Kansas Antique Racers Annual Banquet Held on Saturday, February 26, 2005 at Halstead Heritage Museum & Depot

Members of the Halstead Historical Society welcomed visitors to the Halstead Heritage Museum and Depot located in the restored 1917 Santa Fe Depot at First and Main from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 26, 2005!

Visitors had a chance to enjoy homemade cookies, coffee and soda as they browsed through displays which highlight the first NASCAR winner, local Jim Roper; Adolph Rupp, the winningest college basketball coach, who was born in Halstead and coached at the University of Kentucky; the Mennonite heritage of the area; biographies of seventy Civil War veterans who settled the town, quilts made by some of the expert quilters in the community and many other tidbits of local history. Visitors even learned about the day the first automobile drove on the streets of Halstead, which was also the same day that the first auto wreck happened!

Local guides as they drove visitors about town revealing interesting facts and history while on a short tour of Halstead. A few of the places of interest visitors saw on the driving tour include:

• Riverside Park with its swinging bridge where the classic movie "Picnic" was filmed in 1955. The charming swan boat, which carried Kim Novak down the river, is on display inside the depot museum (visit the Old Settlers Web Site for more information about the 50th anniversary celebration of the making of "Picnic")
   
• The Warkentin Farmstead, a National Historic Site, once home to Bernard Warkentin, who first imported Turkey Red wheat into Kansas from Russia
   
• The Old Hardware Store on Main Street, a meticulously restored 1916 hardware store which still functions and offers drawers filled with antique hardware and hard to find hardware items
   
• The Kansas Bison Company who grow and ship buffalo meat and buffalo hide apparel all over the country
   
• The Kansas Learning Center for Health where thousands of school children each year learn about health and science
   
• Legg Company, a major manufacturer of rubber slating and belting, invented in Halstead
   
• Victorian Homes swathed in gingerbread which preserve the charm of another era along Halstead’s Main Street
   
• The Halstead Post Office, built in 1935, with a Berger Sandzen mural painted in the lobby

The short driving tour gave visitors a glimpse of Halstead and allowed time to return to the Old Hardware Store or Mable’s Mercantile, which featured have-to-have kitchen items, Jack’s Works which showcases framed western art, or The Kansas Bison Company, serving delicious bison burgers, all located only a few steps apart on Halstead’s Main Street for some quality shopping time.

Check out our current events at the Historical Society Calendar on HalsteadKansas.com!