Kayak in the Heartland | Topeka Magazine summer 2014 by Sunflower Publishing

Topeka Magazine

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Kayaking the Heartland 3 Knife 2 Art 1 sweet Artisans Leaders recipe â&#x20AC;Ś and many, many, many things that fly.

Summer â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 14 | sunflowerpub.com | $5

Summer ’14

Vol. VIII / No. III

from the editor

Editor Nathan Pettengill designer/Art Director

Jenni Leiste

designer

Shelly Bryant

chief Photographer

Jason Dailey

COPY EDITOR

Deron Lee

advertising Teresa Johnson-Lewis representative (785) 832-7109

Ad Designer

Jenni Leiste

contributing Bill Stephens Photographers Contributing Writers

Tonya Bell Anita Miller Fry Jeffrey Ann Goudie Kim Gronniger Carolyn Kaberline Debra Guiou Stufflebean Linda A. Thompson-Ditch Barbara Waterman-Peters

GENERAL MANAGER

Bert Hull

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In our lives, we appreciate most the friends and loved ones who know our true characters and yet somehow also accentuate the best parts of ourselves. Our goal as a magazine reflects this—to understand Topeka well enough that we know its strengths and imperfections, but to bring into our pages some of the city’s best aspects. This isn’t promotional and isn’t false civic boosterism, it is simply a conversation about a real Topeka that we witness and believe in. This summer issue is a retelling of some of these aspects, from bladesmiths to oftoverlooked treasures, from artists to entrepreneurs, from family ice-cream recipes to a default family hobby. We hope you enjoy reading about them.

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what's inside TOPEKAMAGAZINE

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notables 8

Arts Connector From Artwalk to a new murals project, Sarah Carkhuff Fizell puts the arts to work for her hometown

Earthbound Aviator Hobbyist John Kauk takes flight with his remotecontrolled aircraft

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Kansan Drawing on influences from his home state to Europe, painter Joey Embers comes into his own

Kayaks in the heartland Rob Sanders and Brian Dillon float the idea of beautiful boats for beautiful waters

home life

In every issue

Sweet Memories Homemade ice cream recipe evokes taste of summers past

Arts connect map

32 What’s happening

features 38

Knives as Art Area bladesmiths forge sharp masterpieces.

Ten Treasures of Topeka This summer, rediscover some of the city’s oftoverlooked offerings

on the cover

Topeka Magazine

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afloat

KayaKing the heartland 3 Knife 2 Art 1 sweet ArtisAns LeAders recipe … and many, many, many things that fly.

Brian Dillon, Emily Dillon and Rob Sanders paddle their kayaks on Lake Shawnee.

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One of the most exciting developments in Topeka over the past years has been that the city has gone from regularly losing its best young talent, to attracting a generation of young professionals, artists and entrepreneurs. Of course, some “brain drain” and migration is natural. Young talent should always circulate across the nation based on their interests and professions, but ideally a city gains as much as it loses in terms of new arrivals—and at least two of our stories in this summer’s issue begin with young professionals arriving or returning to Topeka to continue their careers and to share their talents with the city. We hope you enjoy these and the other stories in this section of Topeka Magazine.

Joey Embers enters his studio in the NOTO Arts District. The artist, a native of central Kansas, has moved to Topeka to work and to participate in the arts community.

arts connector

earthbound aviator

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Kansan

Sweet Memories

Kayaks for the Kaw

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Photography by Jason Dailey & Bill Stephens Story by Jeffrey Ann Goudie

Arts Connector From Artwalk to a new murals project, Sarah Carkhuff Fizell puts the arts to work for her hometown about the

writer TOPEKAMAGAZINE

Summer â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 14

Jeffrey Ann Goudie, former newspaper columnist, is a freelance writer and book reviewer whose work has appeared in the Huffington Post and the Kansas City Star. For Topeka Magazine, she profiles Topekans who are making a positive difference in the community.

ixth-generation Kansan Sarah Carkhuff Fizell returned to her hometown of Topeka in 2007 with a commitment to improving the community. Her vehicle? The arts. “We have to start to talk about the arts as a business, the arts as a driver of economic development, the arts as a way to make our kids smarter and faster,” says Fizell in her current role as executive director of ARTSConnect, the nonprofit that started the monthly First Friday Artwalk and is developing new ideas for the capital city. “Sarah has taken it to a whole new level,” says John Hutton, chair of the 16-member board of ARTSConnect. “Businesses benefit from being part of ARTSConnect. We are selling an idea,” adds Hutton, who works as a partner in the law firm of Henson, Hutton, Mudrick and Gragson. “Bottom-line” and “pragmatic” are other terms Hutton uses in describing Fizell’s approach. Following the idea that art draws businesses to a community and is good for the economy as well as for individual artists and galleries, Fizell has created an Artwalk map and a membership system for venues. She says she wants participants to “have a stake in the game,” and to be open if they say they are going to be open on a First Friday. She is proud to have approximately 50 official stops on the Artwalk, each regularly featuring local talent. “That builds a lot of opportunity for artists,” Fizell says. Fizell herself started college at the University of Kansas as a ceramics and design major, then switched to a communications studies degree. She applied those skills in her first job as a paid staff member on the first gubernatorial campaign of Kathleen Sebelius. From there, she went to work for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, living in Lawrence, before moving to Washington, D.C. to begin working as a communications associate for the Kaiser Family

Sarah Carkhuff Fizell, the director of ARTSConnect, is seeking to expand Topeka’s rich heritage of public art murals—such as these showcases in the Capitol—with civic mural projects throughout Topeka.

Foundation. That job put her in contact with political luminaries like Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as well as cultural icons such as Kenneth Cole. When Nancy Boyda was elected to Congress, Fizell’s husband, Jason, returned to Kansas to work as her congressional district director and Fizell took a job with the Kansas Health Institute. It wasn’t long before Fizell, whom Hutton describes as a “self-starter,” migrated away from KHI and a stint working for Strategic Communications of Kansas to start her own public relations firm—a position she continues while filling the part-time post of ARTSConnect director. Connie Gibbons, director of Washburn’s Mulvane Art Museum, says Fizell has excelled in her role as an arts leader. “She’s making good things happen in our community.” Much of Fizell’s focus with ARTSConnect is now on completing a series of murals in collaboration with the Topeka Police Department, the Safe Streets Coalition and Downtown Topeka, Inc. “I have long wanted to do a project with public art,” says Fizell. “You know those things you file in the dream bucket. And then Lieutenant Joe Perry called me one day.” Perry, the property crimes commander for the Criminal Investigations Division of the Topeka Police Department, regularly reviews crime statistics for the city and breaks them down by neighborhoods and areas. He had been looking over crime reports and happened to glance at some binders from seminars on preventing crime through “environmental design.” It was, he thought, worth a try. So he called Fizell in the late spring of 2013 and they began a conversation that led to the ARTSConnect murals project. The first ARTSConnect murals, colorful and eye-catching, are up on adjacent buildings at the corner of Northeast

