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AViEDITORIALSKANSAS CITY. MAY 24, 1959-SUNDAYSECTION FHer Life as a Girl in Larned■ V. ■‘A-AfrfrV’-P(®i*........... mmmmmk''4 «rLike TV ‘WesternsT oday# Li•• :••• ,spi^lspy ?■ - - • v: -., --. . • . . -V . •-* . .•-v-v y4*■By John Alexander.(A Mtmbar of T\* Star’a Staff JARNED, KAS., MayOut•fhereonthe high plains, S00 miles west of Kansas City, the Red Man again is going to go a-whooping on the war path. Once more covered wagons will roll along the Santa Fe trail, and there will be much firing of 6-shooters, justlike on TV./It will be the centennial celebration of nearby Fort Lamed, for which this community was named. The committee in charge is guaranteeing four days and nights ofparades, pageants, fireworks, coronation of a centennial queen and everything,'And the belle of the ball if she is able to attend theThe Coming of the Old Fort’s 100thAnniversary Celebration Brings from a90-Year-Old Kansas Woman Recollections of Indian Warfare and Memories of Custer and Wild Bill Hickok.s!m-»*one of the three officers’ homes on the west side of the parade ground. The two men are looking at an old mortar on display here.«•w*AS A GIRL OF 11 (shownhere) Mrs. Fairchild lived MRS. ELLEN FAIRCHILD on the Anadarko Indiandavs in the Lamed area.ponyIndianandgrew up children whilewith heritrenuous program, to be held; nJ Hutchinson recall* early agency. She had her ownJune 5, «, 7 and 8—will be _ * ' 'Mrs. Ellen Campbell Fairchild,! When she was a child her90, of Hutchinson. Mrs. Fair- father, Lt. Charles E. Camp- father helped administerchild lived in Fort Larned bell, a Civil war veteran, agency affairs,while her father. 2nd Lt. stationed at FortCharles E. Campbell, was sta- Larned.tioned there during her early| “Handling cattle on the trailwas dirty work. You can’t belater Mrs. Fairchild learned heHE SOLDIERS FIRED FROM THESE PORTHOLES”—Thus does Elmer E. Newacheck (right)president of the Fort Larned Historical society, explain matters to two visitors, Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Root of New York. Root is a son of F. P. Root, retired coach ofKansas State university.then 7, and-year-oldbrother, Malcolm. They were to join him at the Indianagency servedat Anadarko, which the Ouchitas, Coman-ches, Kiowas and a few Delawares.The family traveled by trainchanting, “Kill—kill—kiUl A war-whoop, Mrs. Fairchildsaid, is “just a real, loud yell, with something special addedthat convinces you they mean business.”As the Indians milledchildhood.Memories of Custer andWild Bill.was Gen. George Custer, after-;and wagon. _ Most of the wayroad recogniz-around the agency buildings, to ( addo, where Campbell met a messenger was sent to Madthem. The next leg of the Wolfs brother, Chief Littlejourney (135 miles as a birdjwolf, who came racing on his flies) was made by a rouje *eam|pony and quelled the uprising.have been challenged by other cities, but has been substantiated by the national GirlScout office.Mrs. Fairchild lives inHutchinson with a granddaughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Simmons, and their three sons. The home is filled with mementoes of other days.All that might seem farfrom Larned, but the peopleof this Western Kansas com*The children are mightily impressed, on a dark night, when the wind whistlesaround the corners of thehouse while guests such as history-loving Ralph Wallace spin yarns about hair-raising escapes from Kiowas.Scars of Old Battles.The fort was besieged by the Indians several times, and the sandstone walls near the portholes of the buildings on the south side of the quad-munity are proud of Mrs. Fair-1 rangle still show the scars ofaround cattle all the time andnot be dirtyAnd the In-She has memories of Indian j diaiis, on the other hand, were war-whoops—the real thing—Mean. They’d go down to the and she ofter heard her par- river every morning and take ents tell of one occasion when!a bath, even on cold mornings they were escorted by Col.M^en they had to break theGeorge A. Custer and, another]ice time, by Wild Bill Hickok.ward killed by the Indians in there was no the massacre of Little Big able as such; ]ust aAdventures in Memoirs.A visitor in the Fort Lamed museum saw Lieutenant Campbell’s guns and personal effects and a photograph of him in uniform—a small but interesting part of a sizable collection of early-day materials which have been brought together since the Fort Larned Historical society was organized two years ago.But Elmer E. Newacheck, president of the historical group, suggested that Lieutenant Campbell’* daughter could aupply an amazingly fresh picture of life here as it really existed in the early days.