Topeka Magazine Spring 2009 by Sunflower Publishing

TOPEKA

TOPEKA’S PREMIER MAGAZINE ON PEOPLE, PLACES & STYLE

spring 2009

MAGAZINE

Sweet and Chic The delicious desserts at Daddy Cakes

The 1962 firefighter integration Topeka’s secret spicy sauces The romance of Juliet balconies

$3.00

TOPEKAMAGAZINE

Vol. III / No. 1I

Spring 09

publisher / Art Director

Darby Oppold

from the editor

Editor

Nathan Pettengill COPY EDITOR

susie fagan

It is a few days before spring and a few hours before lunch, and I am standing in Allyson Fiander’s kitchen as she clarifies an order over the phone, puts on her “Queen Frostine” apron and walks over to her double-stacked Blodgett ovens to pull out a cake whose smell is thicker and sweeter than even the mound of fresh pecan frosting in her mixing bowls. A quick cut across the cake. A few precise strokes with a spatula. A pause to assess the colors. A generous layering of frosting on the top. And then a polite insistence on silence, as Fiander moves her arm in harmony with a frosting tip to spell out a birthday message in bright blue icing. Another specialty cake is complete. A French-trained pastry chef who has worked in kitchens for 25 years, Fiander now creates some of Topeka’s tastiest artwork as owner and head chef at Daddy Cakes. Fiander’s combination of education, taste and style made her work a natural choice for Vilay Luangraj’s profile in this issue as well as for the Daddy Cakes cover image by Jason Dailey. We chose this story and this cover fully aware of the context that it might convey. In a time of uncertainty, are we channeling ill-fated French monarchs as well as French chefs and suggesting that Topeka should just go “eat cake”? In a sense, we are. But not in the same vein as Marie Antoinette.

Now in its third year of publication, Topeka Magazine has always focused on the best of our hometown. True to our motto, we want to bring the most interesting aspects of Topeka’s people, places and style into our pages each issue. A national climate of downsizing does not mean we learn to give up standards of quality. Rather, it means we learn to clear away what is not important and devote more attention to what we value. In our magazine, we highlight the rewarding aspects of life in Topeka, and we do so in this issue by including stories on secret house spices, unnoticed Juliet balconies, inventors, ultrarunners, prairie advocates, health advisers, pioneering firefighters, bingo fanatics and a venerated Kansas Supreme Court judge who is still remembered by many as that young, dashing rider dressed all in white atop one of the most beautiful Tennessee walking horses that ever lived. And the icing on the cake? Of course, the image of the cakes. So yes, let’s eat cake, Topeka. Not as an escape, not as a gluttony, but as a recognition that we deserve the best in ourselves. Let’s eat a sensible slice and make sure it is local, beautiful and absolutely fabulous. In these times—indeed, in any time— nothing less will do.

Nathan Pettengill Editor

Send your comments and suggestions to topekamagazine@sunflower.com

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Sandi Wilber (785) 220-9938 Designer

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shelly kemph Tamra Rolf Photographers

daniel W. coburn Jason Dailey Contributing Writers

Thomas Fox averill jamie borgman becky bridson Julie K. Buzbee anita miller fry KIM GRONNIGER stacey herman CAROLYN KABERLINE VILAY LUANGRAJ vernon mcfalls CHERYL NELSEN FRANCIE FORRESTT RILEY CHRISTINE STEINKUEHLER NANCY VOGEL GENERAL MANAGER

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faryle scott

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Topeka Magazine is a publication of Sunflower Publishing, a division of The World Company.

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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Contents

Spring

on the cover

Allyson Fiander, pastry chef and co-owner of Daddy Cakes {Photography by Jason Dailey}

56 The 1962 firefighter integration 50 Topeka’s secret spicy sauces 40 The romance of Juliet balconies

Features 30 Sweet Daddy Cakes

A new bake shop puts fun, style and guilt-free eating (if you wish) into desserts

58 Integration, all personnel respond …

For Topeka firefighters, the 1962 integration between black and white units came unexpectedly. The struggle was not so much as to break the color barriers but to understand how to respond

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In Every Issue

01 From the Editor 80 events calendar

DEPARTMENTS .............

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topeka businesses

Home LIfe

living well

For the Family

8 Air Kelly

36 Living in the Sky

64 Trail Fitness

74 Maestros with Strings Attached

Part metalsmith, part pilot, a local businessman creates and markets an innovative aircraft—PPCruisers

A downtown penthouse offers its resident couple fabulous views, spacious living and a little bit of Elvis lore

Good health can be a journey, and for ultrarunners such as Dave Wakefield the only question is: How far?

A traditional springtime hobby becomes ‘ballet in the sky’ for area kite enthusiasts

12 Mountain of a Fair

An annual art fair on the Washburn campus draws national talent and highlights local artists

40 Juliet Balconies

Shakespeare meets architecture in an often-overlooked but delightful feature of many Topeka homes

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notables

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18 After the Bench

local flavor

Retired from her role as the state’s top judge, Kay McFarland returns to a private life and a lifelong love of animals

22 The Family that Stays Together … Jeeps Together?

For one family, an interest in restoring an old military jeep has grown into a venerated vacation tradition

26 Honestly Abe

50 Tower’s Top Chef Farfalle carbonara and grandma’s Kansas comfort foods share equal billing in Scott Siebert’s new kitchen

52 The House Hot

It’s there for the asking—a special spicy salsa that Topeka restaurants keep at the back of the kitchen for the most discerning, or daredevil, of diners. Thomas Fox Averill compiles this guide to the city’s best house hots

Topekan Dale Jirik channels Abraham Lincoln for schoolchildren, history buffs and the chance to wear that swanky stovepipe hat

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

66 Triggering Better Health

76 Bang-Up Bingo

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78 Topeka’s Growing World of Soccer

It’s always good advice to watch what you eat, but with individual trigger foods that piece of wisdom plays an even more important role grow

68 The Seasons of Bronze A Topeka garden draws on whimsical bronze statues at all seasons of the year, whether they are hidden among lush, green leaves or illuminated and shining against a fierce, barren ground

70 Snyder Prairie

A rare tract of restored and virgin prairie land provides Topekans the sights, sounds and wonders of authentic Kansas landscape

The troll is hidden in the bag, the lucky green shirt is worn and bathroom breaks are put on hold—it’s game time for the serious bingo set

Over the past decades, soccer has gone from being the up-and-coming game to one of the ‘regular’ sports with a wide range of leagues and styles of play depending on a child’s age or interest. Here is our guide to children’s soccer in Topeka

8 TOPEKA BUSINESSES PPCruisers

Air Kelly Part metalsmith, part pilot, a local businessman creates and markets an innovative aircraft—PPCruisers

Ken Kelly stands with his latest product, a PPCruiser II SxS.

“Clear skies, altitude 2,000 feet and beginning a power-off death spiral. My passenger and I are spiraling downward at 800 feet a minute when we’re violently rocked by turbulence from out of nowhere and, what’s worse, we’re now climbing. “The crazy swinging and rocking stops and we stabilize, still climbing. I level off and move away to start our descent again, and at 400 or so feet it happens again. “We manage to get down on the ground after scaring every one of our ground crew and friends—but not before we crisscrossed the sky in that area half a dozen times and analyzed the turbulence. My passenger loved it. Two fronts colliding, in a clear blue sky, over water, both moving at the same speed toward one another, creating a stationary oscillating layer of turbulence with really aggressive uplift.”

ike all pilots, Ken Kelly has his stories. But this story trumps them all. Not because of the drama and the Bam! Pow! narration, though these certainly entertain, and not because he was cruising through the air in his selfbuilt powered parachute, but because the story gives insight into what Kelly is all about: He would fly through this air space again and again, testing the turbulence simply because he needed to know what was causing it. Some people won’t take “no” or “I don’t know” for an answer when a problem

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

STORY BY Vernon McFalls | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

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TOPEKA BUSINESSES

10 PPCruisers Kelly’s newest cruiser features side-by-side seating with dual controls for pilot and trainee. As for their handling, Kelly brags his crafts are “built like tanks but fly with the grace of a hummingbird.”

or mystery stares them in the face. That’s Kelly to a T. Now 63, Kelly started his career as a draftsman for an engineering company straight out of high school. He got into ironwork and welding and then owned and operated a metal fabrication and production welding business for 23 years. In 1997, he downsized and moved his operation to his home west of Topeka. Here, amid the prairie and open skies, he found time to pursue another interest—flying. With plenty of experience in metal fabrication and an itch to be a pilot, Kelly taught himself everything he needed to know to develop and improve upon lightweight powered parachutes. Often described as a “flexible winged, aerial recreational vehicle,” these craft have a metal framework, with chair and engine, attached to an adapted parafoil. Kelly took this basic design and created a new type of more robust flyer. His creations, which he calls PPCruisers, are an ultralight class machine that can seat two people instead of one. The addition of the second seat filled a big hole in flight training. Prior to a

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ruling, powered parachutes in the U.S. could be only single-seaters and new pilots learned as much as they could on the ground before getting up and flying solo. With FAA Exemption No. 6080, Kelly was free to develop his dual-seaters, which enable in-air training with the pilot in the front seat and student in the back. Recently, he has developed a side-by-side seating model, the PPCruiser II SxS, with dual controls and three throttle positions (which help adapt for right-handed or left-handed flying). Also, after qualifying in a PPCruiser, a pilot is automatically licensed in the experimental light sport aircraft class. The cruisers that Kelly builds inspire confidence. They are crafted of 4130 chrome-moly steel tubing and TIG (tungsten inert gas) welded with care, not bolted as most powered parachutes are. That’s also the secret to the cruisers’ well-mannered handling, durability and torsional rigidity. Traditionally, powered parachutes had difficulty flying straight and true without an enormous amount of fuss devoted to trimming the craft. Kelly continued and repeated experimentation with models,

connection points, loads, prop and torque factors. He eventually solved the handling problems, previously believed to be an inherent part of powered parachute flight, by producing a rigid airframe. It’s a precise science that leads to a lot of fun. The cruisers have a robust look to them, and Kelly brags they “are built like tanks but fly with the grace of a hummingbird.” Though each frame can support more than 2,000 pounds, the cruisers are created in a computer-aided design program and produced to turn fast and in a short radius. The water-cooled, twostroke, two-cylinder engine allows the cruisers to reach a top speed of 30 mph and a 10,000-foot ceiling. In a state where names like Earhart, Cessna, Longren, Beech and Stearman pop up when discussing aviation history, Kelly fits right in. Dedication, ingenuity and “stick to it” resolve—all characteristics of Kansas aviation pioneers—are kept alive a few miles west of here.

Kelly flies his original two-seat design near his home west of Topeka. Photos courtesy PPCruiser Inc. ........................................................................................................................................

PPCruiser Inc. (785) 862-1111 www.ppcruiser.com ken@ppcruiser.com

Ken Kelly provides demo rides on his PPCruisers and appears at various events in the Topeka area. For more information on flights, costs or appearances, contact him by phone or e-mail.

12 TOPEKA BUSINESSES Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair

Mountain of

a fair

An annual art fair on the Washburn campus draws national talent and highlights local artists

hether it rains or blows, shines or storms, the Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair will be held on the Washburn University campus in June. An annual tradition that began as the Mulvane Art Fair in the 1950s, the art fair is now in its 17th year under its current name and is expected to attract nearly 100 artists and approximately 5,000 viewers.

The Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair becomes the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest open-air art gallery at the end of each spring. Photo courtesy Peggy Clark

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this event is also an opportunity for local artists to share their work with the community. But

The art fair has always been about bringing some of the best artists to Topeka, and the exhibits shown to the public are part of a competition to be judged this year by Washburn adjunct professor Gary Woodward and Washburn visiting artist Betsy Knabe Roe. But this event is also an opportunity for local artists to share their work with the community. Several Topeka artists, such as Larry Peters and Doug Sheafor, are regular competitors and exhibitors at the art fair.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

STORY BY Nancy Vogel | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

TOPEKA BUSINESSES

14 Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair

Larry Peters

A blue-ribbon winner at the art fair, Larry Peters is an established sculptor who formerly directed collections at the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery in the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Peters has long been a leading figure among local ceramics artists and notes that his field has been growing since the 1950s. “There’re probably more potters out there almost than there are painters now,” he says. “I think people like it for one of the reasons I like to work with it, and that’s the tactile quality of the material and the ability to actually get your hands on the material; whereas with painting, you have a paintbrush between you and what you’re doing. … Of course some people wouldn’t want to get involved with clay because it’s too dirty and messy. We’re not known to be the neatest people on earth, especially when we’re working.” Peters’ tools include a pug mill and an electric kiln (for bisque firing), but because he also does some metal forging work, he has an anvil, a horseshoeing forge and a welding outfit. Peters is working on what he calls the Loligo series, based on the term for “squid” in Greek. “The head part is made out of ceramic,” he says, and he inserts welded steel parts into it. Sometimes he uses cement; other times it’s PC-7 epoxy. Once an avid skier, Peters has posted maps of ski areas in his workspace. By his throwing area, he has hung a mirror to reflect the hidden side of pieces. Peters’ latest exhibition at the Strecker-Nelson Gallery in Manhattan featured a display of his Haniwa, inspired by the Japanese grave markers of the same name. Peters has deliberately added parts that often resemble helmets to be the top pieces of the forms. “Most of these I make in two pieces, because I’ve got a short arm, and also I’m getting older,” explains Peters, who has thrown pots for more than 40 years. “Most potters, as they get older, start doing things in sections and putting them together.” Peters admires the work of many artists, especially Peter Voulkos, Rudy Autio and Ray Kahmeyer. Highly versatile, Peters also casts small pig figurines from time to time. “I’m about out of them now,” he says while searching for them in his studio. “I need to make some more.” The small animals are about 3 inches long with tails that curl the correct direction: counterclockwise. “It’s sheer accident,” Peters says with a laugh.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

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throwing area, he has hung a mirror to reflect the hidden side of pieces. By his

Larry Peters is one of the many Topeka artists who has exhibited at the Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair.

Doug Sheafor

A psychiatrist by day and glass blower by night, Doug Sheafor is another artist who has a long association with the art fair. Sheafor’s interest in glass blowing began when his daughter, Alison, graduated from the University of Kansas and set up a studio in her parents’ home. “My wife, Bo, and I began to assist Alison and soon were taking glass-blowing courses to improve our skills,” Sheafor explains. Gradually, Sheafor moved from assistant to artist, calling the studio his own and naming it AlBo Glass in honor of his daughter and late wife. “I could not think of not being a glass artist now,” says Sheafor. “I love making things that people enjoy.” Sheafor describes his art as functional decorations for a home. He’s developing an interest in Venetian-style glass blowing. Drawing from a wide range of artistic influences, Sheafor cites Salvador Dali, Wassily Kandinsky and Hieronymus Bosch as influences. He also says he admires the work of local Lindsborg artist Lester Raymer as well as Topeka painter Barbara Waterman-Peters (the wife of Larry Peters). Sheafor’s work is sold by several dealers in Kansas and available online, but the artist says he finds it an “honor” to present his work at the art fair in Topeka because he is able to meet other local artists and demonstrate his work to many of his friends.

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Sheafor describes his art

functional decorations for a home. He’s developing an interest in Venetianstyle glass blowing. as

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Mulvane Mountain/ Plains Art Fair Near Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University June 6-7 Admission is $6 for the weekend. Children 12 and younger get in free and can enjoy hands-on art projects at the children’s tent. www.washburn.edu/reference/mulvane/ artfair.html

Doug Sheafor stands in the Mulvane Art Museum next to an untitled glass piece created by his son, Nathan Sheafor.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

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18 NOTABLES Kay McFarland

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after

In 1970, she was the first

Retired from her role as the state’s top judge, Kay McFarland returns to a private life and a lifelong love of animals

In 1995,

the Bench

woman elected judge of the probate-juvenile court. she became the first woman to serve as a district court judge. she was named the first female justice on the Kansas Supreme Court. she became the first female chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court.

In 1972,

In 1977,

or Kay McFarland, home is the place where the animals have always been. Growing up on a farm at the edge of Topeka, McFarland had horses, cattle, chickens, ducks, guineas, geese, dogs and more. But they weren’t all ordinary barnyard animals. The horses were champion Tennessee walking horses, and in later years, the dogs were giant, purebred Irish wolfhounds. Now recently retired from her position as chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, McFarland has settled into a spacious home in southwest Shawnee County filled with photographs from her youthful equestrian pursuits and of animals that lived on her family farm. The special pet in her life now is Pearl, an 11-year-old Jack Russell terrier, who curls up on the floor as McFarland talks about her life of firsts in the legal world. .............................................................................................................................................................................

Looking back on her career, McFarland believes some of her biggest contributions came while she served as a juvenile judge. While her public persona has often been in the black-robed cloak of judicial tradition, McFarland has led a very colorful yet down-to-earth life away from the bench—one that she can now fully resume. McFarland surrounds her home with a lush lawn and flowerbeds, which she maintains with the help of an assistant. She loves to travel, read and listen to books on tape. At age 73, she is an avid student of life. Former Chief Justice Kay McFarland enjoys private life at her home outside Topeka.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

STORY BY Anita Miller Fry | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

Kay McFarland

20 NOTABLES

Now in retirement, McFarland is able to spend more hours gardening, an interest that her mother helped her develop as a young child.

‘Horse crazy’

Family influences

The McFarland family was always active with some event or new project. McFarland’s father, Kenneth, was the superintendent of Topeka Public Schools and later became a nationally known speaker. Because McFarland’s father traveled often for his speaking engagements, she spent much of her time with her mother Margaret and grew to share many interests, such as gardening. “I think you get a lot of what you are from your parents,” says McFarland, who recalls her mother’s “gorgeous flower gardens” and works to create her own. Recently, she converted an in-ground pool at her home into a water garden, complete with a fountain.

It was during McFarland’s junior high school years when she developed a new interest that would influence her parents and the rest of her life. On a vacation to Estes Park, Colorado, McFarland took her first horse ride. From that moment, McFarland recalls becoming “horse crazy.” She came back so excited from the ride that she convinced her parents to join her the following day and eventually hooked the entire family on horses. Back home, McFarland saved her allowance to buy a halter and other horse supplies. Next came a horse she kept at a Highland Park stable, then came horses for everyone in the family—her parents, herself and her brother. At that point, in 1948, McFarland’s father bought property on SW 10th Street to keep the animals. By 1952, the family had built a home on the land and moved in to have the horses as their only neighbors. With horses and a large riding area just outside her back door, McFarland became an expert rider and competed in shows throughout Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. Her big break came in 1957 in the form of a beautiful black stallion, a Tennessee walking horse named Midnight Secret. Repeat world champions in the amateur circuit, she and Midnight Secret became one of the top winning teams of their time. As McFarland gathered equestrian accolades, she and her family also “got into dogs,” specifically Irish wolfhounds. McFarland began showing them in competitions but eventually quit because, like other large purebreds, her wolfhounds did not live long. McFarland recalls being heartbroken each time she lost one of these large, gentle dogs.

But there were always animals around. By the time McFarland started law school, she had helped raise chickens, guineas, ducks, geese, peacocks—“all kinds of birds.” Even as a child, she had sold her bicycle to buy a calf, putting the family in the cattle business and raising registered polled Herefords. There was even a brief stint at keeping bees, the one creature that didn’t seem to quite work out on the McFarland farm. The family eventually “decided we’d rather buy honey,” recalls McFarland. Distinguished career

McFarland formally retired in January, ending a distinguished legal career marked by a series of “firsts.” In 1970, she was the first woman elected judge of the probate-juvenile court. In 1972, she became the first woman to serve as a district court judge. In 1977, she was named the first female justice on the Kansas Supreme Court. In 1995, she became the first female chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius called McFarland “extraordinary” in a special ceremony in January to honor the outgoing chief justice. “When you think about how not only the legal profession has changed in those 31 years, but how the law has changed in 31 years, she has seen an amazing amount in those three decades. And I don’t think there is any question that she has inspired lots of people, but particularly young women, who go to law school who seek appointments on the court,” Sebelius said. Looking back on her career, McFarland believes some of her biggest contributions came while she served as a juvenile judge. “I’ve had a lot of people say I made a difference in their lives and they did get straightened out. We really did reduce the crime statistics of juveniles,” says McFarland. On the Move

McFarland will not be spending her retirement at her family farm, which was sold for development in 2000. Just south of Gage Park, the old farmstead now holds high-dollar homes with a clubhouse and pool but maintains the family name, McFarland Farms. A statue of horses at the entrance is a tribute to the McFarland family. McFarland is focused elsewhere now. She loves to travel and has been to Africa, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Holland and Alaska. In England she likes to travel off the beaten path and explore the small farms in the countryside. Another favorite trip is whale watching near the Baja California peninsula. And when she’s not traveling, she’s listening to books on tape, visiting with friends and enjoying retirement with Pearl, her dog.

22 NOTABLES The jeep family

The Family that Stays Together …

Jeeps Together?

For one family, an interest in restoring an old military jeep has grown into a venerated vacation tradition

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“People hear about our trips, and they end up getting a jeep and going along with us.” - Julee carlson

hen Julee and Berni Carlson of Tecumseh got married in 1979, she “had fair warning” that her new husband and his dad, Nelson Carlson, were restoring a military jeep. What she didn’t know was how integral those jeeps would become in her life. “We bought our first one in 1979 and had it restored before taking a family trip to Colorado in 1980,” Julee recalls. That trip led to another trip. And another. And another. In fact, the jeep trips became one of the most important events on the family calendar. “I even planned my pregnancies around the trips,” Julee says, adding that her twin daughters, now 22, went on their first Colorado “jeeping” trip when they were 5 months old in 1986. .............................................................................................................................................................................

four-wheeling in the Colorado mountains, the group goes every year to the Cassville, Missouri, area where drivers take the jeeps off-road to explore logging trails and farm roads. Besides

That was also the year Julee put her foot down and insisted on renting a cabin rather than sleeping in a tent. Others on that trip, including Nelson and Jewell Carlson and Berni’s brother, Ron Carlson, and his wife, Bonnie, decided they kind of liked the cabin, what with running water and all. All the families have been renting cabins since, Julee says. Julee and Berni Carlson have shared 30 years of marriage, three children and two jeeps.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

STORY BY Julie K. Buzbee | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

24 NOTABLES The jeep family

The Carlson family has become a four-generation jeep family: (front row in purple shirt and light-blue jacket) Emily Carlson; (second row, from left) Jewell Carlson, Julee Carlson, Kristen Koller and Tammy Carlson; (third row, from left) Nelson Carlson, Berni Carlson, Alan Koller and Kris Carlson; behind them, from left, are Nelson and Jewell’s M151 jeep, Berni and Julee’s M151 jeep, Alan and Kristen’s M151 jeep, Kris, Tammy and Emily’s M151 jeep and Berni and Julee’s original M38 jeep.

