“We don’t have skyscrapers or the seashore or mountains in the Sunflower State. But we have land and grass and uninterrupted sky. We have silence where we can listen and the land talks back.”
-Bill Kurtis, Tallgrass Beef
winter winter
contents
features
22 | flying Over flyover Country
Tom Averill on what it means to view his home state from above
28 | Ode to Kansas sunups and sundowns
The unique beauty of sunrises and sunsets on the prairie inspires artists and non-artists alike
34 | Where the Buffalo Still roam
Photographic reflections
38 | Kansas’ finest
The 2014 class of Kansas’ biggest fans and greatest attractions
42 | ad astra Per aspera
From an old timey B-29 to chili and cinnamon rolls, what inspires us as Kansans
On the COver Kansas buffalo
Photograph by Harland J. Schuster
Ad AstrA Edition
this season we put most of the planning in the hands of the writers and photographers. in april we released the edition’s official theme guide to contributors and began to see the pitches roll in! We had 53 pitches that were solely inspired by the phrase “ad astra.” We have no doubt you’ll enjoy this unique edition.
winter, our team of includes:
“I am so thrilled to join the KANSAS! magazine family. Growing up I remember being captured by the stories featured in KANSAS!, and thinking my home state was a magical place filled with adventure—and I still do.”
do you know a tourism superhero who loves Kansas? We want to know! send a brief note to ksmagazine@sunflowerpub.com tell us who they are, where they promote and what amazing messages they are spreading about the sunflower state.
winter 2014
Kansas department of Wildlife, Parks and tourism
Richard Smalley inTerim ediTor
Sam Brownback governor
Robin Jennison KdWPT secreTary
WWW.sunfloWerPub.com laWrence, Kansas
design & ProducTion
Katy Ibsen managing ediTor
Shelly Bryant designer/arT direcTor
Jason Dailey PHoTograPHer
Joanne Morgan marKeTing, (785) 832-7264
Bert Hull general manager
KANSAS! issn 0022-8435) is published quarterly by the Kansas department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism 1020 s Kansas ave., suite 200, Topeka, Ks 66612; (785) 296-3479; TTy Hearing mpaired: (785) 296-3487. Periodical postage paid at topeka, ks, and at additional mailing offices. newsstand price $4.99 per issue; subscription price $18 per year; international subscription price $22 per year. all prices include all applicable sales tax. Please address subscription inquiries to: toll-free: (800) 678-6424
KANSAS!, P.o box 146, Topeka, Ks 66601-0146 e-mail: ksmagazine@sunflowerpub.com Website: www.Kansasmag.com PosTmasTer: send address change to: KANSAS! P.o box 146, Topeka, Ks 66601-0146.
- Andrea Etzel
he Kansas department of Wildlife, Parks and ourism is excited to announce andrea ayne etzel as the new editor of KANSAS! magazine. With a background in marketing, design and photography, she offers a new perspective on promoting the state of Kansas, on and off these glossy pages.
Please mail all editorial inquiries to: KanSaS!, 1020 S. Kansas Ave., Suite 200, Topeka, KS 66612 e-mail: ksmagazine@sunflowerpub.com
The articles and photographs that appear in KANSAS! magazine may not be broadcast, published or otherwise reproduced without the express written consent of Kansas department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism or the appropriate copyright owner. unauthorized use is prohibited. additional restrictions may apply.
adding tO the BuCKet list
i have been reading the fall 2014 issue over and over, and the accompanying piece about Byways of Kansas this is in my mind the best KANSAS! ever, and i have been a subscriber for many years. tOtally aWesOme!
i especially enjoyed the section about the Kansas forts. We have been to all of them or the sites except for fort Wallace way out there. it’s still on the “bucket list.”
Peter Anderson lawrence
surPrised With ByWays
Just wanted to let you know i received my fall edition of the KANSAS! magazine. i was especially thrilled to receive the added bonus of Byways of Kansas also enjoyed the “Behind the lens” of one of your photographers, doug stremel. his dad and my husband were avid hunters in the Cheyenne Bottoms area many years ago. Keep up the good work, doug, you’re doing a great job. love the magazine and can hardly wait for the calendar.
KAren Whitmer osage city
send your thoughts to:
editor, KANSAS!, 1020 s. Kansas ave., suite 200, Topeka, Ks 66612 or e-mail Ksmagazine@sunfloWerPub.com
Dear Readers,
it is my pleasure to serve as editor of the Ad Astra edition of Kansas! magazine. this season we explore the items and experiences that are truly unique to our state.
While growing up in Marysville, i never gave it much thought, but one great treasure about our state is that we get to experience all four seasons. As a kid, i knew that once it started snowing, it was just a matter of time before the police would block off one of the city streets so the kids could go sledding. But if you are like me now, you’re wondering if you can get one more year out your favorite sweatshirt or find the gloves you thought you threw on the top shelf of the closet. in the meantime, how about warming up with a bowl of chili and a cinnamon roll? that’s a Kansas original explored in this issue.
Of course, ‘tis the season we look at some distinctive holiday shopping spots around the state that are great for decorating ideas and those special gifts.
