Signatures

Kim Novak
Bill Holden


Arthur J Connell,Rosalind Russell

Kim Novak was here

To show you how random my travels are, I noticed a few weeks ago "Picnic" was on TCM.I recorded ,one because my mother talked about knowing extra, and William Inge author of the Play is from Independence. He also wrote "Bus Stop" another wonderful play that takes place in Kansas. So last Wednesday I got around to watching "Picnic" and I loved the look at small town Kansas on a hot Labor Day. I wondered where it was filmed, quickly found the answer 5 small towns in Kansas between Hutchinson (Hutch as we call it) and Salina:

Courtesy of Wikipedia:
Halstead's Riverside Park is where all the Labor Day picnic scenes (some of which are semi-documentary) were filmed. The park and many landmarks still existed at the time of the movie's fiftieth anniversary.
Hutchinson, with its huge grain elevators.
Nickerson is the location of the two adjacent houses where Madge (Kim Novak) and her family live (with "old Mrs. Potts" next door), also where Hal (William Holden) "jumps a freight" to go to Tulsa and where Madge boards a bus in the last scene.
Salina, where Hal jumps off a train in the opening scene and meets Allen (Cliff Robertson) at Allen's father's large house, also where Madge kisses Hal by the Salina River and where he escapes from the police by running under a waterfall.
Sterling, where the pre-picnic swim in the lake was filmed.

In my randomness I described to visit one of the film sites and Halstead seemed to be the best choice.

The Museum had a corner reserved for the movie and even has the DVD for sale in the gift shop. Their were two prizes of the collection, one is the swan that Kim Novak was on that sailed down the river when she was awarded Queen of Neewollah and a board that cast and crew members autographed. I'm giving the board it's own entry as the signatures may be hard to see.

Halstead Historical Society

The story on the train depot is it was in use until 1970 when the passenger trains stopped coming through town, It was in disrepair and threatened with being torn until it was discovered it was located 500 yards from a building on the National Historical Register and couldn't be torn down.Towns people got together and re stored the building.It's opened 3 hours a day on weekends and staffed by volunteers.

Yes we have more trains and more Harvey girls, this exhibit comes from a woman living in Halstead who sometimes shows up on Sunday to hang out. In fact I was asked if I wanted to speak with her. I didn't really know what to say and so I didn't ask for the volunteer to call her to see if she'd come by. I should have I suppose.

Halstead was the home of Adolph Rupp the legendary basketball coach of the Kentucky Wildcats,winner of 5 National Championship and really the start of the Kentucky Tradition. Kansas has an interesting Basketball history. The first coach of the University of Kansas was Dr James Naismith, the inventor of the game, he is buried in Lawrence. Another Basketball Powerhouse in University of North Carolina. Carolina had success before Dean Smith of Topeka showed up, but a lot more after he did. Ralph Miller,Gene Keady,and Lon Kruger all Kansans who have coached in College and Pros. Many,many others as well, Kansas has a proud Basketball tradition that it has exported through the country.

A 1910 horse drawn fire hoses. The Museum also features an exhibit on barb wire,artifacts from the local bank ,train stuff and stuff from old churches. I have to say this is one of the best little Museums I've been to. It's not everyday an offer comes along to talk to someone who donated stuff in one of the corners comes along.worth much more than the donation I put in the box. I loved the display of train spikes. Next why I came to Halstead .....

Halstead -The Biggest Little City in Kansas

There is a specific reason I went to Halstead, but you'll have to get to that later. What I didn't expect and this shows I am a city boy is the way grain elevators of these towns tower of the plains as sentinels. Halstead has 3, but the first I saw was in Pauline, I'd seen it before we have a couple.

To a weary traveler the Grain elevators are beacons of the town on the road, whether they be Walton,Newton,Moundridge,McPherson,Bridgeport (I think, from checking the map)Soloman,Abilene,Salina,Hesston and yes here in Halstead.

Halstead is a beautiful little town 1,873, several parks rustic farms houses, you should be able to see 1 of them in the picture to the left raising up over the levee and the road leading into town.

http://www.halsteadkansas.com/

Halstead sits on the bank of the Little Arkansas River (R- Kansas) not (R- Kan-saw) like the rest of the world pronounces it. If you want to grab a bit to eat, there is a local owned pizziria which I am noticing a lot of small towns have, a bar, or subway.Subways seem to be every where. I remember a college friend telling me of a re occurring dream of all that was left after a nuclear war was the golden arches and societies believe they were places of religious services. If he had the dream today I think it would be Subways. After dinner I visited the Halstead Historical Society in the old train depot.

