One of four Municipal Park tennis courts will be converted to two pickleball courts.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
The four tennis courts in Hays Municipal Park need to be resurfaced. It hasn’t been done since 2004.
City commissioners will consider a low bid Thursday for the work, which includes converting one court to two pickleball courts.
“We have a lot of people interested in pickleball,” said Jeff Boyle, director of parks. “Hays Rec actually has tournaments there. It’s very popular and I think it’s a good thing for us to try.”
Pickleball is similar to tennis but uses a Wiffle Ball and small paddles on shorter courts. An eight-foot-high net will divide the fourth Municipal Park tennis court into two pickleball courts.
“As you get older it’s really a good sport to stay active because you can play it to any level you want,” said Commissioner Sandy Jacobs. “But I’ve noticed there’s a lot of young people getting involved as well, so I think it’s pretty cool.”
Commissioner Eber Phelps, a tennis player, was not as enthusiastic.
“Not to rain on your parade, but I’m just gonna call your attention to what’s going to happen,” he said.
“You bring in a new activity. Then you’re gonna have all your tennis players complaining.
“I’ve played on those courts for years. People come down there and want to play tennis using a volleyball. They wanna play tennis using Frisbees, or whatever. It’s lit up at night and it’s a great place to come skateboard, rollerblade, drive remote control cars.
“I’m not gonna put down the pickleball, but I’ll bet you, you get that going down there and you’re gonna have some issues between the two,” Phelps predicted.
Boyle said his staff discussed whether the change would “put out the tennis players.”
“There’ve been times where all four courts have been played on, and there’s been times when it’s just one court,” Boyle noted. “Tennis seems to have dropped off dramatically. I’m not discarding the sport. It sure seems we have plenty of courts when I go by.”
Other agenda items for the July 25 city commission meeting include a final review of the proposed 2020 budget and setting a public hearing date.
The 2019 Water$mart Landscape awards will also be presented.
The agenda is available here.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.
ATLANTA – In addition to finishing fifth in the final national poll and second in the attendance standings, the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team also ranked towards the top of NCAA Division II academic charts in 2018-19. The Tigers’ cumulative team GPA of 3.708 ranked sixth in the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll, announced Tuesday (July 23) by the Coaches Association.
The Tigers’ grade point average of 3.708 was a program best since at least 2001 and the sixth-place ranking is the second best behind a fourth-place finish in 2011-12. FHSU earned a spot in the top 25 for the fifth year in a row and the ninth time over the last 10 seasons. It was the 10th time the Tigers were listed in the Academic Top 25 since 2002. The Tigers have been listed in the top 25 nine times during head coach Tony Hobson’s 11-year tenure.
Fort Hays State was the only NCAA Division II program listed in the final WBCA Coaches Poll, the top 25 of the NCAA home attendance report and the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. Additionally, the Tigers recorded the top GPA in the MIAA for the second year in a row. Thirteen Tigers were listed on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll this season (3.0 or higher cumulative GPA).
The WBCA Academic Top 25 annually recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA; and junior/community college women’s basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined grade point average (GPA) inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season.
On Tuesday, Brenda Culbertson, NASA/JPL solar system ambassador, was at the Hays Public Library presenting highlights from the Apollo 11 mission that sent Americans to the surface of the moon 50 years ago.
A longtime observational astronomer, Culbertson ran the Washburn planetarium for over 20 years and has taught astrophotography.
She uses those skills in the ambassador program setting up observation sessions in locations across the state.
“That’s probably what I do most,” Culbertson said.
But while in Hays, she stepped away from the telescope to present three sessions at the Hays Public Library recapping the first manned lunar mission.
She believes sharing the story of the mission is important to get children interested in exploring their potential.
“When you are wondering ‘Can I really do this?’ and you look back and see other people have done harder things, I think that encourages them to try for it,” Culbertson said. “They learn from history and, if history is taught correctly and you are given a good taste of it, I think it will encourage them to go forward.”
