When the weather forecast for the weekend was published few days ago, I knew it was time to get out of town for few hours. Nothing clears out the mind like two hundred miles in rural Kansas on a first sunny and warm Sunday of the year. I started to look for a place to visit on the best Kansas travel resource but nothing grabbed my eye, so I just looked at the map and noticed a place called Admire, KS. I knew I had to go there and admire it.
U.S. Route 56 leaves Olathe, passes through the armpits of Johnson County known as Gardner and Egderton and makes its way towards Oklahoma through the fields as far as the eye can see. Rolled down windows let the fresh air in and the smell of old hay, burning leaves and an occasional skunk filled up my lungs. I was on the way to Admire.
By the way, have you ever been to Scranton, KS?
Now you have.
Much more interesting is the town of Burlingame down the road.
Burlingame looks like a worn out Mayberry…
…where Aunt B’s is the name of a restaurant.
Aunt B’s niece is getting married next week, so you’ll have to eat elsewhere.
Flower arrangements by Missy’s Flower Shop.
Meat for the wedding is already stored in the Meat Locker.
The Wedding announcement will be published in the cleverly named Newspaper (founded in 1863).
On the guest list is the frequent customer and an old-timey lawyer…
…who enjoys spending his lunch hour from 12 to 1 at Aunt B’s.
Miss Jandi and her students will also be in attendance.
Cheer-leading poodles are the only advertisement for her business.
Church is conveniently located around the corner.
Burlingame will have to wait for another visit, when I may be able to solve the mystery of the piano keys above the tire shop windows.
I still had a long way to Admire.
People in these parts still keep cannons in their front yards, just in case.
Finally I was close to my goal. While taking this photo I drove into something that I can still smell on my car and can only describe as putrid.
Admire was right in front of me.
At least it was a god-fearing town.
High school looks little over-sized for the population of 117 (0.56% Native American, 0.56% from other races, and 3.39% from two or more races. 1.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.) That’s .65 of a Native American, must be handicapped or something.
Every tall structure begs you to admire it.
Last Chance Cafe is the best and the only pizza deal in town.
Another water tower was built mainly to display the town’s name.
I had a short drive to Emporia…
…where Jesus Christ wanted me to stop and accept him. Sadly there was no parking.
A friendly cock pointed the way home.
I felt tired but refreshed at the same time. With my head cleared up I settled down on the couch thinking about the roads, small towns, open spaces and partial Native Americans.
Giving the Life Magazine a break, we continue onto the May 1914 issue of the Rotarian Magazine which was largely dedicated to Kansas City. Filled with photos and articles where mustachioed men took turns extolling the virtues of Kansas City, its businesses, theaters, schools, real estate and architecture. If you are bored at work a fan of Kansas City history, you should be reading this magazine already. 1914 was the year when the Kansas City Union Station was opened and the magazine dedicates the cover and several pages of photographs and essays to the “largest Union Station in the world”.
Some photos depicting student activities in Springfield, MO in 1939.
Toy train…
A view of a children playing during class.
…and the real thing.
A view of a class learning about trains first hand at a railroad station.
A view of a class field trip to the local stockyard
Now that’s tough, even I had a cot when I was a kid.
A view of children in school taking a nap in the middle of the day.
This must be the other side of the tracks.
A view of a class doing an exercise in practical carpentry.
This kid grew up to invent the overhead projector.
A view of child giving a presentation in school.
Something tells me the old guy is not an actor.
A view of a class learning about slums by visiting the local slum area.A view of a class field trip to a farm to study the soil.A view of the Springfield sewage disposal plant.
Before the air-conditioning the government meetings were brief and to the point.
A view of a sixth grade class attending a town meeting during a lesson on government.Continue reading →
Green Borscht is a delicious soup made of spinach, scallions, sour cream, hard-boiled eggs and potatoes. I am not sure why it’s called “borscht” since the only common ingredient with the red borscht is potatoes. Notice home baked (by me) rye bread on the side. and here is some related SNL when it still was funny Update: NBC a-holes removed the video from YouTube, it can still be seen here.
At the top, a Soviet manager points to a map of windbreaks and hands his worker a sack of acorns to plant under the heading “We are planting life!“. At the bottom, a capitalist directs a general to a map of the military bases under the heading “They are planting death!“.
Recently I noticed several billboards on the opposite sides of the State Line with the similar “compare and contrast” message.
On the Kansas side we should be thanking the legislators for our “safer roads & 1000s of new jobs for Kansans”:
Kansas legislators make construction workers happy; the guy in the middle and his shovel are ready to build even more roads for the grateful Kansans.
But on the Missouri side the same guy is not smiling, he can’t even lift the shovel because of those fund-delaying evil legislators the gullible Missourians voted into the office. He even tucked his shirt in, that’s how sad he is.
That’s why there is nothing but the pothole-ridden rough road ahead for the Missourians and the unsuspecting visitors to the state.
Obviously, it’s not fun to be a construction worker in Missouri, no reason to smile for sure. Maybe just for the photos for billboards on the Kansas side.
*photographing billboards is not easy and it was raining today, hence the quality.
When the weather forecast for the weekend was published few days ago, I knew it was time to get out of town for few hours. Nothing clears out the mind like two hundred miles in rural Kansas on a first sunny and warm Sunday of the year. I started to look for a place to visit on the best Kansas travel resource but nothing grabbed my eye, so I just looked at the map and noticed a place called Admire, KS. I knew I had to go there and admire it.
and here is some related SNL when it still was funny
