KANSAS MUSEUM of HISTORY RECEIVES MUSEUM ACCREDITATION Free Admission in Celebration January 24 - 29

Contact: Bobbie Athon 785-272-8681, ext. 262 E-mail: [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 6, 2006

KANSAS MUSEUM OF HISTORY RECEIVES MUSEUM ACCREDITATION Free Admission in Celebration January 24 - 29

The Kansas Museum of History has achieved the highest recognition for a museum, accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). To celebrate this high honor with the people of Kansas, the Museum will be open free to the public January 24 – 29, which is also Kansas Day.

The AAM Accreditation Commission met in December and reported that the Museum “meets the high standards established by the Accreditation Program and the museum field. It has demonstrated this through completion of a rigous process of self-study and reviews by a Visiting Committee of its peers and the Accreditation Commision. We found the Kansas Museum of History to be a high-performing organization.”

“I am incredibly proud of the staff in working toward this achievement,” said Bob Keckeisen, museum director. “Their hard work spanned a three year period in preparing the collections and exhibits for a rigorous review by the Accreditation Commission in Washington. We are very honored to be added to this elite group of AAM accredited museums.”

AAM Accreditation signifies excellence within the museum community. It is a seal of approval and strengthens individual museums and the entire field by promoting ethical and professional practices. Being accredited enables museum leaders to make informed decisions, allocate and use resources wisely, and maintain the strictest accountability to the public they serve.

Of the nation’s nearly 16,000 museums approximately 750 are currently accredited. It is a rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations.

As the national service organization representing the American museum community, the American Association of Museums addresses the needs of museums to enhance their ability to serve the public. For more about AAM and the Accreditation Program please visit www.aam-us.org.

The Kansas History Museum is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors (60 and over), $2 students (K-12, college students with ID), KSHS members and children 5 and under admitted free. Beginning February 1, admission will change for out of state residents to $5 adults, $4 seniors (60 and over), $3 students (K-12, college students with ID). The Museum is located at the Kansas

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History Center, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615; exhibit 356 on I-70; 785-272-8681; [email protected], www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 6, 2006

SURVIVOR WINNER CELEBRATES KANSAS DAY AT THE CAPITOL 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2006 in Topeka

Governor Kathleen Sebelius invites Kansas students to celebrate Kansas Day on Friday, January 27, 2006 at the Kansas State Capitol. Kansas entered the Union as the 34th state on January 29, 1861. Students will have the opportunity to celebrate the 145th birthday and enhance their knowledge of Kansas history through exploration of the Capitol.

"We have such a strong heritage and it's a wonderful opportunity to share our pioneer spirit and strong beginnings with young Kansans," said Governor Sebelius.

Danni Boatwright, a Tonganoxie native and “Survivor: Guatemala” winner, will also be on-hand. “Danni is a great example of how good old fashioned Kansas hard work can pay off and I’m very happy she was able to take time out of what I imagine is a very busy schedule to celebrate Kansas Day,” Governor Sebelius said.

“Exploring the Capitol,” a downloadable guidebook, will engage students in also learning about Kansas government. Costumed historical reenactors will be at each of the nine Exploration Stations to share fascinating facts and stories. All visitors will be allowed to tour the first level of the Capitol dome. On Kansas Day, classes can pre-register to win a special guided tour to the top of the dome. Kansas Day is sponsored by the Governor’s Office, the Kansas State Historical Society, and the Kansas State Department of Education.

A special birthday celebration and sing-a-long will begin at 10:00 a.m. on the second floor rotunda. Governor Sebelius will offer special greetings followed by a sing-a-long featuring "Happy Birthday to Kansas," and "Home on the Range." Fifteen large Kansas birthday cakes, provided by Dillons Food Stores, will be served as part of the celebration. The birthday celebration program will begin at 9:45 a.m. on the second floor rotunda featuring Mayberry Middle School Choir from Wichita, Dennis Rogers with Native American flute music and hoop dance, the Governor with a greeting and recognition of poster winners from state quarter art contest, and the sing-along. The celebration will conclude at 10:30 a.m. Please note that lunch will not be provided and is not available at the Capitol.

Tour guides will be stationed at nine locations in the Capitol on all five floors including the Governor’s office, the House and Senate chambers, the rotunda, and inside the dome.

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Kan-Ed will be offering a live broadcast of the special birthday celebration at www.kandedlive.org . Other portions of the event will be archived and available for viewing at a later time, including a tour of the Capitol with the reenactors and a tour of the Capitol dome.

Teachers must provide each student with a copy of their own guidebook. The guidebooks, downloadable at www.kshs.org/teachers/, should be printed, folded, and stapled prior to the class visit. As students explore the Capitol their guidebook will be stamped at each Exploration Station. Note: Guidebooks will not be provided at the Capitol. Also online will be a downloadable teacher packet that includes event instructions and a parking map for busses.

To optimize the student learning experience, teachers should prepare classes for the Kansas Day Activities through prior integrated instruction. For suggested activities and resources go to the Kansas State Historical Society website at www.kshs.org/teachers/.

The Kansas Curricular Standards addressed during this field trip are: Civics-Government- 4th grade- B5I2. (K) defines capital as the location of state and national government. B5I3. (K) defines capitol as the building in which government is located.

The Kansas State Capitol is located at 10th and Jackson, Topeka, Kansas 66612. It is in the center of downtown Topeka. Exit 362B on I-70. Classes also are encouraged to participate in the Kansas Museum of History’s Kansas Day activities, also Friday, January 27. More information online at www.kshs.org .

The Kansas State Historical Society does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to, access to, or operation of its programs. The Society requests prior notification to accommodate individuals with special needs or disabilities.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2006

DINOSAUR EGGS FROM CHINA ON EXHIBIT AT MUSEUM ______Through January 27 at Kansas Museum of History, Topeka

The dinosaur egg presented last July to Governor Kathleen Sebelius by a Chinese delegation from Henan Province, People's Republic of China, are on exhibit at the Kansas Museum of History through January 27, 2006. The eggs are from the Xixia Basin in Henan Province, China.

The Henan Province and the State of Kansas established an official sister state relationship in 1981. The delegation visited Kansas to enhance and strengthen the relation between the two governments in areas of commerce, agriculture, education, and trade. As a gesture of good will, Henan Province presented the fossils as a gift to Kansas at a banquet hosted by Governor Sebelius.

The eggs date from the late Cretaceous period and are nearly 100 million years old. One egg is from the Dendroolithus species, and the other is from the Faveoloolithus species. Henan Province has the largest site for dinosaur eggs in the world with an estimated two million eggs in an area of about 620 square miles. The fossils found there are internationally significant because they may extend up to the time at which dinosaurs became extinct.

The Kansas Museum of History is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed on Monday and state holidays. Admission, through January are $4 adults, $3 seniors, $2 students. Group rates available with prior notice. KSHS members and children under five admitted free.

The Kansas Museum of History is located at the Kansas History Center, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615; exhibit 356 on I-70; 785-272-8681; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2006

CAPITOL’S KANSAS DAY ACTIVITIES FEATURE EXPLORATION 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2006 in Topeka

"We have such a strong heritage and it's a wonderful opportunity to share our pioneer spirit and strong beginnings with young Kansans," said Governor Sebelius.

Tour guides will be stationed at nine locations in the Capitol on all five floors including the Governor’s office, the House and Senate chambers, the rotunda, and inside the dome.

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At this time, access to the Capitol is through the west entrance. However, due to construction, teachers are advised to check the website prior to in case the entrance point should change.

Classes must register by email to [email protected]. Every pre-registered class qualifies for a drawing to win a special guided tour to the top of the dome. Please specify one tour time preference: 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., or 1:00 p.m. The drawing will be held on January 25, 2006, and winning classes will be notified by email.

If you wish to participate, please register by January 15, 2006 to: Tierney Kirtdoll, [email protected] The following information should be included with the email registration:

1. School 2. District name and number 3. The contact person's name, phone number, address, and E-mail address 4. The number of students attending 5. The number of adults attending 6. If you wish to be eligible for the tour to the top of the dome, please specify one of the following times for your tour: 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. 7. Time of arrival to the Capitol 8. Time of departure from the Capitol 9. Please notify us of any special needs or accommodations for your group.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 18, 2006

MUSEUM ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN ADMISSION FEES Changes to take effect February 7, 2006

Beginning February 7, 2006, the Kansas Museum of History will raise admission fees for out of state residents. As part of the admission fee changes, current military personnel will be admitted free, along with KSHS members and children under five.

The new admission fees at the Kansas Museum of History are $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 students for out of state residents. Admission fees for in-state residents are $4 adults, $3 seniors, and $2 students. Group rates are available with prior notice. KSHS members, children under five, and current military personnel are admitted free. Guided tours of the Museum will be an additional $1 per person, per hour. The Museum is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Mondays and state holidays. The Museum Store, Discovery Place, our the hands-on gallery, Potawatomi Mission tours, Thursday Storytime for Preschool, and the Nature Trail all remain free of charge. The Museum offers added values included with admission: self-guided visitor materials, guided tours of the museum gallery at 1:15 and 3 p.m. Sundays, and docent stationing 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Thursdays - Fridays in April - May.

Consult the KSHS website at www.kshs.org for specific hours and admission fee information or call 785-272-8681.

The Kansas State Historical Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615- 1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 12, 2006

HISTORICAL SOCIETY RECEIVES JOHN BROWN DOCUMENT

In 1859, John Brown sold a horse to A. K. Lindsley of Cleveland, Ohio. The horse had been stolen in Fort Scott, during the time of Bleeding Kansas. The Kansas State Historical Society recently received the fascinating document, a Bill of Sale, that connects key activities during the famous abolitionist’s life.

While the March 24, 1859, document contains less than 100 words, it states that the horse being sold to Mr. Lindsley “was taken near Fort Scott in Kansas about the middle of Nov 1858 during the border troubles of the last Fall & Winter: . . . & further that he was my riding horse throughout my entire movements in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, & Iowa.”

John Brown was on his way east for the final time and was trying to raise funds for his raid on the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, that took place in October 1859.

Thomas R. Lindsley, Bainbridge Island, Washington; Herbert B. Lindsley, Leawood, Kansas; and Kitchel Lindsley Woods, Wichita, Kansas, descendants of A. K. Lindsley, donated the document to the Historical Society. In 1878, Aaron K. (the A. K. in the Bill of Sale) and Elizabeth B. Lindsley moved their family to Sterling, Rice County, Kansas. A. K. Lindsley’s son Herbert K. served as president of the Kansas State Historical Society in 1934.

The Society is grateful to the Lindsley family for chosing to preserve and share this piece of history with the citizens of Kansas. The document is one example of thousands preserved by the Historical Society for Kansans. The Historical Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 14, 2006

KANSAS MUSEUM OF HISTORY FEATURES MORE MOVIES, SLEEPOVER Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes Programs February 18, March 4, 11, 18, 24

The public is invited to dine with the stars at the Kansas Museum of History. This Winter Program Series features dinner and a movie, focusing on some popular westerns in which Kansas takes center stage, in conjunction with the Special Exhibit, Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes: Kansas in the Westerns, through September 30, 2006. Five different movie evenings are being offered, along with barbecue from Boss Hoggs.

The first four movie nights are sold out. The fifth is: March 18 – The Kansan (1943) – A cowboy is wounded while attempting to stop the James gang from robbing the local bank. When the cowboy awakes in the hospital, he learns that he has been elected town marshal. The film stars Richard Dix, Jane Wyatt, and Victor Jory.

The evening begins at 5 p.m. with tours and a silent auction featuring movie posters, movie stills, and other western memorabilia; followed by dinner, and the movie. Silent auction items were donated by Books & More, Topeka; Cynthia Haines, film critic and movie historian; Dusty Bookshelf, Manhattan; Hastings, Topeka; Museum Store, Topeka; Raven Bookstore, Lawrence; and Roy Frey's Western Store, Topeka. Tickets are $15 per person including tour of the exhibit, dinner, and movie and can be purchased through the Museum Store, 785-272-868, ext. 413.

On March 24-25, the Museum presents the Rugged Heroes Sleepover, for fourth through sixth grade students. This fun experience will include sleeping in the Museum, a flashlight trail tour, food, and scavenger hunt! A maximum of 50 students can be accommodated. Cost for the program is $30 per student, $10 per adult. Registration begins at 6 p.m. Call 785-272-8681, ext. 438 for more details!

The Kansas History Museum is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 adults, $4 seniors (60 and over), $3 students (K-12, college students with ID), KSHS members and children 5 and under admitted free, $1 discount for in-state residents. The Museum is located at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615; exhibit 356 on I-70; 785-272-8681; [email protected], www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 17, 2006 Poster available at http://www.kshs.org/news/releases/index.htm

HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS ARTIFACT IDENTIFICATION Archeology Lab Tour, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 15

Archeologists invite people to bring artifacts, particularly those related to the Great Plains, for assistance in identification. The Kansas State Historical Society presents the Artifact Identification and Archeology Lab Tour to celebrate Kansas Archaeology Month. No appraisals can be given. The artifact identification will be held 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 15, in the lobby of the Kansas History Museum & Library.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see volunteers working in the Archeology Lab who will demonstrate how artifacts are cleaned, sorted, catalogued, and stored.

The Kansas History Museum & Library are located at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099. For more information, call 785-272-8681, or visit the KSHS website at www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2006

KANSAS STUDENTS HEADED TO NATIONAL HISTORY DAY ______June 11 – 15, University of Maryland

ABILENE—Fifty-three Kansas students were selected to advance to National History Day, June 11 – 15, at the University of Maryland, College Park, near Washington, D.C. More than 250 Kansas History Day students competed today at the Eisenhower Center in Abilene. The theme was Taking a Stand in History: People, Idea, Events.. Students had earned the honor to compete in the state competition by receiving a first- or second-place award in one of eight district contests statewide. The fifty-three students who advance to the national competition placed first or second in one of 14 categories.

