KANSAS! Magazine | Fall 2015

fall 2015 | vol 71 | issue 3 | kansasmag.com

ssue i Z O The

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“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

fall 2015

fall fall features

“A lot of it is a sense of accomplishment you achieve working hand in hand with the rest of your family,” he says. “That’s one reason I enjoy it.” ­­—Kent Winter, Kansas wheat farmer

36 | The Wonderful World of Oz

Discover how the Oz phenomenon began and what it means today

44 | Homegrown

One family comes together for the year’s most valuable harvest … wheat

on the cover

Photograph harland J. Schuster

The Yellow Brick Road

Photo Illustration by Doug Stremel and Shelly Bryant

01 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

fall fall departments

04 | In This Issue

06 | Editor’s Letter

32 | Wide open spaces:

09 | In Season

10 | Eat 13 | Shop 14 | Culture 15 | Sampler 16 | Ride

18 |

Reasons We Love Kansas

22 | Fall 2015 Events 24 | Wide open spaces:

Fair Play

Enjoy the sights, sounds and Pronto Pups at the state’s most anticipated event of the year —the State Fair

53 | KANSAS! Gallery:

Photo Essay

Kansas Storms

59 |

Taste of Kansas: Cheers to Good Food

Craft beers and fine food create a tasty combination

64 | Milestone of Kansas

A View from the Top

From soaring river bluffs to a significant role in aviation history, Atchison will take your Kansas travel to new heights

28 | Wide open spaces:

Little House on the Prairie

The quirky Elk Falls Outhouse Tour celebrates 20 years

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Magazine fall 2015

Photograph doug stremel

inthisissue

We’re still in Kansas, Toto!

As Lou Ann Thomas suggests in her essay on The Wizard of Oz, we at KANSAS! magazine are embracing our “Ozness.” When we considered the editorial lineup for 2015, we went back and forth on covering the sometimes … sensational topic. Finally we said YES! Oz has created many fond memories for Kansans—especially for those who saw the original release of The Wizard of Oz. Today events, museums and communities celebrate the wonderful wizard. Add KANSAS! magazine to that list as we present the official “Oz Issue.”

This fall, our cast of munchkins included

writers photographers

Potty Talk “Actually, we say we’re the outhouse capital of the world,” Steve Fry of Elk Falls Pottery says.

“Until someone steps up and challenges us, we’re going with that.”

Get the full story on page 28 and save the date for November 20 and 21. This is one tour you won’t want to miss.

04 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

When we began planning this fall edition we realized that it was entirely possible to capture a Kansas wheat harvest. As all signs pointed toward an early heading of the wheat, we found a gracious family who let us document their wheat harvest. Of course 2015 saw record rains, and as we went into the last week of production, we were still waiting for the wheat. And the wait was worth it. Thank you to writer Amy Bickel, photographer Harland J. Schuster and the Winter family for their poignant illustration of this Kansas tradition.

“Kansas Hospitality. That sums up our experience working with Kent Winter and his family to photograph the 2015 wheat harvest on their farm near Mount Hope. Despite being very busy, they indulged all our requests and even invited us to eat meals with them. Three generations of the Winter family worked seamlessly together to bring in the wheat crop, from Alvin Winter, 87, who still hauls wheat to the elevator, to Kurt Winter, 15, who drives the tractor pulling the grain cart. Watching the family harvest wheat is like watching a well-choreographed ballet as combines, tractors and trucks dance and pirouette to music only they can hear. Seeing all this work being done without fuss and without melodrama makes you realize that folks like these are the backbone of our country. We felt blessed to be a part of it all.”

—Harland J. Schuster, photographer

Photographs doug stremel, Shutterstock

Along the Yellow Brick Road

Waiting for Harvest

KANSAS!

fall 2015 Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Andrea Etzel editor

Sam Brownback governor

Robin Jennison

KDWPT Secretary

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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 Impaired: (785) 296-3487.

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Specializing in authentic antiques full of history, character, charm and craftsmanship Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10am-5pm 620.412.2759 • paper-moon-antiques.com

WINFIELD ART IN THE PARK October 3 Island Park, Winfield, KS • Outdoor art festival • Entertainment • Children’s art activities • Food vendors • Juried Show 12 x 12 booth for $40 Sponsored in part by Winfield Convention & Tourism

(620) 221-2161 | www.winfieldarts.org

Music Mini Fest 09.15.15 Performers from the Walnut Festival come to provide music to schoolkids, the community, veterans, and festival goers from 9 am to 3 pm. Reservations for large groups are required.

Baden Square: 700 Gary Winfield, KS

620-221-2161 |

winfieldarts.org

Sponsored in part by Winfield Convention & Tourism

05 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

from the editor

–Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz, 1939

06 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

Photograph doug stremel

“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard.

Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.”

While I was attending college in Savannah, Georgia, I worked as a guide for a local museum. Since I lack a southern accent many travelers asked where I was from, proudly I would say Kansas. Then I waited. You know what followed next—all Kansans know—“Guess you’re not in Kansas anymore,” or “Hey, where’s Toto?”

Some feel this is a cross to bear, but I cherish our link to the Wizard of Oz. A story of hope, determination and finding a sense of home; after all as we know, there’s no place like Kansas. Contributing KANSAS! writer and author Tom Averill has gone on record to say, “it’s really our one true American fairy tale.” And Dorothy Gale is our hero, yet more importantly, she’s a Kansan.

I’m not the only one who treasures the connection.

Every year thousands of travelers from all over the world come to Kansas to immerse themselves in the Wizard of Oz. In search of Dorothy and Toto, visitors can follow the Yellow Brick Road in Sedan and tour Dorothy’s Home in Liberal, but the mecca for all that is “Oz” would be the charming community of Wamego. Planning a trip? Get in the right spirit by starting at the Oz Museum, then have a bite at Toto’s Tacos (a favorite of mine), and the Oz Winery is not to be missed. You can do all this and more if you head to Oztoberfest at the end of September, a must for your Kansas Bucket List!

Speaking of the Kansas Bucket List, I want to say thank you to everyone who sent in submissions. Our honorary editorial panel is hard at work narrowing the list to the Top 70 experiences in Kansas based on your suggestions. We cannot wait to reveal the list in our 70th Anniversary issue this winter.

Also, available this winter is the 2016 KANSAS! wall calendar. We received an overwhelming number of photography submissions, and selecting only 13 was a challenge. Filled with vibrant colors, breathtaking landscapes and signature Kansas moments, the calendar will make a great stocking stuffer for you early bird holiday shoppers.

Thank you for reading!

fall 2015

fall 2015

10 eat / 13 shop / 14 culture / 15 sampler / 16 ride

Photograph Danton McDiffett

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. And this season, we learn about the artistic presence of dragons in central Kansas.

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Magazine fall 2015

eat

By Bethaney Wallace

Kansas

Food Events Jammin’ in JC Junction City September 25-26 Get a dose of music— blues to be exact—and barbecue, all served up in Junction City’s Heritage Park.

Barbecue aficionados can enter their goods to see who smoked it best, while happy diners can taste-test the entries. Camp, listen, eat or participate your way through this blues-loving event. jammininjc.com

Home Products Dinner Ulysses September 15 In 1941, state legislator Will Christian invited 12 of his colleagues to his home to enjoy an entirely homegrown meal.That meal included barbecue beef, sweet corn, pinto beans, whole-wheat rolls (with homemade butter and strawberry jam), candied squash, watermelon and tomatoes. And if that wasn’t enough, milo doughnuts and ice cream topped it off.The meal became a tradition and now serves more than 2,000 guests, with proceeds going to local scholarship funds.This year’s feast, at Grant County Civic Center, begins at 7 p.m.Tickets are $8. ulysseschamber.org

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Magazine fall 2015

hot for harry’s Manhattan eatery named “Best Restaurant in Kansas”

by Business Insider

In the state of Kansas, there are hundreds of restaurants— favorites that offer delicious meals and atmosphere, to boot. But only one can be the best, and according to the national website Business Insider—it’s Harry’s.

Having recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, this Manhattan institution continues to serve a classy and delicious menu.

“We’ve always been very fortunate and blessed to have a lot of guests who come in and really have a relationship with the restaurant,” says Evan Grier, managing partner. He and his wife, Andrea, bought the space nearly 10 years ago and have continued with Harry’s definitive dishes, as well as adding a few new ones.

In fact, Grier says he feels so strongly about the restaurant’s traditions that he and his wife consider the restaurant an inheritance, rather than a business purchase.

“It’s been a wonderful place to dine long before we were here,” he says.

That’s a sentiment echoed by Jase Stanton, the restaurant’s marketing director.

“The thing I love the most is that the torch came long before us,” Stanton says. “Now it’s just our turn to carry it.”

Crowd favorites include the filet mignon royale, a savory steak cut from USDA prime selections. It’s layered with sautéed crab and sauce béarnaise (a French staple of buttery herb goodness), alongside garlic chèvre smashed potatoes.Yes, at Harry’s the potatoes are smashed and beyond delicious.

Other bestsellers include the prime rib and the restaurant’s award-winning Kobe burger, which has been listed multiple times in Midwest Living as a “best in the Midwest.”

Menu items have their backers, and longtime diners at Harry’s are quick to voice their opinions on any menu changes that might remove a favorite dish.

“Guests feel that strongly about their item.They want us to know how much it meant to them,” Grier says.

Both Grier and Stanton say Business Insider’s recognition is a huge honor and a reflection of just how much their space means to the Kansas community and beyond.

“It serves as a nice reminder of the trust people place in us when they walk in the door,” Stanton says.“We really strive to do it right.” harrysmanhattan.com

PhotographS Michael Henry

in season

I T ’ S M O R E T H A N A D O N AT I O N

Keep 5 in Kansas

The concept is simple: By remembering your community in your legacy — by leaving just 5% of your estate to your local community foundation — you will help ensure your community’s future.

