Leona Velen 1916-2001

Doris Velen 1919-2003

He was born February 6, 1924, on a farm near Osceola, Iowa, the son of Howard Oak and Nancy Elizabeth (Fugett) Wassom. When he was three weeks old, the family moved to Laurens, Iowa, where Clyde grew up and graduated from high school in 1941. Clyde attended Iowa State University for two years prior to being drafted into the United States Army in 1944. He served in several stateside camps and was a prisoner of war guard at several installations. He was discharged in June of 1946 and returned to Iowa State where he earned his bachelors in 1949 with a Genetics major and minors in mathematics and physics. He immediately started on an M.S. in Crop Breeding, completing the degree in 1951 working with brome-grass. His Ph.D. also was in Crop Breeding working with orchard-grass. Upon completing his Ph.D. in 1953, Clyde and family moved to Hiawatha, KS, where he became the first Superintendent of the Cornbelt Experiment Field at Powhattan.
In 1955 the family moved to Manhattan and Clyde became a professor in the Agronomy Department at Kansas State University. During his 38-year tenure at Kansas State University he exhibited conscientious dedication in his comprehensive field research programs in corn breeding and genetics. His research efforts led to the release of several inbred lines of corn, including ones with special characteristics, and white corn germplasms. Dr. Wassom was widely known for his corn breeding efforts and served as a consultant to several countries. He also supervised several graduate students who are serving in university and industry positions in the United States and in their native countries. While on sabbatical in Mexico City during 1967, he worked with CIMMYT, an international research organization supported by the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations. He was the faculty leader for three intersession courses to South America to compare agriculture practices.
Dr. Wassom was a member of the First Christian Church and was a life Elder. He was also a member of the Manhattan Kiwanis Club, Konza Kampers, Gideon's International, and American Legion Post # 17. Clyde held a private pilot’s license and was a former member of the K-State Flying Club and the Civil Air Patrol. Clyde was also an excellent trombonist and enjoyed playing at church and for family in recent years. On December 24, 1945, while on active duty he was married to Jane Lavonne Williams at Camp Grant in Rockford, IL.
Mrs. Wassom survives of the home in Manhattan. Additional survivors include three children: Jane Luanne Nelson and her husband Gary of Cottonwood, AZ, Steven Clyde Wassom and his wife Becky of Wamego, KS, and Karen S. Stewart and her husband Christopher of Manhattan; three siblings: Glenn Wassom of Johnston, IA, Scott Wassom of Alexander, AR, and Phyllis Stefani of Cedar Rapids, IA; nine grandchildren: Christopher P. Henton, Tracy A. McCabe, Richard T. Henton, Mark S. Wassom, Matthew C. Wassom, Laura L. Sylvester, Derek J. Wassom, Brandon C. Hagedorn and Brian S. Hagedorn; seven step-grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Francis David Farrell was born March 13, 1883 in Smithfield, Utah.  He was called Dave by his friends.  He graduated from Utah State College in 1907 and then, in 1910, worked at the University of Idaho as a professor of irrigation and drainage and organized the first Agricultural Extension Service at that University.  His wife, Mildred Leona Jenson, was born September 11, 1887 in Utah, the only child of Nels and Johanna Wilhelmina (Holmgren) Jenson.  She met Francis in Logan, Utah, where she was attending preparatory school.  After receiving her degree in English from the University of Utah, she taught high school English at her alma mater, Brigham High School.  On September 16, 1913, Francis and Mildred were married.
The couple then moved to Washington, D.C., in 1911, where Francis worked with the Department of Agriculture in irrigation investigations and reclamation projects.  During their time in Washington Mildred gave birth to a daughter, Frances.  In 1918, at the request of their old friend from Utah State College, Pres. William Jardine, Farrells moved to Manhattan where Francis served as dean of agriculture and director of the Agricultural Experiment Station for KSAC.  They rented a house near the Jardines' at 1007 Houston.
In 1925 Professor Farrell became president of K-State and, in that same year, was awarded an honorary doctorate of agriculture from the University of Nebraska.  Dr. Farrell’s tenure lasted 18 years,.  His successor, Dr. James A. McCain, credited the leadership of President Farrell and administrators like him with “the vital role of the land-grant universities in the nation and the world today.”  During his administration President Farrell managed to keep the campus open and active through the Great Depression and World War II and, in times of plenty, strengthened the academic basis of KSU by supporting the arts, library, and cultural resources.  He also brought together one of the finest faculties in the nation.  The names of many of the professors and administrators under Farrell read like a list of campus buildings.  This faculty included J.T. Willard, James Ackert, Margaret Justin, Leland Call, Ray Throckmorton, A.D. Weber, Paul Weigel, Roy Seaton, and R.R. Dykstra.  As a result of his love of reading history, philosophy, poetry and fiction and in recognition of his contributions to the academic life of Kansas State the University Library was renamed in his honor in 1952.
Mildred was the only first lady to have a baby, a boy they named James, during her tenure.  Both of the Farrell children attended Eugene Field Elementary School and K-State.  She was an avid gardener, adding irises and peonies to the gardens around the president's house.  She was active in the Social Club, Domestic Science Club, AAUW, and Pi Beta Phi.  While president of the Social Club she revised the rules for a growing membership and created a Newcomers group.  She encouraged the group to purchase John Steuart Curry's "Sun Dogs" and several Birger Sandzen paintings, contributed to the Girl Scouts Little House, and purchased reading and recreational material for Fort Riley soldiers.
Farrell stayed on after leaving the presidency in his 60s, he said the university needed a younger executive, and remained a part of the faculty even after retirement.  He was a long time member of the Rotary Club, president of the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities, the Kansas State Historical Society, member of the agricultural Commission of the Kansas Bankers Association, and the Advisory Council of the National Broadcasting Company.
Following Mildred’s death in 1965, her husband moved to a retirement community in Topeka where he resided until his death on February 13, 1976.  Their ashes are inurned behind an inscribed plaque in the east wall of the nave at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Manhattan.
Created by Jordan Herman 08/10/2012

