By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

“If only those tombstones could talk….”  Have you ever had that thought while visiting a cemetery? Today we’ll meet a rural community which is giving a voice to fascinating histories of the past.

Karen Sturm is tourism coordinator for the chamber of commerce in Caldwell. This is a volunteer position, as was her time spent as president of the local historical society.

“I’ve always loved history,” Karen said. As a child, she enjoyed reading historical books.  Karen grew up at Caldwell and married a farmer. They have two sons and four granddaughters.

Caldwell is located near the Oklahoma border. It played a significant role in the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Rush into Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. In 1990, the community of Caldwell began a three-year process to prepare for the centennial of the land rush.  Karen stepped in to help with this celebration and learned much more about the fascinating history of Caldwell.

“It revitalized our town,” Karen said. Volunteers helped put up signs and improved the downtown area. In one vacant lot which had grown up in weeds, the lot was cleaned up and landscaped, a shelter was built and historical markers were added. It is now Heritage Park.

Caldwell had been nicknamed the Border Queen, positioned as it was along the Oklahoma line. It was a wild, wide open Cowtown in the days of the cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail. Being a lawman in Caldwell was nearly impossible. For example:  Between 1879 and 1885, the town went through 16 marshals.

Violence was rampant. Outlaws were buried in Caldwell’s boot hill, and a cemetery was begun northwest of town.

As volunteers prepared for the land rush centennial in 1993, they wanted to find an engaging way to share the fascinating true stories of people from Caldwell’s past. They thought about a cemetery tour and then thought of having people in period costumes who would tell the stories in person while depicting the deceased. The activity was so popular it has continued ever since.

“Talking Tombstones” is the name of this program, consisting of volunteers in costume sharing their stories at the cemetery. For example, a cowboy with a rifle stood next to his gravestone and told of being killed in a cow camp shootout. Other volunteers might depict a successful lady of the evening, an early day lawman who was shot in the line of duty, the common law wife of a man who was hung at the stockyards, or a pioneer undertaker. (The local mortician plays that one.) Karen herself portrays the widow of Caldwell’s first marshal.

“This has become our most requested activity,” Karen said. It’s performed for bus tours, school groups, and more. That’s a creative idea for a rural community like Caldwell, population 1,264 people. Now, that’s rural.

More than 20 historical markers mark the downtown streets, describing historic buildings and true stories of wild shootouts and more. These signs are entirely funded by private donations and local businesses.

In 1995, the town erected giant steel silhouettes south of town, depicting a longhorn cattle drive of yesteryear. The school’s art teacher and students created the design.  Local welders built it. The rural telephone company, Kan-Okla, used its big equipment to mount the silhouettes in the ground. A local cement company poured concrete. Caldwell now conducts an annual Chisholm Trail Festival each May.

In 2002, the town’s old opera house was going to be condemned and razed. “The historical society bought the building for the back taxes,” Karen said. In four years, the opera house was beautifully restored. It hosts various community events. Near the opera house, a beautiful metal arch on two massive limestone pillars was built in 2011.

All of these activities are conducted by volunteers. “Our local businesses have been very supportive of letting people take time to do these things,” Karen said. For community information, see www.caldwellkansas.com
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“If only those tombstones could talk…”  Caldwell has found a way to give these tombstones an actual voice. We commend Karen Sturm and all those involved with the Talking Tombstones for making a difference by bringing history to life.

If you ask youngsters to name a wizard, they’ll immediately offer Harry Potter’s name. I have news for HP fans. The real wizard lives in Wyoming, and he wears a cowboy hat. His wand happens to be a paintbrush. This is all true—I and nine other artists worked with him for a week to improve our understanding painting using light and shadow.

What, you say! Yes, a real cowboy early in his eighth decade uses a paintbrush and earth-tone pigments to turn a flat canvas into a vision of soft buckskin baby shoes that look as though you could pick them up and place them in your palm. This magic takes less than seven hours when he’s not wrangling livestock or riding into the Wind River Mountains after this year’s elk. The man takes props such as his son’s worn, beaded moccasins and an old brass bell, puts them in a lightbox, and tugs his spectacles down to get a closer look at the combination. Within an hour, he’s roughed in a sketch that directs his efforts.

Students of varying abilities hang on every word as he narrates the conception of a painting to its finish. They focus on the back of a well-worn dark felt cowboy hat that amplifies the wisdom of 70 some years. Every now and then, this man of a thousand talents turns to his audience, who note his crinkled eyes and his sly grin. He loves to get the group laughing whether it’s through his imitation “Golleeeee,” that reminds them of Gomer Pyle or his audacious chuckle that states outright, “It’s a good day to be alive.”

Tom Lucas started painting his senior year of high school during his first art class. At that time, he determined he’d master using a limited palette. From the looks of his finished paintings, his sales, and awards, he’s succeeded. Now he shares his how to’s with others who want to breathe life into their art with a few well-directed strokes of color.

