The Marysville Advocate from Marysville, Kansas • 20

8B The Marysville Advocate March 16. 1995 ine ri Marysville rt Aavocate Editorial opinion Winning friends Sergei Khrushchev, son of the late Soviet leader ta Khrushchev, and his wife, Valentina, were warmly received in their visit to Marysville Tuesday. "Kids usually don't stand up for anything but a rock group," cracked one person who was in the MHS Audi-" torium where MHS and MJHS students stood to applaud their distinguished guests before and after his talk. The same spontaneous response came from a crowd of about 250 before and after Khrushchev's remarks in the Helvering Community Center. His thoughts about the Russian economy, government and world relations were clearly reasoned and objective and will surely win him and Russia better understanding in his travels across Kansas and elsewhere.

Many of those who heard him or read his remarks gain a better understanding of what is going on in Russia today. It was an honor and a great educational opportunity for people of this community and guests to hear, see and meet the Khrushchevs. Thanks to those at Exchange National Bank and the Rotarians who spent time and money to bring them here for a successful visit. 'A disaster' I f'if0 7 M05 'Jsssi vTK wm MI-A fjA I fSk lit! I kmm ra Jill fw I 3 'vP sii I 1 i tj- RmSi Mi Irl I Wm kgr ContemplationsSharon Kessinger trail of PX riders' history Some politicians tout the death penalty as a panacea to violent crime, but it is not and it is ruinously expen-sive. Hugo Bedan, Tufts University professor, says there is V.

no evidence that the death penalty is deterring violent crime in either Texas or Florida, which lead the nation in the number of executions. All studies show, he says, that it costs more to put a person to death than to imprison him or her for life. If a person later found innocent has been sentenced to prison, he or she can be released. Someone put to death misses thai chance. Leigh Dingenon, executive director of the Washing-v ton-based Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, estimates is costs $2 million to prosecute a capital case.

She predicts courts will be tied up and will not be able 'S- to handle the civil and non-capital docket. "It has been a disaster in every state that has tried it," she says. Sunflowers missed Whatever happened to those signs that welcomed people to Kansas with happy sunflowers now so much in style. Steve Haynes, editor of the Oberlin Herald, notes editorially that Gov. Mike Hayden replaced these jewels with silly "Ah Kansas" signs done in ugly brown.

Then Gazette. Lewin outlined the search that followed, a complicated route through marriage and census records, land descriptions and deeds. What the museum staff found put is a nice coincidence: the farm where Johnny Fry lived as early 'as 1850 and until he was J.6 is now the site of the west end of the Pony Express Bridge and the first 13 mile of the Pony Express Highway, which is U. S. 36 from St.

Joe west. It is probable, Lewin wrote, that in 1860, the starting year of the Pony Express, Johnny Fry the rider was the same John Fry listed in the St. Joseph City Directory as a foreman for the Fish and Robidoux livery stable at Main and Faraon streets. It was learned that Reason Fry and Sarah Fry, brother and sister of Johnny Fry, have descendants living in the St. Joseph area today.

Johnny Fry was killed in 1863 at the Civil War battle of Baxter Springs, Lewin said Stories about the Pony Express riders are scarce. Records have been lost, so the only information about the riders has come from the riders themselves in later years or from their descendants. They have been described as "young, skinny fellows, riejdnd their, wages were $50 a month plus board. Ads were run in newspapers of the time for young, skinny orphans to take on the arduous, and dangerous, dashes across open country. Eulalia Guise, president of the Pony Express Home Station No.

1 and Museum board, says the museum has a scrapbook with information about the PX riders from here. They must have been interesting fellows, and that is confirmed by the Merrill J. Mattes and Paul Henderson book, "The Pony Express," which reports some of the legends and the discrepancies in lore about tha riders. One of those stories is about Buffalo Bill Cody and his alleged heroic feats, which Mattes says seem not to be true. There was a rule that Pony Express riders had to be 20 years old, but that point has been-argued.

The book by Mattes and Hen-, derson says David Robert Jay was a rider who had the run from Big Sandy to Marysville. He jalived until 1930; and one source says he was hired "in spite of the fact he was not yet 14 years of age. Another rider identified in the book was Jack Keetley, "one of the few who rode the Pony 18 months, from start to finish." Eulalia says Keetley is generally recognized as the first rider out of Marysville, and he is featured in a painting at the museum. Tales about him are wild and woolly. "He handled the Marysville-Big Sandy stretch.

He was another marathon rider, once going 340 miles in 31 hours," says the book, and "He was taken from the saddle sound asleep." On the Johnny Fry, the first Pony Express rider, wasn't a skinny orphan. He was 20 years old when he took the first mail out of St. Joseph in 1860. Three years later he died in a Civil War battle. Historians at the Pony Express National Memorial in Joseph are elated because information about Fry has finally been uncovered.

The key that unlocked the door to Fry's history was a recent donation of old scrapbooks to the museum. In one of the scrap-books was a small article about the history of Rushville, Mo. A portion of the article said this: "Another familiar figure was Colonel Wells, whose stepson, Johnny Fry, was the first Pony Express rider out of St. Joseph, April 3, I860." This was the first specific connection the museum staff had between Fry and any other person living in Buchanan County, at the time of the Pony Express, museum curator Jacqueline Lewin has written in an article for the Pony Express AdvocacyHoward Estonian Estonian editor Vahur Kalmre, who was to arrive Saturday at Kansas City International, will be here a day later. He will stop en route from Louisiana to visit a newspaper friend in Texas.

