Kansas--There's No Place Like Home
I posted this in a "Where I Live" community and wanted to keep it for my journal, too. It's long and photo heavy.
"It is a well-known fact in regard to the state of Kansas that we never know what she is going to do next,” stated Cyrus Northrup in a speech at the University of Kansas in 1894.
Rather than localize my post, I thought I'd share the love I have for my adopted state of Kansas. Kansas is like a beautiful young woman: full of energy and dreams, brimming with accomplishments, sweet and wholesome--while wearing a pair of pink stilettos.
Kansas is a large state: 417 miles (645 km) long and 211 miles (340 km wide). The sun rises and sets on the western border 30 minutes later than on the eastern end. Kansas contains three different climate types: humid continental, semi-arid steppe, and humid subtropical.
If an outsider knows anything about Kansas, it generally is the same two things: we have tornadoes, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz lived here. It is true that we have tornadoes. It's a fact of life that we will have tornado watches and warnings throughout the spring and fall. Generally, the weather forecasters keep up apprised, the city tornado alarms give warning, and we are accustomed to seeking shelter. (In the above photo, we were shopping in Hutchinson, Kansas, when the storm clouds began to gather and a tornado watch was announced. On the way home, a tornado did touch down a few miles from where we were driving, but only some outbuildings were harmed.)
It amuses me to recall that Kansas State University's Wind Erosion Lab was destroyed by a tornado in 2008. Ironic!
Kansas is a state of extreme weather. We experience a little of everything, barring tsunamis and hurricanes. Our temperatures range from -40°F (-40°C) to 121° (49.4°C). This ice storm in my area left people without electricity for days, some over two weeks. Recurring snow storms made repairs difficult. The trees of our city were left in jagged pieces.
My friend, curiouswombat , uses the expression "blowing a hooley" for strong gale-force winds. It blows a hooley from time to time in Kansas. The last big windstorm before the one above had destroyed our fence. We built our new one on metal posts!
There are winters when we get only a few snowstorms. Other years, we seem to have snow on the ground until spring.
Our extreme weather can bring hail storms. My son ran out in that deluge of hail to save his sister's car. He got it into the garage before it was damaged. I wasn't so fortunate. I was at work, and my car had no available shelter. The body shop repaired my dimpled car like new.
Kansas experiences drought and floods, sometimes in the same year. Last year, some lakes were closed for recreational purposes, because lack of rain had interfered with docking. This year, some lakes were closed because the lakes were 30 feet above their normal levels, and the docks were under water! (We had the summer of flooding in 2007. As a family, we took turns manning pumps to keep the water out of our house.)
We experience all four seasons--sometimes in the same day! The good thing about all the weather is that it comes and goes quickly. It has to, as our state song, "Home on the Range," promises that "the skies are not cloudy all day." We average over 8.5 hours of sunshine daily, receiving over 11 hours in June.
Another misconception people unfamiliar with Kansas have is that we are a completely flat piece of land. It's true we don't have mountains, but we have some of the most beautiful hills in the world. I took this photo of the Flint Hills out of my window on a rainy day while the car was going 80 mph. For photos that do the area justice, click here and here. It's some of the loveliest prairie land anywhere.
"Big-Sky Prairie: Learning to see the nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." - Sally Shivnan
We do have lots of flat land stretching out for seemingly forever. I enjoy visiting the Rocky Mountains in neighboring Colorado, but the mountains seem to close in after several days. There is a feeling of pure freedom to sweep the eye over the landscape and see clearly from horizon to horizon.
On top of our state capitol building, in Topeka, is a sculpture of a Kanza Indian. The statue’s name, Ad Astra, comes from our state motto: "Ad Astra per Aspera," which means "To the Stars Through Difficulties." Indians roamed the area as long ago as 12,000 B.C. As a result, the history of Kansas is intertwined with that of American Indians. Many of our cities, counties, and rivers are named after Indians: Cherokee, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Miami, Seneca, Chetopa, Neosho, Pottawatomie, Waubaunsee, Wyandotte, Tecumseh, Tonganoxie, Towanda, and Ninnescah. Even the state name of Kansas derives from the Kanza Indians and means "people of the south wind." And yes, the history of the American Indians is a sad and shameful one, and let us hope that, some day, man will learn to treat his fellow man with justice and decency, but as my maternal grandmother was a Choctaw named Quantilla, and my father was descended from Resolved White, who arrived on the Mayflower, I have an admiration of all who survived that period.