Harvey County Historical Society

We begin with a couple of pictures of the dresses of Prostitutes. Yes, we are in the wild west after all. I am remained of a town in Arizona called Jerome. It's a beautiful town on the side of a mountain. It was a mining town ,turned ghost town that was taken over in the 60's by artists and hippies. I was in a gift shop and ran across a postcard of 2 women standing in front of a doorway.I turned it over and yep,they were ladies of the evening.Called in the Wild West "Soiled Doves". I bought a book about the town and discovered the Madam was one of the richest persons in town, the first one with a paved sidewalk and paid to rebuild the school when it burned down.


I wondered,certainly such things went on in Kansas, We know what Miss Kitty did for a living on "Gunsmoke" even if the times were too tame to tell the story on TV.Well Newton apparently hasn't forgotten and tells the story of a shoot out, one of the underplayed great shootouts in the history of the wild west:

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-hideparkgunfight.html



If I was reading the cards in the exhibit right,the gunfight involved one of the ladies of the evening. Or the article linked could be something different.


I told the volunteers at the library this was my first time in town. Not exactly true. When I was 7 and 9 I passed through Newton about 4 O'Clock in the morning on the train.We took the SuperChief to Temple,Texas to visit family. Newton is a train town and it was the first stop on the trip, It was sound asleep every time we went through. About half of one room of the Museum was dedicated to the train history of the Santa Fe railroad. The Station is down the street, I didn't make it there.


One of the major parts of the Santa Fe Railroad has got to be the Harvey Restaurants and the Harvey Girls.The need on the western lines grew for restaurants.The trips were long and hard and people needed a break, enter an Englishman with an idea. Quality food at an affordable price with smiling ,cheery,hard working waitress. Books tell the food was amazing the waitresses in starched white and black dresses more so.

Women were hired from around the country for 6,9,12 months contracts, they left home at a time when most had not been very far from home. The girls lives in Dorms often on top of the restaurants and worked hard shifts when ever the trains passed through. The Restaurants were immaculate,linen and silver ware represented the finest dinning anywhere.The girls often stayed for years and settled down in new territories and in doing so helped populate the west.The Call was not only "Go West Young Man" but Go West Young Women. I recently read a book on the subject and I will get to a review of it soon. We will meet more of the Harvey story in Halstead.


At one time Kansas was an Ocean and at one time Dinosaurs walked the state.Here is the tooth of a wooly mammoth found in 1966 during the building on 135 Highway.

Thoughts on the Museum, It was well organized,stories told with an incredible passion.Schools as always were celebrated, as were the experiences of the trails westward. I loved the stuff about churches, the 1959 prom dress, and state championship banners.

Newton Kansas

Newton is town Worth going back to .According to the 2000 census about 18,000 people live in Newton, It's the county seat, and a colorful history. Many of the threads of Kansas run in Newton, wild west,railroad,early trials and strong Mennonite ties. I only got to visit the County History museum and walk a little through downtown. You can tell it's rail road as during the time I was in the museum I heard 4 trains rumbling through.One of the museum exhibit even mentioned the right side of the tracks and the wrong of the tracks.

A 300 Mile Lap around the Flint Hills

Where I started and how I got home. My points of destination took on a lap through the flint hills.I knew in my planning I'd covering ground already covered, so I went a different. On the trip to Cottonwood Falls and Tallgrass we took the turnpike ,getting off in Emporia and Highway 50 to our destinations. I had to go through Emporia and Highway 50 again, so I took a different route.

Topeka Blvd past Forbes Fields becomes US 75 South.It will take you through farm land and past exits for Carbondale ,Overbrook and right through Lyndon. Lyndon is going to have to be it's stop due to the fact it's the County Seat,boost several historic homes and a Carnegie Library still in use.It's own stop because Frankly, It's Sunday and the Library is not open. The highway passed right by the City Park and what do I find that makes me stop off the road bur this Log Cabin. It was the home of one Wells P. Bailey.The very beat up sign explains that the Cabin was purchased by the city in 1997 and they are trying to restore it.

After passing by Melvern Lake Dam and coming to Beto Junction Truck Stop,by linking to us-35 you find yourself in Emporia.The picture of the Bowling is where memory serves me that a Staking Rink used to be in the late 70's and early 80's. Then 15 or so,I met a tall,curvy blond named Kathy Hylton.We kissed and dated as much you could long distance.She was working as maid at hotel.She was the first.

