News & Events

Hillyard’s artwork still highly sought after

Kearny County is an agricultural community, but we have been growing more than crops here in Southwest Kansas. Max Harry Hillyard was one of many talented artists that Kearny County has produced over the years. The son of J. Max and Jean Rardon Hillyard, this homegrown boy grew up to be deeply respected as an illustrator and Western and Native American artist. Throughout his life, Max received numerous awards for his paintings and sculptures, but he was equally adept with his pen and ink renderings.

From 1956, Max Hillyard – art editor for the University of Arizona yearbook.

A 1948 graduate of Lakin High School, Max studied art at the University of New Mexico. While there, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served from 1950 to 1953 during the Korean Conflict. He later studied in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona where he was the art editor on the school’s yearbook and president of Alpha Rho Tau art honorary. While still a student, Max was employed as the art director for KDWI-TV, later known as KGUN-TV.

Hillyard was hired as the art director at the Arizona Daily Star/Citizen around 1957. In addition to creating charts and drawing cartoons, Max’s pen and ink drawings of Native Americans regularly appeared in his columns entitled, “hillyard’s corner” and “hillyard’s sketchbook.” While with the Star/Citizen, he was put in charge of the Newspaper in the Classroom program. He also spent time as an illustrator for a U.S. defense contractor providing technical artist renderings for missile systems and satellite surveillance equipment, and in 1973, he opened his own art studio in Tucson.

In 1977, Max moved his family to the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in east central Arizona where his wife, Myrna, was the elementary school’s principal. He then started working as a full-time freelance illustrator and artist. Max was commissioned by the White Mountain Apache Tribe to design their official tribal seal which is still used today. He also created much of the original artwork displayed in the Whiteriver Indian Hospital.

Max’s work gained widespread national distribution through his unique 1973 collection entitled, “A Portfolio of White Mountain Apaches.” The portfolio includes six meticulously detailed pen and ink drawings which capture tribal elders, historical leaders and daily tasks of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. The Kearny County Museum is very fortunate indeed to own a set of these limited-edition prints.

In 1998, Max and Myrna retired to Oak Creek valley, AZ, where he continued to paint. It was there that Max passed away on November 3, 2002 at the age of 72. Still today, Hillyard’s works are highly sought after by collectors of Western and Native American historical art.

Hillyard’s Portfolio of White Mountain Apaches on display in the Museum Annex.

SOURCES: History of Kearny County Vols. I & II; archives of The Lakin Independent and Arizona Daily Star; Museum archives; Ancestry.com; Ebay; Invaluable.com; Etsy and Bidsquare.

Kearny County celebrated the Bicentennial in a big way!

The entire nation was in celebration mode in 1976 as Americans came together to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States as an independent republic. Patriotism was so popular, in fact, that both people and inanimate objects were decked out in red, white and blue – including the fire hydrants on Lakin’s Main Street which were painted by members of the Moonlight Chicks Extension Homemaker Unit. Kearny County citizens were asked to fly their flags year-round but especially on the days when special events had been planned.

The Booster Club and the Bicentennial Committee, a long list of locals ready and eager to pull off one of the best celebrations ever seen in the county, put together a big birthday bash Thursday, June 3, through Saturday, June 5. The big shindig got underway on Thursday with a black powder muzzle-loading turkey shoot at Beymer sandpit south of Lakin. Friday and Saturday events included a carnival in the first block of West Lincoln that delighted the kiddos, bake and sidewalk sales, special displays at the Veterans Memorial Building, and the selling of Bicentennial souvenirs. The VFW Auxiliary ladies cooked up a storm and dished up sloppy joes, barbecue beef, coneys, homemade pies and chef salads for lunch both Friday and Saturday. On Friday evening, they served a chicken and noodle meal for the Kearny County Historical Society’s Annual Meeting, and they offered ham and beans with all the fixings for the Saturday evening meal.

