Tom and Karen Schechter receive their winnings from Hugoton Drug and the Chamber. From left to right, Kaley Slocum, Tasha Medina, Tom and Karen, Chamber Director Tina Fernandez, Leigh Angell and LaDonna Perry.

Tom and Karen Schechter are the Sweetheart Couple of 2025! Tom and Karen’s original lucky entry in the Twenty-Fifth Annual Sweetheart Sweepstakes was entered and drawn out of the Hugoton Drug’s entry container. This entitles the couple to the $25. Gift Certificate that they can use to pick from Hugoton Drug’s huge selection of gift items or if need be – medical supplies.

After being drawn as Hugoton Drug’s lucky winning couple – their entry joined all the other business entries in a final drawing at The Hermes. As the winning couple drawn, Tom and Karen are also being awarded a $50 gift certificate from the Hugoton Chamber of Commerce to be used wherever the couple may choose.

Tom and Karen have made their home in Hugoton their whole lives. They grew up together actually and have been married for fifty-three years. They have two children, Scott and wife Tina and Stacy Dillinger and husband Derek; four grandchildren, Carson, Ashlyn, Grace and Channing; and two great grandchildren, James and Miriam. Karen expressed her appreciation to all the area businesses that keep our town running and made this a wonderful possibility.

Congratulations Sweet Sweethearts – Tom and Karen!!

Other lucky sweetheart winners that will be enjoying their winnings are as follows: Carla and Tacho Amador will be able to put a $25 gift certificate to good use picking out something beautiful from Janet’s Bridal and Boutique.

Yardmaster Garden and Gifts is the place for Walter and Estella Beesley to pick up their $25 Gift Certificate and shop till they drop in the Crawford’s goodie filled shop.

Lynnie’s Nest Floral & Art Studio was the lucky place for Chris and Chelsea Harper. The couple will enjoy the beautiful Rose Bud Vase created especially for them.

Dream First Bank’s lucky winning couple is Sophia and Roberto Martinez. They can take their $25 Visa Gift Card and splurge where ever their little hearts desire.

Bultman Tire Center’s sweetheart couple drawn is – Jessee Rae and Luke Kallenbach. Jessee and Luke will surely find a good use for their generous $50 Gift Certificate awarded from Matt and the crew.

The Wake Me Up @ The Gathering Place is The Place for Tim and Kristy Singer to go as they were the lucky couple to be drawn to win the $25 Gift Certificate by Michelle and her crew.

Los Agaves drew out Ferny and Justice Vera as their special couple. They can come in anytime and get their $25 Gift Certificate. They are guaranteed to be filled with some of Los Agaves’ wonderfully delicious meals cooked and served by some of the friendliest people in town. Dorian Enrique- Serrano and her other half are the Equity Bank sweethearts. They can pick up their $25 Visa Card and put it to some good use anywhere they like.

Twenty dollars in Gas Capital Dollars will be the prize awarded to Doug and Rita Mills from Citizens State Bank. Good at any Stevens County business.

Lynne and Jim Fink are sure to have a good time spending their $25 Gift Card as Flatlanders Farm and Home’s sweethearts and picking from Flatlanders’ gigantic selections.

Main Revelation drew out Maddie and Matt Rome’s names as their lucky sweethearts. The lucky couple can browse through the large selection MR has to pick from and put that $25 Gift Certificate to good use.

Connie Kerbow is sure to be fed well at Bonnie and Clyde’s Grill and Sports Bar. Connie’s name was drawn out as B&C’s lucky winner to receive a $20 Gift Certificate.

Thea and Will Schnittker will be sporting some beautiful new jewelry as the lucky winners at the Little Gift Shop in the Corner of Stevens County Hospital.

High Plains Theatre will be hosting Kenny and Melissa Sullivan for their Date Night. Kenny and Melissa will be able to pick a movie with their two tickets and be treated to the Date Night Bundle fixed especially for them as the Theatre’s drawing winners.

Lana and crew at the Jet Drive-In drew out Butch and Jackie Lewis’ names for their special Sweetheart couple. Butch and Jackie will be treated to Two Free Dinners and drinks whenever they decide to go out on the town.

Matt Johnson and fiancee Angelina McDonald are the lucky sweetheart couple at Twisted H Liquor. They will receive the $25 Gift Card they can put to good use to pick from all Twisted H has to offer.

Millie drew out Chris and Kelly Stanfield as Peddling Petals’ lucky couple. Chris and Kelly will receive that $25 Gift Certificate and be able to pick from some of Millie’s wonderful creations.

Congratulations to all our sweethearts you are all the sweetest! Thank you to our businesses that help support The Hermes’ projects. Please be sure to visit, shop and support all these area businesses. They are really the Greatest!!! They keep our community alive.

