2011 – The year of Kansas

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

2011 – The Year of Kansas

In a few days, we’ll be hanging our 2011 calendars. And as we look over the month of January, our eyes will land on the 29th. On that day, Kansas turns 150. And, thanks to the fact that Emporia and other area towns have already hit that mark, most of us can type sesquicentennial without waking the spellchecker.

Statehood did not come easy for Kansas as you well know. Before the 34th star was sewn onto the American flag, there were dramatic events such as the Pottawatomie and Marais des Cygnes Massacres and the Battle of Black Jack.

This next year will be a time for us to celebrate our state’s past and its present. Pick a topic, any topic, and in your investigation thereof, you’ll find the depth and richness that Kansas offers, you’ll read fascinating stories of the people who have shaped our state.

Kansas has 105 counties, four seasons, and a Cowtown. Here you’ll find plains and prairies, Red Hills, Flint Hills and Smoky Hills. We even have glacier-carved hills, so for a flat state we do pretty well in the hill department.

Before they were so rudely interrupted, Native American tribes such as the Kiowa, Kansa and Osage lived here. By way of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, this region became part of the United States.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad laid tracks across the state. Kansas Pacific, Missouri Pacific and Katy locomotives also chugged through Kansas. And we had the Underground Railroad, but it barely made a sound.

Outsiders may be puzzled by our mascots, but we cheer for the Jayhawks, the WuShocks, and the Ichabods. Ichabod Washburn, who gave money to Topeka’s university, as well as lending his name to the institution, was an industrialist, not a fictional character.

But I’m sure the mention of Ichabod put them in your head, so let’s talk cranes. We get excited when the endangered whooping cranes make their autumn layover at Cheyenne Bottoms.

Kansas has a rainbow of rivers: the Blue, the Verdigris, the Black Vermillion. This region was once called The Great American Desert although millions of years ago, Kansas was inland sea. In our state, you’ll find the Garden of Eden, Garden City, and a place called Botanica. April 14, 1935 was dubbed Black Sunday because of a smothering dust storm. The 1951 flood brought a different kind of misery.

Kansas has been home to aviators, astronauts, exodusters, cowboys. The Chisholm Trail, Oregon Trail, Butterfield Stage Route and the Pony Express all galloped through Kansas.

From 1854-1861, the Kansas Territory stretched to the eastern range of the Rocky Mountains. We owned Denver and Pike’s Peak until someone redrew the map.

The Bloody Benders wielded a hammer, killing unsuspecting travelers. Carry Nation aimed to cut out alcohol with her hatchet. Quantrill destroyed lives with guns and fire. Dr. Samuel Crumbine fought the spread of disease with his slogan, “Don’t spit on the sidewalk,” which was printed on bricks.

“Buffalo Bill” Cody and Charles “Buffalo” Jones are a part of our history, as are the Buffalo Soldiers. We’ve heard the stories of both Doc Holiday and Cyrus K. Holliday.

Susanna M. Salter didn’t run for office, but in Argonia in 1887, she was the first elected woman mayor in the U.S. In 1912, Kansas women obtained the right to vote, eight years before the 19th Amendment passed.

Charles Curtis spoke French and Kansa before he learned English. In 1928, Curtis became the first U.S. Vice President with Native American ancestry. The President from Kansas, Dwight D. Eisenhower, named Camp David, the presidential hideaway, after his grandson.

Salt was discovered in Reno County in 1887, Helium was found in Dexter in 1903. Drilling in the Stapleton Field started Butler County’s oil boom in 1915.

History books tell about the Kansans who have come before us, their battles and their stories. That covers the first 150 years. Now it’s our turn — to make discoveries, to create our own stories, to leave our mark on this state. Individually and collectively, we can make this place even better. Long live the great state of Kansas.

Copyright 2010 ~ Cheryl Unruh