After Hours Chamber Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Event for Geaux Loco Food Truck.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to an After-Hours Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting event to celebrate Geaux Loco Food Truck at 5:15pm on Tuesday, July 12th, located at 223 N. National Ave. Remarks and cutting of the ribbon will be at 5:30 pm.
Owners Hanna and daughter Curline Melveaux are excited to announce the opening of their food truck and their menu which includes flavors from Bayou to Central America with American favorites. They are now selling The Ice Cream Factory ice cream by the scoop. The After-Hours Chamber Event will feature ice cream and food samples.
Chamber members and guests are invited to Chamber events to network, make announcements, hear about happenings in the community as well as learn about the business or organization hosting. Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information. Visit the Events Calendar and category of Chamber Coffees on fortscott.com for upcoming locations.
The Perry’s Pork Rinds Country Store will have a soft opening following the Bronson Day event on Saturday and Sunday. The store is in the background, left and sits on Hwy. 54 that runs through Bronson.
Kelly and Thaddeus Perry have been pursuing a building purchase to manufacture their food products for several years.
Yesterday, they received final state approval for a manufacture license to make fudge and a retail license for the new building store front in Bronson. They will be having a soft opening of the business this weekend, following Bronson Day, a community event in this small town in western Bourbon County.
“We received our manufacture license for our fudge and our retail license for the front portion of the country store…(and) we will have a open house on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. We are planning for a grand opening on July 30.”
The store open house will have limited items this Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. and Monday 5-9 p.m.
History of the Business
The Perry’s started making pork rinds at the Hume Fair in 2017 and discovered the demand and profit, Kelly said. “So it made sense to push forward. However, because pork rinds are technically a meat product we cannot wholesale or go on any store shelf until we physically built a USDA inspected meat processing facility. Although we do not slaughter any animals, we still have to follow all safety and federal rules regarding meat so we decided to put every penny into building a facility.”
During the COVID 19 Pandemic, the Perry’s discovered something.
“As we came closer to that reality, we realized, through the pandemic, what a food desert we really have on the western side of the county and felt we could change this! We decided to not only build a pork rind meat production plant but a retail store front for our biggest supporters, our community!”
Perry’s Pork Rinds Country Store on Hwy. 54 in Bronson has a soft opening on July 9 and 10
The store will be open following the vendors leaving town on Saturday.
“Once the Bronson Day vendors close at 3 p.m., we will then open our store,” Kelly said. “We will not be fully stocked, but we will have bags of ice, coffee, tea, lemonade, fountain soda, canned soda, ready-to-eat foods and snacks foods.”
Kelly Perry. Submitted photo.Inside Perry’s Pork Rinds and Country Store. Submitted photo.
“We are fully licensed for wholesale with over 200 fudge flavor options made in house,” she said. “We will also carry Cashmere Popcorn and Stumpy’s Smoked Cheese, fountain soda, can soda, water, bagged ice, candy, salt water taffy, nostalgic candy, bread, milk, eggs, butter, ice cream, can veggies and fresh produce. We will keep a few odds and ends like medicines, dish soap, charcoal lighter fluid toilet paper, detergent, etc. We will offer gift baskets and eventually other household goods.”
No beer or cigarettes will be sold by the Perry’s.
“We get asked a lot if we will sell beer or cigarettes and the answer will always be no,” she said. “It is something we feel personally about and don’t care to provide it to the community. We know the demand is there, but fully believe we can thrive without those options.”
“This will allow us to employ younger community members who are eager to work,” Kelly said. “It’s important to teach work ethics and responsibilities to the next generation.”
“We should have all of our items available for sale for our grand opening celebration on July 30,” she said.
Perry’s Pork Rinds & Country Store on Hwy. 54 which is also known as792 Pine Street in Bronson.
Contact info: the store phone 620.224-2052 or email [email protected]
Financing Their New Business
The Perry’s saved money for the down payment for their business and borrowed the rest from Iola Community National Bank.
“They worked with us and believed in our business plan from the beginning,” she said.” We also used another loan through the Ft. Scott Chamber of Commerce E-Community loan to help us finish the project and have enough capital to fill the store front upon opening. Out of the second loan we were granted $9,000 in loan forgiveness through the Patterson Family Foundation (through the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team).
