Hutchinson Magazine Fall 2016 by Sunflower Publishing

fall 2016

SMALLVILLE’S

STARS

and their handmade costumes

$4.00

Hutchinson’s N ava l A i r S t a t i o n

Mural

Masterpiece

Cyclist H o s p i ta l i t y

Wesley Towers RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

“Our People Make the Difference”

Proud to have received the SILVER MILESTONE for achievements toward Quality Assurance and Performance Improvements. Wesley Towers has also received a 5 Star Staff rating!

Apartment living is truly personalized at Wesley Towers Retirement Community. Come for a tour and let us show you how we can customize your new apartment home with lots of features including a completely redesigned kitchen, renovated bathrooms, laundry hook-ups, new lighting and closets, and much, much more! Apartments currently available for customization have 1 bedroom, 1 ½ bathrooms and of course, great views along with a variety of amenities.

Come see for yourself why we believe there is no better place to call home than Wesley Towers!

620-663-9175 • www.wesleytowers.com • 700 Monterey Place, Hutchinson, KS 67502

Hutchinson Volume 09 / Issue 02

Magazine

dear readers Publisher John Montgomery Marketing Solutions Director Jeanny Sharp Marketing Solutions Manager Anita Stuckey For Advertising Rates and Information

(620) 694-5700 ext. 222 sales Executives

Tammy Colladay Shelby Dryden Kyle Flax Tony Mascorro Kristine McKeown Lacie Nash Kevin Rogg ad designers

DeRay Gamble Rachel Hixson Kim Hoskinson Patrick Sweeley Nate Weaver Photographers

Kalene Nisly Kristen Garlow Piper Deborah Walker illustrator

Brady Scott

So far this year, I’ve dressed up as Erykah Badu and Tina Turner, and it’s not even Halloween yet (but it’s coming). Of course, both were for big productions where I performed each artist’s music; at one show I donned colorful psychedelic prints and a head wrap, and in the other, an iconic ’80s-style fringe dress. And each time I got to transform into these musicians, I felt like I got to experience the musical eras by wearing some of their signature styles . This transformative experience is present in both of our features in this issue. Azarah Eells and Julia Hardenburger take us from the 1940s through the ‘80s in a vintage fashion photo shoot, where they share with us their favorite finds and offer vintage newbies some guidance on how to wear these looks this fall. Eells can help you personally at her storefront, Eliza Moonbeam Vintage, where she stocks and sells vintage apparel and accessories for anyone looking to relive (or continue to live) their floral print days. Our second feature was intended to inspire your Halloween costume this year, but these costume makers are far more advanced than we were prepared for (have you seen our cover?). Regardless, local artist Darren Morawitz offers some advice for novice costumers and is joined by Jon Robinson, Braden Meyer and his family in sharing some of their super styling secrets. We have some major cosplay talent here in Smallville, Kansas. Try not to get hungry while reading about Miriam Khan Kitson and her family’s collection of traditional Pakastani recipes. We’ve included two of them for you to try at home, if you’re looking to whip up something different for dinner tonight. Read about all of these and more in our fall issue. Enjoy!

— nadia, Editor Follow us on twitter @hutchinsonmag find us on facebook: facebook.com/HutchinsonMagazine

Hutchinson Magazine

Contributing Writers

Amy Bickel Amy Conkling Kathy Hanks Cecilia Harris Richard Shank Patsy Terrell

Production and Editorial Services for Hutchinson Magazine provided by:

Editor Nadia Imafidon Designer Jenni Leiste COPY EDITOR Leslie Andres GENERAL MANAGER Katy Ibsen Publishing Coordinator Jenni Leiste Editorial comments (866) 655-4262 Subscriptions

$25 (tax included) for a one-year subscription to Hutchinson Magazine. For subscription information, please contact:

The Hutchinson News Circulation Department Elizabeth Garwood 300 W. Second | Hutchinson KS 67501 (620) 694-5700 ext. 115 | (800) 766-5730 ext. 115 egarwood@hutchnews.com

Send your comments and suggestions to hutchinsonmagazine@sunflowerpub.com

“This is what love looks like.” —Julie Black

Fall 2016

contents Features 40

Costume Play

Vintage Resurgence

A rise of cosplay in the area inspires locals to try their hand at some elaborate costume design.

Local apparel business owner and high school fashionista walk us through some of their favorite vintage looks and the appeal of retro fashion finds.

departments Lifestyle

Above the Bookstore

Khans in the Kitchen

A librarian and historian build a dream home above used bookstore, Bookends. Cherished family recipes make their way from Pakistan to England to Illinois to Hutchinson, Kansas.

Profiles

Across Country, Through Hutch

The Home Front

Painting Large

hutch illustrated

From the Archives

Cross-country cyclists always have a home in Hutchinson, thanks to local bike hostel and fellow cyclists, hosting visitors from all over the world.

In Every Issue 2 dear readers

the end quote

best bets

Remembering the site of Hutchinson’s crucial contribution to the war effort. Nothing like 150 feet of wall space to inspire Julie Black to make her latest masterpiece—with the help of the whole community. “Ghost Houses of the Prairies”

Travel

For the Birds

Watch thousands of migrating shorebirds and waterfowl that stop to rest at Cheyenne Bottoms’ unique habitat.

Hutch Talks

58 Adam Richter

Director of Community Events, Hutchinson Recreation Commission fall 2016

Jon Robinson and Monica Martinez dress as Lex Luther and Wonder Woman for Hutchinson’s Smallville Comic-Con. Photo by Deborah Walker

SMALLVILLE’S

STARS

and tHeir HandMade costuMes

$4.00

HutcHinson’s n ava l a i r s t a t i o n

Mural

Masterpiece

cyclist H o s p i ta l i t y

Hutchinson Magazine

60 Liz Shepherd and Therese Ketchem Founders of Ubuntu

departments

8..................................... Lifestyle 18................................... Profiles 54..................................... travel 58............................hutch talks

Hutchinson Magazine

hutch clinic

Lifestyle

above the Bookstore A librarian and historian build a dream home above used bookstore, Bookends. Story by Amy Conkling

Hutchinson Magazine

Photography by Deborah Walker

Everyone thought they were crazy. But all Wes and Gwen Bartlett could see were the possibilities when they purchased the historic European Apartments building, located at 123 North Main St. in Downtown Hutchinson, in 2012. They dreamed of the day when the building’s lower level—occupied by come-and-go businesses in more recent years—could serve the community as a used bookstore and gathering place. They envisioned their future home as one of the apartments they planned to live in on either the second or third floor, floors that hadn’t been touched, much less walked through, for decades. And given their careers in public education—Wes as a history/social studies teacher and coach, Gwen as a librarian and media center specialist—it was almost as if they’d planned on spending retirement in this circle-of-life fashion. Gwen would run the bookstore while historian Wes would oversee the second- and third-level apartment construction on one of Hutchinson’s most historic buildings. “We talked about doing something like this for a long time,” Gwen says. “We’ve always liked used bookstores, and Wes, being a history teacher, has always liked old buildings and old houses.” A historic undertaking The Bartletts did their homework and dove into research shortly after purchasing the building because they wanted to maintain its historical integrity. Wes dreamt big and originally thought he would do most—if not all—of the renovations himself while Gwen would manage the bookstore. Thankfully, Gwen says, the architects talked Wes out of doing most of the complicated and time-consuming work since it took the construction crew a total of four men working full-time plus sub-contractors to finish the upper two levels. Smaller renovations began in 2013, but the bulk of construction started in January 2015. The project was completed in March 2016, with renovations totaling more than $1 million. Stairs, walls, woodwork, windows, floors and doors were retained, repaired, and reused as much as possible. The only major demolition came on the third floor, where a fire broke out and destroyed much of that level in the 1920s. “Our intent all along was to retain as much of the original building as possible,” Wes says. Gwen, meanwhile, wanted the overall décor and style to resemble the hotel (housed in the building) back in the 1880s. Lloyd Armstrong from Armstrong’s Antiques found and created antique light fixtures in the rooms and hallways. Walls are covered in maroon leaves and gold wallpaper, while white lace curtains (resembling large, delicate doilies) cover the interior windows. Smaller details, such as honeycomb floor tiles in the bathrooms and button-push light switches, add subtle hints and flairs of the late 1800s throughout the second and third floors.

A Few Details

Writing on the wall On the third floor, just past the area damaged in the electrical fire, is a framed, scribbly signature of the name HC Stephenson dated February 18, 1924.

Third-floor banister Etched in the faux-finish dark wood are the initials ARA. The Bartletts believe ARA either built the banister or did the faux finish on it.

Bathtub Complete with claw feet, the original bathtub on the third floor just needed a bit of elbow grease to restore it to its glory; at first, the construction crew didn’t know if the Bartletts would want to keep it. Gwen insisted, however, and was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the ivory tub turned out after a good scrubbing.

Red exit lights The two original red globe exit lights from the early 1920s hang above the front and back of the third-floor stairwells.

