KANSAS! Magazine | Issue No. 5 2021

2021

| VOL 77

|

ISSUE 5

|

KANSASMAG.COM

( D ay o f t h e d e a d )

A Cultural Holiday of Celebration and Reflection Across the State

A L S O I N T H I S I S S U E // Atchison’s Best Haunts // The Great Airship Scare A New Poem from the Poet Laureate // A Paw Paw Harvest Recipe The Wild West Returns (in Podcast) // Mead Makers // Pumpkin Patches // And More!

give give the the gift gif t of of kansas kansas all. all. year. year. long. long. shop.fromthelandofkansas.com Don’t forget to keep an eye out for our holiday gift boxes! To celebrate the five-year anniversary of our gift boxes, we will have a new specialty box in addition to our Konza and Ad Astra boxes!

don’t wait.

Be sure to place your order when gift boxes come available in mid-October.

THE LE GE N DS OF T HE OLD W E ST COM E ALIV E IN D OD G E CIT Y, KANSAS. Relive the wild west with live reenactments of the shootouts that earned the city the nickname “Wickedest Little City in the West.” Also, enjoy the best the new west has to offer with art galleries, breweries, shopping, and more.

1-800- OLD -WEST V I S I T D O D G E C I T Y . O R G

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

Fishing and Public Hunting.

WASHINGTON

COUNTY TOURISM

785.325.2116 | washingtoncountyks.gov FISHING AND PUBLIC HUNTING

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

WINFIELD ART IN THE PARK October 2, 2021 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Island Park, Winfield, KS

• Original Artwork • Music and Dance Performances • Wine Tasting • Children’s art activities • Food Trucks • Live Demonstrations Sponsored in part by Winfield Convention & Tourism

(620) 221-2161 | www.winfieldarts.org

WHAT’S IN THESE PAGES

features

38

Haunted Atchison The historic riverfront town in eastern Kansas is known for spooky homes, ghostly legends and things that go bump in the night

Day of the Dead The traditional Mexican holiday is celebrated across Kansas in recognition of loss and lives respectfully remembered

2

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

PHOTOGRAPH Rachael Sebastian

48

Ex perience the

Rodeos, Wild West Night Show, Historical Pageant, Powwow, Parades and MUCH MORE

September 24-25-26, 2021 Medicine Lodge, Kansas Tickets available at

peacetreaty.org MOST EVENTS OUTDOORS

Experience exciting table games, over 1,100 slot machines, award-winning dining, live entertainment, and Golfweek’s Best Course in Kansas, all only minutes from Topeka. Plan your stay at Prairie Band Casino today and – whether your game’s played on felt, at the slots, or on the links – discover even more ways to play.

Don’t have a Prairie Band Players card?

Sign up for FREE with a valid I.D. All new members can spin the New Member Rewards Prize Wheel for a guaranteed prize up to $500 Prairie Cash!

Like us on

or

for an additional $10 Prairie Cash!

15 minutes north of Topeka 1-888-PBP-4WIN | prairieband.com

Must be 18 years of age or older to gamble.

Owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Getting help is your best bet. Call the confidential toll-free Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

WHAT’S IN THESE PAGES

departments

30

26 Taste of Kansas: The Pawpaw Is the Star ‘Like banana custard, only better,’ is how some describe the taste of this large, fickle fruit native to portions of Kansas

KANSAS DETAILS 10 Cuisine Fine Food and Good Eats 12 Kansas Made Must-have Local Items

30 Airship Alert!

In the late 1800s, Kansans were inventing early aircraft, and mysterious ships were (reportedly) navigating the skies

14 Heartland People and Places that Define Us

PHOTOGRAPHS (FROM TOP) Illustration by Lana Grove, Brian Goodman, Rachael Sebastian

17 Culture Arts and Experiences 18 Lens A Conversation with KANSAS! Photographers

12

20 The Kansan Authentic Life in the Sunflower State

IN EVERY ISSUE 7 Extra Details 8 From the Editor 58 KANSAS! Gallery 64 #KansasMag

22 Reasons We Love Kansas Celebrating Unique Attractions 24 Must See Upcoming Events to Enjoy

WIDE OPEN SPACES

18

ON THE COVER Traditional elements of the Day of the Dead holiday are incorporated into observances across Kansas.

Design by Shelly Bryant.

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

5

Understanding Medicare Insurance Can Be Overwhelming, But It Doesn’t Have To Be!

Kansas Tourism, a division of the Kansas Department of Commerce

Andrea Etzel

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Laura Kelly

Let our professional advisers help you learn exactly what you need and then find the right products to fit your situation. Capper’s Insurance Service works with 17 major insurance providers to customize a plan and a rate that’s right for you.

GOVERNOR

David Toland

LT. GOVERNOR & SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Bridgette Jobe

TOURISM DIRECTOR

SUNFLOWERPUB.COM | LAWRENCE, KANSAS

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Bill Uhler

Bob Cucciniello

Shelly Bryant

Nathan Pettengill

PUBLISHER

DIRECTOR

DESIGNER/ART DIRECTOR

Joanne Morgan

Bob Legault

Licensed Insurance Agent

Mike Litke

Licensed Insurance Agent

Noelle Uhler

Licensed Insurance Agent

MANAGING EDITOR

Kalli Jo Smith

MARKETING, (785) 832-7264

MANAGING EDITOR

Alex Tatro

Leslie Andres

ADVERTISING DESIGNER

COPY EDITOR

ALLENPRESS.COM | LAWRENCE, KANSAS

PRINTER

Kathy Lafferty

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Ken Hanson

Licensed Insurance Agent

Doug Nyman

Licensed Insurance Agent

Vanya Lentz Office Support

CREATING CONFIDENCE IN RETIREMENT Medicare Supplement Plans

Annuities and Life Insurance

Medicare Advantage Plans

Prescription Drug Plans

Long-Term and Short-Term Care Insurance

Critical Care Conditions Insurance

Accident/Disability Insurance

Dental, Vision, and Hearing Insurance

Lisa Mayhew

ACCOUNT MANAGER

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

by Kansas Tourism 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612; (785) 296-3479; TTY Hearing Impaired: (785) 296-3487.

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

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

All prices include all applicable sales tax.

Please address subscription inquiries to: Toll-free: (800) 678-6424 KANSAS!, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66612 Email: ksmagazine@sunflowerpub.com | Website: www.KansasMag.com POSTMASTER: Send address change to: KANSAS!, P.O. Box 146, Topeka, KS 66601-0146.

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

Unauthorized use is prohibited. Additional restrictions may apply.

SERVING RURAL AMERICA SINCE 1932

We’re here to help. Call 800-678-7741. www.CappersInsurance.com

IT’S ALL IN THE “EXTRA”

details

KANSAS! CALENDAR Each year, subscribers to KANSAS! magazine receive a photo-gallery calendar highlighting the beauty of our state. In 2022, the calendar should arrive in November before the Thanksgiving holiday.

HAUNTED TOURING

One of our feature stories in this issue focuses on Atchison, which offers several ghost-themed attractions. Atchison also appears in Kansas Tourism’s list of 13 reportedly haunted locations for those seeking chills and thrills across the state. You can see the full list, which includes locations in Fort Leavenworth, Lawrence, Hanover, Ellis, Ulysses, rural Clark County, Hutchinson, Wichita, Valley Center, Towanda, Coffeyville and Galena by going online at: travelks.com/blog/stories/post/haunted-kansas-road-trip-13-spookylocations-to-make-your-blood-run-cold/

[W]hen it comes to paranormal tourism, it is especially important to do some homework before visiting.

PHOTOGRAPH BriJoRae’ Pusch-Zuniga, Illustration Lana Grove

Colby Sharples-Terry, public relations and communications manager for Kansas Tourism, says that when it comes to paranormal tourism, it is especially important to do some homework before visiting. Check if the site continues to be open to the public before traveling, and then, once there, follow the rules of those who manage the site.

around the state 38 Atchison

33 Goodland 52 Solomon 55 Garden City 14 Dodge City

30 Vernon 17 Humboldt 10 Peck

IN THE SKIES! For our story on aviation pioneers and the Great Airship Hysteria of 1897, artist Lana Grove imagined the flights of several proto-aircraft. You can see photographs of actual early aircraft

by Kansas inventors through the Kansas State Historical Society’s online digital collection, kansasmemory.org.

Type in “Call’s airship,” for example, to see photos of the amazing 1908 airship described as “a turkey gobbler with its wings clipped.”

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

7

A hello FROM OUR EDITOR

Legends and Lore “Have you heard the story about...,” is usually how it all begins. A remarkable (often unbelievable) tale that’s passed down through the generations, told around the glow of a crackling campfire to wide-eyed kids—or served up with coffee at the diner, shared among the chattering of local gossip. It’s a story that grows and evolves with every telling, so entrenched it becomes a part of the community. It becomes a legend.

I can vividly remember the night I first heard the legend of Topeka’s Albino Lady. An innocent elementary school sleepover turned into a terrifying sleepless night; I was jumping at every sound. As I look back now, it seems like a rite of passage, another checkmark on my “How Topeka Are You?” list. I may have even looked for her a time or two at old Rochester Cemetery.

Last fall, while watching a virtual event hosted by the Kansas Explorers Club, I first heard the story of the Blue Light Lady in Hays. The legend of the Blue Light Lady, or Elizabeth Polly to the locals, goes back to at least 1867. As with most folklore, there are many versions and mysteries of the Blue Light Lady and who Elizabeth Poll was, but one constant aspect is that she provided medical care to soldiers stricken with cholera at Fort Hays and often walked to nearby Sentinel Hill for solitude. Unfortunately, Elizabeth herself succumbed to the illness and requested to be buried at Sentinel Hill. The lone grave is believed to still be there. After her death, the stories of seeing a phantom blue light or a woman with the light began. Today, a monument for Elizabeth Polly, created by sculptor Pete Felten, sits atop Sentinel Hill as a memorial.

This summer I ventured to Hays in search of Elizabeth. It was a sweltering afternoon touring Fort Hays State Historic Site to see where the old hospital stood—noticeable by the scarred landscape. I drove the dusty roads to Sentinel Hill and took in a sunny morning at Elizabeth Polly Park. Alas, I did not see a blue light—which, honestly, I’m good with. Legends have to keep their mystique.

Speaking of legends, but of a different kind, did you know Hays is also home to the original Boot Hill Cemetery in Kansas?

If you’re like me and intrigued by the mysteries, legends, and lore around our state, along with this issue, you’ll enjoy Kansas Myths and Legends by Diana Lambdin Meyer and Roger Ringer’s books on Kansas. What’s your favorite Kansas legend or tale?

@KANSASMag KansasMagazine (get spotted; use #kansasmag to tag us)

8

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

ANDREA ETZEL

EDITOR, KANSAS! MAGAZINE PHOTOGRAPHS Andrea Etzel

facebook.com/KansasMagazine

From My Travels Along with his monument on top of Sentinel Hill, Pete Felten, a Hays native and selftaught sculptor, has created more than 30 statues on display in Kansas, 22 of which can be seen on a self-guided tour through Hays.

Felten’s first public display is the bust of Buffalo Cody outside the public library. One of his mightiest pieces is Monarch of the Plains, a limestone buffalo looking toward Hays. Today it also overlooks a herd of bison in Frontier Park. You can find a map of all the statues in Hays at visithays.com, or visit Felton’s Stone Gallery.

