Community Christian Church and Fort Scott Community College Campus Christians are partnering with Food for the Hungry to provide an opportunity for Fort Scott residents to help with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts by hosting a benefit concert Thursday evening.
The Stars Go Dim concert, with special guest Merci Neff, will be held at Community Christian Church at 7 p.m. Thursday, with tickets available for $10 at the host church and Ruddick’s Furniture.
For details about the event, contact Larry Davenport, 620-224-4310.
FSCC to Host Painting and Wreath Classes on Sept. 26
Fort Scott Community College will host the Witches & Wreaths painting and crafts classes 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, September 26, in the Greyhound and Heritage Rooms of the Dick Hedges Administration Building, 2108 South Horton, Fort Scott.
Instructors will show participants how to create a Halloween-themed painting or wreath for their homes. The cost is $20 for one class or $30 for both classes; the fee includes a treat, refreshments and painting or craft supplies. Space is limited for this event. For more information or to preregister, contact Kassie Fugate-Cate, FSCC Admissions Representative, at [email protected] or 620-223-2700, ext. 3530.
FSCC Volleyball Team to Host Dig Pink Night
The Fort Scott Community College Volleyball Team will host Dig Pink Night to support breast cancer awareness at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4, at Arnold Arena, 2108 South Horton Street, Fort Scott.
The Dig Pink Rally is an event that brings together volleyball players across the nation to raise funds for breast cancer research, demonstrate the power of teamwork and show support for people with the disease.
Attendees are encouraged to wear pink to the game. The team will also be collecting donations for the Side-Out Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to support breast cancer research and programs. For more information, please call Lindsay Hill, FSCC Head Volleyball Coach, at 620-223-2700, ext. 7220.
All aboard for “Bus Stop” at FSCC
When a headstrong young rodeo cowboy, unfamiliar with the finer points of courtship, all but kidnaps an attractive nightclub singer intending to haul her back to his ranch in Montana and make her his bride, the last place he wanted to find himself was stuck in a bus stop outside Topeka waiting out a snow storm. But that’s exactly what happens to Bo Decker, the self-proclaimed “prize bronco-buster, steer-roper, and bull-dogger anywhere around,” in William Inge’s modern classic, “Bus Stop.”
The FSCC Theatre Department, under the direction of new instructor Allen Twitchell, will present “Bus Stop,” at 7:30 p.m., October 5-7, at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. Admission will be free.
“I wanted to fold our fall production into the Homecoming Week celebration, and I felt this play was a perfect fit because of its timeless subject matter—the pursuit of love—as well as its name recognition and the connection to our outstanding rodeo program,” Twitchell said. “It just seemed to be calling to me.”
Playing the role of Bo is sophomore Royce White, from Shawnee, while sophomore Stephanie Rice, from Fort Scott, plays Cherie, the unwilling object of Bo’s affection. Also in the ensemble cast are sophomore Jackie Neher, from Lamar, Mo., as Grace, the savvy owner of the bus stop’s restaurant; freshman Hannah Casner, from Mound City, as Elma, a naïve young waitress; sophomore Jared Oshel, from Princeton, as Will Masters, the stern-but-fair sheriff; freshman Jesse Cooke, from Redfield, as Carl, the bus driver with an eye for Grace; freshman Sammy Jamison, from Pittsburg, as Virgil, Bo’s older, more wise-to-the-world sidekick; and Harold Hicks, FSCC English instructor, as Dr. Gerald Lyman, a former college professor conflicted by his attraction to alcohol and young girls.
“Inge was masterful at representing the myriad of emotions and complications of the male-female relationship,” Twitchell said. “This play deals with a variety of romantic entanglements—Bo-Cherie, Carl-Grace, and Dr. Lyman-Elma—from the perfectly natural to the intentionally uncomfortable.”
Serving as understudies are freshman Payton Boswell, from Pittsburg; transfer Natalie Cable, from Dallas, Texas; sophomore Paulette Hays, from Perry; sophomore Kartis Leal, from Denver, Colo.; and freshman Peyton Quick, from Fort Scott.
