Volunteer: No shortage of
'fun things to do'
By Sherry Graham Howerton
For more than half a century, Music Theatre of Wichita has delighted audiences with world-class performers, its renowned orchestra and sets that rival most anything seen on Broadway. And then there are the costumes — layers of colors that have brought to life characters in such shows as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Lion King” and “Alice in Wonderland.”
Many bear the imprint of Sandy Hysom, a longtime MTW costume department volunteer. Now 76, Hysom is retired from careers with Wichita USD 259 and the Midway Kansas American Red Cross.
It was her work for the latter in HIV/AIDS education that led Hysom to MTW 30 years ago.
“It was when Jamie came and changed my life,” Hysom said.
It was the 1980s, and a friend of Hysom’s was living in San Francisco, working with a family whose mother and father both had AIDS. The couple had a seven-year-old-daughter, Jamie Morales, whom Hysom met during
If you are receiving duplicate or unwanted copies of The Active Age, please let us know by calling (316) 942-5385 or emailing joe@ theactiveage.com.The money saved on printing and postage helps us continue delivering The Active Age to people who wish to receive it.
Camarenas bank on future of North End, Hispanic youth
By Joe Stumpe
Ariel Rodriguez remembers the day in 2021 that Gene and Yolanda Camarena attended the auction for the former Nomar Theater building in Wichita’s North End.
At the time, the Empower nonprofit organization was only a few weeks old, without a real home of its own. Rodriguez is its executive director, while the Camarenas both sit on its board. As bidding for the historic neighborhood landmark sent its price upward, Rodriguez said, “They kept poking each other, they kept tapping each other.”
Yolanda and Gene Camarena spoke at the opening of Empower's new headquarters on 21st Street earlier this year.
an adjacent structure. Then they donated it to Empower, which today provides education, workforce preparation, small business development and community building
Finally, the Camarenas won the auction for the building and
See Camarenas, page 7
Kansas town blends school and nursing home
By Rose Conlon KMUW
LOGAN, Kan.
— With children’s shouts echoing off of colorful playground equipment, Logan Manor doesn’t look or sound like your typical nursing home.
That’s because it’s also a school.
This rural farm town, with a population of 436, recently welcomed nursing home residents and students into its new intergenerational facility, called the Logan Intergenerational Family Education Center. By bringing different age groups together
A nursing home resident works on May Day baskets with fifth and sixth graders in Logan, Kan.
under the same roof, LIFE Center administrators are trying to foster connection and learning across generations.
Inside, Betty Albright — age
90 — is laughing and making May Day baskets with three of her friends: Jensen, Harper and Harper, ages 11 and 12. After a staring contest, one of the Harpers asks Albright when her birthday is.
“October,” Albright says. “Why, what are you gonna do?”
“I will sing Happy Birthday to you on that day, OK?” Harper replies.
Albright, who moved into Logan Manor recently, says connecting with the kids is a source of joy.
“I have a good time with these three,” she said. “I always do because I love them very much.”
As more young people move away from rural Kansas, many communities are aging. That can mean increased social isolation for older adults who stay. The LIFE Center is an effort
See Logan, page 6
Photo by Sherry Graham Howerton Sandy Hysom has volunteered in the costume department of Music Theatre of Wichita for nearly three decades.
Rose Conlon/KMUW
Diamond drawing
Donate at least $25 to The Active Age and you could win a 14-carat white gold diamond necklace valued at $2,000.
Talk about a way to lose those summer doldrums!
The Active Age will hold a drawing Aug. 1 for a diamond necklace donated by Mike Seltzer Jewelers. Everybody who donates at least $25 between now and July 31 will be entered in the drawing. Donate $50 for two chances, $75 for three chances, etc. Donations can be made in person
or by mail to The Active Age, 125 S. West St., Suite 105, Wichita, KS, 67213; by phone by calling (316) 942-5385; or by visiting our website, theactiveage.com.
Proceeds from the drawing will help us continue bringing you The Active Age each month.
Our professional, insured, and courteous craftsmen will come to you. We arrive on time, clean up after the project and our work is guaranteed.
Plant extra, feed someone in need
The Plant a Row for the Hungry program, now in its 25th year in Sedgwick County, encourages local gardeners to grow a little extra this season and donate the surplus to help fight hunger in our community. With an estimated 15 percent of Sedgwick County residents experiencing food insecurity, the program offers way for gardeners to share homegrown fruits, vegetables and herbs with those in need.
The initiative is a collaboration between Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, ICT Food Rescue and a network of local businesses that serve as collection points for
donated produce. All donations are then distributed to local residents struggling with food access.
“Plant a Row is a powerful way to fight food waste and support foodinsecure families,” said Abbey Draut, Horticulture Food Crops Agent with K-State Research and Extension in Sedgwick County.
In 2024, the program received 4,404 pounds of donated produce— enough to provide 3,670 meals and generate an estimated $8,500 in cost savings.
From June 1 through the first week of September, donations will be
collected at these drop-off sites:
• Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, 701 Amidon St.
Brady Nursery, 11200 W. Kellogg
• Hillside Nursery, 2200 S. Hillside
• Hillside Feed & Seed, 1805 S. Hillside
• Johnson’s Garden Center – East, 6225 E. Shadybrook
• Johnson’s Garden Center – West, 2707 W. 13th St.
• Mr. Mc’s Market, 1901 E. 21st N.
• Valley Feed & Seed, 1903 S. Meridian
• Woodard Mercantile, Andover, 1313 E. US-54
• Woodard Mercantile, Maize, 4160 N. Maize Rd.
Summer Concert Series returns
The lineup for this year’s Summer Concert Series has been announced. The free shows are held from 8-10 p.m. in Andover’s Capitol Federal Amphitheatre and Wichita’s Naftzger Park. The schedule is:
Capitol Federal Amphitheater
June 20: Across the Pond
June 27: King Midas
July 11: Jet City
July 18: Big Fat Fun
Naftzger Park
July 25: The Astronauts
Aug. 1: Lucky People
Aug. 8: Monterey Jack Aug. 15: Roadhouse Saints
First job memories: Pocket money, pancakes and Dad time
By Tom Schaefer
The alarm clock buzzed at 4 a.m. My one-hour workday began. Hurrying to the backyard, I mounted my one-speed Hawthorne bike and sped to the drop site at 15th and Knoxville, where 80 or so bundled newspapers awaited me.
Thinner editions allowed for Frisbeestyle tossing onto front porches, with varying degrees of accuracy. I zig-zagged from house to house, wheeling south to 21st Street, north on Louisville and then back home.
At age 12, it was my first self-chosen, money-making job. Several nights a week, I knocked on front doors and announced: “Collect for The World” (the morning
newspaper in Tulsa, then a twonewspaper town).
The cash-only payments reaped a $30 to $40 dollar monthly profit, proudly deposited in my passbook savings account.
What is it about my first paying job that is so memorable?
The wakeup hour was never oppressive. I was up before others in the house. On my own in the still, dark hours, I had no fear of the unknown. Steaming summers or shivering winters, kids rolled with those punches.
It was not a competitive job pitting me against a more talented
kid, the kind of situation where I often felt overmatched. A paperboy was measured only by his attention to the task.
Delivery goofs were usually ignored by sleeping customers, although a missed delivery occasionally prompted a phone call.
This job was an early lesson about personal responsibility, along with feeding the dog and taking out the trash. Family responsibilities were dictated; I chose to work this odd-hour job. No nagging my parents for pocket change.
Most of all, I remember Sunday mornings, the biggest paper of the
week, when Dad commandeered the car, newspapers in the Buick’s open trunk. He drove patiently in fits and starts. I trudged dutifully back and forth.
My pace quickened as we finished the long Louisville block. Awaiting was a trip to a motel restaurant for an early breakfast: blueberry pancakes and chocolate milk for me; eggs, bacon, coffee for Dad.
We talked baseball — the St. Louis Cardinals were our team — and quietly feasted. For one hour, as morning brightened, I had Dad all to myself.
