Starting at the south end of Main on the West side, the first building I recall the White House, originally I don’t know what the name of it was, but I know it belonged to Dick Auer’s grandfather, and it was a restaurant with rooms upstairs, and one of the first stories I heard about this restaurant was that when you asked him for pie, he would say…well when you would ask “what kind do you have?” he would say “ I have apple, and apple, and apple, what kind do you want?” This was told many times to me, apple was pronounced by accent, “ehple”. And another story; I keep in touch with Lee Auer Gill, who is in Chicago, and she was telling me a story about her grandfather, that his pride and joy was a clock, a tall clock that hung on the wall. When going through Goodland the stock trains made a stop, and the cowboys who accompanied these stock trains traveled from Chicago to Denver and they would gather at Auer’s Restaurant. They were a pretty rowdy bunch, and one time they shot his clock off the wall. This infuriated him and he ran everyone, all of the cowboys out of the restaurant. Well, it seems at a later date they replaced the clock, and what happened? Same episode. They shot the clock off the wall just because they liked to see how infuriated Mr. Auer got. I don’t know how many times this happened, but that was one of the yarns about the White House. Another yarn that I can recall was the day that the White House caught fire and it burned down. This was during the time of the railroad strike, and the scabs were contained inside the railroad yard perimeter, and so while the building was burning they were all lined up along the fence, looking over the fence watching the building burn. At one point the local firemen swung their hose around and went down along the fence, knocking them down like they were in a shooting gallery. I must recall that I did have some connection with the White House Restaurant, because one summer for a short time I was a dishwasher, we called it “pearl diving”.

Next to the north of the White Kitchen was the Coffee House run by Mother Coffin, she had three daughters, Maude, Nell, and Pearl. Apparently my mother at one early time must have worked there or helped out or something, because she took me down to the Coffee House and I can remember the first Victrola I ever heard was there and they had one in the dining room. My favorite record was “The Whistler and His Dog”. I played that many and many a time. One of the daughters named Maude had two children, Hazel and Forrest. Forrest was just slightly older than I was but we played together, especially down at my grandparents place where I lived, we called it “Sweden”, and it was during the war and I know that we dug trenches and played war. One of the things we tried was taking my tent and using it as a parachute, trying to drop it off the windmill tower. Two of the mascots of the Coffee House, one of them was a huge St. Bernard dog, and the other was a bloodhound as large as the St. Bernard. I can remember on Sundays we would walk east of town along the highway just to get everybody an outing and some exercise, and one time a Model T came along and hit the bloodhound and actually did more damage to the Model T than it did the bloodhound. Up until the time I left Goodland, the Coffee House still remained one of the popular gathering places for people after any late event, especially such as dances.

Early on, going north in that block I don’t recall any business except one which was where the Arendt’s Grocery eventually was. They told me that my father Eugene Kempton had a restaurant there at one time. The only thing I know is that he was part of the semi-pro baseball team that Goodland had. They traveled to many towns, as far as Omaha. Most of the buildings were residences, I think that Stella Brown lived along there. Stella had a son and daughter, and I’m pretty sure that her daughter married Marion Parker’s brother. Later on in that section, Fred Roberts, who was famous for establishing harness races at the fair grounds, had a barber shop, and in the late 1920s the Adams Brothers built a drug store and soda fountain…that was another place that I worked for a short time during one summer. Of course, Arendt’s Grocery and eventually I think there was a filling station on the far north corner.

Across the street (16^th) were dwellings, the first one I don’t know who was there in the first place, but eventually especially after I was out of high school, it became the Colony Club and it was run by the Rouliers. It was a very famous spot, very, very popular. Next door to that when I was a youngster, was a man named Gregory (surname) and at one time it was said that he invented a perpetual motion machine. I know that there was a lot of activity and talk about it, apparently it was at his home, they were talking about selling stock and everything else. Of course, there isn’t such an animal yet. Eventually Gregory went to Genoa (Colorado) and built the tower along the highway and with the aid of scopes (from) his tower you could see seven different states.

