No one will deny that last Thursday
and Friday kept everyone tuned to
their storm radios or television
sets as thunderstorm and tornado
warnings were broadcasted during the
afternoons and evenings. Torrential
rains and hail in some areas on
Thursday night kept everyone uneasy.
Your correspondent poured 3.80 out
of the gauge Friday morning and
another 2.80 Saturday morning.
Greater amounts were reported in
some areas. The weather spotters put
out tornado sirens Friday night. The
electricity was off so the sirens
were not working. Enforcement
officers drove the streets sounding
warnings from their vehicles sending
everyone to basements and
cover. No wind damage has been
reported.
Heavy flooding occurred in all
areas, washing out fences, bridges
and roadways. Farmers are busy
putting in emergency fencing to keep
their herds of cattle from going
visiting. More permanent fencing
will have to be done when the water
recedes. All ponds are running over
and creeks were running bank full..
There has been no estimates of hail
damage as fields and roads are too
muddy to travel and make
assessments.
Saturday and Sunday were lovely days
with sunshine and light breezes. The
flags on the cemeteries floated
leisurely in the breezes and flowers
decorated the graves of loved ones
for the Legion Memorial services in
the area. But, storm clouds
gathered again Sunday
evening but warnings missed our
area, moving further to the south
and east. Kensington received about
.10 rain from the brief showers in
the evening. As this is written
Monday afternoon, another day of
possible stormy weather is predicted
before it stabilizes. Landlords,
please consult with your tenants
about rain amounts and the
possibility of crop damage.
All Community Vacation Bible School
Children will be in the closing
program at St. John Lutheran Church
(north) Friday morning, May 30 at
11:15 a.m. Parents, grandparents and
friends are invited to come and see
what the children have learned.
There is usually a balloon launch.
The Kensington heated swimming pool
opened Saturday, May 24, providing
lots of summer fun for all ages.
Repairs have been made. The pool has
been repainted and really looks
nice. Staci Bertholf is the
manager. In the fall she will
continue her studies as a nursing
student at Ft. Hays State
University.
Swimming lessons will be offered and
sign-up dates will be announced
later. For further information,
contact the Kensington City Office
(476-2668) during morning business
hours.
Erin Ferguson and Melissa Nonamaker
will host the Summer Story Hour at
Kensington Community/School Library
on Tuesdays starting June 3 and
ending July 29. The theme will be
"Catch the Reading Bug." Pre-school
thru First Grade will meet at 1 p.m.
Second Grade thru Fifth Grade will
gather at 2 p.m. All children are
welcome.
Summer hours at the Kensington
Library are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on
Mondays thru Saturday with extended
hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on
Tuesdays.
Monday, June 2---Cook's choice
entree, potatoes, green bean
casserole, citrus slices, bread
Tuesday, June 3--BBQ pork sandwich,
coleslaw w/carrots, tater tots, bun,
mixed fruit
Wednesday, June 4--Swiss steak
w/tomatoes, spinach salad, peaches,
bread, cook's choice complement
Thursday, June 5--Bierock casserole,
corn, creamy cucumbers, pineapple
Friday, June 6--Mac & cheese w/smokies,
baked beans, winter mix veg's,
bread, jello w/fruit
Thirteen students received diplomas
from West Smith County Jr. High
School at graduation ceremonies
Tuesday, May 20 in the Kensington
gym. Katie Larson played the
processional and recessional and the
Rev. Dave Hutson presented the
invocation and benediction.
Chris Kirchhoff, sixth grade teacher
at West Smith County, was chosen by
the class to give the address for
the evening. She used four building
blocks for her presentation. The
first three were Industriousness
(Worthwhile results come from hard
work), Intentness (Setting realistic
goals and concentrating on
achievement), and Competitive
Greatness (Give your best when best
is needed).
She concentrated heavily on the last
building block which is Team Spirit.
She encouraged the students to be
excited about being the history
making class. They are the last
class to graduate from Kensington
Jr. High School and will be the
first Freshman class to enter
Thunder Ridge High School. She
reminded the students of a
banner she had hanging in her
classroom when they were students
there. It read "If you don't like
something, change it. If you can't
change it, change your attitude."