The Colorado trips have continued every even-numbered year, and the group has grown as Julee and Berni’s kids are all married— with jeeps. Ron’s two boys also have jeeps. Close friends have gotten into restoring jeeps and going on the trips as well, Julee says, adding that more than 30 people now go each time. They all take the jeeps on trailers, but once at their destination, the vehicles get quite a workout. Besides four-wheeling in the Colorado mountains, the group goes every year to the Cassville, Missouri, area where drivers take the jeeps off-road to explore logging trails and farm roads. “They encourage a little bit of travel down there on the trails in case there’s a fire so they can get to them,” Berni says of firefighters in the Cassville area. In Colorado, Berni says the trails can have narrow clearances and be 12,000 to 14,000 feet high. And there’s just something about the altitude and camp stoves that make food taste better, the couple say. “A grilled pork chop is awful doggone good up there,” Berni says. “The women have been cooking long enough that they’ve gotten it down to a science. They know how much food to cook for a group.” There’s the added attraction of the outdoor ambience as well. Berni describes one of his favorite views, a vista from Flag Mountain, about 90 miles west of Colorado Springs. From its summit, he says, you can see the San Juan Mountains, which are approximately 125 miles away. “You can stand there and look around you in awe about how something like this can exist. You get the feeling of how vast it is out there,” Berni says.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Julee says the scenery is beautiful and she enjoys “seeing the sights and the challenge of the trail,” but believes it is also an ideal family activity. “We have no TV, no radio, no working phone service,” she says. “You are there with nature and the rest of the family.” The entire jeeping movement has “really expanded in the last 10 to 15 years,” Julee says. The Carlson families are active members of the Military Vehicles Preservation Association, which has a chapter in Topeka dubbed Rolling Thunder. Rolling Thunder members take part in lots of parades, as well as annual events at the library and zoo. “People hear about our trips, and they end up getting a jeep and going along with us,” Julee says. “We didn’t plan on doing this for all these years. It’s just been normal for us.” ...............................................................................................................................................

Colorado trips have continued every evennumbered year, and the group has grown as Julee and Berni’s kids are all married—with jeeps.

The

Something for Everyone Donations to the Foundation and the Foundation Endowments will go for the long-range preservation of the facilities designated by the donor or in the general endowment fund for parks' maintenance and enhancement projects.

LAKE SHAWNEE The proud of home of: * Lake Shawnee Trail 7 mile walking and biking trail around beautiful Lake Shawnee

* Lake Shawnee Public Golf Course

Shawnee North Community Park

Voted #1 public golf course in NE Kansas by the readers of the Topeka Capital Journal. * Ted Ensley Gardens One of the most beautiful gardens in all of Topeka

* Lake Shawnee Swim Beach Open from Memorial Day Weekend

* Lake Shawnee Marina Paddle boating & Canoeing available May - September

* Shawnee North Community Center * Shawnee North Family Aquatic Center * Softball Complex

Shawnee South Community Park * Velma K. Paris Community Center * Forbes Public Golf Course * Softball Complex

UPCOMING EVENTS * Tulip Time Festival April 10-26 * Great Plains Rowing Championships May 2 & 3

SHAWNEE COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION 3137 SE 29th Street Topeka, KS 66605 (785) 267-1156

26 NOTABLES Dale Jirik as Abraham Lincoln

honestly abe

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studies Lincoln knows that one of the themes of his life was weathering disappointments. Anyone who

Topekan Dale Jirik channels Abraham Lincoln for schoolchildren, history buffs and the chance to wear that swanky stovepipe hat

ne of Dale Jirik’s most memorable childhood disappointments happened in the sixth grade and revolved around a local Abraham Lincoln celebration. “The tallest boy in class could dress as Lincoln and lead the school parade six blocks to the fairgrounds. At the time, I was the tallest boy. I was excited to wear a tall hat and all that,” recalls Jirik. But then, disappointment struck. “There was another boy,” relates Jirik, “that transferred into town at the last minute who was taller.” ............................................................................................................................................................................

revisits history to inspire adults and children, he notes that the history being made today is very much influenced by Lincoln. While dale Jirik

Dale Jirik portrays Abraham Lincoln for school groups, historical clubs and civic organizations.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Anyone who studies Lincoln knows that one of the themes of his life was weathering disappointments. Perhaps by losing the right to become a sixth-grade Abe, Jirik gained a greater insight to the president’s character. And even though Jirik didn’t get to portray Lincoln as a child and lead the parade, today, at the age of 82, he dresses up as Lincoln and entertains schoolchildren and civic groups across the state. Jirik gives nearly 20 presentations a year, usually from January though March, coinciding with historical events such as Kansas Day, Presidents Day and the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington. His garb includes a watch, chain, black wig, books and, of course, a tall black hat. “When I put the period clothes on, I feel the character of Abe Lincoln and it becomes easy to present. … I try to communicate the humor of Lincoln. A good story to him was like what a good

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28 NOTABLES Dale Jirik as Abraham Lincoln

For more Lincoln lore Want to revisit the history lessons of long-forgotten school days? The Lincoln Club of Topeka will jog your memory and impart a vast amount of new information on Abraham Lincoln that you probably never learned in school. The group has gathered regularly for 43 years. Dale Jirik has been a member for 42 years and is on his third term as president of the group, which meets eight times a year, September though May (except for January). Meetings are at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. At each meeting, a member gives a presentation on some aspect of Lincoln’s life or the Civil War. Annual dues are $10. Guests are welcome. (785) 266-5492. The Kansas Historical Society is also featuring the Lincoln in Kansas exhibit through July 26 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. Artifacts associated with the life and times of the nation’s 16th president will be on display. For more information, visit www.kshs.org.

For Jirik and other Lincoln enthusiasts, the writings, thoughts and legacy of Lincoln offer insights to the past and relevant commentary on the present.

drink is to an old toper.” Through good storytelling, Jirik brings to life the personality of Lincoln—his character, honesty and integrity. “I share his love of fellow man and philosophy of ‘do no harm.’” Self-education was a theme in Lincoln’s life and a theme that Jirik emphasizes to children. “Lincoln had only one year of formal education. He was self-educated. I tell the kids that if he had a school like they have today, he would be in seventh heaven. I try to stress that if you are not in class, you can still educate yourself by reading. A lot of times Lincoln wasn’t able to get a formal education because there was no teacher in the backwoods of Kentucky.” Jirik concludes his presentations with question-and-answer sessions. What burning questions do today’s youngsters have for Jirik as he channels Lincoln? “They want to know how tall am I, how many children do I have and if I have any other clothes.” While Jirik revisits history to inspire adults and children, he notes that the history being made today is very much influenced by Lincoln. The 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth was celebrated on February 12, 2009. The bicentennial celebration coincided with the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States—an event that Jirik believes would have raised Abe’s eyebrows. “He’d probably have an opinion!” laughs Jirik. “Obama really brought up the connection in his campaign and he referred to Abraham Lincoln. Who can speak for Lincoln? I think he would be pleased with the progress of our country that we have now elected an African American to the presidency. … Let’s hope that any future president can be as honest as Lincoln was.” If not, Jirik and Lincoln aficionados like him will be around to remind them, honestly portraying the life and legacy of Honest Abe.

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Daddy Cakes Story by Vilay Luangraj • Photography by Jason Dailey

Have you ever wanted a cake, perhaps a cupcake, created just as you fancied? Daddy Cakes, one of Topeka’s newest sweet spots, will make your fancy an indulgent reality. In the heart of Gage Shopping Center—the clock tower marks its spot—Daddy Cakes is a retro-inspired storefront with photos and paintings of cupcakes on the walls and mouthwatering delights in the display case. The cupcakes come in four varieties: baby cakes, daddy cakes, preemie cakes and skinny cakes. The baby cakes are regular-size cupcakes, while the 12-ounce daddy cakes are twice that size. Preemie cakes are two-bite cakes, mostly made for events and receptions. The skinny cakes contain fewer than 200 calories and 0 grams of fat—an excuse to eat more than one if you wish.

A new bake shop puts fun, style and guilt-free eating (if you wish) into desserts

Daddy Cakes 4102 SW Gage Center Drive (785) 228-2300 www.daddycakescupcakes.com

“Our store provides for everyone,” says Allyson Fiander, pastry chef and co-owner of Daddy Cakes. “Guys will come in with their wives who want the cute baby cakes and the guys will get a daddy cake.” A San Francisco native, Fiander trained with the San Francisco Baking Institute and later apprenticed in pastries for four years at a bakery in Colmars les Alpes, France. Landing in Kansas, she ran a French pastry shop outside Kansas City but decided to open her Topeka shop after marrying Topeka resident Bill Fiander. Seeing a growing trend for cupcakes in New York bakeries, she teamed with Bill to bring the trend to her new home.

The cupcakes come in four varieties: baby cakes, daddy cakes, preemie cakes and skinny cakes.

Fiander offers approximately 10 everyday flavors plus two specialty flavors, which change from day to day. Currently, Cookie Dough is on Tuesday, S’mores are on Thursday and Margaritas are on Friday. She also cooks up special seasonal flavors. “We try to have more pastel colors and flowery cupcakes for spring,” explains Fiander. One of the spring flavors in Fiander’s pastel and flowery criteria is Pink Lemonade—light in color and (comparatively) calories. Fiander bakes and decorates all the cupcakes herself to ensure that they “taste good and look perfect.” Using suggestions from her family, staff and customers, Fiander experiments with new flavors and gives them whimsical names. There is Curious George, a custard-filled banana cake with buttercream frosting and vanilla wafers; Grasshopper, a chocolate cake with mint buttercream frosting; and Java Junkie, a chocolate mocha cake with coffee buttercream frosting. Fiander is also willing to create just about any specialized flavor or decoration.

allyson Fiander offers approximately 10 everyday flavors plus two specialty flavors, which change from day to day. Currently, cookie dough is on Tuesday, S’mores are on Thursday and Margaritas are on Friday.

“I do a lot of custom-made cakes and cupcakes,” says Fiander. “I’ll work with the clients to create something special for their occasion. Most will bring in something, such as an invitation, and I’ll create a cake to match it.” Fiander has made custom cakes for weddings, graduations, birthdays and other special occasions. Being a one-woman show in the kitchen is rewarding but exhausting during peak wedding season, which she says used to be June but now seems to be June and September. “I try to do one wedding per weekend, two if the schedule allows for,” says Fiander. “I will usually start making the cake 48 hours before the wedding to make sure it’s fresh.”

Daddy Cakes is a retroinspired storefront with photos and paintings of cupcakes on the walls and mouthwatering delights in the display case.

Despite the busy cake load, Fiander still bakes at home. She says her husband is willing to help and can “pinch-hit if needed,” but she prefers to be the one cooking the family meals. It’s a hobby she shares with her four girls—ages 4, 10, 11 and 13—especially with the youngest. “She claims she wants to be a pastry chef,” says Fiander. Not just any chef, but a pastry chef. Second-generation cakes, anyone?

“

I do a lot of custom-made cakes and cupcakes. I’ll work with the clients to create something special for their occasion. Most will bring in something, such as an invitation, and I’ll create a cake to match it.

