***EXTRA CREDIT*** Kansas Museum of History

For my extra credit assignment I chose to visit the KS Museum of History.  I grew up in Topeka and have been to this museum before.  The museum begins with exhibits of Native Americans and has many artifacts from that era.  There are great displays of their tools, housing, and really gives the viewer an idea of how the first inhabitants of Kansas lived. A great teepee stands in the middle and it is truly amazing in size.  The tour continues with artifacts from pioneers and those who first came through the state.  Next are Civil War displays and a majority of this exhibit is about ‘Bleeding Kansas’.  There is a cannon, weapons, uniforms, artifacts from the sack of Lawrence, and even some interactive displays.  William Quantrell and John Brown receive their due attention as well.  All the displays are very well done and give great information.  The museum proceeds with items and displays from the turn of the century, then the depression, WWII and on into the fifties.  One big display shows a sod house and other items from the dust bowl which is interesting since reading ‘Rooted in Dust’.  The biggest piece has to be the train inside the museum.  I know from previous visits that the museum owns a bike which my great uncle used as a child to ride to school everyday in Admire, KS, however it is not on display at this time.

The Kansas Museum of History is a great museum and is absolutely amazing.  Big displays, well preserved artifacts and the use of interactive add to the experience.  The gift shop also allows visiters to take home books and other interesting items from Kansas.  Overall this was a very enjoyable visit and I recommend it to anybody who lives in or near Topeka or is passing through.

The majority of the displays contain exhibits and artifacts of pre 1900 Kansas as this may be the most interesting to those who visit this museum.  Why do you think that is???  Is pre 1900 Kansas most interesting to you?  Are there more artifacts and information from this era?  Is it the most influential to Kansas today?  And how does it compare to other museums you have visited?

Kyle Brown-

German POW’s in the US

The idea of keeping POWs on US soil has come up with some frequency since Obamas election one year ago. Closing the detention center housed in the Guantanamo Bay military installation in Cuba was a promise made early on in President Obamas campaign for the Presidency. Housing detainees however has been one of the largest stumbling blocks for any move to close the center, as its closure would almost necessarily mean moving the prisoners to the continental US.

As we have learned in class however, housing prisoners in the United States during a war has happened previously. During World War II German POWs were housed throughout the US, but heavily in the Midwest. Many of these prisoners where conscripted to work as laborers for US civilians. Geneva convention requirements stated that a POW could not be forced to work without pay, and therefor the prisoners where paid, often to the tune of ninety cents per day, money which they where able to use to buy good in the camps. Civilians wishing to employ this inexpensive source of manual labor would pay the government around forty five cents per day which would go towards compensation for the costs incurred by their housing. The opinions presented in this article held by the citizens who interacted with these POWs are overwhelmingly positive. Holthus and Kerr recall the men as having been hard workers, and relieved to be out of the war, POWs are even listed who chose to return to US after the end of the war.

In closing, the author cites the reflections of one of the individuals with experience around the POWs, asking whether or not there might be something to be gained by interacting similarly with the detainees down in Cuba. It certainly makes you wonder, even with all of the ideological differences in todays war, if some of the same compassion towards prisoners might be to our own benefit.

-Jeff G.

 

 

Works cited:

Garcia, Malcolm. “German POWs on the American Homefront.” SmithsonianMag. Smithonian, 16 Sept. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. <www.smithsonianmag.com>.

Naval Air Stations in Kansas

Taking into consideration that Kansas is surrounded by nothing but land; it is surprising to see that Kansas had anything to do with the Navy during World War 2.  However, at this time, there was an increased need for well trained naval pilots and since there was a vast amount of airspace and land available in Kansas; it is not surprising why the navy chose to open two new Naval Air Stations in Olathe and Hutchinson.  Though these two bases were not the first of their kind in Kansas, these stations were crucial for quickly training thousands of pilots going off to fight in Europe.

