KANSAS! Magazine | No. 3 2023

2023 | vol 79 | issue 3 | kansasmag.com

Big W E ARE A

IN K AN SAS

The state’s record-setting locations and attractions

A L S O I N T H I S I S S U E // Abilene’s Big Belt Buckle // Salina’s Dunbar School Legacy Do-B’s Hot Pepper Burger and Other Food Challenges Across the State Paper Moon 50-Year Anniversary Celebrations // K-State’s Wildcat Dining Star Centralia’s Free-Throw Record-Holder ... and more!

Oh Manhattan !

Oh Manhattan !

VISITMANHATTANKS.ORG VISITMANHATTANKS.ORG

Flavors Abound Flavors Abound

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No matter to your taste, no matter your mood dining Manhattan has something taste, no matter your mood Manhattan has something to satisfy your appetite. satisfy your appetite.

The Smithsonian is Coming to Kansas!

HUMANITIES KANSAS PRESENTS Opening March 2023!

See the Voices and Votes: Democracy in America Smithsonian traveling exhibition in Dodge City, Wichita, Nicodemus, Ottawa, Winfield, and Belleville and learn about the history of American democracy. Perfect for all ages.

Visit humanitieskansas.org for details. #MovementOfIdeas

Special thanks to the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home.

Naturalization Ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, July 4, 2013. ©Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello

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Chasing the Unbeatable

Kansas athletes have achieved magnificent sporting records, and a few of them might just last forever … or until tomorrow

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Let’s embrace our greatness by exploring 11 bigscale attractions across the state.

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PHOTOGRAPH David Mayes

Big Stuff in Kansas

FOOD • CONCERTS • FIREWORKS FAMILY FUN KANSAS’ BIGGEST COMMUNITY PARTY IN DOWNTOWN WICHITA

Admission Buttons and Details at WichitaRiverfest.com

VisitLeavenworthKS.com

Leavenworth Kansas

Wayside Walking Tour

CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, AND WE’RE READY TO GET OUTSIDE! You won’t want to miss all that Topeka has in store for you this spring — from farmers markets and festivals, to Tulip Time at our beautiful parks throughout the city including, Tulips at Twilight at Ward-Meade Botanical Garden.

VisitTopeka.com

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Departments KANSAS DETAILS 10 Cuisine Fine Food and Good Eats 12 Culture Arts and Experiences 14 Heartland People and Places that Define Us

PHOTOGRAPHS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) David Mayes, Sarah Reeves, courtesy Dr. Jennifer Gordon, Nick Krug

16 Behind the Lens A Conversation with KANSAS! Photographers 18 Kansas Captured Authentic Life in the Sunflower State 20 Reasons We Love Kansas Celebrating Unique Attractions

WIDE OPEN SPACES

22 Wildcat Dining Star Kansas State University’s national reputation for tasty food in pleasant settings owes much to the work of Dr. Mary Molt 28 A Paper Moon Pilgrimage Celebrate 50 years of this classic Hollywood film by following the heroes’ route across Kansas or stopping by any of the numerous locations and events commemorating the movie 34 ‘Something Really Special Happened There’ Former students and their family members recall and honor the legacy of Salina’s segregated school, where Black staff taught and inspired generations of Black pupils

IN EVERY ISSUE 7 It’s All in the Extra Details 8 A Hello From Our Editor 56 KANSAS! Gallery 64 From the Poet Laureate

ON THE COVER Arikaree Breaks Overlook Photograph by Harland J. Schuster.

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Kansas Tourism, a division of the Kansas Department of Commerce

Andrea Etzel

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Laura Kelly GOVERNOR

David Toland

LT. GOVERNOR & SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Bridgette Jobe

TOURISM DIRECTOR

SUNFLOWERPUB.COM | LAWRENCE, KANSAS KSMAGAZINE@SUNFLOWERPUB.COM

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MARKETING, 785.832.7264

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KANSAS! (ISSN 0022-8435) is published five (5) times per year

by Kansas Tourism 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612; 785.296.3479; TTY Hearing Impaired: 785.296.3487.

Periodical postage paid at Topeka, KS, and at additional mailing offices.

Newsstand price $5 per issue; subscription price $20 per year; $36 for two years.

All prices include all applicable sales tax.

Please address subscription inquiries to: Toll-free: 800.678.6424 KANSAS!, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612 Email: kansas.mag@ks.gov | Website: www.KansasMag.com POSTMASTER: Send address change to: KANSAS!, P.O. Box 146, Topeka, KS 66601-0146.

Please mail all editorial inquiries to: KANSAS!, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612 email: kansas.mag@ks.gov The articles and photographs that appear in KANSAS! magazine may not be broadcast, published or otherwise reproduced without the express written consent of Kansas Tourism or the appropriate copyright owner.

Unauthorized use is prohibited. Additional restrictions may apply.

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FOOD TOUR! Thanks to everyone who wrote in or posted compliments on our most recent “Destination Dining” issue. Of course, the restaurants we featured in those pages are only a sample of the great dining venues across the state.

There are always more stories about where to find exquisite dishes—along with original recipes— online at travelks.com/ articles-recipes

CHARLIE MUNSON

KANSAS! CALENDAR

We were said to learn about the death of Charlie Munson, co-owner of Legacy Kansas: Munson’s Prime & Brookville Hotel.

Munson and his family were featured in our previous issue, along with the story of his family’s Kansas ranching heritage.

We extend our condolences to the family and honor Munson and his work in helping to preserve and revive a Kansas culinary treasure.

Hey, photographers! It’s not too early to begin thinking about submissions for next year’s calendar celebrating amazing landscapes throughout the state.

We always feature seasonal photography, so we’re looking for beautiful spring and summer images to include in our 2024 lineup. Learn more and submit your images at travelks.com/ kansascalendar

A R O U N D

PHOTOGRAPHS Jason Dailey

page 50 St. Francis page 53 Goodland page 49 Scott City page 29 McCracken

KANSAS! EVENTS T H E

S T A T E

page 40 Centralia page 12 Leavenworth page 34 Salina

page 44 Haven

Whether you are planning a vacation, looking for a place to take guests, or seeking ideas for a fun weekend getaway, the online KANSAS! events calendar contains opportunities to enjoy places and events across the state. There is a separate section for year-round attractions. Go online at travelks.com/events and travelks. com/things-to-do to begin exploring the possibilities.

Above (from top) Pastries from 1900 Barker; Charlie Munson at his restaurant, Legacy Kansas: Munson’s Prime & Brookville Hotel.

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Whether it’s our collective Midwest upbringing or just a Kansas thing—we are a humble bunch.

Never quick to wave our banner. Or bring attention. It’s not for a lack of pride; we just don’t like to boast. What I’ve learned, though, is we have a lot to boast about. We need to raise our banners and wave them high.

Erika Nelson, creator and curator of the World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things (located in Lucas), and I share the sentiments she explained to writer Beccy Tanner (pg. 48). We’re a state filled with dreamers and doers who bring those big dreams to life.

In this issue, we pay homage to just a few of the record breakers in our state. From sports to attractions, we’ve covered oldest, largest and fastest: fun and funky, like Cawker City’s beloved Ball of Twine or Goodland’s Giant Easel, to the historically significant sites of Nicodemus and El Cuartelejo, both of which continue to play a role in Kansas’ story today.

I know it goes against our nature to brag. Every now and then, though, we need to show off.

ANDREA ETZEL facebook.com/KansasMagazine @KANSASMag KansasMagazine (get spotted; use #kansasmag to tag us)

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PHOTOGRAPH Andrea Etzel

EDITOR, KANSAS! MAGAZINE

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Cheese W Sandwiches Take Center Stage A once-humble side dish gains new appreciation at restaurants and cafes across the state

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Overland Park Leavenworth

hat is more simple--yet satisfying--than a grilled cheese sandwich? The traditional, no-frills sandwich has been popular in the States since the 1960s, with Americans now consuming over 2 billion grilled cheese sandwiches each year, according to marketing research company The NPD Group.

Recently, a new generation of chefs has begun experimenting with the mixing and matching of breads, cheeses and seasonings on the standard grilled cheese sandwich, as well as adding in vegetables and herb-infused oils (and in some cases meats) between the layers of bread.

When is a cheese sandwich no longer just a cheese sandwich? Perhaps only when the cheese is an afterthought—and that never happens at locations such as the Wheel Barrel in Topeka, which specializes in gourmet twists on the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Two of its most “We provide popular versions are the Monte Cristo and the all sorts of How Now Bleu Cow. The Monte Cristo consists grilled cheese, of creamy brie, swiss cheese, ham, turkey and a side of blackberry jelly on country white vegetarian and bread dusted with powdered sugar. The How vegan options.”

Now Bleu Cow features garlic parmesan aioli, bleu cheese, roast beef, bacon, mozzarella, and —PEDRO CONCEPCION balsamic caramelized onion jam on sourdough.

“We provide all sorts of grilled cheese, vegetarian and vegan options,” says Wheel Barrel co-owner Pedro Concepcion. “We also serve craft beer and craft cocktails.”

