American Legion Auxiliary
The Pearce Keller Unit No. 17 Auxiliary meeting was called to order on April 1 by President Dana Pierce at 6 p.m.
Nominating committee chair, Virginia Nowland, distributed ballots to the group after nominations were taken from the floor. Officers for the 2024-25 year are: Diana Horner as president, Virginia Nowland as first vice-president, Susan Bergsten as second vice-president, Charlene Redman as secretary, Sharon Pollman as treasurer, Dana Pearce as chaplain, Angela Peterson as historian, Tanya Bachamp as Sgt. of arms, Lorene Oppy as bingo chair and Marilyn Randa for executive board (a three-year term).
The essay contest, “What Freedom Means To Me” received 18 entries. Dianna Horner the office received a scholarship application. Poppy Day took place on May 4. Britney Nowland was the Poppy Princess.
The last District 4 meeting took place on April 13 in Emporia and the District 11 meeting took place on April 27 at the post home.
Flint Hills
Woodturners Club
On May 11, 18 members attended the Flint Hills Woodturners Club meeting at Rock Creek High School in St. George. Seven attended via Zoom, including four members of the Kansas Association of Woodturners from Topeka.
Ron Tomasch from Geneva, Ohio provided an interactive remote demonstration on turning a cowboy hat. Information included cutting the blank from the freshly felled log, chucking, measuring the customer’s head and adding amounts to account for the final thickness and shrinkage. Ron showed and discussed the general shaping, preferred tools for shaping, and the use of light in turning thin. He discussed considerations of the brim size for cowboy hats vs. outback hats, band size, and how to color the band with ebony and padauk. Once turned, Ron showed how he shapes the hat to get the signature curve of the brim and the oval shape to fit the customer’s head.
The next club meeting will be June 1 with a demonstration by club member Bob Holcombe turning a calabash bowl. Calabash bowls feature a round bottom and are typically turned from green wood so that it warps slightly, imitating traditional bowls made from gourds in the pacific islands. Visit our website at flinthillswoodturners.org for more information.
Manhattan Duplicate Bridge Club
Larry Corah and Roger Allerheiligen won the Grass Roots Fund game at the Manhattan Duplicate Bridge Club on May 13. Pam Bales and Dan Otto were second, Graham Rose and Larry Lord were third, and Katha Hurt and Linda Schottler were fourth. The club meets each Monday at 1 p.m. at the Seniors’ Center and invites all bridge players. For more information or partnerships, call Pam at 785-456-3117.
Manhattan Rotary Club
Bill Richter served as greeter for Club Assembly Day and the annual business meeting. President Mitzi Richards welcomed guest Ben Johnson, wealth manager with Keating and Associates. Grace Fischer, Rotaract president, was recognized with a Paul Harris Fellow for her leadership and work in revitalizing Rotaract on campus. She will continue to serve as president next year and mentor the president-elect. Robbin Cole presented the slate of officers for 2024-25, all were unanimously approved. The annual business meeting took three minutes and eleven seconds. Randy Peterson and Robbin Cole presented information on the District Mental Health Task Force. In 2022, Kansas ranked 51st in the country for mental health. Kansas Health Foundation grant funds are pending to assess the feasibility for Rotary to deliver a statewide Mental Health initiative.
Shelley Carver, club administration chair, shared information on programming, greeters, attendance and children’s books. Katharine Hensler, membership chair, gave membership numbers along with membership goals. Randy Peterson, president-elect, provided the results of the recent membership survey. Tom Phillips listed upcoming service opportunities including the Community Cares Chest, the Bill Snyder Half Marathon, Juneteenth, Just Tri It and Feed My Starving Children. Chris Culbertson and Claudia Petrescu focused on the club’s support of youth. The club is sponsoring four students for the Rotary Youth Leadership Exchange (RYLA), funding two $1,000 scholarships through the Manhattan and Konza Club Merit Scholarship, planting trees on campus with Rotaractors along with attending to trees at North East Community Park. Rotaract is unique in that two Deans serve as Club advisors.
Bob Ward, foundation chair, reported that the club is close to meeting the annual foundation goal. For Polio Plus there is a match (up to $500). Recommendations for Rotarian of the Year can be sent to Robbin Cole.