Why do i keep thinking about food as i write this? Maybe it’s those mouthwatering images of fried chicken in the taste of Kansas section, or the thought of a hot bowl of soup from little Pleasures in Hillsboro.
Also this season, we take a look at the Wild West, a time of legendary lawmen, but of outlaws and gangsters as well. We tour the pages of the past to learn more about these bad guys and why Kansas was part of their epic tales.
And we take a pictorial look at the American bison, the magnificent animals that once ruled the plains.
On the topic of legends, three years ago, Kansas! magazine began honoring Kansas’ Finest: individuals across the state who have made a difference in promoting and improving their communities. We are honored to present those once again.
So settle in, maybe watch the sunset (did i mention our feature on Kansas sunsets?) and enjoy this winter issue of Kansas! magazine.
thank you for reading,
Richard Smalley tourism Marketing Manager
2015 edition, Kansas! magazine welcomes its new editor, Andrea laRayne Etzel.
With the spring
Welcome to Kansas! magazine’s “in Season.” Here we explore what’s new and buzzing throughout the state— from restaurants and shopping to cultural happenings and attractions. this season, we shop till we drop at Kansas’ eclectic gift shops.
written by Kimberly winter Stern
IngredIents:
1 Tallgrass Chuck Roast
½ packet dry onion soup mix
½ cup water
1 or 2 carrots, chopped
½ onion, chopped
1 or 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ stalk celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Take the chuck roast and season with salt and pepper to taste. Brown on all sides in a large skillet over high heat.
Place in the slow cooker and add the soup mix, water, carrots, onion, potatoes and celery.
Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. Serves 4 -Tallgrass Beef
Explore the tasty side of the Sunflower State with events seasoned in Kansas heritage and flavored with fun.
As a celebrated filmmaker and a wellknown conservationist who rallies to preserve treasures such as the National Park System, Bill Kurtis also has an abiding love affair with nature.
The Independence native admits that you can take the boy out of Kansas—he’s lived in Chicago for much of his adult life— but you can’t take Kansas out of the boy. “We don’t have skyscrapers or the seashore or mountains in the Sunflower State,” he says.“But we have land and grass and uninterrupted sky. We have silence where we can listen and the land talks back.”
Kurtis eventually traced his footsteps back to Kansas nine years ago after rediscovering his prairie roots. Kurtis embraced an unbridled passion for the Flint Hills and healthy, grass-fed beef, buying an 8,000-acre ranch west of Sedan and starting the Tallgrass Beef Company in 2005. (3,000 acres have since been sold.)
Kurtis’ 500-plus head of cattle graze on the lush, sprawling Red Buffalo Ranch and produce
AntonIno FAll FeAst
Hays-Historic Churches of ellis County
November 2
enjoy an old-fashioned German meal in the heart of Kansas’ German Capital with homemade galuskies, roast beef and mashed potatoes, cakes, pies, rolls, cookies and more. germancapitalofkansas.com
a sustainable, healthy product at the forefront of what he calls the grass-fed revolution.
“I’m a prairie guy,” Kurtis says.“This region has the best grass in the world. Raising grassfed beef yields a healthier, tastier and more environmentally responsible product.”
Tallgrass Beef Company produces beef high in omega-3 without hormones to enhance growth or antibiotics. Kurtis and his daughter, Mary Kristin—manager of Red Buffalo Ranch—are evangelists for the health benefits of beef raised on grass. Acclaimed Chicago chefs such as Rick Bayless, Sarah Stegner and the late Charlie Trotter hopped on the grass-fed bandwagon when Kurtis started peddling it to their restaurants’ backdoors.
For Kurtis, this enterprise in the Kansas Flint Hills may be one of the most triumphant stories of his career.
“It’s a privilege to use this land as people did centuries ago, and let cattle eat and live as nature intended,” he says. tallgrassbeef.com
7th AnnuAl lAdIes holIdAy Brunch & chrIstmAs teA
eisenhower Presidential library Courtyard, Abilene
December 6 enjoy a scrumptious brunch and celebrate the season with a concert featuring many delightful holiday favorites performed by local musicians. The Arts Council of Dickinson County hosts the event. Admission required, begins at 10 a.m. abilenekansas.org
lIverwurst & FrIed mush dInner
Yoder
February 27
Fundraiser for Mennonite Friendship Communities featuring homemade liverwurst, mush, sausage and the trimmings as part of an authentic Mennonite meal. http://mennofriend.com
Bill Kurtis is A lucKy guy.
written by Kim Gronniger
kansas eclectic
gift shops
ByPAss B ig-Box stores And mAll meAndering during the holidAys. Instead, visit Kansas’ charming local shops featuring fun finds for all the practical, pampered or impossible-to-please people on your gift list.
Made, a unique store in lawrence, displays handmade merchandise on eclectic furnishings culled from estate sales. Discover scented bath salts, tea towels and tiny onesies, bicycle bar glasses and brass cuffs, letterpress cards and gourmet candy bars.
Items represent the craftsmanship of
more than 200 American artists hailing not only from the heartland but from coast to coast. Jennifer Richards, an etsy fan, opened
Made three years ago with her husband, Matt, a former law partner, who makes popular bottle-cap magnets.