Also on the menu are seasonal grilled cheese sandwiches such as the customer-favorite Ratatouille, with mozzarella, zucchini, bell pepper, tomato, balsamic glaze, caramelized onion jam, and basil pesto aioli on sourdough.

TOPEKA thewheelbarrel.com / 785.289.6767

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Above Pedro Concepcion, co-owner of Topeka’s Wheel Barrel Opposite The Monte Cristo is one of Wheel Barrel’s grilled cheese specialties

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FIRST CITY CHEESE MARKET Leavenworth

Cheddar cheese, thick-sliced bacon, mixed greens, tomato and house-made garlic aioli on toasted bread go into the CBLT, the most popular grilled cheese sandwich at the First City Cheese Market in Leavenworth. Customers choose from sourdough, wheat or gluten-free bread. Other favorites are the Roast Beef Explosion, consisting of sliced roast beef, cheddar cheese, and house-made spicy horseradish and onion marmalade, and the Gobble Gobble, made with Havarti, smoked turkey, house-made red pepper chipotle jam and pickled red onion, and mixed greens. There’s also a daily special Tuesday through Friday, a monthly special, and options for kids. firstcitycheesemarket.org 913.250.6080

BEST REGARDS BAKERY AND CAFÉ Overland Park

Owner Robert Duensing says the secret to the grilled cheese sandwiches offered at Best Regards Bakery and Café in Overland Park includes housemade sourdough bread cut into thick slices, two to four different cheeses chosen to go well together, and the technique of grilling the sandwich slowly on low heat. Customers favor the Paradise Bacon featuring Havarti and extra sharp cheddar cheese, and the Espiñaca, made with fresh spinach, diced tomatoes, pepperjack cheese and two other cheese options. makethemsmile.com/ GrilledCheeseCount.htm 913.912.7238

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‘All Share This Beautiful Ground’ A historic Leavenworth cemetery is added to the National Register of Historic Places as preservation groups work to protect and restore it

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hen the Greenwood Cemetery was opening on the outskirts of Leavenworth in 1863, the Leavenworth Bulletin praised its setting of forested grounds and raised hill as “one of the most beautiful ever seen.” At the very least, the paper noted, the peaceful, rural cemetery was far superior to the town’s main cemetery, which “looks dismal and deserted and we do not wonder that our citizens have been afraid to die when they have been so unpleasantly impressed with the sullen gloom and sterile surroundings that pervade the spot.”

But some 130 years later, it was Greenwood that had fallen into ruin.

Abandoned and subject to vandalism, many of its tombstones were overgrown with brush, overturned, or destroyed. Believed to contain some 3,000 or even 4,000 burials, Greenwood had only 25 percent of its original markers. Some of these are found in about a dozen family lots, fenced in with various materials, including wrought iron, woven wire, wood-framed chicken wire, brick, stone walls and stone-posts.

To save the grave markers, locals and members of the Leavenworth County Historic Society formed the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Commission (GCPC) in September 1991. The GCPC worked directly with the City of Leavenworth, which came to ownership of the cemetery, to protect and restore the grounds. This work has been ongoing since, supported by a 2022 designation of the grounds on the Register of Historic Kansas Places and then on the National Register of Historic Places.

GCPC researcher Shannon Gardner loves to tell about the people who were committed to the cemetery grounds. “The diversity of the persons buried here is vast,” she notes. “Old and young, rich and poor, they all found the same resting place. Formerly enslaved people, respected businessmen, Civil War veterans all share these beautiful grounds.”

Many visitors are interested in some of the notable burials, of which John Brown’s sister Florella Brown Adair (1816–1865) might be at the top of the list.

However, the members of GCPC like to share about other individuals. “My favorite is that of Nelson McCracken, early pioneer settler, who was run out of Leavenworth by a proslavery group on Bloody Monday, September 1, 1856,” says GCPC president Mary Ann Sachse Brown. “He returned soon after, as the town became more antislavery. His monument is the tallest, most impressive in the cemetery.”

“I like to tell the stories of lesser-known people,” adds Gardner, who discovered the grave of four-year-old Vergie Yarbough. Buried in 1913, Yarbough’s father had left the family and her mother had been sent to prison. Sent to live with a local family, Yarbough died in their care. “She is not buried in a family plot; she is all by herself,” says Gardner.

“I like mentioning her, to put some honor on her name and in some capacity to let people know she mattered.”

Above Greenwood Cemetery retains the natural landscape it had when it opened in 1863.

Opposite Volunteers such as Jim L. Claunch and Mary Ann Sachse Brown have helped preserve the cemetery and its stories.

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Bigger than Dallas Abilene’s new giant-sized cowboy belt buckle is the latest addition in the city’s Western-themed attractions and works of art S T O R Y

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elt buckles and cowboys are synonymous; therefore, it seems only fitting the World’s Largest Belt Buckle now stands in Abilene, the Chisholm Trail’s destination for thousands of cowboys herding Texas cattle to the railhead between 1867 and 1872.

Raised on a platform to show off its full size of 13 feet, 11¼ inches by 19 feet, 10½ inches, the belt buckle was unveiled in December and took over the largest belt buckle title from the previous record-holder, a 10 feet, 6-inch by 14 feet, 6.4-inch clasp in Dallas, Texas.

Designed and sculpted by local artist Jason Lahr of Fluter’s Creek Metal Works, the buckle stands in Abilene’s Eisenhower Park near the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo Arena, where a PRCA rodeo is held each August.

The buckle is likened to a giant billboard featuring Abilene’s attractions and heritage, according to Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau director Julie Roller Weeks. Appearing on the metal buckle, inlaid with striking blue quartz are U.S. president and hometown hero Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad, the historic Seelye Mansion, a C.W. Parker carousel horse and a C.L. Brown telephone. There is also an image of Abilene’s Wild West–era marshal Wild Bill Hickok and a racing greyhound symbolizing the national Greyhound Hall of Fame.

At the center of the buckle is a giant longhorn head in blue quartz and flanked by two heads of wheat honoring T.C. Henry, one of Abilene’s founders who was among the first to experiment with planting winter wheat on a large scale in Kansas, according to the Kansas Historical Society; the crop still is widely grown in the area today.

A back staircase leads to a platform at the top of the buckle where visitors can stand and appear to be wearing the colossal clasp as they take in the view.

“It’s a great postcard from Abilene; it’s something fun and quirky,” says Roller Weeks.

The new roadside attraction reflects the desire to continue to promote the history of Abilene, which has been named a finalist for Best Historic Small Town by USA TODAY for the fifth year in a row.

“We also were named one of the top-10 True Western Towns of the Year by True West magazine, and so to me Abilene is able to stay relevant with that publication and with cowboy history lovers because we continue to add things,” she says. “We’re not just saying this place was important; ‘cool things W H E R E I N K A N S A S ? happened here,’ all in past tense—we’re still showing that we’re adding new things, we’re telling the story, we’re making it relevant.”

ABILENE abilenekansas.org 785.263.2231

Opposite Sue and Doug Darelius, from Wisconsin, take a selfie at the World’s Largest Belt Buckle in Abilene.

Abilene

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ABILENE’S COWBOY ART TRAIL

Nearly a dozen new, brightly painted 4-foot-tall cowboy boots now adorn the streets of Abilene in honor of one of the town’s early establishments, T.C. McInerney’s Drovers Boot Store. McInerney was one of the first to make a practical, American-style cowboy boot; his boot design was pictured in his store’s ad printed in the December 7, 1871, issue of the Abilene Weekly Chronicle newspaper.

The cowboy boot public art installment is part of Abilene’s growing Cowboy Art Trail, which celebrates the early-day cattle town’s history. In addition to the colorful boots and the World’s Largest Belt Buckle, the trail includes: •

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Former World’s Largest Spur Standing on its end to form an arch at the entrance to Rittel’s Western Wear, the spur was confirmed by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest from 2011 until 2017. Created in correct proportion to a cowboy’s boot spur and featuring a star-shaped rowel in its shank, it stands 28 feet high and over 20 feet wide.

Bull’s Head Saloon Longhorn Documented to have originally hung in the Bull’s Head Saloon during Abilene’s cattle town era, the handcarved wooden longhorn head in Old Abilene Town is 30 inches tall, 21 inches deep, and features a 40-inch spread of a real longhorn’s set of horns.

Model of Texas Street The 47 structures that stood on Texas Street in the 1860s are scaled to a 1/24 model for viewing in Old Abilene Town.

Wild Bill Hickok Statue Paying homage to one of the city’s first marshals, a bronze bust of Wild Bill Hickok is found at the Heritage Center.

Tom Smith’s Tombstone The grave of another early-day town marshal, Tom “Bear River” Smith, is marked by a large, unpolished red granite headstone in the Abilene Cemetery.

Cowboy Sculpture This statue of a cowboy on a bucking bronco stands 15 feet tall in front of Abilene High School where the cowboy is the school mascot.

