For a town smaller than my hometown, population 272, I sure came out with a heap of photos. Dwight, Kansas did not disappoint. Besides the quilt blocks we found, there was this wonderful find. (By the way, there won’t be a quilt block in this round of Thursday Doors)
Free or Exchanged food pantry
I zoomed in on the details next.
Good citizenship
No matter where you live, there are people suffering hard times. It’s a good feeling to know that help is available to those who may feel embarrassed in asking. For those with more than they need, giving is a good example to show your children.
Happy Friday! This Thursday Doors I’m sharing a couple churches in Dwight, Kansas where we found yet more quilt blocks. I won’t elaborate it in too many words being a day late to enter my post. Unexpected drive yesterday to the hospital with the hubster put things in a slight disarray–but happy to say I think we’re getting back on course around here.
The sign reads just ‘Trailside’
Double blue doors and another side storm door. Appears additions were made at intervals and I have to wonder if it was always a church. No I couldn’t find information on this one at all.
Wooden & Glass double doors
And apparently we neglected to get a sign photo of this one completely.
Star with 4-patch center & pinwheels on the corners
Flower block and a Cross Variation. Seems pretty appropriate.
The Kansas Quilt Trail (KQT) meanders through Dwight, Kansas and I have a quilt block close to my heart this week. I don’t know how many of you know of or have a history with 4-H, but it is the focus for this week’s block find.
But before we discovered the little quiet town of Dwight, we passed more farmland with barns and farm houses aplenty. Here’s one set of pics I hope gives you an idea of the scenery we drove by.
Kansas Farm/No quilt
I’d put one right there above those doors.
Dwight is definitely Rural America and I say that with great fondness! I had Ron driving around here quite a bit. Thankfully we weren’t stopped and questioned with all the photos I took. But it was clearly an old railroad town and understandably so with the grain elevators next to the tracks.
Old school house with grain elevator in background.
The last set of photos is an old Masonic Lodge which I looked up and it appears to have folded in the last few years. Lodge AF & AM No.374 was not on the roster of Kansas lodges. I do believe it may house a 4-H club though with the significant quilt block on the front to give me the huge clue. As a past 4-H’er and 4-H project leader of crochet, sewing, early childhood and cooking, I’m always thrilled to see the clubs alive and well! I hope you’ll encourage anyone interested if you have the opportunity. Great memories made there!
We drove a significant amount of miles covering the Kansas Quilt Trail, so the story continues this week.
Some Condensed History
Keeping it condensed because that’s my delivery style, but I plan on giving you a zoomed-in photo or 2 to see what the kiosk above had to say.
Wabaunsee County Museum
Ghost Town Location
19th Century -Schepp Barn extensively restored
I am back-tracking a bit with the museum photo above, but we’re still in Wabaunsee County so it’ll work out fine. The ghost town of Volland was off our planned route but I’d like to go back and see it in person someday. All pics included in the ‘doors’ category naturally.
Barn with “Curved Windmill” Quilt Block. I could have cropped more sky away but I like the wide open feel.
It has been such a wet spring, the farmers haven’t had any trouble at all getting an early hay crop. Some are predicting a very cold winter…. I’ll have my persimmon report in a few days. Hope you check back for the results.
A variation of the Pinwheel Quilt BlockSunburst Variation. So Kansas-appropriate!An Arrow Crown variety to the left and a Square in a Square to the right.
Geometric Pattern
A Rainbow Star block I believe
I thought it a good omen to find District #1 first.
Well the title tells enough–but I’m still giving you more details this week as I continue on the quilt trail through south-central Kansas. This may well be another instance of dividing up the photos so I don’t drown you with them all at once. I rather like the soaking up of a small number at a time. And with blog challenges, most folks are trying to read several leaving little time for long, laborious posts.
And btw, lesson learned on captioning. It needs to show on the photo or directly underneath it. It just isn’t enough to click a photo to read the caption on a separate page. At least that has become my experience with readers. And again, I get it. Busy people require ease of reading. Let us hope WordPress ‘gets it’ pretty soon. I mean, how many times has the newspaper format changed?! Enhanced reader appeal still needs the basics. Don’t worry, this is my last rant on the topic. I doubt this little spiel will change a darn thing.
Mandatory Door photo inserted here.
Native stone home. New windows and roof keep it going another century I hope.
Roadside Info Kiosk
No More Open Range
Wabaunsee County History
This was just past the town of Alma a few miles. Lots of rolling hills and then this roadside touristy spot.
The stone fence.
I’ve read a fair amount on the Dust Bowl years and I’d venture to say this fence saw a lot of change over the last 100+ years. So thankful that tragedy is long gone and this part of history was preserved. Kind of surprised it wasn’t mentioned in the reading above though. Some close-up pics next.
Generations of Ranchers
Little Bluestem,Brome and Switch Grass for hay baling.
6-8 acres per cow/calf pair needed
Ranching is not for the faint of heart. Weather events, ample hay/grass and water are just the tip of the iceburg in success or failure. They have my complete regard!
Panoramic view
And with a view like this every morning, I’d be spellbound for sure. Just spectacular!
When I told a fellow quilt admirer about the Kansas Quilt Trail, they thought it was a fabric store hop. No, I informed them. It’s a trail of painted wooden quilt blocks that are hung on barns, homes, businesses or fences along highways and streets in Kansas. The map is given online–but it’s just a general guideline to finding them. You may drive past a few undetected, trust me.
Just so you know, the portion we drove past and photographed is just a small portion. I have quite a few in my stash I’m happy to say, so please understand I’ll be sharing these for awhile on the Thursday Doors posts–along with the doors discovered along the way, respectively.
