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Too Long in the WindWarning: The following contains opinions and ideas. Some memories may be accurate. -- Leon Unruh. Send comments to Leon January 2011Sidewalks
Sidewalk near city hall, Pawnee Rock. [January 31] During my most recent stroll around Pawnee Rock, I got caught up in the sidewalks -- what I could see of them. In many places, the concrete hasn't changed much since Mom and Dad first sent me down the street to school. I liked that. The sidewalks in some areas, especially along Rock Street and along Centre north of the big ditch, are encroached upon by grass. Lots of sunshine is available there, and few feet tread these paths. In fact, large sections of the sidewalk north of the ditch have gone missing under a blanket of wiry grass. The concrete remembers. Pieces all over town -- at least, where there are sidewalks -- are tilted tectonically over the burrows where roots belonging to long-gone trees once demanded moisture. A horseshoe laid in freshly sidewalk a century ago outside the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which is now the post office, rusts silently. More recently, south of the city hall, a vehicle -- a car, a truck, a riding mower? -- peeled out on the sidewalk, leaving a kiss of rubber. Grass with stickers grew along the sidewalks, and goathead thorn plants spread like evil green gravy in search of bike tires and bare feet that will pick up and transport their seeds. But on early summer mornings, when the concrete was still cool to the touch, kids might stop and pick a winecup blossom. Adults called them weeds, but adults had forgotten how important it was to smell the flowers and then pull them apart to see how they were put together. After a rain, nightcrawlers flushed from the soil slithered across the sidewalks. Junebugs were easy to catch when they landed on sidewalks under the streetlights. I suppose that the best thing about the sidewalks of Pawnee Rock isn't what I saw at midday last August. Instead, I still love the things I saw decades ago, when I was still a part of the hands-on, feet-on world and sidewalks were the path to adventure. • • • For a historical look at life in the old Fort Larned area, check out this Hutchinson News article by Kathy Hanks. Ad astra per aspirin
[January 29] Happy Kansas Day to everyone. It hardly seems like 50 years since I walked past a car parked outside the post office and noticed that its license tag celebrated the centennial in red letters. I don't know why that stuck in my mind, but I'm glad it did. That little thing has given me a tie to Kansas Day that's oddly more personal than all the sunflowers I ever made of brown and yellow felt. I am a little abashed by the fact that I've lived through more than a third of Kansas' history as a state. Many of our readers, however, can boast of living for half of the statehood years. Kansas has accomplished a few things. Its homegrown Civil War terrorists became the namesake of our largest university's mascot. Its soil and erratic rains have allowed the state to become the world's breadbasket, not that all those carbs have turned out to be a good thing. Politics has swung from abolitionist to progressive to populist to Tea Party despite a deep dependence on government handouts. There was the Dust Bowl, and the Great Depression was only one of a handful of economic panics that turned Kansans distrustful. It's windy, but the wind fertilizes the grains and made Wichita a natural place for aircraft construction. The state gave the world Dwight Eisenhower, Amelia Earhart, William Allen White, and Wes Santee. It also provided Goat Glands Brinkley, Timothy McVeigh, BTK, Harold Knight, and Fred Phelps, as well as a school system that fought Brown v. Board of Education all the way to the Supreme Court. The state might be best known, however, for books and movies -- The Wizard of Oz, a made-up story; The Day After, which thank goodness was a made-up story; and In Cold Blood, which I wish was a made-up story. It would be possible to go on and on about the glories of living in Kansas, especially rural Kansas. Many writers have spent the month doing just that, polishing the state until it gleams unnaturally. If that's your craving, you'll find plenty of it elsewhere. So, here we are, Kansans and Kansans-in-exile, resting our butts on a stack of 150 calendars, 1861 through 2011. Happy Sesquicentennial. That said, it's time to face the wind. For everything that Kansans have done, it's what Kansans will do better tomorrow, and the day after, that counts. Centennial memories of Ron Darcey
Charles White sent this photo of five Pawnee Rock Grade School teachers dressed up for the state's centennial. From the left, they are Glenda Franklin, Elva Jean Latas, Beulah White, Mildren Dunavan, and Virginia Fry. The women are posed against the playground wall outside the first grade classroom. [January 28] I believe I actually remember when the newly posted picture of the grade school teachers in their centennial garb was taken. I would have been in Mrs. White's 5th grade class. As I remember the Kansas Centennial was one big celebration. Men everywhere around the state sported beards and their western duds. The women all had their gowns similar to those pictured. Parades and pageants were being held all over the state. The first I remember any talk of the centennial celebration was sometime around the mid 1950s. I can't recall the exact year, but Eloise Converse, her daughter Barbara, my mother Marguerite Darcey, and I attended a parade in Dodge City, Kansas. Roy Rogers was the Grand Marshal. Barbara was decked out in a cowgirl outfit her mother had made for her. I wore jeans, shirt with a kerchief, and a holster and gun and we were really playing the part. Barbara recalls that we actually met Roy, but I don't really recall that event. As I recall, 1960 was a year full of celebration events. I know Larned put on a pageant at the old auditorium on Broadway which I attended. If my memory serves me correctly there was a celebration held in Pawnee Rock and a plaque presentation at the Rock along with a parade when the Centennial Wagon Train moved through the town? I'm sure Great Bend had a parade as well along with other surrounding community events. 