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Area women are using Etsy to turn hobbies and passions into sales

Roberta Seaman’s day job may be in the courtroom, but her passion is living at 120 miles per hour

Jill Newland’s personality is on display in her home with an eclectic mix of art and color

Repurposed PassionNeed for Speed House of Stories

Michele Boyce and her father get more out of customizing a VW Beetle than a vehicle

Choose Newman for Your Comprehensive Cardiology Care

❤ Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.❤ Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer

combined, but is often undiagnosed.❤ Cardiovascular disease kills more women than men.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular diseases cause one in three women’s deaths each year, killing approximately one woman every minute. 90% of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease. Since 1984, more women than men have died each year from heart disease & stroke.

Today, there are ways to significantly lower your chances of developing heart disease, reverse the effects of a current heart condition you may or may not be aware of, and start promoting a healthy heart. With two Interventional Cardiologists and an experienced Cath Lab team, Newman Cardiology and theW.S. & E.C. Jones Cardiovascular Lab provide comprehensive cardiology care through a full-spectrum of cardiovascular diagnostic and interventional services, including:

❤ 24/7 Heart Catheterization--involves placing a small straw-like catheter into vessels to locate blocked arteries.

❤ Stent Placement- small metal scaffolding used to help keep blocked arteries open.

❤ Pacemaker/ Defibrillator Placement and Management❤ Peripheral artery disease screening and management—

treatment of leg cramps, pain when walking or non-healing wounds on the legs.

❤ Cardiac Rehabilitation- Regimented exercise program geared to return patients to optimal function.

To schedule an appointment, call 620-342-HART (4278)

Dr. Mulgeta Fissha Dr. Roger Roberts

Newman Cardiology1301 W. 12th Avenue, Suite 207Emporia, KS 66801620-342-HART(4278)www.newmanrh.org

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Spotlights

32 Automotive

Dedication to customers has kept Williams Automotive growing for 30 years

SPONSORED BY WILLIAMS AUTOMOTIVE

58 Jewelry

The service and quality of Kari’s Diamonds is a family tradition

SPONSORED BY KARI’S DIAMONDS & BRIDAL

46 Real Estate

Communication and team work are key to selling your home

SPONSORED BY EMPORIA REALTY GROUP

18 Internet

Local businesses can provide better value to their customers because of a...local business!

SPONSORED BY VALUNET

82 Health

Internal Medicine Associates helps their patients find answers

SPONSORED BY INTERNAL MEDICINE ASSOCIATES, LLC

106 Education

Non-traditional students find their place at Emporia State University

SPONSORED BY EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY

96 New Car Sales

As people’s taste in vehicles shift, John North Ford’s commitment to quality never changes

SPONSORED BY JOHN NORTH FORD

70 Finance

Teach your children how to manage their money

SPONSORED BY ESB FINANCIAL

Need for SpeedRoberta Seaman’s day job may be in the courtroom, but her passion is living at 120 miles per hour

34 HomeJill Newland’s personality is on display in her home with an eclectic mix of art and color

72 His StyleJerid Thomas brings his unique fashion sense to the kitchen

108 In Sallie’s KitchenRegina Murphy shares recipes from the kitchen of Kathrine White

Features Departments10

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98 A Friendship Built in Plein AirA small group of artists paint the prairie en plien air

Waiting for DaddyWhen Lane Doty was deployed to Guantanamo Bay, his family had to pull together to fill the hole left by his absence

Seams FittingEmily Stevenson creates a functional dress and a piece of art from recycled newspapers

Prepurposed PassionArea women are using Etsy to turn hobbies and passions into sales

A Love Bug Love AffairMichele Boyce and her father get more out of customizing a VW Beetle than a vehicle

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editor’s note

Glad you’re hereWelcome to the second edition of Sallie! If you’re like me, anticipating this second publication of Sallie was a lot like looking

forward to a visit with a girlfriend you haven’t seen in a long, long time. We hope the arrival of your copy of Sallie is like that for you!

It’s been a fun year looking for women in the Emporia area who have interesting and inspiring stories to share with you. And we certainly didn’t have to look too hard. As you probably noticed, Sallie is quite a bit bigger than last year. That means there are even more great features about, and for, women in the Emporia-area in this edition of Sallie.

It was the element of surprise, that “I-bet-you-didn’t-know” piece of the stories, that initially captured our attention. All the women featured seem to take their passion, whether it’s motorcycles, vintage doilies, eclectic jewelry or a paintbrush and canvas, and go beyond the expected, beyond the ordinary.

Michele Boyce (on the cover) really set the tone for Sallie several months ago during one of my impromptu visits to her downtown store. While visiting with her about some vintage cat-eye glasses in her display case (I’ve always wanted a pair), I found out something about Michele that I didn’t know. When she’s not taking care of business at Studio 11, Michele finds time to do something pretty unusual: restore a 1969 Volkswagon Bug. Retrofitting a vintage Beetle into a show-worthy Rat Rod, Michele is just as comfortable welding, cutting and riveting as she is ringing up a purchase at Studio 11. Pretty cool hobby and perfect for Sallie!

Then there was Roberta Seaman. If you’ve ever been to a courtroom at the Lyon County Courthouse, you might recog-nize her as the quiet, straight-backed stenographer, who types close to 260 words per minute documenting every case that goes through there. But that same passion for speed she has at the stenograph translates to her weekends where she holds her own motorcycle drag racing records. Motorcycle drag racing! Who knew?

And you can’t miss the story about the four women in Chase County who, each in their own right, have made names for themselves for their artistic talent. Yet most people may not know that their passion for art and The Flint Hills has woven their lives together in an unexpected friendship over the years. A special story.

Those little vignettes should just whet your appetite. Inside, of course, you’ll find much, much more to surprise and inspire you.

So, sit back and relax, like you would with your best friend, and spend some time getting reacquainted with Sallie.We’re glad you’re here!

Ashley Knecht WalkerEditor & Publisher

You can’tfix peerpressure.But you can give your kidsthe tools to say no to alcohol.

Let them know they can talk to youabout the pressure to drink. And teachthem what to say when they face it.

Talk. It Matters.

Chase CountyDrug Free Action Team

Secretary: Cheryl Jones620-273-6377

Regional Prevention Center620-340-6072

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EDITOR & PUBL ISHERAshley WAlker

SALES D IRECTORBriAnA Julo

ART D IRECTORJustin ogleBy

CONTRIBUT ING WRITERS MorgAn Chilson reginA Murphy

CONTRIBUT ING PHOTOGRAPHER

Dustin MiChelson

DES IGN LAYOUTiM Design group

ADVERT IS ING STAFFChristine BroWn

kAthy lAfferty, leAnn sAnChez

ADVERT IS ING DES IGNERSkelsey BArker, DAn ferrell

MArgie MChAley, phillip Miller

Devin pArkMAn, kAtie potter

BrADley riCe

CIRCULAT ION MANAGERBrenDA ArMitAge

ONLINEeMporiAksliving.CoM

FACEBOOK.COM/eMporiAliving

TWITTER@eMporiAliving

For more information, please contact:517 Merchant StreetEmporia, KS 66801

620-342-4800

Sallie Magazine is a publication of

the crewOne of the best things about publishing Sallie is getting to work alongside these people. All of them are fun, creative and hard-working, and this magazine definitely wouldn’t exist without them! Below we introduce you to the core crew of the bunch, those who have worked long hours the last several months and have seen the magazine through from planning to publication.

1 DUSTIN MICHELSONPhotographer

FOR THIS ISSUE: A photographer whose passion clearly lies in magazine work, Dustin’s ability to tell stories through a camera lense is unmistakable. Did you get the “catch-light,” Dustin? I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: My dream is to travel to the southern tip of South America with one camera and one lense, and backpack my way back to the U.S. taking photos along the way.

2 JUSTIN OGLEBYIM Design Group

FOR THIS ISSUE: Another beautiful magazine, thanks to Justin’s vision and hard-work designing every page of Sallie. Emporia never looked so good!I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: I have a vineyard that I enjoy working in. Pruning vines and working on trellises is very stress relieving.

3 BRIANA JULOAdvertising Manager

FOR THIS ISSUE: At the helm of the advertising department this year, she helped set a new standard in magazine ad sales! Who knew a tube of lipstick could be so motivating? That’s what it was, right? I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: For me, nothing beats a glass of red wine and a Frank Sinatra serenade.

4 LEANN SANCHEZAdvertising Coordinator

FOR THIS ISSUE: In the midst of a project like Sallie, it’s always comforting to know, if there’s a question, there’s always a spreadsheet – created by Leann – to find the answer.I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: I have a passion for helping people, being with my family and the outdoors. I enjoy helping to coach my daughter’s softball team and spending my weekends at the lake hiking and fishing.

5 MORGAN CHILSONWriter

FOR THIS ISSUE: A writing machine, Morgan has a unique ability to crank out the copy in record time and still deliver a story that’s full of heart. I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: I am a voracious reader. I read two to three books a week, even through three kids or long work hours or anything else going on in my life. It could almost be called an addiction, but I’ll settle for “passion” so it sounds better.

6 MARGIE MCHALEYProduction Manager

FOR THIS ISSUE: Known as “Mad Dog” around The Gazette office, Margie and her production staff are responsible for much of the ad design in Sallie. And with a record number of ads in this edition, we appreciate her staff ’s ability to not only create beautiful ads but meet their deadlines too!BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: My secret to happiness is equal doses of work and family, freedom and conformity, socializing and solitude. I take the same balanced approach to design as well as life. Somewhere between an artist’s vision and a client’s ideas is the sweet spot, that place where great design happens.

7 SHAWN HONEAIM Design Group

FOR THIS ISSUE: As the inspiration for the “portraits” of the Sallie crew this year, we kind of had to include him in this list. All kidding aside, on the design side of Sallie, Shawn and his staff at IM Design Group are integral to creating this beautiful publication. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW: I encourage people I meet to try at least one of the following:• Ride a bike in the flint hills• Don’t drive a boring car• Become a beer snob…it’s okay• Support local small businesses• Surround yourself with family & friends• Work your butt off for others• Have Fun!

