Kansas

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A special note: Throughout the Route40.net web site I've done my best to present information in a scholarly manner. Roadside attractions by their very nature present a lighter side of roadside culture. If my comments seem biased, opinionated, uncalled for or otherwise offensive, I apologize. To paraphrase public radio's smart guy Michael Feldman, if you don't like what you see on these pages, get your own web site.

More importantly, please stop by these attractions and be sure to tell them that Route40.net sent you. And have fun!

Comanche Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561 Yes, there actually was a US survivor at the Battle of Little Bighorn. His name was Comanche (ironic, huh?) and he was a horse belonging to Captain Myles Keogh. Commander of Company C, 7th Cavalry. Comanche died in 1891 at the age of 29 and was eventually stuffed and mounted (al la Trigger). The photo above shows Comanche during the transition from being a stuffed artifact to a museum item.

Forbes Field (Secret Service 2, Canines 0) Forbes Field Topeka, Kansas The Topeka, Kansas airport, Forbes Field, was the scene of the most bizarre episodes of Presidential security on record. This is certainly not a tourist attraction unless you like to go see famous places in American history. On September 6, 1986, President Ronald Reagan flew to Topeka, Kansas. Unfortunately, just before Air Force One was to land, two dogs decided to mate on the runway of Forbes Field. Citing the dogs as threats to the life of President Reagan, the Secret Service inadvertently ordered the two canines shot and killed. Here's the story as it ran in the newspaper. Reagan Security Cited in Deaths of 2 Dogs Topeka, Kansas -- Two dogs mating near an airport runway were killed last month by security officers who were told to secure the area prior to a visit by President Reagan "We did what we had to do," said Marvin Hancock, deputy director of the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority. "We were told anything that moves has to be removed." A Secret Service spokesman said officials ordered security officers at Forbes Field to "take care of the problem," but he said he did not know that shooting the dogs was going to be the solution. "We were not involved in the dog incident at all," said Douglas W. Buchholz, special agent in charge of the Secret Service in Kansas City. Hancock said airport security officers were inspecting the grounds September 6, just before Reagan was scheduled to arrive aboard Air Force One. Reagan was visiting to mark the 100th birthday of former Gov. Alf Landon, who died last week. Acting on orders from the Secret Service to secure the area, the officers first beat the dogs with heavy welding gloves to separate them, and when that failed, shot them, Hancock said. The bodies were carted off in plastic bags and burned. Hancock described the dogs as a "threat to the president's life," and said they might have run onto the pavement and interfered with the jet. He said there was not enough time to move them or spray water on them before the plane landed.

Johnny Kaw Manhattan City Park Manhattan, Kansas In the 1950's a bunch of Kansasans wanted a folk hero so they invented Johnny Kaw. In 1966, at a cost of $7,000, a 30-foot concrete statue was erected of the wheat farmer responsible for just about everything that has happened to and in Kansas.

Atomic Canon Freedom Park Junction City, Kansas In the frenzy of the post WWII nuclear buildup, someone (obviously not a rocket scientist) though up the idea of shooting nuclear weapons from a canon. In a move I don't understand, the US Army actually built a few. It was tested once at the nuclear test range in Nevada. Soon after the test, the canon concept was abandoned. I would have loved to have seen the operations manual: "After launching nuclear projectile, RUN LIKE HELL AS FAST AS YOU CAN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION."

Heritage Underwear Show Geary County Historical Society P. O. Box 1161 6th & Adams Street Junction City, Kansas 66441 (785) 238-1666 (785) 238-3955 FAX www.rootsweb.com/~ksgchs/ If you call the museum in advance, they will stage a fashion show of antique underwear. The models aren't exactly out of the pages of the Victoria's Secret catalog. Instead, the underwear is worn by senior women from the Junction City area.

Greyhound Hall of Fame 407 South Buckeye Abilene, Kansas 57410 (800) 932-7881 www.greyhoundhalloffame.com In addition to billing itself as the once "wickedest and wildest" town of the old west and the home of Dwight Eisenhower, Abilene also claims to be the Greyhound capitol of the world. In addition to the race track and the numerous breeders in town, Abilene hosts the Greyhound Hall of Fame. Visitors can learn about greyhound history and even relive exciting moments of greyhound racing. "Abilene, Abilene, prettiest greyhounds I've ever seen..."

Museum of Independent Telephony 412 South Campbell Abilene, Kansas 57410 (800) 263-2681 www.geocities.com/museumofindependenttelephony/ In addition to greyhound history, Abilene is also the home of a museum that salutes the nearly 6,000 babiest of the baby Bells, the independent telephone company. At one time, there were nearly 6,000 small local telephone companies. Some, such as Abilene's United Telephone Company (founded by local whiz-kid Cleyson Brown) grew up to be mighty empires. Brown's UTC eventually became US Sprint. Displays include telephone equipment, telephone-related sheet music and one of the world's largest collections of glass insulators. Photo courtesy of the Museum of Independent Telephony.

Bones of Snyder Smoky Hill Museum 211 West Iron Avenue Salina, Kansas (785)309-5776 www.ebclink.com/SHM/ Snyder was an elephant with the Sells-Floto Circus. Sadly, on September 13, 1920, the performing pachyderm got loose and decided to do his own circus parade in the streets of Salina. When attempts to reign him in were unsuccessful, a decision was made to kill him. He was given a lethal injection of potassium cyanide, but the terrified toothed tusker put up a great fight. Finally, cadets from a local military academy were told to use Snyder for target practice. But that's not the end of the story... Eventually, Snyder's remains made their way to the Smoky Hill Museum where some of the mighty mammal's bones are out for public viewing.

Prairie Dog Town Junction of Highway 83 and I-70 Oakley, Kansas (913) 672-3100 There are no rattlesnake towns left on Route 40, but Prairie Dog Town is as close as anyone these days is going to get. If you're driving I-70, you can't help but see their famous billboards ("See the 8,000 pound prairie dog!"). Owner Larry Farmer keeps of the tradition of making a buck off of animal oddities. More than a petting zoo, Prairie Dog Town also features a six legged steer and a five legged cow. I won't give away the scheme behind the 4-ton rodent (notable as the world's largest prairie dog), but you're certain to say to yourself, 'ha ha, you got me!' If you're driving old Route 40, you're likely to miss this baby - there are no billboards or signs on the old alignment. Just take SR 83 north from town and it will be on your right. By all means take the kids. When this one disappears, it will probably be the end of an era along Route 40. World's Largest Stuff

Twistee Treat Junction of Highway 83 and I-70 (Next door to Prairie Dog Town) Oakley, Kansas This business is one of the finest examples of programmatic architecture remaining on Route 40. If you're not into this sort of thing, a drive across Kansas on a hot summer day will more than justify a stop for a cool frozen confection.

Giant Van Gogh Painting Goodland, Kansas (785) 899-3515 www.bigeasel.com Canadian artist Cameron Cross picked Goodland as one of the locations for his Van Gogh sunflower project. If you're driving on I-70 (the old Route 40N alignment), you may see what looks like a giant windmill in Goodland. Actually, it is Cross' 80 foot tall easel holding a 24 foot by 32 foot rendition of Van Gogh's Sunflowers. This all makes sense since Kansas is the Sunflower State. Photo courtesy of Cameron Cross.

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