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History of the house
The Fort Scott downtown area is seeing new life.
Already approximately one dozen buildings have been purchased by new buyers and are being or have been renovated in the last few years.
Judy and Jerry Witt, who sold their suburban home and moved downtown to an apartment at 9 Main Street, have also purchased a building in the back of their living space, located at 20 N. Scott Avenue.
The purchased building has 1,812 square feet on each floor and was built in 1880 as a harness shop, Jerry said.
“Harnesses were put on horses to pull wagons,” he said.
“It’s the small building north of the Courtland Hotel,” Judy Witt said. “It was formerly owned by Jim Shoemaker and before that, it was a coffee shop.”
“I wanted to preserve it,” Jerry Witt said. “I wanted to see renovations on Scott Avenue.”
“It was basically in good shape,” Jerry said. “We finished the downstairs area; redid the bathroom and put new cabinets in.”
“The upstairs has a commercial kitchen,” he said. “Three sinks, a double oven, and a range.”
“We hope to have an area for a small business on the lower level,” Judy said. “And an apartment upstairs.”
“The idea is someone could start a business downstairs and live upstairs,” he said.
“I’d like to see something like an ice cream shop or popcorn,” he said. “To serve the visitors to the fort (Fort Scott National Historic Site).”
The building will be for rent, when the reno is completed, which should be the end of the year, he said.
Jerry and Judy moved downtown last year.
“We have a front door on Main Street and a back one on Old Fort Boulevard,” he said. “I talk to a lot of visitors to the fort and find out where they are from.”
Old Fort Boulevard is directly in front of the national historic site.
Jerry said he is enjoying living downtown.
“We are part of everything going on,” he said. “And it’s close to restaurants. There is always something happening. It’s beautiful and peaceful at night.”
“I have my rental office in the front room of my condo,” he said. “It’s the only one-story building on Main Street.”
The Witts own three businesses on North Main Street that currently house Audette Davis’s beauty shop, Mary Eastwood’s upholstery shop, and Stacy Gooderl’s healthy living store, he said.
This week Mid-Continental Restoration Co. of Fort Scott was working on the front side of the building at 20 North Scott Avenue.
“They are doing siding, awnings, painting, and bringing the brick back to life,” Judy said.
Jonathan and Yadira Barbosa, Mapleton, thought for a year about opening their food truck, Los Tres Pollitos.
Yadira’s homecooked meals have been enjoyed by many people, Jonathan said.
“When my brothers come for hunting, they seemed to enjoy it,” Jonathan said. “And we have done a fundraiser for a local church.”
They have been stationing the food truck in Bronson on the weekends when it works with his business schedule, he said.
“We are positioned at the old gas station on Hwy. 54 in Bronson,” he said. “The property is owned by the Perry’s of Perry’s Pork Rinds.”
They also do catering.
“We have also set up at the Uniontown Elementary School for their in-service for teachers (in October),” he said.
To discuss the catering menu and prices, please call one month in advance at (620) 215-4247, he said.
“There are lots of options and pricing would depend on what they would like,” Jonathan said.
The Barbosa’s are a busy family, Yadira is a full-time mom to the couple’s three children and is pregnant with their fourth child.
Jonathan owns a fencing company, and also is a sub-contractor for a Kansas City company that sets up in-ground swimming pools, he said.
Yadira is Lupe Santana’s sister, who owns the La Hacienda Restaurant in Fort Scott. The brother and sister are from central Mexico.
But they decided to launch their new business, a Mexican food truck, called Los Tres Pollitos Mexican Breakfast and Street Tacos on October 9, 2021.
Their offerings are Mexican breakfast burritos and street tacos made with chicken, steak, or chorizo.
They have three types of homemade salsa. and also offer chicken or cheese quesadillas.
“All homemade, just like you would get off the streets of Mexico,” he said.
Noble Health Corporation announced yesterday that in the near future they will be deciding whether it is feasible to reopen a hospital at the former Mercy Hospital facility, according to Rob Harrington, Director of Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Inc.
“There will be two more meetings with the (Bourbon County) Commission and then they will begin talking with the public about the outcome of the feasibility study,” Harrington said.
Noble Health Corp. announced in June 2021 that it would explore the possibility of reopening the acute care hospital facility in Fort Scott, according to a previous press release from the corporation.
