What People Say
Grapes and Grains
Spring break plans
Entwine Pinot Grigio
Page 7
Page 8
EGW
FEBRUARY 13 AND 14, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
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COURTESY PHOTO
Levern Love (left), his niece Sherry Love and his brother
Orville Love in 2003. The Love family barn was referred to by
Myra Lee Love as her “big red valentine.” The barn was built in
1945 and was painted red in the 1960s. Wood shingles on barn
are from the original construction in 1945.
FAMILY BARN IS A
‘Big Red Valentine’
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
CELEBRATING 96 YEARS OF FAMILY HISTORY
By John Robinson
[email protected]
The Love barn sits atop a
family farm in Coffey County
just outside Neosho Rapids, the
deep-red focal point on a hill
which offers a 360-degree view
of the surrounding countryside.
The barn isn’t an original
feature of the farm, however. It
didn’t even start out red.
“When the barn was first built
it was white,” said John Scott
Love, grandson of Roy Love. “It
was painted red in the 1960s.”
With the red coloring and feature
of the family name, John Love said
his mother, Myra Lee Love, who
was born on Feb. 14, took to calling
the barn her “big red valentine.”
Roy Love and his wife, Alice,
bought the farm from Coffey
County on March 1, 1920. The
barn followed in 1945 to help
maintain a population of sheep.
It was a surprise for John Love’s
father, Levern Love, when he
returned home from World War
II, purchasing the farm after Roy
Love died in 1965.
“(Levern) expanded the barn
doors to house a combine, and
used it for when we had cattle
and some buffalo,” John Love
said. “He died on Feb. 11, 2015,
and we five kids inherited it and
restored the place.”
They replaced the wood
siding with metal, shored the
foundation with concrete and
GOV. BROWNBACK MAKES EMPORIA STOP
By John Robinson
[email protected]
“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this new continent,
a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” The words spoken by Abraham
Lincoln during the Gettysburg Address were
repeated at the Anderson Building by Troy
Straham, Lincoln re-enactor, who portrayed
the 16th president at a Lincoln Day Dinner
hosted by the Lyon County Republicans.
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback was the
keynote speaker at the dinner and centered
his speech on Kansas’ track record of “lighting the fire” on social issues throughout history.
“We were supposed to be a slave state and
we had to fight to be in the Union,” Brownback said. “This is us, this is our DNA. It’s
what we do, we fight big fights and right now
we are leading this fight for life.”
It was a message that resonated with
Charles Steffes, the chair of the Lyon County
Republicans.
“(Right to life) was a big push and that’s
obviously one of platforms the Republican
Party stands for,” Steffes said. “Lincoln was
one of the first Republicans … and a lot of the
values that he stands for are what the current
Republican Party stands for.”
Brownback echoed Steffes’ sentiment,
citing the history of Kansas as a Republican
state.
“Kansas started the civil war, came in with
Lincoln and been a Republican state basically
since Lincoln,” he said.
One of the lines which drew the biggest
applause during Brownback’s speech was for
State Representative Peggy Mast, who was in
attendance, when Brownback referenced her
Good Evening
restored the doors back to their
original size. The barn also sits
next to a rock wall, built from
stones which belonged to a Neosho Rapids schoolhouse in the
19th century.
“The original barn is totally
there,” John Love said. “That cow
Please see Barn, Page 3
HORNET NATION
MOURNS DEATH
OF STUDENT
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
JAN BUCKMAN/SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Jim Dale, Burlington, and Gov. Sam Brownback chat before eating their meal at the
Republican Lincoln Day dinner at the Anderson building on Friday night.
support of a bill which prevents Sharia law.
“I’m proud of our leadership and I’m
proud of you guys for being out here tonight,”
Brownback said. “We’ve (made) a lot of
changes in this state, things are moving and
moving well. We’re at a 3.9 percent unemployment rate for this state, we’ve got more people working then we’ve ever had working and
our unemployment rate is at a 15-year low.”
One hundred seventy seven people were
counted in attendance at the dinner, which
Steffes said shows the dedication Lyon County.
“It’s a great turnout,” he said. “We had a lot
of things going on this week, and the fact that
we were able to draw this many people to this
event shows the dedication to Lyon County.”
With the Kansas Republican Caucus set
for March 5, Steffes said he hopes to see the
momentum from the dinner carry over to the
caucus.
“The caucus is a pivotal time for us,” Steffes said. “A lot of caucuses, the candidates are
predetermined and this time they’re not.”
“Kansas has been placed here at this point
in time,” Brownback said. “So when the country gets going the wrong way, a place like
Kansas, which is the heart of the county gets
disturbed … That’s the passion we just gotta
keep in this fight.”
For a Q&A with Gov. Brownback,
please see page 3
The Hornet Nation is mourning the death
of one of their own — sophomore Erika Jaremko was found dead at Sigma Sigma Sigma
sorority house Friday morning.
Jaremko, 19, from Olathe, was a psychology major at Emporia State University. ESU
President Allison Garrett extended her sympathies to Jeremko’s family and friends.
“It grieves me to share with the Hornet
Nation the sad news that Erika Jaremko, a
sophomore psychology major fr