Tom Schaefer is a former reporter, editor and columnist for The Wichita Eagle.
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Published by Active Aging Publishing, Inc.
Editor: Joe Stumpe joe@theactiveage.com
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Board of Directors
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Susan Armstrong • Darnell Holopirek
Tim Marlar • Jamee Ross • Patti Sullivan
From Page 1
to improve their quality of life while teaching kids crucial skills.
The setup lets nursing home residents volunteer in classrooms and help with science projects. They’re integrated into the daily life of the public school, meeting students for a high-five train every Friday and serving as reading buddies.
And it provides learning opportunities for kids. One class is interviewing residents and recording their life stories. High-schoolers can job shadow physical therapists and speech-language pathologists, and a few work part-time as nursing assistants and dietary aides.
Down the hall, 6-year-old Rhett is practicing his reading with 63-year-old Tom Goscha. Goscha has pulmonary fibrosis, and he’s lived in the nursing home for five years. He’s a favorite among the kids.
“My nieces and nephews are all grown and gone,” Goscha said. “They’ve got kids of their own, but they’re in Imperial, Nebraska, Texas and Omaha, and so it’s fun to have the little ones around.”
LIFE Center beginnings
The LIFE Center is the brainchild of school Principal David Kirkendall, who first became familiar with elder social isolation programs as a child helping his mother do nursing home maintenance work.
“I’d see all these residents sitting there on a Saturday with their hair done, waiting for somebody to show up that never showed up,” he said from his office in the new Logan school.
The idea of an intergenerational facility started to take shape in 2007, when he was the mayor of a small town near Greensburg, Kansas. The
community was struck by a devastating tornado — and as it rebuilt its schools and medical buildings in their original locations, Kirkendall felt like it was a missed opportunity to bring the community closer together.
That idea grew when he moved to Logan a decade ago, where the existing elementary school building and nursing home were both in need of significant repairs.
“I said, ‘I’ve got this idea,’ and we started fleshing it out,” he said.
Not everyone was initially on board. Kirkendall says some parents expressed concern that the residents’ presence at the school could distract from classroom learning.
But he says the intergenerational model actually adds to kids’ learning — something that’s been borne out in the first few months since residents moved in. He gives the example of Logan’s first-grade class, where two residents have been helping students drill sight words with flash cards — freeing up the teacher to work one-on-one with students on difficult pronunciations.
“Now I have two additional learning opportunities in the classroom
that I wouldn’t have had before,” he said.
For nursing home residents, having kids around and more opportunities for social interaction can ease the transition from independent living to long-term care.
“It’s a hard change for anybody,” said Logan Manor administrator Teresa McComb, “and there are increased levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness.”
She says having the nursing home more integrated into the local community — where residents are able to attend school performances and sporting events — allows them to develop new connections and a sense of belonging.
“We have some that don’t have family in the area, their family is busy, or they might even be the last one left in their family,” she said. “Even residents that are unable to verbalize how much they like the kids coming over, their faces light up. They smile. They’re just in better moods.”
And the benefits go beyond social interaction. If a resident is recovering from a stroke and needs to practice hand-eye coordination, they can go down the hall and spend time with the preschool class — which is also focusing on hand-eye coordination.
“They can come down to my preschoolers,” Kirkendall said, “and kick a ball back and forth. It helps both groups.”
A model for others
Intergenerational programming is not a new concept, but experts think the LIFE Center is one of the first of
its kind. While there are examples of nursing homes with on-site daycare, it’s rare to find one attached to a public, K-12 school.
“I’m not sure I’ve seen something like this before,” said Shannon Jarrott, a social work professor at Ohio State University who studies intergenerational sites.
Leaders in Logan hope the town can serve as a model for other communities trying to improve wellbeing.
So do researchers at Kansas State University. They’re studying whether the new facility can boost social skills and academic achievement in kids and reduce cognitive decline and depression in residents.
“I’m looking to see how children develop over time by having these intergenerational experiences,” said Natalie Barlett, a teaching assistant professor of psychology at K-State.
“Most places that do intergenerational programming have to bus children in. In Logan, because the elementary school is attached to the nursing home, they get to interact every single day.”
Trase McQueen, project coordinator for the research team at K-State, says the study will also track whether there is any impact to the rate of resident falls and antidepressant medication use, as well as their reports of emotional well-being.
“Logan is doing something that I think could change people’s lives,” McQueen said.
Opportunities and challenges
Research indicates the sociIn Logan, the LIFE Center has encountered logistical challenges — like how to keep residents safe during flu season, and how to keep them busy when school breaks for the summer. The school year is wrapping up, but Goscha thinks he and his younger friends will manage just fine.
“(The kids) tell me, ‘We’re going to come over and see you this summer.’ And I said, ‘OK, that’ll work. You can come over and visit.’ And I’ve got a jar of candy, and they’re like, ‘So will you have candy this summer?’ I said, ‘I’ll always have candy.’”
Rose Conlon is a reporter with the Kansas News Service based at KMUW in Wichita.
Photo by Rose Conlon/KMUW
Tom Goscha, 63, and Rhett, 6, read together at the Logan Intergenerational Family Education Center in Logan, Kansas.
Camarenas
From Page 1
in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.
Given their success in the business world, the Camarenas could have retired to a beach or penthouse apartment somewhere long ago. Gene laughs off the suggestion while explaining why they’re instead investing their resources and expertise in Empower, college scholarship programs and a host of other causes.
“One, we’re not very good swimmers,” he said. “It’s just…we grew up in a neighborhood just like that. Being able to do something there, creating opportunities, is just something that’s always been a part our lives.”
In an interview about minority entrepreneurs filmed for Wichita State University last year, Yolanda Camarena said she and her husband want others to benefit from the same kind of help they received. “I said if we ever get to the point where we are able to give back, that’s exactly what I want to do.”
To be sure, the Camarenas seem to have made the most of their opportunities.
Yolanda grew up in Wichita, where her father, Santos Barrera, ran a neighborhood bar called Snug Harbor that still operates near Lincoln and Edgemoor. Yolanda and her siblings pitched in between classes at Southeast High. “I love Snug Harbor,” she said. “We still go back there for a beer each Thanksgiving.”
College days
A first-generation college student, Yolanda switched majors three times and took 5 ½ years to graduate from WSU. At the time, there didn’t seem to be a lot of help at WSU for students like herself, but she found an important ally in Jim Rhatigan, the late, legendary dean of students. “He was my mentor and became my mentor almost my whole career.”
She was also influenced by Project Together, a 1970s-era community movement. “It was a very social awakening both for the black community and the Latina community that got me really involved in knowing more about our community and what I wanted to do.”
Gene grew up on Salina’s predominantly black and Hispanic north side, where his grandmother, a Mexican immigrant, managed to earn enough as a cook and housekeeper to send 11 children to college. Originally planning to become a priest or doctor, Gene instead became interested in business while earning an accounting degree from the University of Kansas.
Yolanda was working in student admissions for Newman University when the two began dating. When she took a job at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Gene followed her to Cambridge, Mass., earning a graduate degree from Harvard Business School.
After returning to Wichita, the two started a family, and Gene took a job with Pizza Hut corporate headquarters, which were then located here. While he was making a good salary, he soon realized that franchisees “make a lot of money” and decided to bid on eight underperforming Pizza Huts in the Texas Panhandle. At the time, the couple had a 2-year-old daughter, and Yolanda was two months pregnant. She told her husband to go for it.
“He didn’t go to business school to just keep doing what he was doing — the 8-to-5 thing,” she said.
Going into business
And indeed, for the next eight or nine years, Gene left Wichita on Monday for the six-hour drive to Amarillo and didn’t return until Friday night. He bought a dozen more Pizza Huts and then entered the hotel
business as well, as a franchisee for Marriott with multiple locations.
His next big move was buying 65 Pizza Huts in the Indianapolis market. With additional real estate, banking and investment holdings, Camarena’s company, La Raza Pizza, Inc., ranked among the 150 largest Hispanicowned businesses in the nation.
