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09/20/2003 Archived Entry: "BROOKVILLE KANSAS...THE PLACE TO BE TODAY"

BROOKVILLE KANSAS...THE PLACE TO BE TODAY

It was quiet, slow activity on the sidewalk in front of the old Brookville Hotel today. Cowboys ambled around and chatted between photo shots. They very much looked like a scene out of early Brookville days when the Hotel first opened and served such notables as Wyatt Earp.

Cowboy guys, when they have all their gear on, tend to spit a lot. I guess it's like ball players when they put on their uniforms. It transforms them. People revert to someone else, a pretend life. I remember not too many years ago they "put people away" for pretending to be someone other than who they really were.

Kids ran in the streets in their turn-of-the-century clothes. The cavalry, riding in tight formation on the dirt street in front of the old hotel, looked very nifty in their uniforms astride well-groomed horses. I thought the buffalo soldiers, including Barry Tompkins, might be there, but they weren't. Many wore sunglasses which sort of defied the attempt to mimic the 1880s.

Drovers, men, women, children, Orientals and Indians were dressed in period clothing and posed for photographs. Still shots were taken of small groups. It was very casual, very friendly type of shoot.

Hank Price, the doctor with horse and buggy who was in several shots, hails from Goddard as does his son Nathan, who took some pictures for me for the INDY. They had seen the ad in the Wichita paper and were asked to submit a resume of their experiences, but since they had none, they were asked to appear anyway. They needed a doctor with a horse and buggy. My friend, Greg Heller, was there in all his cowboy gear in addition to 30 or more other participants. The weather was perfect and they all appeared to be enjoying the day.

Since they were only taking still photos, I presume they are preparing for some kind of documentary. Yesterday, they filmed outside Tescott. Kansas is an idea place for this kind of activity. I went to see Ryan and Tatum O'Neal when they were filming 'Paper Moon' in Wilson in 1972. That was a big deal for Wilson and Hays. There used to be quite of bit of that kind of activity in Kansas and a revival would be welcomed.

I left after a couple of hours and headed over to Castle Rock to visit with Terri and Judy, Wauneta, and Susanna. They were preparing for a big crowd tonight and over 30 tomorrow for their Sunday fried chicken dinner. They had wonderful apple pies, warm out of the oven, ready to serve for dinner tonight. They serve wonderful food...and it's always fun to go there and eat. If you haven't been there, you might want to call and make reservations for that.