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Seward and Lake in the Oakland neighborhood. The other murals, in various stages of planning or completion, are on the north face of what was the old Avondale East Elementary School (now the home of Community Resources Council NETReach Center); a 900-foot retaining wall at the northeast corner of Meadows Elementary School; and on the south-facing wall of WCW Property Management at Southwest Huntoon and Lane. Jamie Colon is the artistic director of the mural project, Justin Marable designed the Meadows mural and Topeka native Jason Needham is the lead artist for the Huntoon and Lane mural. Having a talented artist who knows and cares for the community is crucial, says Fizell, but many hands make light work, and the murals are painted by local volunteers, including schoolchildren. Fizell says this “cracks that door open to their understanding of the fact that they have power, that they can change things with their hands.” For Lt. Perry, the murals can be judged as a success beyond aesthetics. He notes that the reported cases of vandalism/graffiti around the first mural dropped from seven incidents to one between the 6-month time periods before and after the mural was created. “I would like to think there is a correlation there,” says Perry of the effect the murals—and the hands-on process of creating them— might be having. “I think neighborhood involvement has a key role.”

For Fizell, the future of Topeka children is personal. This case study, he says, isn’t definitive proof that the murals reduce blight, but he is convinced enough to continue and expand the projects. He has already returned to his vandalism reports to identify other areas where he believes a mural could make a difference. Fizell foresees a “good little mural district” close to the already existing Aaron Douglas mural and the Chesney Park mural project. And, says Fizell, the young Topekans who help create the murals will hopefully carry that experience to other aspects of their lives: “The arts are a gateway to civic involvement. These kids that work on the mural figure out that they can make a difference and then want to make a difference.” For Fizell, the future of Topeka children is personal. Her two kids, Astra and Geneva, are seventh-generation Kansans on her side. Astra, born in 201l, even sports a name reflecting the 150th anniversary of the Ad Astra per Aspera state. Now living with her husband and daughters in Potwin, the neighborhood where she grew up, in a house famous for its legacy of beautiful front-yard flowers, Fizell is spreading seeds of beauty all over her hometown.

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Artists, volunteers and the Topeka Police Department have worked together to create a recent mural at Avondale East Elementary School. Fizell, bottom left, holds the sketch for the finished project.

Photography by Bill Stephens Story by Debra Guiou Stufflebean

Earthbound Aviator Hobbyist John Kauk takes flight with his remote-controlled aircraft

about the

writer TOPEKAMAGAZINE

Summer ’ 14

Debra Guiou Stufflebean is the author of four novels and the director of the Shepherd’s Center of Topeka. She and her husband, Mike, live in the College Hill neighborhood with their four dogs and can be found cheering at their grandchildren’s ballgames.

“It used to be that you bought a kit for the plane and then after it was assembled, you purchased the radio components. Now you can buy planes fully constructed and ready to fly.” —John Kauk

ohn Kauk first took to flight in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the mid-1980s when his mother bought an RC (remote-controlled) airplane for his father. Father and son enjoyed their hobby so much that John continued it on his own and began sharing his love of RC airplanes years later with his own son in Topeka. John readily admits that his hobby can be expensive, but he didn’t come by his collection of RC planes and helicopters all at once. He has had some planes for nearly 14 years; some have been crashed and had their EPP foam wings superglued; and some have only recently arrived in the mail. “It used to be that you bought a kit for the plane and then after it was assembled, you purchased the radio components. Now you can buy planes fully constructed and ready to fly,” John says. “Prices can run from a small one at $150, to $27,000 for a scale composite airframe with two turbine engines, weighing 50 pounds. In aerobatics competitions, pilots fly planes half as big as full-scale and bring more than one in case one crashes, each costing easily $10,000 to $15,000.” RC hobbyists typically build and repair models throughout the winter. When nice weather arrives, they’re ready to hit the runway—sometimes alone, but often in groups. “The best and most efficient way to learn to fly RC planes is to become involved in a club which has a training program and instructors to help newcomers learn how to fly safely,” says John, who is a member of the Northeast Kansas Blue Sky Squadron, Inc. This club leases land two miles east of 69th and Croco Road from Robert Longyear, who used to own and operate Dee & Mee Hobbies; the field has a webcam so members can see who is out flying. The club, which has about 40 members, meets the third Sunday of the month and holds a statewide fly-in each year where members sell concessions and raffles; proceeds go to Adopt Kansas Kids, which features children for the Wednesday’s Child segment on WIBW television. John says that, with the help of an instructor, a new pilot could begin with either

helicopters or planes, but planes are somewhat easier to fly. “An airplane is always going forward,” he explains. “The transmitter has two sticks. You move one to the right, the plane goes right; move one stick to the left, the plane goes left. But if the plane is flying towards you, you have to reverse the sticks. The plane still goes right when the stick is moved to the right, but the plane’s right is now the pilot’s left. That’s why sometimes you’ll see a new pilot turn and face the direction the plane is flying and glance over their shoulder. After you get used to that, it becomes instinctive.” RC helicopters are more difficult, John says. “A helicopter is a whole different animal. It flies at a constant speed in all dimensions. It’s like balancing a ball bearing on a glass plate,” he says. “It’ll only stay still a very short time.” One of John’s recent acquisitions, an RC quadcopter, takes that challenge a step farther. The craft branches out with four arms, each with a propeller at the end, two rotating clockwise and two rotating counterclockwise. Alternating their rotation rates controls the craft. The quadcopter also includes LED lights for nighttime navigation, a GPS antenna and a video camera attached to a gimbal stabilizer. Via a downlink, the pilot receives an onscreen display, similar to an instrument panel on an airplane, reporting the craft’s altitude and speed. An electronic integrated circuit board can correct the quad’s course. “The technology is constantly changing, which is evident by surveillance drones,” John says. “The aerial imagery from quadcopters has greatly improved in the last few years.” John’s collection is changing too. This summer he hopes to be flying his newest craft, an octocopter, which is based on the same concept as the quadcopter, but has double the rotors, is larger and has more carrying capacity for higher-quality cameras. “The concept is the same,” John says, “but there’s a big difference: It will be a lot more fun to fly.”

