KANSAS! Magazine | Issue No. 1 2023

A L S O I N T H I S I S S U E // Lil Grizz Outfits the World: Authentic Western Hats by a New Almelo Master Send Them Some Kansas: Our Guide to Elegant and Affordable Kansas-Themed Gifts // Snow Season! Sledding and Skating Spots // Home-State Pecans // Historic and Restored Opera Houses ... and much more!

2023 / VOL 79 / ISSUE 1 / KANSASMAG.COM

Kansas Style Ryan Martin creates vintage Western wear for ranch hands and fashion fans

Catch twinkling lights across the city including the Topeka Zoo Lights, TARC’s WinterWonderland at Lake Shawnee, and Miracle on Kansas Avenue in Downtown Topeka. Shop the local stores, enjoy the magic of winter, and discover your #TopCity adventure.

VisitTopeka.com

CHRISTMAS CITY OF THE HIGH PLAINS 72nd Annual Tree Lighting

JOIN US NOVEMBER 26, 2022 • Christmas Bazaar @ Trego County Fairgrounds 9am - 4pm • Downtown activities for the whole family 4:30pm - 8:30pm

KNOWN AS THE CHRISTMAS CITY OF THE HIGH PLAINS The Largest Light Display Downtown Between Denver And Kansas City.

WHERE? WAKEENEY KANSAS, EXITS 127 & 128 ON I-70

DISPLAY REMAINS LIT UNTIL NEW YEAR’S

785.743.8325 - WaKeeney.org - GetWaKeeney@gmail.com facebook.com/GetWaKeeney - instagram @WaKeeney

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Here are a dozen classy and affordable Kansancreated gifts you can mail to friends and loved ones across the world

Authentic, Kansasmade Westernthemed gifts from the Dungaree Dude or Lil Grizz can stand out as some of the most memorable holiday gifts

Merry Cowboy

PHOTOGRAPH courtesy W.H. Ranch Dungarees

Send Them Some Kansas for the Holidays

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st “ The proguI dcaen thin that claim is I am f rom

Abilene.”

- Dwight

ower D. Eisenh

Hospitality Festivals Theatre Concerts

New Downtown

#1 Favorite and #1 Friendliest U.S. Small Town TravelAwaits (2022)

Destination of the Year Midwest Travel Network (2022)

Best Historic Small Town USA Today (2022)

Zoo Murals Cinema Museums Trail Golf Shops Great Food!

Scan this QR code for digital Salina Visitors' Guide!

KS Magazine Winter.qxp_Layout 1 10/14/21 10:51 AM Page 1

Oh Manhattan !

VISITMANHATTANKS.ORG

T

tK d i k

CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS

Manhattan is home to celebrations that stir the passions of the community and attract nationwide visitors. While here, visitors should take advantage of amazing dining options and exciting city-wide attractions.

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Departments KANSAS DETAILS

WIDE OPEN SPACES

10 Cuisine Fine Food and Good Eats

26 Kansas Pecans With a combination of native and grafted varieties, Kansas orchards produce a full harvest of this favorite holiday nut

12 Culture Arts and Experiences 14 Heartland People and Places that Define Us

PHOTOGRAPHS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) David Mayes, Kenny Felt, Andrea Etzel, Jason Dailey

16 Kansas Air The Freshness of Outdoor Life 18 Behind the Lens A Conversation with KANSAS! Photographers 20 Kansas Captured Authentic Life in the Sunflower State 22 Reasons We Love Kansas Celebrating Unique Attractions 25 Must-See Events Upcoming Events to Enjoy

32 Opera Houses Raised across the state as edifices of high culture (at least in name), opera houses are now being restored and revisited for community events and performances

IN EVERY ISSUE 7

It’s All in the Extra Details 8 A Hello From Our Editor 58 KANSAS! Gallery

ON THE COVER Ryan Martin models his original W.H. Ranch VF-1 Ghost Ryder bomber jacket. Photograph Ryan Bruce, courtesy W.H. Ranch Dungarees.

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Kansas Tourism, a division of the Kansas Department of Commerce

Andrea Etzel

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Laura Kelly GOVERNOR

David Toland

LT. GOVERNOR & SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Bridgette Jobe

TOURISM DIRECTOR

SUNFLOWERPUB.COM | LAWRENCE, KANSAS KSMAGAZINE@SUNFLOWERPUB.COM

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Bill Uhler

Bob Cucciniello

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Nathan Pettengill

PUBLISHER

DIRECTOR

DESIGNER/ART DIRECTOR

Joanne Morgan

MANAGING EDITOR

Kalli Jo Smith

MARKETING, 785.832.7264

MANAGING EDITOR

Alex Tatro

Leslie Andres

ADVERTISING DESIGNER

COPY EDITOR

Discover

ALLENPRESS.COM | LAWRENCE, KANSAS

PRINTER

Kathy Lafferty

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Lisa Mayhew

ACCOUNT MANAGER

KANSAS! (ISSN 0022-8435) is published five (5) times per year

by Kansas Tourism 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612; 785.296.3479; TTY Hearing Impaired: 785.296.3487.

Periodical postage paid at Topeka, KS, and at additional mailing offices.

Newsstand price $5 per issue; subscription price $20 per year; $36 for two years.

All prices include all applicable sales tax.

Kansas’ bigge st barn at the Prairie Museum of Art & History

ng aquatic park

Refreshi

Please address subscription inquiries to: Toll-free: 800.678.6424 KANSAS!, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612 Email: kansas.mag@ks.gov | Website: www.KansasMag.com POSTMASTER: Send address change to: KANSAS!, P.O. Box 146, Topeka, KS 66601-0146.

Please mail all editorial inquiries to: KANSAS!, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612 email: kansas.mag@ks.gov The articles and photographs that appear in KANSAS! magazine may not be broadcast, published or otherwise reproduced without the express written consent of Kansas Tourism or the appropriate copyright owner.

Unauthorized use is prohibited. Additional restrictions may apply.

Scenic walking

ins Pickin’ on the Pla July Third weekend in

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OasisOnThePlains.com

trails

Just 53 miles east of the Colorado border on I-70

Facebook.com/OasisOnThePlains

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THE BEST GIFTS OF ALL This edition highlights talented Kansans and the unique giftitems they create. We hope you enjoy reading about them and appreciate their dedication to their crafts. We’ve also included contact information in case you are inspired to order a gift for yourself, your friend, or a loved one. But, as always, our magazine includes information on free or low-cost sights, events, and opportunities such as outdoor family recreational activities, parades, or even local favorite snow-sledding hills. Be sure to check out our calendar of events here and online at travelks.com/events for a range of seasonal happenings. After all, the best gift is spending time doing what you love with the people you love—and we want to help you find new opportunities for that all around the state.

KANSAS! NEWSLETTER

KANSAS! CALENDAR

If you’re wanting to make 2023 an active year of exploration and outings, be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter, which brings the latest information on seasonal activities and events, along with callbacks to timeless articles about our state. We keep your email information private, and you can always easily unsubscribe if you choose to do so. Go online to kansasmag.com and look for the “Newsletter” section under the “Subscribe” button.

If you are a subscriber to KANSAS! 2c a0l e2n d3a r magazine, you should find our 2023 KANSAS! calendar included free of charge in your copy of this issue. If you are not a magazine subscriber, you can order a copy of the calendar for yourself or as a gift for someone by calling 800.678.6424 or by going to kansasmag.com and looking for the “Calendar” tab.

PHOTOGRAPH Bill Stephens

page 54 New Almelo

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page 22 Quinter page 25 Maxwell Wildlife Refuge page 11 Woodbine

Above A sledder in Topeka hauls their toboggan to the top of the hill.

page 34 Concordia page 14 Shawnee page 26 Paola page 19 Uniontown

ine ! magaz KANSAS ment to A supple

page 41 Toronto

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When shopping for the holidays or other special occasions, think Kansas first.

In last year’s winter issue, we gave readers a small taste of ways to shop Kansas for the holidays. This year we provide a holiday gift guide filled with affordable Kansan-created items, including items for pet lovers (like myself, as you can guess by my photo). Supporting small businesses by shopping local this time of year is the ultimate way to give.

Western wear is having a renaissance. Made popular by movies and TV shows like Yellowstone, authentic traditional styles of Western gear are in high demand. Writers Debbie Miller and Bill Stephens sat down with two Kansas makers, Ryan Martin and Lil Grizz, who handcraft Western wear using vintage techniques and traditional equipment. Each has a long list of clients that includes Hollywood elite.

Have you heard that persimmon seeds in the fall are known to predict what kind of winter we’ll have? Cut open the seed and you’ll be greeted by the shape of either a knife, fork, or spoon. A fork calls for a mild winter, a knife means extreme cold, and a spoon predicts heavy snow. It’s making the rounds on social media that this year a spoon has been widely seen. Dust off your sled or snow tube, and head for a popular, safe sledding location featured on page 17.

This issue is always special because it both closes out a year and welcomes the next. It’s a bridge. Our editors and contributors have already hit the ground running on stories for 2023. In February we’re hitting the road, looking for those popular destination dining spots—meals that are worth the drive. If you have a recommendation, we’d love to hear it—email us at Kansas.mag@ks.gov.

