Viewer’s Guide 2001

Topeka, KS

Viewer’s Guide 2001

Produced by KTWU, this television series has been made possible thanks to financial assistance from the Kansas Humanities Council, AAA of Kansas, Footprints of Lawrence; Blanche Bryden Foundation; the Southwestern Bell Foundation, and from the Friends of KTWU.

Written and edited by Amanda Shaw, Scott Williams and Dave Kendall

(c) 2001 KTWU/Channel 11, Topeka, Kansas

Table of Contents Page number

Introduction ...... 1

Program #1401 - Big Springs to the Bowersock Dam

The Victory Highway: KC Star Columnist Jim Fisher on U.S. Highway 40 . . .6 Kansas Springs: Statewide Kansas Geological Survey Project, Big Springs . .6 The Bowersock Dam: Reflections on an Industrial Revolution, Lawrence . . . .7

Program #1402 - Lawrence to Atchison

Circle S Ranch: A Family’s Cattle Ranch Becomes a Bed & Breakfast ...... 9 First City of Kansas: Historic Wayside Tours of Leavenworth ...... 9 The Atchison Trolley: A Tour of the Historic Homes of the Community . . . . .10

Program #1403 - Horton to Blue Rapids

The Golden Eagle: Gaming Casinos on Kansas Indian Reservations ...... 12 Clean Water Farms: Improving Water Quality on Kansas Farms ...... 12 County Fairs: The Marshall County Fair in Blue Rapids ...... 13

Program #1404 - Marshall County to Junction City

The WPA: A Survey of Work Projects Administration Sites in Kansas ...... 15 The Kansas Landscape Arboretum: An Outing with Gus van der Hoeven . . .15 The Pennell Collection: Historical Photographs of Junction City ...... 16

Program #1405 - Chapman to Salina

Cars & Drivers: The New Kansas Auto Racing Museum, Chapman ...... 18 Great Plains Theatre Festival: A Professional Theater Company, Abilene . . .18 Blue Heaven Studios: Blues Masters at the Crossroads, Salina ...... 19

Program #1406 - Hedville to Ellsworth

Rolling Hills Refuge: Charlie Walker's Animal Park, Saline County ...... 21 The Brookville Hotel: A Community Institution Leaves Town ...... 21 C.O.W.B.O.Y. Culture: Jim Gray & Drover's Mercantile, Ellsworth ...... 22

Program #1407 - Wilson to Ellis

The Midland Hotel: A Community Preservation Project in Wilson ...... 24 Grassroots Art Center: The Great Post Rock Limestone Wall ...... 24 Abandoned Farmsteads: "Monuments to the Past" Project ...... 25

ii Page number Program #1408 - Fort Hays to Great Bend

Fort Hays: Living History at “Christmas Past” ...... 27 Victoria's Colonists: Tracing the Roots of a Local Ranching Family ...... 27 Lustron Homes: Prefabricated All-Metal Houses, Great Bend ...... 28

Program #1409 - Larned to Pratt

Scouting in Kansas: Central States Scout Museum, Larned ...... 30 The Biggest Well: Retrieving a Time Capsule, Greensburg ...... 30 Wildlife Photographers: Images from Wildlife and Parks, Pratt ...... 31

Program #1410 - Isabel to Wellington

Along Route 42: Exploring Rural Communities with Mil Penner ...... 33 Cotton in Kansas: Harvest Time at a New Cotton Gin, Anthony ...... 33 Kansas Wheat Festival: Celebrating the Dominant Grain, Wellington ...... 34

Program #1411 - Ark City to Sedan

Bridges of Cowley County: A Guided Tour of Historic Stone Bridges ...... 36 Cedar Vale & the Big Caney River ...... 36 Weary Willie: The Emmett Kelly Museum, Sedan ...... 37

Program #1412 - Caney to Toronto

Opothle Yahola: A Memorial Trail Recalls an Indian Exodus ...... 39 Neewollah: A Fall Festival in Independence ...... 39 The Cross Timbers: An Endangered Forest in the Chautauqua Hills ...... 40

Program #1413 - Yates Center to Topeka

Courthouse Squares: National Historic District, Yates Center ...... 42 The Music Box: Saturday Night Live in Burlington ...... 42 The Kansas Turnpike: Interstate Highways & Our Sense of Place ...... 43

Related Information ...... 45

Cover Photo: Along our blue highway tour, an unpaved road provides a scenic view east of Salina off Old 40 Highway.

iii The producers of Sunflower Journeys: (from left) Bill Shaffer, Dave Kendall, Jim Kelly, Scott Williams and Amanda Shaw Introduction

In February of 2001, the 14th season of ways. He used the phrase “blue highways” to Sunflower Journeys hit the air across describe these roads, which highway maps Kansas. Broadcast on all public television often depict with this color. stations in the state and circulated through numerous schools, resource centers and This approach proved to be so popular with libraries (see the list at the back of this our viewers that we decided to take a similar guide), these programs focus on various journey in our 2001 season. Kansas City aspects of life in the Sunflower State. Star columnist Jim Fisher, who regularly trav- els such secondary roads as he writes about In 1999, we took a “blue highways” tour of small towns and rural residents, helps us Kansas as we followed a meandering route kick off the first program as he reflects upon of back roads to circumnavigate the state. the experience of traveling the rural high- We borrowed this theme from the Missouri ways of Kansas. author William Least Heat-Moon, who wrote about his personal odyssey as he traveled Driving east from Topeka on US Highway 40, around the United States on a backroads we come to the town of Big Springs. Noting tour that avoided interstates and major high- that the springs that provided the town with 1 Sunflower Journeys’ 2001 Two-Lane TourRoute its name have been greatly altered by the Moving on to Marshall County in north cen- construction of an interstate highway, we set tral Kansas, we learn about the Clean Water out with members of the Kansas Geological Farms project of the Kansas Rural Center Survey to explore the fate of other springs in and join a parade through the small town of the state. On down the road in Lawrence, Blue Rapids as we reflect upon the impor- we stop to examine the dam that spans the tance of clean water and county fairs to rural Kansas River and learn how it contributed to areas such as this. We also consider how the industrialization of the city. the WPA left its imprint on this region - and the city of Marysville, in particular — as we Heading up through the northeastern corner take a look at some of the skillfully crafted of Kansas, we explore hidden places like public facilities that were constructed here in Circle S Ranch, a bed-and-breakfast inn the 1930s. located in the wooded hills north of Lawrence and tour a couple of historic Missouri River Heading south, we pass through the Kansas towns. At a riverside park in Leavenworth, Landscape Arboretum, where Gus van der we attend the dedication of newly installed Hoeven, an extension horticulturalist for wayside historical markers, and in Atchison Kansas State University, surveys the diverse we ride along on a trolley tour of historic plant species that add texture to our rural vis- homes. tas.

Continuing on across the undulating terrain In Junction City, we stop at the local histori- of northeastern Kansas, we pass through the cal society, where a book signing ceremony Kickapoo Nation, where we visit the Golden celebrates the publication of a new book fea- Eagle Casino and talk with tribal members turing an impressive collection of historic about the local impact of casino gaming. photographs from the collection of Joseph J. Among the more visible benefits they point Pennell. Then we turn west on a two-lane out to us are improved roadways, which are blacktop that parallels Interstate 70. so important to this far-flung community - a Highway 40 once followed this route, but collection of housing clusters scattered out now it’s a county road that primarily services across the rolling hills. local traffic.

2 Passing through Chapman, we stop at the vives in this former cattle town, which hosts new Kansas Auto Racing Museum on the annual gatherings of “yahoos” who kick up a edge of town before moving on to Abilene, storm on main street and keep their vision of where we see how and why the popular the cowboy alive. restaurant called the Brookville Hotel relocat- ed here. Also in Abilene, we meet a couple While Ellsworth affirms its cowtown history, a of energetic actors who moved here from few miles up the road the small town of New York City to establish a professional Wilson celebrates its ethnic heritage, which theater company in a small, remodeled takes center stage each summer during its church. annual Czech Festival. As we discover, the festival is not the only activity that demon- On down the road in Salina, we see how a strates the active community spirit here. church in the heart of this city has been con- Local citizens have embarked upon an ambi- verted into a recording studio by a man from tious project to renovate a large, long- Louisiana who came here to get a fresh start neglected limestone building that once on life. Blue Heaven Studio has attracted served as the showcase hotel for the town. national attention for an annual music festi- val that brings in veteran blues musicians To the north of Wilson in another small town, from across the nation. a project demonstrating a sense of regional community is underway. At the Grassroots Driving west from Salina, we’ve crossed the Arts Center in Lucas (also home to S.P. north-south highway (US 81) that’s widely Dinsmore’s “Garden of Eden”), artisans from considered to be the unofficial dividing line this region of the state have been sculpting between eastern and western Kansas. The “The Great Post Rock Limestone Wall.” The changing vegetation reflects declining levels center’s director, Rosslyn Schultz, describes of precipitation and the land becomes less how the project honors the stoneworking tra- densely populated as we move into the ditions associated with this area. Smoky Hills. Many of the stone farmhouses and barns Not far outside of Salina, Rolling Hills Refuge that once dotted the landscape in this part of sprawls across 500 acres of mid-grass the state have been deserted or destroyed. prairie. As we tour the refuge and encounter In the middle of a remote pasture in Ellis some of the “exotic” animals that live here, C o u n t y, retired farmer Raymond Haneke we learn how this private zoological park has leads us to the remnants of his boyhood become a successful conservation center home and the stone structures that sur- dedicated to the preservation and propaga- rounded it. As we explore this abandoned tion of rare and endangered species. farmstead, Methodist minister Lew Van Der Wege and his sister, Connie Bagot, tell us Farther west along old Highway 40 (now about their quest to photographically docu- Kansas Highway 140), we reflect upon the ment such sites. fate of a different sort of endangered species - the American cowboy. At Drover’s The state of Kansas does its part to docu- Mercantile in Ellsworth, proprietor Jim Gray ment and preserve historic sites such as Fort describes the cowboy culture that still sur- Hays, where we attend a special event

