Alphabetical correspondence, H
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1879-1883: Glick)
Date: 1883-1885
These letters are from Kansas citizens to Kansas Governor G. W. Glick. The correspondents discussed various topics including government officials, congress, legislature, farming, land, campaigning, requests for appearances/documents/aid, stock matters, and publications/newspapers (i.e.- The Express). Due to the large amount of correspondence Kansas Governor G. W. Glick received from the public, the letters are divided and listed in alphabetical order.

Amanda Ida Harmon Watkins
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
This photograph shows Amanda Ida Harmon Watkins, (1871-1961), "Wheat Queen of the World" from Sublette Kansas. Ida was born in Harmon, Missouri and later moved with her family to an area near Wichita, Kansas in 1875. At a young age she learned the daily task of farm life along with hard work and determination. When Ida's husband Joel D. Watkins, (1860-1902), died in 1902, she was left to manage 1,650 head of cattle on their ranch in Cimarron County, Oklahoma. For eight years she operated the ranch and worked beside her hired hands branding calves and driving the cattle to market while earning the title "Cattle Queen of the Southwest." Ida eventually sold the ranch and turned her attention from cattle to wheat. When she moved back to Kansas in the 1910s, Ida built an empire by buying acres of land in southwest Kansas in Finney and Haskell counties and turning them into wheat fields. In 1926, Ida had planted and harvested 1,950 acres more than any farmer in the area. The Associated Press dubbed her the "Wheat Queen of the World." By 1932, Ida was farming between 3,500 to 5,000 acres of land. Ida was passionate about farming so much that, in 1932, she testified before the Shannon Committee regarding the government's interference in agriculture. Ida stated that she did not want amendments or an investigation of the Federal Farm Board what she wanted was to "kick the devil out of the farm board." On November 24, 1961, Amanda Ida Harmon Watkins passed away at the age of ninety in Garden City, Kansas.

Arthur Capper
Date: 1920-1929
A portrait of Arthur Capper who owned several newspapers including Cappers Weekly and two radio stations. He was active in politics and served as Kansas Governor from 1915 to 1919 and United States Senator from 1919 to 1949. The portrait is autographed to his personal friend Art Schultz.

Arthur Capper with members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture
Date: March 25, 1929
Arthur Capper, United States senator from Kansas, with a members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, working on the Farm Relief Bill, March 25, 1929, Washington, D.C.

Cattle, Cloud County, Kansas
Creator: Kansas Emergency Relief Committee
Date: 1934
This photograph taken by the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee shows cattle suffering from drought conditions in Cloud County, Kansas. The KERC worked alongside the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which began a cattle-purchasing program in 1934. Emaciated cattle, as shown in this photograph were destroyed after purchase, and healthy cattle were shipped to slaughter with the meat being distributed to poor families needing relief.

C. C. Evans to Governor Edmund Morrill
Creator: Evans, C. C.
Date: December 24, 1894
The chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Central Committee, C. C. Evans, of Allison (Decatur County), writes Governor Edmund Morrill to inform him of the desperate circumstances facing farmers in western Kansas and to ask the state to furnish seed grain to the farmers. Several years of drought and low crop yields left many farmers without sufficient seed grain for the next season's crops. Evans asks the governor to rally Republican legislators to quickly pass an appropriation for farm relief. The letter claims that Populists have thwarted local efforts to address the problem and that effective actions by Republicans at this time would attract more people in western Kansas to the Republican Party.

Chapter IV: Destructive effects of undesirable tendencies, in The future of the Great Plains: Report of the Great Plains Committee
Creator: Great Plains Committee
Date: December, 1936
This report was created by the Great Plains Committee, which had been called by President Roosevelt to investigate the effects of drought and wind erosion in the southwestern United States. Chapter IV of the report, titled "Destructive Effects of Undesirable Tendencies," outlines some of the major problems in this region, composed of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. These problems included the decreasing amount of range land, soil erosion, and the depletion of ground water. A large part of the chapter deals with relief efforts and homestead rehabilitation. It also contains illustrations and tables that provide comparative data on the situation in each of these states.

Drought relief cattle in Kansas City stockyards
Date: May 1, 1935
This photograph captures one of the hardships faced by families during the Dust Bowl--starving cattle. It was taken in Kansas City, Kansas, by the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee, a state agency working to relieve the financial burdens of families suffering during the droughts of the 1930s. The KERC worked alongside the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which began a cattle-purchasing program in 1934. Emaciated cattle (as in this photograph) were destroyed after purchase, and healthy cattle were shipped to slaughter with the meat being distributed to poor families needing relief.

Dust Bowl farmers reseeding sod land
Creator: Topeka Capital
Date: February 27, 1944
This brief article discusses how farmers in southwestern Kansas were reseeding sod on land that had formerly been planted with wheat. This reseeding effort, which aimed to stabilize soil, was directed by the Soil Conservation Service.

Edith Monfort to Dwight Eisenhower
Creator: Monfort, Edith
Date: August 19, 1952
In this document, Edith Monfort asks the Republican nominee Eisenhower to take a leadership position on the proposed solution to flood control in Kansas. Three Kansas dams have been proposed, Tuttle Creek, Milford and Perry. The Kansas Watershed Association questions judgment of this proposal. Eisenhower grew up in Abilene, Kansas.

Edna Heim to Clarice Snoddy
Creator: Heim, Edna
Date: March 25, 1936
This letter from Edna and Bill Heim was sent to Clarice Snoddy, a resident of Topeka. The Heims were caring for Snoddy's farm in Smith County and thus remained in close contact. Mrs. Heim describes the condition of the wheat crop, which has suffered during the drought and also expresses her distaste for relief programs. According to Mrs. Heim, the only people who receive relief are those who have not "helped themselves."

