Kirke Field Mechem
Born: Mankato, Jewell County, Kansas, on December 20, 1889. Married: Katharine Celia Lewis in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, on May 22, 1920. She died in 1970. He married Marian Bolton in San Mateo, California, on May 18, 1979. Died: San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, on June 5, 1985.
Kirke Field Mechem was born to James Harlan and Mary Lavinia “Lura” (Allen) Mechem in Mankato, Jewell County, Kansas, on December 20, 1889. The family soon relocated to Colorado, where James died in 1898, and Lura moved the family to Topeka. Kirke attended Topeka High School. He was office secretary for the Y.M.C.A. and was active in a state chess club. He took a job as stenographer with Bell Telephone Company in 1912 and then worked for the Southwestern Journal in Kansas City, Missouri. Mechem served in the army during World War I. In France, following the end of the war, Mechem wrote for a military publication, The Jayhawker in France. After the war, Mecham worked for Price Current and Wichita Eagle in Wichita. He married Katherine Celia Lewis in Wichita on May 22, 1920.
Mechem was elected secretary of the Society in 1930. He worked to improve collection management and acquisitions. He was editor of the new Kansas Historical Quarterly from the first issue in November 1931. He became involved in the initiative to create a historical markers program in 1934, working with economic development officials around the state, the state chamber, and the highway commission. The 56 markers were installed between 1938 and 1941. Several of Mechem’s articles in the Quarterly proved so popular they were reprinted as booklets, including “The Mythical Jayhawk” in 1944 and “The Story of Home on the Range” in 1950.
While serving as secretary, Mechem used his vacation time to continue writing. A Frame for Murder, one of two detective novels he wrote, was set in Wichita and published in 1936. He also wrote two short stories. John Brown, a play in three acts, published in 1938, received the Maxwell Anderson Award presented by Stanford University.
Mechem retired from the Historical Society on November 1, 1951. He moved to Lindsborg and continued as editor of the Quarterly. Katharine Mechem died in 1970 and relocate to San Jose, California. He married Marian Bolton on May 18, 1979. where he died on June 5, 1985.
Entry: Mechem, Kirke Field
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: December 2024
Date Modified: December 2024
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