Christmas Parades and Tree Lightings in Labette County

Christmas Parades
Altamont, 11 a.m. on December 13
Chetopa, None
Edna, 1 p.m. on December 13
Oswego, 7 p.m. on December 10
Parsons, 7 p.m. on December 4

Tree Lightings
Altamont, December 5, 6:30 p.m.
Chetopa, December 3, 6 p.m.
Edna, None
Oswego, None
Parsons, None

A band of Oswego High School students composed of Brad Feagan,18 - keyboards and vocal, Stuart Keener,17 - Cello, and Clint Rea,14 - drums, are turning heads with their new band called “Doomed on the Downbeat.”
The guys have been together about two months and played for the first time at the 2008 Alumni Banquet (at which time they hadn’t choosen a name).  More recently, they played at the Kitchen Pass in Parsons opening for the band “Ear Benders” and have been invited back for a future performance.
Their music style would be alternative rock but leans towards the softer side of that genre and include a number of classic Beetles tunes. They also have several original songs they have written and are working on expanding their song list.
Brad is the son of Reggie and Teri Feagan; Stuart is the son of Walter and Beverly Keener and Clint is the son of Brian and Jane Rea.
The group will be performing after the bid closing at 6 p.m., with the “horrah” auction this Saturday, Dec. 6 at the Red Chair Auction, (former VFW) in Oswego.
P&D Diner is open on Wednesday through Sundays from 11 a.m., to 8 p.m.
“The silent auction will be held the first Saturday of the month right now,” owner David Spradling said. Items are brought in on consignment and displayed for two weeks, on the third week, the bid closing is held (first Saturday of the month). The buyer has one week to come and pick up their purchased merchandise, and the whole process starts over.
Look at their advertisement in this week’s edition. You are invited to come out, have lunch or supper, hear the band and participate in this new adventure for Labette County.

The Oswego Chamber of Commerce has selected Fred and Marna Taylor for this year’s marshals for the Christmas parade scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m.
Fred and Marna had an Oswego real estate and insurance business for 17 years. Fred had a Ford dealership for 14 years prior to being director of the Labette Community College Oswego branch campus for six years. He spent many years with Kraft Foods and was national sales manager for Borg-Warner.
During his years in Oswego, Fred has been Labette County Commissioner, Oswego City Councilman, a Rotarian president, a Lions’ Club member (president three times), on the Chamber Board, on the Fair Board, served on the Housing Committee, the Labette Community College Board of Trustees and on the Board of West Side Homes, Oswego Economic Development Committee, Oswego Industries, as well as other offices and organizations.
Marna has worked for Labette Community College, was Oswego Chamber of Commerce president, Labette County Tourism Director, Oswego Tourism Director for two years, was the first woman president of Lions Club, was on the Board of Big Brutus and helped with fundraisers for the Christmas decorations.
Fred has lived in Oswego since 1950. He survived the ‘51 Flood with losing crops and livestock. He recalls those years he spent on the Deming Ranch when the family was struggling trying to clean up, find their livestock and start over again with the farming. He has 12 children, 44 grand children and 24 great grand children at present count. He has spent a lot of time promoting and planning for the betterment of Oswego. “We have had a good life with great people in Oswego,” stated Fred.
Marna’s family came to Oswego from rural Chetopa in March of 1953. She completed college at Coffeyville College and Pittsburg State University and moved around the United States and Germany as a military wife for 23 years before returning to Oswego. “Our lives have been greatly involved with the history and people of Oswego. I retired and stayed home for six months before deciding it was not for me. I needed to work and be around the people again. They have been so much a part of our lives,” said Marna.
She now is employed by Labette Avenue.
The Oswego annual Christmas parade and chili dinner is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 10. The free chili dinner will be served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Recreation Commission building on Fourth Street near Tina’s Cafe. The parade will begin at 7 p.m.
Participants will parade down Fourth Street to Commercial, go one block south and then turn back west on Fifth Street. Linda Schreppel and Larry Wilson are parade directors this year.
Grand prizes will be awarded for entries in the new Pet Parade and Decorated Bicycle Contest. Boys and girls will receive an arm band at the beginning of the parade so that after a point they can join their families to enjoy the rest of the parade.
A copy of the parade entry form is in this edition.
Santa will be at the Recreation Commission building after the parade.

