News, Events & County History
Main Museum & Annex Tour
Kearny County had its own big leaguer
Three early-day big leaguers not only went by the name Buck Weaver but also were plagued with the “Buck Weaver Curse.” The most recognizable of these three is George Daniel “Buck” Weaver who began playing for the Chicago White Sox in 1912. He was a member of their 1917 World Series championship team and was one of eight Chicago players who were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in what became known as the Black Sox Scandal. Buck did not participate in the fix and received no money, but he was banned from the game for life because he knew the fix was on and didn’t come forward. Although the eight teammates were acquitted in 1921, the ban remained in place.
Then there was Arthur “Buck” Weaver who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and St. Louis Browns. This Buck Weaver was born in Wichita in 1879 and was as well known for his physique as he was for his defense. Weaver’s tall and thin body garnered him such nicknames as Scissors, Stilt, the Human Hatpin, and the thinnest catcher in captivity. By 1909, Weaver was plagued with asthma attacks, and some in the sports world speculated he was suffering from TB. His health and his game continued to decline, and the announcement came in February 1915 that he had retired from the game. Art Weaver died at the young age of 37.
Kearny County’s Buck Weaver was born William Bond Weaver in West Virginia in 1865. He married Dora Dye in 1883, and in the fall of 1889, they settled on a 160-acre tract east of Lakin which became his off-season home. He started his baseball career around 1885 as a catcher for Olathe’s town team. Weaver then played with the Topeka Capitals, Wellington Browns and the Wichita Braves. When John J. McCloskey assembled a collection of star players from the Western and Kansas leagues in 1887 called the Joplins, Weaver joined them. He opened the 1888 season playing for the Austin Senators and went with the club when the franchise transferred to San Antonio mid-season. Adept with the bat, William led the league with 90 hits and 66 runs. While in Texas, he earned the nickname “Buck” from his teammates and McCloskey. The nickname was a flattering comparison to future Hall of Fame catcher Buck Ewing.
Major league teams came courting Weaver, but it was the Louisville Colonels who signed him as an outfielder/catcher. There the center fielder was known as “Farmer Weaver” and was dubbed as “one of the finest hitters in the Association, and a splendid fielder and base-runner.” Although Weaver was doing well, his team was not. The 1889 Colonels became the first major league team to record 100 losses, but rebounded the following year coming back to win the American Association pennant. Weaver led the league in fielding percentage, putouts and assists in 1891. He was released by Louisville but picked up by Pittsburg as a utility player in 1894, finishing out his major league career on September 29, 1894 as a catcher. He was 29 years old.
Weaver then went to the Class A Western League and played with the Milwaukee Brewers for five seasons. In 1900, he went from Cleveland to Syracuse to Denver. Then he landed in the Salt Lake Area where he played independent ball for the Lagoons and served as the team’s manager in 1902. Come fall of 1902, he joined the Butte Miners, a Class B team managed by his old pal McCloskey. He had stints with the San Francisco Pirates, the Salt Lake Elders, Boise Fruit Pickers and the Vancouver Veterans. Buck and Dora separated while in Boise, and in October of 1904, he filed for divorce on the grounds of infidelity. The couple had no children of their own but had been given custody of an orphan girl in 1901 that they called Hazel Weaver. Buck requested custody of the nine-year-old which he was granted. Buck withdraw his petition for a divorce, but the couple remained separated with Buck and Hazel in Kansas and Dora in Idaho.
Weaver continued to play amateur and semi-pro baseball and on the Lakin town team. In August of 1907, he accepted an invitation to play for Larned’s team and was immediately a hit with local fans just as he was in Utah and Idaho. In September of 1909, Weaver again filed for divorce from Dora claiming desertion and infidelity. Dora fought back this time, shedding light on a different side of the baseball player that shocked his adoring fans. She claimed she left Weaver because he abused her and tried to kill her and asked the court for a divorce on grounds of extreme cruelty and adultery. The court ruled in Dora’s favor; however, Buck retained custody of young Hazel. Buck managed Larned’s Wheat Kings in the Class D Kansas State League that season but resigned in June after an 11-game losing streak. He then had stints with the Wellington Dukes and Lyons Lions before retiring in August of 1910.