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advertiser’s indexAlter Image Salon & Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Amanda’s Bakery & Cafe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53American Family Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Bennett Dental Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Bluestem Farm & Ranch Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45BobbyD’s Merchant Street BBQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Brown’s Shoe Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95CableOne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Carpet & More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Carpet Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Casa Ramos Mexican Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Cerretti Cabinets & Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Citizens State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56City of Emporia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Clint Bowyer Autoplex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Council Grove & Morris County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Cottage House B&B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Dan’s Hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Do-B’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Edward Jones - John Newland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Ek Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Elwood Reclaimed Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Emporia CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back CoverEmporia Main Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Emporia Orthodontics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Emporia Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46, 47Emporia State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106, 107ESB Financial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1, 70, 71Flint Hills Beverage, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Flint Hills Community Health Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Flint Hills Technical College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Golden Living Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Granada Coffee Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Granada Theatre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Grand Central Hotel, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Griffin Real Estate & Auction Service, LLC . . . . . . . . . 56Grove Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Guion’s Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Hannah Orthodontics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Heart Center Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Holiday Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65IM Design Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 51Innovative Vein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Internal Medicine Associates, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 83JavaCat Coffeehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27John North Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96, 97Junque Drawer Emporium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Kari’s Diamonds & Bridal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58, 59Karma Hair Boutique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94, 105Kerri R. Thompson, DDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53KFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

King Liquor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17KISS 103.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Kitchen & Bath Trends of Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Life Care Center of Burlington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Liquor Locker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Longbine Autoplaza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Lore & Hagemann, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Lyon County State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back CoverLyon County Title LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80M-N Carpet Store Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Makin’ Waves Salon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94The Medicine Shoppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53The Midas Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Modern Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Morris County Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Mulready’s Pub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Newman Physical Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Newman Regional Health Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Newman Regional Health . . . . . . . . . Inside Front CoverPatton, Putnam & Dean LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Plumbing By Spellman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Poehler Antique Mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Radius Brewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Reflxns Salon & Day Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Regional Development Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Regional Prevention Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Rhinestones & Rust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Rich Door Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Riddles Jewelry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Ryan Kohlmeier, DDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Salon Del5ive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Schmidt Custom Cabinetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Spartan Staffing Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Star Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Studio 11 Boutique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Studio G Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Sutherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Tanner’s Carpet LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Thomas Property Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Thomas Transfer & Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Topeka Ear, Nose & Throat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Town Crier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Valerie’s Gifts & Such . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112ValuNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18,19Walmart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111William Allen White Legacy Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Williams Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 33

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by morgan chilson | photos by dustin michelson

Roberta Seaman’s day job may be in the courtroom, but her passion is living

at120 miles per hour

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In a cour troom in Lyon County, Rober ta Seaman sits straight-backed and confident at the front of the room, her flying fingers

noting down everything that’s said and done in her position as cour t repor ter.

Since 1993, Roberta has documented a wide variety of cases, sitting in on everything from minor events to dramatic testimony.

“Most of the time, it’s just in your ears and out your fingers,” she said. “Sometimes it’s emotional depending on the cases.”

For the first two years of her career, she worked for Lyon County but then she started her own freelance company where she spent the next 15 years.

“Then my husband and I both decided – we turned 40 – we had to get real jobs,” she said, laughing. “I hadn’t planned on coming back here, but then three years ago in June,

exactly, so it had been 15 years almost to the day, I started back here.”

Her husband, though, still doesn’t have a “real” job, she joked. Julian Seaman owns Hog Heaven, a motorcycle service center.

So the rest of the story, tucked behind her conservative clothing and impassive courtroom presence, is “his fault,” Roberta said.

She is, perhaps, a reminder of the youth-learned lesson, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” On LinkedIn, her interests go like this: Motorcycle drag racing, crochet, piano, health, fitness, family.

Yes, motorcycle drag racing. “Julian taught me to ride,”

Roberta said. “In 1997, I turned 30 years old and I won my first Sportster (Motorcycle Drag Race).”

“I didn’t think I would be mid-40s drag racing motorcycles,” she said. “I started racing at the end of 2005, 2006 was when I really raced for AHDR drag racing, All Harley Drag

Racing Association, and that’s where I won the western division.”

Since then, more success has followed. In 2010 and 11, she won several races, but in 2012, she won two points championships. On Hog Heaven’s Facebook page, Julian paid homage to her talents on the bike: “Not just a pretty face, this girl is a dominant force on the drag strip. 2012 AMRA Racer of the Year 2012 AMRA National Champion Eliminator Class 2012 AMRA National Champion Pro Eliminator Class.”

Julian, who races too, taught Roberta to ride and while she stopped short at saying it was easy, Roberta said, “It seemed natural.”

“My husband actually rode the bike that I race, and he moved up to a Pro Fuel Harley,” she said. One day, she got tired of sitting in the pit and decided to get on that bike.

“It wasn’t a pretty experience the first time because the seat was . . . he’s 6’4”,” Roberta said. “He said

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just twist the throttle and let go of the clutch. And so I did. I trusted him.” She laughed.

“I did this and I twisted the throttle, completely when you pull it all the way around,” Roberta said. “And I took off and it threw me back in the seat so far that I lost the handlebars. One hand was still on and I was going toward the wall. It was so ugly. I was going down the track about five miles an hour.”

They quickly realized the seat, set for a six-footer, was the issue and Julian told her to try starting like she would if she was sitting at a stoplight.

“So I did that and I went 120 miles an hour at my first quarter pass,” Roberta said.

Now there were two racers in the family, and Roberta has numerous trophies at the Hog Heaven shop to attest to

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her prowess. Julian dreams of becoming a professional racer, and after running excellent qualifiers in the spring, Roberta is hoping that will happen for him this year.

It’s a different world from what she faces in the courtroom, but Roberta is comfortable in both. Each appeals to a different part of her personality.

“About law, I like the writing fast and the accuracy,” she said. “I’m kind of a perfectionist. I like to get every word. I never get to talk.”

Then she walks out of court and ends up on a racetrack, flying over 100 mph.

“It’s kind of a way to let go of the stress this job does carry, a lot of stress. If I took every case to heart . . .” she trailed off. “It’s kind of nice to have that reprieve. I never think about my job when I’m drag racing. It’s an adrenalin rush.”

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Local service, local owners and top-quality telecommunications products mean customers of Emporia’s ValuNet have just one complaint: they want it everywhere, right now.

De Ricker, manager of Horizon Plaza, a senior living facility, loves the fact she gets to use ValuNet at work. Unfortunately, she lives so far out in the country, she said, the fiber optic telecommunications company probably won’t ever get to her home where she’d love to have the speedy technology and excellent service that ValuNet offers.

“It’s faster than what we had, which was AT&T for internet, and I like that all of the staff works exceptionally well with the demographics of my building,” Ricker said of her business experience with the company. “Not everyone knows how to deal with the senior community, and their staff is excellent and very respectful. They take their time explaining things.”

In addition, being locally owned was a big plus when Ricker asked ValuNet to work with her on offering packages to the people in her building, many of whom live on low incomes. Company officials came up with a special package for the 100 residents in her building, she said.

Being responsive to business is a big ValuNet plus for Kim Redeker, owner of Sweet Granada. She switched her business to ValuNet in October, using AT&T, internet and a landline telephone, but also putting the business alarm system with them as well.

“One of my first motivators for considering ValuNet was the fact that they’re local,” Redeker said. “Being a small, locally owned business, it was important to me to use what local options I had. The nice bonus to that was finding that I had a local option

that was just as cost-effective, with much better service than what I was using.”

Redeker was able to expand the number of lines she had with ValuNet – and still be within her budget on her monthly bill – and add telephone lines. Within weeks, she saw the impact that had on sales.

“We’re able to increase our sales capabilities and so we were able to take more phone calls and therefore take more orders through our key holiday season,” she explained. “So our ValuNet landlines actually helped us make more money.”

The new alarm system set up by ValuNet is protecting Sweet Granada in more ways than one. Last year, Sweet Granada suffered a significant setback when the store’s air conditioning system failed and, as a result,

the company lost $10,000 in products, she said. They got it fixed, were assured by the landlord they had then that it would be fine, stocked back up and it happened again.

“It was a huge hit to us last August,” Redeker said. “I went to ValuNet and asked if there was anything I can do to avoid this happening in my new space. They came back to me with this alarm system. It can tie into your phone line and it will tell you if your electricity goes out or if you temperature goes above or below a certain level.”

That kind of peace of mind helps business owners sleep better at night and is an example of ValuNet pushing hard to meet customer needs. For Deb Crowl, the busy administrator of Emporia Child Care, she is thrilled the company meets one of her most basic wishes.

sallie spotlight internet

SponSored by Valunet

LOCAL BUSINESSES CAN PROVIDE BETTER VALUE TO THEIR CUSTOMERS BECAUSE OF A….LOCAL BUSINESS!

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“I love the speed of our fiber Internet,” she said. “We’ve had it at the center for over a year. I feel more productive.”

In addition to a super-fast internet connection and the consistency of the service, Crowl said she has gotten quick answers every time she’s had to call support. And each question, she admitted, was about something she was doing wrong and not a problem with the service.

“Whoever answers the phone can usually answer my question,” Crowl said. “To me that’s very impressive. I’m not moved from person to person and put on hold.”

Along with using internet and telephone services through ValuNet at work, Crowl said she’s a satisfied customer at home too. “I absolutely love it,” she said. “I have the TV and

everything. I was just telling someone about it yesterday. I got it in March in time for the March Madness. I’m a big basketball fan. It’s true HD. I felt like I could reach out and pat those guys on the back. It’s awesome.”

Heather Russell is also a customer at her home, where her family particularly enjoys the fact that they can stream movies at fast speeds on ValuNet.

“We were set up with another company,” Russell said. “We were always having trouble with our internet connection. Their customer service was horrible. We wanted to support local companies, so we switched.

“ValuNet’s customer service is phenomenal, and our internet speed is way faster now than what we had,” Russell said. “And it costs us less every month.”

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Heather Russell

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by morgan chilson | photos by dustin michelson

Michele Boyce and her father get more out of customizing a VW Beetle than a vehicle

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In March 2010, Michele Boyce bought the bones of what will one day be an amazing, customized rat rod Volkswagen Beetle.

Of course, she admitted, it sat for a year because she didn’t

have time to get started. Neither did her dad, Michael Boyce, who is responsible for the mechanical wizardry that will make Michele’s vision come true.

Around the same time Michele became inspired by seeing hot rod Beetles at car shows and online and decided she needed to make her own, her store, Studio 11 in downtown Emporia, also took off.

“I still think ‘Am I ever going to get anywhere on this,’” she admitted, standing on the property that’s been in her family for 100 years and is home to a garage with an array of Volkswagens. “I don’t think I have a life. The life has me.”

But Michele is motivated and determined to get her car done by fall so she can put it in Greaserama 2014, a Kansas City area car event that specializes in “primitive hot rods and wild kustoms.” She also wants to eventually drive it to Eureka Springs, Ark., to a large VW show there.

That goal sits just fine with her dad, who likes working on the car and, even more than that, he noted, “We get to see her out here more often.” Plus, the whole family is into the sporty VW Beetles, and Michael pointed to a black one that is his wife’s convertible, another that’s his. All they need is a little tender loving care and more time than any family member has.

“We’re dreamers. My first car’s the white one, bought in maybe ’88,” Michele said of a 1967 Bug.

“In ’90, we got it redone. That was how I fell in love with Volkswagens,” Michael added. “It paid for itself. I would mud against the boys and their pickups and I’d win. They’d have to wash it and fill the tank with gas.”

Although Michele may feel like her current car is taking forever to get done, it’s clear the two have been working hard. The car is clearly a VW Bug, it’s had a lot of alterations. Michele’s vision is . . . well, a little hard to describe.

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Let’s start with the year of the car. “It’s a 1969. Part of it,” Michele offered. “69, 67, pre-67, right now,” her dad said.

The shape is no longer what one would think of as a traditional Beetle. As Michele delved into the world of customized VWs, one of the things she fell in love with was the stretched front end.

So that’s what they did. Michele spent a lot of time on Volksrods.

com or other car sites, asking questions and, she said, “I felt like an idiot a lot of the time. I’ve made all of these great friends.”

Her vision was inspired by the creativity of other people who customized their rides, and as she learned, her plans began to take shape. Throughout the process, she’s had to “roll with it,” Michele admitted, so if something doesn’t work, she does

something different.Michael and Michele tackled

the car’s front end, adding an eight-inch extension and they cut the top off, too. It’s all been a learning experience.

“You move one thing and find out oh, your speedometer cable won’t reach,” Michele shrugged, clearly not the least annoyed at the challenges that crop up with

such a complete redesign. “Dad’s teaching me as we go. My brother and my dad have always messed with anything with a motor.”

