NEWS RELEASE
April 4, 2016
For use: Immediate
Finney County Historical Society
Contact: Steve Quakenbush, 620-272-3664
PIONEER AWARDS COMING UP AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY BANQUET APRIL 23
Reservations available through April 15…Presentations to honor two Finney County families
The agenda includes election of new and returning board members, as well as presentation of the 2016 Finney County Pioneer Awards. In addition, the evening will include the organization’s seventh annual fund-raising silent auction.
The public is welcome to join FCHS members at the event, which will be sponsored for the third consecutive year by Fry Eye Associates and Homestead Assisted Living, joined this year by Karis, Inc. Information is available at 620-272-3664 and reservations are necessary by April 15. Admission, including dinner, is $18 per person.
Those being recognized with the Pioneer Award include the Albert and Cecil Algrim family and the Gilbert L. and Eliza Jane Holmes family.
The Algrim family, which arrived in Finney County in 1932, has been involved in farming for three generations. The family’s members have devoted themselves to fields ranging from education to health care, as well as military service and church involvement. The family helped host a local visit from President Dwight Eisenhower more than 50 years ago, and two Garden City streets are named after Algrim descendants.
The Holmes family moved to Garden City in 1884, and farmed near town co-founder C.J. Buffalo Jones. Members served in the Civil War and the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, played roles in early community development and helped fund the soldier’s memorial erected over 100 years ago at Valley View Cemetery. Members have involved themselves in community and church activities for six generations, as well as providing service in the U.S. military.
The society has been honoring local pioneers annually since 1974, and more than 100 families, couples and individuals have received the honor, which is based on long-term presence in the community and significant contributions to local history. Recipients in 2015 included the Roxanna Goss and Charles and Frances Pfeifer families.
Those who attend will receive printed annual reports highlighting the society’s accomplishments for the past year, and FCHS members may participate in the board election.
The silent auction, taking place over the course of the evening, will include a variety of gift baskets, artwork, books and other donated items, with proceeds going to support the society’s mission of preserving the past to enlighten the future.
Information about the annual banquet and meeting is available by visiting the museum at 403 S. Fourth or calling 620-272-3664 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
