2nd Quarter 2012
April, May and June

A quick note, this web page is sponsored by Elk City PRIDE in connection with Kansas State University PRIDE Program and through the Blueskyways Library System. PRIDE and the people of Elk City make up the content of this website.

Check It Out

Can you help identify the people in this picture - Elk City Band 1925 (note - not a high school band)

Oak Hill Cemetery VFW Program Pictures

Pictures of Elk City High School Alumni Banquet

The Spring Redbuds in Bloom

The beautiful Redbuds blooming in the spring.

History of Oak Hill Cemetery

In March of 1887 J. L. Kelly and wife Mary deeded 6 acres to the Oak Hill Cemetery Association. There have been additions since. Today it is well kept with an active cemetery board to see that this is so. Cemeteries today receive county tax monies for their upkeep, but 'twasn't always so. At one time a group of ladies from Elk City, known as the Civic Improvement Club, would hold turkey dinners along with bazaars in the fall of the year for the benefit of the cemetery. It was they who bought the wide, dated gate. At a later date, the Coterie, a ladies club, held benefits to assist in the upkeep, such as to buy rock for the roads or whatever was needed at the time. That club erected the memorial plot honoring those boys in military who lost their lives in World War II. On Memorial Day, for many years individual flags have been placed on graves of all the military men and women. Of recent years an Avenue of Flags has graced the north side of the cemetery, adding to the beauty as well as to the feeling of patriotism. Frank and Norma Foster were the instigators of this project. Large Memorial Day crowds gather here each year to decorate graves visit with former friends and relatives, also for the patriotic program that is a yearly custom.

Article was written by Myrtle Cox, a lifelong resident of Elk City and of the Coterie Club

Memorial Day at Oak Hill Cemetery

Memorial Day was a beautiful sunny day, a bit windy so the flags all flew straight out and certainly not limp. Frank and young Spencer raised the flag to half staff, Reverend Marta played the guitar and lead the crowd in two patriotic songs America the Beautiful and Mine Eyes have seen the Glory. Rev. Loftin was the Master of Ceremonies and Pastor Kuszak gave an inspiring Patriotic speech; since he is a retired Marine Corp serviceman, it came from the heart. The VFW gave the program for all the deceased veterans, the Chaplin, Officer of the Day, each giving a talk and placing a bouquet on the Memorial Lot. The VFW Rifle Squad gave the 21 gun salute. The VFW Ladies Auxiliary were present and Jessica placed a wreath at the Memorial Plot. Then Taps was played to end the ceremony.

There was a nice crowd present and lots of visiting and placing of flowers on their loved ones graves.

Oak Hill Cemetery VFW Program Pictures

Elk City High School Alumni Banquet

The Elk City High School Alumni Banquet was held on Saturday of Memorial Weekend. The weather was dry and wheat harvest was in full swing and the crowd was kind of slight this year. Even though the classes were slender everyone had a great time visiting and enjoying the buffet. Everyone was expecting dessert of Peach Cobbler, due to a mix up, the dessert was overlooked but several class members made a trip to Braums for Ice Cream after the banquet. A 2nd reunion came together at Braums. It was a very enjoyable evening. Mr. Foster came the furtherest coming 750 miles; the oldest class was LaDornia Reed Hall class of 1937. The class of 1962 were the hosts and were having their 50th reunion. They had an excellent memory brochure with their class picture and "Do you Remember" things of that time period.

Pictures of Elk City High School Alumni Banquet

1962 Events

Following the placement of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy orders a blockade: Khrushchev's agreement to dismantle and remove the missiles ends the work's gravest nuclear confrontation.

Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel for his role in the Nazi extermination of six million Jews

John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth

Supreme Court rules that officially sponsored prayer in public schools is unconstitutional

First black enrolls in University of Mississippi following federal intervention and white mob violence.

Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson to win the world heavyweight boxing championship

Green Bay Packers best the New York Giants in the NFL championship game

Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a game for Philadelphia

Boston Celtics win their 6th consecutive NBA crown

Marilyn Monroe dies at age 36 of a barbiturate overdose

Elk City High School graduates all 25 seniors, Ernest Edmonds does cart wheel at commencement

Movies of 1962; Lawrence of Arabia, To Kill a Mockingbird, How the West Was Won, The Longest Day, In Search of the Castaways and the Music Man are box office winners.

