Newsletter - Winter 2017

Celebrate Cowley County History

Mark your calendars for Celebrate Cowley County History on Saturday, January 27th, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Join us at Baden Square for informative and interesting presentations by this year’s authors. Books will be available purchase, and you will want a copy. They can also be purchased at the museum after the event.

The papers included for this year’s book are:

The Building at 915 Millington
By Roland Mueller

The Theaters of Arkansas City
By Foss Farrar

M. Madeline Southard, 1877 – 1967: Doing All the Good You Can
By Jerry Wallace

A Little History of Atlanta, Kansas, and the Atlanta Labor Day Celebration
By Gloria Ulbrich

Visit Us!

The year is winding down. If you haven’t been in to see the “Remembering Those Who Served” exhibit, you need to come in soon. The exhibit concludes at the end of the year.

For the remainder of the year, we have a traveling display marking Cowley County’s sesquicentennial. It celebrates our county’s communities, history, and folklore. Along with the display, you can get a free wooden nickel and a Cowley County Visitor’s Guide created by Cowley First. You’ll want a copy of this guide as it has lots of history in honor of our county’s sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary.

We are open Tuesdays through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with the exceptions of December 23-24 and December 31st.

Cowley County Visitor’s Guide

2018 Calendars for Sale

The 2018 Winfield calendars are finally done! What a learning experience it was this year! The calendars costs $10 each and can be purchased at the Winfield newspaper of-fice or at the museum.

Message from the Director by Shawn Marie Stover

I am still hopeful that there are great old photos out there that will make their way to the museum.

This past summer, my father-in-law scanned some old family albums. It took me a good three months to look at the picture CD that he gave us, but when I did, I was so thrilled! There were at least three pictures that I could use in the Cowley County Heritage, Vol. II book and several others that would fit in the photo categories that we have at the museum. I was also pleased that my father-in-law scanned the photos in a high resolution!

There are all kinds of treasures in your family’s scrapbooks and albums too! Make sure that the photos are labeled. If you’re not exactly sure who is in a picture or what the event is, put a question mark next to your guess. If you are able to scan, scan in a high resolution (“dpi”—dots per inch)! Who knows what treasures are to be found among your family photos!

Goodies from the Ridgway albums! Clockwise from left: “Fairview School north of Ridgway Ranch House taken 1940. Where Ridgway children went to grade school”; Dexter depot; a card that says, “Vote for J.S. Day for Sheriff” (James Samuel Day was sheriff twice: 1903-05 & 1907-09).

Happenings

We were so happy to see everyone at our annual meeting and the program, “Remembering Those Who Served”, on November 5th! We hope that everyone felt uplifted and appreciative of the freedoms that we have in this country. This is thanks to our veterans.

Board members Nianne Mohlstrom and Beverly Johnson represented the historical society at the Family History Fair in Wellington on November 11th. The event focused on family history and genealogy, but area museums and historical societies had an opportunity to promote their organizations.

More oral histories were added to our collection. Vernon Russell and Susan Weathers, both veterans, shared their memories with us recently.

On December 13th, we had a visit from author James Kenyon. He plans to write a book about Kansas high schools that have been closed. Armond Hillier met with him to tell him about Cambridge High School. We also appreciated the loan of school memorabilia from Gary Utt who could not be at the museum that day.

We strive to preserve the past and share it with the future. It’s an exhausting job, but somebody has to do it!

Clockwise from upper left: CCHS President Rick Hathaway welcomes the crowd to our “Remembering Those Who Served Event”; Susan Weathers; Vernon Russell; James Kenyon and Armond Hillier; CCHS Board Member Nianne Mohlstrom at the Family History Fair.

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.

Cowley County Heritage, Vol. II Book Update by Shawn Marie Stover

Work continues daily on our Cowley County Heritage, Vol. II book. I am so excited to be making progress on it, and I’d be happy to show it to anyone who visits the museum. Just ask. I could talk all day about this book!

There is still time to order yours! Pre-orders cost $55!

Sample pages from the Win-field section of Cowley County Heritage, Vol. II .