Month: May 2023

Lakin’s City Park is a source of pride and has taken the efforts of many

In just a few days, the shrills and splashes of delighted children will be heard at Lakin’s outdoor swimming pool in the City Park. The opening of the swimming pool is an annual tradition that children and adults alike have been enjoying for nearly 75 years. Lakin’s City Park is the result of cooperative efforts over the years between the City of Lakin, Kearny County commissioners, Lakin Recreation Commission, countless donors and volunteers, and organizations like Lakin PRIDE, Lakin “50” Club, Civic and Study Club, Moonlight Chicks, Lakin Young Woman’s Club, La Flora Garden Club, PICS (Partners in Community Service) and the VFW Auxiliary.
In September 1946, voters approved general obligation bonds in the amount of $40,000 to establish a municipal park and swimming pool. Land was purchased from Howard Brehm, Elton Beymer, James Doyle and John Campbell. A swimming pool was constructed by Walters Sand Company of Manhattan in 1948. The City had hoped to have the pool open for July 4th that year, but two valves for the filtering equipment did not arrive in time. Undaunted, the savvy city crew used fire hoses to fill the pool. A bathhouse was added the following year. In 1966, voters approved a $45,000 bond issue to replace the pool and bathhouse because they could not accommodate the large number of swimmers and maintenance costs had been excessive. With the federal government funding half of the project, contractor P. L. Dale completed the pool and new bathhouse in 1968. Since then, other improvements have been made including the installment of slides and shade shelters.
In 1999, Clyde Beymer donated a million dollars in memory of his wife, Barbara, to construct an indoor swimming pool, and county commissioners agreed to chip in up to $250,000. The old bathhouse was demolished as locker rooms with private showers and a concession area were included in the Beymer Aquatic Center which opened May 2001. The pool was a welcome addition in the community and is used year-round.
In the ‘50s, the Lakin “50” Club donated a complete set of playground equipment, and along with the VFW Auxillary, donated money for a picnic area in the park. Many of the original trees and shrubs were donated and planted by volunteers and City employees under the direction of Ad McVey, former superintendent of parks. Plantings included spruce trees, red cedars, Lombardy poplars, shade trees and flowering peach trees. At one time, a large Christmas tree and nativity set were placed in the park for the yuletide holidays.
Mary Thornbrough covered the bulk of the expense to build the Boy Scout Cabin in City Park in memory of her son Wayne, a pilot who perished during a combat mission in World War II. Doyle and Campbell contributed the $1,195 they had received for park land to the cause as well. The Scouts also raised funds and received other donations. Scout members did much of the rough work, and some of the finishing was done by the Legionnaires. Under the direction of Paul McVey, City Manager from 1953-1956, the City crew and volunteers completed the project. According to the City of Lakin, the fireplace was built about 1957 from stone donated by Marvin Kash, and the cement floor was poured about 1959. The Lakin YWCA bought evergreens that were planted in front of the scout cabin in memory of Ethel Norris and Marion Hurst, past presidents of the club. Thelma Leonard planted a bed of cannas just east of the building.
In 1964, the City Council gave permission to the Girl Scouts to build their scout house in the park. The Jaycees ran the foundation in September of 1965 but did not start constructing the building until two years later. The building was funded by the Jaycees, American Legion, BPW, Girl Scout fundraisers, and other group and individual donations. The Girl Scout Cabin is now being renovated and will be the site of the City’s new community daycare.
As his Eagle Scout project in 2014, Yordi Siersema built an awning for a covered picnic area towards the east end of the park. The project was dedicated in memory of siblings Catherine and Bryan Elliott who were both active in scouting and killed in a vehicle accident in August 2005. In 2020, Conor Jones came up with the idea of a bicycle repair station for his Eagle Scout project. Located near the basketball courts, the project was completed by Jones, some of his scouting friends, and the City crew.
The basketball courts were originally tennis courts. Construction began in 1965 with Don Canfield, then minister for the First Christian Church, leading the charge. The courts were built with youth and volunteer labor and funded solely through donations and fundraisers. Over the years, the popularity of tennis waned, and the courts gave way to basketball courts in the early ‘90s. The renovation of the courts was a 2015 PRIDE project. The old concrete was removed and new poured, court lines painted, and six goals installed. A donor sidewalk engraved with names of the top donors was also included in the project.
SOURCES: City of Lakin minutes, Lakin Independent and Museum archives
Members of the Beymer Family are shown during groundbreaking ceremonies for the Beymer Aquatic Center in April 2000. Pictured are Gary and Dixie Beymer, Clyde Beymer holding the shovel, and Bob and Diane Beymer with their daughters, Michelle, Taryn and Caitlin. Pictured below is the indoor swimming facility.

