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!
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 ConventionEsther 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!
Like many other activities in 2020, the 40-year-old tradition of crowning Christmas royalty fell victim to COVID-19. God willing, the event can safely resume in 2021, but until then, take a stroll down memory lane with our past kings and queens.
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
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.
The origin of “It takes a village to raise a child,” may be somewhat of a mystery, but that certainly makes the saying no less true. We are who we are mainly because of relationships we had with adults and values they taught us as children. This is especially true for those of us who grew up in small communities like Lakin, Deerfield and Kendall.
Our young minds were not only shaped by our parents but also by Sunday School instructors, Scout leaders, teachers and coaches. Even something as seemingly insignificant as the demeanor shown by the clerk who rang up our ‘candy’ bill at the local grocery store planted a seed about hospitality and good manners.
Local librarians ignited a spark that turned into a lifelong love of reading. Our first employers took a chance on fresh faces, taught us responsibility and rewarded us accordingly. As young athletes, musicians, and actors, we were cheered on by the entire community. Helpful words of advice were given freely and taken to heart.
Growing up in rural SW Kansas meant our parents knew everyone. We were set free on Halloween night to go all over town. Neighborhood moms were happy to give us a ride to school. Neighborhood dads shot hoops with us and repaired the flat tires on our bikes. We never went hungry because local gardeners were happy to share. Hand-me-downs from the family next door were eagerly accepted and appreciated. At our darkest moments, thoughtful souls stopped by with food for our families and words of comfort.
Times have changed, but fortunately Kearny County hasn’t. In this time of Covid-19 and all its uncertainty, we witness younger generations giving back to the “village” that gave them so much. In the midst of crisis, we see perhaps clearer than ever the true blessings of community and small town ways.
The Kearny County Historical Society Museum remains closed to the public at this time due to the potential spread of Covid-19. We are unsure when we will be able to open again as cases in Kearny County continue to increase. We will keep you posted on the situation, and rest assured, we will take every precaution to keep our visitors and staff safe when we are allowed to re-open.
Kearny County Museum values the health and well-being of our guests, community and staff. As a precautionary measure,we are closed to visitors until at least April 1. As the threat of Covid-19 increases and authorities make ever-changing recommendations and policies, we anticipate that we could be closed longer.
We apologize for any inconvenience and encourage you to practice social distancing, avoid large gatherings of people and stay at home if possible to protect yourself and your loved ones from the Coronavirus.
Our staff will still be available by phone during regular business hours should you have a question or need research assistance.