Doing the work has been a learning experience for the 38-year-old store owner.

“There’s some really crappy welds in there,” she gestured at the car’s body. “All mine. But there’s some good ones, too, and I own ’em. I have cut and smashed and busted knuckles.”

The door panels are made of rusty, textured license plates that Michele has collected and screwed together. She needs to take care of the metal edges and then put a couple of coats of clear coat on before riveting them to the car.

Michele also has plans for simple seat cushions that tie on, made from an old duck cloth canvas and decorated with unique patches. Among her online friends is someone in Australia who sent patches to add to those Michele has collected.

“My roller derby team – it’s one that’s important to me,” she said.

As each stage of the customization progressed, Michele became more focused on what she wanted. “I kept seeing these old wire wheels and I said that’s what I want on the front,” she said.

Exploring the possibilities, she looked at 32 Ford wheels.

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“I started digging and bought up three sets of axles and wheels from old rotted hay wagons,” Michele said. “We started cutting the old rubber off them – we got a matched pair out of it.”

Michele bought the motor from a “16-year-old kid because he was upgrading,” she said, laughing a little. “We ain’t started it yet,” Michael chimed in.

A bright red powder coat will complete those wire wheels and add pizazz to the car.

The list of things to be done is long – headlights purchased recently in an antique store will need to be mounted. The body already sports its final light blue color – “It’s kind of looking like a summer pool to me,” Michele said – and will remain distressed looking, with no glossy finish on it.

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“It’s the little touches I think that get me so excited,” Michele said.

“She’s come up with some pretty good ideas,” Michael admitted.

“My Pinterest is full of VWs.” Michele grinned.

As the father and daughter exchange banter about the challenges of rebuilding this car, it’s clear they’re getting more than a vehicle out of this deal. The laughing, easy-going relationship between the two is treasured.

Michele admitted that they probably couldn’t have done this – the working together, plowing through what works and what doesn’t – 20 years ago, with a younger relationship and shorter tempers.

But today. . . it’s a definite win. A cool car and a pretty

darned cool team that is making it happen.

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sallie spotlight automotive

When Rex Williams opened his first automotive service shop almost 30 years ago, most of the vehicles he worked on didn’t have computers on board.

The industry has changed significantly since Williams Automotive established its Emporia location in 1989. Mechanics troubleshooting a car, SUV, or truck today will need computer skills and technologically advanced equipment to maintain and diagnose a customer’s vehicle.

Rex began working on cars when he was 15 at a Madison, Kansas car dealership, and while the shift in industry may have thrown up a few challenges over the years; some things have remained constant.

Such as Rex and his wife, Debbie Williams, knowing that running their business isn’t really about cars, trucks or even the semi’s they service. “It’s about taking care of people,” Debbie, who handles the bookkeeping, marketing, and human resources, says. “It’s not about taking care of cars as much as it is about making sure people are taken care of.”

The couple, whose automotive business includes, not just repair services, but a body shop, radiator repair services, and 24 hour towing and roadside service, enjoy the fact that what they’re really doing is assuring their customers have safe, reliable transportation. The semi-trucks they service have the added dimension of helping someone make a living.

The importance of their work isn’t lost on the couple and their caring shows in the hours that Rex has kept over the years. For years they were open seven days a week and have recently just begun closing their physical

shop on Saturdays, while roadside service and towing are still available.

“We take care of an awful lot of traffic from travelers, Emporia being a hub for I-35, the turnpike, and Highway 50,” states Debbie. “Rex comes out a lot of weekends, evenings, and even holidays to help people out if it’s something he can get done quick to get them back on the road.”

That kind of dedication has kept the business growing for 30 years. A friendly shop atmosphere, with experienced mechanics that are willing to communicate clearly and openly about the vehicle’s issues, keeps people coming back.

Williams Automotive has four full time mechanics on staff as well as a radiator repair technician and a body shop technician who have 233 combined years of experience.

Experience and skill are the foundation

for their business, but the couple pushes to continue adding services and meeting customer needs. They also push to provide the best working environment for their employees. For the first time

air conditioning will be installed in the mechanics shop to allow the technicians to work on customer vehicles more comfortably. “We can take care of any kind of vehicle, and we believe we have the best

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mechanics in town,” says Debbie. “Our warranty is important to us – if something goes wrong, we’re going to take care of it because we stand behind our work.”

It’s an old-fashioned guarantee in a business that is far from old-fashioned. The Williams are constantly investing in new scanners, which can cost $10,000, to stay current.

While women bring in their vehicles just as much as men these days, people in general just aren’t as knowledgeable about their cars as they were 30 to 50 years ago when most could do some basic mechanic work in their own driveways. “It’s not that they don’t

understand the mechanics of car repair, or can’t understand it,” Debbie notes, “it’s that they usually need additional knowledge and information to make the best choices. When is a repair critical and when can it wait? Our job is to communicate that and give them the information they need to make a decision.”

They’ll also be offering a car care clinic for the first time, an opportunity for customers to learn about their vehicles and get maintenance tips.

Meeting customer needs. That’s it, a simple and clear business strategy that assures growth. Few have it down to a science like Williams Automotive.

Watch for details on a special ladies-only “Sallie Social” at Williams Automotive coming this fall!

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by morgan chilson | photos by dustin michelson

Jill Newland’s personality is on display in her home with

an eclectic mix of art and color

HOUSEofSTORIES

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Jill and John Newland’s southern-style ranch just off of Highway 50 brims with personality, from the splash of color on the red roof to the array of artistic pieces on the porch that flank the eight-foot tall front door.

The house itself has a Mount Vernon feel, but unlike that famous estate filled with traditional décor, an eclectic mix of antiques and art display Jill’s personality in the Newland home.

A painting of a curious steer – which Jill said they call Karl and makes her husband think of roping -- leans in the corner of the living room. Pieces of nail art, vintage ones collected from the 60s and 70s that use nails of varying lengths to create two- or three-dimensional sculptures, vie with a lion’s head nail piece that Newland created.

esign is coming to grips with one’s real lifestyle, one’s real place in the world.

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“I’m a bit of an artist myself,” she dismissed in a massive un-derstatement that is belied with every step through her home. An artistic eye was responsible for putting together objects that separately may not blend, but together form a comfortable and unique environment.

Each piece has been selected because of the stories behind it, whether they are memories of special times in the family’s life, a piece of history that intrigues Jill or because of an appeal that can’t always be identified. Colors. Graceful lines. Texture.

“It’s the excitement of finding that one piece,” she admitted, pointing to a favorite table that sits just off her kitchen. Purchased at an antique mall in Kansas City as an anniversary present from her husband after Jill had been eyeing it for a couple of years, the stunning table features graceful horse heads as its base and origi-nally came from the Jim Beam Ranch in Montana.

Horsehead corbels support the countertop nearby, made by a local artist, Jill said.

“He didn’t know what the table even looked like; he just start-ed making them,” she said. “And they ended up looking alike.”

John’s Texas ranching roots are visible in mounted Texas long-horns over the television, cowhide furniture, a propeller that came from John’s grandfather’s plane and a large Texas star on a base-ment wall. Like most things in her home, each has a story. The couple had been looking all over for cowhide furniture, Jill said, and having little luck. They were visiting John’s small Texas hometown and there it sat in a window.

“Population of not many people,” Jill said, shaking her head in remembered surprise. “We were in town one weekend and we saw this in the window and they were making them there.” They were even able to customize the furniture to fit in their basement.

Animals, in general, make an appearance throughout the home, something Jill laughingly said she didn’t even realize until a friend pointed it out. In fact, her extensive collection of unique jewelry pieces and vintage clothing feature animals too.

“I have paintings and portraits and sculptures all over the house, and most of them have an animal theme,” she said. “I have vintage clothes, everything with animals on them. I just ordered a dress for a wedding, white and short and it has big colorful birds all over it. I didn’t have a clue. We have horses and dogs and cats and love going to the zoo, love the whole animal thing, but I didn’t realize it was going on in my house.”

What Jill really likes is things that are different. “Strange, unusual, weird,” she said. “I love it.”

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There’s an old cash register that came from a five and dime store in Garnett, Kan., a peacock lamp in the master bedroom and unique door handles that Jill said caused her builder to ask, “Are you sure you want these on there?” In the basement, Jill and a friend created a wall accented with limestone that sets off a large old photograph of an Emporia dairy farm.

It’s a house that speaks to Jill’s creativity. As you’d expect from someone who likes to build an

environment that celebrates the unique, Jill also seeks out those things in her clothing and jewelry. Her extensive collection of jewelry is almost impossible to describe – varying from old pieces made from spoons and forks to a large coral butterfly necklace to an eagle bracelet with a crystal-studded head. Rings with three-dimensional birds

From wall art to sink basins, Jill’s artistic personality is

reflected in her rural home.

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and another that sticks up in a cone shape lie among numerous large “statement” pieces.

“I’ve been a jewelry fanatic since I was little,” Jill said. “I really started collecting good, neat, eclectic pieces 15 years ago.”

Whenever the family travels, Jill seeks out jewelry artists who are creating one-of-a-kind pieces to add to her collection. She is drawn to vintage clothing – which she wears – for many of the same reasons as she likes the unusual jewelry pieces.

The clothes are as varied as her décor, from a heavy beaded formal with a butterfly pattern to silky, flowing kimonos, one with koi fish, that Jill said she wears when they go to the beach. A few of the articles aren’t vintage, but all make a statement.

And that statement is about a woman who is, indeed, com-fortable – with color, with the unique, with having the courage to be different.

“My clothes and jewelry have just made me who I am – I’m comfortable in my own skin,” Jill said.

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Buying or selling a home can be one of the most exciting – and stressful – situations a person faces. There’s a reason why doing so often makes top the list of top 20 life stressors.

The agents at Emporia Realty Group are experienced at guiding their clients through the buying and selling process, and they use their experience to take away as much stress as possible from the process.

No matter which end of the deal you’re on, buying or selling, the number of decisions to make can seem enormous. Will we outgrow this house before we’re ready to move again? Should we remodel the bathroom before we put it on the market? What kind of neighborhood is this and how are the schools?

Kristi Mohn, ERG owner, has heard all those questions and knows how important it is to communicate clearly and frequently with clients to allay their concerns.

“We have a set of questions we ask at the beginning of every client relationship,” Mohn said. “And we encourage open lines of communication. Most of our agents are available by email, text and telephone, and we want to help people understand how their real estate transactions work.”

Their willingness to take calls during off hours is because all ERG agents understand how challenging and nerve-wracking the process can be.

“We all are working toward finding the best houses for our clients,” Mohn said. “Our level of service goes deeper than just selling you a house or doing a transaction. It’s about establishing relationships and being involved. That’s our focus.”

That focus comes to bear on every stage of the process, from that first phone call when someone is thinking about selling a house to celebrating the day of closing.

Mohn encourages anyone thinking about selling their home to call and tap into the experience ERG agents have in the local real

estate market. They can complete a market analysis, which takes an in-depth look at the sale property, including improvements that need to be made, comparisons to properties selling in the area and estimating the sale price, she said.

Right now is a great time to be thinking about selling. “We’ve seen the average sale price of homes increase quite a bit over the last 18 months,” Mohn said. “Homes that are priced well and staged well are selling quickly.”

ERG’s 11 agents all understand the staging process and help their clients set up a home so it appeals to buyers. The important things to keep in mind when selling aren’t rocket science, she added.