“I love craft shows, so we thought it would be fun to have a store where people could get handmade items year-round,” Jennifer says.“Here our customers can smell, touch and assess the quality of the merchandise, things they can’t do online.” madeonmass.com
Churchill Fairway named one of america’s “top three coolest jewelry boutiques” by InDesign/InStore magazine and nominated as a top 50 Design retailer by Jck Design center, churchill features high-end handbags, home décor and antiques by appointment or online. shopatchurchill.com
gift worthy: annie Fensterstock vega bangle bracelet with fancy diamonds in 18-karat gold.
lucinda’s w iChita this quirky boutique caters to a clientele seeking cheeky cards, funky jewelry, distinctive apparel and whimsical items like flower-shaped photo frames. lucindasoldtown.com
gift worthy: gurgle Pot pitchers that double as vases.
Pinkadilly topeka
Pinkadilly deftly blends new and old, from wooden doors transformed into chalkboards and repurposed furnishings (egg-incubator table, anyone?) to vintage signage and new pillows.
gift worthy: Pink chandelier and cow-head door.
red buffalo Gift Shop sedan Find decorative items made by local and international artists at a fraction of department store prices, as well as gourmet salsas, jams and condiments. theredbuffalo.com
gift worthy: navajo pawn turquoise bracelets.
gift worthy:
Holiday-scented soy candles and an “ode to Lawrence” magnet that is a sought-after stocking stuffer.
Kansas!
don’t miss
soup at little pleasures in hillsboro
the freshly-B reWed coffees, mAde-from-scrAtch sou Ps, on-site BAKed goods And sAndWiches mAde With homemAde B uns Are terrific—but being greeted by the engaging personality of owner, greeter and head cook Marisa Javier is the best part.
l ittle p leasures
119 N. Main, Hillsboro lpcoffeehouse.com
Originally from Hawaii, Javier opened little Pleasures in 2003 in the Marion County town of Hillsboro.
In an area that values homemade food, Javier’s soups have a following. To prevent a customer revolt, she serves these round bowls of hot and scrumptious recipes daily—winter and summer. In fact, some regulars call ahead and ask if they can bring a large container for her to fill.
This is soup love.
Favorites include Minnesota Wild Rice and Zuppa Toscana. The ingredients for the traditional Italian “zuppa” include bacon, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, heavy cream, potatoes, fresh spinach and Italian sausage made down the street at Dale’s Supermarket.
Javier provides her customers the best and freshest ingredients she can find, yet the one thing she’s most happy to put into each dish is time. It takes a lot of that precious commodity to choose measuring and mixing over opening a can, but that’s why eating soup here is one of the biggest pleasures you could have.
written by Marci Penner
Warm up with a bowl of soup around the state this winter will travel for
Café Holliday topeka
large pots of made-from-scratch soup are on the stove every day at this corner brick café in historic Holliday Park. vegetable beef, chicken and noodle, and albondigas (mexican meatball) are among the favorites. cafeholliday.com
trail Days Café and Museum Coun C il Grove the soups are historically good here. limestone walls, vapors of santa Fe trail lore and a waitstaff in period costume serve up homemade soups and tales of history.
traildayscafeandmuseum.org
Mojo’s espresso & bistro atwood this coffee house and bistro is trendy but the soups are basic … basically delicious. the daily soup ranges from chili to mulligatawny.
113 s. Fourth, atwood, (785) 626-9011
Destination Kitchen n orton
Be tempted by all the kitchen gift items before finding the warm, wood-fired pizza oven. cheeseburger soup and the tomato bisque are among the most popular soups. destinationkitchenks.com
broadway Market
Coffee Shop sterlin G made-from-scratch soups are available until the pot is empty. enjoy the standard roasted red pepper soup, Bombay turkey or potato leek.
105 s. Broadway, sterling, (620) 278-6494
the KAnsAs de PArtment of trAns P ortAtion hAs three B ig joB s: K ee P ing roAds cleAr in the W inter, mAK ing sure they Are sAfe in the summer And revitAlizing those thAt hold historic significAnce to A community or even A region.
Route 66 is an obvious contender, but there are many siblings to the old Mother Road that have just as much personality.
Before uS-83 was uS83, it was called the Great Plains Highway.
Running through the communities of liberal, Garden City and Scott City, the highway remains
significant to the beefpacking industry. It continues north to Oakley, Colby and Atwood. Outside of Kansas, uS-83 stretches from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1996, 5 miles of uS-83 were diverted around liberal, allowing the commercial trucks to travel around the community instead of through it. After the project’s completion, more interstate traffic from Texas and Oklahoma used uS-83, driving more traffic to retail sites in liberal.
The project totaled $9.8 million dollars. In addition, T-Works managed preservation and expansion projects in liberal and Garden City as well as on Interstate 70 and Oakley. kdot.com
G reat plains highway
we love kansas reasons
written by Fally Afani
We search Kansas far and wide to find even more reasons to love our Sunflower State. Share your Reasons to Love Kansas (see page 18).
