Annual Appeal from Director Jeff Sheets

Dear Members and Non-Members alike:

The Dickinson County Historical Society would like to wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season and thank you for your continual support. It is that continual support that helps keep the Dickinson County Historical Society going.

2012 has been an exciting year at the Heritage Center. Through the generosity of some of our members, we were able to raise $7,000 to put new roofs on the Volkmann Cabin and the Kellogg School House. These were great accomplishments for us.

As the year comes to a close, the Board of Trustees would like to ask you to think about an end of the year donation to the Dickinson County Historical Society General Fund. Every dollar helps preserve the history of our county. Your donation can be mailed to 412 S. Campbell, Abilene, Kansas 67410 or dropped off at the Heritage Center.

The Board of Trustees would also like to suggest giving memberships as gifts to your family and friends. It is a gift that they could enjoy the whole year.

Please support the Dickinson County Historical Society in preserving the heritage of our county.

Sincerely,

Jeff Sheets
Director

To become a member of the Dickinson County Historical Society and/or learn the benefits of membership, please click here.

Heritage Center and Jeffcoat Museum to Close for the Holidays

Vern Stroda. Photograph from the Jeffcoat
Photography Studio Museum collection.

The Dickinson County Heritage Center and Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum will be closed for the holidays, December 20 through January 1, giving our staff time to celebrate this festive season.

The Heritage Center will reopen on January 2 for normal business, while the Jeffcoat Museum will be open Mondays and Tuesdays starting January 7, and open by appointment all other days.

Help our Quilt Giveaway!

As many of you know, we gave away a beautiful quilt at this year’s Chisholm Trail Day Festival. We would like to thank everyone who bought a chance for the giveaway, as this was a fantastic fundraiser for the museum.

We would love to have another quilt giveaway for next year, however at this time, we do not have a quilt to give away. If any of our members have a quilt they would like to donate for use in this fundraiser, we would greatly appreciate it.

Also, if anyone has other types of items they would be interested in donating for us to use in our fundraising efforts, please let us know.

Heritage Art Show to Begin on February 3

The Heritage Center will host the 5th Annual Heritage Art Show from February 3 through February 10. This show will present works of art from Dickinson County students. 

There will be an opening reception held at the museum on Sunday, February 3, 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Cookies will be served for all who attend.

Kansas Statehood Ball Scheduled for January 26

Come celebrate the 152nd birthday of the state of Kansas at the Kansas Statehood Ball sponsored by the Dickinson County Historical Society on Saturday, January 26 at Sterl Hall in Eisenhower Park from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. 

This will mark the 18th year of this popular event for the whole family. The public is invited to dress in period (1860s) clothing but this is not mandatory. Admission for the dance will be $5.00 per adult, $3.00 for members of the Historical Society, and $2.00 for children (3 to 12 years of age). 

The Kansas Statehood Ball is an educational program provided by the Dickinson County Historical Society. Come and enjoy an evening filled with music and dance. Refreshments will be provided, but we would greatly appreciate any members who can bring a dozen cookies to serve to our guests. Our next newsletter will have more information on this entertaining event.

Holiday Shopping at the Heritage Center

The Heritage Center’s gift shop has a variety of items that may interest you for your holiday shopping needs. We have several books available for purchase that are perfect gifts for the history buff in your family. For local history, Stephanie Mowry Bearce’s pictorial history Abilene, Cowtown Abilene by Stewart Verckler, Abilene’s Carousel by Cecilia Harris, and Past and Present Towns of Dickinson County by Helen Dingler all make excellent reads. For a first-hand account on life in early 20th century Abilene, try Deane Malott’s On Growing Up in Abilene, Kansas.

For Kansas history, the Kansas Sampler Foundation’s 8 Wonders of Kansas Guidebook is a really neat book that features unique looks at over 200 Kansas attractions. We also have books on pioneer life, Bleeding Kansas, Wild Bill Hickok, and the Dust Bowl. Our wide selection of cookbooks is always a good choice too.

For kids, we have coloring books on Kansas and famous Kansans, pencil sharpeners, and antique-style wooden toys, which make great stocking stuffers. Our shop also has the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad’s new children’s book Lonesome George and the Steam Engine for sale.

Be sure to stop by the Heritage Center gift shop to see our full selection of merchandise, which includes books, toys, magnets, music, and much more. If you shop at the Heritage Center, you’re not just supporting our local museum, but also our local economy.