When we were on Highway 50 a month ago we passed a historical marker ,today I stopped, this is the view and it says:

"The vast prairie, which surrounds this site is typical of the Bluestem pasture region, more commonly known as the Flint Hills. Named for its predominant grasses, the area extends from Oklahoma almost to Nebraska in a narrow oval two counties wide which covers some four and a half million acres. "

I was on highway 50 for about 80 miles west to just past Newton,Ks to the the town of Halstead where I turned off onto 89 which to took me to my destination. 50 goes coast to coast and it is a beautiful barren stretch of road. The towns have little population between Emporia and Newton ,so rest areas and signs of life few and far between. A website described 50 in Kansas:

http://www.route50.com/kansas.htm

When I reached Halstead I decided to take another,more used route home. 135 North to Salina about 60 Miles and then 99 miles once you turn East to Topeka and home. The distance was about the same with more rest stops.Some of the signs I saw and other Impressions of the Trip

-The Chase County 4h wants you to know "we help feed the world"

-K State Athletic boosters want you to know Salina and Junction City are "Powercat" county

-Lyndon,Newton,Neosho Rapids and a couple of town are proud of their State High School Championships

-There is a giant Adult Super book store outside of Abilene , some one who knows the next to it put a sign saying "Jesus Saves,Pornography destroys". Here I'll note I wish I was bold enough to pull off to the side of the road and take a picture while Traffic is buzzing by at 80mph (70 because we know no one speeds !).

-the last time I was in the area of Junction City, I ran across the Dreamland Motel. Timothy McVeigh spent the night there with the Ryder truck before going to Oklahoma City and bombing up the Federal Building. FBI got a description from the night manager which led to his arrest. I was looking for the hotel and couldn't find it, It was right off the highway. It must have been torn down, I saw several hotels in the area where I thought it was.

-A Historical Marker near Walton,Ks tells the story of Turkey Red Wheat:

"Children in Russia hand-picked the first seeds of this famous winter wheat for Kansas. They belonged to Mennonite Colonies preparing to emigrate from the steppes to the American prairies. A peace-loving sect, originally from Holland, the Mennonites had gone to the Crimea from Prussia in 1790 when Catherine the Great offered free lands, military exemption and religious freedom. They prospered until these privileges were threatened in 1871. "

A sign on 135 outside of Assaria,Kansas reads "If you lived here,You'd be home now"

-a alone the way,I saw hay bails rolled up and even encounters a controlled burn that blacked the sky for miles around. I reminder, no pun intended.... ok pun intended. This areas bread and better is Farm land.Harvest time for something just past.

a Wiki article on Controlled burning of farm lands:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_burn

It really can be quite beautiful at night.

Finally the third historical marker I came upon. Now on to the stops of the day. Close to home, maybe 9 miles out a sign told me this was the first 9 miles of I-70 the great interstate highway system that runs coast to coast. Dedicated in 1956 by President Eisnehower it lays west heading toward Ike's hometown of Abilene. It's good to have a President from your state and a big time building project.

Rest of the Museum

The train takes us into the 20th Century.Time is paid to famous Kansans like William Allen White,Jazz great Charlie Parker,General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower,The multi talented author,film director and photographer Gordan Parks. One dark spot in Kansas History is also covered, in some ways worse the the fact Missourians burned Lawrence twice in a 10 year period, worse than the crime waves of the Daltons,James, gangsters of the twenties. A grim episode , Carrie Nation achieved notoriety going into bars and smashing Kegs of Beer and alcohol. A Talk show host in Topeka expresses my feelings "who would want to hurt and innocent keg of beer." Indeed. I've probably spent more time on this sad episode and sad woman that it deserves, needless to say if in my travels I run across any Museums,murals,statues or childhood homes, I'm passing that one by.


Kansas is the home of the first female mayor of a US City.
Biography of Susanna Salter here:
http://www.kancoll.org/khq/1954/54_3_billington.htm

Kansas also featured one of the first female State officials in the country,Lorraine Elizabeth Wooster
http://cjonline.com/stories/010602/kan_wooster.shtml

http://www.kshs.org/portraits/wooster_lorraine.htm


A section of the Museum covers the 50's to the 80's. Kansas contribution to fast food is chronicled,Pizza Hut,Taco Tico,White Castle,Tony's Pizza and Red Baron Pizza are all Kansas Products. Anyone who lived in Topeka from the 50's to the 80's recognize the sign in the picture. McDonalds on Topeka Blvd (Ave) , long story on whether it's a Blvd or an Ave.It was one of the last of the drive ins in the McDonalds chain, you could order and go back to the car to eat. If it had indoor seating I don't recall.I remember the picnic tables to the east of the restaurant. It was a sad day when the restaurant modernized,but the new restaurant does pay tribute to the old and the sign of course is still with us.One of the original Golden Arches. To go back to the items discarded on the Trials , there is an exhibit with fast food wrappers discarded on highways as well.



