Author: Museum Staff

After Lakin won back the county seat from Hartland, not only did several Hartland residents move here, but several Hartland buildings were moved to Lakin as well. In November of 1894, the Kearny County Advocate reported that Captain J.H. Leeman had contracted with carpenters J.B. Harbolt & Adam Heiland to disassemble one of the businesses houses at Hartland and rebuild it for a hotel on two lots on the west corner of South Main Street and Railroad Avenue in Lakin. Leeman had previously been the proprietor of the Buffalo House at Hartland, but that hotel burned down in November of 1893, and Leeman was eager to get back into the hospitality business. The contractors pushed work on Leeman’s new hotel, and the Lakin House was opened that Christmas when Leeman treated a group of 25 to a turkey dinner. The Lakin House was advertised as one of the “most home-like and commodious Hotels in Western Kansas.” With the depot only a short distance away, the hotel’s location was perfect.

The Lakin House underwent changes in management several times and even housed the Kearny County Courthouse from 1895 to 1899. Then, in November 1901, James (Jim) Gibson purchased the property. Later that same month, Gibson also took a wife when he married Mary Ellen Nash, the eldest daughter of John and Mary Ann Nash. The English-born Gibson, a resident of Kearny County since 1894, was congenial and favorably known about town, and his new wife was quite the cook.

Jim Gibson thoroughly renovated the Lakin House. The enterprise was advertised as having the best food and prompt service with new carpets, furniture, bedding and “everything that goes to make its patrons a comfortable home.” In 1905, Gibson added a laundry room, and in April 1906, he changed the name of his enterprise to the Gibson House. Later that year, work began on a two-story concrete block addition to the north of the wooden structures. This addition opened in early 1907 and added “some ten rooms on the second floor for the accommodation of the traveling public” with the lower floor holding a billiard room and reading room. The culinary department of the hotel was located in a rear room, and there was even a barber shop in connection with the hotel.

 

The Gibson was a popular resort for commercial travelers, and game dinners (when in season) were one of the Gibson’s special features. Jim was an ardent sportsman and usually attended to killing the game himself. The Gibson was also frequented by big land companies who liked to bring their eastern patrons there to be fed. “The Gibson House always fills the bill. The land agent knows what a good dinner will do for a prospective buyer and if he can work him through one of Lady Gibson’s meals just before showing him a fine quarter, he is sure of a sale,” The Advocate claimed in a January 1911 issue. “Everybody who comes to Lakin will remember the meals and tell easterners of the way they were served in that town of Lakin.”

According to The Advocate, James Gibson never tired of making improvements in and around his popular house. In 1907, The Investigator reported that Gibson was going to sink a soft water well, “and in case of fire his facilities for subduing the flames will be of the best.” At that time, the Gibson House advertised as the only modern equipped hotel in Kearny County with steam heat and soft water.

At least three fires occurred at the Gibson. In October of 1903, Mrs. Gibson’s hands were severely burned when she grabbed a lamp that had caught fire and exploded as she threw it outside. She was heralded for her quick action which was believed to have saved the hotel and possibly the town. In March of 1908, a small fire burned a hole through the roof of the Gibson. Then, on the evening of Saturday, September 27, 1913, Lakin’s fire bell rang out alerting residents that the Gibson House was ablaze. Lakin’s fire department responded promptly, and in a few minutes, citizens from all parts of town were helping fight the flames. All but one of the hotel guests were two blocks away attending a performance at Snow’s Opera House. When the alarm sounded, everyone left the opera house, including the actors, to help fight the fire and save what furniture they could. Still, in a very short time, the wooden frame part of the Gibson House was reduced to ashes, and the cement building was left a total wreck. For a while, it looked as if the Eyman store next door would also burn, but the fire department saved it. However, all the stock and fixtures were carried out into the street.

Almost all of the furniture that was on the hotel’s ground floor was saved, but everything in the upper rooms burned. The only clothing that Jim and Mary Ellen saved was what they were wearing. Pool tables, chairs, tables, dishes, and other assorted items were strewn from the depot to the Kearny County Bank on the opposite end of the block. According to the papers, a big rain which had preceded the fire Friday night and into Saturday, along with calm winds, was all that kept Lakin’s Main street from going down in flames. The origin of the fire was unknown, but the supposition was that it started from the explosion of a kerosene lamp.

On October 24, 1913, the Advocate reported that Gibson was repairing the cement block building, and in November, the paper reported that H.H. Tipton had purchased the property. Gibson re-opened his billiard and pool room in another location, but the following June, he and his wife moved to Lamar, Colo. where they reportedly had secured a billiard hall, barber shop and home.  As for the old Gibson building, the structure still stands at 119 South Main. It has had a myriad of proprietors and businesses pass through it over the years, including hotels, eateries, and bars/recreation rooms. While many may recognize it as the former location of CJ’s Pawn Shop, long-time residents will remember it best as the Downtown Café. The building is currently owned by Kelly Ramos and undergoing repairs and renovations.

