Wesley and Elsie Hasenbank Tally collection
Creator: Tally, Wesley
Date: July 13, 1933 - October 8, 1936
A collection of letters written by Wesley Tally and Elsie Hasenbank in the mid-1930s. During this time, Wesley and Elsie were dating and the letters tell about their developing relationship. In 1933 and 1934, Wesley was a teacher in Council Grove, Kansas, and worked part time for the telephone company. Elsie worked as a housekeeper and au pair for several families in Emporia, Kansas. Elsie also spent some time in Fort Riley and Alma. In March 1935, they wrote about the dust storms and how they impacted their lives. That same year Wesley had difficulties finding a job and he joined the Civilian Conservation Corp. He was sent to Camp Burns Lake at Cass Lake, Minnesota, where he served in the 1765 Company working in the forests of northern Minnesota. Wesley describes the work he performed in the camp and his leisure activities. Elsie wrote about her work, the weather, her family and friends, and her leisure activities. After leaving the Civilian Conservation Corps in April 1936, Wesley enrolled in the Davey Tree Expert Co. He left the tree service training before finishing the course and returned to Kansas. The last few letters are about their impending marriage and moving to Kansas City, Kansas, to live.

John Cary, World War I soldier
Date: 1919
Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on John Cary, 334th Field Artillery. Cary died in France on October 13, 1918 from influenza.

Standard atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: Geo. A. Ogle & Co.
Date: 1919
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a patrons' directory and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

Baby Blocks or Tumbling Blocks quilt
Creator: Chambers, Regina V. Mills
Date: between 1888 and 1889
Red, brown and white cotton quilt in Baby Blocks or Tumbling Blocks pattern. The quilt maker was Regina Mills Chambers, born in Ohio in 1867, who immigrated to Kansas in the 1880s where she briefly taught school in Alma. Chambers eventually settled in Hoxie, Kansas, where she practiced law with her husband. About 180 names are inscribed in brown ink on the quilt's white pieces. Some inscriptions also include locations and professions. There are Kansas place names as well as a number of other states. All marks were written by the same hand (probably Chambers) in brown ink. Hand-pieced and hand-quilted in outline stitching. Red cotton binding and white cotton backing.

Clothing store, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1920
This photograph shows the interior of a clothing store in Alma, Kansas. Merchandise includes shoes, gloves, and hats.

Butcher shop in Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1920
Photograph showing the interior of a butcher shop in Alma, Kansas.

Adults and children gathered for a parade, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
A photograph showing adults and children gathered for a parade in Alma, Kansas. Visible on the street are businesses including Ketterman's Restaurant and a bank.

Independent Oil Company delivery trucks, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1920
A photograph showing two Independent Oil Company delivery trucks in Alma, Kansas. Visible in the background are railroad stock cars and livestock pens.

Hilberling Tailor Shop, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1920
A photograph showing the exterior of Hilberling's Tailor Shop, Alma, Kansas.

Alma, Kansas street scene
Date: Between 1910 and 1920
A photograph showing businesses including a Star Car dealership, Ketterman's Restaurant, and Beatrice Cream Station on a street in Alma, Kansas.

Alma, Kansas street scene
Date: Between 1910 and 1920
A photograph showing The Alma Tire & Battery Shop, U.S. Army and Navy Goods store, and automobiles on a business street in Alma, Kansas.

Shell Oil Company service station, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1925
A photograph showing a Shell Oil Company service station in Alma, Kansas. Visible in the photograph are business buildings, cars, and a truck parked on the street.

The Alma Battery & Tire Company and Star Car dealership, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1915 and 1920
An interior view of The Alma Battery & Tire Company and Star Car dealership garage in Alma, Kansas. Visible in the photograph are tires, equipment and tools.

Star Cars dealership, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1915 and 1920
A photograph showing the Star Cars dealership and The Alma Tire & Battery Shop in Alma, Kansas. Visible are automobiles parked on the street including a Star test drive car that participated in an endurance race.

