Motoring Monday: Buster Keaton

Joseph Francis “Buster” Keaton was born in Piqua in 1895 when his family was performing in the area with magician Harry Houdini and his mother happened to go into labor. In 1917 in New York City, Buster met Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, a famous comic actor at the time and Buster showed him the ropes for the movie industry. He moved to Hollywood and became an actor, writer and director.

In 1992, the nearby community of Iola started an annual event devoted to Keaton, and people started donating memorabilia; thus was the beginning of the Buster Keaton Museum. The Piqua Rural Water District #1 office in Piqua houses the collection with many donations from Keaton’s widow, Eleanor. The collection includes movie posters, articles and many photographs. The museum also has a small collection of his movies that can be played.

The annual Buster Keaton Celebration in Iola is scheduled this fall on Sept. 23-24.

For more information on the Iola celebration, click here.

For more information on the museum in Piqua, click here.

Motoring Monday: Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site



Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site



The Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site is an archaeological site and museum located near the city of Republic. At the site are the remains of a village once occupied in the late 1700s and early 1800s by the Kitkehahki, or Republican, band of the Pawnee tribe.

To protect the site, the land was purchased in 1875 and then donated in 1901 to the state of Kansas for historic preservation. Research at that time showed that Zebulon Pike led an expedition to this site in 1806, seeking allies after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Pike supposedly persuaded the Indians to take down a Spanish flag and replace it with a U.S. flag.

A granite monument commemorating the flag incident was dedicated in 1901. Years later it was discovered that Pike actually visited a Kitkehahki village in south central Nebraska. The effort was a fortunate one though; this site was preserved whereas the Nebraska site was not.

The museum is located eight miles north of U.S. 36 on K-266. To learn more about the site, go to http://www.kshs.org/p/pawnee-indian-museum-plan-your-visit/11896

Motoring Monday: Prairie Museum of Art and History

Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby covers 24 acres and is home to indoor and outdoor exhibits, many temporary exhibits and annual programs as well.

The world-class Kurska Collection contains more than 28,000 items featuring glass, coins, furniture, ceramics, toys, dolls, stamps, clocks, household items, tools, musical instruments, art, silver and jewelry.

Several buildings are on the site including a 1930’s farmstead, sod house, one-room school and the Lone Star Church. The Cooper Barn, the largest barn in Kansas, houses the exhibit "High and Dry: Agriculture on the High Plains" and features farm implements, vehicles and photographs illustrating the history of agriculture in the past 100 years.

Many of the exhibits have hands-on activities, and there are camps during the summer. For more information, go to http://prairiemuseum.org/.

Motoring Monday: Flint Hills Discovery Center

More than 250 million years ago, the area was covered with shallow inland seas. Today the Flint Hills yield plenty of fossils of prehistoric sea creatures. These are a few of the first things you learn while touring the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan. The center highlights the geology, biology and cultural history of the Flint Hills to inspire people to explore and care for the unique region.

The center has been open since August 2012. It includes exhibits designed to encourage visitors to explore firsthand places within the 22-county Flint Hills region of Kansas.

There are also numerous traveling exhibits such as the Amazing Dinosaurs exhibit that can be seen at the center until mid-September.  

Find out more about the Flint Hills Discovery Center at www.flinthillsdiscovery.org/.

Motoring Monday: Stevens County Gas and Historical Museum

The Stevens County Gas and Historical Museum was established in 1961 to tell the story of the Hugoton Gas Field, which at one time, was the largest natural gas field in the world. The gas well, drilled in 1945, is still producing and the 1945 well equipment is on display at the site of the well.

The main museum displays early 1900 furnishings including a chapel, dining room, parlor, kitchen and sewing room. There are also Indian artifacts, farming tools, a printing and western shop and an art room.

Also on the museum complex in Hugoton is the Santa Fe Hugoton Train Depot, an 1887 school house, the first jail house, an early day grocery store and more.

For details on the museum, click here.

Motoring Monday: Henry's Candy Company

While Tom Henry was working in Arkansas City in 1919, he created a candy bar and called it the Tom Henry bar. Slight changes were made to the recipe and it later became the Oh Henry! bar that is known today.

A few years later, Tom opened a candy store in Little Rock, Ark. In 1956, his son, Patrick, opened Henry’s Candy Company in Dexter in Cowley County. Patrick’s daughter, Evelyn Henry Pudden, and other family members still run Henry’s Candies some 60 years later and make more than 100 different varieties of sweet treats. They even use some of the equipment from their grandfather’s former store.

The store in Dexter also features a Momma Henry bar that uses the original Tom Henry bar recipe. Henry’s Candy Company is open 363 day a year (closed Christmas and New Year’s Day), but they don’t make candy every day.