”

36 HOME LIFE The Potter home

Living in the Sky A downtown penthouse offers its resident couple fabulous views, spacious living and a little bit of Elvis lore

or more than 25 years, retired Air Force pilot Eliot Potter and his wife, Treva, have made their home where the birds fly, perched above downtown Topeka on the 10th floor of the Kansan Hotel building at Ninth and Kansas Avenue. “Eliot says he wanted to live where he could see the sky,” says Treva. The sky is not their only view. The large windows in the expansive living and dining area look to the west and frame the Capitol rotunda. Sliding patio doors access a wraparound terrace that overlooks the city in all directions. From the ground, some 150 feet below, the penthouse terrace can be easily singled out by what is possibly Topeka’s tallest flagpole. Eliot preserves the structure against the high winds and illuminates it at night. He flies the United States flag and the Kansas flag each day and raises the Air Force flag on certain days as well. Treva, a retired lobbyist, tends to the home’s rooftop garden and marks the changing of the seasons by placing pot planters with flowers typical to a Kansas garden. This spring, Treva has arranged the pots with tulips, jonquils, iris and geraniums—all silk. ........................................................................................................

pay rent for the view. The clouds, the rainstorms and the sunsets are fabulous.” – treva potter “Eliot says we

Treva Potter grew up dreaming of her penthouse in the sky. Years later, she has made her home with one of Topeka’s most magnificent views.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

story by Francie Forrestt Riley | photography by Jason Dailey

The Potters’ main living room is a perfect place to enjoy domestic comfort. But its arched ceiling serves as a reminder that this space was once a hopping, bebopping ballroom.

The weather—and especially the Kansas wind—takes a toll on outdoor plantings. For this reason, Treva recently switched to silk plants. Now she enjoys the skyline and a weatherproof garden.

“I had live flowers here for about 10 years,” explains the rooftop gardener. “But we have so much wind and so much sun, it became so much work.” She does, however, create some gardening work for herself by changing the artificial plants in correspondence with the season. By late fall, the geraniums will give way to holly and shrubs with autumn color. Though she didn’t necessarily envision the garden, Treva had long dreamed of living in a high-rise apartment. “A penthouse, actually,” clarifies Treva. “When I was a child, I wanted to live in a New York penthouse. I was influenced by the glamorous image from the movies.” It’s not New York, but Manhattan is just up the road, and Treva has grown to love her home’s view and unique history— including its own fair share of glamour. Now owned by CoreFirst Bank & Trust, the Kansan Hotel opened in 1924, and the Potters’ top-floor space was the former Roof Garden ballroom and restaurant. The ballroom was still standing when rock legend Elvis Presley came to Topeka, rented the hotel’s entire ninth floor and, as the story goes some decades later, charmed a gaggle of young, screaming fans who had arrived at the ballroom for a dance that night. The apartment’s high, arched ceiling is all that remains of the former ballroom. In 1966, the hotel’s top six floors were converted to apartments. But the venue lives on strongly in memories and stories throughout Topeka.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

38 HOME LIFE The Potter home

Treva is fond of blue and white dinnerware, which matches the color themes in her rooms and, perhaps not surprisingly, the wispyclouded skies outside her windows.

top Treva converted a bedroom into this spacious walk-in closet and added a chandelier for an extra touch of glamour. bottom By turning the new bedroom from the second apartment into a master closet, the Potters were able to remove the master bedroom’s original closet and expand the already spacious room.

“I talk to people who had their proms and dance club here,” says Treva. Now, the ballroom is a comfortable, spacious home. Through the entry into the apartment sit the living and dining rooms as well as the kitchen. All these areas are eclectically designed with collections from the Potters’ travels. Treva is fond of blue and white dinnerware, and her collections of Asian-influenced ceramics, vases and serving pieces echo this color theme. The bedrooms and baths in the apartment are reached through a narrow, winding hall that is covered with drawings and sketches depicting places Treva and Eliot have traveled. “Everywhere we go, we try to get a picture of that place,” says Treva. Off the hallway also sits Eliot’s office, decorated with military memorabilia from his years in the Air Force. The black carpet with abstract yellow stars was taken from the officers club at Forbes Air Force Base when it closed. The walls are lined with maps and books that both he and Treva cherish.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Two years ago the Potters extended their living space by renting the adjacent apartment and connecting the space through a wide closet in the master bedroom. It now transitions to a short hallway that opens to Treva’s walk-in closet, previously a bedroom. Besides housing Treva’s wardrobe, it holds a collection of retro memorabilia. In the center of the room hangs a crystal chandelier—an 80th birthday present for Treva. With the expansion, the Potters also gained a media room with a corner fireplace and kitchen set up for entertaining. “We’ve found we use the extra space a lot,” says Treva. The Potters have no plans to move from their penthouse in the sky. It has convenient amenities for apartment dwellers. And, above all, it has what just might be the best view of the Topeka skyline. “Eliot says we pay rent for the view,” laughs Treva. “The clouds, the rainstorms and the sunsets are fabulous.”

40 HOME LIFE Juliet balconies

Juliet

balconies Shakespeare meets architecture in an often-overlooked but delightful feature of many Topeka homes

ome architectural features command attention: Statehouse rotundas, cathedral spires or columned entries, for example. Other features are less prominent and even risk going unnoticed or unused, but are intriguing and delightful when examined. One of my favorites is the Juliet balcony. These balconies are those small, usually elegant wrought-iron features that project from the upper floors of buildings and are too small to do anything more than lean out the window or door and enjoy the view. Of course, you also can lean out and allow yourself to be courted by your own Romeo—and that is the reason they are called “Juliet” balconies. Their romantic heritage provides them an additional mystic quality, but they are also rather practical. In large cities, they are popular because they allow builders to use larger windows or doors in upper floors. Owners of these unique balconies find they add a whimsical element to holiday decorating and are a good place to shake out rugs or a good nest for small animals. But mostly they are a place to see the world from a slightly different perspective. I have always considered Juliet balconies to be rare, but I have been surprised at how many of these features you can find tucked away in Topeka’s neighborhoods. Although they are more common on Colonial and Spanish Revival style houses from the 1920s, Juliet balconies can be found in almost every house style and from every period. Juliet balconies are the architectural equivalent of icing on a cake. These small balconies provide a stage-box view of the world for the residents. They provide a helping hand to Romeo. And they are a hidden delight to discover as you Often overlooked, Juliet balconies such as this drive through Topeka neighborhoods. one in Westboro can be delightful features for a house.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

story by Christine Steinkuehler | photography by Daniel W. Coburn

The Gleed House Potwin

Built in the 1880s, this Queen Anne has a wonderful set of tall, narrow French doors that open onto the Juliet balcony. Unusual for its use of wood rather than wrought iron, the balcony has a curved roofline that accents the front door.

The International House Washburn University

The Juliet balcony outside what was once an upstairs bedroom is the perfect detail to finish this Spanish Revival houseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and the perfect place to gaze at the Carole Chapel.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

42 HOME LIFE Juliet balconies

The Hauke Home Clarion Woods

This home, built by William Hogue, uses its Juliet balcony as a wonderful way to add flair and capture some of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great views.

Tom and Barb Haney Westboro

This Tudor boasts a balcony over a pair of large windows. The larger space makes this an ideal location to woo the young Juliet.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

The McInerney Home Westboro

A Juliet balcony in the turret gives the McInerney home a fairy-tale appearance. Rapunzel would surely feel at home here.

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SUMMER SPLASHES! The trends and styles of private pools For more than 80 years, homeowners have depended on Pella windows and doors to make a difference in their homes — inside and out. Quality craftsmanship and attention to detail truly set

Our exclusive interview about family life in the governor’s house

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Seeing Topeka through the eyes of this artist

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Local Flavor

Localflavor

chef scott siebert

Tower’s Top Chef Farfalle carbonara and grandma’s Kansas comfort foods share equal billing in Scott Siebert’s new kitchen

From his kitchen

on the 16th floor of the Bank of America building, Scott Siebert contemplates the day’s menu as he looks out the window, taking in the panoramic view across downtown and out toward the grain elevators that remind him of his roots in Salina. In many ways, that view—the combination of uptown urban and rural heritage—is a metaphor for his background and growth as a chef. “My mother and grandmother were both good cooks,” says Siebert. “I used to like to help them with meals.” Siebert’s journey in learning new creations, from steak and potatoes to seafood dishes, has brought him to Topeka as executive chef at Top of the Tower, a position that went unfilled for three years until Siebert arrived.

“I’m like a sponge,” says Siebert. “I’m wide open to ideas and take something from everyone I work with.” Several years after peering over his mother’s and grandmother’s countertops, Siebert went on to become Russ Loub’s sous chef at the Manhattan Country Club. While working with Loub, he learned about Frenchstyle sauces and realized his interest in cooking could become a career.

Siebert began working primarily at country clubs in Nebraska, then at Hays House in Council Grove. He transferred to Topeka and worked at the Shawnee Country Club before being tapped by Top of the Tower General Manager Craig Preisner to step into the kitchen. “We were looking for someone with executive chef experience, and we brought in Scott to raise the bar for our members,” says Preisner, who credits Siebert with transforming the range and quality of the club’s menu. Since putting on his Top of the Tower chef hat in September, Siebert has added some of his favorites to the menu, striking prepackaged items from the fare and introducing some creativity. His new menu includes entrees of grilled salmon and Hawaiian ahi tuna, and pasta dishes such as shrimp Alfredo and a farfalle carbonara with grilled chicken. Executive Chef Scott Siebert prepares a chicken marsala dish with chicken breasts, asparagus and a wild rice mix.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

STORY BY Francie Forrestt Riley | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Daniel W. Coburn

But Siebert knows his audience and draws on his love for traditional Kansas comfort foods when he serves his patrons. “People in Kansas like their steaks,” says Siebert. “I like the immediate gratification of serving food and seeing diners enjoy it.” A 43-year-old bachelor, Siebert has dedicated much of his life to the kitchen and sacrificed his personal time to be a top chef. He often puts 60 hours or more into the Tower’s kitchen each week and finds himself preparing meals in his free time. “I cook on my day off,” says Siebert. “My friends like my Cajun shrimp with andouille sausage, penne pasta and cream sauce.” But today, as usual, Siebert is at his work kitchen—putting on his hat, tying his apron and cooking his signature style: something from the oven, something from the grill, something Kansas, something nouvelle.

Siebert’s climb to the Top of the Tower began in the kitchens of his mother and grandmother.

house hot salsas

Local Flavor

Localflavor

The House Hot It’s there for the asking—a special spicy salsa that Topeka restaurants keep at the back of the kitchen for the most discerning, or daredevil, of diners. Thomas Fox Averill compiles this guide to the city’s best house hots

At Pepe & Chela’s in

downtown Topeka, we sat down to the usual complimentary basket of chips. They were served warm, with a mild red salsa made from tomatoes, onions, a little black pepper and a slight tang of jalapeno. “Do you have a hot salsa?” we asked. “Not really,” said our server. “Topeka tastes mean mostly mild. Nothing really hot.” But she came back with what passes for the house hot. Our son dug in. He was likely one of the few sixth-

graders to have salsa on his Christmas wish list last holiday. He called the hot salsa “sweet—more tasteful than hot.” Although the house hot looked like the restaurant’s standard salsa, it obviously had been doctored with a lacing of habanero pepper sauce, and it certainly passed the eyebrows test— it both raised them and caused them to perspire. Our server was probably correct about her customers’ taste for mild salsa. Pepe & Chela’s is a long-established restaurant, and has survived by catering to Topeka’s taste. But Mexican restaurants newer to Topeka,

places where Spanish is often spoken, where the servers need little prompting when asked to bring the house hot are catering to a clientele less interested in the taste of Topeka. These customers want the taste of their cultural homes, places like the states of Mexico, or Guatemala, or other Latin countries where hot and spicy food is the norm. For example, the cover of the Los Portales menu tells the story of the Munoz family’s first restaurant, opened in Leon Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1956. Of course, Mexican restaurants don’t have the corner on spicy food.

