y he t . t o b a n c e d o e r e of t l c a r n u r i a g o e f s de dges eline rowin w und led a f co e d sid e o h u e h r r t t h h e e t e an b ws in eve h the t l t l f i klinr’ part o plete hrow w e throor that sta ‘fai ill com r the t d thre unt f nd re- e a e o p w o c w w m e r l o o o to e judg e all h wil e thr The c ng th rred. starti y th r will bof whicringDarrin u e o c and t u r t s c i o fore et arthe stop d hasNatasha n i e e l b f y h t he or ma o fou g area ge. n o e t n p d t i n s n u m i i j t a pe long hrow y the m a po he co et p t b t o s e m r e d a r o f e h e w ve t c eb d w h e d o w r e l a u d o d s e n t a l a a t m e n s h m lose ghtd e n . b ) u e l i o c l l r r i trig d g a w n e r e a w h o h h o t f e t e r r h t th e of t t foo reak in ing th ext fa co edg ot (lef arest b includ g the n ie. The e h o e ne (not arin the t plac f t n o th pThed in will t t m a n e o e it’s t e p c s e v l r w ed o l o plem ken by Highland l v r i n h i w t o r s e s r o s e b t e i c e h b mpet of tGames o n. o r l t p l r i s e o w h co hest n thi t k i a t e t e c s c p e t a t a r e he far ur , th temp he com y surf ar c n t t c g a h f n o r i t i i s o l e 1 hrow he t u i e t o r f r u he t a t g e n i i b the F l n b l in ing t emai a i d y w l e t w efin c r c o a s e f r A th nd as d he edge st alwaypace dir u an t s u . o n a m i r e t r g ar g r th e o e f d in the itor’s roun grunt
Not impressed
Oi!
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kilt
SUMMER ‘15 | topekamag.com | $5
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Editor Nathan Pettengill designer/Art Director
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advertising Peterson Publications, Inc. representative publish@petersonpublications.com (785) 271-5801 Ad Designer Jenni Leiste contributing Katie Moore Photographers Bill Stephens Contributing Writers Linda A. Ditch Jeffrey Ann Goudie Kim Gronniger Cale Herreman Carolyn Kaberline Katie Moore Christine Steinkuehler Barbara Waterman-Peters Subscriptions $22 (tax included) for a one-year subscription to Topeka Magazine. Sunflower Publishing GENERAL MANAGER
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Darrin Plank has the type of handshake you might imagine he would have— crushing. Which is good since he was also the photo model we asked to hold (and lift and spin and spin again) a 56-pound throwing stone at the end of a chain, and whose agenda for the coming weeks also consisted of cutting down a tree, shaving it smooth and hauling it back in one piece so that it could be the “caber,” the long wooden pole that is the centerpiece equipment at the upcoming Topeka Classic Highland Games. There’s something appealing about what Plank has done with his strength and energy, channeling them into creating the region’s annual festival that celebrates Celtic heritage, food, drink and music … but mostly raw power and force of will. In a cyber age, it is refreshing to have an area where nothing is virtual. Plank’s Topeka Classic Highland Games are an island of kilt-clad sweat and strength where clicking on “like” means nothing and no reboots are allowed if your caber starts toppling back in the wrong direction. There are actually several stories in this issue about old-style craft and perseverance, about mental fortitude and a will to endure. For whatever stone you’re throwing or picking up in your life this summer, we hope these stories provide some inspiration. And if this edition even inspires you to put on a kilt and come out to the Highland Games this summer, then look for Darrin while you’re there and be sure to crush his hand when you shake it.
- Nathan Pettengill Editor sunflowerpub.com
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
summer 2016
what's inside
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not impressed
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sporran
kilt
46 25 Pink Years
For a quarter of a century, the annual Race Against Breast Cancer has provided much-needed funds and an emotional rallying point
54 Topeka Highland Games
It’s the most fun you’ll have chucking rocks and wearing a kilt, and now it happens every summer in Topeka
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
Darrin Plank and a not-too-impressed Natasha Plank demonstrate the power, legwork, and enthusiasm that goes into organizing the Topeka Classic Highland Games. Photograph by Bill Stephens
SUMMER ‘15 | topEkaMag.coM | $5
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topekans
12
Artist of the Month
A recap of our most recent picks to honor the city’s art community
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Art-o-melon man
A Topeka chef creates images that are both beautiful and juicy
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Top City Chris
When others were skeptical, this young performer and entrepreneur forged his vision of a renewed downtown and a dynamic Topeka
locale
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Topeka Brick Roads
The red pavement is layered thick in the streets and history of the Kansas capital
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A Topeka Ramadan
The city’s diverse muslim community gathers each year to mark the holy period of prayer and renewal
i n ev e ry is s u e :
what’s happening
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topeka talk
s p r i n g / s u m m e r
2016
Wonder
Senior The ageless appeal of cosplay A Veteran recalls ’44 Tips for Senior Travel Jocelyn Lyons: Age and Advocacy A Timeless Dinner Club
MILESTONES
Each season, many groups in Topeka mark an anniversary. In these pages, we highlight the 25th anniversary of Race Against Breast Cancer and the 30th anniversary of the Sunflower Music Festival. The Topeka Performing Arts Center, TPAC, has also just celebrated 25 years of production, marking the revival of the historic Municipal Auditorium into the present-day venue that brings some of the nation’s top performance acts to the community. If your group has a milestone anniversary coming up, please let us know! Topeka Senior
s p r i n g / s u m m e r
2016
Wonder
Senior The ageless appeal of cosplay A Veteran recalls ’44 Tips for Senior Travel Jocelyn Lyons: Age and Advocacy A Timeless Dinner Club
Chase Middle School Productions
This spring, I was able to spend one day with students at Chase Middle School talking about the process of creating a magazine, collaborative work and the concept of community journalism. I shared with them a sneak peek of the photographs and stories we were lining up for this summer edition and challenged the students to work as a classroom of approximately 20 people, broken up into small groups as editors, photographers, designers and art directors, to create a cover concept for this issue.
we want to hear from you
Working together on a cover design and wording is no easy task—deciding on a whole range of issues where there are no right or wrong answers involves presenting and defending your ideas, as well as being open to hearing concepts entirely at odds with your initial impressions. The students at Chase did a fabulous job. Here are three cover concepts they created, with some adaptations by our art director, in the short amount of time they had before their school-bell deadline. —Nathan
topekamagazine@sunflowerpub.com
facebook.com/topekamag
@TopekaMagazine
Our sister publication, Topeka SR, released this May across the community with seniorthemed stories such as cosplay at any age and an engaging interview with Jocelyn Lyons, the director of the Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging. Look for the publication’s fall/winter edition to release later this year. next edition ...
Topeka Magazine fall edition arrives this September, with stories about the lives of various Topekans, including a community of superheroes, a tour of regional wineries and more. Our fall edition marks 10 full years of publication. We’ll celebrate that anniversary with a special edition in the winter.
news
Joining Forces
Dear Reader, At Peterson Publications, we are very excited to have established a new partnership with Sunflower Publishing to help produce Topeka Magazine. As a fellow publisher, I have always been a big fan of the magazine, and when Sunflower Publishing approached us to assist with advertising sales and as a local resource here in Topeka, it seemed to be a perfect fit for both organizations. There is a true excitement in the air in Topeka with the continued development of our downtown and other areas such as NOTO, as well as the soon-to-be opening of the Evel Knieval Museum. There is a lot for us to be proud of as citizens of our city, and we want to share this pride through Topeka Magazine. We look forward to developing relationships and working with our local businesses (many of which we already know well through our other publications), and we’re proud that Peterson Publications will partner with Sunflower Publishing to build on the great product already established with Topeka Magazine. Jeff Peterson,
President Peterson Publications, Inc.
