Travel Tuesday: Nickletown, KS

If you know me at all, you know I have a passion for all things Kansas and Rural. I especially, love history and travel. The other day while hauling cattle to grass, CP took me to Nickeltown, he had told me about this town for years, but never had we,  "made the trip"

This is the only remaining building in Nickletown, The Nickeltown School.

When you google Nickeltown, KS the search comes back with usually two topics:  Nickeltown School or Nickeltown Cemetery.

Nickeltown is in Woodson County, KS. Through a little research I found this fun article called Every Man To Get Office in an old newspaper called the Stanstead Journal.

History Lesson:

The locals say that the school was the building that had a phone so if people broke down or needed something they would make their way to this building to make a call. Also, the oil industy and dericks around it are called, "The Nickeltown Development."

County: Woodson

Population: 0

Location:  Northwest Woodson Co, West of Hwy 75. Geographical Coordinates: 37.9964184,-95.8483214

Small exerpt from Chanute Daily Tribune January 21, 1915

A story in the K. C. Star of recent date recalled , old memories in Woodson county. The Star said: "The glory of Nickletown, Kas., is now like the glory that was Rome's gone. Time . was when Nickletown aspired to be the county seat pi Woodson county and 'to be rated .among the flourishing country towns of Kansas. But those aspirations, along with nearly all of Nickletown's population, have departed. Nickletown, however, refuses to relinquish its identity as a real town. It: is going to .hold a town election next spring and elect regular officers. There is one cheerful feature in it for the male residents of Nickletown all of them will get offices. There are now only four families left in the town. T. Q. Allen, Frank Willis, George Cowles and Oscar Mulsow are the men flow remaining. Cowles is at present police judge. He says that office suits him and he wants to keep it. The other three have agreed to let him have his little whim gratified. So the trio all plan to run for mayor and the two losers will constitute the town council. It's up to the women to cast the deciding vote as all three men say they will vote for themselves. Jt is considered likely that the man who treats his wife best in the time between now and election will stand the rosiest chance of getting to sign Mayor after his name. Nickletown is in the northeast part of Woodson county." Commenting on this the Neosho Fajls Post says: "It was probably thirty years ago that the. northwest corner of Woodson county was settled by a colon- of Menonites from Russia. As we remember it they had a town by the name of Nikkle- town. They built sod houses and livel in them until they were able to build more substantial ones.

County Fair Survival Kit

Fair season is upon us!

My mom stumbled upon these adorable "County Fair Drinking Jar" Mason jars.

 Too cute to just leave at the store so we had to figure out something to do with them. I told her to just buy a "few" and we will figure out something. 

Well this came to me......" County Fair Survival Kit"

 Fairly inexpensive and quick to throw together. I had the basic supplies and just picked up the rest at Dollar Tree or Walmart. 

What supplies I used: 

-Brown Craft Filler

-"4-H" Green Raffia

What is in the kit

-Jolly Ranchers

-Binder Clips

-Chap-Ice Lip Balm

-"4-H" Green Mints

I had more ideas but need to save something for next years kit!

Below is the label I created. 

 I was really please how they turned out (especially in the 10min I took to do it all!) the recipients loved them!

Give me a home where the buffalo roam.............

A week ago I helped host a group tour with members from across the U.S. One of the stops was a preserve that has a small herd of bison/buffalo. The herd is cared for by a local rancher and we were told that the buffalo recognize the feed truck the rancher has.  Well apparently its a Dodge. As we started to drive through the pasture the buffalo started running toward us.  

I was a little bummed that I was sitting in the middle and couldn't get as many or the quality of pictures I wanted. 

I think they would have eaten out of our hands, they came right up to the windows....very neat. 

 I mite have been more excited than some of the visitors in our group. 

This picture looks like its straight out of "Dances with Wolves" doesn't it?

A John Deere Green Wedding

I really must blog more, I have so many pictures I have taken and ideas I want to share. I have a feeling it is going to get pretty random.  A friend of mine Kelsey was married in true country style. Here are some fun county wedding and decor items from the big day!

My mom and I were driving to this field wedding, carefully following the included directions. Passed a parked tractor, no biggie,didn't seem too out of place. "Hey, did that tractor have writing on the windows?" "Ya, maybe it did," said my mom. Put the vehicle in reverse....yep sure did. What a fun way to mark the turns to get to location.

My favorite part (the picture does absolutely NO justice) was the bale feeder entrance. 

Then it was off to the reception, same cute country decor. 

Love the brands on the cuts of wood. They also had wood slices for isle decor. 

Soybeans & Corn filled Mason jars...too cute. 

This was my gift to them. I think personalized gifts are the best.

 3-D free standing "P" with their names and date. 

