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As Published - November 1946

November 1946 (Vol. 14 No. 4), pages 448 to 452.
Transcribed by lhn;
digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society.

The history of Milan, Sumner county, was reviewed by Leslie M. Yates in the Wellington Monitor-Press, July 13, 1944. The town was laid out in 1880 and incorporated in 1909.

A history of the Mennonite church in the Springfield community, Marion county, was sketched in the Hillsboro Journal, January 4, 1945. The church was built in 1894.

"Clifford Township-Originally Part of Towanda TownshipN amed for John A. Clifford," is the title of an article in the Western Butler County Times of Towanda, May 24, 1945.

The organization of Methodist church Meade and Seward counties in the latter 1880's was briefly reviewed by the Rev. R. L. Wells in the Plains Journal, July 19, 1945.

How Hugoton got its "town-pump," believed to be the only municipally-owned producer of natural gas in the world, was told by W. F. Hubbard in the Hugoton Hermes, September 21, 1945. The well, completed September 11, was reported as having a deliverability rate of 2,200,000 cubic feet of gas, and is expected to net the city approximately $1,000 a month. Mr. Hubbard, representative from Stevens county in the state legislature, was the sponsor of the bill making it possible for Hugoton to decide through an election whether the community was to have the well drilled. At the election only three votes were cast against the proposal. A story of the well was also printed in a four-column illustrated article by Alvin Dumler in the Hutchinson News-Herald, October 28, 1945.

A picture and brief history of the old mill at Paxico, on Mill creek, were featured in the October, 1945, issue of Service, publication of the Kansas Power and Light Co. of Topeka, and the Kansas Electric Power Co. of Lawrence. The mill was built in 1879. A brief history of Hillsboro, with pictures of present-day people and places, was another feature of the October issue.

December 14, 1945, marked the beginning of the seventy-fifth year of publication of the Ellsworth Reporter. The paper was founded in 1871 by M. C. Davis. Edward and Harold Huycke are the present publishers. A list of editors since its establishment was printed in the Reporter, November 8, 1945.

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KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 449

The history of the Osborne Mothers' Club was briefly sketched in the Osborne Farmer-Journal, November 22, 1945, following the club's observance of the thirtieth anniversary of its founding.

"Cloud County Originally Named After `Gay'. Lady, History Records," is the title of an article in the Concordia Blade-Empire, November 30, 1945. The woman was Jane Shirley of Leavenworth. Other stories on the early history of Cloud county by J. M. Hagaman were published from time to time in the Blade-Empire during the fall and winter of 1945.

Life in early Seward county was briefly sketched by Sam Jones in The Southwest Daily Times of Liberal, January 1, 1946. Mr. Jones homesteaded in Seward county in 1884.

A story briefly describing the old English settlements of Runnymede and Victoria, by Laura Montzingo, was published in the Hutchinson News-Herald, January 6, 1946.

Included among Kansas historical articles in recent issues of the Kansas City (Mo.) Star were: J. C. Mohler, secretary of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, "Proposes a Park To Show the Beauty of Bluestem Region," by Cecil Howes, January 6, 1946; "Dr. [William L.] Burdick of K. U. Taught Generations of Lawyers With Accent on Character," by Dwight Pennington, June 15; "Recalls `Hopper' Raids in Kansas," by Cecil Howes, July 11; Kenneth Christian, Junction City, escapes Nazi-infested area of France in April, 1943, with underground aid, after bailing out of plane, an interview with Robert W. Reed, July 14; "Memories of Populists Still Vivid Forty Years After Their Farewell," by Cecil Howes, July 24; "Two Trails, One Chisholm, the Other Chisum, Followed by Cattle Herds," July 26; and "A Kansas Woman [Virginia A. Miller, of Kansas City] Is Helping at the Nuernberg Trials," by Sarah Kroh, July 28.

"Thirty-Five Years of Newspaper Work in Natoma" is the title of an article by H. B. Brown, printed in the Natoma Independent, April 4, 1946. Mr. Brown recently retired as editor and publisher of the Independent and the Luray Herald. For more than 20 years he published four newspapers in the Natoma plant: the Independent, the Herald, the Waldo Advocate and the Paradise Farmer. The Advocate and Farmer were consolidated in 1942 with the Herald, which is still being printed at Natoma.

Two pages of pictures showing early-day and modern Pittsburg were features of the Pittsburg Headlight, May 20, 1946, and the

450 KANSAs HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Sun, May 21, in observance of the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the city. Contemporaneous news accounts of the founding of Pittsburg as published in the newspapers of nearby towns were also printed.

A history of the Bonner Springs Chieftain was sketched in its issue of May 23, 1946, marking the completion of 50 years of publication. The paper was established in 1896 by Ed Matthews and was subsequently purchased and edited by the late Imri Zumwalt. Mrs. M. W. (Frances Zumwalt) Vaughn is the present editor and owner. Historical sketches of the churches of Bonner Springs were also featured in the same issue.