Patent medicine drummer, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1930
This photograph shows a view of a patent medicine drummer (salesman)in front of an unidentified house in Alma, Kansas. The sign on the salesman's horse-drawn wagon reads, "Dr. Miller's Remedies." A man holding a case is visible in front of the wagon, and a woman and a girl are visible sitting on the edge of the porch of the house.

Robert Simerwell, report to the American Baptist Publication Society
Creator: Simerwell, Robert, 1786-1868
Date: October 1, 1860 - November 1, 1860
This report to the American Baptist Publication Society was written by Robert Simerwell, a missionary colporteur in Kansas Territory. It includes information about the number of families he visited, the number of miles he traveled, and the number of books he sold, as well as other pertinent information. The end of the report contains a note to Rev. B. Griffith that recounts his travels and his interactions with churches.

Man portraying Dr. John R. Brinkley
Date: Between 1920 and 1939
Man portraying Dr. John R. Brinkley with a sign that reads "Vote for Brinkley" photo taken in Alma, Kansas. Dr. Brinkley ran as an independent write-in candidate for Governor of Kansas in 1930, 1932, and 1934.

Service station in Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1930
A photograph of the Derby Oil Company service station in Alma, Kansas.

Standard atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: Geo. A. Ogle & Co.
Date: 1902
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a patrons' directory, portraits, and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

Emigrants' guide to the Kansas Pacific Railway lands
Creator: Kansas Pacific Railway Company
Date: April 1871
A railroad company advertisement to emigrants promising cheap, abundant and good land for agricultural purposes.

Colored directory: information, history, facts, also buyer's guide of the best business places appreciating your patronage
Date: April 1928
This directory primarily deals with African Americans living in Topeka, Kansas, but it also contains listing for Alma, Burlingame, Council Grove, Dunlap, Eskridge, Osage City, Oskaloosa, Paxico, Perry and rural Shawnee County. Listings of the residents of the smaller communities include name and occupation. The address is included only if it is rural with the RFD numbers. The listings for Topeka include name, occupation or place of employment, and home address. The Topeka portion includes a listing of churches with some sketches, colored schools, lodges, biographical sketches of some community members, article about the police and fire departments, the Kansas Vocational School in Topeka, and "Some Topeka Institutions" (African American organizations and businesses). The publication includes a listing of call letters for radio stations, driving distances in Kansas, and railroad rates from Topeka to various locations for the railroad lines through Topeka. The directory also includes a number of advertisements.

A new home in an old settlement!
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: May 1, 1880
A large brochure distributed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to encourage land settlement in the Pottawattomie Reserve in eastern Kansas. Included in the brochure are a large map of the Reserve on one side and seven small photographs on the reverse side. There is also a brief description of the cities of Topeka, Alma, Louisville, St. Mary's, Wamego and Kingsville plus details on how the land might be purchased.

A new home in an old settlement
Date: May 1, 1876
This paper advertises for sale land formerly owned by the Pottawatomie Nation from 1837 to 1868, and then owned by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail Road Company. On the reverse side of the paper is a sectional map showing the area and identifying those lands that were still for sale by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad company. The text gives brief descriptions of the cities and towns in the area; the railroads available; fuel and lumber that are native to the area; descriptions and prices of the lands.

A new home in an old settlement
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1878?
A large poster distributed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to encourage land settlement in the Pottawattomie Reserve in eastern Kansas. Included on the poster is a full page map of the Pottawattomie Reserve on one side and four pictures of the land on the other. The poster/brochure was encouraging farming and settlement in this area because of ready access via the railroad to all markets east of Topeka. Included are brief descriptions of Topeka, Wamego, St. Mary's, Alma and other small towns. Prices and ways to purchase the land are detailed.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company train, Alma, Kansas
Date: Between 1945 and 1950
This black and white photograph shows Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's locomotive 1073 pulling a box car and caboose on train #52 at Alma, Kansas. Visible in the photograph is the depot and water tank.