saltwater disposal ever been to...

A R G O N I A , K A N S A S

PAGE 1 VOLUME 3.2 FEBRUARY 2015

Ever Been To Rochester?

ZENDA, KANSAS Originally known as Rochester, Kansas, the com-

munity was named after Rochester, Minnesota. It was settled in the mid-1880s but relocated in 1887 to its present position when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF) railway came through. With the new location, the town was renamed New Rochester.

As the United States became more connected through train, telegraph and mail service, the name Rochester, in any form caused great confusion – twenty-eight other communities across the country were using that name. The wife of a Santa Fe con-ductor had read the novel The Prisoner of Zenda and thought Zenda was a pretty name. The Post Office officially changed the name from New Rochester to Zenda on October 7, 1892. Zenda is on the old AT&SF branch line that ran to Englewood.

Zenda is located in southern Kingman County (KM) on highway K-42. The town sits between the highway on the south and grain elevators on the north. The paved road south out of Zenda crosses the Chikaskia and winds its way through a surpris-ingly hilly and beautifully scenic route. A forest of wind turbines stretch along ridges spinning languidly in the Kansas breeze.

Zenda Community Center (pictured above) is a multi-purpose facility. It houses a small, award-winning library; the Friendship Meals program for senior citi-zens; and a meeting room used by community groups.

A spacious, well-maintained city park offers a tennis & basketball court and a picnic pavilion.

(continued on page 3)

By Tracy McCue

SALTWATER DISPOSAL

WELLS CAUSING EARTH-

QUAKES Sumner County Commissioners told saltwater disposal wells not fracking cause of earthquakes here.

The growing concern with earthquakes in Sumner County brought in a Who’s Who list of state officials from the Kansas Geological Survey, the Kansas Cor-poration Commission and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at Tuesday’s County Com-missioner meeting.

While the conclusion amongst those in attendance was that the disposal of saltwater used in horizontal oil drilling, i.e. fracking, is probably the cause of the outbreak of earthquakes in the area, no one really knows what to do about it.

The Nov. 12 Sumner County earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 was confirmed to be the largest “recorded” quake in Kansas history said Rex Bu-chanan, Interim Director of the Kansas Geological Survey in Lawrence. The epicenter for that earth-quake was eight miles south of Conway Springs and had a depth of 3.4 miles which was felt for 100 miles.

“That one caught us by surprise,” Buchanan said of the earthquake in an interview afterwards. “We usually come up with a good explanation, but that was completely unexpected.” Nearly all of the earthquakes, more than 90 of them recorded in Kansas alone this year since the second

(Continued on page 5)

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FEBRUARY 2015 PAGE 2 CHIKASKIA RIVER DRIFTER

From The Desk

Of The Editor

By Dan Stringer

Chikaskia

River Drifter

A monthly publication Produced and printed by Pathway Communica-tions, the Graphic Arts Division of Country-side Christian Ministries, Inc. of Argonia, Kansas, which is a non-profit (501-c-3) organization and donations are income tax deductable. Proceeds from this publication will be donated to help support the communities along the Chikaskia River by supporting non-profit activities in the communities, and scholarships.

ALL VOLUNTEER STAFF

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Daniel F. Stringer

COPY EDITOR Carol Stansbury

COMMUNITY CONCERNS EDITOR

Michelle Yipe

HOME LIVING EDITOR

Betty Wilkie

CRAFT AND HOBBY EDITOR

Dave Bowles

LAWN & GARDEN EDITOR

Bryan Stringer

FISHING & HUNTING EDITOR

Charles Jenkins

HISTORIAN Don Rhodes

This publication is a Christian based pub-lication, dedicated to preserving the life, history and heritage of the people in the Chikaskia River Valley, and centered in the Argonia, Kansas area. It is produced, based on a three column, eight, twelve or sixteen page edition, de-pending on how much information is avail-able. Price has been set at $1.00 per copy, but does not include postage if mailed. The sale of advertising is the primary way of financial supporting this publication. Your donation will be greatly appreciated. Display adds are available at the cost of $5.00 per column inch. Classified adds (want adds) will be published for $2,50 each. Funeral obituaries will be printed free of charge.

I suppose I could call this a letter to my family, especially my chil-dren. Like everyone I wish I could go back in life and change some of

the things and decisions that I made. But all of us know that is impossi-ble. I was separated from my children at a very important time in theeir-lives and would have liked to change that. Regardless of what happened I am very proud of how all of my children turned out. All of them have

done very well. How much longer I will be allowed to live in this old body I do not

know, but recently I had an experience with the Lord, and perhaps He showed me that the most important tasks lie ahead. He has told me be-

fore that what I’m going thorough in this lifetime, is just a time of prepa-ration for what lies ahead of me in the age to come.

I want you to understand that what we learn in this lifetime is just a

preparatory school for lies ahead. And now I am speaking to all you young people out there. You are created by God and He determined the time of your birth ahead of time and the boundaries of your habitation. And he created you with a destiny or purpose in life, and He promised to

prepare you for this calling. However it’s up to you to find out what that call upon your life is. It’s in the scripture and I challenge you to find it.

I feel truly blessed that God choose the middle of this country as the

habitation for our family. Having served over a ministry that has reached to many different places on earth, I have become acquainted to people who live in some of the poorest countries on Earth. They would nearly give everything just to have a pair of shoes and have enough to eat. Yet

I find that most of those people have a much greater love for God than most of us do. Many of them put their life on the line everyday of their lives never knowing what will happen to them the next day.

I cried when I saw a picture of one of our ministers carrying a se-

verely injured girl to safety after a church was bombed in Pakistan. I was sent pictures of people from Kenya with severely injured feet be-cause of parasites, because they didn’t have shoes to wear.

So again I want to say this, “We are privileged to live in the grandest of times in the greatest Christian nation on this late great planet Earth.”

Being a student of history and prophesy, this way of living may soon be over, because this nation seems to have forgotten God. Any unit of

society, whether it be family, a congregation, a community, county, state of nation, it is only as physical strong as the spiritual strength of it’s God appointed leaders. I'm afraid our nation is going to topple if our leaders

don’t turn around and repent, and turn back to God and function how God created this nation to function.

