Who On Earth Were These People???

Part I of a series about Pawnee County's Who's Who

By Carol Jenkner

August 8, 2022

             Driving around Larned one might see names like Moffet, Frizell, Schnack, Lowrey, Edwards and a host of others atop downtown buildings and adorning parks and stadiums. Who were they and why are their names so prominently displayed? They were the serious town builders, people who, during their lives, donated and bequeathed money to better the place they had adopted as their town.

            John Schnack was a member of one of Larned’s pioneer families. The Progress in Pawnee County edition dated 1952 held an advertisement for the Electric Theatre established in 1912. The ad said of Mr. Schnack, “John Schnack A Motion Picture Exhibitor More Than 50 Years.” The ad continued saying, “John Schnack, owner and manager of the Electric Theater, started in the business in 1891 and began exhibiting motion pictures in 1902. Another source of information noted that he and a partner, Mr. Webb, bought a portable projector and several reels of four-to-five-minute moving pictures that they took all over the lower Midwest showing the moving pictures to audiences in opera halls, auditoriums and on the sides of building during the summer months.

            Most of us, however, probably recognize the name from one of Larned’s local parks, Lowrey-Schnack Park. Mr. Schnack donated the land, once part of the family homestead, as well as funds for improvements and playground equipment. The Schnack Express, the small train and track that runs around the park, was part of his donation. His donation also purchased the small motorized merry-go-round that once sat in the park, but now sits on the grounds of the Santa Fe Trail Center.

            The Schnack-Lowrey Park was once two parks combined that covered twenty acres of land on the banks of the Pawnee Creek. One source claimed that Lowrey Park held a private swimming pool. Other delights found in these combined city parks were ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, shuffle board, croquet and horseshoe courts, an archery range and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And there was a “well-stocked zoo.” Does anyone remember that?

            Information on the other town builders coming soon!