Category Archives: Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

History, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Local Kansas National History Day Champs Will Present Projects on June 1

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National History Day State Champions from Fort Scott Set to Present at the Empress Events Center Southeast Kansas will send two projects to the National History Day Championship in College Park, Maryland June 11–15.

Four groups from the Bourbon County community attended the State National History Day Championships in Topeka in April.


The two groups from Fort Scott who are State Champions competing at Nationals in June will present their projects at 7:00 PM on June 1st at the Empress Events Center. This presentation will allow the students to practice sharing their projects and raise funds for their trip to College Park, MD. This event is open to the
public.


The following students are the State Champions and will be sharing their projects on June 1st:


Kenlee Eden, Blair Felt, and Kodie Wells from Fort Scott Christian Learning Center will participate in the Junior Group Documentary category, coached by Megan Felt and Rachel Wells. Their project is entitled Blazing a Trail for the Forgotten. It is a documentary based on Jean Purdy, the first embryologist in history.
Jean’s efforts in helping biologist Dr. Robert Edwards and gynecologist Dr. Patrick Steptoe led to the first IVF baby being born in 1978.


Taly Banwart, Holly Crain, and Abby Jacobs from Fort Scott Christian Learning Center will participate in the Senior Group Performance category, coached by CLC history teacher Dan Kobernat. Their project is entitled A Love Larger Than Life. It is a performance based on Dr. Leila Denmark and her efforts to eradicate whooping cough by creating the pertussis vaccine. Dr. Denmark’s vaccine was the 11th vaccine ever developed.


History Day encourages students to express their knowledge of and interest in history through creative and
original dramatic performances, media presentations, historical papers, website design, or three–dimensional exhibit projects. The research and study for district, state, and national competitions take place throughout the entire school year.


The national competition involves the top 2,000 students from across the nation, chosen from over 800,000
who compete in order to advance from local to state to national competition. All 50 states and several countries will be represented at the National competition. The theme this year is “Frontiers in History: People, Ideas, and Events.”

The Lowell Milken Center is located at the corner of First and Wall Streets.


The Lowell Milken Center provides critiques and helps with research for National History Day Unsung Hero
projects from Kansas and throughout the United States.

Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Lowell Milken Center For Unsung Heroes Newsletter April

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Olympic Gold Medalist Presentation

Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills was the featured presenter on Wednesday, April 12th, at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. Mills, who won the 10k at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, spoke about his work with indigenous people of America and his opportunity to be an inspiration and role model. LMC Team Member Ronda Hassig commented, “It’s not every day that you get to meet a Gold Medal Olympian, but Fort Scott had that opportunity. Billy Mills, the only American to win the 10,000m race, spoke to a large and excited crowd!” Mills’ visit was made possible by a Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area grant celebrating the leadership qualities of the Unsung Hero Chief Hiawatha. Using Hiawatha as a role model for current leaders, discussions ensued between Billy Mills and the community about “The Leader We Need” today. Find out more about Billy Mills and his story at https://bit.ly/newsroom-mills.
STUDENT COMPETITIONS
The 2023 ARTEFFECT Finalists are live!

Thank you to all the 2023 ARTEFFECT Competition participants. This year we received more submissions than ever before! The 2023 Finalists are now viewable on the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes website. Watch our social media for updates on the announcement of this year’s winners.
Click to view the 2023 ARTEFFECT Finalists
Click to learn about the Discovery Award
ARTEFFECT was recently at the 2023 NAEA Convention in San Antonio! 

Art educators and organizations were able to visit the ARTEFFECT booth to learn about the annual competition and about new professional development offerings launching this summer for art educators.

ARTEFFECT staff and educators had the opportunity to share about the Unsung Heroes, hand out some swag and showcase ARTEFFECT award-winning student artwork.
LMC VISITORS & REVIEWS
VISITORS FROM 107 COUNTRIES HAVE TOURED THE
LOWELL MILKEN CENTER FOR UNSUNG HEROES!
Belinda Flynn, a foreign exchange host for two students in Topeka, KS, brought seven foreign exchange students to tour the Lowell Milken Center.

