My Great Great Grandparents and Grandparents lived in Hodgeman County and I still own the old homestead. I enjoyed watching your series on Hodgeman County.
That has to be cool having the old homestead yet. My grandfather and father were born on the family homestead northeast of Eskridge, Kansas. Grandpa had packed up the family when he and his mother decided to sell out due to family back in Illinois, and moved to southeast Iowa. I finally drove down to investigate, and any old landmarks were gone, of course. Great to finally get there, but sad that buildings were all gone, as well as the Sunflower School building that they had attended. Even then, still a trip that was a good ride!
Thank you! A large portion of my family is buried in St. Michael's. I haven't been able to get back there in quite a while. Thank you for capturing an area I have so many memories in.
@@JohnClevenger-ts2pg I have always felt it was easier to explore and hop off for a better look. And of course the undeniable view from the saddle! Easy to pull to the shoulder and let traffic continue. Yes, I have lived all my up on two wheel adventures.
25 years ago I used to go to an acoustic music festival south of Jetmore called "Sawlog and Strings." I never knew why they called it that, but it must be because it was near the old ghost town of Sawlog. I learned something today, thanks for sharing!
My grandparents lived in very, very rural Kansas when I was a little boy. I remember my grandpa telling people coming to visit, "Just keep driving until you run out of power line poles, the last one is in front of our house."
Glad you found St Michael's Cemetery and thanks for sharing it! Such a lovely video you took with the drone. The gravestones of multiple ancestors of mine are shown up close in the first part, it's great to see it being cared for so well. Hope you rang the bell!
Just found your videos. Love watching you travel where I have always wanted to visit. I love the openness and tranquil areas most of us don’t even know about.
I lived in the next county west of Hodgeman co at Garden City for 32 years. My job took me threw Hodgemab Co. Several times each year. I left the area in 1997. During that time I owned a small airplane and had the greatest time flying all over that desolate area at 1,000 ft. On a clear day you could see 20 miles in every direction. Its so much more beautiful from the sky. Thanks for the flight down memory lane.
I love showing these videos to my friends in France. The emptiness and vast distances of the American midwest and southwest are truly unimaginable for western Europeans.
The Jetmore airport was an auxiliary airfield for the Dodge City Army base wlch was a B-26 bomber training base. Its iconic that the government built the hugh training bases in the middle of no where. Most large citys don't have airports that large. Atleast this one is still in use.
I grew up in Hodgeman County and my father and mother, Wes and Edna Green moved to my mother’s parents farm , Ed and Margret Tenbrink’s, when I was five. My 9 siblings and I attended the school here at St. Mary’s. We lived 2 1/2 mile south and walked to school often. Saint Mary’s Church is just as I recall it. I married to an Offerle boy and we lived in Offerle. He was a floor-covering installer and he installed that beautiful carpet! It was a great place to grow up and a lot more farms and people back then , in 1959.💚❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏🥰
Rolled thru the area on 156 on more then one occasion. In fact went thru Jetmore two years ago. Sparsely populated and long vistas. You were very generous on the death go round rating. I was thinking a two.
Hey Coach. Lots of room for the drone to play.Some interesting history Clouds hang and cast a Pensive pall almost at times......The yard machine gets an N.O., rating for non operational.A heavy machine to begin with but missing parts, a splinter warning, or S.W. for the seat boards, a caution for those standing close by, if the axle and bearings would permit a spin,a K.C. or knee clip caution because of the missing board. As for looks, an F.D. or fine design nod,but alas, we here at the Long Island Y. M. yard machine , private volunteer rating center cannot issue forth with a numerical rating......A good find for the look of all that heavy piping. Successful hunting!
I find this land very interesting. I’m from Southeastern Kentucky , I live up in the mountains where the sunshine is hard to get ! 😂 it’s true if you’ve ever been in the Appalachian mountains you what im saying. I only can see a very small amount of the sky for the trees and mountains. I enjoy seeing videos of other places. I enjoy your videoing and narrating. You do a very good job.
This was such a fun video to watch in the aspect it shows so much wide open territory. It is so nice to know we have so much open space. What wad surprising was the amount of water in the area. The Catholic church was beautiful. So glad to see the cemetery in the middle of nowhere is so well kept. This was a super neat video. Thanks John. Keep up the good work.