Throughout the school year more than 1,200 students statewide worked, researched, and tracked primary sources. Kansas students grades six through twelve compete in junior and senior categories, divided by individuals and groups in performances, documentaries, papers, and exhibits. Students competed as individuals and in groups according to grade level in the categories of performance, papers, exhibits, and documentaries. They are challenged to demonstrate their knowledge about the historical context of their topic and relate the topic to the theme.

Susan Fiihr received the 2006 Teacher of the Year Award. Fiihr is a teacher at Chetopa High School, Chetopa. Nominations said of Fiihr, “I can not count the numerous times that she helped me on my studies and still found the time to help other students with their projects,” ‘Ms. Fiihr is a passionate, dedicated advocate of both her students and History Day,” and “Not only does Susan give up her evenings to help students, she also gives up her weekends, and last year a couple of weeks out of her summer to make sure the students are ready for the competition.” Teachers nominated for the award were LaVerne Englehardt, Eisenhower Middle School, Kansas City; Chris Terrill, Haven Middle School, Haven; and Ray VanSickle, Santa Fe Middle School, Newton.

Special topical awards also were announced: Bleeding Kansas Heritage Area Award Olivia Parrish, “John Brown Takes A Stand,” Wamego Middle School, Wamego Greater Kansas City Area Scholarship Award Anna Hamilton and Sjobor Hammer, “Lighting the Dark Places: Esther Brown and the Webb v. School District No. 90 Case,” Topeka Collegiate, Topeka Society for American Baseball Research Prize Award Winners Andrea Sanders, “Curt Flood: The Fight Against Baseball,” Robinson Middle School, Wichita Justin Query, “Jackie Robinson Is A Man,” Uniontown Junior High School, Uniontown

- MORE - KANSAS HISTORY DAY STUDENTS HEADED TO NATIONALS – Add 2 Kansas History Day is administered by the Kansas State Historical Society with additional support from the Eisenhower Foundation. For further information contact Kansas History Day co-coordinators Daniel Carey, 785-272-8681, ext. 436, [email protected]; or Letha Johnson, 785-272-8681, ext. 306, [email protected]. The Society is headquartered at the Kansas History Center and Museum, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

State winners attached

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 24, 2006

KANSAS HISTORY MUSEUM OFFERS COWBOY CAMP-IN Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes Program June 23-24

Fourth through sixth grade students are invited to participate in a special night of fun, June 23-24, 2006 as part of the programs for the special exhibit, Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes: Kansas in the Westerns. The Cowboy Camp-in begins at 6 p.m. Friday, June 23 at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka.

Participants will take part in cowboy related activities; explore the museum’s newest exhibit, Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes: Kansas in the Westerns, and take a flashlight tour on the nature trail.

The cost per person is $25 for non-members/$20 for members. This includes dinner, breakfast and an evening snack. All youth must be accompanied by an adult guardian. Check-in time is 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 23, and check out is at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 24. Pre-registration is required.

Register early! A limited number of openings are available for the Cowboy Camp-in! To register, or for more information, call 785-272-8681, ext. 438 or e-mail [email protected]. The deadline to register for the Cowboy Camp-in is Friday, June 16, 2006.

The Museum is located at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615; exit 356 on I-70; 785-272-8681; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 24, 2006

COTTONWOOD RANCH HOSTS SHEEP DOG TRIALS

STUDLEY—During the late 1800s Cottonwood Ranch, in northwest Kansas, was the site of a successful sheep ranch. The Pratt family raised Merino sheep. Today, this same breed is being raised as part of the site's educational programs. As an extension of its history, Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site is hosting Sheep Dog Trials, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday May 6 – Sunday May 7, 2006.

The competitive classes are Open, Pro-Novice and Novice, Nursery. Admission is free and the public is welcome. Food and refreshments will be available at the Ranch. The trials are sanctioned by the American Border Collie Association. The event is sponsored by the Friends of Cottonwood Ranch and the Kansas State Historical Society.

For participation details contact Ed Mattke, Ogallah, 785-743-2976. For general information contact the Site Administrator Don Rowlinson, 785-627-5866. Cottonwood Ranch is located along U.S. Highway 24, eighteen miles west of Hill City or fifteen miles east of Hoxie, in Studley, [email protected]. The State Historic Site is one of sixteen administered by the Kansas State Historical Society, headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 27, 2006

ARCHEOLOGISTS TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATION IN COUNCIL GROVE ______Annual training program June 3 – 18 open to public, early registration due May 5

Archeologists hope to learn more about early civilizations in the Morris County area during a two-week Kansas Archeology Training Program Field School, June 3-18, in Council Grove. The Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) and the Kansas Anthropological Association (KAA) present the annual field school. Visitors are invited to participate in all or part of the activities.

Highlights include the popular Collectors Night, which will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 7 at the National Guard Armory, 1018 Old Highway. 56. Archeologists, archivists from the KSHS Library, and curators from the Kansas Museum of History will be on hand to identify all types of objects, including Native American artifacts, furniture, tools, linens and quilts, ceramics and glassware, and other household items. Conservation advice will be shared, but no appraisals can be given.

The public is invited to a guided tour of the site Thursday, June 8. Preregistration is required. Private vehicles are not encouraged; vans will transport people from Council Grove High School for $3 per person.

A number of other special programs are planned during the time period. The field school begins Saturday, June 3 with a free night. A question and answer session will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 4. Flintknapping will be demonstrated at 7 p.m. Monday, June 5, at the Council Grove High School campground. A tour of Kaw Mission State Historic Site, 500 N. Mission Street (www.kawmission.org) will be given at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 6. A free night will be held Friday, June 9 and social gathering is scheduled Saturday, June 10 at the Council Grove High School campground. Musical instruments and games are welcome. Bob Blasing, archeologist, Bureau of Reclamation, Oklahoma City, will present a program at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 11 at Kaw Mission. A tour of Allegawaho Heritage Memorial will be given at 7 p.m. Monday, June 12 starting at the Council Grove High School to carpool to ruins. A program on the National Park Service remote sensing of Santa Fe Faill will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 14 at Kaw Mission. Archeologists will provide a review for the public of what was found at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 15, National Guard Armory.

Registration forms submitted by May 5 qualify for a participation fee of $20 for KAA and KSHS members and $80 for nonmembers. After May 6 the participation fee increases to $30 for members and $90 for nonmembers. Forms are available on the KSHS website at www.kshs.org/resource/katpcurrent.htm.

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KANSAS ARCHEOLOGICAL TRAINING PROGRAM – Add 2 for a single day or the entire time. Participants must be at least 10 years of age, and those younger than 14 must plan to work with a parent or other sponsoring adult at all times. A legally responsible adult must accompany participants between 14 and 18 years of age.

The KATP sponsoring organizations do not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to, access to, or operation of their programs. Please make prior arrangements to accommodate individuals with disabilities or special needs by calling 785-272-8681, ext. 266.

The Kansas State Historical Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2006

KANSAS HISTORY MUSEUM PRESENTS MOTHER’S DAY ACTIVITIES Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes Program May 14

The Kansas History Museum presents special activities this Mother's Day, 2 – 5 p.m. Sunday, May 14 especially for mothers and their families. “Painted Ponies & Little Heroes” is based on the cowboy theme of the current special exhibit, Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes: Kansas in the Westerns.

Among the many family activities will be performances by Jesse James at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., live ponies, trick roping and roping demonstrations, and hands-on activities for children including painting stick ponies and fishing for treasures. Popcorn and sarsaparilla will be available for purchase.

The day also will feature free museum admission! See the special exhibit Blazing Guns and Rugged Heroes: Kansas in the Westerns! Movie buffs, western fans, and Baby Boomers will be thrilled by this special exhibit, guaranteed to conjure up fond memories of Saturday afternoons eating popcorn and watching gunfights in dark theaters. Besides nearly 200 posters and lobby cards, the exhibit features rare costumes and movie props used by these Western stars John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Walter Brennan, Tex Ritter, "Wild Bill" Elliott, and Amanda Blake ("Miss Kitty" on Gunsmoke).

The Kansas History Museum & Library are located at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615; exit 356 on I-70; 785-272-8681; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 10, 2006

SUMMER DOME TOURS AVAILABLE AT THE KANSAS STATE CAPITOL Tuesday – Saturday Tours, This Summer in Topeka

More than 10,000 people have taken a dome tour at the Kansas State Capitol since January! Beginning May 30, these highly popular tours will be available Tuesday – Saturday. Summer dome tours will be offered 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. through September 2.

This spectacular tour literally takes the breath away. There are 296 steps to the top of the dome with no elevator. The tour highlights the elaborate architecture of the inner and outer domes. The vantage from the summit—outside on the balcony—offers a spectacular view of the city of Topeka. The successful tourist may want to purchase one of the t-shirts proclaiming “I Climbed 296 Steps Today. . .What Did You Do?” or “Capitol Dome Tour” or a Capitol dome tour certificate.

Dome tour times are: 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday. Tours last approximately 40 minutes. All tours are free during scheduled times. A maximum of 30 persons can be accommodated on a tour. Reservations are accepted. Walk-up visitors will be accommodated, as space is available.

The historic tours of the Capitol continue at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, June through the second week in January. Provided by the Kansas State Historical Society. For more information about the Kansas State Capitol Dome Tours, call 785-296-3966, or email [email protected].

The Kansas State Capitol is located at 10th and Jackson, Topeka, Kansas 66612; in the center of downtown Topeka, Exit 362B on I-70. More information online at www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 15, 2006

NEW SITE ADMINISTRATOR JOINS WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE HOUSE

Katherine Eusey has been hired as the new site administrator at the William Allen White House State Historic Site. A life-long resident of Emporia, Eusey begins work at the site on May 18. On June 1, new hours begin at the site, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday - Saturday. Group tours also can be scheduled during those times.

Eusey’s interest in William Allen White began at an early age when she lived in a house across the street from the site. A 2002 graduate of Emporia High School, Eusey will receive a bachelor’s degree in Art History from Truman State University in August 2006. While at Truman, Eusey served on the board of the Women's Resource Center and as a Student Advisor for the Residential Living Department. During her college career, she had the opportunity to work in a variety of environments, including teaching English as a foreign language in China and working at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. She is a member of the College Art Association and Phi Beta Kappa.

The William Allen White House features a visitor center with exhibits on White’s influence in the early twentieth century. Visitors also can tour the first and second floors of Red Rocks and see the house much as it appeared during White’s lifetime.

White rented the house from 1899 until he purchased it in 1901. The massive stone, brick and half- timbered structure in the Tudor style was White’s home for 45 years. The family owned the home, now a National Historic Landmark, until 2001 when they donated the house to the State of Kansas.

Effective June 1, the William Allen White House State Historic Site is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday - Saturday at 927 Exchange, 620-342-2800, [email protected]. The site is administered by the Kansas State Historical Society, 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2006

2006 HERITAGE TRUST FUND GRANTS AWARDED

HTF Grants Approved for 2006 – 17 Projects – $1,077,856

WICHITA-- The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review met May 13, 2006 to make its recommendations for the 2006 round of Heritage Trust Fund (HTF) grants. The Board recommended $1,077,856 for seventeen projects distributed across the state. For 2006 the program received sixty-two eligible applications requesting a total of $4,359,628 in funds.

As is usually the case, a large number of applications focused on roofing, repair of historic wood windows, building stabilization, and mortar repair. The HTF program for 2006 saw an unusually large number of excellent applications making the job of the review committee most difficult. An excellent starting point for many projects consists of or includes a condition assessment report. These reports analyze the condition of the building and include a structural report, cost estimates, and construction documents for future rehabilitation or preservation.

One project, the Robert Miller House in Lawrence, Douglas County, will utilize a previous HTF funded condition assessment report. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Dailey, will receive a grant of $90,000 to repair the deteriorated northwest corner and west wall. The owners will oversee work that will include anchoring the wall to the floor framing, removing existing wall ties, reconstructing parts of the chimney and providing a new chimney foundation. Salvaged brick will be used as much as possible.

Another project combining a condition assessment and construction work is the Nemaha County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence in Seneca. A grant of $30,800 to the Nemaha County Historical Society, Inc. will be provided for a structural engineer to determine the cause of the failing porch support system. Following the recommendations of the report, the damaged portions of the porch and deck will be repaired or replaced. The consultant will also develop a long-range maintenance plan.

Several projects were funded that will bring previous projects to fruition. The Friends of the Fair Pavilion will receive $45,600 to complete wood window installation in the octagonal section of the Pottawatomie County Fair Pavilion in Onaga. The Marion Township Hall in Baileyville, Nemaha County, will use a grant of $25,200 to complete foundation repairs on the north and west foundation. The work will be identical to work previously completed on the south and east sides. The grant recipient is the Glacial Hills Resource Conservation and Development Region, Inc. A grant of $40,000 will enable the Republic County Courthouse in Belleville to stabilize the marble “wing” units along with cleaning and restoring the building’s character-defining Art Deco exterior light fixture.

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As a result of an Historic Preservation Fund Grant in 2005, a number of historic schools and theaters were placed on the National Register of Historic Places making them eligible for HTF grants. The Dream Theater in Russell, Russell County, will utilize a grant of $90,000 for repair of stones, delaminated stucco, brickwork and securing downspouts. The Russell Arts Council is the recipient of this grant. A grant of $70,560 to the Syracuse-Hamilton Chamber of Commerce will provide for replacement of exterior doors, removal of replacement windows and installation of furnaces and heat pumps for the Northrup Theatre in Syracuse, Hamilton County.

USD 275 Triplains will receive a grant of $90,000 for the Winona Consolidated School in Logan County. The project includes removing the existing clay tile roof, replacing underlayment as needed, matching and replacing missing broken tiles, ridge caps, and hip shingles. Replacing deteriorated and missing gutters and downspouts is included. The limestone stadium and retaining wall will be repaired at the Lane County Community High School in Dighton with a grant of $90,000. The buttress walls and stairways will be disassembled to grade line or sound footing and will be re-laid with the appropriate mortar. Stone surfaces will also be repaired and cleaned. The recipient for this grant is Dighton Unified School District #482.