A Pop Culture exhibit has everything from a pong game to one of the first home computers. A Newspaper and cups document the Kansas City Royals World Series win in 1985. A George Brett for President bumper is there.TV Camera from the 50's, a plan made by Boeing in Wichita and many,many other things are there. There is a CD from the group Kansas, local boys who made good in the 70's with hits 'Carry on my Wayward Son','Point of No Return' and 'Dust in the Wind'. They are duly honored, but the CD is for "Power", one their worst albums and worst selling.If anybody knows any of the members, couldn't they donate a Gold Album or something from "Leftover" or "Point of No Return" or "Best of ..."



The temporary exhibit is Natural Disasters of Kansas and features an amazing video of Storm Chasers in Mulvane,2004. Some of the best unedited footage I've ever seen of a Tornado dropping from the clouds. The rest of exhibit covers major Tornadoes,flood, fires,snow storms.Pretty interesting. You can go into a booth and record your own stories which the Achieves will have on file.



The Museum is only 1 arm of the Historical Society, I've linked to on line sources, William Allen White's house visited last month is run by the society,they have a wonderful site on Territorial Kansas :
http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/cgiwrap/imlskto/index.php

So It rained, I would have rather been in Pott County looking for Wagon Ruts but it was a pretty good afternoon.

Rainy Saturday

I will admit on these adventures that I am a wimp.The Plan for today was for me to visit at least 5 little towns in Pottawatomie County, the County that borders Shawnee County to the North and West.Possible areas of exploration included a 290 year oak tree,a WW1 doubghboy statue,several building in desperate need of restoration that if the websites I was looking at are out of day,they may not be there.Wamego is the home of an incredible looking (from the pictures anyway) park anchored at one end by a Dutch Windmill.



It rained in the morning and didn't stop afternoon,it was an inch in my mom's rain gauge and that was before it stopped.It wasn't a threatening thunderstorm,it was more like a fall rain.I envisioned myself in a few hours at the Oregon Trail Nature Park looking for wagon ruts in a muddy field. Everything plans was outdoors,so I went to Plan B, a local attraction of building that had been moved to a site, a bluff overlooking 1-70 here in Topeka.That seemed to be a lot of time walking around outdoors and that suddenly seemed to rate 0 on the fun scale. So I went to Plan C,which I made up on the fly.I visited the Kansas State Historical Society Museum.



Located off the 1-70 Wanamaker exit,for some reason Topeka had decided to build almost every store and theme restaurant on Wanamaker,so they Museum sits tucked away from Shopping paradise in a small valley set against the first miles laid of 1-70 in the 50's.The grounds occupy a Nature Trail (Rain,didn't go), a Pottawatomie Mission and the State Achieves and Museum.



I had seen this several years ago,but among the donation is the desk used by Lou Grant in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show".Lou Grant was given life in several Emmy winning performances by Edward Asner,a Wyandotte County native.
http://www.kshs.org/cool3/asnerdesk.htm

The desk is not current in display. They feature a themed exhibit every year,previous years included Bleeding Kansas in 2004 (sesquicentennial year), Kansas in the Movies ,Sports in the movies, and this year Natural Disaster (more later).




The regular part of the Musuem is divided into Rooms covering in order the History of Kansas from Indians,Coronado to a display of Pop Culture from the 70's and 80's.Indian Artifacts include a life size Ti pi and Mud Hut. Arrowheads,broken pots,hatchets and maps detailing the migration forced and otherwise of Indian Tribes.

From Coronado to Lewis and Clark to the Santa Fe/Oregon/California Trails with a Life sized Conestoga Wagon to a Buffalo which as the display case says "What they saw". An exhibit tells of how travels had to discard what they were carrying along the way, a house clock, a chair and tea cups are enclosed in the display , I always wonder if the settlers throwing out something that meant so much to them could have ever imagined it would end up in a museum some day, and for that matter why some else didn't pick it up.


Then of course we come to bleeding Kansas, after reading so much lately about the bogus elections,It was a thrill to see a wooden ballot box and the multi colored ballots used. In the picture we see a hopeful flag pleading for Kansas to be the 34th Star "Admit Me Free" it implores.The Cannon was used in the sack of Lawrence in 1856and a tombstone of someone who didn't make it out of Bleeding Kansas.

The display also features a Chair John Brown sat on,various flags ,banners and guns of course.The display focusing on the Underground features a barrel where a runaway slave hid for 6 Weeks.Then we move into the Civil War ,the Immigration wave and the railroad.


