News Stories Various Butler County Kansas Genealogy Trails

WAS A BLACKHAND AT POWELL HOME?

EL DORADOANS RETURN HOME TO FIND NOTE DEMANDING PAYMENT OF $10

Is someone playing a joke on the C. E. Powell family, 203 South Topeka Street, or is a blackhand at work in El Dorado?

This is the question, which was puzzling the Powells and the members of the El Dorado Police Department today. Opinions of those who have investigated the case differ.

Last evening, the Powells were away from home. When they returned, they found someone had ransacked the dresser drawers and molested other articles. Nothing was found to be missing, although several pieces of jewelry and some silver could have been taken by thieves.

Just as the search of the house for the intruders was completed, the Powells found a note, written on a piece of white linen paper, on a dresser. The edges of the paper were uneven and the paper was badly smeared with dirt. Through the paper was stuck a small sharp-pointed stick.

The note said: "Leave $10 outside your window."

The handwriting is large and appears to have been made by a child.

The note was taken to the police station, where the incident was reported to the officers. Three members of the night force visited the Powell home, but no further evidence could be found, which might lead to the identity of the intruders.
(El Dorado Times ~ Thursday ~ 5 June 1924)
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TAKE CHARGES TO THE COUNTY FARM

Home Has Been Completely Renovated and Many Improvements Made

The nearly dozen charges of Butler County, who have been kept at the Old Folks' Home, on North Griffith Street, for the past ten months, have a new home today.

The announcement was made this morning at the meeting of the Board of County Commissioners that the charges would be taken to the County Farm. This place has been completely renovated and many improvements made in the home since it was closed last July by the State Board of Health, following the death of an aged inmate under conditions betokening extreme filth.

The farm is believed now to be one of the best maintained by any county in the state. All the improvements are of the latest design and the best. The plumbing is all new, a first-class heating system has been installed, the new water system is adequate and the place has been given electric lights. Many other improvements also have been made at the place.

A. O. Moon is in charge of the farm. He went to work at it shortly after the first of the year. Mr. Moon has had considerable experience in the management of county farms and is making a success on his new job. He is being ably assisted by Mrs. Moon.

The farm is open to the inspection of the public. Those who plan to visit the place are asked to do so within the next few days, however, so no inconvenience will be caused Mr. and Mrs. Moon after they have their program of work in operation.

At 11 o'clock this morning, the commissioners, opened bids on the construction of seven bridges in various parts of the county. Figures were submitted by eight contractors. At 3 o'clock this afternoon the figures were being gone over by County Engineer H. D. Barnes. It probably will be late this afternoon before any of the contracts will be awarded.

Those who offered bids follow: Jess Henry and Charles Lewis, both of El Dorado; C. E. Clark, of Wichita; Missouri Valley Bridge Company, Wichita; Cavanaugh Bridge Company, Peabody, I. F. Sawyer, Leon; Baker & Watkins, El Dorado; and L. L. Beye, El Dorado.

A delegation from Rosalia asked that a county road near that place be changed. Among the visitors were: George and Pete Nichols, Ode and E. S. Gray, O. C. Pike and P. N. Larson.
(El Dorado Times ~ 8 May 1924)
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COUNTY CHARGES FIND A VASTLY DIFFERENT HOME

Residence for Indigent Needy of the County Has Undergone Many Improvements Since It Was Closed Ten Months Ago By State Board of Health.

Instead of a filthy place from which they were removed last July, when the State Board of Health closed the Butler County Farm for the indigent needy, following the death of an aged inmate, John Hayes, under conditions betokening of extreme neglect, the charges of the county found a thoroughly modern home in every respect upon their return to the institution yesterday afternoon.

That they are happy to find conditions improved and glad to be back at the place was revealed on their faces and by their actions when a reporter for The Times visited the home late yesterday afternoon.

The 12 men inmates of the home were found lounging in comfortable chairs or on their beds on the third floor of the home. A large restroom has been fitted up for the inmates on this floor, and according to A. O. Moon, superintendent of the farm, they will be expected to spend their time in it when they are in the home unless they are at work, or ill and have to be confined to their beds. Yesterday afternoon all the inmates were in the room but one, and he was lying on his bed.

The home has been reopened with a total of 14 inmates. In addition to the 12 men, there is one colored woman and a child. Most of the charge are aged and have been receiving attention since last July at the Old Folks' Home on Griffith Street.

Mr. Moon was found in his and Mrs. Moon's private apartment when the Times reporter went to the farm. He was eager to show the visitor through the home.

"We will start at the bottom and go up," stated Mr. Moon, as he led the reporter through a screened-in porch, which runs across the entire east side of the home. The porch floor is constructed of cement and the place has been painted white. When the farm was closed, the place where the porch is was being used as a place to house many articles and was in an extremely filthy condition.

From the porch, Mr. Moon led the way into the furance room, which is located on the first floor or basement. Here, the reporter found Pat McAndrews, an inmate who is known by a number of El Doradoans, stoking the furnace. It was cool outdoors and a light fire was needed to keep the inmates warm.