Curtis Lynn Kastner was born on September 21, 1944 in Altus, Oklahoma to Alma Darlene (Shield) and Carlus Kastner. He attended Altus Junior High School and Altus High School, graduating in 1962. On August 6, 1966, Kastner married Rebecca Jon Diltz in Altus, Oklahoma and they had two sons, Jason Lynn (born April 4, 1972) and Justin John (born March 21, 1975).
Kastner attended Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he received a Bachelor’s of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Administration in 1967, a Master’s of Science in Food Science-Meat Science in 1969, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Food Science-Meat Science in 1972. Kastner worked as a graduate research assistant at OSU in the food science-meat science department from 1967 to 1972 while obtaining his master’s and doctoral degrees. He then went on to teach as an assistant professor in Food Science and Technology at Washington State University from 1972-1975. Kastner was hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry (ASI) at Kansas State University (KSU) in 1975. In 1977, he was promoted to associate professor and in 1982 to professor - a role he held until 2003.<emph render='italic'> </emph>He served nine years in the Army reserves and was honorably discharged in 1980 as a captain. Kastner was the chairman of the Undergraduate Food Science and Industry program for 5 years during his time at KSU, he was a research coordinator within ASI from 1987-2001, and the associate department head for ASI from 1998-2001. He was instrumental in the development of the Food Science Institute at Kansas State and was the first director of FSI from 2001 to his retirement in July of 2016.
Kastner has published over 100 articles, 8 of which he is the primary investigator and several more as a co-primary. Specifically, he was the principal investigator on the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Homeland Security initiatives focused on food safety and defense. The funding for Kastner’s research came from varied sources throughout his career. Some primary supporters include the United State Department of Agriculture, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Grain Sorghum Commission, the American Meat Institute Foundation, and the National Food Safety Institute.
Kastner has received numerous honors include the Outstanding Faculty Award, 1982; Phi Kappa Phi Scholar Award, 1986; Phi Tau Sigma Outstanding Food Scientist Award, 1993; Gamma Sigma Delta Research Award of Merit, 1996; and Distinguished Faculty Award, 2000. He also was named a National Association of Colleges and Teacher of Agriculture fellow in 1985; received the Advanced Degree Graduate of Distinction Award at Oklahoma State University in 2000; the Faculty Service Award from the University of Continuing Education Association in 2006; Gamma Sigma Delta National Award, Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture for 2008-2009; and K-State chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture Award in 2009. He is a member of the American Society of Animal Science, the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists, the Institute of Food Technologists, Society of the Sigma Xi, Gamma Sigma Delta, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Tau Sigma, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the American Meat Science Association.

Frank Caldwell Hershberger was born in Veedersburg, Indiana on 20 May 1888. An accomplished horseback rider from an early age, he spent time at George D. Rainsford's Diamond Ranch near Chugwater, Wyoming. He received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the Kansas City Veterinary College in 1913. Shortly thereafter, the Chinese government hired Hershberger as a veterinary surgeon specializing in horses and cattle. He traveled to Manchuria and Siberia to investigate an anthrax outbreak. He remained in the employ of the Chinese government until 1918.
His enlistment with the Veterinary Corps during World War I led to a long career with the United States Army. He underwent cavalry training at Camp Marfa, Texas in 1919-20. He graduated from Medical Field Service School in 1923, from Army Veterinary School in 1924. From 1930-31 he attended Fort Riley's Cavalry School, where he completed the Troop Officers' Course. Sent to the Philippines, he inspected abattoirs for Fort Mills in Corregidor.
A European trip in 1936-37 took Hershberger through Marseille, Berlin and Amsterdam. He gathered postcards and mementos from hotels, clubs and other sites. An assignment with the Veterinary Corps at Fort Hamilton, New York quickly led to a reappointment by the Order of the Secretary of War in February 1938. Hershberger was given the task of inspecting food shipments through the New York Port of Embarkation in Brooklyn. When the United States entered World War II, the port handled inspections for food shipments to troops overseas. Hershberger established and operated a school to provide intensive training to newly commissioned Veterinary Corps officers.
Upon his death, Dr. Hershberger donated the bulk of his estate to Kansas State University. His relationship with the school began when his alma mater closed in 1918 and transferred its graduate records to Kansas State Agricultural College's Division of Veterinary Medicine.

