A little High Plains history lesson...

This summer we have brought in two interns to work at High Plains Journal and they will be here until the end of the year. One was raised on a strawberry farm in Northern Iowa, the other on a small hobby farm with cattle in Ohio. Neither was very familiar with Western Kansas, so we've given them the opportunity to venture out to meet some of the crews from All Aboard Wheat Harvest. They've had some fun, and on their latest trip to the Garden City area they even took in some Kansas history.

They ventured to Holcomb, Kan., and the site of the Clutter murders that were the basis for the national bestseller by Truman Capote, In Cold Blood. I recently found out the High Plains Journal has ties to the Clutter family. Ties that are pretty tight, in fact.





The first publisher, Joe Berkely came to Dodge City, Kan., during World War II. Joe was a pilot that trained foreign pilots (because he was multi-lingual) on an airfield north of town where a feedlot now sits. During that time in Dodge City, Joe fell in love and married a local girl. It was at this time he was unsure of his future following the war, and his father-in-law helped him purchase a newspaper- the County Weekly.

So where does the Clutter family fit in? Herb Clutter was a what some would call a big time operator and was instrumental in forming the Kansas Wheat Association. In fact, that association was housed in Dodge City, sharing office space with High Plains Journal - the editor at the time was helpful in writing newsletters, press releases, and getting the story of the association to many - and encouraging local wheat farmers to join the organization. The National Association of Wheat Growers was then formed, and was also in the High Plains Journal offices for a short time. It was during this time Herb and Joe became friends.

Once Joe began his venture into the newspaper business, several local farmers - Herb included - encouraged Joe to take on an agriculture focus and become an agriculture news source, rather than just a local paper and High Plains Journal began printing agriculture news primarily focused on wheat and cattle before expanding to all commodities and livestock as the paper began to grow. This is why some of the old timers call us a "wheat book" instead of a broader agriculture newspaper.

Joe had no agriculture background coming from the city, and even living in Europe for a time as a child, and farming was not something that was familiar. Herb Clutter told Joe that to be in the ag business he needed some "skin in the game" and the two purchased cattle together forming a partnership. The partnership was set up so that if one were to die the other partner would take over the entire operation - including debt - and that way the deal would be square.

On November 15, 1959 Herb Clutter and his wife Bonnie, along with children Nancy and Kenyon were brutally murdered in their isolated home in rural Holcomb. Police investigating the murder began to question several people close to the Clutter family - as something so gruesome had to be carried out by someone with knowledge of the family - and Joe Berkley was one of those questioned in the murder. Police used their cattle partnership as motive in the crime. Berkley, however, was in a plane flying to Chicago with another business associate at the time of the murder. With a solid alibi Joe was no longer in question.

This is just one of many stories I've heard as I've worked for the Journal and I'm sure there will be more to come.