Joan Beatrice Fletcher Comes Home

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Introduction

Our post this week was researched and written by  Jane Jones, guest blogger and HCHM Archivist. The post links our February focus on Black History and March’s Women’s History.  The collection of documents and photos are a recent addition to HCHM Archives.
This is part 1 of a three part blog series featuring the Collection of Joan B. Fletcher.

Joan Beatrice Fletcher Comes Home

by Jane Jones, HCHM Archivist

Her scrapbook, family pictures and a well-worn original land abstract (N1/2 NE1/4 Sec 33 Newton Township) arrived at the Museum in December, 2018 from David W. Jackson, a family historian and archives consultant living in Jackson County, Missouri.  Mr. Jackson contacted us after looking at our website asking if we would accept Joan’s materials that had been kept by her friend. Fletcher was a 1943 graduate of Newton High School. She died in Kansas City, Missouri in 2011 at the age of 85.

Joan’s picture in 1943 NHS Senior Edition

 

Joan’s Scrapbook 1938-1945

Joan’s scrapbook contains news clippings about her piano performances, speeches she gave as a high school student in a local contest for the American Legion and a speech on Temperance Sunday. Senior and  junior high play programs, musical programs, and critiques of piano performances are also found in the Scrapbook.

She received a Certificate from the Guild of Piano Teachers, a national group to which her teacher Anna Tellin belonged. In 1940 for the National Piano Playing Auditions District Honor Roll Joan received a Good + Rating.  In 1941 she competed in the State Junior Competitive Festival at Arkansas City under the auspices of the National Federation of Music Clubs receiving an Excellent Rating. In 1942, Joan performed for the Association of Colored Women Wichita District held at Newton’s C.M.E. Church April 17 and 18. Fourteen in 1940, Joan had been studying piano for 6 years. Her piano teacher, Anna Tellin, was an exacting and well-respected instructor in Newton and Hutchinson.

This is a program from a recital Joan performed on November 25, 1941 at the Newton Junior High School Auditorium (the school is no longer standing).  She played Bach, Chopin, Clementi and Brahms. Antoinette Blanchard was a voice student of Miss Tellin’s.

Joan’s high school activities included musicals, Glee Club, Orchestra and Girl Reserves.  She received a Scholarship Pin her Sophomore year. With her piano and school activities she was an active young lady no doubt encouraged by her mother. In 1943 Joan was accepted into Sacred Heart Junior College in Wichita.

See Addendum below for new details on Joan’s involvement during this time.

This was a portion of the letter she received.

“My dear Miss Fletcher,

We are pleased to notify you that you have qualified for a Scholarship at Sacred Heart Junior College for the scholastic year 1943-44.”

After graduating from Sacred Heart in 1945,  Joan received another  scholarship of $225 to further her education. She finished at Bethel College in North Newton receiving her B.A. in Chemistry in 1947.  Below is Joan’s graduation picture in the 1947 Bethel College annual.

See Addendum below for new details on Joan’s involvement at Sacred Heart.

A form from Bethel keeps track of each student and their post-graduation work experience. Joan’s was in the medical field.  In 1948 she was working as a lab assistant in bacteriology at Winter General Hospital in Topeka. She received her Med Tech degree and worked at Minneapolis General Hospital in 1949. Joan was a Blood Bank Supervisor for the United States VA Hospital.  I was told she spent time in Washington, D.C. working for the VA. The Junction City City Directory shows her as a Blood Bank Supervisor there in 1961. She may have been working at Fort Riley. Joan’s mother died in 1961 in Kansas City. In 1967 Joan joined her Uncle Fred Banks as a Joint Tenant for the family property in Newton Twp Section 33–2 miles south of 1st St on Hwy 81, ½ mile east. Her address at that time was 419 W. 13th St, Junction City.  And then there was Kansas City living on East Linwood Blvd. By 1990, Joan would have been 65 and able to retire. I don’t know if she continued her obvious interest in and talent for the piano. Nor do I know for sure where she worked in Kansas City– for the VA or a hospital. After retirement she had more time to pursue her interest in her family’s history.

A rather short obituary in the Kansas City Star stated Joan died in the Armour Oaks Nursing Home on April 4, 2011. She never married.  Funeral services were held at St. Monica Catholic Church in Kansas City. Saint Monica was founded in 1909 to serve Black Catholics in Kansas City. The church is located at 1616 The Paseo  in the historic 18th and Vine Jazz District near downtown Kansas City. Joan was a Black Catholic having been baptized in the Catholic Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery in Newton with her family.  She was home.

Addendum

 Jane found this additional info on Joan B. Fletcher during her years at Sacred Heart.