Dear Reader, Approaching ten years in print, we at Topeka Magazine and Sunflower Publishing are excited to move into the next decade of publishing with a strategy to make Topeka Magazine stronger than ever before. Despite stories of the print industry taking a few punches, we have found ourselves expanding our list of publications and seeking to deepen connections in the communities where we publish magazines, and Topeka Magazine is no exception. Our Topeka-based writers and photographers, working with editor Nathan Pettengill, have created a premier lifestyle magazine that features homes of friends and neighbors, exclusive interviews with some of Topeka’s finest, the work of many local artists, and the community’s fabric—you have all experienced so much in this pride piece. Looking to the future, we value the opportunity to be creative in business as well, and partnering with Peterson Publications, Inc. is just that. Moving forward, we are excited to do what we do best—create a magazine that reflects the spirit and treasures of the community—and partnering with Peterson Publications, Inc. to represent the business-side of the publication and to deepen our roots in the community. Katy Ibsen,
General Manager Sunflower Publishing, a division of the World Company
Is thatinsmile you? a s s i dy Orthodontics Creating beautiful smiles for you and your family 600 Governor View | Topeka, Kansas | 785.233.0582
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
Departments 12 18 22 arti st of the month
art- omelon man
top city chris
26 31 38 topeka brick roads
a topeka ramadan
w hat’s h appening ...
Chef Jose Flores carves a design into a melon.
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Story by
Photography by
Barbara Waterman-Peters
Bill Stephens
ABOUT THE WRITER
Barbara Waterman-Peters writes, paints, exhibits, teaches and manages Studio 831 in the North Topeka Arts District (NOTO).
artist of the
month A recap of our most recent picks to honor the city’s art community
topekans
Anne Kufahl, above, brings bright beauty and detail to daily scenes in works such as Power Drink, opposite top, and Red Line, opposite bottom.
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Topeka Magazine’s Artist of the Month for May
Anne Kufahl
A
nne E. Kufahl’s earliest memories include the beautiful landscape of northeast Kansas and the parade of people who came into her father’s hardware store in Highland. She also remembers an influential collection of children’s books that were part encyclopedia and part storybooks. “My mom and dad ordered Childcraft books for us, and Dad read to us. I was attracted to the art one. I would just look at the paintings over and over. It was as though I had been an artist in a former life,” Kufahl recalls. Unfortunately, no art classes were offered in Kufahl’s high school in Highland, but her parents encouraged her to take a class with Walter Yost at Highland Community College. This class, Kufahl recalls, “gave a validity to my interest in art for the first time,” and, in part, encouraged Kufahl to study design, drawing and painting when she eventually enrolled at Washburn University and studied under a group of influential mentors. “Phil Hershberger taught me how to see and Edward Navone introduced me to phthalo green, which I use in many of my paintings.” In fact, that particular pigment appears in every one of Kufahl’s oil paintings— sometimes front and center such as a bottled liquid in Power Drink, and other times nearly hidden, such as a streak of wall paint in Red Line. Not merely a clever signature identification mark, the lines of phthalo green are the fundamental strokes of every Kufahl oil painting no matter how central or obscure the pigment appears in the final work. “It is the structure, like the bones of a house,” explains Kufahl. Graduating with a bachelor’s of education with emphasis an art, math and English, Kufahl then went on to earn a bachelor’s of fine arts from the University of Kansas. Instructors at KU included the late Robert Brawley, Rick Dishinger, Tanya Hartman and Matthew Burke, who supervised Kufahl’s creation of a self-portrait assemblage piece. As a working artist, Kufahl is a keen proponent of drawing from life. This approach informs her paintings and provides a chance to respond with immediacy to the world around her. She speaks of “fleeting moments” in artwork, and her drawings and paintings perfectly reflect that. Influences of West Coast artists such as Richard Diebenkorn or Wayne Thiebaud and, more obviously, New York’s Fairfield Porter, are reflected in her work. Asked about future ideas, Kufahl muses, “I’m thinking about not looking at things, but working from my imagination, maybe using other materials with more textures, shapes and colors and doing more drawing.” This can only lead to even more enticing works from an artist whose highly finished areas provide counterpoints to the fundamental sections of her work, the single energetic strokes of the brush that create lines which are convincingly strong while remaining barely suggested.
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Topeka Magazine’s Artist of the Month for April
Janet Bailey
Janet Bailey—an artist who creates paintings in beautiful, translucent layers—is herself an individual with layers of depth and experience. She comes from a line of Kansas homesteaders at whose farm in Louisburg she fondly remembers spending her summers a child, exploring a schoolmaster’s desk filled with art materials. Growing up in Kansas City, Kansas, Bailey was nurtured in her interests by a mother who encouraged her love of designing doll dresses. “I received my sense of design from my mother,” Bailey says.
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By her high school years, Bailey was designing clothes for herself. And she applied that same diligence to earning money for college by working as an au pair. She enrolled for one year at Pittsburg State and took a portfolio of big, splashy watercolors to Hallmark, where she was hired on the spot and remained for nearly seven years while also taking classes at the Art Institute. Bailey arrived in Topeka and took a job as the acting director for the Rice Art Center. She returned to finish her degree at the University of Kansas and then took a job as a mentor at Menninger Clinic before spending 10 years at Glass Expressions, a position she believes strongly shaped how she creates her current paintings of translucent layers.
“I saw exquisite and beautiful hand blown glass in abstract forms and brilliant colors,” says Bailey. “I do believe these pieces influenced my mind in a way that made me think about art differently.” Other influences include observations of nature, both in recollections of her family’s farms and in her own travels such as when she witnessed an incredible display of a sky white with stars while boating on the Amazon. “When you are down there and look up, instead of sky with stars, it is reversed—it is stars with a sprinkling of sky. I wondered if I could paint that,” she recalls, having answered her own question by creating a collection of luminous works she names the “Galaxy Series.” “Even though it is an abstraction, I don’t just throw the paint on—you really are thinking about layers and colors and design,” says Bailey. “The painting Supernova Two took me two months to create. I go through photos from the Hubble Space Telescope, take an idea in my own mind and develop it into something that I feel represents a supernova. These are large canvases, so I have to put them on the floor to paint. I start with the light explosion colors and then build up around it.” Bailey is also known for her plein air watercolor, particularly a striking 22x30 inch piece that was included in the recent “Water Marks” exhibition at Mulvane Art Museum. Switching to acrylics and oils, Bailey was included in the “Think Big Topeka” show at Beauchamp Gallery where she won first prize. Other stops along the way include being part of the Collective Art Gallery and her current location in a small, efficiently arranged studio in NOTO.
