Kansas celebrates signing of Armistice November 11, 1918
One hundred and five years ago, on November 11th, 1918, Kansans celebrated the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. However, on November 7th, 1918, four days before the signing of the Armistice ending World War I, the United Press Association released a news flash to over four hundred newspapers indicating that an Armistice had been signed. Soon after receiving the news flash, newspapers throughout the United States published headlines indicating that an Armistice had been signed and the war was over.
The United Press Association's news flash reached The Topeka State Journal exactly at noon. Shortly after the receipt of the news flash, the following headline was published in The Topeka State Journal: 'REPORTS OF HUN SURRENDER —Armistice with Germany is Signed at 11:00 O'clock This Morning Ending The World's Greatest War! GERMANS BEATEN!' News that Germany had signed the Armistice spread rapidly in Topeka and across the state through word-of-mouth, telegrams, and phones.
Wild spontaneous celebrations erupted across the state and continued into the early morning hours of November 8th.
Celebrations began with church bells ringing, locomotive whistles blowing, siren screeching, and auto horns tooting. Kansans poured into the streets, ignoring the prohibitions against public gatherings because of the Spanish Flu. Every conceivable way of celebrating was thought of. Everything that would make noise was brought out. There were impromptu parades, patriotic speeches, shooting of fireworks, firing of shotguns, large bonfires, hanging of the Kaiser in effigy on flagpoles and electric wires, and dragging the Kaiser behind automobiles. Celebrations continued through the wee hours of the morning. When morning came on November 8th, Kansans discovered that the news, which caused the joyous celebrations, was false and that Germany had not signed the Armistice. The following headline was published in The Topeka Daily Capital on November 8th: 'PEACE REPORT A HOAX—ARMISTICE NOT SIGNED—FALSE PEACE RUMOR TURNS CITY INTO ONE HOWLING MOB: Thousands Jam Streets Yelling, Shooting, Waving Flags on Supposition That War Had Really Ended—Business Houses Are Closed—Employees Dessert Posts to Join Cheering Throng—Festivities Continue Far Into The Night. The celebration that occurred on November 7th became known as the 'False Armistice Day.'
It was reported in the November 14th edition of the Rooks County Record that Stockton took the fake news of the signing of the Armistice very calmly.
Nearly everybody doubted the correctness of the report and was disposed to wait for official confirmation of it before breaking loose. So, no hysterical outbursts were made. The Plainville Times and the Woodston Argus did not report any early celebrations occurring in their communities.
Early celebrations occurred in Smith Center, Kensington, Hays, Ellis, Russell, Morland, and Norton. Several early celebrations got out of hand.
In Smith Center, some people celebrated so hard that they set fire to two buildings on Main Street.
Main Street. At Kensington, some of the people feeling good over the peace news decided that the German church north of Kensington should celebrate, and the minister was called upon to ring the church bell. It was reported that the minister was not given much time to change out of his nightclothes into his ordinary clothes. Sometime afterward, the church was fired and burned to the ground.
The following headline was published in The Topeka Daily Capital on November 11th, 1918: 'ARMISTICE IS SIGNED—WORLD WAR IS OVER—CONFLICT ENDED AT 5:00 A.M. IN UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER—German Envoys Signed Armistice at Midnight. It Is Officially Announced by the State Department in Washington on November 11th. The World War will end this morning at 6:00 Washington time, 11:00 Paris time. The Armistice was signed by the German representatives at midnight. This announcement was made by the State Department at 2:50 o'clock this morning.
Soon after the announcement that the Armistice was officially signed and the war was over, Kansans again cel- ebrated. Kansans celebrated in similar fashion as they had on November 7th. Lessons were learned from the earlier celebration. More thought and planning had gone into the real Armistice Day Celebration on November 11th, 1918.
Details of how Kansans celebrated Armistice Day November 11th, 1918, were referenced in the following newspaper snippets. Here are two from the Rooks County Record: November 14th, 1918— Rooks County Record— Stockton took the first fake news of the signing of the Armistice very calmly.
Nearly everybody doubted the correctness of the report and was disposed to wait for official confirmation of it before breaking loose. So no hysterical outbursts were made, and we had little of the reaction to endure that other communities suffered. In Smith Center the people celebrated so hard that they set fire by accident to two buildings on Main Street which were consumed. At Kensington the crowd set fire to the German Lutheran Church, one of the best in the place, and it was destroyed. There were few towns over the country that held in, and Stockton was one of them. Now that the Kaiser has abdicated in truth, and the firing has actually ceased, we may still keep quiet. Our joy is too deep for such shallow demonstrations.
November 14th, 1918— The Stockton Review— A Few Celebrate Owing to the “Flu Ban '' no celebration was held here Monday night as was being planned to celebrate the good news of the cessation of hostilities overseas. However, a number of businessmen showed their patriotisms by buying up all the fireworks that were in town and took them up near the high school building and shot them off, after which they returned to main street and for a half hour drove up and down the streets with their auto horns tooting, firing off guns and making as much noise as possible. During the night the Kaiser was hung in effigy to the flagpole, the next morning he was taken down and Sheriff Neal tied it on behind his auto and drug it up and down Main Street and then a small crowd gathered in the center of main street and watched it burn.