The KCHS’s annual meeting featured guest speaker Bob Greer, Garden City newspaperman, who gave a rapid-fire description of people, places and things in Southwest Kansas history. Senator Don Christy presented the Bicentennial flag to Frances Bostrom, chairman of the Bicentennial Committee, and Jack Pepper played his guitar and sang several oldies for the audience. Gale Wolfe played the keyboard, officers were elected, and the Bicentennial King and Queen were selected by combining the ages of the oldest married couple in Kearny County. The royal honor went to Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Beymer who celebrated their 63^rd wedding anniversary a week later.

Several hundred people took part in Saturday’s parade with hundreds more lining the streets to watch. The theme was “American Spirit In Action,” and nearly 20 former local government officials were present to ride in a place of honor. They included Kearny County commissioners along with mayors and city councilmen from Deerfield and Lakin. Joe Eves, a former state representative who was the only one to serve the old 116th district still living, was also honored. The mile-long parade included 17 floats plus other entries, and free train rides on a miniature train were offered to children afterwards. An old-fashioned songfest took place that evening followed by a dance which concluded the weekend’s festivities.

The big June bash was just the tip of the iceberg for Bicentennial activities in Kearny County. The 1975 Christmas parade was dubbed as the Bicentennial Christmas Parade, and Pete Kiistner served as the Grand Marshal. Of course, the arrival of the Bicentennial wagon train in April 1976 was a highly anticipated and symbolic event. The wagons in the coast-to-coast trek rolled into Kearny County shortly before noon on April 7. In conjunction with this event, local “Pony Express” riders presented scrolls bearing the names of Deerfield and Wichita and Grant county residents to the wagon master. These scrolls, Pledges of Rededication reaffirming the people’s belief in American principles, had been relayed from rider to rider.

Other events included a Boy Scout Bicentennial Camporee at Lake McKinney April 30 thru May 2, and a county-wide July 4th picnic basket dinner which preceded a jackpot rodeo and huge fireworks display. An “Almost Anything Goes” competition based off the popular TV show of the same name took place at the end of July with an estimated crowd of nearly 1,000 people lining the baseball diamond at Loucks Park to witness competitors strut their stuff. Then a Bicentennial Trail Ride along part of the old Santa Fe Trail was set for the end of September. Sponsored by the Kearny County Saddle Club, the ride began about a mile northwest of Hartland and concluded with a basket dinner at the fair building.

The cherry on top of all the fun and festivities was that the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration named Kearny County an official Bicentennial Community. The Certificate of Official Recognition and Bicentennial flag are on display in the Museum Annex.

SOURCES: Archives of The Lakin Independent and Museum archives

Pete Kiistner was named the grand marshall for the Bicentennial Christmas parade in December of 1975. He is shown here with his wife, Dorothy, by his side and Thelma Leonard, chauffeur. Margaret Hurst is standing beside the car.

C.E. And Ethel Beymer were crowned Kearny County Bicentennial King and Queen and rode in the place of honor in the big June 5, 1976 parade.

The Color Guard leads the Bicentennial Parade down Lakin’s Main Street.

Henry “Harpo” Burrows driving the Lakin Motor Company scale model Model T in the parade.

Former members of Kearny County governing bodies rode in a place of honor in the Bicentennial Parade.

Marlene Dunlop and Leanna Wolfe apply the finishing touches to one of the fire plugs on Lakin’s Main Street. Dunlop was president of the Moonlight Chicks at the time.

Gene Hornbaker looks on as Nolan Cole, Don Bernbeck, Joan Lennington, and Frank Sills compete in the potato sack race in the Almost Anything Goes competition.

Gary Hayzlett displays his skill as a wheelbarrow jockey with Randy Wolfe as a passenger.

Happy 250th Birthday, America!

Far from yucky, yucca plants are vital to the Kansas landscape

Chances are John Danzer never saw a yucca plant until he immigrated to the United States. The German-born bachelor was in his early 20s when he came to Kearny County in the 1880s and settled north of Lakin near Onaica. A school board member and Hibbard Township clerk, Danzer was dubbed, “John, the Well Digger,” but he was best known for the baskets he made using native prairie grasses and the yucca plant commonly known as soapweed. According to the late Maybelle James Gropp, the Danzer baskets had a wide-spread circulation from coast to coast. Most local folk came to know of these baskets, and when they had company from afar, they took them to see (and purchase) Danzer’s wares. His highly useful baskets came in various sizes and shapes from pint-sized to bushel-sized hampers, lids included. John also made flat mats and rugs.

