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The War of 1812 began when the United States declared war in June of 1812. The opposing forces were Great Britain, Ireland and their North American colonies plus certain Indian allies. One cause of the war was the British Navy's policy of stopping ships at sea and seizing men they claimed to be British citizens. There are estimates that up to 15,000 American men were seized and forced into the British Navy between 1793 and 1812. During the war, there were some 35,000 "regulars" in uniform and...
There have been several changes at the Jewell Public Library in the recent months. One change being the three new faces on the library board. Jane Pahls, Erica Boughton and Charlene Nonhoff are now part of the seven-member board, replacing the retiring members, Marilyn Griest, Cindy Traump and Pat Willmeth. The three join Heather Matter, library board president, Rita Rogers, vice-president, Jami Underwood, secretary and Pat Zentz, treasurer. Pat Willmeth was a long-time board member having served two different times for a total of some 16...
The Steuben Post Office was located in Holmwood Township, Section 12 per Shute and Dillon in Prairie Jewels. It was organized and discontinued three times. First organized on Aug. 19, 1875, it was first discontinued on June 23, 1882. It was reestablished on April 4, 1887, and discontinued for the second time on May 16, 1889. It was reestablished again on April 28, 1891, and permanently discontinued on Oct. 15, 1900. W. T. Hunter – William Timothy Hunter - was postmaster during the first and s...
The Jewell Public Library is hosting an exhibit of photographs taken by Jaci Novak, the daughter of Kenneth and Lena Novak of Randall. She currently lives in Salina. Though Novak has "always" been interested in photography, it was around 2015 that she began working with digital photography. That format allowed for more creativity than "point and shoot" cameras. Since then, she has been more intensely involved with getting "the shot." She has traveled to Vietnam, Peru, Tanzania, Africa,...
Mount Carmel, located on and around the intersection of 60 Road and E Road in Erving Township, is a prominent landmark in the area. Erving Township is the southwestern most township in Jewell County. The "mount" rises to 1,814 feet, though not the highest point in Jewell County, it gives one an amazing view of the surrounding countryside. The area was named after Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The book of Isaiah in the Bible refers to "the splendor of Carmel." According to Prairie Jewels by...
President’s Day, to be observed on Monday, Feb. 15th this year, popularly celebrates the presidents of the United States. Officially, by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, it is George Washington’s birthday. But through the years the third Monday in February has evolved from a celebration honoring George Washington into a recognition of all U.S. presidents. President Joseph Biden is the 46th president of the United States, but only 45 men have been elected to the office. Grover Cleveland is the reason for this curiosity. His two terms wer...
There did not seem to be many articles or comments about the 160th Birthday of the State of Kansas which was observed on Jan. 29, 2021. However, on Facebook, a photo surfaced showing students from Jewell County's Sweet Home School celebrating the Kansas Centennial. The photo was taken 60 years ago at the little country school. In 1961, Sweet Home School District 75 was located at what is now the northwest corner of the intersection of H Road and 150 Road. This is "the four-mile corner" west of J...
January, the first month of the year. Specifically, first month of the year in our present, Gregorian, calendar. While we might think of January as snowy, bleak and cold, the Romans considered it “dead.” The Roman lunar calendar had 12 “months” but the two winter months didn’t even have names. The government and army weren’t active during that time of the year so it was as if the time was “dead.” Eventually the time was given names, Januarius and Februarius but they were the last two months of the year. The Roman year started in Martius (our...
This evening, Thursday, Dec. 31, at gatherings the world over, many will raise a glass and sing these familiar words “Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?” They are the first line of a poem-song written by Robert Burns in 1788 and commonly called Auld Lang Syne. Auld Lang Syne was originally written in the 18th-century Scot language spoken by Burns. Some of the lyrics, such as “we twa hae run about the braes.” (we two have run about the hillsides) are rather incomprehensible to English speakers today. Other phrases like...
It is the season of the year for giving, sharing and celebrating. Even with this being “the year of COVID” Jewell County Helping Hands Ministries is doing just that. They are sponsoring a community holiday dinner for Jewell County. The community holiday dinner will be served on from 4 to 7 p.m., Sunday at the Mankato Community Center. Donations will be accepted but the dinner is free to one and all. In the past, there has been a community holiday meal but this is the first year for Jewell County Helping Hands Ministries to be the org...
Thursday, Rosie Eilert Bosse brought her books to her hometown for a reception and book signing event held at the Jewell Library. A1974 graduate of Jewell High School, Bosse grew up west of Jewell on the family farm. Now living near Onaga, she has been a storyteller for some time, especially for her grandchildren. But since 2016 when How Clicker the Dog Got His Name was published, she has been a published author. Bosse has authored seven children's books. The books have characters drawn from...
The 2020 Jewell County Corn Picking Days was blessed with beautiful weather. Plus, as JR Vandergiesen, Smith Center, one of the organizers of the event said "The corn is ready!" "Dry, not wet." Participants and observers alike enjoyed the outdoors event. Avenue H west of Jewell was busy with machinery moving back and forth as well as cars and pickups of people just out to see what was going on. And there was quite a bit going on. Of course, Vandergiesen was in the field with his John Deere 50...
Lucile Butts Ozmun celebrated her 100th birthday with two-days of celebration. One on Sunday afternoon, and one on the afternoon of her actual birthday, Monday, Nov. 16. Both were COVID-style "window visits" at Hilltop Lodge in Beloit. Partiers had a tent, festooned with balloons, to stand and sit in as they visited with Lucile. Hilltop has a room arranged for "window visits." At Hilltop Lodge, a microphone set up on the inside and outside allows communication though a window separates the...
