Category: Magazine

  Every other year, we publish this special tourism issue to give Southeast Kansas readers ideas for places to go and things to do right in their own backyard — and this one is our best yet, packed with more than 150 ideas! Southeast Kansas Living subscribers received the 68-page...

Shaw’s Story Galesburg innovator’s legacy lives on in Southeast Kansas – and across the country Everyone who knew him says Stanley Wilbur Shaw was an inventor by nature. At age 8, in the late 1880s, he assembled his first bicycle, using the wheels from his dad’s cultivator (come corn...

History on Route 66 Old Riverton Store a fixture of SEK – and Route 66 – since 1925 On the small, 13.2-mile stretch of Route 66 that calls Kansas home, there’s a business that’s been operating since 1925 – one year before the Mother Road was even established. Old...

Black Gold 1892 Neodesha oil discovery changes Southeast Kansas forever The Mid-Continent Oil Field has historically been one of the largest producers of oil in the United States. It consists of hundreds of oil fields, spans six states and at one time was responsible for generating more than half...

Art is Ageless Art competition for seniors emphasizes creativity and encouragement Aggie Keesling, 89, has taken up painting just in the last several years. She’s teaching herself, experimenting with colors, learning from trial and error. She even paints over old canvases multiple times so she doesn’t have to drive...

Hidden Gem Mined Land Wildlife Area boasts premier hunting and fishing – and unique history You’ve never experienced a Kansas wildlife area quite like this one. Spread over 47 different tracts of land, the Mined Land Wildlife Area encompasses nearly 15,000 acres throughout Cherokee, Crawford and Labette counties. But...

House on a Hill Peek inside the historic Brown Mansion in Coffeyville A four-story, 111-year-old mansion is bound to have its haunted tales. The Brown Mansion in Coffeyville boasts plenty of them. “It’s a big old giant house,” says Kris Crane, president of the Coffeyville Historical Society. “And there...

World-Class Boats Built in Small-Town Kansas Cobalt Boats in Neodesha celebrates nearly 50 years in the marine industry When it came time for Casey Lair to buy a boat, the choice was clear. In fact, he says, there really wasn’t much of a choice to be made at all....

Who is the Catfish Capital? Burlington or Chetopa? We’re breaking down these Southeast Kansas towns’ long-running catfish-catching rivalry “My God, it’s gone!” Fifty-one years ago, Burlington’s beloved Catfish Capital of the World trophy had been stolen on Mayor Charles S. Foster’s watch, and he wasn’t happy. According to a...

Little House, Big Story Visit Laura Ingalls Wilder’s former home near Independence In its seven open months each year, the Little House on the Prairie Museum welcomes 20,000 visitors. Some are locals. Many are families. A good number are “bonnetheads” – superfans of author Laura Ingalls Wilder and her...