Welcome to our new series – #archivejive – where we will feature fun, maybe obscure, stories, and helpful research tips from the archives at HCHM.
To start the #archivejive series, our post features one of two objects that have been with the Carnegie building since the doors first opened. Both objects are visible in this photo of the Newton Free Library Reading Room.
Today, the Lincoln bust by Volk solemnly watches over researchers in the archives at HCHM.
For more about Lincoln From Life bust:
by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator
View of Newton, Ks from the roof of the Opera House, taken by H.S. Stovall.
“Photography is history and in a book like the Semi-Centennial edition of the Kansan, the the contribution of this profession to its success is obvious.” -Editors of the 50th Anniversary Edition of the Kansan, 22 August 1922.
Harvey County was fortunate to be home to several talented photographers that documented the progress of county communities through photographs. From the earliest photo taken in the summer of 1871 to today, HCHM has an extensive collection of images created by Harvey County photographers.
H. S. Stovall was one of several photographers active in the county in the early 1900s. Born in Kentucky in 1872, Stovall moved with his parents to Missouri. He attended the Chillicothe Normal School and Business Institute located in Chillicothe, Mo. While studying business at the college, Stovall became interested in photography. After he graduated, he “devoted his entire business energy to this profession.”
Evening Kansan Republican, 9 September 1909.
By 1909, this “progressive business man” had moved to Harvey County where he was “an earnest worker for the best interests of Newton.”
H. S. Stovall
He opened a gallery above Hanlin’s Department Store at 603 Main in Newton, Ks. Stovall provided many of the images for the 1911 Souvenir publication “Newton, Ks: Past & Present, Progress & Prosperity.”
One focus of his work was on creating panoramas including one taken pre-1915 from the roof of the Opera House.
View of Newton, Ks from the roof of the Opera House, taken by H.S. Stovall.
Enlargement looking east.
Enlargement looking north.
He also was a popular photographer when the subject was a large group.
District Meeting. Church of the Brethren, 1015 Oak Newton, Ks. 1911 taken by H.S. Stovall.
McMannus Employee Picnic, June 11, 1914, Photo by Stovall.
1st Christian Church, Main & E 1st, Newton, 1918. Photo by Stovall.
Florence Holmes, 1928.
NHS Class of 1922, by Stovall.
Janet Parris, 4 years old, 1916. Photo by Stovall.
Evening Kansan Republican, 19 August 1914.
In 1924, Stovall is listed on Socialist Ticket Presidential Electors, along with Reed Crandall from Newton, Ks.
Council Grove Republican, 24 July 1924.
He was an active photographer in the Newton community throughout the 1920s.
Evening Kansan Republican, 10 December 1920.
By the 1930s he is advertising in Dodge City, Kansas newspapers and the Catholic Advance.
The Independent, 9 July 1938.
Catholic Advance,9 February 1935.
The last advertisement that was found for this article was in the Catholic Advance January 16, 1942. Stovall would have been about 70 years old.
Catholic Advance, 16 January 1942.
If you have information on H.S. Stovall, contact HCHM.
Charles L. Gillingham, W.E. Langan, F.D. Tripp, W.R. Murphy, Mrs. B.F. Denton.
by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator
Sometimes it is hard to know how much truth is in a story, like this recently discovered oddity from the Newton Daily Republican 27 June 1895 with the headline “Milked by a Snake: A True Snake Story that Should Take the Leather Medal.”
The newspaper editor assured people the story was “vouched for by A.L. Bartlebaugh, who is well enough known throughout the county as a truthful man.”
Newton Daily Republican, 27 June 1895
According to the Newton Daily Republican, J. W. Miller, a Dunkard farmer living north of Walton, was having difficulty with his cows. For several weeks they had been coming home “in a somewhat excited condition.” Every evening one would have a swollen, inflamed udder and would give no milk. The cow had symptoms similar to poisoning and would eventually die. After the eighth cow died, Miller became desperate to learn the cause. He decided to “spend a day with the animals to watch developments.” He witnessed the “strangest sight.”
“A monster bull snake, eight feet in length, appeared in the pasture and raising itself to the udder of the cow, grasped the teat with its mouth. The cow was badly frightened and ran about the pasture in a frenzied manner. The snake hung on for dear life, fastening its fangs into the teat, and sucking out the milk. When it had had its fill, it dropped off.”
Miller quickly worked to kill the snake and solved his problem. He did not lose any other cows.
The reporter agreed that the story seemed incredible and that they had never heard of a similar case. In fact, “the incredulous are scarcely willing to believe it until given the names of those concerned” – A.L. Bartlebaugh and J.W. Miller – deemed to be truthful men.
Alexander L. Bartlebaugh, a veteran of the Civil War, was an early settler in Harvey County, establishing his farm in May 1872. His obituary noted that with his passing “the community loses one of its oldest and most highly respected men” known for his hospitality to travelers and kindness to all.
Over the next several months the “Newton Snake Story” appeared in newspapers across Kansas including the Osborne County Farmer, Galena Times, and the Leavenworth Times with no additional comment. One article from a paper identified as Inter Ocean – August 16, 1895 included the added comment that “the body of the monster has been preserved in alcohol and will be donated to the museum of the State University at Lawrence.”
Since the last article specifically mentioned a museum at Kansas University, contact was made with Dr. Rafe M. Brown, Curator-in-charge, Herpetology Division, Natural History Museum, Dyche Hall at KU. He graciously replied noting that the story seems to be part folklore and part mis-identification.
Bull Snake
The story likely involves incorrectly identifying the snake as a Bull Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) when it likely was a Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum). Neither snake could actually “milk” cows. The Milk Snakes got their common name when farmers would blame low milk yields on the snakes. The farmer observed a snake in the area of the herd and assumed the snake had somehow attached to the udder and drained it.
Red Milk Snake
Over the years this has given rise to stories and legends about snakes ‘milking’ cows. Dr Brown states;
“There is zero factual basis for these kinds of urban legends; in any case, perhaps the reporter of your 1895 piece observed a Pituophis in the area of a herd, and assumed it must be up to no good?”
“Got Snakes? “” is a great place to start!
Leather medal was slang (1830+) meaning an imaginary reward for laziness, ineptitude.
Source: Lighter, J.E..Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang: Volume II, H-O. Random House, NY 1997
