Miami County Time Capsule

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The last of the original settlers of the Block community is gone. Martin Gerken who has been the only “old timer” left for several years passed quietly away at the home of his son John Gerken Friday at the age of 86 years. He died on the very farm which has been his home for 43 years and which is located a short distance northeast from the Block corner. Martin Gerken was born in Hanover, Prussia, Aug. 25, 1936. In 1859 he came to America, going straight to Bent County, Missouri. After a short residence there he became interested in the cause of the North and enlisted in the Northern army. After the war he came to Miami County and began farming near Block. He was married the next year to Miss Katrina Beckman and their home became one of the substantial homes of the neighborhood. Three children were born to them: Mrs. William Prothe, the only daughter, John and Fred Gerken, the sons.

75 Years Ago (1948)

Ralph H. Summers, formerly of Trenton, Mo., has bought the Paola Equipment Co. From the Sherman Hay estate. The firm will be known as the Summers Equipment Co. Allis Chalmers and New Idea farm implements will be handled by the new concern. The location will continue to be in the old Security garage building. Wilbur Ricketts will be associated with Mr. Summers in the business in the same capacity as he held with the Paola Farm Equipment Co.

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Monday announcement as a candidate for sheriff of Miami County was made by Kenneth Cook, who is now serving as undersheriff. Cook came to Osawatomie when he was 1 year old. He graduated from Osawatomie high school, from the Fort Scott Junior University of Kansas when he entered the armed forces. He is the son of Andrew Cook, motor car repairman for the Missouri Pacific.

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Mr. And Mrs. George Adkins of Pressonville have bought a farm known as the George Allen place, just over the line in Franklin County. An item of local interest about this transaction is that the original certificate to this tract, written in the “Land Office at Paoli, Kansas Territory,” was drawn up May 30, 1854, the day Kansas was set off from Missouri, and organized as a territory under the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska bill.

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The Bradley Bus Station building on North Pearl Street owned by R. E. Bradley has been sold to Jack Rhea and L. L. Rhea. It is expected that the Rheas will move their Kaiser-Frazer agency there.

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Want to go to Arabia for construction work? Pay is big and those who go have to sign up for 18 months. The Fluor Corporation has a contract for a big job for the Arabian-American Oil Co. at Saudia Arabia near the Persian Gulf. Efforts are being made to get 400 to 500 men to leave in about 60 days.

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State highway commission expects to have US169 between two miles south of Osawatomie and Garnett open for traffic about October 1. This stretch of US169 is to have a superior macadam type surface, 24 feet wide. There will be a white mark down the center portion, which will leave 12 feet for driving on each side.

50 Years Ago (1973)

Ray Minden is slated to move into the service station across north from the Paola post office. It is to be a Texaco station. Minden repairs power lawn mowers, Rototillers, riding lawn mowers, small garden tractors and golf carts. He has had the station near the new Pizza Hut the last several years.

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The front of Paola Tavern, owned by Frank Vohs on West Wea, has been remodeled and the place has a new bright red door.

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A survey for the relocation of US69 highway southwest of the Drexel port of entry north past Louisburg on the west to connect with the present improvement about 2 miles south of the Johnson County line is scheduled to begin. The so-called Louisburg bypass is approximately 16.3 miles in length and proposed as a four-land divided facility with full control access.

25 Years Ago (1998)

The Osawatomie Graphic and the Louisburg Herald have been sold. The new owners are Phil McLaughlin a native of Paola and his wife Sarah, who grew up south of Louisburg. His mother, Marjorie McLaughlin, Overland Park, lived at Paola for many years when her husband was publisher of the newspapers in Paola. Phil McLaughlin is the third generation of the family to publish the Paola Newspapers. His grandfather, Drew McLaughlin Sr., bought the Miami Republican in 1920. His father, Drew McLaughlin Jr., took over the direction of the newspaper after graduating from the University of Kansas School of journalism. He was a key factor in merging the defunct Western Spirit, which had been owned by L. M. Schwartz and Nelson Reppert, into the Republican operation. Phil McLaughlin, a graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas, upon the death of his father took over the control of the newspapers in 1982.

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A central printing plant, which has been located in Osawatomie since it was founded in 1968, will be closed next month by East Kansas Offset Inc. The plant is located in the building it owns. That is also the building where the offices of The Graphic are located. The newspaper converted to the offset printing process after the East Kansas firm was founded. An offset printing press was erected in the rear of the old Graphic building at that time. The firm was founded by the Osawatomie Graphic, Miami County Publishing Co. Of Paola, and the Garnett Publishing Co. The present building occupied by East Kansas and the Graphic was built and occupied in the fall of 1973.

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The Osawatomie Graphic was founded on March 23, 1888 by Frank Pyle, who came to Osawatomie from Lane, where he published the Lane Bulletin. Less than two years later Pyle left the newspaper business in Osawatomie briefly. He sold The Graphic to J. P. and John N. Bell of Yates Center. Eleven months later, Pyle returned to the Osawatomie newspaper business by buying The Globe, a rival to his former newspaper. He later sold the Globe to Harry Mills. C. C. Clevenger took over full operation of the Graphic on May 6, 1898. In 1912 the Graphic took over the Globe. In 1919 the Clevenger Family sold the Graphic to C. M. Lowe of Parker and his two sons, C. Olos Lowe and David L. Lowe. Olos Lowe came to the newspaper from the Blue Mound Sun where he had worked since 1907. The Lowe family then sold the paper to W. O. Dano who sold it to E. B. Atchley on Aug. 1, 1922. Under the direction of Atchley, the newspaper prospered and moved into a new building at 518 Brown Ave. In December 1922. The newspaper was sold to Wyatt N. Peck, who had been a teacher at Osawatomie High. However, Peck had just signed a contract as superintendent of schools at Norton. Before he could begin the newspaper operation, he had to gain release from that contract. He went to Norton to get release from the contract and left M.C. Lhuillier and J. C. Tibbetts in charge. It was Peck who introduced a “clever mechanical marvel”, the Linotype to the Graphic in 1924. A merger of the Graphic and the Osawatomie News took place in 1931. The News had been established by J. C. Tibbetts who had worked for Peck. History of Kansas Newspapers shows stockholders of the Osawatomie Publishing Co., Inc. In addition to Peck were Karl E. Cole and M. C. Lhuillier. Peck sold to Charles V. Whiteford in 1934, who sold to H. Clay Reppert and Nelson S. Reppert. Clay stayed active in the paper for about 2 years, but Nelson retained ownership until Dec. 29, 1977 when he sold his interest to Gladys Ann and Webster Hawkins who had been editor since 1958.

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The Miami County Republican was born in Paola in 1866. Owners John McReynolds and Basil M. Smith were “radical” republicans. In a printing shop above a saloon on Park Square, the first issue was produced on Aug. 18, 1866. A one-year subscription was $2. The first Paola newspaper had been The Southern Kansas Herald, started two years before. In 1885 W. D. Greason bought the newspaper. He ran it for 35 years, selling in 1920 to Drew McLaughlin, Sr. Of Hiawatha. Over the years the Republican and The Spirit slugged it out until a merger of the two in 1956. The Miami County Publishing Co was born.