Facet Browse

Xavia Hightower Howard

Goldberg, Jack

A photograph of Xavia Hightower Howard who was born in 1916 and lived in Wichita, Kansas. Her mother Victoria Murdoch-Hightower owned and operated Citizens Funeral Home. In 1941, Xavia graduated from Williams Institute of Mortuary Science, Kansas City, Kansas. After her mother's death in 1942, Xavia became the proprietor of Citizens Funeral Home. She was the first female African-American licensed funeral director and embalmer in Kansas. Xavia was active in the community serving on many committees and boards. She retired from the funeral business in 1998.

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.

Barbershop, Lawrence, Kansas

Lawrence Studio

This photograph from a nitrate negative shows a young boy receiving a haircut at a barbershop in Lawrence, Kansas.

Victoria Murdoch-Hightower

Robinson Studio

A portrait of Victoria Murdoch-Hightower. Victoria was born in 1888 and later married Rufus Hightower, a police officer, in the 1920s. He died in the line of duty, and after his death, Victoria found work as a probation officer. Later, she went to Madam C. J. Walker's School of Cosmetology in Kansas City, Kansas and after graduation, she worked at Newt Bower's funeral home in Coffeyville, Kansas. When Newt decided to sell the business, she purchased it and changed the name to Hightower Funeral Home. She became the first female African-American funeral director in Kansas. Victoria expanded her business when she purchased Citizens Funeral Home in Wichita, Kansas. She later sold the funeral home in Coffeyville. Victoria died in 1942. Her daughter Xavia Earline Hightower, obtained her funeral director's and embalmer's licenses and began operating the funeral home. Xavia sold the business in 1998.

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.

Harvey girls, Hutchinson, Kansas

This photograph shows a group of Harvey Girls seated near the tracks in Hutchinson, Kansas. The young women, wearing modest black dresses with long white aprons, served meals to travelers at the Fred Harvey hotels and restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway line.

Graves Drug Store, Garnett, Kansas

Interior view of Graves Drug Store. Shown is the soda fountain, employees, and a customer.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's Fred Harvey House, Syracuse, Kansas

This photograph shows a group of Harvey Girls standing in front of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's Fred Harvey House in Syracuse, Kansas. The young women, wearing modest black dresses with long white aprons, served meals to travelers at the Fred Harvey hotels and restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway line.

Alice Gardiner Sennrich

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.

Photography studio, Clay Center, Kansas

A photograph showing a woman photographer in her studio, Clay Center, Kansas. Visible in the photograph is a camera, backdrop, and windows for lighting. It is possible this is Kalin's Studio, owned by Mrs. B. Kalin, and located at 430 1/2 Lincoln, Clay Center, Kansas.