Wok N Roll with us...Bob and Teri Along with Atlas and Kalani: Kansas City, Missouri November 1, 2018

We spent the night in Kansas City Missouri and then drove into Topeka, Kansas to see the Kansas State Capitol. Every Capitol we have visited has had its own uniqueness and the Kansas State Capitol was no exception. There are two things that stand out in my mind that make the Kansas Capitol unique. The first is that there is copper everywhere you look, the stair railings the imprinted columns, and the ceilings to name just a few. The second is that unlike most Capitol buildings where a rotunda might have been built and then wings added on, this capital built the side wings, one at a time and later added the rotunda. Most of the murals in this Capitol was commissioned more than 30 years after the completion of the Capitol and some much later than that. But the highlight for sure is the brilliance of the large amounts of Copper used throughout the building that is especially beautiful after the recently completed 13-year 325 Million Dollar renovation.

The Monroe Elementary School was operated as one of four schools in Topeka for African American children up to 1954. It is now the site of the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site. When people think of this court case they think of the 3rd-grade student, Linda Brown. But the case is more complicated than that. In 1952 the Supreme Court had several similar cases on its docket that challenged the legality of racially segregated public schools. At the same time, Linda Brown had to walk through a dangerous rail switch yard to catch a bus that took her to a school 3 miles away, all while there was a white school just a few blocks from her home. The decision to name Brown at the beginning of a lawsuit that represented 13 clients was due to Linda Brown’s father, a man bringing the suit. It was felt that having a man at the beginning of the named suit was a better strategy than a woman. The case took 3 years and on May 31, 1955, the Justices handed down a plan for how it was to proceed; desegregation was to proceed with "all deliberate speed." All deliberate speed later was an excuse for delaying the implementation of the intentions of the judge. But the case was important. It is just sad that it took so long to begin making progress.

Our last visit to the area was in Kansas City. Ever since I first saw Thomas Benton’s work in the Missouri Capitol, I became an instant fan. So given a chance to tour his home and also his studio in Kansas City was a no-brainer. He died at the age of 86 while working in his studio, which today is just as he left it. At age 33 Benton married one of his art students. They were married for almost 53 years. She was the financial brains and he was the artist. We found this a bit unusual. Prior to any painting, he would create a maquette a 3-D model and the depth of what he was going to paint. Few remain, as he would destroy them once the painting was done, using the materials to create the next maquette. Many of his paintings depict the life of the common man but also contain many political undertones. His home we were surprised that it was not updated over the years. That said we had never seen a fireplace at the entry and a staircase above that wrapped around this centerpiece. We both thought this was beautifully done.

On to Fort Smith.