Murals - Longhorn herd on the trail honoring the mascot at Abilene Middle School - Single longhorn mural at Midwest Meats - Wild Bill Hickok at Dave’s Guns - Early-day steam locomotive hauling cattle to market at Abilene Printing

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Sarah Reeves A conversation with KANSAS! photographers about their lives in photography @reevesphotoco

reevesphotoco.com

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If you had to describe your photographic style in terms of a family tree, who is your “mother,” your “father,” and your “brother” or “sister”? I would say

my mother is Autumn de Wilde and my father is Erich McVey. A mix of high fashion and beautifully lit imagery that is timeless and incredibly artistic between the both of them. My brother would be Gabe McClintock and my sister, Tessa Neustadt. I always gravitate towards bright, well-lit imagery, but occasionally, I love a pose in moody light.

What have you learned from being a photographer that you wouldn’t have learned otherwise? My

husband joined me in my photography business early on, and it transformed our marriage. We had to learn to communicate in a completely different way while being able to give and accept critique without getting upset. To this day, we still love working alongside each other in whatever we are doing.

What is the most common photography advice you share with amateur photographers? On the technical

side, your lens matters more than your camera body. On the emotional side, your work is more than a beautiful image that everyone “likes” on social media. Even the most traditional photos mean something to someone. Don’t forget to take those as well as the artistic ones. (I had to learn that myself.)

What was your favorite photo shoot of your entire career? It’s very hard to pinpoint a single favorite, but I’d say

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s a born and raised Kansan residing in Gardner, Sarah Reeves has been a professional photographer for over 15 years. Her husband, Jake, has worked alongside her for most of those years as they shoot weddings and editorials together.

Jake is a creative arts pastor, and Sarah leads alongside him while also staying at home with their two kids. She mainly photographs weddings, families, editorials and home interiors, but she enjoys all the opportunities that come before her. Her current passion is photographing families year after year. Watching her kids grow in front of her lens brings her joy.

What was the moment you wanted to become a photographer? My parents had a Minolta film camera that I

always loved using. I was so fascinated by the act of focusing the manual lens with my hand. I would take it to my grandmother’s farmstead in Stafford to photograph her flowers and chickens. I was probably around 12 at the time but didn’t really pursue the idea of being a photographer full time until my senior year of high school in 2007. At that time, I was pursuing digital photography and loved the editing process. It amazed me how I could take an OK photo and then throw it in Photoshop and make it better or manipulate the image. My approach is the opposite now, but we all start somewhere.

one of the most heartfelt projects I ever did was offering porch sessions during the stay-at-home order in 2020. I got a lot of flak from other photographers online because they thought it was foolish, but my heart felt a calling to capture a moment in time where the entire world was going through something so isolating together. I felt so much joy in the fact that people would literally wait on their front porch for me to arrive! I’d stand by my car in the street with my 85mm lens and we’d yell back and forth, sharing salutations and photo directions for approximately five minutes, and then I’d be on my way to the next home. I donated 100% of the money to two nonprofits that were playing major roles in supporting locals in need. It was a defining moment in my career. It showed me that my gift is not taking trendy photos that will gain followers, but to document life and make connection with others.

While we all have the ability to take photos now, there is still something so necessary about letting someone else capture your story for you, and I love that I get to do that.

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“This photo was taken in Chase County near the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The building is the Lower Fox Creek School. This photo was taken in February 2021 while taking a country cruise with my wife … We could see the smoke from Strong City and wanted to check it out. I took these photos out the window of my truck ... If you look at my Instagram feed, you’ll see that I love to photograph old vehicles, but the truth is, I love all photography and everything about it. The feeling you get when you create an image that someone else enjoys is what it’s all about.”

—STEPHEN OZGA, PHOTOGRAPHER

Social Media: @stephenozga

Ozga captured this image using a Canon 6D camera body with a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 art lens. Located in Shawnee, he originally fell in love with photography while working his first job as a teenager at One-Hour Photo. Initially, Ozga’s photography journey led him to film. He took a break when photography began moving digital but was able to find his way back to the art form about 15 years ago.

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PHOTOGRAPH Stephen Ozga

Location: Chase County

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IN THIS ISSUE

Challenges Devoured

R E A S O N S

We Love Kansas B Y

Cecilia Harris

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Above The Fear the Reaper Spicy Burger at Do-B’s Burger Barn, Philly Stop & Po-Boy Shoppe in Emporia stands as a challenge to anyone who can eat if in 30 minutes or less.

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DO-B’S Emporia

The Fear the Reaper Spicy Burger Challenge at Do-B’s Burger Barn, Philly Stop & P-Boy Shoppe in Emporia literally spices things up. Carolina reapers, declared the hottest chili pepper in the world by Guinness World Records, tops a six-ounce beef patty, which is then covered with ghost pepper cheese and the establishment’s house-made Insanity Sauce of reapers and other hot peppers. Contestants, who must give a 24-hour notice to the restaurant prior to attempting the challenge, must consume the burger in 30 minutes or less and keep it down another 10 minutes to win a Reaper Challenge T-shirt. do-b.com/reaper-challenge 620.342.7294

PHOTOGRAPH Dave Leiker

ARTHUR’S PIZZA AND MEXICAN FOOD Ellis

Contestants who eat the 29-inch, 13-pound challenge pizza in one sitting earn a spot on the coveted Wall of Fame at Arthur’s Pizza and Mexican Food in Ellis. One to three contestants may choose up to four different toppings that, to bake in the oven correctly because of its size, must be on a thin crust, and from one of four kinds of dough made in-store daily from the establishment’s own recipes. The Wall of Fame has two sections, one honoring every person who completes the challenge, and the other section featuring those elite diners who break the timed record for finishing. The record must be broken in order to get the pizza free. Co-owner Cheryl Kinderknecht says the challenges have dwindled “since the people set such a good record,” but customers order five of the challenge pizzas a month simply to eat. Located in an original front-street building constructed in 1871, Arthur’s has been in business since 1986. arthurspizzamexicanfoods.yolasite.com 785.726.4683

WEST STREET BURGERS Wichita

Those who attempt the 4-3-2-1 Challenge at West Street Burgers in Wichita get a T-shirt and their money back if they finish the whole plate. But that’s a big “if.”

The $30 meal consists of four triple cheeseburgers and two pounds of fries, for a total of five pounds of food, which must be eaten within an hour. Thus far, only two people have completed the challenge. The old-fashionedstyle burger joint is known for fresh-off-the-grill burgers and homemade sides, including chips; the Philly cheesesteak sandwich also is a customer favorite. facebook.com/ weststreetburger 316.943.9441

OLD SHAWNEE PIZZA Shawnee and Lenexa

A team of two people can accept the Big Joe Challenge, named for former owner Joe Walker, at Old Shawnee Pizza’s Shawnee or Lenexa location. After giving two hours’ notice, contestants can attempt to eat a 30-inch pizza made with the establishment’s special version of a crispy thin cracker crust, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and one topping for the whole pizza or two toppings, one for each half, of their choice. The pizza must be eaten within an hour and there can be no restroom breaks.

The winners receive $100 and two Old Shawnee Pizza T-shirts; unsuccessful challengers must pay for the pizza.

Shawneepizza.com Shawnee location: 913.631.5716 Lenexa location: 913.254.1234

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Each American consumes around

22.5 pounds of pizza a year.

Nationally we eat 90 acres of pizza per day.

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Wichita Ellis

Emporia Shawnee and Lenexa

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Kansas State University’s national reputation for tasty food in pleasant settings owes much to the work of Dr. Mary Molt

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n educator and culinary innovator for nearly a half-century, Dr. Mary Molt not only has amassed a collection of personal awards and distinctions but also is a driving force behind the award-winning dining halls at Kansas State University.

Thanks largely to the guidance of Molt, The Princeton Review placed K-State’s campus food at number eight in the nation and number two among public schools in its 2022 edition of The Best 388 Colleges. That national ranking was five positions higher than K-State’s previous position in the 2021 report.

Accolades for the dining “The students services have also included a we teach, ranking of “Best in Kansas” in 2018 from Niche, a website that mentor, and ranks schools, companies and help make neighborhoods. Niche’s 2019 food category rankings caught the successful,” she attention of Foodservice Director says, “are the magazine, and K-State’s dining services made their list of “The ones that will Best College Dining Program in lead our world Each State.” in the years Molt, who works as associate director of housing and ahead.” dining services, played a key role —DR. MARY MOLT in the 2016 opening of K-State’s Kramer Dining Center and in 2021 renovations of the Derby Dining Center. Both are stateof-the-art facilities that provide a wide range of offerings, from classic comfort foods and grilled options to Asian, Italian, American deli, and Southwest choices, plus a range of allergy-aware options.

Dining halls are open all day. Molt notes, “Students on an all-you-care-to-eat plan can enjoy unlimited food anytime throughout the day, and many stop by between classes to have a quick meal, drinks, snacks or an ice cream cone.”

Yes, Molt believes in ice cream, and dipped and softserve ice cream round out K-State’s dessert options. But even with the sweets, Molt believes in innovation and sticks to her fundamental approach that preparing for large groups does not mean sacrificing quality or craft.

“Our goal for the dessert platform was to get away from the cafeteria-style trays of cake on a plate,” Molt explains. The platform, supplied by a commissary bakery on Derby’s first

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Top Dr. Mary Molt Above The pizza options at Kansas State University’s Kramer Dining Center

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Recent K-State student dining innovations include continually updated food stations and apps for ordering.