She then challenged the eighth
graders to create that Team Spirit
in the coming year and to remember
to have a genuine consideration for
others.Her closing remark was "A new
era is in your and our hands" and
then quoting 1 Corinthinans
12:26-27, "If one part suffers. all
the parts suffer with it, and if one
part is honored, all the parts are
glad. Now all of you together are
Christ's body and each one of you is
a separate and necessary part of
it."
Superintendent Jeff Yoxall presented
the American Legion Awards to
Madeline Reneberg and Nathan Larson
and the K.S.H.S.A.A. Awards to
Larissa Dettmer and Zach Davis.
Principal Todd Bowman introduced the
Salutatorian, Larissa Dettmer, and
Valedictorian, Nathan Larson. Joel Hrabe
of the Board of Education presented
the diplomas.
Brian Fink of the Class of 1988
welcomed the 186 guests at the
Kensington High School Alumni
Banquet Saturday evening held at the
Kensington Legion Hall. Senator
Janis Lee gave the invocation before
the dinner that was prepared by
Legion and Auxiliary members was
served. The Thunder Ridge Dance
Team assisted with the serving. The
Hall was festively decorated with
Goldbug banners, trophies, and
memorabilia.
The program opened with reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance. Honor classes
ending in "eight" were introduced,
and the roll call of
remaining classes followed. Ted
Levin of Kensington, Class of 1938,
was the oldest graduate present.
Special recognition was given to J.S.
Wagner and his wife Betty. Mr.
Wagner was Superintendent of
USD-238, Kensington for 32 years. A
power-point presentation that was
prepared by Lynn Taylor, husband of
Gina (Arment) Taylor, Class of 1988,
of Lenexa.
At the short business meeting, Bev
Grauerholz and Ron Rahjes spoke of
the need for future storage and
display of the many trophies and
banners of the Goldbug era that is
necessary because of the
consolidation of the Kensington and
Eastern Heights school
districts into the Thunder Ridge
Schools. They solicited ideas from
the assembly to be written on cards.
The banquet concluded with the
singing of the School Song.
The following list of those present
for the banquet listed by classes
(not including spouses) were
prepared by Gina (Arment)
Taylor. Class of 1938--Ted Levin,
Kensington; Class of 1941--Lois (Schoeni)
Hrabe and Ruth (Sawyer) Wolf, both
of Kensington; Class of 1942--Thelma
(Vibber) Mahlman, Smith Center;
Class of 1945--Dolores (Kilmer)
Beckman, Denver; Class of
1946--Eulonda (Dettmer) Hagman
and Evelyn (Grauerholz) Levin, both
of Kensington; Class of 1948--Ruth
(Smith) Levin and Juanita (Wangerin)
Reneberg, both of Kensington, Don
Schoeni, Grover, OK, Twila (Vibber)
Metcalf, McKinney, TX;
Class of 1949--Darlene (Leitner)
Pierce, Howard Grauerholz,
Kensington; Class of 1951--Eulagene
(Kilmer) Wathen, Denver, Duane
Smith, Kensington; Class of
1953--Joanne (Strohmeier) Miller,
Phillipsburg, Stan Billings,
Kensington; Class of 1954--Kay
(Davis) Burns and Larry Burns,
Phillipsburg; Emory Lentz, San
Marcos, CA, Leeann (Smith) Smith,
Kensington; Class of 1955--Carolyn (Gemaehlich)
Billings; Class of 1956--Ken Ratliff
and Janice (Billings) Ratliff, both
of Kensington; Class of 1957--Max
Currey, Kensington, Terry Schoeni,
Overland Park, Leora (Grauerholz)
Smith, Salina;
Class of 1958--Linda Beach, Omaha, Juneil
(Thomm) McQueen, Liberal, Jim
Schalansky, Topeka, Bob Stockton,
Darold Grauerholz, Joyce (Mann)
