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August 2005 News
August 31, 2005 Wednesday
Homage to the Flint Hills - tonight was the reception at the Emporia Arts Center. It's an incredible traveling exhibit with, I think, 12 stops in Kansas. It's here through the end of September. Awhile back I received a CD of poetry in the mail, "Waking in the Flint Hills" by Steven Hind, but the package came without a name or return address so I had no one to thank. Tonight got to meet Steven Hind and thank him. Hind, of Hucthinson and formerly of Madison, read poetry at the reception. Jim Hoy, ESU English professor and Director of Great Plains Studies, introduced Hind to the audience, saying, "I think he is the best Kansas poet writing." And I had the chance to visit with Louis Copt, a famous and former Emporian, who along with Stan Herd, painted the Flint Hills mural in downtown Emporia. Stan Herd was not present but he has finished his quarter art. To commemorate the launching of the Kansas quarter Sept. 9, Stan Herd worked up a "crop art" quarter near Hutchinson. I'd urge anyone in the area to stop by and see the exhibit at the Arts Center and at Bank of America. If you love the Flint Hills, then you will enjoy this art work - 37 pieces in all. (For more info on this exhibit, scroll down to 8/24 entry below.) And, it's with sadness that I mention our fearless Arts Council director, Catherine Rickbone, is ending her reign here. Today was her last day of work. She's headed off to Oregon. Catherine has been a bright and guiding star in the art world here--ever energetic and open to ideas. She will be greatly missed in this community. Well, Steven Hind gave me a copy of a book of his poetry, "In a Place With No Map," so I'm going to sit back a read a few poems.
August 30, 2005 Tuesday Such gloom, misery and devastation: Mississippi, Louisiana. Disaster, big time. Around here, gas was $2.55 yesterday, $2.75 at noon today, $2.89 in some places at 4 p.m. Too much depressing news. So, to change the subject.... I've got pieces of April--but it's an evening in August. The lilac is blooming again. It's an April-and-August blooming lilac. The August blooms tend to be kind of puny, but fragrant nevertheless.
August 29, 2005 Monday Yesterday in Lawrence, I ate a late lunch at the Aladdin Cafe and spent a little time walking around downtown.
August 28, 2005 Sunday
I've mentioned Trail Mix on this site before because I'm hooked on the program. On Sunday afternoons from 1-7 p.m., Bob McWilliams plays six hours of music: singer-songwriter, newgrass, bluegrass, traditional folk, old-time, Celtic, and so on. Today I had the great pleasure of spending a couple of hours with Bob McWilliams, visiting with him and watching him broadcast Trail Mix over the airwaves. Bob is just as nice in person as he sounds on the radio, and his enthusiasm for the music and the artists, well, that's real too. It's the song lyrics that pull me in to Trail Mix. Maybe it's just the writer in me, but I'm a sucker for the words. I mean, who else but John Prine would even think to rhyme everybody and karate? Trail Mix introduced me to Cheryl Wheeler and her song "Since You've Been Gone." As I recall, it relates to her father's death. It's a very moving song with words like, "...and there's nothing that's touching me now." "What I like to think the show offers is a variety of music that really speaks to people very directly," Bob said. "I think a lot of the people working in the contemporary folk, singer-songwriter vein really are great truth-tellers and prophets of our time, are really speaking to the conditions of our time with lyrics that are extremely meaningful... . " Bob has been at Kansas Public Radio since 1983. Sure, he could be in an office or a courtroom using his law degree from Harvard, but some things are more important--like doing what you love to do.
Bob has met quite a few of the artists whose CDs he plays. When he can, he travels to music festivals and concerts. This summer Bob was the host for a musical tour of Ireland. He's been a driving force in an organization called West Side Folk which brings musicians to the Lawrence area. In addition to Trail Mix, Bob hosts Jazz in the Night weeknights on KPR. And Bob teaches at Johnson County Community College. (He also has a Masters Degree in History from KU.) What would Bob like for listeners to get from Trail Mix? "I hope that there are some songs that grab people and they have to stop what they're doing on a Sunday and just listen to the song. If that happens two or three times a day, I think I'd be thrilled." * * * Kansas Public Radio comes to us from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Learn more about Kansas Public Radio and Trail Mix (and enter a drawing for a chance to win a CD). Read more about Radio Bob McWilliams.