Sen. Dwayne Umbarger will meet Thursday afternoon with community leaders in Oswego and surrounding towns and counties, Phil Blair said today.
Blair is chairman of the Oswego Economic Development Committee which is spearheading a lobbying effort to keep the Labette County Women’s Correctional Conservation Camp open. The Kansas Sec. of Corrections, Roger Werholtz, announced on Nov. 17 that the local boot camp would close at the end of December.
“We’re inviting as many community leaders as we can get to attend this meeting and provide input to Sen. Umbarger,” said Blair who is a former Oswego mayor.
Umbarger is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committe in Topeka and Blair hopes he can convince the governor’s office and Department of Corrections officials to change their minds.
Invitations have been extended to community leaders in Oswego, Parsons, Chetopa, Altamont, Labette County, Cherokee, Montgomery County and others.
The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday at the new Oswego Community Building at the fairgrounds.
“This camp has benefitted a large area of communities and has always been considered a successful and beneficial operation,” he said.
Blair is urging everyone to sign a petition in opposition to the closing of the LWCCC. The petition has been placed inside the Oswego city office.
He reiterated that the Oswego community can’t just stand idly by and let the state close a facility that has been such a great community asset.”
Blair said he was mayor of Oswego when the men’s camp first opened in 1991.
Both Sen. Umbarger and State Rep. Richard Proehl have been in contact with Werholtz and they will continue to argue for state officials to reconsider their action.
Both Umbarger and Proehl have emphasized that the boot camp concept is unique in the punishment of those convicted of crimes in Kansas and it has been quite successful. The recidivism rate has been lower for repeat offenders among those inmates who completed the programs at Oswego.
The women’s camp currently employs 14 workers and houses 27 inmates.The closing was again discussed at Monday’s meeting of the Labette County Commission.
Chairman Lonie Addis has been in constant contact with state and local leaders in an effort to show the county’s opposition to the camp closing. Addis also fears the men’s camp might close in the near future, too, which would put another 46 employees out of work. The camps are operated by Labette County under a contract with the Kansas State Department of Corrections.
A group of sheriff’s department officials from Sedgwick County were scheduled to tour the women’s facility on Tuesday as various proposals are being discussed for the camp’s continued use. A possible idea would be to house prisoners from Sedgwick and other counties since there is a shortage of cell space in most county jails.
However, Addis, Blair and a host of area community leaders are hoping they can change minds in Topeka before any such concepts are considered.
Sec. Werholtz said the state of Kansas will save more than $1 million annual by closing the women’s camp. No estimate was given on savings if the men’s camp is closed.
A delegation headed by Charles E. Simmons, Deputy Secretary for Facilities Management for the KDOC, was scheduled to tour the women’s facility today (Wednesday) to take inventory of personal property at the site.

LCHS Freshmen Invitational Basketball Jamboree will be held Monday, Thursday and Saturday, Dec. 8, 11 and 13.
MONDAY, DEC. 8    - Schedule:
*HARRISON                           TIME                         *HAURY
LCHS VS FRONTENAC  (B) 6:00 P.M. GIRARD(B) VS. PARSONS (B)
LCHS VS COLUMBUS (G) 7:45 P.M. GIRARD (G) VS  PARSONS (G)

THURSDAY, DEC. 11

HARRISON                             TIME                           HAURY
LCHS VS. GIRARD(G) 6 P.M.  FT. SCOTT (G) VS. PARSONS (G)
LCHS VS GIRARD (B) 7:45 P.M. FRONTENAC (B) VS. PARSONS (B)

SATURDAY, DEC. 13

HARRISON                           TIME                         HAURY
LCHS VS PARSONS (B) 3 P.M.  GIRARD(B) VS. FRONTENAC(B)
LCHS VS PARSONS(G) 5 P.M. GIRARD (G) VS. COLUMBUS

*Harrison Gym is the main gym. Haury is the gym directly across the street.
** Team listed first is the home team and will wear white.

For more information, see the Dec.3 issue of the Labette Avenue. To locate previously posted death notices, enter the decedent’s last name in the archive search box on Labette Avenue’s home page. Labette Avenue publishes death notices free of charge. Paid obituaries ($20) are printed in their entirety in the Labette Avenue and online at taylornews.org.

Doris E. Clemons

OSWEGO—Doris Elvanora Clemons, 91, of Oswego, Kan., died Friday, Nov. 28, 2008, at the Oswego Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, where she was a resident.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29, at the Murdock Funeral Home in Oswego. Burial will follow at the Oswego Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 2 to 3 p.m., at the funeral home, prior to the service.

Memorials may be made to the Oswego Assembly of God in care of the funeral home, 203 Illinois, Oswego, KS 67356.

Doris was born in Carmen, Okla., to William Logan Devereaux and Minnie (Wing) Devereaux. She attended the Carmen Grade School, graduated from the Carmen High School in 1936, and the Bible College in Enid, Okla.

She married Raymond O. Clemons on July 25, 1937, at Carmen, Okla. They pastored churches in Columbus, Arcadia, and Pleasanton, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo. She also worked at a drug store in Kansas City. Following retirement, they moved back to Oswego in 1970. Raymond preceded her in death on Oct. 19, 1992. They had no children.

Doris was a member of the Oswego Assembly of God and the Women’s Ministries.
Survivors include a brother, Max Devereaux and wife Oleta, Hurst, Texas; two sisters-in-law, and several nieces and nephews.

