Of course, none of us remember, first hand, Bleeding Kansas or the Border War between Kansas and Missouri in the 1850s. Freedom Fest and Grady Atwater and so many people, who care about Osawatomie’s heritage, have been helping to unveil that shrouded picture. But a little background first.

Every Saturday morning of my youth, my mother drove me “downtown” to get my asthma injections, something I had been diagnosed with at the age of 4. Mom’s favorite route to the doctor’s office located in Richmond, Virginia’s historic Fan District – just west of the Virginia State Capitol designed by Thomas Jefferson – took us around two statues on Monument Avenue.

Stonewall Jackson, seated on his horse, faces north with his sword drawn to the sky. Even his horse is raring up in front, as in a vintage western movie. Jackson died in battle, thus his image faces the north. My father once took a black and white photograph of a headstone placed over where Jackson’s arm, lost in an effort to save his life after being fatally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, is buried.

The much larger of the two statues required a round-about, similar to the one north of Paola on Old Kansas City Road, but with two wide lanes instead of one. A somber Robert E. Lee and his horse Traveler face south. Lee survived the war and with his mount returned after the war. Traveler’s head, unlike Jackson’s steed, hangs sadly, representative of the defeat.

One of my earliest pictorial memories was in one of my father’s history books. For some reason I returned time and again to this black and white print of a convicted John Brown being led from his trial. I had no idea at a young age what I was viewing. I just saw sadness. But as I listened to history lessons in school and read about Harper’s Ferry, that image stuck with me.

At Freedom Fest 2010, all of this returned to me more clearly when Florella Adair and General Robert E. Lee shared their stories. Florella Adair, John Brown’s half-sister, said, “John had attained what he wanted,” whereas Lee spoke about how sad the whole series of events from arrest to hanging had been. Keep in mind, Colonial Robert E. Lee had been ordered to arrest Brown. Lee insisted that Mary Brown see her husband one last time before the hanging. John Brown wanted nothing to do with this but relented at Lee’s persistence and allowed Mary into his cell.

Florella described her brother’s mindset, when she said, “John truly loves black folks. He calls them by Mr. and Mrs.” And as hostilities continued after the Battle of Osawatomie in 1856, Florella described more and more about the years 1858 to 1859 and ended each story with the line, “Poverty, persecution, and death.”

I knew those individuals speaking Florella and Lee’s lines were only acting the part but spoken in this manner the words seemed to resonate further, as when Lee said, “My duty was to lend my sword…there were others drawn against…well, Virginia.” I already knew this, but the spoken word in this setting in Osawatomie, Kansas, seemed to offer a deeper understanding on a human level, than a history teacher (sorry to my history teacher friends) telling a class about these things.

What struck me the most under the tent at Freedom Fest? The Civil War had not even begun in the East, but it had in Osawatomie, Kansas and in little places all along the Kansas and Missouri dividing line. I already knew all of this, but something beyond the textbook –costumes and the spoken word – really helped.

Before he knew it, he was in the thick of battle, only to receive a head wound, which sent him to the field hospital. He saw no more action and was sent home on Jan. 20, 1919. Nobody in his family ever really understood what caused the wound, nor did Orr, but when a brain tumor took him in 1940, his family believed, his death had come from that blow to his skull.

The National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial, a Kansas City treasure, gave me a better understanding recently about John Orr, my grandfather, and what he had gone through at the age of 25. Having been dedicated in 1926, this – the only World War I monument and memorial in the United States – was designated a National Historic Landmark and the newly remodeled site was reopened to the public in 2006.

The museum, located below ground level beneath the towering monument, houses artifact both military and personal in memory and exhibit halls or are explained on interactive portrait walls, in art work, in research and education centers, and the state-of-the-art 230 seat J. C. Nichols Auditorium. Howitzers, mortars, airplanes, a torpedo, tank, an ambulance wagon, guns/rifles, uniforms, trinkets, all the necessary items during war time are displayed and easily accessible.

The monument’s tower, open to the public, stands at 217 feet and takes visitors near the top, leaving 45 steps to the viewing deck with a 360-degree view of downtown Kansas City and the surrounding suburban areas.

A first of its kind special exhibit, housed in the Exhibit Hall, called, “Man and Machine: The German Soldier in World War 1” offers a very different perspective from the norm by telling about the war from the perspective of the German soldier. Not only are the expected armaments of war included but personal items like a Christmas cigar box and a stoneware schnapps bottle and glasses.

More telling are the personal messages left by soldiers, such as those left by German soldier Ernst Toller in 1916: “Life is one hell, death is a mere trifle; we are all screws in a machine that wallows forward, nobody knows where to.”

