Research Paper Comments

Parsons and the New Deal
Bill Wolff
This paper had some interesting things that I was not aware of. Having lived in Parsons all of my life I was only aware of the stadium and wall that were built as a part of the New Deal.

Douglass School: Disintegration or the Black Community
By: Steven Clark
Some of Steven’s research overlapped my own. It is interesting to see that some viewed the closing of the school as a bad thing for the community. All that we hear about is how great desegregation was when in truth not everyone feels this way. I would like to find a copy of Justin’s film that he made. It sounds really interesting.

The History of The Katy Hospital
Rob Barcus
Rob did a good job covering a topic in which there is not a lot of information on. Every time I drive by the old administrators house I wonder who lives there. Now I know that they are using it as a temporary home for new physicians. It is a great structure that definitely could use some TLC.

The History of the Army Ammunition Plant in Parsons
Eddie Kearns
Eddie did a great job on his report. When I saw the topic I thought, “Oh, yawn!” But, I was really interested through the entire reading of the paper. I was even able to make a text to self-connection in my reading. My granddad was the fire chief for the plant for many years. My dad lived in one of the houses built for the officers on the grounds of the plant. I did not realize that the plant still employed so many people.

Orphan Trains
B. Jolene Pennington
Jolene went above and beyond on this paper. There was a lot of good information. She gave a good background of all aspects of the Orphan Trains. By knowing more about the railroad and the orphanages it gave me better background knowledge for understanding the topic as a whole.

Bourbon County: The Little Known Places
Project e-Hikes—John Seal
Mr. Seal must have spent a lot of time researching all of these places. It was very detailed, even down to driving directions. I know that he must have enjoyed writing about his favorite county in the world! :-) It is amazing that there are so many small, forgotten places.

History of Edna, Kansas
Faith Rosson
Faith did a good job of researching her town’s history. The facts about some of the people who lived in Edna during the early days were interesting.

Race Riot of 1920 in Independence, Kansas
Julie Dunham
Wow! Great report. I had never even heard about this before. It made me wish that my grandma was still alive. She grew up in Independence. I will think about this every time that I go to the zoo from now on. What was Ralph Mitchell famous for? Why was the zoo named after him? Surely it wasn’t because of this event was it?

Julius Augustus Wayland, The Rise, Fall, and Remains
By: Mark McFarland
Very good background information on the topic. Mark did a good job at letting people know what the socialist party was all about and its tie to Girard. Between aeronautics and socialism Girard was a happening place.

African American Life In Wichita Through 1954
T.J. Warsnak
T.J. really did a good job with his topic. It was interesting to learn about Wichita and how they were so segregated. I hadn’t realized that they were segregated to that degree.

The Clay Industries of Pittsburg, Kansas
Teri Blancho
Teri is right, whenever I think of Pittsburg I think of the mines. I never even knew that they dealt with clay. It was also interesting that some of the major events happened as late as the 70’s.

The Heritage of the Joplin & Pittsburg Electric Railway Company
Tamara Ponce
I was not even aware that something like this ever existed. It seemed to be very cutting edge for this part of the state to have such technology. I am sure that it did help people very much since distance travels were not as easy as they are today. It does seem though that one wouldn’t have wanted to be tied to the company with all of their bad luck.

History of Dorrance, Kansas
Diane Reeves
Diane gives a good general background history of the town of Dorrance. It was interesting to hear that even though it was such a small town they still had their claims to fame.

Civil War Massacre in Southeast Kansas
Greg Traxson
Really interesting, there is nothing better than a story with so many mysteries that are still left unanswered. I had never really thought about Southeast Kansas in the terms of the Civil War, so that aspect was interesting too.

The History of Education in Pittsburg, Kansas
Patrick Moss
What a deep and rich paper on Pittsburg’s educational system. Patrick did a great job of covering so many different aspects of education. It was interesting to know that they did not become the Dragons until 1930.

