TOPEKA
TOPEKA’S PREMIER MAGAZINE ON PEOPLE, PLACES & STYLE
MAGAZINE
winter 2009/10
sledding!
The city’s best hills for winter thrills
The home at the heart of McFarland Farm
$3.00
Storytelling: Revive the tradition
Elegant garlands for the season
TOPEKAMAGAZINE
Vol. IV / No. 1
from the editor
Winter 09/10
publisher / Art Director
Darby Oppold Editor
There are two versions of any snowfall: an adult’s and a child’s.
Nathan Pettengill COPY EDITOR
susie fagan advertising representative
kathy lafferty (785) 224-9992 Designer
One has to do with beauty and removal; the other tends to focus on fun and accumulation. For this winter edition of Topeka Magazine, we’ve brought together the best of both versions. Our cover story on the city’s super sledding spots features Daniel W. Coburn’s photos and Jamie Borgman’s text to highlight the beauty and fun of a simple but fulfilling winter pastime. I imagine you probably know (and have even taken a few spills on) the hills that we highlight in our sledding story. But when was the last time you took a run down them and tasted the snow at the bottom? We are fortunate in Topeka to have four very distinct seasons and to have at least a few big snowfalls each winter to enjoy sledding (or to take a younger generation outside to watch them enjoy sledding). We are unfortunate, however, that simple events like sledding so often lose out to more pressing demands. With errands to run, events to attend and chores to do, who has time for sledding? Well, we hope you do. Consider this edition of Topeka Magazine as our reminder of things you might have forgotten—a child’s winter eye for the adult guy (or gal), if you will. Whether it’s sledding, picking out a holiday poinsettia, decorating a garland or telling a story around the family fireplace, this winter edition is full of fresh ideas for events and activities that you know well but might not have considered for a while.
Tamra Rolf
The people and homes in this edition also bring us an appreciation for treasures that could have been overlooked. The Hunters in College Hill tell us about how they created lasting holiday traditions once they made a choice to create a good life in the home that they had. The Lutzes in McFarland Farm describe building an ideal home and community by integrating the natural appeal of the land around them. Legal scholar Kelly Lynn Anders carves out an area of expertise by paying attention to a simple facet that was often ignored in professional careers. The holidays and new year are times when we traditionally set lofty goals for ourselves. And that’s admirable. But there should also be time to return to the things you already know to be rewarding. We hope reading this magazine is one of those things, and something that renews your appreciation for other time-tested traditions. We wish you good luck climbing your professional or personal mountains this year—and good landings at the bottom of each hill that you sled.
Ad Designers
shelly kemph Tamra Rolf Photographers
daniel W. coburn Jason Dailey Contributing Writers
jamie borgman anita miller fry stacey jo geier jeffrey ann goudie KIM GRONNIGER CAROLYN KABERLINE vernon mcfalls karen ridder FRANCIE FORRESTT RILEY christine steinkuehler debra Guiou stufflebean barbara waterman-peters GENERAL MANAGER
BERT HULL coordinator
faryle scott
Subscriptions
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Nathan Pettengill Editor
For subscription information, please contact:
Christopher J. Bell 609 New Hampshire st., P.O. Box 888, Lawrence, KS 66044 800-578-8748 / Fax (785) 843-1922 Or e-mail comments to topekamagazine@sunflower.com
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
1
Topeka. A Great Arts Town.
Topeka. A Great Arts Town.
Contents
Winter
on the cover
09/10
Sledders gather at Quinton Heights {Photography by Daniel W. Coburn}
28 The home at the heart of McFarland Farm 60 Storytelling: Revive the tradition 54 Elegant garlands for the season
Features 28 Gracious Farm Living
Joyce and Ron Lutz create a community around their home and a home in their community
42 Hit the Hills!
If it’s snowing, then it’s time to be sledding
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In Every Issue
01 From the Editor 64 events calendar
DEPARTMENTS .............
.............
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topeka businesses
Home LIfe
grow
8 Meat and Greet
34 Hunter Holiday Flair
52 Poinsettias
Deciding to practice what she preaches, Lynette Hunter transforms her home into a delightful Christmas display
One of the season’s most popular and well-known blooms can still surprise with a range of new colors and tones
Nature and creativity merge at Rock Bottom Farm
.............
54 Deck the Halls
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38 Comfort Corner
Two families bone up on catering to carnivores
12 Farm Haven
notables
16 Full Circle
Kevin Singer goes back to school in his hometown
20 Order in the Office Part Martha Stewart, part Perry Mason, Kelly Lynn Anders straightens up the lawyers
24 Looking Around
Artist Beverly Dodge Radefeld creates works that are intensely personal and accessible. She also doesn’t mind if you call some of them “dolls”
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
local flavor
Bradley’s serves up timeless tastes and traditions
The holidays begin with decorating—and few decorations are more classic than a garland .............
.............
For the Family
living well
58 The Subs
48 When Pizza is Heaven-Sent
A woman leaves the corporate world to bake better health— one crust at a time
We trust substitute teachers with our most precious loved ones. We ask them to ride to the rescue. And, in return, they get pranked
60 Once Upon a Time
Reading and telling stories can be a powerful connection for grandparents and their grandchildren
8 TOPEKA BUSINESSES Butchers
Meat and Greet Two families bone up on catering to carnivores
F
Following in his father’s footsteps, Jeff Herman butchers meat at his store in southwest Topeka.
or many people, meat comes in Styrofoam trays wrapped in supermarket plastic ready to be prepared for an evening meal or frozen for future use. But for those who want special cuts or custom processing, two northeast Kansas meat companies deliver, giving new meaning to the daily grind.
Herman’s
When Jeff Herman, owner of Herman’s Meat & Deli, was a boy, he stocked shelves and carried out groceries in a small North Topeka store that was owned by his parents, grandparents and an uncle. The shelves held cereal, soap, soup and other staples, but the heart and soul of the place was always the meat case. This is where shoppers congregated to consider dinner options and catch up with neighbors on family developments while their handpicked purchases were swaddled in butcher paper by someone who knew them on a first-name basis. Through observation and hands-on training from his elders, Herman learned the trade, from butchering meat and befriending customers to building a bustling business that fills a niche. “There was never any question about what I would do after high school,” laughs Herman. In 1990, Herman’s father opened a shop at 2825 SW Fairlawn and focused exclusively on providing meat selections.
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
STORY BY Kim Gronniger | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey
TOPEKA BUSINESSES
10 Butchers Kirsti Petesch heads a group of family and friends who specialize in customized processing.
In 1992, Herman’s cousin, Jim Herman, took over the North Topeka market. Herman became sole owner of the family business at the Fairlawn location in 2000 after the death of his dad and mentor, Eddie. “We worked side by side, and this is carrying on his legacy,” says Herman. “We all still miss him, and every day I’m here it’s like being at work with him.” Today, market specialties run the gamut from mainstream beef tenderloins and thick-cut pork chops to tongue, chicken gizzards and sliced head cheese to accommodate the comfort-food preferences of older patrons. The store also offers buffalo, hand-stuffed sausages, pork tamales and a selection of fresh-made sandwiches and barbecued meats served with potato salad, cole slaw and baked beans. Meat and cheese trays are popular for business lunches and informal gatherings for family and friends. Customers seeking flavor enhancements above and beyond salt-and-pepper simplicity shop the shelves for an extensive array of regionally produced barbecue and pasta sauces, salsas, marinades and rubs. Kits for homemade jerky and summer sausage are available too.
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Six days a week, Herman arrives at work between 6 and 7 a.m. to prepare meat for the store’s opening at 10 a.m. His business philosophy is simple. “Our business relies on customer service, quality meat and pricing,” he says. “We try to keep the prices fair with the market but step up the quality.” Many customers agree. On a recent Saturday morning Gilbert Katz, a cardiologist with Cardiology Consultants of Topeka PA, shopped with his sons at Herman’s as he’s done since moving to Topeka 13 years ago. “We’re getting the best meat in town, and the prices are really good,” he says. Herman, who employs nine people, notes one of the perks of growing up in a family business is the opportunity to get to know other families and see new generations of shoppers come to the store. “The hours are long, but it’s a friendly business,
and you get to know people and their kids, which is one of the most rewarding parts about doing this for a living.”
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best meat in town, and the prices are really good.” – Gilbert Katz “We’re getting the
Bowser
Another family meat business was born in 1990 when three siblings and a couple of their spouses decided to purchase Bowser Meat Processing in Meriden to create a livelihood with a sense of pur-
Like the Petesches, Herman has encountered new regulations for his family-owned butcher shop, but the techniques have been passed from generation to generation.
