25th Neewollah
Creator: Neewollah, Inc.
Date: October 26-29, 1983
This program describes events at the 1983 Neewollah festival in Independence, Kansas. Neewollah is a celebration that began in 1919 with alternative activities for kids. Neewollah (Halloween spelled backwards) is the oldest and largest annual festival in Kansas. For 100 years, Independence has been celebrating with parades, queen's pageant, musical theatre productions, carnival, street acts, food vendors, and much, much more. It started out small, centered around parades held on October 31. Except for years of interruption in the mid-20th century, due to the Great Depression, World War II and lack of financial support, the festival has grown from a one-day celebration to a now nine-day festival. Digitization funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission through the Kansas State Historical Records Advisory Board.

600 and 700 block of South Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Wolfe, Harold B., 1898-1966
Date: December 23, 1934
This panoramic view shows the west side of the 600 and 700 blocks of South Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kansas. Businesses visible in the photograph are: Palace Clothing Company, Central National Bank, F. W. Woolworth Company 5-10 and 15 Cent Store, Hall Printing and Stationery, and S.S. Kresge Company. The buildings and light poles are decorated for Christmas and there are automobiles parked on the street.

700 and 600 blocks of South Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Wolfe, Harold B., 1898-1966
Date: December 23, 1934
This is a panoramic view of the 700 and 600 blocks, west side of South Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kansas. Businesses visible in the photograph are: O'Neal Shoe Company, Vogue, Crosby Brothers Company, Nightingales, The Palace, and Central National Bank. The buildings and light poles are decorated for Christmas and automobiles are parked on the street.

A joyful Easter
Date: Between 1900 and 1914
This German printed postcard wishes "A Joyful Easter" as a young boy dressed in a sailor's uniform sits on a wooden cage holding a baby chick. Brightly colored eggs and chickens are visible in the foreground.

Amelia Earhart Christmas card
Date: 1933
Christmas card from Amelia Earhart and George Putnam. Printed in black on off-white colored paper. The donor's family knew Earhart and Putnam, and the couple stayed with the family when they visited the British Isles. Putnam and Earhart met in 1928 when the publisher contacted the aviatrix to ask her to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger. They were married in 1931. Earhart disappeared over the Pacific during an attempted around-the-world flight on July 2, 1937.

Amelia Earhart Christmas card
Date: between 1931 and 1936
Christmas card from Amelia Earhart and George Putnam. Printed in black on off-white colored paper. The donor's family knew Earhart and Putnam, and the couple stayed with the family when they visited the British Isles. Putnam and Earhart met in 1928 when the publisher contacted the aviatrix to ask her to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger. They were married in 1931. Earhart disappeared over the Pacific during an attempted around-the-world flight on July 2, 1937.

Amelia Earhart Christmas card
Date: between 1931 and 1936
Christmas card from Amelia Earhart and George Putnam. Printed in black on off-white colored paper. The donor's family knew Earhart and Putnam, and the couple stayed with the family when they visited the British Isles. Putnam and Earhart met in 1928 when the publisher contacted the aviatrix to ask her to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger. They were married in 1931. Earhart disappeared over the Pacific during an attempted around-the-world flight on July 2, 1937.

American Legion Auxiliary ladies, Rossville, Kansas
Date: Between 1958 and 1970
Pictured left to right at an American Legion Auxiliary banquet are Thresa Trahoon, Fern Rogers, Ruby Rezac, Ruth Hesse, Velda O'Donnell, Nora Mitchell, Mary Decker, Hope Meade, Amy Meade, Jenny Coleman, Roxie Banta, Anna Lemon, and Melba Gentry. This photograph is provided through a pilot project to host unique cultural heritage materials from local libraries on Kansas Memory and was accomplished by mutual agreement between the Northeast Kansas Library System, the Rossville Community Library, and the Kansas Historical Society.

Anna Margaret (Watson) Randolph diary
Creator: Randolph, Anna Margaret (Watson)
Date: December 12, 1858 - December 19, 1858
These excerpts from Anna (Watson) Randolph's diary begin after her family had settled in Emporia in 1858. Living in Emporia provided many opportunities for her and her family to become involved in the community, including church services and "singing school." She includes juicy details about her neighbors, including Mr. Plumb who was a fan of the drink. Her entries also point to her mental state and her personal reflections on self improvement. In short, these entries provide a previously unseen glimpse into the Emporia community during the 1850s and into the lives of the Watson family.

Arbor Day
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885-1889
These letters are from various individuals regarding Arbor Day to Kansas Governor John Martin. Some are asking if there is an Arbor Day or supporting the celebration of Arbor Day, especially educators and schools. Others are asking for a proclamation from the governor and copies of it. Many letters also discuss planting trees as the main activity for an Arbor Day celebration.