She noted the tragedy of Apollo 1 as an example of how learning from history can be a powerful tool.
“NASA learned from it greatly,” she said. “From there, OK, we have to be more careful and more thorough.”
The lesson learned from that failure still resonates today.
“If they are taught and shown, I think it is important for them to learn this kind of thing,” Culbertson said. “You learn from failure.” she said.
With the knowledge of history, Culbertson hopes students can push forward and reach their potential.
“We give them a little bit of the tragedy as well as the success and maybe it will spark something in them to go forward.”
About the Solar System Ambassadors Program
“The Solar System Ambassadors Program is a public engagement effort that works with motivated volunteers across the nation to communicate the science and excitement of NASA’s space exploration missions and discoveries in their communities,” according to the program’s website. “The program — which started in 1997 — currently consists of 730 ambassadors who conduct approximately 2,400 annual events that, reach about 500,000 people directly, with millions reached via publications, social media, TV and radio.”
Habitat for Humanity of Ellis County is one of 11 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Kansas that benefited from a $165,000 grant from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC). Funds supported technology upgrades, marketing, and tools and equipment so volunteers can better partner with homeowners to achieve the strength, stability and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and their families.
“We are so thankful for the $12,000 grant awarded to us from the KHRC. We used the funding to increase our visibility in Ellis County with ads featured on HaysPost.com through Eagle Communications,” said Leslie Wyatt, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Ellis County.
“We purchased signage for our ReStore location at the Big Creek Crossing Mall and fixed the heater in the main section of the building. Our volunteers and customers were much more comfortable this past winter. We were able to purchase and gift our dedicated volunteers with HFHEC t-shirts and sweatshirts which was really great too.”
In addition, the grant allowed Kansas to be represented at the 2019 Habitat for Humanity International Affiliate Conference in Atlanta in March. This biennial conference provided affiliates from all over the country the opportunity to share ideas and gain insight into developing national campaigns that will increase affordable housing opportunities. Some of the funding also will cover a portion of the administrative costs.
“This is the second year that KHRC has granted Kansas Habitat for Humanity affiliates with funds that allow us to expand our impact on affordable housing opportunities in Kansas,” said Shawna Dennett, advancement director at Wichita Habitat for Humanity and administrator of the KHRC grant. “We are so thankful that the KHRC recognizes the work done by Habitat for Humanity in Kansas and is willing to provide funds that will allow us the opportunity to serve more people in our community with affordable housing and home repairs, as well as provide financial literacy and homeownership education to homebuyers and homeowners in 13 counties. Affiliates have been meeting together annually to share ideas and resources and this grant will allow us to develop stronger connections with smaller affiliates, providing the support they need to increase their ability to build homes, communities, and hope across Kansas.”
Kansas Housing Resources Corporation is a self-supporting, public corporation serving as the primary administrator of federal housing programs for the state of Kansas. Its mission is to increase the availability of affordable, decent and accessible housing for lower-income Kansans. KHRS collaborates with lenders, developers, builders, real estate agents, service providers, homeless advocates, non-profit organizations and government agencies.
HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System, is proud to announce the certification of its cardiovascular/pulmonary rehabilitation program by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). This certification is recognition HaysMed’s commitment to improving the quality of life of patients by enhancing standards of care.
Cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation programs are designed to help people with cardiovascular problems (e.g., heart attacks, coronary artery bypass graft surgery) and pulmonary problems (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], respiratory symptoms) recover faster and live healthier. Both programs include exercise, education, counseling and support for patients and their families.
To earn accreditation, HaysMed’s cardiovascular/pulmonary rehabilitation program participated in an application process that requires extensive documentation of the program’s practices. AACVPR Program Certification is the only peer-review accreditation process designed to review individual programs for adherence to standards and guidelines developed and published by AACVPR and other related professional societies. Each program’s application is reviewed by the AACVPR Program Certification Committee, and certification is awarded by the AACVPR Board of Directors.