...................................................................................................

Las Fuentes

El Mezcal

El Agave

4109 SW Gage Center Drive 3656 SW Topeka Blvd.

511 SW Topeka Blvd. 5301 SW 21st St.

2222 SW Washburn Ave.

A green sauce, with cilantro and jalapenos, but tasting cooked, and almost brothy—thin, like a New Mexico green chile sauce. Flavorful enough to keep eating even as your mouth burns.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

A red tomato salsa with a hint of the orange of the habanero pepper that makes it, and the eater, very hot—with onion, jalapeno and cilantro. “It’s addicting,” says the sixth-grader.

Almost a mole, with dark, charred peppers and perhaps a little chocolate—thick and rich, with tomato as a base. Very satisfying and unique.

STORY BY Thomas Fox Averill | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

Every Chinese menu prints little red peppers like warning flags next to the hot and spicy dishes. If you eat Indian food, your server will ask if you’d like mild, medium, hot or Indian hot. Thai restaurants have Thai hot, with incendiary proportions of red pepper flakes. Why hot food? Chiles were first cultivated in Mexico, by the Mayans and the Aztecs. Even today, more chiles are grown and consumed in Mexico than anywhere else in the world. Their powerful heat increases the metabolism and causes sweating, which cools the body in a hot climate.

According to Mark Miller, who founded the legendary Coyote Café in Santa Fe and wrote The Great Chile Book, chiles are also high in Vitamin A, C and E, as well rich in folic acid and potassium. He notes studies indicating that the ingestion of chiles, and the subsequent increase of metabolism, actually facilitates “the burning of more calories … preventing heart disease and blood clots as well as helping digestion.” The heat in chiles is contained in the thin membrane that carries the seed and houses the oil, capsaicin.

This oil kills harmful bacteria, and thus aids digestion as well as acts as a retardant in spoiling—another plus in a hot climate. But flavor is always paramount, and once converted to the varieties and heat levels of peppers, aficionados will ask for the hot: the sweet but intense habanero, the slow-burning jalapeno, the rich poblano (the chile used in chiles rellenos), the deep chocolatetoned ancho (the dried poblano), the chipotle (dried and smoked red jalapeno), the thin arbol (like cayenne). Miller lists 41 types of dried chiles and 45 fresh chiles in his book.

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Tacos el Sol

Los Portales

Café Holliday

2124 SE Sixth Ave.

1116 SE Sixth Ave.

800 SW 12th

Pure blended jalapenos, a lime green paste, nose clearing and simple as wasabi.

A thick salsa of tomatilloes (Mexican green tomatoes), jalapenos, onion and cilantro, rich and with a slow and lasting burn. All the salsas are homemade, with fresh ingredients.

A very hot chile salsa made of tomatilloes and ground chile arbol, the thin hot pepper that is cousin to cayenne—a very pure heat.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Local Flavor

54 house hot salsas

After our experience at Pepe & Chela’s, the quest for house hots continued, and it turns out that Topeka restaurants cook up specials from brothy green salsas to pure buzzed jalapeno to near moles (the rich chocolate chile sauce favored for chicken and turkey). We always had to request the house hot. The sixth-grader noted that the hotter salsa often came in a smaller bowl than the regular salsa. This reflects the chiles themselves: the smaller, the hotter, because the smaller peppers have the greatest proportion of membrane and seeds compared with their flesh. And, of course, people

tend to put less of the hot salsa on the chips or the food. At Quetzal, though, which serves breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, our server told us people are asking for the house hot to use on their biscuits and gravy instead of the traditional Tabasco. And at places like La Fiesta, the quantity of house hot consumed outpaces the mild. So when you eat Mexican food in Topeka, begin by asking for a hot salsa to go with the mild one. Dip a chip and let the salsa run off. See if you can take the heat. If so, don’t dip: Scoop! Order plenty of water, preferably with lemons, as the acid from the lemon will cut the oil of the capsaicin.

Margaritas will do the same, though alcohol, according to Miller, increases the absorption of the oil and makes the food seem even hotter. Eat beyond the initial sensation of heat, until you reach the taste of the salsa. Soon, your eyebrows will sweat, your nose will run. “Your lips burn, too,” says the sixth-grader. If you are in the presence of true heat, I tell him, your head might lift a bit. But that’s part of the enjoyment of the house hot: taste and texture, heat and health. Here’s to yours.

...................................................................................................

Casa Ramos

La Fiesta

Quetzal

837 SW Fairlawn Road

1017 NE Seward Ave.

222 NW Independence Ave.

A salsa verde, buzzed tomatilloes and a little onion, but with the definite sweet and searing heat of the hottest of the hot peppers, the habanero. A real eyebrow raiser.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Along with the mild sauce, La Fiesta makes up to 10 house hots, usually two per day. The sixth-grader and I had a green and a red. The green was tomatillo, cilantro, onion and roasted jalapeno, very fresh. The red was almost pure roasted chile arbol, and had what the sixth-grader called a “mega-hot slow burn.” If you like really hot salsa, you can only hope to visit La Fiesta on the day the cooks make their roasted habanero house hot.

Along with a mild salsa of chunky red tomatoes, onions, cilantro and a little jalapeno, the thick, house hot is rich and complex. Roasted red bell peppers provide a base for an earthy blend of roasted jalapeno and arbol (and perhaps others—the salsa is a secret) with a hint of garlic and cumin. This pasty salsa sticks to the warm chips and gives the sensation, according to the boy, of a “slow speed, delayed burn.”

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Downtown Topeka calendar

march, april, may Girl Culture: Photographs by Lauren Greenfield

March 6-April 17 9am-9pm Monday–Friday 9am-6pm Saturday 12pm-9pm Sunday – Topeka Public Library, Main Gallery.

Hairspray

March 9-7:30pm-Topeka Performing Arts Center.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celtic Street Fair

March 17 12pm-Parade starts from 10th and Jackson.

Classic Film: The Searchers

April 10 2pm-5pm-Topeka Public Library, Marvin Auditorium.

Larry the Cable Guy

April 26 4:30pm-7:30pm-Topeka Performing Arts Center.

First Friday Art Walk March 6, April 3, May 1 5:30pm-8pm

Exhibit-To Enjoy & Defend Our American Citizenship: Fighting for Civil Rights in the Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act April 3-30 Brown v. Board of Education Museum.

Tulip Time Festival

April 10-26 Old Prairie Town at Ward Meade Historic Site.

Farmers Market

April 11 & 25, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 7:30am-12pm-10th and Topeka Boulevard, southeast corner of the state parking lot.

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Topeka Fire Station No. 3 circa 1910.

The “B Shift” members at Topeka Fire Station No. 3 pose with their 1934 Dodge ladder truck circa 1955.

For Topeka firefighters, the 1962 integration between black and white units came unexpectedly.

Story by Cheryl Nelsen All historical photos courtesy of the Joe Douglas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.

“I want to give great credit to the white firefighters for making it work. It wasn’t all what the black firefighters did to make it work. It was what the blacks and whites did together.” – Joe Douglas Jr.

Photography by Jason Dailey

rowing up in east Topeka in the 1930s, Joe Douglas Jr. passed fire station No. 3 at 312 S.E. Jefferson St. hundreds of times. That building, which housed all the city’s black firefighters, was a source of pride for Douglas and for Topeka’s black community. Since September 11, 1882, the station’s all-black fire unit protected not only the east Topeka areas where much of the black community lived, but also the heart of the capital city—the downtown district and right up to the Statehouse. After Douglas joined the fire department in 1950, he realized again and again just how important that station was to his fellow blacks. In the evenings, Topeka’s black families would visit the station with their children or use the station’s telephone if they didn’t have one of their own. Men from the neighborhood would set up lawn chairs around the station’s television—one of the few televisions in the area—and watch the big boxing matches. Firefighters’ families would gather at the station for barbecues and holiday parties. “The camaraderie we had with the people in the area—they were family. We knew all of them. We had a candy machine and a pop machine. They all came down and we visited. We just had a good rapport down there. They were very proud of us,” Douglas recalls. Leslie Newman, another firefighter who began his career at Station No. 3 in 1955, has similar fond memories. “We had lots of fun. We played horseshoes together and with the neighbors quite a bit. Right down on the corner was Pedro Lopez’s store. We used to go down there and get stuff like chili and different items,” Newman says. This arrangement, however, was about to be swept aside by national events.

The firehouse exception In the 1950s and 1960s, Topeka was in many ways at the focal point of the civil rights movement, at least in the courtroom, where local residents had launched a successful challenge to official school segregation in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954. Gradually, school groups, sports teams, church organizations and social clubs were integrating. But not the Topeka Fire Department. Not yet. The veterans of station No. 3 believe this was probably because integration would mean more than having blacks and whites fighting the same fires. Black and white firefighters had worked together in Topeka since station No. 3 opened, but they always had separate home stations and had no history of living together. Any fire station integration entailed blacks and whites sharing the “domestic” arrangements. It meant integrating kitchens, bathrooms, shower rooms and, perhaps most delicately, beds. Because they worked in shifts, two firefighters would share the same bed—each one using it when he was on duty and then turning it over to the man who would

The struggle was not so much as to break the color barriers but to understand how to respond.

Some of the veterans of the 1962 integration of Fire Station No. 3 gather at the station. From left are District Chief Leslie Newman, Captain Frank Leathers, Shift Commander Alva Miller and Chief Joe Douglas Jr.

replace him when he was off duty. For Topeka in the early 1960s, blacks and whites sharing a bed was still a rather radical idea. So, despite the national trends, there was a good deal of surprise when the firefighters began hearing talk of integration in the summer of 1962. In early August, white firefighters were asked to volunteer for transfer into the black station. Shortly afterward, others were told they were going to work with their black colleagues. Back at station No. 3, some firefighters got word about a possible integration. Others found out only the night before it happened when McKinley Burnett, president of the Topeka NAACP and a key player in the Brown v. Board of Education case, walked into their station and broke the news. On August 16, 1962, six white firefighters were assigned to station No. 3 and six black firefighters were destined to be transferred out to other stations. It was integration. But without any preparation or guidelines, it was an integration little celebrated by either side. “It needed to be planned,” says Douglas. “They just threw us out there. … Nobody was happy about it.”

Something to prove For Douglas, integration eventually met being uprooted from Station No. 3 to Station No. 2. “There was a totally different attitude in the thinking of the white firefighters at that time. They knew us, but they didn’t really know us. It wasn’t only the fire department but everything. A lot of things were segregated then,” recalls Douglas. The move was complicated, Douglas says, because there were no instructions or guidelines given about how to decide what he calls the “sticky wicket” issues of the two races eating together, how they would share the bedding, and whether senior black firefighters would be respected by lower-ranked whites. Absent any supervision, Douglas says he felt that he had to prove himself to his new colleagues while drawing on the self-respect that he was taught by his father. While proving himself, Douglas also noticed that many of his new white colleagues were proving something to him—that they were willing to bring him into their station. “I want to give great credit to the white firefighters for making it work,” says Douglas. “It wasn’t all what the black firefighters did to make it work. It was what the blacks and whites did together.” A decorated fire chief and respected veteran, Douglas retired in 1989 in an entirely different department, one that included all firefighters with paramedic training and women as a part of the team.

But at Station No. 3, the six white firefighters would be in the minority.

Shift commander Alva Miller was one of the few white firefighters brought into the historically allblack Station No. 3.

... It soon became apparent to the whites and blacks that it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily what you said, but how you said itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as long as there was respect. And, gradually, respect began to grow between the two groups.