Television: Walter Cronkite succeeds Douglas Edwards as anchorman of the CBS Evening News. Johnny Carson begins his reign as host of the Tonight Show. The Season's most popular shows are The Beverly Hillbillies, Candid Camera, The Red Skelton Show, Bonanza and The Lucy Show.

Key Facts of 1962: President John F. Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Cost of a gallon of gas 31 cents, Cost of a gallon of milk 49 cents, cost of a dozen eggs 54 cents, cost of a new home $18,200, cost of a first class postage stamp 4 cents, Unemployment 6.7%

Notable Inventions: The audio cassette, the fiber-tip pen invented by Yukio Horie, Spacewar is the first computer video game invented, Dow Corp invents silicone breast implants.

Top 10 Songs on May 1, 1962 were: Soldier Boy by the Shirelles; Mashed Potato Time by Dee Dee Sharp; Johnny Angel by Shelley Fabares; Stranger on the Shore by Mr. Acker Vilk; Good Luck Charm by Elvis Presley; Shout by Joey Dee and the Starliters; Lover, Please by Clyde McPhatter; Slow Twistin by Chubby Checker; P.T. 109 by Jimmy Dean; Twist, Twist Senora by Gary (U.S.) Bonds

If you were Born Before 1945

Born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, frisbees and the pill.

Born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, and ballpoint pens.

Before dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes, and before man walked on the moon.

We got married first and then lived together

Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagens

We thought Outer Space was the back of the Sunset Drive In Theatre

We were before day-care centers, group therapy and nursing homes

We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt, and guys wearing earrings.

For us time - sharing meant togetherness, not computers or condominiums; a "chip" meant a piece of wood; hardware meant hardware and software wasn't even a word!

In the 1940's "Made in Japan" meant JUNK and the term "making out" referred to how you did on your exam.

Pizza, McDonald's, and instant coffee were in the distant future

Five and dime stores were where you bought things for five and ten cents. A nickel bought an ice cream cone at Ferns, a coke or root beer at Alva Marrs, or enough postage from Grassy Newkirk to mail a letter and two post cards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600.00 but who could afford one? A pity too because gas was 11 cents a gallon and the minimum wage was 40 cents an hour.

In our day; cigarette smoking was fashionable, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink, POT was something you cooked in, ROCK MUSIC was a grandmother's lullaby and AIDS were helpers.

We never realized we were living in the good ole days :-)

PRIDE

PRIDE has a community project each spring, summer and into fall where two yards are picked out each month for recognition of a nice yard. A lot of people put in a lot of work and time to keep their yards looking nice and neat which is a good reflection on Elk City Community PRIDE. The PRIDE committee picks out two yards each month during the spring, summer and fall season and puts a sign in their front yard. PRIDE had new signs made this year to start the season off and they really look nice.

This yard had been preparing to replant grass and someone put this sign in the yard (which reads "Future PRIDE Yard"). Maybe it will be a PRIDE Yard before the summer is out as the grass grows.

PRIDE also sponsors Trades Day which is a City Wide Garage Sale which is held the first Saturday of May each year. This year was a beautiful Sunny day. A couple of tables of baked goods, plants and rummage were in the Community Building. Lunch was served by the UMW Ladies. Quite a few Garage sales were around town and the report was most were happy with the results.

There’s a particular Sunday that comes only once a year – Easter. A Community –Wide Easter Service was held April 8th in the City Park at the Pavilion. We sang a few familiar Easter songs, and a live drama presentation and a breakfast. The various churches in the community worked together to make this a very memorable and enjoyable Easter experience.

The children's Easter Egg Hunt was scheduled for Saturday the 7th. It rained hard all day and the hunt had to be canceled and held the following weekend but pictures were not available. Easter Sunday turned off sunny and beautiful.

The United Methodist Church and First Christian Church combined talents and time to host the annual Vacation Bible School. There were 50 children attending from pre-school through 6th grade.