In 2018, AACVPR moved to an outcomes-based process with performance measurements that represent more meaningful outcomes. Therefore, AACVPR-certified programs are leaders in the cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation field because they offer the most advanced practices available and have proven track records of high quality patient care. AACVPR Program Certification is valid for three years.
About AACVPR
Founded in 1985, the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the mission of reducing morbidity, mortality and disability
from cardiovascular and pulmonary disease through education, prevention, rehabilitation, research and disease management. Central to the core mission is improving the quality of life for patients and their families. Learn more about AACVPR at www.aacvpr.org.
The Hays Striders Track Club were in competition at the AAU Regional Qualifier June 27-30. 23 Striders vied for a spot at the 2019 AAU Junior Olympic Championships and 19 qualified. The Junior Olympics will be held July 28 through August 2 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“In the 24 years we’ve been involved with the Striders, this is the most we’ve ever qualified to compete in the Junior Olympic Games. That is a testament to these kids who go to practice for two hours every day, fighting the cold, the rain, and now the heat to improve and compete. They are true competitors, from the little guys and girls to the high school athletes. They amaze me everyday how hard they are willing to work,” Coach Dave Haberman said. “And those workouts are not easy!”
Region 16 for AAU comprises Kansas, Oklahoma, western Missouri and Arkansas. The top six athletes from the regional meet qualified to compete at the Junior Olympics.
Four Striders — Jade Beckman from Oakley, Lillian McGaughey from La Crosse, Jacob Leiker and Mario Valencia of Hays — were crowned Regional Champions in their events. Beckman and McGaughey are described by Coach Elaine Haberman as a “future Olympic superstars.”
Beckman won the long jump in the 11-year-old girls division with a leap of 14’51/2.” McGaughey had a very busy three days in the 11-year-old division by winning the turbo javelin and discus and qualifying in the high jump and Pentathlon. Leiker blew away the competition in the 8 Under 800 while dropping 10 seconds off of his time a month ago at the AAU District Qualifier. Leiker also qualified in the 400. Hays Middle School athlete Valencia was the top Pole Vaulter in the 13-year-old age group and also qualified for the Junior Olympics in the high jump.
The girls side of the team have been battling injuries throughout the season, but even those with injuries managed to qualify for the JO’s. Hays High’s Brooklyn Lewallen, competing with a nagging hamstring, qualified in the 15-16 100 meter hurdles as well as the 400 meter hurdles. Hays Middle School athlete Lacy Droegemeier, battling a lower leg injury throughout most of the summer season, qualified in the 14-year-old 100 hurdles and Pentathlon. “They are a great group of kids that love to work hard and they have fun doing it, which is the most enjoyable part,” Striders hurdle coach Maddux Winter said.
Middle distance phenom Morgan Armbruster switched gears mid-season due to injuries, adding the Turbo Javelin throw to her 11-year-old event listing. Armbruster placed 3rd in that event to qualify. Zoe Brown of Plainville, battling knee trouble throughout the season, qualified in the 12 year old Pentathlon. Kaliyah Bannister qualified in the 11-year-old long jump with a personal best. Sydney Lewallen, described by Coach Dave Haberman as “one of our hardest working athletes, and one to watch for future years” qualified for a second year in the 9-year-old girls 400 and long jump. Grace Molthan qualified for her first Junior Olympics in the 9-year-old Girls 1500 meter run. Lyndi Zimmerman qualified for her third Junior Olympics in two events, the 10-year-old 400 and 1500.
“We are so proud of all of these girls,” Coach Elaine Haberman said.
On the boys side, beside Leiker and Valencia, seven more athletes qualified. Plainville’s record breaker AJ Brown, qualified in the 14-year-old 200 hurdles and Pentathlon. Logan Leiker qualified in the 10-year-old 1500.
“Those Leiker boys can just flat out run,” Dave Haberman said. “This is their first year and they’re running like seasoned athletes!”
Emery Zimmerman qualified in the 8 Under 800 and 1500, and Tayte Lewallen in the 8 Under 1500.