1960 was a fun-filled year that culminated with a Pawnee Rock Methodist Church member, Helen Pfister Converse playing piano at the Governor's Kansas Day Centennial celebration in Topeka on January 29, 1961. But what I really remember about the whole celebration was the pageant Mrs. Sheila Schmidt as the junior high and grade school music teacher presented. Without a doubt this was probably Sheila at her best! The pageant was written by her, produced by her, and directed by her. Many, many hours of producing scenery, costumes, and rehearsals went into this finished production. I guess one could say it may have been Kansas' little musical production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma. Of course the pageant was presented to the whole community on the wonderful high school gymnasium stage. My part in the pageant was playing Kit Carson and reenacting the Indian wars on the Santa Fe Trail and his shooting his mule at the Rock. In addition to myself there was a large cast of U.S. Cavalry, Indians, wagon train personnel, and of course the mule that I remember was played by the late Jimmy Johnson and Steve Crosby. When Jimmy (we were inseparable friends while he resided in Pawnee Rock) proudly told his dad that he was being cast as one part of the mule in the pageant, Harold quipped, "And I bet I know which part you will be." Actually I think he ended up being the head. Jimmy and Steve really put on an extended and very comical act at the scene's climax when I shot the mule and it died a loooooooooong and sloooooooooooow death. It's really too bad that video equipment didn't exist in those days. This would have been one production worth preserving. Sheila is to be commended on presenting a historical reenactment of the early years of Kansas statehood. In addition to this production, Sheila also worked with the Pawnee County River Ramblers 4-H club. We presented early Kansas folk dances and a choral rendition of our state song Home on The Range while her daughter Kathy did chalk drawings of early Kansas scenes. This was our club's contribution to the countywide celebration. It would be interesting if others who participated in this one of a kind production in 1960 could write about their memories of the event or the centennial celebration in genera in the next few daysl. As you say Leon, "Some of the memories may be correct." As for celebrating the sesquicentennial, I am leaving tomorrow for Lawrence, KS to attend ESPN College Game Day at Allen Field House and the KSU v. KU game on Kansas Day, January 29, 2011. What better way to celebrate 150 years of statehood. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk! Curt Bennett's obituary[January 28] Many Pawnee Rock residents with deep roots will remember Curtis Bennett, a coach and teacher at Pawnee Rock High School in the 1960s. Roger Hanhardt, a student during that period, praised Mr. Bennett for being "a great role model." Susan Unruh Ellis remembers the coach and his wife -- "such wonderful people" -- living in Arthur Sayler's rental house between their place (corner of Houck and Santa Fe) and the Kurtzes' home. A published obituary for Mr. Bennett fills in some of the details:
He married Yvonne Burch in 1955, and she died in 2008. His survivors include daughter Sheri of Sterling, Craig of Alden, Brad of Illinois, and Jeff of Sterling. He had 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Mr. Bennett's funeral will be Monday afternoon at the Methodist Church in Sterling. The burial will be in the Sterling Cemetery. (Full obituary) Kansas vs. Kansas State[January 28] Tomorrow most of Kansas and those of us in distant locations will celebrate Kansas' sesquicentennial by watching the University of Kansas play basketball against Kansas State University. Our pride as Kansans will ride on the outcome of the game, the score of which perhaps will end up 76-74, totaling 150. Let's cheer loudly for all the Kansans who normally start for the two most famous athletic emblems of our fair state: • Tyrel Reed, of Burlington. KU. Take a bow, Tyrel. The nine other starters are aliens:
K-State -- Curtis Kelly, Bronx, N.Y.; Jamar Samuels, Washington, D.C.; Jacob Pullen, Maywood, Ill.; Rodney McGruder, Washington, D.C.; and Shane Southwell, Harlem, N.Y. Former coach Bennett dies
Roger Hanhardt of Hays sent this e-mail Wednesday evening: "It is with great sadness that i learned from coach's daughter, Sherry, that Coach Bennett passed away this afternoon. She said they are going to try to have the funeral monday afternoon, but that wasn't confirmed yet. "He had a very positive effect on pawnee rock for four years during the '60s. A great role model." Funeral arrangements haven't been completed yet, but I'll pass them along when I get them. The photo of Mr. Bennett was taken by Roger in 2008 at a school reunion. He was at PRHS from 1962 through 1965. Warren Deckert named to Who's Who, 1975
