Why did the Kansas Sampler Foundation spend so much time with Muscotah?

Several people have asked why we have spent so much time supporting and promoting Muscotah.  I have been remiss in explaining this part!

TO LEARN
Two towns were chosen to help us learn some things so we could create a successful program called Kanstarter (formerly known as the We Kan! Bank), that will be of benefit to all Kansas communities.

The plan is for Kanstarter to operate somewhat like Kickstarter, a crowdsourcing funding mechanism for the global creative arts world. Kanstarter will be used to connect community projects with those who want to help through volunteerism or donations.  The bottom line is to develop and support projects that will help sustain communities. 

FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE

In 2009, we chose to "practice" in Whiting (Jackson County, population 200) with a project commonly known as the Whiting Cafe Makeover.  Through a statewide and global network, we raised over $6,000 and had dozens of volunteers show up for a work weekend. 

Our next effort was to support Muscotah (Atchison County, population 200) with their dream of capitalizing on native son and major league baseball Hall of Famer, Joe Tinker, in creating a spark for the town.

STATISTIC:  Of the 626 incorporated cities in Kansas, more than half have less than a 400 population.  What are we, as a state, doing to support these volunteer-led towns?

WHY WHITING AND MUSCOTAH?
Every year the Kansas Sampler Foundation does a Retreat for Rural Leaders at the Barn Bed-and-Breakfast in Valley Falls. The retreat includes an annual field trip in order to have a first-hand experience with  the theme of the year.

Whiting and Muscotah are within close proximity to Valley Falls.

Jeff and C.J. Hanson of Muscotah came to Whiting to help with the Whiting Cafe project.  Jeff caught the "fever" and came up with a dream for his town.  This led to several Muscotah visits from our retreat attendees over the last four years.

INSPIRATION
The first year we visited Muscotah, we met in the city building.  We all sat in a circle.  The Muscotah folks went first to introduce themselves.  Without being prompted, each one said how many years they had lived in the town and why they loved it.  In the dead of a wet winter the town was looking dreary with its unpaved roads and abandoned business buildings.   By the time the last Muscotah person spoke, our hearts were warmed and we were ready to run through a brick wall for them.

We came back a year or two later to check on them and to see how their dream was progressing.  That's when the idea was hatched to convert the old round water tower tank into the World's Largest Baseball.  From there, the room was buzzing with ideas and promises -- and hope.

WE COMMITTED
Our group committed to being there for them, to use our individual and group networks and resources to help them be the best they could be at being Muscotah.  They would have to do the bulk of the work.  We would be like back-up singers to the main act.

THE NETWORK
Could the simple use of a network help raise the funds, produce volunteers and experts, find technical know how, promote events like the Work Weekend and Joe Tinker Day, and attend and celebrate with Muscotah in a manner that would make a difference?

Clearly, the answer is yes. 

Muscotah citizens did all the heavy lifting.  The "outside world" rallied around them.

WHO WON?
Muscotah was a winner because of the exposure and many tangible results for their community.

Those who took part as volunteers, technical resource experts, or financial contributors were winners because of the satisfaction they received being part of a group that literally helped boost a town forward.

Local and area businesses were winners, too, because supplies were purchased from them.

DID IT SEEM LIKE THIS WAS JUST ALL ABOUT MUSCOTAH?

It probably seemed like this was just a gift for Muscotah.  The truth is that they worked harder than any of us.  It's not easy to be in the trenches and be the last line of responsibility.  With a very strong core group, they took advantage of all the support and made it happen.

As the clearinghouse, the Kansas Sampler Foundation observed this "experiment" through the eyes of Muscotah, the volunteers, the donors, the media, and all of the parties involved.  With what we learned, we have a better chance of making Kanstarter a better product as we work with Reflective Group in developing this online mechanism of support for all Kansas communities.


A DOZEN THINGS WE'VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS ABOUT COMMUNITY PROJECTS

1)  Buy in.  Community projects work best if everyone has had a chance to offer ideas, comments, or questions.

2)  All age groups.  Don't just count on the usual players.  Enlist input from all age groups.  Really listen.

3)  Communicate.  Keep everyone informed.  Find the best communication method whether it be a posted message or social media.

4)  Strong leadership.  Calm, focused, respected leaders are needed to take a town through the tough times.

5)  Do what is right.  The popular plan might not always be what is right.  Stick with what is right.

6)  Community foundation.  A trusted mechanism for receiving donations is a necessity.

