By Dr. Ferrell Miller
Geary County Historical Society Board Member
“Junction City’s Violin Maker”
Vard Ramsour was a Geary County pioneer farmer and violin maker who was born in Maiden, North Carolina in 1866. Maxwell Ramsour, Vard’s father, came to Kansas in 1871 with a friend by the name of Tom Galloway. When they arrived at their destination, which was the Briggs community eleven miles south of Manhattan in eastern Geary County, winter had set in.
Margaret Ramsour, Vard’s mother and the other five children came one year later. They arrived in Kansas in the fall of 1872 when Vard was just five years old. Max Schellner, the son of Vard’s oldest sister, Caroline, came to live or stay with the Ramsours for a time. Max took an interest in learning to play the violin. Vard encouraged Max to take lessons and supervised Max’s practice time, even though Vard was only a few years older than Max. Soon, Max became one of the finest violinists in the area and looked forward to a career in music.
Vard, however, became interested in the construction of violins. In about 1930 and after much experimenting and obsessive work, Vard perfected his art and began supplying instruments for many leading violinists in the Midwest. The wood Vard used in making his violins was all native Kansas wood and each piece had a history all its own. Though the instruments Vard Ramsour turned out of his cellar shop were valued soon after his death at anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000, while he was alive he rarely got more than $100 to $200 for them. Geary County’s violin maker died at the age of 76 in 1942.
We have one of Vard Ramsour’s violins on display in the auditorium of the Museum. Stop by any day Tuesday through Sunday between the hours of 1 and 4 PM to see it and the other displays about our rich Geary County history. Admission is free.
“The Rise and Fall of Army City”
Our story begins when the United States declared war against Germany on April 6, 1917. Immediately the whole country was mobilized and massive war preparations were begun. One of the major areas to be developed was at Fort Riley where the large meadow along the Kansas River east of the Main Post was designated as the site for the largest of three mobilization centers planned for the nation’s heartland.
The cantonment was started in July and completed by December of 1917. It became home for over 60,000 doughboys of the American Expeditionary Force’s 89th Division.
“Kellyville” was the name given to the prospective town site. It was to be built just north of the national army cantonment site on the Fort Riley military reservation. The site was sold to H.P. Powers and the transaction occurred in 1917 shortly after the building of Camp Funston. Powers changed the name to Army City and proceeded to auction off lots to enterprising businessmen for the establishment of stores, shops and theaters.
Army City was a boom town built primarily to satisfy the needs of the people living at Camp Funston. The town offered closer business and recreation facilities than did either Manhattan or Junction City. There were organizations such as the YMCA, YWCA and a church which held regular Sunday Services. Other forms of recreation included large theaters. The Orpheum had a seating capacity of 1,200 and the Hippodrome sat 3,000. Both of these theaters had an unusually large seating capacity to accommodate the movie-going population of both Army City and Camp Funston.
A.D. Jellison, of the Jellison Trust Company, was largely responsible for the financing and general layout plan of Army City. Jellison named streets using military titles and names of famous soldiers and statesmen. Army City was composed largely of the businessmen and their families; temporarily employed men, who worked either in Army City or Camp Funston, and families of officers and enlisted men.
Eateries, banks, and services were built up as both Army City and Camp Funston simultaneously grew. Soldiers came and went and so did Army City. There were various epidemics and related quarantines, training and deployments, which made it difficult to anticipate or predict business patronage.
By August of 1918 the Army City businesses were barely making ends meet. Five years after the town was established, the headlines read “Taps Has Sounded For Army City.” The 89th Division had shipped out, the war was drawing to a close and sweethearts, wives and others were going home. There were flash floods and even a devastating fire, which wiped out portions of the business district in August of 1920.
It was announced by the government in 1921 that Camp Funston would be closed and dismantled. In 1922, after only five years, Army City surrendered its charter as a city and passed out of existence.