The stage manager is sophomore Linda Shinkle, from Fredonia, with Leal serving as shop foreman and chief of the set crew. Also assisting with the production are freshman Katelynn Coe, from Linn Valley; freshman Ka’Si Gates, from Bronson; sophomore Ashley Lockwood from Fort Scott; sophomore Kaitlan Palmer, from Mulberry; and Abby Cooke, from Redfield.
Gordon Parks Celebration to feature Poetry Out Loud
The Gordon Parks Celebration, scheduled for October 12-14, at Fort Scott Community College, will feature the Parks Poetry Out Loud contest. Participants will pick one of seven selected poems written by Gordon Parks and present it in front of an audience at noon on Friday, October 13, in the Gordon Parks Museum on the FSCC campus.
There is no fee to enter the contest, and participants will be judged on how they present the poem through voice, diction and interpretation. It is open to everyone—students and adults alike are encouraged to take part. Cash prizes will be awarded to first ($100), second ($75), and third place ($50) winners.
“This is a new event for the Gordon Parks Celebration, and this type of event is often called a poetry slam,” said Jill Warford, Gordon Parks Center Director. “Anyone who likes to read and interpret poetry will enjoy this. We picked seven of Gordon’s poems that vary in their subject matter.”
The poems include “Momma,” “Come Sing with Me,” “From the Huge Silence,” “The First Bud,” “A Bottle’s Worth of Tomorrow,” “Homecoming,” and “No Apologies.” The seven poems are available on the Gordon Parks Museum website at gordonparkscenter.org.
Fort Scott, Kan.—Fort Scott Community College will host the Fall Kids’ Fair from 9:00 to 11:30 am on Saturday, October 14. The event will feature a variety of activities for children of all ages, including fall-themed carnival games, a cake walk, and a bounce house. Gizmo the Greyhound will also be in attendance. The kids’ fair is free, and it will take place at the FSCC campus south parking lot, 2108 South Horton in Fort Scott. For more information, please call Cindy Davis at 620-223-2700, ext. 3560.
Recruits in the modern U.S. Army are known as “Army Strong.” At Fort Scott National Historic Site, we are looking for a few good recruits to become “Artillery Strong.” We want you to join a School of Artillery for anyone aged 16 and above. The training will take place on Saturday, September 23, 2017.
During the program, site staff will train you in military deportment, marching and maneuvers related to the army presence at Fort Scott in the 1840s. The highlight though, will be the firing of the cannon. Those in attendance will receive instruction as “cannoneers.” The instructor will walk you through each position on the artillery crew and teach you to perform your duties with “speed and accuracy.” At the end of the training day, participants will then fire the cannon for the public.
We are looking to expand the ranks of our volunteer artillery crew. If you go through this training and meet all other qualifications, you will be able to participate on the cannon crew and take part in future artillery demonstrations at Fort Scott NHS.
The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. on September 23, and go through 4 p.m. that day. Participants will check in at the visitor center and then dress out in period clothing for the day’s activities. In addition to artillery training, those in attendance will also receive a guided tour of the site and be part of a flag retreat ceremony.
Registration is now underway. To register for this program, call 620-223- 0310. You must be 16 years or older to participate. If you are below the age of 18, a parental permission is also required. Space is limited to 10 people, so call now to reserve your spot.
Domino’s Pizza opens in Fort Scott Monday, September 18 at 1709 S. National.
The franchise is owned by Emily and Dan Elwell, Jasper, Mo.
Owner Emily Elwell, right, works the front during the soft opening Friday. Employee Nathan Carey is at left.Matt Ebert, assistant manager; Emily Elwell, owner; and Kevin Knippelberger, manager pose in front of the store Friday. The ribbon cutting for the business is 10:15 a.m. Monday September 18.
The Elwell’s looked at different markets when deciding where to expand their business and through happenstance discovered the abandoned building on National Avenue.