They currently have six employees and anticipate substantial growth, she said. They will soon go from two production days to five and offer wholesale pork rinds and fudge nationwide.
On the Horizon
“We will not be stopping with just the store front,” she said. “We are already working on phase two for our property, which is a full hook up RV park for travelers. This will utilize the large property we have as well as bring revenue to the city with utilities.”
Fort Cinema,224 W 18th St, Fort Scott is the distribution site for free food for children under 18 years old, until August 18.
A new Assembly of God Church plant is receiving food to distribute to Fort Scott children under 18 years of age, until school starts in August. The food will be distributed at the Fort Scott Cinema.
Family Life Assembly of God volunteers will be distributing the food, with Grady Proffitt the facilitator here in Fort Scott.
“We have started a distribution that partners with Life 360 Church out of Springfield, MO,” said Proffitt, who is planting a new church called Family Life Assembly of God in Fort Scott. “They have received government funding that is able to feed kids in communities that are ages 18 and under. They are serving the Southeast Kansas area places like: Baxter Springs, Galena, Girard, Garnett, Ottawa, Humboldt, Pittsburg, and Fort Scott. There might be more, but I know those cities for sure!”
“This partnership is not FLAG Church this is Life360 Church reaching out to our churches in our different communities,” he said.
“For us here in Fort Scott, they serve us every Thursday from 11am-12:30pm in the Fort Cinema parking lot. This will go until school starts with the last Thursday, August 18,” Proffitt said.
“This is for students and children ages 18 under,” he reiterated. “Supplies include lunches and dinners for each child. Milk, dry foods, canned foods, and some frozen meals. The only criteria is that each child must be in the vehicle to receive meal packages while supplies last.”
“This is not FLAG Church, this is Life360 Church out of Springfield, MO that is partnering with local churches to bless communities in the Southeast Kansas area. We are grateful for this opportunity to add to the needs of so many here in Fort Scott!”
Grady Proffit, is the Fort Scott Campus Pastor of Family Life Assembly of God.
Bronson Day, a local community event of this small town in western Bourbon County, has been revamped.
Bronson Day has typically been held yearly in the spring and led by the Bronson Ruritan, said Kelly Perry.
Perry is part of a new organization in Bronson.
The town held an open town meeting seeking volunteers for the new organization, called the Bronson Pride Committee.
“In the past, we had a larger Ruritan group and several locals realized this was a big task to put on just one or two people in the Ruritan,” Perry said. “After speaking to Terry Johnston, head of the Bronson Ruritan we agreed to all work together to help promote the event.”
Elected to head the organization are Kayla Greenway-president, Michael Stewart-vice president, Danielle Minor-treasurer and Perry as secretary.
The event, moved from the spring to the summer, starts as 9 a.m. with a horseshoe tournament hosted by Terry Johnson.
“Bronson is the home of the first world horseshoe tournament,” she said. “This event is free.”
“We have a huge day of events planned, from free bounce houses to a mini horse pull, a parade, a color run, Kale Nelson’s State Farm Car Show, a three-on-three basketball tournament,a horseshoe tournament, a cornhole tournament, kids games, over 25 vendors, several food trucks, a street dance, a live DJ, a beer garden and of course our fireworks display,” she said.
“This year we created a bit more buzz by creating not only the committee, but allowing food trucks, doubling the fireworks budget, and bringing back the street dance,” Perry said. “Board members and volunteers were able to get sponsors and received a grant from Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Inc. The funds are not all spent on one single event but are going to be used for overall community improvement and morale which includes The Bronson Day Celebration.”
“Bronson Day is just part of the vision the entire board has for the Bronson Pride Committee,” she said. “In the future, we will continue to meet and grow and make this yearly event better and bigger. We want to unify our community through ideas, efforts, and solving problems and needs. If we can motivate others we can change the community morale and continue to thrive together,” she said.
Kayla Greenway has lived in Bronson for many years and raised her four children here.
“I’ve helped with Bronson days in the past, but this year‘s planning has been ramped up by our new Bronson Pride Committee,” Greenway said. “It’s a committee we started to help clean our town up, bring awareness to community development, and come together in unity with the same goal of helping one another in our town.”
