Fall has arrived and that means it is time for Pioneer Harvest Fiesta.
A parade on Thursday evening, October 5 at 6 p.m., starts the busy weekend.
Come join us at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds with activities for all ages. Groups of school children will be there on Friday to see how their ancestors had to work hard to harvest their crops, saw the wood, crush rocks and more. Demonstrations will be throughout the show, October 6, 7, and 8.
Live music and a Sunday morning service will be in the entertainment tent.
The quilt show will be in the Myers Building. Quilts can be brought for display on Thursday, October 5, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The quilt show will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday during Pioneer Harvest Fiesta and noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Please call Jackie Warren for more information 620-224-8161.
A car show is being added to Pioneer Harvest Fiesta!
The 25-year-old or older vehicles will be on exhibit Saturday, October 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., parked at the north end of the fairgrounds.
For more information, please call President Craig Shikles, 417-425-4552 or Vice President Larry Richard, 620-249-4385.
If you would like to be a vendor, call Delphine Parks, 262-416-6720.
John Freed was a graphic arts and photography instructor at Fort Scott Community College in October 1986, when the levy on Mill Creek burst.
Mill Creek feeds into the Marmaton River in the current Riverfront Park area.
On October 3, 1986, after nearly 20 inches of rain in 3 days, the Marmaton River crested at 52.5 feet, breaking the previous record set in 1915, according to information on the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce website.
The Fort Scott Cattle Sales Company released 250 head of cattle from their pens, according to the website. These cattle swam in the water, and three ended up on the roof of a home in Belltown, the area east of the cattle sales company.
Three cattle released from the cattle sale barn escaped the flooding Marmaton River by swimming to the roof of this house. John Freed took this photo. From the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce website.
The area between the Marmaton River Bridge on North National Avenue and U.S. Highway 54 was covered with several feet of fast-moving water.
Freed started taking photos of the historic event on the afternoon of October 3.
This was the beginning of his publication of the book, which is mostly a photo album with stories and poems from residents about the historic event, entitled the ’86 Flood. We Booked It Just For You.
He sponsored a photo contest for the book and over 1,500 photos were submitted by community members.
The stories of the flood were from local Fort Scott students and a few adults.
“Kids wrote the stories,” Freed said. “The superintendent of the schools made it mandatory that elementary, middle, and high school kids had to write an article for the book. The Catholic school students contributed as well. Fort Scott Community College students sent a few articles.”
“A few Panamanian students attending FSCC saw a bunch of Kansas National Guard helicopters that brought flood victims to the college because it was higher ground,” he said. “They thought America was being invaded. They wrote some stories. Theirs are written in Spanish, translated by the college Spanish instructor.”
“I resigned from FSCC and started my print shop a short time after the flood,” he said. The print shop was located on Main Street, in a space now occupied by Papa Don’s Pizza.
The book was a long-term project.
“I designed it, put it together,” he said. “It took weeks and I had considerable help from volunteers,” Freed said.
Freed judged the photos, and local English teachers judged the stories, and prizes were awarded to students for their contributions to the book.
The book was published in 1987.
A page from the book. Submitted photo.
In commemoration of the flood stories, he is promoting the book again at an author’s event at Hedgehog INK Bookstore at 16 S. Main Street on Oct. 3 from 2-4 p.m. There will be copies of the book for sale for $8.95, the original cost of the book in 1987, the year it was published.
“I want to encourage people that wrote in the book, to come a get a copy, if they don’t have one,” Freed said.
Sending on behalf of Chamber Member Gordon Parks Museum….
Lunch & Learn Events!
Gordon Parks Museum is hosting a Gordon Parks Celebration Lunch & Learn Event!
Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 12pm
“Learning from Gordon Parks”
Ann Dean, Freelance Photographer and Artist will talk about Gordon Parks Documentation of American life and culture. In this presentation Ann discusses the impact and inspiration found in Parks’ books: Our program is brought to us by Humanities Kansas.
Friday, October 6th, 2023 at 11:30am
“Harlem Renaissance and the Renaissance Man”
Randal Jelks, Professor of African and African American Studies and American Studies at University of Kansas. This presentation will share the history, journey, and connection of two titans of the early 20th century – Langston Hughes, a poet and a playwright, and Gordon Parks. Our program is brought to us by Humanities Kansas.