Until next year, wishing you and yours a warm and happy winter season.

ANDREA ETZEL facebook.com/KansasMagazine @KANSASMag KansasMagazine (get spotted; use #kansasmag to tag us)

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PHOTOGRAPH Andrea Etzel

EDITOR, KANSAS! MAGAZINE

Give the Gift of Kansas Give the gift of Kansas to friends and family this holiday season. From the Land of Kansas offers gift boxes filled with sweet and savory treats everyone will love. All of the products are Kansas-made, grown, and produced by members of the From the Land of Kansas program.

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A d Ast r a

Order Your Holiday Gift Boxes Today! shop.fromthelandofkansas.com If you are ordering more than 10 boxes email fromthelandofkansas@ks.gov to place your order.

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T A European Flavor Restaurants across the state draw on European heritages and traditions

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Salina Lindsborg

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Manhattan Woodbine

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Cecilia Harris P H O T O G R A P H Y

David Mayes

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B Y

he Italian proverb “A tavola non si invecchia” translates to “You don’t age around the table.” It represents a love of food—and the fellowship of family and friends who share it.

For Tony Dong, the saying also represents his success in building two successful Italian restaurants in his home state. A native of Concordia, he combined family recipes with what he had learned working at an Italian restaurant in Chicago when he opened Martinelli’s in 2001 in downtown Salina. In the summer of 2020, he expanded by opening a sister restaurant in Manhattan, Nico’s Little Italy.

At both locations, customers are greeted by the aroma of Italian foods and welcomed as family by staff members.

Dong says true Italian cuisine is simple, with many dishes made from only a few quality ingredients. He points to Martinelli’s bestseller as an example that might surprise some people.

“Easily, hands down, what we sell the most of is our chopped salad,” Dong says. “I think it’s pretty simple and has a dressing that people enjoy.”

That house dressing is made from basil, oregano, fresh parsley, lemon juice, various sugars, and a mayonnaise base.

“The next one would be a fettuccine alfredo,” Dong adds. “People are familiar with fettuccine alfredo, the broccoli and the noodles with the alfredo sauce we make, and you can have it with or without chicken, and they love that. After that would be spaghetti and meatballs. If you know anything about Italian foods, you know fettuccine alfredo and spaghetti and meatballs; it’s comfort food.”

True to traditional style, portions are prepared for sharing.

“We are based on family-style Italian dining, where you would come to the restaurant, and the portions originally were set up to be split among three, four, five or six people, which is where you get the family-style portions which are really, really large,” Dong says, adding that he soon learned everyone at the table may want to order different entrees. To solve the issue, the restaurant offers three different portions, one for a family to share, a ½ order for two people to split, and a ¼ order for one.

And what Italian meal would be complete without wine?

“We have got a pretty good selection of different wines,” he says. “Being an Italian restaurant, we have a lot of Italian wines on the menu. A classic one is Chianti that comes in one of those wicker baskets. We like selling those because they are kind of fun.”

There are differences in the menus between the two restaurants, but the concept of traditional, simple, quality food meant to share and enjoy with others guides both locations.

“We want people to leave here having a good experience,” Dong says.

SALINA martinellisonline.com / 785.826.9190 MANHATTAN nicoslittleitaly.com / 785.775.1101

Above The bruschetta is a popular appetizer at Nico’s Little Italy.

Opposite Dishes such as the spaghetti and meatballs are often served family style at Nico’s Little Italy.

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CROWN AND RYE Lindsborg

One of the best ways to experience Swedish cuisine in Kansas is to visit Lindsborg—the town known as “Little Sweden”— and stop by the Crown and Rye. Start with an appetizer called Toast Skagen, shrimp salad on rye with a dollop of roe. Then choose an entrée of Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs with egg noodles and a beef cream sauce), Värmlandskorv (potato sausage pan seared with potatoes, bacon and onions in butter and garnished with braised cabbage and brown-buttered beef broth), or Kåldolmar (ground lamb with beef and rice rolled in a steamed cabbage leaf and pan-fried, then served in a red wine demi-glace and topped with lingonberry jam). crownandrye.com 785.227.8422

BRIDGITT’S COUNTRY CAFÉ Woodbine When you think of German foods, bratwurst and sauerkraut, potato salad, and dumplings might come to mind. All of these make appearances on the menu of the German-cuisine house Bridgitt’s Country Café. But the specialties of this lunch-only eatery are the Weiner Schnitzel (a breaded pork cutlet owner Bridgitt Wendell grills every day) and Jägerschnitzel (a pork cutlet topped with a mushroom sauce and prepared every Wednesday and Saturday as the daily special). Wendell, who immigrated to Kansas from her native Germany, rotates other German foods like Rouladen (a stuffed meat dish) and Spätzle (egg noodles) as the specialty of the day.

Facebook: Bridgitt’s Country Café 785.257.3075

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Old-Fashioned Celebrations Communities across the state hold nostalgic Christmas and holiday events S T O R Y

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Cecilia Harris

P H O T O G R A P H Y

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Andrew Pankratz

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he nostalgia of traditional Christmas celebrations will be on display for visitors to enjoy during the Heritage Center’s Old-Fashioned Christmas celebrations December 3–4 in Abilene.

Open year-round, the Heritage Center contains the C.W. Parker Carousel National Historic Landmark, the Museum of Independent Telephony, and the buildings and grounds of the Dickinson County Historical Museum, which includes an 1857 one-room log cabin and The Village, several buildings replicating late 19th-century Abilene.

Most of the Christmas festivities will be outdoors in The Village, illuminated by strung bulbs glowing above and oldtime lanterns and luminarias leading visitors to the cabin, barn, general store, schoolhouse, and carousel building, all adorned with greenery, red bows, decorated Christmas trees, and hundreds of twinkling lights.

Committee chair Cindy Wedel says several visitors last year remarked that walking through the museum’s back door into The Village was like stepping into another world.

“It is a place where they can imagine Christmases of the past if they let themselves,” Wedel says. A living nativity presentation, complete with live animals, brings to life the story of Jesus’ birth.

Children can explore the one-room schoolhouse where they can create simple crafts. Visitors can shop for homemade fudge and locally milled flour inside the historic grocery store.

Music rings through the air, including a hammer dulcimer accompanied by guitar, a four-part harmony gospel singing group, a brass ensemble, and a string trio of fiddle, banjo and guitar. In addition, holiday carolers roam the grounds as the smell of popcorn fills the air and Christmas carols play from the historic band organ when visitors ride on the 1901 hand-carved C.W. Parker carousel.

“The event has all the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas,” Wedel says. “That’s our mission, to educate and help the community and visitors enjoy what we have to offer.

But it’s also about the holiday spirit; people left last year feeling better than when they came, as the stress of holiday busyness is forgotten for a time.”

The Heritage Center’s Old Fashioned Christmas is part of the city-wide Cowtown Christmas that includes the Heritage Homes Association’s Homes for the Holidays Tour, a special run of the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad excursion train with Santa aboard, tours of the historic Seelye Mansion decorated with 60 trees and hundreds of nutcrackers, a live production of The Christmas Schooner at the Great Plains Theatre, a Griswoldstyle Christmas Light Showdown, and other events in Old Abilene Town and the downtown area.

ABILENE dickinsoncountyhistoricalsociety.com / abilenekansas.org 785.263.2681 / 785.263.2231

Above The Dickinson County Heritage Center offers an old-time holiday experience to visitors.

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CHRISTMAS CITY OF THE HIGH PLAINS WaKeeney

Since 1950, WaKeeney has opened the Christmas season on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving with a festive tree-lighting ceremony. The centerpiece tree stands at 35 feet and holds more than 3,000 lights. The tree and downtown lights remain lit each evening until after New Year’s Day. wakeeney.org

CHRISTMAS AT THE MILL Lindsborg

Live entertainment, children’s crafts, and a theatrical performance are part of the Old Fashioned Christmas on the Old Mill Museum grounds in Lindsborg on December 10. oldmillmuseum.org / 785.227.3595

HORSE PARADE Lawrence

One of the nation’s largest parades of horses and authentic historical wagons takes place again in Lawrence this year on December 3. The free event brings thousands into the city’s historic downtown for the 11 a.m. parade start. lawrencechristmasparade.org / 785.856.4437

PRAIRIE CHRISTMAS Strong City

The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve kicks off the holiday season on November 26 as staff dressed in historic costumes prepare for the upcoming holiday as the aroma of cinnamon and cedar drifts through the newly rehabilitated 141-year-old house. Join in the singing of Christmas carols in the parlor. Kids may opt to make paper snowflakes or decorate salt dough cookies for the Christmas tree. nps.gov/tapr / 620.273.8494

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Lindsborg Abilene WaKeeney Strong City Lawrence

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Urban Ice Skating

Wichita

Since 1996, the Wichita Ice Center has been home to dual indoor rinks: One a regulation-sized NHL hockey rink and the other an International Olympic–sized ice. Wichita Ice Center offers basic skating lessons as well as figure skating and hockey lessons. It also hosts figure skating shows, adult hockey, youth hockey and birthday parties. wichitaicecenter.com 316.337.9199

Big-city ice rinks draw in the skaters during the winter season S T O R Y

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Amber Fraley

Leawood

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Katie Moore

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or over two decades, the Kansas City Ice Center and Pavilion in Shawnee has been a destination ice rink for skaters of all skill levels.

