Here are three photographs of Urban Renewal in Topeka, Kansas. They show buildings being razed on Kansas Avenue at Fourth Street.
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Urban renewal in Topeka, Kansas
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Central Plains tradition abrader
This abrader was recovered from the Wollenberg village site in Washington County in 1991. Archeologists call abraders groundstone tools as they are shaped by grinding. This sandstone abrader has been used to sharpen another tool, usch as a bone needle or awl.
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Hollenberg Pony Express Station flatware
This knife and fork were recovered from the Hollenberg Pony Express Station in Washington County in 1991. They were found below the station and may have been lost anytime during the buildings use as a home or station. The knife has lost all of its wooden handle, but the fork still retains traces of its wooden handle.
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Dinner Plate
This whiteware plate sherd was recovered from the Hollenberg Pony Express Station in Washington County in 1991. It was found below the station and may have been lost anytime during the buildings use as a home or station. The sherd shows the maker's mark of the W. & E. Corn pottery of England.
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General Service Button
This General Service button was found near the Enlisted Barracks at Fort Wallace in Wallace County. Excavations took place at the fort in 1997 by archeologists from the Kansas Historical Society. The button is of a size to have likely been used on a jacket cuff.
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Modified Mussel Shell
This fragment of a mussel shell was found along Mill Creek in Wabaunsee County. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1925. The hole was cut or drilled into the shell, but it isn't known whether desired result was the shell with a hole in it, or the cut-out portion, which could have been made into a bead or even a button.
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Pony bead
This bead was recovered from the surface of a camp workshop site (14TO313) along the Saline River in Trego County during the 1997 Kansas Archeology Training Program. Beads that are 4.0mm to 4.5mm in length, like this one, are called "Pony" beads.
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Hollenberg Pony Express Station buttons
Several buttons were found during the 1991 excavations at the Hollenberg Pony Express Station in Washington County. One button fragment is made of shell and the rest are glass.
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Alternately Beveled Knife
This alternately beveled knife was found in Wabaunsee County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1925. Archeologists believe that a knife shaped like this one would have been used for bison buthcering. Sometimes these knives are alternately sharpened on four sides, but this specimen has been sharpened on only two alternate sides. Knives with the general diamond shape are also sometimes called Harahey knives. One side of the knife is nearly covered with the original collector's notes (some erroneous).
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Hammerstone
This chert hammerstone, a hard cobble used to strike flakes from a stone, was recovered from a camp site in Seward County. The river cobble shows battering on two ends.
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Spencer Cartridge from Fort Wallace
This 50-56 caliber Spencer cartridge, manufactured by the Sage Ammunition Works of Middleton, Connecticut, was found near the guardhouse at Fort Wallace in Wallace County. Excavations took place at the fort in 1997 by archeologists from the Kansas Historical Society.
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Art Priebe and Jake Watkins, Topeka, Kansas
Infielder Art Priebe (on the left) and outfielder Byron 'Jake' Watkins (on the right) are shown in this snapshot from 1947. Priebe and Watkins played for the Topeka Owls minor league baseball team in 1946 and part of 1947. Both players were in the minor leagues for five seasons. Priebe played a total of 431 minor league games for five different teams, and had a career batting average of .220. Watkins' average was .324 in the 583 games he played for six different teams. Digital reproduction of the photograph was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's dining car department
This photograph shows a group of women assembling napkins and tablecloths for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's dining car department.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train
This photograph shows U.S. soldiers loading supplies into an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train.
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Dawn Coffman, Topeka, Kansas
This photograph from the early 1950s shows a young Dawn Coffman posing on the bus used by the Topeka Decker Oilers semi-pro baseball team. Her father, Harland Coffman, was a minor league pitcher (1948-1953) who played for the Decker Oilers both before and after his minor league career. Her grandfather, A.L. 'Pooch' Coffman was the team's long-time manager. Other family members also played on the team, including Pooch's brothers Junior and Ed, as well as his other son, Burton. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the Decker Oiler team was a perennial contender for the state semi-pro baseball title, competing each year in the state tournament held in Wichita. Digital reproduction of the photo was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Harland Coffman, bowling in Topeka, Kansas
Topekan Harland Coffman is bowling in this photograph from the 1960s. Coffman was a lifelong Topekan who played high school, American Legion, minor league, and semi-pro baseball throughout his youth and young adulthood. He pitched for several minor league teams between 1948 and 1953. In the 158 minor league games for which his statistics are available, he achieved an overall record of 62-46, with an ERA of 3.19. In 1952, Coffman participated in the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training camp, but did not make the team roster in the regular season. His professional playing days ended when he suffered an arm injury and opted not to have surgery recommended by doctors to extend his baseball career. After his minor league career, Coffman played several years with the Topeka Decker Oilers, a semi-pro team managed by his father, A.L. 'Pooch' Coffman. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the Decker Oilers were a perennial contender for the state semi-pro baseball title, competing each year in the state tournament held in Wichita. Harland Coffman worked 34 years for the Topeka Capital Journal. He died in 2010 at the age of 81.