Where in Kansas?

KANSAS DETAILS

Olathe Baldwin City

Paxico

Peck

Local Meads

Wichita

cuisine

By Cecilia Harris

Kansas businesses offer mead varieties that sample the state’s natural flavors Wyldewood Cellars Paxico, Peck and Wichita Wyldewood Cellars features natural meads made with wildflower honey and sweetened with orange blossom honey. The mead selections offered by this Kansas vineyard include blackberry mead, elderberry blackberry mead, and the award-winning elderberry mead. A new peach mead is being introduced. wyldewoodcellars.com (800) 711-9748

Carl and Julie Hinchey spent more than a decade creating mead at their home, enjoying the process, experimenting with new flavors, and sharing their concoctions with friends. In 2018, the couple turned that hobby into a business, opening Black Labs Craft Meadery (the name is a tribute to their two dogs) in Olathe.

According to the American Mead Makers Association, the Hincheys are part of a national trend. In 2003, there were an estimated 60 meaderies across the United States. That number has now grown to some 500, not including wineries that offer at least one mead product alongside their traditional product line.

Carl believes the growing popularity of the honey-based, fermented alcoholic drink can be attributed partially to its wide variety.

“One of the great things about mead is that people really don’t have any preconceived idea of what should or shouldn’t be in it,” Carl says. “One of our meads has a jasmine green tea added to it; we have mead made with dark, spicy peppers and some herbs.”

Baldwin City Rich, sweet Kansas wild clover honey flavors Haven Pointe Winery’s mead, the perfect companion for both spicy foods and desserts. Its raspberry mead features honey accenting the lush fruit. The winery, near Baldwin City, suggests pairing its meads with full-bodied cheeses, salads, stews, chops, and fruitbased desserts. havenpointewinery.com (785) 865-0660

10

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

Black Labs Craft Meadery presents new flavors, created in small batches fermented and aged like wine, three to four times a year. One flavor idea came from the black raspberry patch behind Carl’s childhood home.

“I knew I loved the fruit and wanted to make mead out of it,” he says. Black Raspberried Treasure, aged in French oak barrels with vanilla beans, features notes of red wine and dark fruit with a light sweetness. One of the first meads produced by the Hincheys, it continues to be the most popular.

Also well received is End Game, a dessert mead of strawberries, dark cherries, blueberries and black raspberries. The Baron, plain mead aged in whiskey barrels, was created for the non-fruit loving crowd. blacklabsmead.com | (913) 353-5704 Above Drinks and merchandise from Black Labs Craft Meadery Opposite Carl and Julie Hinchey opened Black Labs in 2018

PHOTOGRAPHS Kevin Anderson

Haven Pointe Winery

KANSAS DETAILS

Where in Kansas?

Lawrence Douglas County

kansas made

From the Woods of Kansas

PHOTOGRAPHS Brian Goodman

These Kansas wood artists offer natural, customized items for homes, kitchens and the next séance party Northern Arapaho woodworker Jamakee Blackburn is probably best known for handcrafting cutting boards, shelves and other functional artistic wood products.

But one of his latest popular items goes beyond the traditional kitchen accessories and home décor— customized Ouija boards.

An American parlor-novelty introduced in the 1890s, Ouija boards became popular with earnest spiritualists and then revived in the late 1900s and in the past decade as a slumber-party centerpiece. Most Ouija boards are mass-manufactured cardboard creations, and if they’re wood, then they are usually a uniform silk-screen print on top of a slab. Blackburn’s boards, however, are bespoke products with select woods and customized etchings.

“I really wish that I could take full credit for like, ‘Oh man, I need to build some Ouija board boxes,’” says Blackburn as he takes a break from working at his shop in rural Douglas County. “But there was a friend of mine who, just on a whim was like, ‘Hey, have you ever done a Ouija board?’ And I was like, ‘No, but I bet I could.’”

The results are beautiful, laseretched boxes done in conjunction

with another friend in Kansas City who owns the $18,000 machine required to do the laser work.

Blackburn says his approach to tackling something outside his usual work ties in with his belief in that every new project can strengthen his craft.

Recently, he has been building the entire wooden infrastructure—from counter bar to accent pieces—for the Waterbird coffee shop in Kansas City, which he is opening with a business partner. Blackburn describes it as another challenge and another opportunity to expand his craft.

“You get approached to do something and you say to yourself, ‘Let me try it out,’” Blackburn explains.

“I would say most times, it does work out. Worst case scenario? You end up with some skills that you didn’t have before you started that failed project.”

Blackburn has also been working on other projects for his woodworking business, Blackshaw Boardworks. Some of these include creating a new line of cutting boards influenced by traditional Pendleton blanket designs and incorporating powdered turquoise into his designs.

The artist shares some of his latest work, and examples of his recent Ouija boards, on Instagram, @blackshawboardworks.

Opposite Jamakee Blackburn shows off a handmade Ouija board at his woodworking shop in rural Douglas County.

Starling Woodworks Douglas County Jamakee Blackburn shares his rural studio space with Starling Woodworks artist Steve Spacek. Starling Woodworks specializes in creating cutting boards, utensils and bowls from rescued natural wood from local trees such as cottonwood, sugar gum, black walnut and others. Some of the most visually stunning bowls highlight the wood’s spalting, a natural coloration caused by fungi. Examples of these bowls and other works can be seen on the studio’s Instagram account, @starlingwoodworks.

Hava Studios Lawrence In Lawrence, Darin White of Hava Studios, works with reclaimed wood to create charcuterie boards and bowls, but he specializes in customized wooden slab tables. He often documents the transformation from raw wood to kitchen centerpiece on Instagram, @havastudios, and on the website havastudios. com/servingboards, which also features works with and by his wife, artist Shannon White.

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

13

Where in Kansas?

KANSAS DETAILS

Lenexa

Wichita

Dodge City

heartland

Talking Kansas

By Amber Fraley

Kansas-themed podcasts share their deep dives into the state’s legends and attractions

14

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

aired on the Discovery Network’s American Heroes Channel.

Thus the Wild West podcast was born, educating and entertaining listeners about the multitude of important historical figures who lived in, or came through, Dodge. “I think the first month we did our podcast we had eighty-five downloads. Today, we’re hitting around two hundred fifty thousand downloads,” King says. While early podcasts are looser conversations between King and Smalley about Wild West history, later podcasts feature Smalley reading the stories from one of King’s five books about Kansas history. The pair share a particular affinity for Bat Masterson.

Mike’s book, A Man in a Black Derby Hat: Bat Masterson: Selected Short Stories, has provided perfect podcastlength episodes for Smalley to present.

“The goal is to tell the stories of our state and our community, and let people appreciate that history,” King says. The Wild West podcast is available on most podcast platforms and through the podcast website, wildwestpodcast.buzzsprout.com.

The Kansas BHA Podcast About twice a month, the Kansas Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and

Anglers produces an informative and entertaining podcast for Kansas outdoor enthusiasts, discussing fishing, hiking, biking, camping, birdwatching and conservation. The Kansas BHA mission is to “raise awareness and educate Kansans of the benefits and necessity of public and wild places.” The Kansas BHA podcast is available on most podcast platforms, and more information can be found at the Kansas chapter’s website, backcountryhunters.org/kansas.

Uncovering Kansas Uncovering Kansas is a monthly podcast hosted by Rachel Berbiglia, who aims to inform her fellow Kansans about all the interesting people, places and events around the state. The podcast covers a wide range of subjects, from the Kansas youth poetry group Poetry Out Loud to the Wichita-based community development organization The Neighboring Movement. Episodes are available on a variety of platforms and the website uncoveringkansas.com.

Above Michael King (left) and Brad Smalley release the Wild West podcast Opposite Smalley and King sit with actors at Boot Hill Museum, where many of the podcasts are recorded

PHOTOGRAPHS Rachael Sebastian

Wild West Podcast Michael King spent 40 years as an awardwinning middle school principal in Oklahoma and Dodge City, with an interest in helping teachers use technology and digital recordings to enhance their curriculums. “I’d have them write and tell stories about the community, and then we started doing history-casts,” King says.

Being tech savvy, King also did some video production, including some work for Boot Hill Museum, where he met Brad Smalley, manager of the facility’s Long Branch Saloon. Smalley regaled King with some of the wild characters of Dodge City’s history, inspiring King to begin researching and writing about local history. “It has a richness, so much history,” King says of Dodge City.

Eventually, King decided to start the Wild West history podcast and immediately thought of his actor friend Brad. In addition to being part of the Long Branch Saloon variety show for a number of years, Brad has worked in dinner theater and even landed a role in a documentary television show about Bat Masterson and Bill Dooley that

“The goal is to tell the stories of our state and community, and let people appreciate that history.”

–Michael King

Happy 35th Anniversary

T h e B a r n B ed & B r ea k fa st In n

Hot tub Swimming pool Game room 9 hole disc golf course King beds

Private baths Massage therapy Supper & breakfast included Walking trails Fishing pond

Guests come from near and far to enjoy this one of a kind country retreat.

Midwestern hospitality at its finest!

14910 Blue Mound Road • Valley Falls, KS 66088 • thebarnbb.com • 785.945.3225

Great Bend

s Movie tdoor Free Ou

Wetla nds W ater

park Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo Kansas Wetlands Education Center Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands toms & Cheyenne Bottlands Quivira We Beautiful Playgrounds & Parks SRCA Drag Strip & Racing June Jaunt Festival Party in the Park SRCA D ragstr Great Bend Sports Complex ip Great Bend Airfest Entertainment GREAT BEND BRIT SPAUGH ZOO Hike & Bike Trails Outdoor Movies Downto Dry Lake Brewery wn Ex citemen t Rosewood Wine Cellar Wetlands & Wildlife National Great Bend Airfest Scenic Byway

And So Much More!!

Unique Shoppi ng

Path Hike & Bike

al s Festiv Christma

s! stival Fun Fe

www.exploregreatbend.com

KANSAS DETAILS

Where in Kansas?

Fort Scott

Pittsburg

Humboldt

culture

Civil War Commemorations

By Cecilia Harris

Kansas marks 160 years since the beginning of the deadly conflict Cow Creek Reenactments Pittsburg The Crawford County Historical museum hosts groups of historical reenactors, candlelight camp tours and more in a series of free events from September 3–4 marking hostilities along the state’s southeast border with Missouri, including the 1864 skirmish at Cow Creek when Confederate troops attacked a Union wagon train and accompanying civilian refugees. crawfordcountymuseum.com (620) 231-1440

PHOTOGRAPHS Bill Stephens

Fort Scott Frontier Candlelight Tour During the day, take the opportunity to tour the National Historical Site and learn about the Civil War conflict along the southern portion of the Kansas-Missouri border from the perspective of Native civilians, Union soldiers, Southern sympathizers and more. At night, witness the somber and beautiful candlelight tour of the historic fort facilities. nps.gov/fosc (620) 223-0310

One hundred and sixty years ago, the war between Northern and Southern states erupted and overshadowed what was already the strife-torn and violent territory of Kansas. Communities that had seen outbreaks of raids and gun battles were engulfed in the larger national conflict. On October 14, 1861, the war came to Humboldt as 331 Confederate raiders swept into the pro-Union town. With all able-bodied men fighting elsewhere, the town’s only defense was the Home Guard, organized after a band of Southern guerrillas attacked Humboldt just a month earlier.

