Patrick MacDonald, also known as PatMac, has purchased the building at 16 Scott Avenue and has been working to make the place into a family fun venue with the name of Gamerz Lodge.
“The community asked for a family fun entertainment space and that’s what I’m doing here,” he said. “Roughly 10,000 square feet of fun!”
Patrick moved here from Kansas City last year to invest in Pizza Republic after owning a few pizza businesses over the last 30 years. “I love this community,” he said. “I saw this as a way to give back to the community and invest in Fort Scott. Down here I can make a difference.”
The first floor will be his first focus to show what Gamerz Lodge is about.
“We’ll have a few TVs, arcade games, air hockey, shuffleboard, and pool tables,” MacDonald said. “We’re also introducing a ‘leveled up’ concession stand. Some of your favorites with a ‘PatMac’ twist. There will also be ice cream!”
It will be an events center for small concerts and a place for birthday parties as well.
“People can really use this space for creative classes, meetings, comedy shows, and gatherings,” he said. “It has so much potential.”
The renovation of the building, which most recently housed Darlene’s Collectibles, is a huge undertaking. “It’s a lot to take on for one guy but I’m definitely up for the challenge,” he said. “If there’s an investor out there give me a holler!” he said.
The second floor has a large ballroom and two 30 feet x30 feet rooms. The ballroom held meetings and dances from the days of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, whose emblem is on the outside of the 1924-era building. Some memorabilia still lines the walls.
“The second floor will grow with the business,” he said. “I see cornhole tournaments, VR space, and potentially a putt-putt golf.”
MacDonald also sees the opportunity to create a wedding venue or an Airbnb on this level.
“I see a whole baseball team from LaRoche Stadium could stay here,” he said. “Games, food, and family. What else do you need?”
On April 1, the Fort Scott Kiwanis Club sponsored their annual Easter Egg Hunt in Gunn Park.
Kiwanis members distributed over 1,500 eggs filled with candy, prizes, and coupons from area merchants into the park in areas designated by age groups. Approximately 75 children participated in the event.
The Kiwanis sponsors who donated either money, or coupon’s from their place of business are as follows:
FORT SCOTT – The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces their 2023 Annual Dinner & Awards Celebration will take place Thursday, April 20th at the River Room Event Center, 3 W. Oak Street in Downtown Fort Scott. The theme this year is “Let’s Get Fired Up and Celebrate Our Community!” where the event will be a fun evening of recognizing businesses, organizations, and individuals who make a great impact on Fort Scott and Bourbon County.
All are welcome to attend, and reservations can be made online at fortscott.com/events or by calling the Chamber at 620-223-3566. The deadline for reservations is Friday, April 14th. The evening will begin with a social hour and silent auction at 5:30pm, followed by dinner, awards, and live auction at 6:30pm. Reservations are $40 for individuals and table pricing for a table of eight is $360. Dinner will be catered by Brickstreet BBQ.
The Chamber is accepting businesses and organizations to decorate tables for advertising and promotion and is also accepting donations for the silent and live auctions. Contact the Chamber at 620-223-3566 or email [email protected] by Friday, April 14th to make reservations.
Elevate Fort Scott is one of several community “movers and shakers” groups that have have organized recently to improve the quality of life in the community.
“Besides our Elevate Fort Scott group there are several other groups that are making things happen and bringing great events to Fort Scott,” said Brad Matkin, one of the organizers of Elevate Fort Scott. “Advance Bourbon County, Fort Scott Forward, and others have been working very hard to bring in events and activities for our citizens and visitors to enjoy.”
“We are not only looking for a strong 2023 but are already planning some events for 2024 we feel everyone will enjoy and be excited about,” he said.
“While talking to one of the current members, I told them I felt I wanted to get a group together that wanted to make Fort Scott a place to be and to put on events that would make us a destination place plus add more things for our citizens to do,” Brad Matkin, group member said. “Even though I am the one that thought of getting this group together it is the six other members that make Elevate Fort Scott successful, they do the leg work and put in the time to make these events a reality.”
The group is comprised of Cory Bryars, Kirk Sharp, Jackson Tough, Josh Jones, Diane Striler, Lindsay Madison, and Matkin.
They first met last year around November, he said.
“The purpose of this group is to come up with positive ways and events to help Fort Scott grow, to show visitors what Fort Scott has to offer, and to get citizens involved in the many great things Fort Scott has to offer,” he said. “We are not trying to reinvent the wheel with the events we are working on, just trying to build off the already great events Fort Scott has to offer”
“Our goal is to think of an idea, work to get it started, then hand it off to a charity organization to put it on and raise money for their cause,” Matkin said. “Our group is not generating any funding for the events and are not involved in that part of the event; we just want to help get more things going in our great town and help the charities raise money.”
