Fab Fish | fall 2015 Topeka Magazine by Sunflower Publishing

fine

art of

fabulous

fish

and other Natural Wonders from Hi Stockwell, one of four artists featured in these pages

of Topeka Symphony Orchestra

Alex Grecian:

Murder mysteries

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70 Years

fall

2015 vol. 9 no. 4

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the staples ...

Editor Nathan Pettengill designer/Art Director

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contributing Jason Dailey Photographers Katie Moore Bill Stephens Contributing Writers

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For the past nine years of publication, our magazine has been devoted to covering all aspects of the city: from urban lofts to rural barns; from winter sledding spots to summer biking trails; from downtown extravaganzas to countryside getaways; from business trailblazers to nonprofit innovators. It has been a pleasure to bring to these pages a range of stories bound only by a common geographical tieâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Topeka. But amid all these story themes, we have our staples. We admit without any embarrassment that we particularly love stories on history, homes, animals, music and gardens. And then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art and food. This fall issue brings us a full package of conversations about art and food with people from across Topeka. And in only that small framework of a theme we make long journeys. Joanie Underwood and Claudia Larkin take us back to previous centuries in Italy with their family recipes. Azyz Sharafy creates creative showpieces with a pedigree of admiration for early Indian artists. Volunteers from Old Prairie Town at Ward-Mead Park share the experience (and take on the burden) of culinary traditions before granite countertops and commercial ovens. Join us for another tour of the best that Topeka can cook up in the worlds of food, art and more.

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- Nathan Pettengill Editor

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

what’s inside

on THE cover

fine

art

of fabulous

fish

and other natural Wonders from hi stockWell, one of four artists featured in these pages

Hi Stockwell’s Hungry, oil on canvas, 2014; photograph by Bill Stephens.

70 Years

of Topeka Symphony orcheSTra

alex Grecian:

murder mySTerieS

fall ‘15 | topekamag.com | $5

fall 2015

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in ev e ry iss u e :

what’s happening

features

50 sound of 70

The Topeka Symphony Orchestra enters its seventh decade, thanks to the dedication and experience of a core of talented musicians

56 he did it

Meet the quiet, self-effacing, gentle Topekan who plots literary murder all day long

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

locale

Fuss-Free Majesty Into

the fall, one Topeka home is graced by the queen of flowers

topekans

Artist of the Month

A recap of our most recent picks to honor the city’s art community

Azyz Sharafy’s globalinfluenced mash-up of tech and tradition stakes out the artistic land where logic borders whimsy

Autumn opens another season of oldfashioned dining at the 1854 Ward Cabin

With fresh tomatoes, good wine and generations of tradition, Claudia Larkin keeps a cooking tradition alive

Professor Techno-Art

appetite

Italian Holiday

A beloved family recipe (with a bit of legend) is passed on from Calabria, through Des Moines, to Joanie Underwood’s Topeka table

Hearth-Side Dinners

simmer on

travel

Cape May Holiday

Forget what you’ve endured on Jersey Shore; the state’s southern coastal tip has one of the quaintest, most rewarding beach destinations

from the editor

Editor dEsignEr/Art dirEctor

Jason Dailey

coPY Editor

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subscriPtions

the records from the Carlsbad Potashers minor league baseball team note that on the night of August 11, 1959, Gil Carter—the subject of this edition’s cover story—hit a home run for a distance of 650 feet. But that was a safe estimate, a fudging of caution and disbelief when the actual measurements indicated 730 feet. Carter, a topeka native who has since returned to live in his hometown, remembers the distance set at 733 feet. Any way you mark it—that home run would have been a record. Could have been. But minor league teams at that time didn’t have a hotline to officials from the Guinness world Records. And so, baseball’s longest-home-run title officially belongs to Mickey Mantle, who whacked a ball 634 feet at an away game in Detroit in 1963.

Nathan Pettengill Shelly Bryant

chiEf PhotogrAPhEr

40 years of

+ Fiesta Mexicana + Silverbackks + World Horseshoe Champs

Spring ’13

Vol. VII / No. II

M aga z i n e

Nonetheless, here’s the one big truth that comes out of all the missed record-keeping and retellings like a fast ball down the middle: That night, Gil Carter hit one heck of a wallop.

Kathy Lafferty (785) 224-9992 Jenni Leiste Bill Stephens

it was a blast that crowned an incredible, long career as an athlete, and now as a community volunteer. it was a shot that earned Gil Carter a place in baseball legend. Carter is on the other end of his sport from the high school rodeo competitors who share the pages with him in this spring edition. At the start of their young lives, they might or might not continue in their sport and leave a legacy as large as Carter. But that doesn’t make the present chase of their dreams any less compelling—for them, their family or the fans who might enjoy watching them in the ring. we hope you enjoy our tribute to Carter, the rodeo rising stars and other topekans in this issue of Topeka Magazine.

Melinda Briscoe James Carothers Meredith Fry Jeffrey Ann Goudie Kim Gronniger Cecilia Harris Carolyn Kaberline Susan Kraus Vern McFalls Eric McHenry Anita Miller-Fry Cheryl Nelsen Karen Ridder Christine Steinkuehler Debra Guiou Stufflebean Bert Hull

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the rodeo returns A Newcomer’s Guide to the riNG Follow us on twitter @TopekaMagazine Find us on facebook: facebook.com/topekamag

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Thanks for all the compliments on our previous edition’s cover, shot by Bill Stephens. We’ll take the many questions of how we photoshopped and altered the image of the hot air balloons over Lake Shawnee as a different sort of compliment … but this image, like most all of the images in our publication, was subjected to some color correction but no digital alteration. Lake Shawnee and the Topeka landscape are simply that beautiful.

An Amazing Artwalk

Spring ’ 13

Vol. VII / No. II

Congratulations to Jeanne MacKay for winning the grand prize—an original painting by James Pringle Cook—at the June Artwalk sponsored by Topeka Magazine, Topeka Performing Arts Center, Diamonds by Design and SouthWind Gallery. The painting was part of the showing of recent work by Cook, including his large-scale pastoral and urban scenes. Cook, a native of Eskridge, has also shown recently at the Mulvane Art Museum and SouthWind Gallery. This particular work—valued at over $2,500—was donated by SouthWind Gallery and Diamonds by Design. Topeka Magazine will continue to organize and sponsor Artwalk events and giveaways coinciding with the months when we release our quarterly editions. Look for more information on the next Topeka Magazine Artwalk event coming up in December. Photograph, from left: Gary Blitsch (SouthWind Gallery, owner), Jessica Schaefer (Diamonds by Design, manager), Nathan Pettengill (Topeka Magazine, editor), Jeanne MacKay (Tasteful Olive, owner), Marcia Brenner (Diamonds by Design, CEO), Teresa Lewis (Topeka Magazine, sales executive) and Tammy Miles (Topeka Performing Arts Center, finance manager). Photograph by Bill Stephens.

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A Legend Passes

from the editor

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Nathan Pettengill Shelly Bryant

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Jason Dailey

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gEnErAL MAnAgEr

subscriPtions

Kathy Lafferty (785) 224-9992 Jenni Leiste Bill Stephens

Nonetheless, here’s the one big truth that comes out of all the missed record-keeping and retellings like a fast ball down the middle: That night, Gil Carter hit one heck of a wallop. it was a blast that crowned an incredible, long career as an athlete, and now as a community volunteer. it was a shot that earned Gil Carter a place in baseball legend. Carter is on the other end of his sport from the high school rodeo competitors who share the pages with him in this spring edition. At the start of their young lives, they might or might not continue in their sport and leave a legacy as large as Carter. But that doesn’t make the present chase of their dreams any less compelling—for them, their family or the fans who might enjoy watching them in the ring. we hope you enjoy our tribute to Carter, the rodeo rising stars and other topekans in this issue of Topeka Magazine.

Bert Hull

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Spring ’ 13

We were saddened to learn of the passing of Gil Carter, shortly after the release of our previous issue. Carter—pictured here as a young Chicago Cubs prospect and as the cover of our spring 2013 edition—held the unofficial record for the world’s longest home run. The Topeka native returned to his hometown for retirement, where he mentored young athletes and shared stories of his life over cups of coffee. He was a generous, genuine sports legend. next edition ...

The next issue of Topeka Magazine releases during the first weekend of December. We’ll have a special issue dedicated to the history of the city and historical figures who played a role in shaping Topeka.

