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News between the Issues:
As of 4:00 PM July 2, 2009
The June 30, 2009 Edition of
The Newsleaf
CENTENARIAN HONORED
Lucille Kemp, who
turned 100 years old on June 21, 2009, was honored on her birthday with a
family gathering and reception at St Ann's Catholic Church. Her day began
with a celebration Mass where she fulfilled one of her goals by walking
down the aisle into church instead of using her wheelchair. Special music
was provided by the St. Ann's Choir who led everyone in singing Happy
Birthday at the end of Mass.
A brunch was held after the Mass for family and friends. Approximately 75 nieces and nephews traveled from New Mexico, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, the Kansas City area and surrounding communities to help her celebrate. Her remaining sister, Theresa Useldinger and husband Ed, Olathe, were also in attendance. Her only living brother, Bernard Banks, 90, of Grand Forks, ND was unable to make the trip. Lucille's great niece, Cheryl O'Brien, from Seal Beach, CA, sent her a cake to mark the occasion, complete with party hat, horn and a candle that wouldn't blow out. Several friends from the Effingham community stopped by in the afternoon to congratulate her on this special occasion.
Lucille wishes to thank everyone who helped to make her birthday so memorable. Thank you to the St. Ann's church family for allowing use of the church for the celebration, to the St. Ann's choir for the beautiful music, to the Ralph Banks family for preparing a delicious brunch and to everyone who stopped by to visit and wish her well. "It makes turning 100 worthwhile when you are surrounded by friends and family." She also wanted to pass on her secret to a long life--Hard Work and Lye Soap!
POOL GRAND OPENING
The Effingham Swimming Pool’s Grand Opening Celebration was held Saturday evening the 27th . The crowd gathered at the shelter house in the park around 5:00 p.m. Food and entertainment was provided by the City and the pool committee as a way of thanking everyone for their recent support of the project. During the event the pool was open free of charge to all.
The pool reopened last Monday after being closed the last two years. The children were really enjoying it, and the adults are, too.
The pool hours are 1:00-700 p.m. Adult activities include lap swim (Monday/Wednesday) 7:15-8:15 p.m. Aerobics (Tuesday/Thursday) 7:15-8:15 p.m.
Admissions are: daily $2.50, season $125.00 (family of 4) $10 for each additional. Punch cards $20 for 10 punches, $40 for 20 punches. Adult activities are $1.00 a session.
Children 6 and under must be accompanied by an adult or approved babysitter at all times. Babysitter approval forms may be picked up at pool house.
MAIN STREET RECEIVES NEW MAKEUP
KDOT applied a chip and seal down main street this last Saturday. The entire stretch of US 159 is getting a facelift through the area. Recently the highway was heated, ground, and relayed to smooth out the waves left after the last time it was worked over. Once that process was completed the leveled surface will get the same treatment as main street. Shown below workers are applying the chat.
ALL
AROUND US by Alice
Johnson
PICK UP FLOWERS
The Monrovia Cemetery Association announced Monday they were going to leave Memorial Day decorations on the graves until after the July 4th holiday. After that time, plans are to start disposing of the items. If you wish to salvage for re-use of your decorations, you should do so immediately.
NEWS ANYONE
I’m always looking for news. So if you would want to share news of your family reunions, activities or travels, please call me at 913-833-4432 or send by e-mail address to fayjohn1961@yahoo. com.
ATTENDS LIBRARY BOARD
Nancy Keith attended the State Library Board meeting on June 19th at the Shawnee County/Topeka Public Library. Some of the items discussed were the replacement of the State Librarian, budget cuts, state-wide courier service, and reports by the interim library director and heads of departments. While at the library, Nancy delivered twelve boxes from the Effingham Community Library. These “weeded” books were either duplicates or had not been checked out in the last ten years. The Friends of the Topeka Public Library will sell them at their September Book Sale. The Effingham Library continues to offer book bargains in the foyer of the City Building. Free will donations are accepted for the books.
