Tuesday, Jan. 29, was Kansas Day. Kansas, having become a state on Jan. 29, 1861, was 162 years old. President Abraham Lincoln signed the law which made Kansas the 34th State in the Union. During all those years, Kansas has acquired many symbols....

Yes, it has been cold outside! Temperatures well below zero at night with wind chill readings even colder. It doesn’t seem the days are much warmer. I am staying in as much as possible, I don’t need to go outside just to see how cold this cold fee...

The two principals in this tale of early Jewell County, were homesteaders in Odessa Township. Their names are Patrick Carrigan and Benjamin F. Hall. Carrigan, an Irishman, was born somewhere in Ireland, perhaps Kilkenny, in about 1810. When he came t...

Bob Burda, Cawker City, said “You can’t argue with a homemade noodle.” He loves homemade noodles. One might not be able to argue with a homemade noodle but there can certainly be lots of “discussion” about how to make one. Noodles should be simple...

Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day and Veterans Day all have to do with honoring our military service personnel but they are not at all the same. The days celebrate those “who died wearing the uniform,” those “who are currently wearing the unifo...

Carl Weeks (1927 – 1995), who was born in Missouri and died in Florida, seemingly had no connection with Jewell County, Kansas. However, he owned a painting created in Jewell County by a Jewell County artist. The painting, “Mother” by Serena Cleve...

“The first post office in the Jewell County was established here.” This fact was part of Mayor J. W. Berry’s speech at the Old Settlers gathering held in Jewell 1898. That first post office, according to the Sept. 9, 1910, Jewell County Repub...

It is time for the Jewell Corn Show – the 81st Annual Corn Show. This one has something for everyone. If you like exhibits – they will be in the Jewell Community Center – see them on Thursday evening, Friday afternoon and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2:...

Jewell County has several authors – ones from the past like, M. Winsor and James A. Scarbrough who wrote The History of Jewell County, Kansas in 1878. Or more recent ones like Erma Parsons Dillon (Burr Oak High School Class of 1952) and Jeri Davis S...

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, t...

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...

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...

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...

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 Count...

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....

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...

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...

“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...