Looking back, Gene says the pizza business was a lot less competitive when he entered it. Not that it was easy. Their younger daughter likes to remind him that he missed her birth when she arrived prematurely during one of his business trips.
The Camarenas have since sold the Indianapolis Pizza Huts and some of the hotels, enabling Gene to spend about “30 to 40 percent” of his time on volunteer community projects. “That’s not a 40-hour work week," he clarified, “more like an 80-hour week.”
One of the couple’s biggest efforts was establishing the Adelante (Spanish for “forward”) Scholarships at WSU, part of their $1 million gift to the school. First awarded in 2021, the scholarships are given to a cohort of about 20 freshmen and transfer students every four years. The idea is to give them “a sense of community,” with graduates serving as mentors to the next round of recipients, Yolanda said. The couple set up smaller scholarship programs at Butler Community College and Newman University.
In 2024, the Camarenas served as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at WSU’s Barton School of Business. They gave a keynote address in Woolsey Hall, kept
office hours, participated in classes and student organizations and collaborated with the school’s faculty and leadership.
Gene has also served as chair of Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Pizza Hut Foundation and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, which provides more than $30 million in scholarships nationally. He’s a board member of United Way of the Plains, the KU Endowment Board of Trustees and Hispanics in Real Estate. Yolanda serves on the boards of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, Newman University, Phillips Fundamental Learning Center and WSU’s National Advisory Council.
Empower expands
Empower’s focus is the North End, where Wichita’s biggest concentration of Hispanic residents has lived since the 1920s. In April, Empower held a grand opening for new headquarters at 101 E. 21st N. 21st St., next door to the Nomar Theater building. The center — a stylish down-to-studs rebuild of the former Basham furniture store — is named the Camarena Adelante Center.
The center bears the couple’s mark with its emphasis on helping area residents enter the food business: More than half the building is a completely furnished commercial kitchen space that can be rented by food truck operators, caterers and other entrepreneurs.
Janet Miller, a former City Council member who recruited the Camarenas onto Empower's board, called them "extraordinarily generous and so committed to their work within the Hispanic community and beyond. They give of both their time and treasure to help individuals and families reach their full potential and live their best lives. Their work in the community is very focused and interconnected toward this goal.”
At the grand opening, Gene Camarena heaped praise on his fellow board members and the Empower staff. And he predicted that Phase 2 of Empower’s plan for the area, which includes transforming the theater into a multiuse space, is not far off. It “is going to make this area look a lot different than it does someday,” he said.
“We’re not done yet. We’ve got more things to do.”
Photos by Athena Mah
Faith Lugalia, above left, prepares samosas in the Kitchens at Empower. Above right, Yolanda Camarena and Mayor Lily Wu celebrate at the Grand opening of Empower headquarters.
Volunteer
From Page 1
a trip to San Francisco. Hysom, who was single and childless, offered Jamie a home in Wichita. Both parents eventually died, and after jumping through many legal hoops, Hysom became Jamie’s guardian.
During that time, Hysom also became friends with MTW producer and artistic director Wayne Bryant, who took an interest in Hysom’s work in HIV/AIDS education. Bryant often accompanied Hysom to her presentations — along with Jamie, who shared her story with audiences.
“It was just unbelievable what this little girl had been through, yet how strong she was,” Hysom recalled.
Encouraged by Bryant, Jamie auditioned for a part in MTW’s “Wizard of Oz,” winning the role of a soldier munchkin. With the show’s rehearsal schedule, Hysom found herself always at the theatre.
“I decided I was not going to sit and do nothing,” Hysom said.
Hysom is tall – 5’10” – and had often made her own clothes. She had also been an art teacher for more than two decades. She was introduced to the MTW costume director, who quickly snatched her up.
“As a teacher, I was free during the summers, so I worked every summer as a volunteer in the costume department,” Hysom said. “That was my summer enjoyment.”
In almost three decades, she has contributed to more than 100 MTW shows.
“There’s always something on stage that I have worked on,” said Hysom. “A big deal for me was I wanted to learn how to make a top hat, which I eventually did. I made the one Mary Poppins wore in that production. I just love hats.”
Hysom was born in Hutchison and attended Friends University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in art education.
Hysom spent the next several years teaching art at Horace Mann and Brooks junior high schools, with stints in between living in San Francisco and New York. She also worked as a pasteup artist for a religious greeting card
company.
“The person who hired me said my art was OK but that he was hiring me for my ‘midwestern warmth,’” Hysom said.
Soon after, Hysom returned to Wichita after being recruited to work at the city’s first alternative junior high school, Munger, where she taught art and helped develop the curriculum.
“It was an opportunity to teach the kids I best identified with, kids who needed a little more help than the traditional lecture or reading,” Hysom said.
Hysom also found herself frequently counseling young people in the school, so she enrolled at Wichita State University and earned a master’s degree in student personnel and guidance.
After being recruited by the American Red Cross in Wichita, Hysom spent 13 years with the organization, eventually becoming the director of volunteer and uouth services and leading the youth public education programs during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and early '90s.
“At the onset of AIDS, blood donations lessened and the National Red Cross wanted all its chapters to focus on education, realizing the only way to stop the spread was education. I was in charge of youth services, and all of a sudden I became an HIV/AIDS educator,” Hysom said.
Hysom went back into the school system as a counselor at Heights High School, then became the Health Education Coordinator for USD 259 for 14 years. Hysom retired in 2015 at age 66. Jamie Morales is now the STI and HIV health educator for the Sedgwick County Health Department.
This year’s MTW season kicks off June 18-22 with “Waitress.” In addition to costume work, Hysom volunteers with the MTW Guild, an organization that she said could always use more participants.
“It is so much fun. We help to provide gifts for actors and choreographers in the shows, as well as coordinating the treat tables in the halls during rehearsals,” Hysom said.
One of her favorite creative outlets is working on the elaborately decorated tables for the Sunday cast suppers for the five MTW shows each year. She
wants to make sure the performers know they are appreciated as they wrap up their time in Wichita.
She plans to continue volunteering with MTW and the Wichita Art Museum, where she’s a docent. She’s also preparing to teach art classes at Mrs. O’Leary’s, a shop in Wichita’s Old Town district.
“I’m just thrilled to be a part of these opportunities,” said Hysom. “The people I work with are incredible and give me fun things to do.”
Contact Sherry Graham Howerton at sgaylegraham@hotmail.com.
Donate for chance to win a Botanica membership
Donate at least $50 to The Active Age, and you could win a family membership to Botanica. The Active Age holds a drawing for a family membership each month from among people on our Honor Roll list of donors. This month's winner is Mary Hatch. Donations may be made by calling 316-942-5385; through our website, theactiveage.com; by mail to The Active Age, 125 S. West St., Suite 105, Wichita, KS, 67213; or in person.
When one baseball fan’s dream came true
By Bob Rives
Kay Self was once the only student in her grade in a one-room country school. Then a move into Elbing, population about 200, brought a new adventure at age 11. Her teacher, who lived just across the softball diamond from the school, had a TV set and invited the seventh and eighth grade kids to watch the World Series.
The game they watched on October 8, 1956, was historic. Yankees hurler Don Larsen, once a minor leaguer with the Wichita Indians, pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. But it wasn’t Larsen’s pitching that etched itself in Kay’s memory. It was Mickey Mantle.
Mantle by then had replaced Joe DiMaggio as New York’s center fielder. “I remember being scrunched together as we sat and angled for position on the teacher’s living room floor,” Self said. “I was in the zone.”
From that point on, she said, “I began cutting out everything that had Mickey’s name on it from our daily newspaper’s sports section.” Other teen girls had bedroom wall posters of Ricky Nelson and Elvis. “I had the Yankees.”
Her baseball fascination even paid academic dividends. “I learned to do math percentages by figuring batting averages.”
In the eighth grade, she contacted Mickey’s fan club in Commerce, Okla.
