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Jewell County was organized on July 14, 1870. Twenty- three days later, on Aug. 6, 1870, the first white child was born in the new county. The baby girl was appropriately named, Jewell Bell. Jewell Bell Thomas. She was born near White Rock, Kansas, to Eli and Barbara Willis Thomas. The location, according to various newspaper accounts was "where the Old Settlers of White Rock hold their reunion." The reunion location is thought to be in the area where Section 12 abuts Section 13 in Sinclair Town...
Jewell County has at least 58 named creeks. The 1884, 1908 and 1921 Jewell County Atlases were used to locate and identify named creeks. However, flowing water in Jewell County isn't confined to creeks. There is also the Republican River which moves through and along the northern borders of Montana and Jackson Townships in the northeastern part of Jewell County. Some remember major flooding on the Republican River in 1935 and 1947. Another Jewell County River is noted on the 1921 Jewell County...
To Jack Wilson, "it didn't seem like I was that old!" But he was and friends and family gathered at the Jewell Community Center on Sunday, Aug. 6, to remind him of the fact. The group enjoyed cake and cookies as part of the celebration. It was on Aug. 7, 1933, that Jack was born to James "Jack" and Hazel Dyas Wilson. Born in Beloit, he grew up on the family farm four miles east and two north of Jewell. He had two older brothers, George,17 years older, and Robert, 14 years older. Wilson still...
Jean Knowlton observed her 100th birthday quietly. Aug. 1, found her greeting friends and family in her room at the Residential Care (RCC) in Beloit. Cards arrived, people came and went - and there were cupcakes! Cupcakes with "100" written in frosting. Knowlton was born on Aug. 1, 1923, to Ted and Bessie Snyder Menhusen on the family's farm, just a quarter of a mile south of Jewell. She grew up on that farm and attended Jewell Public Schools. She graduated from Jewell High School with the...
Friday was a great day for the 2023 edition of Jewell County Plow Day. Joe Eilert, organizer, was glad to see the plows, tractors and operators that kept showing up all morning. At one time there were 20 tractors working in the field and 21 were registered for the event. Operators came from communities like, Beverly, Denmark, Downs, Glen Elder, Ionia, Jewell, Salina, Tonganoxie and Zenda in Kansas plus Guide Rock, Martell and Red Cloud in Nebraska. They came to plow, just like in yesteryear....
Linda Woerner, always one with a bit of Jewell history, tells of finding a news item about the Methodist Church Bell. Not the two-thousand-pound bell that exists today beside the Jewell Trinity Methodist Church, but its predecessor, a smaller, "six or seven hundred" pounder that hung in the belfry of the old M. E. Church. That item, from the Jewell Republican of Aug. 19, 1895, relates how "Janitor Fox" was ringing the bell when the "bolt upon which the bell swings broke." The bell crashed down...
The Jewell County Historical Society’s Threshing Bee is right around the corner. On Saturday and Sunday, July 15 and 16, there will be lots to do in the Mankato City Park. One key activity of those days is threshing wheat. That means the Jewell County Historical Society (JCHS) needs to have wheat bound and ready for the threshing machine. They do! Jack Alcorn, JCHS president, and his crew were out last Wednesday morning to bind wheat, load the bundles on a trailer and get the trailer under cover. According to Alcorn, “It was really hot.” That h...
Chloe Weber of Jewell, local horsewoman, is in the running for the NCK (North Central Kansas) Rodeo Queen. Weber is part of three area "horse" clubs, The Mitchell County Riders, the North Central Kansas Saddle Club, Concordia, and the Jewell County Saddle Club. Saturday she was in Mankato taking part in the Jewell County Saddle Club's 11th Open Horse Show. The show was directed by Lesa Perotek, Esbon, and Jody Langer, Superior. The show judge was Linda Jensby, Russell, who grew up at Webber....
In recent days, the media has reported on the split in the United Methodist Church. The split is real and it has had an impact on all United Methodist Churches in the area. Those reports seem to emphasize human sexuality as the reason for the split. Issues surrounding the LBGTIQIA community are the "presenting symptom" of disaffiliation. Indeed, there are issues with drag queens, homosexual marriages and bishops in practicing homosexual relationships. But, the paragraph of the Book of Discipline...
Many observe Memorial Day. Businesses close, families gather, reunions are held, graves are decorated and cemeteries are visited. Though all are important and meaningful activities, those are not the real reason for Memorial Day. Memorial Day is set aside to recognize, honor and pay tribute to those who gave their lives in the service of their country. Jewell Countians such as Omar Headrick, Aubrey Varney, Lee Keeler, Duane Murray, Robert Standerwick and at least 62 others paid the ultimate sacr...
Jewell, Kansas is in the Buffalo Valley with the East, Middle and West Branches of Buffalo Creek flowing nearby. Though now only six blocks long, Buffalo Street is one of the east-west streets in the north part of Jewell. The town is also situated in Jewell County's Buffalo Township. Historically, the first building in the town was Fort Jewell, built in May of 1870. It was manned by 28 Buffalo Militiamen. There is the old story from 1870 about Billy Street walking west of Jewell, climbing...
This year, to celebrate the Big Kansas Road Trip coming to the area, the Formoso Skating Rink will have a special skate from 7 to 9 p.m., on Saturday. Plus, there is a pulled pork supper beginning at 5 p.m. at the Formoso Fire Hall. The proceeds from the supper will fund skating rink improvements and make sure the record-breaking crowds of skaters keep on rolling. In yesteryear, one could skate in Formoso and several area towns. The late Rex Headrick remembered tents for skating on South Central...
