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$24.99
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Stunned and grieving survivors stared into their burned-out town on the western frontier in the midst of the Civil War. William C. Quantrill's Missouri guerillas raided Lawrence, Kansas, on August 21, 1863, and killed 180 men and boys. Women lost husbands, children lost fathers, and fathers lost sons. Every one of the 2,500 residents lost either a loved one, a neighbor, or acquaintance. A few left town, but most survivors were determined to remain and remember; not to "wink out." Newcomers brought industry and innovation. The University of Kansas, 1866, and Haskell Institute, 1884 (now Haskell Indian Nations University), grew into major institutions.
Ottawa
9781467112697
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$24.99
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Ottawa was founded in 1864. Located in the Marais des Cygnes River Valley, the area's rich soil and lush grass made it well suited for growing crops and pasturing livestock. The community's first cultural center was Ottawa University, which was chartered in 1865 and built on land exchanged by the Ottawa Indians for the promise of an education for their children. Two railroads later arrived, the Lawrence, Leavenworth & Galveston in 1868 and the Missouri Pacific in 1880, spurring industrial development. Images of America: Ottawa highlights early settlers, prominent industries, noteworthy institutions, and devastating natural disasters. Using vintage photographs, this history features local memories and milestones, capturing everything from the famous Ottawa Chautauqua Assemblies, held annually from 1883 to 1914 in Forest Park, to the emerging distribution centers that have shaped the area today.
Fort Riley
9780738531694
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$24.99
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Founded in 1853, Fort Riley was established to protect merchants and settlers on the Santa Fe and Oregon-California Trails. Fort Riley kept the peace during the Civil War and in 1893, a cavalry school began operation there. Fort Riley continued to train mounted troops during the Golden Age of Cavalry after World War I, but also served as a training site for more than 150,000 troops during the first and second World Wars. This collection of vintage images commemorating the sesquicentennial of Fort Riley is a colorful, patriotic reminder of the military post that has served the nation continuously since its founding 150 years ago.
Lansing Correctional Facility
9781467112468
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$24.99
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Since 1868, the Lansing Correctional Facility (formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary) has stood watch over what would become the city of Lansing. Designed by Erasmus Carr, architect of the Kansas State Capitol, the prison is the oldest in Kansas. In the beginning, it housed male and female inmates from Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as inmates serving federal sentences. Today, the facility's population of minimum, medium, maximum, and special management custody offenders is approximately 2,400. Leavenworth County has also seen the addition of the United States Disciplinary Barracks, United States Penitentiary-Leavenworth, and Corrections Corporation of America-Leavenworth, making it the only county in the country to host a state, military, federal, and private prison. Images of America: Lansing Correctional Facility features photographs of the early days, when inmates were on the "silent system" and could not speak to one another, to more modern times when rehabilitation has become an important component of prison life.
Salina's Historic Downtown
9781467110037
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$24.99
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Salina got its name from the Saline River that flows north of town. Its founders were a close-knit group of Scotsmen related by blood or marriage; most came to America from southwestern Scotland between 1839 and 1854 and settled in Randolph County, Illinois. Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune sent correspondent William A. Phillips from Randolph County to Lawrence, Kansas, to cover the turmoil caused by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and the doctrine of popular sovereignty. The residents of Kansas were to choose whether the territory would come into the Union as a slaveholding or free-soil state. To affect that outcome, both Southerners and Northern abolitionists sent colonies of settlers to Kansas Territory. Out of this conflict was born the Salina Town Company. William A. Philips, his brother David, his sister Christina, and his brothers-in-law Alexander C. Spilman and Alexander M. Campbell, along with close friend James Muir, preempted a 320-acre town site in north central Kansas in 1858. From humble beginnings grew the largest commercial center in the area: Salina.
Liberal and Seward County
9780738582795
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$24.99
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From towns like Liberal and Beer City to Kismet and Arkalon, Seward County has been the home of a tough, yet imaginative, people. Seymour Rogers, who homesteaded in the southern portion of the county, hand-dug a well and provided travelers with free water. Before long, the "liberal well" became the town of Liberal. The late 1880s saw settlers making their way to southwest Kansas to claim their 160 acres and hopefully fulfill their dreams. Farmers, ranchers, newspaper editors, shopkeepers, and a few ne'er-do-wells populated Seward County. Liberal became the county seat after a battle between what are now the ghost towns of Fargo Springs and Springfield. Horrific dust storms, grinding depressions, blizzards, and droughts tested the pioneers. Those that stayed were eventually rewarded by returning rains, the discovery of oil and gas, and the construction of a B-24 Army Air Base. With a spirit borne of those sturdy pioneers, the people of Liberal and Seward County have come a long way.