Belinda, formerly from Bourbon County, Kansas, is the aunt of David Foster, one of the students involved in the Ken Reinhardt project.

These students represented Germany, Italy, Egypt, France, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan.

The students from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan were the first people from their countries to visit the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, allowing us to change the number on our visitor map from 104 countries to 107 countries!
Heather, a Travel Blogger (View her Blog at Raulersongirlstravel), visited the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes recently and shared this review with her readers, https://bit.ly/3Kpk2jV. Thank you, Heather!
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History, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills at Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes April 12

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Sending on behalf of Chamber Member
Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes…
Presentation by USA Olympic Gold Medalist
Billy Mills!
Olympic Gold Medalist, Billy Mills will be in Fort Scott on Wednesday, April 12th, 2023!
Join us at 2 pm for a Presentation by Billy Mills with a reception following at the
Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes.
(Hosted by The Lowell Milken Center &
Friends of the Fort Scott National Historic Site, Inc.)
Billy Mills will be at The Danny & Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center from 12-1pm and then will head over to the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes
starting at 2pm.
Don’t miss out on either of these wonderful events!
Thank you to our Chamber Champion members
shown below!
FORT SCOTT AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
620-223-3566
‌
History, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Native American Olympic Medal Winner Billy Mills: April 12 at LMC.

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Billy Mills. Submitted photo.

Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Announces

Wednesday, April 12th Special Event

 

In honor of the Great Onondaga Chief Hiawatha, unsung Native American hero, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes invites all to attend a reception for and discussion with the Olympic Gold Medal Winner of the 10,000meter at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics – Billy Mills. Three students will be awarded $100 for writing and performing a poem about “The Leader We Need.” They will each have the opportunity to perform their poem for the audience, after which we will discuss “The Leader We Need.”  This event will take place on Wednesday, April 12th at 2:00pm at the Lowell Milken Center at 1 South Main St.

The Lowell Milken Center is located at the corner of First and Wall Streets.

 

Billy Mills’ visit is sponsored by a grant from Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, the Lowell Milken Center, and the Friends of the Fort Scott National Historic Site, Inc. This event is in preparation for the “Wahzhazhe: an Osage Ballet” which will have performances on July 21st and 22nd at the Ellis Family Fine Arts Center at the Fort Scott Community College.

 

 

About Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area: The FFNHA tells the stories and builds awareness of our region’s past, present and future: the Kansas-Missouri border war, the Civil War, the settlement of the western frontier and rural America, and our enduring struggle for freedom.

 

About the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes: The Lowell Milken Center is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) that works with students and educators within a range of diverse academic disciplines, to develop projects focused on unsung Heroes.

 

About the Friends of the Fort Scott National Historic Site, Inc.: The Friends of the Fort provides volunteers and financial support for the Fort Scott National Historic Site special events including the annual immersive Winter Candlelight tour, the annual Naturalization Ceremony, and other educational programming. The Friends advocate for the NHS and solicit and administer contributions/grants to help support the goals and missions of the NHS.

 

 

 

 

History, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Lowell Milken Center For Unsung Heroes Newsletter

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Make plans soon to visit the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes in historic, downtown Fort Scott, Kansas.

  • Learn about internationally recognized projects that share stories of unsung heroes from history.
  • Enjoy FREE tours customized to your group.
  • Bring classes, book clubs, civic organizations, travel clubs, school groups, etc.

Perfect for all ages!
Tour groups of all ages enjoy hearing the inspiring stories of our Unsung Heroes from our knowledgeable tour guides.
We look forward to the beautiful spring weather and warmer temperatures, so visitors can spend more time in Lowell Milken Park learning about unsung heroes.