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but it’s a friendly business, and you get to know people and their kids, which is one of the most rewarding parts about doing this for a living.” “The hours are long,
– Jeff Herman
pose. Coming from various professional backgrounds, the Petesches slowly learned meat-processing techniques from a previous employee while adjusting to the daily proximity of so many close family members … well, so close. “It’s not easy to work with family,” laughs Kirsti Petesch. “We’ve had our share of spats, and sometimes we say things to each other that we would never, ever say to anyone else. But we like being our own bosses and working with customers, so that makes the hard work worthwhile.” Petesch admits the hours are long and the work is hard. “Turnover is high in this industry because it can be difficult work,” she says. But the former Blue Cross Blue
Shield employee says she takes pride in building a base of satisfied, repeat customers and gaining new business from wordof-mouth recommendations. She and her husband, Greg, his brother, Terry, and his sister, Cheryl Wellman, manage the business and do most of the work, but her in-laws, Gladys and Francis, also pitch in to clean and mow the property. Although Bowser Meat Processing has a small retail store, the bulk of the business comes from farmers and hunters who bring in beef, pork and deer for customized processing. “We slaughter and butcher meat for farmers for their own use and also for customers they may have sold the meat to,” says Petesch. “A lot of time they know what they want done, but sometimes we help them determine which cuts of meat would work best.” While standard cuts of meat and butchering techniques haven’t changed much since the Petesches bought their business, regulations, cleanliness standards and compliance inspections have increased significantly since 2000. “It’s really good for consumers, because we’re required to do a lot more testing for E. coli and salmonella. So people who get meat here know they’re getting high-quality products,” says Petesch.
Bowser’s busiest time of year is deer season when hunters drop off deer to be processed not only for their own consumption but also to help feed the poor through food pantries in northeast Kansas. “People really appreciate that we offer this service to them,” says Petesch. “We grind it and take it to several food banks right here in the area to help families out.”
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Herman’s Meat & Deli 2825 SW Fairlawn Road (785) 273-8481 www.hermansmeat.com ...............................................................................................................
Bowser Meat Processing 513 S. Palmberg, Meriden (785) 484-2454
TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
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12 TOPEKA BUSINESSES Rock Bottom Farm
farm haven Nature and creativity merge at Rock Bottom Farm
S
Shirley and Chuck Linn bought a “run-down” farm in the late 1970s. More than 20 years and countless projects later, it is now a comfortable retreat for inspiration and family gatherings.
hirley Linn has found a mecca for peace, quiet—and artistic pursuits. At Rock Bottom Farm, in the rolling terrain of southeast Shawnee County, Shirley and husband Chuck have transformed a dilapidated farmstead into a comfortable artist’s haven. The Linns bought the property, a farmstead dating to the 1860s, in 1977 when they were working in Topeka. Shirley was a curriculum specialist at Capital City High School before retiring in 1991 and Chuck worked at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment before he retired in 1994. They lived in the city and spent their weekends at the farm. “Everything was run-down,” Shirley recalls. They spent 12 years repairing the place with Chuck serving as the “brains and muscles” behind all of the work, according to Shirley. After living in town for 31 years, the couple eventually moved to the farm and took up a life of endless renovation possibilities and artistic pursuits.
Farm fundamentals
The farm’s renovation started with Chuck redoing the very base of the approximately 150-year-old stone farmhouse. He replastered walls and sealed out the winter elements. After this, he added a large addition with a family room, kitchen and garage. The outbuildings were in dismal shape, so Chuck began work to save them.
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
STORY BY Anita Miller Fry | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Daniel W. Coburn
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TOPEKA BUSINESSES
14 Rock Bottom Farm
A log cabin was donated to Ward-Meade Historic Site’s Old Prairie Town, where it was restored. Another building at the farm, an old grainery, was leaning to the southeast. Chuck gave the building a new foundation, new siding and more. “He thought it was going to be his, but I got it,” Shirley says. The building became Shirley’s Grainery Studio, which holds her work and often hosts meetings of the Topeka Weavers Guild. It could be said that Chuck himself was responsible for losing this comfortable retreat to his wife—he started it all with a loom. Leading looms
“I have always been fascinated with art,” Shirley says. As a child, she sewed and made doll clothes, inspired by her mother, whom she describes as a “wonderful seamstress.” About the time the Linns’ children, two boys, were grown up and leaving home, Chuck bought a broken loom at a Menninger sale and left it in the garage for Shirley to find. “It looked like it had no promise to me,” she says. Chuck encouraged her to take a weaving class while he took the loom out for repairs. “It didn’t appeal to me at all,” Shirley says. But she tried one class, and then another. “I was addicted by the second les-
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
son. I was thrilled by the time the loom was in the house,” she remembers. She set up her loom in the studio, learned how to spin and joined the weavers guild. Then came another loom. Thankfully she also had fiber-bearing critters: angora rabbits and angora goats. Animals among us
For a while, the farm was home to Evalina, the sheep who thought she was a goat. “I have no idea why, but she saw the goats and thought she was one of them,” Shirley explains. “The goats saw her and would run away, but she kept following them. It was rather pathetic.” Her wool is now in a wall hanging that Shirley made, and Evalina moved on to another home—without goats. Today Rock Bottom Farm houses a rabbit, a dog and six goats. The goats are sheared at least once a year, sometimes twice. Chuck always does it in early fall so the animals have time to grow back some hair before winter. Once the goat hair has been sheared, it is washed multiple times to get the fiber clean. Shirley uses the hair in her woven wall hangings and some is made into mohair yarn in natural earth tones. The angora rabbits are regularly brushed to get the hair, which can be spun without additional preparation.
Shirley creates wool jackets, mohair rugs, scarves, hats and other items from her Grainery Studio on the farm.
Art adapts
When health issues forced Shirley to use her hands less, she concentrated on other artistic pursuits. She began painting with watercolors and quilting, dying much of the fabric. She took watercolor workshops sponsored by the Topeka Art Guild and lessons from Diane Lawrence, the late Bob Ault and Libby Schmanke. She broadened her skills and become part of several organizations: the Topeka guild, Kaw Valley Fiber Guild, Topeka Art Guild, Lawrence Art Guild and Lawrence Arts Center. Shirley has also made soap from her goats’ milk, with herbs from her garden and essential oils. She sells these in fragrances from Sunflower to Lavender Oatmeal as part of her Nannah Linnsoap line. Even with all this work, Rock Bottom Farm mostly is home for Shirley and Chuck, and during the winter holidays for their extended family. They have a tradition of gathering at the farm between Christmas and New Year’s, with the grainery and other outbuildings becoming “home” for the extended family, including their six grandchildren. When the guests have left, daily life at the farm provides Shirley with inspiration to create pieces of art and Chuck with woodworking and renovation projects. At Rock Bottom Farm, Shirley says, there is “always a project, maybe 10 or 12.”
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Angora rabbits
Angora rabbits are bred mainly for the long, soft hair that gives these domestic rabbits the appearance of a fur ball. Angoras require regular brushing and grooming to keep their fur from matting or felting. Their fur can be collected and spun into soft yarn. Shirley Linn has raised English Angoras, the smallest type of Angora rabbits.
Angora goats Angora goats have long, curly hair that can be spun into yarn. The domestic goats are sheared once or twice a year. The fleece from their shearing is mohair, which comes in white, black, gray, silver, red and brown. Angora goats like to eat grasses, and the Linns’ goats prefer well-seasoned hay.
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Rock Bottom Farm 7451 SE 61st Tecumseh www.rockbottomfarm.com
16 NOTABLES Kevin Singer
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Singer earned a master’s degree; and like his two brothers, he went on to finish a Ph.D. Like his sister,
Full Circle Kevin Singer goes back to school in his hometown
T
Kevin Singer has returned to Topeka to direct the same school system that gave him his grade school education.
