1954 Annual Report
Salina. Kansas. in 1867
¿;alina cJfütO'L!J
Salina, a playground for Indians 100
years ago, was founded in 1858 by Wil-
liam Phillips, a newspaperman, and two
fellow Scotchmen, James Muir and
A. M. Campbell.
Saline county was organized in 1859.
Later the territorial legislature chartered
a town company composed of the three
founders and two newcomers, D. L. Phil-
lips and A. C. Spilman.
The settlement at first was dependent
on trade with frequent Indian hunting
parties, but, as the westernmost post on
the Smoky Hill trail, it thrived in 1860
as a jumping off place for gold-hunters
traveling to Pike's Peak.
The Civil War haIted the town's
growth but in 1867 the Union Pacific
railroad extended its lines to the settle-
ment.
J. G. McCoy, an alert livestock deal-
er, wanted Salina as a terminus for cat-
tle drives, but the townspeople would
have none of it. McCoy moved 23 miles
east and subsequently developed Abilene
as one of the great western cow towns.
McCoy had this to say about early
Salina: "It was a very small, dead place,
con~isting of about a dozen log huts,
low, small, rude affairs four-fifths of
which were covered with dirt for roof-
ing . . ."
The development of Salina was there-
after greatly accelerated by the rail-
road. The population increased to 2000.
A colony of 60 Swedes from Galesburg,
Ill., arrived in 1868; 200 homesteaders
from Ohio came in 1869; and 75 ex-
residents of Harvey County, Ill., arrived
in 1870.
In the 1870's great crops of wheat
began to pour into Salina., A $75,000
steam-powered flour mill was built in
1878.
By 1880, Salina was assured a place
among the principal cities of Kansas.
Population exceeded 3500 and industries
included three flour mills, six grain ele-
vators, a carriage and wagon factory.
In 1903, four-fifths of the city was
inundated by flood. Residents took re-
fuge in the hills east of the city.
Small sections of the city were flood-
ed in 1938 and three years later in the
fall of '41 the city was again inundated.
In 1951, the city had perhaps its worst
flood. In 1954 Congress took first action
to bring flood control to Salina.
Looking North on Santa Fe at Iron. Oct., 1876
~
GENE-RAl-
OFFICES
CII'" HALL BUILDING
\.1õ.\.1>NP }4. SF.1>C~
C;lY l'<ianaee'
and Cit1 co~i88ioners,
I\onorable \J.a1or
CitY of salina,
¡(ansas.
resent thiS 1954 Annual
It'" ~,<i~t ~-~ t~ ~ ..~d ~~ - C-
~~~. in ~oO~i~ ~~~~~ WOo, ~vi~'~' brief
~.~~ M,1T'.' ~~ ...,~p~ ø~"""
analysiS of our City s \l\anY
of the fastest grOWing
l' haS been one f
.. ,"" ",,"" S. ,no b ba. a'" "nace""" nT
"'~' ~ .-" ~~ ,9~' ~, co ~- ~r~~d ~~"'~'
~ di"e<.~ ~.~-~' '~~~~d ~i~.in ~ ~.i~d ~T-
to ~eep ~ithin our budget 1 \I\~
vice to our citi~ens,
Gentle\l\en~
of salina feel their governing
1 ø ~~ ~ citi~n> d b~. ~~ ~ .-ti.~
bO.Y ",,' an ,baiT eppOiO". ':::.:. " pO"ib,e for .a,iO<
J@ in - ~c"i~"'~ b~,~ ,.~" -,." ~ i-'
to _,1~"" 0" ~ 10' 1,~.d o",~T' 00"'-
vided the future e blic
'o ,ur .-" p,o . >bO"'<o' >b- o_co"'" p"
to h~' ,a'" ~ ~~a~: .r"~' ~,.'O~~
i\l\prove\l\entS to ~eeP up w
s the co\l\\I\iSsioners, their
1 .,~ ,. ~~ ~ c",~n.' f T ~c" ~c~' c~
A the citY e\l\pl0yees 0
-~"..,. - ,...' -~,~~ _.
_r~'= ~ .~~ ~ ye~ .
LlAs ' D
K . /O~ !..£ag¡,t£ Of M¡,tt1Lciþo.[itif,~
,,^erYIber'.' 0.1'2"""
dfi;} hli;} ht~ of 1954
.
Two million dollar flood control program authorized by Congress.
.
Board of education votes to end segregation in Salina schools.
.
Population tops 31,000.
.
Second national guard unit formed.
.
$275,000 bond issue approved for additional park land and new filtered
swimming pool.
.
