Newsletter

FunHub Lives Up to its Name at Museum

Over the course of the last several months it has twice been the pleasure of the museum to host parts of FunHub events. The FunHub is a collaboration between Winfield Public Library, Winfield Recreation Commission, Arts and Humanities Council, The Marquee, the 4-H Extension Office, and the museum. They are focused on providing a safe and affordable place for children to spend their days when the school is closed but most parents are still at work.

Two different events, one during the Thanksgiving break and the other on a teacher in-service in February, brought kids to the museum this winter. During the first the museum board, staff, and volunteers presented scavenger hunts, and an opportunity to interact with bygone technologies to the attending youngsters. While at the second the museum played host to a group of 4-H presenters who taught kids about agriculture and food sourcing in Kansas. Both FunHub events were well attended with approximately thirty children participating in events throughout town.

Grant First Step to Museum Expansion

“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” While I doubt Colin Powell had county history museums in mind when he spoke of dreams his words still apply to us. It has long been a dream of the Cowley County Historical Society Museum Board of Directors to transform the freestanding kindergarten building at the museum into an interactive display space focused on educating children. This year the first steps to reach that dream have been taken.

In November the museum applied for, and in February was awarded, a grant from the Kansas Preservation Society to help preserve the Bryant School’s kindergarten building. Over the years the original foundation stones that support the building have begun to sink at an uneven rate. This has caused some damage to the building, damage that would only have gotten worse. The awarded grant will pay for the majority of the work of replacing the building’s foundation while maintaining the building’s historical accuracy.

Meet Adi

Hello! My name is Adi Pemberton and I am the new intern who works on Saturday for the Cowley County Historical Society Museum! Thanks to the Legacy Foundation Grant, I am able to be paid to work and learn at the museum! Some more facts about me are that I am a freshman at Southwestern College, I am getting my major in Health Sciences and my minor in Psychology, I am a part of the Southwestern College women's soccer team, the leadership team, and I am a part of the honors program! I am so thankful to have this opportunity, and I cannot wait to meet the members of the community! Thank you so much!

Youth Organizations of Cowley County Opens!

The new year has brought with it a new exhibit at the museum. The display committee worked together with volunteers from our community to gather materials to showcase the great organizations that helped raise children throughout the history of Cowley County. Highlights include great displays from the Boy Scouts, 4-H, Cowley Youth Choir, and a wall dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the United States. Continuing our ongoing partnerships we also received materials from Winfield Arts and Humanities Council and Winfield Public Library. The museum actually received more items for the new exhibit than we had room to put out.

The new exhibit is up all year in the main display room of the museum and replaced the previous exhibit “Gone but Not Forgotten” from last year. We hope you take the time to come by and stroll around the room and down memory lane if you were part of any of these great groups.

The museum thanks all those contributed materials as well as time putting this exhibit together. From items, to articles, pictures, shadow boxes and everything in between, we had so many items brought in that we had to return some to their origins. More of a community exhibit could not have been possible.

Another Successful Celebrate Cowley County Day Event

On Saturday, March 7th a crowd gathered at Bayden Square to celebrate the history of Cowley County. Approximately 100 members of the community came together to hear highlights from the new Celebrate Cowley County History Book and pick up their copy of the new edition.

Bill Mueler presided over the event where three papers were presented to the gathered mass. Sharon Taylor presented on the history of nursing education in Winfield, followed by Gary Learned presenting on the early aviation history of Arkansas City, and Chris Jarvis concluded with a presentation on “Operation Rusty.”

Robert and Mary Hartley were honored for their contributions to preserving Cowley County history. Also Kent Melcher was in attendance representing Private John Eckes Camp #10. The Library was setup to demo and acquaint visitors with some of their research resources., and a table was also manned selling not only the new book but older volumes and museum ornaments. All involved have remarked on the success of the event despite the delay forced by bad weather in February.