INTeRNATIoNAl INSPIRATIoN 1 2
i nstitute on e nvironmental stewardshi P – environmentalists are making great strides in manhattan, thanks to Kansas state university’s institute on environmental stewardship. The five-week summer program brings international students and leaders together to learn about environmental stewardship across cultural and international boundaries using u s. and Kansas programs and firms as examples for creative discussion.
engext.ksu.edu/summer
stage
Performing arts – Theater buffs looking to come in out of the cold have a lot to celebrate in Kansas this winter. Theaters and performing arts centers throughout the state will host holiday performances, musicals, christmas tree auctions and even holiday craft shows.
Buzzworthy
northeastern kansas b eekee Pers’ association –Winter may be a time to hibernate, but busy bees can find a flurry of activity with the northeastern Kansas beekeepers’ association. This organization is on a mission to provide education on the benefits of beekeeping. classes offer up-and-coming beekeepers a chance to sharpen their skills and use the winter months to get the bees ready for spring. nekba.org Facebook Group: Nekba
Travel Kansas’ website for a full list of events. travelks.com
HolIDAy cHeeR
holiday celebrations from atchison to wakeeney – The holiday season doesn’t have to be stressful when you’re in Western Kansas. This november, atchison’s nell Hills furniture store hosts its popular and dazzling holiday open house. over in WaKeeney, the saturday after Thanksgiving is alive with music, entertainment and wagon rides as the “christmas city of the High Plains” ceremoniously turns on the holiday lights. travelks.com
5
velvetcrate – Two sisters originally from Topeka are now working to surprise and pamper— one box at a time. The new online gift retailer velvetcrate is a unique way to tell your sweetie you love her. amy, of olathe, and allison, now based in brooklyn, took llison’s dream of opening a gift shop online. The boxes, which can be sent for any reason, feature a combination of chic, luxurious and fun gifts that women of all ages will love. special occasions just got a little easier!
velvetcrate.com
Facebook: VelvetCrate
3
locAl SHINe
chautauqua i sle of lights in b eloit –nothing fills the heart with holiday cheer quite like a spectacular holiday light display, and beloit’s isle of lights is an impressive one. chautauqua Park becomes a magnificent winter wonderland with more than 70 displays. The event is free and draws more than 18,000 people from Kansas and across the world. beloitks.org/visiting Facebook: beloitks
7
ringing wheat
wheat liberty b ell in goessel – With Kansas known as the Wheat state, is it any wonder that you’ll find a lifesized liberty bell made entirely out of wheat in goessel? The impressive work of art was commissioned by the smithsonian in the 1970s and put together by the close-knit mennonite community. you can see the wheat liberty bell this november in the town’s museum. facebook.com/goessel.kansas
SuRPRISe HeR!
barn owl treehouse
– Just north of Winfield awaits a unique experience that any nature enthusiasts would love. The recently constructed and custom-designed barn owl Treehouse guest room offers elegance for the kid at heart. from celebrations to staycations, this attraction under the stars is truly a hoot. timbercreekbarns.com
Facebook: Barns at Timber Creek Bed & Breakfast
agenda, kansas – What was once an abandoned town is now teeming with life. even with a population only reaching into the double digits, agenda is the very definition of quaint. from its brick sidewalks and native stone features to its soda fountain and museum, this lovely north Kansas community is a must-see for travelers seeking a slice of americana. Directions: Agenda is located southeast of Belleville (Highway 81 and U.S. 36). Heading east on 36 out of Belleville, take 26 to 148 and turn left. Agenda will be on the left just before Elk Creek.
route 66 and sweets! – if you’ve got a sweet tooth, head on down route 66 to steve’s candy, located in galena. The store boasts everything candy lovers could ask for, including an extensive menu of homemade treats, gift baskets and their famous mine run candy. The store even has a drive-up window for those in need of a quick fix. http://stevescandy.com
The 2015 edition of Kansas Outdoors features 15 must-experience outdoor activities that should not be skipped, from viewing the greater Prairie chicken and in biking across Kansas, to golfing Prairie dunes and staying in a state Park cabin. add these unique opportunities to your bucket list. travelks.org
cAMPINg uP HIgH
MAKINg A coMeBAcK
geT ouTSIDe
Italian Heritage in SE Kansas
fran Klin
through d ecember 28
The miners Hall museum 4th-Quarter special exhibit, “italian Heritage in se Kansas,” shares memorabilia and artifacts of local italian heritage. admission is free. minershallmuseum.com
Paradise
november 8
all hunters are welcome to this turkey dinner and bazaar. enjoy home-baked goods, crafts, cookbooks, a turkey dinner with all the trimmings and plenty of pie. begins at 10:30 a.m. (785) 998-4473
abilene
november 7-16
great Plains Theatre presents Driving Miss Daisy, set in the deep south in 1948, just prior to the civil rights movement. Having recently demolished another car, daisy Werthan, a rich, sharp-tongued Jewish widow of 72, is informed by her son, boolie, that hereafter she must rely on the services of a chauffeur. Performance times vary. Tickets are $19-25. greatplainstheatre.com
Candlelight Charm
council g rove
november 8
experience hometown hospitality in a unique historic shopping district on the old santa fe Trail. enjoy carolers dressed in dickens-era costumes, horse-drawn trolley rides, holiday music and luminaries to light your way as you stroll from store to store. councilgrove.com