Fall 2016

Lifestyle

Restore it, they will come When the Bartletts first decided to make the upper two levels into apartments with one or two bedrooms, they felt it would attract down-sizers or young residents who wouldn’t stay long. Instead, their current tenants include a young family, a young couple, and a former English teacher who always dreamt of living above a bookstore. Many of their referrals come from word of mouth at the hospital and medical communities. The Bartletts also have made their home in one of the third-floor apartments, which features the hotel’s thirdfloor bathtub from the 1920s. Much of their apartment keeps up the Victorian-Edwardian theme; Gwen’s additions include various antique pieces, including an armoire in

Tenants through the years

Constructed in 1888 as a limestone hotel, the European Apartments is one of Hutchinson’s earliest buildings and has featured several tenants, several of them hotels. The building is on the National Historic Register and is part of the North Downtown Historic District. A few of the tenants through the years include …

Hutchinson Magazine

Crown Drug Store

1960s–80s

Jewelry and Books; A.L. Norton, Furnished Rooms

Long’s Pant Store

1940s

1915

1909

1892

1888

Hotel Clarendon, Bakery and Restaurant

1929

Newark Ready-to-Wear & Shoe Store (upstairs was the Norton Hotel)

Books and Stationary; Dudley Cochran Hotel

European Hotel

their bedroom from Armstrong’s Antiques. Their second bedroom’s main feature is an antique light fixture that’s etched in gold swirls and pink roses. Downstairs, meanwhile, is abuzz as the used bookstore attracts both a local and regional crowd. Bookshelves are filled with a wide variety of books for all ages, including a special children’s room. Tucked in among the bookshelves are antique couches and love seats, as well as a piano for those wanting to tinker away or to play music found in the store’s used adult and youth piano books. Customers and tenants alike covet the building’s ambiance and historical feeling. “They’re drawn in because of where we’re at,” Gwen says. “We have a downtown and historic movement going on in Hutchinson right now, and that’s exciting.”

Hotel Fast Facts During her research, Gwen Bartlett stumbled upon the following facts of the booming hotel industry of the late 1880s. • Average stay rate was $2.50–$3 per day • One bath per floor at the end of each hallway • Several of the guests were railroad travelers, thanks to the emergence of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. • Meals weren’t included in stay price, but guests could buy a meal in the dining room for about 50 cents.

Fall 2016

Lifestyle

Khans in the

Kitchen Cherished family recipes make their way from Pakistan to England to Illinois to Hutchinson, Kansas. Story by Patsy Terrell

Hutchinson Magazine

Photography by Kalene Nisly

Food connects Miriam Khan Kitson’s family across generations, cultures and continents. Born to a Pakistani father and an American mother, Miriam grew up eating many different foods. Although her mother cooked too, it was her father, Salim, who taught Miriam to experiment in the kitchen. “My dad has always been such an adventurer,” she says. And that was true in all areas—not just food. Born in Attock, Pakistan—about 60 miles west of the capital, Islamabad—Salim dreamed of attending Oxford. When he was a teenager, he moved to England, but he learned there was an application process for Oxford, which he hadn’t completed. Not deterred, he went to another college to study engineering while working to support himself. Salim says he grew tired of eating cheap fish and chips, so he began to create dishes he enjoyed as a child. His mother mailed him recipes and during their rare phone conversations, she passed along cooking advice. He simplified and improvised the recipes when he couldn’t find specific ingredients and used what he could find in the local stores to develop his own versions. He kept cooking when he came to the U.S. to join family in the Midwest and continued his education in Illinois where met his wife, Debbie. “My dad is a really amazing cook,” Miriam says. “He, especially, has really influenced me.” It’s the colors, tastes, smells, and fusion of ingredients and ideas that inspire him, Salim says. “To me, cooking is pure fun and joy,” he says. “The joy of sharing the food that I had prepared with family and friends.” Cooking offers endless learning opportunities, he continues. It’s satisfying to experiment, improvise, make mistakes and learn from them. “There are always new foods, recipes, and variations to try.”

Fall 2016

Lifestyle

Eventually Salim’s mother and two sisters joined his family in the U.S., and his mother began teaching Debbie the family favorites. “She taught Mom recipes as Dad peeked over her shoulder,” Miriam says. And he always experimented and encouraged it in everyone else. “He’d say, ‘What’s the worst that could happen? We order pizza!’” Miriam recalls. Miriam was five when her parents divorced; her father stayed in Georgia and her mom moved to Illinois. Miriam and her sister flew back and forth every month. When with her father, Miriam paid close attention to his cooking craft. “Our space together was in the kitchen,” she says. Salim would make Miriam’s favorites whenever she visited. Although it’s supposed to be for special occasions, her constant request was Sewaiyan, a pudding-like dessert that can be served hot or cold. Even as a youngster, Miriam would help break up the vermicelli noodles in the bag. “Miriam got interested in cooking and being around the kitchen when she was about two years old,” Salim says. “She would sit on the counter and hand me the ingredients or ask questions. So many questions.” Miriam also loved Bukhari Pulao, a goat and rice dish that she remembers feeling like all-day production as a kid, she says. Recently she kept track of cook time and it came out to more than four hours. “Pakistani cooking isn’t always fast,” she says. “It takes a whole lot of patience and love.” It’s something Miriam has made herself, using the recipes she wrote down in a small red notebook while in the kitchen with her father. During a trip to San Francisco, Miriam found the notebook in Chinatown, and her father got it for her. It became the place she began writing down her father’s recipes. Eventually she typed them, but says she still has that notebook somewhere. Her grandmother doesn’t measure so much as hold out her hand and indicate “this much” while cooking. Miriam wanted exact measurements when she was trying to get her father to share recipes, but still many things are “to taste.” When it was time for Miriam to go to college, both parents wanted her to attend a school near them. She didn’t want to choose, so she followed her sister to Kansas where she was working. Four years ago they moved

Hutchinson Magazine

Miriam Khan Kitson started cooking with her father, Salim, at a young age. Now she prepares these traditional Pakistani recipes for her husband, Zac Kitson.

to Hutchinson, and on her first weekend she went to Metropolitan Coffee’s dance night. She met owners Jim and Myra Kitson, who offered her a job. She quickly got to know everyone there. “A lot of deep conversation happens in the back of a coffee shop,” she says. When her sister’s family moved, Miriam decided to stay. One of the people she got to know at the coffee shop was the Kitsons’ son, Zac. In June of 2015, both of them wearing traditional henna, Miriam and Zac married. Her aunts made all the food for the 50-plus attendees at the traditional ceremony the night before called Mehndi Night. Zac has developed a fondness for the traditional Pakistani food. “The Bukhari

Pulao and chicken curry will get me out of my seat and into stretchy pants pretty quick,” he says. He bought goat meat last fall so they would have a supply for Bukhari Pulao. As they create their own family, Zac is embracing Miriam’s history. “I can be a bit of a curmudgeon about change in general, but I’ll never turn down traditions that involve food and family,” he says. There’s a magic to shared meals, Miriam says. “It doesn’t matter what culture you are in, shared meals are a big deal,” she says. Hospitality is something she grew up with. “Everyone is welcome in my family’s home.” She jokes that her aunts and grandmother always have freezers full of food and will

still cook. But they’re prepared for anything. “In our family, it’s more than just nourishment of the body,” Salim says. “It’s an important activity that we participate in together, several times a day, whether prepared by us or someone else. And it nourishes the soul, too. It’s the shared experience, being together, that we cherish. Even when we are fussing over the ingredients, the taste, the smell, or its health benefits, it opens the doors for other, more intimate conversations. Gathering in the kitchen or around the table, you set a place for food, and with it you also set a place for conversation and love to flow.”

quote

“Pakistani cooking isn’t always fast. It takes a whole lot of patience and love.” —Miriam Khan Kitson

Fall 2016

Lifestyle

Sewaiyan (suh-vine-yuh) ingredients

½ gallon of whole milk 1½ cups of sugar 1 (5–7 ounces) bag of vermicelli noodles 1 cup of slivered almonds (or shelled pistachios) 1 cup of raisins 4-5 green cardamom pods (split open, seeds ground, shells discarded)

Instructions

In a bowl, soak raisins in cool water for at least one hour. Feel free to set out your bowl on the counter overnight to make in the morning. Pour your milk into a large saucepan. Add sugar and almonds and slowly bring it to boil on medium or medium-high heat while stirring occasionally to make sure sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat when milk starts to rise, reaching boiling point. A word of caution: Milk boils over very quickly. It must be watched carefully and removed from heat immediately at boiling point or you may end up with a bit of a volcano situation. While your noodles are still in their plastic packaging, break them into quarter-length pieces. In a second saucepan, bring ½ gallon of water to boil, and add the vermicelli noodles, stirring consistently to keep the noodles from clumping. After about 60–90 seconds, turn off the heat. Drain the water from vermicelli noodles using a fine mesh sieve. Add your drained vermicelli noodles and ground cardamom seeds to the milk mixture. On medium-low heat cook vermicelli noodles in milk for about two to five minutes, stirring gently. A note on texture: the longer you cook it at this point, the thicker it will become. For a thicker, more pudding-like consistency, cook it on medium-low heat for 15–30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Stir occasionally to keep the milk from developing a skin. While your milk and noodles are cooling, drain the water from the raisins and wash them thoroughly in cool water. Once your milk mixture has cooled, you may add the raisins. This may be served warm or chilled (it will thicken a bit more when it is chilled). Garnish your dish with a bit of crushed pistachios or sliced almonds.

