A couple items of interest from the March 30 Lincoln Sentinel-Republican: Old Settlers reunion planned in Lincoln A history gathering and story-sharing weekend is taking place in Lincoln, May 26-29. Interesting articles, photos and verbal stories passed from generation specifically regarding the history of Lincoln County will be available at the Finch Theater throughout the weekend. Fifteen settlers perished in Lincoln County between 1864 and 1869 as settler Christian Berhardt depicts in Indian Raids of Lincoln County. Descendants of Lincoln County's early settlers will be at the Finch Tehater beginning Friday, May 26, at 7 p.m. The Moffitt-Indian War site, located just east of Lincoln, will be the location of [a] dedication of a marker in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Houston and Mr. Tyler who died and are buried there. Also, the land around the war site is being dedicated as a park on Saturday, May 27. Sunday morning a Danish Breakfast is planned at the Denmark Hall. A brief history and tour of Lincoln's 100-year-old courthouse is slated for Monday morning. If you would like more information or want to share history as you've been told, please contact Jim Sechrist at (913) 422-7425, email jasechrist@farmland.com or call Marilyn Helmer at (785) 524-5133. The Historical Marker referred to in the article has been changed, hence the "dedication." I thought you might like to read the "before" and "after" versions: Before: LINCOLN COUNTY INDIAN RAIDS The desperate struggle of Plains Indians to keep out white settlers was a succession of raids and massacres. There were several attacks in present Lincoln county. In 1864, Cheyennes on a foray through the Saline valley trapped four buffalo hunters against a rocky ledge a little south of this marker and killed them after a bitter fight. In 1868 three women who had been captured and maltreated by marauding Indians were found several days later half-dead on the prairie. In 1869 ten persons were massacred and two women were captured on the Saline river and northwest of here on Spillman creek. Federal troops later rescued one of the women in Colorado. A monument to the victims of 1864 and 1869 stands on the courthouse square in Lincoln. After: LINCOLN COUNTY AND THE INDIAN WARS By the 1850s Plains Indians were faced with ever-growing numbers of travelers and settlers in central and western Kansas. Treaties were negotiated by the U.S. government, often taking advantage of tribal divisions, forcing native peoples onto reservations and limiting their hunting areas. Although relations between settlers and Indians were generally peaceful, tensions developed as more settlers arrived. Inevitably, some Native Americans acted to defend their lands. In 1864 Cheyennes attacked four buffalo hunters a short distance south of this marker and killed them after a bitter fight. In 1868 Cheyenne Dog Soldiers attacked settlements along the Salina and Solomon Rivers and their tributaries in present-day Lincoln, Cloud, Ottawa, and Jewell Counties. In 1869 thirteen settlers were killed and several wounded during a conflict between the Cheyennes and settlers in the Saline River valley and northwest of here on Spillman Creek. A monument to those settlers stands on the courthouse square in Lincoln.

After hearing of the tornadoes that touched down near Lincoln County I just wanted to check and make sure that all of our "special" friends were okay there! Here in Virginia we are thinking about you and praying for you! Tami Ramsey Dublin, VA