TheActiveAge

African American history mapped across Kansas By Amy Geiszler-Jones From stops on the Underground Railroad to the headquarters of abolitionist John Brown, a new history trail...

By Joe Stumpe NEWTON – When Marlis Nickel was growing up, schools didn’t offer much in the way of sports for girls. So she’d jog to school carrying her...

O’Keeffe at WAM The Wichita Art Museum is staging one of its most anticipated exhibits in years with Georgia O’Keeffe: Art, Image, Style. O’Keeffe is best...

By Joe Stumpe Larry Crosswhite got used to a certain kind of reception as he tried to re-enter the workforce. “Most people, when I would appear...

By Joe Stumpe Ragene Moore is one of those people who leave their Christmas decorations up long past the holidays. But in her case, it’s by popular demand. Hundreds...

By Leslie Chaffin Our brains age just as our bodies do. But how they age depends on how we “exercise” them. Whether you’re still working or retired years ago,...

By Joe Stumpe The new Ms. Wheelchair Kansas plans to advocate for more than just people with disabilities.  “The policy that I’m trying to develop actually...

By Ted Blankenship They say (I don’t know exactly who) that the dog is man’s best friend. If it is a MAN’S friend, it’s not going to be a...

Women helped win war on homefront By Nancy Carver Singleton Connie Palacioz worked twice on the storied B-29 Superfortress known as...

By Joe Stumpe A Sedgwick County commissioner says more money is needed now for senior-related programs and services, along with a way to make sure that funding grows in...

By Rob Howes  There are places in this world where cultures come together, mix their offerings and create a delicious array of food.  One such locale...

the active age It was snowing that night in 1921 when a doctor rode out to an Oklahoma farmhouse to help a couple expecting their first baby.

Editor’s note: Ronda Voorhis recently published an art book called "Drawing Wichita", which features 97 pen-and-ink illustrations of historical buildings and beloved sites in Wichita. The book is on sale for $27.99...

By Janice Sroufe I am a notorious collector of seeds. It’s fascinating that a tiny, dead-looking speck of fiber or rock-like nugget can, with soil, light and water, turn into a huge plant Little globs of...

Julie Schaar of Valley Center has joined the board of the active age newspaper, bringing with her 23 years experience in health care. “One of my first jobs was...

Courtesy Photo  Cecil Riney and Lisa Hittle, a former colleague at Friends University. By Joe Stumpe

By Joe Stumpe “Rosy cheeks!” “I want to see this little baby better!” “I’m telling you, she’s going to be a drummer!” When some young children come to make music for residents of the Caritas Nursing Center, they...

By Amy Houston There is life after divorce or the death of a longtime spouse. This Valentine’s Day, three couples will celebrate the new partners who helped them find love when they least expected it.  Rick...

By Joe Stumpe Don’t expect Edna Hall to single out one remarkable day from her remarkably long life. “My life was all pretty interesting,” Hall, who will turn 107 on Jan. 31, said. “I was a...

By Joe Stumpe Lisa Hittle discovered jazz as a seventh grader in Winfield. It wasn’t just the swing and soul of what’s been called America’s only original art form, it was the chance to do...

  Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from “Cooking with Inspiration: Lebanese Cuisine” by Ilham Saad, who owned Byblos, one of Wichita’s most popular Lebanese restaurants, from 1989-2017. The book, which includes 124 recipes, can...

By Mike Dwyer Ten years ago, in Dale Strattman’s 65th year, CityArts held a retrospective of his black-and-white, silver gelatin print photographs. Since then, several exhibitions of a topical nature – on women, on children,...

By Helen Bullock A classical violinist playing on stage in bright red shoes? What is this? Oh, yes, it’s the Wichita Symphony Orchestra’s “Wizard of Oz” movie/concert with its story of Dorothy trying to get...

By Ted Blankenship Watch some of those cable shows where they “flip” houses (no they don’t toss them on their roofs), and you’ll discover that the laundry room is an important part of the modern...

The active age Kansas Advocates for Better Care has released its annual report on health safety inspections of nursing facilities for 2018. Several area facilities appear in the report’s “good” or “poor” performance columns. KABC, a...

