Time to celebrate. The great state of Kansas is 154 years old today.
Kansas and I have a long and rocky relationship. I’ve lived in Kansas for 30 years, except for the year and a half I lived in Oklahoma. I’ve hated living in Kansas before. I’ve loved living here and now, I appreciate it. For the first 18 years of my life, I lived in the little town of Courtland, KS in Northeast Kansas. A tiny town with big dreams and huge actions. Kansas is full of those tiny towns with mighty people with huge hearts.
I grew up learning the ropes of an entrepreneur and I always say I inherited some of that entrepreneurial spirit. Many entrepreneurs made their home in Kansas, including the founders of White Castle and Pizza Hut. My own family owns plumbing shop and I grew up learning the business. The shop was started by my Grandpa in 1964.
In fact, Kansas was founded by those same types of people just wanting to start fresh. They longed to “head west” and many of them were farmers. My great great great great great grandfather Harvey Day Tebow came to Kansas from Ohio following his service to the Union during the Civil War. He traveled to North Central Kansas to settle and the rest is history.
Kansas does have a fascinating history. Here’s a few things. In 1804, Lewis and Clark visited Kansas while exploring the Louisiana Purchase. Kansas was the topic of the times in the 1850s, also known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Abraham Lincoln visited Kansas during his campaign in 1859.
Visit this web site for more awesome Kansas History!
As I said before, I’ve learned to appreciate my Kansas home so much! Here are 5 things I LOVE about Kansas:
#5. Kansas is Smack in the middle of the United States! That’s pretty exciting for people like us who want to vacation to other states but don’t want to be far away from home for two long. There are many many places to see in nearby surrounding states. You could even vacation in Kansas.
#4. Kansas is made up of rural communities. Small and medium sized towns pretty much make up the Kansas population. And that’s how we like it.
#3. Kansas State University. So many opportunities and memories made in Manhattan. I left my home and my small town to come to K-State to further my education and boy, did I get an education! I made friends from all over Kansas, learned to be independent and humble and I even stepped into the future when I met my husband. So many things would be different if I would not have made the move and I am thankful for that.
#2.The major interstates in Kansas are 75 MPH! But, I also love traveling the highways through the rural communities, too. It’s fun to stop and shop.
#1. Of course, the #1 thing I absolutely LOVE about Kansas are the skies. The Kansas sky is different every day. It’s so wide open out on the prairie and God gives us beautiful colors as a gift everyday.
Rainbow
So, Happy Birthday, Kansas! Here’s to another 154 years.
Until Next Time,
Farm Fit Mama