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Geary County Historical Society & Museums
 

Past Events

Newest events appear at the bottom

The Geary County Historical Society's Victorian-era house museum, the Starcke House was a featured stop on the December 5, 2004 Sertoma Club's Holiday Homes tour.  The Starcke House was one of 5 homes on the tour and was decorated to reflect fashions and furnishings of the 1890s.  Society docents hosted a Christmas Tea and provided information about the history of the house and it's furnishings.

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On Saturday, February 5, the GCHS and the City of Junction City hosted the 5th annual Founders Day event.  This was "A Night At the Opera House" and featured a tasty dinner, served in an elegant manner that has marked the previous celebrations.  The entertainment for the evening was an original melodrama featuring Junction City's most colorful characters of the past as they struggled to bring an Opera House to our fair city.  These characters were played by their modern day counterparts,  Rod Barnes was "Dudley Do-Right Dorn" the city clerk who managed the Opera House into a money making operation, and Bob Story as the fabled "Tom Allen" Cullinan, the city marshal who kept the law with his fists, and Deb Barnes as the infamous Swedish beauty, "Madame Blue".
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The Geary County Historical Society hosted it's 18th and last Annual Gala on Thursday evening, June 30th, at the Municipal Auditorium.  The theme for the celebration was "Of Thee I Sing" which not only spotlighted the entertainment, a fun, song-filled, patriotic concert by The Little Apple Barbershop Chorus, but also paid tribute to the good life we enjoy in this great land of freedom. 
As was tradition the evening also consisted of a concert from the Junction City Municipal Band and a whole roasted hog dinner.
 

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The grounds of the GCHS Museum were alive on October 2nd as friends and neighbors from town, country, and Fort Riley gathered to partake of tasty homemade ice cream, lively music and fun activities for the kiddies.  Approximately 300 people ranging in age mid-80s to new-born enjoyed the fellowship and fun offered in this outdoor setting.  Tempting home baked pies, cookies and cakes along with Munson Farms wonderful homemade ice cream provided the elements needed for a good ole fashioned ice cream social.  While fun games, contests and even an old time photographer's tent proved popular with the youngsters and their parents and created the "Friendship Fair" flavor.
Music was provided by Fred Meyer, the Haymakers, and the JCHS Moody Blues Jazz Band under T.J. Taylor. 

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On November 7, the Geary County Historical Society marked the 33rd anniversary of it's founding with their annual membership meeting and banquet. 
Rick Dykstra from the Convention and Visitors Bureau premiered a promotional video for Junction City.
The program was presented by William Keel, professor of Germanic Languages at the University of Kansas and focused on the German emigrants of Territorial Kansas and the role they played in the struggle against slavery.

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In December, the Museum marked it's Twentieth Christmas at the Museum with a Power Point Show of past Christmas celebrations which included live musical performances and also skits.  A small bake sale was also held.  It was a fun time for all.

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On February 11, 2006,  the GCHS and the City of Junction City hosted the 6th annual Founders Day event.  The theme was "Junction City...Fort Riley's Hometown".  There was music, an elegant sit down meal, entertainment by Marla Matkin who presented "Libbie's Story...Elisabeth Bacon Custer", dancing and an auction to highlight the evening.  A great time was had by all who attended.

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The Geary County Historical Society annual Friendship Fair was held September 10, 2006.  There were games, home made ice cream provided by Munson Farms, Old Time Photographs, food and fun to be had by all.
 

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On February 10, 2007, the GCHS and the City of Junction City hosted the 7th Annual Founders Day Event.  The theme was "Go West, Young Man".  The Gum Springs Serenaders were the music providers for the evening.  There was also a wonderful dinner, an auction and an old time ball.  It was a wonderful evening of festivities.


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On February 25th, 2007, the GCHS held a Crowns-Black Women In Church Hats event.  The event honored African American women in the Junction City community and their tradition of wearing elegant hats to church.  Several women and a couple of young ladies from the community modeled hats for the attendees.  The Women's Choir of the Second Missionary Baptist Church and the Junction City Community Singers performed during the opening and closing of the event.  It was a wonderful event and lots of fun.


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In November the Museum held it's annual membership meeting and banquet.  The entertainment for the meeting was music from the WWII era and a video of some highlights of the WWII Veterans project filmes by students from JCHS and the Society.

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Saturday February 16th, 2008, marked the official beginning to the year long Sesquicentennial Celebrations for Junction City with the annual Founders Day Dinner.  The theme was 150 Years of Creating a Community.  Entertainment was provided by musician Kelly Werts and paintings by Cora DuChene were auctioned off as well.  It was a great evening.

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On June 29th, 2008 the Historical Society Debuted it's new book entitled Set In Stone - Stories of the People Places and Events That Shaped Junction City and Geary County Kansas.  The museum held a book signing and several past museum directors, some of which were contributors to stories in the book, were in attendance.  It was a fun time for all.

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Our 10th Annual Founder’s Day Celebration Was Held On Saturday February 6th, 2010
Themed “Junction City in Bloom,” this year’s Founder’s Day celebration took place Saturday February 6th, in the Municipal Auditorium.
Several of the city’s well-loved parks provided the focus for the event with decorations and special exhibits that carried out this theme.
Selected individuals and groups who have helped make our parks beautiful and entertaining were recognized in the course of the evening.
A tasty banquet was provided by Bob Limbocker and Bockers II Catering of Manhattan.Watercolor artist Cora DuChene of Manhattan had once again created beautiful and unique paintings of three Junction City parks that were auctioned during the evening as well.
Good times at summer band concerts in Heritage Park were brought to mind by the New Red Onion Jazz Babies, a Dixieland band from Kansas City, Missouri. They perform on a variety of instruments including cornet, banjo, trombone, tuba, clarinet, piano and drums and provided a full evening of toe-tapping musical “Americana.”

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