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Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

. . . W h e n y o u d e m a n d t h e v e r y b e s t.

W W W. d i a m o n d s b y d e s i g n i n c . c o m (785) 271-5605 diamondsbydesigninc@gmail.com 2121 sW Wanamaker rd. suite # 113 topeka Kansas

Departments Good art and good food have always been at the core of Topeka Magazine throughout our first nine years of publication. In this issue, we sharpen that focus with four artist profiles and three delicious food/recipe stories. The art and food are unique to each story, but all share a strong connection to Topeka and to the greater world that has shaped our city. For example, Azyz Sharafy, a global artist who came to Kansas via India and Canada, talks with Barbara Waterman-Peters about how his work has been shaped by a range of forces, and ultimately by the Topeka community he has adopted as home. Just a few blocks away, in the home of Joanie Underwood, we learn about a family tradition that came from southern Italy, through Iowa (with or without a detour through China) and into a Topeka kitchen. Topeka is infinitely richer for all the global forces and new arrivals that have shaped and continue to shape it. We see that in everything—from the people we call neighbors, to the art around us and the food that we eat. We hope you enjoy reading about some of the best aspects of the city’s art and culinary traditions, brought to you by Topekans focused on their home but enriched by the world around them.

10 12 16

fu ss- free majesty

arti st of th e mon th

Professor Techno-Art

20 24 28 I talian H oliday

Hearth-Side Dinners

Sim m er On

36 42 Wh at’s Happen i ng

cape may holiday

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Story by

Photography by

Cale Herreman

Bill Stephens

Fuss-Free

ABOUT THE WRITER

Locale

Majesty

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

Cale Herreman is a writer in Topeka. He enjoys pizza and cookies, which helps him get along with his children.

Into the fall, one Topeka home is graced by the queen of flowers

n the Elmhurst neighborhood is a quaint house bloom in front of the porch. “This one, I usually sniff when standing behind a white fence and nearly hidden I come up the steps,” she explains, as she does just that. Roses, often thought of as a majestic bloom, can be behind a seven-foot wall of rose shrubs. If you pass into the yard, you will find yourself enveloped in surprisingly hardy, forgiving and generous. Snider’s roses the green plants boasting prolific blooms proudly defin- will begin to bloom in late March or April, die back, and ing a color between red and pink. The stems reach high, bloom once more, with the flowers remaining into the fall. soaking up the sun in the narrow front yard. It’s easy to As gardening writer Karen L. Dardick has noted, “The imagine a gardener spending endless hours trimming, Queen of Flowers is really a very tough plant.” And because the roses take care of themselves for deadheading and weeding, but Jo Snider explains that the most part, this leaves a gardener time for other activithis whole set-up was designed to be low maintenance. “My husband was ill,” she says, “so he really couldn’t ties or portions of the yard. As in any garden, chaos lurks do any mowing or anything for upkeep. So I thought, if around the bend for the Snider spread, with the prospect I lay down ground cover, and lay down some stone and of bushy plants taking over the space, weeds becoming gravel. Well, I kind of liked it and then I too comfortable and claiming the land. thought, ‘I’ll plant some roses!’ Things that The ground cover bears nice blue flowI could do, that he wouldn’t have to do.” ers, but it needs to be kept back, too. Asked if she had gardening experiSuch a lovely, unusual front yard merits notice. “When the roses are ence, she laughs. “I really haven’t; I did blooming and they’re so pretty, I have more golfing. And now,” Snider adds, lots of people drive by really, really chuckling, “since we’ve gotten here, I slow,” Snider says. But a couple years haven’t done any golfing, but I’ve been ago, someone showed their appreciaplaying with roses.” – Jo Snider That play has gone pretty well. Maybe tion in another way. because of her attention to the plants, or “My husband saw somebody come maybe because Snider simply happened to choose the through the gate. He said, ‘She’s carrying something.’” right blooms. The Knock Out rose shrubs along the fence By the time Snider got to the door, she says, “There was are prolific, with bunches of flowers growing fiercely, high nobody there, but she had left this picture on the porch. I and low. “They don’t take a lot of care. I find that they have no idea who it is. I’ve never met her.” It was a paintlook a lot nicer if you can get out and deadhead the spent ing featuring one of the yellow roses, and on the back blooms,” Snider says, explaining her trimming methods, was a note: “Neighbor: Thanks for sharing your beautiful “But they’ll continue to bloom, even if you don’t.” Of roses!” course, she says, the plant itself needs pruning, for the Snider was humbled by such a generous gift and by sake of the yard. “I try to cut them back to keep them the attention her rose garden has drawn. Teaming up with back, but they get ahead of you sometimes.” such a hardy plant has made for a formidable combination Other roses huddle closer to the house, some with and will continue to make something worth stopping the yellow blooms. One climbing plant pokes an open pink car for, for a long time to come.

“They’ll continue to bloom.”

E N j o y

N I g h t

o u t

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weller s b a r. co m

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Story by

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artist of the

topekans

month

ABOUT THE WRITER

A recap of our most recent picks to honor the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art community

Lois VanLiew creates art from her studio in the NOTO Arts District.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

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

ach month, Topeka Magazine taps one working artist as our “artist of the month” to delight in their work and to learn about the person who creates it. We post our selections online through our social media accounts on the first weekday of each month, but also recap them here, in these pages, with the opportunity to reprint their work in larger, glossy format.

Topeka Magazine’s Artist of the Month for August

Lois VanLiew Returning to Kansas in 2004 after life detours in Texas and Wisconsin, lifelong artist Lois VanLiew set up her studio in Topeka and rediscovered the beauty and magic of the Kansas prairie. “The challenge is to capture the amazing Renaissance light, to convey the prairie’s many moods, intense colors and ever-changing sense of motion from the wind,” says VanLiew. “The more I do the prairie, the more I find it lends itself to Impressionism.” In a sense, the Kansas landscapes are a continuation of her previous subjects over the years, including vistas of Lake Michigan, crystals, geodes, goddesses, and the wonders of India, which she has visited three times. All of her work, VanLiew says, is an artist’s attempt to portray “what’s behind the visible.”

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Topeka Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Artist of the Month for July

Hi Stockwell A life-long musician and actor, Stockwell returned to painting in the second half of life. He says this return to drawing and painting fits well with his retirement because it allows him to set his own schedule and forces him to go out and explore Kansas wildflowers, stone bridges and landscapes that he will paint on his canvas. Stockwell continues to produce many beautiful works of oil on canvas featuring landscapes, florals and animals as well as some intriguing, less-common subjects where the central figures of his compositions are often arranged like actors on a stage.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

Topeka Magazine’s Artist of the Month for June

Joan Foth (1930–2010) A pioneer woman artist from New York, Foth spearheaded the first Mulvane Art Fair in 1954 and became an inspiring mentor to generations of Topeka artists. Her art addressed different subject matter, but Foth identified primarily as a landscape painter, particularly of Western vistas. Foth wrote about her approach: “A landscape is more than a scenic vista. It is a metaphor for aspects of the painter’s life. It is the matrix from which ideas are formed, an image that ignites … feelings and thoughts.” When artists who knew her gather, Joan Foth is always there in spirit.

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Story by

Photography by

Barbara Waterman-Peters

Katie Moore

ABOUT THE WRITER

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

Professor

TechnoArt Azyz Sharafyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global-influenced mash-up of tech and tradition stakes out the artistic land where logic borders whimsy

topekans

Azyz Sharafy, above, examines serious themes with playful work.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

“Terror Round the Corner,” photograph courtesy Azyz Sharafy, shows the artist’s balance of politics and humor.

“I

was always trying to find my own language, style and process,” explains Azyz Sharafy, a Washburn professor and Topeka-based artist. That search led Sharafy across the world, first with an MFA in creative painting and drawing from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in his homeland of India, and then with an MA in art education from Concordia University in Montreal. But one of his key developments as an artist came from another journey—a futile quest for a typewriter in 1993. “I used to hate computers!” Sharafy explains. So, he eventually compromised and bought a word processor—a bit beyond a typewriter, but not quite the full-on boxy-framed computer of the early 1990s. When he tried it, something clicked inside. Sharafy describes the moment as finding the “logical side of me that I didn’t know.” Shortly after that discovery, Sharafy took a job in the audiovisual department at Concordia. From this position, he was able to discover Photoshop when it was still relatively new, and he started dabbling on the internet and teaching himself software. By 1996, Sharafy was teaching digital design to students at the college level. “I saw a new field opening up and the future coming,” he says. “Technology was coming as a gift to my art.” Sharafy was combining his new technological skills with a solid background in Western drawing and painting, as well as a background of studying Eastern art legends. He lists Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Matisse and Picasso as influences, but he also hastens to add influences from the Eastern tradition such as Rabindranath Tagore, Zainul Abedin, K.G. Subramanyan, Buphen Khakhar and Nalini Malani. Anish Kapoor, an internationally known contemporary sculptor, also makes his list.

