Woke up in Kingdom City, MO,
to sunshine and 49o...I’ll take it!! Also we crossed into Central
Time somewhere along the drive yesterday...so all the clocks went backward an
hour. Let the circadian rhythm confusion
begin!
First thing Kim did was
search for a truck wash this morning.
Sad to say that we’ve made it all the way to Missouri with the truck
still wearing it’s Michigan winter coat...read that to mean salt and dirt. Turns out a pull-in truck wash staffed with 4
guys was across the road from the hotel...just didn’t see it last night when we
pulled in. It cost a bit more than a
do-it-yourself car wash but Kim and the truck felt better for having it done. 😎
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Yesterday in Indiana we
stopped at a Camping World and upon checkout the cashier told Kim that his Good
Sam membership would give him a fuel discount at Pilot Truck Stops. So Kim tried it today and yes, indeedy, he
received an 8 cent a gallon discount.
That can make be significant when filling the truck so I’m thinking that
we’ll be looking for a Pilot station when it’s time to fuel up.
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Stopped at a Cabela’s store
in Kansas City, KS...went in looking for one thing which we didn’t get but
still left the store with our hands full of other treasures. And of course, I had to buy some cookies from
the Brownies in front of the store selling Girl Scout Cookies. 😋
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Some months ago I watched a
documentary on L. Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz. That led to watching another documentary
about the making of the movie which led me to actually watch the movie. I remember watching it as a kid but couldn’t
remember if I’d ever watched it as an adult.
And all that led me to discover that Wamego, KS, is home to the Oz
Museum and Bingo! Wamego wasn’t far off our intended route. Seems like a stop at the Oz Museum was meant
to be! While I’m not a diehard Oz fan I
did enjoy watching the movie with all the knowledge I’d recently acquired and since
I am a fan of visiting Roadside America attractions I began to make a
plan. The museum is open from 12 to 5 on Sunday so that was our target
zone...made it with a couple of hours to spare. It’s a fun little place made more fun by the energetic young lady working
admissions who was very personable and knowledgeable.
There were artifacts from
several personal collections, a couple of short documentaries, a meticulously
detailed quilt and each of the main characters were featured with very well
done likenesses. In fact, when we were
done the young lady asked what I liked best and when I shared my amazement at
how realistic the characters looked she pointed out a ‘problem’ that’s usually
noticed with the Dorothy character....she looks too masculine. Huh? I noticed
that she didn’t look exactly like a 16 year old Judy Garland but close enough
and certainly better than several wax renditions I’ve seen. She explained that the characters were the
work of a man who used himself as a model for the visible body parts...which worked well for the male characters but not for Dorothy and Glinda. Seems Dorothy’s jawline was too square...and people noticed it. ‘They’
(whoever that is) were able to alter Glinda’s look but not Dorothy’s.
After she told me that I had to go back in to check it out. Yep, that’s the difference I’d seen but
wasn’t able to put words to...her jaw was definitely square and oversized, not
girly at all.
I squished a penny, bought a sticker for my
helmet and then we headed across the street to an alley labeled “The Yellow
Brick Road”. It was indeed a yellow
brick path which lead to a playground two blocks over...yellow is kind of faded
but a fresh coat of paint will fix that.
There are several painted Toto statues throughout Wamego and in case
you’re interested, Wamego will host OZtoberFest this year on October 3rd. It’s a day full of all things OZ. Gotta
love small town pride!
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Had supper in Wamego at 4th
and Elm, a bar and grill known for its homemade chips and all around good
food. We know this because the girls at
the Museum heartily recommended it. Got on the road about 5:30 and ran into
some rain about 6:30. Not exactly fun weather for driving on unfamiliar roads
towing a 26 foot trailer. Certainly
better than snow but still...
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Outside of Wamego there’s a
sign for the Historic Beecher Bible and Rifle Church. That definitely piqued my interest...time for
a Google search. This is an excerpt from
a 2017 article written by Phil Anderson for the online edition of the Topeka
Capital-Journal (cjonline.com):
The Beecher Bible and Rifle
Church was founded in 1857 — 160 years ago — by free-state settlers who came to
Kansas from Connecticut.
The church traces its
history to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which stipulated residents would
determine whether Kansas entered the Union as a slave or free state.
Anti-slavery proponents
mobilized in New England, and moved in 1854 to what was then Kansas territory,
prepared to fight for the cause of bringing Kansas into the Union as a free
state.
Prior to leaving
Connecticut for Kansas, the group met in the North Church in New Haven, Conn.,
and listened to the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Beecher announced if the
congregation would purchase 25 Sharp’s rifles to send west, his church would
buy another 25. Within a few days, funds were raised to purchase the rifles, in
addition to 25 Bibles.
The rifles were placed in
large wooden crates to accompany the Connecticut settlers on their way west.
The crates were marked “Bibles,” so as not to arouse suspicion as the group
trekked across pro-slavery lands on its way to Kansas.
The rifles were to be used
by the settlers from New England to defend the free state cause, should the
need arise. The Bibles were used for spiritual purposes.
Thus, the church was named
after Beecher and the Bibles and rifles that the settlers packed for their trip
to Kansas.
The congregation met in
several locations around Wabaunsee after the original settlers arrived from
Connecticut before settling into its present building, which was completed in
1862.
Wabaunsee became a stopping
point along the Underground Railroad, which helped escaped slaves from Southern
states reach areas in the North where they could be free.
The Beecher Bible and Rifle
Church — which is nondenominational — became a fixture in the community and
continued long after the Civil War ended in 1865.
Services took place only
once a year, on Settler’s Day, for several decades. Weekly services began again
about 60 years ago.
**Side note: Rev. Beecher was the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe,
author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
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Made it to Dodge City, KS, where we got a room. Both of us were so ready to get off the road...the rain combined with oncoming headlights was making me tense and I wasn’t even the one driving.
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| Sunday's route |
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