2021 Spring Newsletter

The 2021 Spring Edition Newsletter of the MIAMI COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Miami County Parks and Recreation in the 1900s

Hours of the museum have changed to three days a week

E-Mail: micomuseum@gmail.com

Web Page: https://micomuseum.org

Price $2.00

Contents

Officers and Directors 2021

Gift Corner

Pg 3 Pg 4 Pg 5 Pg 6 Pg 7

President- Agnes Dillard Vice President- Wes Cole Secretary- LuAnne Debrick Treasurer- Vincent Thorpe

913-406-3243 913-731-3193 816-392-0605 913-294-5436 913-406-3243 913-335-2657 816-392-0605 913-731-3009 785-869-3246 913-731-7869 913-731-3193 913-294-5436 913-294-2779 913-710-1767 913-849-3278 913-259-9839 913-449-5153 913-731-8150

Museum Board Photo Queries - Mini Minutes Volunteers report Black history display History of the Museum Crocheted Table Cover German Banner 1900 Camping photos Wallace Park Story Block Ball Teams WEA DAGENETTE VISIT Richardville, Adulterer? Publications for sale Heritage Walk Bricks

Board of Directors

Louisburg - Aggie Dillard Marysville Township - Jana Barcus Member at Large - LuAnne Debrick Miami Township - Nina Gerken Middle Creek Township - Mound Township - Donna Darner Osage Township - Ann Davis Osawatomie City- Wes Cole Osawatomie Township - Vicent Thorpe Paola Township - Richland Township - LeAnne Shields Stanton Township - Lloyd Peckman Sugar Creek Township - Ann Benton Ten Mile Township -Gorden Geldhof Valley Township - Colleen Ewan Paola City - Elsie Cordle

Pg 8-9 Pg 10 Pg 11

Pg 12-14 Pg 15 -16 Pg 17 -18 Pg 19 - Pg 20-21

Pg 22 Pg 23

Duck Hunters Back Cover We are sorry to report that due to lack of volunteers the hours of the muse um have changed. We will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday until further notice

Wea Township - Iris Kluber 913-294-8012 Genealogy Society Coordinator- LeAnne Shields 913-710-1767 Newsletter - Roger Shipman 913-259-9219

A Newsletter of the Miami County Historical Museum & Genealogy Society Spring 2021 Volume 36- No.1 Miami County Historical Museum 12 E. Peoria, Paola, Kansas 66071 Phone: 913-294-4940 E-Mail: micomuseum@gmail.com. Web address; https://micomuseum.org Museum Hours: Monday through Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Financial The Miami County Historical Museum is a Non-Profit Organization with a tax exempt status allowed by the Internal Rev enue Dept. Gift and donations received by the Societies are deductible for Income Tax purposes. For additional informa tion or questions regarding Endowments, Trusts, etc., Please contact us at 913-294-4940 The museum will be hosting The Heartland Art Guild’s International Miniature Paintings and Sculptures Art Show during the month of July.

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Visit our gift corner We have books, out of print museum books on DVD, brochures of local attractions, numerous historical Paola photos suitable for framing, tee-shirts, hats and some free stuff

Hours for the Museum Open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Closed Saturday with the exception of special occasions For appointments call: 816-392-0605 913-406-3243- 913-710-1767 QCD Qualified Charitable Distributions Donations from an IRA fund to meet your IRA Annual Required Distribution to a Charity. Any Donation with QCD are 100% untaxed by the IRS. Normal distributions are subject to federal and state income taxes. Requirements: To Avoid Taxes on Distributions 1. Age 70 1/2 or older 2. Donations made directly by IRA Custodians to 501 charitable group 3. Limit of $100,000 per year per person with IRA 4. Donation made by Dec. 31 of each year given by Custodian Thus, you can give to our museum up to $100,000 per year per person from your IRA as a distribution and pay no taxes on that gift---normal distributions are taxed as a part of your adjusted gross income. The custodian provides a 1099-R form to report on your income tax return. Example: Have your custodian of your IRA give to our museum $2,500(any sum up to $100,000) from your IRA. Will be part of your required distribution but would be exempt from normal taxes that year. A WIN-WIN FOR YOU AND YOUR CHARITY CHOICE Give to Charity---Pay Less Taxes. QCD—for the Endowment or Regular Museum Donation. Timely Tax Information

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Front row

LeAnne Shields LuAnne Debrick

row 2 Elsie Cordle Lloyd Peckman Aggie Dillard row 3 Ann Davis Iris Kluber Nina Gerken row 4 Wes Cole Jana Barcus Vicent Thorpe

The board members of the museum

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT MIAMI COUNTY MUSEUM Phone 913-294-4940, 816-392-0605, 913-406-3243

G reeters, answer phone, if bored can help in other ways or read or knit etc. Computer input of all kinds Clip, Paste and scan obituary cards (we have approx. 44,000). Log in etc. all incoming museum items Research and answer incoming e-mail requests People with strong backs to help move or reorganize items Change our monthly displays Write articles for Quarterly Help with binding books — published in-house or oth erwise

There’s always dusting, running sweeper and general house keeping We’ve even lost our window washer gentleman who had been doing that for years! Docents , “not that stuff that hunters put out to at tract buck deer” but a person who leads guided tours especially through a museum or art gallery KEYBOARD PEOPLE WANTED We are trying to copy all of our obituary card files into a computer data base. Presently There are over 30,000 scanned obit cards that need to be renamed with the persons info on the card. The museum will provide USB thumb drives to volunteers who could take the drives back to their computers and rename them at their own pace.