Events in The Works
“This group has been working on a lot of different ideas that are still in the early stages, but I can tell you we have added a BBQ cook-off that will share Riverfront Park with the second annual Care to Share/Sharing Bucket Fall Festival and Blues Festival,” he said.
“We are also working on a newly named Christmas on the Bricks that will take place of Christmas in the Park that has been a yearly tradition for Fort Scott,” Matkin said. “Christmas on the Bricks will offer the opportunity for the uptown shops to bring out their holiday flare and stay open late for holiday shopping. We are looking at this event to flow along right with the Christmas Parade, Artificers Christmas Shoppe, and the Annual National Historic Site Candlelight Tour. Some of the things we have already planned is a movie night, a Christmas concert, carolers, chili, and much more.”
“Some of the newest things this group has brought to life is a ‘Rock-N-Roll Karaoke’ which will allow people to sing with a real band,” he said. “This will be held at Memorial Hall on June 9th. ‘Almost Kiss’ will be at Memorial Hall on November 18th. They are a cover band for the Legendary Rock band Kiss and is one of only six Kiss tribute bands that former Kiss star Gene Simmons endorses.”
Common Ground Coffee Co. presents the students of Saint Martin’s Academy, 1950 Indian Road, this Friday. The concert will be a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day featuring vocal solos, duets, and ensemble numbers. The music department is under the direction of Dave Agee and Daniel Kerr.
The one-hour concert begins at 7 p.m. at 12 E. Wall Street. The show is free and open to the public. Bring a friend and join us for an enjoyable evening of young and lively music!
Local businessman, Josh Jones, has started a non-profit foundation that will provide funding for projects in the community.
“This community has meant a lot to me and my family and we wanted to find a way to give back,” Jones said. “We felt like this was a good way to make a long term impact.”
“The purpose of Advance Bourbon County is to find ways to make our community better through charitable contributions and work,” Jones said.
“I have asked Bailey Lyons and Katie Hueston to come on board and help me with this adventure, as they have been just amazing and have put so much time, effort, and passion into the splash pad and sensory park project,” he said.
“We are a 100% volunteer foundation with 100% of all proceeds going back to the community,” according to the Advance Bourbon County Facebook page. “Our fundraising tactics will be through events, grants, and grass root donations from citizens with a vested interest in seeing our community thrive.”
The splash pad and sensory park will be put in place in 2023, following the fundraising efforts of Jones, Lyons and Hueston and others.
“My goal is a core of us handle the majority of day to day things and we work with other groups/people on different projects as a team, as the need arises,” he said. “We really want this to be a grass roots foundation that involves all.”
In the past few months, this group has bought a comedy show and an illusionist to town to help fund the splash pad/sensory park that will be located in the downtown area of Fort Scott.
They have many events they are collaborating with others in town to make happen for 2023.
The following are those projects:
On April 1, the group is helping to organize the Blue Collar Awards, that will be honoring the manual workers in the community.
“We are working together with Aaron Judy on this,” Jones said.
On April 15, they are organizing the Greg Morton Comedy Show for the community, comedian Andrew Rose will be opening for Morton.
On June 9, they are working together with Cory Bryars and Brad Matkin to make a Live Band Karaoke happen.
On July 1, in collaboration with Bill Michaud, they are bringing the Game Show Road Show to the community.
On August 26, another comedian, Todd Royce, will be coming to town.
On November 18 in collaboration with Cory Bryars and Brad Matkin the Almost Kiss Tribute Band will be in town.
On December 1-2 there will be Christmas on the Bricks
There are working with another group, Elevate Fort Scott, which includes Diane Striler, Kirk Sharp, Cory Bryars, Lindsey Madison, and Brad Matkin.
Fundraising to help purchase AED units for the Fort Scott Fire Department.
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a medical device designed to analyze the heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to victims of sudden cardiac arrest, to restore the heart rhythm to normal, according to https://www.osha.gov/aed
Fund raising that will go towards updating Memorial Hall.
Rehabbing and refurbishing the caboose at Fisher Park and possibly moving it to a focal point at the entrance of Fort Scott.
Continuing to bring in more events for the community to enjoy, according to the ABC Facebook page.
For those interested in donating:
“Getting a foothold as a new non profit is challenging,” according to the ABC Facebook page. “In just a few short months we have already raised over $20,000 through events and fundraisers. However raising awareness for our cause is crucial if we are truly going to make any long term impact.