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The Brotherhood of RC-dom If not the root of male bonding, planes, trains and automobiles are certainly in the pantheon. And when you add gadget-sized electronics to that mix … you not only have the makings of RC (remote-control) hobby lore, but you are also probably moving further up the hierarchy of dudeness. There are women RC enthusiasts, but for the most part this is a hobby dominated by men. John Kauk’s foray into the RC world was assisted by a fraternity of fellow enthusiasts and led to two cross-country friendships: with Jim Ryan from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Greg Gimlick from Raleigh, North Carolina. The trio first met back in the days before the Internet, when the three computer techies would attach computers to phone lines that would send messages to a bulletin board during late hours when phone rates were cheap. A few days later, a response would come back through FidoNet. A long-distance RC forum through this system was particularly helpful to John, who was on the cutting edge of converting his RCs from fuel to electric power. The three buddies swapped ideas, swapped RC parts, and modified each other’s planes. When John began dating Nancy Nowick in Topeka around 2004, he wanted to share his hobby with her. So one day, he and his son took Nancy to the grounds of the VA Hospital on 21st and Gage streets, to show off their flying skills. “The first time they put a plane in the air, it crashed into a tree,” Nancy laughs. John immediately offers an explanation of this incident: Sometimes pilots become so focused on the RC aircraft that they can lose their peripheral vision; and yes, he was guilty of crashing not just into trees but satellite dishes as well. Good thing John wasn’t relying only on the RC to impress Nancy. Despite the tree collision, the couple married in 2005. In the past nine years, Nancy has absorbed RC culture and jargon from living with an enthusiast. She doesn’t mind John’s requests to hang airplane photos in the living room, or his playing with the cats with little 2-inch-by-2-inch helicopters, but she says she is glad to have a home where John has a large shop area with planes in various stages of completion. Sometimes a completed plane takes over the guest bed or the pool table, but there are worse vices, and Nancy says she

John Kauk pilots one of his RC helicopters at a flying field just west of Topeka. Kauk says that RC helicopters are more difficult to pilot than RC planes.

has no qualms about being a fellow traveler in the RC world—though the journey does require some patience. She shared her insights in a short essay she provided for this article, below:

Being an RC spouse, by Nancy Nowick-Kauk Whirr. Whee. Whump. Expletive! John’s in his shop again. I was wondering what he was up to. Until I heard his voice, I thought someone was outside trimming trees. Ding-dong. Ruff. Ruff. Ruff. Ruff. Must be FedEx, UPS or the mailman. Nearly every day they make deliveries. John hears the commotion and bounds up the basement stairs, throws open the front door and comes in delighted. He’s got (another) model airplane part. “It’s my motor,” he says as he opens the box, explaining to me which airplane it’s for and why he had to order it. The package could have contained a servo, transmitter, battery, paint, glue, helicopter or an airplane. I pretend to understand his narration about how the part works and what he’s going to do with it. But I have to admit, I’m clueless. I’ve known the man for 10 years, and I’m still amazed at his knowledge about these things. And I’m amazed that all of these things fit in our house. When friends or family come to stay, I ask John to take the model airplanes out of the guest bedroom that adjoins his shop. How he fits them back into his shop, I’ll never know, which makes me wonder why they are even in the guest bedroom at all. I just realized that he might be dropping hints about the need for the guest bedroom. What isn’t stored in the basement is in the garage. And a few things are even in the living room... Bizz. Buzz. Brunk. Merow. Ruff. John just crashed the toy helicopter and disturbed our cat and dog. I need to assess the damage.

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Photography by Jason Dailey Story by Barbara Waterman-Peters

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Kansan Drawing on influences from his home state to Europe, painter Joey Embers comes into his own

about the

writer TOPEKAMAGAZINE

Summer â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 14

Barbara Waterman-Peters writes, paints, exhibits, teaches, manages Studio 831 in the North Topeka Arts District (NOTO).

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rt comes in many shapes and sizes. So do the studios where it is created. The studio of Joey Embers appears almost Victorian, with its high ceilings, large upholstered furniture and beautiful wooden fireplace. Set on the second floor of a building in the North Topeka Arts District, the studio is bathed in light pouring in through long, narrow windows. Painting materials, half-finished artworks and the intriguing bits of memorabilia always found in a typical studio (in this case, for some reason, old vacuums) provide a backdrop for a relaxed conversation about art and its place in Embers’ life. “Art became a way to process things. There was peace in the classroom,” Embers says, recalling his high school art classes under Elizabeth Liljegren in McPherson, and then under Beth Myers in Little River. “People noticed it came easy to me.” Encouraged to attend a workshop at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Embers got a taste of the teaching methods of renowned painter Frank Shaw. But he had no intention of studying art, or even of going to college, thinking that he couldn’t afford a four-year education and that he “didn’t know anything” anyway. That changed when Bethany offered him an art scholarship in 1996. “They saw something in me,” Embers recalls.

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“Art became a way to process things. There was peace in the classroom.” — Joey Embers To this day, Embers attributes much of his knowledge and skill to his Bethany professors, Frank Shaw and Mary Kay, who taught him fundamentals such as how to see and how to understand spatial relationships. For the first years of study, Embers drew. He recalls a two-week class under Kay, when he took a leftover roll of paper, climbed a tree, and created an 8-foot by 8-foot drawing, full of “movement and fluidity” looking down through the branches. “I used charcoal, gesso and ink because I like how they respond to each other,” he says. After two years of drawing, Embers finally got to paint when Shaw set up a large still life with fresh fruit which his students used for weeks. Embers chuckles about the memory of the flies hovering over the fruit, whose smell became rotten as the weeks went by. Despite this pungent memory, Embers says that his years learning to draw and paint at Bethany were the first time in his life that he was “surrounded by artists and art … and not afraid of it.” Bethany offered a connection to his past as well. Its legendary artist and teacher, Birger Sandzen, whose work and influence could be viewed and felt decades after his death in 1954, greatly influenced Embers’ color palette.

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Joey Embers stands at the back entrance to his studio in the NOTO Arts District.

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Other early influences were Matisse and Cezanne, but the major ones were Caravaggio and Max Beckmann. “I don’t think people realize how much of a rebel Caravaggio was,” says Embers, referring to the artist’s depiction of saints as ordinary people with dirty feet. Beckmann is even more obvious in Embers’ paintings, with their rawness, drama, mystery and quirky space. Shaw had observed and encouraged his student’s affinity for Beckmann, even giving him a book about the German painter as a gift. The book and later trips to galleries in St. Louis and London allowed Embers to fully appreciate Beckmann’s art. “Beckmann was showing me his influences, such as regional art and wooden carvings. I broke away from my group in the museum for two or three hours,” he says. Back at Bethany, Embers’ final year was spent preparing for his senior show and going through what is the bane of most college art students—critiques. But Embers says he welcomed the criticism as he sought to define his voice. The soft-spoken, unassuming artist also gradually began to define a role for himself as an intermediary among his professors and students, identifying what was important to each artist and trying to give a voice to it. He says he continues to keep in touch with his former classmates, “encouraging them not to give up, to produce the art they love.” After all, Embers understands when an artist doubts his or her own work. “It’s self-doubt that drives me,” he acknowledges. “I don’t like speaking in front of people,” he says, “but people’s interest in my work cured that.” This is not surprising given the power, drama and intensity of the Embers’ images. Bold colors, strong movement, charged symbolism and rich textures combine to make his paintings compelling. Sometimes deceptively simple, perhaps with circles, arrows and wavy forms, Embers’ work nonetheless draws the viewer in. Other, more complex imagery with stairs, lamps, chairs and mysterious figures gives a sense of disorientation, almost of vertigo. Layers of paint, raw and uncompromising, build up on the surfaces in a process that can take years. Process is extremely important to the artist. His initial idea for a painting may be hidden under the layers, long lost as the process ensues. But the structure, the architecture, of the piece is not lost. It does not weaken with the reworking, but emerges at the end with all of its energy intact.

