By Grady Atwater One of the objections to learning about history is that history books are dry and boring, and people don’t have time to read a big, thick, history book. However, history is as entertaining as fiction when it comes to telling compelling stories that offer drama and interest for readers. Osawatomie’s own history [...]
By Kevin Gray When I read the other day about how community colleges in Kansas are bursting at the seams, I realized what young people are facing. Seniors will graduate from Kansas high schools in May, community colleges will continue to swell and the state’s colleges and universities will release their hopeful grads to a [...]
By Jeremy Gulley To set the stage for this column, I think it important to take a minute to remind readers that the Kansas City Royals used to be good. When I was a child, I saw them win multiple American League titles, play in the World Series twice, and win once. My childhood and [...]
By Grady Atwater Anna January worked to preserve Osawatomie’s history and heritage from 1898 to 1946. Anna January taught locally for three years before marrying D.A. January in 1901. Anna January was driven, ambitious and community minded, and the Western Spirit reported on March 22, 1946 that “Mrs. January did not confine her talents within [...]
Kevin Gray A few weeks ago, I posted my Philmont Scout Ranch group picture taken in 1967. Almost 15, I found myself in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northeastern New Mexico, along with ten other Boy Scouts, one leader – all of us from Virginia – and our guide, an Explorer Scout. In the [...]
By Jeremy Gulley On January 18, 2009, the day before his inauguration as President of the United States, Barack Obama spent time painting the walls of a Washington D.C. area teen homeless shelter called “Safe Space.” The shelter houses troubled teens, runaways and other at risk youth, but was in desperate need of renovation. “Currently, [...]
By Jeremy Gulley I’ve learned the most profound lessons of my life by paying attention to others who know more than I do. My dad, for example, taught me a lot by how he lived his life. He always handled himself in a consistent manner; never changing who he was to impress other people. As [...]
By Grady Atwater The Soldiers Monument is the final resting place of the five Free State guerillas who died at the Battle of Osawatomie on Aug. 30, 1856. The Osawatomie Monumental Association began working on creating the monument on Aug. 6, 1872, and the effort was led by H.B. Smith, H.H. Williams and Reverend Samuel [...]
By Kevin Gray I still can’t believe it, but the recycling program L&K Services started in Paola is a cinch! Before I go on, I need to say, it really helps if you already do a little recycling at home. You know: paper products, plastic, cans and glass. This, we’ve been doing at our house [...]
Kevin Gray “Spend the money on the lower grades, and we won’t have the problems we have to deal with in the upper grades,” I used to tell my colleagues and administrators over my 30 years as a high school English teacher. “The way we spend money is turned around,” I used to harp, meaning [...]