As I travel along the Chikaskia and it's watershed it seems like I’m observing the communities that were once very viable and progressive,

going down hill and heading toward destruction and becoming nothing more than a ghost town. Many of these towns were created by the rail-road and the railroad has passed them by. Some of the towns have lost their schools, who were most generally the largest employer in town.

There is one trait that nearly all of them have and that is not wel-coming new people to town. Most have the attitude that, if you were not born and raised there you don't belong. I heard that expressed in an Ar-

gonia city council meeting several years ago. It’s time for our communities to confront these problems and get

things straightened out before it is too late. (Continued on page 4)

CHIKASKIA RIVER DRIFTER PO BOX 336

ARGONIA, KANSAS 67004

620-435-6791

Email: [email protected]

3

MARCH 2014 PAGE 3 FEBRUARY 2015 CHIKASKIA RIVER DRIFTER PAGE 3

Zenda’s model main street is a 36-Model Building Display: Housed in a newly constructed building just west of the Museum, this work of art shows Zenda’s Main Street as it looked at the beginning of the 1900s. Each building is dollhouse-sized with the largest about 36" tall. The mod-

els--painstakingly crafted by Bonnie Bailey, Glenn Co-cherell, Virginia McGuire, Lori Bohrer, and Betty Dirks--include photographs and information about each structure by the display. When observers stand at the end and look down Miniature Main Street, as if they are transported back in time. Open by appoint-

ment only. Phone (620) 243-7365. The Zenda Jail: This tiny concrete box is located on the east side of Main Street across from The Lumber Yard Steakhouse. Iron floor rings were used to shackle prison-ers and can still be seen.

The Lumber Yard Steakhouse (in photo above) at

311 North Main is at home in the former Geo. W. Ultch Lumber Company building constructed in 1902. Beulah and Woodrow Graber and family opened a restaurant in the building in 1993. The old shelves hold antiques and other interesting objects; the racks that were constructed to hold nuts, bolts, and plumbing items embrace wine bottles; the old Mosler safe sits in its accustomed place. Saturday evening menus always offer a special treat. Reservations suggested. Phone: (620) 243-6000 or E-mail [email protected]

CATHOLIC CHURCH METHODIST CHURCH

The photo above is of the FLAT RIDGE 2 WIND FARM located south of Zenda. It’s quite a sight at night also as all of the tower lights go on and off at the same time.

Zenda is a town well worth your time to visit. However we suggest you call ahead for appointments.

Next we will be traveling further west and up the Chikaskia River and visit the town of Nashville, Kan-sas.

(Continued from page 1

This black and white photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company depot at Zenda, Kansas. A cart is also visible. Built in 1887 (and re-modeled in 1921), the depot measured 24' x 42'.

4


DANVILLE ARGONIA N. BLUFF CITY ARGONIA S. FREEPORT METCALF 962-5238 435-6331 967-4411 435-6510 963-5294 845-2209

GRAIN STORAGE FERTILIZER — DRY — LIQUID NH3

SEED CLEANING BULK REFINED FUELS

State Certified Agronomists - Precision Soil Sampling Variable Rate Fertilizer and Lime Application

NK and Dyna-Gro Seed Specialist

(continued from page 2)

Another thing I notice is the decline in the number of operating congregations of the Lord’s Church. At one time the local church was the center of social life in a community. It was usually one of the first buildings to be constructed and often served as community centers and schools. Often they were mere sod struc-tures and soon replaced with wood construction and then brick.

It saddens me when I drive by an old country church or school that is no longed used, and falling apart. Yes, some of these congre-gations moved to town, where it could serve a greater number of people. But where are the people now? I have made it a point to visit different congregations and find most of them very small in number and struggling to keep their church doors open.

I’ve often wondered what happened to the community wide revivals in which all the churches went together to sponsor the event?

Think about it and give me some answers. Count how many churches are no longer in exis-tence around the area in which you live.

Our country is in dire need of political leaders who are spiritually strong and turn this nation back to it’s original Biblically base. If we don’t, we will be responsible for it’s demise, from within. I cannot find in the constitution where there is to be a separation be-tween church and state. It is to be a nation with the freedom of religion and not where prayer is prohibited in the classroom. ###

Drifter Restaurant Review

THE LUMBERYARD

STEAKHOUSE

ZENDA, KANSAS ESTABLISHED 2002

It was suggested that the Chi-kaskia River Drifter do a review each month of some of the eating establishments in the watershed district. Since this issue covers material on Zenda and Nashville, Kansas, it made since to use the Lumberyard Steakhouse as the first establishment for a regular feature called Drifter Restaurant Review.

Some might think that the name Lumberyard a little strange for a restaurant, but that was what the building and grounds was once used for. The name Lum-beryard Steakhouse is quite unique and has become a drawing card for the eating establishment.

The building was built by the Geo. W. Ultch Lumber Company in 1902. After the death of Ultich in 1974, the yard was bought by the Farmers and Builders Lumber Co. Inc. In 1975 and continued to op-erate it until it was sold to Wood-row and Beulah Gaber who used

the opportunity to provide the community with “The Lumber

Yard Steakhouse and supper Club. In the above photo Dan

Stringer, Editor is visiting with the manager of the restaurant, which is now owned by Molitor Angus Ranch, LLC. The owner Mike Mo-litor,. Is a rancher and farmer in the local area.

The Lumber Yard Steakhouse continues to serve the community with its delicious steaks, freshly grilled hamburgers, and monthly seafood buffet

Dan and his son Anthony stopped in for a cheese burger one Saturday afternoon and found the surroundings quite pleasant and clean. Service was very good and the burgers delicious.

If you are looking for a differ-ent place for dinning out we sug-gest this one. Both of us agreed to give the restaurant five stars.

5

Argonia Site Manager Hired The new Site Manager for Argonia Friendship

Meals and Meals On Wheels is Carol Stansbury, who resides with her husband at 202 North High in Argonia.

