Category: News & Events

Much has been written about Lakin’s founding father, John O’Loughlin. He was already highly successful and well-known prior to his marriage, but what would John’s life and the community of Lakin have been like without Mary Veronica O’Loughlin? The matriarch of the O’Loughlin family, Mary’s life was the epitome of living for God, family and community.

Born in May of 1861 at Xenia, OH, Mary was the eldest daughter of five girls and one son born to Dennis and Bridget Farrell who had migrated to America from Ireland. The Farrell family came to the Sunflower State in the 1870s, moving in with an uncle at Brookville. Mary was tasked with looking after the younger children. When she was left in charge of several younger cousins, a sudden flood came down the stream near where the house was built. Mary took the children to the second story where she kept them safe for several hours before help arrived. When the house caught fire, she took the children to safety and ran back into the burning building when she discovered that a small baby had been left sleeping inside. Mary reached the open air with the infant in her arms just as the entire structure collapsed. Her courage, resourcefulness and protective nature were just some of her endearing qualities.

In April of 1874, the Farrells moved further west to Wilson where Mary attended public school. She had earlier attended parochial school at Junction City for one year. In her parents’ home on February 5, 1882, Mary married John O’Loughlin who was 19 years older than her. A fine supper was served to the large crowd in attendance, and because Mary was well and favorably known in the community, she and John received some very fine and costly gifts. The reception lasted late into the night with musical entertainment being provided by some of the locals.  John then brought his bride back to Lakin, and they were given a reception in the Boylan’s White House. The late Carrie Davies remembered that Mary was very shy and amazed that so many people showed up to wish them well. Perhaps Mary was unaware that her Irish husband was such a hero in these parts. The newlyweds made their home upstairs in John’s mercantile store building that had been moved from near the railroad to the corner of Main and Waterman. It was there that Mary gave birth to their first child, Margaret, in 1883. Six more children would follow: William, Mary Catherine, Jack, Jennie Rose, Helen and Thomas.

In 1888, the O’Loughlin family moved to their new home located on the southeast outskirts of Lakin. Education for her own children and those of the community was important to Mary, and a large number of men and women spent time in the O’Loughlin home where they were taken into the family and encouraged to attend school and prepare themselves for lives of usefulness. A devout Catholic, Mary offered her home for services prior to the church being erected. She was a gracious hostess and entertained often.

A kind friend and neighbor, Mary walked several miles many times to “sit up” and care for the sick and prepare the dead for burial. “No night was too dark nor a day too stormy to prevent her from going to the aid of a family in need at a time of sickness, injury or death.” When a floral club was organized in 1909 to improve and beautify the grounds of the Lakin Cemetery, Mary was elected president. She had a green thumb when it came to flowers but especially rare and unique ones. She also served a stint as president of the Old Settlers’ Association, was the first vice-president of the American Legion Auxiliary, a member of the Lakin Woman’s Club, and was one of a group of Lakin pioneer women who made garments and gave them to little children and other needy persons of the community.

As the O’loughlins had ranches on the Canadian and Cimarron rivers, Mary went several times to the Cimarron, a distance of 50 miles, driving a horse and buggy. Most of her time; however, was spent in her home taking care of her seven children and raising them with the same priorities and values of which she lived by. The devoted wife and mother died in October of 1936. An unusually large number of old-time friends were among those who came to extend their sympathies to her family and show their respects for Mary, a true pioneer woman who had influenced and helped the community in so many ways.

SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; History of Kearny County Vols. I & II; Museum archives; and archives of Wilson World, Dodge City Daily Globe, Lakin Investigator and Advocate.

The fourth child of Lakin’s founding father, John O’Loughlin, and his bride, Mary, was a strong advocate for Lakin and for veterans. Familiarly known as Jack, John Charles O’Loughlin was born in 1888 and attended school at Lakin. He then went to St. Mary’s College at St. Mary’s, Kansas where he received high honors and graduated in June of 1908 from the English Commercial department. Jack returned to Lakin, and in 1910, he and his older brother, Will, began running their father’s mercantile business on the corner of Main and Waterman under the name, “O’Loughlin Brothers.”

Jack had many friends and was well known throughout the area. Not only did he play on the local baseball team, but he also managed teams in Lakin and surrounding towns. Jack also played on the town football team. Wherever he went, he was a proud booster for the growth of Lakin and for those who served our country.

