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Kansas Day Campaign Pays Homage to 150 Years of ‘Home on the Range’

Jan 30, 2023

kansas tourism home on the range

TOPEKA – On Sunday, January 29, Kansas celebrated its 162 nd birthday. To commemorate the day, Kansas Tourism released a video that pays tribute to the poem turned song, Home on the Range , originally penned 150 years ago near Athol. The lyrics of the world-renowned melody echo the aspirations, values and essence of Kansans past and present.

The Kansas Day video, set to the famous song, highlights the uniqueness of Kansas. From scenic prairies and big night skies to urban delights and vibrant moments, the video showcases how the lyrics wrote many moons ago still ring true today.

The video also features five Kansas artists who have recorded their own renditions of our state song. You can watch the Home on the Range tribute, behind-the-music artist interviews, and exclusive music videos at TravelKS.com/KansasDay .

“ Home on the Range has been memorized and sung by generations of Kansans,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said . “The genuine passion these homegrown recording artists bring to our state song should fill you with pride to hail from the Sunflower State.”

Kansas Tourism is continuing the birthday celebration throughout the next week and is asking fellow Kansans to join in the fun.

“There is so much to celebrate about Kansas that we decided to make this a week-long commemoration,” Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said . “This year, we are continuing the festivities of showing our love and state pride beyond January 29 th . We invite all Kansans and those who love Kansas to join in our celebration.”

To participate:

Watch, like, and share Kansas Tourism’s video tribute to Home on the Range on social media here:

  • https://www.facebook.com/TravelKS
  • https://www.instagram.com/kansastourism/
  • https://twitter.com/travelks

Make your own special salute to the Sunflower State on your social media channels. Use the To the Stars format and #ToTheStarsKS as outlined at TravelKS.com/KansasDay .

Record and post your own Home on the Range rendition on social media using #ToTheStarsKS.

Get your official Kansas Tourism To the Stars gear at TravelKS.com to show your Kansas pride year-round.

More details of how to participate are at TravelKS.com/KansasDay ​​

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150 Years of “Home on the Range”

kansas tourism home on the range

To commemorate Kansas Day, Kansas Tourism released a video that pays tribute to the poem turned song, Home on the Range , originally penned 150 years ago near Athol. The lyrics of the world-renowned melody echo the aspirations, values and essence of Kansans past and present.

The Kansas Day video, set to the famous song, highlights the uniqueness of Kansas. From scenic prairies and big night skies to urban delights and vibrant moments, the video showcases how the lyrics wrote many moons ago still ring true today.

The video also features five Kansas artists who have recorded their own renditions of our state song. You can watch the Home on the Range tribute, behind-the-music artist interviews, and exclusive music videos at TravelKS.com/KansasDay .

“ Home on the Range has been memorized and sung by generations of Kansans,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The genuine passion these homegrown recording artists bring to our state song should fill you with pride to hail from the Sunflower State.”

Kansas Tourism is continuing the birthday celebration throughout the next week and is asking fellow Kansans to join in the fun.

“There is so much to celebrate about Kansas that we decided to make this a week-long commemoration,” Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said. “This year, we are continuing the festivities of showing our love and state pride beyond January 29 th . We invite all Kansans and those who love Kansas to join in our celebration.”

Watch, like, and share Kansas Tourism’s video tribute to Home on the Range on social media here:

  • https://www.facebook.com/TravelKS
  • https://www.instagram.com/kansastourism/
  • https://twitter.com/travelks

Make your own special salute to the Sunflower State on your social media channels. Use the To the Stars format and #ToTheStarsKS as outlined at TravelKS.com/KansasDay .

Record and post your own Home on the Range rendition on social media using #ToTheStarsKS.

Get your official Kansas Tourism To the Stars gear at TravelKS.com to show your Kansas pride year-round.

More details of how to participate are at TravelKS.com/KansasDay

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Kansas Day Campaign Pays Homage to 150 Years of Home on the Range

Kansas Department of Commerce

On Sunday, January 29, Kansas celebrated its 162nd birthday.

