News, Events & County History

A True Historian: Harold Smith

It is with great sadness that the Historical Society learned of the passing of former Kearny County Museum Director, Harold Smith. This article was written in 2014 by Dave Horner for the Museum’s newsletter. The Historical Society extends our deepest sympathy to Harold’s family and friends. We will long remember and appreciate Harold’s contributions as a member and employee of the Kearny County Historical Society.

Covid-19 continues to hamper events

At this time of year, the Kearny County Historical Society has typically either just had our annual meeting and election of officers or are planning the event. Due to concerns over Covid-19, the board decided not to have an annual meeting this year.  While our county is currently in an Alert Level 1, as recently as two weeks ago we were at a Level 3. This meant that local health officers recommended decreased in-person interactions with others, necessary travel only, and limited attendance at gatherings of any number. Until Kearny County is consistently in a Level 1 and we learn more about the virus, KCHS activities will continue to look differently.

The Museum is open during regular hours, but we still have a mask mandate in place. This is because many of our visitors come from out of town, and we have no way of knowing whether they came from or traveled through an area of greater Covid infection. Rather than make exceptions to the rule for certain persons or groups, we have made face masks a blanket policy.

We also kindly ask visitors to maintain a safe distance from other guests, and displays are strictly hands off. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult and closely supervised. We continue to limit the number of visitors in the Museum and have not resumed guided tours.

Our greatest priority is our staff, volunteers, community AND collections. As conservators, we know that we must do no harm to historic artifacts and want our cultural resources to be here for future generations. Unlike hospitals, schools and other public buildings, many of our artifacts cannot be disinfected without compromising them.

Our board will periodically re-evaluate our policies, many of which have been adopted based on Museum Industry Standards. We appreciate your cooperation during this trying and uncertain time and hope that Covid-19 will be behind us soon so that we can safely return to business as usual.

GOD BLESS!

 

 

 

Tales of the Trail: buried treasure had ties to local man

Despite being laden with perils, the Santa Fe Trail was a pathway to wealth for many traders. In 1828 alone, $150,000 of merchandise was taken to Santa Fe. That same year, both danger and necessity led a caravan of traders to bury more than $10,000 of silver at Chouteau’s Island in Kearny County. The traders were returning to Missouri, and among the group was a man by the name of William Young Witt. Witt, a third cousin to the grandmother of lifetime Lakin resident B.C. Nash, kept notes about the tumultuous journey.

“After a few days’ rest, sight-seeing and purchasing stock to replace our own jaded animals, preparations were made for the return trip. All the money we had received for our goods was in gold and silver, principally the latter, in consequence of which, each member of the company had about as much as he could conveniently manage, and, as events turned out, much more than he could take care of.”

On the morning of the third day after leaving Santa Fe, the company’s entire herd was stampeded and they were left upon the prairie without as much as a single mule to pursue the thieves. While some remained to guard camp, others returned to Santa Fe to recover the stock which they had to repurchase “for there was no law governing those lawless bands that infested that country at that time.” The incident opened the party’s eyes to the treachery that awaited them. They kept up a vigilant guard both day and night eventually arriving at the Upper Cimarron Springs.

“One morning, just before dawn, the whole earth seemed to resound with the most horrible noises that ever greeted human ears; every blade of grass appeared to re-echo the horrid din. In a few moments every man was at his post, rifle in hand, ready for any emergency, and almost immediately a large band of Indians made their appearance, riding within rifle-shot of the wagon. A continuous battle raged for several hours,“ wrote Hitt. Though successful at stampeding all the horses and mules, the bows and arrows of the Indians were not enough against the gunpowder of the traders so the Indians retreated. Hitt was wounded six times. (According to fellow trader Milton E. Bryan’s account and Hitt’s son’s account, Hitt was wounded 16 times.)

The men soon realized the seriousness of their condition being 300 miles away from Santa Fe. The next morning some of them stayed in camp while Hitt and the others took off in hopes to find some of the lost stock. Upon his return to camp, Hitt was overtaken by Indians. While two held his legs, the other “plunged his hatchet, as he supposed, into my head, but instead of scuffling to free myself and rise to my feet, I merely turned my head to one side and the wicked weapon was buried in the ground, just grazing my ear.” Hitt escaped two more swings of the hatchet before some of his traveling companions arrived to rescue him. All the men returned to camp and took turns guarding the wagons through the night.  Unable to secure any of their stock, they left by foot in the morning with each man shouldering a rifle and a proportion of provisions. They were not far when they spied smoke rising from the area of the camp. The Indians had set fire to their wagons.

After eight days travel, they had less than 100 pounds of flour left and had been unsuccessful in finding any game. Hitt recalled, “For two weeks the allowance of flour to each individual was but a spoonful, stirred in water and taken three times a day.” Adding to their futility was a scarcity of water. In desperation, the troupe was once compelled to suck the moist clay from a buffalo wallow. “Some became so weak and exhausted that it was with the greatest effort they could travel at all,” wrote Hitt.

As soon as a convenient camping ground was found, the men made shelter and left the weakest of their party while some of the strongest hunted. Successful at last in killing some small game and buffalo, they used buffalo chips to fuel a fire. After a few day’s rest, the men began again to march homeward, but their money had become a greater burden than they could bare. They decided to bury it at the first good place they came upon. “We came to an island in the river to which we waded, and there, between two large trees, dug a hole and deposited our treasure…This task finished, with much lighter burdens, but more anxious than ever, we again took up our march eastwardly.”

Traveling for over two weeks by foot, the men were exhausted; some scarcely able to move. They divided company, “one portion to press on, the weaker ones to proceed by easier stages, and when the advance arrived at the settlement, they were to send back a relief for those plodding on wearily behind them. Soon a few who were stronger than the others reached Independence, Missouri, and immediately sent a party with horses to bring in their comrades” who were seemingly nothing but human skeletons wrapped in rags, but “all got safely to their homes.”

Hitt is not mentioned as being among the men who returned to Chouteau’s Island the following spring and recovered the silver under the protection of the first military escort along the Santa Fe Trail. Sources: “William Y. Hitt Santa Fe Trail Memoires,” “The Old Santa Fe Trail” by Colonel Henry Inman, “Commerce of the Prairies” by Josiah Gregg, “The Flight of Time” by Milton E. Bryan, “Kansas Before 1854: A Revised Annals” compiled by Louis Barry, & ancestry.com with special thanks to Meg Nash Spellman.

 

200th Commemoration of the Santa Fe Trail

William Becknell, known as the father of the Santa Fe Trail, first traveled the trail in 1821. Many special events had been planned in 2021 to commemorate the trail’s 200th anniversary, but Covid-19 has hampered some of those events. Consequently, the Santa Fe Trail Association Board has expanded the commemoration of the historic trail to run from 2021-2025. This allows SFT chapters to safely schedule their events over the next few years. The focus will not only be on Becknell’s first trip but also subsequent trips made by Americans as well as Mexican traders who began shipping goods from Santa Fe and Mexico over the SFT to places further east. Visit http://santafetrail.org/ or http://santafetrail200.org for event dates and info.

No events have been planned in Kearny County at this time, but have a look at this video to learn more about points of interest on the trail in our county. You can also head over to our Fun & Games page (https://kearnycountymuseum.org/fun-games-for-young-pioneers-and-the-young-at-heart/)  and print out some Santa Fe Trail activity sheets. Remember if you’re ever in Kearny County, we would love to have you drop by the Museum!

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.