Friday, October 6th, 2023 at 2:30pm
“Back to Fort Scott, Now”/”I Needed Paris
Update”
Michael Cheers, Associate Professor, San Jose State University, Shreepad Joglekar, Associate Professor, Kansas State University and Jason Miccolo Johnson, former Professor, Savannah State University. This presentation of the “Back to Fort Scott, Now” project, is the re-imaging and tribute of Gordon Parks photos that he had taken in Fort Scott, KS in 1950. And an update and photos of the “I Needed Paris” project that took a group of African American photographers through Paris, traversing the same streets and neighborhoods as Gordon Parks did in the 1950s.
Saturday, October 7th, 2023 at 11:30am
“History of the Hawkins/Plaza School and All-School Reunion”
This presentation and event will explore the history of the (1884-1956) segregated Hawkins/Plaza School that Gordon Parks attended. We will also honor former students that attended either school throughout the years. Join us as we take the journey through time to learn about the school(s).
We know you all are filled with anticipation for the upcoming announcement of the Discovery Award winners, and we appreciate your enthusiasm!
Please mark your calendars for the updated announcement date: Wednesday, September 20th. We promise it will be a day filled with celebration, inspiration, and the recognition of outstanding students and their Unsung Hero Projects.
UPCOMING EVENTS
ARTEFFECT UPDATES
ARTEFFECT Ambassadors is a new online fellowship with a stipend of $1250! Tailored for educators working directly with K-12 students, the ARTEFFECT Ambassadors program aims to foster the visual arts. During the 2023-2024 school year, Ambassadors participate in online modules exploring the diverse stories of Unsung Heroes from history. They will complete a capstone project to make an impact on their classrooms and communities.
Recently, the Milken Educator Awards newsletter featured a wonderful article titled “A ‘Life-Changing Experience’: 2023 Fellows Explore LMC’s Unsung Heroes.” We encourage you to click the linked article to gain insight into what an LMC Fellowship entails and to discover some of the highlights from the Fellows’ week in Fort Scott, Kansas.
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Ist Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment mural. August,2023.
The local historic depiction of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment is completed.
The mural faces the Fort Scott National Historic Site, the place of the mustering of the regiment during the American Civil War.
St. Louis artist Cbabi Bayoc worked on the mural for a week in August with temperatures over 100 degrees.
The new mural was created by Cbabi Bayoc, pictured here in a submitted photo.
“The project took six days to complete,” Bayoc said in an interview. “I started spray painting the sketch on Monday and made final touches on it Saturday afternoon. The only long day was Wednesday which was crucial in getting it done on schedule.”
He worked from afternoon to evening because of the location of the mural on the north side of the building. That week of August 2023 the community experienced over 100 degrees daily.
“The heat was a definite factor,” Bayoc said. “It cut my days shorter than I am used to spending on murals of this scale. Also the rail and the steps made for some interesting body maneuvering to get the soldier on the left and the banner bottom middle done.”
Bayoc describes his work and its meaning.
“I chose the soldier with the flag because black folks always hoped going to battle for the country would gain their rights and respect as citizens,” he said. “The ad (To Arms! To Arms!) was crucial because putting guns in the hands of black soldiers was crucial to the (Civil War/slavery) times and foreshadowed their being the first regiment to see battle. I like the line created by the rifle and what it adds to the design. Their name and regiment number flank the left side and of course, elements from the battalion flag provide the backdrop.”
Fort Scott left a good impression on the artist from St. Louis.
“The folks we interacted with were warm and inviting,” he said. “My wife and I thought the downtown was gorgeous. We look forward to returning in October.”
The revealing and acknowledging of the mural will be during the annual Gordon Parks Museum Celebration the first weekend in October.
The public is invited to join the “Free To Serve” mural unveiling on Friday, October 6 from 4 to 4:30 p.m.
This is in honor and tribute to the regiment’s sacrifice and willingness to serve during the Civil War.
The mural is located at the north downtown building at 9 South Main St, near Skubitz Plaza, facing the Fort.
“We will veil the mural before out-of-town guests arrive for the Gordon Parks celebration for a more grand reveal, but until then the mural is available to be photographed,” Rachel French, coordinator of the project for the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Downtown Division said.
The Kansas Department of Commerce Office of Rural Prosperity awarded funding for the project, along with several local benefactors.
Fort Scott Kan. – Saturday, September 2 through Monday, September 4, 2022, Fort Scott National Historic Site will take you on an exploration of the labors and leisure on an 1840s frontier post. Throughout Labor Day weekend enjoy live music, historic yard games, and a variety of living history demonstrations, and interpretive programs. Visit with soldiers, officer’s wives, laundresses, the post Sutler and find out about the labors of the fort and some of the leisure activities. All programs are free and open to the public. And enjoy ice cream, while it lasts, on Saturday at 11:30 am courtesy of the Friends of Fort Scott NHS, Inc.
