Too Long in the Wind

February 2013

It's snowtime

[February 20]   The National Weather Service says central Kansas should expect a lot of free irrigation today and Thursday -- sleet and maybe a foot of snow blowing into drifts.

There must be a few in Pawnee Rock who remember the big blizzard of the mid-1960s, the one that drifted to the top of the school's shop. Power was out for three days. There have been lesser snows, too, and all of them have been good for the wheat in some degree.

The photo with this post shows fresh snow on the dirt road leading north toward Elrick Smith's place; it was taken a little past Durward Smith's farm northwest of town. The snow that day in the mid-1970s wasn't especially deep, but it must have been wet and slippery.

Back to top

Adam Deckert has died

The gravestone for Adam and Helen Deckert in the Bergthal Mennonite Memorial Cemetery.

[February 17]   Adam Deckert, a Pawnee Rock native and a lifelong friend to many of us who grew up there, has died at a retirement home in Lenexa. He was 94 years old.

Adam was born on February 6, 1919, the son of Peter and Susan Deckert and graduated from Pawnee Rock High in 1937. He died Saturday, Feburary 16.

A visitation has been scheduled for Tuesday at Bryant Funeral Home in Great Bend. His funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Bergthal Mennonite Church north of Pawnee Rock, and he'll be buried next to his wife, Helen, in the church cemetery a mile south. After the burial, lunch will be served at the church. (Full obituary)

Adam is survived by children Anna White of Goliad, Texas; Frances Najafizadeh of Houston; Howard of Austin, Texas; Ida Deckert of Seattle, Washington; and Amy Kliewer of Lenexa. Another daughter, Cora, died as a child in 1960. In addition, 12 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one sister, Adina Klassen of Wichita, survive him.

Adam's eight brothers and one other sister died before him: Ivan Deckert, Arlen Deckert, Harvey Deckert, Bennie Deckert, Lyndon Deckert, Erbun Deckert, Albun Deckert, and Otho Deckert; and one sister, Louise Deckert.

(Adam deserves a more complete remembrance. If you'd like to add thoughts or photos to our memory of him, please send them to leon@pawneerock.org.

Back to top

Board of Education names

Members of the Pawnee Rock Board of Education appeared in the 1950 yearbook. They are, from left: James Darcey, Roger Unruh, George Stansbury, and Wendell Smith.

[February 5]   Our friend Leon Miller (Class of 1951) wrote to rearrange the names of the Board of Education members that appeared on the homepage yesterday. They appear here in the correct left-to-right order.

Back to top

Easter Pageant choir rehearsals

[February 1]   With Easter coming up on March 31, Elaine Mull writes in search of more members for the chorus in the Sunrise Pageant:

It is a wonderful pageant with the actors on the face of the rock and those attending sit with their backs to the sunrise. The sunrise illuminates the face of the Rock.

I would like a notice put on PawneeRock.org about the choir rehearsals. I am always seeking additional choir members. We do have a sound system but a larger choir always carries better since it is outdoors.

Choir rehearsals are scheduled for: Sundays at 4 p.m. on Feb 24, March 3, 17, and 24th. Practice is held at the Pawnee Rock New Jerusalem Church.

The music includes tradtional Easter hymns and comtemporary specials.

Thank you,
Elaine Mull
gemull [at] gbta.net

Back to top

Sell it

Advertise here to an audience that's already interested in Pawnee Rock:

Or tell someone happy birthday.