The Evergreen Grove - Lesson Three

They still stand, just south of the middle stoplight in Pratt, America, along Highway 54, this grove of evergreen trees. Years ago, I wrote about the lesson I learned from the trees, about their glorious diversity, back when they each wore a different color of Christmas lights. And about how, even wearing different colors, in different species, and with different shapes, they all looked to the same sun for light, and how their roots, intertwined, helped them to hold each other up. About how humans could take a lesson from this grove of trees.

But things change, as things must, with the passing of time. Two of the trees are gone now, lost I think in 2001, when we lost two other towering symbols. Their circle is broken, their underground support network weakened. Two new trees, not evergreens, have been planted. And they no longer wear colorful lights; they are all now tastefully adorned with white.

We can see two kinds of lessons in these changes to the evergreen grove. On the one hand, we can say that the breaking in the circle symbolizes the breach of trust in America since 9-11, the demolishing of our invincibility, the weakening of our global leadership. The planting of new, non-evergreens could say that evergreens are out of fashion, like patriotism, responsibility for one’s actions, word bonds, or professing one’s faith, killed by political correctness. The white lights could simply mean that it’s cheaper for the city to only maintain one color of light, city-wide. Or it could stand for the homogenization of our culture, where instead of celebrating our diversity, we elevate minority viewpoints while stifling, even silencing, the majority. It could mean that we have lost America in the fashionable trend not to expect diverse groups to assimilate, but are instead encouraging them to remain separate, isolated, in their ethnic pride. It could symbolize the fact that, in much of America today, there are no wrong answers, everyone is right, no one loses, children must be passed to the next grade to preserve their self-esteem, no matter whether or not they understand what they need to know to survive in life. It could mean that it’s no longer a grove of Christmas trees, but a group of “holiday symbols.”

On the other hand, the positive hand, the grove could teach us that change is inevitable, that torches must pass to new and different generations, and that there is beauty in that passing. The gaps in the grove might tell us that, though some of them fell, the grove itself remained, roots strong, still surviving and overcoming, much like America after 9-11. The single color could mean that, in America today, or perhaps very soon, people will indeed, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” It could mean that we no longer see colors, but simply people.

The grove could teach us that both lessons are true in different ways. The America of today, seven years after 9-11, is no longer solidly behind the war on terrorism. Yet, due to those terrorist attacks, we are suspicious of those different from ourselves. Economic pressures and modern life shows us in graphic ways every day that there are indeed wrong answers, there are winners and losers, and that some do fail at tasks they have attempted. Yet, America is like any family: when times are good, or at least, average, we squabble, quibble, whine and fuss. But when someone or something threatens that family, the family is as unified as a herd of musk ox, forming a circle with the weaker ones in the center and the rest of the herd facing the threat with horns and hoofs. Though we fear those different from ourselves, we take the chance to get to know them, help them if they need it, and they in turn help others. Our attitude of no wrong answers is simply a path we have taken in an attempt to overcome the law of nature that only the strong survive. Without giving Him credit, we are exemplifying, though perhaps in a flawed way, the essence of the nature of the Christian God, that He is not willing that any should perish.

That evergreen grove has been around for a long, long time. I’m sure others have gleaned wisdom from the branches, and that it will be there to teach for many years to come, even if it changes from an evergreen to a deciduous or mixed grove. And maybe that it its greatest lesson: that it endures no matter what life and humans throw at it. Lights or not, it is beautiful. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Ramadan—whatever holiday, it celebrates with dignity. Maybe we really do need to learn the lesson of the evergreen grove.

The Evergreen Grove - Lesson Two

Three years ago during the holiday season, I was impressed by the Christmas light wrapped evergreen trees in what used to be called Pelican Park, just north of the swimming pool. To me that Christmas the variety of the trees and the lights called to mind and celebrated the diversity of humanity.

This year, the trees are showing me a different lesson — the fact that, despite our diversity, we all share certain commonalities, that the differences between us blur as life passes on. For instance, with the passing of time, the bulbs have faded, to the point that the pink and red are almost indistinguishable. You have to look close to tell the difference between the white and yellow, or the blue and green. As they burnt out, bulbs have been replaced on the strings of lights. When the proper colors were not available, substitutes were used. Therefore, this season, we have some white lights among the pink, some yellow among the orange, some green among the blue. This is exactly the way humans are becoming. Very few of us, especially in the melting pot we call America, are of pure heritage. In fact, some of us celebrate the diversity of our ancestors, serving the lutefisk of our Swedish heritage alongside the tamales of our Mexican forebears.