“Those two are fighters,” Coach Dave Haberman said, “they challenge each other every day in practice and are just great competitors on the track.”
Hunter Molthan, the veteran on the boys team, qualified in three events. The 800, 1500, and 3000.
“Hunter is a beautiful runner,” Elaine Haberman stated. “He’s a hard worker and just loves track.”
Of the Strider boy throwers, coached by 4 time All-MIAA FHSU athlete Tim McElroy, two qualified to move on to North Carolina. Jack Zeller qualified in the 13-year-old javelin, shot put and discus. Caleb Englert qualified in the 11-year-old turbo javelin and discus.
“The kids worked extremely hard this summer and their accomplishments show it,” throws coach Tim McElroy said.
“We are very proud of all of our Strider kids,” Dave Haberman said. “And we have a great coaching staff! They are committed to helping these kids improve every day.”
The Striders are coached by Dave and Elaine Haberman, Dustin and Wendy Armbruster, Meredith and Darris Lewallen, Bob Threlkel, Rose McFarland, Maddux Winter, and Anthony Ventura.
Complete Results are as follows, Top 6 Qualify:
Girls
Paityn Armbruster, 400-27, 1:42.05; LJ-17, 7’1”
Sydney Lewallen, 9, 400-2, 1:15.38; LJ-5, 11’9 ½”; 200-12, 34.49
DSNWK is hosting the 2019 Esther McMurtrie Memorial Golf Tournament to be held on September 20 at the Ellis Golf Club (1301 Spruce Street, Ellis, Kansas). Registration will begin at 8 a.m. with tee-off beginning at 9 a.m. The cost of playing in this four person scramble is $300 per team (four person teams); this includes green fees, golf carts, lunch on the course, and flight prizes. There will be additional opportunities to win raffles, prizes, and a golf cart.
You can also participate by making a financial/in-kind donation or by sponsoring a hole on the course. Hole Sponsorship is $300 and includes a sign with your company name on the tee box.
Proceeds will go towards the maintenance and improvement of group homes in Ellis County, greatly benefiting individuals served by DSNWK.
We hope you will be able to join us in this year’s tournament!
Erin Muirhead and Ryan Will rehearse their roles as Ariel and Prince Eric in the Hays Community Theatre’s production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Theater goers will be able to enter the enchanting under sea world of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” this weekend.
Erin Muirhead (Ariel) and Ryan Will (Prince Eric) dance during “The Little Mermaid.”
The Hays Community Theatre will present the story of a mermaid who falls in love with a human prince at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
Tickets are still available for all three shows and can be purchased through the HCT website or at the door if tickets are still available. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children.
Cody Kreutzer, a recent FHSU graduate in theater, is making his directorial debut with HCT with “The Little Mermaid.”
Kreutzer directed at FHSU, but nothing on the scale of the 50-member cast of the “The Little Mermaid.”
Micheal Hernandez (Scuttle) shows off an object from the human world during “The Little Mermaid.”
Organizing a large all-volunteer cast and using rehearsal time wisely has been a challenge, he said.
Trying to costume a cast of sea creatures has also been a challenge, but he said he has had a wonderful costume and set design team who is bringing both the underwater and terrestrial worlds to life.
“We had to come up with a ship for all of the sailors and the big sea numbers and having something on stage during under the sea so its not just on stage. … It’s been difficult, but I think what we finally have and decided on is good.”
For those not familiar with the cartoon classic, “The Little Mermaid” is the story of Ariel (Erin Muirhead), King Triton’s (David Koshiol) youngest daughter, who wishes to pursue the human Prince Eric (Ryan Will) in the world above.
Haileigh Jacobs performs a number as Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.”
She bargains with the evil sea witch, Ursula (Haileigh Jacobs), to trade her tail for legs. But the bargain is not what it seems, and Ariel needs the help of her colorful friends, Flounder the fish (Addy Brull), Scuttle the seagull (Micheal Hernandez) and Sebastian the crab (Travis Grizzell) to restore order under the sea, according to the HCT website.