620-200-4947

|

keepfiveinkansas.com

shop

By Katy Schamberger

in season

SHOP-WORTHY

Kansas 2015 Fall Festival Overland Park

The Art of the

Photographs Kevin Anderson

From custom-built frames to in-house roasted coffee, Velo+ is changing the definition of a bike shop In May of 2013, Vincent Rodriguez, owner of Velo+, combined his two loves—coffee and cycling—to open a Lenexa storefront featuring coffee (roasted daily in-store), bicycles and locally made cycling accessories.

In fact, Rodriguez keeps his coffee-roasting operation visible in the front of the store.“I want to show everyone what I’m doing,” he says. And it’s impressive. Rodriguez’ Loring Smart Roaster pumps out an invigorating aroma with his brand, Maps coffee.

While juggling the demands of his shop and roasting business, Rodriguez also devotes time to creating custom steel bike frames (VBR and Pedalino brands), a meticulous process that requires 40 hours of work per frame. That sort of time, attention and detail comes with a hefty price tag—$2,500 per frame. For the devoted cyclist, though, it’s an investment that pays off on the roads.

“It’s a whole different experience when riding,” Rodriguez says. “For example, it can be difficult for a person with short legs and a long torso to find a comfortable bike. Using custom frame-building will solve that problem. And it creates a legacy bike— one that a cyclist will ride for the rest of their life.”

Bike

Other standard brands include Surly, All City, Kona, Linus Fyxation and more. In keeping with his goal to “make a store in Kansas City that’s handmade and authentic,” Rodriguez has also partnered with other local brands, including ATM Handmade Goods, makers of custom frame bags; TaddiHog, a two-person company that makes custom cycling hats from upcycled materials; and the Townie Syndicate Lever+, a multi-tool created by two Hallmark employees.

“I want to help be a catalyst for these businesses,” Rodriguez says.

When you stop in at Velo+, there’s a good chance Rodriguez is there and working on any number of things. But when he is outside the store, Rodriguez is likely to be on his bike, traveling down the roads—the more rural, the better.

“I prefer gravel roads because there’s less traffic and it’s beautiful out in the country,” he says. “I typically ride in the Olathe and Spring Hill area.”

What better way to experience the beauty of Kansas than on two wheels? And if you want some coffee to enjoy after your ride, it’s closer than you think. velopluskc.com

Head to the urban heart of Overland Park on September 26 for the 2015 Fall Festival, a seasonal celebration that kicks off with a parade and includes an extended farmers’ market and an annual arts and crafts fair that attracts vendors from around the region. opkansas.org

Kansas Barn Sale Hesston On October 3, shop the largest art and antique show in the state at the annual Kansas Barn Sale.

Held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the event features more than 80 vendors offering antiques, vintage items, artisan handmade goods and much more.

Come early for the best selection. kansasbarnsale.com

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Magazine fall 2015

in season

culture

By Patricia E. Ackerman

for the love of

dragons Spirited, fire-breathing folk art

Jim Dickerman emerges from his clapboard farmhouse outside of Lincoln in the guise of a tall, horned, feathered creature.The wildly inventive costume is one of the latest original, hand-made creations from Dickerman, a self-taught artist unafraid to create beauty from any object placed before him.

“I don’t paint, but I make three-dimensional art of just about anything you don’t have to buy, ” says Dickerman.

Raised in Lincoln County, where he continues to work as a welder, Dickerman has slowly decorated the roads and byways of his home region with monumental creatures— dragons, gigantic insects and other fantastical beings fashioned from scrap metal and industrial detritus. Sometimes, he will recycle a farm’s rusting equipment into a gigantic, sentimental keepsake.

“There are stories in things like old, rumbly tractors and railroad track pieces,” says Dickerman.“I make things out of people’s stuff, then give it back to them, because the object means something to them.”

Collectively, Dickerman calls his rural display of artwork “The Open Range Zoo,” because its components are too large, too raw to be caged by art gallery walls. But his smaller work has been picked up by the Grassroots Art Center, canonizing Dickerman among the center’s self-taught talents.

For Dickerman, who claims an artistic heritage with S.P. Dinsmoor—the Kansan Civil War veteran-turned-sculptor who created the Garden of Eden in 1904—the title of unschooled, free-range artist is an honor to claim.

where to see 14 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

Jim Dickerman’s smaller pieces, some of which are available for purchase, can be seen at the Grassroots Art Center in Lucas (213 S. Main St.). grassrootsart.net The creatures of “The Open Range Zoo” are best seen along Highway K-18, from Lincoln to Lucas.The artwork is placed on private property, so be considerate of land rights when stopping to view or photograph the creatures.

If grassroots art might look like Jim Dickerman’s sculptures, then what might grassroots music sound like?

Well, perhaps a festival of Kansas high-school marching bands? That’s exactly what you can enjoy at Neewollah.

Billed by host city Independence, as the state’s largest festival, the week-long party culminates in a marching-band parade featuring musicians from some 25 high schools.This year’s event goes from October 23-31. neewollah.com What would grassroots cuisine taste like?

Well, perhaps a prize-winning pie at the Bricks, Broncs and BBQ Festival in Russell this October.

The fifth-annual celebration of smalltown life runs October 3-4 and also features a chili cook-off, a car show and tightly contested games of bingo under a big tent. russellmainstreet.com

Photographs (from left) Danton McDiffett, Courtesy of the Kansas Sampler Foundation

Kansas cultural events

By Marci Penner, Kansas Sampler Foundation

sampler

Yellow brick roads have been stealing the show in Kansas for decades. But before Dorothy’s original yellow brick road came along in 1939, red brick streets were popular. In many towns, they remain a reminder of the community’s past. Here are a few places that pay homage and help us see red brick streets with new eyes.

Hit The

Bricks Follow all of Kansas’ brick roads to a world of wonder

46,000 Bricks William (Deafy) Boular was featured in a 1933 Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” column for laying 46,000 bricks in less than eight hours in 1900 on the streets of Atchison. Deaf and then unable to speak after contracting spinal meningitis as a young boy, Deafy lost both legs in a train accident when he was 10. Fitted boots made it possible for him to walk on his knees. A display, which includes his boots, can be seen in the Atchison County Historical Society Museum (200 S. Tenth). A statue to Deafy was dedicated in 2013 and stands in the 400 block of the Commercial Street Mall.

46,664 Bricks James Garfield Brown, from the Oneida nation, laid bricks streets in many Kansas towns, including Goodland and Baldwin City. In Olathe, on September 12, 1925, Brown won a contest by laying 46,664 bricks in just under eight hours on the Kansas City Road. A marker about him and the building of the Kansas City Road can be found at East Poplar Street and North Kansas City Road in Olathe.

Memorial Bricks Guilford Gage, owner of a brick factory and the man who donated the land for

in season

Gage Park in Topeka, was responsible for building a war monument to Union soldiers as well as a small brick street leading to his own grave in the Topeka Cemetery. Deb Goodrich of the Topeka Cemetery says the war monument and brick path remain one of the cemetery’s main attractions.

Fala the Dala Brick Road Designed and painted by Lindsborg artist Kathy Peterson, Fala the Dala Brick Road is dedicated to Lindsborg’s red brick streets. As well as a magnificent play on words, Fala is one of 32 works of art created in the “Wild Dala Horses” series, large fiberglass versions of the distinctive wooden horse forms carved and decorated in Sweden over the

Proud Past – Brilliant Future 785-528-3714 (Osage City Hall) www.OsageCity.com Smoke in the Spring – April 8-9, 2016 www.smokeinthespring.com

centuries. Fala is also a tribute to the vision of local residents who saved the city’s red brick streets from being asphalted in 1967.

Penny Bricks In Beloit, legend has it that pennies were laid underneath bricks in the roads around the town’s central courthouse square. Kyle Peterson, director of the Mitchell County Historical Society, says that he has heard many stories about Beloit’s original bricklayer, who collected pennies from local businesses and placed them under the bricks, which he laid at night.“It’s not clear why it was at night or the nature of placing them, but there were all types of stories related to this,” says Peterson.

in season

ride

By KANSAS! magazine staff

On the road?

Don’t miss these gems

Waterville Enjoy a night at the historic Weaver Hotel in downtown Waterville, a small community along the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad.Visit the Marshall Co. Railroad Historical Society, Auntie M’s Attic or Little Blue Outfitters. weaverhotel.com

project length: total project cost:

Kansas White Way Highway the Big Blue River, just east of Blue Rapids.

In April 2011 the Kansas Department of Transportation began a 20-month renovation project to replace an existing narrow Blue Rapids Bridge. As part of the renovation, rightturn lanes were added to the bridge at the K-9 intersection.

Through legislative process, the bridge was named “1st Lieutenant Michael Hugh Breeding Memorial Bridge” in honor of 1st Lieutenant Michael Hugh Breeding, of Marysville. He served in Vietnam where his plane was shot down.

Learn more about the history of the Kansas White Way at kswhiteway.wordpress.com and ksdot.org.

kansas white way by the numbers 16 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

Bridge replacement over the Big Blue River

1 .5 miles

Project Length across the bridge

9.4

$

million

Total Project Cost

History awaits in Blue Rapids. See the Round Town Square, an 8 Wonders of Kansas Finalist, an Ice Age Monument and murals by artist and self-proclaimed “doodler” Kenny Winkenwader. marshallcoks.com/ towns/blue-rapids

Concordia Concordia is home to the National Orphan Train Complex. In the early 20th century it was estimated that nearly 300,000 children were orphaned and homeless throughout the U.S. The Kansas museum provides exhibits, collections and research on Orphan Train Movement. orphantraindepot.org

Photographs Courtesy of Tom Parker

Kansas Highway 9 has a storied past as the Kansas White Way. In 2014 many celebrated the 100th anniversary of the organizational meeting of “road boosters,” who planned to improve and mark the road from Atchison to Clyde.The boosters believed that the 160-mile stretch of the Kansas White Way would lead to an improved network of side roads, which would then lead to greater prosperity for the surrounding areas, as well as being the best, most direct road to travel across Kansas.