National guard armory and 4-H building approved at November election.
.
School enrollment pushes 6400,
.
New construction exceeds $5 million, second biggest year in history,
.
$1,000,000 new city water treatment plant under construction.
',' -,....'
cJfow ~ cJfao-t: §wwn
32000
POPUL A nON
30000
25,000
20000
fSOoo
10,000
..
~
:; '
~
;:¡'
..
ò
"
..
5000
~
~
~
èi-
..
..
..
;;..
::
..
..'
<>
!¡
..-
1000
~
1130
1880
18PO
IPOO
IPIO
11120
IUO
IPSO
1115#
1"'.000.000.00
¡ '(000,000.00
¡'o,oooooo.oo
f ",000.000.00
! '.,000,000.00
3~0000OO.OO
f ...ooo.ooaoo
¡",ooo,ooooo
$ ",00400000
$ 33.000000.00
, """'0<>100
1 ",000.000,00
I Jo.oooooo.oo
..ooq,ooo.oo
, 28.1>00,0001)0
11~000 000.00
11#000000.00
lIS 000 OO<J.oo
I N._.OO
113,004000.00
1",000.000.00
, 'fooo."",OO
ASSESSED I#1L UA T/ON
~ ~ § ~ ~ § ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ § ~ ~ : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ n ~ ¡ n ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(Po fíœ :b ~þa 'l-tm¿nt
34
Personnel
Expenditures
$130,863
The police department expanded its facilities in
1954 to take care of increased personnel. Renovation
of the second floor of headquarters, started in 1953,
was completed. New work included courtroom seats,
lecture room, squad room, locker and shower facili-
ties and record room. Work was also started on
photographic and forensic lab. A traffiG director was
appointed,
More than 2500 arrests brought $37,444 in
fines. Of the offenses, 1554 were traffic violations.
Drunks arrested totaled 484, or better than one a
day.
Value of stolen cars recovered by the police ex-
ceeded $52,000 and miscellaneous property recovered
topped $11,000,
Patrol cars handled 27,509 assignments by radio
and drove 298,616 miles in the city, the equivalent
of about 12 trips around the world at the equator,
The department assisted 737 persons and in-
vestigated 1043 complaints, including 313 felonies.
'Jr- 'Œ. fJ)~þa 7-tm~nt
$128,152
fJhE Co U ~tí
CITY COURT
Personnel
City court, which was established in
1929, has jurisdiction over civil matters
involving sums under $1000.
In criminal cases, it has jurisdiction
in traffic matters and other misdemean-
ors. In felony cases, the court can hold
preliminary hearings,
In 1954, the court handled 909 cases,
567 of them criminal. More than 10,-
000 cases have been filed since the
court was established.
Receipts were $23,168,17, which in-
eludes fines, court costs and cost de-
posits.
POLICE
Personnel.....
Expenditures
. . 2
$2068
The police court's jurisdiction is city-
wide and covers violations of city ordi-
nances.
Most frequent appearances are for
traffic violations, In 1954, the police
judge assessed more than $37,000 in
fines for offenses ranging from carrying
concealed weapons to overparking,
The court is in session five afternoons
a week. The courtroom is on the second
floor of the police department,
3
Expenditures
$10,272
Eng inEE 'Ling
Personnel. .
Expenditures
.. 5
$21,104
The city engineer's office prepares
design and supervises construction of
street improvements, sewers and
drainage structures,
In 1954, the department' handled
plans on street, sewer and water im-
provements totaling $349,303,
Street improvements included
twenty-two blocks curbing and gutter-
ing, sixteen blocks concrete paving
and five blocks asphalt paving, one
mile resurfacing,
Specifications were prepared for
17,346 feet (about 3,25 miles) of
water mains, ranging from two to 12
inch pipe.
The department issued permits
for 206 driveways, 400 excavations
and four recessed parking areas,
¿hut fJjEþa "LtmEnt
Personnel. .,. ..
Expenditures ..
.... ... 24
$94,257
The department not only has the re-
sponsibility of keeping Salina's face
scrubbed, but it is really the city's jack-
of-all-trades.
In 1954, street employes swept 7413
miles of curbing (about the distance
from Los Angeles to London) and haul-
ed 6104 cubic yards of debris. Gutters
hand-cleaned totaled 354 blocks.
When they weren't cleaning streets
they were repairing them, They used
405 tons of rock asphalt. for patching
and 24,000 pounds of solid asphalt.
