Too Long in the Wind

April 2013

Andy Deckert in the news

[April 25]   Phil Bowman wrote to point out a story in the Salina Journal about Andy Deckert, who originally came from Pawnee Rock.

Check out the story.

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The man who killed with a turnip

[April 22]   One of the most intriguing emails I've ever received has come from a man named John Bullock, who is looking for information about a relative. Maybe our readers can help. I hope someone can.

Here's what he wrote:

Hi,

I just found your wonderful website and was hoping you might be of help to me.

I never knew my Grandfather, John Thomas Bullock. In 1885, when he was 15 years old, he lived with his stepfather John Stewart in Pawnee Rock. John Stewart had been married for a very short time to John Bullock's mother Cynthia Welch Bullock. She died in 1873, he remarried (to Eminia Barrett) and eventually made it to Pawnee Rock in 1880. Cynthia's son John, my grandfather, moved in with Mr. Stewart by 1885 and was on the Kansas census. Living with them or next door was John Stewart's daughter Nelli or Ellen Stewart, who was married to Thomas Converse.

My father told me a story about his father (John Thomas Bullock), when he was a teenager, going to prison for killing a man with a turnip. I think it likely that this occurred in or near Pawnee Rock. The story is that one day he and his friends were harassing an old man and threw turnips at him. One of the turnips that was thrown hit him and he died. It seems my grandfather was pitcher on a local baseball team and known for his fastball, which was said to be part of the evidence against him. That is all I know and am wondering if you know of any such story in the history of Pawnee Rock? I don't know how long my grandfather lived in Pawnee Rock, but I am fairly certain he was no longer there in 1889, when he was in Indiana claiming his father's Civil War pension. John Stewart remained in Pawnee Rock and is buried in the Pawnee Rock cemetery with his wife. Any information you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
John Bullock

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Russell services will be Friday

Charles Russell was photographed at the Barton County Courthouse in 1960 by county agent Bill Vanskike.

[April 17]     Charles Wilbur Russell, who died Sunday, will be buried Friday in the Pawnee Rock Cemetery. His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the Trinity Community Church in Hudson with one of his sons, Wade, officiating.

Mr. Russell was born in Carroll County, Missouri, in 1922. He moved to Pawnee Rock in 1959 and lived here for 50 years. He was a member of the Christian Church and had been a Boy Scout leader, and he was a civil servant for the Army Reserves. The five children he and Berdene had were involved in the Pawnee Rockets 4-H Club. Berdene died in 2008.

Mr. Russell is survived by daughters Rosalie of Arizona, Jacquie of Georgia, and Lynda of Arizona and sons Mark of Melvern and Wade of Hudson. He had eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Minnis Chapel, 526 E. 4th St. in St. John, is handling the services. Visitation at the funeral home will be from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday, with the family present from 5 to 7 p.m.

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Charles Wilbur Russell has died

[April 15]     Charles Wilbur Russell, who lived on the Russell Ranch just west of Pawnee Rock on the correction line and directly on the Santa Fe Trail, died Sunday at a hospital in Wichita. He was 90 years old.

Information about his funeral will be published as it becomes available.

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Santa Fe Trail group honors

PawneeRock.org

The Wet/Dry Routes Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association honored my -- and your -- contributions to "preserving and interpreting the Santa Fe Trail."

[April 4]     Recently I received word from Larry Mix of St. John that I had been honored by the Wet/Dry Routes Chapter of the National Santa Fe Trail Association for my work on PawneeRock.org. A few days later, a large plaque arrived in the mail.

The award is named for Faye Anderson, a charter member of the chapter, which is one of several in Kansas. The chapter's territory covers the part of the trail that includes Pawnee Rock, and the name refers to the subroutes that followed the Arkansas River closely or not.

The award came as a complete surprise, if for no other reason than PawneeRock.org is focused only on our small part of a much bigger setting. But as Larry pointed out, the award usually goes to an individual who contributes in small but consistent ways.

The award is important to me for several reasons:

1. Pawnee Rock itself is recognized by a leading historical group of the Plains. Our hometown, where I lived my first 18 years and my family had five generations, means a lot to me far beyond the seven years I've been building the site. We're fortunate to live, or have lived, where human and natural history are at our doorstep, and I think the contribution of photos and stories by so many others shows how deeply we all feel about Pawnee Rock.