Three sisters and four brothers preceded her in death.

Lawrence R. Blair

THORNTON, Colo.—Lawrence R. (Larry) Blair, age 89, passed away at 12:07 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008, in Thornton, Colorado. He had suffered a stroke on Oct. 20.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6, at the First Presbyterian Church in Oswego, Kan. Internment will follow at the Oswego Cemetery.

Arrangements are under the auspices of the Murdock Funeral Home in Oswego. A Memorial Celebration of Life Service will be held the following Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Villas at Sunny Acres in Thornton, Colo. Pastor Rod, from the Presbyterian Church, will lead the service in the Ambassador Community Room starting at noon.

Flowers can be arranged through Weston’s Floral in Oswego at 620-795-2117. Alternatively, contributions can be made to The Marjorie Markey Blair Memorial Scholarship Fund, in care of University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS 66048-5082, or the charity of your choosing.

Mr. Blair was born Oct. 19, 1919, on a small farm in Oswego, Kan., the sixth child of William and Mabel Blair. His father was Mayor of Oswego and published a weekly newspaper there for 50 years. Following graduation from the local schools, Larry attended the University of Kansas, receiving his degree in Journalism in 1941. He played clarinet in the KU marching and concert bands, sang in various choirs including the Westminster A Cappella Choir, and was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.

Larry joined the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1940 as an Apprentice Seaman and entered the V-7 Officers Training program, which involved going on a training cruise to Cuba and Panama the summer of 1940. Immediately upon graduation from KU, he was sent to Midshipman School on the Northwestern University campus in Chicago, where he received his commission as Ensign three months later in September 1941. He served on five different ships in the Pacific Theater during World War II and retired on Inactive Duty in 1946 as a Lt. Commander, having participated in five major amphibious landings.

Mr. Blair was married to Marjorie A. Markey on Dec. 3, 1945, and to this union four children were born: Rebecca, Pamela, Stephen, and Mary Elizabeth.

Larry was employed by his father’s newspaper, The Oswego Independent, until 1951 when he accepted a position as Manager of the Borderline Printing Company in Weslaco, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. In June of 1952, he returned to the Midwest to become Editor and Publisher of The Chetopa Advance, a weekly newspaper in Chetopa, Kan. In addition to his duties at the newspaper, he was appointed Acting Postmaster in Chetopa by President Eisenhower in 1959. He left Chetopa with his family in July of 1961 to become Advertising Manager of The Palisadian Post, a large weekly newspaper in Pacific Palisades, Calif. In June of 1962, he was employed by the McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Company in Huntington Beach, Calif., as a Technical Editor and retired in 1983.

He was married to his beloved wife Marjorie for 36 1/2 years. When she passed in April of 1982, he moved to Manteca, Calif., and married Dorothy Hinton on Aug. 20, 1988, in St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Manteca. Larry resided at the Villas at Sunny Acres at the time of his death.
Larry grew to manhood in the big band era and was an accomplished musician and vocalist. He played saxophone and clarinet and sang in various dance bands in the Midwest in the late 40s and 50s.

Larry is survived by his wife, Dorothy (of Oregon), four children, 13 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Jack L. Boswell

Jack L. Boswell, 81, of Parsons died at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008, at Labette Health in Parsons.

Cremation will take place. No services are scheduled at this time. Memorials are suggested to the Labette Health Foundation and may be left at or mailed to Carson-Wall Funeral Home, 112 N. 26th St., P.O. Box 942, Parsons, 67357.

Arrangements are under the direction of Carson-Wall Funeral Home of Parsons.

Nancy Louise Carlson

COLUMBUS—Nancy Louise Carlson, 73, of Columbus, Kan., died Friday, Nov. 28, 2008, at Medicalodge of Columbus.

Graveside funeral services will be 11 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Park Cemetery, Columbus. Family and friends will gather at the Murdock Funeral Home after 10 a.m. for a time of visitation before proceeding on to the cemetery as a group.The casket will remain closed.

A register book will be available on site or at www.murdockfuneralhomes.com. Memorials may be made to the Columbus Community Foundation or the Activity Fund at Medicalodge or Autumn Place with the funeral home serving as custodian.

Mike Godfrey

PARSONS—Mike Godfrey, 48, of Parsons, Kan., died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, at the home of a friend in Parsons following a lengthy illness.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Bath-Naylor Funeral Home in Weir. Burial will be in Hosey Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until service time on Wednesday.

Gerald “Jerry” Leroy Messer

COLUMBUS—Gerald “Jerry” Leroy Messer, 72, a Columbus, Kan., native, died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, in Rolla, Mo., after a long illness.

Services are to be held in Dixon, Mo. Those unable to travel are asked to join the family for an informal memorial gathering at the home of Celeste Messer Baker 405 W. Washington, Pittsburg, on Wednesday, December 3, 2008, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. All friends and previous co-workers are encouraged by the family to visit.