Kansas A to Z

KANSAS

A Z to

State offers something for everyone this summer

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KANSAS A TO Z

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KANSAS

A Z to

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‘A’ is for Amelia Earhart Festival ‘B’ is for Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork ‘B’ is also for Big Well Museum ‘C’ is for Cosmophere ‘C’ is also for WaKeeney Christmas ‘D’ is for Dalton Gang Hideout museum ‘D’ is alsofor Dalton Palmer Memorial Downtown Park ‘E’ is for Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home ‘F’ is for Frontier Army Museum ‘G’ is for Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens ‘G’ is for Firekeeper Golf Course ‘H’ is for Hillside Honey Apiary ‘H’ is also for Warkentine House ‘H’ is also for Boot Hill Museum ‘I’ is for La Torre Italian Villa ‘I’ is also for Intersection of the Flint Hills and Prairie Spirit trails ‘J’ is for Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park ‘K’ is for Kicker Country Stampede ‘K’ is also for Miss Kansas Pageant ‘L’ is for Lake Perry ‘M’ is for B-29 Bombers of the Prairie Museum ‘M’ is also for Mined Wildlife Area ‘N’ is for NBC World Series ‘N’ is also for Chaplin Nature Center ‘O’ is for Kansas Oil Museum ‘O’ is also for Oxford Grist Mill ‘P’ is for Plaza Cinema ‘Q’ is for Quivira National Wildlife Refuge ‘R’ is for Smoky Hill River Festival ‘S’ is for Sandsage Bison Range & Wildlife Area ‘S’ is also for Sternberg Museum of Natural History ‘T’ is for Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve ‘U’ is for Kansas Underground Salt Museum ‘V’ is for Victoria’s St. Fidelis Church ‘W’ is for Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area ‘W’ is also for Waterfalls at the Geary County Lake ‘X’ is for Kansas Expocentre ‘Y’ is for Camp Wood YMCA ‘Z’ is for Oz Museum

KANSAS A TO Z

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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‘A’ is for Amelia Earhart Festival

Atchison keeps Amelia Earhart spirit alive and well

By Rick Peterson The Capital-Journal

ATCHISON — Each July, thousands of people flock to Atchison for the Amelia Earhart Festival, named in honor of the legendary aviatrix and Atchison native.

And while the festival, set for its 23rd year July 19 and 20, includes music, food, crafts, children’s activities, a carnival, fireworks and more to appeal to every member of the family, the primary mission continues to be to honor the memory of Earhart, who was born July 24, 1897, in Atchison.

“We are constantly trying to make things better and now, as we look at new and different things, we’re trying to focus more on what we can do that would add to the awareness and education in the spirit of Amelia,” festival coordinator Jacque Pregont said. “How can we inspire kids? How can we encourage them to think outside the box and follow the dream, whatever those dreams are?

That’s what she did, and it wasn’t always easy for her.”

Those attending the festival can get an up-close look at Muriel (named for Earhart’s younger sister), a 1935 Lockheed Electra L-10-E aircraft that is the last plane in existence that is just like the one Earhart disappeared in on July 2, 1937, in the Pacific Ocean while en route to Howland Island from New Guinea.

Fans can also tour the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, which will be open on both days of the festival, while there will also be aerobatic performances in the spirit of Earhart.

This year’s Festival kicks off Friday, July 19, when country artists Kip

EARHART FESTIVAL FACTS Dates: July 19-20, 2019 History: This year's festival will be the 23rd annual honoring the legendary aviatrix and Atchison native Amelia Earhart, who was born in the city on July 24, 1897.

Attractions: Downtown music, food, crafts, outdoor concert, children's activities, carnival, Earhart research and literature, aerobatic performances and fireworks.

Moore, Kylie Morgan and Devin Dawson take the stage at beautiful Warnock Lake, which is three miles southwest of Atchison.

A carnival will operate from Wednesday through Saturday the week of the festival while a wide variety of events are on tap Friday and Saturday.

“We do try very hard to make sure there’s something for everybody,” said Pregont, who has involved with the festival for 16 years.

ABOVE: Downtown Atchison during the Amelia Earhart Festival. RIGHT: A performer depicting Amelia Earhart interacts with fans during the Amelia Earhart Festival in Atchison.

[SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

Pregont said that while some events, including LakeFest and the carnival, do charge admission, many others are free.

“We’re very blessed in this community to have people who are very generous and sponsor so much of the festival that so much of it is free,” Pregont said. “There are so many things that people can come and see and do that don’t cost any money.

“That’s what we want because we want everybody that wants to be here to be able to be here. It’s a huge thing for our community, but also for people that come to visit, that there are opportunities to learn about Amelia, to experience her spirit in several different ways. There’s so many things to come and see and do and learn.”

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘B’ is for Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork

Pristine land preserves battle between troops, Cheyenne warriors

By Brett Riggs The Garden City Telegram

SCOTT COUNTY — Seeing the remnants of the handdug rifle pits where Northern Cheyenne warriors entrenched themselves and the cave where their women and children hid as they awaited the arrival of U.S. troops, one can begin to visualize the dramatic fight that ensued in Battle Canyon more than 140 years ago.

The canyon, about a mile south of Historic Lake Scott State Park in Scott County, was the site of the last Indian battle fought in Kansas, the Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork.

While the battle happened on Sept. 27, 1878, it might as well have happened yesterday, said Scott County historian Dennie Siegrist. Not much has changed at the site over the years, he said, except the addition of a pond.

“In fact, that was one of the reasons we were able to get it on the National Register (of Historic Places) was because of the horizon and the landscape and the site itself being as pristine as it is,” said Siegrist, facility manager at Scott City’s El Quartelejo Museum.

A more famous battle in the Indian Wars, the Battle of the Little Bighorn — also known at Custer’s Last Stand — is where the story really begins, Siegrist said.

Some of the Cheyenne who fought in that battle in Montana in 1876 were rounded up by the U.S. government and placed on a reservation in Indian Territory in what eventually became Oklahoma — far from their native land in Montana.

According to Siegrist, life on the reservation in Oklahoma was rough on the Northern Cheyenne as there was no game to hunt, they were ravaged by malaria and dysentary, and their people were dying daily.

Led by chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf, the Cheyenne decided in September 1878 that

Looking down into the valley at Battle Canyon in Scott County, the site of the final Kansas battle of the Indian Wars that took place on Sept. 27, 1878. [PHOTOS COURTESY OF NICK ABT/ABT FILM]

Battle Canyon Location: About one mile south of Historic Lake Scott State Park, just off Kansas Highway 95, in Scott County Hours: Sun up to sun down Admission: Free Contact: Scott County Historical Society, El Quartelejo Museum

A commemorative plaque adorns a monument at Battle Canyon.

902 W. Fifth St., Scott City, KS 67871, (620) 872-5912 www.elquartelejomuseum.org

in order to save their people, they had to return to their homeland in Montana.

The group, numbering 353 (92 warriors, 120 women and 141 children, according to the website legendsofamerica. com) set out on Sept. 9. After a series of skirmishes with U.S. troops in Oklahoma and southern Kansas, the Cheyenne found their way to a familiar place where they previously had camped — the banks of Punished Woman’s Fork.

They stopped there on Sept.

25 and decided to dig in and prepare to make a stand against the U.S. troops who had been tracking them.

The Cheyenne women and children dug rifle pits, the men

children and elderly hid in what became known as Squaw’s Den Cave during the battle.

The fighting ended at night fall with the troops surrounding the Cheyenne, Siegrist said. But during the night, the Cheyenne escaped to the north.

Col. Lewis, who had been shot in the thigh during the battle, died the following day.

He was the last Kansas military casualty in the Indian Wars.

The Cheyenne continued their trek north. Dull Knife eventually surrendered at Fort Robinson in Nebraska, and Little Wolf and the remaining members of the group made it all the way back to Montana.

“It didn’t mean a lot in the annals of the Indian Wars in

hunted for food and Chief Little Wolf prepared a plan to lure the soldiers into the valley and ambush them, Siegrist said.

The soldiers, numbering roughly 220 to 230 and led

by Lt. Col. William H. Lewis, arrived the afternoon of Sept.

27 and entered the south end of the valley, Siegrist said. As the story goes, an overly eager Cheyenne brave prematurely fired and the fighting erupted before the soldiers had fully entered the canyon under the watchful eyes of the awaiting warriors.

Little Wolf’s trap had failed and chaos ensued.

According to an article about the battle on legendsofamerica. com, the Cheyenne women,

history," Siegrist said. "If Little Wolf would have gotten to spring his ambush as he had set for the troops — because they were on the high ground and they had these 200 troops down in the valley below underneath their guns — if they would have gotten to pull off their ambush, this site would have probably been as well known as the Custer battlefield."

While not as famous, or as well-visited as Little Bighorn, Battle Canyon still is frequented by tourists and historians, particularly in the summer months with Historic Scott Lake nearby, Siegrist said.

“It’s just a serene place. If you go out there, you can walk around, you can still see the rifle pits that were dug at the time of the battle, or in preparation for the battle, and so that in itself is just neat to see,” said Scott City tourism coordinator Jennifer Turner.

The site today features a monument placed over Squaw’s Den Cave. It also includes a commemorative plaque, as well as a kiosk with brochures, maps and a story paper telling about the battle, said Siegrist, who leads tours of the site.

“I always advise visitors to stop at the museum and Jerry Thomas Gallery first, let the historians there tell you the story, the history, get a lot of information from them. And then when you go out to the site, it kind of comes alive for the visitor, and they can see it in their mind,” Turner said. “They can walk the paths and kind of know how it took place, and it just makes it that much more meaningful.”

The story means a great deal to Siegrist, who admits he has a passion for it and is happy to share it with others.

“There are very few Native American battlefields that are pristine or even preserved in the United States today, and we happen to be fortunate enough to have one that is,” he said.

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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‘B’ is also for Big Well Museum

Greensburg landmark a growing tourist attraction

By Jennifer Stultz Pratt Tribune

GREENSBURG — The Big Well in Greensburg, Kansas is 32 feet across and currently has about four and a half feet of water in the bottom, which is 109 feet down. It was built in 1887 at a cost of $45,000 to provide water for the Santa Fe and Rock Island railroads, and it served as the municipal water supply until 1932.

Hundreds of visitors come to Greensburg each week just to see the Big Well, and the numbers seem to continue to grow.

“Visitors come for a variety of reasons,” said Greensburg city administrator Stacy Barnes. “Some have seen news coverage of the big tornado we had here 10 years ago. Others

come to see our sustainable green-building recovery efforts. Some are just random travelers on their way to Dodge City or Pratt, but there are a lot who come in summer as part of storm-chaser tour groups.”

Barnes said there is a huge international market for storm-chaser vacation packages, and many participants seem to end up in Greensburg.

On any given week, the Big Well Museum guest book features visitors from Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and many other international places, as well as those from across the United States.

“Quite a few tour companies make Greensburg a destination stop for their storm-chaser tours because they like to see

Looking up the down staircase of the hand-dug well in Greensburg creates an interesting spiral effect toward the light above.

what has happened here and see how we have recovered from it,” Barnes said. “When they come, they often stop at the Kiowa County Museum for ice cream at the soda fountain, get gas at Kwok-Shop, snacks at Dillons and take pictures here at the Big Well. It’s good for the community.”

The Big Well Museum,

The big well survived the May 2007 F5 tornado that destroyed the town of Greensburg, but the museum showcasing this Kansas marvel was rebuilt using green technology and modern architectural techniques. [SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

located at 315 S. Sycamore St., Greensburg, Kansas, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., on

Sunday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. More information is available at www.bigwell.org.

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘C’ is for Cosmophere

Cosmosphere celebrates 50th anniversary of moon landing

By Ron Sylvester The Hutchinson News

HUTCHINSON — Across the United States, the nation will be celebrating one of its most significant science and engineering accomplishments of the 20th century this summer — the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Kansans don’t have to travel far, however, to get in touch with the historic journey of Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11. It’s all within reach at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson.

“The Cosmosphere has the ability to talk about the space race and the moon landing like nowhere else, and it’s a great opportunity for our community and the state of Kansas,” said Jim Remar, president and chief executive of the Cosmosphere. “It’s going to be an exciting summer for us.”

The Smithsonian-affiliated museum and education center expects the emphasis on the moon landing to help surpass last year’s attendance of 81,288.

Through artifacts on display daily and special events throughout the spring and summer, here are 18 ways to connect you with both man’s small step and the giant leap for mankind.

A double rainbow shines over the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. The science education center and space museum has events planned throughout the summer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. [TRAVIS MORISSE/HUTCHINSON NEWS]

Week of the moon landing anniversary

Cosmosphere 1100 N Plum Street, Hutchinson, 67501; 800-397-0330 Cosmo.org

Daily exhibits

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 7 p.m.

Sunday Admission: all-access passes $26 adults, $23 seniors, $17 children ages 4-12, free for children 3 and younger. Single tickets are available for exhibits, theaters and attractions. Check the box office for prices.

You’ll find these any day at the Hall of Space Museum: • Collins’ training suit for the flight.

• A moon rock collected and returned to earth aboard Apollo 11.

• A camera magazine that flew on the mission, signed by Aldrin.

• Apollo 11 Saturn V F-1 Engine components: find the flow thrust chamber on the main level and the turbopump and LOX Dome in the Apollo Gallery.

• Saturn V F-1 Engine: located outside on the south side of the Cosmosphere Building

• An engineering model of the Apollo lunar module ascent State.

• The White Room: one of the three rooms used for the launch of Apollo Missions. The other two are at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Kenney Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. • Replicas of the Apollo Lunar Module and Lunar Rover vehicle.

• Saturn V rocket: on the ceiling of the Apollo Gallery. This is a 1/10-scale model.

control consoles from Johnson Space Center — the same ones which helped Apollo 11 get to the moon. It highlights mission control and engineering feats that resulted in the moon landing. It will include oral histories from the mission control scientists who worked behind the controls.

It will also feature different kinds of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers available through NASA. • “Apollo 11: First Steps Edition,” a condensed 45-minute documentary version of the “Apollo 11” film in theatrical release this spring will show throughout the summer, opening May 20.

• An innovator’s table in the lobby: Children can color a moon boot print and write what they’d say as the first person on the moon.

Adults can write reminisces of where they were when Aldrin and Armstrong landed on the moon.

Soldiers from the Second Armored Brigade Combat Team at Fort Riley look at the docking mechanism from Apollo space missions. It’s one of many exhibits on display to commemorate the Apollo missions, which include the moon landing 50 years ago this summer. [FILE/HUTCHINSON NEWS]

• Docking Mechanism for Apollo missions, allowing the command module to dock with the lunar module on trips to the moon.

• Crawler-Transporter Shoe: real hardware from the vehicle used to transport spacecraft from NASA’s assembly building to the launch pad.

Special events • An exhibit on the moon landing is opening this month in the Cosmosphere rotunda.

• "Apollo Redux," an exhibit funded by a NASA grant in the “Our Universe Theater” area, featuring refurbished mission

• July 18, 9 a.m.: the monthly Coffee at the Cosmosphere will feature “We Chose to Go to the Moon,” featuring a musical performance from Opera Kansas and a presentation by museum curator Shannon Whetzel.

• July 20: 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: The monthly family event, “Space Out Saturday” will provide a history of Apollo 11 training.

• July 20: 6 p.m.: “Landing on the Lawn,” a free event will include hands-on moon and space-themed activities from local organizations, including Hutchinson Community College and Hutch Recreation Commission, with live science demonstrations from Cosmosphere science educators.

After dark, there will be a showing of the 1969 CBS footage of the Moon landing, followed by the documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon.” Activities also include viewings of the moon and planets through a 16-inch telescope. The event is free.

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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‘C’ is also for WaKeeney Christmas

Holiday spirit on full display all year

By Rick Peterson Jr. Hays Daily News

WAKEENEY — Hailed as the Christmas City of the High Plains, the holiday spirit can be discovered year-round in WaKeeney.

The city’s annual tree lighting and downtown Christmas display is known as the largest between Kansas City and Denver, but even a trip to the city in the summer will bring reminders of Christmas.

A vacant lot located in the 100 block of Main Street has been transformed into the WaKeeney’s North Pole Park, featuring permanent holiday decorations.

“WaKeeney, the main thing we’re known as is the Christmas City of the High Plains yearround,” said Cathy Albert,

director of WaKeeney Travel and Tourism. We only have the decorations up Thanksgiving to New Years, but the North Pole is there year-round.

“It’s kind of hard when it’s a hundred-plus (degrees) out here in the middle of the summer time to try to do too much with the Christmas spirit, but the (North Pole) is a little way to do that.”

The North Pole Park, which was created in the 1990s, features holiday wall murals and tiny holiday sculptures. In the back is a metal shed dubbed “Santa’s Workshop” where Santa greets children during the tree-lighting festivities.

