Those Walker sisters sure knew how to cook! Bertha Walker Johnson and Emma Walker Musgrove were restaurateurs for many years in Lakin, and the sisterly duo became well known for their excellent food and friendly service.
Bertha and Emma were the daughters of Jesse and Mamie Walker. Bertha, the oldest of the 11 Walker children, was born in 1909 in Tennessee where her parents farmed tobacco. The family moved to Virginia in 1911 and then to Kentucky where Emma was born in 1920. In 1921, the Walker family moved to Kansas, coming to Kearny County in 1927. According to the History of Kearny County, the family settled south of Lakin midway through the sandhills on Bear Creek on the SW quarter of 36-25-37. They eventually moved, living both in Hartland and Lakin where most of the children attended school.
Bertha married in 1924, and Emma in 1945. Their lives would take them in different directions. Bertha’s husband, Paul, was a mechanic, and the couple operated filling stations and garages while living in Missouri and in Texas. In 1929, the Johnsons moved back to Kansas, and in 1934, Bertha and her only child, Don, moved in with her parents. It was at this point in time that Bertha’s career in the food industry began. She went to work at the Tumbleweed Café on East Highway 50. This café was located where Lakin Automotive now stands. Bertha later left for Omaha, Neb. to attend beauty school. Deciding that was not her calling, she returned to Lakin and went back to work at the Tumbleweed. It was the Dirty 30s, and those were hard years. Bertha recalled, “if we served 12 meals, we had had a good day.”
In the late 30s, Bertha went to Great Bend where she worked in a hotel coffee shop. From there, she went to California where she managed the soda fountain and lunch room in a Rexall Drugstore at Pasadena. In September of 1953, Bertha and Emma’s father was struck by an automobile as he crossed the street to his home a block south of the Lakin depot. Mr. Walker was taken to the Kearny County hospital for treatment but died a few days later. Mrs. Walker went to California to live with Bertha but was very unhappy and homesick. Bertha brought her mother back to Lakin and stayed.
In 1954, Bertha purchased the restaurant equipment of Everett Wagoner and opened shop in the 66 Cafe. This business was in the west side of the Phillips 66 building on US 50 which sat where Valley Tire is now located. Emma’s husband, Frank, was in the oilfield industry. Because of his job, the Musgroves had lived various places including Oklahoma and Kansas, but in 1957, Emma joined her older sister in the restaurant business at Lakin. Em’s daughter, Sandy, with her smiling face and genuine enthusiasm was a regular fixture in the cafes.
In October of 1958, Bertha took over management of the Red Crown which was located in the service station that once sat on the corner where Casey’s is now located. Em continued to manage the “66” Café, but it wasn’t long before the sisters were working under the same roof again. In 1961, Bert and Em moved out of the Standard station and into the new and spacious Red Crown Café building just a stone’s throw away to the east. At their grand opening on March 28, 1961, Bert and Em served up chicken pot pie dinners for only 65 cents.
Frank Stewart owned the Red Crown building, and eventually offered to sell it to the sisters, but Bert and Em needed time to mull it over. Stewart ending up selling the building to someone else. The Walker Sisters made the move to Main Street in 1964 where they operated the Downtown Café at 119 S. Main until 1975.
That wasn’t the end of the sisters’ cooking days though. They were both members of the First Baptist Church and Golden Agers where their tasty vittles were enjoyed at many a covered dish dinner. But their talents extended beyond the kitchen. Emma was a gifted painter, and two of her paintings now belong to the Kearny County Historical Society. Bertha was an expert quilter and a member of the Senior Center’s quilting group for many years. Her handiwork graced many quilts, and this writer considers herself fortunate to have been gifted some of Bertha’s work.
Emma Walker Musgrove died at Lakin unexpectedly on June 10, 1984, of an apparent heart attack, and Bertha Walker Johnson passed away April 7, 2000, at the High Plains Retirement Village. The Walker sisters left an undeniable mark on their community. The museum was gifted a wonderful collection of black and white photos, most of them taken inside the 66 Café when Bert and Em were running the business. Next week, in lieu of an article, we will be sharing with you several of those photos which contain some familiar faces.
SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; History of Kearny County Vol. I; Kearny Senior Center Newsletter November 1982; Ancestry.com; archives of The Lakin Independent; and Museum archives.