History on display

A non-ending stream of lolans - and one Alaskan - presented their personal historic artifacts to a packed house at the Allen County Historical Society winter meeting Monday night. From marbles to milk jugs to milking hobbles, all the items presented had some personal meaning for those displaying them.
Leon Harris' collection of old glass jars came "from the old house" his parents moved into in 1967, he said. He explained how different kinds of bottles required different stoppers, from corks to crimped paper lids. He had medicine jars and milk bottles and even a milk jar with a bulbed neck, for separating cream in the days of raw milk and home dairy delivery.
"You're making me feel old," quipped Raymond Cooper, who earlier had shown a "slave-owner's rifle." Cooper said he used small, cup-sized glass milk jars in kindergarten.
Leon Smith began the night with a family bible from the 1800's. Cooper followed with a 50-caliber lead ball-and- black powder gun formerly the possession of a slave-owner.
"Back then I was collecting guns and not history," Cooper said. "If I had it to do over, I'd have taken a piece of paper and took down everything he had to say." He's now more interested in the back story of items he collects, to the point of admonishing a later speaker to "write down the story that goes with that photograph; write down what you know."
Family ties were expressed with most of the items displayed.
Ardith Harris showed a long, wrinkled photograph of her father's work crew in the Civilian Conservation Core of 1936-37.
"He was from here," she said, "but he and his brother went to Twin Falls, ID, to work with the CCC."
She didn't know what he did there. "He talked about it a lot during his life; I wish I had paid attention."
Some of those who shared their treasures through the evening were children.
Clyde Toland, ACHS executive director, said it was nice to see young people there.
"It tends to be a geriatric crowd," he joked, although the ACHS board now boasts two members under 40, he said. Show and tell seems popular with younger audiences, he said.
Sierra Snavely, 7, and her brother Mason, 9, showed family heirlooms: Sierra held a plate bearing a likeness of the Allen County Courthouse, and told how her great, great, great grandfather was caretaker there.
"He wrote his name on the back of the clock," she said, pointing to the clock tower on the plate.
Her brother Mason showed off milking hobbles, a wood plane and a wrist-worn corn cutter. Their grandmother Judy supplied the items.
Nick Lohman had the crowd in stitches with his descriptions of discontinued drugs. Lohman said he began collecting the samples while a student pharmacist.
"I'd take them from doctor's offices," he deadpanned, then explained the items had to be removed because they were outdated or unsafe. "I'm probably not supposed to have them," he quipped again, showing some medicines recalled due to their revealed health hazards.
"If you go on E-Bay there are people selling the whole array of Zocor pens," he said of pharmaceutical-related collecting. "But I like drugs," he quipped.
The night ended with a personal story - the artifact displayed was the presenter himself.
Frederick Heinz was visiting from Alaska. Born in Allen County, he didn't become interested in its history until moving north. In Alaska, he said, he met an old Norwegian who told him all about Frederick Funston. He was in Iola this week exploring that history.