Each week we’ll take a step back into the history of Great Bend through the eyes of reporters past. We’ll reacquaint you with what went into creating the Great Bend of today, and do our best to update you on what “the rest of the story” turned out to be.

After last week’s Out of the Morgue came out, I received two great responses from readers that and can’t wait to use them in upcoming articles.  One thing is clear, Great Bend is rich in history, and has been a magnet for amazing people since it was born as a company town in 1871.   When I made my first trip to Kansas as an adult nearly 20 years ago, one of the things that I fell in love with is the willingness of people I didn’t even know to offer me little oral histories about people and places that used to be.  I think Kansans have a gift for storytelling, and I hope this feature continues to keep people talking.  You just never know what insight from the past will lead to something new in the future.  This week, we’ll take a look at the year 1972.  

September 7, 1972 headlines in The Great Bend Tribune included a story about an upcoming hearing in October of that year on a proposal to replace the Ark River Bridge, on South Main in Great Bend.  According to Ark River Bridge Hearing Here Oct. 11, a 1971 inspection found the bridge was deteriorating, was too narrow and didn’t have strong enough guardrails.  The hearing would give residents of the area a chance to view displays and ask questions on an individual basis, and attend an informal presentation by engineers.  The proposed project would include plans for a temporary bridge that would be removed after completion of the new 835-foot bridge which would replace the one built in 1913.
 
The 1913 bridge replaced an iron bridge with wooden planking that was built prior to 1900.  Some believe that before that, a wooden bridge may have spanned the Ark River at that point, though no mention of it could be found.  However, historical references at the Barton County Historical Society Museum mention a ferry bridge at Ellinwood, which received plenty of traffic from Santa Fe Trail travelers.

In a follow up story in the October 12 edition, Voice Approval of New River Bridge, At the October hearing, “A number of people attending the design and environmental effect hearing by the State Highway Department voiced approval of the plans for the new bridge....”  Forty-eight attended, and of these, some of those in approval included then Mayor Robert Parrish, Warren Hill, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Fred Zutavern, operator of Walnut Creek Mills, H.P. Thies, representing family property both on the south and north sides of the river, Loren Carter, representing Marlette Coach, Virgil Standish, Rep. Roy Ehrlich and State Senator Jack Janssen.  The plans would include only moving two houses, affecting 11 people.  

At the time, about 4,900 vehicles a day crossed the bridge.  The estimated cost of the new bridge would be $1,640,000.

A small story right above the article about the hearing, Amtrak Files Booze Raid Suit,  stated that Amtrak, one of the nation’s rail transportation companies, had filed suit against the State of Kansas for exceeding its authority after raiding the passenger train in Newton nearly a month before, arresting the bartender on the hospitality car for running an “open saloon” and selling liquor by the drink, which at the time was against the law in Kansas, as well as neighboring Oklahoma.   

On the same day that the Newton raid occurred, another raid happened in Oklahoma.  According to a story on The Straight Dope, an internet blog by syndicated columnist Cecil Adams, “Amtrak sued both states in federal court. The Oklahoma judge ruled in favor of Amtrak, but the Kansas judge ruled against, on the grounds that the federal Prohibition repeal granted the states broad powers to regulate alcohol. The Kansas decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court, and the Oklahoma decision was overturned on appeal. Upshot: no booze on trains in Oklahoma or Kansas.”

As mentioned in a previous Out of the Morgue, ultimately, both Oklahoma and Kansas voters eventually gave a green light to selling “liquor by the drink”, and open saloons were no longer illegal after 1987.  Of course, by then, passenger trains were fading fast in both states.  An interesting note--the ruling against Amtrak was cited in a case in which USAir sued the State of New Mexico after being charged with illegally selling alcohol to a passenger that ended up causing a drunken accident after a flight with the airline.  According to The Strait Dope story, the airline felt it should be exempt from the state law that makes it illegal to serve alcohol to an intoxicated customer.  The judge ruled in favor of the state, and US Air had to pay up.  

First Match Sunday for New Boat Club featured a photo of young Bill McKown and Jim Cavanaugh in front of a Dolphin Senior sailboat.  The newly formed group planned to have activities all summer, consisting of races every other weekend and travel to area regattas at places like Cedar Bluff and Cheney.  They would also take part in functions with the Kansas chapter of the National Dolphin Senior Association, and help to organize the annual Kansas Championship.  

The boats were, “14-foot-6 cat-rigged type boats called Dolphins”.  According to Bill McKown, they were one-man sailboats.

“They were certainly a lot of fun,” he said.

The club, anticipating good weather, planned their first Match Race Championship on a Sunday afternoon at Stone’s sand pit.  

According to McKown, the club was part of a coed Boy Scout Explorers group led by his dad and mom, George and Martha McKown.  The name of the group was Sea Scout Ship #155, which is the name members competed under.  It  continued to meet for 10 to 15 years, and several of the members continue to sail today.  Some have even made it a profession, McKown said.  One member, Robert Ward, makes a living as a chartered sailboat operator in the Bahamas, and another, Jason Rziha, is the skipper of the Thistle fleet in Phoenix, Ariz. and competes in national competitions.  

Clinic Helps Nurses Recognize Baby Problems gave a look at how a Well Baby Clinic brought parents of small children together with public health nurses that week, as the nurses went through diagnostic training to identify problems in babies.  They learned and were tested in use of the Denver developmental test, as well as hemoglobin and urinalysis counseling, interviewing and history taking skills.  This was the first of a three phase program, focusing on children ages 0-6.  The other two phases would include children ages 6-21, and finally family screening.  

The push for the program was a study that found that 53 percent of children from birth to age six had never been to a physician at any time in their lives.  Because of this, many defects and problems were going undiagnosed, like hearing problems.  This was a time in history when great advances were being made in decreasing infant mortality rates, low-birth weight problems.

Since that time, all 50 states have enacted school vaccination laws, which require students to have various vaccinations before they can attend state-funded schools.  Today, most children have seen a physician several times before starting school, and many potential problems are caught before they become serious.  Today, on a regular basis, the Barton County Health Department offers physical examinations, lead screening, nutritional counseling and immunizations for the children of the county.