Hazel gave birth to a son the following month. Although widely speculated that the boy was Buck’s, Weaver blamed an unnamed Lakin boy for the girl’s pregnancy. He accepted a scouting assignment on behalf of the Lincoln Antelopes and then began trying his luck as an umpire. But Weaver’s luck was running out. Fans were unhappy with his officiating, and in 1911, 17-year-old Hazel went to the authorities. She claimed Weaver had abused her since she was 11, forced her to live with him and fathered her child. After Weaver was arrested and posted bond, he fled. He was captured, found guilty of statutory rape, and sent to the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing for a sentence of five to 21 years.
While in prison, Weaver was given an unusual privilege – the opportunity to coach a promising young pitcher by the name of Lore Bader. Buck also became a member of the prison’s Athletic Committee, serving as the program’s baseball advisor. and he coached and played for the prison team, the Black Sox. The 49-year-old Weaver was paroled in January 1915 after serving less than three years by Governor George Hodges, a former teammate of Weaver’s at Olathe. Buck moved to Ohio and went to work for Goodyear. According to Ancestry.com records, William “Buck” Weaver never remarried and died in 1943 at the age of 77. Whether he ever had contact with his son is unknown. The boy did not go by his father’s surname.
SOURCES: Society for American Baseball Research; Kansas State Historical Society; Archives of The Advocate, Investigator, Wichita Beacon, El Dorado Daily Republican, Lansing News and Larned Chronoscope; sportsecyclopedia.com; Wikipedia; Ancestry.com; ClearBuck.com; and History of Kearny County Vol. I.
History of the barber pole
Barber poles were once spotted outside nearly every barber shop in America, but did you know the widely recognizable striped pole originated from a practice known as bloodletting? Bloodletting is the removing of blood from a patient in order to prevent or treat an illness and is believed to date back 3000 years ago to ancient Egypt. The body was believed to be divided into four sections or fluids which had to be kept in balance, and an excess of blood was thought to lead to all sorts of ailments from colds and headaches to heart conditions and hearing loss. Though bloodletting was widely practiced, some physicians believed that they were “above” performing this service and referred their patients to barber-surgeons, also known as tonsorial artists, who performed a range of minor medical practices such as pulling teeth and dressing wounds.
Using a lance or sharp piece of wood, a client’s vein would be lanced, allowing their blood to flow into a vessel or bowl. In medieval London, barbers placed bowls of their customers’ blood in their windows to advertise their business, a not-so-subtle reminder to passersby that they may be overdue for their regular bloodletting. This practice was ceased in 1307 when London passed a law forbidding this form of advertising. But barbers still needed a way to let potential customers know that they provided this service.
Originating from the rod that the patient gripped to make their veins bulge, the barber’s pole was born. A brass ball placed at the top of the pole symbolized the basin that collected the blood, and the stripes represented the bloodied bandages which would be washed and hung to dry on the rod outside the shop. The bandages would twist in the breeze and form the spiral pattern seen on barber poles. A 1540 London statute required barbers and surgeons to distinguish their services by the colors on their barber poles. That is when blue was introduced with barbers using blue and white poles and surgeons using red and white.
Europeans brought the practice of bloodletting with them to the United States. President George Washington died in 1799 after being drained of roughly 40% of his blood in a 24-hour period. The U.S.’s first president awoke with a sore throat and died the next day. All these years later, doctors and scientists have still not come to a consensus whether a throat infection, loss of blood or something else killed Washington; however, they can agree that the bloodletting certainly did not help him.
By the late 1800s, prominent physicians began discrediting bloodletting, and new treatments and technologies began taking its place. The barber pole, however, remained. Today many American barber poles are red, white and blue. While some sources attribute this to the colors of the American flag, others say the red represents arterial blood, the blue represents the non-oxygenated blood in the veins, and the white represents the bandages.
SOURCES: National Constitution Center; Colonial Williamsburg; Huffington Post; A History of Barbering; archives of the Lakin papers, and Museum archives.
NOTE: While the pictures attached with this article are of the Smith Family of Lakin who included three generations of barbers, there is no evidence that bloodletting was ever practiced by barbers in Kearny County.
Night at the Museum
Our first “Night at the Museum” was a success! Thank you to everyone who came out October 17 and joined us for an evening of history and fun! For those who didn’t make it, never fear! We plan to come back bigger and better next year! A huge shout-out to all our storytellers and helpers …. couldn’t have done it without you!