— his hometown — and became a member. She collecte d Topps bubble gum cards with pictures of Yankees players and memorized their personal stats, their home towns and their wives’ names.
The Kansas City Athletics were right up the road, but she didn’t care. “I liked winners.” She sported an 18-karat gold baseball charm on her bracelet from the gift shop in Mickey Mantle’s Holiday Inn in Joplin. She bought a Mickey Mantle bobblehead circa 1963 from Marshall Fields in Chicago.
Then, 30 years after fist seeing Mickey play on TV, the unbelievable happend.
At dinner with her husband and a couple from their church — Linda and Joe Cowan — Self’s love of baseball came out. A few weeks later,
Joe Cowan invited her to a baseball card show in Wichita to meet Bob Feller, the former Cleveland pitching great. Over the next few months, Self attended shows featuring Don Larsen and Whitey Ford, Mickey’s former roommate and close friend. Ford was so friendly that Kay whipped out her collection of Mickey memorabilia. “My goodness, has Mickey seen this?” he asked.
Then Cowan called again: Would she like to meet Mickey? She hesitated. What if he didn’t like her? What if she fainted? She decided to risk it.
On Nov. 30, 1986, she sat down at a table set up in the Holiday Inn on East Kellogg, right next to Mickey’s left elbow.
“He turned to look at me, smiled and asked, ‘Who are you?’” she said.
She replied, “I’m the biggest fan you ever had.”
As he signed balls, bats and other memorabilia for fans, Self learned her hero was warm, kind and funny. Mickey signed the photos she’d once hung on her bedroom wall. Her cousins from Newton, making it to the front of the line, couldn’t believe she was there and neither could she. She felt 11 years old again.
Self bought a Mickey
bobblehead in 1963. It's rarely been out of its box.
Self worked at St. Joseph hospital for much of her career. Like Mantle, she became a center fielder, on a championship military wives softball team at Barksdale Air Force Base. Mickey, who began his professional career in Independence, Kan., was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and died in 1995 at 63.
Bob Rives is the author of “Baseball in Wichita” (2002, Arcadia Publishing) Contact him at bprives@gmail.com
Let me help you make the next chapter of your life easier. Certified Senior Housing Professional. Committed to Seniors.
Key
Mantle
Kay Self met Mickey Mantle during a 1986 authograph show in Wichita.
In the dark about whistling? Tune in to Ted
By Ted Blankenship
Recently I watched an old movie that included a performance by the late Bing Crosby, a crooner from the 1920s through much of the 1970s.
Singing wan’t Bing’s only musical talent. He could whistle, which he did on “The Christmas Song” and more than a dozen other tunes. He didn’t whistle much in the movie, but what he did was great.
I don’t want to brag, but I’ve whistled a bit myself. So why not teach readers what I know about the subject? (It won’t take long.)
One of the most famous references to whistling came in the 1944 movie “To Have and Have Not” when Lauren Bacall said to Humphrey Bogart, “You know how to whistle, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.”
Actually, if you put your lips together exactly as she suggested, you’ll just get puffed cheeks and a
red face. Still, Bacall’s words are often repeated.
Despite Bing’s skill, whistling isn’t always about making music. It can also be used to call dogs, pass the time and express approval of things like a 220-pound pumpkin or member of the opposite sex (careful with the latter these days).
Some folks learn to whistle by forming their lips into the shape required by the first part of the word “whistle.” Another suggested technique is to form your tongue into an elongated circular configuration and
blow.
I’ve found that you learn whistling by simply trying to whistle. When you get an acceptable sound, keep doing what you did. You may want to back up some when people around you start complaining. You could close your mouth, but that would lead to whistling through your nose, which can lead to bigger problems than learning to whistle.
Contact Ted at tblankenship218@ gmail.com
June quiz: President and the books they’ve penned
By Nancy Wheeler
Many presidents have
1. The most prolific of all U.S. presidents, this Rough Rider wrote 45 works of biography, history, public policy, and adventure.
2. What president’s book, “Keeping Faith,” was published in 1982 and provides a detailed account of his time in the Oval Office and the hostage crisis in Iran?
3. Which president collaborated with well-known novelist James Patterson to publish “ The President is Missing ” and two other thrillers?
4. Who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book “Profiles in Courage” describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight U.S. Senators?
5. Whose book “Memoirs” offers a look at his time in office and the Watergate scandal?
6. Which president’s “Personal Memoirs” was published by Mark Twain and offered valuable insights
into his military career during the Mexican and Civil Wars?
7. Before his presidency, who penned “Crusade in Europe” which detailed the strategy, battles, and moments of great decision during World War II?
8. Whose daughter wrote “ Where the Buck Stops” detailing the personal and private writings of the 33rd President?
9. What president wrote “Dreams
from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” which became a New York Times Bestseller in 1995?
10. One of only five presidents to have kept a diary, this president never missed his daily writing even when recovering from an assassination attempt in 1981.
11. Which president published a book about his home state titled : “Notes on the State of Virginia?”
Savor tasty taco and rice duo from New Mexico
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Tewa Tacos
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons lard or shortening
1 cup water
Lard, shortening or oil, for frying
Toppings:
1 lb. ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced, divided use
1 ½ cups stewed tomatoes
1 cup cooked pinto or black beans
Green or red chile sauce, or salsa
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups finely shredded cheddar-jack cheese
1 ½ cups shredded lettuce
1 cup fresh diced tomato
Directions:
To make the fry bread, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
Add lard and water and mix until dough is formed.
Form the dough into balls, then let them sit in a warm place for an hour.
While the dough is sitting, sauté ground beef, half of the chopped yellow onion (reserve remainder for garnish), beans and stewed tomatoes until the meat is cooked through. Add green or red chile sauce or salt to taste. Season with salt and pepper.
Roll or hand-form each dough ball into a flat circle about a half-inch thick. Heat oil and fry bread one or two pieces at a time, turning frequently, until bread is a golden brown.
Layer meat mixture and remaining ingredients on fry bread and serve.
Green Rice
3 cloves garlic
½ white or yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded (or leave seeds in if you like it spicy)
1 bunch fresh cilantro (reserve a few for topping the rice)
1 small lime, juiced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup white basmati or jasmine rice
Directions:
First make the green sauce: In a blender or food processor, add in garlic, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, fresh lime juice, chicken broth, cumin, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend or process until completely smooth.
Place a medium pot over medium high heat. Slowly pour in the green sauce and fold in the rice, making sure it is evenly distributed in the pan. Once the sauce is simmering, reduce heat to low, cover the skillet immediately and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the pan from heat (keeping the lid on), and allow rice to steam for another 10 minutes, then fluff rice with a fork.
Orphan Trains keep rolling in Kansans’ imagination
By Sherry Kline WELLINGTON
— Nearly a century after its last stop, the Orphan Train movement continues to fascinate.
Jim and Sunni Bales became interested while visiting the Orphan Train Museum in Concordia, especially in the stories of those children who had come to Sumner County. Jim
Bales is director of the Chisholm Trail Museum here.
When Sunni learned that an Orphan Train traveling exhibit was available, the Bales partnered with the Sumner County Historical & Genealogical Society to bring it here. It will be displayed at the museum through June 30.
Meantime, the threat of hail and tornadoes couldn’t keep about 100 people from attending Jim Bales’ May 19 presentation on the subject. An encore presentation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. June 9 at Wellington’s Cowley College campus, 2209 DavisWhite Loop. Admission is free.
The Orphan Train movement began in response to conditions in New York City during the 1800s and early 1900s, when there were estimated 10,000 to 30,000 children living on the streets. Immigration was one cause, Bales said.
“Families often had just enough money to get to the United States.”
Immigrants who expected to find jobs when they arrived were often disappointed. Meanwhile, the city was overcrowded and diseases were prevalent, sometimes killing several members of a family.
