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My name is Mark Bureman. Victoria Erbe resigned effective May 14th in order to join her husband in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, where he owns and operates a business. I was able to work with her for her last three weeks, which was a great help. I am very happy to be here. The Leavenworth County Historical Society Museum is a gem among Historic House Museums. It is my goal to make that fact better known.
I earned a B.A. from Park College in History in 1974 and did 40 hours of graduate work at U.M.K.C. from 1984-88. I have served an archival internship at the Kansas City Museum Archives. For the last eleven years, I have been a Living History Interpreter at Missouri Town 1855 and Fort Osage. I have been married to Linda Jaekels Bureman for nearly 26 years and have three grown children and four grandchildren. My hobbies are playing the piano, black powder target shooting, and reading.
I have been warmly welcomed by my coworkers and Board members. I hope to meet and get to know as many Historical Society members as possible in the future. If I can be of service, please feel free to give me a call or pay me a visit.
A hail & farewell party for Mark and Victoria was hosted by Board Vice President, Beverly LaRocque, in her beautiful Victorian home on May 7. As a token of the Board’s appreciation for her year of service, Victoria was presented a framed print of the museum.
The staff wishes to thank Victoria for her guidance, support, and friendship. It was a year of many changes and challenges and her perseverance was appreciated. Best of luck to Victoria and her husband, Dean, and congratulations to them on the news that they are expecting their first baby at the end of the year!
The 1999 Herb Market was a great success! On a beautiful Saturday morning, some 450 people attended this fundraiser. After expenses the profit from the event was $2,302.56. This was $649.44 greater than 1998. This represented an increase in profit of 39%. Kudos to all those who helped in this effort particularly the Herb Market Committee, chaired by Christel Ludwig. Thanks to those who contributed their culinary efforts to the event.
The Collections work of the museum has concentrated on our clothing and textile items. Betty Strand and Sally Hatcher have done yeoman duty in this area. Nettie Graden and Margaret Harding have been working on the archival materials and Debra Graden does the typing. Our collection cataloging is an immense task. Anyone wishing to assist in this meaningful project should call the museum.
Come and see the herb garden west of the Museum in its summer splendor. Beverly LaRoque wishes to recruit new volunteers for the weeding and other related chores. Please call the museum at 682-7759if you can help.
The Museum’s Collection of Everhard photographs is growing. In April, the Board of Directors voted to purchase more than 4,000 more of them. Debra Bates-Lamborn and Connie Parrish picked them up in Chicago on June 14th and brought them to Leavenworth. The new negatives are stored at the Combined Arms Research Library at Fort Leavenworth. Thank you Debra and Connie! The generous support of the Membership and the friends of the museum have made this possible, but proper controlled storage for this collection is needed. We hope that you will continue to support this endeavor with your financial support.
Longtime administrator Brother Robert A. Holt made a visit to the museum and fed the staff and volunteers just before the Memorial Day weekend. He stated that he needed to visit the museum to refresh his memories. He was pleased with the appearance of the memorial ginkgo tree in the front yard, planted in honor of his ten years of dedicated service. We extend our sympathies to Robert and his family on the passing of his aunt, Mrs. Gladysanne Auvil, who members may remember as the creator of many fancy cakes for Living Museum and Appreciation Events.
War to the Knife, Bleeding Kansas, 1854-1861, by Thomas Goodrich is a well-written, well-documented account of our "first Civil War" years of untold ferocity that ranged over the area in which we now live.
In 1854 Isaac Cody staked a claim in the pro-slavery Salt Creek Valley near Leavenworth. He was an outspoken free-stater; no slave in Kansas was his aim. Returning from Fort Leavenworth with his ten-year-old son, he was stopped by a crowd that demanded a speech. They placed him on a dry goods box and demanded he admit he wanted Kansas to be free. He was cursed and knifed in the back. William managed to get his father home. Although seriously wounded, Isaac recovered. William would cry over his father’s pain and wish he were a man to kill those bad men. For Buffalo Bill Cody violence was a familiar part of his early life.
