105 places in 105 counties. Happy Kansas Day!

Congratulations, ol' gal!

Kansas, all 150 years of her, has led a colorful life. One of the best ways to "get her" is to go out and visit every county. If, today, I could be at one place in each county, here's where I would choose:

(random order)

Greenwood County: Teter Rock at Teterville

Riley County: Bala Stone Bridge and park



Clark County: St. Jacob's Well in Big Basin Prairie Preserve

Morton County: Point of Rocks

Barton County: Pawnee Rock lookout

McPherson County: Observation tower at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge

Pottawatomie County: Overlook at the Vermillion Creek Tributary stone arch bridge

Jefferson County: On top of the rock in the middle of the road in McLouth

Wallace County: Mount Sunflower

Smith County: Statue of Liberty replica between Gaylord and Harlan

Osborne County: The B-24 Bomber Memorial many miles southwest of Osborne

Cowley County: Inspiration Point at Camp Horizon near Arkansas City

Seward County: Mighty Samson of the Cimarron between Liberal and Kismet

Leavenworth: Steps Abraham Lincoln spoke from (now in front of the Carroll Mansion,
Leavenworth

Meade County: Widest main street in the U.S. in Plains

Hodgeman County: Markers for Duncan's Crossing at the Hodgeman-Ness County line

Wabaunsee County: Mount Mitchell

Linn County: Marais des Cygne Massacre site



Harper County: Harper County Courthouse in Anthony

Rawlins County: Beaver Creek scenic drive past the Dewey Ranch

Doniphan County: Civil War monument in Bellemont Cemetery north of Wathena

Kearny County: Santa Fe Trail displays inside the Kearny County Museum in Lakin

Nemaha County: Inside St. Mary's Church at St. Benedict

Rooks County: Rock benches at a park in Plainville at Mill and Broadway

Elk County: 1893 iron trestle bridge at Elk Falls

Dickinson County: Eisenhower statue

Russell County: Paradise watertower

Scott County: Hilltop Steele Monument across the the Steele Homestead in Lake Scott
State Park

Finney County: Anywhere inside the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City

Lincoln County: Denmark

Republic County: K-148 drive from Scandia to Norway

Ottawa County: Pike's Monument southwest of Delphos

Rice County: Ralph's Ruts near Chase

Sheridan County: Largest cottonwood in the state near Studley

Montgomery County: Frank Bellamy's gravestone at Cherryvale (he wrote the words to the Pledge of Allegiance)

Stanton County: WPA Manter Dam near Manter

Barber County: Flower Pot Mound on Gyp Hills scenic drive

Anderson County: Prairie Spirit Trail

Douglas County: Arch at Haskell Indian Nations University

Ford County: Santa Fe Trail lookout near Howell

Gray County: Wind farm kiosk near Montezuma



Wilson County: South Mound lookout

Chautauqua County: Historic Chautauqua Springs in Chautauqua

Gove County: Sitting on top of one of the Monument Rocks at sunset

Kingman County: Kingman County State Fishing Lake or the banks of the Ninnescah

Grant: Wagon Bed Springs

Hamilton County: A seat in the livestock sale barn

Labette County: Antietam Circle in the Historic Oakwood Cemetery in Parsons

Bourbon County: Fort Scott National Cemetery

Ellsworth County: On top of one of the Mushroom Rocks

Jewell County: White Rock Creek drive north from Formoso

Stevens County: Stevens County Gas and Historical Museum in Hugoton

Trego: Along the bluffs of Cedar Bluff State Park

Shawnee County: State capitol in front of a John Steuart Curry mural

Coffey County: At the top of the observational silo at Wolf Creek Environmental Education Area

Allen County: Walter Johnson's birth site marker in a field

Harvey County: Swinging bridge at Harvey County Park West

Rush County: Near the sunflower sculptures beside the museum in McCracken

Phillips County: Kirwin town square

Clay County: Stone buffalo close to Longford

Mitchell County: Tipton

Graham County: Green rock quarry

Haskell County: In the flattest county in the state, I'd search for aa backroad sandwiched
between farmland that goes on forever and ever.

