Thunderbird Legacy

The creation of Skyline Schools in 1967 meant closing the doors at four community schools in Pratt County.  The Byers Hornets, the Coats Bulldogs, the Cullison Owls and the Sawyer Eagles became the Skyline Thunderbirds. The old school colors would be traded in for Columbia Blue and White. 

My dad was president of the Board of Education when Skyline was formed. In April, he was recognized as the first inductee to the Skyline Schools Thunderbird Legacy award.

Back in the mid-1960s, the state of Kansas was mandating consolidation of rural schools.

"We had no say. If we didn't do something, the state was going to mandate it," said my dad, Bob Moore,  in an article in The Pratt Tribune in 2018 to commemorate Skyline's 50th anniversary.

Initially, the state was pushing county consolidation. That meant that the smaller school districts would be absorbed into the Pratt district. In 1964, rural voters overwhelmingly defeated a vote for county unification, with 1,063 rural patrons voting against and only 82 voting in favor.  

A board was elected in 1965 with representatives from all the small rural schools, with my dad as the first president. They began exploring the qualifications necessary to become a Unified School District (USD). The area had to cover at least 200 square miles, have a valuation of at least $2 million and have a student population of at least 400. Most importantly, they had to convince the rural patrons that combining into a unified school district was the way to go. 

"We (school board members) went to each town and talked to people in person," he said in the 2018 article. "We went to each school and presented our ideas. We took questions and took a vote at each meeting. It was favored by a great majority. ..." 

Not everyone was convinced.

"My doctor and my car dealer told me personally, 'You won't last five years,' " my dad recalled in the 2018 article.  

But with rural residents backing the plan, my dad and other board members toured other schools across the state, looking for designs and ideas that would ease the transition and provide the best possible education for students. The small schools were part of the Skyline League for athletic competition, so Skyline Schools became the logical choice for a name. They chose Columbia Blue and White for the colors to avoid any of the previous school colors. 

On an August day in 1967, some familiar faces filled the school bus as we traveled toward rural Pratt. Before, I had only 3 1/2 miles to ride from my farm home to Byers. Now, it was closer to 12 miles. I don't really remember the first day, but my mom always took a photo to commemorate the beginning of a new school year. 

5th Grade class at Skyline and our teacher Opal Hemphill  minus me. I guess I liked being the photographer rather than being in the photo back then, too

 

At Byers, I had only three people - counting me - in my 4th grade class. It was quite a change to have a classroom full of one grade level. 

It was an honor for my dad to have been chosen for the first Legacy award. All of us siblings were able to be at the gala.  

My siblings (l to r) Darci Webb, Lisa Bauer, me and Kent Moore

While my mom was never on the school board, she - and the other wives - certainly played a part in the success of the process behind the scenes.

 

As for my dad's doctor and car dealer, they were wrong. Skyline Schools is still going strong. 

Me in 1975 in my Skyline blue

 And several of the family members who attended the Skyline Gala are also Skyline graduates. 

 

Thanks to the committee for honoring my dad in this way! 

  

Mountain Vibes

 

I wouldn't have thought that "Mountain Vibes" would describe a location in Oklahoma. But, then again, I'd never been to southeastern Oklahoma until last weekend. 

Our family spent the extended Easter weekend near Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Technically, we were closer to Hochatown. 

Brent had been to the area before and found an Airbnb called Mountain Vibes north of Hochatown that we called our home-away-from-home for a few days. It came complete with a pickleball court (that also doubled as a basketball court).

There were several rousing games of pickleball during the weekend ... and even a round robin tournament on our last night there. 

It included a sauna. (Some people liked that feature more than others. Kinley and I both questioned why anyone would choose to get hot and sweaty by sitting in a small room, but to each their own.)

The hot tub got some good use.

 

And a firepit gave us a chance for night-before-we-depart s'mores. (If you haven't cracked open an Oreo and inserted a perfectly-browned campfire marshmallow between the two cookie layers, you should try it! Of course, the graham cracker version was great, too!)

All those options were available in a home that reminded us of a Colorado cabin.

The covered back deck

 

 It was located near Broken Bow Lake and Beavers Bend Marina. 

That lake access was supposed to lead to a guided fishing trip on Saturday morning for the guys. They had their Oklahoma fishing licenses ready to go, but lightning and heavy rain kept them off the lake. (We wish the rain had fallen at home, but that didn't happen.) That was really the only disappointment for the whole weekend.

 

  

Randy and I arrived a day before the rest of the crew. That gave Randy a chance to check out the Idabel Country Club for some golf (and reading for me).