Hutchinson Magazine

Bukhari Pulao ingredients

Spicy meat broth 4 pounds chunked up goat meat (shoulder) 10–12 cloves peeled garlic 1 large onion, cut into quarters 1 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper 6–8 2-inch-long sticks cinnamon 6–8 whole black large cardamoms 8–10 whole bay leaves 3 tablespoons salt 8–10 cups water

Rice mixture 5–6 tablespoons oil 1 large onion, quartered, then thinly sliced 3 teaspoons whole cumin seeds 3 cups basmati rice, washed thoroughly

Instructions

Remove any fat, cut into bite-sized chunks and wash the meat thoroughly until the water runs clear. In a large stock pot, mix all the ingredients for the meat broth, and cook for two to three hours on low-medium heat, until the meat is very tender. Drain the broth into a large bowl, through a colander. Pull the meat from the colander, set aside, and discard all ingredients, except for the meat and broth. Removing bones is easiest and best at this point. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil on medium heat and add sliced onions. Caramelize onions until light brown, being careful not to let them burn. Add the meat and whole cumin seeds to the Dutch oven and mix well with the caramelized onion (three to four minutes). Add rice to the above mixture and stir it for five to six minutes. Add the broth and let it cook, until the broth is absorbed and is just barely above the rice. Do not stir it at any time once the broth has been added. Cover with a lid. For an extra tight seal, slip a clean, thin kitchen towel between the lid and pot and push down lightly to seal the flavor in. Turn the heat to low for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid no longer bubbles at the top of it. Turn off the heat, and let it sit for five to 10 minutes without removing the lid. Serve and enjoy! Fall 2016

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Across Country, Through

hutch

Cross-country cyclists always have a home in Hutchinson, thanks to local bike hostel and fellow cyclists, hosting visitors from all over the world. Story by Kathy Hanks

Hutchinson Magazine

Photography by Kalene Nisly

Cheryl Forrester was halfway across the United States, riding the TransAmerica Trail, when to her horror she felt the chain on her bicycle wobbling. She quickly realized one of the bolts holding the chain rings on the bike was missing. She tightened the other three bolts and checked her Adventure Cycling Map, which listed all of the nearby bike repair shops on this part of the transcontinental trail. Despite being in what she considered the middle of nowhere, she was in luck— Harley’s Bicycles in Hutchinson was only seven miles off the trail. Forrester and her two traveling companions stopped at the shop, which stocks specialty bike parts that might be needed on cross-country bikes. If it hadn’t been for Harley’s, the next bike shop carrying the necessary part was 240 miles west in Pueblo, Colorado. “We have 100 to 150 cyclists stop by every season,” says Bob Updegraff, owner of Harley’s. “I’ve met a lot of interesting people.” Between 40 to 50 percent of the cyclists are from other countries; many are Europeans. Updegraff meets a lot of riders from Scandinavia. Some travel in groups, while others prefer traveling alone. Forrester began the 4,228-mile cross-country trip alone in Washington, DC, cycled down to Yorktown, Virginia (the official start of the TransAm) and was traveling to Astoria, Oregon, taking an unpaid leave from her job as a consulting engineer. However, along the route she met up with two other cyclists—Jim Herron, of Estill Springs, Tennessee, and Glen Lovett, from Sommerville, Massachusetts—and they all began traveling together. It’s not just repairs that bring cross-country cyclists the 14-mile round trip off the trail and into town. They are lured by Zion Lutheran Church’s free bike hostel. A block off Main Street, it’s a beacon for many during the arduous bike trip. “There was air conditioning,” says Forrester, of East Hagbourne, England. The hostel was a reprieve from the searing summer heat in Kansas and nights sleeping outdoors in different town parks. While staff at Harley’s Bicycles repaired and cleaned up the bicycle for just $25, they also gave the trio a key to the church. After biking in 100-plus degrees, they welcomed showers and a place where they could cook food and use the Wi-Fi to check their email—free of charge. “They have an incredible shower,” says Jim Herron, praising the church’s hostel, including its well-stocked kitchen.

Zion Lutheran Church is a safe haven for cross-country cyclists, providing a hostel with a full kitchen, showers and other amenities.

Fall 2016

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Stephen Pelstring, a guest at Zion Lutheran Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bicycle hostel.

Hutchinson Magazine

Making it a mission In 1975, Harley Phillips, then owner of Harley’s Bicycles, first learned about the plans for Bikecentennial ’76. That’s when thousands of cyclists crossed the country on the same TransAmerica Trail to celebrate the country’s bicentennial. Organizers of the event, who were mapping the route, stopped in the shop to ensure it would have the inventory necessary to handle any bike repairs. After Bikecentennial ’76, the cyclists kept coming every summer along the route in northern Reno County that takes them between Newton and Nickerson. Because so many riders were stopping off for repairs, Phillips, a member of Zion Lutheran Church, discussed with the church board the idea of opening a hostel for traveling cyclists. The board concurred, and they decided they would do it for free. By 1982, they received their first guests and housed them in the former church parsonage; now the hostel resides in the church’s basement. “We are a small inner-city church,” Phillips says. “This is our way to do outreach.” On a recent Sunday following church service Phillips gave a tour of the hostel area. He pointed out the shower room, and on the stage were two double beds separated by privacy curtains. Yes, one might hear another guest snore, but it beats being caught in a thunderstorm. Each area has a TV, and there is a large-screen TV in the fellowship hall. “You have to understand these people are not accustomed to sleeping in a bed,” Phillips says. “They don’t travel with a bed on the back of their bike.” Over the years they have housed up to 27 people in the hostel at one time. Cyclists are happy to roll out their sleeping bag on top of the many tables in the room, Phillips says. Church organist Diana Duryee and Shelley Charles are on the hostel’s laundry committee, offering guests clean sheets and a clean towel. “I come by, and they are using the pots and pans and making themselves at home,” Duryee says. There is a map on the wall to show where to find things such as the nearest grocery store and the Cosmosphere. Some stay an extra day to explore area attractions, Phillips says. Find within the pages of a sign-in log messages from people all over the globe, singing the praises of a night’s stay at the hostel. “Best rest place and bike shop,” wrote one traveler. Phillips, who has ridden his bike across Kansas 19 times in annual Biking Across Kansas event, says, “I hear repeatedly from the bikers that Kansas is the hardest place with the hot winds, but it has the nicest people. It’s 400 miles across, and they can be in the state for five to six days.” During their busiest year, Phillips says, they had visitors from 43 states and 11 foreign countries.

Fall 2016

profile Ari and Joni Gold host Vivek Vidyasagaran through an online program offering hospitality to cyclists, Warm Showers.

Other hospitality While the members of Zion Lutheran Church make the strangers traveling through Hutchinson comfortable, Ari and Joni Gold also open their home to passing cyclists through a program known as Warm Showers. Warm Showers has more than 40,000 registered hosts around the globe. Hosts and cyclists sign up on the site where they’ll find an interactive map that allows travelers to find hosts on their route. Hosts may offer a couch, a room, or a place to camp. But, above all else, they offer a warm shower. Two years ago, Ari was riding from Massachusetts to Arizona when he met Joni while traveling west on Fourth Avenue, just outside of Hutchinson. “She was driving her car coming home from work and something told her to say something to the bicyclist,” Ari says. During the conversation, she asked where he was headed and offered a place to camp for the night. He took her up on it, and a friendship began. They stayed in touch, and within a year Ari returned to marry Joni. Together they have opened their home to other cyclists traveling the countryside. They have had several people come by on bikes, including an ultimate Frisbee competitor from China, traveling around the world. “I am fascinated by people from other cultures and other ways of life, and I want to see their perspective on life,” Ari says. Plus, he likes helping strangers in unfamiliar territory find a safe haven. “I was the stranger for two years on the road,” Ari says. “I didn’t know where I would sleep, so now I get a taste of someone else’s adventure.”

Hutchinson Magazine

quote

“I was the stranger for two years on the road. I didn’t know where I would sleep, so now I get a taste of someone else’s adventure.” —Ari Gold

We’ve raised over $400,000 for Hutch. The Hutch Card Visa® credit card from HCU makes a big impact. Hutchinson Parks and the Hutchinson Zoo receive a portion of every dollar spent with the Hutch Card. This money is used to fund projects and improvements throughout the city.

Visit hutchcard.com for full details today.

EXCLUSIVELY AT TM

Carey Park playground built in 2015, funded through HCU’s Hutch Card Visa.