On Saturday and Sunday, volunteer Katelyn Dancer will be playing the violin on Officer’s Row and volunteer Mathew Wells will be playing the guitar on the porch of the Dragoon’s Barracks. Monday September 4 at 11:00 am, the Prairie Sunflower Strings will be presenting a concert of folk music out on the parade ground.
Guided Fort Tours will be offered daily at 10 am and 1 pm. Ranger Charles will be presenting a program about Native American storytelling at 11 am on Saturday and Sunday.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Governor Kelly Celebrates the Return of the Sacred Red Rock to the Kaw Nation
LAWRENCE—Today, Governor Laura Kelly joined Kaw Nation leaders, City of Lawrence officials, and Haskell Indian Nations University and University of Kansas representatives to commemorate the return of the Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe, or Sacred Red Rock, to the people of the Kaw Nation.
“The Sacred Red Rock has long been part of Kansas’ history, and I am honored to participate in its return to its rightful stewards,” Governor Kelly said. “This event marks a significant step forward in ensuring we respect and honor Indigenous peoples, cultures, and traditions.”
Several hundred thousand years ago, a glacier took the rock from an area in what is now southwestern Minnesota to the Kansas River Valley, where it became an important part the Kaw Nation’s spiritual life.
“I am delighted to see our city’s leaders collectively honor the sovereign rights of Tribal Nations by partnering in the return of the Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe Sacred Red Rock,” said Jancita Warrington, Executive Director, Kansas Native American Affairs, Office of the Governor. “Chancellor Girod, Mayor Larsen and the Lawrence City Commissioners have shown both compassion and respect for the Kaw Nation by honoring their request to return this grandfather rock to its cultural and spiritual stewards. This is a great example of a productive partnership between leaders, and I am excited to see what will transpire from this continued relationship moving forward.”
In 1929, the Sacred Red Rock was transported to Lawrence. It currently resides in Buford M. Watson Jr. Park. Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe will now be returned to Kaw Nation land at Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park near Council Grove.
“As an Indigenous person, I am extremely honored and humbled to be a part of this project and this historic event,” said Sydney Purcell, Co-Principal Investigator, Sacred Red Rock Project and Curator for Public Practice at Spencer Museum of Art. “I am in awe that Governor Kelly, Mayor Larson, and the Lawrence City Commission are present to support this effort. It is my hope that the relationships established throughout this project and further concretized with the ceremonious Return of the Rock event will continue long into the future, so that Kaw Nation’s presence is strengthened in the state that bears its name.”
Fort Scott, Kan. Aug.24, 2023 – An Arts and Culture grant through the Community Foundation of
Southeast Kansas helped support the 20th Annual Gordon Parks Celebration. The annual celebration
will be held October 5 -7, 2023 in Fort Scott, Kansas.
“We are very thankful to be part of this grant. This is our 20th year of the Annual Gordon Parks
Celebration and we are excited to celebrate the upcoming three days full of wonderful events
with everyone. The celebration is a great way to honor Gordon Parks legacy.” said Kirk Sharp,
Executive Director of the Gordon Parks Museum. “
The celebration is in honor Fort Scott native Gordon Parks, noted photographer, writer, musician, and
filmmaker. The celebration will feature several events to include presentations, special events, tours,
music performance, barbeque and a celebration tribute dinner for the presentation of The Choice of
Weapons Award established in Parks’ honor to be given annually at the celebration. The schedule of
events is available at the Gordon Parks Museum or online at gordonparkscenter.org and on our
facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/fsccGPmuseum/. This event is for everyone and open to
the public.
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas hosts individual charitable funds created by donors
who have a passion for giving back to their community. Grants from these funds assist people
throughout Southeast Kansas and beyond. Call the Foundation at 620-231-8897 with questions about
the Community Foundation. www.southeastkansas.org.
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Gordon Parks Museum is located on the campus of Fort Scott Community College.
Fort Scott, Kansas – The Gordon Parks Museum in Fort Scott, Kansas will host “Learning from
Gordon Parks,” a presentation and discussion by Ann Dean on Thursday, October 5 at
12:00p.m. at The Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center at 2108 S. Horton St.
Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the Gordon Parks Museum at
620-223-2700 ext. 5850 for more information. The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.
This presentation and discussion are part of the 20th Annual Gordon Parks Celebration that will take place in Fort Scott, Kansas on October 5 -7, 2023. This is also a Lunch and Learn Event.
