Anna Laura Hittle Rings diary
Date: 1949-1961
One of three diaries of Anna Laura Hittle Rings of Topeka, Kansas. Anna was the live-in-housekeeper for Mr. Harry Imes at 1208 College Avenue from 1949 to her death in 1961. She was cook, gardener, housekeeper, and seamstress. The diaries tell of her daily life while in Mr. Imes' employ. The other diaries can be found with Unit ID 473076 and 473077.

Anna Laura Hittle Rings diary
Date: 1949-1961
One of three diaries of Anna Laura Hittle Rings of Topeka, Kansas. Anna was the live-in-housekeeper for Mr. Harry Imes at 1208 College Avenue from 1949 to her death in 1961. She was a cook, gardener, housekeeper, and seamstress. The diaries tell of her daily life while in Mr. Imes' employ. The other two diaries can be found at Unit ID's: 473053 and 473077.

Anna Laura Hittle Rings diary
Date: 1949-1961
One of three diaries of Anna Laura Hittle Rings of Topeka, Kansas. Anna was the live-in-housekeeper for Mr. Harry Imes at 1208 College Avenue from 1949 to her death in 1961. She was cook, gardener, cleaner inside and out, and seamstress. The diaries tell of her daily life while in Mr. Imes' employ. The other diaries can be found with Unit ID 473053 and 473076.

Beulah Mongold to Governor Payne Ratner
Creator: Mongold, Beulah
Date: January 23, 1942
In this letter to Governor Payne Ratner, Beulah Mongold of Topeka, Kansas, proposes that all vacant lots in town be utilized as Victory Gardens because "every foot of ground should be at work." A complete transcription is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Bison Bone Digging Stick Tip from the Radio Lane Site, 14CO385
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This digging stick tip was recovered from the Radio Lane archeological site in Cowley County. This digging stick tip, made from a bison leg bone, was used to dig holes and plants seeds. The tool has a beveled bottom for working in the soil and would have had a handle socketed at the top. The Radio Lane site was a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village. Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew excavated there during a salvage project in 1995.

Bison Scapula Hoe from the Aerhart Site, 14OT305
Date: 1000-1400 CE
This remnant of a bison scapula hoe was collected from the Aerhart site in 1934 and donated in 1971 to the Kansas Historical Society. The Aerhart site, in Ottawa County, was a Smoky Hill phase site with one circular house with an entryway to the southeast. The hoe's maker removed the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade), beveled and sharpened the edge, and hafted it to a handle. This hoe has nearly been completely used and may have been repurposed into another tool.

Bison Scapula Hoes from the Anthony Site, 14HP1
Date: 1100-1300 CE
These two bison scapula hoe fragments were recovered from the Anthony site in Harper County. To make a hoe, the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade) was removed and the edges were beveled and sharpened. Then the hoe blade was hafted to a handle. The Anthony site dates to the Bluff Creek complex in the Middle Ceramic period. Bluff Creek people practiced a mixed economy of hunting, gathering, and some horticulture.

Bison Scapula Hoes from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
These bison scapula hoes were recovered from excavations during the 1977 and 1978 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools at the Tobias site in Rice County. The makers of the hoes removed the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade), beveled and sharpened the edge, and hafted it to a handle. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Burned Corn Cob from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This small burned corn cob was recovered from excavations during the 1978 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. The burned cob is from a 10 row corn ear. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Burned Corn Cobs from Hard Chief's Village, 14SH301
Date: 1831-1848
Shown are some of the burned corn cobs that were recovered at Hard Chief's Village during the 1987 Kansas Archeology Training Program. The village was occupied by the Kansa from 1830 to 1847. The cobs vary between seven, eight and nine rows of kernels.

Cabbage patch vegetable garden
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1891 and 1912
This is a view of a cabbage patch vegetable garden in Haskell County, Kansas. Farm buildings and part of a windmill are visible in the background.

Cabbages on a Haskell County, Kansas homestead
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: 1912
This is a view of a cabbage patch vegetable garden on an unidentified farm in Haskell County, Kansas, in 1912. The early settlers experimented by trial and error with many different kinds of crops. Also visible, in the background, are a corral, farm buildings, windmill, farmhouse, and someone seated in a horse-drawn carriage.

