Naomi Pike Falls at Alcove Spring
June 2, 2016
Vintage bicycles on display at the Blue Rapids Museum. (From the collection of Keith and Gay Stewart)
May 31, 2016
On the road again: the 2016 Kansas White Way car run, Atchison to Frankfort
May 30, 2016
“All the news from Haddam” – a detective story
April 5, 2016
The apocryphal story of how Haddam got its name lies somewhere between contrived hokeyness and puerile balderdash, and goes something like this: in the late 1860s, a raiding party of Native Americans captured several settlers in the vicinity of present-day Haddam and dragged them back to their camp with the intent to do … More “All the news from Haddam” – a detective story
The perfect tone
September 17, 2015
It came to me as I crisscrossed the big meadow for the umpteenth time that by trying to photograph everything I was, in fact, photographing very little. I was putting a lot of miles on my feet, I was building up a debilitating thirst, I was sweating profusely in the triple-digit heat and … More The perfect tone
The wilderness next door
September 5, 2015
From comments I keep hearing both online and in person, participants in the inaugural Orchestra on the Oregon Trail are expecting either a Symphony in the Flint Hills experience or a pioneer slog through the howling wilderness. Several I’ve talked to are shunning the event based on rumors of infestations of poisonous snakes … More The wilderness next door
Loss upon loss
August 26, 2015
According to the latest U.S. Census figures, for the first time in 125 years the population of Blue Rapids dropped below 1,000. For residents of the second largest city in Marshall County, this was big news, distressing news, news that many felt was the harbinger of things to come. Vocal doomsayers knowingly wagged … More Loss upon loss
Finding balance
August 26, 2015
I’m on the phone with a well-known agricultural economist discussing his definition of macro economics when the conversation goes south. Or not south, actually, just sideways and backwards and forwards across 50 years and a dozen geopolitical entities and the Euro crisis and Russian’s involvement with Ukraine and the yen versus the dollar … More Finding balance
Waylaid at the Kansas Sampler Festival, but in a good way
May 27, 2015
Tom Parker, an author and photographer from Blue Rapids, was the recipient of one of 10 WeKan! awards presented May 2 at the Kansas Sampler Festival in Wamego. The awards are presented to individuals or organizations that have made outstanding efforts to help preserve and sustain rural culture in their area. … More Waylaid at the Kansas Sampler Festival, but in a good way
Archeological survey at Alcove Spring Historic Park, with Kansas state archeologist Bob Hoard, the National Park Service, the Oregon-California Trail Association, volunteers and the Wheat State Treasure Hunters
May 11, 2015
