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Kansas Historical Notes - May 1947

May 1947 (Vol. 15 No. 2), pages 221 to 224.
Transcribed by lhn;
digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society.

Edwin J. Lewis was elected president of the Lyon county chapter of the Kansas Historical Society at a meeting in Emporia in February, 1947, the first since December, 1943. Other officers are: James E. Putnam, first vice-president; Mrs. John A. Roberts, second vice-president; J. S. Langley, treasurer; E. C. Ryan, secretary; Fanny Randolph Vickery, Lulu Purdy Gilson, Lucina Jones, and Mrs. Robert L. Jones, historians. George R. R. Pflaum was the retiring president. Harold P. Trusler was elected president of the William Allen White Memorial Foundation at a meeting of the trustees in Emporia, February 13, 1947. Other officers are Dr. Frank Foncannon, vice-president; Mrs. Leonard G. Fort, secretary; M. A. Limbocker, treasurer, and F. B. Ross, resident agent. Executive committeemen are: Mrs. E. K. Lord, Elmer Siedhoff, Ora Rindom, C. J. McCoy and Calvin Lambert. Trustees reelected at the annual meeting of the foundation on February 10 were: Jason Austin, Dr. Foncannon, A. H. Gufler, Mr. Rindom, Mr. Siedhoff, Mrs. Fort and Mr. Trusler. A bronze bust of William Allen White, completed by Jo Davidson, New York sculptor, was officially unveiled in New York March 20. Until a site has been selected in Emporia the bust will be displayed in a New York art gallery.

The Crawford County Historical Society is compiling data on the oldest houses in the county. The oldest yet located is at Cato, in the northwestern part of Lincoln township, it was reported at a meeting of the society held in Pittsburg, February 17, 1947. The house was built in 1866 by Peter Smith, according to Mrs. Alice Gregg of McCune. Cato was among the post offices established in Kansas territory, according to a list published in the Lawrence Herald of Freedom, November 27, 1858, and the post office was included in the United States Official Register for 1861. T. Hagerman was listed as postmaster in 1858. Cato was a part of Bourbon county until the creation of Crawford county in 1867.

Miss Stella B. Haines was reelected president of the Augusta Historical Society at the annual meeting held February 17, 1947, at the home of Miss May Clark, former treasurer of the society. Other officers are: Mrs. J. E. Mahannah, vice-president; Mrs. A. V. Small, secretary, and Mrs. H. H. Bornholdt, treasurer. Miss

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Haines reported the completion of the cataloguing of the museum with the assistance of Miss Ruth Brown.

Donald M. Johnson of the Missouri State Museum at Jefferson City was the principal speaker at the annual dinner of the Wichita Public Historical Museum held March 27, 1947. Trustees elected for three-year terms were: R. T. Aitchison, Omrah Aley, Carl Bitting, John P. Davidson, Bertha V. Gardner, Col. Harrie S. Mueller and Robert M. Sutton. Trustees elected to fill vacancies were Mrs. Charles H. Armstrong, Eldon Means, Allen W. Hinkel and Ross Little. Officers of the museum society were elected by the trustees on April 3 as follows: O. A. Boyle, president; Dr. Jesse Clyde Fisher, first vice-president, Carl Bitting, second vice-president; H. D. Lester, secretary, and J. P. Davidson, treasurer. Colonel Mueller is the retiring president.

The Kansas History Teachers Association held its annual meeting in the rooms of the Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, April 11 and 12, 1947. The session also was attended by members of the Kansas Council for the Social Studies. Featured speakers and their subjects were: Frank E. Melvin, University of Kansas, "Adventuring With the Time Machine"; Karl A. Svenson, Washburn University, "The Civic Education Workshop Project"; Julia Emery, Wichita High School East, "The Development of a Psychology and Human Relation Course"; Mildred Cunningham, Parsons Junior College, "A United Nations Project for Eleventh Grade History"; A. B. Sageser, Kansas State College, Manhattan, "International Student Organization"; Claude E. Arnett, Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, "International Relations Project"; Mildred Throne, Washburn University, "Opening the Iowa Frontier"; Norbert R. Mahnken, Bethany College, "Ogallala, Gateway to the Northern Range"; Roy Durham, Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, "Sociology and Citizenship," and Francis R. Flournoy, College of Emporia, "Social Darwinism in British Theories of International Relations, 1850-1900." Officers elected were: Verne S. Sweedlun, Kansas State College, president; John W. Heaton, Baker University, vice-president; Della A. Warden, Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, secretary-treasurer. The executive board includes the above officers and Julia Emery, Wichita; Elizabeth Cochran, Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg; Francis R. Flournoy, Emporia, and Rob Roy MacGregor, Southwestern College, the retiring president.

