100 years ago in Kansas, June 10 – 13, 1918:

June 10, 1918

  • A “yellow-paint squad” at Potter daubed all buildings in which one of its residents had an interest.  Included were an elevator, residence, garage and bank.  The owner was charged with hoarding flour, retarding Liberty bond and Red Cross drives, and consorting with “off-colored persons.”

June 11, 1918

  • Kansas towns passed vagrancy ordinances, following a proclamation by the Governor.  men from 18 to 60 years were ordered to register for work.

June 12, 1918

  • A special court was held at Junction City to naturalize 275 alien soldiers from Fort Riley and Camp Funston.

June 13, 1918

  • The iced-tea season had doubled the use of sugar in restaurants.  Patrons were urged to “Stir! Stir like hell!”
  • Hundreds of men at Camp Funston were granted 15-day furloughs to help with the wheat harvest.

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.