“It has a nice mural on one side of a holiday scene in the city,” Albert said. “On the opposite wall, we’re getting ready to paint some Christmas trees on there. It will say, 'WaKeeney, Christmas

City of the High Plains,' for people to use for selfie background to take pictures.”

Four-foot, three-dimensional Christmas Tree markers, which give information about the history of WaKeeney remain in the downtown area.

“We’ve been trying to increase some things around town so that we have some (Christmas) things more yearround,” Albert said.

More than 6,000 lights are stretched across the buildings downtown in WaKeeney, a community of about 2,000 people.

New lights were put up 2018.

The decorations in the fourblock downtown area also includes wreaths, bows, bells and garland.

Albert said WaKeeney strives to make the celebration bigger and better each year.

A horse-drawn carriage, provided by Big Creek Horse & Carriage, passes by the 35-foot-tall tree on Main Street during after the 66th annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in 2016. [FILE/HAYS DAILY NEWS]

“Last year, we had what was called Santa’s downtown Workshop," she said. "There’s a Soup Supper that night, the stores are open. They added all these events for the children, so that they having something to do while they’re waiting to see Santa Claus.

“This will be the third year, I think, that we have a virtual reality ride out of Manhattan that comes in, and the ride is Santa’s Sleigh Ride. You are actually sitting in Santa’s seat and the reindeer are out in front of you and you’re ascending through the sky.”

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Activities & Food Vendors Everyday Lights Concert KWU Music Camp Recital Mounted Color Guard Demonstration 1st Infantry Division Band Concert Mounted Color Guard Demonstration Salina Symphony Concert

Admission by Donation #PayWhatYouCan

Campus Grounds Main Stage Visitors Center Auditorium Campus Grounds Main Stage Campus Grounds Main Stage

Be sure to bring your lawn chairs!

Rain Location: Abilene High School Gymnasium

Commemoration Week | June 1-6

• Military Reenactors • Children’s Activities • Panel Discussions • Films • Remembrance Ceremony

For more info about #DDAY75 visit eisenhowerfoundation.net

Patriotic favorites & big band classics featuring vocalist Vanessa Thomas

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Premium Loose-Leaf Teas Fresh brewed tea, matcha, chai and other tea lattes, loose leaf by the ounce, tea accessories and gifts.

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KANSAS A TO Z

Gourmet specialty coffees, teas, pastries, cookies, cake pops, sandwiches, breakfast & lunch SPECIAL ORDERS WELCOME

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Visit Grounds Open to the Public Year-Round Summer Hours: May thru Labor Day Opening Weekend - May 4th & 5th Featuring: Gunfight Re-enactments

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Vintage Telephones and Photography

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Open: Mon. - Thurs. 11am-9pm Fri. & Sat. 11am-9:30pm Closed Sunday Monday - 1/2 price margaritas Tuesday - 99¢ hard shell beef or shredded chicken tacos Wednesday - 5pc. Chicken Wings, $1.99, 1/2 price beer Thursday - 1/2 price kids 9 & under Friday - Peach margaritas & Pina Colada, 12 oz. $3.50 Saturday - 12 oz. lime margaritas $3.50

301 Broadway Abilene, KS 785-263-1470

Immerse yourself in the technology of the past! The Museum of Independent Telephony showcases the first telephone installed in Kansas in 1877 and the successive growth of the independent telephone communication system. We invite you to relive the emergent media of the Greatest Generation.

The Jeffcoat Family boasts three generations of photographers who through their creative spirit preserved the local history of thousands of Dickinson County families.

The Jeffcoat Studio Photography Museum exhibits cameras, photography equipment, a darkroom, and a studio. Come and enjoy an incredible encounter with history.

Pet me!

The Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, Kansas, is a tribute to man’s best and fastest friend. Learn about the history of this magnificent canine, from ancient times to the present. And, while you’re here, be sure to take time to pet our resident greyhounds.

Open 9-4:45 daily Free admission Donations welcome

407 S. Buckeye, Abilene, KS 67410 Phone 1-800-932-7881

greyhoundhalloffame.com

KANSAS A TO Z

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

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The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene

Visitor Information Center Open Daily & Welcomes Visitors to Abilene Mon. - Fri. 8 am - 5 pm • Sat. 10 am - 4 pm Sun. 11 am - 4 pm For more information visit our website at www.AbileneCityHall.com

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Customers are subject to taxes and must meet credit requirements. Nex-Tech Wireless is eligible to receive support from the Federal Universal Service Fund in designated areas. As a result, Nex-Tech Wireless must meet reasonable requests for service in these areas. Questions or complaints concerning service issues may be directed to the Kansas Corporation Commission Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection by calling 1-800-662-0027.

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Historic Home & Barn Tour

2nd Saturday May thru Oct. $40 Departure from ASVRR Depot at 12:30 pm on Trolley Scheduling Private Parties or School Field Trips.

Call for Reservations: 785-263-1077 or 888-426-6687 Depot & Gift Shop 200 S.E. 5th • 785-263-0118 Toll Free 888-462-6689

Office 785-263-1077 Toll Free 888-462-6687 Member of 5 Star Museum District • www.asvrr.org

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KANSAS A TO Z

E X P E R I E N C E

T H E

S T O R Y

of Mennonite immigrants who helped make Kansas the breadbasket of the nation.

Tour eight buildings in this village-like setting.

Encouraging Everyday Faith to Inspire Extraordinary Life

606 N. Main St. • Newton • 316-283-2210 info@faithandlifebookstore.com Mon-Sat 9am-5:30pm faithandlifebookstore.com

Cool things happen at the Kansas Learning Center for Health ✓ Meet “Charlie Bones”, a REAL skeleton ✓ Inspect the inside of an eyeball ✓ Look inside an “Iron Lung” ✓ Play in the “Kids FUNd Corner”

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316-835-2662 ◆ 505 Main Street, Halstead, KS ◆ LearningCenter.org

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200 N. Poplar, Goessel, Kansas Open March – April & October – November: Noon – 4 p.m., Tues. – Sat. May – September: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tues. – Sat.

For more information, visit www.goesselmuseum.com or call 620-367-8200.

Bring this ad to receive 10% off admission!

KANSAS A TO Z

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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‘D’ is for Dalton Gang Hideout museum

Dalton Gang Hideout offers a glimpse into one of the old west’s most infamous gangs

By Shelton Burch Dodge City Daily Globe

MEADE — Located at 502 S. Pearlette St. in Meade is the Dalton Gang Hideout. It includes the former house of J.N. Whipple, who built the house in 1887 and was the husband of Eva Dalton, sister of the members of the infamous Dalton Gang of train and bank robbers from the day, according to the Hideout website.

The tourist site includes a reconstructed barn and 95-foot long tunnel that the gang reportedly used to avoid capture by law enforcement.

The Dalton Gang included multiple brothers from the Dalton family, and raided multiple trains in the year leading up to their final, fatal raid in 1892, when they attempted to raid two banks at the same time in Coffeyville, according to History.com.

Today, the hideout is open

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and is open year-round.

Admission is $5 per person, but kids get in free and discounts are available for families, said Marc Ferguson, manager of the hideout.

The site also includes a tourist shop with lots of oldwest style souvenirs, and a stage where a Chuckwagon Theater melodrama is held every August, Ferguson said.

Dalton Gang Hideout Museum, 502 S. Pearlette St. in Meade, features former house of J.N. Whipple, who built the house in 1887 and was the husband of Eva Dalton. [SUBMITTED]

‘D’ is also for Dalton Palmer Memorial Downtown Park

Extreme playground tribute to teen gone too soon

By Belinda Larsen Butler County Times Gazette

AUGUSTA — With children’s laughter in the background, friends, family, city officials and residents gathered on an October evening in 2018 to dedicate Augusta’s newest park in the memory of a special young man, Dalton Palmer.

Dalton, was just 13 when he died from injuries sustained in an ATV accident in November 2014. The young man was active in school and sports and well-liked by his classmates and teammates.

Since 2003, the Augusta City Council was looking for ways to improve the economy downtown, and in the past 15 years, it has been a goal of members of the Augusta City Council and residents to see a downtown playground for local children.

Things came together when an old downtown business

The Dalton Palmer Memorial Downtown Park was opened in 2018, four years after the death of a popular 13-year-old boy. [SUBMITTED]

and lumber yard properties adjacent to the newly revived Frisco Plaza, were purchased

by Troy Palmer, local businessman and father of Dalton.

The lot was split and Palmer donated the lot to be used for a new and innovative playground in memory of Dalton.

As part of the Pride & Progress initiative, the City

Council approved approximately $300,000 for the construction of the “extreme’ playground.

The Dalton Palmer Memorial Downtown Park is the tallest playground in Kansas and one of three in the nation, according to manufacturer Miracle Recreation Equipment. The unique

extreme generation (XGEN) playground features: • A nearly 30-foot tower with a 16-foot deck and 30-foot slide.

• Two towers reaching more than 26- and 24-feet high, each with 12-foot decks and tunnel slides.

• Three 20-foot, fully enclosed skyways connecting

at 12-feet high; each featuring a challenging activity to help develop children's overall strength, coordination, and proprioception.

• A one-of-a-kind gravity rail that swings riders around a rollercoaster-like circular track.

“Creating this unique space has truly been a community effort,” Mayor Mike Rawlings said. “Next, we will add wrought-iron fencing, lighting, and bench seating.

Then we want to secure donations, and possibly a grant, to replace the wood fiber surface with a rubberized soft surface.”

The city of Augusta continues to work in partnership with Troy Palmer and Augusta Progress Inc. on a potential development project for the Frisco Plaza. In addition, to new parklets, streetscape and cafe-style seating, our concept includes construction of multiple new retail/food shops and public restrooms.

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KANSAS A TO Z

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE: ART, IMAGE, STYLE On view through June 23, 2019 Georgia O'Keeffe: Art, Image, Style is the first exhibition to explore the art, image, and personal style of one of America’s most iconic artists. This exhibition offers an intimate glimpse at the artist alongside her art with her paintings, photo portraits, and original clothing.

Ka

Georgia O’Keeffe: Art, Image, Style is organized by the Brooklyn Museum with guest curator Wanda M. Corn, Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor Emerita in Art History, Stanford University, and made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Wichita presentation has been generously underwritten by lead sponsors Paula and Barry Downing. The Lattner Family Foundation and Judy Slawson provided additional major underwriting. Charles E. Baker and Dr. Dennis and Mrs. Ann Ross are principal sponsors. The Trust Company of Kansas, Fred and Mary Koch Foundation, Celebrity Cruises, and Emprise Bank are substantial corporate sponsors.

Generous support has been provided by Louise Beren, Donna Bunk, DeVore Foundation, J. Eric Engstrom and Robert Bell, Mary Eves, Rich and Joey Giblin, Norma Greever, Sonia Greteman and Chris Brunner, Gridley Family Foundation, John and Karen Hageman, Sondra Langel, Mike and Dee Michaelis, Tom and Mindy Page, Will and Kristin Price, Debbie and Ron Sinclair, Mary Sue Smith, Sarah T. Smith, and K.T. Wiedemann Foundation, Inc. Ann and Martin Bauer, Emily Bonavia, Dr. John and Nancy Brammer, Sharon and Dr. Alan Fearey, Toni and Bud Gates, Trish Higgins, Richard Hite and Anita Jones, Delmar and Mary Klocke, Dr. Barry and Jane Murphy, Georgia and Keith Stevens, Marni Vliet Stone and David Stone, and Sue and Kurt Watson are additional exhibition patrons.

All museum exhibitions receive generous sponsorship from the Friends of the Wichita Art Museum and the City of Wichita.

Friends of the Wichita Art Museum

Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Pansy & Forget-Me-Nots (Pansy), 1926. Oil on canvas, 27 1/8 x 12 1/4 inches. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, Gift of Mrs. Alfred S. Rossin © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

wichitaartmuseum.org/okeeffe

316-

KANSAS A TO Z

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‘E’ is for Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum And Boyhood Home

Campus offers full perspective of 34th president

By Arne Green Salina Journal

ABILENE — Travelers, history enthusiasts or even families looking for a quick day trip don’t have to hold off until July to visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.

But it might be worth the wait.

While the library and 22-acre campus commemorating Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, remains open year round, the museum is closed for a major renovation project.

Temporary exhibits are located in the library directly north of the museum. But the main attraction clearly will be the completely revamped 25,000 square feet of exhibit space in the museum building.

“The entire museum of the Eisenhower Presidential Library will be new this summer,” said Samantha Kenner, communications director for the library and museum. “The comprehensive redesign will reveal Ike and Mamie’s story in their own words. New interactive features will encourage guests to engage with the exhibits and find relevance in their own lives.”

One interactive feature tells the story of “Becoming Ike and Mamie,” and will offer insights into Eisenhower’s military career. Several mini-theaters will present Eisenhower’s words on several issues, from D-Day to world peace.

The plan had been to reopen the museum in June for the annual D-Day commemoration, but the recent government shutdown pushed back completion of the project to July.

For those who can’t fit a July visit into their schedules, there remains plenty of attractions available, with four of the five buildings — Library,

Eisenhower Library, Museum and Boyhood Home Address: 200 SE 4th Street, Abilene, KS, 67410 Website: Eisenhower.archives. gov Phone: 785-263-6700 Toll free: 1-877-746-4453 Trivia: Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th president, from the 34th state. The library building was dedicated May 1, 1962, with the date specifically chosen by President Eisenhower in honor of his mother's 100th birthday.

Eisenhower’s boyhood home, Place of Meditation and Visitors Center — still open.

The library, dedicated in 1962 and opened for research in 1966, is one of 13 presidential libraries administered by National Archives and Research Administration. The research facility draws scholars and history buffs from around the world and features 26 million pages of historical records and papers, 768,000 feet of motion picture film, 335,000 photos and 28,550 books.

The Place of Meditation was built in 1966, and President Eisenhower was buried there on April 2, 1969. His wife, Mamie, and first-born son Doud, also are buried there.

Eisenhower’s boyhood home is located east of the Visitors Center, and regular guided tours are available.

The Visitors Center, on the west end of the campus, is located on the site of the former Lincoln School, where Eisenhower first enrolled as an elementary student. It houses the gift shop and an auditorium where a film on the former president is shown on a regular schedule.

Other attractions include a stature of Eisenhower in the middle of the campus between the library and museum, and

President Eisenhower’s mother, Ida, was the last person to live in the Eisenhower Boyhood Home until her death in 1946. It has been open to the public since 1947. [PHOTOS BY ARNE GREEN/SALINA JOURNAL]

The Pylons on the east end. The five Pylons monuments were a project of the Kansas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in cooperation with the Soroptimists International clubs.

Even though the museum renovation won’t be completed

by June, the D-Day commemoration remains an annual highlight. The library will observe a special D-Day 75th Anniversary Commemoration Week this summer starting June 1 with a program featuring the Salina Symphony performing during the Symphony at Sunset concert.

There will be educational programs, films and discussions throughout the week, wrapping up on Thursday, June 6, with the Remembrance Ceremony and wreath laying honoring General Eisenhower and all veterans.

The Place of Meditation is the final resting place of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, wife Mamie and oldest son Doud Dwight Eisenhower.

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘F’ is for Frontier Army Museum

The Lincoln carriage is one of the most popular pieces in the Frontier Army Museum. It was used by Abraham Lincoln during his 1859 visit to Leavenworth.

A Curtiss JN4D bi-plane, nicknamed “Jenny,” was used to hunt down Pancho Villa. [PHOTOS BY MARK ROUNTREE/LEAVENWORTH TIMES]

Museum features military artifacts

By Mark Roundtree Leavenworth Times

FORT LEAVENWORTH — The Frontier Army Museum on Fort Leavenworth features thousands of pieces of military artifacts and Leavenworth history.

Megan Hunter, museum specialist at the facility, said one of the most popular exhibits is the Lincoln carriage.

Hunter said it is the same carriage used by Abraham Lincoln during his December 1859 visit to Leavenworth.

An extensive exhibit is the one featuring the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

“The U.S. Army played an important role in those days mapping the West,” Hunter said. “The exhibit has many

instruments used by the explorers in their scientific experiments in this area.”

Also featured is a bi-plane, nicknamed “Jenny,” which is displayed high near the ceiling of one room.

Hunter said the Curtiss JN4D bi-plane was used during the Mexican Punitive Expedition to hunt down Pancho Villa.

Hunter said the oldest piece in the museum is a 1763 flintlock musket, which is displayed in a glass case.

The museum also features numerous weapons, uniforms, medals, maps and more.

The original collection at the museum began in 1939.

Hunter said there are some 6,500 artifacts at the museum, although only about 5 percent are on display.

