76 Years in the Making: A Trip to State Basketball

Window at Main Street Market, our hometown grocery store.

The last time Stafford High School earned a trip to the state basketball tournament, Harry Truman was president. The future queen of England was still a princess when she married her prince. World leaders were contemplating the Marshall Plan after World War II.

The year was 1947. 

And in 2023 - 76 years later - we are back again. Today, the Stafford Trojans play the South Central Timberwolves in the KSHSAA Class 1A, Division II, basketball tournament. It will be at 4 PM this afternoon on the Barton Community College court at Great Bend.

What was going on in 1947? According to Baby Boomers, here's a smattering:

Getty Images - President Harry Truman signs the Marshall Plan

• President Truman formulates "Truman Doctrine" of providing aid to countries whose governments are threatened with overthrow
• U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall calls for a European recovery effort, popularly called the "Marshall Plan."
• Britain’s Princess Elizabeth marries Phillip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

• Henry Ford dies, leaving behind a fortune of over $600 million
• Americans are able to purchase the first new cars manufactured since the beginning of World War II

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:

• First airplane to break the speed of sound
• Transistor invented at Bell Laboratories
• Holography invented
• "Broad spectrum" antibiotic introduced to fight typhus

Getty Images

SPORTS:

• World Series:New York Yankees over Brooklyn, 4-3 (first televised World Series)
• Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American player in a major league baseball team (Brooklyn Dodgers)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:

• Movies: Gentleman’s Agreement, Miracle on 34th Street
• TV Shows: Kraft Television Theatre, Small Fry Club (programming limited to approximately 18 hours per week)
• Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire wins Pulitzer Prize

EVERYDAY LIFE:

• More than 1 million veterans enroll in college through the G.I. Bill
• First food processors
• The average cost of a loaf of bread was 13 cents

FUN FACTS:

• First documented sightings of "flying saucers"
• Drive-in theaters become a booming industry

And, in Stafford, Kansas, USA, the Stafford High Trojan boys' basketball team went to the KSHSAA State Basketball tournament.  

The first state basketball tournament under the direction of the KSHSAA was at Emporia State Teachers' College in 1912 and was won by the Reno County High School team of Nickerson. All teams competed in one class until 1925, at which time all schools with enrollments of 200 or fewer were placed in a new division, Class B. In 1941, a third division was added and the schools were divided into three classes: AA (largest schools), A and B (smallest schools).

In 1945, the schools voted to go back to the pre-war plan of three separate state tournaments of 16 teams each. In 1947, Stafford High went to the Class B tournament in Hutchinson, where Inman High was crowned champion. Other champions in 1947 were: Class AA, Wellington High; and Class A, Buhler.  (Other KSHSAA state basketball history is available HERE.)

It was before the grandparents of SHS's current players were even alive.  Some of our friends have grandsons on the team. While we don't personally have family members competing, we've been following this group of seniors since junior high. We were among several fans who went to another league school (my alma mater) to watch them win the League Championship when the current seniors were 8th graders four years ago.

Several people have been sharing this photo on Facebook from their 8th grade year. This particular photo was taken by Jami Downing.

Today, those same guys - and a bunch of their friends - will take to the court at Barton Community College for the KSHSAA 1A, Division II, state basketball championships.

Photos by Nicholas Minks, who coached them as 8th graders and has taken amazing photos of their high school careers.

We - along with a bunch of other Trojan fans - drove to Ransom, more than 2 hours away, to watch the sub-state tournament last Friday and Saturday. It was worth every moment in the car.

Just ask the guys' coach. 

My photos aren't as good as Nick's, but they did capture the joy.

Stafford High has had wrestlers go to state championships, including Randy and several of his high school buddies. When Jill was an 8th grader, the high school girls' volleyball team earned a spot at state. 

You celebrate big when it's been 76 years since you've done something. Businesses in town have signs on their windows. Elementary school classrooms made posters to encourage the team. The after-school program made signs, too. 