At the county line turn around and go west to Kalbesta then go north on Byler rd 7-8 miles then wedt again to Ravanna. It was supposed to be the county seat of Garfield county (I believe). Locals raised bond money to build a courthouse and after completion they applied to be a new county. However they did not meet the size requirements, not enuf sq miles. They defaulted on nonds and for years the "courthouse was used to store hay. It fell in and all that is left are four corners of the old building. Only thing left of Ravanna.
I was told that the limestone from the Ravanna court house was salvaged and used in the construction of the limestone bleachers at the Dighton High School football field
I see you're shooting from inside your new Grand Cherokee! :) Anyway, I just love that open Kansas countryside. I just might have to make another trip up there soon.
Amazing how the church is setting all by itself, surrounded by miles of endless farmland, and it remains an active place of worship. I wish I knew how many people and structures have come and gone in Hodgeman County in the time it’s been there.
The church was closed in 1997. You’ll have to read my long comment from 2 hours ago 12/07/2024. Remember Pearl Harbor. “December 7th, 1941. A date that will live in infamy!”
@ Thanks Dave, I found your comment and appreciate the wealth of information you shared regarding farming in Kansas. My family farmed citrus in the Lower Rio Grande Valley back in the 70s & 80s, and as with farming everywhere, it’s changed to the point that very little citrus remains (comparatively speaking). I’ll add that drought is becoming a huge problem throughout the plains, and even in South Texas. Again, a big thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Wise guy St Mary's church looked to be a Catholic church. Most are left unlocked during day light hours. As a place to work thur a problem. The priest or a church member will lock. When their is a shortage of priests. One priest will take care of 2 churches.
Though our the Midwest and Great Plains in the rural areas, it was very common for the rural churches to be open 24 7 so that parishioners could come in at anytime they needed a word with the Lord. But between our now a day world of vandals, arsonists, and thieves, it is impossible to leave them open especially overnight. And some are locked down during the day if o one is around. Makes one wonder about our society today when a church cannot be left open for those in need. I remember back in the day that hobos and other travelers that were down on their luck would come in and catch a night's rest in a pre. The church saw it as part of their outreach, and the visitor would not damage or deface the place out of respect and appreciation. And if they were a late riser, they sometimes could catch a meal from a church lady or the minister. Aw, days gone by!
Just watched the movie "The Homesman" with Tommy Lee Jones. Takes place in the 1850s on the Nebraska plains and is about the effects of "Prairie Madness" on early settlers, especially women. The movie doesn't pull any punches and after watching this series of videos, it would be easy to see the impacts on mental health back in those days.
@@TravelwithaWiseguy Exactly. Apparently the isolation played large role in it as well, especially during a harsh winter. I could see where one could be cabin/sod hut bound for weeks with little respite from the cold and darkness.
A Fullerton post office? Darn but that is enticing to go check out except for the fact that the Wise Guy has been there and had no report. So I imagine there's nothing to find. Will have to see if there is anything on line about it's history. Great Grandpa was the only one i knew that left the west central area of Illinoi, and headed west. He settled in Eskridge, Kansas, but none of his sons moved on west. But still would be interesting to know.
One of these days you're going to go out there and discover a hidden city, or a creepy, lost village like the one in 1984's "Strange Invaders". Also, I really hope you weren't harrassed just because you were taking pictures of a ruin out in the middle of nowhere. I've had a few incidents of that myself.
I just have a couple of questions, what do the farmers grow out there. And why are there only tree's growing in the cemeterys. Have a great weekend everyone.
The farmers mainly grow corn and soy bean in kansas. In these western parts, they will sometimes grow wheat as well. As for the cemeteries, I think trees are the best and most simple addition to them. Especially for these very small rural cemeteries, a few cedar trees is all you need.