We would love if you would consider making a donation to our cause of making Bourbon County an even better place for us to live and helping us with our charitable projects.”
“They can follow and message us on Facebook at Advance Bourbon County 501C3,” he said. “They can bring donations by Bourbon County Cars (where Jones is the general sales manager), send donations through Venmo, or take donations to Citizens Bank in Fort Scott and deposit into our charity account”
Marsha Lancaster died in September 2021 at the age of 54, but those who knew her, want to continue to honor her legacy of supporting community youth sports.
There will be a fundraiser in her honor on Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m. at the Fort Scott Liberty Theater. Tickets are $35.
“Marsha Lancaster was a Fort Scott native and lived her entire life at 2nd and Hill Street,” said her friend Rhonda Dunn, who is helping with the annual event in remembrance of her. “She was active in many things in school including sports like basketball and volleyball. After attending Fort Scott Community College (FSCC), Marsha bought the Great Plains Deli and her food was legendary in the area.”
Marsha’s Deli was known as a local eatery that offered generous portions and a welcoming, down-home atmosphere.
Today her nephew, Brian Lancaster, owns Marsha’s Deli and strives to continue her legacy.
“She supported many organizations and teams through the years,” Dunn said. “She fed many teams that traveled to Fort Scott. It was a tradition for the FSCC Coaches to bring prospective athletes to the Deli for a welcome from Marsha and their first meal at the Deli. Marsha didn’t know a stranger and was amazing at making everyone feel welcomed as soon as they walked through her Deli doors. Marsha was a Fort Scott legend.”
A girl who grew up in 1980s, Marsha Fest will have an 80s Hair Band Rock group to entertain the attendees.
“Baloney Ponyz (a naughty 80s joke) is from the KC area and plays 80s Hair Band Rock music,” Dunn said. “Many of the members of Baloney Ponyz are also members of Disco Dick and the Mirror Balls as well as Legends of Rock.”
The event is sponsored by the Lancaster family. Profits from the event are going to support the Fort Scott High School Sports Booster Club, Dunn said.
“Marsha always enjoyed watching sports and made sure to support the area sports teams by donating or making treats for them to enjoy on game days and we want to keep that legacy alive,” Dunn said. “The proceeds from last year’s Marsha Fest went to Care to Share and the Splash Pad.”
For the latest information, view the Marsha Fest Facebook page.
There are some fun activities coming up at the Museum of Creativity that you won’t want to miss!
Next week we celebrate Barbie’s birthday!
Thursday, March 2nd we will be having a special birthday bash dinner from 6pm – 8pm. Each child will get a new Barbie, a commemorative tote bag and the opportunity to make some cool crafts. Dinner and dessert will be served.
$20/child
$10/adult
Pre-registration required – limited space available
Friday, March 3rd we will have a family dance! Theme is 50’s Sock Hop. Prize if you come in costume. Crafts and activities will be available as well as an ice cream bar (with Braum’s ice cream!). Come and go anytime between 5pm and 10pm.
$10/person – pre registered
$12/person at door
discount available for more than 5 people (inquire with museum)
$4/ Pre order hotdog combo (hotdog, bun, chips and soda)
On Saturday, March 25th we will be having a unique fundraiser.
The day will start out as a Cute Cake Contest with 3 categories; cake, cupcakes and cookies. Entries will be delivered before 9:00am. Judging begins at 9:15am. with prizes (Sponsored by SeKan’s Occasion Shops) awarded at 10:00am.
$15/entry – fill out attached form and send it to us
At 11:00am we start more fun with a Cakewalk Adventure (because walking in a circle is too boring for us). We will do a new adventure group each half hour until 3:30pm. We will limit each group to 20 people. We recommend you reserve ahead to get your preferred time. Those in each group that don’t win a cake will get to choose a cupcake or cookie so everyone will be a winner! We will have other spring activities and crafts available also.
$5/ticket (May send a proxy person if you can’t be there)
There will be a lot of fun activities to do downtown that day (Easter egg hunt, shopping promotions in lots of stores, etc). You can have a whole day of fun!
For more information, I have attached a FB link to all events and attached flyers and the form to register for the contest.
Email us back or text 209-204-9743 and let us know what you want to register for. We can send you a payment link or you can make an appointment to come and pay in person.
Save the date: May 5th and 6th will be our annual indoor yard sale. As you are doing spring cleaning, consider donating items you no longer need to the museum before that weekend. And then make sure to come shop for new treasures!
Just a reminder:
Lego Club – every Thursday 4-6pm – ALL AGES -build what you want or complete a challenge.
