Raney Drug Store

 

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Raney Drug Store located at 460 N. Franklin in downtown Colby, Kansas was owned by Richard Raney, Clarence Bower and P. D. Frederick. Raney, from Osborne, owned a chain of stores also including Lawrence and Ottawa. This picture of the west side of the 400 block of Franklin Avenue is in our photo collection. The pickup truck from the early 1950's is a good clue to help date photos. Looks like the store fronts were decorated for some kind of celebration. Traffic cones along the curb probably indicate plans for a parade.

Drug stores typically supplied physicians with a pad of prescription forms. The doctor would write the prescription and give it to the patient to be filled at the pharmacy of their choice. With three competing drug stores in town, a little subtle advertising on the prescription form didn't hurt! This is a great example of the contents of our documents archives.

Pills were dispensed in small cardboard boxes with hinged lids. A typed label inside the lid included the patients name, instructions, date, and physician's name. These small boxes were in common use into the 1960's when plastic bottles became available. Two pill boxes in excellent condition from Raney Drug Store were recently added to the Prairie Museum of Art & History artifact collection.

Colby Fire Department

The Colby Fire Department recently donated a collection of record books and photographs.

The secretary's books include minutes of meetings and attendance rolls at regular meetings, training sessions and fire runs. They span the 1950's into the 1970's

The photographs in the collection include firemen, training exercises and equipment maintenance. Other photos are of actual fires and fire damage possibly used as evidence for insurance claims or investigations by the fire marshal.

Thanks for this great contribution to our collection and for your service to the community.

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Here fire chief, Frank Pratt, is testing a fire hydrant at the corner of Franklin Avenue & 5th Street in the early 1970's. In the background is the Cooper Hotel which ironically later burned.

A firefighter is rappelling down the side of the Hi-Plains Co-op Elevator during a training exercise in May 1982.

Firefighters on duty at the fire station in February 1986. Left to right are Gerrie Vernon, Richard Dickman, Roger Sample - assistant chief, and Ivan Lee - chief.

 

Preservation Workshop

A Preservation Workshop presented by Cynthia Harris was held Saturday, August 15 at Prairie Museum of Art & History. The free hands-on workshop was sponsored by Solomon Valley - Hwy 24 - Heritage Alliance and funded by the Kansas Humanities Council.

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 Cynthia works in Manhattan, Kansas at Kansas State University Hale Library in the Department of Special Collections/University Archives where she processes manuscript collections to be used by researchers.
Visit Cynthia's website at:  www.cynharris.com
On the website, click on the "About" tab to find out more about the workshops she conducts and how to schedule one for your area. 

The program was aimed at helping to preserve military items from World War II. However, the technology would apply to anyone wishing to preserve family memories and mementos. Those attending were invited to bring items with them for examination and discussion. I also pulled items from the Prairie Museum collections for 'show & tell'. Categories included photos, documents, books, clothing & fabrics, glass, leather, and metals such as brass shell casings.

Cynthia emphasized the importance of cleanliness in the preservation of artifacts. She made several suggestions for cleaning different materials and made recommendations for safe cleaning products.  The next step in preservation is proper storage. She demonstrated several techniques and offered suggestions for purchasing archival supplies.

 Here Cynthia examines and makes recommendations for the preservation of a World War II soldier's government issued personal sewing kit.

 This lady brought in her father's World War II army uniform, photos, and a framed collection of medals, awards, and badges.

 No napping here! Everyone is spellbound listening to Cynthia share her expertise.

Colby High School Reunion

One of the added benefits of hosting the "High Flying Eagles" reception for the 2015 Colby High School Alumni Reunion in June was receiving some awesome gifts from alumni to add to our collection.

  

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This Colby Eagles gym bag was used in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

We also received a nice collection of "Hi-Life", the school newspaper, published in the 1960's, and some yearbooks from various years.

Remember the Colby Cabana Teen Club? It was a Christian-based teen hangout located in the basement of the building at 420 N. Franklin Ave. in Colby also in the 1960's. One alumni brought in a painted Melmac plate and teacup. Perhaps a craft project?

 

Thanks CHS alumni! Since we are the Thomas County Historical Society we encourage alumni from other schools in the county (present or past) to share their memorabilia and souvenirs with us as well.

 

Amebelodon Exhibit

It turns out our newest exhibit is also the oldest object we have. In March 1988, Jack Weed, while excavating in a sandpit south of nearby Levant, Kansas uncovered what he thought could be bones of an ancient mastodon or mammoth. They were taken to Sternberg Museum of Natural History operated by Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas for analysis. It was determined the three pieces were jaw fragments with teeth from a prehistoric creature known as an Amebelodon.
Visit the Sternberg website at http://sternberg.fhsu.edu/

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What's an Amebelodon? Amebelodon (Greek for "shovel tusk") is pronounced AM-ee-BELL-oh-don. Amebelodon is a member of a group of primitive proboscideans called gomphotheres which give rise to the modern elephants and their close relative the mammoth. The most striking attribute of this animal is its lower tusks which are narrow, elongated and distinctly flattened.  Amabeledon first appeared in the Great Plains and Gulf Coast regions of North America roughly 9 million years ago, and apparently became extinct on this continent about 6 million years ago.

 

 In April 2015 the jaw fragments were returned to Thomas County where they were found. They are on loan to Prairie Museum of Art & History in Colby from the Sternberg Museum of Natural History for a 10 year period. The loan is renewable upon the condition the specimen be safely housed and used for display purposes. After custom building a display case and selecting just the right location, the fragments are now on exhibit.

After visiting the exhibit, be sure to check out our gift shop. Gift shop manager, Kelsi, has added a supply of miniature resin Amebelodon figurines as a souvenir of your Amebelodon adventure. Kids are encouraged to enter the "Name the Amebelodon" contest. The winner will get one of these miniatures.