1872 - 1961 The Story of Winfield Murals
Collection: Winfield Notable Artists
Title
1872 - 1961 The Story of Winfield Murals
Subject
Murals painted by Sue Jean Covacevich in Winfield, KS
Description
Sue Jean Covacevich was commissioned to paint the murals to tell the history of Winfield, KS from 1872 to 1961. This booklet describes the history of the town as well as the details of the murals painted by Covacevich.
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas USA
Date
ca 1980
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Pamphlets
Citation
“1872 - 1961 The Story of Winfield Murals,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed April 27, 2024, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/103.
Text
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK
WINFIELD, KANSAS
MR. J. E. JARVIS
Roots of the First National Bank go back to 1872, only two years after Winfield officially became a town, with the opening of the first private bank. Growth of town and bank has been as one and the part cannot be separated from the whole. Commissioned by M. F. Jarvis, chairman of the board of the First National and son of J. E. Jarvis, this mural catches the spirit of the men and women who have built the bank into the thirteenth largest in the state. With resources of more than twelve million dollars, this bank has seen the people of Winfield through hard times
and good, and offers this work of art to be part of the everyday life of the people of all ages whom it serves.
In 1891 J. E. Jarvis purchased the Farmers State Bank (shown in the second panel of the mural in the location of the present Pierce’s Book Store). On June 3, 1896, the Farmers State Bank bought the Cowley County National Bank and moved to the northeast corner location at Ninth and Main Streets.
On November 22, 1922, the Cowley County Bank purchased the First National Bank and moved to the First National’s present location. Through this merger, roots of the bank go back to 1872 and the founding of the first private bank by M. L. Read. Most recently, September 1, 1945 the Winfield National Bank became a part of the First National Bank.
As the town has expanded, the bank has also grown. By actual count, some 1000 persons enter the bank each business day in this community of 10,000. The bank now carries more than 8000 deposit accounts on its ledgers and has doubled the number of safe deposit boxes in the last five years to the present number of 1800 in use.
The bank is actively interested in promoting the growth and development of this community, both economically and culturally, This mural, “The Story of Winfield,” is the culmination of the modernization program that has renovated the bank building from top to bottom in the last five years.
Beside their banking interests, officers maintain active support of community affairs and educational institutions. Early bank officials promoted the Winfield Chautauqua Society that brought culture to this community in the days of horse and buggy. With this mural, present bank officials hope to preserve this culture of an earlier day and offer something more to Winfielders of today and tomorrow.
For this ambitious project of re-creating “The Story of Winfield” and preserving it for future generations, the First National Bank chose Sue Jean Covacevich, a native Kansan and well-known artist of the Midwest.
During a ten-year residence in Mexico, Mrs. Covacevich studied the work of the famed muralist, Diego Rivera. Rivera also served as her critic when she painted frescoes in the modern Mexican manner at the American School in Mexico City.
MRS. SUE JEAN COVACEVICH
While in Mexico, she studied at the San Carlos Art School of the National University, at Escuela del Artes Grafico, and was associated with the artists of Rancho del Artista at their art center.
She is former head of the art department at Southwestern College and has directed the arts and crafts department of the State Training School for mentally retarded childern, where art therapy is an important part of the educational pogram.
Mrs. Covacevich holds a diploma in painting with Birger Sandzen, noted Swedish-American artist. She received her master’s degree from Colorado State College of Education at Greeley. She has had advanced work in New York and at the Art Center in Colorado Springs.
Among her publications are two books of prints, “Mexican Impressions” and “Churches of Mexico.” Illustrations by Mrs. Covacevich also have been used in Mexican textbooks adopted by secondary schools in the study of English.
Paintings by Mrs. Covacevich are in many private collections in this country and Latin America, and she has exhibited in museums throughout this hemisphere. Her work is included in the Library of Congress print collection in Washington, D. C.
.....
This is the story of our pioneers of the valley of the Walnut River. From the pattern set by such fathers of Winfield as Col. E. C. Manning, Col. Henry C. Loomis, and Mr. J. P. Baden came order, learning, and the ways of trade, com-merce, and agriculture.
“The Story of Winfield” is the story of this Kansas community’s beginnings, its yesterdays, and today. More than 80 years of history are caught in the brilliant colors of the 800 square foot mural.
