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January 1. January
The Barber County Index reported a new society editor in the January 1 edition of the paper. Six pound, thirteen ounce Ethel Elizabeth "is not the meek mild type," wrote "Ye Ed," "Nosiree; We have heard plenty from her already, which makes us sure that the new employee will have no hesitancy about asserting herself!"
B. Mills, 70, of Hazelton, well known Barber county pioneer, died Tuesday morning in a Wichita hospital.
January 8.
Eugene Etter, instructor of Latin and algebra in the local high school, resigned his teaching position to accept a position in the inspection department of the Beech Aircraft corporation at Wichita.
The Medicine Lodge high school Indians trimmed the Sharon cagers to the tune of 30-21 on the Sharon court.
Hardtner was the second county town to go over the top in their drive for the Red Cross war relief funds. With a quota of $150.00 Hardtner came through with $155.50.
January 15.
Barber county was one of 14 counties in Kansas that were off the state WPA rolls, according to an announcement that week.
About twenty-five people met in the high school on Thursday evening with the mayor. Harvey Haynes to organize a civilian defense committee.
Lake City exceeded it Red Cross quota in this week.
January 22.
Bill Parker, young Medicine Lodge grocer, was elected the new president of the local Junior Chamber of Commerce.
The Sun City five piled up points against the local five, for a 50 to 30 victory.
Boy Scout court of honor was held at Hardtner.
Barber county enlisted reservists who were released from active duty due to being over 28 and because of dependents, were recalled to report in Medicine Lodge the next Sunday.
January 29.
Plans were completed here at a meeting of grocers, bakers, and dairymen of the county and members of the welfare department for the placing into operation the food stamp program in Barber county the first of February.
All German, Italian, and Japanese nationalists were required to register for certificates of identification at first or second class post offices by February 28.
The First National Bank in Medicine Lodge observed its 671st. anniversary after more than six decades of service to the people of Medicine Lodge and Barber county.
February 5. February
Herbert Hobble, Sr., was re-elected president of the Kansas Children's Home and Service league at the 49th annual meeting in Wichita.
The Barber county Red Cross chapter completed and shipped its last quota of garments and sweaters.
The Indians defeated the Kingman Eagles here 33 to 24.
W. J. Coppinger was appointed as manager of the new oil division of the Great Lakes Carbon corporation.
The groundhog saw his shadow in Medicine Lodge and most of Barber county, nevertheless, the weather stayed mild.
February 12.
With the inauguration of the Daylight Savings War Time plan, Medicine Lodge residents have been going to work in he dark for the last few days.
Thelma Sanders received a telephone call from her brother, Earl, who was at Pearl Harbor at the time of the Jap backslaught.
Roy Culley constructed a "crying room" in the office of the theater.
Sun City went over the top in the Red Cross Fund drive.
February 26.
Supt. F. Floyd Herr left Thursday for San Francisco, Calif., to attend the convention of the National Education association.
Bill Parker moved his IGA grocery to the recently redecorated Jewell building over the weekend, and was ready for business Monday morning.
The tire rationing board received notice last week to place retread and recapped tires on a rationing basis the same as the order in effect on new tires.
March 5. March
Funeral rites for Fred Hardy, popular Medicine Lodge man and member of the city council, who died here, Friday, following an illness of 11 months, were held at the Forsyth Funeral home, Sunday afternoon.
F. J. Warren, Barber county pioneer and well known druggist of Medicine Lodge, died at his home here, Sunday after an illness of several months.
The members of the B. P. W. C. met at the home of Mrs. Lyman Russell for their regular business meeting and so observe the 12th. anniversary of the club.
Isabel, another Barber county town, made its Red Cross Fund quota this week.
D. C. Chads, superintendent of the National Gypsum company plant here, has accepted a position with an ammunition plant "somewhere in Texas," as announced this week. M. C. Crook will be transferred from Bellefonte, Penns., to fill the position vacated by Chads.
March 12. Milton M. Greever, Barber county pioneer of Medicine Lodge, died at his home here last Wednesday after several years of failing and two weeks of serious illness.