They just happened to pull off Hwy. 69 at the strip mall site, she said, saw the for sale sign and a drive-through window and went directly to the real estate agent next door to the property to inquire.
“It’s been eerie how it worked out,” Emily Elwell said. “We are supposed to be in Fort Scott.”
They currently have 17 employees, all local.
Hours for the pizza eatery are 10:30 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m.to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Manager Kevin Knippelberger visits with a drive-through customer Friday.
Lowell Milken speaks during the 10th Anniversary of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes.
Art, dinner, and a movie is the way The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes celebrated their tenth anniversary Thursday evening.
“We are at the top of the second inning of what we want to accomplish,” Founder Lowell Milken told the audience about the future of the center.
At the exhibition gallery, at Wall and Main Streets, the founder and staff showcased six ArtEffect Project winners and four new Unsung Hero Exhibits.
From left: teacher Nathan McAlister and students Luke Boyden, Colin Caviness and Colin Everts from Royal Valley Middle School, Mayetta, stand in front of the Unsung Hero project the students are exhibiting in the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. The title of their project “A Light In The Darkness: The Emma Darling Cushman Project.”
Later, dinner in the courtyard of the Liberty Theater happened to be on a perfect Kansas weather evening, with temperatures in the 70s.
Local author and retired Fort Scott teacher, Cathy Werling, was showcased with her new children’s book “Why Did Grandpa Cry?”
Children’s book author Cathy Werling sells her first book at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes dinner party. Purchasing the book and giving a hug is Kelly Nelson. At right, LMC Administrative Assistant Mary Kerr assists at the sales table.
Since her retirement a few years back, Werling has been employed by the center.
One thing led to another and Werling was asked to write a children’s book about some of the unsung heroes.
“I saw this as an opportunity to move this (story) down to their level of understanding,” Werling said.
“Why Did Grandpa Cry?” is about Unsung Heroes Ken Reinhardt and Ann Williams, who were a part of the American story of desegregation in the late 1950s.
It is first in a series of 12 children’s books that Werling has been asked to write about unsung heroes.
Books can be purchased through the center and other online sources.
“If purchased through the center, it’s matched by the Lowell Milken Family,” she said. Those funds help the local center.
A documentary film “Teach Us All” by Sonia Lowman followed the dinner.
Film director Sonia Lowman speaks with members of the audience following the showing of the documentary “Teach Us All.”
Lowman is director of Communications for the Lowell Milken Family Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif.
She came to Milken with an idea about racial inequality, Milken said.
The film was created to “inspire and activate young people to understand the legacy of The Little Rock Nine and why they need to act on that legacy,” Lowman said.
The film also focuses on the need to support teachers and schools, she said.
The film will debut on Netflix on September 25, which marks the 60th anniversary of The Little Rock Nine desegregation battle.
Local Fort Scott teachers and retirees enjoy conversation at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes 10th Anniversary Dinner.
The premier of the documentary produced by the Lowell Milken Center followed the dinner party at the 10th anniversary celebration.
Director Sonia Lowman speaks to the audience at the premier of “Teach Us All” at the Liberty Theater Thursday.
Fort Scott Community College’s Ellis Arts Center is the venue for the 14th annual Gordon Parks Celebration. The Gordon Parks Museum is located in the arts center.
As part of the annual Gordon Parks Celebration
scheduled for October 12-14, at Fort Scott Community College, there will be a “Parks Poetry Out Loud” contest this year. Participants will pick one of seven selected poems written by Gordon Parks and will present it in front of an audience at noon on Friday, October 13 in the Gordon Parks Museum in the Ellis Fine Arts Center on campus.
“I have wanted to do this for years,” said Jill Warford, Gordon Parks Museum Director. “We hope a lot of people take part in the poetry contest, it will be a lot of fun.”
There is no fee to enter and participants will be judged on how they present the poem through voice, diction, and interpretation. Cash prizes will be awarded: first place will win $100; second, $75 and third, $50.
“You don’t have to register to enter,” Warford said. “Just show up.”