Pavement replaced included: 1831
square feet of brick, 753 square feet of
concrete and 2215 square feet of as-
phalt,
On unpaved streets, patrols worked
552 miles, hauled 893 tons of crushed
rock, 439 tons of sand and 7225 cubic
yards of dirt,
In addition, employes cleaned, sealed
and painted the swimming pool, re-
moved 1285 trees from Dry Creek, 30
from the river and rebuilt 2700 feet of
Dry Creek dike, They installed 135
parking meter posts, straightened 13 and
reset 39 more,
Other work: dumped 9 tons of salt on
slick streets, installed 207 traffic signs,
put up 16 rolls of snow fences, reoiled
three streets and all drives in Thomas
Park,
g:J a rrkj,
Personnel
Expenditures
.. 7
$37,003
Salina is known throughout the state
for its beautiful park system. Many say
it is second to none,
In 1954, an estimated 400,000 persons
used park picnic facilities. Fifty new
picnic tables and benches were added to
accommodate larger crowds.
An estimated 24,000 registered for
shuffleboard; 30,000 for tennis, 8000 for
cREc/lEatíon
Personnel 206 (Part-time)
Expenditures $42,863
roque; 6000 for ping pong; 8000 for cro-
quet; 6000 for horseshoes, (Attendance
figures are accumulative,)
In 1954, an additional 125 acres was
added to the park system bringing the
total to 310 acres, The parks are
Thomas, Sunset, Oakdale and Kenwood,
The new eastside park will be known as
Indian Rock,
After dark park activity, includes
band concerts, shuffleboard, tennis, ping
pong, square dancing, roque, horseshoes
and croquet,
It is the policy of the park depart-
ment to give public advice on lawn and
home landscape problems,
The recreation department, an in-
dependent taxing unit, coordinates and
assists various community organizations
with planning and conducting recreation
projects, It supplies the leadership,
equipment and programs.
In 1954, 292,995 persons participat-
ing in recreation department programs,
including basketball (1408); Bluejay
Field (33,350); Carver Center (53,069);
Crafts center (3273); East Central
(Teeny and Teen Town) (1632); Eas-
ter Egg Hunt (1100); elementary school
program (11,395); family fun (975);
Golden Years Club (578); Gun Club
(225); Hawthorne field (41,653); holi-
day bulletin service (1398); ice skating
and coasting (1111); Northside Club
(637); Oakdale Field (4650); social
recreation (6542); Sacred Heart fièld
(10,482); square dancing (10,482);
shop (1878); S,Y,A,c. (2220); Whit-
tier Field (3625); summer playgrounds
(110,842); Fishing Derby (100).
YOUR C TY'S DOLLAR
WHERE /TCOMES FROM
WHERE IT GOES
,
..
MISCELLANEOUS
88J838.78
PAVING-SEWER TAXES
206,243.10
PUBLIC WO J?K S
189,223,87
GENERAL GOV'T
75J68 0.6 8
SALES TAXES
48, 282..77
PROR£RT Y TAX £S
715,213.13
PARK- RECREA nON
45,879.84
FIRE
/28,152.12
FR ANCHIS£
TAXES
65,701.5/
POLICE
If 8,643,111
PARKING
METERS
30,000.00
I
I
POUCE-COlJRTS
~O,O75.03
STATE GRANT
92¡154.56
STR£ETS-LGT.
JOJ6I6.67
..
LiCENSES FEES -pêRltlltS
45,301.60
dill unLdfaL clf-L "'fo ",t
Personnel
(No city employees)
Expenditures
$3073
¿)anítatíon
Personnel,
Expenditures
, 3
$13,729
Personnel, ,
Expenditures
This department is headed by the
city sanitarian who doubles in brass as
the city chemist.
Other personnel include the milk in-
spector and the food inspector. Their
job is to check the dairies, restaurants,
bakeries, taverns. Unclean establish-
ments don't get licenses,
The milk inspector in 1954 made 655
inspections at farm dairies, and 87
inspections at pasteurizing plants. He is-
sued 106 permits.
In addition, he made 239 laboratory
analyses of bottle milk and cream; 1061
m'ilk producer samples and checked 27
samples of river water,
The food inspector made the follow-
ing number of inspections: cafes 381;
groceries 265; taverns 241; sundry
stores 82; bakeries 44; bottling compa-
nies 28; poultry 21; drug stores 43, and
potato chip factories 21.
The fOllowing number of complaints
were investigated: garbage 12; unsani-
tary back yards 16; chicken pens 5; out-
door toilets 14 and one rabbit pen,
I
fPubl1c cJ!-EaLth
dVu Hit~H
" 2
$5244
The Public Health Nursing Associa-
tion is supported by the city. The asso-
ciation supplies the city health nurse.
She acts as health nurse within the
city, visiting homes, making follow-up
calls on TB x-rays, holding conferences
for well babies, crippled children and
others,
In 1954, 1102 visits were made. There
were 32 tuberculosis patients under
supervision and four at Norton sani-
torium,
The mobile x-ray unit examined 1692
food handlers.
There were 18 mother and baby care
classes held with 45 members attending,
Four summer health classes were held
at the Americanization Center,
A new wheel chair was purchased for
use by cancer patients.
¿choo~
enrollment of about 700,
The city's two parochial sthools haVe an
The fall school enrollment was 6398,
Cost of improvements totaled $750,000.
ed, Gleniffer HiJI, Sunset and Hageman.
three elementary schools were complet.
high schools and a senior high, In 1954
including Phillips Village, two junior
Salina has fifteen elementary schools,
llb-'lQ'l!l
Personnel.
Expenditures
. 10
$44,609
The public library, located at 8th and
Iron, has 43,114 volumes, 207 periodi-
cals and 7 newspapers, '
In addition to books, it lends paint-
ings and phonograph records, In 1954,
3713 records and 173,999 books were
circulated.
Regular borrowers incJude 6959 adults
and 4683 juveniles. In 1954, $9287 was
spent for new books.
The library also features a Saturday
puppet show for youngsters and houses
the Saline County Historical museum,
open from 1 P.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Library hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
daily.
City cf/- 1m íní1- baUD n
Elected By Citizens Of Salina
CITY COMMISSIONERS
E, p, WENGER (Mayor).
Dr, MAX S, LAKE
Mrs, G, C. COBB.
A. W, HAWKES
WARD BARCAFER
..Term expires April, 1955
..Term expires April, 1957
..Term expires April, 1955
..Term e~pires April, 1957
..Term expires April, 1955
W, S, NORRIS, Judge
CITY COURT
LOREN A, LEMON, Marshal
W, J. BROOM, Clerk
APPOINTED BY COMMISSION
LELAND M, SRACK,..
. City Manager
APPOINTED BY CITY MANAGER
Director of Finance & City Clerk
City Attorney
. Assistant City Attorney
. police Court Attorney
. City Treasurer
. City Engineer
.. .' .. . City Bookkeeper
. Secretary, City Manager
.City Chemist
. Milk Inspector
. Food Inspector
........" Street Foreman
..Park Superintendent
Chief of police
Fire Chief
. Police Judge
Building Inspector
. ...Plumbing Inspector
..Superintendent Sewage Disposal Plant
Harold Peterson
C, L, Clark
Tom Lillard
Frank Lewis. .'
Henry H, Eberhardt
Harold Harper
Ellen Nyberg.
Nathalie Dickens
R, S, Fassnacht
F,T,Walker.........
George M, Thaemert
W, D, McClain
Irvin R. Ricklefs.
Henry R, Salmans, Sr,
J, E, Travis
H. N, Eller
Carl Johnson. .
William F, Schafer
James Smith
(Poot~
¿ w ímm ínfj
Personnel 20 \. Part-time)
Expenditures $8876
In 1954 ,the larger pool at the park
had a total attendance of about 52,000,
including 20,188 adults and more than
21,000 children,
Carver had 2200 admissions,
Last year citizens voted for a new
swimming pool to replace the one in
Oakdale Park,
Salina has two swimming pools, ope
at Carver Center the other in Oakdale
park,
The pools open on Memorial Day
each year, weather permitting.
d/I{ un Ú! lþaL !B and
Personnel... 35 to 40
Expenditures $7816
The band played fourteen concerts
during the summer of 1954, thirteen at
Sunset Park and one at Kenwood Park,
Average attendance was 1800 to 2000 at
each concert, New risers were purchased
in 1954,
C, H, Martin
ell!( a J 0 'Vi
(Mayor-Council Form of
Government)
C, H. Martin ........"......"...............".1870
C, R. Underwood 1871, 1889-90, 1897-98
James W. Russell """""""""""". ,,1872
R. H, Bishop """"".."""""",,1873, 1875
W, S, Wells """"""".""""""""" ",,1874
C. S. Radcliff """"""""""""..".1876-78
A. W, Wickham """"""""""""""",,1878
William Berg """""""""""""",,1879-80
D. J, Addison "".."".."................1881-82
E, W. Ober """..".........."",.......1883-84
Willis Bristol"....".."............".." 1885-86
C. W, Banks ........"..........."...1887-1888
Smith George ....1891-92
R, p, Cravens .........".1893-94
James T, Hayward. "......"..."".1895-96
T, W, Roach "...........".1899-1900
Thomas Anderson ........"..."...",,1901-04
David H, Shields ........"."......"...1905-06
D, W, Hills ....."....,,1907-08
C, B. Kirtland. .1909-12
V, E. Niquette .."......1913-14
J, E, Putnam ...............1915-16
Edd Mathews ..1917-20
(Commission-Manager Form of
Government)
F. S, Dyar
J. S. Hargett.
Guy T, Helvering .
