Who knew!

Art By Sandra Boynton

Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I felt little or no pain in walking.  I hardly used my cane
all day.  I even walked more than my usual step count.  Steve says it's because I've been out-of-the-house so much this week.  I have volunteered 3 days in a row at Botanica Gardens Wichita, equaling 12 hours total.  I think I mentioned before that I volunteer there.  My usual shift is on Mondays from 1-5pm at the Admissions Desk. I filled in on the other 2 days.  Sometimes I work with another volunteer, sometimes I don't.
Next week I start my volunteer adventure at the Downtown Senior Services Center in Delano, KS (a town across the river from Wichita).  I'm going to facilitate a group discussing trivia.  Our first get-together is next Wednesday with a follow-up the next Wednesday.  I'm leaving the final direction of what we do up to the participants.  We may end up discussing Wichita and/or Kansas trivia, or share reflections/reminisces of our lives or simply gather to play Trivial Pursuit.  It's the first time the center has ever tried something like this so I'll just have to wait and see.  I'll keep you posted!
I'm now a WSU Shocker!  Wichita State University offers free, non-degree courses to people sixty-years-of-age and older each semester.  I've enrolled in the class, "Chisholm Trail" to be held on Fridays in October and taught by Beccy Tanner, WSU lecturer in history and Kansas History reporter at the Wichita Eagle Newspaper.  
From course description: "Kansas is considered  to be the crossroads for many of the historic trails of the Old West.  In its heyday from the late 1860's through the 1880's, the Chisholm Trail served as a cattle pipeline from Texas ranches to the stockyards and railroad hubs in Abilene, Newton, Wichita, and Caldwell.  It was an economic lifeline for Kansas, helping tp promote the railroad and making ranching profitable.  This next year, 2017, makes the 150th anniversary of the trail.  Class topics include the history and folklore surrounding the trail, famous characters, locations, and the long-lasting legacy the trail holds for the nation."  (Reminds me of my old Morningside College history class days, but where is Dr. Husband?)

Legacy Of Chisholm Trail  (From Wikipedia)

At least 27 movies have depicted a fictional account of the first drive along the Chisholm Trail, including: The Texans (1938), directed byJames P. Hogan and starring Randolph Scott and Joan Bennett, and Red River (1948), directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. Walter Brennan co-starred in both films in his usual grizzled-old-coot role.

The trail is the subject of at least two pop songs: "The Last Cowboy Song" written and recorded by Ed Bruce, also performed by The Highwaymen, and the song "The Old Chisholm Trail." Among those who have covered the song are Gene Autry, Girls of the Golden West,Woody Guthrie, Michael Martin Murphey, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, and Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), although his version was titled "When I Was A Cowboy".

In 1964, Texas rancher Charles Schreiner, III, founded the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. The next year, he conducted a cattle drive from San Antonio to Dodge City with a stop at the LBJ Ranch in Gillespie County, home of then U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. The drive was promoted as a centennial commemoration of the original Chisholm Trail drives.

• Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, located in Duncan, Oklahoma, is an interactive museum dedicated to the history of the trail. It has a large monument depicting a scene from the Chisholm Trail cattle drive, as well as a trail walkway.

On the second weekend of June, Lockhart, Texas in Caldwell County holds a four-day festival to celebrate its place on the Chisholm Trail. Newton, Kansas also holds a three- to four-day festival combining it with the annual Fourth of July celebration.

On September 26, 2009, a historical marker on the Chisholm Trail was unveiled at the site of Red River Station in Montague County. The 5.5-foot concrete marker is the last of 12 erected in Montague County as part of a joint project of the Texas Lakes and Trails and the Montague County Historical Commission to outline the Chisholm Trail (as said inWichita Falls Times Record News).

In 2014, the North Texas Tollway Authority constructed a 26-mile-long toll road named after the trail, the Chisholm Trail Parkway connecting downtown Fort Worth, Texas to the nearby city of Cleburne.

This weekend, the United States observes Labor Day.  The public holiday, held on the first Monday in September, honors the American labor movement and contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country.  Thank you, Workers!

Celebrate on September 5th!


Take care and be safe!  Until next time - Theresa