THANKS EXPRESSED
I belong to the Prairie View 4-H club and the 4-H Leaders of Tomorrow. 4-H is a great place for kids to have fun, try new things, and help others. I organized the garage sale because I believe every town should have a swimming pool. It’s a great place to exercise and be with friends. I held it during the city–wide garage sale on June 13th. I donated all the proceeds (over $550) to the pool. I really appreciated all of the people who volunteered to help work at the garage sale. My dad stayed there over night so we could accept the donations the night before the garage sale. He also took the remaining items that didn’t sell to the Salvation Army. I had never organized an event like this and am really grateful to the other members of the Swimming Pool Committee for helping me out. I also appreciated all of the people who donated to and/or supported the sale. We had many donations, like a clothes dryer; a bread machine; lamps; linens; children’s clothes; baby items; toys; household decorations; various appliances; a shelving unit; and sports equipment, such as tennis racquets, helmets, a tent, etc. In all over 20 people and families donated to the sale. It was a great success. thanks again for all of your help, Bridgett Kelly
POOL COMMITTEE MEETS
The Swimming Pool Equipment Fund Raising Committee met on June 10th to discuss the proceeds from the 2K/5K Walk/Run and review last minute plans for the Pool Equipment Garage Sales. At the meeting it was decided not to purchase netting to shade the eating area. Other options will be explored for shade purposes in the future.
Class of 1998 PLANS EVENT
The Class of 1998 Reunion will be held Saturday, July 18 at Cedar Ridge Restaurant north of Atchison. The social time starts at 3:00 PM with dinner at 5:00 PM. Please RSVP Jessica Metcalfe at 816-830-6965 or email her at jessicaandlilly@yahoo.com if you would like to attend.
MUSCOTAH NEWS by the Hansons
We’re
back! We’ve been gone a couple of weeks but got back just in time to help
out with the restoration of the Whiting Café, June 26th thru 28th.
It was a project of the Kansas Sampler Foundation who offers a helping
hand to small towns in Kansas. Until now that help has been to identify
small businesses in rural Kansas that have an interesting story and are
representative of our rural value system. They would then tell that story
to their membership (the Kansas Explorers) and encourage them to visit
that business (as they explored Kansas) and spend as little as $5 with
each business visited. This was done with the hope that the increased
revenue would help those businesses survive, thereby helping to preserve
our rural life style and values. The Whiting Café was selected as the
pilot project for a new way to make a difference. The foundations newest
idea is to raise the funds and to encourage volunteerism within local
communities, then provide the leadership to provide a “make over” for
deserving rural businesses. Many volunteers were on site to work,
including some of the members of the Kansas Explorers. All volunteers
contributed. Some cooked for the workers (five very excellent meals were
served in addition to coffee and rolls for breakfast); some contributed
their professional skills; some provided the necessary tools; most were
there to do whatever needed doing. It was a lot of hard work on a couple
of the hottest days we’ve had this year, but I think that a lot of good
work was accomplished. I think you will agree if you visit the Whiting
Café. Have a cup of coffee and a piece of pie while visiting with your
neighbors. You, too, can help preserve our rural way of life.
On Sunday, June 28th Muscotah Outreach provided a SAG (Stop and Go) refreshment station near the Post Office downtown for many bicyclists who were riding either a 62 or 100-mile course that originated in Atchison. We offered bananas, cookies, granola bars, and water and answered questions about Joe Tinker and our town the best we could. They really appreciated us being there.
On Monday, July 6th, Muscotah Half-Century Club will be meeting for our regular monthly luncheon get-together. Ruth Yoder will be our hostess.
The Muscotah Outreach meeting will also be on July 6th at 7pm in the City Building. Suggestions for the July Yard of the month will be appreciated. Our winners for the June Yard of the Month were Robert and Monica Peck, and for Most Improved Yard of the Month went to the newly cleaned-up lot on the south side of main street.
Here
it is July birthdays time already. Summer seems to be going by too fast.
Please wish each of the following a Happy Birthday on their special day:
3 Bill Speer, 20 Marje Cochren, 3 Lisa Merz, 21 Johnny Smith, 8 Tari
Martin, 24 Allison Handke, 9 Jon Smith, 25 Dollie Rohlfs, 9 Samantha
McClain, 25 Duane Oswald, 10 Dale Miller, 28 Bonnie Hochstetler, 11
Janet Schesser, 29 Curtis Stirton, 12 Retha Haltom, 31 Ann Armstrong, 13
Tom Fassnacht & 31 Jan Oswald. Those having an anniversary during the
month of July include the following: 1 Jim & Sharman Heineken, 16 Jeff &
Beverly Reichart, 4 Larry & Ginger Self, 26 Chuck & Sheri Oswald, 10 Wanda
& Dale Small, 27 Aaron & Melinda Handke, 10 Larry & Lon Self, 30 Harold &
Bernice Stirton, 10 Doug & Candy Schmitt, 31 Nathan & Cherise Smith, 11
Kirk & Cindy Gaskell
We send best wishes to each of you on your special day in July!