HuTcH inson
november 8
Throughout her remarkable career, rosanne cash has charted 21 Top 40 country singles, including 11 no. 1 records. begins at 7:30 p.m. hutchinsonfox.com
Veterans Day Parade
leavenWorTH
november 11
enjoy a parade and flyover in Historic downtown leavenworth. The parade will feature numerous military and marching band entries. begins at 10:30 a.m., military flyover at 11 a.m. lvvetsparade.com
Hays
november 8
The opening day of pheasant hunting is saturday, november 15, but first you can gather with other hunters from across the midwest, practice shooting skills on the target range and enjoy some good food. http:// smokyhillpheasantsforever424.org
november 22
The annual christmas festival and miracle on santa fe Parade of lights in Historic downtown salina is a family-friendly event sure to entertain the young and old alike. The festival begins at 10 a.m. and the parade at 6 p.m. salinadowntown.com
Miracle on Kansas Avenue
ToPe Ka
november 29
This annual favorite features the lighting of the community tree followed by a lighted holiday-themed parade and night of shopping in downtown Topeka. begins at 5:30 p.m. visitTopeka.com
Christmas Parade of Lights and Chili Cookoff dodge ciTy
d ecember 1
come to boot Hill museum to sample from a variety of chili styles and flavors. vote for the “People’s choice” and see if the judges agree. enjoy the miniature train rides and a visit to santa’s House while you wait for the parade. begins at 7:30 p.m. boothill.org
Christmas Open House
e llis counTy
d ecember 5
enjoy the christmas season at this free event; view the newest museum exhibits in the galleries while listening to live holiday music. Hayrack rides through the downtown area of Hays will also be available. begins at 7 p.m. elliscountyhistoricalmuseum.org
Old-Fashioned Christmas
lindsborg
d ecember 6 and 13
The old mill museum will be filled with the sights and sounds of an old-fashioned prairie christmas. enjoy a shepherd sharing the traditional christmas story in the stable, a guided tour of the historic smoky valley roller mill, santa claus, children’s crafts and cookie decorating. visitlindsborg.com
Cathedral Christmas Concert
vicToria
d ecember 7
The fort Hays state university choral music department presents an annual christmas concert in the beautiful cathedral of the Plains. various other community choirs and guest performances will join in this spiritfilled occasion. Two free performances at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. fhsu.edu/music-and-theatre/
Traditional Christmas Vespers
lecom PTon
d ecember 7
an old-time holiday celebration with music, period-decorated museum rooms and refreshments following musical performances. more than 30 vintage christmas trees will be adorned with period and vintage decorations, and the centerpiece will be a 15-foot native red cedar christmas tree. The museum will be decorated thought december. lecomptonkansas.com
Christmas Past at Fort Larned
forT larned
d ecember 13
get in the spirit of the season with a visit to fort larned. special events relate to christmas celebrations at the fort in days gone by. free admission. nps.gov/fols
Germans From Russia
Annual Christmas Banquet
m unJor
d ecember 14
The sunflower chapter of the american Historical society of germans from russia celebrates its annual christmas banquet at munjor Parish Hall. enjoy a social hour, refreshments, lunch and a special christmas program. begins at 11:30 a.m. sunflowerchapterofahsgr.net
Barry Ward: A Cowboy Christmas
JuncTion c Ty
d ecember 20
barry Ward’s singing and songwriting are a tribute to Western traditions and lifestyles. Join us this season for “a cowboy christmas.” Performances at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. jcoperahouse.org
Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965
monTezuma
January 25-march 15
This exhibit explores the ways that americans experienced the atomic threat as part of their daily lives. curated by michael scheibach and exhibitsusa, the show features more than 75 original objects from the era. stauthmemorialmuseum.org
Hidden Art Locked Away
leavenWorTH
february 6-7
artwork produced by inmates of the u.s. Penitentiary and u.s disciplinary barracks at fort leavenworth will be on display at this exhibit. Preview is 4-8 p.m. friday; sale is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. saturday. (913) 682-4459
find more events
at travelks.com
All events subject to change.
Driving Miss Daisy
Turkey Dinner & Bazaar
Rosanne Cash at the Historic Fox Theatre
Smoky Hill Pheasants Forever Kickoff
Annual Christmas Festival & Parade of Lights
salina
Finding Home, Being Home Flyover Country Flying o ver
Since Midwesterners often complain, as I have, about being labeled “Flyover Country,” I wanted to fly over it.
So I chartered a small plane, took several loops and flew over Kansas in order to see, not to avoid seeing.
I saw wheat harvest, the Flint Hills at dusk, the places where I’d lived, the river valleys—with and without water, but visible either way—the Smoky Hills, the populated little towns of Central Kansas, where Mennonites farm by the century and not the year. I went up in a hot-air balloon, where, once lifted, silence is complete. No wind, because you are the wind. Into the sunset, from Topeka—a field that was once a little airstrip, between Fairlawn and Belle Avenues—over lake Sherwood, 10 miles, and landing with a little bump.
To fly over, to oversee (rather than overlook), is to gain perspective on my state and myself, and it comes naturally to me, for I was initiated into flight as a Kansas boy growing up in a state closely associated with aviation.
