Category: News & Events

Local organization TOPpleS during Covid epidemic

While Covid-19 has affected many people, activities and businesses, one thing didn’t change when the New Year rang in. Many Americans once again made their yearly resolutions to lose weight. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) has helped millions of people to take off and keep off pounds since its inception in 1948. Founded and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., TOPS promotes successful weight management with a philosophy that combines healthy eating, regular exercise, wellness education and support from fellow members.

The organization was the brainchild of housewife Esther S. Manz. Manz was pregnant with her fifth child and participating in group sessions designed to prepare women for childbirth where she witnessed the power of mutual support in helping women stay within their doctors’ guidelines for pregnancy. She contemplated a weight loss group with a similar philosophy and discussed it with her doctor who encouraged her to follow through with the idea. Championing weight loss support and success, TOPS grew to about 2,500 members in six states by 1951. Manz’s story appeared in LIFE magazine in April that year, and by the year’s end there were chapters in every state and a total membership of over 6,000. By 1955, TOPS had gone international and had given birth to KOPS. (Keep Off Pounds Sensibly)

Tumbleweed TOPS Chapter #278 was organized locally in November of 1967 with 19 charter members. Weekly meetings and weigh-ins were integral to the program. Tips for counting calories, meal plans, activities, guest speakers, and encouragement were keys to its success. Members were rewarded when they lost weight for consecutive periods of time: for example, four weeks of consecutive weight loss earned a charm, 10 weeks earned a bracelet and 12 weeks earned a necklace. Likewise, minimal fines were paid by those who gained weight. In the early years of the organization, the member who gained the most during the week would have a mandatory (but good-natured) penalty imposed such as wearing a “Porky” pig lapel pin for a week. In time, chapters were discouraged from this practice as national leaders felt it hurt the organization’s image and could be embarrassing or misconstrued as demeaning.

Bringing women together with the common cause of losing weight, TOPS created a camaraderie between its members. Contests, picnics, rallies, and coronations were all part of local chapter happenings. Members attended themed State Recognition Days and conventions and met with other TOPS chapters in the area for fun and fellowship. TOPS proved that working together to lose weight could be fun.

While TOPS looks forward to continued success on the national and international level, the local chapter decided to call it quits in 2020 due to the looming threat of Covid-19. According to Geneva Williams, the lone remaining charter member, the seven remaining members were also getting older and getting out and about was becoming difficult for them.

Williams received a 50-year certificate from the national office in 2017. She made many great memories (as well as dresses for Recognition Days) through the years. “The best thing about TOPS was the camaraderie. We always had a good time,” Williams said. Her favorite memory is when Lakin’s Mildred Yager was crowned queen of Kansas for losing the most overall weight in the state.

Scrapbooks, minutes and other artifacts of the local TOPS chapter were donated to the museum and will be put on display when the clubs and organizations section is revised and re-opened to the public.

Mildred Yager was crowned queen for the state of Kansas in 1991.
Vivien Coerber models her daughter’s wedding dress at the 1970 ARD. In 1982, Coerber was appointed area captain for Kearny, Finney, Hamilton and Grant counties.
Marilyn (Jo) Vanatta was crowned Area Queen at Area Recognition Days Oct.13, 1970.
Who are the lovely ladies behind the masks? L-R: Esther Gilbert, Lula Kunze, Marie Urie, Shirley Adams and Carolyn Richmond in their Mardi Gras attire at the 1989 State Recognition Days.
Standing L-R: Mildred Yager, Peggy Frazer, Martha Guyer, Maude Tate and Tillie Bruner sitting show off their Tumbleweed hats which they wore to the 1968 Kansas State TOPS Convention
Esther Gilbert, Linda Wilken, Marie Urie and D.J. Knoll took first place in the Look Alike Contest at the 1988 TOPS state convention.
Front row L-R Peggy Frazer, Doris Zubek, Darlene Dickson. Middle row Clara Wynn Grauberger, Lula Kunze, Vivien COerber. Back row Twila Woods, Maxine O’Connor and Betty Shetterly at the 1969 State TOPS convention.

 

From the Winter 2021 newsletter. Want to see more of the newsletter? You can get your own delivered to your mailbox 4 times a year for a one-time membership fee of $20. Go to our membership page and complete the form today!