Composed of older men and young boys, the Home Guard could do little to stop the raiders from burning down the town.

Often overlooked in the history of the Civil War, the destruction of Humboldt is etched in the town’s memory and commemorated through a public memorial created by area artist Bob Cross.

Throughout Humboldt stand a dozen polished black granite tablets, each mounted on stone and each containing a text describing what happened during the raid at that particular location.

One spot, for example, describes how a quickthinking Sophia Fussman wrapped account books and other valuables in a feather bed she then threw down a nearby well as the raiders set homes and businesses on fire. Another marker identifies where the only Confederate soldier killed in the raid was shot as he attempted to remove a Union flag.

The markers allow for a self-guided tour, beginning at the city square with a composite mural describing the location of all individual markers found in a 10-square block area. A brochure detailing locations and more information is also available at several local businesses and at City Hall.

Humboldtkansas.com | (620) 473-3232

Right (from top) Humboldt commemorates a Civil War raid on the town with a composite marker and dedication stone in the city square, as well as black granite tablets placed on stones throughout the city center.

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

17

KANSAS DETAILS

lens

Rachael Sebastian @mira3photography

A conversation with KANSAS! photographers about their lives in photography

Kansas native Rachael Sebastian can’t remember a time when she didn’t have a camera in hand. She is based in Western Kansas, just 12 miles from the Colorado border, and her love for photography began with a simple 110-film camera. Today, much of Sebastian’s work tells the stories of the ranchers, farmers and bull-riders of Western Kansas.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY Rachael Sebastian

What was the moment you wanted to become a photographer? How old were you at the time? I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have a camera. Growing up, I was always doing photoshoots with friends and scouring magazines for inspiration.

I got very competitive with 4-H photography at a young age.

What was your first camera?

What did you like about it? My first camera was a 110-film camera.

It was pink with purple accents.

I loved that I could wear it on my

wrist and take it everywhere. I later graduated to a Pentax ME 35mm, which I still have.

formations. I love that landmark, but the people, cattle, and pasture really have my heart.

What are some objects you like to photograph that are not common in other works? You’ll tend to find ranch-style or agricultural objects/ scenery/animals in my photos. I love highlighting Kansas’ farms and ranches, even in my couples and family styled photos.

What have you learned from being a photographer that you wouldn’t have learned otherwise in life? I’ve learned that if you find something that brings you joy, it’s necessary to find time for it. Not only is this my job, but it’s something that brings me joy. And it always has.

What is your favorite Kansas landmark to photograph? I’ll have to be cliché here and say Monument Rocks/the Chalk Pyramids, but specifically, the ranch. I photographed a water buffalo there a few years ago, and it connected me to the ranch managers, Kyle and Jessica Lyons.

It’s an hour from our place to theirs, so they’ve become really good friends. I enjoy documenting their life, family and work at Pyramid Ranch. There are so many nooks, crannies and beautiful

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

Keep taking photos. Photography is a constant learning process and is so much trial and error. Don’t ever stop studying it. Find inspiration in others and yourself. Invest in it, take time for it. Connect and communicate with other photographers. Reach out when you want to. I’m all for community in photography, and a lot of us feel the same way. There’s room for everyone and all styles.

“Photography is a constant learning process and is so much trial and error. Don’t ever stop studying it.” –Rachael Sebastian 2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

19

THE

kansan

“I’ve loved fishing ever since I was a small child. Back then, my dad would take me to the same family-owned farm ponds that he and others in our family had been fishing at for decades.

It was simple fun that created lasting memories because we always caught plenty of fish. When my cousin, Jacob Felix (the photographer who now lives in South Carolina), visits Kansas in the summers, we always return to these same ponds. For us, these outings provide a warm nostalgia, reminding us of simpler times and the care-free fishing trips of our youth.”

Logan Sleezer is a native Kansan who graduated from Emporia State University and then completed a master’s degree at Virginia Tech in Fish and Wildlife Science. He returned to Kansas and works remotely as a research associate for Mississippi State University.

20

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

PHOTOGRAPH Jacob Felix

–LOGAN SLEEZER

Where in Kansas?

KANSAS DETAILS

Pittsburg

Manhattan

Moundridge

Great Bend

Kirwin Sublette

Sharon Springs

reasons

Reasons

We Love Kansas

IN THIS ISSUE

Pumpkin Patches

22

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

PHOTOGRAPH Shutterstock

By Cecilia Harris

KANSAS DETAILS

reasons P AND M PUMPKIN RANCH 1 Moundridge

LONG PUMPKIN PATCH 3 Great Bend

Five pedal-kart racetracks for toddlers through adults are the biggest nonpumpkin attractions at this Westernthemed, pick-your-own pumpkin patch.

Other favorites are Grandpa’s Town playground, Cookie’s Corn Crib, the Sports Barn and an obstacle course.

There’s also Outlaw Oinkers pig races and Double Barrel Chute slides. Open September 18 to November 7 on weekday evenings except Mondays and with expanded hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Guests can wander through fields of pumpkins and gourds and choose from many varieties and sizes at the Long Pumpkin Patch northeast of Great Bend.

A corn stomp pit, culvert swing, gourd launcher, and corn maze add to the fun. Occasionally, hay rack rides and a s’mores fire pit are available. Best of all, there’s no admission charge. The patch is open weekends from September 25 through Halloween.

pandmpumpkinranch.com (620) 345-3103

HUNTER’S PUMPKIN FARM 2 Kirwin A spooky enchanted trail, pallet and cornfield mazes, slides, petting farm, hayrack rides, football throw, corn pits, and games provide fun for younger generations at Hunter’s Pumpkin Farm near Kirwin. Parents love the opportunities for seasonal photos and the selection of pumpkins and gourds. Hunter’s Country Store stocks homemade breads, pickled okra, wild plum jelly, jalapeño jelly, cinnamon pickles, homemade salsa and more. Open Saturday and Sundays from September 25 to October 31.

hunterspumpkinfarm.com (785) 533-1448

ms Shop the South Botto !

KS , rg bu uis in Lo

Facebook: longpumpkinpatch (620) 792-3503

A & H FARM | Manhattan 4 Adults and kids can compete on the tricycle track at Manhattan’s A & H Farm, where pumpkins are picked right off the vine. New activities added this year are an apple cannon, wall ball, and a corn maze.

Past favorites returning to the farm are the giant petting zoo, super slide, kids play area, princess houses, game area, live music, corn pit and more. Open daily from September 25 through Halloween.

aandhfarm.com | (785) 320-5408

PUMPKIN PARADISE | Sublette 5 Visitors can select their jack-o’-lantern from over 200 varieties of pumpkins, gourds and squash at Pumpkin Paradise near Sublette. Activities include a trebuchet that launches pumpkins up

pumpkinparadisellc.com (620) 668-5680

WOOD FARMS PUMPKIN PATCH 6 Pittsburg Kids can hop aboard the Jack-o-Lantern Express barrel train, milk Bessie the wooden cow, hand pump water in the duck race, visit the petting zoo, hop on the giant pumpkin bounce pad, and play in the corn bin and on the sand pit/tire mountain at the Wood Farms Pumpkin Patch, Pittsburg. Wagon rides through the woods, a bullseye pumpkin shoot, twoacre corn maze, and hay bale maze are included. Wood Farms is open weekends October 2–31.

Facebook: woodfarmspumpkinpatch (620) 249-5223

MORE THAN PUMPKINS 7 Sharon Springs This “you-pick-em” patch offers pumpkins, gourds and decorative corn to bring the autumn seasonal look into your home.

Crafts and games are available for the kids.

Facebook: “More than Pumpkins” (785) 852-4101

Find us on Facebook & Instagram @captaincookstreasurechest 913-837-2757

Antiques, Vintage & Primitives!

Artisan & Local goods!

HOURS WED. - SAT. 10 - 6 SUNDAY 10 - 5

to 200 feet, duck races, a corn maze, gift shop, and wagon train rides through the prairie. A play area features brain teaser mini-mazes, tetherball, limbo, playhouses, human foosball, and other games.

Open on Saturdays and Sundays from September 25 through October 31.

903 N. Broadway Street 2021 ISSUE 3 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE 23 Louisburg, KS 66053 www.captaincookstreasurechest.com

Home of Delicious 100% Pure Apple Cider, Lost Trail Soda, Apple Butter, Daily Fresh Donuts, Great Gifts & More!

KANSAS DETAILS

must see

Kaw Valley Farm Tour

September 2–25 | Canton

Celebrate the anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spanish rule in downtown Garden City. On Friday, enjoy the Queen Scholarship Pageant Miss Garden City Fiesta, followed by a parade, food vendors and entertainment on Saturday. gcfiesta.org

FloraKansas: Native Plant Festival September 10–12 | Hesston Dyck Arboretum of the Plains presents FloraKansas: Native Plant Festival. Visitors are encouraged to observe, learn about and plant native species disappearing from our ecosystem. dyckarboretum.org/florakansasnative-plant-festival/

October 2–31 | Pittsburg Every weekend throughout October, Wood Farms invites all ages to partake in fall family fun.

Enjoy the hay maze, corn maze, hayride, giant pumpkin bounce pad, combine slides and more. travelks.com/event/pumpkinpatch-at-wood-farms/18734/

Walking Ghost Tour October 6 & 28 | Topeka

Start your Christmas shopping early this year with a full day of shopping. Enjoy holiday décor, caroling, games and the Season of Giving Food Drive. visitlindsborg.com

Bike around the Square November 26 | Humboldt To kick off the holiday season, Humboldt residents, many adorned with holiday lights, will bike around the historic town square. Other activities include switching on Christmas lights, Santa, shopping and more. facebook.com/humboldtks

Pumpkin Patch at Wood Farms

70th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony November 27 | WaKeeney

ge Across Cul rita tu r es He h A beloved

is

September 10–11 | Garden City

Kansas State University presents the 17th annual Kaw Valley Farm Tour. Visit up to 30 family farms, wineries and vineyards in the Kaw River Valley. This is a self-guided tour. Visit online for a complete list of locations. kawvalleyfarmtour.org/farms.html

ting Our lebra Sw ed Ce

95th Community Mexican Festival

November 13 | Lindsborg

October 2–3 Kaw River Valley

Explore the hauntings and history of downtown Topeka. The onemile tour will meet in front of 733 9 S. Kansas Avenue and will. 8 &last approximately 75 minutes. ghosttoursofkansas.org Oc t

Experience the outdoors at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge with a 45-minute tram tour exploring the Kansas prairie located in the heart of the Smoky Hills. Reservations are required three days in advance. maxwellwildliferefuge.com

Holiday Open House

tradition in downtown WaKeeney since 1950, the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The event also features holiday bazaar, soup supper, horse-drawn wagon rides, Santa Claus and more. travelks.com Little Sweden USA Lindsborg, KS

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY Nick Krug

Public Tram Tour

2021

Svensk Hyllningsfest

Scott Bean Photography K A N S A S L A N D S C A P E A N D N AT U R E P H O TO G R A P H S

October 8 & 9, 2021

Celebrating Our Heritage Across Cultures

EXPERIENCE LITTLE SWEDEN

Svensk Hyllningsfest is a “Swedish Honoring Festival” founded in 1941 to honor the Swedish ancestry that settled in the Smoky Valley.

www.scottbeanphoto.com

Lindsborg, KS www.svenskhyllningsfest.org

H

7 8 5 - 3 4 1 - 1 0 4 7 | S C OT T @ S C O T T B E A N P H OTO . C O M

ingsfest n l l y

Where in Kansas?

