Roger Myers, Wild West historian, will present a program about famous cattle trade characters of the old west at the Barton County Historical Society, Monday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. The program will be in the Ray Schulz Research Library at the historical village. Members will be admitted for free, others are $5 at the door. Historical Society memberships may be purchased at the door that evening or during regular business hours.
Myers, a retired cooperative general manager living south of Larned, is a graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, with a bachelor of science degree in accounting and a minor in history. He has been studying and writing old west Kansas history for about 30 years, with articles published in Wild West, True West and Old West magazines and other peer-reviewed journals such as Wild West History Journal and Panhandle-Plains Historical Review. Myers has written a book, tentatively titled “Violence on the Plains”, covering several violent events in Kansas old west history set to be published this year by The History Press.
Myers will speak about Ham Bell, Tom Sherman, Big Nose Kate and other major players, who were in Great Bend before moving to Dodge City. He recently discovered that Bell, who later became Ford County sheriff, landed in the local jail in the 1870s.
The Barton County Historical Society is located at 85 S. Hwy. 281, Great Bend, and is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the winter. Summer hours, which include weekends begin in April.