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Azyz Sharafy’s Topeka Connections

Applying technology also aided Sharafy in breaking what he saw as a tendency to place too much focus on himself as an artist. “Exploring what I had done so far, I realized art was about me looking inside my eyes to me painting a painting. I was reflecting on my own reflections,” Sharafy says about two early paintings he created as an undergraduate. “What was I trying to do? Is art all about me?” But, Sharafy cautions, there is also a danger of an artist being overshadowed by technology and materials. “It is difficult to figure out what is ‘you,’ what is authentic, because materials can take over,” he says. So Sharafy experiments to create work in this balance between the reflective process and the reality of the materials, working with everything from sand to steel wool, with remarkable results that intrigue, disturb and fascinate. Themes of nature, the cosmos, politics, war, violence and terrorism all find expression. Vari-

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

ous incarnations of a single image—deconstructed, reassembled and re-presented— force the viewer to examine common perceptions of the visual world. This may be the major goal of art: to provoke questions and to evoke another way of seeing the world.

“My art may be playful or childlike, but there is a serious, social and political context.” – Azyz Sharafy Sometimes Sharafy’s artworks address difficult and timely political situations, the same ones seen in current media headlines. But he presents them in beautiful

colors and forms that allow the viewer momentary complacency before realization of the true message compels closer examination. On other occasions, Sharafy’s work turns out to be humorous or witty. Usually small-scale, the brightly colored sculptural pieces can be almost toy-like, but a strong statement hidden in each one soon dispels that sensation. For example, his work “Terror Round the Corner” first appears as brightly colored educational sliding blocks until one looks closer and sees a radio, a handgun, and the figure of a spy or suspect. “My art may be playful or childlike, but there is a serious, social and political context,” says Sharafy. “I don’t do it intentionally, it is just the way it comes out. Your mind and your personality have different levels, so there are different perspectives in my artwork. I am conscious of what is happening in our society and I want to turn it into an art piece and relay the concerns that I have.”

Hired by Washburn University in 1998, Azyz Sharafy teaches computer graphics and multimedia, digital animation, Flash web design, video editing special effects, digital painting and drawing, video game design and drawing. Fluent in Hindi, English, Urdu and Bengali, Sharafy brings a global perspective to his teaching and work. His art has been exhibited from California to Italy, from Costa Rica to Mississippi. And his international art residencies have included unusual global collaborations. In 2014, he worked with residents in Bagerhat, Bangladesh, to create public works of art from ordinary objects authentic to the community. They created two objects: “Communal Bridge,” a decorative landscape made from clay pots, plants and other objects found in the everyday life of a fishing village; and “WalkThru Fish Net,” which was the simple idea of turning a standard, cylindrical fishing trap on its side and altering it so that people could walk through it, almost as a gateway, from land to water. He has presented papers based on his artwork such as “Sculpting with Cellular/Micro, Macro and Cosmic Images: Concept, Process and Aesthetics” and “Transforming Photographic Images into 3D Artwork: The Conceptual and Visual Process.” Inventive, with a dry humor and wit, Sharafy is also the developer of sandtoning, a process of using black sand as a drawing medium. He has shared that technique with students and colleagues in groups such as the Collective in Topeka and through the V.A.T., the Visual Artists of Topeka group, which Sharafy founded and which meets monthly to provide a format for discussion, critique and networking. Sharafy says has been very happy with Washburn University, its art department and Topeka. “Coming from the East to North America, I felt immediately at home and adjusted quickly. The best thing about the Midwest is that people are genuine. The artist community in Topeka has been good for me, very loving.”

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story by

Photography by

Debra Guiou Stufflebean

Bill Stephens

Italian

holiday

appetite

A beloved family recipe (with a bit of legend) is passed on from Calabria, through Des Moines, to Joanie Underwoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Topeka table

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

ABOUT THE WRITER

Debra Guiou Stufflebean is a regular contributor to Topeka Magazine and the author of several books, most recently A French Huguenot History.

“This is the parish my mother grew up in. oanie Underwood grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, not far from her Italian There are recipes in here from various family maternal grandparents, the Catansu- members,” Joanie says as she points to a recipe ritas, who had immigrated from Tirio- where her mother had written “a little more of lo, Cantazaro, in the Calabria region of southern this, a little less of that.” “It’s all about individual tastes,” Joanie says. Italy. She spoke English and they spoke Italian. As Joanie’s mother got older, she would mail Their common language was kitchen. “My grandparents never learned to speak her family Christmas boxes filled with homeEnglish, well maybe a little broken English, a few baked goods that included guantis, special feswords, but rather showed us what they meant, tival cookies that originated in Sicily, and small like when my grandmother showed me how to glazed sweet breads, called Italian love knots. knead bread—and the bread she made was won“She has been gone for 25 years, and I still miss those boxes,” says Joanie. derful, the smell and the taste,” says Joanie. Gradually, Joanie began integrating her her“My mother, Mary Catansurita, was born in 1912 and grew up in south Des Moines in a poor itage Italian dishes into her family’s meals. But Italian ghetto. For the longest time she tried to it wasn’t until years later, after raising her famdistance herself from her roots. Italian was her ily, that Joanie realized all her siblings had been first language, but she never spoke it in our doing the same, particularly during the holidays, home. She married a German man, Alan Stuhl- serving a dish called pastachina (pronounced “pasta-cheena”) for Christsatz, and moved to a more integrated area of Des Moines. mas dinner. We didn’t have a lot of Italian “Pastachina is a Des food unless we went to my Moines specialty,” says grandparents’ home,” Joanie Joanie. “According to folkcontinues. lore, neighborhood women “My dad was an entrepreordered the rigatoni and mostaccioli pasta from Chineur of sorts. He started out selling apples on the street na, which is where the dish corner during the Depression, got its name.” and then eventually he had That story itself might his own fruit market. He then also be a Des Moines spestarted his own grocery store cialty. It seems pastachina and finally a tavern, and Mom existed long before any spekept the books. She fixed the cial deliveries were (or were corned beef and hard-boiled not) made from China to eggs for the tavern—not very Iowa. Pastachina came over – Joanie Underwood Italian,” Joanie laughs. from south Italy, according But the Catansurita culinary traditions were to Mario Tumea of Tumea & Sons, a traditional preserved in the family, particularly through Italian restaurant in south-central Des Moines, Joanie’s mom’s sister—Lol—and her husband, the same area where Underwood’s family settled. Chuck Bisignano. In 1956 they opened a restau- “It’s a traditional south-Italian dish,” says Tumea. rant named Chuck’s, an Italian culinary landmark “At Christmas you’ll find all the families there in Des Moines that remained in the family until serving pastachina.” So perhaps a tradition of storytelling was Joanie’s cousin passed away in 2014. The fampassed down with the recipes as well, but this ily restaurant was a place of employment and a source of pride for family members who per- much is certain—for the past years, Joanie and fected making ravioli and pizzas. Italian food and her husband, Roger, have created their traditionculture permeated their lives. al menu of pastachina, braciole and Italian olive As Joanie grew older, she tapped other salad—a meal that works equally well for an cooks in the local Italian community as well. autumn weekend or even Thanksgiving. Like the From her kitchen cupboard, she pulls a cook- words of a familiar table grace, “Bless these book, Recipes from St. Anthony’s Catholic Par- hands that prepare this meal,” Joanie’s efforts ish, and leafs through the text—and the equally remind her of a grandmother who showed her that cooking was a labor of love. important marginalia.

“My grandparents never learned to speak English, … but rather showed us what they meant, like when my grandmother showed me how to knead bread.”

Joanie and Roger Underwood prepare traditional braciole from their home in Topeka.