He was a senior and a drama major (president of the drama fraternity), and he was a competitor in debate competitions. He was the student representative on the Educational Policies Committee and was a member of the Bethel Education Club. Nominees for Who's Who were selected by a committee of students and faculty, with the final selection made by the student council. Senior citizens got organized[January 25] Remember the days when senior citizens spent their days cruising Pawnee Rock, hanging around the post office, and causing nothing but trouble? It's a good thing somebody found a way to keep them off the streets. The Great Bend Tribune ran a brief item on March 27, 1973, detailing that plan. The effort was led by the Mennonite minister. Senior citizens plan to organize and Pawnee Rock Senior citizens of Pawnee Rock and the surrounding area are invited to a coffee or tea on Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Pawnee Rock High School. All citizens 65 years and older are encouraged to be present to plan for a senior citizens organization. Rev. Gerhard Peters is in charge of the meeting. Slides and pictures of the Pawnee Rock Celebration will be shown. Anyone having pictures of this event should bring them to the meeting. Anyone who attended this meeting as a spry 65-year-old would be at least 102 years old right now and 103 at the end of March. Connie Keller dies[January 24] Connie Virginia Keller died January 18 at a hospital in Hutchinson. She was 76 years old. Her obituary says she was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1934, and she used to live in Larned. She managed Bunny Lane Salvage south of Larned. Her husband, Melvin Keller, survives. She also is survived by sons William Padron of Larned and Will Keller of Timkem and by daughters Virginia Vestal of Leoti and Lurene Keller of Hutchinson. She had 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Mrs. Keller's funeral will be Wednesday morning at Morell Funeral Home in Larned. (Full obituary) Happy Birthday, Janice and Joan[January 21] Brenda Girard invites everyone to wish a Happy Birthday: I would like to send out Happy Birthday wishes to the Flick twins, Janice Flick Schmidt (my mom) and her sister, Joan Flick Rainbolt. Their birthday isn't actually until Sunday, but it never hurts to have early wishes! So, if any of your faithful readers happens to see either of them, please wish them a Happy Birthday. Welcome, Ronald Long[January 21] Ronald Long, Pawnee Rock High Class of 1961, recently wrote to say that his class is working up plans for a reunion to celebrate the 50 years since they graduated. He attended school here in his junior and senior years. This fun-loving guy also sent information and asked to be listed on the Friends of Pawnee Rock page. See more there. His entry has a lot of interesting details from a life well lived. I have to mention that, as far as I know, he's the only PRHS grad to have owned a marina. A Great Bend man with a big heart[January 21] Our good friend Larry Mix of St. John -- the king of the Santa Fe Trail Research Site -- sent this note last night about a Barton County man who something nice happened to -- and then he did something very nice for disabled veterans. I thought it would be a good story to share with everyone. Here's what Larry wrote: A few months ago Don Damon of Great Bend went to Las Vegas to the Barrett Jackson Car Auction to buy some custom cars for his new dealership (D & B Motors) he had started in Great Bend. Among the ones he bought was a charity car from Richard Petty Racing. In these charity auction the total amount the car is sold for goes to the charity. This one was for the Disabled Veterans Org. Well, tonight Don showed up at the Barrett Jackson Car Auction in Scottsdale, AZ, with the same car he bought in Las Vegas and donated it back to be auctioned off for the same charity, the Disabled Veterans Org. At the auction in Las Vegas Don paid $100,000 for the car. Tonight Don's car brought $150,000. The man who bought the car tonight turned around and told the auctioneer to sell it again for the same charity. This time it brought $95,000. You talk about some happy people, there were tears everywhere, even in the recliner here on Gray Street! The neat thing about all of this is they gave Don some good recognition for his donation. He was brought up on stage and thanked and they also gave him the honor of dropping the gavel when the car was sold both times. The auction is still going on till Sunday on the Channel called Speed. You talk about a man with a big heart, as they say "He's The Man"! Thanks, Don, from all veterans. Barrett-Jackson Car Auction | Don Damon and Powerball Mrs. Blackwell turns 100[January 20] Longtime Pawnee Rock resident Irene Blackwell passed the century mark on Monday, celebrating with a party and a hamburger. Mrs. Blackwell lived for 97 years in Kansas, according to a story in the Reporter Herald of Loveland, Colorado. She and her husband, Roy, raised six children, including our frequent correspondent Dean. She moved to Loveland three years ago. Read the newspaper story about her birthday. Inspiration in fifth grade[January 19] Rick Clawson, who grew up in Pawnee Rock, vividly remembers his year with Beulah White. Here's what he wrote: I just read the article about Mrs. White and I have a very poignant story of my own. When I was in 5th grade and had Mrs White as my teacher it was a time when I was going thru some growing pains of my own. Pouting growing pains in particular. For some reason, which I could never explain myself, I became a pain for this very nice teacher. I refused to work if I didn't agree to something she asked us to do. Quite astonishingly I don't ever remember Mrs. White becoming frustrated with me, though with some of the other teachers, it's for certain I wouldn't have gotten away with this. But patient she was, I guess expecting that whatever my problem was I'd get over it. Eventually I realized my pouting wasn't getting me very far and I became cooperative student again. After receiving grades I deserved for my "stellar" attitude in the first semester, I began participating like my other classmates and at the end of the year earned what would be an exceptional grades (for me). I was proud of myself for accomplishing this but I was even more dumbfounded by what occurred years later. My mom eventually became one of the school lunch ladies years after I was gone and was told the story by Mrs. White and how she used her experience with me to inspire her students in later years. I still have my 5th grade report card, the one that says "A's". "Pawnee" cracks down on dogs[January 18] The Great Bend Tribune published a story on June 