Elsmore is nestled in the southeastern portion of Allen County.
There isn’t much left in the little town. There is a bar on the west end of what used to be main street. At the other end of the street is the volunteer fire barn and the old community building built as part of the WPA program.
But those still living in Elsmore and the surrounding area and those who attended Elsmore schools have big hearts and believe in helping students with their dreams of attending college or vocational school after high school. I have lived in or near Elsmore my entire life and am proud to be a member of two organizations that continue to give back even though they both struggle to continue in existence.
FIRST, I belong to the Elsmore Community Ruritan Club, an organization that has been in existence in Elsmore for nearly 60 years. It’s part of the national Ruritan organization, a civic service organization made up of local clubs in urban areas, small towns, and rural communities.
The Elsmore Club used to have many members and did lots of wonderful things for the community. The Club still exists, but its numbers have dwindled to fewer than 30 and its current members are getting older. It continues to sponsor Elsmore Day in September, hold community suppers, and run a food pantry for needy families in the area.
But the Elsmore Club is most proud of its scholarship program. The Club participates in the Build Your Dollar Scholarship program with Ruritan National and designates the proceeds of its spring community supper to the Club’s scholarship fund.
With additional donations from Club members to the scholarship fund, seven scholarships were awarded this year to Club members or descendants of current members. Club member Marlee Westhoff was awarded the $650 Build Your Dollar Scholarship, and member Todd Stevenson was awarded an identical amount from Club funds. Kenleigh Westhoff, another member, was awarded $400 with the remaining students – Morgan Gillham, Zachary Allee, Kirsten Hambright, and Nathaniel Stevens receiving $350.
Even with a small membership and limited ways to raise funds, the Elsmore Community Ruritan Club was able to give $3,100 to its scholarship recipients. We are extremely grateful to all those who were especially generous at the spring supper.
THE SECOND organization is the Elsmore Alumni Association. Elsmore High School closed in 1966, and the elementary school closed about 30 years later. The Alumni Association includes all those who attended high school plus anyone who went to elementary school and went on to Marmaton Valley or another high school.
As you can see, the number of alumni is finite and becomes smaller each year as our oldest alumni pass away.
The Alumni Association in 2011 established a scholarship fund. Since that year, scholarships of more than $35,000 have been given to alumni or the descendants of alumni. At the 2026 Alumni Banquet held on May 23 of this year, $400 scholarships were awarded to 17 students for a total of $6,800. These young people have a variety of majors including business, economics, aerospace engineering, health care, and education.
To help fund these scholarships, 29 different individuals or families each contributed $100 or more, and two-thirds of the donors have no children or grandchildren who have been scholarship recipients in the past. The Alumni Association is committed to continuing fundraising for the scholarship fund so long as the Association remains in existence.
With the price of college increasing every year, $350 or $400 may not seem like much. However, we hope that each one of these scholarship recipients appreciates the amount he/she is given.
We are all aware that we are living in tough times – high grocery prices, high gas prices, inflation. But for so many people who live or grew up in or around Elsmore to give money either to the Community Ruritan Club or the Alumni Association so our young people can afford college warms my heart.
There is still goodness in this community, and I am proud to still consider myself part of it.
– Hellen Welch
Iola, Kan.