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
opeka Public Schools promotional materials proclaim: “You can get there from here.” The line, borrowed from Highland Park High School principal Dale Cushinberry, could apply to a 1972 graduate of Cushinberry’s school—Kevin Singer. But for Singer, appointed superintendent of Topeka’s 31 public schools in 2008, it might best be modified as “You can get there—and back—from here.” Singer grew up in Topeka. His father worked for the state of Kansas designing roads while his mother was a mapmaker for Kansas Power & Light Co., now Westar Energy. He describes them as “engineer-technicians” who didn’t have the financial resources to go to college themselves but emphasized the value of education to their children. As an education major at Washburn University, Singer graduated in 1976. He remembers international relations teacher James McHenry, now development director at the Topeka and Shawnee County Library, and history teacher Bill Wagnon, recently on the Kansas State Board of Education, as exceptional instructors, among others. Like his sister, Singer earned a master’s degree; and like his two brothers, he went on to finish a Ph.D. From school districts in Topeka, Lindsborg, Hutchinson, Derby, Garden City and Shawnee Mission in Kansas to GrapevineColleyville in Texas and, most recently, Manheim Township in Pennsylvania, Singer has climbed a ladder of responsibility and success. Yet the accomplished superintendent is disarmingly humble. Reflecting on his beginnings as a kindergarten, first- and sixthgrade teacher in Auburn-Washburn schools, Singer says he’s not sure how good he was at teaching reading or math, but he hopes the students knew he cared about them. Returning to his hometown last year after working more than 25 years elsewhere, the father of three grown children has
STORY BY Jeffrey Ann Goudie | PHOTOGRAPHY by Daniel W. Coburn
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18 NOTABLES Kevin Singer
been surprised by how many former students remember him. Yet he also has impressive recall of them. On opening day of school in August 2009 at Meadows Elementary, Singer greeted students. A local television station was filming, and a mother approached Singer and said he had been her kindergarten teacher. Singer remembered. Putting him on the spot, she asked what he remembered about her. He recalled that when she showed up for school, she could already read, a fairly unusual trait for an incoming kindergartner. “You do remember,” she said. When Singer was introduced to the 2,600 district employees, it was by Tori Foy-Dreyer, a public relations professional who had Singer as a firstgrade teacher. In an interview, Foy-Dreyer said Singer was “fantastic.” She recalled that the students built a sod house and teepee, and that he played guitar. “He made our class into a family,” she says. Singer says he always felt one of his “missions in life was to teach young children,” a belief strengthened by student-teaching kindergarten at East Indianola Elementary School in the Seaman school district with Sue Buchanan. “I fell in love with teaching young children,” says Singer, “watching her interact and seeing what she could do.” Male classroom teachers in elementary school were a rarity then as today. Buchanan recalls Singer as the only male student-teacher she ever had. “The children really took to him,” says the retired educator. “Since so many of our children came from one-parent homes, the children loved to be with him. He played with them.” Last fall Singer spoke at a luncheon for retired school personnel and mentioned the song Buchanan sang at the end of class. An audience member asked him to sing it. He invited Buchanan, in attendance, to join him. On the spot they sang The Goodbye Song in front of a crowd of about 200 people. Singer describes his career moves as a mixture of serendipity and coincidence. When he was superintendent of Texas’ Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, he helped restore a Huey helicopter that’s now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
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Topeka, Lindsborg, Hutchinson, Derby, Garden City and Shawnee Mission From school districts in
in Kansas to Grapevine-Colleyville in Texas and, most recently, Manheim Township in Pennsylvania,
Singer has climbed a ladder of responsibility and success.
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
Invited to a ceremonial dinner in Washington, D.C., for the helicopter’s arrival, he made a side trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he and his family had never been. He and his wife, Sally, a registered nurse, were charmed by the area. The next day he got a call about a superintendent opportunity in Pennsylvania. “We moved there, and it was probably one of the best moves that I made. I have several best moves,” laughs Singer. His time with the Manheim Township School District gave him a tangible symbol of accomplishment in a structure he helped design. Using skills perhaps gained years ago while working part time in college at the utility mapping department where his mother had worked, Singer drew up tentative plans for the high school and helped sell it to the community. The new building surrounds the old structure and has 16-inch-thick walls, solar panels and geothermal radiant heat, among other green features. When Hannah Bartges, president of the Manheim Township School Board, addressed the graduating Class of 2008, she saluted Singer, who had by then resigned. Bartges said: “Our beautiful, functional high school is your legacy to Manheim Township. … Those who have worked with you and those who will follow after us will continue to marvel at the wisdom and the practicality of your vision.” This practical visionary has forward-looking ideas for the 166-acre grounds the Topeka district purchased at the location of the former Topeka State Hospital. Singer waxes enthusiastic about the grasslands and varieties of trees. Singer’s love for nature extends to his interest in bicycling. As he circles the neighborhoods of Topeka, this locally educated educator might reflect on a career that has taken him full circle.
20 NOTABLES Kelly Lynn Anders
Order in
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the office
Part Martha Stewart, part Perry Mason, Kelly Lynn Anders straightens up the lawyers
“Clients can make
judgments about competency based on how your office appears.” – kelly lynn anders
K
elly Lynn Anders is a self-proclaimed stacker. She knows this because she wrote the book on stackers—literally. Anders, associate dean for student affairs at Washburn University School of Law, authored the book, The Organized Lawyer. Released in January 2009, it outlines four major organizational personality types that, when identified, assist lawyers and other professionals to maintain a more organized workspace. Anders labels the four—stackers, spreaders, free spirits and pack rats—as behavioral habits that provide the key to organizing an individual’s personal space and approach to business. “The types are to identify how people naturally live among their things,” says Anders. “Knowing your tendencies under stress helps you to be realistic.”
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The inspiration for Anders’ book was born while she attended Pepperdine University School of Law. In many ways, the book reflects the author. It emulates Anders’ polished demeanor and poised conversational personality. The Organized Lawyer defines order in the office space and crystallizes how to make changes. The inspiration for Anders’ book was born while she attended Pepperdine University School of Law. “I saw there was a void in the classes and literature,” says Anders. “The model rules of professional conduct say lawyers should be organized and diligent, but there is no specific instruction in the typical law school curriculum about how to accomplish Kelly Lynn Anders is an author, adviser, teacher, confidante, sometimes disciplinarian and self-proclaimed “stacker.”
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
STORY by Francie Forrestt Riley | PHOTOGRAPHY BY jason dailey
22 NOTABLES Kelly Lynn Anders
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Each evening, Anders spends her last five minutes at work straightening her office so that she arrives in the morning to a clean environment.
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As you would expect from the woman who wrote the book on efficient personal workspace, Anders has created an office that is bright, inviting and organized.
these goals. There is an exposure to these rules, but there is no particular guideline on the day-to-day following of them.” The Organized Lawyer has won favorable reviews from within the legal profession, such as a strong write-up in the Tennessee Bar Journal, and its reception has gratified Anders. “I’m a driven person,” she notes. “I’ve been delighted by the reception from the legal community and the community at large.” Anders believes an organized workspace speaks to more than efficiency. “Clients can make judgments about competency based on how your office appears,” says Anders. For her work space, Anders likes an environment that is cozy and accessible but also professional and conducive to multitasking. “In my role as associate dean of students, I wear many hats,” says Anders. “I’m adviser, teacher, confidante, disciplinarian when necessary and administrator.” She also manages an externship program, placing students outside the law school for course credit. All these duties mean that organization is paramount in her work. Each evening, Anders spends her last five minutes at work straightening her office so that she arrives in the morning to a clean environment. This allows her to begin the day by checking her voice mail, e-mail and appointment calendar for the day’s schedule. Sitting in her office, Anders thumbs though her business card holder to confirm some contact information. “I have my business cards alphabetized,” she smiles.
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
Four types of order
Kelly Lynn Anders identifies four office-organizing types in her book, The Organized Lawyer. “Not everyone prioritizes about what the eye needs to feel relaxed,” says Anders. “Some ideas work for some and not for others. That’s why it’s important to know your type.”
Stackers organize by topic in stacks. They are visual and tactile and like to give the appearance of order. The busier these people are, the more stacks they have.
Spreaders are visual like stackers but must be able to see everything they’re working on. Free Spirits keep very few
personal belongings around the work area. They like new ideas and keep reports, books, articles and magazines near.
Pack Rats have emotional ties to things. They like the feeling of fullness around them and like to tell stories about what’s in the office. None of these types are worse or better than others, says Anders, but the worst traits of each type come out when a person is under stress or hit by a strong workload. Knowing your type can help you recognize what to watch for around your workspace and allow you to head off cluttering habits that could reduce your efficiency.
24 NOTABLES Beverly Dodge Radefeld
looking
around
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delight, provoke and inspire;
Her art pieces
Artist Beverly Dodge Radefeld creates works that are intensely personal and accessible. She also doesn’t mind if you call some of them “dolls”
their exquisite craftsmanship
fascinates the viewer with the wonder of their creation.
O
n a chilly, cloudy day, Beverly Dodge Radefeld drives us through Topeka and to her semisecluded house surrounded by trees and silence at the end of a long lane. A sense of calm pervades as she leads us into the home and through her husband’s orderly workspace. Then, chuckling, Radefeld throws open the door to her studio, revealing a riot of color, texture and works in progress that occupy every surface: shelves, boxes, tables and cabinets. Fabrics, feathers, paint and treasures of every sort are crammed among books, papers and equipment. As the awards displayed on her studio walls attest, Radefeld is an accomplished artist in many mediums, with each art form speaking to her in a different manner. She says color attracts her to painting while movement fascinates her in sculpture. Early influences on her style were Royce Fleming at Topeka West High School and Edward Navone at Washburn University, where she studied drawing and painting before receiving her bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1968. To this day, Radefeld continues painting as well as weaving, felting, basket-making and papermaking. But a personal tragedy shifted her focus as an artist and led to the creation of works for which she is perhaps most noted. When her oldest son, Aaron, became ill with leukemia, Radefeld made puppets for the children in the hospital. They were intricate creations with removable hair and limbs. After Aaron died, Radefeld learned more doll-making techniques at the Osage County Quilt Factory, then an Overbrookbased quilt and art center run by national quilt artist Virginia Robertson. Radefeld’s dolls, primarily for play up until then, became soft sculptures to express her grief. One of Radefeld’s most poignant soft sculptures is called The Mother. A nude female figure grasps a dragon. At her feet are the prescription bottles from Aaron’s illness and behind her are the words, “God, please make it a dream.” The vulnerability of the
As an artist, Beverly Dodge Radefeld draws on many experiences and skills. One of these is sewing, a lifelong hobby that she shared with her mother and that she describes as “a point of connection” between them.