3 depicting how Christmas was observed in While Kansans remain proud of their image the 19th century and learn about the history as “the wheat state,” as we observe when we of the fort. visit the Kansas Wheat Festival in Wellington, farmers are also exploring vari- Moving east from Hays, we discover that the ous alternative crops. A farmers cooperative town of Victoria, well-known as the home of near Anthony recently opened a cotton gin to the Cathedral of the Plains and its Volga- provide local farmers with an outlet for their German congregation, also has a fascinating crop, which we learn more about as we join connection to an English ranching heritage. the cotton harvest in progress. Descendants of Alexander Philip tell us about the people who brought the first Black On the final leg of our journey, we take a Angus cattle to America. guided tour of the stone bridges of Cowley County, explore the small town of Cedar Vale Heading south toward Great Bend, we learn and the Caney River, visit the Emmett Kelly about prefabricated metal houses called Museum in Sedan, learn about a Native Lustron Homes, which gained some popular- American exodus through an area called the ity following World War II. We discover how a Cross Timbers, attend the Neewollah local distributor introduced them to central Festival in Independence, stop at the historic Kansas and how the Lustron Corporation courthouse square in Yates Center and meet lost its footing in the post-war economy. a talented performer who entertains in Burlington. In Larned, we stop at the Central States Scouting Museum and reflect upon the histo- As our season’s journey ends, we leave the ry of scouting in Kansas. Then, at the two-lane blacktops behind as we enter the world’s largest hand-dug well in Greensburg, Kansas Turnpike near Admire and cruise we witness the opening of a time capsule back to our starting point in Topeka. This while learning about the construction of the gives us a chance to reflect upon the funda- well and watching divers involved in cleaning mental changes that have taken place as our and maintenance activities. society has moved from two-lanes to toll roads and superhighways. Passing through Pratt, we note that the headquarters for the Kansas Department of We hope you’ll enjoy these programs and Wildlife and Parks is located in this commu- that you’ll take the time to get out and nity. We meet a couple of the skilled pho- explore the back roads of our scenic and sto- tographers who work for this state agency ried state. and see how they capture their striking images of wildlife. Dave Kendall Executive Producer Motoring across a nondescript segment of a rural highway southeast of Pratt, we are joined by Mil Penner, the author of several Kansas guidebooks. He shows us what we can discover if we take the time to stop and converse with local residents about their communities and the people who have lived there.

4 Acknowledgements

There are several notable changes in the 2001 season. In the underwriting department, AAA of Kansas hopped on board for our two-lane tour. We appreciate their support, as we have appreciated the on-going support of the Kansas Humanities Council, Footprints of Lawrence, the Blanche Bryden Foundation, the Southwestern Bell Foundation, and the Friends of KTWU. Once again, we thank Goetsch-Irvine Chrysler-Plymouth-Subaru of Manhattan for providing transportation for this year’s journeys.

Series advisors Jennie Chinn, director of education/outreach at the Kansas State Historical Society, and Tom Averill, English professor and writer-in-residence, at Washburn University, continue assisting in the planning stages of production. In addition, our humanities consul- tants provide much of the depth and background research of many for our segments, and our thanks go out to those individuals as well.

Dave Kendall and Amanda Shaw preview a script Scott Williams on location in Cowley County

Other changes in the 2001 season include Dave Kendall’s move to the position of executive producer of the series. Scott Williams, series producer, assembled the show this year in our Media 100 non-linear suite - a first for the program. This gave us new capabilities in caption- ing our participants by allowing animated titles. Look for more implementation of these sorts of features in the coming season. We were pleased to welcome Amanda Shaw to the team in the summer of 2000. She was born and raised in Ninnekah, Oklahoma, and is a graduate of the University of Kansas. Amanda fills the position of associate producer for “Sunflower Journeys” and joins Dave Kendall as the show’s co-host.

5 Program #1401 - Big Springs to the Bowersock Dam

The Victory Highway centrated and convenient. But Fisher believes this development often means trav- During the early 1920s, Kansas had more elers cross the state without really seeing public roadways than any other state in the what it has to offer. He suggests true sight- union except Texas (today, it's ranked seers get off the beaten path. "I'd say what fourth). End-to-end, Kansas roads could people would learn by going the back roads have circled the equator nearly four-and-a- instead of going on the interstate," says half times. One of these roads, Highway 40, Fisher, "they're going to meet some people was originally named "The Victory Highway" and they are going to see some things that in remembrance of World War I veterans. are not homogenous." Then in 1925, the newly established Joint Board of Interstate Highways created a sys- Kansas Springs tem of clearly marked U.S. roads. "The Victory Highway" became U.S. Highway 40. In 1996, the Kansas Geological Survey began an extensive inventory of the state's Jim Fisher is an essayist for springs. Once the inventory is complete, the the Kansas City Star and fre- project will have documented the location quent contributor to The News and condition of more than 200 springs. Hour with Jim Lehrer. He "That's [the documentation] important to remembers traveling Highway have today, and I think it's 40 as a child, and still prefers going to be important informa- it to the Interstates. "Forty tion to have 50 to 100 years Jim Fisher gets kind of short shrift down the road," says Rex because everybody thinks US 66 is the so- Buchanan, associate director called mother road," he says, "But 40 was at the survey. "Water issues are always going to be crucial the highway that went from Kansas City to Rex Buchanan Denver, and actually it goes from Atlantic in Kansas." City to San Francisco." Located between Topeka and Lawrence, Big With the completion of Interstate 70 in 1970, Springs, Kansas, was once an important travel through Kansas became more con- campground along the Oregon Trail. The site offered sheltered valleys, plenty of fire- wood, and perhaps most importantly, an ample supply of fresh water, which flowed from nearby springs. The importance of springs along the American frontier can prob- ably be gauged by the hundreds of commu- nities, such as Big Springs, that were named after them. And to a certain extent, springs determined the routes of pioneer trails and the locations of both farmsteads and towns.

Highway 40 was once known as the Victory Highway

6 The city fathers considered several schemes to create power for industry. A man by the name of Orlando Darling proposed a dam across the Kansas River to harness the power of falling water, and the city backed the project. All went well until chunks of ice destroyed the dam in 1873. J.D. Bowersock entered the picture to take over the dam, as his father-in-law owned a financial stake in the original enterprise. Bowersock's efforts turned the project around, and he later inher- ited the facility.

Big Springs was once a stop on the Oregon Trail "I think he's one of the main leaders of the effort in the late In addition to being historically significant, 19th century to make springs are an important component of the Lawrence a manufacturing Kansas landscape and have tremendous c i t y, and the dam was potential as a source of clean water. Most absolutely crucial to that -- the springs in Kansas are classified as "contact power from the dam," says springs." Precipitation moves down through Dale Nimz, an assistant Dale Nimz porous layers of soil and rock until it comes instructor of history at the University of into contact with a non-porous layer such as Kansas. The dam powered the Douglas shale. At that point, the water moves lateral- County Mills, which processed grain, wheat ly until it finds a place where it can reach the surface. Springs are found all over Kansas, but they are particularly abundant in the Flint Hills region of the state. The Bowersock Dam

In the 1800s, the town of Lawrence had great visions of becoming a manufacturing city. To begin this dream, a source of energy had to be secured. "Lawrence in the 1860s grew to a size comparable to Kansas City. We were vying with Kansas City for com- mercial dominance of the plains," says Stephen Hill, The Bowersock Dam and Power Company owner of the Bowersock Dam and corn from local farmers. "The other and Power Company. T h e major manufacturing plant that used power price of energy in Lawrence from the dam was the Consolidated Barbed had skyrocketed and driven Wire Company. Between about 1888 and local industries to towns like 1899, (it) was the largest employer in St. Joseph or Kansas City. Stephen Hill

7 Lawrence," Dale says. The original design of Douglas County Historical Society the structure transferred motive power to not Watkins Community Museum only the riverside factories, but the down- 1047 Massachusetts St. town area as well through above-ground Lawrence, KS 66044-2923 cables. Later the force of the flowing water (785) 841-4109 was converted to electricity, powering 2,000 nearby homes in the 1920s as it continues to do today. Additional Info

Rex Buchanan Public Outreach Kansas Geological Survey 1930 Constant Ave. University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66047-3726 (785) 864-3965

Jim Fisher c/o The Kansas City Star 1729 Grand Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64108

Schirmer, Sherry Lamb and Theodore A. Wilson. Milestones: A History of the Kansas Highway Commission, and the Department of Transportation. Topeka, KS: Kansas Department of Transportation, 1986.

