Light

The other night we had an electical storm, and power went out in parts of the city. Had to light the old kerosene lamp. Also, had a flashlight - which is positioned in this photo directly behind the lamp, shining through the pretty blue oil. I was having fun staging the photo with two forms of light. By morning, electicity had been restored.

One room schoolhouse

This is the one room schoolhouse in Old Cowtown. It's where the school desk photo was taken. Back in the days when one room schools dotted the American country, children of all grades and ages attended school together. School has come a long ways from the days when all grades and ages were taught by a common teacher. Notice the bell tower on top? Inside the school is an open closet area where children would hang their coats and hats, and also in that area is a rope which could be pulled to ring the school bell. I imagine it was rang at the beginning of school, and also when recess (outdoor play) was over. Centered near the back of the school was a large wood burning stove for keeping warm in the winter. Also, notice the wooden sidewalks? Just think some of our own family members - parents, grandparents and further back may of attended a school such as this. From what I've read, these schools began being replaced by larger schools as early as the 1930's, but some in rural areas lasted into the 1960's. Many have now disappeared, but this one is well protected in it's Old Cowtown living museum setting. This photo shows nicely when clicked on to enlarge.

Barnstormin'

Wichita is not only known as a cowtown from the early cattle drives. It's also known as "The air capital of the world". Many major aircraft manufacturing companies got their start here. Because of Wichita's airplane history, it's not uncommon to see unusual airplanes like this one. Each having their own theme. This one is called "Barnstormin'" and is located near the entrance of the parking lot for Old Cowtown.

School desks

This was taken inside the one room schoolhouse at Old Cowtown. These desks have a hole cut out in them for a bottle of ink to be placed in (for their old fashioned "inkless" pen).... and individual chalkboards were sometimes used in place of paper, when learning to write. You can see one of the chalkboards on the desk to the right of the photo. Walking through Old Cowtown is like being on the set of Gunsmoke, or Little House on the Prairie, only it's not a movie set - it's historical buildings showing what life was like in the newly forming city of Wichita, during the years of 1865 to 1880. Remember Wichita began as a settlement along the Arkansas River, as a place where cattle drives would stop overnight, giving the cowboys and cattle a place to eat, drink and rest. Thus, the name of this living museum being - Old "COW"town.

Pond (where sign was posted)

It was just peaceful waters, surrounded by greenery. No wildlife swimming in it. Guess they couldn't read the sign.

Pond sign

This was a humorous "No swimming" sign posted at a pretty little pond in the park. While bringing a smile to the readers face, this sign makes it clear that ducks can swim, and people can watch . Tomorrow, I'll show a photo of the pond.

Fountain fun

Taken from beneath a magnificent old oak tree, that casts cool shade on hot days. The view is of the fountains at a public park where children have fun playing in the water. I especially like the lighting around this fountain area. In the middle of the fountain area (which has lots of water spouts) there is a large geiser. Sometimes it doesn't appear to be there, because one kid, or another, is sitting on it. There are lots of smiles around this area.