Tag: Ottawa

Author Paul Thomas to speak about Kansas ghosts, history

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Ghost stories and Kansas history will be the focus of author Paul Thomas’s presentation on Sunday, October 29, 3 p.m. at Neosho County Community College in Ottawa, Kansas. Thomas has long been interested in Kansas folklore and the ghost stories of northeastern Kansas. As a student at the University of Kansas, he cofounded the Stephenson Hall Paranormal Investigation Team, which investigated purportedly haunted locations in and around the Lawrence area. His new book, Haunted Lawrence, looks at the ghosts of one of Kansas’ oldest towns. He explores the stories—and the…

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Cemetery tour explores history and art in Ottawa’s Highland Cemetery

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Cemeteries are a snapshot of a community’s history, and on Sunday, October 15 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Franklin County Historical Society will host a special event at Highland Cemetery in Ottawa, Kansas. This year’s tour is designed to help participants discover the stories of Franklin County through the history of its people and funerary art. Established in 1886, Highland Cemetery is Ottawa’s second cemetery. The first, Hope Cemetery, was established in 1865, but Ottawans quickly discovered that Hope Cemetery was prone to flooding. They chose a new…

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October 29 Haunted Lawrence featuring author Paul Thomas

Diana Staresinic-Deane

  Neosho County Community College, 900 East Logan, Ottawa, Kansas Sunday, October 29, 3 p.m. Join us for a special program and book signing featuring Ottawa native Paul Thomas, author of Haunted Lawrence! Founded in 1854 as an abolitionist outpost, Lawrence is a seemingly unassuming college town with a long history of hauntings. A ghostly guest never checked out of the Eldridge Hotel’s mysterious room 506. Sigma Nu’s fraternity house, the former home of Kansas’s eighteenth governor, is still haunted by the specter of a young woman. Learn the tragic stories…

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October 15 Cemetery Tour: History in Stone at Ottawa’s Highland Cemetery

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Highland Cemetery, 1050 East 15th Street, Ottawa, Kansas Sunday, October 15, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.  Our second annual cemetery tour takes us to Highland Cemetery, a garden cemetery established in 1886. After discovering Hope Cemetery (Ottawa’s first cemetery) was prone to flooding, citizens founded a new cemetery on higher ground. Highland Cemetery was designed by American landscape architect George Kessler as a garden cemetery (also called a rural cemetery), with winding roads and landscaping that encouraged a park-like experience. Highland Cemetery includes many beautiful and unique monuments and is…

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Dietrich Cabin Open House Fall 2017 Schedule

Diana Staresinic-Deane

Step back in time at the 1859 Dietrich Cabin! Learn about life in 19th-Century Franklin County. Admission is free and kids are always welcome. Dietrich Cabin is located in City Park at 5th and Main streets in Ottawa, Kansas. Fall 2017 Schedule Saturday, September 30, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, October 1, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, October 21, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, October 22, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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New exhibit examines Midwestern World War II Home Front effort through Franklin County photographer’s images

Diana Staresinic-Deane

On Sunday, September 10, the Old Depot Museum will launch a new exhibit that explores what life was like for Kansans on the Home Front during World War II.  The museum will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for the grand opening. Admission will be free for all visitors that day. Using artifacts and photographs, “Home Front in the Heartland, Revisited,” examines the patriotism and sacrifice typical of Midwesterners during the early 1940s. War bond ads, ration books, a Red Cross uniform and patriotic posters will all be…

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