News, Events & County History

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

 

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.

 

Since the American Revolution, more than 1.3 million Americans have died in battle or during wartime service. Each year on Memorial Day, these men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice are remembered with reverence. Among them is Sgt. Oscar Wayne McAfee, a Deerfield native, who was lost in the line of duty in 1944.

McAfee was born in 1921 at Garden City, the son of Harrison and Lulu McAfee. He grew up in and near Deerfield where he graduated with the Deerfield High School Class of 1939 and engaged in farming with his father, a World War I vet. McAfee married Eloris Scheuerman in August of 1942, just three days before leaving for military service.

He took his basic training at Camp Roberts, California, joining the 127^th Regiment of the 35^th Infantry Division in December of ’42. The division was the same one in which his father had served. McAfee received additional military and maneuver training in Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

His team sailed to England, landing May 24, 1944. They were stationed at Newquay until early July when the regiment sailed and landed on French soil at Omaha Beach.  In the initial attack of Company B, harassing enemy machine gun fire impeded the progress of the unit. Sgt. McAfee, accompanied by three others, voluntarily went forward in an attempt to destroy an enemy machine gun emplacement in a hedgerow 100 yards to its right. Despite enemy fire of all types, the patrol was successful in reaching the emplacement where McAfee destroyed the machine gun position by using three hand grenades, killing two enemy machine gunners and wounding two whom he took as prisoners. McAfee, his patrol and prisoners were discovered by an enemy observer when returning to the unit. They were fired upon, and Sgt. McAfee, the two prisoners and two members of the patrol were killed. McAfee’s obituary lists his date and place of death as July 11, 1944 near St. Lo, France.

For Sgt. McAfee’ gallantry in action, his courage and devotion to duty in accord with the high tradition of the military service, he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. He was also cited with an American Theatre Ribbon, Victory Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon with two bronze service stars, Good Conduct Medal, expert carbine and rifle badges, combat infantryman’s badge and Purple Heart.

Sgt. Wayne McAfee’s body arrived by rail in Garden City in February of 1948, accompanied by a military escort from the American Graves Registration Distribution Center in Kansas City, Mo. Delegations from the Garden City VFW and American Legion posts met the train, and Kearny County posts also took part in the burial services. Funeral services were conducted February 10, 1948 at the Deerfield High School auditorium. Despite a near-blizzard, more than 500 people attended the memorial services. As friends and comrades of the deceased gathered to pay a final tribute at the Deerfield Cemetery, a high wind swept a blizzard into Kearny County.

Sgt. McAfee was preceded in death by an infant sister and older brother, Vern, a Marine who also died while serving his country. Sgt. Oscar Wayne McAfee was survived by his parents, wife and their young daughter, Lola Wynn, who was born six months after his death. Eloris never remarried. She lived in Garden City where she worked for Montgomery Wards and Woolworths and volunteered at St. Catherine Hospital. She was laid to rest beside her husband at Deerfield in 2010, her marker engraved with the words, “SWEETHEARTS FOREVER.”

In the spring of 1951, Mother Nature played havoc with our little corner of the state. On Sunday, May 13, 7 inches of rain fell within an hour in an area six to seven miles northwest of Lakin bringing draws and creeks in the area to flood stage. Soon the highways were flooding, and the Highway 50 detour, seven miles north of town, was closed down. More rain on Monday raised the water in the flooding gullies even higher. The washout damage on highways continued north and east of town, but things were just getting started. That morning, a heavy rain also fell in eastern Colorado, and soon a record-high flood crest on the Arkansas was reported. Local police and highway officers kept watch throughout the night as the river continued to rise.

The crest reached Lakin about 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. As flood waters spread out over lowlands, travel on K-25 between Lakin and Ulysses was cut off, and Lakin was marooned from highway travel most of that day. The only way out was to Garden City by taking the Grange Hall Road nine miles north of town and then going east until arriving north of Deerfield. Rail and bus travel was at a standstill, and mail was delayed for days. Although the Arkansas was out of its banks all the way from Lakin to Lamar, neither Lakin nor Deerfield were in any danger of flooding from the river or the surface water from the north.

Rain-swollen streams caused wide-spread flooding in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Four miles east of Syracuse, 22-year-old Gene Lusk of Kendall fell off a railroad bridge while working with a Sante Fe crew repairing flood-damaged tracks. Lusk, wearing hip boots and a heavy raincoat, was thought to have struck his head as he fell into the Arkansas River. Fellow workers tried to rescue him, but the young man drowned.

The following Sunday, May 20, Lakin was struck by a flash flood, and streets became roaring rivers as the wall of water rushed through town in a matter of minutes. The water varied in depth from about five feet at the corner of Waterman and Buffalo to about five or six inches over most of the lawns in the high sections of town. The depth of water on Main Street ranged from about 20 inches to two feet near the depot and about six to eight inches on the higher levels.