Over decades, he’s built homes for family, worked numerous occupations, and earned scores of friends and acquaintances’ respect. Surprising even himself, he’s become a public speaker, filling in for the preacher when called upon. Modestly, Tom explains he never thought to fill a pulpit, but everyone sitting in church is glad he did. His message is obvious: God works through his humblest servants. It’s clear that’s true when you see a man who’s learned to speak effectively despite the cleft palate that troubled young Tom.

So where does Lucas’s paintbrush wizardry fit in. His students can explain that. Obviously, he uses a brush and a little paint to turn light and shadow into life-like drama in his own work. However, his most amazing gift is his ability to scan and analyze student paintings. In a flash, he instructs how to incorporate a delicate stroke of color to reveal what the mind perceives. That lucky learner will never see the world the same way again.

As one of his pupils, I marvel at his ability to zero in on exactly what needs improved with a deft stroke or two. Using the student’s palette to repair issues that troubled the aspiring painter, he swiftly transfers knowledge that took him decades to master.
If you told Tom he’s a wizard, he’d blush and give you a country boy, “Ah, shucks.” It’s obvious he feels blessed to earn his living painting and teaching. His students would tell you they’re lucky to learn the secrets of light and dark from a wizard in a cowboy hat whose paintbrush is his wand.

For those of who learn from him, we’re lucky to be in the presence of a master of both painting and good-heartedness.

Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.

Sam Brownback’s approval ratings as governor of Kansas are dismally low, yet polls show Donald Trump winning Kansas. How can both of those things be true? It does not make sense for Kansans to boo Brownback, but vote for Trump.

Over the last year, Brownback has consistently polled in the 20% approval range, the lowest of any governor in the nation. That almost unimaginable level of repudiation from Kansas citizens stems directly from his failed “Kansas experiment.” Brownback and his legislative allies cut income taxes in a big swoosh four years ago on the premise that the tax cuts would bring jobs and economic prosperity. Instead, the tax cuts broke the state budget and imperiled education, highways, and key services without delivering the promised economic jolt.

The experiment, which primarily benefitted the wealthiest Kansans, did not “trickle down” to middle or low-income Kansans. Rather, with the loss of credits like the food sales tax rebate, and increases in sales tax rates, lower-income taxpayers now pay more than before. Kansans noticed, and blame Brownback for the trouble.

But wait! Donald Trump has an almost identical economic plan: cut taxes sharply for wealthy Americans on the premise that this policy brings economic prosperity. He proposes creating the same kind of loophole for “business income” that Kansans have come to understand as deeply unfair. Past promoters of the Kansas experiment are now key members of Trump’s economic team.

Listen to Sam Brownback’s now famous words from four years ago:

“Our new pro-growth tax policy will be like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy. It will pave the way to the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs, bring tens of thousands of people to Kansas, and help make our state the best place in America to start and grow a small business.”

Now listen to Donald Trump from the first presidential debate:

“Under my plan, I’ll be reducing taxes tremendously, from 35% to 15% for companies, small and big businesses. That’s going to be a job creator like we haven’t seen since Ronald Reagan. It’s going to be a beautiful thing to watch.”

Same thing! Seductive words in the beginning, but the plan doesn’t work. Kansas provides powerful evidence.

Certainly this presidential election is more than a referendum on economic plans. Voters must weigh many important and complex issues. For Kansans, though, the economic plan should be a prime one. After all, it’s our issue. We are the ones in the front row seats, the on-the-ground witnesses to what happens when leaders go down an irresponsible path.

If you like what Brownback has done in Kansas, Trump may well be your guy.

However, to the majority of Kansans who are Brownback disapprovers: Giving Trump our six electoral votes, even by the slimmest of margins, would foist our troubles on the rest of the nation, and show that we have not yet fully learned the lessons from the Brownback years.

Duane Goossen formerly served 12 years as Kansas Budget Director.

Want to stump that candidate for the House or Senate who shows up on your doorstop while you’re trying to finish dinner in time for “Dancing with the Stars” or hustling to get the hopefully last-of-the-season lawn mowing done?

Might try asking that legislative hopeful one or two questions about labor law in Kansas.

Key, of course, is that Kansas is a state where employment is important for the general economy, and your town in particular.

Those questions? Try: “Where are you on ban the box and/or E-Verify?”

Ban the box is that campaign under way in several states—and which has been rejected by the Kansas Legislature—to ban that little check box on employment applications that asks “do you have a criminal record?”

If there’s one question on an employment application that virtually assures that for those who have a criminal record—and because they’re filling out an employment application have likely completed the sentence or penalty for whatever they’ve done—the application goes into the trash, it’s probably that box.

The issue goes a couple ways. That box might be checked for some juvenile mistake or a crime for which the applicant has paid his/her price, learned his/her lesson and is ready to become a productive member of society.

