Frank Carlson Library

The best-selling author of Alice's Tulips and other popular novels, Sandra Dallas exhibits a well-honed talent for evoking the past. In The Persian Pickle Club, Dallas transports listeners to 1930s Kansas, where a club of quilters welcomes a new member-and then must turn to each other for support when a startling secret comes to light. "A colorful exploration of Depression-era Kansas and the meaning of friendship."-New York Times Book Review

An explosive rivalry between two deejays puts the careers of comedic Carrie Jamison and conservative Kyle Harris on the line after their manager demands that they make up or get out, and when they begin making amends, an unexpected relationship flourishes.

"The Walnut Valley Festival was launched in 1972 when a guitar maker, a farmer and a businessman built their own music festival from the ground up. It has made the small town of Winfield into an annual destination for acoustic musicians and music lovers from around the world, and it has always been participatory, with the informal campsite pickin' as much a part of the event as the stage shows and instrumental contests. The Walnut Valley Festival...

"To understand why people say 'Dear old Kansas!" is to understand that Kansas is no mere geographical expression, but a 'state of mind,' a religion, and a philosophy in one," writes historian Carl Becker in the classic 1910 essay that leads off this volume. Like Becker, the twelve other essayists and four poets try to map the spiritual topography of Kansas and explain why this particular patch of prairie is so dear. They share the conviction that...

One beautiful summer afternoon, from her bedroom window on the second floor, Jody Linder is unnerved to see her three uncles parking their pickups in front of her parents' house. "What is this fearsome thing I see?" the young high school English teacher whispers, mimicking Shakespeare. Polished boots, pressed jeans, fresh white shirts, Stetsons- her uncles' suspiciously clean visiting clothes are a disturbing sign. The three bring shocking news: Billy...

This illustrated guide to Kansas ghost towns will delight travelers and armchair tourists alike. Organized by region, it tells the story of 100 towns that have either disappeared without a trace or are only "a shadowy remnant of what they once were." Fitzgerald chronicles each town's settlement, politics, colorful figures and legends, and eventual abandonment or decline. Ten maps and detailed intructions for finding each site are included.