Leslie Helsel lived south of Great Bend for years and drove by the Barton County Historical Society Village and Museum every day, but she didn’t learn to appreciate its treasures until she came to work there as the office manager a few years ago.

“I’ve lived here all of my life,” Helsel said. She was born at the old St. Rose Hospital in 1962, to Elizabeth and Monte Stambaugh.

“My dad was one of 10 kids and my mom was one of nine kids, so we have a lot of cousins and relatives all over the place,” she said. Her sister, Jean Peter, lives in Hobbs, N.M., and her brother, Monte Stambaugh II, lives in Barton County.

Her father worked for Rosencrantz-Bemis Water Well Company in Great Bend and now her husband Gerry does, too.

People who see her husband’s name printed tend to mispronounce it as “Jerry.” In fact, he has a twin brother whose name really is Jerry; Gerry’s name is pronounced with a hard “g” so it sounds more like “Gary.” The Helsels’ son Cody has a daughter, Allison, and they also live here. After Allison started to attend Lincoln Elementary School, Leslie got a part-time job as a crossing guard.

“I take my granddaughter to school and pick her up every day,” she said. So she decided she could also be a crossing guard and now she enjoys seeing all of the children every day.

Growing up in Great Bend

When she was 11 years old the family moved from town to a farm south of Great Bend that is still in the family. Leslie started her education at Riley Elementary School, then went to Roosevelt Junior High and Great Bend High School. She took one course at Barton Community College.

She went to work for Central Kansas Library System and was with CKLS and Great Bend Public Library, which share the same building at 1409 Williams St., for close to 20 years.

In 2015, she came to work at the Barton County Historical Society. Her job title was office manager, but Executive Director Bev Komarek and Research Director Karen Neuforth quickly got her involved in setting up displays.

“Everybody always did everything,” she said. “When we put up a new display, everybody helped.”

Gradually, she was given more responsibilities, such as organizing the annual quilt display and the Rolling Sculpture Car Show, along with Pioneer Day, which takes place every May. On Pioneer Day, third graders visit the museum for a living history field trip. Komarek and Neuforth also sparked her interest in history.

“I was not really that interested in history, even in school,” she said. “But once I got here, and with the information I learned from Karen and Bev, it was like – oh my gosh! I want to know more! I didn’t know anything about Barton County or Great Bend history until I started working here. And then they gave me so much information, I just wanted to sop up more. I wanted to keep learning.”

Other people who visit the museum find it sparks memories. For example, the polar bears that lived at Brit Spaugh Zoo are there – one as a pelt and one as a taxidermy mount.

“One of the things that just always gets me is how things have changed, like Brit Spaugh Park,” she said. “There are parts where I wonder, ‘Where did those things go?’”

She remembers a trough with five fountains and in its midst were some rocks with an eagle statue/fountain on top. Water shot from its beak. “Kids went up there and played in the water; it was gorgeous. I imagine it got taken down, but I don’t know what happened to it.”

This may be an unsolved mystery, but Helsel has learned plenty and has continued learning as the museum has seen a changing of the guard. Komarek retired in 2018 and Neuforth died in 2021. Richard Lartz II became the executive director of the museum in May 2021.

Some people are surprised when Helsel tells them her job is never boring.

“You get to learn about your own town that I’ve lived in all my life but never realized some of the treasures and stories that are hidden here,” she said.

For example, there’s the iron lung that the Eagles purchased for St. Rose Hospital in 1949, at a cost of $1,750. It was for the treatment of polio.

And there’s a new display that Helsel created, called “Hats Off to Area Business,” that features caps from Barton County companies.

Perhaps her favorite is the covered wagon display that she and Neuforth put together. 

“It’s not really a wagon that they traveled in, because that would be bigger,” she said. “But we had the stuff to make it look like it.” The wagon is meant to inspire the question, “What would you bring?” Crossing the country with all of your belongings in one wagon, what would you have brought to Great Bend in 1872 with a limited amount of space?

People shouldn’t take history for granted, Helsel said, especially when they have an opportunity to learn it first-hand from older generations. She wishes she had written down some of the stories told by her great-grandmother, who lived to be almost 102 years old.

“She was here when the (1915) tornado hit, right out here. She was here when the first man went on the moon. She went from horse and buggy to vehicles. I could just kick myself that I didn’t write her stories down. I wish I would have thought of it at the time, but I didn’t think about history at the time.”

Other connections

When she’s not working or studying history, Helsel enjoys playing “Bonkos” with friends. She bowled for years, but gave that up because of arthritis and a knee replacement. She and her husband have a camper at Dorrance. And she has gotten interested in photography.

“I love taking pictures,” she said. “I will see something that I’ve got to take a picture of.”

 Community Connections is a regular feature of the Great Bend Tribune, showcasing people who live in the Golden Belt. We welcome readers to submit names of individuals who are active in the community that they would like to see featured in a future story. Send suggestions to news@gbtribune.com and explain their “community connections.” sthacker@gbtribune.com.