I think next to the Gregorys, maybe Hugo Sill, had the Dodge garage catty corner across the street and next to them Kelso. Joe Kelso and his daughter and mother lived there and during all my high school days Joe was probably my best friend and continued to be my friend until he passed away. We met at many reunions later, and probably one of the reasons we were friends was the proximity of roll call, Kelso and Kempton were pretty close together. Next to the Kelso’s was the old Commercial Hotel. It was a big wooden structure, and I don’t recall it ever being an actual hotel, but as more of a rooming house, but eventually it was torn down, and I believe it was the Handy Chevrolet agency went along in there. From there up to the corner north I don’t recall particular businesses. Then there was a short little block and on the south corner was the Joe Kent residence and next to it was the building with the Jones family. Earl Jones and I at one time happened to be out at Minnie Walker’s pasture when a biplane came in and was going to stay over night and needed someone to guard the plane from the cattle and people and Earl and I did that and as a result we eventually got my first aeroplane ride and it was a doozie! (Earl and I had to return to school after guarding the plane overnight…the pilot and plane left before school was out but at some later date the pilot returned and kept his end of the bargain.) The pilot ended up with sort of taking a nose dive toward the turntable at the railroad, and it was a thriller!

Across the street (14^th) going north, I think her name was Lucille Shaefer, was the pianist at the old Lyric Theatre. I don’t recall the several residences in there and the toward the north end was Doctor Smith’s residence and office. I think Dr. Smith made the house call when I was hatched, as far as I know. His residence was eventually remodeled and while I was in Goodland it was the Elks Club. I think eventually on the corner the Kent Oil Station built a station there.

Going across the street (13^th) then we hit the Bower building. The Bowers had furniture store in the front end of the building and they had a mortuary in the rear of the building, and upstairs were apartments. Next to the Bower building was the Thompson Motor Company and they had the Ford agency. One of the unique things about their garage was the fact that they did have an incline and were able to store cars on the second story. I can recall the day that the Model A came out and in the show room window they had it all roped off and you could look at it but not touch it. They were a very successful agency. Next was Nim Soden’s shoe shop, he was able to take care of most anything in the way of leather. Next to that was…I don’t know whether you call it a recreation place or what, called Harvey’s. I’m not certain how many pool tables or what they had exactly, but I know they had the first popcorn machine that I ever saw and they had a little steam engine that kicked out the popcorn. Eventually this became sold to Bill Smith and Bob Whitted (Whitted was “adopted” by the Smiths’ but never took their name) and became a recreation parlor, billiard tables, pool tables, snooker and what have you, and a bar for beer. North of that was just a vacant lot. Eventually Walt Kelly built his confectionary there with apartments upstairs.

Across the street (12^th) north was the Ennis building. It had stores downstairs and apartments upstairs and also the office for Joe Reed the dentist was upstairs there. On the corner as I recall was the Noyce Grocery; could have been something in there earlier. Next to it was the Wilson Hardware Store, and next on north of that was a jewelry store, or at least in later years it was Muhlheim’s Jewelry Store. He had the contract for checking on all the railroad watches. Beyond that the Moon Bakery and earlier Sullivan Meat Market, and somewhere along in there was the Arensberg Drug Store. They sold Rexall products. They didn’t have any fountain; I remember Helen, Jo, and Kathryn, three daughters…Kathryn was one of my classmates. Later on Goodland Building and Loan went in there, and also the Johns Restaurant was in that vicinity. Upstairs, I think the stairway was along the Arensberg Drug Store, was Doctor Gulick’s office, and the dentist Dr. Steever, and the lawyers Frank Horton and Buck Dockhorn. I’m sure there was second story space above the other buildings, I believe the lodge hall, Odd Fellows or some along in there, and above one of them was the first Goodland telephone exchange. That was in the second story of some building along there. Then, the first business that I can remember was the Dawson Mercantile Company, eventually I think Penney’s went into this space, but early on they had dry goods and groceries. The thing that I can remember about that was that they had a cashier up on a balcony and they had different stations around the store and there were wires running from the stations up to the cashier. They had a spring loaded unit that you pulled and carried the cash and the billing up to the cashier, then when she got through she let it come back down by gravity. Right on the north corner was the First National Bank. I’m not certain when it was established, but remember Tony Shaw and the Shimeals had the bank, and the most impressive thing to me about the bank was above the vault clear across the back end of the bank was a huge picture of “The Gleaners”.

