Senior Wednesdays are informational and entertaining sessions, designed for active seniors and offered by a collaboration of local institutions. Learn more at Seniorwednesday.org

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum offers its Senior Wednesdays on the 4th Wednesday of each month, January-October.

JULY’S TOPIC: Crime in 1800’s Sedgwick County

Presented by John Burchill

The zephyr breezes of the plains of Kansas in the 1800s did not always result in amber waves; on occasion, it was a talisman of the dark storms in the minds and personalities of our early settlers. This presentation is an attempt to look at those in Wichita who deviated from the embrace of law so they could dance with the devil. Some of the topics included: “Bloody Christmas” of 1873, that the Kansas City Journal of Commerce wrote “The Bender Tragedy Out Done”; Wichita’s “Secret Police”; Shootouts, horse thieves, and more! Oh My!

About the Presenter

A retired (Emeriti) Professor of Criminal Justice, Burchill has sixteen years of criminal justice experience and twenty-seven years of teaching at Kansas Wesleyan University, and a demonstrated history of producing new programs, coursework, and trainings. An author and a long-time speaker for Humanities Kansas, Burchill stays active in retirement in areas of criminal justice historical research, emergency communications, music performance, and spoiling his two granddaughters.

Past topics for Humanities Kansas included: Kansas Anti-Horse Thief Societies; Cowboys and Clerics; Four Horsemen and a Sage; and People, Places, and Politics in 1800s Kansas. Some of the other presentations made in the past include such topics as: Brothels, Bootleggers & Badmen of Salina; Early Crime & Crime Fighters in Kansas; Notorious Saline County; Choosing Our Response to Racism: The Bethany Incident. He is the author of Bullets, Badges, and Bridles: Horse Thieves and the Societies that Pursued Them.

(Due to capacity restrictions, program has limited seating of 60.)