The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-08-05
KANSAS WOMAN is
QUEEN OF WHEAT
Her Income This Year Equals
That of President
Coolidge.

DOOGE I'll I, Kan, aug. o.
The great wheat country of south
western Kansas is an empire in it.
self and 1t has a real empress in the
person of Mrs. Ida Watkins,
wheat queen" of Kansas and
probably of all the world.
A decade ago Mrs. Watkins had
never set foot on a wheat field. Now,
at So she has a. farm OF 1850 acres
in Haskell County. The farm this
year will yield her slightly more
than $4,000 bushels. which will mean
about $75.000-an amount equal to
President Coolidge's salary.
And she's going to keep on buy
ing more land!
Mrs. Watkins reminds you just a
little of Harry Leon Wilson's ma
Pettinglll''-only she farms on a
much greater scale than did the
energetic lady of the Red Gap.
Ran Cattle Ranch
!, Born in NodaFay Countyf Mo.
she spent her childhood near Wich-
tia. Kan, and in the early '90s mar
ried Joel Watkins. who took her to
Oklahoma where he was homestead.
ing. His cattle ranch prospered, and
she took an active interest in it, so
that when he died, in 1922. she was
well able to operate it herself.
Even in those days she liked to
do things on big scale. She rode
her pony over the range daily, and
it was not long before they were call
ing her the cattle queen of Okla
homa Her ranch grew to $500
acres; her herds of cattle were huge.
Started Ten Years Ago
About ten years ago she bought
her first bit of land in Kansas. She
bought it for speculative purposes,
never intending to farm it. But in
1920 she put in 200 acres of wheat.
That fall she sold the crop for 1884,
and that started her thinking. The
next year she planted wheat on the
rest of her property and began buy
ing more.
She paid $1,000 for two quarter.
sections of land, and In the first year
drew $S.400 worth Of wheat from
them. Another 2S0-acre stretch she
bought has yielded $1,000 worth of
wheat in two years. She bought still
another half section for $50 AM acre
and is now refusing to sell 1t for
twice that price.
Is it any wonder that Mrs. Wat
kins is enthusiastic about the posi-
bilities of the Kansas wheat belt9
Busy on Sunday. Too
1t was on a Sunday in the midst
of the harvest season that this cor
respondent visited her modest four
room cottage on the edge of the town
of Sublette, Kas. She was putting
in her day of rest in a<spirited effort
to get caught up on her household
duties. sorely neglected because of
the demands the harvest had made
on her. !
You know, when 1t comes time
to harvest a person can't do much
else" she explained. 1--WE must work
just the same on Sundays. whether
we believe in 1t or not. This is the
only day I have any time to do
anything about the house."
Thousands of Bushels
In the yard in front of her home
were long ricks containing thou
sands Of bushels of thrashed wheat.
awaiting shipment. On some vacant
lots across the road were many more
thousands. Neither she nor her 80
year-old son, Ed Watkins. knew just
how many, The harvest had kept
them SO busy they had not had time
to check up.
Four combination harvester
thrashers have been going over her
fields, with eight motor trucks kept
busy carrying the grain away. Mrs.
Watkins usually rides about the
huge 'tield in a neat closed car, al.
though OCCASIONALLY she takes a turn
on tractor or combine.
"I'll certainly be glad when it's
all over and we can take sour vaca,
tion." she said, trace Of fatigue in
her eyes But her face frightened
as she discussed plans for a two.
months trip to the East, with visit
to the Sesquicentennial Exposition
at Philadelphia and an extended stop
in New York, where we can see
some good-shows once more" But
IL ~ L
fore she can leave her farm.