Today, January 29th, is Kansas Day and today we will highlight some famous people in Kansas history from Anderson County. First, Arthur Capper born in Garnett in 1865, he started working for the Garnett Journal Newspaper at age 14. After graduating high school he sought a career as a reporter and in time built the Capper Publishing Company that included several newspapers and two radio stations. He also created the Capper Foundation for crippled children, now the Capper Foundation, whose mission is to bring hope to infants, children and adults with disabilities and their families in Kansas. Capper later served as Kansas Governor for two terms and the U. S. Senate for five terms. Some say he was responsible for the creation of 4-H.
Valentin Gerth, was one of the first two settlers in Anderson County. The Gerth cabin, located in Greeley, has historic significance. the cabin was involved with the underground railroad movement to free slaves. Eleven slaves freed at Vernon County, Missouri in December of 1858 by John Brown and his men, were known to have been hidden in the Greeley area and are linked to the Gerth cabin. a baby boy,John Brown Daniels, son of escaped slave Jane Daniels, was born and said to have been hidden for a time under the Gerth cabin.