 

SOURCES: “Diggin’ Up Bones” by Betty Barnes; History of Kearny County Vols. I & II; archives of The Advocate, Investigator, Hartland Herald, Hartland Times, Dodge City Globe, Hutchinson News and Topeka Capital-Journal; and Museum archives.

Nearly 37 years as the area’s wildlife officer provided Bruce Peters with more than a few tales. Lakin was quite a change for Peters when he came here in October of 1966 to work for the Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission. After nine months as a security guard at the State Office Building in Topeka, Bruce found that he really liked the open spaces, the Arkansas River and the sand hills. Lake McKinney was like a wonderful jewel. With roughly 3,000 surface acres of water, the lake provided a winter home for some 250,000 to 300,000 ducks, a few geese and sandhill cranes. Peters worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service his first three winters to band at least 1,000 mallards. He said that it was cold hard work, but getting to handle so many ducks was “quite neat.”

One of Bruce’s more amusing stories was about a group of fishermen who had come to fish for channel cat in Ray Pope’s pay-fishing ponds southwest of Deerfield. The men arrived shortly after lunch, and the fish were really biting. Soon the men had a nice string of catfish, more than they had planned to buy. They paid Ray and prepared to return to Garden City, but on the way to Deerfield, they realized what time it was and how much time that they still had to fish. So they made their way to Lake McKinney, put their strings of fish in the lake, and started fishing again.

“I was checking fishermen along the dam when I encountered them,” Bruce said. “They couldn’t wait to show me their catfish. I soon realized that they had an over limit of nice channel catfish. I asked to see their fishing licenses and then asked them about the fish. They tried to keep straight faces, but I soon tumbled that something was going on. They finally broke out in laughter and showed me their bill of sale Ray had given them.”

When department biologists wanted to release wild turkeys, they contacted Bruce, and he thought the river bottoms in Hamilton and Kearny counties would be ideal. He was invited to help set up drop nets in the Liberal area too. “We soon had limited numbers of turkeys in these counties. They did well for several years.”

When Peters came here, Southwest Kansas was the pheasant capital of Kansas, and a motel room was nearly impossible to find in early November on opening weekend. “We were at that time an area that hunted mainly small game so most everyone went out to hunt on the opening day. We had bob white quail and blue quail, and prairie chicks were found in the edge of sand hills.”

Four-hour NRA Hunter Safety Classes were held, and local sportsmen needed these classes if they hunted in Colorado. In 1973, hunter safety became mandatory in Kansas for hunters born after July 1, 1957. Peters taught hunter education to multiple generations.

About 1979, the forestry part was dropped, and the fish and game commission was combined with Kansas Park Authority to become the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Bruce said this was a trying time for many officers as they were then cross-trained as police officers to work in the state parks. “I loved wildlife law enforcement but didn’t care for the park shifts and being a police officer.” This practice was eventually discontinued so that wildlife officers and park officers are separate entities.

In 1982, Bruce was honored as the Spikar-Safari Club International Wildlife Officer of the Year for the State of Kansas. He had been recommended for the award for his work in getting the Beymer Park Water Recreation Area developed.

Bruce noticed that hunter numbers began to decline around 1980. He said many sportsmen “just put their shotguns away” and those who did hunt moved away from hunting small game to hunting deer. He attributed the changes to more restrictions and less water fowl. “It was no longer considered really “In” to be a hunter.”

Around 1990, the Greater Canada Geese project was started, and many nesting boxes were placed near water areas. Eventually several thousand geese wintered in the Lake McKinney area. In the fall of 1995, Bruce was allowed a collection permit to shoot Sand Hill Cranes and collected 33 of them. These birds were used to secure data that would later help Kansas establish a Sand Hill Crane Season. Going into 2000, the area was in a drought. Wildlife numbers were down, and Beymer Park was the only public water in Peters’ coverage area that still had fish.

Bruce retired from his duties with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks in June 2003. During his tenure, some unusual wildlife visited the area including a moose that spent some time in Grant County and an alligator at the Ulysses Golf Course. The gator was taken to several schools before Bruce took it to the Great Bend Zoo. A small black bear moved through southwest Kansas one summer, coming into the state near Elkhart, moving northeast to just north of Ulysses. Bruce tracked the bear which was spotted along HWY 25 nine miles south of Lakin and seen 10 miles north of town a few days later. The bear moved further north toward Leoti where it turned west and was last sited in Kiowa County, Colorado. Bruce even trapped a Golden Eagle south of Syracuse that had killed several small piglets, and he took the eagle to Lee Richardson Zoo where it lived for several years before being released back into the wild. Peters relocated several species, including over 400 skunks, and he showed many of the different wild animals that he picked up. “If I was at a café or quick shop with a bunch of people around the truck, I probably had some critter for everyone to look at.”