The Bowersock Mills & Power Company P.O. Box 66 Lawrence, KS 66044 (785) 843-1385

Joseph J. Pennell Collection Kansas Collection Spencer Research Library University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045 (785) 864-4274 web: www.ku.edu/~spencer/

8 Program #1402 - Lawrence to Atchison

Circle S Ranch For Mary Stevenson, the change from herd- ing cattle to hosting guests took some getting Mary Stevenson is the third used to. But she says it was worth the generation of her family to live adjustment if it means she can retain owner- and work on the 1,200-acre ship of her family's ranch. She also enjoys Circle S Ranch just north of sharing her love of the land with her guests. Lawrence. Her family home- "We all need a little space like this," she steaded the land in the 1860s. says. "And I think if we can show people, Although ranching is her her- then they can get kind of involved in it and it Mary Stevenson itage, Mary realized a few kind of becomes a little bit a part of them, years ago that in order to keep the ranch, too--because if you get married here or she needed to make a change. A friend sug- spend your anniversary night here, it does gested she take advantage of the ranch's become important to you." serene beauty and open her gates to the public. In May of 1998, she opened the Circle S Guest Ranch and Country Inn. First City of Kansas

One Saturday morning in June, 2000, the city of Leavenworth staged a riverside cere- mony to formally dedicate its new self-guid- ed tour. The tour consists of a series of speaking wayside markers positioned along a route, where with the push of a button, vis- itors can listen to the history of Kansas' first city. By using the kiosks, visitors can learn the city's history and about all the famous characters who lived or moved through Leavenworth while it was a gateway to the West. Guests enjoy the porch at the Circle S Ranch

Now, instead of spending her days working cattle, Mary works mainly in and around the 11,000-square-foot country inn. The 12-bed- room inn is built to resemble a huge, weath- ered barn. It even has an adjacent silo with a hot tub at its base. The staff at Circle S Ranch hosts weddings, corporate retreats and family reunions, as well as individual couples looking for a relaxing weekend in the country. Big country breakfasts are standard for all overnight guests, and dinners are also an option. Kiosks tell the history of Leavenworth

9 A museum administrator with the local historical society, Mark Bureman assisted with the implementation of this pro- ject, which he refers to as a form of "historical tourism." "Primarily, it is an attempt to Mark Bureman bring the past to life," he says, "by identifying it with the people, places and things that are associated with everyday life in the past. We want to bring that back."

The tour features two versions--one for dri- Mansions along the Trolley tour of Atchison ving and one for visitors who prefer to walk. There are 13 concentrated stations on the Among the many historic homes on the tour walking tour and six on the driving tour. "So is the Muchnic Mansion and Art Gallery, the there are just all sorts of Glick Mansion Bed and Breakfast, the Evah things to see and do, and Cray Historic Home and Museum and the people get a big kick out of Amelia Earhart Birthplace and Museum. visiting them," says Kelvin Another stop on the tour is the Atchison C r o w, a local historian County Historical Society Museum and Rail involved with the tour. "The Museum featuring artifacts from the era of most common comment is 'I the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. just never knew all this was Kelvin Crow The trolley tour begins and ends at this site. here.'" The town markets itself as a day-trip desti- The Atchison Trolley nation from bigger cities like Topeka and Kansas City, encouraging visitors to enjoy Visitors to Atchison may find the most con- the scenic small-town atmosphere. "We venient way to see the city is by taking a trol- have a lot going on here in ley tour. The 55-minute trolley ride covers Atchison," says Kristi Falk, a seven miles and takes visitors to the muse- representative of the Atchison ums and grand old homes of the historic rail- Chamber of Commerce. road and riverboat city. "I like very much the "New businesses are coming sense of history that you get in Atchison," in every day, such as bed and says Pete Shortridge, professor of cultural breakfasts and lots of quaint Kristi Falk geography at the University of little shops." Kansas. "You walk along the streets, for example, one of them is called Kearney, one of them Laramie, Utah, Santa Fe. I mean, you can sort of see that past, or feel it." Pete Shortridge

10 Additional Info Glick Mansion (B&B) 503 N. 2nd Mary Stevenson Atchison, KS 66002 Circle S Ranch & Country Inn (913) 367-9110 3325 Circle S Lane Lawrence, KS 66044 Atchison Rail Museum (785) 843-4124 or 1-800-625-2839 200 S. 10th web: www.CircleSRanch.com Atchison, KS 66002 (913) 367-6238 Leavenworth Convention & Visitor's Bureau P.O. Box 44 Leavenworth, KS 66048 1-800-844-4114 email: [email protected] web: www.lvks.org/wayside.html

Kristi Falk Atchison Chamber of Commerce 200 S. 10th/ P.O. Box 126 Atchison, Kansas 66002 (913) 367-2427 (800) 234-1854 web: www.atchison.org email: [email protected]

Muchnic Art Gallery Gloria Davis Atchison Art Association 704 N. 4th St. Atchison, Kansas 66002 (913) 367-4278

Evah Cray Historic Home/Museum 805 N. 5th St. Atchison, KS 66002 (913) 367-3046

Amelia Earhart's Birthplace/Museum 223 N. Terrace Atchison, KS 66002 (913) 367-4217

11 Program #1403 - Horton To Blue Rapids

The Golden Eagle know who we are and some of those cultur- al things that we are." In recent years, Native American reserva- tions have used proceeds from casino gam- The casinos have also created employment bling as a source of income to support their in the area. Matt Cisneros returned to the tribes. The goal is to create employment and reservation to work at the infrastructure in the hopes of keeping tribal casino, taking the position of members from leaving the reservation. "In human resources manager. 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming "As far as employment here, I Regulatory Act, which allowed the Native kind of go back to what my American tribes nationwide to operate Class dad did. He worked in Kansas Three gaming operations," says Nancy Bear, City, which is an hour drive, Matt Cisneros chairwoman of the Kickapoo easy you know. So most of Tribe near Horton. "Gambling the employment was off the reservation." has probably been around as The reservation has also added incentives long as Native A m e r i c a n s for returning Native Americans, such as have been around because assistance with housing. "We have a hous- there has always been some ing authority, and probably about two or form of gambling within native three years ago they started a mutual help American tribes," Nancy says. Nancy Bear program that would help tribal members become home owners. It's one of the rea- sons, like I said, that I moved back, as far as knowing what opportunities they had," Matt says. Clean Water Farms

In 1995, the Kansas Rural Center began the Clean Water Farms Project. The purpose of the five-year program was to help Kansas farmers adopt practices that would reduce non-point-source agricultural pollution, which is often associated with chemical fertilizers,

Gambling raises money for tribal programs pesticides or runoff from livestock pens.

The Golden Eagle Casino, which belongs to The Clean Water Farms Project provides the Kickapoo Tribe, makes an effort to share cost share funds for grass seed and for fenc- tribal customs with visitors. During the ing to divide the land into individual grazing Kickapoo Pow-Wow Days held on tribal areas or paddocks. It also provides financial grounds in the Fall of 2000, the casino fea- assistance for installing water lines to pro- tured a buffet of Native American specialties. vide fresh water in each paddock. This Nancy describes the serving of traditional keeps the cattle out of the creek, eliminating foods to the non-Indian as a way of "sharing another source of pollution. our identity with the patron and letting them

12 "The way that we look at doing that," says in the year that they see some of the friends Mary Fund, the project's coordinator, "is to that they have known for years." offer cost share funds, technical assistance and educational opportunities County fairs today are publicly funded, but to farmers so that they can early fairs were run by private stock corpora- conduct on-farm demonstra- tions, whose interests were aimed at out- tions of those practices that siders. As more and more people settled in will solve a water quality prob- Kansas, the focus of county fairs began to lem on their farm or improve change. Instead of trying to attract people their water quality." Making from outside the state, fairs became more major changes in farming prac- Mary Fund introspective. They became a place to cele- brate and enrich a community's agricultural heritage. As a result, the primary focus shift- ed from adults to youth.

"I've done a lot of talks over time on county fairs," says historian Cathy Ambler, "and I've only run into two people in the last five years who have never been to a county fair. I think that says something pretty significant about their value in our state." As com- munities continue to change, Cathy Ambler Farmers learn ways of improving their water quality. Cathy anticipates county fairs will change in response to consolidation and tices is not an easy task, and it can be dwindling rural economies. Still, she expensive. But technical and financial assis- believes there will always be a community tance is available from a number of sources, celebration of some kind. in addition to the Clean Water Farms Project. County Fairs

On a hot, humid day in July 2000, hundreds of people gather in the town square in Blue Rapids, Kansas. They've come from all cor- ners of Marshall County. They've come to watch the parade. T h e y ' v e come to the Marshall County Fair. "The whole community comes together," says fair secretary Mary Howell. "And they look forward to it each Kids work with animals at the Marshall County Fair year. And you know, some- times the fair is the only time Mary Howell

13 Additional Info

Golden Eagle Casino 1107 Goldfinch Road Horton, KS 66439 (785) 486-2131 web: www.goldeneaglecasino.com

Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas PO Box 271 Horton, KS 66439 (785) 486-2131

Mary Fund Kansas Rural Center 304 Pratt Street Whiting, KS 66552 (785) 873-3431

Kansas State Historical Society 6425 SW Sixth Ave. Topeka, KS 66615-1099 (785) 272-8681 web: www.kshs.org

Blue Rapids Chamber of Commerce Blue Rapids, KS 666411 (785) 363-7715

14 Program #1404 - "Marshall County to Junction City"

The WPA in Marshall County cies first-hand. "I think that Marysville is a good example of a community that has expe- Marshall County participated in Wo r k s rienced a wide variety of projects," he says. Project Administration (WPA) efforts to help aid the nation in its recovery from the years Government programs such as WPA often of the Great Depression. "There were so received criticism from the public. The clas- many unemployed men with families. And sic image of the man leaning on the shovel there just wasn't any work for them," says was a common parody of the WPA as a Oretha Rutti, a local historian who experi- "make-work" arrangement at the taxpayer's enced the era first-hand and has taken inter- expense. "That's perhaps the most common est in documenting the pro- perception of the WPA, and I think an unfor- jects in the years following. tunate one. I think that we can look around "Something had to be done, and see at 60 years after the fact, some and Roosevelt gave his inau- legacies of that is a tribute to the quality of guration speech, on March the construction and the value of the work," 3rd, 1933, and promised peo- Lloyd says. ple a New Deal," she says. Oretha Rutti Kansas Landscape Arboretum

