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Tag: Now That’s Rural

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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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dale Jones – TCT

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

How far is it from rural Kansas to New York? To Los Angeles? Atlanta? London? Those cities may be half a continent or half a globe away, but thanks to the advances of modern telecommunications, they are virtually within just the touch of a button. Today we’ll meet a rural telecommunications company which is leading the way in bridging those distances for its members.

Dale Jones is CEO of TCT.
Dale Jones is CEO of TCT.

Dale Jones is CEO of Tri-County Telephone, now known as TCT. Dale grew up in far western Kansas near Oakley. He studied telecommunications at the Northwest Area Vocational Technical School, got started in the telecom business and worked his way up through the ranks. In 1999, he became CEO at TCT, a member-owned telecommunications cooperative.

TCT, like many rural telephone companies, began as a group of farmers and rural residents who banded together to bring in telephone service. The original three counties of TCT are Dickinson, Morris, and Marion. TCT’s service area reaches over into Geary and Lyon counties as well. TCT was a founding company of Kansas Cellular and is one of the owners of Nex-Tech Wireless.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Jill Mason – Confetti & Cashmere

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to Los Angeles, for the VIP after-party for the Emmy Awards. It’s a big event, and lots of celebrities are showing up. Who do you suppose was a key planner for this event? Would you believe, a young woman from rural Kansas?

After a successful career in California, Jill Mason brought her event planning and style back to her native Kansas. She has opened Confetti & Cashmere in Manhattan.
After a successful career in California, Jill Mason brought her event planning and style back to her native Kansas. She has opened Confetti & Cashmere in Manhattan.

Jill Mason is the owner of Confetti & Cashmere Party Boutique in Manhattan, Kansas. Jill grew up on a farm in Dickinson County. As a high school student, she rode a bus 30 miles to Chapman, where she was active in FFA and other school and community activities.

Jill went on to K-State where she majored in hotel and restaurant management and minored in business administration. She also worked in foodservice for Chartwells and volunteered at Big Lakes Development Center. “I think these experiences helped me to become a better manager, to be more well-rounded and work with lots of different people,” Jill said.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: KANSAS! Magazine

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

What is the magazine of the year? In 2014, the publication that was selected as magazine of the year in its circulation class is a magazine which celebrates the people and places of the great state of Kansas. In addition to this award, we are also celebrating the fact that 2015 marked 70 years of the publication now known as KANSAS! Special thanks to writer Julie Tollefson whose article in KANSAS! Magazine shared the history of this beautiful publication.

The award-winning KANSAS! Magazine marked its 70th year in 2015, sharing news about the people and places of Kansas.
The award-winning KANSAS! Magazine marked its 70th year in 2015, sharing news about the people and places of Kansas.

Andrea Etzel is the editor of KANSAS! Magazine. Andrea is the latest in the series of about a dozen editors who have guided the publication throughout its seven decades.

The publication began rather modestly. In November 1945, the Kansas Industrial Development Commission (predecessor of the Kansas Department of Commerce) launched a little eight-page newsletter called To The Stars. It was a rather Plain Jane newsletter in black-and-white.

The inaugural issue stated:  “To The Stars is a new publication which we hope will be of help to Kansans, particularly to those interested in making Kansas the most outstanding state in the Middlewest. We want it to be informative. We will pass along all ideas and developments which have merit. We will, from time to time, have information that will be of benefit to every community in the state. We believe To The Stars will serve a real purpose in Kansas life.”

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Yvette and Monte Ysidro – Stearman Bar and Grill

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go out for lunch. There are lots of options. Some are sit-down restaurants. Some have drive-up windows. How about a fly-in restaurant? Today we’ll learn about a remarkable fly-in restaurant in rural Kansas where customers can literally fly or drive in for a meal.

Stearman Bar and Grill, located at Stearman Field in Benton, Kansas, is named for aviation pioneer Lloyd Stearman.
Stearman Bar and Grill, located at Stearman Field in Benton, Kansas, is named for aviation pioneer Lloyd Stearman.

In recent weeks we have learned about aviation pioneers such as Clyde Cessna, Walter and Olive Ann Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. Today we’ll visit a modern-day restaurant which bears Stearman’s name. Yvette Ysidro and her husband Monte are the owners of the Stearman Bar and Grill at Stearman Field, a private airport near Benton northeast of Wichita.

The original owners of this airport were private pilots Dwayne and Julie Clemens. They built a hangar here, including a place where people could drink coffee and get a sandwich out of the fridge. As it became more popular, it evolved into a café called Stearman Bar and Grill.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Lloyd Stearman

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

What aircraft was the most widely used model for training airplane pilots during World War II?  Would you believe, an airplane named for one of the early pioneers of the aviation industry who came from rural Kansas?

Lloyd Stearman, a native Kansan, designed the most widely used planes to train U.S. pilots during World War II.
Lloyd Stearman, a native Kansan, designed the most widely used planes to train U.S. pilots during World War II.

In recent weeks we’ve learned about Clyde Cessna and Walter Beech, two of the three men who founded an airplane business in Wichita in 1924. Today we’ll learn about the third of those three:  Lloyd Stearman, whose plane, the Stearman Kaydet, was the primary trainer for World War II pilots.

Lloyd Stearman was born in the rural Kiowa County town of Wellsford, Kansas in 1898.  Wellsford had been a thriving community but faded away through the decades until it legally disincorporated. Other than the southeast Kansas town of Treece, which disbanded itself due to pollution problems in 2012, Wellsford was the last Kansas town to eliminate its legally incorporated status which it did in 1975. As of the town’s last official census in 1970, Wellsford had an official population of 9 people. Now, that’s rural.

Lloyd Stearman was born at Wellsford and went to school in Harper. While in grade school, he saw his first airplane, piloted by Clyde Cessna.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Walter and Olive Ann Beech

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Cessna. Beechcraft. Stearman. These are some of the classic names of airplanes and aviation companies. Those names belong to men who were pioneers of the aviation industry. Today, we will learn about another of the industry’s best leaders. But this aviation business pioneer wasn’t a man – it was a woman.

Last week we learned about aviation industry leader Clyde Cessna. In 1925, Cessna and another man named Lloyd Stearman created an airplane company along with a young test pilot named Walter Beech.

Olive Ann Beech and her husband Walter Beech founded Beech Aircraft Company.
Olive Ann Beech and her husband Walter Beech founded Beech Aircraft Company.

Walter Beech came from a farm in Tennessee. He built a glider at the age of 14 and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War I. In 1921, he came to work for an airplane company in Wichita. Four years later he joined Lloyd Stearman and Cessna to form Travel Air Manufacturing Company. Here he met a woman named Olive Ann Mellor.

Olive Ann came from Waverly in eastern Kansas. She attended business school in Wichita and then was bookkeeper for a company in Augusta before becoming bookkeeper and then office manager for Travel Air Manufacturing. She and Walter Beech were married in 1930.

In the following year, Travel Air was purchased by the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Company.  Walter Beech became president of Curtiss-Wright, but he didn’t like the fact that those duties kept him in New York, away from the production of airplanes.

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