The most recent works of Janet Bailey, above, include “spacecapes” such as Supernova Two, right, an interpretation of a cosmic image transmitted by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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alex olson
Topeka Magazine’s Artist of the Month for March
Artists are motivated to start their careers in different ways. For Alex Olson, it was winning recognition as an elementary student in the Junior Duck Stamp Contest—an annual art contest sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that draws a highlevel of sophisticated entries despite its cutesy name. Studying art at Washburn Rural High School, Olson was nurtured in developing her talent by Brad LeDuc and Michael Mize. The instructors encouraged her to apply for the prestigious Barbara L. Buzick Art Scholarship. Olson won it and studied at Washburn with studies abroad in Greece and the Belgian art school PXL. “It was an incredible experience,” she recalls, noting the Belgian approach was very different from American art student life, with a strict nine-tofive schedule for courses and studio time. Even though she recalls thinking she was “done for” when she first encountered printmaking, that discipline has been Olson’s primary interest throughout her still-recent career. Relief, reduction, etching, silkscreen and collagraph processes continue to intrigue her. The advantage of making prints is the ability to produce multiple images as opposed to a single drawing or painting. Another plus is an endless means of changing the image through altering the matrix
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
(plate) or mixing other media on the printed image with paint, colored pencil, or pastels among many others. Olson plays on the strengths of this genre, laying images and trying new approaches. “The fun part for me is the experimentation, the freedom,” says Olson. “I like having options.” Olson, who says she hopes “to become a master printmaker,” seems to have a gift, a special relationship with printmaking, which is no small thing because printmaking is a very difficult medium. When she prints, Olson’s subject matter often is the result of a fascination with natural patterns and forms; the spiral, for example, is found everywhere in nature. “A lot of my work has been inspired by what I see on walks, along nature trails,” Olson says. Finding the feminine and masculine qualities in natural shapes also gives rich possibilities for interpretation and is reflected in Olson’s work. Olson says printmaking is like a secondary art form she enjoys, photography. Both demand skill, attention and an alertness to possibilities. They are, Olson says, disciplines “with a surprise at the end.” The same could be said for the new works and new approaches certain to appear in the career of this 24-yearold talent.
Artist Alex Olson, shown above at SouthWind Gallery (where she works as assistant gallery director), frequently creates prints with themes of animals and nature such as, below from left: Prince Kenny, untitled and Shibboleth.
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Story by
Photography by
Cale Herreman
Bill Stephens
ABOUT THE WRITER
Cale Herreman is a writer in Topeka. He enjoys pizza and cookies, which helps him get along with his children.
Art-o-melon
man A Topeka chef creates images that are both beautiful and juicy
topekans
Topeka chef Jose Flores studied fruit carving under one of the nation’s leading teachers of the art.
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
I
n the hands of Jose Flores, a small knife can transform fruit to art. One watermelon becomes a rose, its dark pink petals ready to open. Another becomes a dancing senorita swishing her flowery skirt. “My work is limited only by imagination,” explains Jose Flores, intense concentration giving way to a large smile. “I can make anything on fruit.” Flores first encountered fruit carvings as a culinary student at Oakland, California, in 2003. His first lessons were taught by one of the art’s most celebrated chefs, Jimmy Zhang, a graduate of the Culinary Arts Institute in China, who founded his own institute in the San Francisco region, where he creates intricate fruit carvings and integrates New World foods into the ancient Chinese culinary tradition. Since that time, Flores has been perfecting his signature designs and standard pieces, such as the rose bloom on a melon, while also creating new images. His favorite medium is watermelon, whose natural layers and large size allow him a greater creative scope. “People help me with ideas for what they want to see in a watermelon,” says Flores. “If you see one you really like, I can copy it and I can make it.” This ability has helped Flores in his regular job as a chef at two restaruants: Kyoto Japanese Restaurant and Juli’s Coffee and Bistro. Juli Cuthbertson, co-owner of Juli’s, has tapped Flores’ carving skills for events. “We did a Christmas party where he carved their logo into a watermelon,” she says. “So whenever we can, we have him do it. Because he loves doing it, and it’s just one cool thing, that people walk in, they’re like, ‘Oh man, that’s awesome!’” Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Carving as Art
The Asian art of melon carving reflects modern trends and themes, but remains at its core a very traditional and timedemanding art. Flores says he can make a carving in twenty-five minutes or less, but that would be a carving without much texture. In general, the details of a carving are created by layering through a melon, creating what Flores describes as “dimensions.” “It depends on the dimensions,” says Flores. “If you want more details, more dimensions, it is probably going to take me twoand-a-half hours or three, you see something very beautiful.” A very detailed carving might have as many as eight layered dimensions. Creating and stacking each layer requires patience, planning and a precise, specialized carving knife. “Some use a paring knife, but it’s not as small as the special knife. It’s a very little thing, like a little pencil,” describes Flores. “No one around here makes the knife. They make it in Thailand; that’s where all my knives come from.” And like any work of art, a fruit carving generally becomes better the more times an artist attempts it. “I’ve practiced working on every single item,” says Flores. “I get much better.”
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Flores also strives to impress with his cooking. He works with one type of food at Kyoto, and a different kind at Juli’s. “We pull a lot, like Italian, French, American, Mexican,” he says. “A bistro can cook a bunch of stuff from scratch, like homemade cooking.” But he doesn’t confine himself to the kitchen. “I like to ask the people, ‘How is the food? Do you like it? Are you happy?’ We take opinions, we’ll be working on it. I like to work with the people, make them happy. This is what you want to see.” Flores, a native of Puebla, Mexico, says Topeka has been a perfect place to perfect his craft as a chef. When he first arrived, Flores was at the bottom of the foodservice ladder, taking dishwashing jobs and jobs in buffet restaurants as he worked his way up in the kitchens and saw Topeka’s food scene mature as well. His journey from Mexico, through California and now in Kansas reflects his drive for a better life and career, but also an international interest in foods and cultures. “I know a lot of people come here to get a better life. I come here for some of that, but I come here to learn more of the world,” says Flores. “There’s a lot of things going on here in America, so I come here, and I find it.” Eventually, Flores hopes to open his own restaurant in the Kansas capital, bringing his global perspective to his tables. “It’s going to be American, French and international,” he says. “We need to eat more healthy and I want people to be healthy, eat good, not too many spices, but to get the flavor, the good food. I think this is my future, in restaurants. Topeka is growing. It needs new stuff, new things, more food, more dining-out places. That’s why I stay here.”
“If you want more details, more dimensions ... you see something very beautiful.” – Jose Flores
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Story by
Photography by
Jeffrey Ann Goudie
Katie Moore
top city
topekans
chris
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
ABOUT THE WRITER
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.
When others were skeptical, this young performer and entrepreneur forged his vision of a renewed downtown and a dynamic Topeka
N
Entrepreneur Chris Schultz has grown his business by placing an early stake on the renovation of downtown Topeka.
obody would accuse Chris Schultz of thinking small. After all, he opened his first downtown business, the restaurant Field of Greens, at 909 S. Kansas Ave., when he was a 22-year-old college student at Washburn. In the subsequent years, the 37-year-old has opened a second restaurant, the adjacent Break Room at 9ll S. Kansas Ave., and branched out into television and radio programming. The Schultz empire, if you will, includes three LLCs: Schultz Management, the company that owns the eateries; Schultz Development, the property management company whose holdings include rental properties, plus the historic Tinkham Veale Building, which houses the restaurants; and Tinkham Veale Creative, the umbrella for TalkAboutTopeka.com and a new venture, GabLocal.TV. It’s a family affair, made up of Chris’ siblings, Frank and Kim, and his mother, Diane. “I come up with the ideas, Frank figures out how to build them, and Kim makes sure we can pay for them, and then Mom’s kind of the glue that holds us all together,” says the affable entrepreneur. Chris is unusual in his zeal for both the past and the future. He opened Field of Greens with friend Mike Stringer, who owned the historic Tinkham Veale building before moving to Kansas City and selling it to fellow preservation enthusiasts Mark and Sarah Burenheide. The Burenheides rehabbed the building and made it functional. After that, Chris bought the structure, built around 1923 by Tinkham Veale, an attorney who developed the Westboro neighborhood. Chris describes himself as “the caretaker” of this downtown historical asset. He also became active with the Shawnee County Historical Society, serving as its president for two years during the time the Ritchie House opened. Working on oral histories with the society (and tired of hearing folks say that there’s nothing to do in Topeka), Schultz developed Talk about Topeka, a show broadcast for several years on both WIBW and KMAJ radio. Chris still does his “Fun Forecast” on the morning WIBW newscast, as well as radio spots on KMAJ. His newest focus is GabLocal.TV, which airs on Channel 25, a low-transmission network that a viewer can access with an antenna—and with a bit of reconfiguring of the television set. Channel 25 has 10 sub channels, covers a large Topeka/Lawrence/Kansas City market area and carries such Schultz-generated shows as Talk about Topeka, History Geek TV, Making Main Street and Connecting the Art.TV, among others. Former WIBW general manager Jim Ogle, now executive director of Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, describes Chris as a “big thinker … who dreams big dreams and thinks big thoughts.” In addition to steering his multiple business ventures, Chris finds time for community volunteer work. He has served as both president of the Shawnee County Historical Society and treasurer of the Mulvane Art Museum Board. He is currently in his second year as board president of ARTSConnect.