Call ahead, groups and tours are welcome.  For more information, click here.

Motoring Monday: Banner Creek Science Center and Observatory

The Banner Creek Science Center and Observatory encourages people to come for the stars, stay for the science. The center offers astronomy and science classes and seminars designed to, “ignite curiosity, stimulate interest and make learning fun.” The public is also invited to look through one of several observatory telescopes or enjoy clear-sky viewing outdoors with portable reflector telescopes. It is located about two miles southwest of Holton.

It was originally known as the Elk Creek Observatory and was founded in 2000. It became the only high school-owned observatory in the world. USD 336 assisted with the funding for the building, which was designed and built by a woodworking class.

The goal is to develop a full-time, low-cost curriculum for students of the schools, colleges and universities in the area, as well as informative mini-seminars for children and adults.

For more information or to schedule a visit, go to http://bcscience.myevent.com.

Motoring Monday: KSDS Assistance Dogs

A litter of puppies take a nap

KSDS Assistance Dogs, Inc., in the town of Washington, provides highly-trained canine assistance and support to people who are visually impaired or physically disabled. They also provide facility dogs for professionals who need canine assistance in their respective fields. The group is celebrating 25 years of service and has placed more than 500 assistance teams.

When KSDS puppies are eight weeks old, volunteer puppy raisers socialize the puppies and teach them 30 to 40 commands. By taking the puppies into their communities – to workplaces, churches, stores, restaurants, sporting events, music concerts and more – the puppies learn basic obedience and house and public manners.

When the puppies are 16 to 24 months old, they return to KSDS for advanced training to decide whether the dog would perform better with a guide, service or facility partner. A dog typically is two to three years old when paired with a partner.

Volunteers are needed to raise/play with the puppies as well as assistance from painters, carpenters, plumbers, yard work, etc.

Tours of the campus are available by appointment – 785-325-2256

Learn more, http://www.ksds.org/

Motoring Monday: Kansas' Biggest Rodeo



Saddle bronc riding - photo credit: JJJ Photo

The biggest rodeo in Kansas has a big history as the event is celebrating its 87^th anniversary this summer. From Aug. 4-6, there are nightly rodeo performances featuring world champion cowboys and cowgirls in bareback riding, tie down roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, team roping, women’s barrel racing, and bull riding – all sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.


Children can participate in ‘mutton busting’ before the rodeo each night and nearly 100 Saddle Club members ride horses in a grand entry each night as well. A parade will take place through downtown Phillipsburg on Saturday afternoon.

For the past nine years, Tough Enough to Wear Pink night has raised more than $49,000 for cancer research and patients in Phillips County, as $1 is given by the rodeo committee for each person wearing pink.

For more details on all the events, go to http://www.kansasbiggestrodeo.com/.

Motoring Monday: Riverside Park

The overlook at Riverside Park

This Motoring Monday feature is a few days early as next Monday is July 4, a state holiday.

Riverside Park is located on the northeast edge of Oswego. It is an 80-acre park along a bluff that overlooks the historic Neosho Crossing and the Neosho River. The park includes the Labette County fairgrounds, an RV park, swimming pool, ball fields, a 10,000-square foot community center, shelters, gardens, tennis courts, and an observation point with spectacular views of the Neosho River Valley from the 100-foot bluff.

 The land along the bluff was purchased for the park in about 1885 by a group of local women who raised the money to pay for it by conducting food sales and ice cream socials. Many of the structures in the current park were developed and built with the help of New Deal programs during the Great Depression. 

Riverside Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in July 2012. For more information on the park, click here.

Motoring Monday: Fourth of July celebrations



Fireworks light up the sky in Wamego.

Hundreds of Fourth of July celebrations will be taking place across Kansas this weekend as well as next Monday. Celebrations in northwest, north central, northeast, southwest, south central and southeast  Kansas are highlighted below.

Goodland’s 4th of July Freedom Festival – The cattle drive begins at 4 p.m. east of Goodland. Then other events will start at 6 p.m. at the Sherman County Fairgrounds and will include carnival rides, live entertainment and food before the fireworks begin at 9:45 p.m. on July 4.

Salina’s Skyfire! Fireworks Display - A free concert will take place from 7-9 p.m. at the East Crawford Rec Area on July 4. The flag lowering and taps by the American Legion Riders will be shortly after 9 p.m.  Fireworks show will start at 10 p.m. 

Wamego Fireworks Show – Lots of events will be happening all day on July 4 around Wamego with a city carnival, car show, hot wheel races, ice cream and cake social, vocal and band concerts and parade leading up to the fireworks at the Recreation Complex at 10 p.m.