This article was gleamed from a collection of stories that Bruce Peters wrote in the early 2000s for The Lakin Independent and Kearny County Historical Society. Bruce was a KCHS member, and his wife, Linda, has served as an officer for many years and currently serves as president of the organization. After Bruce’s recent passing on July 19, a memorial was established in his name at the Kearny County Museum.

Monthly gatherings of the local Fiddlers, Pickers and Singers used to draw large crowds of people to Lakin from all over Southwest Kansas. Unfortunately, their numbers grew thin because there just wasn’t enough new blood stepping in to fill the shoes of the members who died. Then came Covid, followed by the death of Curtis Young, the club’s president, in December 2021. What was once toted as the “best place in the world to come and have entertainment with fiddlers and pickers” folded.

The Western Plains Chapter of the Kansas Oldtime Fiddlers, Pickers and Singers met for the first time September 4, 1977, at the Lakin Grade School. There were around 135 guests with 14 performers. Officers were elected at the October meeting, and membership in the state organization was finalized in January of 1978. There were many chapters in Eastern Kansas, but Lakin’s was the first west of Arkansas City. KOFP&S had begun in 1966 as a non-profit entertainment and education corporation. The organization’s mission was to promote, encourage, educate and preserve the enjoyment by the general public of the form of entertainment known as oldtime music.

At first, the Western Plains Chapter met at various places such as the high school auditorium, the Saddle Club, Lake McKinney and even Lee Richardson Zoo. Then the Memorial Building became the venue of choice. The gatherings gave amateur musicians an opportunity to share their talents as well as hone them. The repertoire ranged from oldtime country music to gospel to bluegrass and even some original numbers. But sheet music was rarely seen; most of these musicians played by ear, and few had ever taken a music lesson. There were bass and steel guitarists, fiddlers, banjo strummers, harmonica blowers, keyboard artists, singers and more. Both experienced musicians and beginners were welcomed.

There were also those who came just to listen. KOFP&S encouraged community participation and invited guests to attend performances at no cost, but many non-musicians paid the minimal membership fee and joined to support the music, the musicians and KOFP&S objectives. There was no smoking, no drinking and no dancing; still, the seats were filled with young and old fans who clapped their hands and tapped their feet to the beat. Many sang along. Music, friendship and even some good-natured ribbing made for an afternoon of wholesome entertainment. Every musician was given a round of applause no matter how good or not-so-good his or her performance. Eventually the chapter began handing out yearly awards to performers who were voted as favorites. Musicians could also receive state-wide recognition by competing at KOFP&S conventions.

From the beginning, Lakin’s monthly jam sessions led to lasting friendships and other opportunities for the musicians to entertain at community events, senior centers, nursing homes, fairs, fundraisers and more. The fiddlers and pickers were regulars at many area events including Deerfield Days, Pioneer Day at the Kearny County Museum, and the Lakin Grade School’s Kansas Day celebrations.

In 2012, the chapter reorganized and broke away from the state organization. With numbers waning and fewer donations, sending fees to the state organization didn’t make sense. The club was renamed the High Plains Country Music Fiddlers, Pickers and Singers, but its purpose of bringing western Kansas musicians together remained the same. For over 40 years, these musicians not only spread joy every time they met, they also helped to preserve a part of America’s musical heritage.

SOURCES: Archives of the Lakin Independent and Museum archives with special thanks to Mary Grubbs.

 

In July of 1920, a stranger driving a Dodge car with Texas tags arrived in Kearny County. The man was in his early 20s and went by the name of Walter Tunis. Jesse Craig, foreman of the Finnup Ranch, hired the man to work at the ranch, but Craig became suspicious when Tunis tried to sell him the car. Craig contacted Kearny County Sheriff Orla Hefner who learned that the vehicle had been stolen. According to some accounts, another man had accompanied Tunis but left the ranch by the time that Sheriff Hefner went there to bring in Tunis.

On the evening of Tuesday, August 3, Sheriff Hefner arrived at the Craig home which was two miles east of Lakin and south of the Arkansas River. It was suppertime, and Hefner was invited to join them for the meal. Then Tunis asked if he could go upstairs supposedly to get some of his personal effects. The suspect then accompanied Hefner to the sheriff’s car. It was at this time that Tunis shot Sheriff Hefner, but newspaper accounts are very inconsistent. While one report said that Tunis shot Hefner in the back when he bent down in front of his vehicle to hand crank it, another claimed that Tunis shot Hefner in the chest when the sheriff opened the car door for Tunis to get inside. Still another report claimed that Hefner was shot in the neck, and another claimed he was shot in the stomach while reaching for handcuffs. Regardless, nothing could be done to save the lawman, and he died before Doctor Johnston arrived on the scene.

