The student voice of Hutchinson Community College
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October 22, 2021
pinion
Laci Sutton writes about how coaches need to address mental health
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www.hutchcollegian.com
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More Kansas urban legends to seek and explore.
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ampus
Brooke Greene talks about what to expect for a baby’s gender reveal.
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Vol. 63 Issue 6
ports
Sticker shock is a good way to describe how freshmen feel when they first play for soccer coach Sammy Lane
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it’s Thriller time!
The hunt for Hamburger Man By Braedon Martin Staff writer
According to local legend - and almost every article describing the scariest urban legends of Kansas deep in the woodlands of Sand Hills State Park, hides the elusive Hamburger Man. However, it seems that asking many people in the Hutchinson area brings up a different issue. “What’s the Hamburger Man?” It seems that this so-called “scariest urban legend” is only known about through the articles describing them, however, even these are inconsistent. According to Amanda Rees’ The Great Plains Region, Hamburger Man’s name comes from his horrifically disfigured face. However, other sources say this is because of his unique method of killing, which consists of either kidnapping or outright killing his victims with either an axe, a curved knife, or even a full on hook hand, before dragging him to his shack within the woodlands of Sand Hills State Park - located at 4257 E 56th Av.,, before grinding them up into hamburger meat. Finding detailed information about Hamburger Man is difficult however, due to lack of eyewitness evidence, and the overall age of the legend. The legend of Hamburger Man seems to have first appeared in the 1950s, so even if he was real, he likely isn’t up and kicking anymore. Even just wandering the Sand Hills Woodland Trail for a few hours brought no further evidence, except a random lawn seat within the woods, which is far from what any would consider conclusive evidence. To put it lengthily, even if it’s a local legend, nobody actually knows much about Hamburger Man, and the story itself is hard enough to come by in its short form, let alone conclusive evidence. Hamburger Man could be flipping burgers at McDonald’s for all anyone knows, and this urban legend may well remain obscure for as long as it continues to persist. Regardless, you should be more afraid of natural wildlife, such as snakes and deer, if you wander the trails of Sand Hills, less so than the tale of Hamburger Man. But who knows, maybe he’s been waiting for a special victim like you? Graphic design by Rachel Wilson
Legend of Sinkhole Sam By Connor Keating Staff writer
Photo by Braedon Martin A suspicious chair is spotted in the woods at Sandhills State Park. Is it Hamburger Man’s?
Upcoming events Oct. 27 —Volleyball vs. Barton at the Hutchinson Sports Arena at 6 p.m. Oct. 29— HutchCC Recruitment Day, No Day Classes Nov. 3 — Volleyball vs. Reg VI First Round at 6 p.m. Nov. 24- Nov. 26 — Thanksgiving Break, College Closed
Over the years there have been many legends, tales, and even photographs, of sea serpents, living plesiosaurs, and other sea monsters. But the idea of one of these fabled beasts living in Kansas? Sounds far fetched. Long ago, Kansas was a great sea filled with many of the most dangerous sea creatures to ever live. From the 18-foot Xiphactinus, to the 45-foot-long Tylosaurus, you wouldn’t want to have swam in Kansas before it became the grass covered plain it is today. So is it that hard to believe somehow one of these prehistoric monsters managed to survive the extinction? Yes. Still though, Kansas has a number of tales of monsters lurking in its waterways. Many Native American tribes tell stories of such creatures. The Arapaho have a legend about a horned serpent called the Hiitacabiit, and the Sauk, Fox, and Potawatomi tribes tell tales of the Maneto, a giant serpent that was described as a man eater. In the 1920’s, there were reports of fishermen seeing some kind of serpent in the Inman area. Then one fateful day in 1952, a pair of Mennonite boys, Albert Neufeld and George Regehr, sighted the beast swimming in the Big Sinkhole; Neufeld took two shots at the creature, but they didn’t seem to affect it.
The happenings around campus
Later that same year a story was published in The Salina Journal written by Ernest Alva Dewey, however Dewey was known for writing satirical pieces, making fun of these sorts of sightings. He had once written an article about UFO sightings, and claimed they were actually because of a Kansas dragon called the “ball-tailed snickelhoopus.” Likewise, he went out to Inman in search of the beast, and claimed he went with a Dr. Erasmus P. Quattlebaum. The totally real doctor told him that the creature was actually a “foopengerkle,” the most extinct of extinct animals in Kansas, that live in subterranean caverns. He also said the creatures were herbivorous. From then, through the early 1950s, people were drawn to the sinkhole to see if they could get a glimpse of the creature known as “Sinkhole Sam”. The beast is generally described as being wormlike. It’s said to be 15 feet long, and about as big around as a tire. Eyewitnesses have also stated Sam has a “non-snakelike” grin. Think of the movie “Tremors”. The Hutchinson Collegian deployed its own team to try and find “Sinkhole Sam”, but evidently it was a little too cold that day for giant snake-worm monsters. The Big Sinkhole is southeast of Inman, right See Sinkhole, Page 5
College Student Weather Report Friday High: 75; Low 54 Don’t sweat the fall stuff. Saturday High: 80; Low 64 Nap through the heat. Sunday High: 82; Low 50 Morning: Coat and hat. Afternoon: Tank top and shorts.
Weather source: accuweather.com
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