March 29, 2019 | 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 of people toured her mammoth collection of Department 56 Snow Village scenes, set up inside her home in west Wichita. Just how big a collection is it? More than […]
| 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, staying socially engaged, tackling challenges that make your mind “stretch,” eating healthy and being physically active help slow brain aging. “Do something you enjoy, and try something new,” said […]
| 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 is for personal care attendants,” Andrea Romero of Wichita said. “They’re the ones who get us up, get us dressed, help us with our daily needs. Currently under the (Kansas) Work Healthy […]
| 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 little yapper or a Poodle. It’s going to be in the size range of a Great Dane or at the least a German Shepherd. Man and dog have been […]
March 1, 2019 | By Nancy Carver Singleton
Women helped win war on homefront Connie Palacioz worked twice on the storied B-29 Superfortress known as “Doc.” As a teenager, she put rivets into Doc and hundreds of other B-29s during World War II. More than half a century later she was among hundreds of volunteers who helped restore the plane. In May 1943, […]
| 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 the future. Jim Howell, who represents the 5th district, said the current system of allocating money for programs such as Meals on Wheels, in-home care and community senior centers […]
| 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 is found in Mexico. Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, is the second largest city in Mexico. About 30 miles south of this metropolis lies freshwater Lake Chapala, stretching some 50 miles […]
| By 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. Everybody was in for a surprise. Laurine Endres (now Moeder) arrived first, followed three minutes later by Florine (now Seely). Someone joked that Florine pushed her identical twin out and has […]
| By Ronda Voorhis
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 at The Workroom and Doo Dah Diner, and can also be ordered at DrawingKansas.com. Voorhis is giving a free presentation about the book at […]
| 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 fluff, dry particles, tiny cones or weird-looking winged things find their way into my pockets, my camera bag or the bottom of […]
| By The Active Age
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 as a nurse’s aide in long-term care,” Schaar said. “That just cultivated my passion for not only health care but taking care of seniors — taking […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Courtesy Photo Cecil Riney and Lisa Hittle, a former colleague at Friends University. I’ve made my share of mistakes as a journalist but hadn’t caused any actual physical harm until last month when I prematurely killed off Cecil Riney, surely one of the best-known folks in Wichita. I put “late” in front of […]
| 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 definitely find a receptive audience. In fact, most of the residents – who are Catholic Sisters of the Adorers of […]
January 30, 2019 | 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 and Faye Thornton It took time after they met – and some good-natured pushing from friends – for Rick and […]
| 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 farm girl and there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do on a farm.” She might keep a walker handy these days, but Hall […]
| 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 something creative with others. “The jazz band gave me a place where I fit and belonged,” Hittle, a saxophonist and Friends University professor, […]
| By Ilham Saad
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 be ordered at cookingwithinspiration.com and is also available in some local stores. I was born in the village of Hadath […]
| 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, on angels – have pushed Strattman’s work into something more conceptual. His current show, “Clusters of Related Ideas,” also at CityArts, represents a […]
| 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 back to Kansas by clicking the heels of her new red slippers. Another night and Maestro Daniel Hege is conducting the orchestra dressed […]
| By 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 Lawrence-based nonprofit formed in 1975, compiled the list after reviewing the past three health safety inspections for all 344 nursing facilities, long-term […]
| 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. That’s all I knew.” But there was one thing Verda didn’t know about the Wagners: They had adopted her from a white […]
January 3, 2019 | 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 easy,” Bing remembers. “I discovered I liked running. And I’m pretty good at it.” Even so, he adds: “I thought people who […]
| By The Active Age
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. 21st Street. Cities are always evolving, but lately changes in Wichita seem to be happening at an accelerated pace. New riverfront […]
| By Beth Bower
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 companion cookbook featuring pie recipes from restaurants across Kansas, plus winners and runners-up in the station’s pie contest. “This project was […]
| 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 will be a smiling gray-haired lady in a sequined jacket Doris Buss, 90 years old this month. She’s been playing in Wichita and […]