Today the northern route takes travelers through quaint northern Kansas towns including Waterville, Frankfort, Blue Rapids, Centralia and Corning. A well-known attraction in the north is

Blue Rapids

Home of Jim RicHaRdson national GeoGRapHic

“pHotoGRapHeR’s pHotoGRapHeR”

www.jimrichardsonphotography.com

Downtown in Lindsborg and saLina www.connectedfairtrade.com #ConnectedFT open Daily anD laTe The Good MerchanT UniqUe boUtiqUe

with home decor, fashion accessories & gifts for everyone

785-212-6134 / www.thegoodmerchant.net

135 N Main Lindsborg Open 7 days a week!

Enjoy a quiEt and comfortablE rEtrEat from EvEryday lifE. Fresh Cut Flowers GIFT SHOP

Bouquet Inc • Swedish Shoppe breakfast buffet • 19 guest rooms

Floral-Apparel-Gifts-Tanning served every morning

785.227.2202

www.swedishcountryinn.com www.bouquest-shoppe.com 800-231-0266

reasons

we love kansas

By Cecilia Harris

2

We search the state, near and far, to find reasons to love our Sunflower State. Share your Reasons We Love Kansas (see page 20).

FLY HIGH ON HISTORY

Kansas Aviation Museum The Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita will satisfy all pilots at heart as they can sit in the cockpit and pretend to pilot an airplane. The family-friendly, hands-on museum celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Experience flight simulators, control towers (both mock and real) and planes of all makes and sizes, from a 1927 Swallow to a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Learn Wichita’s role as the “Air Capital of the World” through exhibits in the original 1935 Wichita Municipal Airport Terminal. kansasaviationmuseum.org

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Magazine fall 2015

HIT THE TRAIL Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail Spot quilt blocks on barns along the Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail—a scenic trip that pieces together the art of quilting, agriculture, history and nature. More than 200 sites—doubled in the last year—feature colorful traditional stars and quilt patterns. The large wooden squares, hung on buildings, can be viewed from public roads throughout the 22 counties of the Flint Hills region. ksflinthillsquilttrail.com

reasons Photographs (Clockwise from top left) Courtesy of the Flint Hills Quilt Trail (2), Diane Ray, David Stimatze (2), logo courtesy of the Western Plains Arts Association, Courtesy of the Kansas Aviation Museum

we love kansas

3

BORN AGAIN The Volland Store in the Flint Hills The Volland Store in the Flint Hills lives on as a special events venue in tiny Volland, thanks to owners Jerry and Patty Reece. “The first motivation was just to make sure it didn’t get torn down,” Patty says of the renovated, century-old brick structure that once housed a mercantile operated by Otto Kratzer. Today, Kratzer’s photographs of historic Volland cover the space’s walls through Labor Day 2015; a quilt collection mixed with the work of textile artist Debra Smith opens September 20. thevollandstore.com

APPLAUSE!

4

PLAY IN THE SAND

Syracuse Sand Dunes Park A different kind of rodeo occurs at the Syracuse Sand Dunes Park, where motorcycles, four-wheelers, side-by-side ATVs and dune buggies compete in barrel racing, pole bending and an obstacle course. The rodeo and nighttime Dunes Poker Runs are part of the Labor Day festivities at one of the largest sand dune parks in the Midwest, located just south of Syracuse. syracuseks.gov

5

Western Plains Arts association The arts thrive in Northwest Kansas, thanks to the Western Plains Arts Association, which brings quality performing arts entertainment to 14 communities in nine counties. Each year, 15 to 20 events are planned, including theater, music and dance. “We try to have a wide variety to appeal to all the different tastes,” says Pat Ziegelmeier, the association’s executive director. This season’s lineup includes the St. Louis Brass and Cirque Zuma Zuma, an African-style Cirque de Soleil. wpaa.us

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reasons

we love kansas

SPURRED ON

World’s Largest Spur Guinness World Records confirms that Abilene boasts the world’s largest spur, standing nearly 28 feet tall and more than 20 feet wide at the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo Arena. “This amazing piece of art beautifully reflects our cowboy heritage,” says Glenda Purkis, director of the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau. Abilene was the first cattle town at the end of the Chisholm Trail and will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2017. abilenecityhall.com

below Sea level Fick Fossil and History Museum See the world’s oldest extinct marine reptile, a 15-foot-long Xiphactinus Audax, at the Fick Fossil and History Museum in Oakley. “Our biggest draw besides the fossil is all of the artwork we have by Vi Fick, who incorporated fossils in her artwork using several different types of media,” says Museum Director Kelsey Shellito. Vi and Ernest Fick collected most of the museum’s thousands of fossils. The museum is also on the Western Vistas Historic Byway. discoveroakley.com

KANSAS ROOTS

Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park Experience the Kanza’s legacy in the Kaw Nation’s Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park near Council Grove. The Kanza Heritage Trail features 15 points of interest, including an earth lodge replica. “People walking the Flint Hills Nature Trail can make a short detour to Allegawaho Park,” says Pauline Sharp, Kaw Nation cultural committee vice president.

Powwows will occur on occasion in the newly constructed dance arbor. kawmission.org

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Magazine fall 2015

Reasons

We Love Kansas

Send your “Reasons We Love Kansas” to ksreasons@sunflowerpub.com or to Reasons, KANSAS!, 1020 S. Kansas Ave., Suite 200, Topeka, KS 66612.

9

reasons

KANSAS!

we love kansas

Photographs (Clockwise from top left) Lou Ann Thomas, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), Shutterstock (2), KDWPT

A SCREAMING GOOD TIME

advertise

in KANSAS! Magazine For details contact Sunflower Publishing (888) 497-8668 sunpubads@sunflowerpub.com

Field of Screams Field of Screams will scare your socks off with spooky tales in the fields near Maize. Attractions include Clown Town’s frightening jesters, dizzying 3-D effects and mazes; these activities are suggested for children older than 8. New this year is laser tag for all ages, as is “Operation Zombie Hunt,” where participants will ride through fields, blasting zombies with paintball guns. Online reservations are requested; open weekends from mid-September through October. scaryprairiepines.com

10

A-MAZE-ING FUN

Sunny Side Pumpkin Patch Conquer a corn maze in the dark at Sunny Side Pumpkin Patch near Assaria. Throughout October, the Nurnberg family provides a full day of activities for all ages, including straw-bale slides, slingshots that launch gourds, horsedrawn hayrack rides, and plenty of pumpkins you can pick right off the vine. sunnysidepatch.com Fine Arts Unique • Functional Featuring the original handmade works of local, regional and national artisans.

Pottery • Blown Glass • Jewelry • Woodwork • Textiles and much more

Visit us in beautiful downtown Lawrence, Kansas!

825 Massachusetts street Lawrence Ks - 785.843.0080 Also shop at:

www.phoenixgalleryart.com

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Magazine fall 2015

events f a l l

Lovewell Fun Day Webber August 1 Lovewell State Park and Wildlife Area hosts a day full of fun with a 5K run/walk; mud volleyball tournament; sandpile treasure hunt and more. Begins at 7 a.m. ksoutdoors.com

Southwest Kansas Pro-Am Golf Tournament Garden City August 5-9 Celebrating its 36th year, the 2015 Southwest Kansas Pro-Am Golf Tournament is one of the largest professional golf events in Kansas. Events will include the Ladies’ Pro-Am event, Ulysses Shootout, Lewis Motors Shootout and more. stcatherinehosp.org/proam

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Chanute Blues Blast Concert Chanute August 8 A night of blues music held outside at the historic Martin Johnson Airport.

Performers include Katy Guillen and The Girls, Rachelle Coba and the Danielle Nicole Band. Enjoy food and drink. Tickets are $25 day of event.

Begins at 6 p.m. chanutechamber.com

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Cowgirl Getaway Bucklin August 13-14 Cowgirls will enjoy the ranching life by learning skills, riding horseback, moving longhorns, watching for wildlife, cooking with Dutch ovens, learning to ride a horse, harnessing and driving a team of horses.

Registration required. Begins at 7 a.m. moorelonghornranch.com

Blacksmiths & Pioneer Days Summerfield August 15-16 Visit the Transue Bros. Blacksmith Museum for a variety of pioneer activities during the Blacksmiths & Pioneer Days in Summerfield. See gunfights, pioneer crafts, reenactments and much more over the weekend. transueblacksmith.org

Float Your Boat Cardboard Boat Races Milford August 15 Using only cardboard and duct tape, build a two-person boat that can be launched and paddled along a set course for a chance to win trophies and cash prizes at Milford State Park. Held in conjunction with the Milford Lake Extreme Outdoor Water Festival. No registration required. Begins at 2 p.m. junctioncity.org

Salt City Open Disc Golf Tournament Hutchinson August 29 The Salt City Open disc golf tournament, part of the Kansas Disc Golf Association Oz Tour, gets underway at the Carey Park Disc Golf Course in Hutchinson. The event features multiple divisions, ranging from the recreational player to the who’s who of pros across the state. Entry fees range from $25-$65 based on division. http://careyparkdiscgolf. webs.com

Magazine fall 2015

find more events at travelks.com

/

All events are subject to change.

Fall Wildflower Tours Canton September 5-12 Board the tram for a tour of the prairie to see wildflowers and buffalo or do a self-guided walking tour. Entry ranges from $5-$8 (kids under 3 are free). Begins at 10 a.m. maxwellwildliferefuge.com

Photographs shutterstock

Kansas City Renaissance Festival Kansas City September 5-October 18 For over 35 years, the Kansas City Renaissance Festival has entertained thousands of visitors in their 16th-century village, which features a variety of performances, armored jousting, artisan and food booths and much more! Open weekends, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets required. kcrenfest.com

Orchestra on the Oregon Trail Marysville September 6 Journey to Alcove Spring Historic Park for Orchestra on the Oregon Trail, an all-day experience with music and events for all ages.