It was pretty among the pines and other trees. 
 

Everyone but me went for a hike along the river. 

The Friends Trail in Beavers Bend State Park runs along the Lower Mountain Fork River. 

 

According to the AI Overview: This 1.5-mile loop trail, known for its scenic views and moderate difficulty, often runs beside the water, particularly near the Spillway Creek area below the Broken Bow Lake dam.  

I was proud of my clan, who sent me lots of great photos from the hike. 

 

 

Randy is still basking over Jill's comment that "not every 70-year-old could have done the hike."

We visited Hochatown a few times. For Saturday's lunch, we ate at Grateful Head Pizza. (Since it had just finished raining, everyone else vacationing there had the same idea.)

And we went bowling at Gutter Chaos Sunday afternoon. Randy told the crew that anyone who beat him would get a $10 bill. (He kept his money ... but barely.)

Randy and I ate at Shuck Me, a seafood place, the night before others arrived.

And we had some ice cream at Okie Girls Coffee and Ice Cream, where Randy found another friend, a picture he had to send to his breakfast buddies.

What a fun, memory-filled weekend with family!

Leadership Lens

"How do you view leadership through your camera lens?" 

That was the question K-State's Staley School of Leadership proposed to professional and amateur photographers as they looked to refresh their building's artwork.  

The Leadership Lens initiative generated 86 images from 28 artists from Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon and Texas. From the entries, a juried panel selected 19 photos from 15 different photographers to refresh the hallways and conference rooms of the Staley building.  

There was a photo from the South Pole. Another showed a desolate desert scene from a world away. And even from among those unique, far-flung places, I had two photographs chosen for inclusion - taken by a farm wife in South Central Kansas. It just goes to show that there is beauty everywhere. It's in city skylines, but it's also found on an early morning down a dirt road in Kansas or reflecting off water at sunset. It's just a matter of opening our eyes to the wonder.

Last Friday, March 27, the Staley School of Leadership hosted a reception for Spirit of Leadership, an annual event  where alumni, friends, students, faculty and staff come together to reconnect, reunite, and re-energize around leadership. They also recognized the photographers whose work was chosen for display in the 2025-26 version of Leadership Lens.

They moved into the Staley School of Leadership building on the K-State campus in 2010. At that time, they chose photos to include in the hallways and conference areas. In 2017, they offered the opportunity to submit photos for a "refresh" of the space. (I had two photos chosen then. Click HERE for more about those photos. They auctioned those 2017 pieces off to raise money for programs at the Staley School.)

Last fall, they again offered the chance to submit photos and to focus on how leadership could be reflected in the images by submitting artist's statements.  

 

My artist statement for A New Day Dawns: The best sunrises and sunsets occur when there are clouds in the sky. The clouds create a unique texture of light, shadows and color to make the sky an interesting tapestry. As leaders, we may wish for blue skies and an easy path. But the “clouds” in our lives build our tapestry, too. It gives us empathy for others and helps us persevere. Likewise, milo is known for its resilience in difficult growing conditions. Success seems sweeter when we have faced obstacles and come out on the other side.

I took this photo of a sunrise over a milo field south of our house last fall. It now hangs in a second-floor conference room. 

The second photo chosen was taken at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge during a December 2021 sunset. It hangs in a second floor hallway at the Staley School.

Taken at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Stafford County, Kansas

My artist statement for Ripples:

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.

 --Mother Teresa

Effective leadership radiates outward like ripples in water. The ripple effect underscores the power of small leadership actions in creating significant, positive changes. When leaders recognize small wins, practice active listening, demonstrate empathy and foster open communication, they can build a strong, cohesive and motivated team and make "ripples" in the world at large. 

The artist statements hang by the artwork. 

I was thrilled that several members of my family could join Randy and me at the reception. (Brooke had a birthday party for one of her best buddies.)

Eric's parents, Alan and Christy, also joined us.

It meant a lot to me that they all made the effort to be there.

 

There is art other than photography in the building, too. Susan and Kinley did their best statue impression.

 

Organizers of the event used the monarch butterfly as a central theme for the evening's festivities, handing out lapel pins.

 

It seems to be a lesson we could all use these days: Practice leadership by nurturing growth within yourself and others. Like the monarch butterfly, embrace and celebrate transformation.  

 

This Facebook reel shows some of the process of selecting and installing the new artwork. 

 

What an honor it was to have photos chosen! If you're ever on campus, check out all the artwork.