“The Fort Leavenworth gallery highlights the importance of Fort Leavenworth’s role in the exploration and expansion of the nation throughout the 19th century as well as its continuing role in soldier education,” according to the museum’s website.

Each year, the museum hosts Night at the Museum.

The annual event, hosted by the Friends of the Frontier Army Museum, features a series of 35-minute guided tours of the museum.

The volunteer organization that supports the museum hosts the event each year in an effort to expose young people to the rich history of the Leavenworth area.

“We want to get kids initiated in history,” said Hunter.

Shown are Mountain Howitzers used during the Mexican War from 1846-48. They are some of the numerous pieces that are on display at the Frontier Army Museum on Fort Leavenworth.

The Friends of the Frontier Army Museum also hosts a Fort Leavenworth Historic Homes Tour and a Fort Leavenworth Haunted Homes Tour.

The Frontier Army Museum is located at 100 Reynolds Ave. on Fort Leavenworth.

For more information, call 913-684-3767.

KANSAS A TO Z

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‘G’ is for Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

Legacy Retreat enhances arboretum’s offerings

By Matt Galloway The Capital-Journal

OVERLAND PARK — As the longtime supervisor of the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Karen Kerkhoff takes great joy completing every project the facility undertakes.

That’s particularly true regarding the arboretum’s latest roll out — for more reasons than one.

“We’ve spent the last year building the Legacy Retreat in the Legacy Garden,” Kerkhoff said. “It’s an area that’s difficult to describe, and I’m glad the construction is finished because now I can just show people.”

The Legacy Retreat, which will be dedicated May 18 but is already fully accessible, is a series of ledges built using the rammed earth approach, an architecture technique popular in the Midwest. Described as “just a wonderful space” by Kerkhoff, the Legacy Retreat is actually just the beginning of a larger project called the Legacy Interpretive Trail, a planned area being specially designed for individuals with autism, blindness, hearing loss or other difficulties.

The project is only the latest highlight for the arboretum, located on 175th St. just a half-mile west of U.S. 69 in Overland Park. The facility has grown to encompass nearly 600 acres, with 200 of those in woodlands, and features manicured gardens, hiking trails, sculptures and prairie land.

Kerkhoff, who has been with the arboretum since 2004, has overseen a growth in the number of gardens from seven to 13, and added mile of trails and an expansion in prairie land from 70 acres to 180.

“We work with a pretty slim staff, like most government

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is a nearly 600acre facility that features manicured gardens, hiking trails, prairie and woodlands.

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is home to 30 permanent sculptures, including 18 that are part of the International Sculpture Garden.

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens has more than doubled its amount of prairie land since 2004, going from 70 acres to 180.

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens last year reached the final phase of its Train Garden project, which features as many as 10 tracks running at the same time. [SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

and nonprofit facilities,” Kerkhoff said. “We have just the most terrific group of people who are able to pivot and tackle almost any part of building and maintaining the arboretum that comes their way.”

The arboretum is open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 10 through Sept. 30 and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Oct. 1 to April

9. There's a $3 entry fee to visitors 13 and older, a $1 fee for kids aged six to 12 and free admission to children aged five and under, and admission is free for everyone on Tuesdays.

Kerkhoff said it's difficult to pinpoint her favorite feature of the arboretum, a distinction that seems ever-changing.

She’s always been fond of the prairie, which she

considers an under-the-radar space. Visitors might also enjoy the facility’s new Train Garden, a project that reached its final phase last year and features as many as 10 tracks running at the same time. There’s also the 10 wind-driven pieces scattered throughout the gardens as part of a recently debuted “Exhibit of Kinetic Sculpture," a showing that runs through Sept. 30 and features

“fascinating” pieces from artists from across the country.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the arboretum, though, is that a visit can represent a much-needed change of pace and break from today’s norms.

“I feel like there’s something for everybody,” Kerkhoff said.

“I really encourage folks to come out, get unplugged and just explore.”

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KANSAS A TO Z

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘G’ is also for Firekeeper Golf Course

Ranked the No. 1 public golf course in Kansas by Golfweek, Firekeeper Golf Course in Mayetta offers a challenging layout designed around the natural terrain of the land by Jeffrey Brauer and Notah Begay III. [SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

Kansas greens offer fun challenges

By Brent Maycock The Capital-Journal

MAYETTA — Holding the distinction as the No. 1 public golf course in Kansas isn’t something Firekeeper Golf Course head professional Randy Towner takes lightly.

In fact, it’s something he and his staff not only take pride in, but also an honor they strive to achieve and sustain every day.

“I can’t imagine approaching anything and wanting to be average,” Towner said.

“One of our mottos is, we always want to be as good as we can be.”

Since opening in spring 2011, Firekeeper has arguably been the crown jewel of public courses in Kansas. The course, located 15 miles north of Topeka in Mayetta just off Highway 75, was ranked as the No. 1 public course in the state

by Golfweek in 2018 (the 2019 rankings aren’t out yet) and was a Top 100 resort course by Golfweek for 2019.

Firekeeper also was named

Firekeeper Golf Course located 15 miles north of Topeka in Mayetta can play anywhere from 4,500 yard to 7,500 yards, providing an enjoyable experience for golfers of any skill level.

Ironhorse Golf Club in Leawood is located just 30 minutes from downtown Kansas City and offers a challenging layout with newly renovated bunkers that demands golfers use every club in their bag.

the top overall course in Kansas, public or private, by Stacker.com.

The recognition, Towner said, is a culmination of everything Firekeeper Golf Course has to offer — from a championship-level 18-hole golf course to the adjoining Prairie Band Casino and Resort to the customer service

“I tell our staff every year that the man at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there. He worked to get there. We’re trying to make sure they understand what we’re trying to do.”

At Firekeeper, the bulk of the front nine offers an open look with the major defense for the holes the tall native

provided by he and his staff.

“I think people want to go some place that’s fun,” Towner said. “Where you can get something nice to eat, a golf course that gives you a good experience, maintenance people who are friendly, a staff that is welcoming. ... People want to feel welcome and in a sense we are entertainers.

grass and numerous sand bunkers, including a buffaloshaped bunker guarding the front of the green on the par-5 No. 6 — a green which is actually shared with hole No. 1. But starting at No. 7, the course begins to be carved out of mostly tree-lined layouts for the holes.

No. 18 offers a unique look

KANSAS A TO Z

A signature hole at Colbert Hills Golf Course, the green on No. 5 is guarded by a series of bunkers in the shape of a Wildcat paw print.

off the tee with a split fairway. The adventurous and confident golfer will look to drive the creek that bisects the hole, a solid if not challenging carry. The conservative golfer will simply play to the shorter fairway and hit a longer iron into the green.

The competition across the state is fierce and Towner is fully aware of it. The first signature course of fourtime PGA Tour winner Notah Begay III, Firekeeper was designed in partnership with Jeffrey Brauer, who has left his imprint on the state in a big way.

Two other Brauer courses also make Golfweek’s top five with Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan coming in at No. 3 and Sand Creek Station in Newton checking in at No. 4.

Colbert Hills opened in 2000 and is ranked as the No. 1 public course in Kansas by Golf.com and GolfLink. The links-style course was built into 315 acres of the Flint Hills and features drastic elevation changes on several holes,

including a “top of the world” tee box on No. 7, and unique bunkers, including the signature Wildcat paw on No. 5.

While the course, which is home to the Kansas State golf teams, doesn’t have an adjoining casino, its amenities are also attractive and will be enhanced with the addition of stay-and-play cabins in the future.

“Colbert Hills is a great destination course due to its unique layout for this part of the country and its central location in a small college city,” Colbert Hills head professional Steve Gotsche said. “We draw many visitors, most of which are in a 300mile radius, and many others just passing through who have heard of us from friends, publications, accolades etc.”

Sand Creek opened in 2006 and is No. 2 in the Kansasgolf. com rankings. The course plays on the town’s railroad history with several holes showing characteristics of early American holes, which typically fronted railways. No.

16 is a replica of the famous Road Hole from St. Andrews in Scotland and another hole replicates the Redan hole at the North Berwick Golf Links in Scotland.

All three designs are unique and make the trip there worth it.

“I think it speaks highly of Jeff and he’s gone a masterful job,” Towner said. “There are three uniquely different terrains he had to work with and his courses doesn’t look like there was much manufactured. He took what was there and made it into a masterpiece.”

Either side of the state also boasts top-notch courses that are worth the drives.

Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City is ranked No. 2 by Golfweek and No. 5 by Kansasgolf.com. Opening in 1976, the course has very few trees, offering little protection from a generally prevalent south Kansas breeze.

“Buffalo Dunes is a hidden treasure,” head professional Jason Hase said. “It is

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Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City is worth the drive to southwest Kansas, ranked as one of the top-five public courses in the state by Golfweek.

continuously ranked as one of the best places to play for the price and hosts the ‘Road to the LPGA’ Symetra Tour and Garden City Charity Classic each September. It’s a course where everyone is welcome from novice to elite players.”

In the Kansas City metro area, Ironhorse Golf Club in Leawood has emerged as a top-notch destination.

Located just 30 minutes from downtown Kansas City and the Country Club Plaza and minutes away from Overland Park just off the KansasMissouri state line, Ironhorse has added a new event space capable of holding 200-plus guests, giving the club even more enhancement to a stellar course layout.

“Ironhorse is a perfect place to hold a destination golf or social event,” Ironhorse head professional BrettMeyers said. “The golf course has a beautiful layout with recently renovated bunkers, while also being demanding, making golfers use every club in their

bag.”

The list of worthwhile public courses in Kansas goes well beyond the “Fab Five.”

And that knowledge makes them work even harder to provide their guests the best experience possible.

“First of all, it’s neat that there are that many great courses in this state,” Towner said. “We understand there’s a lot a lot of competition there and quite frankly, we’re glad there’s a lot of competition.

It’s bringing people to our state. We get a lot of people who come back year after year from out of state and that tells you you’re doing something right.”

Other recommended public courses: Cedar Hills GC (Washington, 9 holes), Cherry Oaks GC (Cheney), Cimarron GC, Eagle Bend GC (Lawrence), Falcon Lakes GC (Basehor), Hesston GC, Mariah Hills GC (Hays), Spring Creek GC (Seneca), Sycamore Ridge GC (Spring Hill), Wellington GC.

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘H’ is for Hillside Honey Apiary

Bees churning out host of products

By Teri L. Hansen McPherson Sentinel

EASTON — Hillside Honey Apiary has a short, but rich history. Originally owned by Ron and Beth Ward, it was a farm off Hillside Road in Leavenworth. Current owners Shelley and Ty Martin, moved the facility to the old Rural Easton High School at 531 Dawson St. in Easton.

Both graduates from Missouri University, the Martins each have a degree in history. The move satisfied their hunger for both honey and history. They completely renovated the building to facilitate their bee farm that offers local, raw, unfiltered honey, infused and creamed honey, and a whole host of personal care products.

“We just love anything that is revitalizing and rebuilding a bit of history for this community,” Shelley Martin said.

This quaint farm is not just a hive for honey bees, it is an educational facility, where folks can learn. The Martins offer tours to groups of 10 or larger. During the hourlong experience, visitors hear about bees and their habits, as well the process of harvesting honey and making it into different products. After the discussion, the amateur beekeepers receive a little first-hand experience when they suit up and interact with the hive and beeswax craft.

“The owners are wonderful and extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what they are doing. We learned so much,” Michelle Lynn of Gardner said in a review of Hillside. “My 4-year-old thought being able to hold a tray full of bees was the coolest thing ever. ... Both of my girls came home buzzing with new information.”

In addition to a safe haven

Hillside Honey Apiary is home to bees that forage on wildflowers, pastures and lands along the Missouri River from Leavenworth to Atchison. Products from Hillside Honey Apiary can be purchased in stores across Kansas as well as online at their Etsy Store, https://www.etsy. com/shop/HillsideHoneyApiary.

A group of children learn about bee hives and harvesting honey during a visit to Hillside Honey Apiary.

[SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

for bees and educational facility for the public, Hillside Honey also sells products in stores across Kansas as well as online at their Etsy Store.

From lotion bars to deodorants and of course honey creamed and otherwise, the Martins and their bees are always hard at work.

“We offer a little bit of everything,” Shelley Martin said. “It’s a one of a kind beekeepers experience.”

The motto of Hillside Honey Apiary is from Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” It’s a

sentiment they have infused into every part of their lives.

“We realize that really does reflect us on so many levels.

We’ve learned to always be gracious and what a great lesson to be learned,” Shelley Martin said. “As we educate, which is what we do first and foremost, we remember to do so graciously. Being stewards of the earth is a big job and that’s what we are doing in our small piece of the world and we are so grateful to be doing so.”

The apiary is open for the

Hillside Honey Apiary is located at 531 Dawson St. in Easton.

Shelley and Ty Martin completely renovated the Rural Easton High School building for their bee business.

season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Hours of operation include Thursdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. To book a tour call

913-773-0157 or visit http:// www.hillsidehoney.com.

Hillside Honey Apiary products can be purchased online at https://www.etsy.com/ shop/HillsideHoneyApiary.

KANSAS A TO Z

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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‘H’ is also for Warkentine House

Museum lends look into late 1800s

By Newton Kansan

NEWTON — Two things helped settle down Newton, which had hosted one of the wild west's bloodiest gunfights — the rail head moved further west reducing the number of cattle drives topping in Newton, and Prussian Mennonites settled in the area.

One of the most prominent of those Anabaptists was Bernard Warkentin, the Ukrainian Mennonite immigrant credited with making winter wheat a cash crop in Kansas. His home, now a museum, is just blocks from his Newton Milling Co. — and blocks from where Hyde Park (the site of the gunfight) once stood.

His home, at 211 East First St., is now a museum telling the story of Bernard and his wife, the settlement of Kansas

by Mennonites and the rise of Turkey Red Winter Wheat.

The house is listed on the Kansas Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places as a splendid example of the Victorian period in American architecture and furnishings. It offers a glimpse into the way the Warkentins lived, with 80 percent of the original furnishings remaining.

Warkentin had made major contributions to the town’s growth since moving there from Halstead with his wife and their two children when construction on Warkentin House was completed in 1887.

Warkentin House

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The home of Bernard Warkentin, the Ukrainian Mennonite immigrant credited with making winter wheat a cash crop in Kansas, is now a museum. It is blocks from the mill he constructed. [FILE/NEWTON KANSAN]

has for many years displayed the last photo of Mr. and Mrs. Warkentin taken before his death, which shows the couple in the native dress of Jerusalem. The photo was made in a then-popular postcard format and is dated March 15. Recently, longtime volunteer Karen Penner found another postcard from the same trip in a drawer in the butler’s pantry at the museum.

The museum has several letters from the trip in its collection.

The Warkentins left with a group in January 1908, visiting Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land, where they took a wagon trip to Nazareth and an excursion across the Sea of Galilee. The couple and their traveling companions boarded a train in Palestine on April 1, en route through the old Ottoman (Turkish) empire, which includes the modern countries of Syria and Lebanon.

At about 8 a.m., the

Newton's Warkentine House 211 East First St., Newton www.warkentinhouse.org 316-284-3642

Warkentins were in their compartment.

In the next compartment, Prince Mehemid Said, whose grandfather Eddel-Kahir was emir of the Arab tribes in Algeria, displayed a gun to his friends and pulled the trigger to prove it wasn't loaded.

The prince was mistaken and the bullet hit Bernard Warkentin. He was taken to a German Deaconess Hospital in Beirut and died about 11:30 p.m.

His body was returned to Newton on May 1 and a well-attended funeral service was held at the Warkentin Home on May 5, 1908, led by The Rev. J. Y Ewart and David Goerz. A memorial was held the following week at the new First Presbyterian Church on Main Street.

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‘H’ is also for Boot Hill Museum

Legend that is Boot Hill Museum

By Vince Marshall Dodge City Daily Globe

DODGE CITY — Boot Hill Cemetery, in which its museum rests, started in 1872 as an unofficial burial ground for various drifters who died in Dodge City.

Most of these people died suddenly, with “their boots on” giving the name “Boot Hill” to the cemetery.

None of these people had the money required for a proper burial; many were know only by their given name and no official records were kept of the burials.

The museum summer season kicks off Memorial Day weekend and will run through Labor Day weekend. Its summer hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

During the summer, guests are invited to visit the museum and are able to view all of the exhibits, interactive displays, and a rowdy wild west gunfight re-enactment.

The entertainers at the Long Branch Saloon will show guests how to do the can-can dance and the children are able to get deputized by the Boot Hill marshal.

Gunfights for 2019 will be at noon, 3 p.m., and 7 p.m.

Since the museum is under construction for its new exhibits building, the gunfighters will be putting on different gunfights and stories of the Old West in different areas at the museum.

During the summer season, the old-fashioned ice cream parlor will be open serving a variety of ice cream sundaes, shakes and lunch. The Old West photo parlor will also be opened.