7)  Network.  The most interested people in supporting your community are those who have graduated or once lived in your town.  Developing a list of these people and staying in touch is priceless.

8)  Set your ego aside.  This is not about you.  It's about community, it's about being a team.  Make it so.

9)  Make it worthwhile.   In this day of busy people and crowded calendars, each meeting and each event needs to be worthy of everyone's time.

10)  Help others, they'll help you.

11.  Coffee shop talk.  Be the supportive and positive voice.

12.  Celebrate.  Have fun with your community!


Each experience helps KSF "get" Kansas!  KE #2 Marci Penner

Whiting Cafe Makeover - Day One

This will be short.

We're all exhausted.

But what a great day it was. We turned the Whiting Cafe upside down. Rosa was great to let us do it, too.

Probably 45 different people helped today. It was the perfect mix of skilled people and hard workers -- and lots of locals cheering us on.

Before we knew it the windows were all out, the mural started to take form, the exterior was painted, and, inside, people were working diligently on more than a dozen different projects.

People came from Netawaka, Muscotah but also Wichita and Colorado, Concordia, Burlington, Holton, Salina, Leavenworth, Kansas City, and more.

Rosa, her family, and the locals were fabulous to us and fed us lunch and supper in the community building.

Rosa was gracious to let us take apart her place. The workers felt rewarded. Many media outlets were there this morning. It was a win win win for everyone.

Now, how can we create a system that makes it easy to match many rural community needs with many people who want to help.... To be pondered on a less-tired brain.

This was a great day. Thanks, Whiting, for being our experiment. Your story will be told time and time again and it will help people "Get Kansas!"

KE #2 Marci Penner

Whiting Cafe - the pre-makeover visit

We got to Whiting about 2:45 p.m. Rosa closed at 2 p.m. and was already in full motion cleaning out the back room and moving things to the community center in order to feed us tomorrow. Her family and relatives were helping.

WenDee went around taking pictures of the "before." It definitely looks like a restaurant that has been in business for 25 years. This weekend's "makeover" is going to make it into a new place, one that Rosa and customers will love.

We went back to Holton to do a number of errands. While WenDee printed off a volunteer chart at the chamber with help from Pam Halladay, I visited the folks at the Holton Recorder and went to say hi to thousand dollar donor Tom Bishop at Homestead Affordable Housing. From there we went shopping for supplies before meeting Gene Merry and his son Bobby for supper.

Gene and Bobby had been working at the cafe for awhile prepping things for tomorrow. Guys were there installing the exhaust fan and Lower's brought the new air conditioning and heating unit. John had brought over the new windows. The new freezer was delivered by Jayhawk TV & Appliance of Holton.

It'll be like directing an orchestra tomorrow but Gene Merry and Bob Topping will keep everyone moving. We just have to keep hydrated... it's going to be hot.

I'm ready to get started. I know Rosa will sleep better when this is all over. She's such a hard working, good person. It's going to be lots of hard work but a joy to do this for someone like Rosa and for a town like Whiting.

"Get Kansas" by helping or following the action on WenDee LaPlant's Facebook or her Twitter account or on this blog. It should be pretty special.

KE #2 Marci Penner

How KE #54 Sees Kansas

Gene Merry, KE #54, from Burlington, sent in this extensive Explorer Trackings. I enjoyed reading it so much and thought you might, too.

Written by Gene...

I started keeping track in 1997 of all the Kansas highways and byways I traveled. Recently, I completed the over 10,000-mile quest of traveling all state, U.S. and Interstate highways in Kansas, as well as many miles of dirt and gravel.

The highlights of 13 years of seeing every nook and cranny of Kansas are many. I visited all of the 8 Wonders of Kansas, a project of Kansas Sampler Foundation. The 8 Wonders include the Big Well, Greensburg; Cheyenne Bottoms/Quivira Natural Wildlife Reserve, Barton and Stafford Counties. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Abilene; Kansas Cosmosphere, Hutchinson; Kansas Underground Salt Museum, Hutchinson; Monument Rock/Castle Rock, Gove County; St. Fidelis Church, Victoria; and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County. I also viewed the 16 finalists in the contest.

I stayed at 20 different bed and breakfasts, all members of the Kansas Bed & Breakfast Association, my favorite overnight arrangement.

I explored Kansas using a Kansas state map, the DeLorme Gazetteer and Kansas Sampler Foundation’s Kansas Guidebook for Explorers written by Marci Penner. Using the eight elements of exploring and following the Kansas Guidebook, you find that many of the cities have following 8 elements--art, architecture, commerce, customs, cuisine, geography, history and people.