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QUERIES Barret Young wanted obit for Heinrich Grother. Michelle Galan wanted info on the Daulton family. Kara Phillips was interest in the last year of the Union Valley School and a teacher, Frances Hays Eva Dee hopes for info on the Laws and Jacob fam ilies. Michele Fairchild is looking for info on Judge Wilson. Hillary Moore is searching for something on Dr. A J Wade, Helen Martin and their children. Joy Kersteter is looking for a death record from the State Hospital for Sarah Casho with several different spellings. Kelly Rios is searching for Linda or Lydia Wright Worsley who was a patient at the State Hospital in the late 1890s. William Osborn wanted a history of the city of An tioch. Steve Cartwright is trying to identify a picture of members of the 11th Kansas Cavalry. Matt Calhoun wanted a page from our Family History Book on Francis Hastings. Ashley Blackman is trying to find Florence Vandever. Mary Sue Godlesky has a book called BLACK MEAD OWS to share. Carol Flaherty is interested in info on a patient at the State Hospital, Tempy Marie Bishop. Smalley. Tracy Angeles wanted several District Court files for Irwin and Clarinda Tracy and Isaac Hamlin. Blaine Freidline wants court records for John Roubed daux Cynthia Davis Merrison is looking for info on the four Davis Sisters ; Hannah, Alice, Susannah and Martha.

Misty Town wanted info on old school and church in Somerset. Janice Rae Henderson is trying to find info on Ruby Johnson who may have been a student at Ursuline. Andrew Wager is looking for Conoco gas stations that may have been in early Paola. Would like pictures and info on the buildings.

MINI MINUTES January - April 2021

Officers for the New Year are President, Aggie Dillard; Vice-President, Wes Cole; Secretary, Luanne Debrick; Treasurer, Vince Thorpe. The museum received $3,000. as a end of the year donation. Board members re-elect ed are Wes Cole, Lloyd Peckman, Donna Darner, Elsie Cordle, Ann Davis, and Christine Graue. Jeff Bunnell of Network Technologies has been con tracted to overhaul our computer systems. Board mem ber Jana Harrington Barcus has been assisting. A contest to find a new logo for the museum was an nounced earlier. Seven logos were submitted by various people. The logo chosen was sub mitted by Mara Prothe of Lawrence. She will re ceive a year’s free mem bership to the museum. T-shirts will be ordered with the new logo. Received $250.00 from Betty Ore’s memorial. Kristin Graue and Mike have resigned from the Muse um Board. Volunteers are returning following the Covid Pandem ic. The museum is always looking for new volunteers to help at the front desk or on different projects. The By-Laws have been reviewed by Ann Davis and Donna Darner. Changes were made and accepted.

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VOLUNTEER AND VISITOR REPORT November 2020 - May 2021 Volunteers - 19 Hours - 1,528 Board Meetings - 3 Average Attendance - 10 Visitors - 367 States Represented - 14 VOLUNTEERS: Ann Benton, Ann Davis, Jana Barcus, Jim Bousman, Wes Cole, Elsie Cordle, Luanne Debrick, Agnes Dillard, Nina Gerken, Mike Hursey, Christine Hursey, Iris Kluber, Larry Lybarger, Kathy Peckman, Lloyd Peckman, Leanne Shields, Roger Shipman, Vince Thorpe, Beth Wilson STATES REPRESENTED: Arkansas, Florida, South Da kota, Colorado, California, Louisiana, Iowa, Oklaho ma, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Carolina, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri Old negatives, color or black & white can be copied and made into prints. Those old dark “Tin Type” images can be revealed to show a sharp image that can be printed or saved onto computer files. I can copy all sizes of negatives color or black & white from the small 110, 35 mm, all 120 and up to a 4 x 5 inches. Color slides can be copied and made into color prints or copied onto CDs or USB memory stick to view on your computer. The photo of a couple below had been washed in a pair of jeans and it was pulling off the backing. The owner was heartbroken as it was the only photo of her father. I re moved the wrinkled image off the card base by soaking it in water. It was stretched and glued down on new backing and copied. Using Photoshop I was able to remove, at the customer’s request the stepmother and create a new portrait of her father.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Front Desk (1/2 or full day), Computer input, Arranging displays, Moving help, Grant writers, Interviewers, History researchers Newsletter Accessions Manager Call the Museum at 913-294-4940 Our e-mail address is: micomuseum@gmail.com KEYBOARD PEOPLE WANTED We are trying to copy all of our obituary card files into a computer data base. Presently There are over 30,000 scanned obit cards that need to be renamed with the persons info on the card. The museum will provide USB thumb drives to volunteers who could take the drives back to their computers and rename them at their own pace. Another new service at the Museum, We can now digitize 8mm & Super 8 mm movie film which can be transfered to DVDs or viewed on your computer. This is in addition to restoration of photos and video transfer