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After he graduated from college, Joey Embers married and moved to Kansas City, where he continued his art from a huge studio in the West Bottoms which two friends offered to him for zero rent. He happily painted there until, he says, “family started to come, so I gave up the studio.” Embers says moving to Topeka in 2008 as his children began to start school was “one of the smartest things I’ve done,” even though “I didn’t think art was going to be part of my life at that point.” He briefly set up a studio in the family garage, but that led to tracking paint into the house, onto the doors, doorknobs and other surfaces, much to his wife’s chagrin. In 2011, however, his art career was rekindled with the offer of a two-week artist residency from Marsha Howe, the executive director of Lindsborg’s Red Barn Studio. Embers was inspired by the beautiful studio, its southern-exposure window and view of the courtyard, and the connection to the creative genius of Lester Raymer—the taciturn painter-craftsman whose legacy inspired the program. Returning to Topeka, Embers was accepted as a NOTO Arts District Core artist, an honor given to influential artists who base their studio in the area. He says the Topeka district provides “space, the support structure, network and strong friendships” that he requires to grow, as well as the opportunity for “producing more work, stepping away to view it and getting feedback.” Embers has contributed back to the district by establishing Stonewall Art Gallery along with Kurtis King, the gallery’s fellow art director and cofounder who came up with Stonewall’s tagline of “Bare Walls Are Boring.”

Putting

the ‘IT’ into ART Artists’ day jobs come in many shapes and sizes. Joey Embers makes his living outside of art as a computer systems administrator for Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. “A computer is a filing cabinet full of information,” says Embers. “You just have to figure out the organization of that information.” And learning to understand these systems, Embers says, has affected his approach to art. “It definitely feeds into art. It’s the organization of the way I think. The way I want to control the viewer in how they move through the picture is like the relationship in moving between computer operating systems.” But the word “control” should be taken with a grain of salt. For Embers, an artist is more likely to guide than command a viewer, opening up a dialogue and listening to the viewer’s response. Here, too, he sees a parallel with his day work. “In systems, we are always looking for feedback from staff and end users so that we can provide better tools,” he says. “Art does that too, and because of technology art has become more accessible to people, but it has to catch up with how people are communicating.” Ultimately, says Embers, technology and art share the same goal—to “establish a dialogue with the work, to make a connection and share an experience.”

Photography by Bill Stephens Story by Linda A. Thompson-Ditch

Sweet Memories Homemade ice cream recipe evokes taste of summers past about the

writer TOPEKAMAGAZINE

Summer â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 14

Linda A. Thompson-Ditchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for food dates back to times spent watching her grandmother cook in her farmhouse kitchen. A freelance writer for almost two decades, she has contributed to several publications.

uction day on the family farm dawned with abundant sunshine and a persistent breeze. Cars parked on the grass my father so diligently cut each summer, in the field next to the pond my grandfather created many decades ago. Strangers milled around the family’s furniture, dishes, and knickknacks, which looked so out of place lined up on the lawn. The farm had been a part of my family for more than 100 years. It passed from my great-grandparents to my grandparents, and on to my parents. Now that Dad was gone, Mom settled into an apartment in town that didn’t provide room for all the possessions they had accumulated in 53 years of marriage. So they hosted a crowd of buyers dressed in farmer’s overalls, casual weekend attire and traditional Amish garb, who busily inspected the dovetail joints of the cedar chest my great-great-uncle built for my grandmother, and looked for chips along the edges of Mom’s wedding china. Among a grouping of boxes filled with tools and kitchenware was an old electric ice cream maker. It evoked images of summers past: hot, sweaty days when my sister, cousins, aunts, uncles and parents would gather in the shade to make homemade ice cream. Back then, the ice cream maker ran on human power, with each of us turning the hand crank that made the metal canister spin in the freezing ice-salt mixture. All of us children wanted so much to peek inside to see if the ice cream was ready, but the adults cautioned that opening the lid might let the salty brine into the canister and ruin the treat. Somehow, the grown-ups always knew just when the ice cream was ready. Mom’s ice cream is still legendary amongst family and friends for whom no summertime gathering feels complete without a bowl of her creamy, cold, vanilla goodness. Her recipe began with a cooked custard of eggs, milk, and half-and-half. The key ingredient is Mexican vanilla, which gives the ice cream an intense flavor. I wanted to make Mom’s ice cream recipe at home. Two summers ago, I watched her closely and took notes as she mixed the ingredients and went through the steps. There was just one problem: My husband and I live in a downtown Topeka apartment, with no space outside to churn ice cream and no room inside for a countertop ice cream maker. Instead, I developed this recipe for no-churn ice cream. It tastes just like Mom’s, but without the eggs, cooking and churning. I substitute Iwig cream for half-and-half and have created a chocolate version by swapping the vanilla with cocoa powder. To complete the ice cream experience, I developed a chocolate sauce in memory of all those cans of chocolate syrup we would pour on top of the ice cream once it was scooped out of the churn. I don’t know who bought the electric ice cream maker. Once the auction was finished and buyers drove off with their new possessions, the farm was quiet again, as it had been for many weeks since Dad passed on and Mom moved to town. I take some measure of comfort from knowing my sister and nephew will be the next generation to soon live there. Still, a visit to the farm will never feel quite the same.

Opposite: Linda A. Thompson-Ditch pours homemade chocolate sauce over a sundae dish filled with vanilla ice cream based on her grandmother’s recipe.

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recipe:

Grandma’s New No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream Preparation time 10 minutes (at least 6 hours in the freezer) Feeds 6-8 people Ingredients: 2 cups heavy cream 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon Mexican (or other good quality) vanilla Pinch of salt instructions: 1) In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overmix—cream can change quickly from fluffy to butter. Once stiff peaks are reached, set aside. 2) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt. Gently fold in the whipped cream until combined. 3) Pour the mixture into an airtight freezer container (or a loaf pan, which you will cover with plastic wrap). Place in the freezer and allow to harden for at least 6 hours before serving. Note: For chocolate variation, substitute 6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for the vanilla.

