Window display features school photos

— by Betty Jane Wilson, society president

"School Days, School Days . . ." etc. The seasonal window scene at the Valley Falls Historical Society Museum is designed to pique the memories or whet the waves of nostalgia of these "Golden Rule Days" for former scholars or teachers of country schools.

A host of enlarged photos of one-room schools of local areas pin-pointed in their respective areas on a Jefferson County map fill the window. Slates, ink well, lunch pail, and the inevitable school hand bell complete the memorabilia display with an ABC banner for emphasis.

The Veterans' window, featuring a colorful eagle image accompanied by military service flags against an American flag background, serves as a constant reminder to remember and support our servicemen and women world-wide.

The society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27. Admission is free.

Crosby's 1874 resignation from the Temperance League

- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, Historical Society President

"I hereby tender my resignation as a member of the executive committee and also desire my name stricken from the roll of the society" was the resignation read to the Grasshopper Falls Temperance League by the Hon. Rufus H. Crosby April 13, 1874, following the election of M. P. Hillyer, of the league's conservative party as mayor of Grasshopper Falls.

Published in its entirety by the April 16, 1874, New Era, excerpts from Mr. Crosby's resolution follow: "Fearing to trust myself to express to you orally my reasons for this course of action, lest I might be aggravated into intemperance of speech, in the quiet of my home, I have, as briefly as thoroughness would permit, written out the result of my cool and sober reflection.

"1st. There is an 'irrepressible conflict' now going on in this organization.

"2nd. It is the evident design of the leaders of the conservative wing to dilute and render immaculate the temperance basis in order to make it acceptable to all respectable rum drinkers and rum sellers. . . I hold that rum and anti-rum cannot run together on the same ticket. Rum and water will mix but oil and water never; so with rum and anti-rum. . .

"My idea of justice and right would hold the well dressed and fine conditioned keeper of a fashionable corner drug store, who sold liquor as a beverage, to certainly as strict account as his less comely and refined but more honest neighbor, the saloon keeper. None more than I have been made to feel the shameful fact that the powerful enginery of the most influential church in this place is at the back of the wretched compromise policy.

"A leading divine, and the pastor of said church, has dwelt long and loud on love and charity, and made his boast that he has not an enemy in the whole world. Now I have to confess I have not a particle of charity for a rum-seller...It is all exhausted in the demands made upon my heart and my purse by its victims.

"With these tart criticisms on the conservative wing of the society, I still have the charity to believe its leaders have the best of motives and the most benevolent designs; but believing as I do that the effect of their policy, had it full sway, would be to make this league farce, and play into the hands of the enemy, I have deemed it best to retire and give those eminent liberals a chance to cheat the rum power, if possible, into submission.

"I desire no better epitaph when the good fight comes to an end with me 'always through life this man was bitterly hated by the rum power' in bidding you all an affectionate good-bye, and God speed, pardon me for offering as your future motto 'To thine own self prove true, and it doth follow as the day the night, thou cans't not then prove false to any man.' "

The society museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20. Admission is free.

Temperance League division alters 1874 vote

— Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, Valley Falls Historical Society President.

"A certain lady in this vicinity has for the past three weeks been putting herself in fighting order, ready for a warfare on the saloons of this place, and her husband has at the same time been using his best efforts to reduce the amount of liquor that his wife expects to destroy when the proper time arrives," reported the Kansas New Era, April 9, 1874, followed by the following news items.

"The temperance question still agitates our citizens. Last Friday evening the Temperance League met at the Congregational Church to perfect arrangements for the election. The session was a stormy one, and the debates sharp and acrimonious. The general sentiment of the league seemed to be in favor of putting a Temperance ticket in the field. The speakers on the radical side were R.H. Crosby, the Rev. McHenry, H.K. McCartney, Wm. Crosby, and Dr. Northrup; while the Rev. Levi B. Wilson represented the Conservative element. Finally a total abstinence pledge was adopted as the platform of the league.

"Subsequently, M.P. Hillyer refused to accept the nomination for mayor on the Temperance ticket, and the meeting adjourned without further action.

"A majority of the Temperance men believed themselves sold out by their leaders, and on Saturday afternoon they nominated the same ticket proposed by the committee of the League, substituting Mr. C.C. Lord for mayor in place of M.P. Hillyer and putting Mr. E.B. Strickland on the council in place of C.C. Lord.

"The Conservative Party nominated the old city officers headed by M.P. Hillyer for mayor. The Anti-Temperance and Saloon interest nominated a ticket headed by Henry Coy for mayor and composed of three of the Conservative councilmen with Mr. Nolker and Mr. Newman. On the council there was no fight, for this old board ws certain to be re-elected as three of the candidates were on both the Saloon and Conservative tickets and the other two were on the Temperance and Conservative tickets.