On Tuesday, April 18, Rosie Eilert Bosse was in her hometown of Jewell. She was welcomed by the Jewell Library Board at the Jewell Public Library. Bosse is an author, an author of 10 children's books and eight adult novels. Her first children's book, "How Clicker the Dog Got His Name," was published in 2016. The first adult novel, "North to Cheyenne," came out in 2019. Rosie grew up on the Gallaher-Eilert farm southwest of Jewell and graduated with Jewell High School's Class of 1974. She never...
The April meeting of the Jewell Chamber of Commerce was called to order by President Peg Bohnert. The Palmer Museum Committee was thanked for the meal they prepared. Forty-six members and guests were present Brenda Langdon, a family resource management extension agent, was introduced as guest speaker by Kerma Crouse. Her presentation centered on nutrition. The Simply Produce program was reviewed. Langdon also introduced a new program for low-income seniors. They receive $50 of vouchers for use at participating farmer’s market vendors. The v...
“On the Eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five.” Do understand that the line is not referring to 1975 or even 1875 but 1775! The words come from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” The poem, famous in American Literature and American History, was written in 1860. The need for a way to alert the revolutionaries was known and planned for in the months before April, 1775. Actually, a century before, a system of alarms was employed by the early colonists to rally settlers during the Indian Wars. This was reorganiz...
The story is told that Billy Street, in the early days of the settlement at Jewell, walked west and climbed Scarbrough Hill. To the north, south and west, a vast herd of buffalo was all he could see. The hill may or may not have been called "Scarbrough" when Street made his climb, but if not, it soon would be. The big hill west of Jewell was named for early Jewell City settler, James A. Scarbrough. His mother, Sarah McGamey Scarbrough homesteaded on the southwestern slope of the hill. James, who...
In honor of March being Women's History Month, we will take a look at a few of the business women who helped develop Jewell County during its first decade – 1870 to 1879. When Jewell County's government was organized in July of 1870, the US. Census showed 207 people in the county. Thirty-one were women. Though few in number, women were here to stay. Not just to stay, but to build families, homes and businesses. We might visualize the pioneer women of Jewell County as generally being farm w...
The February meeting of the Jewell Chamber of Commerce was held on Monday, Feb. 13, in the Jewell Community Center. Forty-four members attended the meeting. Pastor Dan Daniels began the meeting by blessing the meal. The program was provided by Jada Eilert, a junior at Rock Hills High School. Jada played the piano solo, Solfeggietto by C. P. E. Bach. She performed the piece at the state piano contest on Saturday. Jada is the daughter of Jason and Jessie Eilert of Jewell. Derek Nutter was recognized for earning his Kansas assistant funeral...
Folklore tells us “If the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.” Here in the United States, Feb. 2 is Groundhog Day. James L. Morris, in his Feb. 2, 1840, diary entry, commented on Groundhog Day. That comment is the earliest known mention of Groundhog Day in the United States. But the roots of Groundhog Day go back much farther, perhaps to Roman times. There is a Latin couplet similar to the old English rhyme “If Candlemas is fair and clear, There’ll be two winters in the year.” The couplet also has versions in Fren...
Kansas Day is celebrated on Jan. 29. This year, Kansas will be 162 years old. Kansas has several nicknames "the Sunflower State" and "the Wheat State" being but two. Kansas also has symbols which represent the State in some way. To date, there are 22 such state symbols. Among those Kansas symbols: a state fruit – the sand hill plum, a state soil – Harney Silt Loam, a state rock – Greenhorn Limestone and a state fish – channel catfish. Most know about the cottonwood tree, honey bee, sunflower, "H...
The Jewell Chamber of Commerce met for the first time in 2023 at the Jewell Community Center on Monday, Jan. 9. The meeting began with a prayer by Pastor Dan Daniels and a meal served by the Jewell J-Janes. The business meeting was called to order by newly elected president, Peg Bohnert. Frank Shelton was elected treasurer, Kerma Crouse is vice-president and Stacey Delzeit is secretary. During the business meeting, the group established two new standing committees. The Aisle of Frights...
The Ionia Post Office, the seventh post office in Jewell County, was organized on April 13, 1871. It served the Ionia area until it was discontinued on Aug. 6, 1982. Seneca Sumner was the first postmaster; 12 other men and women would follow him. Sumner had been born in Ohio on March 7, 1846. He is found in the 1870 U.S. Census in Washington County, Kansas as an artist-photographer. He first appeared in Jewell County records when he was appointed postmaster on April 13, 1871. The story goes...
In 1621, following the first Thanksgiving, there were no Christmas traditions in what would become the United States. Neither the Puritans nor the Pilgrims observed or celebrated Christmas. In fact in 1659, one could be fined for hanging a decoration or having anything other than a church service related to Christmas. It was not until 1870 that Christmas was to become a legal holiday in the United States. 1870 was also the first year Christmas was celebrated by the pioneer settlers in Jewell County. In July of 1870, two hundred five persons...
Bill of Rights Day is observed on Dec. 15. Dec. 15, 1791, saw the ratification of the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution itself had been accepted by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. With the ratification by the ninth state (New Hampshire) on June 21,1778, the U. S. Constitution became legal. The other states would eventually join the first nine, with Rhode Island the last state to ratify on May 29, 1790. Throughout the process of ratification, a growing call for...
A small non-descript “Record” book as recently resurfaced. This book, purchased for $1.00, contains the “Minutes of Missionary Society.” This Missionary Society was the women’s group of the Olive Hill Church. The first entry is simply dated, “Nov – 1919.” In 1919, the Olive Hill Church was already 53 years old. The church building was located in the northeast corner of what was and still is, the Olive Hill Cemetery. Ten years later a new church building would be built a half mile north. Today the 146-year-old congregation still worships in tha...