In July 1918, Jack left Lakin to answer our country’s call during World War I. He wrote home from Fort Riley in August that he had passed all examinations, and by November 1, Jack was overseas where he was assigned to the medical department of the war. He took care of the sick and wounded at Camp Hospital No. 12 in Dannes-Camiers, France. Notes from Jack often appeared in the Advocate, and no matter the circumstances, his attitude was one of optimism.

“Jack O’Loughlin, writing the Advocate from “over the big drink,’ says he is in the best of health, enjoying army life to the limit, and everything quiet as a May morning, and sends kind regards to his friends.”

Upon his return, Jack was back with Will running the mercantile business, and the brothers also had charge of the O’Loughlin’s livestock and farming interests. Jack married Josephine Schwarz at Wilson in 1922. The bride, a graduate of the University of Kansas, was a teacher. Upon their arrival in Lakin, the newlyweds were greeted by their many friends and chivareed in quite an unusual fashion. Jack and Josephine were loaded into an old buckboard coupled to a Ford then “driven at a high rate of speed over town.” The O’Loughlins had two daughters, Patricia and Josephine, and in 1928 the family moved to Garden City where Jack was in the farm implement business. He later went into insurance.

Jack’s dedication to his fellow comrades was unparalleled. He was a charter member and served as commander of the Sheppard-Moore post of the American Legion here at Lakin, and O’Loughlin was a delegate to the 1924 and 1928 national Legion conventions. He was given high praise for his untiring work in making the local post one of the “best in the west.” After moving to Garden, Jack served as the adjutant of the Harry H. Renick post of the American Legion there. He helped organize and was a charter member of the John J. Haskell Veterans of Foreign Wars post and served several terms as its commander as well as commander of the Eighth VFW district. When the McAfee-Stebens Post was organized in Lakin on February 6, 1946, Jack was the Comrade District Commander who conducted the official election for the post’s first officials. From 1936 to 1938, he served as commandant of the Old Soldiers’ Home at Ford Dodge.

Jack was also involved with Lions Club, Elks Club, Knights of Columbus and the Old Settler’s Association. He was very prominent in Democratic politics and was a member of the Democratic central committee of Finney County for many years.

Jack O’Loughlin died unexpectedly in February 1948. The 59-year-old had been admitted to the Halstead hospital several days prior to his death, but his condition had not been considered serious. He had, however, been in poor health for several years.

SOURCES: History of Kearny County Vols. I & II, archives of the Advocate and Lakin Independent, and Museum archives.

William O’Loughlin was quite the catch. He was athletic, handsome, smart and well-liked. At the age of 29, the eldest son of John and Mary O’Loughlin was elected to represent Kearny County in the 1915 Kansas State Legislature, and he and his brother Jack were running the general store that their father had built decades before. A young Grant County teacher by the name of Grace Blake won over Will’s heart, and the two were married in August of 1918 at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Kansas City.

The happy couple made their home in a “pretty” two-story house on Buffalo Street. The house had recently been remodeled, stuccoed and outfitted with electrical wiring. It was a new beginning for the home as well as for the newlyweds. The house had been built to house the Alonzo Boylan family over 40 years before when Lakin had few citizens and fewer buildings. In its early years, the home symbolized the hope of many Kearny County pioneers who envisioned prosperous futures and a great town springing up along the Santa Fe railway. It seemed only fitting that the son of Lakin’s founding father would make the dwelling his family home.

About 10 months into their marriage, William and Grace were “greatly elated” by the arrival of their firstborn, a 12-pound baby girl who they named Dorothy. In 1921, another baby girl was welcomed to the family, and she was given the name, Mary. Their family was made complete when baby brother, William Jr. or “Billie,” was added to the fold in 1922.

The senior William operated O’Loughlin Brothers general store until 1928 when the brothers sold it. William had already taken up farming and ranching by that time, and in 1931 he was elected to the office of county clerk. Grace became a civic leader and was influential in the organization of the Kansas Federation of Women’s Clubs. She devoted her time, talents and energy to her family, community and the Catholic Church.

Tragedy hit in 1933 when 10-year-old Billie was struck by lightning and died. The entire community mourned the loss of the little boy with a sunny disposition and considerate heart who was frequently called upon to settle playground disputes because of his fairness and honesty.

Three years later, William was appointed to the position of postmaster at Lakin. He retired from that position in 1943, and he was employed in defense work at the airbases at Victoria and Garden City during World War II. Active also in the Lions Club, Knights of Columbus and the Cattle Growers Association, William D. O’Loughlin passed away at the age of 73.