to DVD format I can also duplicate printed material like old cookbooks and turn them into digital files that can be viewed on com puter screen or printed out in a booklet.. Using a digital process the museum now has the ability to provide the service to restore your precious images. We can fix damaged pictures, add a person to a group photo or take someone out. Faded out prints can be brought back and made to look like new. Drag those old films out of the closet and turn them into gifts.

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HONORING MIAMI COUNTY BLACK HISTORY

In February museum erected a large display honoring black history in the county. These photos are some of posters that were on display

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THE HISTORY OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM Most older businesses, establishments, organizations, and groups have a past, present, and look to the future for growth and prosperity. One cannot forget the present because you are living it and you cannot forget the future because it hasn’t happened yet. The past is the one that you need to remember and not forget. Remembering what happened when you were a child, or when you lived in a certain place, or when some noteworthy event may have happened that changed the course of history, is an import ant part of your individual history. It is great to remember these things, but it is even better to have the things written down so that the families of the future will be able to learn from them.

The first step was to create a County Historical Soci ety. At the first meeting the county was represented by many people. Some in attendance were Chester Ward of Osawatomie, Bea Mount from Paola, Walter Chrotchett of Louisburg, Harry Meinig from Stanton, Ralph Matthews from Osawatomie township, and Dyke Dickerson from Osawatomie. While talking about a historical society the goal down the road was a museum. To have a museum, they would have to procure a building. At this time a new jail was in the works and Robert Carey was to head a com mittee to look into securing the old jail as the first home of the museum. At the second meeting on December 2, 1965 which was held in the Bishop Building on Pearl Street, with about 20 people in attendance, Robert Carey was elected the first president of the Miami County Historical Society. The first set of bylaws was adopted and they were as follows: 1. To preserve the history of Miami County; 2. The governing body shall consist of a board of directors who will serve 2 years and the odd numbers elected in the odd years and even numbers in even years; 3. Officers shall be president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary to be elected to the executive board; 4. Annual dues shall be $2.00; 5. Regular meetings will be held on the third Thursday of the month, places to be announced. Bob Carey reported that it would take about $3600 to fix up the old jail for a museum site. The county would not allow for an operating fund, so no further action was taken. Later on it was found out that the old jail had to be torn down for parking lot space so that would not have worked at all. Originally it was the intention of the soci ety to meet in different parts of the county since it was a “county” organization. Other places that the first meet ings were held: Bucyrus High School, Hillsdale, Louisburg’s Fox Hall, Indianapolis School near Osawatomie, Fontana’s American Legion building, and other places in Paola. At many of these early meetings, different individuals, rep resenting different parts of the county, would tell stories about their areas. Many of these stories just stayed in the memories of the individuals so there was an even bigger need for a museum building to house this and other infor mation to save for posterity. The Miami County Historical Society, in its early years, had many activities for its members. The term “Traveling Society” was stuck on them because of the many bus tours that were taken to such places as Leavenworth, Lawrence, Topeka, Ottawa, Baldwin and other places. One very pop ular activity was the potluck dinner that was held at the Indianapolis School west of Osawatomie. The organization also had Christmas parties and Halloween parties over the early years. Park Square had many activities that the so ciety participated in. Floats were made for parades to be entered in various cities in the county. Homemade pies, apple butter, and other articles were sold to raise funds for the organization.

Two ladies in 1965, had that idea. Bea Mount and Bette Ore both had a love of history and antiques. They decided something needed to be done to preserve the history of the region here in Miami County. Their first step was to write a letter to the Kansas State Historical Society for help and information and contact other individuals who might be in terested. The letter was well received by the KSHS and they sent a representative to Paola to help the ladies establish an organization in Miami County.

Bettie Ore

Bea Mount

Mr. Edgar Langsdorf was the representative from Topeka who came to Paola to help in the establish ment of the organization. With eighteen people from around the county in attendance, they de cided to have a board of directors and a nominat ing committee. The tem porary chairman of the committee was Alice Haul dren. This all happened on November 10, 1965.