The Katy Railroad and its Impact on Parsons, Kansas
Debbie Shaffer
Debbie did a great job covering the impact of the Katy Railroad on the town of Parsons. She shows how the Katy began the town and how with its leaving it so deeply impacted the town. After reading this paper my husband, who used to work for the Katy, and I had a big discussion on how great it would have been if the Katy had never left.

Mayhem in Marmaton Township: Allen County Land Wars, 1882-1888
Mark Boyd
Boy, Allen County during this time definitely does not sound like a place that I would want to be. I guess that I always figured that there were major disputes over land, but this really went into how awful it was.

The Early History of Moran, Kansas
Mike McEwan
I loved the story of how Moran got its name. I love telling my students these funny little tidbits. I always tell them the story of the Indian needing new shoes telling the shoemaker “Toe-peek-a” and the Indian jumping off a bluff and yelling, “Os-we-go.” Now I can add the “Mo-ran” story. J I would have never guessed that the little blink and you miss it town had such a history.

Pleasures of the Past in Parsons
Michell Piva
Great job! There was a lot of interesting information in this paper. It is always interesting to see how things have changed over time. When I was doing research for my paper I called my dad to get some more information on the football stadium. He remembered it being used for the car races. He said they used to go there and watch the car races before the ’69 bond issue was passed to change the stadium to a full time football field.

Lynching in Leavenworth: The Fred Alexander Story
Tracy Hutton
What an interesting topic! I especially loved the fact that no one would help in the research of this topic. I hope that you continue to keep searching. While the punishment was totally uncalled for in reading some of these papers it has made me wonder what the accused people were like. Since such terrible things happened to them in such a rushed manner I think that we tend to just have sympathy for the accused with the thinking that they were innocent of all crimes making their punishment even worse.

Richmond - Chapter 18

Richmond – Chapter 18
Change, Controversy, and Commemoration

Richmond’s summaries in this book are just enough to inform the reader of worthwhile information. Not enough to drag on. J He continues this in the last chapter of his book where he sums up the more present day Kansas. He talks about the population problem, parks, and nature of the state.

Richmond has done a good job of informing me as a reader and as a teacher about our wonderful state. I now feel like I can take so much of this information back into my classroom and share it with generations to come! J

Richmond - Chapter 17

Richmond – Chapter 17
Kansas and the Arts

I never realized that Kansas could boast about so many people. We have artists, poets, authors, musicians, and dancers among our repitorie.

While most of these people my students would not recognize there are a few that they would. I was especially in awe when I read the little tidbit about Clark Tippet from Parsons that was a ballet dancer. I remember when he died. I went to school with his niece and his sister taught my keyboarding class and his brother-in-law taught my Algebra class.

My students are pretty well versed on who William Allen White was due to the fact that there is a medal named after him for children’s literature. Each year we try to read 3 or 4 of his books as a class and vote on our favorite. They really enjoy this.

Richmond - Chapter 16

Richmond – Chapter 16
Changing Times: WWII And Its Aftermath

It sounded as if many things in Kansas were the same between WWI and WWII.

Kansas finally had a man in the White House. Dwight D. Eisenhower who gained notoriety as a general in the war won the presidency.

It was interesting to read that even back then there was a dispute of the water in the Colorado River that continues today.

We do a small unit on Eisenhower and this provide another research tool for me to use on this.

Richmond - Chapter 15

Richmond – Chapter 15
The Dirty Thirties: Kansas and the Great Depression

I cannot fathom the dust bowl that happened in Kansas. The pictures are just overwhelming. They remind me of the great nothing in the Never Ending Tale. I have heard my husband’s grandmother speak of living through the dust. She had a young baby sister at the time that was sick a lot. She always blamed this on the fact that she was on the floor of the house where all of the dust settled, therefore she developed respiratory problems.

I have always carried an admiration for Alf Landon. I think that he served Kansas well, even though he did not win the presidency.

