Kansas State University

search

Kansas Profile

Tag: Kansas

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Earl Roemer – Nu Life Market

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Food is necessary for life. For those with food allergies, the right kind of food is vital.  When someone with gluten intolerance or another food allergy finds a tasty food which is healthy for them, it can be like a new lease on life. Today we’ll meet a Kansas entrepreneur whose company is helping supply those needs with a Farm to Family food safety program.

Earl Roemer

Earl Roemer is founder and president of Nu Life Market in Scott City. Nu Life Market business development manager Rachel Klataske shared his story with me.

Earl’s family has farmed in the High Plains of Kansas for four generations. As do many western Kansas farmers, his family grew grain sorghum – also called milo – as a feed grain crop for livestock.

Earl became intrigued by grain sorghum’s potential as a human food source. “Earl is a scientist by training and a farmer by background,” Rachel said.

He started researching the potential use of grain sorghum as a human food crop.  According to one account, the early grain sorghum products “tasted like cardboard and the texture was like sand.” Now they are much improved. K-State food science professor Dr. Fadi Aramouni helped with research which significantly improved the quality and appeal of the product. K-State researchers even developed an award-winning recipe based on sorghum flour.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Earl Roemer – Nu Life Market” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Steve and Jane Fry – Elk Falls Pottery

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to the Pentagon. Here on a desk is a personalized mug from a pottery studio halfway across the country in rural Kansas. It’s the classic type of stoneware pottery that has been made for centuries.

Steve Fry

Steve and Jane Fry are owners of Elk Falls Pottery, the source of this personalized mug.  Jane grew up near Hesston and Steve came from Great Bend in Barton County. As a teenager, Steve and his friends rode motorcycles in a nearby area they called the clay pits, where a local brick company had mined for clay.

Steve was always interested in art. At Hesston College he took a sculpture class and then was introduced to pottery. The professor took the students on a field trip to a high quality clay deposit in Barton County.

The professor taught them the art of making pottery. “I fell in love with clay and the potter’s wheel,” Steve said. He also met Jane and fell in love with her. They were married after college Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Steve and Jane Fry – Elk Falls Pottery” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Wayne Horlacher – Horlacher Jewelers

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to Alaska, where a gentleman is presenting his wife with a gorgeous one-carat diamond ring. Where do you suppose that ring came from? Would you believe, way down in rural Kansas?

Millie and Wayne Horlacher

Wayne Horlacher is the retired owner of Horlacher Jewelers in Colby, Kansas. His son Jeff, the current owner, sold this beautiful ring to a friend in Alaska. Wayne and his wife Millie, an author, have served their community for years.

Wayne’s father’s family operated the Colby Mill and Elevator where they produced Pride of the Plains flour until the hard times of the 1920s. Wayne’s father then went to watchmaking school in St. Louis and came back to Colby where he worked for a local jeweler and then bought his business. In 1927, Wayne’s father opened Horlacher Jewelers.

“He made it through the years of the Depression when people didn’t have any money.  Sometimes he would take chickens or beef as payment,” Wayne said. “When I was a kid, he showed me how to clean clocks at his shop.” Wayne went to K-State where he graduated in business administration with minors in accounting and economics. He also played baritone in the marching band, where he met a cute girl who also played baritone. Millie came from a farm in northeast Kansas.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Wayne Horlacher – Horlacher Jewelers” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Ken Spurgeon – Home on the Range

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter
Ken Spurgeon

Home on the Range. That’s the state song of Kansas, but many people may not know the fascinating back story of the disputed authorship of this wonderful song. Now a Kansas film company is making the true story come alive on screen.

Ken Spurgeon is founder and executive director of Lone Chimney Films, the company which is producing a docudrama called Home on the Range. Ken is from Wichita originally. He got a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Wichita State and became a teacher. He now teaches history at Northfield School of the Liberal Arts and at Friends University.

Ken became a Civil War reenactor, wearing period costumes and reenacting the battles of the Civil War. Videographers wanted footage of these battles, and Ken became interested in the filming process.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Ken Spurgeon – Home on the Range” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Janis Whitham and Clay Whitham – Kentucky Derby

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

It’s the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. As the beautiful thoroughbreds race down the track in the historic run for the roses, owners and fans cheer from the stands. In 2017, one of those owners was from rural Kansas. In fact, her Derby horse bears the name of a rural Kansas town.

Janis Whitham (in blue) and family at the races.

Janis Whitham is the owner of this wonderful Kentucky Derby horse. Janis’s son Clay Whitham told us this remarkable story.

Janis grew up at Scott City. She met and married Frank Whitham who worked in farming, cattle feeding, and banking. The Whithams moved to Leoti and had five children.

In 1993, Frank Whitham was tragically killed in a private plane crash in western Kansas.  Janis continued the family’s interest in horses.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Janis Whitham and Clay Whitham – Kentucky Derby” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Kejr Family – Kansas Beach and Events

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Let’s go to the beach!” No, you won’t need sunscreen and a towel. This is not an ocean beach, but it is a wonderful place to relax. It can host a wedding or other special event in a beautiful, rustic setting.

The Kejr family near Salina has farmed in Kansas for more than a century. Joe and Geena Kejr, descendants of the original farmers, live on the family farm west of Salina.  Their daughter Michelle is marketing director for their newest enterprise, called Kansas Beach Hospitality and Events.

“I lived there my entire life, surrounded by these beautiful farm fields,” Michelle Kejr said.  Now her grandfather, father, uncle, brother and cousin are farming together.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Kejr Family – Kansas Beach and Events” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Kristina Kaufman – Blythe Family Fitness

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Being fit: That should be a goal for everyone. Health and physical fitness should be important to every individual. Today we’ll learn about a family fitness center which is working hard to involve people of all ages and to make their rural community even more healthy and physically fit.

Kristina Kaufman of Blythe Family Fitness in Pratt.

Kristina Kaufman is executive director of Blythe Family Fitness in Pratt. She studied at McPherson College and met her husband through friends. He was a competitive bodybuilder and she gained interest in fitness and health through him. She later earned degrees in nutrition and business.

In 1996, Kristina and her husband opened a fitness center in Kingman. In 2004, they opened a second fitness center in downtown Pratt, upstairs from the Sears store, with approximately 15,000 square feet of space. Ultimately, Kristina and her husband were recruited to combine their business with the Blythe Family Fitness center as it began, and to manage and operate it as they do today.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Kristina Kaufman – Blythe Family Fitness” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Paul Friedrichs – United Mosquito and Fly Control

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Bangkok, Thailand. A German businessman is building a home and wants mosquito control. He is buying an insect control system from an entrepreneur halfway around the globe.

Paul Friedrichs owns United Mosquito and Fly Control.

Paul Friedrichs is the owner of United Mosquito and Fly Control in Mission, Kansas. He is the entrepreneur who took his system to Bangkok.

Paul credits much of his success to his rural upbringing. He grew up on a dairy farm near the unincorporated community of Bremen, Kansas, with a population of perhaps 60 people. Now, that’s rural.

“We grew up among German Lutheran dairy farmers,” Paul said. “It was a very close-knit community. It’s the kind of place where everybody has known everybody for seven generations and everybody has the hymnal memorized.”

Paul’s family, friends and neighbors provided a strong support system for him and his brother and two sisters. During his first eight years of schooling, he was in a class of five at the local Lutheran country grade school. He went on to Marysville High School and then K-State where he studied agricultural economics. Paul credits 4-H, FFA, and the K-State College of Agriculture for providing him tremendous opportunities.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Paul Friedrichs – United Mosquito and Fly Control” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Janet Carman – Cheyenne County Historical Society

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Connecting the dots.” That was a fun game to play when I was a kid.  Today we’ll learn about an initiative in northwest Kansas which used the term “connect the dots” to describe its purpose in preserving the unique family histories in the county. It is bringing together the family stories of people from all ages and all walks of life.

Janet Carman is a volunteer with the Cheyenne County Historical Society and Cheyenne County Museum.  The museum is located in St. Francis, the county seat of Cheyenne County.

Janet has deep roots in Cheyenne County, which is in the very northwest corner of Kansas. Her great-grandfather came west and homesteaded here. His rural location was south of Wheeler, which today is an unincorporated town with a population of perhaps 20 people. Now, that’s rural.

Janet grew up in Cheyenne County and went to K-State where she studied education.  She met her husband and they eventually moved to Dallas where they spent 36 years and Janet taught for 22. A few years ago, they had the opportunity to buy her great-grandfather’s house. They bought the house, moved back, and restored it. “It was a labor of love,” Janet said.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Janet Carman – Cheyenne County Historical Society” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Omar Knedlik – ICEE

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

 

When the weather is hot outside, what is as refreshing as a cold, half-frozen, flavorful drink? Those are especially good when they are icy. Today we’ll learn about a company that was so excited about the potential of such drinks that they used the name ICEE. Now generations have enjoyed these tasty, refreshing drinks, but they may not know that the founder came from rural Kansas.

Omar and Doris Knedlik

Omar Knedlik is the founder of what became the ICEE company. Here is his story.  According to the Kansapedia website of the Kansas State Historical Society, Omar Knedlik was born in Barnes, Kansas in 1916 and grew up on a nearby farm. Barnes is located in Washington County southwest of Marysville.

Omar served in World War II and returned to Kansas. He used his military pay to purchase an ice cream shop. He tried various other business ventures such as hotels and in the late 1950s, bought a Dairy Queen franchise in Coffeyville.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Omar Knedlik – ICEE” →