The orphans were “street urchins” to some, “sewer rats” to others. Bales said The Children’s Aid Society sent the first Orphan Train to Dowagiac, Michigan, on September 20, 1854. It had 46 boys and girls aged 10 to 12, all See next page
of whom were adopted. The society’s agents made return trips to check on the children, and if necessary, find them another home.
The phrase “Orphan Train” appears to have first been used in a newspaper in 1915. By the movement’s end in 1929, about 200,000 children had been relocated.
Some in the crowd here had a connection to Orphan Trains.
“The fella I go out with, who lives in Bel Air, his mother was an orphan train rider,” Marlene Otto, who also lives in Bel Aire, said.
Many more area residents undoubtedly have a connection as well.
Bales said he has found information on five Orphan Trains that came to Sumner County. Two stopped in Wellington, and one each went to Belle Plaine, Mulvane and South Haven.
One orphan brought to Wellington was Chales Hansen. Charles’ father was a whaler. Hanson’s mother died while his father was at sea, and their children were placed on Orphan Trains. Charles’ sister ended up in Ohio, while he and his brother went to separate families in Kansas.
His brother, unhappy with where he was, hitchhiked back to their town in the east.
Water conservation rebates offered
With drought conditions still in place, the city of Wichita is offering rebates for several water conservations devices.
The following rebates are available:
Up to $50 for dual flush conversion kits, which allow for choice in toilet water amounts flushed.
Up to $100 for new smart irrigation controllers used for landscape watering.
Up to $100 for newly purchased rain barrels 45 gallons or larger.
Up to $100 for new rain sensors that interrupt automatic irrigation systems after ¼ inch of rain has been recorded.
Up to $35 for newly purchased toilet repair kits.
Up to $100 for new 1.6 gallon or less toilets that replace high-volume toilets.
Up to $100 for new high efficiency clothes and dish washers
The city has also been offering water customers free low-flow shower heads and sink aerators while supplies last at Wichita Public Library locations, neighborhood resource centers and the City Hall information desk.
Through early May, the city had approved rebates for more than 200 devices totaling $29,352, with $80,648 remaining available.
More information and rebate applications can be found at Wichita. gov.
Dog parks open on Meridian & Country Acres
The city of Wichita held ribbon cuttings last month for two dog parks: County Acres, 750 N. Country Acres, which is new, and K-9 Rooster Dog Park, 2127 N. Meridian, which has
been remodeled. Both feature benches and shaded shelters, dog and human drinking fountains, dog wash stations and gravel entrances.
Crowd of 1,300 comes together to address housing and homelessnes
By Dion Lefler
The
Wichita Eagle
When was the last time you saw 1,300 Wichita-area residents come together in one place to address the community’s two most persistent problems — affordable housing and homelessness?
For me, it was last month.
Justice Together has done the extraordinary, as demonstrated by its “Nehemiah Assembly” that brought together faith communities of Christians, Jews, Bahais and others, nearly filling the mammoth auditorium at the Wichita State University Hughes Metropolitan Complex.
Local leaders are listening. On stage for the event were members of the Wichita City Council — Becky Tuttle, Mike Hoheisel and Maggie Ballard, along with Sedgwick County
Opinion
Commission Chairman Ryan Baty.
A fourth City Council member, Dalton Glasscock, was in the audience, but couldn’t participate directly because that would have violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act.
Heart-rending testimonials
To me, the most compelling part of the evening was testimonials from two women who have experienced homelessness.
“In July 2024 I had to leave my rental home because it had become uninhabitable — no repairs, unsafe conditions and an electric bill over $1,500 due to poor insulation,” said Valerie Martens, a college graduate with a degree in applied sciences, now living with a disability.
“When I looked for a good place, I
was met with rejection after rejection,” she said. “Landlords want tenants to make three times the rent. That is an impossible standard for somebody on disability. I am now waiting for a housing voucher, but thousands are ahead of me. In the meantime, I took on $13,000 in debt to buy a cargo van to convert into a shelter just to avoid the streets.”
Also testifying was Rachel Porter. She’s a paramedic and her husband is a veterinary technician. After living in New York they returned to Wichita, where she was born, to start a family.
“The rental market was brutal,” Porter said. “Listings disappeared within hours. Applications cost money we didn’t have to spare. And even when we found a home, the terms were often arbitrary and inflexible. We finally found a place listed at $1,500 a month. When it came time to sign the lease, it mysteriously jumped to $1,600. We were told if we didn’t take it, there were 65 people behind us ready to sign.”
So they did. But the birth of their daughter and medical complications caused them to fall behind. They applied for rental assistance and were approved.
“Despite having a rental assistance pledge, our landlord still filed for eviction,” she said.
They were homeless for three weeks. Two weeks ago, they moved into a new place, where they’re spending half their income in rent.
Low-barrier ID a victory
Justice together has won some victories. They pushed for and got the city to establish a low-barrier municipal photo ID card, so homeless people without the wherewithal to obtain all the documents needed for regular ID can have something to use to access public services.
What makes Justice Together work is its definition of justice versus mercy.
Faith communities of Wichita have long been involved in dispensing mercy — things like feeding the hungry and providing shelter for the homeless when the weather makes it dangerous to sleep rough outside.
While those are good things to do and they continue, the justice movement looks for the underlying causes that create the need for mercy ministries, and addresses them with research and action. They’ve been doing that for more than a year and show no signs of stopping.
“(That’s) more than we should, but it’s a start, and we’re hopeful, but we’re tired,” she said.
“People of faith are still here,” said the Rev. Kevass Harding, the United Methodist minister and former Wichita school board member who closed Thursday’s meeting. “We’re still rising, and we still believe in a better Sedgwick County as a whole. Tell them that our shared justice ministry is not a one-time campaign. It is not a seasonal effort, but a permanent, lasting ministry. And tell them, this isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning.”
Dion Lefler is Opinion Editor of The Wichita Eagle. The article was made available through the Wichita Journalism Collaborative.
Quiz Answers from page 10:
1. Theodore Roosevelt
2. Jimmy Carter
3. Bill Clinton
4. John F. Kennedy
5. Richard Nixon
6. Ulysses S. Grant
7. Dwight Eisenhower
8. Harry S. Truman
9. Barack Obama
10. Ronald Reagan
11. Thomas Jefferson
What
exactly is assisted living and memory care?
By Jim Guarino
I’ll never forget the moment I realized mother needed serious help. She had always been self-sufficient and always there for all her children. Now, at 86 years old, she couldn’t properly care for herself. She didn’t remember if she took her medicines, what she ate for lunch or even if she had eaten. She couldn’t get around as well anymore. Getting up and out of her favorite chair was a painful effort. Mother needed help now, not later.
My brothers and sisters and I didn’t know what to do. We didn’t understand what assisted living or memory care meant, much less terms
Guest Column
like dementia or Alzheimer’s.
We did everything possible to care for mom in her own home, but that only lasted a short time. We quickly realized she needed 24/7 attention and that we weren’t equipped to provide it. Just like most everyone going through this experience, we had to learn from scratch. You may be experiencing this too, and it’s best to be prepared for what’s ahead.
Assisted living is when a person is provided 24/7 needed care of “ADLs” (activities of daily living).
you
ADLs include cooking, cleaning, bathing, dressing, toileting, medication management — just about everything needed to function day or night. An advanced level of care may include care for incontinence and/or specialized care for those suffering with brain change/cognitive decline/memory loss, which calls for specialized “memory care”.
Memory loss is a common experience, especially with age. About 40% of people over age 60 experience some form of memory impairment.
Dementia is a progressive condition. Its symptoms worsen over time and currently not reversible.
Understanding how these conditions affect people suffering from them and knowing how to properly and lovingly help someone with dementia is a learned skill used by trained professionals. Assisted living and memory care are provided within either an apartment-style facility (generally 60-250 residents) or a Home Plus facility (8-12 residents). Navigating the challenges of helping an aging loved one is difficult and painful for anyone. Just remember, you are not alone. There are professional resources to help you.
