Sunday, December 19, 2010

November 4, 2010: Another Day Out & About the New Home

Still unpacking boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and - who packed that, that isn't mine - and boxes and boxes and boxes and I think that it is time to get out of the house for sanity's sake and take another look at my new home of Lucas, Russell County, Kansas. 

This is one town that is not one bit shy of letting you know where you are . . . .

They even for many years have hosted a Little Apple Festival. 

The new Lutheran church has wonderful tinted glass windows . . . .

And one can relax in a spacious city park!

The school football field is a classic of its kind . . . .

And the modern (appearances are deceiving!) school itself has evolved from Lucas to Lucas-Luray to Sylvan-Lucas, and yet continues to be a topnotch educational facility!

Ah, Lucas!  Where else can you see everything from the World's Largest Souvenir Travel Plate . . . .

To the one and only authentic Chair-y Tree in the World!

Speaking of mysteries - and of course we were - the "No Guns Allowed" sign makes for a good mystery at the Lucas City Power Plant, on the west side of town and on Power Street, no less . . . .

While on the east side of town Kansas Avenue may look short - only a few blocks long - but the sites to be beheld along it more than make up for its relative short stature.

This is an interesting concrete fence . . . .

And an even more interesting concrete aviary  . . . .

Which means that we have happened upon the legendary Garden of Eden, on Kansas Avenue! 

Now there are other more sedate homes along Kansas Avenue . . . .

That have very interesting signage on their outbuildings.  An ode to old radio station call letters?  A math equation?  A Twitter message?  I've just got to follow the arrow and find out . . . .

Why, look, I've stumbled upon the World Headquarters for the Worlds Largest Collection of the Worlds Smallest Versions of the Worlds Largest Things Traveling Roadside Attraction and Museum - Erika Nelson, Director! 

Just behind the WLCWSVWLTTRA&M (hold on, gotta check that back over - yep, got it right) one can find a fallen star . . . .

And one can even find a rising star - Land Pride, a division of Great Plains Manufacturing, at Lucas, Kansas!

Land Pride is going strong even in this economy and makes all kinds of things . . . .


That are colorful, to say the least!

Speaking of color, the roses are still going strong in town even in November . . . .

Which reminds me that I am thirsty and it is time for a drink at the iconic K-18 Cafe!

Open seven days a week, the K-18 Cafe has been around for years and is known far and wide . . . .

                        As is the gas station just next door!

Now if there's a real storm a'brewin', or if you are in trouble and need a quiet place to hide out, just behind the cafe is a nifty storm shelter featuring the new Lucasite Ever-Efficient Impenetrable 9000 Door Lock . . . .

And still more signage around town to signify that there is still more to explore than can be seen by the mere eye! 

Again in the alleys of town one finds gems previously unknown and undiscovered . . . .

While again the signage tends to let you more than it intended! 

Some signage is very important to we two-leggers . . . .

While other things need no signage whatsoever to convey their meaning.  Timeless.  Sturdy.  Enduring.  Artistic.  Functional.  Kansans.  Lucas.

Yes, I eventually found my way to the city cemetery . . . .

And paid my respects to the only relatives I have buried here (my great-grandfather's older brother's eldest child - Helen [Rothenberger] Brichacek)  . . . .

Now art is NOT a relatively recent idea around Lucas, judging by this Art Deco-style burial lot . . . .

Or this one, made in classic concrete . . . .

And way back in the 19th Century they created art in bronze as tombstones . . . .

While managing again to create signage that tends to let you more than it intended . . . .

In France a name like this would embellish a bottle of wine, or water at least.  Lucas might be missing something here!

On the east side of town one finds even more land serpents - or land somethings, anyway . . . .

And though sometimes it may appear that Lucasites are being still, they are certainly not - they are constantly thinking, creating, and challenging one's impressions of Rural Kansas!

The World's Largest Tipping Moo Cow???????