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floor, features a work counter where finishing actions and just-in-time plating can happen as needed. A crepe station is one of the favorite sections of this dessert platform. Molt notes, it’s “almost too popular.”

Molt also takes pride in some of the more healthful food platforms, such as the allergen-aware station that is set apart with frosted glass panels and a cozy kitchen environment. “We purchase some gluten and allergen-free products and store them in refrigerators and freezers within the station,” Molt says. “Students can choose what they like.” Dedicated toasters, a microwave, dishes, plus a dishwasher, sinks, and other dedicated cooking equipment make this area fully contained.

This attention to detail and service has earned Molt numerous personal awards.

In 1995, Molt received the National Association of College and University Food Services’ (NACUFS) highest honor, the Theodore W. Minah Award. It paid homage to her help in developing their first Professional Standards Manual, designed to help college foodservice departments follow best practices in the areas of menu management, marketing, purchasing, food safety and security, capital improvement and sustainability.

In 2012, Molt was awarded what is considered the foodservice industry’s highest honor, the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) Gold Plate. The award recognizes exemplary and enduring contributions to the foodservice industry and supports further the value of Molt’s innovative work throughout her career. She joins legends such as Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Trotter, who have also received the Gold Plate award.

Molt says she is honored to work as a teacher at K-State, where she has mentored students and taught food production management classes. “The students we teach, mentor, and help make successful,” she says, “are the ones that will lead our world in the years ahead.”

Always a champion for students’ success and aware of their need for financial aid, Mary chaired the Clark DeHaven Scholarship Board of Trustees for many years.

Currently she helps select scholarship awardees for the NACUFS Foundation.

Colleagues and former students recognize the profound effect Molt has had at K-State and on their lives. Former student Nona Golledge wrote, “Mary Molt is remarkable. Her unwavering dedication to collegiate dining, commitment to excellence, and passion for the industry are unparalleled, making Mary one of the most respected women in the field. She is truly the epitome of a leader and mentor!”

Golledge, past president of the National Association of College & University Food Services

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THE K-STATE BAKED TREATS

This recipe is adapted from the version that appears in Mary Molt’s book Food for Fifty. Its dough base can be used for a variety of baked goods, including kolaches.

“The sweet yeast dough recipe is one I use at home and [one] we also use in our campus bakeries. Kolaches stay so soft and nice and are frequently menued in Derby and Kramer dining centers. A student dietitian who was enrolled in a management class taught in Derby Dining Center graciously shared the recipe. The recipe is from her Czechoslovakian grandmother from Cuba, Kansas.” —MARY MOLT SWEET YEAST DOUGH INGREDIENTS • 2 cups milk • 2 eggs, slightly beaten • ½ cup sugar (see note in dinner roll recipe for variation) • ½ cup instant potato flakes • ½ cup oil • 2 packets instant yeast or 1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons of yeast • 2 teaspoon salt • 5–5½ cups flour INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Warm milk to about 115 degrees.

Pour into large mixing bowl.

2. Add eggs, sugar, potato flakes and oil.

3. Use a flat paddle (mixer) or spoon and beat until smooth, 2–3 minutes.

4. Replace flat paddle with dough hook.

5. Mix in 2 cups of flour and the yeast.

6. Mix and add remaining 3 cups of flour 1 cup at a time.

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Continue mixing until dough becomes soft. Adjust flour amount slightly as needed for soft dough.

8. Use a mixer to mix or knead (by hand) for 10–11 minutes (mixing or kneading). Continue until dough is smooth and elastic and a piece of dough can be stretched very thin (i.e., the window-pane test).

9. Grease top of dough and cover bowl. Let stand in warm place until the dough doubles in size (approximately 40 minutes).

CINNAMON ROLLS Yield: 12 cinnamon rolls plus leftover dough for a small loaf ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS • 2 tablespoons softened butter • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar • ¼ cup brown sugar • 1 teaspoon cinnamon INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Roll dough into a rectangle approximately 15x12 inches.

2. Brush with softened butter and sprinkle with mixture of granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

3. Roll tightly, jelly-roll fashion, starting with short side; pinch edge to seal.

4. Cut into slices.

5. Place cut side down into greased 9x13-inch pan or pan with pecancaramel mixture (recipe follows).

6. Let rise until double in size (30–45 minutes).

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Bake at 350–375 degrees for approximately 30 minutes until done.

8. If using pecan-caramel mixture, let rolls cool for 10 minutes then turn out.

PECAN-CARAMEL MIXTURE ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS • ½ cup heavy whipping cream • 1½ cup brown sugar • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon • ¾ cup pecans or walnuts INSTRUCTIONS 1.

In the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan, mix heavy whipping cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

2. Sprinkle with pecans or walnuts (optional).

Use the Sweet Yeast Dough and follow instructions to create any of the three variations listed above.

PULL-APART DINNER ROLLS Yield: Approximately 18–24 dinner rolls INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Using buttered hands, form dough into 1-inch to 1½-inch balls.

2. Put dough balls into greased pan with balls touching.

3. Brush them lightly with melted butter.

4. Let rise until doubled in size, 30–40 minutes.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes until balls are browned and register an internal temperature of 190–195 degrees.

6. Remove from oven and brush again with melted butter.

Variation: Create a less sweet version of this dinner roll by reducing the ½ cup sugar to ⅓ or ¼ cup sugar KOLACHES Yield: 15–18 kolaches ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS • Fruit filling or jam INSTRUCTIONS 1.

Form dough into 1½ inch balls and put on greased cookie sheet, leaving space for the balls to rise without touching. (As an alternative to forming balls, you can roll the dough out to a ½- or ¾-inch thickness and cut with a 3½-inch biscuit cutter.)

2. Brush dough balls with melted butter.

3. Let rise until doubled in size, 30–40 minutes.

4. Make an indention in the middle of each ball, leaving ½–1-inch outer rim.

5. Fill indented area with fruit filling or jam.

6. Bake immediately after filling at 375–400 degrees for 12–15 minutes until browned.

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Remove from oven and brush again with melted butter.

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Desserts are part of the fresh-food options on the K-State campus. But as an advocate for healthful eating, Molt notes some of the dessert choices are “almost too popular.”

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and former director of KU Dining at the University of Kansas, currently works for the Bakergroup, a comprehensive foodservice consulting and design firm.

Accolades abound from across the nation for her work with the book Food for Fifty, yet another Kansas treasure. Well known among food service professionals and those who cook for crowds, this book dates to 1937.

Author of the current 14th edition, Dr. Molt believes it is the oldest book in continuous print at Kansas State University that was authored by K-State faculty. Bessie Brooks West and Grace Shugart were earlier authors, and, by the 1980s, Molt’s name appears as the coauthor. Her name began appearing as the sole author with the 10th edition.

Considered by many the bible for quantity food production, Food for Fifty is recognized as the most comprehensive quantity food resource and can be found in church kitchens, school foodservices, long-term care facilities, hospitals, and college dining halls, as well as on the bookshelves of caterers and home cooks.

This easy-to-follow classic provides recipes and basic food production information covering all categories of food and menu planning, from appetizers through desserts. Hundreds of standardized recipes have been painstakingly designed to produce consistent and high-quality results.

Charts and tables assist cooks/managers in controlling costs by providing precise guidelines that help avoid over production and waste. For example, it takes 18 pounds of potatoes AP (as purchased) to provide 50 four-ounce serving of mashed potatoes.

That same chart, listing a wide range of foods from A to Z, reveals there are 4 cups in every pound of allpurpose flour, allowing any cook to easily calculate the amount to buy for an oversized recipe of cinnamon rolls. Other charts in the book provide U.S. weights and their metric equivalents, substitutions, guides to how many relishes are needed on a relish tray, and how many appetizers guests will probably eat at a reception; there are sections on food safety, sanitation and management.

“Each new edition does add updated information and recipes that are in tune with current eating styles and preferences,” Dr. Molt adds. Most notably the recent edition includes a broader base of international and ethnic cuisine as well as more plant-based and vegetarian recipes. While some recipes are removed, seasonings and methods are updated in others.

For nearly 50 years, Molt’s focus has been updating and improving recipes for more healthful and more enjoyable eating in group dining situations. She’s proof that quantity can also be quality—at least when you sit down at one of her tables.

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Paper Moon Pilgrimage

Celebrate 50 years of this classic Hollywood film by following the heroes’ route across Kansas or stopping by any of the numerous locations and events commemorating the movie

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his year marks 50 years since the release of Paper Moon, a Paramount Pictures road comedy-drama set in Depressionera Kansas. The film is about a young girl, Addie, and her criminal guardian, Moze, who cross the state conning vulnerable widows into buying Bibles, carrying out one fast-buck scheme after another, and keeping one step ahead of the law.

You can plan your own road trip to filming locations in McCracken, LaCrosse, Liebenthal, Wilson, Gorham, Codell, Hays and White Cloud for insight into the movie. An extra bonus will be the views of endless skies, colorful sunsets, rolling hills, and vast fields of farmland where silver water towers and grain bins dot the skyline.