National Fossil Day
Today, October 11, is the 14th anniversary of National Fossil Day. In parks and classrooms across the country and online, paleontologists, educators, and students are engaging in fossil-related events and activities to highlight the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations. According to the National Park Service, paleontological resources or fossils are a tangible connection to life, landscapes, and climates of the past. They show us how life, landscapes, and climate have changed over time and how living things responded to those changes. Those lessons are particularly important as modern climate continues to change.
Back in 1981 there was considerable excitement in the area when two large fossilized tusks were discovered on the Dick Grusing farm. Hamilton County workers discovered the pair in a sandpit on October 26 when they were getting road gravel. Dick’s parents, Ed and Christina Grusing, spent three days digging the tusks from their resting place. Others helping at the “dig” site were Kearny County Museum board members and volunteers Della and Leonard Enslow, Nellie Kleeman, Leon and Nelle Jane Scheuerman and Lucile Dienst. The fossils were cleaned and pieced together to make a display at the Museum. Although they were not professional fossil diggers, the group wanted to ensure that the tusks remained in Kearny County.
According to the Lakin Independent, Dienst contacted university and Natural History Museum officials who determined the tusks came from an American two-tusk mastodon which became extinct eight to ten thousand years ago. The mastodon was an animal similar in appearance to the elephant. They were stockier than elephants, and averaged between seven and nine feet tall. There were about 100 different kinds of mastodons. Early mastodons had tusks in both jaws, but some of the later species lost the lower tusks. Others developed great, flat, lower tusks. Mastodons had cusp-shaped teeth that were very different from mammoths and elephants.
The mastodon tusks are not the only fossils on display at the Museum as we have several mammoth teeth on display. Mammoths were closely related to present-day elephants and arrived on the scene millions of years after the mastodon first appeared. Mammoths were huge, lumbering beasts, and some measured more than 14 feet high at the shoulders. The tusks curved down from the animal’s trunk. Mammoth fossils are among the most commonly discovered fossils, and many have been found in sandpits and near the Arkansas River bed.
A shark’s tooth, oyster, and shell can also be found in our fossil collection. Because Kansas was once covered by a shallow ocean of salt water, heavy deposits of sand, calcium carbonate and mud were left behind. Over time, these layers sank and caused the sediments to be pressed together and form limestone, sandstone, and shale. Fossils of marine animals such as bony fish, sharks and turtles have been found in the layers of these rocks buried in Southwest Kansas, providing evidence of the earliest life in this area. Shark teeth were frequently found west of Lakin near the Hartland area.
The Museum also has an example of coprolite. Donated by the late Dan Burns, coprolite is fossilized animal dung. This trace fossil was found in New Mexico.
There are two main types of fossils: body fossils and trace fossils. Body fossils are any “parts” of the actual living thing such as bones, teeth, insect bodies, shells, feathers, leaves, fruits, flowers, nuts, etc. Trace fossils are evidence of a living thing’s interaction with its environment and include footprints, trackways, swim traces, burrows or dens, root traces and feces. As pieces of once living things, body fossils are evidence of what was living where and when. Trace fossils are valuable because they “animate” the ancient animals or plants by recording a moment of an organism’s life when it was still alive.
Come check out our collection in the Annex where you can also see buffalo skulls and horns, a horse skull, cow skull and many more interesting artifacts!
SOURCES: National Park Service; Britannica Encyclopedia; Kansapedia; Nov. 19, 1981 Lakin Independent; and Museum archives.
Edmond Strong Snow: Kearny County businessman and Hartland’s first mayor
The history of the house on the southwest corner of Buffalo and Washington in Lakin harkens back to the heydays of Hartland and one of Kearny County’s earliest businessmen. Many locals associate the 209 N. Buffalo location with Leon and Leona Davis who operated Davis Funeral Home out of their residence for more than 30 years, but it was another undertaker who owned the property first.
