The Billard family homesteaded Kansas before it became a state. They settled in what is now Topeka and became prominent community members. Great Grandfather J.B. was Mayor and even ran for Governor. He had three sons: Reamer, my Grandfather, who moved to Texas, Robert, who lived in the family home, and Louis Philip, who was an early aviator and died in a plane crash in France during World War I.
When my Grandfather and his Brother Robert had died, some family history items were loaned to Topeka for display. As part of Dad’s estate settlement Andi and I visited Topeka to determine the worth and disposal of those items.
We were there in May, but true to form, I traveled, it snowed! We visited the Ward Meade house and Old Prairie Town, where the items were on display. Unfortunately only about a third of the items lent in 1961 were locatable in 2013. We determined that the only value of the remaining articles was their historical context, so we extended the loan indefinitely.
We also were able to visit Great Grandfather’s grave site and the municipal airport named after our Great Uncle Phil. We went to the homestead house, but were unable to raise anyone to see the inside.