Charles F, Dodds
M, A, Stevenson.
R. J, Pafford
F, C, Peters
Ed Morgenstern
J, H, Moore, Jr.
Lloyd W, Price
Al Noyce
A, W, Stedham .
..1921-23
""""""" .1923-26
..,,1926-30
1930-31
............1931-34
""""""'"" .1934-35
.1935-37
..,,1937-45
.1945-46
.1946-47
1947-48
.1948-49
1949-50
1950-51
...1951-52
.1952-54
1954
Lloyd W, Price
Richard W, King
Carl Ramsey
Ward E, Barcafer .
Ed p, Wenger
{lit!}
iAI( anaf}E- H
F, W. Sefton """..........1921-22..
W. A. Layton ,,1922-26
H, A. Ragle "" ..1926-31
H, L, Brown ..".....1931-43
Charles E. Banker (Acting) .1943
E, J, Allison ..1943-52
L, M. Srack, Sr, . ..1952
City C[¿: -rk1.
Fred H, Wildman. ....1870-71; 1872-75
E, E. Bowen .",..1873-74; 1876-86
H, B, Wallace ...1887
C, S, Martin. ...............".1888
John L, Bishop. ..............,,1889-91
I. H, Gray. """""""" ...1892-94
I. S, Bower ......"....""..1895-96
A, W. Godfrey"""...... ......"..1897-1910
Charles E, Banker .."...."".."..1910-1953
H, E, Peterson """"""'" ..1953
CVL taL S ta tL1- tLC1-
BUMPER BABY CROP, TOO
More babies were born in Salina in 1954 than any year in the city's history,
The total of 1676 includes births at Smoky Hill AFB hospital. The city recorded
484 deaths,
The vital statistics law was enacted in 1911. The following is a record of births
and deaths in Salina since that year:
YEAR BIRTHS DEATHS YEAR BIRTHS DEATHS
1911 162 64 1933 456 283
1912 359 171 1934 514 309
1913 282 152 1935 435 326
1914 213 117 1936 422 341
1915 288 193 1937 492 292
1916 388 221 1938 555 283
1917 352 222 1939 557 277
1918 449 307 1940 519 296
1919 374 247 1941 504 302
1920 441 247 1942 678 297
1921 492 224 1943 853 369
1922 521 252 1944 893 381
1923 467 229 1945 741 341
1924 479 255 1946 966 325
1925 413 232 1947 1223 359
1926 445 232 1948 1282 379
1927 459 227 1949 1261 402
1928 455 292 1950 1037 420
1929 486 272 1951 1054 380
1930 528 282 1952 1072 406
1931 471 289 1953 1605 414
1932 490 300 1954 1676 484
City CLl::'ik
Personnel. .
Expenditures
The director of finance has charge of
all the work of the office and the city
treasurer,
The city clerk's office takes care of
registering births and deaths, GYPsum
Hill Cemetery records, bookings and
collections of Memorial Hall, and the
general accounting work of the city,
such as payrolls, receipts and expendi-
tures of budget, issuing of purchase or-
ders and payment of bills,
" '" 7
$38,946
The city clerk attends all meetings of
the city commission and records the
minutes, He sees that all resolutions and
ordinances are published and recorded,
1~a[ :£JE:þt.
One of the most important functions
of the office is the registration of voters,
At each election, the office furnishes
each precinct with a list of the register-
ed voters,
Personnel.....
Expenditures
'. 2
$6874
/
'~
.i~
This department gives legal advice
not only to the governing body, but to
all city departments,
Either the city attorney or his as-
sistant attends all meetings of the city
commission.
The department prepares legal docu-
ments, including leases, ordinances, and
contracts,
It represents the city in Court and
handles negotiations for the purchase of
land,
In 1954, the department handled ne-
gotiations for purchase of park land and
parking lots,
¿ mo k!J did!
elf i 'l- 9- 0 'U:!£ !B a 1£
Construction on the Smoky HilI Air
Force Base, located five miles south of
Salina, was commenced in April, 1942,
Operational activities began in Decem-
ber, 1942 with the arrival of B-17 air-
craft. During the war years the BasE!
was equipped with B-17's and B-29's,
-.