Across the Globe: Kansas to Switzerland

  CCRS Intern McKenzie Combes, graduating in May with a dual major in history and parks and rec (historical interpretation focus), visited Onaga Historical Society recently. She worked with Debbie Berges (in sunglasses) and Linda Tessendorf  to track information about an early women’s baseball team, the Onaga Bloomer Girls. Debbie and Linda contacted a historical society member now living in Switzerland!  He was able to send McKenzie some additional information about the baseball venue in Onaga — the stock fair grounds.

Chapman Center intern, McKenzie Combes, with Onaga Historical Society President, Linda Tessendorf, and member, Debbie Berges

    McKenzie’s project this spring is on the interesting diversity in rural Kansas baseball teams, circa WWI. She is investigating African-American players and teams as well as female teams. Her project poster, as well as three other intern posters on bootlegging, settler-railroad conflict in 1870s  southeast Kansas, and a vanished African-American town in Wabaunsee County are on display in Chapman Center. Come check out this interesting research during our Open House, Thursday, April 19, noon-4, and Friday, April 20, 11-4.

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What Goes ‘Round, Comes ‘Round: A Family Connection

Natalie and Zachary Smalley

Natalie Smalley and her son Zachary, from Altadena, California, visited the Chapman Center on March 12 to chat with Dr. Morgan. Natalie Smalley is the granddaughter of long-time Wabaunsee County resident Ethel Morgan. In 2010, CCRS intern Lorraine Reimers researched and wrote a study of Ethel Morgan, known as an important historian of African-American families and their experiences in this area. Ethel was also an expert quilter, honored in a 1985 Manhattan Mercury article by Mike Dorcey, “Quilting Stitches Ethel’s Life Together.” She also was the subject of several Wamego Times articles.

Lorraine Reimers’ work was one of the first CCRS projects on local and regional African-American history, a focus of the Center’s student research since the first internships were awarded back in 2009.

Find Lorraine’s bio-essay, “Ethel Mae Morgan:  An African-AmericanBiography, Wabaunsee County, Kansas, 1898-1989,” posted to the K-REX digital scholarship collection in Hale Library. Natalie Smalley and her son were familiar with Lorraine’s essay and wanted to visit the Center as a result.  In the fall of 2018, Zachary, great-grandson of Ethel Morgan, will become a student here at K-State.

 

The Chapman Center Welcomes Their Spring 2018 Research Interns

The Chapman Center introduces you to the Spring 2018 interns. Read on to find out more about these students and the research they will be conducting during their internships. 

Nathan Anderson

My name is Nathan Anderson and I am a Junior Studying History and Economics at Kansas State University and I intend on going to Law School following graduation. I was born in a small town in South Western Missouri, Buffalo, and I was raised there for 10 years until my family moved to Kansas City. I was first exposed to The Chapman Center for Rural Studies in my history 300 class, that I was lucky enough to take with Dr. Morgan. Through my immersion in local Kansas History I was able to develop a paper that went on to be Published by The Kansas Kin. At Kansas State University I am a proud member of a couple groups on campus. I proudly serve as the chapter president or “A” of the Kansas State Chapter of the Delta Chi Fraternity, I am also a member of the Economics Club. When I graduate from K-State I want to be able to look back at the positive impact I made on the University, the local community, and my fraternity chapter. At the time when I graduate, I wish to attend George Washington Law School in Washington D.C. and pursue a career in governmental law.

McKenzie Combes

My name is McKenzie Combes and I am a senior earning a dual degree in History and Park Management and Conservation. I changed my major three times before finally deciding to study something I actually enjoyed. That decision stemmed from my passion for history and a love of the outdoors. At K-State I worked as a processing assistant in the Department of Special Collections and played on the club softball team for a couple years. Right now I work as a tutor for K-State Athletics. Hobbies of mine include reading, cooking, archery, and hunting. This semester I am researching baseball in rural communities with special interest in a game that was played between a local Manhattan team and the Kansas City Monarchs.

Nate Ernst

My name is Nate Ernst, and I am majoring in Kinesiology with a concentration in Biomechanics.  I plan to graduate in May 2019, and then pursue a Ph.D. in Biomechanics.  I transferred to Kansas State after suffering a career ending injury at Kansas City Kansas Community College, where I was a member of the baseball team.  However, I have rehabbed my way back, and am now a member of the Kansas State Club baseball team.  Baseball is unquestionably my favorite, but I also enjoy playing disc golf, snowboarding, fishing, and long hiking and camping trips in the mountains, essentially anything that will get me outdoors!  I am not the typical Chapman Center intern, in fact, I have only taken one history class before this.  Last fall, I enrolled in Lost Kansas Communities with Dr. Morgan, and absolutely loved it.  The class was a blend of my two favorite things, research and helping others.  So I am thrilled to be here and continue to uncover forgotten history from the best state in America!