When free-staters rescheduled an election in Easton, the Kickapoo Rangers, a pro-slavery group, rode out to seize the ballot box. As eight of the free-staters headed for home, the Kickapoo Rangers, about thirty men, surrounded their wagon. Reese Brown, their leader, was separated from the others as they were taken prisoner back to Easton. Brown was hacked to death as one Ranger spit tobacco juice in his eyes. These were only two of the many raids, massacres, shootings, scalpings, and battles that occurred in Kansas between 1854-1861. The territory became known as "Bleeding Kansas" as men fought over the issue of slavery. The Atchison Squatter Sovereign, a proslavery newspaper, urged "War to the knife and knife to the hilt. Let the Watchword be ‘Extermination, total and complete.’"
In 1861 an early travelers’ guide to all the states and territories of the United States contained an illustration of both Fort Leavenworth and Leavenworth City. The entry on Leavenworth City is as follows:
"Leavenworth City, on the W. Bank of the Missouri River, the largest town and commercial metropolis of Kansas, is 3 miles below the fort, 37 N.E. from Lawrence, 70 S. From St. Joseph, MO and by the Misssouri River 495 from St. Louis. Several daily newspapers and weekly newspapers are published here. Leavenworth City was founded in the autumn of 1854. Previous to this, it was covered with a heavy growth of forest tres, the hunting ground for the officers at Fort Leavenworth, traversed by wolves, wildcats, wild turkeys and deer. The first building was a framed shanty, erected in 1834, near which is an elm tree, which under the first number of the "Kansas Weekly Herald" was printed, in Sept., 1854. The first printer was Gen. Lucius Eastin, from Kentucky. The first public house was the Leavenworth Hotel: the Planters’ House was erected in 1856. Rev. Mr. Martin, O.S. Presbyterian, was among the first clergymen who preached in the place. Population about 10,000." Volumes of this guide are available at the Museum Gift Shop.
Helena Stonebraker, past Board member of the LCHS, passed away on May 12th, 1999 at Cushing Hospital, aged 97. A Leavenworth native, Helena was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and past state president; a chapeau passe of Leavenworth County Salon 447,8 & 40; VFW Auxiliary 56; a life member of NARFE; past secretary of the Board of Directors of Cushing Hospital; a member of the National and State Republican committees; a lifetime member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church; volunteer for the American Red Cross and Salvation Army. The Society extends its condolences to her friends and family.
| From | For |
| Anonymous | New Vacuum Cleaner |
| Anonymous | Used Refrigerator |
| Anonymous | Garden plants and flowers |
| Mary Chapman | Monetary Gift |
| Brother Robert Holt | Herb Market Funds |
A&E BIOGRAPHY-LEAVENWORTH CONNECTION
A&E will feature a biography on the Bloomingdale family who lived and worked in Leavenworth in 1860-1870. Research for this documentary was provided by the Leavenworth County Historical Society staff and volunteers. Watch for television premiere during last week in July.
| From | For |
| Terry & JoAnn Norman | Ron Mann |
| Terry & JoAnn Norman | Ralph Porter |
| Brother Robert Holt | James E. Fendorf |
| Jess & JoAnn Hendricks | Arthur J. Stanley's 98th Birthday |
| Reed E. Davis Jr. | Peggy Davis |
| Mike & Marti Crow | Sister Thomas Aquinas |
| Val Williams | Donald Delaney |
| Wanda Holder | Donald Delaney |
| Jess & JoAnn Hendricks | Donald Delaney |
| Dr W.L. & Leone Jones | Donald Delaney |
| Helen Hall-Gnip | Donald Delaney |
| Dixie R. Dickson | Donald Delaney |
| Eric & Ann Snodgradd & Anna Holtgraver | Donald Delaney |
| Mrs E. Bert Collard | Donald Delaney |
| Robert & Joanne von Schlemmer | Donald Delaney |
| Stan & Betty Spiewak | Donald Delaney |
| Brother Robert Holt | Donald Delaney |
| William & Liz Dysinger | Donald Delaney |
| William & Elizabeth Dysinger | Helena Stonebraker |
| JoAnn Hendricks | Ruth Stanley's 95th Birthday |
| Leavenworth Garden & Civic Club | Tom Biggar |
| Norrie Beil | Col John Sapp |
| Holly Snyder | James N. Snyder |
Mark Bureman, Museum Administrator
* Grey Ink, Designer
John H. Johnston III, Volunteer Editor
The Historical Society Gazette is published quarterly for members of the
Leavenworth County Historical Society and Museum
Send comments/suggestions to:
[email protected]