The room in which the furnace is located, was nothing more than a hole under the house when John Hayes died. It was one of the most filthy places on the farm. It was difficult for those who visited the home in July to imagine how any human being could live in the rooms above the place. The stench which came from the hole was most sickening.

Instead of a place of this kind, the reporter yesterday found a modern heating plant. The furnace room is as up-to-date as any in El Dorado. It has been thoroughly renovated. A concrete floor has been laid and the remainder of the place given attention. In this room also is the hot water heating tank. Both cistern and well water is piped to the tank.

Just east of the furnace room is the laundry quarter. Here two large metal tubs have been installed. There is running water in the room. An electric washing machine will be installed shortly.

From the laundry room, Mr. Moon took the reporter to the inmates' dining room, which also is on the first floor, and just off the kitchen, which fronts on the screened porch. Both the dining room and kitchen are on the south side of the building.

A large dumb waiter has been installed by Mr. Moon in the dining room. It runs to the third floor of the home. The carrier will stand extremely heavy articles and will be a valuable labor saver.

From the first floor, the reporter was taken up a flight of stairs, where he was shown for the first time the improvements which have been made in the living quarters of the inmates. The floors have been covered with a bright linoleum. A bathroom has been placed on the second floor. This was unknown at the farm last July.

Most of the second floor is devoted to the private quarters of Mr. and Mrs. Moon. they have been so busy preparing the farm for the inmates that they have not given their rooms as much attention as they will receive. Despite this, the reporter found the rooms in a most orderly manner.

The entire third floor is devoted to the charges. The two large rooms on the north side of the building have been equipped as sleeping quarters. Here, the reporter found 14 new steel beds. The bed clothing also is new, as is everything else found about the building. On the south side of the third floor is the assembly room for th inmates and another bathroom. Linoleum covers the floors.

"We believe the assembly room will be a popular place," stated Mr. Moon. "The inmates can hold church services there or do whatever they want."

Water fountains also have been installed on both the second and third floors. They are the kind which are found in the best of places. Mr. Moon also has a large drain installed in the hall on the third floor. This will be used when the linoleum is mopped and other cleaning work is done.

Running water is furnished for the home by an automatic pump, which has been installed in a small building just east of the home. It maintains a pressure of 60 pounds. Both well and cistern water can be furnished by the pump.

Electricity has been furnished by running wires from the high-tension line, which extends to the stone quarry, just northeast of the farm, to the home. This was lacking last July, the home being lighted with lamps, which caused a most disagreeable odor.

Despite the facts that yesterday was moving day at the farm, everything at the place was in tip-top condition. There was no confusion. No dirt was accumulated on corners and the walls and woodwork were just as fresh looking as at any time since they were improved.

Mr. and Mrs. Moon welcome visitors at the home. They will delight in showing them through the place.

The Moons have had considerable experience in managing homes for indigent needy. Shortly before taking the job here, they were in charge of the County Farm at Olathe, Johnson County.
(El Dorado Times ~ Friday ~ 9 May 1924)

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ORDERS RECEIVED TO STOP DELIVERY ON STAR ROUTE

The old Star mail route between Cassoday and El Dorado, established more than 40 years ago, is to be discontinued May 31, according to a notice which A. B. Ewing, postmaster has received from the Postoffice Department.

The first carrier on the route was William Halfhill, the father of Mrs. Frank Watkins. Bon Lines, father of Mrs. Lyman Benton, was the second carrier and drove the distance of 28 miles from Cassoday to El Dorado and return daily for a number of years.

Frank Green, Bob McGregor and W. H. McCraner also were carriers on the route. Mr. McCraner was the carrier in 1916 when V. P. Mooney published his History of Butler County. For the past two years, Washington Million has carried the mail on the route.

Chelsea was the first regular distributing station for mail in Butler County. That was in 1858. In 1860, the El Dorado Postoffice was established. A Star route was opened in 1863, which ran from Cottonwood Falls through Butler County to Wichita.

A mail carrier whom the older El Doradoans will remember was Frank Harrison, who carried all the mail for Butler County in 1866 taking three days for the round trip from Cottonwood Falls and delivering mail once a week. There were three postoffices in Butler County at that time, El Dorado, Chelsea, and Towanda. L. M. Pratt was postmaster at Chelsea, Henry Martin at El Dorado and Sam Fulton at Towanda. Mr. Harrison was paid $450 a year for carrying the mail.

