Newton, Kansas---After driving over 10,000 miles coast to coast and around the
USA, I am home. Sort of. This is my home town. A traditional mid-west town,
Newton, Kansas is complete with a Main Street where some kids grew up “dragging Main,”
a large city pool in the center of a big widely used city park, a creek that
winds thru town allowing kayakers to share the water with ducks and swan, and a
good mix of historical markers along with new construction.
In the pioneer days, Newton was a Cow Town. A rough one. From
1871 to 1873 Newton came to be known as “bloody and lawless, the wickedest city
in the West.” During this time the
railhead for three railroads, including Santa Fe were established here. In
1883, Fred Harvey, a famous restaurateur partnering his business in and around
the railroad, located his Harvey House
Restaurant in the Newton depot. His restaurants became famous for the waitresses known as
“the Harvey Girls.” The current Newton
Depot building was modeled after Shakespeare’s house on Stratford-on-Avon, constructed
for $350,000 in 1929-30 during the depression!
But in 1956 the popularity of riding the rails and the Newton Station
slowed down because more people began to travel by air.
The Santa Fe Railroad build and made Newton, its influence paved
the way for the county to be named Harvey, the Middle school to be named Santa Fe and
the High School mascot to be named the Railroaders, complete with a rocked out version of “I’ll
be working on the Railroad.”
Immigrant Mexican railroad workers moved families to Newton
giving the town a wonderful blend of mixed culture and the BEST Mexican
restaurants ever! Growing up in a multi-cultural community, as a small child in the 60's, I knew nothing different; unusual for a Kansas town. Along with Mexican heritage, Mennonites moved in and wild
saloons moved out. Fleeing Russia for religious freedom, the Harvey County area
boasts one of the largest Mennonite populations in the country. And no, unlike the horse and buggy Amish,
not all Mennonites wear the caps, long apron dresses and have long beards. I did
however have to wear long dresses, three inches above the middle of the knee,
which was torture during the mini-skirt clad fashions of the 70’s. Good enough
reason to wear jeans when I could and escape to a private high school where I
wasn’t so weird looking.
Dragging Main was a rite of passage for many. In the early years, the
South turn around point was an original A&W Drive-in in the 1960’s,
complete with Mama Burgers, Papa Burgers and Baby Burgers. The North side point
was "Larry’s Drive-in" a competitor that was across the street from the coolest
restaurant in town: "Cuckoo", inspired by the clock, the restaurant that
had an A-frame roof and a large cartoon bird that would pop out of a window build into the top point. Today, that building is a car lot and two Sonics on each end of town replace the
turn-around locations. Holiday parades also filled the street of Main as a community gathered to watch homemade floats and the marching band while children also set their hopes on candy thrown their way.
I spent two summers as a Lifeguard at the City Pool. It was
more than a job it was a lifestyle. The full staff, including our manager, were
between the ages of 16 to 21. So between working hours and on days off, we
still hung out together. Even though our Mopeds were no match for a line of
Harley’s in front of the only bar in town: The Legal Tender. We would back them
in and turn the tire to blend in to the row of motorcycles, and join the
frightening crowd to play packman and have a 3.2% beer. It was a time when
drinking age was 18. However, we took our jobs very seriously. In the heat wave
of one summer, with time and temperature from a local bank played over the loudspeaker
announcing 115 degrees, we would have four guards on the stands and see over
200+ kids throughout the hours of 1-8pm. During those years, the city pool was THE place to be in the summer. Soon I realized that we were the City's kid-care service and babysitters. But that's when lifeguard positions were coveted jobs and we were role models to many kids we saw daily. Today
with more private pools at home, a city pool attendant told me they are a service
to only about 80 kids a day.
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| Vintage photos courtesy of Historic Society* |
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| *Midget Beltline ran until 1968 |
In the theme of our Santa Fe roots, the city park featured a small steam engine working train that circled the football and baseball fields. Named Midget Beltline, the train seems like a figment of my imagination closing operation when I was only 8. Lasting longer was a couple of caged Black Bears and a cage of Monkeys. Later a fenced in area that included Lama, donkeys and peacocks. Being the county seat, this park hosted our County Fair and 4H auctions as well as a near by small rodeo. This week brought big excitement with the anticipation of attending the carnival and escaping the threat of being thrown in Sand Creek by "the boys."
The Carnegie Library still stands reminding me that as a
small child, what seemed to be an endless set of steps, is simply a set
of big building cement steps leading to the door. A new library replaced the
Carnegie building years ago lending the historic building to be the town’s
museum.
The Santa Fe Railroad Depot still stands but is filled with
private offices and even though Amtrak still services the town, the only passenger
train: the “Southwest Chief” can only be caught at 2:45am daily!
The ROSS mill grain towers stood proudly in the center of
town. An icon for as long as I can remember. My mother was a private nurse for
the Ross family so I remember Mrs. Ross’s sweet personality and frail frame and
Mr. Ross’s commanding presence and in time, his failing health as well as their
special needs daughter playing endless games of Solitaire. Their beautiful home and generosity towards
our family is engraved in my mind.
Long before the Ross family, my mom was a private nurse for
Patty Knapp, a polio victim, who allowed me to come along and play. I was 4
years old and had never seen an automatic dishwasher. Patty, paralyzed from the
neck down was so happy and inviting I was never scared of the huge bed and all
the tubes keeping her alive. As an artist, she continued with her creative
calling and with help from an assistant, or using a brush in her teeth she
would paint. The Suderman twins, the coolest girls I had yet to meet, lived a few houses down and would
ask me to come over to play and it was there that I was given my first can of pop
that I didn’t have to share…it was all mine.
The selection was Shasta and I picked orange. Later on my trip I would
meet someone my age that had cared for Mrs. Knapp decades later and she described
Patty the exact same way as was in my memory.
Wal-Mart moved in years ago, closing the old Alco and Gibson’s.
A strip center at the edge of town leases recognized national franchised clothing
and retail businesses causing the Main Street locally owned shops like Katydid,
to close and the buildings to re-purpose themselves.
The one and only Main Street business that has let no time
go by is Anderson’s Book Store. Established in 1892 Phil Anderson is the third
generation owner and walking into the store allows you to walk back in time.
Same floor, same ceiling, same shelves. Close your eyes slightly and squint
past the modern books and it could be 1965 or 1978 or 1990 or 2005… This is the one location you can find the newly published book on the History of Newton. Mr.
Anderson, an enthusiastic slim man with a full head of gray hair and a twinkle
in his eye, allowed me to walk up the tiny hidden stair case to the balcony level used
for storage that circled the store and shoot some photos down. This was a place
that as a kid, one could only dream about venturing up to. After choosing a life far away from this
little town in Daytona Beach, Florida, being there felt validating. I was reminded that it was MY hometown and for just
a moment, time stood still.
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"100 Days Across The USA"...a long way from home on the California North Coast
100DaysAcrossTheUSA.blogspot.com |
