What is your favorite thing about Kansas? / LJWorld.com

misterlee 3 years ago

The numerous job opportunities...no, that's not it. The enlightened politicians...no, not that either. It must be the fact that this is where my friends and family live.

nobody1793 3 years ago

My favorite thing about Kansas is that it isn't Missourah.

OonlyBonly 3 years ago

Ummmmmm..... Ahhhhh........ Let'ssee........... Oh!.........No!......... Not a thing!

grammaddy 3 years ago

I like that Kansas is a big red state with a little blue county in the northeast corner. And that county shall be called "Douglas"!!

RoeDapple 3 years ago

Let's see . . . Merrill - the flint hills area Multi - C&P, C&P, C&P etc,etc,etc

Hey, cool trick Multi! you got me to read one of merrill's posts!

sustainabilitysister 3 years ago

The Gypsum Hills, thunder and lightning storms in the spring, Woodridge and river trails with canine companions, KU basketball, and oh sooo much more.

cait48 3 years ago

You know where Sun City is at? It's literally next to the gyp mine. Up until January of this year she owned Buster's Saloon in Sun City.

oops. I meant to say my sister owned Buster's. I think someone is trying to revive it but in this economy I doubt they will get far with it. It's a shame because it was the only business the town had left. The "Saloon" (it was actually a cafe on one side and a beer only bar on the other) had been in continuous operation since the 1940's and the building it was in was built in the 1880's when Sun City was a boom mining town. My sister owned the place for four years, She kept a small selection of candy and gum in a glass case at the register for the few children left in the town.. If you drive through the gyp hills and get close to the mine itself take a swing through Sun City. It is quite literally the only truly authentic "ghost town" I have ever seen.

none2 3 years ago

Though I grew up in SW Kansas, I took a lot of it for granted as a kid. First of all the primary highway is US-54 which goes from Liberal to Wichita. (It is Kellog in Wichita.) . Anyway, that route bypasses a lot of scenic southern southwest Kansas.

I remember as an adult the first time I saw the cimmaron river valley from the bridge south of Meade Lake were it crosses into the Oklahoma Panhandle. It is so beautiful at sunset with the large vista.

US-160 is a great way to see beautiful areas in southern-southwest Kansas. FIrst there is Jacob's Well & Big Basin in Clark County:

http://www.naturalkansas.org/bigbasin.htm

There is also a beautiful bridge off some small creek as you approach Ashland. It is small, but beautiful. I don't remember the name of the creek, it was something like Kreiger. Then there is Ashland. I loved stopping there for ice cream in some small store. I wish I would have gone into their museum. if from Ashland you head up to the Clark County Lake, the road winds through beautiful hills with lots of beautiful contryside including some beautiful ranch. The lake it self is beautiful as it is in the hills with a step decline to get to the lake itself. I never knew just how hilly some areas in SW Kansas could be. Then of course between Coldwater and Medicine Lodge, are the beautiful Gypsum Hills. Believe it or not, I never knew about them until about 15 years ago. I never had a reason to take those roads. I also took various roads to Sun City & Lake City including a road that goes through cattle country with only cattle grates across the roads. There is some beautiful river that is just south of Sun City -- it was beautiful. I have to admit that I didn't eat at the Buster's restaurant in Sun City as I wasn't sure it was open to the general public at that time. That trip was about 3 years ago. You said it was once a mining town, what did they mine? It is too bad that the town is dying, it is located in a beautiful place, but then it is far from US-54 and US_160, and roads can make or break a town now-a-days.

Also I was curious about Lake City. There was some two story building that must have been partially destroyed. It looks like no one ever bothered to clean it up. Was there a tornado that hit that building? It didn't appear to be damaged due to a fire if memory serves me correctly.