The Topeka Symphony Orchestra and the natural wonder of Alcove Spring will combine as a tribute to a wilderness traversed by the pioneers.

Tickets are $55. Begins at 1 p.m. ooot.org

15th Annual Greeley Smokeoff Greeley September 11-12 Enjoy a unique experience where the food is the focus for the celebration at the Greeley Smokeoff.

In addition to music and games, look forward to ribs, brisket, chicken, veggies and even desserts cooked on the grill. Begins at 10 a.m. greeleysmokeoff.com

Pub2Pub 10K Run, Walk or Crawl Garnett September 12 Race, run, walk or crawl, but whatever you choose let it be all about fun. The scenic course runs along the Prairie Spirit Rail Trail State Park through the Pottawatomie Creek bottoms area between Garnett and Scipio. Entry fee is $35. Begins at 4 p.m. experiencegarnettks.com/ Pub_2_Pub.html

Walnut Valley Festival Winfield September 16-20 The Walnut Valley Festival is one of the premier music events in the Midwest and includes a variety of food and a large juried arts and crafts show. The festival runs Wednesday through Sunday the third weekend in September at the Winfield Fairgrounds. wvfest.com

Dream Ride in the Flint Hills Cottonwood Falls September 25-27 Celebrate 12 years of wonderful horseback riding throughout Chase County. grandcentralhotel.com

Louisburg Cider Mill Ciderfest and Craft Fair Louisburg September 26-27, October 3-4 Bring the kids to the orchard for a corn maze, pumpkin patch, cider mill tours, vendors and more.

ThinkMiamiCounty.com

Fall Farm Day Tour Paola October 17-18 Cruise around Miami County with the family and discover the local farms. Participants will enjoy all sorts of activities from riding horses to feeding alpacas. paolachamber.org

2015 Historic Cemetery Walking Tours Garden City October 22-25 Through a guided historic walking tour of the Valley View Cemetery, learn about various grave sites and memorials, plus five encounters with re-enactors portraying figures from Southwest Kansas history.

Tickets sold in advance. finneycounty.org

October Art Walk Pittsburg October 30 The Pittsburg Art Walk downtown features food vendors, music, art demonstrations and beautiful work from our local artists. Begins at 5 p.m. facebook.com/pittsburgartwalk

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A View

from the top From soaring river bluffs to a significant role in aviation history, Atchison will take your Kansas travel to new heights

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erched amid the Missouri River bluffs, Atchison is more than a picturesque small town retreat—it’s also a veritable treasure trove of Kansas history, not to mention the perfect weekend getaway.

By Katy Schamberger

A sunset view from Atchison over the mighty Mo.

photographs (Clockwise from Left): Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks & Tourism (4), Kevin Anderson

Day 1: Getting to Know Atchison No matter your interests or agenda, the best place to start a trip to Atchison is with a visit to the Atchison Visitor Information Center, followed by a ride on the Historic Trolley Tour, which operates from April through October. The information center is (appropriately) housed in the Santa Fe Depot, a nod to the city’s legacy as a railroad hub. After a look around the Atchison County Historical Society Museum, hop aboard the trolley.

The approximately one-hour trolley tour offers a look at most of Atchison’s major historical sites, not to mention some breathtaking views of the Missouri River. Throughout the tour, you’ll also hear stories about Atchison history and notable residents. Keep your eyes out for some especially wonderful photo opportunities, including the city’s historic post office, the “Gargoyle” house (which, incidentally, is actually decorated with griffins) and what’s said to be one of the first houses built in Atchison.

If you time your visit and tour in the late morning, you’ll be finished in time for lunch. Eateries within walking distance of the Visitor’s Center include Paolucci’s Restaurant, Deli and Lounge, an Atchison institution that dates back to 1894; Pete’s Steakhouse, where a classic menu is sure to satisfy; and Willie’s Sports Pub, featuring classic sports bar fare along with Cajun/Creole flavors.

After lunch, stroll through downtown Atchison’s shopping district, a pedestrian-friendly mall along Commercial Street. One of the must-see stops? Nell Hill’s, a mercantile known around the region for its home furnishings. Wind your way through three floors filled with furniture, fixtures and finishings, all featured in impeccably decorated surroundings.

Need a shopping break? Pull up a stool at the Gateway Grill & Old Fashioned Soda Fountain and treat yourself to a milkshake, malt or other soda fountain favorite. And if you’ve shopped and strolled enough to work up an appetite, don’t leave without trying the monstrous (and delicious) pork tenderloin sandwich.

are you afraid of the dark?

Atchison takes travelers to a picturesque destination with food, shopping, history and seasonal attractions.

Atchison is a city of all seasons, but there’s no denying that fall is Atchison’s best season. Of course the fall foliage is a sight to see, but the community is also known for its spooky activity.

Highlights in September and October include Haunted Atchison tours, the best way to learn more about what’s widely considered the most haunted city in Kansas. Haunted Atchison also includes Friday the 13th investigations, murder mystery suppers, paranormal readings and many more frights.

If you’re not averse to things that go bump in the night, you’ll love the Cemetery Lantern Tour, led by tour guide Liz Lane through one of Atchison’s oldest cemeteries, Mount Vernon.

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Atchison Visitor Information Center in the Santa Fe Depot, fireworks from Amelia Earhart Festival.

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Day 2: A Celebration of Amelia Earhart As the birthplace of legendary female pilot Amelia Earhart, Atchison has no shortage of sights and exhibits dedicated to Earhart and her family.

Start the day at the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, built by Amelia’s grandfather in the early 1860s. The museum is now owned and operated by The Ninety-Nines, Inc., an international organization of women pilots founded by Earhart in 1929.

Once you’ve explored the museum, head to another local attraction that’s also operated

by The Ninety-Nines, Inc.—The International Forest of Friendship. The forest, presented to America on its 200th birthday in 1976, includes trees from all 50 states and 35 countries. Of special note is the Moon Tree, grown from a seed taken to the moon by Command Pilot Stuart Roosa on Apollo 14. Stroll through the forest on Memory Lane, which is embedded with granite plaques that feature the names of more than 1,400 honorees including Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, the Wright Brothers, Sally Ride and Colonel Eileen M. Collins, the first woman to pilot a shuttle into space. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy it on the shores of Lake Warnock.

Conclude the Amelia Earhart-themed tour with a visit to Amelia Earhart Earthwork, also located at Warnock Lake. The one-acre portrait was created

by Kansas artist Stan Herd in 1997 and is made up of permanent plantings, stone and other natural materials. Head to the nearby viewing deck for the best photo opportunity.

travel essentials As you plan your Atchison adventure, keep these travel resources in mind: Lodging

Tuck U Inn at Glick Mansion Bed & Breakfast 503 N. 2nd St. (913) 367-9110 Enjoy elegant and contemporary furnishings in a home built for George W. Glick, the ninth governor of Kansas. Tuck U Inn features four guest rooms with private bathrooms. A full breakfast is available in the home’s spacious dining room or on the sun porch.

Warnock Lake Campgrounds 17862 274th Rd. If you prefer a more scenic and rustic lodging experience, bring a tent or camper and stay along the shores of Warnock Lake, which is adjacent to famed local attraction the International Forest of Friendship. The lake accommodates fishing and no-wake boating, and the park also includes playgrounds and walking trails.

Area Information The Atchison Visitor Information Center is the ideal place to start your explorations. The Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce is another valuable resource. Be sure to visit the organization’s website for the events calendar to see what corresponds with your trip.

AtchisonKansas.net

photographs KDWPT

Later in the day, head further into Atchison to explore any number of historical sites, including the Muchnic Art Gallery, a Queen Anne-style home built in 1887–1888 that now houses exhibits from local, regional and national artists. Step back in time in the Evah C. Cray Historical Home Museum, which exemplifies the elegance of an 1880s Victorian home. Take note of the first-floor chandeliers, which are original to the house. And speaking of Victorian homes—Atchison boasts one of the most impressive collections of Victorian architecture in the Midwest; grab your camera and stroll along Third, Fourth and Fifth Streets north of downtown Atchison for the greatest concentration of historic homes.

Train buffs will have a blast at the Atchison Rail Museum, adjacent to the Santa Fe Depot.

Explore an outdoor collection of rail cars and, if you have little ones with you, take a ride on the Atchison & Western Miniature Railroad, open weekends during the summer.

A historic Victorian house hosts the Muchnic Art Gallery.

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Little House on the prairie The quirky Elk Falls Outhouse Tour celebrates 20 years

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he winner of the 2014 Elk Falls Outhouse Tour was No. 2.

Pause for irony to set in.

When you discover the irreverent, fun, quirky nature of this festival, you’ll be surprised it was a coincidence that the outhouse marked No. 2 on the tour map received the most votes. Keep in mind—votes are cast by slipping a ballot through the lid of a toilet bowl.

By MeLinda Schnyder Photography by Karen Bonar

The winning outhouse had been turned into the Downwind Casino, complete with Vegas-like signs, a palm tree, music and a story about “what happens in the Elk Falls outhouse stays in the outhouse.”

A Potty Tour Each year a dozen outhouses transform through décor and share a story that is historical and humorous.

Held for the past 19 years on the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving in southeast Kansas’ Elk Falls, the festival began as a means to attract visitors, beyond the town’s 100 or so residents, to a community open house.

In addition to the outhouse tour, this year the event will include the pottery open house, an arts and crafts show, a quilt show, town-wide garage sale, music and food vendors with legendary homemade pies and apple dumplings.

Elk Falls Pottery Steve and Jane Fry started Elk Falls Pottery Works in 1976.

Eventually they began hosting an annual open house to sell collectible Christmas mugs and ornaments.

The community open house was so successful, they looked for a way to attract more visitors.

Someone jokingly mentioned having an outhouse tour since the town had so many. “We laughed, and then we thought ‘Why not?’” Steve Fry says.

The Friends of Elk Falls Association ran with the visions and will celebrate 20 years of the tour in 2015.