It might be best to begin your road trip where the movie does—in Nickel Cemetery southwest of Liebenthal, where a hand water pump visible in the opening scene still stands.

The next stop is McCracken, a major film location because the movie’s production designer needed only to cover the thenpaved street with dirt, add false fronts to some buildings, and refurbish an old-time service station with antique gas pumps to reflect the Depression-era An offshoot of the film look needed for the film. Still was a 1974–1975 television standing is the 1919 two-story series, also called Paper red brick grocery store that was Moon, in which Jodie transformed for the film into The Foster starred as Addie and Dream movie theater with a false Christopher Connelly as front and movie posters.

Moses Pray in 13 episodes The movie stars real-life before being canceled after father-daughter duo Ryan and its first season. The series Tatum O’Neal, who at age 10 also was filmed on location won an Oscar as best supporting in Kansas. actress for her performance as Addie Loggins.

Carolyn Thompson, the board president of McCracken Historical Museum, says her organization has worked to preserve many of the film’s props, as well as the memorabilia related to the production and to the actors.

“We have the false fronts, and we incorporated those in the new section of our museum,” says Thompson. The McCracken Historical Museum, located in a restored 1901 limestone jail with two original cells, recently constructed an addition specifically for Paper Moon exhibits. Displayed are photographs, newspaper articles, scrapbooks and other memorabilia, including an unopened NeHi Root Beer bottle used in a café scene and the original license plate from the Model A Roadster that the film’s heroes drove.

Movie Trivia

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Paper Moon was filmed at various locations in Kansas, but the McCracken Historical Museum has assembled the most film-related artifacts for public display.

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“The hotel was one of the main places that they filmed in town, but it is gone,” Thompson says of the demolished 1909 Eagle Hotel where several scenes were shot, including one where Moze and Addie outsmart a bootlegger late one night.

“There was a scene in the movie where they used the telephone booth in the hotel and we have the telephone booth, we have a large mirror from the hotel, we have the front window, we have a door pull, and we have a room key—that was a real find.”

Newly added is a replica of the moon Addie sat on to have her photo taken while at a carnival. During the Great Depression, photo booths often used paper-crafted crescent moons and starstudded backdrops. These photo booths were immortalized by the 1933 Harold Arlen song It’s Only a Paper Moon featured in a Broadway play; the song influenced the movie’s director, Peter Bogdanovich, to change

the title to Paper Moon instead of using the title of the novel on which the movie is based, Addie Pray, by Joe David Brown.

“We reconstructed the moon so people can get their picture taken there,” Thompson says, adding that the entire exhibit is a labor of love. “A local lady fired a moon in a kiln and then Tatum signed it, so we have that.”

The museum also holds still pictures from the movie and a poster signed by Bogdanovich and Ryan O’Neal.

From McCracken, you can continue the journey to LaCrosse, where the Rush County fairgrounds provided the setting for the movie’s carnival scenes. One of the widows’ homes and many of the rural landscapes viewed as the twosome traveled in their car were filmed near the towns of Liebenthal and La Crosse, according to Brad Penka, Rush County Economic Development administrator.

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Paper Moon GOLDEN CELEBRATION EVENTS ACROSS KANSAS

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MOVIE SHOWING April 30 / Stockton The movie Paper Moon will be featured at 2 p.m. on April 30 at the Nova Theatre in Stockton as part of this Rooks County Historical Society’s event to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary. Carolyn Thompson of the McCracken Historic Society will appear as guest speaker. rookscounty.net/rooks-co-museum 785.425.7217 50TH ANNIVERSARY PAPER MOON FESTIVAL May 5–6 / Wilson The festivities begin on May 5 with a showing of Paper Moon on the back wall of the Midland Hotel. The next day there will be tours of Paper Moon locations, Coney Island hot dogs and Nehi sodas for lunch, a Scruples game, a pie contest, a photo booth, and a fried chicken dinner followed by a Swing Dance.

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BARBED WIRE FESTIVAL May 5-8 / La Crosse Paper Moon will be a theme of the annual Barbed Wire Festival on May 5–8, with a banquet, display of snapshots taken during the filming, and a tour of farm homes, cemeteries and other sites from the film. wireshow.rushcounty.org 785.222.2808

SUMMER ART WALK June 16 / Hays The Hays CVB and the Hays Arts Council will hold a showing of the film and display memorabilia and information about the film’s shooting and a subsequent television series during the city’s summer art walk event. haysartscouncil.org 785.625.7522 HOTEL HUMANITIES: UNDER A PAPER MOON July 22–23 / Wilson Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the movie Paper Moon, Humanities Kansas plans an immersive weekend experience at the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson where several of the movie’s scenes were filmed. The event begins with the Lucas Triangle, an arts adventure presented by the Grassroots Arts Center in nearby Lucas that includes the Florence Deeble Rock Garden, Mri-Pilar’s Garden of Isis, and Bowl Plaza. Later at the Wilson hotel, facilitators will explore the state’s art, history, literature, poetry and song to promote ideas and conversation. Reservations and pre-payments of fee required. humanitieskansas.org/get-involved/hotelhumanities-under-a-paper-moon 785.357.0359

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The McCracken Historical Museum holds many objects that were filmed or are related to the filming of Paper Moon.

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In Gorham, the building that was filmed as a post office is at the intersection of Chicago and Market streets.

Wilson was a major location for filming. Inside the Soukup Grain Office, which is part of the Sunflower Coal buildings today, Pray haggled to get money from the brother of the man who killed Addie’s mother. Later, he and Addie are seen strolling down the main street, Avenue E, where many of the limestone structures still stand.

Twenty framed photographs taken when the movie was filmed, an original movie poster, and album covers hang in the parlor of the historic Midland Railroad Hotel, where two rooms on the second floor appeared in the scenes where Addie attempts to break up Moze and an exotic dancer he met at a carnival, according to Melinda Merrill, Wilson Tourism Hub president.

In Dorrance, where some scenes were filmed, the Dorrance Bakery “There was a displays some props used in the film. scene in the movie Some scenes were filmed in Hays, where the Midwest premiere of the movie where they used was at the Fox Theatre, which has been the telephone converted into an event center.

The final scene of the movie, where booth in the hotel the Model A rolls down a large hill as the and we have the duo scrambles to jump inside, was shot telephone booth, near Codell.

Although located in northeast we have a large Kansas, the historic river town of White mirror from the Cloud also was a film location. The Doniphan County Sheriff ’s Department hotel, we have the jail—where Moze and Addie escape from front window, we toward the end of the movie—still stands, have a door pull, according to local historian Deborah Bryan. Other buildings along Main Street, and we have a which was covered in dirt for the film, also room key—that can be seen in the movie, including the Kelly General Store and Opera House, was a real find.” which appears behind the sheriff as he —CAROLYN THOMPSON points his gun at the twosome as they flee to the river’s edge.

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‘Something Really Special Happened There’ Former students and their family members recall and honor the legacy of Salina’s segregated school, where Black staff taught and inspired generations of Black pupils

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unbar School is a gem in the history of my hometown, Salina, and I want everyone to know about it. Open from 1922 to 1956 and named for the famous Black writer-poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dunbar was a school for Black youth, from kindergarten to eighth grade, who were taught by an all-Black staff. Its location on Ash Street, bordered by Second and Front streets, nestled it in the middle of the Black neighborhood known as The Bottoms and made it an anchor for the Black community.

“Dunbar provided a base for the African American community,” explains Dr. Jennifer Gordon, an educator who retired from the Topeka USD 501 system. Her mother, Peggy Thompson, and older brother Wayne Rogers attended Dunbar, so she grew up being fully aware of its history and role in the community. “We had churches, businesses, and our own school. It added value to the Black community. It was not only a school, but a place for everyone to meet.”

I have my own connection to the school. My father, James Briscoe, and his two sisters, Liz Briscoe Wilson and Jerry Jean Briscoe Ohlmann, attended, as did other relatives. Growing up,

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I would hear them speak of Dunbar often and fondly. I would be told of different ways our family connected to Dunbar. Like how my grandfather used to bring his kids a hot lunch every day. Aunt Liz, explaining what an adventure it was just to go to school, recalled, “It was definitely an adventure walking between grain mills and through the railyard!” I would hear about where their childhood friends and classmates were now.

One recurrent sentiment has always been the lasting impact made by the faculty and staff.

Dunbar was the only officially sanctioned site of racial segregation in Salina, and, because of that, the school was often called “a unique educational experiment.” Aunt Liz, who went on to become a librarian at both elementary and collegiate levels, thinks the experiment worked. “Our experience was different from Black schools in the South because our teachers primarily came from in state. They were educated outside of Jim Crow because Kansas colleges were never segregated.