17, 1974 (or 1975; it's hard to read the handwritten date) announcing that our hometown was finally getting around to enforcing an anti-dog ordinance. I imagine that all towns go through these spasms now and then. None of the crackdowns seems to be permanent. The story -- which left half our town's name out of the headline, "Pawnee cracks down on dogs" -- said that new dog-control ordinances would be enforced in Pawnee Rock and Macksville. Macksville residents had petitioned their council, but in Pawnee Rock the council had been deliberating the issue for many months. "The laws in both towns were designed to keep stray dogs off the streets," the story said. "The Pawnee Rock ordinance also frowns on dogs barking at night." The story ended with this paragraph, the gist of which sums up life in a plains town: "Technically, Pawnee Rock's ordinance went into effect when the ordinance was published legally May 14, but because the city council has not yet devised a system of catching and keeping the dogs, no action has been taken to keep loose dogs off the streets." (I wonder whether this is the result of the crackdown.) Thank you from Charles White[January 17] Charles White, whose mother, Beulah White, died a week ago, passes this along to everyone: I would like to sincerely thank everyone for all the kind words about my mother, Beulah White. I am humbled that she was so well liked and considered to be an example by her students. I think that all of us at Pawnee Rock school were very lucky to have great teachers, coaches, cooks, bus drivers, school board members . . . well, the whole package. I think of those times now very fondly. You don't really know how much fun you are having until later when you have time to reflect. Thanks to all, Charles White Phil Bowman on Mrs. White[January 17] Phil Bowman, who was in Charles White's Class of 1966, attended Mrs. White's funeral. He sent this on Saturday: I just wanted to thank you and Ron Darcey for your comments about Mrs. White. I did not get to be in her class, so it was very interesting to read about her teaching style and ability. As a friend of the family (I'm Charlie's age) I spent many hours in their home and always felt welcome. I was able to attend the funeral yesterday and it was a very fine service. Thanks again for your work on the P. R. website. I read it daily. Also, I just finished Cheryl's book and enjoyed it very much. Phil Bowman Looking for Bauer relatives
I photographed the gravestone of John C. and Margarethe Bauer a few years ago, but it was part of a larger photo and so isn't all there. The photo below this item shows the stone's location along the road east of the old pump. [January 17] Deb Welch, who lives in Topeka, is looking for information about her great-grandparents. Here's what she wrote: I am from Larned so look at your site to keep up with the news. I also do genealogy. I am curious if anyone has information on my great grandparents. They are buried, along with a lot of my Bauer family, in the PR cemetery. My Grandfather was Vernon Earl Bauer who was married to Katheryn Mallow Bauer. His father/grandfather, mother/grandmother are who I am interested in. His parents were John Gotfried and Edith Myra Reecher Bauer and his grandparents were John Conrad and Margarethe Bauer. I know that there was a Bauer farm at one time NE of Pawnee Rock. My grandfather was a brother to Roy Bauer Senior. If you have any information or tidbits to share, please feel free to contact me. Again, I do enjoy the PR website and did enjoy Cheryl's book. Deb Welch
Mark your calendar for golf[January 17] Roger Hanhardt wants everyone to mark their calendar for the 2011 school reunion. Also, does anyone have a confirmation that Pawnee Rock will have the annual commemoration at the cemetery and the reunion afterward on Memorial Day? Roger sent this message: So that people may start making plans, Beans Crosby has secured August 13 at the Gt Bend golf course. We will work out the rest of the plans around that. Class of 1961 plans 50th reunion
[January 14] This e-mail arrived from Ronnie "Gov" Long: Dave Schmidt and I are planning a 50 yr get together for our class of "61" the weekend of the 2011 reunion. We need to find our class mates, also 3 class mates that were with us our Jr. year (Gary Everett, Janet Everett, Helen Sweeden) please post this on your website. My e-mail is rlong884@gmail.com. My phone is 785-532-8353. Two minutes later came this e-mail from Dave Schmidt: If you want to add my name too (for what that might be worth) -- feel free. dschmidt@fhsu.edu I'm also interested in who has the mailing list. Thanks! Who are they? So, who was in the Class of 1961? According to the yearbook (as collected by Roger Hanhardt in Pawnee Rock High School: A Historical Composite of Annuals), the class consisted of these 13 seniors:
The class' motto: Not better than the best but better than the rest. In the 1960-61 school year, the superintendent was Clair Rucker and the secretary was Frances Vassar. The teachers were: Gladys Delaplane, home economics The custodians were Gwen French and Gene Deckert. The bus drivers were Earl Schmidt, Elgie Unruh, John Howerton, and Woody Wilhite. The lunchroom cooks were Ruby Wilson, Elizabeth Schmitt, and Josephine Kopke. Familiar things[January 13] Especially because this past week has been a time of reflection, I'd like to recommend the most recent Emporia Gazette column by my sister, Cheryl. She writes about our old friend, the salt plant cottonwood, and how such landmarks come to define our home and ourselves. (Column) Ron Darcey writes about Mrs. White[January 13] Ron Darcey was close to the White family. In honor of Beulah White, he composed a few thoughtful paragraphs about school history, about being a student in her class, and about what he learned from her outside of class. Here is what Ron wrote:
