353rd Infantry Band at Camp Funston, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1919
This is a photograph of the members of the 353rd Infantry, 89th Division, All Kansas Band posed in the Y.M.C.A. Auditorium building at Camp Funston, Kansas.

Albe Burge Whiting
Creator: Leonard, J. H.
Date: Between 1900 and 1919
This cabinet card shows Albe Burge Whiting, (1835-1928). Whiting a native of Johnson, Vermont migrated to the Kansas territory in 1856 and settled near Fort Riley. He founded the town of Milford and was instrumental in operating a saw mill, general store, and flour mill before moving, in 1877, to Topeka, Kansas. In the capital city, Whiting engaged in a number of business ventures from a partnership in a drug store to owning and operating a paint and glass business. His company also held the contract to supply the windows for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company building at Ninth and Jackson Streets in Topeka. Whiting's success in business gave him the means to give back to the community. In 1907, Whiting and his wife Kate purchased 160 acres of land which established the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Topeka as a 1,000 year endowment trust for Washburn University, the Topeka Y.W.C.A. and the Topeka Y. M. C. A. In addition to the endowment, Whiting served fifty-one years as a Washburn trustee and was a member of the executive committee. To honor his years of service to the college, in June of 1930, the field house at Washburn was named the Whiting Field House. The dedication came two years after the building's completion in December of 1928 and the passing of Albe Burge Whiting.

Albe Burge Whiting
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
This cabinet card shows Albe Burge Whiting,(1835-1928). Whiting a native of Johnson, Vermont migrated to the Kansas territory, in 1856, and settled near Fort Riley. He founded the town of Milford and was instrumental in operating a saw mill, general store, and flour mill before moving, in 1877, to Topeka, Kansas. In the capital city, Whiting engaged in a number of business ventures from a partnership in a drug store to owning and operating a paint and glass business. His company also held the contract to supply the windows for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company building at Ninth and Jackson Streets in Topeka. Whiting's success in business gave him the means to give back to the community. In 1907, Whiting and his wife Kate purchased 160 acres of land which established the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Topeka, as a 1,000 year endowment trust for Washburn University, and the Topeka Y.W.C.A. and Y. M. C. A. In addition to the endowment, Whiting served fifty-one years as a Washburn trustee and was a member of the executive committee. To honor his years of service to the college, the field house at Washburn was named the Whiting Field House in June of 1930. The dedication came two years after the building's completion in December of 1928 and the passing of Albe Burge Whiting.

Cantonment life Camp Funston illustrated
Creator: Baird Company Engravers
Date: 1918
A pamphlet containing Camp Funston photographs. Included is a brief list of all the amenities Camp Funston has, including a Zone of Camp Activities. This Zone was "financed and built by private capital without cost to the Government". It contains an arcade, stores, theatres, pool halls, picture shows, barber shops, bowling alleys, and more. Camp Funston also has it's own fire department, police force, and hospitals, and claims "at no time in the world's history has the soldier been so well cared for as he is today in Cantonments and Army Posts of the United States." It was on the Fort Riley military reservation.

Central Y. M. C. A. with the Statehouse in the distance in Topeka, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1915
This is a postcard showing the Central Y. M. C. A. located on 9th Street in Topeka, Kansas. In the background the Kansas Capitol is visible.

College Y. M. C. A. in Manhattan, Kansas
Creator: Bowers, John
Date: Between 1908 and 1910
A postcard showing the college Y. M. C. A. building in Manhattan, Kansas.

Henry Justin Allen's World War I notebooks
Date: May 1, 1918 - December 31, 1918
Henry J. Allen used these three notebooks while working with the American Red Cross and the YMCA in France. Starting in July of 1918, Allen was embedded with the 35th Division of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the front lines of World War I.

Interior view of soliders at the Y.M.C.A. at Camp Funston
Date: Between 1914 and 1919
This is a photograph of soldiers at the Y.M.C.A. of Camp Funston during World War I. Camp Funston was located on the Fort Riley military reservation near Junction City, Kansas. The facility, named after Brigadier General Frederick Funston, was the largest of 16 divisional cantonment training camps built during World War I to house and train soldiers for military duty.

Interior view of the Y.M.C.A. at Camp Funston
Date: Between 1914 and 1919
This is a photograph showing soldiers in the Y.M.C.A. at Camp Funston during World War I. Camp Funston was located on the Fort Riley military reservation near Junction City, Kansas. The facility, named after Brigadier General Frederick Funston, was the largest of 16 divisional cantonment training camps built during World War I to house and train soldiers for military duty.

Judge Richard Dean Rogers and Jack Gump
Date: January 1998
This is a photograph of Judge Richard Dean Rogers and Jack Gump at the YMCA in Topeka, Kansas. Rogers served over 35 years as a U. S. District Court Judge.

Kansas pennant
Date: between 1917 and 1919
Red and blue wool pennant with letters spelling "KANSAS" appliqued across the center. Reverend A. Frank Johnson carried the pennant with him while working in Europe at the end of World War I. According to his application for a U.S. passport, Johnson traveled to England, France, and Italy with the Y.M.C.A. He reportedly served as the chaplain for the 140th Infantry, 35th Division.