Volunteers are the Key Components to Museum’s Success

Do you ever look closely at a mousetrap? Can you imagine one in your head? The wooden base the whole thing sits on, the spring-loaded cross bar, the trigger, can you see them? Most of us just think of the snap, the loud part. It is the same with the museum. A few events and people get noticed because they are loud and stand out. Just like the mousetrap though, there are other bits that are vital to the function of the whole.

There are a quiet group of folks that you will find around the museum that are much like those other parts of the mouse trap. They are not loud, or flashy, but without them the museum would not function. There are three people that are key to the work of our museum, and if you are heavily involved with museum projects you know who I am talking about. While we do get occasional volunteers from the area colleges, students completing service hours for course work or scholarship requirements, there is a small core that you will see nearly every week at the museum.

Gary Learned— The museum’s tech guru also helps with exhibits. Here he is seen hanging items for the new exhibit.

Becky Metz — A researcher of great value to the museum. Don’t tell her we published her picture.

Eliza Ward — One of our student volunteers. The museum is a nice place for students to get in community service hours.

Lou Tharp & Rosalind Barney - Lou is the backbone of our archival efforts. She has recently recruited help from Roz with some organizational tasks as well.

The Civil War Veterans that Built Cowley County and the Organizations that Honor Them

Monday, February 16th found Kent Melcher presenting, “A Silent History: Civil War Veterans Who Built Cowley County” to Museum Friends in the main display room of the museum. Kent shared how Cowley County quickly became a destination for many Civil War Veterans after the war ended. Many of those were Union Veterans who were engaged in a variety of occupations and started many businesses. They formed the Grand Army of the Republic organization to support each other sponsoring many reunions and patriotic events through the years. The presentation was entertaining and educational to the group of over 40 people in attendance.

Also covered was the modern day organization Kent is part of the leadership of. Today the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War continues to carry on the legacy of the GAR. Kent shared information about the Cowley Chapter of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, Private John N. Eckes Camp #10 and how the chapter came to be named after the Eckes.

Future 2025 Spring Events

“70 Years of Winfield Recreation Programs” Monday, April 20th at the museum
“Building the Winfield City Lake” Monday, May 18th at the museum
Watch for more details on our “What’s It Worth” and “Farmyard Olympics” Events

CCHSM Board of Directors

Jonathan Leeper, Bill Mueller, Vice President Sharon Taylor, Joe Chrisman, Chris Jarvis, Graham Donals, Secretary Jody Lawrence, John Baker, Treasurer Karen Vann Young, Becky Winblad, Cindy Goertz, and President Julie Mignone

Commemorative Bricks

We partner with Dawson Monument to engrave bricks, which are for sale, and make great memorials and also support the museum. The bricks border the walkway from the parking lot to the front steps. To purchase, forms can be found on the table by the books for sale or call 620-221-4811.

There are three levels of donations: Flat red brick with 2 lines of 12 characters -$75 donation. Flat red brick with 3 lines of 12 characters -$100 donation.

A contrasting brick with 12 characters-$500 donation.

Fewer letters may be used if you wish.

Established in 1931 and revitalized in 1967 with a relocation to our current home on Mansfield Street in the historic Bryant School building, the Cowley County Historical Society is dedicated to safeguarding and sharing the vibrant stories of our county’s past.

We are committed to fostering and promoting endeavors that celebrate local history. We take pride in our extensive archive of historical documents and treasured photographic memories.

Come visit and see what’s new (or old) at the museum!

All donations, both monetary and historical artifacts, are greatly appreciated. Our building is over 140 years old and requires significant ongoing maintenance in addition to operating costs. We continue to be a no fee museum and we have no plans to change that.

Your continued support will allow us to best serve the community.
We are especially seeking anything from diverse ethnic groups to add to our displays.

These businesses support us—won't you support them?

(We hope to add more during the coming months.)

Cowley County Historical Society Museum is funded in part by the taxpayers of Cowley County.