By DENA WEIGEL BELLA
WaKeeney Travel Blog
WAKEENEY – A world in transition, a war like none other. The fall of monarchies and the rise of the United States on the world stage. This was the result of the First World War, one of the world’s most devastating military conflicts.
The Trego County Historical Society is taking a deeper look at World War I during a presentation given by historian Deb Goodrich of Oakley on Sunday, January 27 at 2 p.m. for their 2019 Kansas Day program at the museum in WaKeeney.
The program, “The Soldier State in the Great War” will focus on the Trego and Ness County connections to World War I, as well as recognize the 100th anniversary of the war’s end on November 11, 1918, today’s Armistice Day.
“The War to End All Wars”
World War I was an international conflict that embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East in shocking carnage between 1914-1918. The war pitted the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire against the Allies, or Entente Powers, composed of France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States, who joined the effort from 1917 until the war’s conclusion.
The Great War, as it was also called at the time, was virtually unprecedented in the slaughter and destruction it caused. This was due to technological advances in warfare that occurred during the Industrial Age. The introduction of tanks, improved machine guns, and chemical warfare, along with airplanes, and German U-boats opened up new avenues of death to soldiers and civilians alike. The result of the fighting was so severe the conflict was believed to be the “war to end all wars” and brought about the development of the League of Nations, a precursor to NATO, as a platform where leaders of nations could negotiate grievances, rather than dissolve into another merciless war.
In recognition of the 100th anniversary of World War I, the Trego County Historical Society Museum has featured several items from local private collections throughout the past four years. Uniforms, weapons, personal items and letters have been displayed, along with the recruiting posters that depict the urgency of the effort, as well as the artistic style of marketing in the early 20th century.
Western Kansas Connections
The war’s effect stretched as far as western Kansas, with several young men from across our region joining the military and traveling to the battlefields of France. Today, our local VFW is named in honor of the first of these young men to become a casualty, Randall Reid.
Historian Deb Goodrich
Goodrich is the Garvey Foundation Historian in Residence at the Fort Wallace Museum and the co-host of “Around Kansas TV Show.” She is the author of several books and has appeared in numerous documentaries, as well as writing and co-producing the docudrama, “Thof’s Dragon.” She is a graduate of Washburn University in Topeka and a resident of Oakley, Kansas.
Fourth Grade Coloring Competition
In addition to her presentation, the awards for the historical society’s coloring contest will be presented to the winners in the first through fourth grades. This is the seventh year the historical society has sponsored the contest and the top three winners in each classroom will be announced at the Kansas Day program.
Please join us for this special presentation, “The Soldier State in the Great War,” on Saturday, January 27 at 2 p.m. at the museum in WaKeeney. For more information you can check out the Trego County Historical Society’s Facebook page or call 785-743-2963.