Clovia first was conceptualized in 1930, at the beginning of the Great Depression, when some former 4-H women had meetings in their rooms. These meetings built their friendship, and an idea for a social organization for former 4-H women was born. In 1931, these women decided to live together in a cooperative manner - sharing housework and possessions to reduce costs. Mary Jordan, Ellen Blair, and Mr. M.H. Coe, State 4-H Leader at the time, helped organize the group. Officially, Clovia was founded at Kansas State University on September 7, 1931. Clovia was housed in two locations before moving to the current site. The ground was broken for our present house in the spring of 1967, when the hard work of Clovia's alumni and the Kansas 4-H foundation started to pay off. The Kansas 4-H foundation constructed our present house as one of its projects to promote and support Kansas 4-H programs. When Clovia was first formed, it was classified as a sorority and was a member of the Panhellenic Council. On October 18, 1961, Clovia decided to withdraw from the Panhellenic Council, so it is now considered to be an independent cooperative house.

The Women's Resource Center was founded in 1973, in response to the need for women's programming at Kansas State University. In the early years, the Center was located in Fairchild Hall and staffed by volunteers who made weekly commitments to be in the Center to take calls, answer questions, and to keep it operational.
In 1975, the Center moved to Holtz Hall and became involved with raising campus awareness of the changing roles of men and women and the implications of these changes. Further, the Center taught rape prevention classes. The next year the Center moved to the Student Governing Services Offices in the K-State Student Union, which included a much-needed space for privacy. The Center continued expanding services and resources as women on campus sought assistance. It moved from a resource center to an advocacy and education office as it addressed issues such as sexual harassment, job discrimination, and sexual assault.
By 1983, the Center had moved to Holton Hall and had created more programs, classes, workshops, and one-on-one consultations on sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, sexual harassment, and self defense. These offerings were available to students, faculty, staff, and community members. Groups and campaigns associated with the Center included WAR (Wildcats Against Rape), PEERS (Proactive Educators for the Elimination of Sexual Violence), CNV (Campaigns for Nonviolence), SafeZone, and It's On Us, K-State.
In 2014, the Women's Center changed its named to CARE (Center for Advocacy, Response, and Education).

Walter T. Dartland was born January 17, 1935. He is widely known for his expertise on consumer protection, investment and insurance fraud, and public interest issues. He earned a national reputation for diligence and effectiveness in exposing frauds and deceptive practices perpetrated against citizens and businesses alike. He gained national recognition as a consumer advocate from 1975 until 1986 while he was serving as the Miami-Dade County Consumer Advocate. Through his association with consumer groups, senior citizen organizations, and Florida business leaders, he exposed schemes directed at Florida’s elderly and low-income populations. In 1987, he was named Deputy Attorney General under Attorney General Bob Butterworth. For two years Dartland oversaw litigation in environmental protection, land use, consumer protection, antitrust enforcement, and execution of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). At the request of the Attorney General, Dartland rejoined the office to serve as Special Counsel on critical issues from 1996 to 2000. While serving as Special Counsel, he earned the admiration of industry leaders for his unique ability to work with businesses to effectuate solutions to complex business transactions. Dartland has been involved with numerous professional, civic and charitable boards. Notable positions include past vice-president of the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, past Chairman of the Florida Bar Consumer Protection Committee, past president of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of South Florida, past president of the Florida Association of Accountants in the Public Interest, board member of the Consumer Federation of America, founding member and co-chair of the National Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, member of the National Board of Common Cause, and chair of Florida Common Cause. Dartland’s education began at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutes, where he earned a B.S. Degree in Engineering. He went on to earn a law degree from the University of Michigan. At some point in his career, he returned to Michigan when elected District Attorney.

