History
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Scarbrough Hill named after early Jewell City settler
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....
Business Women in Jewell County's First Decade
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...
Willa Cather had connections to Kearney State College and community
In her final story – “The Best Years” – author Willa Cather writes about the relationship between a school superintendent, Evangeline Knightly, and a young teacher named Lesley Ferguesson. Published posthumously, the story details the...
Valley Home School reopened 70 years ago
Last week a reader asked The Express editor if he remembered the name of a school located about four miles east of Superior. The man said he attended the third grade in that school but had forgotten the name of it. The editor reported he thought the...
Nelson resident led group that picked highway route in 1924
On May 29, 1924, the Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota Highway Association (K-N-D) selected the highway's route through Nebraska. The route was to be nicknamed The Fisherman's Highway. The highway...
KFEQ radio station which started in Oak will observe 100th anniversary
John Scroggin was a visionary Oak businessman. He was one of the first Nebraska residents to see the potential in the new technology known as wireless radio. It’s difficult to believe but it’s been 100 years since his pioneering radio station...
Groundhog Day
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 th...
Statehood out of wars and conflict
The story of Kansas as it became a state of the United States of America is much like a page out of today's conflicts, voting controversies and hardships. Kansas had its start as property of France....
Kansas Day – 2023! The Barred Tiger Salamander
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...
What about the weather flag?
This week area residents received various forms of electronic communication warning of a winter storm expected to impact the area. Based on those warnings the printing schedule for this newspaper was changed. As we listened to the forecasts, we...
The seventh post office in Jewell County organized in 1871, to serve the Ionia Area
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. Sum...
Early Christmas trees in Jewell County
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...
Nondescript record book contains Olive Hill Missionary Society minutes from 1900s
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...
Jewell County's Mount Pisgah named after Biblical mount
The Hebrew word “Pisgah” means summit. The biblical Mount Pisgah is in the Jordanian mountains east of Israel’s Jordan River and northeast of the Dead Sea. It is also known as Mount Nebo. Mount Nebo was the mountain from which Moses looked at...
Mankato Evangelical Lutheran Church observing their 150th anniversary
If a new community is being built and the people are to be taught about God, a congregation must be established. On Dec. 14, 1872, at Jewell Centre (Mankato), a meeting was called to organize such a congregation. Eleven voting members were present,...
Superior cemetery established in 1883
Every settlement on the Plains had several requirements. The establishment of a post office, securing, if possible, a location on a railroad, schools, churches and places of commerce. One often overlooked necessity was a resting place for deceased...
Four names used for the same school Lovewell High School. Lovewell Rural High School, Sinclair Township High School, Sinclair Rural High School
Lovewell High School, Lovewell Rural High School, Sinclair Township High School and Sinclair Rural High School are all names used for essentially the same school. The high school located in the smal...
Letter from a veteran
Going through a box of old photos, I ran across this letter which my dad, Verel Whitleley, wrote to the Nelson Gazette on April 9, 1944. I believe it was published shortly thereafter. He was 20 years old at the time, and was stationed in the...
Limestone fence posts
From Randall, Kansas, The Early Years, 1885-1888. Eclectic Excerpts from Randall Newspapers by Jan Menhusen Smock. Nov. 13, 1886 - Many farmers of this neighborhood use flag stone (limestone) for fences and fence posts. For fence posts the stone is...
Nealy honored by All Central Intercollegiate Conference
Ed Nealy earned first-team All Central Intercollegiate Conference honors in each of his two seasons with the Pittsburg State University Gorillas in 1956 and 1957. Nealy averaged 15.6 points per game as a senior in 1957. He contributed 9.9 points per...
Fogo, oldest living Esbon High grad A look back at Esbon High
Before the town of Ezbon (later Esbon) even began, there was Ezbon School District No. 98. The district was organized on Sept. 4, 1873. Little is known about the early years of the school as only a few comments survive. One, a comment in the...
Constitution Day
Coming up Saturday, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day. Constitution Day became a National Holiday with the passing of the Omnibus Spending Bill of 2004. It is also called “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.” Senator Robert Byrd proposed the...
Another bit of History is gone from Lawrence Main Street
Constructed in the 1890s the oldest frame building on Main Street in Lawrence ended its life Friday. The demolition of the little building nestled between the post office and old cafe building is no...
Lawrence Telephone Co. Building burned
The Lawrence Telephone Company ceased existence in 1958 when the business was sold to the Glenwood Telephone Membership Corp. However, a reminder of the business continued on in the presence of the ph...
Sixteen High Schools have served Jewell County youth (Salem pehaps the less well-known)
To date, there are thought to have been a total of 16 high schools which provided education for students in Jewell County. Of course, not all were in existence at the same time. But spanning Jewell...