Jim Guarino is the owner of Comfort and Love Wichita Home Plus.
seDgwick county senior centers
BEL AIRE
7651 E Central Park Ave 744-2700, ext 304 www.belaireks.org
BENTLEY/EAGLE 504 W Sterling, 796-0027
CHENEY 516 Main, 542-3721
CLEARWATER 921 E Janet, 584-2332
DERBY 611 N Mulberry Rd, 788-0223 www.derbyks.com
DOWNTOWN 200 S Walnut, 267-0197 www.seniorservicesofwichita.org
EDGEMOOR 5815 E 9th, 688-9392
ANDOVER
GARDEN PLAIN 1006 N Main, 535-1155
GODDARD 122 N Main, 785-398-1255
HAYSVILLE 160 E Karla, 529-5903
KECHI Kechi City Building, 744-0217, 744-1271
LA FAMILIA 841 W 21st, 267-1700
LINWOOD 1901 S Kansas, 263-3703
MCADAMS GOLDEN AGE 1329 E 16th, 337-9222
MT HOPE 105 S Ohio, 667-8956
MULVANE 632 E Mulvane, 777-4813
NORTHEAST 2121 E 21st, 269-4444
OAKLAWN 2937 Oaklawn Dr, 524-7545
ORCHARD PARK 4808 W 9th, 942-2293
PARK CITY 6100 N Hydraulic, 744-1199
VALLY CENTER COMMUNITY CENTER 314 E Clay, 755-7350
Butler county senior centers
410 Lioba Dr, 733-4441 www.andoverks.com
AUGUSTA 640 Osage, 775-1189
BENTON Lion’s Community Bldg, S Main St CASSODAY Cassoday Senior Center 133 S. Washington, 620-735-4538
DOUGLASS 124 W 4th, 746-3227
EL DORADO 210 E 2nd, 321-0142
LEON 112 S Main, 745-9200 or 742-9905
ROSE HILL 207 E Silknitter, 776-0170
senior weDnesDays
June 4
10:30 am Wichita Art Museum 1400 W. Museum Blvd., $2 admission. “Moments Without Proper Names” Screening 1:30 pm Museum of World Treasures 835 E. 1st St. Info not available.
June 11
10 am Sedgwick County Zoo, 5555 Zoo Blvd. (316) 266-8213, $4 The Rhino Keeper author Jillian Forsberg 1:30 pm Advanced Learning Library, 711 W, 2nd, (316) 2618500, Free. Give Me a Home Where The Buffalo Roam!
Derby Sr Center, 611 Mulberry. 3rd Tuesday 7pm-9:30 pm. El Dorado Jam & Dance, Senior Center, 210 E. 2nd.
June 18
10 am Ulrich Museum of Art, 1845 Build-A-Bowl for Empty Bowls. 1:30 pm Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E 29th St N. Mushrooms and the Rise of Mammals
June 25
10 am Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main. LGBTQ Wichita. 1:30 pm Mid American All-Indian museum. 650 N Seneca (316) 3503340, $2 + tax admission; free for MAAIM members. Info not available.
Dances
Prairie Wind Dancers: Plymouth Congregational Church, 202 N Clifton. Joyce, 683-1122.
Linwood Golden Age, 1901 S Kansas. Every Saturday 7pm-9:30pm. Call Jim 316-945-9451 Minisa Golden Age, 704 W 13th. Info 617-2560. Every Thursday 7pm9:30pm. Call Rita 316-364-1702 Oaklawn Activity Center, 4904 S. Clifton. Contra Dance1st Saturday of each month. 7pm-9pm. Call Amanda at 316-361-6863. Orchard Park Golden Age, 4808 W 9th. Every Friday 7pm-9:30pm. Call Casey 316-706-7464
Village Steppers Square Dance, Oaklawn Activity Center, 4904 S Clifton. 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month September through May 7:30 - 10:00 pm. Info: Mike Huddleson 316-650-2469 Westside Steppers Square Dance, 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month, 6-8:30 p.m., West Heights United Methodist (entrance "D"), 745 N. Westlink Ave. Info: Sheldon Lawrence (316) 648-7590.
NOTE: AGING PROJECTS, INC. PLANNED TO MAKE FRIENDSHIP MEALS AVAILABLE THROUGH PICKUP AND DELIVERY IF NECESSARY. FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MEAL SITE OR CALL 316-686-0074
Friendship Meals
Aging Projects serves a hot, nutritious meal weekdays for persons 60 and older in Sedgwick, Harvey and Butler counties. Reservations are necessary. For locations and reservations, call 316-686-0074
WEEK OF JUNE 2
Mon: Cheeseburger on bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, potato salad, baked beans. apricots.
Tue: Swedish ham balls, brown rice, mixed vegetables, pears.
Wed: Cheese pizza, garden salad, ambrosia fruit salad.
Thu: Creamed chicken over biscuit, green beans, applesauce.
Fri: Beef tips over rice, parslied carrots, peaches.
WEEK OF JUNE 9
Mon: Pork cutlet w/ mushroom & onion sauce, mashed potatoes, broccoli, blushing pears.
TOWANDA 317 Main, 316-536-8999
Open 10:30 am-5 pm Mon, Wed, Fri
WHITEWATER Legion Hall, 108 E Topeka
Harvey county
BURRTON 124 N Burrton, 620-463-3225
HALSTEAD 523 Poplar, 835-2283
HESSTON Randall & Main, 620-327-5099 www.hesstonseniorcenter.com
NEWTON AREA SENIOR CENTER 122 E 6th, Newton, 283-2222 www.newtonseniorcenter.com
SEDGWICK 107 W. Fifth, 772-0393
transportation
Sedgwick County
Sedgwick Co Transportation, 660-5150 or 1-800-367-7298. Information: 8 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri; closed most holidays. www. sedgwickcounty.org/aging.
Butler County Transit
Weekday transportation in El Dorado, Augusta and Andover. Rides to Wichita on Wed, Thu. Information: Augusta, 775-0500; El Dorado, 322-4321; toll free, 1-800-2793655. 48-hr notice required.
Harvey County
Transportation reservations or information: 316-284-6802 or 1-866-6806802. Round-trip: $8 Newton (wheelchair only), $12 Harvey County, $20 outside Harvey County. AVI to Newton: Tue, 12:304:30 pm from Burrton, Sedgwick, Halstead, Hesston, Walton.
Tue: Hamburger & cabbage casserole, harvard beets, pineapples.
Wed: BBQ chicken Sand., green beans, baked beans, mixed fruit.
Thu: Meatloaf, creamed peas & potatoes, corn, stewed apples.
Fri: Fish sandwich, lettuce, tomato, tartar sauce, broc. cauliflower salad, easy peach cobbler.
WEEK OF JUNE 16
Mon: Cheesy chili mac, green beans, applesauce .
Tue: Chicken chef salad, salad crackers, pears.
Wed: Slooppy joe, potato wedges, mixed vegetables, apricots.
Thu: JUNETEENTH.
Fri:Egg salad sandwich, carrots, mixed fruit, spice cake.
WEEK OF JUNE 23
Mon: Smoked turkey & cheese sandwich, 3-bean salad, cantaloupe, potato chips.
Tue: Goulash, garden salad, ambrosia fruit salad, garlic bread stick.
Wed: Ham & broccoli cass, corn, peaches
Thu: Cranberry meatballs, brown rice, green beans, applesauce.
Fri: Creamy chicken & veggie casserole, cauliflour, banana.
WEEK OF JUNE 30
Mon:Salmon patties, carrots, pineapples.
* Milk or grape juice is served with all meals. Meals fall within the following ranges: Calories 650-750; protein 25 grams or higher; fat 20 to 30 percent of calories; calcium 400 mg or higher; sodium 1,000 grams or less; fiber 9 grams or higher.