Corporal Edmond Strong Snow, a Civil War veteran, grew up on his father’s farm in Ashtabula County, Ohio and finished his education in the Grand River Institute at Austinburg, OH. Snow enlisted at the age of 19 in February of 1863 with Company C of the 60th Ohio Infantry. Two months later, Snow found himself under fire at the bloody Battle of the Wilderness, the first stage of a major Union offensive toward the Confederate capital of Richmond. Snow’s regiment bore the brunt of much of the hard fighting that followed in Virginia until the close of the Civil War. While he personally escaped all enemy bullets, Snow was wounded when a tree fell on him.
After the war, he went to Dearborn, Michigan with the intention to study medicine alongside his uncle, but ridding his mind of the scenes of military life was impossible for Snow. He abandoned his studies and took on a variety of jobs including starting his own grocery business at Holly, Michigan. Late in the fall of 1868, he was broke and looking for a job when he spotted a “help wanted” sign in Chicago for the Union Pacific Railroad which was then in the process of constructing across the great West. He hired on to the grading outfit working all the way to Wasatch, Utah which was the end of the line. Soon after arriving there, he transferred his services to the car repair shops of the company. E.S. served as a switchman and then as a railway brakeman before becoming a freight conductor. For 10 years, Snow was a passenger conductor from Cheyenne, WY west over the different divisions but chiefly between Laramie and Green River. He was in Wyoming, Utah and Idaho altogether for 18 years.
Ed Snow moved in November 1885 to Hartland where he established a lumber yard and general merchandise business, became partner in a livery, and erected a number of buildings. The highly respected businessman was elected Hartland’s first mayor, served as a director for the Bank of Hartland and organized the Knights of Pythias there. He also started branch lumber yards at Surprise and Cincinnati, Grant County towns with fates similar to Hartland’s. While many left Hartland immediately after Lakin secured the county seat, Snow remained there but eking out a living in a dying town was difficult.
News broke in May 1895 that Snow had purchased a lot on north Main in Lakin and was moving his buildings and stock of general merchandise here from Hartland. He was open for business by the end of summer. Some of Snow’s buildings were combined to make his residence at the Buffalo and Washington location. Snow purchased the Kearny County Advocate in 1902 and dabbled for a short time in the newspaper business. In February of 1907 came the announcement that he was having an opera house erected on the southeast corner of Main and Lincoln. The concrete, fire-proof 50×100 building was to be two stories high with the top story housing Snow’s Opera House, also known as the Lakin Opera House or Snow’s Theatre. The theatre had a seating capacity of 250 and included a 14×28 stage, dressing rooms and scenery. Dances, lodge and religious meetings, graduation exercises, and festivals were held there, and local as well as traveling entertainment performed for crowds of theatre-goers. Mr. Snow’s furniture, hardware and undertaking business occupied the first floor.
His wife of 46 years, Margaret Collins Snow, passed in 1922. Edmond Snow retired the following year and traveled as much as he could until ill health prevented him from doing so. Kearny County sheriff-elect Roy Puyear and his wife moved in with Snow at his home on Buffalo Street in 1924, and Snow died in 1926. The Snows had no children, but their former home and the building which housed Snow’s Theatre still stand in Lakin. The building was and is still considered one of the best in town. According to Edmond Snow’s obituary, the structure at 122 N. Main stood as a memorial to his life and activities in Lakin. The building has housed The Agency since 1982. In recent years, the top story was renovated and an addition was built to the south to serve as the residence of The Agency’s owner, Doug Geubelle and his wife, Stacey.
SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, written and compiled by William E. Connelley; History of Kearny County Vol. I; archives of The Hartland Times, Advocate and Lakin Independent; and Museum archives.
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Here Come the Judds
Doctors gave James Milton Judd six months to live, and what did he do? The 24-year-old Kentuckian moved to Kansas. After a few months in Wellington, he moved to Belle Plaine where he managed a flour mill. Judd had already outlived doctors’ expectations when he and L.B. Richardson headed to Stevens County in December 1885 to settle on some claims. Their plans were interrupted by a heavy snowstorm. The train was held up at Lakin, but there were no sleeping rooms available for the two men. When the duo inquired at the Commercial Hotel, the landlady had nothing to offer them but the floor of the hotel office to sleep on. A full-blown blizzard ensued, and the men’s finances were in dire shape by the time the snowstorm was over. They decided they had to embark on some kind of business. With a loan from some friends back east, the men negotiated the purchase of the smallest business house in Lakin and opened a confectionary. Eventually the two made enough money to repay their loans, and Richardson returned back east dissolving their business in 1889. Judd continued in the confectionary business on south Main and offered ice cream, groceries, school books, stationery, cigars, ice and more until 1906. Then his new store building went up at 111 N. Main where he sold shoes, clothing, hats, gloves, magazines and more.
