May 2021 Road Trip to Kansas Part Five of Five Series

Cheers! Part 5 is finally done!

Part 5 is Highway 18 - Wilson Lake- Lawrence - Tennessee

I know - I've taken way too long to get caught up with last May, but the last few months have been extraordinarily busy!

We start part 5 in Stockton. It's really strange not to have parents to visit here anymore. Or a reason to come back here anymore. There's no alumni association for 8th grade graduates - my high school is in a different town. We found a place to gas up the car just off Highway 183 - yep the same highway mentioned in part 3! 183 does play an important part in connecting points from my life. We drove to Plainville and turned left onto Highway 18.

I planned the Highway 18 route for one reason - to drive by the prettiest lake in Kansas, Wilson Lake. This highway also drifts southeasterly which was the direction we needed to go to get back onto I-70. 

I couldn't tell you the last time that I was this part of the highway to Lucas. But since I wasn't driving, I was able to observe. Around Codell, a high pointed ridge came in view from the passenger side. The highway basically followed this high ridge. And at Lucas, turning onto Highway 282, we had to cross that ridge to get to Wilson Lake. I just never saw that landscape in this way before -- the perks of not driving.

Wilson Lake is just stunning. An Army Corps dam on the Saline River creates the lake. The Dakota Sandstone is just brilliant in the sunlight. Yep - this is Kansas. I created a reel for my Instagram account from the video I took of Wilson and it racked up 1000 views in no time!

Wilson Lake

282 intersect I-70 at a desolate entrance ramp. We hopped onto I-70 East and towards our next destination: the Country Inn and Suites in Lawrence, KS. Going to Lawrence is like going to Holy Ground for me. The home of KU - the best education out of the four colleges/universities I attended. Mount Oread. Home Sweet Home to Me. My thesis is on the shelf in one of the KU libraries.

The hotel was by far the nicest hotel out of the five we had stayed at on this trip.

The next day was Monday but all of that driving on Sunday put a dent into us. Woo - the Tennessee - Georgia border seemed a long ways away still. Because the hotel was located on Highway 10, we just took it into KC and then back on I-70.  The 3-hour drive in Missouri was ok but wow once we got into Illinois, we were tired but still a long ways back home. In that state of mind, the miles drag by. I was convinced we needed to make it to Paducah - and we did but it was a struggle. We made it to the Drury Inn in time for free food -- that's a plus!

Paducah back home was a shorter trip of 4 hours -- back in time to pick up the dog! Here is picture of going down Monteagle -- three lanes, 6 percent grade, runaway strips. Back in the ridges and plateaus of Tennessee!

Monteagle descent

Epilogue:

Since I won't have a Father's Day blog post from June 2021 -- here is a picture of my beautiful cake resembling a beer mug! 

Nicodemus Archive Files at KU Library

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a very special affinity for Nicodemus, Kansas, now a part of the National Park Service.

For those who don’t know anything about Nicodemus,  Nicodemus represents the involvement of African Americans in America’s westward expansion. It is the oldest and only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River.

The Kansas University Spencer Research Library has a large archive collection of files about Nicodemus. You can go online to see what is indexed, but to actually see the collection, one would have to go to the Spence Library.

Here is the official citation to the collection with link to the index: 
Nicodemus Historical Society Collection, Kansas Collection, RH MS 545, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas. http://hdl.handle.net/10407/4641638255

Here is the collection summary:
Title: Nicodemus Historical Society collections
Dates: 1880-2015
Quantity: 38 boxes + 5 oversize boxes, 6 oversize folders, 1 audio cassette

Here is the archive file’s description of Nicodemus:

History of Nicodemus, Kansas
    The town of Nicodemus in Graham County, western Kansas, was founded in 1877 by African Americans migrating primarily from Kentucky and Tennessee, before the time period of the Exodusters. The town reached its most prosperous years by 1886, with the maturation of area agricultural production. However, the community began a long decline when a rail line, built in 1888, bypassed Nicodemus, instead linking through the neighboring town of Bogue.

    The population is thought to have peaked in 1910, when the federal census reported 595 inhabitants in Graham County. By 1950, only 16 residents were counted, and the Post Office station closed in 1953.

    Nicodemus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the federal government in 1976, and became a National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service in 1996 in large part thanks to Angela Bates, a prominent citizen. The town is known for its long history, noteworthy citizens, and the Homecoming Emancipation celebration that takes place each July

I often thought about the statement by former US senator Bob Dole, who led the effort to make Nicodemus a National Historic Site in 1996. He stated in an interview about Nicodemus that there was a lot of racism aimed towards the residents of Nicodemus. I found this sad but there were at least two obvious transportation racist choices. One, the railroad was supposed to come across the Solomon into Nicodemus. The railroad workers set up a tent city that became Bogue. The railroad went through Bogue. The other obvious choice was putting in the original Highway 24.  It ran three miles to the north of Nicodemus and then veered straight south to meet the highway from Bogue, three miles west of Nicodemus. I mean they couldn’t have veered the highway straight south three (or even two) miles to the east? Of course they could have.

I’ll probably never get a chance to see this archived collection but I am glad it is available for future researchers to see and document the beginnings of Nicodemus.

Decisions that come back around - Librarian

Thirty years ago, I was a graduating college senior heading to one of the toughest graduate journalism programs in the country (at that time).

First, let me say something about that graduate school: ROCK CHALK, JAYHAWK!!!

Okay - back to where I was. Thirty years ago I was heading to KU graduate level J-school. The best. Because as a writer, I wanted to be challenged by the best.

But this young, fresh-behind-the-ears career counselor at my low-level, small, tinyish college said something to me that at the time I did not respect. He said rethink about KU and journalism - you should get a graduate degree in library science.

Library science, really? How would library science further my goals into politics or political writings or effect change in social justice? A librarian - please.

Eight years later - I was an out-of-work, dejected writer looking for a job. Any job.  I landed a support-level job at a college library. And I became an active volunteer in my schools and community.

Fast forward twenty-three years later. I'm back in graduate school. VFL. UTK. Working for that graduate degree in information science. At a much older age - past the prime for advancement in the field.

And if I wanted, I could wallow in the "what ifs" because there are plenty of them. What if thirty years ago? What if I started information science school 15 years earlier?  But I know my life would not be what it is now. I would never give up being a Rock Chalk alum for nothing (double negative, don't care).

So, this story is more about decisions that come back around. Brandishing idealism replaced by living serenely. A decision came back around. This time, the answer was different.