“Be sure you talk to Mrs Fairchild,” Newacheck said17-page memoir, “It. ofHorn.After a few days at Ft. Hays, Lt. Campbell was ordered to report to Ft. Larned. They made this trip by way of Ft. Dodge, and between Dodge and Larned they were escorted by a band of men (all reputed to be crack shots) who weretrail and no bridges.prairieRiversMA Girl Scout Founder.RS. FAIRCHILD once saw a small herd of buffa-and creeks had to be forded, los, and another time she saw At one place, she recalled, the seven twisters along a hilltop water was so deep it seeped near Larned. But one of her up through cracks in the principal distinctions is thatwagon bed.The Indian War Whoop.she founded the first Girl Scout troop west of the Mis-W“She is a living link with pioneer Kansas. How many people do you know who, as children, lived in a frontier fort on the Santa Fe Trail?”E found Mrs. Fairchild,the widow of William G.Fairchild, Hutchinson lawyer and district judge for two terms, in an airy, flower-filled room in St. Elizabeth’s hospital in Hutchinson. Her clear .brown eyes sparkled as she propped two pillows behind her back and talked of early days in Kansas.. . ,, .sissippi river. It began with aAs a result of living threejreqUest by two small girlsyears it the Anadarko agency| sent t0 her by the Rev. M. L.Kain, then rector of the Gracechild. Also they’re proud that they have a genuine, 14-carat frontier fort which didn’t have to be restored or rebuilt the only thing of its kind in the West, they say.Probably the main reason the fort has been preserved virtually intact has been community interest. This has been personified by members of the Frizell family, whobullet fire.The soldiers’ tunnel to the water’s edge in Pawnee creek has been re-excavated. This tunnel enabled the men to get water even while the fort was under fire. Last week visitors could walk down the stairway in the old bakery building and peer into the dark entrance of the tunnel. It wTas knee-deep in mud, but plans arehave owned the fort and care-1 underway to put a dry floorEpiscopal churchlt;nn v in Hutchin-The “first” is reported tofully maintained it since it was purchased by E. E. Frizell in 1902.The commanding officer’s quarters are occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Frizell andtheir youngsters, Judy, 11;Jane, 9, and 3-year-old Larry.in it.The pride of Ft. Larned was a 100-foot flagpole that waslocated in a survey run by Bob Frizell, who found wood fragments believed to have been the base of the original mast.The museum has been showered with display material contributed or lent by Kansas residents whose parents and grandparents werepioneers. There are oldweapons and uniforms that.were worn by the men stationed here; the original marble-topped safe of the paymaster; workaday item* from the daily life of eariy residents—coffee mills anticandlesticks, butter paddlei and churns, open fire waffleirons.The forge in the blacksmith shop is the same as it was 100 years ago, with some of the same tongs and other tools of the wheelwright and wagonmaker who repaired wagons from trail trains.Will Vernon and Lee Smith,hauled out in sections from president and vice-presidentFt. Leavenworth prior to 1867. Lightning destroyed it, but another is to be installed inthe same spot. This point wasof the centennial association, said they expect thousands of visitors during the 4-day celebration.LifeWith“Monies Monkeys”at K. U.The Experience of a Senior Student Who Serves as CounselorDormitory for Freshmen Girls.♦IHE U. S. FLAG AND A 7TH CAVALRY BANNER are displayed at the entranceto Ft. Larned, now in its centennial year. Opened to the public two years ago, the fort has received nationwide attention. Most of the buildings around the quadrangle are the same as they were in the days when Custer and iSheridan were trying to stamp out Indian troubles.itNever Can Happen Again,” headed by Will Bill Hickok. which she sent to friends as At Ft. Larned Lt. ( amphlt;a Christmas gift. Mrs. Fair-was instrumental in obtaining agency nearwas better rations for the men.at theThe author, a senior student at the University of Kansas\, is one of about 20 counselors at the university’s freshman dormitories. A native of Little River, Kas., she is majoring in radio and TV journalism, and will be graduated this spring. The counselor’s position defrays most of herroom and board expensesat the dormitory.-By Ramona R. Rush.S a counselor at Corbin-North hall, a freshman- ■ * ■ * *« * - * ..».« - -women’s dormitory at the University of Kansas, Iand about 16 yearswhich she sent to friends as At Ft. Larned Lt. Campbell Cheyenne and ArapahoeDarlington. Okla^young Ellen,h,ve 28 “ChiWren ” ages 171_ child related that sheFort Larned was a Sreatjaboot fi months old when her'The armycamping place for the travel-!parents toolcing public—I guess that s what jrom ber native state, New had been driven upyou would call them,” she said. “Travelers felt safer to be where the soldiers were, especially at night. The country was full of renegades in those days, and nobody knew who was who.”If it hadn’t been for that fall that fractured her right hip six weeks ago, she said,meat consisted ofigrew to love and understand!!