Judd was one of the busiest men in Lakin from the time he arrived here. He managed the Postal Telegraph and Cable Company from 1890 to 1913, was elected probate judge in 1896, and then was elected county treasurer in 1899. Because he was an expert accountant, Judd was offered the cashier position at the Lakin State Bank in 1908, a title he held for over 31 years. In 1915, he closed his shoe store, and that same year he went into business selling automobiles and farm equipment. J. M. Judd Motor Company, located on the corner of Buffalo and Waterman, was also known as the Ford Garage and was the predecessor to Lakin Motor Company. Judd also served as the mayor of Lakin, was on the Lakin City Council and school board, and was very active in many organizations. He was the Sunday school superintendent at the Lakin Presbyterian Church, and in 1937, he was elected president of Group Nine of the Kansas Bankers Association. The Nov. 11, 1937 Kearny County Advocate praised Judd, “All recognize in him the true gentleman … he looks the part in his tall, distinguished bearing and he acts it in his quiet, almost shy, kindness and respect for others.”
Judd married Isabella Craver in 1892. Born in West Virginia, “Belle” moved to Garden City in 1886 then to Lakin in 1888. She was a charter member of the Presbyterian Church in Garden but later transferred her membership to the Lakin church. Isabella always had a deep interest and took an active part in church work and the missionary society. She was also involved with the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, Eastern Star and Royal Neighbors. She passed in 1927.
J.M. and Isabella had two children. Son Clarence was born in 1895 but died at the age of one year and 25 days. Although born healthy, the boy became severely ill when he was cutting teeth which led to deadly complications.
Soon after little Clarence’s death, Isabella became pregnant with a daughter. Edythe Lillian Judd was born in 1897 and graduated with Lakin’s Class of 1915. She attended business college in Colorado Springs and was married there in 1927 to Ralph Stees. Stees, a veteran of World War I, had been employed by Fred Harvey of Harvey House fame both before and after the war. Ralph and Edythe made their home in Lakin, both gaining employment with the Lakin State Bank. When her father passed away, Edythe acquired J.M. Judd Motor Co. and ran the business until 1947. Like her parents, Edythe was a member of the Lakin Presbyterian Church and was also involved with Eastern Star, PEO, and the Mus-Art Club. Ralph sold real estate, served as Lakin’s mayor from 1931 until 1935, was on City Council from 1937 until 1943, and belonged to the Masonic Lodge and Order of Eastern Star. He passed in 1970 and Edythe in 1973. They had no children.
Living in Kansas must have been written in the stars for James Judd as he was born on the same day that Kansas was admitted to the Union, January 29, 1861. He lived to be 78 years old, 54 years more than doctors predicted. His and Isabella’s family home still stands on the northwest corner of Buffalo and Lincoln Streets and was once described as one of the finest residences and nicest kept within the city. According to the April 9, 1908 Advocate, J.M. Judd was the first in Lakin to install a cement sidewalk in front of his residence. Although very poor when he landed in Lakin, Judd’s work ethic and business sense led him to become one of the most prominent citizens and businessmen in town.
SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; archives of The Advocate and Lakin Independent; History of Kearny County Vol. 1, and Museum archives.
History of fall homecoming at Lakin High School
Tomorrow evening a tradition that began 75 years ago will continue when Lakin High School crowns a queen at the homecoming football game. The first coronation took place in November 1948 when senior Arlene Williams received her crown from Ed Wright, the captain of Lakin’s football team. The coronation took place during half-time, and the band, pep club and a royal car formed the procession. Other contestants vying for the title included Barbara Davis, junior; Helen Cochell, sophomore; and Myrna Robrahn, freshman. The girls were selected at an assembly earlier in the week and were voted on throughout the week. Each vote cost one penny, and according to the Nov. 12, 1948 Lakin Independent, ““stuffing the ballot box” was quite in order.”