Page 8 Vincent Thorpe

Between the years of 1965 and 1980, a new tradition was started. It was an old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner and it was set up in a room in the Kansas City Power and Light building in Paola. Two of the most notable dinners were held November 1974 and 1975. In 1974, there was a native foods and wild game dinner. The menu had prairie chicken, quail, squirrel, raccoon, venison, creamed milkweed buds, ground cherry marmalade, persimmon pie, paw paw pie, wild strawberry shortcake, and dandelion jelly. In 1975 it was as quail dinner and the quail came from a Miami Coun ty game reserve. There was an ongoing drive to get a physical space for a museum. In 1973, Maude Carver, one of the society’s members passed away and in her will she left the contents of her house to the historical society. Because the society did not have a space to display the items, they were auc tioned off and nearly $3000 was raised. A lease on the house was offered to the society by the Maude’s heirs, but it was turned down because of many problems. There was a log cabin on some land owned by Steve Russell and it was said that it was built by Baptiste Peoria. Mr. Russell said he would donate the cabin if the society could move it to a different site. Purchasing the land and moving the building proved to be costly so the offer was turned down. There were some logs from the cabin donated to the present mu seum and are still on display. In the year 1970, the manager of the Sellers Monument Works, Don Thomas, offered the second and third floors of his building for the museum. Af ter consideration, it was decided that the stairs would be too much of a problem and the offer was turned down. Even though an established structure had not been pro cured, the Historical Society did keep its Influence in the county. In 1972 the county commissioners wanted to re place the roof of the courthouse and use asphalt shingles instead of replacing with original tiles. The Historical So ciety, with public opinion, was able to convince the com missioners to replace with original tiles and also perform some other restorations properly to keep the building in its original splendor. Sister Charles was

was considered. All of these had some sort of drawbacks and none of them were accepted. The director of the museum in Lawrence, Kansas (Dr. Ar thur Townsend) was invited to a meeting by Sister Charles in 1976. He gave his advice that certain conditions should be met on starting a museum: 1. Make it ever changing, not just a collection, 2. A house is the least desirable, un less it is used as an exhibit, 3. Have an art gallery with the museum, 4. Don’t set goals too low, 5. Have a competent director. It was learned that the Arnold Building on the north side of the square in Paola was available and could be purchased for $12,500. This was in March of 1977. The society dis cussed this with Dr. Townsend . He thought it was a good idea, the society approved, and Sister Charles immediately started raising funds for the project. The building needed some renovation so money was raised for those materials. Everything from pie sales to just plain donations. The Ruri tan Club in Paola resurfaced the walls on the ground floor with a material that would enable artifacts to be hung. Bernie Zahn put up partitions and also built a stairway to the second floor. Sister Charles was able to get chairs do nated from her nephew’s Office Supply store in Olathe. Now that a permanent structure was acquired, it needed a name. A contest was held and the winning name was submitted by Sister Charles. “SWAN RIVER MUSEUM”. The museum now could display artifacts that had been in stor age and new ones to come. On the second floor was the Ethel Hunt/Mildred Russell library. Court house records and school records were filed thee. There was also a bird exhibit moved from Ursuline and put on the second floor. The museum was prospering and soon needed more space. It was decided that the present building was just not big enough so a new location was looked for. In 1999, three adjacent buildings on Peoria street were purchased and the museum was moved to that present day loca tion. The first two buildings were used right away. The third building was later transformed into the Indian Room. Many artifacts and information on the early Indian tribes are present in this room. At one time, the Swan River Museum and the Miami County Historical Society were coexisting and it was de cided that they should both be under one name because they were both under one roof. Our present name “Mi ami County Historical Museum” was decided on and that is

elected president in 1974. One of her first actions was to look hard for a permanent residence for the mu seum. Some sugges tions were the Phifer house on south Silver Street, a house in the 100 block of east Wea, and even a met al building in Paola. There was even an unused schoolhouse on Highway 68 that

what we have today. Source of information:

“And So It Began” _____Author: Bettie Ore

Vincent Thorpe

Sister Charles

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BEAUTIFUL TABLE COVER, A LABOR OF LOVE William L. McConnell served three years in the United States Army as Gun Crewman Light Artillery and was dis charged in November of 1945. During his service a German Paratrooper was shot down. Mr. McConnell brought the paratroopers parachute home with him. He and his mother unraveled all the nylon parachute strings and his mother crocheted this tablecloth with the strings from the parachute. (note the number of knots on the back side of the table cover). This was donated to the museum by his late wife, Anna M. McConnell.

HISTORY OF THE GERMAN BANNER This Banner was brought back from WWII by Pat Don ovan, a well-known Paola citizen and a member of the 808th Tank Destroyer Battalion. There were 224 men in the Company and only 60 came home. They served under the command of General Patton’s crack 3rd Army and their unit was under the com mand of Colonel Robert McDonald. They shipped out to England and from there to Germany and on and on. This “flag” with the tassel is actually considered a ban ner and would be used at Celebrations and even on top of their pill boxes, on trucks, etc. as they went into battle.