In 1853, Charles W. Rogler, age 17, left family in Asch, Austria, for the United States.  At age 23, he settled his first 160 acres in Matfield Green, Chase County, Kansas.  By 1883, Charles had increased his holdings to 720 acres and by the time of his death in 1888, he had acquired 1,800 acres.
By 1900, under the management of long-time friend, Henry Brandley, the estate encompassed 4,020 acres when it was divided among Charles’ five children.  In 1902, Henry Rogler, an 1898 graduate of Kansas State Agricultural College, purchased one of his sisters’ sections of the ranch that included the original 1872 homestead and old barn.
In 1901, Henry Rogler married Maud Sauble, a 1901 graduate of Kansas State Agricultural College.  They designed and built a large home on the property in 1908. They named the ranch Pioneer Bluffs Ranch.
Between 1905 and 1925, Henry made the transition from farming to ranching.  He was a farmer-stockman and pastureman.  Pasturemen were local agents who brought together cattle owned by capitalists from outside the Flint Hills.  Therefore, Henry was key to the development of the transient grazing industry that dominated twentieth century land use in the uplands of Chase Country.  Transient grazing provided stable and conservative income for ranchers.  The size of the Pioneer Bluffs ranch fluctuated dependent on the acreage rented or held as payment/security.  As Henry managed more cattle for others, the more his own herd grew.  By 1931, Henry’s son, Wayne, a 1926 graduate of Kansas State Agricultural College, grazed 2,000 head of cattle during the summer.
In the 1930s, the ranch became a leader in modernized production of feed crops, cooperating with Kansas State Agricultural College in pioneering alfalfa production, some sorghum and soybean crops.  In addition to the livestock and crops aspect of the ranch, the Rogler’s also sold poultry and dairy products.  Maud Rogler was a founder of women’s farm bureau work in Chase County and carried out model projects in poultry raising to exemplify self-sufficiency and diversification.  She bragged that she put their four children through college with her “egg money.”
Henry Rogler served the state by serving two years in the Kansas House of Representatives (1914-1916) and four years in the Senate (1928-1932). Henry served eight years as Vice President for the Chase County Farm Bureau and his involvement in agriculture was noted when he received the first Kansas Master Farmer Award in 1927.  He operated the ranch until the late 1950s when he sold a large part of it to his son, Wayne.  After Henry died in 1972, Wayne purchased the remainder of the farm and ranch land.
The younger Rogler followed in his father’s footsteps as a prominent farmer-stockman, serving four consecutive terms (1929-1946) in the Kansas House of Representatives and was appointed one term in the Kansas Senate.  Wayne served as president of the Chase County Farm Bureau, the director of the National Farm Loan Association and as chairman of the state Chamber of Commerce.  He was a member of various other organizations and a charter member of the National Cattlemen’s Association.  Wayne owned and managed Pioneer Bluffs Ranch until his death on April 8, 1993.  His wife, Elizabeth died on January 24, 2004.
The Rogler Ranch or Pioneer Bluffs Ranch was one of the best known in the region.  Under Wayne’s management the ranch grew to some 60,000 acres, including leased pastureland and managed 15,000 head of cattle a year.  After Wayne’s and Elizabeth’s death no other family member was interested in the ranch and it was placed in trust.  In 2006, Pioneer Bluffs Ranch was sold at auction for $6.92 million.  A group of local Chase County members knew the value and importance of the ranch and were able to purchase 12-acres that included the house and outbuildings.  Today, the Pioneer Bluffs Ranch is a historical tourist site (http://pioneerbluffs.org/).
Charles W. Rogler (1836-1888) married Mary Mariah Satchell in 1869.  They had five children: Albert (1870-1953), Katherine (1872-1915), Emma (1875-1961), Henry (1877-1972) and Mary Jane (1879-1854).
Henry Rogler married Maud Sauble (1880-1972) on July 21, 1901. They had four children: Helen (1902-1999), Wayne (1905-1993), Irene (1908-2000) and George (1913-2003).

The Kansas State University Social Club was founded in 1911 and is still operating today. The club's purpose was to create friendships across multiple disciplines at KSU. The social club offers meetings, club meals, and programs to members.

Mary Theresa Harman was born to Joseph Slingluff and Kezia (Allen) Harman on August 21, 1877 in Odon, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University in 1907 with a bachelor's degree in botany, 1909 with a master's degree in biology, and in 1912 with a doctorate in zoology. She taught zoology at Pennsylvania State College from 1907 to 1909 and at Indiana University from 1909 to 1912. She began teaching at Kansas State Agricultural College in 1912 specializing in embryology and cytology classes. Besides teaching Mary was involved in the beginnings of both the KSU Social Club and the Kappa Alpha chapter of the Chi Omega sorority, both are still active here at K-State. During the summer she worked at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Station and in 1925 and 1927 at the University of Washington Biological Station at Puget Sound. In 1928 she went to Europe to visit different educational institutions and do research. While in Europe she began to write an embryology textbook that was published in 1932 and used here in the U.S. as well as in China, India, and some South American countries. During her years at K-State she published many scientific papers both alone and with others that furthered knowledge in her scientific fields. Other organizations she was involved in were Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Gamma Sigma Delta, American Society of Zoologists, Genetics Society of America, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1948 Mary officially stopped teaching at K-State although she continued to teach a cytology course for seven years afterwards. In 1955 she moved to Camden, North Carolina. She passed away on July 15, 1961.
1877                Born in Odon, Indiana on August 21
1906                Summer spent as a Pioneer Maiden with 7 other women
1907                Graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts in Botany
1907 - 1909    Taught zoology at Pennsylvania State College
1909                Graduated from Indiana University with a Master of Arts in Biology
1909-1912      Taught zoology at Indiana University
1912                Graduated from Indiana University with a Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology
1912-1948      Professor at K-State, taught embryology and cytology
1925                Spent summer at University of Washington Biological station
1926                Served as President of the Kansas Academy of Science
1927                Spent summer at University of Washington Biological station
1928-1929              Spent abroad visiting biological institutions in Europe
1948                Officially retired from teaching at K-State
1955                Moved to Camden, North Carolina
1961                Passed away July 15