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Chris Schultz is a “big thinker … who dreams big dreams and thinks big thoughts.” – Jim Ogle
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
Sarah Fizell, executive director of ARTSConnect, calls Chris a “pioneer spirit” who is the first person to “get” new technologies that others have yet to grasp or apply to their work. His investment in downtown extends to serving a second term on the board of Downtown Topeka Inc. He is a huge booster of the downtown renovation, which will be largely completed this summer. As a business owner, he was happy to have the first phase of renovation devoted to infrastructure replacement. He says when downtown redevelopment was first suggested during the Heartland Visioning process he thought, “Please, for the love of God, don’t tear up the street without fixing what’s under it.… Do it once, do it right, and get it done.” Chris is a Topeka native and attended schools in the Shawnee Heights school district. His late father worked for the state in computer services. “We were really always around technology growing up,” Chris says, but he adds that it’s his brother, Frank, who has the greater technical know-how and is the chief of operations. Before joining him in the family’s restaurant business, his mother worked as a public school paraprofessional with an early intervention preschool program.
Chris, who graduated with a theater degree, approaches his businesses from a different angle. “The customers are our audience every day. We want to keep them coming back,” he says. Not only that, but the Break Room has a stage in the restaurant seating area, where the Schultz family, who were active for many years with Topeka Civic Theatre, puts on the Gourmet Cabaret Dinner Theatre show (profiled in the spring 2011 issue of this magazine). Chris says as an executive he’s tried to build his hobbies into his work as much as possible. One of his main hobbies is working as a DJ, which he’s done professionally as well. He says he came by that enthusiasm naturally as his father was a square-dance caller. This youthful visionary says his hope is that “when the next generation of me comes along,” it has the “same kind of opportunity that I had to be able to start with a father who’s a state employee, a mom who works as a teacher, and be able to end up running multiple businesses they’ve grown with the support of their community.” A combination of entrepreneur, entertainer, tech whiz and booster, Chris is a good model for how a city might become more innovative.
Story by
Photography by
Christine Steinkuehler
Bill Stephens
ABOUT THE WRITER
Christine Steinkuehler is a Topeka teacher who has researched and written extensively on local history.
topeka
Brick Roads locale
The red pavement is layered thick in the streets and history of the Kansas capital
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A group of children play on the brick streets of Potwin.
TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
N
o one on Greenwood Avenue knew their road was going to be paved until one day the asphalt trucks showed up and paved it. The next day, when the city work crews returned to do the same to the parallel street, Woodlawn Avenue, a group of neighborhood women sat in their lawn chairs in the middle of the street to prevent the heavy equipment from coming in and covering their brick streets. In the ensuing standoff between the city and the determined residents that took place in the 1970s and is still talked about today, the residents not only prevented Woodlawn from being paved over but also would eventually—after two decades—succeed in removing the asphalt from Greenwood. In the 1990s, when labor crews finally turned over the bricks by hand to hide the damage done to them by scraping machines, they discovered that the street was not only brick, but three layers of historic brick. Perhaps this layering of bricks should not have surprised anyone; after all, there was plenty of time for the brick layers to accumulate. Topeka streets had been paved with bricks since the 1870s, when the Kansas capital had moved beyond a frontier town and grown into a bustling, prosperous city. Bricks were an obvious choice for pavement at that time. Fired at temperatures of about 1,600 degrees (depending on the kind of brick), this durable material was harder than concrete, and the shale needed to make brick was abundant. Early city leaders, operating as the Topeka Association, had helped ensure that supply. In 1856, they designated a block of land to be used for brickyards. Half of this block at Jackson and Van Buren went to Leonard Horne, and the other half went to Enoch Chase. For Horne, it was a step up to a more central location. He had already been making bricks near the river, and his products were used in three houses at the time. For Chase, the free brickyard was simply a step up. Almost immediately, he sold his rights to the land to the mercantile firm of Gordon and Allen for $200 and never produced a single brick or built any structures. Soon after they acquired the property, Gordon and Allen enlisted the services of G. G. Gage, from Ohio, to make bricks. Their first brick was produced on Sunday, June 8, 1856, to help construct the chimney for the Topeka Mills Company. When that company tore down its mill in 1874, it conscientiously returned the same ceremonial first brick to Mrs. Gage (whose husband, by now deceased, had gone on to form a brick factory of his own, fight in the Civil War and become a real estate developer).
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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NW Jackson St
city of topeka SW Woodlawn AVE
brick street inventory
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
This map, based on a document created by the City of Topeka in 2011, shows (marked in red) the sections of municipal streets that are covered in brick and designated for historic preservation. Much of the city’s central section, from 17th Street to 2nd Street and from Monroe Street to Buchanan Street, is connected by brick streets covered in asphalt.
Capital City Vitrified Brick and Paving Company circa early 1900s.
