Following the covered dish dinner enjoyed by thirty-seven members and guests, the business included: reports on markers repaired and replaced at the Larned cemetery and the Dry Route Crossing, The Little Red House day Camp; the upcoming Santa Fe Trail Rendezvous and books donated by Barbara German. In other business, the chapter voted to place a plaque on the Dry Route Crossing in memory of Dr. George Sadler and to participate in a fundraiser at the October Tired Iron Show in Larned, Kansas. Following, Mike Seymour and George Elmore presented a demonstration of nineteen firearms and Harry Myers, Santa Fe Trail manager presented a program on Wildlife along the Santa Fe Trail. The fall meeting is scheduled for October 19, 2008 at the Episcopal Church in Larned.

Fall Meeting
     The fall meeting is scheduled for October 19, 2008, 1:15 p.m. at the Episcopal Church in Larned, Kansas, 8th St. and Henry Booth Boulevard, {Main St.}. Ladies of the church will serve a lunch of ham and beans, relishes, drinks and dessert. The cost is $5.00. Please contact your editor by October 15 to confirm your reservation. Your check in advance will appreciated. Write your editor at 215 Mann, Larned, KS 67550 or call 620-285-3295. The program will be presented by your editor on Henry Booth, Santa Fe Trail figure and the principal founder of Pawnee County and the City of Larned. He also was largely responsible for the establishment of the St. Mary and Martha Episcopal Church.

End of the Trail
     We are sad to report the death of Berdine Russell, long time chapter member. Our sympathies are extended to husband Charles and the entire family. The Russell home is located in rural Pawnee Rock, adjacent to the Trail leaving the Rock and heading toward Ash Creek.

Rendezvous Dinner a Success
     The chapter can take pride in the dinner served at the 2008 Santa Fe Trail Rendezvous on September 19. Thanks go to Mull Farms for contributing the beef, to Dr Merlene Baird and Mildon Yeager for food preparation, and to Dr. Baird and Alice Clapsaddle for coordinating the project. Thirty chapter members were on hand to serve the food and act as a cleanup crew. Kudos to everyone involved.

     In a related matter, the Rendezvous program included three speakers from the Wet/Dry Routes Chapter. Dr. Leo Oliva, your editor, and Craig Crease, President of the Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association which was presented the Faye Anderson Award in January 2007.

New Members
     The chapter is pleased to report the following new members, Bill and Opal Macy. Welcome. Some of us met Opal at the Rendezvous dinner where she signed up to help decorate and serve before she was a member. Thanks, Opal.

Pike Plaza Update
     Chapter members will be pleased to know that the City of Larned has begun the removal of the concrete floor remaining from the old laundry building that once occupied the area next to the Zebulon Pike Plaza. Plans call for the area to be planted to grass. Such will vastly improve the cosmetics of the area.

Sibley Camp Update
     At this writing, Bob Rein, Mildon Yeager, and your editor are anxiously awaiting demolition of the old basement remaining at Sibley Camp. A number of years ago, the superstructure was razed, and the basement has remained an eyesore and a safety hazard. Readers will be pleased to know that the sandstone from the basement walls will go to Fort Larned to be used in future restoration projects.

Another Reprint
     The Chapter has reproduced another booklet, Fort Atkinson on the Santa Fe 1850-1854. This article originally published in 1974 by the Kansas State Historical Society complements the other books recently written by Leo Oliva concerning frontier forts in Kansas. The booklet, selling for $2.00 will be available at the Last Chance Store, 2985 C Road, Woodston, KS 67675. Also at the following locations the booklet is available: Fort Larned National Historic Site and the Trail Center, Barton County Historical Museum, Coronado/Quivira Historical Museum, Ellsworth Historical Museum, Smokey Hill Museum, Fort Hays Historical Museum, Kansas State Historical Museum and the Frontier Trails Museum.

     The Great Bend Tribune has initiated the publication of a semi-monthly feature by your editor. The series will be known as Trail Dust. The first installment, in part, was printed as follows:

     As a preamble to the series, this proviso is required. What has become know today as the Santa Fe Trail was, during its day, called the Santa Fe Road or the Road to Santa Fe. To explain, in the early 1800s there were two types of roads in the EAst, improved and unimproved. The improved roads, under private auspices, were called pikes and were operated as toll roads. The improvements included drainage ditches and elevated roadbeds. The public roads, which did not require a toll, maintained the same improvements and because of their elevated roadbeds were sometimes called highways. The unimproved roads had no improvements and were mere passage ways across the countryside. Due to the scarring of the terrain occasioned by the draft animals and vehicles, these roads were sometimes known as traces. In the West, there were no improved roads, and the route from Missouri to New Mexico was at times called the Santa Fe Trace, but more often it was characterized as the Road to Santa Fe. This is evident in the papers of incorporation that were filed for the establishment of the bridge company in present Barton County , Kansas. In 1863, Charles Rath and associates petitioned the government of newly-established Kansas to construct a toll bridge "over Walnut Creek, in Peketon County, State of Kansas, where the great Santa Fe Road crossed said stream."

     The articles make no pretence to scholarly erudition and are brief in nature to encourage the general public's attention.

     This series is largely due to the interest of Jerry Buxton, Tribune reporter. Buxton, who has given an unusual amount of coverage to Chapter activities, has been given special recognition by the chapter with a lifelong membership. Our many thanks to Jerry and the entire Tribune staff.

Dues are always Due to the
Fastest Hand in the West
     Chapter dues in the amount of $10.00 per family, are due at the Winter meeting or may be mailed to Alice Clapsaddle, 215 Mann, Larned, Kansas, 67550. Checks should be made out to the Wet/Dry Routes Chapter. Dues and email addresses are welcome.
"Printable Dues Form"