Friends meeting, open house coming up for ECHS

11/10/2009

By ELISHA BECK

Special to The Hays Daily News

The Ellis County Historical Society is starting a Friends of the Museum organization. This organization is for people who love history and would like to get involved as volunteers to help the museum with various events, exhibits and fundraisers.

The first meeting will be 6 p.m. Thursday in the stone church, which is attached to the west side of the ECHS museum. Enter at the doors adjacent the stone church.

We plan to organize and elect officers. Plan to attend and bring a friend or two. Refreshments will be available.

Event

On Dec. 4 and 5, we are hosting our 15th annual Christmas Open House at the museum. Bring the whole family and join us for an evening full of fun.

Inside the museum, visitors will be able to view exhibits and stop in the museum store to purchase unique Christmas gifts.

Children will also be able to make holiday-themed crafts to take home. You will also have the pleasure of live performances in two areas of the museum and refreshments will be served in the basement.

Beginning at 7 p.m., horse-drawn hayrides await you every half-hour at the front entrance. The rides are free, but you must have a ticket, available in the museum, due to limited space.

We would also appreciate volunteers for the event, so give us a call if you would like to help greet visitors, prepare refreshments, hand out programs, and sing or play musical instruments.

The event is free, so feel free to stop by at the museum from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 4 and 5 to view exhibits and participate in some old-fashioned holiday fun.

Board meeting

The public is welcome to attend the next monthly board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 30.

From the Archives

Many World War II veterans still live in Ellis County. In 2005, the ECHS began an oral history project to save the history of these veterans, because unfortunately, some of their stories were being lost and forgotten.

The Kansas State Historical Society financially assisted the oral history endeavor through its Kansas Veterans of World War II Oral History Project. The ECHS completed several interviews of WWII veterans and produced written transcripts and DVD versions of the interviews. One of those interviews was with Helen June (Gordon) Kraemer.

Kraemer was born in 1921 and raised in Holton. Upon graduation from Holton High in the late 1930s, she wanted to go to Kansas State University, but her family did not have the money. Instead, her aunt gave her a $100, and Kraemer went to Newman Hospital in Emporia to take nurse's training.

When the bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred Dec. 7, 1941, Kraemer had just graduated from nurse's training and had been working at the hospital in Emporia. She enlisted in the Army soon after.

Before long, Kraemer was stationed at Fort Riley. It was there where she met her future husband, Maurice "Mo" Kraemer. He worked at the station hospital as a pharmacist.

In order to meet the nurses, he and a friend organized a dance class. At one of the lessons, Mo asked Kraemer to dance, and almost immediately, they became a couple.

In February 1943, Kraemer got overseas duty, and transferred to Camp Breckenridge, Ky. However, Mo's commander kept him in Fort Riley. About a month later, Mo visited Kraemer in Kentucky, and they were married. Four or five days after their marriage, Kraemer left for overseas.

Kraemer served as a second lieutenant in the 95th Evacuation Hospital, which meant that it was a mobile unit. Her ship first landed in Casablanca, then moved across Northern Africa, and then went on to Iran. In Iran, Kraemer got sick, and was taken off the hospital ship. In the meantime, the hospital ship made it to the coast of Italy, and was bombed by Germans. Several of the nurses she had served with were killed.

After getting in better health, she reunited with her unit in Naples, Italy, by catching a ride from a private ship. Despite spending much time taking care of the sick and injured, and being camped out in areas that sustained heavy bombing, Kraemer also managed time off to explore Italy and enjoy her time overseas.

She kept in touch with Mo by V-maill, or Victory Mail, which sent mail back to the states on microfilm, and he sent her provisions such as peanut butter and Miracle Whip, to help give her Army food some flavor.

Mo and Kraemer moved to Hays in 1945, where Mo operated the ABC/Rexall Drugstore at 1007 Main until the 1970s. One additional interesting story is that upon her return to the U.S., Kraemer wanted to join the VFW. However, because she was a woman, she was told she could only join the Auxiliary, which was for the wives of veterans.

Kraemer remembered, "Mo was so upset about it that he raised Cain, and now if you served overseas, no matter if you're a woman, child or what, you can belong to the VFW."

Transcripts of the interviews are available for study and can be copied, and the DVDs are also available for viewing by visiting the ECHS archives. In some interviews, ECHS also scanned documents, photos, ribbons, medals and other materials related to the veteran's service time.

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For more information, contact us between the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at 100 W. Seventh. You can also call (785) 628-2624 or go to www.elliscountyhistoricalmuseum.org.

Admission to the museum is $4 for adults and $1 for children between the ages of 3 and 12. Members and children younger than 3 are admitted free of charge. Our research facilities are included in museum fee on weekdays. The research facilities are not open Saturdays.

Elisha Beck is curator and exhibit designer at the Ellis County Historical Museum.