Towhead Creek Bridge

Towhead Creek is a small tributary of the Wakarusa River that flows between Shawnee and Osage counties. A neighborhood known as Towhead was also on the county line of Shawnee and Osage south of Wakarusa with a school located at 125th and Lewelling.

This bridge is located between the former Jason Stewart and John C. Blood properties over Towhead Creek, west of Wakarusa. It's possible this bridge was built around 1915 by John C. Blood.

Six A.M. Smells

September 28, 1966

It took me a minute but Blackie has killed at least four people in this shoot-out. Good for him!

I like how the sheriff star on his hat is just an asterisk. Just a tiny butthole on his head.

I'm the same way. I will wake up like an animal with an alarm, but if you just let it happen, I'm in a better mood. I hate waking up in the morning. I especially hate waking up and then having to do stuff.

The + symbols in the eyes when these characters are excited are weird. +s and Xs are a symbol for death. They'd be much more at home in the first panel.

See?

Hot Fudge Thursday

September 27, 1966 + "Care to give me a little hint?"

I am a huge proponent of the public education system, yet am very vocal about how it routinely lets our children down. I'd give you reasons, but I don't have time for that. And if you don't think it happens at your or your kid's school, then I got a bridge to sell you.

This teacher definitely drinks, right? She's probably kind of drunk now.

You don't want to go out for ice cream with your husband? And you said "Marvy"? I think that's two boxes on the divorce form.

So you want granite countertops? You can just say so. You don't have to make a pun.

September 26, 1966

So when you offend Brutus, he climbs a tree? Not that I'm complaining...it's better than lashing out or something. I'm just wondering how he got up there. He must be pretty good at shimmying up trees.

siiiiiiiiigh...If you need me, I'll be in a tree.

I'm Sure Standing Over Him Is Helping

September 24, 1966

Is Agnes just working on the ship? I mean, cool. Sure, she has to work, but she's still at sea. I just like that she apparently told everyone she was going on a cruise but didn't add "as an employee" to the end.

Maybe another nap?

It may also be the way you are sitting. Looks uncomfortable. I don't think I could focus on anything if I was sitting like that.

All Snuggled Up...Kind of Cute

September 23, 1966

"Of course they had to invite me on egg and tomato night..." Never offer to show up on a theme night if it's something they can throw at you. Or don't be someone people want to throw things at.

I like how your reaction to this is based on when you actually read it. If you read it early in the morning, Brutus falling asleep isn't great. But if you read it at four, it's the end of the day. Of course he's tired.

I, however, am a morning napper. That's when I typically want to doze off.

Gonna Break His Thumbs

May 10, 1987

The joke here, of course, is that Brutus only says her looks are improving after the light has been turned off. Maybe it would play better if we could see Gladys' face in the last panel. Not that I want to see more of this borderline blackface...

Ok, but let's be honest, there's a huge difference between losing your money at the casino--something you can just stop doing and walk away from--and losing your money because of, say, medical issues or some other tragedy. Unless you are going to take up a collection, maybe you shouldn't be talking about it. And if Hayes has a problem that he can't walk away from the casino, then maybe someone should urge him to go get help.

In case you missed it, take a look at the small farming neighborhood of Jaketown in central Wabaunsee County, Kansas. Never more than a handful of families, Jaketown is memorialized by a three mile road bearing its name.

School is starting for us. If you would like to donate to my wife's teacher wishlist, you can go here.

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I Hate Wilberforce's Shirt, Too

September 22, 1966

If you are this scared of walking down alleys then maybe you shouldn't be walking down alleys. I also find it odd that there's a Plum Street in an area where you have dangerous alleys, but I'm sure there's one somewhere.

You just have loose M&Ms in your pocket? Ugh, children are disgusting. Why do we keep having them?

What are they sitting on? Some kind of wooden dock?

Jaketown

Jaketown Road is one of the last reminders of a neighborhood that existed from about the 1870s until 1920s in central Wabaunsee County, Kansas. Jaketown Road is three miles of gravel road from Skyline Road to the west to Snokomo Road to the east. Also called Snokomo (or Lower Snokomo) and Pleasant Valley, Jaketown was specifically a small cluster of about eight families to the south of the Snokomo area situated where Newbury, Mill Creek, and Mission Creek townships come together. Based on maps and some county biographies, the prominent families in the Jaketown neighborhood were Weekes, Woody, Connell, Iott, and Mix.

It's unknown where the moniker 'Jaketown' came from. A post office existed in the area about a quarter mile south of Snokomo School named Snokomo from 1875 to 1881 and then again from 1886 until 1901. The postmasters were George Kneeland and Jasper Dallas. Schools in the area were Snokomo School which started in a log cabin in 1869. A stone building was constructed in 1883 and still stands today on the National Register of Historic Places. Lower Snokomo School was constructed in 1890 and still stands, though abandoned, along Skyline Road near Boothill Road. The third school was Union Center, a wood frame building, was at the southwest corner of Skyline and Dawsen Hill roads but burned down in 1990.

Snokomo School, District 24
Photo from author.

Lower Snokomo School, District 32
Photo from Wabaunsee County Historical Society

Union Center School, District 35
Photo from Wabaunsee County Historical Society

There was one church in the area, located in the southwest corner of E. Stephens property at the corner of what is now Jaketown and Bobcat roads. The Olive Hill Methodist Church was completed in 1884. Sadly, it burned down in 1891 and was never rebuilt. Typically, church services were held in schoolhouses or the Woodman Lodge.

The Woodman Lodge was built just north of the Snokomo School in about 1890. It held many events including the annual Woodman Picnic and Royal Neighbor Picnic. Events at the Lodge and the school also spilled over into Stratton's Grove across the road. The Lodge became a hay barn for Elmer Woody and was then moved to Paxico where it is now Mill Creek Antiques.

Woodman Hall
Photo from the Kansas Resources Historical Inventory (KHRI)

Most of the families mentioned above are buried in the surrounding cemeteries. Mission View and Bethlehem, which was also known as Jaketown Cemetery in local newspapers. There are also a couple of family cemeteries nearby, one for the Kuenzli family and another for the Iott family. One nondescript grave in Bethlehem Cemetery is for John Anderson Woody, who was killed in 1909 by Rufus "Rufe" King in Maple Hill.

Never much more than a small farming and ranching community, Snokomo/Jaketown/Pleasant Valley/possibly Spring Creek according to one account remains a small farming and ranching community near the center of Wabaunsee County.

View of Jaketown Road looking west from Snokomo Road. Photo from author.

An odd mention of Jaketown in a 1904 edition of the Alma Enterprise announcing a new store.

We're Not Even Sure Biff Is a Friend

September 21, 1966

That dog, I'm assuming it's a dog anyway, kind of looks like Killer from All Dog Go to Heaven.

That movie had dogs shooting other dogs with
machine guns.

Was the music already playing or did the dog put on the record before dancing with Brutus?

What is wrong with her? Why is she phrasing it like this? "I just heard about Biff Hooper. He has appendicitis. Do you have any questions?" No. Why do I even care? Appendicitis isn't contagious. Appendicitis also isn't all that serious. Get back to me when he has something communicable or terminal.