“Most communities have ordinances against outhouses, so they had to be torn down. We don’t have an ordinance,” he adds. “We had a number of them still standing, and we like to preserve the history but also have fun with it. Now because of the tour, we’ve had several built and brought in from other places. We have more now than we ever did.”

All of this makes Elk Falls the self-proclaimed outhouse capital of Kansas.

“Actually, we say we’re the outhouse capital of the world,” Fry says. “Until someone steps up and challenges us, we’re going with that.”

2015 Elk Falls Outhouse Tour 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, November 20-21

elkfallsouthousetour.com

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Designing the Loo Doug Dowell can’t stop laughing when he talks about designing outhouses for the tour. The Dowells live in Longton, about five miles east of Elk Falls, and for the past five years or so they’ve adopted outhouses. His wife, Stephanie, often decorates an outhouse near an old one-room schoolhouse and goes with an educational theme, like School of Stool or School of f’Art. Doug teamed with his 12-year-old daughter last year to create Sprinkler Tinkler. They decorated the exterior of their outhouse like an old garden shed with hoses and pitchforks. The interior had all types of lawn sprinklers hanging on the walls, with a shower curtain surrounding the toilet and a showerhead above.

“People couldn’t resist pulling back the curtain to see what was there,” he says.

“It takes a lot of effort, but it’s a lot of fun when you see people’s reactions,” Dowell says. “A lot of visitors have told me they love coming because it’s the perfect road trip in Kansas: we give them somewhere to drive to do something fun and they can get back home the same evening.”

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Waiting in Line Jim and Marilyn Culver drove from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, last year. Both in their 60s, they remember using outhouses at relatives’ houses when they were kids.

“I think walking through Elk Falls takes you back in time,” says Jim Culver. “There were a half dozen old automobiles that you don’t see every day. And by the sandstone building there were some Yugos. There was a little bit of everything in that town, and the town itself is unique.”

The Culvers plan to return this year.

“You can’t go just anyplace and see decorated outhouses,” says Marilyn.

In addition to neighboring states, Dorothy Tiffany rattles off Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, California, Texas, Alaska and the New England area as states from which visitors have come for the Elk Falls Outhouse Tour.

Tiffany can be found handing out maps and selling $1 buttons that allow visitors to vote. If she took time to tour she says, “I’d miss saying hi to everyone I want to see and seeing who has come the farthest.”

Tiffany, who has operated the Elk County General Store consignment shop for 27 years, loves that families and friends meet in Elk Falls every year for the event.

“It’s a great small-town event,” she says. “If you go once, you’ll enjoy it enough that you’ll come back with friends the next year.”

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Fair Play Enjoy the sights, sounds and pronto pups at the state’s most anticipated event of the year—the State Fair

By Cecilia Harris

E

photographs (Clockwise From Left) KDWPT, Deborah Walker, Kansas State Fair (2)

ntering the gates of the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson on a sunny fall day, Kyla Johnson of Salina and her extended family know exactly where they are headed first—the same place they’ve gone every year since the now mother of three was a child.

“The very first thing we all usually do is ride the train,” Johnson says.

The miniature railroad sounds with its engine bell and whistle, warning fairgoers of its approach as it circles through the fairgrounds.

“It sounds very corny, but we love it,” she says. “We ride the train and look at all the stuff that’s there.”

After hopping off the train, the next stop is lunch for the group that includes Johnson’s family, her parents and her siblings’ families. “My mom is in love with the apple dumplings, so we walk straight over to the Pride of Kansas building and order food.”

Johnson’s plan of action for the rest of the day reads like a State Fair bucket list. View the butter sculpture and the biggest pumpkin.

Watch specialty acts, such as a comic hypnotist, chainsaw artist or diving team. Experience an animal being born at the Birthing Center.

Race siblings down the Big Slide, a family tradition since they were children. Attend a concert at the Grandstand with her four sisters.

Indulge in eating favorite foods.

The Kansas State Fair provides a full day or more of entertainment, exhibits, contests, amusements, shopping, rides and, of course, food. A grand showcase of the best of Kansas culture, the 10-day event draws 350,000-plus people of all ages and interests each year.

Endless attractions Former State Fair General Manager Denny Stoecklein says “one of the neatest things about the fair” is that family members can spend the whole day together or, depending on the ages of the children, pursue their own interests for a few hours.

“Dad might want to kick the tires on some farm equipment, mom wants to go check out the quilts, and the kids don’t want to do either of those things so they’re going to go ride Ye Old Mill or ride some (carnival) rides and get some food,” he says. “One of the great things the fair has to offer — and I know it sounds clichéd — but it truly offers something for everyone.”

Johnson says that over the past 25 years her family has been attending the fair, members split up occasionally to pursue their own interests. One sister takes a group to her favorite attraction, Ye Old Mill, the fair’s oldest ride. Mother and daughter look over the vegetables and the rabbits. The men check out barbecue grills.

Fair Food By dinnertime, they all reunite for Pronto Pups, a fair favorite that is similar to a corn dog on a stick but the hot dog is coated with a special pancake batter. And for dessert? “The red-velvet funnel cake is to die for,” Johnson says.

Foodies attending the fair taste new flavor combinations on a stick, such as chocolate-covered bacon. They bite into the latest deep-fried candy bar or other imaginative concoction and savor favorites such as funfetti funnel cakes, roasted corn and salt-water taffy.

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Happy Birthday!

Celebrating its 100th birthday this fall at the Kansas State Fair is Ye Old Mill, an iconic and widely popular attraction with a steady stream of patrons entering its gate.

Riders gingerly step aboard a small boat and embark on a journey through a dark, enclosed tunnel into the unknown. The ride gets its name from a spinning mill wheel, located at the boarding site, which creates a current that carries the boat through the water.

Excitement builds as the craft meanders down the pitch-black passageway until a burst of light suddenly illuminates a scene featuring animatronic monsters, evoking screams from startled passengers. Several more settings of scary goblins, dragons or ghouls lie around each bend of the quarter-mile-long canal.

The ride was launched on the fairgrounds on September 17, 1915, and has been in continuous operation since. Although many attractions once could be found at state fairs and amusement parks, Ye Old Mill is one of only three such boat rides remaining in the country, according to former Kansas State Fair General Manager Denny Stoecklein.

“I love what it brings to the fair, the history and the nostalgia … all the first kisses that were stolen on Ye Old Mill,” Stoecklein says.

Among the birthday celebration plans is “The Year of the Ride,” an exhibit in the Kansas State Fair Museum that will include historic photographs of Ye Old Mill and artifacts such as one of the original boats.

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Stoecklein says the State Fair is like a holiday when it comes to food.

“It’s that one time of year when you can enjoy some of those special treats,” he says.

Kansas’ Finest More serious fairgoers of all ages are there to compete, hoping to win the demolition derby, pedal power pull, spelling bee or arm wrestling competition. Or perhaps they yearn for a top prize ribbon on their Red Angus steer, shiny jar of strawberry jelly, insect collection, or photograph taken in just the right light.

“One of the great things about the fair when it comes to 4H and FFA and Scouting is this is the culmination of all the efforts that those kids have put into their projects throughout the year,” Stoecklein says. “This is what they work for, that opportunity to come here and potentially get that champion ribbon … this is the best Kansas has to offer.”

“Pronto Pups are at the top of the list for a lot of people visiting the fair. While they may have an opportunity throughout the year to maybe grab a Pronto Pup a time or two, I don’t think they taste the same as when you’re walking on the State Fairgrounds.”

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photographs (Clockwise From Top) Kansas State Fair (2), Deborah Walker

–Denny Stoecklein, Former Kansas State Fair general manager

He views education as an important aspect of the fair, especially when it comes to agriculture, because “more and more people are growing up in an urban environment.” Citing that some children think milk comes from the grocery store, he is moved to teach them otherwise at the fair. “We’ve got a milking parlor here where you can sit and see a cow being milked.”

Besides education, the fair’s mission is to promote and showcase Kansas agriculture, industry and culture, to create opportunity for commercial activity, and to provide an entertaining experience.

“I think what the fair offers when you look at agriculture, education, entertainment, the commerce, the food—it’s a snapshot of Kansas and it’s an opportunity for people to come here and see so many different aspects of the state we live in.”

For Johnson, it’s all that and more. It’s about family; after all, her father proposed to her mother at the Kansas State Fair.

“It’s such a tradition for us all to be there together,” she says. “It’s a big day of fun, eating, talking and laughing.”

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Discover how the Oz phenomenon began and what it means today

Embracing our Ozness “Where’s Toto?” “How’s Dorothy?”

If you are a Kansan, someone has asked you those questions. You may have responded with eye rolling, possibly a grimace and mumbling something about where are those flying monkeys when you need them.

Kansans have been made somewhat uncomfortable by our association with the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. But it’s time we claimed our place in history and embraced our connection to all things Oz. The movie has, after all, endured more than 75 years and embodies some of our most prized values, such as the power of dreams and dreamers, the importance of having roots, and a lasting optimism that things can get better.

Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Library of Congress has named The Wizard of Oz the most watched film—ever.

And the American Film Institute’s list of the Top 100 Movie Quotes, released in 2005, includes three from the movie: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!”

“There’s no place like home.”

That last one embodies the predominant message of the film, which is, although we may dream of a better place, we can find happiness where we are and with what we have. Dorothy fantasizes about escaping her life on a dreary farm, but when she does leave that behind, it is the place to which she wishes to return the most.

The next time someone makes a Wizard of Oz reference to your residence in Kansas, know it’s because Kansas has an enduring place in just about everyone’s heart and history. It’s a place of inner strength, of dreams come true, and the importance of feeling at home.

There really is … no place like it.

– Lou Ann Thomas

Dorothy’s magic slippers in the book are silver. They were changed to ruby red for the 1939 MGM production The Wizard of Oz to show up better on the yellow brick road.