By 1888, Topeka had three brickyards in addition to a fourth brickyard just to the north by Soldier Creek, collectively producing roughly 16 million bricks per year. The city’s brick production was at its zenith in 1893 when the Capital City Vitrified Brick and Paving Company received a top prize for “the finest vitrified brick” at the Chicago World’s Fair. The company—which championed the Kansas clay that went into its bricks—went on to receive another first prize at the 1906 St. Louis World’s Fair. While the office for Capital City Vitrified Brick and Paving had several locations, the company’s main brickyard was three miles west of town, where the KDOT facility and water plant currently stand. Bricks produced at these kilns were embossed with the name “Capital City” and can be readily found to this day. Capital City Vitrified Brick is also known for being the first brickyard to produce bricks engraved with the words “Don’t Spit on the Sidewalk,” a phrase championed by Kansas health crusader Dr. Samuel Crumbine during his campaign to fight the spread of tuberculosis. The brick streets of Greenwood and Woodlawn were laid a few years after Topeka annexed Potwin in 1899. But even at that time, there was an emerging challenge to the primacy of bricks for pavement. That challenge came from the introduction of asphalt, which was a cheaper material that also provided wagons a quieter and smoother ride. In fact, as early as 1894, visitors to the Kansas capital, such as Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder, were fascinated by the new substance. “In the very midst of the city, the ground was covered by some dark stuff that silenced all the wheels and muffled the sound of hoofs,” wrote Wilder in her diary. “It was like tar, but Papa was sure it was not tar, and it was something like rubber, but it could not be rubber because rubber cost too much. We saw ladies all in silks and carrying ruffled parasols, walking with their escorts across the street. Their heels
dented the street, and while we watched, these dents slowly filled up and smoothed themselves out. It was as if that stuff were alive. It was like magic.” In 1910, Topeka’s brick industry was dealt a heavy blow by a landmark legal case involving the city of Topeka and E. M. Warren—who claimed an asphalt mix used by Topeka violated his family’s patent on “Warrenite,” a type of hot mix asphalt. The courts sided with Topeka, allowing the city— as well as builders across the nation—to freely apply the “Topeka hot mix” on any road project. By the 1920s, Topeka had begun paving over most brick streets, a move widely supported by residents. Only one Topeka brickyard remained in the 1930s, and it was combined with a lumberyard located at 320 W. First. When that business was flooded in the 1950s, it was known only as “Capital City Lumber Yard and Planning Mill,” having dropped the brick business years before. And yet, several streets in the city remain paved in brick, with no plans to lay asphalt over them. (See the map on opposite page.) Advocates for brick streets point to their longterm durability and contend that their very “weakness”—a rough, uneven ride—is actually an effective way to prevent traffic from speeding through residential areas. The city adopted a historic preservation policy for brick streets in 2011 and has looked at restoring other areas. According to Topeka city commissioner Karen Hiller, portions of some streets—such as Clay—are set to be returned to brick-laid roads. The city’s recent Pedestrian Plan also allots for brick sidewalks to be included in a repair program that splits the cost equally between homeowners and the municipality. Whether any of these plans to restore brick pavement might have disappointed or impressed Laura Ingalls Wilder is anyone’s guess. But the durability and historic appeal of brick roads and walkways ensures that they will continue to be at least some part of Topeka’s landscape. Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Story & Photography by
Katie Moore
ABOUT THE WRITER
Katie Moore is a Topeka-based documentary photographer whose work has appeared in Al Jazeera America, Z Magazine the Royal Ontario Museum and regularly with Topeka Magazine.
A Topeka
Ramadan locale
The city’s diverse Muslim community gathers each year to mark the holy period of prayer and renewal
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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topekans
The end of Ramadan is celebrated with a gathering at the Islamic Center of Topeka that has included henna hand-painting, gifts for children and a potluck meal of international dishes that reflects the cultures of the mosque’s membership.
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
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t is past dusk at the mosque in southeast Topeka as the men, women and children gathered within the mosque’s walls finish their evening prayers. Excitedly, the children rise up and form a line. Those who are old enough say “Eid Mubarak,” which means “Blessed Holiday,” as they are handed a gift envelope and then join their parents, brothers, sisters and congregation at tables filled with an international array of dishes to mark the end of Ramadan. Muslim faithful—in Topeka and across the world—hold Ramadan as a month-long observance of the period when the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed. It is a time of prayer, Quran readings, social consciousness, charity, unity and often traveling to spend time with family. The holy period’s timing is based on the lunar calendar, which means that every year, it begins and ends on a different date. Ramadan lasts 29 to 30 days depending on the moon’s rotation, and every 33 to 34 years, the cycle completes, meaning Ramadan has fallen throughout every month. This year, Ramadan is expected to begin June 6 and end July 5. “To me, the month is about forgiveness, reflection, self-improvement and self-discipline. At the end of the month, it feels like it’s come full circle,” says Topeka mosque member Jewel Makda. “It’s a cleansing of the soul, you’re giving your best you,” adds fellow member Crystal Syed. “It’s a spiritual renewal and a moral exercise,” explains Omar Hazim, the imam—or spiritual leader--of Topeka’s mosque. A central part of that renewal is fasting. Muslim believers refrain from eating and drinking during the daylight hours of Ramadan. Instead, they prepare meals and eat at night. After sunset, “life resumes,” says Hazim. When Ramadan unfolds in the summer—as it has for the last few years in Topeka and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere—many begin their day in the smallest of hours to nourish their bodies with food and water before facing the long, sunlit hours of fasting. The fasting—and particularly refraining from water—can sap an observer’s energy and mood. Congregation member Luqman Shabazz says the first few days of observing Ramadan are difficult, but after that, his body typically adjusts and it is “smooth sailing.” Not everyone is required to observe the fast. Pregnant women and those with certain medical conditions are exempt. Others, such as travelers, are also exempt, though they can make up for it at a later time if they are able to. Hazim says that the stipulations depend on each person’s individual capabilities. What’s important is the awareness the month creates. “Ramadan is an obligation, but also it reminds me of the poor, the restraint that you learn, and that there are people who can’t just reach for that clean water,” says member Lou Saadi.
Islamic Center of Topeka
In all, the Topeka mosque gathers some 200 longtime Topekans and international professionals representing 30 countries. Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Ramadan is “a spiritual renewal and a moral exercise.” – Omar Hazim
Of course, in traditionally Muslim regions, Ramadan is observed in the context of a network of support. Friends and workplaces are all aware of the fasting period, and they accommodate schedules and activities to reflect those demands. That default support is not necessarily available in Topeka, though member Laura Mryyan says she has found co-workers and friends to be sensitive and accommodating once they realize how she is practicing her faith. Khalil Green, who works for the state of Kansas, says that when people bring in food to the office on Ramadan days, someone will often make a plate for him to take home to eat that evening. Other believers adjust their daytime schedules to combine observance with practicalities. Instead of conspicuously not eating during her lunch break, Larita Owens Hasan goes on walks instead. “Ramadan is an obligation, and I enjoy it,” says Hasan. “I mean, it’s hard but I enjoy meeting that obligation. I feel like I’ve accomplished something I need to do for Allah.” The Muslim community in Topeka does have the support and network offered
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by the center, which has roots dating back to 1987 when people started meeting in community centers and homes. In 1990, the location for the center was chosen on 27th Street, and the building was renovated. The center, also known as the mosque or “masjid,” conducts daily prayers, facilitates Quranic classes for both children and adults and has an active women’s group. Decisions are guided by a committee of men and women. Hazim, as the imam, is highly engaged in the community, serving on the Topeka police chief’s advisory board and volunteering with prisoner programs through the Kansas Department of Corrections. The center has also hosted events on topics such as coexistence in multi-faith communities. In all, the Topeka mosque gathers some 200 longtime Topekans and international professionals representing 30 countries. “There’s a really good Muslim community here,” says Sania Shaikh. With so many perspectives, the community has had to find consensus among varying cultural and regional norms, not to mention the different interpretations of
Islam within the religion. For example, a decision was reached on whether the center’s main prayer room should be divided by gender (common in some branches of Islam across the world, but not practiced by the Topeka congregation). Each woman of the congregation also decides about her head covering or hijab. While most wear one at the center, many don’t outside the center. “We have a good community who understands us,” says the center’s treasurer, Hakim Saadi. And perhaps this sense of fellowship and understanding is most felt when the congregation comes together this summer, as it has at the end of each Ramadan, to unite in prayer in breaking the month-long fast. Next to tables overflowing with everything from Asian curry dishes to Americanstyle pizza, children of different nationalities play together and friends from different cultures paint one another’s hands in intricate henna designs as they share stories of different roads that have brought them together, in Topeka. It is an affirmation, notes Hazim, that there really is beauty in diversity.