There will be a cowpoke camp on June 7-8 for elementary school-aged children where kids can experience what it was like in the Old West through storytelling and hands on activities along with lunch.

ABOVE: Boot Hill Museum brings gunfights twice a day during the summer. The first is the “High Noon” gunfight, followed by a 7 p.m. throwdown. The large annual gunfight is on the first Saturday every August as part of the Dodge City Days festival. RIGHT: Miss Kitty and the Can-Can Dancers can be seen nightly at the Long Branch Saloon Variety Show. The show is the longest running variety show that has been part of Boot Hill Museum for more than 55 years.

[SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

During the Dodge City Days events, the museum will be doing the Boot Hill Bull Fry and Bash in the Boot Hill Distillery parking lot.

In 1878, an official cemetery, Prairie Grove, was platted in Dodge City and all the bodies that could be located were reinterred at that location. About 10 years later they were later moved to Dodge City’s current cemetery, Maple Grove.

In the following decades, most Dodge City residents wanted to forget about Dodge City’s past reputation as a rough and wild town. In the 1920s and 1930s locals began to

embrace Dodge City’s heritage as a frontier town and Boot Hill Cemetery became a tourist attraction.

In 1947, the Dodge City Jaycees built Boot Hill Museum as a community service project and staffed it primarily with volunteers for the first 10 years.

First housed in a 3,000-square-foot rustic “Western” building, the museum contained a wide variety of cultural and natural history objects.

A 1865 jail from nearby Fort Dodge was moved to the Museum in 1953. In 1958, the construction of a replica of

historic Front Street began.

In 1964, additional buildings, containing the Beeson Gallery, were added to the Front Street replica to house the collection acquired from the Beeson Museum.

Other additions during later years included more reconstructed Front Street buildings, which now consist of more than

one block of 1876 period buildings, along with a restored 1880 carriage/blacksmith shop and an 1879 cattleman’s home.

Currently, Boot Hill Museum is constructing a large new exhibit building and gift shop, which will be completed by the summer season of 2020.

For more information, visit www.boothill.org.

KANSAS A TO Z

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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‘I’ is for La Torre Italian Villa

Italian villa on the Kansas prairie

By Teri L. Hansen McPherson Sentinel

INMAN — Kat Kaufman made her dream come true in 2017 when she purchased an Italian villa, but she didn't have to go to Europe for her fantasy to be reality.

The villa is right here in Kansas. Just outside Inman at 158 Chisholm Road, the 3,000-square-foot property is the perfect place for events, parties and gatherings.

“It’s a dream to live there. I can’t hardly believe that this is where I live,” Kaufman said.

“Even when I’m cleaning, I can’t believe that this is mine to take care of.”

Kaufman, a native of McPherson, fell in love with the property years ago when she attended a wine tasting and

couldn't get the picturesque property out of her head.

“There was something about it, something in my heart that kept saying, ‘This is what you need,’” Kaufman said. “To get there, you drive on this forever-long dirt road and you pass all these farms, and trees and cows, until the trees unveil this field with this huge yellow Italian villa with a red roof and metal giraffes in the front. You wonder if you went through a portal and entered a different world. Your jaw just drops.”

Kaufman purchased the venue from the original owners John and Chris Hershberger, who built it in 2001 as a large home but altered it to include venue and studio space. Now it includes acres of gorgeous gardens, space for parking, beautiful buildings and an

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“They built it themselves with their own hands. They built a bit, and then they’d change it and add on, so the house is a piece of art in itself,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman is no stranger to playing hostess, though her degree is in fiber arts, the costume designer fell in love with event planning after hosting her own art show. This was the basis of her passion for creating perfect events for people, from fun nights out to the most intimate moments in life.

“We’re excited to be a part of people’s wedding day,” Kaufman said. “That’s the most important day in most people’s lives and we get to watch it over and over again while making their dream come true.”

They host events big and

[FILE/MCPHERSON SENTINEL]

small, from outdoor gatherings of five to 15 people to pizza parties with a minimum of 20 people. A formal dinner can also be had at La Torre complete with a four-course meal.

In addition to private parties, Kaufman plans events that are open to the public throughout the year. Adult Easter egg hunts, fine dining experiences, tea

parties and solstice celebrations are just a few of the activities that have been held at the villa.

The venue provides a list of services and events on the La Torre Events Venue Facebook page and Kaufman can be reached by phone at 316-8331937. Tickets to public events are also available for purchase online.

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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KANSAS A TO Z

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

‘I’ is also for Intersection of the Flint Hills and Prairie Spirit trails

Eastern Kansas rail-trail stars on the rise opened up new, unexpected possibilities for recreation.

“I started riding the trails OTTAWA — Where the for exercise, and then I noticed tendrils of Kansas City begin the mushrooms growing up to thin along I-35’s southand down the trail,” said bound corridor, a new breed Rick Mallicoat, a now seaof car-free highway is growsonal mushroom hunter from ing in popularity. Tree-lined Ottawa. “I see a lot of deer and and weaving quietly through turkey, and I just enjoy being prairie vistas, farming towns out here.” and songbird music, the Prairie Outside of each individual’s Spirit and Flint Hills Nature unique experience, the trails trails are poised to soon be offer the chance to participate among the top eastern Kansas in a larger Midwestern recrerecreation destinations. ational movement. Both trails “You've got something really now feature annual rides and unique out here,” said Nick run festivals — in the case of Kromnacker. the Kansas Rails-to-Trails Intersecting in Ottawa and Extravaganza, a chance to with trailheads at every comrun up to 100 miles along the munity along their route, the Prairie Spirit — and entre51-mile Prairie Spirit Trail preneurs are beginning to runs from Ottawa to Iola, and capitalize on trail recreation’s the 117-mile Flint Hills Nature niche market potential.

Trail runs from Osawatomie to “The reason we are here is Herrington. Both trails are con- because of the trails,” said Jeff verted railroad beds surfaced Carroll, owner and founder with limestone chat, ensuring of Ottawa Bike and Trail. a smooth, moderately graded Carroll’s Ottawa business is a experience for the pedestrians, fully-outfitted bicycle retail, equestrians and cyclists who rental and repair shop geared frequent them. toward making the eastern The trails are administered as Kansas trail scene accessible to Kansas State Parks, free to use, newcomers. and feature, “... rural, middle “Cycling went through a America at its finest — rolling period where people saw it pastures, lazy streams, wooded as more of a sport where you ravines, friendly townspeople, have to get dressed in Lycra, colorful wildflowers, big farms get an expensive road bike, and and an endless sky,” according all these things,” Carroll said. to traillink.com.

“But people are realizing that For Kromnacker, family the trails are for everyone — bicycle day trips with his wife families, kids, inexperienced and 3-year-old son into the and experienced cyclists — Flint Hills are a chance to pretty much everyone can get escape the city’s hubbub. out and ride.

“Trying to ride around our “That's the beauty of it. The house, there's traffic and subtrails get more people out that urbs,” he said. “It's nice to go don't see themselves as big into out here and not worry about some athletic pursuit — it's someone running us over. And just people who want to get it's so scenic.There are wildoutside.” flowers out here in the summer, And from Carroll’s vanbeautiful grassland vistas, and tage, the interests of business all this is thirty minutes from owners, city government leadmy door in Overland Park.” ers, and recreationalists are For others, the trails have aligning to form a movement.

By John Jared Hawks Ottawa Herald

Nick, Kelvin and Kelli Kromnacker cruise across the Flint Hills Nature Trail’s iconic Marais des Cygnes bridge east of Ottawa. [PHOTOS BY JOHN JARED HAWKS/OTTAWA HERALD]

“The interest in riding on trails is growing significantly,” he said. “People are wanting to get off the roads and avoid the traffic, and these trails are perfect for that. I've been in contact with city leaders along the trail, and they are all doing what they can to make the trails more inviting for people who come visit.”

In light of all this, Carroll’s rallying cry is simple: get out there.

“Go out and enjoy it,” he said. “Check out the small towns along the way, spend some time seeing with the rest of the state has to offer, and come back often.”

For trail maps, descriptions, access points and more, check out bikeprairiespirit.com and kanzatrails.org.

Rick Mallicoat stops for photo while riding south along the Prairie Spirit Trail, hunting for mushrooms.

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Celebrating

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Each year, due to the generosity of corporate sponsors and the community, the Wild West Festival Committee plans a 3 to 4 day event around the 4th of July holiday.

The Festival has featured National Recording Artists such as: Charlie Daniels, Toby Keith, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Collin Raye, Lonestar, Bellamy Brothers, Bill Engvall, Tracy Byrd, Loverboy, 38 Special, Three Dog Night, E.L.O., Kansas, America, LoCash Cowboys, Billy Currington, Josh Turner, John Michael Montgomery, Sawyer Brown, Tracy Lawrence, Joe Nichols, Chris Young, Night Ranger, Neal McCoy, Brett Eldredge, Chase Rice, Hairball, and Many More Check out www.wildwestfestival.com for ticket information and this year’s lineup of entertainment, which includes:

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Also included is a carnival, a parade, food booths, games and a...

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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‘J’ is for Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem is a set of badlands in Logan County in western Kansas.

Little Jerusalem state park opening

By Phil Anderson The Capital-Journal

OAKLEY — The anticipated opening of the Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park this year in western Kansas highlights the state’s 2019 travel season.

Kelli Hilliard, public relations and travel development manager for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, said the state park is expected to open sometime this summer.

Located south of Oakley, Little Jerusalem encompasses a mile-long valley of 100-foot-tall spires and cliffs rising from the western Kansas prairie. The park

includes the state’s largest Niobrara Chalk formations.

“A lot of people have heard about it,” Hilliard said. “But unless you had a private tour, you couldn’t get in and see it.”

That all changes this summer.

The property where the park is located was purchased several years ago by the Nature Conservancy. Plans have been in the works for more than two years to turn it into a state park.

Admission will be $5 per car, like all other state parks.

Back-country tours, allowing people access to the floor of the Little Jerusalem canyon, will cost $50.

Hilliard noted the park includes trails once traveled by Western legends like “Wild Bill” Hickok and “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Today, the park has wildlife and plants rarely found anywhere else in the world.

A key component in turning Little Jerusalem into a travel destination entails getting people to exit off Interstate 70 as they travel through western Kansas.

Should that happen, Hilliard said, towns and businesses in the area should see an economic benefit from the increased traffic.

And visitors will see things they never imagined in western Kansas.

Hoodoos of various shapes mark an area of badlands known as Little Jerusalem in western Kansas.

[2017 FILE PHOTOS/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL]

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‘K’ is for Kicker Country Stampede

A country music fan tries on cowboy hats during the 2017 Kicker Country Stampede in Manhattan.

Flint Hills site of best country music around

By Mark Schnabel Newton Kansan

MANHATTAN — Every year, hundreds of thousands of country music fans make the sojourn into the majestic Flint Hills north of Manhattan for the Kicker Country Stampede.

Held on the last weekend of June since 1996, the Stampede brings in some of the topselling artists in contemporary popular country music, as well as many other national and regional acts, for a three-day festival held at Tuttle Creek Lake State Park, located five miles north of the Little Apple.

Acts perform on up to four stages — the main stage, Tuttleville, the NSAI Stage and Radio World.

“We are 24 years of bringing top national country music talent to the region,” Stampede general manager Adrienne Hayes said. “We are located in the stunning Tuttle Creek State Park and our

economic impact for tourism and the region has been tremendous. We have camping options for everyone and three days of jam-packed activities, which include bull riding, ax throwing, four live stages, swing dance performances, yoga, corn hole tournaments, songwriter exhibitions, commercial and food vendors.”

For 2019, 17 acts are scheduled for the main stage, 13 for Tuttleville, 26 for the NSAI Stage and three for the Radio World Stage.

Performances begin at 2 p.m. each day and run to well past 1 a.m.

The event also includes a song-writing contest.

More than 52 top-selling country artists have performed at the festival in the past 22 editions.

Notable names for the main stage in 2019 include Jason Aldeen, Clint Black, Michael Ray, Morgan Wallen and Sawyer Brown.

According to Hayes, the

Country music artist Ryan Hurd performs during the second act of the 2017 Kicker Country Stampede in Manhattan. [PHOTOS BY CHRIS NEAL/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL]

Country music fan go on a ride through the camp grounds before the start of the 2017 Kicker Country Stampede.

most popular activities include “Henna and airbrush tattoos, festival food, Swingin’ Spurs dance performances, line dance lessons, after party at radio world

featuring more live music, and a beach party with games, water slide and more.

“2019 will feature ax throwing, bull riding, Kicker Audio exhibit space, Miller

bar, VIP, Club 100, party pit access, Stihl chainsaw demos, Country Stampede merch, artist merch, contests and games, best campsite contest.”

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‘K’ is also for Miss Kansas Pageant

Pratt pulls out all the stops for Miss Kansas competition

By Jennifer Stultz Pratt Tribune

PRATT — The city of Pratt has hosted the Miss Kansas competition since 1955, and every June, community leaders and volunteers roll out the red carpet of welcome to provide meals, parade transportation, showtime support and much more for the 30-40 contestants who come to vie for the state crown.

“I just love coming to Pratt,” said Miss Kansas 2018 Hannah Klaassen. “Everyone here is so welcoming.”

Klaassen, an Arkansas City native and Tabor College (Hillsboro) student, was crowned in Pratt in June 2018 after several days of singing, dancing, interviews, beautiful gowns and community appearances, including a large downtown parade. Each year, three nights of performances take place at Pratt Community College in the Dennis Lesh Arena, which is transformed into a glittering backdrop to feature some of the finest talent from across the state during the competition.

Pratt’s largest parade of the year takes place in honor of the Miss Kansas competition on the Friday evening of Miss Kansas week. Local car owners bring out their old and new convertible rides to transport each Miss Kansas candidate through town amidst cheering and waving crowds that line Main Street.

Candidate supporters often hustle into the procession giving flowers and balloon bouquets to their favorites.

Local churches and civic organizations participate with floats and other parade entries turning it into a full-fledged community event. Candidates take part in photography and autograph signing appearances, often flanked by Sunflower princesses who get

Miss Kansas 2017 Krystian Fish (right, front) leads 2018 Miss Kansas candidates down the runway for a colorful display of evening gown fashion. [JPHOTOS BY JENNIFER STULTZ/PRATT TRIBUNE]

a spot in the limelight during the week.

Another annual event during Miss Kansas week in Pratt is the 75’s Dinner which honors area citizens 75 and older, served by the Miss Kansas candidates at the city Municipal Building.

The Miss Kansas Week in Pratt is an economic boon for hotels, restaurants, gift and flower shops. It also personifies the Miss Kansas organization motto, “Empowering women to be their best through education, social impact and service.”

Many local businesses support the Miss Kansas competition with scholarships and financial sponsorship. Postcompetition social events include special entertainment, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar at Park Hills Country Club.

The Miss Kansas Outstanding Teen Competition is also held in Pratt as part of the Miss Kansas week activities.

The 2019 Miss Kansas competition is set for June 6, 7 and 8. Ticket and donor information is available at www. misskansas.org.

Miss Kansas contestant Dakota Derstein waves to the crowds along Pratt’s Main Street during the annual Miss Kansas Parade.

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‘L’ is for Lake Perry

Outdoor entertainment for everyone

By Josh Rouse The Capital-Journal

OZAWKIE — Perry Reservoir in Jefferson County is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the man-made lake has never had this many options for entertainment.

Perry’s offerings include everything from fine dining and golf to boating, fishing, hunting, camping and a breathtaking fireworks display.

Lake Perry Country Club, 6506 Cherokee Lane in Ozawkie, offers a challenging course with a beautiful view.

It is under the ownership of GreatLIFE Golf and Fitness, meaning members of the program get golf, fitness and other perks from the course.

Located near the golf course is Lake Ridge Bar and Grill, run by 2 Chefs Catering. The restaurant is open from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The bar is open until midnight.

“Our popular dishes include hand breaded chicken fried steak, chicken bacon Gorgonzola,” said Tricia Peterson, a Washburn graduate who runs the restaurant with her husband, Ryan Peterson. “We have lots of salads and homemade dessert, including cheesecake and chocolate ganache torte.”

Lake Perry Marina, located at 10770 Perry Park Drive on the southeast side of the dam, offers an array of rentals, from pontoons to ski boats, along with a full-service boat repair shop, dock store and a restaurant called Hookers and Reelers. It is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fishing from the store dock also is allowed for $4 per person per day. The Perry Yacht Club on the west side is a sailboat-only club that hosts

races and open regattas.

The lake traditionally hosts a Fourth of July fireworks celebration for boaters and campers, but in recent years the fireworks had fallen through. This year, however, the celebration returns with a 30-minute fireworks show that will take place at 10 p.m.