Roosevelt wanted the projects to put as many people to work as possible, making The Kansas Landscape Arboretum was them very labor intensive and requiring "...as established in 1972 by Professor L.R. little funding as possible to be invested in the Quinlan, a landscape architect at Kansas equipment, overhead and State University, and Bill Flynn, a nursery- have as much of the work man from Abilene. The arboretum is situat- relief dollar go to the worker ed on 193 acres of farmland, just outside as possible," says Lloyd Wakefield, Kansas, near Milford Reservoir. Sponholtz, a professor of his- tory at the University of But what is a Kansas landscape? In terms of Kansas. Lloyd visited natural landscape, you could be talking Marshall County and saw Lloyd about hardwood forests, tallgrass prairies, examples of the WPA lega- Sponholtz

WPA cemetery improvements in Marshall County Farms are an important part of the Kansas landscape

15 the Flint Hills, the High Plains, or a number of Pennell's photographic studio was a lively other natural settings. But Quinlan and business in Junction City that made photo- Flynn were interested in the cultural land- graphic records of people as they hired him scape. In particular, the agricultural land- to document special moments in their lives. scape. "Ninety percent of Pennell's pictures are kind of straight forward, head and shoulders, or "A landscape is the 'organiza- full bodies," says John Pultz, tion of outdoor space,'" says who wrote the forward to the Gus van der Hoeven, a retired book. "But there's the cases horticulturist from KSU. "If where somebody says, 'Let's you accept that definition, do something interesting.' So then of course the agricultural it was an event, it was a com- landscape, with its wind- mitment; something we've Gus van der John Pultz breaks and shelterbelts, is an Hoeven kind of lost today." organization of space." Cultural landscapes also include buildings and other man-made structures. T h e Kansas Landscape Arboretum features a farmhouse, barns and other outbuildings, many of which would no longer be useful on today's modern farms and are quickly disap- pearing from the agricultural landscape."

The Pennell Collection

A vast collection of images taken more than

100 years ago by Joseph J. Pennell is the The Horseshoe Bar in Junction City basis for a new book: Our Town on the Plains. The glass negatives are housed in In most cases, negatives like these have the Spencer Research Library at the been destroyed through the years. "They're University of Kansas. They document a peri- fragile. They're seen as old junk, you know, od in Junction City from 1891 to 1923. "It's like lots of things," Pete says. What's unique an interesting collaboration, about the Pennell collection is that it was really. It started primarily with saved. John says, "I think it's just luck that the library and having this somebody at the right time said 'This is worth magnificent set of negatives," keeping,' and found somebody who said, says Pete Shortridge, author 'Okay, we've got the place for it, the facilities of the book. The collection for it, we're willing to invest the money to do

Pete Shortridge shows everyday life in it’." Junction City through the por- traits of the people who inhabited the town and the adjacent army post of Fort Riley.

16 Additional Info Shortridge, James R. Our Town on the Plains. Lawrence, Kans.: University Marysville Advocate Press of Kansas, 2000. P.O. Box 271 University Press of Kansas Marysville, KS 66508 2501 West 15th Street (785) 562-2317 Lawrence, KS 66049-3905 web: www.zwire.com/site/ (785) 864-4154 news.cfm?brd=1434 web: www.kansaspress.ku.edu/

Marysville Public Library Joseph J. Pennell Collection 1009 Broadway Kansas Collection Marysville, KS 66508 Spencer Research Library (785) 562-2491 University of Kansas web: skyways.lib.ks.us/library/marysville/ Lawrence, KS 66045 (785) 864-4274 Website web: www.ku.edu/~spencer/ “Library of Congress American Life Histories Manuscripts from the Federal Wr i t e r s ' Junction City Project 1936-1940” web: www.junctioncity.org/ web: Memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/ wpahome.html Geary County, Kansas Historical Society & Museum “New Deal: Work Pays America” P. O. Box 1161 National Archives and Records 6th & Adams Street Administration (785) 238-1666 web: www.nara.gov/exhall/newdeal/ web: www.skyways.org/genweb/ work1.html society/jctncity/gehm.html

The WPA Guide to 1930s Kansas. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1984.

P.J. Beaudoin (785) 461-5322 or (785) 461-5760 or Kansas Landscape Arboretum 488 Utah Road Wakefield, KS 67487

17 Program #1405 - Chapman to Salina

Kansas Auto Racing Museum Lord let me live and I want people to see what I went through and so that they maybe The Kansas Auto Racing Museum in they can glean and gain some strength from Chapman, Kansas, highlights experiences that event that happened to me’.” that Kansans have encountered on race- tracks throughout the state and beyond. The Visitors of all ages can find information of museum’s director races cars and shares his interest and have an opportunity to touch, deep, personal interest in the and in some cases, climb inside the cars on sport with museum visitors. “I display. “This is a hands-on museum as you started racing in 1969 and I can tell. We encourage the people to come still race today,” Doug up and touch the cars,” Doug says. “We just Thompson says. He races got done with some folks coming through today in the A u t o m o b i l e that were sitting in one of the cars and took Racing Club of A m e r i c a , a picture of them. And that’s what we want — (ARCA) Truck Series. Doug Thompson a hands-on, friendly museum.”

The museum concentrates on the history of Great Plains Theatre Festival racing on tracks in Hutchinson, Great Bend and many other venues across the state. On display is the trophy of the first NASCAR The Great Plains Theatre Festival in Abilene, race won by Jim Roper of Halstead, Kansas, Kansas, was founded by Michelle Meade in 1949. Some of the more frightening race- and Richard Esvang, two New York City track moments are pictured in still and actors who decided to try their luck in a small motion pictures that display a fire on a race town setting. “Of course, ini- track in 1974. “Kansas’s worst tragedy as far tially at first, I was a little as a racing event collectively on the track,” shocked by the idea of com- Doug says. The museum features the helmet ing out here,” Richard says, of Jack Petty, who was badly burned in the “because essentially life was fire. According to Doug, “Jack said ‘the good good and comfortable in New York and essentially, we Richard Esvang would have to change every- thing, just on a personal level. But on a pro- fessional level, it seemed like a challenge, and I like challenges.”

Terry Tietjens purchased the 19th century Presbyterian Church and converted it into a concert hall and repertoire t h e a t e r, now home to the Great Plains Theatre Festival. “Definitely it’s doing some- Visitors are encouraged to explore the auto displays thing for Abilene,” he says. Terry Tietjens

18 “We did not have a fine arts center here, and he says. “I can sit around and go, ‘God, all it’s certainly filling that place in our communi- the good guys have died,’ or I can say ‘Well, ty for concerts as well as live repertoire the- there’s still a lot of good ones that ain’t been ater.” recorded yet.’”

Chad Kassem records these legends in a converted church, which he originally bought for storage space. The chapel also serves as a performance hall for the annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads concert, a unique experience for anyone who loves the blues. “It’s so earthy. It’s our earthy music,” says Rowena Stewart, Director of the American Jazz Museum. “And when that earthiness is added to jazz or classical, it’s a wonderful experience of music.” The theater offers a variety of performances The 195-seat theater premiered its first show in 1995. The staff auditions professional and local actors and relies on volunteers for many operations. It is one of only a few the- aters in Kansas to employ both union and non-union actors.

Blues Masters

On October 13, 2000, blues musicians and fans from across the U.S. gathered in a con- verted Salina church to celebrate an The former church now home to Blue Heaven Studios American art form. “The Blues Masters at the Crossroads” concert is the creation of Chad Kassem, a recovered alco- Additional Info holic and drug addict who found his way to Kansas Kansas Auto Racing Museum through a halfway house. He 1205 Manor Road sobered up, got a job, and, PO Box 549 just a few years later, he’s Chapman, KS 67431 bringing the blues to Salina. (785) 922-6642 Chad Kassem Chad contends there are almost no authen- Michelle Mead tic blues musicians under the age of 60, so Great Plains Theatre Festival his mission is really a race: to record the Third at Mulberry masters before they and their music are P.O. Box 476 gone forever. “Most of them are gone, and Abilene, KS 67410 the few that are left need to be documented,” (785) 263-7211 19 City of Abilene P.O. Box 519 City Building Abilene, KS 67410 (785) 263-2550 web: www.jc.net/~cityhall/

Acoustic Sounds, Inc. Chad Kassem, Owner P.O. Box 1905 Salina, KS 67402-1905 (785) 825-8609 web: www.acousticsounds.com

Blue Heaven Studios Chad Kassem, Owner 201 S. Eighth Street Salina, KS 67401 (785) 825-8486 web: www.blueheavenstudios.com

American Jazz Museum Rowena Stewart, Director 1616 East 18th Street Kansas City, MO 64108 (816) 474-8463 web: www.americanjazzmuseum.com

20 Program #1406 - Hedville to Ellsworth

Rolling Hills Refuge in North America." More than 40 species are on exhibit in an area covering 95 acres. What started as a private ranch with a few exotic animals has evolved into a world-class Children who visit the refuge have expressed wildlife refuge west of Salina near the town great interest in learning which species are of Hedville. Charlie Walker is the park's endangered. "Conservation has been at the founder and largest supporter. He built the absolute forefront of all of our effort here, and Rolling Hills Refuge to pro- conservation education really," Bob says. vide an experience to visitors The children came up with the idea for the in Central Kansas that they refuge. "They'd grab me by the sleeve and otherwise would have to trav- tug on my arm and say, 'Bob, is that llama el far to see. "We built the endangered?' Or 'Charlie, is that miniature park because Salina didn't donkey endangered?'" Spurred by the chil- have one. And we love ani- dren's enthusiasm, as the refuge was devel- mals," Charlie says. Charlie Walker oped, the team did their homework. Each exhibit contains detailed documentation showing the endangered status of each species in the refuge.

