Small town exploration
Cheryl Unruh
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
WHILE TRAVELING around the Sunflower State, you pass through a lot of small towns.
You can’t avoid them, actually; like stars in the sky, they’re everywhere. More than 500 of the 627 incorporated Kansas towns have fewer than 2,000 residents.
As you, my dear readers, surely know by now, I’m quite fond of small towns because I was raised in one, and, well, you just can’t take the dirt-street-town out of the girl.
But even people who did not grow up in a stoplight-free town can find these small communities fascinating.
If you’re not already sold on the idea of investigating them, here’s an idea: Let me be your guide to small-town exploration. I’ll be glad to share with you what I look for when I pull into a dusty Kansas town.
There’s a lot you can discover about a place in as little as 20-30 minutes. That’s right - you can play detective, gather facts and evidence, and make accurate (or maybe faulty) deductions.
Even if you don’t speak with any residents or tour the town’s historical museum, you can get a feel for the community’s personality and its history, just by observation, just by paying attention.
OK, here we go. To start, I look for a welcome sign. An attractive sign shows that residents care enough about their place to make a good first impression.
Slogans on those signs give a clue as to what the town is or wants to be. Florence proclaims that it is “Nestled in a valley of opportunity.” And Lehigh: “Small, but it’s home.”
What is the town’s overall appearance? Are the lawns well kept and junk free? Is the downtown tidy? If so, the residents probably have pride in their community and work together well.
Take a look downtown. Main Street might be three blocks long, full of stores - or maybe there are only two active businesses in town (and if so, I’m betting that one of them is a tavern).
Many business districts have the traditional two-story structures. These buildings may boast dates which go back to the early 1900s, maybe the late 1800s. While these may not have been the first structures in town, they give you a setting for the town’s early days.
Study the town’s architecture as a whole. Do a number of buildings appear to have been constructed during a particular decade? If so, that may indicate a boom time for the town.
Of course, this boom time concept works better with larger communities, but if a town has a surprising number of 1960s buildings, it might be reasonable to consider that a new industry came to town during that decade. Look around to see if you can support that theory with evidence.
Is the depot still in place? Does it appear that railroading was a major part of the town’s history?
Some towns have murals with vignettes which recognize railroads, agriculture or other significant pieces of the town’s history and you can glean information that way.
Is there a pattern to the naming of streets? Some street names indicate the town’s initial focus or even the heritage of its first residents. The German-settled community of Ellinwood, for example, has streets named Goethe, Wilhelm and Fritz.
To learn more about a town, visit the cemetery. Check the dates on the oldest headstones to determine when the town was established. If you see names that are, say, Czech, Swedish, or German, you’ll get an idea of the cultural background of the early residents.
What does the community recognize and remember? Towns often preserve pieces of history in a park or on public grounds. Many towns have saved an old school bell or the cornerstone of a church.
Did the town raise a famous resident? A roadside park in Burdett pays tribute to Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto. Did something important happen in town? Dexter has Helium Memorial Park. Natural gas found underground there in 1903 was later determined to be helium.
A few minutes of thoughtful observation can give you a sense of the place and a hint of its history.
So there you go, that’s some of what I look for in a small Kansas town. Your turn.
“Flyover People” is online at www.flyoverpeople.net. Cheryl Unruh can be reached at cheryl@flyoverpeople.net.
Comments
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Posted by reddog (anonymous) on September 8, 2009 at 6:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope that Emporia can honor some of our famous people in a roadside park. One person that comes to mind is Paul Terry, the Jackie Robinson of Kansas High School Basketball. In 1934 when Emporia High won the state championship, Paul Terry was banned from the tournment because he was black. I was a member of a local service club in which Mr. Terry attended and not once did he ever reveal this to me. If anyone is interested in promoting a project such as this write K.B. Thomas Jr. Box 821 Emporia, Kansas 66801
Posted by gardenman (anonymous) on September 8, 2009 at 7:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ought to visit Neal sometime. Understand only attractions are
2 churches and a bunch of hypocrites.
Posted by Steve_Corbin (anonymous) on September 8, 2009 at 8:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Cheryl Unruh;
Your column is a keeper.
These days it is nice to have a column in the paper that makes you slow down a little and smile.
Thanks.
Posted by cheryl (anonymous) on September 8, 2009 at 8:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you, Steve!
Posted by reddog (anonymous) on September 8, 2009 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Reading, Kansas has a bank called The Tightwad Bank which is a branch of a bank in Tightwad. Missouri. I heard they have some heavy industry, but I found out it was a 333 pound Avon lady.
Posted by Steve_Corbin (anonymous) on September 9, 2009 at 12:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
now that was funny right there.
Posted by giggles (anonymous) on September 9, 2009 at 10:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Cheryl, I love your column. I may be still young compared to some, but it reminds me of when I was a child oftentimes. Also, checking the history of small towns, looking into the past with old newspapers and checking cemeteries is all so interesting to me. I love the flint hills, they fill me with wonder, and have so much history that often goes ignored, but I love it. Thanks again!
Posted by justthinkin (anonymous) on September 9, 2009 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks Cheryl, I enjoyed this column very much.
Posted by cheryl (anonymous) on September 9, 2009 at 5:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you, giggles and justthinkin!
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