I also wondered as I read the part about the Finney brothers as to whether this was the stock that Governor Finney came from.

Richmond - Chapter 14

Richmond – Chapter 14
The Changing, Troubled Twenties

The mafia in Kansas has always been of interest to me. I had never heard of the people in the book before, but in growing up I definitely heard mob stories about the Frontenac mafia. J

The sports heroes of the time were definitely something that my kids could relate to. We recently had a Parsons football player become the second string quarterback for the Minn. Vikings. The kids talk about him quite a bit.

The fact that the schools were cracking down on the music I found funny. I can only imagine what they would think of the music today. I am sure that they would be horrified.

Richmond - Chapter 13

Richmond – Chapter 13
The First World War and a Return to Normalcy

I think that today the rationing is almost unimaginable to my students. I found it interesting though that the book gave a little more background information about what took place and why. While researching at the archives last summer I ran across a lot of information about tattle talers when it came to rationing. It was so funny. They were all ratting each other out. It does seem though in the chapter that most Kansans pulled together to fight for the cause during WWI.

The fact that more than 5,500 people in Kansas died of the flu epidemic was fascinating in 1918. I ran across a tidbit in my research for my paper that went along with this. Schools and churches in Parsons were closed because of the outbreak.

As always the miners were a point of interest. While we really do not have any mining to speak of in Labette County, we are just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Cherokee and Crawford county where there was a lot of mining. Last year we took our students to Big Brutus and we talked about mining. I didn’t quite know what to tell them about it. This book gave me some more background to talk to them about.

Richmond - Chapter 12

Richmond – Chapter 12
Progressive Politics and Progress in A New Century

I was not aware that Kansas was on the cutting edge of women’s rights. I was amazed to find out that Lucy Hobbs was from Lawrence. We have a student researching her now for a project at school, but I have never heard her mention of her being from Kansas.

Airplanes and cars are something that all of my children can relate to. It is always interesting to tell them that Parsons used to have an automobile manufacturer here in Parsons many years ago. It is also fun to tell them about Girard and the attempt to fly there. They are all very aware of the Wright Bros. and this makes them think. Cessna is also something that they are aware of since there is a plant just 30 miles away. This chapter had lots of background on some of the things that we talk about.

Richmond - Chapter 11

Richmond – Chapter 11
Prohibition to Populism, 1870 – 1900

Having been born and raised in Kansas I myself have always taken pride in our capital building. It is a beautiful piece of work. Last year we took our students on a tour of the capital during the Kansas Day Celebration. It was AWESOME! The whole thing is just beautiful inside and out. I do think that it is interesting that nine men died in the building of the capital. This year I have some boys that are very much into scary storybooks, so I read to them about the worker that fell to his death while working on the dome and is thought to still be working and trying to obtain his paycheck. They loved it. I also read to them about the battle over the house. The picture of them with their guns in the house just intrigues me. They found it interesting also. Populism played such a part in Kansas’ history.
Once again Prohibition is a large part of Kansas history. I was not aware that we were the first state to outlaw alcohol. Wow! I was aware of Carrie Nation and her little hatchet though. What a woman she must have been.

Richmond - Chapter 10

Richmond – Chapter 10
Immigrants on the Prairies
Wow! I can’t say that I ever knew that Kansas was such a melting pot of ethnicity. I realized that there were a few different nationalities that had immigrated to Kansas, but not near the number the book talks about. What an eye opener! I also found it amazing that they came together in such large numbers. The communities that they were setting up were quite large in size and numbers. It was almost as if they were starting their own little countries within Kansas. Along with them they brought many traditions and ideas that continue today. When I was in middle school I went to Bethany College to a volleyball camp. I remember thinking how the little Swedish town in the middle of Kansas was amazing. I actually know a woman who came to Kansas from Russia. It would be fun for her to come and talk about her culture compared to what she faced when she moved here to give the kids an idea of the differences that these immigrants faced.