The American Indians and pioneers weren't the only conflict in early Kansas. The very statehood was birthed in blood. In the mid-1850s, slavery was the burning issue. Free-staters (against slavery) and pro-slavery factions flooded the territory, hoping to claim the new state-to-be for their side. Violence erupted, and Horace Greeley nicknamed the state "Bleeding Kansas." The conflicts lasted until 1861, when Kansas joined the Union as a free state. (Statue in Kansas City)
Just as the conflict in Bleeding Kansas precipitated the Civil War, Kansas was often in the midst of change.
"When anything is going to happen in this country, it happens first in Kansas.” William Allen White remarked.
Kansas firsts:
Susanna Madora Salter, first female mayor in the U.S., 1887
Amelia Earheart, first woman granted a pilot license by the National Aeronautics Association, first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, 1932, and first person to fly solo across the Pacific
Lucy Hobbs Taylor, first woman in U.S. (and possibly the world) history to earn a doctorate in dentistry
Lutie Lytle, third American-American woman admitted to the practice of law in the U.S.; admitted to the Kansas State Bar
Nellie Cline, first female lawyer to appear before the Supreme Court (also served in the Kansas House of Representatives)
Nancy Kassebaum Baker, first woman elected to to a full term as a Senator in the U.S.
Edward P. McCabe, first African-American elected to hold a state office
Mabel Chase, first woman in the United States to be elected sheriff, 1926
Georgia Neese Clark Gray, first woman to be Treasurer of the United States
Peggy Hull, first woman in the U.S. to become an official war reporter, covering six war fronts beginning in 1914
Charles Curtis, first American Indian to be elected vice-president of the U.S., 1928, after serving as Senator for Kansas
Today, Kansas' two largest industries are airplane manufacturing and agriculture. Kansas makes more airplanes than any other place on Earth. More than half of the world’s general aviation aircraft are produced here. Wichita is home to Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Cessna, Bombardier Learjet, and Hawker Beechcraft. Wichita is known as the Aviation Capital of the World. (Photo is of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, returning triumphantly to Salina after setting a new world record.)
We love the sky--we have so much of it!
Principal crops grown in Kansas are wheat, sorghum, hay, soybeans, sugar beets, oats, and corn. Approximately 10 million bushels of wheat are harvested each year in Kansas, about 20 percent of all wheat produced in the United States. Around 90% of the land area, nearly 50 million acres, in Kansas is devoted to farming.
The rows of trees planted on the edges of fields was begun after the terrible Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. Tree windbreaks help to prevent the wind from eroding the soil. (A field after wheat harvest near New Cambria.)
This field has had the wheat stubble tilled back into the soil. Some farmers till the stubble, some burn it, and yet others let it lie.
Also known as a Prairie Castle, grain elevators are a common sight on the plains. This one, in Hutchinson, is the world's longest.
Kansas consistently ranks in the top three states in cattle production. Buffalo have made a comeback in Kansas, as more ranchers are raising the state mammal (and I know the proper term is bison, but everyone here says buffalo.)
Some pretty little farms:
(Baled hay, power lines, and windmills on a cold winter day.)
I know I've been heavy on rural photos, so I'll throw this one in to show that we have our urban areas, too. Kansas City is a wonderful metropolitan area, and I have the pleasure of visiting it often as our son and his wife live there. The downtown library is a fanciful surprise with giant "books" lining the facade.
And, finally, a piece of art that seems to capture much of Kansas: space, wheat, art, friendliness, and a tornado!
