wednesday
The weekly feature page of the University Daily Kansan February 27. 198C
story by Judith Lynn Howard
Bernice Bates, superintendent of the Sunday School, teaches the lesson for the day to area children during Sunday School before the service.
photos by Jeff Harring
(those) For more than one hundred years the people of Nicodemus have made the Bible and the church a central part of their lives. This has helped to build a strong community spirit and is what attracts many people back to Nicodemus. *William H. Bates*, a deacon for the church for more than 30 years, listens to a church member during adult Sunday School session.
Living With Faith
Kansas morning dawned gloomily. Silence commanded the rural community, and its command was obeyed.
It was Sunday morning in Nicodemus and the doors of the church beckoned as Sunday school classes were held. There was a muted chatter inside, as young and old members discussed the Bible lesson for the day.
Bernice Bates led the children's classes, discussing Christ's healing of the blind man and the children colored sketches of the Bible.
When the lesson was over, some of the children performed a skirt commemorating Black History Month. The children lauded black leaders such as charles Drew, who performed the first open heart bouquet for Lily O'Connor, who played with childlike courage to the encouraging smiles of the adults.
Bates told the tiny congregation that blacks did not know enough about their heritage.
"I don't think we as a group know enough about our people. Our young people should remember the contributions." she said
BUT PRIDE pervades the small church with its curved pews, and the solemn faces of the older people.
The Rev. L.C. Alexander couldn't be there for services, Bates announced, standing like a schoolmarm in the front of the church. He had been marooned in Newton because of bad roads and weather. Alexander commenced to Nicodemus from Wichita every Sunday.
Everyone in Nicodemus knows the story of how, in 1877, 300 blacks settled in northwestern Kansas to begin a pioneer way of life. They also know who those ancestors were and how important present kinship is in preserving that heritage.
But his absence did not stop Sunday worship. Ora Switzer, the church clerk, said, "We don't have a die because we don't have a
So the congregation sang hymns, reminiscent of singing in the south. The choir also sang, softly accompanied by a piano that played with great energy.
THEE WAS THE warmth of close kinship and fellowship. There was also a loyalty that lifted spirits.
Rosella Wellington said leaguely to William Bates, who has been a deacon for more than 30 years. "Good morning. Give us a smile."
Bates looked around for a moment and said slowly, "There isn't one."
But a smile pierced his face anyway, changing the lines of age into creases of laziness.
There are distinct physical boundaries between the old and the new. The church are new homes built for senior citizens, as well as young people.
Nicodemus completed these projects through a grant from the department of Housing and Urban Development.
LOIS ALEXANDER, executive director of Community Development and Housing in Nicodemus, has been primarily responsible for steering the growth of Nicodemus as a thriving community. She has lablied for funds in Washington, D.C. since 1971.
"I went up there and preached a sermon," she said. "We're not big, but our needs are the same. Don't tell me Nielsenism does that."
NICODEMUS also needs its young people to preserve its history, she said.
She defined her mission, "What we're trying to do is keep this town alive."
And to get the young people back in Nicodemus, and not scattered across the country as they are now, Nicodemus must provide a
Alexander said Nicodemus needed more industry and housing to keep the young people in the community.
She said she was attempting to encourage community members to start their own businesses, such as a welding shop.
She also said the community could use the grain it produced for gasolol.
"That's the latest thing now. The farmers raise that grain," she said. "Why not use that for a gasolina plant? Why not here in a small
"We don't want to be big, because we're happy as we are. We want something just to keep the young people staying here."
IN THE 1880's, Nicodemus was a booming town. By 1887, the town had four general stores, a grocery店, two druggists, three land companies, a law office, two hotels, two livery stables, a blacksmith shop and a harness and boot repair shop.
It seemed as if Nicodemus was on its way up—especially after rumors of new railways been to circulate.
According to Glen Schwendemann, author of "Nicodemus: A
Negro Haven on the Solomon," anticipation of the railroad could have preprinted the business boom.
But the railroad never came. Business in Nicodermus declined, although the population did not.
The black population, according to the 1800 U.S. census, was 484. It neaked at 505 in 1910. The town now numbers 100 persons.
NOW TALL GRASS brushes the new pavement, a stone cornerstone for an former lodge, and later plots represent the new building.
There is a wistfulness for the past in the solitary stature of the gray houses, the shells of former churches and land patched by snow.
noises, the sheets of other curtains and timed paused by show.
It was Switzerland's today at the recreation center where the exhibition began, an environment abrbrated
church services, there was a gentle gale as friends at
At one point she said, "That’s rich in blessing." and then began
to tell us of her plans.
SOMEONE ASKED her why she was crying. With dignity she said, "Can't you cry and rejoice and cry? Can't you rejoin and be
They rejoice in Nicodemus. Alexander said she wants to grow old there, not only because it was home to her, but because of the love he had for her.
"That's the compassion we have for each other. They don't have that in the big city," Alexander said.
The fellowship dinner was over. Some people got up to leave, giving best wish to Sweet on her 71th birthday.
The air was warmer outside. The gloom had faded; the sun was shining.