Hello Blogger Friends,
My name is Cheri and this is my first-ever blog. I am so excited to have a forum to write in and hope many other bloggers find me and leave messages for me. The main reason for this blog is because I am a student at Butler Community College. One of my courses is English Comp. II. When I took English Comp. I. last semester, I realized that I like to write, actually, I love to write. I may not be very good at it, but that's never stopped me for doing things I like or want to do. In any pursuit, you learn by doing, and doing, and doing again. There will be mistakes; but is it not by our mistakes that me truly learn?
From the options that the professor gave the class, I have decided to do my research essay on the topic of Writing History. The idea is to research the early days of Wichita, from it very beginning. I want to learn about the Wichita Indians, that gave Wichita it name. Where did they come from and where did they go. How about the people who settled Wichita and the Cow Town era. What happened in Wichita when the Civil War broke out? There is so much to learn about this City that has had so many ups and downs.
I have only begun to dig into the resources that are out there that tell about Wichita's beginnings. If any of you have books or web sites or just great ideas on this subject, feel free to jump onto my blog and write to your hearts content. One thing I found online is the (Kansas Historical Quarterly), from 1933 -1977. There are a few references to Wichita that I may pursue.There was one listing called "Ghosts Haunt Wichita's First Jail," by Mary Moore. The article was written in the Wichita Beacon on October 9, 1932. Another item that I ran across is called A two-column History of Chisholm Trail, by Sam P Ridings of Medford, Ok., from October 21,1932. Last on my list for today is an article call A Brief History of the Wichita Indians, from whom the city of Wichita derived it's name, by Victor Murdock and was published in the Wichita Evening Eagle on November 11, 1932. The name of Murdock is well known around Wichita. If you have been to Cow Town, you've no doubt gone through the Murdock house. I just may take an outing to Cow Town and do a little snooping around for information!
There are a number of places that I just may have to visit as I research this fun paper.
Come along with me on the dusty trails that will lead us to Wichita, Kansas.
Until next time,
Cheri
Hi again blogger friends,
ReplyDeleteI've had a fun time today reading about the Wichita Indians building a wigwam, or lodge on a little island somewhere in Wichita. The island is or at least was called Mead Island. It was named for a Mr. Mead whom I will research later. Today I want to tell you about how this wigwam came to be built in Wichita.
A group of men in Wichita thought it would be a good tourist attraction for the city if it had a real Indian wigwam/lodge like the ones that the Wichita Indians lived in when they resided in Wichita.
The Wichita Indians had moved to Anadarko Okla. by this time, so plans were made that some of these men would go to Oklahoma and visit Chief Kiowa.
The chief had been a scout with one of the men and therefore friendly to the group.
Upon arriving at the Chiefs home, they were welcomed and asked inside the lodge where they talked with the chief. Chief Kiowa, a very old man, was curious about how Wichita looked now as compared to when he had lived in Wichita. The man who had been a scout with the chief chit- chatted in sign language for sometime and the visit was enjoyed by everyone present.
One of the men was Colonel Carter who had quite a vision for the future of Wichita. He was very much interested in having the wigwam built and also planned for an Indian museum to house artifacts of the Plains Tribes. One of the men commented on the chiefs lodge and the chief said that if they liked his lodge, they would have a lodge.
In late May of 1927, an Indian woman named; Sooka came to Mead Island, a place close to where she had swung on grape vines as a child. This was in the area of Riverside Park.
In the day, the Indian women build the houses and the men served as the ladies protection and general helpers. If the women got a divorce, she would throw the guys belongings out, and she automatically kept the house.
Oops, I had to delete a big section of today's blog because I went over the word limit and It wouldn't let me publish. Guess you will just have to wait until tomorrow to find out how the lodge gets built.
Happy reading,
Cheri