wichita and oddly enough, she was only in wichita a month, but it was a very exciting month. wichita was presumably a high target rich area for bars and for boozers in her eyes. good population and they had a newspaper. the bar was in operation during prohibition and as most bars are in prohibition were located in basements of buildings, they usually had an exterior stair as an entrance or in this case in this building, during the renovation, several tunnels and secret passageways were discovered where men could go down, go through a secret passageway and enter a bar down in the basement. there is a picture here that has survived history, of the bar that was destroyed by carrie. she was immediately arrested, taken down to the city jail.

there are several pictures of her kneeling with her bible in front of a chair inside the jail. when she was arrested in wichita, the accounts in the "eagle" portrayed her at 6 feet tall, 200 pounds. she was a huge person by any standards of the day at the turn of the century. most men weren't that big at that time. but she was released almost 30 days later by habeas corpus from the supreme court. the next day, she walked from the jail across douglas and tried to destroy two more bars. and the bartenders had a head's up, they were looking for her. they came after her in the street with a shotgun pointed at her and subsequently decided i

don't think i'll do this today and she left kansas. she entered the touring lecture circuit. she went into vaudeville and lectured there and sold souvenirs of the ax that she became famous for holding in the photograph on the wall there. in 1901, her second husband, david nation, divorced her claiming de desertion because at that time she was traveling all over destroying bars. and then in 1904, she did return to wichita. she lived here for a while, she was off her bar destruction campaign. and between actually between 1900 and 1910, she was arrested 30 times. paid jail fines from her lecture fees and the sales of her souvenir hatchets. after leaving wichita, carrie

shortly thereafter moved to levinworth, kansas, where she died on june 9th, 1911. prohibition didn't end in the united states until '33. prohibition continued in kansas until '48. and even after that it was highly restricted. kansas being a red state, the liquor laws here really didn't catch up with the rest of the nation until, get this, the late 1980s. all weekend long american history tv is featuring the history of wichita, kansas. the largest city in kansas with a population of about 400,000. hosted by our cox communications cable partner, c-span's local content vehicles recently visited many historic sites showcasing the city's rich history. learn more about wichita, kansas, all weekend long on american history tv. looking at a small building located in north riverside park

in wichita, the building is most well known to wichitans as the girl scout little house because for about 75 years the girl scout council used it as a troop meeting house and council activity place and also as a summer day campsite. and it has an interesting origin, though, and hence the historic name is now the wichita fresh air baby camp. in the early part of the 20 ths century, physicians, scientists were beginning to be aware of how illness was spread and the importance of sanitation. and in 1906, congress created the pure food and drug act and in 1912 the president created the u.s. children's bureau and this brought governmental possibilities for funding and raising awareness for sanitation, particularly aimed at children and so new kinds of

programs were instituted and among them were education programs for mothers and also health care programs for children at risk. in wichita, this building was built to become a summer hospital unit for desperately ill and very poor infants. about a mile east of here is a residential area that also contained wichita's two earliest hospitals. there was a pediatrician, dr. howard norton at the wesley hospital who was beginning to be interested in this idea of infant care. they actually put up a tent in the backyard of the hospital building. it was literally a platform tent with screen sides and a canvas roof. they moved very ill infans for the summer out into that little tent building and they were taken care of by nurses and student nurses. the idea was to get those infants out of the confines of the stuffy hospital, remembering

that this was an age before air-conditioning and understanding how germs were spread where other ill people were being taken care of. that first summer was so successful that they then moved to a more natural setting here in the park. and their second summer was held in those two tent buildings. in the third year, the tents burned completely to the ground just before the season opened in june, and the women who had created the board of directors immediately began to rally the community to raise funds to build a new fireproof building. that's the building that you see with us here today. the building, its architectural style is craftsman. this was built in 1920. and this park and the building in its setting is in the middle of a large bungalow neighborhood that was built in the 1920s. so the architecture of the

building fits right into the residential area. the architect designed this building with very special windows, which are now boarded up because we have repaired a lot of them and we want to protect them from vandalism until the building is put back in use. these are triple-hung windows, meaning they have three sashes, top, middle, and bottom. the function of double of triple-hung windows is to be able to open two sashes and create a draft through the building. of course, they have screens on them also so flies and other insects would be kept out of the infants' hospital room. there are windows on all four sides of the building to create cross ventilation. the building is about 2,500 square feet. it's not large. it has one main room that was the crib room. it's been reconfigured somewhat. on the inside, with removable