 

Lakin’s post of the Grand Army of the Republic organized in 1885

From the May 4, 1893 Advocate: “members of the G.A.R. Post had their photos taken in a group on Tuesday afternoon, with colors loyally on guard and conquering heroes all together.” Standing left to right: Capt. W.B. Logan, D.H. Camp, Benjamin Farrell, Charles Schultz, Benjamin F. Dye, George H. Tate, Sr., Charles Otto, and William P. Loucks. Seated L-R: James L. Simmons, Charles O. Chapman, William P. Haywood, Arthur W. Sudduth and James Mullany.

Among the many accomplishments credited to the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) is the designation of Memorial Day as a yearly tradition. By the late 1860s, various communities had already been holding springtime tributes to fallen soldiers of the Civil War by decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers. On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, national commander-in-chief of the G.A.R., issued the order that established Decoration Day as May 30, and Logan called upon G.A.R. members to make the May 30 observance an annual occurrence. The first large ceremony was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery where General James Garfield gave a speech, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there with small American flags.  By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. After World War I, the day was expanded to honor soldiers who died in all American Wars, but it was not until 1971 that Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday. At that time, the last Monday of May was designated as the official day of observance.

The Grand Army of the Republic was founded in 1866 as a fraternal organization composed of Civil War veterans who served in the Union Army, Union Navy and the Marines. The organization began as an outlet for fellowship between those with shared experiences but grew to be the most powerful single-issue political lobby of the late 19th century promoting voting rights for black veterans, advocating for federal pensions for veterans, supporting Republican candidates, and helping to elect five U.S. presidents from its own membership. G.A.R. was the largest of all the Union Army veterans’ organizations with a membership of 410,000 at its peak in 1890. At one time, the G.A.R. in Kansas had over 19,000 members in 478 posts.

The Lakin Post #364 of the G.A.R. was organized September 8, 1885. According to the Sept. 12, 1885 Advocate, over 5,000 people attended the affair. About 25 members of the Garden City G.A.R. Post arrived by train in the afternoon accompanied by their wives, daughters, and sweethearts. Also onboard were a large number of Garden City residents and the Garden City Brass Band which had the honor of being the first band to ever play on the streets of Lakin. While the ladies and citizens were escorted to the Commercial House, the band and G.A.R. boys formed in line and marched to the town hall where Judge H.M. Wheeler of Garden City took charge and proceeded to muster in the Lakin post. Thirteen charter members were included on the muster roll. Following the election of officers, the men formed again and marched over to the hotel where they joined those waiting there for a sumptuous supper served up by the hotel’s genial hostess, Amy Loucks. Everyone returned afterwards to the town hall which was packed by locals and people from surrounding towns. The new officers were installed, and the audience sang, “Marching Through Georgia.”  A grand ball followed with the crowd dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Lakin’s G.A.R. was a provider of entertainment, source of local charity, and organizer of patriotic events including the annual Decoration Day procession and services. The last member of Lakin’s post was Captain William Barringer Logan, no apparent relation to G.A.R. Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan. When William died on September 16th, 1926 at 90 years of age, flags in Lakin were placed at half-mast in recognition of the service he had given to his country.

The national G.A.R. was dissolved in 1956 following the death of its last member, Albert Woolson of Minnesota who is also widely considered the last surviving veteran of the Civil War. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic.

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Kansas State Historical Society; Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; History of Kearny County Vol. 1; Sept. 12, 1885 and May 4, 1893 Advocate; Sept. 24, 1926 Lakin Independent; Wikipedia; History.com; Ancestry.com, and museum archives.

