Butler County, Kansas
NEWSPAPERS ARTICLES
A KANSAN KILLED AT
CHICAGO
Chicago, Sept. 7 – Dr. A. H. Wilson of Douglas, Kan., fell from a cable car in the LaSall street tunnel yesterday
afternoon and was so badly injured that he died at Alexian Brother’s hospital last evening. (The Guthrie Daily
Leader; Guthrie, Oklahoma; September 8, 1893 (Transcribed as written by D. Donlon)
WICHITA TEST PILOT KILLED (William M. Coons)
PLANE EXPLODES SOUTH OF AUGUSTA
A modified light aircraft exploded in the air near Gordon---a small community six miles south of Augusta---Monday afternoon, killing the pilot, William M. Coons, 31, of Wichita.
Investigations into the cause of the explosion and resulting crash were in progress today. They were being made by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Beech Aircraft Corp., the maker of the plane. Coons was a test pilot employed by Beech.
A group of boys hiking along a rural road near the crash scene heard the explosion, then saw the crash. They called the Butler county sheriff's office.
Wreckage was scattered over an area
a mile square, indicating the explosion occurred in the air. It apparently happened about 3:15 p.m., some 15 minutes
after Coons took off from an airfield at the Beech plant at the east edge of Wichita.
(El Dorado Times ~ Tuesday ~ October 1, 1968 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)
YOUNG MAN, VISITING EL DORADO AUNT, DIES
Harvey McCown, 15 years old and a resident of Chillcothe, Mo., died at a local hospital, early Thursday evening of urenne poisoning. Funeral service will be held at the W. E. Turner undertaking parlors at 2 o'clock Saturday, followed by burial in the East cemetery.
The young man arrived in El Dorado
Saturday for a visit at the home of his aunt, Mrs. J. H. Partin. He became ill Tuesday and was taken to the hospital
Wednesday. His condition Thursday morning indicated that he could not recover. J. H. Shadden, of Huron, South Dakota,
and three sisters, Mrs. R. C. Reid, Joplin, Mo., and Mrs. J. A. Mygatt and Miss Mabel McCown, both of Kansas City.
The sisters will arrive Friday evening.
(Walnut Valley Times ~ July 28, 1916)
CAR BELIEVED TO BE CAUSE OF BRIDGE FALLING
Indications are that the collapse of a bridge in western Butler county Friday evening was caused by a car, driven by a 15-year-old girl, striking part of the structure.
Sheriff Dallas Babcock said the girl, Berniece M. Shupp, of Route 1, Towanda, had admitted the car she was driving struck the bridge railing.
Built in 1888, the bridge spanned the Whitewater river at a point about four miles west and 1.75 miles north of Towanda on a road in Benton township. The bridge fell into the river with the car, owned by Mary Howard, of Route 1, Benton, and its driver.
The girl's age was earlier reported as 16, but county officers said she is only 15---nearly 16---and therefore a juvenile. It was reported that she is being charged with driving in violation of a restricted driver's license and driving left of center.
According to Sheriff Babcock, the girl first told county officers she had been driving about 25 miles an hour. Later Babcock said, she indicated she had driven about 40 miles an hour. The sheriff said that, although the latter speed is not considered excessive, it was excessive for the road on which she was driving and because of the bridge's vintage.
The sheriff added that evidence indicated the driver had veered to the left of center on the township road, and that the car struck a bump in the roadway upon approaching the bridge.
Babcock and Miss Shupp again indicated the steering wheel was "thrown out of her hands" upon hitting the bump in the road, as she had said when first questioned about the accident.
The sheriff said paint on the bridge railing indicated the car had struck it.
As explained earlier by County Engineer
T. L. Farmer, the bridge appeared to have received a recent blow to compression members on its southwest corner,
which twisted the truss, causing it to fall.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ March 21, 1962 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)
NEW OWNERSHIP FOR OLD PICKRELL HOME
LEON --- For the first time in 63 years, the old George Pickrell home at Pickrell Corner will be under new ownership. Just last week, Mrs. Pickrell, who had been willed the home and almost an acre of ground, sold the place to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stull of El Dorado, who plan to take possession by Aug. 15. Mrs. Pickrell plans to return to California, to be near her family. She will remain in the old home for the present.
George Pickrell, who died last Nov. 11, had owned the farm ever since Jan. 29, 1899, but had lived there several years previous to that time. The farm land is still in estate, belonging to the four Pickrell children.
