The 60th installment seems like a good place to end the annals, as World War I events became fewer and fewer as 1919 wore on.
It also seems like a good idea to release this now, in case it might help anyone who may be interested in the aftermath of the war. We hope you enjoyed these glimpses of Kansas during the war years.
And so for the last time, 100 years ago in Kansas, May – December 1919.
May 1, 1919.
-Fifteen airplanes performed at Wichita in the Victory loan campaign. It was the first time Kansans had seen the “flying circus.”
May 4, 1919.
-Thirty-five counties had organized local American Legion posts.
-Saline county was the first to go over the top in the Victory Liberty Loan campaign. Saline’s quota was $903,000, raised on a volunteer basis.
May 13, 1919.
-The Kansas unit of the 42d (Rainbow) Division, the 117th Ammunition Train, arrived in Topeka. It was the first Kansas regiment to march into Germany.
May 29, 1919.
-William Howard Taft spoke on the League of Nations in Wichita.
May 30, 1919.
-Thousands of Topekans welcomed contingents of the Eighty-Ninth Division returning from France.
June 2, 1919.
-The Arma State Bank was robbed of $50,000 in Liberty bonds.
June 8, 1919.
-The executive committee of the Kansas Department of the American Legion met at Kansas City, Mo. Capitol Post No. 1, Topeka, received the first charter in the state.
June 14, 1919.
-County, state, and federal officials met at Hutchinson to plan action against I.W.W. sabotage in wheat fields.
July 8, 1919.
-The War Department ordered Camp Funston to release every man serving under an emergency enlistment who could be spared to work in the wheat harvest. Two special trains from Denver brought harvest hands to Hays, but 500 more were needed. Kansas had been condemned by the Eastern conference of migratory and casual workers for compelling vagrants to work in the wheat fields.
September 1, 1919.
-A memorial to soldiers who trained at Camp Funston was dedicated there. Governor Allen and General Wood spoke.
September 2, 1919.
-Col. John S. Dean told the Topeka Chamber of Commerce that bolshevism was being taught at Washburn. He said “Lenin or Trotsky might well have been the author of some of the textbooks in use.”
September 26, 1919.
-President Wilson, scheduled to speak at Wichita, became ill and was ordered by his physician to return to Washington. The President’s secretary issued a statement saying that the President exerted himself and brought on a “nervous reaction of his digestive organs.” The train stopped on a siding, and no one was allowed to enter his car. The Wichita Eagle said 100,000 persons had assembled to hear him speak.
September 29, 1919.
-The Kansas Department of the American Legion held its first meeting at Wichita. Topeka was made permanent headquarters. Dr. W.A. Phares, Wichita, was elected state commander.
September 30, 1919.
-The Kansas Welcome Assn. closed its New York headquarters after six weeks of welcoming Kansas veterans home from the war. Over 10,000 men had been entertained.
October 6, 1919.
-About 100 World War veterans were enrolled at K.S.A.C. under federal aid. Disabled veterans got $80 a month if single, $115 if married.
October 21, 1919.
-King Albert of Belgium, the Queen and Prince Leopold crossed Kansas on a special train. At Melvern the King was given $25,000for Belgian relief.
November 11, 1919.
-Kansans celebrated the first Armistice Day.
November 14, 1919.
-Daisy Burcham Young, of Wellington, was awarded the Royal Red Cross by the prince of Wales on board the HMS Renown at Washington, D.C., for “faithful and efficient service for more than two years in a hospital in France.” The award corresponds to the Distinguished-Service Cross.
December 19, 1919.
-Manhattan held a homecoming dinner for Maj. Gen. James G. Harbord.
-Thirty-five members of the I.W.W., charged with seditious activity, were sentenced by the U. S. District Court at Kansas City to from three to nine years in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth.
Blair Tarr
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.
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