That checkbox virtually eliminates an interview in which an employer can ask in person about a criminal record, what it deals with, how it was handled and what skills the job candidate has. It’s still the employer’s decision, but at least it can be based on a face-to-face interview and assessment of whether that criminal record presents any problems with employing a former check-kiter to roof houses or cook or assemble trailers.

Interesting question? Learn something about a candidate by his/her answer to the question? Probably. Nope, it’s not taxes or highways or the death penalty, but it might tell you something about what experience the candidate has in real life—because, after all, that candidate is applying for your vote.

That second question? Might try E-Verify. That’s the federal program that Kansas doesn’t mandate that employers use but which in many states and for some types of contracts requires that an employer verify that a job applicant or employee is legally eligible to work in the United States.

Now, here’s your chance to get the candidate off his standard pitch for votes and maybe get a little feel for whether the candidate is fairly broad-based in his/her thoughts on issues that aren’t so simple.

Employers, or at least many of them, don’t use E-verify, asserting that the federal data isn’t always accurate and that it puts them in the position of sometimes having to go through some extra steps to make sure that the worker is here legally. An immigration deal? Maybe, because U.S. citizens—and Kansans—are competing for jobs with foreign workers (anyone had a roof replaced or a tree trimmed recently?) who maybe shouldn’t be working here.

Whatever you feel about the issue, would you care what your representative or senator feels on the issue?

These last couple weeks provide the chance to see whether a candidate knows issues, responds to questions, answers the phone, and may or may not be the candidate for you.

Because, remember, that candidate is essentially a job-seeker.

The “ban the box” issue probably doesn’t apply to him/her, unless you ask or for some reason the candidate offers, but politically would you want to automatically deny a candidate your vote for some little infraction years ago? Probably not.

Oh, and the E-verify issue is easier. They’ve already been confirmed—not to work anywhere in the U.S.—but at least they’ve been vetted that they live in your House or Senate district, so consider them “verified.”

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com.

By U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.

“I dug through the data and I have different data than you have…What I understand from my visit and the documents I reviewed is…there was nothing in his file that suggested that this was a risk.” –U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald, September 2016

Several years ago, our nation was appalled to learn that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees were encouraged to create secret waiting lists that stood between veterans and the care they deserved. Veterans died waiting for care because of deceptive practices at the VA, and at that point, I called for the resignation of then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. At the time, I didn’t think things at the agency could get any worse. But, I now know I was wrong.

Unfortunately, what took place at the VA’s Leavenworth, Kansas-based Eastern Kansas Health Care System is one of the worst examples of how the VA has failed veterans. In this instance, the VA hired physician assistant Mark Wisner, who was previously convicted of a lewd act, continued credentialing him for patient care every two years, and kept him on their payroll for more than a month after he admitted to preying on, assaulting and abusing vulnerable veterans. While the VA regrets what occurred, I’m frustrated now-VA Secretary Bob McDonald doesn’t seem to share my sense of urgency about investigating this situation to make certain this never happens again.

When I learned of the accusations of misconduct against Mr. Wisner, I immediately got in touch with local VA leadership to get answers. On Sept. 2, 2016, I took my concerns all the way up the ladder to Secretary McDonald requesting answers to 22 pointed questions. I sent him publicly available court filings that include sworn testimony from the VA Office of Inspector General’s special agent who interviewed Mr. Wisner. The next week, I asked one of the VA’s top health officials several of the same questions during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing. In the first instance, all of the “different data” my office has collected was shared with the VA and, in the second, my concerns were clearly and publicly articulated to Sec. McDonald’s staff. And yet on Sept. 14, 2016, when I had an opportunity to publicly question the secretary about this case, I was dismayed to hear him say that “nothing in [Wisner’s] file suggested that this was a risk.” Now, more than a month later, I hope the secretary will respond to the questions that I and many veterans have about this case.

The failures aren’t limited to what VA ought to have known prior to hiring Wisner – they extend to how they handled what they did know. Even a cursory examination of the case reveals that more than a month passed between when Wisner admitted his crimes and when he voluntarily resigned. The moment a VA employee admits to abusing a patient, a client, or a coworker should be the moment their paycheck ends. Grounds for immediate termination clearly existed and yet Mr. Wisner remained a VA employee another 37 days. Only when Wisner tendered his own resignation did he cease work at the VA.

I do not doubt Sec. McDonald’s claim that he had “different data” than me and others following the case; but, what is so troublesome is that he felt the data they had was sufficient – that the VA had thoroughly investigated the situation and there was no risk. The VA’s top executive was unable to answer any questions with substance and put the minds of veterans at ease. His inability to address this situation gives little confidence to Congress and more importantly to veterans who are being asked to trust the agency that failed to protect them.

And, if I am working with all possible channels to gather information as to how this could have happened, shouldn’t we be able to reasonably expect the VA to do the same? It is unacceptable that Wisner’s criminal past – a glaring red flag – was missed. When the consequences of that mistake are as grave as these violent crimes, how can we tolerate it again and again?