Mr. and Mrs. George Cecil received a cablegram from their son, Glenn Dee, on Saturday saying that he was feeling fine and not to worry about him. No date or place was given in the cablegram and this is the first they have heard from him since December 3.
March 19.
Corliss M. Burns, Kiowa, held the first serial number to be drawn affecting Barber county registrants in the nations first war time lottery of draft numbers which started Tuesday evening and was completed this morning. Burns number was 441.
The Indians won the annual regional tournament at Pratt, riming the Pratt cagers 36 to 25 in the finals.
March 26.
33,000 pieces of material have been received here to use in rationing sugar in Barber county in the near future.
A car stolen in Wichita last week was recovered here Saturday by Sheriff L. V. Hart; the car was found behind a hill about two miles southwest of town.
April 2. April
Charles H. Marquess, superintendent of the National Gypsum mines in Sun City, left Sunday for Waco, Texas, where he will serve the company in a $25,000,000 munitions plant it is constructing.
A. D. Shaw, for many years one of Barber county's best known ranchers and prominent Medicine Lodge citizen, died here Tuesday afternoon. Although Mr. Shaw has been in ill health for some time, his condition has been critical only for the last week.
April 9.
Funeral services were held Thursday afternoon for Mrs. Stella Youmans, resident of this community for 55 years and well known church worker, who died at her home here.
Two tragedies struck deep into Barber county homes this week when First Class Private Forest E. Wilson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Wilson of Medicine Lodge was killed in an airplane crash Sunday afternoon near Ft. Leavenworth, and Mr. and Mrs. John Taylor of Gerlane, were notified by the navy department, that their son, Lee Taylor, who was on the USS Langley, is missing in action.
April 16.
Kenneth Roots, 17 year old Capron high school senior, who was found in a canyon southwest of Hardtner, after fatally wounding Donald Benson last November, was given life in prison by a jury of district court at Alva.
H. A. Palmer and C. B. Fullerton were elected to the school board to fill the positions vacated by the resignations of C. L. Forsyth and Garnett Richardson.
W. R. McCulley is a new member of the city council of Medicine Lodge. He was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Fred Hardy.
Excitement in this community from the probability of another gas pool as the result of the Swartz No. 1 blowing Saturday was heightened Monday when the gas began building through the ground for more than a mile along Elm creek, northwest of Medicine Lodge. The gas began breaking through Monday, but it was Tuesday morning before the news became generally known. The gas bubbling through the water in a draw northeast of the Ned Axtell place, attracted a large crowd of people. Among the spectators were a number of high school students. A match was struck near the bubbling gas and John Parr and John Gallagher were burned. They were rushed to the Ned Axtell home, where they were given emergency treatment.
April 23.
Thomas P. Knight, former Barber county commissioner and for 58 years a highly respected resident of the Isabel community, died at his home there Saturday morning.
Lloyd Thomas, coach of the Medicine Lodge high school the past year, has resigned his position.
(Barber County Index, January 14, 1943. -- 1942 Continued.)
April 30.
Detailed instructions for registration for the sugar rationing program, including sites and hours for the consumers to sign-up, were announced Tuesday by the Barber county rationing board. The registration will be conducted at various schools over the county on May 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Elmer Conner is the new under sheriff for Barber county. He was appointed Monday by Sheriff L. V. Hart and takes the place of Leo Frederick, who resigned to accept a position as special guard at the recently completed munitions plant in Parsons.
May 7. May
Funeral services for Mrs. L. W. Fullerton, for many years a Medicine Lodge resident, who died at her home here Thursday were held Saturday morning at the Methodist church. Although in ill health for some time, Mrs. Fullerton's condition had been critical for only a few days.
May 14.
E. P. Mattern, well known Kansas oil operator, died at his home in Kiowa early Saturday morning as the result of a heart attack suffered the evening before.
C. L. Forsyth, prominent Medicine Lodge civic leader, was elected first vice president at the annual meeting of the Kansas Funeral directors in Wichita last Wednesday.
