PLANS MOVING FORWARD FOR COUNTY CELEBRATION

The committee planning a county-wide celebration this summer continues to meet and move forward with their plans. This year, 2006, marks the 100th anniversary of the official dedication of the Doniphan County Courthouse. This impressive structure, designed by famed architect George Washburn and built by J. H. Wagenknecht, was formally dedicated with great festivity on July 4th, 1906.  A sizable parade, led by a band from Cameron, Missouri, included floats and matched teams from all over the county. The committee hopes for a comparable celebration this Fourth of July.

The streets of Troy are to be decked out with welcoming banners on light poles all over town. County Commissioners are planning a re-dedication program to begin at 2:30 p.m. on the Courthouse square. The Honorable Eric S. Rosen, Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, has agreed to deliver an address at that time. Justice Rosen, among many other honors, served on the Presidential commission charged with commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U. S. Supreme Court. He was sworn in as a member of the Kansas Supreme Court in November of 2005. Plans are under way to serve a huge County Celebration Cake to be formed and decorated as a culinary replica of Doniphan County. Committee members are attempting to contact descendants of people involved in the building of the Courthouse 100 years ago.

County Celebration Cake

On Sunday, July 2nd, 2006, county citizens are invited to participate in a “family picnic on the green.” Everyone is invited to bring a picnic dinner to the Courthouse square in Troy. Following your picnic the County Celebration Cake will be served to all. This cake, decorated to depict Doniphan County from 1856 to the present, is to be made up of many individual cakes baked by citizens from all over the county. Any group or individual interested in being a part of this great adventure is asked to contact Mary Johnson, at 785-985-2886, for details.

Search For Descendants

During the re-dedication ceremony the planners would like to recognize descendants of those people who made the Courthouse building possible. If you are, or if you know of any descendants of Mr. Wagenknecht, the builder, please contact Joan Oyerly at 785-989-4914. Also, please contact her if you are descended from the County Commissioners who oversaw its construction. They were: N. L. Nelson, A. B. Symms and F. H. Dosselmeier. In addition, and very importantly, 41 citizens pledged their own funds to secure a bond that would insure the construction of the building. They were:
            J. H. Sallee                                                G. L. Stuart
            Jno. A. C. Gordon                                    Ernest Fuger
            B. N. Forbes                                                C. H. Bowman
            G. A. Dubach                                                Rullman & Rullman Co.
            Martin Maag                                                J. W. Bauer
            James A. Stewart                                    Adam Groh
            W. W. Carter                                                M. A. Boeh
            Jacob Miller                                                Andy Boeh
            Jacob Groh                                                J. A. Cordonier
            Peter A. Manville                                    F. Sinker
            H. N. Winn                                                Wm. Gutzman
            P.A. Pettis                                                A. M. Kiehnhoff
            Chas. Laipple                                                James Gladden
            Lucas Studer                                                Perry Gladden
            H. Moskau                                                Matthaus Rapp
            Aug. Haupt                                                Geo. J. Gummig
            John Euler                                                Geo. Schuler
            B. Schmille                                                Joseph Schuler
            Theo. Moskau                                                Fred Hoffman
            Henry Hoffman                                     Samuel Lehmann
            J. F. Schofelder
The committee would like to recognize as many descendants of these people as possible. Please contact Ms. Oyerly if you are, or know of someone who is descended from any of these former Doniphan County citizens.

Seeking Historic Pictures

Historic exhibits are to be an important part of the July celebration. Committee members are seeking photographs of old Troy to include in the storefront exhibits. If anyone has any pictures of businesses on Main Street, comparable to those accompanying this article, please consider sharing it with the community. The committee will make copies and will do no harm to your original.  One very much desired photo would be one of the La Belle Theater. Please contact Pat Dill at 785-985-3721, email pdill7@earthlink.net or Peggy Stanton at 785-985-2343, email pstanton@carsoncomm.com  if you can help with this project.

Many more events are being planned for the celebration scheduled to take place June 30 – July 4, 2006. Please check the web site, www.celebratetroy.com for a complete schedule of events and current information.