I have traveled this year, Interesting how weather has been a factor this year. It was sooo cold in Oklahoma City, and a cloudy gray day in Omaha. I decided a while ago unless there was a definite Kansas connection,I wasn't going to write.
I was in Lawrence briefly and then Franklin County. In Lawrence I took the Whiote Glove tour of the Robert J Dole Institute of Politics. It was a real behind the scenes look at the stacks of Papers and Gifts Dole recieved as a US Senator and Presidential Candidate. I'd encourage anyone to go and if you have an interest in Archival work, how things are preserved, the White Glove tour, offered once a month or so for Free is very good, as are any of the lectures I've been to since the place opened in 2003.
The point of the day lay Southward, about 20 miles south is Ottawa,Kansas, the county seat of Franklin. the town is cut in half by the Marais Des Cygne River, more about that and a wonderful song in a minute. There is a Museum called the Old Santa Fe Depot. It features history of Victorian Living Rooms,Soda fountains,old train stuff. Stuff that is pretty standard in my almost 2 years of wondering around.
Special attention is paid to th Pottawatomie Massacre, discussed briefly here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottawatomie_Massacre.
We walked on a dyke by the river, which floods often, giant flood gates surround a bridge over the river.
going North and East up I-35 we find outselfs in Wellsville,Kansas. Population around 1200 and hometown of country music singer Chely Wright. She made headlines a couple of weeks ago by announcing she's gay. I first heard her a couple of years ago on an AM station and see did a song that really moved me,called "The River". I didn't know who she was, bought the album based on the one song and because she's a Kansas girl.
Here are my impressions of this small town
I've been in a lot of small towns in Kansas. Wellsville has about a 3 block main street with a dentist office,a casey's general store. Every small town in Kansas seems to have a Pizza place,a bar, an American Legion Post. If it's a county seat it will have a subway and town square.Wellsville has a BBQ place, a burger place "Big Bopper's burger and ... See MoreVideos"
On this rainy,cloudy saturday we went to the Pizza place, Buzzard's Pizza. It had about 8 tables, a hand written sign saying this months special is "Road Kill Pizza". A flat screen on a wall next to saturday night beer specials. The 2 kids working the place were watching the history channel. After we were done eating we stayed to watch the end of "Pawn Stars", we had to know how much the civil war stamp sold for, the waiter asked us if we needed anything else. I said " No, we just want to know how much the stamp sold for." He "Yeah, it's a pretty interesting show."
The stores on main street all said "open till 4" but seemed to be closed by 3:30. The most modern looking building is the bank , I turned a corner and saw the high school so I walked the two blocks to see it. past some houses, one had a kids bike on the sidewalk. As I crossed the street a truck went by, the old man waved at me.I smiled and waved back.
The inscription on the sign at the school stopped me cold in my tracks.After asking yesterday about the truth in the song "The River" here was a sign in loving memory of ...
Before you turn onto Chely Wright Way, you pass a sign with the school state championships ,Boys basketball Chely's Junior (?) year.Which is typical of most small towns in Kansas, that along with FFA.
The nearest wal mart is either in Ottawa,15 miles or Baldwin, 15 miles in another direction. I am suprised with as many small towns in Kansas as I find myself that Wellsville is near a creek or a river, at least not the way we came in.If I had a dime for everytime I crossed a bridge to get into a small town.....
The neighborhoods are tree lined,churches almost every corner,farm fields on the outskirts. I'm guessing not much has changed since 1989. As Garrison Keillor says as he opens his monlogues "It was a quiet week in my home town of Lake Wobegon, the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve. " I thought it cool to be there, I'm glad I went.
Here is the song:
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