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june Featured Event:
30th ANNUAL SUNFLOWER MUSIC FESTIVAL june 10-18 washburn university
How did we get to be so lucky? Each year for the past three decades, Washburn University has hosted this annual celebration of classical—and now jazz—music with free concerts, chamber music evenings and other events. Since the early 1990s, the festival has also hosted and trained young classical musicians, helping to promote music education in a professional and supportive environment. The high school musicians hold their own keynote performance on Saturday afternoon, followed by the gala closer featuring concertmaster and violinist Charles Stegeman. The anniversary season also features guest musicians the Amernet Quartet, the Eldar Jazz Trio and guest conductor Andres Cardenes of the Pittsburg Symphony. For a full lineup of concerts, including programs and performers, go online at sunflowermusicfestival.org
JUNE 3 | First Friday Art Walk | Various Locations | 5:30-8:30 pm | Performances and displays across the city; for more information and map, see page 36-37 of this edition. JUNE 3-18 | Comic Potential | Topeka Civic Theatre | A Tonynominated mix of comedy, romance and sci-fi drama set in the near future where robots have largely replaced actors in daytime soap operas. JUNE 4 | Mulvane Art Fair | Washburn University campus | Approximately 90 artists show in this outdoor, juried competition to benefit the Mulvane Art Museum | Entry $10 | For more information, call (785) 670-1124.
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
Topeka Magazine’s 10 Recommendations for june 06/10
06/25
JUNE 7 | Topeka Gives | Fairlawn Plaza Mall, 21st and Fairlawn | 7 am-6 pm | Music, giveaways and activities celebrate the mission of more than 100 not-for-profit organizations working in the Topeka community. The event is sponsored by the Topeka Community Foundation, which will match up to $73,500 in donations that will be given to participating groups on this day. JUNE 10 | Old-time baseball | Kansas Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue | 7-9 pm | The hometown Westerns take on in-state rivals, the Shawnees, in a game of 1860s-rules baseball open to the public. JUNE 10-18 | The Whipping Man | Topeka Civic Theatre | Set on Passover, in the American South of 1865, this play grapples with issues of religion, guilt, heritage and slavery.
JUNE 18 | Kansas Kids Fest | Kansas Expocentre | A day of interactive exhibits and familyfriendly performances | Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. JUNE 24-25 | Wheatstock | 124 NW Fillmore | A festival of free folk, roots and acoustic music performances on the grounds of the historic Ward-Meade Historic Site’s Old Prairie Town JUNE 25 | Jinan Acrobats | Award-winning troupe of Chinese acrobatic teams appear at the Topeka Performing Arts Center JUNE 25 | Tap that Topeka: A Capital Brew Festival | Downtown Topeka, 800 block of SW Jackson | Begins at 4 pm | A gathering of local and national craft beer brewers with musical performances | For ticket reservations and more information, go online at downtowntopekainc.com
Photography credit: Amernet Quartet, Library of Congress and Shutterstock.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Topeka Magazine’s 10 Recommendations for july
07/02
july Featured Event:
SPIRIT OF KANSAS BLUES FESTIVAL july 4
There are many ways to celebrate the Fourth of July, but it’s hard to top Topeka’s annual tradition of Red, White and Blues. The free event is held around Reynolds Lodge in Shawnee Park, from noon to 11 pm, with food tents and a non-stop run of blues music from local and national groups lined up by the Topeka Blues Society. Only the city’s biggest, best fireworks display could make the festival any better—and that’s exactly how they finish the night.
JULY 1 | Test and Tune Series | Have you always suspected that your family’s minivan contains an inner racing beast awaiting to be released? If so, this event gives you the opportunity to try out any car—a pick-up, a muscle car or even a precious Prius—on the Heartland Park quarter mile drag strip. | For more information on costs and requirements, go online at heartlandpark.com JULY 2 | Kansas concert | Any band that can bring together classic rock, a legendary violin solo and an archive of video performances showing off the
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
wildest of ’70s haircuts deserves to be a legend. On the first weekend in July, Kansas will be performing in downtown Topeka at a free outdoor concert with seating on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 7 pm and playing until near midnight. Upgrade tickets are available, offering a special meeting and photo-taking opportunity with the band. | For more information or to reserve a VIP ticket, go online at http:// bit.ly/Kansas TopekaKS2016VIPUpgrade
07/08
held across the city, open to spectators. To register for competition, volunteer or learn more about the events, go online at sunflowergames.com July 9 | Topeka Railroad Festival | The Great Overland Station holds this day-long celebration of the city’s deep ties to the railroad industry with musical entertainment and more. | For more information, go online at greatoverlandsation.com
Shawnee County Public Library at 9:30 am, 11 am and 6:30 pm. July 15-16 | Friends of the Topeka Shawnee & County Public Library Media & Bag Sale | Media at discount prices of $1 and all the books you can stuff into a bag at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library’s Marvin Auditorium. | Friday evening’s sale runs from 5-7 pm, with bags costing $10 each; Saturday’s sale runs from 8:30 am to 1 pm (or until items run out), with bags costing $5 each.
JULY 2-3 | Urban slide | This event brings a 1,000foot slip-n-slide water attraction for people to ride with tickets for 3 slides or unlimited slides. Tickets also include entry into an inflatable carnival fun zone. | Some height, age and weight restrictions do apply. | For more information or ticket reservation, go online at carnivalguy.com
July 9-17 | Fiesta Mexicana | This is one of the Midwest’s largest and oldest fiestas that draws thousands of visitors each day. Sponsored by Our Lady of Guadalupe, the annual celebration commemorates the parish’s Mexican-American heritage and provides funds for the church’s elementary education program. | For a full schedule of events, go online at olg-parish.org/fiesta
July 29-30 | Cyclovia | Topeka holds this festival for the first-time ever as a result of a citywide survey that resulted with respondents choosing a “bicycle-theme” festival. Details remain to be set, but activities will focus on cycling and healthful living. | For more information, go online at visittopeka.com
July 8-24 | Sunflower State Games | The statewide summer athletics competition with a range of age-categories and events including new additions such as rugby sevens, powerlifting and gymnastics triathlon. The 45 competition events will be
July 13 | National Yo-Yo Champ | Brent Dellinger stages a high-octane performance of yo-yo feats that helped him take a national title and invent a trick named in his honor. A free, all-ages performance held at the Topeka &
July 30 | International Tiger Day | Who better to spend International Tiger Day with than Raza, Shanti, and ChloJo—Topeka Zoo’s Sumatran Tiger triplets? | For ticket prices and more zoo information, go online at topekazoo.org
Photography credit: Shutterstock, Kansas and Dewayne Christensen
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WHAT’S HAPPENING
Topeka Magazine’s 10 Recommendations for august
08/26
august Featured Event:
CLASSIC HIGHLAND GAMES august 6 Washburn Institute of Technology
What’s big, burly, beautiful and kilted? Topeka’s 3rd annual Classic Highland Games, of course. Even if chucking 50-plus pound stones or flipping a tree is not your cup of Scottish tea, you can still join in to watch the festivities, sport a kilt and cheer on the competitors. Read our feature story in this edition on page 54 for a more complete history of the event and description of the games. You can also pre-register by going online at facebook.com/ topekahighlandclassicgames.
TBA | Balloon crew training | Get trained to help hot air balloon teams of the annual Huff ’n Puff Balloon Rally by learning inflation, deflation, rolling and unrolling balloons as well as helping to identify safe landing areas. It is a unique chance for a handson, behind-the-scenes glance at this popular festival held at Lake Shawnee. | For more information, send an email by early August to huffnpuffcrew@gmail.com
August 12 | Unbroken | A free, outdoor screening of the movie that recounts the fate of an Olympic athlete who became a prisoner of war during World War II. The film is part of the Kansas Historical Society’s summer “Sundown Film Festival,” on the museum’s grounds of 6425 SW 6th Avenue, with rain location inside the museum reserved. For more information, go online to the event section of kshs.org
August 6 | Downtown Farmers Market | If you haven’t made it yet this summer to the giant parking lot full of fresh goods at 12th and Harrison, then there’s still time. Every Saturday morning of the summer from 7:30 am – noon, this event offers crops off the vine, home-baked goods and other products such as honey from regional growers.
