From the Editor’s Files

Kansas lost a man of many hats last month with the passing of Roger Ringer, a former resident of this area who was still leaving his mark here even after he moved to the Medicine Lodge area 20some years ago.

At his recent funeral, Roger was described as eclectic in his interests and his life. That's how I'll remember Roger Ringer, who was enigmatic from the day I met him three decades ago, until his death last month at age 68. Award-winning author.

Poet. Storyteller. Cowtown actor. Bed and breakfast owner. Auctioneer. Firefighter. Certified deputy.

Township trustee. Private detective. And, a Western music enthusiast.

One of the first times I really got to know Roger Ringer, he was wearing yet another hat: Wild game enthusiast.

He was at work at his family farm, and I needed to talk with him about a book of cowboy poetry he was putting together.

When I pulled in at his place, he had several deer hanging for processing, from hunters in the area.

I was no stranger to cutting meat, having helped as a kid with family beef processing operations with my uncles. But still, I declined when Roger offered me a knife and a place at the cutting table.

For me, that was an image of Roger Ringer that stuck. You never knew what kind of an image he might help you conjure up – or what kind of story he might tell you if you'd give him an ear for a minute.

At one time about 20 years ago, the Ringers – Roger, and his parents Ron and Charlotte – moved from here to just outside Medicine Lodge on what they called Wildfire Ranch. They created a bed and breakfast that hosted people from all across the globe, and they would host Western music concerts in their backyard.

Roger was an original product of Sedgwick County, and graduated from Goddard High School in 1973. He developed a love of history at an early age that lasted a lifetime.

A couple of years after Roger graduated from high school, the Ringers moved to the country between Garden Plain and Cheney. He loved to read, and that turned into a passion for writing. He also had a big hand in Kansas' 150th-anniversary celebration, which would be viewed as a significant accomplishment for years to come.

More books were written over the years, and Ringer won the 2021 Martin Kansas History Book Award. He also was a regular columnist for the Rural Messenger, a paper distributed in this area.

Had it not been for his untimely recent death, Roger would have completed yet another book, “Kansasology.” Now, his survivors will finish it and hopefully get it to press later this year.

Could there be one more hat? Maybe a historian from beyond...

It sounds right to me.