She has lived in Argonia for many years, and enjoys the friends and acquaintances she has met over the years and looks forward to meeting new friends at the Chikaskia Manor Senor Center.

Carol grew up north of Danville and attended grade school at Runnymede and high school in Harper, graduating in 1969.

Carol has one son and three daughters. She is married to Clint Stansbury.

She says that she is happy and honored to share meals with the community members through Meals On Wheels and Friendship Meals served at the center, and looks forward to becoming acquainted with every-one who participates.

Meals are only $3.00 each for those who qualify. Call 435-6806 for more information. Meals can also be delivered to our home. Much of the work involved is done by volunteers. Call if you would like to help out.

Often the ones who eat at the center will play cards and have other activities after lunch. A monthly blood pressure check is also available through the Sumner county Health Department.

week of November, have had its epicenters in Sum-ner, Harper, and Barber Counties. The Nov. 12 earth-quake, though, was not only unusual for its magni-tude, but its epicenter was located away from the bulk of epicenters in or near Harper County which is also where the bulk of oil fracking activity takes place.

The seven officials included Buchanan, Gerrie Lip-pert, Kansas Corporation Commission; Mike Cochran, KDHE; Lynn Watney, Kansas Geological Survey; Jesse Borjon, KCC; Ryan Hoffman, KCC and Mike Tate, KDHE. They all appeared to be in agreement that fracking itself is not the cause of the earthquakes, but the process for which water is disposed.

Hydraulic fracking requires the high pressure in-jection of millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals into a horizontal drilled well for which rock is cracked to release natural gas and oil. When waste-water comes back up the well, it needs disposed of since the water contains a high concentration of brine, i.e. unusable salt water. The oil companies will dis-pose of this water through high pressure means into disposal wells which are buried 5,000 feet deep near the fault lines.

Once water is sent to the fault line depths it acts much like the air in an air hockey table. For example, if the air is turned off on an air hockey table, the puck will not move because of friction with the table sur-face. But when you pump it with air, it moves easily.

The same scenario is applied with this disposal water buried deep. Once there the liquid can create two fault lines that have been “stuck together” due to friction to loosen and thus causing earth movement.

“It is less and less likely that earthquakes are be-ing caused by natural causes in Kansas,” Buchanan said. “It is more and more likely it is induced by man-made causes.”

The combination of the Humboldt Fault area un-derneath Kansas with fracking makes this area a prime area for earthquakes, Buchanan said. For ex-ample, the largest concentration of hydraulic fracking is being done in North Dakota, but because there are not the fault lines, that are seen here, that area does not have an issue with quakes.

The three commissioners expressed concern to the task force and hoped for solutions soon.

“A few years back nobody was worried about earthquake insurance, now everyone is asking about it,” said Jim Newell, Sumner County Commissioner. “I realize we need oil, but this has to be a negative eco-nomic impact for the area.”

Commissioner Steve Warner said he grew up in southern California but never felt an earthquake until he moved here.

Nevertheless, the solution to stop the future earthquakes remain elusive unless oil production is stopped altogether. Buchanan said the unpredictabil-ity of earthquakes has been a riddle unsolved for hun-dreds of years by geologists.


“There are more faults underneath us we don’t know about than those we do know about,” he said. “I anticipate some day we will have a warning system of some kind that can tell us where an earthquake is likely to occur. But to ever exactly pinpoint where and when an earthquake will occur, I don’t see that hap-pening for a very long time.”

Furniture Carpet

Quality Furniture

Mohawk & Shaw Carpets

Luxury Vinyl Tile, Ceramic Tile

Laminate Wood Flooring

Hours: Non-Fri. 9-5 Sat. 9-4 Ph. 620-435-6429

116 South Main - Argonia, Kansas 67004

(Continued from page 1)

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What’s Holding It Up? Who Is Obama Supporting? Middle-East?

THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE Keystone XL is the definition of shovel-ready in-

frastructure project. Almost overnight, Keystone XL could put 9,000 hard-working American men and women directly to work. The U.S. State Department’s Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (PDF, 4 MB) found that the project would support more than 42,000.

TransCanada has entered into comprehensive Project Labor Agreements with North America’s larg-est building trades unions, the Laborers International Union of North America, the International Brother-hood of Teamsters, the United Association of Jour-neymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefit-ting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Pipeline Contractors Association.

The agreement guarantees TransCanada will have access to the most capable, well-trained and ready workforce in the U.S. to construct Keystone XL.

During construction, the project is expected to create over seven million hours of labor and over 13,000 new jobs for American workers. Danny Hendrix, a business manager for Pipeliners Local 798 in Tulsa, Okla., recently told media what these jobs mean to his members and their families: “They’ve got healthcare for another year, [and] they’ve got a pen-sion credit for when they retire. It means that those families have got healthcare, dental care — so it means a lot. It means they can make a house pay-ment, it means they can send their kids to college.”

The $5.3-billion Keystone XL Pipeline Project is the largest infrastructure project currently proposed in the United States. Construction of the 1,179-mile pipeline will require 9,000 skilled American workers. The project will provide jobs for welders, mechanics,

electricians, pipefitters, laborers, safety coordinators, heavy equipment operators and other workers who rely on large construction projects for their liveli-hoods.

In addition to construction jobs, an estimated 7,000 U.S. jobs are being supported in manufacturing the steel pipe and the thousands of fittings, valves, pumps and control devices required for a major oil pipeline.

TransCanada has contracts with more than 50 suppliers across the U.S., including companies in Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Arkan-sas, Kansas, California and Pennsylvania.

TransCanada employed 4,844 Americans in Okla-homa and Texas on construction of the $2.3-billion Gulf Coast Pipeline Project, which is expected to be complete by the end of this year.

Construction and development of the Keystone XL and Gulf Coast Pipeline Projects is anticipated to gen-erate $20 billion in economic impact in the United States, including $99 million in local government revenues and $486 million in state government reve-nues during construction.

The pipelines will also generate an estimated $5 billion in additional property taxes during their opera-tional life.

The Canadian Energy Research Institute predicts that Keystone XL will add $172 bil-lion to America’s gross domestic product by 2035 and will create an additional 1.8 mil-lion person-years of employment in the United States over the next 22 years.

