Opinions

The Way West As the year of 1860 drew to a close the division of the United States appeared to be a looming certainty. The election of Abraham Lincoln drew a line in the sand over the continuation of slavery. South Carolina had taken the initiative to secede from the Union in late December.

When an international school recruited 15 of the best veteran teachers from across the United States to teach in their expanding school, their students’ parents were driven to exhaustion.

I will have more on this subject in the future, but for now our readers probably need to be aware of the difficult situation our newspapers at Marquette and Ellsworth are in, thanks to Gatehouse Media and its purchase of the former Harris Family newspapers, including the Salina Journal, Hays Daily...

Gov. Laura Kelly gets credit for her attempt to end the so-called Border War between Kansas and Missouri by directing the state’s economic development agencies to stop poaching jobs from the Missouri side of the Kansas City area.

The Way West Col. W. H. Greenwood must have felt a special sense of accomplishment Aug. 19, 1870, as the last rail spike was driven to complete the Kansas Pacific Railway. Chief Engineer Greenwood had pushed the first railroad across the open plains of Kansas and eastern Colorado.

There are very few constants in life but the one thing that remained constant for me growing up and into adulthood was the morning show on WIBW with ag programing brought to our house by Kelly Lenz.

Thinking of Muriel Greene makes me smile. Mrs. Greene and her husband, Ken, operated a photography business for 50 years from their home near Tescott. Ken Greene took the photos and Mrs. Greene made sure everyone was where they were supposed to be.

If you go back through past editions of the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, you’ll probably find an editorial similar to the one you’re reading right now. Ellsworth has three major festivals during the summer — Fort Harker Days, the Wilson After-Harvest Czech Festival and Cowtown Days.

The Way West The gold rush to the Rocky Mountains brought a flush of travelers across the plains in 1860. Treaties had long been established with the plains tribes allowing access through their traditional lands. Traders traveled the Santa Fe Trail.

If you’re like my family, you don’t have much reason or opportunity to have a regular discussion with the people responsible for growing and raising our food. We order our beef from a local meat locker every year and supplement it with occasional trips to a local butcher.