Kansas Girl

There’s no use trying to hide it because, it keeps on shining through; it comes out in the way I talk, dream, dress, work and walk. I’m a Kansas girl all the way through. Some may think it’s a bad thing, but I know it’s really a blessing and I wouldn’t have it any other way, I’m a Kansas girl born and raised and I'm proud to be that way. Many think Kansas is a boring, dull and flat place; they make jokes about the little rectangular state or talk down on its people and its ways. I smile and laugh along, their jokes don’t bother me, because I know the true beauty of Kansas and that’s what I’ll always see. So go ahead, joke and tease, I’ll even joke back about my silly little state and it’s silly little ways, but if you have a moment I’ll share with you the beauty that I see.

I'd like to start by sharing with you a poem about Kansas by Esther M. (Clark) Hill

The Call Of Kansas
Surfeited here with beauty, and the sensuous-sweet perfume,
Borne in from a thousand gardens and orchards of orange-bloom
Awed by the silent mountains; stunned by the breakers roar,^__
The restless ocean pounding and tugging away at the shore,^__
I lie on the warm sand beach and hear, above the crys of the sea,
The voice of the prairie calling,
Calling me.
Sweeter to me than the salt sea spray, the fragrance of summer
rains;
Nearer my heart than these mighty hills are the windswept
Kansas plains.
Dearer the sight of a shy, wild rose, by the roadside's dusty way,
Than all the splendor of poppy-fields, ablaze in the sun of May.
Gay as the bold poinsettia is and the wild burden of pepper trees,
The sunflower, tawny and gold and brown, is richer to me, than
these.
And rising ever above the song of the hoarse insistent sea,
The voice of the prairie calling,
Calling me.
Kansas, beloved Mother, today in an alien land,
Yours is the name I have idly traced with a bit of wood in the
sand,
The name, that, flung from a scornful lip, will make the hot
blood start;
The name that is graven, hard and deep, on the core of my
loyal heart.
O, higher, clearer and stronger yet, than the boom of the savage
sea,
The voice of the prairie calling,
Calling me.

I think this poem describes Kansas and my feelings towards my home state beautifully, but I suppose I’ll try to describe it in my own words as well.

A traveler going through Kansas would only see miles and miles of endless, flat prairie, a boring sight to the untrained eye. However when I look at Kansas I see a very different sight. I see miles and miles of gorgeous rolling plains and breathtaking sunsets.During a Kansas fall you can see every color known to man. The mixture of colors on the trees, in the sky and on the ground is astonishing. I think everything about Kansas is absolutely beautiful from it's scenery to it's funny little ways. When I see wheat, corn or beans I don’t just see a plain boring field, I see all the hard work that farmer put into his crop. I see all the endless hours of plowing and planting that he and his farm hands did, and will have to do before the year is through. When I pass a feedlot packed full of cattle I don’t scrunch my nose and talk about how ugly it is. Instead, I see its beauty. I admire all the hard work the men and women working that feedlot do, and I see all the people those cattle are going to feed. I’ve been to several other states and seen beautiful sites like redwood trees, the ocean, mountains, canyons, and much more. Even after seeing all of that the most beautiful sight in the world to me is a field of hay right after it has been baled. I don’t know why, but I love seeing the newly cut fields with all the big round bales of hay scattered around. It’s so beautiful to me and my all time favorite view. 

When most see a muddy Kansas river, creek or stream they turn up their noses and walk on by, but I see so much more. I see endless hours of fun for native Kansans. I see a family canoeing and enjoying the peacefulness of the river, a father teaching his daughter how to skip a rock, or a group of children swimming and playing water games. I see a young man teaching his girlfriend how to bow fish, old men casting out their lines, and a group of friends hanging out and drinking beer in the back of a jacked up truck on the river bank. I see the old tree hanging out over the muddy river and the rope swing all frayed and torn from years of use. I see the old oak trees roots washed out from when the river rose above the bank. Numerous memories begin to flood my mind, memories of exploring the caves underneath the trees and coming back with little treasures the river deposited there such as, old bottles, arrow heads, and animal skulls. I know that muddy little river can provide so many different adventures so when I see one I sit on the bank and admire its beauty or I jump in and soak up its life.

Kansas is so blessed with the diverse amount of wildlife it has. Whenever I’m back home I always like to have my camera by my side, because at any given moment you could see; deer, rabbits, possums, badgers, armadillos, raccoons, prairie dogs, foxes, coyotes, skunks, river otters, hawks, vultures, eagles, bobcats and maybe even a mountain lion. If you take the time you can really see how amazing each animal is, I think it’s absolutely incredible how many different ways animals are designed, from their coloring to their anatomy everything about the various creatures amazes me. I love catching glimpses of the blue merle bobcat living on our property, or waking up to the sound of birds singing outside my window. I love hearing the howl of the coyotes and the hoot of the owls in the night sky. I enjoy going to friends houses and seeing their latest taxidermy mounts. I think it’s so cool to hear people tell stories of their hunt and how they out smarted the animal in its environment and to see how big that animal was. For the hunter to be able to hold that huge rack of antlers and show off how big, beautiful and powerful their kill was is incredible to me. I love how we not only get to admire the beauty of the animal during it's life, but we also get to hunt those animals if we so choose.