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” Greenway said. “I am excited to see what our future holds. We are always accepting new members and our next meeting is July 6 at 5 p.m. at the city park.”
King Arthur Flour has been sponsoring a baking contest for the open class at the Bourbon County Fair for several years.
This year the adults will be making Cranberry-orange Italian Biscotti and the youth (under 12) will be making simple sugar cookies.
To enter into the contest you will need to fill out the entry form found in the fair paper and mail to Jackie Warren by July 1st, or call her to register.
Jackie’s address is 1906 Maple Road, Fort Scott, KS 66701 and her phone number is 620-224-8161.
The recipes and King Arthur flour will be available to pick-up July 2nd at the Yeager Building on the fairgrounds from 9:00 – 11:00 am Saturday morning.
King Arthur flour will provide winners with gift certificates for their products.
Items can be entered at the fair on Monday July 18th from 2:00 -6:00 pm at the Meyers building.
Judging will by on the 19th.
The King Arthur Flour baking contest has been a popular class, so don’t miss out, register soon.
David and Addi Foster with their children. Submitted photo.
June is National Dairy Month and fortscott.biz interviewed David and Lynda Foster, whose family operates Foster Dairy Farm southwest of Fort Scott on Hwy. 39 to get their perspective on the current state and the future of the dairy industry.
David and his wife, Addi, are in partnership with his mom and dad, Lynda and Gary Foster.
Lynda and Gary Foster, from her Facebook page.
Lynda’s grandfather, Ed Davis began the farm in the 1940s, she said.
Now the fifth generation, David and Addi’s oldest daughters, Ansley, 15, and Mayla, 13 are helping on the farm.
The following is an interview with David and Lynda.
Tell about the state of dairy farms in Kansas.
“Currently there are 209 dairy farms in Kansas and while we may have lost numbers of dairy farming operations, we are growing in cow numbers with Kansas currently having about 142,000 mature milking cows,” Lynda Foster said. “Kansas is ranked 15th in the nation.”
“There is a new Hillmar Cheese plant in construction expected to come online in about 2.5 years from now, where we also expect to see an additional 100,000 cows to be added to the state,” she said.
The Hillmar Cheese Processing Plant will be a state-of-the-art facility in Dodge City, in western Kansas.
How did the pandemic effect your farm?
“We experienced primarily supply chain disruptions,” David Foster said. “It didn’t change the work that needed to be done daily. We still traveled to get supplies like alfalfa, and feed and mineral. It canceled annual meetings in organizations that we are a part of. Like everyone, there were certain precautions that were to be made if someone got sick.”
What is happening now in the industry?
“Exports are still up, and expected to be higher this year, 1 in 6 semi tanker loads of milk gets exported” Lynda said.
“Milk prices are on the rise and setting records in some areas, so are a lot of our inputs, especially feeds, fertilizers, fuels – all of these input costs are outpacing the increased milk price,” she said. “Some of the most notable current events in the dairy industry was, of course, the baby formula shortage.”
What is on the horizon for the dairy industry from your perspective?
“I believe that we will continue to see consolidation, dairy farms getting larger, smaller farms disappearing,” David said. “I believe that the days of families deriving their sole income from the dairy are gone. Today, a farmer on a smaller dairy, less than 300 cows, needs a spouse off-farm to make it and provide for their families additional income as well as health insurance.”
“Automated Milking Systems will continue to grow in use and will allow farms to alleviate the woes associated with a depleted/barely existent labor market,” he said. “Recent reports showed that for every person that doesn’t have a job, there are 2 jobs available. This means that farming operations struggle to compete in wages against other industries and also struggle to entice labor due to the traditional physical demands and long hours of a farming operation.”
Automatic, or robotic,milking systems usually operate without someone being present to supervise the milking process and have been in use for the past decade on commercial farms, according to sciencedirect.com
The Foster’s have an automated milking system that allows the cows to come in at will when they need milked. Submitted photo.
“I believe that you will see dairy farms continue to diversify operations to include other agricultural ventures that complement milking and farming, such as trucking or custom harvest, and hay operations,” he said.