Veterans are upset. Firing this individual could have brought a small measure of justice for his victims – and yet the VA failed to do even that. Although Wisner is beyond the VA’s reach, he is not beyond the reach of Congress. I have introduced legislation that would reduce the pension of employees who are convicted of a violent crime against a veteran. Why should an individual who sexually abused veterans receive the same benefits as the thousands of VA employees who honorably serve them?

The VA’s lack of urgency and interest in addressing this situation shortchanges our nation’s heroes and the hardworking men and women who serve them every day at the VA. I encourage any veteran who has had an experience they would like to share confidentially to contact my Olathe office at (913) 393-0711.

Oct. 6 marked the dedication of the first byway to exclusively celebrate agriculture in this country. Located in far western Kansas and named the “Land and Sky” scenic byway, it follows Highway 27 through Wallace, Sherman and Cheyenne counties.

The Land and Sky scenic byway stretches 88 miles from Wallace County to Cheyenne County. This byway consists mainly of crops, livestock and pasture and showcases Kansas agriculture.

Since our state’s beginning, farming and ranching have played a major role in the Kansas economy, it’s communities, culture, heritage and people. Today, agriculture remains the state’s largest industry, economic driver and employer.

Farming and ranching accounts for approximately 20 percent of the state’s GDP and directly employs approximately 17 percent of the Kansas labor force, or nearly one in five jobs. Kansas remains a national leader in wheat, grain sorghum and beef production.

“Agriculture is an exciting, dynamic industry,” says Robin Jennison, Kansas secretary of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism. Jennison helped cut the ribbon and spoke to those attending the Land and Sky dedication. His family has farmed in Lane County since 1887.

Farming and ranching is something to celebrate and be proud of in Kansas,” Jennison says. “Kansas agriculture is exciting and interesting and people who visit our great state and northwestern Kansas will have an opportunity to experience this rich and diversified culture.”

Nearly 100 people attended the events and tour during the first week of October. Wallace County hosted the first day of the dedication with a celebration and tour of the Fort Wallace Museum. That evening nearly 75 people traveled to Mount Sunflower to view the stars and identify the constellations after sunset.

In case you don’t know, Mount Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas with an elevation of 4,039 feet above sea level. Mount Sunflower is located on the Harold Family Ranch.

With no disruption from earthly light, the stars appeared like countless pinpricks in the pitch-black sky and provided a mesmerizing panorama overhead.

The next day began at Smoky Gardens south of Goodland and finished in St. Francis. At Smoky Gardens, attendees heard from Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame historians Gary and Margaret Kraisinger.
A chuck wagon lunch, complete with piping hot beef and vegetable stew, warmed the visitors who braved the brisk northerly winds at the Sherman County Fairgrounds.

After lunch the tour moved to the Arikaree Breaks. This area of extremely rough terrain with its deep ravines and gullies offers a marked contrast to the plains generally associated with this area of northwestern Kansas. The tour ended with some guests touring the new motorcycle museum in downtown St. Francis.

Oct. 5-6 provided a day chock full of events and gave visitors the opportunity to experience what the Land and Sky byway offers. More importantly, it included a panoramic patchwork of crops including corn, milo, soybeans and sunflowers decked out in brown, red and yellow.

This vibrant, ever-changing landscape serves up a different assortment of crops and colors throughout the year providing travelers a chance to see a different look throughout the seasons. During the springtime, when the wheat crop looks like a great green carpet, visitors travelling through often ask, “why are these lawns out here with no houses or people?”

With the new byway in place, these visitors will learn the answer to this question and more about the land and crops. Travelling through western Kansas will also afford a chance to experience the culture and heritage of the people who call this country home.

Thousands of acres of rolling hills, valleys, canyons and ravines showcase this scenery. Future plans include turn-outs and interpretive signs that will further enhance the learning experience.

The people who live, work and raise their families in Wallace, Sherman and Cheyenne counties hope visitors will come see their rural lifestyle and enjoy the experience of living in farm and ranch county. Who knows, some may like it well enough to move to this region of land and sky in western Kansas.

John Schlageck, Hoxie, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

In the predawn darkness, I wound my way along the ranch driveway, then through several tall rows of round hay bales to an open spot which was about the highest point in the pasture. From there I’d hike over the ridge into a deep draw where I had a blind set up overlooking a pond.

As I opened the truck door, coyotes began their parting serenade as they ended their night’s hunting and headed for cover to spend the day. There were moans, howls, yips and barks as I closed the truck door quietly and stood there in the darkness soaking it all in.

This was opening day of Kansas antelope rifle season, and my plan had been to sit in the blind until daybreak, then wonder farther up the draw to try and find a large group of 20 or more I had spotted there the evening before, even though now it was doubtful they were anywhere close, given the fact that the coyotes had evidently just come through that same draw.

