February is Black History month, and to celebrate, the Ottawa Herald worked with the Old Depot Museum to put together a list of notable African Americans from Franklin County’s history, ranging from law enforcement officers to activists to a former mayor. If you know of anyone you’d like to see added to this list, feel free to contact mventrelli@cherryroad.com.
Evangel University has an invitation for membership into the KCAC effective with the 2023- 24 academic year. “We welcome Evangel University to the KCAC as our newest member institution,” Dr.
A former Ottawa High School football coach’s leadership and vision was evident throughout his life. JW Emerson was more than a coach, but a mentor to his students and athletes.
The artwork of Wellsville High School senior Kathryn Thompson has received a Gold and Silver Key from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the country’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for seventh through twelfth grade students involved in the creative arts.
Megan Davis, Princeton, has been named to the fall 2021 Dean’s List at the University of Findlay. To earn this achievement, a student must attain a grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
Keela Velvick, Richmond was among 1,666 students who earned places on the Dean’s Honor Roll at Fort Hays State University for the fall 2021 semester. The Dean’s Honor Roll includes undergraduate students only.
The Franklin County Historical Society held its 85th annual meeting on February 6 over Zoom. Guest speaker Bob Walz, author and director of the Santa Fe Railroad Historic and Modeling Society, presented a slideshow called Santa Fe Depots: Form and Function, which included several of the fifteen Santa Fe Railroad depots that once stood in Franklin County.
Martha Kay Keller, 80, of Overland Park, Kansas, formerly of Ottawa, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, February 8, 2022. She was born on February 16, 1941, in Ransom Memorial Hospital, Ottawa, Kansas, to John and Letha Keller. She was a lifelong resident of Franklin County until she moved to an Alzheimer’s facility in Overland Park, Kansas, in November, 2021.
Susan (Ames) Duckworth passed away peacefully surrounded by family on January 7, 2022 after a courageous battle against cancer. She was small in stature, mighty in her personality and sugar coated nothing when telling you how it was. She was a supportive mom, daughter, sister and friend who demonstrated what it meant to be loving and compassionate toward others. She was a small business owner who took that leadership mentality and converted it into being a self-identified house manager for her daughters. She loved road trips, stopping along her route to read the historical markers then sharing those tidbits of information with anyone who would listen. Later in life she became the google queen, it didn’t matter how small or how big the issue was, if anything needed to be researched, she was your go to person. She loved to cook and could spend hours looking up various recipes online, however her homemade chicken and noodles were a crowd favorite. She was an amazing woman who will be missed forever. Susan was proceeded in death by her father Raymond, her mother Vera and her sisters Ellen and Vera. She is survived by her daughter Tracy and her family, her daughter Susan and her wife Debbie, her granddaughter Cori, her sister Judy, her brother Danny and her nieces and nephews. She requested that there not be any formal services, instead she wanted others to simply celebrate the memories of her life.
Darlene Marie Armstrong (Medcalf, Frazier) was the second born to Thomas Edward and Mary Ellen Medcalf in Iola, Kansas on June 2nd, 1952. She lived most of her childhood in Osawatomie, KS graduating high school there and remaining close with many of her class and schoolmates for over 50 years. After completing college at Emporia State University, she moved to the Kansas City area, began a 27-year career working for Social Security, and started her family. In 1987, Darlene and her family moved outside of Ottawa, Kansas. She passed away October 9th, 2021.