Katherine Amelia Whitney Whiting
Creator: Leonard, J. H.
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
This cabinet card shows Katherine Amelia Whitney Whiting (1838-1907). Whiting a native of Waterbury, Vermont received her formal education at the Fairfax and Barrer Academies. She taught school in the Vermont area before marring Albe Burge Whiting on November 15, 1858. Within a year of their marriage the couple were moving to the Kansas territory. In August of 1859, the Whiting's settled near Fort Riley, and founded the town of Milford. For nearly twenty years the couple operated a number of business in the Milford area before moving, in 1877, to Topeka, Kansas. In the capitol city, Mr. Whiting engaged in a number of business ventures which gave him and his wife the means to give back to the community. As philanthropists the Whitings purchased in 1907 160 acres of land that established the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Topeka, as 1,000 year endowments for Washburn College, the Topeka Y.W.C.A. and the Topeka Y.M.C.A. Katherine Whitney Whiting died August 11, 1908 at her Topeka home at the age of 69. Burial was at Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Main Street, Horace, Greeley County, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
A view of the main street of Horace, Greeley County, Kansas. Visible are the railroad Y.M.C.A. building and the Pacific House hotel.

Railroad Y.M.C.A. commemorative dish
Creator: C.E. Wheelock & Company
Date: between 1902 and 1940
This commemorative dish was produced by C.E. Wheelock & Company based in Peoria, Illinois but produced in Weimar, Germany. It depicts the Railroad Y.M.C.A. in Hoisington, Kansas. The YMCA was built in 1902 primarily to house railroad workers and was damaged by a tornado in 1919.

Railroad Y.M.C.A. entertainment tickets
Date: between 1914 and 1915
Entertainment course tickets for the Railroad Department of the Young Men's Christian Association in Topeka. The Railroad YMCA. was started in 1880, but not organized into a department of the state association until 1885. Its object was to "provide a home for employees who were without home privileges," giving them a wholesome home environment, baths, libraries, etc. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad company appropriated $1,200 per annum for this work, and donated the use of a two-story brick building.

Railroad Y.M.C.A. in Topeka, Kansas
Date: Between 1903 and 1910
This is a postcard showing the Railroad Y.M.C.A. in Topeka, Kansas.

The Railroad Y.M.C.A. Hotel, Horace, Greeley County, Kansas
Date: 1904
A large crowd gathers in front of the Railroad Y.M.C.A. in Horace, Greeley County, Kansas.

The Railroad Y.M.C.A. in Horace, Greeley County, Kansas
Date: 1904
The Horace, Kansas Railroad Y.M.C.A., built in 1904. A large crowd gathers outside the hotel.

The magic city. Wichita picturesque and descriptive
Creator: Art Publishing Company
Date: 1889
A pictorial publication containing sixty photographs and illustrations of Wichita, Kansas. The following are inlcuded: street scenes, business buildings, schools, opera house, hotels, churches, factories, depots, government buildings, electric railways, residences, and the Arkansas River.

The reading corner of the YMCA at Camp Funston
Date: Between 1914 and 1919
This is a photograph of the reading corner inside the YMCA of Camp Funston. Camp Funston was located on the Fort Riley military reservation near Junction City, Kansas. The facility, named after Brigadier General Frederick Funston, was the largest of 16 divisional cantonment training camps built during World War I to house and train soldiers for military duty.

Topeka Aces uniform
Date: between 1920 and 1930
Woman's wool basketball jersey and shorts worn by Doris Eva Ransdell Nelson while playing for the Topeka Aces from 1922 to 1931. She and other Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad employees played on a team that competed in the YMCA business league. Doris grew up in Auburn, Kansas, and played high school basketball.

USO stationery
Creator: Young Men's Christian Association, The
Date: between 1941 and 1949
Single sheet of United Service Organizations (USO) letterhead. This stationery was probably acquired by Almeda (Harrison) Passet or Norman Passet. Both were at Fort Riley during World War II. Almeda worked in the post property office; Norman was a soldier assigned to horsemanship for a Cavalry unit. When horses proved ineffective in the war effort, Norman became a cook for the Army. They met at a square dance in Junction City, Kansas, and later married on her family's farm near Riley, Kansas. After the war, the couple settled on a farm near Wharton, Ohio, and had two children. Almeda died in 2011; Norman in 2009. The United Service Organizations, Inc., is a non-profit organization founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt. The organization's purpose was to boost morale of troops fighting in World War II. USO centers, the soldier's "home away from home," opened around the world, providing soldiers a place to socialize, write a letter home, or get a free cup of coffee and a donut. The USO is probably best known for its "Camp Shows," which featured entertainment from Hollywood celebrities. The organization has provided support to soldiers fighting in every war since its creation.

Y.M.C.A. auditorium at Camp Funston, Kansas
Date: Between 1914 and 1919
This is a photograph showing the interior of the Y.M.C.A. auditorium at Camp Funston, Kansas.

Y.M.C.A. building in Marion, Kansas
Creator: Bowers Photographic Co.
Date: 1907
This is a postcard showing the Y.M.C.A. [Young Men's Christian Association] building in Marion, Kansas. Wheelers' Furniture Store is on the first floor.

YMCA Convention
Date: Between 1910 and 1919
This is a panoramic photo of a group of men at the YMCA Convention in Hutchinson, Kansas.