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In the winter of 1882,

L. Frank Baum made Kansas Dorothy’s home, but he never lived here.

He visited Lawrence and Olathe while on tour with his play The Maid of Arran in 1882, well before The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900.

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Let’s be Frank

author L. Frank Baum stormed through Kansas like the tornado he later wrote about in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and never returned to the state whose image may be forever shaped by his popular children’s novel.

The author depicted Kansas as flat, dry, dull and gray in his book published in 1900 and made famous by the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie The Wizard of Oz. Born in 1856, Baum was a businessman, actor and independent filmmaker as well as author, but he is most famous for writing 14 Oz children’s books in the Oz series and the Little Wizard Stories of Oz. He dropped in for a whirlwind visit to Lawrence and Olathe in 1882 while touring with his play The Maid of Arran, according to the website Map of Kansas Literature (Washburn University).

Baum’s play was performed on December 4 and 6, 1882, in the Bowersock Opera House in Lawrence, according to “Oz and Kansas Culture,” a 1989 Kansas History article by historian and Washburn University English professor Thomas Fox Averill. The article references a local weather report that on that “dismal, dull day,” and the noon temperature was 24 degrees Fahrenheit.

Typical Kansas weather.

Between the Lawrence shows, Baum performed the play on December 5, 1882, at the Sheldon Opera House in Ottawa. The Franklin County, Kansas, Historical Portal describes Kansas at the time as being in an intense drought during a bleak and gray winter. “Baum’s new wife wrote to her brother in New York State that Kansas was ‘(n)o good!,’” the website reports.

It’s hard to say what actually influenced Baum to include Kansas in his Oz stories. The Map of Kansas Literature states that Baum, who visited Kansas for only a few days, may have been influenced by fellow writer and friend William Allen White, editor and publisher of the Emporia Gazette and a Kansas native; the two writers shared the same Chicago-based publisher.

Regardless, the Sunflower State left an impression on Baum as it does for many Kansans and visitors.

– Cecilia Harris

For fans, fanatics and the fun loving,

Wamego is an “Oz”some adventure.

Wamego is home to the Oz Museum, one of the largest collections of Oz memorabilia that is open to the public. Auntie Em’s Gift Shop, located just inside the museum, alone is worth a visit.

Here you will find fun and collectible items that are Ozclusive to the shop. There are games, books, mugs, T-shirts, glassware, snow globes and even “Emergency Witch Melting Kit” water bottles. You can also buy your very own pair of ruby slippers.

But step through the screen door into the museum and the Technicolor world of Oz, and its worldwide influence spreads out before you.

“The Wizard of Oz and all that has been built around it is a phenomenon that is growing bigger every year,” says Clint Stueve, executive director of the Columbian Theatre Foundation, which oversees the Oz Museum.

Another thing that is growing and putting a playful spin on the town’s Oz connection is the Oz Winery just a block south of the museum in Wamego’s historic downtown business district. Here you can have a taste of Squished Witch or Drunken Munchkin, two wines bottled and sold at the winery.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we do take our products and presentation very seriously,” says Brooke Balderson, co-owner of the winery.

In addition to the hand-crafted wines, the shop carries a variety of wine accessories, stemware and the makings for a great picnic or gift basket. Fill one of the baskets for sale at the shop with a bottle of wine, imported cheese, crackers, some Sweet Granada chocolates or any of the assorted dips, sauces and jams the winery carries and head for the City Park, just a block east. You can also order custom baskets or boxes to send to your favorite wine lover or Wizard of Oz fan.

The winery also offers free tastings during business hours and private wine tasting parties by reservation, where guests can sample Oz wines paired with hors d’oeuvres often created from items available in the store.

– Lou Ann Thomas

Land of oz

Wamego Admission Adults 13 and up, $8 Children 4–12, $5

Hours 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday

Location Just off Interstate 70 on Kansas Highway 99 on “The Road to Oz” ozmuseum.com

Approximately 35,000 people visit the OZ Museum in Wamego each year.

One-third of those visitors are from Kansas.

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The last weekend of September a few blocks of Highway 99 through downtown Wamego turn into the Land of Oz as Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch lookalikes, lions and scarecrows—Oh my!—spill out onto the main street. But don’t be alarmed. There’s no reason to call out the flying monkeys. This is just OZtoberfest, Wamego’s annual celebration of all things Oz. The festival begins on Friday with an evening at the Oz Museum including food, drinks and entertainment. This year the kick-off celebration will include the unveiling of a new acquisition for the museum and the artist’s rendering of the proposed, new façade on the building.

Saturday is full of activities and entertainment with a car show, kids’ activities and food vendors lining Lincoln Street outside the museum. Also on Saturday, leading Oz historians, authors and L. Frank Baum’s descendants treat attendees to presentations. The festival culminates with live entertainment at the Columbian Theatre.

“This is a very family-focused festival. From grandparents to little kids, we have something for everyone to enjoy,” says Clint Stueve, executive director of the Columbian Theatre Foundation, the organization that oversees the Oz Museum, a sponsor of OZtoberfest. visitwamego.com – Lou Ann Thomas

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Land of ozliberal

There’s no place like home.

There’s no place like home.

There’s no place like home.

In Liberal, there truly isn’t any place like home; the city proudly claims it is home to Dorothy Gale’s farmhouse that famously survived the nasty Kansas twister that took her to the Land of Oz. The city didn’t have to click its ruby red slippers three times to make it official, either. Instead, John Carlin declared Liberal as Dorothy Gale’s official hometown during his tenure as governor in the 1980s.

Dorothy, a coveted role played by local teenage girls, takes guests on an interactive, guided tour of a 1907 farmhouse that has been preserved and restored to reflect the Gale farmhouse that tossed and turned Dorothy and Toto on its way to the magical Land of Oz. “The Dorothy tour guides are a favorite part for most people,” says Sally Fuller with the Liberal Convention and Visitors Bureau, as it allows Dorothy to give a first-person account of her life “before” the twister.

After the home tour, guests go somewhere over the rainbow and down the Yellow Brick Road to a 5,000-square-foot animated Land of Oz, complete with Munchkins, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion as they try to escape the evil flying monkeys and Wicked Witch.

The Oz experience is complete with a gift shop and unique memorabilia, including the actual model home that was used in the tornado scene from the 1939 MGM movie.

Dorothy’s House in Liberal attracts more than 20,000 visitors a year—with many of them, Fuller says, dressing up in full Dorothy attire, complete with ruby red slippers, pigtails and the infamous blue and white gingham dress.

– Amy Conkling

Admission $7 adults $5.50 seniors (65+) $4.50 students (6–18 yrs old) 5 and under are free.

Hours (Memorial Day to Labor Day) 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday-Saturday 1–5 p.m. Sunday Closed Mondays in the winter

Location 567 E. Cedar Street (also known as the Yellow Brick Road locally) in Liberal, just off of Highway 54 and Yellow Brick Road. dorothyshouse.com

41 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

Follow what Sedan touts as

the

Yellow brick

Road

Trips

Be like Dorothy and follow the Yellow Brick Road … to some of Kansas’ most fascinating destinations.

TravelKS.com hosts a series of getaway ideas, Yellow Brick Road Trips, that will guide you and your family to Kansas’ finest destinations.

Choose a self-guided itinerary based on a geographical region or theme for families, couples, history buffs, artisans, and more.

Yellow Brick Road Trips also offer a “Plan your Trip” function where you can let the kiddos pick where they want to go by adding attractions, lodging, dining and keep it all organized in one location.

Visit TravelKS.com to start down your own Yellow Brick Road.

42 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

the world’s longest Yellow Brick Road composed of over 11,500 yellow-tinted bricks making a path through the community’s downtown.

Back in 1988, community leaders with a lot of heart in this Chautauqua County town had the brains to create a Yellow Brick Road as a fun way to meet two practical needs— beautify Main Street and boost the town’s economy. It was a courageous step, even though the state’s tourism campaign slogan at the time was “Kansas, Land of Ahs!,” playing off the well-known connection to the The Wizard of Oz movie.

“It originally started because some of the sidewalks were in disrepair, so they decided to sell bricks and then re-do the sidewalks, and it just grew and grew,” says Sue Kill, president of the Sedan Chamber of Commerce.

Each of the bricks laid into the sidewalk bears the name of an individual, school, organization or business, with every state in the nation and 28 foreign countries represented. A special section even features celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Brooke Shields, Bob Hope and Elizabeth Taylor. Kill says the mileage continues to add up as bricks are ordered through the website, thatsmybrick.com/sedanksybr.

Bricks are $50.

As hoped, the Yellow Brick Road has become a tourist attraction that winds past a Visitors Center in Leota’s Gifts and More, art galleries, the Kurtis Arts Plaza, and the historic 1896 opera house that is home to the Emmett Kelly Museum honoring the world-famous clown, best known as Weary Willy, who was born in Sedan in 1898.

“Our Visitors Center has some Oz characters,” Kill says, adding that other downtown art reflects the Oz theme, quaint retail shops offer Wizard of Oz items, and restaurant menus boast entrees named after the book’s characters.

A Yellow Brick Road Festival every May includes a Wizard of Oz costume contest, a parade, and an art show. The event is held in conjunction with the Chautauqua Hills Blues Festival featuring accomplished blues musicians.

– Cecilia Harris

Fri. Sat. & Sun., 12-6pm or by appointment

www.wheatstatewineco.com

Winfield, KS | (620) 229-WINE (9463)

For information on current events and attractions go to VisitSalinaKS.org or call 877-725-4625.

yea ogether for the r’s most valuable harv t s e m o est ... c amily whea One f t

By Amy Bickel

Photography by Harland J. and Suzanne Schuster

From the seat of his combine, Kent Winter has a clear view of his acres of ripened wheat fields, as well as the western sky. A storm is brewing.

“I don’t know if there is hail in it or not,” he says with a worried look.