Grace was greatly traumatized by Billie’s death. She died at the age of 93 in 1983 at the Manor Nursing Home in Alma after a long illness. Both she and William are buried in the family plot at the Lakin Cemetery.

Their daughter Dorothy married Bert Sells in 1942. At her funeral in 2003, Dorothy’s children eulogized their mother for always putting her family first yet finding the time for others. She was an avid sports fan, enjoyed playing bridge and loved a good practical joke. Smart and well-read, the gentle-hearted Dorothy often wound up as the caretaker for the family’s many pets. She was living in Cincinnati, OH, at the time of her death.

William and Grace’s daughter Mary married John Walters in 1943. She too was active in church life and her community and loved K-State sports. Having grown up during the Great Depression, Mary had a deep sense of gratitude and a very generous nature. She was always proud of her beginnings, her Irish ancestry and her Catholic faith. A resident of Manhattan, KS, Mary died in January 2003, nine months before her sister Dorothy.

William and Grace’s home remained in the O’Loughlin family even after they moved out. In 1974, their home was deeded to the Kearny County Historical Society by William’s sister, Jennie Rose O’Loughlin, and the “White House” became the centerpiece around which the rest of the Kearny County Museum has grown.

SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; History of Kearny County Vols. I & II; archives of The Advocate and Lakin Independent; and Museum archives which were contributed to by members of the O’Loughlin Family.

Southwest Kansans can rely on the Deerfield Brotherhood to continue their tradition of serving up the “Grand Daddy of All” groundhog suppers each year regardless of Punxsutawney Phil’s ability to see his shadow. Around 125 volunteers work together to pull off what just might be the longest running groundhog supper in Kansas. Preparations have already begun for this year’s event which is slated for February 7^th. Thirty hogs will be butchered this Sunday yielding roughly 4,500 pounds of sausage that will be seasoned with the Brotherhood’s secret recipe. Of this, 1,100 pounds of patties will be cooked and served the day of the meal, and the rest will be sold.

The supper has grown immensely since the early days when the tradition began with a single hog. Brotherhood and Epworth League records indicate that the supper started in 1938 with a profit of $27.17. The first mention of the event in the Lakin Independent was in 1940 when Rev. I. W. Woolard announced that the Deerfield Methodist Brotherhood had decided to put on a groundhog dinner on February 1. Ticket prices were 25¢ and 15¢, and approximately 125 meals were served.

Frank West came up with the idea of the groundhog supper. He and fellow Methodist Ed DeKeyser were instrumental in organizing the Boys Scouts in Deerfield which also became a Brotherhood mission. In addition, proceeds from the supper in the 1940s helped with improvements and supplies for Deerfield’s Methodist Church, bought worship books for local men serving in the war, and aided the youth camp at Lake Scott.

The suppers were originally served in the basement of the old Methodist Church. The late Max Miller wrote, “The basement could seat 50 and at times the crowd was so large that guests were seated in the sanctuary by numbers and waited until their number was called. The south basement windows were taken out so the food that was cooked at the parsonage, Harley Rector’s, and the High School could be passed through.”

Due to the growth of the supper, the event was moved to Rex Miller Hall in Deerfield’s newly built grade school in 1957. Seating capacity went to 180, and the cost for meals was $1.25 for adults and 75¢ for children. In February 1966, the Garden City Telegram reported that the supper had grown from a two-frying pan operation to a three-kitchen operation with a two-way radio system. The supper had already earned the reputation for being the best in Southwest Kansas, and in 1967, the gathering netted over $1,000 for the first time. Funds from the event in the 1950s and 1960s were mainly used for equipment and emergency expenses at the Methodist Church. The Brotherhood also made 28 wooden banquet tables which were stored at the school and used by other groups such as the Lions and Grange.

Butchering and processing took place at various locations until 1976, the first year that cut-up was done at Duncan Lockers. By 1979, the supper had become more than the Methodist men could handle. Other congregations and community volunteers became involved leading to the formation of the Deerfield Brotherhood in 1980. During the next 10 years, over 10,000 people attended the suppers and over $29,000 in profit was shared with the Deerfield community, churches, and Boy and Girl Scouts. The meal’s growing popularity throughout Western Kansas was evident by local media coverage and supporters who were willing to drive to the little village of Deerfield for what was labeled “The Original Southwest Kansas Groundhog Day Supper.”

