Our presenter, Danielle Hall, will use the diary of Cora LaFond Ulrich Kimble to bring into focus experiences and civic contributions in late nineteenth-century Manhattan, Kansas. Drawing on diary entries and archival materials from the Morse Department of Archives and Special Collections at Kansas State University, Hall will show how Cora balanced domestic responsibilities while also stepping into significant public roles. From her work at Sunset Cemetery to her involvement in environmental and cultural projects, Cora's story highlights how women quietly but powerfully influenced their communities. Hall's presentation reminds us how personal records can broaden and deepen the histories we tell.

 

About the presenter: Danielle Hall serves as the University Records Manager at Kansas State University. A native Kansan and a former archivist with a passion in ancient history, she is committed to preserving institutional memory. Danielle discovered Cora Kimble and her diary while working in the Morse Department of Archives and Special Collections at K-State's Hale Library.

 

Join us on June 28 at the Manhattan Public Library as we host Ron Wilson for a presentation of "Ridin' Trails and Writin' Rhymes: Cowboy Culture of Kansas."

Kansas was a key crossroads of frontier trails and it was the state which helped bring the legend of the cowboy to life, from Abilene to Dodge City and from the Chisholm Trail and "Gunsmoke" fame to the beef industry of today. This presentation shares the rich cowboy history and folklore of Kansas using stories and cowboy poems, presented by poet lariat (NOT laureate) Ron Wison. Audience membbers will enjoy Ron's poetry that he says is "all original, humorous, family-friendly, patriotic, and most of the time, it even rhymes."

This event is made possible by Humanities Kansas as part of "By the People: Beyond 250," an initiative of the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University. He has served as a legislative assistant to Senator Nancy Kassebaum; as a staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Ron produces a weekly radio program and news column titled "Kansas Profile."

Tall Grass Express