Classified advertising PlaCe
F CEMETERY PROPERTY- FOR SALE F
2 niches inside main Mausoleum at Lakeview Memorial Gardens. Garden: Columbarium IV Lot/ Level: H Spaces/Niche: 4A&B Garden: Columbarium IV Lot/Level: H Spaces/Niche: 3A&B. Sell for $4,800/each or $9,000/both OBO. Buyer pays transfer fee of $495 each. Call 316250-0509 or 316-250-4540 Leave a message.
2 crypts at Resurrection Mausoleum. Eye level location. Sell both for $3,800. Seller pays transfer fees. 316-652-9943
Resthaven, 2 side by side plots Located in Garden of the Cross. $4000 each seller pays transfer fee. 316-734-3292
2 lots at Resthaven & Gardens of Memory, Sermon on the Mount, lot 123d, spaces 3&4. $10,900 for both. 817-905-2277- Pete Thomas
Resthaven Garden of Freedom, Military section, double lawn vault, two openings/closings, granite base/installation, $10,000 OBO 209-507-1174, Curt.
Burial plot and two vaults at Walnut Valley Cemetery, El Dorado, Ks. Good Shepherd, Block No. C, Lot 100, Spaces 7-8. Retail price $2,100, asking $800. (316)322-0492.
Lakeview Everlasting Life Lot 102 Spaces 3&4 Sell both for $4500 OBO Seller pays transfer fees. Cash, cashiers check or certified check only. Call 316 259-4446 please leave a message
Two plots at Resthaven, Garden of the Cross, valued at $11,000 asking $7,000 OBO for both.Seller pays transfer fee. 316-993-6105
White chaple memorial gardens. Sermon on the mount. 2 lots w/ 2 top seal vaults. Asking $8,000 OBO. Seller pays transfer fee. 913-515-5688.
Lakeview, Everlasting Life, double depth crypt with vaults and markers. Value $10,500, sell $5,000. Wanda, 316-619-8525.
Old mission cemetery at Hillside and 21st. One crypt in Mausoleum. Opening/closing negotiable. Call 316-253-9905.
Resthaven, 2 lots section 12 lot 34B spaces 3&4. 2 vaults, bronze plate and 2 concrete underground vaults. $14,500. Call 720-291-2545.
White Chapel Memorial Gardens. 1 burial plot, Sell for $1,500. Seller pays transfer fee. To view the lot call 541-840-0783 please leave message.
White Chapel Masonic Garden
Two plots side by side. Two vaults. One opening/closing.
1 Bronze Memorial 24x12
1 Granite Memorial 62x16
Valued $12,500, Selling $10,000 obo. (316)250-8641
1 plot at Resthaven Garden of Gethsemane, Lot 79A space 4. Asking $4,000 includes transfer fee. 913-710-6789
4 adjacent plots Resthaven Garden of the Cross next to bench. $2900 each. Double bronze marker also available. 316-218-5398.
Single plot lakeview cemetery Veterans Section. Lot 59 space 9. Current value. $3,495. Sell for $1200. Buyer pays transfer fee. 316-409-5435
Double depth plot wth vault in Garden of Gospel Resthaven in Wichita,KS. $9000.00 Call (316)409-4012, leave message.
1 niche available Wichita Park/Old Mission. Northeast Gallery level 2, Row F Mission Chapel niche east. Value is $6,849, sell for $2,500. Seller pays transfer fees. 316-652-9943
1 plot at Lakeview in Garden of Memory. $2,500. Seller pays transfer fee. 316-206-3010
Wichita Park Cemetery plot in Acacia C block 358 space 6. Asking $2,100. Buyers pays transfer fee of $499. Call 772-979-1729.
Resthaven Garden of Freedom, dbl stacked lawn crypt. Value $11,000, asking $5500. Call or text 620-532-9055
Old Mission cemetery. 2 plots section F lot 129 spaces 5&6. Asking $2,500 each, or both for $3,000. Will split transfer fee of $499. 316-6417422 or email revdcmonger@gmail.com.
1 plot Lakeview Cemetary in Garden of the Cross Lot 45 Space 11 Asking. $2,200.00 OBO Seller to pay transfer fee. Call or text 316-516-7681
locally owned. Free estimates. Senior discounts. Todd Wenzel 316-393-4488
Doors Windows won’t stay up, Crank Outs, Patio Rollers and Lock Latches, Morris Glass & Service, 316-946-0745 Derby, Haysville, Mulvane, Rose Hill, Wichita Exterior & Interior. House painting, siding, decks, fences
Clean Cut Lawncare and Fencing
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Please Support Our Advertisers. Let them know you saw their ad in The Active Age.
Wichita’s first families of fun
Chances and Ottaways linked by
By Joe Stumpe
As visitors from Orleans, France, toured the Chance Rides plant in west Wichita this spring, they spotted a familiar sight: the same kind of miniature train engine that pulled kids around a park in their hometown for decades.
“I would say all natives of Orleans, from the '50s to 2000, wore their pants out on it,” said Lauren DosimearHerry, one of the Orleans residents visiting Wichita on a Sister Cities trip.
Around the world, millions of kids and adults have ridden miniature trains and thrill rides produced here. The story of how that came to be is the story of two families — the Chances and the Ottaways.
The connection between the two goes back to the 1930s, when Geraldine Chance married Herb Ottaway. Geraldine’s father, Gerald, was the local Indian Motorcycle dealer, and Herb was an avid cyclist.
To make ends meet during the Great Depression, Gerald and Herb built kid-sized, gasoline-powered race cars that they toured Kansas with during the summer. Eventually, they established a permanent summer spot for their business in Manitou Springs, CO, near Pike’s Peak. The attractions also included a miniature train Herb Ottaway had restored and a miniature motorcycle on which Gerald’s son, Harold, offered rides. “On a good day, they could make $100, and that was a lot of money in the '30s,” said Gerald’s grandson, Dick Chance.
By the early 1940s, Herb Ottaway, his brother (also named Harold) and father, Lester, were building miniature steam-powered trains in a shop on North St. Francis. Harold Chance, fresh out of the Army, went to work for them in 1946.
The Ottaways also ran a small
blood, business
amusement park called Joyland, located at the corner of Central and Washington. In 1949, they opened the much bigger Joyland on South Hillside that became one of the region’s biggest attractions. The Ottaways let Harold Chance install and operate the park’s train. Business was so good — he’d carry 5,000 passengers on a Sunday — that he made back his investment in two years.
After five years, the Ottaways traded the train manufacturing business to Chance in exchange for the Joyland train operation. While his sister’s marriage to Herb Ottaway didn’t last, Chance always thanked the Ottaways for his entry into the amusement ride business.
After some initial struggles, Harold Chance’s company produced its biggest-selling product of all time in 1961: the C.P. Huntington Train, gasoline powered and modeled after a real Civil War-era train. The company went on to make more than 400 of them. (The Orleans train was an earlier Ottaway model sent to France in the
1950s in something of a publicity stunt.)
Chance also moved to its current location on Irving south of West Kellogg at this time. Starting in 1963 with the Trabant — a spinning, tilting ride that a young German had invented — Chance produced a steady stream of popular rides that became a staple of carnivals and amusement parks across the United States, including the 1965 Skydiver, 1968 Zipper, 1972 Rok-N-Rol and 1974 Yo-Yo. One of the most unusual Chance products was designed by Herb Ottaway — a gasoline-powered pogo stick called the Hop Rod. It did not sell.
the reason for the 100-meter-high roof on part of its plant (the company assembles even larger wheels on location for clients).
The recession of the early 2000s forced the company into bankruptcy. It emerged with about a third of its previous 400-person workforce. About 130 people work there today.
Harold summed up the strategy behind successful thrill rides in an interview with the Wichita Eagle, saying, “You’ve gotta really scare people to death,” and, “When they get on they have to scream.” The innovation that set Chance apart was Harold’s idea to mount the rides on trailers, greatly decreasing the time it took to set up and dissemble them at each stop.
In 1971, Chance acquired the Allan Herschel Co., the world’s largest amusement ride manufacturer (it made the former Joyland carousel now in use at Botanica), and assumed that title itself for a number of years. It’s still the largest U.S. manufacturer.
