This Scenic Road Trip Takes You to All 8 Wonders of Kansas

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Have you heard of the 8 Wonders of Kansas before? The most beautiful and awe-inspiring locations in Kansas competed for a spot in the final list, but these 8 attractions were voted through to the top on the  Kansas Sampler Foundation  website. Let's see what makes Kansas so beautiful, and what was chosen to represent the state.

Additional Diesel Engine Joins Fleet at Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad

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The ALCO S-4 sitting on the trailer after arriving in Abilene Saturday, Sept. 22.


The Abilene Tourism Advocate shared news about this exciting acquisition in its 
January 12, 2017 edition:

The Alco S4 engine is due to be scraped...but we want to save it!
This engine, which is located in Missouri, cannot be moved by rail, so it must be trucked to its new location, which we hope will be Abilene. This engine will be given to the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad if we are able to move it. This engine would be a backup for the present diesel engine.

To move this engine will require a special built trailer to haul this 230,000-pound load. This is where your help comes in. We are needing to raise approximately $6,000 to supplement what we have to build this trailer, along with other expenses of moving the engine.
 
If interested in helping, please mail donations to the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad, PO Box 744, Abilene, KS 67410. If questions, contact 785-263-1077.

And later again in its January 26, 2017 edition:
Thanks to a generous $6,000 donation from the Jeffcoat Memorial Foundation, the Abilene and Smokey Valley Railroad can now build the trailer needed to haul this Alco S4 to Abilene.

Thanks to all involved for bringing this project to fruition!
Sneak Peek!

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As part of a new website project, the Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau partnered with New Boston Creative Group and photographer and Abilene native, David Mayes, to capture updated photos of the community, businesses and attractions.

And yes, that's a photographer riding a carousel backwards in order to capture just the right photo! 

Thanks to everyone for their support and cooperation!
Appreciation

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Marlin Fitzwater, author, former White House Press Secretary and graduate of Abilene High School, recently sent this book and kind note to Todd & Tammy Kuntz, Mr. K's Farmhouse:


3K Day Extravaganza & Open House

The K-State Parachute Club is holding 3K Day on October 6th at the airport.  This is the rescheduled event from April that was weathered out.
 
We'll have licensed jumper loads going up every 10-12 minutes.  Exits will be from 3,500 ft and easily visible from the ground.  We welcome the public out to the dropzone to come see what we do.

Save the Date - Oktoberfest


Throwback Thursday

The Salina Journal
June 30, 1970

5 Star Reviews - Greyhound Hall of Fame Museum

A fun stop. We met Gary and Ginger, the two greeter-hounds, who were very sweet and pleasant. The museum/ Hall of Fame was actually quite interesting, providing a lot of background information on the development of the sport and the dogs. Lots of neat stuff on the gift shop area. Could be a fun leg stretcher if you're on the highway and not in a hurry, especially if you've got kids with you. 

We will be stopping again in the future.


"The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
June 22, 1945

Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad

train
Steam Locomotive #3415 Operating Schedule

Saturday, October 6
(short run departing from the Dickinson County Heritage Center) - 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Sunday, October 7
(last steam run of the year) - 2.p.m. 



Diesel Locomotive pulled dinner trains - $45/person

Saturday, October 13  - Mr. K's Farm House - Prime Rib

Saturday, October 27  - Brookville Hotel - Fried Chicken

*Advance purchase required*

Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home

Forced Freedom Lunch & Learn
The next Lunch & Learn program is Thursday, Sept. 27 at noon in the Eisenhower Presidential Library Visitors Center Auditorium, 200 SE 4th, Abilene. Free and open to the public, a light lunch is provided courtesy of the Eisenhower Foundation on a first come, first serve basis.

Elizabeth Wenger will discuss post-war recovery issues after victory in Europe during WWII. The Allies in Germany faced the challenge of how to end the spread of Nazi propaganda without restricting freedom of speech as Germany returned to democracy. This program will look at America's creative responses to the problem and how they shaped the post-war period in ways still evident today.

Wenger received her PhD from UC Berkeley in 2015 and has taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at Berkeley. In addition to her volunteer role at the Eisenhower Presidential Library she is teaching American history at Friends University in Wichita. Wenger is currently working on a project related to post-WWII censorship in Poland and East Germany.
Dickinson County Heritage Center

40th annual Heritage Day Festival 
October 6, 2018 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The 40th annual Heritage Day Festival (formerly known as the Chisholm Trail Days) features living history with demonstrations of threshing, steam engine carousel rides, antique tractor show, classic car show, model trains, blacksmith, and much more. 

Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the gate. Children 12 and under are $2. Call the Dickinson County Heritage Center for tickets at 785-263-2681.

