The second volume of “A Historical Overview of Wyandotte County” will be released at a book signing starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 8, in the Wyandotte County Museum at 631 N. 126th St., in Wyandotte County Park, Bonner Springs.
Loren L. Taylor, a Wyandotte County lawyer who edited and produced the book, said that much of the material in this volume concerns exciting events that have had little or no coverage. Taylor is also the historian for the Wyandotte County Historical Society and also editor of The Wyandotte County Historical Journal.
Taylor said the book includes items such as the political impact of the Ku Klux Klan, the assassination of a developer for the Union Pacific Railroad who was killed on Minnesota Avenue and details of the movement of the Wyandot Nation Indian tribe from Upper Sandusky, Ohio, to Wyandott City.
Early day community leaders such as Vincent J. Lane are profiled. Lane was an early day postmaster and newspaper editor. He was also an influential political leader and the founder of the Wyandotte County Historical Society.
Another leader was Frank H. Betton who owned a saw mill in the Pomeroy community. Betton also helped buy bonds that financed the schoolhouse in Pomeroy. He also served as Commissioner of Labor for Kansas Gov. John A. Martin.
Items concerning the employees of the North American Aviation plant in the Fairfax Industrial District during World War II and the Korean conflict are included. Dr. Dan Desko tells of the B-25 bomber aircraft and the personnel who built and tested the aircraft.
An early day history of the law and the legal system are also included.
There are hundreds of other topics including the history of education by Patricia Adams, a retired Kansas City, Kansas, School District employee, and the influence of German immigrants on business, politics and civic activities.
Other books that Taylor edited and produced include “The Consolidated Ethnic History of Wyandotte County,” “The Historic Communities of Wyandotte County” and “A Historical Overview of Wyandotte County and Its Historic Sites.”
For more information, telephone Loren L. Taylor at 913-321-6195.