Photo from STARS After School Facebook page

There was a welcome home impromptu parade last Saturday night when the team returned to town. There was a pep rally as school started this morning, and there's a send-off this afternoon down Main Street. 

Yeah, it's just a game. But it's really so much more. These are good kids off the court, too.

Above, I shared that photo Jami took four years ago. And while it's fun to see how those "little boys" have grown into young men about ready to tackle the world away from high school, I was also struck by what she wrote four years ago:

 ... They support each other, build each other up and want each other to succeed. They are hungry for success and they have been bringing their best every game this season.  But most importantly, they are just really good kids! I’ve been telling people for the last couple years just how fun they are to watch and encouraging anyone I can to show up and see it for themselves. I always add, that as fun as they are to watch and as good as they are on the court, they are such good kids off the court too. That alone, makes them a force to be reckoned with. 

 

As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” That is so true for this group of boys and the leadership and friendship they have given the rest of the boys on their team. They have encouraged the younger boys to step up, never give up and play with heart. They included them in every victory. Whether or not they played a second, they showed them what being a team was all about! They told them and showed them, but they truly made them feel it, and they won’t forget that! 

 

These boys are great role models on a team, in our school and in the community. It takes a village, and I. for one, am so very proud to have them in mine! I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids to be role models to my boys, and I will always appreciate the genuinely great kids that they are! I look forward to watching them continue to grow, the best is yet to come!

 

The best was yet to come! So GO TROJANS! I'm guessing half (or more) of Stafford will be in Great Bend this afternoon. We will! 

 

*** 

Team Effort

Reunion - 2011 - Skyline girls' basketball

 

I do have a little experience with state basketball tournaments on the girls' side. The KSHSAA Girls' Basketball championship wasn't added until 1973. I was a champion bench sitter on Skyline's team, and we won the first-ever Class 1A tournament. 

We won again the following year, and we made a trip to state my senior year, 1975, and placed third. Skyline won again in 1977, when my youngest sister was part of the team.

I wrote this blog post in March 2011 about KSHSAA's celebration of 100 years of service to member schools. State basketball winners of the past were recognized and Skyline girls showed up - including the bench sitter.

But as my dad always said, there is value in those people who practice against the stars every day, too. So, to all the SHS basketball players who likely won't get on the court during the game today: I see you. And you're important, too!

 

Click HERE for the blog post, Team Effort.  It echoes what Jami said about being a team - whether you're the star or not.

Wheat's Nine Lives

You know the old cliche, "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day."?

Unless you're planning an outside wedding in Kansas, no one is buying into that sentiment. (And, if you're planning an outside wedding in Kansas in early March, what do you expect anyway?)

We got about 0.80 inches of moisture about a week ago. While we appreciate every drop, it didn't do much to alleviate the drought conditions in the Wheat State.

However, right now, Kansas' wheat farmers are wondering if there will be much of a 2023 crop this summer at all. Tye, who took over our farm ground after last year's harvest, called Randy after touring wheat ground over the weekend. So we went out for our own perusal.

It's not looking good. But Tye is not alone. The National Ag Statistics services released an update on crop conditions for the week ending February 26. The winter wheat condition is rated:

25 percent very poor

26 percent poor

30 percent fair

17 percent good 

2 percent excellent

 

There is certainly not 2 percent excellent in our part of the state.

 

It varies from field to field, too. What we call the "home quarter" (directly above) looks better than the 80 acres south of our house (photo earlier in this post).

In our area, we are ranked at in the D3 or extreme drought category. My childhood farm in Pratt County is even worse - ranked in D4 or exceptional drought category, along with most of western Kansas. Only the northeast portion of the state is without drought conditions.

Graphic from Kansas Wheat

The USDA's Ag Statistics says that subsoil moisture supplies are rated 46 percent very short, 32 percent short, 22 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus. 

