Garden City
Early settlers constructed these tall watchtowers to allow sentries to detect whether hostile Indians were gathering just beyond
the tree line. The towers were effective; tribal emissaries said they
felt a constant sense of pressure from the structures. Further
proof of the watchtowers' value is that Garden City was never
ravaged, unlike Chicago in 1871 or San Francisco in 1906.
We stayed at the other Best Western, but this one was just down the street. It's where Truman Capote stayed while researching
"In Cold Blood," and the lobby was shown in the movie about him.
The bandshell, spruced up and I suppose still the site of
summertime concerts. The shady park in which it sits has also benefited
from improvements.
The old movie house, now closed. Scrawled on a window are the
words: "Save the State." But a big multiplex out on the highway
is so much nicer. So there's another empty building on Main Street, USA.
Did the Montgomery Ward store occupy one of these buildings?
Or one of these?
The house at 707 Evans, now with a brick veneer exterior. I think Dad and Mom were better at tending the yard.
The houses are basic by today's standards but have been kept up well. More garage space would be helpful.
Across the street, a nice park where the WW II-era Gardendale apartments once stood:
Alta Brown Elementary appears to have expanded a lot since the 50's:
And a half-mile east, at 1719 Pats Drive, is the house we described as being "in the country." The city has expanded so much the
house is now almost at the center of town. The tag on the fence gate says "Sears." Obviously, it was added after our occupancy.
Someone added a garage. The house appears to be unoccupied, and is getting quite run down. The neighborhood is ethnically
mixed. Almost half of Finney County's population is Hispanic and about 3% are Asian (mostly Vietnamese in origin), drawn by
jobs in the region's massive meat processing plants and ancillary businesses.
This view shows the Morris house on the west. If I recall correctly, a hedge separated the two houses in my youth.
View from the alley, looking south. A big satellite dish now functions
as a birdbath. The garage roof is noticeably sagging. Pats
Drive is a block south of the highway, so the north side of this alley is commercial space.
What's this -- a scuba diving school in arid western Kansas? What explains that?
Oh, I see. It's their attitude.