"Kansas is no mere geographical expression but a ‘state of mind,’ a religion, and a philosophy in one." - Carl L. Becker
"It is a well-known fact in regard to the state of Kansas that we never know what she is going to do next,” stated Cyrus Northrup in a speech at the University of Kansas in 1894.
Rather than localize my post, I thought I'd share the love I have for my adopted state of Kansas. Kansas is like a beautiful young woman: full of energy and dreams, brimming with accomplishments, sweet and wholesome--while wearing a pair of pink stilettos.
Kansas is a large state: 417 miles (645 km) long and 211 miles (340 km wide). The sun rises and sets on the western border 30 minutes later than on the eastern end. Kansas contains three different climate types: humid continental, semi-arid steppe, and humid subtropical.
If an outsider knows anything about Kansas, it generally is the same two things: we have tornadoes, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz lived here. It is true that we have tornadoes. It's a fact of life that we will have tornado watches and warnings throughout the spring and fall. Generally, the weather forecasters keep up apprised, the city tornado alarms give warning, and we are accustomed to seeking shelter. (In the above photo, we were shopping in Hutchinson, Kansas, when the storm clouds began to gather and a tornado watch was announced. On the way home, a tornado did touch down a few miles from where we were driving, but only some outbuildings were harmed.)
It amuses me to recall that Kansas State University's Wind Erosion Lab was destroyed by a tornado in 2008. Ironic!
Kansas is a state of extreme weather. We experience a little of everything, barring tsunamis and hurricanes. Our temperatures range from -40°F (-40°C) to 121° (49.4°C). This ice storm in my area left people without electricity for days, some over two weeks. Recurring snow storms made repairs difficult. The trees of our city were left in jagged pieces.
My friend, curiouswombat , uses the expression "blowing a hooley" for strong gale-force winds. It blows a hooley from time to time in Kansas. The last big windstorm before the one above had destroyed our fence. We built our new one on metal posts!
There are winters when we get only a few snowstorms. Other years, we seem to have snow on the ground until spring.
Our extreme weather can bring hail storms. My son ran out in that deluge of hail to save his sister's car. He got it into the garage before it was damaged. I wasn't so fortunate. I was at work, and my car had no available shelter. The body shop repaired my dimpled car like new.
Kansas experiences drought and floods, sometimes in the same year. Last year, some lakes were closed for recreational purposes, because lack of rain had interfered with docking. This year, some lakes were closed because the lakes were 30 feet above their normal levels, and the docks were under water! (We had the summer of flooding in 2007. As a family, we took turns manning pumps to keep the water out of our house.)
We experience all four seasons--sometimes in the same day! The good thing about all the weather is that it comes and goes quickly. It has to, as our state song, "Home on the Range," promises that "the skies are not cloudy all day." We average over 8.5 hours of sunshine daily, receiving over 11 hours in June.
Another misconception people unfamiliar with Kansas have is that we are a completely flat piece of land. It's true we don't have mountains, but we have some of the most beautiful hills in the world. I took this photo of the Flint Hills out of my window on a rainy day while the car was going 80 mph. For photos that do the area justice, click here and here. It's some of the loveliest prairie land anywhere.
"Big-Sky Prairie: Learning to see the nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." - Sally Shivnan
We do have lots of flat land stretching out for seemingly forever. I enjoy visiting the Rocky Mountains in neighboring Colorado, but the mountains seem to close in after several days. There is a feeling of pure freedom to sweep the eye over the landscape and see clearly from horizon to horizon.
On top of our state capitol building, in Topeka, is a sculpture of a Kanza Indian. The statue’s name, Ad Astra, comes from our state motto: "Ad Astra per Aspera," which means "To the Stars Through Difficulties." Indians roamed the area as long ago as 12,000 B.C. As a result, the history of Kansas is intertwined with that of American Indians. Many of our cities, counties, and rivers are named after Indians: Cherokee, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Miami, Seneca, Chetopa, Neosho, Pottawatomie, Waubaunsee, Wyandotte, Tecumseh, Tonganoxie, Towanda, and Ninnescah. Even the state name of Kansas derives from the Kanza Indians and means "people of the south wind." And yes, the history of the American Indians is a sad and shameful one, and let us hope that, some day, man will learn to treat his fellow man with justice and decency, but as my maternal grandmother was a Choctaw named Quantilla, and my father was descended from Resolved White, who arrived on the Mayflower, I have an admiration of all who survived that period.