Tunis escaped on one of Craig’s horses. Officers from surrounding counties were notified, and multiple posses were formed.  Alerts regarding the fugitive were sent out by runners, phone and telegraph across the entire countryside. Some persons reported seeing a man get off a horse just south of the Deerfield bridge and stand on the opposite side of the horse as though he did not wish to be too closely observed. At this report, the Deerfield posse led by E. Vencil Morris, a deputy sheriff, sped to the area. Assuming that Tunis had fled south to the sandhills, they followed a road that went toward the hills and found a gate that had been opened and was left lying on the ground. They also found fresh horse tracks leading north. The officers patrolled the road all night.

When daylight came, Morris went back to Deerfield and gave orders to patrol both the Deerfield and Holcomb bridges; however, the guard on the Holcomb bridge either left his post or had not arrived. Tunis left his horse and gear at a vacant house south and west of the Holcomb bridge, walked across the bridge and on into Holcomb. He roused a woman who operated a restaurant to get his breakfast. The woman became suspicious so she told him she would have to go to the store for some groceries. Tunis continued on north across the railroad tracks to a house a mile or so north of Holcomb. He was given breakfast there then left the house and crossed a large cane field before coming out into open grassland.

A quarter of a mile north, Kearny Countians Fred Dye and Frank McAllister were hiding in an irrigation ditch. Finney County Sheriff Lee Richardson and his men were also on the scene.  As Tunis came nearer, the men called for him to surrender, but Tunis still had the revolver he had used to kill Hefner and started shooting. Shots were returned, and Tunis was struck in the shoulder. According to the Garden City Telegram, Tunis then ran into a weed patch. “Being wounded and nearly exhausted, Tunis realized that escape was impossible and to escape being captured alive, he pointed the gun barrel to his own left breast and pulled the trigger.” He was located and taken to Garden City where he died soon after his arrival there. While riding into town, Tunis supposedly bragged to the officers that they didn’t take him but that he shot himself.

A large quantity of ammunition was found in Tunis’s trunk at the Finnup Ranch, and it was soon discovered that the young man was a deserter from Fort Bliss. The War Department refused to pay his funeral expenses. Tunis claimed he had a wife and child and that his mother lived at Mason City, Illinois, but no family members came forward to pay for the body to be returned. Kearny County Commissioners paid Finney County $75 towards having the murderer buried in a pauper’s grave at Valley View Cemetery. Tunis, who also went by the name of Ralph Latour, had previously been in trouble with the law over his “sticky fingers”.

Sheriff Orla Francis Hefner was born at Harrison County, Missouri in 1881, one of William and Anna Kemp Hefner’s nine children. He was united in marriage to Miss Veva May Porter of Bethany, MO in 1903. In 1906, the young couple came to Kearny County, following Orla’s parents and siblings who had moved here the year prior and took up claims about six miles west of Lakin. Orla moved in 1914 into Lakin where he was proprietor of a livery barn, and he was appointed undersheriff in January of 1915. He was highly respected and known for his kind heart, and in 1918, Orla was rewarded for his competency when he was elected sheriff. He was up for re-election and was killed the same day as the 1920 primary election. According to the Garden City Herald, Lakin citizens were so deeply distraught over the sheriff’s murder that “there is no doubt the murderer would have been lynched if he had been taken alive.”

Orla Hefner left behind many relatives including two children who he and his wife had adopted, seven-year-old Ralph and three-year-old Dorothy Mae. Orla’s widow returned with the two children to Missouri where she re-married then later divorced. She died in 1972.

 

SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; “The Tragedy of the Shooting of the Kearny County Sheriff” as told by E. Vencil Morris for Vol. I of the History of Kearny County; Archives of Kearny County Advocate, Lakin Independent, Garden City Telegram, Garden City Herald, and Decatur Daily Review; Ancestry.com; findagrave and Museum archives.

Deerfield’s annual Summer Celebration is coming this weekend, and throngs of people will converge on the little town to partake in its down-home hospitality. The late Oliver and Hazel Shriver knew a thing or two about hospitality. Both were strong leaders in the Deerfield community, and their contributions there and in the surrounding area are still felt to this day.

Oliver W. Shriver was born December 26, 1903 on a farm near Clearwater, Kans., the third son of Aza and Ruby (Coulson) Shriver. When Oliver was six, the family moved to Barber County where he grew to manhood. In the late teens, Oliver’s parents bought land near Hooker, Okla., but later traded this for land near Moscow, Kans. At this time, Oliver and his father entered into a farming partnership whereby Oliver was the “suitcase” farmer during the summer months and returned to the family farm near Lake City, Kans. in the winter to help his father feed cattle and hogs. Oliver eventually bought out the partnership and moved to Deerfield in 1928.

