There will be an Open Class at the Bourbon County Fair this year. Lots of things will be happening.
In addition to the exhibits, there will be several contests. The King Arthur Baking Company will be sponsoring a baking contest again this year. The King Arthur Flour has arrived and is ready for distribution. Everyone who will be entering the baking contest will receive a 5-pound bag of King Arthur All-Purpose Flour.
To enter the baking contest come to the Myers Building on Saturday, June 12 between 10 am and noon. You will receive your recipe for the contest and a bag of King Arthur Flour.
If this time does not work for you, please call Jackie Warren at 620-224-8161 and other arrangements will be made to pick up your recipe and flour.
Normally any Open Class exhibit would be accepted if completed after the 2020 Bourbon County Fair. Since the Open Class portion of the 2020 fair was cancelled due to the pandemic, you may submit any project that you have completed since the 2019 Fair. However, remember that you may only enter one project per class.
Do not forget the scarecrow contest and the small hay bale decorating contest. Please submit your registration so that a hay bale will be provided for you. Also, a bucket of sand will be provided to hold your scarecrow.
If you have any questions, call Terri Williams at 620-215-3202 or Jackie Warren at 620-224-8161
Shawn O’Brien, president of the Good Ol’ Days Stearing Committee has some good news and some bad news.
“Bad news- our carnival had to cancel due to staffing issues,” he said. “We have been very fortunate to get bounce houses to place on the grassy area north of the blockhouse, east of Luther’s BBQ (at Oak and National Avenue). The bounce houses will be free for all kids. There is a wide variety for all ages. Come check them out.”
The 40th annual Fort Scott event continues on with a parade, foods galore, talent and baby contests, live music, vendors lining Main Street, displays, tournaments, a petting zoo, a zip line, balloonist, and Friday and Saturday street dances- something for everyone.
In addition, there are other freebies:
Vendors lined Main Street in 2017.
“We will have a movie night on Friday and Saturday around 8:30 p.m. at sunset at Skubitz plaza,” O’Brien said. “We will have a different movie each night and free popcorn.”
Movies chosen by a poll on the Good Ol’ Days Facebook page are “Twister” and “Grease,” he said.
Kids can get a free t-shirt.
“We will have tye die t-shirts for the first 150 kids,” O’Brien said. ” Thanks to Modern Woodmen Insurance, Highway3 and Shirt Shack for their generosity.”
“We will also have caricature drawings and balloon artist for free,’ he said.
Sheila and David Baglin were the recipients of a $100 gift certificate to Luther’s BBQ because they were the 100,000th meal that Feeding Families In His Name has served in a random contest.
Pictured is Jean Tucker, coordinator of the ministry, left, with the lucky couple.
The LaRoche Baseball Complex Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, May 27th, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. at the City Hall Commission Meeting Room, 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting is open to the public.
This meeting will be made available via the City’s you tube channel at City of Fort Scott.
The Shead family, minus three grandchildren who hadn’t been born yet. Submitted photo.
Larry and Vickie Shead are opening their farm next week for the community to view the organic homestead they have created.
All the Sheads will be helping on the day of the Organic Homestead Festival, including themselves, their adult children and their spouses, along with their 20 grandchildren.
The Organic Homestead Festival has several purposes.
“To share our family farm’s story-touring the farm, which will be laced with the history….to show our gardens, orchards, high tunnel, animals, bees and others, to supply ideas and information from what we learned in 43 years, to stir up interest in sustainable organic lifestyle, to sell products: produce, plants, kittens and poultry, to serve lunch for hungry people, to strengthen the community with other like-minded people and to sign-up for future classes,” Vickie said.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with single tickets-$5 or a family, $20.
A walking taco meal will be available for an additional $5.
Vickie Shead inside the high tunnel greenhouse on their farm.
Education is an important part of the Shead farm. Pictured is a graphic depicting all parts of a carrot, with the plant featured below the graphic.Part of organic farming is natural pesticides. Pictured is a praying mantis nest.This old turkey was roaming free on the farm on May 7.Beehives on the Shead farm.
There will be a SheadStead Market Store with fresh produce picked that day, veggie powders-which add nutrients to any meal, Guatemala sun hats, egg-gathering aprons, and herbal salves.
Vickie Shead demonstrates the egg apron’s usefulness. The aprons will be for sale on the day of the festival.
In addition, they will be selling some of their animals: peacocks, turkeys, chicks, ducklings, and kittens.
Poultry will be for sale at the Organic Homestead Festival.
“We have always been a farm where people would come to learn and help,” she said. “Now, we have seen an increase in people asking us for information on how to grow their own organic fruits and vegetables.”
Rows of vegetables on the Shead farm on May 7.
“Gardening and homestead-type living off the land are becoming very appealing to many because of the uncertainty of our future and the number of chemicals farmers are using,” Vickie said. “Many are asking if we will teach them…to plant, harvest and preserve, which includes canning, dehydrating, and freezing, as well as have one’s own meat and eggs.”
“There will be lots of fun for the whole family,” she said. “Questions and answers session on sustainable organic lifestyle..for adults.”
“In the children’s areas, they can…milk a cow and learn how to churn cream into butter, pet the animals in the petting yard, take pictures in photo cut-outs, hear a story about working on a farm, gather eggs…play educational games and meet Kernal Corn himself!” Vickie said.
A graphic of the Shead Farm.
The Shead farm is located at 2468 Cavalry, Garland, south of Fort Scott.
First United Methodist Church at Third Street and National Avenue,
Feeding Families in His Name celebrates 10 years of ministry on May 11, 2021.
“We started the ministry because of a seen need of school children being food insecure,” Jean Tucker, coordinator of the weekly meal, said.
“Tom Braker had the idea ten years ago and gathered a group of people who started the program on May 11, 2011,” she said. “The administrative board of the First United Methodist Church voted unanimously to start the program.”
The meal is offered each Wednesday evening at 301 S. National, the Fort Scott First United Methodist Church from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
“From May 11, 2011, until March of last year we served the meal in the basement Fellowship Hall,” she said. “This allowed us to visit with the families and get to know them and their needs other than a hot-home cooked meal. Now we must visit with them as they drive through.”
Feeding Families in His Name offers a meal to Fort Scottians each Wednesday evening.
“Since the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions, we have served to-go-meals only,” Tucker said.
“The ministry has extended past the serving of a meal,” she said. “Some of our dinner guests have become our valued weekly volunteers. We believe that the meal is a delivery system for God’s love!”
Currently helping weekly are Tom Braker, Steve and Susan Cole, Tom Coyan, Joey Beerbower, Linda and Leroy Cox, Betty and Pat Galan, Koyle Link, Lisa Robertson, Phyllis Colthart, and Don and Jean Tucker, plus a group of 15-20 dessert bakers who bake one or two desserts every week, Tucker said.
St. Martin’s Academy students clean up after preparing and serving the meals for Feeding Families in His Name on May 5 . From left to right: Oliver Stover, Jack Costanzo, Deneys Lategan, and Aidean Harris. In the background is volunteer Tom Coyan, who is responsible for FFiHN food inventory and kitchen. Submitted photo by Steve Cole.
A different group helps with the entrée and serving every week.
“The first Wednesday (of each month) is St. Martin’s Schoolboys; the second Wednesday during the school year, the Community Christian Church, under the direction of Gail Sackett, alternates with the First United Methodist Church; the third Wednesday is the Nazarene Church Small Group, under the direction of Gretchen Goodyear; the fourth Wednesday is the First Presbyterian Church under the direction of Alesha Martin and Sandra Cowan, and the fifth Wednesday is Pioneer Kiwanis under the direction of Kelly Collins,” she said.
The amount of meals served has grown.
In March 2011, the ministry served 44 meals, on March 10, 2021, they served 281 people a meal, Tucker said.
“The most we have served is 422 meals on a Wednesday last November,” Tucker said.
” I just did some math and the number of meals served since we began May 11, 2011, is over 98,000 and we have averaged 1,233 meals each month for the past year,” she said.
The ministry receives funding from the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation.
For more information, contact Jean Tucker, Coordinator of FFiHN at 620-223-4617 or church office at 620-223-1950
Good Ol’ Days, Bourbon County’s biggest festival, is a go for June 3-5, 2021.