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Pastachina Preparation Time: Approximately 3 hours

feeds: 8-12 people

ingredients 1 pound ground beef round (can substitute turkey) 2 slices dried bread (soak in water, then squeeze out water) ¼ cup Parmesan cheese ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley ¼ teaspoon black pepper ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon oregano 2 eggs beaten with a fork 1 23-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce

Instructions Place ingredients in large bowl and mix. Use a small ice cream scoop to form meatballs, then drop meatballs into a skillet of boiling water. Remove when they turn gray. Transfer to a pot of spaghetti sauce of your choosing and simmer for one hour. ingredients 1 32-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce 1 16-ounce box of mostaccioli or rigatoni, cooked al dente ¼ cup mozzarella, shredded

¼ cup provolone, shredded ¼ cup ricotta 2 boiled eggs, sliced ¼ cup Parmesan, shredded

Instructions Layer ingredients in a large casserole dish starting first with the sauce and meatballs, pasta, mozzarella, provolone, ricotta and sliced eggs. Repeat twice, then end with the sauce and Parmesan on top. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and center is hot.

Braciole

(Steak Roll)

ingredients 1 cup bread crumbs (Italian style) 1 tablespoon parsley ¼ cup Parmesan 1 large egg beaten with fork in tablespoon water

salt and pepper 1 24-ounce can/jar spaghetti sauce 1½–2-pound round steak, beaten with a tenderizer mallet until flattened and thin (trim fat)

Instructions Mix first five ingredients to form a paste; spread on flattened steak. Roll the meat tightly and tie with string two inches apart. Cut between the strings into pieces. Sauté meat pieces in skillet until brown. Cover with spaghetti sauce of your choosing. Simmer for 2 hours.

Italian Olive Salad ingredients 1 jar pimento stuffed olive pieces 1 cup chopped celery ½ cup chopped mushrooms 2 tablespoons chopped onion

2 teaspoons oregano 2 tablespoons olive oil ½ cup chopped cauliflower (optional)

Instructions Mix all ingredients one day or one week in advance to marinate flavors. Refrigerate and serve.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

The oldesT new car dealership in Topeka is now The newesT

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Story by

Photography by

Linda A. Ditch

Bill Stephens

ABOUT THE WRITER

Linda A. Ditch is a Topeka-based writer specializing in stories about homes and food.

Hearth-Side

Dinners Autumn opens another season of old-fashioned dining at the 1854 Ward Cabin

appetite

Chester Childs prepares a portion of an old-fashioned meal at the Ward Cabin in Old Prairie Town.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

Chester Childs, Juanita Hannibal and Gene Wansing serve and prepare the meal for guests.

hester Childs maneuvers coals under large cast-iron Dutch ovens on the stone hearth. Then, he scoops up more coals to place on top—the slow, methodical way of cooking in the 19th century. As Childs works, guests seated at long tables watch him from the dim light. All the cooking is being done inside the 1854 Ward Cabin, a replica of one of the city’s first settler residences, owned and operated by Shawnee County as part of the Old Prairie Town at Ward-Meade Historic Site in central-north Topeka. “People who come for the first time, especially the children, can’t believe people lived in a house like this,” says Childs, a volunteer cook with Old Prairie Town. He lifts the lid off one pot to check the progress of the white and sweet pota– Chester Childs toes inside. “This type of cooking takes a lot of work. Takes a lot of upper body strength to lift the pots.” The largest pot weighs more than 42 pounds when empty.

“This type of cooking takes a lot of work.”

reserve

The meals are served from October to March, at a cost of $18 per person with advance reservations through Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Department.

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Relying on pioneer cooking technology, Old Prairie Town staff and volunteers require more than two hours to cook a small portion of the meal.

On dinner nights, Childs starts cooking at 4 p.m. so the meal is ready to begin at 6:30 p.m. The menu— served family style for up to 18 guests—includes ham or smoked turkey prepared off-site (in modern kitchens) and then warmed on the hearth, with potatoes, fruit, and Dutch oven-baked biscuits. Dessert features brown bread ice cream from G’s Frozen Custard shop with hearth-baked molasses cookies. According to Dale Logan, curator for Old Prairie Town, both the cookie and the ice cream recipes are based on recipes in the Ward family’s unpublished diary and journals that are held by the county. And though they are time-proven, those cookies can still be a challenge on old-time stoves. “I have to keep my eye on those. They’ll go up quick,” says Childs, who recounts historical anecdotes to guests as he hovers over the next batch of cookies, pulling them out at just the right moment so that they will disappear into the hands of eager guests just as quickly once they land on the table.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

Castlewood Construction Over 33 yrs remodeling NE Kansas

785-233-5480

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Story by

Photography by

Linda A. Ditch

Bill Stephens

Simmer

appetite

ABOUT THE WRITER

Linda A. Ditch has been a freelance writer for almost two decades. Her love for food dates back to times spent watching her grandmother cook in her farmhouse kitchen.

With fresh tomatoes, good wine and generations of tradition, Claudia Larkin keeps a cooking tradition alive

Fresh tomatoes are the key ingredient to Claudia Larkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homemade sauce.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

n most Sundays, Claudia Larkin places a pot of tomato sauce to simmer on her stovetop. It is a ritual she inherited from her mother, who did the same each week when Claudia was a girl. It is a tradition that stretches back to Claudia’s grandmother, and perhaps to generations before her. And it is entirely possible that a similar pot will bubble on each Sunday on the stovetops of Larkin’s descendants. “I grew up in an Italian house,” Larkin says. “I learned to cook from my mother, and she always made homemade sauce. Like my mom, no matter what time of year, I make it every Sunday. It’s a nice way to carry on that tradition.” Larkin, director of marketing for the University of Kansas Memorial Unions and owner of Pink City Sweets and Catering, moved to Topeka in 1981 from her hometown of Rome, New York. She left behind a substantial Italian community and traditions of close-knit families. “I grew up in a town where all my mother’s family lived,” says Larkin. “We always had dinners together.” Larkin learned to cook those dinners by watching her mother, and she speculates all of the women in her family first learned by watching their mothers, until they began attempting meals themselves. Larkin recounts how she begged her mother to let her prepare a dish. At eleven years old, she was finally allowed to make an entire dinner on her own. (The only course she remembers was the dessert of vanilla ice cream topped with crème de menthe, inspired by a photo in a maga– Claudia Larkin zine.) Decades later, Larkin perfected her desserts through Pink City Sweets and Catering, which came into existence when Larkin’s daughter, Katie, expressed an interest in becoming a pastry chef. Soon the then 14-year-old and mother were selling their creations at the Downtown Topeka Farmers’ Market. Though Katie’s career interests changed in the following four years, the business continues. Larkin has taken pains to pass on her culinary heritage, particularly the traditional sauce recipe, which she has written down and passed on to her children, Andy, Katie and Mike. And, of course, there is the hope that they, too, will continue the tradition. “They are accustomed to Italian food, and they eat Mediterranean dishes every day,” says Larkin. “They grew up eating this way, and I hope they pass that along to future generations.” Pieces of Larkin’s culinary heritage reside in her kitchen. Her grandmother’s olive oil can sits by the stovetop. The cork is removed from a wine bottle with an ornate wine opener that was once her father’s. And the family sauce continues to flow from Larkin’s kitchen. Leftover sauce from Sunday dinner at Larkin’s house is kept in the freezer for future meals and paired with dishes such as eggplant or chicken parmesan. Larkin also gives containers of it to her friends and coworkers. “My friends call it the family recipe,” she says. “They ask, ‘Are your making the family recipe this week?’” Chances are, she is. But now, with the following recipe, everyone else can, too.

“Like my mom, no matter what time of year, I make it every Sunday.”

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Claudia’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Garden Tomatoes Preparation Time: 3 Hours

Larkin’s family sauce provides the foundation for a variety of Italian recipes.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

Ingredients 8 pounds fresh, very ripe Roma plum tomatoes, washed (must use plum tomatoes—anything else will be too watery) 1 large onion, cut into 8 pieces 1 green pepper, washed and chopped into 8 pieces 2 fresh garlic cloves 1/2 cup olive oil 1 cup red wine (use a good quality wine—one you would

feeds: 8-10 people

enjoy drinking) 1 6-ounce can tomato paste 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 handful fresh parsley, minced 8 leaves fresh sweet basil, shredded 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper Meatballs and Sausages (see below)

Instructions 1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Using a paring knife, cut a crisscross into the bottom of each tomato. Add tomatoes to boiling water, about six at a time. Boil until skins begin to burst. Transfer tomatoes to a large bowl to cool. Continue with remaining tomatoes. When tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard tomato skins. 2. In the container of your blender, add chopped onion, chopped green peppers, fresh garlic and olive oil. Pulse until you have a light green mushy sauce (it should be the consistency of salsa). 3. Place a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add vegetables and cook, stirring frequently so vegetables don’t burn. When vegetables turn a bit brown, add 1 cup red wine. Boil until most of the wine has evaporated. Stir in tomato paste and cook until fragrant. 4. Fill your blender container about halfway full of the skinned tomatoes. Blend well, until the tomatoes are the consistency of a smooth sauce. Add tomatoes to vegetables. Continue with remaining tomatoes and add to the sauce pan. Add oregano, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. 5. Bring sauce to a slow boil over medium high heat, and cook for 30 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce. Add cooked meatballs and sausage to the sauce (recipe below). Turn heat to medium low, position pan cover askew onto sauce pan, and simmer sauce for an additional 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until sauce has thickened and is a deep red color. 6. Spaghetti sauce freezes beautifully. Great over pasta as well as in any recipes that call for tomato/spaghetti sauce. When fresh tomatoes aren’t in season, use an equal amount of canned tomatoes.