Breaking out my favorites by element class is as follows:

ART

My favorite art across Kansas is mural art. Many communities tell their story by painting a canvas displaying what they are proud of and what reflects favorably on their community. There are so many great murals across the state, it’s hard to pick a favorite, if you haven’t discovered murals in Kansas, start today.

ARCHITECTURE

My favorite is the Kansas Statehouse, its structure, art, and history. Many Kansas towns have great downtown buildings and great historical documentation including Coffeyville, Caldwell, Ness City, Atchison, Marysville and Council Grove.

The Catholic churches across Kansas are also my favorites. St. Fidelis Catholic Church (Cathedral of the Plains), has neat double towers and magnificent marble, at Victoria.

St. Bede Catholic Church in Kelly has the most unique lector stand or soloist stand, great leaded glass and its location on a hill makes it look a mile high and visible for miles.

St. Ann Catholic Church in Olmitz has four clocks for each direction and has an unbelievable view. St. Joseph Catholic Church in Damar has a unique Romanesque design with incredible blues in their leaded glass.

Kansas has very unique courthouses some of my favorites Yates Center, Ness City, Anthony, Lyons, Ottawa, Paola, Osborne (mystery symbols), Lincoln, Marion, Cottonwood Falls and Manhattan.

If you haven’t noticed, architecture is my favorite element.

COMMERCE

A great revenue producer Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation production facility near Burlington is the cleanest and greenest power production facility in the state. W.C.N.O.C. also sports a great 5,000 acre fishing lake with all species, hosts a great environmental center with overview silo, so cool.

Other favorites in Commerce are small town grocery stores from McDonald to Riverton. They are usually my stop for mints, crackers/cheese and soft drinks. Caldwell has a neat grocery store with daily barbeque. We ate in the gazebo in a downtown park. Small town grocery stores are the heartbeat of the community.

CUSTOMS

My favorite custom involves attending the Kansas State Fair and seeing the fruits of Kansas producers. Another favorite is custom combining, especially wheat. What it does to the soul to see five combines in a field, wiping out another successful Kansas wheat crop. Growing up in the Flint Hills, the annual custom of turning cattle out to grass and returning them to a collection point or taking cattle from grass to the feedlots.


CUISINE

I really enjoy all types of food, but in Kansas you have so many choices that are truly great homemade meals. Favorites in chicken are the Olpe Chicken House, Chicken Mary’s and Chicken Annie’s in Crawford County. My favorite in the most unusual category, the menu changes daily at Teller Room Restaurant in Oberlin. They also have the best fruit (located in the first floor of the historic Bank of Oberlin). Tex-Mex favorite is Across the Borders in Burlington. El Salvadorian chef has the best cheese sauce and numerous tasty Mexican food entrees. The restaurant has the only Explorer dining room showcasing the 8 Elements of Coffey County.

My favorite travel food comes from Brants Meat Market in Lucas--love the sausage, crackers and root beer.

Chicken fried steak fixed the Explorer Way is a highlight along with prime rib at Trappers Bar and Grill in Simpson, Pinky’s Bar and Grill in Courtland, and on the widest street in America, Plains Tavern in Plains.

Just great down home food at Don’s Place in Protection, Hometown Café in Barnes, pan fried chicken Whiting Café, (tell Rosa hi), and Neighbors Cafe in McPherson. Chili, snack cheese, and hot pickles at C.W. Porubsky Grocery and meals, in the Little Russia neighborhood in Topeka. My favorite steak house is Jim’s Steak House and Lounge, Pittsburg.

My parents and I like pie so anytime passing through Emporia, I always bring back pie. My dads favorite is strawberry rhubarb from Galva’s Kountry Kafe (620.564.3500) and good food, too. I’ve been to the pie plant in Washington known as Marcon Pies. They sell in southern Nebraska and Kansas, wide variety, always great consistency and my favorite is blueberry. Rosa at Whiting Café makes great cream pies, candy and serves the largest ice cream sandwiches around.

Whiting Café has a special place in my heart as over 100 volunteers remodeled the cafe in 2009 in association with the Kansas Sampler Foundation.

GEOGRAPHY

My favorite geography areas are “The Breaks” near St. Francis, the Kansas Grand Canyon, Cimarron Grassland near Elkhart, especially in wet years, wildflowers are great. I grew up in the Flint Hills near Olpe, so my favorite of favorites would have to be the beauty of the Flint Hills, and the world class grass.

