The White House
Cheryl Unruh
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
New street signs at 12th Avenue and Burlingame Road and 12th Avenue and Exchange Street point travelers toward the William Allen White house.
And any day now, signs for the historic site will also be placed along I-35.
Because “Red Rocks,” the William Allen White House State Historic Site, is a relatively new attraction and because it’s tucked away in a residential area, the casual tourist could easily miss it.
So these new signs will help lead journalists, history buffs and those with a vague familiarity of Mr. White to the house at 927 Exchange Street.
But wait, there’s more! Another addition to the place is the new site administrator, Nick Gronseth, 25, who started the job last month. He has a master’s degree in American history from Emporia State University.
He was born in Fargo, N.D., spent his early childhood in Detroit and when he was 11 his family moved, against his will, to Liberal.
Gronseth managed to adapt to the lonely plains and says he now feels like a native Kansan.
Although he appreciates the openness of Western Kansas, “It’s nice to be on the eastern side of the state,” he said with a smile.
As part of his job, he welcomes visitors, gives tours of the house and tells about White and the White family. Gronseth shows guests the spacious living room with its book-filled shelves and talks about the artifacts.
Visitors follow him up the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired staircase where they peer into bedrooms and view the jaguar rug that Teddy Roosevelt gave to William Lindsay White. Then guests have the opportunity to wander around White’s study.
Red Rocks gets a nice mix of visitors: local residents and tourists from out of town, including many from outside Kansas.
On the day I spoke with Gronseth, he had given a tour to a couple from upstate New York. They stopped to see the house because the woman’s father had been a fan of W. A. White.
Gronseth said that many Emporians take the tour because they’ve grown up knowing about this house, have walked or driven past and have always wanted to see inside.
I, too, had been curious about the interior of this mysterious residence and when the site opened to the public in May, 2005, I was there to see it.
What surprises me, though, is how often I’ve returned to the house after that initial tour.
On one of my mother’s visits to Emporia, she and I stopped by. My journalist brother got a tour when he was in Kansas. I’ve also taken friends to see the White home.
And for the past two years, I’ve attended most of the programs for the “On the Porch” series, hosted by Roger Heineken. He recruits presenters for White-related history programs offered in June and September and held on the spacious, covered porch.
Next month, the “On the Porch” series will resume. The Sunday afternoon presentations include singing, history, poetry and politics. (Sept. 9, 16, 23 and 30, at 2 p.m.)
This historic site is an Emporia treasure and Gronseth hopes that local residents feel they have a vested interest in the place. He says the house and White’s legacy make a good impression on visitors.
“(The site) talks well about Emporia, Lyon County, the Flint Hills and Kansas to the outside world.”
“I want to establish that this is a tourist attraction and yet a place that people in the community can be excited about,” Gronseth said. While visiting with him, I learned that the site can be rented for class reunions and small meetings. Its garden and porch offer a pleasant setting for such things as wedding receptions and birthday parties.
Sallie and William Allen White were known to be gracious hosts. Their house and their porch continue that tradition.
“Flyover People” is online at www.flyoverpeople.net.
• Cheryl Unruh can be reached at cheryl@flyoverpeople.net.
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