Lake McKinney: Kearny County’s once popular recreation destination

Scout troops, fishermen, hunters, boating enthusiasts and other adventure seekers flocked to the shores of Lake McKinney for nearly 70 years, but what once was the largest man-made reservoir in Kansas has been closed to the public since 1978. Located just 2 ½ miles east of Lakin, Lake McKinney was born out of a need for “sure” water to grow sugar beets. The crop was already thriving in the Deerfield and Lakin areas when a group of wealthy Colorado capitalists and Garden City businessmen became interested in expanding into Finney County and increasing the amount of sugar beets grown here. The group was incorporated in 1905 as the United States Sugar And Land Company. Since sugar beets require large amounts of water, the group purchased the Great Eastern Ditch System and 12,000 acres of land along the ditch in Finney and Kearny counties. Completed in February 1907, the lake covered roughly 3,000 acres of land and held over 30,000 acre feet of water. Lake McKinney was fed by Arkansas River water through the Great Eastern Canal from the headgates at Hartland, and water was held at the lake until needed for irrigation. When lawsuits against the ditch company and flood damage forced them to abandon the western section of the ditch, water was carried to the lake through the Amazon Canal. Named for J. R. McKinney who was treasurer of US Sugar And Land, Lake McKinney was also known simply as the reservoir or Reservoir #5.
The construction of the reservoir was not without controversy. Lake McKinney covered ground that was formerly occupied by farms. Some of the land had been abandoned, but other farmers did not sell willingly. Their land was taken from them which led to lawsuits against the Sugar And Land Company. In Volume II of the History of Kearny County, Irene Frazer Boughton reminisced about her first glimpse of Lake McKinney as a five-year-old, “The lake must have been in the filling stages for I saw great cottonwoods turning yellow as they stood in the water clear up to their branches—some were almost submerged.” The image of a large two-story white home standing in the lake with water almost to its second story remained vivid in her mind many moons later. By August of 1907, newspapers reported that the water in the reservoir was 27 feet deep and sufficient to irrigate thousands of acres, and Lake McKinney became a popular recreation spot from the time it was filled.
The United States Sugar And Land Company; however, faced bond foreclosures which wiped out many stockholders. The original company name lasted from 1905 thru 1913. The company then became Garden City Sugar And Land Company. The next foreclosure came in 1920, and the name was changed to Garden City Company. Since the last foreclosure in 1930, the company has been known as The Garden City Company.
The Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission leased the lake from the Garden City Company in 1947 to provide Kansans and tourists with additional fishing and hunting opportunities. The original lease cost $10, and the Garden City Company retained the water rights. The Fish and Game Commission agreed to build access roads and stock the lake, and the Lake McKinney Improvement Association formed in the 1950s and enhanced the lake with picnic tables, a well house, docks and ramps, and concessions. The LMIA also built and maintained camping areas with all the improvements being funded through dues-paying members. While some maps still showed the body of water as Lake McKinney, others referred to it as the Kearny County State Lake.
The lake grew in recreational importance as it lessened in agricultural importance. A 1967 Garden City Telegram article reported that there had been as many as 60-70 boats on the water at one time that summer and that membership in the LMIA was at an all-time high. At its peak, the organization had about 200 dues-paying members.
Ultimately a lake is only a lake if there is water, and that was something that outdoorsmen could not rely on. The reservoir went dry more than once and experienced several periods of low water levels caused by drought conditions, irrigation demands, and the operation of the John Martin and Pueblo reservoirs in Colorado which reduced the amount of water flowing in the Arkansas River. The lake was dry for most of the 70s, and tensions were at an all-time high. Kansas and Colorado had long battled over water rights. Some LMIA members argued that the Fish and Game Commission was not doing enough. LMIA rules were such that when there was no water to retain the membership, members didn’t pay. With a dried-out lake, there was no income from dues, but the association claimed the commission still expected the organization to maintain everything.
“The association has a sublease from us for $1 per year,” said Walter Harrison, then chief of Fish and Game field services, “but it always surprises them when we wonder why they don’t do what their contract calls for. We build and maintain the access roads, but we have to get approval from The Garden City Company for any improvements.” Justifying large expenditures on a lake that was privately owned was also a roadblock for the State.
In 1977, The Garden City Company, announced that the land was too important to let it stand idle. The company converted 1,800 acres of the reservoir to cropland, cleared much of the timber and brush, and constructed dikes in the lakebed to control water movement leaving approximately 1,050 acres in the middle of the lake for irrigation storage which was still leased to the Fish and Game Commission. The area included waterfowl resting islands and refuge. The conversion of the lake virtually halted public hunting and fishing opportunities. The Kansas Fish and Game Commission terminated its agreement in 1978, and the reservoir was closed to the public.
SOURCES: The Lake That Disappeared by Barbara Oringderff; Lake McKinney’s Start Marked by Happiness, Tragedy by Barbara Oringderff; A Brief History of “The Garden City Company” & “Sugar Factory” by W. F. Stoeckly; History of Kearny County Vols. I & II; Kansas State Historical Society; and archives of The Advocate, Lakin Independent, Topeka Daily Capital, Wichita Eagle, Kansas Farmer and Mail and Breeze, Garden City Telegram, The Waverly Gazette, and Marshall County News