Bidding Farewell to Familiar Faces

It is with mixed feelings that the Chapman Center family prepares to say congratulations and farewell to the Center’s December 2017 graduates. Taj Brimmer and Bradley Galka will receive their degrees during this week’s commencement ceremonies, December 8^th and 9^th, 2017.

Taj Brimmer, a senior in Public Relations with a minor in Leadership Studies, has been with the Chapman Center for three years. As a student office assistant, she served as a social media specialist in promoting the Chapman Center and its important work to KSU and the community. Brimmer also contributed to several of the Center’s signature projects, including the Going Home Exhibit that garnered national recognition.

Taj’s leadership and commitment to excellence extends beyond her work with the Chapman Center. She has been a leadership force on KSU’s campus as President of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and VP of the Black Student Union. She has received several awards including the 2017 Dean of Students Most Outstanding Senior Award. We are so proud of her and wish her the best on her postgraduate endeavors.

Bradley Galka will receive his Master of Arts degree in History (his thesis “A Business Plot in the American Press” is a scintillating read). Brad has been a staple of the Center since joining the team in spring 2016. He is the Assistant Editor for The Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy as well as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Department of History.

Brad has accomplished a lot during his time at the Chapman Center. Recently, he contributed his research and writing skills to a World War II memorial commemorating the service and the lives of Riley County veterans. He was also an indispensable member of the Going Home Exhibit team.

Check out his Graduate Spotlight piece in the Archives: https://enewsletters.k-state.edu/history/2017/09/26/graduate-spotlight-brad-galka/

INTRODUCING: Chapman Center for Rural Studies Interns

We are beyond proud to introduce our 2017 – 2018 interns! Below you will find a little more information about these amazing and hardworking students:

   Darren L. Ivey

Obviously, I’m older than the average intern. After a lackluster first attempt at college, I went on to work in the food industry, construction, factory work, and professional firefighting. I returned to college four years ago, and plan to graduate next year (I don’t recommend the 30-year college plan, by the way). My wife and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary earlier this year. We have three sons, two of whom have left the nest. The oldest is married, but there are no grandkids yet. In the field of history, I have written two non-fiction books, the second of which will be published in October. I’m also preparing articles for submission to Great Plains Quarterly, Montana: The Magazine of Western History, and Kansas History. In addition, I publish a “Historical Artwork of the Week” post every Sunday morning on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DarrenL.IveyOfficial/) that discusses a specific painting and the history behind it. I have ideas for 25 more books and three articles, all concerning nineteenth-century American history (Civil War, Texas Rangers, the Indian Wars, and lawmen of the Old West). My future career goal is to find employment as an archivist at a historical archive, hopefully somewhere here in the Midwest. This coming semester, my project will be a study of the civilian scouts employed by the U.S. Army in the Plains states in the 1860s and 1870s.

 

  Molly Black 

My name is Molly Black and I am a sophomore in History at Kansas State University. I was born in Lafayette, Indiana, but have lived in McPherson, Kansas for the past 11 years. I am an avid music listener, adventurer, and lover of the arts. My entire life I have been fascinated with stories: theatre, books, movies, etc. When it boils down to it, my love for history stems from my love for both stories and people. In the future, I would love to work in Public History. My dream at the moment is to work in a history museum in a large city. At K-State I am involved in the orchestra playing my violin, as well as taking private lessons. In addition, I am a part of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and am involved in the Ichthus campus ministry.

 

  Macy Davis

My name is Macy Davis and I am a junior majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in mass communications and journalism. I’m currently serving as President of Alpha of Clovia 4-H Cooperative Leadership house, and I compete on the K-state forensics team. As a book lover, it should come as no surprise that my favorite hobbies are reading and writing, plus I spent this past summer as an intern at the Young Readers Center in the Library of Congress. As a western Kansas native (I’m from Scott City), I have an affinity for windswept prairie and sunsets over farm fields. I look forward to writing about western Kansas this semester as I work on a research project about sense of place, potentially through the angle of the moving window.

   Morgan Fluker 

My name is Morgan Fluker, and I am from Valley Center, Kansas.  I am a senior in Anthropology this year with a focus in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnohistory. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, writing, and going on road trips, especially to museums and festivals.  My project for the Chapman Center will be focused around the Kanza Indian tribe and their use of natural resources in and around waterways in Kansas. The project will be to produce an original map of the known resources and trails. After graduation in May, I hope to continue my education in graduate school focusing on Cultural Anthropology or Museum and Heritage Studies.