Just like the game of football, homecoming has changed over the years. In 1949, business managers were also chosen by each class to aid in the election campaigns. That year, sophomore Sylvia Oakley received the title, and her business manager was her future husband, Eugene Rieger. Beginning in 1954, only senior girls could be elected queen. That year the senior class nominated four girls, and the entire school voted on them. The young lady with the most votes was crowned queen, and the runner-up became part of the homecoming court as senior attendant. The other classes still selected a girl to represent their class as an attendant on the homecoming court. Only two senior girls were selected as candidates the following year, a practice that continued until the 1982-1983 school year when seniors began nominating three queen candidates.
In 1992, no football homecoming queen was crowned although candidates and attendants had been chosen. Lakin High School sponsored a public bonfire the night before the football game. A snake dance ensued which, according to school officials, was not a school-sponsored activity. Things got out of hand that evening. According to the Sheriff’s report, there were several reports of fireworks being thrown from vehicles as well as property damage. A fire hydrant was turned on, a trash dumpster was moved out into the street, and a mattress was pulled onto Main Street with the intention of setting it on fire. As a disciplinary action, administration cancelled Friday’s homecoming festivities and all weekend sporting activities. The following year, homecoming began being referred to as Fall Homecoming rather than football homecoming.
From 1948 to 1998, the following were all honored as football/fall homecoming queens at Lakin High School: Arlene Williams, Sylvia Oakley, Helen Cochell, Deloris Hubbard, Mary Hoss, Christine Houghtaling, Kay Craig, Lois McCue, Glenda Hubbard, Leta McCue, Dixie Stallard, Vivian Oakley, Arlene Glaspy, Pat Schulz, Sherril Fletcher, Carol Cadenhead, Sheryl Bostrom, Patsy Weldon, Vivian Fletcher, Linda Waechter, Meredith Hoppas, Cherri Gunter, Margaret Williams, Karen Jenks, Robin Henderson, Sonya Moore, Jane Shaw, Kimberly Hagemann, Tammie Cole, Rhonda Edgington, Karla Smith, Valerie Williams, Janet Waechter, Gillian White, Nora Tallant, Sheri Stockton, Mary Woodrow, Wendy Hayzlett, Nicki Estes, Katie Fletcher, Carrie Young, Dana Lutz, Steph Wilken, Summer Vann, Cammi Eveleigh, Jenny Wright, Charity Kennedy, Alisha Ansel, Molly Bachman, and Jennifer Hall.
The tradition of electing a homecoming king began in the fall of 1999. The first homecoming king was Justin Howard, and the queen was Amanda Ansel. Other kings and queens since that time have been: Nick Hamblen and Lacey Allaman; Bo Richardson and Megan Jennings; Adres De la Vega and Ashley Rexroat; Pancho Magallanes and Michelle Ridgeway; Keena Crone and Amanda Williams; T.J. Meyer and Justine Sullivan; Billy Rooney and Caitlin Olson; Reed McAtee and Callie Berlier; Zac Anthony and Tiana Perea; Jonathan Walls and Tayler Frederiksen; Dalton Davis and Keyton McAtee; Shane Davidson and Mariah Hill; Kevin Dasenbrock and Shirea Woodrow; Brent Rooney and Kara Simmons; Pancho Klassen and Jhoryn Hernandez; Ben Athony and Kelsey Jury; Michael Aller and Kayla Calkins; Hunter Kirby and Alyse Pollart; Juan Banuelos and Jypsey Tammerine; William Gilleland and Meagan Ritsema; Tanner Hattabaugh and Tiana Gonzalez; Omar Gonzalez and Isabell Ortiz; and Dravin Chavira and Sara Wright.
For nostalgia’s sake, here are a few pictures from LHS’s past royalty and homecomings. There are more on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/kearnycountymuseum.
SOURCES: Lakin Independent archives and Lakin High School annuals from 1949 through 2021
More sides to former educator than her students knew
Many of Cora Holt’s former students remember her as a toe-the-line teacher, but there was more to the educator than meets the eye. Born Cora Edelene Rarden, she was a descendant of two of the earliest families in Kearny County. Her maternal great-grandfather, Joseph Dillon, was the editor of The Lakin Herald, and her grandmother, Maria Dillon Browne, earned a reputation as one of the best compositors in the state while typesetting for the paper. The Dillon family moved to Kearny County in 1879. Cora’s maternal grandfather, D. H. Browne, came to Lakin in 1880 and served many years as county clerk including during the time of the county seat wars.