Hail, violent winds and two small tornadoes preceded the flood. One to the south of Lakin tore through a two or three-mile stretch and demolished buildings and trees in its path. Considerable damage was done to the farms of Wallace Roderick, William Schibbelhut, Davis Williams and Paul Bentrup. The other twister struck government storage bins two miles north of town, wrecking about five or six of them and strewing them for a half mile or more over a wheat field to the east.

Following a 40-minute heavy rain that dropped 2.5 to 5 inches in a small area northwest of Lakin, a wall of water formed across Sand Creek and was held back by the Amazon and Eastern irrigation ditches. US highway 50 also held back a considerable amount of water. When this spilled over the top of the ditches, it rushed down the highway in a solid wall of water about two feet deep. Water flowed across HWY 50 at the ditch bridges just west of town to the depth of the side railings, and several persons in automobiles raced into town ahead of the rushing water. The fire siren was sounded as a warning for all residents to prepare for the flood conditions, but there was little time to sandbag or even move valuables to higher ground.

Cars were unable to move east and west through the town, and several tractors were used to get people back and forth over the deepest areas. Men struggled through water as deep as their shoulders to reach homes and businesses. At the crossings where the current was the swiftest, chains of men formed to ford the rushing waters so that no one would be swept from their feet. Practically every home owner received damage to either their home or lawn from the muddy water, and many had as much as 18 inches of water coursing through their homes. Acid Engineers, Chemical Process Co. and Colorado Interstate Gas Co. had trucks and men available to help pump out basements.

Considerable damage was also done to vehicles and houses by hail ranging in size from golf balls to larger than hen eggs. The Santa Fe Railroad tracks east of town also washed out. Only moments before the lights went out and with back-up lighting provided by two candles and a cigarette lighter, Kyle Penelope Davis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Drexel Davis, was ushered into the world by Dr. Sabo and his staff at the Sabo Clinic on Lakin’s Main Street.

Just a few days later, another terrific hail storm slashed across the northern part of Kearny County smashing farm buildings, homes, vehicles and crops. The storm originated in Greeley County and spread over an area more than 100 miles long and 15 miles wide. All the windows on the north side of the Leo Michel home 17 miles north and six miles west of Lakin were smashed, and the house was stripped of its shingles. Just to the west and north of Lakin, every window facing west in Gordon Crone’s new home was broken. One hailstone bounced 21 feet through the living room and smashed out another window on the south side. Crone reported that even the buffalo grass in his pastures was beaten into the ground. Many more homes also felt the storm’s wrath. North of Deerfield, where the hail strip widened and mowed everything down in its path, hail battered the siding on Maurice Combs’s house making holes large enough to stick a quart paint can into.

Noah Hoyt, Lakin’s official government weather observer, recorded a total of 6.24 inches for the month of May 1951 with most of the moisture recorded over a 10-day period from May 12 to 22. Another 1.71 inches was recorded in the first six days of June. Some sections of north Kearny reported as much as 10 inches that May, and nearly $167,000 was sustained in flood damage that year. After being breached on several occasions and sustaining continual flood damage, the Great Eastern Ditch was abandoned after the 1951 flood.

SOURCES: History of Kearny County Vol. II and Archives of The Lakin Independent, Wichita Eagle and Parsons Sun.

 

 

 

The Kearny County Historical Society’s Annual Meeting was held April 18th at the Veterans Memorial Building. Seventy-five people signed the guest book, and four signed up for memberships that evening.

President Linda Peters welcomed everyone in attendance. The crowd stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and then the blessing was given by Bob Price, second vice-president. Next, a delicious meal of pulled pork, New Orleans potatoes, baked beans, rolls, coleslaw and cupcakes was enjoyed. The meal was catered by Webbs BBQ.

Following the meal, Peters introduced the board members and Museum employees. Minutes from the 2025 Annual Meeting were included in the program and approved as read. Treasurer Marilyn Wolfe presented the 2025 year-end financial report, and the financial report was approved as read.

Peters announced that the KCHS will probably start charging a minimal fee for the meal in 2027 due to budget cuts. She also gave a review of museum activities in 2025 which included school tours, Night @ the Museum, work on the White House porches, replacement of the lights in front of the Main Building, the award of a Western Kansas Community Foundation grant, the receipt of an antique truck from the Joe Tarbett estate, and the continuation of newsletters and Julie’s weekly article in The Lakin Independent. The Museum had 865 guests from 19 states and seven different countries sign the register in 2025.

Next order of business was the election of board members. Karen Burden, Robbie McCombs, Bob Price, Brenda Rios and Marilyn Wolfe were all up for re-election. Joe Eskelund, long-time board member, opted not to run again. Other names submitted for the ballot were John Craig and Wilma Day.