North America needs to be com-plete free from depending upon energy from other sources.

Tell your con-gressmen to sup-port this project.

7


SHORT RUN DIGITAL PRINTING GRAPHIC DESIGNS

PO BOX 36 ARGONIA, KANSAS 67004

620-435-6791

121 N Main St ● Argonia ● (620) 435-6630

Kansas Geological Survey to Test Use of CO2 in Oil Recovery and Storing It Underground

LAWRENCE--The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kansas is moving into a new phase of a multi-year study to test the safety and efficency of injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial sources into the ground to produce hard-to-reach oil and to permanently store CO2 deep underground.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has given the KGS the green light to proceed with plans that include drilling wells for enhanced oil re-covery and sequestration of CO2 in the Wellington oil and gas field south-west of Wichita. DOE has provided $11.5 million since 2009 to the KGS for CO2 projects. This phase of activity will involve another $11.2 million investment by DOE.

CO2 is a natural and essential component of the atmosphere, but it is also a greenhouse gas--a byproduct of fossil fuel emissions from vehicles and such stationary sources as electric, cement, ethanol, and fertilizer plants--that is considered a cause of climate change.

Through a collaborative effort between government and industry, the Wichita-based oil and gas exploration and production company Berexco will begin drilling the wells in spring 2015 after monitoring infrastructure that is in place to track the CO2 once it is injected and verify the safety of the injection process.

Besides the KGS and Berexco, collaborators include the University of Kansas and Kansas State University departments of geology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Birdie Consulting.

The KGS is currently installing the infrastructure used to acquire pre-drilling baseline data.

"An extensive suite of state-of-the-art equipment is being deployed at the Wellington site, including instrumentation to sample and test water quality and pressures in the injection and monitoring wells.”

Can You Identify What And Where This Is?

DRIFTER MYSTERY PHOTO

Send us your answer via email and a drawing will be made of all correct answers and a prize awarded.

Send to: [email protected] Drawing will be held on February 15, 2015.

8

Old Settlers Review

This column was suggested by some readers who are interested in genealogy as well as local history, and suggested that information about some of our early settlers be published.

So here we go. Let us hear your comments on this article. Perhaps you can share information on someone who was an early pioneer in your family.

CARRIE AMELIA MOORE NATION

Carrie was selected because of her influence in the early Argonia community, which probably led to Argonia having the first woman mayor in this coun-try, Susanna Madora Sister.

Carrie Nation was born Carrie Amelia Moore in Garrard County, Kentucky, to George and Mary Campbell Moore. Much of her early life she was in poor health and her family experienced financial set-backs, moving several times and finally settling in Belton, Missouri. She had poor education and informal learning. In addition, many of her family members suffered from mental illness, her mother at times having delusions.

During the Civil War, the family moved several times. They moved to Kansas City. Carrie nursed wounded soldiers after a raid on Independence, Mis-souri.

In 1865 she met a young physician who had fought for the Union: Dr. Charles Gloyd, a severe al-coholic. They were married on November 21, 1867, and separated shortly before the birth of their daugh-ter, Charlien, on September 27, 1868. Gloyd died less than a year later of alcoholism.

In 1869. Carrie developed a very passionate at-titude against alcohol. With the proceeds from selling the land her father had given her (as well as the pro-ceeds from her husband's estate), Carrie built a small house in Holden, Missouri. She moved there with her mother-in-law and Charlien, and attended the Normal Institute in Warrensburg, Missouri, earning her teach-ing certificate in July 1872. She taught at a school in Holden for four years.

In 1874, Carrie married David A. Nation, an at-torney, minister, newspaper journalist, and father, 19 years her senior. The family purchased a 1,700 acre cotton plantation on the San Bernard River in Brazoria County, Texas. As neither knew much about farming, the venture was unsuccessful. David Nation moved to Brazoria to practice law. In about 1880 Carrie moved to Columbia to operate the hotel owned by A. R. and Jesse W. Park. Her name is on the Columbia Method-ist Church roll. She lived at the hotel with her daugh-ter, Charlien Gloyd, "Mother Gloyd" (Carrie's first mother-in-law), and David's daughter, Lola. Her hus-band also operated a saddle shop just southwest of this site. The family soon moved to Richmond, Texas,


to operate a hotel David Nation became involved in the Jaybird-

Woodpecker War. As a result, he was forced in 1889 to move back north to Medicine Lodge, Kansas, where he found work preaching at a Christian church and Carrie ran a successful hotel.

She began her temperance work in Medicine Lodge by starting a local branch of the Woman's Chris-tian Temperance Union and campaigning for the enforcement of Kansas' ban on the sales of liquor. Her methods escalated from simple protests to serenading saloon patrons with hymns accompanied by a hand organ, to greet-ing bartenders with pointed remarks such as, "Good morning, destroyer of men's souls."[ Dissatisfied with the results of her efforts, Nation began to pray to God for direction. On June 5, 1900, she felt she received her answer in the form of a heavenly vision. As she described it:

The next morning I was awakened by a voice which seemed to me speaking in my heart, these words, "GO TO KIOWA," and my hands were lifted and thrown down and the words, "I'LL STAND BY

YOU." The words, "Go to Kiowa," were spoken in a murmuring, musical tone, low and soft, but "I'll stand by you," was very clear, positive and emphatic. I was

impressed with a great inspiration, the interpretation was very plain, it was this: "Take something in your hands, and throw at these places in Kiowa and smash them."

Responding to the revelation, Nation gathered several rocks – "smashers", she called them – and proceeded to Dobson's Saloon on June 7. Announcing "Men, I have come to save you from a drunkard's fate", she began to destroy the saloon's stock with her cache of rocks. After she similarly destroyed two other saloons in Kiowa, a tornado hit eastern Kansas, which she took as divine approval.

Nation continued her destructive ways in Kansas, her fame spreading through her growing arrest re-cord. After she led a raid in Wichita her husband joked that she should use a hatchet next time for maximum damage. Nation replied, "That is the most sensible thing you have said since I married you." The couple divorced in 1901, childless.