Carl Fredin to Governor Payne Ratner
Creator: Fredin, Carl
Date: January 20, 1942
In this letter to Governor Ratner, Carl Fredin of Wadsworth, Kansas, offers his suggestions and ideas concerning the best way to go about creating Victory Gardens in Kansas. A complete transcription is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Chipped Stone Hoe from Atchison County
Date: Unknown
This stunning chipped stone hoe was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1964. It was bought by the donor in 1933 and it was noted at the time that it likely was originally found near Atchison, Kansas. The hoe would have likely been hafted to a handle and is highly polished. One side bears the donor's notes.

Community gardens at Cimarron, Kansas
Creator: Kansas Emergency Relief Committee
Date: August 10, 1935
Here are two photographs showing the community gardens in Cimarron, Kansas. The county leased the land and provided irrigation. These photographs were removed from the Relief Garden Program of 1935 portion of the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee collection.

Community gardens at Norton, Kansas
Creator: Kansas Emergency Relief Committee
Date: August 20, 1935
This is a photograph showing the community gardens in Norton, Kansas. Water for irrigation was pumped from a nearby creek. The photograph was removed from the Relief Garden Program of 1935 portion of the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee collection.

Community gardens in Dodge City, Kansas
Creator: Kansas Emergency Relief Committee
Date: August 07, 1935
Here are two photographs showing the community gardens in Dodge City, Kansas. According to the Dodge City Daily Globe, these plots yielded an average of $50.00 worth of vegetables. The photographs were removed from the Relief Garden Program of 1935 portion of the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee collection.

Community gardens in Ulysses, Kansas
Creator: Kansas Emergency Relief Committee
Date: August 09, 1935
This is a photograph showing the community gardens in Ulysses, Kansas. Water for irrigation was supplied by the city pumping plant. The photograph was removed from the Relief Garden Program of 1935 portion of the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee collection.

Cultivating potatoes, Valley Falls, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1908
This black and white photograph shows a woman with children cultivating potatoes in a field near Valley Falls, Kansas.

Deer Mandible Tool from the Shrope Site, 14CO331
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This deer mandible tool was recovered from the Shrope village site in Cowley County. Tools such as this could have been used as a hide scraper, a corn sheller, or as a tool to aid in planting seeds. The Shrope site, a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village, was excavated by Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew in 1995. Forty-one archeological features, such as storage pits, hearths, and post molds, were uncovered at the site.

Digging Stick Tip from the Lundeen Site, 14MD306
Date: 1237-1435 CE
This reconstructed digging stick tip was recovered during excavations at the 1998 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in Meade County at the Lundeen site. It was used to dig holes and plant seeds. It has a beveled bottom for working in the soil and was attached to a handle at the top. The site is a Middle Ceramic period camp that is part of the Wilmore Complex.

Digging Stick Tip from the Minneapolis Site, 14OT5
Date: 1232-1409 CE
This digging stick tip was recovered from the Minneapolis archeological site in Ottawa County during excavation in 1973 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists and volunteers. It was made from a bison leg bone and was used to dig holes and plants seeds. The tool has a beveled bottom for working in the soil and was attached to a handle at the top. The Minneapolis site was a Smoky Hill aspect village occupied during the Middle Ceramic time period.

Eye Hoe Blade
Date: Unknown
This metal hoe blade was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1957. It gets its name from the collar or "eye" at the top of the blade, which is used as a handle attachment. Eye hoes are also called peasant hoes, ox eye hoes or scovil hoes. They are common throughout the world and represent one of the oldest styles of hoe.

Eye Hoe from Montgomery County
Date: Unknown
This eye hoe was found near Independence, in Montgomery County, on land that may have been owned at one time by Osage Indians. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1891. According to the donor record the hoe was "found several feet down." The eye hoe gets its name from the collar or "eye" at the top of the blade, which is used as a handle attachment. Eye hoes are also called peasant hoes, ox eye hoes or scovil hoes. They are common throughout the world and represent one of the oldest styles of hoe.

Flower garden and houses in Russell, Kansas
Date: Between 1945 and 1949
Here is a slide showing a flower garden and houses in Russell County, Kansas.