HISTORY

Kansas has so much history in trails, people, communities, agriculture and many more, take your pick, so much history so little time, to get all the stories.

PEOPLE

My second favorite element is the people of Kansas, from the store owners at small grocery stores to the bed and breakfast owners across the state, to volunteers in museums, attractions and parks. We have the most friendly, informed (if they don’t know they’ll call a friend) and dedicated to their individual communities. People make Kansas the superior attraction it is. Take some time to sit down with the locals at their coffee shop and get to know what’s going on there and taste Kansas.

My plan for doing all the traveling was to prove to myself and others that vacationing in Kansas can be just as exciting as any other destination, because you do the same things. When you travel you eat, stay in hotels, motels or bed and breakfast establishments and you see the sights. The big difference is the midwest business persons are some of the most helpful people on earth. They are very proud and accommodating. They love to tell their story.

My wife Barb has traveled with me on numerous trips in Kansas and enjoys shopping at all kinds of quilting shops, gift shops and markets. She likes to make an economic impact.

To enjoy Kansas you have to be engaged in the history of Kansas communities.

Before you plan an expensive trip out of state, take some time to explore Kansas, enjoy a slower pace, try some great food, take advantage of bargain prices, and get to know the state and its people, like we have.

Thanks Gene. Certainly, one way to "Get Kansas" is to know Kansas!

Make it a Kansas Christmas!

A friend had the question. What to give the son-in-law? He lives in another state and will be back from Afghanistan by the time he gets the holiday goods.

Here was her great solution which was prompted by an article Crawford County Convention & Visitors Bureau director Craig Hull wrote in his Pittsburg Morning Sun column.

So far her gift basket of Kansas products includes:
Grannie's Homemade Mustard, Hillsboro grannieshomemademustard.com
Knackie's Bear-B-Cue, Inman bear-b-cue.com
Art & Mary's Potato Chips, Cheney artsandmarys.com
Voran-Goertzen Peppernuts, Goessel peppernuts.net
Circle's Pecans, McCune circlespecans.com
Helmuth Bakery Homemade Noodles, Hutchinson helmuthfoods.com
Blacksmith Roastery Coffee, Lindsborg blacksmithcoffee.com

He'll just love this!

She could add:
A Caramel Apple MarCon pie or any other delicious flavor, Washington marconpies.com
A bottle of Kansas wine winesofkansas.com
Schlaegel's Homegrown Popcorn, Whiting popcorngifts.net
Buffalo meat, Smoky Hill Bison, Assaria bisonfarm.com
Muffin mixes, dried soup mixes, Louisburg rabbitcreekgourmet.com

ONE-STOP SHOPPING!
You could go to one-stop shopping and order most of these from Kansas Originals Market near Wilson! Click here, then under the catalog, click food products. Or, go visit them at the Wilson exit, just north of I-70.

THERE'S MORE!
Add Kansas art or photographs!
Add Kansas music! Ann Zimmerman, Kelly Hunt, Diamond W Wranglers, and so, so many more!
Add Kansas books!

For more ideas, here's an online Christmas shopping guide!

Giving Kansas is a meaningful gift. So instead of "Get Kansas" we're suggesting "Give Kansas!"

KE #2 Marci Penner

We're almost done

"Food so great you'll scrape your plate" are the words in Jim Stukey's mural that graces one side of the cafe.

But the slogan is also stenciled around the ceiling of the dining room thanks to Keyta, Rachel, and Katyln -- and Eli.

The air conditioner is working -- thanks to Kelly and his crew.

Our window guy Michael and assistant Eric built frames and have all the windows in.

Sue put contact paper on all the shelves within the horseshoe. Von and Katy helped.

Jerry got all the tile laid where new ones were needed.

Jeanette, Ellen, Susie, Diane all doing odd jobs.

Stacy & Diana were the Degreaser Queens and have that grill looking shiny and new!

Doug is working hard on the bathrooms -- sink, paneling.

Electric saws and hammers sing out -- Jeff, CJ, Jim, and others in charge of that.

Mary, Elizabeth, Janet, and Gene painting everywhere.

Gerald and Stacy are hanging lights.

These are just a few of the names of the many people that helped. Even Rosa's Mom was down on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor.

Pots and pans, dishes, appliances are getting a clean-up.

Rains came twice and we covered everything up but we kept going.

Bob and Gene are capably in charge keeping everything in forward motion. WenDee doubles as documentarian and then goes to work.

Locals and Rosa's relatives are all helping.

