Memories of the Prairie Lecture Series: Presentation Explores Kansas Opera Houses

The Dickinson County Historical Society and the Heritage Homes Association of Dickinson County in Abilene will host “Kansas Opera Houses and Community Events,” a presentation and discussion by Jane Rhoads on Saturday, June 30 at 7 pm  at the Dickinson County Heritage Center located at 412 S. Campbell St.  Members of the community are invited to attend the free program.  Contact the Heritage Center at 263-2681 for more information.  The program is made possible by the Kansas Humanities Council.

 This program is part of the Memories of the Prairie Lecture Series presented by the Dickinson County Historical Society. All the programs are free, however donations are always welcomed.  You are also invited to become a member of the Dickinson County Historical Society to help support the continuing efforts to preserve the heritage of Dickinson County.

From melodrama to Shakespeare, from church socials to high school commencements, the opera houses of Kansas made significant contributions to the state’s social and cultural fabric in communities both large and small.  Rhoads will discuss the history of opera houses in Kansas and how they are being used today.

Rhoads is an author and a 2009 Notable Kansas Book award winner.  Her book, “Kansas Opera Houses, Actors, and Community Events 1855-1925” is the result of years of travel across Kansas to research opera houses.

“I came to love opera houses when as a small child I played in the opera house built by my great-grandfather,” shared Rhoads.  “This eventually led to my visiting 400 Kansas communities to learn about the activities that took place in the local opera houses and to photograph the state’s remaining ones.”

“Kansas Opera Houses and Community Events” is part of the Kansas Humanities Council’s Kansas Speakers Bureau featuring presentations and discussions about Kansas and what it means to be a Kansan over time and across generations.                         

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities.  For more information about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at 785-357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.

For more information about “Kansas Opera Houses and Community Events” in Abilene contact the Dickinson County Historical Society at 785-263-2681 or visit www.heritagecenterdk.com.

Memories of the Prairie Lecture Series: Presentation Explores Kansas Frontier Photographer

The Dickinson County Historical Society in Abilene, Kansas along with the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum will host "Kansas Through the Lens of F.M. Steele," a presentation and discussion by Jim Hoy on Saturday, June 23 at 7:00pm at the Dickinson County Heritage Center located at 412 S. Campbell Street in Abilene.  Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, and can contact the Dickinson County Historical Society at (785) 263-2681 for more information.  This program is made possible by the Kansas Humanities Council.

In 1890, frontier photographer Francis Marion Steele set out from Dodge City to record cowboys, American Indians, wildlife, wheat harvesting, grain farming, sugar-beet factories, railroad building, community celebrations and festivals, small-town life, and studio portraits.  Hoy's presentation examines how Steele's work provides visual documentation of the Kansas character.

Jim Hoy is a professor of English and director of the Center for Great Plains Studies at Emporia State University.  He is an authority on the folklife of ranching, a topic on which he has lectured throughout the world.  Hoy's publications include ten books and over one hundred articles, and he is co-author of "Plains Folk," a syndicated newspaper column.

"Francis Marion Steele arrived in Dodge City in 1890 and immediately set out onto the prairies in a dark-room-mounted buggy to take photographs of cowboys," shared Hoy.  "After the end of the open range he photographed everything from wheat farming to railroad construction to small-town life, providing in the process documentation of Kansas and the southwestern plains in the transition from the open range to crop agriculture."

"Kansas Through the Lens of F.M. Steele" is part of the Kansas Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau featuring presentations and discussions about Kansas and what it means to be a Kansan over time and across generations.

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based humanities programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities.  For more information about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at (785) 357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.

Guest Post: From Enterprise, Kansas to the Brooklyn Dodgers

Today's post is brought to you by Amy Feigley. Amy is a member of the Dickinson County Heritage Center staff, and also works as a paraprofessional educator. In today's post, Amy tells us the history of Zach Wheat, a professional baseball player who spend some time in Enterprise, Kansas.