The Brookville Hotel

The Brookville Hotel began operating in 1870, when Brookville itself was a round- house repair station for the railroad. The Brookville was one of three hotels in the small town. In 1880, the railroad changed its operation and moved the roundhouse to Children enter the Great Apes exhibit Junction City. Gus and May Magnuson pur- chased the hotel in 1890 and eventually "In 1995, Charlie Walker donated all the began serving family-style chicken dinners land, the equipment, the startup cash, the there in 1913. animals, to the foundation, which now gov- erns Rolling Hills Refuge," says Bob Brown, "My dad was involved in the business from the director of the refuge. The refuge now the middle 1950s through 1971," says Mark houses Indian Rhino, aard- Martin, owner of the Brookville varks, chimpanzees, orang- Hotel. "So we're actually utan and many other exotic working with about four gener- species. "These are not ani- ations of Magnus and Martin mals that are readily available f a m i l y." By 1972, the to just anyone.... We were Brookville Hotel stopped oper- able to acquire really one of ating as a hotel and concen- the premier animal collections Bob Brown trated on serving meals. But Mark Martin

21 Jim formed the group shortly after opening the Drover's Mercantile in Ellsworth, which specializes in authentic clothing from the era of the great cattle drives. In 1996, he began publishing The Kansas Cowboy, which cov- ers various cowboy events across the state. In the fall of that same year, he organized his own events--the COWBOY "Spring Gather" and the COWBOY "Fall Round-up."

The Brookville Hotel now serves chicken in Abilene in the mid-1990s, the lack of a city sewer system made staying in Brookville too costly, as the restaurant had to pay to have sewage hauled out of town. The Martins decided to move the restaurant to Abilene, where Mark and his wife Connie have discovered new ways to improve their business and expand their clientele. “Grave Conversations” at the C.O.W.B.O.Y. gathering The new Brookville Hotel has a similar floor plan as the original with just a few modern The 2000 Fall Round-up attracted more than modifications, such as a larger kitchen and 150 participants--people who, for the most greater accessibility for patrons with disabili- part, have little in common except their ties. "It feels like home," Mark says. "I look intense devotion to the American cowboy. at the structure and think 'This is so close to They came to have a good time, but are also the original'. The only thing we miss here is very serious about authenticity. Everything the dust level." from the clothing they wear to the weapons C.O.W.B.O.Y. Culture they carry is carefully researched. The cow- boy has been an American icon for more than 100 years, and events like the "Cowboy Every fall, folks from across Fall Roundup" help to keep that image alive. Kansas and neighboring states gather in Ellsworth to celebrate the American cow- Additional Info boy. They are members of an organization that is called, Rolling Hills Refuge appropriately enough, the Jim Gray 625 N. Hedville Road C.O.W.B.O.Y. Society. "The Salina, KS 67401 C.O.W.B.O.Y. stands for Cockeyed Old West (785) 827-9488 Band of Yahoos Society," says Jim Gray, the web: www.rhrwildlife.com society's founder.

22 Sedgwick County Zoo 5555 Zoo Boulevard Wichita, KS 67212 (316) 942-2213 web: www.scz.org

American Zoo and Aquarium Association 8403 Colesville Rd Suite 710 Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301) 562-0777 web: www.aza.org

Sternberg Museum of Natural History 3000 Sternberg Drive Hays, KS 67601 (785) 628-4286 web: www.fhsu.edu/sternberg

Kids Planet web: www.kidsplanet.org web: www.defenders.org

Mark Martin Brookville Hotel 105 E. Lafayette Abilene, KS 67410 (785) 263-2244

Jim Gray Drover's Mercantile 119 N. Douglas Ellsworth, KS 67439 (785) 472-4703

Ellsworth Chamber Of Commerce 114 1/2 N Douglas Ave Ellsworth, KS 67439-3214 (785) 472-4071

23 Program #1407 - Wilson to Ellis

Wilson’s Midland Hotel Having a historic link to transportation modes of the past was key in the success of the Renovation of the Midland Hotel in Wilson, grant application with KDOT. Additionally, Kansas has begun as the result of a grass- most of the building is constructed of native roots effort by residents who see preserva- limestone, which highlights the materials tion of their town's landmark as a priority in used to build structures in the post rock developing their town. An early motivation region of Kansas. that caused this group to form and think about their community was the disappear- "We can't make museums out ance of the town's railroad depot. It was of all the great buildings that razed by the railroad in the mid-1980s. are around, and the only way Having one less building in town sparked to really preserve them is to interest in preserving what remained. The make them usable and have group mounted a campaign to save the them be a viable part of the hotel, starting with the application of a grant c o m m u n i t y," says Fred Fred from the Kansas Department of Abercrombie, architect for the Abercrombie Transportation (KDOT), which they received project. "I think that is the for an amount of $881,000. approach, and hopefully the hotel will be a model or key element in generating interest and a reason the people pull off the interstate and stop and spend the day here, or maybe two, in Wilson." Great Post Rock Wall

The Grassroots Arts Center in Lucas, Kansas, features the works of self-taught artists whose sculptures and paintings range from quirky to political to downright eccen- tric. "We just have a little dif- The Midland Hotel once served railroad travelers ferent niche than a normal arts center," says Rosslyn "The railroad had a large part in the utiliza- Shultz, the museum's direc- tion of the hotel, so it was used quite a bit for Rosslyn Shultz tor. travel and for salesmen." Dr. Dennis Kepka, a member of The museum's newest project is a courtyard the Wilson Foundation, said. display of post rock architecture, a tribute to Salesmen, or "drummers" as the region and its people. The limestone dis- they were called, would bring play features examples of architecture from their trunks in and open them commercial buildings, homes, barns and up in the basement of the churches from the area. By recreating exam- hotel for shoppers to view. Dennis Kepka ples of the work in one location, Rosslyn

24 The brother-sister team plans to document at least one abandoned farmstead site from each of Kansas' 105 counties. Soon after they began the project, they realized it was a daunting task. "We sort of decided on that goal without really understanding what a monumental goal it was," Connie says. "It's going to take longer than we thought it would, but we will achieve it."

The Great Post Rock Limestone Wall in Lucas, Kansas says, the architecture becomes readily avail- able to visitors and encourages them to fur- ther explore the surrounding areas. The Farmsteads project documents houses like this one Rosslyn expects the display will be complet- ed by the summer of 2001. She hopes it will "What we would like to do, what we're moti- be a peaceful area, where visitors can vated to do, is to record as much as we can absorb the beauty of what she says is a lost of what's left so that, who knows, 50 years art. "This is unique to Kansas, and somehow from now a fifth grade student in school can we need to be telling that story," she says. maybe look and get a better idea of what that "That this was important in our past and it period of time was," Lew says. "And if that should also be important today." person is in Kansas, to get a better idea of Abandoned Farmsteads who they are as well."

Lew Van Der Wege and his Additional Info s i s t e r, Connie Bagot, have Wilson Foundation embarked upon an ambitious P.O. Box 442 project to preserve a record of Wilson, KS 67490 abandoned farmsteads all (785) 658-2449 across Kansas. The two of web: www.wtciweb.com/~wilsonfoundation them get together a few times Lew Van Der a year for Wege Wilson, Kansas extended field web: www.ellsworthks.net/wilson/wilson.htm trips as Lew finds time away from his duties as a Methodist Czech Opera House & Museum minister in Norton and Connie Highway 40 drives up from her home in Wilson, KS 67490 Amarillo, Texas, where she Connie Bagot (785) 658-3343 works as a petroleum geolo- gist and freelance photographer.

25 Kansas Department of Transportation 915 Harrison, Room 754 Topeka, KS 66612 785-296-3585 web: www.ink.org/public/kdot/

The Grassroots Arts Center 213 South Main Street P.O. Box 304 Lucas, KS 67648-0304 (785) 525-6118 web: grassrootsart.home.att.net

Connie Bagot 1100 Buena Vista Amarillo, Texas 79106 (806) 358-7436 email: [email protected]

Lew Van Der Wege 604 Sunset Drive Norton, KS 67654 (785) 877-5158. email: [email protected]

26 Program #1408 - Fort Hays to Great Bend

Old Fort Hays prairie. She says it's all part of the experi- ence. "You can show a person a building, In its heyday, Fort Hays hosted legends like you can show them pictures," she says, "but General George Armstrong Custer and they won't really understand it until they see General David Stanley as well as countless it in real life. This makes it more real to soldiers and their families. The mission of them." The staff here hopes visitors not only the Fort Hays Historic Site today is not only come away with a clearer sense of history, to preserve history, but also to share it with but also with an appreciation for what was the public. Old Fort Hays hosts several once a simpler way of life. events throughout the year aimed at giving visitors a taste of pioneer life. One of the most popular of these is “Christmas Past,” a Victoria’s Colonists candlelit celebration held the first weekend in December. The Philip family has lived on their Ellis County ranch for over 120 years, and for the "Christmas was the holiday of Philip sisters, Kalynn and Sandra, the ranch the Victorian period," says is more than just a home, it's a repository of Bob Wilhelm, director of the family history. "My great-grandfather, Alex Fort Hays Historic Site. "It Philip, came from the north was something everyone part of Scotland," says Kalynn looked forward to." The staff Philip, "he heard from his at Old Fort Hays spends brother George who had months decorating for the Bob Wilhelm arrived the year before about two-night celebration. All the ornaments-- what a wonderful country this from the cedar garland to the custom-made was and he decided to come clothing worn by the volunteers--is authentic Kalynn Philip here." to the period. Victoria colony was founded in 1873 by Volunteer Lisa McCrary and her family went George Grant, a Scottish businessman and so far as to spend the chilly weekend on the entrepreneur who is credited for introducing