Holiday Events Scheduled for December 1st and 2nd

The holiday season is almost here, and the Dickinson County Historical Society has a busy weekend approaching on December 1 and 2. The Dickinson County Heritage Center will be a refreshment stop on the Homes for the Holidays Tour, serving cookies and drinks. The Volkmann Cabin will be open for visitors during the homes tour as well, Saturday (December 1) 4:00pm—8:00pm and Sunday (December 2) 1:00pm—5:00pm. Tickets for the Homes for the Holidays Tour are just $10 and can be purchased at the Dickinson County Heritage Center or the Abilene Visitor Center (not at the homes themselves).

We will also host some other special events on Sunday, December 2. The Home Cooking Dickinson County Style cookbook reception will be held at the Heritage Center at 4:00pm. From 6:00pm to 8:00pm, we will host our annual Christmas in the Cabin event at the Heritage Center. The Volkmann Cabin and Burklund Store will be open for visitors, cookies and hot chocolate will be served, and carousel rides will be given. Thad Beach (pictured above) will also be on hand with his musical Christmas wagon. He will perform Christmas tunes with acoustic folk instruments; everyone is invited to sing along and explore a variety of rhythm instruments. This is always a great event for any age, so bring the whole family and have some fun.

As we mentioned above, we will be serving cookies and refreshments both Saturday and Sunday. We will need 100 dozen cookies to serve everyone, so we are asking for your help. If you can provide one or two dozen cookies (or even more!) we would greatly appreciate your help. Please call us at 263-2681 to let us know how many you would like to provide. We also serve cookies at the upcoming Kansas Statehood Ball and Youth Art Show reception, so the more cookies we receive, the better.

We also need help working our refreshment table during this weekend. On Saturday, we could use two or three people 3:30pm to 6:00pm, and 6:00pm to 8:30pm. We will also need one or two people to sell tickets for the homes tour in the front lobby from 4:00pm to 8:00pm.

On Sunday, we will need two or three people for the refreshment table 12:30pm to 3:00pm, 3:00pm to 5:30pm, and 5:30pm to 8:30pm. We will also need one or two people for the ticket table 1:00pm to 2:30pm and 2:30pm to 5:00pm.

As you can see, this will be a very busy weekend. With your help, we can make it a very memorable time for all who visit the Heritage Center.

Riders on the Orphan Train Program on November 29

On November 29, the Heritage Center will be host to a free program on the Riders of the Orphan Train at 7:00pm.

Between 1854 and 1929 over 250,000 orphans and unwanted children were taken out of New York City and given away at train stations across America. The last train came to Sulphur Springs, Texas in 1929. This “placing out” system was originally organized by Congregationalist minister Charles Loring Brace and the Children’s Aid Society of New York. His mission was to rid the streets and overcrowded orphanages of homeless children and provide them with an opportunity to find new homes in the developing Midwest. Many of the children were not orphans but “surrendered” by parents too impoverished to keep them. This nearly eighty year experiment in child migration is filled with the entire spectrum of human emotion and reveals a great deal about the successes and failures of the American Dream. Through literature, music, archival photographs, film interviews, informal lecture and audience discussion this virtually untold chapter in American history comes alive. The one-hour multi media program including music, video and a dramatic reading of a novel in progress by award-winning author Alison Moore. Although the program is about children it is designed to engage audiences of all ages.

Alison Moore, Humanities Scholar
Alison Moore, MFA, is a former Assistant Professor of English/Creative Writing in the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of Arizona and a current Humanities Scholar in Texas. She lives in Austin and is completing a novel on the Orphan Trains with a grant from the Texas Institute of Letters and the Dobie/Paisano Foundation of the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of three books, a new collection of short stories entitled The Middle of Elsewhere (Phoenix International/University of Arkansas Press 2006), Small Spaces between Emergencies (Mercury House, 1992) one of the Notable Books of 1993 chosen by The American Library Association, and a novel, Synonym for Love (Mercury House 1995). In 2004 she received the Katherine Ann Porter Prize for Fiction.

Phil Lancaster, Presenter/Audio-Visual Technician
Arkansas Arts on Tour musician Phil Lancaster (Professor Strings) was born in Texarkana and studied art and music at L’Ecole De Beaux Arts in Angers, France. He became a member of a bluegrass band that traveled and played throughout France and produced an album entitled “Bluegrass Oldies Ltd./Traveling Show.” He also worked as a stage theatre technician for La Coursive Theatre Nationale in La Rochelle, France. After returning to the U.S. he met three Arkansas musicians and the acoustic quartet “Still on the Hill” was formed in Fayetteville. They released their first CD in 1997, the second in 2000. The group performed at national and international festivals. He currently lives in Austin and is a co-presenter of Riders on the Orphan Train. In 2007 he received an Arkansas Arts Council fellowship for Music Composition.

