January 3, 2019 | 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 […]
| By Leslie Chaffin
When Sharon Brown read to her grandchildren, she often found herself “thinking that I could write a better story.” Today she’s the author of three children’s books and is at work on a fourth. Although her stories about animals are told by one – Brownlee the Storytelling Lizard – they sometimes have a foot in […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
A seminar about downsizing and senior living options was just the “incentive” that Joe and June Miller needed. With information gleaned from that seminar, the Millers felt more confident about making the decisions to sell their home of 29 years, getting rid of some of their possessions and moving to a senior living community. “I’d […]
| By Ted Blankenship
When you penalize your friends, they ought to be able to retaliate, and they often do. Consider Canada, Australia and Mexico. Our President slapped tariffs on the import of some of their metals and they fought back with similar tariffs. They should have just quit buying toilet paper from us. Don’t snicker. Combined, the three […]
| By Lela Eitel
Editor’s note: Reader Rita Hephner came across this story of Depression Era Wichita while going through some family papers. It was written by her mother, Lela Eitel, and presented to Lela’s siblings at Christmas in 2000 – with a white sack full of candy, naturally. This little story is about a white sack and its […]
November 28, 2018 | By Joe Stumpe
When members of the Thursday Afternoon Cooking Club first got together 127 years ago, they surely didn’t anticipate that some of their great-granddaughters would be carrying on the tradition today. Yet that’s what has happened with the Wichita group, which is thought to be the oldest club of its kind in the United States. At […]
| By Fran Kentling
The active age marks its 40th birthday this month. Strike up the band, blow out the candles and celebrate! First, let’s thank the mother of the active age, the Older Americans Act (OAA). It was passed in 1965 because of Congressional concerns about community social services for senior citizens. This was the first of President […]
| By The Active Age
The 2018 election could lead to improvements in health care, the legalization of medical marijuana and other changes sought by seniors at the state and local level. Democratic Gov.-Elect Laura Kelly favors expanding Medicaid coverage to some 150,000 state residents. It’s estimated that about 20 percent are between the ages of 50 and 64, too […]
| By The Active Age
The active age won awards for general excellence and four other categories of work in the 2018 North American Mature Newspaper Publishers Association competition. Competing in Division C, for newspapers with circulations between 50,000 and 100,000, the active age also won for coverage of topical issues, personal essay, feature writing and its annual 55+ Resource […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
In the early 1930s, children suddenly began asking Santa for a new kind of Christmas gift: space toys, popularized by the first science fiction radio show and fueled by marketing gimmicks. Later, the real-life international space race added to the demand for toy rockets, ray guns, robots and more. A special “Toys of the Future” […]
| By Nancy Carver Singleton
Helen Collins of Halstead was volunteering at the Halstead Heritage Museum & Depot one afternoon when each of the three couples who visited wanted to meet “The Harvey Girl.” They were in luck. Collins was a Harvey Girl in the 1950s and has given about 40 presentations about the experience. “I love talking about the […]
| By Jim Laney
I seem to have a knack for riding on two wheels, with or without a road to follow. As a kid in the country I rode on dirt roads and trails through the pasture, built my own racetrack and jumped ditches. As a teen, my parents wouldn’t let me buy a motor scooter, so I rode […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Wichitans asked to help support new ship bearing city’s name A new Navy ship called the USS Wichita will soon be patrolling foreign seas, and a retired rear admiral from Derby is raising money in support of its sailors. “I like to tell people Mayor (Jeff) Longwell ‘voluntold’ me for this opportunity,” Jeffrey Penfield joked […]
| By Ted Blankenship
President Trump says his tariffs will punish the Chinese without hurting Americans. The Chinese-naturally-enacted retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural products, cars and industrial goods. Then they began talking about buying airplanes from the Europeans instead of the United States. These are actions you would expect from China. But I think they have come up with […]
| By Joe Stumpe
RoseAnn Kirkpatrick just wants to know one thing: What happened to Earl? I doubt I can help her find the answer, but here goes anyway: Kirkpatrick was reading through a stack of old Reader’s Digest magazines recently when she came across an article in the November 1991 issue entitled “Long Journey Home.” It was one of those […]
| By The Active Age
The Wichita Broadway Singers are calling themselves the “Off-Broadway Singers” for this year’s December Dreams concert. That’s because they’re opening with “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks, which has the longest run of any Off-Broadway show. Other dreamy tunes will include “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman, “When you Wish Upon a Star” from […]
| By The Active Age
The Wichita Art Museum hosts two free family-oriented events this month. From 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2, WAM’s annual Holiday Open House offers refreshments, live music, dance performances and a chance to visit with Santa Claus. Then for post-Christmas fun, WAM holds its Winter Art Mania from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 26, […]
| By The Active Age
Photos Courtesy of Dr. Joseph Myers Friends University is presenting a new, full-length production of The Nutcracker that “is not your grandma’s Nutcracker.” Andrea Vazquez-Aguirre, new director of the dance program, has choreographed the work to the Duke Ellington Orchestra’s classic 1960 recording of Billy Strayhorn’s Nutcracker Suite, along with selections from David Berger’s Harlem […]
October 26, 2018 | By Joe Stumpe
Photo by Joe Stumpe Northeast Senior Center in Wichita has run out of mats to hide carpet stains. A new library for $32 million. Up to $81 million for a minor league ballpark. Twenty-five thousand dollars to help outfit a U.S. Navy warship called the USS Wichita, which will patrol the high seas. The city […]
| By Jack Kellogg
Few buildings in Wichita provoke more curiosity than Campbell Castle, the 17-bedroom, feudal-style mansion overlooking the Little Arkansas River at 11th Street and North River Boulevard. As it turns out, builder Burton Harvey Campbell – also known as Col. “Barbecue” Campbell – was as fascinating as his home, a respected businessman and civic leader who […]
| By Amy Houston
When Lisa Shorter walked into a keyboard class for adult beginners last year, it took all her courage and patience. After all, she was the only student who’d be forced to play using only one hand. One year later, she isn’t comfortable playing a song in front of her classmates. She does it anyway. “I’m […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Red Hat Society members claim trophy on first try It took Sandra Whittemore five years to persuade her fellow Red Hatters to enter the Wichita Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff. Maybe next time they’ll listen. Members of the Red Hat Society chapter took home the Cecile Kellenbarger Team Spirit Trophy (named for the late biking trail […]
| By The Active Age
ANDOVER – Don’t be surprised if you spot some furry friends while checking out Andover’s newest biking and walking trail. Scaly ones, too. The four-mile extension of the Redbud Trail, from Prairie Creek Road to U.S. 400 near Santa Fe Road, runs through scenic Kansas countryside that animals seem to enjoy just as much as […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
With no single test, scan or exam for the disease, getting a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s can be a challenge, Caregivers and patients often have to become advocates if they suspect the disease. “Some people get lost in the shuffle,” said Jenna Smith, a Wichitan who is a care consultant for the 24/7 helpline of the […]