On one of the invasions, this flag was picked up by one soldier and he was killed. Another took the flag and he was killed. By the time they got to Austria, Pat had ended up with the flag. The 60 men that came home all signed the flag. We counted the names on the banner, there were sev enty six signatures coming from twenty two different states with Ohio being the most prevalent with fifteen. We understand there are only three of these banners in existence today. Below is a letter from then President George Bush in 1992 congratulating them on their heroism as they gathered in Omaha for their 31st reunion.

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A letter from President George Bush

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Miami County Recreation in the 1900s Way back at the turn of the century folks in this area had limited time for recreational activities unless you among the leaders and shakers in town. Most city folks had to work Saturdays to cater to farmers that came to town to sell produce, get supplies and maybe have a beer or two. There were a group of elite citizens that formed a “Sporting Club” that loved to hunt, fish and camp out along the creeks and rivers in the area. The museum has a considerable number of photos from 1898 to 1902 that depicts their activities. Included are some pictures that depict how people in town used their leasurer time

Cruising down the river on a Sunday afternoon

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Camping outdoors with all the comforts of home, including bringing your own cook

Hundreds of fresh water mussels

Clam bake out on Wea creek

Check out the men’s night clothes!

Skinny dipping down on the river

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Another fine meal in the open air along with the bugs.

A picnic in Walnut Grove, in the late 1890s.

Oh! the joys of camping in the rough, not quite like home.

Boating on the Maris Des Cygne river.

Sitting out on the lawn on a hot summer afternoon.

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SOME LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT WALLACE PARK

Wallace Park was named for James E. Wallace. His obituary is extremely in teresting - Mr. Wallace came to Paola in 1870 and was employed by Mitchler Department store until 1874 when he was elected to the office of Clerk of the District Court. He served in that capacity for a short while and then began in the drugstore business. Mr. Wallace had the management of the fireworks ex hibition each year and in 1884 , while preparing to send up a sky rocket, it burst in his hand inflicting a very painful wound. It was generally known the colored lights in fireworks were composed of deadly poison and the slightest burn would sometimes result in death. His obituary goes on to say “ he quietly left the crowd and went to the drug store where he applied ice water to the burn”. A doctor was called in and Mr. Wallace, complaining the pain was terrible, was given chlo roform. This not proving beneficial, an injection of morphia was made which allayed the pain but eventually threw him into spasms and could scarcely be held by those in attendance. About 4:00 in the morning he was taken home in an insensible condition from which he never rallied and died that day, July 4, 1884 at the age of 38. No one in the county was better known or more universally liked than Jim Wallace, his whole-souled, genial nature drawing about him last ing friendships and his untimely death deeply deplored”.

James E. Wallace

The rock wall around the park was built by stonemason Robert Austin Barnes – great great great grandfa ther of Cindy McGee of Paola. All the rock for the wall, as well as the buildings, was quarried from there in the park. There was also an oil well in that area. In 1915 the shelter house was built with a generous gift of M. A. Schro eder. Along with gifts from the Pub lic, all the lumber and materials were furnished by Mr. Schroeder from his large lumber yard at Chippewa and Pearl.

The small building just west of the Shelter House was built as a kitchen for picnickers. There were three hotplates and a table. You could put a nickel in the slot and the hotplates would run long enough to cook a good meal. Across the way to the north, the Comfort House was a project of the Women’s Feder ated Clubs of Paola in the late 30’s. It had very fancy décor, beautiful furniture and even a fireplace at one time. Out in front of the Comfort House was a beautiful lily pond and a rose garden.

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Later a double cottage was built for tourists that you could rent for $1.00 a night.. Elmer Hagemeyer was the Park caretaker. His family had a huge greenhouse just two blocks north of the park at the corner of Agate and Ottawa Streets. He had rose gardens everywhere and planted over 350 rose bushes and many, many trees

Because of the runoff from the hill behind the shelter house, the water was channeled into a lagoon just south across from what is now the children’s play area. It was the favorite place with a bridge across to the is land in the middle. It was both for fishing and especially for ice skating in the winter. The football stadium was - again built from rock quar ried from the property. It was constructed in 1934 for $7,000 during the “WPA” era.

In 1925, shortly after being named superintendent, the con struction of the swimming pool began and it was opened on July 25, 1925. About that time, Paola was having public dances at the American Legion Hall in down town Paola. By 1931, Hagemey er had constructed an outside dance platform next to the pool and on July 4, 1931 the first Sun rise Dance was held on the plat form , a tradition which contin ued throughout the years.

In 1947, Hagemeyer constructed the PlayMart Ballroom adjoining the pool area. This popular gathering place op erated for almost 40 years until the pool was sold in 1966. These were the beginnings of Wallace Park and later the new swimming pool and miles of hiking trails throughout the park and down along Bull creek Questions are often asked about the cannon at the en trance. The only newspaper clipping the museum has is that several cannons were given to parks in the area by the War Department in 1935.

