By RAEGAN NEUFELD
Tiger Media Network
Christmas Past, an open house at the Fort Hays State Historic Site, has been an annual event for over 50 years, providing attendees with a glimpse of what life was like at the fort in the late 1800s.
On Friday and Saturday, community members toured the site’s four buildings and visitor’s center, which were decorated with old-fashioned Christmas decorations. Carolers provided entertainment, and volunteers handed out fried apples, apple cider and cookies for refreshments.
“We just thought that a long time ago it was important, and we have just kept it up,” said site administrator Tammy Younger. “We feel like this is what started the whole community. The fort was here before the town.”
For Younger, the consistent participation and interest from the community is one of the reasons she likes having the event each year.
“Usually about 2,000 people will come out for the event through both nights,” she said.
Volunteers for the Historic Site are aided by The Society of Friends of Historic Fort Hays. According to member Elizabeth Harris, the group provides programming, monetary support, and help when the site is open for tours.
“A lot of people come out and do lunch hours so (the volunteers) can go and eat lunch, and there will still be someone here,” she said.
Prior to events at the site, the group helps with preparation, decorating and making sure everything is maintained. Some also help during the events as actors dressed up for reenactments.
“It always culminates in a fun event,” Harris said. “It’s a lot of work but it’s fun and it’s for a good purpose.”
In each of the sites’ buildings – the guardhouse, blockhouse, and two officers’ quarters – different informational displays are available for visitors to see, detailing the lives of the soldiers stationed there and of the Native Americans in the surrounding area. A temporary exhibit in the visitor’s center also tells the story of press coverage following George Custer’s death at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
“It’s just a little gem,” Harris said. “We only have four original buildings left, but just the location up here, it’s kind of a high ground and you can see the horizon to the south and the west. You can just imagine how it was in 1867, that looks so much the same. The history here is very rich.”
The site is open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free.
More information about the Fort Hays State Historic Site can be found on their Facebook page and on the Kansas Historical Society website.
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