Arbor Day at the Menninger Clinic
Date: March 31, 1948
This photograph shows Dr. C.F. Menninger planting a larch tree which resembles the Cedar of Lebanon. Dr. C.F. Menninger and his sons, Dr. Karl and Dr. Will, founded the Menninger Clinic for mental-health treatment, education, research, and prevention in Topeka. Arbor Day was always celebrated at the Menninger Clinic because of the deep interest in the environment.

Arbor Day in Topeka, Kansas
Date: April 22, 1875
This a photograph of Arbor Day activities at 8th & Jackson streets on the Statehouse grounds in Topeka, Kansas. Over 800 trees were planted on the statehouse grounds to commemorate the occasion; however, only a few lived through the summer.

Armistice Day celebration, Clay Center, Kansas
Date: November 11, 1918
This is a photograph of the 1918 Armistice Day celebration in Clay Center, Kansas. Visible is a stone monument on a wheeled platform, a band, spectators, automobiles and horse-drawn carriages, businesses and buildings, and American flags.

Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, Chanute, Kansas
Date: 1918
This photograph taken during Armistance Day on November 11, 1918 in Chanute, Kansas, celebrates the end of World War I across the globe. In the photograph, a car is driving pulling a coffin with the word "Kaiser" written on the side to represent the death of the German Kaiser.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot, Hamilton, Kansas
Date: July 04, 1896
This photograph shows a group of people gathered in front of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot in Hamilton, Kansas for a Fourth of July celebration.

Auburn Drum Corps in Marysville, Kansas
Date: 1930
This is a photograph showing the Auburn Drum Corps in a Labor Day parade in Marysville, Kansas.

Baby Santa Claus outfit
Creator: J.C. Penney
Date: between 1960 and 1965
Joan Ledeboer arrived just in time for Christmas, on December 3,1963, in Belvue, Kansas. Her aunt and uncle, Mary and David Prickett, bought this infant's Santa Claus ensemble for Joan's first holiday. Mary had purchased it from J.C. Penney, a major retailer that issued its first catalog that very same year.

Band, Oakley, Kansas
Date: Between 1890 and 1899
This band is leading a July 4th parade in Oakley, Kansas. Also visible are spectators, American flags, and buildings and businesses along the city street.

Banner
Date: 2001
This red, white, and blue patriotic banner was displayed in reaction to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. In October 2001, shortly after the attack, the banner was produced by the fourth grade class of McCarter Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, and used in a local Halloween parade. The banner was related to a school policy banning traditional garb in favor of patriotic-themed costumes as a reaction to the events of September 11.

Bastille Day celebration in Florence, Kansas
Date: 1884
Bastille Day celebration held in Barker's Park, north of Florence, Kansas, July 14, 1884. This photograph was copied from the Kansas Historical Quarterly, Volume XIX, 1951, pg. 192-193.

Beatrice American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps in Marysville, Kansas
Date: 1930
This is a photograph showing the Beatrice American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps possibly performing in a Labor Day parade in Marysville, Kansas.

Believe in the Magic Neewollah
Creator: Neewollah, Inc.
Date: October 22-30, 1994
This program describes events at the 1994 Neewollah festival in Independence, Kansas. Neewollah is a celebration that began in 1919 with alternative activities for kids. Neewollah (Halloween spelled backwards) is the oldest and largest annual festival in Kansas. For 100 years, Independence has been celebrating with parades, queen's pageant, musical theatre productions, carnival, street acts, food vendors, and much, much more. It started out small, centered around parades held on October 31. Except for years of interruption in the mid-20th century, due to the Great Depression, World War II and lack of financial support, the festival has grown from a one-day celebration to a now nine-day festival. Digitization funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission through the Kansas State Historical Records Advisory Board.

Capitol Christmas tree, Topeka, Kansas
Date: Between 1966 and 1969
This black and white photograph shows Governor Robert Docking standing with a crowd of people around a lighted Christmas tree on the grounds of the capitol in Topeka, Kansas.

Cartoon by Albert T. Reid
Creator: Reid, Albert Turner
Date: between 1896 and 1910
Pen and ink cartoon drawing by Albert T. Reid. Santa Claus is startled by phonographic "Talking Machine" playing a prerecorded Christmas wish list from a young boy. The cartoon is captioned in pencil above, "A Surprise for Santa Claus. How an enterprising Tommy got a hearing." Albert Reid was born in Concordia, Kansas, in 1873. He worked as a political cartoonist for Arthur Capper in Topeka at the Topeka Mail and Breeze. He also worked for the Kansas City Journal until 1909.

Charles F. Menninger homes in Topeka, Kansas
Date: Between 1895 and 1923
These photographs show the homes of the Charles F. and Flo V. Menninger family from about 1895 to the 1940's. Dr. C.F. Menninger and his sons, Dr. Karl and Dr. Will, founded the Menninger Clinic for mental-health treatment, education, research, and prevention in Topeka, Kansas.