Czech Mate

 "Czech"mate: Another Kansas day trip has been successfully completed.

A trip last week took us to the Czech Capital of Kansas - Wilson - and to Lucas by way of Claflin. (Exploring Millers of Claflin furniture store is a whole other kind of trip, but that's another story.) 

You know the saying about kids' allowance burning a hole in their pocket? Randy has that kind of reaction when he hears about road trips. Ever since he heard about friends who took their grandsons to the Garden of Eden in Lucas in mid-July, he wanted to schedule a similar road trip. 

With a little cooler day in the forecast last Thursday, he convinced me.  

  

During the 1870s, a large migration of Bohemian and Moravian immigrants from Czechoslovakia settled in and around Wilson. Many Czech families still live in the area and carry on Czech traditions, including Czech food, art, dancing and music. The City of Wilson acknowledged its pride in its Czech heritage in 1967, when the State of Kansas declared Wilson the Czech Capital of Kansas. Czech eggs are traditionally painted or embellished eggs exchanged at holidays and celebrations. The painting of the egg is known as the art of kraslice in the Czech culture. 

The idea of creating the World’s Largest Czech Egg began in 2003. Hess Services Inc from Hays delivered the fiberglass egg in August of 2012. Volunteers sanded the egg in the summer of 2013, and the black base coat was painted by volunteers in the summer of 2014. The egg design was done by Christine Slechta, the Wilson School art  teacher, with students and volunteers doing the painting in the summer of 2015. The egg was dedicated in July 2016, 10 years ago. 

The design includes an eight-pointed star, which symbolizes birth and the belief that every person has their own star. The radiant sun means good fortune, and specific colors like red represent joy and health. 

The World’s Largest Hand-painted Czech Egg stands 20 feet high and 15 feet wide under a gazebo in the Ed and LaVange Shiroky Park in Wilson. There are smaller decorated eggs scattered around Wilson's downtown.  

I loved this sunflower egg. (We should have stopped and taken some other egg photos, but Randy's real destination was the Garden of Eden. Plus, it was getting warmer.)

And who knew there would be a "news peg" for this blog post? On Wednesday morning (08-11-26), I saw that Governor Laura Kelly had announced that the State of Kansas and the Czech Republic signed a Statement of Mutual Cooperation. The statement will allow for greater cooperation between Kansas and the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade related to trade, business development, technological research, and several other key areas. The governor's office said it will foster even stronger bilateral relations and create new avenues of cooperation among Czech and Kansan entrepreneurs, businesses, scientists, artists, universities, and other institutions. The Statement of Mutual Cooperation focuses on four key industries: aerospace; agriculture, animal health, and biotechnology; advanced manufacturing; and nanotechnologies.

And Wilson was mentioned in the press release: "The statement strengthens ties between the citizens of the Czech Republic and Kansas and supports Czech cultural heritage in the state. Kansas is home to several Czech businesses as well as the town of Wilson, the Czech Capital of Kansas and one of the largest Czech-American communities in the United States."

We ate lunch at Made From Scratch in Wilson. Both of us were planning to order bierocks, but they were sold out. I had a delicious Reuben sandwich on homemade rye bread with house-made sauerkraut. Randy finished his meal with rhubarb pie ala mode.

Then we were off to Lucas. Driving by Wilson Lake was a trip down memory lane for Randy, who used to take the kids there on camping trips. He pointed out the convenience store where he'd let the kids choose Oreos and other snack foods. When he was a teenager, there were also plenty of excursions to Wilson Lake with his family and neighbors. 

From the Lucas Chamber of Commerce web page

Lucas is known as the Grassroots Capital of Kansas. Grassroots art is defined as creative work made by self-taught individuals. Lucas has grassroots art from more than 20 artists. Lucas was named one of the 8 Wonders of Art by the Kansas Sampler Foundation. 

