‘Grandfamilies’ on rise
By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Last year, 67-year-old Lynn Ackerson became a parent again.
When she became the legal guardian of her granddaughter, Gracie,...
Senior budget sparks debate
By Joe Stumpe
Sedgwick County’s spending on senior-related services and programs won’t keep up with inflation in 2020.
County commissioners last month approved an aging services...
The Wichita Rotary built
Rotary Club founder Harry Stanley and others helped shape city
By Clark Bastian
Sometimes a project just falls into your lap. In 2010, I arrived early...
Savor this to-die-for pie
the active age
It’s hard to imagine a better use of late-summer tomatoes than this luscious and colorful tomato pie. Angie Prather found a version of this recipe in...
Living life to the Maxx
Half the fun of this job is running into people like Maxx Fairbanks.
Maxx introduced himself via email. He’d spotted an article in last month's issue about the filming...
September Briefs
5K run and fun
The final leg of the Heartland Games – a 5K run – takes place Sunday, Sept. 8 at the Downtown Senior Center, 200 S. Walnut....
Slam! Bang! And other points about exclamations!
By Ted Blankenship
I like punctuation as well as the next guy. The period is pretty handy and so is the comma if you don’t make it into an...
89 and looking for the next challenge
By Joe Stumpe
Dolores Cooper wants to keep helping people. But the respite program in which she’s done that for 30 years has come to an end.
Rotary couple say reading is ‘fun’-damental
By Joe Stumpe
Ben and Mary Grisamore are headed back to school again this fall to share their love of books with children whose homes sometimes contain none.
Get help with life’s challenges at 34th annual Senior Expo
By Monica Cissell
Three of Wichita’s favorite locations will host the 34th annual Senior Expo on Sept. 26: Botanica, the Wichita Art Museum and the Advanced Learning Library.
Low vision rehabilitation: Seeing a way forward
the active age
Too often, people experiencing age-related vision loss ignore the symptoms, hide them, or try to compensate for them with improvised inventions that fall short of providing...
Quirky collection carries memories for Newton man
By Nancy Carver Singleton
NEWTON – People almost always have something to say when they spot Kelly Hayes’ collection of old lunch boxes. “The conversation, it brings back old...
Fall a favorite time of year
By Julie Schaar
The welcoming sights, sounds and smells of fall have arrived. What comes to your mind when you think of fall? Do you think of football games,...
When Hollywood came to town
Film caught stars, locals in '69 action-drama
By Joe Stumpe
BENTON – When a Hollywood movie crew arrived here to make The Gypsy Moths, the...
Seniors flock to CBD, but does it work?
the active age
One afternoon last month, a 56-year-old woman walked into The Health Connection, a CBD shop on Douglas Avenue. Within minutes, she’d spent about $80 on a...
Ticket contest puts a song in winner’s heart
Linda Hitchcock screened the first phone call she received from the active age. No offense taken; lots of people do that with unfamiliar numbers these days.
When we finally...
Great eating in the good ole summertime
By Joe Stumpe
Turns out there is a cure for the summertime blues: Summertime food.
This is the time of year when less work means more...
Free fall gardening classes offered
Editor’s note: Incorrect information about these classes was printed in the July issue of the active age.
The Wichita Public Library will partner with the Sedgwick County Extension Horticulture...
Sedgwick County tweaks senior budget, plans review
The active age
Sedgwick County Manager Tom Stolz says it’s time for a comprehensive look at how programs that serve seniors are funded.
“One thing I...
City logs double bogey on Clapp Golf Park
By Dale Goter
On Aug. 1, a dark chapter in the history of Wichita public golf will occur as city officials shutter L.W. Clapp Golf Park.
August Briefs
Musical afternoons
The Thursday Afternoon Music Club has announced its schedule for 2019-2020. Unless otherwise noted, programs are held at 1:30 p.m. in Senseney Music Recital Hall, 2300...