D. H. and Maria Browne’s daughter Helen married James Harry Rardon in 1907. Known affectionately as Doc, Rardon had arrived in Lakin a year earlier to set up a dental office, and in 1909, he received his pharmacy certificate from the State of Kansas and purchased the drugstore here from Dr. G.C. Richards. Doc and Helen had three children: a son who died in infancy in 1908, daughter Jean born in 1909, and Cora, the baby of the family who was given the name of her paternal grandmother. News of Cora’s birth came via the Sept. 19, 1913 Advocate, “A little daughter arrived at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Rardon, Friday last, and the doctor is “wearing a smile that won’t come off.”
Doc Rardon was well-educated, well-rounded, and well-liked. He had a prowess for writing poetry, particularly love poems for his wife who he referred to as his Little Browne Hen. The wittiness and sweetness in his poetry leads one to assume that Cora grew up in a very loving and affectionate family. He sold the drugstore in 1910 and then ran drugstores elsewhere in Kansas and Missouri and was also a traveling salesman for pharmaceuticals. By 1920, the family was back living on their ranch west of Lakin while Doc continued with his salesman position.
Meanwhile, Cora grew to be both beautiful and bright. As a student at Lakin High School, she served three years on Student Council, was in charge of art in the 1931 Prairie Breeze annual, played violin in the orchestra, and participated in debate, drama, vocal, basketball and tennis. Cora was treasurer of the Girl Reserves, the predecessor to Y-Teens, and during her senior year, she was the lone female of five cheerleaders in the Kakaphony Club, the high school’s official pep club.
While Cora was very much a traditionalist, she was also a trailblazer. At a time when most women entered the teaching profession, she instead attended Kansas University where she earned her pharmacology degree in 1935. Cora returned to Lakin and began working as a registered pharmacist in Roy Menn’s drugstore, the same drugstore that her father had previously owned in the building that houses Duncan’s Lockers. The Rardons purchased Menn’s in June of 1936, and in 1939, they bought the building at 111 N. Main (now Shorty’s II) and moved their stock there. After Doc Rardon’s death in 1942, Cora and her mother continued to operate the pharmacy until March 1945 when they sold the business to Floyd Barnes of Ulysses.
On a Sunday afternoon in January 1945, Cora donned her mother’s wedding dress and married Edwin Holt, a well-liked prominent rancher. She gained two step-sons in the process, and in 1946, gave birth to her and Ed’s only child together, a son they named Jewell Harry after their fathers.
Catastrophe struck the young family on September 16, 1953 when Ed went to the Tate Ranch 10 miles southwest of Lakin to check cattle. When he did not return at the usual time, Cora became worried. Her neighbors, John and Elene Henderson, drove her to the ranch where they found Edwin’s body in the concrete stock tank. He had started climbing a 40-foot windmill tower to make repairs, and part of the wooden platform gave way. Ed fell backward, and according to the Hamilton County coroner, was apparently killed instantly when he struck the bottom of the tank.
Cora became a single parent and bread winner for her and her small son. She took a teaching job at Holcomb then taught at Deerfield Grade School for two years. She began her teaching career at Lakin in the fall of 1962 and taught until the end of the 1974-1975 school year. Cora served as president of the Parent-Teacher Association, was on the Kearny County Library’s board of directors when the library was built in the 1970s, taught first aid, and helped with Cub Scouts and the Red Cross. A member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Delta Kappa Gamma and the United Presbyterian Church, she also contributed stories to Vol. II of the History of Kearny County.
Cora Edelene Rardon Holt passed away in September of 1980, seven days shy of her 67th birthday. Her life was an example of perseverance and selflessness. While her students only knew Cora in her later years, the accompanying pictures reveal a very vibrant and attractive young woman who was nicknamed “Codie” by her classmates and admired for her “peppy” disposition.
SOURCES: 1931 Prairie Breeze; 1972-1973 Lakin Grade School annual; History of Kearny County Vols. I & II; Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; archives of The Advocate, Lakin Independent, Chase Register, Kinsley Mercury and Lyons Republican; Museum archives; and photographs and archives received from the Jewell Holt Estate.