800.428.8472 hutchcard.com

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the home

front Remembering the site of Hutchinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crucial contribution to the war effort

Story by Richard Shank Photos courtesy Reno County Museum

Hutchinson Magazine

Armand Dube’s first view of Hutchinson was at 3 a.m. on August 15, 1954, as his train arrived at the city’s downtown depot. As an Air Force medical technician, he was transferred to Hutchinson from Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, Oklahoma. “I had no idea where anything was, not even the location of the base, but after a call or two someone arrived to pick me up for a ride,” Dube says. Dube was dispatched to Hutchinson Naval Air Station to assist approximately 200 radar personnel assigned to the base. In his day job, Dube assisted in the treatment of servicemen and their dependents. Then, following the crash of a B-25 airplane on the HNAS runway, he was assigned responsibility for retrieving the bodies of the pilots killed in the crash. For leisure, he and his comrades alternated between swimming and spending weekends in Hutchinson. Dube met his wife, Betty Miller, a registered nurse at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, on a visit to the University of Kansas to watch Wilt Chamberlain play basketball. Following his discharge from the Air Force in 1956, they became permanent residents of Hutchinson, a place he called home after just a couple years of service. A new base in town As war clouds hovered over Europe and Asia during the late 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress approved the establishment of two-dozen naval air stations— including one barely seven miles south of Hutchinson and one mile west of Yoder. The Navy selected the Reno County site because of its proper drainage, railroad and highway access, availability of fuel, open country, favorable climate, and what the Hutchinson Chamber had promised would be adequate housing, according to the Reno County Historical Society (The air station would later deal with a chronic housing shortage). Government purchasing agents soon fanned out across Reno County to buy 2,560 acres of fertile Kansas farmland and lease other acreage for the duration of the war. The Hutchinson

Chamber of Commerce swung into action to assist with temporary housing needs of the soldiers. The Kansas State Fair provided space and buildings for training purposes, and 500 soldiers took up residence in the 4-H Encampment Building. Passersby at the Hutchinson Airport watched military aircraft take off and land nearly every day, and the YMCA offered visiting servicemen use of its swimming pool and gymnasium. Many residents have special memories of the military installation and its contribution to life in Hutchinson. Longtime Hutchinson banker, Nation Meyer, remembers his father, E.W. Meyer, being surprised when a group of sharply dressed naval brass appeared in his office to inquire about office space in 1941. “They told my father of the military’s plans to construct a naval air station near Yoder, and for the interim, needed temporary office space,” Meyer says. “So, for a year or more, they were tenants on the sixth floor of the bank.” The base was officially commissioned as the United States Naval Reserve Aviation Base, Hutchinson, Kansas, on October 27, 1942. On January 1, 1943, the name was changed to the United States Naval Air Station—remaining HNAS to the locals. A final tabulation of the costs to build the naval air station totaled $11 million, a hefty sum for that era. More than 30,000 attended an open house held on the base July 4, 1943, and it seemed that everyone wanted to view what was at the time reputed to be the nation’s largest indoor swimming pool, which held no less than 550,000 gallons of water. As thousands of Navy personnel cycled in and out of the base, the Hutchinson area experienced an economic boost due in part to the hiring of nearly 300 civilian workers. The base graduated 3,200 pilots. HNAS closed its doors in December 1946, but not for long. Six years later, in 1952, as America fought another war this time in Korea, HNAS was reactivated for another six-year stretch before its final curtain call in 1958.

Fall 2016

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In 1944, 276 WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) took up residence on the base; some enlisted men lodged complaints that the WAVES lived in better accommodations.

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Out on the town Fol low i n g the Defense Department’s decision to reactivate HNAS, the Air Force established a radar unit within the facility, and several hundred soldiers from that branch of the military served here. C.D. (Mac) McKenna, from Walled Lake, Michigan, was deployed for service at HNAS to work with a radar unit during a tour of duty as an Air Force sergeant. After eight hours in the office each workday, he had several options for evening entertainment. “A bus left the base at 6 p.m. every evening for Hutchinson and picked us up at 10 p.m. for a return trip,” McKenna says. “If you missed the bus, it was necessary to run down someone in a bar for a ride back to the base.” The biggest selling points of Hutchinson for soldiers were its four theaters, dance halls, restaurants and many other amenities including

the Chocolate Shop, notes the historical society. McKenna recalls the main entertainment included watching movies, playing pool, grabbing a beer or dancing at the Crystal Ballroom. McKenna often went to a roller rink on the base where he met Elaine Klatt, whom he married in 1955 following his discharge. They were then ready to declare Hutchinson a permanent and lifelong home. Shadows of old military base Today, abandoned runways stretch to the east as far as the eye can see, replete with cracks in the aging concrete. Fifty-eight years after the last soldier vacated HNAS, there are no shortages of reminders of what this site once was. A dilapidated terminal building and air traffic control tower show signs of a half-century of decay.

Piles of scrap iron, abandoned vehicles and debris remain next to businesses that have moved into the area. In 1968, the state established the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, which remains in this location to this day. Each year, KLETC trains municipal, county, and state law enforcement officers under the authority of the University of Kansas. Also find on the grounds Hutchinson Community College South Campus where students receive instruction in everything from agriculture to welding to fighting fires; SYP Industries, which manufactures plastic components; and Feedex, which produces highquality animal feed products. An area of base housing has even been transformed into homes for area residents.

Fall 2016

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Hutchinson Magazine

PAINTING

Large Nothing like 150 feet of wall space to inspire Julie Black to make her latest masterpiece— with the help of the whole community.

Story by Amy Conkling

Photography by Kristen Garlow Piper

It all started with a simple request to give doors a pop of color. About a year ago, Training and Evaluation Center of Hutchinson staff reached out to local artist Julie Black to spruce up their new space. TECH had recently purchased the former Midwest Feed building, just one block west of Avenue B and Main streets in Downtown Hutchinson, and wanted Black to paint their art studio. Black took it a step further—more like a giant leap. “I offered to paint the entire alley,” Black says, laughing while thinking about

the monumental task of painting the entire 150-foot stucco side of the building. And for the past several months, the now-famous TECH mural has sparked an entire village of artists and non-artists alike as they build community spirit through paintbrushes, polka dots and plenty of giggles along the way. “This has been the biggest blessing of my life and has showed me an entirely new part of Hutchinson by experiencing this community’s kindness in a different light,” Black says. “I often sit in the scaffolding and journal about how lucky I am to get to do this.”

Fall 2016

profile

From back left, TECH clients: Jamie Keller, Pam Carey, Julie Black, Kelly Bringle, Stan Balman, Lisa DeVault, and (front) Dana Connor and Macy Marshall.

Community influence Black approached the mural project with the pillars (and colors) of TECH in mind: selfworth (orange), creativity (purple), connection (yellow) and independence (green). TECH provides services for individuals in the Hutchinson-Reno County area with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Black started working with TECH in March 2013 and taught art classes once a month. She’s now there three or four—if not more— days a week, teaching art classes and working on the mural. “This mural parallels my experiences with my TECH artists,” Black says. “They want to be a part of what we all are in this community.” And that’s exactly what is happening, thanks to the mural. Several downtown business owners and residents have embraced the TECH mural, along with the dozen or so TECH artists who have helped Black throughout the mural process. Lloyd Armstrong, owner of Armstrong’s Antiques, and Mark Buckley, owner of Toy

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Depot, have dropped by to provide Black with water on hot days and umbrellas on rainy days, as well as a smile and small talk while she painted. “They tell me I’m painting their backyard,” Black says. And she is—the whimsical, colorful display faces the alley behind their businesses. Armstrong has made frequent stops in the alley—so much that when the TECH clients found out his birthday, they handmade cards to make his day even more special, Black says. “This is what love looks like,” she says. That love is reciprocated, too, according to fellow artist Jocelyn Woodson, who fondly recalls Black taking a special request from another resident with an apartment downtown. “She asked Julie if there were going to be flowers on the mural,” Woodson says. So later that week, Black painted flowers in specific places on the mural, one directly in front of the woman’s kitchen window so she could look out and immediately see the blooms.

quote

“I often sit in the scaffolding and journal about how lucky I am to get to do this.” —Julie Black

Jocelyn Woodson (left) joins Julie Black in painting the mural, adding her signature ballerina to the wall.

The Invitation Black immediately thought of including fellow Hutchinson artist and long-time friend, Woodson, and her famous ballerinas in the mural. In addition to painting a ballerina and a dancing lady, Woodson also drew baby chicks tucked in along the base of the mural and plans to add more as the project continues to unfold. Woodson says social media has played a huge role in the community buzz. It helps draw visitors from the region, including Johnson County, Topeka, Salina and beyond, as they follow Black’s frequent posts on her personal Facebook page. Black frequently includes pictures of the mural’s progress and insists on taking selfies or candids of any visitor who visits the alley. “This is for both the children and the adults of our community to show them that where they live is a joyful place,” Woodson says. “To walk through the alley and see the mural up-close is an amazing moment that’s larger than life—a moment of awe, and we all need those in our lives.”