Larkin’s meatballs and Italian sausage pair perfectly with pasta.

Meatballs and Italian Sausage Preparation Time: 45 minutes approx.

Ingredients 1 pound ground beef 1 pound ground pork 1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup milk 3 tablespoon grated onion 2 beaten eggs 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

feeds: 8-10 people

3 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 2 packages Italian sausage links (400–500g, hot, mild, or both)

Instructions 1. To make meatballs, add all ingredients except the Italian sausage in a large mixing bowl. Mix together lightly—avoid the temptation to squish the ingredients together while you mix. Using an ice cream scoop, portion meatballs. Roll into smooth balls and place in a large baking dish coated with cooking spray. 2. Cut sausages in half. Place sausage links in a large baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. 3. Bake the meatballs and the sausage at 400 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Let cool.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

“The only investors who shouldn’t diversify are those who are right 100% of the time.” --The Templeton Touch, 1983 Did you ever wonder why there is a line every five feet in sidewalks? In case the cement cracks, it will only affect that segment of sidewalk and not extend past the line. This limits the damage to that one single segment. Diversification* works in much the same way. If part of your portfolio experiences some turbulence (think Greece), the other parts may not follow the same path. This may potentially reduce or minimize volatility. Answer the questions below to assess your readiness for the next market cycle.

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DOWNTOWN SECTION

connect with patrons advertise your

art business in this section

to advertise contact

Teresa Lewis

tlewis@sunflowerpub.com 785.832.7109

DOWNTOWN SECTION

WHAT’S HAPPENING

SEPTEMBER Featured Event: 20th-Annual Bruce Whaley Spirit Ride September 12 | 8:00 am Shelter House #2, Lake Shawnee

Originally established by staff of St. Francis Health as the “Spirit Ride,” this cycling event was renamed in honor of Bruce Whaley, a young Topekan, Washburn University student, veteran of Operation Desert Shield and cycling enthusiast, who died suddenly in 1995 from leukemia at age 24. For the past 20 years, this ride has honored Whaley’s memory by supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for patient financial aid in the Shawnee County area. “I hope this has benefitted patients and helped them out financially, says Barbara Whaley, Bruce’s mother who also heads the effort of family, friends and sponsors in coordinating the event. “And I hope it has kept Bruce’s name out there and kept people aware of leukemia, which can strike both the young and the old. I hope it has benefitted all these people with medication, transportation, respite care or whatever they require.” Approximately 100-150 riders from across Kansas neighboring states are expected to attend. The 20th-anniversary event is actually three rides, distances of 6.5, 25 and 50 miles. The event includes a lunch, silent-auction and giveaways. For more information, go online to the website of the Kaw Valley Bike Club, kvbc.org, or call (785) 379-0534.

September 4 (and first Friday of each month) | First Friday Artwalk | Various locations throughout Topeka | 5:30-8:30 pm | Topeka’s monthly showing and gathering of new art work for display and purchase | For more information, see pages 34-35, or go online at artsconnecttopeka.org

September 4-6 | Shawnee County Allied Tribes 25th-Annual Powwow | Lake Shawnee | Gathering of area Native nations and friends for weekend of traditional music and dancing | Tickets $8 at gate, with free entrance for children 11 years and under | For more information, go online at shawneecountyalliedtribes.org

Photography credit: Kaw Valley Bicycle Club, Kansas Historical Society and Jason Dailey

Your Cultural Destination Starts Here... Your Cultural Destination Starts Here... Your Cultural Destination St Your Cultural Destination Starts Here...

Topeka Magazine’s 10 Recommendations for september September 10 | Kansas Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society | Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library | 7-8:30 pm | Free seminar focusing on software, resources and approaches particular to exploring African-American genealogy. September 11-October 10 | The Addams Family | Topeka Civic Theatre and Academy | The spooky but very sweet Addams Family takes stage to encounter one of life’s most frightening dilemmas—starcrossed teenage love. | For ticket reservations or more information, go online at topekacivictheatre.com

information or to adopt your racing duck, go online at topekaduckrace.org or call Duck Central at (785) 233-8257

Explore this beautiful, spacious gallery where Gallery some ofHours: the bestM-F, artists10-6 and S in the country show their work.

September 16-17, 20 | Kansas Mariachi Festival | Various times and locations throughout Topeka | A threeday celebration of MexicanAmerican culture | Mariachi band and dance performances throughout Downtown and Oakland mark the premiere year of this festival | Many performances are free and open to the public | For more information, go online at visittopeka.com

www.SouthWindArtGal

3074 SW 29th St. | Topeka KS 66614 | 7

Gallery Hours: M-F, 10-6 & Sat., 10-4

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September 19 | Sandlot, Family Movie by the Capital Lawn | North lawn of Capitol| 7 pm | A free and open showing of family-friendly film about summer, youth and baseball. | For more information, go online at downtowntopekainc.com September 11-13 | Huff ’n Puff Hot Air Balloon Rally | Lake Shawnee | The 40th-anniversary launch of a Topeka-born ballooning tradition | Weekend events include children’s activities, evening glow launches and the entirely free but richly majestic sight of dozens of balloons floating over the capital. | For more information, go online at huff-n-puff.org September 12 | Great Topeka Duck Race | Lake Shawnee | Noon-5 pm | Sertoma Club of Topeka sponsors this 20th-annual local quack-o-rama with approximately 12,000 rubber ducks released across Lake Shawnee for a charity race benefitting a range of Topeka non-profits | For more

Explore this spacious gall some of the b in the countr work. We rep regional and known artist

September 19 | Children’s China | Kansas Children’s Discovery Center | The city’s museum of discovery, learning and fun for kids hosts a special exhibition on China | For ticket prices, schedule and more information, go online at kansasdiscovery.org September 26 | Aaron Douglas Art Fair | Aaron Douglas Art Park, 12th and Lane | 10 am-5 pm | Marking its 10th year of celebration, this free and open festival is dedicated to the legacy of Topeka native and luminary painter of the Harlem Renaissance Aaron Douglas; features art displays, music and children’s activities | For more information, go online at aarondouglasartfair.com

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Topeka Magazine’s 10 Recommendations for OCTOBER

October 2 -November 1 | Dia des les Muertos Citywide Festival | Various locations | A month-long celebration of events marking the traditional Mexican holiday of “Day of the Dead” including music and dance performances, workshops and other events, many free and open to the public | For a full listing of events, go online at topekaddlm.com

october Featured Event:

Washburn University’s 150th Anniversary Celebration

October 10 | Jazz and Food Truck Festival | Downtown Topeka | Concerts featuring New Orleans band Bonerama, along with rows upon tasty rows of food trucks | For more information, go online at downtowntopekainc.com October 15 -March 15 | Hearth meals at the Ward Cabin in Old Prairie Town | Scheduled throughout the week by appointment, guests can enjoy an old-fashioned meal with some portions cooked directly on the fire | See story on page 24 | For reservations or more information, call (785) 251-2989.