It is open to anyone and both students and adults alike, are encouraged to take part, she said. The seven poems are available on the Gordon Parks Museum website: gordonparkscenter.org .
Select poems from the website, then print them out for use, she said.
For more information email [email protected] or by phone call (620) 223-2700, ext. 5850
Poems to choose from are:
MOMMA
by Gordon Parks
Now and then she said things that made my ears frown.
More than likely they were just too young to understand.
“Brush those teeth, and wash your feet before you go to bed.
And stop snoring so loud. You keep everybody awake.”
Pig feet, turnip greens and chitlins put hair on the chest.
My stomach craved apple butter and crackling bread.
It had a mind of its own. It wasn’t looking for hair.
Sunday school was particularly necessary, but not enough.
Reverend Frockcoat’s bland sermons had to sanctify the day.
Some other things stood in my way
Talking too much when I should have listened,
Crying when laughing was better,
Shooting marbles when the cattle needed feed.
Momma’s most relentless warning stuck like claws.
“Son, don’t ever come home blaming your skin’s blackness
For tumbling you downward.
If a white boy can do something worth doing,
Remember you can do it too. When the time comes
Just get out there and do it or forget to come home.”
Much later, long after she was gone,
And swimming in her advice, I’ve tried to keep going,
Going and going.
Down through the years, her warnings helped push clouds away
While sopping tears from stars that insisted on falling.
Yes, it was Momma who spread the checkered tablecloth.
But it was my good fortune to sit down and eat.
Her love filled the space between heaven and hell.
She was a mother beyond all other mothers.
I owe her everything
My breath in the half light of autumn,
For spreading patience when doubt surfaced,
For smiling at the unrest that over took my anxious feet,
For guidance that walked me away from my mistakes,
And for hands that pulled me out of the storms.
Yes, I owe her for these things and many, many more.
So no goodbyes, Momma. The love petals
Falling like rain upon your grave
Are mine all mine.
COME SING WITH ME
By Gordon Parks
Despite the turmoil, anguish and despair
Disrupting the planet we inherited,
There is something good I choose to sing about.
That something lies within us, patiently waiting
Beneath us, above us and around us.
Its peaceful message yearns to fill
Our places of murderous anger and hatred,
To flourish forever.
Hope is the song I have chosen to sing
A deathless song, flowing steadily beside my faith.
Whenever the fist of doubt knocks at my door,
It is powerfully turned away by my hopeful singing.
When things go from bad to worse I still sing my song.
Why not?
It helps me endure the bloodthirsty days.
Once earth’s fire had devoured my hopes.
As my twisted soul slid toward Hell,
Fate came racing from another direction.
Pinned to it was a belt of sun with new instructions.
These, it said, are for you! Suddenly fear was gone.
I made peace with the mean roads I’d walked.
My jackals could now lie down in truce.
From that day on, I began singing the song called Hope.
I still sing it loud
Above the waves, fire, darkness and mud.
From The Huge Silence
by Gordon Parks
The prairie is still in me,
in my talk and manners.
I still sniff the air for rain or snow,
know the loneliness of night,
and distrust the wind
when things get too quiet.
Having been away so long
and changed my face so often,
I sometimes suspect that this place
no longer recognizes me
despite these cowboy boots,
this western hat and
my father’s mustache that I wear.
To this place I must seem
like wood from a different forest,
and as secretive as black loam.
This earth breathes uneasily under my boots.
Their odor of city asphalt
doesn’t mix well with the clean smell
of wild alfalfa and purple lovegrass.
It puzzles me that I live so far away
from our old clapboard house
where, in oak tree shade,
I used to sit and dream
of what I wanted to become.
I always return here weary,
but to draw strength from
This huge silence that surrounds me,
knowing now that all I thought
was dead here is still alive,
that there is warmth here
even when the wind blows hard and cold.
The First Bud
by Gordon Parks
Through winter locked and hungered days,
And during trials of doubtful years,
I walked mistaken roads searching for you.
