RCNews Jan 8 09
Featured in the August 24, 1939 issue of the Enterprise is an advertisement for an 85-page illustrated booklet on “Historic Hays” by W. A. Hill.  Does anyone have a copy of this booklet?
 
Mike and Mary Beth Peach, Zach and Brendon, spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in La Crosse at Don and Helen Peach's.  Also there were Charles and Helen Petrik- Manhattan, Amanda Petrik-Topeka, Don, Susan, Elliott, Clark, and Nolan Peach-Elbert, Colorado, and Ron Peach-Kansas City, MO.
 
Christmas Sunday guests of Lucy Vogle and Mary McCormick were Lance McCormick and Garrett, Jeff and Julie McCormick and Grant, Dan and Kim Townsend, Megan and Jacob, and Mark McCormick, Hannah and Luke.
 
Brad Lovitt attended the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona Dec 31st, - - - KU vs. Minnesota.  He said the crowd was mostly for KU so he fit right in.
 
Congratulations to San Diego Chargers Saturday on their overtime win over against the Colts.  I was sent a die cut window film Charge emblem from niece Kathy Hurd.  It is in my north window.
 
Babe and Arlene Gilbert were supper guests of Bill and Sharon Lovitt in Ransom Saturday evening. 
 
Priscilla Jacobs attended her grandson Jaden Jacobs 22nd birthday on December 31st in Wichita.  She motored to Pratt on Friday where she attended funeral services for Ray Ford, brother of Eunice Oller and uncle of Lola Rixon. 
 
January 8, 2009 News
 
Birthdays:
 
January 8, Bob Foster, Randy Taylor, Stuart Clancy, Jeffrey Anderson; January 9, Jason Casey, Alana Rogers, Clinton Kershner, Robert David Bisagno; January 10, Rachel Grumbein, Brad Pfannenstiel, Linda North, Terry Showalter, Angie Tomlinson; January 11, Hailey Clancy, Joyce Eisenhour, Amber Georg, Cody Pfeifer; January 12, Tony Harp, Terry Don Doerr; January 14, Maggie Elias.
 
Anniversaries:  January 12, Roger and Brenda Legleiter; January 14, Tim and Stacy Rues, Kellye and Sandy Irvin, Brett and Holly Gilbert.
 
Pauline Keller of Lyons, Kurk and Vickie Ackerman from Tulsa, were killed in a crash in Wichita.  Pauline was an aunt of Barbara Baus.
 
Obituaries in Vol. 111 of the McCracken History for 2006 are Katharen L. Rodeman, Gerald Hinman, Phyllis L. Green, Ben S. McCaskey, Lewis Cass Green, Shirley L. Robinson, Lloyd W. Ludlow, Charles Goetz, Jack Paul Wilson, Travis C. Peters, Rosalee Reeves, Arnold C. Carpenter, Jimmie Lee Swartz, Catherine ‘Katie’ Klee, Joann Mausolf Cooper, Gertrude Frances Healy Campbell, Bernice Rollins, Dorothy Lubbers Ikenberry, LuAnne Scheideman Mathias, Mary Zeller Graham, Daniel G. Conner, Helen Schwartzkopf, Irene C. McGaughey, Irene Boucher, Wilbur R. Brack,, Patricia F. Casey Harman, Robert J., ‘B. J.’ Wilson, Francis Schlitter, Rose Showalter, Kenneth L. Mills,
Joseph W. Jennings, Lenora B. Schuckman, Duane Guy, Beulah Irvin, Marjorie Scheuerman, Fate Moses, Cecil Phillips, Erma Kraft, Shirley Sunley Peterson, Vic Higgins, Edna Grumbein Wardlaw, Karen Brenner Becker,
 
Go Chargers:  Darren Sproles was a big part of their win against Indianapolis.  Fred Erker, who was recently here hunting, taught Darren in Junior High School. 
 
Michele, Jason and Marge Moran had Christmas Day dinner with John Ellen and Josh Moran in Great Bend.  Saturday everyone was in McCracken for Christmas.  David, Stacy, Nick, Zach and Abby Moran, Wichita; Clark, Nicole and Madison Kirk, Burrton; Michele and Jason Moran, Rush Center and John, Ellen and Josh Moran, Great Bend.
 
The weekend before Christmas, Wilfrid and Twila Higgins were in Lyons to be with Doug and Mary Higgins and family.  Saturday after Christmas guests of Wilfrid and Twila were Doug and Mary Higgins, Mike and Nancy Wiebe, Rich and Mary Lou Higgins, Brett and Dezmond Higgins and an exchange student from Germany who lives with the Doug Higgins family.
 
Betty Fear attended Christmas Eve services at the McCracken United Methodist Church with Carol Weber, Kelly and Christopher.  They then went to Carol’s.  Callie and Brian joined them.  On New Year’s Eve Carol came to Betty’s house.
 
Father Kenny called Jim Schafer and said Msgr. Leahy is getting frail and is now in a wheelchair.  They still take him to daily mass.
 
