KANSAN ISSUES MORE HISTORICAL BUCKLES
by Stan Paregien, Newspaper Editor
Meade County (Kansas) News - Copyright 1986Meade, Ks. -- Don Goodnight, a descendant of cattleman Charles Goodnight, has found a way to combine his love of western history and his passion for western memoriabilia. He does that by designing historical belt buckles. His first three efforts involved the design of buckles which showed the cattle trails that passed through the Kansas counties of Meade, Clark and Ford.
Then he issued a 100İyear historical buckle commemorating the infamous blizzard of 1886.
"There were very few settlers in southwest Kansas in 1885," Goodnight said, "because the big cattlemen had the good water and the best land tied up. But the blizzard of '86 wiped out many ranchers and thereby opened up those lands for farmers and other settlers. It was a very important event in Kansas history."
Goodnight's most recent buckle, "Tracks & Trains", is a 100-year commemorative of the coming of the railroad to Meade and Clark counties in Kansas.
"The Santa Fe railroad crews worked their way through Ashland and into Englewood in Clark County in the fall of 1887," Goodnight said. "And the Rock Island came through Minneola and into Meade County in October and by late December of 1887 they entered the city of Meade. That resulted in a fast population growth in both counties."
Each of the pewter buckles that Goodnight has done has been limited to 1,000 copies and each is numbered and contains a brief history of what the buckle commemorates.
One of the founders of the Meade County Historical Society, Goodnight has personally donated many items to the society's museum. He has plans for at least eight more buckles to commemorate various historical events in southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma panhandle.
This material is copyrighted by Stan Paregien, Sr.
It may not be reprinted or used in any form without
his express written permission.