Field Trip Thursday: The Little Apple

  We hadn't seen my folks for a while and we needed a Ducky and Gigi fix, so we altered our field trip day so they could go with us!  One of my folks' favorite treat places is getting ice cream at K-State, we used that as a base and built our trip around it and headed to Manhattan.  The place that best fit what we are learning now is Goodnow House. Goodnow House was built in 1859 by Isaac and Ellen Goodnow.  The Goodnows were abolitionists from New England and moved out here with the New England Emigrant Aid Society.  Isaac started the pre-cursor to K-State University, Bluemont College.  The museum was small but exemplary because all the artifacts that were in it were used in the household either by the Goodnows or their adopted daughter. 

  Oh how pretty this house was, and how I think I would have enjoyed the Goodnows.  They shared similar interests...

In fact, the house would be a reflection of our lives, but just 150 years ago.  Books galore, artifacts - yep:) 
  While there was a lot of hands off type of areas, there was a section where our guide let the kids try out some period artifacts...

  The high point, just for this homeschooling momma, was when we walked by this picture of a soldier with excellent hair on a horse, and Bubby says to me, "Mom, do you know who that is?".  I answer, "George Custer?".  Bubby, "No, Mom, that's Nathaniel Lyons."  Our guide was pretty shocked, and actually so was I.  It was indeed Nathaniel Lyons who we had learned about when we visited the Wilson's Creek battlefield.  He too had excellent hair;) As a homeschooling parent, I still get those moments of, "what are they retaining?", but its sinking in!  Yay!
  I am so glad we chose this site for our destination today.  Suggested donation is $1 for kids and $2 for adults, and it is chalked full of free-stater history and architecture:)  Even Shorty did relatively well which is always a bonus.
  Right across the drive is the Riley County Historical Society, so we made it part of our trip. 

  The area for displays was not really big, but it was well laid out with interesting displays.  You also can't beat free admission!  The biggest find for me was some artifacts from Sikes' Store in Leonardville.  My hubby's gg-grandfather worked there, so it was fun to make personal application for the kids.

  Our next stop was Call Hall on the K-State campus.  Since K-State is an agricultural based college, you can buy all kinds of wonderful things that they produce at the Dairy Bar at Call.  We started with the ice cream...

and checked out where they process the milk...

that was especially fun since my gr-grandpa attended K-State dairy college in the early 1900s before it was K-State.

On our way out we bought some of the meat, cheese and ice cream that was for sale (they also sell flour too!).
  We're definitely going back to the Little Apple soon.  Every sign we saw (for the zoo, the Flint Hills Discovery Center, art museum, etc...) was met with "oooh, I want to go there!" And, well, I have some genealogy research that I need to make an appointment for as well!

Finding William & Field Trip Thursday

  This morning I woke up to Shorty cupping my face in his hands, saying "Mom, the sun is up, its morning."  Me, "mumble, mumble".  Shorty, "come on Mom, adventure is out there!".  The kid has watched Up too many times I guess, but he had a point.  So up was where I went.
  I've been dying to make some headway in my genealogy lately, but I'm stuck!  I haven't had a new break in forever.  So the other night I was piddling around looking up surnames in digitized newspapers for Kansas.  I found an obituary for my ggg-uncle William Pouppirt.  Nothing too spectacular, except it said he was buried in Van Winkle Cemetery in Leavenworth Co., KS.  Years ago when I first started research on my Pouppirt line, a cousin of my grandma's took us out to Van Winkle and said that my ggg-grandfather Charles Louis Henry Pouppirt (William's father) was buried there.  We didn't find a stone for him then, but with this new obituary with a Van Winkle reference, I was dying to go and give it a go again!  We stopped by and picked up Ducky and Gigi and we were on our way!

  The last time we made this trek, we had to walk in 1/4 mile and then climb a field fence to get in.  Today, we drove right up to the fence and walked through!  Whenever we go to a cemetery I try to snap as many pictures as I can for Find a Grave, I figure as long as I'm out I might as well try to help someone else in their quest for family.
  We took pictures of all the stones, doubling what Find a Grave had listed for Van Winkle Cemetery, but no William or Charles:(  We did find stones like this...

We could read the month and day on this one, but that's it

The cemetery was well kept, so possibly William & Charles' stones were like the ones above or even wooden ones.  I think our next step will be trying to find some internment records for the cemetery.
   Our next stop was intended to be the railroad park down by the Missouri River.  We pulled into the parking lot and were lured across the street to the C. W. Parker Carousel Museum by organ music spilling out from the speakers.  Ducky and Gigi had taken the kids years ago, but we'd not hit at a time when they were open until today, so we wandered in.  They do have a large part that is an actual carousel museum, but we didn't go in there today, we were there to ride!  Rides cost $1.25 per person.  The music is really the old time contraption, not just a cd and the ride has been nicely restored too.  The cool thing is (for the older kids) that this isn't just a kiddie ride, those horses have some get up and go!

In the large room where the carousel is housed, they have some small exhibits, so even if you don't buy in for the whole museum, you can catch a little carousel history.

A carousel from the 1860s

Fun with the fun house mirrors

 After we'd looked around, we headed back to our original destination in hopes of finding a train (Shorty LOVES trains!).  We had to walk the rivers and roads on the giant map...

And then the train!!!

Actually two, the gal at the carousel said they usually come every 15 minutes.  Our train time was not totally over, we went to go eat with one.  Pullman Place is just down the street and they have the whole restaurant decorated in trains, and even a train table!  We tried to get it last time, but it was occupied.  It had been waiting empty all morning, just for us!

 The table top is glass and there's a little motorized train that runs in it.  Um, the train table is kind of  a double edged sword....super cool, but how much food do you think Shorty ate for lunch???
  Ducky and Bubby had been eyeing up a cookie place across the street, so we headed to Sis' Sweets for dessert - we did stuff enough good food in Shorty to make it somewhat feasible;)  Yuuuummmmm! We all tried either their sugar cookies or brownies. My favorite was the sugar cookie with maple frosting.

 I think I've given up trying to plan out a field trip day.  Who knows where our travels will take us next...