“…the program far exceeded any expectations I may have had, as did the community’s response…this was by far the most well-attended program the library has ever offered….everyone who attended was moved, educated and entertained…your program truly made an impact on our community.
--Cecilia Hurt Barham, Decatur Public Library, Decatur, TX

Dickinson County Historical Society to Gather for our 84th Annual Meeting

The 84th Annual Meeting of the Dickinson County Historical Society will be held on Thursday, November 15 at 6:00pm at the St. Andrew’s Parish Center located at 311 S. Buckeye.

Mr. K’s Farmhouse will cater the evening’s meal, and reservations should be made by Friday, November 9 by calling the Heritage Center at (785) 263-2681.  Cost per plate is $13.50.

Sister Act from Hope will provide musical entertainment for the evening. During the business meeting, we will elect new board members for 2013.

Also this year, we will honor the descendents of the John H. Wood family. The Wood family settled near Solomon around 1875.

We hope to see you at this year’s Annual Meeting. Please contact us at (785) 263-2681 to make your reservation.

"C.L. Brown and Kansas Independent Telephony" is Now on YouTube

Back in July, the Dickinson County Historical Society premiered our short documentary film, C.L. Brown and Kansas Independent Telephony.  The film highlights the life of C.L. Brown, a utilities entrepreneur and humanitarian who gave back to the Kansas public in fantastic ways during his life.  Today, the independent telecommunications companies continue this tradition set forth by Brown, by giving to their communities as well.  You can watch the film below:

Principal funding for this program is provided by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization promoting understanding of the history, traditions, and ideas that shape our lives and build community.

Special Traveling Exhibit to Highlight the Orphan Train Riders to Kansas

We are very pleased to announce that the Dickinson County Heritage Center will be host to the traveling exhibit Orphan Train Riders to Kansas, October 6th through October 31st.

This special exhibit is made possible by the Thelma Starr Workman Estate, the Humanities Division of Cloud County Community College, and the National Orphan Train Complex.

The National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia (which manages the National Orphan Train Museum) had this to say about the exhibition: “The exhibit will feature photographs and information from the Anna Laura Hill collection. Hill was a placing agent during the Orphan Train Movement, making 163 trips to Kansas to place children.

“The exhibit will also incorporate photographs from depot scrapbooks that were compiled by the late Thelma Starr Workman. Workman was a teacher at Cloud County Community College for 28 years, and published a number of poetry, fiction, and local historical books. She was also a collector and promoter of local history, and a columnist for the local newspaper.”

The National Orphan Train Museum is dedicated to the preservation of stories and artifacts of those who were part of the Orphan Train Movement. The museum features displays of Orphan Train Riders, families who took the children, placement agencies and the agents who accompanied the children on the trains, and the more recent history of collecting the stories.

Volunteers Needed for the Chisholm Trail Day Festival!

The Chisholm Trail Day Festival (October 6) is always a fantastic event for the whole family to attend, but in order to meet the needs of our visitors, we need lots of help to make sure everything is up and running. We are once again asking our members to step forward and lend a helping hand. Here are the areas we need help with: 

Front Desk: 9 am—12 pm (2 people), 12 pm—2 pm (2 people), 2 pm—4 pm (2 people)

Food Stand: 8 am—11 am (4-6 people), 11 am—2 pm (8-10 people), 2 pm—5 pm (4-6 people)

Carousel Operators: 9 am—12 pm (2 people), 12 pm—2 pm (2 people), 2 pm—4 pm (2 people)

Carousel Tickets: 9 am—12 pm (2 people), 12 pm—2 pm (2 people), 2 pm—4 pm (2 people)

Information Tent: 9 am—11 am (2 people), 11 am—1 pm (2 people), 1 pm—3 pm (2 people)

Bounce House: 9 am—11 am (2 people), 11 am—1 pm (2 people), 1 pm—3 pm (2 people)

Museum Ambassadors: 9 am—11 am (2 people), 11 am—1 pm (2 people), 1 pm—3 pm (2 people)

Set up: Friday starting at 9 am, Saturday at 8 am

Clean up: Saturday, 4 pm—?

This is our biggest event of the year, and we need help from all of our members to make this a success. Please look at your calendar and see if you can help. Your help will keep this festival going and growing. Please call our office at (785) 263-2681 if you are available to help. We would be very happy to add your name to the schedule.