Fall 2016

The Mural Breakdown Chicks Former Midwest Feed building owner Norm Karlin approached Julie Black with a small request. He frequently visited Black while she worked on the mural this spring and talked about the chicks Midwest Feed used to have on display. As a tribute to the former store, Jocelyn Woodson and Black both tucked in seven chicks throughout the bottom of the mural. They have plans to add more as the project continues. Ballerina and Lady Dancer Black specifically reached out to Woodson to paint her classic ballerina, a Jocelyn Woodson original, on the mural. “I asked Jocelyn if she could put her girls on there and no questions asked—she just did it,” Black recalls. Polka Dots White polka dots are one of the many tiny features of the mural. Black says mural fans from the Topeka and Salina areas privately messaged her on Facebook asking if they could help put polka dots on the mural. TECH artists have contributed, too. It’s become such a popular request that Black has purchased large quantities of white T-shirts and will custom-paint them, “I Dot This – TECH Mural” and hand out to each person who comes out to “dot the wall.” Glow The aqua blue backdrop to the mural immediately attracts eyes, but the contrast of orange, pink, red, yellow, black and white has its place in the mural, too. “I feel everything should look like Walt Disney puked on it. Color is meant to evoke emotion,” Black says, adding that she specifically painted certain spots to look as if the mural were glowing.

Hutchinson Magazine

An image from The Keel, the Naval training centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yearbook

Fall 2016

hutch illustrated Illustration by Brady Scott www.bradyscott.weebly.com

Hutchinson Magazine

Prairies

Ghost Houses of the

Eventually clouds roll in filling big, blue skies full of darkness and lightning worrying the lifeless farmhouses beneath like icebergs rushing headlong towards the Titanic 1941, 1961, 1981 how long since beds were made stoves fired up living room floors kissed by straw brooms? Now screens which once protected windows hang at crazy angles flapping dangerously in a prairie wind that rushes down from Canada to the Gulf but fails to move windmills which resist raising water no longer needed for families long since left Dwellings built with pride detailed with love no longer filled with children’s chatter slowly sink into the prairie that was once a sea waiting patiently for the earth to take them back AUTHOR BIO: As a fine art photographer, Dave McKane is always trying to capture intriguing and gripping stories through his images. With his frequent returns to Kansas (from Dublin, Ireland) he became entranced by the sheer volume of abandoned houses in the state, so he set about shooting a photography project of them called “Ghost Houses of the Prairies.”

Fall 2016

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Hutchinson Magazine

from the

Archives Text by Ashley Maready Images courtesy Reno County Historical Society and Reno County Museum

(Left) The Kansas State Fair has been an annual fall tradition in Hutchinson for more than a century, and this photo takes us back to the 1920s. These eight young men are showing cows from Willie Watson’s herd; Watson is first person on the left. Watson was an internationally known exhibitor of Ayrshire dairy cattle. In this particular year, he was awarded $500 from notable Hutchinson businessman, politician and salt company executive, Emerson Carey, for “best quality individual and herd.” Carey is in the center of the building doorway in this photograph. (Bottom Left) Fall is also a time when students go back to school. Here is a scene from a chemistry class for nurses held at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Hutchinson in 1944. The instructor for the class was Sister Mary Vincent; she stands at the right side table above her students, who are studying hard. St. Elizabeth Hospital was built at the corner of 20th and Monroe streets in 1920 and began as a 50-bed hospital with a nursing school on-site. Many Hutchinson nurses were trained there. After later additions and a merger with Grace Hospital, St. Elizabeth increased its capacity and became part of the Hutchinson Hospital Corporation. In 1975, the old building was rendered obsolete by the construction of a new Hutchinson hospital.

Fall 2016

features

40....................................... costume play 48............................ Vintage Resurgence

Fall 2016

Kal Salzman and Jon Robinson

Hutchinson Magazine

C o s t u m e

Play A rise of cosplay in the area inspires locals to try their hand at some elaborate costume design. Story by Amy Bickel / Photography by Deborah Walker

Fall 2016

Your turn

Five quick costume tips from Darren Morawitz. 1. Don’t be afraid to fail, and then try again. “Your first piece isn’t going to be good. Just accept it.” 2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. “Especially people like me who have made several things already,” he says. “I have yet to find someone who won’t help someone and give good advice.” 3. Rely on what you know. Some prefer cardboard to create the perfect costume. Morawitz says craft foam is easier. “Craft foam is my friend. It’s easier to bend and cut out than cardboard. It’s easier to work with.” 4. Buy stock in Velcro. Along with hot glue, Morawitz uses it to attach things, especially when he is putting on and taking off his costumes. 5. Be willing to use anything and everything necessary. Morawitz, who is still working on a Green Lantern Stel costume, says he even incorporated a cereal bowl into the design. Stel’s chest includes a sunken-in piece that showcases his superhero symbol.

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“I just “Empor ibus the enjoy moloriti challenge rere of making ptatur it.” min -Darrennobis” Morawitz -????

Most days, he is just Darren Morawitz, a friendly 28-year-old who teaches art at Hutchinson High School and hoards comic books in his apartment. But a few days a year Morawitz transforms into a superhero—thanks to a little hot glue, craft foam and painted cardboard. It started out small. He attempted the helmet of Xorn from X-Men last year. This spring he constructed Doctor Fate, a heroic sorcerer from DC Comics. Now he is

engineering the engineering thecostume costume of thethe of character character StelStel fromfrom his favorite his favorite comic,comic, Green Lantern. Green Lantern. “I just love it,” he says. “After “I just I wear love them, it,”seeing he says. the reactions “After I wear of people, them, seeing the feeling the is as closeoftopeople, reactions a celebrity the feeling as I’ll ever is as close feel.” to a celebrity as I’ll everThat’s feel.” part of the drive for That’s Morawitz: partseeing of the people’s drive faces for Morawitz: light seeing up, people’s getting recognition faces light for aup, job well getting done and, of course, recognition for getting a job well to done geek out in and, of acourse, costume. getting It’sto called geek cosplay out in a costume. (the contraction It’s called of costume(short cosplay play),for thecostume art of play), the art creating and creating andof dressing up

as dressing your up favorite as yourfictional favorite character. fictional character. Cosplay, in fact, is a growing trend in Hutchinson. For one weekend each June, folks clad in selfcreated costumes pour into Hutchinson, unassuming residents who, like Morawitz, have a vigilante alter ego. “I just enjoy the challenge of making it,” says Morawitz, who spent nights and weekends creating the Doctor Fate super suit, which he wore for Hutchinson’s Comic-Con in June.

Fall 2016

“You get to be someone else for a day.” -Jon Robinson

Dressing up for Comic-Con While sporting capes and face paint might be new in Hutchinson, the art of dressing up in elaborate sci-fi or comic book-inspired costumes existed long before comic conventions began popping up across the nation. Yet for many people, Comic-Con is fostering the love of cosplay in the area, says Jon Robinson, who founded Hutchinson’s Smallville Comic-Con, which drew more than 3,000 people this year. Adults can dress up as heroes and don’t have to wait for Halloween to do so. “For me, you get to be someone else for a day,” says Robinson, who lives in

Hutchinson Magazine

nearby Little River. “Everybody has work, everyone has kids, the stresses of life all the time. But when you get to put on a suit, it kind of erases every part of your daily life. You are someone else.” Jon Robinson has been making costumes for nearly 10 years. For this year’s Comic-Con, he created Lex Luthor’s power suit, which is 8½ feet tall and weighs nearly 90 pounds. For the beginner, perfection takes time, Robinson says. Don’t expect to build a masterpiece the first time. “I do encourage people to keep building. No one is going to be perfect their first, or their second, time,” he says, adding his own first costumes had flaws.

Costume making becomes addictive, says Braden Meyer, a graphic designer at a Wichita balloon company. He and his family are fans of the Syfy channel’s Faceoff, a reality show contest for special effects makeup artists. “Why couldn’t we do that?” he asked his family one evening. “Five years ago we made the whole family Predator outfits for Halloween, not knowing how they would turn out,” says Braden, of Newton. The family of five—Braden, his wife, Melissa, and their children, Tristan, 15, Gavin, 10, and Aidan, 12—are now hooked. “For me, it is the bonding with my sons,” Braden says.

From left: Tristan (power armor from Fallout 4), Gavin (Cyberman from Doctor Who) and Braden Meyer (Gipsy Danger from Pacific Rim).