Topeka

Pittsburg

Humboldt Kaw River Valley

Hesston

Canton

FIND MORE EVENTS AT TRAVELKS.COM/EVENTS All events are subject to change. Confirm with organizers before finalizing plans.

Lindsborg

WaKeeney

Garden City

Ad Astra Alpacas is one of the many stops on the Kaw Valley Farm Tour.

WIDE OPEN

spaces TA S T E

O F

K A N S A S

The Pawpaw Is the Star ‘Like banana custard, only better,’ is how some describe the taste of this large, fickle fruit native to portions of Kansas Story and photography by Michael Pearce

H

undreds of cattle keep Elk County rancher Greg Pickett working dawn to dark for days on end.

But in early fall, he’ll make time to check a few secret spots along local streams, looking for pawpaws, the native green fruit that ranges Above A Kansas pawpaw, ready for harvest in size from hens’ eggs to Left Greg Pickett inspects large potatoes. pawpaws on his land And no matter how many he finds, he eats the first one on the spot.

“If you don’t like the taste, there’s something wrong with you,” jokes Pickett, as he breaks a fruit open and squeezes the dark yellow, pudding-like filling into his mouth. “I still can’t believe more people don’t get out and pick these things.

Pickett describes a pawpaw’s flavor as “like a banana custard, only better.” Others say the flavor reminds them of a combination of banana and mango.

Pawpaws, America’s largest native fruit, are not a recent hybrid or innovation. Lewis and Clark relied on them for food along their trek. George Washington’s favorite food was pawpaw ice cream.

Many cookbooks pre-1960s had recipes for pawpaw dessert breads, cakes, cookies and puddings.

26

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

Pawpaw Peculiarities •

•

•

•

In Kansas, pawpaws grow along wooded creeks or river bottoms in the eastern third of the state. Native patches around El Dorado Reservoir may be the farthest western locations. Wherever they grow, pawpaws are almost always found growing under a canopy of much taller trees, in thickets that range from a few trees to a grove 50 yards or more in length. The huge leaves turn yellow in the fall.

It is easy to spot a pawpaw. A rare tropical plant native to Kansas, pawpaw leaves are huge, regularly ten inches long and half as wide or more. The leaves turn yellow in the fall, broadcasting the fruit’s ripeness. Trees rarely top 20 feet tall, with slender trunks seldom thicker than pop cans, meaning the fruit hangs heavy on them. Pickett can often give a pawpaw tree a gentle shake to make ripe fruit fall from the spindly branches.

Pawpaws are rich in a variety of vitamins and antioxidants. They are also very rich, and should be eaten in moderation.

Pawpaws ripen quickly and last only a few days unless refrigerated. The pulp can be frozen and used later for baking.

Like bananas, pawpaws are ripe when soft, and sometimes have brown splotches on their skin.

Starting pawpaws from their sizable seeds requires some expertise. Inexpensive bare-root seedlings can be purchased from the Kansas Forest Service. Go to kansasforests.org.

Because more than 95 percent of Kansas land is privately owned, many of the best pawpaw patches require a landowner’s permission to access. But there are plenty of pawpaws in public areas, too. Throughout the Flint Hills, and eastward, most public areas and trails around federal reservoirs and state lakes will have pawpaws scattered along streams. Many state parks in the area have hiking/cycling trails that are great to cruise in a quest for pawpaws.

Mid-September to mid-October is when the fruit generally ripens. Don’t wait too long because pawpaws are like candy for deer and raccoons.

Even if you find a pawpaw patch and beat the critters to it, not every pawpaw tree will bear fruit. They’re one of the most unpredictable wild fruits in Kansas. Pickett knows of large patches that seldom produce. Some trees seem to produce only in wet years and some hang 2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

27

We’ve got Kansans covered.

Travel confidently with access to 99% of providers and 100% of hospitals in Kansas.

Take peace of mind with you, no matter where you roam.

Enroll in a BlueCare plan today. bcbsks.com/cares.

heavy with fruit no matter the spring and summer conditions. Go annually and you’ll also learn which patches tend to ripen sooner than others.

It’s possible to purchase pawpaws, too. Many farmers markets in eastern Kansas have a pawpaw vendor, and individuals often list pawpaws on local online buy-sell-trade pages in the region, too.

Several “field-to-table” restaurants and bakeries also offer items made with pawpaws. In Lawrence, Free State Brewing Company has been offering pawpaw dishes for over 20 years.

Chuck Magerl, the brewery’s proprietor and founder, has been a pawpaw fan for over 30 years.

He’s glad to share the special fruit in things like ice cream, puddings, pies and occasionally as a sauce on an entrée.

“To most people pawpaws are still pretty exotic, and they’re not sure what to expect. Many of those people end up trying them and then look forward to coming back and enjoying them annually,” says Magerl.

“So many are surprised we have a native fruit like that, with that kind of flavor. I love pawpaws, especially that custard-like consistency with that sweet flavor. They’re pretty time consuming for us to clean, but we don’t want to waste any of that goodness.”

BlueCross BlueShield

Kansas 800-432-3990

Visit us at bcbsks.com/cares

1133 SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka, KS 66629 KM 0521 An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

28

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

Chautauqua Hills

Pawpaw Bread Ingredients • • • • • • •

3 cups pawpaw pulp* 1 teaspoon vanilla 5 eggs 1 cup butter, softened 2 level cups sugar ¼ teaspoon table salt 2 teaspoons baking soda

• •

2½ cups flour ½ cup chopped pecans (optional) • Spray cooking oil *Equal amounts of ripe banana can be used in place of pawpaw, if needed.

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two standard-sized loaf pans with spray cooking oil. Set aside.

2. Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs individually, beating well. Mix in vanilla. Add pawpaw pulp and pecans, beating to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until flour is just incorporated, without overmixing.

3. Pour batter into prepared pans and place in the oven.

Bake 50–60 minutes. Bread should be brown, leaving the sides of the baking pans and not sticking to an inserted, and removed, toothpick.

4. Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pans. Freezes well once totally cooled.

WIDE OPEN

spaces

Airship Alert!

In the late 1800s, Kansans were inventing early aircraft, and mysterious ships were (reportedly) navigating the skies Story by Christine Steinkuehler Illustrations by Lana Grove

T

he alien airship swooped down on Vernon, Kansas, at about 10:30 p.m. on April 12, 1897.

The cattle were first to notice it, and their agitation alerted Alex Hamilton, a rancher and former member of the state legislature. “I arose, thinking my bull dog was performing some of his pranks,” Hamilton would later tell the Woodson County Advocate, “but … saw to my utter amazement an airship slowly descending over my cow lot about 40 rods [220 yards] from my house.”

Calling for help from his tenant and his son, Hamilton grabbed some axes and ran to defend his livestock as the alien ship lowered within 30 feet of the ground. “It consisted of a great cigar-shaped portion possibly 300 feet long with a carriage underneath,” Hamilton later described. “The carriage was made of panels of glass or other transparent substance, alternating with a narrow strip of some other material. It was brilliantly lighted within and everything was clearly visible. … It was occupied by six of the strangest beings I ever saw. There were two men, a woman and three children. They were jabbering together, but we could not understand a syllable they said. … Immediately upon catching sight of us, they turned on some unknown power, and a great turbine wheel about 30 feet in diameter which was slowly revolving below the craft, began to buzz, sounding precisely like the cylinder of a separator, and the vessel rose as lightly as a bird. When about 300 feet above us it seemed to pause and hover directly over a three year old heifer which was bawling

30

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

and jumping, apparently fast in the fence. Going to her we found a cable about half an inch in thickness … fastened in a slip knot around her neck, one end passing up to the vessel and tangled in the wire. We tried to get it off but could not, so we cut the wire loose and stood in amazement to see ship, cow and all rise slowly and sail off, disappearing in the northwest.”

The following evening, Hamilton learned that his cow’s hide, legs and head had been discovered some 13 miles north and four miles west of his cattle lot, apparently dropped by the mysterious airship travelers.

“I don’t know whether they are devils or angels or what but we all saw them and my whole family saw the ship and I don’t want any more to do with them,” said Hamilton.

Ad Astra But others were having more to do with mysterious airships. Similar sightings were reported across Kansas in the spring and summer of 1897. On the night of March 27–28, Topeka-area residents noted a mysterious object in the skies. One local farmer reported that something from above had lowered a grapnel hook that snagged him and dragged him before setting him down.

Some papers sought explanations. The Columbus Daily Advocate said that at least one mysterious airship was actually a cross between a kite and a balloon that was illuminated by a railroad lantern. The Western Star reported that an airship sighting over Coldwater that August was actually a kite with a Chinese lantern

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

31

WIDE OPEN

spaces though it was “a beautiful sight … green and red lights … majestically she sails through the air.”

But other papers across Kansas recorded more sensational findings. The Iola Evening News reported that Mr. H.M. Mille of Iola was going home when he was startled by a whirring noise above him, looked up, and discovered a mysterious object. “The airship upon seeing Mr. Miller slowly came to earth and someone handed Mr. Miller a note saying that ‘everything connected therewith that is of the slightest interest to Kansans who have heard of its existence or witnessed the flight of this aerial wonder, will be so fully revealed that the most ordinary intellect can comprehend, construct and navigate. This exposition and revelation will positively take place in ONE YEAR AND ONE DAY. Yours very truly, THE INVENTOR.’” Not to be outdone, the Ellis County Republican quoted a clairvoyant as saying that the airship mystery stemmed from “not one but a whole fleet of ships … managed by strange and wonderful beings, bright intelligences from a far-off planet … ethereal and

32

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

spiritual … they are learned men and women of this world and fitted out for a long voyage of exploration, lasting a hundred, or maybe a thousand years … they travel with almost inconceivable velocity.”

National Trend The Kansas airship sightings came against the backdrop of sightings across the United States, which progressed along a general route from the west coast to the upper Midwest. Beginning in San Francisco in late 1896, mysterious objects and airships were reported above numerous towns and rural areas of Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa and then over more populated areas of Chicago and Milwaukee.

Contemporary observers speculated that the sighting could be either a secret project or a Martian craft. Historians attribute several less fantastical reasons for the sightings. Topeka-based historian Doug Wallace notes that some of the reported night sightings from Kansas in the late 1890s cannot necessarily be separated from the state’s Prohibition laws of the time and the fact

Early Kansas Aviation Inventors A short list of Kansas aviation pioneers to know In 1904, Mr. and Mrs. A.V. Weingarten of Leon built a two-foot model aircraft in their backyard. A Wichita newspaper wrote that Mrs. Weingarten “collapsed out of pure joy (or from fatigue) when it was found that the machine would actually do what was expected of it.” It is believed, however, that the couple stopped with this success and never moved on to creating a larger-scale model that could be piloted.