Except for the fact that the area seems dying, I think it would be a beautiful place to live. Barber County is a very beautiful county. If land prices were cheaper, I would consider that area when I retire.

sustainabilitysister 3 years ago

I LOVE BUSTERS! Medicine Lodge, Isabel, 99 Springs.... Barber County is a gem. I hope Buster's makes it. I'll be heading back there this summer for some R&R.

sunshine_noise 3 years ago

I agree with ya - very close minded, back minded and very cliquish people in Kansas. If you don't agree with a midwesterner's politics, opinions, just plain agree with everything you won't fit into the loop. Who cares! I'm going back East where people speak their minds and don't crush fall down from it, accept people for the differences of opinion, political choices and their outlandish jokes. Rude is when you give the finger (but that's funny sometimes). Rude here is if you choose to be first to go through the intersection. Neighbors mind their own business there, pettiness is a thing of the past (people are too busy to mind other people's business). So I'm hoping for the day to see that Atlantic ocean again and you folks can keep Kansas.

Mixolydian 3 years ago

Go already.

none2 3 years ago

Are you needing help with the bus ticket? Even people from the west coast know just how undesirable the northeast is. This country has been about the movement west over the last 200 plus years for good reason: They are trying to escape the east.

You can keep your quaint snobbery, your busy-body nothingness, your families of old money, your typical indifference to the rest of humanity. People there don't really accept differences of opinion, they simply voice their own opinions and neither listen nor are listened to. It is like being in a room full chatter from people who need hearing aids.

Wonder why this country hasn't elected anybody from that part of the country in the last few decades? It is because the rest of the country wants true leadership, not a cliquish snob.

Bu-bye!

distant_voice 3 years ago

What a pile of DUNG! I lived five years in New York and wouldn't trade one minute of my time in Kansas for an entire life time in that dump. Closed-minded and rude people, people who are only into themselves, and a city that thrives on hate.

snoopy_79 3 years ago

If you don't like Kansas, do us a favor and leave. Some of us our proud of more than just Lawrence and it's diversity. For you to dismiss the rest of the state is nothing but ignorance. Take your elitest thoughts and your political banter and save it for another board. Ad Astra per Aspera.

snoopy_79 3 years ago

If you don't like Kansas, do us a favor and leave. Some of us our proud of more than just Lawrence and it's diversity. For you to dismiss the rest of the state is nothing but ignorance. Take your elitest thoughts and your political banter and save it for another board. Ad Astra per Aspera.

sunshine_noise 3 years ago

Haven't had much experience in other parts of Kansas but what I've seen isn't much to do about. Flat, barren, dirty in some places and boring.

snoopy_79 3 years ago

If you don't like Kansas, do us a favor and leave. Some of us our proud of more than just Lawrence and it's diversity. For you to dismiss the rest of the state is nothing but ignorance. Take your elitest thoughts and your political banter and save it for another board. Ad Astra per Aspera.

ivalueamerica 3 years ago

If you do not know how to post properly, do us a favor and stop posting.

snoopy_79 3 years ago

If you don't like Kansas, do us a favor and leave. Some of us our proud of more than just Lawrence and it's diversity. For you to dismiss the rest of the state is nothing but ignorance. Take your elitest thoughts and your political banter and save it for another board. Ad Astra per Aspera.

faceit 3 years ago

This question has certainly brought out the geniuses; I love the part where a person uses the word, "ignorance" but can't seem to figure out how to post it just once. Pure brilliance.. Liberal/conservative. would anyone really notice that in their daily activities other than the occasional lunatic fringe?

independant1 3 years ago

is that largest hand dug well still in greensburg or did the tornado carry it away?

Ron Holzwarth 3 years ago

Yeah, that big hole in the ground is still there. Here's a clip and paste:

The Big Well is just one of the symbols of Greensburg's refusal to be eliminated by the 1.7 mile wide, EF5 tornado that devastated most of the community and left 11 people dead. Winds were estimated at 205 miles per hour.