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Summer ’ 14

homemade

Chocolate Sauce Preparation time 20 minutes Yield 2 cups Ingredients: 8 ounces semisweet chocolate 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder Pinch of salt instructions: 1) Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place into a heat-proof bowl. Set aside. 2) In a small saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to just a simmer over medium heat. 3) Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate. Do not stir! Allow to stand for 3 minutes. 4) Whisk the chocolate/cream mixture until smooth and all of the chocolate is melted. Stir in the vanilla, espresso powder and salt. 5) Serve warm or at room temperature over ice cream. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. (Re-warm in a microwave or over a pan of simmering water before serving, or just allow the sauce to come to room temperature.)

Pull-Out Guide

Arts Connect of Topeka / Downtown Topeka Official First Friday ArtWalk Map and Guide

June - August

Lee Nash, who skates with the crew of 4-Wheel War Pony, tucks a skate deck into his belt. The photograph of the White Mountain Apache skater is part of the “Ramp It Up” exhibit, opening in June at the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Photograph courtesy Dustinn Craig.

Pull-Out Guide

ToPeKa arT Guild and Gallery

Serving Our Artists and Supporting the Local Arts Community

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Kayaks

in the heartland

Rob Sanders and Brian Dillon float the idea of beautiful boats for beautiful waters

Photography by Jason Dailey Story by Kim Gronniger

dventure enthusiasts and longtime friends who travel the globe with the Kansas National Guard, Rob Sanders and Brian Dillon recently embarked on an entrepreneurial quest close to home—Custom Kayaks at 925 North Kansas Ave. Their new venture features kayaks with intricate designs and functional space for storage to accommodate an afternoon outing or a five-day trip. The one-of-a-kind kayaks are handmade with high-tech carbon fiber and strips of Alaskan yellow cedar, redwood and other lumber obtained from an area supplier of exotic woods. Sanders, a pilot for KC-135 Stratotankers, and Dillon, a boom operator, also use downtime during trips and deployments to shop in wood stores in America and abroad, often accompanied by other members of their crew who are intrigued about their burgeoning business venture. Friends since 2007, Sanders and Dillon have pursued numerous pastimes together—fly-fishing, cycling, scuba diving—and together built their first kayaks, which they often put in the water at Lake Shawnee for sunrise or sunset floats, even on weekdays. “After working all day, I get a sense of accomplishment from working on a boat or taking one out to enjoy the big canvas of the outdoors,” says Sanders. “It’s pretty awesome.” The impetus for the storefront began a few years ago when Dillon asked Sanders, who was considering purchasing a plastic kayak, to come see the one he was building at his home. “I resisted for a couple of weeks because I knew I didn’t have time to build a kayak,” Sanders says. “But then after I saw what he was doing, I fell in love with the idea and ordered plans that night.” Despite having no woodworking skills at the time, Sanders was undaunted. “I’m a very good salesman,” says Dillon, laughing. “And Rob never backs away from tackling anything.” Dillon says setting up the kayaks in the new shop has the same calming effect as kayaking. “We fly and refuel in the air for a living, and it’s stressful. To be able to come here and create something that people like to look at and can take out and enjoy is fulfilling.” The price tag for a custom kayak, whose construction requires about 350-400 hours of labor, can range from $6,500 to $11,000. Dillon and Sanders say they are exploring other, more accessible options such as allowing people to rent space in their building with access to all the necessary tools for making their own kayak. “Renting space allows them to learn from us and other woodworkers,” Dillon says. “A lot of the effort that goes into building a kayak comes from building the jig. They can use one of Rob’s and knock off a month of production time.” The wooden kayaks follow the same dimensions as most other standard kayaks—a single kayak is typically 16 to 19 feet, and a double kayak is about 23 feet in length. The wooden strips that form the shell, divided into an upper and

about the

writer Kim Gronniger is a freelance writer who loves books, movies, quirky attractions, eclectic gift shops and travel.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE

Summer ’ 14

Brian Dillon, Emily Dillon and Rob Sanders paddle their kayaks on Lake Shawnee.

NOTO for Kayak

Artistry and Commerce

When Rob Sanders decided to buy a building for Custom Kayaks in 2012, he saw the NOTO Arts District as an ideal spot. With an eclectic cluster of eateries, antique stores, art studios and gift shops nearby, the kayak company fits well with First Friday clientele seeking items and experiences that blend fun and functionality. And Sanders says he fits in well with the old-town feel of North Topeka. “I grew up in Headland, Alabama, a town of about 1,200 people, and this area reminds me of it,” Sanders says. “People check on you and watch out for you. I feel lucky that I was able to get this building.” Brian Dillon, his business partner and Buffalo, New York, native, agrees. “They’re roll-up-your-sleeves people. They get behind things and make them happen. I’ve lived in Topeka for seven years, and more people know me here than anywhere else.”

TOPEKAMAGAZINE

Summer ’ 14

lower section that are then combined and covered in a layer of fiberglass, range in size from a quarter of an inch to three quarters of an inch, the different wood colors optimally stacked to resemble a deck of cards, Dillon says. “Once they get three strips on both sides of that jig, they’re calling their buddies and sending them photos of the boat they’re building,” says Sanders, laughing. “If they want to add a cooler or mount a depth finder or have another idea they want to try, we can help. Our goal is to enable people to design a boat that expresses their personality.” Dillon built one of the boats on display for his daughter as a delayed high school graduation present. The craft, which has an arrow motif to depict her hobby, won the People’s Choice and Educators’ Choice awards at a competition sponsored by The Woodworking Shows in Kansas City. “This was the first time in my life I felt like an artist,” Dillon says. Both Sanders and Dillon are about five years away from retirement and hope one day to expand the custom-kayak concept to Hawaii, Guam, Belize, Thailand or other favorite locales. But for now, they are the landlocked Heartland—doing their best to promote a water sport, and seemingly enjoying every minute of it.. “What can we say?” jokes Sanders. “We’ve got issues.”

Kayaking the Kaw The Kaw—or Kansas—River has been recognized since 2012 as a national treasure with its official designation as a “National Water Trail.” Local kayak and canoe enthusiasts have known for years about the beauty and enjoyment that comes from floating on the Kaw. Taking a river journey on the Kaw can be a wonderful mix of sports and leisure, perfect for families and groups. But any river journey requires precautions, and the Kaw does present some hazards that should be anticipated before taking to the water. Here are some resources to prepare for and appreciate a trip on the Kaw. --Reading Craig Thompson’s Along the Kaw: A Journey Down the Kansas River is full of beautiful photography and insightful information on the native environment along the Kaw River. Thompson, who spent years monitoring the Kaw with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, writes with a scientist’s insight and a native’s love for the river.