Saline County
9781467111836
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$24.99
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Early Saline County was a land rich in Native American history. Only a few settlers migrated to the area prior to the railroad development that started in 1867. Milling and grains, livestock, and even gypsum mining all influenced the growth of Saline County. Salina became a prominent city, whereas Hedville and other towns were altered, almost lost, as the railroads continued to build and change their depots, creating boom and bust economies in the county. Tornados, fires, droughts, and floods challenged the hardy souls who called this area home. Salina and the towns that have survived the booms and busts have a robust history.
Wichita Haunts
9780738582870
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$24.99
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Shadowman is seen roaming the grounds at Cowtown. The blacksmith touches investigators in his shop. The former church on Hillside Street has a friendly ghost named Belle. These are just a few of the characters that linger in Haunted Wichita. Wichita grew from the prairie as a cattle town into "the Peerless Princess of the Plains." Influenced by bold settlers, the city reflects the American spirit of capitalism and manifest destiny. Explore the haunted history of Wichita through supernatural tales from Cowtown, the Delano District, theaters, and hotels. Most are authentic haunted locations, as documented by Wichita Paranormal Research Society (WPRS) and Paranormal Research Investigators (PRI).
McConnell Air Force Base
9780738561837
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$24.99
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Beginning from its earliest days as an empty parcel of pasture that became a major hub airport for transcontinental air travel to its present use as the busiest refueling operation in the U.S. Air Force, the slice of land known as McConnell Air Force Base is inextricably connected to aviation to nearly the dawn of manned flight. Its military history began in 1941 with the arrival of the Air National Guard, and the base grew to a multifaceted operation that extends air power globally through intelligence and air refueling missions performed by its three partner units: the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, the 184th Intelligence Wing, and the 931st Air Refueling Group. This book offers a glimpse into the military history of McConnell Air Force Base through many rarely seen or previously unpublished images drawn primarily from the repository of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing Office of History and the Kansas Aviation Museum.
Salina
9780738561813
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$24.99
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Early in 1858, three men walked across the eastern half of Kansas Territory intent on starting a town. Although the volatile conflict between Free State and proslavery forces still simmered, the bloodshed had abated, and Free State factions had gained the upper hand. People turned their interests to more peaceful pursuits, including town building. Armed with a compass and stovepipe hat instead of a tripod, the three young Scotsmen selected and surveyed a town site along the Smoky Hill River, near the confluence of the Saline River in north-central Kansas. The tiny settlement soon became a way-stop for westbound travelers and a hub of activity for hunters, soldiers, land seekers, and surveyors. Now 150 years later, Salina (pronounced with a long i) still thrives as a center for commercial, cultural, civic, and social activity. Voted an All-America City in 1989, Salina is home to nearly 50,000 people who enjoy midwestern living in the heart of America.
Hays
9780738560243
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$24.99
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Hays was founded in 1867 as the Union Pacific Railroad moved west. Its early history includes Wild West antics with famous people like Wild Bill Hickok, but soon Hays became a center for agriculture, commerce, and education. By 1930, the population of Hays was 5,000, and it grew to 7,000 by the end of the decade. Although the 1930s were a time of economic depression, of agricultural drought and dust storms, these photographs of Hays show a much different story. They are positive, even energetic, showing the upside to a depressed decade. Photographer R. E. Ekey began his studio in 1928 and retired in 1955. His photographs of Hays portray the special events as well as the routine of everyday life. They show a variety and richness that exemplify the character of Hays, both then and now.
Parsons
9780738561738
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$24.99
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Parsons, located in southeast Kansas, owes its existence to the railroad. When the first Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad locomotive reached the southern border of Kansas in June 1870, the railroad won two prizes, the coveted right to build across Oklahoma Indian Territory and the right to acquire extensive land grants in the territory. The fall of the same year, railroad executives selected a site for a major junction and terminal. The Parsons Town Company sold its first lots in 1871 at Parsons Junction, named for railroad president Judge Levi Parsons. Because of the town's phenomenal growth, it soon earned the title of "Infant Wonder of the West." The photographs contained in this book, including some of the earliest known of Parsons, serve as testimony to the energies and ingenuity of early settlers. These images also depict the development of Parsons-on-the-Prairie and its transformation from frontier town to the "Queen City of the Great Southwest."