Dick Chance took over upon Harold’s retirement in 1985, having grown up in the family business. “I have probably drilled a million holes in my life,” he said in a recent interview. He expanded the company’s portfolio to include transit buses, theme park rollercoasters and observation wheels,
Dick Chance retired in 2023, the same year the company was acquired by a Missouri-based private equity firm. He said the sale satisfied his top priority, to “continue the legacy Chances Rides long after I’m gone.” He recently moved to Florida, where he often runs into old business contacts. “They can buy me a drink now,” he joked.
The Ottaway family, meanwhile, sold Joyland in 1975, and the theme park closed for good in 2006. Herb Ottaway’s son, Jerry, said he still gets stopped three or four times a week by someone who recognizes his last name and its connection with Joyland. His family now owns the Carousel Skate Center on West Street, a successor of Joyland’s old skating rink. Jerry plans to fire up an old Ottaway miniature train there this summer.
“I guess it’s entertaining people. That’s the only business I’ve ever been in,” he said.
Dick Chance and Jerry Ottaway, seen here at Chance Rides, share a grandfather and love of miniature trains.
Courtesy photo
The Trabant was Chance's first big-selling thril ride.
Harold Chance
Savvy Senior: Strategies for paying off credit card debt
Dear Savvy Senior,
My husband and I, who are retired, have accumulated about $7,000 in credit card debt over the past few years and need some help paying it off. What can you tell us?
Living Underwater
Dear Living,
Credit card debt has become a big problem in this country for millions of older Americans. According to a recent AARP report, 52 percent of adults ages 50 to 64 have credit card debt, along with 42 percent of those ages 65 to 74. Here are some strategies to help you tackle it:
Create a Budget
Start by taking a close look at your income and expenses to see where you can free up money to put toward your credit card debt. Also look for areas to reduce spending, such as dining out, entertainment or subscriptions. And see if you’re eligible for any financial assistance programs (see BenefitsCheckUp.org) that can help boost your budget by paying for things like food, utilities, medicine and health care.
Call the Card Company
While the average credit-card
interest rate is more than 20 percent, some credit card companies may be willing to lower your interest rate or work out a payment plan, especially if you’re struggling. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
Pay More Than the Minimum Credit card companies only require the minimum payment, but it’s usually mostly interest. Try to pay more than the minimum every month to make a dent in the principal balance.
Choose a Repayment Strategy
If you have more than one credit card, pick one and get serious about paying it off. Start with the card that carries the highest interest rate or the one with the smallest balance.
If you focus on paying off the card with the highest interest rate first, you’ll pay less interest over time, saving yourself a lot of money. Once the highest-interest card is paid off, move to the next highest, and so on.
Or you may want to start with the card with the smallest balance. Paying off smaller debts quickly can give you a sense of accomplishment and motivate you to keep going.
Consolidate Your Debt
If you have multiple high-interest cards, look into consolidating your debt with a low-interest personal loan from your bank or credit union. Or consider moving your debts to a balance transfer credit card with 0 percent interest for an introductory period, which is usually 15, 18 or 21 months. This will eliminate the amount of interest you’re
paying temporarily. But be careful! Once the introductory promotion ends, the card company will charge interest on any remaining balance.
Get more Savvy
Find more Savvy Senior tips at theactiveage.com.
future
By
Diana Morton Kechi Playhouse, 100 E. Kechi Road, You Take the Cake by Misty Maynard Set in 1925, this original comedy follows two drifters who find themselves in debt to a mob boss who forces them to work in his nefarious bakery. Shows on Fri-Sat, 8 pm, Sun matinee 2:30 pm. June 6-29. Tickets are $17 on Fri and Sat and $16 on Sundays. For more information call 316 -744 - 2152 Mosley Street Melodrama, 234 N. Mosley. Saved by the Bellhop by Carol Hughes, starring Jaslyn Alexander, Julia Faust, Daniel Gonzalez-Myers, Gavin Gonzalez-Myers, Jenny Mitchell, & Zeke Thompson followed by a new musical review. Now – July 12. Tickets, dinner, & show $36-40; show only $26-30. 316-263-0222
Music Theatre Wichita, Century II Concert Hall. Waitress. From the pen of songwriter-actress Sara Bareilles,
Expansion Lunch & Learn: Your Future at Larksfield Landing
Tuesday, June 10, 11:30 a.m.
Larksfield Place • 7373 E 29th St N, Wichita, KS 67226
Larksfield Place is nearly full, but Larksfield Landing is just beginning! Join us for lunch, meet our team, and discover how Larksfield Landing offers the perfect opportunity to plan ahead. Learn about exclusive Charter Member benefits and limitedtime, pre-construction price breaks.
Progressive Home Tour
Friday, June 20, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Meet residents and tour apartments that served as inspiration for our new expansion. Learn more about Charter Member special pricing benefits. Pre-sales now open.
To RSVP, scan the QR code or call 316-202-4074 . Stay informed about upcoming events and expansion updates.
Waitress, features a character with a talent for baking pies as extraordinary as her dreams.
June 18-22. Contact box office for times and prices: 316-265-3107
Roxy’s Downtown, 412 E. Douglas, cabaret-style theatre. Urinetown. Imagine living in a city where droughts are abundant and local political figures are dictating when you can and cannot water your lawns. Oh wait … 7 pm Wed & Th; 8 pm Fri & Sat, June 5-20. Tickets $40. 316-265-4400
Wichita Community Theatre, 258 N. Fountain. Lend Me a Soprano by Ken Ludwig and directed by Mark Schuster. It’s 1934, and the Cleveland Grand Opera Company is ready to welcome a world-class soprano for her one-nightonly starring role in Carmen. Her late arrival is only the start of problems. 8 pm Thu-Sat, 2 pm Sun, June 5-15. Tickets $16-18. 316-686-1282
Contact Diana Morton at dianamorton12@sbcglobal.net
Servicing Wichita & Surrounding Areas
Learn F.A.S.T. to help save a life from stroke
Family Features
Strokes can happen to anyone, at any age. But up to 80% of strokes may be preventable, according to the American Stroke Association. You can take action to prevent strokes by managing risk factors such as high blood pressure, a leading cause of strokes and heart disease.
Other risk factors include diabetes, obesity and smoking. Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, also increases stroke risk. In fact, people with AFib are five times more likely to have a stroke, according to the American Heart Association.
Act F.A.S.T.: How to detect signs of stroke
Most adults in the U.S. don’t know the stroke warning signs, nor that stroke is largely treatable if you call 911 as soon as you recognize the symptoms.
Learning the acronym F.A.S.T. can help you recognize that someone may be having stroke symptoms.
F: Face Drooping. Does one side of the face droop or is it
numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?
A: Arm Weakness. Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S: Speech. Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like “The sky is blue.”
T: Time to Call 911. If you or anyone else shows any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately. Preventing a second stroke
Nearly 1 in 4 strokes occur in people who had a previous stroke.
Going paperless?
A free digital copy of The Active Age is now available. The digital copy can be “flipped through” like a regular newspaper, and the type can be enlarged on your phone or computer. To have the digital version emailed to you each month, call (316) 942-5385 or email joe@theactiveage.com
Work with your health care professional to develop a plan that helps you move forward after a first stroke while preventing a second. This plan should include controlling risk factors, like achieving and maintaining healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
“Taking medicines as prescribed, monitoring health numbers, and making small, consistent lifestyle changes can make a big difference,” said Teresita Casanova, MD, HCA Healthcare affiliated neurologist and American Stroke Association
volunteer expert. “Stroke survivors should feel empowered to take control of their health and work with their care team to build a strong prevention plan.”
Tools such as the Heart & Stroke Helper, a free self-management app available for stroke survivors and their caregivers, can help. The app allows patients to oversee their health in one place with features that track progress on lifestyle habits, manage medications, track health numbers, provide information about stroke and allow patients to connect with others for inspiration.
Find more ways to manage second stroke risk at Stroke.org.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock