APRIL 2014

Volume 2 issue 3 April 2014

PRESIDENTS CORNER As I sit here at my computer writing this message the outside temperature is a cold 7 degrees! By the time you read this, it should be spring and several degrees warmer. It will be time to give the museum a good spring cleaning and a much needed change in some of the items displayed. We have many items in storage in the upstairs rooms that need to be gone thru and different items placed on display in the downstairs area of the museum. Hopefully, this can be accomplished by the time the museum is reopened this spring. We will appreciate any help with the project! The City of Chanute, owners of the museum building, have replaced the glass in the front door which makes it more attractive. Also replaced is the thermostat on the heating and air conditioning system with a modern digital thermostat that is programmable. Our thanks go out to the City of Chanute and to Andy Roberts for his work in getting these things done. Some of you may not be aware of the fact that the building is owned by the City of Chanute and they allow us to use it rent free. Again, we would like to remind you that we are glad to receive items with a direct historical connection with Chanute and the surrounding area. This includes old school annuals, city directories, old photo postcards, old photos of buildings homes, parks, etc. Dates, location and other information about the items is very important and appreciated.

There is a commemorative marker at the north edge of the old Austin Bridge that was moved from the river crossing at Austin to Santa Fe Park. The stone marker directs the reader to another stone marker just a few feet away. In 2006 this second marker was moved from the banks of the Neosho River for fear that it was in serious danger of being swept into the river due to erosion of the river bank. Do you know what this second marker identifies? The marker was placed on the river bank in 1922 at that time the river was some 75 feet away. For the answer go to the last page of this newsletter.

Any suggestions or comments on the newsletter can be sent to our P O Box or by e-mail to jameli@cableone.net

ATTENTION! We will make a test run and send the newsletter by e-mail to some members. Therefore, a few members may receive

Warren Alford, President, Chanute Historical Society

a copy through their computer and also receive a paper copy.

IN CHANUTE

CHS is on the GO! Submitted by Andrew Roberts The Chanute Historical Society (CHS) like other Historical Societies is about, well, history, but that doesnt mean we have to use historical means to accomplish our mission. CHS has implemented an online website (http://www.chanutehistory.org) with a full set of features to enhance your experience as a member and admirer. Among the features youll find there are document s pertaining to board meetings, contact information, and news. Additionally, we have a full line shopping cart store with PayPal checkout (accepts credit/debit cards or bank account numbers PayPal does all the secure processing!). Youll find any number of the Societys publications or t-shirts. You can also pay your dues online through PayPal! My interest is bringing technology into the world in a fruitful variety. I am especially interested in digital archiving. Recently I have made contact with a set of volunteers in Italy who are interested in adapting their archiving/indexing software to historical archiving needs. In addition to the already highly-effective text search for documents like PDF, they will be attempting to allow an

archivist to search for a digital artifact by origin. For instance a scanned document or picture of 202 S. Lincoln (First United Methodist Church) would easily have its coordinates located on a map. This map in turn would be searchable by a combination of keywords and/or proximity. Searching by an artifacts date or potential range of dates is also another desired feature where they have expressed an interest. CHS is leading the way in technological implementation in the local historical society scene. I have spoken with members from the Kansas Museum Association about making our technological advancements available to other museums. The efforts are, at the present, largely volunteers. Small donations would be accepted to send to the Italian software development volunteers so they stay interested and continue to volunteer their services. You can expect digital archived content, like stories and pictures, to be available soon online at http://archives.chanutehistory.org. In fact, there are already a limited number of pictures thanks to CHS President Warren Alford. Just type a word in the box, and GO! Andrew Roberts is a board member of the CHS. Currently, he operates a technology innovation and consulting company in the Chanute area.

AT THE MUSEUM One of the displays at the museum is a collection of ration booklets and OPA tokens. If you experienced the 1940s and the rationing that took place during the war, you know about the Office of Price Administration. The agency produced three billion ration stamps every month. All RED and Blue stamps in the War Ration Book are worth 10 point each. RED and BLUE tokens are worth one point each. The red and blue token are to be used to make change for Red and Blue stamps only when a purchase is made. The point values of Brown and Green stamps are NOT changed. So said the government information sheet handed out with the commodity ration booklet, which contained the months stamps for a family. Each family received a quota for ration stamps doled out by their local ration board. Meat was purchased with the book of red stamps, while canned goods required book of blue, green and brown stamps. When the stamps were used up then no more of that commodity would be available for that family for that month.

Red tokens were used for meats and related products, while blue were used for processed foods such as canned or packaged goods. Many more Red tokens were distributed than Blue because of a shorter time it was in effect and less use. The grocer, to replenish his stocks, had to turn in the stamps to the wholesaler who turned the stamps into the local bank and got credit to buy so much in commodities. It sounded like a good plan but in reality they had to deal with 14 billion stamps per month and handling 3.5 billion tiny stamps. The government provided gummed sheets to attach the stamps to and they ran out of the sheets. Some store owners carried the tiny stamps to the bank in shoe boxes and bushel baskets. When rations ended in 1947 the public was so happy to get rid of the stamps and tokens that many of them were thrown in the fire or given to kids to use as play money. But today they are collected and prized by dealers. Both the red and blue OPA tokens have a two letter designation on each issue. No one seems to know what the letters stand for. A collector tries to get a full set. The M is the most rare and difficult to find. There are many for sale on e-Bay and on occasion you can find complete sets for sale.

ABOVE: RATION STAMP BOOKLETS AND BELOW: RED/BLUE TOKENS

Both the red and blue tokens have a two-letter designation on each issue. No one seems to know what the letters stand for. A collector tries to get a full set. The M is the rarest and is difficult to find. There are many tokens for sale on e-Bay and on occasion you can find complete sets for sale.

ONE OF THE BOOK BAGS SOLD TO HELP SAVE THE DEPOT FROM THE BULLDOZER PART OF THE COLLECTION OF THE CHANUTE HISTORICAL MUSEUM

FIRST AIRSHIP FLIGHT IN CHANUTE, KANSAS FLIGHT MADE BY BECKWITH HAVENS AT THE FOUR COUNTY FAIR, WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 25, 1911.

Odd Jobs With the coming of spring the museum will be open on weekends and volunteers will be necessary to greet visitors. If you can help with this activity please get word to Warren Alford at 431-1294 or e-mail him at 1w9e2a6@terraworld.net We need volunteers who can work from 1pm to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Your job would be to greet the visitor and welcome them to the museum. You do not have to know anything about the display, though there will be a cheatsheet available for you to look at if someone asks a question. It is acceptable for you to answer I dont know. So far the names on the volunteer list are Beverly Olson, Joyce Hewitt, Craig Reaves, Sharon Williams, Jackie Ward, Andy Roberts, Jim Whaley, and Warren Alford. One of these people would be glad to be with you at the museum the first time or two. We will have a host of odd jobs that need to be completed while you are waiting for someone to visit the museum. The jobs would include. Vacuuming, making sure the outside front door way is clean and swept, the windows are clean, Windex the display cabinets, and dust the large items. Other projects will be listed on a to-do list with directions and the procedure to be followed. If you can aid in keeping the museum open, during the summer months, please let Warren know.

In Chanute answer: The second marker is identifying Osage City, later changed to Rogers Mills. It was the first post office established in Neosho County about 1870. The stone marker was due to the efforts of Mrs. C. T. Beaty.