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Muscotah City-Wide
Garage Sales on July 11th from 8am to 3pm.
We hope all of you have a safe 4th of July holiday!
The thought for the week: May we never forget the sacrifices that have been made for the freedom and liberty we enjoy. We pray that The Stars and Stripes will wave forever.
THE
EIGHT COMMANDMENTS FROM JAMES.
By Jack E. Albright
Are you ready for the Eight Commandments? Here they are: “Submit yourselves, then, to God/ Resist the devil, and he will flee from you/ Come near to God and he will come near to you/Wash your hands, you sinners/purify your hearts, you double- minded/Grieve, mourn and wail/ Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom/ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 47-10 NIV.
Submission is not a popular position or attitude to assume. It means accepting God’s will for our lives instead of endeavoring to impose our will to be sanctioned by him. The proper attitude is that of a native of the Congo: “Dear Lord, you be the needle and I will be the thread. You go first then I will follow wherever you may lead.” The thread cannot sew without the needle and we can do little of eternal value without God.
Some deny the existence of a personal devil. James delivers a direct imperative to resist the devil. We are to stand against, or to take a stand against him. Resist the devil means to chase him away. We are able to do this only through the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling us.
Thirdly, James tells us that after we drive the devil away that we must immediately draw closer to God. Without God we cannot continue to resist evil. With this simple command to draw close to God, James affirms his belief that intimate fellowship with God is not only possible, but also imperative! This capacity is the marvel of the universe because only humans, created in the image of God, may walk and talk with God.
Sin and holiness repulse each other, so when we draw close to our holy God, we become keenly aware of our sinfulness. Hence, James commands: “Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts, you double minded.” Cleansing our own hands and not the hands of others is our first matter of business. Purity of heart is imperative for true communion with a pure God. Purity of heart will cleanse us of “double souls.” Often we are guilty of trying to have a pure heart for God, and a sinful heart for ourselves. This is repulsive to God and prevents a healthy spiritual relationship.
Grieve,
mourn and wail is a command to self-impose sorrow that constitutes an
evidence of repentance. Once we receive forgiveness of our sins we have
joy and peace because we are in harmony with God.
Grief, mourning and weeping are evidence that we are, “Sorry enough for our sins to quit them,” as a small girl said. Grief is the normal feeling we have when we lose a loved one or when we truly feel that we have broken our close spiritual relationship with God. Grief is the inner remorse we feel. Mourning is the outward expression of that grief. In olden days people wore a black armband or black dress to let others know they were mourning a loss.
The word “grieve” is not a simple feeling of sorrow that I got caught,” but it means lamenting with a broken heart that we have offended God and marred our relationship.
Humans can climb the social and economic ladder, but they cannot climb the divine ladder. The Message translation states it well, “Get down on your knees before the Master, it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”
The commandments are totally about relationships between humans and God and not just rule keeping. As you contemplate each commandment, remind yourself, “I will do this to maintain my intimate spiritual relationship with God.”
Climbing the Stairway of Sin by Steve Kagin
Children are very curious. My 10 month old daughter has become mobile and she likes to crawl all over the house. The world from her perspective is very different from ours. She sees the world from 12 to eighteen inches from the ground. She sees things we don’t see. She can easily find small rocks, dust bunnies, pieces to small toys and things that lurk underneath the couch. Light sockets are fascinating to her and if she is not supposed to have something, she wants it.
Her latest adventure has been the great discovery of the stairs. The stairs are what her little adventurous heart strives to conquer. Whenever the opportunity presents itself and her parents are not looking, off she goes, in four-wheel drive, towards the mountainous terrain of the stairs. The child is relentless and tenacious in her conquest. As parents, to keep her safe, we had to put up a gate to prevent her from climbing the stairs and getting hurt.
Then it happened. My daughter seized the opportunity to again, go for the forbidden steps. When she thought her parents were not looking, she took off on all fours and crawled towards the stairs. As she rounded the corner of the room and arrived at her destination she abruptly came across the new gate that had been installed to keep her safe. As she approached it, she paused, eyes wide open, trying to understand what this obstacle was and how it got there. After a moment, she became angry and started to cry, not knowing that the obstacle in front of her was placed there to keep her safe.
