen around town in Junction City. The Union of January 3, 1880 reported that observances ranging from evening parties and pranks to New Year’s Day open houses took place that year.  A detailed account outlines the transformation of Washington Street by pranksters:

            “Last Thursday—New Year’s Day—was generally observed in Junction City.  At midnight prior to the day, bells were rung, guns fired and beautiful music was discoursed by a portion of the Fort Riley band.  In the morning a strange sight greeted people who appeared on the streets.  Washington Avenue, between the grange store and Brown’s Harness Store was completely blockaded with wagons, carts, buggies, hacks and vehicles of every conceivable appearance and description.  Prominent among then was the bus of the Pennsylvania House, on the top of which was a barrel standing on end and supporting the carved Indian sign from Miller’s cigar store.  On the wooden awning of Mrs. Mead’s millinery store was one of the buggies of Porter Bros. Drug Store.  A cow was found tied to the door of the grange store and Old Bill’s savage yard bulldog was secured to the doorknob of Hout’s billiard hall.  Under the words, “Our Saloon” on Fritz Overhoff’s was G.W. Meddick’s law shingle.  Mrs. Blue’s Millinery store was converted into a boot and shoe store and a restaurant.  A small building (privy) hauled from the rear of Purington’s blacksmith shop stood in front of the opening to the yard of the Allen House and sported Pershall’s hotel sign.”

These open houses diminished over time and it did seem that at the turn of the century, there are recorded events that took place on New Year’s Eve. In the January 5^th, 1924 edition of the Daily Union reported,” One of the events of the holiday season was the watch party given on New Year’s Eve by Miss Josephine Caspar and Mr. Geo Caspar, at which 20 guests enjoyed  an evening at cards and dancing.”

So no matter what traditions you and your loved ones practice on New Year, make sure you stay safe and we hope to see you next year at the Geary County Historical Society!

This picture was taken at a 1898 party at the Rockwell residence on New Year’s day during an “Open House.”

A Brief History of the Christmas Tree

We are less than a week away from Christmas and for most of us, the Christmas spirit is high. Putting up the family Christmas tree usually marks the beginning and for many, the peak of the Christmas festivities. The Christmas tree has not always existed in the form we know it today.  Two weeks ago, we took a look at the history of Santa Claus, and just like the myth of Santa Claus, the modern Christmas tree has been influenced by many traditions and combined with many cultures, specifically from the Germans. This week we are going to take to take a briefly look into the history and evolution of the modern Christmas tree.

The exact start of the use of an evergreen tree is not known. One of the first cultures to use evergreen trees during winter celebrations were the Romans. In the Roman tradition of the Winter solstice, Roman citizens would decorate their homes with evergreen braches during this time of the year because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen branches reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

Early Christian celebrations with a tree were forbidden as many in the clergy had seen  the use of a Christmas tree would take attention away from Jesus and his birth. However, this quickly changed as Christians during the Middle Ages began to accept a tree for Christmas celebrations.  A legend had grown that said “…when Christ was born in the dead of winter, every tree throughout the world miraculously shook off its ice and snow and produced new shoots of green.” This is used as an explanation as to why trees were used for Christmas by Christians.

It was not until the renaissance, however, that there are clear records of trees being used as a symbol of Christmas. Some of the earliest records start in Latvia in 1510 and Strasburg (Germany) in 1521. These early trees were not known as “Christmas trees” but “Paradise Trees.” These trees were in referenced to the “Tree of Life” and the Garden of Eden which were added to the German Mystery or Miracle plays celebrated the feast day for Adam and Eve and many Christians on December 24^th. The clergy would then decorate fir trees with fruits for the play. This tradition followed many people home and many Christians started to decorate their own trees.

This custom really did not take a hold in the United States until the 18^th and 19^th century when there was an influx of German immigrants into the United States. The idea of gift giving under the tree was brought over by German immigrants. Before the influx of German immigrants, many 19^th century Americans saw the Christmas tree as a novelty idea. The first mention of the Christmas tree in American literature was in a story in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, titled "New Year's Day," by Catherine Maria Sedgwick, where she tells the story of a German maid decorating her mistress's tree.

The same poem that brought us a modern version of Santa Claus, Clement Moore’s 1882 A Visit from Saint Nicholas, which was later retitled The Night before Christmas, also helped popularize the image of the family opening up presents under the tree on Christmas morning. During the Victorian era, candles were added to the tree to help represent the stars of the night winter sky. Before that period, it is widely believed that Martin Luther, the famous protestant reformer was the first to add lights to the Christmas tree. These candles are the predecessor the lights we use today (the electrical lights are less of a fire hazard, which came about in 1895 by an American telephonist, Ralph Morris.) The addition of lights coincided with the arrival of German ornaments which made their way from across the ocean to American trees.