@@BlueFisher22-y2u71+ year old Kansas farmer here. Corn and soybeans are important but they are not the lead crops in Kansas. Wheat is number one with between 7 and 8 million acres grown annually. Only North Dakota grows more wheat than Kansas. For the 2024 crop year Kansas farmers planted 7.6 million acres of wheat. Grain Sorghum, colloquially also called milo, is the second most planted crop in Kansas. Kansas is the number one grain sorghum producer in the United States with 6.4 million acres in 2024. Corn was close behind with 6.3 million acres. Soybeans were 4.5 million acres in 2024. According to the 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture, Hodgeman County had a little over 96,000 acres of wheat, 40,000 acres sorghum for grain, 20,000 acres corn for for grain, a little under 12,000 acres of forage ( that’s hay from alfalfa, sorghum and others green chopped and baled for cattle feed and a little over 2200 acres corn grown for silage. No soybeans reported at all. The western third of Kansas usually does not receive more than about 18 inches of rain annually. Which makes growing crops without irrigation very challenging. Most recent reports for Hodgeman County shows 15” rain for the year. All of Kansas has been in severe drought for several years now with the worst conditions being in western, especially southwest portions of the state. When white settlers started coming here almost all of Kansas was a “sea of grass” with the big blue stem grass growing 5-6 feet tall. You could not see a man in it unless he was really tall or riding a horse. There were virtually no trees. Most were in the creeks and river bottoms. Cottonwood was prevalent with a few hardwoods. Most of the trees we have today is the result of plantings and the seed being spread by animals, birds or wind. Especially cottonwood. Now walnut is a valuable product for land owners, especially for furniture and gun stocks. Those mature trees are harvested and then those wood lots are replanted for future generations. Unfortunately drought conditions also effect trees and they can die from drought. The hedge rows also know as Osage Orange which made natural fences on many Kansas farms were planted by farmers in the early day of Kansas settlement. Unfortunately today many of those hedge rows are being bulldozed out to make more crop land available and to make it easier to move large farm equipment from field to field without having to fold everything up and get out on busy highways which is dangerous and time consuming. Last but not least almost all of Kansas is cattle country. Kansas ranks first in the number cattle processed (approximately 8.2 million or about 23% of the U.S. total, second in fed cattle marketing (approximately 5.4 million or about 22% of the U.S. total) and 7th in beef cows (approximately 1.5 million or about 5% of the U.S. total) on Kansas farms and ranches.
@davewinter2688 interesting and thanks for all the information as well. I suppose the reason I didn't know that about the wheat is since I live in eastern Kansas, and I haven't yet explored most of the state. I haven't seen wheat planted east of the flint hills, but I assume it's all west of it.
Gad, this sure was a sparse area of the county. Was interesting about that Jewish community. Did it ever exist or is it just a footnote in history? St Mary's Church must still be used going by the Christmas decorations inside. That go around probably doesn't work very well because of the missing board and old age. Thank you for the trip, John.. Happy trails to you and God bless.
The Jewish people were looking for a land filled with milk and honey, which in the plain is widely available with all the grasslands for cows and all the wildflowers for honey. But I guess Beersheba was just not producing that.
AN BIT OF AREA TACTICAL TOURIST INFORMATION! THE FILLING STATION AT THE JUNCTION OF US 283 AND US 50 HIGHWAYS, SOUTH OF JETMORE,ALLOWS NO ONE TO USE THE RESTROOM, EVEN IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED FUEL !!
I feel sorry for the teens and children that live in these wastelands with few if any activities or friends to have fun with. Are there even any schools?
Friday October 18, 1968 Friday Night Lights 🏈 (WKEA League Class 2A) (DHS Senior COF 1969 #82) Dighton Hornets (DHS) @ Jetmore Longhorns (JHS) Heroic ending final play of the game: Hometown team leading “JHS 25- DHS 19”JHS driving at DHS 10 yard line, DHS final time out 15 seconds remain. Huddle DHS team captain Lex Bush LB/OL and Kevin McWhirter LB/TB- the plan was JHS would run a sweep left, as the pitch is made Bush to tackle the JHS RB to the ground and cause a fumble, McWhirter to get the fumble. It worked like a charm, by the grace of the football gods it worked. Bush pummeled their RB, created the loose ball fumble, McWhirter scoops and scores 90 yards for TD, and Lex Bush set it up and did it! Score Tied at 25 all, after running at full tilt, 90 yard score, out of breath and still reeling from that 90 yard sprint, McWhirter kicks extra point time expired. DHS wins game 26-25. “JHS VICTORY BIG RED BELL” “JETMORE HOMECOMING GAME” had been ringing that last 2 minutes of their drive, celebrating a victory to no avail! On that last play of the game, We DHS Seniors were pissed off 😡 and every man in the Dighton huddle blasted them Longhorns so hard they didn’t know what hit them. A whole lotta crying was happening on the JHS Homecoming Hometown bleachers. Kevin McWhirter #22 Tailback and Linebacker, Lex Bush #44 Offensive Lineman and Monster Linebacker. Thanks Lex Thanks Kevin, as a proud teammate, this was the play of a lifetime, a DEFENSIVE PLAY of a lifetime. All this happened on the HIGH PLAINS OF KANSAS!