The Community Service award winners are Lynette and Les McNally. Pictured from the left are Luke Grubbs, Lynette, Les and Ron Honig. Congratulations Les and Lynette!!!

The Stevens County Conservation District Board celebrated their 75 years of Conservation service with their annual meeting Saturday, February 1. Introductions were made by Luke Grubbs and Invocation was given by Loren Seaman.

Citizens State Bank sponsored the delicious meal prepared by Hunny’s. Hugoton FFA members helped with the serving of the refreshments. The Hugoton High School Show Choir entertained during the meal. Guest Speaker was Ron Wilson Cowboy Poet.

Loren Seaman introduced the Windbreak, Grassland and Soil Conservation winners for 2024. The awards were presented to the winners by Grubbs and James Murray. Brian and Aymee Harper were the Windbreak winners. The Grassland winner was McClure Farms Partnership (Joel and Karen McClure) and Mid America Cattle (Walter, Estella, Don and Walle Beesley) won the Soil Conservation award.

The conservation poster winners were introduced and given their awards by Nick Martin and Tom Lahey. Door prizes were handed out by Martin and Lahey.

Les and Lynette McNally were chosen this year to receive the Community Service Award.

Les and Lynette have been involved in their communities all of their lives. As with many married couples, one may have been on the board or in the leadership role, but they both “served and supported”.

Les and Lynette both grew up in Hardtner which is south of Medicine Lodge. They both received degrees from Kansas State University. Les received his BS in Agriculture Education in 1979 and Lynette received a BS in Animal Science in 1977 and a MS in Animal Nutrition in 1979.

Les was an Agriculture Education Teacher for Garden City High School from 1979 to 1982. He was a farmer and rancher and had a custom hay business in Barber County from 1982 to 2007. He then became the Ag teacher for Hugoton High School and Middle School from 2007 to 2024.

Lynette was a farm and ranch wife and homemaker from 1979 to 2007. She became a substitute teacher for South Barber School District. She was the secretary for the United Methodist Church from 1994 to 2007 and an office manager for Farm Bureau Insurance until 2007. She became a substitute teacher for Hugoton, Moscow, Elkhart, Rolla and Satanta Schools from 2007 to 2024.

In the Hugoton Community via the FFA Les has been involved in several projects. Projects included annually from 2007 to 2023 Fair Fun Night at the Stevens County Fair; 2009 to 2024 provided portable bleachers on a trailer to view corn and wheat crop test plots; 2014 to 2024 Project Hope Food Bank ($750 average from profit sharing); 2023 and 2024 High Plains Movie Theatre – FFA Chapter sponsored an Ag themed movie during FFA Week and the buyout of $1500 each year (all attendees got in free, 378 people); and 2024 $13,500 relief for Texas wildfires sent to canadian FFA Chapter, and Boys Ranch FFA Chapter.

Lynette has been busy in 4-H. She served as Stateline 4-H Club Leader 1987-2007, activities included picking up trash after the Hardtner 4th of July, Fair clean-up days, bake sales and 4-H week activities. Les has been the goat superintendent and on the Fair Board for the Stevens County Fair for the last 18 years.

Les was honored as a finalist in the Gold Owl Award in 2024. Both have been honored with Honorary Chapter FFA awards and Friends of 4-H awards in previous years.

Les and Lynette have three children, daughter Colleen and Allen Trater of Glen Carbon, Il.; two sons, Caleb and Janae McNally of Quenemo and their children Braelyn, Grady, Gentry and Paden and son Lucas and Toni McNally of Hesston and their children Sophia and Titus.

Stevens County Conservation District’s Seventy-fifth Annual Appreciation Banquet is Saturday, February 1. The banquet is hosted by the Stevens County Conservation District. The event will be at the Memorial Hall at Sixth and Monroe in Hugoton starting at 5:00 p.m. Join them for dinner, accomplishments, awards, meeting and election.

The guest speaker for the evening will be Ron Wilson Cowboy Poet. Ron grew up near Manhattan on the Lazy T Ranch where his family resides today. His cowboy poetry is featured regularly in newspaper, radio and television. Ron chairs the annual Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest, hosted the online television show “Cowboy Up”, and hosts the monthly online video show called “Cattle Trails Showcase.” He was proclaimed a “Poet Lariat” (not laureate) by the Governor of Kansas. He won first place in the cowboy poetry contest at the Kansas Cowboy Symposium at Dodge City and scored in the top two of his class at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo. He is the only cowboy poet in history to present a cowboy poem at a Kansas Governor’s inauguration. He also serves as national secretary of the Western Wordsmiths chapter and legislative chair for the International Chisholm Trail Association. Ron was named Horizon Award winner by the Heartland Chapter of the Academy of Western Artists, one of 50 Kansans You Should Know by Ingram’s magazine, and Ambassador for the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum in Fort Worth, Tx.