Volunteer Lisa McCrary demonstrates pioneer life Victoria colonists Alex and Annie Philip

27 Black Angus cattle to the US. In 1872, Grant purchased a huge tract of land from the Kansas pacific railroad, and set about the task of attracting buyers from Great Britain. But the colonists quickly discovered the harsher side of We s t e r n Kansas. "Well, when they got here, they arrived on May 17th, and low and behold, we have a drought in 1873. Big Creek, it dried up," says James Forsythe, Professor of James Forsythe History at Fort Hays State Many examples of Lustron homes exist in Kansas University. "The following year, in 1874, you've got grasshoppers and prairie fires. found 92 Lustrons in the state And so it was really pretty bad the first three through her research. years." Records indicate that eight more were built, but they At its peak, around 200 British immigrants couldn't be located. "The populated the colony, most living on small Lustron was really the ulti- farms. Victoria colony lasted less than ten mate dream home. It was rel- Elizabeth Rosin years. But even today, it still hasn't com- atively inexpensive. It was pletely disappeared. In a very real sense, the fairly affordable to the middle class market," spirit of Victoria Colony, of the men and she says. "There were these little features women who left their homelands looking for throughout the house, an enormous amount a better way of life, still lives on at the Philip of storage space that really was all targeted Ranch. towards this middle-class baby boom seg- Lustrons in Kansas ment of the population."

Many forces worked against the Lustron's After World War II, Americans needed hous- success. In order to receive an appropriation ing, and they needed it quickly. An entrepre- of steel to construct the houses, Carl neur named Carl Strandlund created houses Strandlund had to present his case to of an all-metal construction designed with Congress in the post-war years. Consumers, forward-looking architecture. The pre-fabri- construction unions and the lumber industry cated house was delivered by truck and all had issues with the radical construction assembled on site. The panels used in the materials and techniques of the Lustron. The construction were porcelain enamel-coated political mood was tense. "There were steel, making the house extremely quick to rumors that Senator Joseph McCarthy was assemble and durable in all kinds of weath- one of the people who brought the company er. down," Elizabeth says. "When Strandlund went back for his third appropriation or his Elizabeth Rosin was hired to survey the fourth appropriation in 1950, Congress houses and suggest nominations for the refused to provide it, and the company was National Register of Historic Places. She forced into receivership."

28 Additional Info

Fort Hays Historic Site Bob Wilhelm, Director 1472 Highway 183 Alt Hays, KS 67601 (785) 625-6812 web: kshs.org/places/forthays.htm

Ellis County Historical Society 100 W. 7th Hays, KS 67601

Forsythe, James M. "George Grant of Victoria: Man and Myth" Kansas History. Autumn 1986.

Forsythe, James M "The English Colony at Victoria, Another View" by Kansas History. Autumn 1989.

Rosin, Elizabeth "Lustrons were the Homes of the Future" Topeka: Kansas Preservation, Vol. 23 No. 1 January- February 2001

Lustron Connection web: home.earthlink.net/~ronusny/

The Lustron - A New Standard for Living web: members.tripod.com/~Strandlund/

29 Program #1409 - Larned to Pratt

Scouting in Kansas Scouts of America in 1910.

The Central States Scout Museum in There are more than 75,000 scouts in Larned, Kansas, is quite possibly the largest Kansas and almost five million nationwide. collection of scouting memorabilia west of “ I t ’s just a growing organization,” says the Mississippi. Charles Sherman, a former Thomas Stone, director of the Jayhawk Area executive of the Boy Scouts of America and Council. “We’re very much an avid collector of Boy Scout memorabilia, changing with the times.” As established the museum in 1988. It’s his times change and the Boy way of sharing his collection and the history Scouts prepare for the future, of scouting with the rest of world. “I think this it’s important to have places is a way of preserving a lot of memorabilia where one can look back on and the history of scouting in this area so where scouting has been— Thomas Stone that future generations can enjoy it and pre- places that preserve the prin- sent generations can revive some of their ciples and core values behind the Boy Scout memories of their youthful experiences,” movement. Charles says.

The Biggest Well

Greensburg, Kansas, has found its niche as a tourist attraction in the state because of its historic hole in the ground - the World’s Largest Hand-dug Well. In the summer of 2000, a weekend was set aside to examine the depths of the well and retrieve a time capsule buried in its wall. The town of Greensburg initially dug the well to support

Charles Sherman with his collection of BSAmemorabilia

The Boy Scouts’ story begins in England in 1907. In that year, Lord Robert Baden- Powell, a major general in the Royal Army, established the scouting program to help shape the character of England’s young men. The founding of the Boy Scouts of America was the result of a chance meeting between a young British scout and an American named William D. Boyce. Boyce was so impressed with the young man and the concept of scouting he formed the Boy Visitors descend the stairs of Greensburg’s well

30 the railroad’s need for water. Crews were Wildlife Photographers hired to dig the well by hand and were paid fifty cents to $1.00 a day for their efforts. The Gene Brehm and Mike Blair are photogra- result is the well that is seen today, which phers for the Kansas Department of Wildlife attracts visitors from around the world, as it and Parks. Gene shoots video for the did when it was opened as a tourist attraction department’s promotional and educational in 1937. programs, while Mike handles the still pho- tography for the department’s magazine. P e r i o d i c a l l y, the well is cleaned by volunteers who dive into the well’s depths and retrieve objects with a dredge. “If you’re the kind of diver that I am, it doesn’t matter what the water is like,” says Tom Fletcher of Begosia Springs, Tom Fletcher Colorado. “For most sport divers this is a lit- tle radical.” The diving team uses a three- inch suction dredge similar to what a person would use to retrieve gold from a river bed. Coins and other objects are filtered from the water and brought to the surface in buckets. Gene Brehm shoots video for Kansas Wildlife & Parks Money found at the bottom is used to fund the well’s upkeep. “The hardest part of our job,” Gene says, “is Dredging operations stop getting close to the animals.” Both men uti- briefly to allow Dwane Shank lize a variety of tactics to attract their sub- of Greensburg to pull a time jects, including decoys, rattling antlers and capsule out of the wall of the deer and duck calls. They also employ cam- well. It was placed there 25 ouflaging gear to observe and photograph years prior. “I can very vividly the animals’ natural behaviors. “The wildlife remember thinking ‘25 years’. Dwane Shank in Kansas, I’m going to say, is second to no And I looked at that capsule state,” says Gene, “The diversity we have is and I thought to myself ‘will I even be around amazing.” here in 25 years?’” Dwane says. Reflecting on its contents, he adds, “ Most of the things The mission of Wildlife and Parks is to man- that was in there are things that transpired age Kansas’ wildlife resources. The video within our local community, you know...and I and photographs produced by Gene and guess we didn’t think about world affairs at Mike help the department inform Kansans of that time.” that mission. “Sometimes we get so busy with our lives we don’t stop to enjoy the beauty around us,” Mike says. “My job gives

31 Kiowa County Library 120 S. Main Greensburg, KS 67054 (620) 723-2683 web: skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Greensburg/ library.html

Kiowa County Historical Museum Main Street & Highway 54 Greensburg, KS 67054

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Pratt Operations Office Mike Blair takes still photos for Kansas Wildlife & Parks 512 SE 25th Ave. Pratt, KS 67124 me the chance to go out and do what a lot of web: www.kdwp.state.ks.us people don’t have time to do, and then bring that back and show them. By their fireside in the evening, they can scan through a maga- zine and see the beauty that Kansas has to offer.” Additional Info

Central States Scout Museum Charles Sherman, Curator P.O. Box 392 815 Broadway Larned, KS 67550

Jayhawk Area Council of Boy Scouts of America 1020 SE Monroe St Topeka, KS 66612 (785) 354-8541 web: www.jltopeka.org/kidsource/bsa.htm

The Big Well 315 S. Sycamore Greensburg, KS 67054 web: www.bigwell.org

32 Program #1410 - Isabel to Wellington

Exploring Route 42 Nowadays, Mil Penner explores more for a hobby than a career, but he remains an Mil Penner is a Kansas expert in the timeless endeavor of discover- explorer. But unlike so many ing the beauty in our own backyards. "Well, explorers before him, Penner it's my home state, and I have a love for it," is not in search of gold. His he says. "And I really think it's a wonderful treasures are the places place. I've traveled all over the United themselves; his jewels, the States, and when I come back, I'm always faces that greet him along the glad to be home." way. A retired farmer, Mil has Mil Penner co-authored several books on Kansas and Cotton in Kansas other plains states. Sunflower Journeys decided to put this seasoned explorer to the Travelers passing through the vicinity of test, so we spent the day with him, exploring Anthony in south central Kansas may be sur- three towns along Kansas Highway 42: prised to find large fields of cotton scattered Isabel, Zenda and Norwich. across the countryside. They may also be surprised to learn that there's a cotton gin nearby. "This kind of started with three of us raising cotton in Oklahoma," says gin manager Gary Feist. "We were taking that cotton to Burns Flat, and the freight on it was tremendous. This is a big advantage to growing cot- ton in this area over when we Gary Feist started...a big advantage."