The movement in Lucas began way back in 1907, when Civil War Veteran Samuel Perry Dinsmoor began creating his cabin home and sculptures using concrete and native post rock at age 62. 

He constructed the home using limestone logs, some up to 21 feet long. Then, using 113 tons of cement, Dinsmoor built 40-foot tall "trees" to hold his larger-than-life figures for his sculpture garden. The sculptures reflect Dinsmoor's views about Populist politics, life and the Bible. 

Dinsmoor built a 40-foot tall limestone mausoleum for himself and his first wife. Visitors can actually "visit" Dimsmoor in his handmade glass-topped concrete coffin. Yes, it's bizarre. But then again, I supposed The Garden of Eden is bizarre, too.

The mausoleum is the pyramid-shaped building on the right.

Adjacent to the Garden of Eden is Roy and Clara Miller's rock park. 

It was created by the Millers originally "as an oasis for weary travelers" and was located on the west edge of town. The Millers traveled to 37 states, picking up interesting rocks, minerals, shells and artifacts. They incorporated their finds into a series of cone shaped towers. The park opened in 1921 with sculpture construction started in 1932. In 1969, the site was sold to settle the estate and sculptures moved to Hays. But in 2013, the sculptures came back to Lucas.

These aren't the only bizarre attractions in town. Because Lucas has more than 15,000 visitors a year exploring the grassroots art, the city needed public restrooms. So the Grassroots Art Center and other residents created a public restroom that's also an art attraction.

The building is shaped like a toilet tank, the benches in front represent the curved toilet seat and the entrance is like a raised toilet lid. The sidewalk spools out of a toilet paper sculpture.

Inside, almost every surface of  the bathrooms - except the toilet and the sinks themselves - are mosaic art. 

 

Inside the women's bathroom: 

 

 

And inside the men's bathroom:

Toilet Bowl Plaza was voted the 2018 International Toilet Tourism Award for Quirkiest. Imagine that!

We also went into other art galleries and the Roadside Sideshow Expo, which features "the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things." (Now that's a mouthful!) 

If oddities and curiosities are appealing, a road trip to Lucas might fulfill some of your hankerings for the bizarre.

Trojan Pop Shop: Enterprising Sisters

(This article was written as part of a new contest sponsored by Stafford County Economic Development during the 2026 Stafford County Fair. Entrants were tasked with taking a photo of a Stafford County business owner and then writing two paragraphs about the business. I also turned in a short version of this story to fit the contest parameters, but I wrote this feature-length story after enjoying my interview with all the girls and their moms. After all, I am a feature writer/reporter at heart.) 

A Facebook post on May 3 provided the first inkling that something new was coming to 111 West Broadway in downtown Stafford:

6 girls.

 3 sets of sisters.

Lots of ideas.

We can’t wait to share more with you soon.

 

From the Pop Shop Facebook page

 

The first of those ideas was realized when those six girls – and their moms – opened the Trojan Pop Shop on May 16 for the first time. The girls are Paisley and Bristol Byer, Rylee and Reagan Ferguson and Braxie and Emersyn Lopez. Their moms are Julie Byer, Holly Ferguson and Stacie Lopez. The shop offers drinks, dirty sodas, snow cones and ice cream. That may sound simple. But the menu gets more complex all the time as the girls brainstorm new drinks and tasty treats.

Mom Julie Byer admits she hoped they’d sell six drinks a day. They had 200 cups when they first opened for business, and they figured they’d last a week … maybe even the whole month. They barely made it through the first day. The moms were on a grocery run for additional supplies after only a couple of hours. By the end of the day, they’d been back to the store three times.

Stafford had shown up for these budding entrepreneurs. And they continue to show up. On June 13, the Pop Shop celebrated its 1,000^th transaction with confetti. By July 11, they were nearing their 2,000^th transaction and were already trying to come up with a way to celebrate another milestone. They purposefully set their prices much more economically than the big-name drink shops. They wanted to build repeat customers through competitive pricing, and the strategy has paid off with high traffic during pool hours, through drink runs from local businesses, during the lunch hour, after work and for after-dinner treats.

