Taking Pride in Privies
by Marti Attoun
While some small towns fade without a fight when their schools and businesses are boarded up, in 1996 resourceful Elk Falls residents took a look at what makes their town distinctive and decided to flaunt it.
first appeared: 10/28/2007
Good Land for Sunflowers
by Marti Attoun
Fifty thousand acres of sunflowers burst into bloom each August, creating a golden spectacle in fields around Goodland, Kan.
first appeared: 7/29/2007
A Sweet Legacy
by Diana Lambdin Meyer
Tom Ward respectfully disagrees with Forrest Gump’s mother, who offered up the famous advice: “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”
first appeared: 2/4/2007
Prospecting for Space Rocks.
by Marti Attoun
Steve Arnold, 40, drives across a farm field near Haviland, Kan. (pop. 612), listening intently to the hum from the home-built metal detector pulled behind his all-terrain vehicle.
first appeared: 1/28/2007
Barber Shops
by Marti Attoun
immie Jackson, 71, settles into the chair at Gino’s Barber Shop in Jackson, Calif., and doesn’t say a word about the haircut he wants. After all, he’s been coming to Gino’s since Harry S. Truman was president.
first appeared: 1/21/2007
Treasuring the Wizard of Oz
by Lou Ann Thomas
The Oz Museum in Wamego, Kan., houses some 2,000 items associated with the timeless movie, its actors and the magical world created by author L. Frank Baum.
first appeared: 9/24/2006
Father & Son Look-alikes
Just as we featured look-alike mothers and daughters in our Mother's Day edition, American Profile celebrates Father's Day with photos sent in from fathers and sons with uncanny resemblances.
first appeared: 6/18/2006
Like Mother Like Daughter
When American Profile asked readers to send us photographs of look-alike mothers and daughters, along with a brief description of how these uncanny resemblances influence their lives, we received hundreds of submissions detailing this unique family bond.
first appeared: 5/7/2006
Where the Land Is Free
by Marti Attoun
Great Plains communities attract modern-day homesteaders
first appeared: 4/30/2006
Martina McBride
by Beverly Keel
Retaining the values of her Kansas upbringing
first appeared: 2/19/2006
A Half-Dozen Headricks
by Marti Attoun
A caring community adopt the famous Kansas sextuplets.
first appeared: 5/1/2005
Senior Prom
by Marti Attoun
Teens host a night to remember for senior citizens
first appeared: 4/24/2005
Heritage Farms
by Marti Attoun
Century-old farming families remain loyal to the land
first appeared: 3/20/2005
Weather's Extremes
by Vicki Brown
Hot or cold, wet or dry, sunny or stormy, everyone loves to talk about the weather, says Scott Stephens, a meteorologist for the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. (pop. 68,889).
first appeared: 3/6/2005
Smoke, Sizzle & Sauce!
by Marti Attoun
The scent of apple-wood smoke and spicy barbecued brisket mingle in the tent kitchen of Gary Bernhardt and Kyle Farley.
first appeared: 5/9/2004
We Proceeded On
by Vicki Brown
ln May 1804, Capts. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off from winter camp near St. Louis with their party of men—dubbed the Corps of Discovery by President Thomas Jefferson—on an epic journey to the Pacific Ocean.
first appeared: 4/11/2004
Fill'er Up!
by Marti Attoun
Old-fashioned full-service gas stations like Swan’s in Almond, Wis., are as rare as the noon whistle, and yes, they still do that here, too.
first appeared: 10/19/2003