In 1992, the event was moved to Deerfield’s Community Building where the seating capacity went to a whopping 396. Sausage was cooked in the old firehouse, biscuits were baked at the Deerfield Grade School, and gravy was stirred together in the Home Ec. Room of Deerfield High School. Still today, the old firehouse and Grade School are utilized for cooking with corn being the only menu item cooked at the Community Building. Volunteers coordinate delivery to the community center, and they have their system down pat. During the 1990s, the net profit distributed throughout the Deerfield community was $30,480, and the Brotherhood established a scholarship for local college-bound students in 1994. This tradition continues with two scholarships usually being awarded each year.

In 2005, the supper cleared $6,000 for the first time ever. In 2009, 3,600 pounds of sausage was processed, 35 gallons of gravy was used along with 2400 biscuits, the applesauce ran out before the evening’s end, and a record-setting 1,411 meals were served. Last year’s meal netted a record $14,256, bringing the total raised since 2000 to over $190,000.

“It is just amazing how much money has been raised through the years,” said Joe Eskelund, treasurer of the Brotherhood. The men meet immediately following the meal to decide how the monies earned will be used. Proceeds have helped Deerfield’s Summer Celebration, Kearny County DARE, Deerfield schools and churches, the Kearny County Historical Society, Deerfield Community Building, Chachis Place, DHS Trap, Lakin Gun Club, multiple youth organizations, community events and much more.

Up to and including the 1999 supper, a time-honored order known as ‘The List’ was used to designate future leaders. Following that year’s event, a ‘By Committee’ leadership was adopted with the work spread among committees which are headed by loyal volunteers. Ross Miller volunteered his time to oversee the big event, and Eskelund agreed to serve as secretary/treasurer. Miller, a 1976 Deerfield High School graduate, and Eskelund who graduated from DHS in 1977 both came up through the ranks, first helping back when young men in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades were required to assist with the meal. Deerfield students still help with serving but are no longer required to.

Miller credits the success of the groundhog supper to the dedicated men who have helped and continue to help pull off the well-orchestrated meal. He said some have been volunteering for more than five decades. “I don’t know where we would be without the help we get. So many deserve praise to be heaped upon them. Many will never have their name mentioned in written word, but those who are in the know understand the efforts of these local heroes and sacrifices they made for the good of the community. It’s been a blessing.”

Beginning in 2000, letters were sent out as a call to arms for volunteers for cut up, ticket sales, set-up and the supper. Roughly 400 letters are sent to rural and town mail boxes just prior to each year’s event, and the Brotherhood welcomes anyone who would like to help sponsor the shindig or volunteer. Membership in the Brotherhood and Deerfield residency is not required; however, volunteers must be male.

While Eskelund plans to continue as treasurer, Miller is stepping down after this year’s event and 25 years of leading the charge. He has been grooming some of the younger men to take his place. Watch the Lakin Independent for more details about this year’s groundhog supper or check out the Deerfield Brotherhood’s Facebook page.

Special thanks to Ross Miller and Joe Eskelund. Other sources included: History of Kearny County Vol. I & II; archives of the Lakin Independent and Garden City Telegram; Deerfield Brotherhood Facebook page; deerfieldbrotherhood.wordpress.com; usd216.org; and the Winter 2006 Legend.

Weather forecasters predict arctic temps in the days ahead along with a chance for more snow, but Kearny County still has plenty of the white stuff left over from Monday’s blizzard. Just what kind of winter is in store for Southwest Kansas, and could it be reminiscent of the winter of 1918-1919? Snow blanketed Kearny County with a two-foot snow fall on December 16, 1918, and with temperatures averaging in the 20s, the snow didn’t go away any time soon. Oldtimers who had been here for 30 years or more claimed that they had never saw snow so deep.

On January 3, 1919, a reporter in the Prairie View area north of Deerfield reported that their neighborhood had been snowbound for two weeks with a foot and one-half deep snow and seven-foot drifts. Perhaps the saddest incident reported was the death of John Bender who lived north of Deerfield. The 35-year old father died of pneumonia after a bout with the flu. “When undertaker Nash reached there Sunday (December 29, 1918) there were four bad cases in the home and the father lifeless.” An effort was made two days later “to get a casket to the home and the trip was abandoned after a mile or two of the way covered.”