Yes! Six o'clock in the morning here in Denver and a Travel with Wiseguy drop to entertain me at work! Woot!
My Great Great Grandparents and Grandparents lived in Hodgeman County and I still own the old homestead. I enjoyed watching your series on Hodgeman County.
That has to be cool having the old homestead yet. My grandfather and father were born on the family homestead northeast of Eskridge, Kansas. Grandpa had packed up the family when he and his mother decided to sell out due to family back in Illinois, and moved to southeast Iowa. I finally drove down to investigate, and any old landmarks were gone, of course. Great to finally get there, but sad that buildings were all gone, as well as the Sunflower School building that they had attended. Even then, still a trip that was a good ride!
What a beautiful church! Loved the statues.
I love seeing those abandoned buildings and beautiful scenery. The countryside was absolutely stunning. Stay safe.
Thank you! A large portion of my family is buried in St. Michael's. I haven't been able to get back there in quite a while. Thank you for capturing an area I have so many memories in.
I’m glad this brought back some good memories for you! Thanks!
I love to travel on my Harley and your video inspire me to do just that. Thanks for all you do.
No better way to explore!
@ The feeling of freedom and the wind in your hair. It’s fantastic!
@@JohnClevenger-ts2pg I have always felt it was easier to explore and hop off for a better look. And of course the undeniable view from the saddle! Easy to pull to the shoulder and let traffic continue. Yes, I have lived all my up on two wheel adventures.
@@ronfullerton3162 I agree brother
Beautiful Church and such a peaceful area. The cemetery is so respected by someone. I'm glad you gave a 6 to the Death-go-round. 😊
25 years ago I used to go to an acoustic music festival south of Jetmore called "Sawlog and Strings." I never knew why they called it that, but it must be because it was near the old ghost town of Sawlog. I learned something today, thanks for sharing!
I was intrigued at the "washes" in the western States. Those would've been our hide outs growing up. Thumbs up!😎👍
My grandparents lived in very, very rural Kansas when I was a little boy.
I remember my grandpa telling people coming to visit, "Just keep driving until you run out of power line poles, the last one is in front of our house."
These videos always make me miss home. I grew up in the small town of Amsterdam on the Missouri and Kansas state line.
I now live in LaCygne Ks not too far from Amsterdam. Been here for 34 years now. God bless.
@@deborahross9974 I worked in LaCygne for a short period of time, but it has been many years since I was last through there.
I used to hang around Amsterdam when my sister lived there. Still got a nephew out there.
Glad you found St Michael's Cemetery and thanks for sharing it! Such a lovely video you took with the drone.
The gravestones of multiple ancestors of mine are shown up close in the first part, it's great to see it being cared for so well.
Hope you rang the bell!
Thank you! I should’ve rang the bell 😂
Just found your videos. Love watching you travel where I have always wanted to visit. I love the openness and tranquil areas most of us don’t even know about.
Love St. Mary's Church and cemetery and the directory to the "neighborhood" in front. Beautiful areas in this county.
I lived in the next county west of Hodgeman co at Garden City for 32 years. My job took me threw Hodgemab Co. Several times each year. I left the area in 1997. During that time I owned a small airplane and had the greatest time flying all over that desolate area at 1,000 ft. On a clear day you could see 20 miles in every direction. Its so much more beautiful from the sky. Thanks for the flight down memory lane.
Thank you.
I love showing these videos to my friends in France. The emptiness and vast distances of the American midwest and southwest are truly unimaginable for western Europeans.
The Jetmore airport was an auxiliary airfield for the Dodge City Army base wlch was a B-26 bomber training base. Its iconic that the government built the hugh training bases in the middle of no where. Most large citys don't have airports that large. Atleast this one is still in use.
Wonderful, as always. Thank you Coach.
The flatness of the planes, and the size of the it all. thank you and all the God- fearing folks out there in Kansas
Danke!
Much appreciated!!!