Muirhead, 19, a Hays High School grad and student at K-State, loved the Disney movie when she was a child.
“I think the biggest challenge for me is to take a character people know and make it my own,” she said.
She said she could relate to Ariel as a character who is forced to make difficult decisions and is trying to follow her dreams.
David Koshiol portrays King Triton in “The Little Mermaid.”
“I think everyone has had to make those decisions to follow their passion, and I hope I am doing that as well,” she said.
Muirhead went to high school with her leading man, Ryan Will.
“He is a close friend of mine. I think he is doing a great job, and it is great to work with him,” she said.
Will, 19, is a sophomore at FHSU majoring in psychology. This is his first HCT production, but he is no stranger to the stage. He played Quasimodo in the HHS production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” among pother productions. He also played Pepper in “Mama Mia” and Antonio in “The Marriage of Figaro” at FHSU.
Will said “The Little Mermaid” has been much more challenging than he anticipated from both musical and acting perspectives.
“At this point, I am excited to perform. I hope we can provide the community with an escape for a night or two,” he said. “I really think this is going to showcase a lot of people and the time and effort we put into it. I think it is going to be a good one.”
Erin Muirhead (Ariel) and Addy Brull (Flounder) are puzzled by a fork from the human world.
His favorite music from the performance is “If only,” a quartet during which Prince Eric weighs his options for the future.
Will had never seen Disney’s movie version of “The Little Mermaid” until just last weekend. He said he much preferred the stage version, which includes much more music.
Kretuzer said his favorite scene in the musical is a number in which Prince Eric teaches Ariel to dance, a sequence that is not in the movie.
“It is the first moment we see they could fall in love,” he said. “Just talking about it gives me chills. It is so beautiful. ‘Part of Your World’ is my favorite Disney song written, so when Erin (Ariel), sings ‘Part of Your World’ every night, I love it. It is so good.”
Kreutzer said he is proud of his cast.
Ariel’s sisters perform a dance number during “The Little Mermaid.”
“They are all working so hard,” he said. “We have rehearsals three hours a night, five nights a week. They are just excited to do it and excited to be here and excited for people to see it.”
Although many people might think “The Little Mermaid” is a production just for kids, Kreutzer said older audience members will enjoy the production as well. HCT not only has grand sets and costumes, but the production has humor adults will appreciate too, he said.
Kruetzer said he and the cast have had fun putting the show together.
“Part of it is for ourselves to make us feel good, but we also want people to see it because we want to bring them joy,” he said. “We want them to get as much joy out of seeing this as we have had putting it on.”
O’Loughlin Elementary School will receive new playground equipment next week.
The O’Loughlin PTO donated more than $62,000 to purchase the new equipment and pay for installation. This included a $10,000 grant from the Heartland Community Foundation.
Alaina Cunningham, parent and PTO member, said the existing playground equipment was in poor shape. Bolts had fallen out of the equipment and some of the features had to be boarded up for safety reasons.
The new equipment will be ADA accessible and has facets that will address children’s sensory needs. A physical education curriculum also comes with the equipment.
The USD 489 staff members have been working to prepare the school grounds for the new equipment. The new equipment will be installed beginning next week. The project also includes new wood chip surfacing for the playground.
Some of the existing playground equipment that is still in good condition will be kept.
KIRWIN — With Phillips County now being in the midst of its 2019 County Fair in Phillipsburg, and Kirwin on its way to celebrating its sesquicentennial in October, it can be noted that the first fair here did not take place in the county seat of Phillipsburg as might be assumed. Instead the county’s first such celebration was held 144 years ago in Kirwin, which at the time was one of the most prominent communities in northwest Kansas.
The Kirwin Fair during the 1870s and 1880s was a huge enterprise, with one particularly successful episode being hailed in the local press as “one long to be remembered in the history of this city.”