Our
walk with God is similar to that scenario. As natural born sinners, we
freely and openly want to do things that are contrary to God’s will. We
want to do what we are not supposed to do. The all-loving God puts up a
“gate” or rule book for us to follow in order to keep us safe. If we
follow God’s rules, we do not put ourselves in situations that may cause
us harm.
We all have a set of stairs, or a sin, we wish to climb or engage in. We all want to do what we are not supposed to do. It is part of our make up as human beings. I think the hardest battle in life, for all people, is the battle of overcoming the desire to commit sin.
We are lucky though, that through the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, we are given the power and ability to do exactly that. If we commit our hearts and our lives to Christ, we become new people in Christ. As a new person, we are no longer subject to desires to commit sins. We are freed from the bondage of sin in our lives and we can live our lives freely, not subject to the authority or power of sin. We can be free from the slavery of sin. Romans 6:6 explains this. It says, “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”
When we truly accept and understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for the entire human race and go to him for the forgiveness of our sins, we can live a life free of sin. To use the analogy of the stairs and the gate that I mentioned earlier; the stairs represent an area of sin that we all want to engage in. It is different for everyone, but is always there. That area can hurt us. The gate is representative of Jesus’ sacrifice for us all. Once we fully understand that sacrifice, and understand why it came to the earth and was placed there in front of us, we, unlike my daughter, accept it and don’t become angry at its presence. The “gate” or the crucifixion of Jesus was put there to help us.
I don’t think anyone really conquers all sin in their life. I do think that our desire for sin is diminished. We no longer want to climb the “stairs.”
Delfelder/Hamner Reunion
Twenty-six family members enjoyed a pot luck supper at Jim and Shirley Eckert’s Saturday evening, June 20th. Relatives were glad to visit with Ed Bohanan from Quartz Hill, CA son of Betty (Delfelder) and Merle Bohanan. Harold Delfelder from Grand Junction, CO came with Ed. The evening was spent visiting and catching up from last year.
Sunday June 21st, fifty-four family members gathered together for a pot luck dinner at the Town and Country Senior Citizens Center in Effingham.
Births during the year were Colton Randy Lowe, son of David and Melissa Lowe, Benjamin Robert Handke, son of Sabrina (Eckert) and Brian Handke, a daughter, Hally, to Jennifer and Jarid Sheets, and twin daughters, Maddyn and Addison to Christina Maddox.
Deaths were Steven Wayne Reichart, Valley Falls, and Addison Maddox, great-grand daughter of Lloyd and Brenda Reichart.
Mickey Delfelder gave a presentation and slide show of the trip he and Harold Delfelder took to Germany last year. They visited places of their ancestors, including cemeteries and breweries and met some of the Delfelder ancestors living there.
Letters were received from Mary Jane Erikson, New Mexico; Arthur and Mary Pruitt and Diana Wood, California.
Relatives attending were from Oklahoma, Colorado, California, Missouri, and from Liberal, Wichita, Topeka, Horton, Oskaloosa, Bendena, Leavenworth, Holton, Valley Falls, Meridan and Effingham in Kansas.
RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE COMING
WHEN: Monday, June
29 AT 3pm-7pm
WHERE: Atchison Housing Authority/Mall Towers
RSVP to your local Red Cross office at 913-367-5355
Eligibility Questions Hotline: 1-866-236-3276
Allow an Hour for Your Donation and Bring Photo ID
*The American Red Cross has made some changes at our blood drives to save time and to provide a better donor experience. Some changes include donor name tags and stickers to identify first time donors. We hope you enjoy the slightly new and improved experience!
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear K-State Alumni and Friends,
There is an old adage that "there is no such thing as bad publicity." If you have been reading the newspapers over the last week, we believe that you would probably agree that K-State has certainly had its share of bad publicity recently. Due to the recent turn of events surrounding the release of the transition audit by the Kansas Board of Regents we thought it would be prudent to provide you with the perspective from the president's office and the athletic department. We also want you to be aware that a similar message has also been shared with the K-State faculty and staff.
We strongly support the decision by the Kansas Board of Regents to release the audit to the general public. We do not believe that we can address the myriad of issues raised in the audit if the K-State family continues to believe there are other issues surrounding poor financial decisions, which have not been brought forward.