There are other blendings not so obvious. Some of us come from a farming background, but may share more of that childhood in common with a city child from Arkansas than we do with a child from today’s family corporation farm. That child may have more in common with the child of a Wall Street banker than with my father, who farmed from the twenties to the sixties. Those from around the world who are alumni of a particular school may be more similar, at least on game day, than they are to their neighbors. Single parents across the country, even across the world, share concerns that the married couple across the street will never experience. All parents, married or single, share common fears and hopes. All children, from toddlers to octogenarians, who have lost a parent feel a common loss.

And there is a deeper lesson, beyond the trappings of the now imperfect lights. Once those trees were just saplings, twenty or thirty feet apart. Now, not only have their root systems intertwined, the trees themselves touch. They are growing closer together, and they will continue to do so. As humans age, we also grow closer to those around us, if we allow ourselves to do so. As youngsters, we distrusted those different from us. They appeared different, therefore they could not be at all like me. Yet, as years go by and experiences shape us, just like the wind and rain and lightning and heavy snow shape this grove of trees, we grow closer together, no longer isolated individuals, but a cohesive group that draws shelter from our similarities and no longer fears our differences.

Just as it did three years ago, the same sun still shines on these trees, and the same Son still shines His light for all humanity. These trees still draw their nourishment from the source underground, and all humankind has the opportunity to draw on the same stream of Living Water. The Bible says that every man shall acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Until that day comes, I hope that we can all continue to grow together and find our common ground. And that is lesson two of the evergreen grove — harmony and hope.

The Lesson of the Evergreen Grove

This was first published in the Pratt Tribune several years ago. The trees have changed, as the next blogs in the series, to be posted in subsequent days, will show.

They stand near a busy intersection in Pratt, America. Just north of the empty, snow-dusted swimming pool, they serve as a stepping stone in a path of parks stretching from the highway that borders the south edge of town to the capstone park adjoined by Highway 54 as it cuts Pratt in half. They must be visible from some of the hospital windows, just above them on the hill, these seven stately evergreens, each wrapped in a different color of festive lights.

As I drove past them last night, intent on just where on the racks and shelves of the busy stores I would find each item on my list, I was stopped short in my mental rush by the simple beauty of the arrangement. Each tree is unique in its own right. Though all are old and tall, some tower above the others. Some are full and round, others tall and spindly. Some cluster together, but two stand aloof at opposite ends of the grove. Some have branches that drape down, others' branches sweep upwards as if in praise. Each is a testament to the glorious diversity of evergreen trees.

Then the lights — white, yellow, red, orange, pink, green, blue. Some are spaced precisely around the trees, others splashed on with a hurried hand. The orange lights blaze out for all to see. The blue ones are so subtle, they can't be seen until night is well advanced. Together they present the same colors that make up the spectrum and the rainbow.

Shopping finished and more at peace, I drove back past the lights — and there it was. Glorious diversity. God made each of us as unique as this grove of evergreens, the tree that symbolizes the never-failing quality of His love for us. Some of us are round and full, others tall and spindly. Like the trees, some of us gather together, while others stand aloof. Some of our shoulders droop, while others of us lift our hands in praise. We are covered in many colors of skin, just as the trees wear different colors of lights. Yet each of us is a testament to the glorious diversity of the world we live in.

As this Christmas season rushes by us so fast that the bright colors begin to blur, I hope we can take the time to appreciate the world God made for us — the glorious diversity and the marvelous complexity of it. Each year near midnight on December 24, the entire world does seem to pause, to hold its breath for just a moment. Warring guns fall silent, and people around the world stop. Some give thanks that a baby was born nearly 2,000 years ago, just so He could die for us. Some people may even look heavenward, wondering when that bright star may come again.

Until it does, maybe from time to time we can remember the lesson of this grove of evergreens. Although each of them is different, they draw their nourishment from the same source underground, where their roots intertwine to help each of them stand. They all draw warmth and life-giving light from the same sun. They're not so very different from us, this grove of trees. And as they stand together to celebrate this season, their lights send a message to all of us.

