By Dr. Ferrell Miller Geary County Historical Society Board Member“There Was A Problem When Time Stood Still”Early in January of 1937, Junction City was in an uproar about the town clock. Mayor Joe Rosenfield determined the clock should be stopped. A.L. Grey of Starcke Jewelry Store took care of that task on January 4 at 10:08 A.M. The city at the time was making plans to move their offices from the Opera House, where the town clock was located, to the new Municipal Building across the street. 	For many years the city had paid Walter Starcke nineteen dollars every three months for winding and servicing the clock. The mayor had decided another three months was not necessary. Immediately there was an outcry from local citizens. Two days later, it was reported that this situation had raised a furor in Junction City with dozens of demands that the clock be moved to a new spot where its familiar face could be seen by many persons. Two suggestions had been received that it be moved to the courthouse tower or placed atop the George Smith Public Library. Ideas were discussed at the Booster Club meeting as well as the Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Some thought it should be placed on a tower in the City Park while others suggested it should be moved to the Municipal Building and placed in a tower. 	Within two days the Junction City Union newspaper was starting to receive letters to the “Public Opinion” column in that publication. The citizens began to express their feelings about doing away with the clock. Some wrote to say they had regulated their day by that clock. One man, William Rupp, related he had worked by the time of that clock for 35 years. Ella Price, who referred to herself as a pioneer, stated that mothers of the day, and their mothers before them, had set their clocks by the town clock to get their children to school on time. 	Walter Starcke, who had wound and cared for the clock since it was installed, stated he could see no reason it could not be kept running where it had always been. L.W. Sargent showed his loyalty to the old timepiece by offering to wind and oil the clock without any pay. 	It was pointed out by J.C. Padgett that people do not realize the clock then belonged to R.B. White &amp; Son, contractors for the Municipal Building. But, on January 12, a new report reached the town. Junction City citizens were pleasantly surprised Monday evening to hear a familiar bong emanating from the top of the Opera House. Necks were craned upwards. It sounded like someone was starting the town clock. A light gleamed out from the four faces of the clock which had been dark since the old clock was silenced several days ago. The hands of the clock, which had been stopped at 10:00, began to swing around. The ancient and beloved town clock was running again.	Glen White, son of R.B. White, who purchased the building from the city was responsible for starting the clock. With Tice Ashley, an employee on the new city building, he wound and rest the timepiece. Mr. White said that winding requires only a little time each week and that he plans to keep it going if possible. “Stephen and Anna White’s Early Days In The Territory” Part 1<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620313266403.jpeg" alt="S.B. and Anna White&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>S.B. and Anna White&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>	The late Josephine Munson wrote some of the following story for the JC Daily Union about Stephen and Ann White’s early days in the Kansas Territory.	Among those who arrived in the area early in 1855 were Stephen B. White and his wife Anna Eliza Green White. They had two daughters and an adopted daughter. The Whites left Cincinnati, Ohio, November 1, 1854 on a steamboat. Two weeks later they arrived at a bluff known as Kansas City, Missouri. The family temporarily lived at Westport, four miles from the river, while Stephen and others started to prospect for Kansas land. Mr. White felt fortunate to obtain a claim three miles from Pawnee on Three Mile Creek in Riley County. 	Anna White’s account of life at Pawnee from 1855 to 1859 is contained in the Kansas Historical Collections, Volume XI titled My First Days in Kansas. This is some of what was written in that account.	“The White family left Westport on March 10, 1855, with two covered wagons carrying the household goods and one spring wagon for the family. They traveled along the Santa Fe Trail to Council Grove, then made a “bee line” for Fort Riley. They crossed both the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers on ice and at last saw the fort on the bluff. It was truly bleak hill. No trees, nothing but cold stone walls, that child as we looked. Our welcome by Col. William R. Montgomery and Cpt. Nathaniel Lyon was so warm and cordial our hardships were all forgotten and seemed but an ugly dream.	Mr. White and Mr. Albright (began) to build log cabins. When the timbers were ready, they had a log raising. To that cabin we moved where we spent five happy years. The cabin was on the edge of the woods with many large oaks on two sides and near the creek. The cabin was lined inside with unbleached muslin, which made the cabin more comfortable, but also made a good hiding place for snakes.”	Anna White wrote about the family’s experiences with Indians, wolves, and other animals, and how they caught fish and frogs to supplement their diet. They grew a good garden and raised chickens. 	Before cold weather that fall, a larger house with a loft was built. “We had a large fireplace that made such a big blaze at night that we needed no dips (candles). Coal oil lamps were then unknown to us. In the fall of 1856, another cabin was built out of hewed logs and contained a grand stairway”. 	In the meantime, Ogden had been built. The land office opened there in October of 1857 and a great deal of business was carried on. The land office remained there for two and a half years then Junction City was incorporated and the office was moved there as did nearly all the citizens of Ogden. Stephen offered to build a large home on the farm or to move the family to Junction City where he could practice his profession of law. Without hesitation, Anna decided that the family would move to Junction City.

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