VALUE OF CURRENT AND PAST NEWSPAPERS CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED

The survival of hometown newspapers is uncertain in this digital age. According to the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media, the United States lost one-fourth of its newspapers between 2004 and 2019. This included 70 dailies and more than 2,000 weeklies or nondaily papers. Eighteen of those papers were in Kansas.

Too many people won’t realize the value of their local paper until the paper no longer exists. For some, the loss won’t be felt until years later when they are trying to research family, community and other historical events. Newspaper editors and reporters have been the prime, sometimes sole, source of credible and comprehensive news and information in their communities. This is especially true for residents in small towns like Lakin. For researching Kearny County, there is no better place than the archives of our local papers.

The Lakin Eagle was the first paper to be printed in Lakin with the inaugural issue released in May of 1879 and the last issue on October 10 of that year. The four-column, four-page tabloid had three different editors during its short life.

The Lakin Herald was a full-sized publication that ran monthly from June to December of 1881 when it began publishing weekly. This was a remarkable feat at that time because the linotype had not yet been invented, and printing was a tedious task with each letter of each word having to be set by hand. Editor Joseph Dillon was an excellent story teller but admittedly could not set type, a task left to his daughter Maria. A yearly subscription to the Herald sold for $1.50. The last issue archived in Kansas State Historical Society files is dated June 27, 1884.

From 1885-1890, A.B. Boylan published Lakin Pioneer Democrat. The full-size weekly paper had four pages. Pages 1 and 4 were ready print, meaning they came to Boylan already printed eliminating a good deal of the typesetting. Those pages contained news and advertisements from across the state and nation. Local news and advertisements were printed on the inside pages. This was a common practice at that time.

The lone issue of The Lakin Union was published by H.S. Gregory on March 28, 1895. The following week, Gregory announced that he had purchased the subscription list and franchise of the Kearny County Advocate. “Owing to a legal complication we continue the name of the ADVOCATE and drop that of the LAKIN UNION.”

F.R. French published The Lakin Index, a full-size weekly paper, from 1890 to 1898. He then went on to publish The Lakin Investigator for a year. The Investigator had several editors and publishers during it existence, one of which was Harry Tate. The last issue of the paper ran on Jan. 6, 1911. The paper was then merged with The Kearny County Advocate, the second-longest running paper in Kearny County.

The first issue of The Kearney County Advocate was printed on May 23, 1885. Beginning with the May 29, 1890 issue, the spelling was changed to Kearny County Advocate. After merging with The Investigator in 1911, the paper ran eight issues under the name of The Kearny County Advocate and The Lakin Investigator. The name was then changed back to Kearny County Advocate until January 1918 when it changed to simply The Advocate. The weekly paper went through three editors in its first year: Charles S. Hughes, Tune Bentley and F.R. French. That changeover was just a glimpse as to the many times the paper would change hands during its existence. The brothers Menn (R. Thorpe and Don) served as the paper’s last editor and publisher, respectively. After selling the paper, the hometown boys continued in the print media field with Thorpe working in several capacities at the Kansas City Star and Don joining the production department of the McCall Corporation which printed McCall’s Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Newsweek and more.

The Lakin Independent was launched July 10, 1914 by M.B. Royer and was purchased by local girl Grace Hamblen in 1919. Edward Stullken bought the paper in 1922, and in 1937, he bought out The Advocate and merged it with the Independent. When Stullken retired from active newspaper service in 1946, his son Leslie took charge for a year before leasing the paper to Monte and Gloria Canfield in 1947. The Canfields purchased the Independent in 1953. Monte was one of the best in the business with an innate writing ability, wit, and a true sense of community.  He passed in 2003, and long-time Independent employee Kathy McVey and her husband, Joe, bought the paper in 2006.

Deerfield, Hartland and the North Flats also had their share of newspapers. The last of those papers to survive was Deerfield’s Arkansas Valley Builder which ceased operation nearly a century ago.