Last year there was a celebration of the event’s 40 years planned, but the COVID-19 Pandemic shut it down.
“It’s always been an annual event, until last year,” Shawn O’Brien, chairman of the festival steering committee said.
“We got the news from the Southeast Kansas Multi-Health Department that we are approved to have the festival this year,” O’Brien said.
“Come out and walk Main Street,” O’Brien said. “We are looking forward to seeing everybody.”
Jared Leek in the Good Ol’ Days parade in 2016.
New this year is a zipline, with more details to follow, O’Brien said.
“There will be a talent show on June 3, and the other activities are June 4-5,” he said.
Vendors will once again line Main Street for people to enjoy, along with food trucks.
The Red Garter Saloon in 2016.
The Red Garter Saloon will perform, along with balloon artists and caricature drawings on Main Street, all for free.
There will be the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce sponsored parade on Friday evening, June 4, as well as the Chicken Mary’s Meal on the Mall that evening.
The parade in 2019.
The baby contest will be Saturday morning, June 5.
The baby contest in 2016.
“We will have live entertainment on Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Heritage Pavilion (First and Main Street), featuring the Wayward Betty’s,” O’Brien said. “This is free to the public.”
Saturday at the Heritage Pavilion, Public Display of Affection, will be the featured performers, from 7 to 10 p.m.
Fun Shows Carnival will be set up across from Luther’s BBQ at Oak Street and National Avenue.
The carnival in 2016.
The Steering Committee
The committee is comprised of O’Brien as chairman, Kayla Hull, Melissa Wise, Charlotte Thompson, Cheryl VanHoecke, Tim Van Hoecke, Shaylynn Clements, Kelsey Demott, and Carl Brenner.
“We are excited,” O’Brien said. “We have waited two years.”
Tickets for each event will be available soon at the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, 231 E. Wall Street.
A float in the 2016 parade.
Applications for different events are on their website.
Chamber Coffee hosted by Papa Don’s Pizza announcing celebrating 10 year anniversary in May 2021
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to a Chamber Coffee hosted by Papa Don’s Pizza, Thursday, April 29 at 8 a.m. located at 10 N. Main St. to announce their 10 year Anniversary coming in May 2021 in this location.
Coffee, breakfast pizza, juice and snacks like fruit and cheese will be served, and attendees may register to win a special drawing.
Chamber members and guests are invited to Chamber Coffee events each Thursday at 8 a.m. to network, make announcements, hear about happenings in the community as well as learn about the host business or organization.
Kerry and Kenny Wunderly are owners of 1553 Plants & Produce. Submitted photo.
Kenny and Kerry Wunderly saw a need in the community and have started a business to meet that need.
Their business is about helping people with their garden needs.
“With the whole process of lockdown over the past year due to COVID, people seem to be more aware of where their food comes from,” Kerry said. “Originally, we wanted to be the link for folks who have space and the desire to grow their own (garden) but didn’t know where to start. It’s very frustrating to have great goals, plant a garden, have everything come up and then quickly go downhill.”
The problems of weeds, insects, improper site preparation, improper plant selection, or the need for soil amendments can ruin the best intentions for many, she said.
Submitted photos. 1553 Plants & Produce.
“Kenny’s degrees from Kansas State (University) in agribusiness and agronomy have given a wealth of knowledge that we want to share so everyone can be successful and avoid those frustrations,” Kerry said.
The Wunderly farm business name is 1553 Plants & Produce, and it’s located at 1553 205th Street a few miles northwest of Fort Scott. To get there go west on Hwy. 54 and go north on 205th Street almost two miles.
The stand at the Wunderley farm. Submitted photos.
This is the business’s first year, although in the past they have been part of Community Supported Agriculture, she said.
“Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production,” according to https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/community-supported-agriculture
Kenny works full-time on the farm, and Kerry works full-time as a hospice nurse in Fort Scott.
In addition, Kerry provides all the marketing via social media as well as bookkeeping.
Kenny provides most of the labor and agricultural expertise.
Future Plans
” We have big plans for development,” Kerry said. “Some of the things we are hoping to do this year are garden tours with discussions on appropriate up-to-date topics…(and) date night dinners with meat and produce from our farm with firepit and all.”
“A couple of years down the road we hope to be able to expand our community garden program to accommodate more local growers, expand our own garden site to be able to partner with local food banks and restaurants, and the addition of an on-site greenhouse,” she said.
The 1553 Plants & Produce stand. Submitted photos.
Not just plants and produce are sold by the Wunderly’s.
Here is a list of the other business offerings:
“1. Custom built raised beds to fit size, shape, location and budgets.
2. Garden consults- we visit your site and provide input for the best possible outcomes. The first visit is always free of charge!
3. Started plants- vegetables, herbs, wildflowers, decorative grasses.
4. Fresh vegetables and herbs in season available at our self-serve plant stand. We also have a you-pick section in the garden if you want to pick your own.
5. Rejuvenation of flower or vegetable beds that a grower already has in place.
6. Raised bed rentals through our community garden program.
7. Lawn mowing, maintenance, and clean-up.
8. Custom raised meat chickens on request. We will raise and either deliver live birds to you or to the processor for butchering.”
Contact the business by phone at 785-422-5770
They also have a Facebook page where you can get the latest news:
April until 30th ~ Poetry Contest hosted by Hedgehog.INK Bookstore. Click here to learn more about submission rules and deadlines.
4/9 – The Boiler Room Brewhaus Friday Nights Karaoke!
4/9-15 – Fort Scott Cinema Showtimes Now showing Godzilla VS. Kong, Firl who believes in Miracles and Voyagers. Click here to view showtimes.
4/9 – FSCC Women’s Intercollegiate Golf Tournament Round One! Begins at 1 pm Tee Time at Woodland Hills Golf Course.
4/9-10 – Livestock Sale at the Fort Scott Livestock Market, both Friday & Saturday, click here for their FB page.
4/9-11 – Kansas Rocks Recreation Park Camp-N-Crawl 3-Day Event click here for details.
4/9-10 – Timken 2-Day Job Fair April 9th 1-5pm, April 10th 10am-3pm
4/9-10 – “Fort Games” 2-Day Event at Smallville Athletics
4/10 – Ward-Kraft Job Fair 9am-noon, 2221 Main St., under the white tent.
4/10 – Care to Share Rummage Sale Buck Run Community Center, open spots for more sales, call 620-224-8070 (donations accepted as well for the Sharing Bucket)
4/10 – Communities in Schools 25 Drive Event drive-thru donation event to benefit local youth, 9:30am-12:30pm, FSMS, click here for more details.
4/10 – FSCC Women’s Intercollegiate Golf Tournament Round Two! Begins at 9am Tee Time at Woodland Hills Gold Course.
4/10 – Lake Fort Scott Advisory Board Meeting City Hall, 10am.
4/12 – Spring Cleanup at Woodland Hills Golf Course Volunteers welcome, 5:30pm, to pick up any trash, limbs, sticks, etc.
4/13 – Downtown Quarterly Meet & Greet hosted by the Chamber at Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall St., 8:30-9:30am, anyone with an interest in happenings Downtown welcome.
4/15 – Chamber Coffee hosted by Fort Scott Christian Heights School 1101 S. Barbee, 8am.
4/15-16 – Peerless Products Job Fair 2 Days, 2 Locations ~ April 15th @ Peerless in Nevada MO from 10am-2pm, April 16th @ Peerless in Fort Scott from 10am-2pm
4/16 – Downtown Spring Clean Event 3-6pm, Community volunteers welcome, contact Bailey Lyons, Chamber Downtown Division Chair, if interested in volunteering or you have project ideas, 620-224-7795.
4/16 – Kick-off of the Friday Night Concerts in the Park 7pm, Heritage Park Pavilion @ 1st & Main, bring a lawn chair.
4/16 – David Loving Live to the Stage @ Boiler Room Brewhaus 7-pm, click here for more info.
4/17 – Elks Golf Tournament Fundraiser for Community Fireworks 11am tee-off, 3-person scramble.
4/17 – EKTEC Rodeo 11am, Uniontown.
4/17 – Cruise for the Kids hosted by Walmart 12-3pm, click here for more info.
4/17-18 – Hollister Shooting Range open 1st & 3rd weekends Saturday 1-4pm, Sunday noon-5pm.
4/17 – Paint & Sip Party @ Boiler Room Brewhaus 6pm, click here for more info.
Three Cord Justice performs tonight at the Boiler Room Brewhaus. Submitted photo. From left Jason Richison, Mark Markowitz, Liz Grace and Rick Alumbaugh.
The Boiler Room Brewhaus, 2 S. National Avenue, in historic Fort Scott’s downtown, offers live music throughout the year.
Tonight, Three Chord Justice will be playing classic country music from 7-9 p.m. with a suggested donation of $10.
The original group formed in March 2008 by Liz Grace in San Diego, CA.
Liz Grace. Submitted photo.
“TCJ quickly gained a following of two-steppers and lovers of country music in Southern California,” according to information provided by Liz Grace.
“The short of it is, for Mark ( Markowitz )and I, gigging is what we do,” Grace said. “It’s what we love best and we can’t help but do it as much as possible. It’s church.”
Mark Markowitz and Liz Grace. Submitted photo.
“We met when he came to audition for the band in 2008,” Grace said. “He played the heck out of a train beat!”
“On New Years Eve 2012 he proposed onstage, in front of all our family, friends and fans,” she said. “April 2021 will be our 7th anniversary. Love and music keep us together!”
Mark and Liz. Submitted photo.
“In May of 2020, Mark and I moved the band to Grove, Oklahoma, reformed with guitarist Jason Richison and bassist Rick Alumbaugh just a couple months later,” she said. “We couldn’t be more blessed to have our health and a busy calendar in 2021.”
The band features LeeRoy Whisenhunt on pedal steel, she said.
Hailing from Missoula Montana singer/songwriter Grace leads the group through a mix of classic country-influenced originals and handpicked covers from the likes of Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Patsy Cline and other country greats, she said.
“I got an early start singing in bars and honky-tonks, far before legal age, having to wait in alleys during band breaks,” Grace said.
Here is the entertainment/food truck schedule for the Boiler Room Brewhaus:
The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) plans to begin work on a U.S. 69 resurfacing project at Fort Scott on Monday, March 29, according to a KDOT press release. The project starts at the south U.S. 54 junction and continues south for six miles, ending ½ mile south of K-7.
Project activity includes a cold mill, concrete patching, and a three-inch asphalt overlay, according to the press release. The contractor will start at Wall Street and work south. Traffic is reduced to one lane in each direction at the work zone, with a width restriction of 12 feet. Flaggers will direct traffic on side roads.
Fort Scott City ManagerJeremy Frazier couldn’t be more excited about this street resurfacing project, he said.
Jeremy Frazier. Submitted photo.
“I believe that passers-through, whether right or wrong, assume that the condition of this highway embodies an accurate depiction of the City of Fort Scott,” Frazier said. “Although this highway is a KDOT Highway, there may be an assumption that it is a city-maintained highway. This of course is not the case.”
“To have this highway repaired is great news for Fort Scott,” he said.
” I am ecstatic and believe that this highway repair project lays the groundwork for future plans that we believe will come together with perfect timing,” Frazier said. “We are a long way away from changing the image of this community, but I feel, as I hope that everyone does, that the energy and enthusiasm present in the community will result in turning the corner not only in the downtown area but throughout the community. I am also optimistic that years from now, the community will have progressed in many ways for the better. Thank you KDOT. Thanks to the citizens, Fort Scott City Commission, non-profits, and business community!
KDOT awarded the $2.9 million construction contract to Bettis Asphalt & Construction, Inc., Topeka, according to the press release. Weather permitting, the road work should be finished this summer.
Check KDOT’s updated traveler information website, www.Kandrive.org, for more road conditions and construction details. KDOT urges all motorists to be alert and obey the warning signs when approaching and driving through a work zone.
Persons with questions may contact Iola Area Engineer Troy Howard, (620) 901-6557, or Public Affairs Manager Priscilla Petersen, (620) 902-6433.
Possible Streetscape
“I am additionally excited as I recently began discussions with KDOT to explore resources that might assist in a possible streetscape of HWY 69,” Frazier said. “If this streetscape were designed and constructed after the highway was repaired, it would mean that HWY 69 could become one of the most attractive routes through the community.”
