June 27, 2023 | By Ted Ayers
The Kansas African American Museum has achieved much in its current location, the historic former Calvary Baptist Church on North Water Street. The building sits in what once was the heart of Wichita’s black community — four blocks between Main and Waco where many early African American residents owned businesses, attended church and made their […]
May 30, 2023 | By Lynn Stephan
Since the day Wichita’s North High School opened in 1929, accolades for its distinctive design, particularly the Indian and pioneer sculptures, have gone to architect Glen Thomas and internationally-recognized fine artist Bruce Moore. A third name, that of Lawrence Byers, if mentioned, is typically incidental. Yet, as the draftsman and iconographer in Thomas’ office, Byers […]
April 12, 2023 | By Joe Stumpe
“The money is gone.” That’s in the statement issued by District Attorney Marc Bennett in announcing that two older Wichita residents have lost a total of nearly $175,000 to scammers. In the first case, a Wichita man in his late 70’s received a pop-up warning on his computer that his bank account had been hacked. […]
March 31, 2023 | By Diana Breit Wolfe
I have a story from my early childhood that keeps creeping back to me, and I re-live it in my mind from time to time. It’s about my grandma dying while she was babysitting me. But more about that later. Out of curiosity, I started asking others about their earliest childhood memories. Most of what […]
February 28, 2023 | By Ted Blankenship
I am one of the few Americans not concerned about the cost of gasoline because the eye doctor told me I should give up driving. What? Just because I can’t see the road? What can an old guy like me do when he needs a bolt or some nails? Send his wife to the store? […]
January 6, 2023 | By Dr. Kamalakar Surineni
According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, one-third of people over the age of 65 are taking at least five prescriptions. As we age, we may develop chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Often these chronic diseases are interconnected, meaning one could lead to another. For example, […]
December 28, 2022 | By Rose Conlon/KMUW
By the time Tammy Near made it inside her longtime boyfriend Miguel Ornelas’ room at a Wichita nursing home — after the pandemic forced them to visit through a window for much of his 16-month stay — she’d already harbored questions about the care he got there. It was still a shock to see him […]
December 1, 2022 | By Nancy Carver Singleton
NEWTON — Students at St. Mary Catholic School in Newton learn reading through the gentle, patient tutelage of a woman now in her 66th year of teaching. Three hours each day, Sister Rosemary Sieg teaches first, third and fourth graders at the same school she attended. “I want to help children improve and do better […]
| By The Active Age
Serving an area of 65 square miles, the folks at Goddard Public Library were looking for a way to better reach patrons. Thanks to a couple of grants and local sponsors, the Goddard Mobile Library (shown at right) is now doing just that. The mobile library is housed in a 30-foot, 2006 model RV that’s […]
November 29, 2022 | By The Active Age
The Active Age is giving away three pairs of tickets to Illuminations, the annual holiday light show at Botanica. To enter our drawing for the tickets, answer this question about Botanica:
November 1, 2022 | By The Active Age
By now, you’ve probably seen a plethora of polls and heard plenty about what’s wrong and which candidate is going to fix it. The Active Age conducted a different, very unscientific kind poll at last month’s AARP Kansas food truck/voting rally in Grandparents Park, asking participants what they were happy or grateful for.
October 1, 2022 | By The Active Age
The sixth annual “Live Well With Diabetes” event next month brings together people dealing with the disease along with doctors, nurses, nutritionists and pharmacists who help them care for it. Sponsored by Great Plaines Diabetes, the free Nov. 5 event runs from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Wichita State Metroplex, 5015 E. 29th […]
September 8, 2022 | By The Active Age
On Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, at 3 p.m. Sedgwick County and the City of Wichita will take part in an unprecedented test of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, according to a news release from the county. WEAs are part of the public alert structure that is used for emergency information to residents’ phones. Examples of WEA […]
August 1, 2022 | By Joe Stumpe
More mornings than not, Bill and Carrie Van Sickle can be found gliding along the Little Arkansas River in one or two kayaks, enjoying the exercise and scenery. They usually cover between four and seven miles, their oars and sleek craft barely rippling the mirror-like surface. “This river is basically a hidden gem,” Carrie said. […]
| By Joe Stumpe
If you own a painting by Ernest Aspinwall, Bob Bayer wants to talk. Aspinwall is hardly a household name, but he was something of a criminal celebrity in Wichita in the 1940s and ’50s. Charged with kidnapping a Wichita taxi driver in October 1940, Aspinwall escaped from the Sedgwick County Jail three months later and […]
| By The Active Age
Spending by Sedgwick County’s Department on Aging won’t keep up with the current level of inflation under a proposed budget for 2023. The department, which is the primary provider of senior-related services in Wichita and the rest of the county, would see its budget rise 3.2 percent to $13.95 million next year. Commissioners David Dennis […]
| By The Active Age
NORTH NEWTON — Growing up in western Kansas, Diane Sorensen’s first experience with chickens was at her grandparents’ house. While it was fun to gather the eggs, she said, “What I remember is how scary the rooster was.” Today, she not only raises chickens, she’s made one the title character of a children’s book — […]
| By The Active Age
You know that heart-tugging scene at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life” when the whole town shows up to save George Bailey from financial ruin? His wife, Mary, opens the door to one townsperson after another. Uncle Billy dumps a basket of cash on a living room table and says, “Isn’t it wonderful? . […]
| By Ted Blankenship
I am sitting in my office staring out the window at the field north of our house for inspiration. But all I see is a bunch of big, round bales of hay and Bel Aire’s water tower. Neither of these things is very funny. The tower is important, though, because it’s full of water and […]
July 1, 2022 | By The Active Age
Editor’s note: This month we’re running Dear Reader columns from two of our board members — one about the heartening response to our current plight, and the other about our continuing need. By Diana Breit Wolfe I am totally impressed. You like us — you really, really like us! I know that because after my […]
| By The Active Age
The 7th annual Farm to Fork event in Butler County celebrates agriculture in Kansas’ largest county with eight days of events. Here are highlights of the schedule with prices of individual events. A full festival pass good for all events and meals is available for $150. July 16 — Family “Agventure” Day, 8 a.m. to […]
| By Ted Blankenship
These days parents are deciding what books their kids can read in school. And, each parent has a different idea which books are dangerous for juvenile brains. So what about nursery rhymes that have been around for a long time and may have affected a lot of little brains? If we modify these nursery rhymes, […]
| By The Active Age
1. Alaska, Texas, California, _____________ 2. Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince William, __________. 3. Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, ____________. 4. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, ____________. 5. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, ______________. 6. Missouri, Mississippi, Yukon, ______________. 7. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, ____________. 8. Kingdom, Phylum, Class, ______________. 9. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, _______. 10. […]
May 2, 2022 | By Bob Rives
One hundred years ago this summer, Wichita celebrated the opening of a baseball park unlike any seen here before or since. Located at 12th and Mosley streets, Monrovian Park was built and named for Wichita’s entry in the Colored Western League. They were a black counterpart to Wichita’s Izzies, who played in the white class […]
| By The Active Age
Early on in the pandemic, three veteran Wichita musicians decided there was no need to sit home playing tunes alone. “We just decided we could probably socially distance in Doug’s spacious basement,” Dan Monnat said of Doug Webb’s home. Phil Snow rounds out the trio – called, appropriately, the House Band – which will have […]