Marshall County: Pony Express Rider and Horse statue in Marysville

Norton County: Gallery of Also Rans in Norton

Washington County: 1856 Surveyor's Monument near Mahaska

Miami County: Gazebo in the Paola Park Square

Lyon County: By the bust of William Allen White at the south edge of the lake in Peter Pan Park,
Emporia

Cloud County: Stone bridge at Rice

Pratt County: B-29 All Veterans Memorial 3 miles north of Pratt

Ellis County: Pfeifer's Holy Cross Shrine church

Franklin County: Franklin County Courthouse in Ottawa

Lane County: Frigid Creme

Reno County: 650 feet under in the Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson

Stafford County: Triple-decker Victorian fountain in the St. John square

Jackson County: Roller coaster hill south of Soldier

Ness County: George Washington Carver's homestead at Beeler

Osage County: Oak Hill Cemetery, just north of Quenemo

Cheyenne County: Arikaree Breaks, 12 miles north of downtown St. Francis

Kiowa County: Hayloft of the Fromme-Birney Round Barn near Mullinville

Crawford County: St. Aloysius Historic Site at Greenbush

Marion County: Santa Fe Trail marker west of Lost Springs

Johnson County: Blue Sky sculpture at Olathe city hall

Chase County: Lost on some Flint Hills backroad

Edwards County: At the Civil War statue in the Hillside Cemetery near Kinsley

Sedgwick County: Keeper of the Plains

Greeley County: G.A.R. Cemetery mostly west and north of Tribune

Wyandotte County: Rosedale Memorial Arch in Kansas City

Cherokee County: Standing in Shoal Creek at Schermerhorn Park

Pawnee County: Exploring the "cliffs" across from Sibley's Camp in Larned

Decatur County: Pete Felten sculpture of the pioneer family in Oberlin

Wichita County: Beside the hand-dug well at Selkirk

Comanche County: Scenic drive across the southern portion of the county

Saline County: Outdoor pulpit at Salemsborg church



Sumner County: Bartlett Arboretum, Belle Plaine

Thomas County: Statue in front of the Thomas County Courthouse

Atchison County: International Forest of Friendship in Atchison

Geary County: Civil War Horse statue in front of the U.S. Cavalry Museum on Fort Riley

Logan County: Chalk formations scenic drive including Little Jerusalem formations

Morris County: Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park near Council Grove

Neosho County: Black Kettle Memorial in Erie

Sherman County: Van Gogh painting at Goodland

Woodson County: Castle at Kalida

Brown County: Robinson Cemetery

Butler County: Latham's "100 Cow" Road

There you go. 105 places in 105 counties.

May you find the place that brings out your inner Kansan!

Get Kansas!

KE #2 Marci Penner

Go post office hopping!

During the Great Depression, Post Office Section Art was created by the government to put Americans back to work. Today, this artwork still appears in 21 active post offices. See a list of all 21 at 8 Wonders of Kansas.

Farm Life, 1940, artist Robert Larter. Oswego Post Office

Unlike WPA art, Section Art was funded by the Section of Fine Arts in the U.S. Treasury Department. The “Section” selected high quality art to decorate public buildings thereby making it accessible to all people. The subject of each usually was based on the history or economy of the local community. Originally, 29 Section Art works adorned Kansas public buildings.

Cattlemen's Picnic, 1942, artist Jessie Wilbur, Kingman Post Office



Cowboys Driving Cattle, 1941, artist Kenneth Evett, Caldwell Post Office



Cattle Round Up, 1938, artist Vance Kirkland, Eureka Post Office

Section Art remains in the following 21 Kansas post offices: Anthony, Augusta, Belleville, Burlington, Caldwell, Council Grove, Eureka, Fredonia, Goodland, Halstead, Herington, Hoisington, Horton, Hutchinson, Kingman, Lindsborg, Neodesha, Oswego, Russell, Sabetha, and Seneca.

Many of these post offices are older so it's like a trip to another era.

We hope this little tidbit about post office art helps you Get Kansas!

From the road, KE #2 Marci Penner

Exploring Tip #1. Subject: Otis

Kansas is 150 this year! One way to celebrate our state's sesquicentennial is by getting out to see and know the state. It's always good to head out with explorer tips in mind.

People ask where they should go. With 90% of the 627 cities in Kansas having less than a 5,000 population, my answer is to turn into every town you come to and at least cruise main and a couple of side streets. In some cases, that would be canvassing the whole town! But, if exploring properly, you'll see more than expected.

