Decatur County Feed Yard Inc. is a 38,000 head commercial feeding facility located near Oberlin, Kansas. This feed yard was incorporated in 1971, and is currently owned by Carol and Warren Weibert. Warren has been President and General Manager since 1977. Decatur County Feed Yard was originally built because northwest Kansas and southwest Nebraska have a surplus of corn and alfalfa, the main ration ingredients at the feed yard. Their location ensures a cost of gain advantage in the High Plains feeding area.

Agritalk Community profile - OBERLIN, Kansas

Oberlin is a rural farming community of just under 2,000 located in the northwest corner of Kansas at the intersection of major U. S. highways 36 and 83.

Decatur County is a thriving, open-spaced area with clean air and friendly people.

In 1880, Oberlin was named the county seat of Decatur County; it was organized in 1879.

Decatur County became a part of the United States by the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803.  Through the Kansas-Nebraska Bill of May 30, 1854, territories that now include the states of Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and parts of Colorado were opened for settlement.

The first expedition to cross the county was Fremont’s in 1843.  Lt. Bryan of the U.S. Army followed this expedition’s trail in 1856 and in 1858; Colonel Sumner crossed the county on his way to suppress a Mormon rebellion in Salt Lake.

Not until the final subdivisions by surveyors in 1872 did Decatur County come into existence. Two years later a small settlement, called Westfield, sprang up on the Sappa Creek. Because of complications within the postal service Westfield was never acknowledged and in 1878 the settlement became known as Oberlin.

The first settlers came to the county in 1873.  Many who first stopped here were from Oberlin, Ohio, from which the county seat got its name.  National and religious groups, including Germans, Bohemians, Swedes, Mennonites and Quakers made early settlements in the county.  Many areas still retain their identity through churches and organizations.

As late as 1875 this territory was a hunter’s paradise with buffalo, deer, antelope, skunk, mink, beaver, coyote and rabbit found in great numbers.  Even today the county is known for its great pheasant and deer hunting.

On September 30, 1878 a group of Northern Cheyenne Indians, led by Chief Dull Knife and Little Wolf passed through the Sappa Valley area killing 40 settlers in Decatur and Rawlins counties.  This marked the last Indian raid on Kansas soil.  Today, a monument stands north of the Oberlin Cemetery in memory of those killed.

Like most rural areas, population in northwest Kansas began to decline after the “Dirty 30s,” a trend aided by the development of highly efficient farm equipment.   Decatur County’s citizenry dwindled from a high of more than 8,800 before the depression to less than 3,500 now.

A boom of sorts occurred in the 1970s when higher commodity prices for corn, wheat and milo and timely rains brought good yields to farmers.   The economic climate on the farm led to a busy main street and the newspaper editor used that positive atmosphere to encourage improvements in the downtown business district.

Working with Kansas State University architectural students some 250 miles away, the class came up with drawings for new facades on the aging retail and professional businesses in the two-block business district.  Making the community unique among our neighbors were the overhead metal canopies with globe lights.  Installing the canopies over the main downtown block seemed to mold those going businesses together in appearance and real partnership.  At the north end of main street stands an eight-foot Pioneer Family Statue created by artist Pete Felton.

 Adding to the proactive community stance was another suggestion to turn the local chamber into a countywide organization bringing in members from two additional communities in the northeast and southeast corners of the 30 x 30-mile boundary that makes up Decatur County.

In 1972, local farmers and businessmen joined forces by investing their own funds to start a 14,000 head cattle feeding operation some six miles north of Oberlin along U.S. 83 highway.  That led to a similar project some 16 miles south of town where a small dairy operation was built with similar private investments by area residents. Today, the feed yard has doubled its capacity but the dairy facility went bankrupt when prices bottomed out.

In this time frame the community offered a variety of job opportunities including a small trailer manufacturer, Pepsi Bottling Co. and custom van conversion service at the same time that oil exploration was at its height all across Kansas.  Area work crews were dispatched from the Halliburton Oil Co. campsite in Oberlin. A local well pulling service and Koch Oil Industries were also working in the area, bringing a combined payroll of more than 100 employees.

            Little did the countywide chamber know one of their most prestigious projects at the time would be the proposal for a county-owned carnival that operates annually during the county fair.  From the single purchase of a Ferris Wheel in 1972, the home-grown carnival has grown in 30-plus years to include 28 rides and game concessions including a carousel Merry-go-round. The community and its unique carnival has been chronicled on CNN and this past summer was featured in National Geographic magazine.