Henry Call of Girard built a gigantic machine in 1908. It was 50 feet long and 20 feet high. A Girard newspaper described the model as “a turkey gobbler with its wings clipped, who wants to fly the coop but can’t.” Designed to be part boat, part car, and part airplane, it never managed to leave the ground.

William Purvis and Charles Wilson built a rotating blade aircraft in Goodland in 1909. Their aircraft didn’t fly, but the design was patented and is recognized as a forerunner to the modern helicopter.

Albin K. and Dolly Longren were married in 1914, when Albin had already begun an aviation company in Topeka. The couple produced the successful Model AK, an airplane that was sold by mail order until the close of their business in 1926.

Mrs. A.W. Jones of Wichita designed an aircraft “shaped like a fish.” Her 1914 design combined a hot-air balloon, two airplanes, and a railroad passenger car.

In 1925, Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech founded a Wichita aviation company that formed the basis for the Cessna Aircraft Company, the Stearman Aircraft Company and the original Wichita company founded by Walter Beech, then administered by his wife, Olive Ann Beech. That company continues to this day as Beechcraft by Textron Aviation.

Rex Maneval, a Centralia banker and chicken farmer, began designing aviation models in his mid40s. His most significant project was an innovative helicopter with a pair of counter-rotating blades that he constructed from 1939 to 1941.

—Christine Steinkuehler with additional material adapted with permission from Kansas State Historical Society’s Kaleidoscope newsletter, vol. 7, no. 1

WIDE OPEN

spaces that many people were drinking alcohol strong enough to induce all types of visions. Other historians offer a range of explanations, including a type of hysteria, sensational newspaper reporting, and a popular interest in emerging real-world scientific developments.

“Within this social climate,” writes Richard E. Bartholomew in the Michigan Historical Review, “almost any invention seemed possible, and an exaggerated optimism developed in the belief that the perfection of the world’s first heavier-than-air ship was imminent.”

For every erroneous airship sighting, there were numerous inventors and dreamers working to make these fantastical craft a reality, and that included several in Kansas.

Early Kansas Inventions While many amateur hobbyists in Kansas who wanted to be the first into flight experimented with hot air balloons, dirigibles, or airplanes, two individuals stand apart: Frank Barnett of Kansas City and Robert Gabbey and his Gabbey Air Ship Company of Rossville.

Frank Barnett was one of a group of inventors in the late 1800s who were looking at using kite designs for air travel. Barnett’s model was effectively a large kite structure with a number of airfoils mounted above a wheeled undercarriage with propellers placed on both sides of the craft to provide motion. Barnett began exhibiting his creations in the 1870s at the Iowa State Fair, but his designs quite literally never got off the ground.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1833, Robert S. Gabbey became a medical doctor and accepted an appointment from President James Buchanan in 1857 to work with the Pottawatomie near Rossville, Kansas. After serving seven years, he took his family to Montana for two years to search for gold, but then returned to Rossville where he purchased a farm, opened his medical practice and began creating things. He invented, patented and sold a sled corn harvester and a machine that automatically weighed grain before he moved on to designing an airship.

Gabbey claimed to have weighed and measured

WIDE OPEN

spaces

innumerable birds in order to come up with his protodesign, which was 133 feet long and 65 feet wide and had a 150-horsepower engine that was to derive its power from screws turning through cables. Gabbey died in 1900, before a patent could be approved. It seems unlikely that he ever built a model that flew though the Daily Tribune in Salt Lake City published an article in February 1899 claiming that Dr. Robert S. Gabbey of Rossville, Kansas, had supplied the paper

Come Explore Kansas and Our Unique Bed & Breakfast Inns Choose a KBBA inn for a memorable lodging experience. An alternative to the chain hotel that ensures security and peace of mind when traveling the state.

info@kbba • kbba.com

with sketches of his previously secret aircraft and that the Kansas inventor believed, “the time has come to let the fact be known that he intends to mount skyward on his aerial machine and show the crawling creatures of earth how free and unfettered are those who have brains enough to imitate the birds.”

While this particular account seems more in the realm of sensational reporting than fact, Kansas aviation historian Richard Harris suggests it is possible that an early aviation inventor with a secretive ship could have flown over portions of the States in the 1890s and remained unknown. He says it is unlikely but possible that a prototype craft was created, flown, observed, crashed and lost to history as early as 1897.

Harris notes, “many aviation inventors were often (and still are) very secretive about their inventions.

Some feared that others would steal their ideas; others feared public ridicule (especially if their efforts failed), which was common in the era before common flight.

A number of people may have initially flown their early aircraft in secret, including: Montgomery, Weisskopf/

WIDE OPEN

spaces Whitehead, and even the Wright Brothers. In fact, that was even true for the first flight of Kansas’ first aviator: Albin K. Longren.”

A native of Riley County’s Leonardville, Longren was born five years after the airship mystery, but he was already creating prototype helicopters in the early 1900s. His experiments led in 1911 to what is commonly recognized as the first Kansas-made piloted craft, the Topeka I—an invention that would have seemed in the realm of science fiction only a few decades previous when Alex Hamilton claimed that a flying machine took his cow.

Back in Vernon After his story of interplanetary cattle-rustling grabbed national attention, Hamilton seems to have made it through life without any more interference from alien airships. And his story—which had been co-signed by several distinguished residents of the region— was revived and prominently circulated in the 1966 bestselling book Flying Saucers—Serious Business.

But there had always been doubts, and a few who knew the truth and were always willing to speak.

A Kansas weekly, the Buffalo Enterprise, printed a story in 1943 that quoted the editor of the paper that ran Hamilton’s story in 1897 as suggesting that he knew Hamilton had made up the tale. Further research by journalist Jerome Clark revealed testimony from people who had lived at the time and recalled stories or conversations confirming that Hamilton had made up the tale of an airship raid on his small ranch. The editor of the Woodson County Advocate was quoted as saying that Hamilton’s story might have been sparked by Hamilton witnessing a demonstration of an engine that he realized could be applied—one day—to flight.

In that sense, Hamilton’s story of the airship was both false and prescient. He described something that wasn’t there but that would soon be possible to see over the skies of rural Kansas. And the tall tale he told also connected with something timeless.

“Above all,” notes Wallace, “those airship sightings are a good story. And everyone always loves a good story.”

Prairie Bachelor The Story of a Kansas Homesteader and the Populist Movement Lynda Beck Fenwick Named a Kansas Notable Book by the Kansas Center for the Book “Fenwick has done a noble thing: rescued a person—and his time—from oblivion.

Prairie Bachelor gives us a peek into the rich and complicated life of a thoughtful man who gave back to his community, and the book is filled with fascinating details of the day-to-day experience of late nineteenth-century Kansas. Unassuming Isaac Werner is both a striking individual and a symbol of all the people whose daily labor and political engagement made the Great Plains we know today.”—Andrew Jewell, coeditor of The Selected Letters of Willa Cather “Prairie Bachelor is a welcome contribution to the chronicles of challenges faced by Kansas homesteaders at the end of the nineteenth century and the resulting emergence of Populist politics as a serious challenge to the two-party system. Fenwick vividly transports the reader to the plains of central Kansas and describes the foundation of a pioneer spirit defined by industriousness and care for neighbor and community that exists to the present day.”—US senator Jerry Moran, Kansas

University Press of Kansas 36

Phone 785-864-4155 • www.kansaspress.ku.edu

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

286 pages, 36 photos, 3 maps Cloth $55.00, Paper $26.95 Ebook edition available from your favorite ebook retailer.

ADD YOUR LINDSBORG DESTINATION OR ATTRACTION in KANSAS! Magazine

Contact Sunflower Publishing for details 785.832.7264 sunpubads@sunflowerpub.com

National Geographic’s

Jim Richardson

Memorial Art Gallery

Photographs | Jewelry | Books

401 N. First St. in Lindsborg

127 N. MAIN STREET LINDSBORG smallworldgallery.net

www.sandzen.org

785.227.4442

October 8-9, 2021 Brunswick Art & Crafts Fair

131 N. MAIN LINDSBORG, KS

Unique home home decor, decor, fashion, fashion, and Unique and gifts! ifts!

WatchFun ourplay Live area Salesfor on ids!

Facebook!

(785) 212-6134

Open 7 days a week!

Open Mon-Sat 10:00-5:30 p.m.

www.LindsborgVacationRentals.com 855-872-3487

We moved!

New location adjacent from Hyllingsfest food court

MANY NEW VENDORS!

s t o r y

b y

Beccy Tanner with Nick Spacek and Lisa Waterman Gray

p h o t o g r a p h y

BriJoRae’ Pusch-Zuniga

38

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

b y

o n s i h c a t

The historic riverfront town in eastern Kansas is known for spooky homes, ghostly legends and things that go bump in the night

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

39

It’s that inexplicable feeling between slight apprehension and mortal fear one might have when tippytoeing among reputedly haunted sites in Kansas.

Every region of Kansas has one of these heebiejeebie–giving sites, if not several.

Go during the day. Or at night, if you dare.

It doesn’t matter when. You are likely to have a feeling you aren’t alone.

And depending on whom you ask, you might not be.

The Harris Poll, a market research and analytics company, conducted a survey in 2013 showing that roughly 42 percent of Americans believe in ghosts.

And most who don’t believe in ghosts are not averse to encountering them. Touring haunted locations has become a popular pastime.

Nationally, ghost hunting has been featured on television shows and is the subject of countless books, YouTube videos and events across the nation.

The popularity of the TV shows and movies has created a niche market—paranormal tourism.

In fact, one of the most popular blog posts on TravelKS.com, the state’s official tourism website, is one that details the 13 spookiest places in Kansas (see related story on page 44).

But of all the haunted spots in Kansas, Atchison is best known for apparitions. According to Lisa Hefner Heitz’s 1997 book, Haunted Kansas: Ghost Stories and Other Eerie Tales, the city along the banks of the Missouri River is the most haunted town in Kansas.

“Atchison appreciates its ghosts. Atchison cultivates its ghost stories. This historic and beautiful Kansas town along the banks of the Missouri River abounds in legends of all kinds—ghost legends in particular,” writes Heitz. “Nestled among the hills and river bluffs, Atchison has a unique sense of history, demonstrated in its commitment to preservation of its historic landmarks, original brick streets, magnificent 19th-century mansions … [and] a truly impressive collection of ghosts!”

Go to the visitatchison.com website, click on “Haunted Atchison,” and you’ll discover that there

40

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

are a plethora of places in town for those who enjoy otherworldly diversions, making the city a hotspot for ghost-seeking tourists.

The haunting experience is big business.

“I would say that 90 percent of the online traffic that we see through our websites and social media is haunted-related,” says Andrea Clements, deputy director for the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce. “And I would say maybe 70 percent of the visitors that we see here at the Visitors Center or interact with are here because of something related to haunted.”

Since Heitz’s book came out, national celebrity ghost hunters have flocked to the city.

“It has just skyrocketed,” Clements adds. “I think it’s [a factor with] the unknown. I think with people, even if they are not true believers in the paranormal world, there is still a level of curiosity.

It’s something you can explore on your own and take in as much or as little as you want.”

During the Covid pandemic, interest in Atchison’s ghostly tours increased, Clements says, in part because families could tour haunted places together by making reservations and not be exposed to others.

But the height of ghost tourism season is always in the fall, toward Halloween. And this year, as always, Atchison—with all its haunts and ghosts—will be waiting.