Hazel Adeline Steenis was born September 21, 1907 at a farm just southwest of Hartford, Kansas, the oldest of three daughters born to John “Jack” and Edith Brewer Steenis. In 1913, Hazel and her family moved to Kearny County and settled on a farm near Deerfield where she attended school and graduated from Deerfield High School with the class of 1926. After attending Emporia Teachers College for two years, she returned to Kearny County and taught for one year at a rural school north of Deerfield known as Harmony Hill.

It was fate that Oliver’s and Hazel’s paths would cross, and in June of 1936, they were married in the court house at Garden City. They immediately moved to the Rector farm north of Deerfield where they spent nearly 40 years acquiring land, developing irrigation and growing with the times. Hazel worked alongside Oliver, playing a major role in the success of their farming operation. In 1974, the couple moved into Deerfield, but then left in 1978 for Arizona only to return to the place they called “home” two years later.

Both Oliver and Hazel were active in community affairs and belonged to various organizations, but it was their generosity that stood out the most. Because Oliver wanted a place to gather with the farmers and drink coffee, the Shrivers built and furnished the Deerfield Café for the community and deeded the café to the Deerfield Lions Club in 1981. The building now serves as the Deerfield Recreation Commission’s Fitness Corner.

The Shrivers were also the benefactors of the Deerfield City Shop and provided funds for remodeling Deerfield’s City Hall. They purchased a back hoe for use at the Deerfield Cemetery and provided funding for the water well and irrigation system there too. It was their way of “repaying the community of Deerfield for the hospitality it is has shown us,” Hazel said.

Hazel and Oliver had strong feelings for their church too and made major contributions to the Deerfield Methodist Church’s building fund, carpet, remodeling and furnishings. As a result, the church’s Sunday School wing was named in Hazel’s honor.

Oliver preceded Hazel in death in March of 1984. To honor the couple for being such fine citizens and generous contributors, Saturday, September 29, 1984, was proclaimed “Oliver and Hazel Shriver Day” by Deerfield Mayor James Jarboe, Sr.

Hazel decided to set up scholarships at Garden City Community College in her and Oliver’s names to benefit young people in the area. “In this world, there are so many interesting things to do, to see and to learn. Each of us should continually have a mind open to new ideas and accept the challenge to learn. If these scholarships help the young people to achieve a goal, they will have been very worthwhile,” she said. In all, Hazel established 12 different scholarships at GCCC representing a wide range of interests. The GCCC Endowment Association honored her with the 1985-86 Outstanding Service Award.

Hazel was a staunch supporter of Camp Lakeside near Scott City and the Russell Child Development Center of Garden City too. She also contributed to the Kearny County Hospital, Family Health Center and Kearny County Museum. An active member of the Kearny County Historical Society, she assisted with both History of Kearny County books as well as the supplemental index. Genealogy was one of Hazel’s many interests, and she held memberships in the genealogical societies of Finney County, Dodge City and Topeka. She was recognized for meritorious service/distinguished work in the field of family history in June of 1992 by the Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies.

In 1993, Hazel moved to Garden Valley Retirement Village at Garden City, and she passed away in January of 2000. She and Oliver had no children; however, countless Deerfield children were blessed with their kindness, especially those who were lucky enough to have Hazel “babysit” them or assist with their 4-H projects. Oliver was described as the kind of man who made quick decisions but never looked back. He was mechanically minded and never afraid to try something new. Hazel was spunky, joyful and smart. Not only were they made for each other, they made a lasting impression on those who were fortunate enough to know them.

 

SOURCES: History of Kearny County, Kansas Vols. I & II; Museum archives; and archives of The Lakin Independent and Garden City Telegram.

Chances are, Merlin Line will come up in more than a few conversations this week. Afterall, it is Kearny County Fair week, and Line was a familiar face and fixture at the local fair for 36 years. Under his tutelage as Kearny County’s Extension Director and Ag Agent, a multitude of changes took place here which expanded programming and improved services not only to the farming community but the entire population of the area. Permanent fair buildings were con­structed in Loucks Park, planned and built with Merlin’s assistance, and the Kearny County Fair just kept getting better. A total of 880 4-H members participated in Kearny County’s 4-H program during his tenure, and the annual fair was opened up to all county residents, not just 4-Hers.

Born at Sabetha, Kansas in November of 1920, Line attended Kansas State University after high school. He not only received his bachelor’s in agriculture there but also met his future wife, Mary Gasche, a native of Lyon County. They married in 1943 when Merlin was a private in the U.S. Army. He would go on to serve in the European Theater.

Merlin began his career with the Kansas State Extension Service in July 1946. His first assignment was with the Dickinson County Farm Bureau as the county’s 4-H Club Agent. In January of 1949, Merlin was hired as Kearny County’s new agriculture agent, replacing F.M. Coleman who resigned to become manager of the Lucky Key Hereford ranch at Hutchinson. Merlin began his duties April 1.

While Line grew Kearny County’s fair and extension programs, he and Mary also grew their family. They moved here with their 20-month-old daughter and eventually added a son and one more daughter to the fold. Merlin also continued to grow his knowledge. In 1964, he received his Master’s degree from Colorado State University at Fort Collins.