Charles Richard "Dick" McDonald was born on January 30, 1933, in Fort Scott, Kansas.
He attendend the University of Kansas from 1951 to 1953 until he joined the United States Navy. McDonald served as a pilot from 1953 to 1957, reaching the rank of Lieutenant. He then attended Kansas State University from 1958 to 1960, recieving his B.S. in Agricultural Engineering in 1960. McDonald also recieved his Master of Architecture from Kansas State University in 1979.
He taught at Kansas State University from 1969 to 1990. He was an instructor of applied mechanics from 1969 to 1974, an instructor of architectural engineering and construction science from 1974 to 1975, an instructor of pre-design professions from 1975 to 1980, an assistant professor of pre-design professions from 1980 to 1984, and an associate professor of environmental design from 1985 until his death in 1997.
McDonald was married to Beatrice N. Heffermann in 1958 until her death in 1973. He then married Ann L. Gudgel Johnson in 1974. He had four children: a son, daughter, and two step-daughters.
Dick McDonald died on December 23, 1997.

Harvey Honnold (born Ohio, 1858, died Olathe, Kansas 1906) was a house and sign painter in Olathe, Johnson County, Kansas. The Honnold family were active in the American Civil War, serving in the Ohio Infantry Regiment.

Ruth Ann Von Elling was born 23 July 1941 at Fort Riley, Kansas, the daughter of Robert Leroy and Margaret Doretta (Have) Stillwagon.
Following her divorce from William Howard Von Elling, Ruth worked at a number of different businesses around Manhattan, Kansas, as either a cook or bookkeeper. She spent 4 years as the cook for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
She died 15 June 2016 at Manhattan, Kansas.

Arthur Louis Danforth junior, known to most as “Art,” was born to Arthur Louis Danforth senior and Grace Landers (Ward) Danforth in New York in 1912. Art began what became a lifelong commitment to cooperatives with the successful organization of a student dining co-op while a student at Cornell Law School. After graduating with his law degree in 1938, he managed small and medium co-op stores and subsequently provided central accounting services for consumer co-ops in both New England and New York. He then worked for the relief agency CARE (the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, now renamed the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) in New York and Hawaii, before relocating to California in 1950 with his wife, Ruth Evelyn (Henley) Danforth, and their two daughters.
During the next 17 years, Danforth worked with co-ops in Berkeley and Palo Alto, serving on various committees as well as on the Berkeley Board. He was a member of Berkeley’s management team for two years, and served as Palo Alto’s Education Director. Offered a position with the Cooperative League of the United States as its Secretary-Treasurer in 1967, he and Ruth moved to the Chicago area where they lived for five years in New York Center Community Cooperative.
Danforth became the League’s specialist in working with consumer cooperatives and provided counsel and assistance to the scores of new emerging food co-ops. He also became one of the country’s most prolific writers on consumer cooperative topics, producing scores of books, booklets and pamphlets on accounting, organizing, legal problems, incorporation, board responsibilities, history and philosophy.
After retiring in 1967 to Falls Church, Virginia, Danforth continued to write and consult with cooperatives. He co-authored a new history on the American consumer cooperative movement, wrote an annotated comprehensive model consumer cooperative act and a study of cause of specific consumer goods cooperative failures. He also helped draft the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act and lobbied successfully for its enactment. He was also active with the Group Health Association, Greenbelt Cooperative Inc., and Consumer Alliance.
Art Danforth died May 10, 1987, at the age of 74. His last book, in tribute to his late wife, Ruth, was directed at helping the families of those suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Henry "Hank" Fred Kupfer was a Kansas State University alumnus who served during the Second World War and was the owner and operator of the Kupfer Carnation Farm.  He was born on April 3, 1918 to Fred and Elizabeth Krupfer of Kansas City, Missouri.  He graduated from Raytown High School where he ran track and served as Student Body President, and subsequently attended Kansas State University, where he served as President of the Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) fraternity and entered the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.  He graduated in 1940 with a degree in Horticulture and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry.  However, during medical examinations, he was diagnosed with glycosuria, a common indicator of diabetes, and discharged into the inactive reserve.  He disputed his diagnosis, having exhibited no diabetic disorder, without success.  When the United States entered the Second World War, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and was primarily stationed in Panama.  His time in the service took him across the United States as well as to Cuba, Jamaica, Equador, and Peru.  He attained the rank of sergeant before his discharge in 1944.  (Note: due to the regulations of the time, Kupfer was simultaneously an enlistedman in the active duty Army Air Corps while also a lieutenant in the inactive reserve.  This is demonstrated in his military records in the Henry F. Kupfer papers).
He wed Marguerite (Busch) Kupfer, and had two children together, Lee and Connie.  He went into the family business of floral horticulture, and was owner and operator of the Kupfer Carnation Farm, and President of the American Carnation Society.