                        Joan Fletcher competed with 17 others in a scholarship examination given on May 8, 1943 covering mathematics, physical science, social science and literature at Sacred Heart Junior College in Wichita.  She was one of the winners.  In 1944 while a student at Sacred Heart Joan showed interest and leadership in the newly formed National Federation of Catholic College Students and was one of the students attending the first regional conference at Marymount in Salina.  One of the conference commissions was “inter-racial relations” which Joan probably attended.  She was chairman of the Apostolic committee at Sacred Heart in December, 1944 which assumed the role of “Santa Claus” to provide presents for St. Joseph’s Home in El Dorado.  March 16, 1945 it was reported that the members of the interracial commission held a panel discussion to mark the nation-wide observance of the first national Inter-racial Justice week. “The panel presented the various problems of the Negro in war-time America.  As chairman of the Inter-racial Commission Joan participated in that panel discussion.

While attending Sacred Heart Joan showed her interest in and provided leadership on the discussion of racial issues facing Black people during World War II.

Sources:

  1. Joan’s Scrapbook 1938-1945.
  2. Newton High School Senior Edition 1943 of the Weekly Newtonian
  3. Obituary from Kansas City Star Archives published April 8 2011.
  4. Letter from Sacred Heart Junior College in Wichita. Dated 1943.
  5. Bethel College Yearbook for 1947
  6. Bethel College alumni information for Joan Fletcher
  7. Saint Monica Catholic Church, Kansas City, MO website.
  8. Thanks to Karen Wall and Sylvia Kelly for finding and providing information.
  9. Harvey County Register of Deeds, Margaret Hermstein
  10. David W. Jackson, Archives Consultant.  www.orderlypackrat.com
  11. Joan’s Baptismal record  (David W. Jackson)
  12. Junction City, Kansas City Directory 1960 (www.Ancestry.com)
  13. Kansas City City Directory 1960 (www.Ancestry.com)
  14. The Catholic Advance (Wichita, Kansas) May 14, 1943 p 3
  15. The Catholic Advance (Wichita, Kansas) April 14, 1944 p. 1
  16. The Catholic Advance (Wichita, Kansas) Mar 16, 1945 p. 6

Worshiping for 144 years in Harvey County!

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Harvey County is home to many faith communities.  Some congregations are relatively new, while others have provided community and support for much longer.  Hall’s Chapel is one of the oldest congregations in the county.

One cornerstone of the Black community in Harvey County is the church – specifically Hall’s Chapel. The congregation has deep roots with beginnings in 1875 when the Methodist Church organized the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wichita with a circuit to Emporia and Newton.

In 1901, Hall’s Chapel was formed.

Hall’s Chapel, new building, 1921.

Charter member George Hall purchased a building from the Brethren Church in Newton.  The structure was moved to land he donated for a church at 200 E. 11th, Newton, Ks and the congregation became known as “Hall’s Chapel.” In 1921, a new building was constructed.

A second African American congregation, known as the Holsey Chapel CME, was form in 1882. In 1968, membership was in decline and members decided to join with Hall’s Chapel.

In 2005, Hall’s Chapel  built a new church at 711 E. 11th, Newton, Ks where members continue to worship. For over 100 years, Hall’s Chapel has provided a place to worship and served as a central part of Harvey County’s Black community.

“But It Was Too Late for Me”

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Despite a long history in Harvey County, stories from the Black community have often been ignored. In recent years, efforts have been made to tell some of these stories – stories that  often reveal painful events. The experiences of Black athletes at Newton High School in the late 1940s through the 1950s highlight the difficulties, pain and perseverance of several young men.

The Truth About the Late 40s

In 1997, the Committee planning the 50th reunion for the NHS class of 1948 attempted allow room for Black NHS graduates to share their experiences.  Editor of the 50th reunion book, Norma Werner Wilson, posed this question:

“We need to know the truth about the late 40s . . .Do you remember any incidents that clearly showed bigotry or racial callousness?”

The answers published in Our Journey: 50th Reunion Book NHS 1948-1998,” illustrated a community divided along painful racial lines with white student often unaware of the experiences of Black students. Some of the hardest stories revolved around the NHS basketball team and Coach Frank Lindley.

While Lindley was coach at Newton High, 1914-1945, the men’s team was wildly successful with several state championships and undefeated seasons. As coach of the high school basketball team, Lindley was insistent that only white students play on the team.  After he retired from coaching, Lindley continued as NHS  principal 1923-1951.

The 1945 Railroader illustrates the long standing division  with one small photo for the  “Colored Team,” and several photos for the “NHS Railroader Basketball team.”

Page from the Newton High School Railroader, 1945.

What was the experience of the Black athlete in the late 1940s? The stories returned to the reunion committee reveal deep wounds.