The Hugoton FFA will be helping with the dinner and the Hugoton High School Show Choir will also be entertaining the audience. Hunny’s BBQ will be catering the dinner courtesy of Citizens State Bank. Door prizes will be given away!

This year’s winners are McClure Farms Partnership (Joel and Karen McClure), Grassland winners; Mid America Cattle (Walter, Estella, Don and Walle Beesley), Soil Conservation winners; and Brian and Aymee Harper, Windbreak winners.

The Distinguished Community Service Award will also be presented during the banquet and meeting. Be sure to mark your calendar for February 1.

The Miniature Napoleonic Coach

Researcher – Sue Weissinger Reporter – J. L. Wells

The delightful, beautiful coach is in a display case in the No Man’s Land Museum in Goodwell. At first glance, it appears to be a toy. Any little girl in the 1930s might have looked at it and imagined a Christmas gift. The twenty-first Century girl would envision it with her Barbie dolls. The coach, however, is not a toy.

The “F” on the door of the coach stands for the Fisher Body logo. The Napoleonic Coach has been a logo for the Fisher Company since 1922.

The Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild served from 1930 to 1968. As a philanthropic project during the Great Depression, boys 11 to 20 were challenged to build a miniature model Napoleonic Coach in 1/18 scale from plans provided by the Guild. Thousands of boys all over America completed miniature model coaches. The Fisher Body Corporation believed it would encourage creative talent leading to high ideals of fine craftsmanship.

One boy who entered the contest was Ralph Stephen Abel. He was born in 1915 in St. John, Kansas but moved to Liberal in 1920 where he graduated from high school.

When Ralph was 15 years old, he entered the first contest of the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild building the Napoleonic Coach. He entered the Kansas Junior Division ages 12 through 15. Ralph’s Napoleonic Coach won First Place Ribbons in Woodcraft, Metalcraft and Paintcraft, a Second Place Ribbon in Trimcraft, and an Honorary Ribbon in the Nationals. He was awarded $30 in gold certificates and a Federal Reserve Bank Note for $5. (His $35.00 winnings were equivalent to a weekly wage in 1931 – as noted by the Museum.)

Looking at Ralph’s delicately carved wheels banded with metal and the metal trim on the coach, it is easy to see why he won ribbons. The red and gold painted accents are beautiful on top of the coach, the seat, and wheels. He used gold, black and blue paint for the coach. His trim work is outstanding. Besides all the carved pieces and metal pieces, he appeared to have also included blue velvet fabric.

Following high school, Ralph took a three year trade course in Aeronautical Engineering. He enlisted in the Navy in 1945 during World War II and served in Guam.

After his discharge from the Navy, Ralph began farming south of Baker. (Baker is a community east of Hooker in northeastern Texas County about ¼ mile north of US Route 64.) Shirk’s book, Oklahoma Place Names, reports that Baker was named in honor of Reuben F. Baker of Hooker and was originally called Bakersburg. The name of the post office was changed to Baker August 15, 1953.

Stephen married Ethel Scott, and they lived south of Baker. He built a home in Baker in the 1950s where he and Ethel raised five children. Ralph was a farmer who purchased farm land and also rented farm land around Baker. Ralph died in 1980 at age 64.

The Museum display sign states “There Were Bright Spots During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl”. Ralph Abel’s exquisite Miniature Napoleonic Coach was a “bright spot” and continues to amaze visitors.

There isn’t a team of snow white horses pulling the coach, but it is easy to imagine them ahead of the coach.

All visitors are invited to view the Coach and the wide variety of other exhibits from Prehistoric to Native American to Statehood to the Dust Bowl and beyond. The Museum at Goodwell is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Follow NoMansLandMuseum on Facebook and watch the No Man’s Land Museum You Tube page.

Jay Acosta, 6’2” senior, had a fantastic night against Colby Friday. Jay broke two 40+ year old records during the game. The records were held by Chris Swan during the 1983-1984 basketball season. Jay is the single game record holder for 23 made field goals and 41 total points from the game against Colby. His 41 points of the 56 point game broke the school record for most points scored in a single game. Tuesday he scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds in the game against Ulysses. He is averaging about 19.3 points per game so far this season. Congratulations Jay!

Larry and Gloria Fox celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary December 22, 2024. Larry and Gloria lived for many years in Stevens County but now reside in Hutchinson to be near family. Congratulations Larry & Gloria!

Sherry Kelling’s piano students seated are Amelia and Kai Roybal. Standing from the left are Grant Niehues, Morgan Niehues, Clayton Grubbs, Tobias Grubbs, Madison Niehues, Chaney Poulsen, Alivia Grubbs, Sherry Kelling and Addison Garza. Photo courtesy of Sherry Kelling.