Kansas is also full of small towns and small town folk, yet another amazing thing about my home. I grew up in one of those little towns. Douglass, Kansas has a population of 1,500 people. It’s Just the right size. There were about 300 kids in my high school, 57 in my graduating class, and I love how I knew everyone. I knew who lived on each street of the town and they were all in walking distance of each other. I love the old building and the bricked streets. I love how everyone waves as you drive by and how you can’t go to the Jack and Jill grocery store without hearing the latest news. I love how everyone supports the school sports teams through good and bad, and how everyone comes together as a community in times of need. I love the Frontier Days festival that my small home town puts on every year. It starts off every year with a parade through town everyone joins in on their 4-wheelers, horses, tractors, floats, and various other means of transportation. Then there are carnival rides, a car show, photography contest, fair booths, and a street dance. There are so many great memories to be made in little Kansas towns.

One of my favorite things about Kansas is that even though it actually goes through all four seasons it can still be completely unpredictable. It can snow in mid June, be completely windy one minute then completely still the next, get scorching hot or freezing cold. On a perfect sunny day a thunderstorm can all of a sudden pop out of the sky. I LOVE Kansas weather! It’s true that the weather in Kansas can be absolutely awful, in the summer it can get up to 111 degrees and in the winter it can drop to -20 degrees. Obviously that’s not fun, but the crazy in between weather is. Summer thunderstorms in Kansas are by far the best thing ever! It is absolutely amazing how it’s super hot and sunny out then all of a sudden the warmth is still there, but the sky goes dark and rain just starts coming down. Playing in a summer thunderstorm and is one of the best feelings in the world. If you’ve never done it you’re seriously missing out. I love going out in a storm and feeling the rain fall on me as I watch the huge clouds roll across the sky or lying on the couch watching the lightning spider across the clouds and hearing the thunder roar. I always get my best night’s sleep during a Kansas thunderstorm; it’s so peaceful and calming. After a summer storm everyone is always in an amazing mood and muddin’ is definitely a go. Another incredible thing about Kansas weather is tornadoes and hail. They aren’t good things by any means, but the changes in the sky when they happen are. Before a tornado the air always gets really still, the sky turns kind of a green color, and you start to see funnel clouds. Then it will start hailing…I always thought it was interesting how all that happens every time it's incredible to watch.

Last of all, I’ve never seen a sunset or sunrise prettier than the ones in Kansas. There are always so many different shades of orange, red, pink, blue and purple. I love sitting on the big boulder at the edge of my parents drive and watching the sun sink down across the field. It’s breathtaking. All the different colors start out clearly defined, then they slowly start to mesh together and make new shades of their previous colors, after just a couple hours they completely fade away. When you stop gazing at the horizon realizing the beautiful colors are gone you can look up and see the amazing night’s sky with all the stars and moon lit up so bright. After I watch a sunset I just lay on my back and stare up at the stars, within a matter of minutes you can find the big dipper, see a dozen shooting stars, or just fall into your own thoughts as you look at that gorgeous Kansas sky.

Do you see the beauty now? I certainly do. Kansas isn’t for everyone though, you could feel the same way about California, New York, or any state in between and that is completely fine with me. Right now, I love how I get to live in a place as amazing as California and I am so blessed to be able to. Kansas will always be my home in this world though; I absolutely love it there and plan on moving back someday. I would take a field of hay bales over the beach and ocean any day. Until I do move back though I have the privilege of enjoying the beauties of California, I get to enjoy the mountains, beaches, people and big city life for awhile and experience so many new things. I'll never forget my roots and my home though and till I return I’m proud to be a Kansas girl.

A Song of the Western Plains
Edith King Rees

To a small sod shanty, The mansion of the claim,
Mid the rows of sod corn, A little baby came.
The sun flowers laughed joyously, And told it to the sun;
The winds went singing on their way, And told to ev'ry one,

Chorus:
A Kansas girl is the girl for me, A girl that's bred on the broad prairie,
Where the sun shines far, And the winds blow free,
A Kansas girl is the girl for me.

Where stood that old sod shanty, Stand schools and churches fair,
And that little baby, Is now a woman rare.
She knows the coyotes howling, And she knows a college yell;
She's ev'ry thing a girl should be, And ev'ry where I tell,

Chorus:
A Kansas girl is the girl for me, A girl that's bred on the broad prairie,
Where the sun shines far, And the winds blow free,
A Kansas girl is the girl for me.