A Century of Greenwood County, KS History

A Century of Greenwood County, KS History - Eureka Herald, 1968

1935

The courthouse lawn was to be beautified. Workmen were tearing down the small pavilion at the southeast corner of the square and were removing the concrete base. With the exception of flower beds, the entire tract was to be plowed and seeded to bluegrass. O.K. Cornett opened a new filling station at the corner of River and Main, selling the products of Phillips Petroleum.

Three Eureka business firms changed locations. Hartenbower Auto Service moved to the building at 404 North Main occupied by the Bethel Motor Co., Bethel Motor moved to the Cartwright building, Main and Sixth, and the Trenton-Henley Motor established a second service station, to be known as the Arcade Service Co., in the building vacated by Hartenbower.

The imposing $60,000 Masonic Temple at the corner of Third and Oak streets was completely destroyed by fire in March, which firemen battled for four hours. The building was headquarters for the Greenwood County Federal Emergency Relief Adm. with offices on the first floor, the WPA sewing room on the second floor and the basement was used for storing government commodities. while the fire raged throughout the afternoon, the Memorial Hall, the J.D. Clark home and the Will O'Byrne residence were saved by strenuous efforts of volunteers. The city of Eureka purchased the site and all the salvage from the burned building.

A room in the Moore block had been rented to the Kroger Grocery & Baking Co. and a new grocery and meat market was to opened there in July. The new front on the Leedy building, the M.A.Miller store, was nearing completion. The facing was of black tile with spacious windows. The Eureka Lake and recreation park were included in the WPA allotment of federal funds approved by the President.

The Grove building at Third and Elm, erected in 1922, was gutted by fire at a loss of $20,000. The building was undergoing remodeling into an apartment house at the time of the blaze, and was almost ready for occupancy.

1936

Geo. Akright was the FHA representative for Greenwood County. The city voters went to the polls in January to decide whether the board of education should issue bonds of $30,000 to be used for an auditorium-gymnasium for the high school. The bonds carried 487 to 374. Charles W. Rose, who came to Greenwood County in 1857, died at Virgil in January. The new Hartenbower Cafe was opened at 108 North Main. Severy voted to take on a bonded indebtedness of $3,000 for the city's share of building a lake, a WPA project. Work on Eureka Lake, four miles north of town, a WPA project, was going forward with a rush. Eureka merchants held a Show of Progress at Memorial Hall in March.

The McLellan store was undergoing extensive remodeling. The Basham Hospital was completed at 411 N. Main and was receiving patients in April. Earl Rickerd purchased the J.D. Clark Drug store on April 30. The Eureka Building and Loan opened an office in Emporia. The Greenwood Hotel Corp. had purchased the building from Mrs. H.D. Hover. Eureka's population was 3,832 and the county's 17,552. William Allen White addressed the 1936 graduating class of Eureka High School.

A controversy between the county commissioners and WPA officials resulted in the closing of WPA sewing rooms in Madison, Severy and Eureka, throwing about 40 women out of work. After two weeks the difficulty was ironed out. Frank Stegge was elected state commander of the Kansas VFW. Ex-servicemen were eligible for the CCC camps in Kansas. The mercury soared to an all-time high of 120 on July 18.

J.T. Francis had opened a plumbing shop in July at 122 North Main in the Western Auto Store. The bus station was moved from the Red Owl to the Greenwood Hotel in August. Lake Fegan in Woodson county had been completed. A north breeze in September brought relief from a heat wave when hundred-degree weather was recorded for 54 days of a 72 day period with only two days falling below the 90 degree mark. The total rainfall for three months was 2.03 inches.

Three new WPA projects were started in the county. Dr. C.D. Baird moved to his remodeled office in the Penwell building in November. The Eureka fire department added a Ford V8 truck to its equipment. The Hartenbower Auto Supply building, 404 North Main, was destroyed by fire in December.

Edwin T. Wood became business manager of the Herald in January.

Title Page
1937 - 1938

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