By Joe Stumpe Growing up in Newton, Verda Byrd felt lucky to be the daughter of Ray Wagner, an African American railroad porter, and his wife, Edwinna. “They loved me,” Verda said. “They were my world....

By Joe Stumpe Dale Bing hadn’t run on a regular basis since junior high school when his 11-year-old son asked him to jog alongside him in the 1998 5K River Run. “I thought it was pretty...

Artist GLeo, left, may be camera shy, but there’s nothing quiet about the mural she’s painted on the east side of the Beachner Grain Elevator. The mural can be seen from 1-135 and E....

Beth Bower hit the highway to map Kansas’ pie ways. Bower, a food writer and freelance editor, hosted “The Pie Way…Kansas Style,” a documentary which debuted on KPTS-Channel last month, and also wrote the...

By Ted Blankenship Drop in for a nightcap at the Wichita Country Club and if you’re lucky, you’ll hear the sweet sound of traditional jazz coming from a grand piano. Delicately touching those 88 keys...

By Leslie Chaffin When Sharon Brown read to her grandchildren, she often found herself “thinking that I could write a better story.” Today she’s the author of three children’s books and is at work on a...

By Amy Geiszler-Jones A seminar about downsizing and senior living options was just the “incentive” that Joe and June Miller needed. With information gleaned from that seminar, the Millers felt more confident about making the decisions...

By Ted Blankenship When you penalize your friends, they ought to be able to retaliate, and they often do. Consider Canada, Australia and Mexico. Our President slapped tariffs on the import of some of their...

Editor’s note: Reader Rita Hephner came across this story of Depression Era Wichita while going through some family papers. It was written by her mother, Lela Eitel, and presented to Lela’s siblings at Christmas...

By Joe Stumpe When members of the Thursday Afternoon Cooking Club first got together 127 years ago, they surely didn’t anticipate that some of their great-granddaughters would be carrying on the tradition today. Yet that’s what...

By Fran Kentling The active age marks its 40th birthday this month.  Strike up the band, blow out the candles and celebrate! First, let’s thank the mother of the active age, the Older Americans Act (OAA).  It was...

The active age The 2018 election could lead to improvements in health care, the legalization of medical marijuana and other changes sought by seniors at the state and local level. Democratic Gov.-Elect Laura Kelly favors expanding...

The active age won awards for general excellence and four other categories of work in the 2018 North American Mature Newspaper Publishers Association competition. Competing in Division C, for newspapers with circulations between 50,000...

By Amy Geiszler-Jones In the early 1930s, children suddenly began asking Santa for a new kind of Christmas gift: space toys, popularized by the first science fiction radio show and fueled by marketing gimmicks. Later,...

By Nancy Carver Singleton Helen Collins of Halstead was volunteering at the Halstead Heritage Museum & Depot one afternoon when each of the three couples who visited wanted to meet “The Harvey Girl.” They were...

By Jim Laney I seem to have a knack for riding on two wheels, with or without a road to follow.  As a kid in the country I rode on dirt roads and trails through...

Wichitans asked to help support new ship bearing city’s name By Joe Stumpe A new Navy ship called the USS Wichita will soon be patrolling foreign seas, and a retired rear admiral from Derby is raising...

By Ted Blankenship President Trump says his tariffs will punish the Chinese without hurting Americans.  The Chinese-naturally-enacted retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural products, cars and industrial goods. Then they began talking about buying airplanes from the...

RoseAnn Kirkpatrick just wants to know one thing: What happened to Earl? I doubt I can help her find the answer, but here goes anyway: Kirkpatrick was reading through a stack of old Reader’s Digest magazines recently when she...

The Wichita Broadway Singers are calling themselves the “Off-Broadway Singers” for this year’s December Dreams concert. That’s because they’re opening with “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks, which has the longest run of any...

The Wichita Art Museum hosts two free family-oriented events this month. From 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2, WAM’s annual Holiday Open House offers refreshments, live music, dance performances and a chance to visit with...

Photos Courtesy of Dr. Joseph Myers Friends University is presenting a new, full-length production of The Nutcracker that "is not your grandma’s Nutcracker." Andrea Vazquez-Aguirre, new director of the dance program, has choreographed the work to...

