March 31, 2020 | By The Active Age
Old Cowtown Museum wants to recreate one of Wichita’s early business buildings to store and display its “rolling stock” of wagons, buggies and buckboards. The museum currently uses a dilapidated brick building for storing those vehicles. Plans call for building a structure modeled on the Wichita Carriage Works, which was founded in 1885. That business […]
| By Leslie Chaffin
The Wichita area has always taken pride in its skilled workers, and an organization called MakeICT shows that talent isn’t limited to employees performing their regular jobs. The “maker community” – a group of people who like to make things – is expanding for the third time in its eight-year history. The former Booth […]
| By The Active Age
Give Anthony Dozier a box of old decals or expired gift cards and you might get a work of art back in return. “Some people take things for granted,” Dozier said. “I don’t.” That goes for life in general. Dozier grew up with a severe stutter, an affliction that got him bullied and that he […]
| By The Active Age
What’s your favorite way to stay fit? Is it a nightly walk around the neighborhood, a Silver Sneakers class at your local YMCA, a regular round of golf? Or is it a brisk game of pickleball, hopping on your bicycle or the stretching and reaching that goes with gardening? The active age invites you to […]
| By Jim McLean
Kansas News Service TOPEKA — A bipartisan plan to expand Medicaid coverage in Kansas may go nowhere if the threat of coronavirus shortens the 2020 legislative session. Legislators rushed to pass a budget in March so that they could take an early and longer-than-usual spring break in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally, they were scheduled […]
March 30, 2020 | By The Active Age
Eighteen sites have been designated as historic by a committee helping plan the city’s 150th birthday, which takes place in November. How much do you know about Wichita’s history? Pictured are 18 sites designated as historic by a committee helping plan the city’s 150th birthday, which takes place in November. Correctly answer the questions below […]
March 3, 2020 | By The Active Age
For years, a good-natured religious controversy has simmered in Wichita: Which church is the city’s oldest, First Presbyterian or St. John’s Episcopal? “The holy war,” as Gary Huffman, archivist at First Presbyterian, puts it, “was fought many years ago and we finally took the trophy.” As proof, Huffman points to the church’s articles of organization, […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Nancy O’Donnell and Beryl Krueger like dancing to the beat of a Middle Eastern drum. “It helps me keep fit and maintain a healthy weight,” said Krueger, who takes belly dance classes at Amira Dance Productions (ADP), 1702 W. Douglas. “It also gives me a good social life” thanks to dinners, birthday parties and more […]
| By Stephen Koranda
Kansas News Service TOPEKA — The Kansas legislative session began with what seemed like a done deal for expanding Medicaid. Gov. Laura Kelly and a top Republican senator had forged a compromise to offer health coverage for up to 130,000 low-income Kansans. About a month later, the deal ground to a halt because of abortion politics. Medicaid supporters were irritated. […]
| By The Active Age
Got a great story from one of Wichita’s early neighborhoods? The Old Wichita Neighborhoods Interview Project would like to hear from you. Patrick O’Connor, an author and contributor to the active age, is working on the project with the Wichita State University library’s Special Collections section. He hopes to conduct 100 interviews. “This will be […]
| By Dave Gear
EL DORADO – Dale’s back. More than 10 years ago, Dale Wilson’s family bought him a YMCA membership following his recovery from a broken hip. Wilson said the gift was designed “to get me out of the house” and it worked. The 85-year-old became somewhat of a fixture at the El Dorado YMCA, working out […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Pork loin packs plenty of promise, from great flavor and low price to nutritional makeup and ease of preparation. However, it suffers from a tendency to dry out because it is such a lean cut of meat (the same trait that makes it relatively healthy). After a little research, experimentation and cooking about 30 pounds […]
| By The Active Age
The Friends of the Wichita Public Library will hold a book “bag sale” Saturday, March 28 at the Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. 2nd St. The members-only sale is from 8-10 a.m., followed by the sale for the general public from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Customers are encouraged to bring their Friends tote bags, or purchase […]
| By Joe Stumpe
When the University of Kansas basketball team returns to the NCAA tournament this month, some attention will naturally fall on its iconic mascot, the Jayhawk. And a multitalented Butler County native deserves some of the credit. Dr. Gene “Yogi” Williams, who grew up in El Dorado, drew the modern version of the mascot while attending […]
| By Ted Ayers
Our Duty by Gerri Hilger (Kat Biggie Press, 2018, 301 pages, $15.99) Gerri Hilger is a life long resident of Kansas who lives in Hutchinson. She retired after more than 35 years of teaching high school students, and she now enjoys writing and traveling with her husband to visit children and grandchildren. She recently shared an autographed copy […]
| By The Active Age
Fed up with fish on Fridays during Lent? Our Lady of Perpetual Catholic Church N. 2351 N. Market in Wichita, will hold its annual meatless Mexican food dinners each Friday 5-7 p.m. during Lent, Feb. 28 through April 3. This is the 21st year the church has been serving food made by members. Cheese and […]
February 3, 2020 | By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Casey and Larry Furnish often refer to the first 32 years of their 38-year marriage as “BS” – short for before stroke. Late on the evening of July 31, 2013 – their 32nd wedding anniversary — Larry suffered the first of two strokes, the second of which left him primarily confined to a wheelchair. With […]
| By The Active Age
TOPEKA —Expanding Medicaid coverage is just one of several issues before the 2020 Kansas Legislature that could affect seniors for years to come. Some advocates say it’s imperative that the state act now to adequately support its growing number of older residents. “2020 to 2030 is a critical decade for aging services in our state,” […]
| By Bob Rives
Bob Thurman’s name may not be as well known as those on other signs in McAdams Park. After all, playing fields there have been named for such all-time greats in their sports as Barry Sanders — the Heisman trophy winner and perennial all-pro running back — and Lynette Woodard, the first woman to join the […]
| By The Active Age
New team playing at Hartman while documentary tells story of city’s first professional soccer team There are a lot of folks winging it in Wichita these days. The Wichita Wings, the latest incarnation of the indoor professional soccer team that debuted in 1979, were off to a 5-2 start through mid January and drawing crowds […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Each day, Americans eat almost as many sandwiches as there are people in the country. You can look it up. Impressive as that consumption is, I’m guessing it might go up if more people were familiar with the croque-monsieur, a sort of supercharged ham-and-cheese sandwich from France. The name translates as “Mister Crunch,” since the […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Sedgwick County commissioners likely will hear from more folks this year calling for additional funding of senior-related services. A group made up of AARP members has been meeting for the past six months to learn more about Meals on Wheels, senior centers, transportation and other services funded by the county. Their conclusion: Those programs need […]
| By Nancy Carver Singleton
WHITEWATER – The Whitewater Photo Museum offers a glimpse into this town’s past, and not just through a camera lens. Here’s a stained glass window from the first church in Whitewater. There are cloth sacks, photos, rulers and pencils from the Whitewater Mill, which closed in the 1980s. Of course, there are plenty of photos, […]
| By The Active Age
NEWTON —After the busiest holiday season in their history, members of the Golden Notes choral group have no intention of slowing down. The Golden Notes performed 11 concerts between August and the end of the year, culminating in a well-attended show at Botanica’s Illuminations display. Then they were right back to practicing every Monday morning […]