For years now a friend of mine has gone to Canada goose hunting each fall with several friends. Geese are so thick where they go that people come up to them and literally beg them to shoot geese on their properties. I found almost the same scenario on last week’s antelope hunt in western Kansas. It’s hard to find a land owner and rancher out there who want them on their property. My Kansas antelope tag was for unit 2 which includes all of Wallace Co, and I had previously lined up three landowners around Sharon Springs who were eager to see a few disappear.

This ranch was 7 miles north of Sharon Springs and consisted of the usual deep barren draws, high flat bluffs, barbed wire fences and stock tanks & windmills that are a common denominator to the area. I met with a local landowner who had for years been an avid antelope hunter, but now hunts only deer, and he taught me a few of the finer points of Kansas antelope hunting. It seems antelope group together for the winter in larger groups like turkeys do here in my neck of the woods.

I saw a group numbering more than twenty and a smaller group of ten or less within a couple mile radius of the property I was on that first morning. While I freaked at the thought of a 200 yard shot to harvest one, he chuckled and told me most local hunters sight in their rifles at 300, and shots of 400 yards are not unusual. He also warned me that while hunting from blinds might work some on dry years, this was not a dry year, and that I should concentrate on spotting them with binoculars then figuring a way to get to them unnoticed.

As I sat in the blind, I was antsy to get out and start walking further up the draw, even though the coyotes had certainly spooked any other critters therein. Shortly after daybreak, 3 shots broke the morning silence, probably from a walk-in hunting area (WIHA) just over the ridge. I fidgeted, but sat still thinking maybe that would flush the rest of that herd down the draw toward me. Soon I could stand it no longer and left the blind, heading up the ridge to the truck to drop off my chair before tackling a trek back down into that draw.

With the binoculars I took a good look around before leaving the truck again, and in the opposite direction from my blind, a small group of 9 or 10 antelope were slowly grazing their way up a short narrow draw probably a quarter mile away. If they would put up with me for 50 yards or so, I could be over a ridge and maybe work my way quietly to the lower end of the draw they were in. I had little hope in that working, but thought to myself “What the heck, I might as well get my first failure of the day out of the way.” I picked out a dark bare spot at the base of a hill just below them and headed for that. I lost count of the number of small ridges I crossed and the ravines I followed, but managed to stay out of the antelope’s sight.

Finally I got down and crawled the last few feet to the spot I had picked out at the base of the hill. I half crouched, half knelt behind some yucca plants, and through their broad leaves I could see the antelope ahead and slightly above me. One animal, a buck stood alone above the rest, but was at an angle that made for a bad shot that would do too much damage to him. He kept looking my direction and was on alert, but didn’t seem at all spooked. My range finder was not working from behind the plants, so I was only guessing the distance. Two does at the bottom of the group offered a perfect broadside shot, but should I take one of them or hope the buck changed his position?

I situated myself as comfortably as possible, put my rifle on the shooting stick, watched and waited. After a time, the buck evidently felt all was well with the world, turned broadside to me and put his head down to graze. My rifle was sighted at 200 yards and I knew the distance was no less than that, so I put the scope crosshairs where they needed to be and took the shot. The entire group bounded up onto the flat ridge above, but as I watched, the buck went down just a few yards from where he had stood.

I could hardly believe this had all worked just the way it was supposed to. I don’t get emotional when I harvest an animal, but as I stood there admiring my first Kansas antelope, I believe I pumped my fist in the air and hollered something like “It really worked!” Well, yet another adventure is crossed off my bucket list, and this will officially become the most expensive meat I’ve ever put in my freezer. ..Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

“The perfect pumpkin.” That’s the objective of a young farm entrepreneur whose interest in a pumpkin seedling 4-H project has grown into a business of its own.

Brett Pfizenmaier and his brother Eric are owner/operators of the Pfizenmaier Pumpkin Patch. Their parents, Pat and Maureen Pfizenmaier, farm west of Clay Center.

Bobby Bulk, a family friend, helped the Pfizenmaiers with their field crops. He also loved to garden, and that knowledge would prove helpful in the future.

Brett and his brother were active in 4-H. One year Brett tried a 4-H project to learn about germination of seedlings using a nice, big pumpkin seed as an example. He planted and watered the seed and watched it grow.

After it sprouted and emerged, Brett didn’t want to just throw the seedling away, so he brought it home and planted it. In fact, he ultimately planted an 80 x 100 square-foot field of pumpkins. Unfortunately, it seemed that about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

“That first year was close to a flop,” Brett said. “We had bugs and weeds.” In the end, they produced about 100 pumpkins and gourds altogether, and they learned a lot. They tried again the next year, and with help from family friend and garden guru Bobby Bulk, they expanded production. They have grown and produced pumpkins ever since.

Brett got a degree in agronomy from K-State and returned to the farm. He married Jenna and they now have a two year old named Will. Brett’s brother Eric is now a sophomore in agronomy. He works on weekends.