October 19-24 Downtown Topeka and Washburn University campus

It’s going to be Ichabodsome. Topeka’s hometown university celebrates 150 years with the type of flair you would expect from an institution with a history of egalitarian education and the mascot of a gangly, studious, purposeful chap named “Ichabod.” The city of Topeka joins to congratulate the university with a United Way Top Hat Auction on October 19 and the unveiling of an Ichabod Washburn statue in Downtown Topeka on October 23, followed by an afternoon of open houses at the university. On the following day, Washburn opens again to celebrate Homecoming with a pancake feed, parade, tailgate, football game and the Bow Tie Bash, a special progressive party at two different locations on campus with music and refreshments. “We hope to transform campus, make it look a bit different that night and wrap up the 150th,” says Amanda Hughes, assistant director of university relations. “Washburn has strong ties to the community and we have great supporters in the community and ties to the community, so a great way to celebrate is to bring in the community.” For ticket reservations to the Bow Tie Bash or to see a full listing of homecoming and anniversary celebrations, go online at washburn. edu/homecoming

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

October 3 | Season opening concert for Topeka Symphony Orchestra | White Concert Hall, Washburn University | 7:30 pm | Pianist Ching-Yun Hu plays Brahms and Rachmaninov to open the season dedicated to world music | For ticket reservation or more information, go online at topekasymphony.org October 5 | Topeka Festival Singers season opening concert | White Concert Hall, Washburn University | 7:30 pm | A presentation of a new, commissioned choral work by Dan Forrest | For ticket reservation or more information, go online at topekafestivalsingers.org

October 23 -January 23 | Albert Bloch exhibition | Mulvane Museum | Washburn University opens a showing of American Modernist Albert Bloch’s depictions of the life of Christ | For more information, go online at washburn.edu/mulvane October 23-24 | Rocky Horror Picture Show at Jayhawk Theatre | So, let’s do the time warp again? The ’70s counter-culture musical singalong sensation plays

Topeka’s renovated historic theater | For times and ticket information, go online at jayhawktheatre.org

October 24 | Salute Our Heroes Gala | Capital Plaza Hotel | Sponsored by Topeka-based Military Veteran Project, this celebration honors the service of military personnel | For ticket reservation or more information, go online at militaryveteranproject.org October 2425 | Mother Earth News Fair | Kansas Expocentre | The nation’s leading publication on homesteading and self-reliant living stops off in its hometown of Topeka during a national tour with speakers and workshops on everything from urban cheesecraft to children’s treehouses | For ticket reservations and a full lineup of events, go online at motherearthnewsfair. com/kansas/workshops October 29 | Boo it Downtown and Candy Crawl | Downtown Topeka | Costumes and candy handouts in a safe environment throughout the downtown business district | For more information, go online at downtowntopekainc.com

Photography credit: Washburn University, Hanshun Wang, Mulvane Art Museum and Shutterstock

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Topeka Magazine’s 10 Recommendations for november

November 7 | Downtown Topeka Farmers’ Market, season closer | Parking lot of 12th and Harrison | 7:30 am-noon | Last call for baked goods, farm crafts and late-fall harvest brought fresh by dozens of local vendors | For more information, go online at downtowntopekaf armersmarket.com

november Featured Event: Washburn University Art Department Faculty Exhibition

November 6-December 7 Mulvane Museum | Opening reception, November 6, 5:30-7:30 pm

It happens once every two years, and each time promises to be a showcase of new work from the people who teach art at Washburn University. Free and open to the public, the faculty exhibition will feature recent works by longtime faculty members such as multi-media artist Marguerite Perret (whose work from the series Persistence of Flowers is shown above) and painter Ye Wang, as well as work by new faculty members such as photographer Danielle Head. Collectively, the Washburn faculty artists represent an interesting group because many of them have come from outside of Topeka, but become deeply connected to and influenced by the community, a bond reflected in their work. “This exhibition doesn’t have a theme,” writes Julie Myers, the Mulvane’s curator of collections and exhibitions, “but many of the works of art in the Washburn Art Department Faculty Exhibition can be characterized as oppositional. For example, Marguerite Perret’s Persistence of Flowers, Ye Wang’s Return to Classicism: Portrait of a Lady and Danielle Head’s I Led Three Lives all use old photographs to refer to times past.”

November 7 | Topeka Veterans Parade | Downtown Topeka | 11 am | The thirdannual parade honoring veterans, veteran groups and active duty military personnel | For registration or more information, go online at topekaveteransparade.com November 7 | Tower Run | Bank of America Tower, 534 S. Kansas Ave. | Time TBA | The city’s fourthannual urban tower race featuring a staircase spring up 16 floors and an extended event, the Tough Tower Run that includes a dash across nine floors of a parking garage before entering the tower | For registration and more information, go online at downtowntopekainc.com November 12-15 | Blizzard Bash Demolition Derby | Kansas Expocentre | Various times | Numerous rounds feature a wide range of categories for drivers and classes, but one overall theme: Smash or be smashed. | For ticket reservation or more information, go online at ksexpo.com

Photography credit: Marguerite Perret, David Vincent/Kevin Kramer and Nathan Ham Photography

November 13-14 | Laugh Lines’ Thanksgiving show | Topeka Civic Theatre and Academy | 7 pm | Topeka’s improve comedy troupe serves up holiday-themed mayhem that might not be suitable for all ages; and true to the dearestheld holiday traditions, a pizza can be ordered and enjoyed as a dinner theater performance meal | For ticket reservation or more information, go online at topekacivictheatre.com

November 14 | Run 4 a Reason | YWCA, 225 SW 12th St. | 9 am | A half-marathon and 5k run to raise funds for the Topeka YWCA’s Girls on the Run, an after-school program for Shawnee County students in grades 3-8 promoting health and confidence through running. | For more information and race registration, go online at ywcatopeka.org November 20-21, 25 | Opening of Winter Wonderland | Lake Shawnee Campground | The annual holiday light display extravaganza benefitting TARC— the area’s support organization for children and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities—begins with a walking tour of displays on November 20

and then picks up with a 5K run on the following day before opening to drive-thru traffic on the 25th. | For race information, go online at sunflowergames.com; for Winter Wonderland information, go online at tarcinc.org November 27 -December 20 | A Christmas Carol | Topeka Civic Theatre and Academy | Ghosts, carolers and a slight recast of the Charles Dickens’ classic arrive in time for holiday enjoyment. Spoiler alert—there will be warm and fuzzy feelings. | For ticket reservation or more information, go online at topekacivictheatre.com November 28 | 10th Annual Miracle on Kansas Avenue Rescue Run | Downtown Topeka | 5 pm | A race with an emphasis on fun and charity—runners are issued glow sticks and encouraged to wear glowing items to light up the streets of Downtown Topeka ahead of the annual holiday parade. All proceeds from the race benefit the Topeka Rescue Mission | For registration or more information, go online at trmonline.org/rescuerun November 28 | Miracle on Kansas Avenue | Downtown Topeka | 6 pm | Floats with holiday lights parade through the heart of Topeka to celebrate the start of the holiday season | For parade route map and more information, go online at downtowntopekainc.com.

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

ABOUT THE WRITER

Story by

Susan Kraus

Susan Kraus is a therapist and award-winning travel writer who believes that travel can be the best therapy. She enjoys helping people create their own “travel therapy” by writing about journeys that anyone can replicate.

Cape May

holiday

travel

Forget what you’ve endured on Jersey Shore; the state’s southern coastal tip has one of the quaintest, most rewarding beach destinations

Fall is a perfect time to enjoy a more laidback atmosphere at Cape May.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2015

Beaches are one of the region’s attractions.

Photography credit: Shutterstock

t the southern tip of New Jersey, between the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay, is Cape May, the grande dame of shore communities. Often described as the oldest seaside resort in the United States, Cape May is a quieter, gentler version of the Jersey Shore, with a Victorian character and charm. Historical preservation is a priority, and Cape May claims the largest collection of Victorian homes outside of San Francisco, with the entire town designated as a National Historic Landmark—the only city in the United States to be so defined. While the resident population hovers at about 4,000, it can swell to 40,000 in summer—but without chain hotels or chain restaurants. And all the Cape May sights are easily managed on foot or by bicycle, with trolley cars to hop on and off as well. I started my visit with an escorted trolley tour to get the lay of the land and found

it quite helpful. Here is just some of what made the visit so relaxing and enjoyable. Beach. Beach. Beach. TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards ranked Cape May as the No. 2 beach destination in the U.S. and No. 9 in the world for 2011. Nothing has changed. The sands hold unique treasures as well: “Cape May diamonds,” clear quartz pebbles, wash down from the Delaware River and land on Sunset Beach. Take them home to tumble and polish or (my choice) buy some jewelry made with them at one of the three Sunset Beach shops. Come out one evening for the Sunset Ceremony, held every night from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The flag is lowered, and kids are taught how to fold the flag, while a recording of Kate Smith singing “God Bless America” plays along with the national anthem and “Taps.” With sky and surf as backdrop, even a cynic like me felt moved.