Merlin was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 1966 from the National As­sociation of County Agricultural Agents. Also that year, he was elected to the office of secretary-treasurer for the Kansas Association of County Agricultural Agents, and the following year he was promoted to president of the association, a position he held through 1970. The Kansas Wheat Com­mission recognized him in 1971 for his work in promoting Kansas Wheat at the Kansas State Fair. In 1975, Line received the Kansas award in Rural Develop­ment, and he was awarded the Kansas Wheat Promotion Award from the Kansas Wheat Commission again in 1983.

Merlin’s ambition and devotion to his fellow man and community was unparalleled. He served as the first chairman of the Deerfield-Lakin-­Kearny County Planning Com­mission, and Line also belonged to the VFW, Lions Club, Rotary Club and the Lakin Methodist Church. He researched and wrote for Volume II of the History of Kearny County and held membership in the Kansas Extension Agents Associa­tion, the extension honorary fraternity known as Epsilon Sigma Phi, and the Fort Collins chapter of Phi Delta Kappa.

The Lines were avid KSU fans and were season ticketholders to both Wildcat basketball and football games. Upon Merlin’s retirement in 1985, they purchased a home in Manhattan because of their long association with K-State and because the central location also took them closer to their children and other family. Sadly, Merlin Elmer Line died on August 5, 1988, only a few short years after his retirement, but his legacy of service to our community and to the Kearny County Fair has not been forgotten.

SOURCES: Archives of the Lakin Independent, Fairview Enterprise and Manhattan Mercury; Ancestry.com; findagrave; and Museum archives.

It won’t be long before the dirt flies and the crowd cheers as cowboys and cowgirls take the spotlight at the Kearny County Saddle Club’s annual rodeo. The Saddle Club is in its 75^th year and still going strong. The club was organized January 9, 1950 when a group of people who were interested in both 4-H and saddle club met at the courthouse. Bob Caldwell was elected as the club’s first president with Ed Holt as vice and Cecil Tate as secretary-treasurer.  All 38 in attendance pledged membership.

Membership fees went towards buying roping calves and other necessary equipment as well as two former army barracks from the Garden City Air Force Base which were purchased on a rent-to-own agreement. Charles and Rhoda Loucks offered a tract of 18.2 acres just west of Lakin on a “use-and-occupancy basis” for one dollar. Saddle Club members built the foundations, and Fred Rogers, Elmer Ploeger and Leonard Enslow were appointed to prepare the army buildings for the move. Everett Kemper moved the buildings which were ready for 4-H Club use by late summer. The Saddle Club and other organizations held a box supper and dance to celebrate.

A committee arranged for materials to build an arena with a racetrack around it and to make other improvements. Several members agreed to donate calves for roping practice, and plans were made for the first rodeo to be held Saturday and Sunday, August 19^th and 20^th, 1950. A prevue of the event was given on a Sunday afternoon in July when members of the local club staged a home talent rodeo for local fans which included calf roping, fancy riding, calf riding and other events.

The inaugural Saddle Club rodeo was a huge success that August in spite of chilly and threatening weather. Rodeo “specials” were offered at local grocery stores, and the Dorothy clothing store advertised “Rodeo Outfits.” Lakin stores closed at noon that Saturday so that both employees and customers could attend the big event. More than 100 cowboys and cowgirls participated in a huge parade down Lakin’s Main Street Saturday morning. Other displays, floats and farm equipment comprised the remainder of the procession. The official program began at 1 that afternoon with a 4-H livestock parade and sale which was followed by the grand entry at 2 p.m.

Stock for the rodeo was provided by Paul Long who was well known on the rodeo circuit for his feisty Brahma bulls and other “salty” stock. Contestants came from New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and elsewhere in Kansas, but there were very few local entries. Kearny Countians Avonda Kiistner (later Burrows) won the kid’s pony race on both days, and Bob Caldwell and Virgil Rice split honors in the stock saddle horse race.  Bareback riding, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, girls’ chariot race, bulldogging and bull riding were also on the agenda. There was even a novelty act put on by Claude Smith, his son and their well-trained Brahma. A total of 1,700 paid admissions were counted at the two-day event.

After that, assistance came from everywhere to make improvements to the rodeo arena. The City of Lakin provided poles for arena lights, the Garden City Sugar Beet Company dug holes and set the poles up, and Colorado Interstate Gas Company provided casing for a well. Proceeds from the annual rodeo went towards improvements and maintenance of the rodeo arena and 4-H facilities.  In March 1953, the Saddle Club released a strip of land along the south edge of their tract to be used as a fairway by the golf club. According to an article written by the late Irene Rice, Mr. and Mrs. Loucks made a new contract to the Saddle Club and 4-H Club in 1957 which effectively divided the two areas and left the Saddle Club with 10 acres of the original 18.