The Pfizenmaiers farm the traditional crops of wheat, soybeans, grain sorghum and corn and operate a cow-calf herd. Brett and Eric also produce and market the pumpkins.

The Pfizenmaier family farmhouse is located directly on Highway 24, so it is a visible and convenient place for customers to stop. Each fall Brett and Eric set up a stand with straw bales and attractive displays to market the pumpkins. It is known as the Pfizenmaier Pumpkin Patch.

About 25 percent of their production is sold wholesale to other vendors, but most of it is sold directly to retail customers at the stand on the farm.

Every year the Pfizenmaiers rotate the growing fields to a different part of the farm so as to help control insects. Once the stand opens, Brett inventories the stand daily and picks and replenishes products as needed.

“Our customers seem to like the fact that our pumpkins are pre-picked and convenient for them to pick up,” Brett said. Another remarkable factor is the number of alternatives. These are not all plain, orange pumpkins. The Pfizenmaiers offer various sizes, colors and related types, such as gourds, squash, jack-o-lanterns, pie pumpkins, giants, and more.

“We offer around 26 different varieties of pumpkins and gourds each year, and we are always upgrading and changing them,” Brett said. “The perfect pumpkin is out there somewhere, and we’re working on it.”

Brett especially enjoys interaction with repeat customers through the years. He’s sold to visitors from as far away as Colorado and Texas. Sales are also strong to customers from large and small communities in the region, such as Manhattan and Beloit plus rural towns such as Clifton, population 542, and Glasco, population 520. Now, that’s rural.

The Pfizenmaiers work hard to care for their pumpkins. “We do it all by hand,” Brett said. That includes planting and weeding. “It’s not easy to do. It requires constant monitoring for fungus, squash bugs, and cucumber beetles.”

Pfizenmaier Pumpkin Patch is now in its 14th year. That first plot of 100 pumpkins has grown to three to five acres producing several thousand pumpkins annually. For more information, go to Facebook and search for Pfizenmaier Pumpkin Patch.

The perfect pumpkin and a great customer experience: That’s the goal of Brett and Eric from Pfizenmaier Pumpkin Patch. They are making a difference by diversifying their farming operation and responding to this market. Now the fall season is here. It’s a perfect time to go on a quest for the perfect pumpkin.

Recent headlines that Bass Pro Shop purchased Cabela’s empire for 5.5 billion dollars triggered lively conversations at our house. Like many folks, we’re wondering how our outdoor shopping habits will change. We frequently visited relatives in Sidney, so we had a front row seat to watch this corporation expand out of a red brick warehouse to its current multi-store empire during forty years of marriage. Over those years, I’ve written several columns about family adventures at this American landmark. Recalling our affection for Cabela’s led to memories about its predecessor—Herter’s.

Coincidentally, I happened to pick up a boxed 903 Herter’s deer call at a garage sale this weekend. When I handed it to my husband, he immediately recalled glorious hours he spent pouring through old catalogues to make his childhood hunting, fishing, and trapping wish lists. Watching him share these happy reminiscences gave me a peek at a boy filled with dreams of Daniel Boone-style adventures. I’m guessing this current generation of outdoor enthusiasts feels the same when they flip through Cabela’s catalogues.

As soon as we started talking about old Herter’s mailings, my husband could tell me exactly which ones he saved. He could also detail accounts of his orders of fishing lures and hooks as well as his hunting and trapping supplies that included decoys, traps, and a special knife. For a youngster who grew up a few hundred yards from the Kansas River in the Flint Hills, Herter’s offered the very best Canadian Guide-tested materials to guarantee success in the field and on the water.

Hearing him recite this litany reminded me of distant days when delayed gratification ruled young lives. I heard disappointment in his voice as he recounted the high school canoe trip that took him and friends to Waseca, Minnesota—home of Herter’s actual store. Unfortunately, the travelers arrived after business closed and left before it opened.

Like many fellows who grew up during the 60s and 70s, he didn’t have much money, so he hauled bales, pulled weeds, and performed other farm chores until he fill out that order blank and attach a cashier’s check. From our earliest dates, I heard from relatives and friends about how hard my husband worked to reach his goals. When he bought my engagement and wedding ring, Herter’s missed his order until he replenished that account. However, until they closed, he relished reading and rereading each page of their seasonal mailing and planning the next year’s list

Like many friends, we began marriage with little more than a few hand-me-downs and a supply of old catalogues, traps, decoys, and fishing supplies bought throughout the years. Before we got on our feet, Herter’s went bankrupt and closed. Since then, we’ve diligently scouted auctions and garage sales to find remnants of George H’s outdoor empire. We’ve collected boxed deer, crow, duck, and quail calls along with the famed Bull Cook book sent as a Christmas gift from my brother. He shares my husband’s love of pouring through those old catalogues and finding memorabilia in dusty corners of second hand stores and garages.

