America’s First Patented Helicopter was a shattered dream William J. Purvis and Charles A. Wilson built America’s First Patented Helicopter in Goodland, KS, but Newton’s Third Law defeated them. Since every action has an equal and opposite reaction, any helicopter must compensate for the rotor’s twisting action. They never solved the torque problem, but they […]
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Goodland shows the way for women’s voting rights The fight for women’s voting rights in Kansas was a slow process. The march to equal voting rights lasted from 1861 to 1920, with many halts along the way. Goodland helped show the way when its citizens — including women — voted for a library tax in
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“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” — Cool Hand Luke, who could have been discussing the Kidder Massacre We wear a computer called a telephone, and tend to panic when we lack a signal. We often can’t endure being out of touch. In the 1860s, electronic communication was limited to widely-separated telegraph
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Enjoy the 12 best places to visit in Kansas Kansas is full of numerous beautiful and often quirky small cities. I love Kansas City and Wichita, but the state’s smaller places are the heart of Kansas. After 30 years of traveling throughout Kansas, these are my 12 best places to visit in Kansas. Leavenworth, Cottonwood
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Explore the World’s Largest Things in Kansas Scattered throughout Kansas, 18 World’s Largest Things will astound you. The colossal world-record holders range from a gigantic grain elevator to a huge hairball. Abilene boasts the newest world record, the World’s Largest Belt Buckle. Three US champions will astonish you, but three world champions lost their thrones.
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Goodland gets a new telephone building, an Art Deco masterpiece Goodland’s United Telephone Building, an Art Deco masterpiece, was built in 1931 at 1003 Main. The Kansas Sampler Foundation said it’s one of the state’s most colorful buildings. When the 1930s began, Goodland’s exchange had more than 1,000 telephones. The system was overloaded. Goodland officials asked
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The Giant van Gogh Painting towers over Goodland The No. 1 attraction in Goodland, Kansas, a giant 24 by 32-foot painting, dominates the sky. The massive replica of “Three Sunflowers in a Vase” stands on an even taller 80-foot-high steel easel. It weighs 45,000 pounds. The Giant van Gogh Painting is so large that people
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The solid Goodland post office moves around The brick post office at 124 E. 11th St. in Goodland is very solid. It doesn’t look like a place that could play hopscotch. The building has not played hopscotch, but the office has. Before it finally came to rest, the post office lived in three towns, burned,
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A black artilleryman becomes a homesteader A gravestone in Goodland (Kan.) Cemetery honors Cpl. William Johnson, Company I, First United States Colored Heavy Artillery. This is his story. William Johnson of Hawkins County, Tenn., started his life as the property of his master. But before he died, Johnson was a property owner. He earned his
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A farmer starts the gigantic Goodland grasshopper invasion The Goodland giant grasshopper invasion started with a farmer. Grasshoppers and farmers are an unusual combination. The reason is simple. Grasshoppers eat crops. Crops are a farmer’s source of income. Therefore, farmers don’t like grasshoppers. Except maybe as a gigantic sculpture. Don’t fear the grasshopper. It won’t
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