Early in October, 1869, George W. Martin, the editor of the Junction City Union, joined a party of railroad excursionists to travel to the west line of the Kansas border. The travelers were intending to “wend” their way to Abilene on the morning freight, but just as they arrived at Junction City’s Kansas Pacific depot they were met by Mr. Blaine Marshel, the Kansas Pacific superintendent. A special train was scheduled to convey him to the town of Phil Sheridan, the end of the line.
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One of the unexpected joys of working at the paper has been getting to know you, our readers.
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They say that Curly Walker came down to Wichita from the “hell on wheels” end-of-track frontier towns of Hays City and Ellsworth.
Read moreOsage orange trees are still common throughout much of the United States, though not many people appreciate just how much the thorny, dense trees have shaped our country. Before Christopher Columbus’ arrival, Osage orange had a limited range in the Red River basin in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Like the droves of Europeans who followed, the tree eventually spread to all corners of our country, so long as you don’t count Alaska and Hawaii.
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“The Troubles” over slavery in Kansas Territory brought hundreds of people to Kansas in 1856. Aspiring young newspaperman, Hovey Evert Lowman and his brothers, John G. Lowman and Lyman L. Lowman, went to Kansas “to seek fame and fortune in that new territory.”
Read moreOver the past decade or two, farmhouse décor has been an in vogue style of interior design. It makes me chuckle when I think about people who don’t live on a farm trying to create clean and pretty spaces through white wash, distressed paint and vintage hardware.
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In 1858, William Greeneberry “Green” Russell led an expedition to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in search of gold. After weeks of disappointment gold was discovered on Little Dry Creek, about 10 miles south of their original destination. The discovery set off the “Pikes Peak” rush for gold.
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