Making by trial and error The Meyers continue to hone their skills, first with the Predator costumes and then with characters from Guardians of the Galaxy. For the most part, each is responsible for their own outfit, Braden says. Using EVA foam—which is textured like an exercise mat— Tristan built the power armor from video game Fallout 4 for June’s Comic-Con. He used painted googly eyes as rivets and painted pop bottles as air tanks. Walking on stilts, he crafted a machine gun around a crutch to help keep his balance. Gavin sported his handmade creation as well, a Cyberman (silver robot who is trying to take over the world) from the television show Doctor Who. Braden, meanwhile, engineered

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character Gipsy Danger, a giant robot from the movie Pacific Rim. Walking through a hardware store often gives them ideas, Braden says. “My chest piece is a fan you can buy at a store. When I put lights in it, it glowed.” Morawitz also strikes gold at local hardware stores, once using plastic sink drain parts he found as ears. “It’s a lot of looking around, asking yourself ‘will this work?’” Morawitz says he taught himself how to make costumes by watching YouTube, and then just by diving into a project. As an art teacher and painter, he found costume making seemed to come naturally over time. “My artistic skills come in handy,” he says. “I’m sure I’ve progressed a lot faster with my costumes because of it.” He grew up collecting comics and watching Batman,

Spiderman and X-Men on TV after school. A shelf in his apartment is devoted to Green Lantern. But his entrance into the world of cosplay started with the helmet he wore at last year’s Comic-Con. He was reading an X-Men comic when he began contemplating how to make Xorn’s helmet. “I started it as an artistic challenge,” he says. “I watched a YouTube video and figured the rest out from there.” He’s created a few costumes since his first attempt. He made two Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett suits (he wasn’t pleased with the first one). This year, he tackled a Doctor Fate helmet, then “figured I might as well make the rest of the suit.” He used craft foam coated in a product called Plasti Dip to build the golden helmet and corrugated cardboard

to design the boots, neckpiece and gauntlets. “I have no idea how to sew, so to avoid sewing I used hot glue,” he says, adding he also found a black sweatshirt and sweatpants to complete the outfit. “Some things don’t translate from the mythical to physical world,” he says, and in those cases he makes minor modifications to the actual design. For instance, it would be hard to bend in an exact replication of Doctor Fate’s oversized belt. His advice to newbies: don’t be afraid to ask for advice, be patient and don’t give up. “I tell my high school art students I prepare to fail. That is how every artist learns. They learn from their mistakes and move on. Prepare themselves to persevere.”

“For me, it’s the bonding time with my sons.” -Braden Meyer

(son, Tristan, pictured)

Azarah Eells (left) and Julia Hardenburger

Hutchinson Magazine

VINTAGE RESURGENCE Local apparel business owner and high school fashionista walk us through some of their favorite vintage looks and the appeal of retro fashion finds.

Story by Amy Bickel | Photography by Deborah Walker

Fall 2016

Fall inspiration: Azarah Eells wears a 1970s patchwork maxi dress found at a shop in Denver and pairs with a wicker purse and patina metal jewelry. Julia Hardenburger wears a tweed pencil skirt and a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;50s-era hand-knit sweater found in Buhler, completing the look with a scarf and beret.

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hile her fellow Hutchinson High School cl a s sm a t e s are wearing the same tennis shoes and jeans from the local mall to school this fall, Julia Hardenburger has slipped on a tweed pencil skirt and a green multiweave sweater, creating a 1950s-era outfit. Meanwhile, in her little store in downtown Hutchinson, Azarah Eells is shaking the dust off decades-old clothing she found at estate sales, friends’ attics and thrift shops. Vintage is not what many in Hutchinson would think of when getting out their fall clothes, but in an age of “newer is better,” these castoffs are making a resurgence and proving fashion isn’t like technology and cars. “It’s one of a kind,” Azarah says. “You don’t have to worry about another girl wearing the same dress as you. And with vintage, honestly the craftsmanship is way better—high quality.” Falling for cast-offs Azarah recalls her introduction to vintage clothing—donning a 1950s poodle skirt for Halloween in kindergarten, followed by a hippie costume a few years later. Her obsession grew after high school. “I was hoarding vintage,” she says, referring to her growing mound of clothes. When she realized others were interested in decades-old looks, she had the idea to start a business. While living in Chicago with her boyfriend, Azarah started Eliza Moonbeam, an online vintage retail shop on Etsy with the hope of expanding into a storefront someday.

After the couple moved back to their hometown of Hutchinson earlier this year, a friend offered Azarah space in her downtown rental business, which Azarah has filled with a variety of period fashion ranging from the 1930s to the ’70s and ’80s. Retail vintage allows Azarah to combine her interest in clothing with her love of photography. Still operating her online business, she photographs herself around Hutchinson in the clothes she sells online. For Azarah, 25, wearing vintage is just part of the fun. The treasure hunt is where the excitement comes from. “I’ll walk into Target and be bored,” she says. “The best part of it is you have to look. It’s not just lying there for you.” Amid the hangers of clothing at a Denver shop, she uncovered a colorful 1970s maxi dress. The patchwork dress accented with crocheted lace is light enough that it is a “good transition-into-fall dress.” She highlights the piece with discoveries from an antique shop in Salina, including a wicker purse and patina metal jewelry. For a period effect, she says she might wear a ring of flowers in her hair. Julia, 17, says her creative mother, Becca, who has an interior design business in Hutchinson, fostered in her a love for antiques and vintage fashion. She spent more time as a child in antique stores than in toy stores. Her parents even gave her a loan at age 10 to start her own jewelry business, Little Owl Designs. And she paid it back three years later.

“I’ve always been different from everyone else,” Julia says, adding she has never been shy about wearing these unique styles to school—complete with heels—for class. “I’d get comments on how bold I was for wearing dresses. Now people expect it from me.” Mix and match Both Julia and Azarah ignore fashion rules when dressing. They even merge eras on occasion. “It just has to be pleasing to the eye,” Julia says. That is especially the case for Julia’s thrift-store find, the tweed Talbots pencil skirt she purchased for just a couple dollars. It’s not 60 years old, but it could pass for a late 1950sera skirt, she says. Changing tops can make the outfit look completely different, she adds. Sometimes she puts a brown, button-up cardigan sweater with the skirt, giving it more of proper look for the time. “That would look more actual ’50s,” Julia says. However, she also matches it with the ’50s-era handknit sweater from Stafford that she spotted at a Buhler shop. “I like the funky look, it’s Julia style.” She completes the outfit with a brown scarf accented with a 1950s brooch and a brown beret. Meanwhile, Azarah’s 1940s gray, wool tartan dress can be layered with a fur and accessorized with a felt hat. She found the dress browsing the Goodwill racks during a stop in Great Bend. A woman “emptied out her entire closet and dropped it off,” says Azarah of her classic 1940s-era prize. It cost her only $5.99.

“

“It’s one of

a kind. You don’t have to worry about

another girl wearing the same dress as you. And with vintage, honestly, the craftsmanship is way better— high quality. —Azarah Eells

” Fall 2016

A guide to vintage fashion Where to find vintage It’s not always easy to find vintage clothing especially in the size you need. Azarah Eells says she searches local thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales. “Sometimes you can find a jackpot of one woman’s closet and buy the whole thing. That is the greatest feeling when you hit a jackpot like that.” Of course, there is also her shop, Eliza Moonbeam, located in downtown Hutchinson. Azarah said treasure hunting is the best part—but it takes time. “You really have to be on the lookout all the time,” she says. Ignore the rules Like that one about not wearing white after Labor Day, Julia Hardenburger says, who on this day was sporting white bellbottoms and a plum broad-brim felt hat. “I don’t believe in rules for fashion. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that people think you can’t mix browns and blacks and navys with blacks.” Instead, she puts clothing together that is pleasing to the eye. “I can tell if something feels right or wrong. Pattern on pattern can even look really good if you do it right.” Delicate clothing can be saved “Don’t turn something down because it has a stain,” Azarah says. Retro Wash and Retro Clean are two products she uses, and they work well to remove stains, as well as to wash old, delicate clothing. She purchased a dress with armpit stains from a woman cleaning out an old theater, and they came out beautifully, she says. ”We joked someone was really nervous,” she says of the stage outfit. High quality Vintage is often higher quality than current trends, says Julia, which is one reason she loves searching through thrift stores and vintage shops for her style. Today’s clothing, she says, doesn’t hold up like the cast-offs of the past. “If it is something you love and it is expensive, put your money toward it,” she says. It’s OK to start small Accessorizing with vintage is a good way to start, says Julia. Maybe it is putting a 1950s-era broach on a scarf, accenting with a 1970s purse or trekking downtown Hutch in a 1940s beret. “If you want to make an outfit pop or look different, accessorizing is a good way to do that,” she says.

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Fairgrounds flea market treasure Recently, Julia unearthed a 1930s evening dress at a flea market being held at the Kansas State Fairgrounds. She paid $35 for the homemade, burnt orange calf-length dress, which is complemented by a fur shawl she also discovered there. She wears it with a 1940s brown felt hat and a pair of 1980s shoes she found at a local thrift store. The 1980s item isn’t vintage in Julia’s eyes, but “they have nice vintage lines on them,” she says of the shoes. “Pointed-toe shoes are always nice for vintage.” 1950s letterman’s sweater Julia says she has several pieces from the 1950s, including a black felt circle skirt minus the poodle. Her aunt in Nebraska has a repurposed furniture store and saved a red letterman’s sweater to match. “It belonged to Gary in California,” Julia says, reading the name on the tag. She borrowed a red

polka-dot scarf from her mom for her hair, and found a pair of black and white saddle shoes. “It’s just a fun find,” she says. Just like the teens of the 1950s, she isn’t bashful about wearing the outfit to school. “I don’t think I would be going to school if it wasn’t to show off my wardrobe,” laughs Julia, who enters her senior year this fall and plans to major in fashion design in college. Any season With the right accessories, Azarah says there are some vintage clothing items that can be worn in different seasons. Her long-sleeved tan and plum floral print dress is one of those outfits. In the spring, she could wear it with pumps or flats. To give it a fall look, she sports knee-high maroon suede boots, accented with her Polaroid camera case, her favorite owl necklace and 1970s-style granny sunglasses. 1940s grey tartan dress

travel

FOR THE

BIRDS

Watch thousands of migrating shorebirds and waterfowl that stop to rest at Cheyenne Bottomsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; unique habitat. Story by Cecilia Harris