KCIC boasts an NHL-sized year-round indoor ice rink with seating for 800 spectators, as well as an NHL-sized outdoor covered pavilion rink with bleachers, a fire pit, and patio seating. The outdoor rink is open from November through the end of February, and in summer and fall, it hosts box lacrosse and sometimes inline hockey. Though it’s been the KC Ice Center for 11 years, the rinks originally opened over 20 years ago.

“It’s a good place for beginners to start skating and a great place for them to explore figure skating and hockey and decide which way they want to go,” says skate school director Kay Olive. She adds that the center’s learn-to-skate classes welcome all age levels. “We have a lot of parents of 3- to 6-year-olds learning to skate while their kids are, so they’re all learning together as a family,” Olive says.

While plenty of amateur free-skaters and serious figure skaters frequent the facility, KCIC is perhaps best known for ice hockey. It’s the home ice for the Kansas City Stars, Kansas’ largest youth hockey organization with over 450 members. The Stars have both house and travel teams for kids of various skill levels, from ages 4 to 18. The Kansas City Jets is W H E R E I N K A N S A S ?

KCIC’s metro elite-level travel team for high school players, and the Jets are this year’s varsity tournament champions in the Midwest High School Hockey League. KCIC also hosts several adult ice hockey teams, from professional-level players all the way down to novice players, and even senior hockey teams for older athletes.

Leawood

Shawnee

kcicecenter.com / 913.441.3033

Wichita

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Opposite Skaters take to the ice in Leawood’s urban rink, The Ice at Park Place.

The Ice at Park Place is a seasonal outdoor rink serving families since 2008. The rink is surrounded by plenty of seating, shopping and restaurants.

It’s open every day, including holidays, from mid-November to the end of February, weather permitting. The Ice at Park Place offers skating lessons, birthday parties, and themed skates such as Princess Skating and Skating with Santa. parkplaceleawood.com/visit/ the-ice 913.663.2070

Discover More Adventure

Maxwell Wildlife Refuge LOCATED IN THE HEART OF THE SMOKY HILLS

Old Fashioned Christmas On The Prairie Saturday, December 10th & Saturday, December 17th Experience a good old family Christmas Prairie tour.

Hot drinks and cookies with story telling by the tree.

Starts at 10:00 MENTION THIS AD FOR A FREE TRAM PASS! LIMIT 1 PER GROUP

222 W. 6th Street Junction City 785-238-2885 EXT. 203

Make your reservations today for an up close personal experience of one of the last remaining Bison herds roaming our Kansas native prairie.

Tram tours offered throughout the year.

MaxwellWildlifeRefuge@gmail.com MaxwellWildlifeRefuge.com

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We asked some regional officials to share their suggestions for the best sledding locations.

Kansas City area • • •

Wyandotte County Lake State Park, 91st and Leavenworth Rd. Corporate Woods Sledding Hill 110th and Antioch (Overland Park) JKC Jewish Community Center 5801 W. 115th St. (Overland Park)

Wichita area

Snow Sledding

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Winter snows offer free, family-friendly excitement

Topeka area

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Jason Dailey

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nowfall across Kansas brings many opportunities for winter recreation. One of the most popular and affordable activities is snow sledding, requiring only minimal equipment and a good-sized slope.

Many cities and counties in Kansas have traditional sledding spots for residents, but over the years some of these locations have become private property or have had road development nearby that presents a danger to safe sledding.

State, county, and municipal parks remain some of the safest and most rewarding options for family sledding outings. Be sure to check in advance if areas are open, and be sure the landing area presents no danger of spilling onto highways or roads.

Opposite Johnny Geery takes his sled for a run in Lawrence.

The Big Hill at Sedgwick County Park, 6501 W. 21st St. N., northwest corner of the park College Hill Park, 304 S. Circle Drive, south of Douglas, across the street from Blessed Sacrament Church

Lake Shawnee, 3110 SE Croco Rd. Adventure Cove slope Cedar Crest (MacLennan Park) SW Cedar Crest Rd., south slope off public trailhead parking lot

Manhattan area •

Cico Hill in Cico Park 3309 Robinson Dr.

Lawrence area • •

KU Campanile Hill, 1501 Irving Hill Rd. north slope toward football stadium Centennial Park, 600 Rockledge Rd., slopes off either east or west parking lots

Salina area •

Indian Rock Park, 1500 Gypsum Ave.

Hays area •

Sled Hill at Hickock Park 26th and Indian Trail

El Dorado area •

El Dorado State Park 618 NE Bluestem Rd., Walnut Creek area

Emporia •

Jones Park, 2006 Jones Dr. back side of dam

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Kenny Felt A conversation with KANSAS! photographers about their lives in photography @kennyfelt / @kennyfeltloveandweddings

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riginally from Uniontown, Kansas (population less than 300 residents), photographer Kenny Felt met his wife in high school. The two attended college while living in Pittsburg, Kansas, and have lived in Fort Scott since 2008. Felt is proud to call the town, filled with a surplus of local history, his home and muse to photograph both portraits and countryside scenery.

What was the moment you wanted to become a photographer? I always wanted to be

a writer. The local paper was hiring a photographer in 2001, so I fibbed a bit and borrowed some random negatives from the high school darkroom to get the job, hoping it would lead to writing possibilities.

From there it turned into a passion and, while I still love to write, photography is where my heart is. My studio is now located just below the old newspaper office where I fell into this career.

What was your first camera? My first camera

was a Canon Rebel film camera. I learned with black and white film before switching to digital. The first day on the job I dropped my camera from quite a distance and it somehow survived. That’s led the way for a lot of my equipment—it gets dropped a lot.

What is the most common photography advice you share with amateur photographers? Never stop shooting. If possible, photograph something every single day. Figure out your camera well enough to work the dials without even looking at the camera. Know it well enough to work it in complete darkness.

PHOTOGRAPH (BOTTOM RIGHT) reprint courtesy Grit Magazine

Tell us about your best chance photo taken in Kansas. Shooting a wedding in Liberal, a storm

was passing through and I noticed a beam of golden hour sunlight bursting through the clouds and lighting up a windmill. I asked the bride if I had time to run into the field, about 200 to 300 yards away, to get closer to the windmill. I grabbed the shot and ran back to the reception without missing anything.

That image turned into my first commission with Grit magazine. That image ran in the back of an issue, and subsequently it’s been one of my bestselling prints ever.

Who is a Kansan you have never photographed, but would like to? Probably

Jason Sudeikis or Paul Rudd because of their humor.

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“I take pride in showing beauty in very simple things and showcasing the beauty of Kansas. When I go out shooting, I like to move around and not stay in one spot very long. I also like to shoot early in the mornings, and this image was taken right at sunrise, so I had a small window of time when the sun was coming up over the horizon. I had remembered seeing this bald cypress tree before and how it stood at the edge of a camping spot. Of course, since it was winter, there weren’t any people or tents around, so I was able to get close to it and use a wide-angle zoom to capture this scene.”

—BRAD NEFF

Social Media: facebook.com/kansaswhisperskansasphotography

Brad Neff is an award-winning landscape photographer. For the past 12 years he has focused on his “Kansas Whispers” project of almost daily posts of four related landscape images, all of them taken in Kansas and most near his home in rural Shawnee County. He took this image with a Nikon DSLR using a 12–28mm wide-angle zoom lens.

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PHOTOGRAPH Brad Neff

Location: Perry Lake, Jefferson County

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IN THIS ISSUE

Unique Breweries

R E A S O N S

We Love Kansas B Y

Cecilia Harris

Founded in 2016, this brewery serves Norse-inspired entrees and salads alongside freshly brewed craft beer. Typically on tap year-round are Odin’s One EyePA, Shield Maiden Wheat with Rye, and Raiding the Highlands Scottish Ale; at least eight other brews are seasonal. The beers pair well with trencher sandwiches, also known as “Smørbrød,” thin slabs of bread used during the Middle Ages as plates before being eaten. norsemenbrewingco.com / 785.783.3999

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CENTER PIVOT RESTAURANT AND BREWERY Quinter

Flying over much of Kansas, you can look down and see large circles of green fields created by center pivots, industrial sprinklers that water crops in a circular pattern. These patterns inspired the name of the popular brewery in Quinter when it was opened in 2018 by brewer Steve Nicholson, his wife Ericka, and their business partners, Roger and Carrie Ringer. The brewery specializes in creating unique lines that pair with the specialty dishes. Nicholson’s Cracked Pepper Cream Ale, for example, is recommended to go with the eatery’s popular chicken fried steak. The Taw Taw City, a pomegranate wheat beer, and the unique Dr. K, a novel colainfused beer, also are favorites. centerpivotbrewery.com 785.754.2332

PHOTOGRAPH Nick Krug

NORSEMEN BREWING COMPANY Topeka

R E A S O N S

DROP THE H BREWING COMPANY Pittsburg

HIDDEN TRAIL BREWING Garden City

Named for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the town of Pittsburg, Kansas, dropped the ‘h’ in the late 1800s, likely following a recommendation by the United States Board on Geographic Names in the interest of standardization. Paying tribute to the community’s heritage, Drop the H Brewing company was opened in 2019 by Mark and Cathy McClain, who saw the opportunity for a brewpub in the southeast Kansas university town. Skillfully crafted beers are brewed on-site and New York-style pizzas are made from scratch bake in a brick oven. Although the in-house craft beers rotate, fan favorites such as Langdon’s Lager, Belgian Wit, and The Local are usually on tap. droptheh.com / 620.404.4019

The brainchild of Cody Cundiff, Colin Williams and Michael Cole, the self-proclaimed “hang-out style” brewery lacks a kitchen, but food trucks feed families playing foosball and arcade, board and card games.