Work Days Scheduled for September 22 and 29

We’re having work days at the Dickinson County Heritage Center on September 22 and 29, 9:00am-12:00pm to help prepare our grounds for the Chisholm Trail Day Festival on October 6. We’ll be working on projects such as painting, trimming, weeding, cleaning, dusting, and a lot more. This will be a great opportunity to give back to your museum and community.

If you know any students who need community service hours for a club or organization, let them know, we’d be happy to have help from people of all ages. 

If you won’t be able to attend, or are not able to help with manual labor, another great way to help would be providing snacks or refreshments for our volunteer workers those days. Please let us know if you are interested in helping with our work days in any way.

Come to the 34th Annual Chisholm Trail Day Festival!

It’s time to saddle up and head to the 34th Annual Chisholm Trail Day Festival, on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at the Dickinson County Heritage Center, 412 S. Campbell in Abilene, Kansas from 9 am to 4 pm. The admission is $5 per adult and $2 per child (ages 3-12), sponsored by the Dickinson County Historical Society.

There will be lots of fun and activities for the whole family. We will have lots of live entertainment on the main stage featuring Classic Heart playing great music of the 50s and 60s, music that will really make you want to dance. Aaron Fowler of Wichita will also be on the main stage presenting a program entitled Oh Give Me A Home: Music and the Kansas Prairies. Our third performer on the main stage will be Dave “Zerf” Zerfas. Zerf plays Kansas Ballads and Old Cowboy songs. There will be great music and entertainment all day long.

This year the Antique Farm Show will feature International tractors and farm equipment. The special feature tractor will be International Cub owned by Gail Rodda. Registration begins at 8:00 am. There will be tractor games at 11:00 am and the Parade of Power will begin at 1:00 pm. Also there will be an antique tractor pull beginning at 2:00 pm.

There will also be a pedal tractor pull for kids four to twelve years of age. Registration will begin at 8:00 am and the pull will begin at 9:00 am. This activity will be free of charge.

If you love old cars then you won’t want to miss the Antique and Classic Car Show. There will be over 50 antique and classic cars on exhibit throughout the day. Anyone who would like to bring a car for the show is welcome to do so. Registration will begin at 8:00 am Saturday morning.

Come and learn how old crafts were done. We will have demonstrations on blacksmithing, chair caning, bread baking, molasses boiling, pioneer cooking, lumber sawing, and much more.

Inside the Heritage Center make sure you visit the Mud Creek Quilters demonstrating the art of quilting. As a fund raiser, the Dickinson County Historical Society will be giving away a beautiful hand quilted quilt at 3:00 pm. For a donation of $1.00 you will receive a chance on the drawing, or for donating $5 you will receive 6 chances for the drawing.

There will also be a special traveling exhibit entitled Orphan Train Riders to Kansas from the National Orphan Train Museum in Concordia, Kansas inside the Heritage Center.

For $1.00 kids of all ages will enjoy riding on the 1901 C.W. Parker Carousel powered by its original steam engine. This carousel is a National Historic Landmark, a National Historic Carousel, and was voted one of the top 8 Wonders of Kansas Customs. It is truly a national treasure and everyone will have great fun taking a ride.

If you like trains, come and ride the rails as the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad powers up their 1919 Santa Fe 4-6-2 “Pacific” #3415 Steam Locomotive. Relive the days of steam powered trains. The train will run from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on the hour.

During the day, visit Old Abilene Town and watch Wild Bill Hickok tame the streets of Abilene in 1871. Also you can take a ride on the Old Abilene Stage located in Old Abilene Town. On Sunday from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Bill Burrows will hold a “Cowboy Jam Session” at the Alamo Saloon.

There will be children’s activities as well as arts and crafts booths, folk craft demonstrations, and the Farmers Market. Kasey the Clown and Timbo will also be roaming the grounds during the day.

Don’t miss out on the fun and the excitement at the 34th Annual Chisholm Trail Day Festival. For more information call 785-263-2681, check out our website, or visit us on Facebook. 

We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support of the Chisholm Trail Day Festival.

Wrangler

Bert & Wetta

Solomon State Bank - Solomon, Abilene

Abilene Termite and Pest Control

Zey's Market

M & M Tire & Auto, Inc.

Family Eye Care of Abilene

First Bank of Kansas

First National Bank of Hope

Abilene Reflector-Chronicle

TCT

Great Plains Manufacturing

Wyatt Land Title Services

McKee Swimming Pools

Reynolds Real Estate

Mr. K's Farmhouse

Mid-Kansas Cooperative Assn.

Kenneth A. Hansen, D.D.S.

Drover

West's Plaza Country Mart

Pinnacle Bank

Webb Home Center

Holm Automotive Center

Longhorn

Smart Insurance

Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc.

