Rural Kansas: Come and Get It!

I want to go to the rhubarb festival in Glasco and the meatloaf festival in Paxico.

I want to see the drinking fountain in Cawker City that the daughter of Harrison Cawker gave to the city in 1914. I don't really know if Harrison Cawker was a great man but I know he won a poker game and therefore got to name the city after himself!

I want to stay at the Silver Bell Motel in Longton because the website entry says that it has the reputation of being the cleanest and most inexpensive motel in existence. Wow. In existence! I've got to see that and I want to spend money to stay there.

I want to take my Dad to Piqua (Woodson County) on Tuesday and get him a haircut. That's the day the barber shop is open in the back of the Piqua Co-op.

Now you can find out about these kind of things and more on a website that makes its debut today! The website is getruralkansas.org.

Representatives from 80 rural communities took two-day classes last summer to earn a page on this website and to learn tools needed to produce and populate a community page on this site. For now, you'll only see 40 communities in the drop down list. The others are still working on it. It takes a lot of time and many of these folks are volunteers or are overworked in their community capacity.

Go to this site. Play with it. Have fun learning about Kansas and make a list of places to go! Let us know if something isn't working or if there are any problems in navigating.

Also, when you click on a community, you'll find that many offer Facebook, Twitter, or blog connections. Become a Follower of your favorite towns. The idea is that these social networking devices will be used by the community to help the world "get" why and how we are who we are.

The website is just a start in a collective promotion called "Rural Kansas: Come and Get It." More to come down the line but for now, it's great fun to share this website!

I also want to give a big shout out to WenDee for helping in a zillion ways but mostly for helping with all the pictures, and to LogicMaze for creating this site and being so willingly helpful. Also, thanks to Patsy Terrell, Kathy Kajinami, and Cort Anderson for helping with the classes. And thanks to Regina, Becky and the state travel office for the grant that made this possible. It's been a great team effort.

Mostly, hats off to the rural community folks for making time to do this. Because of you, we can say, rural Kansas, it's a wonderful place to live and visit. Come and Get It!

KE #2 Marci Penner

The Festival from the Inside

THE BASICS

The Kansas Sampler Festival will take place Saturday, May 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, May 2 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Venue is Ray Miller Park, 4201 S. 4th Street, Leavenworth. A neat opening ceremony will take place on Saturday at 9 a.m.

I like to call it the kick-off event for the 2010 exploring season. More than 300 exhibitors will be there to inspire you to explore Kansas! You'll be swimming in day trip ideas when you leave and you'll be happily filled to the brim with Kansas pride. You'll hear Kansas music, eat Kansas foods, buy Kansas products, and talk to lots of Kansans about their favorite nooks and crannies in the state.

BUT, THERE'S MORE TO THE PICTURE

Bob Topping of Leavenworth started laying the groundwork for Leavenworth County to host this festival many years ago. By the time the Kansas Sampler Foundation held the informational meeting for potential hosts in January 2008, Bob had already been setting forth plans. Keyta Kelly was tapped as the director. She orchestrated the effort to complete the preliminary application and the rigorous final app. The KSF board went to Leavenworth for a site visit and interview before officially granting the festival to Leavenworth County in the fall of 2008. By the time the 2009 festival rolled around in Concordia, Bob, Keyta, and her two daughters, Kaitlyn and Rachel, came early during prep week to pitch in and learn the ropes.

Since then, there have been some unexpected twists and turns but everything is looking great for a strong 2010 Kansas showcase. The public will view the many tents and exhibitors as if they had been magically planted there. They'll miss seeing the craziness of set-up when volunteers unload 325 exhibitors and help transport booth materials to their designated areas.

The public won't see the months and months of long hours and endless details of getting everyone registered, marketing, finding sponsors, producing the festival guide, and answering a thousand different questions. Parking and parkers, security and fencing, tent ordering and layout are just a few of the details. Straw bales, picnic tables, electricity and water have to be brought in to the park. It seems that every one of the 325 exhibitors has a different set of needs and all must be attended to. Who will staff the admission gate, the information booth, and who will pick up trash? How many port-o-pots are needed, how many food vendors, and how do we convey the message to buy all supplies from locally-owned businesses?