July 6, with a makeup date of July 7 in the event of rain.

There will be a live music simulcast alongside the show thanks to KWIC-FM (99.3 The Eagle). The band LANDRUSH also will perform from 5 to 9 p.m., according to the event’s website. More information is available at https://www. lakeperryfireworks.com/.

Perry State Park offers multiple camping options — including cabins and utility hookups for trailers and RVs — as well as a swim beach and hiking, biking and horseback riding trails with scenic views of the lake. On the west side, there is also the Longview Disc Golf Course for those interested in Frisbee golf.

In the 1990s, Perry became nationally recognized for its fantastic catfishing opportunities thanks to the Hog Trough, a roughly 4-acre span of the lake where fermented soybeans were dumped in large quantities dating back to the 1970s to bring in huge numbers of channel cats.

“The original Hog Trough was south of the big state park ramp on the west side before the cove,” said Kirk Tjelmeland, water resource planner at the Kansas Water Office and a former fisheries biologist at Perry.

Catfishing has since become a more widespread endeavor on the lake thanks to the introduction of feeders, the growth in popularity of the sport and the introduction of different tactics

ABOVE: Several Kansas State University teams compete during the Kansas BASS Nation College State Championship on Perry Reservoir earlier this spring.

[JOSH ROUSE/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL]

RIGHT: Kayaking is a popular activity at Lake Perry. [SUBMITTED]

for catching catfish. Nick Kramer, the current fisheries biologist at Perry, says there is still a group of chummers that mainly fishes around Devil’s Gap, but the group nowadays isn’t as large “as the lore of the Hog Trough suggests.”

“I don't think I have seen many boats around the Hog Trough area since I’ve been here,” Kramer said.

It also is well-known as a great crappie and white bass lake and is gaining a reputation for its black bass fishing, as well, with the lake ranking 60th among Bassmaster.com’s top 100 bass lakes in 2012.

The lake is host to many fishing tournaments throughout the spring and summer months. The lake hosted the 2019 Kansas BASS Nation College State Championship, the Kansas State University

Fishing Club’s Big Bass Bash benefit tournament and a Catfish Chasers event in April, though heavy spring rains caused some flooding in the state park that hampered those tournaments a bit.

The Kansas Crappie Club will hold a tournament there June 1-2, with a morning registration each day and the weigh-in tentatively set at Jefferson Points ramp. The first day is for its novice division and costs $50 to enter for a two-man team. Day 2 is for more serious anglers and costs $150 to enter for a two-man team. For more information on that tournament, visit www. kansascrappieclub.com. The Kansas Crappie Trail will then follow up with a tournament June 20. For more

information on that tournament, contact Dylan Faulconer at KansasCrappieTrail@yahoo. com or (913) 416-3481.

Finally, Catfish Chasers will return to Perry for a two-day tournament Sept. 7-8. Fishing will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, with check-in at the south state park ramp. Entry is $125 per day. For more information, call David Studebaker at (785) 289-0007 or Craig Collings at (816) 261-9353 or visit www. catfishchasers.com.

During the spring and fall, hunters also take advantage of public hunting areas around the lake, including 16 waterfowl marshes. Hunting opportunities include turkeys, waterfowl and deer, among other such wild game as pheasant, quail and dove.

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‘M’ is for B-29 Bombers of the Prairie Museum

History comes alive at B-29 Bomber Museum in Pratt

By Gale Rose Pratt Tribune

PRATT — Pratt has a strong historical connection with World War II and the B-29 Bomber.

The Pratt Army Airfield was opened in 1943 north of Pratt on an open prairie and became the first training facility in the world for the new B-29s as they rolled off the assembly line in Wichita. Over 23,000 Army Air Corp flight and ground crew members trained at the airbase from 1943 to 1946 when the airfield was closed. Among those who trained at Pratt were Col. Paul Tibbets who piloted the Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Maj. Charles Sweeney who piloted the B-29 Superfortress Bockscar that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

The base is now the Pratt Regional Airport and has an extensive industrial park.

The B-29 Bombers on the Prairie Museum is located in the parachute building, one of the few original structures remaining, which has been placed on the state register of historic places. The museum is open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays during the summer and other times by appointment by calling 620-672-8321.

An extended restoration of the parachute building has been completed and the building looks very much like it did inside and out from 1943 to 1946. A portion of the parachute drying room houses a video viewing room that is also used for live presentations.

The museum has numerous artifacts including the complete historical records of the 29th Bomb Group, one of four bomb groups that trained at Pratt including the 29th Bomb Group, the 40th Bomb Group,

the 364th Bomb Group and the 497th Bomb Group.

Displays are dedicated to the five bomb wings that served at PAAF: 58th Bomb Wing, 73rd Bomb Wing, 313th Bomb Wing, 314th Bomb Wing and 315th Bomb Wing.

Each of these displays and others at the museum feature QR codes that provide more information.

The museum has also received historical records for the 73rd Bomb Group and the 444th Bomb Group. Those records are in temporary storage but, like the rest of the records, they will eventually be on permanent display.

Another display features the role women played in the war effort.

Numerous artifacts relating to the base and World War II are on display. The story of the Battle For Kansas and the over 50 modifications that were made at PAAF after the planes were delivered from Boeing in Wichita is told revealing the massive coordinated effort to get the B-29s in the air.

A portion of the museum is the "Pratt Aviators Wall of Fame" that features the history of several Pratt area aviators. Each display has a photo of the pilot, other related photos, extensive history and memorabilia for each pilot. Currently on display are 1st Lt. Dwayne Adams, of Cullison; Lt. Col. Jack Graber, of Wilmore; Lowry "Dean" Gallaway, Howard Curran and Arthur "Gene" Aenchbacher who had a 30-year career in the Air Force. Coming soon to the Wall of Fame is Pratt Pilot George Chandler.

The newest addition to the museum is the "The Dawn of the Atomic Age" that tells the story of the development of the atomic bomb, the 509th Composite Bomb Group, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the debate on using

Panoramic views of Hiroshima, Japan, after the atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, is part of a new display on the Atomic Age recently completed at the B-29 Bombers on the Prairie Museum at the Pratt Regional Airport. [PHOTOS BY GALE ROSE/PRATT TRIBUNE]

the bomb and the impact it had on shortening World War II. The display features graphic panoramic photos of both cities after the bombing, photos of the crews and planes, other related photos, numerous histories covering the path from the discovery of fission, the development of the bomb, the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the aftermath. Museum volunteer Mark Martin and his wife Barb took over a year and 500 hours of research for the project that is now complete and on display.

Recent acquisitions to the museum is a pool table that was used on the base. It was located in Pratt and donated to the museum. Research is being done to determine if officers or enlisted men used the table.

Other recent additions include a B-29 Radial Engine (Wright R-3350 DuplexCyclone) that was one of the original engines on the B-29 "Doc" and recently restored to flight status.

One of the more unique

This photo of the Enola Gay crew that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima is one of many items in the new Dawn of the Atomic Age display at the B-29 Bombers on the Prairie at the Pratt Regional Airport.

displays is a hard fabric reserve fuel tank that was used to extend the B-29s range. The fuel tank was designed to fit right on top of the bomb

bay door. When the fuel was used up, the tank was simply dropped out the bomb bay. The tank is rare and may be the only known tank to survive.

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘M’ is also for Mined Wildlife Area

Reclaimed by nature: Ideal for wildlife and people

By Jonathan Riley Pittsburg Morning Sun

O

nce the site of extensive strip mining, the Mined Land Wildlife Area (MLWA) of southeast Kansas today includes roughly 14,500 acres that have largely been reclaimed by nature, providing not only an ideal environment for fish, birds and game animals, but for human visitors as well.

Mining in the areas scattered throughout Crawford, Cherokee and Labette counties that are now designated as MLWA began in the late 1800s. The first tract of land donated and dedicated as a nature preserve was in 1926.

More than half of the current MLWA, including more than 8,000 acres, was donated to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism by the Pittsburg and Midway Coal Co. in 1981.

Today, hundreds of waterfilled pits once used for mining are now managed for fishing.

The MLWA features about 1,500 acres of public waters and some of the best fishing in the state, with largemouth bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, rainbow trout, walleye, crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, wipers, bullhead and warmouth among the varieties that can be found.

Photographers, wildlife watchers and hunters will also find no shortage of animals in the area. With wetlands, native grasslands, woody shrub areas and oak-hickory forests, MLWA provides an ideal habitat for whitetailed deer, eastern turkey, quail, cottontail rabbits, fox squirrels, raccoons, bobcats, beavers, muskrats and coyotes. Other activities that draw visitors to the nature preserve include hiking, as well as mushroom and berry picking.

Mined Land Wildlife Area includes many lakes and ponds that were formerly strip mine pits.

While hunting and fishing are generally allowed in the MLWA, these may be restricted at certain times in certain areas. Canoeing is permitted throughout the nature preserve. Motorized boats are allowed only for fishing and hunting. Water skiing and personal watercraft are prohibited, as are swimming and target shooting.

Tent camping is allowed throughout the MLWA except in designated refuge areas.

Vehicle traffic is restricted to parking areas and maintained roads. RV parking is allowed in certain designated areas and parking lots. Off-road vehicles and horses are not allowed in the nature preserve. Use of firearms is prohibited in

units 1, 21, 23 and part of Unit 22, although bow hunting is allowed in these areas.

In addition to the tent and RV camping allowed in many parts of the nature preserve, the MLWA offers two modern cabins capable of accommodating up to six guests and available for rental reservations. The cabins are located in Unit 30 of the wildlife area, near the town of West Mineral in Cherokee County, overlooking a 28-acre lake stocked with rainbow and brown trout. Anyone age 16 or older must have a trout stamp to fish the trout lake.

Acreage designated as part of the MLWA is not contiguous and parts of the nature preserve are scattered

Mined Land Wildlife Area features diverse plant life and natural environments in addition to birds, fish and other animals. [PHOTOS BY JONATHAN RILEY/PITTSBURG MORNING SUN]

throughout the three counties where it is located. Hazards to watch out for include poison ivy, as well as steep drop-offs in many of the strip-mine lakes throughout the area.

For more information, visit the website of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism at https:// ksoutdoors.com or call 620-231-3173.

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‘N’ is for NBC World Series

A diamond in the rough NBC World Series showcases high-caliber semi-pro baseball

By Kelly Breckunitch Newton Kansan

WICHITA — While Wichita’s history has been hit or miss when it comes to minor league baseball, there has been one constant through the years that continues to draw crowds.

Thanks to the ingenuity of one local sporting goods salesman, Raymond “Hap” Dumont, baseball fans have been able to look forward to watching highly competitive, semi-professional baseball in the late summer for nearly a century, with Dumont helping organize the first National Baseball Congress World Series (which will crown its 85th champion later this summer) in 1935.

Back when it started, the NBC World Series attracted many barnstorming and town teams, with Dumont able to rope in future Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige for that first tournament. Now, the two-week championship series (starting the last week of July) features mainly collegiate and amateur teams from across the country, giving up-and-coming players a chance to shine in the spotlight — an opportunity not lost on them.

“It’s definitely one of the biggest stages I’ve been on,” said 2018 NBC World Series participant Jace Snodgrass, who played for the Newton Rebels. “For me at least, hearing the crowd and everything when you do anything cool is just awesome and puts a little more momentum on your side for sure. It’s just a great time all-around.”

For some of those collegiate/ amateur players showcased in the NBC World Series, the tournament has proven to be a springboard into the pros — with the tournament having helped launch the careers of

Crowds are drawn to the NBC World Series to witness championship-caliber competition among teams from across the country, including some from as far away as California and Alaska.

NBC World Series At this year’s NBC World Series, to be held July 27 through August 10, the tournament will crown its 85th champion. [FILE PHOTOS/NEWTON KANSAN]

more than 800 Major League Baseball players. That includes the likes of current MLB superstars like Aaron Judge, Albert Pujols and Paul Goldschmidt, as well as those of years past — like Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens. The latter even put together a team of former MLB players to compete in the tournament a couple of years ago.

Having the chance to watch those future (and former) stars compete is reason enough to check out the NBC World Series, but there will be a new hook this year — as the tournament will be switching venues following the recent demolition of Lawrence-Dumont Stadium to make way for a new minor league ballpark.

Switching venues has made for one of the busiest offseasons so far, according to Tournament Director Kevin Jenks, but the

tournament will not be moving to an unfamiliar site. Wichita State University’s Eck Stadium will host this year’s NBC World Series — after hosting some overflow games in the past — and organizers are looking forward to the potential that host site holds.

“It’s been a good transition and we’re excited about it. It’s a facility that just has better amenities for our players, our teams, our fans and our staff.

To me, it’s one of the top five to 10 collegiate ballparks in the country,” Jenks said. “We look forward to playing there and the excitement of utilizing their amenities, that we didn’t have at Lawrence-Dumont, is a big plus for us.”

The history of LawrenceDumont Stadium will be heard to replace, according to Newton Rebels General Manager Mark

Carvalho, but Eck Stadium is a logical alternative. No matter where it is held, he noted collegiate summer baseball — at that level — makes for a fun atmosphere.

With the host site in flux this year, Jenks admitted organizers have fielded a lot more questions than usual about the tournament. Tough as it is to have to leave the historic Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, Jenks noted the plan is to keep the tournament — one of the longest-running sporting events in the country — going strong in Wichita with hopes of attracting generations of fans to the NBC World Series for years to come.

“It’s our 85th year. Not many sporting events around the country can say that, and certainly to be able to call Wichita home since day one is important,” Jenks said. “From our

Eck Stadium, 4100 E. 21st St. N, Wichita 67208 www.nbcbaseball.com 316-977-9400 The NBC World Series, one of the longest-running continuous sporting events in the nation, will crown its 85th champion this summer.

research, we know that fans who come out one time or two times or three times, we typically have them hooked for life. It’s our job, it’s our duty to make sure they keep coming back, but it really has become a family tradition, I think, for a lot of our fans. That’s what’s really cool.”

“There is a lot of love out there for the NBC,” Jenks said.

“When people look forward to your event on an annual basis and talk about it, whether it’s in December, January or here in April, that makes us all smile.”

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‘N’ is also for Chaplin Nature Center

Chaplin Nature Center shines as ‘little gem’

By Mary Clarkin Hutchinson News

ARKANSAS CITY — The Wichita Audubon Society’s search for a site for a nature center found an answer and a home northwest of Arkansas City.

In 1973, he Wichita Audubon Society purchased land that once belonged to the Chaplin family and the organization continues to manage it. Chaplin Nature Center-based naturalist Shawn Silliman said 230 acres offer a varied habitat: prairie, forest and water. Visitors come to watch birds, exercise on a walking trail or just to be outdoors, he said.

A January 2019 post on The Kansas Trail Guide’s website, kansastrailguide.com, recommended Chaplin Nature Center

— as well as Milford State Park in Geary County — as two locations offering “a good hike with a chance to see bald eagles.”

Silliman said more than 200 species of birds have been seen through the years at the site.

Previous owner Hazel Chaplin was fascinated by the birds seen there and wanted the land preserved, he said.

The trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk every day, at no charge. An approximately 3,000-square-foot Visitor’s’ Center features a display highlighting the habitat.

Also on display is an egg collection over 100 years old.

People used to collect wild bird eggs, Silliman said. It’s illegal now, so the old egg collection generates interest.

The Visitor’s Center also hosts a number of educational programs,

he said. On average, Chaplin Nature Center draws about 5,000 visitors a year, he said.

“We’re not really on the beaten path,” he said.

South-central Kansans are those most likely to visit Chaplin. That includes people traveling from the WichitaDerby area, he said, and people living in Chaplin’s home county, Cowley County.

Kyle Anstine is from Arkansas City, and he called Chaplin Nature Center “a little gem.”

Anstine now lives in Oklahoma — he’s director of catering at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater — but he still enjoys kayaking the Arkansas City in the vicinity of Chapin Nature Center. The river’s current can glide a kayak downstream without requiring steady paddling, he said.

On Saturday, June 1, the Chaplin Nature Center will host an evening kayak float. Preregistration was required and by mid-April, the event was filled and registrations no longer were being taken, according to Chaplin Nature Center’s Facebook page.

Another special event that remains available is the Arkansas City Butterfly Count. It will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, July 13, at Chaplin Nature Center. Butterflies will be counted and identified on a hike of the trails and data will be sent to the North American Butterfly Association. Those planning to participate should call the center.

September will bring a fullmoon 2K fun run/walk starting at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13. Preregistration is required.

This wooden stairway at Chaplin Nature Center, northwest of Arkansas City, takes visitors up to the Visitor’s Center. Chaplin provides a number of educational programs and its trails are open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week, at no charge.

Chaplin Nature Center 27801 27th Dr. Arkansas City, 67005 (620) 442-4133 www.wichitaaudubon.org

North Central Kansas ...the spots to stop!

