May 1, 2020 | By Ted Blankenship
I have been fascinated by humor as long as I can remember. Maybe it was compensation for being a fat kid. How could I feel inadequate if I came up with fat jokes before my friends could think of them? Because of the fear we’re all experiencing now, we think it’s wrong to laugh. The […]
| By Ted Ayers
“Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church,” by Megan Phelps-Roper (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2019, 286 pages, $27.00) In this time of global calamity and concern, I feel compelled to remind us all that books can be a source of hope, diversion, information, encouragement, courage and companionship. What an important time to pick […]
| By Janice Sroufe
Spring has never been quite like this. Many of us have spent weeks at home, trying to make do with what we have and distancing ourselves from other people. I’ve been trying to figure out my garden without wandering around in the garden centers like I usually do. Although I have taken advantage of the […]
April 23, 2020 | By The Active Age
Normally this time of year, Jim Unruh would be puttering around the house, traveling with his wife or working part-time for a funeral home. “Just a very relaxing lifestyle,” he says. The coronavirus pandemic has thrust him into a new role: Two mornings a week, the retired banker volunteers to shop for and deliver groceries […]
March 31, 2020 | By Joe Stumpe
Jazz formed the soundtrack of Bob Scheid’s childhood in pre-World War II south Chicago, a swinging big-band beat that some think has never been equaled. It was powered by famous drummers such as Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa, and it found its way into Scheid’s heart and hands before he could even form complete sentences. […]
| By Bob Rives
When Wichita’s first real baseball stadium opened in 1905, it cost $1,500 and was painted green, like most of its kind. In fact, reverent fans spoke lovingly of their ballparks as “green cathedrals.” But if the old green structures were cathedrals, what would those fans expect from Wichita’s new $75 million Riverfront Stadium? Pearls on […]
| By By Joe Stumpe
As a resident in a small memory care home in Wichita, 83-year-old Patricia “Pat” Shibley could count on daily visits from one or more of her four children. That ended March 16, when the coronavirus pandemic caused it to be closed to virtually all visitors. “Family will not be allowed in unless this is a […]
| By Susan Hill
Editor’s note: Susan Hill, a member of the active age board of directors, lives at Larksfield Place, one of many area senior communities affected by the threat of coronavirus. On Thursday, March 12, independent living residents of Larksfield Place were told it was being placed under restricted access because of the threat of coronavirus. But […]
| By Celisa Calacal and Matthew Long-Middleton
Kansas News Service Kansas’ 36th attorney general was infamous for popping out of trunks, inciting gunfights on buses, and going toe-to-toe with other lawmen and politicians. It was this unabashed, brash approach to law enforcement that earned Vern Miller the nickname “Lawman of the State.” “He was just kind of a cowboy who did things […]
| By Pat Gallagher
I have enjoyed cooking and reading for most of my life. I don’t cook as much anymore but I have broadened my reading interest to include cookbooks so maybe I am simply cooking vicariously. My grandmother and my mother were both excellent cooks and that’s where it all began — mostly with desserts and donuts […]
| By Kollen Long
At 8:15 on a chilly morning two days before Thanksgiving, Janet Eaton, the superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Wichita, held the door and greeted teachers as they entered Bishop Carroll High School for religious education classes. It was reminiscent of the time she surprised St. Joseph Ost Catholic School by visiting on […]
| By Janice Sroufe
City-dwelling gardeners like me often have limited space to grow all of the wonderful fruits and vegetables they would like. Over the years, I have experimented with different types of structures that provide a vertical element to the garden. Plants that tend to sprawl and take up a lot of space on the ground can […]
| 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 […]