Kansas Trivia & Tidbits - Page 5

Looking for Kansas trivia? Try our list Kansas little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Gordon Parks, the first African-American photographer for Life, worked for the magazine from 1948 to 1968 and used his camera to highlight poverty and racism. He died in March and is buried in Fort Scott (pop. 8,297).

first appeared: 7/2/2006

After restoring more than 50 antique pump organs, Dick Rhea orchestrated them into a pump organ museum in downtown Sharon Springs (pop. 835). The organs date from the late 1800s to early 1900s.

first appeared: 6/25/2006

A large concrete cross near Lyons (pop. 3,732) commemorates the 1542 martyrdom of Father Juan de Padilla, the first Christian martyr in America. Father Padilla accompanied Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and was the first missionary to the Indians in what became Kansas.

first appeared: 6/4/2006

A 1960s desk at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka may look ho-hum, but it was a prop in the 1970s television comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Actor Ed Asner, who portrayed newsman Lou Grant, gave his desk to a friend who donated it to the museum.

first appeared: 5/21/2006

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was the first African-American writer to win a Pulitzer Prize. Born in Topeka, Brooks published more than 20 books and was awarded a Pulitzer in 1950 for her second book of poetry, Annie Allen.

first appeared: 5/14/2006

Popeye's girlfriend, Olive Oyl, known for her hand wringing and high-pitched voice, was modeled after comic actress ZaSu Pitts, born around 1898 in Parsons (pop. 11,514). ZaSu was named after two aunts, Eliza and Susan.

first appeared: 4/23/2006

Created by a federal charter in 1960, the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs (pop. 6,768) is the nation’s tribute to the American farmer. A vast collection of historic farm machinery is displayed on the center’s 172 acres.

first appeared: 4/9/2006

The most famous murals in the state Capitol in Topeka were left unsigned and unfinished in 1941 by artist John Steuart Curry after a public outcry that his paintings of abolitionist John Brown and tornadoes reflected poorly on the state.

first appeared: 3/26/2006

Muralist and crop artist Stan Herd of Lawrence is best known for his field-size works of art. He creates "earthworks" by manipulating crops, soil and rock, and photographs them from an airplane. Herd was born in 1950 in Protection (pop. 558).

first appeared: 3/12/2006

The Butterfield Trail Museum in Russell Springs (pop. 32) tells the story of the Butterfield Overland Dispatch stagecoach line, which operated in the mid-1800s before being replaced by the railroad. The museum occupies the former Logan County courthouse.

first appeared: 2/26/2006

In 1876, wealthy businessman Charles Koester built a mansion in Marysville (pop. 3,271) with rare white bronze statues in the garden. The home and original furnishings have been restored.

first appeared: 2/12/2006

For three consecutive years, a tornado struck Codell in Rooks County (pop. 5,685) on May 20—in 1916, 1917 and 1918. The last twister wiped out much of the town.

first appeared: 1/29/2006

The 1906 four-story brick warehouse for Keen Kutter hardware in Wichita was transformed in 1999 into the Hotel at Old Town with 115 rooms. The warehouse originally had nine bays, 80,000 square feet of space and, in its heyday, was among the world’s largest warehouses.

first appeared: 1/15/2006

MISS KANSAS 2006—Adrienne Rosel hails from Liberal (pop. 19,666), which boasts a model of the farm house from The Wizard of Oz, so it’s fitting that the University of Kansas graduate has a passion for musical theater. She also is the founder of Adrienne’s Aquatics, a swimming program for children.

first appeared: 1/8/2006

In the late 1950s, when his fountain machine fizzled at his Coffeyville (pop. 11,021) Dairy Queen, Omar Knedlik cooled soda bottles in a freezer. The slushy drinks were so popular that he went on to invent the machine to make Slurpees.

first appeared: 1/1/2006

The world’s smallest presidential library will open in February in Atchison (pop. 10,232) to honor David Rice Atchison, who some say was president for one day in 1849 after newly elected Zachary Taylor refused to take the oath on Sunday.

first appeared: 12/18/2005

MICHIGAN—Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wisecracking wooden puppet, Charlie McCarthy, were hits on their own radio show from 1937 to 1956, despite the fact that listeners couldn’t see them. Bergen was born in 1903 in Decatur (pop. 3,916).

first appeared: 12/18/2005

A 30-foot-tall statue of Johnny Kaw, the state’s answer to Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, stands in Manhattan (pop. 44,831) City Park. The folk character, created by George A. Filinger, reportedly dug the Kaw River Valley, invented sunflowers and lopped the funnels off tornadoes.

first appeared: 12/4/2005

Fleeing oppression in the Reconstruction South, African-Americans founded Nicodemus, near Stockton (pop. 1,558), in 1877. By the mid-1880s, the town featured two newspapers, three general stores, a school, literary society and ice cream parlor. Today, the town is a National Historic Site.

first appeared: 11/20/2005

The oldest building on the campus of the University of Kansas at Lawrence, an 1887 limestone powerhouse, was incorporated into the newest—the $6.2 million Hall Center for the Humanities, completed in January and featuring the nine-arched façade of the old building as part of its design.

first appeared: 11/6/2005

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