'On Fields Far Away'

The story of Benton County in "the war to end all wars" and on the homefront is the subject of a new exhibit opening this weekend at the Rogers Historical Museum. Titled "On Fields Far Away: Our Community During the Great War," it sets out to "explain the causes of the war and place the World War I experiences of Rogers and Benton County in context of those events."

"In a large sense, we are presenting this exhibit to commemorate the sacrifices made by local people during the First World War as we approach the centennial of the U.S. entry into the war," says John Burroughs, director of the Rogers Historical Museum. "It seems that the First World War is often overshadowed by the events that happened later in the 20th century, but that it is significant since many view the war as the transition from the 19th century to the 20th century and because the event brought the United States to the forefront as a world leader.

"Closer to home, the Key Wing of the Rogers Historical Museum is named after a World War I veteran," he adds. "Vera Key served as a nurse during the war, returning home and becoming a community leader. It is important to know this."

Key was born at War Eagle in 1893, graduated from Rogers Academy in 1908 and, in 1911, received her nurse's certificate from the Centenary Hospital Training School in St. Louis. She sailed to France in 1918 with Base Hospital 60 of the Army Nurse Corps -- "taking with her a diary and a Kodak camera," says Burroughs. "Vera well documented her service in France."

The war ended on Nov. 11, 1918, and Key came home in 1920, uninjured. She returned to Rogers and became a private duty nurse for a writer named Tom Morgan, who left her his house and the bulk of his estate when he died. In 1954, she became a founding member of the Benton County Historical Society, and in 1974, she was chairwoman of the first museum commission in charge of starting the Rogers Historical Museum. Thus the Key Wing was named in her honor.

A second Key -- Vera's cousin, Carl -- is also remembered in the exhibit.

"Not long ago we were fortunate to acquire a collection of objects that belonged to [Key]," Burroughs relates. "The collection included letters, buttons, insignia, identification tags and many other documents. They presented a very personal account of the war as we read the letters which discussed training, his family at home, and going overseas and connected them with the faces in the photos included in the collection. It also made the cost of the war clear."

Carl Key was wounded while at the front during a German gas attack, Burroughs explains.

"The attack took place just weeks before the end of the war, and Carl was sent to a field hospital and then home to the government hospital in Hot Springs for recovery. However, Carl died one year later in 1919 and was distinguished as the last man from Benton County to die as a result of the war.

"We interviewed a family member and learned that Carl was brought home to be buried in the Key community east of Rogers where his family lived. His family member told us that Carl's father always wanted someone to stay home while the rest of the family came to town so that Carl wouldn't be alone. I think this makes the personal cost of the war very clear not just in terms of the life that was lost, but also the impact to the family that had to come to terms with the loss and the years of mourning they endured."

NAN What's Up on 01/13/2017