News, Events & County History

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.

The 60th Annual Meeting of the Kearny County Historical Society was held Saturday, April 14, 2018, at the Deerfield Community Building. Despite Mother Nature’s nastiness, a large crowd braved the high winds and attended the grand event. Pulled pork, cowboy beans, hash brown casserole, cole slaw, homemade bread, assorted fruit cobblers and ice cream were served for supper. This was followed up with a short business meeting. Next on the agenda was voting for board members. Dave Horner, Cary Henderson, Joe Eskelund, Karen Burden and John White were reinstated for two-year terms. They are joined by newbies Bob  Price and Judy Scott.

The program for the evening was provided by Ken Weidner, a living historian from Copeland, Ks. Weidner is a farmer and rancher, but his true passion is history and the American Indian in particular. His interest in history began at a young age and in the 1980s he became involved in historical re-enactments by participating in fur trade rendezvous. Eventually Ken began portraying a Plains Indian from the 1860s and became fully immersed in the Native American way of life. He handcrafts Native American replicas using the Plain’s tribal methods to tan hides, do beadwork, make tepees, saddles, tools and more. His work is widely recognized because of his discipline and attention to detail. His artistry has been on display in historic sites and museums across the country, including Little Big Horn Battle Site, Fort Larned Historic Site and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Weidner brought with him many of his re-creations which he passed around for the audience to see up close. He gave a very informative and appreciated talk.

The evening ended with the drawing of door prizes. Thank you to all those who attended, to everyone who cooked and helped serve, and to our guest speaker.

We are no longer taking reservations for our Annual Meeting. Food and supplies have already been purchased. If you failed to RSVP, we apologize and certainly hope you will make your reservations next year. If you did make a reservation and will not be able to attend, please notify our office by 3:30 p.m. today. Thank you for your consideration.

For the past 30 years, Ken Weidner has been donning Native American garments and participating in various living history camps from Wyoming to Texas. The Copeland farmer and rancher is also an artist, replicating tanned hides, beadwork, saddles and tools of the Indians. Weidner’s items have been displayed at museums and historical sites across the country including the National Museum of the American Indian (part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.) and the Gene Autry Museum in Oklahoma. As part of the Kearny County Historical Society’s 60th Annual Meeting, Ken will present a program focusing on how the lives of the Plains Indians were influenced by trading with the white man. Ken is also planning to bring many of his creations and artifacts with him.

This event will be Saturday, April 14, at the Deerfield Community Building. Doors open at 6 p.m., and at 6:30 we will begin the evening with a meal of pulled pork and all the trimmings. The evening’s agenda also includes a short business meeting and election of board members.

The dinner is by donation, but reservations are required. If you would like to join us at our annual meeting, you will need to call the museum and place your reservation by 4 p.m. on Monday, April 9.

Happy 157^th Birthday, Kansas!!

Although Kansas was admitted to the Union in 1861, Kansas Day was not celebrated until 1877. After two weeks of gathering information on the geography, history and resources of Kansas, Paola public school students spent the afternoon of Jan. 29, 1877, making presentations and sharing maps and drawings with parents, friends and residents of their community. Alexander Le Grande Copley, was the teacher at Paola that year. In 1879 he became superintendent of the Wichita schools, and Kansas Day was then observed there. Copley attended county teachers’ institutes and state teachers’ association meetings and encouraged the teachers to celebrate Kansas Day. In 1882 at the first meeting of the Northwestern Teachers Association, it was decided that a small pamphlet should be published including information about Kansas, its songs and sample speeches suitable for the observance of Kansas Day. The 32-page booklet was simply called, “Kansas Day.” At the next State Teachers Association meeting in Topeka, every teacher took home one or more copies. Purchased copies went to 65 Kansas counties, and for a short time the booklet was used as a textbook in the state normal school at Emporia. The popularity of Kansas Day continued to grow and is celebrated by teachers and students across the state today.

Last Friday, Lakin second graders visited the museum to celebrate Kansas Day. They learned about the history of Kansas Day, some of the first inhabitants of this part of the state, the Santa Fe Trail, how Lakin got its start, how the pioneers lived, the schools they attended and the first businesses here. In conjunction with the event, the museum sponsored a coloring contest for the second graders and awarded one child from each class with a special gift. Congratulations to our winners: Desi White, Claire Barnhardt, and Idaly Martinez! All of the second graders’ coloring pages will be displayed at the museum during the month of February.