Celebrating the Legacy of Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler was born 113 years ago, on February 15th. We remember this incredible woman with great admiration. We were with her about a week before her passing in 2008. She continued to speak about the brave Jewish people of the Warsaw Ghetto and the ‘righteous gentiles’ who helped save many.

For more information about Irena Sendler, visit https://bit.ly/2ZWFjuS.
STUDENT COMPETITIONS
Reminder: ARTEFFECT Submission Deadline is April 1, 2023.
The Unsung Heroes ARTEFFECT 2023 Competition invites submissions from all middle and high school students interested in making a positive impact through their art.
An Unsung Hero is an individual who is largely unrecognized by society for taking extraordinary actions to improve the lives of others, while making a profound and positive impact on history.
Learn about ARTEFFECT
The 2023 Discovery Award Competition, sponsored by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, is underway.
Students in grades 4-12 can discover an unsung hero and submit a project for a chance to earn up to $6,000.
We encourage students to submit their topics for approval soon! (Topic approval is encouraged but not required to enter the competition.)
Projects are due July 1, 2023.
For contest rules and to learn how to enter click the button below.
Learn about Discovery Award
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Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

1 South Main St

Fort Scott, KS 66701
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Women’s Fight For Rights Presentation Explores: What Is a Hero?

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Linda O’Nelio Knoll, is a speaker, educator and historian in Pittsburg. Photo from the Humanities Kansas website.

Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott will host “Army of the Amazons: Women’s Fight for Labor Rights in the Kansas Coalfields,” a presentation and discussion by Linda O’Nelio Knoll on Friday, February 10, 2023 at  2 p.m., at the Lowell Milken Center at 1 South Main Street.

“The presentation and books are free and there will be wine and cheese as well,” said Ronda Hassig, Funding Development Spokesperson at the LMC. “We would love to see you and you are welcome to bring a friend too!”
 

Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes at #620-223-1312 for more information. The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.

Refreshments will be provided for those attending.

To view the poster of the event:

Email Community Book Read (5 × 7 in) (2)(1)

 

In December 1921, thousands of women in southeast Kansas rose up to fight injustice in the area coalfields.

These women were immigrants from Eastern European nations as well as Kansas born.

After a months-long strike by the coalminers, the women joined the cause. In the short term, their efforts crippled mine production for nearly a month; in the longer term, their continued activism impacted future statewide elections and national legislation.

This talk will share the stories of these women, christened the “Amazon Army” by The New York Times, and their fight for democracy and labor rights in Kansas’s coalfields.

This event will kick off the community reading of two books about Unsung Heroes “Cher Ami” and “Lorraine Hansberry.”

Free books are provided by Humanities Kansas and all are welcome to participate!

Both book discussions will happen at the Lowell Milken Center three weeks after the book is passed out

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.

 

 

About the Lowell Milken Center: The Lowell Milken Center is a non-profit 501 © (3) that works with students and educators within a range of diverse academic disciplines, to develop projects focused on unsung heroes. Once their projects are finished, we advocate the student’s unsung heroes by sharing them in our Hall of Unsung Heroes or our website so people all over the world discover their individual influence and obligation to take actions that improve the lives of others. The Hall of Unsung Heroes is proudly located in Southeast Kansas and showcases some of the top projects developed in collaboration with the Center.

 

 

 

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Fort Scott, History, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Customized Tours of Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Can Be Booked

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Sending on Behalf of Chamber Member
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes…
Now Booking Group Tours!

Make plans soon to visit the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes in historic, downtown Fort Scott, Kansas.

– Learn about internationally recognized projects that share stories of unsung heroes from history!

– Enjoy FREE tours customized to your group!

– Bring classes, book clubs, civic organizations, travel clubs, school groups, etc.!

Perfect for all ages!

*An Unsung Hero is an individual, who is largely unrecognized by society, for taking extraordinary actions to improve the lives of others, and that made a profound and positive impact on history.

To schedule your group tour please call 620.223.1312 or email [email protected]
Thank you to our Chamber Champion members below!
Fort Scott, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, Youth

Lowell Milken Center Participating in the 34th Annual Toybox Campaign

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The Lowell Milken Center is located at the corner of First and Wall Streets.