The permanent collection covers the years 1914-1917 and 1917 to 1919. Before getting started with what is an easy self-guided tour, a 12-minute movie explains how this war began. From there, a timeline and section designations guide visitors through this ever-changing war as more and more machinery and technology were developed and used to destroy the enemy.

Three short movies provide time to sit, relax, learn, and reflect. In the glass enclosed Reflection Rooms, real and key voices from the past take the listener back in time. German emperor – Kaiser Wilhelm II; Russian revolutionary – Vladimir Lenin; French General Ferdinand Foch; American educator, lecturer and author – Booker T. Washington; President Woodrow Wilson; actress Mary Pickford; and American flyer Eddie Rickenbacker are among the voices.

The museum makes sure to include the roll of the black soldier, women, civilians, and that of anyone who experienced this war, whether in France or Belgium or elsewhere, while telling the story of every country – 36 in all – that sent soldiers and participated in a global disaster which would be repeated once again in another 20 years.

The intent is to cover the war from first shot in 1914 to first real attempts at peace after 1919 Paris Peace Conference. The loss of this war, particularly hard on German civilians, who had been led to believe propaganda that Germany was doing well with its war efforts. Before leaving the museum, German World War I veteran, Adolf Hitler, reminds us with his words spoken in 1922 about how the German civilian might have felt, when Hitler said, “It cannot be that two million Germans should have fallen in vain…No, we do not pardon, we demand – vengeance!”

Memory Hall looks much as it did when the site was dedicated in 1926 with a listing in bronze of the 441 Kansas City citizens “who died of disease, accident, were killed in action or died later of battle wounds.” Ornate murals, wooden paneling, and gold-star studded ceiling remind visitors how this was once a room designed for “patriotic societies” to meet. Currently on display is a special acquisition display called, “Calendar of the War: Vintage Prints by René Georges Hermann-Paul.” The artist graphically captures the images, events and people during the war.

In the final room of the lower galleries, American humorist Will Rogers in 1929 reminds us, “You can’t say civilization don’t advance, however, for in every war they kill you in a new way,” while an American soldier returning from the war said, “We went to war to save democracy and got back home only to find we couldn’t get anything to drink.”

Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (65 and over) and students (18 plus years with identification) and $5 for youth (6-17). Hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The tower, Exhibit Hall and Memory Hall close at 4:30 p.m.

The Museum is closed Mondays, except for major holidays. The Museum will be open on these holiday Mondays in 2010: January 18 (Martin Luther King Day), February 15 (Presidents Day), May 31 (Memorial Day), July 5, September 6 (Labor Day), October 11 (Columbus Day).

For more information, email info@theworldwar.org, call the museum at 816-784-1918, or google http://www.theworldwar.org.

John Orr’s whereabouts at the St. Mihiel Offensive may be lost to time, but at least I could better understand what a man – I never met – went through on foreign soil. Unable to know exactly what day he was wounded, I do know his 89th Division wore a “W” in a black circle and were known as the “Middle West Division” because troops were drafted from Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado. During their time in combat, they took back from the Germans the towns of Beney, Essey, Boullionville, Pannes, and Xammes all in the Loraine region of northeastern France and had advanced 13 miles.

From the History of the 353rd Infantry Regiment, published in June, 1919, I also know, John Orr went “over the top” at 1 a.m. on Sept. 11. The history reads, “At exactly one o’clock the preparatory bombardment began. More than a million rounds of ammunition were consumed in the artillery preparation which lasted from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. All along the line the sky was lit up with flashes of heavy-caliber guns, distributed in depth for almost ten kilometers to the rear…”

From the displays at the National World War I Museum, I could better see my grandfather in this truly historic and heroic take back and him climbing up and out of the trenches and going “over the top.”

I know what critics say about social networks like Facebook: spending time on a keyboard is instant isolation, your information goes public, cyber bullying and crime’s a constant concern, personality brain disorders, and all that lowered face-to-face communication. But just like anything else, the key is moderation.

Negatives aside, social networking comes with a lot of positive attributes like bringing people together. Yes, I said bringing together.

I enjoy getting to see how hundreds and hundreds of former students are getting on with their lives. When many of those young people walked across the stage at graduation, I felt like my own kids were leaving me. I was the weird teacher, the one who hung around after graduation to offer my congratulations and goodbyes.

Admittedly, social networking works well for marketing purposes. I have two books of my own and one of poems written by my father that I had published posthumously.

But what has been so exciting – thanks to Facebook – of late has been meeting family I knew about but had never met or met briefly years, I mean, years ago.

Cousin Marilyn on my mother’s side and from California (she’s in both my books) just came on board. She has always been more the sister I never had than cousin. This is really something because, when I was growing up on the East Coast, she was in a little town called Morro Bay overlooking the Pacific. Marilyn likes to talk on the phone; I like to communicate by letter/email, thus our keeping up has been extremely sporadic through the years. Facebook changes that. Short chats are now available.