2. When I got word from Larry about the award, I had recently finished a college course in the history of the American West. The class, taught by Dr. Diana DiStefano at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, added a great deal to what I knew about the land and legends west of the 98th meridian, but finding out how much I didn't know humbled me. The Faye Anderson Award inspires me to more thoroughly study our hometown's role in history.

3. It's a way of being further associated with Larry and Carolyn Mix, two admirable friends who have given much aid to PawneeRock.org. Their site, Santa Fe Trail Research, is a model for those who enjoy living in history.

4. My dad, Elgie Unruh, was an inveterate collector of all things Pawnee Rock and taught me much about the town and its geography. Many of the photos and documents he saved have been used on PawneeRock.org. I'd like to think that my contribution to our shared history honors him.

Thank you, Larry, Carolyn, and all the others who make up the Wet/Dry Routes Chapter.

Previous recipients of the Faye Anderson Award

The following information comes from the Santa Fe Trail Research site.

The Faye Anderson Award, named for a charter member famous for her Buffalo Chip Cookies, is the only award given by the Wet/Dry Routes Chapter. The award may be presented to an individual, group, of institution that helps preserve the objectives of the local chapter and the Santa Fe Trail. The awardee is presented a plaque from the Chapter and a brass plate with the awardee's name is placed on a permanent plaque at the Santa Fe Trail Center.

1994 -- Leo and Bonita Oliva of Woodston, Kansas. The Olivas edit and publish "Wagon Tracks," the official newsletter of the Santa Fe Trail.

1995 -- Mildon Yeager of Larned. Yeager has been one of the prime movers in the marking of the Fort Hays/Fort Dodge Road, the Santa Fe Trail between Forts Larned and Dodge, and historic sites in the Larned area associated with Henry Booth.

1996 -- Joanne VanCovern, past president of the chapter.

1997 -- Rusti Gardner was recognized as the recipient of the Faye Anderson Award. Rusti has been the president and vice president of the chapter. She has been the chairperson in the food department, with the Chuckwagon Meals that have been served at about every rendezvous, symposium and seminar the chapter has been involved with. She and Jack (her husband) repaired the sign west of Burdett that directs the public to Duncan's Crossing after it had been damaged by what looked like a shotgun blast. Rusti also on different occasions has presented an exciting account of the oldest profession in the West, a lady of the night.

1998 -- David Clapsaddle of Larned. David has over the years been given many awards, local and national, for his work in the research and recording of the history on the Santa Fe Trail. David has done most of the research for the marking projects the Chapter has been involved in. He has written several articles for the Kansas Historical Society, along with several in the Santa Fe Trail newsletter, "Wagon Tracks."

1999 -- Clara Goodrich was recognized for her unofficial work as songstress and official work as historian.

2000 -- Howard Losey of Maize, formerly of Garfield, Vice President (1999) and President (2000). Losey is editor of the TRACES, the chapter newsletter published quarterly, and was a contributing member of the team that researched the data for the chapter publication A Directory of Santa Fe Trail Sites.

2001 -- Larry E. Mix of St. John, who chose to share it with his wife, Carolyn. They produce the Santa Fe Trail Research website, a compendium of information about the trail.

2002 -- Cecil Johnson of Larned. He is largely responsible for the construction of the cedar frames for the ten interpretive markers placed in recent years by the chapter. One of those markers is situated on Johnson's property, three miles southwest of Larned on U.S. 56 highway. This is the site of Forks in Santa Fe road where the Dry Route originally forked from the Wet Route. This acreage is part of the homestead filed by Cecil's grandfather William Johnson, in 1873.

2003 -- Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association, a group dedicated to marking the trails in the area of Kansas City on both sides of the state line.

2004 -- Paul Bentrup of the Kearny County Historical Museum.

2005 -- Larned State Hospital, on whose grounds two significant Santa Fe Trail sites are located: the dry route crossing of Pawnee Fork and Boyd's ranch. Since the opening of the hospital in 1914, both sites have been secured for future generations.

2006 -- George Elmore, a family man, historian and Resource Management Specialist for the Fort Larned National Historic site near Larned. George, is a Wet/Dry Routes Chapter member from Larned and a long-time employee at the Fort Larned National Historic Site, he is the recipient of the 2006 Faye Anderson Award. He helped find and preserve and preservation of the 1867 Indian Village site in Ness County.