Additional entertainment includes comedy nights, live music, trivia nights, and even a book club. Adults sip on beers made in-house, including the bestselling El Compadre, an adjunct lager with a crisp, refreshing flavor profile.

Another crowd pleaser is BTG Strawberry Honey Wheat. A portion of the proceeds from Cherokee Plains, a hazy IPA, goes to a charity. hiddentrailbrewing.com 620.315.4690

OUTFIELD BEER COMPANY Bonner Springs

THREE RINGS BREWERY McPherson

A conversation between friends Beau Martin and Greg Bush during a Kansas City Royals playoff game led to the opening day in 2019 of Outfield Beer Company, where the love of baseball teams up with fresh craft beers. Paying homage to America’s favorite pastime, the neighborhood microbrewery’s line-up includes rotating craft beers such as a Berliner Weisse called Wild Pitch, a Helles-style ale named Lost in the Lights, and Shut Out Stout. Lake of the Forest Monster, a double dry hopped IPA, is the most popular seller. New beers are on deck. Monthly events include trivia nights and corn hole tournaments. outfieldbeer.com 913.276.0142

Martin Luther, the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, favored beer from Einbeck, Germany, made by brewmaster Berend Brauer, an ancestor of Brian and Ian Smith, the current owners of Three Rings Brewery. The name of the brewery is also a tribute to the Smiths’ family connection to Luther— who was believed to drink from a grand stein featuring a design of three rings. Opening in 2016, Three Rings has a range of local favorites, including a blonde ale called Yankee Rose and an IPA named Vertigo; popular seasonals are Oktoberfest and a New England IPA. threeringsbrewery.com 620.504.5022

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Beer is one of the oldest beverages in the world, dating back to 5000 BC. Humans all over the world consume 50 billion gallons of beer each year.

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November HOLIDAY ART MARKET November 26 | Pittsburg Works by local artists are featured in Pittsburg Art Walk’s first holidaythemed event. pittsburgartwalk.com ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY November 26 | WaKeeney Since 1950, the Wakeeney Tree Lighting Ceremony has been a treasured tradition. Enjoy a soup supper, musical entertainment, carriage rides and more. travelks.com HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS November 26 | Great Bend Downtown Great Bend treats visitors to holiday goodies, horsedrawn rides, an illuminated parade and festive tree lighting. exploregreatbend.com SNOWGLOBE ILLUMINATED CHRISTMAS TRAIN November 26–December 18 Baldwin City Enjoy a 12-mile train ride on an old-fashioned train decked in holiday lights. snowglobeexpress.com

December LAWRENCE CHRISTMAS PARADE December 3 | Lawrence One of the nation’s largest horse and horse-drawn wagon parades goes through Lawrence’s historic downtown. lawrencechristmasparade.org

CHRISTMAS CABARET December 7–8 & 14–15 | Dodge City The Depot Theater hosts an evening of favorite holiday songs and performances. depottheater.com OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE December 10, 17 Maxwell Wildlife Refuge Visitors will enjoy a 45-minute tram ride with a visit into the Maxwell bison and elk herd. Then warm up next to the Christmas tree with hot cocoa and cookies. Email maxwellwildliferefuge@gmail.com to reserve your spot on the tram. maxwellwildliferefuge.com

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MustSee Events

January FIRST DAY HIKES January 1 | Various locations State parks across Kansas present guided hiking tours and events as part of the national First Day Hike program. ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks/ Special-Events/First-Day-Hikes TOPEKA FARM SHOW January 10–12 | Topeka The 2023 Topeka Farm Show will take place at the Stormont Vail Event Center with over 700 booths dedicated to agriculture and free horsemanship clinics. tradexpos.com/topeka-farm-show ELLIS ISLAND: THE DREAM OF AMERICA January 29 | Salina The Salina Symphony takes to the historic Stiefel Theatre to present a musical tribute to the journey of immigrants who arrived to America and contributed to its culture. stiefeltheatre.org

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WaKeeney Dodge Maxwell Great Baldwin Lawrence City Wildlife Bend City Refuge Topeka Pittsburg Salina

For Kansas Tourism’s full and updated lineup of events across the state, see travelks.com/events/

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Kansas Pecans With a combination of native and grafted varieties, Kansas orchards produce a full harvest of this favorite holiday nut

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ative to North America, pecans have become a central part of holiday cooking and baking traditions for many Americans.

Tom Circle, of Circle Pecans near McCune, attributes the nut’s popularity to its distinctive taste: “buttery, nutty, somewhat savory, but with a bit of sweet.”

Though pecans can be bought and shipped from growers across the States and Mexico, fresh, local pecans will always have a more distinct, truer taste. Lila Carter, whose family owns Jake Creek Pecans near Paola, explains. “Fresh pecans come directly from the tree and are held in cold storage until they are purchased, allowing them to retain quality and heart-healthy oils,” she says, contrasting them with long-distance supplied pecans that “may have turned dark and have a somewhat bitter taste [and] are often boiled or chemically preserved, which also reduces and changes their flavor.”

In Kansas, we are fortunate to be able to source pecans from several local growers, each with their own specialties and traditions.

Grown in Kansas Traditionally, most commercially producing trees in Kansas were native, though that is changing as growers graft newer varieties onto existing pecan stock to produce higher yields and fuller nuts. Some of the newer, hybrid favorites are the Pawnee and Kanza trees. “Pawnee trees produce extraordinarily rich-tasting, plump, and golden-colored nuts,” Lila Carter explains, “while Kanza trees produce easy-to-shell, round nuts.”

While native pecans tend to produce smaller nuts with harder shells, Travis Wilson, fifth-generation owner of a farm that has been in his family since the 1800s, notes, “Many people prefer the flavor of the smaller, native pecans over the larger, improved ones.” His property borders the Neosho River about seven miles north of Oswego, and he explains that pecan trees in Kansas generally grow near rivers, creeks and streams where there is deep alluvial soil. These specific soil requirements mean that most of the pecan orchards in Kansas are located toward the southeast portion of the state. But against what some might call pecan-growing norms, Kendall Grier’s pecan farm is located in Bentley.

“No one this far northwest had tried to do this, so it is rather unique for the area,” says Grier, who started the orchard in 2000 after new pecan varieties more suited to his region and climate had been released. However, since he couldn’t rely on available moisture, Grier also purchased irrigation rights that allowed his trees to flourish and produce nuts.

As with any crop, pecans present challenges for the growers. Weather is at the top of the list with farmers worrying not only about lack of rain but also about spring and winter freezes. Pecans, referred to as “alternate bearing” trees, produce yields that vary from year to year with bumper crops one year, smaller crops the next.

Pecan orchards are definitely not for those seeking instant gratification. “It’s a lifetime process,” notes Tom Circle, whose grandfather

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Above Lila and Brad Carter run Jake Creek Pecans near Paola.

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Edmund started experimenting with tree grafting back in the 1980s. His father, Thomas, started the commercial business in 1994. Circle Pecans’ almost 30-year-old trees are still considered young by pecan-growing standards. While trees may begin producing nuts after five years, they are not strong enough for machine picking until they are about 15 years old.

Do growers get to holiday?

Trees produce crops just once a year, but the workload continues throughout the year. In Kansas, pecan growers are sometimes so busy making sure there are enough nuts for gift-giving that they barely have time for their own celebrations.

They typically spend the fall and winter holidays harvesting pecans. However, the Wilson family, who own Osage Ridge Farm in Oswego, always makes time for nutty treats, including pecan-loaded chocolate chip cookies. Kendall Grier, from Bentley Farm in Halstead, adds a little heat and spice to his holiday chores with his family’s version of cayenneinfused pecans. Tom Circle still has fond memories of his mother’s pecan brittle, but also concurs that many of his family’s holiday activities are planned around their business operations. “We are only closed five days during the year: Thanksgiving, (continued on page 31)

Though most of the pecan sales come during the holiday season, the trees must be cared for year-round.