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In the 1950s there were some excellent baseball players from the Block area, The Block team played an exhibition game with the KC Monarchs, I think they lost. Quite a few of the Block team also played with the Paola Cubs where they had some championship sea sons

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From: Lloyd L. Peckman 5 /10/21 To: Miami Co. Hist. Museum Subject: WEA DAGENETTE VISIT

Lee Ann Shields and I interviewed them and took them to view the Exhibit. They wanted us to make it plain that the hand drawn charcoal image is a like ness of Noel Dagenet shown here because there is no known photo of Christmas. With their help we will try to make corrections. They were interested in and we discussed the facts concerning the land that was donated to the city of Paola. Because Baptiste Peoria owned the land, they believe that Mary Ann did not get proper credit or rec ognition, although She had a lot of influence in the do nations of land for the Park Square and the Churches and Schools. I told them that there is a big change coming in re gard to the Louisburg Dagenet Cemetery. I talked to the Cemetery owner, Dr. John Mozier’s, Wife and she told me they are in the process of selling their home and the north one half of their property. That would not include the Cemetery. They will keep it. They are moving north toward Stanley area. That may require us to make a connection between our Museum and John’s cell phone. I haven’t cleared that with him. She also told me that a Boy’s Scout Troop from Louisburg has been doing a good job of cleaning the Cemetery.

As previously scheduled, two Wea Indian descen dant came to our Museum on March the 30th, 2021. They were Jeanne d’Arc Dagenette from Williamsburg. Ks. and Laura Elaine Dagenette Heisler from Wich ita Ks. They were direct descendants, Great, Great Granddaughters of Christmas and Mary Ann Dagen et through their Son Noel Dagenet. See the attached Direct Lineage report that they supplied. The wom en are first cousins and Laura Elaine is a sister to the young Noel of Bartlesville, Ok., who came here two years ago. Their main reason for coming was to ask us to cor rect our Christmas Dagenette Project in the far back north west corner of our Indian room. Their research proclaims and insists that the first three generations, including Christmas,’ Father Joseph, the official name was DAGENET. I have noted that Mary Ann’s grave stone and a Government payment to C. Dagenet in the Indian Removal Booklet, shows that spelling. After 3 generations for some reason for Noel’s Son Robert the family name was LEGALLY changed to DAGEN ETTE. That included his children and descendants.

Laura Elaine Dagenette Heisler

Jeanne d’Arc Dagenette

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Thomas Richardville “Adulterer ?”

Western Sprite... February 19, 1904.

Elder A.H.Deane, the Baptist missionary, who is well known by most of the old settlers in this area, lives in Cass County, and here's a letter from his pen published last week in the LEADER at Harrisonville: "The Miami tribe was first settled by the United States Government in the State of Indiana, but in the course of time they outgrew their reservation an asked the one-half of the tribe might be transferred to Kansas. Accordingly, they were giver a small reservation about eight miles long on the Marais des Cygnes River south of Paola. About the year 1860, an Indian, Thomas Richardville, came from Indiana to visit this half tribe in Kansas. Several years before coming out here, he married a white woman, but she had grown tired of her Indian hus band and deserted him for a white man. The Indian father had kept the three children born to this union. He as possessed of education and was a man of influence among his people. During his visit with the Kansas Miamis, his friends persuaded him to bring his children and settle among his people. This he did, and married a full-blood Miami girl named Mary Toosna, the granddaughter of Mrs. Sally Big leg.

Thomas Richardville

Not long after this marriage, both Mr. and Mrs. Richardville were converted and he became an earnest student of the Bible. From his reading of the New Testament doctrine of divorce and marriage, he had come to the conclusion that he was living in adultery, being the husband of two wives, though he had been legally divorced from the first accord ing to the Miami Jaw and custom. He was much troubled about this and grew more and more convinced that it was his duty to put away his second wife. This caused great grief and commotion among the Indians. They called a council and I was selected by the Chiefs to hear the case and advise the parties interested. When the day appointed for the council arrived, I took one of my deacons, John Boyd of Paola and drove down to the Miami village. Arriving there about noon, we went to the council house, a long, low log structure of one room. In one end was a large fire¬place. There were a few chairs and stools in the room, but aside from the interpreter, there was not a living soul in sight. After we had waited a long time without anybody coming, I said to the interpreter that I wondered why they did not come, as the hour was getting late. He replied that they had all been ready since morning and awaited my pleasure where are they?' "Out in the brush", he replied. I told him to call the in. I never knew what he did, but in a few minutes the room was packed with Indian men and women. After I had read a passage of Scripture and prayed I had the interpreter call for someone to state the case. I had not heard it previous to this. Mr. Richardville arose and made a clear statement of his marriage in Indiana; his wife's desertion of him; his separation and his second marriage. Then, he spoke of his conversion and his subsequent conception of what the Bible taught. He seemed very much moved and ended his speech in good English with, "Now, Mr. Deane, must I leave my wife?" I wanted to see if there was any domestic trouble at the bottom of his conviction, so I called for the wife. She came forward, the most grief-stricken creature I ever saw, and between her sobs she said that she loved her husband and that he loved her and that he was a good, kind husband, but if it was wrong to live with him, she would give him up though it would break her heart to do so. I saw clearly that there was no domestic trouble. I never had seen such grief as the usually stoical Indians manifested. I questioned the husband and found that it was all a matter of convection and that he really did not want to leave his wife, so I took up my Bible and read Matthew 5:31 and 32, Mathew 16:8 and 9, Mark 10: 11 and 12. In this case, I dwelt upon the twelfth verse and decided that if l. Page 20

