A Trip to the Museum

The Pioneer Krier Museum was closed while we were there, but they were good enough to let us take a private tour on Saturday. Ken was especially interested because there is a virtual geocache in front of the museum -- the pump that used to water horses and people, in Wichita, I think, before being moved to Englewood and then Ashland. Some passers-by thought it interesting enough to put on geocaching.com.

Next to the pump, there's an old tractor, so why not set Hunter (Goss) up there for a photo?

Our grandfather (my great-grandfather) Paul Harden was one of the founders of the museum and volunteered countless hours there. He donated his WWI uniform and gas mask, even though he never went overseas (so they were still in good condition!). Here are photos of the couple that brought us all together on this weekend: Charles and Agnes Harden. Charles built the house Jim and Mary now live in, where we spent so much time this weekend. Too bad the reflective plastic didn't let me get good photos of them. I wish we had these photos for the book!

Here's a photo of a men's Sunday School class at the Methodist church. Clarence Harden is number 2, and behind him is Paul, number 7. Grandpa looks like a teenager in this photo. I don't have any others of him at this age. (Click on the photo to see it larger.)

Sandy and Myron had a great time at the museum. It really has a lot of cool stuff.

Keith, Myron and Sandy. The flourescent lighting makes things look so yellow. Sorry I couldn't crop it out.

Not everyone was so engaged in the museum. Ashlee's son, Nicholas, had had a long day by this time. Can't blame him.

Hey, look! A surrey! With fringe on the top! Not just for Oklahomans.

Looking for a zerk. I still don't know what a zerk is, but it is a great word to know for Scrabble. Uncle Lloyd and Don were looking at this old-time baler, with its Rube-Goldbergesque complexity and discussing if it had one. A zerk, that is. I think it had something to do with lubrication.

Here was an interesting map of the quarters of land in the Lexington Township. Following the lines, you can see where we were in Clark County. The red line is Hwy 160. At the Sitka corner, follow 34 north 'til you cross Bluff Creek and turn east again (yellow line). On that road is the cemetery and the community center. The blue box is where Jim and Mary live and farm and the area we toured Friday night. You can see where Bluff Creek and Lone Tree Creek meet. Also, you can see Harden parcels all around the area. The land that Nathan and Charles Harden first settled is a couple inches north of this, where Dan Shattuck now farms. Section 16, I think. I'm not sure what year this was printed. I didn't see a year on it. It may be a bit outdated now. You'll have to click on it to see it in detail.

Ken was interested in the collection of barbed wire at the museum. He never realized how important barbed wire was to the settling of the West. Some companies got pretty creative with it. Do we even make barbed wire in the USA anymore? It's probably made in Mexico or China now.