Sunday is the 27th annual National Family Literacy Day! The day was designated in 1994 by a joint resolution of the 103rd Congress of the United States. Celebrated every year since, the event kicks off National Literacy Month. This year Desire Tobey Sears Chapter NSDAR is joining with the Jewell Public Library to promote the event. Both encourage area families to ReadWriteThink on Sunday, and then keep reading during the entire month. Why Literacy Day? The most important determinent of a...
The Sesquicentennial Corn Show Program is in the books! The program highlighted Jewell's early history and the sacrifices of Jewell's men serving in the armed forces of the United States. Historical characters were Rev. H. G. Breed, early day Jewell preacher portrayed by Bob Freeman. Lola Abram, was the song leader for the segment on the churches of Jewell. Joe Eilert had the role of William "Billy" Street who was the captain of Fort Jewell's Buffalo Millitiamen. Nathan Saint took on the role...
Four buffalo, purchased in honor of Jewell's Sesquicentennial with a Dane G. Hansen grant, have been installed! The fiberglass statues arrived last Tuesday from Seward, Nebraska. Produced by Fiberglass Animals and Objects, the buffalo are six-foot tall and eight-foot long. Purists might be concerned that the animals are not actually buffalo but bison. True, but also true are these facts: Jewell is in the Buffalo Valley; East, Middle and West Buffalo creeks flow near the townsite; Jewell is...
The grand marshalls for this year’s Sesquicentennial Corn Show Parade honor the history of Jewell. The four women selected and their stories reflect the theme “Jewell – We’ve Got A Story To Tell”! The women are Anna Jones Billings, “Aunt Sally” Thackston, Lydia Matter Cameron and Callie Debus Spielman. Anna Jones Billings’ story is of being the first white woman to settle in Jewell. She was married to N. H. Billings and followed him to Jewell, arriving on May 22, 1870. She brought her still ten-year-old sister, Virginia “Jennie” Jones...
It is that time of year again. Jewell Corn Show Time! This is the Sesquicentennial-COVID 19 issue of Jewell’s yearly event. The theme is “Jewell – We’ve Got A Story To Tell!” Remember -#JoinUsInJewell. Some things about the Corn Show are the same and some things are a bit different. The Corn Show actually starts on Monday, with something old and something new. The “old” is the A“Maize”ing Corn Race and the “new” is the Roaming Buffalo. Both are a race to find something hidden (corn or buffalo) by following the clues posted on the Jewell...
In 2020, Jewell’s Sesquicentennial Year, the annual Corn Show has added a couple of new events. One will be the First Annual Cornhole Tournament and the other is a demonstration of Cowboy Action Shooting by Jewell native, Travis Cady. Cornhole players will be competing on the north side of Maag Park at noon, Saturday, Oct. 10. Gaye Daniels, one of the Corn Show’s organizers, said the event “seemed a good fit” for this year’s event. The tournament will follow American Cornhole Association Rules. On the 10th, teams (two members each) will comp...
Something new for the 2020 Jewell Corn Show will be an auction. The auction will consist of three items donated to the Jewell Chamber of Commerce in honor of Jewell's Sesquicentennial. Mark Baxa, Jewell High School Class of 1975, will be the auctioneer. The first item is a clock made by Harold Topliff and donated by Harold and Patsy Topliff. The clock is made of barn wood from the Frank Grennan Barn. It features one of the Jewell Sesquicentennial Car Tags as well as the wood from the Grennan...
Seventy-five years ago, after six years of fighting – four and a half years of world-wide fighting and United States involvement, the ravages of World War II were finally coming to an end. The cessation of combat in the European Theater came on May 8, 1945. Celebrations erupted all over Europe and in the United States. Long time Jewell resident, Norman Greene, recalls hearing about the end of the war "on the radio" and remembers a celebration in the Jewell Park to observe the end of the f...
Michael Saint grew up just west of Jewell and graduated from Rock Hills High School with the Class of 2014. He is also a graduate of Fort Hays State University (FHSU) with both bachelor's and master's degrees. In addition, Saint possesses four national championship rings earned representing FHSU as a member of the shotgun club and shooting team. Saint's skills and expertise have been recognized by Hastings College in Hastings. The school has hired him to take over the Broncos' shooting program....
Rosie Eilert Bosse, now from Onaga, Kan., grew up on the Gallagher-Eilert family farm west of Jewell. She graduated from Jewell High School with the Class of 1974. Among other roles, she is now a published author. Bosse's first books were her "Down on the Farm" children's books. The books are based on the characters in the stories she told her grandchildren. Stories are about farms and the animals on them. Characters like, Clicker the dog, Gertrude the chicken, Gnarly the mountain lion and...
On June 16, 1870, before Jewell County existed, Col. Eldon Barker was commissioned the county notary public. He was the first county official in Jewell County. Barker homesteaded just west of present-day Jewell on section 28 of Calvin Township. Barker and Orville L. McClung (whose homestead was just north of the future town of Jewell on Section 12 of Calvin Township) circulated a petition to establish Jewell County. With the needed signatures, the two men hand delivered the petition to Kansas...
It is time for another Jewell County Plow Day and Saturday, is the day! This year's event will be held at the Joe Eilert Farm south and west of Jewell. The location is 160 Road and G Road. For those traveling on Highway 14, turn west on G Road and go three miles further west. Off of U.S.36, turn south on 150 Road and travel 9 miles south to G Road and then one mile east. Plow Day is an all-day event. There will be enough plowing for everyone. Lunch will be provided by the hosts, Joe and Kari...