District Chief Leslie Newman remained at Station No. 3 after it became integrated in 1962.

“I hired women on the job. You’d be amazed at the resistance I received—from blacks and from whites—when I was trying to do that,” Douglas says. Perhaps drawing on his experience in the first racially integrated department, Douglas summarizes his approach to bringing in the first female firefighters: “It’s not up to me to tell you what you can’t do. I have to give you an opportunity to do whatever you can do.”

Reverse integration ‘worked out real good’

“It needed to be planned. They just threw us out there. … Nobody was happy about it.” – Joe Douglas Jr.

TOP Captain Frank Leathers MIDDLE Station No. 3 firefighters battle a garage blaze sometime in the 1950s. BOTTOM An integrated grade school class visits the segregated Fire Station No. 3.

Douglas’ history followed the more common model for racial integration in the United States, where a minority group is brought into an institution controlled by the majority. Think, for example, of Jackie Robinson joining the Dodgers or of the 101st Airborne escorting black schoolchildren to a previously all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. But at Station No. 3, the six white firefighters would be in the minority. It was, according to the structure of American society at the time, integration in reverse. A couple of the white arrivals brought Visqueen to drape over their beds before laying down sheets and ate with their own silverware, glasses and cups. One firefighter quit because of the integration policy. “He was from the South and he just flat didn’t play that kind of card,” says Frank Leathers, one of the first white firefighters to come into Station No. 3. Leathers had served in the Army’s integrated 1st Calvary Division and been exposed to cross-racial differences. He remembers stopping by Station No. 3 to introduce himself to his black colleagues before the integration day. Other white firefighters came in with more trepidation. Alva Miller recalls being reluctant to go into Station No. 3. “I’m from a small town and had never gone to school with blacks or been associated with them in any way whatsoever. I was just apprehensive,” says Miller. One of his worries was that he might use a derogatory word by mistake. Leathers says there were mistakes like that, but it soon became apparent to the whites and blacks that it wasn’t necessarily what you said, but how you said it—as long as there was respect. And, gradually, respect began to grow between the two groups. Miller, a young firefighter at the time, recalls developing a friendship with his new colleagues, especially Irvin Blackwell. “He enlightened me on a lot of the culture and background of No. 3 station,” says Miller who, in turn, went on to win the respect of his new station, retiring decades later as a shift commander. Ultimately, it was this type of mutual education between the whites and blacks that saw through the unplanned integration. “When you sleep in the same room, and you wake up, when they integrated and everything, it felt kind of strange,” recalls Newman, who went on to become a district chief before retiring. “But it just worked itself out and it worked out real good.”

64 LIVING WELL Trail running

Trail Fitness

Good health can be a journey, and for ultrarunners such as Dave Wakefield the only question is: How far?

ost Saturday mornings, a parking lot on the edge of McLennan Park stands empty except for a few vehicles. One of them is a blue 2007 Hyundai Accent belonging to Dave Wakefield. Some weekends it might be the only

car there. While it sits, Wakefield transports himself into another world, striding along the park’s dirt paths deep into trail runner paradise. A naturally gifted runner, the 34-year-old Wakefield spent hours roaming through wilderness while growing up in the mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. “When you live on the side of a mountain, your closest friend may be six miles away. So if you want to see him, you have to run through the woods,” Wakefield says. The promising runner came down from the mountains to hone his running skills on the high school cross country team, but it was baseball that he chased into his college years. Wakefield didn’t race competitively, or even run, until the diamond lost its shine and he found himself spending too much time with a different type of pitcher. “I drank a lot of beer,” Wakefield says. “I was 21 years old sitting around with a beer gut and looking at my friends, who, of course, were larger than me, and thinking to myself, ‘I’m way too young to look like this.’” The realization gave him the motivation he needed to ditch the beer and eventually 35 pounds. It was not until he picked up a magazine about trail ultramarathons— races longer than the traditional 26.2-mile marathons— that he began to consider more rugged running pursuits reminiscent of his youth. “I got to looking at it [the magazine], looking at the distances, looking at the times and doing the math in my head and thinking, ‘Geez, these people are running 12-minute miles, and they’re winning races,’” Wakefield says. “Naively, I was thinking, ‘I can do this.’”

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Dave Wakefield credits his initial bout of naivety and his intense training for making him one of the region’s most successful ultrarunners.

Following the success of a fourth-place finish in his first ultramarathon, a 50K, Wakefield decided to try a 100-miler. This was his introduction to just how unforgiving a trail race can be. After 18 hours and 83 miles of running and subsisting on nothing but Little Debbie Fudge Rounds and Fruit Punch Gatorade, Wakefield dropped out due to the depletion of essential electrolytes in his body. Lack of sodium caused his face, hands and feet to swell. After the run, he could not move off the couch for a week except to crawl to the bathroom. Today, Wakefield has used what he’s learned to become one of the most experienced, accomplished runners in the

STORY BY Becky Bridson | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Daniel W. Coburn

state. He’s considered one of the best ultrarunners in Topeka, according to several area runners. Prioritizing is crucial to his success on and off the trails. He balances his intense training schedule with work as an operator at Jeffrey Energy Center and time spent with his wife, Jessica, and their children, Tristan and Isabel, which, as is the case for many of his fellow trail runners, can at times be more challenging than the sport itself. Though Wakefield hopes to complete a 100-miler someday, he actually prefers the shorter 50Ks and even 50-milers, where he’s had the most success. In eight years of competition, Wakefield has run 33 ultramara-

thons and placed first in seven of them, second in 10 and third in three. In 2007, Wakefield won the grueling 3 Days of Syllamo, a race held in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas that involves a 50K the first day, a 50-miler the second and a 25K the last day. Despite his success, Wakefield’s favorite reward has nothing to do with winning. “The thing that keeps me motivated is just that over the years I’ve made a lot of really good friends. I keep coming back season after season just because I want to see my friends again. It’s my little clique that I hang out with, so I get in shape and run a half dozen races a year as an excuse to hang out with my friends.”

66 LIVING WELL Trigger foods

Triggering Better Health It’s always good advice to watch what you eat, but with individual trigger foods that piece of wisdom plays an even more important role

pproximately two years ago Kevin Shepherd “knew something wasn’t right.” The Topeka attorney had digestive problems, suffered terrible abdominal pain, commonly faced extreme fatigue

and felt disoriented. He finally received a diagnosis for his ailments: Crohn’s disease, a condition believed to be an imbalance of the immune system with no known cure. Depressed by the diagnosis, Shepherd sought various treatments and ended up following a nutritional regime set out by Topeka nutrition counselor Lisa Regnier. “Her diet sucks,” explains Shepherd with a laugh. “Eating gluten-free, you have to eliminate so many foods from your diet. I mean, I like pasta. But there was a real method to it.” Shepherd stayed faithful to the plan and started to notice a change. “It invigorated me. It made me feel like I had more energy, and it really just changed my whole life. My outlook on overcoming the disease changed.” Shepherd, who is now 39, credits the diet with changing more than his health. He says he thinks clearer and feels better. “I don’t think it’s any coincidence I’ve had the best year I’ve ever had financially of practicing law. My weight now—I haven’t been at this weight since my 20s.” Shepherd’s experience is one example of overcoming sickness or weight gain through the elimination of trigger foods. While the term is commonly used in dieting to describe any unhealthy food that can prompt excessive eating, a trigger food also can be a food or additive that causes an unhealthy reaction. For example, artificial sweeteners or caffeine triggers headaches in some people. Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is another common trigger that affects people in different ways—but not all people, and not in the same way. Trigger foods do not have to be “junk foods,” as wheat and dairy products and eggs are common trigger foods.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Lisa Regnier, left, helps client Kevin Shepherd navigate the gluten-free food section of AKiN’s Natural Foods.

To complicate things, trigger foods do not necessarily affect the same person the same way each time and may affect an individual only under certain conditions. A trigger food also might not affect a person until many hours after it has been ingested. Diagnosing a trigger food can be difficult. Nutrition counselors commonly recommend that people document what foods they eat and when they have symptoms in order to identify whether a food or product is triggering an ailment. It was this type of self-diagnosis that started Regnier on her career as a nutrition specialist. While working in market-

STORY BY Jamie Borgman | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

Common culprits … If you often suffer from any of the following issues, you might want to consult a nutritionist about trigger foods. Topeka nutrition counselor Lisa Regnier also offers this advice:

1. Common cold – Avoid sugar, refined/bleached wheat and other heavily processed foods. These tear down our immune systems. The best prevention for a cold and other illnesses is to limit foods with these ingredients and avoid them while ill. You may get over your cold faster with water and whole foods like fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, beans and nuts. Regnier and Shepherd share a laugh as they inspect foods that won’t trigger an adverse reaction for Shepherd.

ing and advertising for the food service industry, she found herself putting in long hours, ordering pizza, drinking a lot of diet soda and eating snack foods. “I started getting headaches, getting weaker. Then when I’d get weaker, I’d go to the refrigerator or I’d go for the pop,” she says. “I didn’t realize I was doing it to myself.” When she began to suspect that her diet was causing the problems, Regnier sought more information and went on to take training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. A mother of three, she changed her diet, her family’s diet and eventually her career by becoming a certified holistic nutrition counselor. While Regnier believes that all diets should be individualized, she says almost anyone can be healthier by avoiding processed foods, consuming more vegetables (and then fruits) and buying locally grown or organic foods or frozen vegetables to avoid pesticides. She also urges people to stop drinking soda. “That adds chemical imbalances,” Regnier says. “It dehydrates the body.” She suggests sticking with water or tea. Obviously, nobody wants to give up a favorite food. And that sacrifice might be more difficult when you are diagnosing not yourself and suspecting the occasional hot dog, for example, but your daughter and her favorite cheese pizza. Regnier suggests that the entire family join in when a member is going through an elimination process to identify a trigger food. Parents also can work to develop alternative recipes for a child’s favorite food, such as a wheat-free or dairy-free pizza. If nothing else, identifying problem foods can be a first, crucial step that takes control away from the triggers and places it back in a person’s hands. While Shepherd continues to follow a rigorous nutritional program, he readily admits to “cheating” with problem foods on rare occasions when he chooses or when he simply has no other choice. But the crucial difference now is that he knows what consequences to expect and knows that there is a proven path back to optimal health—and it’s only one meal away.

2. Depression/anxiety – Drink more water. Add real lemon to your water. Add vegetables and fruits. Avoid refined products. Greatly limit refined breads. That means anything that doesn’t say “whole grain wheat.” Avoid sugar. 3. Allergies – Eliminate wheat and dairy for about six months and see how you feel. Increase water. Stop drinking soda. Some foods can also provoke allergic reactions. Some of the most common are shellfish, peanuts, walnuts, fish, eggs, soy and wheat.

