Re: News from Oregon-California Trails Association

[Dee Owens]

KANZA CHAPTER CHARTER MEMBER KEN MARTIN

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE

 

OCTA HQ was informed today that Ken Martin died on Thursday, March 22 in Marysville, Kansas. Ken was a long-time member of OCTA, including a charter member of our KANZA Chapter and an organizer of the 2003 Manhattan, Kansas OCTA convention. He was heavily involved in the production of OCTA's film Across the Kansas Prairie in the early 2000s and served as president of the KANZA Chapter. Ken was also a 28-year member of our sister organization, the National Pony Express Association, and was heavily involved in their annual re-ride, especially their 150th anniversary re-ride in 2010. He traversed the entire Pony Express National Historic Trail that summer and appears in the new documentary Spirit of the Pony Express. According to C.J. LongHammer, director of Spirit of the Pony Express, "the film exists only because of a small handful of dedicated people, (and) Ken deserves a huge amount of credit." His wife Arleta and daughter Alicia are also heavily involved in OCTA, and his grandchildren have been mainstays at numerous OCTA events throughout the years. His funeral will be on Monday, March 26 at 10 AM at St. Gregory's Catholic Church in Marysville. Ken's love and stewardship of the trails will most certainly be missed