THE McINTEER VILLA It is a monstrous two-and-a-half–story mansion encompassing nearly a city block.

When I visited in late spring, dark rain clouds hung heavy over the villa and its four-story turreted tower.

Spooky?

Indeed. And that is why it has become such an attraction.

John McInteer, for whom the mansion is named, was an Irish immigrant who settled first in Philadelphia, then Indiana, and finally in Kansas by the early 1860s. Having made a fortune manufacturing harnesses and saddles that he sold to Euro-American

“This place is amazing! We had some crazy things happen to us over the weekend we were here. This place definitely overwhelmed some of our guests and 100 percent gets my haunted location approval. Thank you Kansas, it’s been real.”

–erik knapp, hunting the haunted

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

41

... the house would manifest abnormal cold spots, all of which were documented by Sightings in a series of in-depth reports and later examined by numerous other national and local programs.

42

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

settlers moving into the West, he built his namesake Queen Anne brick mansion in 1889–1890.

Over the decades, when it was not used a private residence, the McInteer was a rooming house. It is also believed to have been the site of nine deaths, a fact that—if you believe in such occurrences— accounts for its numerous reports of haunting.

Stephanie Neal, the current owner, offers tours and overnight stays in the home, now decorated with a haunted house motif. The house feature skeletons, skulls, Chuckie Dolls and other creepy factors along with gorgeous woodwork, winding stairs, stained glass windows and wood floors that creak in the night.

Neal said she became interested in searching out paranormal experiences about eight years ago.

That’s when she and her husband spent a night at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, long considered one of the most haunted hotels in America. There, she had a haunting experience with room service and a squeaky food cart— though that type of service wasn’t offered when she heard it—at 3 a.m.

After the Neals and Stephanie’s father bought the McInteer in 2018, they began having their own experiences in Atchison.

After he installed a chandelier on the first floor, Jeff heard a woman’s voice tell him “That looks nice.”

He was, of course, alone.

Paranormal experiences, Stephanie Neal says, are a little like riding a roller coaster.

“You get that really nervous feeling and then you want to do it again,” she says.

Visitors who spend the night are encouraged to bring their own bedding. Beds are full and twin size, not king or queen.

Those who don’t want to spend the night may tour the house in a group of up to 10 people.

Neal says visitors come to the home for many reasons, but mostly out of curiosity.

“I have a woman who’s probably been here 10 times with her daughter,” Neal says. “I think they enjoy the scared feeling. They’ve made friends with the spirits in the Villa. She says, ‘Hi Frank!’ I mean, she knows more about who is roaming the house than I do. And then other people like the history— what might have happened here. Others are more scientific about it.”

Those scientific-approach visitors have included Brian Murray and Richel Stratton, paranormal investigators on the A&E television show Ghost Hunters.

Murray noted they were particularly intrigued after a backpack weighing 50 pounds fell off a couch inside the villa.

“Richel and I would say [McInteer Villa] was very active,” Murray wrote in an email. “We had a very large group inside McInteer, and we still had footsteps, shadows, whistling, and objects moving.”

Neal welcomes visitors who bring in cameras, gadgets and meters. “I like that they do this, but I like to hear things with my own ears because, to me, that is a little more terrifying.”

Indeed, as she is showing visitors the second floor there is a small noise.

“Did you hear that? It was like someone whispered ‘Hey!’” In the visitors’ book, people share other experiences. Erik Knapp, who stars in the paranormal reality show Hunting the Haunted, wrote in the journal on November 10, 2019, “this place is amazing! We had some crazy things happen to us over the weekend we were here. This place definitely overwhelmed some of our guests and 100 percent gets my haunted location approval. Thank you Kansas, it’s been real.”

And still another visitor on October 10, 2020, wrote from the group Women Investigating Spirit Phenomena, “…we saw 2 stick figures that were in the Attic and on the 1st and 2nd floors as well. Did not go to basement, had a bad feeling about that.

Our music box went off. A lot! Had to shut it off in the Library as it would not stop. K2 meters went off in many rooms. Lots of activity in the kids room, but none in Lucy’s room or Goldie’s room. Saw a couple of shadows and curtains moving. Will review tapes (video) once we get home.”

Neal says the actual ghost population might be larger than she realizes.

“I don’t know how many spirits are here. I’ve been told there are lots of children here who play hide and seek. I’ve heard babies, men and women. I heard little kids and heard someone with a British accent.”

Murray said he plans on returning to the haunted mansion.

“McInteer Villa is absolutely haunted, and we will be back for more haunts,” he wrote.

THE SALLIE HOUSE As haunted as the McInteer Villa is reported to be, the title for the most haunted home in the most haunted city most often goes to the Sallie House.

Built sometime between 1867 and 1871, the Sallie House became the residence of Dr. Charles C. 2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

43

Finney, who is believed to have used the downstairs front rooms as an office and patient examination space in the late 1800s. The story goes that one night, a mother rushed in with her 6-year-old daughter, Sallie, who was suffering from abdominal pain. The doctor thought it was appendicitis and that the young girl was in danger of her appendix soon bursting.

In a rush to perform life-saving surgery, the doctor administered anesthesia, but it had yet to take full effect by the time he began to operate. The girl screamed in pain and soon died on the operating table. Her spirit would become the first that is believed by some to haunt the premises.

The Finney family continued residing in the house for the next several decades, and then a single woman lived there for the better part of the middle of the 20th century. It wasn’t until Tony Pickman and his wife, Debra, moved into the house in 1993 that the house gained notoriety.

Over the course of the next two years, Debra and Tony noticed strange apparitions. Tony would suffer mysterious cuts, rashes, and abrasions, and the house would manifest abnormal cold spots, all of which were documented by Sightings in a series of indepth reports and later examined by numerous other national and local programs. Sightings was the first to document the phenomena, but the details have since found their way into the vernacular of those who follow the paranormal.

Video tours of the home have appeared on A&E, the Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel, Syfy, and in other national media outlets. Many who tour the house or stay overnight have reported seeing apparitions or hearing voices during their visits. Others have claimed to witness toys moving in a child’s room or noticing a girl’s voice from a bedroom closet.

For the past years, the Sallie House has been owned and operated by Visit Atchison, the city’s official tourism office. The organization arranges all tours and overnight stays and includes the home as part of its official tour of the city’s most haunted locations.

HERE A HAUNT, THERE A HAUNT Ghost-story writer Lisa Hefner Heitz notes that Atchison “scored additional points for its innovative yearly salute to its least visible residents” through its Haunted Atchison Trolley Tours, which takes riders past the most haunted areas of town during the fall.

44

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

In addition to McInteer Villa and Sallie House, be sure not to miss these other haunted Kansas locations …

Spirit’s Mile: According to legend, on this spot along K-7 Highway, witnesses have seen misty apparitions standing on the roadside and the likeness of deceased friends passing by in cars.

The Braun Home: Built by German immigrant Henry Braun, this house remained a family home for many years after Braun’s wife, Anna, died here and then continued to visit as a spirit. She has been believed to send keys flying from a pegboard and to play the parlor piano.

The Shisler House: Visitors to this late-1800s home have reported hearing footsteps, noticing sudden chills, and spotting unexplained movement of furnishings. The incidents are often attributed to a young girl who died from rheumatic fever in the house.

622 N. 4th Street: Unexplained orbs have appeared in many photographs taken of a framed picture inside this Victorian home. Paranormal investigation even captured footage of orbs emerging from the picture. Docents have also reported hearing mysterious footsteps coming from the upstairs.

101 Commercial Street: Built in the 1870s, this building has served as a railroad office, a boarding home, a brothel and a restaurant. After the building became a restaurant, managers reported that lights turned off when nobody was near a switch and that unexplained footsteps could be heard from the upstairs.

Theatre Atchison: Several ghostly encounters— including doors rattling and voices calling out— have been reported from this late 1940s building.

Waggener Home: Built in the mid-1880s, this ornate Victorian home has appeared on the Travel Channel in a segment about its reported history of mysterious gargoyles and hauntings.

Evah C. Cray Historical Home Museum: Various apparitions and unexplained sounds have been reported at this house, believed to have been built over the city’s first graveyard.

“Nestled among the hills and river bluffs, Atchison has a unique sense of history, demonstrated in its commitment to preservation of its historic landmarks, original brick streets, magnificent 19thcentury mansions … [and] a truly impressive collection of ghosts!” –lisa hefner heitz, Haunted Kansas: Ghost Stories and Other Eerie Tales

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

45

Eyewitness Tales: Villa Paranormal Party

I

n the midst of a pandemic, KANSAS! magazine called, wanting to know if I’d spend a night in Atchison’s haunted McInteer Villa.

I’ve been asked to do many things in my journalism career, but this was a first.

Sure, I said, but could I take a friend with me?

I took two.

First was Diane Getty, a friend from St. John since kindergarten. She’s a no-nonsense kind of farm woman who has your back and doesn’t put up with foolishness.

Next was Kent Burklund, a retired calibration technician from Wichita’s Spirit Aerosystems. He’s a gadget guy who counters with logic and common sense when it comes to approaching the seemingly inexplicable.

The two were a great combination for a night of thrills and chills.

But even then, I wasn’t taking chances.

I decided we would all sleep in the same room.

Even though we were all well beyond our sleepover party days, we laid our sleeping bags on the floor close enough to watch over one another.

Diane later moved her sleeping bag to a Victorian fainting couch in the front room, but we were still all gathered on the first floor because we didn’t want to negotiate the winding stairs on the second floor or attic. It was more convenient that way, but I also knew that if we were spooked, we could get out quickly.

Little did we know what awaited.

At 8:30 p.m., we heard footsteps on the stairs.

A quick investigation revealed this was Kent, setting up two digital cameras and specifically a REM-pod, a Radiating EM Antenna Paranormal Ghost Hunting Tool, loaned to us

by Stephanie and Jeff Neals.

As he was setting up his equipment, a door on a secondfloor room mysteriously popped open as he walked by. That wasn’t Kent.

“At the time, I thought it was an old door. I thought well, it’s just the vibration and the walking that popped it open.

But the door just opened right as I walked by,” Kent said.

While he had the cool gadgets, I was tasked with a K2 meter, a magnetic field detector that can detect energy such as that found in electrical outlets, cell phones and perhaps … ghosts?

Its lights flashed occasionally for no reason I could explain.

At 8:46 p.m., Kent spoke directly to the ghosts, asking them to make themselves known.

Nothing happened.

46

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

Or so we thought.

Things got spookier as the night went on.

In the middle of the night, I accidentally knocked over a life-size decorative witch doll who shook and trembled as I caught her and put her back in place.

Diane said she was “creeped out” by some of the decorations in the house but that had more to do with décor preference than paranormal activity.

“I had a lot built up in my mind,” Diane said. “But I don’t feel like there were any odd experiences while we were there.”

Call us boring old folk, but it was the architectural details of the house that fascinated us the most. The villa features exquisite woodwork, carved wood railings and stained-glass windows. According to the house’s nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, it was built around 1889–1890 for an estimated cost of $14,000. We wondered what it would cost to build today.

“Its chief significance is in its appearance; its remarkability is signified by the abundance and overabundance of ornamentation and detail in stone, brick, wood and metal,” the form reads.

It is a fine structure.