August 18-28 | Capital City Classic dog show | Kansas Expocentre | The Topeka Kennel Club hosts this all-breeds competition, open to the public all days (though our pick would be the Great Dane competition on August 20). | For more information, go online at topekakennelclub.org
August 7 | Chicago | Topeka Performing Arts Center hosts this concert from this iconic classic rock band. | For ticket reservations and more information, go online at topekaperformingarts.org
Photography Credit: Bill Stephens (2) and Shutterstock
August 19-20 | Laugh Lines | Topeka Civic Theatre hosts two shows of the city’s improvisation comedy group. | For tickets and more information, go online at topekacivictheatre.com August 20 | WCTC Radio Players | The Topeka Civic Theatre’s Oldfather Theatre hosts a performance of Golden-Era radio dramas
such as Gunsmoke and The Shadow. | For ticket reservations or more information, go online at topekacivictheatre.com August 21 | Opening concert for Topeka Jazz Concert Series | The Topeka Jazz Workshop opens its 48th-annual concert series with a performance by its own home-city band under the direction of Ryan Simpson with guest artist David Sharp. The concert is part of a season-long series and requires membership to attend. | For more information, go online at topekajazz.com August 26 | Grape Escape | Annual festival of wine and food to celebrate and benefit the Topeka Performing Arts Center. | For reservations or more information, go online at topekaperformingarts.org August 26-28 Kansas Cowboy Dressage Association | Kansas Expocentre | Competitions combining Western saddle and classic dressage to challenge horse and rider. | For more information, go online at ksexpo.com
Summer 2016 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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25 Pink
Years For a quarter of a century, the annual Race Against Breast Cancer has provided muchneeded funds and an emotional rallying point
47
L
ike many other women, Katy Nelson put off getting a mammogram because she did not have insurance and could not justify the cost against her family’s budget. After about four months, she decided she must get a mammogram—a test that revealed she did have breast cancer. To this day, Nelson recalls the fear she felt hearing that diagnosis. “It’s a scary disease,” Nelson says. “People think ‘it’ll never happen to me,’ but cancer doesn’t discriminate. It didn’t care that I had four little children or a husband. It doesn’t care what your walk of life is.” But Nelson was able to survive her battle, thanks in part to the mammogram that alerted her
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to the disease. And along the way, she found that caring is an effective and satisfying way to combat cancer. For the past four years, she has joined the board of directors of the annual Race Against Breast Cancer (RABC) and will chair this year’s 5K race/walk event to raise funds to help other women in the region afford mammograms. “With being a survivor, I felt it important to find and help an organization that gives back to the community that supports them,” says Nelson. Now in its 25th year, RABC has grown tremendously from the initial 300 participants in 1992. Last year, organizers raised over $65,000 from both the 5K and Pink Out (see accompanying story on event information).
“We have incredible support from the Topeka medical community,” says two-time chair Pam Alexander, who has assisted with the event throughout its history. “It is so gratifying to know that we have saved a woman’s life because of early detection.” This faith in early detection is reflected in a series of studies that the National Cancer Institute describes as providing “solid evidence” that early detection by mammography alone might lead to a “15% to 20% relative reduction in mortality from breast cancer” for women aged 40 to 74 years. Current RABC administrator Dawn Robertson explains that RABC funds help
support a comprehensive no-cost program that provides screening, diagnostic, ultrasound and 3D mammography services along with computer-aided detection. “We cover men and women in medical and financial need of mammography services in Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Shawnee and Wabaunsee,” says Robinson. “In 2015 we paid for 645 mammography services, and we have paid for 8,177 mammography services thus far.” RABC has also become an emotional rallying point for men and women at all stages in the battle with cancer.
“Participating in the RABC event has provided me with the opportunity to do something constructive about this awful, increasingly prevalent disease,” says survivor Jennifer Kidd. Each year, RABC offers survivors and family members a time and place to gather in honor of those who have died from this disease, to celebrate those who have beaten cancer, and to support those in the struggle. “Others diagnosed with breast cancer should not have to be without hope due to lack of access to screening and diagnostic procedures,” Kidd says.
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The Faces of RABC
(clockwise from left)
Janet Northcraft
Katy Nelson
Linda Jeffrey
Jennifer Kidd
Lynn Fast
Survivor
Survivor
Survivor
Celebrating more than 23 years of breast cancer remission
Celebrating 9 years of breast cancer remission
Granddaughter of breast cancer victim; survivor
Daughter of a survivor; survivor
RABC participant for 22 years, committee member for 13
“I believe in the cause—to get the word out to women to get mammograms. It is vitally important to get a mammogram at whatever age it is recommended.”
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2016 RABC Chair
“We need to get the word out that we’re the only local not-for-profit organization for breast cancer.”
Celebrating 24 years of breast cancer remission RABC organizer since 1991, though she missed the first race because she was being treated at the time.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but fun too. Helping others makes it worth the work. No one should have to forego a mammogram because of the cost. A special thanks to the community for supporting the Race Against Breast Cancer.”
Battling breast cancer since 2014; in remission since December 2014
“With so many organizations touting breast cancer awareness and support, people like to know how their financial contributions will be allocated for impact. RABC is unique in that money doesn’t get dumped into a general fund for running a national organization. It’s a brilliant program I’m thrilled to support.”
RABC participant for 24 years, committee member for 23 years
“Mom made me promise I would get a mammogram. Mammograms are so important because that’s how they found mine. If we can find one person and save them, then it is worth it.”
“If we can find one person and save them, then it is worth it.” – Lynn Fast
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Topeka’s 25th Annual
Race Against Breast Cancer Date: September 16–17 | Location: Topeka West High School
September 16:
Activities begin Friday at 5 p.m. at the Topeka West practice football field. Participants are encouraged to wear white as they greet one another and walk around the field. At 6 p.m., pink cornstarch is handed out for participants to celebrate by throwing it in the air and at one another in order to “pink out” the participants in support of the fight against breast cancer.
September 17:
Sign in for Saturday’s 5K race begins at 7 a.m., followed by warm-ups and a balloon release at 8:20. The race starts at 9:00. Competitors in the 5K who wear an assigned micro-chipped bib are eligible for prizes. The top three overall male and female runners receive cash awards of $100, $75 and $50 respectively. A master’s award of $75 will be presented to the top male and female runners 50 years of age and older. Other awards will be presented to the top runners in 13 age divisions. Participants may enter as individuals or as part of a team. Last year’s 5K overall winners were Martha Broxterman with a time of 20:17.66 and Josh Smith with a time of 17:22.62. In addition to the Pink Out event and the 5K, a silent auction is held during both days. Meals can be purchased on site during both days of the celebration.
Registration fees, entry forms and more information can be found on the Race Against Breast Cancer website at www.rabctopeka.org
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Topeka
hiGhland games
It’s the most fun you’ll have chucking rocks and wearing a kilt, and now it happens every summer in Topeka
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Story by Kim Gronniger | Photography by Bill Stephens
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Natasha and Darrin Plank pose Scottish Gothic style with Darrin’s competition pitchfork.