People were driving by to see the progress -- or walking through the cafe.

We walk about three blocks to the community center for our meals made by Rosa and community women. We're joined by dozens of locals and treated to plenty of great food. At noon today the Baptist preacher and his wife sang folks songs in the echoey gym where we eat. At supper, a country-western band, including Rosa's uncle, performed. It was awesome!

It felt like a big old community party and everyone had their role.

But when Rosa comes to check on things, she's the main focus and we all want to know what she thinks. Sometime she'll just be the character that she is, so she won't cry. It's overwhelming for all of us -- and today we're going to wrap it up.

Hope you'll all find a time to come eat at the new Whiting Cafe!!!

Gotta go to work. KE #2 Marci Penner

Ready to go!

I'm ready for day 2! A little sleep is great for recovery.

Today we should see some little projects getting finished. The outside of the building is painted a fresh coat of white. Barb re-did the Whiting Cafe sign in red. The mural "Food so great you'll scrape your plate" looks fabulous. Windows will go in today. Duct work. Ceiling is cleaned and will be painted today. Some floor tiles will be replaced today.

I have to say that we had the most phenomenal workers yesterday. Phenomenal. Everyone was focused, helpful, friendly, and dedicated to the task at hand.

Fresh workers are coming in today, too. It's all good.

Rosa and relatives are watching with a careful eye. They are starting to realize we're doing this for the love of Rosa and small towns -- relentless for rural we are.

Live near by? Just come on over to see the action and "Get Kansas!"

KE #2 Marci

The beauty of the Whiting Cafe Makeover

Click on the photo above to view slide show.



A simple sign. That's about as formal as we got. We had no kick-off meeting or big hurrah. As people arrived they somehow slipped into jobs and everything fell into place. Imagine 100 people that didn't know each other, all with different skills and aptitude, working on and in a tiny cafe that seats only 25. Locals and folks from Colorado, everyone got along great. The common denominator was working hard for the good of Rosa's cafe but also for this small town.



The mural kind of became the symbol of the makeover. Fresh paint, new look. The white and black concrete wall now had a splash of color and pizazz. The black-lettered sign now was red. The front door painted red, too.



This wall symbolized the entire cafe. Newly-painted, new mural, new windows, and new shutters.


When meal time rolled around, we'd all walk about 4 blocks to the former-school-turned community center for meals. Rosa and the community ladies always fed us well and greeted us with warm smiles. Usually a number of locals would join us and sometime we'd have entertainment! For lunch one day we had a folk singing duo. For supper we had a country-western band!


Everyone that worked, about 100 people, got an "I Kan Help!" shirt in black or white. This is Michael Eravi, our Window Guy from Lawrence. People wore the shirts with pride. Volunteers worked about 1,300 hours during the weekend.

WenDee's job all weekend was to document, to Facebook, to Twitter, and to take pictures and videos. You'll get a better feel of everything if you go to these links.

A few pictures before we started. (Get to the pictures and then click on slideshow)

Alot of pics during the effort.

A few after. (If anyone goes to the cafe, send pictures!)

The grassy lot beside the cafe was filled with tools, supplies, and power saws and wash stations were located under tents. Inside, the place was completely torn apart. I bet Rosa shuddered every time she checked on us. At one point all of the windows were out making it look like we were creating windows for drive-through service. Not having windows did make it easy to pass supplies from outside to in.

There was plenty of water, pop, and Gatorade in big coolers under the trees. People would take breaks as they needed them. The local grocery store comped the bags of ice.

The beauty of the makeover was how everybody coordinated their movements and efforts and got along flawlessly.

The beauty was how the community and the volunteers came together, trusted each other, and worked for the same goal. Everyone was so selfless. This effort was for a business yet no one seemed to be jealous or question what we were doing. People sent on errands returned with the supplies and just said they'd donate the cost.

Rosa was a good catalyst. She's a character but has a big heart. Everyone knows she'd help them and everyone knows that a small town needs a cafe to be viable.

The cafe. The workers. The community.

You'd have to say it was all just beautiful.



Gene Merry, Burlington, is a Kansas Sampler Foundation board member. He was in charge of the project. Next is Rosa, then somehow I got in the picture. Bob Topping, Leavenworth, was the project foreman. The volunteers were the story though -- and most can be seen in these picture and video links.

Another good place to see a story and pictures of the project is at Flyover People.

It would be satisfying to know that just reading about this project helped people "Get Kansas!" You gotta love our rural towns.

KE #2 Marci Penner