But even nice architecture gives way to the imagination in the deep of the night.

At 3:30 a.m., I woke to the sound of low growling, a few feet from my head.

I was terrified—until I realized it was one of my fellow ghost hunters snoring. Not long after that, the middle cushion of Diane’s Victorian couch was mysteriously pulled out from under her. If anyone asks, I’ll blame a ghost for that one, a ghost who allowed me to sleep until daybreak.

By 7 a.m., we were dressed and ready to leave the house.

The only ghosts any of us had encountered were the growlers though, apparently, others had heard the same growling from somewhere around me.

Apparently, we all snored.

We discovered something else after reviewing Kent’s footage and electronic records. Sometime during the night, the REM-pod was activated by something. The pod flashed for about 30 seconds and the brand-new batteries went dead.

At the same time that the REM-pod activated, the video camera that Kent had placed in the attic recorded what appeared to be tiny flying objects, which when magnified resembled a headless torso.

“I don’t have a clue what’s going on with that type of paranormal activity,” Kent said. “I don’t dismiss it.”

None of us did.

—Beccy Tanner

Eyewitness Tales: The Chilly Charm of the Sallie House

M

y wife, Tanya, and I prepared for our overnight stay at the Sallie House just as we might for any road trip. We packed a game to play and loaded up our tablet with a choice of movies to watch.

Because it was December, we also brought warm clothes and sleeping bags just in case. And then there was the research theme—that part wasn’t typical. Prior to our visit we read about reported hauntings and viewed several documentaries and episodes of the ’90s paranormal investigation program Sightings.

Fortified with this knowledge, Tanya and I set out for Atchison on a clear winter afternoon. We hoped to enjoy a nice drive, visit an interesting location and leave with a story to tell the next time ghosts came up in conversation.

Though we were well-versed in the particulars of the Sallie House, as well as what paranormal investigators suggest looking for when entering a haunted house, neither of us were traveling to the Sallie House as what you might call “believers.” Had we been looking for portents, we might easily have found one when we had to detour from our route to avoid an SUV that had caught fire alongside Highway 59 about 50 miles south of our destination.

We arrived in Atchison as the sun was setting, pulled up on Second Street, parked and walked up to the Sallie House.

As we explored the house, Tanya and I were struck by how much cozier the house seemed in contrast to its looming presence in paranormal lore, or simply in contrast to how large it seemed from the front sidewalk. The ground floor rooms were spacious, with the living and dining rooms taking up the better part of half the first floor. The décor was much like you would expect in a house last regularly occupied in the 1990s. The stereo—which is always left on because the house evidently likes it—was fuzzily playing Christmas music as we explored. It’s certainly a unique contrast to hear the theme to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation as you wander around a house with a reputation for being haunted, but it seemed quite normal after an initial inspection.

Since the house itself is in the heart of Atchison’s historic riverfront and downtown area, we took some time to explore nearby downtown Atchison and the surrounding neighborhood before the sun and temperature dropped. We figured the ghosts—who had reportedly been haunting for decades if not a century— would not mind waiting a bit to haunt us. After about an hour, we headed back to the Sallie House.

“This is the weirdest Airbnb ever,” Tanya quipped as we waited for paranormal guests and dug for silverware to eat the dinner we’d brought with us. The aura was more cozy than creepy. Aside from the clock in the corner of the dining room that chimed every quarter hour, the house was peaceful. Outside, the neighborhood was lit by streetlights, passing cars and homes decorated for the holidays.

The knocking began early—around 7 p.m. Some reports attribute it to spirits banging around the house, but it didn’t sound any different from a typical furnace in a house that’s over 150 years old. The home we live in is much newer, but the furnace makes nearly as much noise.

Predictably, the heat would kick on about 30 seconds after we’d hear the noise though it was certainly unnerving that the knocking started barely five minutes after my mom texted to ask if we had heard any strange sounds.

We listened to knockings and Christmas music played by a St. Joseph radio station as we sat in a drafty, historic house on an old couch and played the game Qwixx at an octagonal table. It felt like a childhood sleepover at our grandparents’ house, complete with a bathroom that smelled of bygone-era wholesomeness and old-fashioned bar soap. Ultimately, we turned off the chimes on the dining room clock, threw some sleeping bags on the bed in the upstairs bedroom and had a good night’s sleep. If anything, we slept in much later than we would have at home, thanks to the absence of both poltergeists and our cats, who typically crawl all over us for breakfast.

For us, the visit was neither disturbingly paranormal nor boringly normal—it was … lovely. Next time we’ll head out earlier in the day to spend some time in and around the town. Thanks for the hospitality, ghosts. Thanks for having us, Atchison. You’re both pretty charming.

—Nick Spacek

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

47

Story by Meta Newell West

The traditional Mexican holiday is celebrated across Kansas in recognition of loss and lives respectfully remembered

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY Emporia Main Street

n traditional Mexican culture, the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is a holiday of remembrance, an occasion when families visit the graves of their ancestors and construct memorial altars with fine cloths, foods, candles, religious symbols and other ofrendas (offerings) to honor their relatives. Historians believe Day of the Dead emerged as an amalgamation of Mesoamerican traditions and Catholicism, eventually being observed on the same day as the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day, November 1, and lasting until November 2. Mexican American communities continued this tradition when they arrived in Kansas in the mid- and late1800s, and in recent years the holiday has emerged as community-wide celebrations, rooted in Mexican tradition but shared and enjoyed by all.

Edgar Galicia is the executive director of the Central Avenue Betterment Association of Kansas City, Kansas, the nonprofit group that has hosted Day of the Dead events for the past four years. Galicia says he is heartened to see the holiday’s growth beyond the Mexican American communities and believes the Day of the Dead’s traditional emphasis on honoring and celebrating deceased family members offers a universal appeal and comfort.

“This is a loving and open celebration that so many have taken and approached because of its focus on memory and a celebration of the lives of loved ones,” Galicia says. “There is not a human alive who has not lost a loved one.”

In 2021, some communities are choosing to downplay the community celebrations as an acknowledgment of pandemic losses and the more somber tone that accompanies this year’s memorials.

Other towns will host community-wide events to mark the 1-2 holiday and the days leading up to it.

Regardless of the scale of the celebrations across the different cities, the focus of the holiday remains the same. “It is a day of remembrance, a happy time to recall and honor our loved ones and to appreciate the many things they taught us,” says Sally Sanchez, a community leader in Emporia.

Galicia says even if the public events must be canceled for community health reasons, he and families across the state will continue to honor the tradition with prayers, small family gatherings, and symbolic offerings to ancestors. After all, the holiday is—at its core—an acknowledgment of loss and a recognition of lives well lived.

That is why, Galicia says, he welcomes “everyone to learn about this celebration and participate in it as a way to celebrate the memory of loved ones.”

Here is our guide to some of the major Day of the Dead events across Kansas, as well as traditional holiday recipes handed down through the generations of two Mexican American families in Kansas.

EMPORIA Emporia’s community Day of the Dead celebrations will be held on October 30 as the downtown will be filled with vibrant colors, lively music, flowers, lots of activities and food. The day

begins with a parade down Emporia’s Commercial Street complete with colorful floats, bands, and decorated bikes with costumed riders. Participants will toss candy to the kids. Leona Cisneros, a local resident, remembers the churros that were handed out during the last parade.

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

49

Dancers decked out in colorful traditional costumes and mariachi bands strumming cultural rhythms on stringed instruments are all part of the programs and entertainment slated throughout the day. Families may attend a movie at the Granada Theatre, children can have their faces painted, and there will be an array of vendors with products that highlight and honor the Hispanic culture.

Sally Sanchez, past president of Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow (HOTT) and one of the original event organizers, says that the community is still working out details for the first postpandemic event, but she expects downtown Emporia to be filled with the flavors and aromas of everyday Mexican cuisine. Vendors are expected to offer favorites such as tacos, enchiladas and tamales, and possibly meats cooked in flavorful mole sauces and traditional soups such as pozolé.

Fruity agua fresca beverages, cups of steaming champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate) and sweets will be available at other stands.

Children always look forward to the activity table sponsored by The Sweet Granada, a local chocolate

shop. According to shop owner Kim Redeker, they’ve had fun adding frosting and decorations to white chocolate suckers and sugar skulls in the past, and another culinary adventure awaits them this fall. “As a small business, we love being a part of an event like this. The products and activities, like the traditional sugar skulls, help our customers and staff not only better understand our communities rich and diverse culture, but to actually celebrate it,” she says.

Mexican-themed window displays in downtown businesses will further add to the festivities. The nonprofit Emporia Main Street sponsors the display contest and will turn their window over to HOTT to construct a community ofrenda. Sanchez explains that area residents are invited to bring meaningful objects to add to the display. Ofrendas often include photos, candles and flowers, real or artificial fruits and vegetables, candy, bowls of salt representing the spice of life, containers of water to quench the thirst of spirits, and breads to nourish their souls. Pan de campo, a simple flatbread, is the most common holiday bread in the Emporia area. (continued on page 55)

Your next day trip...

VisitLeavenworthKS.com

A Guide to Traditional Day of the Dead Food and Drink •

•

•

•

•

Agua Frescas (fresh waters) — Beverages made from one or more fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water.

Calaveras (sugar skulls) — Traditional sugar skulls are made from a granulated white sugar mixture that is pressed into special skull molds, allowed to dry, then decorated, often with inedible items such as with sequins, colored foils or feathers.

They represent departed souls, and the original water and sugar concoction signifies the merging of pre-Hispanic culture with the Spanish custom of molding.

Churros (Mexican fried pastries or fritters) — Authentic churros Mexicanos begin with the same dough used to create cream puffs and beignets. Piped into hot oil, the dough is transformed into light, golden, crispy pastries that are dusted with sugar and cinnamon.

Pan de Campo (Cowboy bread) — Vagueros (Mexican cowboys) originally made these durable, portable flatbreads in cast-iron skillets over open campfires using readily available ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, fat and water.

Pan de Muerto (traditional “bread of the dead”) — Created from an egg-enriched dough, pan de muerto is a yeasted sweet bread. Customary flavors include orange and anise; dough is usually shaped into round loaves decorated with strips of

•

•

•

bone-shaped dough centered around a small ball of dough. Meanings associated with the decorations vary. Some claim they are meant to symbolize the bones of the dead while others say they represent a skull. Some even speculate that the small ball in the center is a teardrop representing the tears shed for the dead. It is also believed that when the spirits return during the Day of the Dead, they can be nourished by the “essence” of this sweet bread.

Champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate) — A milk-based beverage flavored with cinnamon and ground discs of Mexican chocolate that consists of crushed cacao, sugar, spices and a corn flour known as “masa harina” when mixed with water.

Mole (spicy Mexican sauce) — A complex, long-simmered sauce that is typically served with chicken, turkey or other meats. Chocolate, several types of dried chiles, nuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and an assortment of spices and seasonings are possible ingredients, but recipes vary according to regions and families. Some varieties are slightly sweet; others are more herb driven.

Pozolé (“frothy” soup) — Traditional Mexican soup/stew made from hominy, various meats, seasoned with a variety of spices and typically garnished with shredded lettuce or cabbage.