Edna Heim to Clarice Snoddy
Creator: Heim, Edna
Date: August 31, 1938
Tenant farmers Bill and Edna Heim of Kensington, Kansas, wrote this letter to farm owner Clarice Snoddy of Topeka regarding drought conditions and government soil conservation programs on the farm. The letter demonstrates the use of local and federal government programs to counter the removal of a dangerous amount of topsoil from farms on the southern Plains. Kansas began appealing for emergency federal aid in 1937 to counter sever drought and wind erosion in what is commonly known as the Dust Bowl.

Fifteenth biennial report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1905-1906
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1907
This biennial report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on the selection, cultivation, and harvesting of Indian corn, ideas for improving the conditions of farm life, and information on commercial fertilizers. There are various kinds of statistics for each county that include population, acreages, livestock, and assessed valuation of property. There are also a number of tables listing statistics for all counties. The proceedings and activities of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture are included beginning on page 977. Please see the table of contents on image 8 to determine appropriate page numbers. Page numbering starts over after page 1264. This section contains compiled statistics from the 1905 Kansas decennial census but individuals are not listed. A general index starts on page 61 of the Decennial Census section at the back of the volume.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, Agricultural legislation
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1928
This file includes subject correspondence relating to agricultural legislation and implementation by the Federal Truck Commission. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, Farm Union
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1930-1931
This file includes subject correspondence relating to the Farm Union which is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, Federal Farm Loans
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1930
This file includes subject correspondence relating to Federal Farm Loans which is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, tax matters
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1931
This is the first of four files including subject correspondence relating to tax matters. Topics in the correspondence cover but is not limited to the proposed increase of the gasoline tax, State Tax Code Commission, and taxes causing difficutly for farmers. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence. See also Unit IDs 450972, 450973 and 450974.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, tax matters
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1931
This is the second file of four including subject correspondence relating to tax matters. Topics in the correspondence cover but is not limited to the formation of the Taxpayers' League in Wichita, Kansas, the intangible tax, and farm taxes. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence. See also Unit IDs 450971, 450973 and 450974.

H.A. Kinney to Governor Walter Huxman
Creator: Emergency Dust Bowl Committee
Date: April 23, 1937
Secretary of the Emergency Dust Bowl Committee H. A. Kinney of Liberal (Seward County) sends Governor Walter Huxman of Topeka (Shawnee County) a copy of a telegram the committee sent President Franklin Roosevelt. The telegram appeals to the federal government for assistance in stopping the removal of top soil in the drought stricken areas of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. The telegram advises that the present program of management by individual farmers is inadequate. H. A. Kinney was also Secretary of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce.

Harry Umberger to Governor Alf Landon
Creator: Umberger, Harry
Date: July 18, 1934
This letter from Harry Umberger, the Director of Extension at Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University), accompanied a map designating the drought relief counties as of July 1934. The map indicates the primary and secondary drought relief counties suffering the most through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The map includes a key to explain the highlighted portions.

Harry Umberger to Willard Mayberry
Creator: Umberger, Harry
Date: December 23, 1933
This letter from Harry Umberger, the Director of Extension at Kansas State College (now Kansas State University), was addressed to Willard Mayberry, secretary to Gov. Alf Landon. The letter discusses the reduction of railroad transportation rates for livestock feed, because the depression, combined with the droughts of the 1930s, had made it difficult for farmers to feed their livestock. Umberger recommended that the rates be reduced for at least thirty days (preferably sixty days) in order to keep stock alive during the winter. The letter is accompanied by a state map labeling the counties who needed these rates, with the red shaded section indicating which counties were in the greatest need.

Howard Bucknell to Governor Alfred Landon
Creator: Bucknell, Howard
Date: June 2, 1934
In this letter Howard Bucknell, president of the Jewell County Farm Bureau, updates Governor Landon on the drought situation in his county. There was an acute water shortage, forcing Jewell county farmers to request aid from the relief funds being distributed by the state.

International Dry-Farming Congress
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: 1915
This file includes general correspondence relating to the International Dry-Farming Congress held in Denver, Colorado from September 27 to October 9, 1915. Topics included, but not limited to, in the correspondence is exhibits at the International Soil-Product Exposition held in conjunction with the International Dry-Farming Congress, bills to fund the proposed exhibit, and attendance to the Congress. This is part of a bigger collection of Governor Arthur Capper correspondence.

Interview with Gus Kramer
Creator: Kramer, Gus
Date: 1979
This oral history interview with Gus Kramer of Hugoton, Stevens County, describes his experiences during the dust storms of the 1930s. In it he recounts how difficult it was to make a living, and how the drifting soil clung to everything, clogging engines and seeping through cracks in buildings. He also compares living during the Dust Bowl and Depression to his early childhood, when the area around Hugoton was covered with healthy, green grass. This interview was printed in Dust Storms as Remembered by Hugoton Citizens, a collection of interviews collected by the Hugoton High School Social Studies Club.

Interview with Mrs. Gus (Olive) Kramer
Creator: Kramer, Olive
Date: 1979
This oral history interview with Olive Kramer of Hugoton, Stevens County, describes her experiences during the dust bowl of the 1930s. She devotes much of her interview to reminiscing about how these dust storms interrupted the daily routines of those living in western Kansas. She also mentions government programs -- such as the cattle purchase program -- that provided relief for citizens suffering from unemployment. During a particularly bad spell, her husband (who also gave an interview) sent her and their children east to Kansas City (it is not clear for how long). Kramer talks also about the emergency hospital set up in the basement of the Methodist Church to care for the residents dealing with dust pneumonia. Copied from Dust Storms as Remembered by Hugoton Citizens.