Jan's Journey

On Tuesday morning, July 29th, I drove from Tennessee to Parsons, Kansas. I was on the road about 13 hours by the time I reached my destination. I stayed with Jan Chapman, a Navy Nurse friend. Jan and I had been stationed at Bremerton Naval Hospital and then at Subic Bay together. It had been 39 years since we had seen each other and so we had lots of history and memories to share . What a wonderful visit we had!!
When I arrived Jan felt that her area of Kansas would not be able to compete, interest and sightseeing wise, as my previous travels. Oh, was she wrong! Staying home and just visiting would have been perfect for me, but Jan showed me sights that matched any I had seen thus far on this journey. We started on Wednesday by driving into the countryside to tour Big Brutus at West Mineral, Kansas. This is the world's largest electric shovel used by the Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Co. from 1963 to 1974. The shovel is over 15 stories tall and the bucket held 150 tons which is enough to fill 3 railroad cars. This machine was not used to dig the actual coal, however, but instead it cleared the land to reach the coal. A worthwhile stop in this part of Kansas. See pictures following this blog entry.
After we were finished touring Big Brutus, Jan drove me over to Carthage, Missouri, to visit the Precious Moments Chapel and Gardens. Again this was more than I had expected. Sam Butcher is the artist and creator of Precious Moments. In 1989 the Precious Moments Chapel opened and it contains 84 hand painted inspirational murals which cover over 9,000 square feet and 30 stained glass windows. The scuptures in the gardens were equally impressive. Unfortunately I did not leave empty handed and found a few figurines that will be perfect for gifts. I am not sure how many more of these stops my car will be able to hold! Yikes!
On Thursday Jan took me to Coffeyville, Kansas, to the Dalton Museum. Coffeyville is where the infamous Dalton Gang met their demise. The museum was small but quite interesting, containing historical artifacts from Coffeyville history and Dalton robbery. Then Jan drove me out into the country to pickup canning tomatoes from an Amish family and to an Amish store. This store was a little different then previous Amish stores I had seen in Ohio. The two I visited in Ohio were a little bigger and on a main highway. This one was probably 14ft X 14ft and was located on an Amish farm, but certainly seemed to carry all the essentials and once again Jan and I couldn't seem to leave before we purchased something. Jan has her grandmother's treadle sewing machine but needed a belt for it. Sure enough, the Amish store had it! After the Amish store, Jan took me for a drive to see the state hospital in Parsons. This is the hospital for mental health and addiction and her husband, Bill, worked here until his death in 2012, and her son, Frank is a supervisor there as well. It is a major employer for Parsons.
The last day with Jan was equally interesting. We went back to the Amish farm and attended a produce auction. VERY INTERESTING! I had never intermingled with the Amish this much and it was fascinating. They brought boxes of produce to a building on the edge of the property and all the surrounding Amish farmers participated and it was for the "English" population with an "English" auctioneer. Oh, how I wished I lived closer and could can some that beautiful produce! It was simply fascinating watch the Amish children, many barefoot, work along side the adults, driving and maneuvering teams of horses! A sight to behold! If that wasn't enough, Jan then drove me to a civil war cemetery! The last day with Jan in Kansas was certainly a memorable one! Thank you Jan!! Navy friends are some of the best!!

Crossing the Mississippi River