100 years ago in Kansas, August 27 – September 7, 1917:

August 27, 1917

  • The Kansas Grange and the Farmers’ Union asked for special consideration of exemption claims by farm workers.
  • Women went to work in the upholstery department of the Santa Fe shops, Topeka, taking the places of men who had gone to war.

August 31, 1917

  • A drive to rid army camps of vice was being made by the Department of Justice and city, county, and state officials.
  • The Union Pacific was spending $2,000,000 on roundhouses, tracks, and shops in the Junction City – Manhattan area.
  • A coal combine of Kansas City dealers was exposed, and their records were seized.

September 2, 1917

  • The 117th Ammunition Train left Topeka for a “Rainbow Division” mobilization point.  It had been organized during the summer by Lt. Col. Frank L. Travis, Iola.  The companies were from Kansas City, Rosedale, Chanute, Parsons, Manhattan, and Pratt,

See previous posts:

KCK’s Rainbow Boulevard is a WW1 memorial

Monuments and Memorials: Rosedale Memorial Arch

September 3, 1917

  • Librarians from Kansas and surrounding states met at Kansas City, Mo., to discuss plans for raising their $1,000,000 quota for books and magazines for soldiers in France.

September 4, 1917

  • The Washburn Ambulance Co. was ordered to Camp Pike, Little Rock, Ark.

See previous post:

Washburn College Ambulance Company

  • Lt. William T. Fitzsimons, graduate of St. Mary’s College and a physician from K.U., was the first American officer to die in battle in France in World War I after the United State entry.  He was killed by an airplane bomb.  (Correct date of his death appears to be September 7th.)

See previous post:

Monuments and Memorials–St. Mary’s College

September 5, 1917

  • Kansas women signed war service cards to show the government what work each was doing, whether at home or away.
  • The first five percent of men called under Selective Service reported to the 89th Division at Fort Riley.  They had either previous military training or experience in cooking.  men from eight states formed the division, and Kansans for the most part were assigned to the 353rd Infantry, which became known as the All-Kansas regiment.  Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood was the division commander.

See the link:  http://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2006autumn_reddish.pdf

September 6, 1917

  • Osage county coal operators told the Governor that they could not operate at prices fixed by the government.

September 7, 1917

  • The nine-hour-day law for women workers was held constitutional by the Reno county district court.

Blair Tarr is the Museum Curator of the Kansas State Historical Society. He oversees the three-dimensional collections of the Society, but has special interests in the Civil War, Wichita-made Valentine diners, and Leavenworth's Abernathy Furniture. In the last few years he has also done a lot of cramming on The Great War. He is a past president of the Kansas Museums Association and the Civil War Round Tables of both Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. He is currently a board member of the Heritage League of Greater Kansas City.