The Campbell Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atchison will receive $28,062 for cleaning and repairing the stone foundation, exterior stucco, wood windows, cements steps and underground drainage system. Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in Winfield, Cowley County, will utilize a grant of $76,234 the restore forty-two windows. The scope of work will include removal of deteriorated storm coverings, replacing and cleaning stained glass, installation of protective venting louvers and repairs to millwork. A grant of $90,000 will be awarded to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Damar, Rooks County. The proposed scope of work includes repairs to scagliola (a marble alternative) for thirty interior columns and decorative artwork plaster on columns and along walls and ceiling.

An award of $55,000 to Mr. and Mrs. Walden, the owners of the Kerr House, 2310 Washington Boulevard, Kansas City, Wyandotte County, will help fund a replacement of original slate tiles on roof and dormers with a new slate substitute approved by the Secretary of Interior’s Standards. The project includes installing new copper flashing, rehabilitating tin hip and ridge caps and finials and repointing of chimneys. The Edward Carroll House in Leavenworth will receive a grant of $28,800. Work proposed by the Leavenworth County Historical Society consists of installing felt underlayment and new 50-year shingles along with installation of matching hip and ridge roofing, replacement of flat roofing, guttering and repairing fascia and soffits.

The owners of the Campbell Hotel and American Hotel in Hutchinson, Reno County, Mr. and Mrs. Flores, will receive a grant of $90,000 to repair a failed parapet that separated from the building in February of 2006. The work will begin with the most damaged and unsafe areas. Work to 126 South Main will include stabilizing the brick façade parapet and cornice by installing a structural steel frame, removing loose brick, replacing spalled limestone sills and repointing. Work to 128 South Main will include replacing the wood and sheet metal cornice to match original. Work to 120-122 South Main calls for removing the brick parapet, stabilizing the parapet and cornice with a structural steel frame and rebuilding the parapet to match the original.

The Somer Hardware Building in Wilson, Ellsworth County, will receive a grant of $47,600. The Wilson Community Foundation’s proposal includes removing the existing layers of roofing and rotted

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wood structural frames. It also includes construction of appropriate wood framing, new structural steel beams and a column system for support along with installing a new rear-sloping roof system with new roof flashings.

With a grant of $90,000 to the Jim Flanders Trust No. 2, the Kuhrt Ranch Historic District barn will receive needed repairs. The proposal includes rebuilding of cracked and shifting concrete footers/foundation extending to below frost depth and recovering with stucco to match existing. Additional work will include repairs to doors, wood trim, restoration of existing wood windows and cupola, replacement and repair of metal roof shingles and cracked historic siding.

A National Register of Historic Places or Register of Historic Kansas Places designation does not require a property to be open to the public. However, many of these historic buildings are available to the public or access is available by appointment.

The annual application deadline for the Heritage Trust Fund is March 1. For more information contact the Kansas Historic Preservation Office, Kansas State Historical Society, Heritage Trust Fund Grants Manager, 6425 S.W. Sixth Avenue, Topeka, Kansas 66615 or call 785-272-8681, ext. 216 or www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2006

HISTORIC SITES BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES NOMINATIONS Includes Nineteen National and One Kansas Register Nominations

The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review held its regular quarterly meeting at the Wichita City Hall on May 13, 2006. The board nominated nineteen properties to the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, it approved one property for listing on the Register of Historic Kansas Places. Below are summaries of the nominated properties.

NATIONAL REGISTER:

Allen’s Market, 2938 E. Douglas, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Constructed in 1930, Allen’s Market is a one-story tan brick building, measuring 100 by 75 feet, with double brick walls and a partial basement located under the southern half of the building. The building is covered by a flat roof behind a parapet. Originally the interior was an open space without load- bearing walls. Today at the rear of the interior there is a partial second floor held aloft with steel I- beams. The building is currently used for an automobile dealership. Allen’s Market features Art Deco styled, cast stone ornamentation on the front and east elevations. Known as “Carthalite”, this distinctive artificial cast stone was produced by a local Wichita company. The building was nominated for its architectural significance and for its association with noted Kansas architect Glen H. Thomas.

Comley House, 1137 N. Broadway, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. The Comley House is a two-and-a-half story, wood-frame, Queen Anne style residence with a full basement constructed in 1899 for Henry Comley, a Wichita lumberman. The house was nominated as an excellent example of a Queen Anne style residence and for its association with Henry Comley. Comley started in the lumber business during the mid-1880s, the early boom years for Wichita. In 1886, Comley established the W.M. Pond & Company lumber dealership at 223-225 W. Douglas. In 1913, Henry Comley and his son, Harry, bought out W. M. Pond’s interest and renamed the business the Comley Lumber Company. At the time of Henry Comley’s death in 1933 he owned approximately twenty lumberyards in three states. In addition to his business endeavors, Comley served on the board of the YMCA and the Commercial Club (the forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce) and was one of the founding members of the Wichita Country Club.

Belmont Arches, Belmont Ave., Intersections at Central & Douglas, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Located in the city right of way a the intersections of Belmont and Central and Belmont and Douglas, the Belmont Arches are freestanding Classical Revival piers connected with wrought iron arches. They were completed in 1925 at a cost of $11,700. Each set of arches is comprised of four freestanding piers. Each pier has a 2’1” Carthage limestone base with a Bedford limestone shaft and Bedford limestone

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gadrooned urn with a pine cone finial. The arches were nominated for their historical association with electrification of Wichita as the first residential “White Way” in the city. The arches were also nominated for their architectural significance as a great example of a Classical Revival style triumphal entryway and for their association with the architect Ellis Charles and prominent Wichita builder George Siedhoff.

Fresh Air Baby Camp, 1229 W. 11th St., Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Constructed in 1921, the Fresh Air Baby Camp is a one-story, concrete block structure faced with brick and rendered in white stucco. Reflecting the Craftsman and Prairie style influences, the building is covered by low-pitched side hipped roof with exposed rafter tails and green French interlocking tiles that are original to the building. There is a large limestone chimney on the west elevation. A full-façade porch off the rear elevation was added sometime after 1959. As a purpose-built facility designed for ventilation, all available wall surfaces are fenestrated with unusual twelve-pane, triple-hung windows. The Fresh Air Baby Camp was nominated for its historical association with the social movement in Wichita to provide better healthcare for its citizens. The Fresh Air Baby Camp operated from 1921 to 1926 until the operation moved into the new Wesley Hospital on North Hillside Avenue. The camp had an open crib room, an isolation room, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry. The facility accommodated twenty babies. After 1926, the building was leased to the Girl Scouts of America. In 2001, the Girl Scouts relinquished the building, and it reverted to the City of Wichita. The Fresh Air Baby Camp was also nominated for its architectural significance as it represents the work of prominent Wichita architect Lorenz Schmidt and builder George Siedhoff.

Fairmont Congregational Church, 1657 N. Fairmount, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Built in 1910, the Fairmont Congregational Church is a two-story, Akron-plan, brick veneer church with a full basement designed in a vernacular interpretation of the Richardsonian Romanesque style by Wichita architect William R. Stringfield. The church has a steeply pitched cross-gable roof with two asymmetrical, unequal-height towers with flared eaves on the opposite ends of the east elevation. The church was nominated for its role in the early history of radio for its association with Reverend Clayton B. Wells, who was the first to broadcast religious sermons in the Wichita area. Beginning in 1920, Wells’ sermons were broadcast to approximately 1000 wireless operators within a 500 mile radius of Wichita on Charles A. Stanley’s amateur station 9BW. The church was also nominated for its architectural significance as a good vernacular interpretation of the Richardsonian Romanesque style as applied to religious structures.

Holyoke Cottage, 1704 N. Holyoke, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Holyoke Cottage is a wood-frame, two-and-one-half story, Queen Anne-style residence constructed in 1888 for Reverend J. H. Parker, a Congregational Church minister who helped found Fairmount Ladies College (now Wichita State University), nicknamed “the Holyoke of the West.” The house features a large wrap-around porch, a gable-on-hip roof, and a square tower with a pyramidal roof. The property was nominated both for its association with Reverend Parker and as an excellent example of the “Free Classic” subtype of the Queen Anne style of architecture.

Bond-Sullivan House, 936 Back Bay Blvd., Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Constructed in 1929, the Bond-Sullivan House is a single-story, Spanish Colonial Revival style bungalow with Craftsman style elements. The house is clad in white stucco and covered by a red Spanish clay tile roof. The property was nominated for its association with two individuals who were

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prominent in the commercial development of the city of Wichita. Sherman G. Bond (1867-1958), an architect who designed many business structures and Odom F. Sullivan (1897-1981), a business owner who established a large chain of movie theaters in Wichita. Sullivan also served as mayor from 1942 to 1943. The house was also nominated for its architectural significance as an excellent example of a Spanish Colonial Revival style bungalow.

Roberts House, 235 N. Roosevelt, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. The Roberts House is a two-and-one-half story, wood-frame, Craftsman style building clad in stucco with wood trim and wood shingle details on the shed dormer. Constructed c. 1909-1910, the house design has been attributed to Chicago architect Lawrence Buck. Buck designed the Charles Reeves House in Oak Park, and its plan was published in Ladies’ Home Journal in May 1909. The Roberts House is a modified version of that plan and was nominated as a good example of the Craftsman style of architecture.

Market Street Cottage, 1144 N. Market, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Constructed in 1888, the Market Street Cottage is a one-and-a-half story, irregular-plan, wood-frame, Queen Anne style residence. The house has a limestone foundation with English bead mortar joints and is covered by a composition shingled, gable-on-hip roof with projecting gables. There are two corbelled brick chimneys. The property was nominated for its architectural significance as a good example of a Queen Anne style residence. Representative of the typical pattern book housing from that era, the Market Street Cottage features a pedimented porch with a denticulated cornice supported by turned posts and a jigsawn balustrade. Other Queen Anne details are seen in the wood shingled gable ends and the decorative fascia boards.

Mohr Barn, 14920 W. 21st St., Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Erected in 1913, the Mohr Barn is a two-and-one-half story, balloon-frame barn clad with vertical board-and-batten siding and covered by asphalt-shingled gambrel roof with a solitary metal ventilator. The barn measures approximately 40 feet wide by 60 feet long with the main entrance on the north end of the building. The interior of the barn is a variation of the Midwest Three Portal barn floor plan as described by Allen G. Noble and Richard K. Cleek. The barn contains a central aisle that runs down the length of the barn. A side aisle also runs the length of the east side, and the stalls are located between the two aisles. The most unusual feature of the barn is a spiral staircase accessed at the center aisle at the north end. The barn was nominated for its association with the farming practices of the German immigrants who settled in Sedgwick County and as a good example of a board-and-batten, balloon- frame, gambrel-roof barn.

Adeline Apartment Building, 1403 N. Emporia, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. Constructed in 1923, the Adeline Apartment Building is a “L-plan”, three-story, red brick apartment building covered by a flat roof with a pedimented, brick parapet. The building’s cast stone detailing, cast stone decorative entry door surrounds and entrance lights, and horizontal brick detailing are reflective of the Art Deco style. The Adeline Apartment Building was nominated for its architectural significance as a very good example of the “garden style” apartments being constructed in Wichita during the early 1900s. Typical features of garden style apartments are size of the building – no more than three stories tall and 18 to 26 apartment units – and a landscape component.

Stoner Apartment Building, 938-940 N. Market, Wichita, Sedgwick Co.

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Constructed in 1909, the Stoner Apartment Building is a two-story brick building with a flat roof behind a parapet measuring 40 feet wide by 100 feet long with a full front porch that is ten feet deep. It was originally designed as five two-story units but was divided into twelve apartments sometime in the 1950s. The Stoner Apartment Building was nominated for its architectural significance as a very good example of the early Wichita multi-family apartment buildings. Although technically not a garden apartment, the Stoner Apartment Building features galleried porches and landscaping elements that are typical of the style. The apartment units in the building range between 1600 and 1800 square feet, almost double the square footage of a typical garden apartment. This is the only extant apartment building of its type in Wichita.

Johnson Drugstore Building, 2329 E. Central, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. The Johnson Drug Store Building is a one-story, buff brick structure covered by a flat roof with a parapet. Constructed in 1930, the building is an excellent representation of the commercial building type known as “Modern Broad-Front.” The building exhibits the Art Deco style through extensive use of Carthalite and glazed terra cotta detailing. The building was nominated for its architectural significance representing the collaborative work of the owner Gilbert Johnson, the builder Charles H. Walden, and Benjamin “Frank” Krehbiel, the manager of the Cement Stone & Supply Company.

Chapman-Noble House, 1230 N. Waco, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. The Chapman-Noble House, built from 1887 to 1890, is a two-and-a-half story, irregular-plan, wood- frame house covered by a truncated hipped roof. The most prominent feature of the Queen Anne style house is the large hexagonal tower and wrap-around porch at the northwest corner. The Chapman- Noble House was nominated for its architectural significance illustrating the high-style Queen Anne architecture constructed during Wichita’s “Boom and Bust” era of the 1880s.

Roosevelt-Lincoln Junior High School, 210 W. Mulberry St., Salina, Saline Co. The Roosevelt-Lincoln Junior High School property, located at 210 West Mulberry in Salina, Kansas is comprised of two historic school buildings separated by a restored green space. Lincoln School was constructed between 1915 and 1917 and Roosevelt School was constructed between 1920 and 1925. The property was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for its history as a junior high school and for its architectural significance as good examples of the Commercial Prairie and Collegiate Gothic styles respectively. The schools were nominated as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas multiple property nomination. Lincoln School’s style is noted as Commercial Prairie due to its generally low horizontal appearance with strong vertical elements and Sullivanesque ornamentation. Roosevelt School’s form is typical of the Progressive Era and consists of a long, rectangular box clad in brick with exterior detail and ornamentation reflective of the Collegiate Gothic style. A 2005 rehabilitation project has restored many features of the property and the two school buildings while converting the former classrooms into senior housing.

W.E. Banks-Waudby Building, 719 N. Main St., Russell, Russell Co. Located at 719 North Main Street in Russell, Kansas, the W. E. Banks-Waudby Building is a two-story commercial building with a full, dirt floor basement constructed in 1885 to 1886 and rebuilt following a fire in 1889. The limestone building features a highly ornate, virtually unaltered, Victorian-era brick façade and measures 25 feet X 100 feet. Both walls are of party wall construction, and the building shares its south wall with its companion building, First National Bank-Waudby Building at 711 North Main Street. The two Waudby Buildings share identical second-story treatment on the front elevation;

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however, each building has a unique storefront and rear elevation. Currently Waudby’s Bar and Grill, the building served as a pool hall from 1926 when Alfred Waudby purchased the building until 1987. The second story apartment, which is currently vacant, features the original tin ceilings, doors, windows and trim. The building was nominated for its architectural significance as a virtually unaltered example of Victorian era commercial building.

First National Bank-Waudby Building, 713 N. Main St., Russell, Russell Co. Located at 713 North Main Street in Russell, Kansas, the First National Bank-Waudby Building is a two-story commercial building with a full, dirt floor basement constructed in 1885 to 1886 and rebuilt following a fire in 1889. The limestone building features a highly ornate, virtually unaltered, Victorian- era brick façade and measures 25 feet X 70 feet. Both walls are of party wall construction, and the building shares its north wall with its companion building, W. E. Banks-Waudby Building, at 719 North Main Street. The building served a variety of functions over the years, including the Dawson Drug Store from 1900 to 1933, and was purchased by Alfred Waudby in 1926. Currently, the first floor houses the Waudby & Company Clothing Store. Two modern-finished apartments are located in the second story. The building was nominated for its architectural significance as a virtually unaltered example of Victorian era commercial building.

Tilley House, 108 W. 2nd St., Ransom, Ness Co. Constructed in 1898, the Tilley house is a single-story, four-room, vernacular limestone house that was nominated for its association with Henry Tilley, a local stone mason and artisan. Henry Tilley was known for his masonry skills and contributed to many buildings constructed in Ness County during that time period. The nominated property was Tilley’s personal residence and one of his last building projects.

Natoma Presbyterian Church, 408 N. 3rd St., Natoma, Osborne Co. Constructed c. 1898-1899, the Natoma Presbyterian Church is a one-story, wood-frame, gable-roof building that was nominated as an excellent example of the “Carpenter Gothic” subtype of the Gothic Revival style. The essentially rectangular plan church is clad with vertical board-and-batten siding and features a prominent square entrance/bell tower that is capped by a wood shingled, octagonal steeple. The front elevation also features a large, lancet stained-glass window in the center of the façade, and a projecting three-sided bay, also covered with board-and-batten, that forms the shaft for the former chimney. A similar chimney shaft is found at the rear elevation. Other Carpenter Gothic Revival details are seen in the curved eave brackets and the applied tracery.

20th Century Club, 536 N. Broadway, Wichita, Sedgwick Co. The 20th Century Club is an 1887 two-and-one-half story, wood-frame, Queen Anne style residence with a 1925 two-story brick addition connected to a 1931 three-story brick theater. The 20th Century Club was nominated for its historical association with a women’s social organization that was significant for its contribution to the promotion of the arts. Founded in January 1899 by Louise Caldwell Murdock, the Twentieth Century Club started with 110 members. The club members realized their dream of owning their own clubhouse in 1923 when the club acquired the nominated property.

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The National Register of Historic Places and the Register of Historic Kansas Places are official lists of cultural resources worthy of preservation and part of a national program to protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties currently listed include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering and culture.

The benefits of listed properties include recognition of significance to the nation, state, or local community; consideration in the planning for federal or federally assisted projects; eligibility for federal and state tax benefits; and qualification for the Heritage Trust Fund grant program.

In order to be considered, properties must generally meet three criteria: be fifty years or older, retain most of the original interior and exterior appearance, and have historical and/or architectural significance at the local, state or national level. The governor appoints the eleven-member Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review. For more information contact the Historic Preservation Office at the Kansas State Historical Society, 785-272-8681, ext. 240. The Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 18, 2006

HISTORICAL SOCIETY TAKES SPRING MEETING TO MANHATTAN Marci Penner to deliver keynote at Annual Spring Meeting, June 16-17

The 29th Annual KSHS, Inc. Spring Meeting travels to Manhattan June 16 – 17, touring Riley and Pottawatomie counties. The public is invited to join the spring meeting programs, tours, and meals.

Marci Penner, author of the popular Kansas Guidebook for explorers, will deliver the keynote address on Friday, June 16 at the meeting headquarters, the Holiday Inn Select in Manhattan. Events on Friday also include a social hour, dinner, booksigning, and on-your-own shopping and tours in Manhattan.

An all-day bus tour of Manhattan and the surrounding areas begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 17. The tour encompasses the Konza Prairie; the Oz Museum and Columbian Theatre in Wamego; and the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Goodnow House State Historic Site, and Riley County Historical Museum in Manhattan.

The Kansas Guidebook for explorers will be available for purchase during the booksigning for $24.95. KSHS, Inc. members receive a 20 percent discount. The book also is available through the Museum Store in Topeka, 785-272-8681, ext. 413, or at www.kshs.org/store/

The cost of the KSHS, Inc. Spring Meeting is $40 for the Friday events, and $40 for the Saturday events. Blocks of rooms have been reserved at several Manhattan area hotels. Hotel reservation deadline is June 1; registration deadline is June 9. A registration form and information can be found online at www.kshs.org/joinkshs/ Information is also available by calling 785-272-8681, ext. 232, [email protected], or by writing Kansas State Historical Society, Inc., 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 6, 2006

KANSAS STUDENTS SELECTED TO PRESENT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY PROJECTS IN WASHINGTON

The work of several Kansas students will be highlighted Wednesday, June 14 at museums in the Washington, D.C. area as part of National History Day, June 11 – 15. Students from Goddard, Haven, and Topeka were selected to participate in these special showings. This year’s theme is Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas, Events.

Visitors to the White House Visitor Center will see “...So Others May Walk,” a senior individual exhibit by Lacey Howard, Haven High School, teacher Vicki Galloway. Howard is one of twelve students selected to display projects at the White House. Her exhibit can be seen between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The White House Visitor Center is located in the north end of the Department of Commerce Building between 14th & 15th Streets on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. The center is open 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. For more information, call 202-208-1631.

Smithsonian American History Museum visitors can see an exhibit and a documentary by Kansas students between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on the first floor of the museum. Nathan Jamison, Robert Goddard Middle School, Goddard, teacher Larry Mark, will present “Chief Standing Bear Takes A Stand for Native American Human and Civil Rights,” a junior individual exhibit. Anna Hamilton and Sjobor Hammer, Topeka Collegiate, teacher John MacDonald, will present “Lighting the Dark Places: Esther Brown and the Webb v. School District No. 90 Case,” a junior group documentary. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is located on 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except Christmas. For more information visit the Museum web site at http://americanhistory.si.edu.

These are among the fifty-three students who qualified to represent Kansas at National History Day. Kansas History Day is administered by the Kansas State Historical Society, www.kshs.org More than 2,000 students will participate in the National History Day (NHD) national contest at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The NHD program annually engages more than half a million participants in grades six through twelve, from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa. More than a student competition, NHD is a campaign to change the teaching and learning of history in our nation’s classrooms. The program is having a profound impact on education and received the Charles Frankel Prize for Public Programming from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through publications and educational programs, NHD trains teachers to move students beyond textbooks and expand their classrooms to include libraries, museums and archives. More information is available at www.nationalhistoryday.org .

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 14, 2006

KANSAS STUDENTS ADVANCE TO NATIONAL HISTORY DAY FINALS ______June 11 – 15, University of Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, MD—Eleven Kansas students advanced to the final round of competition at National History Day, June 11 – 15, at the University of Maryland, College Park, near Washington, D.C. This year’s theme was Taking a Stand in History: People, Idea, Events. Results of preliminary rounds were announced in junior and senior individual and group performances and junior and senior individual and group documentaries. Final results in these and remaining categories will be announced 7:30 – 11:00 a.m. (Topeka time), Thursday, June 15, via a live web cast at www.historychannel.com/classroom/nhd/

Those students who are advancing to the final round of competition include:

Junior Group Documentaries: Liza Farr, Zoey Limesand, Tess Frydman, and Alyson Frydman, “Let Everyone Be Ready to Die Like a Man: Jews Taking a Stand in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising,” Central Junior High School, Lawrence, teacher Jennifer Ybarra.

Junior Group Documentaries: Anna Hamilton and Sjobor Hammer, “Lighting the Dark Places: Esther Brown and the Webb v School District 90 Case,” Topeka Collegiate, teacher John MacDonald.

Senior Individual Performances: Timmia Hearn-Feldman, “‘I Have the Heart and Stomach of a King’ Queen Elizabeth I: Taking a Stand in a Man's World,” Lawrence High School, Lawrence, teacher Michael Ortmann.

Senior Group Performances: Maria Aikins, Melissa Query, Kaity Smith, and Gage McKinnis, “The People's Poet,” Uniontown High School, Uniontown, teacher Norm Conard.

Throughout the school year more than 1,200 students statewide and more than 500,000 nationwide worked, researched, and tracked primary sources on History Day projects. Kansas students grades six through twelve compete in junior and senior categories, divided by individuals and groups in performances, documentaries, papers, and exhibits. Students competed as individuals and in groups according to grade level in the categories of performance, papers, exhibits, and documentaries. They are challenged to demonstrate their knowledge about the historical context of their topic and relate the topic to the theme.

Kansas History Day is administered by the Kansas State Historical Society with additional support from the Eisenhower Foundation. For further information contact Kansas History Day co-coordinators Dan Carey, 785- 272-8681, ext. 436, [email protected]; and Letha Johnson, 785-272-8681, ext. 306, [email protected]. The Society is headquartered at the Kansas History Center and Museum, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS # # # KANSAS HISTORY DAY -- ADD 2

66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 15, 2006

KANSAS STUDENTS RECEIVE MEDALS AT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY ______June 11 – 15, University of Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, MD—Four Kansas students received gold medals at National History Day today at the University of Maryland, College Park, near Washington, D.C. Additionally, three students received special honors. This year’s theme was Taking a Stand in History: People, Idea, Events. The national competition was held June 11 – 15. Final results were announced today at 7:30 – 11:00 a.m. (Topeka time), via a live web cast.

Students receiving medals and special awards are:

First Place in Junior Historical Papers: Alex Rankin, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Modern Martyr Taking a Stand Against the State Gone Mad,” Landon Middle School, teacher Jean Attebury.

First Place in Junior Group Documentaries: Anna Hamilton and Sjobor Hammer, “Lighting the Dark Places: Esther Brown and the Webb v School District 90 Case,” Topeka Collegiate, teacher John MacDonald.

First Place in Senior Individual Performances: Timmia Hearn-Feldman, “‘I Have the Heart and Stomach of a King’ Queen Elizabeth I: Taking a Stand in a Man's World,” Lawrence High School, Lawrence, teacher Michael Ortmann.

2006 Jamestown Award Winner: Samuel Huneke, Senior Individual Documentary, “The Vote that Saved the Country: Edmund Ross's Stand for Democracy,” Lawrence High School, Lawrence, teacher Michael Ortmann.

Outstanding State Junior Entry Award: Daniel Mandel and Parker Featherston, Junior Group Exhibits, “Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th: Taking a Stand for Racial Equality,” teacher Topeka Collegiate, John MacDonald.

Outstanding State Senior Entry Award: Maria Aikins, Melissa Query, Kaity Smith, and Gage McKinnis, Senior Group Performances, “The People's Poet,” Uniontown High School, Uniontown, teacher Norm Conard.

Throughout the school year more than 1,200 students statewide worked, researched, and tracked primary sources Kansas students grades six through twelve compete in junior and senior categories, divided by individuals and groups in performances, documentaries, papers, and exhibits. Students competed as individuals and in groups according to grade level in the categories of performance, papers, exhibits, and documentaries. They are challenged to demonstrate their knowledge about the historical context of their topic and relate the topic to the theme. # # # NATIONAL HISTORY DAY IN KANSAS –Add 2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 21, 2006

HISTORIC SITES HOURS TO CHANGE Changes to take effect July 1, 2006

Beginning July 1, 2006, hours at most of the state historic sites administered by the Kansas State Historical Society will change. The state historic sites will expand hours from March through November to accommodate travelers. From December through February, the sites will be open for special events and by appointment only. These changes will allow staff to work more closely with schools and community organizations during the winter months and allow for planning and program development.

The following sites will be open March through November from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday hours at: Constitution Hall State Historic Site in Lecompton, Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site in Studley, Hollenberg Pony Express Station State Historic Site near Hanover, Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site near Pleasanton, Native American Heritage Museum State Historic Site in Highland, and Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site near Republic. From December through February, these sites will be open for special events and by appointment only.

Hours will vary at a few of the sixteen state historic sites. Fort Hays State Historic Site in Hays will be open year round 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. More new exhibits will be opening at Shawnee Indian Mission State Historic Site in Fairway on September 16. Because of the construction, the site will be open during the summer 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday. Beginning September 16, Shawnee Indian Mission will be open through November from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. From December through February, Shawnee Indian Mission will be open for special events and by appointment only.

First Territorial Capital State Historic Site in Fort Riley will be open April through October from 1 – 5 p.m. Friday – Sunday. Grinter Place State Historic Site in Kansas City will be open March through November from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday. Kaw Mission State Historic Site in Council Grove will be open March through November from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. William Allen White House State Historic Site in Emporia will be open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday. From December through February, Grinter Place, Kaw Mission, and the William Allen White House will be open for special events and by appointment only.

Hours at several sites will not change. Goodnow House State Historic Site in Manhattan is open year round 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Friday, 2 – 5 p.m. Saturday – Sunday. John Brown Museum State

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Historic Site in Osawatomie is open year round 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. Marais des Cygnes Massacre State Historic Site near Pleasanton and Pawnee Rock State Historic Site in Pawnee Rock are open year round dawn to dusk.

Consult the Society’s website at www.kshs.org for specific hours and admission fee information or call 785-272-8681. The Kansas State Historical Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 21, 2006

KANSAS HISTORY DAY TO BE HELD AT WASHBURN UNIVERSITY IN TOPEKA ______Annual program to be held April 28, 2007

After twenty-four years in Abilene, the Kansas History Day competition will be moving to a new location. In 2007 Kansas History Day will be held April 28 at Washburn University in Topeka. The theme for 2007 is Triumph and Tragedy in History. The competition in April 2007 will involve Kansas students that have placed first or second in their categories at one of nine districts across the state. Many of the presentations are open to the public.

Administered by the Kansas State Historical Society, Kansas History Day actually is a yearlong program. Each year nearly 1,200 students statewide in grades six through twelve research and present projects in junior and senior categories of performances, documentaries, papers, or exhibits. Students compete as individuals and as school teams in district contests in February and March. Approximately 300 of those students advance from the district to the state competition in April. Around 50 of those students advance to National History Day in June at the University of Maryland, College Park, near Washington, D.C.

Kansas ranks among the top states for medalists at National History Day. Since the program began in Kansas in 1982, there have been 20 gold medals, 17 silver medals, and 18 bronze medals, for a total of 55. Kansans have received medals each year except 1992 and 1993. Four students have been awarded the Case Western Reserve University scholarship and one student was awarded a University of Maryland Scholarship.

Faculty involved from Washburn University include Rachel Goossen of the History Department, Gordon McQuere of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Ron Wasserstein of Academic Affairs for Kansas History Day. For further information contact Kansas History Day co-coordinators Daniel Carey, 785-272-8681, ext. 436, [email protected] or Letha Johnson, 785-272-8681, ext. 306, [email protected]. The Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 2, 2006

HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO RECEIVE TWO NATIONAL AWARDS From American Association for State and Local History

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) will be presenting two Awards of Merit to the Kansas State Historical Society at its annual meeting September 13 – 17 in Phoenix. The AASLH Award of Merit will go to the Kansas Museum of History’s Special Exhibit, Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes: Kansas in the Westerns, and the publication, Territorial Kansas Reader.

Blazing Guns & Rugged Heroes, the current special exhibit at the Museum, runs through September 30. The exhibit highlights some of the popular westerns from the motion picture heydays that helped to define Kansas’ image during the twentieth century. At the exhibit’s centerpiece are movie posters and lobby cards featuring Kansas subjects--cattle drives, gunfights, John Brown, William Quantrill, and Wyatt Earp in moves that span from Dodge City Trail (1936) starring Charles Starrett to Ride With the Devil (1999) starring Tobey Maguire and Jewel.

The Territorial Kansas Reader, edited by Virgil W. Dean, director for publications at the Kansas State Historical Society, includes twenty-two of the most important essays on the territorial period in Kansas. Included are articles by scholars such as Nicole Etcheson and historians James C. Malin and Paul Wallace Gates. A speech by John Brown and the Kansas correspondence of a settler from South Carolina are among the edited primary sources found in this useful volume.

The AASLH Annual Awards Program began in 1945 and is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of local, state, and regional history. The Kansas State Historical Society is headquartered at the Kansas History Center, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681, TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 2, 2006

BROWN COUNTY RESIDENT DONATES DIARIES TO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ______Annual program to be held April 28, 2007

Mable Legg Ross, long time resident of Brown County, newspaper columnist, social worker, and community leader recently donated her diaries to the Kansas State Historical Society. Ross’s diary entries began November 24, 1932, at age 19.

The December 11, 1941, entry reads “I dictated case narratives all day. The girls received their ratings for their Stenographers Merit Examinations… The war rages on at present there are 36 nations at war. Today U. S. officially declared war on Germany, Italy and Manchukuo… This evening we drove over to Alfred’s folks and spent the evening listening to news broadcasts come in over the radio.”

Ross began her career as a columnist July 26, 1984 for the Horton Headlight. The day she was introduced to her readership she wrote, “John Gingerich called to talk to me about my column. He asked if I’d break down the last column I had written into several columns. He said he wants to teach me that I really have a talent for writing…. He really gave me such good advice, I really appreciate this. I’m floating on cloud 9 again.” Ross researched and wrote her weekly column, “Life Can Be Interesting” for twenty-two years.

Ross had not anticipated keeping diaries for seven decades. She began her third diary with “I did not realize when I started my diary several years ago that I would keep it for any length of time, but I have reached the conclusion now that I shall continue it through my life because it has become a part of me. It seems to be a living thing.” At the age of 93, Ross continues to keep a diary.

To compliment the diaries, Ross’s family has contributed photographs, family histories, and copies of Ross’s column, “Life Can Be Interesting.” The diaries, photographs, family histories, and column will be available to researchers at the Kansas State Historical Society’s Library, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615. To plan a visit, please check www.kshs.org or call 785-272-8681 or TTY 785-272-8683.

The Kansas State Historical Society continues to search for collections of diaries, letters, photographs, business papers, maps, books, and periodicals that document the lives of Kansans. To discuss donating collections, contact Nancy Sherbert, 785-272-8681, ext.303, or [email protected].

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 8, 2006

MUSEUM TO FEATURE QUILTS AND SPORTS IN UPCOMING EXHIBITS ______

The Kansas Museum of History’s next two special exhibits focus on activities that many Kansans enjoy. The displays will be featured in the Museum’s Special Exhibits Gallery, along with the permanent Main Gallery.

Piecing It Together: Selected Quilts from the Museum will run October 20, 2006 - February 18, 2007 and feature the best examples from the Museum’s collection of more than two hundred exceptional quilts and bedcovers. Among the highlighted textiles will be the striking Iris Garland quilt, and finely worked pieces from Emporia quiltmaker Josephine Craig. This is a must-see exhibit for lovers of fine handwork!

Game Faces: Sports in Kansas opens March 16, 2007 and focuses on community and collegiate sports as well as professional play. From baseball, basketball, football, to hockey--if Kansans played it, the game shows in this exhibit.

The Kansas Museum of History is one of eighteen facilities operated by the Kansas State Historical Society. The Museum, open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday; 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday, is located at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 8, 2006

MUSEUM PRESENTS STORYTIME FOR PRESCHOOLERS

The popular program for preschool aged children is returning this fall to the Kansas Museum of History. Fall Storytime will be held 10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Thursdays in September and October. This free program for preschoolers takes children on a trip back in time, traveling the Oregon Trail and features books, songs, finger plays, and games. No pre-registration is needed. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

The program is held outside the Discovery Place at the Museum, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099. For more information call 785-272-8681, ext. 414; [email protected]; TTY 785-272- 8683; or visit the KSHS web site at www.kshs.org.

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Contact: Mary Honeyman, Site Administrator Voices of the Wind People Kaw Mission State Historic Site 500 North Mission Council Grove, Kansas 66846 620-767-5410 [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 21, 2006

COUNCIL GROVE DRAMA FEATURES KAW INDIANS, SANTA FE TRAIL

More than 100 cast and crew are preparing for the production of Voices of the Wind People, previously performed in 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, and 2004. The pageant presents an historically accurate and dramatically compelling story of the clash of two cultures, Native American and Euro-American, in the historic setting of Council Grove, Kansas, on the Santa Fe Trail. Presented by the Kaw Nation and the local Friends of Kaw Heritage, Inc. pageant committee, Voices will be performed at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, September 15 and 16, 2006 in the Old Riverbed Amphitheater in Council Grove.

Written by Ron Parks while he served as site administrator of the Kaw Mission State Historic Site, Voices brings the past alive from a multi-cultural perspective. Parks created the pageant as a multimedia presentation, combining live history scenes, slides, singing, and dancing performances. The also pageant features the 1821 Santa Fe Trail pack train, two wagon caravans, the signing of the 1825 Council Oak Treaty, trading at the Seth Hays store, an 1859 confrontation between Kansa warriors and whites in Council Grove, bushwhackers raiding Council Grove in 1863, Kansa village scenes, and the forced removal of the Kansa tribe from Kansas.

Much of the story is told by Kansa Chief Allegawaho and Santa Fe Trail trader Seth Hays. Allegawaho’s words are rendered by Luther Pepper, great-grandson of Allegawaho. Hays is portrayed by Council Grove attorney Ken McClintock. The Kaw Nation provides tribal members as actors, dancers, and singers. Thirty-five Native Americans performed in the 2004 production. This year’s performance will feature TerryLee Whetstone, Native American flute player, who will perform at 7:00 p. m. before the pageant begins at 8:00 p.m.

The tribe was exiled from Kansas 133 years ago, but the Kansa (or Kaw) story lives on in this outdoor drama. The expulsion of the Kansa by the U.S. government is a significant event in the history of the tribe, which gave its name to the state before the land was taken from them in 1873, the year the 600 remaining Kansa were transported to a reservation in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.

As the historical Kansa presence in Kansas recedes into the past, both the Kaw Nation and Council Grove producers of Voices are more determined than ever to bring the tragic story of the Kansa peoples’ final years in this state to a broader audience.

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“It touches my heart to know this happened to my tribe,” said JoAnn O’Bregon, member of the Kaw Nation, “but it is a part of history that needs to be told. It’s a learning experience for everyone involved.”

According to Parks the outdoor drama appeals to more than just local interest. “White people took their land and this state took their name. If you’re interested in your identity as a Kansan, you should learn the story of the original Kansans. And that’s precisely the central theme of this production.”

Wanda Stone, chairperson of the Kaw Nation 1990-2002, cited the realism of the Voices production. “The pageant depicts a part of the Kansa history in the State of Kansas with accuracy and true expression,” Stone said. “It’s so realistic in its presentation and has become a milestone for the Kansa people.”

Tickets are ten dollars for adults, five dollars K-12. For general information about Voices, call the Kaw Mission, 620-767-5410. Ticket forms are available on the website, www.voicesofthewindpeople.net. Please send ticket form and check to: VOWP Tickets; 500 N. Mission; Council Grove, KS 66846. No credit card sales, please.

Seating for about a thousand people will be provided in the amphitheater. Reserved seating will be available for wheelchairs. Only very inclement weather during the show will force its cancellation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 2006

HISTORIC SITES BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES NOMINATIONS Includes Seven National and Six Kansas Register Nominations

The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review held its regular quarterly meeting at the Kansas State Historical Society on August 26, 2006. The board nominated seven properties to the National Register of Historic Places and six properties to the Register of Historic Kansas Places. Below are summaries of the nominated properties.

NATIONAL REGISTER:

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 320 N. Cedar St., Abilene, Dickinson Co. Located at the southwest corner of Fourth and Cedar Streets in Abilene, the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Gothic Revival style structure built in 1878. The church features pointed arch windows, elaborately carved paneled doors, and a steeply pitched roof covered with diamond-shaped slate tiles, and is nestled between a business district to the south and east and a residential district of Victorian-era homes to the north and west. This building is home to Abilene’s second-oldest congregation, with members worshipping in this same structure for nearly 130 years. Some of Abilene’s early influential residents were charter members of the church including Conrad Lebold, a successful banker and state senator, and Jacob Augustine, who partnered with Lebold in 1869 to purchase the original town site of Abilene.

Cather Farm, Beloit vic., Mitchell Co. Located five miles north of Beloit in the Solomon River valley of north central Kansas, the Cather Farm consists of 160 acres of farmland, a single-story, wood-frame house erected in 1884, a late nineteenth century barn, and a wood-frame garage constructed in 1919. The Cather Farm is significant for its associations to the area’s agricultural history as a small Kansas farmstead, and for the house’s significance as a vernacular building form with applied Classical Revival detailing. The farm ground has been continually farmed since it was homesteaded in 1883. The property has been known as the Cather Farm since acquired by Iowa and Elsie Cather in 1885. It remains in the Cather family and is registered as a Century Farm with the Farm Bureau.

Shirley Opera House, 503 Main St., Atwood, Rawlins Co. The Shirley Opera House, erected in 1907, is significant for its association with the entertainment and social history of Atwood and as a Late Victorian-era commercial block. The open space of the second story of the Shirley Opera House communicates its historic function as a public space used for performances and gatherings, such as traveling road shows, musicals, debates, local theatricals, dances, political rallies, and graduation exercises. The building represents the important period when public

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entertainment venues developed in Kansas communities during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Construction of the building coincided with the building of the Rawlins County Courthouse, the creation of permanent sidewalks, and the establishment of a public waterworks. The Aberdeen Steakhouse and Pub currently operates out of the building’s first floor.

Hand-Dug City Water Well, 301 North 11th St., Seneca, Nemaha Co. Seneca’s Hand-Dug City Water Well was constructed in 1896 and provided drinking water for the community from 1896 to 1937. The waterworks system promoted the use of indoor plumbing and played a valuable role in fire protection. Although it no longer served as the primary source of water for the community after 1937, it has been maintained by the City and for many years was used by a local golf club association to irrigate fairways. The well is an example of a utilitarian structure essential to the collection and transport of water for human use and consumption. It measures 34 feet in diameter and stretches 65 feet deep. Records indicate that some 130,000 bricks, 100 cords of stone, 570 barrels of cement, and over 20,000 feet of lumber were used in its construction. The wood-frame conical structure atop the well, which also dates to 1896, is a unique and intact example of vernacular industrial architecture. The well and protective structure are intact and retain a high degree of their original materials and architectural integrity.

George T. Brown House, 222 S. Jefferson, St., Junction City, Geary Co. The George T. Brown House was constructed in 1895 for the owner of a local lumberyard. It is being nominated as a good local example of the late Queen Anne residential style. Although the Brown House deviates somewhat from the traditional ideal of a heavily embellished Queen Anne house, this house reflects the architecture of the turn-of-the-century in its overall design and form. The irregular roofline, asymmetrical appearance, and walls clad in shingles and clapboards reflect significant elements of the Queen Anne style. The overall form of the house with interconnected interior spaces and a prominent entry hall are also reflective of the style. However, restrained interior and exterior ornamentation is consistent with the late construction of the house in the Queen Anne period. The ornamentation exemplifies the movement in residential architecture toward Colonial Revival around 1910.

Raymond Community Home, 301 S. Osage, Girard, Crawford Co. The Raymond Community Home, built in 1893, is significant for its association with town founder John E. Raymond and as an example of architect-designed Queen Anne architecture. In November 1869, at the age of 24, Raymond was one of 97 citizens who petitioned for the incorporation of Girard. He later served on the city council in 1871 and rose to the position of mayor by 1873. Designed by architect Charles W. Terry, this two-story wood frame house features a steep hipped roof with lower cross gables with polygonal bays and a defining three-story tower with an onion dome. The house is clad with various types of wood shingles and clapboard. The interior of the home was finished to impress visitors with its exceptional woodwork, stained glass windows, and elaborate fireplaces. The many accounts of the Raymond Home over the years call it the city’s grandest house. Raymond continued to live in the house until his death in 1930. The home interprets a bygone heyday of the community – when a dedicated merchant class invested in the community’s permanence by constructing stately homes.

Gem Building, 506-510 SW 10th, Topeka, Shawnee Co. Although apartment buildings were prevalent in large metropolitan areas beginning in the late nineteenth century, they were not commonly constructed in Kansas until the 1910s and 1920s. By this time,

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apartments had evolved from tenements designed for maximum occupancy of the urban poor in high- density metropolitan areas to efficient and attractively designed buildings for a growing class of urban professionals. Built in 1928, the Gem Building in downtown Topeka is significant as a good local example of an early twentieth century apartment building. The building was designed by Topeka architect Charles Cuthbert and cost $80,000 to construct. Its location on the fringes between Topeka’s expanding commercial and governmental district to the east and the growing residential district to the west uniquely situated it to serve multiple uses. The building was constructed by the proprietors of the Gem Grocery and Meat Market to house their business and families, and also to subsidize their income.

Matrot Castle, 6425 SW Huntoon, Topeka, Shawnee Co. Seraphin Matrot, who fled France after the Franco-Prussian War in the early 1870s, designed and built a French-inspired Chateauesque castle west of Topeka. Matrot planted and operated a vineyard on the grounds – his choice of the wine business in Kansas was a tough economic one as Kansas had voted for prohibition in 1880. Oral histories suggest that Matrot built the castle in 1883-1886 with assistance from area Native Americans using local materials. The castle represents a restrained version of the Chateauesque style popular in grander homes during the late 19th century. The twin turrets, pointed arch windows, vertical emphasis, high-peaked hipped roof, and massive brick construction are elements of the style found on the Matrot Castle.

Sells Brothers Building, 303-305 S. Kansas Ave., Topeka, Shawnee Co. Four brothers, known for their property investments and as the owners of a traveling circus company, constructed the building at 303 and 305 S. Kansas Avenue in 1883. The two-story brick commercial building is one of the few remaining Late Victorian era buildings in this section of Kansas Avenue. Many commercial and industrial businesses have operated out of this building including furniture and appliance sales, barrel manufacturing, auto sales, an undertaking business, and most recently an electrical supply shop. The street-level storefront was altered in 1956, but the second floor still retains many of its Victorian-era details including the decorative metal cornice and the brick and stonework. The front-facing second story windows were replaced in the 1950s. Plans are underway to return those windows to their original design.

Washington & Julia Marlatt Homestead, 1600 College Ave., Manhattan, Riley Co. Washington Marlatt, an early Riley County settler, was a founder and faculty member of Bluemont Central College, which opened in 1860 and eventually became Kansas State University. As an early settler, it was Marlatt’s desire to found a college that could provide both a liberal arts and agricultural education to the new residents of Kansas. He also served as president of the Manhattan Town Association and was influential in the development of the city of Manhattan. In addition to being an educator and businessman, Marlatt was also an experimental farmer who wrote extensively on his agricultural experiments. The homestead dates to 1856 and includes a two-story limestone house, two limestone sheds, and a large two-story limestone barn.

Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St., Lawrence, Douglas Co. Located in downtown Lawrence, the Plymouth Congregational Church was designed by prominent Kansas architect John G. Haskell and erected in 1870. Although the brick building is flanked by two

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twentieth-century additions, this three-story structure with Gothic and Romanesque Revival characteristics retains much of its historic integrity. The church’s organization dates to Lawrence’s earliest pre-Civil War days. The first church service was held on October 1, 1854, in a mud brick boarding house, just weeks after the first groups of New England settlers arrived. With many church members still reeling from the devastation of William Quantrill’s raid of Lawrence in August of 1863, some expressed the desire for the new church building to be simply designed with adequate space to allow for growth. Haskell suggested that the addition of “angles, projections, and towers” could make the building much more attractive “without adding greatly to the cost,” while insisting that “beauty costs no more than ugliness.” The building – complete with towers and projections – cost $43,000 to erect.

Dutton-Thomas-Soule Farm, 7925 Sunflower Rd., De Soto vic., Johnson Co. The Dutton-Thomas-Soule Farm, also known as the Palmberg Farm, is significant for its association with the settlement and continued agricultural history of the Kaw Valley region of Kansas, and in particular for its association with the Kaw Valley potato and vegetable industries. This property, located at the southeast corner of 79th and Sunflower Road, is the largest and only functional farmstead remaining in the West Bottoms area adjacent to the Kansas River northwest of De Soto, and it represents a strong tie to the agrarian history of Johnson County. Prior to the rise of Idaho, California, and other states as national mass producers of agricultural goods, the West Bottoms and similar farming districts stretching along the river to Kansas City represented one of the key vegetable growing areas serving the entire region. The Soules and Palmbergs have sold produce raised on their farmstead at the Kansas City Market since 1928. The farm complex, which dates to 1884, consists of an Italianate-style farmhouse, barn, smokehouse, and ancillary outbuildings.

Michigan Building, 206 E. Douglas Ave., Wichita, Sedgwick Co. The Michigan Building, erected in 1909, was built for $60,000 by Wichita’s first druggist, Oscar D. Barnes, and his son, Maurice P. Barnes, and remained in their family until 1972. The Barnes family played a significant role in Wichita’s commercial history by developing downtown business blocks. Designed by Charles W. Terry, the building is a narrow structure of reinforced concrete, steel, and terra cotta brick that stands six stories tall. It is significant for its historic presence in downtown Wichita’s streetscape and as the home of several locally prominent music stores. Its physical presence contributes to the “canyon” of East Douglas Avenue, a busy downtown thoroughfare lined with towering structures. The music stores housed within the building – the Martin & Adams Music Company, The Adams- Bennett Music Company and the Bennett Music House – drew customers from Wichita and the surrounding region.

- MORE - NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATIONS – Add 5 significance at the local, state or national level. The governor appoints the eleven-member Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review. For more information contact the Historic Preservation Office at the Kansas State Historical Society, 785-272-8681, ext. 240. The Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 2006

KANSAS’ AMBROSE SISTERS ONCE WERE WELL KNOWN AS DANCER, PUBLISHER ______Materials Now Available at the Kansas State Historical Society’s Library

In the early twentieth century two Kansas sisters changed their names and became well known for their dancing and publishing. Addie Minta Puckett (or Adelaide Ambrose) was a successful book publisher. Mary Eleanor Puckett (or Eleanore Ambrose) was a famous dancer. Their nephew, Robert Puckett of Wichita, has donated a collection of their photographs, family history, newspaper clippings, and letters to the Kansas State Historical Society’s Library so that Kansans can learn more about the lives of the Puckett sisters.

The sisters left home in their late teens to pursue opportunities on the stage. Adelaide, the older, started a theatrical career in Kansas City and eventually reached New York City. After accepting several acting roles, she became discouraged with the theatre. Shrewdly, Adelaide invested her money in the stock market and made a fortune. With the profits from her investments, she purchased New York City real estate. Searching for a new career, Adelaide purchased a publishing company and opened an office on Fifth Avenue. In the late 1920s, she was the country’s only woman publisher.

Eleanora, a promising dancer, followed her sister to New York City, where she soon became a principal dancer on Broadway. Her career exploded when Maurice Mouvet, an international dance star, signed Eleanora as his dance partner. The couple became the toast of two continents. In 1926, the couple was wed in Paris and lasted a year before Maurice died. Eleanora later married Sam Katz, the multi-millionaire president of Publix theatres. They later divorced. Her third marriage to Donald M. Rainer ended in divorce in 1948. Eleanora continued in the entertainment field until her retirement.

Throughout their careers, Adelaide and Eleanora remained in touch with friends and family in Newton. According to Robert Puckett, Eleanora would send fashionable clothes home to childhood friends, made by designers in Paris and New York City. Later in life, the sisters moved back home where they lived a quiet life.

A complete history of the Puckett sisters is available at the Kansas State Historical Society’s Library. Hours are 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday. The Library is located at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615. To plan a visit, please check www.kshs.org or call 785-272-8681 or TTY 785-272-8683.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 2006

HISTORICAL SOCIETY ADDS MORE NATIVE AMERICAN AFFAIRS RECORDS ______Materials Also Available Through Inter-Library Loan

Researchers will now have access to more information about Native American affairs at the Kansas State Historical Society’s Library. The Library recently added more than twenty-five additional years of Indian agents’ correspondence and other federal records relating to Native American affairs in the Central Plains. These microfilm records include the years of non-Indian settlement and the removal of most Native groups to the Indian Territory in present Oklahoma. The microfilm was purchased with an Interlibrary Loan Development Program grant from the Kansas Library Network Board. The Kansas State Historical Society bought 108 microfilm rolls of records of the Central Superintendency of Indian Affairs, 1813–1876, from the National Archives. This microfilm may be used at the Library in Topeka, or researchers can ask their local library to borrow the film through the interlibrary loan program. This microfilm primarily includes the years 1851-1878, though some records are as early as 1813. The records, sent to Washington, D.C., when the Superintendency closed in Lawrence in 1878 and microfilmed by the National Archives in 1973, complement thirty-four other volumes that remained in Lawrence and were purchased by the Kansas State Historical Society in the 1880s and in 1982. While the previous volumes, also available on microfilm through interlibrary loan, focus on most Indian agencies in the region of the Louisiana Purchase, these newly purchased records concentrate on the period of 1859-1878. During this time, the Superintendency mainly supervised activities of Office of Indian Affairs agencies and employees in Kansas and the Indian Territory. The records on these rolls include registers of correspondence with the commissioner of Indian affairs, 1847– 1866; registers of letters received from the commissioner of Indian affairs, 1866–1878; correspondence, accounts, reports, and other records, 1813–1878; registers of letters & endorsements sent to the commissioner of Indian affairs, 1866–1878; letters sent to the commissioner of Indian affairs (handwritten copies), 1855–1876; letters sent to agents (handwritten copies), 1858–1871; and letters sent to various persons (handwritten copies), 1853–1871. Topics represented in these records include Kansas land surveys, councils with Native leaders, Ottawa University, military confrontations with Native peoples, and Native lands in Kansas. Kansas Native peoples represented in the records include the Cherokee, Delaware, Fox, Kansa, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Osage, Pawnee, Potawatomi, Quapaw, Sauk, Shawnee, and Wichita. The records provide information not previously available in a Kansas library on Superintendent William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame, Native affairs on the Great Plains, and relations between the federal government and the various tribes in Kansas. - MORE - NATIVE AMERICAN RECORDS -- ADD 2

The Kansas State Historical Society is recognized nationally as a center for the study of the history of Native Americans in the Midwest. Both originals and microfilm copies of official records and papers of the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs (later renamed the Bureau of Indian Affairs), missionaries, mission schools, teachers, and agents make the Historical Society one of the premier institutions in the central United States for the study of relations between Native and Euro-American populations. In past years, Interlibrary Loan Development Program grants have assisted the Society in strengthening this collection by funding the purchase of Enrollment Cards of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914, & selected Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940, for Kansas; Bureau of Indian Affairs Central Classified Files, 1907-1939: Series A, Indian Delegations to Washington; and Records of the St. Louis Fur Trade: Part I, Chouteau Collection, 1752-1925. Central to these collections are the thirty-four volumes of records of the Missouri, St. Louis, and Central superintendencies of Indian affairs. These records date from 1807-1855 and include records of William Clark and his successor superintendents, including field notes and plats of Indian lands, treaties and other agreements between the United States government and various tribes, correspondence, claims, licenses and permits, descriptions, journals, property returns, accounts, correspondence registers, and other records of the Missouri (1807–1821), St. Louis (1822–1851), and Central (1851–1878) superintendencies. The records contain information on Indian emigration, treaties, the fur trade, claims, Indian education, roads, employees, meteorology, epidemics, and steamboats for Native nations between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains north of Texas. A database is available at http://www.kshs.org/research/collections/documents/personalpapers/clarkpapers/index.htm, where letters and other documents from selected volumes can be searched by date, sender, recipient, tribal name, or subject. The Kansas State Historical Society’s Library is open 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615. To plan a visit, please check www.kshs.org or call 785-272-8681 or TTY 785- 272-8683.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 5, 2006

HISTORICAL SOCIETY FEATURES HALLOWEEN EVENTS ______Events October 29 & October 31 Fun and fright go hand in hand with two returning Halloween events at the Kansas History Museum & Library! Haunted History provides the frights, along with fun, 5 – 8 p.m. Sunday, October 29, and Tricks & Treats at the Boo-seum!, focuses on the fun, 1 – 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 31. Haunted History features flashlight tours of the Museum and the Library, a flashlight tour on the Nature Trail, scary bonfires stories by the Bleeding Kansas Lecompton Reenactors, costumed interpreters, outhouse fishing, and a bean bag toss. The event is free. Popcorn, cider, and Kansas gifts will be available for purchase. Flashlight tours are $3 per person, children under five free, and last about thirty minutes. Tickets do not need to be purchased ahead of time, but it is recommended since space is limited. Tickets will be available for specific times with tours every ten minutes, fifteen people per tour.

“Tricks & Treats at the Boo-seum!” is a fun, free event especially for children. The event includes free treat stations, costumed tour guides, and cookie and mask decorating.

The current special exhibit is Piecing It Together: Selected Quilts from the Museum, October 20, 2006 - February 18, 2007. The exhibit features the best examples from the Museum’s collection of more than two hundred exceptional quilts and bedcovers. Among the highlighted textiles will be the striking Iris Garland quilt, and finely worked pieces from Emporia quiltmaker Josephine Craig. This is a must-see exhibit for lovers of fine handwork!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2006

KSHS, INC. PRESENTS 131st ANNUAL MEETING

The Kansas State Historical Society, Inc. presents the 131st Annual Meeting and election of officers November 3, 20006 at the Kansas History Museum & Library, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka. Much of the meeting is open to the public.

Registration continues 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. in the Museum Lobby. A behind-the-scenes tour will be held at 11 a.m. followed by a buffet luncheon. Cost for the luncheon is $15. The members meeting and election of the board of directors will be held at 2 p.m. Break-out sessions will focus on active collecting, development, communication, and promotion. Two authors will hold book signings at 5 p.m. Virgil W. Dean, editor of John Brown to Bob Dole: Movers and Shakers in Kansas History, and Robert J. Hoard, editor of Kansas Archaeology, will be featured. A reception and social hour will be at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner and awards program. Cost for the dinner is $35.

The Edgar Langsdorf Award of Excellence, Alfred M. Landon Historical Research Grants, and Dr. Edward N. Tihen Historical Research Award will be presented.

For registration information contact the Kansas State Historical Society, Inc., Membership Services, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681, ext. 232; [email protected].

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 2, 2006

COLLECTION EFFORTS FOCUS ON OAKLAWN COMMUNITY CENTER

The Kansas State Historical Society, Wichita State University’s Special Collections, and the Wichita Sedgwick County Historical Museum are working together to collect the stories of the Wichita’s Oaklawn Community. This community history and heritage project invites families to share their stories with future Kansans. The collecting event will be held 6 – 9 p.m. Thursday, November 9, 2006, at Oaklawn Community Center, 2937 Oaklawn Drive, Wichita. Photographs and papers will be copied and returned that day at no expense to the donor. The project specifically targets photographs and photo albums that serve as visual storytellers. Individuals and families are asked to share these items even though they may seem ordinary, unusual, or perhaps common. If it tells a story, people are encouraged to bring it to the event. In addition, people are asked to consider sharing the following types of items:

Family Records Real Estate Land Records • journals and diaries • lease documents • letters and scrapbooks • deeds that show ownership • employment records Other (primarily relating to 1950 – present) • family histories

Organization/Community Group Records

• yearbooks • membership lists • community directories • organizational minutes • business records and correspondence • bills or invoices • contracts

For more information contact Donna Rae Pearson at the Kansas State Historical Society, 785-272-8681, ext. 452, [email protected]. The Historical Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615; 785- 272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

# # # Contact: Mary Honeyman, Site Administrator Kaw Mission State Historic Site 500 North Mission Council Grove, Kansas 66846 620-767-5410 [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 17, 2006

KAW MISSION PRESENTS INDEPENDENT FILM Showing 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 21

Kaw Mission State Historic Site in Council Grove presents an independent film by a Kansas filmmaker at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 21. Through Martha's Eyes was directed by Chuck Cranston and shot in the Flint Hills.

The film is set in 1856 and Reverend Thomas Johnson believes he has just bought himself a bit of property-- Martha. Through Martha's Eyes tells the story of a young African American woman who expects to be set free when her new master takes her to the Shawnee Mission Indian School in Kansas Territory. Romance, adventure, some gorgeous Flint Hills scenery and even a little humor are all packed into this 42-minute independent film about Kansas by a Kansas filmmaker.

The director will be in attendance to discuss the filming, which occurred at the Hays Home in Council Grove, and at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve and the Flying W Ranch in Chase County.

Kaw Mission State Historic Site is located at 500 N. Mission, Council Grove KS 66446; 620-767-5410. Kaw Mission is one of sixteen administered by the Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 20, 2006

KSHS, INC. ANNOUNCES ANNUAL AWARDS, OFFICERS, BOARD

The 131st Annual Meeting of the Kansas State Historical Society, Inc. included presentation of awards and election of officers November 3, 20006 at the Kansas History Museum & Library, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka.

The following officers were elected at the meeting: Mary Turkington, Topeka, president; Kathleen Holt, Cimarron, president-elect; Jim Logan, Olathe, vice-president; E. Dean Carlson, Topeka, secretary; Don Schepker, Topeka, treasurer; Brian Moline, Topeka, past president. J. Eric Engstrom, Wichita; Cynthia Haines, Lecompton; and Dennis Vasquez, Topeka, were elected to serve on the executive committee.

The Edgar Langsdorf Award of Excellence was presented to Karen Manners Smith for her article, “Father, Son, and Country on the Eve of War: William Allen White, William Lindsay White, and American Isolationism, 1940-1941,” published in the Spring 2005 issue of Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains. Aram Goudsouzian was given honorable mention for his article, “Can Basketball Survive Chamberlain?: The Kansas Years of Wilt the Stilt,” in the Autumn 2005 issue. The Langsdorf Award honors excellence in writing and is given on an annual basis to authors of articles in Kansas History.

The Dr. Edward N. Tihen Historical Research Grant Award was presented to Kevin G. W. Olson for work on the history of Manhattan, Kansas. The Tihen Research Grant Awards are given annually to non- academic researchers for research in the collections of the Historical Society.

The Alfred M. Landon Historical Research Award was presented to Erin Brown for work on the late nineteenth and early twentieth century development of former cattle towns: Abilene, Dodge City, and Wichita, Kansas. The Landon Research Awards are annual non-matching grant awards given to graduate students pursuing the study of subjects relating to the heritage of Kansas.

For registration information contact the Kansas State Historical Society, Inc., Membership Services, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681, ext. 232; [email protected].

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DOME TOURS CONTINUE AT THE KANSAS STATE CAPITOL Winter Schedule is Monday – Saturday

More than 20,000 people have taken a dome tour at the Kansas State Capitol since they first were offered in January! The 296 steps of this spectacular tour literally takes the breath away.

The winter hours for dome tours, effective December 4 – January 6 are: 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Monday – Saturday. Tours last approximately 40 minutes. All tours are free during scheduled times. During the Legislative Session, January 8 – May 26, hours will be 11:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:15 p.m., and 2:45 p.m. Monday – Friday; 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Saturday. A maximum of 30 persons can be accommodated on a tour. Reservations are accepted. Walk-up visitors will be accommodated, as space is available.

The dome tour highlights the elaborate architecture of the inner and outer domes. The vantage from the summit—outside on the balcony—offers a spectacular view of the city of Topeka. The successful tourist may want to purchase one of the t-shirts proclaiming “I Climbed 296 Steps Today. . .What Did You Do?” or “Capitol Dome Tour” or a Capitol dome tour certificate.

The historic tours of the Capitol continue at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Monday – Friday, through the second week in January. During the Legislative Session, January 8 – May 26, tours will be 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Monday – Friday. Provided by the Kansas State Historical Society. For more information about the Kansas State Capitol Dome Tours, call 785-296-3966, or email [email protected].

The Kansas State Capitol is located at 10th and Jackson, Topeka, Kansas 66612; in the center of downtown Topeka, Exit 362B on I-70. More information online at www.kshs.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 21, 2006

HISTORIC SITES BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES NOMINATIONS Includes Fifteen National and Two Kansas Register Nominations

The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review held its regular quarterly meeting at the Kansas State Historical Society on November 18, 2006. The board recommended the addition of fifteen listings to the National Register of Historic Places and two properties to the Register of Historic Kansas Places.

NATIONAL REGISTER:

Mullen Court Apartments – Wichita, Sedgwick County Built in 1949, the Mullen Court Apartments is an example of a multi-family residence built in Wichita in the Moderne style. Both its location in one of Wichita’s older, center city residential neighborhoods and its architectural style reflect the construction of new apartment buildings during this period to accommodate Wichita’s rapidly growing population. J. B. Muller and J.C. Lamb erected the building for local apartment developer/manager Mrs. Eva Mercer Gilham. The buff brick walls, low horizontal form, glass block sidelights and horizontal muntins convey the building’s Moderne styling. It retains integrity of location and setting, its character defining stylistic elements, and materials from its period of significance.

Atchison County Memorial Hall – Atchison, Atchison County The Atchison County Memorial Hall, constructed in 1922, is a two-story, buff brick, Neo-Classical style building located in downtown Atchison. A variety of traveling theater companies played there during the 1920s and 1930s. From opening day forward, the headliners drew large crowds. The management contracted with the well-known New York based theatrical booking agencies of Klaw & Erlanger and the Shuert Brothers thereby securing a number of the best theatrical attractions on the road. On May 18, 1922, Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1861-1936) became the first professional artist to appear at Atchison County Memorial Hall. Other noted celebrities who have appeared at the hall include Charles Curtis, 31st Vice-President of the United States, aviator Amelia Earhart, and singers Harry James, Pee Wee Erwin, and Ike and Tina Turner. This building also reflects the important interaction between the white and African American residents of Atchison. The memorial plaque on the building’s façade lists the names of both white and black service personnel killed in military action. In addition, this building housed meeting rooms for both white and black American Legion posts.

Downtown Manhattan Historic District – Manhattan, Riley County The Downtown Manhattan Historic District is just over six square blocks in area, encompassing historic commercial and civic buildings within the central business district. The buildings in downtown

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Manhattan interpret the history of the community’s permanent commercial development, from the construction of the first business in the 1860s to the development and expansion of an enclosed regional shopping mall in the 1980s and 1990s. This collection of 66 buildings reflects a wide range of architectural styles from vernacular two-part commercial blocks to 1950s modern designs. Thirty-two percent of the buildings were constructed prior to 1900. Thirty-three percent were built from 1900-1919, and thirty percent were constructed from 1920-1957. Only three percent were constructed after 1957.

Oread Historic District – Lawrence, Douglas County Located directly west of the downtown commercial area and east of the University of Kansas campus, the majority of the Oread Historic District falls within the “Original” town plat, and thus represents one of Lawrence’s oldest residential neighborhoods. Not only did it provide easy access to downtown and campus, several churches were either adjacent or located within its boundaries. Central School and later a high school were located on the two south corners of Kentucky and 9th streets. These amenities appealed to affluent owners early in its growth who constructed large, high style houses on double lots. Later development attracted middle-class residents and owners who provided boarding to students. The district contains a variety of residences that represent changing tastes, fashions, and construction methods in American architecture. Over 30 percent of the district’s 175 resources reflect the Queen Anne Style. There are good examples of the large fashionable homes, several more modest National Folk type residences of the working class, and later examples of residential styles that were popular in the early twentieth century.

College Hill Park Bathhouse – Wichita, Sedgwick County The bathhouse was constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1937, and represents how the Wichita parks department was able to continue the development of its park system through the use of federal assistance during the Depression, while at the same time providing jobs for the unemployed of Wichita. WPA workers carried out a substantial amount of maintenance and construction work in the city’s park system, which had been delayed due to the Depression. The city acquired the undeveloped 22-acre College Hill Park just prior to the stock market crash of 1929. With severe budgetary restrictions facing all city departments during the 1930s, any development plans for a new part were put on hold. With the establishment of the WPA and its much larger budget, the parks department expanded its development plans. The city hired the renowned Kansas City landscape architectural firm of Hare & Hare to prepare plans for College Hill Park, and in 1935 hired local architect Edward Forsblom for the design of the bathhouse, which opened in June of 1937. The building is also significant as a good example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style as applied to a park building during the Depression era.

Linwood Park Greenhouse & Maintenance Building – Wichita, Sedgwick County Charles S. Aldrich donated 160 acres to the City of Wichita in 1887, establishing South Linwood Park in the Linwood Park Addition. Although the prestigious landscape architectural firm of Hare & Hare was hired in 1947 to plan a group picnic area in South Linwood Park, there are few records of other historic planned developments in the park. The greenhouse and maintenance buildings are the only extant New Deal buildings in the park. The greenhouse’s construction is attributed to the Works Progress Administration, while the maintenance building was constructed with Federal Emergency Relief Administration funds. Both one-story brick buildings are simplified examples of the Colonial Revival style.

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North Riverside Park Comfort Station – Wichita, Sedgwick County Acquired in 1897, the 30-acre North Riverside Park had experienced some development prior to the onset of the Great Depression, with the most notable feature being the Park Villa shelter house. The Park Villa shelter encouraged families to visit, but there were no restroom facilities for use within the park. Lewis William Clapp, President of the Board of Park Commission, designed the comfort station, which was constructed as a Civil Works Administration project in 1934. It represented the first new construction in a city park to be federally funded by New Deal workers. The comfort station is an excellent example of the Art Deco style as applied to a utilitarian park building. It is significant for its high artistic values evidenced on a small scale, and as a type of construction – Carthalite – that originated in Wichita. Carthalite was a local trade name for a mixture of concrete mortar mixed with crushed glass and pigmentation.