            Bringing the history of the Christmas tree closer to home, pioneer families in Kansas knew a very different Christmas than we know it today. From an undated early Union article, the author tells us, “Only a generation ago the pioneers in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa only knew a Christmas spruce, balsam or pine tree as a wonderful object. So rare it was.” The article goes on to explain that the willow trees for many along the banks of Prairie rivers were used as early Christmas trees. These accounts were recorded in the Daily Union from around the turn of the century. As more and more people started to come to the Kansas, Christmas trees became more readily available, as they were being brought from the east coast and used by the pioneers and their families.

            The Christmas tree gained popularity over the next hundred years and has become one of the staple traditions during the holiday season.

The picture accompanied is one of the earliest renditions of an American Christmas tree which was explained in Catherine Maria Sedgwick’s short story, “New Year's Day." Credit to American antiquarian.org for the picture. 

Goldie Gorman Webster Part 3

Goldie Gorman Webster moved to Junction City as a young girl at the turn of the 20^th century. Years later, she recalled her memories of those early years in Junction City. In this third part to our Goldie Webster memories series, Goldie remembers the businesses of Junction City that she and her sister, Sylvia, visited with their parents:

“We had two laundries in our area.  One owned by the Schmoldt family was on west l4th street. One daughter, Helen, later became Mrs. Roy Luke.  Kaufholz Laundry was on east l4th street.  There was a monument business operated by DeArmond and Root.  It was on the west side of Washington street.  We passed it each time we went uptown.  Seemed sort of spooky to me when I was younger, since gravestones were displayed near the street. There were two hotels in the north end.  The Pacific Hotel, operated by Charles and Martha Fox was on Washington between l0th and llth.  It later became the Hamilton Hotel. The Bartell Hotel was in the main part of town, had a cab service of its own. It hauled customers to and from the station.  Sam Brazil was the cab driver.  Mr. Fox had no cab, but he met the trains and carried customers baggage to the hotel himself.

            The little Free Methodist church was there when we came.  It is still there, remodeled and enlarged.

            Charles Ross had a grocery and meat store on Washington street.  His family lived in the rear of the store, and on one side of the store his sister, Haidi, had a small dry goods and millinery store. Mother always bought our Easter bonnets from Miss Ross.  She would plant a hat on my head and say, "Turn around and let your little sister see how nice you look in that hat." I always opted for the plain sailor style of hat, with a black velvet streamer hanging down the back. The flowery hats were for my little sister. She was the type for flowery hats, having beautiful blond curls and blue eyes.  I, of the mousy colored hair, was not the type for flowered hats. I always had a rubber band on my hat that fit under my chin.  In case of wind, the band kept my hat from sailing into the bright blue yonder.

            Stanleys had a newsstand on Washington street. The neighbor kids were George, Dorothy and Ruth Edwards. Their father was a trainman on the Union Pacific. Reed & Elam, mentioned earlier, had the grocery on West 7th. One hot day our mother took me and my little sister up town to the store. We walked. While we were in the store, my little sister saw a basket of shiny buttons. She helped herself to one card and put it in her apron pocket. After we went home she took the card out and my mother saw it. She was told that was wrong. Mother then explained that the buttons were for sale and not for little girls to carry away. After further counsel, we put our bonnets back on and trudged to the store. Little sister said to mother, "Mr. Reed had so many that I didn’t think he would care if I just took one pretty one." She was tearful but made her apology as required. The matter closed, but never again did little sister help herself to the property of another.

            E. H. Hemingway had a dry goods store on the east side of Washington. Once a year he held a nine cent sale of dry goods. Yardage was sold at 9 cents a yard for some of it. Other yardage was also on sale. This sale always drew a large crowd. Before the store opened lines of ladies stood outside, waiting to get in the door. There was a mad rush when the door opened. Sometimes the ladies selected bolts of material, clutched them in their arms, and hauled them around waiting to be waited upon. Someone else would want some the same cloth and there would be a hassle over it. Children were pushed up against the wall where they had a good view of the melee.

            There were saloons on the east side of Washington street. We were never allowed to walk on that side from 10th south. Father said it was not a fit street for children and ladies to travel. Too many drunks were to be seen coming out of the places. I once, curious to know what it was all about, ventured onto that side. It smelled awful and I never went again. There were other stores on that side but they were for adults so we were told.

Look for more of Goldie Webster’s memories in future articles, or stop by the Geary County Historical Society to experience other histories. Do you have experiences growing up in Geary County that you would like to share? We want to hear your stories!  Give us a call at 785-238-1666 or email us at gearyhistory@gmail.com. Museum open Tuesday-Sunday 1-4pm.