May 20.
One Barber county youth was killed and another seriously injured last Wednesday in a car accident on Highway No. 281 between here and Kiowa. The dead boy is Jack Rozelle, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. V. Rozelle of Gerlane, and former Medicine Lodge high school student. Frank Pelzl, only other occupant of the car, is seriously injured.
May 28.
Injuries received in a car accident Thursday May 16, brought death Monday noon to the second Barber county man involved in the wreck. He was Frank A. Pelzl, who died in the Galloway hospital as the result of a brain concussion.
Forty-four high school seniors graduated from the Medicine Lodge high school at the annual commencement exercise held in the school auditorium, Friday.
June 4. June
Another gas pool was officially opened in Barber county Tuesday when the Swartz No. 1 in the Whelan oil field was completed as a good producer. Although it is to early to determine exactly how much the well will make, it is estimated that it is running about 6,000,000 cubic feet now with a rock pressure of 1,300 pounds and still increasing.
Co. E. P. Moomau formerly of Medicine Lodge, who has served as head of the state highway patrol for more than two years, has resigned his position to become chief guard for the Sunflower Ordnance plant near Eudora.
June 11. Population figures for Barber county show a decrease this year of 692 persons in comparison with 1941 tabulations.
Numerous women of Medicine Lodge and vicinity are making applications for sugar for canning, H. E. Nixon, chairman of the local rationing board said this week.
June 18.
Old tires piled up at Medicine Lodge filling stations this week as local citizens began to do their part in the scrap rubber campaign which decides whether a nation wide rationing of gasoline is necessary to conserve rubber.
Western Barber county has another big oil well in the Shutts No. 1, east offset the Massey. The well came in last Wednesday.
June 25.
More than 40,000 pounds of scrap rubber have been collected in the Barber county since the campaign for this material began June 15, according to a survey made last Saturday.
Clarence Benefiel, a charter member of the Medicine Lodge Lions club and an active worker since its organization, was elected president of the club at its regular meeting in the high school Thursday.
July 2. July
On July 1st., another phase of the price control becomes effective in Medicine Lodge and the rest of the nation when no one may charge more than certain things than the highest price charged in March.
Results of the heavy rains Sunday night and Monday morning were two bridges put out of use temporarily. Light circuits were out of commission for several minutes both Sunday and Monday evening.
July 9.
With visitors here from all sections of Barber county, the big free Medicine Lodge Fourth of July celebration was a decided success.
July 16.
Stephen Irons of Knowles, Okla., father of Miss Imogene Irons, employee of the First National Bank here, was one of to men instantly killed at Alva when their transport truck plunged into Eagle Chief creek, four miles southwest of Alva.
J. D. Mills, long time resident of Barber county, died last night, (Tuesday). He had been in poor health for several years.
Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Hibbard celebrated their golden wedding anniversary Friday, July 10 at their home on West Washington avenue.
July 23.
M. L. Sherry, founder of the Barber County Index, died at his home in Los Angeles, Calif., July 10, according to word received this week by the Index from his sister, Mrs. Ella V. Clark.
Carlos Brown has leased the Standard Oil station at Anthony and opened the place for business last Tuesday. Mr. Brown and his family have lived in Medicine Lodge for the past 13 years and are well liked here.
July 30. With only two contests scheduled in the primary election, it appears that Barber county will cast one of its lightest votes in a number of years when the voters march to the polls next Tuesday.
August 6. August
Orin Wheat and Cal Parr won in the primary vote in the only two contests in the primary this year. Wheat will be Republican candidate for county attorney, and Parr will be Democratic candidate for sheriff.
August 13.
Thomas A. McNeal, first publisher of the Medicine Lodge Cresset and one of the most widely known and loved editors of Kansas died Friday after an illness of nearly a year.
August 20.
Saturday evening little Wilma Connor, 10 year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Connor, was painfully and seriously injured when she was struck by a car as she ran out from between two double parked cars.
August 27.