How to Harvest

In 2013, Matthew Circle documented pecan farming in A Lifetime Process, a video submission for a class at Pittsburg State University. The documentary follows the laborious tasks involved in a typical harvest year, including • •

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Preparation Orchard floor is mowed and raked in preparation for the harvest.

Harvesting The long arm of a tractormounted trunk shaker is attached to each tree and causes the nuts to drop to the ground. A nut picker, which works much like a street sweeper, picks up the nuts.

Cleaning and inspection Once back at the processing plant, nuts are run through a pecan cleaner where an air separator is used to remove light nuts, sticks and trash. Nuts move onto the inspection table where workers check for rocks or other debris that might have been missed by the machine.

Sizing, cracking and bagging A sizing machine divides pecans into four sizes, and shell-on nuts are dropped into large super sacks. An air pressure cracker is used to crack the shells of those destined to be sold as cracked pecans; these are also “blown” to remove excess dust and debris. Other nuts are packaged as completely shelled and ready to eat.

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EASY PRETZEL TURTLES

SPICY HOT PECANS

INGREDIENTS • 30 Rolo or similar chocolate-covered caramel candies, unwrapped • 30 square-shaped waffle pretzels • 30 pecan halves, toasted*

INGREDIENTS • 2 tablespoons butter, melted • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce • ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper • ¼ teaspoon salt • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder • 2 cups pecan halves • 1 tablespoon chili powder, or cayenne pepper to taste for hotter mix.

A kid-friendly candy that Lila Carter makes with her grandchildren using Jake Creek Pecans. Yield: 30 candies

INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up.

2. Place the pretzels on baking sheet and top each one with a candy.

3. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chocolate is soft but not completely melted.

4. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and immediately press the pecan half onto the softened chocolate. * To toast pecans: Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir or shake the pan occasionally so the nuts brown evenly without burning. Watch closely as the oil in the nuts can cause them to burn. Toasting adds another layer of flavor to pecans.

Note: Due to their high oil content, raw and toasted pecans stay freshest if stored in the refrigerator or freezer in sealed containers.

SUGAR-COATED PECANS

Slina Prothe uses Prothe Pecans to create these crunchy, sweet holiday treats. Yield: 1 pound INGREDIENTS • 1 egg white • 1 tablespoon water • 1 cup granulated (white) sugar • ¾ teaspoon salt • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1 pound pecan halves

Kendall Grier’s family adds Bentley Farm pecans to saucy and spicy ingredients to create a savory holiday treat.

INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Mix ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and shake.

3. Spread coated pecans in a single layer on a mediumsized baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes, stirring approximately every 10 minutes.

TOASTED, SALTED PECANS

Recipe from Slina Prothe, Prothe Pecans. Yield: 1 pound INGREDIENTS • 2 tablespoons vegetable or pecan oil • 2 tablespoons butter • 1 pound pecan halves • Salt to taste INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Place oil and butter on a standard-sized baking sheet with sides; place in a preheated 250 degree oven just until butter melts.

2. Mix pecans and salt with the oil and butter. Spread nuts in a single layer on prepared baking sheet.

3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

4. Cool and store in an airtight container.

INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease or spray one standard 9x13” baking sheet.

2. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

4. Add pecans to egg whites; stir to evenly coat the nuts.

5. Remove and add the pecans to the sugar mixture; toss them until coated.

6. Spread nuts in a single layer on prepared baking sheet.

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Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

8. Cool and store in an airtight container.

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Kansas Pecan Farms BENTLEY PECAN FARM

CIRCLE’S PECANS

OSAGE RIDGE FARMS

Pesticide-free pecans come from a variety of trees including Kanza, Pawnee, Posey, Greenriver, Giles and Peruque. Pecans are available in several forms including whole, cracked, 95% shelled, 100% shelled halves.

Offerings include one-pound bags of ready-to-eat halves and pieces and bags of easier-to-open cracked and blown pecans that have the dust and debris removed. The country store also offers pies, fudge and other nut-infused candies in addition to candied pecans, ice cream, and seasonal farm-raised vegetables. Designed as a “stop and shop” tourist destination, it welcomes bus groups and offers a range of deli options for hungry holiday shoppers.

Tasting samples are available at in-person sales. Mail orders may be placed by phone or through Facebook or Ebay. Pick-up locations in Halstead and Wichita run from November through midJanuary. Self-picking options are available in November.

Circle’s Pecans & Country Store Owners: Tom and Barbara Circle Address: 2499 US HWY 400 McCune, KS 66753 Phone: 620.632.4382 Webpage: kansaspecans.com Facebook: Circle’s Pecans & Country Store

Native hard-shell and thinner shell pecans are available; all are certified USDA organic.

The most popular gift-giving choice is their one-pound bag of ready-to-eat pecans. Other offerings include uncracked and partially shelled and blown nuts. Purchases may be made by phone, online, or through seasonal sales at area farmers markets.

Bentley Pecan Farm Owner: Kendall Grier Address: 1216 Chestnut Halstead, KS 67056 Phone: 316.209.4588

JAKE CREEK PECANS The Carters’ orchard offers 4-ounce holiday gift tins along with packaged pecans: whole, cracked with less than 10% shell, and totally cleaned.

From October through December, the Carters attend holiday markets in Louisburg, Lenexa, and Lawrence.

Information and dates for these markets are available online; they encourage customers to pre-order if possible. Pecans may be ordered via their online store with shipping throughout the US and Canada.

Jake Creek Pecans Orchard Owners: Brad and Lila Carter Address: 11469 W 335th St., Paola, KS 66071 Phone: 913.406.2501 On-line store: jake-creek-pecans.square.site Webpage: Jakecreekpecans.com

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Osage Ridge Farm Owners: Travis and Rhea Wilson Address: 18090 Xavier Rd, Oswego, KS 67356 Phone: 620.238.2965 Webpage: osageridgefarm@ gmail.com

PROTHE’S PECANS Their biggest seller is shelled pecans, but they also offer in-shell nuts, both cracked and uncracked.

Seasoned and candied offerings include honey roasted, cinnamon, chocolate and salted and roasted pecans. Mild-flavored pecan oil, with its high smoking point, is a hit with customers.

Products are available at the Overland Park Farmers Market, other Kansas City markets, and at an Emporia location.

Purchases may be made through their online store or by phone, and the Prothes recommend placing orders before Thanksgiving.

Prothe’s Pecans Owners: Leland and Slina Prothe Address: 33850 Victory Rd Paola, KS 66071 Phone: 913.849.3358 Webpage: prothespecans.com

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Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter and Independence Day.” Tom’s wife, Barbara, who runs the country store, oversees a frenzy of baking to ensure the farm’s store has an ample supply of pecan-filled pies, fudge, cookies, brownies and treats that will be grabbed up by the bus- and carloads of holiday customers.

Lila Carter’s family takes a break from the never-ending task of harvesting and marketing pecans with sit-down dinners that feature her daughter’s pecan-topped squash casserole. Lila also incorporates pecans into her homemade toffee and turtle candies for gift-giving, and, she says, “We always have a bowl of spicy Jake Creek Pecans on the kitchen counter.”

For many growers, the pecan season has expanded to fill the year. Some 20 years ago, Leland Prothe was instrumental in helping set up Miami County Farm Tours, held on the third weekend of every October and again on Mother’s Day weekend. Now these events draw visitors by the hundreds to the Prothe farm. Most pecan growers agree that the advantages of a year-round season outweigh the disadvantages. “Despite all the hard work involved, I really enjoy it,” says Prothe. “It doesn’t seem like work.”

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In Kansas, pecan trees flourish mostly in the southeast part of the state.

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Opera Houses

Raised across the state as edifices of high culture (at least in name), opera houses are now being restored and revisited for community events and performances

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The McPherson Opera House reopened in 2010 with the historical structure restored and modern equipment and lighting systems for the stage.

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n the late 1800s, railroad lines were expanding across Kansas and youthful, boisterous communities were building up around them. Each new community aimed to be a promising regional center and to capitalize on their ironlinked connection to the greater world. The railroads brought in building supplies, trading goods, potential settlers … and even actors. Traveling theater companies would board trains and present vaudeville acts or other performances in the towns where they stopped.

“Trains would be held until the show was concluded, bringing in business as well as entertaining residents,” says Melissa Swenson, director of the Brown Grand Historic Opera House in Concordia.

The opera houses competing to attract the actors and visitors ranged from purpose-built theaters with extravagant, double-tier seating to open spaces with a raised platform at one end and often located in the second story of commercial buildings. Touring theater productions, livestock shows, vaudeville acts, political rallies, high school basketball games, church services, skating rinks—all of these appeared in Kansas opera houses, notes historian Jane Glotfelty Rhoads in her book, Kansas Opera Houses: Actors and Community Events, 1855–1925. Some opera houses near the cattle trails even featured a stage at one end of the room and a bar and gambling tables at the other.

Leavenworth’s Public Hall, constructed in 1854, just a year after Kansas was opened for Euro-American settlement, was the first public space in the state custom fitted for theatrical

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productions, but many more followed—even if they took the name “opera house” only to seem more cultured.