The idea originated with the moms, who all work together at Stafford County Hospital.

“These girls have basically grown up with one another,” Julie said. “They’re like family.”

Holly said that jobs for teenagers – especially those younger than 16 – aren’t readily available. Rylee had been a lifeguard at the Stafford Pool before and there were the inevitable babysitting jobs. But all the girls wanted a different summer job – a “fun summer job,” Braxie adds.

The building at 111 West Broadway was already set up for food service with a serving counter and seating. The location in the heart of downtown Stafford was ideal. The moms saw a pathway to employment, and the girls bought into the idea. The owner of the building generously allows them to use the building rent-free. The Pop Shop pays for its own utilities. 

There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes before it’s time to open a business, the girls learned. They went through the Serve Safe certification program to learn how to safely handle food and ingredients. They were inspected by the Kansas Department of Agriculture food inspectors before they could open their doors. They all had to learn the point-of-sale computer system.

Trojan Ice Cream Nachos - photo from their Facebook page

But there were fun parts, too. They brainstormed drink ideas. To give customers inspiration for drink creations, the girls each had signature drinks on the menu when they opened: Bristol (Crazy Coconut), Paisley (Electric Wave), Reagan (Orange Oasis), Rylee (Classic), Braxie (Pink Paradise) and Emersyn (Trojan Punch). And the brainstorming continues. The girls have dreamed up new drinks to tie to other things happening in Stafford. When the Ritz Theatre brought in “Toy Story” and “Minions and Monsters,” the girls came up with additional drinks unique to several of the main movie characters, like Jessie’s Roundup, To Infinity and Beyond and Kevin’s Banana Split.  Similarly, there was a slurry of new red, white and blue creations during the 4^th of July weekend.

From their FB page - one of their 4th of July specials

“We like tying the drinks to things happening around town,” Stacie said. “It helps both us and the other business.”

Similarly, they’ve brought in several different food trucks on Saturdays. Customers come and get a meal at the food truck and then visit the Trojan Pop Shop for drinks, snow cones and ice cream treats. They have food trucks scheduled for the first four Saturdays of August.

“Every food truck we’ve cooperated with has sold out by mid-afternoon,” Julie said. Those days also bring more money to the Trojan Pop Shop till.

The girls are giving back to the community with those proceeds. Their ice cream machine had been used in the Stafford USD 349’s concession stand. At the end of the summer, a percentage of each ice cream cone sale will go to Stafford’s after-school STAR program. By July 10, they’d sold 600 cones.

There’s another piece of the community behind the counter. A mint green milkshake blender that had been used in the Curtis Café now whirs up ice cream treats for their customers, so there’s a bit of nostalgia for older Pop Shop customers. The girls prefer it to the newer machine beside it. However, after the first week, they did add a modern electric lemon squeezer to the kitchen arsenal to make their fresh-squeezed lemonades.

The girls are learning more than even their moms imagined. They are hands-on with inventory, ordering, counting the money, customer service and advertising through social media. Soon-to-be eighth grader Emersyn Lopez writes the pay checks and pays the bills by check.

These are busy young women, each with their own extracurricular activities, ranging from volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, trap shooting, 4-H, driver’s education classes … the list goes on and on. But since some of the girls are in middle school and some are in high school, they’ve juggled the schedule so that at least three of them are on staff during their business hours: 11 AM to 6 PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 1 to 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.

The moms are working at the hospital, so the girls are on their own the majority of the time serving customers. During their weekly four-day run, they go through 16 gallons of ice cream base, countless bottles of flavored syrups and creamers, as well as a rainbow of mini M&Ms, nuts, cookie crumbs and more.

When school starts, the Trojan Pop Shop will take a hiatus. But every girl says they want the job again next summer. They plan on being open during Stafford’s Oktoberfest and may find some other open weekends for a “pop-up” customer experience advertised through social media. 