Grauerholz and Lucinda Migalski, all
of Kensington; Class of 1959--Sig
Seeman, Lakewood, CO, Bethie (Watts)
Smith, Smith Center, Carolyn
(Freeman) Williams, Alton; Class of
1961--Shirley (Grauerholz) Smith,
Wichita; Class of 1962--Jan (Schoeni)
Zeigler, Superior, NE, Sharilyn (Struckhoff)
Currey, Kensington; Class of
1963--Margaret (Freeman) Beckman,
Independence, KS, Arden Schoeni,
Arlington, TX, Janis (Ferguson) Lee,
Kensington;
Class of 1964--Irene and Ijean
Hilbrink, Smith Center, Melinda (Hrabe)
Mazzarella, Colorado Springs, Sonja
Seeman, Wichita, Cheryl (Fiene)
Synoground, Smith Center, Donald
(Doc) Grauerholz and Donna (Norden)
Westbrook, Kensington; Class of
1965--Linda (Norden) Scheer,
Leavenworth, Curtis Beach and Bev (Wehe)
Grauerholz, Kensington; Class of
1966--Jerry Knight, Loveland, CO,
Mary (Freeman)) Arment, Athol, Otto
(Bill) Levin, Kensington; Class of
1967--Terry Knight, North Platte,
NE, Richard Synoground, Smith
Center, Steve Miller, Agra, Mary
(Beckman) Beach and Steve Rice, both
of Kensington;
Class of 1968--Mike Clarke, St.
George, Tharran Gaines, Savannah,
MO, David Hrabe, Tempe, AZ, Kent
Lambert, Salina, Ed Norden, Canon
City, CO, Julie (Mankhey) Parsons,
Franklin, NE, Gloria (Beckman)
Sumner, Denver, CO, Ken Kuhlmann,
Samatra, MT, Joel Wagner, South
Hutchinson, Paul Bienhoff, Jeanne (Wangerin)
Bogart and Junior Hagman, all of
Kensington; Class of 1969--Garen
Kuhlmann, Smith Center, Milton
Detwiler, Athol, Marty Sweat,
Kearney, NE, Rob Bogart, Mark
Migalski, and Ron Rahjes, all of
Kensington; Class of 1970--JoAnn
(Gaines) Rice, Kensington;
Class of 1971--Paul Anderson, Omaha,
NE; Beverly (Wolf) Mills, Bonner
Springs, Carolyn (Vohs) Johnson,
Gaylord, Dean Panter, Athol, Kathy (Grauerholz)
Scobee, Wichita; Class of
1972--Lynette (Beach) Sprague, Alta
Visa; Class of 1973--Grace (Grauerholz)
Hainke, Kensington, Glenda (Gemaehlich)
Sturtevant, Milford, NE, Kent
Williams, Peabody; Class of
1974--Pat Clarke, Cheyenne, WY;
Class of 1975--Melva (Stutheit)
McDowell, Wichita; Class of
1977--Cheryl (Schoeni) Gibbs,
Overland Park, Beth (Wolf) Burns,
Kensington; Class of 1978--Scott
Horsfall, Hays, Karen (Brunow)
Panter, Athol, Linda (Billings)
Robinson, Smith Center, Rod Stutheit,
Overland Park, Ruth Ann (Attebury)
Williams, Peabody;
Class of 1981--Julie Grauerholz,
Hays; Class of 1982--Charlene (Fink)
Smith, Athol; Class of 1983--Kevin
Smith, Athol; Class of 1984-- Phil
Horsfall, Great Bend, Todd Kirchhoff,
Athol, Bobbi (Detwiler) Struckhoff,
Kensington; Class of 1985--Chris (Grauerholz)
Kirchhoff, Athol; Class of
1986--Kindra (Rust) Hrabe,
Kensington; Class of 1987--Kristi (Grauerholz)
Rothchild, Smith Center and Joel
Hrabe, Kensington, Class of
1988--Brian Fink, Beloit, Jamie (Dreiling)
Jackson, Salina, Tina (Ratliff)
Larison, Stamford, NE, Angela
(Beckmann) Sweet, Abilene, Gina (Arment)
Taylor, Lenexa, DeeDee (Krein)
Coppoc, Concordia, Dianna (Gemaelich)
Christensen, Phillipsburg, Darren
Grauerholz, Kensington; Class of
1989--Kathi (Osthoff) Boden, Smith
Center; Class of 1990--Jason Dibble,
Phillipsburg;
Class of 1991-Stephanie Arment,
Kansas City, Byron Graerholz,
Salina; Class of 1993--Bobby Bearley,
Minden, IA; Class of 1994--Crystal
Bearley, San Marcus, TX; Class of
1998--Justin Bearley, Cheney, Dustin
Dibble, Bonner Springs, Josh Levin,
Shawnee. Matthew Sidman, Kensington;
Class of 2004--Dena Panter, Athol;
Class of 2006--Joseph Burns,
Kensington; Class of 2008--Nolan
Burns.
