Kennedy Hotel
{This blog entry was titled "Power Blogging, Yay!" but afterwards I ended up adding more to the entry and thus retitling it}
I only have 10 minutes to type this blog so I thought I'd challenge myself and see how coherent and grammatically correct I could make this in a short amount of time.
I wanted to just talk a little about my obsessions; at any given point I am always obsessing about at least three things. Often these things are familiar subjects that I have been obsessing over on and off for most of my life. Example: the first thing I am obsessing about currently is my hometown, Paradise Kansas. In May, my brother and I are going home for my sister's graduation from Law School, and we are bringing our significant others with us. Now Dylan, my boyfriend, has already been to Paradise as well as Hays (where I attended high school and college), but Brandon has not been out there for years and so neither has his partner. I love showing Paradise off to people who have never been there before. This time will hold even more joy, as we will be visiting my brand new baby cousin for the first time. My cousin Brian's wife Rachel is currently pregnant and she's due April 9, so the baby will just be a little over a month old when we are there! Brian has always been one of my favorite cousins and this will be his first child. I've only met Rachel once, very briefly, so it will be fun to chat in person a little more (we currently e-mail fairly regularly).
So, in all the excitement of course I'm remembering things about Paradise, mapping out the houses and streets in my head, trying to remember all the minute details. I think I may have touched on this before, but I always remember way back when I was a child and Paradise actually seemed big to me. With nearly thirty years under my belt, the past seven of them living in a major metropolis, it seems unfathomable that a wide spot in the road, population less than sixty, could ever have seemed big to me. But I was a sheltered young child growing up on a farm, and I remember vividly those days when I was finally old enough (probably six or seven) that my mom would let me wander around town with my cousins Travis and Brian, exploring old houses and walking through people's backyards. Back then, there were "parts of town": there was "downtown" which was where my uncle Gene worked and where the post offices and other business were, then there was the Church and the area surrounding it; there was a weird part on the south side of town with three abandoned houses (one of which had previously been a train car) and a huge limestone house that had been a hotel at the turn of the century. The latter property I'm very excited about because it was recently featured in an article in the Salina Journal, and I had always been fascinated by it as it was probably the biggest, oldest house in town. I've written to the owners and asked if we can have a tour while we're there, so that will be a childhood fantasy finally come true.
Well it's only a minute left and I haven't gotten to touch on any of my other current obessions, let's just say for the most part they are currently revolving around food (I'm on the South Beach diet) and excersize (I've actually been trying and succeeding in going to the gym 4 nights per week).
OK - 10 minutes are up! Catch you next time!
{Here is some more information about the Kennedy Hotel, taken from the Kansas Historical Society}
Kennedy Hotel - Paradise, Russell County, Kansas
As one of the earliest buildings erected in Paradise, Kansas, the Kennedy Hotel (c. 1888, 1936) is significant for its association with the early development of Paradise. The construction of the limestone hotel in 1888 was documented in area newspapers including The Waldo Enterprise and The Russell Record. Catherine Kennedy, who also served as postmaster, opened her hotel in September of 1888. Although she soon sold the property, the building operated as a hotel until 1913 when it became the private residence of the Samuel Brown family. During the Great Depression, Brown lost his downtown grocery business to a fire. He added on to the property and reopened his business. Since the construction of the original two-story limestone hotel building in 1888, the property changed and evolved to reflect the needs and uses of its first four owners. The changes and additions, all made within the historic period of significance, help convey the history of a property that served as a hotel, grocery store, and private residence.
Left: Lyle and Carol Dixon, current owners and residents of the Kennedy Hotel, stand in front of the property.
Below: The Kennedy Hotel viewed from the Northeast (back side of the property).
I only have 10 minutes to type this blog so I thought I'd challenge myself and see how coherent and grammatically correct I could make this in a short amount of time.
I wanted to just talk a little about my obsessions; at any given point I am always obsessing about at least three things. Often these things are familiar subjects that I have been obsessing over on and off for most of my life. Example: the first thing I am obsessing about currently is my hometown, Paradise Kansas. In May, my brother and I are going home for my sister's graduation from Law School, and we are bringing our significant others with us. Now Dylan, my boyfriend, has already been to Paradise as well as Hays (where I attended high school and college), but Brandon has not been out there for years and so neither has his partner. I love showing Paradise off to people who have never been there before. This time will hold even more joy, as we will be visiting my brand new baby cousin for the first time. My cousin Brian's wife Rachel is currently pregnant and she's due April 9, so the baby will just be a little over a month old when we are there! Brian has always been one of my favorite cousins and this will be his first child. I've only met Rachel once, very briefly, so it will be fun to chat in person a little more (we currently e-mail fairly regularly).
So, in all the excitement of course I'm remembering things about Paradise, mapping out the houses and streets in my head, trying to remember all the minute details. I think I may have touched on this before, but I always remember way back when I was a child and Paradise actually seemed big to me. With nearly thirty years under my belt, the past seven of them living in a major metropolis, it seems unfathomable that a wide spot in the road, population less than sixty, could ever have seemed big to me. But I was a sheltered young child growing up on a farm, and I remember vividly those days when I was finally old enough (probably six or seven) that my mom would let me wander around town with my cousins Travis and Brian, exploring old houses and walking through people's backyards. Back then, there were "parts of town": there was "downtown" which was where my uncle Gene worked and where the post offices and other business were, then there was the Church and the area surrounding it; there was a weird part on the south side of town with three abandoned houses (one of which had previously been a train car) and a huge limestone house that had been a hotel at the turn of the century. The latter property I'm very excited about because it was recently featured in an article in the Salina Journal, and I had always been fascinated by it as it was probably the biggest, oldest house in town. I've written to the owners and asked if we can have a tour while we're there, so that will be a childhood fantasy finally come true.
Well it's only a minute left and I haven't gotten to touch on any of my other current obessions, let's just say for the most part they are currently revolving around food (I'm on the South Beach diet) and excersize (I've actually been trying and succeeding in going to the gym 4 nights per week).
OK - 10 minutes are up! Catch you next time!
{Here is some more information about the Kennedy Hotel, taken from the Kansas Historical Society}
Kennedy Hotel - Paradise, Russell County, Kansas
As one of the earliest buildings erected in Paradise, Kansas, the Kennedy Hotel (c. 1888, 1936) is significant for its association with the early development of Paradise. The construction of the limestone hotel in 1888 was documented in area newspapers including The Waldo Enterprise and The Russell Record. Catherine Kennedy, who also served as postmaster, opened her hotel in September of 1888. Although she soon sold the property, the building operated as a hotel until 1913 when it became the private residence of the Samuel Brown family. During the Great Depression, Brown lost his downtown grocery business to a fire. He added on to the property and reopened his business. Since the construction of the original two-story limestone hotel building in 1888, the property changed and evolved to reflect the needs and uses of its first four owners. The changes and additions, all made within the historic period of significance, help convey the history of a property that served as a hotel, grocery store, and private residence.
Left: Lyle and Carol Dixon, current owners and residents of the Kennedy Hotel, stand in front of the property.Below: The Kennedy Hotel viewed from the Northeast (back side of the property).
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