“A lot of times, houses are not clean and they’re full of clutter,” Mohn said. “It needs to be five-star hotel clean. That’s what buyers are looking for right now – move-in ready. In the past, buyers were willing to do upgrades and get some sweat equity out of their houses. That is not typically the case now.”

That “five-star” clean means doing the white glove test on vents and ceiling fans, sprucing up paint and carpet, making the grout shine and generally, putting the property in a state that potential buyers can see themselves moving right in and being happy there.

“The second thing is depersonalizing the home,” Mohn said of selling preparations. “Remove yourself from the home a little bit so buyers can actually see themselves in it.”

Getting that property ready to go on the market requires a team approach, she said.

“You’re going to be working hand in hand with your agent and that agent is going to

have some expectations of you, just as you do with your agent,” Mohn explained. “We are a team and that makes us effective in what we’re doing.”

Realtor experience also comes into play during the loan process, which has added a few more hoops to jump through since the 2008 economic crisis, Mohn said.

“That can be frustrating for the buyer and even for the sellers, because there will be delays in closing sometimes that aren’t what we would have seen seven years ago,” she explained. “Working with an experienced and qualified agent will help lessen the stress on the buyer or seller.”

With every sale and every satisfied homeowner, ERG Realtors still get excited when they hang that sold sign or hand over keys. It may be their 100th sale, but for that client, it’s probably only the first, second or third home they’ve purchased.

This isn’t, after all, about sales or even houses.

It’s about people moving into homes where they’ll spend years, possibly even the rest of their lives, befriending neighbors, building relationships, becoming a part of Emporia.

That is what keeps ERG Realtors dedicated and focused on doing their jobs.

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Repurposed Passion

The urge to make something – to create jewelry or home goods or anything that is stamped with your own artistic twist – has

pushed some Emporia women out into the online retail world.

Dawn Anliker loved to make things, but children and a busy life pushed that creativity to the side for the most part. A few years ago, as her kids left home and she faced an empty nest, she rediscovered the joy she gets from recycling and repurposing things, particularly old textiles.

“I like to get doilies, grandma’s table cloths, old pillow cases and, if they’re bad enough, I cut them apart and make anything from bunting, to quilts or tablecloths where you can still see the handiwork,” she said. “I’m trying to get grandma’s things out of the drawers and repurpose them in a way that we can now display.”

Her hobby quickly became an Etsy business, RekindledPleasures, that lets her indulge what she admitted is an addiction.

“I’m just in love with those old lace and the doilies and nobody wants to put them on their dining room table in the way grandma did,” she said. “So I refashion it. It’s more that I’m addicted to doing it. Yes, I make money. But it’s for fun.”

Initially, Anliker said she stayed away from Etsy and had a friend design a website. But because of the community of artists and craftspeople on Etsy, she realized it would be easier to get noticed there. One year ago in April, she opened her site and recently had her 100th sale.

Remaking vintage things is a booming business for her, and she finds herself taking a lot of custom orders, particularly for weddings. Popular items are taking old door knobs and

by morgan chilson | photos by dustin michelson

Area women are using Etsy to turn hobbies and passions into sales

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Dawn Anliker

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wrapping them with wire to hold a photo or a table number. She recently completed an order of 10 doorknobs for a woman getting married.

Although her first love is remaking the old textiles, Anliker dabbles in other crafts. She recently learned to make faux mercury glass and sells those things. She makes burlap bags, and flowers out of old material. Repainting frames became a “big seller,” she said. “Things have gone to Australia and Canada and Ireland. That’s kind of fun to just see the towns.”

She recently was contacted by the editor of an online magazine that saw some of her repurposed quilts, and one will be featured in the August/September publication of “Sew It Today.”

“Lately, it’s just kind of like branched out in different areas,” she said of her business.

Anliker works a couple of days a week at her church office, so she doesn’t always have the time to spend on creating items for her Etsy site.

Emporian Susie Wecker faces the same issues for her Etsy site, which she runs

under her name. As a mom with two grown children but one still at home, and becoming a non-traditional student at Emporia State, she has to carve out time to sell vintage jewelry, artwork and some creatively repurposed items.

Wecker, 49, decided to go back to school after raising two children and major in art therapy, and as part of her classwork, she’s been challenged in class to expand her artistic abilities. She had never, for instance, worked in oils until an ESU class.

“I fell in love with oil paints,” Wecker said. “That’s one of my favorite mediums now. I really enjoy experimenting with color and textures and just how colors interact with each other.”

Although she’s done portraits for years, Wecker said she stretching her boundaries and moving away from those. On her site,

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you’ll find whimsical pictures of fairies, along with vintage jewelry pieces that may end up collaged in another piece or sold as is.

“Besides jewelry, another thing I really like to work with is salvaged metal, especially copper,” she said. “There’s something just not only in that work, but I would say as a concept in my work in general, I’m really starting to enjoy finding the beauty in aging, not only in the human form, but in materials and things as well. The imperfections, the

cracks and crevices, in people the wrinkles. I’m starting to show the beauty in those,

rather than in things needing to be perfect to be beautiful.”

Seeing the beauty in surroundings is one of the hallmarks of creativity, and Nancy Duncan, another Etsy Emporia artist with EponasCrystals and EponaJewels, certainly relates to that.

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Susie Wecker

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“My favorite type of stones are the natural crystals and points,” she says on her Etsy site. “They seem to glisten and shine much more than the altered stones.”

“I’ve been a jewelry addict for like . . . ever, as long as I can remember,” Duncan said. “I collected so much stuff that my husband’s like ‘oh my god, you can’t wear all this, you’ve got to do something.’ I started selling on Ebay back in 2006, buying and selling, and eventually started making my own.”

Duncan moved her shop to Etsy, eventually opening two stores.

“I love Etsy. They’re great to work with, they always get right back with you,” she said. I got to seeing all the wonderful stuff on Etsy, and decided I like that, I can make that.”

But one of the mistakes she made when she first started was trying to make things others were selling, even though she didn’t really like the style.

“I think it came through on my listings and I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about it, so probably the key is to do what you love and then it will follow from there,” she said.

“I love working with any kind of natural

stone. Turquoise is my favorite, but I also like crystal and amethyst,” Duncan said. “Of course, then you buy stuff to make your own stuff with, now I also have a bead store on Etsy. It’s EponaJewels.”

There’s a learning curve to selling online, both in how to market using tools like Facebook and Twitter, and in taking photos of the items to sell, she said.

Because she works fulltime, Duncan runs her Etsy stores mostly in the evenings and weekends, and just tries to keep up as best she can.

Emporian Lynda Schreck has an antique and collectibles business on Etsy and so does a friend, Ellen Powers, who owns Ellie Lou’s Thrift Emporium as a retail store. While they aren’t creating handmade items, they still need to understand trends, selling and have that special eye for the unique things that attract customers.

Thirty-five years ago, Schreck began selling some of the many antiques she had in her own home on consignment at a store. Today, her Etsy store supports her in retirement.

“I think this is my third year,” she said,

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adding that it’s gone “very, very well. I’m retired. What I make on my Etsy shop gives me enough money that I don’t have to dip into my savings account along with my Social Security.”

Schreck doesn’t have a lot of secrets she can impart about being successful (her store is KansasKardsStudio) and said if she could figure that out, she’d be fabulously wealthy.

“I tend to buy what I like, and then if it doesn’t sell, I really don’t mind keeping it,” she said. “Every shop kind of develops its own personality. I have been in different antique malls, and sometimes my stuff does really well and in other malls, it’s the exact same stuff, but it doesn’t do as well.”

She loves vintage items, especially old glass and pottery, though those items aren’t selling well right now. Items from the 50s, vintage leather gloves and old clocks have been selling well. Both she and Powers have done extremely well with old buttons.

Powers sells a lot of notions and buttons in her store, including vintage sewing and craft items. When she first started selling –

either in a store or online – she had to seek out items, and now people tend to bring them to her, she said.

“Now I advertise and people come to me, and they bring boxes and truckloads,” she said. “There are up sides and down sides to everything. We get such a variety; you never know what’s going to come in the door; you can’t say, ‘well, I’m looking for this today.’ They’re going to bring what they’re going to bring.”

Still, Schreck and Powers have parlayed their passion for antiques into successful businesses. Powers likes the way Etsy is set up, better than Ebay where she first started online sales.

“Etsy is very friendly,” she said. “It’s a lot of helpful people who work with their hands and are trying to make at least a sideline living with their hands and their brains. The craftsmanship that people have had in the past in America is really beginning to show itself between Etsy and Pinterest. The recession prompted it, I think. It really brought this generation into doing things with their hands.” Dawn Anliker

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AUGUST 2014Friday, August 22, 7:30pm – OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL and

VINTAGE COUNTRY Music Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Friday, August 29, 7:30pm – PICKIN’ THE BLUES, Jam Session,

Emma Chase Music Hall.SEPTEMBER 2014Friday, September 5, 7:30pm – TALLGRASS PICKIN’ acoustic

Country Music Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Friday, September 12, 7:30pm – K-177-BLUEGRASS PICKIN’

acoustic Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Friday, September 19, 7:30pm – TALLGRASS GOSPEL acoustic

Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Sunday, September 21 – Fall Equinox Celebration, Walk in

Peach Ranch.Friday, September 26, 7:30pm – OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL and

VINTAGE COUNTRY MUSIC Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.OCTOBER 2014Friday, October 3, 7:30pm – TALLGRASS PICKIN’ acoustic

Country Music Jam Session Emma Chase Music Hall.Saturday, October 4, 7:30pm – MASQUERADE BALL-Flint Hills

Victorian Dance Society, Emma Chase Music Hall. Costumes encouraged.

Friday, October 10, 7:30pm – K-177-BLUEGRASS PICKIN’ acoustic Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.

Friday, October 17, 7:30pm – TALLGRASS GOSPEL acoustic Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.

Friday, October 24, 7:30pm – OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL and VINTAGE COUNTRY Music Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.

Friday, October 31, 7:30pm – PICKIN’ THE BLUES, Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.

NOVEMBER 2014Saturday, November 1, 6pm – BAZAAR BAZAAR Dinner and

Auction, Bazaar Schoolhouse Bazaar, KS.TBD – Veterans Day Ceremony, Veterans Memorial, Swope Park.Friday, November 7, 7:30pm – TALLGRASS PICKIN’ acoustic

Country Music Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Friday, November 14, 7:30pm – K-177-BLUEGRASS PICKIN’

acoustic Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Friday, November 21, 7:30pm – TALLGRASS GOSPEL acoustic

Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Friday, November 28, 7:30pm – OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL and

VINTAGE COUNTRY MUSIC Jam Session, Emma Chase Music Hall.Saturday, November 29, all day – CHASE COUNTY

COUNTRY CHRISTMAS.Saturday, November 29, 8am - 10am – Chase County

Historical Society’s BISCUITS & GRAVY BREAKFAST BENEFIT at the Emma Chase Café.

Saturday, November 29, 8pm – CHRISTMAS BALL-Flint Hills Victorian Dance Society, Emma Chase Music Hall. Period dress admired.

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sallie spotlight jewelry

Woven through the glittering beauty of diamonds and gemstones at Kari’s Diamonds is a family history of service and quality in the jewelry business that goes back more than 150 years.