Baseball in Wichita
9780738533162
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$24.99
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The art of baseball is evident at Wichita State University's Eck Stadium. The bronze sculpture, "Put Me in Coach," overlooks the stadium entry. Behind it a 70-foot mural, the longest of its kind at any university ballpark, depicts WSU's storied baseball history. The art of baseball has also been evident on Wichita's playing fields for well over a century. During and after the Civil War, baseball quickly spread across the nation. When Wichita was incorporated in 1870, the town and the game were ready for each other, and Wichita had its first professional nine the following decade. Baseball in Wichita tells the story of local baseball at all levels-amateur, collegiate and pro-in words and images dating from the 19th century to the present day.
Wichita's Riverside Parks
9780738583723
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$24.99
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Wichita was founded in 1870 at the junction of the Little and Big Arkansas Rivers in south central Kansas. From the very beginning, the rivers have been a focus for social and recreational activity. Parks, both public and private, were established along these waterways near downtown to capitalize on this natural asset and have gone through many changes. Some of these parks are now over 100 years old, but one no longer exists, having literally been dug up and hauled away in wheelbarrows in 1933. This book chronicles many of the colorful activities and events that have occurred in these parks over the years, and shows how vital they are in the Wichita of today.
Mulvane
9780738598710
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$24.99
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Mulvane sits on the Sedgwick/Sumner County line, adjacent to the Arkansas River, and is roughly 10 miles south of Wichita. It was founded in 1879 by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway on the rail line that comes south from Wichita and evolved as a railroad town and agricultural community. It has survived floods, droughts, tornadoes, and fires and is now the home of over 6,000 residents. Mulvane is a progressive city filled with people who have a keen eye on the future while celebrating their past. Thousands of residents and visitors come to town during the third weekend of August for the annual Old Settlers Days celebration, which has taken place each year since 1873; the event was actually established before the town was incorporated. Images of America: Mulvane offers a glimpse of the people and events of the past that helped shape the present of "The City of the Valley."
Botanica
9781467114097
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$24.99
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Growing from 4 gardens in 1987 to 29 in 2015, Botanica, The Wichita Gardens has become a regional attraction. The dream of a botanical garden in Wichita started in the early 1970s with John Firsching, superintendent of landscape and forestry with the Board of Park Commissioners, and in 1987 the gardens opened on the site of Wichita's Sim Park. Images of Modern America: Botanica, The Wichita Gardens tells the story of the people, events, and stories that have shaped Botanica into Wichita's garden. Included are images of Botanica throughout the gardens' 28-year history and the earlier history of Sim Park, many of which have never been published before.
Wichita
9780738593906
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$24.99
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Wichita, Kansas, was founded in 1870 as a small frontier cow town. By 1900, after having gone through one of the most remarkable real estate boom-and-bust cycles in US history, it had become the largest city in the state and a regional hub of commerce. Wichita flourished between 1900 and 1940, and its population quadrupled as it became a world leader in aircraft production. Picture postcards were introduced just as Wichita entered this latter phase of development, and the colorful new form of communication amply documented Wichita's history during those years.
Southwestern College
9781467114820
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$24.99
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Southwestern College is located in Winfield, Kansas, on a prominence that overlooks the Walnut River Valley. Determined to bring education to the plains of Kansas, Methodist leaders founded the college in 1885. These early pioneers and their successors built beyond their dreams, creating a strong, unique, and vital institution that has produced close to 25,000 Moundbuilders across the globe. Today, that Moundbuilder tradition educates thousands of students at the main Winfield campus and online.
Lawrence
9781467114554
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$24.99
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With its skyline dominated by the campus of the University of Kansas, the history of Lawrence cannot be divorced from the history of the academy, its influence, and impact. The history of any town, however, is much more than the story of one institution or issue. Lawrence is also a river town, located in an agriculturally rich valley, and Massachusetts Street, its main commercial street, harkens back to its mid-19th century New England origins and influences. Lawrence is also a place of diversity and change, a community where space is contested and disparate opinions make for vital public discourse.
Wichita's Lebanese Heritage
9780738577173
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$24.99
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Wichita, a city of entrepreneurs, offered an ideal home for Middle Eastern Christians who started arriving in the 1890s. Initially identifying themselves as Syrians, they operated as peddlers across southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Peddling rapidly gave way to wholesale, grocery, and dry goods companies. Patriarchs such as N. F. Farha and E. G. Stevens established themselves in local business and civic circles. Primarily Eastern Orthodox, the Lebanese established two churches, St. George Orthodox Church and St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church, that became focal points of community life. After World War II, entrepreneurs responded to new opportunities, from real estate to supermarkets to the professions. In recent decades, an additional wave of immigrants from war-torn Lebanon has continued the entrepreneurial tradition.