"The main struggle was for mayor, and for this office, the vote was a very close one. Out of 153 votes cast, M.P. Hillyer received 54, C.C. Lord 50, and Henry Coy 49.

"The result shows that had the Temperance Party been unified, they would have been invincible at the polls, but by diversion among themselves and concessions to the opposing element, they frittered away their strength and have accomplished nothing.

"After the vote was counted and the result known, the Band Boys made their appearance in front of the Valley Bank and played several soul-stirring airs; after which M.P. Hillyer, mayor-elect and the present incumbent, made his appearance on the bank steps and in a few words, well spoken, thanked the citizens for the honor and said he always would, as he always had, do all he could for the best interests of the city in general.

"The following sentiment was offered by K.H. Crosby at a meeting of the Temperance League: 'Just in — Hillyer . . . Like Abraham of old was ready to sacrifice his own son for the cause he loved so well, may we in all our future battles with the Rum Power, be amply justified in calling him The Father of the Faithful.' "

The society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13. Admission is free.

Grasshopper Falls to Valley Falls

Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, President of the Valley Falls Historical Society

"Our neighbors of Grasshopper Falls desire to have the name of their village changed," reported the Oskaloosa Independent Feb. 7, 1863, and continued: "We do not wonder they wish to get clear of the present long and clumsy name, but substitutes proposed do not better the matter very much. They are both too long. We do not perceive the necessity of retaining the name of Falls; but if it must be kept, then say 'Falls River' and 'Falls City.' If we had the naming to do, some short word would be selected, plain, pleasant, and musical and one that would not be tiresome to write on a post office address."

Originally named Grasshopper Falls with the history of the town beginning in 1854 located at the falls of the Grasshopper River with invasions in 1855, 1860, and 1861 of the voracious insect, residents were fed up with the name Grasshopper and asked the Legislature to change the name of the river, township, and city to Sautrelle.

Adoption of the new name evoked various and sundry reactions from both citizens and outsiders. According to the Kansas Historical Quarterly, 1863, Sol Miller, editor and publisher of the White Cloud, Kan., "Kansas Chief" substituted "Sowtail" for Sautrelle when speaking of the town, river or township. The populace did not relish their community's ridiculous nickname, so the legislature restored the old name in 1864.

"The subject of changing the name of our town is again being agitated," reported the Kansas New Era Feb. 12, 1874.

Kansas Falls, Cedar Falls, and Falls City were names being suggested. The editor offered no objection to these names since they were "short and appropriate."

"Some suggest the town retain its present name on account of its distinctiveness," continued the editor.

"If that is all there is about it, we say by all means retain the old name. For most assuredly it is distinct for all practical purposes. No one need have any fears of the name 'Grasshopper Falls' becoming confounded with any other name. We favor the change because the little insect, grasshopper, is a mean mischievous fellow and impresses strangers with the idea that this country is infested with the rascals. Also, we favor the change on account of the names suggested are short while Grasshopper Falls stretches nearly across a sheet of note paper."

From the Kansas Historical Quarterly: "By irony of fate, the worst visitation of Grasshoppers came during the Summer of 1874, so meetings of residents with the Legislature of 1875, a bill was passed changing the name of the town to Valley Falls."

The society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. Admission is free.

Thurman Walker's body laid to rest in Rose Hill Cemetery

- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, Society President

Thurman Walker, Valley Falls farm boy whose 1908 murder in Colorado was recently detailed in this column, was the youngest child of Jesse and Hannah Bunker Walker. He was born Sept. 2, 1888, and died Aug. 19, 1908, murdered by a companion, Cleveland Nunn.

Siblings of young Walker were elder brother Edwin L., who assisted Colorado deputies in the investigation of Thurman's murder; sister, Lena, brothers Jesse Franklin (Frank) and John H., who lived less than a week after birth, and sister, Mary Catherine (Kate).

His father, Jesse, a successful farmer and stockman, died in 1905, and mother, Hannah, died in 1914. Both parents are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Valley Falls.

Edwin L. Walker accompanied his brother's remains from Colorado for funeral services and burial in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Information sources: Farmers' Vindicator 1908 and Walker family history, 1800 to 1968 by Eunice Marie (Walker) Foot.

The society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 30. Admission is free.

Murder of Thurman Walker, part 2

- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, society president

To Recap: Thurman Walker of Valley Falls had disappeared somewhere in Colorado. A decomposed body was found Sept. 12, 1908, in the Arkansas River bed near Nepesta, Pueblo County, Colo.

The coroner and deputy coroner determined there were no clues to identify the body so, careful measurements were made and preserved. The remains were interred where they were found and a small gravestone marked the burial place.