To anyone who can't tell the train pictured below is indoors,It was a major media story when it was brought inside in the late 80's or early 90's.It's an actual train engine and two or three cars.With good reason it's one of the most popular exhibits in the museum,you can walk beside the train and look in. The back car is a passage car and you can walk through that car.I wish they would allow you to walk through the sleep or the engine. Along the side are various displays talking about Harvey House restaurants, train depots, conductor uniforms and other exhibits detailing the train experience of the late 19th and early 20th Century.



To be continued ....

4th of July

I spent the noon hour on July 4th in Collins Park, a neighborhood in what I suppose would be called Central Topeka attending the World Famous (or soon to be) Collins Park July 4th Parade . The park is about 2 blocks long as for about 40 years the residents near the park have paraded around the park .Children in decorated wagons,old cars, several politicians made this one stop as Topeka erupts every July 4 in about a dozen similar parades. I could have been in College Hill,Potwin,Lake Sherwood.Elected office hopefuls could hit Sherwood at 9,Potwin at 10, then choose College Hill or Collins Park at 11.


This, I think was my favorite,a man on a trailer being lead around with a pick up truck playing the best of Sousa on the Keyboards.As I took this picture he was being filmed by a French Film doing a documentary.At first I thought the Film crews were local media.The boom mike trying to catch up with the ad hoc marching band at the start of the parade should have been a clue this wasn't just local media.










Of course what is any parade without a beauty queen, Miss Capital City.








Other that the Keyboard, this guy had to be my favorite.Dressed at Former President Richard Nixon.I noticed in reflection he was one of the few if any participants not throwing candy for kids.hmmm. Not a totally comment on Nixon, I read once when he lived in New Jersey he used to greet Trick or Treaters at the door in person, presumably not in the mask,but one can only hope,instead of candy he'd give out pens,replicas of the ones he'd use for Bill Signings. The man in the mask will have to work on the pens for next year...... I'm just sayin'

Coleman Hawkins

Enough of Bleeding Kansas ! Lets have some music please. Here's a biography of Jazz Great Coleman Hawkins

http://www.redhotjazz.com/hawkinsaticle.html

He has a Topeka Connection as explained local Jazz Historian Dan Kozac:
"Coleman Randolph Hawkins was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on November 21, 1904. Musically precocious from an early age, he played both piano and cello in childhood. Feeling that he would receive a better quality education, his mother arranged for him to attend school in Topeka, Kansas, and live with her sisters at 603 W. 8th Street.

Hawkins attended the old Topeka High School and apparently received extensive private musical tutoring through Washburn University while attending THS. In Topeka at some point early in time, Coleman also began playing the saxophone, which quickly became his instrument of choice. By the age of 14, Hawk was playing professionally around eastern Kansas, Kansas City, and St. Joseph, which probably accounts for his academic ambivalence at THS in everything but music.

Sometime between the ages of 17 and 18, Hawk left Kansas when he hooked up with Mamie Smith’s touring jazz group. This led him to New York, which would remain home base for most of the remainder of his life. Soon after his arrival in NY, he joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. It was with Henderson that Hawk's unique sound and advanced harmonic approach to improvisation began to flower and attract the attention of musicians, fans, and critics. Within a very short time his playing had elevated the tenor sax to an unprecedented level as an instrument to be reckoned with. In 1934 Hawk left the US to pursue a more profitable professional path playing jazz in Europe, where he achieved near superstar status. However the winds of war and the rise of Nazism made it imperative for him to return to America in the late 1930s.

Through the '40s, '50s and '60s, Hawkins worked and recorded prolifically. His 1939 recording of "Body and Soul" became a standard for jazz ballad improvisation, and remains one of the milestone records in the history of jazz to this day. The jazz luminaries with whom Hawk recorded during his career is a veritable "who’s who" of the first half century of recorded jazz. Although rooted in the swing tradition, Hawk remained very open-minded to new stylistic developments. He certainly was one of the most beloved figures of his time.
Coleman Hawkins died on May 19, 1969, at the age of 64 in New York City."

One of the Great Topeka Festivals is the late May or Early June Coleman Hawkins Legacy Jazz Festival.

http://www.hawkinsjazzfest.org/

Note :The house at 603 W 8th still stands, it's owned by Topeka Friends and hosts a Quaker Relegious Service on Sunday Mornings. I was in there once, several years ago when the nieghborhood hosted an open house.Nothing spectacular about the house,no markers .Just a house on the corner presently across the street from a parking lot with a view of the Capital Building.