This month, Lady Shirley brings us tales of how adding beauty to our community inspires civic engagement and pride. Beautiful spaces bring joy to our lives.
Dearest Reader,
As April tiptoes into Concordia – bringing with her tulip blossoms peeking from the still cool winter earth and an irrepressible urge to sweep one’s front steps – this author finds herself reflecting upon a remark once made by a city official that rang poetic. On the corner of 6th Street and Highway 81, sit two Annas – Anna Laura Hill, placing agent for the Children’s Aid Society, and Anna Louise Doherty, Orphan Train rider. The hand carved brick base announcing Concordia, paired with the backdrop of The Whole Wall Mural, inspired a charming turn of phrase, “Concordia’s front porch.”
For what is a community’s front porch if not its first gesture of welcome, its invitation set forth before a single word is spoken. And if our grand, muraled corner serves as Concordia’s porch, then surely each of us holds in our keeping the duty of tending the parlor, the walkways, and the little corners of beauty that signal hospitality. April arrives not merely with blossoms, but the gentle insistence that we refresh, polish, and take pride in the spaces we share.
Thus, the subject of beauty presses forward this month with all the persistence of a flower determined to bloom. Our downtown corners are currently engaged in their own transformation. The Bradford Pear trees, although planted with good intentions, have shown themselves to be unruly tenants. Their removal reminds us that beautifications is not only the addition of loveliness, but occasionally the gracious subtraction of what has become invasive. Pruning, after all, is a form of hope: the clearing away of past misjudgments to make way for tomorrow’s better choices.
This is not the first age to look toward beauty in consideration of our fair city. Many an early 1880s news clipping reveals advertisements promoting the Home Beautiful movement, which insisted that beauty is a civilizing force, a quiet instructor in dignity and good order. May April’s spirit inspire us all – whether tending a porch, a parlor, or a whole neighborhood – to cultivate beauty with purpose, gratitude, and perhaps a touch of pride.
Yours truly,
Lady Shirley
DOMESTIC REFINEMENT
As the nineteenth century came to a close and the twentieth century dawned, the nation found itself caught up in a spirited movement toward domestic refinement. Our county, in its early years had struggled much with homesteading and building itself up. Once the dust had settled, it was time to start sweeping. Magazines, local businesses, and newspapers eagerly pressed upon homeowners that beauty inside the home was not mere ornament, but a mark of progress, civility, and sound character. A freshly painted porch, a polished floor, or a delicate lace curtain were held up as symbols of both personal virtue and community pride. A “better” home meant a better society. Beautification was not treated as frivolity; it was encouraged as a contribution to the uplift of households and towns alike.
To-day is not so different. Many a neighbor has beautifully sculpted lawns and stunning hanging baskets of flowers on porches. A spring drive through town reveals clean-up from fall and winter debris, planting of garden beds and vegetable plots, refreshing paint, and other home maintenance – all signs of pride in one’s property and neighborhood. One neighbor’s flowers often prompt another to plant their own.
It is heartening to see community come together: the Lions Club planting trees, the Downtown Beautification Committee filling planters with colorful petunias, and business owners adding potted plants outside their front doors. A simple repair or delicate flower making a significant difference.
THE HOME BEAUTIFUL
In 1927, Concordia’s Elmhurst Edition began expanding the city’s boundaries. With that expansion came a curious story – one that brings Gertrude Brown once more into our tales. You’ll recall Gertrude was the bride of Earl Van Dorn Brown, and together they laid the plans to build the Brown Grand Theatre. After Earl’s untimely death, Gertrude would marry Ray Green, owner and editor of the Concordia Blade-Empire. We shall return to Gertrude in a moment.
The Blade-Empire Publishing Company acquired land from The Elmhurst Investment Company at the corner of what is Eleventh Street and First Avenue to-day. Upon these plots, the “Home Beautiful” was announced – a model home sponsored by the Blade-Empire. For several weeks beginning in January 1927, advertisements ran nearly daily. The Home Beautiful was to be a fully modern home with every desirable feature. It would be built entirely with local labor and filled with the finest goods Concordia’s merchants had to offer. The public was invited to view it – an Open House if you will – after which it would be offered for sale. The Blade-Empire said: “The Blade-Empire feels that it can best serve the home loving public by showing it just what can be done artistically, practically and at a cost within the means of the average resident… Visitors will see wonderful furniture, a piano, a radio, linens, silverware, chinaware, kitchen utensils, and everything new in the line of furnishings… This home, when completed, will be offered for sale. A person may buy the house and lot, or the contents, or part of the furnishings and have the assurance of the Blade-Empire that a bargain will result.”