Kari Stookey, owner of the specialty jewelry store, as well as Kari’s Bridal and Kari’s Closet, has been in the jewelry business since she was 14 years old. Her parents own a jewelry store in Topeka, but the family’s business acumen reaches back to the 1800s when her great-great-grandfather, Isaac Hirsh, began working as a peddler in Chicago, selling goods from the back of a wagon.

Isaac eventually opened several stores in Missouri. A Livingston County history account said of him, “Mr. Hirsch not only has an extensive acquaintance in this county, but doubtless is better known personally throughout North Missouri than any man in it. He is the possessor of large means, a careful and painstaking buyer, and alive to every detail of business life, driving his own business rather than let it push him.”

The stories about her great-great-grandfather inspire Kari to bring the same attitude to her business that he did almost a century ago.

“He was a businessman who really cared about people, who was helpful and went out of his way to make sure that he was giving back to the community,” she said. Her great-grandparents, too, were entrepreneurs and owned a Chicago jewelry store for years.

Being raised around successful entrepreneurs allowed Kari to understand what it takes to run a business that meets customer needs by offering outstanding service. It’s not just about beautiful jewelry – although that is, of course, a critical component of her work. It’s understanding that she is selling more than rings, necklaces or earrings.

“I love the fact that we’re celebrating moments in people’s lives that reflect love and events that are life-changing,” she said.

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“The jewelry we make will be passed down and given to children and then their children’s children. It’s an honor to be part of someone’s family history.”

The skills that Kari and her staff bring to the jewelry business allow those special family pieces to be one of a kind, and it’s challenging and exciting to bring to life a design that has lived in a customer’s imagination.

“We have state-of-the-art equipment, including a Computer-Aided Design program called CounterSketch Studio, that brings designs to life in 3D on a video screen,” Kari said. “We can actually put the ring on a hand that’s the actual size of the customer’s hand so he or she can see what it’s going to look like. I love the creativity.”

The store can even offers the option of creating a prototype of the piece that, for a small fee, will allow customers to see exactly what the piece will look like before finalizing the design.

“If you can think of it, we can create it,” Kari said. “We can tweak it and change it. It allows the customer to become the designer, which is really cool.”

Being able to customize jewelry pieces is a trend in her industry, Kari added, because people want to create something that no one else has. It’s where the business motto – “Our difference is you” – was born.

“There needs to be a difference in what you do, in the end product, so we bring our experience and our tools to deliver that very special custom product,” she said.

Store employees all are skilled at helping customers narrow down their choices in everything from gemstone to the color of the gold used in the design. White gold has been popular for some years, Kari said, as par t of a trend toward vintage designs. But yellow gold is making a comeback and the soft shades of rose gold also are growing in popularity.

Diamonds, of course, remain the most gem of choice for most customers, but diamonds in the different color spectrums are being used in many designs, Kari said.

While Kari and her experienced staff love to spend their days dabbling in fine jewels, Kari

also makes it a business focus to give back to the

community. Learning a lesson from her great-grandfather and the generations in between, Kari feels a responsibility to make a difference where she does business.

From supporting community gardens that help feed people to giveaways that raise funds for local non-profits, Kari’s Diamonds, along with her other two businesses, reach out to Emporia.

“I think that’s what’s makes the business thrive,” she said. “It’s stewardship and that’s important. If there’s a gift in what my great-great-grandfather brought to business, to me, it’s the understanding that it’s so much more rewarding to give than it is to receive. That’s the truth.”

(620) 342-38991015 Industrial Road, Suite Akarisbridal.com

Kari Stookey,Owner of Kari’s Diamonds

by morgan chilson | photos by dustin michelson

Emily Stevenson creates a functional dress and a piece

of art from recycled newspapers

Seams Fitting

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Emily Stevenson started sewing when she was a little girl, learning at her grandmother’s side the skills she needed to take cloth and make it into something unique and extraordinary.

“She wanted to make sure I had the skills to be able to sew,” Stevenson said of her grandmother. “I’ve always been really creative and loved doing that. When I got into high school, I got into the theater aspect of it and did costumes for some of the plays.”

Stevenson, 19, also stepped outside of sewing and took art classes and did some sculpture work during high school. Her creative talents have found an excellent place to blossom in working at Kari’s Bridal and Kari’s Diamonds, where she works as a sales and jewelry assistant.

“Our specialty is custom everything,” Stevenson said. “We do have a seamstress that does most of our wedding dresses; I help her a lot. The creative side of things – it’s a lot of fun and I love all of that.”

Even outside the store, Emily continues to sew for herself, making things that she can’t find in any stores. She finds joy in seeing her creative impulses and ideas take shape in cloth.

What she never expected was that someday, her medium wouldn’t be cloth, but newspaper.

Yes, we’re talking about the relatively thin creamy white paper that makes up the Emporia Gazette. Creating a dress out of the newsprint became one of the most unusual challenges Stevenson has faced in her career.

In her position working for Kari’s Bridal as a jewelry and bridal assistant, Stevenson is constantly challenged to customize and use her artistic talents to help customers create one-of-a-kind items.

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But don’t take our word for it...But when Ashley Walker, editor of the Emporia Gazette, approached her about making a dress – a wearable dress, mind you – out of newspaper for an upcoming Emporia Chamber event, Stevenson wasn’t sure what to think.

Walker said the idea of a newspaper dress had been percolating for years.

“Our partnership with Kari’s Bridal this year seemed like the perfect opportunity, especially because of the extraordinary talent that I knew Emily had for creating unusual pieces,” Walker said. “I knew she had made some pretty cool duct tape dresses and if anyone could do a newspaper dress it would be her.”

Stevenson, 19, and her best friend had made the duct tape dresses for a high school dance. But even though working in that sticky medium was a challenge, sewing a paper dress was going to be complicated. Still, the artist in Stevenson was instantly excited by the idea.

“I started looking at pictures of designs and had it in my head. I showed her and she was like ‘all right, do it,’” Stevenson said. “I ripped apart a wedding dress for this and kind of made a slip for her, and then just winged it after that. I built everything off of that.”

Of course, a practiced seamstress “winging it” just means that Stevenson took her experience and created a gorgeous, detailed newspaper gown.

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“I just did a lot of fabric glue and sewing for all these little parts and pieces,” she said. “I folded all of these little triangles and these ruffles for this dress. It looked good. I had a basic idea and knew the construction of a dress and how it needed to go, but it was different with paper.”

The biggest difficulty was the paper’s flexibility. “I was really concerned once I started making the bodice. I knew that it would be really stiff and I really had to make sure the top fit her perfect or I was going to have to rip it all apart. And the hips – she still had to be able to sit down in this.”

This was a functional dress, after all, and not just a piece of art.

Stevenson made it both.“The dress turned out infinitely more amazing than

I would have ever imagined,” Walker said. “When she showed me pictures of what she wanted to do, I really didn’t think it was possible. But sure enough, when she was done with it, it looked even better! Not only do I admire her ability to have a vision for taking stacks of newspapers and making them into something beautiful, but also her ability to actually do it. I would have had no idea where to begin. To her, it was a piece of cake.”

Emily’s love for sewing started with lessons

from her grandmother, Edna Smith.

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Stevenson loved tackling the newspaper dress challenge, just as she loves going to work every day and helping brides and other customers create the vision they have in their heads. So often, customers come in with ideas in their heads that they just can’t quite identify or communicate.

Helping them turn those ideas into the perfect wedding dress, custom ring or unique bridal hairpiece is the cool part of her job. “Having them love it is awesome,” Stevenson said.

That’s what she loves about her job and at just 19, Stevenson said she’s found her career.

“I went to college for probably six or eight weeks, thinking I would go get this art degree and be able to use this for something,” she said. “I dropped out. It wasn’t for me. With the job that I have now, because we do so much custom in the area that we’re in, it really allows me to be creative. It mixes everything that I love to do. I’m in my career right now. This is what I’m going to do.”

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sallie spotlight finance

One of the most important life skills children need to learn is how to manage money. The habits and know-how children develop while growing up could lead to a life of financial security…or financial worry. The financial crisis of the past five years has made everyone more aware of how important it is to be well-informed and well-educated about managing money. You can turn everyday situations into a learning opportunity to help your children develop these skills.

Good & Bad…Your Children Learn From YOU!

Children learn a lot from their parents…good and bad! Be an example of a responsible money manager by paying bills on time…being a conscious spender…and an active saver. Look for opportunities to talk about money…read books aloud…and play games that center around spending money wisely.

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spending…and saving. It’s easy to give examples of “needs” versus “wants” using different kinds of foods at the grocery store. For example…you need milk for strong bones…but soft drinks are a want.

Pay by the ChoreMake a list of all the chores that need to

be done around your house…weeding the garden, washing the car, mowing the lawn, sweeping the garage or dusting the living room. Designate a dollar amount next to each chore. Children can decide which chore they want to do. This gives your children the experience of making a decision and deciding how much money they want to earn…while taking pride in their work.

Bank on KnowledgeBring your children to the bank and show

them how transactions work. Ask a personal banker how the bank operates…how money generates interest…and how they can have an Astro-Saver saving account to save their money.

Planning on a BudgetAsk your child to pretend they are in

charge of planning a birthday party for their friend…and they can invite four other friends. They need to estimate the cost of the party…including invitations, decorations,

food, entertainment, favors and presents. This gives your child an idea of what it costs for a party. How many chores would they have to accomplish to pay for the party?

Budget…Budget…Budget!Have older children list expenses and

income. Under expenses…include what they spend for toys, movies, games, skating, etc. Have them subtract the total of their expenses for the week from their income. Help them think of ways to earn more money…reduce their spending…and talk about a savings plan…maybe save for a car or college.

The 3 Ss …Save…Spend…Share!

Every financial guru in the country will tell you to pay yourself first. Have your children begin by dividing their allowance or any money they earn into three clear jars labeled:

SAVE SPEND SHARE. You can help them decide how to divide up their money, but let’s just say they pay themselves first by putting 30% in their “Save” jar…60% in their “Spend” jar and 10% in their “Share” jar. When the “Save” jar is full they can deposit their money in their savings account to earn interest. The “Spend” jar is their money to spend and the “Share” jar is money for them to make donations. Your children need to get in the habit of donating a portion of their money to learn caring, generosity, citizenship and responsibility. Maybe they would like to use this money to buy food and give to “Food for Students” at The Emporia Gazette or give toys to the Salvation Army for Christmas.

All children get the “gimmies”…or “everyone else has it” syndrome. By using everyday situations you can teach your children how to manage their money and help them plan for a stable and successful financial future.

stylephotos by dustin michelson

Most people know Jerid Thomas as the fourth generation president and CEO of Thomas Transfer and Storage, an Emporia company that’s been in his family for over 65 years. But perhaps as a respite from his administrative duties there – or just because it’s something he’s been doing since he was a boy – when he’s not managing the assets of Thomas Transfer, one of the things Jerid enjoys most is being in the kitchen preparing delicious food for friends and loved ones. In the pages to follow readers will see a different side of Jerid, including his love for food – as well as his passion for fashion.

his

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Where did your love for cooking start?

We were definitely a family that sat around the dinner table and while eating, planned our day around where or what we would eat at the next meal. That ingrained an obsession with food that not only lent itself to a lifelong battle of the bulge, but a love of the atmosphere food creates. As it is said in Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come.” The same thing can be said about food. “Make it and they will come.” Put food out and people will congregate. It creates a setting where friends and family get together laugh, tell stories, and enjoy each other’s company.

Do you remember the first thing you learned to cook?