Newsreel From 64 Years Ago This Month

Do you want to learn more about this newsreels connection to Pratt Kansas?
See these related educational links:
Read more about the B-29 Dauntless Dotty.
View video interviews of WW II Veterans (including Robert K. Morgan).

Do you want to help preserve and share this historic period in Pratts history?
See more about the Bombers On The Prairie Museum project.

After "Pearl Harbor" In Pratt

(Entrance to Pratt Army Air Field during WW II)

Source: Pride August 26, 1959 (A Supplement to the Pratt Daily Tribune)
The Story: First B-29 Superfortress from Pratt
At 1 a.m. of a day late in March of 1944 a B-29 Superfortress took off from the Pratt Army Air base, bound for India, the first such plane to leave the United States for the Pacific theater of World War II.


The takeoff of the plane from the runways of what is now the Pratt municipal airport signaled—although none knew it then—the beginning of the end of World War II. The B-29's went on to play an important part in the Pacific victory and one of the Superforts dropped the first atomic bomb.
The flight from Pratt was a highlight in Pratt's record of help and contributions during two World Wars. Newspaper files and personal recollections point out that Pratt was always ready and willing to help in time of national emergence.
The biggest story of World War II in Pratt, however, wasn't told at the time. Wartime secrecy clamped down on information regarding activities at the air base.
At the controls of that first B-29 to leave for India was Col. Jake Harman, a Boeing Aircraft Co. engineer and one of the men who had “babied” the B-29 through its life from drawing board to war with Boeing.
During the two weeks following Harman's flight, a secret fleet of B-29's followed from Pratt, Salina, Great Bend and Walker air bases, Kansas homes of Wichita-made B-29's.
But an even greater drama—the “Battle of Kansas” preceded the takeoff. Much of that “battle” was fought in Pratt. Crews and engineers from Boeing Wichita and Boeing Seattle worked around the clock at the Kansas bases to correct electrical and mechanical difficulties, which had rendered the giant planes almost unflyable.
But, fighting cold winter temperatures, sleet and snow, men worked around the clock to get the planes flying in four weeks' time.
The story of World War II in Pratt goes further than activities at the base, though. Headlines in The Tribune during that period called for “persons having extra rooms,” “getting piles of scraps ready,” and “volunteers needed to help fight the war.”
Prattans responded. Red Cross Grey Ladies and USO workers volunteered. A USO center was established at the Municipal building. Prattans rented basement, upstairs and downstairs apartments to airmen flowing into the base daily. A bus line ran regular schedules from Pratt to the air base.
On Jan. 21, 1943, The Tribune reported work at the air field was on in earnest. About 13,000 persons attended the formal opening of the field on May 2 of that year. On March 2 the USO center, with Mrs. Paul Garst supervising and Louis McCoy heading the committee, was opened.
The population of Pratt more than doubled during the time the base was in operation here.
However, before the establishment of the Army air base here during World War II, Pratt county headed the list of many events during the first World War.
“Pratt county has won distinction in everything pertaining to the war,” according to early newspaper reports. In volunteer enlistments, in the character of the soldiers recruited from this county through the machinery of the draft, in the individual heroism of its soldiers under action, in the Red Cross movement, in the personnel of the Home Guard and in fact in every phase of war activity Pratt county stands at the head of all counties in Kansas.
In the first Liberty Loan campaign Pratt county was given no apportionment. Consequently there was no organized campaign for selling of bonds. But without any effort except the spontaneous response of the people as to the importance of the job, Pratt county subscribed and purchased $102,000 worth of bonds.

The second bond issue netted $198,050 and the total shot to $205,050 several days before the national campaign closed.

Pratt's apportionment in the Third Liberty Loan campaign was $230,000—then it went over the top with a total sale of $355,300.

The fourth loan drive equaled $807,500.

Because of the great amount apportioned to the county and the amount of work necessarily involved in disposing of the bonds in the prescribed time, it was thought advisable by T.C. Carver, chairman of the Tenth Reserve District, to effect an organization.

He selected George W. Lemon as chairman for Pratt county. The county was then thoroughly organized by precincts, townships and wards. The members of the Pratt County Council of Defense were largely entrusted with the work of organization and solicitation.

As a result the county not only succeeded in selling the prescribed number of bonds in the stipulated length of time, but sold an amount of $880,400, thereby not only successfully raising the quota but going over about $75,000 “over the top.”