Of course that prediction turned out not to be true — should you ask any native of the town about the rousing fairs that were once held there you are likely to receive a quizzical look; go a step further and ask them about an immense fairgrounds formerly in their midst and you will probably be met with downright skepticism.
Confectionery Ice Cream
Rousing those fairs were, though. Acclaimed by an early-day booster as having a “fairgrounds second to none in the state,” thousands of people flocked in from counties throughout the region to attend the festivities, which were held annually between mid-September and mid-October.
Located in the southeast corner of town on 40 acres of land that is now a soybean field in the 21st century, that early-day 19th century Kirwin Fairground boasted a half mile horse race track featuring off-track betting at Kirwin’s Monarch Billiards Hall. The large fairground also had grandstands, floral halls, display halls, stables, and row after row of show pens.
While some of the pens and stables would survive into the 1960s, the display halls, race track and grandstands all were destined to disappear within decades of being built.
The fair was first held in 1875, just a little over a half decade after Kirwin, Phillips County’s oldest town, was founded. One of the largest Indian battles ever fought in Kansas, the three-day Battle of Prairie Dog Creek, had taken place in Phillips County just eight years before the first fair. A mere four years before that fair a siege of Kirwin by 500 Indians had been broken only after the cornered handful of town residents built a breastworks of logs and made a display of their repeating rifles.
Initially a hardscrabble collection of sod houses and cabins made of mud-chinked rough-hewn logs, in 1875 major prosperity descended upon the community when President Ulysses S. Grant named Kirwin to be the site of the U.S. Land Office for the filing of claims that made millions of acres of western Kansas available for pioneer settlement.
With the new land office opening for business on Jan. 9, 1875, almost overnight Kirwin became a major frontier boomtown, setting the stage for a fairground to be constructed and a regional fair to open its gates by September.
Kirwin received yet another major boost in 1879 when the Atchison, Colorado and Pacific Railroad (later renamed Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad and then Missouri Pacific Railroad) laid track that reached Kirwin, opening the fair up to a larger group of attendees, including daytrippers.
Northeast Square
The exact same week the first Kirwin Fair got underway in September 1875, not only was Ulysses Grant president, the nation was also still in the midst of Civil War Reconstruction. In addition, that same week George Armstrong Custer was leading an expedition through the Black Hills that within months would culminate in the massacre of his command at the Little Big Horn, Wyatt Earp was a lawman in Wichita, Jesse and Frank James robbed $20,000 from the Huntington Bank, Buffalo Bill was touring North America with one of his early Wild West shows, Billy the Kid was arrested for the first time, Calamity Jane was carrying dispatches for the U.S. Cavalry along the Platte River, Wyoming Territory resident Wild Bill Hickok was soon to move on to his grim fate in Deadwood, Annie Oakley was holding shooting exhibitions across the Midwest, and the great Apache war chief Geronimo was fighting U.S. army troops in the Southwest while Sioux leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were doing the same on the Northern Plains.
It was in the very midst of this rich historical background that the intrepid citizens of Kirwin started their fair.
“The Greatest Enterprise in the Northwest,” as it was billed, was christened not the Phillips County Fair, but instead the Quad County Fair, at first, and then later on the much more grandiose Upper Solomon Valley District Fair as it became more popular and expanded.
Originally marketed towards entrants and attendees from the four corners area of Phillips County, Rooks County, Osborne County, and Smith County, the fair was so successful that it was soon also opened to Mitchell, Jewell, Norton, and Graham county contestants.
General admission for the public could be had for 25 cents, or $1 for a three-day family pass. Prizes were handed out not just for the usual categories of livestock, baked goods, fruit, grain, and vegetables, but also for floral displays, beadwork, embroidery, farm implements, and even collections of fossils and stuffed birds.
The centerpiece and main attraction of the fair, however, was the horse racing, with the initial competition on the fairgrounds racetrack taking place just four months after the first Kentucky Derby was held.