As I recall the first four years with Mrs. Kindig in Kindergarten in the basement of the New Jerusalem Church, Mrs. Hickman who made the move with us to the new Pawnee Rock School and its heated floors, Mrs. Franklin, and Mrs. Donavan were great. Our class never grew though: It remained small. It remained intimate. It sometimes even fell below double digits. But things were about to change. Being of the age where educational standards started to creep to the forefront and the state stepped in and made demands on local school boards to meet or else, the Pawnee Rock Grade School had to make changes. I believe one such change required that music be taught in its own classroom. Mrs. Schmidt had always moved from classroom to classroom with her phonograph and teaching aids in tow. Our fourth grade year was met with a shortage of rooms when music was relocated to one of the junior high rooms. One class was now without a room. The solution? Our small class would be combined with the fifth grade and placed in one room with both being taught by Mrs. Fry. What an interesting year that was. I guess one could say that our class was exposed to fifth grade academics for two years as it was almost impossible not to listen in as Mrs. Fry taught in the other half of the room as we were supposed to be earnestly pursuing our own fourth grade studies. On a side note, I believe it was that year that Mrs. Fry lost her son in a military accident and the tragedy affected both classes as one can imagine, as was the case with Mrs. White's loss of Verlin and your class, Leon. The next year things got even more interesting. The grade school was going to add on a classroom, but it would take a year to complete the project. During the summer of our fifth grade year our class learned that we would have class in a converted storage room just off the administration office in the high school. Yes, we were that small intimate class that could easily fit into 12' x 18' room with no problem. However, Mrs. Latas didn't want to make the move from her existing classroom. She relinquished teaching fifth grade that year. Whoa! We weren't going to have Mrs. Latas (that teacher everyone kind of dreaded, but learned to love in the end)? Mrs. Latas taught sixth grade that year. That is when Mrs. White was hired to teach us in those small confines that could barely be called a classroom. But she made it work. Her desk filled up the front of the room and was to the side as a new door had been built in to the hallway wall to obtain access to the room rather than the storage room door found at the rear of the room that lead to the school office. The chalkboard was extremely small and placed directly behind Mrs. White's out of place desk. We had no bulletin board that I recall. Our best work was just taped to the painted cinder block walls that kept our two small rows of desks closely confined with barely room to navigate. We had no windows or skylights. But who was Mrs. White? She was new to the hallowed halls of Pawnee Rock. Well, it didn't take long to realize that our class was blessed with an angel. We bonded immediately. She was a teacher everyone dreams about, but seldom is blessed with. She made learning so much fun and interesting. We pledged allegiance to the flag and prayed The Lord's Prayer at the start of every morning. I remember her explaining that prayer was necessary, but at the same time an individual and intimate act, as some religions recite the prayer differently by replacing "trespasses" with "debts" and that our class now had a Roman Catholic that didn't continue on with the traditional protestant ending. But we would all pray as we each knew it to be prayed and we would all end with Amen at the same time. Mrs. White wouldn't tolerate any bullying, teasing, or favoritism. When she learned of a growing teasing incident that had taken over our class, she simply gave us one of the best lectures concerning the incident after our pledge and prayer one morning and we students respected her so much that the issue seemed to die immediately and was never raised again as far as I remember. She taught by example. After all she was an angel in our minds. She knew how to teach without us really even knowing we were being taught. She became our best friend and we hers. Now some would say that a teacher shouldn't become her students best friend, but I feel it happened and with no consequences. She respected us and we respected her; a quality all true friends must exhibit. Yet we knew she was our elder and our teacher and yes, best friend took on a completely new meaning. Our fifth grade year seemed to fly by quickly. Our year on the high school end was coming to a close. As a class I know we felt just a little above our other peers because of our being located among the "highschoolers" and really kind of getting involved in their activities even though we were really never allowed to mingle with them. When the new grade school addition was completed we learned that Mrs. Latas wanted to return to fifth grade teaching and that Mrs. White would be moved to sixth grade. There was total elation in our hearts. How could the stars align to allow another year with Mrs. White? We had the brand new classroom and our best friend was remaining our teacher for another year (and we would never have Mrs. Latas?). As an aside, rumor had it that Mrs. Latas always felt that our class lacked certain, should I say "qualities" because we were never under her guidance. But that was always just a rumor and it was her choice to forego teaching us by not wanting to move and then returning to the fifth grade the next year. But then again, no other class was subjected to Principal Gillette's classroom guidance either. But that's another story and so as a rule everything evens out over time. So another year with Mrs. White was just great. It was our last year in grade school and just as enjoyable as the previous year, but in a much larger venue where we could spread out and return to what a classroom should actually be. What a difference a large chalkboard made and