Alma Williams, O.B.E., is a long-standing contributor to the consumer movement in the United Kingdom and abroad, having worked in a myriad of capacities for a vast variety of organizations.  Born in 1928 to parents Alan and Edith Pratt at Wakefield in Yorkshire, she graduated university with double honors in French and Latin.  After two years of post-graduate research on a scholarship at Leeds University, she wed Michael Williams, with whom she had three children and remained happily married to until his death in 2010.  Following twelve years in language instruction and consumer education, Ms. Williams shifted entirely into the field of Consumer Affairs.
In 1962, she founded one of the first local consumer groups in her area, at Watford & District in Hertfordshire, and in time became chairman (and subsequent president) of the National Federation of Consumer Groups (now called the National Consumer Federation).  In 1964 she was elected as a member of the Council of the Consumers’ Association (now called Which?), on which she served for ten years, whereupon she became the Association’s consultant on consumer education and the editor of its school magazine, <emph render='italic'>Whichcraft</emph>, for five years.  As a consultant, she persuaded the Department of Prices & Consumer Protection to print the Council’s safety publication, “Dangers and Disasters,” and distribute it to all secondary schools in the United Kingdom.  This publication was the forerunner of the later European Union publication, “The Safety Pack.”
She served on the Independent Television’s Advertising Advisory Committee from 1966 to 1975 and the Independent Television’s Adult Education Advisory Committee 1968 to 1976.  She served as chairman of the Eastern Gas Consumer Council from 1975 to 1987, and on the Food Standards Agency’s Committee on Toxicity from 2000 to 2008.
Abroad, she served as chairman of the Education Committee International Organization of Consumers’ Unions (IOCU, now called Consumers International) for five years, and subsequently served as the IOCU’s permanent representative to UNESCO from 1975 to 1990.  She served on the consumer education committee for the Council of Europe from 1970 to 1978.  She worked as a consultant on consumer affairs to the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1980, and advised start-up consumer organizations in India, Jamaica, Thailand, and Malaysia.
She served Her Majesty’s Government with distinction abroad in various capacities with the European Union, first as United Kingdom consumer representative to the European Economic & Social Committee (EESC) from 1982 to 1990 and 1994 to 1998, and later became vice president of the Association of Former Members of the committee.  During her time on the committee, she proposed and authored a publication entitled “The Safety Pack,” which was translated, published, and distributed to all secondary schools in the European Union.  She also introduced the antecedent of the Product Safety Directive, and suggested the institution of an annual Consumer Rights Day.  She was the European Union representative for the EESC, a member of the United Kingdom’s delegation, and featured speaker at the third United Nations Decade of Women conference in Kenya in 1985; and also served as a member of the European Union delegation to consider the accession of Malta into the Union in 1995.
Ms. Williams was awarded the M.B.E. for services to the consumer movement and consumer education in 1975, and the O.B.E. for services to the European Union in 2003.
She has been a prolific writer, especially in the field of consumer education.  Her publications include: <emph render='italic'>The Elderly Consumer</emph> (1965), <emph render='italic'>Educating the Consumer: A Practical Guide</emph> (1975), <emph render='italic'>Reading and the Consumer</emph> (1976), <emph render='italic'>Using and Abusing Literacy</emph> (1977), <emph render='italic'>Your Choice? </emph>(1980), <emph render='italic'>Getting Married</emph> (1984), and <emph render='italic'>Projects: Skills and Strategies in Consumer Education</emph> (1984).
As of this writing, Alma Williams remains active in the consumer movement as the vice president of Which? (formerly called the Consumers’ Association), and a vice president of the Charted Institute of Trading Standards, where she works specifically on projects related to reshaping consumer protection for the 21<emph render='super'>st</emph> century.
Locally, she serves as President of the Ripon Centre Women’s Institute, and continues to serve on the Council of Outwood Academy Ripon, on which she has served since 1990.  She was a founder member of the Harrogate Foundation Trust Hospital for eight years (the maximum allowed), and now serves as a lay member of its Research and Development Group.  She also served as a founder committee member of the Ripon & District University of the Third Age, and now is a member its editorial team for <emph render='italic'>News & Views</emph>.

