Voting for Election 2014

Due in part to staffing and equipment issues, the polling place at the Barnard Community Center has been closed.  People who would normally vote there will need to go to the Finch Theater in Lincoln on election Tuesday.  Early voting is currently taking place at the Lincoln County Courthouse.

Pete Saunders

Keith D. "Pete" Saunders, 87, Minneapolis died Monday, September 22, 2014 at the Good Samaritan Society in Minneapolis.  Pete was born in Barnard on March 19, 1927 to Otto and Eva (Loy) Saunders.

Pete was united in marriage with Pat Beck on November 8, 1947.  Pete worked various jobs including at El Dorado and Ottawa County State Lakes.  He was an avid golfer.

Pete was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Pat; son, Mike; grandson Tyler Vishnefske; and brother, Dale.

Survivors include his children, Mitch Saunders and wife Lynne; Monte Saunders and wife Marie; Shelly Vishnefske and husband John; daughter-in-law Jan Saunders; siblings Beth Holcomb, Jerry Saunders, and Peggy Blanding; grandchildren Nick Saunders, Dakota Saunders, Deuce Sunders, Megan Vishnefske, Jenny Saunders, and Levi Saunders; and great-grandchildren  Liby Vishnefske and Emma Saunders.

It was Pete's wishes to be cremated and memorial services will be announced at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Minneapolis Golf Course and may be left in care of Wilson Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 166, Minneapolis, KS 67467.

John Wesley "Wes" Pepper 1932-2014

John Wesley Keith Pepper "Wes", 82 of Redding, California, passed away of heart failure due to complications from surgery, on September 12, 2014, at the Shasta Regional Hospital in Redding.  He was  born on May 18, 1932 in Lincoln, Kansas to John Prouty and Reita Geraldine (Bishop) Pepper.

Wes moved around in the earlier years of his life with his family, living for a while in Lingle, Wyoming and in Clorado near Colorado Springs.  The family later moved back to the Pepper family farm in Barnard, Kansas and that is where he spent most of his growing up years.

He lived in and around Barnard, off and on, until he jointed the US Air Force in the fall of 1951.  We graduated from Barnard High School in 1950, along with his cousin Lloyd Jackson.  Wes was the older sibling of Duane Pepper, Judy Pepper, Frank Pepper, Gene Pepper, and Cheryl Pepper, all of the Barnard area.  Wes had many Bishop, Wallace, and Jackson cousins in and around Lincoln County, KS.

Wes served in the Korean War and flew 18 bombing missions over Korea as a right gunner on B-29 bombers.  He met and married his wife of 59 years while stationed in Roswell, New Mexico.  Wes and Evelyn (Roork) Pepper had three children there before moving to California in 1962.

Wes worked as a harvester in his teen years in Barnard and traveling up to the Dakotas and down south as well.  He also later worked on missile sites and became a building contractor in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960's.  Wes built solid homes on strong foundations and Steve Jobs, of Apple fame, lived in one of his houses.  It held up nicely in the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and Steve Jobs praised the craftsmanship of John Pepper Properties in the San Francisco Chronicle.

In the late 1990's, Wes and Evelyn followed their son, John, down to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico and have lived there since.  Wes always loved the ocean and enjoyed the beauty and freedom found in that area.

He leaves behind his wife Evelyn; children Teresa, John, and Terri; twelve grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Memorials can be given to the Northern California Veterans Cemetery at 11800 Gas Pint Road, Igo, CA 96047 wher Wes was interred.

Teresa (Hamilton/Pepper) Rust

Bill Watson in Salina Hospital

Following a long stay in the Lincoln County Hospital, Bill Watson has been transferred to the Salina Regional Health Center for an extended stay.  Cards can reach him at W.G. (Bill) Watson, Salina Regional Health Center, Room 423, 400 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Salina, KS 67401.

Melvin Hart Will Celebrate 90th Birthday

An open house for Melvin Hart will be hosted by his family on  Saturday, August 2 at the Barnard Lions Community Center.  The reception will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.  He will be celebrating his 90th birthday.

Melvin Hart has been a lifelong resident of Barnard.  He is a farmer and along with his wife, owned Hart's Grocery Store in downtown Barnard for many years.  Mr. Hart is a charter member of the Barnard Lions Club.  Though he is mostly retired now, he still helps his son, Leon, on the farm.  He is also still quite the dancer and has a smile for the ladies on Wednesday nights.  Mr. Hart is a wealth of knowledge on Barnard history and keeps up on the happenings around the community.

Updating the Blog and the Barnard Banter Third Anniversary

I must apologize for not keeping up with the blog.  Sometimes life gets in the way and trying to work out the kinks get difficult at times.  I have a great deal of information and pictures to catch up on and will try to get it done soon.  During the last few months, I have had a change in employment which has resulted in a work schedule that was hard for me to adjust to.  Also, I was involved in an auto accident that resulted in a fatality.  That has had a severe effect as well.

Thank you for your inquiries about the blog.  I am glad to know that there are people who missed it and I promise that it will continue.  June 8th marked its third year and I hope for many more.  The Barnard Banter has over 27,000 readers in more than 50 countries around the world.  It has truly been an incredible experience.