The business deal between Bass Pro and Cabela’s makes me wonder if a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts will stash catalogues and treasure purchases carrying Cabela’s logo the way we saved our beloved Herter’s ephemera. It’s the end of an era. Who knows what will take its place?
The End of an Era

Recent headlines that Bass Pro Shop purchased Cabela’s empire for 5.5 billion dollars triggered lively conversations at our house. Like many folks, we’re wondering how our outdoor shopping habits will change. We frequently visited relatives in Sidney, so we had a front row seat to watch this corporation expand out of a red brick warehouse to its current multi-store empire during forty years of marriage. Over those years, I’ve written several columns about family adventures at this American landmark. Recalling our affection for Cabela’s led to memories about its predecessor—Herter’s.

Coincidentally, I happened to pick up a boxed 903 Herter’s deer call at a garage sale this weekend. When I handed it to my husband, he immediately recalled glorious hours he spent pouring through old catalogues to make his childhood hunting, fishing, and trapping wish lists. Watching him share these happy reminiscences gave me a peek at a boy filled with dreams of Daniel Boone-style adventures. I’m guessing this current generation of outdoor enthusiasts feels the same when they flip through Cabela’s catalogues.

As soon as we started talking about old Herter’s mailings, my husband could tell me exactly which ones he saved. He could also detail accounts of his orders of fishing lures and hooks as well as his hunting and trapping supplies that included decoys, traps, and a special knife. For a youngster who grew up a few hundred yards from the Kansas River in the Flint Hills, Herter’s offered the very best Canadian Guide-tested materials to guarantee success in the field and on the water.

Hearing him recite this litany reminded me of distant days when delayed gratification ruled young lives. I heard disappointment in his voice as he recounted the high school canoe trip that took him and friends to Waseca, Minnesota—home of Herter’s actual store. Unfortunately, the travelers arrived after business closed and left before it opened.

Like many fellows who grew up during the 60s and 70s, he didn’t have much money, so he hauled bales, pulled weeds, and performed other farm chores until he fill out that order blank and attach a cashier’s check. From our earliest dates, I heard from relatives and friends about how hard my husband worked to reach his goals. When he bought my engagement and wedding ring, Herter’s missed his order until he replenished that account. However, until they closed, he relished reading and rereading each page of their seasonal mailing and planning the next year’s list

Like many friends, we began marriage with little more than a few hand-me-downs and a supply of old catalogues, traps, decoys, and fishing supplies bought throughout the years. Before we got on our feet, Herter’s went bankrupt and closed. Since then, we’ve diligently scouted auctions and garage sales to find remnants of George H’s outdoor empire. We’ve collected boxed deer, crow, duck, and quail calls along with the famed Bull Cook book sent as a Christmas gift from my brother. He shares my husband’s love of pouring through those old catalogues and finding memorabilia in dusty corners of second hand stores and garages.

The business deal between Bass Pro and Cabela’s makes me wonder if a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts will stash catalogues and treasure purchases carrying Cabela’s logo the way we saved our beloved Herter’s ephemera. It’s the end of an era. Who knows what will take its place?

Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.

Kansas’s hardline opposition to Medicaid expansion has to change, if healthcare and health outcomes are going to grow in rural Kansas. Given the governor’s position, and a bill (HB2552) passed in 2014 that change will have to begin in the Kansas Legislature.

A change in the Republican moderate-conservative power distribution coupled with some pick-ups in Democratic seats this November could provide the legislative majority required by HB 2552. A harbinger of that change is the serious challenge being given to Republican State Representative Ron Highland of Wabaunsee County who is facing a young, well-funded, and skillfully organized challenge from Rossville, Democrat Adrienne Olejnik. Similar changes in Johnson County and other districts around the state also seem more likely come Nov. 8.

The Medicaid problem got a pretty good airing through announcements made recently by Stormont-Vail, a big healthcare provider in northeast Kansas. Stormont-Vail and its Cotton-O’Neil division announced the closing of two clinics open for less than 18 months. The Stormont CEO, Randy Peterson, attributed the closings of the Cotton–O’Neil Clinics in Alma (Wabaunsee County) and Lyndon (Osage County) to two things. First, the state’s recent decision to cut Medicaid reimbursements by 4%. Second, the unsparing determination of the governor, endorsed by earlier legislative resolutions, not to accept additional Medicaid money to serve 150,000 Kansans who earn more than the state’s stingy 38% of poverty Medicaid benefit qualification, but less than $30,000 a year for a family of four.

The reimbursement reduction alone cut $3 million from Stormont’s revenue, and the closings negatively impact 2700 clients in northeast Kansas. Not all of that now unserved clientele uses Medicaid. Many are simply average townspeople and farm families, or elderly residents who will now have to find alternatives. State action (and inaction) has made service for all by the healthcare provider economically impossible. Representative Highland has been a supporter of the hardline anti-Medicaid position.