The Olathe Naval Air Station was built off of the already established Johnson County Airport and its main function was to “provide primary flight training for naval cadets and quarters for traveling officials.”*  Between July 1942 and September 1944, approximately 4,550 cadets were trained by the newly established airfield and in 1943, the base was able to train 1,100 at one time.*  The function of this base continued to change throughout the war depending on what types of pilots were needed for supporting the troops (transportation or medical) in Europe and even after World War 2, continued training members of the naval reserve forces.  The Olathe Naval Air Station was not closed until October 29, 1969 for economic reasons.*

The Hutchinson Naval Air Station began construction in 1942, however, the Navy used many of the resources already available in Hutchinson to help house and feed the incoming trainees.  When this base was first established it was expected to only house men, but with the growing number of women enlisting to help the war effort, Hutchinson became one of the major bases for women enlisted in WAVES.  Just like the Olathe Air Station, thousands of pilots were trained in various areas of piloting that was fundamental to winning the war in Europe.

-Eric Wood

*Hurt, D. “Naval Air Stations in Kansas During World War II.” Kansas Collection: Kansas Historical Quarterlies 43, no. 3 (Autumn 1977): 351-362. http://www.kancoll.org/khq/1977/77_3_hurt.htm (accessed November 18, 2009).

Dust Bowl Troubles

I became very intrigued with the depression and the Dust Bowl while reading ‘Rooted in Dust’.  I knew that my grandfather experienced much of it so I called him to get some information.  He was born in 1924 and grew up near Hoisington in Barton County western Kansas.  His family was the common wheat and cattle farmers.  He told me all kinds of stories from what he calls the ‘Dirty Thirties’.  School was cancelled most of the time from the dust and depression.  He would help on the farm as a young boy with his 4 brothers.  He remembers being out in the field, at a neighbors house etc, and the adults nearest to them would get in their car and come looking for the boys before the storms came.  Just before the dust clouds came, his mother would put wet sheets and towels over the doors and windows in attempt to keep some of the dust out.  They were very poor during the 30′s and did whatever they could to get by.  He told me a lot about the rabbits and grasshoppers and how many there were.  He would help the adults with the drives which started 4-5 miles out.  They would round up thousands of jackrabbits into giant pins made by snow fences ( fences used to prevent snow drifts).  The policy was not to shoot them so instead they clubbed the rabbits to kill them.  The younger ones were saved to be eaten and the older ones were put into trucks and taken away.  His mother fried the rabbits for dinner night after night after night.  If the drought or the rabbits didn’t ruin their crops then the grasshoppers did.  They were so thick he said that there would be literally 3-4 inches of grasshoppers under their front porch.  What they would do was mix big bags of bran flakes with a poison and throw it out over the yard and in a big radius near the house.  This kept them away from the house as much as possible.  So I ask you, what would we do today?  How would we get by if jackrabbits and grasshoppers swarmed the campus and dorms and apartments day after day? Would you leave or stay and deal with it? And how would you do it?  I personally cant even imagine how awful it would be and think it would be miserable, but we would get through because thats what Kansans do!

Kyle Brown

Overalls… who knew?

Key Industries Inc. “Looking Ahead to the Next 100 Years”

Keys Industries in Fort Scott, manufactured  both cheaply and multi-purposeful overalls. It was founded in 1908 (as Lakin McKey Manufacturing) but shortened in 1938 to simply “Key.” Kenneth Pollock bought the company.

It’s large success was linked to farmers and miners alike. Overalls are very practical to farmers and miners, due to the large variety in pockets and loops, and the loose fit, allowing many layers in the cold winter months. Finally it had built-in suspenders, which when times were rough meant there was no need for a belt.

Even today the company continues to make overalls but has also expanded to new types of clothing. Overalls, jeans, shorts, jackets, shirts for men, women and children, in various colors.

This company shows the change in History and fashion, and how the company adapted to the consumers. Especially by making them affordable to the average person, and long-lasting. One story said that during the Depression, Dale McKale would wear his overalls until they were no longer able to be worn. His wife would patch them and sow until she couldn’t anymore. Even today Dale who is retired still wears the same overalls, with the holes and oil stains today.

I always picture my grandfather wearing his dark blue overalls, even though they are new. He told me he started wearing them in Pique, KS while he was growing up on the farm. Yet, he is almost 80 years now and still continues to wear them. It now makes more sense to why farmers would buy them, since it was supporting a local company.
-Talia Kipp

Works Cited:

Kansas Historical Society. “Key Overalls.” Kansas State Historical Society Cool Things. N.p., 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. <http://www.kshs.org/cool2/overalls.htm>.

Photo: Key Industries, Inc. Key Industries, Inc. Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. <http://www.keyindustriesinc.com/>.