^ 1 ™,..... ... .i® _ ,. . , , ., myseii, so you see lm nother to Kansas tough beef from cattle that the Ind.ans, just as her father much w hfromidid. He spoke Comanche and JYork. Her father had gone Texas. Lt. Campbell sold this through the Civil War with a to itinerants and prospectors, New York regiment and, as a used the money to build upwas a badly-needed company fund, left and sent his men out to get foot. Now he w?as on the way fresh meat by shooting buf-result of a war injury, slightly crippled in histo a new assignment at Ft. Hays.“When we got off the train,” the memoir recalls, “father in-falo.During Lt. Campbell’s period at Larned, somewhatmore than two years, Ellen’swas a serious student of Indian lore. 'He left several manuscripts telling of his experiences! A ' TOne of Mrs. Fairchild’s stories she often tells her greatgrandchildren (there are 10) concerns the time she heard the war-whoop by a group of Indians who were disgruntled-.vy.»*■-VKvv:*-:• ■ *-\ V.vV .VyV.’.'■x-?mAvsv.v.illA1V. - .:. -...yv. ... - -’-i A ;v.v■v-y■tvs\VA' • • . v ^.;.Vmmm,*Xv-«Vlt;NV ■Svjw*-’Let me tell you about one of the first problems I had after I was introduced to my job last fall. ^ ’“Monie,” cried the homesick girl, “I’m different from everyone else, I KNOW I am!” She sat on the edge of her bed, tears streaming down her face. She wanted so much tobe reassured, to be mothered, to be wanted.“Now, Julie, you know you aren't any different,” I toldTHEY CALL HER “BIG MAMA” AND TFreshman girls on the second floor of CorbFPin” on Miss Ramona Rush (white sweater)her.itIt's no disgrace to be.v.Vw .......'.Vv.\. ......\v•Vw,svV v.t.. - «A*-W.vv.v.mm#IX--:mv*.vsV.wav v.w■,-S-'jt■vv....Mmm•-■A■sj. ...„-r.mm:m ■ M■At •:•I*... ...I .■9k-SvX-v-.vn- ... • Ihomesick, just about everybody gets that way sometimes.”The Tears Flow On.elseTHE CAMERA Lf BIN NORTH hall at f freshman girls liveHfiZ- vScvX-VkVX-•A:Z.lt;■v“But Monie, no one cries all the time, like I do.All the other girls are so happy and cheerful and theydon’t even miss their parents.” .When she mentioned her^00^e^ UP n parents, a new stream of tears ^Gr shouldeTstarted down her swollen face.|^ea® ^her wet e*to myself that I mig quit my job—I jus' out to be a counman girls. Bu'/F. LARNED AS IT APPEARED IN 1867—This drawing by, Theodore R. Davis was published in Harper’s Weekly. Some of the soldiers evidently were living in dugouts along the bank of Pawnee Fork, and others in the buildings in the distance. In the same year, construction began on the permanent sandstone buildings that still stand as a reminder of the days when U. S. troops had to guard the wagon trains on the Santa Fe trail.My heart was in my throat. I felt that at any minute Iher.crying“Do y Monie?’' muchshe certainly Ft. Larned clt;Likepersonanother oldermanywho remembersthecowboys and Indians, Mrs. Fairchild has found television versions remarkably inaccurateboy\ only TV-style cow-ever saw was on astagecoach. He was an easternerfittedquired as to a hotel in the town and was assured there was one. Before he had all our toggle gathered up, however,an army officer approachedand asked if we were going to(he fort.”Lt. Campbell said yev, but he said he thouht he and hisbrother, Malcolm Fraser Campbell was born. Then herfather became annoyed with a commanding officer’s insistence in postponing his requests for leaves, and he resigned his commission.because the agency was unable to issue promised cattle.The order from Washington was that Indians not present to receive their cattle on acertain date were to be givenDwithspendat the hotel.becominginothing. Just before thatdate, there were heavy rains,.. __ , - and many Indians could notto New York for three years. . .Durincr thic ge* across swollen streams togo to the agency. They ar-turbulentCampbellnalthings were roughfathertown; “If vou stavrecalled. “He here in town for the night,receded, period he served•elf up “like a walking arse-] The officer reminded hin^as a civilian paymaster at Ftin this]Sill and other points in lndian|rived at th« apncy after theTerritory-------- ------ — .....„ Mrs. Fairchild remembers they were too late.your wife will not be alive in that the Indians signed peace Mad Wolf, brother of a the morning.” treaties and were placed on leading Cheyenne chief, beganClean shaved, natty cowboys The officer went with them reservations in O k 1 a h o m a. to harangue a group •re scarce on the plains, she to their, post. Hisweaponsrecalledname, nethem, was Custer. YearsThen her father sent for family: Mrs. Campbell, ElThey threatened violent action and began yelling and“Now listen, Rush,” I to ythought to myself, “you’re a not counselor, not a sympatheticroommate . .Drawing myself up heretofore unknown authc ity, I said, “Julie, listen to f'Just because these so-C' cheerful girls put up a front in the daytime i* dication of how the feel. No doubt r every one of these herself to sleep the darkness ofThe only d\Wyou and thejou’re hone your home keep the; selves.”My no e7
Newspaper Details
Kansas City Star
Kansas City, Missouri, US
Sun, May 24, 1959
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Hutchinson P.
KS, USA 08 May 2023
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