Those teachers had a distinctive vantage point, not being a part of that restrictive system, and it showed in how they taught. And for me, that was imperative to my attending

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Above Dunbar students in 1930 Opposite Dunbar students celebrating a pageant in the 1940s

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Aunt Jerry Jean speaks of her favorite teacher, Lena college as a young adult. I had witnessed Black professionals Williams, with a smile. “She was my kindergarten teacher, teaching at my grammar school. Representation is so and she was so gentle and sweet. She taught me that using important for children to develop identity and self-esteem.” soft skills can be really Dr. Gordon’s mother, Peggy, effective when working with attended kindergarten through small children. And I definitely eighth grade at Dunbar. She had used her example when I went a favorite teacher named Clara into a career of working with Mae Jones, who would put on toddlers, preschoolers, and theatrical productions at the special-needs students.” school. And from her, Peggy My great-aunt Arlena learned drama. “My mother Prim attended Dunbar in always loved theater and plays.

1943, which was her eighth I don’t think she would’ve had grade year. After that she that opportunity to participate went to ninth grade at in those things in an integrated Lincoln, an integrated school school.” in Salina. “Lincoln wasn’t a Aunt Liz’s favorite was her good experience,” she says fourth grade teacher, Margaret when asked about her time Giles. “She was my role model. there. “I remember in one She was so kind and caring, —JERRY JEAN OHLMANN class we were asked what making me feel special. As if I career we wanted as adults. I said I wanted to work in an could accomplish any goal in life. And she taught me that a office, maybe as a bookkeeper. The teacher told me I would teacher’s job doesn’t always stop at the end of the school day. I never have opportunities for anything other than domestic took that with me when I became an educator.”

“Dunbar’s legacy is its students and their children and grandchildren. The spirit of our alumni is far reaching and full of hope because when we were students, we felt genuinely loved, cared for, and prepared.”

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Clockwise, from top Dunbar students shortly before the school’s closing in 1955; Dunbar School in 1923; Dunbar School in 2017.

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work.” Her time at Dunbar was markedly different. “Two of my favorite teachers in eighth grade were B.C. Easter and Luther Harris. They were both math teachers. Mr. Harris would always stick around after school to tutor us, and that’s when I learned algebra—which I loved. Mr. Easter was also the principal. I felt so special because I was receiving instruction from someone so smart and important. To this day I love math and those teachers are two of the reasons why.”

To keep the school’s legacy alive, the Dunbar Alumni Association formed in 1991. Since then, several reunions have taken place. Most recently, in November 2022, there was a celebration honoring the 100th anniversary of the school.

Aunt Jerry Jean is the current alumni association president, and Dr. Gordon is the vice president. The association “seeks to preserve this positive historical legacy of Dunbar and in some meaningful manner pass this important legacy along to the youth of present and future generations,” per their mission statement. The association also sponsors a scholarship for

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Salina youth, and there are plans to work with USD 305 (Salina Public Schools) to develop a lesson plan about Dunbar to teach during Black History Month.

As for the school building, now owned by St. Francis Ministries, it was designated a local historic landmark by the City of Salina Heritage Commission on September 21, 1998.

But its presence is still very much alive through the careers and lives of its generations of pupils.

“Something really special happened there,” Aunt Jerry Jean says. “Dunbar’s legacy is its students and their children and grandchildren. The spirit of our alumni is far reaching and full of hope because when we were students, we felt genuinely loved, cared for, and prepared.

We had the best teachers, and I feel like we stand on their shoulders. It is fitting that we pay it forward with that same positive energy.”

Dunbar still brings us together—it mattered to us, it sustained our families, and it continues as part of the stories we tell our families and friends.

Author Melinda Briscoe with her great-aunt Arlena Prim and her aunt Jerry Jean Ohlmann.

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BEAT ABLE Kansas athletes have achieved magnificent sporting records, and a few of them might just last forever … or until tomorrow

Story by Haines Eason Photography by David Mayes

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B

ob Fisher is standing at the free-throw line sinking baskets. He isn’t missing.

Now, a blindfolded Bob Fisher is standing at the free-throw line sinking baskets. And he still isn’t missing.

But then again, Bob Fisher doesn’t miss free throws.

That’s his thing. In fact, he’s so good at shooting free throws that he holds numerous records related to this feat.

The Centralia resident didn’t consider becoming a record-setting free-throw shooter until after 2008, when he turned 50. A few years earlier, Fisher, a lifelong basketball fan, had decided to coach the spot and became obsessed with the mechanics of shooting. When he discovered the book The Physics of Basketball by John Fontanella, he began focusing even more intensely on the science of shooting free throws.

“It took me years to figure out the technique,” Fisher says. “Think of the center of your hand as the center of a cue ball. If you’ve got that aligned with the center of the basketball, the ball is going to go straight every time.

In 2010, Fisher notched his first Guinness World Record: 50 free throws in one minute. That record has since fallen, but Fisher still holds many, including the most free throws in 30 seconds—33. He estimates he has set 28 records, and several still stand.

For Fisher, most of the successes come down to physics.

“The whole thing is about the wrist-snap phase of the shot. And, really, skill can overcome a lack of talent. Before The Physics of Basketball, I was coaching the BEEF method— balance, elbow, eyes, follow-through—but that was thought up before the three-point line.”

It took Fisher years to build a system that can account for height, angle, and all the other variables that go into a shot.

These are secrets he shares in his 2018 book, Straight Shooter: A Game-Changing New Approach to Basketball-Shooting.

Back on his own court, Fisher continues to sink free throws seemingly at will. And he can do so with either hand.

So, as long as he’s shooting, he stands a chance of keeping his records in the books.

Fisher’s recent achievements are part of a long tradition of Kansans setting some remarkable sporting records.

The state boasts several milestones placed down by collegiate, professional and Olympic athletes, many of whom are honored at the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. This Wichita museum has inducted athletes from a range of sports, including baseball legend Walter Johnson, golfer and LPGA founder Marilynn Smith, Olympian runner Billy Mills, football sensation Gale Sayers, USA Women’s Basketball National Team member and coach Jackie Stiles, and many more.

But the tradition of high school sporting achievements— some achieved by future professional athletes, some by lifelong amateurs— is particularly rich and colorful.

Jordan Poland, president and CEO of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, can easily list Kansas high school records that have stood for a long time.

“Probably the oldest record still on the books is from 1927. A football game between Haven and Sylvia. Haven won this football game,” he says, pausing and drawing a long breath, “256 to 0.”

Haven’s runaway win is also the highest-scoring game in U.S. history. And, it was a part of a shockingly brilliant season.

With the local school district’s permission, Bob Fisher has set up free-throw shooting equipment at Vermillion grade school, where he went to school and first played basketball.

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According to a 1992 remembrance of the game in the Kansas City Star, Haven outscored all other opponents 323-0, and their closest game was 27-0 win.

“The offensive star for Haven was Elvin McCoy, a running back and kicker who remains the most prolific scorer of all time. Against Sylvia, he had 90 points (13 touchdowns and 12 extra points). Team captain Jesse Atkinson scored 60 points,” explained the Star. The paper’s report suggests that part of the team’s success was the ability of its players to go a full game.

Haven player Louis Koch told the Star that the substitution rules of the time meant starters had to have endurance.

“If you went out in the first half, you couldn’t come back until the second half,” Koch noted. “And if they took you out in the second half, you were through for the game. We only had 21 or 22 players. We weren’t doing much substituting. If we had, we would have been out of players.”

Haven’s shellacking of Sylvia is a record for the ages, but others must be noted: • Kansas basketball fans are sure to have heard of Jackie Stiles’ incredible run in high school sports during the mid’90s. She is one of three Kansas women to score over 3,000 points in a career, but her score of 3,603 puts her at the top.

Stiles’ 71 points in a game as a high school senior is also the highest score of any Kansas high school basketball player, boy or girl.

• In baseball, no one in Kansas state history has had an inning like Tramer Ray. In 1999, as a player for Medicine Lodge, Ray

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notched 13 RBIs in one game, 11 of which came in one inning.

That same game, Ray hit four home runs, three in one inning.

And, two of those home runs were grand slams. (It’s also worth noting that Ray’s grand slams were consecutive, and he holds a record stating as much.)

• The world of women’s soccer in Kansas was dominated by Andover’s Kortney Clifton between 2005 and 2008. Clifton scored 256 goals in her career and 80 in one season (2008), both records for the sport, both for girls and boys. She also recorded 512 points in her career and 160 in a season, both also records for girls and boys.

• The Wyandotte High School boys’ basketball team won a consecutive 20 state tournament games ( from prelims to finals) between 1964 and 1971; the school also holds the record for the most state title wins, 127.

The best sports records seem insurmountable. In fact, some of these records are likely to stand forever simply because the events are no longer being held. Take, for example, the record held by Floyd Shaw, a sprinter from Winfield. He was a four-time state champion from 1922 to 1925 in the 50-yard dash, an event that is not part of modern track and field competitions. And while it is possible that someone could beat Jeanne Daniels’ 1978 throw of the 8-pound shot put of 49 feet and 2 inches, it could only be done if Kansas high schools were to abandon the now-standard metric shot put of 4 kilograms and return to the slightly lighter 8-pound version. For similar reasons, Olympian Jim Ryun will always hold the high school boys’ one-mile record with his 1965 time of 3:55.3 because, while the near equivalent 1600-meter race is run, no schools currently run the mile.

But in the events where athletes are still competing, records can always fall.