Donald Wayne Otis Sr., born on September 12th, 1930, the son of Walter S. and Mildred J. (Nordling) Otis, in Osage City, KS, had a long career in civil engineering based in Kansas.
While an engineering student at Utah State University, he worked intermittently in grain elevator construction for the engineering and contracting firm of Chalmers and Borton in Hutchinson, KS from 1947-1953.  Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1953, he served for three years as an Engineering Officer in the U.S. Air Force.  In 1955, he returned to Chalmers & Borton as a structural engineer, and became Chief Engineer for the firm (now Borton, Inc.) in 1961.  In 1967, he was brought on as Director of Engineering for the Jarvis Construction Company in Salina, KS.  He founded his own private consulting engineering company, Otis & Associates, in Salina, KS in 1984, specializing in the inspection of grain terminals, elevators, storage, mills, feed operations, processing plants, and bulk handling facilities, as well as the investigations of fires, explosions, failures, and collapses of the same.  He closed his company and retired around 1995.  He died on April 7th, 2005 in Wichita, KS at the age of 74.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Winona on April 29<emph render='super'>th</emph>, 1995, and survived by his children, Donna Jo (Otis) Wilson and Donnie Wayne Otis, Jr.
He was registered as a professional engineer in eleven states (Kansas, Alabama, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, & Wisconsin), and was a member of a number of professional organizations, incuding the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE, now ASABE), the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), the American Society of Non-Destructive Testing (ASNT), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), the Kansas Engineering Society, the American Concrete Institute (ACI), and the American Society of Metals (ASM).
His professional honors and distinctions included: selection as the Outstanding Young Engineer of 1965 by the Kansas Engineering Society; selection by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) for the “People to People” Agricultural Alternate Energy Source Delegation to Europe, Africa, and Brazil in 1981; and selection by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for the Materials Handling Delegation to China in 1985.

Roderic Simpson, born in 1922, worked in cooperative agriculture.  He was among the first to complete a pilot program under the aegis of the United States Department of Agriculture through Dodge City Community College (previously Dodge City Junior College) and received a certification in lieu of a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture, making him eligible to be a county Extension Service Agent.    This program entailed 60 credit hours of science coursework at Dodge City Community College followed by three years of employment under the supervision of an Extension Agent. 
After completing the certification, he worked for three months as Gray County Extension Agent in Cimarron, Kansas before receiving his draft notice in December 1944.  After serving in the Navy, Simpson was brought on by his father to a series of cooperative projects in Mullinville, Kansas.  Galvanized by the attacks of the National Tax Equality Association on cooperatives, he embarked on a career in cooperative agriculture. 
Roderic Simpson began working in a management position at a general purpose cooperative in Peetz, Colorado; and then transitioned into work as a fieldman in eastern Nebraska and western Wyoming for the CCA (Consumers Cooperative Association, predecessor of Farmland Industries).  He then worked for the Dodge City Cooperative Exchange for 15 years as a local cooperative fieldman, and later joined FAR-MAR-CO in 1971 as a territory fieldman based out of Hutchinson, Kansas.

John W. Minor, a Kansas State University alumnus, worked in both local and regional cooperatives, taught Vocational Agriculture, and provided educational programs for regional cooperatives as an employee of FAR-MAR-CO and Farmland Industries.  He grew up on a farm a mile west of Bloom, Kansas in Ford County, and his grandfather was a board member of the Bloom Cooperative Exchange (which later merged with the Mineola Cooperative Exchange).  He taught Vocational Agriculture in Abilene and Scott City, Kansas, the latter for four years.  At Scott City, he so impressed Roderic Simpson, a FAR-MAR-CO fieldman, that he was recruited at the end of his tenure by FAR-MAR-CO.  FAR-MAR-CO arranged a subsidized internship at the Scott City Cooperative, during which he moved across departments for training.  At the end of ten months, he became the coordinator for the new Careers in Cooperatives education program for FAR-MAR-CO in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Following the 1977 FAR-MAR-CO merger with Farmland Industries, he moved to Kansas City and the Farmland Educational department.  In 1983, he returned to general management at a local cooperative, the Producers Cooperative of Girard, Kansas, for a span of four and a half years, after which he returned to Farmland.  In 1998 he joined new special projects group called One System Group for Farmland Industries, in order to re-design all of their business enterprises and departments and create a new business model built into a Y2K initiative compliant software package.  In 2001, One System Group became an equal partnership between Farmland Industries and Ernst & Young, an accounting firm.  Later in the new millennium, One System Group became an independent company when Farmland’s share was bought out, and subsequently changed hands several times before John W. Minor’s retirement in 2005.

