My hometown, St. James, Mo., is located on I-44, halfway between St. Louis and Springfield. My family lives squarely within “Cardinal Country.”
I’ve attended games at both the old and new Busch Stadiums, I’ve listened to the games on the radio, I watched Mark McGuire hit his record breaking home runs, I rooted for Albert Pujols and then rooted against him when he defected to the Angels…and I’m not even a hardcore fan.
My sister, for instance, has gone to World Series games, owns multiple jerseys and had her bachelorette party at a Cardinals game. She’s a real fan.
No one, and I mean no one, in my neck of the woods roots for the Royals. You never see a Royals T-shirt or ball cap, you don’t read their scores in the newspaper and you don’t find their games on local news outlets. The Royals aren’t rivals of the Cardinals per se, like the Red Sox or the Cubs, they’re just that “other team.”
Major League Baseball is to Missourians what college basketball is to Kansans. Even though I went to Mizzou, I don’t mind routing for KU, but it would be treason and a near-sacrilege for me to root for the Royals over the Cardinals. In recent weeks, I’ve heard much ado about the Royals and their hot streak this season. They’ve even made it into the playoffs — along with the Cardinals. Though I know many of you – maybe even most of you – would be rooting for the Royals in the event of a Cardinals v. Royals World Series, please know that my allegiance will not be swayed.
While I will certainly have baseball on the brain this month, I also have several programs on the horizon. This October, I’ll be hosting two “how-to” programs: a cooking class for green bean and dumpling soup on the 9th at 5 PM and a scarf tying class on the 21st at 4 PM.
Please view the library’s calendar at www.hayspublib.org or call me at (785) 625-9014 for more information these programs.
This month also brings to fruition a project I’ve been working on for most of my employ here at the library. For almost a year and half, I’ve been working on a short film with the Kansas Humanities Council about a community “Turning Point” – the formation of the Hays Arts Council.
Hays was one of just four communities in the state chosen for this project. The other communities selected were Olathe, Kinsley and Ulysses. The writing, scanning, filming and editing are all done and now it’s time for the fun part — the premiere!
The Art of Change will premiere on Oct. 17th at 6:30 PM at the Robbins Center on FHSU’s campus. There will be a short reception featuring local musical ensemble Tx3 and refreshments by Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co. Following the reception, the film will premiere along with the other three Turning Points films. Don’t worry! Each film is only about 7 minutes long, so the premiere will only take about half an hour.
Following the premiere, Mayor Henry Schwaller and local artist Dennis Schiel will be leading a discussion on Hays and the arts. I am so looking forward to this event and I’ve got my fingers crossed for a fantastic turnout. The entire evening is free to attend, so if you’re not busy, I hope to see you there! Turning Points is supported by the Kansas Humanities Council through a generous gift from Suzi Miner in memory of Kansas historian Craig Miner.
The Kansas Room is located in the basement of the Hays Public Library and is open from 9 AM to 4 PM Tuesday through Saturday, and by request.