Bristol says she’s been amazed at the wide range of ages who frequent the shop. Paisley says the experience has helped her learn to stay calm – even when a line of customers forms. Reagan, Rylee and Braxie have been amazed at the faithfulness of the customers, especially those who show up almost every day to support them. And Emerson may be the most honest, when she says her favorite part is getting paid.

The moms have seen growth, too. Like the good friends they are, they spoke together, adding onto the ways they’ve seen their daughters grow this summer.

“Of course, sisters have their moments – probably more with their own sibling than with their friends. But they’ve even grown up this summer with their sibling relationships. They’ve had to work together and rely on one another. They’ve learned what being an entrepreneur and being self-employed means. They’ve learned about customer service and communication skills, about revenue vs. expenses and about paying taxes. They formed an LLC and each has their own bank account. They’ve been forced to problem-solve when they run out of ingredients or something doesn’t work. They have taken giant steps towards adult life.”

None of the girls think that a career slinging drinks or making ice cream cones is their ultimate job goal. But they can see that their experience would make them a qualified barista or part-time café employee in a college town for a little extra money. And being an entrepreneur on some level is among the options at least one of them is considering as they move toward adulthood.

Fair Fare

 

Randy in 1967, a 5th grader and his first year in Stafford County 4-H with his first 4-H beef project.

 4-H is "very fun." Just look at any beginning 4-Her's permanent record book.

Randy's record book from his first year as a Stafford County 4-Her in 1967 said:

This year is my first year in 4-H. I have enjoyed it very much. Going to the 4-H things has been very fun. I really enjoyed the refreshments very much. I am looking forward very much to next year in 4-H. This year, I have enjoyed 4-H camp and have got lots of ribbons. 

My first 4-H story was also written in 1967, as a fourth grader. (The photo at the left was the one attached to my 4-H permanent record.) My story was longer. (There's a big surprise, right?) I used the word "fun" six times to describe my song leading job, picking out ingredients for my Snacks and Little Lunches project, 4-H Sunday and assorted other 4-H events. I also "enjoyed" things twice and "liked" 4-H another time or two. A glance at Jill's and Brent's record books mirrored our family's outlook that 4-H is "fun" and very likeable.

4-Hers - and their parents - have been "liking" the youth program for more than 100 years, long before there was a "like" button on Facebook pages. On Friday, we went to the Shawnee County Fair in Topeka to see Kinley's and Brooke's 4-H projects. Kinley and Brooke come from a long line of 4-Hers, including their maternal great-grandparents and their paternal great-grandmother (Bonnie Ladd). 

 

Bob & Janis Moore - Pratt County Fair service award recipients

 in 2011

 

My family's involvement with 4-H started with my parents back in the 1940s. Both were members of the Lincoln Bluebirds 4-H Club in Pratt County, the club that my siblings and I later joined. (That club later merged with another, and we became the Lincoln Climbers.) 

 

Eric's family is similarly entrenched in the 4-H program. These days, Eric is one of the community leaders for the Auburn 4-H Club in Shawnee County. His dad, Alan, worked in both Kansas and Iowa Extension before retirement. Grandma Christy still judges her fair share of hand pet projects at county events.

 

Participating in county fairs is second nature to all of us - including Kinley and Brooke. This year's fair for the girls wrapped up on Sunday. 

 

But the girls excelled in the foods division. Kinley's Apple Cider Doughnut Cake with caramel frosting was Best of Show, giving her a chance to sell in the premium auction.

 

Kinley also had the top ribbon for decorated cookies or cupcakes.

This year's entry was a beach theme. The decorating/artistic part of food preparation appeals to Kinley, and she's had a purple ribbon in that category every year of her 4-H career.

Here she was in 2021 and her decorated watermelon cookies at her very first Shawnee County Fair. We all think she could sell the cookies professionally, but she'd have to get faster to make it economically feasible. Bonus: The leftover cookies were delicious!