The value of our current and past newspapers cannot be overstated. Almost every day museum staff use the archives to fulfill a research request, to write an article, add information to museum files, or to confirm or correct previously published information. Clippings are taken from the current Independents as well and filed for future reference. Where would be without our local paper? Hopefully this community will never have to find out.

L-R: W.E. Slavens, publisher; Maggie Slavens, owner; Grace Grimes, local editor; and L.P. Kimball, business manager outside the Advocate circa 1915.
Grace Hamblen, editor and publisher of The Lakin Independent. Her assistant, Grace Carter Wright, is on the left. Circa 1921.
Gloria Canfield is picture at far left feeding the cylinder press while Hazel Stullken sets copy. Independent editor Monte Canfield is on the right side of the picture. 1948
Then and Now: The Independent building was completed in 1931 and received a modern facelift in 2022.

 

SOURCES: Much of the information in this article was researched for Volume I of the History of Kearny County by the late Hazel Stullken, daughter-in-law of Ed Stullken and an Independent employee for over 40 years; museum and newspaper archives; High Plains Public Radio; and USnewsdeserts.com.

 

 

Dr. George F. Johnston, pioneer MD

The oldest building on Lakin’s Main Street is small and unassuming. Glancing at its limestone façade, one could never guess the significance of the building to the people who called Lakin home in the first part of the 20th Century. The original part of the structure at 113 N. Main was completed in January 1904 for Dr. George F. Johnston, M.D. In addition to his office and consultation rooms, the facility also served somewhat as a hospital since there were no other ones here at the time.
Dr. Johnston arrived in Lakin in September of 1895 during the horse and buggy days of medicine. Born and raised in Reading, Pa., he was a graduate of Lafayette College. He graduated with high honors from the prestigious Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1887 and completed his post graduate work at Bellevue Medical College of New York City. In 1892, Dr. Johnston made his way to nearby Leoti where he married Katherine Tipton in 1894.
A man of deep sympathy and humanity, the good doctor loved his profession. He made house calls both day and night, in good weather and in bad, sacrificing his physical self to relieve the suffering of others even when they had no money to pay his fees. Dr. Johnston often made the long drive to Ulysses and Garden City to treat patients. Accounts of his service were regularly related in the local papers such as when he had so many patients to call on that he hadn’t taken his clothes off for three nights. When Lake McKinney was under construction, one of the workers came down with small pox, and Dr. Johnston avoided an epidemic by immediately quarantining the camp. Answering a house call to Kendall in December of 1921 required the doctor to use a sled to get to his patient.
From 1899 to 1901, Dr. Johnston was Kearny County’s representative to the Legislature where he served as a member of the public health, railroad, and agricultural committees. Along with a fellow doctor from Ellsworth, Dr. Johnston succeeded in getting medical legislation passed that resulted in the organization of the first State Board of Medical Registration and Examination. Kansas Governor William Stanley appointed Dr. Johnston as the first president of the board, a selection made with much scrutiny and care. Dr. Johnston’s 1901 medical license was the first issued in the state and is on display at the Kearny County Museum.
Dr. Johnston also served as the chairman of the Republican County Central Committee for many years and was a delegate to nearly every state Republican convention for over 20 years. He was a member of the Lakin Presbyterian Church, Knights Templars of Garden City, and the Lakin Blue Lodge and Order of Eastern Star. According to information provided by his late daughter, the doctor was a lifelong student and could be found reading medical journals or historical readings in his free time.
At the time of Dr. Johnston’s death in 1925, there were thousands of dollars on his books that had gone uncollected. Despite almost impassable roads and poor weather conditions, nearly the entire town attended his funeral, a true showing of admiration and respect for the man who had given so much of himself for the health and well-being of others.
SOURCES: A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans compiled by William E. Connelley; Tribute to Father by Elizabeth Johnston Gillespie; History of Kearny County Vol. 1; Dec. 13, 1894 Western Kansan; Sept. 26, 1895 Leoti Standard; Feb. 18, 1898 Lakin Index; Jan. 28, 1904 and Oct. 1, 1920 Advocate; Dec. 9, 1921 and Nov. 20, 1925 Lakin Independent; Nov. 16, 1901 Lakin Investigator; and museum archives.