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Remember When: A Community Review of Tonganoxie for Nov. 19, 2025

By Janet Burnett, Lynn Jennings, Sarah Kettler, Rose Mangan, Kris Roberts, Terylan Walker and the late Billie Aye. - | Nov 19, 2025

Tonganoxie Community Historical Society Museum

Editor’s note: To capture time accurately, language from the past generally is left unchanged. This may result in some antiquated or out-of-use language from time to time. We try to maintain the exact wording when possible, but edits are occasionally made for the sake of brevity or because such wording isn’t acceptable today.

25 years ago: Nov. 22, 2000

A Shawnee company wants to establish a sand removal operation on farmland between Linwood and the Kansas River. Penny Concrete has submitted a request for a special use permit at the northeast corner of 198th Street and Alexander Road, just north of the Kansas River.

The board of the Maple Grove Cemetery last week purchased an additional 10 acres. The land is in two five-acre tracts. Five acres are between the cemetery and U.S. Highway 24-40 and will not be developed. The other tract is north of the cemetery and will be platted for burial plots and is expected to have a capacity for about 2,000 graves.

An Arabian stallion belonging to a Tonganoxie couple not only was named grand champion at the American Royal – he was also named supreme grand champion. MAF Whirlwind is a 4-year-old stallion owned by Rick and Marie DeMaranville. The DeMaranville’s purchased Whirlwind when he was a yearling. Whirlwind has been trained by Larry Beethe, of Beethe Arabians, Louisburg.

The Tonganoxie Community Thanksgiving Service will be held tonight at the United Methodist Church. The Rev. Dan Eller, pastor at Heartland Church of the Nazarene, is the guest preacher. The service starts at 7 p.m. and the public is invited.

Last week, children’s book illustrator Brad Sneed spoke to elementary students and high school art students about creating drawings for children’s books. Sneed, a 1999 University of Kansas graduate, says that publishing houses contact him. Once he gets words to the story, he makes thumbnail sketches to use for ideas for his art. Next, he makes more detailed drawings and puts together what he calls a “dummy book” where he pastes the copy and colored illustrations onto pages. His colorful drawings are reminiscent of works by American artists, John Steuart Curry, Thomas Hart Benton, and Grant Wood.

50 years ago: Nov. 19, 1975

Unknown to many of us in Tonganoxie, there is a Kansas Queen and a national champion among us. They are Stephanie Seeley, Kansas Rabbit Queen and her sister Stacy’s Black Satin buck rabbit, Peabody, the grand champion national rabbit. Stephanie and Stacy are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Seeley. Along with two other sisters, Shari and Shannon, the daughters form 4-Daughters Rabbitry. The girls all raise a variety or two of the Satin breed. At first, they had just a few rabbits around as pets. “One day dad brought home a book and told me to pick out one breed to raise. I picked out Satins,” said Stephanie. She started showing her rabbits and started coming home with trophies and said her sisters got jealous so they got into the rabbit business too.

“Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” will be presented by the Tonganoxie High School Senior Class. The play is a comedy by Mark Twain. Director Mark Swezey said that the play is a rollicking comedy adventure of a Yankee thrown back in time to the Middle Ages. The leading role of Hank Bennett, the Yankee, is being portrayed by Mike Mahoney.

Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Cleavinger of Jarbalo announce the forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Jean, to David Smelser, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Smelser of McLouth. The wedding date is December 5 for the immediate family in the Jarbalo United Methodist Church. Friends and relatives are invited to the reception immediately following in Fellowship Hall.

With the high school Football season over, Coach Ned Mattingly had a few moments to reflect upon the Chieftains 1975 season. The Tonganoxie team fared well under Coach Mattingly posting a 9-2 season record while taking the Pioneer League and District Championships and coming close to winning the regional game. The Chieftains lost to Wamego 16-9 in the regional game. This is the farthest a Chieftain team has ever gone. Head Coach Ned Mattingly and Assistant Coach Steve Hughes are to be congratulated.

75 years ago: Nov. 12, 1950

Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, but another public sale will take place at the old Anderson place southwest of Tonganoxie. Twelve Guernsey, Jersey and Swiss dairy cattle are being sold, along with several heifers and hogs. The owner is offering numerous mowing machines, tractors and milk parlor equipment. In addition, 500 bales of prairie hay and 15 tons of alfalfa. At one time Tonganoxie was called the “Dairy Capital of Kansas”. Maybe no more.

Just under 100 years ago the largest battle ever fought on Kansas soil occurred when General Sterling Price and his troops clashed with the union in Linn County. The Federal Army crushed the aggressors and now this county is peaceful. Throughout Kansas, the United States Brewers Foundation supports beer retailers with continuous educational programs. When celebrating, keep your intake to a minimum. Beer-the Beverage of Moderation. 

The new White Way lights up our downtown strip so much so that little to no damage was done this past Halloween. That and the community party helps keep pranksters at bay.

100 years ago: Nov., 19, 1925

The only national highway to cross the United States from ocean to ocean with the same number all the way across, is the Victory Highway which will be marked No, 40. Leavenworth County should have been on a north and south highway also, but the national roads bureau would not see it that way. Having a dirt road in Salt Creek Valley did not help Leavenworth county’s efforts to get a marked north and south highway any.

Last Saturday afternoon the fire department was summoned to the DeLude home over their pool hall to extinguish a fire. The conflagration, however had been put out before its arrival. The little girl accidentally pushed over a coal oil heater which rolled under a bed and quickly ignited all in reach. Bill DeLude ran to the scene and smothered out the flames with some of the bedding after throwing a part of it out into the yard. He received some severe burns on his hands and arms in his work, but his quickness , saved a big blaze no doubt.

Tonganoxie has seven places where sandwiches are served, and the orders are so brisk that no sandwiches have time to get stale.

Just as the city streets were getting dry enough to be dragged and the drag men got started, the flakes began to fall and the drops began to light and spoiled all the work, as far as it had gotten along.

Three of the Domestic Science girls and Miss Adams find the school week entirely too short. In order to accomplish the desired amount of work in putting their room to rights they met last Saturday. They painted the tables of the Domestic Art and the cupboards in the store room of the Domestic Science room. The color is grey to blend with grey woodwork. Practical experience in home making, is the kind Tonganoxie High School Domestic Science and Domestic Art girls are receiving this year.

125 years ago: Nov. 22, 1900

Richard James was given the contract for grading the new culvert on the west side of town. The culvert is nearly complete. 

The five days damp and cloudy weather ended up with snow and sleet Tuesday evening, with a drop in the thermometer to 14 degrees. 

There is a big exodus of turkeys to Kansas City. It is involuntary, of course. 

The new warehouse of the Zoellner-Wark Mercantile Co. is almost completed. 

Hereafter all pupils at the public school who are either absent or tardy will be required to furnish and excuse from the parents for each instance. This rule has just been adopted. 

Considering the bad weather conditions, the attendance at the musicale last Friday evening was a fair one. The stage was nicely decorated with plants, etc., furnished by Earl Strickland, and a good piano loaned by Arthur Thistlethwaite helped out greatly. The entire programme was by neighborhood and home talent except Mrs. Dodd, of Springfield, Mo., who is a skilled pianist. The programme was exceptionally good and the bit of minstrel show introduced without the cork brought down the house. Tuesday evening, part of the programme was repeated and a supper served afterward, but the night was worse than the first one and the attendance was light.