We began this series of stories after the Civil War in 1865. We’re ending the series at the end of World War I in 1920. What a dramatic change in people’s lifestyles over these 55 years.
Let’s review…
165 – A Look Back
164 – Ralph Jarvis and Chleo Webb
Ralph was back in Larned, and out of the army. It was the summer of 1919. He quickly found work as a lineman for The Pawnee Power and Water Company.
Chleo had just finished high school. She was living at home with her mother, and they were working at the Ideal Steam Laundry.
Ralph and Chleo rekindled their relationship and talked of marriage.
Continue reading163 – Coming Home
Continue readingWith orders for home, the 137th Regiment boarded trains at Sampigny on March 7. They arrived in the Le Mans area three days later. The companies were dispersed to surrounding towns and villages, Company M to Monfort-les-Gesnois. Far from the desolate battlefields, the men enjoyed a couple weeks of “the best accommodations since [their] arrival in France,” whether in billets or private homes.
Easter Aboard the Manchuria
162 – Over There
On May 9, 1918, soldiers of the 137th Infantry disembarked their ships and set foot on French soil at Le Havre.
The 137th served a few weeks with the British in Northern France and then by three days of forced marches and three days train travel moved to the eastern end of the Western Front, near Gerardmer, from where it went into the line with French troops on German soil near Switzerland on June 18, 1918.
A History of the 137th Infantry, An All-Kansas Regiment
161 – It’s War
In 1916, Ralph Jarvis had met Chleo Webb and started a relationship. At 16, Chleo was still in high school. Ralph, 22, was working as a lineman.
Their lives would be interrupted by The Great War.
160 – Ralph Jarvis Was Electrifying
What was going on in Larned in the spring and summer of 1916? We’ll pick up on three story lines to find out.
- Larned’s new electric plant was coming on line.
- Ralph Jarvis, 22, was in Larned, working as a lineman converting houses to the new electric system.
- Chleo Webb was coming of age at 16, living in the Rock House with her mother Anna.
159 – Chleo Webb
Chleo Webb (1G) had been born in 1900 on the farm south of Larned. She was the youngest of the five children.
Continue reading158 – Life in Larned 1900s
John Webb had died in January 1903. By 1905, Anna Webb had moved her family into the town of Larned and into the Rock House at 219 Kansas Street.
157 – The Rock House
John Webb had died in January 1903.
Shortly after John died, Anna moved the family to the town of Larned. She decided she’d be better able to raise five children with a job in town instead of farming. She moved to the “Rock House.”
Continue reading156 – John Webb and Anna Buhrer
John Webb left Virginia in 1885. By 1887 he was in Abilene, Dickinson County, Kansas.
In 1886, at around age 19, Anna Buhrer moved to Dickinson County and stayed in the household of her sister Caroline.
Family Nibbles 