In War savings stamps campaign, Pratt county won additional honors. In this campaign it headed every other county in the United States. The war savings stamps campaign was under the personal supervision of T.C. Carver by virtue of his position as chairman of the Tenth Federal Reserve District. The apportionment for Pratt county in this campaign was $241,000, or $20 per capita based on a population of 12,000 for the county.

At the close of the campaign Pratt county exceeded this amount by over $110,000 or a grand total of $351,480.

In the last war relief campaign, for the Jewish-American fund, the county again did her whole duty, exceeding her apportionment by many hundreds of dollars. S. H. Shrack, county chairman, had not yet been able to report that the county had “plenty to spare.”

The Home Service section of the American Red Cross looked after the boys. Walter Pedigo was the chairman and Mrs. W. A. Ellis the executive secretary.

Company “A” of Pratt attained a strength during World War I of about 100 members. The officers of Pratt Company “A” were A.S. Farmer, captain; F.E. Hardesty, 1st Lt.; and Charles C. Stalcup, 2nd Lt.

Company “C” of Coats: L.L.Orr, Captain; Wade Eubank, 1st Lt.; and A.E. Horney, 2nd Lt.

Company “D” of Greensburg: C.E. Cooke, captain; Homer J. VanFossan, 1st Lt.; and Charles H. Bissitt, 2nd Lt.

The officers of the 25th battalion of the Kansas State guards were, Ralph Judkins, major; F.W. Tierney, captain of supplies; The Rev. Merrill C. Brooks, adjutant; and B.F. McDaniel, sergeant major.

...The pilots will be trained by the Pratt Junior College and the Swinson Brothers Flying Service. Earl Swinson, Larry Farmer and Si Darling flew three planes form Wisconsin and Ohio and the fourth from California.

War dogs took their place in the line of duty at the Pratt Army air field which was under construction Monday Sept. 28, 1942. The dogs were a part of the guard squadron fixed with the responsibility of keeping the field under close surveillance at all times.

And the war dogs, K-9's to the men and also referred to facetiously as WAG's , were not the fierce and ferocious beasts that may have been conjured up in the public mind by the cartoonists. They were collies, German Shepards and various cross-breeds and they responded to such commonplace names as “Rex,” “Prince,” “Shep,” “Pal,” and the like.

The American Legion cannon was sent into a scrap drive. Dr. R.A. Flanders fired the final shot. The half-ton cannon with at least 200 pounds of brass was then thrown onto the “heaping big” scrap drive.

Pratt County's scrap drive was 1,600 tons piled in the schoolyards at North and Central schools. Even the filter system at the swimming pool was added to the pile.

From September 27 to Oct. 21, during the war, a total of 1,217,860 tons of scrap iron was collected.

Also during 1942 blackouts were observed in an area of nine states and Pratt reported 100 per cent “lights out” during one of the drills.

On April 7th, 1944 movement of a 497th Bomb Group was begun during that time, Pete Etcheto, an army officer now living outside Iuka recalled.

On June 13th a B-29 of the 870th squadron crashed on a take-off and killed tow officers and injured the rest of the crew. The planes were called “flying coffins” by some of the men.

On July 31st the Pratt field, located where the present municipal airport stands had 18 B-29s, 15 B-17s and had completed 13,398 flying hours.

The most important thing that made the Group a cohesive unit, was the move from Clovis, N.M. to Pratt. The four Maintenance Squadrons were at Pratt, servicing the planes of the 40th Bombardment Group, then in the last stages of training. Likewise, a number of the personnel of the 497th Group were attached to some of the tactical squadrons of the 40th Group.

The improvement facilities for training at Pratt were so obvious that they hardly required more than a passing nod. At Pratt the whole Base was available for training.

Maybe there was space at the airbase but in Pratt the need for rooms and apartments was becoming critical with the influx of people coming to the airbase daily. The population of Pratt more that doubled. Restaurants were full, a USO center was established at the municipal building and a steady stream of busses made a fun from the air base to Pratt.

At the end of an epoch in Kansas history the Pratt Army Air Field was inactivated after nearly three continuous operations.

The closing of the pioneer B-29 training field brought to an end history which began with the development of Superfort itself and was now only ending the fruits of its labor having played one of the most vital roles against the successful prosecution of the war against Japan.

