MARGIE MCHALEY DESIGN
INSPIRING
WANT TO KEEP BIKING WITH MY FRIENDS AND RACING TO SHOW THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF YOU WORK HARD AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF”
As Eckert continues to train for his next challenge, he will undoubtedly inspire many more along the way. Adventure for All, the nonprofit organization that provided Eckert with an opportunity to shine, is dedicated to guiding individuals with exceptionalities through life-changing adventures while creating innovative educational practices that will ignite a shift in societal stigmas. Their motto is
SIX DECADES OF CHRISTMAS
BY ASHLEY WALKER
1123 Drury Lane.
The address may not ring a bell, but come December, the house on the corner of Drury Lane and Huntington Road is always a signal that Christmas is coming soon.
Quite likely the longest running and most expansive Christmas yard display in Em- poria’s history, Ron Slaymak- er and his late-wife Shirley, have been spreading holiday cheer by transforming their yard into a Christmas won- derland since they built their home on what was then the outskirts of town in 1963. With nearly 200 strands of lights and a vast collection of eclectic decorations, featuring both handcrafted and unique pieces from Emporia’s past, the home has become an icon in town during the holiday season for nearly six decades. A lot has changed in the neighborhood since the Slay- makers started developing the Christmas tableau 60 years ago. When he and Shir- ley first started, the roads around their house were dirt and they were only one of three houses in the area. To- day, their house is the center of the windy roads of Country Club Heights and it is still a regular stop for drivers from all over town making their an- nual tour through Emporia’s best holiday Passers-bydisplays. will certainly find the traditional Christmas symbols in the Slaymakers yard, like Baby Jesus, the Na- tivity, and Santa, his reindeer and Rudolph; but they won’t see inflatables, or moving characters often synonymous with much of today’s holiday merchandise. That’s because the Slaymakers have always loved and appreciated an- tique and vintage items that are reminders of yesteryear. “Both Shirley and I really gravitated to old things,” Ron said. “We grew up loving an- tiques.” One of the focal points of the Slaymaker Christmas display is a life-size vintage plywood Nativity scene, featuring cam- els, the town of Bethlehem and plenty of donkeys and sheep. The Slaymakers bought the hand painted set from New- man Department store when they went out of business in the late 1990s. Ron isn’t quite sure of it’s history but speculates that the Nativity was once used in the annual Emporia Schools Christmas Program in the 70s and 80s. Other pieces of the yard dis- play include an original black antique sleigh pulled by nine flying reindeer with Rudolph in the lead, of course.
MAGAZINE LAYOUT
Big Sky
By Morgan Chilson
Photos by Dave Leiker
PHOTOGRAPHY