Th E FEE ling o F F ligh T
At one time in his life my father was irrationally afraid to fly, and his fear clenched him tightest when I was a boy. He was scheduled to fly to a conference, and as a psychiatrist, he naturally sought help. He flew. On his return, he wondered how he might help his children so we wouldn’t have the same irrational fear.
So one Saturday morning, on a clear, bright summer day, my father and mother took my two brothers, my sister and me to Billard Airport in Topeka, where we would climb the air with the pilot of a small plane for a spin around our home city. The airport, or some charter company, was having a special: Flyers were charged not by the passenger, nor the time, nor the distance, but by the pound. How inexpensive, then, to put four young children into the sky.
I vividly recall the pilot unsnapping the guy-wires that held the small airplane to its resting place near the runway. He pushed the craft backward, as though it were nothing more than a child’s toy, flimsy as a red wagon, a scooter, a bicycle. We climbed
up under the wing and in, and fastened our seat belts and located the barf bags. The propeller stuttered and caught; then its blades went invisible in their speed. We made a weaving line to the runway while a scratchy and incomprehensible voice answered the pilot’s matter-offact request to take off.
Sudden speed pushed us back into our vinyl seats. I was afraid. I thought curiosity might help. Watching everything—the runway, the nearby field, the line of trees in the distance—would keep me from myself. Then the front wheel gave up the ground, the back wheels rose, and the thrumming rush of tires on pavement turned to a lightness, a quiet in the body, a wavering in air.
The feel of flight was well worth the fear. And I’d had the feeling before, even though I was only 10 and had never been in an airplane. I knew that small moment in a jump from a high place that makes you dream you can fly, you can fly, if only the world had a little more magic (Superman’s cape, Tinker Bell’s pixie dust, Dumbo’s ears). I knew the lightness of balsa wood, punched out along precut lines and shaped into a miniature plane, released to glide along the low air of a backyard. I knew the sudden power and thrust of a propeller toy, wound tight and released, finding the higher air like a helicopter, bouncing up and up until its whirling power unwinds.
My siblings and I were aloft, like Penny in Sky King The ground moved away and everything below shrank. The view was better than any I’d ever seen, whether from a friend’s rooftop, or from the landmark of Burnett’s Mound, in southwest Topeka, or from the Kansas State Capitol, where we had climbed steep and precarious stairs to the top of the dome, the very highest place in town.
Our itinerary took us first to downtown Topeka. In circling the Capitol building, I later found out, we were upholding a Topeka tradition. One of our famous citizens, Philip Billard, for whom the airport is named, buzzed the local citizenry many times during the early part of the 20th century, dazzling “the natives by flying loops and circles and figure-eights around the Statehouse dome,” according to the Kansas City Star, November 27, 1912. Kansas, in fact, was buzzing with aircraft building in the early part of the 20th century: Beech and Cessna were actual people, learning, quite literally, how to craft the air, how to build aircraft.
Topeka had its own air pioneer, A.K. longren. even now, some 80 years after longren built planes in Topeka, a half-century since my own flight over downtown, a small limestone building at 420 Jackson St. is painted: A.K. lONGReN AIRCRAFT WORKS. longren tested his first aircraft outside Topeka on September 2, 1911. In 1912, Phil Billard, the mayor’s son, described by the newspapers as “daring,” bought longren’s second plane, a biplane capable of making 80 miles an hour. Now housed in the Kansas Museum of History, it was the first biplane I ever saw, in a visit made to downtown Topeka around the same year I flew over the city in my childhood. On July 24, 1918, Billard died in an aircraft accident in France.
Cradl E o F avia T ion
The nickname “Flyover Country” is ironic for our state, because flight and Kansas are nearly inseparable. The steady winds, open spaces and economic boom in the early 20th century brought tinkerers, builders, inventors, technicians and capitalists to Kansas to promote the new industry. Besides the names that are nationally known (Cessna, Beech, Boeing), there was Henry laurens Call, who in 1908 formed the Aerial Navigation Co. in Girard to build “a combination airship, motor car and motor boat.” The earliest aircraft scheme in Kansas came in October of 1900, three years before the Wright brothers’ successful flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, when the cornerstone of the “Carl Browne flying-machine factory” was laid at the Freedom labor exchange Colony 18 miles northeast of Fort Scott. The Goodland Aviation Co. built a helicopter prototype in 1910, though William J. Purvis and C.A. Wilson never managed to make it fly.
Growing up in Kansas, I learned of that famous American pilot, Amelia earhart. later, I visited Atchison, Kansas, where earhart was raised by her grandparents in a small home on the high bluffs above the Missouri River. Walk across the street from that home, look east to where the wide Missouri River Valley unfurls beneath you, and you can take a flight of fancy: You might be in a plane ready to soar off the bluffs.
Th E gi FT o F U nr E s T ri CTE d sigh T
The in-flight death of Billard and disappearance of earhart make the reality of flight both dangerous and exciting. My father and mother, when they put their children in a small plane, wanted the experience to be more exciting than dangerous, and it was. From the State Capitol and downtown Topeka, we flew south and east to lake Shawnee (named for my county, which is named for an Indian tribe with a short residence in Kansas). At Shawnee lake, as we called it, we attended day camps in the summer, fishing, canoeing, riding horses, singing songs and eating sandwiches. The lake was built by the WPA, and a jog around its perimeter is 7 miles.
