Slots in Zarah?
Starrwood Park (also spelled Starwood) was a popular amusement spot located at Highway 10 and Barker Road in Zarah. During the 1920s, the attraction also included slot machines. A local resident Mr. Starr, renamed an area once known as “Buckeye Grove.” The Johnson County Democrat announced the name change in 1922, citing its appropriateness, as Mr. Starr has “eradicated” all the buckeye. The article referenced the intended use of the park: “He [Mr. Starr] has constructed an archway over the east entrance bearing the new name, ‘“Starrwood” tourist camp. We understand he is anticipating constructing a few “Dutch ovens.”’
Starrwood Park opened shortly after the closing of Hocker Grove Park and the interurban railroad of the same name. Live orchestral music could be heard on Saturday and Sunday nights. The park featured an open air dance floor, where visitors could enjoy the latest music for a nickel. Starwood attracted crowds through the 1930s, when it was abandoned. The Knights of Columbus purchased the site and continue to use it as a park.
Baseball games were another popular form of outdoor entertainment. The game really caught on in Kansas after 1909, when the state Supreme Court ruled that Sunday games did not interfere with a state law outlawing “horse racing, cock fighting, or playing cards, or any game…” Nearly every town in Kansas – big and small – had a baseball team by the 1920. The Zarah Ball Club played every Sunday in season throughout the 1920s and 1930s, often at Starrwood Park. In 1923, Johnson County formed its own league to counteract the practice of paying big-name players to clinch a crucial game. The Johnson County Baseball League included 8 towns: Olathe, DeSoto, Wellsville, Edgerton, Merriam, Overland Park, Shawnee, and Lenexa. Only local residents could play on a league team, and player salaries were limited to the pitcher ($10) and catcher ($5).
--ALBUM vol. 12, no. 2 (spring 1999)