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TOPEKAMAGAZINE Winter 2009/10
STORY BY Barbara Waterman-Peters | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey
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26 NOTABLES Beverly Dodge Radefeld
Though best know for her dolls such as Turning 50, right, Radefeld works on many projects in many different mediums from her studio.
woman is emphasized by her lack of clothing or protection. This sculpture has been shown nationally and used in medical lectures. Since that first soft sculpture, Radefeld has continued with different themes and tones. Some of the pieces reflect women’s issues. Turning 50 is such a work. A nude woman on one knee tries to push her way out of a plastic box, “feeling trapped by the restless, unstopping enemy of age. As you get older you look at life gone by and realize you need to escape the box you have closed yourself into.” Examples celebrating joy and humor at the other end of the emotional spectrum are Fly Away, which features a clown in a brightly patterned airplane forever in motion, Double Balance, with two acrobats, and Oops! with two clowns and the ubiquitous wheelbarrow. Russell, her younger son, as well as her husband Bob, help in the creation of the “really big challenges” such as engineering the kinetic qualities of the some of the figures. Radefeld says it really doesn’t matter what people call these creations. “Talking to men, I refer to ‘soft sculptures,’” she explains, “and with women I say ‘dolls’ because women understand.” Whatever their name, her creations have been shown all over the world, including Japan and Great Britain. Radefeld and her work have been featured in a documentary film, The Art of the Dollmaker, as well as in several publications. Her art pieces delight, provoke and inspire; their exquisite craftsmanship fascinates the viewer with the wonder of their creation. “I’m never happy with the result,” Radefeld says, “never satisfied.” That’s not surprising coming from an artist of such immense talent who is always working on the next sculpture, always perfecting her craft. Her inspi-
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ration comes from her materials but is usually found in ideas. “I use my own experiences,” she says. Her well-known sculpture, Puff, the Magic Dragon, was done for a fundraiser at the Great Overland Station, and one life-size soft sculpture of a woman startled viewers at the Alice C. Sabatini Art Gallery at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library during the 2006 exhibit, “Figures in Fiber.” However, the artist usually creates the figures about 2 feet high. “I don’t like tiny and I don’t like big!” she says. Radefeld apparently also doesn’t like standing still as an artist. She has been producing free-form baskets incorporating bits of nature, as does her weaving. Her interest in painting was rekindled after a workshop with Kim Casebeer and Cally Krallman. “You just have to look around Kansas,” Radefeld says, to see things to paint. And judging from the wonderland of her studio, the possibilities appear endless.
Gracious
fa r m l i v i n g
Joyce and Ron Lutz create a community around their home and a home in their community Stacey Jo Geier photography by Jason Dailey story by
Sitting at the stoplight at SW 10th and Gage Boulevard in central Topeka, the hustle and bustle of the city is at full tilt with traffic, retail venues, fast food chains and the Topeka Zoo nearby. But take a short jaunt to the west and the hubbub of the city vanishes as a clearing appears and a beautiful neighborhood emerges. Harried drivers slow and gaze at the manicured landscaping, winding trails, fishing ponds and old-world European architecture. A statue of horses greets residents and welcomes guests into the residential community of McFarland Farm. “The bronze horses at the entrance just make us feel like we are coming home,” says Joyce Lutz, one of the principal developers of the neighborhood. Created in 2001, the development was named after the area’s original McFarland Farm owned by Dr. Kenneth McFarland, who bred and sold championship Tennessee Walking Horses on the land. Joyce and her partners aimed to preserve that rural atmosphere as they created a master plan for an entire neighborhood. The plan included 82 lots in maintenancefree gated communities. These are divided into sections: The Villas, with European-style, unified architectural themes, and a newer section, The Reserve, with more
individualized construction. The area where the Lutzes currently live, The Estates, features customized homes on 69 lots that are an acre or more in size. McFarland Farm homes have access to community walking trails, three well-stocked fishing ponds and a pool. Most of the homes throughout McFarland Farm are built by Heritage Homes, a construction firm owned by Joyce’s son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Cathy Lutz. “What we have accomplished at McFarland Farm is a standard of quality craftsmanship and innovative design,” says Joyce. “From the woodwork, the masonry and the faux work, it takes dedication to craft a sense of pride.” “ Yo u h av e t o e n j oy nat u r e t o e n j oy M c Fa r l a n d Fa r m . ” – j oyc e l u t z
Joyce and her husband, Ron, who works as chairman of the board for Peoples Financial Group, moved into their first McFarland Farm home in 2001. In 2008 they relocated to a customized home in The Estates that combines the look of country French and English architecture with early craftsmanship. “The use of trusses and stonework creates a timeless look,” says Joyce.
❱❱❱ The elegant interior of the Lutz home is decorated with pastoral motifs, including a weather vane topped by a horse figure that echoes artist Veryl Goodnight’s statue of two Tennessee Walking Horses-Spring and Sprite-that stands at the entrance of McFarland Farm.
The couple spend most of their time on the main floor, where the kitchen is placed close to the sitting room “so we can enjoy each other’s company,” says Ron. But the rest of the home, explains Ron, was designed with gatherings in mind. “Our goal in building this house was to have enough space to fill it with family,” he says. The home’s lower level is a dedicated recreation area for movies, games, cards, Bunco or pool. The home’s second level holds four guest suites with full bathrooms and a hobby room designed for reading, knitting and wrapping packages.
As for the decor, the Lutzes honor their ancestors, grandchildren and travel experiences around every corner. Antiques, quilts, photographs and artwork from around the world are constant reminders of family experiences they have created together over a lifetime. A grandsons’ room is decorated as a tribute to their interest in skiing and reminder of a previous Colorado home owned by the couple. “We tried to bring in the feel of the mountains of Colorado in his room,” says Joyce. The granddaughters’ suite highlights Joyce’s grandmother’s love of quilting with sunny yellow walls and handmade quilts draped on the beds.
❱❱❱ The home’s main kitchen was placed next to the central sitting room so that meal preparations do not interrupt conversations. Ron Lutz, right, says his goal for the spacious home is “to fill it with family.”
❱❱❱ Competitive games such as billiards and Bunco are big draws on the home’s lower level, but comfortable seating by the fireplace and at the bar also creates a relaxing atmosphere.
An expansive brick patio borders the back of the home and overlooks a tree-lined lot and garden. This is where the connection to the land’s past is most evident. “You have to enjoy nature to enjoy McFarland Farm,” says Joyce. “We still have deer come up and visit us in the backyard. Geese and ducks enjoy the three stocked fishing ponds in the neighborhood as well.” All of these are appreciated by the residents, who have walking groups and gather on occasion for lunch or dinner. This, as much as the comforts of home, is a reward to the homeowners with a personal commitment in their neighborhood. “It is evolving into a tight-knit, caring neighborhood where we just enjoy spending time together,” says Joyce.
34 HOME LIFE The Hunter home
Hunter
Holiday Flair
Deciding to practice what she preaches, Lynette Hunter transforms her home into a delightful Christmas display
S
ome people have a natural flair for decorating. Lynette Hunter has an eye for putting just the right object in just the right place. When guests pass through the front door of her home, they have no doubt that “’tis the season.” Lynette and her husband, John, have been celebrating the holidays from their old Colonial home in the 1800 block of SW Webster Avenue since they purchased it in 1986. Sixteen years later, the Hunters contemplated moving out of the house that was built by Bruce Warner and formerly the residence of Ed Saylor and family. Children Ryan and Heather were grown by 2002, and the couple thought the timing might be right for a new home— until they realized that even a brand-new home would have to be repainted or renovated to suit their tastes. “I decided we needed to practice what I always preach to my clients: Do to your home whatever will make you happy,” says Lynette, a real estate agent for Kirk & Cobb. “We loved our house, but we wanted a bigger room for entertaining. We decided that
........................................................................................................
stand still
“If I long enough, i’m afraid that John and Lynette Hunter create a festive atmosphere for themselves and their guests.