Richmond - Chapter 9

Richmond – Chapter 9
The Frontier Is Settled

The Homestead Act brought many new settlers to Kansas. Life was not easy. The weather conditions were hard on the pioneers. They had to face the heat, blizzards, drought, dust, and grasshoppers. Wood was in rare form, therefore most pioneers had to build their homes out of sod. They had to dig wells for water. Doctors were scarce and many people died from things today that we would never dream of dying from. Many women in the West died during childbirth without the assistance of a doctor. Kansas farmers had to adapt by growing different crops, dry farming, and irrigating in order to be successful in growing their crops, and many times this did not work. We actually have a story in our reading series that goes along with this chapter. It is about a girl that moves with her family to the Dakota Territory and the hardships that they have to face. There is then a short expository story after it that tells of a man in Nebraska that a few years ago decided to build a sod house. He talks of how the sod blocks weighed 100 pounds and he lost 15 pounds in three weeks building the house.

Richmond Chapt. 8 The Development of the Railroads

Richmond – Chapter 8
The Cattle Trade: Trail Herds, Towns, and Ranchers

We actually have talked about the cattle trails in Kansas already this year. I think that it was a hard concept for the kids to understand. But, they have a basic understanding of them for future learning. It was interesting to read about the social life of the trails and the cattle towns. It was amazing how the law worked and also how some of the people behaved. I never realized how much the cattle trails affected the economics and the building of Kansas. I always realized that the railroad played a part in the building of Kansas, but not the cattle. Life was hard for all. It would be good for the kids to realize that not only were there farmers/pioneers in Kansas but all walks of life!

Miner - Chapter 9

Miner – Chapter 9
Like the Nations and Conclusion: Horizons

The years just before the year 2000 were still full of hard legislative decisions on such topics as do we stand by our principles and remain a state that believes in following God’s direction, or do we follow the other states. As William Allen White put it “our quest for morality in an immoral world.” It seems that Kansas gave up many of it ideals and followed the other states. For the first time since becoming a state prohibition was lifted and liquor by the drink was voted in. The state began the lottery and allowed Indian tribes to build gambling casinos. But perhaps the most notes worthy news were when the state school board ruled that the Darwin theory would no longer be taught in the schools. This only made other states again see the people of Kansas as again being backward.
In the late 50’s and early 60’s for the first time a nuclear plant to provide electricity to Wichita and Kansas City was proposed. This brought a lot of discussion since people were worried about the safety of such a plant and with the cheap natural gas in Kansas many wondered if it was really needed. Eventually it was built and is currently in use.
School finance became a hot potato for the state legislators during the late 80’s and early 90’s. The state tried to equalize the money to each school district. This made the Western part of the state so mad that secession from the state was actually proposed.
Nancy Kassebaum, the daughter of the late Alf Landon, a former governor and congressman was the first lady voted to the senate from Kansas. Also, Bob Dole ran for President but was defeated.
If gas prices ever go down I would like to take my kids to Wolf Creek to see exactly what a Nuclear Power plant is.
I would also use this chapter for a resource with famous people.
We also talk a lot about William White since we take part in the William Allen White award for children’s books.

Miner - Chapter 8

Miner – Chapter 8
Concrete Steps

During the early 1950’s one of the most bizarre political events in Kansas history took place. It will long be remembered as the ‘triple play.’ Governor Hall was defeated in his bid for re-election. Shortly afterwards he called a press conference in which he announced that the chief justice was retiring. He then resigned with just a few days left on his term and the Lt. Governor was appointed governor to complete his term. One of the first acts as the new governor was to appoint the former governor Hall to the state supreme court to fill the vacancy.
During the 1950’s there were several major issues facing Kansas. First the federal government wanted to build dams for flood control. The number one dam was on the Tuttle Creek, which would stop the flooding of Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City, Kansas’s farmers fought the flood control plan since it was taking away some 16,000 acres of rich Kansas’ farmland and many farmers would lose their farmers. They felt that the real reason for the dam was recreational. Eventually the dam was built along with several other through out the state.
With our Kansas history we talk about irrigation. This chapter would tie right into that.

Miner - Chapter 7

Miner- Chapter 7
Dust and Democrats

During the 1930’s Kansas again faced hard times. Due to the lack of rain, strong winds and high temperatures along with grasshoppers and jackrabbits the land became devastated and for several years no crops were raised. The Western half of the state that had been so productive in farming was nothing more than a dust bowl. This with high bank notes created a mass exodus from the rural areas for the farmers who could only see bankruptcies in their future. Large associations from back East began buying up the cheap land and creating large farms that could force even more farmers out. The state legislation was forced to take action to save the small farmers and for the first time farmers began taking federal aid, which brought with it federal control.
It took WWII to bring Kansas out of the depression. Kansas’s people convinced the federal government to invest in Kansas for military materials such as airplanes, training bases, etc…because it was a safe place to be away from the coast. Without a doubt Wichita was the big winner in this decision. By the end of the war there were over sixty thousand workers building airplanes for the military. Many of these workers were farmers who knew how to work and had some understanding about tools but more importantly could keep on farming and supply food to our country.
Alf Landon, a former governor of Kansas took on Franklin Roosevelt for the presidency of the United States.
We are lucky enough to have an Ammunition Plant in Parsons. This plant brought many jobs to the area and the town was booming. Once the plant started laying off workers the town started on a decline. My granddad was the Fire Chief for the plant and so my dad grew up on the housing division of the plant. It would neat to have him come in and the kids do an oral history with him of living on the plant. He is one of the few remaining people in Parsons that lived there.

Miner - Chapter 6

Miner – Chapter 6
Chastened and Changed

The early 1900’s saw Kansas involved in: union strikes, Ku Klux Klan, WWI, segregation, concrete highways, airplanes and college basketball. The strip coal miners in SE Kansas were unionized and went on strike. The state took control, brought in troops for protection and then brought in outsiders to work the mines so that people would have coal to keep them warm during the coming winter months.
Kansas was very proud of its involvement in WWI and became one of the leading states in purchasing war bonds or as they were called Liberty Bonds for the war effort.
The Klan became very active during this time and Kansas had over 40,000 members of the Klan. Wichita by itself had over 6,000 members. Thanks to newspapermen like William Allen White who showed the people of Kansas what the Klan was really about. It soon disappeared from Kansas. About this same time a movie called Birth of a Nation came out. The Klan was shown as a positive source in the movie. Kansas censored it and it did not play in Kansas until the Federal Supreme Court overruled the Kansas Court and it was shown.
Kansas like most states had elementary school segregation. This lasted until 1954 when the courts, due to the famous court battle, Brown v. Topeka School Board ruled that separate schools for blacks was inherently unequal and therefore a violation of the 14th amendment. From this court battle black children all over the nation were allowed into public schools with white children.
Paved roads became a hot topic at the turn of the century; Kansas was 2nd in the nation in miles of paved roads. These roads were mostly paid for through fees and gasoline taxes. The farmers in the Western part of the state felt that the sale s tax was going to build better roads for the Eastern part of the state and were most unhappy.
In 1926 Wichita proclaimed itself as the air capital of the world. In 1929 over 26% of the airplanes made in the U.S. were made in Wichita. Such names as Beech, Cessna and Amelia Earhart were common names during this period.
In 1899 at the university of Kansas Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball to the college ranks. In 1909 Phog Allen the basketball coach oat K.U. and became a sports hero in the state of Kansas.
While the KKK and Brown case are difficult to talk about at the fourth grade level, they do love basketball. There were many interesting facts about Kansas being on the cutting edge in the basketball world that they would find interesting.

