KU News Release

Challenges to rural communities focus of day two of Wheat State Whirlwind Tour

LAWRENCE — About 50 University of Kansas faculty and staff members will tour sites in north central and northwest Kansas, explore the challenges facing rural Kansas communities and meet with alumni in Colby on Tuesday, May 22, the second day of the 2007 Wheat State Whirlwind Tour.

Chancellor Robert Hemenway sponsors the tour. This is the 10th year faculty and staff, many new to Kansas, will make a five-day trek through the heart of Kansas to learn more about the state’s history, landscape and economy.

Tuesday’s portion of the tour, from Concordia to Colby, includes a tour around Lake Wilson in Post Rock country, a visit to a nationally known grassroots arts center in Lucas, lunch with community leaders and residents in Palco and a visit to the African-American pioneer community Nicodemus.

As many travelers never stray from I-70 on their trips across the state, tour commentators will use Lake Wilson as an example of the natural beauty accessible to those willing to venture off the beaten, interstate path. Located just north of I-70 in Russell County, the lake features scenic canyons. The venture along Kansas’ scenic byways will continue with a drive along Highway 232 to Lucas in Russell County.

Lucas, population 416, is a hotbed of art created by individuals who may not fit the traditional mold of artists. Inspired individuals with an artistic flair from across Kansas have created pieces such as suits made of aluminum can pop tops and cars crafted from cattle skulls, which are now part of the delightfully different, yet stunningly compelling art housed at the Lucas Grassroots Arts Center. The nearby Deeble House and Rock Garden are also on the itinerary and are home to some of the state’s most unique art. While in Lucas, tour participants will also have the opportunity to visit the Garden of Eden, the former home of a Civil War veteran and farmer. The home is a monument to individualism, featuring concrete and limestone sculptures depicting Biblical scenes and their creators’ populist political beliefs.

The tour group will then travel to Palco in Rooks County, where they will have lunch at the town hall with local residents. Palco, hometown of Don Steeples, KU vice provost for scholarly support, the McGee Distinguished Professor of Geophysics and tour director, represents a microcosm of many Kansas communities. Facing declining populations, the community is using innovative approaches in education, agriculture and business to remain viable.

Guests at the lunch will include Leo von Feldt, mayor; Doug Kysar, a Palco manufacturer with an international clientele; Dave Miller, Palco school superintendent who employs distance learning programs to expand the curriculum; Omer Knoll, an artist whose fossil-inspired work was selected by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as a gift for officials she met in China; and several farmers and ranchers who provide leadership in state agriculture and conservation groups. Many are KU or Kansas State University alumni and several have sons and daughters working as executives, professors, physicians, veterinarians, teachers or as foreign service officers throughout the United States and abroad. Ruth Ann Bigge of Stockton will cater the lunch. The mayor will talk about innovative efforts to preserve the community.

While in Palco, the group will also visit the high school to see how the school district has used distance learning to address the challenges many small schools face. The group will also visit the local grain elevator.

One of the more popular stops on the tour, the Steeples wheat farm, is once again on this year’s itinerary. Steeples maintains a farm with his brother, Dave, of Stockton. The Steeples brothers will share the ins and outs of farming with the group and even offer rides on a combine to those who are so inclined.

From Palco, the tour will travel to Nicodemus, an historic African-American settlement in Graham County. The community was settled by African-Americans from Kentucky in the late 19th century and was a bustling community for many years. Today, the community’s population is about 20. It was the first African-American established town west of the Mississippi River. In 1996, the National Park Service named Nicodemus a national historic site to recognize the role of African-Americans in settling the West.

The last stop of the day will be in Colby in Thomas County. Faculty and staff members will have dinner with alumni at the City Limits Bar and Grill. Hemenway will join the tour in Colby, take part in the alumni dinner and address the group. Karen Kelly, deputy director of the KU Cancer Center in Kansas City, Kan., and a participant in this year’s tour, will also speak at the dinner. She will discuss the KU Cancer Center and rural health care.

On Wednesday, May 23, the tour will visit the Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby. Wayne Bossert, manager of the Northwest Kansas Groundwater district, will speak about groundwater management in the High Plains. The tour will continue with stops in Oakley, Logan County, Scott City, Cimarron, Montezuma and Dodge City.

Itinerary for Tuesday, May 22

7: 30 a.m. — Depart Concordia for Lake Wilson (87 miles). Point of interest: Sylvan Grove
8:45 a.m. — Tour around Lake Wilson (11 miles)
9:15 a.m. — Arrive in Lucas. Drive by Garden of Eden and tour Grassroots Arts Center, Deeble House and Rock Garden
10:30 a.m. — Depart Lucas for Palco (62 miles)
11:30 a.m. — Arrive in Palco. Lunch at Town Hall with local residents. Tour Steeples farm
3 p.m. — Depart for Nicodemus (16 miles)
3:15 p.m. — Arrive in Nicodemus 4 p.m. — Depart for Colby (80 miles)
5:30 p.m. — Arrive in Colby and check into hotel
6 p.m. — Alumni dinner at City Limits Bar & Grill
8 p.m. — Return to hotel

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