Program Coming up Jan. 17 on Native American Culture

NEWS RELEASE
Jan 4, 2017
For use: Immediate
Finney County Historical Society
Contact: Steve Quakenbush, 620-272-3664

PROGRAM COMING UP JAN. 17 ON NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE

First of four Evenings at the Museum in Garden City

Southwest Kansans interested in local history can count on four opportunities in the upcoming spring segment of the Evening at the Museum lecture series.

Patterned after the Finney County Historical Society’s popular Brown Bag Lunch programs, the series features a different presentation on the third Tuesday of each month, January through April and September through November.

All the programs begin at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Finney County Museum, with free admission, and run approximately one hour each. Those who attend should use the north entrance, and are welcome to bring their own dinner, if desired. The museum staff will provide dessert and beverages.

Sponsored by Kansas Chapter 62 of the AT&T Pioneers, the sessions will open Jan. 17 with “Cultures of Native America,” by Ken Weidner.

The presenter, a Copeland farmer and rancher, has completed extensive research on Plains Indian life and tribes, the Southern Cheyenne in particular. He tans hides, produces beadwork, crafts silver and makes Native American saddles.

Weidner was instrumental in developing the Native American component of the museum’s Spirit of the Plains Gallery, and devotes time to making and using teepees and Indian clothing, working with buffalo hides, and preparing and eating Native American food. His presentation is provided through the Wanda Holmes Memorial Fund.

The balance of the season will include a program by representatives of the Santa Fe Trail Association on Feb. 21; and “Saving Lives in Finney County,” a history of Finney County Emergency Medical Services on March 21, presented by retired EMS Director Bob Prewitt.

The series will conclude April 18 with a presentation by Conny Bogaard, executive director of the Western Kansas Community Foundation. Entitled “The Passion of the Christ in Art,” it will feature historic images connected to the life of Jesus Christ from Roman times to the present. The speaker earned a master’s degree in art history, with specialization in museum studies; and a doctorate in philosophy, aesthetics and art theory.

BROWN BAG LUNCHES IN FEBRUARY

In addition, the museum will host the 2017 Brown Bag Lunch history lecture series at noon each Tuesday in February. Like the evening programs, admission is free and those who attend are welcome to bring their own lunch. The museum will offer beverages and dessert.

Participants should also use the north entrance of the museum for the weekly noon-hour segments.

The 2017 programs include “Keep Five in Kansas,” a segment by Bogaard about creating legacies for the future of the community, scheduled Feb. 7; and “Firearms of the Old West,” by Lary Cole, on Feb. 14.

​The Brown Bag presentations will also include a history of Finney County law enforcement by Museum Education Coordinator Johnetta Hebrlee, planned Feb, 21 and entitled “Marshal, Sheriff, Police Chief” and “History through Hospitality” by Neva and Steve Quakenbush, scheduled Feb. 28 and focusing on bed and breakfast inns of Kansas and surrounding states.

 

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