--Maps and Navigation Tips Kansas River Trail Map: The official listing of Kaw River access points available through the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism or online at travelks.com/ksrivertrail/map. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas River Map: A satellite-image overview of every section of the river with notations on all access points and danger zones. Found online at nwk.usace.army.mil/Portals/29/docs/kansasriver/ KansasRiverIndex-links.pdf. Friends of the Kaw River Map: Created by the nonprofit organization that regularly monitors conditions on the Kaw, this is perhaps the best guide for kayak and canoe outings. The online map provides photos of all sections and provides clear instructions for navigating obstacles and danger zones as well as sound advice for beginners. Available at kansasriver.org/float-and-fish/river-access-map/.

Tom Burns’ 60 Years on the Kaw River is the memoir of a legendary catfisher and self-taught biologist, full of a fisherman’s yarns and his wise observations on the habits of native fish.

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Summer ’ 14

Organizations Floating across a local lake or down the Kaw can be considerably safer and more enjoyable with guided trips or by renting equipment from area providers. Here are some organizations that provide these services. In Topeka: Custom Kayaks, Inc.—Offers advice for planning lake expeditions, and soon plans to rent equipment. customkayakrental.com (785) 220-4757 Kaw Valley Canoe Rental—Rents both kayaks and canoes, with discounts for scouting and church groups. kawvalleycanoe.com (785) 267-2410 In Manhattan: Tuttle Creek State Park—Rents kayaks and canoes for lake use. (785) 539-7941 Fort Riley Outdoor Recreation Center—Rents kayaks and canoes for lake and river use; also supplies group tours, but only for Department of Defense cardholders. (785) 239-2363 In Lawrence: Up a Creek—Kayak and canoe rentals for river or lake along with sponsored theme floats such as the Strawberry Moon or the costume-themed Naughty Pirate float. upacreek.biz

Kansas River

Along the Kaw: Friends of the Kaw—Nonprofit organization provides several educational float trips starting at various points throughout the Kaw River during the float season. kansasriver.org/float-and-fish

A GreAt MArketinG tool for your Business

to advertise contact

Teresa Lewis

tlewis@sunflowerpub.com 785.832.7109

What’s Happening in

June Ramp It Up Topeka’s skateboard culture usually centers around three skate parks and retail shops, but the biggest skateboarding event of the summer arrives at the Topeka and Shawnee County Library’s Alice C. Sabatini Gallery in the form of an art exhibit on Native American skateboard culture. A Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit running from June 28 to August 24, Ramp it Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America features 20 skate decks, including examples from Native American companies and contemporary artists, archival images and video of skateboard history and Native American skaters. “What’s most compelling about this amazing exhibit are the broader applications that this seemingly simple activity has, especially within America’s diverse Native cultures,” says Heather Kearns, exhibit coordinator. “Skate culture is a great lens to learn about both traditional and contemporary Native American culture,” said Betsy Gordon, curator of the Topeka leg of the exhibition, which is also showing in 12 cities across the United States. “This exhibition not only showcases the Native skater but also the Native elders, parents, government officials and community activists who have encouraged their kids to skate.”

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Summer ’ 14

June 14 | Trivia Afternoon: Literary Elements Edition | Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library | Doors open at 2:30 p.m. | Pre-registration for teams begins May 1 by calling (785) 580-4540

Photographs courtesy, clockwise from left, Dustinn Craig, Steven Spooner, Cort Anderson and Shutterstock

What’s Happening in

July National Day of the Cowboy The Kansas Historical Society invites families to celebrate the cowboy’s contribution to state history and explore the world of the West. The event is part of the National Day of the Cowboy, observed on the fourth Saturday of July. In Topeka, the events will be held at the Kansas Museum of History, 6425 SW Sixth Ave, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 26. Mary Madden, director of the museum and education for the Kansas State Historical Society, says a volunteer suggested participating in the holiday, which the museum did for the first time in 2013. “We will build on last year’s event,” says Madden. “It will be a family event geared toward games, music, petting zoo, and horses.” Day of the Cowboy activities will continue into the evening with “Museum After Hours: A Night of Country” for those 21 year and older who would like to dress in country attire and learn western dancing from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Music will be performed by Phantom of the Opry, a Western swing band from Kansas City. “It will be a complete day of celebration,” Madden says.

July 4 | Spirit of Kansas, craft and blues festival | Lake Shawnee | 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Lake Shawnee Golf Tournament 1:30 p.m., water ski show 6:30 p.m.-7:45 p.m., fireworks 10 p.m.

July 25-August 10 | Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale, a theatrical comedy based on the storybook legend | Topeka Civic Theatre

July 11-27 | Sunflower State Games | Various locations across Topeka | State’s top amateur athletes compete in a range of events across age categories

July 26 | Bag Day Book Sale by the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library allows patrons to purchase an entire grocery bag of books for $5 | Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (or until all the books are gone)

Photographs courtesy, clockwise from upper left: Nathan Ham Photography, Shutterstock, Nathan Ham Photography and Prairie Band Casino.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE

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What’s Happening in

AUGUST Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall The American Veterans Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall will be displayed from August 27-31 at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard, Forbes Field. The wall is an 80-percent scale replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The names of U.S. military personnel who gave their lives in the conflict are etched on the 360-foot long, eight-foot tall traveling memorial. The wall was completed in 1998 and began touring throughout the U.S. that same year, according to organizers, the American Veteran’s Traveling Tribute. Aug. 28, U.S. Air Force Day • Exhibit opening ceremony, noon •Evening ceremony, 8 p.m. Aug. 29, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Day • Reveille Ceremony, 8 a.m. • Closing ceremony, 8 p.m. Aug. 30 U.S. Army Day • Pancake feed, 7 a.m. • Reveille Ceremony, 8 a.m. • Vietnam Panel, 11 a.m. • Closing ceremony, 8 p.m. Aug. 31, POW/MIA Day • Reveille Ceremony, 8 a.m. • Chapel Service, 10 a.m. • Ride to the Wall, noon • Closing ceremony, 2:45 p.m.

AugUST 1-17 | Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr., theater performance based on the Disney movie | Topeka Civic Theatre

AugUST 9 | Family Day by the Pond with live entertainment, crafts, food vendors and fishing for children | Central Park | 2 p.m.-6 p.m.

AugUST 2 | Topeka Big Shunga 8K run/5K walk | Crestview Community Center | 7:30 a.m. | Registration limited to runners/ walkers 13 years old and over

AugUST 15-16 | Laugh Lines improvisation comedy show performs sketches and games based on audience suggestions | Topeka Civic Theatre | 8 p.m.

AugUST 2 | Ballet for Young Audiences, a 45-minute performance of The Wizard of Oz and post-production photo opportunity with Dorothy and the Scarecrow | Gage Park Amphitheater | 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. | Free

August 15 | Membership Appreciation Night at the Topeka Zoo brings music, activities and animal encounters to thank members of the Friends of the Zoo | 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

AugUST 7 | Loving Your Stuff: Collectibles, part of the “Preserve Topeka” workshop series sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and the Topeka Landmarks Commission | Kansas Museum of History | 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Aug. 8 | Showing of Elvis Presley movie Blue Hawaii, part of the Sundown Film Festival | Kansas Museum of History | 9 p.m. | Free AugUST 9 | Cruisin’ the Capitol Car Show, a variety of categories of hotrods and show cars | Downtown, Kansas Avenue | 3 p.m.-8 p.m., followed by an outdoor showing of an American movie classic | Free

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Photographs courtesy, from left, Shutterstock, Shutterstock and Nathan Ham Photography.