In his later years, John Danzer was very much a hermit. He is shown here with Idell Steen Miller (left) and Lucy Miller Englund among his collection of baskets about 1921.

Danzer excelled at what was considered a Native American art form. For thousands of years, Native American tribes of the Plains relied heavily on the yucca plant. They soaked the tough leaves of the yucca then pounded and stripped them to extract fibers and wove these resilient fibers into baskets, mats, sandals and cordage. The soapweed was vital to indigenous tribes not just for its fibers but also for medicinal and other properties. Roots and leaves were traditionally used to treat skin ailments, stomach aches, dandruff and lice. Yucca roots contain saponins which make an excellent natural lather. Native Americans used the roots for soap, shampoo and ceremonial cleansing. The young stalks of the soapweed were roasted over an open fire and then peeled to eat the soft interior. The flowers were eaten after boiling them to remove their bitter flavor or removing the flower pistil, the most bitter part.

Pioneers like John Danzer didn’t take long to learn the value of prairie yucca. Early settlers also used the soapweed for making soap, but the process was intensive. According to High Plains Radio, the sticky green roots were dug up and then pounded on a wooden board until they were softened. “The resulting pulpy mass was put into water to soak. The juice and water mixture that was drained off became soap in a community where store bought goods were rare and costly.” Frontier families also fashioned the sharp, sword-like leaves into emergency needle and thread. In addition, the leaves made good thatching material for dugout roofs.

“Several have used soapweeds in making their barns, while others are using them for fuel, but the latest use is mulching an onion patch with them. What next?” asked the Kearny County Advocate in an April 1917 issue. The soapweed reportedly made a good, hot fire, and some homesteaders were using them to save on coal bills.

Six Kearny County beauties pose among yucca plants in 1908. Left to right are Hazel Browne, Georgia Thorpe Menn, Gladys Stallard, Ada Bailey Campbell, Marie Iobe and Esther Bailey.

When the wheat crop was stunted and short during dry seasons, farmers fastened yucca leaves along the edge of the combine’s header platform. The first turn of the reel cut the points of the yucca fronds and frayed them, forming a soapweed ‘broom’ that swept the short wheat up on the platform and pushed it against the reel.

Yucca also became a cash crop, but only the blades were used. Once gathered, they were laid out to dry before broomcorn balers formed them into bales. “Soap weed crop in this county is being harvested and finds a ready market in St. Louis,” reported the May 1, 1914 Kearny County Advocate. “Three cars have been shipped out thus far this season.” It took 10 tons of product to fill a rail car, and manufacturers were paying $8 a ton. A 1914 U.S. Department of Agriculture report in The Advocate stated that it cost roughly $5 to $6 per ton to cut, bale and haul the product to the nearest rail station for shipment. Manufacturers fashioned the fibrous strands into rope, binder twine and even straw hats. Still today, yucca fibers are used in fishing nets, combs, sandals, mats, blankets, sewing and in making paintbrushes.

The perennial soapweed also remains important to prairie biodiversity. Native yucca plants act as ecological anchors in the Great Plains, supporting specialized pollinators and providing essential shelter and forage in the prairie ecosystem. The yucca and yucca moth share an obligate mutualism where neither species can survive without the other. The moth is the plant’s exclusive pollinator while the yucca provides a safe nursery and food for the moth’s larvae. This highly specialized partnership guarantees reproduction for both. Cattle and deer also eat the flowers and immature fruits of the yucca, and cattle ranchers often view the plant’s pods as a natural dewormer. Bison will uproot plants and consume the roots. During the Dust Bowl days, often the only grass that was available to the cattle was found in the shadow of a yucca. Snow piles up behind soapweed, and that little bit of moisture can be invaluable to grasses and wildflowers downwind.