68 GROW McGivern statue garden

The Seasons of Bronze A Topeka garden draws on whimsical bronze statues at all seasons of the year, whether they are hidden among lush, green leaves or illuminated and shining against a fierce, barren ground

n the garden of Jack and Margie McGivern, there are surprises and delights at every turn and in every season. Cleverly tucked into meandering flowerbeds, perched on stone walls and playing in the clearings of this English-style garden, numerous bronze statues add whimsy and wonder. The statues hide in the folds of the lush summer growth and, adeptly illuminated from above and ...................................................................................... below, glow in the barren evenings of In the winter and early spring. Although the statues have been without purchased in various years from varithe competition of ous artists, most are discovered at the the annual art fair in Loveland, Colorado, and most of them are of children. The faces of these statues seem the to come to life in the garden. At first in glance, they seem to be real youths playing a game of hide and seek or the statues seem chasing fireflies. In the early spring, without the competition of the gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abundant blooms, the details in the statues seem even more outstanding.

early spring,

gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abundant blooms, details

Although the plantings in the garden are sophisticated and arranged with great taste, the playful statues add the crucial element to transform the yard into a secret garden, a childhood dream of hidden treasures. The McGiverns bought their first bronze statute about 25 years ago, long before they became popular. Originally, they did not plan to decorate the garden with statues; Jack still keeps several of the bronzes at home and in his office. Yet eventually, almost like real children, the statues found their way into the yardâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and the McGiverns soon fell in love with this blend of nature and art. The plants animate the stolid bronze with the movement, smell and vigor of life, while the bronze brings a sense of permanence, artistry and imagination. It is a garden combination that unveils new secrets, and delights, with each season.

even more outstanding.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

story by Christine Steinkuehler | photography by Jason Dailey

The McGivern gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rocks, unadorned structures and bare branches provide a dramatic backdrop at any time of the year for their statues.

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70 GROW Snyder Prairie

Snyder Prairie A rare tract of restored and virgin prairie land provides Topekans the sights, sounds and wonders of authentic Kansas landscape

ach spring a profusion of pale purple coneflowers, butterfly milkweed and blazing stars burst forth on the 140 acres of Snyder Prairie. Amid the prairie’s flowers and 6-foot-tall native grasses, red-tail hawks, bobcats and deer scavenge for food or quench their thirst at a tributary running through the property just three miles east of Mayetta. ...................................................................................... Snyder Prairie is perhaps the “Some people don’t largest tract of native landscape in the Topeka region. Owned and preserved by the nonprofit Grassland Heritage Foundation, the prairie is made availand able to anyone who wishes to connect purpose until they to a more natural time when bird calls and rushing wind, instead of iTunes, provided the day’s soundtrack. and really see Since 1998, foundation member its Frank Norman has led monthly expeditions to the site where volunteers collect and spread seeds, cut out inva– Frank Norman sive woody plants like red cedar trees or sumac and burn grasses to help the natural prairie plants flourish. “I’ve always been intrigued by the evolution of plants on the prairie and how they have acclimated to tough conditions,” says Norman, who has a master’s degree in botany from the

appreciate the prairie’s beauty

University of Kansas. “Many of these plants have deep roots to withstand severe heat and drought, and they are all beautiful.” A native of Pennsylvania, Norman took a circuitous path to Kansas where he was first drawn to the prairie’s diversity during long walks he took while living in rural Russell County in the late 1970s. “The prairie is our signature community in this state, and in appreciating the prairie you also have to appreciate the fortitude of the pioneers who probably weren’t very attuned to

walk through one splendor up close.”

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Grassland Heritage Foundation board member Jeff Hansen walks at the front of a group during a spring tour of Snyder Prairie.

story by Kim Gronniger | photography by Jason Dailey

nature before heading west in a wagon train. They adapted and made sod houses and settled in. When I compare myself to what they did, with my car and electricity, I’m a wimp,” laughs Norman. Far from just being decorative, many prairie plants were pressed into service to treat specific conditions or preserve health and well-being. Norman says pioneers used plants such as New Jersey tea and pale purple coneflower, both deep-root immune stimulants brewed to ward off colds and flu, as well as smooth sumac, whose astringent, tart berries can be used to make a lemonade-like beverage. The pioneers’ adventurous discoveries can be experienced through the monthly work sessions Norman leads the third Saturday of every month, except December. His volunteers, known as “Groundhogs,” meet at an appointed place at 9:30 a.m. and work for two or three hours to maintain the prairie. Norman estimates that volunteers have preserved or protected more than 200 species of native flora and fauna on Snyder Prairie.

Snyder and Grassland Heritage In 1977, the late Rachel Snyder purchased 160 acres of land outside Topeka that contained a limestone farmhouse and large tracts of prairie. A former reporter for the Topeka Daily Capital and The Washington Post as well as editor of Flower and Garden magazine and author of Gardening in the Heartland, Snyder donated the land in the 1990s to the Grassland Heritage Foundation. As part of the donation, Snyder requested that the foundation sell 20 acres that contained the farmhouse to the family that had lived on the property and assisted her with managing the land. Grassland Heritage Foundation has worked to preserve and restore the remaining 140 acres for the next generation. Volunteer coordinator Frank Norman estimates 12 acres have been protected as virgin prairie, approximately 103 acres have been restored to native prairie grasses and 25 acres will be left as forested land. The nonprofit foundation, with members throughout northeastern Kansas, also uses a Rolling Prairie Learning Lab trailer to educate schoolchildren and audiences of all ages about native plants and preservation. For more information about Grassland Heritage Foundation, visit its webpage at www.grasslandheritage. org or contact Topeka board member Jeff Hansen at (785) 478-1993 or foundation secretary Sue Holcomb at (913) 856-4784. To join a “Groundhog” work session at Snyder Prairie, call Norman at (785) 691-9748 or send him an e-mail at fjnorman@sunflower.com

These work sessions, and a few guided tours each year, are the public’s best chance to view what is becoming a lost landscape. According to the Grassland Heritage Foundation’s website, less than 5 percent of the Midwest’s tallgrass prairies remains today, as most of the land has been converted to agricultural use. The foundation also estimates that 25 percent to 65 percent of migrant and resident birds are now endangered as their habitats are paved into subdivisions, shopping malls and industrial parks. Preserved prairie land provides an increasingly rare shelter for these animals—and for people as well. “Some people don’t appreciate the prairie’s beauty and purpose until they walk through one and really see its splendor up close,” says Norman. “It’s really a link to our past and a pull toward our evolutionary path.”

Northeast Kansas news from a team you can trust!

Matt Miller

Ben Bauman Marshanna Hester

Chief Meteorologist Anchor/reporter

Anchor/reporter

Nic Hoch Sports Reporter

For the Family

flying kites

Maestros with

Strings Attached

aul Homan sits in the living room chair across from his father and starts to open and assemble his gift. The present gradually takes the form of delta-shape kite as the spars are added to the colorful lightweight ripstop nylon. “It’s always a thrill to get a new kite,” says Paul, a 26-year-old veteran kite flier. “All kites fly differently.” While both father and son had planned to try out the new kite at the Topeka Kite

A traditional springtime hobby becomes ‘ballet in the sky’ for area kite enthusiasts Fliers Fun Fly, the strong north winds have made that impossible. “The ideal wind speed for kite flying is 5 to 15 miles per hour with no gusts,” says Paul’s father, Bob Homan. “This kite is rated for 1 mile to 15 miles (per hour). This would be a good kite to fly indoors.”

Kites, as Bob notes, have come a long way from their traditional image of a diamond-shaped paper object strictly for windy weather. “Few kites are made out of paper anymore,” Bob says. “Most fliers prefer ripstop nylon.” According to Bob, one of the

Topeka kite enthusiasts gather near Cedar Crest throughout the year, but their numbers—and the kites—rise most during the spring.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

STORY BY Carolyn Kaberline | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

Bob Homan flies a bol kite near Cedar Crest.

reasons for this is that nylon doesn’t tear as easily as paper. He adds that very lightweight kites can be flown indoors because they do not require any wind to stay aloft and explains that the very large kites—some with as much as 600 feet of surface area—are really works of art. Although father and son are eager to fly the new kite, they have no intention of using it to replace any of their old ones, which include a custommade multibox kite and a round kite. “We’ve often had our vehicle full of kites when we’ve gone to events,” Bob says. “We’d anchor the single-line kites in the ground while we’d fly the two-line kites.” Bob quickly adds that there are also three- and four-line kites. “The three-line kites usually have the strings arranged in a triangular pattern, and the four-line kites have lines at the top and the bottom.” He describes flying a four-line kite to be “like playing video games with your hands handcuffed together.” The Homans are avid kite fliers, although Bob says it was Paul who “got me into kites.” Nearly 10 years ago, Paul saw someone flying a power kite, visited with him and was soon looking for the experts in Topeka. It didn’t take long before the whole family was interested, and Paul was not only flying kites but building custom ones with the help of the Topeka Kite Fliers, a group of local enthusiasts founded in 1992. John Marr, president of the club, notes that the group has approximately 30 members of all ages. These members represent a variety of interests ranging from kite flying to kite building, with some members preferring miniature kites and others specializing in large multistring kites. Many like Marr, who remembers flying kites with his father, became interested in at an early age; others like Bob Homan became interested much later. While many enthusiasts started with kites bought at local stores, Marr says that most serious kite flyers advance to ordering custom-built kites over the internet. Marr also notes that while many kite fliers enjoy flying just for fun, others become interested in competition, which can range from local contests up to ones on the national level. These provide different levels of competition ranging from novice to masters with novice junior classes for youth. Most competitions consist of patterns for the fliers to perform with their kites; while novices get simple patterns, the patterns become more complicated for advanced fliers. There are even freestyle competitions where contestants select their own patterns to display their expertise. “In competition you go out to prove your skill,” Marr says. Both Marr and Bob Homan stress that one of the biggest draws for kite flying is that an entire family can enjoy it with minimum cost. It’s equally a hands-on hobby and a spectator sport. “Even if you just want to watch,” says Marr, “kite flying can be like a ballet in the sky.”

.................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................................................

A lot of twist and a little competition

Now in its 17th year, the Twisted Lines Kite Festival and

Competition is considered the premier event of the Topeka Kite Fliers. Described as “a fun-filled, kite-flying weekend with a little competition thrown in,” the three-day festival begins at 5 p.m. Friday, June 5, with a night flight and continues through Sunday with buggy racing, which uses power kites; a fun fly, which is open to the public, and a kids’ fly featuring a candy drop. The sport kite competition is open only to members of the American Kite Association. This event offers members a chance to earn points toward qualification for the association’s national show in October. While most events will be at 21st Street and Urish Road, indoor kite-flying events will take place in the Topeka West High School gym. In addition to providing fun for kite competitors and spectators, the festival raises money for the American Diabetes Association. Other events hosted by the Topeka Kite Fliers are “Fun Flys” at Cedar Crest on the first and third Sundays of each month, weather permitting, and a Halloween Fly in a local cemetery. The club is also a main sponsor of a benefit walk for the diabetes association in October at Lake Shawnee. Club members offer kite demonstrations for local schools, churches and Scout troops. For more information on the festival, contact Bob Homan at bjhoman1@cox.net or (785) 273-3715. Additional information on the Topeka Kite Fliers can be obtained from Homan or club president John Marr at (785) 246-0836

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

For the Family

bingo

Bang-up

bingo I

t’s fast-paced, it’s competitive, it draws a huge crowd and you may even win some big bucks playing it. It’s none other than bingo. Dozens of Topekans turn out nearly every night of the week to play bingo. Thursday and Saturday nights mean it’s “game on” at Hayden High School. On this particular Thursday, rows of long folding tables line an extra-large room at Hayden. An announcer sits on a stage and pulls the balls out of the hopper. “O-63,” he broadcasts across the room.

The troll is hidden in the bag, the lucky green shirt is worn and bathroom breaks are put on hold—it’s game time for the serious bingo set Groups of people, including many families, sit together in hopes of hitting the jackpot. Some nights are luckier than others. “Son of a gun. All I needed was a two. Poop-a-dee-doop,” chimes Wilma Freeman, who has been playing alongside her husband, Bill, for so long they can’t even remember. “Oh, 15 or 20 years,” they say.

