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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Susie Haver – Cloud County Convention and Tourism

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Where is the longest sculpted brick mural in the United States? Would you believe, in Cloud County, Kansas? Today we’ll learn about this remarkable rural tourism attraction.

The longest sculpted brick mural in the U.S. is in Concordia, Kansas.
The longest sculpted brick mural in the U.S. is in Concordia, Kansas.

Last week we learned about Cloud Ceramics, a brick manufacturer in Concordia. Not only does this company produce bricks for construction across the nation, it also provided bricks for an amazing artistic mural which depicts landmarks in the company’s home county.

Susie Haver is director of Cloud County Convention and Tourism. She grew up on a wheat farm west of Concordia where she lives today. “It’s a beautiful setting,” Susie said. “I love it there.”  She went to Cloud County Community College and then K-State. She and her husband lived in Missouri for a time before she came back to Cloud County.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Mike Kaiser – Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Here we see a beautiful new brick building under construction. Where do you suppose those bricks came from? Would you believe, they came from a plant in rural Kansas?

Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile are both based in rural Kansas communities.
Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile are both based in rural Kansas communities.

Mike Kaiser told me about Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile, two remarkable brick companies located in Kansas. They serve as the source for the bricks at Duke University and many other places across the nation.

Cloud Ceramics in Concordia opened its plant way back in 1947. In 1944, a Concordia businessman named Charles Cook had learned of some outcroppings of clay in a road ditch southeast of town. He did further testing with the state geological survey and found there was a large deposit of Dakota fire clay that was suitable for the manufacturing of quality buff colored building brick. He organized a business to manufacture those bricks, and Cloud Ceramics was born. It was named for Cloud County, the location of the plant.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Gary LaGrange – Soldier Agricultural Vocational Education

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Agricultural Appropriations is calling the hearing to order in Washington, D.C.  Today this committee is learning about an innovative project which will help veterans and wounded warriors transition into healing careers in agriculture. A proposed location for this national model facility is in rural Kansas.

Military veterans participating in the new SAVE program take tours of agricultural operations as part of their training.
Military veterans participating in the new SAVE program take tours of agricultural operations as part of their training.

Gary LaGrange is president of Soldier Agricultural Vocational Education or SAVE for short. As a retired garrison commander at Fort Riley, Gary knows first-hand about the needs of soldiers and veterans.

Gary grew up on a farm in Iowa. He joined the Army, served in Viet Nam and worked his way up through the ranks. After multiple tours overseas, his final post before retiring was at Fort Riley.  He found that he enjoyed beekeeping as a hobby, and he observed that soldiers who helped him seemed to benefit from the experience.

Gary’s daughter Shari is a clinical psychologist specializing in post traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries of wounded warriors. In 2012, she recommended that a training farm for veterans and transitioning soldiers would be of great value to them. Gary started to explore the idea, including therapy and clinical support.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Hazel Zimmerman – Ag Heritage Park

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Heritage.” It’s defined as “the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc. that are part of the history of a group or nation.” Today we’ll learn about a farm family which is celebrating the history of agriculture by displaying farm equipment that has been used through the decades.

Hazel and Everett Zimmerman opened the Ag Heritage Park near Alta Vista, Kansas in 1999.
Hazel and Everett Zimmerman opened the Ag Heritage Park near Alta Vista, Kansas in 1999.

Hazel Zimmerman is co-founder of Ag Heritage Park which displays generations of farm equipment.

Hazel grew up on a farm near Alta Vista. She met and married Everett who grew up on a nearby farm. They farmed together and raised three children: Connie, Calvin, and Kirby. Calvin and Kirby farm nearby, and Connie lives near Olsburg.

Everett semi-retired in 1995. At farm auctions, he noticed that some of the oldest equipment was being sold for junk. He saw historic horse-drawn equipment, for example, which was being sold simply for salvage.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Mark Galloway – Blacksmith Coffee

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Bali. Brazil. Guatemala. Himalayan highlands. Kenya. Antigua. What do these diverse regions of the world have in common? The answer is, they all serve as a source of coffee for a remarkable coffee roasting business located in rural Kansas.

Mark Galloway opened the Blacksmith Coffee Roastery in Lindsborg, Kansas in 2008.
Mark Galloway opened the Blacksmith Coffee Roastery in Lindsborg, Kansas in 2008.

Last week we learned about The Old Grind, a coffee shop located in Lindsborg. In the coming months, The Old Grind will be joining with an amazing coffee roastery which is also located in Lindsborg and is named Blacksmith Coffee Roastery.