Adult Softball is happening in Elk City this summer, starting in June. It is very hot but these dedicated ball players "PLAY BALL"

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The farmers have their corn planted and just waiting to roll the planters for soybeans. April has definitely been cooler than March. All the garden and flower planting seems to be about a month early this year. Even the wheat seems to be ripening faster than normal. We have escaped the frost, hail and disease so far, although some reports of frost have been seen in the area.

Michele bought flowers, now we can decorate the Keli-Mart planters! Flowers are Fun ! But they aren't fun when the north wind blows, so planting had to wait, not planting flowers in a coat!

June

Farmer’s report: The wheat harvest started 2 wk ago – a month early this year, along with everything else seeming to be early. The rain at the first & middle of the month was sure welcomed, then it turned off hot & dry weather seemed like the middle of summer already. The harvest yields were good and double crop beans planted. the summer crew for us this year… Oh my gosh… I forgot how much food it takes to keep growing boys fed and how much laundry they can accumulate.

The 1st Christian & United Methodist Churches held Sonrise National Park Vacation Bible School the 4th week in June. We had 45-50 children attend learning about Jesus helping us in our time of need. Thanks to all the teachers and helpers and thanks to the parents for sending their children.

Joe Cox has a beautiful flower bed of begonias at his house and PRIDE thanks him for donating mulch for the flowers at the Elk City sign.

I think we should just do away with Father's day & Mother's day & Honor them all the time. All it does is make the father that has to work mad or the father who is alone, sad and Mother's usually end up cooking the meal on Mother's day instead of having a day to enjoy with their children.

After some discussion at the coffee table, I hope I don’t look as old as some people think I am. What I learned this month: Things happen in all our lives, good and bad, but it’s how we handle those situations that reflect our true character.

The Gingham Aprons FCE held a Guest Day in May and presented 3 lessons along with lunch and a very enjoyable afternoon was spent. The three lessons were; "Say it with Cheese", More "Plants on the Plate", and "Citizenship". In June the FCE had a guest speaker, Ruth Ritthaler, Assistant District Attorney, spoke to the group concerning elder abuse and elder laws. She specifically discussed durable power of attorney, telemarketing problems, internet phishing, and the periodic updating of documents.

The Elk City Library is open each 2nd and 4th Monday of the month. They have a large assortment of books to check out. Also have large print and audio books. They also have snacks and beverages on hand and several ladies usually have a card game or a puzzle going.

The Craft and Chatter Club had several craft demonstrations; Bev demonstrated how to decorate plastic Easter eggs. Then everyone made and decorated an egg which turned out really cute. There were some really cute eggs some resembling Faberge eggs, some were real characters, a lot of whimsical and googly eyed characters were invented.

The 4th Sunday Breakfast was held on Sunday of Memorial Weekend. A good crowd enjoyed all you can eat breakfast and visiting and a bunch of motorcycles were lined along the street.

Saw a pair of Road Runners, a bird that is very rare in these parts. First pair I had ever seen that was not on a cartoon :-)

Huntington, Virginia Lea, age 81 passed away on June 18th.

Newingham, Ruby Kathryn Stong, age 94, died, she was born near Elk City to Pitt and Laura Howard Stong

Word came from the south this forenoon of a destructive tornado in Montgomery County. From the LaFontaine post office, the Citizen has been given information as follows:

The tornado originated at or near Elk City where the Santa Fe depot railroad was damaged at 7:00 O'Clock p.m. and swept northeasterly. About 3 miles Southwest of LaFontaine it suddenly veered through the Farm Ridge district. So far as known this morning about 20 farm houses, 15 barns and 2 school houses and the Quaker Church at Farm Ridge were wrecked or destroyed.

Three miles southwest of Lafontaine the home of Leo Pittman was completely wrecked, his mother aged above 70 years was killed and he was dangerously injured. At Farm Ridge, Mrs. Ben Lapsley was so severely hurt as to be unconscious up to the middle of this forenoon, while two young children were injured, one having an arm broken the other being seriously hurt in the head. The telephone lines were destroyed in the path of the storm.