Animals march to the beat of a different drummer
By Ted Blankenship
I was doing some serious research on the internet the other day when I came across a movie clip purporting to show how animals are attracted...
Quirky Kansas: Day trips bring colorful spots into reach
By Leslie Chaffin
If you’ve got a day to spare, chances are Kansas has a spot you’ll enjoy visiting. That’s what Patty Lane discovered...
Editorial: Time for county to step up
An editorial from the board of the active age:
It’s time.
Over the past decade, the governing bodies of Wichita and Sedgwick County have made impressive...
Tunnel vision … and notes on a friend
By Joe Stumpe
While promoting Wicked Wichita, my book on the city’s early criminal history, I’ve been asked one question more than any other. And no it's not :...
Wichita Music Theatre Ticket Contest
Solve the word puzzle at right and qualify for a drawing to win four free tickets to Music Theatre Wichita, courtesy of the active age.
To solve the puzzle,...
Biking Across Kansas: Where the rubber meets the road
By Jim Mason
Editor’s note: Jim Mason wrote about preparing for his first BAK in the June issue of the active age. In this article, he tells what it...
It’s always prime time for prime rib
By Joe Stumpe
Even experienced cooks can be intimidated by large, expensive cuts of meat like prime rib. It’s not just the cost. Because prime rib is usually a...
July Briefs
Go Fourth
A new memorial to the American Revolutionary War will be dedicated Thursday, July 4, at Veterans Memorial Park, 329 Veterans Parkway(west of Second Street and North Waco). ...
Active Age editor led with humor, grit
Fran Kentling, former editor of the active age, died in the same way she lived her life: without fear or fuss and absolutely ready for the next adventure if there happens to be...
A letter to my younger self
By Martin Mendoza
I ran across a YouTube video of LGBT elders writing to their “younger selves” for National Coming Out Day, so I thought I would write one...
Riding high
Floodwaters detour but can't dampen fun on steamboat cruise
By Ted Blankenship
If you’re thinking about a steamboat river cruise, I suggest doing it when the...
Newton store like stepping back in time
By Nancy Carver Singleton
NEWTON —In a world full of change, Newton shoppers have been able to count on one thing: Phil Anderson III will usually be there to...
Wichita’s ‘Coney Island’ featured in new documentary
By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Before there was Joyland, there was Wonderland, Wichita’s first amusement park built on a now long-gone island in the Arkansas River near downtown Wichita.
Cyclist gets ready for the ride of a lifetime
By Jim Mason :
For years, I dreamed about participating in Biking Across Kansas (BAK), an organized, annual group ride that spans our state from the west border...
Aging funds to be cut?
By Joe Stumpe :
The Sedgwick County staff has presented a 2020 budget that would cut spending on aging programs and services by 2.3 percent, from about $10.9 million...
State’s elderly low in food security
Kansas seniors experience food insecurity at a rate greater than the national average, according to a new report.
The report, by an organization called Feeding America, found that across...
Gardening to attract butterflies a sign of Nature Astonishment Syndrome
By Janice Sroufe :
I saw this cartoon on Facebook about Nature Astonishment Syndrome: the process where one by one, plants, soil, fungi, insects and bacteria become amazing to...
From captain to Admiral: Ken Atnip personifies Wichita
By Joe Stumpe :
Ken Atnip used to catch bad guys for a living. But no, those magnificent whiskers he sports weren’t some kind of undercover disguise. Nor did...
May Briefs
Photo by Joe Stumpe
Hundreds of seniors took part in a shredding/food donation event sponsored by AARP at the Sedgwick County Extension Center last month. Here, volunteers Lana Murphy...
Games of the heart
By Joe Stumpe
You could get tired just watching Claire Overstake at a track meet. Her specialty is running – especially sprints and hurdles – but she also throws...
Senior council shifts from advice to advocacy
By Joe Stumpe
A group of seniors charged with advising Sedgwick County commissioners is embracing another role – advocacy. Whether they can persuade the county commission to increase funding...
