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Tag: Now That’s Rural

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: National Festival of Breads

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

What better place is there than the Wheat State to host the National Festival of Breads?  Thanks to some visionary wheat farmers from years ago and a hard-working crew of volunteers and staff, a national festival which celebrates bread-baking is being held in Kansas.

June 17 is the 2017 final event for the National Festival of Breads, this year in Manhattan, Kansas.

Cindy Falk and Julene DeRouchey are co-directors of the National Festival of Breads.  Cindy is nutrition educator at the Kansas Wheat Commission and Julene is her assistant. Coincidentally, they are both Pottawatomie County farm girls who grew up presenting cooking demonstrations in 4-H. Julene grew up on a farm near Wamego and Cindy grew up on a farm south of Onaga, a rural community of 702 people. Now, that’s rural.

“The credit for the beginning of this should go to the Kansas Wheathearts, which was the women’s auxiliary of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers,” Cindy Falk said. In 1990, these women wanted to have a baking contest to promote wheat, the source of bread flour. Cindy, then a part-time staff person for the Kansas Wheat Commission, attended the initial planning meeting. The first year’s baking contest went so well that it became an ongoing event under the auspices of what is now Kansas Wheat. Cindy has been involved ever since.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Gary and Glennys Doane – Downs Community Garden

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

How does your garden grow? Today we’ll learn about a community garden in a rural Kansas community which has grown into more than a resource for produce. It has become a connector for the community.

Gary and Glennys Doane live west of Downs in Osborne County. Gary farms and Glennys is a longtime volunteer in the schools. They are involved with this innovative effort on the community garden.

For three seasons, a small garden had been grown on a volunteer’s lot where vegetables were produced which went to a local food bank. Others in the community became interested in the potential of the garden, so a group of local citizens got involved.

Gary and Glennys Doane joined others in a strategic approach to enhancing the community garden. They formed a committee which adopted the following mission statement: “The Downs Community Garden exists to provide a nutritious food source, an opportunity for a healthy lifestyle, and a path for learning from each other in a setting available to the entire community.”

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Russell Disberger – Aspen Business Group

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to an amusement park in Florida. As the ride begins, some scary music begins to play. Who do you suppose helped create that musical track? It was a business consultant who’s worked on music licensing and other

Russell Disberger

elements of management. But he’s not in Florida. He is now half a continent away in Kansas.

Russell Disberger is the founder and senior partner of management consulting firm Aspen Business Group. Russell has deep roots in Kansas, where his ancestors homesteaded near Council Grove. Russ’s dad taught agriculture at Hutchinson Community College. Russell was the seventh of nine children.

With such a large family, the kids learned to work. The boys ran the family’s custom cutting crew in the summer, traveling from Texas to Montana harvesting wheat. “We were up at dawn and worked until the wheat was too damp to cut,” Russell said. “We learned the importance of hard work and taking care of our customer.”

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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.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Greg Buser – KNZA FM

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Many signals.” That describes today’s radio airwaves which have multiple sources and stations. Today we’ll meet a radio industry leader who has enhanced his stations’ service to the region and earned the Boy Scout honor camping society nickname, Many Signals.

Greg Buser is co-owner of KNZA FM radio in Hiawatha and other stations serving northeast Kansas, western Missouri, and southeast Nebraska. The Kansas stations are sometimes called Kanzaland radio from the name of the Native American Indian tribe, the Kansa Indians.

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