Winfield Pictures

Winfield Pictures
from Bob Lawrence

Bill,
All of these pictures I'm sending you this evening are from the collection of my father-in-law, Keith Becker of Wichita, KS.
Bob Lawrence, Feb. 11, '00.

Bob's first car.
Winfield High Viking Cars of the Fifties

car

Bill,
I love the pictures you have showing the cars around Winfield when you were growing up. Attached here is a photo of my first car which I purchased on January 18, 1963. The three houses in the back ground are, left to right: 614 E. 10th St., 620 E. 10th St., and 624 E. 10th St.
Bob Lawrence, Jan 15, '00

Bob's dad with his delivery truck

delivery truck

This picture of the late Robert Lee "Bob" Lawrence (my father) with the Sunrise Dairy delivery truck he drove, was taken in Winfield in the summer of 1958. The house, visible over the top of the truck, was the Wendell Grove family home at 608 E. 10th St.

Bob Lawrence, Feb 15, '00

Art Arfons Green Monster visiting Winfield in 1964.

Winfield High Viking Cars of the Fifties
"The Fastest Car to Ever Be on Main Street in Winfield"

car

Hi Bill,
Sometime ago, I sent you a photograph of a jet car on display in front of the State Bank building in Winfield. You took my suggestion and placed it in your "Viking Cars of the '50s" section and captioned it "The Fastest Car to Ever Drag Main St." I was looking through some old microfilms at the Winfield Public Library this afternoon, and located the issue of the Winfield Daily Courier in which that photograph was published: Winfield Daily Courier, Saturday, July 18, 1964, page 5. I thought you might like to see the caption that was published under it:
"WINFIELDERS CHECK over the "Bonneville Avenger", the 10,000 horse-power car with the jet engine that will run 3 exhibitions at the Ark Valley drag raceway Sunday. Driven by Bob Tratoe, Akron, O., the car is being readied for an assault on the land speed record of over 400 miles per hour at the Bonneville salt flats in Utah. In its exhibition runs, which begin Sunday at 1 p.m., the "Avenger" will be driven in an effort to top its quarter-mile record of 242 miles per hour. Time trials at the dragway begin at 8 a.m. (Herlocker photo)
As you can see, I had misidentified this car when I sent you the photograph.
Bob Lawrence

They displayed the Green Monster in Winfield to hype its up-coming exhibition run a day or so later at the Ark Valley Drag Raceway west of Arkansas City. I've always thought that photo should be displayed with a caption something like "The Fastest Car to Ever Be on Main Street in Winfield".
Bob Lawrence, Feb 29, '00

Charles O. Cheever in the car.

car

Bill,
Here are two interesting old photos I have. Both have been stamped on the back with an ink stamp which reads in script writing:
Chas. O. Cheever
Chief of Police
Winfield, Kansas
Charles Omer Cheever (1883-1961) was my great uncle but I'm unaware that he was ever the Chief of Police of Winfield and have found no official confirmation that he really ever was. Besides the names written on the front of the bottom picture, there is a hand written note on back of that picture stating, "The man in the middle is Mr. Koeing." I've tried to place the buildings in the background (especially the one in the bottom picture) but haven't been able to do so.
Bob Lawrence, Feb. 12, '00

Charles O. Cheever standing by the car.

Roy Becker in Wells Fargo wagon.

wagon

Bill,
This is Roy Becker driving a Wells Fargo wagon in Winfield. I thought you would like to include this one in the transportation section of your page. Incidentally, Roy Becker just up and disappeared sometime in the 1930s and was never heard from again.
Bob Lawrence, Feb. 11, '00.

The old Copple home place.

Copple home

Bill,
This bicture is looking north and is of the farm house, barn, and out buildings just west of Tunnel Mill
Dam. Although it isn't visible in this picture, Tunnel Mill Dam is in the trees on the right side of this picture. The Signor Sowers Copple family was living there when this picture was taken in 1912.
Bob Lawrence, Feb. 11, '00.

Snow storm in Winfield.

Frank Wib

Frank Win. Detail of buildings at right, Debs Hotel.

Looking north on Main from 11th. St. James hotel on left.

Harry Mauk's place with Bowling beneath. Winfield Cash Grocery.

Harry Mauk's place

Joe Michler's Meat Market

May 6, 1910 Winfield KS. Traveling in style.

Winfield 1910

Interstate highway in Cowley County

The Cowley County Fairgrounds in Winfield from the Smoke Stack

Cowley County Fairgrounds

Detail of the Theater and the Grandstand.

Bill,
The bottom photo is one of my favorite old Winfield pictures. It was taken of the Winfield fairgrounds from the top of the smoke stack at the old Winfield electric plant and is said to be postmarked in 1910 although I haven't removed it from the album to check that out for sure. Note the old mill in the background. Someone had climbed the smoke stack and taken this picture looking off to the northeast. That was pretty brave considering that smoke stack collapsed in the 1930's killing one man.
Bob Lawrence, Feb. 11, '00.

Auto races at the Cowley County Fair Grounds.

A HISTORY OF AUTOMOBILE RACING AT THE COWLEY COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, WINFIELD, KANSAS

By Bob Lawrence

The race track at the Cowley county fairgrounds was originally built for horse racing as the track predates the automobile. The size (one half mile), shape, (low banked oval), and location of the track have not been altered from its earliest days.
Touring promoters presented a number of exhibition auto races on the track in the early 1900s. In those races, the promoter either owned, or contracted for, the cars and drivers in the field with the emphasis placed on providing a good show for the crowd rather than on presenting a real competition. These early events were not affiliated with any organized sanctioning body.
In the early 1950s, Winfield car dealer Joe Collins, with help from the Winfield Lions Club, began promoting three stock car racing events per year at the track, those being run on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day. The City of Winfield required that a local civic organization sponsor such events in order to receive the City's permission to use the facility.
On September 7, 1953 (Labor Day), 9-year-old Alvie Wesley Wilson of Winfield was with a group of people watching the races from the railroad tracks south of the racetrack when he was struck and killed by an errant wheel from a race car. Although races continued to be held at the track for a few years after that accident, improvements demanded by insurers led to the cessation of auto racing at the track by the end of the decade.

Program from Stock Car Races at the Fair Grounds.

In 1967, the Auto Racing Association of Kansas headed by its president, Dale Chase, teamed up with Charles "Dusty" Cloud and Winfield's Spencer - Yarbrough V.F.W. Post 3544 to present late model automobile races on the fairgrounds track again. Racing events run on the fairgrounds track by this group:

Date Feature Race Winner Winning Driver's Hometown
July 23, 1967 Bob Reed Wichita, KS
September 24, 1967 Bud Hahn Wichita, KS
May 26, 1968 Bill Collins South Coffeyville, OK
June 23, 1968 Mel Montgomery Wichita, KS
July 14, 1968 Mike Lutkie Wichita, KS
September 22, 1968 Charlie Lutkie* Wichita, KS

* Winfield driver Kenny Moore driving a car owned by Leo Phillips of Winfield, finished a very close second place in this race. It was a controversial finish as many observers felt that Moore had won the race.

In 1970, Bob Lawrence teamed with Wayne Wilt and the Winfield Jaycees to promote three more late model stock car races at the track:

Date Feature Race Winner Winning Driver's Hometown
July 12, 1970 Pinky Mullins Wichita, KS
August 16, 1970 **
July 25, 1971 Gary Moore Wichita, KS

Advertising Flyer 1

** Bill Bookout, of Enid, OK, towing his `Super Modified' class car to a race in Wichita to a race scheduled for Sunday evening, August 16, 1970, stopped by the Winfield fairgrounds to watch the late model stock cars race there that Sunday afternoon. He asked the promoters if he could enter his modified in the stock car race but his request was denied. Bill Collins, of South Coffeyville, OK, commented that it would not matter if the modified was allowed to run as he (Collins) thought his late model car could beat the modified anyway. Bookout challenged Collins to a four lap match race between their two cars and, if the promoters would post some prize money, it should be a `winner take all' event. Collins agreed providing they use an inline start (rather than side by side) putting the late model in front since it was the heavier race car. $25 was posted for prize money and the race commenced. The late model led through the first two turns but was passed by the modified going into the back stretch. Since Bookout had planned to run at the smaller race track at Wichita, he had a lower rear end gear in the car than was really needed for the larger Winfield track. Collins easily passed Bookout back before the cars reached the third turn. In doing so though, Collins ran his car into the turn too fast and slammed into the steel pipe guard railing heavily damaging both the railing and his race car. Bookout stopped his car and said that, if Collins could make repairs, he was willing to rerun the race. Although his car could be repaired, Collins declined Bookout's offer saying that he would rather save his car for the late model feature event scheduled for later that afternoon. After that race, he would consider rerunning the match race with Bookout
The feature race started under threatening skies and was stopped after just two completed laps when a car driven by Benny Feeley of Enid, OK, rolled over several times exiting the fourth turn. It started raining before the race could be restarted and the remainder of the racing program had to be canceled. Although Mike Smith of Bartlesville, OK was leading when the feature race was stopped, no winner was declared as half of the scheduled 20-lap race had not been completed.

The unwillingness of the City of Winfield to replace the pipe railing around the track with something safer, coupled with dwindling crowds and, thus, smaller purses, led this latest group to stop promoting races at the track after the 1971 event.
The races run on the Winfield race track between 1967 and 1971 were very competitive with no driver being able to repeat a feature race win although it should be noted that the feature event run on July 14, 1968 and the one run on September 22, 1968 were both won by the same car, but with different drivers at the wheel.
In December of 1977, Wayne Wilt and Don Branine made a formal presentation to the Winfield City Commission that the city make $18,000 in improvements to the old race track so that automobile racing could return to the facility. Commissioners rejected the proposal on a 3-to-1 vote.

Bill,
This photo (above) appeared in the 1993 book "Winfield Then and Now" so you have probably seen it before but I think it goes well with the other photo (below) you have of that early car race at the Winfield fairgrounds.
Bob Lawrence, Feb. 11, '00

racing

Shell Station in Winfield

Attendants and pumps in the center.

Change Your Oil, Crankcase Service" sign at left.

Truck and drive up ramp at right.

Detail of Shell Gasoline sign and street lights.

Bill,
This photo is from my own collection. I apologize for its size but an 8" X 10" is all that I have of it and I don't know how to scan it in and send it to you in any smaller format. It was taken in 1928 at my uncle's Shell service station that was located on the east side in the 1100 block of South Main St. in Winfield. The attendant on the right is my uncle, Wallace McRoberts, and the first name of the attendant on the left is Earl but I can't find anyone who can remember his last name. There is a lot to see in this picture when one takes the time to look. Note the Stuber Brothers Ford Garage at left and the dome of the Presbyterian church visible above Stubers at the far left. Of course, that church dome is still there to this day.
Bob Lawrence, Feb. 11, '00

The Walnut River from the smoke stack of the power plant at the Fair Gounds.

Walnut River