Hutchinson Magazine

Photos courtesy Dan Witt

Two rare, five-foot-tall whooping cranes, each with nearly eightfoot wingspans, strut among hundreds of gray sandhill cranes at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area near Great Bend, 65 miles northwest of Hutchinson. The whooping crane is the tallest—and one of the most endangered—birds in North America. Hundreds of thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds flying south stop to rest every fall at this inland freshwater marsh, the largest in the country and one of the most significant natural wetland ecosystems in the world. October and November are ideal months to see cranes and much, much more, says Curtis Wolf, Kansas Wetlands Education Center site manager. “The Cheyenne Bottoms area itself is one of the most unique geographic features in Kansas,” Wolf says. “It’s known internationally because of the migrating birds that stop here; Cheyenne Bottoms provides them with the very unique habitat that these birds require as they are migrating. To be able to come to this particular place and see the phenomenal migration happening is very unique and special.” Between 100,000 to 200,000 ducks alone are typically seen at the marsh in the fall, Wolf says, along with flocks of white pelicans, geese, gulls, herons and more. While Cheyenne Bottoms supports nearly half the shorebird species in the country, its wetland basin also is home to 23 species of mammals, 19 species of reptiles and nine species of amphibians. Look for red foxes, black-tailed jackrabbits, ringnecked pheasants, white-tailed deer, beavers and snapping turtles as you travel the wetlands’ dikes and roads. “To see the wildlife, binoculars are a must,” Wolf advises. “And it’s always a good idea for people to have field guides to help them identify birds and other wildlife.” Make your first stop the Kansas Wetlands Education Center overlooking the marsh, then follow our suggested itinerary for a day packed full of bird watching and wildlife sightings. wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu

Itinerary

Look and Learn/9 a.m.

Meander through the Kansas Wetlands Education Center (admission is free) where interpretive displays, hands-on activities, natural history collections and historical and cultural artifacts explain the geological formation of the Cheyenne Bottoms area, the importance of the wetlands and the plants and animals living here. Enjoy the panoramic view of the marsh, then look through binoculars or a spotting scope to get a closer look at frogs sitting on the water’s edge, blooming sunflowers and other wildlife. Step outside and walk to the observation point where you might see great blue herons stalking prey or mallards tending their young.

Take a Tour/10:30 a.m. (or 2:30 p.m.)

Get the ultimate personalized experience through guided tours offered by the center. On Saturday and Sunday, a 90-minute tour scheduled for 10:30 a.m. focuses on bird and wildlife identification while exploring Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and the nearby Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve, with a stop at the Kansas Highway 4 overlook. A 30-minute tour scheduled at 2:30 p.m. offers a brief history of Cheyenne Bottoms and a glimpse of its unique pool system, with birds and wildlife identified as you travel and a stop at the observation tower. Binoculars and bird field guides are supplied for both tours. Wolf suggests asking about other possible tour times on the weekend; if you visit during the week, he advises reserving your tour time at least one day in advance.

Fall 2016

Lunch/noon

Pack your own food and dine at a picnic table in the shelter near the center. Or travel a mere 15 miles into nearby Great Bend and choose from a brick-oven pizza or sandwich at Great Bend Coffee, Mexican food at Kiowa Kitchen, or the daily special at Perk’s Coffee Shop.

Immerse in Nature/2 p.m.

Return to the center and ask for a wildflower checklist before embarking on the George Stumps Nature Trail. This level, nearly half-mile paved loop starts at the west end of the center’s parking lot, where feeders near the trailhead attract songbirds. Look for migrating monarch butterflies, wood rats, orioles, and other wildlife.

Explore On Your Own/3 p.m.

Pick up a map, a self-guided driving tour guide, and flora and fauna checklists at the center or download them from the center’s website, and strike out on your own. Another resource is the free community mobile app GB2GO that offers a different guide, Wolf says. “The Wetlands Education Center has a page on that app where people can access a tour as they go through Cheyenne Bottoms. There’s a map they can look at with stops along the route, and at the stops there are two- to four-minute video clips they can watch that talk about the different aspects of Cheyenne Bottoms.” While traveling, keep your eyes open for other endangered species, such as bald eagles, peregrine falcon, least tern and piping plovers. “When visitors are driving around Cheyenne Bottoms, people are definitely welcome to park and get out and walk; there actually are a couple of the dikes that are foottraffic only. But for bird-watching purposes, we tell people your best bet is to stay in your vehicle and use it as a blind; we found the second you get out of your car, the birds tend to scatter.”

Final View/5 p.m.

Stop at the overlook on Kansas Highway 4 between Hoisington and Claflin for one last look at the expansive wetlands. “It’s up on the north rim of the basin, so you get a real nice panoramic view of the whole basin,” Wolf says. Or climb the observation tower located on Cheyenne Bottoms Road just a short distance from the Kansas Highway 156 entrance.

Photo by Tom Bidrowski

Hutchinson Magazine

Butterfly Festival Capturing and tagging a monarch butterfly is one of the activities during the free Butterfly Festival from 9 a.m. to noon on September 17 at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center. Participants learn about the tagging process that is part of the Monarch Watch program through the University of Kansas and then receive nets and tags before embarking with a tagging leader to search for butterflies. “The tag is a little sticker on the butterfly’s wing,” says Curtis Wolf, the center’s site manager. “There’s a website where people can report that special tag number. That provides researchers a lot of information about the migration path of the monarch butterfly.” The Butterfly Festival features games, crafts, a wildflower garden filled with butterfly-friendly plants, and an insect zoo housing giant walking stick insects, hissing and peppered cockroaches, butterflies, caterpillars, chrysalises, and possibly a beehive, Wolf says. Hands-on activities include making seed bombs out of clay, compost, water and native flower seeds and spinning silk using actual silk moth cocoons, a process that is thousands of years old. Because monarch butterflies require milkweed in order to reproduce, festival participants launch pre-made milkweed seed bombs into the nearby prairie using giant slingshots. “Hopefully those seeds will germinate in the spring and create some new milkweed plants out there in the prairie,” Wolf says. “And we give families a milkweed plant to take back and plant in their flower garden, which provides habitat for the monarchs as they come through.”

Fall 2016

hutch talks

Adam Richter

Director of Community Ev e n t s , H u t c h i n s o n R e cr e at i o n C o m m i s s i o n A brand new position at the Hutchinson Recreation Commission brought Adam Richter to town at the start of the year, and he’s already made himself at home. It wasn’t too daunting a task, considering the nature of his job as director of community events. “I really enjoy putting together community events because you get the opportunity to meet so many awesome people,” Richter says. “I’m talking about city leaders, civic organizations, entertainers, business owners, people wanting to give back as volunteers and, of course, those who participate in the events you put on. You get to meet everyone!” And from running the trails to filling in on the Hutch Rec bowling team every Tuesday evening, he’s having no problems getting involved outside of work. “Everyone is so nice,” he says. “I have only been here for six months, but I feel like I have been here for years! That’s a good thing! There are a lot of passionate people here.”

Hutchinson Magazine

What’s one thing most people don’t know about you? I stuttered growing up as a kid in Michigan. I don’t blame my parents for never getting me help because I did a really good job at covering it up. After graduating from Michigan State University, I moved to Texas for an internship with the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department. On the way down to Texas, driving alone, I made a promise to myself that I would conquer my stuttering issue. That’s what I did. I stopped hiding it. I started to attend National Stuttering Association (NSA) meetings in Austin every month. Meeting others in the same boat as me helped, and in time I was able to help others who came through the door. The more I talked about it, the less it affected me. Today, there may be times when I slip up here or there, but in no way do I let it bother me like I did back when I was a child. I encourage parents to get their kids help, and I encourage anybody who has allowed stuttering to hinder their development in this world to stand up and fight it.

the “dog.” Brother and sister and can do the “pup.” You and your friends or co-workers can do the “team.”

This year marks the 15th annual Salty Dog and 10th annual Salty Pup Triathlons, and you continue to bring large numbers out each year. Why do you think this mainstay triathlon has been so successful over the years? This is an event that appeals to new triathlon athletes. For a lot of participants, it’s their first triathlon. It continues to attract the seasoned competitors, as well, which is fantastic. But it’s also a familyfriendly event. Mom and dad can do

Third, what can we do to be original and stand out amongst others offering a similar type of program or service? How can we be different? Stay tuned.

When planning new activities for Hutchinson residents, what considerations do you make? What kinds of things do you find most interests community members? Number one, how can we make it family friendly? For example, at the Firecracker 5K, we offer a 1-mile fun run in addition. This is perfect for parents or grandparents to do with the kids. It’s also a stepping-stone for people with aspirations of one day participating in a 5K. Second, you want the program to be cost effective. How can we get sponsors involved? How can we partner with other organizations in town? What can we do to make volunteers want to offer up their time within their busy schedules? All of these things help offset costs and are very important in putting together a quality program that can be held again and again, year in and year out.