“Theaters had been considered sinful places … so, although these opera houses were really theaters, calling them opera houses made them high class and kept the bluenoses from attacking them,” says Kansas playwright and actor Phil Grecian.

Swenson adds that once talking motion pictures arrived, entertainment began changing rapidly. As the years went by, many opera houses were transitioned into movie palaces, then fell into disuse as school and civic auditoriums were built, automobiles allowed for travel to bigger towns, and radio replaced live entertainment.

Opera houses closed, and many were torn down. Of the estimated 900 opera houses built in Kansas, there are roughly 200 still standing. The oldest is White Cloud Opera House, constructed in 1862.

But, due to the efforts of community preservation activists and the Kansas Historic Theater Association, some of these opera houses are coming back to life.

“People love to see the old buildings and want to see them used; [they] hate seeing them sit empty,” Swenson says.

“They are proud of their communities and their history. And they want landmarks of the community that they can continue to be proud of.”

Sunflower Peabody built three opera house buildings, but only the latest one—constructed at the cusp of the cinema age—is

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Volunteers in Peabody are working to preserve the Sunflower Theatre’s historic architecture and bring it back as a community cultural center.

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still standing. Sunflower Theatre was built in 1921 by Arnold Berns, a trader of grain, coal, and cattle, when the city was booming as a supply point for regional cattle feeding and awash in oil money. Three buildings were razed in order to build the theater. Originally there were businesses, doctors’ offices, and a lobby in the front and on the first and second floors; the theater hall featured live performances and motion pictures until it closed in the 1950s.

The theater was turned into a bowling alley, and then it sat closed and neglected, but the community has rallied around it, and Sunflower is on its way to becoming an arts and event center, already hosting events from art workshops to 1920s cocktail parties.

The Sunflower is one of more than 300 theaters designed by brothers Carl and Robert Boller, architects from Kansas City. “The Boller Brothers did a ton of theaters, and I think our theater face is one of their more beautiful works still standing,” says community volunteer Susan Mayo. Recently, Peabody received a matching grant from the Kansas Preservation Trust to repair and renovate the art deco sunflowers, glaze brick and terra-cotta tile above the building’s front entrance, as well as to do structural repairs throughout to restore the opera house to its role as a community gathering spot and cultural center.

The Brown Grand What do you get the man who has everything and can afford anything?

Take, for instance, Colonel Napoleon Brown—Concordia’s local business bigwig in the early 1900s.

“The colonel had a 23-room mansion; he was the first in town to have indoor plumbing, owned a bank that charged 15–18% interest, [was] wounded in the Civil War, listed as a major, [and] he purchased his next title, colonel,” explains Swenson. So, when a gift was needed, Brown’s son decided to get his father décor for the opera house he had built for $40,000 in 1907—an ornate stage drape featuring an image of Napoleon Bonaparte and designed to match Col. Brown’s Napoleonic ambitions. The enormous drape hung across the theater’s main stage until it was damaged by a tornado in 1967. A replica was completed in 1978 and has remained one of the theater’s most impressive features ever since.

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it was fully lit, the lights at nearby McPherson College and Industrial Institute either dimmed or went out.

For 30 years the Opera House was the cultural center of the community. With the advent of movies, it fell into decline, was made into apartments and later sat vacant. Its future looked grim, but, in 1986, the McPherson Opera House Preservation Company was formed to save the building. Volunteer efforts, donations, McPherson and a special sales Opera House tax enabled the A massive two-story Opera House to carved stone arch reopen in 2010, marks the entrance grander than ever. to the Opera House The builders of the in McPherson. Built Opera House had in 1889 from red —MELISSA SWENSON intended to finish the brick and carved lower level, but they limestone, the ran out of money and postponed the project. The delay theater’s exterior ornamentation is sublime, both in its turned out to be 121 years, but now the lower level has quality and abundance—there are balustrades, gables, been completed, is in use, and would almost certainly hold and arches. And in a time of kerosene and gas lighting, up to the highest standards of any late 19th-century the Opera House had electricity. According to Rhoads, the bluenose. opera house had such brilliant electric lighting that when Other signature fixtures of the Brown Grand are the dark green velvet seats, a marked departure from the traditional red for theater seating. The original 1907 chairs were green, and in the mid 1970s seats donated to the theater from Bethany College were also green. The interior of the building is green with ivory and gold leafing, so green was an easy choice when new seats were installed in 2020.

“People love to see the old buildings and want to see them used; [they] hate seeing them sit empty.”

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Historic Theaters The nonprofit Kansas Historic Theatres Association is dedicated to preserving historic theater buildings and promoting the various businesses and organizations currently actively hosting events and performances within them. Some of the buildings were built specifically for cinema or, as in the case with the Peabody, as a hall for film screenings and musical performances, but like the earlier opera houses they were—and remain—important cultural institutions and landmarks in their communities. www.khta.com The current theater members of the association include 1.

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Anthony Theatre in Anthony Augusta Theatre in Augusta Blair Theatre in Belleville Brown Grand Opera House and Theatre in Concordia Burford Theatre in Arkansas City CL Hoover Opera House in Junction City Colonial Fox Theatre in Pittsburg Columbian Theatre in Wamego Dream Theatre in Russell Dunbar Theatre in Wichita Granada Theatre in Emporia Great Bend Community Theatre in Great Bend Gregg Theatre in Sedan Hutchinson Fox Theatre in Hutchinson Jayhawk Theatre in Topeka Kingman Historic Theater in Kingman Marquee Performing Arts Center in Winfield McPherson Opera House in McPherson Orpheum Theatre in Wichita Paola Community Center in Paola Plaza Cinema in Ottawa State Theatre of Larned in Larned Stiefel Theatre in Salina Sunflower Theatre in Peabody Theatre Atchison in Atchison The Rex Theatre in Clay Center

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Photography by Brian Goodman

THEM SO ME

F OR THE HOLIDAYS

Here are a dozen classy and affordable Kansan-created gifts you can mail to friends and loved ones across the world

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In a world of gift certificates and Venmo, individually selected gifts are becoming increasingly rare—and, for that reason, increasingly appreciated.

This holiday season, you can shower your special friends and loved ones with thoughtful gifts that speak to their specific tastes and remind them of either their home or the home where they are always welcome to visit.

Our team at KANSAS! and Kansas Tourism has selected some of our favorite Kansas-original gifts, most under $50, which can be easily mailed in-state, throughout the nation, or even internationally. Each one is created by a Kansas artist or company, and most come in different varieties that can be tailored to the recipient.

Of course, these aren’t the only great Kansas-themed or Kansas-made gifts. Throughout the year, our magazine features other unique items in our “Made in Kansas” section. So, whether you are buying for the holiday season or a special occasion such as a wedding or a birthday, consider setting your gift apart by making it a Kansas-made memento that is just as enjoyable to select and send as it is to receive.

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POTTERY SOUP SPOON REST

Created by Friesen Art Location McPherson Order from Friesen Art on Etsy About Artist Daisy Friesen specializes in customized, practical pottery with a range of vases, mugs, serving bowls and more. In addition to holiday gift possibilities, some of the items she creates are for weddings, Communions, and other important occasions.

PERSONALIZED PET PORTRAIT MUG

Created by Sock Dogs Location Olathe Order from sockdogs.com About Artist Stacey Hsu pays homage to this Kansas silverscreen legend in her mug portrait. Hsu also specializes in personalized pet-portrait items, including customized stuffed animals created to look exactly like your beloved pet.

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LEATHER WAXED CANVAS BAG

Created by PK Designs Location Toronto Order from PKDesigns of Kansas on Etsy About The handcrafted leather creations of PK Designs feel, smell, and wear like luxury goods. Wallets, clutches and small purses can be purchased in the $10–20 range, while large waxed leather canvas tote bags cost $250.

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WHIPPED SOAP

Created by Zeep & Co Location Wichita Order from zeepbath.com About These handcrafted soaps are blended with coconut oil and whipped to a luxurious, creamy consistency. The scents include traditional ones such as lavender or berry, as well as house blends such as “Hustle & Grace” and “Drop of Sunshine.”

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NOTEBOOK

Created by Ruff House Location Lawrence Order from ruffhouseprintshop.com About These 70-page journals come in a variety of colors and cover images, but all are created in Kansas from quality, acid-free coverboards and thick interior paper. The design house also offers themed greeting cards, tote bags, and more with free shipping for orders over $35.

SOY WAX MELTS

Created by Kansas Earth and Sky Location Ellinwood Order from kansasearthandskycandle.com About These fragrant, artistically cut pieces of wax are designed to be placed on a hot plate or tea light to gently infuse an area with a particular scent, many of which are inspired by the natural smells and flora of Kansas, such as the lavender, sunflower, and prairie wildflower melts.

SCENTED CANDLES

Created by H&H Collection Location Augusta Order from handhcollection.com About Scented candles can be found almost anywhere in the United States, but these quality, hand-poured, vegan soy wax candles that burn up to 60 hours come in unique Kansas-themed scents such as “Kansas Summer” and “Satchell Creek.” The company has even created the “official scent” for some Kansas cities such as El Dorado.