Last summer WenDee and I stopped in Otis, a Rush County town of 320 people.



I know at least one Kansas Explorers Club member who has a quest to visit every band shell. The Peter Brack Memorial band shell is unique to any other. A plaque on the back wall tells that Brack was a Russian immigrant. See the steps and green roof?



I wish I knew the name of that roof style. Do you?



Keep cruising. If you get to 3rd and Eagle you'll come across the 1931 school. Get your explorer eyes out and you'll see an interesting style to the school's exterior.





Make sure to take your curiosity hat with you. The point isn't always to know the answers but to ask the questions, to find those interesting details and nuances.

Have fun exploring. It will help you Get Kansas!

Happy birthday Kansas. KE #2 Marci

P.S. Find many places to explore at www.getruralkansas.org.

What if...we looked at rural this way?

I'm on a search. A search to find progressive thinkers for rural Kansas. I don't care if you're 8 or 98 or somewhere in between. Actually, you might be from another state and just have some ideas for rural communities anywhere. That's good, too.

I'd like it if you'd send me a summary of your thoughts or ideas. It can be a "what if..." type of response. Your idea might be small, it might be complex. It might be something you've put into practice or something that is just incubating.

What if...we looked at rural this way. Or that way? How could we take things to the next level? What if we mixed ideas through a collective mind meld?

What if...the message was sent loud and clear that rural communities are of value and should be looked at as sources for potential and opportunity?

What if every citizen and every school kid in a small town felt like anything could be accomplished if they worked together? What if the bar was raised for expectations in rural communities?

I'm not looking for traditional thinkers. I'm looking for people who have a personal grasp of rural common issues that can morph technology with common sense resulting in functional grassroots solutions. Are you open minded, positive, a good listener?

I'd like to put a Dream Think Thank together sooner than later. I'd like people from the media, from small business, entrepreneurs, farmers, teachers, preachers, volunteers, angel investors, college students, laborers to be involved. Share your thoughts with me. How would you help create a New Rural? Send your thoughts to marci@kansassampler.org.

Get Kansas! And Power Up.

KE #2 Marci Penner

Fun and creativity attracts all ages

Lots of people ask how to get kids and young people involved in local community events. Partridge made it happen without thinking about it. Because the organizers are creative, fun at heart, and have a lot of kid in them, the young people turned out in abundance.

Partridge, a town of 250 in western Reno County, is a tight knit community. They even still have their own grade school. And, they also have lots of people that care about the notion of community.

A few years ago they added a bicycle twist to their annual event. It was so fun and added such a new dimension that it the whole thing is now called the Partridge Pedal Party!

In brief, anything that has to do with bicycles, it's done here. Home-adjusted bicycles are seen in the parade, pieces and parts are sculpted together and used in the home creation of the trophies. Bicycles are raffled away. There is unicycle hockey and bicycle jousting. There are crafts, poem reading, music, food, games, and a worthy parade with horses, floats, old cars and tractors, and more. It's such a fun day.

But it's hard to not notice how much fun the kids are having. They are engaged, they are part of it. So are teenagers and "kids" in their 40s and 50s. The spirit of the day is catchy and it's something we should all catch.

Sometime small towns have the most creative events. Be part of it and you'll Get Kansas.


Lucky to have been there, KE #2 Marci Penner

Garnett knows how to roll out the red carpet

The Kansas Sampler Foundation put out the call around Kansas for itineraries that would show the world a new way to look at Kansas. The result would be put on e-bay as an auction item. The proceeds would go to the Kansas Sampler Foundation, the itinerary would get promoted, and a lucky winner would, no doubt, have a great time.

The Garnett Giveaway package was chosen to be our first attempt at this multi-purpose approach.

The high bid was made by Gary and Bunny McCloud of Wamego.

This past weekend, the McClouds, joined by friends, enjoyed their getaway package in Garnett. This blog has a two-fold purpose.

One is to rave about the way Garnett rolled out the red carpet.

The other is to commend Gary and Bunny.

GARNETT
Garnett, population 3,390, provided a fabulous time. The accommodations were offered by owners Mike and Eileen Burns of the The Kirk House Bed & Breakfast, a George Washburn designed home, built in 1913.





The main event on their first evening was the dinner theatre production "Leading Ladies" at the Thelma Moore Community Playhouse, located in a former Presbyterian Church. The Garnett folks raved about the whole evening and said they've never laughed so hard.





