Everybody in Kaw City knew when to expect the Santa Fe train to roll through the city. On slow, summer evenings, it wasn’t unusual for a crowd to gather on the north end of town by the grain elevator to watch it go by. But the town was being forced to move and soon the train tracks would be covered with deep waters from a new lake. December 10, 1971 marked a historic, if not sad occasion for the people of Kaw City. It was the final day the train would ever be scheduled to come through their town. People missed work and children were released from school so they could be there to witness the train chugging away from the depot one last time.
One man in particular must have been filled with nostalgia as he climbed onto the engine of the train that day. John Brown was once a water boy for the railroad, carrying tumblers and a kettle of water back and forth to passengers. He rode the first train that came into Kaw City, and he was there to ride the last train out.
John Brown (left) and Mayor Fred Munson (right) waiting to ride the last train out of Kaw City
Ironically, the train would make one more trip through Kaw City. Following heavy rains in Oklahoma, the only way for the train to get past flooded tracks was to be re-routed through the town. Unexpectedly, people were awakened in the middle of the night to hear that old familiar sound of their train rumbling by.
The Kaw City Newspaper appeared shortly after the small Oklahoma town was established. News didn’t travel as fast in those days. Every letter of every word had to be set in place by hand. Typesetters labored for hours getting each page ready for print. They had to figure out where the “copy” would go and what size font they needed to use. Once the stories and designs were complete, they were locked into the bed of the press which was then inked. Paper was pressed against the inked type to make the impression which became the newspaper. This photo from circa 1902 shows the typesetters and printers at work.
Kaw City Museum 