I grew up in Hodgeman County and my father and mother, Wes and Edna Green moved to my mother’s parents farm , Ed and Margret Tenbrink’s, when I was five. My 9 siblings and I attended the school here at St. Mary’s. We lived 2 1/2 mile south and walked to school often. Saint Mary’s Church is just as I recall it. I married to an Offerle boy and we lived in Offerle. He was a floor-covering installer and he installed that beautiful carpet! It was a great place to grow up and a lot more farms and people back then , in 1959.💚❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏🥰
I Enjoy your videos.
Rolled thru the area on 156 on more then one occasion. In fact went thru Jetmore two years ago. Sparsely populated and long vistas. You were very generous on the death go round rating. I was thinking a two.
Hey Coach. Lots of room for the drone to play.Some interesting history Clouds hang and cast a Pensive pall almost at times......The yard machine gets an N.O., rating for non operational.A heavy machine to begin with but missing parts, a splinter warning, or S.W. for the seat boards, a caution for those standing close by, if the axle and bearings would permit a spin,a K.C. or knee clip caution because of the missing board. As for looks, an F.D. or fine design nod,but alas, we here at the Long Island Y. M. yard machine , private volunteer rating center cannot issue forth with a numerical rating......A good find for the look of all that heavy piping. Successful hunting!
I find this land very interesting. I’m from Southeastern Kentucky , I live up in the mountains where the sunshine is hard to get ! 😂 it’s true if you’ve ever been in the Appalachian mountains you what im saying. I only can see a very small amount of the sky for the trees and mountains. I enjoy seeing videos of other places. I enjoy your videoing and narrating. You do a very good job.
This was such a fun video to watch in the aspect it shows so much wide open territory. It is so nice to know we have so much open space. What wad surprising was the amount of water in the area. The Catholic church was beautiful. So glad to see the cemetery in the middle of nowhere is so well kept. This was a super neat video. Thanks John. Keep up the good work.
Didn't see any animals of any kind. No birds, etc. What's up with that?
Just two cows at the end
At the county line turn around and go west to Kalbesta then go north on Byler rd 7-8 miles then wedt again to Ravanna. It was supposed to be the county seat of Garfield county (I believe). Locals raised bond money to build a courthouse and after completion they applied to be a new county. However they did not meet the size requirements, not enuf sq miles. They defaulted on nonds and for years the "courthouse was used to store hay. It fell in and all that is left are four corners of the old building. Only thing left of Ravanna.
I was told that the limestone from the Ravanna court house was salvaged and used in the construction of the limestone bleachers at the Dighton High School football field
@@RoscoePecoleTrain-qp6vs that may be. All that's there now are 4 corners
KALVESTA (correct spelling) Finney County
Keyboard Typo “B & V”
next to each other
@@RoscoePecoleTrain-qp6vs exactly what I was told during the Dighton HS expansion and refurbishment.
Thank you as always. That was a perfect way to end that adventure.
I see you're shooting from inside your new Grand Cherokee! :)
Anyway, I just love that open Kansas countryside. I just might have to make another trip up there soon.
Yes I’m loving it! Lots of open space in western Kansas. Often just a county seat and not much else in terms of population.
Hodgeman county ranks 102 in population out of 105 in Kansas.
The lake is beautiful ❤ 7:07
Agreed 😊
Amazing how the church is setting all by itself, surrounded by miles of endless farmland, and it remains an active place of worship. I wish I knew how many people and structures have come and gone in Hodgeman County in the time it’s been there.
The church was closed in 1997. You’ll have to read my long comment from 2 hours ago 12/07/2024. Remember Pearl Harbor. “December 7th, 1941. A date that will live in infamy!”
@ Thanks Dave, I found your comment and appreciate the wealth of information you shared regarding farming in Kansas. My family farmed citrus in the Lower Rio Grande Valley back in the 70s & 80s, and as with farming everywhere, it’s changed to the point that very little citrus remains (comparatively speaking). I’ll add that drought is becoming a huge problem throughout the plains, and even in South Texas. Again, a big thanks for sharing your knowledge!
There is also a Horse Thief canyon at Kanopolis lake… much bigger, folks hike and ride horses out there
Good video!
Those old death-go-rounds were actually intended to teach children to avoid moving parts.😅😮😅
ON THE ROAD WITH A WISEGUY....THANKS COACH 😅
Excellent !
