Hillsdale Bank Bar-B-Q

Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette:

HILLSDALE BANK BAR-B-Q

It’s an unlikely combination, an old bank building and a caboose.

Inside, you’ll find eclectic décor – original bank documents, old stuff, odd stuff, some fishing gear. And behind the building is a lovely garden.

Then there’s that whole barbecue thing. That’s the real reason to visit the Hillsdale Bank Bar-B-Q – messy and delicious finger food.

The restaurant is located on Frisco Street, just east of the railroad tracks in the Miami County community of Hillsdale.

First, Dave and I sat in the main dining room – and then we discovered the caboose with its seating options. We were the only diners at the moment, so, like the children that we are, Dave and I climbed around in the caboose while waiting for our meal. Years ago, Dave worked for the Rock Island Railroad and spent a lot of time in cabooses.

But when our food came, we got down to the business of eating ribs and burnt ends with hot barbecue sauce, beans, Cole slaw, potato salad, and home-cut fries.

I’m blaming the Travel Channel for my barbecue cravings. That channel often features barbecue joints across the country, showing close-ups of juicy meat and sauce. So that’s why, when Dave and I began considering a Sunday road trip, Hillsdale came to mind.

The restaurant is only open on weekends. Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and before we went I did call ahead to make sure they were open. (913-783-4333.)

From Ottawa, you can take K-68 east about 20 miles, then drive a few miles north to find Hillsdale.

Nearby is Hillsdale Lake, managed by the Kansas State Park system. As we drove across the dam, water reflected the blue sky, and the Sunday crowd was enjoying the water – riding in boats, on water skis, tubes and jet skis.

In addition to the barbecue restaurant, Hillsdale has a post office, an elementary school, and a manufacturing business.

Yep, in the tiny community of Hillsdale, there’s a warehouse and manufacturing center for Magnum Harvesters made by the Bucyrus Equipment Company. On a trailer in the lot were two pieces of machinery that I wasn’t familiar with. I didn’t know what they were until I got home and investigated the business online.

Their website indicates that Gary and Carol Dover started out in the sod-growing business (Dover Sodding) in 1972. Eventually they created a line of machinery “to make harvesting and installing sod easier.”

“We’ll set up, install and fine-tune your machine(s) for you,” the website says. “We’ll train your people and we’ll back our product to the hilt.”

After leaving Hillsdale, Dave and I took a spin through Louisburg (pop. 3,313). No, we didn’t hit the famous cider place, but we did follow signs to a park just outside of Louisburg and there found Powell Observatory which was built by the Astronomical Society of Kansas City.

Adjacent to the domed Powell Observatory is a small shed which houses the Louisburg Community Telescope. One doesn’t run into too many community telescopes in Kansas, so Louisburg residents are pretty lucky.

Anyway, telescopic stargazing is made available to the public on Saturdays, May –October, sunset to midnight.

After visiting Louisburg, Dave and I headed south on US 69, the Frontier Military Scenic Byway, one of nine scenic byways in Kansas. This 167-mile route connects Leavenworth with Baxter Springs, and highlights military sites from the early days in Kansas.

Dave and I pulled off U.S. 69 and took a 5-mile jaunt to check out La Cygne (pop. 1,146), a Linn County town with a mix of old buildings and new ones. La Cygne is along the Marais des Cygnes River (which translates to Marsh of the Swans).

And if you’re wondering, like I was, no, the school mascot is not a swan; it is the buffalo. Prairie View Senior High is a consolidated school built five miles west of town, serving the communities of La Cygne, Parker and Fontana.

We left La Cygne, but the trip wasn’t over. Next up: two solemn sites with historical significance.

Copyright 2009 ~ Cheryl Unruh