bulletin boards again with room for the teachers desk too, and that new view that no other class in grade school or junior high was able to experience after a year with no windows what so ever. Fantastic! Her teaching seemed to expand with the extra space that was provided. As I recall we did art projects and classroom projects that could have never been undertaken in that high school storage room. She grew in her teaching and we grew mentally as well as maturing physically. Yes, I am saddened by the passing of Beulah White. Speaking again for my classmates I'm sure we would agree that she was one of those teachers we will always remember. Is it because of the extenuating circumstances that brought her into our lives that brought her to the forefront of our education? Perhaps. I personally can say with a couple of exceptions that I had the upmost respect for all the teachers at Pawnee Rock from Kindergarten through graduation in 1968. They all contributed to my life and I appreciate it so much. Mrs. White mentored me like no other. She fed me when the athletic bus would leave sooner than I could get home and have my folks get me back to make the ride to the event. I played with Verlin and Charles and many other friends at her brownstone house in south Pawnee Rock. I remember with great tribulation the morning I was sitting at the breakfast table eating my cereal before leaving for school when KVGB radio announced ."a Pawnee Rock youth loses his life in an automobile accident south of Great Bend. Details after this brief announcement." The cereal balled up in my mouth and my stomach turned upside down. The brief announcement seemed like an eternity. "Verlin White lost his life last night when the car he was driving failed to make a curve south of Great Bend on Highway 281." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Things like this didn't happen in Pawnee Rock. I thought of Mrs. White. What could I do for her? She seemed so strong at the funeral and interment at the Pawnee Rock Cemetery although I knew she had to be hurting so much on the inside. We students were hurting; so she had to be too. As editor of the high school newspaper I wrote the eulogy for the next edition and delivered it personally to Mrs. White and her class. She was so appreciative. That's all I could do. Emily Mull and Anita Avery were co-editors of the 1968 yearbook and dedicated it to the memory of Verlin White. That's all they could do. Mrs. White was a teacher who touched many lives including my class. We were so privileged to have her as a part of our life when it counted the most. I saw Mrs. White one last time many years ago at Perkins Restaurant in Great Bend where I was having lunch with my parents. My mom asked me if I recognized the woman sitting at the next table. I did a double take and yes I did recognize her; It was Mrs. White. I am so thankful for that short reunion. I am so thankful for Mrs. White. So now the next time I visit my folks gravesite I will be sure and walk just a few steps to the north and visit Mrs. White. She was my best friend. She is an angel. Submitted by Ron Darcey, '68 Beulah White's obituary[January 12] Charles White provided the information for his mother's obituary:
She was preceded in death by Reford (1998) and son Verlin (1968). Her survivors are son Charles and wife Carolyn of Andover, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Besides teaching in Pawnee Rock for 17 years, Mrs. White also taught grade school in Shannon, Sellens Creek, and Susank. She moved to Pawnee Rock in 1959 and to Wichita in 2002. She was a member of the First Church of the Nazarene in Great Bend. Her funeral will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the church. Bryant Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the Pawnee Rock Cemetery.
Mrs. White will be buried near the row of cedars in the new section of the cemetery. Jim Dye made this photo. Remembering Beulah White
Fifth grade, Pawnee Rock Grade School, 1967-1968. (Thanks to Cheryl Unruh for scanning and sending this on short notice.) [January 12] My class was the fifth grade of 1967-68 at Pawnee Rock Grade School. This was the year we began band class. We had our grown-up teeth, some of us boys were growing out our crew cuts, and the girls over the summer had become beautiful and assertive. "Laugh-in" was the new hit on television, and we passed notes with clever sayings such as "kwitchyerbellyachin." The teacher who guided us through this developing landscape was Mrs. White. We wouldn't have dreamed of calling her anything but Mrs. White, but we knew her name, Beulah. The name was, literally, lovely, and it lacked the hard vowels of the other teachers' names: Glenda, Mary Louise, Mildred, Virginia, Elva Jean. Her attitude was different too, or maybe we perceived it as kind and fresh. She smiled at us and with us. She treated us like the high achievers we thought we were. Her classroom may have made a difference. It sat by itself on the north wall of the grade school, isolated by a passageway to the playground, the restrooms, and the nurse's office from the other classrooms down the varnished-brick hallways. The wall of windows faced north, giving us kids our first grade-school view of something other than the playground. We could see the shop, the big kids who came out of the locker rooms and walked to the track, and the Rock. Mrs. White handled the class without fluster, steering us gently even during the commission of what would have been mortal sins in previous years. A case in point was a boy (not me) who opened his fly and pulled out his tallywacker (I've forgotten the fifth-grade term for it) to show to the girl sitting behind me. Nothing escaped Mrs. White; she simply told him to put it away and we went on with class. Perhaps Mrs. White was so good with us because she had a couple of sons, Charles and Verlin. Charles had graduated from high school a year or two earlier, and Verlin was 16 years old.