Even better has been getting to know those cousins I have never really known. Ever since my father, his three brothers, and one sister passed on, I have been suggesting in Christmas cards to distant first cousins that we all start talking family reunion. I have first cousins in St. Charles, Ill.; Houston, Texas; Monroe, Wis.; and in Florida, California and Pennsylvania.

Most recently, my St. Charles cousin, Donna, popped up on Facebook. I friended her immediately and began noting young faces with the name Gray in their profiles, as well as a young man I thought was the son of my St. Charles cousin. When I finally had time to ask Donna, she filled me in and my suspicions had been correct.

Donna’s son did Iraq twice, with a sniper team, was in Afghanistan, and now is going to a Harley Davidson motorcycle school in Arizona. His Gray family resemblance is uncanny. The daughter of another St. Charles cousin was also on Donna’s Facebook site. I do remember meeting this young woman when she was about three.

But it has been cousin Ann (second cousin) in North Carolina that I have been chatting with the most often. As far as I’ve always been concerned, her dad has been my long lost cousin. The only time I met Bob Gray was when I was 10. He and his father, my uncle Don, came to Virginia. I have black and white photos of a teenaged Bob and his dad at Mt. Vernon and in front of the Lincoln Monument. Bob was taking the photos that day, while my father shot photos of Bob taking photos.

Since that day, Bob did Vietnam for three tours (from what I have heard) and found work in Pennsylvania. It was his wife, Sandy, who came up first on Facebook and I friended her and then their daughter Ann.

It was on Ann’s Facebook site that I saw cousin Bob for the first time since 1962. Ann has a college (University of North Carolina) aged daughter and one in high school. I have already been able to offer a few suggestions and put the college daughter in touch with someone knowledgeable about her field of study, marine biology.

The point is simple: I am in touch with people I figured had dropped off the face of the earth. And even better yet, my dream of a “cousins reunion” just might still be possible. Not everybody is on Facebook, but the chances of coordinating a get-together just jumped higher on the possibility scale.

All of this made possible by social networking.

As for me, I’ve sure felt the newness of the school year. So far, I have subbed at Osawatomie Middle School (English), Fontana Elementary (first and second graders were being tested), and Spring Hill High School (P.E). I’ve already been scheduled for days at Parker Elementary and Prairie View Middle School.

I mention the locations because I tend to head out to jobs with my camera and reporter’s notebook in my truck. Plus, I come prepared with laptop, if I find any spare time, and can write stories. In every building in each district, my nose for news is ready. You just need to let me know what is going on.

Teaching may no longer be my full time vocation, but some weeks it comes in close once the year gets rolling, and I love it. Teachers and their students need recognition, and I enjoy writing about what they are doing in the classroom, the gym, on the playground, off for field trips, in the kitchen, on the school buses and in the board office.

When I taught journalism at Paola High School, the slower times came along and my young writers complained about having nothing to write. “What?” I responded to their surprise and followed with,

“You can find stories anywhere. Just go poking around! There are stories in every nook and cranny of this building.” At least I tried to be convincing knowing I really wanted to be snooping out those stories myself and often did, even if the young journalist had the pleasure of running off to interview and take pictures.

In my new post-teaching career, I have the best of both worlds. Subbing places me in grades one to 12, and I am able to write those stories my kids could never seem to find. But with me bouncing from one district to another and busy in the classrooms from here to there, I may miss something.

This is why I need help. This includes parents, too, and not just the teachers and school staff. I keep up with school calendars, but parents may realize your student or students have been talking about something pretty cool they have been doing in class or will be doing. Just let me know, and someone from the Osawatomie Journal can stop by.

If I have a sub job, I will contact Jeff or Doug or Jeremy or Kristen. We will have you covered!

Loss of the beautiful trees appeared to bother more people than did the inconvenience, but trees have been replanted and will grow. Of course, many business owners and shoppers had a problem with birds and bird droppings in the old trees. Would this be taking a little bad with the good, when the trees reach maturity and the birds return?

I remember sitting in city council meetings from the earliest streetscape discussions and listening to stories about the rains and what a quagmire Osawatomie’s downtown was turned into the last time you redid the downtown block. This time, the city played it smart. Only one side of the street was torn up at a time and put back together before tearing into the other side. Smart. Real smart city leaders!

The previous street redo saw the contractor tear out the whole street and then the rains came down and continued. This time, rain did not seem to be a problem, even though it wasn’t a dry summer until recently. I could be wrong, but I also know the city worked hard to maintain communication with the business owners.

