|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Category Archives: Fort Scott
Peerless Expands In Fort Scott
Peerless Products, Inc. , 2403 S. Main, is currently working on an expansion of its Fort Scott facility.
Fort Scott is not only the home office of Peerless Products, but where the company was founded in 1952, according to Allyson Turvey, Fort Scott Community Development Director.
“Our most recent employment numbers, which were updated in Dec. 2019, show Peerless had a total of 410 employees in Fort Scott,” Turvey said. This makes Peerless the city’s largest employer.
“The impending expansion here in Fort Scott just goes to show their continued commitment to our community,” she said.
” We don’t have a lot of details at this time,” Turvey said. “Over the last couple of months, they have been working on rezoning and annexing… lots into city limits.”
The rezoning of the property was on the Fort Scott Commission agenda for Jan.5, 2020, and was approved. The business expansion required rezoning from commercial to industrial.
One parcel is to be annexed into the city limits, one is outside the city limits, according to the request for commission action presented at the commission meeting and provided by Turvey.
“(Fort Scott Economic Director)Rachel Pruitt has been working closely with Peerless on this project and has helped facilitate the rezoning and annexation of the property,” Turvey said. “This expansion has been on the horizon for several years, and she has helped every step of the way.”
The Bourbon County Commission approved the zoning change on Dec. 8, 2020.
FS Commission Work Session Jan. 12
The Fort Scott City Commission will meet on Tuesday, January 12th, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Meeting Room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas to hold a work session to discuss the 2021 Capital Improvements and Financial Resources available. This meeting is open to the public, but no action will be taken.
TIMKEN Job Fair Jan. 7-8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Presentation Explores Emancipated African Americans’ “Free State” Experiences and “Systemic Racism”
Gordon Parks Museum at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, KS will host “Free Did Not Mean Welcome,” a presentation and discussion by Carmaletta Williams on Monday, January 18 at 12:00pm virtual on Zoom.
Members of the community are invited to attend the free Zoom online program. Registration is required. To register for the free webinar Zoom event go to: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8vOjMtI4QuWHcPs6IsMz3g.
Contact the Gordon Parks Museum at 620-223-2700 for more information.
The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.
Millions of African Americans walked away from the South after Emancipation looking for freedom. For some it meant a journey to Kansas, a “free state.”
Discover how many realized that for Black people in Kansas “Free” did not necessarily mean “Welcome.”
Also learn more about “Systemic Racism” that still exist in today’s world and how it impacts our daily lives and also what we can do as a society to help to eliminate it.
Carmaletta Williams is a former professor of English and African American Studies at Johnson County Community College. She is now the Executive Director of The Black Archives of Mid-America.
“Free Did Not Mean Welcome” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Movement of Ideas Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and workshops designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.
For more information about “Free Did Not Mean Welcome” contact the Gordon Parks
Museum at 620-223-2700 ext 5850 or visit http:www.gordonparkscenter.org/
About Humanities Kansas
Humanities Kansas is an independent nonprofit spearheading a movement of ideas to empower the people of Kansas to strengthen their communities and our democracy.
Since 1972, our pioneering programming, grants, and partnerships have documented and shared stories to spark conversations and generate insights. Together with our partners and supporters, we inspire all Kansans to draw on history, literature, ethics, and
culture to enrich their lives and serve the communities and state we all proudly call home. Visit humanitieskansas.org.
Local Author, Brian Allen, Speaks on His New Book “Murder and Mayhem” Jan. 9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chamber Coffee at Moe’s Bread on Jan. 7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winter Beauty
Submitted by Jennifer Addington.
Fortscott.biz readers are invited to send photos of scenes or events for consideration of publication.
FS City Commission Meets At City Hall This Evening at 6 p.m.
The City Commission will meet at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room for their meeting at 6:00 p.m. this evening.
Fort Scott City Commission Special Meeting Jan. 9
The City Commission will meet for a special meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 9th, 2021 at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. The City Commission will meet to interview candidates for the City Manager position. The City Commission will recess into Executive Session for these interviews.
This meeting is open to the public, but the Executive Session is not.
Ninety-one Year Old Former Fort Scottian Fulfills Lifelong Dream
One 91-year-old man is not letting age stop him from fulfilling a life-long dream.