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Lynette will put a bow on me.” – john hunter
story by Debra Guiou Stufflebean | photography by Jason Dailey
whether or not we ever get our money back from an addition was beside the point. We had a great start on having everything we’d ever wanted right where we were.” Being able to bring the outdoors in was important to Lynette, who is an avid gardener, so the Hunters turned an upstairs breezeway into a balcony overlooking a new 18-foot by 20-foot garden room. They then installed several windows and French doors that open onto a brick patio complete with a statue of David who dons a Christmas wreath during the holidays. John, whose work as a theater professor at Washburn University has given him a good appreciation for dramatic costuming, laughingly says, “If I stand still long enough, I’m afraid that Lynette will put a bow on me.” Indeed, Lynette adds a touch of Christmas throughout the home: mirrors are draped with garland, balls, ribbon and tassels; accent chairs hold large gold pinecones and berries or nostalgic pictures from yesteryear; a dressing screen is a backdrop for gilded fruit, glass orbs and a specialty pillow of red roses. Lynette likes to decorate a room with colors that may not be traditional for the holidays but accentuate the room’s usual color scheme. The dining room, for example, has plaid drapery panels of purple, green and gold, so ribbons on the wreaths are made to match these colors. An antique candleabra is heavily laden with greenery that anchors gold balls descended on fishing line. Below, large crystal baskets serve as candle sconces. When the candles are lit and the lights are turned low, the balls seem to become orbs floating in their own galaxy.
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36 HOME LIFE The Hunter home
The Hunter home's plain Colonial exterior contains numerous holiday surprises.
Another secret to Lynette’s holiday decorating is to use favorite existing furnishings and spruce them up so they shine during the holidays. A solid wood golden swan that John carried home from a trip to Marburg village in Australia, for example, becomes the focal point for the living room when displayed in front of the fireplace. “For all we know,” says John, “it could have come from a carnival wagon. It was a door stop at an antique shop that Lynette just couldn’t live without.” On the mantel above the swan sit a pair of fir trees that draw the eye to a large painting by Topeka artist Phil Hershberger. “I’m as bad as Lynette,” says John. “When something speaks to you—well, this painting took precedence over getting a broken dishwasher fixed.” The energy Lynette has for decorating carries through to her entertaining. For years when John was chairman of his department, the Hunters hosted its annual Christmas party. John and Lynette furnished the meat and drinks while others brought side dishes. How long the party lasted varied from year to year, so one year Lynette actually put on the invitation that the party ended when artist Larry Peters decided to go home. On Christmas Day, the Hunters’ hospitality extends to family and close friends. From the moment the front door opens, Lynette, John and their old Colonial embrace guests with love and good cheer. “Happy Holidays!” from the Hunters’ home to yours.
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“I decided we needed to practice what I always preach to my clients: Do to your home
whatever will make you happy.”
– Lynette Hunter
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Local Flavor
Localflavor
bradley’s corner cafe
38
ComfortCorner Bradley’s serves up timeless tastes and traditions
Bradley’s
Corner Cafe at North Laurent Street and Kansas Avenue inhabits what used to be a bank. Long, tall windows allow light to pour into an interior that is narrow and long with banking-era marble lining the sides from about the waist down. Above the marble are bright sunflower yellow walls with narrow Mexicanscene murals from a previous culinary incarnation. The overall effect is, somehow, of a small-town diner in Anywhere, U.S.A. And the food is just as classic. The café does not serve visual presentations of “haute cuisine,” but down-to-earth, richly satisfying food—“comfort food,” as owner Brad Jennings calls it. There is a pan-fried chicken special every Tuesday, PBJs for the kids, 40 pies on the menu and everything in between. Sitting in one booth with the pan-fried special is Mike Kozubek,
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a retired UPS recruiter whose work took him all over the state. “If I didn’t live in the area, this would be on my list of places to visit while in Topeka. Sometimes you get a yen for some home-cooked food … you know, and this is it,” says Mike. That’s the same meal that Donna Hilmes-Hurn and Kent Hurn, a few seats away, chose on this day. “Absolutely delicious, with generous portions,” was Donna’s verdict. And the same comment about the atmosphere: “friendly, homey like a small-town restaurant.” It’s tough to buck the feeling of the small-town diner—not that you’d want to. As Mike says, maybe that is because North Topeka’s Kansas Avenue feels decidedly nonurban, like the archetypal Main Street of many small towns. And like many of these local eateries, the café takes its name from the person who doesn’t only own it, but runs it, cooks in it and puts his life into it. In this case, that would be Brad Jennings.
From the time he was 17, this Topeka native worked in many restaurants that longtime Topekans will remember: Denny’s, Howard Johnson’s, Tommy’s, Village Inn, Dorothy’s Kitchen and DiPasquale’s. He was able to open his
STORY BY Vernon McFalls | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Daniel W. Coburn
Brad Jennings, holding pie, and his son Jason take pride in serving homemade, traditional foods.
first café in 1985, bringing his ideas about food into his own kitchen. “If something doesn’t meet my expectations, we’ll throw it away,” says Brad. “Everything we do here, we make ourselves: our chicken-fried steaks, salmon patties, dinner rolls. We cut our own steaks. We shave our own meats. If I’m going to have chicken and noodles for a special, I’ll make my own noodles.” In case you are counting, yes, that would add up to a lot of hours. The staff estimates Brad puts in about 80 hours each week. Good thing he lives at the apartment in the back of the restaurant—even his commute is small-town. Brad notes another reward in running his café for so many years is the chance to win over generations of regulars. “I’ve had families I’ve been feeding since 1985, now coming in with their grandchildren. One family, the little daughter always wanted a grilled peanut butter sandwich. Now she has kids of her own and they stop in. That’s what makes this business neat,” he says. Like his customers, Brad’s staff stays with him for an unusually long time in an industry where quick turnover is the norm. Dawn Montgomery, for example, has been at the restaurant for nearly 13 years. “He’s always taken care of us,” says Dawn. Of course, if you grow close to your staff and customers over time, you also notice their losses. “You’ll have couples that come in year after year, and then one day he or she will come in without the other,” says Brad. “You want to go out and ask. … You know it hurts when that happens.” Maybe that’s another reason he calls it “comfort food.”
It’s the center of it all Downtown Topeka Explore it at www.downtowntopeka.com
DTI Shopping Dining Work Entertainment Living
515 S Kansas Suite A Topeka, KS 66603 785.234.9336
H i s t o r i c C e n t e r o f To p e k a a n d K a n s a s
december, january, february December 3 6-9am to 4 pm-Kansas Expocentre. Decorated holiday trees, entertainment and silent auction.
First Friday Art Walk
December 4, January 1, February 5 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Topeka calendar
www.downtowntopekainc.com
Festival of Trees
Star Gazing
December 11 7pm to 8pm-Topeka Public Library, Main Marvin Auditorium.
Classic Film Series
December 11, January 8, February 12 2pm to 5pm-Topeka Performing Arts Center, Main Marvin Auditorium.
Ballet Midwest’s The Nutcracker December 18-19 8pm-Topeka Performing Arts Center.
“The World Will Move: Civil Rights and Public Transportation” Traveling Exhibit January 1-31 9am to 5pm-Brown vs. Board of Education Museum. Free exhibit illustrating the circumstances surrounding the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court “separate but equal” doctrine in 1892.
Playhouse Disney Live!
February 13 1:30pm and 4:30pm-Topeka Performing Arts Center
Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen with the Tommy Ruskin Trio February 14 3pm to 5pm-Topeka Downtown Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, Topeka Jazz Workshop, Inc 41st Annual Concert Season
14th Annual Kansas Silent Film Festival February 26-27 Washburn University Campus
$1,307
It may not look any different than your existing air conditioner, but install a high-efficiency heat pump system (15 S.E.E.R. or higher), and you’ll definitely see the difference when lower energy bills arrive.
ANNUAL HEATING & COOLING COSTS:
Calculations based on a 1,400-square-foot home using current Westar Energy rates, average natural gas rates and gas furnace with an 80% annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating. Heating and cooling costs vary based on home size, the number of occupants and a variety of other factors.
$1,087 $879
Existing gas furnace and 8 S.E.E.R. A/C
Existing gas furnace with new 15 S.E.E.R. A/C
Existing gas furnace with new hybrid (add-on) 15 S.E.E.R. heat pump
$747 New full (all-electric) 18 S.E.E.R. heat pump
$573 New full geothermal 18 S.E.E.R. heat pump
YEAR-ROUND COMFORT. YEAR-ROUND SAVINGS.
Install a full heat pump system, or team a hybrid (add-on) heat pump with your existing furnace, for comfort, efficiency and economy at all outside temperatures. In the summer, the heat pump system works just like an air conditioner, taking the heat from inside your home and pumping it outside. In the cooler months, the heat pump is your primary heating source, drawing heat from the outside air and pumping it into your home. On extremely cold days, a full heat pump, along with electric heating strips comfortably warms your home. When a hybrid heat pump needs assistance to warm your home, it automatically switches over to your furnace.
FULL OR HYBRID?
If you existing furnace needs to be replaced, consider upgrading your A/C at the same time with a full heat pump system. If your existing furnace doesn’t need to be replaced, but your A/C is old and inefficient, consider replacing it with a hybrid heat pump, which can work with a gas or propane furnace.
