Burr Oak, Kansas

Larry Gillett of Burr Oak, Kansas was presented the U.S. Department of Commerce John Campanius Holm Award at a ceremony given in his honor on September 5, 2008.

Dwight and Beverly Frost have been selected to serve as the grand marshals of the Esbon Octoberfest parade planned for Saturday. The Frosts are busy volunteers in the Esbon community and serve in many Esbon organizations.

Beverly is a native of Burr Oak, but has adopted the Esbon community as her own since she moving there in 1995 following her marriage to Dwight. She grew up on a farm northwest of Burr Oak and is the daughter of Beth Jeffery, Superior, and the late Lyle Jeffery.

Beverly volunteers as co-manager of the Village Cafe which is owned by the City of Esbon. She explained her reason for volunteering at the cafe, "I want to keep the cafe doors open as it is important to the community." She has been the cafe's co-manager for three years.

Cynthia Clark, a recently appointed Jewell County Hospital board member from Burr Oak, was present for the September board meeting, held Thursday morning in the meeting room at the hospital. Clark was appointed to fill the expired position of Bill Loomis. Another board position has been vacant since the July resignation of Cleo Hiltgen. Other board members present were Larry Welch, Sandy Nelson, and chairman Dan Garman. Gloria Schlaefli was present representing the Jewell County Record and hospital personnel present were D'Ann Basart and administrator Doyle McKimmy.

Larry Gillett, Burr Oak, was honored Friday night at the Rock Hills Middle School, Burr Oak, when he received the John Campanius Holm Award for his services as a local weather observer. This award is the second highest national award that an observer can receive. Meteorologist in Charge, Steve Eddy, of NOAA's Hastings weather forecast office, presented the award to Gillett in front of an audience of friends and family.

Marla Doxey, program manager of the Hastings office, participated in interviews and provide details about the cooperative observer program, which claims more than 11,000 volunteer observers. A reception was held following the presentation.

Saturday afternoon the former Jewell County jail and sheriff's residence building was recognized with a memorial plaque presentation and open house.

Family members representing a former Jewell County Sheriff, the late Charles R. "Jock" Murray, presented the bronze plaque with information about the building and it's origins, along with a list of Jewell County sheriffs who worked and resided in the building.

The plaque was donated in memory of Jock Murray. He served his home county as sheriff from 1964 to 1970 and then went on to serve 22 years as an agent for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The plaque is located at the front entrance to the building.

Rock Hills Schools will open for the fall term on Thursday, Aug.14. The three attendance centers include the high school and elementary school in Mankato, and the middle school in Burr Oak. Teachers are to report Monday. Fall sports practice will begin Monday, Aug. 18. Jewell junior high boys will be playing football in a sports cooperative with Rock Hills Middle School this fall.

New teachers this school year at Rock Hills Schools are Sheila Tucker, Carolyn Johnson and Janice McMillan.

Sheila Tucker will be teaching secondary language arts. She taught at White Rock for 12 years prior to the unification of the two districts. She has 25 years of teaching experience. Sheila and her husband, Randy, live near Glen Elder. Their daughter, Janelle, graduated from White Rock High School and their son, Michael, graduated from Rock Hills. Her hobbies are sports and reading.

The Jewell County wheat harvest is almost completed. The 2008 wheat harvest is proving to be a successful one with reports of bushels per acre ranging from the 40s to the mid-70s.

The wheat harvest is 60 percent done in the Esbon area. Esbon elevator

employees have heard farmers tell of yields from 30 to 50 bushels to the acre, and 255,000 bushels of wheat had gone into the elevator in Esbon as of Monday morning.

Wheat is half harvested in the Burr Oak area; 100,000 bushels of wheat had gone to the elevator there as of Sunday night. Bushels to the acre in the Burr Oak area have been reported in the 60s and some 70s. Test weights have been from 58 to 62. Moisture tests have come in low.

Earl Buckley, a Burr Oak custom harvester talks about some of his experiences in his 50 years of custom harvesting in a hweat field near Hedville on Wednesday, June 25, 2008.

"It is the center of the community."

Like most small towns in the rural communities struggling to survive, Esbon has seen businesses close doors and the population drop. But locals are not giving up; they are working to promote the town and keep it alive.

The Village Cafe is the hub of the Esbon community. It is not only a place to eat in town, it also serves as the town's meeting hall, where bridal and baby showers are held, fundraisers are carried out, class reunions and family reunions are celebrated, land auctions are cried, Santa comes to visit, Legion and Lions club members meet, and people just gather to visit and have a cup of coffee. Read more