Between 1902 and 1906 she lived in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Carrie Nation after her mar-riage to David Nation on De-cember 30, 1874 (age 28).

9

Alone or accompanied by hymn-singing women she would march into a bar, and sing and pray while smashing bar fixtures and stock with a hatchet. Her actions often did not include other people, just her-self. Between 1900 and 1910, she was arrested over 32 times "hatchetations", as she came to call them. Nation paid her jail fines from lecture-tour fees and sales of souve-nir hatchets. In April 1901 Nation came to Kansas City, Missouri. She was arrested, hauled into court and fined $500, although the judge suspended the fine so long as Nation never re-turned to Kansas City.

Near the end of her life Nation moved to Eureka Springs, Arkan-sas, where she founded the home known as Hatchet Hall. She col-lapsed during a speech in a Eureka Springs park.

Nation was taken to a hospital in Leavenworth, Kansas, the Evergreen Place Hospital for liquor and drug habits. She died there on June 9, 1911. Both her mother and daughter were confined in mental institu-tions earlier in Nation's life, but her cause of death has not been linked directly to the family tendency toward mental illness.

Nation was buried in an unmarked grave in Belton City Cemetery in Belton, Missouri. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union later erected a stone in-scribed "Faithful to the Cause of Prohibition, She Hath Done What She Could" and the name "Carry A. Na-tion".

Her home in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, (shown be-low) the Carrie Nation House, was bought by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the 1950’s and was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

Carrie with her bible In her home

in her later years.

Early Roads and Trails

“WOODY” HOCKADAY

In early days in most parts of Western Kansas, good, well raveled roads, even dirt roads were few and far between.

For many years F.W. “Woody” Hockaday marked roads with his famous H marker, which guided early travelers and tourists across the countryside.

F. W. "Woody" Hocka-day was born in Mount Hope in 1884 and later be-came a highly successful auto supply and tire com-pany owner in Wichita.

In 1915, he began to mark distances between towns with a big red H and arrow directing the motor-ist to the next town. By the time he was finished there were Hockaday signs on approximately 60,000 miles of roads from Wash-ington D.C. to Los Angeles. "Woody" Hockaday gained fame as the first person to recognize the need for highway marking in the United States.

Hockaday was a great booster of Kansas and Kansas products. He traveled widely distributing miniature sacks of wheat and coined the slogan

"Kansas grows the best wheat in the world." He was also a auto-mobile dealer from Wichita, who launched a campaign to mark all Kansas auto routes. Later in 1918, he published a road map showing 33 marked highways in the United States. The photo left is one of the early signs. Hockaday died in 1947 and was remem-

bered with great respect by those who recognized his contributions. One Kansas editor said of him, "Woody Hockaday deserves a respectable niche in the history of intelligent and patriotic Kansans who served their state .

The sign in the photo above was located just north of coldwater, Kansas on US Highway 160. I remember seeing this sign when I was a small child. It excited me to see my hometown of Mullinville shown on on it. Another sign we don't see anymore is

“VEHICLES WITH LUGS PROHIBITED.”

F.W. “WOODY” HOCKADAY

HOCKADAY MARKER


10


NAD’S COMMENTS

A Generational Curse THAT THIN LINE

BETWEEN

GOOD AND EVIL

By Nad Knarf

All of us have inherited a generational curse from Adam and Eve, from whom we de-scended. We all know, at least all of us who have studied the scriptures, know that Adam and Eve partook from the only tree from which God told them that they should not eat of, and that was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

This curse is something we have all inherited and no mat-ter how young we are, we ba-sically know the difference be-tween good and evil. Now, let me ask you this: Even as young as you can remember, when you did something wrong, you knew it ahead of time and that it was wrong. It may have been stealing one of grandma’s cookies, but you did it anyhow, didn’t you?

We may call this our con-scious but it’s based down deep within our spirit and soul. It’s inherited and Satan knows this and tries to turn this against us by telling us it’s all right, just like he told Eve. Now our secular humanism that’s being taught in our schools through situational ethics, which says it's all right if you don’t get caught.

I have a friend in Anthony, Kansas who had a grandson staying with her, and he kept stealing things. She got after him and he told it’s not against the law, if you don’t get caught! You would hardly be-lie how many of our kids be-lieve like this. Morality has disappeared from our school. No more Jesus, prayer and the Ten Commandments.

The Vanishing Prairies By DAN STRINGER, Editor

THE OLD HOMESTEADS As I travel along the Chikaskia

River and the surrounding coun-tryside I notice numerous aban-doned farmsteads. Being a his-tory buff and one who would want to preserve our history and heri-tage, it saddens me when I think of all the efforts our ancestors put into establishing a homestead and making a home for their families.

I am soliciting stories and photos of old homesteads and what families went through in coming to this part of the country.

My families homesteaded in Kiowa county and down in Okla-homa. I have visited sites of where they started out and hardly nothing is left as all the buildings have been torn down and the land cleared for another square foot of farm land.

A quarter section farm is now hardly ever heard of, as farms

have continued too grow in size. Below are some photos of old

homesteads, including houses and barns.

Dugouts and Soddy's were usually the first form of housing used as the homesteaders arrived on the plains of Kansas. A great aunt and my grandfather shared with me that when they first came to Kansas. They said there was not a tree insight and lumber was at a premium price as it had to be hauled in. When they first arrived they obtained their water from buffalo wallows. Their home was built of lumber which their father hauled down from Larned, Kansas, two days away by wagon and team.

Their closest neighbors all lived in dugouts, but soon a sod school-house was built where they went to school and held church services.

Almost all these dugouts and shoddy's have long disappeared, how-ever you can find one that has been rebuilt under museum care. I never lived in either but I did live in an adobe house near Garden City.

The Vanishing Prairies By DAN STRINGER, Editor

DUGOUTS AND SODDY'S

DUGOUT SODDY

11


Is Your Hometown Becoming

A GHOST TOWN?