            Hundreds of volunteers make up the amusement authority, which operates the 25-cent rides, drawing thousands of visitors during the week and bringing in more than $50,000. Much of the income is used for upkeep of the operation with a small percentage going to worthy community projects each year.

            When the oil boom went bust many jobs were lost and employees and their families left the community.  That situation led to several more community-investment projects including a mini-bus factory followed by a fishing boat manufacturing business, both of which failed to find a large enough market to survive.  By the early 90s Oberlin had lost three new car dealerships, and now has one satellite John Deere equipment dealer along with an independent ag dealership.

            Though the community has braved many hardships, there was some good news for Oberlin in 1991 when a widow made a $1 million bequest to the city of Oberlin. The bequest was to be used for a community center with one requirement –it must include a theater for the performing arts.  In order to build the facility, the city had to match the amount of this bequest within a limited time frame.  A one-of-a-kind facility in this part of the state, The Gateway observed its tenth anniversary last year and the 10,000 square-foot arena is busy with farm and equipment shows, garden and home shows, family reunions and wedding receptions.  Recreational activities include physical education classes for the Sappa Valley Youth Ranch located just east of town, which houses and cares for 30 plus boys who have had scrapes with the law.

Named for the benefactor, Morgan Theater gets accolades from professional performers for its fine acoustics.  The theater is the prime reason for a full arts and humanities calendar of events each fall and winter and it works out well in the spring for young piano students or senior high vocalists. It’s home to the junior-senior high prom activities each May.

In 1999, a new million dollar plus truck plaza was opened by a local tire store owner and a new retirement center with 12 units was undergoing construction so that our senior citizens would have options in their hometown when they were ready to leave their residences.  Another drawing card for seniors and youth is the nine-hole grass green golf course one mile east of town.  Again, local volunteers joined forces to both design and construct the course along winding Sappa Creek. To draw more helpers for the project a shooting range was positioned far enough away to allow for another form of recreation.

Within the last year there have been nine Oberlin commercial properties change hands.  Six local businesses have expanded to provide services and products that will enable our residents to shop locally rather than traveling to a larger neighboring community with a Wal-Mart.

More than a dozen antique stores owners in and around town banded together this past year to promote Oberlin as the antique crossroads of America.  Their advertising efforts are already paying off and their friendly store-owner reputations are bringing people off the main highways, tempting passersby to at least browse the variety of offerings.

The LandMark Inn, a unique bed and breakfast opened in the mid-90s, after a complete renovation of the former Bank of Oberlin built in 1886. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses the Victorian-themed Teller Room Restaurant and the Oberlin Mercantile Co. gift shop.  The restaurant draws many women’s groups and organizations from a 100-mile radius and ties in well with The Dresser, a cooperatively-owned women’s clothing store now in its 12^th year of operation.  The Dresser was formed when some 70 women from the immediate area invested their own savings in another community project in order to have the capital to start a downtown clothing store. The store offers both sporty and casual business attire and the daily operation is overseen by a working board of directors.

            Currently our Economic Development Board is looking to manufacture solar water pumps, start a commercial truck driving school as a satellite through Wichita Area Technical College and assist our two cabinet manufacturing companies in expanding their product lines.

            The latest countywide project is the replacement of the 50-year old city swimming pool.  Private donations again lead the pack but grant options and other funding proposals are under investigation to bring this huge project to fruition.

            Oberlin has an excellent health care delivery system with three family practice physicians and a physician assistant in the local medical clinic.  The county-owned hospital is a non-profit Critical Access Hospital that operates independently and has an attached Long Term Care unit with 34 beds.  Two area surgeons are on call for emergencies but also have a weekly schedule for handling routine procedures.  Specialists come from as far as Denver, four hours west,  or as close as Hays Medical Center, 115 miles down the road.

            The population decline has led to a loss of school enrollment figures and decreased state aid.  Our biggest employers include the hospital and nursing homes, feed yard, local ag co-op, youth ranch, school, city and county government.

            Local citizens are also proud of the community-owned theater, which is open weekends and manned by youth and adult volunteers.  Decatur Community High School sends a laudable 90 percent of its graduating class on to further their education and annually gives out more than $100,000 in scholarships.

            While there are fewer Decatur Countians to volunteer they are still determined as were their forefathers to think progressively, change with the times and survive hardships that befall all small rural communities.