Kansas History and Life Student Papers
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Item Open Access A thin line between love and hate. Leonardville and Riley: the evolution of a small town rivalry(Kansas State University. Dept. of History, 2011-05-12) Schnee, AngelaThe author recreates the formation of a twin town rivalry in Riley County, Kansas. She explores how the rivalry between Riley and Leonardville, Kansas first began over a century ago and the reasons why it still exists today. The author uses a variety of sources such as historical texts, newspaper articles, and personal interviews to create a portrait of the rivalry between the two towns.Item Open Access The Firebrand: Clay Center, Clay County, Kansas, Dec. 1893 – Nov., 1894(Kansas State University. Dept. of History, 2011-04-19) Collins, BeckyAmong the 713 newspapers in print in Kansas in the 1880s, a single short-lived newspaper provides insight into political shifts and battles in small towns. The Firebrand newspaper in Clay Center provided inflammatory rhetoric for a single year, also switching political sides from Republican to Democrat. This is an in-depth study of one newspaper; the author, a journalism major, read every issue and perceptively analyzes tone, message, and content.Item Open Access Cheyenne Dog Soldier Depredations on Settlers in the Northern Kansas Frontier From 1864 to 1869(Kansas State University. Dept. of History, 2011-04-19) Howard, IanDuring the 1860s, Indian tribes raided frontier settlements across the plains, most notably the Cheyenne in North Central Kansas. Numerous counties in Kansas felt the scarring effect of the raids; however, the counties of Jewell, Mitchell, Washington, Republic, Cloud, and Clay were the most affected. Almost all sources on the matter report the Indians as "northern Cheyenne." However, the information provided by first-hand accounts points to the Dog Soldiers as being behind the raids. In this study, the author examines the raids that took place in north central Kansas between 1864 – 1869, while demonstrating how and why the Dog Soldiers committed the depredations.Item Open Access Technology, Mechanization, and the Life and Death of a Kansas Common Pasture: The Story of the Westmoreland Common Pasture, Westmoreland, Pottawatomie County, Kansas, 1860-1940(Kansas State University. Dept. of History, 2011-04-19) McCoy, Travis J.Many small towns in Kansas had a shared dairy commons. The author of this study connects the commons in Westmoreland, Rock Creek Valley, with the strong German and Sudetenland settler culture; he also traces the life of the commons and its eventual decline to milk trucks able to deliver bottled milk by the 1930s. By World War II, the commons was in its final days. The writer locates the original site and provides photographs.Item Open Access Fact vs. Speculation: Finding the Meaning Behind the Westmoreland Slaughterhouse, Pottawatomie County, Kansas, 1859 – 1959(Kansas State University. Dept. of History, 2011-04-19) Zuk, LaraWith Germanic and possibly surviving medieval European culture ways implanted in Pottawatomie County, a shared rural slaughterhouse in early Westmoreland provides clues. From oral accounts only, the author locates the site of the original slaughterhouse and discusses its use as a shared resource by early German farmers in the area. This study contains interviews and photographs.Item Open Access Braving the Storm: Suicide in Clay County, 1893 – 1905(Kansas State University. Dept. of History, 2011-04-19) Conner, WilliamThe author creates a vivid picture of turn of the century rural life as often impoverished, harsh, and filled with economic loss. He examines the unusually high suicide rate among young farmers who lost their land in the Panic of 1893. This study uses Clay County coroner and funeral home records.Item Open Access Comparative Study of Contagious Diseases in Clay County vs. Riley County: Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever, Smallpox, Typhoid Fever, 1907-1917(Kansas State University. Dept. of History, 2011-04-19) Musgrove, Yates S.Analyzing contagious disease records kept by physicians in two contiguous Kansas counties, this study reaches interesting conclusions about the role of the railroads in early twentieth century Kansas. Rail lines are suspected disease vectors. The presence of Kansas State University also played a part in the spread of specific contagious diseases. The author presents data in statistical tables.