Morris County
9781467111065
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$24.99
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The establishment of the Santa Fe Trail, along with the Kaw Indian reservation and the influx of white settlers answering the unyielding call of Manifest Destiny, set the scene for Morris County and its part in the epic story of the American West and Bleeding Kansas. Millions of dollars in goods and hundreds of thousands of men passed through Morris County during that era, and inevitably it became the stomping ground of many notable historic figures, both famous and infamous. "Bloody" Bill Anderson, Dick Yeager, Jack McDowell, Jesse Chisholm, and George Armstrong Custer are just a few of the names that have made Morris County legendary. Since Morris County has been tamed, it has been known as prime cattle country and farmland and is home to the Council Grove Federal Reservoir, which brings in thousands of waterskiers, anglers, boaters, and campers every year.
Mexican Americans of Wichita’s North End
9781467107693
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$23.99
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While the North End has long been the beginning of the American dream for many peoples including African Americans, Southeast Asians, and Anglo Americans, it is perhaps the Mexican American community that most visibly embodies the hopes and struggles in this part of the city. The first wave worked in the packinghouses, and communities with names such as El Huarache, La Topeka, and El Rock Island emerged nearby. As the 20th century unfolded, their children and grandchildren established a vibrant neighborhood along Twenty-First Street and Broadway. In recent years, the old industries of the area have faded, while a new wave of immigrants from Latin America has been able to redefine an area. Today, the Mexican American heritage in the North End has become one of its most defining features, an example of a broader diversity that has always made this part of the city special.
Independence
9781467112611
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$24.99
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Independence, Kansas, is the perfect picture of Americana. Where else can one find a small town that holds an annual theatre festival named in honor of one of its own natives, William Inge, or celebrates the early settlers in the Little House on the Prairie novels? Where can one find the site of the first-ever night game in organized baseball or the first team of one of baseball's most prolific hitters, Mickey Mantle? What other town in America can claim achievers like safari traveler Martin Johnson, oil magnate Harry Sinclair, presidential candidate Alf Landon, and even an astronaut chimp named Miss Abel? Lastly, where else can one find a town that holds a weeklong festival with the whimsical name Neewollah ("Halloween" spelled backward)?
Wabaunsee County
9780738560779
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$24.99
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In 2009, Wabaunsee County will celebrate its 150th anniversary. Although Wabaunsee County was first created in 1855 by the Kansas territorial legislature as Richardson County, it had no county government and was attached to neighboring Shawnee County in legal jurisdiction. In 1859, the legislature renamed the county Wabaunsee, after the Potawatomi Indian chief, and in March of that year, the first election for county officers was held. The county lies in the heart of the Kansas Flint Hills, and it boasts some of the most beautiful landscapes in the state. While located only 30 miles from the state capital in Topeka, it retains its rural atmosphere, even today. The largest of its seven incorporated towns has less than 1,000 residents. The earliest settlers lived among large populations of Native Americans. During the Civil War, the Underground Railroad operated actively in the county. In 1880, the first railroad was built in the county, and the towns along its line boomed. When a second line was introduced in 1887, the county saw its greatest growth. Today residents enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the rugged Flint Hills, lush pastures, and fertile bottomland sustaining the local economy as it has for a century and a half. A large section of highway across the county has been designated the Kansas Native Stone Scenic Byway, and tourism has begun to play an increasingly larger role in the county's economy.
United States Disciplinary Barracks
9780738560199
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$24.99
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On May 21, 1874, Congress approved the establishment of the United States Disciplinary Barracks (USDB), formerly the United States Military Prison at Fort Leavenworth. The original prison was once a quartermaster depot, supplying all military posts, camps, and stations in the Indian Territory to the West. It has been the "center of correctional excellence" in the military for over 130 years, housing the most notorious service members in the armed forces, including maximum-custody inmates and those with death sentences. On October 5, 2002, retreat was played for the last time in front of the eight-story castle inside the old USDB, and another era started with the occupation of a new modern correctional facility.
The KOM League Remembered
9780738533407
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$24.99
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The late 1940s and early 1950s was the Golden Age for minor league baseball. The National Pastime thrived in small town America with hundreds of professional teams in over 50 leagues playing at every level. The lowest rung of professional baseball--Class D, the "bush leagues"--was an exciting mix of returning soldiers and recent high school grads, all with dreams of climbing up the ladder to make it to the "big show." For seven seasons (1946-1952) the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League offered some of the most memorable bush league baseball of the era. Of the 1,588 young men who donned a KOM League uniform, in places like Independence, Kansas and Ponca City, Oklahoma, 30 made it to the majors and one made it to the Hall of Fame.