Members of the CLASS OF 1958
gathered at the Senior Center Sunday
afternoon to renew acquaintances and
to visit. Present were Janice
(Ratliff) Miller and husband Gene,
Stockton; Jim Schalansky and wife
Janet, Topeka; Juneil (Thomm)
McQueen and husband Kerry, Liberal;
Lucinda Migalski, Darold Grauerholz
and Joyce (Mann) Grauerholz (both in
class) Robert Stockton and wife
Margaret, and Clifford Hilbrink, all
of Kensington,
Fourteen members of the CLASS OF
1968 came to the Senior Center
Saturday afternoon to visit and
reminsce. Four class members are
deceased. Present were Joe Wagner
and wife Diane, South Hutchinson;
David (Duke) Hrabe and wife Kathy,
Tempe, AZ, Kenneth Kuhlman,
Sumatra, MT, Gloria (Beckman)
Sumner, Denver, CO, Tharran Gaines
and wife Barb, Savannah, MO; Janna (Badenhoop)
Jantz, Littleton, CO; Ed Norden and
wife Janice, Canon City, CO; Mike
Clarke, St. George, Kent Lambert and
wife Pat, Salina; Julia (Mankhey)
Parsons and husband Wayne, Franklin,
NE; Joyce (Hudson) Lammers, Gaylord;
Junior Hagman and wife Nancy, Jeanne
(Wangerin) Bogart and husband Rob,
Paul Bienhoff and wife Deb and
daugher Leah, all of Kensington.
Steve Miller, Agra, Class of 1967,
stopped for visiting.
Nine members of the CLASS OF 1978
gathered at the Srader Center at
5:30 on Sunday evening. Present were
Scott Horsfall and wife Janna, Hays;
Audrey (Kuhlman) Swisher and husband
Kyle, Beloit; Ruth (Attebury)
Williams and husband Kent, Peabody;
Mary (Frase) Hansen and husband Bob,
Hastings, NE; Linda (Billings)
Robinson and husband Leonard, Smith
Center; Karen (Brunow) Panter and
husband Dean and Greg Kuhlmann,
Athol; Alan Grauerholz and Betty
(Ferguson) Sidman, Kensington.
The Class of 1988 hosted the KHS
Alumni and were busy making all the
preparations Saturday so did not
have an additional meeting. Eight
members attended the banquet (see
list above).
Pastor Virgil Anderson of
Wallingford, Iowa, will be honored
for the 55th anniversary of his
ordination on Sunday, June 8, 2008,
at the Wallingford Lutheran Church.
Pastor Anderson served St. John
Lutheran Church of Kensington for 14
years from 1963 to 1977. He then
served the Lutheran Church at
Wallingford until his retirement
where he and his wife, LaVaille
continue to make their home. All
twelve of their children spent some
of their school years in Kensington.
An invitation is issued to a special
church worship service at 8:45 a.m.
followed by a coffee hour honoring
Pastor Anderson. Most of their
immediate family plan to be present.
If you are unable to attend, cards
and letters may be sent to 120 N.