Going on across north (11^th) we hit the Millisack building, it was also an early mercantile company. Later Walter Wolff had divided it into men’s furnishings on one side and women’s on the other. Horn’s Grocery was in the west end of the building. It also had apartments upstairs. Then next was the Bock brothers, a hardware store. One of the Bocks had twin daughters and they were both classmates of mine while I was in grade school. Then was a barber shop, Bob Green's Barber Shop, and they had facilities in the rear for bathing and all of that. Beyond that there was a bakery run by a German lady and her husband. Then, that shows how they were placed, but I know Dick Auer’s clothing store was there. Dick had Hart, Schaffner & Marx clothing, Florsheim shoes,…he was the number one fashion spot for men. I think he had Elder work for him and a classmate of mine, Harlan McDaniel worked for Dick for a long time. He married Goldie Curry who was also a classmate of mine. Along in there was the Derby’s Confectionery. The Derby Confectionery was a “must” after attending a movie across the street at the Lyric Theatre. My favorite after the show was called the “Teddy Bear”, it was a soda glass with a couple of scoops of ice cream and lots of chocolate and nuts. Derby’s was also where I had my first Green River drink, and my first Eskimo Pie. The Derbys had four girls: Ida, Earline, Ruby and Charlotte. My cousin Gordon Winchell married Charlotte. Walt Kelly eventually bought Derbys and ran it until he constructed his new building across the street from the Sherman Theatre. I think next to the Derby’s was the Higdon Drug Store.

Higdons had the franchise for school books, and where Arensburg had Rexall, Higdons had Nile products. They also had a soda fountain. Tipton Hardware was along in there, and I’m not certain what was on the corner…I know at one time it was a Ben Franklin 5 and 10 in there, I think later Gambles, but originally I’m not sure what was there. But upstairs was one of the important spots in Goodland, it was Hodgkinson’s Hall. It was the entertainment center for dances outside of the barn dances at the Vesliks or out at Smoky Gardens as it was the only place big enough to have big band stands in. The hall had a good-sized stage with lighting facilities and roll up curtain that had merchant’s ads on it, and of course a beautiful scene in the middle. For local productions like North Brothers who came in, or stock shows you would set up folding chairs in the auditorium, and they could be removed for the dances. Also they had roller rink so roller skating was very popular. There was a dance instructor who came down from Colorado Springs and she used the hall for her classes. I took a tap dancing class and eventually got so I could do the waltz called the “Sidewalks of New York”. Hodgkinson’s was also the place where I met my wife Molly. She was introduced to me by Leland Teeters, and at that time she lived in Kanorado.

Across the street (10^th) north of the hall, was the Goodland State Bank. The President was Bill Bunten. I think west of the bank Dr. Vermillion had his office. Next to the bank was the Goodland Daily News. Goodland Daily News was where I had my first permanent job. I worked in the back shop and did casting and feeding the press and helped with job work. At that time it was a weekly and had pretty good distribution. One time I know we had a run of 10,000 papers and fed the press day and night to get that edition out. Some of the personnel at Goodland Daily News—Charlie Bigler was the editor, Neva Hubbard, and Jessie Sherrod I know worked in the front end. I think at one time Les Sage at one time was one of the ad people, Mervin Gulick at one time later was there, and in the back shop Joy Gordonier was the foreman and I remember Fred Allen and Nellie White were linotype operators. Next to the Daily News or Weekly was Garrett’s second hand shop—that is were I bought my first radio, it used head sets and a couple of dry cells. Many mornings I woke up with my ears pretty sore by having had the head sets on all night long. North of Garrett’s was Mrs. Potter’s Photography Shop, and I’m sure that Mrs. Potter shot most of the individual pictures that were in the high school yearbooks. She must have done that for years. Then came the two story building used by the American Legion, I think downstairs was more or less a lounge and upstairs was a meeting hall. The Legion sponsored the scout team and unit, boy scout unit, and I was a member of that for two or three years at least. They took us to Beecher Island one time and another time we went to the mountains. Then there was a vacant lot but it was full of machinery and on the northeast corner was the office building of the Walker Implement Company.