Since the purge of moderate Republican legislators began in earnest in 2012, the legislature has gone on record several times to make clear its solidarity with the governor in opposing Medicaid. In 2014, the legislature attempted to take away any existing or subsequent executive authority to expand Medicaid by enacting HB 2552. The bill explicitly required a legislative enactment before any expansion of Medicaid beyond the current stingy limits can occur. HB 2552 passed the Kansas House 68 to 54 and the Senate 33 to 7. It was signed by the governor in the last days of the 2014 session

The tea leaves do not foretell a veto-proof legislature’s election. If that doesn’t happen, then Kansas can continue to deny expanded Medicaid supported healthcare for 150,000 uncovered Kansans. Whether that proves to be the case or not, it should provide a valuable civics lesson to an electorate that may be turned off by the ugliness of the national electoral scene this year.

It is important to remember that races like the Highland – Olejnik contest actually matter far more to the daily lives of Kansans. Do not forget that voting will determine government’s actions which will affect the lives of real people in real ways.

Dr. Mark Peterson teaches political science at the college level in Topeka.

Submitted by Ann Pfeifer

I live in Hays with my husband, Ernie Pfeifer III and our three children. In 2007, I received my Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from FHSU with a Mathematics minor and Leadership certificate while working for Golden Plains Credit Union, gaining practical financial experience. After graduation, I worked at FHSU Student Fiscal Services as an Accounting Specialist from January 2008 until securing my position as Accounting Manager with the Ellis County Treasury in November 2010.

I was subsequently elected to the Ellis County Treasurer position in November 2012. Since then, the Kansas County Treasurer’s Association has awarded me the Certified Kansas County Finance Officer Certification after completing the program administered by FHSU Docking Institute in 2016. Currently I am completing the KU Certified Public Manager (CPM) program with my projected completion date December 2016 and am an active member in the Hays Area Young Professionals.

My Responsibilities as Current Treasurer:
• Process tag and tax transactions
• Money Management – $28-million-dollar banking portfolio for the county
• Process all County transactions in accounting system, including all bookkeeping for two improvement districts and the Public Building Commission
• Assist other offices and entities in accounting matters
• Collect and distribute $47.8 million of your taxes and fees, 33% kept by county, 0.6% delinquency rate
• Answer questions of taxing entities: state, county, cities, schools, townships, etc.
• Appraiser, Clerk and Treasurer work closely on many tasks
• Manage the EZ Pay Escrow program, which allows taxpayers to save for tax and motor vehicle transactions – 659 active accounts

Changes I have Implemented:
Many of these changes were in the planning phases before I became treasurer, and I, along with my staff and other departments, have since successfully implemented all of them. They include county issued bonds for the Old 40 road bond in May 2015; three Public Building Commission building projects in July 2015; a new accounting system in May 2013; a tax system in September 2013; in January 2014, the State of Kansas implemented the Commercial Vehicle system. In January 2015, I helped move the Treasurer’s office from the Courthouse to the new permanent location in the Administrative Center at 718 Main Street.

Accomplishments:
Through enhancements and innovations, the following efficiencies and cost savings have happened.
• The EZ Pay processing for the Automatic Clearing House (ACH) pull done twice a month has been partially automated through an enhancement so now it takes a quarter of the time to process.
• Since 2014, the office has worked with a local vendor to reduce the time it takes to process tax statements from 3-4 weeks to process to 8-10 days. This has reduced the overtime needed during tax season, which helps reduce the amount of taxes levied to run the Treasurer’s office.
• The delinquent Real Estate publication, published in three consecutive weeks in August, has been printed smaller to help reduce the total cost from $5,148 in 2014, $3,523 in 2015 and $2,387 in 2016. A larger print is available online and can be mailed if requested.
• For taxpayer convenience, the treasurer’s office has a website e-treasury.us where information can be accessed 24 hours a day. The most popular areas of the site are the tax search engine and the motor vehicle tax estimator for vehicles which are linked on the bottom of the home page. In August, a redesigned e-treasury.us website was launched to make the site more mobile friendly.

Future Plans if Re-elected
• With a 7% reduction in budget from 2016 to 2017, I, with the help of my staff, will review Line Management to find a better way of managing long lines during busy times.
• I plan to look at efficiencies and cost savings in the tax statement mailing process. We are in the beginning phases of working with our software vendor and mail processor to determine which cost and time saving options would be best.
• I would like to offer payroll deduction to all the employers of Ellis County, not just employees of Ellis County. This would allow taxpayers to have EZ Pay Escrow contributions deducted from their paychecks and put into an account with the Treasury, to be used for tax or motor vehicle transactions in Ellis County. This project would be implemented in multiple phases.

I believe that every taxpayer has a stake in the county. As a wife and mother of three, I want to do my part to make Ellis County a wonderful place to live, not only for my family but for future generations. I would like to thank you for allowing me to serve as your county treasurer. I humbly ask for you to vote Ann Pfeifer as Ellis County Treasurer in the November 8, 2016 election.

Ann Pfeifer is the Democratic candidate for the office of Ellis County Treasurer.