A former Fort Scottian has published a book, In His Own Words: The Harold Hughes Story.
“The book is co-authored by my father, Russell Wilson,” said Connie Wilson. “He is a robust 91-years-old and he and my 91-year-old mother live in the house they have lived in since 1964 in Des Moines, Iowa.”
“It was a lifelong dream to write a book so that others could know the man he knew so well,” his daughter said in an email.
Wilson was friends with and then worked for Iowa Governor and U.S. Senator Harold Hughes for years, he said.
“Hughes evolved from a troubled alcoholic to become one of the most respected, effective, and humane political leaders in the United States,” Wilson said.
“I write to you because I think some folks in my hometown who remember me or know about Hughes’ legacy might
be interested in knowing about the book,” Russell Wilson said in an email.“During my time as a pastor at the Church of God in Ida Grove, Iowa, in the 1950s, I met Harold Hughes and we began a lifelong friendship.”
In 1964 Wilson was asked by then-Governor Hughes to work on the Iowa Board of Control for State Institutions.
“I worked with him for four years in that capacity and we remained friends until his death,” Wilson said.“It has been my longtime dream to write a book revealing the character of this man as I knew him.”
Russell Wilson’s Remembrances of Fort Scott
Russell Wilson sent memories of his life in Fort Scott.
His parents were George and Ina Wilson, and they lived at 124 North Broadway.
“I went to Eugene Ware Grade School and graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1947, as well as attending a few classes at the community college,” Russell Wilson said in an email. “My
contemporaries would know me as ‘Guss’ Wilson.”
His parents were born and raised in Fort Scott, and Russell and his sister, Jeanette, were raised here as well.
“My maternal grandparents, Chick and Sadie Riley, were also born and raised in Fort Scott, as was my paternal grandmother, Clara Wilson.
“Chick (also called Jessie) ran the barbershop on the main street. My father’s sister, Gladys Wilson, also lived in Fort Scott and was married to District Judge Harry Fisher when she died.
“My dad was a pressman at Standard Advertising and also worked for the local Heraldette newspaper.
“My mom also worked for those businesses and ran a letterpress that imprinted fans and other advertising products.
“My oldest daughter is a graphic designer and inherited their love of printing. When my mom was almost 100 years old Connie would take her to the printer just so she could smell the ink on the presses. Mom said it brought back wonderful memories of her days in the print shops in Fort Scott.
“For a few years, my mom ran the Country Kitchen Restaurant on the east end of town. She made the best curly french fries! Some folks might remember the restaurant and the fireworks stand and carousel that were next to it in the summer.
“My folks were lifelong members of the Church of God.
“Growing up I remember a lot about the Frisco Railroad and it was a big part of my life. We lived at 125 North Broadway, about a block from the roundhouse. As a junior in high school, I worked as a crew caller on the railroad. From 10 pm to 6 am it was my job to wake the crews and let them know when their trains were scheduled to arrive or leave. I also sold magazines and candy bars to the soldiers on the troop trains during WWII.
“I went to Fort Scott High School. Some of my contemporaries might remember me as Guss Wilson. I had a dance band called the Guss Wilson Band and I played football during my senior year. And I remember spending a lot of time in the summer at the local swimming pool.
“I remember the Fort. In fact, a photo that my mother gave to the current museum of my great grandfather as a soldier on horseback provided the dimension reference needed to determine the correct measurements for the horse barn. I believe that photo hangs in the museum today and was made into a postcard that the Fort hand out.
“I left Fort Scott after graduating from high school and went to Findlay College in Findlay, Ohio where I met my wife, June. After we were married in Fort Scott in 1949, we moved to Shambaugh, Iowa, where I served as a pastor at the Church of God and where our first child, Connie, was born in 1952.
“June and I have been married for 71 years and have raised our 4 children—Connie, Bruce, Clarice, and Kristin—in a number of towns in Iowa. We currently live in our home in Des Moines. My mother, Ina, lived here in Des Moines until her death at 100 years. We have three grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.”
Russell Wilson’s email is
[email protected]
Fort Scott City Tree Dump Open All Week
Due to the recent ice storm, the City’s tree dump will be open all week long from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.