“Technologies such as methane digestors will allow a value-added return from cow manure and allow dairies to derive additional profits,” David said. “Dairies will utilize solar and wind to reduce peak energy costs.”
“I am always probing and putting efforts into exploring options for emerging technologies that would make our operation more efficient,” David said. “The goal of sustainability is always to do more with less. We are the only dairy left in Bourbon County and one of a few left in all of southeast Kansas. There may be interest in adding on-farm processing in the future to serve the needs of this 4-state area with a local, quality, nutritional product.”
“I believe with food shortages touted and supply disruptions experienced, we will continue to feel an increasing demand for consumers to want to source local,” he said. “We saw this ramp up significantly in the beef industry as consumers wanted to buy direct from the farmer. We see this in farmer’s markets. Other areas have supported their local operations, and we may not be far from considering, but to expand our operations to include processing, or other technologies, we have to expand our team of people that can share our vision and hopes for a better future.”
“Some of the biggest obstacles I see for dairy and maybe shared by all businesses, will be labor, inflation, which is then tied to interest and increased taxes, and supply prices and availability,” David said.
PRATT – June 4 and 5 are Free Fishing Days in Kansas, when anyone can fish on any public waters without a fishing license. The free weekend provides the perfect opportunity to introduce someone to the joys of angling; kind of a “try it before you buy it” opportunity. In Kansas, anyone age 16-74 must have a fishing license to fish, except on Free Fishing Days, and although license requirements are waived, anglers must still abide by all other regulations such as length and creel limits, and equipment requirements.
If you’re looking for a place to drop a line during Free Fishing Days, visit ksoutdoors.com/fishing and click “Where To Fish” for a list of fishing locations near you.
After you’ve found an ideal spot or two, consult the 2022 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary prior to hitting the water. The summary contains vital information specific to all public waters and even has some handy tips and tricks on tying knots and identifying fish. View an electronic version at ksoutdoors.com/fishing, or pick up a hard-copy at your nearest license vendor.
With the right location, a variety of baits to choose from, and some cooperative weather, Kansas fishing can be a blast. Give it a try; we can bet you’ll be hooked.
A Chicken Mary’s chicken dinner will be for sale downtown.
“You can purchase tickets for the chicken dinner for $8 at the Chamber of Commerce Office, 231 E. Wall,” Shawn O’Brien, chairman of the Good Ol’Days Stearing Committee, said. “The dinner includes a two-piece chicken, German potato salad, creamy slaw, bread, and water.”
Friday Night Free Music Concert
A live music concert by the Diamond Empire Band will be a 7 p.m. Friday at Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main Street.
“Bring your lawn chairs and come enjoy live music!” O’Brien said.
Saturday Activities
“Saturday we have lots of free activities for kids and adults,” he said. “Tye die t-shirts have been donated by Key Industries for the first 300 people, starting at 9AM until gone. They will be located at 2nd and Main.”
Free bounce houses are available again this year, located in the parking lot east of Oak Street and National Ave. Face paint is not allowed on the inflatables, so plan accordingly.
“We are always excited to see the large turnout for these,” he said.
There is a car and bike show this year at the Riverfront Park on North National Avenue.
“We are excited that Old 54 Cycle has teamed up to offer this amazing car and bike show,” O’Brien said.
New this year is a Care to Share Children’s Cove.
“They will be located on Skubitz Plaza and have lots of kids activities for $5. They will be open 10 AM – 2 PM (Saturday). We are excited for their new fundraising efforts. We look forward to them coming to the Good Ol’ Days.”
Care to Share Children’s Cove has a $5 wristband entry which includes one free ticket for a cotton candy.
There will be a ring toss, bean bag toss, duck pond, sack race and more for children ages 5th grade and younger.
The stearing committee is comprised of O’Brien -Chairman, Kayla Hall – Secretary, Melissa Wise – Treasurer, Charlotte Thompson – Logistics, Cheryl VanHoecke – Vendor relations, Tim VanHoecke, Shay Clements, Angel Wilson, and Carl Brenner – Fort Representative.
“We have tons of fun activities planned, come down and celebrate 41-derful years! Located downtown Fort Scott, starts at 3rd and Main and runs north to the Fort (Fort Scott National Historic Site) and west to National Avenue.”
