As Published - May 1939
May 1939 (Vol. 8, No. 2), pages 218 to 223
Transcribed by lhn;
digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society.
Articles on Ellsworth county history printed in the county's newspapers in past months include: "A Glimpse of Ellsworth in the Days of Dirt Streets, Board Walks, Frame Shacks and Little Red School House," Ellsworth Messenger, January 9, 1936; "History of the Excelsior Evangelical English Lutheran Church," by Mrs. Charles R. Bowers, Wilson World, November 11; "A Cow Town Theatre," by F. B. Streeter, Ellsworth Reporter, January 14, 1937; "The Indian Raid of 1869-Some Sidelights," by J. C. Ruppenthal, World, June 16; "The History of M. Schwarz," by Michael Schwarz,World, July 28-September 1; "History of Fort Harker," compiled by Mrs. Raymond Shoaf, Reporter, January 27-February 24, 1938; "Ellsworth's Early History,"Messenger, June 2; sketch of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran congregation, compiled by the Rev. A. H. Schroeder,Messenger and Reporter, September 22; "Wild Bill Hickok, Colorful Figure of Pioneer Days, Once Resident Here,"Reporter, November 17; "Advance-Guards of Civilization, a Story of the Establishment of Fort Ellsworth and Fort Harker-the Outposts for the Protection of the Pioneers of West-Central Kansas," by Alice Hummel, Messenger, December 29, 1938-January 12, 1939; "Early Day Stories," reminiscences of Vit Dolecek, World, February 8-March 8; "Mother Bickerdyke's Life Story Reads Like a Novel," World, March 1; "A Chapter in Ellsworth's History [1867-1879],"Reporter, March 23; "City Officials of Holyrood From Time of Incorporation in 1901 to 1939," Holyrood Gazette, May 10.
Under the title Early Northwest Kansas History, the Selden Advocate recently issued a 38-page pamphlet featuring its collection of pioneer reminiscences published from time to time in regular editions of the Advocate.
A series of weekly stories, under the title "Some Vagrant Memories," was contributed by David D. Leahy in the Wichita Sunday Eagle beginning April 3, 1938.
"History of Old Quindaro Recalled as School Plans Eightieth Anniversary Fete," was the title of a feature article in the Kansas City Kansan, May 8, 1938. The town, now a part of Kansas City, was named for Mrs. Quindaro Guthrie, a Wyandot Indian.
A history of the Towanda Western Butler County Times, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in June, 1938, was printed in the June 2 issue.
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KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 219
Historical articles featured in recent issues of the Wichita Sunday Eagle include: " Wichitan [Ed. A. Calvert] Tells of Adventure With Capt. David L. Payne," by Lovina Lindberg, July 3, 1938; "[Thomas Masterson] Wichita Brother Tells of Colorful Life of Bat Masterson," by Arch O'Bryant, July 24; "Legal History of Oil and Gas Conservation Statutes in Kansas," by Innis D. Harris, July 31, August 7, 14, 21; "Dodge City to Celebrate Academy's Silver Jubilee," by David Leahy, "Mennonite College [Bethel] Completes Fifty Years of Service," by Lovina Lindberg, August 14; "[J. D. Simmons] Pioneer Recalls Walk of 250 Miles to File on Claim," by Lovina Lindberg, August 28; "Wichita Celebrated at Friends U. Opening 40 Years Ago," by G. H. Wood, "Eagle Files Give Vivid Picture of Strip Opening," by Lovina Lindberg, September 4; "Wichita's Church of the Brethren to Observe [Sixtieth] Anniversary," by Lester F. Kimmel, "Wichita Business Men Recall Old Street Car Company," by Lovina Lindberg, "Old Letter Tells Little Known Facts About Early Kansas," by David D. Leahy, September 18; "Why the Quakers Came to Kansas to Make Their Homes," by Dr. Henry C. Fellows, October 9; "Rare Old Photographs Show Beauty of Wichita 49 Years Ago," by Arch M. O'Bryant, October 23; "Education in Wichita. Makes Great Strides in 25 Years," by F. S. Vassar, November 6; '[Arthur E. Hertzler] Halstead Physician Becomes Kansas' Outstanding Author," by Lester F. Kimmel, December 11, and "Oil Industry of Kansas Continues to Advance During 1938," by Kenneth F. Sauer, December 25.