Best Little Gun Shop In North Central Kansas!

BENNINGTON GUN STORE Schur Firearm Sales, LLC

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Repair & Special Orders

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Sylvan Grove, KS 67481 • 785-658-2392

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www.gunstores.net/259983 NOW AVAILABLE CUSTOM RIFLE WORK Action Blueprinting & Truing Barrel Threading Custom Cerakote Bake-on Finish Barrel Chambering Rifle Accuracy Troubleshooting & Repairs Plus many more repairs of all types of firearms 785-201-5090 • 104 NORTH NELSON, • BENNINGTON, KS

Ordinary People Extraordinary Art Admission Charged

Lucas, KS • 785-525-6118 May - Sept., Mon.-Sat. • 10 am - 5pm, Sun. 1-5 pm

Tour includes Deeble Rock Garden and Garden of Isis.

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Tues., 10-6pm; Wed., 4-7:30pm Thurs., 10-6pm; Fri., 10-6pm; Sat., 10-3pm

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Full-Time Certified Mercury Mechanic Full Service Fuel Dock • Rental Slips Boating Accessories • Camper Storage Pop and Beer • Ice and Snacks Live Bait • Fishing Tackle Winterize Boats, Campers & Jet Skis

Visit the World-Renown Garden of Eden and Miller’s Park Open every day 10am - 5pm May thru October Call for hours after October

785-525-6395 www.gardenofedenlucas.org Facebook@Garden.of.Eden.Lucas.Kansas

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‘O’ is for Kansas Oil Museum

Museum puts focus on oil industry

By Belinda Larsen Butler County Times Gazette

EL DORADO — The Kansas Oil Museum, 383 E. Central, continues to attract visitors. It is one of the largest museums in the state with a focus on the oil industry and includes a large indoor exhibit hall along with a 10-acre outdoor area.

The museum also preserves and interprets the history of Butler County, from the earliest days of the Native American tribes and pioneers, to small town and ranch life in the 1900s.

There is a large research library and extensive archival and photographic collections.

Indoors you will experience the story of: • Kansas Flint Hills.

• Butler County, Kansas.

• The history and science of oil

exploration and production.

Outdoors you will experience the story of: • Oil Field Equipment from the past 100+ years, restored and operated during special events and tours. See how "black gold" was (and still is) extracted from deep within the earth, using this massive and powerful equipment.

• Historic Oil Boom Town, furnished as if the town's inhabitants had never moved on.

These oil boom towns operated as divisions of the oil companies, and were under the authority of company officials. Developed in response to oil strikes, these oil communities had their own stores, company offices, schools, and entertainment.

• The museum offers guided tours for both school groups and adults, as well as making visits

to classrooms, civic groups, nursing homes, and other organizations year-round to provide programs and activities for the entire community. Regular events include free Family Fun Days, in addition to summer camps every June.

The Kansas Oil Museum also serves as the Historical Society of Butler County and is home to the Rolla A. Clymer Memorial Research Facility, whose large collection of resources is available free of charge to anyone interested in researching family, local and state history. It has more than 4,000 books and manuscripts, newspaper archives from the 1870s up to the present day, historic maps and photos, and many other materials spanning the county's entire history.

For those who are interested in learning more about genealogy

Kansas Originals In our new coffee shop we can provide folks with tasty treats and great sandwiches!

• Cookies • Cream Puffs • Kolaches • Cherry Danish •Breakfast Burritos Discover the largest selection of Kansas-Made, Kansas-Grown products found under one roof.

Over 4,000 high quality items from 225 Artists, Craftsmen, Authors, and Food Producers

Fine & Folk Art • Exquisite Crafts • Specialty Foods We Ship Everywhere!

785-658-2602

www.kansasoriginals.com

I-70 exit 206, Wilson

Like us on Facebook

info@kansasoriginals.com

Now Available Wine Tasting and Sales

The Kansas Oil Museum features an historic oil boom town where visitors can experience life in an oil town. [FILE/BUTLER COUNTY TIMES GAZETTE]

research, the Butler County Genealogical Society meets here on the third Thursday of every month and is open to everybody.

The Gusher Gift Shop features books, DVDs, event tickets, gifts and jewelry.

The museum hosts numerous events throughout the year for history lovers of all ages.

For more information, visit kansasoilmuseum.org or call 316-321-9333.

The Kansas Oil Museum is open year-round, with expanded hours during the summer. Self-guided tours through the galleries and grounds are available during regular hours; docent-led tours may be scheduled in advance by phone or using our website.

Summer hours (Memorial Day through Labor Day): 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

KANSAS A TO Z

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COME SEE

Summer 2019 785-628-4286 | sternberg.fhsu.edu TM

TM

SHOPPING • DINING • ARTS • HISTORY Download a FREE Visitors Guide at VisitHays.com!

785-628-8202

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KANSAS A TO Z

Don’t Let Knee Pain Hold You Back

Now offering Robotics-Assisted Total and Partial Knee Replacements

620-672-1002 www.prmc.org

KANSAS A TO Z

‘0’ is also for Oxford Grist Mill

Weekly meal gives life to old mill

By Collin Smith Butler County Times Gazette

OXFORD — The town of Oxford is known for its old mill, which was built in 1874 and is a popular location for photography.

The mill’s grounds are open to the public throughout the week.

A restaurant in the mill is run by the Oxford High School entrepreneurship program and is open for one meal every week. On Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., guests can visit the restaurant. The meal includes an entree, a salad, dessert and several sides.

Each week, the meal changes, and will be announced on the restaurant's Facebook Page.

Meals run from $9-12, plus $1 for a beverage.

The mill was built in 1874 by D.N. Cook and John Hewitt.

A three-mile race was dug by hand, parallel to the Arkansas River. The water that ran through the mill race provided electricity needed to run the mill.

Charles Champeny took over the mill in 1918. The mill was highly successful, and eventually the mill operation required more space and was moved up from the stream to the street level.

Three generations of the Champeny family continued to work at the mill but finally ceased operations in 1997.

Although the old mill was used to generate power to the new mill building, years of neglect and the elements took their toll. By 1988, thirdgeneration miller Wallace Champeny and friend Hal Ross stepped in to save the old mill, and the restoration was completed in 2000.

Donating countless hours, high school students also have a chance to gain valuable experience while managing the mill restaurant.

The mill’s grounds are open to the public throughout the week.

There is a restaurant in the mill, which is run by the Oxford High School entrepreneurship program and is open for one meal every week. [SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

Smoky Hill River Festival Location: Oakdale Park, Salina Hours: 4-10 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday, second weekend of June Website: riverfestival.com Organized by Salina Arts & Humanities, 211 W. Iron Phone: 785-309-577

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Watch for our Statewide Special Section coming June 23rd

JUNE 21-23 • 2019

Council Grove, Kansas

FOOD VENDORS • KIDS ACTIVITIES KAW NATION INTERTRIBAL POWWOW CAR SHOW • ARTISANS MARKET FIREWORKS • FLOAT FOR FUN WASHUNGA SWIM & MUCH MORE!

TP-00039118

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Live Music featuring Cody Johnson For full schedule of events and times visit:

WASHUNGADAYS.COM

There’s a lot to do in Shawnee County!

Gardens • Parks • Trails • Aquatic Centers Sports • Festivals • Golf • Fishing • Boating Playgrounds • Skiing • Rowing • Sailing Tours • Biking • Wildlife • Camping • Concerts Shelter Rentals • Classes • Carousel Mini-train • Old Prairie Town

We’ll Meet You There!

parks.snco.us

KANSAS A TO Z

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‘P’ is for Plaza Cinema

Record-setting theater still playing

By Jeff Gulley Ottawa Herald

OTTAWA — Taking a drive down the Historic Main Street in Ottawa, a marquee sign sticks out over the sidewalk.

You may be surprised to see the latest movie available in the small town.

Ottawa is home to the Plaza Cinema, a movie theater that holds the distinction as the oldest cinemas in the world.

The Plaza opened on May 22, 1907, but was originally named The Bijou. It was also called The Yale and The Crystal before opening as The Plaza in 1935.

In 2018, after years of verification, the Plaza Cinema was recognized as the “Oldest Purpose Built Cinema in Operation” by Guinness World Records. The Plaza’s founding date beat the previous record holder by more than a year; the Korsør Biograf in Denmark, which opened in August 1908.

In the beginning, tickets were a nickel, and usually included two moving pictures and a song performed live.

The road to recognition was not easy. Rita “Peach” Madl, the Plaza’s former owner, spent years collecting evidence to secure the record.

The campaign began when Deborah Barker, archivist and former executive director of the Franklin County Historical Society, uncovered a trove of photographs that indicated the theater was already operating in Ottawa’s early horse and buggy days.

Madl, Barker and film historian Bill Shaffer compiled and authenticated evidence of the cinema’s historicity, which included documents, news reports and photographs from the Franklin County Courthouse, Franklin County

The Plaza Cinema’s roots go back to 1907, when it was named The Bijou. [OTTAWA HERALD]

Historical Society and the Ottawa City Library, along with evidence from newspapers.com, an online database.

“It was a real eye-opener how thorough and professional Guinness staff were,” Madl said, adding that convincing Guinness required submitting documentation in the form of articles, movie ads and photographs for every year in the cinema’s 111-year history.

Now owned by Zaremba, the

old theater is being restored but will keep the character that makes you feel like you are walking into history.

The Plaza also features the Movie Memorabilia Museum, which includes one of the earliest motion picture projectors as well as other exhibits, including movie scripts, posters and props.

New owner, Scott Zaremba, hopes to have a self-guided, audio tour soon. He also has plans to eventually broaden

the tour to include much of downtown Ottawa.

“I think something like this can be a boon to the community,” he said. “There’s nowhere else you can see this, and I think it’s a big deal. And we’re trying to put something together as we speak — so we have a larger tour, featuring our historic downtown. I want to make it big enough where it draws people to stay in community and then go home and tell their friends.”

Plaza Cinema 209 S. Main St. Ottawa, 66067 https://plaza1907.com/ 785-242-5555

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‘Q’ is for Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

The Quirvira NWR Headquarters and Visitor Center sits on the south end of the refuge. Brochures and maps can be acquired at the Visitor Center.

OASIS ON THE PLAINS Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is a stop for tourists by car, wing or paw

By Chance Hoener The Hutchinson News

The observation tower at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge overlooks Little Salt Marsh near the Headquarters and Visitor Center. [PHOTOS BY CHANCE HOENER/HUTCHINSON NEWS]

STAFFORD — The East and West merge just 30 miles west of Hutchinson, Kansas — quite literally.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge — 30 miles west of Hutchinson and 35 miles southeast of Great Bend — covers the area where the tallgrass prairies of the east and shortgrass prairies of the west meet and mingle. That merger, along with the area’s

salt marsh wetlands, creates a haven for many migratory birds, mammal and reptile species, and more that is unique to central Kansas.

“We’re really a seasonal stop,” said Quivira NWR Project Director Mike Oldham.

“People come here during the spring and fall migrations to see the birds that stop here on their way north or south.

In the fall we have Sandhill Crane, Whooping Crane, and in the spring several types of shorebirds come from Mexico

and south Texas.”

In 1955, the Migratory Bird Commission approved the purchase of land to establish the refuge. Quivira NWR now covers 22,135 acres, the last of which was purchased in 1988. Its unique name was given to the area by Spanish Explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1541, who came to the area looking for treasure and the “Seven Cities of Cibola.”

The land was hunted by Native Americans and early

KANSAS A TO Z

settlers, and after the turn of the century, commercial hunting provided fresh waterfowl to Kansas City restaurants.

Today visitors to Quivira can view those same species of waterfowl and shorebirds from the refuge’s observation tower, take photographs in photography blinds, or simply hike or drive the area. The refuge includes hiking trails as well as an auto-tourism loop.

“The one location I always want to key into everyone no matter how much time they have to spend at the refuge would be Wildlife Drive, which is part of our autotourism loop,” Oldham said.

“It seems to be a hotspot in the refuge that gets most of the birds stopping there.”

Over 340 species of birds have been observed at Quivira, and while waterfowl are a big attraction, the refuge is also home to both eastern and western Meadowlarks. Other visitors include such Eastern species as the Northern Cardinal and such western species as Prairie Falcon and Mountain Bluebird. These birds mix with such Great Plains grassland species as Dickcissel, Grasshopper Sparrow and Upland Sandpiper.

The birds may be the stars of Quivira, but the unique

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oasis is also home to mule and white-tailed deer, blacktailed prairie dogs and Eastern cottontail.

The high salinity of Quivira’s big and little salt marshes also make the refuge home to unique plant species, such as salt grass, mixed in with tall and shortgrass prairie species. The sand prairies of the “Great American Desert” can be seen there today.

The refuge’s observation tower overlooks the Little Salt Marsh and is equipped with a viewing scope. Two photography blinds are located at the park, as well as a children’s fishing pond, a natural artesian well, hiking trails and 40 miles of roads within the refuge and along its perimeter.

Maps and other informative brochures are available at the Headquarters and Visitor Center located on the south end of the refuge, near the intersection of N.E. 80th Street and N.E. 140th Avenue.

Visitor Center hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

The refuge is open to visitors seven days per week from 90 minutes before sunrise to 90 minutes after sunset.

Weekend visitors can pick up maps and brochures from a kiosk located outside the Visitors Center.

Overnight camping is not permitted.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge Address: 1434 NE 80th St., Stafford, 67578 Website: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Quivira Phone: (620) 486-2393 Hours: 90 minutes before sunrise to 90 minutes after sunset daily. The Headquarters and Visitor Center hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

Brochures and maps are available to weekend visitors outside of the Visitor Center. Admission to the refuge is free.

The refuge includes and auto-tourism loop, hiking trails, an observation tower, two photography blinds, a children’s fishing pond, two restroom locations and more.

ABOVE: An American Avocet wades through the shallow water at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in search of food.

LEFT: Whitetail deer buck on the move at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

[FILE PHOTOS/HUTCHINSON NEWS]

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘R’ is for Smoky Hill River Festival

River festival grows, evolves with Salina

By Gary Demuth Salina Journal

SALINA — In 1976, a street fair took place in downtown Salina as part of the area’s Bicentennial celebration.

It was such a success that plans soon were underway to make it an annual event with a new name: the Smoky Hill River Festival.

The new festival was organized and supervised by Salina Arts & Humanities at Oakdale Park in Central Salina, and as attendance grew each year, new elements were added to the mixture of art, music and food — from an opening Festival Jam where 16 bands play 15-minute sets for four hours to a “First Treasures” tent where children have the opportunity to be introduced to art.

More than 40 years later, the festival is still going strong. It takes place the second weekend of June, Thursday through Sunday, uses 2,000 volunteers and is attended by thousands of visitors who invest more than $3.5 million dollars into the Salina economy annually.

Admission to the festival is a $10 button purchased in advance at multiple Salina locations and in surrounding cities, or $15 at the gate. Children ages 11 and younger are admitted free.

Brad Anderson, executive director of Salina Arts & Humanities, said the festival is many things — art, music, children’s activities, culinary delights — but most of all it is a “community celebration.”

“It’s a chance to get together as a community,” he said. “It’s full of energy, full of surprises, and a

wonderful way for the community to connect in exciting ways.”

Highlights of the Smoky Hill River Festival include the following: • More than 20 professional touring groups, from blues to folk to World music, perform on the main Eric Stein Stage and the Stage II tent. The Bravo Stage showcases emerging local and regional musicians, poets and spoken word artists, while Arty’s Stage presents an entertaining line-up of children and family performers. Thursday night’s Festival jam attracts more than 10,000 people who listen to 16 local and regional bands performing blues, rock, hip hop, country, folk and everything inbetween in 15 minutes sets.

• The Fine Arts, Crafts and Demonstration areas highlight more than 130 exhibitors

who interact with patrons and educate them about their artistic processes through demonstrations and interactive lessons.

There also are about 20 art installations scattered throughout the park for festival-goers to enjoy and interact with.

• Artyopolis offers a children’s paradise with hands-on arts and crafts, games, face painting and Legos to spark their creativity and experimentation.

Game Street features “pay to play” games on a streetscape made to look like a traditional downtown Main Street. The “First Treasures” tent provides an opportunity for young art patrons ages 4 to 13 to choose and purchase their own art “treasures’ contributed by participating artists at child affordable prices ranging from $1 to $5.