 

Museum to re-open to public June 2

We are pleased to announce that Kearny County Museum will re-open to the public on June 2. Visitors may view exhibits in the Main Museum Building and Annex, but all outer buildings will remain locked. We are limited to no more than 10 guests at a time. There will be no guided tours.

TO HELP US KEEP COVID-19 OUT OF OUR MUSEUM, THE FOLLOWING RULES WILL BE ENFORCED:
1. Face masks are required (wear your own as we will not provide them).
2. Maintain a social distance of 6 feet from other guests and staff.
3. Cover your coughs and sneezes.
4. Only sit in designated areas.
5. Do not touch artifacts or display cases.
6. Children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult who is responsible for supervising them and making sure they follow our rules.
7. You will be asked to leave if you do not follow these rules.

IF YOU ARE NOT FEELING WELL, HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19 OR HAVE HAD RECENT CONTACT WITH A PERSON WHO HAS COVID-19, DO NOT VISIT THE MUSEUM UNTIL YOU ARE FEELING BETTER AND/OR HAVE SELF-QUARANTINED FOR 14 DAYS.

If you have items to donate, please call first for drop-off instructions.

Museum remains closed as Covid-19 arrives in Kearny County

The Kearny County Historical Society Museum remains closed to the public at this time due to the potential spread of Covid-19. We are unsure when we will be able to open again as cases in Kearny County continue to increase. We will keep you posted on the situation, and rest assured, we will take every precaution to keep our visitors and staff safe when we are allowed to re-open.

Museum Closed to Visitors

Kearny County Museum values the health and well-being of our guests, community and staff. As a precautionary measure,we are closed to visitors until at least April 1. As the threat of Covid-19 increases and authorities make ever-changing recommendations and policies, we anticipate that we could be closed longer.

We apologize for any inconvenience and encourage you to practice social distancing, avoid large gatherings of people and stay at home if possible to protect yourself and your loved ones from the Coronavirus.

Our staff will still be available by phone during regular business hours should you have a question or need research assistance.

 

Annual Meeting 2020

The 62nd Annual Meeting of the Kearny County Historical Society will be Saturday, March 28, at the Deerfield Community Building. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and a meal of beef and noodles with mashed potatoes and all the fixin’s will be served at 6:30. The meal is being catered by Kandy Katz.

A short business meeting will follow the dinner. Election of board members will also take place. Only members of the Historical Society may vote.

Guest speaker for the evening will be Hannes Zacharias. In the summer of 1976, Zacharias put his kayak in the Arkansas River at his hometown of Dodge City and traveled all the way down the river to New Orleans. He promised himself that he would one day make the trip again. In 2018, the then 64-year-old fulfilled that promise, but this time he traveled the entire length of the Arkansas from its beginnings in the Rocky Mountains to Venice, Louisiana. Zacharias will be talking about his journey, and observations and friendships he made along the way.

Hannes Zacharias, left, visits with Kearny County Commissioner Shannon McCormick during a stop on his 2018 trip along the Arkansas River.

The annual meeting and dinner are free, but reservations are required for the event. They can be made by calling the Kearny County Museum at 355-7448. RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY 4 P.M. ON THURSDAY, MARCH 19.

Coloring Contest Winners

Kearny County Museum congratulates second graders Renata Quinones, Miles Delgado, Briseis Ornelas and Alex Johnson. The four students were winners of our Kansas Day coloring contest. Each received a special gift for their efforts, and their pictures will hang in the museum lobby until the end of the month.

As part of their Kansas Day curriculum, second graders from Lakin and Deerfield visited the museum for tours of the main building, annex and school house. They learned about Kansas and local history during their visit.