News from Treva:  Christmas eve Bryan and Treva Berquist, Anna and Audra, spent with Verlene Wilson. Others there were Clayton, Kizmin and Gunner Wilson, Grandma Lydia and Kenny Schoenberger.  Christmas day, Verlene hosted the Schoenberger Christmas in her new house. 
Anna and Audra Berquist  and Bryce Strickland stayed with Don & DeAnna Berquist so Dana, Patrick, Bryan and Treva could go to Denver to see the Detroit Red Wings play the Avalanche...Detroit lost in OT....  The Bergquist Christmas at Don & DeAnna's was on Sunday the 28th.
For New Year's Eve, the Berquists went to Clayton & Kizmin's.  They had a party in his new shed. The night started out with a scavenger hunt...it was a blast!
 Bryan is now on his way to Minnesota - .he will get back on Thursday long enough to wash laundry and re-pack to attend a fair convention in Topeka with the Trego County Fair board...on Monday, we are flying off to Jamaica for 5 days...mom is keeping the girls....whew!  The New Year is off to a BANG!!!! Hope yours is too!  -- Thanks Treva.  Hello to Verlene, we miss you.  Know you read The Rush County News from cover to cover so hope you enjoy this.
Items from Christmas letters:
Del, Roz and Patrick Bethke are still living in Shawnee and are fine.  JoLynn and Adam live in Denver, Dan and Jessica lives in LA.  Del and Roz hope to be grandparents in 2009 as Dan and Jessica are adopting.  More when this happens.
Laura North Martin spends many days quilting and embroidering.  She had a booth at a boutique mall in the Fall.  Her husband Ronn traveled to Albania with Campus Crusade for Christ.  Sarah and Aidan attended camp at Tabor College in June.  That is where Ronn and Laura attended college.
Judy Hinman, wife of the former Gerald Hinman, writes that she helps out at her granddaughter’s school each Wednesday.  Melissa is five. Melissa is Robin’s daughter.  She hasn’t seen any Hinmans for awhile so she would like to come for Rodeo weekend sometime.
Allan Miller, former professor at Fort Hays and now at KU, said he visited with the Baldwins recently about Mr. Barnard.  Allan wrote the Yankee on the Prairie book.
Mark and Sharon Miller, former teacher, still live at Lake Wabaunsee.  Mark retired in January and Sharon retired in July.  Their hobbies are gardening, landscaping, carpentry, scrap booking, photography and embroidery.  Kaye Marie Nelson, born June 3, is their new granddaughter (Klara’s daughter).  She lives in San Antonio so they have visited Texas several times this year.
Patrick and Betty Keener are thankful to have the Mark Keener family back in the States. Patrick and Betty help out at Brooke Gardens with the potting and retail seasons.
Wayne Irvin will definitely be back for his class reunion in 2010, but it is possible that he and friend Miki will come this year.  Miki is from Osaka, Japan but has been living in this country since 1965.  I would like to ask who taught Wayne to write in grade school – it is a challenge to read his letters, but they are very much appreciated.
Sure enjoyed the collage of pictures of the Rues family.  What a neat idea.  Everyone is included – even the dog, horse and turtle.
Rev Leonard Goosen writes that Gwen is still in Birmingham, Alabama working at a Hospice Hospital and enjoying her work very much.  He sent a wonderful Christmas Guidepost booklet.
Mildred Liebold, sister of the late Father Russell Simms, is still living in Fort Myers, Florida.  She keeps the picture of our Nativity Set at St. Mary’s on her bedroom mirror.
Ruby Myers keeps track of McCrackenites through the Rush County News. 
I also had cards from Philena Baus and Frances Janke.   Please remember all our shut-ins with cards on Valentine’s Day.  Those at the Rush County Nursing Home are Katherine Ryan, Nap Derr, Frances Janke, Lydia Schuckman, Icis Eisenhour.  Grace Thompson is at Long Term Care at the Rush County Memorial Hospital.  I’ll remind you again the first of February.
Everyone in the country has new 911 addresses.  Ben and Margaret Brenner have one on West Ness County Line Road.  McCracken is nearly on the east end of Ness County roads.  I understand however that the Fed EX trucks don’t like the numbers as there are too many numbers and their system won’t accept it.
McCracken History Notes:
January 1879
In the year 1878, the Kansas Pacific Land Department sold 220,427 acres of land.
January 1899
J. M. Hastings bought the Forbes place near Hampton from J. W. Richardson.  The price paid was $1200.
January 1909
The Fairview basketball team was in town Saturday afternoon looking for a game, and claim they had a challenge with the McCracken girls which they failed to accept.  The town girls say they could not bring their players together until late, and they were not by any means afraid to meet the Fairview girls in combat.  This is the story from both sides of why a fierce battle did not occur.
 
McCracken farmers shipped over two hundred cars of wheat this year, placing the average at 1250 bushels per car, which is low, it will be seen that this place has shipped 250,000 bushels at an average price of 75 cents per bushel.
 
January 1919
G. W. Farwell has an eye tester and a good stock of gold eyeglasses.  You can test your own eyes free of charge at any time.  Gold filled are $3.00 and white metal $2.00
 
January 1929
The new 1929 Kansas license tags are orange with black figures.
 
January 1939
Charlotte Jennings, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Jennings, Coloraado Springs, became the New York’s bride of Mr. Lee Hopper.
 
A copy of the ‘Horse and Buggy Doctor’ by Dr. Arthur E. Hertzler was received at the library this week.  Miss Inez Showalter is the local librarian.
 
January 1949
Joe Gaschler has accepted a position with the O’Loughlin Motor Co.
 
January 1959
Karen Scheideman and Kenneth Weissenfluh were married at the Congregational Church in Manitou, Colorado on Sunday.  Happy 50th anniversary.
 
Coach Joe White’s McCracken team opened their home basketball season with the contest played in the new gymnasium in the High School.
 
Winter began in earnest this week when sub-zero temperatures, high winds and snow added up one of the coldest spells in the county for many years.  The bitter cold continued Sunday with the lowest recording of -18 degrees.
 
January 1969
Mr. and Mrs. Elmore Ryan returned Friday from Miami where they attended the Orange Bowl events during New Year’s week.
 
January 1979
John Zeller, Bill Greenway, Chris and Jerry Brackney and Francis Wierman helped fill an old basement on Locust Street as a PRIDE project.
 
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Jay Georg, a daughter, Amber Lea, in Great Bend.  Happy 30th Amber.




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