Kansas’ day to shine
On Monday the Jayhawk state will stand proud as Kansas celebrates the 157th anniversary of its formation to statehood.
Growing up Kansas as a school child I had a healthy dose of how the state was linked to the Civil War as part of the Kansas-Nebraska Act as the north and south were about to be engaged in our country’s toughest war—the Civil War. Much of the information we received was similar to what our parents and grandparents received. I’m thankful nothing got lost in the translation.
As much as I love to tell my state’s history about the famous citizens like aviator Amelia Earhart and World War II general and later president Dwight D. Eisenhower—I am most proud of how my fellow Kansans respond to the call of challenges.
Growing up in Kansas meant I had the finer things in life that money cannot buy. I could ride my bicycle across town to the swimming pool without worrying about my parents worrying about me being kidnapped. Years later, if I left my car or house unlocked I did not have to worry.
As for scenery, all I had to do was get in my car and take the less traveled path. The beauty is not along the interstate (although the higher speed limit makes it advantageous when I needed to make time.) The beauty was found on the two-lane highways.
Kansas’ beauty is found where farms and ranch operations thrive, providing the vast majority of eye candy in the spring, summer and fall. Even in the winter, some of the most picturesque scenes come from snow and ice that line windbreaks and farm ponds.
The stars of the state are the rank-and-file people of all ages who step up to the plate to help their fellow citizens in need, whether they went through a house fire, need an organ transplant or help with a crisis. In the summer, many stories are told of neighbors taking their combines over to help a widow whose husband died just before wheat harvest. Those wheat cutters won’t take a dime even for diesel fuel and they will cut her crop before harvesting their own.
Kansas has it share of challenges. It’s supply of natural resources, while ample, are more limited than neighboring states. Still, those challenges force Kansans, known for their independent thinking, to work together to solve problems.
Perhaps the band Ozark Mountain Daredevils summed it up with their mid 1970s song “Kansas You Fooler” that notes the majestic blue skies and the windmills that dot the countryside as a sign of tranquility.
As Kansas does it best to market itself for its many attractions and its culture, there is a quiet inner peace that makes it just as joyful.
Happy Kansas Day to my fellow Jayhawkers and to those who enjoy the inner and outward beauty of the nation’s 34th state.