Going over to the other (8^th St.), east side of Main Street, the north end I think it was mostly residences until we get down to a building that was Euwer and Murphy, lawyers; and next to it was the post office, and then came the Neu Hotel. The Neu Hotel had a regular dining room and then it had a banquet room that was used by the Rotary and the Lions Club met there. The facilities were used by any large group. Herman Neu and two of his sisters ran the hotel and they were quite large people, but the two Neu sisters were noted for their being light on their feet over at the Hodgkinson’s dance hall. In the basement of the Neu Hotel was a barber shop and Leo Schisler ran the barber shop. It was a favorite spot, I think, for business and professional men. I think they had four chairs and shoe shine, maybe the Police Gazette. Leo Schisler was the best golfer in Goodland.

Across the street (10^th) going south, originally the building housed, I think it was called the Goodland Weekly News or something like that, but it was published by Mr. Wolf and eventually it was the location where the telephone company put up the beautiful Aztec looking building. Along in that same block was a cleaning establishment; I recall Louie Blount had it for a while and Jess Teeters had his abstract office along in there, and also Myrtle Knight had her Millinery shop. Myrtle and my mother were great friends and spent a lot of time with the Knights. During lunch hour my mother would come from the court house and eat her lunch in the back workshop of the millinery shop. On real bad days I even came from the high school and would stop there instead of going home to “Sweden”. I am a little vague as to what was in the other businesses in there until we get to the Elliott building. The Elliot building had the furniture store in the north side of it and in the south side of it was the Lyric Theatre, and they had a lot of apartments above. I know Walt Kelly and Ernest Sprague who owned the theatres and his mother lived up there. Then on the corner, I think they called it the Greystone Hotel, I don’t have any information about it, I don’t recall too much about it.

Across the street (11^th) then, was a building which at one time was the Herman Kreuzer grocery store. One daughter married Tom McCants, she and sons continued to put out a weekly which became the Goodland Daily News. I know my Uncle Fred after the strike worked for Herman for a while, and then McClure Plumbing Co. was along in there, and there was Virginia’s Shoppe or something later on, and Dr. Biderwell had his office upstairs. There was a vacant lot and it was the space for the first miniature golf course in Goodland, and on the corner was the Standard Oil Company.

Then was the area where Sprague put his Sherman Theatre, originally I’m told it was the location of a livery stable. Then Knudson Brothers and their implement company were next to the theatre. Then there was a building which I think at one time Edith Stewart might have used it for part of her hatchery and later on at one time the weekly Sherman County Herald used the building. “Pop” Stewart was one of the editors. And on the corner was the White Eagle Oil Station. That was another place during the summers that I worked at, and they had gravity pumps…in other words there was this big globe with the gallons on it and you pumped up the amount of gas the people wanted and then gravity took it down and filled their tanks. One of the most exciting things, one day when I was working there a Stanley Steamer came through and that was the one they said that if you could hold one wide open for a certain number of minutes, or was it miles, they would give you the automobile, but I think it was sort of a myth. Apparently they were pretty fast. (Editor’s note: A Stanley Steamer website says there was propaganda spread about that a dealer would give you one if you could hold it wide open for a mile, but the Stanley Company of Watertown, Mass. always denied this. Another part of the Stanley legacy lives on at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., built by the Stanleys in 1909 as a luxury resort hotel.)

Going south (13^th St.) there was the block that contained the Central School. At the time I went to school it contained the grades one through three on the ground floor, and seven and eight on the top floor.

South of that was mostly residences until after the strike. The Newton brothers, Ed Newton and Bill started a machine shop and they had equipment for specializing in welding, so they could overhaul cars, fix most anything that came in, and eventually they also had the Studebaker agency. South of the Newtons there was a residence, and I think eventually a laundry went in there. I don’t remember the name of the laundry, but on the corner was a Sinclair station run by Dickey.