The soft-spoken Sedgwick County farmer isn’t the complaining type—especially about rain. After all, it had been a dry spring coupled with a string of dry years. But with so much at stake this time of year, the mass of dark clouds makes any farmer a little antsy.

Knowing forecasters were predicting a deluge, Winter had been up until 5 a.m. that morning baling hay. Now it’s nearing evening and he wants to get what wheat is ready to cut binned before the rain comes.

“Right now, it would make me happy if we could miss the rain for a few days,” he says before adding, “That might be asking too much.”

It’s wheat harvest time in Kansas. And for the Winter family, June’s marathon is a test of tradition.

Winter, a veteran farmer, is embarking on his 32nd wheat harvest, and he knows all too well the realities of farming. Even for the earliest pioneers, farming was an uncertain business. You can’t control the rain. You can’t control the prices. A hailstorm—what farmers call “the great white combine”—could take out his entire crop.

Top that all off with the economic effect.

“This is one of the largest annual paychecks that I get,” Winter says.

Steeped in tradition

For 98 percent of Americans, wheat is just what bread is made of. But in Kansas, the nation’s breadbasket, the annual rite is steeped in tradition and history. For thousands of Kansas farm families, wheat harvest is a way of life. For the Winter family, helping bring in the nearly 9 million acres of Kansas wheat each year has flowed through their veins for five generations.

The harvest payoff is a time they look forward to each year. But it’s not easy. There is no 5 p.m. quitting time or weekends off.

When the wheat is ready, they cut until Mother Nature makes them to stop or something else, like an equipment breakdown, occurs.

The harvest knowledge has been passed down through generations. Kent’s greatgrandfather, Frank Winter, came to Kansas as settlement began to move west. He found a homestead in Pottawatomie County near the now-defunct town of Flush. However, as the family story goes, Frank, in 1891, journeyed to Sedgwick County to visit a friend.

While there, Frank paid $5,000 for a 165 acre farm. A Winter family member has been farming in the area ever since.

“The situation popped up before the days of cell phones,” Kent says. “He bought the farm and then went home and broke the news to his wife. She cried for three days.”

Kent’s father, Alvin, 87, grew up in the 1930s. His wheat harvest days were spent atop a tractor, pulling

46 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

For many families that farm wheat, harvest has become a tradition like none other. This rings true for Kent Winter, his wife, Susan, and their eight children, as they complete their 32nd harvest. Susan tends to bees, a young Claire helps with the laundry and the sons aid Kent in planning for the harvest.

a combine across the acreage, choking in wheat dust and taking the brunt of the heat.

“We didn’t have air conditioning,” Alvin says, adding that the family’s first selfpropelled combine was purchased around 1950. Even that didn’t have a cab.

Times have changed, Alvin says. Today, a single combine with GPS technology can tell a farmer how many bushels to the acre he is yielding as well as the moisture level.

Modern combines, which can harvest at least 120 or 130 acres on the perfect day, perform the work once done by hand and by horses.

Alvin doesn’t drive a combine anymore, but he still drives the grain truck—a Ford he bought new in 1969. He drives it to the nearby elevator at Andale, dumping the load and hurrying back for the next one.

He is also no-nonsense when it comes to the harvest ritual. Harvest, after all, is a serious time. There is a lot at stake.

“It is a chore,” he says as he watches his son and grandson head the combines in for the night. “You make one mistake and it could cost you time, money.”

Six weeks later, he maneuveres the combine through the wheat, which is yielding better than he ever expected.

“It’s all a function of the weather, and there is some luck involved too,” he says.

Yet, even with the speed, size and technology packed in today’s combines, there is still a sense of urgency during harvest. The rain during harvest most likely will shrink the kernels and hurt the quality.

The harvest marathon isn’t a sure bet until it is safely in the bin.

It’s in their blood

Winter notes the weather and the fluctuating prices are just part of the gamble of farming. Maybe that is why he never intended to return to the family farm after college. However, in that time, he realized there are things you can’t ignore.

Little things.

Family tradition. A love of the land. A hard work ethic. Seeing a crop you worked hard to sow in the fall be harvested.

A job well done.

Good prospects

Sometimes perils aren’t man-made.

The Winters, like all farm families, rely on the revolving seasons. Some bring hail. Some, including the past several years, bring little rain.

Sometimes, there is too much moisture, especially if it comes during wheat harvest.

The mid-June storm system Kent had been watching from the combine burst over his farm, dumping more than six inches.

The farm’s two combines would now be idle for several days. “We’ll just have to roll with the punches on this one,” he says.

That’s what you do when you are farmer. Winter, like all in the profession, is an eternal optimist.

On a spring day six weeks before harvest, Winter couldn’t help but smile about his prospects.

After a dry spring, he was getting rain— enough to muddy his boots and enough to give him more confidence that this year’s harvest could be better than expected.

“All this stuff was hanging on by its fingernails,” Winter said back in May as he stood in the waist-high, thick stand of wheat, adding that late spring rains gave the crop the boost it needed.

“When I graduated from high school and went to college, coming back to the farm wasn’t really in my plan,” he says. “Then, in college, I realized the opportunity I would have if I came back. I liked the lifestyle and the opportunity to raise a family on the farm.”

He changed his degree from business to agronomy. He worked for a western Kansas company for a few years but returned to the farm in the early 1980s.

It’s the perfect place to raise a family, says his wife, Susan.

Once harvest arrives, it’s like clockwork—start early, end late and everyone lends a hand. Susan delivers lunches as the combines sail by and fields of gold await a roaring graze.

Ken and Susan have eight children. Mary, Anne and Jill have all graduated from college and are married. Alan, the oldest boy, is in seminary to become a priest. Grace is beginning medical school. Phillip is still in college. Kurt, a senior, and Claire, a freshman, both attend Andale High School.

While not all can come back for the June rite anymore, Susan loves to see the family working together, bringing in the harvest.

Phillip and Kent drive a combine. Kurt drives the grain cart with the help of Claire, who is learning the job for the first time this year. Kent’s brother, Fred, helps drive a grain truck, too, in between his job as a Wichita firefighter. And Alvin still makes his daily trips to the fields, monitoring the progress and driving a truck when he is needed.

“It is a family time, it really is,” Susan says. “I’m sure other people have things they do with family, but this is ours.”

Susan has a harvest job, as well. She makes the harvest meals.

She stands on the dirt road next to the wheat field, holding five sacks of lunches and waiting for the crew to come and get it.

The Winters’ two combines don’t stop for much. When the wheat is dry enough, they get rolling, typically not halting the machines until well past sunset.

Therefore, harvest meals are on the run. On this night, it’s hamburgers and potato chips.

Kurt eyes his mom and the bags of food as he unloads wheat from the grain cart into the nearby semi. He pauses for a moment as he contemplates his favorite part of harvest.

“It might just be supper,” he says.

For Winter, harvest is family. If it wasn’t for them, there would be no reason to anticipate wheat harvest other than for a paycheck.

“A lot of it is a sense of accomplishment you achieve working hand in hand with the rest of your family,” he says. “That’s one reason I enjoy it.”

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Magazine fall 2015

Alvin Winter, Kent’s father, steps out of the farm truck to check the progress.

Gates open 1:00 p.m. topeka symphony orchestra concert at 6:00 p.m.

enjoy music and activities all afternoon with friends and family.

I

Oct 23 Oct 24

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7:00 PM: “Damn Yankees”

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Oct 27

Memorial Hall

5K, 10K, Fun Run, Chili Cook-Off, Karaoke Contest, Family Fun Day

Oct 28-30

Riverside Park

7:00 PM: “Damn Yankees” Memorial Hall

Oct 25

2:00 PM: “Damn Yankees”

Oct 26

6:30 PM: Queen Neelah Talent Competition

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7:00 PM: Queen Neelah Coronation Memorial Hall

Food Stands, Carnival, Band Stand Acts Oct. 29, 6:00 PM: Doo Dah Parade Oct. 30, 4:00 PM: Kiddie Parade Downtown Independence

11:00 AM: Grand Parade Downtown Independence

Memorial Hall

Oct 31

1:30 PM: Marching Band Festival Schulthis Stadium

8:00 PM: The Oak Ridge Boys Concert Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall

OctOber 23 tO OctOber 31 w w w. i n d k s c h a m b e r. o r g

|

w w w. n e e w o l l a h . c o m

Ulysses kansas Grant County Chamber of CommerCe & tourism

53rd annual

2015

Grant County Home ProduCts dinner

Fall Fest/Car sHow/ saFety Fest

september 15 7:00pm

october 3 9:00am

tiCkets are $8 in advanCe or at the door.

the dinner Consists of loCally Grown and prepared food.

Car show & other fun aCtivities sCheduled throuGhout the day.

pioneer eleCtriC and pioneer CommuniCations will host safety fest

www.ulysseschamber.org

Through the Lens Editor’s Note: With a cadre of professional photographers submitting to the seasonal gallery within the magazine, we thought it might be time to see what they are keeping in the archive. As a result, we are opening this space to veteran KANSAS! magazine photographers in the form of a photo essay. What follows is a series of images capturing our stormy weather by photographer Jason Soden. Soden’s knack for knowing when lightning strikes is only part of what we find fascinating about his body of work.

Photographs by Jason Soden

jefferson county

53 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

gallery Photo Essay

Riley County

54 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

gallery Photo Essay

“Weather is the vertical geography of Kansas.”

–John Moritz, Kansas poet

55 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

gallery Photo Essay

Jackson County

Jefferson County

gallery Photo Essay

F

irst and foremost, be safe! Flash flooding kills more people than lightning or tornados each year. If a road is covered with water—turn around—don’t risk it.

Second, educate yourself. There are many books on meteorology and even college courses. Educating yourself in meteorology will greatly increase your chances of success when trying to storm chase and photograph a storm, and it will help in safer decision making.

Third, respect the storms for what they are.

A severe thunderstorm can be very dangerous.

When I storm chase, I try to stay out of its way, photographing from the outside in. Keep a close eye on the radar and listen to the radio.