 

 

The Lowell Milken Center has joined the 34th Annual Toybox campaign which runs through December 13. It is one of the 4-States’ largest toy drives to benefit underprivileged children in Southeast Kansas, Southwest Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma. KOAM News Now, Salvation Army and many other community service organizations and businesses have organized this worthwhile endeavor.

 

In Fort Scott, new, unwrapped toys for children birth through 16 years of age may be dropped off during regular business hours at the Lowell Milken Center at 1 South Main or at Care4All at 2 W. 18th St. (The Lowell Milken Center is open from 10 am–5 pm, M-F, and 10 am–4 pm on Saturdays.) The toys will be distributed through Compassionate Ministries/Salvation Army here in Bourbon County to families who have registered for holiday assistance.

 

Toybox Tuesday Telethons will be conducted during the Noon, 5:00 and 6:00 newscasts on KOAM and its KOAM+ streaming platforms.  Dates for the telethons are November 29, December 6, and December 13. Viewers have the opportunity to make a tax-deductible financial contribution to support Toybox during the telethons. All monies raised are used to purchase new toys and gifts.

 

Additional information can be found at http://koamnewsnow.com/Toybox.

 

Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

   The Lowell Milken Center Reaches an All-time Record for Visitors

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Since its inception in 2007, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes has hosted visitors from around the world, including 104 countries and all 50 US states. On November 4, 2022, the center reached a new milestone with its 12,634th visitor for 2022. That number marks the highest number of visitors the Center has had in one calendar year.

81-year-old John Hammes from Bangor, Wisconsin was the honored visitor for 2022. He is a Vietnam veteran, who visited the Center on his way to a veteran’s celebration in Branson, Missouri with his wife and children. They enjoyed learning the stories of all of the LMC’s Unsung Heroes and could relate to those about Harry Hue and Douglas Hegdahl, both Vietnam veterans themselves. While John was awarded with special gifts from the Center to mark this milestone day, he also gifted the LMC staff with his own special stories about his four tours of duty in Vietnam. The Center thanks John for his service to our country and congratulates him as the 12,634th Visitor for 2022!

Visitors like John and his family continue to help the mission of the Center grow, as they learn about and share the featured Unsung Heroes’ stories and their important impact on the history of our country and the world.

As interest in the Center grows, the number of projects entered in the Discovery Award and ArtEffect competitions grows as well. Consequently, new Unsung Hero exhibits are continually being added to the Lowell Milken Center’s Hall of Heroes, the Lowell Milken Park, and the Center’s website. These unsung heroes become role models that inspire all who learn about them to seek to make a difference in the lives of others.

About the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes:

The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes works with students and educators across diverse academic disciplines to develop history projects that highlight role models who demonstrate courage, compassion and respect. Through our unique project-based learning approach, students discover, develop and communicate the stories of Unsung Heroes who have made a profound and positive impact on the course of history. By championing these Unsung Heroes, students, educators and communities discover their own power and responsibility to effect positive change in the world. Visit www.lowellmilkencenter.org to learn more.

 

The Lowell Milken Park. Submitted photo.

 

Entertainment, Fort Scott, History, Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Star Gazing Parties in the Future For the Lowell Milken Center Fort Scott