By January 10, the Advocate reported that the greatest problem in Southwest Kansas was getting feed to the stock, “and it is one of the busiest times our stockmen have ever experienced.” With many cattle to feed and no grass in sight, a large number of cattle were shipped to market and others were driven to the river where feed was shipped in. Four or five hundred tons of hay had been purchased in Colorado and was being shipped to Kearny County by rail which furnished some relief to anxious stockmen. Many tons of straw, alfalfa and cottonseed cake were shipped via the Garden City railroad to Wolf siding from eastern Kansas. Farmers constructed their own sleds of various sizes and shapes to transport feed to their livestock and bring coal home to heat with. With each issue of the paper came more news about horses and cattle dying or being thin and weak near death. Farmers made wooden scrapers and drags to bare the ground, and locals were eager to see the snow go. By January 24, the sentiment was “it is enough for one winter … it will take a lot of “Old Sol’s” heat to melt this deep snow.” Elsewhere in the January 24th Advocate was the report that Dr. Richards had walked eight miles from Deerfield to Lakin on account of his patients as the snow was still a handicap to travel out of broken paths.

Mail delays had become the norm, and at least one carrier abandoned his automobile and resorted to a team and buggy. On February 7, the Advocate reported, “We ascertained Saturday from a trustworthy source that twelve hundred tons of hay had been unloaded at this point in the past five weeks and one hundred tons of straw.” Fortunately, coal dealers had stocked up enough and were able to provide a steady supply of black diamonds to their customers.

“Four degrees above zero Sunday morning . . . we are promised a warm wave by the 18th. We hope it will be warm enough to melt the snow,” was the report in the February 14 Advocate from Prairie View. That same issue carried the news that “Herman Ladner was out riding in his car Sunday, the first car to run in the hills since the 18th of Dec..” On February 21, a Deerfield citizen reported that they still could only see “two or three bare spots of ground.” There were still students who were not able to get to school because of road conditions. “The long distance, mud, snow and slush make it a drudgery for many a pupil and teacher.”

Then came another snow. On February 28, the Prairie View reporter wrote, “We thought that last week, one more day of sunshine would make a finish of the snow, that fell the 16th of December, but on Tuesday night and Wednesday and Thursday, a rain started and wound up with six inches of snow, which seems in no hurry to leave us.” Many complaints were coming in to the county health officer of unburied cattle carcasses and other animals that had perished in the severe weather.

Spring-like days in mid-March, “assured us that the snow would soon be a thing of the past.” Snow in South Kearny had all disappeared except in a few spots where there were heavy drifts. The weather was looking fine, farmers were going to work listing and planting their fields, and the rural people were coming into town again. Mail carriers were once again able to complete their regular routes in a timely fashion. Thinking that winter was over, some ranchers moved their cattle to pastures that had no protection. The Prairie View Sunday School which had been closed since October on account of the flu and impassible roads was scheduled to begin meeting again on April 6.

Then, without warning, came a raging blizzard. The April 11 Advocate said that snow had started falling on Tuesday, April 8, “and up to the hour of going to press was still at it.” A reported 1,000 head of cattle in Kearny County were lost in the April storm alone. The late Henry Molz and his father, Adam, lost 112 head after moving 200 to their pasture two miles northwest of Lake McKinney just prior to the blizzard. In milling around, the cattle either pushed the fence over or packed the snow until they could walk over and drift to the Amazon Ditch. The first ones could not get out, and the rest walked over them. Twelve head drifted into the lake. The Molz’s gave the hides to skinners for removal of the carcasses. “Lydia has received the shock caused by winter number 2,” cried the April 25 Advocate. The report came from the West South Side that “dead cattle are to be seen any way you look, while going along the roads.” Stockmen started hauling hay, cake and chop again as the snow storm found a number of them somewhat short on supplies and weary of a repeat. All in all, an estimated 30% of the cattle in Kearny County were lost during the winter of 1918-1919.

SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; History of Kearny County Vol. II; archives of The Advocate, Museum archives, and courier-journal.com.

Dr. Grant Hastings saved multiple lives and delivered hundreds more into the world during his tenure at Lakin. His arrival here was announced in December 1921 when he purchased the medical library, office furniture, fixtures and instruments that belonged to Dr. George C.W. Richards. At the time, Hastings was in practice in Garden City with Dr. Sanford Bailey. His Lakin office, which he shared with dentist L.W. Hopkins, was over the Kearny County Bank on the southwest corner of Waterman and Main. A graduate of the University of Kansas Medical School, Dr. Hastings had built up a reputation as a careful and competent physician and came to town very highly recommended.

A month later, county commissioners appointed Hastings as county physician of Kearny County. The good doctor who still lived in Garden City and retained an office there was also Finney County’s appointed physician and health officer. Hastings was believed to be the first to hold the office of county physician in two counties at the same time. “The work in the two counties will keep him on the jump but the doctor is young and active and likes to work,” reported the Garden City Herald, “he could if necessary take one or two more.”

Dr. and Mrs. Hastings moved to Lakin in June of 1922, and in the summer of 1926, work was underway on Dr. Hastings’ new building just to the east of the then Lakin State Bank on East Waterman Avenue. The Independent announced that the brick structure was conveniently located and “will be quite an improvement on Waterman.” The doctor made his office on the first floor in the west wing. The Chamber of Commerce rented the upper floor for a club room, and the other rooms were rented out as the dental office of Dr. P.L. Woods and a barber shop. A radio was installed upstairs in the club room which had plenty of windows for light and ventilation.

In October of 1927, the Independent announced that the Chamber of Commerce had consented to using only half of the second floor, and the other half had been converted to a hospital as Dr. Hastings had found that driving to Garden City to treat his patients was very inconvenient. There were four rooms, each with an outside window and steam heat. “With the assistance of Dr. Woods in surgical operations and Mrs. Lavina Shinkle, a trained nurse, many cases formerly taken to the hospitals in Garden City can now be conveniently taken care of. The doctor has been particularly successful in surgical work, and all minor operations will be given attention here as well as many of the major operations. All of which tends to show that you don’t have to go elsewhere to be sick; you can have a first class illness right here in Lakin.” The Chamber of Commerce decided to give up their club room in the Hastings building in January 1928, enabling the number of hospital beds to increase to eight.

Dr. Hastings began dividing his time between Lakin and Garden City in January of 1941 when Dr. Herman Sartorius of Garden City was called to active army duty. In October that year, Hastings located permanently to Garden City. His Lakin office was taken over by Dr. E.M. Ireland. Other doctors to utilize the Hastings building included Rudolph Sabo, Fred Dietrick, and Gordon McAfee. The hospital continued to be used until the Kearny County Hospital (now the building that houses the Kearny County Senior Center) was opened in 1952. Although he no longer lived here, Dr. Hastings actively worked with the hospital committee to help secure funding for the new hospital.

Dr. Hastings retired in 1965 and died in December of 1967 at the age of 78 in Garden City. Among his pallbearers were his Kearny County friends B.C. Nash, Edd Murray and Ralph Hutton. A World War I veteran, he served as a medical adviser on the first Kearny County draft board and was active in several organizations including the Lakin Masonic Lodge, president of the Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the festivities for the dedication of the Kearny County Court House in 1939. Dr. Grant Hastings and his wife, Agnes, had three daughters: Jane, and her twin sisters, Ann and Ellen.

SOURCES: Archives of the Lakin Independent, Garden City Herald and Garden City Telegram; Museum archives; History of Kearny Co. Vols. I & II; and Ancestry.com.

Kansans who wanted to toast the new year during the late 1800s and early 1900s may have had to make a doctor’s appointment first. Kansas became legally dry on May 1, 1881 with an amendment to the state constitution that forever prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors except for medical, scientific and mechanical purposes. Alcohol had to be prescribed by a physician to be obtained legally, and drug stores were made the responsible agency for liquor sales. Druggists could sell liquor only when a doctor’s written prescription was presented along with a sworn affidavit from customers stating that the liquor purchased would not be used as a beverage. Close tabs were kept on the amount of alcohol that pharmacies were receiving and selling as well as to whom they were selling to.

District judges were the only ones with the authority to give out permits for selling liquor. All other places where liquor either was manufactured or sold in violation of the law were deemed public nuisances, and offenses were punishable by a fine and 30 to 80 days in jail. Primary responsibility for the law’s enforcement fell to county attorneys but was made difficult because sales of intoxicants equaled several hundred dollars annually in additional income for pharmacists. Selling liquor “for medicinal purposes” quickly became the largest loophole in the law with physicians prescribing alcohol-laden substances for a wide range of illnesses from colic to diarrhea, and new diseases were “invented” for which liquor was the prescribed elixir. Since the term “intoxicating” was not clearly defined, some businessmen sold concoctions under names like “cider” claiming to not know that they could be intoxicating.

