PART 2 - Cowboys, Windmills & Tea Parties: SNAPSHOTS From the DAY!

What a fun day! Here are my "picture postcards" from Kansas. I love the shot of the windmill and the house...things have come a long way since the windmill and sodhouse on the prairie of Oliver's day, that's for sure. Well...maybe not the house, but the windmill has certainly been improved upon :)





Here is an old homestead that we came upon while chasing windmills - and a lone cowboy on a mule. I know it will never happen with a city boy for a husband, but I personally could live here in Kansas!

This is me with Virginia Alexander. I met Virginia when I was in Esbon, KS back in 2006. She knows a lot about the history of the area and she has sent me some great records over the last few years. I had no idea she was coming to the museum today to hear me talk and I was thrilled to see her again!

The sandwiches on the menu at the Tea Room all have names - This one is called "The Oliver" - how could we resist! Well, truth be known, I resisted since it is tuna (no thank you) but Virginia said she was going to order it in honor of Oliver whether she liked it or not, and order it she did!

Here is the player piano from the tea room - only 25 cents
a song - can you see the keys playing??

Here is 1/2 of our table at the Huckleberry Tea House. These three ladies are Kathleen, Tina and Jean - all good friends of my host, Sara Gault. They are all in education - principals and teachers - and wonderful people!

And last, but certainly not least.....the girls of the Tea House! Don't they look like they're having fun....dressing up in hats, boas, white gloves, etc. and sitting down to Afternoon Tea with girlfriends??? I don't think we have Tea Rooms in Delaware, do we? Maybe when I get back home, I'll look into opening one, it was such a fun time!

Tomorrow I'll be spending the day relaxing at the hotel....sleeping....reading....swimming in the pool... soaking in the hot tub (don't be looking for any pictures - there won't be any!)

Monday starts week #2 with fewer visits but more driving since the schools are in areas around Salina anywhere from 10-50 miles. I do plan to get back to Concordia since I haven't yet been able to actually go in the museum and I'm NOT leaving Kansas before I do that :)

Day #10 - The Huckleberry Tea Room

I'll be writing today in two posts. This picture is from my booksigning with some of the attendees at the National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia this morning. The lady to my left (as you face the picture) is a descendant of W.L. Gish - the farmer who took in Edward, my great uncle, after his second ride on the Orphan Train. Very Amazing! The gentleman next to me is her husband and they had a lot of information to share and promised to email me even more...including pictures! How cool is that?? During my visit to the complex, I also gave an interview to the local radio station about Oliver's story, my books and my impressions of the museum and the work that is being carried out there. By 11:45 we were in town at the Huckleberry Tea Room for a delicious luncheon for 14 people. Many, many thanks to my friends in Salina....Sara, Tina, Jean and Kathleen for their companionship and transportation. It was really a fun day and a great way to wrap up the week! More to come.....

DAY #9 - Wrapping Up Week #1

Wrapping up the end of the first week here in Kansas, I began the morning at Schilling Elementary School where my host, Sara Gault (the crazy lady responsible for this excellent adventure!) is a fourth grade teacher. These pictures are taken from her class. The kids were great, lots of them bought copies of the books for themselves, and their interest and questions did not disappoint. This little girl's name is Astrid. The third picture is Sara Gault and I - we both agree that neither one of us takes a good picture....but, for posterity, we begrudgingly did our best-lol! Sara's daughter Molly works for the local paper and she, along with a coworker who writes for the paper came to the presentation and took lots of pictures - one with each child - to have as a souvenier. There may also be an opportunity to have Fly Little Bird, Fly published in portions in the paper for people to read. More on that later as I get more information :)

After two presentations at Schilling and a quick lunch break, I traveled to Coronado Elementary for visits with the third graders, followed by the fourth graders. Students and teachers alike have been very interested and involved in the many discussions that have "spontaneously erupted" during my visits and it's easy to see that this is a subject that really gets people, young and old alike, thinking and wondering about.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'll be traveling to the National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia, KS which is about an hour drive north of here. I'll be doing a book signing and reading from 10-11:30 followed by a luncheon at the Huckleberry Tea Room in town. I'm really looking forward to seeing the museum now that it's completed! Sunday will be a "day of rest" - literally. Then next week the visits will begin again in schools in surrounding communities!

Enjoy your evening - I'll be resting up - and I'll see you on Day #10. Thanks for following :)

Day #8 - There's No Place Like Home....

Oh boy...heavy rains with thunder, lightening, and high winds through the night, turned into tornado warnings early this morning. Then the skys cleared for a good part of the day, only to become even more dangerous this evening. There are tornado warnings all over Kansas, as I type, with the potential for baseball size hail as well. Would that break a windshield? I'm guessing YES. Well, I'll put on my "Scarlet O'Hara persona and simply say, "I'll think about that tomorrow!" Hopefully I won't hear any sirens in the night, since I wouldn't know what to do anyway!

I began my day at South Middle School where I was met by a very enthusiastic and friendly crowd of 120 sixth graders and their teachers. Many of the students had read the first and second books and some had even started the third. Pictured above is my new "son" who was chosen from the orphan train line up to come home with me during the presentation. Thank you Samuel for your good spirted nature and willingness to play along. (I promised you you'd be on the blog tonight, so here you are!)

After a quick lunch, I traveled to Sunset Elementary School for two visits with 5th and 4th graders. Seemed like a pretty light day compared to yesterday! This evening I enjoyed a delicious steak dinner with my hosts then retreated to my hotel room to wait out the storm. Here's hoping we don't lose power....not to mention the roof!

DAY #7 - Wow, A Week Already?!

Today was a marathon day - I started talking at 8 am and finished at 8 pm! Luckily my throat held out. I do think I may have figured out what I am having an allergic reaction to out here in Kansas - Cottonwood Trees. Big fluffy white polen is floating all around and since I don't have allergies at home (nor do I have cottonwood trees) I'm going to blame it on them. Other than that, and my complete disgust with Mapquest, the day was exceptional!

I began the day at Lakewood Middle School speaking to 6th graders followed by 4th graders at Huesner and Meadowlark Elementary Schools and finally, 5th graders at Coronado. From there I went straight to the Salina Public Library for a talk and book signing and finally - after a quick burger at McDonald's - my last talk and book signing at Kansas Wesleyan University where I spoke to education students not only about the orphan trains and my books, but also about independent publishing and integrating my books and this subject into school curriculum.

During my typical school presentation, after talking about both the orphan trains and the baby trains and the differences in how the two trains worked, I always point out that, "interestingly, many of the children who rode the baby trains through the Sisters of Charity at the NY Foundling home were actually adopted by the people who took them in, as opposed to the children who rode the orphan trains through the Children's Aid Society who were more likely not to be adopted." Then I ask students why they think that might be. In all the presentations I've given over the years....hundreds by now....no student has ever come up with the main reason for this difference. Today, at Coronado, a fifth grader named Eli was the first student to ever answer this question! Congratulations Eli, you're a very bright and thoughtful young man!

DAY #6 - Great Kids, Great Questions.....and no guns!

One of the fun things for me when visiting different regions of the U.S. is noticing the quirky little things that the locals don't think twice about but which stick out to me like a big sore thumb and make me think, whoa...what's up with that? Take this sign, for instance. This is on the front door of every school in Salina, Kansas. It is also a sign on every bank here - and I've been to about 7 of them cashing checks for book orders. So today, as a smiling old guy is holding the door to the bank open for me (nice to know chivalry is alive and well in the Midwest), I couldn't help myself. I grabbed the door and pointed to the sign saying, "You know, I'm here from Delaware and I've never seen a sign like this on a bank. Is there a problem with guns around here or something?" With a deep chuckle he said, "Oh no ma'am, no problem with guns, we just don't want you carrying them around!" Okay...... I'll remember that. Note to self....guns okay in Kansas, no problem. Just don't carry one around, especially in the bank or the school - works for me!

So, then I couldn't help but picture the guy who gets up one morning and decides he's going to go rob a bank. He grabs his handgun, shoves it in his pocket and drives to the local branch of the Sunflower Bank. When he arrives, he nervously looks around, checking for any cop cars, then decides when the time is right and tips his cap down over his eyebrows and heads for the door. Just as he reaches for the handle, he sees the sign and stops. "Oh geez," he says to himself. "I can't bring my gun in here, better go and leave it in the car!"

REALLY?????

But then I got to thinking...I've been watching the news every night and I haven't seen a report of an armed bank robbery yet so maybe the criminals here in Kansas are just as nice and friendly as everyone else and maybe the signs do work, who knows??? But only in the Midwest - no way would that work in the Northeast!

The kids today were great! I had four presentations at three schools to 3rd and 5th graders and the questions at the end of each talk were the best part. It's always fun to see what kids will ask after sitting and listening to the story of the orphan trains and Oliver's adventures. Things like, "What did the kids eat on the train?" (the noses always scrunch up when I answer, 'mustard sandwiches') and "What if they had to go to the bathroom on the train?" Let's face it, these are the things that kids think about and worry about. It's a lot of fun :)

No talks tonight....although there are 6 on the schedule tomorrow - from 8 am to about 8 pm. Whew! Good thing the voice is holding out. Until day 7.......

DAY #5 - Let The Talking Begin!

Thankfully I finally got a decent night's sleep on Sunday, just in time, too, since today was go, go, go! I visited Oakdale Elem. for two presentations; one to 5th grade and one to 3rd graders. The kids were fantastic and had read all of the first two books and part of Peanut Butter For Cupcakes so they were very prepared to soak up everything I had to tell them and they had great questions to boot! The 3rd graders had even written me thank you letters telling me what part of Oliver's story they liked best. General consensus: the story of Little Red the piglet that Oliver couldn't bring himself to kill but instead cared for as a pet, was the best. It's a wonderful lesson in compassion.

I was also pleased, while at Oakdale, to have the chance to meet Sharon Benson from the Salina Arts & Humanities Commission, the organization that is sponsoring my trip.

After a quick lunch, I headed out to Cottonwood Elementary School to talk with 4th graders who although had not had a chance to read the first book yet, were very curious about what I had to say and especially enjoyed hearing Oliver's tape recording of life in a sodhouse - complete with rats nibbling on his toes in the night! It was a great visit and I even had a chance to use a "smart board" for the first time. What will they come up with next??? Chalk is definitely "old school" at this point I'm afraid!

At 4:00 I met my hosts at the mall for a peach smoothie......yes, I had to know everything that was in it before I would try it....and frankly the sugar content kept me going until....well, I'm still going and it's 11:25 pm.

After dinner and a quick tour of where tomorrow's schools are located, I visited the Eaglecrest Retirement Community (pictures above) where I was greeted by a very warm and welcoming crowd of active seniors who made me feel right at home. In fact, in a few years, I'll probably come back and move in!

It is not lost on me that today, April 19th, is the 16th anniversary of Oliver Nordmark's passing. There are no coincidences....Love you Granddad, I hope I'm doing your story justice :)

That's all for today....See you tomorrow!