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Salt Marsh Safari. Smell the salt air from the deck of a 40-foot skimmer as it navigates inlets and salt marshes. Guide Ginny Powell’s enthusiasm was contagious as she handed around elements of the ecosystem from big plastic bins while sharing her knowledge of the area’s natural history, fish, marine mammals, plants, tides and birds. She also relayed fascinating facts, like how ospreys mate for life. (Which, on second thought, is less impressive since they also take solo six-month Caribbean vacations each year and then meet up again to nest in Cape May. Heck, most humans could easily mate for life if we got six months a year in the Caribbean.) History, oh, history. It’s on every block, but for a more specific era (1789–1840), stroll the 30 shady acres of historic Cold Spring Village, a living-history experience with skilled interpreters engaging kids and adults in activities. Take breakfast or lunch in the on-site restaurant, the Grange, set in the original grange where farmers met to discuss crops and other issues. As Paul Jau, a reenactor for 20-plus years, told me, “You come here to get away from the 21st century for a while.” Take a Walk on the Wild Side. A boardwalk walk, that is. For more Jersey Shore ambiance, just up the road (really, they flow together) are the Wildwoods: Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood. You’ll find more motel and hotel options, mostly locally owned, plus an ample selection of weekly rentals, from condos to apartments to cottages. Wildwood has two miles of boardwalk, with shops, beach kitsch, restaurants and an ocean-side amusement park.

Tour a winery. There are six wineries in a six-mile radius. Wineries replaced lima-bean fields after Rutgers University did a test field in the late 1980s to see how certain grapes would grow. What they found is that ocean and bay breezes, combined with soil specifics, made for a longer growing season with earlier bud breaks … and some very tasty grapes. I toured Cape May Winery and learned why grapes prefer wide spaces between rows for air circulation, how to measure sugar levels and make oak barrels, and how they grow roses at the end of every row to act as their “canaries in the mine” (mold is deadly, and roses show mold and insect damage before grapevines would). The tour focus was on education and “discernment,” but provided enough wine-tasting that a nap was required afterwards. Chance it! There are many other options, such as shopping or simply strolling around and watching weddings (Cape May has been called the third-most-popular wedding destination in the U.S. after Las Vegas and Disneyworld—the ospreys’ influence, perhaps). But you’re almost always going to wander into something. The first afternoon of my visit, I found myself at a Mummers Parade in Wildwood. I’d never heard of Mummers and their intensely competitive, wild-and-crazy Philadelphia string bands in elaborate themed costumes. It was like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, with the bands marching and going through their routines as people from the sidelines jumped in to join the fun. I’m not exactly sure when I went from observer to participant, but I know I was out there, dancing like a fool, strutting my stuff, and laughing until my side hurt. Not a bad way to start a vacation.

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features There are many cultural treasures in Topeka, and the Topeka Symphony Orchestra represents some of the best aspects of these organizations. Drawing on a strong base of Topeka talent and resources, the orchestra also recruits and draws skilled performers from around the region. Young musicians from Washburn University play alongside and learn from orchestra veterans. And together, the musicians perform works with visiting world-class artists. Likewise, Topeka-native Alex Grecian focuses on writing his books with international themes and for international audiences from his studio in Topeka. The two feature articles in this edition are a tribute to the professionals who make Topeka their home and represent the best aspects of the city well beyond its borders. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a chance to learn more about a few of them and to begin enjoying what they create.

50 56

th e sound of 70

h e did it

Fall 2015 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

70 the sound of

The Topeka Symphony Orchestra enters its seventh decade, thanks to the dedication and experience of a core of talented musicians

Story by Carolyn Kaberline Photography by Bill Stephens

This fall, the Topeka Symphony Orchestra marks 70 years of performance. As with any new season, the anniversary lineup will feature a fresh rotation of musicians chosen through a rigorous, blind-audition process. But this anniversary year is also an opportunity to note how much the orchestra relies on a group of core musicians who secure a spot year after year. “It’s very important to the group to have such experienced musicians,” says the symphony’s general manager, Kathy Maag. “They have the passion and love for the organization that translates into a beautiful experience and such wonderful music for the audience.” The five senior musicians in these pages have the longest tenure in the TSO with nearly 200 years of collective experience. Their leadership and knowledge are crucial to shaping a consistent sound and accepting innovations. “They have been through different conductors and are willing to embrace new techniques as they adapt and move forward,” says Maag says. Molly Wisman, who now plays the violin, started her career in elementary school playing the clarinet. “I was not very good, so I sat in the back of the clarinet section when I entered middle school. Unfortunately the back of the clarinet section sat right in front of the drums, which were very loud,” Wisman says. “My best friend played violin, and she sat in the front of the orchestra. I liked that idea, so I switched to violin.” Apparently, the violin came to Wisman much easier than the clarinet because it wasn’t long before she was sitting with the lead violins in the front—a position she much preferred. Wisman continued to play violin, became part of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra in 1969 and received a scholarship for performing with the group. Now retired from a variety of music-related occupations, Wisman can be found doing a lot of volunteer work in the community as she begins her 46th year with the symphony. Her husband, Alan Wisman, has attended almost every one of her Topeka Symphony Orchestra performances over the years. Their daughter, Mindi, now living in Brussels, has been involved in both Topeka High and Topeka Civic Theatre musicals. Their son, Sam, is also a professional musician.

“It is very important to the group

to have such experienced musicians,” – Kathy Maag, TSO general manager

Art Sandquist began playing in the Topeka Symphony Orchestra in 1974, at the urging of his band teacher at Highland Park Junior High School. Decades later, Sandquist continues to play, occasionally as violinist but primarily as a violist. The retired public high school science teacher, who is an adjunct professor teaching biology at Washburn University, looks back on his many performances with the symphony and says a few occasions stand out in his memory, particularly a 2005 rendition of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony that was recorded and broadcast on local television. “It was really an impressive program,” recalls Sandquist. This veteran musician’s life is intertwined with music and with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra in particular. His wife is a Suzuki strings teacher whom he met in the symphony. His eldest daughter plays freelance violin in the Kansas City region. Another daughter is a cellist with TSO. One of his sons, a cellist, plays in the Kansas City Youth Philharmonic Orchestra while another son is a violinist with the Kansas City Youth Academy Orchestra. The two youngest children join Sandquist and his wife for the Sandquist Family Quartet. Martha Barnhill started playing with Topeka Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 1976, right after she graduated from Arizona State University and moved to Topeka. “One of my first priorities when we moved was to find an orchestra to play with,” Barnhill says. Teaching orchestra to students in grades 4 to 12 in the Shawnee Heights District, Barnhill continues to weave

the symphony practices and performances into her schedule. “My school principal has been very flexible in allowing me to leave conferences early and to perform in the School Day Concerts, which always take place on a school day,” says Barnhill. “We think of it as part of my professional development and as a community service.” Like most musicians, Barnhill began her music career early, first taking piano lessons at age five from her mother before turning to the cello in the school orchestra in fourth grade. While her amount of practice time varies during the school year, she usually gets in about five hours a week for symphony rehearsals and concerts. Looking back on all her performances, Barnhill also singles out the TSO’s 2005 performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as a highlight. “There is no greater expression of love, joy and triumph that I know of, and it is also a blast to play despite the difficulty of the work,” Barnhill says of the composition. Other favorite memories over the years include carpooling to TSO rehearsals. “We discuss and solve all the world’s problems and anything else that might come up for discussion,” she explains. “We have also done some amazing jobs of squeezing a large number of instruments and players into one vehicle.” Outside the symphony, Barnhill plays folk and bluegrass with her husband, Curtis Barnhill. Their children are also musicians. Daughter Jenny plays violin and piano while son David has several bluegrass/American albums to his credit.

“They have the passion and love

for the organization that translates into a beautiful experience,” – Kathy Maag

JoEllen McGranahan begins her 37th year with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra this fall after being urged to audition by Jack Herriman, the group’s former conductor and also the conductor of the Kansas City Youth Symphony for which she played when she was in high school. “I happened to run into him at church,” McGranahan recalls. “He said he remembered me and asked if I still had my bass. I said yes, but that I hadn’t played in about 14 years. He asked me to audition for the Topeka Symphony, which I did, and I’ve been a member ever since.” McGranahan, who works as an administrative assistant with the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church, has a strong musical background.