Lucky to Live in Kansas
9780738527987
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$16.99
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What do you get when you cross a read-aloud storybook with a write-in memory book? Magic moments between kids and adults! The Lucky to Live in Kansas book is the perfect tool to jump-start meaningful conversations between generations. Read-aloud rhymes set up interesting topics. Then write-in prompts invite children to record their own views to create a personal Sunflower State keepsake. The real gift lies in the interactive nature of the book as it offers the perfect opportunity for adults to share their own stories and wisdom about such issues as friendship, community, team spirit, and other topics that help develop a child's social and emotional skills. Customized Kansas content--from favorite local cuisine (bierock) to interesting attractions (Monument Rocks)--provides an even more personalized experience.
Lansing
9780738561929
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$24.99
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Founded by Civil War veteran William Lansing Taylor, Lansing is home to a population quickly approaching 11,000 residents. It is also home to the Lansing Correctional Facility (formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary), the oldest prison in Kansas. Designed by Erasmus Carr, architect of the Kansas State Capitol, the building has stood watch over the area for more than 140 years. As one will find, Lansing and the prison have grown together and mutually benefitted each other. Lansing is also home to Mount Muncie Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the state. It is the resting place of several famous people, including Fred Harvey. The photographs in this book are glimpses into time of a small village with one-room schools to a bustling community with one of the busiest north-south highways in Kansas.
Wise Animal Handbook Kansas, The
9780738528212
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$16.99
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Read-aloud time is about to get a lot more fun!
The Kansas Wise Animal Handbook offers laugh-out-loud animal kingdom advice for kids of every age! Engaging animal photos entertain while charming read-aloud rhymes help jump-start conversations about practical life solutions. The Read Together/Do Together? experience continues with pull out coloring pages in the back of the book featuring fun facts about special Sunflower State animals including the honeybee and barred tiger salamander. Enjoy the opportunity to share your own practical wisdom with your favorite little one as you read-aloud... and laugh-aloud....again and again.
Dodge City
9780738552255
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$24.99
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The founding of the American West can be studied in no better place than Dodge City and Ford County. Whether it is frontier forts, trails and cow towns, or farms and ranches, Ford County holds original examples. The best-known Wild West lawmen and gunfighters--Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Doc Holliday--gained their fame in Dodge City. Its history began with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado crossing the Arkansas River in 1541, leading to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 (Dodge City is on the 100th meridian border) and the 1821 opening of the Santa Fe Trail by William Becknell. Fort Dodge, built in 1865, still stands as a reminder of the millions of people who passed through Dodge City. The Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1872, and the buffalo hunters and the Great Western Cattle Trail grew around Dodge City. The pioneer era did not end in the 1800s but continued through the 1930s dust bowl and beyond--demanding the same tough work, cooperation, and high ethics that made surviving possible in the "Great Western Desert."
Arkansas City
9780738560496
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$24.99
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Arkansas City: People, Places, and Events is a continuation of the story of Arkansas City. The first Arkansas City told a general history of the community and its origins, the major events that occurred, and the people who built and shaped the community. Arkansas City: People, Places, and Events delves deeper into the early pioneer history of this Kansas town. It covers more of the major founders who came into Osage territory not only making a home but creating a thriving community, major entertainers and athletes who lived and played in Arkansas City, law enforcement origins and events, and organizations that helped support and shape the area.
Arkansas City
9780738552408
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$24.99
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Arkansas City has often been called "the gateway to the West." The name lends a lot to describing the town--a town that was founded as a border town to Indian Territory, a major trade hub to the Indian agencies in Indian Territory, and a major transportation center for those wishing to travel through the territory and farther west. Arkansas City started off as a small town with false-fronted stores but became a bustling community where the people were forward thinkers and pushed for quality and modernization in everything they brought to the city whether that was business, industry, or entertainment. Arkansas City is known for the Cherokee Strip Land Rush of September 16, 1893, interaction with the Native Americans in Indian Territory, farming, ranching, and aircraft. Although Arkansas City was a civilized community, it was a city on the fringe of a lawless and unsettled territory where outlaws lurked and Native Americans were forced to settle. People loaded their wagons or went by train to cross through Oklahoma to Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, leaving from Arkansas City. Due to Arkansas City's location, interaction with major figures and events in history, and its importance to travel farther west, Arkansas City was truly "the gateway to the West."