DeBacker’s Inc.
& UI 4USFFU t or email us at debackerhvac@aol.com
www.downtowntopekainc.com
DeBacker’s Inc.
story by
Jamie Borgman
Hit the Hills! If it’s snowing, then it’s time to be sledding
photography by
Daniel W. Coburn
T
he first glimpse of snow often brings a gleam to a child’s eyes. It comes in anticipation of one of the greatest childhood activities: sledding.
Andy Rowzer with daughter Jessica Rowzer
When the snow starts falling, sledders big and little start piling on the layers. “I usually put on three pairs of socks, a couple of shirts,” sledding enthusiast Dylan Kennedy says as he attempts to keep warm at the top of the hill. Nine-year-old Dylan believes there’s nothing quite like the rush of sledding. “It’s awesome,” he exclaims. “When you go fast down the hill and you pick up a lot of speed and the wind is blowing in your face, it feels really cool.” Dylan’s dad, Sean Kennedy, loves taking his three children out to sled any chance he can. “It’s a great opportunity to create a memory with your kids,” he says.
Zane Hermann with father Brad Hermann
The Hishmeh clan doesn’t require much of the white stuff before heading for the hills. “We go sledding so much, it doesn’t have to snow a whole lot before we go out there,” says Joe Hishmeh. His 15-year-old son James adds, “Yeah, we’ll go even if the grass is higher than the snow.” James’ younger brother, 13-year-old Jack, says the quicker the powder turns to ice, the faster your speed. “We usually go about 25 miles an hour,” he boasts. But it’s not the speed Jack thrives on: “I like the jumps the best,” he explains. The Russell family doesn’t have to go far to sled. They just walk right out their front door. “We have the
“When you go fast down the hill and you pick up a lot of speed and the wind is blowing in your face, it feels really cool.”
perfect street,” says Skip Russell. “The kids just line their sleds up at the top of the cul-de-sac and hit it.” His 11-year-old son Tyler is usually the first one down. “I love to get my sled out of control and spin,” Tyler says. Each of these families lives for the fast sled and smooth hills, but it’s always nice to have one member of the team who stay indoors. “When they get back, I like to have the hot chocolate ready with a really big bowl of marshmallows,” Cheryl Hishmeh says of her duties as a sledding mom.
– Dylan Kennedy, 9
Anna Phelps
James Junod with father Stone Junod
3 Top Spots
Topeka Magazine Daredevil Guide to Sledding
Zane Hermann
➊ Quinton Heights
➋ Cedar Crest
This huge hill is legendary. Generations of Topekans believe this is the best slope in town. After any snow, Quinton Heights is sure to draw hundreds of sledders. Despite the congestion, this hill next to Quinton Heights Elementary School, 2331 SW Topeka Blvd., always provides a wild ride.
North of Interstate 70 and Fairlawn Road at One SW Cedar Crest Road, the grounds that host the governor’s residence boast a serious sledding venue below the west parking lot that draws dozens of die-hard sledders.
When snow’s on the ground and the weather is cold, these are some true hot spots in the capital city.
➌ Near the Sardou Bridge in North Topeka Another speedy spot for those up north is just across the Sardou Bridge, heading into Oakland. Hang on tight because this hill will surely cause some thrills and spills!
48 LIVING WELL Kitchen Angel
When Pizza is
Heaven-Sent
A woman leaves the corporate world to bake better health— one crust at a time
A
pproximately one year ago, after being downsized at a major corporation, Janet Caballero made a leap of faith that would place her family on the road to better health and set up a business dedicated to this same goal. Like many great leaps, hers began with several small steps in the right direction. For many months previous, Caballero had been assisting a friend with some commercial baking. They pleased clients and tallied good sales at the farmers’ market, where Caballero also offered handmade cloth dolls in the shape of angels. When her friend retired from the business, Caballero decided she would try to go at it alone. She hung one of her angels in her North Topeka kitchen, registered her business as “Kitchen Angel” in tribute to her dolls and to her friend who inspired her, and fired up her home’s 12-year-old Kenmore oven. Then, says Caballero, she entered a steep learning curve. Encouraged by advice she received in GO Topeka’s First Step FastTrac—a 12-week training and mentoring program for beginning entrepreneurs—Caballero began extensive research about supplies, regulations and the instability of wheat berries. “I learned from a nutritionist that within 72 hours [of being ground] the natural nutrients from your wheat berry dissipate, a little bit at a time, but completely within 72 hours,” says Caballero. “So the sooner you can use that flour and bake it in, the more nutrients you save. So I don’t grind it until I bake, and I bake within an hour.”
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Janet Caballero creates homemade bread products from her kitchen.
Caballero also established connections with suppliers, ordering her 50-pound bags of wheat berries from a producerowned cooperative in Atchison and buying her honey from Country Creek Honey in Meriden. With these key local ingredients, Caballero began to specialize in pizza crusts, pita bread and tortillas—the last item being a favorite of her husband, who came to the United States from his home in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. On any working day, Caballero shares her kitchen with another Chihuahuan, Freddie. He’s actually a half-Chihuahua, half-terrier stray who, Caballero explains, walked into her home “as if he owned the place” about the same time she began her business. Now he is her other kitchen angel and sole
STORY BY Nathan Pettengill | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey
A Topeka Pizza
We asked Janet Caballero to share her recipe for a local pizza. All ingredients, except those noted below, can be found at the Downtown Topeka Farmers Market when in season.
companion at least until her teenage daughter, Carly, returns home from school and helps with the baking. Pictures of Carly, of course, hold places of honor on the kitchen’s refrigerator door. Several of them are posted above Carly’s hand-drawn portrait of a small dog that looks remarkably like Freddie, though in a weird coincidence of puppy premonition the portrait was made years ago when Carly was little and Freddie hadn’t even yelped his first bark. Caballero explains that her special needs daughter was one of the main reasons she chose to begin Kitchen Angel. The corporate job had always forced her to ration her time with her daughter, but a home-baking business allowed her to benefit from Carly’s help and allowed both of them to benefit from being with one another and focusing on a common task. Having this time together has enriched her and her daughter’s lives. Having time that focuses on healthful eating is a bonus. “We’re trying to eat healthier,” says Caballero. “I’m just as vulnerable to junk food as anyone else, but I’m learning all about this … and Carly eats better as well.” Their interest in natural, local foods for their pizza crusts has spilled into the Caballeros’ backyard, where they raise tomatoes, peppers and cilantro. The cilantro didn’t do well this year, but Caballero hopes to have enough tomatoes and peppers—and the necessary paperwork—to sell some sauces and pastes along with her home-baked goods. And if this goes well, there are plans for certification, a new line of crusts for vegans, a larger kitchen, retail outlets, a more extensive catering operation and perhaps eventually a restaurant. But first, there are orders to take and more pizza crusts to bake for the opening of the farmers’ market—a series of smaller steps to make after landing from her big leap for a more healthful life.
1 l2-ounce Kitchen Angel pizza crust 1 pound ground bison meat ¾ to 1 cup tomato sauce 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning (basil is available at the farmers’ market) ¼ cup fresh rosemary (finely chopped) 1 bell pepper (yellow, green or red) ¼ cup chopped onion (Caballero recommends white onions) ¼ cup Porubsky’s chopped hot pickles (for the brave at heart) ¼ cup sliced mushrooms (these are difficult to find at the market; Caballero recommends tapping your grocer for mushrooms) 1 cup fresh cheese (Caballero suggests Alma Creamery’s parmesan) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the crust lightly with olive oil. In a skillet, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the bison meat and lightly brown it over medium heat, watching closely to prevent the meat from drying. Spread the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning over the crust. Avoid adding too much sauce, which will make the crust soggy. Crumble the bison meat evenly over the sauce and sprinkle the rosemary over the meat. Add the peppers, onion, pickles and mushrooms. Top with cheese, adding as much as desired. Bake for approximately 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the toppings are hot. Caballero adds: “As long as you start with a greattasting and wholesome foundation, you can make your pizza unique and make it yours. A Topeka Pizza is just like the city—it’s what you make it.’”
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52 GROW Poinsettias
Poinsettias One of the season’s most popular and well-known blooms can still surprise with a range of new colors and tones
N
ative to Mexico, poinsettias are known there as the “Flower of the Holy Night,” a name that originated with the legend of a poor, young girl who was walking to church on Christmas Eve in Mexico. An angel appeared to her and told her that any gift given out of love would be appreciated as an offering, so the girl picked a bouquet of weeds by the roadside and placed them beside the manger, where they turned a brilliant red. Imported to the United States in the 1820s by Joel Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, these early poinsettias were roughly 7 to 8 feet tall and rather weedy looking. ...................................................................................... Because they are labor-intensive and dependent on weather, poinsettias took a long time to capture the and status of a widely spread holiday further hybridization classic in the United States. But have expanded the in the 1950s, a San Diego grower named Paul Ecke began an aggrescolor options to sive tissue-culture-based hybridization program that led to easier cultivation and laid the foundation for the more than 100 poinsettia varieties that are available today.
Air-brushing techniques and further hybridization have expanded the color options to hot pink, deep purple, neon green and bright blue. Innovative greenhouse designs also allow for the plants to be shipped in containers by air freight while they are blooming as opposed to dormant newly dug specimens that were shipped by rail and forced to bloom inside greenhouses once they arrived at their destination. Despite all the amazing things that florists create, there is little doubt that the poinsettia is king of the flowers during the holiday season. Enjoy your blooms this winter.
Air-brushing techniques
hot pink, deep purple, neon green and bright blue.
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story by Christine Steinkuehler | photography by Jason Dailey
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Picture-Perfect Poinsettia Stems – Should be stocky.
Lower leaves – Should be intact and have a healthy dark green hue; leaves should grow all the way down the stem. Avoid plants with wilted, yellow or damaged leaves, which indicate disease or poor handling. Bloom color – Look for poinsettias that
are “blooming out” in full color at the shop. The blooms should have no green edges. Poinsettias that have not fully bloomed before they are brought home rarely develop a full, robust color.
Petal structure – Petals should lie horizontal; little or no pollen should be seen in the center of the bloom. Sunlight – Place a poinsettia in a sunny window (without having the plant touch the surface of the window) for the longest, best blooms. Temperature should be 65 to 70 degrees; variations in temperature can cause the leaves to discolor or fall. Soil – Soil should be moist but not wet. If it’s too wet, the roots rot. If it’s too dry, the leaves will wilt or fall.
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54 GROW Garlands
DecktheHalls The holidays begin with decorating— and few decorations are more classic than a garland
G
arlands are one of the stalwarts of holiday dĂŠcor. The tradition of decorating with garlands was brought to America by European settlers, who often included remnants of the fall harvest with evergreens to make the ropes of greenery. Garlands are traditionally wrapped around chandeliers, light posts, stairways and mantels to celebrate the season. The long, open shape of a garland easily holds decorations and encourages you to add new adornments, mingling past and present traditions to keep the holiday spirit alive. Garland: Fraser fir with assorted greens and rose hips Creator: Skinner Garden Store Inc. Location: Topeka Zoo Skinner Garden Store is one of the few places where fresh evergreen boughs can be found. Subsequently, designer Dolores Beckwith has used live Fraser fir roping and boughs of assorted western greens with fresh rose hips tossed in for color. This simple yet elegant garland seems most appropriate to adorn the neck of the regal Genesis statue at the Topeka Zoo, making a statement about the raw power and beauty of nature.
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story by Christine Steinkuehler | photography by Jason Dailey
Garland: Greenery with red roses Creator: University Flowers Location: The Woodward, Theresa The natural materials used in the holiday decorations at The Woodward reflect the building’s natural architectural elements, such as the timbered wood and stone used in construction of the Tudor mansion. Red roses, pheasant feathers, hypericum berries and rose hips accent the greenery in the garlands, which warmly welcome visitors and friends alike to step back in time to a gracious age of entertaining.
Garland: Greenery with red roses Creator: University Flowers Location: The Woodward, Max These garlands complement the interior Mardi Gras-theme decorations for a fun and festive holiday. Gossamer ribbon, beads and large metallic balls celebrate the season.
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56 GROW Garlands
Garland: Greenery with red leaf highlights Creator: University Flowers Location: The Woodward, Executive A classic garland of greenery and red leaves hangs above the entrance of the Woodward Executive.
Garland: Greenery with poinsettia highlights Creator: Tammi’s Antiques and Florals Location: The Dillon House The Dillon House mansion across the street from the Capitol is one of the city’s nearly forgotten treasures. Its enchantments, however, are shown off by this garland from Tammi Ayala of Tammi’s Antiques and Florals downtown. Her creation combines crystalencrusted poinsettias, pomegranates and berries amid ropes of mixed evergreen.
For the Family
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substitute teachers
The
subs
T
hey come in to teach your kids or grandkids at a moment’s notice. They combine the best traits of a bomb squad and a traveling vaudeville show while somehow avoiding disaster each and every day. They’ve heard all the excuses for wanting to leave the room and manage to handle the unexpected with total calm. They revel in the success of their charges and help them deal with setbacks. They are the ones who step in when the classroom teachers are gone. They are the substitute teachers. “There are a lot of similarities between subbing and doing a comedy routine,” says
We trust substitute teachers with our most precious loved ones. We ask them to ride to the rescue. And, in return, they get pranked Bud Dingham, a Topeka Public Schools substitute teacher who has a parallel career as a standup comedian. “You never know what you’re walking into, you have to handle the hecklers and talkers, and have to keep them interested. You do the same kind of things in standup.” And even then Dingham says occasionally things go wrong. “One time I
had a DVD they needed to watch in high school, and a student offered to help. It wasn’t until he turned it over to regular TV that I knew he had no intention of helping me.” Dingham also tells of the kid who came up with unbelievable excuses for leaving the room. However, he thinks this wasn’t just a ruse the student tried with sub-
Bud Dingham says a substitute teacher with an arsenal of stories or “did-you-know” anecdotes can win over even a restless classroom.
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STORY BY Carolyn Kaberline | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey
Topeka’s school systems rely on a large number of substitute teachers including, clockwise from top left, Nikki Meier, Diane Bernheimer and Linda Baker.
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The stuff a sub is made of …
So what does it take to be a substitute teacher? “Obviously, experience with children,” says Karen “KC” Crawford, substitute coordinator for Topeka Public Schools. “And flexibility is a must.” After 10 years of being in charge of the school district’s substitutes, she says she can recognize a good substitute when she sees one. “They have that excitement when they talk about working with kids,” says Crawford. “I like that because I know they’ll be good.” Crawford can draw on approximately 200 substitutes, and there are days when most of those are needed. Some are between jobs, some are retired, some are going to school and some prefer substituting to any other form of teaching. “This is what they do,” she says of the last group. “They prefer this to the regular classroom. Those that have returned and stayed with me have a true love for kids.” Al Ferrell, a retired principal from PerryLecompton High School and a current special education teacher for the Auburn-Washburn district, has seen substitutes in all capacities. He says a good substitute must be professional, but echoes Crawford’s thoughts about the most important criteria. “They must have good rapport with kids,” says Ferrell. “They must expect kids to be good and expect the best from them.”
stitutes. “He was specifically mentioned in the teacher’s notes not to be let out.” Christine Eaton, now in her first year of substituting, agrees that she and other subs have to put up with classic student pranks such as name switching and trying to leave the room. Sometimes the problems come from other sources. “I came in for two days for a woman who taught first grade and there were no plans on the desk,” she explains. “I only had 15 minutes before class began and really had to scramble to prepare. Moments after I got everything lined out, the secretary came in with the plans.” Diane Bernheimer, who has a degree in social work, became a substitute teacher for Topeka Public Schools on the advice of a friend. “He knew I was missing teaching, told me the pros and cons of substituting, and I haven’t seen him since,” she says with a laugh. “I find kids to be so much fun, although they can be challenging. It’s fun to see the light bulb come on and their eyes light up when they grasp a concept.”
While some substitutes like Bernheimer work with all grade levels, others have a preference. Marilyn Unrein, who’s been substituting “off and on for 24 years” mainly in the Auburn-Washburn school district, prefers working with the younger kids. “I don’t have the patience with the little quirks they have at the older ages.” She notes that those in the upper grades often “want to see what games they can play with the teacher as the object.” On the other hand, she thinks the younger kids tend to be “teacher pleasers.” Nikki Meier, who earned a national kindergarten teacher of the year award, worked one day in a middle school classroom when she started substituting and quickly found that this was more than enough. Since then she’s stayed with the “little guys.” Meier, who left the regular classroom to spend more time at home while raising her children, now feels she has the best of both worlds: She primarily substitutes at Whitson Elementary where her daughter
attends class and still has plenty of time at home with her son. “I wanted to get to know my daughter’s teachers when she started school at Whitson, and I’ve been involved ever since,” she says. Linda Baker, who’s in her sixth year of substituting after teaching full time for many years, doesn’t miss the regular classroom. She echoes the thoughts of many substitutes. “With substituting I get to go in and teach, but in regular teaching I would get caught up in test-taking and other stuff,” she says. “Plus I used to go to work at 7 or 7:30 a.m. and get home at 6 with two hours of work to do at home. “Now I can leave at 3:45 and be finished for the day.” That’s the primary reason why most substitutes breathe a sigh of relief as they pack up their belongings. They have survived another day in the classroom.