Following the collection of ballots, Julie McCombs introduced Steve and Suzanne Germes, former Lakin residents who now live in Topeka. Steve portrayed Fred Harvey, and his eldest son, Ford, while Suzanne portrayed Harvey’s personnel manager, Alice Steele. Their program covered how Harvey came to be known as the “Father of Hospitality” and the “Civilizer of the American Southwest.” Following Harvey’s death, his children continued in their father’s shoes expanding the Fred Harvey Company into other venues with Fred’s signature style of excellence.

McCombs announced election results. All incumbents were returned to office, and Craig was elected to fill the vacancy. Karen Burden, Kelley McCormick and Lisa Grant won the door prizes.

In celebration of the nation’s 200th birthday in 1976, Americans across the country took part in a very unique road trip, the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Described as a replay of history in reverse, five trains of covered wagons crossed the country from West to East adhering as closely as possible to original pioneer trails and wagon routes. The event was sponsored and planned by the Bicentennial Commission of Pennsylvania which provided an authentic Conestoga or prairie schooner for each state as well as a Pennsylvanian Conestoga and chuck wagon to accompany each of the main caravans. Citizens were also encouraged to join the trek on horseback or in their own wagons for all or part of the journey.

When the covered wagons made evening camp, singers, dancers and musicians in buckskins and ginghams entertained with ballads, reels and other early American songs and dances. Reenactments and local celebrations in towns along the routes also took place.

A caravan of four covered wagons kicked off the first leg of their journey at the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, CA, on New Year’s Day. The train traveled through Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, picking up official wagons from each of those states along with several privately owned wagons and numerous riders on horseback. The train arrived at Coolidge, KS April 5 and was joined by a prairie schooner representing Kansas.

The wagons rolled into Kearny County shortly before noon on April 7. They stopped for a short noonday repast and were greeted by the official nine-member welcoming committee. Also present were Lakin students Sonja Smith and Rob Jaeger and Deerfield student Pete Ramirez. Smith won the local Bicentennial essay contest for high school students while Jaeger and Ramirez won the poster contests for grade schoolers. These three were invited by the wagon master to ride in the wagons to Loucks Park.

Elsie Heisinger joined the group at Kendall, and Dick Grusing, driving his wagon loaded with the local folks, welcomed Jack Pepper who kept the entire wagon train entertained with his guitar playing and singing as they made their way the last 12 miles. Twenty wagons and some 75 to 100 trail riders were in the train when it arrived.

A crowd estimated at over 500 persons greeted the wagoneers as they entered Loucks Park and the rodeo grounds. The Lakin High School marching band, dressed in full uniform, played while the wagons made their circle for the night’s encampment.

The job of feeding around 225 hungry wagon train members, workers and visiting dignitaries began about 5 p.m. The meal was prepared by volunteers with the Kearny County Saddle Club donating and barbecuing the beef. Some 35 pounds of pinto beans grown in Wichita County and donated by Bryant Holmes of the Leoti Standard were consumed along with gallons of potato salad and pans of piping hot cornbread made by USD 215 lunchroom cooks. Karen Burden was chairman of the committee to arrange a reception, overnight stay, and a place to present the show put on by the troupe traveling with the wagon train.

Also as part of the festivities, Pony Express riders presented scrolls bearing the names of Deerfield and Wichita and Grant county residents to the wagon master of the Bicentennial Wagon Train. These scrolls, Pledges of Rededication reaffirming the people’s belief in American principles, were relayed from rider to rider. Kearny County Saddle Club President Butch Anderson arranged the ride and coordinated the efforts of the Lakin riders with those of the Leoti Rough Riders Saddle Club and the Easy Riders Saddle Club of Ulysses. The transfer point for the Grant county group was the Menno Road. Kearny County riders making the run from Menno Road to Lakin were Bret Tate, Wade Berlier, James Davis and John Moore. Brian Dumler, Tammy Hammons, Troy Hammons, Jack Coyne and Neil Schibbelhut rode the route from the Wichita-Kearny County line, and Gary Patton, Teal Burrows and Bill Jennings brought the Deerfield scrolls to Lakin.

The Bicentennial Wagon Train had special meaning for all of Kansas. As it traversed the Santa Fe Trail, the old gateway to the southwest, the prairie schooners and Conestogas were reminiscent of early Kansans coming from the east to settle a new land. The wagoneers were experienced trail riders and teamsters. Students, craftsmen, professional people, housewives and even some grandparents joined the train in the spirit of patriotism. The train crossed into Missouri May 5, and a few days later met up with more wagons from the Oregon Trail wagon train. They were loaded onto river barges and floated to Pittsburgh by way of the Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio rivers. All the caravans that were spaced across the US converged at Valley Forge for an encampment and Bicentennial festivities July 4th.

 

SOURCES: Ford Presidential Library; Museum archives; and archives of The Lakin Independent, South Pasadena Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle. Photo credits: Vivian Fletcher Fankhauser and Lakin Independent.