Newsletter

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Traveling along Co. Rd. 5 a short distance north of The Boling Grange Hall, a popular place in 1956,
where high school students from the region gathered on alternate Saturdays to dance, you come to a
cross road, Stranger Road. Look East a very short distance and you can easily see an unpainted
dilapidated building. It seems to be a miracle that the building continues to stand in such poor
condition. Personally, I paid little attention to this structure, but I had noted it, but I was not aware of
what this structure represented. THIS STRUCTURE IS THE LITTLE STRANGER CHRISTIAN
CHURCH.
Little Stranger Christian church was formed by members of the Farley, Mo. Christian Church. It
seems that many of Farleyʼs faithful members moved to Kansas in 1858 and began meeting in an old
log school house near the ghost town of Little Stranger. The town of Little Stranger is located some
distance west of where the present church is located.

It is speculation, but this migration from Missouri to Kansas and the county of Leavenworth probably
was the result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act whereby the state of Kansasʼ fate as to being a free or
slave state would be left to the people living in the state. Almost over night people from Missouri
migrated to Kansas to establish a voting present for slavery.
In 1868 the congregation moved to where this building is now located. Land was purchased for
$30.00 and nearby cottonwood trees provided the lumber. A small cemetery just west of the church is
still seen. It has been said that wagon ruts could be seen on the southwest corner of this land, where
people traveled from Leavenworth to Santa Fe, New Mexico and to Oregon.
George Washington Seymour and his wife are buried in this cemetery. During the Civil War his
family drove a wagon to Texas and New Mexico hauling provisions. He buried a son along the Santa
Fe trail and on his last trip he was attacked by Indians. A relative of his told me that he accidentally
shot himself with a pistol and smoked his pipe while the Dr. (without anesthesia) removed his leg. He
apparently was upset at his son who was playing with a pistol. He took the gun away from his son and
rapped the pistol on a hard surface. It went off and he lost his leg.
The church struggled during WWI as membership declined. In 1875 an epidemic of small pox took
many lives. During the severe flu epidemic of 1918 the church was asked by the State Board of Health
to close. It did and never reopened as a church. Sunday school was held until the 1940ʼs and a 4-H
club revitalized it, and used it for a meeting place, but today the church building struggles to exist, but
does exist, weathered, suggesting extensive history and memories long lost.

This year the Tonganoxie Community
Historical Societiesʼ annual chili feed will be
on Feb 16, 2012 at the Methodist Church.
This annual event is well supported by the
local community.
Connie Putthoff, who directs this event,
supplies the following information about what
is needed in supplies and help:
Tickets will be available in January.
28 people to bring two pies each.
10 people to cook 10 lbs. of ground beef.
8 people to donate 2 lbs. of carrots cut for
relish dish
8 people to donate 2 bunches of celery for
relish dish.
5 people to donate 12 c. potatoes cubed for
soup.
6 people to donate 3 c. carrots ready for
soup.
10 cups celery ready for soup.
10 cups cabbage chopped for soup.
Workers needed at 8:30 AM
4 men to set up tables
Workers needed at 10:45-2:00
1 person to prepare carry outs.
1 person to make & serve coffee, tea water
1 person to serve chili.
1 person to serve soup
1 person to cut pies
1 person to sell tickets at door
1 person to take tickets and start serving
line.
4 people to set and bus tables
1 person to be tray helper.
4 people to wash dishes
Workers from 2-7 P.M.
1 person make and serve coffee, tea and water.
1 person to serve soup.
1 person to serve chili.
1 person to cut pies.
1 person to sell tickets.
1 person to take tickets at start of serving line.
4 people to set and bus tables
1 tray helper
4 people to wash dishes
CLEAN UP CREW: The more we have the
faster it will go for all of us.
P L E A S E S I G N U P B Y C A L L I N G
9 1 3 - 6 6 9 - 5 5 3 8 O R E - M A I L a t
conputt@sunflower.com
Please do the above so that Connie doesnʼt
have to call you!!!
Connie will be handing out tickets at the
Jan. meeting. If you cannot be there to get
them call Connie at the above number, and
Connie will mail them to you.
You may also pick up the tickets at her
home.
After serving many years as president of
TCHS, Connie has stepped down and did
not run for this position. Her steadfast and
reliable work ethics in this position, as well
as other jobs that she has participated, have
always been greatly appreciated by this
organization and those around her.