History of the Event
Good Ol’ Days began as a festival when founding member Anne Emerson arrived in the community from the eastern U.S., over four decades ago.
“She had been to a street festival and was excited to bring the same type to Fort Scott,” O’Brien said. “The first year they had activities all over Fort Scott, such as the pool, the stadium, Gunn Park, and many more places. They realized that they were stretched out too far and made it the downtown street festival.”
“We stick to the same ideas with a main event each year, Blane Howard is the main event this year,” he said. “Of course we have crafts, food, family, friends and tons of fun every year!!!”
Suzanne Griffin had opened her home to feed over 30 high school students on Wednesday evenings before the COVID-19 Pandemic started, which she calls a supper club.
Submitted photos.
The stay-at-home mom of six children had been told she was a good cook and mentioned the idea of a supper club to friends.
In April 2022 Griffin began her business of making homemade, pre-assembled meals to sell.
The name of her business is Twigs & Berries, and the meals are made in her home at 1211 S. Judson. She makes family-style meals ready to pick up, take home, bake and enjoy.
“We are going into our third month and serve between 80-100 orders each Wednesday night,” she said. “Customers place orders ahead of time online through a form, or message me and then pick up curbside.”
Each meal includes a main dish, two side dishes and a dessert.
“We also offer mason jar salads, frozen entrees, full side desserts and once a month a breakfast pickup,” she said. “We have been so blessed to offer meals that are delicious, affordable and family-friendly. It was an answer to prayer to provide for our family at the same time to be a blessing to others.”
Extra cars on the east side of Union Station let passers-by know of the farmer’s market on May 19.
On Thursday evenings at Union Station Convenience Store near Uniontown, you might notice more cars than usual.
A farmers market started May 5 there, just west of Uniontown on Hwy. 3. It meets every Thursday from 4-8 p.m. but may expand a day in the future if the community responds.
Vendors set up for customers at the farmers market near Uniontown.
“Union Station is allowing vendors to set up on the east side of the convenience store parking lot, in the trees,” Schotze Griffiths, store manager said.
Currently, there are four vendors who have set up, but “I have more people coming when their garden starts to produce,” Griffiths said. “This is an opportunity to buy fresh food locally.”
There is no cost to the vendor, and anyone that would like to set up a table, may.
“It’s a work in progress,” she said. “So don’t give up on us. If it is real hot in the summer it might get sparse, but it will be here as long as people want to come. There might be less vendors this week because of prior commitments.”
Saturday mornings are a possibility in the future she said.
“Especially when we have rodeos that come,” Griffiths said.
Union Station is directly across the street from the Uniontown Rodeo Grounds on Hwy. 3.
Current Vendors
The four vendors currently coming are MMM Flavor Shop, Prairie Rose Farmstead, 9 Acre Farm and Mama Mary.
Addi Foster tells of her wares to a customer on May 19.
MMM Flavor Shop is owned by Addi Foster and her sister, Emelia Whiteaker, who are selling spices. Addi’s daughter, Mayla also has crafts, eggs, peacock feathers and poultry grown on the family farm to sell. The mother-daughter duo are part of Foster Dairy, from the Hiattville area. Contact info is 620.224.8442 or 620.224.9411.
Dale and Lisa Griffiths set up a vendor booth for their wares on May 19.
9 Acre Farm is owned by Dale and Lisa Griffiths, Bronson, and sells fresh eggs, pickled items and candles at their booth. They will bring produce later as it starts producing on their farm. Interested parties can watch them on YouTube. For more information contact them at 620.215.3101.
Jessi Hall displays her wares with a customer on May 19.
Prairie Rose Farmstead is owned by Sage and Jessi Hall, Uniontown.They offer goat milk products including soap, lotion, salve and lip balm. In addition they sell raw milk, pastured poultry and grass fed beef. Contact them at 316.821.0309 or [email protected].
Mary Ridge sells homemade food items at her booth, Mama Mary.
Mama Mary, Mary Ridge of the Zenia area, sells pies, take and bake meals and canned goods. Her homemade food items are also sold at the Bronson Locker in Bronson. Her contact info: 620.939.4977.