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Officers of the Kansas Council for the Social Studies were reelected at a meeting held at Wichita February 1 in conjunction with the council of administration of the Kansas State Teachers Association. They are: Julia Emery, Wichita, president; C. P. Neis, Field Kindley Memorial High School, Coffeyville, vice-president; Robena Pringle, Topeka High School, secretary-treasurer. Board members are: Ruth E. Litchen, University of Kansas; A. E. Maag, Arkansas City High School; Della A. Warden, Emporia, and Rena Gilson, Russell High School.

The Kansas Society of the United States Daughters of 1812 is participating in the national society's grave locations project for the soldiers of the War of 1812. Mrs. Lloyd J. Robertson is state chairman and may be addressed at Box 146, Phillipsburg. Persons can assist in this project by sending to Mrs. Robertson the names of Soldiers of 1812 graves, the address of the burial place, and the cemetery or location of the grave, together with the names of living descendants or individuals able to supply information concerning the deceased. The object of the project is to see that all such graves are found, recorded, properly marked and honored on Memorial day. The National Society United States Daughters of 1812 has blanks available on which data on soldier graves may be entered.

Wagons Southwest-Story of Old Trail To Santa Fe is the title of a 50-page booklet by Stanley Vestal, published in 1946 by the American Pioneer Trails Association. Dr. Howard R. Driggs, president of the association, conferred with W. L. Young of Council Grove, chairman of the Kansas chapter of the association, Dr. George W. Davis of Ottawa, and George A. Root of Topeka, concerning the program of the organization, at a meeting at the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka, March 15, 1947. Dr. Driggs outlined a four-year program designed to commemorate various phases of American pioneering. The 1947 program is dedicated to the pioneers of irrigation and colonization, 1948 to pioneers of the cattle industry, 1949 to the Forty-niners, pioneers of the mining industry, and 1950, pioneers of transportation and communication.

Kansas Government is the title of a 126-page booklet by Albert B. Martin and L. W. Chesney, published by the League of Kansas Municipalities, Topeka, in August, 1946. The volume, designed as a short course on state and local government, is divided into the following main sections: "The Foundation of Kansas Government,"

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"The Organization of Kansas State Government," "The Organization of Kansas Local Government," and "The Operations of Kansas Government."

Hutchinson, a Prairie City in Kansas is the title of an interesting and attractively printed 166-page book published by Willard Welsh in 1946, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the city's founding. The volume traces the development of the city's government and industries, includes stories of the lives of several pioneers, sketches the city's newspaper history and describes other community activities.

A 20-page illustrated booklet describing the commercial facilities, industrial resources and educational institutions of Hays was recently issued by the Hays Chamber of Commerce.

Report by the Supreme Commander To the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the Operations in Europe of the Allied Expeditionary Force June 6, 1944, to May 8, 1945, has been printed and may be obtained from the U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington. This report by General Eisenhower comprises 123 pages. Subjects of sections of the report include: "The Assault," "Establishment of the Lodgement Area," "The Breakthrough," "The Battle of the Falaise-Argentan Pocket," "The Advance From the Seine to the German Border," "The Ardennes Counter-offensive," "Crossing the Rhine," "The Envelopment of the Ruhr and the Junction With the Russians," and "The Surrender." This report by the supreme commander was also printed in 1946 by the Arco Publishing Company, New York, under the title, Eisenhower's Own Story of the War.

Wings Over Kansas is the title of an attractive 48-page booklet published by the Kansas commission on aviation education for the state department of public instruction in 1946. It outlines a program of aviation education for Kansas schools from the elementary school level to universities and colleges. Evan E. Evans, superintendent of the Winfield schools, is chairman of the Kansas commission.

A large oil painting of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, painted from one of the general's favorite photographs, has been presented to the Eisenhower Memorial Foundation by Mrs. Lloyd Mayswinkle of Kansas City, president of the American Legion Auxiliary of Kansas, who purchased the painting in Indianapolis. It is the work of R. B. Lee, an Indianapolis portrait artist.