“I hold to the idea that records are made to be broken, and that while some records seem like they will stand the test of time, they also serve as motivation for the next generation of athletes to strive to beat,” says Poland. “Because of that,” he adds, “I expect every record to fall at some point; it just might take some time for some of them.”

The 1927 Haven High School football team won the most lopsided victory in Kansas history.

Fisher holds several Guinness records related to his free-throw skills.

BIG STUFF PHOTOGRAPHS Justin Lister

in Kansas

Story by LisaWaterman-Gray

Dream big,Kansans.Go big or go home,for we are a vast land of sunsets and sunrises,rich farmland and rolling prairie.

Our land is where character is carved and chiseled across the open horizons. Others may scoff, no real mountains to gaze at, they say. But here in Kansas, we create our own landmarks.

Big landmarks.

Cawker City’s massive ball of twine is unashamedly a big deal. The ball of twine, built with a farmer’s make-do-save-it-if-you-can-use-it-laterfor-something-else mentality, was featured in The Atlantic in 2014, when it then measured 41.42 feet in circumference and was nearly 11 feet tall.

That was then.

Now, Linda Clover, the belle of the ball in Cawker City, who shows visitors the ball and keeps track of its growing dimensions, says it currently measures 46 feet in circumference. She estimates more than 8,591,891 feet of twine have been used throughout its creation.

The twine ball is a national phenomenon.

Nearly 15,000 people make pilgrimages to the ball each year, holding up cameras and cellphones to document their arrival. It has been featured as a question on Jeopardy and is listed as one of the top 10 places to visit by Destination America TV channel.

Which all goes to say we are a land of big things.

Take the newest, biggest of the big things in Kansas—the World’s Largest Belt Buckle, unveiled December 21, 2022, in Abilene. Oooh, Lordy, is it big—measuring 19 feet, 10.5 inches wide by 13 feet, 11.25 inches tall.

So, why the fascination with big stuff ?

Because, out here, size matters.

“I think it is because we are competing with a giant sky and giant landscapes,” says Erika Nelson, creator of the World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things in Lucas. By the way, she strategically bought

the 100th—and last available—regular-sized replica buckle of the World’s Largest Belt Buckle that Abilene tourism sold to promote the buckle.

“In Texas, they have giant skies and landscapes too—which is part of their way to build big things— but out here on the plains—you don’t want to build smaller, or you will miss it.”

There is also that monumental bronze sculpture in Oakley of Buffalo Bill on horseback shooting a buffalo, all 16 feet in height.

“It has to be gigantic because, otherwise, it would get lost in our prairie horizons,” Nelson says.

But it may be more than that.

We Kansans, Nelson surmises, are also known for our humble brags. She has a theory ...

“Because we are Midwesterners, we don’t generally interrupt people,” she says. “When they are talking, we don’t talk about ourselves a whole lot.”

Just picture about all those people who travel Kansas highways thinking about how flat and boring Kansas is—as if they are in a hurry to go somewhere else. Think about the many signs of world bigness that dot Kansas, one of the largest electric coal shovels in the world—Big Brutus in West Mineral; a sisal ball of twine in Cawker City; the largest hairball in Garden City or a huge handdecorated fiberglass and steel Czech egg in Wilson.

“If we can show somebody and it becomes obvious we have the World’s Largest Belt Buckle, then you can go, ‘Oh yeah, that old thing? Ummhmm,’” Nelson says. “It’s this beautiful Midwestern way of saying, ‘Yeah, we’re really good at this. We can’t say it, but we sure can show it.”

So, carry on Kansans.

Let’s show them how big we really are.

–Beccy Tanner

To find these spots online visit travelks.com/recordbreakers

Nation’s Northernmost Pueblo Ruins SCOTT CITY

World’s Largest Mural Painted by a SingleArtist

Many Kansans would be surprised to know that Indigenous people from modern-day Taos, New Mexico, once lived inside the current Lake Scott State Park in Scott City. A visit to this site reveals restored rock foundations from the 17th-century pueblo known as El Cuartelejo—the only pueblo built in Kansas. Taos Indians built El Cuartelejo as they fled Spanish rule in 1664.

Spaniards compelled these resident to return to New Mexico before the Picuris Indians settled here. By the early 1700s these tribal members were also returned to New Mexico. Decades of conflict between various Indian tribes and European explorers plagued the area until it was abandoned. Archaeologists finally excavated the site by the late 1800s. In 1964, El Cuartelejo became a National Historic Landmark, and restored ruins and interpretive markers now greet visitors. Nearby, El Cuartelejo Museum offers additional history regarding the Scott City area.

620.872.5912

PHOTOGRAPHS Justin Lister

WICHITA Long before work ended on the Beachner Grain Elevator Mural in December 2018, this was one of North Wichita’s largest structures.

Then, Colombian street artist GLeo completed her gorgeous multicolored artwork across its face. Depicting ethnic backgrounds associated with nearby historic Black and Latinx neighborhoods, the mural is part of the larger art-focused Horizontes Project, created to improve quality of life in this area. This massive mural named El Sueño Original (The Original Dream) depicts people of color from the NorthEnd as they look hopefully toward the horizon. Individual images include Indigenous peoples and immigrant families, from migrant workers to meat packers and feedlot laborers.

And, at 50,000 square feet, the mural bested the previous Guinness World Record holder by approximately 12,000 square feet. Horizontes funding has come from multiple sources, among them Fidelity Bank, Humanities Kansas, and the Knight Foundation, with an additional $15,000 raised through crowdsourcing.

Previously the Kansas Underground Salt Museum, not-forprofit Strataca lies deep inside one of the world’s largest rock salt deposits. A 90-second hoist (elevator) ride deposits guests from the visitors center into a world full of salt walls, 650 feet below ground level and 275 million years old. The underground museum houses a 25-million-year-old live bacteria found inside a salt crystal. There’s also an incredible collection of prized Hollywood screenplays, film reels, and memorabilia stored by Underground Vaults & Storage because of the mine’s consistent temperature and humidity. Two-hour tours through miles of tunnels include underground admission and a 30-minute educational Dark Ride through lit areas, plus a Salt Mine Express Train Ride—where time stopped 50 years ago. Adventure seekers enjoy Salt Safaris that provide a closer view of unique salt formations while other guests participate in events such as Murder in the Mine, or the 5K Underground Zombie Run.

316.265.2800

620.662.1425

Nation’s Largest Salt Mine Museum HUTCHINSON

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Midwest’s Mini ‘Grand Canyon’ of the High Plains At 36 miles long and two miles wide, Arikaree Breaks, near St. Francis, is mostly in northwestern Kansas (Small portions of this rugged terrain extend into corners of Nebraska and Colorado). Some people consider this the state’s ‘Grand Canyon.’ Though nowhere near as expansive as Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Arikaree Breaks is full of deep ravines and gullies. Initially formed as wind-deposited sand, silt, and clay particles in the area—also known as loess—the rocky terrain was further shaped by the Arikaree and Republican rivers. Native grasses and other vegetation create favorable pastureland, and rancher-built dams provide access to water for raising livestock. Public roads traverse this stark, naturally beautiful area. Signage and cell service can be sparse, so this is a good time to also carry a map, available from the St. Francis Area Chamber of Commerce or the Cheyenne County Museum.

785.332.3508

Midwest’s Largest ‘Arc deTriomphe’ KANSAS CITY, KANSAS On a tall hilltop near Interstate I-35, the 34.5-foot-tall Rosedale Memorial Arch commemorates World War I veterans from the town of Rosedale, which Kansas City, Kansas, later absorbed. This scaled-down version of France’s Arc de Triomphe reflects sketches by 29-year-old World War I soldier John Leroy Marshall. Part of the 42nd (Rainbow) Division, the Rosedale resident, architect, and engineer envisioned minimally embellished limestone atop brick. Though planned by Rosedale, the structure was completed by Kansas City, Kansas, in 1924. It was placed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places and National Register of Historic Places in 1977, with Kansas City, Kansas, Historic Landmark designation in 1982. Five years later, city council funds and donations financed restoration and a 65th anniversary celebration of the groundbreaking. Local businesses made additional improvements. New spotlights, streetlights, and a flagpole arrived later. By 1993, a smaller monument was added to honor soldiers from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.

913.573.8327

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PHOTOGRAPHS (from left) Kalli Jo Smith, Kansas Department of Tourism, David Mayes

ST. FRANCIS

World’s Largest Collection of Oz Memorabilia WAMEGO Home to Oz-inspired dolls, movie posters, and even an eight-foot-tall Tin Man, this wheelchair-friendly downtown museum houses the world’s largest collection of Oz memorabilia. See the Wicked Witch’s legs beneath Dorothy’s house plus photos signed by Judy Garland. The legendary movie also runs continuously in a small screening room. Visitors can view the earliest L. Frank Baum books and Oz Parker Brothers board games. And the museum store is a perfect place to find a collectible souvenir. A major state grant, plus thousands of hours of volunteer time from residents, created this remarkable museum, and funding from loyal fans and donors still plays a key role in continued operations. For a truly ‘Oz-some’ experience, plan your visit during the museum’s annual OZtoberfest.