Our class was scared and devastated, not because we knew Verlin, which we didn't, but for Mrs. White's sake. Mrs. White was absent for a week or so, and when she returned we were all conscientious and subdued. She explained what had happened and with a sad smile thanked us and told us to return to our studies. Mrs. White made it through the rest of the year. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated that April, and there were riots over his death as well as the Vietnam War. She led the class through the writing of poetry and U.S. geography, pointing us toward sixth grade. It wasn't until the close of the school year that we really understood the burden that Mrs. White carried. At the end of May, a high school student and teacher delivered the yearbooks to the classroom. Mrs. White, seated at her desk, opened her copy and, as she must have expected, came to Verlin's photo and a dedicatory paragraph on the first page. She fished a tissue out of her desk. As we sat there, our chatter silenced, she sobbed for her lost son. In all our following years of school, I don't remember any of my classmates discussing Verlin or Mrs. White's suffering. We grew up a lot in that fractured year with its sacred moments. Now we come together to mourn the passing of Beulah White, who was 95 years old when she died Monday. Her husband, Reford, died in 1998, and she lived in Andover close to Charles. She will be buried Friday in the new section of the Pawnee Rock Cemetery next to Reford and Verlin. Nearly 43 years ago I helped my dad dig Verlin's grave in the late-winter soil. After the high schoolers had laid their flowers on the casket and the family was gone, Dad let me cover the casket myself. It was what I could do for Mrs. White. Beulah White has died[January 11] Beulah White, a longtime teacher in the Pawnee Rock grade school, died yesterday at a rest home in Andover. She was 95 years old, the widow of Reford White, and the mother of Chuck and Verlin. The family had lived in the brown brick house on South Centre Street. Mrs. White's funeral is being handled by Bryant Funeral Home in Great Bend, but the arrangements haven't been announced yet. A festive entrance
[January 10] I was looking for snow-related photos to capture the spirit of a snowed-in central Kansas when I came across this shot from early 1931 showing the entrance to Pawnee Rock State Park. I think Larry Smith sent this shot at one time, and I also found it in copies of my dad's collection I made 30 years ago. Yes, there's snow, and there's the old wrought-iron fence. There's the pavilion on top, as well as one of the fake cannon mounts with its fake cannon (visible between branches in front of the pavilion. But the thing I don't think I noticed before is the pair of lights atop the gate to the park. Imagine -- electricity was built in. I have to wonder how long those lights lasted before civic pride was outweighed by vandals' stones. Still, I'm glad that the state provided this elegant and no doubt very useful touch. The perfect posing spot
Elaine in the Rock pavilion, 1938 [January 7] We all have our favorite places at the Rock where we pose the kids or the parents or that special someone -- and I don't mean the top of the pavilion where we can instruct the subject to take a step back, one more step, another step . . . The sandstone-and-mortar columns have provided the backdrop for a number of my photos, and maybe yours as well. In 1938, they served the purpose for Willard Schmitt and his soon-to-be-wife, Elaine. The columns have one big benefit -- they block the wind. No matter which way the air is rushing, there's a column that will get in its way and make those chilly afternoons a little more bearable. As a practical matter for photographers, the columns provide a background against which a girlfriend can stand and not be destroyed (photographically speaking) by the wide difference in exposure values. As Willard Schmitt shows us, putting Elaine against the rock kept her from being turned into a silhouette. Pretty but noxious
[January 6] The bull thistle and I have come to an agreement. I don't try to kill it -- or even touch it -- and it doesn't try to prick me. Farmers and others who drive in the country around Pawnee Rock know this summer-blooming plant. In a field of swaying tall grass, it's the stolid green thigh-high post that moves grudgingly. The bull thistle isn't picky about where it grows, which is everywhere from your garden to the city dump. It doesn't play by mankind's rules for orderliness, so it has been declared a noxious weed. I've read that Indians steeped the plant's roots and made tea to relive their sore muscles and indigestion. As for me, I feel soothed just looking at the thistle's light-purple crown. Brock family history[January 5] Step by step, the Pawnee Rock ties of the late Topeka hotelier Robert Brock are becoming clearer.