PERSONALIZED CROSS-STITCH PORTRAITS

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$ 95

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Created by Dandelion Stitchery Location Ingalls Order from dandelionstitchery.com About Artist Pamela Millershaski creates a range of cross-stitch art and shares her expertise with patterns and online tutorials.

Some of her best-selling work includes personalized work for businesses, weddings, and—our favorite—pet portraits.

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KANSAS TRADE TOKEN NECKLACE

Created by IBISwoman, Small World Gallery Location Lindsborg Order from smallworldgallery.net About Located in the heart of Lindsborg, Small World Gallery excels at curating unique and beautiful objects from local and international artisans. This series of necklaces contains a centerpiece of a round token used by Kansas merchants as store cash or for promotion during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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HOME HANGING

Created by Flint & Field Location Olathe Order from flintandfield.com About Flint & Field specializes in customized home goods with regional flair, particularly the KC metro region. But this “HOME” hanging with the outline of Kansas was the first—and you can see why we think it’s still the best—item created by designer and owner Brandon Ratzlaff.

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HANDCUT PAPER PRINT

Created by Angie Pickman Location Lawrence Order from ruralpearl.com About Angie Pickman has earned wide acclaim for her unique handcut paper art that is crisp, precise, delicate, and full of narrative detail. Many of themes are based on fables or the natural Kansas landscape. Young gift recipients might appreciate Pickman’s Merry Menagerie, an alphabet book featuring animals ($14.99), or the A–Z animal poster ($65).

Moore House B&B at Manhattan

Cattle Baron Inn at Howard

Spruce Street Inn And Carriage House at Coffeyville

Ravenwood Lodge & Bunk House B&B at Topeka

Gift certificates available!

Contact a Kansas Bed & Breakfast Association Inn today for the perfect holiday gift. visit kbba.com to find your perfect Inn

CANVAS ART PRINT

Created by Susan Geiger Location Tonganoxie Order from susangeiger.art About Susan Geiger’s art often explores and celebrates the beauty of rural Kansas. She is represented by Kansas City’s Leopold Gallery, which sells many of her original works, but affordable flat- and stretched-canvas prints can be purchased directly from her site.

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SHOPPING � DINING destination

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M E R R Y

COWBOY Authentic, Kansas-made Western-themed gifts from the Dungaree Dude or Lil Grizz can stand out as some of the most memorable holiday gifts

STORY BY Debbie Leckron Miller and Bill Stephens PHOTOGRAPHY Bill Stephens

For many, the name “Kansas” evokes images of the West: cattle drives, ranches, sunsets over the trail. Some of those images might be nostalgia, Hollywood, and myth—but the stories and the lives behind them are also a true part of our state’s history and living heritage. This holiday, or any special occasion that calls for a gift, you can celebrate and share Kansas’ Western heritage by giving someone a gift that taps into true Western traditions and that is made by artisans who honor traditional styles and standards of their craft.

S

ince galloping onto the jeans scene in 2011, Ryan Martin has stitched his way to fame, fitting famous actors, musicians and a fan base with his awardwinning, vintage-inspired W. H. Ranch Dungarees.

But from his home in Olathe, Martin doesn’t seek to claim the title of “a big deal.”

“I’m not even a big deal in my own home. There’s a stack of dishes waiting for me in the sink,” he jokes.

With a low-profile, one-man–shop approach, and working solitary to the hum of his 1942 Singer cast-iron sewing machine, Martin continues to piece together artisan jeans so good that customers pay $375 to $1,000 per pair.

A sixth-generation sewer and pattern maker, Martin started sewing at age 7, soon after his family moved from his birthplace of Salina to Overland Park. His mom was a professional sewer and his dad an architect and illustrator.

“Those things rubbed off on me,” Martin says, especially his mom’s skills and love for her sewing machine. “Honestly, I just thought sewing was fun as a child. I could step on the pedal like a car, and it had that sharp needle that was cool, too. And, you made something in the end.”

In summers, he took sewing lessons in the morning, had art classes in the afternoon and played baseball at night. “I had a pretty well-rounded childhood. But admittedly, I probably was the only teenager with a subscription to GQ in the neighborhood!” he recalls.

“No one thought it was cool that I could sew. I was the only guy in home-ec class making stuff. I’m sure they thought it was weird,” he recalls. “I had a reputation for being welldressed and marching to the beat of a different drum.”

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All Ryan Martin denim jeans and jacket product photos courtesy W.H. Ranch Dungarees.

But at that age, he wasn’t thinking of apparel design as a profession. “I watched The X-Files and thought I’d be a great FBI agent,” Martin says. But in 2000, when he enrolled in his first design class at his dad’s alma mater, Kansas State University, he began to reconsider. “I walked in the lecture hall with 300 people, and I was the only guy.

I liked those odds.”

Martin first became enamored with old-style jeans in college but had little access to the small lots of fabric to make them himself. Nonetheless, he continued to study fashion both at K-State and abroad in London his junior year. By his senior year, he was set on his profession and other plans, marrying Kim, also a Kansas State University apparel and textile student. “We had our professors at our wedding,” he recalls. Martin continues his K-State ties as a guest lecturer and member of the Fashion Design Program Advisory Board. Kim is an interior designer at Nell Hill’s home store in North Kansas City, Missouri.

After graduating, the couple moved to Colorado, where Martin began successfully selling men’s ties on Etsy under the name White Horse Trading Company, an homage to Johnny Cash’s biblical references to “the pale horse” in his 2002 hit “When the Man Comes Around.”

But Martin still dreamed of working in denim, so he sold all his best cowboy boots to buy a 1942 Singer, along

with a few spools of vintage-style thread, zippers, metal notions and denim. “I set up an Instagram page and had maybe 100 followers, posted photos of jeans and me making them, and said I could make 10 pair. They sold out in a week. The business took off like a rocket ship and never looked back.”

“Honestly, I just thought sewing was fun as a child. I could step on the pedal like a car, and it had that sharp needle that was cool, too. And, you made something in the end.”

—RYAN MARTIN Renamed W.H. Ranch Dungarees, the business has stayed true to Martin’s roots on the Kansas plains. “There’s this romanticism to replicate what my forefathers wore on the farm during Dust Bowl days—the denim they went to the feed store to buy. It’s important to me to have that vintage fit and durability. It’s amazing how well-built those garments were.”

Whatever your mode of transportation, please head out to Live the Adventure in Chanute, KS! • Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum • Chanute Art Gallery • Summit Hill Gardens Soap Shop • Chanute Historical Museum • Veterans Memorial • Wright Brothers-Octave Chanute Memorial Sculpture • Howard’s Toys for Big Boys Automotive Museum • Cardinal Drug Store Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain 21 N. Lincoln 620-431-3350 information@chanutechamber.com www.chanutechamber.com

Located in the heart of Southeast Kansas

NORTON Kansas Enjoy historic downtown walking tours, casual dining, galleries, unique retail shops, Station 15 Information Kiosk, frisbee golf, and many parks. Just minutes down the road enjoy Prairie Dog State Park and Sebelius Lake offering stunning views, fishing and hunting!

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Ryan, Kim and their five children returned to Kansas in 2017. In his Olathe studio, he displays posters and memorabilia from stars he’s outfitted for denim jeans or jackets, clients such as Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford and Lyle Lovett, who has a standing order. Martin’s studio also holds vintage jeans in progress, patterns and about 20 pairs of his cowboy boots. He flows from the cutting table to his five vintage sewing machines and rare Reese buttonholer while listening to political podcasts or music of his favorite indie band, Calexico (whose lead singer Martin styled for the Grammys).

Martin makes a dozen different fits of men’s jeans, all custom made to client specifications, and six styles of jackets, including a line for women. But don’t expect a speedy turnaround—orders are added to the stack and could take two years to receive, and the jeans cost a minimum of $375.

Why the hefty price? Jeans are tailored to each client and constructed with specialty denim and thread, along with pure copper rivets, heavy-duty brass zippers, triple stitching and leather hand-branded WH pocket patches. “It’s all these components that make a superior pair of jeans,” Martin explains.

The versatile Steer Ryder is Martin’s most popular style because its slim leg fits over boots and also looks good with loafers.

In Colorado, Martin’s company was named one of the state’s top 25 manufacturers in 2015. Two years later, industry specialists Denimhunters proclaimed Martin the “World’s Best Jean Maker” after awarding his W.H. Ranch Dungarees top prize in the “Artisan Challenge” that required that someone to wear the same pair of a designer’s jeans every day for two years to test endurance.

Martin found a friend to do the wearing!

More recently Martin has started an apparel consulting firm, Ranch Brand Productions, and was named senior designer for Tecovas handcrafted boots in September 2022.

Ordering Tips Want a custom-made pair of W.H. Ranch Dungarees? Start the process with an email request for a phone consultation with Martin.

Once connected, he’ll get your specifications: 52

• •

•

Two of his daughters take sewing classes, and his 6-year-old son says he wants to do what Daddy does when he grows up. But, don’t look for Martin’s one-man show to expand. “If I brought in someone else, I feel like people would say ‘it’s not the same as when you were making them. We sort of want this crotchety guy who gets upset when we email to ask when our jeans will be ready!’”

