Uncovering Kansas

Most of us have experienced that always exhilarating, and sometimes frightening, feeling when we end up doing something we never quite expected doing. Chris Alexander's path took her from theater to stained glass to metal working. As co-owner of Alexander Artworks, Chris has found herself busier than she ever imagined as she and her co-owner husband try to keep up with orders. Rachel and Chris talk about metal working, the importance of personal connection, and what it's like to be a business owner in a small town. Chris' answers and responses during the Get to Know a Kansan section impressed, and Rachel captured her insights so our listeners can add to their list of places to check out when exploring Kansas.

Of course anyone can go online and research a trip. But it isn't every day you're able to get vacation planning ideas straight from the Director of a Visitors Bureau. That's exactly what you'll get in this (part II) episode. Rachel talks with Jan Stevens, the Director of the Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau and Joni Whitman, the event coordinator for Dodge City Days.

Want to learn to mosey? have a hankering to try some Prickly Ash Bitters? or want to enjoy a rodeo? Then you're sure to have yourself a great time in Dodge City!

It's finally stopped snowing, and the rains have come, and the kids are getting out of school. You're starting to plan your summer vacation. Part of our mission is to encourage Kansans to get out and learn more about our state, so we've put together a new travel episode series (that we'll post every once in awhile) that allows you to listen to locals share places to see and things to do in their towns in order to give you ideas for your travel plans. For summer 2019, we are going to highlight 3 great towns for a summer vacation: Hays, Dodge City, and Manhattan.

In our first episode, we talk with Melissa Dixon, Executive Director of the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau. There are lots of things to do in Hays, and it makes a great base camp to explore the surrounding attractions. Whether you visit Fort Hays to see how the soldiers lived before there was I-70 to get us across the plains, or the world famous Sternberg museum for its amazing fossil collection, or spend the day at the aquatic park, you'll enjoy yourself in Hays. If you go to Hays this summer, share pictures with us on our Facebook Page!

David Hanzlick is a native Kansan who has written a book titled Benevolence, Moral Reform, Equality: Women's Activism in Kansas City, 1870-1940. Most of us have forgotten that the women's movement started long before we started burning our bras in the 1960s. In the early days of Kansas City —when we were still a frontier town and a newly forming society— the women of Kansas City had a national voice in the push for equality under the guise of moral reform. This was the generation that brought child labor laws to the mainstream, introduced the concept of public kindergartens, and was successful in getting women seated on school boards for the first time.

We should never take for granted today the hard fought progressive milestones won in the days when Kansas City was beginning to be a railroad hub for the nation. David has brought together the story of how these women fought for equality, with the objective of ensuring a safe and positive home environment for their families.

The Kansas Sampler Foundation is dedicated to connecting Kansans across rural communities. One way they do this is through the Big Kansas Road Trip. This happens May 2-5 in 2019, and the Road Trip will be in Cheyenne, Sherman, and Wallace counties in northwest Kansas.

Here's how Marci Penner, founder of the Kansas Sampler Foundation describes the event. "Create your own adventure at your own pace the same day that other people are doing the same thing."

The Big Kansas Road Trip website

Cheyenne County Kansas website

Sherman County Kansas website

Wallace County Kansas website

Kansas Guidebook for Explorers

In 2018, we recorded 2 episodes about our experience during the 2018 Big Kansas Road Trip. Check them out:

2018 BKRT Highlights

2018 BKRT – The Experience

Angie Pickman is a Kansas artist with a national reputation. Angie imagines and creates artwork in her Lawrence studio that is a modern twist on the traditional Chinese art form of paper cutting. Her love of nature is front and center in her work and growing up in Kansas provided her with a wealth of inspiration.

In this Uncovering Kansas episode, Rachel talks with Angie about her round trip journey from Kansas to New York. While travelling her creative path Angie built both her talent and her fanbase, her career flourishes as a result. Rachel and Angie discuss how several stereotypes about Kansas no longer hold true. To learn more about Angie, please visit her website, Rural Pearl.