Miner - Chapter 5

Miner – Chapter 5
The bone and Sinew of the State
The years just after the turn of the century were much more tamed than the previous years. Although, the state legislature was still struggling, the state needed to make some tough decisions during this period. The cost of education was becoming extremely difficult and led to the mandatory adoption of textbooks. To cut costs the state printer printed the books.
The sate took over the only oil refineries and used prisoners from the state penitentiary to work it. This created a lot of conflicts for Kansas from the oil companies.
Prohibition was still an issue; in fact the navy launched a new ship, “The Kansas,” and it was christened with pure water.
For the first time historic preservation became popular, and people started identifying old homes to be saved as historical sites.
The Menninger Clinic was established in Topeka and made Kansas a leader in the nation for the mentally ill.
The El Dorado oil fields became the leading producer of oil in the nation. Natural gas and electricity needed to be regulated.
Ironically, in 1903 there was a major flood in the Kansas City area; the chief concerns were looting and the raising of prices. The city requested financial help from the state and federal government.
The way that I would use this chapter is to talk about the historic register. We could do a project and identify some of the homes and buildings in our town that have been recognized as historic sites.

Miner - Chapter 4

Miner – Chapter 4
Toward a Brighter Day

In 1890 a third political party, the Populist or People’s party was started. Many of the members were farmers. Nowhere in the US did the party have more influence than in Kansas.
The influx of the African Americans from the South was a major issue. In the 1870’s a small community of some two hundred blacks called Nicodemus was founded. The lure of free or cheap land was hard to resist. The citizens of Kansas were mostly acceptance of the blacks although due to lack of education and training they had very few skills and had to be supported by the state and private donations just to survive in Kansas.
Kansas was one of the very first states to have prohibition due mainly to the influence of its governor John St. John who was a very religious man. Many of the laws that were established during this time were different than the rest of the states due to Gov. St. John’s influence. For example Kansas was among the very first states to recognize women as equals.
During this time the famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation and the Emporia editor William Allen White were added to the list of famous Kansas people.
There are many famous people in Kansas’ history that we have to talk about in fourth grade. This would be a great resource in helping teach about these people.

Miner - Chapter 3

Miner – Chapter 3
How the Iron Must Burn

Kansas was still experiencing violence and bloodshed during the civil war. However, it was not due to the Free State and the pro-slavery settlers. Two more major issues arose: the Indians and the railroads. The Indian population was large and hostile and constantly at war with the settlers primarily over land. During the years o 1867 and 1868 there were 89-recorded engagements of violence between the red man and the white man. The union sent such famous generals as Custer to protect the settlers and keep the Indians on their reservations.
The railroads became a very powerful influence in Kansas’s history during this period. Railroads were given land grants that totaled millions of acres of land for laying track throughout Kansas. These land grants, being transferred from public domain, from Indian reservations and the state were a major factor in the turbulence of this time in Kansas’s history. Due to the availability of the railroad, cattlemen in Texas began to move their large herds of cattle North to such cities as Dodge City and Abilene. However, once the state began to tax the cattle, the herds moved farther East.
Oil came into the picture around 1860 with the first oil well drilled in Kansas just one year after the first well in the union. Also coal, zinc, lead and salt were found in Kansas. Kansas also started to become a national leader in prohibition, women rights and rights for the black man.
We would talk about the railroads and their influence in bringing people to the west and the Kansas territory. I would pull out some primary sources of posters and fliers used by the railroads to advertise the land.

