Posted
by Keith Campbell
August 9, 2007 at 11:04 p.m.
8 Wonders of Kansas
Picking "Wonders" may be the vogue thing to do right now. On 7-7-07 the 7 new wonders of the world were reveled after a global election. If you haven't had a chance to see the new "Wonders" you can go [here][1].The Kansas Sampler Foundation a 501(C) 3 with a mission to educate Kansans about Kansas have captured the "Wonder" voting spirit and have created on online vote to select the 8 Wonders of Kansas. There is one candidate from Douglas County. Constitutional State Hall Historical Site in Lecompton is one of the 24 finalists. There is no questioning the importance of Lecompton in the mid 19th century debates regarding slavery. The Lecompton Constitution was a frequent point of discussion in the famous Lincoln/Douglas debates of 1858. Here are the candidates:Arikaree Breaks Ball of Twine Big Brutus Big Well Brookville Hotel Chase County Courthouse Cheyenne Bottoms/Quivira National Wildlife Refuge Cimarron National Grassland Constitution Hall State Historic Site Davis Memorial John Steuart Curry Murals Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum Fort Larned National Historic Site Garden of Eden Gyp Hills Scenic Drive Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center Kansas Underground Salt Museum Keeper of the Plains Lake Scott State Park Monument Rocks & Castle Rock Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site St. Fidelis Catholic Church (Cathedral of the Plains) St. Mary's Catholic Church Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve & the Flint HillsMy only comment that I would like to make is about the nomination of the Brookville Hotel. Its "claim to fame" is that it has been serving fried chicken since 1915. Not in the same place mind you, because in 1999 a new Brookville Hotel (capturing the spirit of the original I am sure) was built closer to the highway. I like fried chicken, but I am not sure the original claim was enough for it to be included and then when you factor in the whole moved to a new place 8 years ago. Under this standard how in the hell did the Eldridge Hotel not make the list? It is way more deserving of a nomination than the Brookfield Hotel. On top of that the Eldridge has[ history and historical significance][2]. Must be damn good fried chicken. And I may be failing to consider the famous chicken drives from Texas up to Kansas and all points beyond that occurred in the 19th century. Every cowboy dreams of the idyllic life of herd'n chickens across the wide open prairie. The only reasoning I can find is part two of the mission of the Kansas Sampler Foundation: Networking and supporting rural communities. I will counter with Topeka made the list:maybe someone here can come to the defense of the Brookville and politely tell me what I am missing.[VOTE HERE][3].Voting does not end on 8-8 for the Kansas 8 Wonders. You have till 12-31. Feel free to share what nominees received your vote. [1]: http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=633&L=0 [2]: http://www.eldridgehotel.com/hotel_history.htm [3]: http://www.8wonders.org
and 4 others
Comments
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lostblend (Keith Campbell) says…
Here are my votes:
Big Well
Chase County Courthouse
Constitution Hall State Historic Site
John Steuart Curry Murals
Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
Fort Larned National Historic Site
Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center
Monument Rocks & Castle Rock
gomordecai (Ryan Stephens) says…
The largest hand dug well was in Greensburg, and it is currently full of debris. Also, the Liberty Memorial / Union Station is pretty grand.
jdp213 (anonymous) says…
Liberty Memorial / Union Station= Missouri
gomordecai (Ryan Stephens) says…
Sometimes I get confused...sorry
livingkate (anonymous) says…
Absolutely the Garden of Eden and Castle Rock. You can see a dead guy and barbed wire museum at one place, and f-ing seashells in kansas at the other. Rad.
dolores2175 (April Fleming) says…
Big Bru-tus! Big Bru-tus!
lostblend (Keith Campbell) says…
I admit I have a soft spot for Greensburg and the Big Well.
I spent 9 days working as a liaison in the city admins office right after the tornado. The local bank organized a BBQ for the citizens of Greensburg. At this BBQ the citizens of Greensburg kept coming up to the city admin and asking what was being done to save the gumball machine located at the Big Well. This happened over and over. The people were concerned about this gumball machine. The "rescue" of the gumball machine becomes a priority. I grab a couple of guys (to make sure we have enough muscle to lift this important artifact) hop into a gator and drive to the Big Well to save this antique gumball machine. Well, I assumed it would be an antique. What I found was a cheap plastic gumball machine that I was later informed was less than a year old. I took pictures of the resuce operation. It is one of my favorite stories from when I was there.
monkeywrench (Tim vonHolten) says…
keith. . .
so what's the reason it was so important?
suesay (anonymous) says…
Brookville Hotel has good cole slaw as well. I was about 8 at the time, so I ate there about 20 years ago, but that's what I remember. :)
chewyfally (Falestine Afani Ruzik) says…
I am a vegetarian. One of the last meals I had before I became vegetarian was fried chicken from the Brookville Hotel. Sometimes I feel like I could break the vegetarian streak for the Brookville Hotel. Yes, it's that good. It's certainly not the same fried chicken from my childhood, but still pretty darn good. You just have to try it to understand it.
I'd totally nominate it.
godjilla (Jill Ensley) says…
Alllll right....."my pants".
I know, it doesn't entirely make sense. But every damn time I see the title of this blog, that's what pops in my head.
lostblend (Keith Campbell) says…
Tim-
I really don't know what made it important. The picnic was one of the first social events in Greensburg after the tornado. A few days before there had been a very lengthy and heated city council meeting. This picnic was a chance for the people to talk to the city admin and the issue on many of their minds was the gumball machine. The assumption is that it is an antique, when I saw what it actually was I think my first reaction was WTF? After the rescue I asked the City Clerk what the deal was with the gumball machine and she told said, "I don't know it's plastic and less than a year old." She laughed at the "rescue mission" story. I am not sure how the gumball machine survived the tornado. The building surrounding it was gone. There was so much dirt and debris that on the machine that once they rebuild I would image that they will need to buy new gumball machine.