The American Indians and pioneers weren't the only conflict in early Kansas. The very statehood was birthed in blood. In the mid-1850s, slavery was the burning issue. Free-staters (against slavery) and pro-slavery factions flooded the territory, hoping to claim the new state-to-be for their side. Violence erupted, and Horace Greeley nicknamed the state "Bleeding Kansas." The conflicts lasted until 1861, when Kansas joined the Union as a free state. (Statue in Kansas City)
Just as the conflict in Bleeding Kansas precipitated the Civil War, Kansas was often in the midst of change.
"When anything is going to happen in this country, it happens first in Kansas.” William Allen White remarked.
Kansas firsts:
Susanna Madora Salter, first female mayor in the U.S., 1887
Amelia Earheart, first woman granted a pilot license by the National Aeronautics Association, first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, 1932, and first person to fly solo across the Pacific
Lucy Hobbs Taylor, first woman in U.S. (and possibly the world) history to earn a doctorate in dentistry
Lutie Lytle, third American-American woman admitted to the practice of law in the U.S.; admitted to the Kansas State Bar
Nellie Cline, first female lawyer to appear before the Supreme Court (also served in the Kansas House of Representatives)
Nancy Kassebaum Baker, first woman elected to to a full term as a Senator in the U.S.
Edward P. McCabe, first African-American elected to hold a state office
Mabel Chase, first woman in the United States to be elected sheriff, 1926
Georgia Neese Clark Gray, first woman to be Treasurer of the United States
Peggy Hull, first woman in the U.S. to become an official war reporter, covering six war fronts beginning in 1914
Charles Curtis, first American Indian to be elected vice-president of the U.S., 1928, after serving as Senator for Kansas
Today, Kansas' two largest industries are airplane manufacturing and agriculture. Kansas makes more airplanes than any other place on Earth. More than half of the world’s general aviation aircraft are produced here. Wichita is home to Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Cessna, Bombardier Learjet, and Hawker Beechcraft. Wichita is known as the Aviation Capital of the World. (Photo is of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, returning triumphantly to Salina after setting a new world record.)
We love the sky--we have so much of it!
Principal crops grown in Kansas are wheat, sorghum, hay, soybeans, sugar beets, oats, and corn. Approximately 10 million bushels of wheat are harvested each year in Kansas, about 20 percent of all wheat produced in the United States. Around 90% of the land area, nearly 50 million acres, in Kansas is devoted to farming.
The rows of trees planted on the edges of fields was begun after the terrible Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. Tree windbreaks help to prevent the wind from eroding the soil. (A field after wheat harvest near New Cambria.)
This field has had the wheat stubble tilled back into the soil. Some farmers till the stubble, some burn it, and yet others let it lie.
Also known as a Prairie Castle, grain elevators are a common sight on the plains. This one, in Hutchinson, is the world's longest.
Kansas consistently ranks in the top three states in cattle production. Buffalo have made a comeback in Kansas, as more ranchers are raising the state mammal (and I know the proper term is bison, but everyone here says buffalo.)
Some pretty little farms:
(Baled hay, power lines, and windmills on a cold winter day.)
I know I've been heavy on rural photos, so I'll throw this one in to show that we have our urban areas, too. Kansas City is a wonderful metropolitan area, and I have the pleasure of visiting it often as our son and his wife live there. The downtown library is a fanciful surprise with giant "books" lining the facade.
And, finally, a piece of art that seems to capture much of Kansas: space, wheat, art, friendliness, and a tornado!
"Kansas is no mere geographical expression but a ‘state of mind,’ a religion, and a philosophy in one." - Carl L. Becker