By DAN STRINGER

My hometown is not within the Chikaskia River watershed but is still in south-central Kansas. It is Mullinville, which sits on the western edge of Kiowa County.

It has changed a lot over my lifetime, but I cannot say that it has become a ghost town as some have classified it. It seems to be holding it’s own.

It’s greatest population was before my time. In fact away be-fore my time. At one time it was over one thousand.

It was not a railroad town it got it’s start before that. It’s loca-tion was determined by two stage lines, the Cannonball Stage line going between Wichita and Dodge city and the Lake Stage Line go-ing from Wellington to Dodge City and the trail from fort Larned, Kansas and Fort Supply in Okla-homa. It formed before the rail-roads.

The Mullinville population has remained about the same during my lifetime, 1938 until now. Back then it averaged around 275. In the 2010 census it was listed as having a population of 255, even though it has lost railroad service, the bus line, and it’s high school.

At one time that I can remem-ber it had two grocery stores, a barber shop and pool hall, a drug store a café, three service sta-tions, an appliance store, lumber yard, a mechanics shop, skating rink, and newspaper.

It still has a newspaper thanks to Paul and Linda Kendall. A vet-erans memorial stands where the mechanics garage was located, and it still has a café, service sta-tion (fill your own) and a convence store. It’s been along time since I have been there, so someone else will have to fill you in.

I have lived around several small towns, which I prefer over the big cities. I have a hard time getting used to hustle and bustle

of the fast way of life, and I don’t like the traffic either.

There is one trait that I’ve no-ticed in most all of the small towns, they are closed to outsid-ers. “If you ain’t born and raised there, you are ain’t welcome!” As a result the population tends to stalemate or dwindle. The infra-structure begins to wear out and are in need of repair and the funds are not there to update it.

A community needs to keep growing to keep it’s tax base up and students to keep it’s school operating. Schools are often the largest employer in a town.

Housing is one of the first things a large business looks at in whether to locate in a community or not. Next is a population base from which to hire it’s employees. Next is an adequate utility service.

One area most of the small towns overlook is providing for retired people. There are areas in our country that are overrun by retired people who would like to move, but not much is available that they can afford.

Retired people still need gro-ceries, gasoline for their cars, clothing and other services and people to provide these services. Some need caregivers, house cleaning services and etc. This provides jobs. South-central Kan-sas has an excellent climate for these kinds of people to live in. Most of what is needed is housing.

I live in Argonia, Kansas at the present time and in a low in-come housing unit. I needed to get close to one of my children to help me with care and that was what led to my making the deci-sion to move here. It was not available services, because I have to go out of town for haircuts, gro-ceries and clothing and restau-rants. One can not even buy a used car here now.

Quotable Quotes

By CHARLES SPURGEON

It is not how much we have,

but how much we enjoy, what we have that makes

happiness.

A lie can travel half way

around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

The spectacle of American

politics resembles that of swarms of insects

changing from worms to wings. They must get

the wings or die. For our salvation, if we

were provided wings. God would also have

to provide a new insect to use them.

It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship

that makes unhappy marriages.

Never say a humorous thing to a man

who does not possess humor.

He will always use it in evidence against you.

The chief obstacle to the

progress of the human race is the human race.

Every man has a sane spot somewhere.

I have always thought

the actions of men the best interpreters

of their thoughts.

12


First White Man In Chikaskia River Valley

CAPTAIN NATHAN BOONE By VERNA LEE COLEMAN

Captain Nathan Boone, the youngest son of the famous Daniel Boone was probably the first white man to enter the Chikaskia Valley. In 1843 he led three companies of Dragoons from Oklahoma to the area of the bend of the Arkansas river in effort to keep the East and West trails open.

The word dragoon o r i g i n a l l y m e a n t mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infan-try fighting skills. How-ever, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dra-goons evolved into con-ventional light cavalry units and personnel. The following is part of a log kept by Cap-tain Boone. “June 3. Encamped on some ravines of the

Shaw-w-cos-pay River, (Chikaskia) where there was a good spring of water. The water was sulphurous, and the rocks were gypsum and red sandstone, dipping to the southwest very slightly. The gypsum is mixed with sandy marl and the strata very friable, with occa-sional lumps of solid gypsum, each lump containing gypsum in all three forms. An efflorescence was ob-served over the marl of some whitish salt which the horses were fond of. It is not, however, from com-mon salt. From the hills back of camp the view was extensive, looking over the country for 30 miles in every direction. No timber of any amount (more than two or three trees together) can be seen. Passed

great quantities of prairie dog towns, no buffalo, a few deer, hares, and antelope. One wild turkey was seen near our camp tonight.” (The camp was on the headwaters of Grove Creek, a tributary of the Chi-kaskia River, and approximately on the Harper-Kingman county line.)

“June 4. After coming 2 miles north, 20 degrees

east, came to the Shaw-wa-cos-pay river, running southeast. This is the principal branch of the Nes-cu-tanga or Big Salt river heretofore called the Red fork of the Arkansas. The bed of the stream is near fifty yards wide, the stream rapid, shallow, quicksandy, with scarcely any timber on it. The course is marked by hills of sand along its banks drifted into heaps by the winds.”

In June 2, 1825 the Osage Indians ceded all their

lands to the United States except a belt in southern Kansas known as the Osage ceded and reserved lands, fifty miles north and south, and 276 miles east and west. By the treaty of September 19, 1865 the Osage ceded to the United States a tract 20 miles wide off the north side to be held in trust, surveyed and sold for their benefit for $1.25 per acre, known as the Osage Trust Lands. Kingman county was a part of these Indian lands.

The remaining thirty mile wide strip, was sur-veyed and sectionized in 1871, and held in trust by the government and opened for settlement under pre-emption laws, but not for homesteading or timber claim entry. This strip of land was known as the Osage Diminished Reserve.

This area embraced some of the best hunting lands of the Osage as the still plainly marked and nu-merous buffalo wallows testify. Harper County was a part of the Diminished Reserve.

