Tin Elephants Bring Lots of Joy

Written by Hannah PalsaChapman Center ScholarStudent Curatorial Assistant – Beach Museum of Art On November 10, 2023, Chapman Center for Rural Studies Director Dr. Mary Kohn, office manager Kim Wescott, and graduate student assistants Hannah Palsa and Holly Hill traveled to Concordia, Kansas to visit the National Orphan Train Complex. The Chapman Center agreed to…

Seek Special: Behind the Scenes with the Chapman Center for Rural Studies

Malorie SougeyCommunications and Events CoordinatorKansas State University, College of Arts & Sciences The Chapman Center for Rural studies is a thriving center of excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kansas State University. With a focus on strengthening rural communities and advancing student learning, the Chapman Center’s faculty, staff, and students produce high-quality…

Flint Hills ranch life topic of new book from Chapman Center

A new book from the Chapman Center for Rural Studies at Kansas State University is a history of life on a prominent Flint Hills ranch through the years. “Sauble: Stories from the Flint Hills” is co-authored by Patrick Henry Sauble, a longtime rancher and a K-State alumnus, and Bonnie Lynn-Sherow, K-State associate professor of history…

Chapman Center Student Debuts Kansas Postcard Collection in Facebook Series

Chapman Center student social media coordinator, Karen Schneck, was a Horticulture major with a passion for collecting postcards when she showed her personal collection to the Chapman Center director in 2015. This began a two year-long project scanning over 4,000 unique Kansas postcards and creating a digital collection with the help of fellow Chapman Center…

“Schoolmaster Stratton” and his scholars

Although he masqueraded as “Schoolmaster Stratton,” an early 20th Century one-room school teacher in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, Jacob Stratton was volunteering his talents as an elementary education major to rural Kansas students.  As part of a celebration of the Flint Hills for Kansas Day 2017, Jacob taught a spelling lesson using nothing but a wooden pointer and…