“But, it was too late for me”

Clifford Rickman, 1948 graduate from NHS,  shared his experiences and thoughts from the late 1940s.

“Unfortunately my memories of Newton High are not the same as yours.  My memories are of the way African Americans were treated.  The school board still has a building named after Coach Lindley, the biggest bigot . . . You were students just like me, but I thought maybe someone would wonder why some of us don’t come (to reunions) even after all these years.

Clifford Rickman, 1947.

Rickman asked  hard questions.

“Did you ever ask when you went to the movies why all the Blacks sat in one place behind a chrome fence? Did you ever ask why Blacks could not ever swim in the city pool? Did you ever ask why Blacks did not skate at the public skating rink?”

 

He recalled his experiences on the separate basketball team.

“We had a separate Black basketball team. We had to play other Black teams that were in the same boat we were in.  I remember traveling to towns like Chanute, Salina, Hutchinson . . . Sure they gave us high school letters but only because they used Blacks to play football and run track. Newton never changed until Lindley left. I understand when Ravenscroft took over, things changed —but too late for me.”

“Since I couldn’t play basketball on the White team, . . . I would not play football on the White team”

Another response came from Clayton Garnett, who also graduated in 1948.

“I must tell you that what Clifford Rickman wrote was true.  Mr. Lindley, who was coach before Mr. Ravenscroft,  . .  would not let Blacks or Mexicans play on the all White basketball team.” 

“Mr. Lindley, as principal, agreed to let us form our own team made up of all Black guys and let us play our games in the junior high gym.  He also let us use the old outdated basketball uniforms of the White team. “

They were not allowed to play in the high school gym (Lindley Hall), except by special exemption.

“Our coach was Jack Smith and he got permission to play one game in Lindley Hall because we were playing Tulsa and we knew the junior high gym would not accommodate the number of spectators.”

Other sports at NHS did not have these restrictions. Garnett recalled a conversation with the football coach.

“I was asked by the football coach to come out to play on the football team because he saw how fast I was in the 100 yard dash during the Jr/Sr track meet.  But since I couldn’t play basketball on the White team, I told him I would not play football on the White team for him.

He stated that the policy would change as soon as Lindley retired.  Sure enough, as soon as Mr. Lindley retired as principal, Mr. Ravenscroft said that anyone could play on the then exclusively White team. My brother, Floyd (Skip) Garnett did just that in 1958.”

Floyd “Skippy” Garnett

He also recalled restrictions at public places, like the movie theater and swimming pool.

“We also could not swim in the municipal swimming pool at Athletic Park.  We only had one night every two weeks to skate at the skating rink.  We had to sit in the back of the movie theaters.” 

“With Bitter Clarity”

Norris D. Garnett, a Black student from the class of 1949 shared:

“What sticks in my memory with bitter clarity is the racial discrimination and racial prejudice we non-White students had to bear. First there was the matter of the all-White Newton High School basketball team.

We were all great friends in the classrooms and gym, but as soon as school let out, it was as if we didn’t know each other.”

“I sure didn’t know”

In contrast, the response from the white former students reveals an unawareness of what the Black students experienced.

“The thing that  had the greatest impact on me . .. . was the honor assembly  our senior year.  This was when Mr. Lindley introduced the Black basketball team.  I did not know we had such a thing. The  main feeling I had was embarrassment. I’m not sure it was for the boys for being put on exhibit or for the explanation by Mr. Lindley as to why we had the team . . .” – Lee Schroeder

“I never knew we had a separate Black basketball team. I remember being shocked to discover the ‘Mexican’ girls were not allowed to take showers after gym class.” -Jean Maberry Wendt

“I sure didn’t know that these guys were not allowed on the team.” –Jennie Anderson Beneke

After Frank Lindley retired, things did change at Newton High School.  Community change was also slow.  In a newspaper article  for the 125th Anniversary of the Kansan, Judy Burks concluded;  “Integration laws came.  Minority students began to play on Railer basketball teams in new uniforms in stead of the discarded uniforms of white players.” Sadly, it was too late for gifted athletes like Clifford Rickman, Clayton Garnett and Norris D. Garnett.

For Additional Stories:

http://harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com/2012/07/makin-splash.html

http://harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com/2014/02/does-this-mean-all-children-aw-roberson.html

Sources:

  • Willson, Norma Werner, ed Our Journey: NHS 1948-1998. 50th Reunion Committee, 1999.  HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks.
  • Newton High Class of 1949, Along the Golden Trail: 50th Anniversary Book of Memories.  HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks.
  • Burks, Judy.  “On Equal Ground: Stories of Newton’s Black Settlers.” 125th Anniversary Ed of the Kansan, 1997.