Speaking of flowers, no longer are yuccas seen solely in the stretch of open prairies. They are now being incorporated into landscapes. Their expansive and deep taproots anchor the soil, making them perfect for planting on slopes, hillsides or in rock gardens to prevent soil erosion. The relatively long-lived plants need full sun and well-drained soil. Soapweed transplanting can technically be done at any time of the year, but professional gardeners recommend early spring or late fall when the plant is more or less dormant. An extra hand or two may be needed when transplanting the plants due to their sharp leaves and cumbersome size. Though a bit of transplant shock may occur, the hardy prairie yucca typically bounces back within a week.

SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones; High Plains History, a production of High Plains Public Radio; US Forestry Service; National Institute of Health; Audubon of Kansas; Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses; Wikipedia; gardeningknowhow.com; Museum archives and archives of The Kearny County Advocate.

Local crafters bring “Quilt Row” to Lakin’s Main Street

Lakin’s community pride is in full bloom with beautiful locally made barn quilts adorning our downtown. Due to the Hwy 25/Main Street construction project, the Lakin Community Empowerment Group opted to forego planting flowers in the pots that line Main Street because they knew they would not be able to get their watering tank up and down the street. Instead, the group came up with the idea of displaying barn quilts painted by talented senior citizens in our community. The beautiful assortment of homemade art brings a little extra color and charm to Lakin.

Barn quilts are a unique form of American folk art that pieces together history, identity and community pride. Unlike traditional quilts made of fabric, barn quilts are usually painted on large wooden squares, but canvas, metal and vinyl/pvc products are also used. Barn quilts typically feature familiar quilt patterns, but their meanings can go far beyond appearances. For many, these symbols represent cherished heirlooms, ancestral stories, or local heritage passed down through generations.

The tradition’s roots in America date back nearly 300 years to European immigrants from countries like Germany, Austria and the Netherlands who brought folk art customs like painting symbols on homes and barns to the New World. These “painted prayers” were meant to bring good luck or denote family farms, and early designs were replicas of popular quilt designs at the time thought to protect livestock and bless the harvest. Each distinctive quilt pattern served another purpose – navigation. Travelers could identify different households or farms by recognizing unique patchwork designs painted on local barns.

According to Folk Art History of Barn Quilts, “As these settlers made homes in the American colonies, particularly Pennsylvania, they carried on this visual language using stars, pinwheels, and bright, symbolic patterns.”

A theory that quilts and barn quilts were used as part of the Underground Railroad as signals pointing runaway slaves to safety is a fascinating concept that has captured the public imagination and appeared in many children’s books, school curricula and museums. According to the B&O Railroad Museum, the ‘Quilt Code’ was “used to help freedom seekers memorize directions and activities they may have needed for escape. While there were 10 different quilts used to guide enslaved people to safety in free territory, one was employed at a time. In order to memorize the code, sampler quilts would be constructed with one pattern next to the other. When the time came, the first of the ten quilts would be laid out either in the window or on a clothesline. Blocks like the Log Cabin, North Star, Flying Geese, Monkey Wrench, Bow Tie, Bear’s Paw, Crossroads, and Wagon Wheel are said to have carried specific meanings – ranging from instructions to gather supplies or change clothing, to cues about following animal trails, heading toward major junctions, or navigating northward. Each quilt served as a silent signal in a larger sequence, guiding freedom seekers from one stage of preparation to the next.”

The ‘Quilt Code’ narrative first gained widespread attention in the 1999 book Hidden in Plain View by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard; however, most historians, Underground Railroad researchers, and textile scholars view the ‘Quilt Code’ as a modern myth rather than historical fact. Historians have scoured 19^th Century slave narratives, diaries, abolitionist journals, plantation records, oral testimonies taken in the 1930s from former slaves, and government records. They have found no mention of quilts being used for coded communication, and some argue that hanging multiple, intricate quilts in specific sequences in public view would have been a dangerous practice as it may have drawn attention and suspicion that those escaping slavery were trying to avoid. Furthermore, the specific geometric patterns like the Log Cabin and Monkey Wrench were reportedly either not invented yet or did not have those specific meanings during the era of the Underground Railroad.

Giles R. Wright, director of the Afro-American History Program at the New Jersey Historical Commission, opined that the authors of Hidden in Plain View have taken folklore and attempted to turn it into historical fact without providing evidence or documentation. “I know of no historian who supports this idea, and it’s extremely rare to get that kind of consensus.”