Miner - Chapter 2

Miner – Chapter 2
Trampling Out the Vintage 1855-1865

“Ad Astra Per Aspera,” the Kansas state motto, “To the stars through difficulties,” could not be more fitting as Kansas became a territory in 1854 as part of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and then finally statehood in 1861. The description of Kansas as “bleeding Kansas” is also extremely accurate. Kansas was in open rebellion for many years before and after statehood. This was mainly due to the two very unique groups of settlers that came to Kansas. First there were the Northern emigrants from the New England states that were known as Free Staters. These people were opposed to slavery and wanted to make Kansas a state that was opposed to slavery. The Southern element was just the opposite. They were for pro-slavery. This created a lot of violence and turmoil during the years leading up to state hood. Perhaps the most famous of these conflicts was when William Quantrill from Missouri brutally massacred the people of Lawrence. Also along the Missouri/Kansas boarder were Jayhawkers (pro-slavers) who attacked the Free State settlers. During this period there were several Indian tribes located throughout Kansas. These people were assigned to reservations but they were still a threat to be reckoned with. In 1861 Kansas was accepted into the union as a free state and for the most part its men fought with the union army under President Lincoln.
We touch on the Civil War in 4th grade and the raid in Lawrence so that when they get to 5th grade they have some background knowledge of it to learn it for mastery.

Miner Chapter 1

Miner, Chapter 1
The Child of the Grassy Plain
Kansas has an extensive prehistoric history that dates back millions of years when its vast golden prairies were large seas that were stocked with prehistoric fish that we now find their skeletons locked in the rocks of time.
One of the most unique features of Kansas is its weather. With the cool air flowing south from Canada and the warm air coming north from the Gulf of Mexico and meeting over Kansas produces some very unusual weather patterns. The word Kansas means “people of the South winds.” Kansas people experience extreme heat, bitter cold, strong winds, heavy rain, high snow and of course the devastating tornado’s. But, through all this millions of people call Kansas home and appreciate the golden rolling prairies.
Kansas is geographically located in the center of the United States, comprising of some fifty million acres of some of the richest farmland in the nation. It is some 250 miles from North to South and almost 450 miles East to West. It is also geographically located in the center of North America.
Kansas has many natural resources, two of which are the rich farmland and oil. It is best known however as the wheat capital of the world.
Long thought of as a flat land, Kansas is in fact a gradual incline from East to West. The lowest point being some 700 feet above sea level along the Eastern boarder to the West where it is up to 4000 feet above sea level.
The first Kaleidoscope magazine this year was based on the geography of Kansas. I have lived here all of my life and I was amazed to learn some of these same facts that the book talked about. I truly think that our students need to learn more about the land in which they live so that they can feel a lot of pride in where they come from. I would use these ideas and have the kids get together and make up a fact game about the geography of Kansas. They always seem to learn the best through games!

Richmond Chapt. 7 The Development of the Railroads

This was my favorite chapter so far in this book. Living in Parsons I truly feel a connection with the railroads in Kansas. I enjoyed reading about the Katy R.R. and their Parsons ties. I also found the information about why they were granted the rights to move onto into Texas interesting. I read it out loud to my husband, who worked for the Katy and U.P., who also did not know this interesting little tidbit.

I also did a lot of laughing out loud with this chapter. LOL I kept yelling into the other room for my husband to listen to this…I would then read a story to him from this chapter and then I would just sit there and laugh and laugh. I thoroughly loved the story about the Indians trying to capture the locomotive with the telegraph wire!

I would tie this chapter into my classroom by the use of the Katy poster that is in this chapter advertising land. We talk a lot about westward expansion and how the R.R. had a large part in recruiting people to move west. This picture is perfect for showing them how the R.R.’s made it seem so appealing!

Richmond Chapt. 6 The First Years of Statehood

I found there to be some very interesting information in this chapter and some that I really felt no connection with towards my classroom.

The fact that Ross was the deciding vote in the Johnson impeachment was interesting. I also find it interesting that it was almost like he was hated by the whole state.

I also found it interesting that Kansas was the first state to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment. We do talk about Civil Rights in fourth grade and this will be a good piece of information to add to this.

The information on the fighting with the Indians I don’t quite know how I would use. We do talk about the moving of the Indians and that there was some fighting I think that this went into more background than they would use. I however will be able to base my teachings on some of this background knowledge that I have now gained.