Second, Barb Schmidt sent a bit of information from Ancestry.com showing that young Robert was age 6 when the decennial census was taken in 1925 and that his parents were Eddie and Vivian. (Robert Brock's family") Third, Roger Hanhardt sent this note yesterday: "If my memory serves me correctly, Brock owned City Drug Store at P. R., a drug store in Sterling, and I think a drug store in Bison, maybe others also. "During my research for the high school history book, I think I remember reading about Vin Houdyshell moving from the Pawnee Rock store to the Bison store, and that pharmacist , Bill Maupin coming from Bison to Pawnee Rock. This was in the early 30s. Vin later owned Vin's Pharmacy in Larned. Vin was a P.R. native, and was in the age group with Fred Fry, to put in perspective." (Roger Hanhardt's record of PRHS) Fourth, I searched PawneeRock.org for mentions of the Brock name and found a couple. One of the search results was to a 1928 clipping from the Pawnee Rock Herald stating that E.R. Brock had attended a Democratic convention in Great Bend. (Today in the local news, 1928) Robert Brock's commemorative story in the Topeka paper mentioned that he was a big-time donor to the Democratic Party; like father, like son. Another search result pointed to material that had been supplied in 2008 by Dana Smith Hines, a granddaughter of Lucy Houdyshell and niece of Vin Houdyshell. The Brock name appeared in a drugstore context. (The Houdyshell saga) Robert Brock's family
Decennial Census and Statistical Roll for 1925 for assessor of City of Pawnee Rock, Barton County. Arthur Unruh took the roll. [January 4] Intrepid and resourceful researcher Barb Schmidt has tracked down the Pawnee Rock family of Robert Brock, who was born here but went on to fame and wealth as a hotelier in Topeka. Barb went to Ancestry.com, a pay site loaded with genealogical records, among them the state's 1925 decennial census of Pawnee Rock. Barb wrote: "Robert L. Brock is on page 6, with his parents (Eddie & Vivian) & brother (James). It says his dad was a 'druggist.'" Great Bend hospital gives up[January 4] Central Kansas Medical Center has been around for most of my life and it has treated a fair share of Pawnee Rock residents, but now the CKMC seems to be giving up as a hospital. It will be renamed St. Rose Ambulatory and Surgery Center. The 99-bed CKMC announced Monday that it soon will become an outpatient clinic. Its emergency room will become an "urgent" care center. According to a story in the Great Bend Tribune, the hospital's executives say its overnight patient business has shrunken 28 percent over the past 25 years, only eight patients stay overnight on average, and 80 percent of its business is with outpatients. The hospital says it will offer surgery, cancer services, physician clinics, imaging, laboratory services, outpatient therapies, home health care and hospice, and a sleep lab, according to the Tribune. Patients needing overnight care will be taken to Great Bend Regional, the shiny new hospital south of Tenth Street, or to hospitals in Hoisington or Wichita. It seems like a safe guess that the new SRASC won't be sending patients to the former St. Joseph's Hospital in Larned, which CKMC's parent company tried to close last year before selling it to the Hays Medical Center. The word from Europe[January 3] Newspapers in the grand old days often carried paragraphs regaling their readers with details of prominent townspeoples' pilgrimages to Europe or the Coast. Fortunately, the practice continued into the 1970s, as shown by a brief article published in the Great Bend Tribune on August 18, 1971: "Mr. and Mrs. Keith W. Mull and daughter, Jeanine of Pawnee Rock, and Mr. and Mrs. John Mull of 2007 Van Buren, returned Monday after a three week guided tour of Europe. They report that there are many tourists in Europe and that 70 per cent of the destruction done by the bombing has been rebuilt and that countries are still rebuilding." |
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Curtis E. Bennett, 75, died Jan. 26 in Hutchinson. He was born in December 1935 in Sterling, and he graduated from Sterling High School in 1953 and Sterling College in 1958. A longtime resident of Sterling, he was a coach and worked in the banking and oil industry. He belonged to First United Methodist Church, Sterling, and the Sterling Country Club.
Beloved Jayhawks -- Marcus and Markieff Morris, both from Philadelphia; Tyshawn Taylor, Jersey City, N.J.; and Josh Selby, Baltimore.
[January 26] In 1975, Warren Deckert, the son of Bennie and Ruth Deckert, was one of 11 Bethel College students included in the Who's Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges. That was according to a press release mailed out by the Mennonite college in North Newton.
I was saddened to open this web page earlier this week and learn of the
passing of Beulah White. As a member of the Class of 1968, I'm pretty sure
I can speak for all my classmates (if not, I apologize) that Mrs. White was
one of the most inspirational grade school teachers that we had in our
formative years. Our class was always small and consequently we had
experiences that other classes would never deal with because of our size.
Beulah M. (Brink) White was born in Ford County in 1915 and got her teaching degree at Bresee Theological College and Fort Hays State College. She married Walter Reford White on December 31, 1945, in Great Bend.
In early March 1968, the Great Bend Tribune had a front-page story about Verlin. I read it again and again until I almost memorized it. Verlin, the newspaper said, had been driving on U.S. 281 south of Great Bend when his car missed a curve. He died in the wreck.
First, I wrote about a clipping about him and wondered about his Pawnee Rock heritage. (|
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