Keeping a cotton gin running smoothly requires regular maintenance and constant Mil Penner learns about Kansas towns supervision. With years of experience in the ginning business, Bill Kellogg Armed only with his camera and some brings valuable expertise to healthy curiosity, Mil sets out to find the his role as plant superinten- beauty in each place he visits. He discovers dent. "When I first started in a bullet hole in the bank in Isabel, a remnant the gin 20 years ago," Bill of a robbery back in 1927. In Zenda, he says, "a lot of this stuff was meets a woman who's made a miniature done by hand. And now replica of the town as it was in 1900. On the they've got machines that Bill Kellogg last stop--Norwich--Mil visits a nostalgic they've been working on." hardware store that sells everything from lumber to farm-fresh eggs. At this point, there's only one other cotton gin operating in Kansas--an older one in

33 looking at all the new equipment," Vivian says. The festival is seen as a time for peo- ple to come together and socialize after the harvest is complete. A parade features floats decorated with wheat, and tractors roll down Wellington's main street transporting farmers and their children past sidewalks lined with on-lookers.

Cotton being harvested in Kansas

Winfield. Gary Feist feels that the new gin, which serves cotton growers within a 100- mile radius of Anthony, would have been built elsewhere if not for the support of the local community. "I'm glad we picked the location we did," he says. "It's a nice location."

Kansas Wheat Festival Tractors parade through Wellington for the Wheat Festival

The Kansas Wheat Festival in Wellington, One tradition of the festival is the Wheat Kansas, is an annual celebration to honor Show, where large bottles of wheat fill a table wheat and its significance to the region. in the local bakery. Bob White was the judge Wellington is located in Sumner County for the contest in 2000. Twenty-six entries which, most years, is listed as having the competed to see who would take the prize highest yield of wheat in any county in for the best wheat in the county. Test weight Kansas. The festival has been a long-stand- is a factor in the judging, also whether there ing tradition for the town. "The is any foreign material or shrunken or broken first one was held in kernels. "There was more September in 1900 to cele- samples this year submitted brate the first million-bushel than there has been in sever- wheat harvest," says Vivian al years past but also the H a y, former director of the quality was a little better this festival. "And they had a year. Everybody was a little queen and five days of activi- Vivian Hay more proud of what they pro- ties such as you see this duced." Bob says. Bob White week in Wellington."

Farmers looked forward to the event, when salesmen would bring new implements to town for display. "People really enjoyed that, the farmers especially, enjoyed coming and

34 Additional Info Wellington Chamber Of Commerce 207 S Washington Ave Penner, Mil, Exploring Kansas: A New Look Wellington, KS at the Sunflower State. Inman, KS. (620) 326-7466 Sounds of Kansas, 1996. City of Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas The Kansas Sampler Foundation web: www.ukans.edu/heritage/towns/ Marci Penner, Director wellington.html 978 Arapaho Road Inman, KS 67546 web: www.kansassampler.org

Johnston's OK-Kan Cotton Gin 32 SW 20 Road Anthony, KS 67003 (620) 842-3129

Kansas Association of Wheat Growers 315 Houston Street, Suite C Manhattan, KS 66502 (785) 587-0007 web: www.wheatonline.com/ email: [email protected]

Kansas Wheat Commission 2630 Claflin Road Manhattan, KS 66502-2743 (785) 539-0255 web: www.kswheat.com/ email: [email protected]

Chisholm Trail Museum 502 N Washington Ave Wellington, KS (620) 326-3820

Wellington Daily News 113 W. Harvey St. Wellington, KS 67152 Phone: (620) 326-3326 email: [email protected] web: www.wgtndailynews.com/

35 Program #1411 - Ark City to Sedan

Bridges of Cowley County to come. “I think it’s their intrinsic beauty,” he says. “Not only are they in some of the most Gary Gackstatter is an artist and music beautiful places you can imagine, but they’re instructor at Cowley County Community also historical, artistic, functional, just a College in Arkansas City. At least twice a whole list of things. It’s just the kind of thing year, he and his wife Shannon organize pub- people enjoy going out into country to look lic tours of the historic stone bridges of at.” Cowley County. “It’s surprising to me how Cedar Vale & the Big Caney River much interest there is,” Gary says. “We’ve had people from all over the country— Missouri, Iowa, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas. The Caney River originates in the hills of Elk We’ve had all kinds of people on this tour.” County, north of a small town called Grenola, Kansas, about 25 miles north of the Gary has found 18 stone Oklahoma border. As it flows south, it’s fed bridges in Cowley County. At by a number of streams, so that by the time one time, he believes, there it passes Cedar Vale, its flow is more sub- were at least twice that stantial. m a n y. Most have been replaced due to the increas- With a population of about 700, senior citi- ing size and weight of the zens represent a large portion of Cedar Gary Gackstatter vehicles that use them. Vale’s residents. Dave Sparks, president of “They weren’t built with school buses and the Cedar Vale Chamber of Commerce, John Deere tractors in mind,” he says. explains why people find this area to be an attractive place to live. “This whole area throughout southeast Kansas is probably one of the cheapest places to live,” he says. “There’s a lot of really beautiful, beautiful older homes, fixer-uppers that just have unlimited potential, as well as modern homes for a fraction of what it costs to live Dave Sparks in the city.”

One of the distinctive features of Cedar Vale is that its streets are not oriented to the com- pass points as is normally the case in the This unique triple-arch bridge is one stop on the tour midwest. Instead of running east and west or north and south, they run at an angle, with The stone bridges of Cowley County have the main street aimed at what was once a been standing for close to 100 years. And as rare stand of cedar trees. “The reason for long as they aren’t intentionally demolished, that is when they platted the town, those chances are that Gary and Shannon being the only trees for miles and miles Gackstatter will still be giving tours for years

36 “Weary Willie.” It was a character he started portraying in 1933, and he rarely deviated from it for the rest of his life.

Residents of Cedar Vale enjoy the small-town atmosphere around, they laid off the main street—Cedar Street—not north and south, but angled to where you could look right down the street Emmett Kelly’s most famous character was “Weary Willie” and see the grove of cedar trees down there south of town.” Moving successfully from circus to circus, nightclub shows and special events, Kelly The Emmett Kelly Museum was discovered by Hollywood in the early 1950s. He appeared in The Fat Man and Born in Sedan, Kansas, in 1898, Emmett Cecil B. Demille’s epic, The Greatest Show Kelly lived there for a short time before the on Earth. “Sedan is quite proud of him,” John family moved to Missouri. The Emmett Kelly says, “and Kansas is quite proud of him. We Museum started in Sedan in 1967 and want people to know about Sedan, but we moved to its current location in the Sedan also want people to know about Emmett Opera House in 1980. Items in the muse- Kelly.” um’s collection include slap shoes, newspaper clippings, Additional Info handbills, toy dolls and origi- nal costumes. “Emmett Kelly, for all practical purpos- Gary Gackstatter es, was probably the world’s Cowley County Community College greatest clown,” says Sedan 125 South 2nd Street resident John Warring. John Warring Arkansas City, KS 67005 (620) 441-5275 Kelly’s first love and early talent was cartoon art, but he found steady employment paint- Arkansas City Chamber of Commerce ing canvases in a circus and training as a 106 South Summit, P.O. Box 795 trapeze artist. One of his early cartoon draw- Arkansas City, KS 67005 ings would later serve as inspiration for a (620) 442-0230 clown character he would create called web: www.arkcityks.org/chamber.html

37 Office of City Clerk P.O. Box 119 Cedar Vale, KS 67024 (620) 758-2244

John Warring/Roger Floyd Emmett Kelly Museum 200 East Main Sedan, KS 67361 (620) 725-3121

Sedan Chamber of Commerce 115 N. Chautauqua St. Sedan, KS 67361 (620) 725-5650 web: www.sedanchamberofcommerce.com

38 Program #1412 - Caney to Toronto

Opothle Yahola Confederate attacks plagued the journey. Nearly 1,200 people died along the way. Opothle Yahola was a Native A m e r i c a n When the group finally reached Fort Roe, statesman who fought desperately to pre- they found the supplies promised to them serve the culture and traditions of his people. had not arrived, and they were forced to His story begins in the southeastern United scatter between Fort Roe and Fort Belmont States, in a region controlled by his tribe--the to the north. Many more died of exposure, Muskogee Creek. The Indian Removal Act including Yahola's daughter, and a year later, of 1830 forced Yahola to lead his people over Yahola himself. the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. With the approach of the In 1995, the Kansas Legislature passed a Civil War, Yahola tried to remain neutral. "He resolution naming a portion of U.S. Highway started gathering the people 75 "The Opothle Yahola Memorial Trail." he felt didn't want to bear Plans are in the works to erect a memorial to arms," says Bill Linde of Yates the leader at a location south of Ya t e s Center. It's estimated that Center. "I think the story of somewhere between three Opothle Yahola is really and five thousand men, important," says University of women and children joined Kansas history professor Yahola's peace-seeking band. Bill Linde Donald Fixico, "because it describes the resilience of an individual and his people for a Donald Fixico cause." Neewollah

A festival called Neewollah began in Independence, Kansas, in 1918. It was designed as an alternative to the usual pranks the community experienced on Halloween. It continued until The Great Depression, when it was disbanded. In 1958, three businessmen--Jerry Webb, Bob Waltman and Jim Halsey--got together and Opothle Yahola decided to bring the fall festival back to life.

