Kansas symbols featured:
• Barred tiger salamander — state amphibian
• Buffalo — state mammal
• Capitol with Ad Astra sculpture
• Cottonwood — state tree
• Great Seal of the State of Kansas — state seal
• Harney silt loam — state soil
• “Home on the Range” and “Here‘s Kansas” — state song and state march
• Honeybee — state insect
• Jayhawk
• Ornate box turtle — state reptile
• Sunflower — state flower
• Western meadowlark — state bird
• Wheat
• Watching all Kansas sporting/recreational events, such as K-State, KU, Baker, Washburn, Kansas Koyotes, Topeka West, Topeka High, Hayden, and etc.
Websites of Kansas & Topeka:
http://www.topeka.org
http://www.kansas.gov
http://www.kansasband.com
http://www.koyotefootball.com
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/counties/
http://www.thinkkansas.com
http://www.visitTopeka.travel
http://www.topekachamber.org
http://www.LecomptonKansas.com
http://www.tscpl.org
http://www.ghosttourtopeka.com
http://www.kshs.org
http://www.kswheat.com
http://www.cjonline.com
http://www.tpactix.org
http://www.KSexpo.com
http://www.ticketmaster.com
http://www.kshs.org/places/museum.htm
http://www.nps.gov/brvb
http://www.combatairmuseum.org
http://www.greatoverlandparkstation.com
http://charlescurtishousemuseum.com
http://www.topeka.org/ZOO/
http://www.fotz.org
http://www.topeka.org/parksrec
http://www.topekahomefinder.com
http://www.itstopeka.com
http://www.wickedthemusicaltour.com/
http://www.ksgovernor.org
http://www.ksgovernor.org/cedarcrest
http://www.co.shawnee.ks.us/parksandrec.com
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Greensburg/
http://greensburgef5tornado.com/
Music
• "Dust in the Wind" (1977) -- performed by my ultimate favorite band, Kansas.
• "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe" (1944)-- Song recorded by Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, and Harry Connick, Jr.
• "Home on the Range", which happens to be the offical State Song of Kansas.
Movies
Heroes
• Gwendolyn Brooks; • Ernest Hemingway; •John Brown; • Gordon Jump; • Carrie Nation; • William C. Menninger; • George Washington Carver; • Charles Lindbergh; • Karl Menninger; • Ron Evans; • Coleman Hawkins; • Langston Hughes; • Alf Landon; • Joan Finney;
• Charles Curtis; • Charles Sheldon; • Arthur Capper; • Clarence D. Batchelor; • Walter P. Chrysler; • Clark M. Clifford; • John Steuart Curry; • Amelia Earhart; • Milton S. Eisenhower; • Dwight D. Eisenhower; • Carl A. Hatch; • William Inge; • Walter Johnson; • Buster Keaton; • Emmett Kelly; • Stan Kenton; • Harold Lloyd; • Edgar Lee Masters; • Hattie McDaniel; • Gordon Parks; • Damon Runyon; • Eugene W. Smith; • William E. Stafford; • John Cameron Swayze; • Vivan Vance; • William Allen White; • Charles E. Whittaker; and etc.
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On December 5, 1854, nine men made the wintery trek from the tent city of Lawrence to a small log cabin on the banks of the Kansas River. Huddled in the cold before a smoky fire, this group of men founded a town that became the capital of the 34th state in the union and would play a significant role in American history.
The city of Topeka was incorporated on February 14, 1857. Cyrus K. Holliday is widely regarded as the "father" of Topeka and served as the city’s first mayor. He later drafted the charter for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway, known today as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.
"Bleeding Kansas," a prelude to the Civil War, was a decade of abolitionist and pro-slavery conflict in Kansas during the 1850s. Topekans such as John Ritchie battled for the abolition of slavery as Kansas approached statehood. Ritchie's south Topeka home became a meeting place for the free-state faction and a station on the Underground Railroad. Ritchie's wife, Mary Jane, served as the leader of Kansas' early women's suffrage movement, hosting Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Ritchie's home, at 1116 South Madison, is noted as Topeka's oldest house.
On January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted as the 34th state of the union, and Topeka was chosen as the state capital. Dr. Charles Robinson served as the first governor of Kansas. Cyrus K. Holliday, Topeka’s founding father, donated a tract of land to the state for the construction of a new state capitol. The building was complete in 1903.
Cyrus K. Holliday drafted the charter and a decade later staged the groundbreaking of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. Topeka's central location served as the perfect hub as the railways expanded westward. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe has been one of Topeka's major industries for over a century. Union Pacific began operating in Topeka in 1866, and Rock Island Railroad followed in 1887.
Education has played a major role in Topeka’s history from the beginning. The Episcopal Church established the College of the Sisters of Bethany in 1860. Advertised as the "Wellsley of the West," it provided an excellent education for young ladies at a time when such opportunities were rare.
Lincoln College was established in 1865 by the State of Kansas and the General Association of Congregational Ministers and Churches of Kansas. Col. John Ritchie (see “Bleeding Kansas”) donated the 160-acres of land for construction. In 1868, the college was named Washburn. Eventually Washburn became a municipal university and is the last city-chartered university in the United States. The facility was largely rebuilt in 1966 after a tornado destroyed much of the campus.
Topeka was the home of the Oliver Brown family, the namesake in Brown v. Board of Education case, a landmark Supreme Court decision that eliminated the "separate but equal" standard in American public schools. It is interesting to note that only the elementary schools in Topeka were segregated at that time. Topeka High School had been fully integrated since its inception in the late 1890s.