Investigation is continuing on many of the issues raised in the audit. We hope we have identified all of the major concerns that need to be confronted; however, since we just received the report, it is still being reviewed and analyzed.
It
will be critical that we put appropriate checks and balances into place so
that the problematic financial transactions identified in the audit cannot
be repeated by the new K-State administration.
Both of us have emphasized accountability and transparency over the last couple of months and will continue to carry this message forward to the K-State family. Whenever we spend our valuable resources, we should always ask ourselves, "If I were paying for this out of my personal checkbook, would I be willing to do this?"
If the answer is no, then it is probably not a good idea. However, actions always speak louder than words, and the way K-State conducts its operations must reflect a new way of managing our financial operations. As we look toward the future, we are optimistic that the actions of the new central administration will demonstrate transparency, accountability and trust as we move forward.
So, what steps are we going to take? The Kansas Board of Regents has asked us to report back to them by Oct. 1 with a report on the issues identified in the audit. First, we will be holding a joint campus forum next week, visiting with various campus leadership groups and of course being as accessible to hear the concerns of our alumni and friends as possible.
Second, following these meetings, the president will convene a campus working group to assist in addressing the concerns identified in the audit and to identify appropriate steps to be taken to ensure that many of these issues do not come up again.
Third, we will continue to carry the message of accountability and transparency to the K-State family at speaking events, in interviews with the mainstream media and in personal meetings with our major donors and supporters.
In
the coming weeks the athletics department will be announcing a series of
accountability measures as part of a very specific effort to regain the
trust of our alumni, donors and fans.
This past year was an outstanding one for K-State across the board. Our externally-funded research is at an all time high, our students continue to excel at national competitions, our athletic teams have performed extremely well, and we have a new leadership team in place.
Finally, for over 20 years Kansas State University has been blessed with the service, loyalty and leadership of Bill Snyder. Of course, as K-State's most prominent figure, the mentions of Coach Snyder in the audit document have been disproportionately covered in the media and are therefore painful for him and his family.
In our opinion there are no grounds to even begin to insinuate that Coach Snyder has ever benefited improperly from his relationship with K-State. To the contrary we know of no other coach in America who has served his institution more selflessly and with greater dedication and loyalty than Bill Snyder. Over his 20-year relationship with K-State it is our impression that Coach Snyder has always put the interest of the institution first. We are very excited about his return to the sidelines and look forward to joining the entire K-State family in welcoming him back on September 5th.
Your input and support is more important than ever. Please continue to send your thoughts, concerns and suggestions. The future is bright for our university, and we will move beyond the current issues which are being covered in the mainstream media.
Thank you very much for your continued interest and support of Kansas State University!
Sincerely, Kirk Schulz, President kirks@k-state.edu AND
John Currie, Director of Athletics jcurrie@kstatesports.com
Yazels have 21st Reunion
The Yazel families met at the home of Jim and Sharman Yazel Heineken, Muscotah, on June 13, 2009 for their 21st gathering. A potluck dinner was enjoyed by 35 people in attendance. Jim had fried fish for all to enjoy.
After dinner, a brief meeting was held with Sharman reading the minutes from the 2008 reunion, and Mae Yazel Stirton gave a brief up-date on some family history. A note was read from a cousin, Gertrude Craig, letting them know that she was unable to attend due to health, and to let the family know of the death of Myrtle Heaton of Omaha on May 22, 2009. Other deaths since the 2008 reunion were Elsie Myrtle Yazel Mathia, 93, of Eudora, KS on July 19, 2008, and Judy Broyles Riley, 64, in November, 2008. There was one birth, a son, to Ryan and Jennifer Vessar, and one marriage, Courtney Greek to Jonathan Jasper, on October 10, 2008. Courtney is the granddaughter of Shirley Yazel Parris.
A newspaper clipping was read about the induction of Robert Burns, Siloam Springs, AR into the NACDA 2009 HALL of FAME CLASS from John Brown University. NACDA stands for the National Association of Collegiate Directors and Athletics. Bob was the Athletic director from 1977 to 2006 at the JBU. He was also professor of education for 31 years as well as chair of the physical health education department for 27 years.
He was responsible for heading up many more programs and spearheading funding for many programs. Under his leadership, JBU captured the NAIA title in basketball and a pair of NCCAA national championships in soccer and basketball. Prior to his tenure at JBU, he coached at Campbellsville University where he was named the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletics Conference Baseball Coach of the Year in 1974.