Gilbert Green, of Towanda, had the contract for carrying the mail in the early seventies. "Mr. Green and his sons, were all fearless horsemen and hard driver," relates Mr. Mooney in his history, and one of the memories that he recalls of that period is the familiar sight of one of the Green boys "flying across the country with a galloping horse hitched to a rattling, bounding, bouncing old buckboard."
(El Dorado Times ~ Thursday ~ 22 May 1924)
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FREAK HEN EGG IS ON DISPLAY

A freak hen egg, measuring a half an inch in diameter and two inches in length, was brought to The Times office this morning by Dan Kirkpatrick, who lives on Rural Route No. 1. The egg resembles a crook-neck squash in shape and the shell is thick and firm and a dark brown in color.
(El Dorado Times ~ Thursday ~ 3 April 1924)
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VETERAN EL DORADO MEAT DEALER QUITS

GEORGE W. BROWNE TURNS THE BUSINESS OVER TO HIS SON AFTER 18 YEARS

George E. Browne, who has been in the retail meat business here for the past 18 years, is retiring and has turned over the business to his son, Joe Browne, according to an announcement made this morning at the Browne Market, corner of Gordy Street and West Central Avenue. The younger Browne will take active charge of the market tomorrow morning.

Although Mr. Browne is quitting the retail meat business, he will not leave El Dorado. He will continue to maintain his home here, although he expects to spend considerable time in California, where he has owned property and spent much of his time the past four years. Mr. Browne is in El Dorado now, but plans to go to the Pacific Coast later.

Mr. Browne is the oldest retail meat dealer in El Dorado. He has been engaged in the business since coming here 18 years ago. His market has always been maintained where it is now located. He has enjoyed an excellent business and appreciates the trade he has received.

Joe Browne has been associated with his father in the meat business for the past eight years. For the past four years, he has been practically in charge of the shop. He will continue to maintain the market on the same high level it has been operated and later plans to make some improvements. mr. Browne is well known in the El Dorado community and hopes that the many customers who has patronized the shop in the past will continue to do so under the new management.

Mr. Browne is president of the Kansas Retail Butchers' Association. He was elected to this office at the state convention of the organization at Kansas City, Kan., two years ago and succeeded in landing the 1923 convention for El Dorado. That gathering was the best in the history of the association. As a result, Mr. Browne was re-elected president of the association for the ensuing year. The 1924 convention will be held shortly at Emporia.
(El Dorado Times ~ Wednesday ~ 30 April 1924)
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A 14-FOOT FALL FAILS TO BRUISE

Visiting Youngster Has Miraculous Escape After Plunge Through Window

Herbert Wilbur Cox, aged four years, son of Mrs. Ethel Turner Cox, daughter of W. E. Turner, county coroner, who is visiting here from her home in Enid, Okla., miracuously escaped serious injury about 10 o'clock Saturday evening, when he accidentally fell through a second story window to the ground at the home of his grandfather, 315 West Pine Avenue.

Herbert, went upstairs to bed, after having a romp during the early hours of the evening with the Turner family. Rushing up the stairway in a spirit of fun, the youngster ran headlong into his room, and, instead of striking the wall as he had intended, he plunged through an open window into a bed of nasturtiums, 14 feet below.

The ground was soft because of the rain which had fallen during the day, and the fact that the earth had been moved into the flower bed only a few weeks ago. This broke the fall. Herbert did not have a bruise this morning to show for his plunge.

The place in the flower bed, where Herbert's head struck, was clearly outlined this morning and is about six inches deep. The body mark also was discernible in the soil. The boy struck about a foot from a pile of large stones.

In talking of the incident this morning, Mr. Turner said: "I haven't been so excited in years. The whole family was running around as if the house were on fire. We are thankful the little fellow as not hurt."

Herbert was playing about his grandfather's home this morning. The Turners, however, have a strong screen securely fastened on the window through which Herbert plunged Saturday night.
(El Dorado Times ~ Monday 2 June 1924)
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A FITTING SERVICE HELD AT ROSALIA

Five Hundred Persons Observe Memorial Day At Blankinship Cemetery.

Five hundred persons attended the 30th annual Memorial Day Service held yesterday at the Blankinship Cemetery in Rosalia Township--the only cemetery in Kansas maintained by a township tax levy.

Emmet Gray, chairman of the program committee for the past 15 years, had charge of the service and Rev. B. W. Young, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, of El Dorado, gave the impressive address of the day. As has been the custom for many years, the chief speaker stood on the porch of the D. R. Blankinship home and those in the audience sat in the yard. The home is near the cemetery and the land of the cemetery plot was given for this purpose by Mr. Blankinship. It was under the direction of Mr. Blankinship and the late G. D. Young that A. L. Redden, an El Dorado attorney, superintended the passing of a bill through the legislature 30 years ago, levying a tax upon property owners of Rosalia Township for the maintenance of the cemetery. By a provision of the bill any taxpayer in the township may be buried in the cemetery and no charge is attached for preparing the grave.

Miss Lucile White, pastor of the Rosalia Christian Church, gave the invocation yesterday and the church choir sang, "Flag of the Stars." The Gettysburg Address, as part of the annual program, was given by Miss Orial Gray. Following a song, "American the Beautiful," by the choir, W. W. Clark, Civil War veteran, and pioneer of Butler County, pronounced the benediction.

The James Anderson Post of the American Legion of Rosalia fired the salutes and those who had assembled from Wichita, El Dorado, Rosalia and other towns, refreshed in spirit and having paid fitting trbute to their dead, returned to their homes.
(El Dorado Times ~ Saturday ~ 31 May 1924)