Northwest Square
Kirwin Fair horse racing events featured sprinters and trotters, as well as a comedic slow-walking race in which would-be jockeys were give unbroken mounts to ride. With top prizes for the regular exhibits running from 50 cents to $2, the purse for the premier horse race of sprinters was a princely $150.
(According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the average farm laborer in Kansas earned $20.14 per month in 1875, and that 1875 $150 purse has a 2019 value of $3,492).
One particularly anticipated contest occurring during the 1885 Kirwin Fair involved three nags by the name of Fred H., Minnie, and Ned. According to one colorful post-race report at the time, Ned “the king of the Northwest and the pride of Kirwin,” finally made his appearance guided by the well-experienced hand of Ben Arbuckle, “the prince of Missouri horsemen.”
According to the account, “Ned’s noble carriage, as if holding his competitors in disdain, won the admiration of all and $20 to $5 was offered without any takers. The gong was sounded, the start given, and away dashed the antagonists. But it was no use. The king of the valley, the pet of Kirwin, was unequaled and passed under the wire.”
Adding to the overall festive atmosphere during the three days of celebration was a general revelry not just at the fairgrounds, but also throughout the entire town of Kirwin.
“Drs. Watkins and Shively, the Tooth Extractors and Lightning Liniment Men” set up a booth one year during the fairtime merrymaking and attracted lines of customers with promises of public tooth extractions “without excruciating pain; without lacerating or breaking the jaw-bone.”
Opera House
And then there was a “Professor Warren,” who offered up harp playing, juggling, and clog dancing.
During the Kirwin Fair oysters were quite popular with the attendees, with fried ones being offered in town at Miller’s Eating Saloon, and canned ones at the Philadelphia Oyster House.
A visitor to the fair could also find specials on fine candies to be had at Miller’s Confectionary, ice cream at Gilbert’s, “cyclone prices” for shoes at the Bee Hive Store, and the “finest line of jewelry in the city” at the Kirwin Jeweler.
For the kids there was a half-mile foot race on the horse track and skating at Fenton’s Roller Rink, while adults had entertainment of a different type — dancing at the Opera House, spirits and ten-pin at the Eagle Saloon, spirits at the Senate Saloon, and more spirits at the Exchange Saloon, Kirwin’s version of a modern-day brewpub since it was the Kirwin Brewery’s local public retail outlet.
Kirwin had a lot of saloons.
With the Logan Silver Cornet Band performing on the fair midway during the day, the Kirwin Silver Cornet Band had to content itself playing in town during the night, as the local newspaper, the Kirwin Chief, was reporting it was banned from the fairgrounds.
Banned? The reason went unstated, but one might wonder whether silver cornet musicians of one era and rock n’ roll guitar musicians of a future era might not have had similar propensities.
With Kirwin having a legal drinking age of just 15-years-old at the time, a large local brewery, horse racing with an off-track betting parlor, a dozen or so saloons and billard halls, a town council committee specifically tasked with regulating gambling and houses of ill fame (this is a whole other story), and a reputation that survived well into the following century — well, the temptations were certainly there.
But still the question is begged — exactly what do musicians have to do to get 86’d from the biggest celebration on the northwest Kansas frontier in the 1870s?
One year it was innocently reported after one of the earliest fairs, a little tongue in cheek perhaps given Kirwin’s wild and woolly repute and the vast number of entertainment venues it had, that while “a few men from other counties were at time intoxicated, the locals made a good accounting of themselves.”
Not so a year or two later when one Frank Dixon of Phillipsburg was found to be raising a ruckus at fair time, hollering that no Kirwin man could best him in a brawl (a common Phillipsburg-Kirwin rivalry practice made repeatedly by others in decades to follow).
Loutish and fully lubricated, Mr. Dixon promptly found himself in tow to the hoosegow after being brought to heel by the Kirwin city marshal on charges of disturbing the peace and using foul language. Houses of ill fame, legal. Foul language, illegal.
On his way to the lockup the prisoner sighted one of the town’s attorneys and requested that he be permitted to discuss retaining his services; accordingly a detour was made and his captor’s grip was loosened so a consultation might take place.