The corporation, a Kansas City company, engaged in a cooperative agreement with Bourbon County to conduct a feasibility study that could lead to the reopening of the former Mercy Hospital building, located at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd., according to the press release.
The building is located just off Hwy. 69 on Fort Scott’s south side.
Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closed in December of 2018.
Since that time Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas has leased a portion of the building, and Ascension Via Christi Hospital, Pittsburg, has leased the emergency department. Those leases end in December 2022. Fort Scott Community College has leased the western part of the building for student housing.
To view the prior features on Nobel Health in Fort Scott:
As You Are Ministries is a ministry started by Mayra and Jose Montanez, owners of the Fort Scott Barber Shop.
“We were led by God to not only bring this ministry here but also to move here along with our kids and grandkids as well as our barbershop,” Mayra said. The family came to Fort Scott earlier this year from the Kansas City area.
The ministry will provide faith-based community services such as clothing, shoes, hygiene products, food, and hot/cold beverages to those in need.
And they have much bigger plans for those people who are down and out.
“We will also be building two bathrooms with showers for anyone in need of one,” Mayra said.
The ministry is headquartered above their family business, Fort Scott Barbershop, 118 E. Wall.
The next step will be to create a healthy-food pantry, in collaboration with local farmers, she said.
Then they plan to build four family bedrooms for anyone needing a place to sleep or stay until they can be placed in a more permanent situation or program, Mayra said.
The ministry started at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.
“We quickly realized that people were desperate for hope and encouragement,” she said.
They started on social media.
“Every Sunday at 7 p.m., we would log in to our Facebook page ‘As You Are Ministries’ and give a word of encouragement to all that would log in.”
“Through our online videos, so far we have reached 15 countries,” she said.
They began to give out Bibles.
“Quickly noticing many people didn’t have Bibles, we started offering free Bibles, of their choosing, and would mail them to them,” she said. “We’ve currently given out close to 100, (with the) price ranging from $40-$100. It’s always what the person chooses, as long as it is Christian-based so that we can be in one accord.”
“Our Facebook page is public, anyone can see it and our goal is to reach all those in need of encouragement,” Jose said. “But the faith-based community service is for Fort Scott.”
The Montanez’s attend Faith Church and go to Bible studies with one of their groups on Mondays, he said.
The family had a setback when money was stolen from them recently.
“Our funds were stolen from our home about two months ago and we are currently in the process of saving up money to put in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system and bathrooms,” he said. “The community has donated randomly so far $1,075 to help with the money stolen, we are so appreciative of that”
The Kiwanis Club of Fort Scott Pioneers’ donation of a handicapped swing placement in Gunn Park is nearly completed.
“The one-size-fits-most swing offers a unique opportunity for area children and families to engage in healthy outdoor play together and help youth to develop a variety of physical and social skills,” Kellye Collins, spokeswoman for the club said.
The location is north of Shelter House No. 3 near the big lake, she said.
The name of the project is the Joyce True Memorial Project for Children, and sponsoring in addition to the club, were the City of Fort Scott, the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation, the Kansas Kiwanis Foundation, along with the friends and family of Joyce True.
“The project began with the passing of longtime Pioneers club member, Joyce True in July 2019,” Collins said.
“There will be a dedication of the swing in the spring of 2022,” she said. “We hope the city will have completed the landscaping by then.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time.
“This project honors Joyce while fulfilling the Kiwanis mission to serve children and the community,” Collins said.
To view a prior story on the swing:
Pioneer Kiwanis Initiates Collaboration For Community Friendship Swing
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation (FSACF) was launched in August 2007 and serves all of Bourbon County as a partner and resource to non-profit organizations whose goal is to improve the quality of life in our area.
The foundation presented the yearly awards at an After-Hours Chamber of Commerce event, hosted by Landmark Bank on November 4.
Thanks to the generosity of area donors, this year the foundation presented awards to 15 organizations totaling $40,345.
The foundation received 24 qualifying applications requesting over $89,000, Greg Motley, a member of the board of directors, said.
The following is a photo of representatives of the recipients receiving their awards.
The Beacon received $3,000 to upgrade and expand nutritional food items.