“You never want to count a wheat crop out; we talk about it being the crop with nine lives,” said Jeanne Falk Jones, a multi-county specialist with K-State’s Northwest Research-Extension center in Colby in a news release from K-State Research and Extension. “But some would say we ran through a few of those lives trying to get to this point in the growing season.”

Much of the Kansas wheat crop was planted last fall in extremely dry conditions, creating variability in wheat stands in the late fall and into this spring. With limited rain and snow fall this winter, those dry conditions haven't changed.

In the past year, precipitation in Kansas was about 10 inches below normal.

At this point, wheat is in a dormant period. Last week's rain did help green up some fields, but time will tell whether it can recover enough to harvest. 

Tye - like most farmers - is trying to weigh the options. Should fertilizer be applied when the outlook looks sparse? If you apply a herbicide, it reduces the options of what you could plant after a crop failure. So, what's the best management decision?

A crystal ball would be helpful in farming. So would some rain. 

Kansas is the nation’s leading wheat producer, known for hard red winter wheat that is used for whole grain white bread and other whole grain products. According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the state’s growers harvested 7 million acres with an average yield of 52 bushels per acre in 2021. This accounted for 10.4% of the state’s total agricultural receipts and 22.1% of the nation’s crop.

KDA estimates the direct impact of wheat production in Kansas at $1.3 billion in output and 3,231 jobs.

Weekly crop reports from USDA Ag Statistics begin this week as the countdown begins toward wheat harvest 2023. At least, we hope there's a 2023 wheat harvest.  

Harvest 2022

 

All That Glitters

Unwrap the hidden beauties in an ordinary day.

 –Gerhard E. Frost, author

(Until I typed his name, it didn't register that the quote was from a guy named FROST - ha!)

 

All that glitters is not gold. But it can be valuable, just the same.

Sometimes, though, that glitter is fleeting, so it should be appreciated in the moment.

One cold, cold day last week, I walked by an east-facing window and stopped in my tracks. The rising sun was creating a temporary art installation in my bathroom. 

The window pane provided a natural frame for the intricate patterns created by frost crystals.

The scene was modified slightly by the window screen covering a portion of the window. More camera clicks followed.

Even though the temperature didn't get far out of the deep freeze that day, the artwork on my bathroom windows soon disappeared, a combination of furnace heat and the sun's ascension.

And it again made me think about appreciating the small things as they happen. 

Whether it's a sunrise ...

Or a sunset ...

 Or frost on a window.  

 

It's Not National Geographic, But ...

I was feeling really excited about my latest photos of a bald eagle ... until I saw the winning photo from the 2022 National Geographic Picture of the Year.

A bald eagle arrives to steal a perch on a tree log that offers a strategic view of the shoreline at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska. When other eagles drag freshly caught salmon in from the water, these bystanders swoop in to take a share. (Photo by Karthik Subramaniam) To see all of National Geographic's contest winners, click HERE.

In reality, I've entered eagle photos and other photos of birds in the Stafford County Fair before. They rarely get any ribbon at all. However, all my bird photos have been the equivalent of portraits - birds sitting still on a branch or on my backyard fence or, in the case of some visiting bluebirds four years ago, perched on dried grasses in our pasture.

There's no action like that spectacular photo taken in Alaska. (On the other hand, I know how hard it is to capture even these still photos with a small camera sans a tripod and telephoto lens. But when you enter a photo contest, you don't get to plead your case about how many clicks of the shutter it took to get a few photos in focus. The judge didn't know that in all my years as a Kansan, I'd never seen a bluebird before. Whether it was a ribbon winner or not, I still love the bluebird photos.)

See more photos from February 2019 in our pasture, by clicking HERE.

In contrast, photographer Karthik Subramaniam told National Geographic that he'd camped out near the shore of Chikat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska for a week to capture the perfect shot.

My single eagle was hanging out near the mama cows and their babies. Randy had taken a solo trip to drive through the cattle lot. But he called and told me about the eagle. We figured by the time he came back home to pick me up, the eagle would have flown the coop - or, the cottonwood tree, in this case.