With the big warm weather functions, really big deals like the Osawatomie alumni celebration , Railroad Days, and the John Brown Jamboree, the city managed to make it all work. Congratulations city leaders and workers. Now with the Freedom Festival coming up in September, this city really has something to show off, even if John Brown Memorial Park will host main events.

After what, I’m sure, the city leaders, local business people and those who frequent the downtown saw as five very long months, it still appears to have gone amazingly smoothly. I know there had to be inconvenience. I truly understand. My wife and I were out of our own house for eight months during our restoration work. I can tell you, though, just how worth it all of that sacrifice was.

This evening, everyone in Osawatomie and surrounding areas are invited to attend the plaque dedication ceremony at 6 p.m. at city hall located at Fifth and Main Streets. Mayor Phillip Dudley said the ceremony will be brief, but will include recognition of a monument with a plaque denoting the date and people involved in the project.

Invitations have gone out to the Osawatomie governing body, the Osawatomie city employees, Miami County Commissioners, the BG Consultants (project designers), the construction company, press, Osawatomie Chamber members, and, most importantly, the community at large.

So if you have a few moments this evening, just drop by city hall. After all, this one went right and finished on schedule just for those people who make up the community and the city called Osawatomie.

Currently, Webster is reading the novel, Forbidden Treasure by Jackie Dalton, which Webster hopes will keep their interest. “Even though I spend the first half hour reading the newspaper and talking about the news, they look forward to each book we are reading. They really like the Nancy Drew books, and we recently read a Bobbsey Twins novel,” Webster said.

Even though there are a lot of good books out there today, Webster said, her listeners prefer older books. “They like the stories they remember from their own childhood. Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins never lose their appeal,” Webster said.

Daniel Boone, who is from La Cygne, said he likes the reading time. “Helen’s a good reader,” he said. Boone said he is also a fan of Talking Books but that this is better to have Helen here to read.

Osawatomie’s Julie Bacon picks up the newspapers before coming to work, she said. “I really like going in Moon’s on my way to work to get the papers,” Bacon said.

In the Osawatomie Journal, Webster reads the “Down Through the Years” column. “They really like to hear what things were like and what was going on 100 years ago,” Webster said. “And, one of these days, I need to bring the Paola, Kansas 150 Year Timeline history book. The Indian tribes and where things were located interest them,” Webster said.

Not everybody in the Retirement Room moves over to the news or the novels, said Webster. “Some like to watch the Price Is Right. Or play Bingo. Bonanza is on right now. This Friday they are going to the boats, to the Argosy Casino,” Webster said.

Karen Tatum, retirement activities specialist, said Webster has several important duties she performs daily at TRI-KO. “Our clients in the Retirement Room really enjoy her reading to them. But Helen also spends time in the morning helping them with their exercises. She is really a big help,” Tatum said.

Walking down to the cul-de-sac in the cemetery is something they all like, Webster said. “And besides it provides not just exercise but fresh air,” Webster said.

Webster said Daniel is very good at playing Wii bowling. “Daniel’s blind, but you should see him. He’s fabulous,” Webster said. One time a staff member was watching my game, said Boone. “She said, ‘Are you sure you can’t see that screen?’ You do pretty well,” Boone said. “I said, ‘No I can’t.’”

Playing music during their exercise time is fun. “We like to play the song, ‘The Twist,’ on the CD player. Sherry Post likes to do the twist. I will say, ‘Shake your booty, Sherry.’ And she does. They also like to dance to the Hokey Poky,” Webster said.

Boone said they really like to walk and have participated in 5Ks. “Daniel and Jennifer Wiley, who is from Spring Hill, walked the 5K at Osawatomie’s Railroad Days,” Webster said.

Webster said she will help with the exercises by reading and sharing news, and in the afternoon helping in the sheltered workshop, where wage-seeking clients participate in contract and piece work for vendors. “I keep active in this room,” Helen said, “helping where I can.”

Assisting in the workshop, she said, is important and necessary. “I help with projects, to see that it is done right. Or make sure the count is right. But what I like most about this is being able to encourage them along the way,” Webster said.

Ginger Baird, a support services specialist, said not everybody in the retirement room is of retirement age. “But they can come here because they may not be working. We normally have about 20 who come here. This gives them a place to rest, and they can still have ongoing activities if they like,” said Baird.

Webster received her orientation training this past March and began at the TRI-KO facility in April.

Frankie wrote:  “Kind, shy, quiet, and very loyal. You had a dry sense of humor and were ‘on the wild side’ and always ready for something different – always questioning things and authority: REBELLIOUS!!!”  She ended her memory with a telling statement: “You were hard on yourself and did not believe in Kevin.”

Oh I did, alright, but I had to be turned loose first to pursue my life and allowed to do my own thing, whatever that might be.  Only then could I feel confident in myself to find something that smacked of success.