partitions. originally they had the crib room, they had a small isolation room. they had a small bedroom for the overnight nurses because they served the patients 24 hours a day. this building is not the first one to be built in the united states by any means. kansas followed a national initiative. one of the first was located in new york city on land that was contributed by the rockefeller family. that was a very large camp with platform tents, screened canvas, and they had many different programs. not just infant care, but they had mothers education programs, and they had summer programs for older children also. part of the background of the creation of a program here in wichita was the fact that in kansas, our secretary of the department of health whose name was dr. samuel combine issued a

statewide campaign to promote the idea of sanitation as well as child can welfare. he had some pretty interesting campaigns. one was called swat the fly because people needed to be aware of how germs were carried and how important it was to put screens on your buildings and houses. also he had another one called don't spit on the sidewalk. in many cities, they actually imprinted that slogan, don't spit on the sidewalk, on various paving bricks and put them on the sidewalks intermittently to remind people. i found news articles here in wichita about campaigns on our streetcars that conductors were to watch for people spitting in the streetcars. this was -- it sounds kind of silly to us now, but it was a very serious campaign to educate people. the fresh air baby camp was in operation from 1920 in this building until 1926. at that time, wesley hospital

had built a brand new modern facility further away in the city. so they were able to create an infant ward. and the board of directors for the baby camp solicited the hospital and were able to move the camp program into the hospital in a special ward where they could operate it year round. and so they no longer needed this building. so they turned the lease over to wichita girl scout council at that time. it's due for rehabilitation. to begin that process we listed it on the national register of historic places in the year 2007. that does not guarantee funding or anything. the national register status is mainly an honor. it honors the significance of the building as far as the social history goes. it also honors the architecture. the first phase is to repair the roof because obviously if the

roof falls in, the building will be totally lost. second phase, which we kind of already started, would be to repair the structure of the building including these important windows. we removed 14 windows from this building. took them to a warehouse setting where we could lay them out on work tables. we stripped the paint. we took out the caulking. we re-glazed the glass and reinstalled the windows. we also painted them. so they are all now in working order. they are boarded up because we want to protect them from vandalism and weather until we can get the whole building back in working order. in the end, the significance of this building is the fact that it's a physical reminder of a time when wichitans all over the community, not only the wealthy, but those who could afford any kind of contribution, all came together to help solve a social

problem and help those who were in need. all weekend long, american history tv is featuring the history of wichita, kansas. a city founded on the success of businessmen who came to hunt and trade with native populations. hosted by our cox communications cable partner, c-span's local content vehicles recently visited many historic sites showcasing the city's rich history. learn more about wichita, kansas, all weekend long on american history tv. not now, the authorized spokesman, but 1930 to the middle of 1945, i did occupy that position. that was the period of the great rise of the labor movement in the midst of which the communist played an honorable and effective part and won a certain degree of influence in america. that influence has always been exerted toward actively

organizing and solidifying the labor movement and uniting labor with all progressives. communists do not control any labor unions. and do not want to control. especially during the war, the communists made a contribution in showing in practice how the full defense of labor's rights could be combined with the most complete support of the war effort. >> what we're looking at is kellogg. it's the major thoroughfare through wichita, and that grassy area to my back, that's where the house was for earl browder, his birthplace. he was the general secretary of the communist party from about 1920 through 1950. he ran for president twice under the communist party. in 1936 and 1940. in 1989, there was -- when

kellogg was widened, there was talk about moving his house. it was one of -- at that time, one of the oldest occupied houses in wichita. it was built in 1874. and there was talk with the city preservationists, because of earl browder's connections of moving it to save it. but it proved to be so dilapidated, they were unable to save it. he was born in 1891. he had -- his family was fairly poor. and so as an early boy, he had to start working, and he was a messenger at several places in wichita, including the western union, the union national bank and a drugstore. and at age 16, he began reading carl marx. and it was here in wichita, he went to the forum, which is the forerunner of our century to

today, and he heard eugene debs, who was then the socialist party leader, talk about socialism, and he became so moved that he began selling the appeal to reason. it was the nation's largest socialist newspaper in the time. and it was published here in kansas. at that time, there was a huge, diverse economic dichotomy going on. you had the very, very wealthy, and you had the very, very poor. and the browder family was certainly among the very poor. and the socialist movement at that time offered hope. what happened was world war i broke out. and rather than serve in the military, he went to prison. and -- when he got out of prison, he then helped organize the communist party in the nation, and went during the

1920s to china and helped organize the chinese communist party. and then he came back and was the general secretary of the communist party here in the nation. ran for president in 1936 and 1940, against fdr. did not receive any votes from wichitans. this was before world war ii, so it didn't have quite the negative overtones that it does today. in 1936, earl browder said that the united states is economically ready for communism, but it's politicly not ready. >> events and issues are beginning to stand out so that they can be seen with the mask. you don't have to give long-winded explanations anymore. people see that people understand, what they need is a voice to express it for them.

and an organization to rally them. and the people are going to march forward. with the people will belong the victory. >> he advocated for merging the united states and the soviet communist parties. and, in fact, that's what caused stalin to kick him out of the communist party. during the 1950s, he was brought before the senate foreign relations committee with joe mccarthy, and had to answer questions, and he refused to. he refused to name names, and was once again put in prison. he died in 1973 at the age of 82. he was not afraid to show his beliefs. he wasn't afraid to stand down, no matter what the consequences were. he was in and out of prison right and left. there weren't many like that at that time. >> unity or progress against reactionary forces threaten to rise.

to power. unity that rises above the differences of race, religion and ideology. unity to bring the century of the common man. this is the golden rule for all the democratic camp in which the trade unions occupy a central place. this rule says an emphatic no to the proposition that we should erect special discriminations against communists as some kind of menace. all weekend long american history tv is featuring the history of wichita, kansas, a popular 19th century destination for cattle drives heading north to access railroads to eastern markets. hosted by our cox communications cable partner, c-span's local content vehicles recently visited many historic sites, showcasing the city's rich history. learn more about wichita, kansas, all weekend long on american history tv.

wichita's history that i probably most identify with is probably, you know, probably twofold, because i was born and raised here, and in an african-american community, and i've seen, you know, i've seen the good times and i've seen the bad times. i've seen the challenges. but i think one of the things is i think we see the citizens here a little by differently, and, you know, it's currently i'm on leave from spirit aero systems. i'm a manager for them. but i see here in the wichita area, it provides you with opportunities. i was one of the first groups that ended up being bust when i was in middle school. and that was when i first started seeing communities change. during that time frame. and as i went through middle school and we were doing

integration, it was just something that was just different. i even remember the first day when i walk into the school and i was different. there's something happening here. and from that standpoint, you started hearing about things the dockum set in. we had the same challenges other cities were. so i've had an opportunity to be able to see as we have continued to grow as a community and grow as individuals here in the city of wichita. we definitely don't live in a perfect environment. we live in a unique environment here. very rare when you look at the city of wichita, some of the demographics you have, when you look at 71% of the population is caucasian in the city of wichita, and i think 11.3% hispanic.

when you look at the leadership, it is unique. improbable a perfect example sitting with you today. if you look at our police chief, our fire chief, and our director of all our federal funding and our housing, and you take that and public information person for the city of wichita is african-american, all these people are in key leadership positions, and we're african americans. so that kind of sends a message that we are unique, and there is something different about us, that we're not like a lot of the other cities, in that we are open to change and we are respectful of each other. this weekend, we join our cable partners cox to show case its rich history. to learn more about local content vehicles and the 2012 tour, visit

cspan.org/localcontent. we continue with a look at wichita kansas. this is american history tv on cspan 3. >> decided to start on a saturday. the strategy we had was to scatter our seeding. we would show up individually one by one. we did not go as a group. because we went as paying customers. and i happened to be the first one to show up. i sat in the center of the lunch counter. and the waitress came over to me. and she said -- she took my order. what would you like to have? and i said, well, i was surprised, and i said i'll have a coke. and she brought the coke over to me. and i started drinking it. when peggy came in and she sat down and the waitress looked at peggy and then she looked at me and she came over to me and she said, you're not colored, are you, dear? and i said, yes, i am.

