December 1, 2021 | By Nancy Carver Singleton
A casualty of COVID-19 last year, live holiday concerts are back in a big way. And the performers who make up community bands are ready to blow — er, go. “It has been a couple years,” said Romella Rausch, a flutist from Colwich who’s played in the Senseney Community Band for 20-plus years. “It is […]
| By Joe Stumpe
NEWTON — The most famous of Old West shootouts took place some 1,000 miles west of here, outside the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. But that fracas pales in comparison to the mayhem unleased in Harvey County a decade earlier. Known as the “Gunfight in Hide Park” or “Newton General Massacre,” the burst of […]
| By Tammara Fogle
Two projects at the Mid-America All-Indian Center are dovetailing nicely, according to executive director April Scott. The museum’s “Tell Me a Story” oral history project has been collecting stories from Native American elders on video. Some of those elders are family members of artist Blackbear Bosin, whose work the museum is celebrating through next June. […]
| By Joe Stumpe
If this is the year you finally make it to Hawaii for the holidays, kudos to you. If not, you can bring a bit of island fun to get-togethers right here with super-easy Hawaiian pulled pork. The main part of this recipe calls for just three ingredients — pork shoulder or butt, salt and liquid […]
| By Debbi Elmore
Brought to the United States from Mexico as a teenager, Catalina Garcia knows the challenges that a new country, language and culture present. They can even put a person’s health at risk. Decades after her arrival, Garcia is helping others navigate those challenges as part of a program call Promotoras de Salud that serves north […]
| By Ted Ayers
“When The Missouri Ran Red,” by Jim R. Woolard (Kensington Publishing Corp., 2021, 297 pages $26.00) Jim Woolard’s novel “When the Missouri Ran Red” focuses on the final few months of the Civil War in Kansas and Missouri. It’s also a coming-of-age story. Owen Wainwright is a 17-year-old orphan living with his aunt and uncle […]
| By Ted Blankenship
Americans buy millions of pickup trucks each year, many of them difficult to squeeze into American garages. And as they get bigger and bigger — the trucks and the Americans — the seats get farther from the pavement. What to do? Bring back running boards or install ladders? Manufacturers chose retractable running boards designed to […]
November 1, 2021 | By By Debbi Elmore
After more than a decade on Facebook, Flossie Alexander can speak with experience about the good and bad aspects of social media. “In the beginning, I was drawn to Facebook as a means to promote my business as a life fitness coach,” Alexander, who joined in 2009, said. “I soon discovered that I enjoyed getting […]
| By Tammara Fogle
SAN DIEGO — The Active Age won the 2021 General Excellence and Best of Show awards from the North American Association of Mature Publishers, the group announced at the annual NAMPA convention held here last month. The awards were for publications with more than 50,000 circulation, with entries judged by journalism faculty at the University […]
| By Ted Ayers
“100 Things To Do In Kansas Before You Die,” by Roxie Yonkey (Reedy Press, 2021, 176 pages, $19.95) For some 28 years, Kansas was the state I drove through to get to Colorado, the home of the rival Jayhawks (I am a proud Mizzou grad) and the place an 18-year-old Missourian could buy beer back […]
| By Joe Stumpe
As a shopping center, you could say Twin Lakes is older than the city of Wichita. Jesse Chisholm, the early trader for whom the Chisholm Trail is named, established a post at the present location of Twin Lakes Shopping Center in 1864, six years before Wichita was incorporated. Chisholm used the site between the Big […]
| By The Active Age
Marilyn Alcala suspected she suffered from Parkinson’s disease before she was formally diagnosed with it in May. That would have explained symptoms such as tremors and rigid muscles. But her physician’s confirmation still thrust her into a great unknown. As her husband, Dan Alcala, said, “We are new to Parkinson’s disease, which we knew nothing […]
| By Tammara Fogle
Dave Quick was 10 years old and in for a shock when he developed a photograph he’d shot of a taxi whizzing through Riverside Park. “There’s an older woman in the back looking straight ahead and the cabbie is giving me the finger!” Quick recalled, with characteristic enthusiasm. “That’s when I learned photography is full […]
| By By Debbi Elmore
Being the oldest competitor at this year’s Heartland Games didn’t faze Jerry Reiserer, who has spent a lifetime engaged in physical activity. He was a child when his father first took him along on his job of drilling wells for area farmers. “I remember my dad taking me to the fields and the guys would […]
| By Ted Blankenship
Today I’m writing a column that I hope you don’t read because it’s about how to write a column, and I’m afraid that if you read it, you’ll write a column that’s better than this one, and I’ll be out of a job. Nevertheless, as a fearless journalist, I’m going ahead with it because I […]
| By The Active Age
When the Heartland Jazz Band played back-to-back shows in Wichita last month, one member flew in from Florida and another did the same from Texas to take part. Considering that members don’t get paid, that’s a pretty good indication of how much they love the music. “This group likes to play fun music,” said Dennis […]
| By Mary Corrigan
When I was asked to write the Thanksgiving column this year, I admit to having a few moments of panic. There are so many things I am thankful for, and so few column inches to work with. Though I will be stepping down as president of The Active Age’s board of directors in December, I […]
| By Tammara Fogle
A Wichita woman recently lost more than $100,000 in what’s known as the “Miscrosoft scam,” District Attorney Marc Bennett’s office said. The scam works by fooling people into thinking they need technical support from Microsoft. The scammer telephones the intended victim pretending to be a technician or engineer from Microsoft or a related company, or […]
September 30, 2021 | By Joe Stumpe
NEWTON — The new director of Harvey County’s Department on Aging shares more than just mutual respect with her predecessor. Lona Kelly, who will start Oct. 4, and Robert Carlton, who is retiring, both say it was their personal experience caring for family members that led them into the field of aging services. Carlton grew […]
| By Bob Rives
It was by default that our family visited Iceland in August. My wife and I, our children and their spouses had planned a trip to France to celebrate our 65th wedding anniversary. Covid stopped that as Europe closed its doors. By 2021, though, Iceland was welcoming visitors. Tourism is one of the country’s economic drivers […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Barry Carroll has been bicycling for seven decades and has no plans to stop. “I grew up in Kentucky on a farm and I had four siblings, and as soon as I could ride one of their bikes — that was probably way too big for me — I have been bicycling, so since about age […]
| By Tammara Fogle
VALLEY CENTER — A half-size replica of the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be displayed here Oct. 21-25. There is no charge to visit The Moving Wall, which will be open 24 hours each day. The wall was displayed here in 2012, but local organizers felt it didn’t get the attention it deserved. This […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
It took nearly two years for Victor Rose to complete the vibrant 9-by-17-foot mural he created for Healing Wichita CBD+ shop in a shopping plaza at Harry and Rock Road. Much like Rose himself — a lifelong Wichita resident who has been involved in many creative endeavors — the mural features various elements and layers, […]
| By Ted Blankenship
I don’t know who said it first, but the painter Andy Warhol usually gets credit for the phrase “15 minutes of fame.” I remember thinking mine had arrived in 1945 (long before Warhol became famous, incidentally). I was a senior at Eureka High School and a trumpet player in the marching band and orchestra. I […]