Next, Burnett’s Mound, in southwest Topeka, our destination so many days, when we’d hop on bicycles with a sack lunch. The mound was legend, too, named for Chief Burnett, who, in our minds, had named Topeka (from an Indian word meaning “A good place to dig potatoes”) and had said that as long as Burnett’s Mound reared up just southwest of Topeka, the place would be free of tornadoes. unfortunately, the mound was desecrated in the early 1960s by an enormous water tank, dug into its side and painted a hideous, institutional green, the color of pistachio ice cream. The legendary June 8, 1966, tornado proved Burnett wrong, or punished the desecrators of his mound, by plowing up the southwest side of the mound and, instead of lifting, as Burnett said a tornado would do, bearing down the other side, staying grounded, cutting a huge swath through Topeka: northeast from the mound through the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, through Washburn university, through
snapshoTs oF wEllknown norThEasT kansas landmarks
ThaT ChannEl a sEnsE oF pridE For wriTEr Tom avErill: UnivErsiTy oF kansas CampUs, kansas rivEr, ThE kansas sTaTE CapiTol domE, amElia EarharT, bUrnETT’s moUnd, philip billard mUniCipal airporT, ThE missoUri rivEr.
residences, through downtown, where it, too, buzzed the Capitol building, tearing copper sheets from the dome, and on into the Santa Fe Shops northeast of town. In flight above Burnett’s Mound, we saw the same view as when we stood on the mound and looked toward our home, or toward downtown. Only the view was better.
We flew north, to the Kansas River, to a place we called Horseshoe Cliff. From the air we could see the bike path where we cut across a field of grass, the bike trails among hillocks and small bluffs, the ones we rode, proving our daring, sick with speed and near mishap.
Finally, we followed the sand-barred Kaw River northeast, back to Billard, and landed. My mother brought her Brownie home movie camera, and I can still watch my brothers and sister and I running from the plane toward our parents. We were hyper with excitement. They were hyper with what had become the fear of never seeing us again. Now, after all these years, I wonder about the logic of a man, afraid to fly, who sends all of his children up in a small plane and away. I wouldn’t do it that way, but it worked. Not a one of us siblings fears flying. Years later, I asked him why he put all his eggs in a Piper Cub basket and sent them flying. Both he and my mother can’t believe they did it. I’m glad they did.
My father accomplished one other thing with the flight. He gave me a way of seeing, of orienting myself in my home.
T h E n & now
Forty years later, I went up again, flying for hours in a chartered plane, making broad circles around my state, still feeling as I did when I was a boy, circling Topeka in what must have been a 30-minute flight.
Flying, there was the same shock of recognition, particularly for places where I had spent some intimate time with the earth. For example, in the early 1990s I’d visited some land owned by my friends John and Sue Wine along Soldier Creek, northwest of Topeka.
As I flew over the Wines’ land, I had that double sensation of feeling myself on the ground at the same time I was in the air. Flying, there was the same sense that the place below matched the map that already existed, a sensate object, in my head.
Flying, there was the changing view of those places where I’d also had views of the world, none better than when I lived in lawrence and attended the university of Kansas.
The Ku campus, of course, was home, familiar in all its steps and all its vistas. Mount Oread rises so high in the middle of lawrence that the view from it almost matches the one I had when I flew between the Kansas and Wakarusa river valleys.
Flying, I recognize size and scale. When a boy, flying over Topeka’s lake Shawnee, I saw for the first time just where, and how big, and how constructed it was. The same thing happened in my later Kansas flyover, with all the reservoirs in Kansas, but particularly with Clinton Reservoir, huge to the west of our flight over lawrence.
For three years, I lived in a farmhouse just south of the Wakarusa River, just west of where the huge earthmoving machines were constructing the Clinton dam. I never let myself imagine the extent of the Clinton Reservoir, never let myself see the fingers of water grasping so much land.
Flying, we sense that the places we know well are only small islands in a huge landscape. For years, I have driven the Kansas Turnpike southwest from emporia to Wichita. The Matfield Green Rest Area, a stark stopping point in the middle of the Flint Hills, has a memorial to Knute Rockne, who died in a plane crash nearby. Driving the turnpike and stopping at the rest area, I’ve always felt in touch with the real Flint Hills, so stark and so beautiful.
In truth, driving on boundaried roads, the traveler is no more intimate with the Flint Hills than Knute Rockne, who suddenly found himself struck down, tackled, surprised at where he found the end of his life. The islands we carve out for ourselves are only a small part of any place, any landscape, any life.
Flying, though, there are also those moments of feeling home.
Recently, I had the opposite experience: Having flown over a place, my recognition, my feeling of suddenly being home came when driving. On one flight, I noticed what became a familiar sight from the Kansas sky: the rural high schools like Southeast of Saline. West of the Big Blue River, I flew over one that served both Riley and leonardville, in Riley County. later, driving Highway 24 west from Manhattan, I saw, in the distance, a familiar building, a rural high school. I anticipated what might be on the four quadrants of that corner as I drove to it, and, sure enough, from the ground I saw myself in the air, looking down on home, school, church, cemetery, in the same configuration, in the same exact place, as though I’d dreamed it again after seeing it from above.