Mr. Stull is employed by the Skelly
Oil Co. at El Dorado. He has a wife and three children.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ Monday ~ May 21, 1962 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)
'PRETTY BOY' FLOYD ONCE A 'GUEST' HERE?
The infamous "Pretty Boy" Floyd, one of the "most wanted" criminals of the early 1930s, may have been a temporary "guest" of El Dorado in February, 1933.
The question, which probably will never be answered, arose on that February 3 when peace officers from a wide area swooped down on the George Ford home on South High street.
Two men were said to have run from the house when the raid began, and one was reportedly "Pretty Boy." Ford always denied it.
Officers arrested four men who were wanted at other places for major crimes, and captured an arsenal of 13 automatic rifles and high-powered rifles.
Machine guns were set around the Ford residence and tear gas bombs were ready for use. But there was no shooting. Four men walked from the house with their hands in the air. Taken into custody were Joe Milan, Lannie Poe, Carroll Turley and Bennie Young, all on the "wanted" list.
Ford himself later surrendered some
bonds that were alleged to have been stolen from a bank in Hoisington. He was arrested and charged with robbing
the bank. Ford was released on bond, but was later sentenced to the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth in connection
with an armed robbery in Oklahoma.
(El Dorado Times ~ February, 1933)
THREE DEAD IN BIG EXPLOSION AT EL DORADO
Too Much Pressure In Tank At Midland Refining Company's Plant Causes Accident; Four Injured
HUGE TANK BLOWN ONE HUNDRED YARDS
El Dorado, Kansas, Dec. 29---Three persons were killed and four were injured by an explosion in the plant of the Midland Refining Company here today:
The dead:
I. C. THOMAS, assistant engineer
M. H. HERTZOG, fireman
GEORGE COOK, pipe fitter
The injured:
MR. AND MRS. GLEN JONES
FRANK FRISHBY
RUSSEL ARCHER
Too much pressure in the "exchange"
tank, a receptacle for cold crude oil from which it is conveyed to the heating stills, is said to have caused the
explosion. The tank which weighed several tons was carried through the walls of the building and landed a hundred
yards away.
(Wichita Eagle ~ Monday ~ December 30, 1918 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)
On last Wednesday morning four men were found in different localities, in the vicinity of Douglass, in this county, who had been murdered the night before. All, or nearly all of them were citizens of this county. Three were shot, the fourth was found hanging to a tree. On the breast of one was found a card, upon which was written, "Shot for a horse thief." Further remarks are unnecessary.
LATER---A gentleman who was present at the inquest reports to us the following:
James Smith, alias J. H. Gilpin,
was shot with a carbine through the head and breast four times. Lewis Booth was shot at his house, after being
taken out, about 9 o'clock on the night of the 8th, two shots in the head and breast and was powder-burned. Jack
Corbin, a government scout, was hung after being taken from Booth's house, to a sycamore tree, one hundred yards
from the house. He had on his body an order for the arrest of a Scotchman, name unknown. George Booth was shot
through the head and breast. The two Booths were shot while trying to run, some fifteen shots were fired at once
and a short time afterward three more reports were heard. Mrs. Booth thinks there were about fourteen in the crowd.
They entered her house with leveled pistols. In Douglass, during the day a crowd of men were in town inquiring
about stolen horses, and asked for Jim Smith and Lewis Booth, and did not leave town until about sun down. They
stated that they were hunting stolen horses.
(Walnut Valley Times ~ Friday ~ November 11, 1870)
Family Business Sold
An era is coming to an end in Rose Hill. It's a bittersweet time for Rocky and Barbara Waitt and the community of Rose Hill for things will never be the same for either the Waitts or Rose Hill.
Those changes took place late last week when a Great Bend-based holding company announced its plants to purchase the Rose Hill Bank, which had been through four generations of leadership in the Waitt family.
American State Bancshares, Inc., of Great Bend announced it had entered into a Definitive Agreement with Rose Hill Bancorps., Inc., for the acquisition of Rose Hill Bank. Donald LaKamp, president of American State Bancshares (ASB), made the announcement. ASB is a multi-bank holding company with two Kansas bank charters---American State Bank & Trust in Great Bend and Peoples Exchange Bank in Belleville. They have a combined total of 10 locations in the State of Kansas.