So when as you say during pillowtalk,
You do not know me,
remember that I am you.
We have been one for thousands of years.
Our love is older than the sky.
That love tremored every windflow
While waiting to be summoned
By a cry, a moan from my heart
That was ablaze with loneliness.
Then, with the silence of a cloud,
It emerged through shadowless mist
and, with pity,
Ripped my outraged soul apart,
Then strung it together with stars
That light your peaceful shade.
Now those nights
That were once without splendor
Dance in on wings that sing.
And the sound of rain
Falling on the roof is joyous.
A Bottle’s Worth of Tomorrow
by Gordon Parks
Time slipped out of my house last night
As I was bringing in the cat.
Angry, worried, frowning,
I went in search of it
Where it lay wrinkled and disgruntled
Behind a stubborn door among thorns.
I knocked and knocked;
The door refused to open.
Time, it finally said, is tired,
And in need of a long rest.
The hours it spent on you
Were far too exhausting
And moved much too slowly.
Remember your running from sky to sky,
With fog falling on you like fire?
The suit my soul wears
Was growing threadbare.
I had eaten salt for supper
And been killed so many times.
I was about to die some more
when the stranger appeared,
Asked me to wait,
handed me a scrap to paper
Then left as quietly as he had come.
He had scribbled his name: Tomorrow.
Wait? Where? For how long?
Distraught, I went toward home,
Worried and frowning even more.
Who was this fellow Tomorrow anyway,
And where was he last night
When time ran out on me?
Later I slept among bad memories.
Having lived in the forest under my scalp,
They knew me well; but I no longer knew them.
I had drowned the worst in waves of skepticism.
But when I awoke to let the cat out
They were stirring inside me, moving as I moved.
I opened the door
and there stood tomorrow,
Grinning, with a sack full of sun, stars
And a little bottle filled with a little more time.
He dropped the sack and then hurried off.
Content, at least for the moment,
I gave a thankful sigh for those signs
That had quietly walked out with my cat.
But after a close look at that little bottle,
It all became clear. No time was left
To wait for myself.
I snatched a bunch of thoughts from the air,
Then I too was off in a hurry.
Homecoming
by Gordon Parks
This small town into which I was born,
has, for me, grown into the largest,
and most important city in the universe.
Fort Scott is not as tall, or heralded
as New York, Paris, or London
or other places my feet have roamed,
but it is home.
Surely I remember the harsh days,
the sordid bigotry and segregated schools
and indeed the graveyard for Black people,
(where my beloved mother and father
still rest beneath Kansas earth).
But recently, the bitterness,
that hung around for so many years seems
to have asked for silence, for escape
from the weariness of those ugly days past.
Thankfully hatred is suddenly remaining quiet,
Keeping its mouth shut! And I’m thankful
For the contentment we lost along the way.
My hope now is that each of us can find
What GOD put us here to find
LOVE!
Let us have no more truck with the devil!
No Apologies
by Gordon Parks
Fate holds no reason to frown at what Providence granted me.
My thanks remain uncountable.
After long talks with my
past I now realize that life held a divine purpose,
For shoving me into places that were as changeable as the wind.
In between the floundering of then and now, the eyes of fate were following me
watching, always watching with
narrowing glances.
Now, having given deep thought to life’s offerings,
I realize everything that happened should have happened.
So my heart lifts praise to a smiling autumn
To those fallen years that no longer exist.
With this, and with no respite, I give thanks
To each dawn,
To each night,
To all the falling and climbing that patiently carried me through unpredictable wanderings.
Crowned in the confusion that hammered my journey,
Mercy Hospital Fort Scott will host a Diabetes Support Group on Monday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. in the McAuley Conference Room located on the main level near the lobby. The session topic is Managing and Reducing Risk of Long-term Complications of Diabetes.
Patty Ryan, R.N., will discuss risk reduction, symptoms to report and available treatments. The support group is open to the public. No registration is required. Light refreshments will be served. Family members are encouraged to attend as well.