In 1974, the rodeo went to a three-day schedule, and in 1978, J & J Rodeo Company began supplying the stock which it still does to this day. Also in 1978, the Saddle Club broke in a new metal building with a dance on the second night of the annual rodeo. The building still sits right next to the arena and houses a concessions area and bathrooms which have recently been renovated. Chutes, pens, arena fences, grandstands and the announcer’s booth have repeatedly been rebuilt and updated. Camper hook-ups have also been added. In addition to Saddle Club events and their annual rodeo, the arena has been used for other events such as Little Britches rodeos and most recently in May for a huge Kansas High School Rodeo Association competition. Some may remember chasing a “greasy” pig around the arena during fair week or even witnessing a donkey baseball game there.

The annual rodeo isn’t the only event that the Saddle Club has been involved with over the years either. They have held trail rides, calf-fries, barbecues, inter-club meets, round robins, play days and more, and members travel to compete in rodeos in other communities as well. In the 1970s, the club even sponsored a youth drill team known as the Sunshine Rascals. Saddle Club members have ridden steeds and entered floats in Lakin’s Christmas parades too. One year, the organization’s nativity scene had several animals crowded around a manger, but the donkey fell off the truck.

Still, most people associate the group with the annual Kearny County Saddle Club Rodeo. Various related activities have come and gone such as the crowning of a rodeo queen and Saturday night dance, and the Saturday parade has been replaced with an ice cream social complete with games and wagon rides at the Kearny County Senior Center. As for the rodeo itself, there is an ample supply of riding and roping at the two-day event to thrill audience members. Mutton busting and stick horse races are fun for the kids, and even the pickiest of cowboys will be happily satisfied with the vittles at Saturday night’s barbecue (included in the cost of ticket for the first 300 people.) If you’re looking for some rootin’-tootin’ fun, the Kearny County Saddle Club Rodeo is the place to be this weekend! It’s a 75-year-old Kearny County tradition!

SOURCES: History of Kearny County Vol. I, “Clowning Around Is Serious Business for this Rodeo Family” by Vivian Fankhauser; archives of The Lakin Independent, Museum archives and the Kearny County Saddle Club’s Facebook page.

Wheat harvest is well underway in Southwest Kansas, and all those beautiful kernels of grain must go somewhere. Most are hauled by truck to area grain elevators. One of the first elevators in Lakin was constructed in 1922 near the corner of Lakin Street and Railroad Avenue. Nearly 55 years later, the 100-foot tall elevator caused quite a stir in the Lakin community after hurricane force winds caused the structure to swing, sway and twist.

The abandoned landmark had already shown signs of weakness due to old age and years of use. Add to that, the jarring and vibrations from thousands of Santa Fe trains as they rumbled by. Talks about demolishing the structure were already in progress prior to the high winds that arrived in March of 1977. As winds began gusting to 80 m.p.h. on Friday, March 11, Kearny County Sheriff M.L. McCue cordoned off the area to vehicle and foot traffic, and residents were warned not to travel within two blocks of the elevator. Residents at Pioneer Home, which sat 85 feet across the street to the east, were evacuated to the Veterans Memorial Building.

Law enforcement officials kept vigil over the weakened structure throughout the weekend. A four-foot bow developed about 30-feet from the ground, and some of the sheathing was blown off, exposing the wooden walls underneath. Come Monday, the structure was still standing, but Co-op officials reached an agreement with insurance company officials and got the go-ahead to knock down the elevator. A crew of experts from Saint Lyne Industries had been standing by since Saturday to get the liability release. With the assistance of a giant crane from Garden City and two winch trucks, the elevator came tumbling down on Monday about 3:30 p.m.

According to The Lakin Independent, “The building gave up gracefully and fell to its demise with dignity. There were no complications and no injuries nor damages.” The sheriff said “It made a little noise, and pigeons were still flying – or should I stay staggering – out minutes later.” The 24 Pioneer residents were back at the home 30 minutes later.

The elevator was built for H.S. Darr, a grain, seed and feed dealer who dealt in wheat, broomcorn, milo, cane seed, rye seed and more. The structure originally held 11,000 to 12,000 bushels of grain, and the dump was suitable for either wagon or truck use. The machinery within was operated by electricity. A blower was used to elevate the grain, and a small elevator was installed for the use of the mechanic in going to the top to look after the machinery. The first floor was used as a grinding and sacking room, and all the bins were overhead. The machinery pit, which ran below the high-water line, was re-enforced with cement walls. The entire structure was covered with galvanized iron.

According to The Independent, the Equity Exchange owned the structure following Darr, and then the elevator was purchased by the Farmers Cooperative of Lakin and Kendall in 1945. The building was remodeled in 1947, and 30 to 40 feet was added to its height. The elevator served the Co-op until the first concrete silos were completed in the 1950s.

