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| The family of the late Leonard and Dorothy Harper have donated $34,000 to
the Barton County Arts Council in the form of the former McCoy Shoe Store
building at Forest and Main in Great Bend.
The $34,000 donation allowed the Barton County Arts Council to purchase
the building from the Harpers for only $20,000. L.F. "Butch" Harper II, son
of Leonard and Dorothy Harper, made the donation. L.F. Harper II is a 1964
graduate of Great Bend High School and resides in Omaha, Neb.
Built in 1876, the landmark building, which is straight west of the
courthouse, is recognized as the first stone building in Great Bend. The
stone used to build the building was probably from the original Fort Zarah.
The building has housed various businesses through the years, including
A.S. Allen Drug Store, First National Bank, Burke's Shoe Store and most
recently, the McCoy Shoe Store. The Barton County Arts Council has named the building the "Barton Arts Center" and the building will be used to host various arts events in Barton County such as art shows and even musical events. "We are extremely grateful for the Harper family's generosity to the Barton County Arts Council," said Chet Cale, Barton County Arts Council president. Leonard and D.R. Harper, together with their son, L.F., owned and operated the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Great Bend along with many other hotels around the country. "The Harper family is one of Great Bend's most influential families and one of the most generous," said Cale. The cost of joining the Barton County Arts Council is an annual fee of $15. The address for the organization is P.O. Box 154, Great Bend, Kansas 67530. The web site for the Barton County Arts Council is http://www.arts.shorock.com or simply http://bartonarts.org. The Barton County Arts Council is a non-profit association of Barton County residents interested in promoting the arts in Barton County. |