Music is a big part of the Smoky Hill River Festival. [FILE/SALINA JOURNAL]

Smoky Hill River Festival Location: Oakdale Park, Salina Hours: 4-10 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday, second weekend of June Website: riverfestival.com Phone: 785-309-577

KANSAS A TO Z

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘S’ is for Sandsage Bison Range & Wildlife Area

Trevor Ahring, left, and Hannah Roemer make their way up the final hill on the Fourth of July while competing in the Bison Stampede 5K at the Sandsage Bison Range and Wildlife Area. [BRAD NADING/GARDEN CITY TELEGRAM]

PRESERVING THE PRAIRIE Sandsage Bison Range remains a secret to many

By Amber Friend The Garden City Telegram

GARDEN CITY — Barely a mile south of Garden City, visitors from around the world have long visited a 5-squaremile plat of prairie where dozens of bison have roamed free for nearly a century.

But to some residents, even ones who have called southwest Kansas home for

decades, the landmark often goes forgotten.

“I think there’s some local people that would be surprised to hear that it’s even here,” said Tom Norman, area manager of Sandsage Bison Range and Wildlife Area. “(Some) locals either say they didn’t know there was a buffalo herd here, or maybe that, yeah, they’d heard about it but they’ve never visited it

Bison and their calves graze on wild grasses in one of the Sandsage Bison Range pastures. [FILE/GARDEN CITY TELEGRAM]

themselves and they’ve lived here their whole lives.”

Sandsage, established in 1924, is home to about 42 bison, plus a hodgepodge of other Kansas wildlife, from deer to pheasants to box turtles to rabbits, both jackrabbits and cottontail, Norman said. In the summer, the range’s grassland is teeming with technicolor wildflowers.

The range is not the only herd in the area — there are other refuges or grazing lands in Dodge City and Canton, as well. But Sandsage is meant to be a little different, Norman said. From scheduled to informal tours, he said, the relationship with guests is meant to be a little more personal.

The tours are intentionally informal and relaxed,

memorized informative spiels traded out for a tourist-driven conversation and impromptu question-and-answer session, he said.

During the summer, staff will pull guests into the prairie on a large trailer for a handful of scheduled tours. But at any time of year, staff and volunteers will drive anyone out on their own for private reserved tours for either a $20 minimum

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Sandsage Bison Range Address: 785 S. U.S. Highway 83, located approximately half a mile south of Garden City on the west side of Business Highway 83.

Phone: (620) 276-9400 Website: http://fosbrgc.wixsite.com/fosbr Sandsage Bison Range is home to the oldest publicly owned bison herd in Kansas. The 3,760-acre area provides visitors a unique opportunity to view the sandsage prairie ecosystem of southwest Kansas. Along with bison, visitors can see other wildlife, including the lesser prairie chicken, spotted ground squirrel, kangaroo rat, scaled quail, black-tailed jack rabbit, mule deer and western hognose snake. Guided tours to see the bison and other attractions are available by reservation. Visitors are urged to schedule tours in advance by contacting the Friends of Sandsage Bison Range at (620) 276-9400. Self-guided tours are not available at this time.

or freewill donation, depending on the size of the group.

On the annual Bison and Blooms outing, a staff member will occasionally stop and let guests walk among the flowers, picking some and passing them around for everyone to smell. Staff will drive smaller tours right next to the herd, generally staying out as long as guests want to, Norman said.

Guests can’t get out, but sometimes bison will walk close to the car, even rubbing against it.

“They’ll be pretty close to us. And that happens a lot of times,” Norman said.

The goal is to give people a good experience and a taste of an undeveloped Kansas, Norman said, but also to help them remember the importance of the creatures themselves.

Bison ranges like Sandsage are part of one of the “primary conservation success stories” that saved the species, Norman said. By the early 1900s, the worldwide bison population had dropped from 60 million to 500, and the animals became one of the first subjects of grassroots preservation efforts. They are a keystone species, he said, shaping the prairie with grazing habits and making it habitable for other smaller species. They were clearly vital to Native American culture and survival, and old

journals reference herds along the Santa Fe Trail.

Forty to 80 million of them once blanketed the continent, and the plains of Kansas were covered with them, he said. In many ways, preserving bison is preserving what Kansas used to be.

“One of the founding purposes of this herd was the idea that bison were a major part of the history of this area. Prior to western European settlement, this would have been the heart of bison country in North America. It’s pretty hard not to see the importance of bison in history. That’s why I think it’s important people know about bison,” Norman said.

Tourists have come from “darn near every state” and every continent, save Antarctica, and all take an exit survey when they leave, Norman said. In five years, he doesn’t think he’s ever read a negative comment.

“Especially the local people, I think it’s important that they come out and utilize a resource that’s so close to home. I mean, we’re five minutes away.

When they have family in town, friends in town, visitors, guests, I think it’s one of the neatest things around here to show people off what Garden City has to offer,” Norman said. “It’s a unique experience that people just can’t really get just anywhere.”

Tom Norman talks to a group of visitors about the bison on the Sandsage Bison Range during the start of a tour of the range. Norman is the range’s manager. [BRAD NADING/GARDEN CITY TELEGRAM]

Sunflowers were just some of the dozens of flowers and blooms that were seen during a Wildflower and Blooms Tour at Sandsage Bison Range. [FILE/GARDEN CITY TELEGRAM]

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘S’ is also for Sternberg Museum of Natural History

Fossils come to life in Hays

By Margaret Allen Hays Daily News

HAYS — Kaiden O’Dell, a freshman at Fort Hays State University from Salina, began visiting Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays before he could even read the exhibit information.

Now O’Dell is one of five students volunteering this year in the new Oceans of Kansas Fossil Prep Lab at Sternberg Museum.

O’Dell says the lab has given him opportunities to work with fossils beyond what he ever expected.

“We’ve been learning some of the basics,” O’Dell said, such as microscope preparation and learning to properly field jacket specimens in the field.

Other visitors to Sternberg Museum, which sits right off Interstate 70, can see the lab up close too. It’s large windows not only allow museum visitors to watch the work on fossils, but they slide open so visitors can talk with the scientists and students working there.

Sternberg’s summer hours are Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is: Adults (ages 13-59) $9, youths (ages 4-12) $6, senior citizens (60 and up) $8, and Fort Hays State University students with valid ID, $5.

Besides the lab, exhibits now include Megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived, through Sept. 2.

Also, a photo safari of the wilds of Botswana, Africa, starts Oct. 27 and runs through Jan. 28.

The Megalodon exhibit allows visitors to walk through full-scale jaws into a 60-footlong Megalodon sculpture and begin to explore the story of

ABOVE: People fill the lobby of Sternberg Museum of Natural History as they wait for the solar eclipse to begin in Hays.

RIGHT: Wilson Elementary School fifth-graders make pinhole projection viewers at Sternberg Museum of Natural History’s solar eclipse celebration in Hays.

[FILE PHOTOS/HAYS DAILY NEWS]

the fantastic ancient creature – its size, structure, diet, lifespan, relatives, neighbors, evolution, extinction and the science. Tooth-shaped island units support interpretive materials, which include graphics, hands-on components, and familyfriendly interactive elements.

The exhibit is object-rich, including numerous fossil specimens from several collections, and life-size and scale models of other fossil and modern shark, according

to the museum.

The photo safari takes visitors through the wilderness of Botswana, where 40 percent of the land is set aside as wildlife preserves. The animals photographed exist in the wild

away from human influence.

“I wanted to share these images in hopes of communicating my appreciation and wonder of the natural world and its inhabitants,” said photographer Marilyn Wasinger

of her photos. “Many of the photos display critically endangered and threatened species. Perhaps by seeing and learning about them, others will understand the need to preserve and protect them and the wild places for future generations.”

Anyone who can’t visit in person, can make use of the museum’s online database of its paleontology specimen data, which is available to educators, students, researchers and the general public around the world. The database, launched in 2018 and easily searchable, showcases pictures and information about the fossils housed at the museum.

Visitors to the museum might see O’Dell at work in the lab, where he hopes to inspire others the way he says the Sternberg staff inspired his passion for paleontology.

“I definitely want to research, but I think the bigger thing for me is going to be more of the public outreach, talking to little kids, like I was, in inspiring them and saying ‘Keep this, this is real. You should try and keep that desire in your heart,’” he said. O’Dell said he’s applying for opportunities do to field research this summer.

The museum, world famous for its fish-within-a-fish fossil, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Groups of 12 or more people can book a tour guided by museum staff.

Online video chat-based classroom programs for middle and high school classes and school science clubs on earth and life sciences topics are available during the school year with Camps Director David Levering via Google Hangouts and Skype.

Contact the museum at (785) 628-4286 or sternbergpr@ gmail.com.

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‘T’ is for Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

See Kansas before 20th century

By Larry Moritz Salina Journal

CHASE COUNTY — It’s isn’t possible to be physically transported back in time, but the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve can give visitors an idea what this area and a good portion of this country looked like before the start of the 20th century.

The preserve, located north of Strong City in Chase County, is one of five national parks located in Kansas and was created in the mid-1990s.

According to the National Park Service website devoted to the preserve, tallgrass prairie once covered 170 million acres in North America, but now less than 4 percent of that remains, mostly in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

Heather Brown, chief of interpretation at Tallgrass Preserve, said the best place for newcomers to start is at the Visitor Center, located three miles north of Strong City on K-177 highway.

“We’ll give them a trail map and help orient them to the site,” Brown said. “We can help them decide what they want to see and what they want to do.”

There are numerous options, starting with more than 40 miles of hiking and natural trails. Those trails are open 24 hours with no permit required, though camping and biking are not allowed.

“The main season is May through October but there are different things to see through each season,” Brown said. “If you want to see the

wildflowers then you’ll want to visit from mid to late May. The tall grass happens in the fall — in September and October the grasses are in their full glory.

“Visitors will come out and go hiking in the prairie throughout the year. It’s beautiful in all seasons. We’re open year-round.”

Visitors can take a guided bus tour of the prairie.

Those run daily from the last Saturday in April to the last Sunday in October. The tours are free but it is recommended that advance reservations be made.

There is catch-and-release fishing at three preserve ponds, with a valid state fishing license required for Kansas residents ages 16 through 74.

“If visitors only have a

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve offers tours of the historic building on site, including the ranch house. [SUBMITTED]

couple of hours, they could go through the historic ranch building and take a short hike through the prairie,” Brown said. “We have a bison herd and there are prairie bus tours.

“There are more

opportunities available on the weekend but it is best to call for a reservation if you want to do the bus tour. We do walk-ins, but it is best to call ahead and make a reservation.”

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘U’ is for Kansas Underground Salt Museum

Strataca brings best of Kansas to the surface One of Kansas’ most unique attractions isn’t even on Kansas soil — it’s 650 feet below the surface.

By Cheyenne Derksen Schroeder Hutchinson News

STRATACA — Kansas Underground Salt Museum showcases the geology, history of mining and today’s uses for the underground space.

Visitors to Strataca will see the mine and museum artifacts, as well as take a subterranean adventure on a tram ride.

“We’re the only underground salt museum in the western hemisphere,” said Mary Clark, Interim Director for Strataca and the Reno County Museum. “The rides are in the part of the mines that hadn’t been developed so it’s just as the miners would have seen.”

Salt was discovered southwest of Hutchinson in 1887 by a land developer looking for oil.

The original salt mine shaft is located just northwest of Strataca and is still used by the miners today. Now known as the Hutchinson Salt Co., over 500,000 tons of rock salt is removed each year, primarily used as road salt.

To this day, Hutchinson is known as the “Salt City” and its rich heritage is apparent in many local traditions.

Today’s attraction stems from collaboration between the Reno County Historical Society and the two business entities that exist in the mine: the Hutchinson Salt Co. and Underground Vaults and Storage.

At Strataca, museum visitors don safety gear, board a double-decked elevator and take a 90 second ride down 650 feet in the dark.

“The hoist itself is cool.

It’s the darkest dark you’ve ever seen, but when you get out, it’s nice and bright in the

Visitors to Strataca-Kansas Underground Salt Museum tour the mine.

[FILE PHOTOS/HUTCHNEWS]

Strataca Kansas Underground Salt Museum Address: 3650 E Avenue G, Hutchinson 67501 Website: underkansas.org Phone: 620-662-1425 Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Tours depart every 20 minutes; the last tour departs at 3 p.m.

Tickets: $19 for adults, $12.50 for children ages 4-12, $17 for military and seniors. An additional Safari Shuffle tour is $12.50. No children under age 4 are allowed underground.

museum section. There’s a lot of exhibits,” Clark said.

When the elevator car arrives at the mine level, visitors can explore salt mining galleries and a display of Hollywood movie memorabilia from Underground Vaults & Storage, a company using portions of the mine as secure storage.

The 40-minute guided dark ride is a tour conducted on a tram. There are frequent stops to point out formations, exhibits and abandoned equipment. Since everything brought into the mine is left in the mine, the mine acts as a time capsule. Visitors also have an opportunity to select a rock from the active salt mine

as a souvenir.

In the late 1990s, when business owners decided a new elevator or hoist was needed, a partnership was formed that resulted in the development of the museum.

Strataca opened to the general public on May 1, 2007.

The space includes the Event Center, which is home

to Murder in the Mine interactive dinner theatre events and is a popular venue for community celebrations.

“We use the Event Center for business meetings or weddings,” Clark said. “It’s a very unique wedding space.”

In January 2008, Strataca was voted one of the “Eight Wonders of Kansas.”

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‘V’ is for Victoria’s St. Fidelis Church

Poet dubs ‘Cathedral of the Plains’

By Juno Ogle Hays Daily News

VICTORIA — Towering over the central part of Victoria, the Basilica of St. Fidelis is known as “The Cathedral of the Plains” and seen by many as a testament to the hard work of the Volga Germans who made their home in Ellis County.

While Victoria was settled by a group of English farmers in 1872, several years later, they were joined by VolgaGermans who fled Russia after the death of Catherine the Great.

The English found life on the Great Plains too harsh, but the VolgaGerman farmers stayed to work the land.

Capuchin Fathers arrived in 1878 to establish a monastery and church. By 1904, the parish had outgrown the first church, and it was decided a new one would be built. Ground was broken in 1908, and the church was completed in 1911.

The limestone for the church’s exterior was quarried by parishioners from the banks of Big Creek south of Victoria and dressed by local stonemasons.

Its towers rise 141 feet above the ground and the church — built in the shape of a cross — is 220 feet long and 110 feet wide at the transepts.

With a seating capacity of 1,100, it was the largest church west of the Mississippi River at the time of its dedication.

Parishoners wanted the interior of their church to be just as

The worship space inside the Basilica of St. Fidelis.

impressive. Two rows of granite pillars line the center aisle, supporting the stone walls and arches. Statues depicting St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph, Mary Queen of Heaven, Jesus in the grave and his resurrection, and other saints adorn the interior.

It was William Jennings Bryan who dubbed the structure “The Cathedral of the Plains” when he visited in 1912 on his presidential campaign.

In addition to daily Mass, St. Fidelis is also host to other events, such as the annual Cathedral Christmas Concert by the Fort Hays State University Department of Music and Theatre.

The church was named one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas by the Kansas Sampler Foundation in 2008, and it continues to be a large attraction for Ellis County, said Melissa Dixon, executive director of the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“At the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, we are often asked for information

and tours on the historic churches of Ellis County.

The crowned jewel of the tours is always the Basilica of St. Fidelis.

People don’t expect such a spectacular display of religious architecture here in Western Kansas.

When joyful voices and music fill that space, you think you’ve been transported to a choir concert in a European cathedral,” she said.

A Hays cycling group is planning a bicycle tour of churches in Ellis County in June, with proceeds from this inaugural tour to be donated to St. Fidelis for its upkeep and maintenance.

The Tour die Kapellen — German for “tour the chapels” — will begin at 7 a.m. June 22 in Hays and will also include churches in Catharine, Pfeiffer, Munjor, Schoenchen and Antonino. A German meal will be provided in the Downtown Pavilion in Hays at the end of the tour.

Further information on the tour will be available from the group’s Facebook page, www. facebook.com/haysareabicyclists, or the Hays CVB.

The Basilica of St. Fidelis in Victoria was completed in 1911. [FILE PHOTOS/HAYS DAILY NEWS]

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KANSAS A TO Z

‘W’ is for Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area

Whooping cranes descend on Cheyenne Bottoms shorebirds arrive in late April and early May. By late May, the birds that are still present GREAT BEND — The shallow on the area will tend to remain bottoms at Cheyenne Bottoms and nest.”

Wildlife Area bring an amalThe shallow wetlands and gam of birds from all over the grass support about 350 country to forage at its water- bird species. Half of North ing holes and about 60,000 America’s shorebirds visit bird watchers from around the each year, including the world to view them. endangered whooping crane.

Spring is one of the best The whooping crane is the times to make the trip to the tallest bird native to North 41,000-acre state park in America. Their name derives Great Bend. It sits in a natural from the distinctive whooping geological depression. call, done during spring court“In spring, waterfowl and ship often by a pair of birds like sandhill cranes can begin a duet. arriving as early as February,” The whooping crane populaaccording to the Kansas tion once dwindled to about Department of Wildlife, a dozen in the wild, but now Parks and Tourism (KDWPT). number in the hundreds.

