Category: Events

Friday, February 22: O-Town Reads Book Discussion-Tough As They Come by Travis Mills

Diana Staresinic-Deane

O-Town Reads Book Discussion Tough As They Come by Travis Mills Old Depot Museum Friday, February 8 February 22, Noon   Originally scheduled for February 8, this event has been rescheduled for February 22. Ottawa Library is partnering with the Old Depot Museum to host a book discussion for Travis Mills’ TOUGH AS THEY COME, the 2019 O-Town community reads book.  Thousands of soldiers die each year to defend their country. United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills was sure that he would become another statistic when, during his third…

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Sunday, January 27: 82nd Annual FCHS Meeting featuring Sarah Bell, Women and Chautauqua

Diana Staresinic-Deane

82nd Annual Meeting of the Members of the Franklin County Historical Society featuring “A Congress for Women: Women’s Clubs and the Chautauqua Movement,” presented by Sarah Bell Sunday, January 27, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Neosho County Community College, 900 E Logan, Ottawa, KS   We’re launching the Franklin County Historical Society’s 82nd year with Sarah Bell’s presentation, A Congress for Women: Women’s Clubs and the Chautauqua Movement!  Chautauqua was a rural movement that focused on moral education and self-improvement, and from 1883 to 1914, Ottawa was home to a…

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Friday, January 25: Chamber Coffee at the Old Depot Museum

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Chamber Coffee at the Old Depot Museum Friday, January 25, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. 130 years ago this month, Franklin Countians were catching the train at Ottawa’s brand-new train depot. Join us at the Old Depot Museum for a special commemoration of a grand building and a tour of our exhibit, Iron, Steel, & Stone: The Life of a Depot. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (785) 242-1250 or e-mail us. 

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December 11: Christmas Storytime at the Old Depot Museum

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Old Depot Museum, Ottawa, Kansas Tuesday, December 11, 10 a.m., 2 p.m., & 6:30 p.m. Free admission, Family Friendly The Old Depot Museum and Ottawa Library are partnering to bring Christmas Storytime to the Old Depot Museum! Join us for an a reading of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, crafts, and a tour of the museum! This program will be offered three times: 10 a.m., 2 p.m., or 6:30 p.m. This free event is perfect for the whole family!

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December 5 & 12: Historic Craft Class–Making Ornaments From Recycled Papers

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Historic Craft Class: Making Ornaments From Recycled Papers Wednesday, December 5 OR Wednesday, December 12 , 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Washburn Towers, 506 S Main, Ottawa, KS  $4 class only; $ 9 class + craft kit   Learn the history of exchanging Christmas greetings while creating your own traditional decorations out of Christmas cards and wrapping paper. The class is just $4 if you bring your own supplies (old or new holiday cards, wrapping paper, embroidery floss, large needles, other embellishments) or $9 for the class plus a supply kit…

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“Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” Silent Film Event October 20

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Plaza Cinema, 209 S Main, Ottawa, KS Saturday, October 20, 2018, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $15 + tax The Plaza Cinema, Franklin County Historical Society, and Kansas Silent Film Festival are once again partnering to bring you a spectacular silent film event featuring a LIVE musical score performed by keyboardist Marvin Faulwell and percussionist Bob Keckeisen, with introductions by Bill Shaffer. This year’s films include shorts DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (1920), DR. PYCLE & MR. PRYDE (1925), and the feature length film DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (1920), starring John…

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Kansas and the 1918 Flu Epidemic, featuring historian Tyler Johnson

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Neosho County Community College, 900 E Logan, Ottawa, KS Sunday, November 4, 2018, 2 p.m. In 1918, an influenza epidemic killed millions of people around the world. One hundred years later, scientists and historians are still working to understand how it started.  Historian Tyler Johnson will present the story of the 1918 Influenza outbreak’s start in Western Kansas, the national outbreak, Kansas’s battle against the flu, and how Ottawa fared during the outbreak. He will also discuss death tolls and theories of how the pandemic started. This program is free…

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Diary of Reuben Smith, Kansas Settler and Civil War Soldier, presented by author Lana Wirt Myers October 21

Diana Staresinic-Deane
Lana Wirt Myers, author of The Diaries of Reuben Smith, Kansas Settler and Civil War Soldier

Neosho County Community College, 900 E Logan, Ottawa, KS Sunday, October 21, 2018, 2 p.m. In 1854, after recently arriving from England, twenty-two-year-old Reuben Smith traveled west, eventually making his way to Kansas Territory. There he found himself in the midst of a bloody prelude to the Civil War, as Free Staters and defenders of slavery battled to stake their claim. For fifty years, Smith wrote fascinating narratives about all he observed and experienced during territorial days, the border war, civil war, and early Kansas politics (he served three terms…

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New exhibit commemorates 130-year-old depot

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Iron, Steel, and Stone: The Life of a Depot Opens Sunday, October 14, 2018 Old Depot Museum, 135 W Tecumseh, Ottawa, Kansas One hundred and thirty years ago, carpenters were putting the finishing touches on the woodwork at the Santa Fe Depot in Ottawa, Kansas. It was a major milestone for a building that was little more than a hole in the ground for more than two years. The Old Depot Museum’s new exhibit, “Iron, Steel, & Stone: The Life of a Depot,” explores how the depot that almost wasn’t…

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Dietrich Cabin Fall 2018 Hours Announced

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Step back in time at the 1859 Dietrich Cabin! Learn about life in 19th-Century Franklin County. Dietrich Cabin is located in City Park at 5th and Main streets in Ottawa, Kansas. Kids are always welcome! Admission is free, but donations to help FCHS maintain the cabin are always appreciated. Fall2018 Dietrich Cabin Hours  Sunday, August 26, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  Saturday, September 15, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, September 23, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  Sunday, October 28, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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