QUINTER ? What began as a casual effort to document local history has transformed into a more thorough venture, complete with the reorganization of the Quinter Historical Society.

Wayne Mann has collected “anything that says Quinter on it” for about 40 years.

James Bogert, center, president of the Quinter Historical Society, and his mother, Maurine, talk about the history of Castle Rock, a limestone rock formation 15 miles south of Quinter. Behind them, Wayne Mann looks for an item in the rear of his antique store, J & M Antiques, in Quinter. The Quinter Historical Society hopes to restore a historical presence in the town.

The collection of calendars, matchbooks, flyswatters, yardsticks and other trinkets has taken over a corner of his downtown business, J&W Antiques and Collectibles.

Although Mann, known locally as the hometown historian, is hesitant to tout the collection and his work to dig up information about the Gove County community, he has joined forces with a small team of other residents who are more than willing to brag about him and their combined efforts to preserve local history.

James Bogert, Mann’s business partner and the “J” of the J&W antique shop, also serves as the president of the resurrected historical society.

Its federal tax status still pending, the group has been organized for about a year, he said. Hopefully, when all the paperwork is in place, more funding opportunities, including historical preservation grants, will be available to the group.

Hopes for a museum

Its members aren’t shy about noting they have a wish list. On top of the need for more interest and local support in their efforts, the members of the group note a grand prize would be a permanent location to house a Quinter historical museum.

Although there’s a Gove County Museum in the county seat of Gove, the local historians say their town has never had its own, and they want that to change. So in the last year since they’ve combined their efforts, they’ve also revamped the building that houses the J&W store. It’s one of the few historical buildings remaining on Quinter’s Main Street.

Bogert’s mother, 76-year-old Maurine Bogert, bought the building. She’s always been interested in restoration work, and said after living on the East Coast for a few years with her daughter, she learned to appreciate the historical architecture that’s common in that part of the country.

She misses having that same history in her own community.

“I couldn’t stand to see this one go. They were going to bulldoze it,” she said.

Historical presence lacking

Maurine Bogert said there’s been a lack of interest in preserving Quinter’s history for most of the years she’s lived there, and “perfectly good buildings” that used to include a hint of nostalgia were replaced with new structures.

Gillaspie said the lack of historical presence isn’t something noticed by only a few. When a representative from the Kansas State Historical Society visited Quinter, Gillaspie said, the modern-looking buildings on Main Street were among his first observations.

These volunteers want to change that, but say they need support from their neighbors and local leaders.