Local group attends ceremony at governor's office
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
A group of nine people with connections to Marion County Park and Lake traveled to Topeka March 19.
They went to the capital to witness Governor Kathleen Sebelius place her signature on a proclamation designating March 31 as "CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) Recognition Day" in Kansas.
Among the group were Dwight and Helen Beckham, lake residents who instigated the new designation and have done much to keep the memory of the CCC alive. Helen's sister, Marie Waltman of El Dorado accompanied them. She frequently camps at the lake.
Bill Holdeman of Marion was accompanied by his wife, Feebie Holdeman. Bill was enrolled in the CCC as a young man and served as a heavy equipment operator helping to build roads in the mountains of Oregon.
Cleland McBurney and his wife, Irene, of Kingman also were part of the group. Cleland's father served as engineer for the county lake project and also engineered the construction of four other lakes in Kansas.
Other participants were Rowena Plett, reporter for the Marion County Record, and Marilyn Hamler of McPherson, who together with her husband Larry owns a home at the lake.
