2012 Report of Events & Business, Shawnee County Historical Society, Topeka and Shawnee County, Kansas

2012 Preservation Awards — Sunday, May 5, 2012
held at the Blue Planet Cafe, Thacher Building, at 110 SE 8th St., Topeka, 2 PM

The sixh annual joint awards for preservation of sites reflecting the history of Shawnee County were presented by the Shawnee County Historical Society and the Topeka Landmarks Commission.


Carlton Scroggins Preservation Awards Committee Chair	Jeff Carson Thacher Building host	Stacey Keller Topeka Landmarks Commission Chair	Deb Bisel Shawnee Co. Historical Society President

Deb Bisel, Shawnee County Historical Society President, honored these 2012 SCHS Preservation Award recipients:


Jayhawk Theatre, Jeff Carson & Doug Jones accepting: "Persistence in Historic Restoration Efforts"	Constitution Hall, Douglass Wallace & Don Lambert accepting: "Perseverance in Historic Restoration Efforts"


John & Julie Lyle, Revitalizing Elmhurst Neighborhood: "Historic Preservation and Heighborhood Revitalization"	Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Washburn campus: Dr. Jerry Farley & Bob Taggert accepting: ""Preservation of Historic Property"	The Schultz Family: Carlton Scroggins & Douglass Wallace accepting, "Maintaining & Dining."

Stacey Keller, new chair of the Topeka Landmark Commission recognized former commission members Robert Banks (ex-chair), Sandra Lassiter, Christy Davis and Rowena Horr. Banks and Lassiter accepted their recognitions in person.


Stacy Keller with past chair, Robert Banks	Stacy Keller with Sandra Lassiter

Stacey announced the past year's additions to the National Register of Historic Places: ATSF Motive Power Building, 1001 NE Atchison Street; Hughes Conoco Service Station, 400 SW Taylor Street; North Topeka Baptist Church, 123 NW Gordon Street; John C. Harmon House, 915 SW Buchanan Street; and Church of the Holy Name, 110 SW 10th Street. One local landmark designation, the William Crosby House, 1109 S. Topeka Blvd., home of William Crosby, founder of the Crosby Department Store in downtown Topeka, was also recognized. The Crosby home is currently used as the local headquarters of the Kansas State Nurses Association.


Edwin Hughes accepts for Hughes Conoco	Darrell Linquist accepts for North Topeka Baptist Church	Garth Combs accepts for John C. Harmon House

Candids, 2012 Preservation Awards

2012 building preservation projects honored:


Jayhawk Theatre, 720 SW Jackson St.


Constitution Hall, 429 & 431 S. Kansas Ave.


Elmhurst properties, among those restored by John and Julie Lyle


Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Washburn University campus


Benoit Swinnen Properties, 917-921 S. Topeka Blvd.		The Schultz Family, The Break Room, 911 S. Kansas Ave.

Attic Sale: Saturday, April 5, 2012
This fundraiser was the first of its kind for Shawnee County Historical Society, held in the yards of the Ritchie property and inside the Hale Ritchie House. The sale included donated household items and antiques. Special guest was historian and antique dealer, Lt. Col. (ret) David Chuber, who ran our auction which started at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

Attic Sale 2012

Freedom Seekers: Stories from the Underground Railroad
Sunday, April 1, 2012 — Premiere of Gary Jenkins's 75-minute documentary
Freedom Seekers tells stories of the dangerous escapes by Missouri slaves held in bondage and thrilling adventures of Kansas Conductors and Stationmasters. Learn about the undercover activities of Wiliam Quantrill, the gun fight at the Wakarusa Valley cabin of Joseph Gardner, The Immortal 10, forged slave passes and many more previously untold stories of the Underground Railroad. Footage included Quindaro, Kansas ruins where many Freedom Seekers hid in cellars, wells and hidden rooms.
For more information on Jenkins and his films, visit http://lifedocumentaries.com/

Freedom Seekers, video documentary

See also: "Film documents Underground Railroad in Ks.," Topeka Capital-Journal, 3/18/2012

See also: KPR coverage, "Part 1:Tracing the Tracks of the Underground Railroad Through Kansas" and "Part 2: Local Projects Unearth Underground Railroad History"

See also: "Guide to Underground Railroad sites in Shawnee County" [a downloadable pdf file]

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Shared Stories of the Civil War readers theatre
Scripts developed by the Kansas Humanities Council & Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area
—select a thumbnail to see the larger photo—

Sunday, February 26, 2012: "Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence and Order Number 11"
Directed by Lana Wagnon, introductions by Bruce Mactavish, narrated by Travis Lamb
Readers: Ralph Skoog, Phyllis Penney, Jack Wagnon, Phyllis Penney and Jan Stover

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Sunday, February 19, 2012: "Guerilla Warfare: Bushwackers & Jayhawkers"
Directed by David Tangeman, introductions by Bruce Mactavish, narrated by Ralph Hipp
Readers: Phyllis Penney, Ken Kerly, Mary Feighny, Doug Wright and David Tangeman

As after the first two February events, Bill Wagnon gave tours of the John Ritchie House.

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Sunday, February 12, 2012: "The Underground Railroad"
Directed by Margaret Wood, introductions by Kelly Erby, narrated by Ralph Hipp
Readers: Phyllis Penney, Lana Wagnon, Mary Feighny, Doug Wright and Margaret Wood

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Sunday, February 5, 2012: "John Brown: Martyr or Madman?"
Directed by Phyllis Penney, introductions by Kelly Erby, narrated by Ralph Hipp
Readers: Ken and Mary Kerle, David Tangeman, Ralph Skoog and Phyllis Penney

Bill Wagnon makes a point during discussion

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