"This was the best sitatuion for our customers and our employees," said Rocky Waitt, following the acquisition announcement. "This is as close as you can get to remain the same. I don't know what I'm going to do but I know I am becoming a shareholder in a bank holding company that will own Rose Hill bank. It's a big deal for them to acquire another bank, and to acquire our bank it is special for us."
Rose Hill State Bank was chartered in 1906 and in the late 1920s, the Waitt family acquired majority ownership. In April of 2000, Waitt's bank transitioned into Rose Hill Bank and in more recent times. Waitt has guided the bank into three additional branch banks while maintaining its headquarters along Rose Hill Road. The bank opened branch locations in Augusta, northeast Wichita and northwest Wichita.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Rose Hill Bank currently has $222.2 million in assets.
Rose Hill Bank has always been recognized for prudent financial management and its neighbor-to-neighbor style of customer customer service. In fact, the bank's slogan has been "The Friendly Little Bank".
Rose Hill Bank will remain a separate bank charged with Waitt continuing as president and CEO until the management transition is completed. Then, he will become a shareholder of the holding company and continue to serve on its board of directors.
Waitt said there would be only one change in the company. American would be bringing in a new person probably in mid-2012 to replace him. "We have good, good people here and I don't see things will change," said Waitt. "They want to keep the working staff together, too."
The acquisition of Rose Hill Bank
will bring the consolidated assets of the holding company to more than $620 million.
(Rose Hill Reported ~ Thursday ~ August 18, 2011)
AUGUSTA MAN'S BODY FOUND IN RESERVOIR
The body of an Augusta man, 25-year-old Johnny Michael (Mike) Groce, was found Sunday near the north shore of Cheney Lake in Reno County.
Groce drowned last November 9 while hunting at Lake Cheney. A search of the lake by the Reno County search and rescue unit failed to find his body. It was found Sunday by a youth camping near Lake Cheney.
Last November, Groce and a companion had been hunting on an island in the lake, and Groce left in a canoe to retrieve decoys. He never returned and the overturned canoe was found the next day.
Groce's companion, Dennis Winkelman of Wichita, was rescued the following day from the small island where he had spent the night after Groce failed to return in the canoe.
Efforts to locate and recover the body were ended after several days.
Mike Groce was born August 21, 1950 in Howell County, Missouri, and was a 1968 graduate of El Dorado high school. He was a plastic toolmaker at the Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita, and was a member of the First Baptist Church in Augusta and the International Aircraft Machinist's union.
He is survived by his widow, Linda Colleen; two daughters, Jennifer Kay and Rebecca, all of the home; sisters, Mrs. Ramona Camp and Mrs. Connie Varner, both of El Dorado, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Groce of El Dorado.
Funeral services will be at 10:30
a.m. Tuesday at the Dunsford Funeral Chapel, the Rev. Paul Thompson officiating. Burial will be in Walnut Valley
Memorial Park in El Dorado.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ March 29, 1976)
The body of an Augusta man, who was reported missing after going on a fishing trip Monday, was found early today between Towanda and Augusta.
Jesse Frye, about 63, apparently died from natural causes while fishing, according to Butler County sheriff's officers.
Frye's body was found about 4:15 a.m. today on the banks of the Whitewater River four miles south of Towanda and a quarter-mile west of the Sixth Street Road.
Sheriff's Deputy Max Lofton and Frye's son, not identified by name, discovered the body. Frye's car was found nearby.
Frye was reported missing by his son-in-law, Alfred Roeder of Augusta, about 2:30 a.m. Frye had gone fishing Monday afternoon. He usually returned around 9 p.m., officers were told.
The body was taken to Dunsford Funeral
home in Augusta.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ April 29, 1969)
JESSE J. FRYE DIES WHILE FISHING
Funeral services for Jesse J. Frye, 61, Augusta, raido and television repairman will be at 2:30 p.m. today in Dunsford Funeral Home at Augusta. Burial will be in Sunset Lawns Cemetery, El Dorado.
The body of Mr. Frye was discovered early Tuesday morning along the bank of the Whitewater River, four miles south of Towanda and a quarter-mile west of the Sixth Street road.
Mr. Frye was reported missing when he failed to return from a fishing trip according to Butler County sheriff's officers.
He was born May 26, 1907 in Rose Hill, Kan. He was married to Edna Harker in 1950 at Wichita. He moved to Augusta two years ago from Towanda.
