Digging up information in Iola

Friday, March 14, 2014

Susan Doak

SW Nebraska Genealogy Society

McCOOK, Nebraska -- I went to the store the other day to pick up a few items and was reminded how complex selling food has become.

Among the many choices of eggs there are: Cage Free Eggs! When we lived on the acreage, feeding, watering and turning out our "cage free" chickens were some of my chores. Our chickens had two purposes; meat or eggs. While I loved the spring when the brooder house had a carpet of fluffy yellow chicks huddled under the heat lamp, there was no question in my mind that a good portion of those 100 chicks were destined for the freezer, and neither they nor I were going to enjoy the process!

When we moved to McCook, I was amazed to find that one of the neighbors had a chicken for a pet. My first meeting with the chicken pet was inconsequential except for my mental note that this particular chicken was definitely no longer a fryer, more likely a chicken and dumplings kind of chicken that would take an all-day simmer to be edible. This was my fledgling experience with someone who did not seem to connect the dots between the white hen running in the back yard and what was on his plate on Sunday.

The reason I started down this food path, however, was to recount my trip to Iola, Kansas, with Dee. We had planned to go to Iola and then drop on down to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, but plans change. Having kept our room at Hutchinson, we headed to Iola for a one day search.

Upon arriving, Dee and I did what we always do in a new town! We drove up and down the streets looking for the great eat! You can tell a great eat by these facts: No flashy signs, lots of local cars in the parking lot and older people hauling to-go boxes out the door. Our little hole in the wall restaurant touted homemade everything, including custard and coconut cream pie!

There are two reasons to seek out a local eating house: Good Food and Good Information. Both of the women working up front had lived in Allen County forever. Dee threw out some surnames and found out that Clouds still lived in the area but no others. The ladies pointed out cemeteries, the museum and the courthouse while we cleaned up our plates.

Iola boasts the largest town square in the U.S. I love towns laid out this way, with the courthouse centered in a park surrounded by little shops, old hotels, etc., on the facing blocks. Iola has a band shell just like McCook in its town center plus a town band which gives summer concerts each Thursday night (since the late 1800s) beginning with the Star Spangled Banner and then ending the night with one of John Phillip Sousa's marches. Their museum, also on the square, is impressive and like ours, manned by volunteers.

We gathered information at the courthouse, visited the beautiful cemetery in town and then headed to a little cemetery just outside of Iola to locate some great-grandparent's graves. As we were getting ready to leave, I remembered that my cousin always takes a picture of the name gate at each cemetery she visits just in case she loses her notes on where the graves are located. It's a good tip for those who make these trips.

All in all, I believe Dee felt the trip was beneficial, plus we had some great laughs as we traipsed around in the cold weather trying to uncover old family secrets!

I have an information request from Bruce Hoffman of Common Scents. He is researching Dr. J.M. Willis, whom he believes built the barn now part of Common Scents. He particularly wants information when Dr. Willis lived south of town in the Hoffman's home. He is also seeking information on (Bur) Oak Canyon south of Culbertson. There are signs of foundations from an early building on that land and he would like to know more about the settlers who might have built overlooking the canyon. You can contact Bruce directly or email me at: sdoak@swnebr.net

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: