Kansas State University

search

Kansas Profile

Tag: Munden

Dixie Pachta, Rose Creek Suds

Posted on by Pat Melgares
Woman holding soap and other products
Dixie Pachta

“Mommy, it doesn’t sting!”

That statement from a young woman’s three-year old daughter helped launch a business of producing handmade soaps and other skin care products in rural Kansas.

Dixie Pachta is founder and owner of Rose Creek Suds. Her products not only avoid the allergic reactions suffered by her daughter, they provide the wonderful scents and luxurious lather that her customers enjoy. She also supports worthy local causes.

Pachta grew up in the Linn and Washington area. She met and married Andrew who is from Linn. They attended Kansas State University where Dixie studied accounting and Andrew studied animal sciences.

After graduation, they moved to Andrew’s grandparents’ farm near the rural community of Munden, population 96 people. Now, that’s rural. For 10 years, Dixie Pachta worked in tax preparation and now does internal audits for a bank in Belleville.

At Christmas time in 2020, Andrew bought a bar of soap that he thought sounded appealing. “We were disappointed in it,” Dixie said. She remembered her grandmother had made soap at home, so Dixie decided to see if she could make a better soap herself.

“Both of our grandmothers made lard soap for laundry purposes,” Dixie said. “We still have chunks of her laundry soap.” Dixie also knew that several members of her family had issues with sensitive skin. Continue reading “Dixie Pachta, Rose Creek Suds” →

Pawnee Rock Easter Pageant

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Let’s take a trip back in time. How far?  Let’s say, a couple of thousand years. That’s the premise of a play that one rural Kansas community performs live on Easter Sunday, using a remarkable stone outcropping as a natural stage.

Pawnee Rock with three crosses on top
Pawnee Rock Easter Pageant

Dale and Berny Unruh and Roy and Tricia Prescott are co-organizers of the working committee that produces this play as the Pawnee Rock Easter Pageant. Dale is a native of the area who taught agriculture before farming. While at K-State, he met his wife Berny, who became an extension agent. Berny is originally from the rural community of Munden, population 100 people. Now, that’s rural.

Tricia grew up at Pawnee Rock. She went to Fort Hays State, married Roy, and is a teacher. Both the Unruhs and the Prescotts live near Pawnee Rock today.

The town of Pawnee Rock is named for the actual rock, a remarkable sandstone outcropping that stands 50 feet above the surrounding plains. For centuries it has been a landmark for natives and travelers across the prairie.

In 1932, an east-coast author wrote an Easter-themed play called The Way of the Cross.  It tells the story of a modern-day person who goes back in time and is observing the events in the city of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’s crucifixion. According to the Bible, the crucifixion took place on a hill near Jerusalem.

In 1936, the ministerial alliance at Pawnee Rock decided to perform this play outside as a sunrise Easter pageant, using the rock itself as the natural backdrop. Three crosses were temporarily placed atop the rock. A choir provided accompaniment. It worked so well that, until 1972, the pageant was performed annually (except for World War II) on Easter Sunday. Continue reading “Pawnee Rock Easter Pageant” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Loren Kisby – Prohoe

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to California, where firefighters are battling a wildfire with high quality hand tools produced by a company halfway across the nation in rural Kansas. These hand tools are also serving gardeners, growers and others around the nation and beyond.

Loren Kisby is owner and founder of Prohoe, the company which produced these remarkable tools. Loren grew up at Clifton and went to K-State. He became a teacher, served in the Army, and worked in business before farming. He also met and married Judy through their sisters who went on a church trip together.

The Rogue, a multifunctional tool, is manufactured by Prohoe in Munden, Kansas.
The Rogue, a multifunctional tool, is manufactured by Prohoe in Munden, Kansas.

Loren and Judy moved to a farm near Munden in Republic County and had two children. As their family grew, their farmhouse needed to expand also. Loren hand-dug a trench for an addition to their house – but then it rained, and the trench caved in.

Loren looked at the muddy mess and realized he needed a special tool to clean out the mud. He welded a chunk of broken disk blade onto a metal handle to make the tool. It worked great.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Loren Kisby – Prohoe” →