$2/person
Craft Night – every Thursday 6-8pm – ALL AGES – you can always bring your own project or use our supplies. Also check Facebook for special workshops we host on Thursday nights.
$2/person – material fees may apply
Game Night – every Friday 5pm -10pm – ALL AGES – bring the family or a date or meet up with friends and choose from our selection of board games.
$2/person
Open play hours:
Friday 9am – 5pm
Saturday 10am – 4pm
$2/child
$1/adult
ANNOUNCEMENT:
We have built a new party room that is a bit bigger than the old one. Book your party soon. Packages starting at $100.
Our old party room will become a dedicated Maker Space. Our supplies will be easily accessible so anyone can craft anytime.
Thank you for ALL your support! We appreciate all donations of time or money. All funds help with necessary improvements to the Museum.
“Award-winning author Kelly Barnhill brings her singular talents to The Crane Husband, a raw, powerful story of love, sacrifice, and family. “Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters.” A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mother, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it’s been just the three of them-her mother has brought home guests at times, but none have ever stayed. Yet when her mother brings home a six-foot tall crane with a menacing air, the girl is powerless to prevent her mom letting the intruder into her heart, and her children’s lives. Utterly enchanted and numb to his sharp edges, her mother abandons the world around her to weave the masterpiece the crane demands. In this stunning contemporary retelling of “The Crane Wife” by the Newbery Award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon, one fiercely pragmatic teen forced to grow up faster than was fair will do whatever it takes to protect her family-and change the story”
Detective Cara Kennedy investigates a murder in a small Alaskan town after a local teen discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore, teaming up with a town police officer as bad weather approaches. 50,000 first printing.
Retreating to Paris, Nevada, after an on-stage accident destroys her career, Erika Greene, to save the opera house she inherited from falling into the hands of a greedy developer, leases the space to glam rock god Christof Daae with whom she makes beautiful music until reality sets in. Original.
“Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting. When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it’s not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils–and rewards–of putting her heart on the line. Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George’s Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures-and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong”
Determined to embrace her new life as a “Surprisingly Young Divorcě,” 29-year-old Maggie, with the help of her tough-loving academic advisor, her newly divorced friend and her group chat, barrels through her first year of singledom, searching for what truly makes her happy. 100,000 first printing.
A geeky, brilliant, cosmetic chemist, Anna Ellis, to win over Craig Kimball, the man of her dreams and her boss starts fake dating Craig’s half-brother Marco, with whom Craig is super competitive, as an experiment in attraction until her feelings for Marco become all-too real. Original.
On Halloween night in 1984 Coventry, Massachusetts, four children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup blend in with the neighborhood kids trick-or-treating, begging to be hidden and kept safe from The Cunning Man. 60,000 first printing.
Jayanthi, a posthuman descendant, and her pilot Vaha are sent to test the habitability of an Earthlike planet called Meru, an unoccupied new world and the future of human-alloy relations — a journey that challenges their resolve in unexpected ways as they discover they’ve been set up to fail. Original.
“It is 1912, and for the last seventy years magic has all but disappeared from the world. Yet magic is all Biddy has ever known. Orphaned as a baby, Biddy grew up on Hy-Brasil, a legendary island off the coast of Ireland hidden by magic and glimpsed by rare travelers who return with stories of wild black rabbits and a lone magician in a castle. To Biddy, the island is her home, a place of ancient trees and sea-salt air and mysteries, and the magician, Rowan, is her guardian. She loves both, but as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she is stifled by her solitude and frustrated by Rowan’s refusal to let her leave. One night, Rowan fails to come home from his mysterious travels. To rescue him, Biddy ventures into his nightmares and learns not only where he goes every night, but that Rowan has powerful enemies. Determination to protect her home and her guardian, Biddy’s journey will take her away from the safety of her childhood, to the poorhouses of Whitechapel, a secret castle beneath London streets, the ruins of an ancient civilization, and finally to a desperate chance to restore lost magic. But the closer she comes to answers, the more she comes to question everything she has ever believed about Rowan, her own origins, and the cost of bringing magic back into the world”
“1944, Poland. Jacob Stein and Zalman Mendelson meet as boys under terrifying circumstances. They survive by miraculously escaping, but their shared past haunts and shapes their lives forever. Years later, Zalman plows a future on a Minnesota farm. In Brooklyn, Jacob has a new life with his wife, Esther. When Zalman travels to New York City to reconnect, Jacob’s hopes for the future are becoming a reality. With Zalman’s help, they build a house for Jacob’s family and for Zalman, who decides to stay. Modest and light filled, inviting and warm with acceptance–for all of them, it’s a castle to call home. Then an unforeseeable tragedy–and the grief, betrayals, and revelations in its wake–threatens to destroy what was once an unbreakable bond, and Esther finds herself at a crossroads”
In 1944 Normandy, when German snipers start picking off hundreds of Allied soldiers every day, Pacific hero Earl Swagger, assigned this crucial and bloody mission, must infiltrate the shadowy corners of London and France to expose the traitor who is tipping off these snipers with the locations of American GIs.
