Visitors search for information on lost relatives

The Cato tour, Nov. 3, was a great success with near 100 attending the Annual fall tour.

The historic Christian Church edifice built in 1915, was overpacked with visitors wanting to see a performance of 1800s Style music by the Fort Scott musical duo, Fuss and Feathers,  that features Ralph Carlson nd James "Red" Stradley. Carlson's brother, Don Carlson, and his wife, Mimi, also performed with the duo.  In addition, the tour visitors saw the historical re-enactment of the founders of Cato, portrayed by area residents.

In the one room schoolhouse, Anna and Elizabeth Portwood conducted a class of the 19th-century style, complete with chalkboards, ink wells, and old school desks.

Afterward. there was an old-fashioned weiner roast and a hayrack ride to nearby cemeteries.  The group visited the oldest grave in Crawford County at McGonigal Cemetery, near Bone Creek Dam.  The cemetery contains the gravesite of George Hatch, a 12-year-old boy who died in 1857.  The group also traveled to the Coonrod Cemetery and the Simons graves.

The association sold more than $500 in quilt tickets. The quilt called Kansas Twister, made by Sue James, was given away to Bob and Ava Mae Adams, Arcadia.

The 1969 rock schoolhouse was placed on the Kansas Register of Historic Places in 2005 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

A special thank you to the members of the Cato Historical Preservation Association for all efforts to make this year's tour a success include Susie Stelle, Pittsburg; Ralph Carlson, Barbara Scott and son, Ed Scott, Fort Scott; Richard Coonrod, Arma; Jerry and Lilly Coonrod, Joe Bournonville, Arcadia; Anna and Elizabeth and Mary Portwood, Garland; Katharine Spigarelli, Webb City, Mo.; and also Sue James, Texas; and Charles and Merhle Reynolds of Cato, who mowed the lawns at the church and school.

Allen and Linda Watt of Wichita went to Dallas-Fort Worth for several days to attend the Nascar Races.

The Open Door Mission had a fine crowd on Veterans Day for their worship time and at noon they enjoyed their Annual Thanksgiving Church dinner in the Arcadia Community Center.

Sandy and Angela Nuzum of Peck, Kansas met Joyce Turner, former Classmates at AHS, in Pittsburg and went Antique hunting in Joplin last week.  Bob and Linda Roweth took Mae Watt to Fort Scott, where they met the shoppers for lunch.  All went to Redfield to the Roweth home for the rest of the afternoon.

On the Sunday afternoon of Veterans Day, Doris Christiansen of Columbus and her sister, Thelma Airierdman of rural Pittsburg brought their cousin, Judy Webster from Gold Beach, Okla., to Arcadia seeking knowledge of relatives of long ago. They visited with Gary Peterson, who took them to the Shead home for a good visit.  The ladies were seeking knowledge of three relatives who in the 1800s drowned in Cox's Creek near Arcadia during a flood. No familiar names were recognized. Our thoughts went to Wiley Teague who may have heard the story of long ago.

The monthly meeting of Cato Historical Society will be held on Nov. 27. Members are urged to attend and visitors are welcome. President Susie Stelle and her Pittsburg friend, Cindy Busse, were visiting  in Arcadia on  Saturday afternoon.

Willa and Charley Cable were Sunday morning guests in Arcadia Christian Church on Veterans Day. He even rang the church bell. The birthday song was dedicated to Wayne and Christy Parrish, Ava Mae Adams, and Michelle Louise Presnell. Charley will be guest minister on Sunday Nov. 18, while Pastor David Peterson and Sunday School teachers Jace and Jesse Pavlik will be attending the Christian Missionary Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Following the close of church services, many gathered at God's Coffee House where a benefit dinner was served and folks could see the progress made on the recreation center that is being made ready for youth in town.  Lou and Betty Dehn, Patty Peterson, Linda Bridgewater  and Paul Starne headed this effort.

Port Hughes of McPherson with daughter Kirby Gould from Olathe, visited another daughter, Lisa Blodgett in Republic, Mo.  Together they visited Port's brother and wife, Mick and Eloise Corporon in Spring River Village, Joplin, Mo., where Eloise is taking rehab.