The year was 1906. Enterprise was a town that offered you about anything a resident could ever ask for, with the exception of a baseball team.

And, it was in 1906, the year of Aristotle Onasis and the San Francisco Earthquake, that Zach Wheat, a Missouri native all of 18 years, got his start in what would span as a 19 year professional baseball career.

Zach was invited to play on the Hoffman Mills baseball team and was brought to Enterprise by Ralph Hoffman. Ralph was not only interested in Wheat's amazing talent for baseball, but also to bring this town a great sport, something for the whole family to partake in.

After a year in Enterprise, Zach continued his career in this great All-American sport in Wichita. From there he played for the Shreveport Pirates in 1908 and then finished up his minor career with the Mobile Sea Gulls in 1909. It was during his 1909 career that Wheat was purchased by the Brooklyn Superbas for the price of $1,200. And it was in September 1909 that he made his major league debut.

After his release from the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1927, he was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics. After that season, he was released and played for a minor league team by the name of the Minneapolis Millers. Due to a heel injury, he retired from baseball the following season.

To this day, Zach Wheat still holds records for hits, doubles, triples and total bases for the Dodgers franchise.

If you ever venture onto the stretch of Route 13 that runs though Caldwell County, Missouri, you will find yourself on the Zach Wheat Memorial Highway. And, if you are ever in Enterprise at the baseball diamonds, make sure you pay close attention to the name of the baseball field.

Zach Wheat left a great legacy for the love of baseball that still continues today. And, to think, he got his start in Enterprise, Kansas.

Memories of the Prairie Lecture Series: A Rose by Any Other Name

The Dickinson County Historical Society will present A Rose by Any Other Name, a first-person portrayal of Rose Kretsinger by Debbie Devine on Saturday June 16 at 7:00pm at the Dickinson County Heritage Center in Abilene, Kansas.  This program is part of our Memories of the Prairie lecture series.

Rose Kretsinger was co-author of one of the most highly celebrated quilting books, Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America in the early twentieth century.  Two of her award-winning quilts were named the top one hundred quilts of the twentieth century.  Rose was born in Hope, Kansas in 1886, and became one of a talented group of quilters in Emporia, Kansas during the first part of the twentieth century.  Rose's influence and encouragement fostered exquisite design and applique quilting techniques among the quilters who produced elegant applique quilts that are still admired and appreciated today.  Rose is in the National Quilters Hall of Fame.  Rose died in 1963 after a long, creative life.  Her designs and willingness to share them live on in this historic performance by Debbie Devine.

Debbie brings Rose back to life in a historic portrayal, sharing Rose's life story as well as her quilting design philosophy and techniques.  Debbie has completed extensive research about Rose and is grateful to have been able to interview Rose's son Bill, and her grandson John and his wife Claudia.  Debbie has also developed her portrayal based on information about Rose obtained at the Lyon County Historical Society and the Spencer Museum at the University of Kansas, which is the repository for quilts Rose made during her lifetime.  The performance is also based on information from research about Rose published by Barbara Brackman, Jonathan Gregory, and others.

Debbie used her background as a researcher and quilter for this endeavor.  During her tenure at the University of Florida, she was named one of the top fifty researchers on campus.  She, like Rose, loves applique quilting and has used her quilting passion to recreate some of Rose's patterns and techniques.  In preparation for this historical portrayal, Debbie has taken historic performance classes at Ride into History, offered by Dr. Joyce Thierer (a.k.a. Calamity Jane) and Dr. Ann Birney (a.k.a. Amelia Earhart).  Debbie's goals for her performance are to honor Rose Kretsinger and her accomplishments with an interesting and entertaining recreation of this oustanding quilter role model.

The Dickinson County Historical Society is proud to have Debbie as a presenter for this year's Memories of the Prairie lecture series.  The program is free of charge, however donations are always welcome.