Articles of Kansas historical interest in issues of the Kansas City (Mo.)Star during the last half of 1938 include: "A Tense 4th of July in Kansas [1856] When Free-State Legislature Met," by Cecil Howes, July 4, 1938; "Reds Change Policy and Manner Under Earl Browder of Kansas," by Paul I. Wellman, July 19; "How Kansas Treated Pardee Butler, Free-Soil Preacher From Illinois," by Cecil Howes, July 21; "A Pioneer [H. B. (Ham) Bell] Retires to His Memories of Sixty-four Years of Dodge City," by Cecil Howes, August 18; "Cattle Country History Preserved in 280-Page Edition of Newspaper [Gene Howe's Amarillo (Tex.) Globe-News]," August 20; "Kansans Again Take Sides in Row Over Name of One of Their Rivers [Marais des Cygnes]," by Cecil Howes, August 27; "A Kansas Editor, Oscar S. Stauffer, Puts the Chain System to Work," September 6; "Spellbinding Now Is Too Refined For an Old Populist of Kansas," by Cecil Howes, November 7; "When Kansas Watched Progress of Its `Fighting Twentieth,'" November 8; sim-
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plified system of reading used in Kansas 105 years ago by Dr. Johnston Lykins and Jotham Meeker at the Shawnee Baptist mission is now forgotten, wrote Paul I. Wellman, November 12, and "U. S. Owes Thanks to a Scientist From Kansas [David Fairchild, Plant Specialist] for a Richer Harvest," by Dwight Pennington, November 22.
Included among the articles of historical interest recently published in the Kansas City (Mo)Times were the following: "One Debate With `Sockless Jerry' [Simpson] Was One Too Many for `Prince Hal' [James R. Hallowell]," by Cecil Howes, July 8, 1938; "The Battle of Wilson's Creek Kept Missouri Out of the Confederacy," July 22; "A Visit to Victoria, Community of 637 Persons, Is Like Stepping Into a Bavarian Village-Life Centers About the Large Catholic Church and Schools Founded by German Settlers Who Had Failed to Find Freedom and Peace in Russia," July 25; "Historic Lane Trail to Kansas Carried Fighters for Freedom," by Cecil Howes, July 28; "Ed Howe's Ice Cream and Singing Won a Friend Who Never Forgot," August 1; "Professor [R. D.] O Leary's Name Will Live in Books He Read to K. U. Students," August 5; "The Kansas System in Lawmaking Becomes a Model for Legislatures," by Cecil Howes, August 30; "Kansas Oil Was Used by Pioneers Long Before Wells Were Drilled," by Cecil Howes, October 13; "Historic Old Fort Laramie to Be Rebuilt as a National Monument," by Paul I. Wellman, October 18; "[Robert Taft] A University of Kansas Professor Surveys History of Photography," October 19; "K. U.'s Birth 75 Years Ago Ended Long Run of Failures and Fights," by Theodore Morgan O'Leary, November 2; "Kansas Did Its Bit to Satisfy Sentiment for All Kinds of Law," by Cecil Howes, December 2, and "Topeka's Founders Lost Their Way on Townsite Eighty-four Years Ago," December 5.
Victor Murdock's articles of historical interest in his front-page column in the Wichita(Evening) Eagle include: "Bringing Natural Gas to the Wichita Area Was Opening of An Era," August 2, 1938; "Facts of Jesse Chisholm Are Few But Most of Them Are Well-Established," August 12; "Where Matter of Inches in Measurement of Land Proved of No Great Concern," August 19; "[1889] Year of the Record Yield for Corn in This Region and Excitement It Caused," August 22; "Corn Production Contrast Between Yesterday and Today As Seen Around Wichita," August 24; "Part Taken by Wichitans in the Opening of Outlet Now Forty-five Years Ago," September 15; "Killing of Mr. John R. Hill in the Cherokee Outlet
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 221
Run Forty-five Years Ago Today," September 16; "Connection of Kansas With the War of 1812 and Blackhawk Campaign," September 20; "Memory of Atchison Bridge Still Vivid to Wichitan [Mrs. Curtis Munger] . . .," September 22; "One Night in a Kansas Home When Chance Guests Were Jesse James and Frank James," September 28; "Maize Academy Memories Are Among the Treasures of Many Pioneers Here," October 12; "Some Who Were Present When John R. Hill, Runner at the Opening, Was Killed," October 29; "Will Ayres' Recollection of Members of Faculty of Garfield University [Predecessor of Friends]," November 3; "Wichita Seventy Years Ago With the Echo of a Tragedy From the Prairies Southwest," November 10; "Tragedy of Young Doctor [Squire] Who Gave Life for Others on the Kansas Prairies," victim of cholera, November 11; "Discovery of Skeleton Brought Back the Story of Cholera Scourge Here," November 15; "Evidence of Populations Living Here in Deep Past Cited by [J. R. Mead] Wichita Pioneer," November 16; "Last of the Scalpings Carried Out by Indians in the Wichita Region," November 17; "Some Old Thanksgivings as Observed in Wichita in Three Ten-Year Periods," November 24; "Carrying Comfort and Cure to Suffering Pioneers of Prairie Countryside," Dr. Luther Ames' recollections of early medical practice, November 30; "Before Petroleum Appeared Over in Butler County and After It Had Arrived," December 9; "Earlier Ghosts of Kansas Which Walk On Occasion at Old Shawnee Mission," December 12, and "Part the French Played in the Early Development of This Prairie State," December 16.
St. Francis held a three-day jubilee August 18, 19 and 20, 1938, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the city. Phases of the city's early history were recalled in articles in the St. FrancisHerald, August 11 and 18.
