December 1, 2024 | By Ted Blankenship
When our son Tedd was at Wichita State, he worked for a roofing company in the summer. Next to him most of the time was a 26-year-old from Bangkok,Thailand. Prasan Powthong was a WSU student too, but one with a degree in mechanical engineering from Bangkok University International. His parents, owners of a banana plantation, […]
| By Roxie Yonkey Kansas Reflector
I wrote three books about Kansas in three years. During my travels, I heard that James Bond is buried in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Pittsburg. I couldn’t find 007. Instead, I found multiple languages carved on tombstones and the Mishmash family graves. A mish-mash is a jumble of objects. It’s also a Bulgarian dish akin to a breakfast skillet. […]
| By Bob Rives
Eighty years ago this month, a desperate Adolf Hitler caught the western allies off guard by launching one of the largest attacks in military history — what came to be called the Battle of the Bulge. And a young Wichitan’s desperate fighting helped the allies stave off defeat. Richard Eller Cowan was born in Lincoln, […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
Our Christmas quiz comes but once a year. See how much you know about this the holiday. The answers appear below. 1. What much-maligned traditional Christmas bread was placed in the great pyramids and later carried by Roman soldiers for nourishment? 2. In what country did Parliament make Christmas celebrations illegal from 1647 to 1660? […]
| By Diana Morton
Forum Theatre, at the Wilke Center, 1st United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway. Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Based on the beloved movie, this musical revolves around two World War II buddies who decide to help their former commanding general save his struggling Vermont inn. Dec 5-22. 8pm; Tickets $34 – $44 each; 10% military discount […]
| By Jim Miller
Best Pill Boxes and Medication Management Tools How to Write a Living Will How to Know if You’re Getting Osteoporosis How to Choose a Memory Care Unit for a Loved One with Dementia Best Pill Boxes and Medication Management Tools Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend some good pill boxes and medication reminding devices? I’ve […]
| By The Active Age
The Singing Quakers of Friends University celebrated their 100th anniversary last month with a reunion and pair of concerts. “It was a great occasion and certainly a unique occasion,” said Cecil Riney, who directed the group from 1960 to 2005. “We had over 300 former Singing Quakers back for that.” The concerts featured performances by […]
| By Joe Stumpe
The folks who started The Active Age were a forward-thinking bunch. Knowing from demographic studies that the number of seniors in the United States was growing, they reasoned that seniors here could use an information source dedicated to their needs and interests. The first issue came out 45 years ago this month. I like to […]
| By Steve Criser
Your gift to The Active Age, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, is normally tax deductible as an itemized deduction on your tax return. With the higher federal standard deduction, it may be difficult to achieve the desired tax benefit from your charitable donation. For older taxpayers, consider: If you are 70 ½, plan to make the Qualified […]
| By The Active Age
The Active Age is giving away three pairs of tickets to The Carpenters tribute show at The Orpheum on Saturday, Dec. 14. “Close to You: A Carpenters Christmas” is based on the music of The Carpenters’ holiday albums and Christmas variety show. To enter our drawing for tickets, fill out the entry form below. Or […]
| By Joe Stumpe
After a lull of a decade, Wichita is once again participating in AARP’s age-friendly community program. It’s unclear what, if any, changes residents can expect to see as a result, but supporters are hopeful. “For me, our community should be the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Mayor Lily Wu said. “When […]
| By The Active Age
Inspiring story Thank you for the front-page article about Neal Baaker. It was so encouraging to learn of his journey to the United States, trials, hard work and ultimate success as a businessman. I decided to visit his nursery which resulted in a phone call. While his Wichita Greenhouse is closed for the season, I […]
November 8, 2024 | By Trace Salzbrenner The Journal
Wichita is cutting back to ready for a budget shortfall in the coming years. To prepare, the City Council is sorting through spending items to determine what’s most essential. That will mean decreased funding for such things as Century II and the Wichita Ice Center, and moving money away from the program to pave dirt […]
October 30, 2024 | By Joe Stumpe
With parents and grandparents who lived into their 90s, Roz Hutchinson should have a leg up on longevity. As she neared 70, her physical condition told a different story. “I had the genetics, but I didn’t have the lifestyle to do the same,” Hutchinson said. She does now. Since the beginning of 2023, Hutchinson has […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
In a garage space in Old Town, about a dozen volunteers are rebuilding a rare World War I-era aircraft to memorialize Wichita’s only aviator to win a Medal of Honor. They range from childhood model plane builders and military history buffs to veterans of U.S. conflicts going back to the Korean War. Most were already […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Kim Campbell Morrissey spearheaded the 50-year reunion of Wichita Heights’ class of 1974 in five quick months. That’s because it wasn’t until this past spring that she discovered a reunion wasn’t in the works. “My thought was that it’s kind of a milestone that we should not let go by without celebrating,” said Morrissey, a […]
| By The Active Age
Share the Season is a holiday program that helps working families in Sedgwick County who are experiencing financial hardship due to a major life event or difficult circumstance. The funds raised through this program are used to fill the gaps left by other assistance programs. Since 2000, the Wichita community has contributed over $4.5 million […]
| By The Active Age
Since retiring as a federal judge 14 months ago, Ken Gale has more time than ever for one of his lifelong passions — music. Gale recently joined Jazz in the Heartland, a group that specializes in Dixieland jazz, as its banjo player. “They’re a great bunch of guys,” he said. “It’s great to have another […]
| By Joe Stumpe
It’s the birthright of every American to complain about politics and politicians. After all, that’s pretty much how our country got started in the first place. But the griping rings a little hollow when it comes from someone who doesn’t participate in the political process by voting. It’s kind of like a sports team forfeiting […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
November is a great month for eating and entertaining. Try these questions to see if you are a turkey expert or just a lame duck. The answers appear below. 1. What main dish consists of a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck and then stuffed into a deboned turkey? 2. What Thanksgiving staple was […]
| By Ted Blankenship
Early in 1943, my family moved from Madison, Kan., to Eureka, some 25 miles to the south. We had been there about three weeks and I was out riding my bicycle. And there on the front lawn sunning herself was a pretty redhead. Somehow, I managed to get a conversation going, which eventually became long […]
| By Ted Ayres
“Like What You Do” by Dr. W. Walt Menninger and Todd Fertig (Flint Hills Publishing, 2024, 457 pages, $40.00) There are a few names associated with Kansas that have become recognizable on an international basis: Earp, Earhart, Landon and Eisenhower, to name a handful. Another such name is Menninger. Four generations of Menningers created and ran a world-renowned […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Nancy Wooten Blanchat was the youngest student attending a one-room schoolhouse near Stafford, Kan., when her teacher sent her outside while older pupils worked on their cursive handwriting. As Blanchat recalls, she was supposed to study shadows as some kind of science project. Instead, the unsupervised 5-year-old found herself being stared down by a giant […]
| By Diana Morton
Forum Theatre, at the Wilke Center, 1st United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway. Dial M for Murder. A new version of the celebrated murder mystery that inspired Hitchcock’s masterpiece. Tony is convinced that his wife Margot has been cheating on him. Now it seems that the affair is over, but in his jealousy, Tony spins […]
October 1, 2024 | By Sherry Graham Howerton
John F. Kennedy was leading the nation when Neal Bakker immigrated to the United States more than six decades ago. Twenty-four years old and speaking little English, Bakker arrived in Kansas under the sponsorship of a fellow Dutchman, Wichitan John Borst, to work in Borst’s greenhouse, Livingston Rose Garden & Nursery. As Bakker evolved from […]