KU Libraries staff find unique learning opportunities and ‘real conversations’ in revived Wheat State Tour
A group of KU Libraries faculty and staff rose early on a November morning and, instead of consulting with researchers, teaching a class, or winding through the stacks, piled into a van and headed west. More than 20 colleagues from a wide variety of different departments and schools, set off across Kansas, and as the pastures and fields flew by and flocks of starlings waved them on, the Wheat State Tour was underway. A multi-faceted, two-day experience, the tour, organized by the Hall Center for the Humanities, allowed participants to experience the geography and history of Kansas; connect with the communities many KU students call home; and build relationships with one another and other professionals across campus.
Originally conceived in the late 1990s by former KU Chancellor Bob Hemenway, the tour was revived this year through the leadership of Giselle Anatol, professor in the department of English and Interim Director of the Hall Center for the Humanities, and made possible by donors. This year’s experience was a miniature version of the Wheat State Whirlwind Tours of the past, which at one point spanned five days with visits to 30 communities. This year’s shortened but dynamic experience allowed participants to hear the history of the nation’s longest-standing Black homesteader colony, told by a descendant of its original settlers as well as have illuminating and informative conversations with community members, exploring local art and unique destinations in and around Nicodemus, Wilson, and Lucas, Kansas.
Phil Cunningham and Erika Earles from Spencer Research Library; Reference Services Manager Brian Moss; and Undergraduate Engagement Librarians Amber Ovsak and Sarah McCall, shared about their trip.
What made you choose to go on the Wheat State Tour?
PC: I had not been to Lucas, Wilson, or Nicodemus. They were places I had driven past but never been to, and as someone working with the Kansas Collection, it was so fun to see the art and learn the history from the people who love their community. Even the starlings came out in their murmurations to wave as we rode down the highway.
EE: I have always wanted to go to Nicodemus, and the chance to get a tour from the Angela Bates, who I had seen in television features about the town was the chance of a lifetime.
BM: Even though I’d been to Lucas and Nicodemus before, I’d never had guided tours. Also, as the person who manages the Ask-A-Librarian services, I’m a big fan of getting outside of the libraries to learn more about users’ needs – not only faculty, staff, and students at KU, but the general public as well.
AO: I love the idea behind these efforts, supporting KU faculty and staff who are interested in learning more about the history, economy, culture, and geography of the state of Kansas. Even though I am a Kansas native, I jumped at the opportunity to truly experience a region I have largely just driven through. Beyond the experience and interaction with local people in western Kansas, I was excited to meet other KU people and build community in that way.
SM: This was such a unique opportunity to explore my home state of Kansas with colleagues from KU and to meet people across the state. As an undergraduate engagement librarian and information literacy instructor, I am always interested in connecting with potential students and showing them that KU has caring people who want each student to succeed. My inspiration comes from a KU student from western Kansas who did a lot of work in her home community encouraging high school students to apply to college and to KU specifically. She told me that she had always dreamed of coming to KU, but, as a first gen student, she almost didn’t apply because KU seemed so out of reach, in terms of cost, distance, and as a place where she might belong and thrive. Once at KU, this student felt a personal responsibility to make the long drive home to attend college fairs and other events where she could share her story and be a resource for students thinking about applying to KU or college in general. She understood that her presence at these events was something that mattered.
Tell us more about your experiences on the tour.
AO: I loved every part of the tour, to be honest. Our first stop was in Lucas, Kansas and that was maybe my favorite. I loved the Grassroots Arts Center and the colorful stories behind the art that was collected. One artist created portraits of people out of chewing gum! It was truly extraordinary and beautiful. While I had visited the Garden of Eden before, I had not received a formal tour and again the stories were just so wild and captivating. What was even more interesting to witness was the pride and dedication of the community in preserving folk art and the stories behind many of the unassuming artists and creators. I loved being able to chat with some of the local entrepreneurs and businesspeople in Wilson as well.
EE: In Nicodemus, Angela Bates told of white settlers being upset when Black leaders from Nicodemus were elected to hold county offices. When the railroad came through the area, the white surveyor chose to run it through Bogue, a yet unsettled area that he named after himself, rather than going through the already thriving town of Nicodemus. This isolation due to racial bias led to the deterioration of the town. When my public library in Idaho read Their Eyes Were Watching God for a book club, people were shocked to hear that all-Black towns created by formerly enslaved people were a reality, not a fiction. It’s no wonder, when in 12 years of Kansas history class, I had not heard the history of Nicodemus. To hear it from a descendant of the original settlers, who has worked tirelessly to preserve the legacy of her ancestors was powerful.
SM: The community reception held at the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson, Kansas and was attended by our KU group and maybe 20 or so people living in the Wilson area. The reception was hosted by Melinda Merrill who is the owner of the hotel. At the start of the reception, Melinda introduced each person she had invited and how each person contributed to making their community a better place. There were two young people who had opened up a much-needed day care, a teacher, a banker, business owners, an architect, a few farmers, and an artist, among others. Now, my skills at small talk and mingling are hit-and-miss at best, and I wasn’t sure what to expect when we were turned free to talk and circulate amongst ourselves, but I ended up having some real conversations with people I probably never would have met, otherwise. I talked to folks about preserving cultural heritages, windmills in central Kansas, steel production, and what it’s like to be loan officer in town where you know everyone, to name a few conversations. By the end of the reception, to hear the noise of people talking and laughing, and to see my colleagues from KU in animated conversations with the people from Wilson, was deeply moving. In an experience-packed two days, those conversations felt like everything.
What were some of your takeaways from the experience?
EE: Without the hard work of Angela Bates, the history of Nicodemus would have slipped away due to lack of private funds and institutional investment, as is the fate of many historical artifacts from minority communities. It is a comfort to know that some of the oral histories, documents, and photographs from Nicodemus are being preserved in [KU’s] Spencer Research Library for future generations, thanks to the collaboration between Bates and Spencer African American Experience Curator, Deborah Dandridge.
AO: It felt like such a unique opportunity for connection and learning between communities that is rarely offered. I am very grateful to have been given the chance to dialog and learn in this way.
PC: The tour is a great chance for new faculty to learn about the state, her communities and people. The legacies of the people that came and settled Kansas are kept alive by these local culture-keepers. Each community has a story, and it was a joy to learn about them from the people who love their home.
EE: I am so grateful to the Hall Center for providing this opportunity for collaboration with colleagues and fellow Kansans across the state. I encourage anyone with the chance to take advantage of these thoughtful, curated tours of the diverse experiences of Kansans.