Photo by Joe Stumpe  Northeast Senior Center in Wichita has run out of mats to hide carpet stains. By Joe Stumpe A new library for $32 million. Up to $81 million for a minor league ballpark....

By Jack Kellogg Few buildings in Wichita provoke more curiosity than Campbell Castle, the 17-bedroom, feudal-style mansion overlooking the Little Arkansas River at 11th Street and North River Boulevard. As it turns out, builder...

By Amy Houston When Lisa Shorter walked into a keyboard class for adult beginners last year, it took all her courage and patience. After all, she was the only student who’d be forced to play...

Red Hat Society members claim trophy on first try By Joe Stumpe It took Sandra Whittemore five years to persuade her fellow Red Hatters to enter the Wichita Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff. Maybe next time they’ll listen. Members...

By Debbi Elmore Don and Ona Bates met through the written word – the old-fashioned, pre-Internet written word. In 1993, Don responded to an article in The Wichita Eagle looking for people interested in corresponding...

By Joe Stumpe ANDOVER - Don’t be surprised if you spot some furry friends while checking out Andover’s newest biking and walking trail. Scaly ones, too. The four-mile extension of the Redbud Trail, from Prairie Creek...

William T. Davitt thinks the upcoming gubernatorial election could all boil down to ham. If only a certain candidate would take his advice. Davitt copied the active age on a letter he sent to Democratic...

By Amy Geiszler-Jones With no single test, scan or exam for the disease, getting a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s can be a challenge, Caregivers and patients often have to become advocates if they suspect the disease. “Some...

By Ted Blankenship I tell people that I grew up out in the country and they usually assume I was raised on a farm. I did see an occasional haystack and every spring our house...

Tammy Tidwell went from shopper to volunteer at the annual Wichita Alternative Gift Market. “Whether you are here to buy or work a booth, we are all here to make a little bit of difference...

Gala supports women Soroptimist International of Wichita’s annual Christmas Gala fundraiser will be Dec. 3, at LaVela, 6147 E. 13th, Wichita. The evening includes a social hour and silent auction at 6:30, buffet dinner at...

By Joe Stumpe At 6 feet tall, Samajae Haynes-Jones isn’t exactly short. Until, that is, you stand him next to Asbjorn Midtgaard, his 7-foot-tall Wichita State basketball teammate. At last month’s Shocker media day, we asked...

By Elvira Crocker We’ve all experienced them at one time or another. Those lapses in memory that can often be either embarrassing or hilarious.  Though they can happen at any age, they do seem to happen...

Active Age is back at Dillons on a regular basis, convenient for readers and offering great visibility for our advertisers. And don’t forget to pick up our annual +55 Resource Guide, THE comprehensive source...

By Joe Stumpe Older residents appear just as interested as younger ones in helping chart the area’s future, according to results of the Project Wichita survey.  Of 13,907 people took time to fill out the survey,...

By Joe Stumpe Marc Mourning cooks with a wooden spoon the size of a canoe paddle. When you’re preparing food for a couple thousand people per day, everything gets bigger. “This is like a workout,” Mourning,...

Fajita seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and two kinds of sugar make Sloppy Joes at The Lord’s Diner “the best Sloppy Joes I’ve ever had,” in one volunteer’s opinion. 1 lb ground beef 1/2 Tbs fajita seasoning such...

By Bob Rives William H. Hemp is no longer a household name. Even the colorful nickname, Ducky, he got while playing baseball here, is lost in time. But in 1887, the 18-year-old from St. Louis was a...

The active age sent questionnaires to political candidates last month to get their views on issues affecting seniors. All the candidates were asked questions No. 1 and 2. Additionally, candidates for governor were asked...

By Joe Stumpe Two recent deaths highlight the risk posed to seniors by house fires, a danger that increases during cooler months. In September, a 65-year-old Andover man died after being trapped in a house fire....

This is adapted from the author’s introduction to “Walking With The Wichita Pioneers: A Guidebook to Highland Cemetery” by Barb Myers. The book sells for $20, with all proceeds going to renovate Highland Cemetery. By...