They had breakfast at The Coffee Loft, 130 E. 5th. The limestone walls make it highly attractive. They serve coffees during the day, Kansas beers and wine in the evenings. Check out their website for entertainment and more information.

A flight board MidWest Missionair for an aerial tour of Anderson County was the next treat, thanks to Gordon Blackie.

Bellini's Italian Cafe was the location for a pasta lunch followed by a downtown shopping spree, arranged by the Garnett Chamber.

Saturday night was the highlight for 24 of us who were invited to share an evening of entertainment, h'ors doeuvres, and drinks in the backyard of The Kirk House.

Chuck Cowan and Platinum Vine provided the entertainment that inspired dancing, a good time, and was the perfect backdrop for a marvelous evening that was put together by event planner Kimberly Hart-Spencer.



Caterers for the evening were A Cut Above Catering, The Galey Girls, Maloan's Bar & Grille, Mr. D's Bar & Grill, Rhonda Holsinger, Rick Felt and Two Sister's Cafe. The Scipio Supper Club serviced the bar and provided Kansas beers and wines!

Every guest had their own special wine glass with their name written in decorative fashion on the glass, a keepsake!

We can't say enough to Eileen, Scott Rogers, Kim, Garnett Tourism, and all involved for an unforgettable set of memories in Garnett.


GARY & BUNNY

And here's to Gary and Bunny McCloud. Bunny, I wish I had got you with your eyes open but you deserved that drink. Thanks to you and Gary for not only being the high bid but for being a classy couple that treats your friends so well. You two, plus your Wamego area friends, were a perfect fit with the fine people of Garnett.

Here's a toast to you all.

P.S. Some of us got to stay at the Shelly Tipton Bed and Breakfast!

Get Kansas! by staying in a rural community. Thank you Garnett and the McClouds.

KE #2 Marci Penner

Behind the scenes thoughts about 8 Wonders

The Kansas Sampler Foundation has loved getting to know Kansas better through our role in the 8 Wonders of Kansas contest. When the last contest is wrapped up, I'll do a summary on some of the results. But for now, I want to acknowledge the cities and counties that didn't have an entry in any of the contests.

It doesn't feel good to be left off a list like this. I appreciate it when people share those thoughts, even if you're upset. I like it that people stick up for their place and their people. Don't keep this inside. Send me an e-mail, marci@kansassampler.org. Vent! I'll hear you. I'll listen. I'll let you know what the selection committee was thinking. We'll discuss it.

On the other hand, there may be some instructive things for communities to learn. And, it could be, too, that the selection committee didn't have enough information or knowledge to always make the best decisions.

The first thing is to acknowledge that contest criteria dictated some of the decisions. One of the criteria was that there always had to be something to see, something a visitor could see or do to learn more about the finalist. One goal of the contest was to encourage travel within Kansas.

Countless fantastic people and events in history were left off the list, simply because there wasn't something to see. It doesn't mean they weren't significant people or events. The circumstances just didn't meet the criteria.

Secondly, some places that are home to incredible events were left off the list because the sites weren't in good shape or weren't interpreted well. The criteria for every contest asked that there be a "wow" factor. There are some incredibly dedicated people who want to make their historical site a "wow" factor but lack of funding or available volunteers make it difficult. We were also appreciative of subtle "wows."

If you were one of those places that didn't make the list even though you feel like you have a significant site, let's work together. Maybe we can use this result to jointly speak to your city or county commissioners to do some upgrading. I'm thinking about one person in particular. This person is uncommonly dedicated to her county and has put in an incredible amount of effort to tell the story of her county. Yet, her county wasn't represented in any of the contests. It sure wasn't by lack of effort form this person.

There were some places we put on the list who never once acknowledged being on the list. They didn't care. It might have even been a hassle to them. I'd much rather hear from the people who were hurt and upset about not being on the list. They care. They care a great deal. I won't forget how much they care and down the line, we'll make sure other people know about their places. There are many ways to tell the Kansas story beyond the 8 Wonders contest.

Some of my favorite places didn't make the list, but they'll always be my favorite places...

In the end, I hope the contest did more good than harm. Please consider this an invitation to share your thoughts. We're in this together. Let's make it work.

Thoughts from KE #2