2007 -- The Warner family, which has preserved more than two miles of the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge Road through three generations.

2008 -- Jerome Herrmann family, on whose property some of the most profound ruts of the Santa Fe Trail remain on the Dry Route northwest of Kinsley.

2009 -- City of Larned, for its cooperation in marking sites and creating the Zebulon Pike Plaza on the southwest edge of town.

2010 -- Faye Gaines, who has been very active with the Santa Fe Trail and preservation of the Santa Fe Trail Landmark in New Mexico called Point of Rocks.

2011 -- Steve Schmidt, president of the Cottonwood Crossing chapter in east-central Kansas.

2012 -- Fort Larned National Historic Site for its contribution to preserving the Santa Fe Trail since the 19th century.

2013 -- Leon Unruh, of Fairbanks, Alaska, for his work on his history-oriented website, PawneeRock.org, which is about the landmark and town along the Santa Fe Trail. Many others with ties to Pawnee Rock have contributed.

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City election

[April 4]   An election Tuesday in Pawnee Rock put Gary Adams in the mayor's chair. He defeated Galen Zortman 38-31.

Three city council seats were filled. Barry Jack got 42 votes, and Vickie Alsup and Nickolle Parrett each got 41. Also running was Chasity Tower, with 13 votes.

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Maud, who came to Pawnee Rock

A postcard mailed in 1909 from Pawnee Rock. Larry Smith sent this card.

[April 3]   Once in a while, the mail brings a mystery. This one started when Larry Smith emailed front-and-back images of a postcard written by a woman named Maud in 1909. The rest of the story comes from Ron Darcey.

Dear Leon,

One of the great things I like about pawneerock.org is the element of surprise. Each time you open the link one never knows what will headline the site. So it is with the headline "Postcard of Pawnee Rock, 1909." You think to yourself that postcards are always, "Having a great time. Wish you were here," typical vacation communication with friends and family. However, this particular card was the reflections of a woman who was letting a friend, whom she had left behind, know that she was doing well, not to worry, and let's not lose touch regardless of the current circumstances. As I read the body of this card and she revealed her situation of having moved from Pennsylvania to her new home in Kansas with a man named Grant, it really piqued my interest. I began to think that this sounded all too familiar. By the time I had finished, the signature of Maud totally confirmed my suspicions. This was written by my grandmother, Maud Artley Flick.

Maud had met Grant on one of his many trips back east to visit family in Pennsylvania. Ulysses Grant Flick was the son of Phillip Flick and Emeline Converse Flick. Smitten, she married Grant on December 9, 1909, and she moved to his farm southeast of Pawnee Rock from Picture Rock, Pennsylvania. Maud was Grant's third wife. They had two children, Sara Ione, who died at the age of six from diphtheria that she contracted, ironically, on a train trip back to Pennsylvania to visit Maud's relatives, and Marguerite Flick Darcey, who was a lifelong resident of the Pawnee Rock community.

Marguerite married James Darcey from Claflin in July 1937 and continued to farm the Phillip Flick homestead. They had three sons, Lowell, Lynn, and Ronald, who all graduated from Pawnee Rock High School and who now reside in Great Bend and Newton, Kansas, and Nashville, Arkansas, respectively.

Ron Darcey

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Climbing the windmill

In this series of photos, Elgie Unruh climbs a windmill on his old family farm.

[April 1]   Back in the late 1980s, I think, my dad and I went out to the farm where he was raised. By then, Grandma had been taken to the rest home in Great Bend and the place was empty and not yet sold to Durward Smith.

Dad challenged me to climb the steel-frame windmill in the garden. I shook the windmill and saw that the ladder was fastened on with baling wire and a few bolts of uncertain strength. When I said "no," I felt like a chicken and even more so when Dad said he'd do it.

As a young man and a carpenter, Dad had climbed many windmills, and he zipped right up this one. He must have done it dozens of times as a kid. Imagine the view from a perch 50 feet over a ridgeline; you'd be even higher than the platform on the Rock.

So, I didn't climb the windmill, but I recorded for posterity Dad doing it. He was in his 60s.

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