Samuel Fremont Goheen, the first mayor of Manhattan, Kansas, was born in Goheenville, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 1855, and died in Manhattan, Kansas on December 8, 1930. He was the son of George W. & Elizabeth (Holler) Goheen, grandson of James Madison and Sarah (Delp) Goheen. He married Barbara Ellen Jack, daughter of Michael and Sarah (McKinney) Jack, in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on December 14, 1876. Barbara was born in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 1854 and died in Manhattan, Kansas on September 5, 1933.
Goheen was a graduate of Dayton Academy (Dayton, Pennsylvania). He took his family west in 1883 and settled on a farm in Riley County, Kansas. He was active in church and community affairs, serving first as township assessor, then as county treasurer (1907-1911), and then as the first mayor of Manhattan from 1912-1919. Upon his election to mayoral office, he moved to Manhattan proper. He also served as an elder in the Presbyterian Church for thirty years.
As mayor, Goheen was primarily concerned with the modernization of Manhattan. Some of the important issues during his two terms of office included residential lighting, jitney ordinance revision, sanitation practices, and the city-owned plant.

Herschel Cary Logan (1901-1987) was a commercial artist and collector of Americana. Born in Magnolia, Missouri, he spent the bulk of his childhood and professional career in Kansas.
An early interest in cartooning led Logan to pursue studies at the Chicago Academy of Art in 1920. A year later, he obtained employment with the McCormick-Armstrong Lithograph Company in Wichita, where he met and formed a friendship with Kansas printmaker C.A. Seward. The latter introduced Logan to other regional artists, including printmakers Lloyd Foltz, Charles Capps, Clarence Hotvedt, and Leo Courtney.
In 1929, Logan left Wichita for Salina, where he obtained employment with the Consolidated Printing and Stationery Company. He became a charter member of the Prairie Print Makers (PPM), established in 1930. The group sought to advance the interests of artists and collectors by commissioning limited edition prints and sponsoring exhibitions. Between 1920 and 1939, Logan established a reputation as a woodcut printer specializing in Kansas and southwestern scenes. Such work earned him the nickname, "the Prairie Woodcutter" and "the Woodcutter of West Walnut." Logan's prints were included in the Midwestern Artists' Exhibitions at the Kansas City Art Institute, the International Print Makers Exhibition in Los Angeles, and the New York World's Fair Print Exhibition.
In January 1939, he created Consolidated Printing company's promotional cartoon character, "The Colonel." C.A. Seward's death that same year prompted Logan to take a long hiatus from printmaking. He continued to publish his cartoon character in <emph render='italic'>The Salina Journal,</emph> but he increasingly became known for his interests in American history. He collected Civil War memorabilia, became a member of the Arms and Armour Society (U.K.) and was a fellow in the Company of Military Historians. He served on Salina's auxiliary police department, was a president of its Rotary Club, and its Public Library Board.
Upon his retirement in 1967, he relocated to California, where he and his wife Anne established the Log-Anne Press as a hobby. The duo produced miniature books written or illustrated by the husband-wife duo. Logan's woodcuts were selected to illustrate Everett Scogrin's <emph render='italic'>Other Days in Pictures and Verse </emph>(Burton Publishing, 1928) and Avis Carlson's <emph render='italic'>Small World, Long Gone: A Family Record of an Era</emph> (Schori Press, 1976). The artist died in Santa Ana, California on December 8, 1987.

Dorothy Anne "Dottie" Wellington was born May 4, 1924, in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the daughter of Lancie L. and Julia Rouggly Watts. Dottie grew up in Kansas City and attended Hale H. Cook Elementary and Southwest High Schools. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College. On September 14, 1946, she married Robert B. Wellington at the Country Club Christian Church in Kansas City, Missouri. They were married more than fifty-four years before Robert's death in 2000.
Dottie was a homemaker and author of the syndicated "Let's Cook" cooking column that appeared in the Ottawa Herald and other newspapers for many years, as well as two "Let's Cook" cookbooks. She taught cooking classes, was a frequent volunteer in her community and welcomed international exchange students to her home. Dottie enjoyed genealogy research and creating photo slideshows of her family. She loved keeping in touch with a wide circle of family members and friends. She and Robert were devoted members of the Grace episcopal Church in Ottawa, where she baked the alter bread for many years. Dorothy Anne Wellington died on July 16, 2016 at the Olathe Hospice House, Oltahe, Kansas.

Great Plains IDEA is a partnership of public universities providing quality online educational opportunities in two areas, Human Sciences and Agriculture. Membership in Great Plains IDEA is a selective process that involves university leadership at all levels.
Based out of Kansas State University, the group provides fully online graduate programs across several universities.