Van Horn JROTC Participates in Historic Nicodemus Homecoming Celebration

Continuing a Van Horn High School JROTC tradition, members of the cadet Color Guard presented the colors during the 137th Nicodemus (Kan.) Homecoming Emancipation Celebration.  Founded by African-Americans from Kentucky shortly after the end of the Civil War and envisioned as a ‘black oasis’ for those in search of personal freedoms and opportunities, Nicodemus is the only remaining all-black town west of the Mississippi River.

Van Horn JROTC Color Guard Commander Destany Williamson and five other cadets- Brianna Durham, Shea Martinez, David Knouse, Travis Reiley and Jacob Martinez- made the trip. This was the fifth straight year the Van Horn cadets, led by 1st Sgt. Allen Roberson, have visited the historic Kansas site, located about 50 miles northwest of Hays.  It was a tremendous learning experience.

“Those first settlers took what they learned as slaves and used it to establish a life of freedom and opportunity for themselves,” Williamson said. “That is what is happening to us.

“In high school, we are taught how to make decisions, analyze issues and communicate effectively. Once we graduate, we must take those things we learned to find our own freedom and explore our own opportunities.”

Cadets said talking to people in Nicodemus, many of them descendants of the original settlers, was fascinating. Van Horn JROTC members found them to be welcoming and appreciative. “They just wanted to talk to us, learn about us and our journey to Nicodemus and share their own stories,” Knouse said.

Following their visit to Nicodemus and the Nicodemus National Historic Site, the cadets toured the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kan.