December 2008
Greetings History Lovers!
Oh my... is 2009 nearly gone
already! I'm afraid your humble correspondent hasn't been too
faithful about sending newsletters this year.. but I couldn't let
the year end without wishing you the best of Holiday Seasons, and
thanking you for all those clicks on Old Meade County dot com.
Some new things on the site
since last I wrote...
I posted a story in April about the
Blizzard of 1957. J.T. Powell had shared a stack of old newspapers with me
that his Mom had collected about that storm and while I was snowbound last
March I dug them out and keyed them in... it's just a collection of
newspaper articles, but sure tells the story and brings back memories. I was
in hopes that people would write me and share their "Blizzard of '57"
stories (because they all seem to have one)... still waiting on that. :)
I also posted a news article from the
Fowler News September 7, 1933, about the time Bonnie and Clyde tried to
steal a car at the Meade City park. Bill Brock had told his story to the
editor about how he and some others tried to assist the outlaws. As most
things on OMC, it's a work in progress. I'm still looking for proof that it
was Bonnie and Clyde, but it's a good story all the same.
Trudy (Norman) Kemper shared a great
story with us about a time the Dalton Gang came to the
Andor Eliason
homestead. As was the custom of the day (early 1890's) the men were asked to
stay for a meal and Trudy told of all the excitement that ensued. Marc
Ferguson, manager at the Dalton Hideout, was so proud of this story he
printed it out and hanged it on the wall for visitors to the Hideout to
read.
Roger Meyers sent in a story he had
written about Jim Herron. This was timely because I had been working on
getting a book published about Herron's life... which I now have on the
shelf in area book stores and on my website,
www.prairiebooks.com, called
Fifty Years on the Owl Hoot Trail. Herron's story is important to
us because not only was he a well-known open-range cowboy in this area, but
he was convicted of cattle rustling right here in Meade. Before he could be
sentenced, he and his sidekick, Jack Rhodes, escaped and headed east of town
to the Jones & Plummer Trail. Rhodes was shot and died near where our
cemetery is now, but Herron escaped and was running from the law for the
rest of his life... a situation the cowboys called being "on the owl hoot
trail." It's a great book and Roger's article gives you a little insight into
the life of Jim Herron.
You can pick up any of the books I
publish locally at Back Room Printing, the Museum, or the Dalton Hideout.
The Museum and Hideout are great places to shop for history books if you
have someone on your Christmas list who likes to read. I also recommend
Ellen Verell's new book, Tales of a Sod House Baby, for
colorful local history.
I urge you to put the date of February
6, 2010 on your calendar now... it is the date of the Meade County
Historical Society's annual banquet. Check out the
Museum tab for more
information. Jim Hoy will be our speaker that evening... Jim is an authority
on the famous Western photographer, Francis M. Steele and the Museum will
have a traveling display of Steele's photos for a month or so as well.
People are asked to bring any Steele photos they have for "show and tell"...
it will be a great program.
I'm pleased to see that Google Maps
has finally upgraded their satellite photos of all of Meade County. I don't
know about you but I find this a great tool for locating historical places.
I find many useful tools on the internet!
Well... that's about it for now. I'll
leave you with this thought to ponder....
As income tax time approaches, did
you ever notice that when you put the two words "The" and "IRS" together
it spells "THEIRS?"
Catch you next
time!
Nancy O