But it was still there. It stayed for a little bit, then flew away. We saw it again in other trees, but it departed before we could get close enough for my camera's little telephoto lens. But, when we got back to the road, the eagle had again perched in the cottonwoods near the road, giving me another chance at some photos. We were there when it flew away both times, but I wasn't fast enough to capture the majestic bird in flight. I never am!

So - no camping out for days in the Alaskan cold for me. But I still was thrilled to get close enough to our Kansas eagle to take some "portraits" - whether they are National Geographic material or not.  

To see all of National Geographic's contest winners, click HERE. 

Baby Face

 

Check out the eyelashes on this little one!

We were sightseeing in the cattle lot, and a song drifted into my head: 

 

Baby face
you've got the cutest little baby face
there ain't nobody can ever take your place
you baby face
my poor hearts jumping
you started something

Baby face ...

I never need no shove
cuz I just fell in love with your
pretty pretty baby face.

Sung by Bobby Darin

 

It doesn't take much for a song to get stuck in my head. And I'm definitely not alone. 

 

More than 100 years ago, Germans coined the term öhrwurm—earworm—to describe the experience of a song stuck in the brain. Scientists call it other names, like “stuck tune syndrome” and “musical imagery repetition.” But the creepy image of an earworm crawling into people’s brains caught on.  

Your Brain on Music from The Kennedy Center

If Randy is feeling ornery, he makes it his mission to begin the earworm process. Maybe he'll hum "Take Me Home, Country Roads" under his breath. Or "The Long and Winding Road." Gee, thanks, honey!

Usually, my brain continues to sing along after I get out of the car and the radio quits playing. Or after the final hymn is sung at church. Or when an advertising jingle refuses to go away after the 60-second commercial is long gone.

TV and radio ads are a common source of earworms. Advertisers do their best to compose jingles or short songs they hope will turn into earworms. If they succeed, that means they have done their job to get customers to remember their restaurant, breakfast cereal, or other product. Another advertising strategy is to add classical or pop music that has already gained fame. For example, Bob Seger’s hit song “Like a Rock” was the theme song for Chevy trucks for many years.

from the article, Your Brain on Music 

I'm a sucker for a catchy tune ... and for cute little bovine babies. Thankfully, this tourist spot doesn't charge admission for the photos or the incidental music playing in my head.

(I'd better not say that too loud. Todd and Tye may start charging us in a "pay-per-view" plan.)

 I couldn't resist this little one. Check out the milk mustache!  

I have always been a sucker for babies with facial markings.

But, in these days when we strive not to offend anyone, I decided to feature another cute face, sans markings. 

This little one wasn't ready for any paparazzi. Snack time is much more important.

An afternoon snack was important for this guy, too. And speaking of brains, I'm still getting "This does not compute" messages when I see mismatched mamas and babies. They definitely take after their daddies. (I can relate to that, too. Jill has never looked anything like me.)

This one seemed more interested in a game of hide-and-seek than the lady with the camera.

We watched this poor mama with three babies trying to nurse off her at the same time. 

Only one of them was hers. Maybe she had the song, "Crazy," going around in her head.

 I would have. Just sayin'.

Amazing Grace - Amazing Race!

 

 It seems there is a "special" day for just about everything. There are days delighting in doughnuts. There are days for savoring sandwiches and hallowing hamburgers. Pie even gets more than one day.

At our house, it's always a good day to flip for pancakes. But if you need an excuse, International Pancake Day is today - Tuesday, February 21.  These Apple Spice Pancakes could be the choice today - for breakfast, lunch or supper.

Pancake Day is a moveable feast whose date is determined by Easter. It's celebrated exactly 47 days before Easter Sunday (April 9 this year). 

Down the road in Liberal, Kansas, the 74th International Pancake Day will pit pancake flippers from Kansas vs. women from Olney, England. It's been a tradition for 74 years to have women race down the streets of their respective communities, flipping pancakes and running against the clock and each other. The race is always on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. It's the only race of its kind in the world.

