Eight Added to Kansas Walk of Honor: Governor Kelly Unveils Honorees at the State Capitol, Including Basketball Inventor Naismith and First Woman Chief Justice McFarland
In Topeka, a city in Shawnee County, Kansas, Governor Laura Kelly announced on October 29 at a ceremony at the Kansas State Capitol that eight prominent individuals have been added to the Kansas Walk of Honor. Members of the Kansas Historical Society and the Capitol Preservation Committee, family members of the honorees, and private donors who funded the plaques attended the ceremony.
The eight new honorees are basketball inventor Dr. James Naismith, civil rights advocate Lucinda Todd, Georgia Neese Clark Gray, the first woman to serve as United States Treasurer, journalist and abolitionist Clarina Nichols, aviation executive Olive Ann Beech, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation tribal chairwoman Minnie Evans, Chief Justice Kay McFarland, the first woman to serve as chief justice of Kansas, and labor rights advocate Mary Skubitz.
Kelly said the honorees have always been an important part of Kansas history: they broke down barriers, challenged injustice, led industries, and opened doors for generations to follow, and their contributions have shaped Kansas and the nation, which is why their names will forever be embedded in the sidewalks around the Statehouse, ensuring their stories live on in perpetuity.
Patrick Zollner, executive director of the Kansas Historical Society, said that over the last fifteen years the Walk of Honor has honored seventeen Kansans from all walks of life who have made a significant impact on the state and the country, and that the society is pleased to include these eight new honorees.
Naismith invented basketball in 1891 and later became the University of Kansas' first head basketball coach, establishing a sport that would reach audiences around the world. Todd was a civil rights advocate and educator who challenged school segregation and was among the families involved in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Supreme Court case.
Gray, a Richland, Kansas, native and Washburn University graduate, became the first woman to serve as United States Treasurer after President Harry S. Truman appointed her in 1949, and her signature appeared on all U.S. currency throughout her tenure until the end of the Truman Administration. Nichols was a journalist, abolitionist, and women's rights advocate whose efforts helped secure constitutional protections for married women's property rights, women's rights in child custody, and equality in public schools during the formation of Kansas.
Beech, a pioneering aviation executive from Waverly, Kansas, built Beech Aircraft into a major manufacturer and became the first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, supplying products for NASA and the United States military. Evans, tribal chairwoman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, defended tribal sovereignty, pursued treaty claims with the Indian Claims Commission, and helped defeat federal efforts to terminate American Indian tribes, including the Potawatomi.
Skubitz was a labor rights advocate who helped lead the 1921 Amazon Army March, in which thousands of women connected to striking coal miners protested unfair labor practices across Kansas coalfields, leading to reforms such as the 8-hour workday, equality, and child labor laws. McFarland, a Kansas judicial pioneer from Coffeyville, became the first woman appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court and the first woman to serve as chief justice; she worked to improve public understanding of the law and supported greater access to Kansas courtrooms by allowing audio, video, and print photography.
Located on the sidewalks surrounding the Kansas Statehouse, the Kansas Walk of Honor recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions at the state and national levels and have meaningful connections to Kansas. Established in 2011, the program is overseen by the Kansas Historical Society, with new honorees selected by the governor.
Source: Announcement of the Kansas Office of the Governor, republished by Ad Astra Radio, October 30, 2026
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于堪萨斯州肖尼县托皮卡市的堪萨斯州议会大厦，堪萨斯荣誉大道即环绕州议会大厦周边的人行道。照片：Elli，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas; the Kansas Walk of Honor runs along the sidewalks surrounding the Statehouse. Photo: Elli, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