August 27, 2005 Saturday
August 26, 2005 Friday Perhaps the rain is over for awhile. According to the Emporia Gazette, we've had 4.55 inches in the past couple of days, bringing August's total to 7.13. So that's what all those gray days were about. Needless to say, the rivers are full. And then some. The price of gas jumped yesterday to $2.64, breaking yet another record. But today it's back down, in some places anyway, to $2.55-2.59.
August 24, 2005 Wednesday
Wow. This traveling exhibit was Don Lambert's idea. Don Lambert, of Topeka, is a writer and promoter of Arts in Kansas, and the person who brought attention to the works of Grandma Elizabeth Layton. Twenty-seven pieces hang in the Arts Center at 618 Mechanic and 10 more art pieces are on display in the Bank of America Building at Sixth and Commercial. Emporia is the eighth stop on this traveling exhibit. On October 16, it opens in Great Bend, January 1 in Wichita, February 3 in El Dorado and March 14 in North Newton. It's definitely worth a viewing. Beautiful work. And each artist has a comment about the Flint Hills. Terry Evans, of Chicago, formerly of Salina, said, "I have never been able to capture that feeling of space and of light moving across the Flint Hills, but I don't mind. It would be a shame to be done working there."
Participating Artists
August 23, 2005 Tuesday I've been reading "A View from the Heartland" by David Chartrand, a newspaper columnist from Olathe. His book has a section called "Everyday Tears," and he's written several heartbreaking stories. In one piece, Chartrand visits with the mother of a teenage boy who had committed suicide. The mother told Chartrand, "We were talking and we were trying to help him. It never really sank in that I, with all my special-ed and counseling experience, I could lose my boy." "Cindy didn't get weepy when she said this. She gave me her stern, Midwest schoolteacher look. At teachers' college she must have majored in Strong Eye Contact." I knew that look, that "stern, Midwest schoolteacher look." With this sentence, I felt like I was sitting with them at the coffee shop table. Chartrand pulls you into the pain, but he also shows the stubborn and courageous strength of individuals and families. And wisely, he follows those stories with a section called "Everyday Laughter."
August 21, 2005 Sunday Flyoverpeople Weather: What's it been now, a week of clouds? Maybe it's only been a few days. I lose track of time when we're living in a gray world. The clouds and the rain have cooled the August temperatures down into the 80s, which is welcome, as is the little bit of moisture that we've had. Or have we had rain? My mind is going....get me out of these clouds and into some sunlight! Friday afternoon was stormy across the state. Great Bend had two tornadoes Friday causing at least 12 minor injuries, an estimated damage of $4 million, and power outages across town. I noticed yesterday that one gas station dropped its gas price from $2.59 to 2.55. At least that's the right direction.
August 20, 2005 Saturday As long as I'm showing Emporia's murals, here are a couple more. It appears that the Daily News page has become a photo page, doesn't it? Words? Words? Who needs stinkin' words?
August 19, 2005 Friday
August 18, 2005 Thursday
I've been using a lot more photos on the Daily News and I hope that everyone is able to open the page OK.
August 17, 2005 Wednesday Yesterday morning, gas was $2.49 and that price had been steady for two days. Yesterday afternoon it hit $2.59. I don't have the courage to look anymore.
I have no idea how long this mural has been there--it's pretty cool though.
August 16, 2005 Tuesday
August 14, 2005 Sunday Today, we have two new pages to offer: These tiny towns rest deep in the Flint Hills of Kansas.
August 13, 2005 Saturday Gas prices are ridiculously high, but hey, there's always virtual traveling. While wandering around the world of blogs on the Internet, I visited Montana. Bozeman, specifically. Population 27,509. It's a college town about the size of Emporia. This new Bozeman blog shows photos around the area, and more so than many blogs, gives a sense of place. A sense of place is what I've always tried to show in my newspaper columns and here on the Flyover People web site--show what it's like to live here, in rural Kansas, in small-town Kansas, in Emporia, Kansas. * * *
August 12, 2005 Friday
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Clouds build, merge, swap their fluffy whiteness for flat gray. Like a headache, thunder rolls across the sky. Rain draws straight lines, connecting clouds to earth. Drops bounce on the street, white bubbles, boiling water.