Volunteers have to be trained, signs need to be made, fence posts need to be pounded in for the community flag lane. Plans must be coordinated with sound technicians, electricians, and EMTs.

That's just the life of the host.

AND THE EXHIBITORS

Exhibitors all over the state have been planning their booths, performances, food, or products for months, too. Authors must make sure to have enough books on hand. Artists are creating. Entrepreneurs, wineries, and Kansas breweries are producing extra inventory. Promoters are making brochures and figuring out a display that will get the public's attention. After all, there will be competition for getting noticed...

BUT COME MAY 1 and 2 adrenalin will kick in and we'll all be excited to be a collective force in sharing what's great about Kansas.

By now, our Leavenworth County hosts might be wondering if it's all worth it, but once the music begins at the opening ceremony and the communities come marching up the lane with their flags, goosebumps will serve notice that all the work, all the sleepless nights, and all the persistence and endurance was worth it.

Due to Leavenworth County and the hundreds of local people and statewide enthusaists involved, thousands will see Kansas with new eyes -- and will make plans to go out and around Kansas. New professional relationships will be started, networks strengthened. Products, art, and books will be happily sold. Musicians and historic performers will get bookings, sell CDs, and find appreciation for their talents. Food vendors will serve us well.

And maybe best of all, rural and urban will seamlessly come together. Under these tents will be one Kansas. If you aren't able to come, just step out your door and look towards northeast Kansas. You're likely to catch a glimpse of some mighty good energy filling the Kansas sky.

May 1-2, Get Kansas!

KE #2 Marci Penner

Capitals of Kansas list helps us know towns!

What good is a list? Let's find out. Let's see if this list of "Capitals of Kansas" helps you learn something about Kansas or makes you curious enough to want to go visit the place!

Here's the list as compiled by the Kansas Sampler Foundation. The designations have either gone through a legislative process or through a Kansas Sampler Foundation process.