Since March 4, when Vahur and 10 other media managers from Central and Eastern Europe arrived in the United States, they spent a week in Washington, D.C., and one in Louisiana, for orientation on American lifestyle and customs and guidelines for social and professional etiquette. His month-long internship in Marysville is sponsored by the Institute of International Education, Washington, D.C. Much of Vahur's time will be Kessinger visitor faces busy schedule here Gov. Joan Finney came up with those nitwitty things that appear to be disintegrating into confetti. Too, Haynes says, big, ugly "Adopt a Highway" signs were planted all over the state with two posts each.

And a yellow "Keep Kansas Clean" sign clings to one leg like some strange butterfly. "Adopt a Highway is a nice program," he writes, "but some states (like Nebraska) do it with little, unobtrusive signs that serve very well without cluttering up the landscape. Couldn't we do that, too, and save money, and make Kansas a prettier, less sign-cluttered place?" Rocky, who battled pneumonia through the tournament, is feeling better and is back in the classroom. mThe-g Marysville Advocate Printed with soy-base Ink on recycled newsprint (USPS 332-260 Weekly) MARYSVILLE, KANSAS 66508 Thursday, March 16, 1995 The Advocate Publishing Co. Inc.

An independent newspaper combined with The Marshall County News OFFICE STAFF News Janet Bargmann, Dorine Bergren, Sally Gray, Sharon Kessinger, Mike Wilson, JoAnn Shum. Business Tami Ford, circulation. Advertising Randy Meerian, advertising director; Margie Hadom. SHOP J.B. Coulal, shop superintendent: Roily Ford, composition; Shawn Vaughn, pressman; Cathy Lindqulst, Kathy Shum, Joy Davidson, Angle Staggenborg, Liz Blerbaum.

Howard Kessinger, editor, Howard and Sharon Kessinger, co-publishers. $25.18 (tax Included) In city and county and adjoining counties ol Nemaha, Washington, Riley and Pottawatomie in Kansas; Gage and Pawnee counties in Nebraska. $35 Elsewhere Single copy 52e 1 .50 per single copy by mall Second-class postage paid at Marysville, KS 66508 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Marysville Advocate, Box 271, Marysville, KS 66508 Raise minimum The proposed increase in the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour should be voted through by Congress. At that it will barely keep pace with inflation. Too, as many who receive minimum wages spend every cent they make just to make ends meet, a reduction in withholding would put more money into their pockets and help the economy as well.

Fast-food outfits are opposed to raising the minimum wage, just as they were against a comprehensive health-care plan, but they will just adjust their prices accordingly and never miss a lick. Jayhawks carry the state flag into play as top seed in the Midwest regional. With K-State and Wichita State's programs in the rebuilding process it's once again up to the Hawks to bring home the bacon. May they have every success. Marysville fans were happy to see the Bulldogs go out on a winning note in the state 4A consolation game Saturday in Salina.

Centralia boys, playing in the 1A tournament at Fort Hays State, also finished third to give the area two state placers. Locals who had seen both Effingham and Paola play concluded before the final that the Tigers were the odds-on favorites. But the Panthers proved otherwise. What a sports year Paola had in that growing community, first in both 4A football and basketball. Coach Rocky Stone's NCKL champion Marysville had one of its best basketball seasons in school history and the Bulldogs went out in style with a convincing victory over Basehor-Lin-wood Saturday afternoon.

Seven seniors leave, but talented underclassman, including 6-4 sophomore Jeff Edwards, who led MHS scoring against Base-hor-Linwood, and 6-1 junior Jerod Kruse, return. The junior varsity B-Dogs were 14-0 this season. spent in this community, but visits are also being lined out at K-State, KU, Wichita State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He will spend a day in Topeka during the legislative session, visit the state judicial center, tour the Capital-Journal and visit historic sites. While in Wichita he will tour the Eagle.

It's going to be a busy time for all of us at the Advocate and we're really looking forward to it. I'm amazed at how much left-undone things we have gotten wrapped up since we learned the Advocate had been picked for this internship. MARCH Madness continues this week as the talented KU JANET BARGMANN feeling you shouldn't have done what you just did. What a pity flowers can utter no sound. A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle oh what a rare and exquisite miracle would these bel H.

W. Beecher Virtues carried to excess become unbearable. Potluck COMPILED BY Letters welcome The Advocate welcomes letters to the editor. Writers are asked to keep remarks brief and strive for clarity. Letters must be signed; the writer's name will not be withheld.

The newspaper reserves the right to delete libelous material or phrasing that is in poor taste. Letters should be at the Advocate office by Monday noon of the week in which the writer wants the letter to appear. Some self-made men are examples of unskilled labor. Scoutmaster: "When you pulled little Willie out of the creek you should have given him artificial respiration." Ichabod: "We tried to, but he kept jumping up and running off." Conscience is the uneasy.