Very good job!!!
Thank you so much!
Wise guy St Mary's church looked to be a Catholic church. Most are left unlocked during day light hours. As a place to work thur a problem. The priest or a church member will lock. When their is a shortage of priests. One priest will take care of 2 churches.
Though our the Midwest and Great Plains in the rural areas, it was very common for the rural churches to be open 24 7 so that parishioners could come in at anytime they needed a word with the Lord. But between our now a day world of vandals, arsonists, and thieves, it is impossible to leave them open especially overnight. And some are locked down during the day if o one is around. Makes one wonder about our society today when a church cannot be left open for those in need. I remember back in the day that hobos and other travelers that were down on their luck would come in and catch a night's rest in a pre. The church saw it as part of their outreach, and the visitor would not damage or deface the place out of respect and appreciation. And if they were a late riser, they sometimes could catch a meal from a church lady or the minister. Aw, days gone by!
Another comment said it was closed in 1997, but glad it is still looked after. Many closed churches are sold off or torn down.
Do you get overwhelmed once you get back to a big city after these places?
This is MY kind of Kansas. Thank you for this.
From Delhi, India. Sad to see how these communities just abandoned their once loved dwellings and left.
Just watched the movie "The Homesman" with Tommy Lee Jones. Takes place in the 1850s on the Nebraska plains and is about the effects of "Prairie Madness" on early settlers, especially women. The movie doesn't pull any punches and after watching this series of videos, it would be easy to see the impacts on mental health back in those days.
Such a tough time and place to try and make a living!
@@TravelwithaWiseguy Exactly. Apparently the isolation played large role in it as well, especially during a harsh winter. I could see where one could be cabin/sod hut bound for weeks with little respite from the cold and darkness.
Keep them coming in pal.brill.all best from us is in shewood forest england.ta
A Fullerton post office? Darn but that is enticing to go check out except for the fact that the Wise Guy has been there and had no report. So I imagine there's nothing to find. Will have to see if there is anything on line about it's history. Great Grandpa was the only one i knew that left the west central area of Illinoi, and headed west. He settled in Eskridge, Kansas, but none of his sons moved on west. But still would be interesting to know.
One of these days you're going to go out there and discover a hidden city, or a creepy, lost village like the one in 1984's "Strange Invaders". Also, I really hope you weren't harrassed just because you were taking pictures of a ruin out in the middle of nowhere. I've had a few incidents of that myself.
I just have a couple of questions, what do the farmers grow out there. And why are there only tree's growing in the cemeterys. Have a great weekend everyone.
The farmers mainly grow corn and soy bean in kansas. In these western parts, they will sometimes grow wheat as well. As for the cemeteries, I think trees are the best and most simple addition to them. Especially for these very small rural cemeteries, a few cedar trees is all you need.
Kansas is known as the wheat state
@@stevehilliard1495 North Dakota too
@@BlueFisher22-y2u71+ year old Kansas farmer here. Corn and soybeans are important but they are not the lead crops in Kansas. Wheat is number one with between 7 and 8 million acres grown annually. Only North Dakota grows more wheat than Kansas. For the 2024 crop year Kansas farmers planted 7.6 million acres of wheat. Grain Sorghum, colloquially also called milo, is the second most planted crop in Kansas. Kansas is the number one grain sorghum producer in the United States with 6.4 million acres in 2024. Corn was close behind with 6.3 million acres. Soybeans were 4.5 million acres in 2024. According to the 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture, Hodgeman County had a little over 96,000 acres of wheat, 40,000 acres sorghum for grain, 20,000 acres corn for for grain, a little under 12,000 acres of forage ( that’s hay from alfalfa, sorghum and others green chopped and baled for cattle feed and a little over 2200 acres corn grown for silage. No soybeans reported at all. The western third of Kansas usually does not receive more than about 18 inches of rain annually. Which makes growing crops without irrigation very challenging. Most recent reports for Hodgeman County shows 15” rain for the year. All of Kansas has been in severe drought for several years now with the worst conditions being in western, especially southwest portions of the state.
When white settlers started coming here almost all of Kansas was a “sea of grass” with the big blue stem grass growing 5-6 feet tall. You could not see a man in it unless he was really tall or riding a horse. There were virtually no trees. Most were in the creeks and river bottoms. Cottonwood was prevalent with a few hardwoods. Most of the trees we have today is the result of plantings and the seed being spread by animals, birds or wind. Especially cottonwood. Now walnut is a valuable product for land owners, especially for furniture and gun stocks. Those mature trees are harvested and then those wood lots are replanted for future generations. Unfortunately drought conditions also effect trees and they can die from drought. The hedge rows also know as Osage Orange which made natural fences on many Kansas farms were planted by farmers in the early day of Kansas settlement. Unfortunately today many of those hedge rows are being bulldozed out to make more crop land available and to make it easier to move large farm equipment from field to field without having to fold everything up and get out on busy highways which is dangerous and time consuming. Last but not least almost all of Kansas is cattle country. Kansas ranks first in the number cattle processed (approximately 8.2 million or about 23% of the U.S. total, second in fed cattle marketing (approximately 5.4 million or about 22% of the U.S. total) and 7th in beef cows (approximately 1.5 million or about 5% of the U.S. total) on Kansas farms and ranches.
@davewinter2688 interesting and thanks for all the information as well. I suppose the reason I didn't know that about the wheat is since I live in eastern Kansas, and I haven't yet explored most of the state. I haven't seen wheat planted east of the flint hills, but I assume it's all west of it.
Gad, this sure was a sparse area of the county. Was interesting about that Jewish community. Did it ever exist or is it just a footnote in history? St Mary's Church must still be used going by the Christmas decorations inside. That go around probably doesn't work very well because of the missing board and old age. Thank you for the trip, John.. Happy trails to you and God bless.
A good small add on to the film when the death go round only went a couple of turns would have been "womp womp waaamp"
Thinking about a pheasant hunt near quinter maybe more birds there
6:30 this is definitely the area courage the cowardly dog is from
You have a gorgeous smile.
The Jewish people were looking for a land filled with milk and honey, which in the plain is widely available with all the grasslands for cows and all the wildflowers for honey. But I guess Beersheba was just not producing that.
AN BIT OF AREA TACTICAL TOURIST INFORMATION!
THE FILLING STATION AT THE JUNCTION OF
US 283 AND US 50 HIGHWAYS, SOUTH OF JETMORE,ALLOWS NO ONE TO USE THE RESTROOM, EVEN IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED FUEL !!
does hodgeman County have anything to do with hodgeman waders?
Part Deux
6 out of 10 hu?...........yikes
I feel sorry for the teens and children that live in these wastelands with few if any activities or friends to have fun with. Are there even any schools?
There is an excellent school in Hodgeman County, with plenty of activities and sports. The kids love it here!
And then they occupied Palestine
Friday October 18, 1968
Friday Night Lights 🏈
(WKEA League Class 2A)
(DHS Senior COF 1969 #82)
Dighton Hornets (DHS)
@ Jetmore Longhorns (JHS)
Heroic ending final play of the game: Hometown team leading “JHS 25- DHS 19”JHS driving at DHS 10 yard line, DHS final time out 15 seconds remain. Huddle DHS team captain Lex Bush LB/OL and Kevin McWhirter LB/TB- the plan was JHS would run a sweep left, as the pitch is made Bush to tackle the JHS RB to the ground and cause a fumble, McWhirter to get the fumble. It worked like a charm, by the grace of the football gods it worked. Bush pummeled their RB, created the loose ball fumble, McWhirter scoops and scores 90 yards for TD, and Lex Bush set it up and did it! Score Tied at 25 all, after running at full tilt, 90 yard score, out of breath and still reeling from that 90 yard sprint, McWhirter kicks extra point time expired. DHS wins game 26-25. “JHS VICTORY BIG RED BELL” “JETMORE HOMECOMING GAME” had been ringing that last 2 minutes of their drive, celebrating a victory to no avail! On that last play of the game, We DHS Seniors were pissed off 😡 and every man in the Dighton huddle blasted them Longhorns so hard they didn’t know what hit them. A whole lotta crying was happening on the JHS Homecoming Hometown bleachers. Kevin McWhirter #22 Tailback and Linebacker, Lex Bush #44 Offensive Lineman and Monster Linebacker. Thanks Lex Thanks Kevin, as a proud teammate, this was the play of a lifetime, a DEFENSIVE PLAY of a lifetime. All this happened on the HIGH PLAINS OF KANSAS!