Tobin said she and Dobard made it clear that Hidden in Plain View was based on an oral account given by Ozella McDaniel Williams, an African-American quilter and retired educator. From one generation to the next, Williams’ family had passed down the story connecting quilts to the Underground Railroad. Tobin commented that such codes could have been used in this way but perhaps only on one particular plantation. US News & World Report quoted Tobin as saying, “We’re not talking about hundreds or thousands of folks using this code. The story has grown in ways that we had not intended.”

Beyond deciphering whether or not barn quilts (or fabric quilts for that matter) were actually integral to the Underground Railroad, the fact remains that barn quilts have become colorful and symbolic emblems in the modern American landscape. The folk-art medium experienced a resurgence in the early 2000s when Donna Sue Groves of Adams County, Ohio created the concept of barn quilt trails. Wanting to honor her mother’s quilting heritage, she persuaded her neighbors to hang painted wooden squares that resembled quilt blocks on their barns.

Groves’ idea sparked a nationwide revival and one of the fastest-growing grassroots public arts movements in the United States and Canada. Barn quilt trails can now be found in almost all 50 states and in parts of Canada promoting regional tourism, supporting artisans, and preserving old barns. Outside of the coordinated trails, thousands of crafters have created barn quilts for their homes, businesses, and communities simply because they love the colorful pieces of art.

You can check out some of the beautiful barn quilts displayed on Lakin’s Main Street at https://www.facebook.com/LakinPRIDE.

SOURCES: Clark County Iowa Public Library; Primitive Star Quilt Shop; Lafferty Funeral Home; Barn Quilt Addicts on Facebook; National Geographic; US News & World Report; historiccamdencounty.com; Lakin Community Empowerment Group; and Heroes, Heroines & History.

June 1983 storm rocked Lakin

Some called it a downspout. Others say it was just extremely high winds, but many Lakin residents swore the town was hit by a tornado on June 4, 1983. Although the “official report” was that there had been no tornado sightings, several people, including public service employees, stated that they had definitely seen twisters.

Doug Stebens, City of Lakin’s light superintendent, said that he had seen three funnels and from his observation of the way the damage was done in various parts of the city, he was convinced it was tornadic winds. He noted that in some places it was obvious that the wind had been from all different directions which indicated whirling motion.

After hearing about the extensive damage that was done, Mike Ryva, weather service specialist with the National Weather Service in Dodge City, said the damage sounded more like what could be expected from a tornado. “You can often tell from the debris whether it was a tornado or just high winds. In a tornado, debris will be tossed in many directions, not just one,” Ryva said.

After inspecting the damage first-hand, Col. Mahlon Weed, director of the State Division of Emergency Preparedness, said, “I really think it was a downspout because there was no pattern to the destruction. It was spotty. There was no wide sweep in one area in town such as you see in a tornado’s path. A downspout comes down and puts out little fingers of wind reaching in all directions. I really think that is what it was.” However, Weed admitted that he had changed his mind three different times.

Many homes were damaged, and one couple’s mobile home was overturned. According to the Hutchinson News, about five mobile homes were deemed “unlivable” after the storm tore through. The rear wall of the Insurance Agency at Lincoln and Main was sucked out. Many buildings about town received damage to their roofs, with the entire roof being torn off of an unoccupied house on O’Loughlin Street. When the roof blew off the Lakin Auto parts store, it sailed through the air and hit the Tampa & Edward home of Marvin Swank, making a hole “big enough to drive a small automobile through.” Windows were broken all over town. Thirty windows were blown out of the nearly-completed High Plains Retirement Village. One resident on south Hamilton Street said he felt his home “lift up and sit back down.”

Power-line poles were left leaning, power was knocked out to almost all of Lakin, and trees uprooted and toppled. Nearly all the lawns and streets were left cluttered by leaves, shingles and other debris. Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Lary Cole was driving south on Main Street when his back window was sucked out. The June 9, 1983, Lakin Independent reported that Mayor Gene Hornbaker and City Administrator John Speer placed storm-related damages in the neighborhood of $1.5 million. Hornbaker said at least 80 percent of the homes in town had some damage.