Riley County
Historical Society
The Riley County Historical Museum will offer a “Walking Tour of Historic City Park” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23. Free-will donations will be accepted.
The museum will sponsor a Fireside Chat from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, at Flight Crew Coffee, 423 Poyntz Ave. The topic is to be determined. The museum will sponsor another Fireside Chat, “The American Revolution Experience with the DAR” on Tuesday, July 9, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Flight Crew Coffee, it is free and open to the public.
“Forget Me Not: Funerals in Victorian Era Riley County” will remain at the Wolf House Museum, 630 Fremont St., through May 26 and is free and open to the public. The Wolf House is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 2-5 p.m. or by appointment.
From April 16-25, the museum and the Riley County Historical Society (RCHS) hosted fourth grade field trips at the Wolf House and third grade field trips at the Goodnow House. Total attendance was 606 students and their teachers. More than 30 volunteers served as docents.
On April 23, the RCHS hosted a quarterly meeting at the First Congregational Church of Manhattan, with a presentation by Leo Schell. The presentation was attended by 42.
The Pioneer Log Cabin in City Park opened to the public for the 2024 season on April 28. The cabin is open every Sunday from 2-5 p.m. and admission is free.
On May 6, the Board of Riley County Commissioners issued a proclamation observing May as National Historic Preservation Month. Museum director Katharine Hensler was in attendance to accept the proclamation and share remarks concerning the value of preservation in America’s communities.
A headstone-cleaning workshop at St. Joseph’s Historic Church and Cemetery on May 11 was attended by more than 60 participants from Riley, Geary, Wabaunsee, Pottawatomie, and Dickinson counties.
The museum hosted a Fireside Chat — “This Place Matters! Historic Preservation Month” at Flight Crew Coffee on May 14. Museum director Katharine Hensler attended the Kansas Historic Preservation Conference in Newton from May 15-17.
Solar Kiwanis Club
The Manhattan Solar Kiwanis Club met at noon on May 14, at the Blue Hills Room. There were 11 members present. Club President Karl Dean led the meeting. Mary Scharfe led the song, Phil Anderson led the pledge and Vera Williams gave the invocation.
Announcements were led by President Dean. The Solar Kiwanian of the Year is Chad Tepe. We have submitted an application for Chad to be Kansas Kiwanian of the Year which will be announced at the Kansas Kiwanis District Convention on Aug. 2-4. Doug Denning prepared and submitted the application. All Solarians are welcome to attend.
Our club will once again be sponsoring a girls’ 5th and 6th grade City League softball team. All Solar Kiwanians have been sent a spreadsheet with the roster and the schedule of games. Our team is called the Solar Kiwanis River Cats, and the first game is at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21. It will be played on Field 4 at the Twin Oaks softball complex in Anneberg Park. The team’s coach is Kristen Srna. Solarians were advised to keep the schedule handy and come out to cheer for the team whenever their schedule allows. Our club will have an end of season ice cream party for the team, coaches, family and fans after the Tuesday, June 25 game.
Our July 4 pancake breakfast is fast approaching and Solarian Chad Tepe has set up a SignUp Genius account for volunteers to sign up to work various shifts. The link to the SignUp Genius account was emailed to all Solar Kiwanians.
President Dean called upon Solarian Mary Scharfe to present the program. She introduced Mike Mohler, the Manhattan cemetery sexton. Mohler has been the cemetery sexton for 45 years. He is in charge of both Sunset and Sunrise cemeteries. Sunset was established in 1860 and Sunrise was established in 1960. Mohler has four full-time employees working for him. There are approximately 19,000 burial plots in Sunset and 6,000 plots in Sunrise Cemetery. There is a “natural” burial section in Sunrise Cemetery. There is no “natural” burial section in Sunset Cemetery.
Solar Kiwanis meets at noon at the Blue Hills Room next to RC McGraw’s in the Blue Hills Shopping Center. Our next meeting will be May 21. Solarian Charlie Sargent will introduce Diane Hoobler who will talk about the Zeandale Community Center Park Project. Contact Secretary Doug Ackley (rda@ksu.edu or 785-539-4945) if you have any questions.
