Flaches, wide country, as far as the eye can see: only occasionally one sees a railway line, a windmill or a granary of the farms. A sea of wheat fields, sunflowers and grass. Kansas is located in the geographical heart of the United States on the Great Plains, synonymous with vast expanses of pasture, agriculture and animal husbandry.
Once upon a time herds of buffalo, and later millions of cattle, roamed the vast plains east of the Rocky Mountains. But they still exist, the natural high grass prairie, even if only a full four percent of it is left. As in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve between Wichita and the capital Topeka. Herds of bison live there again.
Those who travel further through Kansas will discover many German place names. Almost a third of the approximately three million inhabitants have German ancestors. These settlers founded cities with names like Hanover, Stuttgart or Dresden.
Hays calls itself the “German Capital of Kansas”, where the automobile pioneer Walter Chrysler grew up, whose ancestor Johann Philipp Kreissler had emigrated to America. In Hays, the descendants of Volga German immigrants celebrate an Oktoberfest with polka music.
At the Mid-America All-Indian Center in Wichita, you can delve into a different story: that of the Native Americans who roamed all of Kansas until they were pushed onto reservations in 1890.
Source: Infographic WORLD
Tornadoes rage here
The name Kansas derives from Kansa – as the indigenous people of the region called themselves. Translated, Kansa means something like people of the southern wind – an appropriate tribal name, because around 50 tornadoes sweep over Kansas every year. The air masses have free play in the largely flat state.
In 2007, Greensburg was almost completely destroyed by a tornado that hit the town with wind speeds of 330 km/h. And also the windiest city in the United States is in Kansas – it’s Dodge City with an average wind speed of 22.5 km/h.
Wild West for vacationers
Front Street is a myth in Dodge City. Many gunslingers shot around here. Like Black Jack, the 1872 victim of one of these gunfights became. He was buried on Boot Hill with cowboy boots on his feet and a bullet to his head.
Many gunslingers used to shoot around on Front Street in Dodge City
Quelle: picture alliance
Blackjack was joined by others who died at duels; sometimes it was about money, sometimes about honor. Dodge City assistant marshal Wyatt Earp was spared that fate after his buddy Doc Holiday gave him timely warning of an ambush.
Around 1875, hundreds of cowboys moved to the city with what was then the largest loading station for herds of cattle. It reminds me of that time Boot Hill Museumwhich also hosts western shows for tourists on Front Street today, with blanks popping out of the Colts.
Burgers before McDonald’s
The world’s first hamburger chain comes from Wichita, the largest city in Kansas. “White Castle”, the forerunner of all fast food restaurants, was opened almost exactly 100 years ago, on September 13, 1921 – and thus even 19 years before the first McDonald’s, which liked to claim the first burger for itself.
The specialty of yesterday and today is the slider, a square mini burger with beef, onions and pickles, just five centimeters wide, for a few bites in between. Called sliders because they slide down your throat (from “to slide”) and you could eat several of them at once.
The specialty of “White Castle” is the slider, a square mini burger
Quelle: White Castle
In 2014, Time Magazine named the burger the “most influential burger of all time”. The original burger is available in almost 400 branches across the US, only in Kansas there is not a single one left. But it’s available in supermarkets frozen for baking – in packs of 30. Incidentally, the first Pizza Hut location was also opened in Wichita—that was in 1958.
Gigantic amounts of wheat for the USA
36 billion loaves of bread can be baked from the wheat that is harvested annually in Kansas. That’s about a fifth of America’s grain production – a freight train loaded with it would be 1500 miles long. The main growing area for wheat is Sumner County in southeastern Kansas.
A bizarre spectacle for courtship
In the spring, the little prairie chicken provides a bizarre courtship display in the wide grassy landscapes that is a must-see. The males then hop together in a circle, fluffing up the red air sacs on their necks while stamping their feet. They emit howling, far-reverberating sounds.
The little prairie chicken puts in a lot of effort during courtship
Quelle: picture alliance / Mary Evans Picture Library
Their population is in sharp decline due to the conversion of the prairie into agricultural land. Best chances to see the chickens are in the Smoky Hills. Smoky Valley Ranch in Logan County and Hoeme Ranch in Scott County offer spotting tours.
The quote
“The proudest thing I can say is that I’m from Abilene”
That’s what Dwight D. Eisenhower said while inspecting a parade in Abilene on June 22, 1945. A year earlier, as Commander-in-Chief, he had ordered the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944.
After the end of World War II, Eisenhower returned to his childhood home where he delivered his famous “Homecoming Speech.” The Eisenhowers’ home in Abilene is now a museum; Eisenhower, who was President of the United States from 1953 to 1961, is also buried in Abilene.
Bizarre, record-breaking, typical: You can find more parts of our regional geography series here.