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Harland and Burton Coffman, Topeka, Kansas
These two photographs from the 1940s show Harland and Burton Coffman of Topeka. In the earlier of the two photos, dated 1940, the boys are posing with their bicycles outside the service station owned by their father, A.L. Coffman (known as Al, Vern, or most often by his nickname "Pooch"). In the 1940 snapshot, Burton is on the left and Harland on the right. In the later, undated photo, Harland is on the left and Burton, the right. The Coffman family was well-known in Topeka baseball circles throughout the 1940s and 1950s, primarily because of the Topeka Decker Oilers, a semi-pro team organized and managed by "Pooch" Coffman. Both Harland and Burton would eventually play for their father on the Decker Oiler team, alongside their uncles Junior and Ed. Both also played professionally in the minor leagues. Burton's minor league career was brief, lasting only 11 games as a pitcher for the Carthage Cubs in 1951. Harland also was a pitcher who played for several minor league teams between 1948 and 1953. In the 158 minor league games for which his statistics are available, Harland compiled a record of 62-46 with an ERA of 3.19. Digital reproduction of the photographs was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, Kansas
This is a photograph showing the west side of Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, Kansas.
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Pitcher Lee Dodson, Topeka, Kansas
Lee Dodson is pictured in these two snapshots from 1947, the year he pitched for the Topeka Owls minor league baseball team. With an 18-4 record and an ERA of 2.37, Dodson led the Class C Western Association that year in both winning percentage and earned run average. Dodson was a right-handed power pitcher from Topeka. As a youth, he played in Topeka High's intramural league and the American Legion's Junior Baseball program. After serving in the Army during World War II, Dodson pitched professionally in the minor leagues from 1946 through 1950. In 141 game appearances, he earned 37 wins against 35 losses, and had an ERA of 3.76. Besides Topeka, Dodson pitched for the Chanute Owls, Kansas City Blues, Newark Bears, Muskegon Clippers and Beaumont Roughnecks. After the minor leagues, he pursued a career in education, serving for many years as the Dean of Students at Washburn University. Throughout his adult life, Dodson was a leader in Topeka's baseball community. Over the years, he founded and managed several leagues, and managed and coached countless teams. He also was co-founder and president of the Topeka Baseball Federation. Known as Topeka's "Mr. Baseball", Lee Dodson died in 2013 at the age of 89. Digital reproduction of the photographs was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Harland Coffman in Independence, Kansas
This photograph of Topekan Harland Coffman was taken in Independence, Kansas, in 1948. That summer, Coffman was a right-handed pitcher with the Independence Yankees, a Class D minor league club in the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri (KOM) League. Coffman's record in 1948 was 18-5, with an earned run average of 1.94. His ERA was the best among all KOM League pitchers that year, and he was a league co-leader in number of wins, sharing the honor with two other pitchers. Coffman pitched for several minor league teams between 1948 and 1953. In addition to Independence, he also pitched for teams in Joplin, Columbus (GA), Omaha, Houston, Rochester, Columbus (OH), and Austin. In the 158 minor league games for which his statistics are available, he achieved an overall record of 62-46, with an ERA of 3.19. In 1952, Coffman participated in the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training camp, but did not make the team roster in the regular season. His professional playing days ended when he suffered an arm injury and opted not to have surgery recommended by doctors to extend his baseball career. After his minor league career, Coffman played several years with the semi-pro Topeka Decker Oilers. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the Decker Oilers were a perennial contender for the state semi-pro baseball title, competing each year in the state tournament held in Wichita. Harland's father 'Pooch' (also known as Al or Vern) was the long-time manager of the Decker Oilers. Other family members who played with the team were Harland's brother Burton, and his uncles Ed and Junior Coffman. Harland was a lifelong resident of Topeka, and worked 34 years for the Topeka Capital Journal. He died in 2010 at the age of 81. Digital reproduction of the photograph was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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