The Big Well viewing canopy, and the building that housed the Big Well gift shop/museum were severely damaged by the Greensburg tornado. The gift shop is now housed in a small temporary building and the attraction is being restored, but the well is not yet open for visitors to climb into. Plans for a new Big Well Museum are underway.

independant1 3 years ago

Largest ball of twine over in Cawker City

Mixolydian 3 years ago

I was going to putt the largest ball of twine into the largest hand dug well in greensburg, but, instead, I took the worlds largest "gimme."

da2yl2on 3 years ago

Oh let's not overlook both the prairie dog and Oz museums!! (world's 'largest' prairie dog and a room full of memorabilia of a movie that, singlehandedly, has been the butt of every joke toward me when asked where I am from by anybody not from KS who believe they are hilarious)

ahimsa 3 years ago

The worst of Kansas: Sam Brownback, Todd Tiarht, and other Right-wing Christian theocrats; the embarrassment of being home to the Phelps, dumbed down populace including anti-science and "young earth" creationists; my vote doesn't count in presidential elections; ashamed to say I'm a Kansan when out of state...

The best of Kansas: Baldwin woods, Lawrence music and art...can't think of anything else.

independant1 3 years ago

Bluestem rock posts

independant1 3 years ago

was thinking about changing to dependant1

independant1 3 years ago

and change my voter registration from in to dem

duz that bothere ewe?

ahimsa 3 years ago

FYI--"independent" is the correct spelling.

ahimsa 3 years ago

FYI--"independent" is the correct spelling.

ahimsa 3 years ago

FYI--"independent" is the correct spelling.

ahimsa 3 years ago

FYI--"independent" is the correct spelling.

sciencegeek 3 years ago

The Flint Hills, open sky , wildlife and unpredictable weather. I love the wide-openness of nature; if only the people who lived here had such openness of mind!

ahimsa 3 years ago

Please--somebody fix this multiple posting problem...

bastet 3 years ago

“Nothing, I hate it. … Well, I like Lawrence, but I don’t like the rest of Kansas because it’s close-minded and conservative.”

— Adrienne Brown, psychology major, Overland Park

And for the definition of "close-minded" see Adrienne. I'm glad to see your college education in critical thinking is doing so well for you.

75x55 3 years ago

That gave me a chuckle today. It is amazing how common a reaction it is for people to consider anyone who doesn't think like them to be "close-minded". I'll accept a person can think you're a fool if you don't think like them, but 'close-minded'? Have fun with that psychology degree - LOL!

Wallythewalrus 3 years ago

Grew up listening to Ron Raygun on the radio. New the minute he would be president. That moment was when my dad said he had less money in his pocket then he did before Carter was elected. Grew up listening to Paul Harvey on the radio. Grew up riding horses, bailing hay, milking cows and the most enjoyment was mowing cementeries with my grandpa, he paid me .50 an hour. Playing baseball. Today in Kansas I would hope that the legislature would spend less time concerned with strip clubs and more time concerned with economic growth.

independant1 3 years ago

World's largest prayrie dog

sunshine_noise 3 years ago

Yeah made of plaster of paris and wire. WHoopee!!

kansanbygrace 3 years ago

Something I always notice returning to Kansas from the west in the spring or summer--90 shades of green.

whats_going_on 3 years ago

yes! It's beautiful

The flint hills in the spring, especially now with those giant windmills...very cool.

independant1 3 years ago

Leoti - Bean Capital of Kansas

independant1 3 years ago

These are a few of my fav things

The World's Largest Hairball the hairball weighs 55 pounds (when wet) and was 38 inches in circumference. It's on display at the Finney Co. Museum, Garden City, Kansas.

manfred 3 years ago

I'm with snoopy79!! Why dont you liberel nutjobs just take ur books and degres and leave!!! some of us like it here! I'm from topeka, but i like lawrence even though somtimes its a little too comunist. I mean, you cant take ur gun into banks!! who made up that rule!

booyalab 3 years ago

Hey now, that's an unfair stereotype of liberal nutjobs. I know plenty of them that haven't cracked a book in years. (Naomi Klein doesn't count)

9070811 3 years ago

Learn to correctly spell.

cait48 3 years ago

That was "sarcasm" (I hope!). "Sarchasm" (definition) The length and depth of space between the person making the pithy statement and the person getting it.

ivalueamerica 3 years ago

The first frost over the Flint Hills with the morning sun making them sparkle.

independant1 3 years ago

Lenexa - Spinach Capital of Kansas

independant1 3 years ago

We're all cousins.

