Vol. XII · Issue IV · Autumn 2025Wichita, Kansas

Wichita Heritage Quarterly

An editorial publication for the keepers of Kansas heritage.

The Keepers

On the Kansas families who hold the past in trust.

The Pawnbroker's Daughter: Three Generations on East Douglas

The Pawnbroker's Daughter: Three Generations on East Douglas

A downtown Wichita pawnshop founded in 1947, and the woman who runs it now.

By Eleanor Reeves · 12 min


The Coin Inheritance: What My Father's Collection Taught Me

The Coin Inheritance: What My Father's Collection Taught Me

Morgan dollars, an Indian Head half eagle, and the long afternoon of an appraisal.

By James Whitfield · 11 min


The Bishop Family Auction

The Bishop Family Auction

A reported account of a longtime College Hill family's estate sale.

By Catherine Doyle · 9 min


Four Generations of Sedgwick County Farmers

Four Generations of Sedgwick County Farmers

The Hartmans of Clearwater, and the conversation no one wanted to have.

By Margaret Holloway · 12 min


The Estate Lawyer of Old Riverside

The Estate Lawyer of Old Riverside

Forty-one years of writing wills in a neighborhood that refused to move away.

By Catherine Doyle · 10 min


She Inherited the Farm and the Coin Jar

She Inherited the Farm and the Coin Jar

A daughter, a half-section of wheat, and a Mason jar full of silver dollars.

By Eleanor Reeves · 9 min


The Quilts My Grandmother Refused to Sell

The Quilts My Grandmother Refused to Sell

Feed-sack cotton, twenty-eight years of Sunday afternoons, and a closet in Park City.

By Eleanor Reeves · 8 min


Keeping the Family Bible: A Riverside Family Story

Keeping the Family Bible: A Riverside Family Story

Births, deaths, and the careful penmanship of four generations.

By Catherine Doyle · 8 min