Air Capital, Wichita

Allis Chalmers Capital, Washington

Art Treasures Capital, Oswego

Barbed Wire Capital, LaCrosse

Bass Fishing Capital, WaKeeney

Bean Feed Capital, Erie

Black Squirrel Capital, Marysville

Bluebird Capital, Johnson County

Brome Grass Capital, Holton

Carnival Heritage Capital, Kinsley

Catfish Capital, Chetopa and Coffey County

Comic Book Capital, Morland

Covered Dish Capital, Windom

Cow Chip Capital, Russell Springs

Cowboy Boot Capital, Olathe

Cowboy Capital, Dodge City

Cutting Horse Capital, Garden City

Czech Capital, Wilson

Drovers Capital, Ellsworth County

Earthquake Capital, Palco

Fishing Capital, Geary County

Fossil Capital, Geary County

Fossil Capital, Oakley

Fried Chicken Capital, Pittsburg

German Capital, Ellis County

Goose Capital, Kirwin

Grassroots Art Capital, Lucas

Greyhound Capital, Abilene

Halloween Capital, Hiawatha

Hamburger Capital, Phillips County

Historic Barn Capital, Doniphan County

Homestead Literature Capital, Osborne County

Horse Racing Capital, Eureka

Light Capital, McPherson

Lustron Home Capital, Great Bend

Milo Capital, Beattie

Mural Capital, Winfield

Museum Capital, Abilene

Natural Gas Capital, Hugoton

Original Jayhawker Capital, Mound City

Ornate Box Turtle Capital, Caldwell

Outhouse Capital, Elk Falls

Pancake Capital, Liberal

Peach Capital, Haysville

Pecan Capital, Chetopa

Pheasant Capital, Norton

Pie Capital, Washington

Pinto Bean Capital, Leoti

Plow Capital, Kingman

Post Rock Capital, Lincoln County

Prairie Chicken Capital, Cassoday

Prairie Hay Capital, Yates Center

Printing Capital, Girard

Purple Martin Capital, Parsons

Rocking Chair Capital, Cuba

Spinach Capital, Lenexa

Stained Glass Capital, Cloud County

Stock Trailer Capital, Waterville

Stone Bridge Capital, Cowley County

Storytelling Capital, Downs

Sunflower Capital, Goodland

Sunshine Capital, WaKeeney

Terra Cotta Capital, Salina

The Capital, Topeka

Threshing Show Capital, Jefferson County

Trails Capital, Marshall County

Water Sports Capital, Osage County

Watermelon Capital, Clyde & Thayer

Wheat Capital, Sumner County

White Tail Deer Capital, Longton

Wind Farm Capital, Montezuma

Wiper Fish Capital, Norton County

The newest capital of Kansas is Marshall County - the Trails Capital of Kansas! They went through the Kansas Sampler Foundation process which consists of sending facts in bullet points to prove that the nominee deserves the designation. The news appeared on the front page of the latest We Kan! newsletter and a news release will be sent out in the next few days. To read those bullet points, click here.

Now, the big question. Did the list help you "Get Kansas" or help you learn something? Designations are great at helping identify special characteristics in Kansas cities. Which "capital" made you most curious?

KE #2 Marci Penner

It's Kansas Day!

I love this day. Love concentrating on the great state we live in.

To me, it's the little things that make it great. Things like...

...putting my foot on the brass rail at Brant's Meat Market and chatting with Doug before I buy some sausage

...shouting my name at Echo Cliff (near Dover) and hear it come bouncing back

...sticking my toes in the clear waters at Shoal Creek at Schermerhorn Park and closing my eyes to imagine early-day Route 66 travelers stopping here to do the same

...climbing to the crest of Point of Rocks at Cimarron National Grassland and imagining Santa Fe Trail wagons coming in to view

...standing beside the Brewster Higley cabin north of Athol and running my fingers over the words to his poem (now state song) etched on the side of the cabin

...tracing the outline of home plate at Walter Johnson's country birth site near Humboldt

...climbing the steep path to the top of the bluff on the Kansas/Nebraska line near White Cloud to find the survey marker

...staring in awe at the Father Kapaun memorial near the church at Pilsen and thinking of the love and compassion he gave his fellow POW's

...walking inside the St. Mary's Church at St. Benedict for the predictable jaw-dropping view

...having a picnic at the base of the Monument Rocks

...swinging on the tree swings at the Hays city cemetery

...taking the trail below the iron truss bridge at Elk Falls to splash around on the big flat stones

...going in to any small town and just talking to the people.

I adore what this state offers in its architecture, art, commerce, cuisine, customs, geography, history, and people. It's the total package. It's won my heart a million times and I look forward to enjoy every step of the journey yet to come.

Where do you want explore this year?

To explore the state is to "get" her, is to love her.

Happy Kansas Day.

KE #2 Marci Penner

Symbols of Kansas

Feel free to cut and paste this and use it as you wish
to help celebrate Kansas Day, January 29

KANSAS BECAME A STATE JANUARY 29, 1861
On January 29, 186, President James Buchanan signed the bill that admitted Kansas as the 34th state. This was one of the precipitating events that led to the Civil War. Three months after Kansas became a state, the first shots of the Civil War broke out at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

It was a painstaking process for Kansas to become a state. In 1858, James Buchanan recommended that the Lecompton Constitution be adopted for Kansas, which would have allowed slavery in the state. Congress voted it down. Battles, massacres, deception, angst, fiery speeches, arson, and passionate pleas are just a few of the events that occurred to gain statehood as a free state. Kansas state seal, adopted 1861. On May 25, 1861, the Kansas State Legislature adopted the state's seal.

Kansas state flower: Wild Native Sunflower, adopted 1903.
Nearly 3,000 years ago, the sunflower was domesticated for food production by the Native Americans.

Kansas state bird: Western Meadowlark, adopted Kansas Day 1925.
The Western Meadowlark was selected the state bird after a vote by over 121,000 school children. Western Meadowlarks are ground nesters and ground feeders.

Kansas state flag, adopted 1927.
First flown at Fort Riley by Governor Ben Paulin for the troops at Fort Riley and for the Kansas National Guard and officially adopted by the Kansas State Legislature on May 21, 1927.

Kansas state march: The Kansas March, adopted 1935 and Here’s Kansas, adopted 1992.
Duff Middleton wrote the music for “The Kansas March” and it was adopted by the legislature in 1935. Bill Post of Geuda Springs wrote the words and music for “Here’s Kansas” which was adopted as a second Kansas state March in 1992.