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For 20 years, Darrin Plank and his friends gathered one weekend at the Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs to play the roles of medieval warriors. “It was a childhood dream come true, dressing up in armor and beating each other with sticks,” says Plank. As the years passed, responsibilities increased for Plank, who became a father of three and a Topeka firefighter. He had less time for the annual bashing, and it became more difficult to justify the expense of authentic costumes that “couldn’t be bought off the rack.” So he quit. But Plank says that allure of “big dummies throwing stuff over their heads” never diminished. At the urging of his wife, Natasha, Plank signed up for the 2012 Kansas City Scottish Highland Games where he put on a kilt and competed in all nine events. Scottish Highland Games are traditional games, but not in the sense of track-and-field traditional. Some of the events include the hammer throw, hurling a 22-pound ball on a stick; the sheaf throw, which entails throwing a bundle of straw with a pitchfork over an adjustableheight bar; the stone put, a shot-put equivalent involving a rock weighing 16–22 pounds; the Braemar Stone throw, for which participants heave a 22–29-pound rock from a standing shot-put position; the weight over the bar event, for which competitors heave a 56-pound chunk of steel over a bar; and the caber toss, which involves flipping an approximately 20-foot pole so it lands on its opposite end. It was Plank’s first competitive attempt in all these events. And even though he entered in a novice division, he was hooked. “Everyone was so friendly, like a big family,” Plank says. “They gave me tips on what to do.” He went on to participate in five games that year, rising to the next class of competition in which competitors are divided into groups based on age and weight and placed in pools of one to 30 people. “I started seeing the same people at events, and my nerves subsided,” Plank says. “I got to know the routine.” He also started training in earnest. Now he does power lifts and strength-building exercises three days a week. Many highland games athletes have track backgrounds, but anyone can be a contender, Plank says. “If you have the strength, you can muscle through until you learn technique. If you have the technique, you can build the strength.”
The sport’s season in the Midwest runs weekends March through October. Each year, Plank strives to participate in five to 10 games, mostly at venues in Kansas and Missouri. In 2014, Plank thought Topeka would be an ideal destination for a competition, so he sought guidance from acquaintances and experts, including his friend Chad Ullom, a Walgreens pharmacist, master’s class thrower and event judge. Ullom, a married father of three, has competed in Germany and Scotland and judged events for 15 years, even serving as an assistant judge for an event in France. His involvement began in 1996 with a friend’s dare. “It was supposed to be a bunch of friends coming out to laugh at me, but nobody showed and I fell in love with the sport,” he says. Backed by his wife and friends, Plank set about overcoming the considerable logistical hurdles involved in hosting the Highland Games, including securing a free location at the heavy equipment field behind Washburn Tech, which fortunately doesn’t mind the inevitable divots that come with chucking boulders. Plank pays for everything sponsorships don’t cover out of his own pocket, from finding sheaves to throw and felling trees for the caber toss to preparing food for participants and renting portable toilets. Most critical of all to the competition is the specialized steel equipment he buys for the athletes to use. “It’s not like going to Dick’s Sporting Goods and getting a football,” Plank says, laughing. In 2014, the Topeka Highland Games drew 50 participants and in 2015 42 competitors, primarily from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Some are Scottish, but most, like Plank, are not. Others compete with family members, forming their own clans. Participants typically wear a kilt, but Plank says Topeka Highland Games competitors don’t have to invest in one initially since the cost is often around $150. “Buying a kilt isn’t like buying cleats that can be used for multiple sports,” he says. “You try the games and then decide. I wear my kilt all the time, whether I’m going to the store or riding my motorcycle, but most people don’t.” Plank acknowledges the sport may not be for everyone. “It’s macho, testosterone stuff. Some people are perplexed about why we throw big heavy things that could kill us over our head. But for me it’s about the camaraderie and the competition and the sense of family.”
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“If you have the strength, you can muscle through until you learn technique. If you have the technique, you can build the strength.” —Darrin Plank
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The Third Annual Topeka Classic Highland Games
If you’re looking for a new sport to explore as a participant or as a spectator, plan to attend the Topeka Classic Highland Games August 6, behind Washburn Tech, 5724 SW Huntoon St. Admission for spectators is free. So if you prefer to watch men and women replicate medieval contests and exhibit clan camaraderie from the comfort of a lawn chair, then set up camp along the shady tree ridge to cheer on the athletes. If you’re a novice interested in trying your luck, you can register in advance or show up the morning of the event for the 10 a.m. sign-up. The entry fee is $30 and includes a T-shirt (which can’t be guaranteed for day-of registrants), water, a meal and awards. For more information, go online at facebook.com/ TopekaClassicHighlandGames.
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What’s in your
Sporran? It’s the original McMan Purse, the pouch known as a “sporran” that is worn around the waist in men’s traditional Highland dress. Darrin Plank, head of the Topeka Classic Highland Games, says sporrans vary widely from one owner to the next. Plank has a collection of them, each worn for a different purpose. Usually made of fur or leather, a sporran can be small or large, simple or decorative. A parade sporran might sport long, wellgroomed horsehairs, some that nearly drag the ground. Bagpipers are known to prefer the horsehair sporran, as the swaying of the hair adds a visual swagger to match their marching tunes.
Game History It’s believed that Scottish highland games originated as a means for ancient chieftains and kings to test the agility, cunning and physical prowess of athletes with victors earning leadership positions on battlefields and within clans. There seems to be at least a 1,000-year history of organized competitors turning tree trunks into toss’em sticks and hauling rocks from riverbeds to see who could hurl them the farthest. The core of the games has changed very little. Today’s competitors still toss a 56-pound weight with an attached handle over a bar and use a pitchfork to launch a 20-pound sheaf. Most of the changes have come outside the games, which have evolved into cultural festivals, often with the addition of dancing, music, food and drink.
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016
Most often, a sporran is worn in the front, but it can be adjusted to the side during any strenuous activity so that it doesn’t bang against anything else that might be hiding on the other side of the kilt cloth. And the inside of a sporran? It’s far less mysterious than the underside of a kilt. In the past, a sporran might have held a knife, a tool, some coins or a key. Now, says Plank, a sporran is still likely to hold a knife, a tool or a key—and perhaps a wallet and cell phone as well.
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summer
photo contest Congratulations to
Larry Fischer,
Topeka through your lens; Topeka through your eyes
Theme for the 2016 fall edition:
We would love to feature your photograph in our next issue. Our inContestants may house panel will select interpret the theme the winner based on the as they wish. criteria of artistic merit and correspondence to theme. All submissions will be posted online at topekamag.com and on our Facebook page, where we will also hold a reader’s choice vote. We look forward to your submission.
Topeka’s Hero
Winning entry will receive a $100 payment.
whose photograph of a storm over Topeka won our “Topeka Nature” summer photo contest.
Submission Guidelines: A)
B) C)
D)
Images should be emailed to topekamagazine@sunflowerpub. com with the heading of “TM Photo Contest.” Please include contact information. Submission must be received before AUGUST 1. Images should be submitted only by the photographer and/or copyright holder of the image. Images must be submitted only by residents of Shawnee County.
E)
F)
G)
H)
Images clearly identifying a particular individual must have that individual’s consent for publication. Files should be in digital form, either JPEG or TIFF, that can be printed up to 8x10 inches at 300dpi. Submissions indicate a consent to having the image published in the magazine and posted online in connection with the magazine. Submissions are limited to 2 images per person.
Panel of Judges: Andrea Etzel (editor, Kansas! magazine), Jenni Leiste (art director, Topeka Magazine), Katie Moore (photographer, Topeka Magazine), Nathan Pettengill (editor, Topeka Magazine) and Bill Stephens (photographer, Topeka Magazine).
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2016