What do you plan to wear these jeans for—work, play, church, with cowboy boots?

What type of denim do you prefer, such as shrinkable, dark wash, 13-ounce? (He says the most popular is the 1950s-era denim from Japan.)

Pick your price: a standard order for W.H. jeans is $375, “but your order goes in the stack, and I can’t tell you how long it will take.The last order I pulled off the top to work on was from 2½ years ago,” Martin explains about his

•

•

workload. But, he takes four rush orders each month: for $225 extra (total of $600), he’ll get your jeans made afterhours within six weeks.

For the proper fit, W.H. sends you photos illustrating how to measure at home for waist, thigh and knee width and length.

Once the order is finalized and your invoice is paid, “It’s hurry up and wait! You’re in line in the queue. Just don’t email me and ask for updates!” Martin laughs.

whranchdungarees.com / whranchhand@gmail.com

Kansas Open Books Thanks to a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the University Press of Kansas, in collaboration with the University of Kansas Libraries, has digitized seventy outstanding books in history and American political thought and made them freely available online.

See the entire collection of Kansas Open Books at

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70 open access books on Kansas, American history, and American political thought

Open access ebook editions available for free download.

Paperback editions available for purchase.

University Press of Kansas Phone (785) 864-4155 • www.kansaspress.ku.edu

Proud Past – Brilliant Future Come Visit Eisenhower State Park Pomona State Park 785-528-3714 (Osage City Hall) www.OsageCity.com

I

f you plan to visit Lil Grizz or Joy (who goes by “Mizz Grizz”), you are instructed to just come on in the front door and stomp on the floor a few times. That is because they spend most of their time working in the basement and can’t hear you knocking at the door. One of them will come to the bottom of the stairs and invite you to come on down.

This basement is where all the haberdashery occurs. For more than 50 years, Lil Grizz has been creating felt hats, most in Western style, though also fedoras and customized varieties. Over the years, he has gathered and perfected his collection of oldschool tools that could have been used at any point in the last two centuries and continue to serve him well.

The only electrical tools of his trade are support items—the overhead lights and a computer for communicating with clients and for updating Lil Grizz’s social media accounts, including his sassy Instagram account where he might demonstrate how to shape the brim of a hat one day and how to dance like Mick Jagger on another. But, ultimately, the focus comes back to the pride in his pre-industrial craftwork.

“We don’t use any mechanized tools here,” Grizz proudly explains. “The shears are manual, the water is heated over our gas furnace’s burners; flat irons rather than electrical irons are used to shape the hat brims. Even the finished stitching is done by hand,” he adds.

Lil Grizz says his fascination hats began at an unexpected moment, but one that will probably make sense to most Boomers who grew up around a television set in America of the 1950s. While watching Captain Kangaroo, Grizz became fascinated with the Captain’s hat rack that sat in the background, and the fact that the Captain or his guests could transform themselves or their world simply by putting on one of the hats from that rack. That might have just remained a childhood fascination if he hadn’t begun riding for his high school’s rodeo team in Shongaloo, Louisiana, and also began working part-time in a Western clothing and gear store whose owner dabbled in hatmaking. Soon, Lil Grizz—who had had developed an interest in Western history after seeing the early photographs of Matthew Brady—gave the craft a try as well.

Grizz estimates he has made over 10,000 hats in his halfcentury of work. Though he worked in the lumber business and has oil field experience, he has always been interested in hats and considers hat construction his true calling. Once he began to earn enough money from selling them directly to clients, he focused all his work on them and has shipped his handmade designs to every continent except Africa and Antarctica.

New Almelo, a Norton County town of less than 200 in the state’s northwest pocket, might seem like an unlikely place for a global fashion designer and distributor, but it’s been home for Lil Grizz ever since he relocated from Hill City (a short halfhour drive to the southeast) eight years ago. Here, he finishes approximately one hat a day, working beside Mizz Grizz and their advanced apprentice Maudina Palmer, who goes by the trade name of Lander Red.

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Lil Grizz creates each hat by hand, using only hand-powered machinery such as a vintage iron to press the felt, most often a beaver fur felt mix.

The rural location hasn’t kept Lil Grizz from reaching his clients, including global names such as Whoopi Goldberg, Nicholas Cage, and Patrick Gorman. These stars, like all Grizz’s clients, receive hats measured to fit their heads, including extra room for hair preferences. Goldberg’s hat, for example, was one of the largest Grizz made because it was designed to be worn comfortably over her hairstyle at the time, thick dreadlocks.

While individual film stars have placed orders for hats, sometimes Hollywood calls in one large order.

Recently, Lil Grizz completed a batch of hats for the 2022 Nicolas Cage film, Butcher’s Crossing. Based on the novel of the same name by John Williams, the film is set in the early 1870s and begins and ends in a small Kansas Though he specializes in community at the edge of the authentic fashionwear fading Western frontier. from the past, Lil Grizz “We did hats for all of the main characters and their is all over the internet. doubles,” Joy explains.

You can find him and look over Being able to create his hats at: hats that would be authentic to the time and place is an • hatsbygrizzmadewithjoy on important aspect of Lil Grizz’s Facebook for updates on latest work and a reason he also has work and news a client base among historical • Hats by Grizz — Made with Joy on YouTube for demo videos reenactors who attend events • @hatsbygrizz on Instagram such as mountain man for portraits of stylish hats, rendezvous and festivals. hatmakers, and happy “The majority of our customers hats are worn by working • @hatsbygrizz on TikTok for Lil cowboys and other outdoor Grizz techno dance moves • @HatsByGrizz on Etsy main workers. Some of the hats page for an overview of are purchased for the fashion models and prices conscious, but mostly they are used by folks needing good head covering,” Grizz notes. And these customers add up.

“At any given time, we will have 30–50 hats in the queue, being stretched, trimmed, formed and conditioned,” Grizz explains.

Lil Grizz creates a variety of styles, most of which can be described as variations of cowboy hats, mountain man hats, derbies, or historical models. But he has created and continues to create customized variations.

“There’s a lot of leeway in what we can do with a hat,” says Lander Red, “as long as we have a reference photo for the hat, we

Connecting with Grizz

56

can create it; or people can send in examples and say they want a crown that looks like that, a brim that looks like this and so forth.”

Whatever the style, the process cannot be rushed. Shaping the felt mass into a hat requires repeated stretching, pounding, and crimping, as well as applying copious amounts of steam obtained by covering the hats with hot-waterdrenched towels and applying additional heat from heavy irons and elbow grease. Between these steps, the felt hats have to rest, dry, and absorb the new shapes that have been applied to them.

“Usually we have an 8–10 week turnaround time from when we receive the order until we ship out the final product,” Grizz adds.

When finished, hats are sometimes taken to festivals or living history events such as Wild West Days at Cowtown near Wichita, but the majority are sold online. In addition, Grizz has put together a two-week course in hat making skills that is teased on his YouTube channel. The course explains the techniques used in making the hats out of felt blanks. Mizz Grizz says that during the pandemic, many new hatmakers got their start with these videos and some, such as Amy Margerax of Malaysia, have gone on to start new careers as advanced hatmakers after being inspired

by Lil Grizz.

But back in the basement studio of the Grizz place, the pace continues with a sharp focus on one hat at a time, well, with a break every now and then to put a new Lil Grizz dance jam up on TikTok. It’s all in a day’s work for one of the world’s top historically authentic hatmakers.

“We don’t use any mechanized tools here,” Grizz proudly explains. “The shears are manual, the water is heated over our gas furnace’s burners; flat irons rather than electrical irons are used to shape the hat brims. Even the finished stitching is done by hand.”

—LIL GRIZZ

Opposite Bottom Rows of hat molds sit in Lil Grizz’s studio to help him shape hats of almost any size.

Hat Gallery Lil Grizz creates hats in a range of styles and colors.

Here’s a selection of some of his best-sellers and personal favorites.

Hats, clockwise from top left: The Lil Grizz Mountain Man style hat; Upgraded Classic Derby style dress hat; Upgraded Buckaroo style cowboy hat; and US Cavalry style military hat.

The Captain & the Cowboy Lil Grizz says he developed a love for hats competing in rodeos and working at a Western school as a high school student. But one other experience sparked his love of hats early in his life—watching the children’s show Captain Kangaroo.

The Captain had a hat rack with various helmets and hats behind him. Lil Grizz realized that simply by putting on a different hat, the Captain and his friends could become different people in different times and in different places. For little Lil Grizz, it was a magical realization that helped lead to his lifelong career.

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ANITA HIRSCH SHERIDAN COUNTY

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Enjoy the Magic of

lemon park lights Pratt, Kansas November 19 - January 2 Visit Pratt for the holidays and take a one-mile drive through Lemon Park, Pratt’s oldest & most scenic park, adorned with thousands of lights and animated displays. A second holiday park has been added nearby featuring the Twelve Days of Christmas. Many enjoy the lights from the walking paths or on hay rack rides. Dusk till 11:00 PM nightly. Make Pratt one of your holiday destinations.

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