Bob is the son of the late Elsie Yazel Mathia. Bob, his wife Pat, three children and grandchildren will all travel to Florida in July to receive the award and be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Cards were passed around for all to write a word to Bob and congratulate him. Also a card was signed for Tom Yazel, oldest and only living member of the Yazel immediate family. Tom and wife Alien were unable to attend this year due to health. He is now making his home in the Rogers, AR nursing home.
Traveling the farthest was Monica Yazel, wife of Ken Yazel, from Tulsa, OK and her two daughters and two granddaughters. Donnie Burns came from Early, Iowa.
Others came from Kansas City, DeSoto, Atchison, Valley Falls and Effingham.
After the meeting the annual white elephant auction was held. Sharman Heineken was the highest bidder for the traveling photo album.
It was voted to have the 2010 reunion at the Gin Birk and Warren Hollis home, Valley Falls, on the 3rd Saturday in June.
HEINEKEN MEET AT SPRINT CENTER
The Heinekens had a brief family gathering recently when Matt and Eric Heineken were in Kansas City with the Celtic Woman Tour. The boys are both drum techs for the group and are pictured standing on the stage with two drum sets they are responsible for setting up, tearing down and keeping in good running condition. The Celtic Woman played at the Sprint Center Friday, June 26th. They have been on tour of the US since February 3, 2009 and it will be coming to an end July 2. Matt, Eric and Claire Madigan made a short trip to Muscotah on the 25th to spend the day with their folks, Jim and Sharman Heineken. On Friday evening several family members gathered at a restaurant at The Power and Light District for dinner before attending the concert. Attending dinner were Roger Heineken and co-worker from Emporia, Connie Wistuba, Winchester, Shelia Heineken, Everest, Sharman Heineken, Muscotah, Matt and Eric, Nashville, TN and Claire, Dublin, Ireland. Claire also works for Celtic Woman as a tutor and project accountant. Joining them for the show were Terry and Luetta Heineken, Rushville, Mark Hopkins and family, Holton, Steve and Sandy Handke, Muscotah, and Melinda Handke, Atchison. Several friends of Sharman's also attended from Atchison. Matt will be leaving for Ireland July 17 with the group, where they will be filming for their new video and DVD.
OBITUARY
John B. Brentano
, 74 years of age of
Lancaster, KS, died Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at St. Luke's Hospital,
Kansas City, MO.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 AM on Saturday, June 27th, 2009 at
Sacred Heart Church, with Fr. Benjamin Tremmel, OSB as Celebrant. Burial
will follow in the St. Benedict’s Cemetery, Bendena, KS. A prayer service
will be recited at 7:00 PM on Friday, June 26th, 2009 with visitation to
follow until 8:30 PM at the Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home. Memorial
contributions are suggested to the Benedictine Sisters and may be left in
care of the funeral home. Condolences to the family may be left online at
www.beckerdyer.com.
John was born on February 5, 1935 in Atchison, KS the son of Joseph and
Helen (Hayes) Brentano. He graduated from Maur-Hill in 1953. He served in
the United States Air Force . Mr. Brentano worked as a lab technician for
the former Pillsbury’s and then Con Agra, Atchison, before retiring in
1997. He was a member of the St. Ann’s Church, Effingham, KS, the Knights
of Columbus Council 723, the VFW Post #1175 and the American Legion Post
#6, Atchison. He also served on the Lancaster City Council and was a
member of the Lancaster Coffee Club.
He was married to Judith Kay Pauly on November 11, 1967 at St. Mary’s
Church, Purcell, KS. Mrs. Brentano preceded him in death on November 16,
2004. His parents, and one sister, Bernice Barnett, also preceded him in
death. Survivors include a son Jeffrey D. Brentano, Atchison, KS, a
daughter, Traci Brentano, Newton , KS, a brother Joseph Brentano,
Effingham, KS, and two sisters; Helen Wack, Council Bluffs, IA, and Sr.
Alice Brentano, Atchison, KS, and brother-in-law and his wife Michael
(Debbie) Pauly, Topeka, KS.
Wheat Harvest ’09 by Monte Tucker
Howdy friends and neighbors. Wheat harvest ‘09 is in the bin! We finished about mid week last week as did a lot of other folks in this part of the world. Yields were off this year but at least there was some yield.