"Everyone west of the Delaware are cousins." (Father Guiddo Sarducci)

livingstone 3 years ago

There are good and bad things about Kansas. It's an affordable state to live in.... but again, you have to give up shopping, and weird people walking around that make your life more exciting.

cait48 3 years ago

Sweetie, you can get both of those at the Walmart on Iowa.

ModerateOne 3 years ago

The best thing about Kansas? Women with genuine and beautiful smiles like Adrienne's.

jonas_opines 3 years ago

I'll take KU's campus when the weather starts to get warm again.

broadpaw 3 years ago

We all make the choice each day to stay and live in Kansas. If all you can do is whine about it, then leave!

broadpaw 3 years ago

This was not targeted at any one commenter. But the question of the day was to name your FAVORITE thing about Kansas. Why so negative??

ozzynbn 3 years ago

I love Lawrence and the diversity of the people. But my problem with the liberals is their smugness. You aren't any better than the rest of the Kansans. The further west you go in the state, the more genuine the people, in my opinion.

equalaccessprivacy 3 years ago

Broadpaw makes a good point that would hold water in most polls, but today's quesuion does invite flippant answers, beginning with the Missippi-style politics someone mentions above. Plus, like many here I'm of card-carrying member of the facebook group"When people ask stupid questions I'm obligated to give a sarcastic reply." I'm looking to leave KS ASAP. I call KS life"gothic hillybilly," because people's sense of justice and courtesy is so twisted here.

I simply can't function in such a poorly planned, inconvenient city like Lawrence where white is black and black is white. The level of official corruption and the bullying culture at KU are completely breath-taking. Then there's the fact you cannot enjoy public space and take in a daily constitutional without self-flattering strangers aggressively getting up in your business based off offensive stereotypes.

What I admire most is all the spirit-killing harassment and busybody interference that goes on in the name of "helping" here and the diverse group of people daily trekking the halls of the Douglas County Courthouse who have been brought up on false charges and for reasons of selective prosecution to be viciously scapegoated by the State of Kansas. Above all what I like is the backward,patronizing Kansan take on civil rights law. Don't know what Norman Vincent Peale would say to this, but you can't ignore reality.

equalaccessprivacy 3 years ago

The Proof-readers!

Broadpaw makes a good point that would hold water in most polls, but today's question does invite flippant answers, beginning with the Missippi-style politics someone mentions above. Plus, like many here I'm a card-carrying member of the facebook group"When people ask stupid questions I'm obligated to give a sarcastic reply." I'm looking to leave ASAP.

I simply can't function in such a poorly planned, inconvenient city like Lawrence where white is black and black is white. The level of official corruption and the bullying culture at KU are completely breath-taking. Then there's the fact you cannot enjoy public space and take in a daily constitutional without self-flattering strangers aggressively getting up in your business based on offensive stereotypes.

What I admire is all the spirit-killing harassment and busybody interference that goes on in the name of "helping" and the diverse group of people daily trekking the halls of the Douglas County Courthouse who have been brought up on false charges and for reasons of selective prosecution to be viciously scapegoated by the State of Kansas. What I above all enjoy is the backward,patronizing Kansan take on civil rights law.

RalphGage 3 years ago

The sunsets. And the people.

KansasPerson 3 years ago

I like how it's shaped like an almost-perfect rectangle.

zikzak 3 years ago

I like the hot winds of August that kicks the dust and tosses about the hair. It is the type of wind that you just know a storm is brewing to break the darned heat wave. It is the type of wind that bring promises of a cool fall around the corner. Wind...my favorite thing about Kansas.

edson443 3 years ago

It's home.

Liberty275 3 years ago

I love the beauty of the kansas state line in my rear view mirror.

deskboy04 3 years ago

Chicken Annies.

Katara 3 years ago

That it really is flatter than a pancake. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2003/sep/25/research.highereducation2

cait48 3 years ago

Tell that to the people that live in the Flint and Gypsum Hills.

audibleangel 3 years ago

"psychology majors"on the rise--- learn to love yourself before you try to fix anyone else.

