Ellinwood

Ellinwood Cityof

BARTON COUNTY

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ELLINWOOD

For more than a century, Ellinwood has celebrated in style

Ellinwood has two seasonal events each year, and each one is well worth attending. Th e fi rst Sunday in December, is a German-inspired event called Christkindlmarket, and the third weekend in July is the three-day Aft er Harvest Festival.

Every year, the Ellinwood Chamber of Commerce hosts the Ellinwood Aft er Harvest Festival. It draws people from all the surrounding counties. Typically, the three-day weekend starts off with a community pancake feed, then it’s games, competitions, and vendors for all ages at the City Park, Wolf Park, and Wolf Pond. Hamburger feeds, beer gardens, bands, community dances, and a ton of other entertainment ensure there isn’t an idle moment. Th ere’s the Ellinwood Rotary parade, an AHF golf tournament, petting zoo and all weekend long, a carnival set up on the west side of City Park. Held the third weekend of July every year, it’s a celebration not to be missed.

Th e community of Ellinwood knew how to throw a great party years before the Aft er Harvest Festival started. As a young city, it attracted people from hours away to the Eagles Picnic the fi rst weekend in September. Here, the 1910 account, as reported in the Sept. 6, 1910 edition of the Great Bend Daily Tribune:

“Th e annual picnic is held in the John Wolf grove, west side of town, and there is a big enough place to entertain everyone. A number of concessions of various sorts were scattered through the grounds, there were refreshment stands which did a large business and in addition music by the band and a big ball game with some minor sports furnished amusement for the crowd. It was an absolutely clean picnic and we saw no drinking or evidence of drinking anywhere. It might be well to interpolate at this point that several of the Ellinwood merchants in talking over the old days, when refreshments “made in Germany” were the order of the day at such aff airs, said they would rather have things the way they are now, with the lid clamped on tight than to have saloons over which the community had practically no control. Saloons managed properly by the municipality, they did not

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consider them bad. But now that the law is being observed they expect to keep things the way they are.

Ellinwood is one of the prettiest little towns in the state and one of the best managed communities as well. Th e enterprise of the merchants who have stores as upto-date as those of much larger towns, and their way of standing together in making an aff air of this kind a success were especially noticeable. Men like Edward Isern, Nick Sprinkler, Henry Back, John and Fred Wolf, Geo Heim, Geo Trump, John Th ul, Harry Turck, J. C. McCracken, Howard Torrence and other businessmen of the town were out welcoming the visitors and making them feel welcome.”

Candidates handed out cards, shook hands, and talked. A ball game between Sterling and Ellinwood was held.

“Th e celebration ended at night with a big ball game which is an annual event. Besides the young people of Ellinwood and vicinity there were a number from here, Sterling and other points present.”

Great Bend, the county seat, had many among the visitors. Th e prior day, the society column was fi lled with notices of society people who were traveling to Ellinwood for the picnic. Great Bend was certainly a quiet place that weekend, with so much attention focused on their neighbor to the east.

John Wolf, of whom the grove was named aft er, immigrated from Germany in the late 1800’s. He married, and together with his wife Mary, they started a brewery called the M.K. Brewery near the shore of the Arkansas River. Th e grove surrounded the brewery, and today Grove Park, Ellinwood’s 9-hole golf course is situated on that property. John and Mary’s son, Fred Wolf, created the golf course in 1931 for his son, Fred Wolf Jr. In 1939, the clubhouse was built. Wolf Pond is still located adjacent to the golf course, and is much smaller today than it was a century ago when two windmills were used to fi ll it and ice was cut for the brewery’s use and to sell to the public.

“One thing of interest to the citizens about Ellinwood is the excellent light and water system, which is owned by the town. In most municipalities such a plan proves to be burdensome to the taxpayers and more costly to the users than the privately owned plant, but in Ellinwood they claim to be saving money. And they do give good service.”

Today, Ellinwood continues to operate its own back-up electrical service, and has saved the community numerous times from long lasting power outages when storms ensue.

CITY COUNCIL

Mayor, Irlan Fullbright Councilmember – Kirk Clawson Councilmember – Ken Lebbin Councilmember – Steve Oelke Councilmember – Jacque Isern Councilmember – Jon Prescott Councilmember – Irlan Fullbright The Ellinwood city council meets at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at 104 East 2nd St.

CITY DEPARTMENTS

City Administrator – Chris Komarek 620-564-3161 City Clerk – Kim Schartz 620-564-3161 Electrical Superintendent – Jon Perron 620-564-3046 Street Dept. Superintendent – Kevin Clair 620-564-3451

Water/Wastewater Superintendent

Spencer Proffitt 620-564-3046 Police Chief – Chance Bailey 620-564-3001 Fire Chief – Chris Komarek 620-564-3161

Medical Care

Ellinwood Hospital and Clinic 605 N. Main, 620-564-2548

Animal Control

Police Department 209 W. 1st, 620-564-3001

UTILITIES AND SERVICES Electricity

Light & Power Plant Jon Perron, Electric, 620-564-3451 Jim McMullen, Power Plant 620-564-2211

Natural Gas

Kansas Gas Service, 800-794-4780

U.S. Post Office

299 N. Main, 620-564-2840

Library

Director, Sheri Holmes 620-564-2306 Ellinwood School Community Library 210 N. Schiller

Recycling

Recycling Center 203 West 1st. – Open 24 hours

Compost Site

Park and 7th – Open daily 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Zip Code

67526

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