No-Bake Cookies. And they are still my favorite cookie today.

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What about preparing a delicious meal brings you the greatest joy?

Growing up I loved to sing and perform on stage. I think later in life, not being able to perform as much as I would like, led me to use that creativity in the kitchen. Everyone loves a good meal and I say “give people what they want.” I am a people-pleaser and coupled with the challenge of making a dish look like the picture in the recipe book allows me a similar creative outlet.

What’s your favorite restaurant? Here and yonder.

Ad Astra currently is one of my favorite places to eat. The relaxed atmosphere, freshly prepared food, fun wait staff, and the great friends that join us puts this place at the top of my list. Kara and I like to find and try new restaurants as often as we can so I guess I would say my favorite restaurant over yonder would be a new one!

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What’s your go-to meal for a spur of the moment dinner?

Spaghetti casserole is a meal that we grew up with in the Thomas house. It’s a casserole layered with pasta, sauce, cheese, and soaked in evaporated milk then baked to bubbly. My mother flanked this dish with carrot Jell-O and some French bread toasted with a little garlic salt. Dinner is served.

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What is something you would like to try cooking but never have?

I have never gotten into smoking meats but have friends that do a great job. I have been watching and taking notes but it seems that it takes forever. Maybe someday I will give it a try. What’s your favorite kitchen utensil/appliance?

Like a carpenter or a mechanic you can never have enough gadgets. In the kitchen it’s no different, but I will tell you a food processor can make many things easier. What’s your favorite fast food restaurant?

Well of course it would have to be the Kolache Factory! (In 2006 Jerid and his father-in-law opened a European pastry shop, The Kolache Factory in Overland Park. Earlier this month they opened their second location in Shawnee.)

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How would you describe your style?

Bright! I am not afraid of color and like to make a statement, I don’t take fashion too seriously. What’s your favorite place to shop?

Nordstrom in Chicago is one of my favorite places to shop. They have a wide variety under one roof, more so than any other Nordstrom I have ever been in. Are you an impulse shopper? Or thoughtful and careful?

Definitely an impulse shopper! When I shop, things either jump off the shelf at me or they don’t. I am not one to make a plan. If you could choose another decade to live in what would it be?

Probably the1920’s would be my choice; suits, top hats, colorful pockets squares and patent leather shoes. What’s one thing you are on the look-out for now to add to your closet?

I have a fetish for Robert Graham shirts.

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What’s your latest “splurge?”

I don’t think the photo does them justice, but on a recent trip, I found a pair of studded converse shoes. They hit all the criteria: loud, obnoxious, and the odds are in my favor that I wouldn’t see them on any other feet.

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sallie spotlight health

When patients walk through the doors of Internal Medicine Associates, they are often concerned about their health and looking for answers.

While they definitely receive help on medical issues from simple to complex, what patients of the IMA’s internists find is a focus on education and preventive medicine that will help them face their health issues from an entirely different perspective.

“As internists, our medical specialty is dedicated to the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of adult diseases,” said Dr. Rachel Duncan, M.D. “That means that we’re primary care providers for adults, and at Internal Medicine Associates, that translates to helping our patients deal with their health issues from a variety of perspectives.”

Diagnosis and treatment are both critical to the process of offering top-quality care, but prevention can be the lynch-pin that makes changes in patient lives.

“We have the privilege to see patients for many years, and that helps us to develop strong working relationships with them, so we can recognize issues before they become a problem,” said Dr. Rachel. That can include diagnosing diabetes and helping patients determine lifestyle changes that may fight off high blood pressure or heart disease or working with patients who want to stop smoking but find it challenging.

Such prevention and educational elements add a depth of service to a physician practice that works with patients on a wide range of the health spectrum.

“We see patients for everything from care for colds or respiratory infections to complex disease management,” said Dr. Rachel. “We take care of those patients in our office or in the hospital, bringing our knowledge of internal medicine and that patient to each setting.”

As patients age, IMA doctors are skilled at coordinating their care, often tracking numerous specialists for a patient dealing with

multiple diagnoses and still helping that patient stay on top of their everyday medical care, Dr. Rachel said.

IMA performs a wide range of services for their patients locally, including providing endoscopies, joint injections, bone densitometry, radiology, sonography, mammography and nuclear testing.

The physicians and staff are what makes the difference at Internal Medicine Associates. They approach their professions with dedication and the awareness that they are frequently seeing people who are experiencing potentially life changing events. The compassion and caring they bring to their work integrates with their education and knowledge to create an Emporia business that makes a difference.

Meet Our Internal Medicine Doctors:

Dr. Brock Kretsinger, DO, began practicing medicine in Emporia in 1981. He is married to Mary, and they have two daughters who were born and raised right here in Emporia. One daughter is completing her doctorate at Pennsylvania State University and the other is in her last year of medical school at the University of Kansas. Dr. and Mary Kretsinger are big animal lovers and avid KU fans.

Dr. Rachel Duncan, MD, and Dr. Tim Duncan, MD — This husband-wife team moved to Emporia in 1999 to work with Internal Medicine Associates. Dr. Rachel is originally from Neodesha, Kansas, and attended Kansas Newman University before going to KU for medical school. Dr. Tim is from Shawnee, Kansas, and he attended Washington University, St. Louis, before attending KU for medical school.

The have three children, who keep them busy when they aren’t in the office, and they love going to sporting events. Dr. Rachel Duncan is a big soccer fan and loves spending time with her family. When Dr. Tim can get away, you’ll find him running.

Dr. Ever Ponciano, MD, is a graduate of Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and he began practicing medicine in Emporia in July 2010. Dr. Ponciano and his wife, Ingrid, have three children who keep them very busy with various sporting and music related activities. They enjoy watching soccer, the Redskins and traveling.

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Dr. Scott Maley, MD, is an Emporian at heart. He was born at Newman Regional Health and raised in Emporia. He received dual degrees in biology and chemistry from Washburn University and attended KU Medical School. He began practicing in Emporia in August 2013. He enjoys cooking, marathon running, physical fitness, KU Jayhawk basketball, traveling and spending time with his 3-year-old son.

(620) 342-25211301 W 12th Ave # 202internalmedicineemporia.com

Dr. Brock Kretsinger, DO

Dr. Rachel Duncan, MD Dr. Ever Ponciano, MD Dr. Tim Duncan, MD

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waiting for daddy

by morgan chilson | photos by dustin michelson

When Lane Doty was deployed to Guantanamo Bay, his family had to pull

together to fill the hole left by his absence

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We had some videos. I was so cute when I was a baby. Daddy was here. We had a

bat car.”Six-year-old Hudson Doty slipped one

sentence into his stream-of-consciousness chatter that subtly highlighted the focus of Emporia’s Doty family.

“Daddy was here.”The three Doty boys, Hudson, Landon,

7, and Paxton, 2, are missing their dad during his deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the 346th Military Police Co. Lane Doty, an Emporia police officer, has been in the National Guard since 2008 but this is his first deployment, said his wife, Kristen Doty.

The boys and Kristen haven’t seen Lane since January, when they traveled to El Paso, Texas, to see him for four days. Adjusting to a household without Lane’s presence has required all of them to reach deep and pull together.

Conversations at the Doty household bounce around in the manner of kids, but always wind back to dad. The two oldest boys talked about their flight to El Paso to see Lane.

“We got to fly,” Hudson said. “My ears were hurting.”

“I got juice on two planes,” Landon said. “I was afraid of heights.”

“When he left, we got a little bit of time with him. We went to a mall and ate,” Hudson said.

“Yeah, Mommy’s always sleeping by herself and she says that’s weird,” Landon said.

“When our daddy was here, me and Landon and Daddy we tried to tickle Mommy,” Hudson shared, earning a laugh from Kristen.

“He’s such a good daddy,” she said. “That’s what makes it rough.”

The family is able to use Facetime, a computer app, about once a week, Kristen said, so they can all see each other. Those “morale calls” help a lot, though they are monitored and Lane has to be careful not to tell his family anything about what he’s doing.

Lane’s deployment will last 400 days, something the boys count down by taking Hershey’s kisses from a tub every day.

As challenging as it is to deal with three young children on her own,

Kristen said she’s so grateful for all the support her family has received while Lane is deployed.

“We go to 12th Avenue Baptist Church and that is where our support system is,” she said. “We would not be able to do this. This is our home now and we have a wonderful set of friends who really do support and love us.

“If you’ve never been in a situation like this, you don’t know what your needs are going to be,” she added.

For instance, when they had the chance to see Lane in El Paso before he went to Cuba, finances were forcing Kristen to make a drive there. But a group at the church chipped in to buy plane tickets so she didn’t have to make that drive with the boys.

“They wanted us to fly,” Kristen said, shaking her head in acknowledgment of their caring. “That’s just financially – just the everyday calls and texts or drive-bys. Miss Jen bringing us ice cream. Two girls came and spent Valentine’s Day with me. They definitely recognize we are without a hubby here.”

The Doty family has had to adjust to life without Daddy

while he is serving in the military for a year in Cuba.

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,- c h i n e s e p r o v e r b

As a woman, you are a creator, a defender, a leader, a nurturer, and a caretaker. You are the backbone of your family and the community. You are the force that provides for the future. Newman Regional Health is a cornerstone of the community, offering new and innovative medical services. Now is a chance for you to become involved in the life of your community’s hospital. Newman Regional Health needs you so it can continue to provide high quality health care locally, now and into the future. Your financial support will help provide resources for your children and their families and friends. To help us grow for the future, please visit the Foundation page at

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Another friend set up meals to come every Monday night.

From overflowing toilets to the air conditioner not working, Kristen has had to pull on her reserves and friends to get through.

When the toilet overflowed and leaked down into the basement they had just refinished, Kristen was outside gardening. Lane had always handled things like that, and she was trying to figure out how to get the water turned off. She ran to a neighbor’s house to ask if she was doing it right.

“Landon said, ‘Mommy, did you get it?’ and I said I think so, and he said, ‘Mommy, I prayed.’” Kristen stopped for a moment. “That was the first time I really broke down.

But really, on an average day, she said, things flow along pretty well.

“I don’t feel overwhelmed,” Kristen said. “I definitely feel lonely.”

The kids, she said, have

handled things pretty well. Two-year-old Paxton kisses and hugs the iPad goodbye after they talk to Lane. All three are daddy’s boys and miss that interaction.

“Landon has done really well. He’s noticing how much help we’re getting from everyone else. If they all come away with just grateful hearts. . . ” Kristen’s voice trailed off, and added that she tries to get an open dialogue so they can talk about how they feel.

Hudson, who is a little more challenging behaviorally, has struggled a little more. “Every once in a while he’ll say ‘I miss daddy,’ and start crying and crying,” Kristen said. “I say, ‘Mommy does too.’”

He prays every night, she added, that God will protect his dad.

“In their eyes, Daddy’s bit and strong and he’s our hero,” she said. But overall, Kristen added, “I think the kids are doing fine.”

One change that will happen this coming fall is that the older

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“I need to be in emotionally one piece when my husband gets back,” she said.

Kristen acknowledged that many families face this same situation more often, and there are certainly many single parents out there raising kids on their own. If her family was active duty, she said, she knows they would get more used to this being the norm. When it hasn’t happened before, it’s just been a big adjustment.

A single mother at her church asked her at baseball practice one night about the deployment and Kristen told her, “You do this all the time,” and that was a reminder to keep the situation in perspective.