"Alf Landon's Own Story of His Fight for Presidency" appeared in the Kansas City (Mo.)Star, and other newspapers, August 21-24, 1938.
Kansas is believed to have been the first state to set aside the first Monday in September for the observance of Labor day, wrote Cecil Howes in the Kansas City (Mo.)Star, September 4, 1938. The proclamation was issued by Gov. Lyman U. Humphrey on August 13, 1890. Moreover, the late R. W. Price of Weir City, a coal miner, is credited with giving the day its name. The occasion was a labor demonstration in New York. Price, who attended, was escorted into the receiving stand to witness the parade. He is re-
222 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ported to have climbed upon a chair and shouted: "This is a great. day to show the strength and power of labor. I proclaim it Labor day."
A history of Mariadahl's Swedish Lutheran Church, founded October 14, 1863, was reviewed in the Topeka Daily Capital, October 9, 1938.
On December 11, 1938, Topeka's Central Congregational Church celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. Dr. Charles M. Sheldon, first minister, was the featured speaker. Brief histories of the church were published contemporaneously by the Topeka Capital and State Journal. "Dr. Sheldon and Topeka Mark Half a Century In His Steps," was the title of an article by Cecil Howes in the Kansas City (Mo.) Times, December 12. In 1888 Doctor Sheldon was selected to head the new Central Congregational Church, comprising fifty-seven charter members. Today, fifty years later, it has a membership of more than 1,500. Doctor Sheldon retired from the pastorate some years ago to devote his time to writing. His book, In His Steps, made him world renown. More than twenty-five million copies have been published. Doctor Sheldon has thirty-two separate translations of the book.
A thirty-eight page seventy-fifth anniversary edition of The Courier-Tribune, Seneca, appeared December 15, 1938.The Nemaha County Courier was first issued by John P. Cone on November 14, 1863. Histories of Seneca and its churches, schools, railroads, newspapers and clubs were printed. Other pages contain Nemaha county history, pictures and biographical sketches of many of the county's pioneers, and brief historical sketches of communities adjoining Seneca. Feature articles include: "He [Green Campbell] Was Nemaha County's First and Last Millionaire," and "Red Riflemen," by John T. Bristow; "Civil War Veterans Waited 17 Years Before Organizing"; "George Graham Won Honor Both in War and in Peace"; "A Roster of Graduates of Seneca High School"; "Walt [Mason] Spins a Tale of the Long, Long Ago," and "W. F. Thompson Tells Story of Buried Gold at Richmond."
Early Kansas history received mention in The Platte County Gazette's special historical edition of December 16, 1938, marking the centennial of Parkville, Mo. Parkville, on the Missouri river, was founded by Col. George S. Park.
The National Bank of Topeka recently observed the seventieth anniversary of its founding. Its history was reviewed in the Topeka State Journal, December 30, 1938.
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Wichita Magazine, publication of the Wichita Chamber of Commerce, issued its 1938 Yearbook recently. The magazine, of eighty-four pages, provides a splendid pictorial record of business, educational and industrial life in KansaS' second city.
A special historical issue of the University Life, student publication of Friends University, Wichita, was printed March 3, 1939. The Life is now in its fortieth year. Blanche Longstreth was the first editor.
Ira H. Clark, of Great Bend, who founded the Hoisington Dispatch March 7, 1889, was guest editor of the fiftieth anniversary edition issued March 9, 1939. Several pages of pictures and historical feature articles were prepared for the edition by Mr. Clark and Roy Cornelius, present editor. Great Bend vicinity in 1877 was briefly discussed by C. J. Mackenroth in a letter written June 17, 1877, and published in the Dispatch, March 30.
William A. Carter's experiences while en route from Atchison to Fort Bridger (Wyoming) with Col. Albert Sidney Johnston's forces in 1857, were printed in diary form in the Annals of Wyoming, Cheyenne, April, 1939.
Old Oklahoma was opened for white settlement April 22, 1889. Sooner and Plains history was featured in several Oklahoma newspapers in fiftieth anniversary editions celebrating the event. Largest issue received by the Kansas Historical Society for filing was the 292-page Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman dated April 23, 1939.
St. Ann's Catholic Church at Olmitz observed the golden anniversary of its founding, May 9, 1939. A history of the parish was briefly sketched in the Hoisington Dispatch, May 4.
Tribute to Mary Day Brown, wife of John Brown, was paid by Jennie Small Owen in an article in the Topeka State Journal, May 11, 1939. While much has been written concerning her famous husband, very little has been recorded of Mrs. Brown's courage and sacrifice that "the cause" might live, wrote Miss Owen.
A history of the Troy Kansas Chief, now entering its eighty-third year of continuous publication, was printed in the Topeka Daily Capital, May 14, 1939.
The history of Topeka cemetery, "oldest organized cemetery in Kansas," was reviewed in the Topeka State Journal, May 29, 1939. The cemetery association was chartered by the territorial legislature on February 2, 1859.