The presentation by Ann Dean is free to attend, but the lunches are only available by pre-purchase for $10 each by Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
African American author, photographer, and filmmaker Gordon Parks was well known for his documentation of American life and culture.
Born in Fort Scott, Kansas in 1912, he is one of the
most esteemed image makers of all time. In this presentation, photographer Ann Dean discusses the impact and inspiration found in Parks’s books: The Learning Tree, A Choice of
Weapons, and Half Past Autumn.
These books help illustrate Parks’s mother’s teachings centered in love, dignity, and hard work, and provide a starting point to talk about his struggles, choices, and triumphs – all great life lessons for those searching to find their way in this complicated world.
Ann Dean is an artist and freelance photographer who teaches photography classes at the Lawrence Art Center.
“Learning from Gordon Parks” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau and “21st Century Civics,” a collection of resources that invite Kansans to participate in community
discussions and learn more about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship. “21st Century Civics” is made possible with support from “A More
Perfect Union: America at 250,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information about “Learning from Gordon Parks” in Fort Scott, Kansas contact the
Gordon Parks Museum at 620-223-2700 ext. 5850 or visit gordonparkscenter.org.
About Humanities Kansas
Humanities Kansas is an independent nonprofit leading 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.
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One can order tickets online for the Osage ballet being performing at the Ellis Arts Center, Fort Scott Community College this weekend or at the door. The first performance is tonight at 7:30 p.m.
This scene in the ballet depicts the encounters with Europeans by the Osage, a tribe of Native Americans.
Wahzhazhe is the Native American name for the tribal people we know as the Osage.
A dance academy in Pawhuska, OK has created a ballet telling the 400 year-old story of the Wahzhazhe.
The performers are mostly from the Dance Maker Academy in Pawhuska, in Osage County, which is home to the Osage tribe.
There are about 24,000 Osage people throughout the world, Randy Tinker-Smith, the ballet producer said.
Tinker-Smith said the 20 children dancers in this ballet are from different tribes, not all Osage.
The ballet is “an artistic expression of who we are,”Tinker- Smith, who is Osage, said. “We are not history, we are still here.”
They performed the Osage story at the Smithsonian Institution in 2012, she said.
The scene that resonated with viewers there, was the last one, where the performers demonstrate walking in two worlds, the Osage world and the other white people world, she said.
The ballet is the story of tradition, adaptation, tragedy, triumph, survival, and the enduring spirit of the Osage people, told by the Osage Nation, according to a press release from the FSNHS.
“This is not our story to tell, but it is our responsibility to provide a platform for these stories to be told,” said Carl Brenner, FSNHS Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management.
“This area was their native homeland,” Brenner said. “This (ballet) is part of a Native American series (at the Fort). We will continue to talk about this.”
“We jump started our relationship with the Osages,” Jill Jaworski, FSNHS Superintendent said. “There are a lot of doors being opened for having conversations with the Osage. We are looking to update our exhibits and are asking ‘What would you like shared?'”
Ballet: an Osage Tradition
The first five prima ballerinas in the United State were Native Americans, two of them Osage, Tinker-Smith said.
Lavender Sarroll, a mom accompanying the ballet troupe, said her daughter, Lilliana Guillen, 17, has been dancing since she was six years old at the Dance Maker Academy.
The ballet still is emotional for her, Sarroll said.
“To this day, when they get to the place in the ballet, where they rise from defeat, I cry every time,” she said.
Sarroll said the Wahzhazhe have their own government and language.
Doors are opened to a college education for some through the ballet.
Several of the ballet performers are offered dance scholarships to colleges, including her daughter, Sarroll said.
Logistics
Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site, Inc. offered special access for the media to the Wahshazhe ballet producer, Randy Tinker-Smith, and for viewing rehearsals on Wednesday, July 19.
The rehearsal was a prelude to the three performances, today, Friday, through Saturday at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus, 2108 Horton St.
There are 50 people involved in the production of the ballet, but some parents accompany the group, with a total of 70 people. Most arrived on Wednesday and are staying in the FSCC Residential Halls.
Thursday was the dress rehearsal, then the performances are today, Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m.
Youth tickets are just $15, adults are $35. Go to Friends of the Fort Facebook page or at OsageBallet.com.
Or one can take a chance, wait, and hope it’s not sold-out and purchase tickets at the door.
There is a question and answer session following the ballet.
Learning More
The performance is for those who are interested in Kansas and American history, Native American culture, the arts and dance, and those wanting to experience something spectacular and different from anything they have seen before, according to the press release.
