Turn Your Radio On
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- Written by: Rick Nichols
Among the many interesting items on display at Ensor Park and Museum is "The Radio Hymnal" that proverbially rests in peace atop the Victrola Radio in the master bedroom at the Ensor home, a tribute to a time when America as a whole was a country where organized religion enjoyed a prominent place in society and regular attendance at a Sunday morning worship service was basically expected.
Visitors will see two metal towers connected by what amounts to a musical antenna on the front cover of this relatively small book. The antenna consists of a three-measure treble clef with 10 notes, under which appear the words "I will sing of my Redeemer."
The title page declares that the hymnal is "For All Those Folks Who Love the Good Old Songs of Praise and Peace," and goes on to report that its contents were compiled by radio station KFNF of Shenandoah, Iowa and Henry Field Seed Company, also of Shenandoah, with the assistance of the Rodeheaver Company of Chicago.
Pictured on the preface page are Henry Field, who is identified as being KFNF's manager and announcer, and LuEtta Armstrong, soloist.
Mayoral Candidate Tours Ensor
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- Written by: Rick Nichols
Olathe City Councilwoman LeEtta Felter, who is challenging Mayor John Bacon for his job, was given a personal tour of Ensor Park and Museum the morning of Thursday, September 28, with SFTARC Secretary-Treasurer Marty Peters, KE0PEZ, Howard Cripe, NØAZ, Peg Nichols, KDØVQO, and myself doing the honors.
Had Wheels, Did Travel
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- Written by: Rick Nichols
It was 90 years ago this month that Marshall Ensor, W9BSP, accompanied by his wife Ina and his sister Loretta, W9UA, returned to the Olathe area following a 43-day trip that covered 5,335 miles and took this ambitious trio north of the border into Canada. The summertime adventure was one of several such pre-World War II adventures that are documented by way of an old map that hangs on the south wall of the Peg Barn at Ensor Park and Museum, next to which is a photograph of Marshall and the car that made all of this traveling possible.
The journey began July 6 and ended August 18. Cities visited along the way included Jefferson City, Mo., St. Louis, Hodgenville, Ky. (Abraham Lincoln was born nearby), Bardstown, Ky., Natural Bridge, Va., Staunton, Va. (the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson), Washington, D.C., Annapolis, Md., Baltimore, New Windsor, Md. (Marshall and Loretta's parents grew up in the area), Harpers Ferry, W.Va., Philadelphia, Atlantic City, N.J., New York City, Boston, Portland, Maine, Montpelier, Vt., Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Erie, Pa., West Springfield, Pa., Cleveland, Toledo, Ohio, Elkhart, Ind., South Bend, Ind., Chicago, Neponset, Ill., Kewanee, Ill., Quincy, Ill., and Cameron, Mo.