According to the Kansas State Historical Society, the law was largely ignored. Many of the state’s drinking spots remained in operation, and underground clubs and saloons also popped up in various places. Some communities and counties across Kansas were content to let them continue operation with minimal fines. Still, many citizens believed that the sale of liquor tended to affect communities socially, morally and politically. The temperance movement which had begun in the territorial days of Kansas gained momentum before the turn of the century with Carrie Nation and her hatchet leading the way. The Hurrel’s Nuisance Bill was enacted in 1901 which specified that all equipment, liquors, and property kept in and used to maintain places where liquor was manufactured, sold, given away or bartered were also common nuisances. The law provided for the issuance of search and seizure warrants against places where liquor was thought to be sold.

Take the case of local doctor George C.W. Richards, a highly respectable member of the community. Richards arrived in Kearny County in 1885 and was one of the first two doctors in Hartland. He later operated drug stores in Lakin and Deerfield where he also treated patients.  The good doctor was known to make house calls as far away as Stanton County and was complimented by a 1906 Advocate for doing his part to build up the city and county as “one of our foremost businessmen.” Richards was so well liked that he was elected as a representative to the State Legislature.

But in November 1908, Richards’ Lakin business, the Palace Drug Store, was raided under the search and seizure act after a formal complaint was filed by Rev. Chambers, pastor of the Methodist Church. Among the items seized by authorities were 51 bottles of Peruvian Elixir with 42% alcohol, 37 bottles Rock Candy Cordial containing 30% alcohol, 3 bottles of Walker’s Blended Malt Whiskey, 12 bottles Duffy’s Pure Malt Whiskey, one case of beer, 32 quart-bottles of Clay Wilkins Pure Malt Whiskey 44% alcohol by volume, and at least three other “medicines” which all contained from 39 to 40 percent alcohol. Richards was found guilty of maintaining a nuisance, fined $100 and court costs, and sentenced to 30 days in jail but was released on $1,000 parole bond. Richards sold his drug business in January 1909, and the doctor and his wife moved to California the following month.

The Kansas Legislature continued to revise and strengthen the statutes, and a 1909 revision closed the major loophole in the old law that had allowed druggists to sell liquor for “medicinal purposes.” In February of 1917, Governor Arthur Capper signed a version of the national bone-dry law into effect. The most drastic anti-liquor enactment written at that time made it a crime to possess liquor in any form. The lone exception was communion wine.

With the advent of the first World War, the United States Congress banned the use of foodstuffs in the production of distilled liquor from September 1917 until the end of the war. This was followed up with the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution. The Prohibition Amendment declared the production, transport and sale of intoxicating liquors as illegal but did not outlaw the actual consumption of alcohol. To enforce prohibition, Congress passed the Volstead Act which declared an intoxicating beverage to be anything that contained more than 0.5% alcohol, and liquor, wine and beer qualified as intoxicating liquors and were prohibited. The U.S. was the first nation to make such a provision a part of its basic law. National prohibition began on January 17, 1920, one year after the 18^th amendment was ratified by the states.

Of course, making liquor illegal did not make it non-existent. Newspapers from that time period contain plenty of stories of moonshine makers, bootleggers and speakeasy bars despite the attempts of national, state, and local law enforcement officials to “dry up” the country. On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act. This law levied a federal tax on all alcoholic beverages to raise revenue for the federal government and gave individual states the option to further regulate the sale and distribution of beer and wine. Because Prohibition was still officially the law, a limit had to be placed on the amount of alcohol allowed in beer. Hearings were held, and the political process worked out a standard that could gather the necessary votes — 3.2% alcohol by weight. The passage of the 21st Amendment in December 1933 officially ended national prohibition, but Kansas remained dry until 1937 when the state began allowing 3.2% beer. Kansas’ 1881 amendment was tossed out in 1948 when voters rejected prohibition, and the state was placed under a local option law.

SOURCES: Liquor Wars and the Law by Kenneth J. Peak and Jason W. Peak; Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; Kansas State Historical Society; High Plains Public Radio; History.com; Wikipedia; and archives of The Advocate and Lakin Investigator.

On the northwest corner of Lincoln Avenue and Lakin Street in Lakin is an unpretentious building which has been used for several years as apartment rentals. Those who don’t know the history of the building would probably never dream that it was once St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. Like other denominations and organizations, the first Catholics here met at various locations in town. Church services were sporadic and led by Catholic missionaries or priests visiting from nearby towns; word of their arrival being spread by postcard or through the grapevine. Catholics would come for miles to attend mass, and for some, attending the services required making a two-day trip.