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The Lowell Milken Park. Submitted photo.
A telescope will be an added attraction at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes at the corner of First and Wall Street in downtown Fort Scott.
“The telescope will be used to educate the community on… amazing unsung heroes of the stars,” Ronda Hassig, funding developer for the center, said.
Ronda Hassig. Taken from the Lowell Milken Center Facebook page.
Hassig wrote the $2,500 grant proposal for the telescope and carrying case and the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation awarded the grant  last month.
“The telescope is remote and GPS controlled,” Hassig said. ” We had an astronomer from Nebraska stop by the center and we found out he is the director of the Stargazing Project in Nebraska!  He is so excited for us, that he has agreed to come back down as soon as the telescope arrives and help us get used to using it.  There’s a definite learning curve but he thinks we can handle it!”
“The telescope will be used in the Lowell Milken Park (adjacent to the center) for viewing of the moon and planets,” she said.  “For deeper space, we are hoping to be able to use it at the Fort (Fort Scott National Historic Site) along with their telescope!”
“We hope to get both young and old excited about seeing the stars and the heavens so we will be having star parties here at the center in the Lowell Milken Park,” she said. “The parties will contain stargazing along with guest speakers and expert astronomers from all over the country.  Everyone will be invited!”
“I think no matter how old you are, if you have ever looked through a telescope and seen the moon up close, or the actual rings of Saturn, you are hooked forever,” she said.
The telescope has been ordered and the center staff hope to have it  sometime this week.
 “Then I’ll get to start planning our first star party,” she said. ” I’ll be paying special attention to moonless nights and hopefully cloudless nights and we may get lucky and get to have a party in the next several months.  It will be cold but if you’re bundled up you won’t care!  There will be warm drinks and treats for everyone!”
“Stay tuned for dates and please plan to come enjoy our newest device at the Lowell Milken Center provided with the gracious funds of the Fort Scott Community Foundation,” she said.
“We are really trying to educate the community on all of the different unsung heroes here at the Lowell Milken Center, by having fun and having educational activities around those heroes,” she said.
Two of the astronomy heroes that are featured at the center are:
“Henrietta Swan Leavitt was born right after the Civil War and was educated at Oberlin and Radcliffe,” Hassig said.  “She got excited about astronomy after taking a course on it.  When she graduated she began volunteering at the Harvard College Observatory and after 14 years she was paid for her work at $.30 an hour.  She was essentially 1 of 20 women computers. Through her work, Leavitt earned graduate credit towards her degree but never completed it.  She did however make an amazing discovery – she figured out how to measure objects in space. This discovery led to the launching of the Hubble Telescope and more recently the Webb Telescope!  As she aged, her health got worse and a bout with cancer caused her to lose her hearing.  She died at age 53, but her dedication to astronomy has given us some of our most advanced knowledge about space!”
“Gene Shoemaker was the founder of astrogeology,” Hassig said.  “The first person to determine the origin of the famous Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, the first director and creator of the Astrogeology Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, and along with David Levy discovered the Shoemaker-Levy Comet.
“Shoemaker worked for NASA preparing himself and the other astronauts to walk on the moon.  Gene was to be the first geologist on the moon. But after all his hard work he was unable to go to the moon because he had Addison’s Disease. He commentated the moonwalk with CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite during the live flights.  Although he was horribly disappointed not to go, he kept looking for impact craters and space rocks.  He searched for craters and rocks all over the world.  He was looking for craters in Australia when he was tragically killed in a car accident.  NASA wanted to honor this amazing scientist so they called his family and asked for some of his ashes.  They put the ashes in a space probe and crashed it on the moon.  Gene Shoemaker is the only human buried on the moon and just one of two buried in space.”
 
Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes

Lowell Milken Center Announces Grant from the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation

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The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation has awarded the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes a grant for $2,500.  The grant will fund “Unsung Heroes of the Stars: A Community-wide Stargazing Project.” The monies will purchase a telescope that will be used at the Lowell Milken Park for young and old alike to learn about special unsung hero astronomers.  Not only will the project include stargazing but special guests will be invited to teach about space and the people that spent their lives trying to reach it!

 

 

About the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation: “The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation hosts individual charitable funds created by donors who have a passion for giving back to their community. Grants from these funds assist people throughout Fort Scott and Bourbon County. Call the Foundation at 620-224-6500 with questions about the Community Foundation.”

 

 

About the Lowell Milken Center: The Lowell Milken Center is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) that works with students and educators within a range of diverse academic disciplines, to develop projects focused on unsung heroes.