You can check out Kelsey's Ag blog at Blessed to be a Farmer/Rancher

The 3 Cs of Christmas gifts; Country, Classy & Cooking -Part 1

Just take a look at my Christmas gifts and you get a really good sense of the kind of person I am! My family and friends know we well. As I was getting ready to put away all my Christmas gifts I noticed themes and that they truly represent me. A few C's were County/Cows, Classy & Cooking,and you can add in Crafts & Coffee. (I didn't get as much crafty or coffee items as usual)

 I am going to take you on a little tour of my gifts and how they truly represent me! You will probably get to know me a little more.

COUNTRY >>>
-Muck Boots, I have been needing and wanting these for about a year now.
-Work gloves
-Show calf air freshener
-4-H mug
-Western jewelry
-Cruel Girl & Wrangler Rock 47 jeans
-Duck Dynasty playing cards

CLASSY >>>
- Same jeans, but they fall in the category, they are county n' classy on of my favorite themes on this blog
-"Nice" jewelry as in the kind you buy at high end jewelry stores
-Fun jewelry
-Purses & wallets
-Funky shoes from my momma! more about that in Part 2.

COOKING >>>

  This is the BIG haul!

- Deep dish skillet ( it was on my list, they did well!)

-Enamel coated pans (again, what I had been wanting)

-Cookbooks

-Cooking ingredients

-Cooking utensils

Barn Quilts-Fairbury, Nebraska

As were were traveling back from a graduation in Nebraska this past weekend we spotted this barn quilt north of Fairbury, NE.

And of course, I just had to stop and take a picture. I love barn quilts! In fact, I am helping with a local barn quilt trail.

As we pulled over to take a picture we noticed the owners were in the front yard, not wanting to be weird or rude we pulled in and asked if it was ok to take a picture. "Sure" they said.

Well ONE HOUR LATER, we were back on the road! Nice people, we learned so much and were reminded of what a small world it was!  The lady who did this co-authored a book through University of Nebraska Extension, called Quilt Quest. As we headed out of town she suggested we stop by the Fairgrounds to see 2 more blocks that were done by a local high school student.

 

The design on the left is the 4H block from a 1930s pattern and the right is the FFA block.

If you are ever traveling through Fairbury be sure to stop, also north out of town take a left(west) onto Hwy 4 to see a few more barn quilts. I know I will be taking that route next time I head north!

A Thread of Blue Denim

I am not sure if you are familiar with the book, "A Thread of Blue Denim" if not I suggest you order a copy on ebay or amazon! I loved it and have the other books in the series in my collection and hope to get them read soon. I was sad to hear that the author pasted away last week. I meet the author Pat Leimbach  over 5 years ago at an American Agri-Women convention in Miami. She and her sister drove down themselves from Ohio. At that time Pat was in her 70s and what a hoot she and her sister were, telling about their adventures on the trip and then the "situation" they got themselves into in a not so safe part of Miami!

I was lucky enough to see her a a few other conventions, what a unique and awesome country woman she was! Read this article I found about her passing and the legacy she left behind.....AND then go order her book!

Country N' Classy

 Yesterday, I rode with CP while haying. This wasn't a planned ride, I just stopped by on my way out of town. While in the tractor I looked down and this is what I saw:

At this moment, I realized you can be Country N'Classy! Well, I knew it before...but this time I had proof, french pedicure and all!


This year they are ahead of schedule on haying. Usually, they start around July 4, however this year it was June 6 or so.

Raking the mowed grass.

The rake can combine 2 of the mowed rows,since it is 36ft wide. Definitely helps speed up the process.

I mentioned to CP how did people do this years ago, agriculture has progressed so much and the technology has made it more convenient and COMFORTABLE for many.

Repurposed Pot Holders-Tutorial

We had some pot holders laying around that had stains, tears, and major signs of wear so I decided to jazz them up a bit.
Here are the new and improved pot holders:

First I decided what design I wanted on the front.
I free-handed that on the wrong side of the denim (old pair of Wranglers)

Cut out design and pin to the fabric of your choice for the top

I chose to stitch them in turquoise. Some of the others were in pink, I love brown with those colors.

I stiched around the edge on some and then in a star pattern on others.

Then I layed the old pot holder onto the wrong side of the top and stiched along the edges leaving a 1/4 in or so.

Finally, I layded the finished top onto the wrong side of the backing( I used denim again) and sewed around the entire holder.The first round served as a guide to put the back on. The second round closed the old worn out pot holder in so it can't be seen.

Last thing to do, is throw it through the washer & dryer so they fray, trim them up and they are good to go!

Country Wedding Ideas

I wanted to share a few cute ideas for a country wedding.  This was at my good friend Casie's.

 I think that this arrangement would be great for any event or home decor. The pheasant feathers are a unique and beautiful touch.

                                                                              Raffia!