Across the street (16^th) was the Sill Motor Company, it was a Dodge agency. Then there was a vacant lot which eventually the Shore brothers put in their facility. On the corner was the Watters Hotel. It was a two story structure, had a veranda or porch running clear along the west side which faced Main Street, and they had dining facilities.

The last building on Main south was the Bridges Wholesale Company. B. E. Bridges had a business that furnished groceries and foods to Goodland and the surrounding towns, and so eventually built a three story wholesale building. He had a special place in the building for ripening the bananas, I remember that. His brand was BEB, and he called it the Best Ever Brand. Two of his front office employees were Lois Stewart who was a classmate of mine, and Gertie Lammers who was an especially good friend of my mother.

Well, here we are at 2003 and at 95 I have just completed my recollections of “draaaaaging Main” in Goodland Kansas. I’m sure that there are very few of you people that are going to listen to this tape that remember the personnel that I have talked about, but I’m sure that some of the buildings are still in the same place.

This story was transcribed from an audio tape received in August 2003 from H. G. “Jack” Kempton, of Garden City, Kansas. Mr. Kempton was born and reared in Goodland, Kansas, a son of Bertha (Erickson) and Eugene Kempton, and started his career in theatre management in 1926 at the Sherman Theatre of Goodland.

Since the October 2003 newsletter the following items have been given for exhibition at the Ennis-Handy House or for research purposes at the Research Center.

• From Beverly (Jensen) Knight, Stan Jensen, daughter and son of Grace and Mark Jensen; and granddaughter Marilyn Girous: Dress form, leather suitcase, wicker baby crib, red dress hand made for heritage celebration in Goodland, books, and records. Also for the Research Center, some business files of Mark Jensen, Goodland building contractor, and several copies of historical newspapers.

• From Tim and Marthetta Edwards of Topeka: A kerosene lamp of the W.A. Sexson family, a pressed glass relish dish of the Fred Sexson family, and a portrait painted by Lowell Connolly.

• From Larry and Marti Scott of Goodland: A linen tablecloth and napkins, crocheted tablecloth by Lydia Scott, 2 doilies, and a three-tier serving tray of pearlized china.

• From the estate of Nelson Woolverton by his brother Eugene Woolverton of Topeka, KS: Rose colored overstuffed arm chair; WWII snapshots, map of 5th Armored Division path of WWII, 1945 issues of The Stars and Stripes, army cap, and other WWII memorabilia.

The historical society is very appreciative of the generosity of these donors who have added items of historical importance to the collections of the society for exhibition and research.

Thank you again!

Each year it is the pleasure of the Board of Directors to announce the selection of the recipient awarded a Lifetime Membership in the Sherman County Historical Society. This year it is with great pleasure we present a Lifetime Membership to Curtis Hurd.

Curtis is a faithful supporter of the society in numerous ways. He oversees the care of the lawn of the Ennis-Handy House, which has included watering, fertilizing, trimming trees, cutting down trees, and some mowing. Curtis advises the Board on house maintenance and projects, then gives of his time completing needed repairs. Curtis was a big help when we were getting ready to open the Ennis-Handy House for tours. He made and installed molding, assisted with removing carpets and wallpaper, and even made some repairs to loaned furnishings of the house. This fall Curtis removed the north steps to the front porch, added support to a sagging section of the porch, and finished off the area where the steps were removed. Our project of restoring the porches, balcony, and gable ends of the house is under the masterful supervision of Curtis. In short, Curtis is one of those rare members who donates his time, talents, gifts, and services. Congratulations, Curtis, and THANK YOU!

The plaque recognizing donors of $250.00 or more to the Ennis-Handy House is complete and is on display at the house. This recognition is ongoing, and names and dates will continue to be added.

Board members Patricia (Babcock) Juhl, Lloyd Holbrook, and David Branda presented a copy of Over a Century of Education in Sherman County Kansas, based on work by William C. Pittman and Marion C. Parker, to the USD 352 Board of Education for its edification on January 12, 2004. The book is proving to be quite popular and continues to generate many positive comments.

