By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Barton County's move from the courthouse to three other buildings during the HVAC Renovation Project was not easy for anyone. It was especially difficult for the Register of Deeds office staff. That office had to move more than 1,000 books, each weighing between 10 and 30 pounds, to the temporary office located in the old JC Penney building at 1500 Kansas Ave. Register of Deeds Glennda French said the summer heat was no help.
"It was the middle of July," she said. "We first started just packing up in a little wagon and started moving a few over throughout the day. That became a struggle."
Former Register of Deeds Pam Wornkey and her husband, Tim, brought down a trailer that sped up the process, but each book still had to be picked up several times during the move. The books contain a literal written history of the area.
"Most of the books we have are documents from the beginning of Barton County," said French. "Back then, they would keep them, then eventually they were copied onto these pages. If you open up a book, it will have the document itself in there, and that's how it used to be done."
The system has been updated. The old books have been scanned and can be accessed digitally. New documents are scanned and kept digitally, and everything is indexed in a ledger book within a day. But that does not make the old books obsolete.
"Sometimes the image that is on the computer that has been scanned in is not clear enough to read so we might need to pull a book to see the actual document that is in the book," French said. "It's sometimes more legible."
All the county's general records and deeds are in an open area at the temporary location and can be accessed. Mortgage records are kept in storage due to a lack of space.
French recently saved the county money by eliminating a position in the office, which is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. French and Clerk Jennifer Waters are happy to assist the public with any questions.