Activated officially in March of 1943, Pratt, commanded first by Lt. Col. John F. Nelson, housed its first B-29s and began training the 40th Bomb group, the first of its kind, for service in the Pacific.

Many returned to Pratt after the was—Pete Etcheto, Bob Crabill, Ed Bowe, Bob Sheegog, and others. Some gave their lives and never returned.

Mayor G.W. Sitton was named chairman of the Pratt Defense council shortly after the outbreak of was with Japan. Other defense council members included, Frank Adams, Ira Cater, Amos Glad, Walker Crossifeld, T.M. Bryden, Marvin Ray, Roy Shafer, Brad Eastmen and E.E. Scantlin.

The first call for selective service trainees since the nation was at war, left Dec. 30th 1941, to start training at Fort Leavenworth. Those in the Pratt area among the first to leave included Lester Barnes, Ivan M. Beard, Errol N. Thomas, Jack V. Brown, Raymond Bryant and Earnest P. Braden.

Prattans glancing back in retrospect of the year 1942 found it one in which their eyes constantly were lifted above their own sectional horizons. They watched with a tenseness that only bitter war can bring and as their men by the scores marched off to training camps and they read of local boys at close grips with the enemy in the far Pacific on Bataan, Corregidor, over occupied France, in Alaska, In England, Australia and North Africa.

At home they devoted their whole efforts to helping win the war. They learned of rationed goods, they organized into local defense units, they purchased war bonds far above the quotas allotted to them. They performed innumerable volunteer tasks, all helping support the men carrying the fight to the enemy.

It was a year of stirring events.

Prattans realized that the coming 12 months would have in store for them all the uncertainties that war can bring.

During 1943 it is reported by Mrs. M.J. Enlow, then chairman of the defense council, that a number of workers of the feeding committee arose before daylight to prepare breakfast for 350 soldiers from a troop train that stopped here.

Bombers On The Prairie Museum

The Bombers On The Prairie Museum will tell the complete story about one of the important battles in WW II, The Battle Of Kansas! The story is about the development of the B-29 Superfortress and the training of its combat crews in western Kansas. The Museum will contain artifacts, displays, exhibits of personal accounts of this Battle told by those who lived it as well as a reference Library for researching the Kansas Air Fields and Bombardment Groups who were trained at these Air Fields. The Air Fields include Pratt, Walker, Great Bend and Smoky Hill. See this summary about The Battle Of Kansas to learn more.


(See more pics here)
The State of Kansas Historical Society has approved the application for the historical listing of the PAAF Parachute Building located at the Pratt Airport. The State Staff approved the PSIQ under Criterion A for their association with mid-20th century military practices and Under Class C as representative architectural examples of their type of building. This is an important step on the way toward the development of a "Bombers On The Prairie" Park planned at the Pratt Industrial Airport centered around the current All Veteran's Memorial Complex. For a description of how this structure was used during WW II, see the Parachute Building story at the Pratt Army Air Field History Center.
Donations will be needed to restore the exterior of the Parachute Building and to build interior partitions and display cases. If you want to help with this project please call the All Veterans Memorial Complex staff at 620-672-1944.

Former Pratt Resident Wins Award

Steve Hewitt, city administrator for Greensburg, Kan., weathered the storm that tore the buildings in the community of 1,400 to pieces. He is leading the town's effort to rebuild as a model of energy efficiency and sustainability.
(Photo courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc.)

"When Steve Hewitt took the job as city administrator for Greensburg, Kan., in 2006, there was nothing extraordinary about the town of about 1,400 people. It had schools, a museum, a library, and a downtown business district. Less than a year later, however, everything that was Greensburg was gone — everything that is, except the community's most important asset: its people."

"In May 2007, one of the strongest tornadoes on record obliterated almost every house, telephone pole, tree and business in Greensburg, leaving 11 people dead and most of its residents homeless. For some other cities Greensburg's size, such a tragedy would be their end. Determined not only to salvage his hometown, but to recreate a model of energy efficiency and sustainability, Hewitt never considered giving up. Many in Greensburg say their town would have simply disappeared had it not been for his efforts. For creating a vision for a better Greensburg and leading his town toward it, he is American City & County's 2008 Municipal Leader of the Year."

Read the rest of the story at American City and Country.