"Shrove" is not a thing, but a verb. "Shrive" (shrove, shriven) comes from the Old English verb scrfan, "to decree, decree after judgment, impose a penance upon, hear the confession of," according to the dictionary. Shrove Tuesday is a day to reflect, to seek penance and get ready for Lent.

In Olney, the Pancake Race tradition dates back to 1445. Legend has it that a woman was busy making pancakes and using up cooking fats, which were forbidden during Lent at that time. Hearing the church bells ring to announce the Shrove Tuesday service, she grabbed her head scarf and ran to the church, with pancake-filled skillet in hand. In following years, neighbors joined the race to the church. The first to arrive collected a Kiss of Peace from the bell ringer.

A TIME magazine picture of the Olney women racing each other to the church caught the eye of Liberal Jaycee’s President, R.J. Leete. He contacted the Rev. Ronald Collins, Vicar of St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Olney, challenging their women to race against women of Liberal.  With that, the two communities were off to the races - so to speak - back in 1950. 

 

Photo from the International Pancake Day Facebook page: Liberal's Billie Warden crosses the finish line in 1950. Billie won the local race with a time of 1:18 but lost to Olney's Florence Callow, who finished in 1:10.4.

 

 

 

This 74th year of racing also marks the 250th anniversary of the writing of the familiar hymn “Amazing Grace”. The words to this hymn were first spoken during a service on January 1, 1773, by John Newton, curate of Olney’s St Peter and St Paul’s Church, the very church where the Pancake Day Race was born, according to Liberal's International Pancake Coordinator, Kara Howery, in a press release.

 

 This year's Liberal winner gets a special gift from Olney to commemorate the Amazing Grace anniversary - a plate and a hymnal. Photo from the International National Pancake race website.

 

 On both sides of the Atlantic the race still culminates with Shriving Services that feature the singing of “Amazing Grace” as an integral part of the service. That will again be the case on this 250th year of the hymn's writing.

Racers must still wear a head scarf and apron. Each runner flips her pancake at the starting signal and again as she crosses the finish line to prove she still has her pancake after running the 415-yard course.

Photo from the International Pancake Day Race Facebook page

According to the book, America Celebrates! A Patchwork of Weird & Wonderful Holiday Lore, some superstitions have evolved among Liberal racers:

• It is considered good luck to carry a past winner's skillet in the race or wear a past winner's apron.
• One year, the stack of concrete pancakes marking the starting point of the race was stolen. This was considered a bad omen, but the stack was later returned.
• Although the women practice running 415 yards, it is considered bad luck to run the official race course during the practice sessions.

If you're looking for your own International Pancake Day treat, Apple Spice Pancakes are good for breakfast ... or for a breakfast-themed lunch or supper. They are packed with grated apples, pecans and spices. 

I served them with Cinnamon Cream Syrup. Jill lived in Nashville, Tennessee, while she was completing her dietetics degrees. The Cinnamon Cream Syrup is a copycat for the syrup served at the Pancake Pantry there, a favorite stop when we visited Nashville. Since it echos the pancake spices, it was the perfect topper, especially for someone like me who isn't a real fan of maple syrup.

 Apple Spice Pancakes

2 cups flour

2 tbsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tbsp. maple syrup

2 Gala apples (or similar), cored and grated

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Cinnamon Cream Syrup (recipe below)

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and maple syrup. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir to combine (don't overmix). Stir in grated apples and pecans.

Heat a skillet to 350 degrees. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop batter onto hot skillet, a few pancakes at a time. When pancakes start to bubble on top, flip and cook until pancakes are cooked through all the way. Makes about 20 pancakes. 

Serve pancakes with Cinnamon Cream Syrup (or other favorite syrup).

 Cinnamon Cream Syrup

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 5-oz. can evaporated milk

In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, water and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in milk.

Serve over pancakes, waffles or French toast.