Mr. Richardville's first wife had left him without cause, she had been the guilty party and that his second marriage was right in the sight of God. Besides all this had happened before their conversion and Christ had received thee: while they were husband and wife and to separate now would, be a sin. So I gave them a charge to abide together. The Indi ans were moved out of their silent gravity and expressed joy at the decision. The husband and wife seemed satisfied and many men arose to express their approval of the way the trial had ended. An old Indian brother by the name of George Washington began a rousing hymn and the others joined in. Soon you might have mistaken the assembly for an old-fashioned camp meeting instead of an Indian council. Almost as suddenly as they had come, the Indians disappeared and I said to my deacon, 'The sun is almost down, let us be driving home." "No," said the interpreter, "you stay for supper you make Indian people mad." So, he led the

way to a nearby house, where a banquet had been prepared. At this feast, my imagination defeated my appetite and cheated me out of a good supper, though I was hungry. I always heard that on great occasions, the Indian sacrificed their best dog to make the feast. The long table was set with all the luxuries the woman could prepare with the supervision of a white woman they had brought from Paola for the occasion. The men filed in, and solemnly took their places at the table, all the women except the two who stayed to serve the dinner disappeared. After the men had eaten to their satisfaction, the women came in and ate what was left. Upon the table was a beautifully browned roast, which to my imagination was about the size and shape of the hind quarter of a fat dog and I was certain that was what it was.

After I had returned thanks the plates were heaped up and I saw plainly that this roast was the favored dish of the meal. I dared not refuse my piece without giving offense, so I accepted it with what grace I might and bravely took one bite. The longer I chewed that bite, the bigger it grew and, like Banquo's Ghost, "would not go down". I slyly slipped that bite from my mouth to my pocket and made out my dinner on other things.

Sometime after this, I asked Brother Tom Richardville to tell me what kind of meat they had at the council sup per. He answered, "Mutton, I bought it from Brother 0.H.Cook, up here on the prairie, for you know it is the custom among our people for the one in whose interest the council is called, to furnish the feast." I felt, as they say now, "like thirty cents" for there is no meat I'm fonder of than mutton. Of course, he wanted to know why I had asked, and I told him of my suspicion. You should have heard him laugh, and when an Indian laugh, I'm sure he is amused."

Historical Note : R ev. A. H. Deane was first listed in the BlueRiver Baptist Association, MO. minutes in 1856. In the 1860 Blue River Association meeting, he was appointed to serve as an evangelist. In the 1877 meeting, he preached an introductory sermon from Psalm 6:4 and in 1885, he preached on "The Atonement." These are the churches he organized or served within that association:

Antioch Baptist Church (f. 1889), changed to Buckner Church in 1883, 5 mi. NW of Harrisonville, MO. Hopewell Baptist (f. 1835), aka Harrisonville Baptist Church (1849), Harrisonville, MO.

First Baptist Church (f. 1860), Paola, KS. First Baptist Church (f. 1872), Belton, MO. Freeman Baptist Church (f. 1872), Freeman, MO. Peculiar Baptist Church (f. bef. 1883), Peculiar, MO. Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church (f. 1868), 6 mi. south of Harrisonville, MO. Pleasant Valley (f. 1883), present Cleveland Baptist Church, Cleveland, MO. United Baptist Church of Blue Ridge (f. 1848), present First Baptist Church Grandview, MO. (Former member: Harry S. Truman)

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Miami County Publications--Inventory Clearance Sale TOMORROW IS ANOTHER TOWN The Anatomy of a Circus An autobiography by James R. Patterson A history of the Great Patterson Shows when the circus maintained winter quarters in Paola All the following publications will have sales tax, postage & handling added to the listed price Journies of Ursuline Academy & College, soft-back $35.00 History of Paola 1855-1955 by Bernice Wallace $9.50 Paola Accounts in Living Memory Last Half Century $5.00 Family Histories and Stories of Miami County, Kansas, 1987 VOL I Excess Inventory Sale $20.00 All cemetery books are available on a CD that must be read with a computer. The contents are in the PDF format that is search-able with Adobe reader. You can find a grave location in just a second. All CDs are $15.00 each Cemeteries of Miami County, Vol. I (rural south 2/3 of county)-CD ONLY Beagle, Block, Cashman, Daganett, Debrick, Fontana; Frank, Greenvalley, Herman, Highland, Hodges, Indianapolis, Jingo, Lessenden, Mannen, Miami, County Poor Farm, Mound Creek/Mount Nebo, New Hope, New Lancaster, Rockville, Settle, Spring Grove, Stanton, Whiteford and Wilson-Raymer Cemeteries of Miami County, Vol. II (north 1/3 of county ) CDONLY Antioch, Ayers, Bucyrus, Old Marysville, Hillsdale (old & new), Louisburg (old & new), Pleasant Valley, Rock Creek, Scott’s Valley, Somerset, St. Mary’s, Wagstaff, Wea, Holy Rosary, (Lane & Shively in Franklin Co.) Index of Taxpayers of Miami County, 1878 Lists of land owners or residents $3.00 The Story of Paola, 1857-1950 by McLachlin Softback Part 1 and Hardback Part 2 with Index to both parts Sold as a set $19.50 Softback Part 1 $5.00 index only for original book owners $5.00 Barns of Miami County, Kansas 457 old barns in full color 136 pages $20.00 Paola High School 150 years proud1857-2007 $25.00 Cliff Wright’s, World War II For One, $18.00 and Kansas Folklore $21.00 Lest We Forget (List of Osawatomie Alumni) $5.00 Paola High School Alumni 1888-1988 $5.00 Paola 150 Year Timeline on DVD $20.00 New Publication Tax included price $ 28.00 plus P&H New Publication Tax included price $ 28.00 plus P&H DVD now available Reduced Now only $20.00 Family Histories and Stories of Miami County, Kansas, 1998 VOL II Hardback

Please make checks to: Miami County museum 12 East Peoria, Paola, Kansas 66071-0123 Phone 913-294-4940

Lost Years -Miami Indians in Kansas $10.00 Our new e-mail: micomuseum@gmail.com Web site: https://micomuseum.org

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E-mail micomuseum@gmail.com Web site https://micomuseum.org

Mi. Co. History Museum 12 East Peoria

Paola, Kansas 66071 Phone 913-294-4940

Paving the Way to Heritage Walk A feeling of community spirit and support is growing in Paola . Paola's historic district, the downtown square and the park, is the focal point of Paola. The Heritage Walk is located in the center of the park near the gazebo; it provides a unique opportunity for you to memorialize a relative or a former/current resident of our communi ty with a brick engraved with their name added to the hundreds already placed in the Walk . The Park was given to the City of Paola by Baptiste Peoria when the town was founded . He specified that the Park must be used as a park forever. Over the years the Gazebo, the fountain, the sidewalks, and landscaping has been added to the park. Children's play equipment and benches were added so that families could enjoy spend ing time in the park. Engraved bricks may be placed individually, or may be grouped for family members,school classes, etc . Each brick may have two lines engraved with 14 letters and spaces on each line. Holidays and birthdays are the perfect times to order a brick for that 'hard to suit' person on your list or a way to assure that relative or friend will never be forgotten in Paola. You may request an application at www.info@thinkmiamicountyhistory.com or you may pick up an application at Miami County Historical Museum at 12 East Peoria Street (913) 294-4940 Please mail your completed application(s) along with a check for $40 for each brick requested to Miami County Historical Museum at 12 East Peoria Street Paola, KS 66071. We will notify you when your application(s) has been received, and the brick(s) will be installed as soon as pos sible . Each brick may have 2 lines with 14 letters and spaces. Brick 1 Brick __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Address__________________________________________________________ City_________________________________ State____ Zip _________ Phone_____________ Number of bricks ordered ______ @ $40 each Check enclosed $_______________ The Miami County Museum has partnered with the Miami County Veteran’s Memorial to be an information center for the history of veterans who live/lived in Miami County, Kansas. Veterans whose names are on the wall plus all veteran’s information are welcome. Individual files will be kept on each veteran from information received at the museum. The information can provide a glimpse into the life of the veteran, which will be available to family, relatives and others. Information can be used for genealogy purposes. Information as to service, rank, newspapers articles, pictures, war stories, parents, siblings, letters, schools at tended, marriage and children requested. Death and obit if applicable. Anything of interest can be submitted that the family would want their veteran to be remembered by. Information can be mailed or dropped off at the museum. New email address is micomuseum@gmail.com. Names for the memorial wall or bricks can be purchased at the Museum or Dengle and Son’s Mortuary in Paola, KS. Phone 913-294-2372. Name _____________________________ E-mail ______________________________

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