and right away, her attitude changed. she pulled away and she looked the other way. she no longer had any contact with me or any of the others. we just sat there, and that was the beginning of the sit-in. >> dockum drugstore itself was a chain of drugstores nationally known, part of the rexall corporation. there was a number of them throughout kansas and the east coast. the theory being that if we could evoke change through the rexall corporation, there would be a good chance that single-standing drugstores and even other business establishments would not have any reason to continue, you know, to resist or have segregated seating. >> well, dockum's drugstore was a major drugstore located in the center of wichita.

it was a main place for people to go during the lunch hour, for teenagers to go for a hamburger and a coke. the policy of the store was that they did not serve colored, as we were called at that time. so we wanted to get something to purchase to eat, we would have to take it out or stand at the end of the lunch counter, and then we were served in styrofoam containers. >> it was degrading, dehumanizing. you felt like something was wrong. you know? but you learned to cope with it and to ignore it. and there were exceptions. on occasion, you might have seen a black person even at dockum's, and there was another drugstore around here called woolsworth and one on the corner called grant's. it always stuck out like a sore thumb when i would come in those establishments. and across the street is where i used to work. on occasion, as i say, you might have seen a black person.

but it was almost like an unwritten code, just don't take a habit of it and don't too many of you come at one time. that was the -- so it wouldn't be totally accurate to say that blacks were not served. they were, but you couldn't count on it. it wasn't systematic. >> this was 1958. the summer of 1958. most of us had graduated from high school, were either attending a university or preparing to attend a university or working locally. my mother was very involved in the naacp and she had civil rights attorneys coming by. one of them was franklin williams from the bay area in san francisco. and he came by, and he spoke to a group of us at our home. and the idea of sitting in was mentioned. after talking with my cousin, ron walters, he was the president of the youth chapter, and i was the vice president. we agreed that this is something we wanted to do and we wanted to carry it off ourselves. >> and when we heard this idea, we thought it was interesting.

but there was a potential down side to that as well. this was the early part of the 1850s, up to about the mid part. we were aware of emmitt till, who was bludgeoned and mutilated in 1855. we were aware of the little rock nine, nine black youth who tried to integrate central high school in little rock. we were aware of rosa parks' efforts to desegregate public busing in montgomery, part of the montgomery bus boycott movement. and so we had to beware of the potential for some very negative dangerous things that could have happened. at the same time, it certainly seemed like something that was socially just, socially righteous, and made sense. >> so we decided to use the

non-violent approach that dr. martin luther king used here in the united states. so we did this role playing at st. peter claver church, the basement of the rectory. we'd go there and sit on stools and we practiced how we would react if we were pushed or insulted in some sort of way or called out and we did this over and over until we felt comfortable in using the non-violent approach. >> this is the site of the dockum building where the dockum drugstore was located. obviously, it's under reconstruction right now. i'll just point out at least there is one structure that is still located here, and that's this row of elevators that always caught our attention. a lot of people would come in and use those elevators to go

upstairs. i point that out because these would have been some of the patrons who would have used the drugstore. there was a revolving door about right here. so most of us might have -- when we were involved in these sit-ins, actual sit-ins, would have come in this entrance, but we would have also, some come in that back entrance. so that it wouldn't necessarily appear that we were all coming in for the same purpose at the same time. that became evident after we started to take seats along the counters. that would have been on this back wall here. we came there for a purpose. that was to make a purchase. and to challenge a 50-year-old custom. we had drawn up some placards. and unfortunately, we don't have one of them left.

but they probably would say "dockum discriminates. we'd like to have service." something like that. and we would have them up and down the counter behind us so they'd be at eye level. i was feeling uncomfortable about it. we took them down. but i went back behind the petition where the local manager was and i reinforced that we didn't come to cause trouble, we just would like to make a purchase, receive service like anyone else that comes in. and he went on to say something to the effect that he was not the owner, you know, he's just enforcing the policy of the store, but that he would be willing to arrange a meeting for our attorney, who was one of our mentors. talking about attorney chet lewis. and shortly thereafter i think attorney lewis called the store, made arrangements to have an interview with the owner of the dockum drugstore. and i'm not sure we ever came back to work after that.