Confederate troops led by Colonel Douglas Neewollah,--Halloween spelled backward--, Cooper attacked Yahola's band on now runs through the last November 19, 1861. A defeated Yahola was week in October and features once again forced to move his people north several parades, food and along the Verdigris River to Fort Roe in craft venues and a queen southeastern Kansas, where they had been contest. "I can't believe it," promised both protection and supplies by the says Jerry Webb, 1958 co- organizer. "We had trouble U.S. Government. A harsh winter and Jerry Webb

39 keeping it going the first few years and to see Kansas and can be found in the region it now, why, I don't think we ever envisioned known as the Chautauqua Hills. it growing into something." The Cross Timbers is most often associated with the open woodland or savannah eco-system. Clusters of post and blackjack oak surrounded by tallgrass prairie gives the Cross Timbers its distinctive, park-like appearance. Craig Freeman "Underneath the trees in the understory, we find typical prairie plants," says Craig Freeman of the Kansas Biological Survey. "And so, if you're familiar with a lot of the common prairie species that we encounter in An important part of Neewollah is the queen competition the tallgrass prairie, those are the things we typically find in the understory of the Cross "I think the festivals are becoming what they Timber region." were, at least in part, meant to be," says Washburn University English professor Tom Averill, "and that's an actually true celebra- tion of what a community is. And what it's heritage is and there's a real sense of that in Kansas right now, because a lot of towns are struggling, not doing as well, and so they feel a need to go back to their roots and celebrate those Tom Averill roots."

The Cross Timbers The Cross Timbers region of Kansas When early explorers first emerged from the southeastern deciduous forests and onto the In Kansas, the Cross Timbers has survived prairie, they found they had one last obstacle relatively intact, mainly because the short, to cross before reaching the southern Great stout oak trees aren't suitable for lumber pro- Plains. That obstacle was a relatively narrow duction. At the same time, the character of strip of woodlands known as the Cross the Cross Timbers has changed consider- Timbers. Prior to settlement, the Cross ably since it was first encountered by Timbers covered 30,000 square miles of European explorers. This is mainly due to what is now Texas and Oklahoma. A small the suppression of prairie fires, which are strip extends northward into southeastern needed to maintain the savannah eco-sys-

40 tem. "As man moved in and started building roads and houses, we became more concerned with fire suppression," says Jason Deal of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. "And whenever these systems weren't suppressed with fire, the trees would re- Jason Deal grow and it would become very brushy, and basically go from a savan- nah to a forest-type system." Additional Info

Woodson County Chamber of Commerce 108 S. Main/P.O. Box 211 Yates Center, KS 66783

Donald Fixico Department of History University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045 (785) 864-2661 email: [email protected]

Neewollah Inc. P.O. Box 311 Independence, KS 67361 web: www.neewollah.com

Craig Freeman Kansas Biological Survey Bridwell Research Lab Lawrence, KS 66045 (785) 864-3453 email: [email protected]

Jason Deal Toronto State Park 406 North Broad Street Toronto, KS 66777

41 Program #1413 - Yates Center to Topeka

Courthouse Squares Tom Schmiedeler, a professor of cultural geography at Washburn University, says it’s still important to preserve the character of the courthouse square. “There’s a number of beautiful buildings in this town Tom Schmiedeler that date back to the turn of the century, so that I think is a worthy enough reason in itself,” he says. “A second reason is that they’re very much linked to our past, to ideas of what towns should be.” The Music Box The historic town square in Yates Center

In 1986, the Yates Center courthouse square Jill Warren spends her weekdays opening for was placed on the National Register of country music legends in Nashville and Historic Places. It included over 50 buildings Branson, but on Saturday nights, she’s in that were constructed Burlington, Kansas, putting on her own show between 1883 and 1928. for what has become her hometown crowd. “People that come here often “When you get into the music industry,” Jill tell me it’s like stepping back says, “you don’t have a lot of leeway with in time,” says Linda everything from the songs you get to sing, Niemeyer, Woodson County your choice of hair color and length, to what Chamber of Commerce. you’re going to wear.” “They just love the atmos- Linda Niemeyer phere.”

The citizens of Yates Center are committed to preserving the character of their court- house square. They’re also committed to the future growth and economic development of their community, making sure the buildings they preserve are occupied by local busi- nesses. When Abner Yates carefully planned Yates Center in the 1870s, his inten- tion was to build a county seat—a town whose main focus was county government Jill Warren (left) performs every week in Burlington and the county courthouse. But times have changed, and over the years the county seat has lost some of its significance in terms of So when the opportunity to purchase a 400- town growth and continued prosperity. seat converted movie theater in Burlington came around in early 2000, Jill saw her

42 chance to perform on her own terms. She covered that their grazing, their pasture was now owns and operates The Music Box, a on one side of the road and their storage popular new venue for fans of country music. tanks and their stock tanks were on the other She both produces and stars in every show, side,” Sherry says. But soon Kansans came and with everyone’s busy schedules, to accept the project, and completion was rehearsals often don’t begin until just hours achieved before the state of Oklahoma had a before the curtain opens. Still, the end result connecting route. When the road opened, is a crowd pleaser, drawing fans from all over “the Kansas turnpike literally halted at the Northeast Kansas every Saturday night. Oklahoma state line,” Sherry says, “so that it was something like a runway...they would “People take off and go to simply sail off the end of the runway into an Branson or some other show oat field on the Oklahoma side.” and then they come here and they think, ‘man, this is really a great show’,” says Judy S t u k e y, president of Jill Warren’s fan club. “So, you just have to get them exposed Judy Stukey to it and then they’re hooked.” Judy says the theater’s popularity has meant an increase in consumer traffic for downtown Burlington.

Kansas Turnpike

During World War II, roads in Kansas had been subject to neglect, as labor and materi- als were redirected overseas. By the war’s Toll collectors in the 1950s on the Kansas Turnpike end, road usage had increased as much as Today the roadway continues to evolve. 600 percent. “It just pulverized roads and Concrete barriers now separate traffic and there was nothing the highway department help prevent head-on collisions. As in the could do about it because a early days of the road, toll pothole opened and you need collection is a perpetual task. asphalt to plug the pothole Some drivers today find the and asphalt was a petroleum idea of a toll road hard to product — petroleum was accept. “I think one of the fighting the war,” says Sherry things we struggle with is Schirmer, Professor of History that nobody likes to pay Sherry Michael Johnston at Avila College. Schirmer tolls,” says Michael Johnston, C.E.O of the Kansas Turnpike Kansans realized that much development Authority. “Tolls are kind of an unnatural act.” was needed to bring the state up to par, yet He goes on to assert the cost figures of dri- the Kansas House and Senate were oriented ving on a tax-supported road and a toll road more towards rural interests, and viewed the like the Kansas Turnpike are about the turnpike as an “urban road.” There was also same. “There aren’t any free roads. Now opposition to this proposed road, because its they are either tax-supported or toll-support- route often split farms in two. “Farmers dis- ed but none of them are free,” he says. 43 Additional Info

Tom Schmiedeler Washburn University 1700 College Ave. Topeka, KS 66624 (785) 832-9413 email: [email protected]

Woodson County Chamber of Commerce 108 S. Main/P.O. Box 211 Yates Center, KS 66783

The Music Box Jill Warren, Owner 404 Neosho Burlington, KS 66839 (620) 364-3036

Coffey County Historical Museum 1101 Neosho St. Burlington, KS 66839 (620) 364-2653 or 1-888-877-2653 email: [email protected]

Kansas Turnpike Authority 9401 E. Kellogg Wichita, Ks. 67207-1804 (800) 873-5824 web: ksturnpike.com

44 Related Information

Where to Tune in to Sunflower Journeys... KTWU/CHANNEL 11, Topeka K30AL/Channel 30, Iola - Ft. Scott - Chanute ktwu.washburn.edu

KPTS/Channel 8, Wichita www.kpts.org

Smoky Hills Public Television KOOD/Channel 9, Bunker Hill KSWK/Channel 3, Lakin - Garden City KDCK/Channel 21, Dodge City www.shptv.org

*** Check local listings for times and dates ***

Where to Purchase Videotapes... KTWU/Channel 11, 19th & Jewell, Topeka, 66621 ktwu.washburn.edu/journeys (785) 231-1111

Where to Borrow or Rent Videotapes... Emporia Public Library, 110 E. 6th (620) 342-6524 Hays Public Library, 1205 Main (785) 625-9014 Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont (785) 843-3833 Manhattan Public Library, Juliette & Poyntz (785) 776-4741 Ottawa Public Library, 105 S. Hickory (785) 242-3080 Pittsburg Public Library, 308 N. Walnut (620) 231-8110 Salina Public Library 301 West Elm (785) 825-4624 Topeka Public Library, 1515 SW 10th (785) 233-2040 Kansas Heritage Center, Dodge City (620) 227-1616 Mabee Library, Washburn University, Topeka (785) 231-1179 Kansas State Historical Society, Education/Outreach (785) 272-8681 ext. 414 Southeast Kansas Education Service Center, Girard, Kansas (620) 724-6281

More Internet Resources Sunflower Journeys -- ktwu.washburn.edu/journeys KTWU Channel 11, Topeka -- ktwu.washburn.edu Kansas State Historical Society -- www.kshs.org Kansas Humanities Council -- www.ukans.edu/kansas/khc Center for Kansas Studies -- www.washburn.edu/reference/zzcwcks Kansas Heritage Server -- history.cc.ukans.edu/heritage/ PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) -- www.pbs.org State of Kansas -- www.accesskansas.org 45