 

SOURCES: Archives of The Lakin Independent, Garden City Telegram and Hutchinson News.

 

The popularity of June weddings dates back to early Roman times and a Roman festival which honored the goddess Juno. Wife of Jupiter, Juno was considered to be the protector of women in all aspects of life, but especially in marriage and childbearing. A June wedding was thought to bring good fortune and many offspring. June marriages often led to pregnancy with babies born the following spring when their chances of survival were much better than in the long and often very lean winters. Also, spring births would not interfere with harvest in the fall.

The history of June weddings is also connected with the Celtic calendar. Even the term “honeymoon” has an historical origin. The first moon after the summer solstice, June 21, was called the “honey moon.”

Another less popular belief was that most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May. The overall population smelled fairly fresh still in June, and the bride’s bouquet masked her body odor. Whether or not there is any truth to this notion, the good weather of June promised ample fresh flowers for the ceremony and celebrations.

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, June is still the most popular month to marry, but a list of early marriages performed in Kearny County indicates that June was no more favored than any other month for weddings. As far as days of the week, Sunday used to be the most popular wedding day as it was the one day most people were free from work. In early U.S. history, Wednesday was considered to be the luckiest day for weddings, and Fridays were avoided as they were known as “hangman’s day.” An old rhyme reads, “Monday for health, Tuesday for wealth, Wednesday best of all, Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses, Saturday for no luck at all.” Despite the rhyme, Saturdays are currently the most popular day for weddings (which might explain the high divorce rate).

The concept of weddings as a reflection of romantic love is a rather new one.  The first weddings were more like a business transaction between the bride’s father and the family of the groom. The bride and groom had very little say in the matter. Women were considered their father’s property; hence, the tradition of being walked down the aisle and “given away” by their fathers. In some cultures, the father had to pay a dowry to the groom’s family; while in others, the groom had to give a “bridewealth” to the bride’s family. Often a bride with a handsome dowry was kidnapped on her way to the wedding and forced to marry her captor. The original purpose of bridesmaids and best men was to aid in capturing brides, getting them to the church, and keeping away anyone who might interfere with the wedding.

Bridesmaids were dressed in the exact same clothes as the bride so as to confuse any would-be captors. The groom stood on the right of the bride so he could wear a sword on his hip should anyone try to steal the bride during the ceremony. Standing on the right allowed him to draw his sword without beheading his bride.

In the 1800s and 1900s, many marriages were born out of necessity. During times of war, men were often obligated to marry their fallen brother’s widow. Widowers often took younger wives to help them raise their offspring, and children meant guaranteed help on the farm. Romance versus practicality was the topic of an entry in an 1892 Lakin Index, “The young man in search of a wife goes about looking for an ideal woman. The older man goes about looking for a practical woman when he wants to wed.”

The historical roots of mail-order brides can be traced back to the days of the Wild Wild West. Although many men found financial gain upon migrating West, they lacked the company of a wife. With few women to pick from, they attempted to attract women living back East by writing letters to churches and publishing personal ads in magazines and newspapers. Wanting to gain financial security and intrigued by what life on the frontier could offer them, women would write to the men and send photographs of themselves. Courtship was conducted by letter until a woman agreed to marry a man she had never met. In 1906, the Kearny County Advocate reprinted an article about an H.W. Flowers of McLean, Tex. who asked an employment agent to find him a young widow or old maid in Kansas who was matrimonally inclined. Flowers said he wanted a Kansas wife and that he had heard there were good crops of wheat, widows and old maids in our state. The employment agent replied that there was a good crop of wheat but there was a shortage in widows and old maids and “the latter crops never remain on the market.”

After Queen Victoria wore a white lace dress when she married Prince Albert in 1840, white wedding dresses became more popular. Prior to this time, brides often wore their best available dress or a new gown that could be worn again. White dresses were considered impractical; however, the color white had long been associated with purity, virginity and innocence in some cultures. Following World War II, white wedding dresses became increasingly popular in the U.S. as economic prosperity allowed more people to purchase a special dress for their wedding day.

Kearny County Museum is home to many wedding artifacts including dresses, men’s attire, wedding certificates, invitations and more! Some of our items date back to the late 1800s with the oldest dress on display being that of Louise Sower worn in 1884. Dresses from June weddings in our display include those worn by Ethel Beymer in 1913, Barbara Kash in 1954, Ann Tate in 1956, Twila Smith in 1957, Diana Loeppke in 1966, Sheryl Bostrom in 1967, and the dress that Debby Yount made for her wedding in 1972. We also have the suit that she made for her husband, Dale. We encourage visitors to come in and check out our wedding exhibit as well as all the other fascinating displays and items we have in our hometown, home-grown museum! Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

SOURCES: Lakin Index; Kearny County Advocate; Saturday Evening Post; Old Farmers Almanac; Museum artifacts; brombergs.com; and Wikipedia.