Founded in 1870 by men pressing beyond the end of the railroad more than 100 miles away, Winfield grew into a settlement in the valley of the Walnut River. For six dollars, the Osage Indians guaranteed “a peaceful and unmolested occupancy of 160 acres of land on the Reservation for one year.”
In the first panel of the mural, covering the years from 1872 to 1900, the little Osage chief known to early settlers as Sugar Sauce brings back the days when Island Park, now the city’s recreation spot, was an Indian camp ground where Indians came to trade horses with the settlers. Old-timers remember stories of the scout who led parents or grandparents to good land claims, but who also remained a good friend to the Indians. Before the sod house, a pioneer family pauses before climbing into the wagon that carries them to visit neighbors and to meetings. Church-bound, this Kansas father holds his beloved Bible closely, symbol of the importance that religion has always played in Winfield's history. The town was named for a minister from Leavenworth, Rev. Winfield Scott, who built a church in return for the honor of bestowing his name upon the community.
Men's faith was sorely tried during the days of the grasshopper plague when even the sun was blotted out and only skeletal stalks remained in the. fields. But, with firm determination, fields were re-plowed and the harvest at last reaped. Familiar hills, bams, and fields of Cowley County form the landscape. Dynamic lines cutting across the mural indicate the passing of time and the changing of the seasons.
Main Street of the early town shows the first bank building and its second home, a more impressive red brick structure. In the basement of the bank building were printed early issues of the Courier, still the town’s daily newspaper.
Symbolizing early industry is the Bliss & Wood mill which played an important part in the agricultural economy of early Winfield. The first train to pass through Winfield was an event calling for community celebration. It marked a major step forward from the ox team and stagecoach that brought first settlers to Winfield. The bank’s first safe was brought by ox team from Independence before banking operations could begin.
Old landmarks cannot be torn away once they are preserved in color. Although North Hall, first building of Southwestern College, has been torn down stone by stone and the first church building is no more, they will remain forever here. Another landmark that survives is Baden Hall, first building of St. John’s College.
The seedling tree and the uncut rocks symbolize the beginning of the new town. As the years pass rapidly in “The Story of Winfield,” these trees grow to maturity and the stones are cut to form the buildings that house our cultural heritage.
In these days when hearts were young and gay, the begin-ning of the mechanical age provided a preview of new worlds to conquer. We are the product of all these nostalgic yesterdays. One of the men of this period was Mr. J. E. Jarvis, a founder of this bank.
Taking its viewers quickly through the past fifty years, the second panel of the mural is a panorama of yesterday’s personages, places, and events. The elm-shaded streets with spacious lawns, the two and three-story houses with gingerbread cupolas and spires, the store buildings with false fronts reaching high into the sky above their roofs all bring back memories of a quieter time. A mule-drawn streetcar does not forecast the coming of the automobile, but a fashionable matron and her young daughter face eagerly the future that brings the gasoline-driven machine. A 1914 model Ford is shown.
The streetcar advertises the dry goods, carpets, and clothing of M. Hahn & Co., Winfield merchants. Calvert’s sign is a familiar name on the Main Street of 1910 as it is today. The Farmers State Bank and Cowley County Bank occupy prominent places in this block. Both banks are now part of the present First National Bank. The Columbian Parlors which prided themselves on the quality of ice cream and cigars have been replaced by today’s businesses, but they remain fixed in their rightful place in “The Story of Winfield.”
Tents of the Winfield Chatauqua Society billow up on Island Park where Indian ponies once were traded. Here William Jennings Bryan delivered one of his famous orations while whole families camped to hear, and young couples promenaded along the walks. Buildings of the Cowley County Fair rise in the background.
The bareness of depression years is symbolized by the tornado bearing down and the twisted windmill left behind. In contrast, the early oil fields bring in their gushers to start continuous oil activity and the flow of oil money that has been and remains important in Winfield economy.
A reminder that Winfield is part of that larger whole of history, the doughboy stands ready to do his bit “to save democracy.”
And, facing the present, stands the dignified figure of J. E. Jarvis, former president. From this vantage point near the end of his life in December, 1930, he watches, wise in the years that are behind him, saddened by the difficult times that have begun in the depression year, but still full of faith for the future.