The severe weather started about 6:30 p.m. when a tornado was confirmed on the ground 15 miles north of Lakin. It was on the ground for about five minutes and then dissipated. Lakin and Kearny County were under a tornado watch but never under a tornado warning, according to Sheriff Jim Jarboe. By 7:20 p.m. the storm seemed to be letting up. The Sheriff’s department kept in contact with Muddy Roads project director and meteorologist English Hammond who recorded a peak wind gust of 60 mph at the airport. At 7:22, weather spotters reported high winds moving toward Lakin, low-hanging clouds, and a wall of dust moving in.

Tornado-warning sirens then sounded, and the courthouse was opened so people could take shelter. At approximately 7:30, Larry and Grace Skipton’s mobile home was flipped upside down with them inside. “We never heard a siren, just the wind,” Larry said. “One minute it was upright, then it was upside down.” Larry suffered cuts to his face, shoulder and hand from items flying around inside his home. Fortunately, no other serious injuries were reported in town.

Most of Lakin’s power was restored by early Sunday morning, and crews from Pioneer Electric came from Ulysses with four bucket trucks, two pickups and a tree shredder to assist City crews in their efforts. Hamilton County sent deputies in to help patrol traffic and prevent looting. The American Red Cross from Garden City set up in the Veterans Memorial Building on Sunday and Monday to assist and feed volunteers who were helping with clean-up efforts, and even with part of its building missing, the Insurance Agency was opened all day on Sunday to receive property damage claims.

Agency spokesperson Jane Vanover told a reporter that she received 32 claims Sunday morning alone and the phone rang constantly on Monday. “I think actually we were very lucky here in Lakin. No one was killed or hurt too much. I was looking out my window at the storm, and I saw roofs flying off mobile homes across the street. Insulation and tin were everywhere, and a lot of windows were broken out of cars.”

The entire rear wall of the second story of the Insurance Agency’s office building was sucked out and fell into the shop area on the back of the building. The local business had only recently moved into the old historic Snow Theatre building at Main and Lincoln after having done restoration work.

Larry and Grace Skipton were in their trailer when it flipped over during the June 4, 1983 storm.

The roof of Doug Ochoa’s house lies in pieces on the lot behind it.

Ed Estes surveys what is left of his mobile home. Although the Estes family was inside, there were no injuries.

The north side of Marvin and Lena Swank’s home was badly damaged from the roof that blew off of the Lakin Auto Parts building to the north.

The utility barn from the Robert Neese residence was deposited in Butch Anderson’s back yard several houses away on the east side of Lakin.

Chuck Rice and Kirk Yakel trim broken tree branches at the home of Kirk’s father on Kansas Street. Photo by Ben Bigler.

The door on the garage at the Gary Hayzlett’s was literally sucked out.

A toppled spruce blocked the entrance to the Dick and Glenda Meisel’s home on Soderberg.

SOURCES: Archives of The Lakin Independent, Garden City Telegram and Hutchinson News. Photos, except where otherwise noted, were taken by Shirley Henderson and Vivian Fletcher Fankhouser.

Local fraternity’s roots date back to 1886

Despite chilling winds, a large crowd was on hand to witness the laying of the cornerstone of Lakin’s new Masonic Temple on April 28, 1956. Distinguished visitors from across the state took part in the festivities which began at the old hall on the southwest corner of Main and Lincoln. Led by the Lakin Grade School band, a procession of nearly 100 Masons made their way north up Main Street to the site of the new temple where several addresses were given and musical numbers performed. A box placed in the cornerstone contained a list of 1956 officers, coins minted in the year 1956 and a number of publications.

Charles A. Loucks, Past Grand Master of Masonic Order of Kansas; Karl J. Baumgerter, Grand Master of Masonic Order of Kansas; and Joseph M. Eves, Secretary of Emerald Lodge #289, at the cornerstone laying ceremonies April 28, 1956.

Masons of Emerald Lodge #289 and other lodges across the state form a procession and march to the site of the lodge’s new temple to lay the cornerstone in April of 1956. The lodge’s old hall can be seen in the background.