Dodge City’s Old Fashioned Fourth –  During the afternoon and early evening on July 4 at the Boot Hill Museum, there will be a watermelon feed, a seed spitting contest, a gunfight reenactment and games for the kids with a concert starting at 6:30 p.m. The fireworks will then be at Memorial Stadium at 10 p.m.

Derby Independence Day Celebration – During the evening on July 4, the celebration at High Park in Derby will include music, an ice cream social and kids’ activities with the fireworks starting at 9:30 p.m.

Fort Scott’s 4th of July – The fireworks will take place at the Fort Scott Community College about 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 3. Then on Monday, July 4, there will be a parade and other activities taking place in Fort Scott throughout the day.

Motoring Monday: Cimarron National Grassland



The Point of Rocks at Cimarron National Grassland

The Cimarron National Grassland in Morton and Stevens counties comprises more than 108,000 acres and features three ecosystems (shortgrass prairie, sand-sage prairie and wooded riparian). It is the largest tract of public land in Kansas and is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.

The Dust Bowl era of the 1930s left the land in poor condition so in 1938, the federal government purchased the land to restore it.  Now, bird watching, scenic driving, hunting, picnicking, camping, fishing and experiencing history are some of the activities people come to enjoy. A 30-mile self-guided auto tour travels along the Santa Fe National Historic Trail.

The third highest point in Kansas, Point of Rocks, is on the grassland at 3,540 feet. From here, Colorado and Oklahoma are visible on clear days.

For more information click here.

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Motoring Monday: Tanganyika Wildlife Park

A fun view of a giraffe

Take a trip to Tanganyika Park and not only learn about the animals, but interact with many of them as well. Visitors to the park can feed lemurs, giraffes and larakeets and even walk among kangaroos.

The park began as a zoo supply business and has evolved to a facility for breeding endangered species from around the world.

There are more than 300 animals at the park – including African penguins, snow leopards, Indian rhinoceros, white Bengal tigers, red pandas and pygmy hippos. They offer educational programs for children and flashlight/overnight safaris. The park is located north of U.S. 400 in Goddard.

For more information, go to http://www.twpark.com/



Feeding the lemurs

Motoring Mondays: Soda fountains, part two

Holmes Sundry in Hamilton

Last year in the Motoring Monday series, several communities that still have soda fountains were featured. That blog was so popular, we decided to highlight a few more locations across Kansas.  All of the existing soda fountains as of 2012 were featured by the Kansas Sampler Foundation in the “8 Wonders of Customs” category – that list can be seen here.

Old Mill Tasty Shop in Wichita

WaKeeney – Gibson Health Mart has been in business since 1892 with a soda fountain the entire time. The current soda fountain features nine stools and still makes Green Rivers and sodas, malts and shakes the old-fashioned way.

Marquette – City Sundries has original, late-1800s marble counters and tables, metal soda shop chairs, walnut and glass display cases and the original tile floor.

Bucklin – In the Main Street Market, you’ll find the fountain at the back of the store where they make their own syrup and use carbonated water. Make sure and ask about the Orange Cow.

City Sundries in Marquette

Oskaloosa – On the south side of the square is the County Corner Variety. Built in the 1950s, this fountain has nine stools. In addition to the fountain, they have breakfast items and popcorn and sweets on Saturday.

Hamilton – The 1920s soda fountain at the Holmes Sundry has a marble base and stools as well as the original syrup pumps and water spigots. To make the old-fashioned sodas, they mix the syrup and carbonated water separately and stir with a spoon.

Wichita – The Old Mill Tasty Shop opened in 1932 and features a 25-foot marble counter with 11 stools, a wooden back bar and brass foot rails. In addition to sodas and shakes, they have daily meal specials, sandwiches, soups and more.

 

Motoring Monday: Memorial Day

2015 ceremony at Leavenworth National Cemetery

Numerous Memorial Day remembrance ceremonies, services and activities will take place across the state this weekend to remember the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. The post highlights activities scheduled at Kansas’ three national cemeteries – two are in Leavenworth and one is in Fort Scott.

Leavenworth - On Friday, May 27, the Airlifter Brass from the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. at Leavenworth High School.

Saturday morning, about 1,500 local scouts and volunteers from around the area will decorate the graves at both the Leavenworth National Cemetery and the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery.

On Monday, the Leavenworth National Cemetery ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. followed by the ceremony at the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery at 11:40 a.m.

Fort Scott – On Friday, May 27, local scouts, volunteers and member of the National Honor Society from Fort Scott High School will decorate the graves at Fort Scott National Cemetery. On Monday, the ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the cemetery.