Mixolydian 3 years ago

I would agree with Jenee...but the Blind Tiger in Topeka brews better beer. She's only partially right. Free State does brew the better IPA.

independant1 3 years ago

The lazy summers in Lawrence (after the stoodunts are gone and before they come back in the fall)

cait48 3 years ago

I grew up in Kansas on ten acres of land that was mine and my sisters personal playground. Our house (built in 1910) sat way up on top of a hill and in back of it to the west our property swept down into a "draw" or "holler" that was a tiny valley, cut through by a creek. There was a tiny spring in the middle of that creek where my sisters and I would swim. The water, bubbling up out of the ground, was cold as ice. Three acres of our land was woods. We had wild mulberry trees and in the early summer we would come home stained purple from eating the fruit. We also had a wild "pawpaw" patch in our woods and in the fall my dad would pick the fruit. I don't think I have ever tasted anything sweeter. The woods also had some pines in it and in the winter my dad would cut our Christmas tree from our own property. Part of our land had, at one time, been a fruit orchard and we had a few trees left, including apple, cherry, peach, pear and apricot. We had wild strawberries in the meadow (which were so tiny they were the size of the tip of my little finger) and they tasted like liquid sunshine, much sweeter than a domestic strawberry. In March and April my dad would go to the woods and bring home a small basket of morel mushrooms, always leaving enough to spore for the next year. We also had a huge gooseberry bush by our barn and next to it a rhubarb patch. My father always planted a garden and we would have homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, lettuce and snap beans. He had also built a square, stepped terrace from cinder block. There he grew strawberries every year. My bedroom was on the second story and from our house, being on that hill, I could look out the west windows and see for miles. In the summer you could see rain coming as it swept across that little valley and toward our house. Watching thunderstorms from that window was nothing short of magnificent. In the summer my dad set up an old iron bedstead out in the yard and my sisters and I would sleep there. Part of making the bed every morning was to pull a tarp over it just in case we had a sudden rain. Kansas gave me an idyllic childhood and for that I will always be grateful. My parents rarely vacationed out of state. There was no money for it. But we would day trip to places like the Amish community in Garnett, Abilene and the Natural History museum here in Lawrence. And every year we would go to Hutchinson for the state fair. I have since traveled all over this state and seen the Flint Hills and the Gypsum Hills. I have seen an actual prairie fire and watched a tornado from miles away. I have seen double rainbows and sun dogs. And with that I will leave this post. These are and were my favorite things about Kansas and I will say no more.

none2 3 years ago

What a beautiful post. You should consider writing a book about your growing up years.

So many people have to have something SO big in order to see beauty: Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, Rocky Mountains, oceans, etc. They forget that there can be beauty on watching the wind blow across the prairie, the splash of colors in a vastly visible sunset. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with mountains and oceans, etc. I guess the bottom line for what I like about Kansas is that it is "home". Though many who mattered to me over the years have passed on, there is something within me that always considers this that place of sanctuary. Think of the pull of Tara in Gone with the Wind. Think of animals such as salmon who always return to where they were born. Some of us have that kind of pull to Kansas.

I love to travel, and even lived in other parts of the world during part of my childhood. I will always be thankful for those opportunities and would love to see even more areas of the world. However, I cannot imagine anywhere but Kansas being home. Perhaps it relates to this famous quote: "I learned that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire, I won't go any further than my own back yard. For if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with."

trinity 3 years ago

thank you cait! i want more! :) that was beautiful, took me straight back to childhood. i love kansas and all its beauties as well as its :"warts". ain't no place perfect!

sustainabilitysister 3 years ago

Thanks Cait48. My parents were raised in Barber County and I've heard similar stories from them. I agree with None2. We want more!

Gootsie 3 years ago

If that is what you like, oskiejackie, please don't come near me or my family.

dogsandcats 3 years ago

The storms, the sky, the flint hills, and Lawrence.

SofaKing 3 years ago

The mountains of Colorado.

Kathy Getto 3 years ago

The Flint Hills, prairie grass, the Smoky River Valley, Cheyenne Bottoms, so much beauty here, including the flatlands!

Cait - wonderful post of memories - thanks!

