The Cost of Conscience: One Mennonite Family’s Experience

Next date: Sunday, May 24, 2026 | 03:00 PM to 04:00 PM

When the United States entered World War I and instituted a military draft, and federal and state officialdom instituted heavy pressure to support the war effort, the homes, lives, and safety of members of the pacifist Mennonite communities in central Kansas, and of one family in particular, were put in extreme danger. This is the story of how one family coped when their Constitutional rights were violated at every turn.

Sara Judge Keckeisen grew up in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Wisconsin. She has a bachelor’s degree in history and library science from the University of Wisconsin: Eau Claire and a Master’s in Library Science from the University of Denver. She worked at the Kansas State Historical Society as a reference librarian, family history librarian, and cataloger for thirty years, retiring in 2019. She is the author of numerous articles on Kansas history and archeology and five family history books (the sixth one is in the works), including a history of the Koop family of western Oklahoma, singer John Denver’s Mennonite ancestors. Her husband, Bob Keckeisen, was the director of the Kansas Museum of History for over 30 years until his retirement. Sara is an avid walker, traveler, reader, and genealogist though most of her and Bob’s time currently is taken up taking care of their two grandchildren, Ben and Bea. They live in Topeka.