According to Bill, the reason they like bingo so much is simple: “It’s better than the old stupid TV.” People of all ages can get into the game. Barbara Thomas brings her 6-yearold daughter Marissa Phelps, her sister Vicki McKinney and McKinney’s 5-yearold grandson Dennis Francois. “We like to

Caller Robert Fasl presides over bingo at Hayden High School, one of the many Topeka venues for the popular game.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

STORY BY Jamie Borgman | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

Fundamentally a game of chance, bingo can be won more often by a player who pays close attention to the calls and reacts quickly. Bill Freeman, below left, marks his card with a dauber—and lightning quick speed.

win,” Thomas says. The sisters have been playing together off and on for more than 20 years. Barbara is convinced that the two children have learned their letters and numbers quickly and easily thanks to years of bingo. “It’s a great asset,” Barbara says. Each child gets a dauber (similar to a marker) and a bingo board. The numbers are called rather quickly, so the children must keep up in order to win. “Right now he’s not even doing preschool math. They have to give him something else to do, like kindergarten [math],” Vicki says of her grandson. Bingo reached North America in the late 1920s and was called “beano.” A woman playing the game mistakenly yelled out “Bingo!” after she won. From that point on, it’s been referred to as bingo. Topekans have been playing it at Hayden for nearly 32 years. These games bring in around $100,000 for the school each year. Hayden’s bingo manager, Gary Walker, says it’s usually a pretty low-key crowd, but people do take their game seriously. “It’s funny the little things that irritate people,” explains Gary. “Other bingo players watch, and there are certain rules that you have to play by on certain specials. And if someone’s not doing something right, they’ll let us know about it right away.” On average, people spend $15 per night for their cards. They can win anywhere from $50 to $1,000. Walker says it’s a good way for people

to win a little money and have some fun. “It’s a chance for people to be together as a family.” Mary Ann Grant and her two daughters, Teri Grant-Warner and Mary Beth Grant, have been playing at Hayden for at least 25 years. They play about six cards at a time. It’s a lot of cards to play all at once, but manageable for seasoned players. That is, if you have the right caller. “He’s a fast caller,” Mary Beth says. That’s when the night can turn stressful. “He’s too fast,” Mary Ann echoes. If you need to go to the bathroom, you can just forget about it. “You just wait,” Teri says. The Grants have seen their fair share of wins and losses. “Sometimes you don’t win in six months, and other times you can win every week,” Teri notes. They’re convinced the bingo angel pin they bring each week helps them stay on the winning track. Most bingo players are rather superstitious. “Sometimes I have vibes that I’ll win,” Barbara says. But if she’s not feeling the vibe, she always has her lucky troll, although she keeps it hidden. “It’s in the bag,” she reveals with a laugh. Vicki trusts in the color green. She wears a green shirt, paints her fingernails green and uses a green dauber. She believes because it’s the color of money, it gives her the extra edge. The die-hard bingo players hop from place to place in the city to get their fix throughout the week. There are enough bingo events that a dedicated player can play nearly every night of the week. Barbara presses her luck four or five times a week. “It’s kinda-sorta addictive,” she says with a smile. Other players try to rein it in a bit. Corey Everett comes with her 9-yearold son Walker and her sister Catie Walker. They only play twice a week. Otherwise, bingo becomes too intense for them. “I don’t know if it’s relaxing. It’s kinda stressful,” Catie says. There’s little doubt what keeps these players coming back for more. “The money, and the excitement of being able to yell, ‘Bingo!’” Mary Beth says with determination.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

For the Family

soccer

Topeka’s growing

World of Soccer

f your kids play the world’s No. 1 sport, you probably already know that there is more than one way to take to the soccer field. Organized recreational teams are there for the tots, beginners and all others who simply want to learn and play. In fact, recreational teams offer the assurance that no one will warm the bench for more than half of any game. For kids who want to kick it up a notch and play competitively, Topeka has teams for them as well. Having fun kicking the ball

The two most popular recreation options tend to be the Shawnee County

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

Over the past decades, soccer has gone from being the up-andcoming game to one of the ‘regular’ sports with a wide range of leagues and styles of play depending on a child’s age or interest. Here is our guide to children’s soccer in Topeka Parks and Recreation leagues or Parks and Recreation of Topeka clinics and camps. Both programs are set at relatively low costs and strive to include as many budding soccer enthusiasts as possible and get them onto the game field.

Goals are applauded and players are known to keep a running track of the score, but the emphasis is on instruction and fun rather than cutthroat competition. For the youngest players, “developing motor skills and having a good time” are

STORY BY Julie K. Buzbee | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey

............................................................................................................

Topeka Youth Soccer Organizations Prodigy Soccer Club 6021 SW 29th St., Suite A www.prodigysoccer.com Shawnee County Parks and Recreation (North Community Center) 300 NE 43rd St. (785) 286-3358 www.snco.us/parksandrec Sport Zone 3909 Burlingame Road (785) 267-4658 http://isportzone.com/sportsprograms/soccer.htm Sunflower Soccer Association P.O. Box 750194 (785) 233-9700 (785) 233-7099 — weather hotline www.sunflowersoccer.org Topeka Select Soccer Club 1309 SW Sixth St. (785) 235-2208 www.topekaselect.com Upward Soccer Wanamaker Woods Nazarene Church 3501 SW Wanamaker Road (785) 273-2248 www.wwnaz.org/upwards/ soccer.htm

the program’s main goals, says Kevin Stoner, who works as the athletic programmer for Shawnee County. Lance Wilson, who heads the city’s clinics and camps, keeps an eye out for kids who want to develop their game as they grow older. But he thinks soccer programs benefit younger kids most by offering recreation and friendship. “Soccer is probably the best fitness-related sport that you could do as far as keeping kids in shape,” says Wilson, “and the benefits are the socialization, part of being a team, some of the extra activities like swimming parties and meeting new friends.” Keeping score

As kids get older, says Jerry Stamm, president of Topeka Select Soccer Club, they want their soccer games to be about more than just having fun and getting guaranteed playing time. “You get to a point where it’s inherent in our nature,” he says. “We want to compete.” With soccer, that means tryouts to make it onto a competitive team, higher fees for a coach, and league and tournament play. And the whole point of playing the game shifts. “The emphasis changes to the aspiration of the team,” Stamm says. “Kids play the position they are best suited for. It’s a team thing and you are keeping score and the team is trying to win.” Previously, this competition has meant traveling to the Kansas City area and other out-of-town places for league play. But in the past year, league play has focused back on the Sunflower Soccer Association’s 11 fields just north of the Kansas River and west of U.S. Highway 75 on the edge of Topeka. They are, after all, some of the finest soccer fields in the Midwest. “At Sunflower, they do a lot of work,” says Colby Williams, a former soccer pro who has coached in Topeka for more than a dozen years. “It’s a really good treat to play there.” Williams, who started the Prodigy Soccer Club, agrees that the movement to remain in Topeka for competitive play is a convenience for players and parents as well as a testament to the sport’s growing popularity in the capital city. “When we started a soccer summer camp in 1998, we had 100 kids enrolled. This year we had about 300 boys and girls and have even begun a toddler summer camp,” says Williams. Most soccer players take a break from the sport in the winter, but Stamm says enthusiasts can play year-round if they want to because Sport Zone has an indoor field with a winter program that he runs. And no matter how much time a kid invests in soccer, Stamm says it’s never wasted because having quick feet can help in other sports as well. “Soccer is a good, healthy sport,” he says. “It deals an awful lot with foot speed and coordination.” But beware, he warns. The sport can be addictive. “A lot of kids who play soccer, it gets in their blood,” Stamm says.

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

BEST BETS in Mar-May2009 Events Calendar

Railroaders At Work March 1-22: The Great Overland Station, 701 N. Kansas Ave. For more information visit www.greatoverlandstation.com American Cancer Society Daffodil Days March 1-11: A fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. A limited edition Boyds Bear and a bouquet are $25. American Cancer Society, 1315 SW Arrowhead Road. For more information call (785) 273-4462. Art in Abstract March 1-31: Art in Abstract featured artist Sandra Kay Hunter. Topeka Art Guild, 5331 SW 22nd Place. For more information call (785) 273-7646. Little Shop of Horrors March 5-7, 12-15, 18-22, 25-28: A downand-out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Topeka Civic Theatre, 3028 SW Eighth Ave. For more information visit www.topekacivictheatre.com.

Kelli O’Hara with the Topeka Symphony March 23: Star of Broadway’s South Pacific. Topeka Performing Arts Center, 214 SE Eighth Ave. For more information visit www.tpactix.org. 2009 Topeka Heart Ball March 28: Silent auction, elegant dinner, Heart Child presentation and dance to The Groove at the Ramada Inn. Hosted by the American Heart Association. For more information call (785) 228-3435. Saturday Night at “The Down Beat” March 28: Renowned musician Kelley Hunt takes us on a musical journey through the history of women of song who have left an impression on our hearts, minds and social conscience. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Park, 1515 SE Monroe. For more information visit www.nps.gov/brvb. Harlem Globetrotters March 30: Landon Arena, One Expocentre Drive. For more information call (785) 234-4545 or visit www.ksexpo.com.

March

Serious sports talk with casual guys. Tom Keegan Sports editor/columnist for the Lawrence Journal-World

The four most outspoken sports authorities in the area have managed to talk their way into another season of The Drive, an award-winning, nationally syndicated sports talk show.

Tim Fitzgerald Publisher of Powercat Illustrated and GoPowercat.com

D.J. Whetter Host & producer of The Drive

Tulip Time Festival April 10-26: Tulip Time Festival will feature nearly 100,000 tulips and daffodils. Old Prairie Town at Ward Mead, 124 NW Fillmore. For more information visit www.topeka.org.

ERC Designer Showhouse April 18-May 17: Tour this elegant home that has been decorated by area designers. 6648 SW Huntoon. For more information visit www.ercrefer.org.

Death of A Salesman April 17-18, 23-26, 29: Death of a Salesman is a thrilling work of deep and revealing beauty that remains one of the most profound classic dramas of American theater. Topeka Civic Theatre, 3028 SW Eighth Ave. For more information call (785) 357-5211 or visit www.topekacivictheatre.com

Combat Air Museum Celebrity Pancake Feed April 25: Come eat pancakes made by local celebrities. Forbes Field, Hanger 602. $5 per person. For more information call Gene Howerter at (785) 862-3303.

April First Fridays Artwalk May 1: Monthly self-guided tour showcasing Topeka’s visual arts community. Art galleries, museums and other venues host local, regional and nationally known artists. For more information visit www.artsconnecttopeka.org. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site fifth Anniversary May 17: Five years ago on May 17, 2004, the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site opened its doors to the public as part of a coast-to-coast commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court decision. 1515 SE Monroe. For more information call (785) 354-4273 or visit www.nps.gov/brvb.

10:30pm Sundays 11am Mondays

Kevin Romary Sports director at 6News in Lawrence.

Larry the Cable Guy April 26: Topeka Performing Arts Center, 214 SE Eighth Ave., 4:30 p.m. For more information call (785) 234-4545 or visit www.tpactix.org.

Moonlight and Magnolias May 22-23, 28-30: 1939 Hollywood is abuzz. Legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down production on his new epic, Gone with the Wind, a film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel, and labors over five days to fashion a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the most successful and beloved films of all times. Topeka Civic Theatre, 3028 SW Eighth Ave. For more information call (785) 357-5211 or visit www.topekacivictheatre.com

May

All events are subject to change. Listings Courtesy of www.topekachamber.org & www.visittopeka.travel. E-mail your upcoming events for the calendar to topekamagazine@sunflower.com

TOPEKAMAGAZINE Spring 2009

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