CAPTAIN NATHAN BOONE

The Chikaskia starts on the Blackweider farms on the watershed of the Chikaskia three miles north of Isabel, Kansas where it begins as seeps and little ponds in the raining season. Mr. Blackweider said that he would have to farm around these little ponds and in the dry seasons they would dry up and there would be catfish from fingerlings to 12 to 16 inches long. He said that there were also bullfrogs, minnows and other small fish.

The fist “live” water is found a few miles east of this location. However the watershed drains land that

goes west, northeast of where the City of Sawyer is located. Not too far to the north most of the drain-age is to the Ninnescah River or to the south, to Elm Creek, which is a tributary of the Medicine River.

The Chikaskia River winds it's way southeast of this location down through Harper, Sumner counties into Oklahoma where it runs into the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River near Tonkawa Oklahoma.

The Chikaskia River is one of the cleanest rivers in the State of Kansas as well as in the nation, and is know as one of the best cat fishing rivers is the area.

ORIGIN OF THE CHIKASKIA RIVER

13


Business Highlight

102 NORTH BURR ISABEL, KANSAS 67065

620-739-4335 620-739-4506 (fax)

In 1919 the Farmers Coopera-tive Equity Co. was organized with the charter being dated May 3, 1919. There were 54 members listed and the first board of direc-tors consisted of Earl D Black-welder as president, G.W. Lynch as vice president, O. Brant as sec-retary, C.W. Bergner and J.A.Cavin as directors. Changes in

Co-op's contributed to the consoli-dation with Zenda, Nashville, Medicine Lodge, and Sawyer. Then later the Bunge facilities in Lake City and Sawyer were pur-chased. The consolidation of these & other facilities brought forth many changes in; employee con-solidation, product utilization, grain storage management, as

well as expense control and at the same time expansion into other sales areas. All of the years dedi-cation from producers realizing the benefits of the FCE facilities has made FCE operations successful for over 95 years. FCE has proven to be a sound investment for pro-ducers and today is 100% owned by over 1100 members.

Business Highlight

FLAT RIDGE 2 WIND FARM

Barber, Harper, Kingman and Sumner Counties

The Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm is owned jointly by BP and SEMPRA U.S. Gas and Power. BP operates the facility.

The photo above was taken at the ground breaking ceremony, which was held.

The 66,000 acre site is ap-proximately 43 miles southwest of Wichita, Kansas in south-central Kansas, mostly within the Chi-kaskia River watershed. This pro-ject, particularly during the con-struction phase gave this area an economical boost. The project employed some 500 workers dur-

ing the peak construction stage and some 30 workers are em-ployed on a full time basis now that the farm is in full commercial operation.

The farm became commer-cially operational in December of 2012 and utilizes 294 GE wind tur-bines each with a rated capacity of 1.6 megawatts.

The wind turbines have a hub height of 213 feet and a rotor di-ameter of 271 feet. It was excit-ing for many of the locals just

watching them being trucked to the location.

The Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm is the largest single-build wind farm in U.S. history and is the largest in the State of Kansas.

The wind farm generates enough electrical power for over 140,000 average homes.

The entire power output has been sold in a log-term agreement to Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Southwest Electric Power Company; and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Association.

A new 46 mile transmission line was built to deliver the power to a large transmission line in Sumner County.

There is a possibility of the wind farm expanding further to the east in Summer and King-man Counties. Only one of these turbines would generate enough to supply one of the communities in our area. ###

14


Eating Establishments

Along the Chikaskia

MAURICE’S RESTAURANT 1692 W 140TH AVE N

HIWAY K-42 & ARGONIA ROAD SUPPESVILLE, KANSAS

(620) 478-2885

REDZ 246 N. MAIN STREET NORWICH, KANSAS

620-478-2401

DAY GAME CAFÉ 322 S. MAIN STREET NORWICH, KANSAS

LUMBERYARD STEAKHOUSE

311 N MAIN ZENDA, KANSAS 620-243-6000

LA FOGATA

MEXICAN RESTAURANT 102 WEST MAIN STREET

HARPER, KANSAS 620-896-2272

RED ROOSTER CAFÉ 524 W. 14TH STREET

(US 1160) HARPER, KANSAS

620-896-2409

D’ MARIO’S PIZZA 720 W. 14TH STREET

(US 160) HARPER, KANSAS

620-896-2414

FENCE POST SUPPER CLUB & CATERING

700 E. 14TH STREET (K 2 & US 160) 620-896-2204

MORE WILL BE LISTED

NEXT ISSUE

Gardening Tips What You Need For That

Garden In The Spring

By BRYAN STRINGER Lawn and Gardening Editor

As winter comes to an end, many people begin to contemplate what they will do for their garden. There are several spring gardening tips that can benefit virtually anyone. This article covers a few tricks used by ex-pert gardeners to simplify the process of creating a lovely garden.

There are many tools necessary for gardening. Late winter or early fall is a good time to check the tools and make certain that everything necessary is there and in good repair. If any items are missing or broken, they should be ordered immediately. This will make the process of plant-ing go smoothly.

All trees and shrubs should be checked for dead and diseased branches. These should be removed immediately so that when spring comes the plant can focus energy on healthy growth. Some shrubs that bloom in the spring may need to wait until their first blooms to be trimmed. However, the home gardener should not wait too far into the season.

Walkways and fences need to be inspected as well. It is not uncom-mon for them to become damaged from repeated freezing and thawing periods in the winter. Any damage should be repaired in order to keep the garden safe and attractive.

The pH level of soil should be checked in any areas where a person wants to plant in the spring. Dolomitic lime can be used to raise the lev-els while elemental sulfur is ideal to lower the pH. The directions on the package should be followed for best results.

Other things that gardeners need include cleaning any bird feeders or birdbaths. These have generally been sitting all winter and may have accumu-lated algae or other growth. Us-ing approximately 1/4 cup of bleach in two gallons of water should be sufficient to disinfect them. After scrubbing with the solution, they need to be rinsed thoroughly. Sometimes salt deposits form on

clay pots that need to be cleaned before use. A simple formula for this is equal parts water, white vinegar and alcohol put into a spray bottle. Us-ing a quality plastic brush, the mixture can be scrubbed into the pot. Af-ter rinsing, they should be allowed to dry thoroughly prior to adding soil or plants.

