Did You Know This About Geary County History?”	By Dr. Ferrell Miller		Geary County Historical Society Board Member<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582826992980.jpeg" alt="Grimes (From Part II Story) Swisher and Carver (From Part III Story) Yearbook Photos" />
 <figcaption>Grimes (From Part II Story) Swisher and Carver (From Part III Story) Yearbook Photos</figcaption>
 </figure>“JCHS Yearbook Tells The Story Of Segregation/Integration In Junction City” Part III	This is the third and final article about segregation and integration related to the Junction City High School Yearbook, the Pow Wow, during the 1920’s and ‘40’s. The complete article was originally published in 2000 in the “Junction City Union” newspaper and written by Gaylynn Childs. Gaylynn is the retired Executive Director of the Geary County Historical Society. 	“The black students in the Class of 1943 were activists. They were mostly children of Ninth Cavalrymen who were going overseas in WWII. The students felt both pride and solidarity. Seven of the students were on the football team and one of those, Arthur Fletcher, was on the Kansas All-State team. While they contributed strongly to Junction City’s winning football season, black students were not permitted to participate in all extracurricular activities. They were not selected for the Pow Wow staff, for example.	Starkey Caver, another black student who had served two years in the Navy during the war, returned to finish his high school requirements to graduate. Starkey was active in the NAACP. His idea of effective action was quite different from that of the Class of 1943. Starkey believed that the key to change was to enlist the support of his white classmates. His recollection was that black and white students on the Pow Wow staff were united in the desire to end the unequal treatment of the past. Though they met some resistance from their adviser and the school administration, the students continued to insist on justice.	Eventually, the discriminatory practices in the Pow Wow and even at commencement ended. On July 16, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Order No. 9981 establishing racial integration in the armed forces. Junction City and Fort Riley were on a continuing path to ever greater diversity and complexity.”&nbsp;“The Rizer Sisters”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582827292481.jpeg" alt="Rizer Sisters" />
 <figcaption>Rizer Sisters</figcaption>
 </figure>	During the month of March we celebrate the impact women have had during “Women’s History Month.” This article is about the Rizer sisters, who passed on the history of Junction City to future generations. Captain Robert Rizer and his 19 year old bride, Josephine, arrived in this area in the spring of 1865, having made their honeymoon journey from Denver to Fort Riley on horseback with the Captain’s regiment. Upon their arrival, they learned that the Civil War had ended on the day they were married and soon after Robert mustered out of the Colorado Cavalry.	The couple took up housekeeping in Junction City in a little frame house located on the corner of Seventh and Washington Streets, which is where the George Smith Library building is today. The Rizer’s had 10 children born to them, however, four boys died in infancy and one was still born, leaving only five daughters. The daughters were Harriet (1866, Josephine (1868, Blanche (1876, Theresa (1879) and Edwina or “Edna” (1884). The house was where the Rizer sisters grew up was built by their parents and was located on West Sixth Street. Such notables as former President U.S. Grant, “Wild Bill” Hickock, General George Custer, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill and Chief Sitting Bull were welcomed and entertained. 	In 1918, the same year that the Rizer sister’s mother, Josephine, died, Blanche opened a millinery shop at 114 W. Eighth Street. Robert Rizer died in 1921, leaving three of his “maiden” daughters to provide for themselves. Theresa had married Fred Durrand in 1903. 	The Rizer Shop was an “institution” in Junction City. The shop was located at 617 N. Washington Street. During this time it was the principal destination for women shoppers in town as well as from Fort Riley and the surrounding area. 	In 1997, Marian Fegan Grammar recalled visiting the shop with her mother in the 1920’s. She stated that “Back then everybody knew everybody in town. The ladies would get dressed up and walk downtown with their parasols, hats and white gloves. Mother would often take me with her and we would go down to the Rizer Shop. They had an area in the back of the store arranged with wicker furniture and Vogue magazines. The women would go in and sit and visit. You didn’t need to buy anything. This was just a place for the ladies to gather downtown and catch up on the latest news. And, of course, there was always one of the Rizer sisters there to inform any newcomer about Junction City’s history.” 	In 1935, the sisters moved the shop a few doors north to the corner location of 625 N. Washington Street, which is now occupied by Tom’s Men’s Wear. The Rizer shop finally closed its doors for good in 1952. However, the Rizer sisters kept busy recounting Junction City’s history for a whole new generation of listeners.”&nbsp;

Our Past is Present