Clyde Toland’s 27-year endeavor to tell about Frederick Funston’s early years is complete.
“Yankee Hero: Frederick Funston, Expedicionario in the Cuban Liberation Army,” is the third and final volume of Toland’s “Becoming Frederick Funston” released this year.
The books are available for purchase at the Allen County Historical Society.
Part 3 tells about the origins of Funston’s military career in 1896 and 1897 while he joined the Cuban Liberation Army as the island nation fought for its independence from Spain.
The basis for the story stems from 20 letters Funston wrote to family members, Toland noted,
The first volume, “American Hero, Kansas Heritage: Frederick Funston’s Early Years 1865-1890,” was released in the spring.
Part 2, “Heat and Ice: Frederick Funston’s Exploration of Death Valley, Alaska, and the British Northwest Territory,” arrived on bookshelves in November.
All three volumes are available at the ACHS museum, next door to the Funston Home, and can also be purchased via online retailers.
Toland expressed a “sense of satisfaction” in seeing his project conclude. “The driving force was to get this knowledge out there,” he said.
He started in 1995, at about the same time Toland was leading efforts to relocate Funston’s boyhood home from a farm site north of town to the west side of Iola’s downtown square.