Sherry Kelling’s piano students performed at The Gathering Place Saturday, December 21. The students performed a variety of Christmas songs. Alivia Grubbs sang and accompanied herself with “The First Noel”.

Clayton Grubbs played “Little Drummer Boy” and Tobias Grubbs joined in with the drum on the second verse. The audience reflected quietly as Addison Garza soothed them with “Still Still Still” and Amelia and Kai Roybal played “Carol of the Bells” and “Joy to the World”.

Grant Niehues wished in the season with “Let It Snow” and Morgan Niehues did a stunning arrangement of “O Come O Come Immanuel”. Chaney Poulsen dazzled everyone with her selection “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”. Tobias’ classical arrangement of “Joyous Baroque” was a toe tapper. Madison Niehues had everyone sing along with her “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas”. All of Mrs. Kelling’s students loved sharing their Christmas piano pieces.

A big thanks again to The Gathering Place and the Hegers. Merry Christmas!

Buddy Heaton’s children stand in front of the exhibit at the Stevens County Gas & Historical Museum. From the left are Linda Brecheisen, Ted Heaton, Cindy Jo Galloway and Tom Heaton.

If you are not familiar with the history of Harold L “Buddy” Heaton, be sure to stop by the Stevens County Gas & Historical Museum located at 905 South Adams and learn how a legendary rodeo entertainer and horse trainer left a lasting impression by riding a buffalo named “Clyde” in John F Kennedy’s 1961 presidential inauguration.

A wall has been dedicated to Buddy Heaton where you can see a video, a lifelike wax figure of Buddy and a buffalo head donated by Jim Mothes.

Kaylor Regensburg and Aiden Conner are 3A State Champs in Fortnite. Photo courtesy of USD 210 Eagles Facebook.

It was a long eight hour drive from Hugoton High School to Highland Community College located in Highland, but the members of the Hugoton Esports team made it worth it as they brought home a plethora of awards, including a State Championship and runner up! Students competed in the first ever State Championship hosted by the Sunflower Showdown Esports League.

The Sunflower Showdown Esports League was started this year by the Highland Community College Esports Coach, Matt Ludwick as a model for KSHSAA to observe as they work out the details in making esports a sanctioned event. The teams started the season back in September and played once a week as they worked their way up the standings and earned a qualifying bid to the in-person State Championship.

Hugoton qualified four Fortnite teams, three Mario Kart racers, and three Super Smash Brothers players.

In Fortnite, Hugoton was heavily favored to come out on top as they held the top four seeds in the 3A bracket, and in the Grand Finals bracket which included classification. Hugoton held the first, third and fifth seeds going into the tournament. The Eagles would go on to make it an All-Hugoton finals after the Red team consisting of Enjo Moreno and Brandon Lopez defeated the 1A State Champion team from Troy.

The Crimson team consisting of Aiden Conner and Kaylor Regensburg defeated the 2A State Champion from Jackson Heights in the semifinals. Team Crimson would prove to be too much for Team Red and brought home Hugoton’s first ever Esports State Championship.

In the consolation bracket, Hugoton’s White team, consisting of the freshman duo Gage Harris and Caiden Mason, faced a huge challenge. The Eagles ran into the second overall ranked Jackson Heights team who had previously been undefeated prior to their semifinal loss to Hugoton’s Crimson team. Team White ran out to a 4-1 lead and was able to hold off the Cobra’s comeback to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament to reach the medal round. Hugoton White would end up losing to Troy earning them fourth place.

Hugoton also had a group of students who competed in the Nintendo Switch game categories of Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers.

The event held some high level competition, as there were contestants from both events that had just been awarded Regional National Championships the week before.

Jacob Payne would end up medaling in both 3A events, placing third in Mario Kart, losing to the runner up by a single point, and fourth in Super Smash Brothers.

In the Grand Finals, it was a different Hugoton player who made the most noise as Jesus Maldonado would make a run to the consolation semifinals where he faced off and lost to a competitor from Royal Valley. Sophomore Ethan Bowers and Freshman Kaiden Hatch both participated, but did not make it past the earlier rounds of the competition. The Sunflower Showdown League also held competitions in Rocket League, Valorant, and Overwatch.

The league plans to return in the Spring of 2025 with the State Championships taking place at Pratt Community College. The Hugoton Esports team will now get ready for their Winter and Spring seasons starting in January.

The Eagles are currently planning to participate in the Sunflower Showdown League again, as well as the national level in the High School Esports League which will host seven new games next semester including Brawlhalla, Street Fighter, and Geoguessr, all of which Hugoton is expected to fare extremely well in. The Eagles will also be joining a second national esports league called PlayVS in order to grant students more opportunities with three additional new games that are not provided by the SSEL or HSEL as well as access to Special Olympics Unified esports competitions.

The Hugoton Esports program currently consists of over 70 students and about 25 participating in after school competitions.