Surviving are his widow, and two
sons, Phillip and Jackie, of the home; a daughter, Mrs. May Belle Roeder, Augusta; a brother, Melvin Frye, Kansas
City, Mo.; two sisters, Mrs. Lillian Erickson, Mulvane, and Mrs. Goldie Norton, Little Rock, Ark.; and one grandchild.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ May 19, 1969)
Residents
of Rose Hill community --- particularly the Showalter family, probably never have forgotten a Fourth of July celebration
that took place in El Dorado sixty-four years ago. The late Butler County commissioner William H. Cummings of Augusta
clearly remembered that event and this was his report: "A special train carrying 200 persons from the Rose
Hill vicinity left in the morning of July 4, 1905, for El Dorado. In the group were twenty young men of the Rose
Hill Cornet Band. They wore bright red suits and participated in the day's program. Virgil Cox of Rose Hill won
the lively Wheel Barrow Race. The Rose Hill baseball team won a close game from the Potwin boys. And the crowning
feature of the day was the Baby Show. Gula Showalter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Showalter, Rose Hill, won
first place.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ July 3, 1969)
A head-on crash on Ohio street, at the north edge of Augusta early today took the lives of two residents of that town.
Ironically, one --- Mrs. Freddie Jo Suits Chorn, 23 --- was the daughter of Fred Peace, 58, an Augustan, killed in a car-train collision April 19 southwest of Augusta.
The other victim of the wreck was Michael Cuddy, 19. Cuddy and Mrs. Chorn were the drivers and sole occupants of the cars involved.
Their deaths raised to 11 the number of persons killed in traffic mishaps in Butler county this year.
Investigation into the accident continued today.
The collission occurred about 12:15 a.m. a short distance south of the drive-in theater on Ohio street. State Trooper Charles Hanna, who assisted in the investigation of the accident, said Cuddy was northbound and Mrs. Chorn was driving south.
It was raining at the time. Both vehicles were demolished in the collision.
Cuddy was dead at the scene. Mrs. Chorn died about 3 a.m. at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
State Trooper Roger Higgins investigated
the accident. Assisting at the scene were Hanna, Butler county sheriff's officers, members of the Augusta Department
of Safety.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ May 8, 1969)
SATURDAY RITES FOR VICTIMS OF ACCIDENT
Funeral services for the two victims of a head-on crash at the north edge of Augusta early Thursday have been set for Saturday.
Killed in the mishap were Mrs. Freddie Jo Chorn, 23, and Mike Cuddy, 19, both of Augusta.
Services for Mrs. Chorn, a lifetime resident of Augusta, will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Dunsford Funeral home in Augusta.
Survivors include a daughter, Melinda Marie, of the home, her mother, Mrs. Ross Nelson, and a brother. W. Peace, both of Augusta.
Services for Cuddy will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Burris-Wall Funeral home in Parsons, Kan.
Born in Wichita, Cuddy had lived near Augusta the last 15 years.
Survivors include his parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Alan D. Cuddy, Augusta; four brothers, David, Great Lakes, Ill., and Arthur, Alan and Christopher, all
of the home; two sisters, Linda and Katy, of the home; and his grandmothers, Mrs. G. W. Cuddy and Mrs. E. L. Dodds,
both of Parsons.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ May 9, 1969)
AUGUSTAN IS FOUND DEAD
An Augusta man, James F. Mathews, 46, formerly of El Dorado, apparently took his life at his home Monday, according to Butler County sheriff's officers.
Mathews was found with a .32-caliber bullet wound in his head, according to investigating officers.
He had lived for the past 20 years in Augusta, where he served as laboratory technician for the Mobil Oil Co. refinery.
Mr. Mathews was born June 12, 1923, in El Dorado. He grew to manhood here and was graduated from junior college.
He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
Mr. Mathews and Dorothy Foster, a native of England, were married June 10, 1949.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church of El Dorado and of the American Legion in Augusta.
Survivors include the widow and two sons, Michael and Brian, all of the home; one daughter, Mrs. Kay Cairns, Augusta; and his mother, Mrs. Florence Peters Mathews of Parsons.
Preceding him in death were his father Maurice L. Mathews, and his brother, Maurice L. Mathews, Jr., who was killed during World War II.