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For the Family
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storytelling
once upon
a time O nce upon a time there was a beautiful little girl who came to stay at Grandma’s house during the holidays. She loved going to Grandma’s because of the treats and special toys, but most of all she loved to hear Grandma’s stories. Freeze that picture. Would you like to be that Grandma? Or Grandpa? You’ve been looking forward to a family holiday gathering. The grandchildren you feel like you never get to see will be there. They’re growing so quickly. How do you make the most of
Reading and telling stories can be a powerful connection for grandparents and their grandchildren your time with them? Why not try stopping between courses or outings and do a little storytelling? Reading books and telling stories can be a great bonding experience for grandparents, and it can help children by building a bridge between generations. A few
Topeka storytellers provide these tips on how to create a storytelling tradition for your family. Start with your favorites
Storytelling can start with something as simple as sharing a favorite book or
Rosie Cutrer, a grandmother and professional storyteller, says grandparents have a wealth of interesting story material from their own lives.
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STORY BY Karen Ridder | PHOTOGRAPHY BY jason dailey
rhyme. You may have an old favorite in your collection that is no longer in print, and that story may be new to your grandchild. You could also try your grandchild’s favorite. Children love to read favorite stories over and over again. Librarian and professional storyteller Kyler Carpenter suggests you just keep reading that favorite book. “If they want to read it 100 times, I would read it 100 times,” says Carpenter. Don’t worry.
The children won’t love that story forever, but while they do, it can grab their attention and open the opportunity for storytelling. Repeat and repeat again
Repetition is important for stories. The tradition of repeating stories from generation to generation has value, because what a child hears now can be passed on to her or his children. While some stories from your childhood might require adapting (to be less violent or to avoid stereotypes, for example), the plot, morals and lessons usually hold true. Rhyme time
Nursery rhymes lost popularity for a while, but they are making a comeback. Kathy Ellison, who specializes in preschool storytelling at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, says they have value because of their rhyming and alliteration. “Kids just want to listen to those things,” says Ellison. Rhymes promote literacy and are easy for children and grandparents to remember. Max Yoho, a local author and poet, sees rhyming as a good way to communicate. He advises people who do not think they are good storytellers to try reading poetry to children. He says rhyming captures children’s attention and increases the likelihood that they will hear the story’s message. Rhymes also can stick with a person for life. “It may be out of style, but it’s a really good idea,” says Yoho. Be a resource
As a grandparent, you are a good source for family stories—and much more. Professional storyteller Rosie Cutrer of Cottonwood Tales says family stories provide a child with a sense of history and self-esteem. Children feel connected to other family members when they hear family stories—and that connection makes their lives seem more important. “If the things your ancestors did were important enough to remember,” explains Cutrer, “that makes you important enough to remember, too.”
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A Memory Exchange:
Your New Family Tradition
Because stories can pass on family identity, why not try a storytelling session at your next family get-together? Storyteller Rosie Cutrer calls it a “memory exchange.” She even suggests considering replacing some gift exchanges with memory exchanges. A successful memory exchange might demand some preparation. Because family members will have varying degrees of comfort with storytelling, send a note before your gathering with a list of questions. Let everyone know that there will be a time to share stories. This will give some preparation time for family members who are less comfortable speaking off the cuff. Some might even wish to write out what they will say. If you want some more ideas on a memory exchange, Cutrer suggests consulting one of these books: The Parent’s Guide to Storytelling by Margaret Read MacDonald or Telling your own Stories by Donald Davis. Once the preparation is done and the family has gathered, be sure to set aside some time specifically for the stories. You also might want to appoint someone to record the event, creating more stories for future generations. Kyler Carpenter, top, and Max Yoho say repetition and rhyme can make the best stories even better.
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storytelling
Kyler Carpenter performs his stories with music, gestures and pictures to keep the attention young audiences.
Relate to them
One idea for inspiration is to listen to events in your grandchild’s life and offer to tell about similar situations from your experience. Kids love to hear stories, especially things that their grandparents did that got them in trouble or caused some crisis in their lives. Edgy stories will nearly always be popular with children. Kids love stories that are a little gross or a little bad. They love to be mildly frightened. A little bit of suspense will help keep a child’s attention. Share old photos or letters
Old family letters or photographs may also jar memories for a good story. Yoho says he regrets not asking his grandparents more stories when they were alive, but he doesn’t think he knew then what questions would be important. “I think we should anticipate the questions our kids would like to ask if they had sense enough to ask,” says Yoho. Recapturing and telling these family stories gives children a place in the family. It makes them a part of the stories they hear. Just try it
Any adult can tell children stories, but grandparents have a special role. By taking time to read and tell stories, you will develop your grandchild’s love of reading and sense of identity. You will help your grandchildren make connections to the past and develop an understanding of where they belong today. And you might have a more satisfying holiday visit. So seize the opportunity. Good storytelling requires being intentional. You have to turn off the TV, forgo the easy escape of video games or reserve a time before bed. But you might be surprised by how well your grandchildren will respond to the effort. The important part is to just try.
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rhyming captures children’s attention and increases Max Yoho says
the likelihood that they will
hear the story’s message.
Local living, great taste. Experience the best in local living and cuisine with two great shows on 49 KTKA.
Your window to interesting area homes, plus great day-trips, with host Lori Carson.
A weekly cooking show exploring a variety of tasty cuisines from local chefs, with host Jayni Carey.
Tues., 11 a.m.
Wed. & Fri., 11 a.m. Sundays, 6:30 a.m.
ktka.com
Events Calendar
BEST BETS in Dec-Feb 2009/10 December WINTER WONDERLAND XI A CELEBRATION OF LIGHTS December 1-31, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.: This Topeka holiday tradition features two miles of dazzling light displays across the Lake Shawnee campground region with several special events throughout the month. All proceeds benefit TARC, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting those with developmental and related disabilities. For more information visit www.tarcinc.org or call (785) 232-0597. 32nd ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF TREES December 3 and 4, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; December 5, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; December 6, noon4p.m.: Civic organizations, school groups, businesses and artists display approximately 60 holiday trees and creations with ongoing musical concerts at the Kansas Expocentre. Admission is free for regular hours with ticket sales for special evening concerts and morning pancake feed. All proceeds benefit
January RON GUTIERREZ AND FRIENDS CONCERT January 3, 3 p.m.: The Topeka Jazz Workshop kicks off the second part of the 2009-2010 concert season with local vocalist Ron Gutierrez, joined by Charles Williams, Wayne Goins, Steve Rigazzi, Donovan Bailey and Carlos Martinez. Season ticket information is available at www.topekajazz.com or by calling (785) 379-5169. ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON January 9, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.: The
February COLOR FOR FREEDOM: JOURNEY ALONG THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD February 1: The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and Washburn University jointly host a monthlong free exhibit of 50 paintings, etchings and drawings depicting the history of the Underground Railroad. More information is available by calling (785) 235-3939. BUFFALO SOLDIER February 9: Topeka Performing Arts Center
Sheltered Living Inc. For more information visit http://fot.shelteredliving.org/ or call (785) 266-8686. ARTSCONNECT FIRST FRIDAYS ARTWALK December 4 (and the first Friday of every month) 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m.: Topeka’s galleries, studios and public venues open to display art in a social setting. For a complete venue listing see www.artsconnecttopeka.org or call (785) 271-0065. MEET FATHER CHRISTMAS December 5, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.: An “old-time” holiday tradition revives in the Mulvane General Store of Old Prairie Town at WardMeade Historic Site. Free admission for children to greet Father Christmas. TOPEKA SYMPHONY HOLIDAY CONCERT December 9, 7:30 p.m.: Soprano and Topeka native Kristen Watson returns to White Concert Hall to lead an evening of seasonal favorites. Ticket information and additional program notes are available at www.topekasymphony.org or by calling (785) 232-2032. Paul Mesner Puppets open the 2010 portion of the fourth season of Performing Arts for Children. Georgette the princess goes undercover as “George” to battle a fearful dragon in this adaptation of a classic. Tickets cost $3 before performances at Washburn University’s Andrew J. and Georgia Neese Gray Theatre. More information is available at www.topekapafc.com or by calling (785) 249-4951. NEED FOR SPEED January 21: The Kansas Museum of History opens a nearly yearlong exhibit highlighting the state’s fascination with car culture. More information is available at www.kshs.org or by calling (785) 272-8681.
opens 2010 with a special Schooltime Theater Performance for students in grades 3-9. The play tells about the history of the 150,000 African-American soldiers who joined the North in the Civil War. Ticket reservations and additional information are available at www.tpactix.org or by calling (785) 234-2787, ext. 112. 14th ANNUAL KANSAS SILENT FILM FESTIVAL February 26-27: Silent feature films and shorts with live musical performances at Washburn University’s White Concert Hall. Admission is free. More program information and times will be available at www.kssilentfilmfest.org.
All events are subject to change. Listings Courtesy of www.topekachamber.org & www.visittopeka.travel. E-mail your upcoming events for the calendar to topekamagazine@sunflower.com
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