August 11, 2005 Thursday At 5:30 p.m., gas was $2.45 per gallon. Who knows what it's up to by now. I'd go take a photograph of a gas station sign, but I'd have to drive to do it and, well, you can just use your imagination.
August 10, 2005 Wednesday
August 9, 2005 Tuesday Emporia is falling apart. First, Dillons West grocery store closed, and, what was it (?), 80-some employees lost work, then Modine Manufacturing closed, leaving 130 without jobs, now Birch Telecom has laid off at least 50 people. Wonder if those potential new businesses (Lowe's, Home Depot, Walgreens) that were fighting over us a few months ago, still want us now?
August 8, 2005 Monday A scene from our Saturday trip through the Flint Hills.
I had been in the house most of the day, trying to pull a column out of the air, and when I got in the car to go to the insurance office to pay a bill, I was surprised when the car's thermometer read 111. Well, it simmered down to 106 and later 101, so who knows how hot it really was.
August 7, 2005 Sunday Yesterday, we journeyed into the hills. We had never eaten at the famous Cassoday Cafe. I don't think it's world famous, but it attracts a crowd, especially on Biker Sundays. There are only about 10 tables in the place. I don't know how they deal with hundreds of bikers on Sunday mornings, but we managed to get a table around 1 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. The buffet at the Cassoday Cafe served chicken strips and beef and noodles with mashed potatoes in addition to side dishes and desserts. We checked out Cassoday Antiques and visited with Harold Roberts who owns the sprawling business and with Mick Solliday whose parents have the Cassoday Lodging and RV Park. The Sollidays plan to open a BBQ restaurant.
Roosters are all over Burns, in front of nearly every business and on the porches of many homes. Burns does roosters.
August 6, 2005 Saturday The Flint Hills called. So off we went. We visited Cassoday, Burns, Florence, Cedar Point and Elmdale-- all in the very heart of the Flint Hills. I thought today was supposed to be coolish. It wasn't. I guess it's all relative. 93 is cooler than 100.
August 5, 2005 Friday
My new computer makes it a lot easier for me to add photographs. Just keep in mind that if the pictures are lousy, they're mine, not Dave's. Dave takes photographs. I take snaphots. I used to be a photographer, but I got over it. I used to do F-stops and shutter speeds. Once upon a time I rolled my own film and developed it and I turned my fingernails orangey-brown by developing enlargements in Dektol. But that was all black-and-white photography. And it was back in the days when I snuck into my brother's darkroom after he moved away to college.
August 4, 2005 Thursday
Dave and I went to the Lyon County Fair Tuesday evening, walked around the goats and the pigs--which, incidentally, sound like teenage boys in a belching contest, and we traipsed around the dusty and somewhat empty midway, looked at the exhibits in the Anderson Building and walked through the quonset huts without getting grabbed by ambitious salespeople. Over the past few years the number of exhibits seems to be diminishing and it was really noticeable this year. Not as many vegetables or canned goods or baked items or even photographs. Fewer of everything. Even fewer animals. Lots of people were in the grandstand watching the Buck, Rumble and Roll, so there weren't too many at the carnival, except teenagers looking for love, or whatever it is teenagers look for these days. August 2, 2005 Tuesday
* * * Emporia's one and only roundabout is now open for traffic.
My first roundabout experience was one on the KU campus, the circle with the fountain in front of the Chi-Omega house (I think.) But I drove into my first unexpected cornerless intersection five or six years ago. We were on I -70 in Colorado and pulled into Vail for gas. Sailing down the exit ramp I saw an intersection that I did not recognize. What the heck? "How are those intersections working out for you?" I asked the convenience store clerk. "They're really a lot better than the stop signs, once you get used to them. The problem is that people coming off the interstate don't know what to do and they just stop, right in the middle of them. That's not good." The roundabout is at Graphic Arts and 18th Street, near the high school and the Flint Hills Vo-Tech.
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All Content Copyright 2004-2005 by Cheryl Unruh Text by Cheryl Unruh | Web Design: Dave Leiker Photography by Cheryl Unruh & Dave Leiker |