Funeral services will be held at
11 a.m. Thursday at the Burris-Wall Funeral Home in Parsons.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ July 29, 1969)
Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Creamer and Daughter Are Victims
Three members of a family which moved to Augusta from Fort Scott only a few weeks ago were killed in a two-car collision Sunday evening at the southeast edge of Wichita.
The dead are Leroy J. Creamer, 49; his wife; and their daughter, Debra, 12. They resided at 1130 Osage in Augusta.
The family reportedly moved to Augusta about six weeks ago. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Mr. and Mrs. Creamer were killed instantly in the crash at the intersection of Harry street and the Greenwich road about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Their daughter died about 30 minutes later at St. Joseph hospital, where she had been taken for treatment of injuries sustained in the collision.
Also injured while riding in the Creamer car was a niece, Tina Cooper, age 1 year, of Fort Scott. She received undetermined injuries and was admitted to St. Joseph hospital.
The wreckage of the car had to be pried apart before the injured girls could be removed by rescuers. They had been riding in the rear seat.
The driver of the second car, Danny R. Roberts, 22, of Rose Hill and his passengers, Robert Burkett, 17, rural Derby, and Tom Ewing, 21, also of Rose Hill, were treated at St. Joseph.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Vern Miller said the Creamer car was eastbound on Harry which has a flashing red light. He said it was proceeding through the intersection when it was hit broadside by Roberts' southbound car on Greenwich, which has a flashing yellow light.
Creamer's car was pushed about 40
feet past the intersection by the impact landing in a ditch.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ October 20, 1969)
RITES SET FOR THREE VICTIMS OF CAR CRASH
Services for Leroy Creamer, 49, his wife, Alta, 47, and their daughter, Debra, 12, Augusta, former residents of Fort Scott, will be conducted at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Cheney Funeral Home, Fort Scott.
Mr. and Mrs. Creamer were killed instantly when the car in which they were riding was hit broadside at Wichita. Debra died about 30 minutes later at St. Joseph's Hospital and Rehabilitation Center.
Survivors include a son, Robert, at home, and a daughter, Mrs. Clarence Cooper, Fort Scott, Creamer's two half-brothers, Harry Jones, Washington, and Jimmy Jones, Tulsa, and his half-sister, Mrs. Mable Armstrong, Chanute.
Mrs. Creamer's mother, Mrs. Ruth
Edmiston, Fort Scott; her three brothers, Claude and Melvin Garrison, both of Fort Scott, and Roy Garrison, Pittsburg,
Kan., and her three sisters, Miss Rosie Garrison and Mrs. Lucy Taylor, both of Fort Scott, and Miss Marilyn Garrison,
Denver.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ October 21, 1969)
AUGUSTA MAN DROWNS WHILE SWIMMING
AUGUSTA, Kan.---Steven Anthony Smith, 19, Augusta, drowned Sunday morning while swimming in a creek, three miles south of Augusta, on an outing with three other persons.
Butler County Sheriff's office reported the persons with Smith saw him go under twice but thought he was playing until he went down again and didn't come up.
The companions then drove to Augusta to summon police aid. Police recovered the body about an hour after Smith disappeared.
The sheriff's office reported it was the third drowning in Butler County this year.
Smith, an apprentice printer for Rand Publishing Co., Wichita, is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Smith, Sr., of Augusta, and a brother, Charles, Jr., Benton, Kan. Dunsford Funeral Home has charge.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday
in Central Baptist Church, Augusta, burial in Andover.
(Augusta Daily Gazette ~ June 25, 1973)
HE DIED FOR LOVE
Albert Snyder, who returned from
Wichita yesterday, brings us the news that a man named McAboy, aged about 30 years, committed suicide in Towanda
yesterday at 3 o'clock p.m. by shooting himself, the ball entering the forehead just between the eyes. It seems
McAboy was boarding at the hotel in that village and became enamored of the landlord's daughter. He asked her
to marry him and she refused, stating that she did not love him and no reason existed why she should marry him.
He told her that if she did not marry him he would kill himself, but it was not supposed that he meant it. He
kissed the girl, bade her good-bye, went up to his room and shot himself. No other cause being found for the rash
act, it is supposed that he did it through unrequitted love. As he left no money to defray funeral expenses, the
county will bear the expenses of his funeral and he will be buried in Potter's field.
(Wichita Eagle ~ November 16, 1886 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)
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