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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Crawford County Fried Chicken

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Some call it a major rivalry in Kansas. It was even mentioned by ESPNU announcers during a college football broadcast in fall 2018. But this wasn’t K-State versus KU. It was about fried chicken. These announcers were talking about the preferences of one football player who pointed out that there are lots of places to get good fried chicken in southeast Kansas, but

Crawford County, Kansas has some of the best fried chicken in the region. Restaurants like Chicken Mary’s and Chicken Annie’s helped put them on the map.

people’s restaurant choices can get competitive. Some people like a restaurant called Chicken Annie’s. Other people prefer a restaurant called Chicken Mary’s. Whatever the preference, it all means that there’s great fried chicken in southeast Kansas.

The southeast region of Kansas, and particularly Crawford County, has long been known as a great place for fried chicken. Historic restaurants have helped establish this tradition.

According to the Kansas Guidebook 2 for explorers, written by Marci Penner and WenDee Rowe of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, the tradition goes back to 1933. In that year, a coal miner named Charley Pichler suffered a disabling accident in Yale Mine No. 13 near Pittsburg, Kansas. His wife Annie needed a way to support the family, so she started selling fried chicken dinners out of their home.  In addition to mouth-watering fried chicken, she offered German potato salad, German coleslaw, a strip of green pepper, and a slice of tomato.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Jerry Hall – Extension Districts

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

How do institutions serving rural America deal with change? In the face of changing demands and demographics, how do those institutions respond? Some will choose to do nothing, to hunker down and try to ride out the status quo. Others faced with declining resources will decide they must close offices and mandate consolidation. But perhaps there is a third way: To encourage voluntary collaboration while improving program quality. Today in Kansas Profile, we’ll learn about a rural Kansas leader who has firsthand experience in facing those alternatives.

Wildcat Extension DistrictJerry Hall is an agribusinessman and extension volunteer in southeast Kansas. He was raised near the rural community of Elk City, population 311 people. Now, that’s rural.

Jerry was active in 4-H and FFA. After receiving an ag scholarship, he went to Coffeyville Community College and on to K-State where he met his wife Stephanie. He got a hog feeding job in southeast Kansas and now manages a feed mill for Springer Family Foods in Montgomery County.

Stephanie and Jerry have a daughter named Jerica. Jerica was also active in 4-H, serving as club president, county council president, and on a national livestock skill-a-thon team among many other activities. “The best part (for her) was mentoring other kids,” Jerry said. “In her last year at the state fair, a lamb which she had sold to another family ranked higher than she did in the class, but she was happy for the other kid.”

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