Summer ’ 14

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Our feature stories in this issue come from two of our long-term contributors, Carolyn Kaberline and Anita Miller Fry. The two writers have different interests and voices, but both are longtime Topeka residents who tap their familiarity with the city and its residents to discover new treasures with each article they submit. I was ashamed to admit that when I read Anita’s article on 10 relatively under-the-radar attractions in Topeka, there were a few I didn’t know. For instance, I had driven by the Chandler Library Pavilion— which Anita lists as one of the top treasures—perhaps hundreds of times and hadn’t stopped to enjoy the garden once. Now I have. And though I had heard of local knife-makers, I had never seen any of their exhibitions or attended any of their individual showings. After reading Carolyn’s story that, too, will change. Hopefully you’ll find something new and interesting in this section to pique your interest and to add to your collection of local knowledge

features TOPEKAMAGAZINE

38 knives as art

Summer ‘14 44 ten treasures of topeka

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Steve Culver holds one of his customized knives at his work studio in Meriden.

Summer ’ 14

Kniasves Art area bladesmiths forge sharp masterpieces

They are for hunting, working and fighting. But they are also works of art. They are simple—but they are created through a bonding of ancient techniques and modern understanding of chemical reactions. The best knives bring history, inspiration and a cut as clean and sharp as a razor. And their creation demands the study and skills of talented master bladesmiths. Today’s knife-makers have advanced metals and equipment at their disposal, but they tap centuries of knowledge. Organizations such as the Kansas Custom Knifemakers Association hold workshops and symposiums to keep their members abreast of the newest trends and to preserve their craft. Three Topeka-area knife-makers—two of whom have the rank of “Master Bladesmiths”—have found that this ancient art is a way of life for them.

story by Carolyn Kaberline

photography by Jason Dailey

Have buffalo, will skin Roger Craig turns on his grinder to polish the blade of a knife. Surrounded by eight other grinders, a trip-hammer and a tool chest full of materials, he is definitely in his element. “My wife says she didn’t get to buy the house she really wanted, but she did get me a shop,” Craig says as he looks around the large garage, long since converted into a knife-making workspace. Craig got his start making knives 20 years ago when he lost a little knife that he owned. “That made me mad, so I started making one out of an old file and kept going from there,” he explains. When he later found his original knife, he decided that God must have “tricked me into this to keep me out of trouble.” Though he started out as a “grinder,” Craig now forges knives as well—a more involved and more demanding process. Craig has developed a specialty in camp knives and fighting knives, whose names reflect their purpose and use. He also creates a line of “buffalo skinners.” “I traded a knife for a book about Nebraska,” he explains. “The one who owned the book later said I could call it my ‘buffalo skinner’ since he had actually skinned one with it.” Craig sells many of his knives through a dealer in Ford, located near Dodge City, and at knife shows in Nebraska; even more are sold to repeat customers. “They keep coming back for more and more. It’s a real honor.” Although Craig, who’s now retired, spends a lot of time in his shop, he never tells himself he is going to work. “I say I’m going out to play,” Craig says. “It’s so much fun.”

The Danish-Persian connection Dan Petersen of Auburn became interested in knife-making because of a gift he received from his father. “My father and grandfather emigrated from Denmark,” Petersen says. “My grandfather had been a blacksmith there, but it wasn’t something he could make a living at in the late 1930s. When I was 12, my dad gave me a knife he and my grandfather had made. My grandfather had forged the blade and my father put a handle to it. It was crude by a lot of standards, but it was my first knife from a forge.” Petersen went on to earn a doctorate in psychology and teach in the Department of Social Work at Washburn University. But he returned to his grandfather’s craft in 1981 when he began forging. By 1983, he had his own forge and tools, and he joined the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), which has since recognized him as a “Master Bladesmith.” While he makes bowie knives, daggers and swords, Petersen is also known for making historical pieces, especially those of Persian design. “It’s kind of fun to look at the history of a piece and figure out how it’s done,” Petersen says. “I like to take classic design concepts and apply them to modern blades.” Petersen has also worked with thermite reactions, which has allowed him to create designer steel niobium alloy blades. One of these blades was given to the ABS for its annual fundraiser. While most of the pieces that Petersen makes can be considered works of art, he’s quick to note that they are all working tools. “I take most of the blades I make and test them before I finish them off.”

Damascus steel Metal made from at least two different types of steel that are chemically different. After the different steels are stacked together in alternating layers, the entire stack is heated to an almost molten state, removed from the forge, then folded over itself numerous times (often creating several hundred layers) before it is heat-treated, sanded, then subjected to an etching solution. The solution brings out a pattern due to the different composition of the layers. Forged knife blades Forged knife blades are made from a piece of steel which is heated in a forge, then pounded into shape with a hammer. Stock removal knife blades Instead of using a forge to create these knife blades, the knifemaker cuts a knife shape out of steel, then uses a grinder to create the bladeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge. After a blade is shaped by either forging or stock removal, it is subjected to a heat-treatment process that hardens it. It is finished by fine grinding with a machine or by hand-sanding. Then, any fittings, such as a guard, are installed, the handle is attached and the blade is sharpened. Master Bladesmith To become a Master Bladesmith recognized by the American Bladesmith Society, an applicant must: -- Be a member of the society for at least two years. -- Become a journeyman by passing a blade performance test. -- Work as a journeyman for two years. -- Create five forged knives approved by a panel of master smiths. -- Complete another blade performance test. -- Create a European quillon dagger (a dagger with crosspieces forming a guard). Definitions provided by Master Bladesmith Steve Culver

Steve Culver, president of the Kansas Custom Knifemakers Association, sees these trends among collectors of handmade knives. Art knives Often featuring Damascus blades and complex patterns, these knives might also include gold inlays or precious stone settings. “Virtually any form of embellishment can be incorporated into a knife,” says Culver. Decorations Culver says that the handles and fittings on knives are “often made of expensive materials and can be carved and sculptured by hand into complex shapes.” High performance Knives capable of holding sharp edges through extreme use are currently popular. “The blades of these knives may be of highly alloyed steel and individually heattreated to create the ultimate edge-holding properties,” Culver explains. Switchblades Because many states have relaxed restrictions on knives in recent years, automatic opening knives, better known as switchblades, are experiencing renewed interest.