 

History of Kansas FFA, rural life being preserved with help of Kansas State University undergraduate researchers

The Chapman Center for Rural Studies, in Kansas State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, has received a $2,000 gift from the Kansas Association of the Future Farmers of America in recognition of the work of undergraduate student researchers about rural life in Kansas.

Manhattan FFA members assisting with hybrid corn tests in 1944. From left are Bill Hosier, Wayne Roesener and Clifford Barry.

Katherine Sundgren, a junior in history, Leonardville, is digitally preserving a collection, including newspaper clippings, that documents the history of the FFA back to 1928 in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the organization.

Center director Bonnie Lynn-Sherow, associate professor of history, was first made aware of the collection in the spring and decided that it was the perfect project for a summer intern.

“The history of the FFA is integral to both the history of Kansas agriculture and Kansas State University,” Lynn-Sherow said. “The collection highlights the work of young adults dedicated to agricultural leadership, and whose stories feel simultaneously foreign and intimate to our current student interns.”

The Chapman Center provides undergraduates with hands-on training in valuable professional skills such as accessioning, digital preservation and even film editing.

The FFA hopes to make these digital resources openly available to the public through a web-based exhibit about the Kansas chapter.

“I was a part of my high school’s FFA program for four years,” Sundgren said. “It’s nice being able to help preserve a long tradition for future generations to enjoy the rich history that surrounds the FFA program. I’ve seen how important it is to many members of my community and I’m glad that my work here helps keep the tradition alive.”

“As we look forward to the 100th anniversary of FFA, the Kansas chapter is excited to partner with the Chapman Center for Rural Studies in collection and documentation of the rich history of agricultural education,” said Mary Kane, who is with the Kansas FFA Association.

The large collection includes hundreds of photos, handwritten and typewritten meeting notes, scrapbooks and even film reels that have not been seen for several decades.

Nelson D. Galle, a Kansas State University alumnus and former chair of the Kansas Board of Regents, served as Kansas FFA President from 1953-1954.

“The partnership between Kansas FFA and the Chapman Center for Rural Studies is exciting as many of the foundational events of the association are due to the commitment of rural Kansas schools,” Kane said. “We are excited with the capacity of the center to make accessible the documents and archives of our history.”

The FFA’s partnership with the Chapman Center is the one of many digital projects the center is engaged in or has completed since 2007, including commercial collections, oral histories, museum collections, slide and film collections, postcard collections and several important family collections that Chapman students use in their published research.

“It’s definitely a win-win for everyone,” Lynn-Sherow said. “Organizations and individuals feel good about preserving the past, while our students gain an appreciation of our collective responsibility to share those stories. They learn to work with and rely on others for the greater good. I can’t imagine a better learning outcome than that.”

Written by

Katherine Sundgren
ksundgren@k-state.edu

Welcome our New Spring 2017 Interns

Join us in welcoming two new Spring 2017 interns to the Chapman Center for Rural Studies: Rachel Hein and Shaun Knipp!

Rachel Hein

Hello, my name is Rachel Hein. I am a junior at Kansas State University majoring in history and from a small town in Kansas by the name of Andale. It is in Sedgwick County, which is northwest of Wichita.

When it comes to books, movies, or television shows, I will read or watch almost anything. I’m an avid reader and Netflix watcher. I love how a person can get lost in a good book or TV show and – for a moment – feel like they too are a part of that scene.

I also like to travel to new places. My siblings and I like to travel to state and national parks around the United States. My favorite – at the moment – is Zion National Park in Utah.

My project will focus on the material history of artifacts from Diamond Springs, Morris County, Kansas. I will also do an oral history with a long ago resident of Diamond Springs and owner of the project artifacts.

After I graduate, I hope to move to graduate school and onto museum work, possibly as an archivist. I am stoked to be an intern for the Chapman Center for Rural Studies. I look forward to making new friends and gaining more knowledge of what it really takes to be a researcher.

Shaun Knipp

Shaun Knipp is our next Chapman Center “first-semester intern.” He is a senior studying secondary education with an emphasis in social studies. He will student teach this Fall semester.

He will be working on a project detailing the history of a local ranch. Shaun will piece together the public records and genealogical ties related to the property and figure out the role the ranch played in the shaping of the Flint Hills community.

He will also conduct several interviews with people in the surrounding community. Shaun will also develop his skills with photography and drones as well as video editing. He will also learn to incorporate GIS information into the project.

He is extremely excited about this opportunity knowing he will employ this experience into his future classrooms!

You are welcome to drop in and meet the interns and staff of the Chapman Center for Rural Studies!