Second St., Wallingford, IA 51365
Andrew Boswell and Katrina Nicholson
were married Saturday, Mary 24, in
Davenport, Iowa. Andrew (Andy) is
the son of Cheryl (Gary) Foreman of
Kensington and William (Trish)
Boswell of Benedict, Neb. Katrina is
the daughter of Judy Nicholson and
the late Dr. Theodore Nicholson of
Wausau, Wis.
Andrew is a 2000 graduate of West
Smith County High School and a 2005
graduate of Kansas State University
with a degree in Life Science.
Katrina is a 2001 graduate of Wausau
East High School and a 2005 graduate
of St. Norbert College with a degree
in Biology. Both Andrew and Katrina
are currently earning their
Doctorate of Chiropractic at Palmer
College in Davenport, Iowa.
Verla (Cornell) McGee of Hastings,
Neb., died Thursday, May 22, 2008.
She grew up in Kensington and
graduated from Kensington High
School in 1950. She is survived by
two sons, Steve who is a teacher in
Okinawa and Vernon Cornell
of Hastings; a brother, Verlyn
Cornell of Hastings; and two aunts,
Ethyl Hilbrink and Thelma Mahlman of
Smith Center.
Martha Dettmer, 94, died Saturday,
May 24, 2008, at the Rooks County
Health Center in Stockton. She was
preceded in death by her first
husband, Thomas Welker. She later
married Cleon Dettmer and moved to
Kensington. After his death and her
health began to diminish, she moved
to Stockton to be nearer her
children.
She is survived by a son, Leon and
wife Margaret Welker of Stockton;
two daughters, Arlyne and husband
Verlyn Maddy of Salina, and Kathryn
and husband Cody Couch of Wilson;
twin brothers, Cleon and wife
Pauline Delaney and Cletus Delaney
of Osborne; grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.
The funeral was Wednesday morning at
St. Thomas Catholic Church in
Stockton.
Graveside services will be held for
Linda (Dettmer) Gauer, 98, of
Wichita at the Olive Branch Cemetery
Thursday morning, May 29 at 9 a.m.
Pastor Patsy Koeneke will officiate.
Mrs. Gauer died May 18 in Wichita.
She is survived by a daughter, Linda
Gauer of the Kansas City area. Her
husband, Willard (Bud) Gauer, and a
brother, Cleon Dettmer, preceded her
in death.
Information has been received of the
death of Larry Gronewoller, 58, of
Hunter on May 22, 2008. He is the
brother of Frank Gronewoller of
Ionia who teaches science in the
Kensington High School. The funeral
was Tuesday morning, May 27, at St.
Boniface Catholic Church in Tipton.
Ron and Carmen Rice drove to
Mitchell, S.D., May 16,
to visit with their son and family,
Ron and Denise Werner, and to attend
weekend events with their
grandchildren. Saturday they
saw Jessica Werner run the hurdles
in the last track meet of the season
to remain undefeated. In the evening
a bowling fundraiser was held for
the Dakota Wesleyan Soccer Team.
Their grandson, Jordan Werner, will
play for this team in the fall.
Rice's grandson, Jordan Werner,
graduated from Mitchell High School
Sunday afternoon. Ceremonies were
held at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
A reception followed at the home of
his parents, Ron and Denise Werner.
Others from the area attending were
Kent and Colleen Hudson, Mathew and
Grace of Franklin, Neb.
About sixty relatives and
friends came Saturday afternoon to
wish Lucille Schoeni a happy 90th
birthday at Prairie Haven. Her
children planned the event and were
all present.
The Renebergs and Henkel
families had good times gathering in
Kensington over the weekend. A fish
fry was enjoyed at the home of
Gordon and Juanita Reneberg Saturday
evening. Don and Barb Henkel hosted
a 50th wedding celebration for Don's
sister and husband, Sandy and Carl
Sullivan, at their home on Main
Street on Sunday. Relatives came
from California, Iowa, Nebraska.
Colorado, and Kansas.
Lightning struck the sound system
and also the air-conditioning system
at St. John Lutheran Church (north)
during the storm Friday evening. The
Sunday morning broadcast came over
the radio as usual, but parishioners
had to strain their ears to hear
Pastor Patsy and the other
leaders during worship.
