Shannon Historical Associates

Home
United States
Gurley, AL
Shannon Historical Associates

Please contact SHA for permission to use any materials.) Researching Extinct Places and Local History. Check out our site http://www.sha.associates/

Unearthing the Echoes of the Past: A Journey Through America's Forgotten Frontiers.
Check out our site www.sha.associates

(All newspaper clippings and photographs are copyrighted.

08/25/2026

A circus clown poses behind the scenes during a Barnes & Bailey Circus appearance in Wichita, Kansas, in 1964. Wearing traditional clown makeup, oversized clothing, and a decorative sombrero, the performer stands among circus trucks and equipment, offering a candid glimpse of circus life away from the performance ring.

08/24/2026

❤️ This Is Why I Continue to Write and Publish Books. Seeing a post like this from Ann King reminds me exactly why I continue researching, writing, and publishing books about Joyland.

One of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been helping people preserve their own stories. Working with Ann and the former Joyland Gunfighters to document their years at the park and tell their story in Joyland Park Gunfighters was something truly special. These weren't simply photographs and names on a page—they were real people, friendships, adventures, and memories that deserved to become part of Joyland's permanent history.

I wouldn't change anything about the journey of piecing the book together. From gathering photographs and identifying the gunfighters to hearing their stories and working with the lovely Ann King, it became much more than another book project. It became an opportunity to preserve a chapter of Joyland history through the people who actually lived it.

Thank you, Ann, for trusting me with those memories and for allowing me to help share the story of the Joyland Gunfighters. ❤️

For anyone interested in adding a copy to their collection, Joyland Park Gunfighters can be requested through Al's Old & New Book Store or Watermark Books, or ordered online through Shannon Publishing; https://www.shannonpublishing.info/american-photographs-joyland-park-gunfighters.html

Preserving Joyland isn't only about remembering the park—it's about remembering the people who made Joyland what it was. 🎡❤️

08/22/2026

A sweeping view of Northbranch, Kansas, looking across the surrounding fields toward the small rural community. Homes, farm buildings, and other structures dot the horizon, while a prominent church rises at the right of the scene. The photograph preserves a remarkable glimpse of Northbranch during an earlier era, when this small Kansas settlement was surrounded by cultivated farmland and open countryside.

08/18/2026

An early view of Gridley, Kansas, dating from approximately 1900–1908, showing residences and other buildings scattered along the edge of the community. Unpaved roads, open ground, simple fences, and young trees characterize the landscape, preserving a glimpse of Gridley during the opening years of the twentieth century.

08/14/2026

Railroad workers and teams of horses are shown laying the Kansas Pacific Railway tracks into Salina, Kansas, on April 18, 1867. The arrival of the railroad marked a defining moment in Salina’s early history, connecting the young frontier community with eastern markets and accelerating settlement, commerce, and growth throughout the region. This remarkable scene preserves the labor and determination behind the railroad expansion that helped transform Salina into an important transportation and commercial center on the Kansas plains.

08/11/2026

🎠 Happy Birthday, Dalton Sanders! 🎂 A young Dalton Sanders enjoys a ride aboard the beloved Joyland Carousel, creating one of those childhood moments that captures what Joyland Amusement Park was all about—family, fun, and memories that last a lifetime.

Today is Dalton’s birthday, so please join me in wishing him a very Happy Birthday! 🎉🎈

Over the years, Dalton has also played an important role in helping preserve Joyland’s history. He has assisted me with several of my Joyland publications, including American Photographs: Joyland Amusement Park, contributing to our efforts to document and share the story of this treasured Wichita landmark.

Happy Birthday, Dalton—and thank you for helping keep the memories and history of Joyland alive! 🎠🎢❤️ Dalton Sanders

08/10/2026

“Italians Give Name of Pluto to Planet” — March 26, 1930. Published in The Parsons Sun of Parsons, Kansas, on Wednesday, March 26, 1930, this article reported that Italian astronomers had adopted “Pluto” as the provisional name for the newly discovered trans-Neptunian planet. Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, only weeks earlier, the distant world had quickly captured international attention. The article also explained the classical significance of Pluto—the Roman god of the underworld—and praised the American astronomers responsible for the discovery. This clipping offers a fascinating contemporary glimpse into the brief period when the name Pluto was still considered provisional, before its formal adoption later in 1930.
(“Italians Give Name of Pluto to Planet” — March 26, 1930 | The Parsons Sun Wed, Mar 26, 1930)

08/07/2026

This historic photograph captures Broadway Avenue looking north in Abilene, Kansas, in 1875. The scene features the town's early commercial district, with wooden and brick storefronts, the Abilene Bank, horse-drawn wagons, hitching horses, and local residents gathered along the unpaved street. Taken just a few years after Abilene's famed cattle-drive era, the image preserves a remarkable glimpse of a growing Kansas community as it transitioned from a frontier cattle town into an established regional business center.

08/04/2026

This photograph shows the first school bus purchased by Alden School, Consolidated School District No. 9, in Rice County, Kansas, in 1920. The early motorized bus represented a major advancement in rural education, transporting students from the surrounding countryside to the newly consolidated district. Before the widespread use of school buses, many children traveled by foot, horseback, or horse-drawn wagons. This vehicle marked the beginning of a new era in student transportation, improving access to education while reflecting the rapid adoption of the automobile across rural Kansas during the early twentieth century.

Address

Gurley, AL
35763

Website

http://www.sha.associates/, http://www.shannonpublishing.info/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Shannon Historical Associates posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Gurley?