 

Brooke also got to sell during the food premium auction. Her braided Everything Bagel bread got the champion ribbon in intermediate foods. 

 

I had to show the full balloon display created as a backdrop for this year's fair. 

Brooke had a great first year in photography. Two of her photos got champion and reserve champion in beginning photography for color photos. Until this year, I'd helped Kinley mount her photos for the fair. But this year, Kinley mounted her own and taught her younger sister. That's what 4-H is all about: Learning to do something and then passing it along to another 4-Her. 

Brooke also got a champion ribbon for her educational notebook on book genres, which helped complete her 4-H reading project.

Kinley and Summer were back in the dog obedience and agility competitions. 

Summer made it through the agility course with no errors, a first for this duo, which qualified for a purple ribbon. 

 

   

We did plenty of laughing getting Summer to the fairgrounds for the show. Kinley and Eric had to go early to help set up. Eric asked us to bring a wheelbarrow to help move all the paraphernalia after the show, so Summer couldn't sit in her customary spot in the back of the SUV. She invaded Brooke's personal space.

 

 

And she probably caused some second glances from other drivers at stop lights as we drove across Topeka to the Expo Center.

 

The fair ended on Sunday after the style show. Both girls earned purple ribbons in that competition and both qualified to compete at the Kansas State Fair fashion review in September.

The girls definitely had a better outcome at the Shawnee County Fair than I did at the Stafford County Fair the week before. But that's OK. I definitely have had my share of champion or reserve champion photos in open class in the past.

And I did well with the extra photo contests - one sponsored by the Kanza Chapter of the D.A.R. and another contest sponsored by Stafford County Economic Development. 

This composite photo was chosen by the D.A.R. as the winner in a contest celebrating America's 250th birthday. I created it several years ago and have used it on notecards, but I thought it was perfect for the sesquicentennial. 

This photo taken in a milo field last October got the top award in the commerce category from Stafford Eco/Devo.

That photo is now on a conference room wall at the Staley Leadership Building on the campus of Kansas State University. (Story HERE.) It will also be used for the South Central Community Foundation Match Day campaign this fall. The photo also got a blue ribbon in the fair's open class agriculture category. 

A cropped version of this panoramic sunset shot taken last December at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge was second in the Stafford County Places category. 

A story and photo about the Trojan Pop Shop in Stafford operated by three sets of sisters won first place in the business owner/blog category, a new category for the fair. I'll post that story in an upcoming blog. 

Other blue ribbon photos in open class were this one, taken on the Durango-Silverton train in Colorado last October ...

... And this photo I took when we were on vacation with the girls earlier this summer in Omaha at the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens. 

 

I had several other photos which were second- or third-place in their open class photography category and some that didn't place at all.

 

My online scrapbooking entry in arts and crafts got first place in its category. I try to do a book after our trips to collect the photos and the blog posts I write following the trip. 

 

While it wasn't a banner year for me at the Stafford County Fair, that's not why I do it anyway. I've been part of county fairs in one way or another for my entire life. It's a tradition that's worth preserving. 

 

And while it's great to collect purple ribbons and extra prize money, I hope what the girls ultimately collect from the 4-H experience is to take the 4-H pledge and the 4-H experience to heart.   

 

 I pledge my head to clearer thinking 

 My heart to greater loyalty

 My hands to larger service

 And my health to better living

 For my club, my community, my country and my world.

 The 4-H Pledge, Written in 1919 by Kansas 4-H Leader Otis Hall

 

It would probably be a better world if all of humanity would think about the principles that 4-Hers vow to uphold: Clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service, better living ... those are all attributes that would do this old world a whole lot of good.

For 120 years, 4-H has been changing lives. Back in 2006, we celebrated 100 years of Kansas 4-H. The youth program has been part of the national landscape since 1902.

