Ark Valley News - Looking Back

Looking Back
Last Updated: October 01, 2015

50 years ago

John Brandt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin L. Brandt, was a sophomore at Hutchinson Community Junior College. He received a school letter jacket for lettering in cross-country and track. Brandt was a graduate of Valley Center High School.

About 120 pilots from a nine-state area, all of them women and members of the Ninety-Nines Inc., met in Wichita for a South Central Section meeting. Some of the women brought their husbands along for the weekend. Mrs. Don Hattan, Valley Center, was secretary of the Kansas Ninety-Nines. Also attending from Valley Center was Mrs. Charles F. Peters. The three-day event included a welcome to Wichita party by Lear Jet; tours and rides, a luncheon given by O.A. Beech and a private air show. A musical skit, "From Boots to Heels," was presented by the Kansas Ninety-Nines. Both Mrs. Hattan and Mrs. Peters had parts in the skit.

45 years ago

Hal Wright returned home from Corpus Christi, Texas, where he spent five weeks helping in the hurricane disaster area. A member of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, he went as a volunteer for the Small Business Administration. The men working this job spent long hours making low-interest government loans to the hundreds of victims so they could start rebuilding and repairing their homes and businesses.

Leland F. Johnson of Valley Center was promoted to executive vice president of the Stockyards National Bank in Wichita. He joined the bank in 1954 and was named cashier in 1958 and vice president in 1963. His wife is the former Eleanor Basore.

40 years ago

The Valley Center High School drama department was getting ready to present the Pulitzer Prize winning play "Our Town," by Thornton Wilder. Director was Mrs. Sally Pedruzzi, the new dramatics instructor at the high school. Members of the cast were Artie Allen, Gerald Conner, Karen Winchester, Gary Woodring, Sonja Marcy, Ward Stauffer, Angie Gibbens, Karla Wilson, Greg Wiechman, Corrina Benefield, Terry Stover, Chris Schwind, Susan Newman, Shawna Hess, Raymond Keifer, Sheldon Williams, Albert Washington, Alan Johnson, Kevin Severe, Terry Martin and Kelly Williamson.

Mrs. Eric DeGraffenreid of Valley Center was winner of the log cabin quilt in the drawing held at the Fall Festival. The drawing was sponsored by the Progressive Women's Club.

35 years ago

Dave Matson of Valley Center brought home two second-place awards in the annual Kansas Junior Livestock Show. Matson's awards were in the heavy weight barrow duroc and crossbred barrow heavyweight divisions.

Walter Hoyt Jr., Valley Center, was promoted to manager of the Wichita branch of Hobart Corp., a manufacturer of commercial food equipment and systems. Hoyt, who had been with the company for about 15 years, had been service manager for the Wichita branch. He and his wife Cynthia had two children, Suzanne and Eddie.

30 years ago

Brenda Strong of Valley Center appeared in the Crown Uptown Theater production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Forum." A sophomore at Wichita State University, she is the daughter of Bob and Donna Strong.

Valley Center's volunteer fire department received a pat on the back and a check for $400 for a job well done. The thank-you and check came from Mobil Pipe Line Co. and was in response to the firemen's assistance when one of the company's pipes leaked, spraying several homes and vehicles on the southeast side of town. Bob Tormey and his crew clamped the leak and helped with cleanup while keeping an eye on the situation for Mobil.

25 years ago

Diedra Davis of Valley Center, a senior at the University of Kansas, was one of five recipients of a broadcast scholarship from Kansas Association of Broadcasters.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin W. Bishop, son of Diana Conner, was deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Shield while serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence. A graduate of Southeast High School, he joined the Navy Reserves in October 1987.

20 years ago

Valley Center, which moved up to No. 5 in the Wichita Eagle's Class 5A rankings, boosted its record to 5-0 after scoring the first 28 points of the game before Wellington, behind the arm of sophomore quarterback Nate Cornejo, scored 21 unanswered points. The Hornets were coached by Mike Smith.

Kevin Lafferty was elected chairman of the student rights committee of the Kansas University Student Senate. A junior chemical engineering major, he was the son of Larry and Nancy Lafferty of Valley Center and a 1993 graduate of Valley Center High School.

15 years ago

Valley Center City Superintendent Dick Dunn presented a proposal during the city council meeting for a new 16,000-square-foot building to replace the older city shop located on West Second. Due to Valley Center's growth that has resulted in increased demands on the city crew, the older shop was no longer adequate. He suggested replacing it with an insulated, metal building that would allow for more storage, office space and restrooms. The new building would be placed south of town in the industrial park on Clay and was estimated to cost between $400,000 and $640,000.

Steve Gleason was an assistant coach for Fort Hays State's football team. He coached at Butler County during the prior season. Playing for the Tigers was E.J. Ochs, son of former Valley Center police Lt. J.D. Ochs.

10 years ago

Valley Center High School student William J. Swanson was named a commended student in the 2006 National Merit Scholarship program. VCHS principal Louise Herrington presented a letter of commendation from the school and national Merit Scholarship Corporation to Swanson, who was recognized as a scholastically talented senior.

Fire Prevention Week was observed during the second week in October. A salute to the Valley Center Fire Department was made by the local merchants in The Ark Valley News. The fire department consisted of the following people: Greg Wiechman, Brent Hobson, David Moore, Daniel Shults, Lonnie Tormey, Rob Tormey, Derek Pierce, Robert Brauner, Nate Yarnell, Jamie Crandall, Dough Fletcher, Larry Tormey, Terry Alderson, Ryan Schwatken, Phillip Tennissen, Kris Coffman, Nick Banning, Brooks Provo, Jeff Lafferty, Sam Hill, Larry Gresham and John Robinson.

5 years ago

Wild West World theme park, located off I-135 and 77th North, shut down shortly after it opened in 2007, but the most visible pieces of the park remained. Auctioneer Eric Malone with Malone and Associates conducted the first of two public auctions of Wild West World property.

Cody Dunn, a junior at Valley Center High School, and several friends and family members were at the swimming pool in Lions Park, completing the community service project requirements for the Eagle Scout award he was working toward. They cleared the old mulch around the long narrow flower bed surrounding the pool, placed the weed-guard fabric and filled the bed with decorative rocks. He worked with city parks director Neal Owings to select the project.