Special Olympics of Kansas recognizes the accomplishments of those with intellectual disabilities and received $500 toward that effort.
The Uniontown Saddle Club was approved a $4,000 grant to bring electricity to the recreational vehicle area to facilitate overnight camping at the club’s arena.
The Gordon Parks Museum received $3,000 to bring a professional dance group from Kansas City, the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Alley, to the museum’s planned Martin Luther King Day.
The Food For Kids program provides weekend meals for chronically hungry school children and the foundation presented a $3,000 check to the Kansas Food Bank Warehouse.
The First Presbyterian Church Ramp Pack received $2,500 to build wheelchair ramps to homes of needy Fort Scottians.
The City of Fort Scott and the Kiwanis Club of Fort Scott received a grant to plant new trees in the community, in the amount of $1,000.
Bourbon County Court Appointed Special Advocates received $4,500 to facilitate training for new volunteers and ongoing education for staff.
The Christmas in the Park event will be in Gunn Park this year, thanks to the foundation’s $1,000 grant award.
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta organization and the Bourbon County 4-H Clubs partnered to receive a $2,500 grant to spruce up the Cloverleaf Event Center at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds and buy some picnic tables.
Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries received a $2,000 grant to fund transportation services, identification documentation, shelter during extreme weather, and space heaters for those in need.
Care to Share, a support organization for those with cancer, received a $3,000 award to ease the financial burden for patients and their caregivers by providing transportation, house cleaning, yard work, meals, and any other personal needs while the patient is focused on the cancer battle.
Winfield Scott Elementary School first grade teachers will use their $2,500 grant awarded to familiarize students with local resources through trips to businesses, non-profits, and government locations to build backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math and also help students become community-oriented.
The Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce received a $4,000 grant to upgrade the Christmas decorations for the downtown area.
Fort Scott High School Choir Director Whitley Chesney received $3,845 to purchase appropriate attire for performances at concerts, no matter what the student’s economic status.
Ed Townley, Olathe, has purchased the former Books and Grannies store at 11 N. Main, in Fort Scott’s Historic Downtown.
“I bought it with ideas in mind, but that is ever-changing,” Townley said. “At the current moment, I may finish remodeling and rent it out for a few years.”
Local realtor, Barb Albright with H and H Agency, handled the sale of the building to the family.
“I bought rental houses and recently sold those and I always wanted a business downtown,” he said.
“I have lifelong friends from Fort Scott,” he said. “Jerome Mitzner and Brian Love, along with Al Metcalf.”
He and his wife, Susan, own an independent insurance adjuster business, he said.
“We have a side business of antiques in Johnson County,” Townley said.
They are looking forward to moving to Fort Scott, although at this point it won’t be until his youngest daughter graduates, and she is currently in the eighth grade, he said.
The overwhelming amount of books in the former bookstore were consolidated and sold to a company.
“The fastest and easiest way to liquidate the books was to have a company do it,” he said.
Then he had a clean slate to see what he purchased.
What he purchased at 11 N. Main was 1700 square feet with doors to both Main Street and Skubitiz Plaza.
“The front and back doors are appealing,” he said.
Townley has repainted the original ceiling tiles, is working on new flooring and a restroom will be added.
The family worked on a Christmas display on November 6 to spruce up the storefront for the upcoming annual holiday shopping event on November 11-13, sponsored by the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce and businesses.
“We did a vintage Christmas display, to give (the storefront) a little personality,” Townley said.
Following the completion of work on the first floor, the family has the upstairs to renovate.
There is an apartment on the second floor that is the whole length of the store and the family has a goal of making that into a living space, he said.
“Native plants are best since that is what supports pollinators in their natural habitat,” Bowman said. “They are much lower maintenance due to their long roots and require less water than non-natives and thrive in less than ideal conditions. Each species of butterfly has a specific host plant as well. Monarch’s host plant is milkweed which serves as the only food source for Monarch caterpillars. It is important to have diversity in nectar plants for different bloom times so pollinators will have nectar throughout the entire season.”
Gardening is something Bowman enjoys.
“When we started this project the main goal was to create more natural habitat space free of pesticides in otherwise unused space to support pollinators and encourage more native plantings in our community,” she said. “Native (plant) gardens are not only beautiful- they also serve a purpose.”