Mark Galloway is the founder of Blacksmith Coffee Roastery. Mark grew up in Colorado. His father loved to drink coffee. “I learned how to roast coffee and even worked for Starbucks for a while,” Mark said.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Molli Esping – The Old Grind – Part 1

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Well, it’s back to the old grind.” That might sound like something we say reluctantly on Monday morning, but in this case, going to The Old Grind is a wonderful thing. The Old Grind is the name of a marvelous coffee shop, and it is located in a rural Kansas community that has been recognized as one of the best small towns in the entire nation.

lindsborgdalahorseMolli Esping is the owner and manager of The Old Grind coffee shop in Lindsborg, Kansas. The shop is located downtown in the Swedish community of Lindsborg.

Lindsborg is nicknamed Little Sweden because of its rich Swedish heritage which it celebrates in various ways. The community was settled in 1869 by a group of Swedish immigrants led by Pastor Olof Olsson. In 1890, Bethany College was established here.

Lindsborg is decorated with traditional Swedish dala horses. The downtown resembles a Swedish village and features lots of related shops and boutiques. Bethany College hosts an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah on Easter Sunday. Every other year the community celebrates Svensk Hyllningsfest, a festival designed to puzzle the spell check on any computer – I mean, to celebrate the town’s Swedish heritage.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Michael Moore and Dolly Anderson

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to the Norwegian Consulate in Houston, Texas where a special ceremony is being held to recognize a royal award recipient. His Majesty King Harald of Norway has awarded the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit: Knight, to a man named Michael Moore. Michael has played a key role in developing a market response to climate change and carbon sequestration, and he comes from rural Kansas.

Michael Moore is the person who received this award. His mother Dolly shared this remarkable story.

Dolly and her previous husband had two children, son Michael and daughter Kelly. In 1969, Dolly married Dusty Anderson and moved the family to the rural community of Skiddy in Morris County. Dolly Anderson became a realtor and continues to own and manage G & A Real Estate in Manhattan. Dolly still lives on this land that was homesteaded by Dusty’s great-great-grandfather in 1873.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Marieta Hauser – Leader

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Orlando, Florida. We are at the national meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation, where four candidates are vying to become president of this national organization. It is a highly contested election, and the four candidates are speaking at a candidate’s forum. Would you believe, the person who is moderating this forum is a woman from rural Kansas?

Marieta Hauser
Marieta Hauser

Marieta Hauser is the woman who moderated this candidate forum for the national Farm Bureau organization. She has risen through the ranks to be a key leader in agriculture.

Marieta was born and raised in Grant County in southwest Kansas. Grant County is located 30 miles from Oklahoma to the south and borders the mountain time zone on the west. Marieta’s ancestors were in ranching and then got into the grain elevator business in Grant County.

Marieta met Tom Hauser in school and ultimately married him. They moved to Tom’s farm where today they raise dryland crops of wheat and milo. Tom and Marieta had three sons and a daughter. After the kids were older, Marieta took the job as director of the Grant County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, where she serves today.

Marieta enjoys promoting her home county. “Our historic Adobe Museum is outstanding, and Wagon Bed Springs has rich history from its location along the Santa Fe Trail,” Marieta said.  “Mountain man Jedediah Smith is said to have died here in an Indian battle.”

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Randy Burns – ARRO Head

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Have you ever looked for arrowheads in a field? Today in Kansas Profile, we’ll learn about a different kind of arrowhead, but it is still in a field – in fact, it’s working very effectively in various farm fields.

Last week we learned about Alan VanNahmen who created the Farm Buddy company to help farmers commercialize their equipment innovations. One of his current projects, called the ARRO Head Harvesting System, involves farmers in southwest Kansas.

Randy Burns is field operations manager for the ARRO Head Harvesting System. He has a compelling life story to tell. Randy grew up at the rural community of Cimarron, population 2,236 people. Now, that’s rural.

Randy married his high school sweetheart who became a nurse. He became a custom cutter during harvest time. Randy and his wife had a son and two daughters, one of whom married a leading local farmer named Kyle Kopper.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Alan VanNahmen – Farm Buddy

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Who knows more about combines than anybody in the country? Some agribusiness companies would tell you that the answer to that question is Alan VanNahmen from rural Kansas. He is now working with farmers and others to develop even better combines and other harvesting systems for the future.

Alan VanNahmen
Alan VanNahmen

Alan VanNahmen comes from the rural community of Spearville in southwest Kansas. Spearville has a population of 817 people. Now, that’s rural.

Alan grew up in a farming family with three brothers and four sisters. That meant everybody had to pitch in on the farm. “As a kid, I drove lots of combines,” Alan said. They tried different types of equipment. It also meant that, when something broke, they fixed it rather than paying a repairman.

Some people would call that adversity. “Adversity created opportunity,” Alan said. It gave him first-hand knowledge of how combines work.

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