Also in the cornerstone box were the last will and testament of William H. Johnson and a trust agreement between Charles A. Loucks and Emerald Lodge #289. Johnson, a pioneer Kearny County rancher and 50+ year member of Emerald Lodge, left property valued at nearly $86,000 to the Masons to be used for the construction of the new temple. Loucks, also of Lakin, was a past Grand Master of the state lodge and furnished additional funds to complete construction and equip the building.

The new lodge was completed in September that year and dedicated September 24^th. Many of the Grand Officers of the Kansas Grand Lodge were on hand for the ceremony which included a short program and musical numbers by a sextet of male singers and piano selections by John Sample, music instructor of the Lakin schools. After the dedication service, a picture depicting “One Hundred Years of Kansas Masonry” was shown followed by a dinner.

This picture of the lovely shaded entrance to the Masonic Temple graced the cover of the Lakin Independent Sept. 21, 1956. The trees are no longer there, but the hall is still in use.

Designed by architect Howard Blanchard and built by Mel Krebs, Lakin’s Masonic Hall was one of the finest structures of its kind in Kansas at the time and equipped with modern conveniences and equipment throughout. The fully air-conditioned temple included a spacious outer lobby, dining room, kitchen, cloak room, restrooms, secretary’s office and storage and utility areas. The main lodge hall was functional in design with a pleasant color scheme blending rich blues with white and soft tints. The exterior stone was gifted by Vernon Kropp of Winfield who owned land west of Lakin, and Brothers Johnson and Loucks were honored for their benevolence with a bronze plaque bearing their images near the entrance to the lodge.

Interior pictures of the lodge from 1956 Independent.

The Masons are the oldest and largest secular fraternal organization in the world. According to kansasmason.org, the history of Freemasonry can be traced back to the early 17th century when the first Grand Lodge was established in London. This was followed by the establishment of Grand Lodges in other parts of the world, including Scotland, Ireland, and the United States. During the 18th century, Freemasonry gained popularity and acceptance among the social elite in Europe and America. Many notable figures, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, were members of the fraternity. Freemasonry played a significant role in the American Revolution as many of the founding fathers were members of the fraternity.

Freemasonry continued to grow and evolve during the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The fraternity played a significant role in the development of the modern welfare state as many of its members were active in social and political reform movements. Today, Freemasonry continues to be a popular and respected fraternity around the world. Membership offers a unique opportunity to join a brotherhood of like-minded men dedicated to improving themselves and their communities by focusing on moral character development, brotherly love, charity, and community service.

The roots of Lakin’s Masonic Lodge date back to 1886 when several Free Masons were among a large influx of settlers who came to this area. About 25 Master Masons answered the call to meet and took steps to organize a lodge, a goal that was met on March 19, 1887 when Lakin was part of Finney County. Shortly afterwards, the unorganized county of Kearney was attached to the organized county of Hamilton for judicial purposes thus Emerald Lodge #289 of Lakin, Hamilton County, Kansas, was chartered Feb. 15, 1888, by the Grand Lodge of Kansas. Brother Benjamin B. Bacon opened the lodge in form on St. Patrick’s Day 1888 and installed officers. Ten days later, Kearney County was proclaimed a county of its own right by Kansas Governor John A. Martin. Lodge minutes from 1887 and 1888 literally reveal Kearny County history in the making. (In 1889, the second “e” was dropped from Kearney to match the spelling of General Philip Kearny, the man whom this county is named for.)

A room in the 1886 school was used by the Masons and other social organizations until that room was needed when a new wave of settlers came into the county in 1906 and 1907. Then, according to the late Virginia Pierce Hicks, the upstairs of the Main and Lincoln building began being utilized as the local lodge. The downstairs of this building was the location of Mullany and Houser and Mullany and Sons which was discussed in last week’s article. This location was used until the new hall was completed at 214 N. Main.

SOURCES: kansasmason.org; History of Kearny County Vol. I; Museum archives, and archives of The Lakin Independent, Kearny County Advocate and Lakin Investigator.