“My dad was a church organist and was trained as a classical pianist,” she explains. “I started taking piano lessons in grade school and played duets with my dad.” In fifth grade, she picked up the bass violin and soon was playing in a dance band, “which turned out to be so much fun because I was the only girl.” McGranahan recounts how that band’s director, Art Jolliff, told his musicians that there might come a time when they would stop playing their instruments and be tempted to sell them; however, he admonished them not to and told them if they ever needed money, he would loan it to them. “I remembered that because my parents kept my bass after that,” McGranahan says. She continues to play that very instrument in the symphony.

Peter Stern became involved with the symphony 36 years ago at the invitation of Allen Hein, the orchestra’s principal trumpet. However, his interest in symphony music came much earlier. “I grew up in Houston, and my parents took me regularly to see the Houston Symphony,” he says. “My attention always seemed to center around the trumpet section. After hearing a performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony, I was hooked.” Despite his busy schedule as CEO of the Kansas Independent Pharmacy Service Corporation, Stern manages to practice three to four times a week but “will play some every day as a symphony concert approaches.” Stern and his wife, Deborah, have been married for more than 34 years and have two children who also play music. Their son, Charlie, is a trumpet player who was involved with the Topeka youth orchestras and their daughter, Caroline, played piano throughout her school years and was also involved in musical theater and ballet. When it comes to favorite moments with the TSO, Stern recalls the previous year’s closing rendition of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” as well as a performance in the early 2000s of Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3. “Everyone just seemed to be so focused, and the sound reflected that focus,” says Stern.

He Did It

M e e t t h e q u i e t, s e l f - e f f a c i n g , g e n t l e T o p e k a n who plots lit erary murder all day long Story by Cale Herreman / Photography by Jason Dailey

In a tidy neighborhood in the middle of Topeka, there is a hidden den of murder most foul. Wicked deeds are planned, described in lurid detail, and these reports are sent off for public consumption. The proprietor, whose heart you’d think would be black as coal, describes one of his early misdeeds. “I took over the breakfast nook,” Alex Grecian says, explaining that his office had been in the extreme heat and cold of the sunroom. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I would write during the day and at dinnertime, I would ... clean away my books and papers and we would eat dinner, and then the next morning I would set everything up again. After a while, I just got lazy, and we started eating in the living room.” He shakes his head. “My poor wife!” So it would seem that this fellow is rather affable and humble, and no cold-eyed murder lord. But the fact remains that The Harvest Man, Grecian’s fourth novel about homicide detectives in Victorian London, was released in May as another success and another tale of multiple killings in bloody detail. How could a mild-mannered Midwestern man concoct such tales of violent death, a century ago and an ocean away?

“If you want to know how a guy from Topeka, Kansas, is qualified to write about that,” Grecian says, “I’m not. I do anyway. Just a lot of research.” All that research has yielded big dividends. His debut novel, The Yard, was a New York Times bestseller and won several awards, as well as making the Kansas Notable Book list, along with two of its sequels, The Black Country and The Devil’s Workshop. Before the books, Grecian had written a few comic book series, including the acclaimed Proof. But before that, he was just a guy who liked to write. Being the son of Topeka playwright and actor Phil Grecian gave him something to aspire to. “For a lot of people, it’s really hard to imagine making a living as a writer, or as an artist, or anything in the arts,” Grecian says. “It seems like an impossible thing to break into, whereas you see plumbers and lawyers, and that seems like it’s doable. So growing up with a writer, I knew it was a job that you could do, and it was possible, at least. So just having the notion that the job is possible makes it more attainable.” Grecian was working at an advertising firm when he and his wife had a baby. She made more money from her job, “So I quit and stayed home with our son when he was

born,” he says. “I was going to freelance as a graphic designer, but ... I didn’t work very hard at trying to get that kind of work. I started writing pitches and proposals into comic book companies. Comics are wide open. You can just send things in to the publishers and get a response.” Here is where the “self-effacing” part of Grecian comes into play. The comic, or graphic-novel, industry can be just as difficult to crack as traditional publishing, particularly since a writer must be matched up with an illustrator, requiring a doubleinvestment of time and talent. “There are less gatekeepers,” explains Jai Nitz, an award-winning comic-book writer and lecturer at the University of Kansas. “You don’t need an agent to submit your work in the comics industry. But it is still very hard. And the things that make it easier than sending in a book, make it just as difficult—you have to have a relationship with an illustrator, and if you don’t have a great artist you can be summarily ignored a lot faster.” At first, Grecian tried to write and draw his comics because, “I wanted to write stories, but didn’t know anyone who was going to draw them, so I learned to draw to get my stories out there,” Grecian explains. Then, he met Canadian artist Riley Rossmo, who could ably handle the art. This duo created a stand-alone novel and then went on to launch the popular misfit superhero series Proof. This success in comics laid the groundwork for Grecian’s career in novels, but he attributes it, in large measure, to his decision to hire an agent. “For comics, you don’t need an agent,” Grecian says, but the world of book publishing is different. “If you want editors to take you seriously and actually look at your thing, you need an agent, otherwise you end up on the slush pile, and it could be years before anyone gets around to actually looking at your manuscript.” After the success of Proof, he says, “My publisher said they wanted another comic book from me, a series about police in Victorian England. So I told my agent that, and he said, ‘Well, I think if you write that as a book, I can sell that.’” Grecian spent the next year writing the manuscript for what would become The Yard. He turned it in to his agent and, “the following week, he had a book auction set up. Seven of the biggest publishers in New York called in. It lasted two days, and at the end of it, I had my choice between Putnam or Random House.” He

chose Putnam, though the two companies merged soon after. This auction gave his book some buzz, but Grecian knows that very few authors start out with publishers fighting over their books, and he is characteristically humble. “It was amazing,” he said. “I’m just really, really lucky. I didn’t do anything, I just wrote the book. I had the right agent!” The Yard and its sequels, including The Harvest Man, portray a city scarred by the predations of Jack the Ripper, and the tense relationship Londoners had with their police force. Grecian finds that that era also allows him to show the rise of modern methods in police work. “At the time, if somebody was killed, they would open up the house, and let you come in for a penny and view the dead body,” he says. This made a mess of the work of collecting evidence and examining the crime scene, a constant source of irritation to one of his heroes, the eccentric and brilliant Dr. Bernard Kinglsey, who champions early detective procedures. “It’s the start of crime kits. Detectives start carrying the stuff that they need: ropes to rope off the crime scenes, and gloves,” he says as he admits: “That came along a couple years after the period that I’m writing. I have this rogue scientist who can introduce these things ahead of when they started.” Dr. Kingsley is a steampunk CSI character of sorts who is not officially part of the police force, but does much of the forensic work. The anachronism of having police use methods that weren’t quite developed yet makes them seem cutting-edge. “I’m fudging all this to make it more interesting!” But “fudging all this,” does not exactly describe the time and effort involved in creating a fictional world. Grecian spends his time in that commandeered breakfast nook, at least while his son is in school, writing, researching and planning. “The thinking about it part takes about six months before I start writing,” he says. “I spend a lot of time staring at the wall, as my wife can attest, and taking long walks, trying to figure it all out.” This cozy domestic life is a world apart from the grime and gore that Grecian depicts in his novels, but that’s certainly the case for his readers, too. The evil deeds in Grecian’s books do not spill over into his actual neighborhood. Like those antique Londoners, though, we are putting our money down to see something grisly. Grecian gives us that, but it’s just his job.

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Beyond hardcover prose, Alex Grecian has published and continues to release bestselling comic books. Seven Sons (2006) was his first collaboration with artist Riley Rossmo, and was based on a Chinese folktale about identical brothers with uncanny abilities. Grecian’s next collaboration with Rossmo became the series Proof (2008), named by NPR’s Glen Weldon as one of the Books of the Year 2009, who described it as being “about a dapper, erudite Sasquatch and his team of operatives sworn to protect the world from all manner of cryptozoological threats” that “continues to deliver sharp, funny dialogue, rounded characters and engagingly styled art.” Grecian returned to the comics medium last year to create Rasputin (2014), again with Rossmo. Jim Guinotte, the owner of Gatekeeper Hobbies, called it one of the Top Ten Graphic Novels of the last five years. “The mystique, the weather, the intrigue,” he writes. “Russian literature, politics, geography and culture has always been a favorite of mine. This book captures all of that perfectly.”