Once upon a time…

That's a classic way to begin a story. And it's the best way to begin this episode.

This month we share with listeners the story of the Kansas Storytelling Festival that takes place the last weekend in April in the town of Downs, Kansas. Rachel talks with Glennys Doane, one of the organizers of the Kansas Storytelling Festival who offers insights into an event that draws people from across the country for a weekend of storytelling. The festival is an annual celebration of stories and the art form of spoken word storytelling. Featuring a Tall Tale Contest, Local Legends, Children's stories, Musical stories, and workshops for anyone who wants to learn more about this spoken-word art form. We're certain listeners will uncover something interesting about this Kansas event.

Andy Wise found himself unmotivated by the conference rooms at his office filled with blank walls. Andy longed to see whiteboards at his workplace covered in art. A trip to his local library gave him an idea to create a robot that could be attached to the white board and draw whatever picture it was asked to draw.

And, so Andy created what he calls a drawing robot.

He is an example of someone participating in the Maker Movement – a DIY movement that started to gain momentum in 2005. Technology is often a component of this movement but it doesn't have to be. We discuss Maker Spaces, locations designed for people to come together and work on projects. There are many of these found across Kansas: Andy refers to the Johnson County Library Makerspace in Overland Park. (Other examples are MakeICT in Wichita, and 712 Innovations in Topeka, and Fort Hays State Makerspace in the Forsyth Library.)

Listeners with certain Kansas interests, will note my conversation with Andy Wise includes the following:

Topeka, KS

Linn, KS

Barnes, KS

Lawrence, KS

Liberty Hall, Lawrence Kansas

Manhattan, KS

Kansas State Fair

John Steuart Curry

If you want to see the drawing robot in action, check out these links:

• https://www.instagram.com/p/BRB8HqPF3CF/(first successful drawing!)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BRT8Og7lVcX/(creation of man)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BRspk_8FrfY/(skull)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BWNyZ3rlFX2/ (collaborative doodles)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BX3VJdgFyMj/(Thom Yorke portrait)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BYOJQlhlj9S/(Chuck Close)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGNHc3Fd7B/(Santa Claus)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BhKiaOYFeoF/ (single-line "hello")
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BhMLmaIl0rl/ (mario 3D mesh)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BjnXxlmnxvr/ (two-color Big Lebowski)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn2XSd5H-4x/ (spiral American Gothic)
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BnHNBSLHBTJ/ (yoshi dots)

If you want to make your own:

• com/play/drawing-robot
• com/id/Drawbot(instructions to create drawbot)
• com/andywise/drawbot(open-source code/software/etc.)

To learn more about Andy:

• com
• com/people/andy-wise

This mini-episode contains on-location interview with Wichita native and Kansas City Developer Dan Clothier, who gave us a tour of the Cedar Point Mill during the Chase County Christmas event (see episode 10). Cedar Point Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the most fascinating buildings Geoff recalls ever having come across (Kansas is not immediately thought of as a place of old millhouses constructed of stone). The structure needs restoration. Learn about the process and efforts to restore this piece of history. And if interested in contributing to the efforts, you can donate through the Cedar Point Mill website.

More about the history of the Cedar Point Mill, here.

Note: in the episode, I refer to Dan as a volunteer, but he is also the owner of the mill.

Kansas is known, often infamously so, as a flat state. For those of us who have done some exploring, we know that isn't true. There are plenty of flat stretches, certainly. But there are also areas where the hills undulate and take your breath away. The Flint Hills are spread across the central part of Kansas, and Manhattan is situated toward the upper end the expanse. In this episode, we will talk with Eric Doran, who has spent the last 10 years exploring the Flint Hills. Eric shares some of his favorite places to visit in and around Manhattan for those who love to explore nature and take in the beauty Kansas offers.