Allen County’s Conservation District celebrated its 75th anniversary with a look at Kansas history during its annual meeting Wednesday evening at the Bass Community Hall.
Awards and a meal were sponsored by Landmark, Community National and Great Southern banks. Sam and Helen Rife, rural Mildred, were recognized for soil and water conservation, Craig and Sussie Sharp, rural Humboldt, for grassland management.
Jeff Davidson, a water resource contractor from Eureka, entertained with commentary and songs, some from his pen, about early days of the state. He was named Kansas cowboy poet champion in 2013.
Davidson pointed out the Santa Fe and Oregon trails both crossed Kansas to connect people and trade goods with Santa Fe, N.M., and the Pacific Northwest in the decades immediately preceding the Civil War.
The Pony Express also had a strong presence in Kansas, from the start of its 1,960-mile journey in Missouri to Sacramento, Calif., carrying mail for $5 a piece. Record delivery, of Lincoln’s inaugural address in 1861, covered the distance in seven days and 17 hours.
Advent of the telegraph soon brought the horse-and-rider express to an end. An aside that drew notice from the audience was that one rider was just 11 years old; the oldest 43.
The Civil War involved Kansas, in some respects before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, S.C.
“Violence started in Kansas,” Davidson said, with bloody confrontations in border skirmishes with Missourians, Lawrence being the flash point.
In concession to humor, Davidson mused that Lawrence celebrates the Quantrill raid on the football field every fall. “I went to K-State,” he said.
The Homestead Act of 1860, which gave settlers 160 acres to develop, encouraged people to flock to Kansas, which then was the gateway to the West. K-State opened in 1863 as the state’s land grant college, meant to give farmers a leg up with the latest information on crops, tilling and other aspects of agriculture.
“One Sky Above Us,” a song Davidson wrote, talked about treating all people the same, including Native Americans who were pushed from their homelands during U.S. expansion.