And by A. D. 1953 the progression of events and the impact of personalities had produced a Winfield unique in many respects, but thoroughly American in the Kansas tradition. There were many who loved her, and “Our Town” looked to the future with confidence in her youth, her churches, her schools, and her destiny.
In this third panel, the culmination of eighty-one years of growth is symbolized. The modern stone house of contemporary design with its television tower pointing to the sky contrasts with the sod house and white frame dwelling of earlier years. Island Park with its giant elms and graceful willows indicates the maturity of nature and the natural growth that has been Winfield’s.
Rebuilt Richardson Hall of Southwestern College, the buildings of St. John’s Academy and Junior College, and the Episcopal church building represent the culture upon which this community has long prided itself. The State Training School in the background is evidence that Winfield continues to concern herself with the welfare of all Kansans, rich or poor, gifted or handicapped.
The ideals of youth, first seen in the eyes of the pioneer family, are now symbolized by four school pupils standing in front of the entrance of the recently completed Vocational Building of Winfield High School. These four—basketball player, Boy Scout, student, and musician—represent interest in sports, youth groups, scholarship, and the arts.
The Hereford bull is a symbol of quality on hoof in the ranch lands of the country surrounding Winfield. The ranchman on his well-bred horse rides the cattle country surveying pasture prospects.
Industry retains its place in the economy of a predominantly agricultural area, symbolized by the modern plant of crayola manufacturers Binney & Smith. Oil wells continue to pump black gold into the pipelines of Cowley County.
The streamlined train and jet airplane provide strong contrasts with the early modes of transportation. Vapor trails in the sky and deep-throated diesel horns have replaced the dust clouds of stagecoach and oxen teams and the animal voices.
Lighting Winfield’s “White Way” is the new street light, latest civic improvement. Its curving shaft and strong white light contrasts with the cruder lamp post of the gaslight era.
The Marine, symbol of youth in the armed forces, emphasizes again that Winfield youth stand ready to defend democracy against all challengers. This Marine, with his gallant attitude, represents all the young men who have served in all the service branches and is a tribute to those who have given their lives for their country that stories such as this mural tells of Winfield might go forward through many more tomorrows.
Original Format
Paper
Title
1872 - 1961 The Story of Winfield Murals
Subject
Murals painted by Sue Jean Covacevich in Winfield, KS
Description
Sue Jean Covacevich was commissioned to paint the murals to tell the history of Winfield, KS from 1872 to 1961. This booklet describes the history of the town as well as the details of the murals painted by Covacevich.
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas USA
Date
ca 1980
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Pamphlets
Citation
“1872 - 1961 The Story of Winfield Murals,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed April 27, 2024, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/103.Text
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK
WINFIELD, KANSAS
MR. J. E. JARVIS
Roots of the First National Bank go back to 1872, only two years after Winfield officially became a town, with the opening of the first private bank. Growth of town and bank has been as one and the part cannot be separated from the whole. Commissioned by M. F. Jarvis, chairman of the board of the First National and son of J. E. Jarvis, this mural catches the spirit of the men and women who have built the bank into the thirteenth largest in the state. With resources of more than twelve million dollars, this bank has seen the people of Winfield through hard times
and good, and offers this work of art to be part of the everyday life of the people of all ages whom it serves.
In 1891 J. E. Jarvis purchased the Farmers State Bank (shown in the second panel of the mural in the location of the present Pierce’s Book Store). On June 3, 1896, the Farmers State Bank bought the Cowley County National Bank and moved to the northeast corner location at Ninth and Main Streets.
On November 22, 1922, the Cowley County Bank purchased the First National Bank and moved to the First National’s present location. Through this merger, roots of the bank go back to 1872 and the founding of the first private bank by M. L. Read. Most recently, September 1, 1945 the Winfield National Bank became a part of the First National Bank.
As the town has expanded, the bank has also grown. By actual count, some 1000 persons enter the bank each business day in this community of 10,000. The bank now carries more than 8000 deposit accounts on its ledgers and has doubled the number of safe deposit boxes in the last five years to the present number of 1800 in use.
The bank is actively interested in promoting the growth and development of this community, both economically and culturally, This mural, “The Story of Winfield,” is the culmination of the modernization program that has renovated the bank building from top to bottom in the last five years.