Brierton Engineering

Thanks again! We'll see you at the Chisholm Trail Day Festival on October 6, 2012!

A New Face (of the Equine Variety) at the Museum

The Heritage Center is very pleased to announce that we have acquired a carousel horse due to a generous donation from Mary Feller. After repairing several of the horses for our 1901 C.W. Parker carousel, Mary’s husband, Don, was inspired to build four different horses based upon Parker’s patterns. This particular horse was an extra one created by Don, which Mary so graciously decided to donate to the museum. It is currently featured in our museum’s entrance and gift shop, welcoming guests as they enter the Heritage Center. We also plan to bring this carousel horse to festivals and events to help promote our museum’s many attractions to the public. Next time you are at the museum, be sure to take a look at this beautiful carousel horse!

This Year's Chisholm Trail Festival is Set for October 6, 2012!

Announcing Our Museums' Fall Hours

Beginning on September 3rd, the Dickinson County Historical Society has returned to our fall /winter hours from Labor Day to Memorial Day.  The Dickinson County Heritage Center will open from 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday.

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum has also changed to its fall hours which are Monday and Tuesday 9 am to 4 pm or by appointment.

The public is invited to visit the Dickinson County Heritage Center, ride the carousel, and experience over 150 years of Dickinson County history.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the Chisholm Trail Day Festival, held on Saturday, October 6th, as well.

For more information on the Dickinson County Historical Society or on these events, contact 785.263.2681 or stop by our museum at 412 S. Campbell.  Become a part of the Society and help preserve our heritage.

Historical Bicycle Tour Coming Up in Abilene

The Dickinson County Historical Society will once again be conducting a historical bicycle tour of downtown Abilene.  This tour benefits the Quality of Life Coalition, and will be held on August 24, 2012 at 7:00pm.

A Busy Summer for the Dickinson County Historical Society

The Dickinson County Historical Society has certainly had a busy time this summer.  Every summer, we try to offer our visitors and members a variety of educational and fun programs.

We kicked off June with our annual youth day camp, Pioneer Camp.  This proved to be a fantastic two weeks, involving many young kids in history in a real life way.  If you would like to see photos showing some of the activities these kids do, be sure to check out our Facebook page.

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum continued their Abilene in the Fifties exhibit throughout the summer, showing visitors views of the 1951 flood, President Eisenhower's visits to his hometown, and several other interesting views of the 1950s.

Our Memories of the Prairie lecture series was a great success this year, with several of our membership coming to our programs every Saturday.  This series culminated with our Annual Ice Cream Social and a public screening of our new short documentary film C.L. Brown and Kansas Independent Telephony.  If you are interested in showing this film at a local club meeting or in the school classroom, please let us know.  We would love to share this film with as many people as possible.

Overall, it was a fantastic summer for the Dickinson County Historical Society.  We believe that sharing our county's history through public events is of paramount importance.  To help support future events from our society, we welcome donations to help keep our current programs running, and to allow for the creation of new and exciting programming.

Great Interaction at our Short Film Premiere

Our premiere's audience.

For the past seven months, the Dickinson County Historical Society has been working on a short film highlighting the life of C.L. Brown and his lasting legacy of community giving that still exist in Kansas independent telephone companies today. On Saturday, July 21, 2012, we premiered the fifteen-minute film, C.L. Brown and Kansas Independent Telephony, to a crowd at the Eisenhower Presidential Library auditorium. I was hoping for a good-sized crowd for the event. What we got far exceeded my expectations.

That evening, we totaled 165 guests for the film screening. That’s right, 165 people. This total was more than would fit in the auditorium’s seats, but staff at the Eisenhower Presidential Library graciously set up additional chairs so everyone in attendance could have a place to sit.

After the screening, we also held a panel discussion focusing on the history of C.L. Brown, community engagement, and how the short film was made. I was very pleased with the variety of questions our audience posed and the many stories that were shared during the discussion. Many of our audience and their families have strong memories of the Brown Memorial Park, so it was fascinating to hear those people reminisce about the past.

After the discussion, we hosted our annual Ice Cream Social at the Dickinson County Heritage Center. This was probably the largest crowd we have ever hosted for this event. Our museum was a packed house, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits throughout the evening.

I would like to thank everyone who helped make this short film and event a success, and would like to thank our society’s membership for coming out in full force Saturday night. If you were not in attendance, we will be announcing other ways to view the short film very soon.

For another take on this evening, be sure to read the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle’s writeup on the event. 

Principle funding for this program is provided by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization promoting understanding of the history, traditions, and ideas that shape our lives and build community.