The Superior Express -

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The Ruskin Alumni banquet was a wonderful event. I was asked to share my dad’s (Keith Schultz) story about the Class of 1948 and their connection to the gymnasium built in 1949. Here is his story in his words: School Memories By Keith Schultz The...

In 1950, the Athens Rural High School Alumni began to gather annually. The meeting was sometimes called the “Athens School Reunion” but whatever the name, the group met continually for 42 years. At the 1992 meeting, faced with dwindling...