Downtown Alma, you won our hearts with your Heart-of-America feel.
These curtains were pretty whimsical and I didn’t notice until we were parked. Made me chuckle and of course they Had to be inserted this week. Thanks Alma for the smiles.
We loved happening onto this set of historical buildings. Other than the signage, I didn’t find any extra information on them. But I dearly love the oval window in the millinery shop! Not sure how original it is to the building but it fits perfectly in my opinion.
Block discovery.
I wonder if they trade out blocks for holidays? This one is clearly in place for the July 4th weekend. Garage door included here. Looks like someone spends time grilling under that shade tree. Does a grill door count?
Bungalow with storm door
Clearly the caution tape is to prevent trespassing. I’d like to think they just got a new driveway entrance poured; but needless to say I didn’t plan on inquiring.
If there could be a perfect marriage of blog posts for me, it would include quilts and doors. And if you were able to read my blog week before last, you will know that I have found the way.
Alma, Kansas
We drove west from Topeka and our first glimpse of blocks started here in Alma. This is the county seat of Webaunsee County. County population in 2008 was 6,922. The sign above reads ” Alma 150th Anniversary – Independence Day Celebration – July 4th” We were a day late on the festivities. Probably a good thing for the purpose of viewing the ‘drive-by’ blocks.
We first stopped at the city park which had these posted for visitors. Very helpful and informative. A few ‘doors’ included if you look closely.
Door Find– stunning sky Divinely inserted.
The Alma First United Methodist Church
When doorscursioning, one must include churches. Thankful the rain moved on for us.
First Block!!!
Mill Creek Mercantile
Old door alert! Just propped but it counts. Would love to come back and see this store inside. Bet it’s got some great stuff!
Corner door
Stain glass above door
Quilt block on the balcony!!
A side note that this community was pretty near a tornado warning just a couple weeks ago(Aug.15). We get Kansas City news and weather and watched as they were tracking the storm. We were so glad they weren’t affected directly.
Photo Donation. Thanks Rach!!
Just in case you’re wondering what quilt I’ve got in the hoop lately, it’s this little number. Hand pieced double wedding ring quilt in red, white and blue –lap-sized and hand quilting a little each evening.
Youngest daughter learned of her car eventually needing a new engine and warranty won’t cover it until it actually fails. This is pretty frustrating.
Eldest daughter was without electricity for 8 hours, hot water for 4 days, and then internet and cable were cut accidentally during repair of said hot water issue.
A ‘trustee’,aka convict, escaped from the Missouri State Fairgrounds who house these people to clean and work around the fairgrounds when most folks are in bed. (More on this in a bit)
And finally, the husband was in the hospital with afib and released Wednesday evening after a battery of doctors coming in an out with differing opinions. The VA is good at that. No offense. I could go on about this too but I will refrain.
First the Doors…
Double Door in the ICU — Columbia, MO VA Hospital
Ron I’m happy to say has lost 80 pounds in the last couple years. But much of it is due to 4 stomach surgeries that involved removing tumors that have been bleeding. Thankfully they are benign, But if they keep returning it will involve a more involved surgery. This is a direct result of dismantling too many meth labs while in law enforcement before they really understood what the effects of meth were. I am very proud of my husband’s service in law enforcement. He fought the good fight. I know of many who are not so good, sadly.
My opinion is probably not appreciated
With all that about the hubby’s career out there, you can summize that I know a few people in our local law enforcement community. There are many aware of my daycare that has been here since 1995, on the Katy Trail. I can only think that they felt I was in good hands with my husband’s presence and I didn’t need to be notified. Guess what?! He may not have actually been here. A simple phone call or text would have been greatly appreciated as I took it upon myself to do a self-directed lock down after my mother-in-law and a neighbor’s mother notified me. (Thank you both!) And oh, by the way, he was apprehended on the Katy Trail, albeit in the opposite direction. I’m pretty peeved at the whole incident. This is the not the first time the trail has been used by escapees.
Thank you to anyone who read the whole paragraph. I will not get on my soapbox any further. At least not today 😉
July 4th weekend we decided to meet up at the eldest daughter’s place for some home-cooked vittles before starting out on a long day trip.
Out the window we caught a glimpse of this rainbow. Bye Bye rain!
We enjoyed eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast—not to mention some ‘pour-over’ coffee. You know, I do believe she payed attention to my cooking tips. 😉 Click on photos to see ‘Captions”.
About the drive…..we headed off after this supercharge breakfast on the Kansas Quilt Trail. Here’s a portion of the map.
Starting point for us was Lawrence, Kansas
As beginners, we learned that there are no warnings of quilt blocks coming up. The map is just a general reference and you must be on the lookout for them. GPS markers would really help if anyone has the ambition to enter them(clears throat). In the next few Thursday Doors, I’ll be sharing our experience. To start here is a little taste of western Kansas.
If you carefully read the story below, you’ll see that the farm land was owned by John Speer and the current house located here once sat diagonally across the street was not owned by John Speer. It was moved here in 2000 honoring John Speer, the founding citizens of Lawrence who showed great resolve in rebuilding after the Quantrill raid of 1863 as well as preserving the architecture of that time. Being a Missouri girl, I do not like being categorized as a ‘Bushwacker’ but since Kansas has taken such great care of my daughter’s college education, I will tolerate it just this once. 😉
We were the only people present at the time. It was Father’s Day weekend and I’m sure many had made special plans. As you can see, our plans were bent on sight-seeing.
And being as we weren’t in anyone else’s way, we peeked inside a bit….