KS Magazine Sept Oct.qxp_Layout 1 8/10/21 2:54 PM Page 1

HAVE A WILLIE FUN WEEKEND. No one loves Manhattan more than Willie the Wildcat and he’d love to show you around. You’ll nd new artisan restaurants, boutiques, craft breweries, museums, galleries and pulsing nightlife. Outdoor adventures abound in our tallgrass prairie backyard. Willie’s waiting for you in Manhappiness!

Oh Manhattan !

VISITMANHATTANKS.ORG

52

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

PHOTOGRAPHS David Mayes

Here are two sabroso (tasty) Mexican cookie recipes. Both pair well with a cup of champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate) on a chilly fall evening.

These recipes are not only a family tradition but also a family art.

Don’t worry if your first batch of either recipe is not perfect because it can take a couple of times to master the process.

Though a challenge, the finished cookies are crisp with a piecrustlike texture, and oh-so addictive! The first recipe, Polvorones de Nuez, is somewhat easier and quicker to make; it yields a softer cookie with shortbread-like qualities.

Consider using canela or Mexican cinnamon in these cookies. Favored in Mexico for its mellow flavor, it’s much softer and flakier than cassia cinnamon commonly sold in the U.S. Anise, known for its licorice taste, is a love-itor-leave-it kind of spice.

The flavor imparted from the seeds (used in both recipes) provides a mild background essence, but since similar recipes rely on just cinnamon to flavor, you can leave out the anise.

Polvorones de Nuez

Pan de Polvo

This recipe is courtesy of Evangelina (Vangie) Henry of rural Solomon, Kansas. Her tia (aunt), Esperanza Zardenetta, made them the traditional way with lard and never added the pecans. Yield: 30 small balls

This is a family recipe passed down to Sally Sanchez from her mother.

Sanchez’s family prefers to roll the dough and cut it with star- and heartshaped cutters. However, the dough can also be rolled into logs and sliced into rounds. Yield: Approximately 5 dozen small cookies

(Mexican Pecan Cookies)

Ingredients •

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, or use shortening or pork lard • ¼ cup powdered sugar • Heaping ¼ teaspoon crushed anise seeds • Heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon • ¼ teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 2 cups all purpose flour • 1½ cups finely crushed pecans, optional • Topping: ¾ cup fine sugar (purchased or made by adding granulated sugar to a blender and pulsing just a couple of times) mixed with 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, or use powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter; then add powdered sugar, anise, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy.

3. Gradually mix in the flour until dough forms. Add pecans now if using. If dough is sticky, mix in a little more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time.

4. Roll 30 small or 15 medium dough balls and place on prepared cookie sheet. They won’t spread so may be placed close together, but not touching.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 13 to 14 minutes, turning pan halfway through the baking time to help cookies bake more evenly.

6. Gently dredge the cookies in the cinnamon-sugar while they are still slightly warm. Or, sift powdered sugar over cookies once they have cooled.

7. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

(Cinnamon Sugar Cookies)

Ingredients

Cinnamon-Anise “Tea” • 3 cinnamon sticks (each approximately 2½-inches long) • 2 tablespoons anise seeds • ¼ cup granulated sugar • 1 cup water Cookie Dough • 4 cups all-purpose flour • 1¼ cups vegetable shortening Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture • 1½ cups granulated sugar • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Cinnamon-Anise “Tea”: Combine cinnamon sticks, anise seed and ¼ cup sugar with water in a small saucepan; boil for approximately 4 minutes. Remove from heat and strain; discard spices.

2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease or spray cookie sheets with pan release, or line sheets with sprayed parchment paper.

3. Cookie Dough: Add flour and shortening to a mixing bowl. Use a mixer or pastry blender to cut-in/mix the dough until it resembles coarse meal. Slowly add the warm “tea,” stirring it into the flour in ¼-cup intervals, adding as much as is needed until the dough begins to form a ball. Knead dough until it’s soft and smooth, not sticky to the touch—about 5 minutes.

4. Choose one method. Either: 1) roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch thick; cut dough with cookie cutters of your choice. Or 2) roll the dough into 1-inch diameter logs and then slice logs into ¼-inch-thick rounds.

5. Place cookies close together (but not touching) on prepared cookie sheet. Without leavening, they spread very little or not at all.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

To check for doneness, cut a cookie in half—it should crumble.

7. Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture: As cookies bake, combine the cinnamon and sugar in a container.

8. Once cookies are out of the oven, immediately add them to the container of cinnamon and sugar—the heat will cause the mixture to adhere.

9. Dust off excess sugar and allow cookies to cook. Store cooled cookies in a container with a tight lid.

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

53

By Huascar Medina, Poet Laureate of Kansas I bought my first retablo from artist Nicario Jimenez in Des Moines, Iowa, during a rainstorm. It now hangs closed-door on a wall in my living room. It’s titled “The Mask Maker’s Workshop” & within its confines live four calaveras, of potato & gypsum, surrounded by masks of Andean deities, birds, animals & spirits.

On the Day of the Dead, I visit the workshop knocking twice on each door. They let me in & I begin pleading as the mask makers craft away. We begin discussing the sudden shortage of marigolds for the ofrendas.

I ask for their guidance. They advise me to take this poem & tear it from its bind. They tell me to dye this sheet the colors of sunsets & to fold its planes over into a form of time travel. I am told to cut each layer into petal shapes & to lift each piece into bloom. To treat each unfurling as wind-touch. To be patient & gentler. That it takes time, effort and softness to take shape. That listening closely is not equal to listening deeply. That a ritual is more than a controlled memory.

That our lives intersect across generations, cultures, religions & traditions. That death has many symbols.

•

•

•

54

Papel picado are brightly colored paper decorations, often festooned across an area, reminiscent of flowers and commonly displayed during Mexican celebrations.

Nicario Jimenez is a third-generation Peruvian artist from the Andean region of Ayachucho. His work has appeared in galleries across the world and one of his pieces is held in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, priests and members of Catholic orders would often

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

• •

carry portable religious shrines into regions they were attempting to convert. Over time, Indigenous peoples adapted these retablos to reflect their own traditions, mythologies and deities. By the mid-twentieth century, some artists began creating retablos as folk art rather than purely religious artifacts.

Calaveras (skeletons) are images that frequently appear in Day of the Dead celebrations.

An ofrenda (offering) is a symbolic item—often food— placed on a home altar to honor and remember the dead.

PHOTOGRAPHS Jason Dailey

Author notes

KANSAS DESTINATIONS & ATTRACTION

PHOTOGRAPHS Rachael Sebastian

“Dia de los Muertos is important to our community economically, culturally, and from a community development perspective,” says Casey Woods, executive director of Emporia Main Street. “Our community becomes more inclusive when we empower groups to share their culture, and the Emporia area has become a tighter knit and more welcoming community through Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow’s efforts.”

Final information will be posted at Emporia Main Street’s and HOTT’s websites: emporiamainstreet.com and hottfiesta.com.

GARDEN CITY Garden City hosts one of the state’s largest Mexican American populations. With deep ties to the meatpacking industry, the community flourished as early as 1926, when it hosted its first community Mexican Fiesta. That event, which continues to be celebrated throughout Garden City in mid-September, draws large crowds with its parade, music and dance.

OL M T CHISHUSEUMRAIL M

Open May thru November Call for current days of operation Hours: 1-5 PM 502 N. Washington Wellington, KS 67152 620.326.3820 | facebook.com/ctmuseum www.ctmuseumks.com

ADD YOUR DESTINATION OR ATTRACTION!

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

55

in KANSAS! Magazine Contact Sunflower Publishing for details sunpubads@sunflowerpub.com 785.832.7264

This year, community activities will focus on supporting families to honor the holiday at home through the distribution of special art boxes.

Begun last year by nonprofit Garden City Arts, the art box project contains supplies for families to create Day of the Dead altar decorations, as well as other themed activities and authentic recipes. Katie Guthrie, director of Garden City Arts, estimates that

the 200 free boxes distributed last year allowed over 800 area residents to participate in the celebration of life and provided opportunities for them to remember loved ones who have passed from this world. gardencityarts.org/dia-index

KANSAS CITY This Day of the Dead will mark the fifth annual community celebration sponsored by Central Avenue Betterment Association. In the past years, the nonprofit group has hosted parades, musical and dance performances, public ofrendas, and partnerships with community organizations such as the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Organizers of this year’s event say they are monitoring public health conditions and will respond in the community’s best interest in deciding which public events to hold in 2021. dayofthedeadweekend.com

WICHITA Set for October 23, Dia de los Muertos Wichita will include folkloric dancing, live music, costume contests, raffles, and vendors offering colorful clothing, jewelry, mementos, kitchen items, and food. According to China Peña, one of the event coordinators, “This is an event we’d like to share with everyone in the community.” The festival will close with a silent candlelight procession around a central altar. Details, including location, will be available on Facebook, listed under Dia de los Muertos Wichita.

Peña also notes the city’s Mexican bakeries will be producing pan de muerto, the traditional “Day of the Dead” bread during the latter part of October. Loaves sell out quickly, so those who want a taste of this traditional sweet bread might consider contacting Juarez Bakery at (316) 269-9410 (they offer shipping) or La Casa de Mi Abuela Bakery at (316) 337-5313.

Topeka has traditionally held one of the state’s largest Day of the Dead celebrations, with citywide celebrations throughout October. This year, organizers are choosing to mark the holiday with family celebrations and with special presentations in partnership with the Mulvane Art Museum. Look for information on the Mulvane web page, mulvaneartmuseum.org.

56

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY CABA

TOPEKA

K A N S A S !

gallery

BILL FALES | BUTLER COUNTY

MICHELLE TERRY | CHASE COUNTY

RACHAEL SEBASTIAN | GREELEY COUNTY

ASHLEY WALKER | HODGEMAN COUNTY

2021 ISSUE 5 | KANSAS! MAGAZINE

61

CHUCK McCLARY | RENO COUNTY

NEW AT

Kansas Magazine

New Year, New Format & New Calendar This year, KANSAS! magazine has expanded to five issues; this issue marks the fifth edition for 2021. Our next edition will arrive before Thanksgiving and will be the first edition of 2022. For subscribers, this first edition of 2022 will also include the annual KANSAS! magazine calendar. We’re eager to share the calendar’s 13 images taken by Kansas photographers and featuring locations across the state; here’s a preview of one of them, a short-eared owl at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge spotted by Newton-based photographer Matthew Gerlach.

“Quivira is an amazing refuge for many migrating birds and home to hundreds of short-eared owls throughout the winter,” says Gerlach. “For me, this owl is an iconic sight on the winter Kansas prairies. It can be seen often as it hunts before the sun dips below the horizon. I spent quite a few evenings photographing them and their unique behaviors.

They are curious and beautiful birds.”

64

KANSAS! MAGAZINE | 2021 ISSUE 5

Whatever your mode of transportation, please head out to Live the Adventure in Chanute, KS! • Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum • Chanute Art Gallery • Summit Hill Gardens Soap Shop • Chanute Historical Museum • Veterans Memorial • Wright Brothers-Octave Chanute Memorial Sculpture • Howard’s Toys for Big Boys Automotive Museum • Cardinal Drug Store Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain 21 N. Lincoln 620-431-3350 information@chanutechamber.com www.chanutechamber.com

Located in the heart of Southeast Kansas

Visit our website to learn more!

www.visitgreensburgks.com