Newsletter - Summer 2016
Classy Vehicles on the Grounds
On Saturday, June 4th, we had a great crowd for Classy Vehicles on the Grounds! Twenty-eight vehicles were parked on our south lawn and shown by their wonderful owners. Inside the museum, children raced slot cars provided by Tom Petty. Thank you, everyone, for making this event great!
Top and bottom left: Cars on the south lawn of the museum.
Bottom right: Larry Gann is assisting the kids.
From the Frankie Cullison Archives by Shawn Marie Stover
At the end of May, a researcher visited the archives and was looking for P.J. Sonner. We didn’t have a biography file on him and I was having trouble locating the Sonner Burner business file, but I knew we had a big file on that business. As I was looking for the business file, the thoughts in my head spilled out unfiltered, “I know that I’ve seen a picture of him [Mr. Sonner] in his pajamas some-where.” Let me tell you, when you say something like that about someone who passed away such a long time ago, people give you a strange look.
I did remember where I saw that picture of P.J. in his pj’s.
A few weeks prior to this researcher’s visit, the Kansas Aviation Museum called asking for information about the Fairchild Plane factory at Strother Field. Among the newspaper articles that I scanned, was a picture of Mr. Sonner in a robe and pajamas standing outside the hospital shaking hands with the big wigs of the plane factory. Apparently it was Mr. Sonner’s idea to have this factory come to Strother Field.
When I remembered where I had seen this picture and had scanned and saved it, I knew where the Sonner Burner Company file was misfiled—in the Strother Field section. You see, we don’t make a business file for every single business. Many times a business is listed by category with like businesses. For example, we don’t have a file for Higginbottom’s Grocery Store. It is filed under a more general, “grocery stores” in the Winfield business section. In this case, the Sonner Burner Company in the Strother Field section because Peabody Gordon-Piatt made burners and was located at Strother Field.
Long story shorter, we were able to provide this researcher with lots of information about her relative’s business and other contributions to Winfield. I love helping people use our archives!
Clipping from The Winfield Daily Courier dated 7-16-1946
Museum Friends
We changed the name from “Friends of the Museum” to “Museum Friends” to avoid confusing our group with other friendly groups.
Our generous Museum Friends baked like crazy to provide food for us to sell at Classy Vehicles on the Grounds. They also provided the food when we hosted the Chamber Coffee in June. The food was delicious! Thank you, Friends!
We will be discussing many events at our next meeting on August 15 at 5:30 P.M. Please join us if you can!
Many Thanks
Through a generous donation by Elaine Rankin, Shane Henderson removed an ailing tree from the museum grounds. A new tree will be planted in its place. Elaine and Hal and Nan Hinson spent some time doing extra yard work recently. They really did a wham bam job!
For the last few years, the Winfield Public Library has given us their copies of the Arkansas City Traveler newspapers. Even though that newspaper is no longer being printed, we appreciated the library’s generosity. Thank you WPL!
Vendors on the Grounds
The Second Annual Vendors on the Grounds will be held Saturday, September 10, 2016, from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on the south lawn of the Museum. There will be a variety of items for sale and food will be available. In case of inclement weather the event will be canceled.
Cowley County Heritage, Vol. II
In 1990 a really neat book called Cowley County Heritage was printed. People from all over the county submitted stories and pictures that pertained to Cowley County. It’s time to publish a second book like that and we need your help.
We are looking for business or individual sponsors to donate money towards this project so the books will be affordable for everyone. Your contributions will also help us place these books in Cowley County’s museums and public libraries.
Please submit your stories for the book. Five hundred word stories and a picture may be submitted for free and you may submit more than one story. For instance, you could write one story about your parents and their lives and another about yourself and your kids.
Our book committee is hard at work creating the forms for our sponsors do-nations and book submissions. When these brochures are ready, we will distribute them through e-mail, regular mail, and by hand.
After we determine the amount sponsorship donations, we can decide on a book price.
Please be thinking about the stories that you’d like to share and have preserved in our book. Everyone’s story is important!
The first Cowley County Heritage book
Volunteer Spotlight by Shawn Marie Stover
Over the years the museum has benefited not only from Walt Nichols’ artistic talent but from his good old elbow grease. Most recently you may have seen the publicity about the new barn quilt block that Walt designed and made for the museum, but he has been a tremendous help to us for years now.
When the museum held the events Vendors on the Grounds and Classy Vehicles on the Grounds, Walt was right there at his wife Cheri’s side, putting in nearly as many volunteer hours as she did. He also helps Cheri with museum displays and helped her decorate for the museum at the Kiwanis Club’s Dollars for Winfield Scholars event.
Walt is also good at building things. He helped make some useful chair storage space in our kitchen. We’re so lucky to have his help at the museum!
Cheri & Walt’s Coca-Cola themed table at Dollars for Winfield Scholars
Walt and the barn quilt block that he made for the museum
The Cowley County Historical Society dates from 1931 with a major reorganization and move to our present location in 1967. The CCHS's mission is to preserve and make available the colorful history of the county. We also support and encourage activities pertaining to local history throughout the county. Our bookstore makes available an assortment of items dealing with local history. The historical society also maintains a fine collection of historical records and vintage photographs.
Message from the Director by Shawn Marie Stover
What brought your family to Cowley County? Was it more favorable weather conditions? Health reasons? A job? Did you have other family or friends in the area? Apparently I have a milk cow to thank for my life in this area. For my very life, in fact, because neither of my parents were from Cowley County. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
First off, the museum is putting together a book called Cowley County Heritage, Vol. II. The original book, Cowley County Heritage, was printed in 1990. It is a great book with lots of interesting information about families, businesses and our county history. People were invited to submit their families’ histories of 500 words or less and a picture for free.
Now we want to print a second volume. We hope the people who submitted stories for the first book will continue their stories in this new book. We also want stories from families that aren't in the first book. We want stories about business and events. Most of all, we want to make a good book that can be used as a resource for generations. The museum has a 1901 biographical sketches book that re-searchers still find useful.
In anticipation of this book, I started thinking about the stories that I could submit. My family moved to Cowley County in 1974 when my grandfather was assigned to the United Methodist Churches in Burden and Tisdale. The way my grandfather put it, "The Bishop knew that we had a milk cow and Tisdale had a barn and pasture."
Thus my grandfather's family moved into the parsonage at Tisdale. Even though my father was an adult at that point, he came this way and attended Southwestern College where he met my mother.
So I owe my very existence to a milk cow. My brother and all of my cousins can say the same thing, because all of our parents met and married during those ten years that my grandparents lived in the parsonage at Tisdale.
What's your story? Start researching or talking to your relatives. Take notes. Record conversations. Soon we will be asking for your submissions!