Did You Know This About Geary County History?”
By Dr. Ferrell Miller
Geary County Historical Society Board Member
“Bismarck Grove”
Gaylynn Childs, retired Executive Director of the Geary County Historical Society, wrote the following in a 2006 article titled Residents Have Always Kept Cool.
“From the earliest settlement here, families and citizens gathered in the outdoors to celebrate, pay tribute, protest and parade. But by far the most popular of the outdoor activities was the picnic.
Early newspapers were full of announcements and accounts of Sunday school picnics, holiday picnics, Army picnics and even moonlight picnics. As the early Kansas landscape was for the most part treeless, those areas where foliage was concentrated became favored spots for these gatherings.
Many landowners had groves which were designated as picnic spots. There were at least two in the close vicinity of the Junction City settlement, which almost became public property.”
One of those was Logan Grove, which has been written about in previous articles in this space. The other was Bismarck Grove.
“Bismarck Grove, must have been a type of amusement park as well as a picnic ground. In an 1866 newspaper article, it was noted that “Bismarck Grove is the name given to Col. Price’s grove, three quarters of a mile from the city limit and fitted up by Mr. Matt Beckers (at great expense) to be a Sunday resort. These fittings consisted of gymnastic exercises, swings, foot races and a possible “bag race in which several young boys contest for points.”
Mr. Beckers announced that his resort “will be conducted at all times on the very best principles. No liquor will be sold nor gambling permitted.”
By 1874, a carousel had been added and a dance floor and concession stand built, according to photos taken by early Junction City photographer, A.P. Trott. An 1873 map of Junction City shows that Bismarck Grove was located in the present Westwood area west of town, between 13th and 15th Streets and on the west side of Garfield.”
“Some Early History Of Baseball In Junction City”
Many of us have been following Nick Heath’s activation or promotion to the majors with the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Nick is the son of Kim Milleson and the grandson of Sam and Margaret Kilpatrick. Nick played at the historic Rathert Field with the Junction City High School Blue Jays from 2009-2012 as a student athlete. He also played summer ball in the Babe Ruth League. In 2012, the Babe Ruth League team he was on won State and made it to regionals in Colorado. Today’s story is a look back at the early history of baseball in Junction City.
The first baseball club was organized in Junction City in May of 1867. Teams like the “Junction City’s Crack Nine” and a team from a neighboring community, called the “Seven Mile” baseball club competed against each other. After the “Nine” suffered a devastating loss to the “Seven Mile” team, The Junction City Baseball Association was formed. In a July 8th, 1867 article in the Sentinel newspaper it was written that “Two games would be played in Junction City each week and no pain or expense will be spared to perfect a nine competent to meet all comers.”
Milton Clark, one of Junction City’s most devoted baseball players in the early years of the 20th Century, recalled in a 1934 interview that “The “Y” club was called such because the baseball diamond was near the Union Pacific railroad “Y” on Grant Avenue close to the railroad shops. There was no Junior League to buy equipment and keep the grounds in good shape. So, on Saturday the boys would chip in dimes to get a ball to use in the Sunday games.
On Sunday morning, everyone would be at the ball grounds with rakes and hoes to clean the field. This would take until about 11:30 AM. Then they would run home for lunch and rush back for the game. After the game, the players would practice until it was so dark the ball could not be seen. When Junction City joined the old Central League, the “Y” Club disbanded and everyone quit playing”. Clarke continued to be active in baseball for another 30 or so years until he died in 1962.
The Kansas City Royals and other professional teams have seen many changes over the years in terms of their play, getting to and from games, compensation, rules and even now playing without fans in the bleachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.