Kansas state tree: Eastern Cottonwood, adopted 1937.
Cottonwoods can be either male or female. It is the fluffy white seeds produced by the females during early summer that give the tree its name.

Kansas state song: Home on the Range, adopted 1947.
Dr. Brewster M. Higley originally wrote the words in a poem called "My Western Home" in the early 1870s in Smith County. The music was written by a friend of Higley's named Daniel E. Kelley.

Kansas state animal: American Bison, adopted 1955.
A single herd of bison in 1871 located southwest of what is now Dodge City was carefully estimated to have over 4 million members! Bison bulls may weigh a ton, cows top out around 1,100 pounds. They can run 35 MPH for long distances.
Source: gpnc.org/kansas1.htm

Kansas state insect: Honeybee, adopted 1976.
There is only one queen in a hive and her main purpose in life is to make more bees.

Kansas state reptile: Ornate Box Turtle, adopted 1986.
The word "ornate" means elaborately decorated. The 1985-86 6th grade class in Caldwell, Kansas did a massive campaign to get the ornate box turtle named state reptile.

Kansas state soil: Harney Silt Loam, adopted 1990.
Harney soils are recognized as prime farmland and have excellent properties for producing food and fiber crops. These soils occur on about 4 million acres in west-central Kansas.

Kansas state amphibian: Barred Tiger Salamander, adopted 1994.
The Barred Tiger Salamander are the largest terrestrial salamanders in the world – up to 14 inches in length.

Knowing our Kansas symbols help us "Get Kansas!"

KE #2 Marci Penner

Do you know all the words to "Home on the Range"?

Happy Kansas Day Week!

In 1947 the state legislature adopted "Home on the Range" as our state song. The words were written by Brewster Higley in his cabin in 1871 or 1872 and the music was composed by Dan Kelly, who lived in southern Smith County for awhile.

If you are looking for a perfect way to commemorate Kansas Day you might travel to Smith County to Mr. Higley's cabin on Beaver Creek. The cabin is located on private property but we all have permission to walk around the (deteriorating) cabin and read the words to the song on the side of the building. Hopefully you can pick up a brochure which tells the whole fascinating story about how the song came to be. The cabin is located 8 miles north of Athol on K-8, then 1 mile west. Follow the mile-long, narrow driveway to the 1872 cabin and former home of Brewster Higley.

When you stand by his cabin you'll understand why he wrote the words.

He didn't know he was writing words to "Home on the Range" but rather a poem called "My Western Home."

  VERSE 1
   Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
   where the deer and the antelope play,
   Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
   And the sky is not clouded all day.

  CHORUS
   A home, a home where the deer and the antelope play,
   Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
   And the sky is not clouded all day.

  VERSE 2
   Oh, give me the gale of the Solomon vale,
   Where life streams with buoyancy flow,
   On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever
   Any poisonous herbage doth grow.

  VERSE 3
   Oh, give me the land where the bright diamond sand
   Throws its light from the glittering stream
   Where glideth along the graceful white swan,
   Like a maid in a heavenly dream.

  VERSE 4
   I love the wild flowers in this bright land of ours;
   I love too the wild curley's scream,
   The bluffs and white rocks and antelope flocks
   That graze on the hillsides so green.

  VERSE 5
   How often at night, when the heavens are bright
   With the light of the glittering stars,
   Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
   If their glory exceeds this of ours.

  VERSE 6
   The air is so pure, the breezes so free,
   The zephyrs so balmy and light,
   I would not exchange my home here to range
   Forever in azure so bright.

To stand here and softly sing the song to yourself is to "Get Kansas."

KE #2 Marci Penner

The 24 Geography finalists according to physiographic region

Greetings to the World!

Today I am going to share with you 24 of the most unique geographical sites in Kansas -- in fact, they are the 24 finalists for the 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography! And, indeed, they are a fine representation of the diversity of Kansas.

In fact, raise your hand if you've heard of the eleven physiographic regions of Kansas. Ah, I don't see many hands up. The Sci-Tec online dictionary defines a physiographic region as "a landform considered with regard to its origin, cause, or history."