This year we at the Tucker farm
continued on with a tradition that started back when my Granddad and Great
Granddad Tucker were involved in a harvest crew that used a stationary
thrashing machine. It was the kind of machine that was powered by steam
tractors, and then later gas or diesel tractors, that were connected by
the long, flat belt. The wheat was bundled in the field and then pitched
into a wagon that hauled it from the field to
the
thrashing machine. There the bundled wheat was pitched into the throat of
the trashing machine where the grain was separated from the straw and
chaff. The grain was either sacked in 100 pound burlap sacks, lifted onto
another wagon and hauled out or ran onto a wagon with short sides and
hauled out. They would either take the grain to town to sell it or back
to the barn to store it for seed or to sell at a later time. Either way
it had to be scooped or lifted off the wagons into the barn. From the
stories I heard it was hot, dirty and long work. A far cry from
pressurized, air-conditioned cabs with finger tip controls, belly dumps,
power lifts, and powered augers. Yet the job was the same as it is
today. You still have to get the wheat from the field to town as quickly
as you can.
The story that granddad always told us was that they wore their old straw hat during harvest because the work was dirty and it stuck to the hat due to sweat, grease, or the water they soaked it in to cool off. The hats got stomped and thrown when the thrasher broke down, a wagon lost a wheel, or the kids put frogs in the drinking water. A lot like today when a combine circuit board fries, the A/C quits working, the truck blows a tire or the kids put frogs in the ice chest. When the last bundle of wheat for the year was separated the entire thrashing crew would line up and throw their old nasty straw hats into the thrasher. This was the true signal that harvest was over. Then the guy who owned and operated the thrasher would buy the crew new hats for the rest of the summer and the next harvest the new hat would meet the same fate as the old ones did.
My Granddad continued this tradition when he got his own pull-type combine and then again when he got a self-propelled combine. One of my favorite memories of harvest with my Granddad was laughing as he would toss his old hat into the header of the combine. We would watch the hat disappear into the combine and then would run to the back where we would watch with anxiety as we waited to see if the combine would spit it out.
My dad got to continue the tradition with my four-year old son last week. Dad, Mason and I all tossed our old straw hats into the 200 horse power, turbo charged combine. The main thrashing cylinder was spinning about 1100 rpms as our hats were sucked into the feeder house. We all laughed as our hats were spit out the back of the machine. Mason’s hat was crumpled and flattened. My hat is more like a sun visor now as the combine separated the brim from the crown. And PaPa’s hat…is still missing in action. We figure it will make a nice home for the pack rats that invade the combine this winter.
I may never have a penny to my name, but I’m so lucky to be part of a tradition that has now been passed down five generations.
I’m Monte Tucker, and that is what’s under my newly converted convertible sun visor hat, perfect for the lake this coming holiday weekend.
Atchison County Historical Society Hosts
Early Atchison Settlements and Lincoln Trail Tour
The popularity of last summer's Early Atchison History Tours has brought the tour back for another round of exploring the sites of early settlements in today's Atchison County. This event was planned by Atchison County Historical Society board member, Charlie Wagner. The tour will head out from the Santa Fe Depot on Wednesday, July 8th at 8:30 a.m on board the Chamber of Commerce's (air-conditioned) coach to explore sites in southern Atchison County and the tip of northern Leavenworth County. To reserve your seat on the tour just drop your check in the mail to the Atchison County Historical Society, P.O. Box 201, Atchison, KS 66002 - or drop off your payment with your name and contact phone at the Santa Fe Depot - or call the Museum (please leave a message with your name, how many spots on the tour you want to reserve and your contact phone number) with your info. Spots on the tour are $10 per person with a maximum of 22 seats available for the July 8th tour. We need 15 reserved spots by Monday, July 6th at 4 p.m. to offer the tour, so please call early to get your spot on the coach. The tour will head out to see the famous Potato Hill - the site of the retirement home of E.W. Howe, founder of the Globe - Atchison's Corn Carnivals and often called a one-man-chamber-of-commerce for his adopted home of Atchison. From Potato Hill we will head by the old town of Sumner, into Port William and Oak Mills, on to Kickapoo all the while learning about the old French Fort Cavanaugh and the recent findings of Atchison archeologist Bob Thompson. From there we will continue into the Salt Creek Valley above Fort Leavenworth, where we will make a pit stop at the Salt Creek Valley School. Beginning the return route we will head toward Lowemont past the old Eight-mile House, exploring some of the sights seen by Abraham Lincoln on his visit to Kansas in 1859 along the old Military Road. From this point the tour will turn toward the old ghost town of Mt. Pleasant and into Potter next stopping for a chance to view the site of Pascal Pensoneau's Trading Post first founded in 1844. The tour then winds back to the Depot to wrap up between noon and 12:30.
