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CKCA HISTORY
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The first Central Kansas Corvette Association 'Drive & Dine' – Hutchinson, Kansas
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Webmaster note: The following essay was published in the Centennial Edition of The Hutchinson News in July 1972 – just four short years after the creation of the Central Kansas Corvette Association – and was penned by Editor Stuart Awbrey.
It is a rich tapestry of locally-relevant literary excellence, poignant and thought-provoking, prefacing Editor Awbrey's take on Hutchinson's first 100 years.
It seems entirely appropriate – indeed, obeisant – to re-publish this essay here, a half-century-plus after it was first published, a half-century-plus after the CKCA was first born, as we celebrate and chronicle our history, and heritage, on the pages of this humble website. To quote Mr. Awbrey:
"This is an attempt to capture a small parcel out of that rich storehouse, the heritage of our history. It is neither perfect nor complete, but it is an attempt.
"I hope you will agree with me, that it was worth trying."
– GH, 02/27/2024
It is a rich tapestry of locally-relevant literary excellence, poignant and thought-provoking, prefacing Editor Awbrey's take on Hutchinson's first 100 years.
It seems entirely appropriate – indeed, obeisant – to re-publish this essay here, a half-century-plus after it was first published, a half-century-plus after the CKCA was first born, as we celebrate and chronicle our history, and heritage, on the pages of this humble website. To quote Mr. Awbrey:
"This is an attempt to capture a small parcel out of that rich storehouse, the heritage of our history. It is neither perfect nor complete, but it is an attempt.
"I hope you will agree with me, that it was worth trying."
– GH, 02/27/2024
A Preface
History is richly indifferent.
She notes man's passions and nature's vagaries. She sighs, shouts, and eventually shrugs, and then moves on to the next page. She lies pathologically, readjusts facts to fit her fancy, knows no compassion, and dissects humanity with the indifference of a surgical instructor. She has no soul.
So, this offering cannot be fairly described as "history."
Rather, it is an affectionate, anecdotal chronicling of 100 years in Hutchinson and Reno County. It makes no obeisance to Tolstoy, who believed in the grand design, nor to Henry Ford, who said history is bunk. It is not the lofty view, but is the chatter of the leathery-skinned old women over their tea cups; the student poring over faded newspaper clippings at the library; the wind rustling through the cottonwoods to tell us that no matter what we do here at Cow Creek and the Arkansas, we live and die, prosper, perish, or simply exist, by Nature's authority.
A further disclaimer: One hundred years is less than a moment in astronomic time. But it is long enough to make fables out of facts, and facts out of fables. Many stories herein are based on ambivalent evidence and the bias of reporters, editors, and old settlers. Some may even be distorted through pride and prejudice. We make no claim to impartiality in this affair.
I have never believed much in "progress," as usually defined. It does not increase happiness, strengthen moral fiber, deepen faith, generate brotherhood. Indeed, the case is strong that what we call "progress" works against man, makes him a more efficient killer, a less spiritual being, a disturbed animal plunging blindly on toward "more" and yet "more."
Why, then, should we look back on our 100 years, and try to peer ahead to the next 100, or even to next year? Because of a simple thing called "heritage." As Will and Ariel Durant explained, "If progress is real despite our whining, it is not because we are born any healthier, better, or wiser than infants were in the past, but because we are born to a richer heritage, born on a higher level...in the accumulation of knowledge and art...the heritage rises, and man rises in proportion as he receives it."
This is an attempt to capture a small parcel out of that rich storehouse, the heritage of our history. It is neither perfect nor complete, but it is an attempt.
I hope you will agree with me, that it was worth trying.
– Stuart Awbrey, Editor [The Hutchinson News – July, 1972]
History is richly indifferent.
She notes man's passions and nature's vagaries. She sighs, shouts, and eventually shrugs, and then moves on to the next page. She lies pathologically, readjusts facts to fit her fancy, knows no compassion, and dissects humanity with the indifference of a surgical instructor. She has no soul.
So, this offering cannot be fairly described as "history."
Rather, it is an affectionate, anecdotal chronicling of 100 years in Hutchinson and Reno County. It makes no obeisance to Tolstoy, who believed in the grand design, nor to Henry Ford, who said history is bunk. It is not the lofty view, but is the chatter of the leathery-skinned old women over their tea cups; the student poring over faded newspaper clippings at the library; the wind rustling through the cottonwoods to tell us that no matter what we do here at Cow Creek and the Arkansas, we live and die, prosper, perish, or simply exist, by Nature's authority.
A further disclaimer: One hundred years is less than a moment in astronomic time. But it is long enough to make fables out of facts, and facts out of fables. Many stories herein are based on ambivalent evidence and the bias of reporters, editors, and old settlers. Some may even be distorted through pride and prejudice. We make no claim to impartiality in this affair.
I have never believed much in "progress," as usually defined. It does not increase happiness, strengthen moral fiber, deepen faith, generate brotherhood. Indeed, the case is strong that what we call "progress" works against man, makes him a more efficient killer, a less spiritual being, a disturbed animal plunging blindly on toward "more" and yet "more."
Why, then, should we look back on our 100 years, and try to peer ahead to the next 100, or even to next year? Because of a simple thing called "heritage." As Will and Ariel Durant explained, "If progress is real despite our whining, it is not because we are born any healthier, better, or wiser than infants were in the past, but because we are born to a richer heritage, born on a higher level...in the accumulation of knowledge and art...the heritage rises, and man rises in proportion as he receives it."
This is an attempt to capture a small parcel out of that rich storehouse, the heritage of our history. It is neither perfect nor complete, but it is an attempt.
I hope you will agree with me, that it was worth trying.
– Stuart Awbrey, Editor [The Hutchinson News – July, 1972]
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KANSAS PRESS ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME
Stuart Awbrey was born February 26, 1918, in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Kansas City, Mo. After graduating from the University of Missouri, he began his journalism career at the Emporia Gazette in 1938. In September of that year, he moved to the News-Herald in Hutchinson. He was named editor-publisher of the Garden City Telegram in 1953 when the paper was acquired by the Harris Group of Hutchinson. Awbrey was named editor of the Burlington Hawk Eye Gazette in 1957, but returned to Hutchinson where he was named editor and publisher of the News in 1975. Awbrey was named editor and publisher of the Burlington paper in 1979, retiring as editor in 1984 and publisher the following year. He died in October, 1985, at age 67. – Source: https://kspress.com/awbrey-stuart |
Stuart Awbrey, Editor – The Hutchinson News
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Life advice from Stuart Awbrey:
• Maintain a sense of wonder.
• Dare to disturb the universe when it’s important.
• Keep your enthusiasm charged.
• Never lose the ability to be moved.
– Source: https://www.hutchnews.com/story/opinion/2022/03/29/stuart-aubrey-maintained-sense-wonder-and-enthusiasm-life/7201435001/
• Maintain a sense of wonder.
• Dare to disturb the universe when it’s important.
• Keep your enthusiasm charged.
• Never lose the ability to be moved.
– Source: https://www.hutchnews.com/story/opinion/2022/03/29/stuart-aubrey-maintained-sense-wonder-and-enthusiasm-life/7201435001/
Page last updated: 06/11/2024
© Central Kansas Corvette Association
Hutchinson, KS
© Central Kansas Corvette Association
Hutchinson, KS