Sim Park Golf Course Tee Shelters – Wichita, Sedgwick County The Sim Park Golf Course Tee Shelters are located in Sim Park, an approximate 181-acre tract situated in a bend on the west side of the Arkansas River between 13th and Central. Specifically, the shelters can be found on the 13th, 15th, and 18th tees of the Sim Park golf course. Before the onset of the Depression, the golf course, clubhouse, and Memorial Entrance to Sim Park had been completed. As the largest park in Wichita’s system, Sim Park was the recipient of numerous New Deal planned projects during the 1930s. Their construction is attributed to the National Youth Administration; as such, they are the only recorded extant resources in Wichita built by this New Deal program, which was geared towards the youth of America during the Great Depression. The stone tee shelter structures show the influence of Rustic Park architecture in their design, as evidenced by their stone construction, buttressed base, and exposed rafters and beams.

Paradise Water Tower – Paradise, Russell County The Paradise Water Tower was constructed in 1938 as part of a larger water works improvement project sponsored by the Works Progress Administration. The project employed some 35 men who quarried the stone from the Wellington Ranch south of Paradise and erected the structure in about four months. Common laborers were paid 25 cents per hour and carpenters and masons received 50 cents an hour. This cylindrical structure is made of rusticated limestone blocks, and is 17 feet in diameter, 35 feet tall, and has a capacity of 58,000 gallons. It features a double-door entrance with an Art Deco inspired limestone surround.

Kennedy Hotel – Paradise, Russell County As one of the earliest buildings erected in Paradise, Kansas, the Kennedy Hotel (c. 1888, 1936) is significant for its association with the early development of Paradise. The construction of the limestone hotel in 1888 was documented in area newspapers including the Waldo Enterprise and the Russell Record. Catherine Kennedy, who also served as postmaster, opened her hotel in September of 1888. Although she soon sold the property, the building operated as a hotel until 1913 when it became the private residence of the Samuel Brown family. During the Great Depression, Brown lost his downtown grocery business to a fire. He added onto the nominated property and reopened his business. Since the construction of the original two-story limestone hotel building in 1888, the property changed and evolved to reflect the needs and uses of its first four owners. The changes and additions, all made within the historic period of significance, help convey the history of a property that served as a hotel, grocery store, and private residence.

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Stuewe House – Alma, Wabaunsee County The Stuewe House is significant for its association with the early development of Alma and as the location of the Stuewe Brothers Creamery. Brothers Albert and Ferdinand Stuewe purchased a small limestone house (c. 1873) on the west edge of Alma in 1884 where they operated their creamery and cattle businesses for fifty years. The current appearance of the house dates to 1885 when the brothers built a two-story addition. Albert and Ferdinand, who established the Bank of Alma (later renamed Alma State Bank) in 1895, were community leaders who played significant roles in the development of Alma. Ferdinand served as Wabaunsee County Treasurer, State Representative, and was president of Alma State Bank. They employed several area residents to assist with business operations; some boarded at the Stuewe House. In 1891, the brothers invited members of their extended family to join in the development of their successful business; the creamery and cattle businesses became a true family venture. The property remained in the Stuewe family until the 1960.

Franklin Sidewalk – Franklin / Arma vicinity, Crawford County Constructed in 1936 with federal funding assistance, the Franklin Sidewalk connects two rural mining communities in Crawford County – Arma and Franklin. It was erected, in part, due to increased foot traffic along U.S. Highway 69 as a result of school consolidation in the late 1920s. Franklin was smaller than Arma and was hit hard by the declining mining industry in the late 1920s and 1930s. Franklin residents relied heavily on businesses in Arma for goods and services. Safe pedestrian travel between Arma and Franklin appears to have been the key reason for the sidewalk’s construction. State Highway Commission records indicate that the sidewalk was built as part of a 1.7-mile project that involved improvements to ditches and drainage, bridges and culverts, grubbing hedges, grading, surfacing, grass seeding, and signage. The 3-foot wide sidewalk begins at the south edge of Arma and stretches south 1.7 miles to the south edge of Franklin, and runs parallel along the east side of Business Highway 69.

Reiff Building – Dorrance, Russell County The Reiff Building is not only important for its social, civic, and cultural history, but also because it retains its architectural integrity as an early 20th century commercial style building. In 1910, Harvey Anspaugh purchased three lots in downtown Dorrance. With the assistance of his brother Hiram, they began the design and construction of the two-story limestone building, which would serve both commercial and entertainment functions. A.C. Reiff, who operated a farm supply business out of the building until World War II, purchased the property from Anspaugh soon after its construction. It now houses the collections and displays of the Dorrance Historical Society Museum. Reflective of many late nineteenth and early twentieth century opera houses across Kansas, the Reiff Building featured an opera house on the second floor of a commercial building in the heart of a downtown.

Memorial City Hall – Ellis, Ellis County Like memorial buildings built throughout Kansas after World War I, the Memorial City Hall (c.1926) in Ellis was erected to serve three functions: to stand as a monument to fallen and returning military personnel; to provide a place for local gatherings and entertainment; and to house city government offices. In 1924, the local American Legion post initiated talk of building a memorial hall, and a special city election was held on January 26, 1925, during which citizens voted in favor of $42,000 in bonds to construct the building. The City hired architect Thomas S. Howard to oversee the project, and the building was officially dedicated to the community during a ceremony on May 31, 1926 – Memorial Day. With the exception of two non-historic exterior vestibules added to the north (side) elevation, the building maintains its original footprint, scale, massing, design, and materials. In particular, the historic

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character-defining exterior elements remain intact. The interior has undergone changes that include partitioning the auditorium and installing a dropped ceiling. These changes, however, are reversible and the space could be returned to its historic function as an open auditorium. It continues to serve Ellis as a meeting place and community museum.

Bowker House – Topeka, Shawnee County Located southeast of the Kansas Statehouse, this two-story limestone residence was built in 1866 by Reverend Samuel Bowker to serve as a boarding house for students of Lincoln College. Bowker traveled the country fundraising for Lincoln College, which opened in 1865. The classroom building was located at the corner of 12th and Jackson Streets. In 1868, Lincoln College was renamed Washburn College in recognition of a large donation received from Ichabod Washburn, a church deacon and resident of Worcester, Massachusetts. The boarding house continued to serve area students until the 1880s when it became a private residence. It is the only extant resource associated with Lincoln College and is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited residences in Topeka.

STATE REGISTER:

Kaufman Building – Wichita, Sedgwick County Built in 1924, Wichita’s Kaufman Building is significant for its association with Wichita’s role as a wholesale wheat-trading center during the 1920s and as an example of architect-designed early twentieth-century fireproof commercial construction. Local entrepreneur Hilbert Kaufman commissioned the building in 1922 and hired the architecture firm of Eberson and Weaver, a Chicago- based firm that was designing buildings in Wichita during the 1920s, to design his building. When it opened in 1924 it provided office space for a growing number of wheat-related organizations and businesses that flocked to the community. In addition to Kaufman’s offices, 1925 occupants included the Kansas Co-op Wheat Marketing Association, the Kansas Wheat Growers Association, and the Wheat Growers’ Journal. The Great Depression hit the Kansas wheat industry hard and by all of the wheat and grain-related businesses had moved out. Throughout the mid twentieth century, the building continued to house a variety of business types, many of them related to oil production, insurance, and credit industries. It has been vacant since 1996. The exterior of the Kaufman Building represents the early twentieth-century Commercial Style. This style is most often seen in downtown commercial buildings from the 1910s and 1920s.

Alfred Landon House – Independence, Montgomery County The Alfred Landon House is a three-story Queen Anne home, built in 1901 by local contractor A. E. Todd, who built more than 25 Independence homes. It is a representative example of a large turn-of- the-century Queen Anne with the usual broad gables and sloping roof. The house has 4,720 square feet of living space including two stairways, 10’ ceilings on the first floor, three fireplaces, four full bathrooms, and a total of 62 windows. The house is significant for its association with businessman and politician Alfred M. Landon, who served as the Governor of Kansas from 1932 to 1936 and ran as the Republican nominee for President of the United States against incumbent Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in 1936. He owned the house from 1915 to 1937. In early 2005, the Independence Historical Museum acquired the house to save it from demolition. The house was moved from its original location at 300 East Maple to its current location at 300 South Eighth to make way for a new Walgreen’s drug store.

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NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATIONS – Add 6 The National Register of Historic Places and the Register of Historic Kansas Places are official lists of cultural resources worthy of preservation and part of a national program to protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties currently listed include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering and culture.

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Contact: Tim Rues, Site Administrator Constitution Hall State Historic Site 319 Elmore Lecompton, Kansas 66050 785-887-6520 [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2006

CONSTITUTION HALL ANNOUNCES HOURS, KANSAS DAY PLANS Marking the state’s 146th birthday

Hours at Constitution Hall State Historic Site in Lecompton will change effective January 5, 2007. The site will be open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 – 4 p.m. Sunday. The site also will be open by appointment and for special events. Regular hours resume on March 1.

One of the Constitution Hall’s special events is the 11th annual Bleeding Kansas Program Series, which kicks off January 28, 2007, the day before Kansas Day. The program series is presented at 2 p.m. Sundays, January 28 through February 25, and is free and open to the public.

This series of talks and dramatic interpretations covers the violent conflict over the slavery issue in Kansas Territory 1854 through 1861. Lecompton celebrates its 150th anniversary of its founding in 2007. Constitution Hall also will be open to the public on Kansas Day, Monday, January 29, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. The program series schedule is:

January 28 – “Michael Senn: Swiss Immigrant. . .Western Territorial Kansas Silver Mine. . .Union Soldier. . .Jefferson County Farmer. . .Populist Legislator. . .Advocate for Women's Rights” by John M. Solbach III

February 4 – “How I Became a Lane Man” by Robert Collins

February 11 – “The Little Giant and Old Buck: Stephen A. Douglas, James Buchanan, the Lecompton Constitution, and the Crisis of the American Republic” by Brian Matthew Jordan

February 18 – “Just Like Missouri: The Bogus Legislature's Plan for Kansas” by Charles E. Clark

February 25 – “From Buckeye to Jay-Hawker: A Journey Through Bleeding Kansas” by Rex Patty

Constitution Hall State Historic Site is located at 319 Elmore, Lecompton KS 66050; 785-887-6520. Constitution Hall is one of sixteen administered by the Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; www.kshs.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Modified December 22, 2006

HISTORIC SITES ANNOUNCE WINTER SCHEDULE

Beginning in December 2006, most of the sixteen state historic sites administered by the Kansas State Historical Society are modifying winter hours. Effective July 1, 2006, the state historic sites expanded hours from March through November to accommodate travelers. During the winter schedule, some of the sites will be open for special events and by appointment. These changes allow staff to work more closely with schools and community organizations during the winter months and allow for planning and program development.

Constitution Hall State Historic Site in Lecompton will observe the winter schedule in December. From January 5 – February 28, Constitution Hall will be open 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 – 4 p.m. Sunday. These sites will be open for special events and by appointment December – February: Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site in Studley, First Territorial Capital State Historic Site in Fort Riley (winter schedule November – March), Grinter Place State Historic Site in Kansas City, Hollenberg Pony Express Station State Historic Site near Hanover, Kaw Mission State Historic Site in Council Grove, Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site near Pleasanton, Native American Heritage Museum State Historic Site in Highland, and Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site near Republic.

A few of the sites are open year round. Fort Hays State Historic Site in Hays will be open year round 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. Goodnow House State Historic Site in Manhattan is open year round 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Friday, 2 – 5 p.m. Saturday – Sunday. John Brown Museum State Historic Site in Osawatomie is open year round 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. Marais des Cygnes Massacre State Historic Site near Pleasanton and Pawnee Rock State Historic Site in Pawnee Rock are open year round dawn to dusk.

Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway will be open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday – Saturday and 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday, December – March. William Allen White House State Historic Site in Emporia will be open 2 – 5 p.m. Saturday – Sunday, December – March.

Consult the Society’s website at www.kshs.org for specific hours and admission fee information or call 785- 272-8681. The Kansas State Historical Society is headquartered at 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615- 1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org.

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Contact: Arnold Schofield, Site Administrator Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site 20485 Kansas Highway 52 Pleasanton, Kansas 66075-9549 913-352-8890 [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 29, 2006

MINE CREEK BATTLEFIELD ANNOUNCES HOURS, KANSAS DAY PLANS

Hours at Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site in Pleasanton will change effective January 5, 2007. The site will be open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 – 4 p.m. Sunday. The site also will be open by appointment and for special events. Regular hours resume on March 1.

One of the special events celebrated at Mine Creek Battlefield is Kansas Day. The site will be open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday, January 29, 2007. Admission is free. Weather permitting, visitors are invited to hike the new trails and use the new trail guide brochure that describes the second largest cavalry battle of the Civil War.

In recognition of former President Ford, for a Day of Mourning in the state, the site will be closed Tuesday, January 2, 2007.

Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site is located at 480 Pawnee Trail, Republic, 66964-9618; 785- 361-2255. Pawnee Indian Museum is one of sixteen administered by the Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; www.kshs.org

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Contact: Richard Gould, Site Administrator Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site 480 Pawnee Trail Republic, Kansas 66964-9618 785-361-2255 [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 29, 2006

PAWNEE INDIAN MUSEUM ANNOUNCES HOURS, KANSAS DAY PLANS

Hours at Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site in Republic will change effective January 5, 2007. The site will be open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 – 4 p.m. Sunday. The site also will be open by appointment and for special events. Regular hours resume on March 1.

One of the special events celebrated at Pawnee Indian Museum is Kansas Day. The site will be open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday, January 29, 2007. Two new exhibits will be showcased and refreshments will be served. Pawnees, Astronomers of the Plains features the Pawnee star chart with explanations of the moon and its changing phases. The planets will be illuminated and will appear to be suspended in mid air. The Indians in Kansas features a large map pinpointing with the locations where the plains tribes lived in Kansas. A free special handout with tribal information is available.

In recognition of former President Ford, for a Day of Mourning in the state, the site will be closed Tuesday, January 2, 2007.

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