HOFFMAN
TURNS FIFTY
Friends, family and enemies got together Saturday evening to celebrate Jeff Hoffman’s 50th Birthday. The event was held in the Effingham Blue Building. Refreshments were provided to all the guests. Jeff just finished a sale in the same building that date and was ready for some relaxation.
PHOTO PRESENT
Luke Wiedmaier sent a recent photo to Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Wiedmaier in Effingham last week. Luke is now 6 months old and has two teeth. That is about the same number that Grandpa Bill has now. Luke is the grandson of Tim Wiedmaier of Tecumseh, Ks.
GATHERINGS FROM THE PAST by Procedemus O. Popps
Items taken from Ida Taliaferro’s column in the Globe June, 1969:
“The 1954 graduating class of Atchison County Community High School held its 15th year reunion Sunday in the high school cafeteria with 25 of the 65 class members present. It was voted to have another reunion in 5 years. James Weinman was master of ceremonies. Mrs. Don Lierz sent out the announcements of this year’s reunion. Those in charge for 1974 are Mrs. Jerry Congrove, Mrs. Larry Wagner and Mrs. Floyd Oswald. Those attending from out of town and interesting notes: Mrs. Norman Wallingford along with her husband came from Guam; they will spend some time here with their folks. He is in the Air Force and is being transferred to Italy. Mrs. John Leonard, Spoken, Wash., Mrs. Clark Willis, Bishop, Calif.; Johnnie Lewman, Charlotte, N.C.; Mrs. Marion Brown, Beaver Dam, Ark.; James Weinman, of Augusta, Kas., is the principal at Russel Junior High School; Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Nyhart, Russell, Kas.; Mrs. Jerry Congrove, Muncie; Mr. and Mrs. Don Lierz, Mission; Mrs. Larry Wagner, Kansas City.”
“The Effingham Pee Wees lost to Meriden Friday night on the local diamond, 10-6. Craig Gigstad tripled in the first inning to bring in Lloyd Basher and Rex Rohlf. Gigstad made it home on Bob Rader’s hit. Jerry Martin led off in the second on a walk and came home on Basher’s hit, who scored later on Gigstad’s single for two runs. Lon Rohlf scored in the third for Effingham. Bob Rader was the starting pitcher and relieved by Jerry Martin.”
“U.S. Air Force Capt. Robert M. Seute, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence M. Seute, has been decorated with two awards of the Air Medal for air action in Southeast Asia. Captain Seute, a B-52 Stratofortress aircraft commander, was cited for his outstanding airmanship and courage on successful and important missions completed under hazardous conditions. The captain, a graduate of Atchison County Community High School, received a B.A. Degree from Kansas State University and was commissioned there through the Reserve Officers Training Corps program.”
“The 4-H’ers from Atchison County attending Rock Springs Ranch from July 6-9 are: Marsha Taliaferro, Coleen Erpelding, Stacy Wagner, Cyreesa Hall, Tracy Underwood, Becky Besancon, Candra Caplinger, Charles Gill, Greg Buser, Steve Handke, Mark Armstrong, Jerry Wheeler, David Nieman, Brenda Jo Nieman, Shelly Navinskey, Cathy Kuhnert, Cathy Schuele, Patty Kuhnert, Diane Kuhnert and Mary Miller. Mrs. Leander Wessel is in charge of pre-registration and Marlena Sanders will also be accompanying the 4-H’ers.”
“Effingham senior and junior girls softball team edged the Valley Falls girls last night 16-11 on the Valley diamond. Susie Martin pitched for Effingham. Linda Taliaferro and Janice Hawk made homers. The game was called in the 5th by rain.”
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Here is our "Guess Who" picture for this issue
Can you identify the young fellow at the left? Let us know your best guess. If you have a picture to share, bring it by and we will scan it in to the computer and share with our readers. Last week’s photo was a group of ladies with the Sunny Hill Thimble Club. L-R Margery Hawk, Nellie Higley, Angela Madden and Lillian Falk
Last Week's "Guess Who"
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