Talk of erecting a church building began in 1902, and in 1903, lots for the church were donated by Michael Weber and his wife, Jennie. Church fairs were held in 1904 and 1905 to raise funds, and by March of 1906, the lumber had been received at a good discount from the firm of O’Loughlin and Weber and was placed on the ground. Construction progressed slowly but persistently with other fundraisers being held to help pay for the project. Mr. Weber supervised construction. Worship services were held in the unfinished church beginning in 1907, and on Feb. 5, 1907, a solemn High Mass was celebrated there in honor of the 25^th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. John O’Loughlin, two of the first Catholics in the community.

Once the church building was completed, an official dedication ceremony took place September 30, 1908, led by Bishop John Joseph Hennessey of Wichita with assistance from the reverends Julius Monier of Wichita, Austin Hull of Spearville, Michael Mennis of Dodge City who had previously served Lakin, and Joseph Bogner who was the priest in charge of Lakin at that time. Both Lakin and Ulysses were served by the same priest and were missions attached to Saint Mary’s Church of Garden City. The status of Saint Anthony’s continued the same until July 1, 1948 when the Lakin church became a self-supporting parish, and the Rev. Alex Leiker was installed as its first resident pastor.

Excavation was started for a parish house on the west grounds behind the church in April 1931. A generous donation years before from Mr. and Mrs. A.G. Campbell, along with other funds, paid for the structure. Prior to the building of the house, visiting priests frequently stayed at the Weber home a block north of the church.

Following the construction of Lakin’s first Catholic church, Michael and Jennie Weber were in charge of ringing the church bell three times a day. It is unknown when the bell at St. Anthony’s ceased to ring. By 1963, the parish had grown to a membership of 285 and outgrown the facilities. That September, the cornerstone was laid for the current church building, and dedication ceremonies of the church and blessing of the rectory were conducted December 8, 1964, making the move from the Lincoln & Lakin location both official and complete.

The bell from the old church building was saved and installed near St. Anthony’s church hall. An explanation for the ringing of the bell appeared in the August 5, 1910 Lakin Investigator, and with this being the season of Jesus’ birth, this writer felt compelled to include the entire article:

“Morning noon and night the citizens of Lakin hear the ringing of the catholic church bell. . . Why is the signal with the bell given three times a day? To remind us, to remember oftener, and to impress more seriously on our minds the great grace granted us by the Eternal Father, when he announced, through the angel Gabriel, the incarnation of his own divine son. The prayer said at the signal of the bell is commonly called Angelus, and its origin is as follows:

“Saint Bonaventura, in a general chapter of the Franciscan order in 1225, directed the Angelus to be said in all Franciscan houses at the evening bell. Some recited the prayer also at sunrise, some both in the morning and evening. When the great victory at Belgrade seemed such a clear response to the united prayers of the Christian world, Pope Callixtus III directed the bell to be rung also in the middle of the day. Thus the devotion assumed the form so familiar to us: The triple player, signifying the beginning; the middle and the close of the day. The prayer recited at each sound of the bell comprises the three versicles: 1 — The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived of the Holy Ghost. 2—Behold the hand maid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to the word. 3—And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Each of these is followed by a Hail Mary. The devotion is recited kneeling, except on Sundays, when it is said standing, though a genuflection is made at the third versicle. Such is the general, touching devotion of the church, keeping alive faith in the mystery of the incarnation and in that mystery it is impossible to think of our Lord except in connection with His blessed Mother. It is a scriptural devotion, the words being taken from St. Luke, 1-28-35-31 St. John 1-14, the Hail Mary itself is mainly from St. Luke, 1-28-42.

“In many places, after the third strokes the three times, the bell tolls 33 times, the number of years our Savior was on earth, though that is not strictly observed here we sincerely believe the ringing of the Angelus can be made a great blessing to every Christian within its hearing if they too will turn their thoughts to the almighty Father for the moment. We know some protestants who, knowing the bell was a call for devotion, have fell into the habit of calling on the Lord for his blessings and help. Faithfulness in the sight of God, we are told, means far more than to be successful, so that those so faithfully ring out the Angelus in Lakin, morning, noon and night, little dream of the aid they are giving in the upbuilding of Christ’s Kingdom.”

Merry Christmas from Kearny County Historical Society!!!

SOURCES: Information written by the late Father Alex Leiker; Ancestry.com; archives of the Lakin Investigator, Advocate and Lakin Independent; and Museum archives.