We’re looking to stay active this fall. What are three events we shouldn’t miss? Run for the Rocks Half Marathon and Classic Rock 5K on September 24 and 25; Trail and Treat Family 3K on October 29; and the Gingerbread House Decorating Event on December 17.

If you could plan your dream event (no rules or budget consideration), what would it be? No rules?! For Hutch I would plan a weeklong event titled “Twister Town.” This event would consist of several neighborhoods getting involved with a theme. Each neighborhood would have their own special night during the week with live concerts and delicious food. One neighborhood might have a country concert with BBQ vendors and BBQ contests. Another neighborhood might have a Cajun theme with a Zydeco band and crawfish flown in from the Gulf of Mexico. This would be an opportunity for people to come together and get to know each other better. We would have roller coasters assembled along Main Street for families to enjoy (these roller coasters wouldn’t affect business owners or traffic). And of course, “Twister Town” would have amazing weather all week long. We may need some sort of budget for that! Do you have a bucket list? What’s on it? I’m a huge sports fan and I would love to visit all of the Major League Baseball stadiums. I have been to 10 so far in Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, and Texas. I’m hoping I can knock out Colorado and Kansas City before the summer is over. Interview by Nadia Imafidon Photography by Deborah Walker

Fall 2016

hutch talks

liz

Shepherd

Therese Ketchem F o u nd e r s o f U b u nt u

With the creation of the Ubuntu nonprofit three years ago, it seems Pretty Prairie received its own guardian angel. Founders Liz Shepherd and Therese Ketchem started it as a thrift store to raise money to give to anyone in need in the community. “The Pretty Prairie community has been great,” Ketchem says. “Beyond what we ever expected.” “When we were looking for a name for our organization, we came across a video of Nelson Mandela telling the story of a philanthropist who visited an African village,” Shepherd says. “He gathered the children from the village and held a big basket of fruit up. He said that the first child who raced to the basket of fruit would win it. When he said ‘go’ all of the children grabbed hands and ran as one. When they reached the fruit they all sat down and ate it together. When the philanthropist asked them why they had done that when one of them could have won all of the it, one of the children said, ‘Ubuntu. How can one of us be happy with all of it when there are so many others in need?’ “We felt that this best described the Pretty Prairie community, and what we wanted to do. And so we created Ubuntu.” Now it’s a thrift store, art studio, and driving force behind any fundraising effort that is brought to their attention. We spoke to Shepherd to learn more about the operation.

Hutchinson Magazine

Why was it founded? In the three years since we became a 501(c)(3), we have done so much more than raise money to help people in the community (our original goal). We began to see needs, and people brought ideas to us that they felt we could help with. The first thing we ever did was put a call out to the community for a young mom who was expecting a baby and had nothing. Within a few days we had filled a baby bed with diapers, wipes and baby things to give to the mother. What has been the community response been since 2013 when the store was opened? We are a community of 680 people and with such small numbers, it sometimes gets overwhelming to go to the same people and continue to ask for things and money. But we ask in faith and we have been blessed. We have organized fundraisers for a young father diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma, raising over $6,000. We raised almost $8,000 for a grandmother who needed to get to the Mayo clinic for testing and was later diagnosed with Pickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease. We were approached by a classmate who was fighting ALS and wanted us to organize a golf tournament. We raised over $3,000 to go towards her ALS Walk team totals.

When a storm crashed through our community, leaving devastating damage to homes and property, Ubuntu paid for the gasoline for chain saws and generators so that everyone could clean up their property without wondering how they would pay for it. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the idea behind ART ON? ART ON @ Ubuntu is just an extension of what we are doing at Ubuntu. I have an associate degree in art and have always found myself doing some type of creative project. When we were at our old location, we were offered the attached space and we began to teach art classes to groups. When we moved to our current location, we had even more space and began adult painting classes on Monday night. We average a dozen painters. This summer we approached the Pretty Prairie Recreation Commission and asked for funding to purchase art supplies. With their help we were able to hold a Summer Art Camp two days a week for six weeks for the kids in our area. Our schools no longer have art class offered to students. We thought we might have 15 to 20 kids attend and were shocked the first day when over 30 children began streaming in

the doors. We averaged about 22 per class and the largest we had was 42 in a few classes. What has been the most challenging about this endeavor? I think for me, it is now figuring out how to create funding opportunities for staff and our overhead. The past three years, Therese and I have volunteered our time, as have so many others in our community. Although there are grant opportunities out there, fewer and fewer are funding staff and overhead costs. We are looking for partners and donors who will help us pay for at least one full-time staff, a project coordinator position, and will also help us with our overhead. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on your bucket list? I would love to use our Ubuntu as a model to open other Ubuntu-type stores in other communities across the state of Kansas. Helping others help their neighbors. What do you think is the most special thing about Pretty Prairie? Without any doubt, the heart of the people. Interview by Nadia Imafidon Photography by Deborah Walker

Fall 2016

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quote

= TECH mural color scheme

TEN

the

Orange, purple, yellow, green

number of contributors in this issue

“What an awesome supportive community. Ubuntu would be nothing without them.” —Therese Ketchem, on Pretty Prairie

4,228 number of miles a cyclist (in this issue) will travel across country

“After I wear them, seeing the reactions of people, the feeling is as close to a celebrity as I’ll ever feel.”

“This has been the biggest blessing of my life and has showed me an entirely new part of Hutchinson by experiencing this community’s kindness in a different light.”

—Darren Morawitz, on cosplay

“I hear repeatedly from the bikers that Kansas is the hardest place with the hot winds, but it has the nicest people.” —Harley Phillips

Hutchinson Magazine

—Julie Black, on painting a mural

1888

year the Bookends building was constructed

“It doesn’t matter what culture you are in, shared meals are a big deal.” —Miriam Khan Kitson

Fall 2016

best bets

fall 2016

September

9–18 Kansas State Fair

The state’s largest 10-day event showcasing Kansas agriculture, industry and commerce, as well as numerous entertaining acts and exhibits. This year’s acts include Lynryd Skynyrd, Jake Owen with special guest Old Dominion and the Hit Makers Reunion including Restless Heart, Voice of Lonestar Richie McDonald, Suzy Bogguss and Billy Dean. Gates are open from 8 a.m.–11 p.m. at the Kansas State Fairgrounds. kansasstatefair.com

September

Annual Run for the Rocks Half Marathon

Challenge your endurance for this benefit for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hutchinson and the Hutchinson Recreation Commission. Enjoy a run along the Jim Martinez Trail in Carey Park to Rice Park, through the neighborhoods of Old Farm Estates, Kisiwa Village, and onto Hutchinson northeast trail to finish strong inside Gowans Stadium. Begins at 8 a.m. at Carey Park. runfortherocks.com

September 30 –October 2

Downtown Hutchinson Rod Run and Classic Car Show An event that brings out about 25,000 visitors, the annual Rod Run and Classic Car Show features vendor demonstrations, food and drinks and, of course, polished and shiny antique and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles all weekend. downtownhutchrodrun.com

October 1 Buhler Frolic 2016

A full day of family-friendly activities for the community to enjoy. This year’s theme is “Luau” so be prepared to show up with a few flower leis. buhlerks.org

october

7–8

Haven Fall Festival

Haven’s Fall Festival is filled with events for the entire family, as well as food, crafts, a petting zoo, parade, car and bike show, alumni reception, contests, BBQ cook-off, street dance, fireworks and much more! havenchamber.com

October 15 Brewfest Enjoy 15 different craft beers (including Deschutes, Odell and Defiance) , live music and a variety of food vendors. Beer lovers won’t want to miss the chance to sample from breweries all over the region. hutchbrewfest.com

oct ober

“Boo”seum Spookwalk Take the kids out for a little spooky, historical walk through darkened exhibits at Reno County Museum. Wear costumes and bring a bucket or sack to collect some sweet treats. $2 admission for all ages (free entry for adults accompanying a child). Begins at 5:30 p.m. renocomuseum.org All dates and times are subject to change

October 29 Downtown Hutchinson Chili & Soup Festival For only $5 per person (kids 12 & under free), you can taste the chili and soup, and cast a vote for your favorite. The festival will be located downtown on Main Street between Avenue C and 7th Street. Begins at 11:30. (620) 694-2677

November 17 Third Thursday & Downtown Lighting Party Head downtown at 5 p.m. to support local artists and musicians and enjoy the amazing contributions this community shares every third Thursday. At 7 p.m., watch as the town becomes aglow with Christmas lights during the annual lighting party. downtownhutchinson.com

November

2016 Christmas Parade The annual Downtown Christmas Parade marks the beginning of the holiday season. Begins at 10 a.m. (620) 665-5758

November 20 Reno County Toy Run The Reno County Toy Run is an annual motorcycle parade through town beginning at Avenue A and Washington and ending at the Moose Lodge. Bring a new (unwrapped) toy to Moose Lodge to donate to children who wouldn’t receive gifts otherwise. Stick around for the chili feed and auction. (620) 662-2972