Tombstone Talks in Solomon
October 13, 2018
The Dickinson County Heritage Center presents the 4th Annual Tombstone Talks. There will be two Tombstone Talks this year at two different locations. The first installment will be on October 13 in Solomon. The troupe will be paying homage to the great men and women of Solomon, Kansas at the Prairie Mound Cemetery. You will meet at the Solomon Senior Center for refreshments and then loaded onto the bus for the cemetery. You will take a guided walking tour through the cemetery in the evening to hear reenactors tell the stories of some of the more colorful characters of Dickinson County from their own tombstones, lit by lanterns. Get in the Halloween spirit with an evening in the cemetery. 
For tickets, call the Heritage Center at 785-263-2681. 
Tickets are $5 for all ages.

Tombstone Talks in Abilene
October 27, 2018
Join us for the 4th Annual Tombstone Talks at the Abilene Cemetery. Reenactors will present the life of the more colorful characters of Dickinson County from a first person narrative. Join our tour guides through a evening tour through the cemetery, stopping at the graves of those historical icons in Abilene's history. 

Tickets are $5 for all ages, call the Heritage Center for more information at 785-263-2681.
Great Plains Theatre 

Clair named Great Plains Theatre Executive Director

Margaret Clair has been selected as the Executive Director of the Great Plains Theatre, the Board of Directors recently announced. Pattie Mayhew had served as the interim Executive Director for seven months while the search for the permanent director was underway.
 
Clair has been the Education Director at GPT since 2016 and holds a M.A. in Voice Performance and a B.A. in music Education. Along with her teaching and performing history, she has experience in business and non-profit management, commercial TV production, sales and marketing, and grant writing. She will continue to act as Education Director but other staff members will share some of the Education responsibilities.
 
"We have a great team here at GPT; small but mighty, just like Abilene, and I'm honored to work with them all! I'm grateful for the support that the community has given to GPT for 25 years and we are all excited to be even more of an integral part of Abilene's cultural heritage for the next 25 years and beyond."


Todd Oliver's Funniest Night of Your Life
Have you ever met a talking dog, a real talking dog? Get ready, because on Friday and Saturday October 12 and 13 at 7:00 pm and Sunday October 14 at 2:00 pm, you're going to meet the funniest comedian on 4 legs! "Irving" with a little help from his friend Todd Oliver, is going to talk up a storm. If you ever wondered how a dog looks at life, this little home-raised companion is going to give it to you straight from the dog's mouth. He won't mince words, and if he does it's Todd's fault anyways. (He's a ventriloquist).
 
Todd Oliver grew up loving dogs, ventriloquism, music and magic. As a young boy he studied piano, guitar, voice, and the variety arts. Along the way he created some wooden headed characters and performed around the world. You'll also meet a bunny named Alice and 3 beautiful birds.
 
Todd Oliver and Friends have been featured on Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Today Show, a couple episodes of Walker Texas Ranger, and in 2012 they were a top 4 finalist on Americas' Got Talent.
 
A major draw for many years on Showboats in Branson MO, and Nashville TN, as well as other major entertainment venues, Todd is now touring, bringing his brand of clean family fun to towns across America.
 
So sit back and get ready, you might even be on stage yourself, Todd turns audience members into real live ventriloquist dummies! Either way you're going to have a doggone, rocking good time with "Todd Oliver, The Funniest Night Of Your Life ". Tickets $20 for Adults and $15 for students can be ordered by calling 785-263-4574 or going to www.greatplainstheatre.com or visiting us at 401 Cottage Ave Abilene, KS 67410.
Greyhound Hall of Fame Museum


Greyhound Hall of Fame Museum
Open daily 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Free admission
Seelye Mansion

Abilene's Historic  Seelye Mansion  is a must-see! Furnished with items from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright and home to a wooden  bowling alley that's more than 100 years old, it's no "wonder" this beautiful mansion was named one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas - Architecture winners by the Kansas Sampler Foundation. 

Tours Daily!
Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m

Upcoming events:
  • Beauty & the Beast @ Great Plains Theatre - October 5, 6 & 7
  • 40th Annual Heritage Day Festival @ Dickinson County Heritage Center - October 6
  • 3K Day Extravagaza & Open House @Abilene Municipal AIrport - October 6
  • Hope Lives @ Sterl Hall - October 10
  • Tombstone Talks @ Solomon's Prairie Mound Cemetery - October 13
  • Oktoberfest @ Old Abilene Town - October 20
  • Tombstone Talks @ Abilene's Cemetery - October 27
  • Not Another Christmas Letter @ Great Plains Theatre - November 30-December 2, 4-9
  • Night of Christmas Magic - December 1
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