So, here's your geography lesson for today. I'll list the 24 finalists under descriptions of the physiographic regions. Note that some finalists fit into more than one region. Region descriptions come from information on the Kansas State (KDOT) map and the hyperlink takes you to more detailed information at the Kansas Geological Survey site.

ARKANSAS RIVER LOWLANDS: The river that produced the Royal Gorge 240 miles to the west cuts the High Plains of southwest Kansas, leaving sand and gravel deposits, irregular hills, and sand dunes over a wide area.

• *Bartlett Arboretum, Belle Plaine
• Brenham Meteorites (the meteorites happened to fall hear), near Haviland

CHAUTAUQUA HILLS: A sandstone-capped rolling upland that extends into the Osage Cuestas from the southern Kansas border. Approximately 10 miles wide.

• Cross Timbers State Park, near Toronto

CHEROKEE LOWLANDS: Bituminous coal veins are near the surface in this region where thousands of acres have been strip-mined.

• Mined Land Wildlife Area, Cherokee, Crawford & Labette counties

FLINT HILLS: Stretching north and south across the state, this is an area of beautiful scenery and unexcelled pasture land. Elevation differences vary from 100-400 feet. The area is named for the chert or flint rock that covers the bluestem slopes.

• Konza Prairie, Manhattan
• Native Stone Scenic Byway, Wabaunsee & Shawnee counties
• *Pillsbury Crossing Wildlife Area, near Manhattan

HIGH PLAINS: This region comprises almost all of the western one-third of the state. It is an area of vast flatlands and gently rolling hills, with topographic relief largely restricted to streams and river valleys.

• Arikaree Breaks, Cheyenne County
• *Big Basin Prairie Preserve, Clark County
• Cimarron National Grassland, Morton County
• Lake Scott State Park, Scott County
• Mount Sunflower, Wallace County

GLACIATED REGION: This area is bounded by the Kansas and Blue rivers. There are rounded hills and broad valleys with glacial deposits of quartzite on some of the hills.

• Alcove Spring, near Blue Rapids
• Four-State Lookout, White Cloud
• Kaw Point Park, Kansas City

OSAGE QUESTAS: This is a hill-plain or broad-terrace panorama with the eastern slopes of the hills steeper than the western slopes. These is a plentiful limestone supply here.

• Elk River Hiking Trail, western Montgomery County
• Native Stone Scenic Byway, Wabaunsee & Shawnee counties
• *Pillsbury Crossing Wildlife Area, near Manhattan

OZARK PLATEAU: The Ozark region begins in the extreme southeast corner of Kansas. Crinoids, trilobites, and other fossils may be found in this area.

• Schermerhorn Park, near Galena

RED HILLS: Located along the state's south central boundary, this province has sandstone and shale stained red. Also included are areas of rugged hills, buttes, and mesas.

• *Big Basin Prairie Preserve Preserve, Clark County
• Gyp Hills Scenic Drive & Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway, Barber & Comanche counties

SMOKY HILLS: There are three hill ranges. Dakota sandstone makes up the first hill range. Greenhorn limestone makes up the middle hill range, an area known as Post Rock Country. The third range, chalk bluffs in the Smoky Hill River valley, produced some astonishing rock formations in Logan and Gove counties. A large sea once covered the area. Fossils found in the rock made the area famous for paleontology studies.

• Coronado Heights, near Lindsborg
  
• Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States, Lebanon
  
• Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, near Canton
• Mushroom Rock, Ellsworth County and Rock City, Minneapolis
• Post Rock Scenic Byway, Ellsworth, Lincoln & Russell counties
• Sternberg Natural History Museum, Hays

WELLINGTON-MCPHERSON LOWLANDS: Permeable sand and gravel and a large quantity of high-quality water in the Equus beds underlie some of this area. Salt mines and marshes are nearby.

• *Bartlett Arboretum, Belle Plaine

*on the cusp of a region

I'm not sure about Kaw Point Park. Should it be in the Glacial Hills region or Osage Cuestas?

If you're lucky enough to have a 2003-2004 Kansas State (KDOT) map, the whole state will be color coded showing the regions. In more recent years, there is a small section on the map that shows these color coded regions.

Have fun getting to know the diversity of Kansas geography!

And, make sure to vote for the 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography.

The contests are designed to help you "Get Kansas!"

KE #2 Marci Penner