 

The 4-H website says:

The 4-H idea is simple: help young people and their families gain the skills they need to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy. That idea was the catalyst to begin the 4-H movement and those values continue today.

 

No wonder it's stuck around this long.    

America: Celebrating 250 Years

Last evening, we went to Sterling Community Theatre's production of the musical, Come From Away. It tells the true story of how the people in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, opened their homes and community to strangers when American airspace closed during the 9/11 attacks. Ultimately, 38 international planes carrying 6,579 passengers and crew were diverted to an old air base in Gander.

The airline passengers were from all over the world, speaking different languages and practicing different religions. But local residents opened their homes, schools, churches, community buildings and hearts to thousands of travelers they had never met. While the musical acknowledges some misunderstandings when the various cultures collide, the overriding message celebrates how ordinary people can find common ground and care for one another with hospitality, compassion, and human connection during difficult times. 

 

Photo from the Theatre Kansas Facebook page

 

I'd never seen the musical, but I read the book on which it was based, The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, by Jim DeFede. The Sterling Theatre Troupe is chock full of talented singers and actors. The musical has a 12-member cast who portray more than 150 characters. There aren't elaborate sets. Only a few chairs and tables are shifted to create the illusion of being inside an airplane, at a local pub or finding shelter at a school gym. (If you're near Sterling, there are still two opportunities to see the musical at Sterling High School: 7:30 Friday, July 3, and at 2 PM on Sunday, July 5. There is no July 4th performance. Tickets are available at the door.) The production also includes a talented nine-member band that almost made you believe you were in a pub in Newfoundland with their whistles, mandolins, fiddles, accordion and more.

 

The musical's central message is this: Despite our differences, we are all connected. And isn't that a good message to remember as we celebrate our nation's 250th birthday?

 

Display along Highway 50 in Stafford, KS

 

It may be hard to remember that, if we're only relying on news programs or scrolling through our social media feeds with the plethora of contrasting opinions and points of view ... and the viotrol that often accompanies those sources. 

 

This morning, I picked up a little book that has been decorating my mantle from Flag Day to the 4th of July. It was one of the "treasures" from my Grandma and Grandpa Neelly's house. It's called We Love America: Simple Stores of American Living. The back cover says it is part of the Patriot's Series. I don't remember my Grandma reading this particular book to us, but I loved the illustrations so I brought it home anyway. 

The book's copyright is "MCMXLI." I'll save you a Google search. That's 1941.

On the inside cover, it says: Janis Neelly from Your Sunday School Teacher. It's Grandma Neelly's handwriting, so it was really to my mom from her mom masquerading as her Sunday School teacher. (We moms are always wearing multiple hats, aren't we?)

It had been awhile since I'd looked inside. But this morning, I picked it up and looked through it. 

The book "visits" different children and tells about their homes - everything from the "big city" to an "Indian pueblo." I've shared a few of the pages on the blog before.

 

Some of those children live on a farm: I couldn't help but contrast the hay found in the book with some photos I took a couple of weeks ago in a neighbor's hay field.

  

I liked the patriotic wrap against a dramatic sky.

 

But, back to the book. Other American children live on a ranch:

It's not surprising that the farm and ranch pages appealed to me. But this time, I noticed some other pages. In one, three little boys watch a parade. But they don't all look the same. 

  

  

"They do not all have the same ways. But they all like parades." 

 

The same is true for three little girls at a circus:

 

"Do you know something? American girls do not all look the same. They do not all have the same ways. But they all like to go to the circus."

 

A little boy discovers he can go to school, even though he doesn't have any money. 

 

Sammie learns that American libraries are free. 
 

One of the pages reminded me of the message of Come From Away: "It's fun to be friendly, wherever you go."

 

Perhaps those are messages worth remembering as we celebrate our 250th birthday. May we - like those Newfoundlanders - find common ground in our differences and respond with compassion and understanding.

 

Happy Independence Day weekend everyone!