Semi-annual tour of historic Cato set for Nov. 6

A group that has been working the last several years to preserve the old Cato School near Arcadia has planned a variety of activities to take place during the Cato Fall Tour scheduled for Nov. 6.

The Cato Historical Preservation Association has set the Cato Tour to begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the 90-year-old Cato Christian Church, which is located just east of the Cato School, a stone schoolhouse that was built in 1869 in the small northern Crawford County settlement of Cato. The Cato School was the second school to be built in Cato, which is the oldest town in Crawford County.

The structure served as a schoolhouse and also as a meeting house until the mid-1950s. The Cato School was placed on the Kansas Register of Historic Places in 2005 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, primarily due to the CHPA's efforts.

For the last several years, the CHPA has worked to raise money to fund renovation projects at the school in order to preserve its history, such as new windows and doors, a new roof, and other repair projects. Much restoration work at the school has already been completed.

To help with this effort, the CHPA plans to apply for a Heritage Trust Fund Grant next spring, CHPA Chairwoman and Treasurer Susie Stelle said. The 80-20 matching grant could generate about $40,000 to cover major expenses such as the school roof and wall repairs. The CHPA applied for similar preservation grants this year but did not receive any assistance, Stelle said.

This doesn't mean the group will quit trying, however.

"We'll keep reapplying until we get it," she said. "Eventually we're going to get it, because when you say 'Cato School' now, they know what you're talking about."

During the fall tour, local musical duo Fuss and Feathers, made up of musicians Ralph Carlson and James "Red" Stradley, along with Don Carlson and his wife, Mim, will present a musical program in the church. Ralph Carlson, a native of Southeast Kansas, will give a presentation on trails that exist in Southeast Kansas and the Cato area, Stelle said.

Carlson will display Native American, military and early settler artifacts that have been collected in the area. He will be assisted by Stradley and local historians from the Cato area. Carlson and Stradley will perform traditional music from the 1800s; the time period in which the Cato School was first in operation.

Area resident Keith Coonrod will share Cato stories that were told to him by his grandfather and great-grandfather. Local residents Anna Portwood and Elizabeth Portwood will conduct a class in the one-room schoolhouse. Anna Portwood is an historical writer from Garland.

Following the living history presentation and barring inclement weather, the CHPA will conduct a hot dog roast and a wagon ride to one of the area's old cemeteries.

Guests are invited and encouraged to bring their own hot dogs and drinks, Stelle said.

A new map that highlights various Cato landmarks and other points of interest, such as the Cato School, has been completed and will be presented by Fort Scott resident Floyd Feezel. Blackboards obtained from the old Fort Scott Middle School building at 402 S. National Ave., and donated to the Cato School by the USD 234 Board of Education and James Mayfield, Bolivar, Mo., the new owner of the old FSMS building, will also be on display.

A large school bell has also been donated from the Doris Stelle Estate, Stelle said. The bell originally came from the Corinth School that was located two miles west and one mile north of Arcadia.

A new quilt, called "Kansas Twister," has been donated by local resident Sue James and will be given away the day of the tour. Tickets for the quilt, which will be sold during the tour, cost $1 each or $5 for six tickets.

All proceeds from the event will be used to help preserve the Cato School, Stelle said.

Note cards have also been printed that depict 12 different Cato landmarks. These cards will be available for $10 per set. Drawings on the cards, which were completed by artist Don Carlson of Fort Scott, also appear on the Cato map. Other note cards and a digital video disc of the Cato tours, which were made by CHPA member Barbara Scott in memory of former journalist and Cato booster John Spurling, will also be available.

Spurling, who died in 2003, had researched and documented much of Cato's history, which he often shared with visitors during the club's semi-annual tours of the Cato area, which Spurling also originated, Stelle said.

The Cato Memorial Plaque, featuring calligraphy and other artwork completed by artist Lela Simpson of Arcadia, honors Cato's early settlers and will be available for viewing during the tour in the Cato Christian Church.

About 70 people attended the fall Cato tour last year, Stelle said.

Cato is located between Fort Scott and Pittsburg, just west of U.S. Highway 69. To find it, turn west at the Arcadia turnoff and travel two miles. Then turn north and follow the winding road one mile to Cato. The school is located west of the Cato Christian Church.

For more information about the history of the school and the CHPA, visit www.catoschool.com on the Internet. Contact Stelle at (620) 232-6944 to make a donation toward the preservation of the school.

The CHPA is now associated with the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas as a non-profit organization.