Beside their banking interests, officers maintain active support of community affairs and educational institutions. Early bank officials promoted the Winfield Chautauqua Society that brought culture to this community in the days of horse and buggy. With this mural, present bank officials hope to preserve this culture of an earlier day and offer something more to Winfielders of today and tomorrow.
For this ambitious project of re-creating “The Story of Winfield” and preserving it for future generations, the First National Bank chose Sue Jean Covacevich, a native Kansan and well-known artist of the Midwest.
During a ten-year residence in Mexico, Mrs. Covacevich studied the work of the famed muralist, Diego Rivera. Rivera also served as her critic when she painted frescoes in the modern Mexican manner at the American School in Mexico City.
MRS. SUE JEAN COVACEVICH
While in Mexico, she studied at the San Carlos Art School of the National University, at Escuela del Artes Grafico, and was associated with the artists of Rancho del Artista at their art center.
She is former head of the art department at Southwestern College and has directed the arts and crafts department of the State Training School for mentally retarded childern, where art therapy is an important part of the educational pogram.
Mrs. Covacevich holds a diploma in painting with Birger Sandzen, noted Swedish-American artist. She received her master’s degree from Colorado State College of Education at Greeley. She has had advanced work in New York and at the Art Center in Colorado Springs.
Among her publications are two books of prints, “Mexican Impressions” and “Churches of Mexico.” Illustrations by Mrs. Covacevich also have been used in Mexican textbooks adopted by secondary schools in the study of English.
Paintings by Mrs. Covacevich are in many private collections in this country and Latin America, and she has exhibited in museums throughout this hemisphere. Her work is included in the Library of Congress print collection in Washington, D. C.
.....
This is the story of our pioneers of the valley of the Walnut River. From the pattern set by such fathers of Winfield as Col. E. C. Manning, Col. Henry C. Loomis, and Mr. J. P. Baden came order, learning, and the ways of trade, com-merce, and agriculture.
“The Story of Winfield” is the story of this Kansas community’s beginnings, its yesterdays, and today. More than 80 years of history are caught in the brilliant colors of the 800 square foot mural.
Founded in 1870 by men pressing beyond the end of the railroad more than 100 miles away, Winfield grew into a settlement in the valley of the Walnut River. For six dollars, the Osage Indians guaranteed “a peaceful and unmolested occupancy of 160 acres of land on the Reservation for one year.”
In the first panel of the mural, covering the years from 1872 to 1900, the little Osage chief known to early settlers as Sugar Sauce brings back the days when Island Park, now the city’s recreation spot, was an Indian camp ground where Indians came to trade horses with the settlers. Old-timers remember stories of the scout who led parents or grandparents to good land claims, but who also remained a good friend to the Indians. Before the sod house, a pioneer family pauses before climbing into the wagon that carries them to visit neighbors and to meetings. Church-bound, this Kansas father holds his beloved Bible closely, symbol of the importance that religion has always played in Winfield's history. The town was named for a minister from Leavenworth, Rev. Winfield Scott, who built a church in return for the honor of bestowing his name upon the community.
Men's faith was sorely tried during the days of the grasshopper plague when even the sun was blotted out and only skeletal stalks remained in the. fields. But, with firm determination, fields were re-plowed and the harvest at last reaped. Familiar hills, bams, and fields of Cowley County form the landscape. Dynamic lines cutting across the mural indicate the passing of time and the changing of the seasons.
Main Street of the early town shows the first bank building and its second home, a more impressive red brick structure. In the basement of the bank building were printed early issues of the Courier, still the town’s daily newspaper.
Symbolizing early industry is the Bliss & Wood mill which played an important part in the agricultural economy of early Winfield. The first train to pass through Winfield was an event calling for community celebration. It marked a major step forward from the ox team and stagecoach that brought first settlers to Winfield. The bank’s first safe was brought by ox team from Independence before banking operations could begin.
Old landmarks cannot be torn away once they are preserved in color. Although North Hall, first building of Southwestern College, has been torn down stone by stone and the first church building is no more, they will remain forever here. Another landmark that survives is Baden Hall, first building of St. John’s College.
The seedling tree and the uncut rocks symbolize the beginning of the new town. As the years pass rapidly in “The Story of Winfield,” these trees grow to maturity and the stones are cut to form the buildings that house our cultural heritage.