Who I'd like to meet: The following are famous Kansans I would like to meet: Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas; Bill Bunten, Mayor of Topeka; Sam Brownback, Senator of Kansas; Pat Roberts, Senator of Kansas; Nancy Boyda, Kansas House of Representative; Jim Slattery, Former Kansas House of Representative; Jim Ryun, Former Kansas House of Representative; Bob Dole, Former Senator of Kansas & Presidential Candidate; Kirstie Alley, Actress; Martina McBride, Country Western Singer; Don Johnson, Actor; Barry Sanders, Football Player; Dennis Hopper, Actor; Robert Ballard, Ocean Explorer; Bill Kurtis, Journalist, Melissa Etheridge, Rock Musician and Songwriter; Annette Bening, Actress; Kansas, Rock Band; Erin Brockovich, Activist; Danni Boatwright, Television Host and "Survivor" Contestant Winner; and etc.
WHEREAS the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be served, and
WHEREAS it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and
WHEREAS the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.
'Twas the evening of Samhain, and all through the place were pagans preparing the ritual space. The candles were set in the corners with care, in hopes that the Watchtowers soon would be there. ... In all of our workings, we'd almost forgot, but we had purchased candy (we'd purchased a LOT), ... And so, as they flocked from all over the street, They all got some chocolate or something else sweet. .... As we prepared to return to our rite, One child more stepped out of the night.
She couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen. Her hair was deep red, and her robe, forest green with a simple gold cord tying off at the waist. She'd a staff in her hand and a smile on her face. No make-up, nor mask, or accompanying kitsch, so we asked who she was; she replied "I'm a witch. And no, I don't fly through the sky on my broom; I only use that thing for cleaning my room. My magical powers aren't really that neat, but I won't threaten tricks; I'll just ask for a treat."
We found it refreshing, so we gave incense cones, A candle, a crystal, a few other stones, And the rest of the candy (which might fill a van). She turned to her father (a man dressed as Pan) and laughed, "Yes, I know, Dad, it's past time for bed," and started to leave, but she first turned and said "I'm sorry for further delaying your rite. Blessed Samhain to all, and a magical night. "
Following is an excerpt From Vic Soctotra Daily Socotra
Mabon's day is primarily a harvest festival, since at the time of the equinox it is the end of the grain harvest. But it celebrates something else, something older than agriculture. It celebrates the forest deep and the creatures that live within it. This is the mating season for deer, and marks the beginning of the hunting season in many places. In British folklore this time of year is associated with Herne the Hunter.
Herne leads a wild phantom chase through the primal forest, heralding confusion and change. In one tradition the Fall Equinox is called "the Night of the Hunter." The Mabon-fest also can mark the death or departure of the God in His yearly life-cycle, and the Fall Equinox has also been identified as the "assumption of the Crone," when the dark face of the Goddess assumes her sway over the world of darkness. The Crone will rule until the return of the Maiden in February, the half-Equinox called Imbolc.
If this season of the dying of the green belong to the God, it is only because he is perfectly blanced with the Goddess. There is no hierarchy of sex or gender in the natural world, since we are equally necessary to its turning. If this Equinox is the province of the hunter, it is only because the Mother has earlier given life.
"A Pagan employee will celebrate a nature-based, polytheistic religion "Pagan ethics allow personal freedom within a framework of personal responsibility. The primary basis for Pagan ethics is the understanding that everything is interconnected, that nothing exists alone, and that every action has a consequence. There is no concept of forgiveness for sin in the Pagan ethical system; the consequences of one's actions must be faced and reparations made as necessary against anyone whom one has harmed. "There are no arbitrary rules about moral issues: instead, every action must be weighed against the awareness of what harm it could cause." "Because Pagan religious systems hold that theirs is a way among many, not the only road to truth,and because Pagans revere a variety of Deities among their pantheons, both male and female, a Pagan employee will believe that each person is free to choose his or her own destiny. "
At Lammas, also called Lughnasadh, the hot days of August are upon us, much of the earth is dry and parched, but we still know that the bright reds and yellows of the harvest season are just around the corner. Apples are beginning to ripen in the trees, our summer vegetables have been picked, corn is tall and green, waiting for us to come gather the bounty of the crop fields. Now is the time to begin reaping what we have sown, and gathering up the first harvests of grain, wheat, oats, and more.
Because of its association with Lugh, the skilled god, Lammas (Lughnasadh) is also a time to celebrate talents and craftsmanship. It's a traditional time of year for craft festivals, and for skilled artisans to peddle their wares. In medieval Europe, guilds would arrange for their members to set up booths around a village green, festooned with bright ribbons and fall colors. Perhaps this is why so many modern Renaissance Festivals begin around this time of year!
Lugh is also known in some traditions as the patron of bards and magicians. Now is a great time of year to work on honing your own talents. Learn a new craft, or get better at an old one. Put on a play, write a story or poem, take up a musical instrument, or sing a song. Whatever you choose to do, this is the right season for rebirth and renewal, so set August 1st as the day to share your new skill with your friends and family.
One precedes our founding fathers and finds its roots in the harshness of our puritan past. It is very suspicious of freedom, uncomfortable with diversity, hostile to science, unfriendly to reason, contemptuous of personal autonomy. It sees America as a religious nation. It views patriotism as allegiance to God. It secretly adores coercion and conformity. Despite our constitution, despite the legacy of the Enlightenment, it appeals to millions of Americans and threatens our freedom.
The other vision finds its roots in the spirit of our founding revolution and in the leaders of this nation who embraced the age of reason. It loves freedom, encourages diversity, embraces science and affirms the dignity and rights of every individual. It sees America as a moral nation, neither completely religious nor completely secular. It defines patriotism as love of country and of the people who make it strong. It defends all citizens against unjust coercion and irrational conformity.
This second vision is our vision. It is the vision of a free society. We must be bold enough to proclaim it and strong enough to defend it against all its enemies.
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