Frank H. Roberts, 94, Kansas' oldest editor,died September 26, 1945. For eighty-three years he was identified with theOskaloosa Independent, a newspaper established July 11, 1860, by hisfather, John Wesley Roberts. Today this newspaper, which proclaims under itsfront-page banner, "Six Months Older Than the State of Kansas; Published 85 Yearsby Three Generations of the Roberts Family," is now entirely of the thirdgeneration, John Wilkins Roberts being the editor. The Independent is alsothe oldest continuous weekly newspaper in Kansas published under the same name inthe same town. The weekly Kansas Chief, established by Sol. Miller atWhite Cloud June 4, 1857, is still being printed and is therefore older, but itmoved from White Cloud to Troy in 1872. C. C. Calnan is its present publisher.The oldest newspaper retaining its original title through the years is theLeavenworth Times, established as a weekly March 7, 1857, and issued as adaily since 1858. The D. R. Anthonys of Leavenworth, another famous family ofeditors whose third generation is now publishing the paper, did not take over theTimes until 1871, although the senior Anthony was publisher of otherpapers in Leavenworth as early as 1861.

     New officers of the Shawnee Mission IndianHistorical Society of northeast Johnson county elected September 6, 1945,include: Mrs. A. M. Meyers, president; Mrs. K. S. Browne, vice-president; Mrs. E.C. Marlowe, recording secretary; Mrs. Frank D. Belinder, treasurer; Mrs. John L.Barkley, corresponding secretary; Mrs. M. Y. Griffin, historian, and Mrs. A. E.Wedd, curator. Mrs. C. V. Scoville is the retiring president.

     The Chase County Historical Society met inCottonwood Falls, September 8, 1945, and reelected the following officers: GeorgeT. Dawson, Elmdale, president; Henry Rogler, Matfield Green, vicepresident; Mrs.Helen Austin, Cottonwood Falls, secretary; Tom R. Wells, Elmdale, treasurer, andMrs. Clara B. Hildebrand, Cottonwood Falls, historian. Mr. Dawson named thefollowing to the executive committee: C. W. Hawkins, Clements; Howel H. Jones,Cedar Point; D. M. Smith and George Miller, Cottonwood Falls, and Mr. Rogler.Because of the war, the society did not meet in 1944.

     Junction City officially honored itshighest-ranking soldier, Lt. Gen. John C. H. (Cliff) Lee, on the general's visitto his native city September 11-13, 1945. General Lee served under GeneralEisenhower in World War II as chief of the army services of supply forces in theEuropean theater of operations. Accounts of Lee's reception and biographicalinformation were featured by the Junction City Union and Republicat the time.

     Sen. B. F. Bowers was the featured speaker atthe annual meeting of the Franklin County Historical Society in Ottawa, September12, 1945. Included among the officers Who Were reelected are: Edmund Lister,president; B. M. Ottaway, vice-president; Mrs. J. R. Finley, secretary, and MissClara Kaiser, recording secretary and treasurer. J. M. Conard was elected to theboard of directors to fill the vacancy caused by the death of J. E. Shinn. Otherdirectors are: Hiram Allen, Williamsburg; Mrs. Dorothy Needham Belt, Lane, andMrs. Ada McCracken, Ottawa.

     The forty-fifth annual meeting of the DouglasCounty Old Settlers Association was held at Lawrence September 15, 1945. Thepresidential address, by Dr. Edward Bumgardner, dealt with the life of Sen.Edmund G. Ross. New officers of the association are: Mrs. Lena K. Huddleston,president; Mrs. Lena Owen, vice-president; I. F. Eberhart, secretary; Mrs. GuyBigsby, treasurer, and John S. Akers, necrologist.

     Officers of the Riley County HistoricalAssociation reelected at the annual meeting held in Manhattan, October 3, 1945,include: Walter E. McKeen, president; Mrs. G. H. Failyer, vice-president; Mrs.Medora Hays Flick, secretary; Mrs. Caroline A. Smith, treasurer, and F. I. Burt,curator. Directors are: Clyde K. Rodkey, Mrs. Eva Knox, George A. Filinger, JoeD. Haines, Mrs. F. F. Harrop, Sam C. Charlson, Miss Mary C. Lee, Mrs. Smith andMr. McKeen. G. H. Failyer, who was elected president emeritus, died October 16.The association has taken the lead in planning for a community "Peace Memorial,"honoring the veterans of World War II and other Wars.

     Newly-elected officers of the Ness CountyHistorical Society which met at Ness City October 4, 1945, are: Mrs. FredBarrows, president; Mrs. Esther Lennen-Stewart, secretary, and Lea Maranville,treasurer. Directors are: Mrs. Nina Bondurant, Mrs. Grace Beardslee and C. M.Pembleton.

     The land and tenant policies of William Scully,member of a prominent land-owning and "moneyed" family of Ireland who boughtthousands of acres of land in Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri in thelatter half of the nineteenth century were reviewed by Paul Wallace Gates,professor of history at Cornell University, in an article "Frontier Landlords andPioneer Tenants," published in the June, 1945, issue of the Journal of theIllinois State Historical Society, Springfield, Ill. Scully purchased land infour Kansas counties between 1870 and 1886, Gates reported. The counties, thenumber of acres in his holdings, and the cost were: Marion, 55,666 acres,$179,197; Dickinson, 1,120 acres, $1,400 (sic) ; Butler 8,605 acres, $77,410;Marshall, 5,115 acres, $55,252.

     The history of the Missouri-Kansas-TexasRailroad Co., which is celebrating itsdiamond anniversary this year, has been featured in a 132-page illustrated Studyby Sylvan R. Wood under the title Locomotives of the Katy, issued by the Railway& Locomotive Historical Society, Inc., of Boston, in January, 1944, and in a32-page illustrated pamphlet The Opening of the Great Southwest issued bythe company July 1, 1945. The M-K-T, which built south from Junction City, wasthe first railroad to enter Texas from the north.

     Wichita 1866-1883, Cradle Days of aMidwestern City is the title of a recent book of limited edition, compiledand edited by R. M. "Dick" Long and printed by the McCormick-Armstrong Co., ofWichita. One hundred and nine pictures are featured. Mr. Long, who is news editorof the Wichita Eagle, also wrote the running story which accompanies theearly-day scenes. It is an unusually attractive publication.