To learn more about this topic or other important information regarding managing diabetes, join the Mercy Diabetes Support Group. The group meets the third Monday of every other month. The next meeting date is scheduled for November 20.
For more information, contact Patty Ryan, R.N., at 620-223-8412.
With the new semester and school year, the Fort Scott Community College brought new features to its students and the community with building renovations and additions to the courses provided.
“We greatly appreciate what you do,” President Alysia Johnston said of the community’s support for the college during Thursday’s Chamber Coffee, saying the college’s goal is to serve Bourbon County. “This really is your institution and we appreciate those tax dollars that you give us every time, but we really do take that seriously.”
Enrollment at FSCC is up slightly this year, with about 1,400 full-time students and a total of about 2,000 people taking part in the courses the school provides.
The armory received an update through renovations over the summer as FSCC welcomed the John Deere program to its main campus from its former location in Frontenac. Already 23 students are involved in that program, while Adam Borth, vice president of academic affairs, said they hope to grow that to 40 over the next couple years.
The school also provides a welding course, which has about 15 students currently meeting in the morning class. FSCC hopes to provide that in the evening as well when the interest is great enough.
FSCC provides late-start classes as well for students who were not able to start in August. Those classes begin in October.
Janet Fancher, dean of student support services, expressed appreciation to the businesses and other members of the community that participated in the expo provided during the first week of classes, saying that is a great service to the students.
Athletic Director Tom Havron said all the teams have full rosters, just as the dorms are at full capacity, and said they look forward to the season ahead and hope the community will come out to support. The volleyball team is already off to a 5-0 record to start the year and the football team has their first home game this Saturday.
“We’re proud of the fact that truly athletics is a vehicle for these kids to get an education,” Johnston said, adding they are proud of the athletes for their athletic and academic accomplishments.
Johnston encouraged students and members of the community to inform the faculty of any ideas and recommendations they might have for the community college in order to improve its services.
“We are always open to suggestions,” Johnston said.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce officially welcomed the Cricket Wireless store to town Friday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting event during the store’s Grand Opening activities at their location at 205 E. 3rd Street.
“We’re happy to have you in Fort Scott,” chamber Executive Director Lindsay Madison said, adding she is pleased to see that strip mall full of stores once more after having empty storefronts for some time.
Sean Krahling, area manager of the Fort Scott location as well as eight other Kansas stores, said Cricket Wireless merged with AT&T five years ago, with both groups upgrading their signals and towers to be compatible with each other. As a result, about 98 percent of Americans can get a signal through Cricket.
“Our coverage is actually really good,” Krahling said, adding that customers using some of their plans are also able to get a signal when traveling in Canada and Mexico.
Cricket Wireless currently has more than 4600 stores across the country in states including Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota and Florida. The provider now includes options such as DirectTV Now and a music provider with more than 42 million songs. Krahling point out plans are purchased on a monthly basis instead of an annual contract and do not include hidden fees. Visit the store for information on their current deals and plans.
“We appreciate your being a part of the chamber and your investment in the community,” Madison said.
More than 120 riders took part in the 5th Annual Wreath Ride Saturday, raising money to purchase wreaths to be placed on the graves at the local National Cemetery in December as part of the Wreaths Across America (WAA) effort.
Participating riders met at Buck Run Community Center and then visited a number of locations as part of the ride, including the Fort Scott National Cemetery. In past years, the riders had traveled to an out-of-town location as a group, but the organization had grown large enough that it had become a hazard for the bikers and other drivers.
This year, the WAA’s largest fundraiser raised enough money for 2,053 wreaths thanks to the participation of 125 riders.
In past years, the fundraising has gotten closer to achieving the goal of purchasing enough wreaths to place at all 5,600 gravestones. The local WAA group continues to accept donations towards the wreaths, which cost $15 each.
President Theodore Roosevelt said “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” Another author stated that the “privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, and that the love of work is success.” While the soldiers at Fort Scott in the 1840s might not have necessarily loved their work, they did labor to build a fort that its architect considered “the Crack Post of the Frontier.”
