News, Events & County History

The Kearny County Historical Society will have its 61st Annual Meeting on Saturday, April 27, at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in Lakin. Dr. Sara Richter, Panhandle State University’s Dean of Liberal Arts, will be our guest speaker. Dr. Richter was born in Kansas and moved to Oklahoma with her family when she was in sixth grade. A published author, she holds master degrees in both history and English. Her Powerpoint presentation will be, “Gettin’ by by makin’ do: depression era women.”

The evening will start at 6 p.m. with a catered meal, followed by a short business meeting and election of board members. The dinner and program is by donation, but advance reservations are required. We are limited to the number of guests so the sooner you make your reservation the better. Deadline for reservations is 4 p.m. Thursday, April 18. There will be no exceptions! Call the museum at 620-355-7448 to place yours!

For the past several years, Lakin second graders have been our special guests on Kansas Day, January 29 . Students learn about the history of Kansas Day and Kearny County including the Santa Fe Trail, the first inhabitants, how the pioneers lived, one-room schools, and early businesses. Last year the museum began a coloring contest in conjunction with the visit, and one student in each home room was awarded the top prize of a special “Kansas Tornado.” It was so successful that the tradition continued in 2019. This year’s winners were: Chloe Stahlecker, Ariel Carrizales and Tomasa Hernandez. All of the pictures colored by the classes will be on display in the museum lobby during the month of February. We encourage you to stop in and check them out. Our hours are  9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and there is no admission. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Patricia “Pat” Heath was inducted into the Santa Fe Trail Association’s Hall of Fame at the organization’s 2018 Rendezvous in September. Pat became interested in history as an adult, taking her children to many museums and historical sites. She moved from Edmond, OK, to Lakin in 1982 to be near her grandchildren. She became interested in local history, particularly the Santa Fe Trail, while working at the Kearny County Library.  In 1986, she attended a SFT workshop and became a charter member of the SFTA. She attended every SFTA Symposium and Rendezvous through 2004 and was named Santa Fe Trail Ambassador in 1997. Pat was also hostess to the SFT Bicycle Treks from 1995-2004.

Pat became a member of the Kearny County Historical Society in 1986 and was elected to the board at the 1987 Annual Meeting. She was chosen as board secretary that April. Beginning in 1991, Pat served as director of the Kearny County Museum for 14 years, and she received a distinguished service award for community service from the Kansas Museum Association in 2005. Pat died the following year, but her love for the Trail lives on through her daughter, Linda Peters, who serves on the board of directors for the SFTA, is president of the Wagon Bed Springs Chapter and president of the Kearny County Historical Society.

Congratulations to Richard and Connie Braun of Deerfield for being selected as this year’s

Kearny County Historical Society’s King and Queen!

Beginning in May of 2000, people, armed with a GPSr and a sense of adventure, have been traveling the world looking for geocaches. Geocache is derived from GEO, the prefix for earth, and CACHE as a hiding place used to store items. Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers called “geocaches” or “caches” at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world.

Today there are over 3 million geocaches hidden around the world and over 13 thousand in Kansas alone. They are deep in the woods, underwater, or even stuck to the underside of park benches. Geocaching has become a hobby for individuals, friends and families.

Has your interest been piqued?? Here’s your chance to find out more. Come join geocacher, Ryan Semmels as he shares his knowledge and experiences, and assists you on beginning your adventures. The presentation will take place at the Kearny County Museum, 111 S. Buffalo in Lakin, on November 13 at 7 p.m.

This presentation is sponsored by the Wagon Bed Springs Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association. The Chapter is always looking for new members to help promote and preserve the Santa Fe Trail in Southwest Kansas. The Chapter will have meetings throughout the year with tours, speakers or other activities related to the Trail. The organization maintains SFT sites and signs, DAR markers and geocaches along the Trail.

For more information contact Linda Peters, Chapter President, at 620-640-3155 or Julie McCombs, Museum Director, at 355-7448.

Fifty years ago, the National Trails System Act of 1968 was signed establishing three different types of trails: National Scenic Trails, National Recreation Trails, and Connecting and Side Trails. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law a bill that created an additional category of trails: National Historic Trails. To commemorate the act’s 50th anniversary, the Cimarron Cut-Off Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail has planned “Bright Days & Starry Nights Along the Santa Fe Trail.” The 3-day series of events starts off in Elkhart, KS on Oct. 5. The next day will find participants in Boise City, OK, with Clayton, NM the final destination on Oct. 7. An agenda is pictured for those who are interested in attending. Reservations for all meals and bus tours are requested by Sept. 22 by contacting Jay Williams at 620-697-2378 or the Morton County Museum, 620-697-2833.

For more information, contact the Morton County Museum, Herzstein Museum at (575)374-2977 or Camp Billy Joe at (580)261-7482. More information is available on the web at www.okie-tex.com search “Star Gazing.”

The public is invited to come join in the fun at “Run, Drive, Fly To Lakin” on Saturday, May 26. The Kearny County Museum will be open that day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for anyone wishing to take a peek at our displays. There is no admission fee.

A slew of activities are planned at the Kearny County Airport including an airshow, car show, flea market, food stands, kids’ activities and more. Other events include a 5K Run/Walk, tour of the Lakin USD 215 school buildings and free entertainment in the city park featuring Steve Desmond’s God and Country Concert.

The Lakin High School Alumni Banquet will be at 5 p.m. at the Kearny County Fairgrounds. Honored classes will be the classes of 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998, 2008 and the class of 2018. Reservations for the meal may be made by calling Joyce and Allan Bemis at 620-355-6702 or Donna and Martin Neff at 620-355-7197. The cost of the meal is $10, and annual alumni dues are $5.

An event schedule is available on the Run, Drive, Fly to Lakin Facebook page.

The Kearny County Historical Society held its regular monthly meeting this past Monday, April 30. The election of officers for the coming year took place at the end of the meeting. Linda Peters who has served on the board since 2003 accepted the role of president. Ginger Hartman was elected to fill Linda’s spot as secretary. The other officers remain the same and include Cary Henderson, first vice-president; Raymond Eves, second vice-president, and John White, treasurer. At this time we would like to thank Dave Horner for his dedication and service as past president of the organization. Dave will continue to serve as a board member at large, but due to his responsibilities as Kearny County Sheriff, Dave felt he could no longer fill the president position.

Today Lakin third graders visited the museum and learned that history can be really fun!  The school bell rang summoning the classes of Mrs. Burnett, Mrs. Ansel and Mrs. Wilkison into Columbia School House. First the students learned about the early schools in Lakin and people associated with them. Pictures were passed around so they could see what Lakin’s first schools looked like and how   students dressed in the Pioneer Days. The third graders learned about methods of discipline, what the 3 R’s are, and more. They all got a chance to sit on the recitation bench and try their talents at tongue twisters.

Another fun activity was a math ciphering contest, and there were some pretty sharp math students in the LGS classes!

Finally, they learned that even in pioneer days there were recesses! We talked about some of the games that were played and then retreated to the museum lawn for potato sack races. Today’s field trip was designed with the common core curriculum in mind and was a joint effort of Mrs. Burnett and the museum staff.