Book it: Volunteers move, spruce up library
By Teresa Bachman
LEON – What can a handful of senior citizens with a small budget in a tiny town do? They can mobilize a whole community and revitalize...
May Events
Pieces of nature
New York artist and LEGO wizard Sean Kenney brings his nature-inspired collection to Botanica May 10-Sept. 19. Each piece is created from thousands of LEGOs, from...
Ten years later, Wichitan looks back at Tiller’s death
the active age
Dr. George Tiller’s murder shocked Wichita and the world 10 years ago this month, not least of all because the controversial abortion clinic operator was gunned...
Kansas legislative session: Not much good for older adults
By Mitzi McFatrich
TOPEKA – The 2019 Kansas legislative session began with older Kansans facing a number of serious issues. Progress was made on a scarce...
Selling out: 10 tips for a successful garage sale
By Leslie Chaffin
Two sure signs of spring: we get that “itch” to re-organize and garage sale signs start popping up on street corners.
Pick a...
RSVP Volunteers feted for service
Volunteers with the RSVP were honored April 11 at the Sedgwick County Extension Center. Last year the program placed 320 volunteers at 45 different sites in Sedgwick County (including the active age)....
Blazing a trail
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...
She leads ‘Wild Women of the Wilderness’
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...
April Briefs
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...
Back to work: Seniors train for new jobs
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...
Christmas decorations finally coming down . . . and down
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...
Something new just what the doctor ordered for our brains
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,...
Wichitan named 2019 Ms. Wheelchair Kansas
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...
Barking up wrong tree just part of a dog’s job
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...
Riveting Rosies
Women helped win war on homefront
By Nancy Carver Singleton
Connie Palacioz worked twice on the storied B-29 Superfortress known as...
Senior funds lag behind
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...
Mexican melting pot draws US travelers
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...
‘Oatmeal Twins’ Laurine and Florine turn 98
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.
The art of architecture
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...
Digging into the seedy side of gardening can pay off
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...
New board member for the active age named
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...
Cecil Riney is alive and, well, busy
Courtesy Photo
Cecil Riney and Lisa Hittle, a former colleague at Friends University.
By Joe Stumpe
Music brings generations together
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...
A second chance at love
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...
‘Farm girl’ looks back on 107 years
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...
Friends U. prof retiring, but not from music
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...
Byblos’ best bites in new book
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...
Dale Strattman brings ‘clusters of ideas’ to CityArts
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,...
Wichita Symphony Orchestra at 75: One fan’s view
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...
‘Reality-based’ TV renovation shows mostly fantasy
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...
New report examines how nursing homes are performing in region
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...
A life in black and white: Secret lasted 70 years
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....
Ironman: ‘I don’t do it for fun. I do it to win.’
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...
Wichita shows new face to world in 2019
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....
Sweet! State’s best pies star in new cookbook from KPTS
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...
Play it again, Doris: Pianist has dazzled Wichita since the ‘40s
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...
Telling Stories
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...
Free monthly series to help seniors take ‘positive actions’
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...
Toilet paper more than a little good bathroom reading
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...
The White Sack
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...
Lunch ladies
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...
Oh lordy, the active age turns 40
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...
Election may boost seniors
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...
Awards for the active age
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...
Toy exhibit ranges from ray guns to rockets
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,...
Halstead Harvey Girl looks back on “elegant experience”
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...
Rider, 77, still blazing trails on two wheels
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...
Setting sail
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...
Try this tariff theory of Ted’s on for size
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...
Looking for Earl in a haystack
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...
Singers performance
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...
Holiday spirit at WAM
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...
New Nutcracker
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...
Wichita takes pass on centers
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....
River Castle ‘BBQ’ Campbell left mark on city
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...
Stroke can’t stop love of music
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...
CHILI CHAMPS
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...
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