From September 2 through 4, 2017, Fort Scott NHS will commemorate Labor Day weekend with artillery, horses, music, living history demonstrations and a variety of interpretive programs. The thunder of artillery will sound each day that weekend at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A short program explaining how the gun is fired accompanies each artillery demonstration. Other programs offered throughout the weekend are guided tours at 1 p.m. and a flag retreat ceremony at 4 p.m. each day.
Programs offered just on Saturday include a musical program at 2 p.m. by 9 Mile March, a local group that performs folk music using instruments such as the banjo and mandolin. At noon, a park ranger examines the weapons of the soldiers at Fort Scott, which will be followed by a horseback demonstration at 12:30 p.m.
Additionally on Saturday, living history interpreters will be cooking in the mess hall and baking bread in the bakehouse. An interpretive program about the bakehouse will be offered at 10 a.m. At one living history station, a volunteer will be teaching people about women’s clothing worn during the time. Different pieces like a chemise, corset and dresses will be laid out, so that people can see them up close and can learn how they were used. You might even have the opportunity to try on a corset. This station will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day.
On Sunday, September 3, in the program “A Stain That Will Never Bleach Out in the Sun,” Park Rangers Robert Thomas and Gary Herrmann will square off against each other as they take on the roles of two protagonists involved in the Marais des Cygnes Massacre, each with an opposing viewpoint. Also on Sunday, Park Guide Roger Behrend looks at the medical practices of the 1840s in the program “To Bleed or Not to Bleed.”
On Monday, there will be a special Labor Day tour, “From the Crack Post of the Frontier.” This tour will focus on the labor force, building materials, architectural styles and construction techniques used in the building of Fort Scott. There will also be a demonstration of 1840s drumming and a program about the letters of Thomas and Charlotte Swords. Captain Swords was the architect of Fort Scott and oversaw its construction.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is one of 417 units of the National Park Service. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Following is the schedule of activities for the weekend.
Saturday, September 2nd
10:00 a.m. “Flour, Sweat, and Tears”: 1840s Bakehouse Program
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
12:00 p.m. “Tools of War: The Weapons of the Soldiers at Fort Scott”
12:30 p.m. “Spurs and Saddles”-Mounted Demonstration
1:00 p.m. Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. “9 Mile March” Musical Performance by Don Parsons and Randy Glessner
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat
Sunday, September 3rd
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
11:30 a.m. “Spurs and Saddles”-Mounted Demonstration
12:00 p.m. “To Bleed or Not to Bleed” – Frontier Medicine of the 1840s
1:00 p.m. Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. “A Stain That Will Never Bleach Out in the Sun” – Two Stories of the Marais des Cygnes Massacre: Hairgrove vs. Hamilton
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat
Monday, September 4th
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
12:00 p.m. “The Tongue is More Useful than the Arrow” – Letters of Thomas and Charlotte Swords
1:00 p.m. “Crack Post of the Frontier” -Guided Tour-Construction History of Fort Scott
2:00 p.m. 1840s Drummer Boy: Military Drumming Demonstration
Mercy Fort Scott Sports Medicine will offer free evaluations of student athlete injuries at the Saturday morning Bumps and Bruise Clinic. The clinic will begin on Saturday, September 2, at 7 a.m. and continue each Saturday morning through the fall sports season.
Athletes will be seen in Mercy Health for Life on a first come, first serve basis. Mercy’s Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner Greg King will conduct the clinic.
High school and middle school athletes injured during an accredited athletic event may have their injury assessed at the clinic. If the athlete is under 18 years old, a parent or legal guardian must accompany them for permission to treat.
Appointments are not necessary, however it is recommended to arrive early to allow adequate time for treatment. If necessary, diagnostic services are available on site and will be billed to the Athlete’s insurance.
For more information about the free Bumps and Bruises Clinic or to make an appointment for sports massage, call Mercy Health for Life at 620-223- 7073.
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