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L. W. Halbe Collection

Halbe, L. W. (Leslie Winfield), 1893-1981

The L. W. (Leslie Winfield) Halbe photo collection consists of 1500 glass plate negatives produced by Halbe during his teenage years. Halbe lived in Dorrance, Russell County, Kansas, and began taking photographs of the region with an inexpensive Sears and Roebuck camera when he was fifteen years old.

North Star Drug Store, Salina, Kansas

These photographs show exterior and interior views of the North Star Drug Store in Salina, Kansas. The first photograph shows an exterior view of the store with four men standing in front of the doorway. They are identified as Emil Lagbach, Bill Cacher (son of Dr. Cacher), A. Lagbach (assistant), and Mister Nelson (druggist). The sign above the doorway includes the traditional mortar and pestle pharmacy symbol, and also has the words "Svensk Apotek," identifying the store as a "Swedish pharmacy." Signs in the window advertise "Wa-Hoo Blood and Nerve Tonic." The second photograph shows an interior view of the store with employees and customers visible in the picture. A display case with boxes of cigars is visible on the left. A table with newspapers and magazines on it is visible in the middle, with other tables and chairs behind it. A soda fountain service counter is visible on the right. Signs above the shelves advertise cigars, perfumes, photo supplies, rubber goods, prescriptions, stationery, and candy.

Alice Gardiner Sennrich

Sennrich, Alice G.

This black and white photograph shows Alice Gardiner Sennrich, (1878-1968), photographer from Valley Falls, Kansas. The daughter of Tom Gardiner and Mattie Kirkpatrick Gardiner of Winchester, Kansas, she moved in 1880 with her family to Valley Falls where her father established the Valley Falls Register newspaper. As a young woman growing up in a small Kansas community, Alice choose an unconventional career in photography. On January 1, 1902, she purchased the C.S. Edington photography studio in Valley Falls and within a few years was making a name for herself as a Kansas photographer. In 1909, the Photographers Association of Kansas awarded her a first prize medal for her photos of children. She also received a gold medal and a prize of five dollars for her style of retouching photos. In 1915 as her business began to flourish, she married John Sennrich a carpenter and painter from Valley Falls. After their marriage, the couple remained in Valley Falls so Alice could continue to operate her business. For a number of years Alice's artistic eye captured life in a typical northeast Kansas community until she began to loose her eyesight in the 1950s. As her eyesight deteriorated, she could no longer maintain her studio and donated her equipment and props to the Kansas Historical Society. She was blind the last ten years of her life. In 1968, Alice Gardiner Sennrich passed away at the age of ninety at a nursing home in Valley Falls, Kansas.

Barbershop, Dodge City, Kansas

This black and white photograph shows a young boy reading a book while receiving a haircut at a barbershop in Dodge City, Kansas. In the background by-standers can be seen at the window.

Salina Plumbing Company delivery wagon, Salina, Kansas

These three photographs show the delivery wagons of the Salina Plumbing Company in Salina, Kansas. The first image shows Anna Geis, the bookkeeper, standing next to the wagon. The second view shows Ed Sharp leaning on the wagon. The last photograph shows just the horse and wagon.

Interior of Pitty Brothers barber shop in Benedict, Wilson County, Kansas

This photograph shows the Pitty brothers, Sabin and Ray, working inside their barber shop in Benedict, Wilson County, Kansas.

Interior view of the Bogue Barber Shop, Neodesha, Wilson County, Kansas

This photograph shows the interior view of the Bogue Barber Shop in Neodesha, Wilson County, Kansas. The barber is giving a young man a haircut.