Retailers across town were invited to contribute products, and nearly all did – from the meat, milk, and eggs stocked in the refrigerator to the rugs laid across the floors. The Concordia Motor Company even put a Buick in the garage.
The three lumberyards in town – The Concordia Lumber Company, The Home Lumber Company, and the Leidigh Lumber Company – provided the building materials supervised by local contractor, Floyd L. “Dutch” Short, W.T. Short’s son. Plumbing and heating were completed by Ed W. Rose, and the Kansas Power Company installed the electric. Construction began in January and the home was completed in June.
In May, the Blade announced a contest to name the new Home Beautiful. More than 150 names were submitted. The most common was “Greygables” with 10 entrants, but the winning name – Felldale, an old English term meaning “hill over the valley” – was chosen and the submitter, Olive Ingersoll, was awarded a $5 cash prize.
June 11 marked opening day. For 10 days, crowds walked through the Home Beautiful, admiring the modern home and its amenities. June 22, Felldale was listed for sale. Despite four months of advertising, no buyer emerged.
At last, Mrs. Gertrude W. Green bought the home in October and the Greens moved into Felldale. Over the next few years, the Greens acquired the properties east of the home. After a trip to the Cotswolds in England, they built the large brick wall surrounding the grounds and rechristened the home “Cotswold Walls.”
Gertrude adored tulips. She planted them generously throughout the yard and added a small garden pond with goldfish within the walls. Her love of tulips and hosting society gatherings led to an annual Tulip Tea each May. The Greens entertained often, filling their “Home Beautiful” with laughter and conversation for many years.
In a 1985 article, Clarence Paulsen retells a story from that very garden pond – one you may find humorous:
“One day in June 1934 a 2 ½ foot garter snake eyed one of those goldfish as a hungry man would regard a juicy steak. Beside the pool lived a snail. The snake apparently viewed the snail as an escargot appetizer to be eaten before the main fish course, but when he reached for the snail that recalcitrant creature clamped onto the snake’s head, pinning its jaws shut.”
ST. JOSEPH SUBDIVISION
As this author learned of the Home Beautiful, the story felt oddly familiar. A home built with intent to be sold in a developing neighborhood…ahh yes, the St. Joseph Subdivision of to-day!
The Home Beautiful was most likely conceived as a marketing tool, yet it accomplished far more than selling advertisements. It contributed to Concordia’s expansion, promoted local business, and brought the community together – not only during construction and ten-day open house, but for years following as Roy and Gertrude Green hosted countless societal events within its walls.
To-day the St. Joseph Subdivision sparks another opportunity for growth. In 2022, the City of Concordia, CloudCorp, the Concordia Housing Authority, and others began exploring housing needs. That same year, the North Central Kansas Medical Center was completed prompting discussions about the future of the old hospital at the corner of Eleventh Street and Highland Drive. After much debate – repair estimates, repurposing proposals, and public conversation – the Cloud County Health Center board elected to donate the land to the City of Concordia. The intent was clear: the old hospital would be demolished, and the property would become the site of a new housing addition under the Concordia Housing Project.
It was named the St. Joseph Subdivision in honor of the Sisters of St. Joseph, who built, owned, and operated the former hospital. The Sisters presence in Concordia’s healthcare story stretches back to our earliest days, making the name not only fitting, but deeply meaningful.
The project included “spec homes” – built without a specific buyer in mind, to be sold upon completion. Groundbreaking occurred in September 2024, marking the first significant housing project in over 40 years.
The first spec home was completed in 2025, and once again the community flocked to see a beautiful new home rising in a new neighborhood. History reminds us that progress often begins with a single step. And so Concordia continues to shape its own horizon with hope, with purpose, and with an eye to the future.
Information gathered is intended to be factual and entertaining compiled from multiple print sources and interviews of those who remember our histories. For more information on resources, please contact Cloud County Tourism.
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