“Award-winning novelist Larry D. Sweazy’s first published short story collection features eleven western stories, including a new short story, “A Cow Hunter’s Lament.” Three of the stories, “Rattlesnakes and Skunks,” “Lost Mountain Pass,” and “Shadow of the Crow,” are origin stories for Sweazy’s series characters Josiah Wolfe, Trusty Dawson, and Sonny Burton. The stories are traditional westerns with a few that have underlying mysteries, as well as two that have supernatural elements, all written in Sweazy’s signature atmospheric style. All of the stories feature western characters challenged by the landscape and loneliness they exist in, overcoming adversity, with a respect for history, along with plenty of expected action”
In this gripping true story of daring rescues, body doubles and political intrigue, the New York Times best-selling authors of The First Conspiracy and The Lincoln Conspiracy reveal the Nazi’s plans to kill FDR, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill?—?an assassination plot that would’ve changed history. 300,000 first printing.
When she accidentally takes the wrong gym bag, Sam Kemp tries on a pair of six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes that give her the confidence to change her life, while the shoes’ owner tries to cling to her glamorous life after her husband cuts her off
The author of the New York Times bestseller Group reflects on her lifelong struggles to sustain female friendship and how the return of an old friend helped her explore the reasons she has avoided attachment.
Sharing her year-long journey as a daughter, wife, mother, writer and maker, the New York Times best-selling author, a lifelong knitter, shows how she, to keep herself engaged and cope with a series of seismic shifts in family life, set out to make a sweater from scratch. 75,000 first printing.
A revelatory investigation into how America is failing its children, and an urgent manifesto on why helping them is the best way to improve all of our lives. By the New York Times best-selling author of Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice.
Steeped in scientifically backed practical advice, this groundbreaking guide provides real-world practices and the latest research on how to train your brain for better learning.
“Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark, inventions we still dream about, and lastly, the exaggerations, myths, and wise expectations for innovations we need most”
A noted physician and medical research discusses how big Pharma and healthcare corporations has eroded the faith of both doctors and patients and why our interactions with medical professionals feel less personal and impactful. 40,000 first printing.
TOPEKA –Each spring, the Kansas Talking Books Service dedicates a week to highlighting the program’s progress and innovation in its mission of ensuring that all may read. The service, a division of the State Library of Kansas, operates with the support of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, providing services and support to qualified Kansans with a print disability.
For 2023, Kansas Talking Books Week will be held March 6th through 10th. Activities for the week include a webinar, highlighting the many Braille resources and services offered to eligible patrons including downloadable books, book clubs, reading challenges, and more.
“Our readers’ advisors assist patrons in personalizing their library services by maintaining and adjusting their author, series, and subject reading preferences and exclusions so patrons get the books and magazines they want or need,” said Maggie Witte, Outreach Librarian and Lead Reader’s Advisor said. “Patrons can request the reading materials they want and make the decisions on what and how they receive them so that it is a custom, personalized experience in library services.”
Far more than a repository for accessible materials, the Talking Books program is housed on the campus of Emporia State University. Kansas Talking Books has an on-site recording studio that allows volunteers and staff to record books and magazines of local interest and make them available in accessible formats for our readers.
More than 1,000 books, many about Kansas and by Kansas authors, have been produced by Kansas Talking Books and more than 500 are available for talking book patrons across the country via the BARD download service.
“Since 2005, through the support of an anonymous donor, we have been able to make the stories of Kansans available and accessible to print-disabled Kansas residents in the Gerald Kopp Studio. Many of these books aren’t considered for production on the national level, so it’s really important that we record as many as possible for our readers,” Director Michael Lang said.
Kansas Talking Books free library services are available to all Kansas residents with a qualifying print disability: blindness, low vision, physical impairment, or reading disability. Patrons can access over 120,000 books and subscribe to over 80 magazines.
Patrons, caregivers, and community members can find more information and the application for services online at kslib.info/talking. Those in the Emporia area can call 620-341-6280. Other regions in Kansas can call toll-free at 800-362-0699.