In these days when hearts were young and gay, the begin-ning of the mechanical age provided a preview of new worlds to conquer. We are the product of all these nostalgic yesterdays. One of the men of this period was Mr. J. E. Jarvis, a founder of this bank.
Taking its viewers quickly through the past fifty years, the second panel of the mural is a panorama of yesterday’s personages, places, and events. The elm-shaded streets with spacious lawns, the two and three-story houses with gingerbread cupolas and spires, the store buildings with false fronts reaching high into the sky above their roofs all bring back memories of a quieter time. A mule-drawn streetcar does not forecast the coming of the automobile, but a fashionable matron and her young daughter face eagerly the future that brings the gasoline-driven machine. A 1914 model Ford is shown.
The streetcar advertises the dry goods, carpets, and clothing of M. Hahn & Co., Winfield merchants. Calvert’s sign is a familiar name on the Main Street of 1910 as it is today. The Farmers State Bank and Cowley County Bank occupy prominent places in this block. Both banks are now part of the present First National Bank. The Columbian Parlors which prided themselves on the quality of ice cream and cigars have been replaced by today’s businesses, but they remain fixed in their rightful place in “The Story of Winfield.”
Tents of the Winfield Chatauqua Society billow up on Island Park where Indian ponies once were traded. Here William Jennings Bryan delivered one of his famous orations while whole families camped to hear, and young couples promenaded along the walks. Buildings of the Cowley County Fair rise in the background.
The bareness of depression years is symbolized by the tornado bearing down and the twisted windmill left behind. In contrast, the early oil fields bring in their gushers to start continuous oil activity and the flow of oil money that has been and remains important in Winfield economy.
A reminder that Winfield is part of that larger whole of history, the doughboy stands ready to do his bit “to save democracy.”
And, facing the present, stands the dignified figure of J. E. Jarvis, former president. From this vantage point near the end of his life in December, 1930, he watches, wise in the years that are behind him, saddened by the difficult times that have begun in the depression year, but still full of faith for the future.
And by A. D. 1953 the progression of events and the impact of personalities had produced a Winfield unique in many respects, but thoroughly American in the Kansas tradition. There were many who loved her, and “Our Town” looked to the future with confidence in her youth, her churches, her schools, and her destiny.
In this third panel, the culmination of eighty-one years of growth is symbolized. The modern stone house of contemporary design with its television tower pointing to the sky contrasts with the sod house and white frame dwelling of earlier years. Island Park with its giant elms and graceful willows indicates the maturity of nature and the natural growth that has been Winfield’s.
Rebuilt Richardson Hall of Southwestern College, the buildings of St. John’s Academy and Junior College, and the Episcopal church building represent the culture upon which this community has long prided itself. The State Training School in the background is evidence that Winfield continues to concern herself with the welfare of all Kansans, rich or poor, gifted or handicapped.
The ideals of youth, first seen in the eyes of the pioneer family, are now symbolized by four school pupils standing in front of the entrance of the recently completed Vocational Building of Winfield High School. These four—basketball player, Boy Scout, student, and musician—represent interest in sports, youth groups, scholarship, and the arts.
The Hereford bull is a symbol of quality on hoof in the ranch lands of the country surrounding Winfield. The ranchman on his well-bred horse rides the cattle country surveying pasture prospects.
Industry retains its place in the economy of a predominantly agricultural area, symbolized by the modern plant of crayola manufacturers Binney & Smith. Oil wells continue to pump black gold into the pipelines of Cowley County.
The streamlined train and jet airplane provide strong contrasts with the early modes of transportation. Vapor trails in the sky and deep-throated diesel horns have replaced the dust clouds of stagecoach and oxen teams and the animal voices.
Lighting Winfield’s “White Way” is the new street light, latest civic improvement. Its curving shaft and strong white light contrasts with the cruder lamp post of the gaslight era.
The Marine, symbol of youth in the armed forces, emphasizes again that Winfield youth stand ready to defend democracy against all challengers. This Marine, with his gallant attitude, represents all the young men who have served in all the service branches and is a tribute to those who have given their lives for their country that stories such as this mural tells of Winfield might go forward through many more tomorrows.
Original Format
Paper