By Jeff Gulley Angela Kline has witnessed a lot of changes in her 33-plus years at First Option Bank. Hired to be a secretary for Ted Lewis in 1977, Kline has witnessed the banking industry evolve with technology and her career path advanced also as she will retire next week from her position as vice [...]
By Jeff Gulley Steve Benner was thankful his wife Dixie and her two sisters had not yet arrived in New Zealand when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake ripped apart Christchurch on Feb. 22. The earthquake, the second to rock New Zealand in less than a year’s time, killed at least 103 people and injured hundreds more. [...]
By Jeff Gulley Trojan Elementary students had heard the message before about the state assessment tests. Eat a good breakfast, take your time and do your best. But when that message was delivered by former Kansas University basketball player and world champion NBA player, it may just have sunk in a little deeper. Jayhawks great [...]
By Grady Atwater Anna January worked to preserve Osawatomie’s history and heritage from 1898 to 1946. Anna January taught locally for three years before marrying D.A. January in 1901. Anna January was driven, ambitious and community minded, and the Western Spirit reported on March 22, 1946 that “Mrs. January did not confine her talents within [...]
Kevin Gray A few weeks ago, I posted my Philmont Scout Ranch group picture taken in 1967. Almost 15, I found myself in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northeastern New Mexico, along with ten other Boy Scouts, one leader – all of us from Virginia – and our guide, an Explorer Scout. In the [...]
By Jeremy Gulley On January 18, 2009, the day before his inauguration as President of the United States, Barack Obama spent time painting the walls of a Washington D.C. area teen homeless shelter called “Safe Space.” The shelter houses troubled teens, runaways and other at risk youth, but was in desperate need of renovation. “Currently, [...]
By Doug Carder Leadership, teamwork and community service were recurring themes throughout the Kansas Association of Youth’s Unit Conference on Friday at Osawatomie High School. About 200 students from 15 area high schools attended the conference. Students heard K.A.Y. chapter presidents talk about their clubs’ activities, and were entertained by Osawatomie students Lee Chamber and [...]
By Shirley Erickson 100 Years Ago BIG MIDNIGHT FIRE FLAMES SWEPT THRU LOWER END OF BLOCK ON WHICH CHAMBERLIN BROS LIVERY BARN WAS LOCATED Destroyed Livery Barn, The Sherman Restaurant, And Building Occupied by W. L. Bundy’s Grocery. Also Fire in North Part of Town Caused By Sparks A great big blaze has cleaned up [...]
By Doug Carder Mike Peace’s Osawatomie Elks Lodge brothers thought he was squirreling around when he proposed a new hunting tournament. But they soon realized their exalted ruler was pulling out all the stops to ensure the first Osawatomie Elks Squirrel Hunting Tournament was a success. “I think more people laughed about it than took [...]
By Doug Carder Three people have died in two separate accidents that occurred on the same stretch of road just minutes apart at dusk Thursday in the southwest corner of Miami County. A 2005 Cadillac with two women was southbound on U.S. Highway 169 when it slid on the icy roadway, went down an embankment [...]