Garden twine can be placed in an upturned clay pot with the end feeding out of the drainage hole. Throughout the season, the gardener can always easily and quickly access it.

These spring gardening tips are just some of the things that home gardeners can do to prepare for the planting season. The more that is taken care of prior to then, the more smoothly the entire process will go and the better the garden will look.

15


FARMERS & MERCHANTS STATE BANK

Leon Drouhard — President

ARGONIA 620-435-6385 DRIVE UP ATM’S SCHULTE 316-524-2400

Tips, Tricks

And Recipes Betty Wilkie Home Editor

Recipes listed to the right are cour-tesy of the Chikaskia River Recipe Club. A

If you have a recipe that you have made or like and would to share it, send it to us and we will include it in a future is-sue.

KEEP STRAWBERRIES FRESH

You can keep strawberries for up to ten days by refrigerating them (unwashed) in an air tight container be-tween layers of paper towels.

CAKE DECORATING

Professionally decorated cakes have a silky look. To get that appearance, frost your cake as usual, then use a hair dryer to blow dry the surface until the frosting slightly melts.

QUICK DECORATING TUBE

When decorating a cake and you need another decorating tube, you can put your frosting in a zipper lock plastic bag. Snip off the tip of a corner and squeezes the frosting out of the bag. If frosting is too stiff, immerse in simmering water be-fore snipping off the corner.

SCUM IN YOUR DISHWASHER

Run on a rinse cycle without dishes after filling detergent container with pow-dered lemonade mix. The citric acid that makes the drink tart can remove mineral deposits and iron stains that ac-cumulate on the machine’s interior. The sugar will dissolve and the insides will not feel sticky.

CRR-158 SWISS CORN BAKE

2 pkgs. (9 oz) frozen corn 1 cup Swiss cheese, grated 1 can (5 1/2 oz) evaporated milk 1/2 cup bread crumbs, mixed 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons chopped onion Salt and pepper, to taste Mix bread crumbs with melted butter.

Cook corn and drain. Combine corn , milk, egg, ,onion, seasonings and 3/4 cup cheese.

Pour into greased baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and buttered bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

CAROL STANSBURY

CRR-159 DINNER SALAD

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese 11/2 cup maraschino cherries 1 small can crushed pineapple (drained) 1/2 cup chopped nuts 2 cups miniature marshmallows 1 carton (8 oz.) cool whip Mix cheese and cherry juice together. Blend in cut up cherries, pineapple,

and marshmallows, nuts and cool whip topping.

Put in refrigerator to allow flavor's to blend.

CAROL STANSBURY

CRR-101 ORANGE APRICOT SALAD

2 small boxes orange Jell-O

2 (12 oz,) cans apricot nectar

2 6 (2 oz. cans crushed pineapples

4 bananas (cut in pieces)

16 large marshmallows (cut in pieces)

1 cup chopped walnuts

In a bowl pour out dry Jell-o. Heat nectar to boiling and pour over Jell-O

and stir. Stir in other ingredients and refrigerate.

PHYLLIS STRINGER

Send us your favorite recipes'

16

HARPER

PHARMACY

615 West 12th Harper, Kansas

(Deliveries made to Argonia)

620-896-7700 or 877-570-0077


Down To Earth

Leatherwerks Dave Bowles

Proprietor

Custom Handmade Leather WorkCustom Handmade Leather WorkCustom Handmade Leather WorkCustom Handmade Leather Work Home of functional ArtHome of functional ArtHome of functional ArtHome of functional Art Restoration & RepairsRestoration & RepairsRestoration & RepairsRestoration & Repairs

BELTS - WALLETS - KNIFE SHEATHS - RIFLE SLINGS HOLSTERS - GUN BELTS - GUITAR STRAPS

SADDLE BAGS - TOOL ROLLS - CHAPS WOMEN’S PURSES and HANDBAGS

110 WEST CHERRY #110 ARGONIA, KANSAS

Home repair or construction pro-jects. Martin Services LLC. Call Thor Martin. Home 535-6345 Cell 323-219-0586

CHIKASKIA RIVER DRIFTER is dis-tributed free through email, in color. All we need is your email ad-dress. Hard copies (black and white) are still available at a cost of $1.00 each.

Classifieds Classified adds are published at a

cost of 50 cents per line. Display adds $5.00 per column

inch. Based on 3 columns per page.

PERSONALS

Senior citizen internet Friend needed. [email protected]

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FRIENDSHIP MEALS at the Chi-kaskia Manor or MEALS ON WHEELS, delivered to your home. Only $3.00 per meal to qualifying people. Call for more information. 620-435-6806.

SERVICES

ARGONIA MART

CONVENIENCE & CAFÉ

509 NORTH MAIN ARGONIA, KANSAS

620-435-6995

FOOD, GROCERY, GAS, GIFTS

Grandma’sGrandma’sGrandma’sGrandma’s

ApronApronApronApron By DAN STRINGER

How many of you remember Grandmother's Apron? I sure do, it was used to dry my tears when I hurt my finger. I’m sure it took a special person to wear one, ex-cept for the times when I had to go out and get my own switch for correction when I had been naughty.

Although the primary purpose of Grandma’s Apron was to protect the dress underneath. Yes! Grandma worn a dress and I can-not remember ever seeing her in blue jeans. I do remember a con-versation she had with her cousin on whether it was proper for women to wear those pant suits.

Not only did those aprons dry our tears but they were also used to clean out dirty ears. We even hid behind them when we were feeling shy.

Grandma would wrap her

arms with it when the weather was cold. When it was hot she used it to wipe the perspiration off her brow, when cooking over the old stove.

She used it to carry eggs in from the hen house, and vegeta-bles in from the garden, and to carry out the pods after the peas were shelled. I hated helping her do that chore.

Sometimes it was used for a dust cloth when unexpected com-pany arrived. I also saw her use it to carry strawberries she was picking or the sand hill plums she was gathering

It will be a long time before anyone invents something to re-place Grandma’s Apron!

saltwater disposal ever been to...

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