May 1, 2025 | By Joe Stumpe
Arland Wallace’s first stint at Wichita State didn’t go well. He enrolled in 1970 and bailed after one semester. “I quickly realized I was in over my head,” he said. Fifty-five years later, he’s about to graduate. Wallace is finishing his degree despite undergoing surgery for a cancerous brain tumor last fall, and he plans […]
| By The Active Age
GODDARD — Carolyn Weeks made the first move in the romance that set the Goddard Senior Center buzzing. She suggested that she and Gary Herrman go someplace where they could talk alone. Then again, it was Gary who started carrying Carolyn’s tray and walking her to her car after lunch. The two octogenarians wed last […]
| By The Active Age
As a freshman at the University of Kansas, Doug Stark was elected social chairman of his fraternity, then re-elected twice more. “Everybody who knows me knows I love to entertain,” he said. “I put on really good parties.” That hasn’t changed, although Stark now leads a group called the Grumpy Old Men, who raise money […]
| By Joe Norris
People who live in more wooded parts of the nation enjoy making jokes about our tree-challenged prairie landscape. But because Kansas has fewer trees, a higher percentage of them have interesting stories. The small town of Council Grove has more than its share of historic trees, so my wife and I took a day trip […]
| By The Active Age
If you’ve lived in Wichita for any length of time, you’ve probably seen artist Greg Johnson’s work without realizing it. He created the pink car that appears to have flown into the side of the Auto Body Complex building, easily visible from I-135. Johnson, who’s owned the body shop for 46 years, now spends more […]
| By The Active Age
The Active Age won several awards in the 2025 Kansas Press Association contest, including first and second place in the column writing category for publications in the largest circulation category. Ted Blankenship won first place in column writing for his “It’s Not Serious” column, while Diana Breit Wolfe won second place for her “Dear Reader” […]
| By Diana Breit Wolfe
I had lunch with two dear friends at Jason’s Deli recently. For some reason, our conversation turned to real estate and housing back in the day. My friend Susie married in 1958 at age 16, and my friend Joann married in 1961 at age 18. Their first homes were rentals, either an apartment or a […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Anything can go viral these days. Take cottage cheese. Often associated with dieting and salad bars, cottage cheese was rediscovered a couple years ago by internet influencers who claimed it could be used for all sorts of fabulous things. Gluten-free pizza crust? There’s a cottage cheese recipe for it. Ice cream and Alfredo sauce? Ditto. […]
| By The Active Age
Quilt artist to show work ANDOVER — Quilt artist Dottie Evans will be featured artist at Midtown Gallery in Hutchinson through the end of May. A mix of her art quilts, modern quilts and traditional quilts ranging in size from wall hangings to bed-size quilts are on display. Most are for sale. Evans, the owner […]
| By Ted Ayres
“The Shadow of War” by Jeff Shaara (St. Martin’s Press, 2024, 349 pages, $30.00) Jeff Shaara is one of the most prolific authors of our times, with 15 New York Times bestselling novels to his credit. They include “To Wake The Giant,” “The Eagle’s Claw” and “The Old Lion.” He also wrote “Gods And Generals” […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
Use the clues below to identify popular songs featuring animals, real and imaginary. The answers appear on page 29. 1. Tom Jones had a huge hit in 1965 with what feline song used in a Peter Sellers’ movie by the same name? 2. What popular nursery rhyme and fingerplay song describes the adventures of an […]
| By Jim Miller
Navigating Social Security as It Downsizes How Seniors Can Save on Auto Insurance Where Solo Agers Can Find Help How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft Scams How to Choose a Volunteer Vacation Navigating Social Security as It Downsizes Dear Savvy Senior, Can you offer any tips to help seniors save on their auto insurance? […]
| By Jennifer Lasley
Each year, the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging (CPAAA) celebrates Older Americans Month in May. Led by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), this year’s theme, “Flip the Script on Aging,” encourages a transformation in how individuals perceive, talk about and approach aging. “When I think of ‘flipping the script,’ I consider my own […]
| By Angie King
Caring for a cherished person is an act of love —one that many people willingly take on for aging parents, disabled partners, or chronically ill family members. However, behind this selfless act is a serious challenge, caregiver strain. This term refers to the mental, physical and emotional exhaustion that can result from caring for someone with […]
| By The Active Age
Four musicians with a combined 162 years of service to the Wichita Symphony were recognized during the final concert of the symphony’s 80th season last month. Each received an engraved plaque and lifetime season tickets to the symphony, which is the largest professional symphony in the state. Violinist Chelley Graves (37 years), tubist Phillip Black […]
| By The Active Age
Donate at least $50 to The Active Age, and you could win a family membership to Botanica. The Active Age holds a drawing for a family membership each month from among people on our Honor Roll list of donors. This month’s winner is Mary Mayer. Donations may be made by calling 316-942-5385; through our website, […]
| By The Active Age
Three Wichitans are among the 2025 inductees into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Bob Lutz is a former longtime Wichita Eagle sports columnist and reporter who established the League 42 urban youth baseball organization in Wichita. Kendric Maple won a state wrestling title at Wichita Heights High School before becoming a three-time All-American at […]
March 31, 2025 | By Margaret Britton-Mehlisch
Appeals of Sedgwick County’s new property appraisals were running almost double the volume of previous years through mid-March. County Appraiser Mark Clark isn’t surprised. About 87% of residential property owners and 73% of commercial property owners saw an increase in their property valuations for 2025. Homes experienced an average increase of 9%, and commercial property […]
| By Joe Norris
CONCORDIA — At one time, there were 4,000 Germans housed in a P.O.W. camp here. Only one nearly escaped. We’re at the WWII German P.O.W. Camp Museum just north of Concordia. It’s a rural area of well-tended farm fields, looking much as it did in January 1943 when the U.S. Government bought the land from […]
| By Jim Mason
If you were thinking about getting married, would you consider having your ceremony broadcast on the radio nationwide? And held on a grandly decorated stage in the Miller Theater or Central Riverside Park with thousands in attendance? Between 1930 and 1941, that was an option for one lucky couple here in Wichita. It was called […]
| By The Active Age
The new Wichita State University Retiree Association is up and running and looking for more former WSU employees interested in joining. There’s no charge, and retired faculty and staff from any department of the university are welcome. “The basic purpose of the retiree association is to keep people connected to the university and be responsive […]
| By Celeste Racette
A municipal friendship 80 years in the making gets renewed this month when visitors from Orleans, France, arrive for an event-packed visit. The relationship goes back to August 1944, when the Kansas Regiment of the 137th Infantry 35th Division helped liberate Orleans from Nazi occupation. Located about 80 miles southwest of Paris, Orleans had been […]
| By Dee Starkey
From its first downbeat in 1972, the Wichita Jazz Festival has been about two things: bringing jazz greats to Wichita and offering educational outreach to area school jazz programs. The combination seems to have worked. The festival is now one of the nation’s oldest, trailing only a few, such as the Newport Jazz Festival and […]
| By The Active Age
Library book sale Get a bag of books for a fiver at the Friends of the Wichita Library sale Saturday, April 5. The sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Advancing Learning Library, 711 W. Second St. Book lovers can either buy a FWPL cloth tote bag and fill it […]
| By The Active Age
EL DORADO — Butler County residents can learn about services and opportunities for older residents and caregivers — and have plenty of fun — at the annual Butler County Spring Fling Senior Resource Fair on Wednesday, April 30. Admission is free. The fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Civic […]