It’s full of live music, food, arts, crafts, and costume contests, drawing Oz fans, from avid collectors to inspired authors.

866.458.TOTO (8686)

Nation’s Largest Church Collection of TiffanyWindows TOPEKA Louis Comfort Tiffany stood in First Presbyterian Church’s sanctuary so he could learn light patterns in the space before designing favrile glass windows to decorate the entire room. Unveiled in October 1911, the Thomas and Stormont Memorial Tiffany Windows commemorated service to the church by the late Jonathan Thomas and his wife, Josephine Brooks Thomas, who gave them to the church. Having his own furnaces allowed Tiffany to create designs that reflected his signature style, such as use of iridescent colors and molten glass that adapted to many forms of drapery. The Rose Window above the chancel incorporates the only non-favrile Tiffany glass throughout the sanctuary, while The Ascension is one of the largest examples of a Tiffany church window, measuring approximately 13.25 feet by 18 feet. Today, guests may visit this exquisite, one-of-a-kind Tiffany glass collection at no charge, with phone reservations. Groups may schedule docent-led tours.

785.233.9601

World’s Largest Ball of Twine CAWKER CITY Gifted to Cawker City in 1961, this giant ball of twine was created in 1953 by Frank Stoeber on his farm just outside of town. What started as an easy and efficient way to roll up his leftover sisal twine soon led to a historical moment for the community of Cawker City. Considered to be the largest ball of sisal twine built by a community, the ball currently measures 46 feet in circumference and includes 8,591,891 feet of twine. Those interested in adding to the ball can attend the twine-a-thon held each August, though the ball is available for viewing year round.

785.781.4713

Midwest’s Largest Smithsonian-Affiliated Space Museum

World’s Largest Van Gogh Painting Replica

PHOTOGRAPHS (from left) Nick Krug, Justin Lister, Bill Stephens

HUTCHINSON In 2022, the Cosmosphere celebrated 60 years since its inception. It all started when a woman named Patty Carey set up folding chairs and a used planetarium projector in a building on the Kansas State Fair Grounds, creating one of the first public planetariums in the Midwest. Four years later, the planetarium opened at Hutchinson Community College.

By 1980, a new 35,000-square-foot facility featured a planetarium, classrooms, and an early IMAX dome theater. A 1997 expansion added 70,000 square feet and a lobby that houses a flown SR-71 Blackbird. The next year, the Cosmosphere became one of the earliest Smithsonian Institution affiliates, formalizing its long-term relationship with the National Air & Space Museum. Today there’s a movie theater, planetarium, and a 1930s rocket lab experience.

The impressive Hall of Space Museum includes the world’s largest combined collection of U.S. and Russian space objects, and Apollo artifacts include a command module and a moon rock.

The massive easel that displays this giant reproduction of Van Gogh’s Three Sunflowers in a Vase ranked as the world’s largest when it was erected in 2001. At 80 feet tall and more than 40,000 pounds, the easel and 24-foot by 32-foot painting stand near Goodland’s downtown and Business Highway 24. Canadian painter Cameron Cross created Van Gogh painting replicas in locales that have a close connection to sunflower agriculture—such as Goodland— while trying to break a Guinness World Record. Other sites he chose with sunflower and/or Van Gogh connections include Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, South Africa, and Argentina.

The 10 layers of acrylic urethane enamel paint that Cross used for the project are inherently long-lasting while providing ultraviolet protection.

800.397.0330

785.296.2009

GOODLAND

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Go Feel Nicodemus

Nation’s Oldest and Only Remaining Black SettlementWest of the Mississippi River NICODEMUS Named for biblical figure Nicodemus, this town emerged in 1877 when 300 previously enslaved settlers from Kentucky arrived in the “Promised Land” of Kansas.

Their move was part of the country’s westward expansion during post-Civil War Reconstruction. In 1996, Nicodemus became a National Historic Site, and five historic buildings became a unit of the National Park System. They include the St. Francis Hotel/Switzer Residence, the historic First Baptist Church (still active), the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the School District Number 1 building and the Township Hall, which houses displays regarding the community’s history. These buildings are open Thursday through Monday, from 9 to 5, but the grounds are always open. Hear the personal story of one family’s connection to Nicodemus when you take a tour with LueCreasea Horn, a sixth-generation descendant of the community’s founders.

No matter when you visit, remember that Nicodemus remains a living, breathing community where people still live.

785.839.4233

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As I walked along the streets of the “Promised Land,” a community built in 1877 by formerly enslaved people, I could feel the Black homesteaders’ energy rising under my feet. A Black African American Kansan, I was awed by the challenges Nicodemus’ founders must have faced as they started their lives over in the rural Wild West.

In 1996, the remaining five original structures—the schoolhouse, the A.M.E. Church, St. Francis Hotel, Township Hall and the historic First Baptist Church—plus residents’ homes were declared units of the Nicodemus National Historic Site by the National Park Service. Nicodemus, according to the NPS, is the “oldest and only remaining all-Black settlement west of the Mississippi River.”

In the short two days I spent immersed in Nicodemus, I ran into tourists from across the country, from Olympia, Washington, to New Jersey. I spent time with park rangers Ms. LueCreasea and Mr. William, who shared their vast knowledge of and experiences with this historic town. Seeing the settlement firsthand and listening to their stories made the experience hit home. Defining this Black American settlement is one main core American ideal, the freedom to pursue life and liberty in a time when Jim Crow laws were codifying racism and segregation for Black populations in both the North and South. Migration of Exodusters, largely from the Georgetown, Kentucky, area, drew 300 such dreamers fueled by grit and determination.

I couldn’t help but think about Nicodemus’ founders in terms of the ways we follow our dreams today; these settlers built an entire thriving community without the tools we now have—networking and social media promotions, vast resources of information and communication at our fingertips. This community designed and set a new standard for working toward your dreams.

Predating early 20th-century Black movements and communities, such as the Harlem Renaissance or Oklahoma’s Black Wall Street, Nicodemus became a Midwestern Black mecca.

I was moved by the community’s strong faith and ability to do exactly what they needed not just to survive but to thrive and grow. I wondered, though, does Nicodemus retain that magic generated by the early settlers’ dreams and hard work? I was inspired to draw a few images and encountered Timothy L. Wellington, a descendant of those early founders and member of first Baptist Church in Nicodemus. Wellington was born in California but lived in Nicodemus until, as a preteen, his desire for an education became more important than remaining on the peaceful farmlands of Nicodemus. He later returned to Nicodemus, and, today, Mr. Wellington radiates his infectious love and pride in his family and community history.

Nicodemus’ population may be small these days, but low numbers can’t distort or minimize the beautiful stories of the people who escaped a legacy of bondage to reach a place they could call their own, a place to raise their own.

I felt a little of that magic as I walked down the main roads, watching the late afternoon light fade into an orange and pink sunset.

Was Nicodemus successful? It’s one of the greatest stories of an American community. Nicodemus proves that transformation and progress are possible, not just for Black communities but for all communities when residents work toward common goals. After 145 years, the descendants of Nicodemus still gather at the end of July for an annual weekend celebration highlighting their heritage, reconnecting to the land, and inviting others to learn about their proud history. I hope you make the visit no matter your background. I hope you, too, feel the magic as you walk this land that still whispers the love that gave these people a chance.

PHOTOGRAPH courtesy Jordan E. Brooks

By Jordan E. Brooks

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Morning Abecedarian with Dogs

Melissa Fite Johnson is the author of Green (Riot in Your Throat, 2021); A Crooked Door Cut into the Sky (Paper Nautilus Press, 2018), winner of the 2017 Vella Chapbook Award; and While the Kettle’s On (Little Balkans Press, 2015), a Kansas Notable Book. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, Pleiades, SWWIM, and elsewhere. Melissa and her husband live with their dogs in Lawrence, where she teaches high school English.

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All three dogs burrowed under our chins. All three dogs growl at the alarm.

Eventually, coffee and fruit. We delay going out, but look how happy it makes them, jostling out the kitchen door, running laps in the cold.

Muddy paws, but I never mind wiping them— oh, they stand so patiently, barely quivering as they raise one leg, then another.

Shower. Dress in the dark. Rush rush until you walk into my view, kiss me goodbye.

We can forget, X-ing off to-do lists, yawning, but this is the zenith of our lives. Yes, this.

—Melissa Fite Johnson

CHISHOLM TRAIL MUSEUM Open May thru November Call for current days of operation Hours: 1-5 PM

The Washington County State Fishing Lake is located 12 miles NW of Washington.

Fishing and Public Hunting.

502 N. Washington Wellington, KS 67152 620.326.3820 facebook.com/ctmuseum www.ctmuseumks.com

WASHINGTON

COUNTY TOURISM

785.325.2116 | washingtoncountyks.gov FISHING AND PUBLIC HUNTING

The Washington County State Fishing Lake is located 12 miles NW of Washington

We are accepting submissions for future KANSAS! Gallery sections.

For submission details, go online at travelks.com/kansas-magazine/ photography/submit-photography/ or send a query to editor-in-chief Andrea Etzel at andrea.etzel@ks.gov.

When uploading photos, please include a contact email or phone number.

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