Of course, sitting down, chatting with a reporter, the

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things that come to mind are the challenges and tough parts. Days and weeks go by and things just flow along, a piece missing from the family, but overall functioning smoothly.

And she’s careful to say that she knows being a part of the military was a choice Lane and she made, and they do not bash the military for the deployment. Lane has enjoyed his time in the National Guard, though Kristen said this will be his last year.

She refuses to sit around worrying about his safety – “he is good at what he does” – and instead focuses on his return and the fact that the family will get a month together before he has to return to full-time work.

“We are living for that moment, I think,” Kristen said, adding that they’ll probably go camping because that’s what they do for vacations as a family.

She’s not unaware that sometimes the transition back home can be challenging. Even when he was away at boot camp it was something of an issue, she said. Military support groups warn that the spouse at home gets used to running things his or her way, and to have the spouse return . . . well, it can be challenging to manage.

But that seems like a minor issue to overcome compared to having him gone. The two high-school sweethearts have been dating since they met in church youth group at age 15 and were married at 21.

Eleven years later, Kristen misses Lane every day that he’s not there.

But the tubs of Kisses are slowly going down and Lane will be home in around nine months. It’s not hard to imagine the smiles, and probably tears, that will accompany his return.

And maybe, just maybe, there will be a little bit of tickling going on.

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Limited time offer. Promotional rate quoted good for the first three months when customers subscribe to our 50 Mbps Internet service. After 3 months the promotional rate increases to the regular a la carte rate in effect at that time. Equipment, taxes and fees are not included in above rate. Incompliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you may be required to authorize and agree that Cable ONE may obtain a consumer report about you from a consumer reporting agency in order to verify your eligibility to receive this and other offers as well as determining deposits and install fees required, if any. Full discounted installation could require enrolling in our Cable ONE Easy Pay program. Customers are required to purchase or lease an approved eMTA capable of DOCSIS 3.0 in order to receive the full benefit of Internet services listed. Other levels of service are available. Cable ONE manages bandwidth consumption of Internet services to provide the best experience for all customers. Peak speed 50 Mbps. Speeds may vary. Speed comparison of Cable ONE Streaming Internet service to 1.5 Mbps speed from DSL competitors. Call for details. Please visit http://www.cableone.net/Pages/Internetaup.aspxfor Internet plan specifics by reading our Acceptable Use Policy. Additional information can also be found at http://support.cableone.net. All services are notavailable in all areas. Money-back guarantee: May only be used within the first 30 days of new service and only once for a particular service by any customer. Refunds will consist of the money paid for the service(s) cancelled as well as applicable taxes and fees but does not include pay per view purchases or long distance phone charges. Current Cable ONE Internet customers are not eligible to receive this offer. Restrictions apply.

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sallie spotlight new car sales

John North Ford opened its doors for business more than 50 years ago, and in those decades, the North family has seen numerous shifts in the automotive and vehicle service industry. But one thing has never changed.

John North Ford is committed to offering top-quality Ford products at competitive prices and customer service that brings people back to buy second, third and even fourth cars.

“When you work and live in a community for 50 years, it’s important to stay on top of your game and to run your business in

an ethical, customer-oriented way,” said Tim North, whose father, John, opened the business doors on December 13, 1963.

Tim, who purchased the business from his father in 1991, has watched buying habits and products change significantly through the years he has run the Ford dealership and also John North Nissan. For instance, through times of high gas prices, he saw people make vehicles choices based solely on fuel efficiency, and then he saw that pattern shift as people realized they liked convenience and luxury in their vehicles too.

He’s also seen a change in the buying habits of women, many of whom came in with either husbands or parents when they bought cars 20 or 30

years ago.

Today, that’s a thing of the past, as many women buy cars on their own, Tim said. The old joke about car salespeople who just speak to the man doesn’t happen at John North Ford.

“Even when it’s a family vehicle, women play a major role in the decision-making,” Tim said. “Like their husbands, they are concerned about performance and fuel efficiency, and maybe a little more concerned about convenience features, color and upholstery. I also think women are more safety-conscious.”

Answering questions about the pros and cons of each vehicle and determining how different vehicles can meet the needs of families with lots of varied activities in their

lives is just what salespeople at John North Ford do.

For instance, Tim called the Ford Flex one of the best-kept secrets in the

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industry. The car/SUV offers families flexibility because all the seats lay down, creating a large space to haul just about anything and when the seats are up, seven people can comfortably ride.

The flexibility and options of Ford vehicles helps the dealership truly offer something for everyone, Tim said.

The Ford F series trucks are, of course, one of the dealerships best-selling vehicles. The perception of trucks, many of which are driven by women, has changed over the years too, he said.

“Years ago, the truck was the realm of farmers and ranchers, but it’s become over the years more of a personal vehicle for people that like the ride and the utility,” he said. “The result of that is that they have become more luxurious. I don’t know that there’s any option you can get in a passenger car that you can’t get in a truck, plus all the specialized things like the tailgate steps and things that just make them easier to use.”

Because of the combination of luxury, convenience and price, Tim said many women look to the mid-sized market at his dealership, focusing on Fusions or smaller sports utilities

like the Explorer and the Escape. At Nissan, the Altima is the dealerships number one seller, although the new Rogue has become very popular and is getting rave reviews with its 2014 redesign.

The mission of John North Ford doesn’t stop with selling vehicles, but the company also offers the peace of mind that comes from service agreements and a top-of-the-line service department. Tim said customers who prefer not worry about service can purchase pre-paid maintenance plans and extended warranties.

The service department has state-of-the-art technology designed to fix the computer-based issues in all cars, though Tim pointed out that one difference he’s seen after decades in the business is in reliability.

“Over the years, the quality of vehicles has improved as a result of competition in the marketplace,” he said. “That translates into mechanics who are computer gurus and who are excellent at diagnosing and fixing whatever is wrong with a vehicle.”

That kind of customer service, along with quality products and a commitment to the community, bring customers to John North Ford from across the state of Kansas.

(620) 343-17003002 U.S. 50jnford.com

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a friendship built in

plein air

by morgan chilson | photos by dustin michelson

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The easy camaraderie of four Chase County artists isn’t played out in big hugs or elaborate gestures.

No, if the friendships formed between Dale Hartley, Debbie Schroer, Peggy Lyon and Judy Mackey became magically visible, they would show up as strings of brilliant paint loosely wrapped about fingers and paintbrushes and connecting people who care about the same thing.

Getting the Flint Hills on canvas. Watercolor. Oil. It doesn’t really matter.

There aren’t rules for this group of plein air artists that meets to capture the landscape that makes up Chase County. Sometimes two of them show up, sometimes four. Sometimes they meet once a week, or twice, or someone doesn’t make it for a month.

Their friendships are nebulous. They can vaguely pin down where they met – or could maybe for sure pin it down if it was important. “Debbie was one of my first students in 1985,” said Judy as she set up her easel. “She took lessons from me in the basement of my home.”

Dale knew Peggy through college and Judy as a neighbor from way back. Peggy had Judy’s daughter in class. They toss out connections, with some hints of a plein air workshop they may have all taken together, but it doesn’t really matter where it all began.

The connections are those born of a small community, but they’re knitted together by the art they all love and by the desire to shed the four walls of their studios and be outdoors in the sunshine (or the rain). Where the breeze wreaks havoc on stacked canvases and a landscape shifts faster than anyone can paint it.

“I’ve been doing it the longest,” Judy said; she sold her first painting in 1965. Dale was quick to point out that Judy’s also been the most successful of the four: “Probably of any of us, she’s at the top of her game.”

Dale Hartley

Judy Mackey

Debbie Schroer

Peggy Lyon

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It’s definitely not a contest. One of their favorite things about painting together is learning from each other, tapping into the wealth of knowledge that each has accumulated.

Painting on the prairie isn’t easy. Bugs stuck to Debbie’s canvas in the wet paint, but she shrugged off the inconvenience. Wind tossed another canvas over, where it picked up some texture, also known as dirt. Again, a shrug.

Dale talked about artists who come and can’t handle the weather, or the iffy moods of the prairie.

“People from Kansas City have real trouble with the wind, and they don’t want to go on top of a hill sometimes,” she said. “The wind is really hard, but I’m just used to it. It doesn’t bother me as bad. The cold. One of the plein airs was rainy, and it was so miserable. We bundled up and we were cold. When you live in the country, you deal with the elements a lot more. We bundle up and put gloves on -- I did one of my best paintings in the back of my truck in November. It was cold, but I just put on a real long coat that I got at a thrift shop,

and I sat in the back of a truck.” It’s hard to be picky when you’re

out on the prairie, doing your best to get that excellent cloud formation on the canvas before the wind carries it away. Or when you’re focusing all your talent on capturing storm clouds before they dump their loads of cool rain right where your canvas sits.

Even with the aggravations that come with plein air painting, all four feel the energy and creativity that wells in them when they go outside.

“When I get in my studio, after a while I just get blocked,” Peggy said, adding that she first painted outside in 1983 during a workshop. “It was just delightful. I found out that when you go out, you see so much. It just triggers things.”

“This is where the fun is – outside,” Judy agreed. “I’ve painted outside when it was as cold as 2 degrees and as hot as 102. Your paint gets real thick, almost like gum (in the cold).” She laughed. “I like to hear the birds all around. The breeze. It’s just so peaceful. We enjoy each other’s company. We can learn from each other.”

“I love all the open spaces, just a feeling you’re on top of the world,” Dale offered. “And yet it’s nice to be in a wood too.”

“It rejuvenates the spirit,” Debbie said. “We get caught up in everyday life. This just frees us from all that.”

The time of year varies the feelings, Peggy said. “Fall – the stillness. Everything’s still and you’re just watching the leaves fall. We’re quiet. What I’m interested in right now – I want to see what’s really there. I want to have a good painting. I really do, but my interest right now is to try to get what’s there.

“I always think my next one is going to be my best one,” she said. “There’s a hole in you when you don’t do it.”

Despite their easiness with each other and joking about who gets paint all over themselves (that would be Dale, Peggy pointed out) and who is ridiculously neat (that would be Peggy, Debbie pointed out), there are many moments of quiet. On a recent weekday, the four each spread around a circle, Debbie and Dale a little closer to each other, but still separate in their paintings and their focus.

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And from almost the same spot, each painting is a different glimpse of the scenery. Of the artist.

“It’s amazing when you go out and paint with others how different each painting is,” Debbie said. “Different styles. Different techniques. I saw that and didn’t see what you saw. When you’re painting, it’s your own intuition in it. You put you into it.

“You learn from others and you hope you can teach others,” she added, reiterating what her friends said at different times. “It’s all good.”

As Judy headed out early, their goodbyes were casual. “We’ll probably see you at the ballgame,” someone called.

And they turn back to canvases, sliced with strips of color that amazingly become the prairie, the cloud-strewn sky, a stretch of dirt road.

The little glimpse of each artist, caught.“I just want to capture a moment in

time,” Debbie said, her gaze on the Flint Hills. “Monet had his time. Renoir had his time. This is our time.”

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sallie spotlight education

One of the toughest times in the Emporia State University college careers of Nakita Elwood and Teri Whitson was during the campus tour they took as freshmen.

Elwood admitted that she cried afterward. Whitson said her school identification card shows her with a “deer in the headlight look.”

“It was the scariest thing in the world,” Whitson said of enrolling for college. “I had no idea what to do.”