Life in the Old Barnard Cafe

Nancy Houghton, owner of the former Betty's Place in downtown Barnard, is bringing back a bit of life to the old building.  She is hosting dinners on Wednesday nights.  There was a good turn out this last Wednesday night.  Dinner nights are posted on the front door so keep an eye out and I will try to do better about keeping the blog updated.

Bill and Charlene Watson Celebrate 60 Years of Marriage

Bill and Charlene Watson are celebrating 60 years of marriage.  They married in 1954.  They have five children; Vicki, Beverly, Dwight, Jeana, and Ginger.  They continue to live on the farm where Bill's parents got their start.  Bill and Charlene have been active in many organizations including the First Baptist Church of Barnard and  the Barnard Lion's Club.  Charlene is an accomplished local musician and writer.

There is a public reception from 2-4 p.m. at the Barnard Community Center on Saturday, June 14th.

Annual Lions Club Fish Fry

The Barnard Lions Club Annual Fish Fry is on Saturday, March 29th from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Things Of Interest by Charlene Watson (Are They REALLY True?)

     When I read this I couldn't resist sending it in for the Barnard Banter. There are some really good facts in here and also some pretty weird ones. (Especially the no belching because there is no gravity and the nasty mouthwash part.)  All in all, I thought there  some interesting facts that people (like me) didn't know before. --- Charlene Watson       

                    Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he declined.

Astronauts can't belch - there is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in their stomachs.

Ancient Roman, Chinese and German societies often used urine as mouthwash.

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. In the Renaissance era, it was fashion to shave them off!

Because of the speed at which Earth moves around the Sun, it is impossible for a solar eclipse to last more than 7 minutes and 58 seconds.

The night of January 20 is "Saint Agnes's Eve", which is regarded as a time when a young woman dreams of her future husband.

It takes glass one million years to decompose, which means it never wears out and can be recycled an infinite amount of times!

Gold is the only metal that doesn't rust, even if it's buried in the ground for thousands of years .

Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end .

If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.

Each year 2,000,000 smokers either quit smoking or die of tobacco-related diseases.

Zero is the only number that cannot be represented by Roman numerals

Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.

The song, Auld Lang Syne, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.

Drinking water after eating reduces the acid in your mouth by 61 percent

Peanut oil is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn't smoke unless it's heated above 450?F

The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.

Nine out of every 10 living things live in the ocean

The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man

Airports at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air density

The University of Alaska spans four time zones

The tooth is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.

In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.

Warner Communications paid $28 million for the copyright to the song Happy Birthday.

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

A comet's tail always points away from the sun

The Swine Flu vaccine in 1976 caused more death and illness than the disease it was intended to prevent

Caffeine increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, that is why it is found in some medicines.

The military salute is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armor raised their visors to reveal their identity.

If you get into the bottom of a well or a tall chimney and look up, you can see stars, even in the middle of the day.

When a person dies, hearing is the last sense to go. The first sense lost is sight

In ancient times strangers shook hands to show that they were unarmed

Strawberries are the only fruits whose seeds grow on the outside

Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams

The moon moves about two inches away from the Earth each year

The Earth gets 100 tons heavier every day due to falling space dust

Due to earth's gravity it is impossible for mountains to be higher than 15,000 meters

Mickey Mouse is known as "Topolino" in Italy

Soldiers do not march in step when going across bridges because they could set up a vibration which could be sufficient to knock the bridge down

Everything weighs one percent less at the equator

For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel are needed at lift-off

The letter J does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.

And last but not least:

In 2012, December has 5 Mondays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. This apparently happens once every 823 years!

Charlene

City Coucil Minutes for April, May, and June 2013

Pastor Dennis

Dennis Finch, pastor at the Baptist church in Barnard, is having surgery on Monday the 13th.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Going...Going...GONE!

The Barnard city council was accepting bids for the cafe building in Barnard, Kansas.  The city had advertised for the previous month for interested parties to purchase the building with the city reserving the right to refuse any and all bids.  Two bids were received.  One bid was for $2500 and was submitted by Gary Segal who was from Hunter.  His intention was to run it as a cafe.  It would have benefited Barnard by continuing as a restaurant.  The other bid was from Barnard city council member, Nancy Houghton, for $3000.  Nancy said she was going to use it to house her arts and crafts and possibly her baking.  She has no intention of running it as a restaurant.  The city went with coucilperson Houghton's bid.

The cafe had troubles remaining open since Betty Loy closed her cafe, Betty's Place, over a decade ago.  Since then, several had tried to run it but those efforts were plagued by arbitrary hours of operation, varying quality of food, and hospitality.  A few years ago, angel donors donated money to the city for the purchase and maintenance of the building in hopes that it would continue to be a vibrant part of community life as a restaurant.  The last tenant vacated the building about a year ago after being in business a year.  During the last part of 2013, a pipe burst causing damage and the city collected $6000 in money from the insurance company for repairs.  The city decided to keep the money and place the building up for sale as is leaving the U.S. Postal Service as the only downtown business left in Barnard.  The Cargill leased elevator continues to serve coffee and candy for the morning social crowd.