James Mullany … from famine to fortune

In 1848, Ireland was in the grip of the Great Famine, a devastating seven-year period of disease and mass starvation. James Mullany was born amid all this suffering at County Sligo in the northwest part of the country. He was one of 11 children born to Anthony and Catherine (Bolan) Mullany. Following poor harvests in the early 1860s, the Emerald Isle was on the brink of another famine, and over 80,000 people emigrated from there in the first seven months of 1863. Still but a teenager, young James set his sights on the New World. He joined some of his neighbors aboard the Adriatic and sailed to the United States in search of fortune. After landing in New York, Mullany made his way to his older sister, Mary McNellis, who was living in Iowa.

At the tender age of 16, James enlisted in Company K of the Eleventh Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. This infantry patrolled the Tennessee/Kentucky state line during the Civil War to protect the Louisville & Nashville Railroad against Confederate guerrillas. James was serving with his comrades in Sumner County, Tennessee when the news of General Lee’s surrender reached the regiment. He continued with his command in the South until the summer of 1865 when he received an honorable discharge at Fort Snelling, MN.

James visited several of the southern states after that time and finally settled in Arkansas where he raised cotton and married Alice Williams, a native of Alabama, in 1871. Life was not kind to the young couple. In 1872, Alice gave birth to twins, but both died the following year. Three more children were born to the union. A son died at the age of two and a daughter at the age of 11. Alice died in 1885. James and his only surviving child, a daughter named Lulu, then moved to Wayne County, Iowa, but Mullany was not satisfied with his future prospects there. Encouraged by his sister who was already living in Kearny County, the nearly penniless Irishman came here with Lulu in 1887. For a few months, he worked as a railroad section hand, receiving $1.10 a day. Later, James worked on a farm for which he received board and $20 a month. Then he clerked for O’Loughlin & Weber.

Mullany served as the clerk of Lakin Township before being elected Clerk of the District Court in November of 1892. In May of 1897, he married Maggie Nash, the “bright, pretty and amiable” daughter of John Keating and Mary Ann Nash. Following his second term as District Court Clerk, Mullany returned to work for O’Loughlin & Weber before moving to Garden City to be the head clerk for Knox’s grocery. Sons Anthony Glen and James ”Babe” Verne were born during this time. In 1901, Mullany moved back to Lakin after forming a partnership with his niece’s husband, J.C. Hart, a former Santa Fe Railroad agent. The two men purchased E.S. Snow’s complete stock of dry goods and groceries and opened Hart & Mullany on the southwest corner of Main and Lincoln.

Early in 1906, Hart disposed of his interest in the company, and James took on his son-in-law, Steve Houser, as a partner. Houser had resided here for years, according to The Advocate’s announcement regarding the new firm. Six years later, Mullany & Houser sold out their entire stock of groceries to A.G. Campbell. Subsequently, James was elected as Register of Deeds. His wife died in 1915, and at the end of Mullany’s second term, he returned to the mercantile trade. Mullany & Sons rapidly built up an extensive and lucrative business, but in 1918, the entire stock was sold to the Equity Exchange citing Mullany’s desire to take it easy for a while. The Irish-born merchant didn’t retire completely though. He filled in at the Equity, Campbell Mercantile and Nash Brothers which was owned by his brother-in-law, Jack Nash. Mullany was also active in the GAR, veterans’ affairs, and Democratic party. He even served on the City Council and was mayor at one time.

After retirement, James began spending winters in California with his daughter and family, and he went to live with Lulu permanently in 1922. He passed away from pneumonia in 1938. His remains were laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery, a graveyard in San Diego which was dedicated for the exclusive use of Roman Catholics. Fortune comes in many forms, and James Mullany found his as a husband, father, prosperous merchant, respected official, and “one of the very best citizens of Kearny county.”

One of James and Maggie’s young sons stands in front of their home on the northeast corner of Waterman and Western in Lakin.

This building once located on the southwest corner of Main and Lincoln and remembered by some as the Baptist Temple was where Mullany and Hart opened their grocery and dry goods store in 1901.

James Mullany, former Clerk of the District Court and Register of Deeds.

SOURCES: History of Kearny County Vol. I & II; A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans by William E. Connelley; Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; Ancestry.com; findagrave.com; Wikipedia; Museum archives and archives of The Lakin Independent, Advocate, Lakin Index, Investigator, Garden City Herald and Garden City Imprint.