The two women are nontraditional Emporia State students, finding their places on campus among the 700-plus people who didn’t choose to attend college straight out of high school.

Neither had been in a classroom, other than to go to events for their own children, in more than 20 years.

But despite initial misgivings and the fear that dogged them those first months, Elwood and Whitson pushed on because they knew a college diploma would change their lives.

Nakita ElwoodElwood is entering her senior year

majoring in sociology with a minor in leadership. She walked on campus as a first-time student at age 50.

“It’s probably the most rewarding but challenging endeavor I’ve done in my whole life,” she said.

As a nontraditional student, Elwood connected with other “non-trads,” as she calls them, on campus. Their experience is so different than that of the typical student that she decided to revive a dormant school outreach program geared toward helping others like her.

Elwood raised three boys, now all grown with college degrees of their own. They were her biggest champions and the reason she pushed herself to get her degree.

“I wanted to make them proud,” she said. “They were my best cheerleaders.”

It became a family joke for the boys to take on the role she held while they were in college.

They asked her for her Emporia State password so they could “check her grades and make sure she was going to class,” Elwood said, laughing. When she cried after orientation, one told her, “You’ve been through a lot worse times than that. Now get back in there.”

The jokes were a beautiful way of supporting what Elwood was doing, and that was taking her life experiences and becoming a focused, goal-oriented student who plans to enroll in the rehabilitation counseling graduate program.

“There’s some domestic violence in my past, and I have a passion for helping other women, to let them know they are worthy of so much more but they just don’t know it yet,” she said. “I had to have a college degree to back that up.”

Teri WhitsonWhitson, 43, will don her cap and gown

to graduate in December to accept an accounting degree with minors in leadership and information systems. Sitting in the audience will be her three children, two of whom will be high school grads themselves in 2015 and a younger daughter.

Juggling three kids with a job and studying was overwhelming at some points.

“I have three very active, athletic kids,” Whitson said. “I go to everything. It’s important to me to be at all their games, even those out of town.”

In fact, she almost dropped her leadership minor because a required class was scheduled for Thursday nights, which is when her daughter usually had swim meets. But Emporia State professor Dr. Nathan Woolard encouraged her to stay in the program and helped get approval for her to take the class during the summer as independent study.

The willingness of Emporia State faculty and staff to work with and help her has

impressed Whitson. Even so, her college career brought multiple challenges.

When she first started at Emporia State, Whitson worked full time as an office manager. She took only six hours each semester for the first six semesters just to stay on target and handle everything. But she never took a semester off, attending spring, summer and fall semesters since 2010. Now she works two part-time jobs, which gives her flexibility, and one is an internship for a local company that will help her in her accounting career.

If Whitson offered advice to other non-traditional students, it would be to

SponSored by emporia State UniverSity

CHANGING THEIR LIVES

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Teri Whitson, left, and Nakita Elwood chose to earn their college degrees two decades after graduating high school. What began as a scary experience now is changing their lives.

get involved on campus. Doing so – she was treasurer for Associated Student Government this year and chair of the Union Activities Council live music committee – helped her draw more from college.

“The first six semesters, all I did was go to school,” she said. “Being on campus more changed my outlook on my college experience.”

Another piece of advice: Just do it.“You can sit there and you can be afraid,

or you can go out and say I tried and I failed, or I tried and I did well,” Whitson said. “I think that I’m doing well.”

photography by JameS r. garvey

1Kellogg Circleemporia.edu

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Kathrine Klinkenberg White was a modern woman. Born July 9, 1903, in Cawker City, Kansas, to Peter Henry and Frances Buckner Klinkenberg, the family moved to Ottawa when she was five.

Her father was a first generation American of Dutch emigres, and a druggist in Cawker City and Ottawa. Her mother served as a sorority house mother at the University of Kansas. Kathrine completed school, entered into a professional career in “the big city” and never stopped.

Her daughter, Barbara White Walker, wrote: “She had been trained at Time magazine, and had risen from office girl to researcher ... John O’Hara, the author, was one of the young writers at Time during that period, and at one point he was made religion editor and mother was asked to fill in as sports editor. This was an irony to say the least, as Mr. O’Hara was not a religious man and mother knew nothing about sports.”

KitchenSallie’sIn

by regina murphy | photos by dustin michelson

SMOKED TONGUE AND CAPER SAUCE

Recipes from the kitchen of the White Family

In this edition of “In Sallie’s Kitchen” Regina shares special recipes from another generation of the White Family, Sallie White’s daughter-in-law, Kathrine Klinkenberg White.

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Barbara Walker laughed as she described her experiences with tongue. “I’ve never tried smoking it myself, but we always enjoyed it.

“Until I started cooking, I never thought about, well, and then when you take off that outside peel with all the little feelers...” she laughed again. “Well, it’s a really wonderful, tender meat.”

“My mother would sometimes do it with a bread sauce, but we usually had the caper sauce,” she continued. “It makes great sandwiches, really, it does.”

SMOKED TONGUE AND CAPER SAUCE1 smoked tongue, about 3 pounds1 onion, sliced1/2 cup chopped celery with leaves3 bay leaves1 teaspoon peppercorns

Cover the smoked tongue with cold water and soak for a few hours.

Rinse and cover tongue with fresh water (2 or 3 inches). Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until tender, from 2 to 3 hours. Leave in the stock until cool enough to handle. Remove skin and any hard portions. Reserve a cup of stock for the sauce; save the remainder as beef broth.

Slice the tongue on the bias between 1/4- and 1/2-inch thick and serve with caper sauce or horseradish sauce.

CAPER SAUCE2 Tablespoons of butter1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons flour1 cup of the tongue stock

Melt the butter, then add 1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons flour. Cook together slightly, then add 1 cup of the tongue stock. Use a whisk and keep sauce smooth. If too thick, add more broth.

When slightly cooked, add capers — as many as you want (Mrs. White suggests 2 Tablespoons).

She writes: “This is great meat, but do not tell children what it is until they learn to enjoy. No Jokes.”

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But that didn’t stop Kathrine; she even went on a flight over New York City with Amelia Earhart as pilot.

The future Mrs. White was referred to at the time as “Klink,” according to Harry Ferguson, who wrote in a 1976 Atlantic magazine, “...Kathrine Klinkenberg, a Viking who was five feet seven inches tall and one of the most stunning females I have ever had the pleasure of gazing upon.”

Bill White gazed upon that “Viking” in 1929, and despite concerns from his parents, brought her to the altar.

Kathrine and William Lindsay White were married April 29, 1931, at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in New York City. They lived for a time in Emporia, where they helped William Allen and Sallie White entertain guests, sometimes numbering in the 100s. Later, they divided their time between Emporia and New York City, before returning permanently to Red Rocks when Mr. White became ill.

Mrs. White became editor of The Gazette upon her husband’s death in 1973 and remained so until her own death on August 17, 1988.

Barbara White Walker described her mother in the August 19, 1988 edition of The Gazette:

“Productive well into her early 80’s, she was in her mind’s eye still a young vigorous woman who was able to work with little effort into the wee hours of the night.”

Mrs. Walker remembers her mother and grandmother as simple cooks.

“My mother was a great believer in very simple things. She wasn’t particularly a ‘meat and potatoes’ type, but if she did have new potatoes she wanted them simple, maybe some browned butter and dill.”

In a handwritten cookbook given as a gift to her son, Chris Walker, there are several interesting and delicious recipes of Kathrine White’s.

This Viking could cook.

“Leg of lamb was always served for Easter,” said David Walker in a recent interview.

“Of course, the fondest memory of leg of lamb for all of us would be the smell of it cooking, the garlic and meat juices — it was wonderful.”

Mrs. White writes:

LEG OF LAMB(American or Australian)

1 6- to 7-pound leg of lamb. Leave shank on.GarlicPeppercornsSaltRosemaryButter

First, have butcher, or you, remove fell (the outside skin). Easier to do with knife and paper towels (pull).

Once outer skin is off, season lamb with garlic slices un-der the fat. Grind pepper and salt over the lamb. I often add rosemary and a little butter to the top.

Preheated oven to 350 degrees. place in pan, fat side up. roast about 1 1/2 to 2 hours until meat thermometer reads 145 degrees.

Meat should be pink inside. Serve with mint sauce or jelly.I serve with small new potatoes and asparagus or green

beans.Carve the meat in thin slices across the grain, not up and

down.(Mrs. White provided a hand drawn diagram, complete

with an arrow designating the shank (upper ankle) and re-marking “Shank. Very tender.”)

“My favorite part, of course, is the shank, so I can have what I call ‘something to hold on to,’” David Walker said. “But it’s very difficult to find these days.”

Regina Murphy, a 12-year employee at The Emporia Gazette, is Editorial Assistant. Originally from Arkansas, she came to Emporia in 1998 with her partner Dr. Andrew Houchins, professor of music at Emporia State University. Regina is a classically trained singer with 12 years of professional performance in the South and Southeast, followed by several years in administration and research. She apprenticed with Fascinating Foods Catering in Memphis in the 1980s, hence the long love affair with food and cooking.

Kathrine White

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David Walker recalls the Yorkshire Puddings.“It was usually served with a standing rib roast, so whenever

there was going to be that kind of a celebration, so we would have that pudding,” he said. “Normally at Christmas time.”

YORKSHIRE PUDDING1 beef roast1 cup all-purpose flour1/4 teaspoon salt3 eggs1 cup milk

Prepare a roasted beef and reserve 1/4 cup of the beef drippings

Mix together the flour, salt, eggs and milk in a large bowl. “But do not over beat,” Mrs. White emphasizes.

Pour drippings into a 9-x-9- or 11-x7-inch pan and heat in a 450 degree oven until they sizzle.

Pour batter into the fat and cook 25 to 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with the beef roast.

Mrs. White has a non-beef version of this recipe for sim-ple popovers, using butter and a muffin tin. Regardless,

“Do not open oven with either recipe or batter will fall,” she admonishes.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

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“Trading on the Trail Since 1847”

620-762-5413 • CouncilGrove.com

401 WEST MAIN • COUNCIL GROVE, KANSAS • 620.767.8475

make it a ladies day out in council grove

Located at the crossroads of Highway 56 and 177, Council Grove is nestled in the scenic tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills. An oasis in a desert of deadlines and responsibilities, Council Grove is the perfect retreat

for the ladies. Year around we offer the shopping, lodging and dining you are seeking. Shop and stroll our Downtown Historic District for antiques, unique gifts, original artwork and so much more. Delicious food abounds at your choice of historic restaurants situated on the original Santa Fe Trail, a nostalgic soda fountain, unique coffee shop & wine bistro, and a variety of fast food and traditional restaurants. Relax at one our comfortable guesthouses, bed & breakfasts, or our historic Victorian hotel. It’s the absolute perfect setting for that girlfriend/sister retreat or a special mother/daughter date.

We love to cater to the ladies year around, but every year we set aside a special day to really pamper by hosting Ladies Night Out on the second Friday in July. (Save the Date! Friday, July 10, 2015, 5-9pm) Food, fun, shopping and giveaways. Drawings are available at most shops. Exclusive discounts and specials just for the ladies. Enjoy the music as you stroll and shop. Our theme is tropical and attire casual so leave your heels behind and slip on that cute pair of flip flops you’ve been saving for a special occasion. Or better yet, arrive a little early and purchase an entire outfit complete with matching flip flops!

Council Grove, the perfect destination for your Ladies Night Out year around.