Feature articles in the June, 1946, issue of the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, of Lawrence, are: "The Kansa Indians," by Waldo R. Wedel, associate curator of archeology, U. S. National Museum; "A Review of Kansas Ichthyology," by John Breukelman, and "The High Plains Surface in Kansas," by John C. Frye.

During the summer of 1946 the Kansas City (Mo.) Times carried the following historical articles by Cecil Howes: "Dr. S. J. Crumbine Returns to Kansas Scene of Struggles for Public Health," June 4; "Kansas Campaign Stirs a Reporter's Memories of Fight With Senate Lodge," June 26; "Hidden Traces of Old Santa Fe Trail Are Disclosed by Aerial Photography," July 10; "Kansas Showed Its `Dry' Proclivities While State Was Still a Territory," July 18, and "Early Life on the Kansas Plains Pictured in Letters of Children," August 2. A Times article on August 21 recalled the Kansas University football team, coached by the late Fielding H. Yost, which defeated Nebraska in 1899. Mr. Yost died August 20, 1946, at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Pioneers of the 1870's were guests of the Pawnee County Historical Society at an all-day reunion held at Lamed, June 6, 1946. Kelso G. Clark was the earliest settler at the reunion, according to The Daily Tiller and Toiler, Larned, which printed a roster of the pioneers of the 1870's in its issue of June 7. Clark's residence in that county dates from November 12, 1873.

A brief history of the Parsons Sun was published in its issue of June 17, 1946, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of its founding. Sen. Clyde M. Reed, present publisher, has been identified with the paper since 1902.

KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 451

Recollections of Mrs. J. H. Middlekauff concerning the Indian raid and kidnapping of women and children on the Kansas frontier in the fall of 1869, were featured in the Hays Daily News, June 24, 1946. Mrs. Middlekauff was a small child at the time of the raid and her recollections are based on stories heard by her. The administration of Thomas Moonlight, governor of Wyoming territory, 1887-1889, was discussed by W. Turrentine Jackson in the Annals of Wyoming, Cheyenne, July, 1946, pp. 139-162. Governor Moonlight had previously lived in Kansas. He served as lieutenant colonel of the Eleventh Kansas infantry and from 1869 to 1871 he was the Kansas Secretary of State.

An account of a Spanish bull fight in Dodge City in 1884 appeared in the Dodge City Daily Globe, July 1, 1946. The article, taken from the early Globe files, said five matadors and four bulls participated in the event. John Curtis Hamm's recollections of Dodge City in the summer of 1886 were printed in the Daily Globe, July 31. The recollections were contained in a letter from Judge Hamm, former superintendent of the Humboldt schools, now residing in Anaheim, Cal.

Articles describing early towns in Neosho county were published in the St. Paul Journal, July 11, 18, August land 22,1946. They are a part of a series by W. W. Graves, editor of the Journal, dealing with the history of the county.

The early history of Lincoln county was sketched by Judge J. C. Ruppenthal of Russell at the Old Settler's Day program at Lincoln July 31, 1946, as a feature of the city's diamond jubilee. Highlights of the address were printed in the Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, August 8. Other speakers were H. S. Buzick, Jr., of Sylvan Grove, and A. J. Stanley of Kansas City.

A brief history of the Great Bend Tribune was printed in its issue of August 12, 1946, marking the seventieth anniversary of publication. The Tribune was founded as a weekly newspaper by Judge C. P. Townsley in 1876. It has been published daily since 1908.

This year marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the organization of Osborne county and the establishment of the city of Osborne. The Osborne townsite was laid out by settlers from Lancaster and Berks counties, Pennsylvania, and the original settlement was known as the Pennsylvania colony, according to a sketch printed by the

KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY 452

Osborne Farmer-Journal, August 15, 1946. Mrs. W. B. VanWormer, daughter of F. R. Grueger, a member of the original colony, resides in Osborne. She was a small child when her parents located in the county.

A "Diamond Fiesta" was held at Lyons, August 22-24, 1946, commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the organization of Rice county and the seventieth anniversary of the platting of the Lyons townsite. Atlanta, the forerunner of Lyons, was established in 1871, the year the county was organized. The Lyons Daily News published special articles during the week reviewing the history of the city and county, and on August 17 a 20-page historical edition was issued. Among the subjects were: Naming of Rice county for Gen. Samuel A. Rice, who was killed in the battle of Jenkins Ferry in the Civil War; naming of Lyons for Truman J. Lyon on whose farm the townsite was laid out; excerpts from the diary of U. V. Atkinson, describing the severe winter of 1885-1886; "Rice County History Covers Four Centuries"; early experiences of A. L. McMurphy, who settled in Rice county in 1871; the visit of Capt. Nathan Boone in 1843 to what is now Rice county; election at Beach valley for Peketon county officers in 1860; battle of Cow creek in 1864, and historical sketches of churches. Pictures include views of the first courthouse, early sod house and the first locomotive in Rice county.