MacHeath 3 years ago

I am a native Kansan. We get a bad rap for being a hot-bed of conservatism, which we are not. Look at the governors we have elected in the past 40 years. Docking, Republican, but no neo-conservative. Bennet, ditto. Carlin, democrat. Hayden, ditto of the first two. Finney...democrat and two terms. Graves, repub, but no neo-conservative. Hell , i used to party with him in college. Sebilius. Parkinson. Now, if Brownback gets elected, we have a problem. I am willing to bet, he doesn't Dole, pro-choise, old time conservative. I still think he would have been a good president.

I say if you don't like Kansas, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out of the state. Our state motto should be: Kansas-no one likes us, we don't care.

MacHeath 3 years ago

OH yeah, and take those "Kansas- as bigoted as you think" stickers off your cars. You will get your ass kicked over that someday.

whats_going_on 3 years ago

Our state motto should be: Kansas-no one likes us, we don't care.

haha nice :-p

Even though KU can be kind of an uptight, money hungry powerhouse sometimes, I still love it. I love basketball games and how they give me goosebumps when I walk in the stadium. I love the hills and stairs up at KU for whipping my butt into shape. I love the campanile (sp?) for being so beautiful, especially when it's green and the sunset is behind it. I love that you can see Fraser from almost anywhere. I love the diversity up there and that while I'm running on campus, there are people exercising, riding bikes, walking dogs, and people will smile and say "hi" as I pass.

I love the flint hills when I'm driving out West. The only time I go that way is on my way to Colorado, so I can't complain after they end and I get the REAL flatness of eastern CO. Ew.

I like going to the dog park. Even though other places/states have them, it's really awesome that ours out by the lake is so huge and everyone out there is so friendly.

I like our downtown. Walking down there is so great on a nice day, and the houses on the few streets around Mass are AMAZING. If you really look at them, some are absolutely beautiful and huge. They make me wonder about their history.

I like that people associate us with Dorothy and Toto. When I met a few friends from Australia, the first thing they said was "How's Toto!" I think it's great. Some think it's annoying, but we could be associated with much worse things. (Sometimes we are...the serial killer from Wichita, Phelps)...but I think the Wizard of Oz will always come to people's mind first.

bisky1 3 years ago

let's see — Adrienne Brown, psychology major, Overland Park. Where would you be happy? AND please go there. have a nice day bisky

bisky1 3 years ago

ps. Adrienne Brown, psychology major, Overland Park. have you ever left your dorm room? i suggest either detroit or newark, nj for an open minded person like yourself bisky

independant1 3 years ago

Eastern Kansas actually is known for it's high number of pleasant weather days.

none2 3 years ago

I think you are confusing easter Kansas with San Diego. When I first came from SW Kansas to Lawrence, I was in for a BIG shock: Humid August days. It is great for plants, but it makes you feel sweaty. While I don't miss the stronger sunburns out west (because the altitude is much higher there), I do miss the wind. Wind isn't great for plants, but the drying action of wind on your skin makes a temperature seem less hot. I remember growing up without air conditioning. I could not fathom no air conditioning here when it gets hot and humid.

In fairness, Rome has lots of humidity. I did notice that if you build buildings correctly, you can feel cool inside while it it hot outside. Those big churches didn't have air conditioning , but they were like caves -- much cooler. So if you do your buildings correctly, you could probably deal with the temperature without air. However, I'm sure that kind of construction is cost prohibitive.

gphawk89 3 years ago

Strangely one of the things I liked most about where I grew up is a sound rather than a sight - wind blowing through cottonwood trees. I used to ride a motorcycle out into the country in the evening then just sit out in the middle of nowhere, watch the beautiful sunset, and listen to the steady wind blow through the cottonwoods. It made a nice hisssssss... No traffic noise, no horns, no sirens. But there were others. The ever-present warble of a songbirds, an occasional cow moo in the distance, then the crickets would take over, accompanied by howling coyotes on a lucky night. I miss all of those.

ivalueamerica 3 years ago

My favorite river is the marion hussain river...no wait that is the Marais des Cygnes River, nevermind

What is your favorite thing about Kansas?

Asked at Massachusetts Street on May 1, 2010

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