Killers of the Flower Moon-The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, a story on a tragic part of the Osage tribe is a book that has been made into a movie and will be open in theaters this years, Tinker-Smith said.
“Mollie Burkhart is in the book,” she said. “Her grand-daughter is in the ballet. This movie, we can let people know, we are still here.”
MARSHA’S DELI SANDWICHES AND COLD DRINKS PROVIDED, OR BRING YOUR OWN!
Everyone is invited to the Old Fort Genealogy Society office to discuss recent upgrades to our computers and learn about volunteer tech support now available for our researchers, visitors and volunteers.
DATE: [Thursday, July 27th, 2023] TIME: [12:00 PM-12:30 PM]
LOCATION: Old Fort Genealogical Society Office, 221 S. National Avenue, Fort Scott, KS. In the basement of Memorial Hall.
[WEST ENTRANCE OF MEMORIAL HALL, LOOK FOR BLACK AND WHITE SIGN ON DOOR FACING NATIONAL AVENUE]
[PLEASE NOTE: WEST ENTRANCE IS NOT HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE]
Questions, concerns? E-mail Sarah Klassen, OFGS Tech Admin, at [email protected]
PAWHUSKA, Okla.—When researching Osage history for Wahzhazhe: An Osage Ballet, co-creator Randy Tinker-Smith, founder of Osage Ballet, spoke with around 50 elders. Tinker-Smith is Osage, and she knows that some things are not meant to be shared onstage.
“While doing research for the ballet, I spoke with around 50 Osage elders,” she said. “I did not want to do one thing without permission. I met with some of them numerous times, and by the end of that year we had lost three of them. Now looking back, I am just so thankful that I had that time with them.”
With Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon being recently filmed in the present-day Osage Nation, Osage history is on the minds of many people. Visitors to Fort Scott, KS have three opportunities to experience 400 years of the rich history of the Osage through artistic dance when Wahzhazhe: An Osage Ballet is presented at Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, July 21 and 22.
Ellis Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2401 S. Horton.
The production is the work of Osage Ballet, a nonprofit organization which seeks to preserve and share the history of the Osage people through dance.
The first half of the ballet depicts life in the Osages’ ancestral homelands, which encompassed much of the middle of the United States, including the entirety of what is now Missouri. One of the earliest diaries chronicling the Osage people describe them as the “happiest people in the world.” Family and ceremony were at the center of culture and moving with the seasons was a way of life. With the arrival of Europeans, many of the ceremonies and the complex Osage clan system were almost decimated by war and disease. Like many Indigenous people, the mighty Osage were forced west onto smaller and smaller pieces of land. Eventually, the Osage bought their own reservation in Indian Territory and settled there in what is now Osage County, Oklahoma.
Tinker-Smith said her own family’s history was on her mind as she researched.
“When our tribe left Kansas in 1871, there had been so much death because of smallpox and starvation and other diseases,” she said. “The buffalo had been slaughtered. Fences had been put up. Everything had changed drastically. Because of that, the elders put away our ceremonies because they did not have the animals, plants, and implements they needed to do them properly. We are a highly organized people: You have a purpose, you learn how to do it, and you pass it on, but that could not be done anymore. My great-grandfather was born at St. Paul Mission in Kansas. I read a diary that said 600 Osage people died in one week while he was living there. This history touches our family so deeply.”
The first act of the ballet chronicles what was lost, while the second act portrays how the Osage survived and continue to thrive despite so much trauma.
“When I started meeting with these elders, I wanted to have permission about what I could tell in the story,” she said. “As long as I am alive, for example, you will never see our sacred ceremonial ways on our stage, but what you will see are the things we still have: Fire, feathers, water. Songs. There is a lot that we can share, and it is exceptionally beautiful.”
The Osage Ballet, Wahzhazhe was created by a predominately Indigenous team with choreography by Jenna LaViolette (Osage) and original music by Osage composer Lou Brock. Dr. Joseph Rivers, chair of the film department at the University of Tulsa, composed original music and arranged the score. Osage artists Wendy Ponca, Alexander Ponca Stock, and the late Terry Wann, designed the costumes and backdrops. Shawnee Peoria artist Roman Jasinski, Jr. served as artistic adviser. (Jasinski is the son of Moscelyne Larkin, one of five Indigenous ballerinas from Oklahoma to gain international fame in the 20th century.) Professional dancers for the production are from ballet companies around the US. Joining the professional dancers are students of Dance Maker Academy in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, representing 19 Native nations.
For tickets and information on the July 21 and 22 performances in Fort Scott, KS visit their website, www.osageballet.com/events and watch for posts