And, almost immediately, say the reports, “the place that knew Dixon knew him no more, and there was nothing to be seen but a long streak of grey overcoat.”
Not to despair though, law and order would yet prevail in Kirwin that balmy autumn night as the miscreant ultimately ended up in the town jail after he was located — discovered not by searching the highways and byways back to Phillipsburg. No — the marshal found Dixon simply by scouting through the town’s night-time business establishments and soon finding him lurking near the rear exit of Snell’s Billiard Hall.
Such was the essence of the briefly famous but soon forgotten Kirwin Upper Solomon Valley District Fair, heralded far and wide in its heyday as being an event that was long to be remembered but instead ended up becoming just another chapter in The Forgotten History of Phillips County.
There’s something about being outside that soothes the soul. It doesn’t matter if you’re working, taking a casual stroll or just sitting on the porch watching the world go by. One of my favorite excuses to be out of doors is fishing.
My father, an avid hunter, didn’t have the patience for fishing, but he also never discouraged me from casting a line. Most of my adolescent angling adventures were the result of a neighbor who was kind enough to take me along almost whenever I would ask to hit the water.
Though sometimes, like when he would take me limb-line fishing, some advanced planning was necessary. I still remember the first time we took an aluminum Jon boat down Pottawatomie Creek setting lines off tree branches hanging over the water.
Checking the lines a couple days later turned up a 35-pound blue catfish, which is still the biggest I’ve ever seen in person. The fish was only slightly smaller than I was at the time, but it also was only a baby in the world of blue cats, which can top 100 pounds.
Like my father, I too lack the patience to go after trophy fish. Instead, I’m happy to reel in anything that swims. While I enjoy the occasional challenge posed by fishing reservoirs, lakes and rivers, there’s nothing quite like fishing a well-stocked farm pond.
I’m never going to catch a record-setting bass or catfish from a pond, but I’m also not going to go home empty handed either. My favorite pond is at the ranch back home. It’s stuffed full of bass less than a pound, but I did snag a four-pounder a couple years ago.
Ponds always hold the promise of hooking something just big enough to put a big bend in the rod and put up a decent fight. The best fishing hole offers plenty of action in between catching those lunkers.
I recently found a new pond close to Manhattan that fits the bill. Thanks to my brother who scored an invite from the landowner, I got to tag along with him and my nephew one Saturday morning.
My nephew is my usual fishing buddy, and we’ve had some tough luck this year with weather, high water and schedules that haven’t always aligned. We got skunked at a public fishery in late April but managed to find a few catfish at another open access lake in June.
This private pond, however, was nestled in a Flint Hills valley, and it was stocked with bluegill, channel and bullhead catfish and largemouth bass. The water was clear enough to see the bass’ white bellies flash as they hit our lures. Though none were really big enough to bend our rods.
We spent the morning pulling in bass and bullhead with the occasional bluegill. It looked like we were going to go home without anyone hooking into a channel cat. Though my nephew could see a decent sized one in the water on the face of the dam.
Just as we were getting ready to pack up and head home, I heard him shout. I looked over to see his rod doubled over while he cranked the reel shouting, “I got you! I finally got you!”
He flung a channel cat up onto the bank, still shouting, as his dad and I rushed over to eye the beast. By my eyes, the fish checked in at a little over four pounds. It was, by far, the day’s biggest catch from the water. The best part for me, though, was seeing the equally large smile on my nephew’s face.
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
The Orthopedic Institute at HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System, was recently reaccredited as an Accredited Durable Medical Equipment facility from the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation.
Durable Medical equipment is any medical equipment used in the home to aid in a better quality of living. The accreditation ensures the public that Hays Orthopedic Institute has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and standards undergoing on onsite review by an Accreditation Field Specialist. It assures that a facility will maintain the highest quality of standards for patient healthcare.
Hays Orthopedic Institute was initially accredited in July 2013.