Many local radio stations give regular updates on storm intensity, such as rainfall, hail, and even storm rotation (tornado potential). The meteorologists will mention the speed and direction the storm is moving.

—Jason Soden

Douglas County

From a photographic standpoint 1. A tripod is a must for late day, sunset, and nighttime photography.

2. I use a wide-angle lens the majority of the time to capture storm structure, any precipitation, and an interesting foreground in the same image.

3. Don’t just go after the super storm or tornado.

Because it’s often the little things that will set a picture apart from others, even smaller storms will provide a dramatic photo opportunity. The image “Storm’s Last Gasp” (page 53) is a perfect example of this. This was a dying thunderstorm. I got in position to photograph the sunset with the remnants of the storm approaching.

“Liquid Gold” is another example of a storm that was better photographed in its dying phase against a sunset. There were many stronger severe storms in the area on the evening I photographed this storm, but I knew that this smaller storm was on the western edge of the cloud mass and might provide me with an opportunity for a magnificent sunset.

4. Patience is a virtue. Many photographyrelated storm chases end in failure. The storm structure may not provide an adequate backdrop, lightning may be too dangerous, rainfall may be too heavy and so on.

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KANSAS! KANSAS!

Scott Bean Photography K A N S A S L A N D S C A P E A N D N AT U R E P H O T O G R A P H S

785-341-1047 | SCOTT@SCOTTBEANPHOTO.COM

www.scottbeanphoto.com

Historical HistoricalLecompton Lecompton Civil CivilWar WarBirthplace Birthplace Where Whereslavery slaverybegan begantotodie die

Get your copies today! t S ta You

40 40anTique anTiqueTrees Trees &&deCoraTions deCoraTions stst november november11 toto January January11stst Visit VisitConstitution ConstitutionHall Hall&& Territorial TerritorialCapital CapitalMuseum Museum 10-5 10-5pm pmWed-Sat Wed-Sat• •1-5 1-5pm pmSun Sun Tours Tours(785) (785)887-6148 887-6148 www.lecomptonkansas.com www.lecomptonkansas.com

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The 2015 Kansas Outdoors The Kansas State Parks Guide

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the best per sons, It Is to gr ow IN the op en air aN

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Cheers

to good food craft beers and fine food create a tasty combination

J

osh Foley, a captain for the Salina Fire Department and half of the brewmaster team at Blue Skye Brewery and Eats in Salina, is brewing his Fire Engine Red Ale. That means the place smells like hops, mixed with a hint of pizzas cooking in the wood-fire stove.

“Sure, you can go get a Boulevard or a Blue Moon somewhere, but here, people walk in and can see the (microbrew) tanks,” says Monte Shadwick, owner of Blue Skye. “That combination of our own food and our own beer creates an ambiance that other places just can’t offer.”

Photograph KANSAS! magazine staff

By Seth Jones

59 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2015

Inside Blue Skye Brewery and Eats in Salina.

Blue Skye Brewery and Eats

Blue Skye Brewery and Eats The key is to have great beer, and that means these places need a microbrew maestro. Shadwick, a professor at Kansas Wesleyan University, had the benefit of summers off to search for his guy.

He went west to Colorado, the hotbed of microbrewing.

When he got there, he was told he’d have better luck looking in his own backyard.

“Most guys said, ‘Salina?

Where?’” Shadwick recalls. “All of them said, ‘Go back to Salina and find your best home-brewers.’”

He did, and the names he kept hearing were John Goertzen and Josh Foley, two captains for the local fire department. He approached the home-brewing dynamic duo, and they all agreed to take it to the next level.

Blue Skye was born.

As for Shadwick’s favorite beer and food pairings, he talks about Foley’s Fire Engine Red with a sausage and pepper pizza. “That’s my go-to,” he says.

Radius brewing company Radius Brewing Company in Emporia is significantly Sunflower State. The beer recipes all come from former home-brewer Jeremy “J.J.” Johns, the food recipes from Kansas native Gus Bays, and the ingredients for all of it from just down the road.

“I’ve found avenues to local

“If you open a brewery with good beer, that’s one thing. But if you can attract the masses with great food? That’s a one-two punch.”

– Gus Bays, executive chef and co-owner, Radius Brewing Company

Photographs (clockwise from top left) Kansas! magazine staff, Doug Stremel (2), Kansas! Magazine staff, Doug Stremel

This combination of craft beer and great food is growing across the nation, and Kansas is no exception.

Brewpubs like Little Apple Brewing Company in Manhattan, River City Brewing Co. in Wichita, Free State Brewing Company in Lawrence, and Radius in Emporia, all specialize in an authentic microbrewed beer paired with a delicious menu. The fresh food comes from just a short jaunt, and the beer never even leaves the building to reach the bottom of a pint glass.

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Specials go up at Radius Brewing Company.

TOP RIGHT A daily special at Radius.

Get to Know Your Kansas Brews Defiance Brewery Gotta love a rebel, and the guys at Defiance Brewery in Hays are creating what they call “ambitious beer.” With names like Origami Spaceship and Flannel Pants—consider our taste buds piqued.

Big John’s Brewing Company We don’t know just how big John really is, but Big John’s Brewing Company in Salina certainly has a robust beer selection. Honey wheat, rye ale, IPA, porter and oatmeal stout are all on the menu, along with cream soda and root beer for the kids.

Free State Brewing Company When Free State opened in Lawrence in 1989, it was the first legal brewery in Kansas in more than 100 years. Today the restaurant/brewery is still serving up Kansas-themed favorites like Ad Astra Ale and Wheat State Golden.

Little Apple Brewing Company Where else than the Little Apple—Manhattan—could someone expect a great Certified Black Angus steak and a Wildcat Wheat Ale? But don’t skimp on the other beers, like Bison Brown Ale and Riley’s Red. 23rd Street Brewery Located in Lawrence, 23rd Street Brewery boasts a dramatic domed roof—perfect for viewing the Jayhawks on big screen TVs, or watching the brewmasters at work. It is only appropriate to try a Crimson Phog Irish Ale during pregame, then a Wave the Wheat Ale following a KU victory.

Lb. Brewing Co. Hays is home to what the Great American Beer Festival declared the 2013 Small Brewpub of the Year, and the Huffington Post said that the one thing people must do when they visit Kansas is stop there and try the Oatmeal Stout. Good advice.

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Magazine fall 2015

recipe:

Oven-roasted pork belly with porter glaze

Photographs Doug Stremel (2)

Chef Gus Bays of Radius Brewing Company is a Kansas native, but he studied at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale to get where he is today—co-owner of a wildly successful brewpub in Emporia.

food I didn’t know existed that chefs would kill for,” says executive chef and co-owner Gus Bays, “and this is Emporia!”

That includes a “lifetime supply” of farm-fresh eggs for desserts, whole pigs, lamb and grass-fed beef that’s never so much as sniffed a hormone or antibiotic. And all this comes from Lyon County. And of course, it all goes great with a craft beer.

Ask Bays, and he talks about the Low-5 Pale Ale served with beer cheese and pretzel bread. The local white cheddar he uses to make the dish, which he calls “the best sharp white cheddar I’ve ever tasted,” comes from the Jason Wiebe Dairy in Durham, 50 miles away.

“It used to be people did this with wine,” Bays says.

“Now they do it with beer.”

Bays met his brewmaster, Jeremy “J.J.” Johns, through a mutual friend. Bays was considering his future and decided he wanted to open his own restaurant. He and Johns, both proud artisans of their crafts, quit their jobs to create Radius.

“If you open a brewery with good beer, that’s one thing.

But if you can attract the masses with great food? That’s a one-two punch,” Bays says. “J.J. and I like to joke with each other; he likes to say ‘the food is almost as good as the beer,’ I like to say ‘the beer is almost as good as the food.’”

The results have been better than expected.

Bays, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, Arizona, says he is now competing with fine eateries throughout the Midwest. And best of all, he’s doing it with one of his best friends.

“I always thought I’d end up in Chicago, maybe San Francisco,” Bays says. “I’m from Kansas, but I never thought I’d move back. I guess I’m probably a Kansas-lifer now.”

Bays calls his recipe for oven-roasted pork belly with porter glaze, “the ultimate” in appetizers. “Pork belly is essentially bacon,” Bays says. “Ask your butcher to cut you the meat—we get it by the whole pig.”

Ingredients 2 pounds pork belly (preferably from a local butcher) Glaze 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 cup honey 1½ cups porter beer (preferably Radius Porter, which can be bought in growlers) 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard 3 teaspoons red pepper flakes ¾ cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons corn starch cup water Instructions Roast the pork belly in the oven at 325° for 3 hours.

Following the roasting, cut into 1-inch cubes. To create the porter glaze, combine the first seven ingredients.

Simmer for 10 minutes at a low heat. In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons corn starch with cup water to make a slurry. While the porter glaze is simmering, slowly whisk the slurry into the glaze until the proper consistency is achieved: a thin syrup. Chill, then serve with the freshly roasted pork belly.

Serves 4

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In 1915 Pioneer Bluffs expanded the landscape with the building of its iconic barn. The Rogler family had begun the family farmstead in 1859 when its patriarch, Charles, arrived in Kansas from Iowa in search of a new beginning.

Twentieth-century barns are where farming took shape, animals took shelter and families gathered, but most

importantly, they’re where memories were made.

Irene Rogler Palenske shares childhood memories of the hay loft at Pioneer Bluffs: It was a “haven for secrets and for stealing sparrows eggs and for stories told by my cousin Windy as we sat in the cupola.”

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Pioneer Bluffs Ranch

Historic District preserves its heritage and its ties to the community with a nonprofit foundation that provides programming and activities for the whole family.

On Saturday, October 3, 2015, the area will celebrate 100 years of the Pioneer Bluffs barn at its Fall Festival— see the magic and feel the history of a Kansas institution. pioneerbluffs.org

Photograph rick hazekamp

The Barn at Pioneer Bluffs