Funeral services were held here saturday for Henry Abt, 52, prominent Barber county farmer and farm Bureau leader, who died at his home west of Medicine Lodge, Thursday morning after an illness of several months.
September 3. September
A heart attack early Friday morning caused the sudden death of J. P. Matthews, popular meat market manager, at his home in Medicine Lodge.
A tragic farm accident took the life of Allen Hall, bridegroom of less than three months, Thursday afternoon when he was crushed to death underneath a tractor while plowing at the Harold Roessler place, about nine miles west of Medicine Lodge.
September 10. Enrollment in Medicine Lodge schools will show the expected decrease as compared with last year. Tuesday morning revealed 493 present with 548 for the opening day last year.
September 17.
Monday evening the fire whistle stirred up a little excitement in Medicine Lodge at about 5:45 p.m. The fire was next door to the Index in the Gramely Appliance shop, and was caused by gasoline from a truck tank accidentally igniting.
September 24.
When all the Barber county business places closed for the big county wide scrap drive, they really got down to business. Total figures for the scrap collected totaled 1,258,650 pounds.
F. Floyd Herr, superintendent of the Medicine Lodge high school was re-elected head of the Southwestern Kansas league at its annual meeting held in Anthony last Saturday.
October 1. October
The American Legion auxiliary of Medicine Lodge has received sufficient donations to purchase an inhalator, but due to war restrictions, they have not yet been able to get a priority rating to get the machine yet, but they hope to be able to make the purchase in the near future.
October 8.
Funeral services were held at the Christian church here Monday morning for Herbert Hobble, well known southwestern Kansas businessman, and civic leader, who died at the Joslin hospital in Harper, Friday evening after an illness of more than four months.
October 15.
In a collision between the Arthur Harbaugh farm south of Medicine Lodge Saturday evening, Howard Rule, 14, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ira C. Rule of this city, was fatally injured and two other occupants of the car received minor cuts and bruises.
October 22.
Members of the Medicine Lodge Junior chamber voted to sponsor the giving of Christmas boxes to the members of the armed forces from Medicine Lodge community, instead of the annual Santa Claus Christmas treat.
October 29.
Lt. Vernon E. Dye, 27, of the Army Air Forces, was killed in the crash of an army training plane near Sweetwater, Tex., Sunday. Lt. Day was an Isabel boy.
A number of Red Cross knitted articles are now ready for shipment from the Barber county work rooms to the armed forces of the United States.
With only four contests in the county, a light vote is predicted in the election here Tuesday, but some observers say it is the kind of a year in which anything can happen.
No Report for November. November
December 3. December
Medicine Lodge will join the rest of the state of Kansas and eight other mid western states in a practice blackout to be effective Monday, December 14 from 10 p.m., to 10:20 p.m.
Though gasoline rationing has been effective since Tuesday, the Barber county rationing board is still being deluged with requests for explanations of various parts of the program.
December 10.
To promote the war effort the Medicine Lodge high school student council has voted to sponsor a high school victory corps, it was announced this week.
World war II claimed another member of the United States armed forces of Barber county this week when it was announced that Sgt. Joe Rathgeber of Hardtner was killed in a plane crash at Montgomery, Ala., near where he was in training.
December 17.
The blackout Monday night in Medicine Lodge and Barber county was characterized as a complete success.
E. B. Dye, well known Medicine Lodge restaurant operator died at the Nashville hospital Sunday afternoon following a prolonged illness.
O. M. Wheat, county attorney received a medical discharge from the U. S. army and returned to Medicine Lodge last week. He plans to reopen his law offices.
December 24.
L. W. Moore, one of Barber's first county officers, and brother of Mrs. William Palmer, died Sunday night at his home in Alva after an illness of several weeks.
A Medicine Lodge young man, Bill Forsyth, outstanding Indian forward of the state runners-up in 1941 and now a member of the Kansas university basketball squad in his sophomore year, was chosen to make a four-game eastern swing with the Jayhawkers which will culminate in a contest with Fordham in New York's Madison Square garden.
Thanks to Shirley Brier