Damascus Steve “I’ve liked making things ever since I was a kid,” Steve Culver of Meriden says. He explains that much of this interest came from his dad, who worked on farm machinery, and from his great-uncle George, “who loved machinery and the old way of doing things.” He adds that his uncle gave him an appreciation of history and crafting things with his hands. Because of those influences, “when I picked up a knife magazine and saw people making them, I was hooked.” Culver learned to make knives under blacksmith Jim Bevan from Valley Falls, with help from a grant from the Kansas Historical Society and the Kansas Arts Commission. He also took a few classes at the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing at Texarkana College in Washington, Arkansas, to further his knowledge. A full time knife-maker since 2004, Culver, who is an ABS Master Bladesmith, lists his specialties as creating collector-quality knives and knife/gun combination weapons. He is also a Master Gunsmith and is considered one of the most knowledgeable experts in the world on the process of making spiral welded Damascus gun barrels. Culver’s knives are primarily art pieces that go to collectors. However, he says it is not uncommon for people who buy these knives to use them as well. “Even if these are made as art, they must work.”

Story by Anita Miller Fry Photography by Bill Stephens

topeka t re asu res

This summer, rediscover some of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oft-overlooked offerings

The Kansas Capitol, with its extensive face-lift and distinctive copper dome, is a marvel to Topekans and visitors. The 160-acre Gage Park, with its zoo, swimming pool and rose garden, has been the city’s outdoor gem since the heirs of Guilford G. Gage donated the land in 1899. Don’t overlook the “Jewel on Jewel Street”—Washburn University—with its recent campus beautification, building renovations and expansions. There’s Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, the Ted Ensley gardens beautifying the west bank of Lake Shawnee, and other top-touted treasures of Topeka. But for locals, it can be the under-the-radar treasures, found in out-of-the-way places or unassuming locations, which create personal connections and make Topeka an interesting city to live. These treasures may come in the form of people, places or things. Here’s a list of my favorite—perhaps lesser-known—treasures to enjoy this summer.

Chandler Library Pavilion 11th St. and Washburn Ave. Just south of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, this small, triangularshaped park overlooks busy traffic, but sees little foot traffic to appreciate its solitude. Gargoyles and other architectural stonework can be found here on three brick pillars, remnants of the old Shawnee County Courthouse that, from 1895 to 1965, stood at Fifth and Van Buren streets (where the downtown YMCA is now located). The park was built and dedicated in 2004 as a tribute to Topeka’s 150th anniversary. It recognizes Topeka banker Anderson Chandler, who was the primary donor, as well as the nearby public library, a well-known and highly beloved city treasure.

Pickleball Courts at Hughes Park S.W. Eighth and Orleans Streets The action-packed sport increasingly popular with seniors and families now has 10 dedicated courts. This number of courts is unusual for one park, but it supports the growing popularity of pickleball, which is somewhat similar to tennis, but played with a Wiffle ball and smaller racquets. Hughes Park already was on the map with many families for its kid-friendly play area, but the pickleball courts enhance the park’s cross-generational appeal.

Garden walk at Ward-Meade Park 124 N.W. Fillmore The botanic gardens of Ward-Meade Park have long been admired by Topekans, and the addition of Old Prairie Town has added a dimension of yesteryear with its 19th-century buildings, along with the site’s original Victorian mansion. The gardens, however, are a focal point in their own right and provide a respite from urban life with their curving walkways and immaculate flower beds. Stroll east from the mansion and past the gazebo to find benches among the flower beds offering the luxury of sitting and enjoying natural treasures.

The Merchant | 913 S. Kansas Ave. Topeka’s downtown region is on a roll, with grand renovation plans and a core of anchor shops. One of these is the Merchant, located in an ornate downtown building that once housed a shoe store. With owner Lisa Boyd constantly assembling an eclectic inventory of gently used designer clothing, jewelry, vintage home furnishings, art, books, and more, the store can help you get lost from the world for an hour or two. The Merchant is open Monday through Saturday, with the basement level where furnishings are located, open Thursday through Saturday.

Garden behind RowHouse Restaurant 515 S.W. Van Buren RowHouse Restaurant is a treasure unto itself, but another treasure lies just outside the downtown restaurant’s back doors. A garden area that fronts the alley provides outdoor seating, beautiful flower beds and landscaping, and a growing area for seasonal greens and vegetables featured in the restaurant’s menu. It doesn’t get any fresher than that.

River view at Kaw River State Park | 300 S.W. Wanamaker The mighty Kaw beckons, and some of the best views of the Kansas River can be found at the Kaw River State Park. Sunrises and sunsets over the river are especially awe-inspiring. If the river happens to be at a low stage, you can walk on sandbars and look for washed-up treasures. When you tire of the expansive river view, there are nearby walking and biking trails on the 76-acre park. The Kaw River State Park is the only state park in Kansas with free entry.

Blueberry Pancakes at Café Holliday | 800 S.W. 12th Street Saturday mornings are special when you enjoy blueberry pancakes with friends at Café Holliday. This local eatery enjoys a corner spot in the Devon Apartment building, with views of Holliday Park. But there’s no reason to focus on anything except your plate on a Saturday morning, when the blueberry pancakes of your dreams are served. The owners start making the pancakes at 5:30 a.m., ready for the regulars or those on their way to the Saturday Farmers’ Market, about six blocks east.

I’ve Got Issues If you think Topeka’s got issues, you’re right. Just tune into KTWU’s I’ve Got Issues program with host Janet Thompson Jackson and you’ll learn the behindthe-scenes facts about what’s going in the capital city. Jackson, a law professor at Washburn University, invites guests who are involved in education, government, health, business and more. KTWU’s local production is aired at 7:30 p.m. the fourth Thursday of the month, with past episodes online at ktwu.org.

Mausoleum Row at Topeka Cemetery 1601 S.E. 10th Ave. Topeka Cemetery has always been a who’s who of Topeka’s past prominent, and the Mausoleum Row, with 10 mausoleums tucked into a hillside, boasts some of those oldest of Topeka names. Here you’ll find Mulvanes, Cranes and families that many Topekans recognize as street names. The mausoleums are on the National Register of Historic Places and monumental in fact.

La Siesta Restaurant 201 N.E. Woodruff La Siesta Restaurant, nestled in a tidy residential area in Oakland just a block from the rail yards, has been in the same family for 51 years. Connie and Frank Herrera have owned this small restaurant for 36 years, and before that it belonged to Connie’s sister. When you step inside the building at the corner of Atchison and Woodruff streets, you get a feeling of family and friendliness. You also step back to the 1950s, with vintage enamel-topped tables and functional furnishings. All food items on the menu are tasty, but my favorite specialty is the chile con queso, a cheesy cheese that turns a chip into a mouth-watering experience. The Herreras make all the food fresh, so don’t plan on a fast meal. Sit back and enjoy some treasured moments while you soak up the atmosphere.