Flying, finally, is the gift of unrestricted sight, with a perspective that moves outside of time. Flying—the best of the gifts my father and mother gave me that one day—allows me to see myself, distant and small, both in the past and in the future: attending day camp at lake Shawnee , or years later, driving down a rural highway, hoping to see what I do, in fact, see.
Flying is one way to know a place: to feel a part of it, past and present. The earth seen from above is the clearest, best map. What pleasure, after you’ve seen yourself on that map, timeless and abstract, to land in your life, to find your family waiting. You are at home in this time and this place, after all.
As a child I ran from that small chartered plane, every pound of me safe again, and hugged my mother and father. “What did you think?” my father asked.
“I could see everything,” I said.
“Good,” he said.
“When can we go again?” I asked.
I have answered my own question many times flying over Kansas. Thanks to my parents, I was equipped with a certain perspective, and only a little fear.
ode to kansas
sunups & sundowns
the unique beauty of sunrises and sunsets on the prairie inspires artists and non-artists alike
ask any kansan about our sunsets or sunrises and they are likely to begin waxing poetic.
One case in point: artist Allan Chow of Kansas City, whose painting Summer Sundown was featured in the 2014 Symphony in the flint Hills field Journal. One of Chow’s favorite places to paint is the Tallgrass Prairie.
“The sunsets in the majestic rolling hills resting beneath the cloud formations are very inspiring, and the one place where I can hear my soul speak through my paintings without any noise pollution,” Chow says.
But artists aren’t the only ones who find comfort in a Kansas sunset. Becky Arseneau grew up in Pottawatomie County, and although she now lives in Illinois, she says that nothing—not even the sun dipping below the ocean horizon line in Florida—can compare to the sun setting on a Kansas wheat field or the prairie grassland.
“Savoring the smell of fresh cut hay or of freshly tilled earth while watching the sunset—well, there’s nothing better,” Arseneau says. “There is a distinct feeling of calm and peace that comes over me when I watch the sun set in Kansas.”
So what makes Kansas sunrises and sunsets so special? Well, it may be a case of beauty being in the eye, or the heart, of the beholder. national Geographic photographer Jim Richardson of lindsborg believes that sunrises and sunsets evoke an emotional response from the people viewing them.
“We are impressed by our own human understanding of the coming and going of our days,” Richardson says. “The visual splendor is inseparable from our inner emotional dialogue.”
Sunrises and sunsets mark the ever-cyclical beginning and ending of night to day and day to night. They are the transitions by which we measure our time.
Stand and watch the sun appear to slowly dip below the horizon, and you can’t help but feel a sense of reflection, possibly even longing, for the current day’s end. Do the same as the sun rises again in the east at the beginning of a new day, and you might feel excited expectation or promise in what lies ahead.
In Kansas, sunrises and sunsets are more than supporting players to our unique and expansive landscape. As with summer storms moving in from the southwest or winter chills blowing down from the north, we watch and we pay close attention because, living in Kansas, we often feel more exposed and more personally affected by the power, and the beauty, of nature.
When everything aligns perfectly and we are treated to good weather or a spectacular sunset, we appreciate it more deeply because we have lived through many days of great imperfection.
When lawrence artist lisa Grossman, known for her stunning paintings of Flint Hills landscapes and sunsets, heads out to paint, she believes that a feeling for our place and scale here is an essential part of the process.
“When observing the sunset, I often take the opportunity to shift my perception to the fact that the sun is not a flat object dropping behind a solid line, but that we in fact are on a vast sphere that’s imperceptibly rolling away from the sun,” Grossman says. “Being in the open spaces of Kansas at the evening turn, as I like to call it, is a good way for me to reconnect with the size and scale of our planet.”
Topeka-based photographer Brad Neff often shoots sunrises and sunsets near Kansas lakes, rivers and ponds, so he can capture the way the light reflects and interacts with the water.
Shining insight from the pros
Brad Neff
“my favorite place for both sunrises and sunsets would definitely be next to a body of water. my go-to spot is shawnee state Fishing lake, in northern shawnee county, because it offers interesting foregrounds and a rocky shoreline, which adds interest.
“also, be sure to look behind you when taking sunrise and sunset photos. sometimes the most dramatic light is created in the opposite direction of the sun rising or setting.”
Eldon
Clark
“i love to take sunrise and sunset photos in the rolling hills of north-central kansas, where you can see for more than 30 miles in any direction. w ith a major river, several farm ponds and a few nice creeks in the area, even if the light isn’t perfect still get to hear birds singing and usually see deer, fox, pheasant and red-tail hawks.
“best tip i can offer is to get to your location well ahead of time and get set up on a tripod. shoot before, during and after the sun comes up or goes down, and don’t give up too soon. the light will continue to change for quite awhile after the sun has set.”
Jim Richardson
“the toughest part about taking photos of sunsets is that the photos are never quite as good as the real thing. keep in mind that what was big and glorious as you looked at it will be transferred to a small-size image once you snap the shutter. think like a camera and accept that what you are going to get will be different from what you actually saw.”