Remember When: A Community Review
By Billie Aye
10 years ago: Nov. 20, 2002
By land or by river: Two area men, one from Tonganoxie and another from Roeland Park, have returned from a two-year canoe trip and have settled in to write a book about the experience. “It was life-changing,” Jared Jellison said of the experience. “The way I perceive the world — it’s smaller now.” Jellison is the son of L.C. and Julia Jellison, Tonganoxie. Robert Carpenter, who lives in Roeland Park, is the son of Ken and Mary Lou Carpenter. Ken Carpenter is Tonganoxie’s chief of police. (The men wanted to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest canoe journey, which they thought would mean canoeing 13,181 miles. They learned the record was more than twice that — 28,000 miles. They started anyway, and wound up with what they believe to be a record of a different sort — for portaging, or pulling their canoes on land, 555 miles, from Duncan, Ariz., to the Pacific Ocean. They planned to write a book, “There and Back.”
25 years ago: Nov. 11, 1987
On Nov. 12, Miss Edna Hukill will celebrate her 100th birthday. A family gathering is planned for Saturday to honor the former schoolteacher who taught in the Tonganoxie school system several years.
Dr. Carroll Voorhees, formerly of Tonganoxie, says his decision to retire after 34 years of practicing medicine is a “calculated risk.” He doesn’t know if he’ll be as happy during retirement as he has been during his practice and he’s sure he will miss his patients.
Births: Tim and Carol Fellows of Everett, Wash., announce the birth of twins Nov. 4, 1987. The daughter has been named Kelli and the son Jeffery; Michael E. and Keyta D. Kelly of Leavenworth proudly announce the birth of their son, Garrett Michael, born Oct. 22, 1987; Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Baker of Tonganoxie are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Mallerie Louise, born Nov. 4, 1987.
50 years ago: Nov. 29, 1962
Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Shoemaker and Mrs. Hutson James helped Mrs. Shoemaker’s father, Henry Fishburn, Overbrook, celebrate his 102nd birthday Friday, Nov. 23. He has lived on the same farm for 96 years. (Born in Cedar county, Mo., in 1860, he came to Kansas with his parents in 1863. They crossed the Kaw River on a ferry boat and entered Lawrence when its residents were still in a state of alarm over Quantrill’s recent raid.
Births: Mr. and Mrs. John W. Evans announce the birth of a son, John William II, on Nov. 23, 1962; Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Kimberlin of Winfield announce the birth of their son, Douglas LeRoy, Nov. 15, 1962.
Deaths: Jim Lee received word Tuesday of the death of his brother, Chester (Check) Lee of Beaumont, Texas; Funeral services were held Tuesday for Robert A. Holmes, 27, Linwood, who was killed Saturday when he fell down an elevator shaft at a cereal mill at Bonner Springs.
75 years ago: Nov. 4, 1937
From “It Happened in Kansas” by F.A. Cooper: Long abandoned and almost forgotten, the old Smoky Hill Trail (Pikes Peak or Bust Trail) was once one of the most important routes through Kansas. Strangely enough, one of the few places where the trail is still visible is located within sight of Kansas State College at Manhattan. The trail at this point swings directly through the campus on its way to the Rocky Mountains … There were no songbirds in Kansas before the coming of the settlers. The most common birds of early Kansas, irrespective of waterfowl, were wild turkey, black birds, hawks, crows, prairie chickens and quail. Strangely enough, song birds followed the settlers closely. It was not uncommon for songbirds, as new to Kansas as the settler himself, to build their first nests on a sod house within a few months after the settler had completed it.
100 years ago: Nov. 14, 1912
A girl was born Monday night to Mr. and Mrs. Ray Ridgway.
Harold Seymour of Hoge has had his pension doubled and is now getting $24 per month.
George Seufert who bought a farm in Jefferson county over a year ago, has sold the place to Mrs. Hannah Bigham of Oskaloosa. The farm consists of 220 acres and the sale price was $13,700.
Deaths: Mrs. William Pierce died at the home of her sister, Mrs. Lem Evans, Monday evening at half past eight o’clock of dropsy, after being sick for some time. She was in the 84th year of her age; Frankie, 16-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. Tanquary who resided in Tonganoxie a number of years, died Tuesday morning in Kansas City; Austin L. Edminster, one of the early settlers five miles east of here, died last week at Potter at the age of 61 years, 8 months and 15 days. His death is supposed to have been caused by a clot of blood on his brain.
The new owner of the Angell building is named Mateel and he lives in Leavenworth. He is having some improvements made on the place.
Ad: Special Sale of Millinery … For one week beginning Friday. All trimmed hats will be sold at cost price. Hats trimmed free Friday, Saturday and Monday if you buy the material here. Miss Alice Spoor.