Deputy sheriffs and officers went to work on the case and Sheriff Potter of LaJunta took over the investigation. When he found the saddle used by Walker in a LaJunta secondhand store, Thurman's brother, Edwin, was called from his Kansas home to aid in the investigation.

Part II
"He (Edwin) identified the saddle as positively his brother's. Nunn, Walker's companion, became an immediate suspect, but he maintained that he left Walker sometime after they left Mantanola and Walker was headed for Texas. He was released from suspicion and he returned to work in the beet fields.

"Sheriff Potter was not content, and with Edwin Walker's assistance the decomposed body found in the Arkansas River was identified as that of Thurman Walker, aged 19 years, a farmer boy from Valley Falls, Kansas.

"Cleveland Nunn, the 20-year-old beet worker, was arrested a second time and taken to LaJunta where he continued to maintain his innocence. A severe sweating (third degree) broke down his story and he confessed he shot Walker; however, he said it was during a fight and he shot in self defense. The 'sweating' continued and he admitted the entire affair in a sworn statement to the district attorney.

"The tragedy occurred the same night the two left for the north. They made camp near the bridge over the Arkansas River and it was there the cleverly laid and planned plot was consummated."

Extracts from Cleveland Nunn's sworn statement were:
" 'We went to bed on the ground. I pretended to be asleep, but watched Walker close his eyes and start to snore. I got my gun from the holster and, holding it with both hands, pressed the pistol against his forehead. He moved and I nearly lost heart, but he was still asleep and I shot him through the top of his head. He was too heavy to carry to the river so I tied a rope around his neck and dragged him.' "

"Shot in the head while he slept, an experienced lad from Eastern Kansas was murdered for money, it was thought, he had on his person. All the perpetrator of the crime secured for the terrifying moments that preceded the crime, the torments which have pursued him for three months and will follow him for the rest of his life was a cheap watch and a saddle.

"He was charged with murder in the first degree and lodged in the Pueblo County jail awaiting trial."
Source: The Farmer's Vindicator, Friday, Nov. 13, 1908.

The historical society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 23. Admission is free.

1908 disappearance of Thurman Walker, foul play feared

- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, Valley Falls Historical Society President
"Thurman Walker not heard from since Aug. 17" headlined the Farmer's Vindicator Friday, Oct. 30, 1908. The Harmon Publishing Co. (Valley Falls).
Part I
"Thurman Walker, son of Mrs. Jessie Walker, left here in the spring and went to Bisbee, Ariz., to work in a copper mill, but afterwards returned to Colorado, near Rocky Ford. Last August, he and another young man started off together, the other young man telling his stepfather he and Thurman were going on a fishing trip. But, Thurman told relatives with whom he was stopping and wrote home to folks here, that he was going with this young man to Wyoming, and told from what town he would write the next week. But, nothing has been heard from him since. This was Aug. 17.
"In a few weeks after leaving, the other young man returned to Rocky Ford with Thurman's saddle, bridle, and every day clothes and told that Thurman's horse had got sick and he had stopped an an irrigating plant to work. But, inquiry at this place shows he has never been there. After being faced with this denial, the young man has told several stories about the matter including how he came to be in possession of so much of Thurman's property.
"It is sincerely hoped that this is a false alarm and that Thurman is alive and well, but the fact that he has written home every week since he has been away, up to the time of leaving Rocky Ford on the 17th of August and no word being received from him since, makes the stories of his companion very suspicious.
"Walker, who had been writing to his mother regularly, was not heard from, and inquiries were established by his family, but, to no avail. The mother finally became frantic and large sums of money were expended in following up on clues that might lead to his whereabouts. "According to the brother of the missing boy, his mother finally had a vision. She saw him lying dead on the prairie and, so strong was her belief in the dreams, that the efforts of the family were directed toward securing the identity of all unclaimed bodies that had been found in the vicinity where he was known to have been. It was the vision and the subsequent inquiries that finally led to his identification.
"According to information local officers secured, both young fellows were employed on the Beatty Ranch near Manzonia, Colo. Walker is said to have made several statements to the effect that he didn't have to work and it is known that the family is in excellent circumstances and he would have inherited a small fortune on his 21st birthday.
"It was thought about the ranch that he carried some money on his person and that contributed to his disappearance. Nunn (his companion) is said to have told Walker of a ranch he owned near Cheyenne, Wyo., and promises of a large salary 'riding fences' induced the young Kansan to undertake the trip to Cheyenne."
In Part II
A decomposed body is found in the bed of an Arkansas River near Nepesta, Colo. Edwin L. Walker, brother of Thurman, joins sheriff's investigation.
The society museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16.