The winner of the bowtie quilt is Ben Jones of Burlington, CO. The quilt top was donated by Edith Dye and was quilted by Inez Bennett and friends. Thank you to all who helped support the society through this fundraiser.

With the Ennis-Handy House so beautifully decorated outside and inside for the Christmas Holidays of 2003, the Historical Society Board decided to hold their 4th tea on Saturday, January 10, 2004 at 2 pm.

The day was a toasty 60 degrees outside with blue sky and sunshine, and the only breeze was that of 23 ladies making their way up the sidewalk at 13th Street and Center Avenue in their long rustling skirts and big decorated hats.

The house presented to all a charm of warmth and romance with the fine linens, china, and silver on the tables, and a glow of Christmas tree lights filling the rooms.

Carol Baum, board member, and Evelyn Berry, society member, helped welcome everyone, having them sign the guest book and saw that their coats were hung in the hall closet.

As the ladies sat using the four tables which occupied three rooms, they were served tea by four men waiters, David Branda and Lloyd Holbrook, board members, and Olathe Juhl and Tim Armknecht, husband and son-in-law of board member Pat Juhl.

The men dressed neatly in white shirts, black bow ties, black vests, and black slacks, and draped a white linen cloth over their arm to catch any drips of the tea pots or lip of a dessert from a serving dish. The men treated the ladies royally and were at their beck and call for refills.

Gerry Osterman, board member, presented a beautiful white hat given by her daughter, Deb Stair, for a raffle, and $14.00 was raised with Carolyn Brazda receiving her new hat.

Gerry also announced for everyone to check under their plates to look for a Santa Claus sticker, and whoever found one, won the cute Victorian doll on their table. There were favors of little Victorian dolls at each place setting for each lady also.

Lloyd Holbrook, when not serving, took some photos of everyone, and another visitor, Tom Betz, came to photograph the ladies at their tables.

There was much laughter and appreciation of the fine Victorian Queen Anne House this day, and a tour of the house fulfilled the day for the ladies with some interesting history of Goodland families.

Our tea was made a success by all those willing to assist, like some people outside our board. Marti Scott shared some of her silverware, chairs, and electric hot water pots. Anita Coleman, her sugar cube pinchers, and Deb Stair with her white hat and food contributions.

Since we are still short some items needed when holding our teas, we would welcome the inheritance of fine china and silverware, plus older dining chairs and possibly a table.

Our thanks to everyone for bringing happiness once again into our Ennis-Handy House.

Stay alert to the news of our next spring tea, because several ladies announced that they are eager for us to have another and wish to attend, some for the 5th time.

Christie Rasure’s green thumb got a real workout this fall. Three areas of the yard received some tender loving care. A section of concrete along the east side of the house was removed, grass was taken up south of the front porch, and grass was removed and topsoil was added to the yard by the southwest corner of the house to create a Victorian flower garden. Following cultivation an Alberta spruce and a row of blue mist spirea were planted along the east side of the house. Three Alberta spruce were planted south of the front porch, and tulips and hyacinth were planted in the new Victorian flower garden. Christie is ready for spring and promises more good things to come. Christie, we do appreciate all that you do for us.

Ann Zuspann, our good neighbor to the north, helped us out this fall. Ann was having her trees trimmed and approached us about having our trees trimmed at the same time. Ann graciously paid for part of the trimming cost. Both yards benefited from the trimming, and our two lawns together make a nice presentation from the street. We also benefited from some excavation being done in Ann’s back yard. We needed topsoil, and Ann needed to find a home for some of hers. Thank you, Ann. Hopefully we can be as good a neighbor to you, as you are to us.

Family histories will be printed at no charge. They are to be not more than 800 words and may include pictures. These may be your own History, your parents’ and your grandparents’ History, if any of you lived in Sherman County at any time. Make these separate histories.

Give full names, when and where born, when and where married, deaths, include spouse’s maiden name, dates of everything possible, when they came to Sherman County, names of children, occupation, hobbies, etc. Anything that you and your family would like to have recorded should be included: such as interesting incidents and observations.