“Wading birds, such as herons Cheyenne Bottoms has and egrets, begin arriving become a frequent stop for a in March and April. Most large number of them since the

By Michael Stavola Hutchinson News

land became a preservation.

The KDWPT acquired the land in the 1940s and 1950s.

Dikes were constructed and canals made to divert from bodies of water, including the Arkansas River and Wet Walnut Creek, into five pools.

In 1988, Cheyenne Bottoms was designated a “Wetland of International Importance” under a worldwide treaty.

In February, Ducks Unlimited, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl and other wildlife, announced a campaign to raise $300,000 to match more than $1.2 million in federal grants.

The multiyear project will primarily replace

A group of five whopping cranes was spotted at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge late March by Barry Jones, visitor services specialist at the refuge. These birds wintered in Texas and stop in Kansas on their way to Canadian breeding grounds each spring. [SUBMITTED]

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59

‘W’ is also for Waterfalls at the Geary County Lake

A little effort brings great reward

By Tim Hostetter Salina Journal

GEARY COUNTY — Travel and landscape photographer Mickey Shannon, of Wichita, has visited most of the 80 waterfalls in Kansas on his list.

In a 2017 blog on "There's No Place Like Kansas" website, Shannon ranked Geary Lake Falls No. 1.

Located south of Junction

City, Geary County Falls is formed by the outlet from Geary State Fishing Lake and is only active in the spring or after a heavy rain. Like most spillway falls in Kansas, when the water is running low, they nearly dry up.

Here's a tip from Shannon when visiting these falls: "The main viewpoint is from the top of the falls, but if you follow a little path down through the

trees and do a bit of rockhopping on the creek, it leads you to the vantage point from below the falls."

To get to Geary Lake Falls from Interstate 70 in Junction City, drive south 6 miles on US-77 highway. Turn right (west) on State Lake Road about 2,000 feet to the sign that says "Geary State Lake" on your left. Turn into the park (there is no cost), over

the top of the hill and off onto the unimproved road to your right. Park at the northeast end of the lake and walk about a quarter-mile across the dam.

Just across the dam, there is a narrow worn path. It is a short walk to the falls, but the footing is irregular with occasional steep spots. This gets you to the top of the 35-foot falls.

Getting down below the falls

Geary Lake Falls is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Kansas. It is only active in the spring or after a heavy rain. [KANSAS TRAVEL.ORG]

for a better view isn't easy walking. There is a steep slope with mud and trees to work through, but it is worth the effort.

In addition to the main falls, there are several tiny falls to the sides where water seeps through the rocks and emerges.

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These Area Businesses Schmidt Auction

104 E. Main • Arlington 620-538-4711

VAN SCHMIDT

7833 N. Spencer Rd. Newton, KS 67114 Full Line Auction Service

M–F 6:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Sat 6:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Closed Sunday

Family Atmosphere Dine In • Carry Out Catering Available Private Parties

620-367-3800 • 620-345-6879

DENISE AVERY, ChFC®, CLU® Financial Advisor 2808 N. Main St. Hutchinson, KS 67502-3466 620.728.2639 denise.r.avery@ampf.com ameripriseadvisors.com/denise.r.avery

AUCTIONEER IRA Y. SMITH, ATS - R.E. BROKER WOODWARD, OK

Community Events Recreation | Sports Enrichment | Adaptive Recreation Senior Recreation | Aquatics Wellness | Nature

www.hutchrec.com

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more details!

LISCENSED IN OKLAHOMA & KANSAS Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC.

KREHBIEL TREE CLEARING AND FENCING

Pasture Clearing All Types Of Fencing Licensed Pasture Spraying Brush Mulching Side Trimming To 30ft

Farm Auctions Real Estate Equipment Livestock Antiques Estates

580-254-3975 | SMITHCOAUCTIONS.COM

Proud to be a partner with area farmers!

morris_yoder@yahoo.com Associate Realtor with Riggin & Co.

Senior Center at Elmdale Park

400 E. Ave. E., Hutchinson, KS 67501 Senior Center: (620) 663-2811 Wellness Room: (620) 663-6170

Dillon Nature Center

Now providing value-added feed products in cube, pellet and supplemental tubs!

620-899-6227

17 E. 1st, Hutchinson, KS 67501 (620) 663-6179

3002 E. 30th Ave., Hutchinson, KS 67502 (620) 663-7411

620-931-7283

Morris Yoder

Hutch Rec Downtown

Call today for information and pricing!

Scott Ludwig John McCurry 620-257-2300 620-727-5197 Avenue Q • Lyons, KS www.kansasethanol.net

Salt City Splash

1601 S. Plum in Carey Park (620) 662-7705 - seasonal

Sports Arena – North Entrance (620) 665-3331

Fun Valley-Hobart Detter sports complexes www.funvalleysports.com

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‘X’ is for Kansas Expocentre

Monster trucks, hockey and shows all in one place

By Tim Hrenchir The Capital-Journal

TOPEKA — Rock concerts, horse shows, sporting events and demolition derbies are among the wide variety of entertaining activities offered by Topeka’s Kansas Expocentre.

“Went there for monster trucks and had a wonderful time,” Danielle Goodwin wrote Jan. 5 on the Expocentre’s Facebook page.

“The circus was amazing and I always have fun watching hockey there,” Topekan Mimi Murphy commented April 4 on that page.

Meanwhile, work recently began on a $48 million makeover aimed at bringing the sparkle back to the aging facility, with renovation set to be completed in May 2021.

Shawnee County owns the Expocentre, which opened in 1987 in central Topeka after being built at a cost of $19.7 million. The facility is run by Pennsylvania-based Spectra venue management.

The Expocentre’s centerpiece is Landon Arena, named after Kansas Gov. Alf Landon, who ran unsuccessfully in 1936 as the Republican candidate for president. Landon died at age 100 in 1987, months after the Expocentre opened.

Over the years, Landon Arena has hosted performers who included Bob Dylan, Cher, Aerosmith, KISS and Garth Brooks. President Donald Trump spoke at a rally there last October.

Landon Arena has also played host to activities that included high school graduations, professional wrestling, demolition derbies, monster trucks, Cirque du Soleil and Disney on Ice. For sports fans, Landon Arena is home ice for the Topeka Pilots, a junior team in the North American Hockey League. Kansas Kids Wrestling holds its annual championships event there.

The Expocentre’s Exhibition Hall each year attracts various trade shows and gun shows, plus events that include

Kansas Expocentre Address: 1 S.W. Expocentre Place, Topeka Website: ksexpo.com Phone: (785) 235-1986 Fun fact: Before the Expocentre opened in 1987, its grounds tended to sit idle most of the year while serving as the site of the annual Kansas Free Fair.

Kansas KidsFest, the 501 College Fair and the annual Wing Fling. That hall is also hosting this year’s All Star Preps — Best of Kansas event.

Equine and animal-related events take place year-round at the Expocentre’s Domer Livestock Arena, which offers rodeos, farm shows, horse shows, dog shows, livestock shows, the Shawnee County Fair and the Mother Earth News Fair.

The Expocentre’s Agricultural Hall hosts events that include Topeka’s Metaphysical Fair, the Top Con Geek Expo, the Master Gardener’s Plant Sale, the

A horse was walked past the Kansas Expocentre’s Landon Arena after taking part in a team roping event at its Domer Livestock Arena.

[2011 FILE/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL]

Special Olympics Shrimp Peel, Ladies Day Out and the Festival of Trees.

Even the Expocentre parking lot gets into the act. Each year, it plays host to the Evans United Shows Carnival, the Kansas Motor Carriers Association truck driving championships, the E-Waste Recycling Event and the

Emergency Services Showcase, featuring displays that include helicopters, ambulances, police cars and fire trucks.

Visitors to the Expocentre from outside Topeka need not go far to find a place to stay.

The Capitol Plaza Hotel has been located since 1998 on the Expocentre grounds at 1717 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

‘Y’ is for Camp Wood YMCA

Camp Wood YMCA offers summer camps

By Jason Beets Salina Journal

ELMDALE — Surrounded by the natural beauty of the Flint Hills, Camp Wood YMCA allows kids to participate in summer camps that offer archery, horseback riding, arts and crafts, camp fires, music, canoeing, fishing and climbing.

Beginning June 9, Camp Wood will offer weeklong overnight camps, where children ages 7 to 17 stay with camp staff Sunday through Saturday. About 160 kids participate in each session.

Overnight camps will conclude for the summer Aug. 10.

It costs $642 for a child to participate in overnight camp.

Camp Wood partners with the Salina YMCA to send 40 Salina kids each year to overnight camp for free.

Children ages 6 to 12 may also attend day camps where parents drop off their kids in the morning and pick them up in the evening. Day camps last five days, Monday through Friday. It costs $110 for a child to participate in day camp.

Camp Wood YMCA CEO B.J. Murray said Camp Wood

seeks to have every kid be themselves, be adventurous and feel like they belong.

“It’s a beautiful place to come and visit. All of our facilities have been built or renovated in the past 10 years,” Murray said. “We will never turn anyone away due to an inability to pay. We raise money to make sure that any kid that wants to come to camp can do so.”

Camp Wood was founded in 1915 and has offered fun and engaging opportunities for children for more than 100 years. Murray estimates the

Camp Wood YMCA Address: 1101 Camp Wood Road, Elmdale, Kansas 66850 Phone: 620-273-8641 Website: campwood.org Social Media: facebook.com/ campwoodymca instagram.com/cwymca

organization has served more than 100,000 kids during its history. Last summer, Camp Wood served kids from 12 states and seven countries.

In addition to its summer camps, Camp Wood also

At Camp Wood, staff seek to create an environment that allows every kid to be adventurous, be themselves, and feel like they belong. Camp Wood has offered fun activities for children for more than 100 years.

[SUBMITTED]

offers venues for retreats and conferences, family reunions, outdoor education, and spring and fall family camps.

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‘Z’ is for Oz Museum

Oz Museum in Wamego captures film’s enduring popularity

By Phil Anderson The Capital-Journal

WAMEGO — If you’ve ever traveled out of state and told someone you were from Kansas, chances are you’ve heard some of the many “Wizard of Oz” jokes.

“So,” one line goes, “where’s Toto?”

Here’s another: “Have ya seen the wizard lately?”

How about: “So what’s it like to be on the yellow brick road?”

Or, “How’s everything in Oz these days?”

While most Kansans grit their teeth and force a smile, having heard the lines one too many times, it simply shows the enduring appeal of “The Wizard of Oz,” a 1939 film that tells about the trials and travails of a girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto that continues to mesmerize audiences to this day, some 80 years after its release.

In the end, all joking aside, Dorothy returns to Kansas, finding “there’s no place like home.”

The movie was based on the children’s fantasy novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” written by Lyman Frank Baum and first published in 1900.

Seizing on the ongoing popularity of the film, and nearly everyone’s familiarity with it, the OZ Museum was opened 16 years ago at 511 Lincoln St. in downtown Wamego, a Pottawatomie County town of around 4,500 people located on K-99 highway about six

miles north of Interstate 70, and some 45 miles northwest of Topeka.

The museum contains thousands of artifacts related to the “Wizard of Oz” film and has special events throughout the year, from fan festivals to live performances to a marathon road race in and around Wamego.

Visitors come to the museum from throughout the state, across the nation and even around the world.

Several large billboards along Interstate 70 invite travelers to take a little time to get off the beaten path and check out the OZ Museum for themselves.

“The Wizard of Oz” film comes to life as visitors check out exhibits featuring the many characters made famous in the film.

Clint Stueve, the museum’s executive director, said some 35,000 people visit the attraction each year. Visitors have come from all 50 states and more than 50 nations.

The museum, Stueve said, “is dedicated to all things Oz.” He said it is home to exclusive exhibits featuring the earliest Baum books; artifacts from the author’s life; and props and costumes from several films and stage plays with the Oz theme.

Among the films and stage plays featured at the museum are, of course, the 1939 MGM film “The Wizard of Oz.” Also featured are “Dreamer of Oz” staring John Ritter; Disney’s “Return to Oz”; “The Muppets

An exhibit featuring the character of Dorothy is featured at the Oz Museum in Wamego. [SUBMITTED]

The Tin Man is among the characters featured at the “Oz Museum” in Wamego. [FACEBOOK]

The Oz Museum in Wamego attracts visitors from across the nation and around the world. [SUBMITTED]

Wizard of Oz”; and the original Broadway production of “Wicked.”

Also featured are memorabilia from the early 1900s to today’s collectibles, which can be purchased from the official OZ Museum Store. Stueve said the museum “is an enchanting experience appropriate for all ages.”

Stueve said the movie and its message have stood the test of time, which is a reason the

museum has proven to be so popular. “’The Wizard of Oz,’ as a story, book, movie and stage play, has impacted so many lives,” Stueve said.

“The MGM 1939 classic ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is the most viewed film of all time. That original magical tale has also been revived, retold and expanded only to connect with that many more lives.”

He noted Oz-themed

productions such as such as “The Wiz,” “Wicked,” the Sci Fi Channel miniseries “Tin Man,” and many others.

“From each of these are unique elements with their own attraction such as the song, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ which has been recorded by numerous artists,” Stueve said. “With so many touch-points, most people have a recognition of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ and many

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Oz Museum Address: 511 Lincoln, Wamego, Kan., 66547 Phone: (866) 458-TOTO Email: shop@ozmuseum.com Website: www.ozmuseum.com Admission: Adults 13 and older — $9; children ages 3 to 12 — $7.

Military discount: Adults 13 and older — $7; children ages 3-12 — $5.

Student discount: Student with current college identification — $7.

Children ages 2 and under are admitted free. Group rates are available.

Summer hours: (Memorial Day to Labor Day) 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday to Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Winter hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday to Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Christmas Eve.

have fond memories.”

Visitors to the museum will begin their journey in Auntie Em’s gift shop, which resembles the barnyard scenes from “The Wizard of Oz” movie.

“It is set in sepia tones to replicate the beginning of the movie,” Stueve noted.

“Murals by Cynthia Martin throughout the gift shop and museum help set the atmosphere. The museum is set up to resemble the journey that Dorothy takes through Oz. “Visitors will see each of Dorothy’s friends and a few of her adversaries as the walk through the museum. They will also see the largest private ‘Wizard of Oz’ collection currently available to the public.

Only a small percentage of the collection is on exhibit at any given time, but approximately 2,500 pieces are on display in the museum.”

Stueve said visitors are “blown away by finding this jewel in a small town in Kansas. We have overwhelmingly positive response from all ages.”

Stueve said the story of Oz in Wamego began in 1994,

The Tinman is featured in a display at the Oz Museum in Wamego. [SUBMITTED]

when the board of directors of the Columbian Theatre decided to display Tod Machin’s “Wizard of Oz” collection.

“Tod was a native of Wamego who began to acquire Oz memorabilia and artifacts after writing his college thesis on the subject,” Stueve said.

“It grew to the point that it was truly museum worthy.

“In May of 1995, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ exhibit opened in the Columbian Theatre’s Swogger Gallery. It was a huge success, bringing in 12,000 visitors from all over the United States and 14 foreign countries. Over 78 newspapers picked up the story across the nation. It was at this time that the vision of a standalone permanent facility

dedicated to all things Oz was born. Staff, board members and volunteers worked cohesively to bring this vision to life.”

Stueve said the not-forprofit OZ Museum, which opened in 2003, was built with a major grant from the state of Kansas and “the generosity of the people of this small community, who also provided thousands of hours of volunteer time.

Among the special events held each year is OZtoberFest.

Stueve described the event as “an Oz-themed fall festival that takes over downtown Wamego the first weekend of October. There is Oz magic for every age and interest as well as the standards for fall festival lovers.”

Special guests have included Oz historians, authors and we have featured actors from some of the films, stage and television productions.

Children of some of the movie’s stars also have paid a visit to OZtoberbest. Children of Judy Garland, who portrayed Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” film, Bert Lahr, who played the Lion, and Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch, are among those who have attended OZtoberfest.

There are also costume contests Auntie Em’s applepie baking competition, Stueve noted. The Columbian Artist Group curates a special Oz-themed gallery exhibit in the Columbian Theatre, and a full stage production of “The

Wizard of Oz” also is presented at the Columbian.

Though it already has an extensive collection, the museum continues to acquire more pieces, Stueve said.

“The OZ Museum continues to acquire and borrow pieces to the delight of visitors,” Stueve said. “Many of the items on display are on loan from Oz collectors that wish to share with the public. Often times Oz collectors donate their collection to the OZ Museum to ensure they are cherished and preserved for posterity. The OZ Museum also seeks out unique pieces that are essential to the story of Oz.” For more information, call the Oz Museum at (866) 458-TOTO.

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