I had two talks on Kansas County Seat Conflicts last week.
The first was on April 9 at the annual meeting of the Butler County Historical Society at the Butler County History Center in El Dorado. I spent part of my time sharing the new information I'd found about what happened in Butler County. I was asked a few questions about the phenomenon, and about other fights around the state.
On the way to El Dorado I realized that I had attended my first annual meeting back in 1993 or 1994, when an article of mine took second place in the essay contest the Society used to hold. I'd attended annual meetings off and on during the 1990s, and more frequently the following decade. Since this book is the last nonfiction book I'll be writing for a long while, the 9th could be the last time I attend a BCHS annual meeting. Another end of an era.
The second talk was at the Rose Hill Public Library on April 13. A small crowd came out to hear me speak. Since they weren't as familiar with the fight in Butler County as elsewhere, I went into the fight in our county in more detail. There were questions about other fights around the state, why we have so many counties, and what might happen in the future.
You'll notice from the photo that the library is next to the railroad line that runs through Rose Hill. While I was chatting after the talk a few trains came through, but during the "official" time of my talk, I was not interrupted.
I might go back to Rose Hill one more time. It seems people still want to hear from me about Kansas railroad history.
Coming up is ConStellation in Lincoln. I'm looking forward to getting back there! I'll let you know what happens when I get back.
Kansas sure does have a lot of counties. I grew up in a state with sixteen counties.
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