Show your support for the fight to end Alzheimer’s by taking part in the Wichita Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Oct. 13, at Intrust Bank Arena. Or even better, put together a fundraising team...

Exploration Place presents Pandas: A Journey Home, a new documentary in its digital dome theater starting Saturday, Oct. 20. Filmmakers “were granted unprecedented access to the Wolong Panda Center in China,” according to a...

Did you know that during the Civil War, hundreds of women cut their hair and donned men’s clothes so they could report to Union and Confederate army recruiters? And that others served as scouts...

Actress Pam Grier will receive the Ad Astra Award when the Tallgrass Film Festival returns for its 16th year this month. “Pam Grier   is someone that Tallgrass has sought to bring to Wichita and...

A dance exhibition, talks by Native American groups and free traditional meal are on tap for The Native American Celebration Day on Saturday, Oct. 6 at the Mid-America All-Indian Center. The free event runs from...

By Janice Sroufe Although summer with its hot weather is my favorite time of year, the cooler temperatures and beautiful colors of fall are comforting and sometimes a relief. This year we have had nice...

By  Joe Stumpe Project Beauty, Inc. may be down in numbers, but it’s not out. President Sue Boewe admits to an ambitious goal for the 50-year-old group founded to spruce up Wichita. “I’m hoping we’re going...

You can help promote democracy and make a few bucks in the bargain. With this year's elections rapidly approaching, the Sedgwick County Election Office is recruiting poll workers. The Election Office is increasing the number of...

By Joe Stumpe A tiny dog named Theodore is turning out to be worth his weight in gold. Mary Enstrom acquired the 2.3-pound Teacup Yorkie as a sidekick for her ministry serving nursing home residents. Theodore ended...

By Debbi Elmore Gerald McCoy was a boy when he saw Isaiah “Fireball” Jackson pitch in Wichita’s National Baseball Congress tournament. Jackson’s explosive fastball wasn’t the only remarkable thing about him. There was also the...

By Joe Stumpe Sedgwick County commissioners have again decided to keep funding for area senior centers at 2010 levels, frustrating users and supporters. The centers serve thousands of residents with meals, recreation, educational activities and...

By Joe Stumpe Easy isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when making lasagna. But a couple of shortcuts will put this dish on your table in about an hour, with little mess to...

Valley Center’s old library sat so close to railroad tracks that it used to shake when a train passed. “We didn’t know whether it was an earthquake or train,” the library’s office manager, Terry Foster,...

From The Editor: By Joe Stumpe I picked a good day to attend my first meeting of the Sedgwick County Advisory Council on Aging. The council was hearing how local tax dollars are being distributed to...

By Monica Cissell Valuable information, free health screenings, new opportunities and useful items for seniors and caregivers await visitors at the 33rd annual Senior Expo. Held at three sites, including the new Advanced Learning Library at...

3rd annual Railfest features train rides By Amy Geiszler-Jones This year’s Railfest offers a rare opportunity to ride the rails in downtown Wichita.  Volunteers with the Great Plains Transportation Museum, located at 700 E. Douglas across from...

By Joe Stumpe   If you look at a map of Wichita today, you won’t find Tremont Street. In its time, though, it was one of the city’s best-known thoroughfares.  Indeed, Tremont was notorious across the...

Ron Goodwin’s Painting  Painting, interior/exterior. Power washing, gutter cleaning, roofing repairs, handyman services and odd jobs. 30 years experience. Senior discounts. 316-461-2510 ________________________________________________________________________ Golden Power lift chair has custom bucket seat with comfort backrest. Sterling grey plush...

For a second year, Open Streets ICT will bring Wichitans of all ages together for a fun afternoon on Douglas Avenue. And if it’s anything like last year, when 18,000 people showed up, it’ll...

  1 pie crust 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened 3 oz. goat cheese Pinch salt 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 1/2 cup peeled and sliced ripe pears ½ cup chopped walnuts...

  By Miranda Allen What’s the matter with kids today? Why won’t anyone listen to me?  They are so lazy and have no work ethic!  They are so stuck in their ways! How often have you heard...