Christmas Holidays at TCHS

This years Christmas celebration (Dec. 13, 2011) at The TCHS site was exceptional. The
planning of the activities and the organization of the “finger appetizers” by the members
demonstrated that parties are fun.
Santa Clause arrived and the children in attendance were excited to meet the
gentleman in red. I wasnʼt sure where he left his sled, but I think it was a new model with four
wheels and a gasoline motor.
Probably 30% of those in attendance, including the children, were guests of TCHS.
Ellen Bottorff once again provided piano music with her hands and fingers flying over the 88
keys, and singing was led by Bill Peak and Jim Stuke. Many old Christmas Carols were sung,
some were actually close to being in key. Bill Peak had printed many copies of Carols to sing.
You can see from the photos below how much fun and celebration was the result.

TONGANOXIE COMMUNITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP
by Kathy Peak

Dues for the 2012 year are due this January!!
Bringing together those people interested in history and especially in the history
of Tonganoxie and the surrounding community!
Our mission is to collect, identify, record, preserve and display materials which will help to
establish and illustrate the history of the greater Tonganoxie community.
Having a large and active membership is the strength of any non-profit organization. Certainly
dues and donations from paying members are important. But without a core of reliable and
responsible active members to provide the leadership and carry out the mission, the
organization cannot survive. Without a pool of willing members, growth may not be
possible and the continued existence of the organization may be at risk due to attrition.
There is a very significant role for those members who may not or can not be operationally
involved.

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The Museum Directorʼs Corner
by Susy Ross

Jenny Alden has installed PastPerfect 5.0
onto all 3 of our computers. This updated
version of PastPerfect was purchased by
funds from the Leighty grant. Three staff
members can now enter artifact and
membership information into the program.
Other staff members can now browse and
research our collection. However, the
program is only as good as the information
programmed into it. Our goal is to enter as
much information about every artifact that is
possible. This may seem l ike an
overwhelming task, but little by little it is
being accomplished.
A recent donation is a scrap book
documenting the history of he Tonganoxie
Township Fire Department in Reno given by
Richard Ogden.
Third graders from Tonganoxie
Elementary School and Genesis Academy
have been to the Site on different dates for
history lessons. These lessons include a
one room school experience, Native
American history or pioneer travel, old
fashioned games, an introduction to the barn
artifacts and a tour of the museum. Peachez
Joles has coordinated this function for the
past two years. Thank you, Peachez!
Our annual festival- “Back in Time” will be
April 28. Besides a vintage quilt show and
an old fashioned lunch, there will be a
mountain man encampment, Civil War reenactors,
womenʼs skills, childrenʼs chores,
childrenʼs games, horse drawn buggy rides,
a n d p o s s i b l y a Na t i v e Ame r i c a n
encampment. We are need people to help
make bonnets for this event. This event has
been a huge success for several years.

Itʼs in the Museum
1. CD of Dr. Larry Deaton, Ed.D., graduate
of Tonganoxie High School, 1957 on
“Celebrate”. a speech suggesting that one
also looks for the small things to
celebrate. Presented during Chamber of
Commerce award to Helen Shilliing.
2. CD of Dennis & Mary Mat thews
presentation on Quilts.
3. CD on Quilt history by Vera Reynolds.
4. CD by Fred Leimkuhler on Mrs.
Stansfield, Chief Wolf Robe and Amos
Wickersham, bur ied in Wi ldhorse
Cemetery.
5. CD on Charles “Charlie Brown” , noted
ventriloquist who lived in Tonganoxie, KS.
by Fred Leimkuhler.
New Videos available for viewing
in the museum
Connie Putthoff, Kathy Peak with some input
from Perry Walters are in the process of
interviewing local people to record their
personal recollection of history in and about
Tonganoxie, KS. Three Videos have been
completed to date.
1. Bud Laming discusses Laming family,
origins from England, Local telephone
company and Red Star Farm
2. Wm Leland Freienmuth discusses early
Freienmuth family, local mill ca.1900ʼs,
Many Oaks and orchard. WW II and early
radar development, schools and his work
with electronic and guidance systems.
3. Don and Bo Himpel discuss early family,
life on Stranger Creek, school, work in the
family and various businesses.