To commemorate the day, Kansas Tourism released a video that pays tribute to the poem turned song, Home on the Range, originally penned 150 years ago near Athol. The lyrics of the world-renowned melody echo the aspirations, values and essence of Kansans past and present.

The Kansas Day video, set to the famous song, highlights the uniqueness of Kansas. From scenic prairies and big night skies to urban delights and vibrant moments, the video showcases how the lyrics wrote many moons ago still ring true today.

The video also features five Kansas artists who have recorded their own renditions of our state song. You can watch the Home on the Range tribute, behind-the-music artist interviews and exclusive music videos at  TravelKS.com/KansasDay .

"Home on the Range has been memorized and sung by generations of Kansans," Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. "The genuine passion these homegrown recording artists bring to our state song should fill you with pride to hail from the Sunflower State."

Kansas Tourism is continuing the birthday celebration throughout the next week and is asking fellow Kansans to join in the fun.

"There is so much to celebrate about Kansas that we decided to make this a week-long commemoration," Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said. "This year, we are continuing the festivities of showing our love and state pride beyond January 29th. We invite all Kansans and those who love Kansas to join in our celebration."

To participate watch, like and share Kansas Tourism's video tribute to Home on the Range on social media here at  https://www.facebook.com/TravelKS ,  https://www.instagram.com/kansastourism/  or  https://twitter.com/travelks .

Make your own special salute to the Sunflower State on your social media channels. Use the To the Stars format and #ToTheStarsKS as outlined at  TravelKS.com/KansasDay .

Record and post your own Home on the Range rendition on social media using #ToTheStarsKS.

Get your official Kansas Tourism To the Stars gear at TravelKS.com to show your Kansas pride year-round.

More details on how to participate are at  TravelKS.com/KansasDay .

(Information courtesy Kansas Department of Commerce.)

Home on the Range title

Home on the Range: Kansas’s state song

The story of “home on the range”.

In 1873, Dr. Brewster Higley VI sat outside his tiny cabin near Athol (pronounced AY-thole ), Kansas, and looked out over the Beaver Creek Valley. His heart filled with joy as he wrote the lines of a poem “ My Western Home .” The first line read,  “Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam….”  While the song would go on to worldwide fame as “Home on the Range,” that phrase was not yet in the song.

The original poem first stanza is :

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam Where the deer and the antelope play; Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, And the sky is not cloudy all day.

But the refrain read:

A home! A home! Where the deer and the antelope play, Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, And the sky is not clouded all day.

However, Higley’s contentment was not a hallmark of his previous life.

Dr. Brewster Higley

A man who had heard many discouraging words

Higley grew up in Rutland Township, Ohio. By the time he was six, he was orphaned . His grandparents , and later his sister, raised him. He practiced medicine in Indiana from 1851 until 1871. In the 14 years from 1851 to 1864, Higley’s infant son and two wives died. The second wife’s family blamed him for her death.

He also lost his third wife, but the accounts differ. Some say she died shortly after she gave birth to Brewster Higley VII. Others say she left him and returned to her previous husband, taking Higley’s namesake.

Higley’s life spiraled downward after making some bad decisions. In 1866, he married the widow Mercy Ann McPherson. By this time, Higley likely suffered from alcoholism . His practice was declining and the Higleys were nearly broke. The doctor and his new wife did not get along. He sent his children to relatives in Rockford, Illinois, and left Indiana. In 1875, the La Porte (Indiana) Circuit Court dissolved the Higley-McPherson marriage.

By 1871, Higley had settled in Smith County. The land was still on the frontier in the early 1870s. The Pawnee tribe still lived in Kansas , and Smith County would not be organized for another year. The Last Indian Raid was still seven years into the future.

Even though Smith County citizens were pioneers living in rudimentary conditions, Higley had left his misery behind him. On July 4, 1872, Higley moved from his original dugout to a cabin. The voters elected him to county offices and flocked to his medical care. He brought his children from Illinois. Shortly after his divorce became final, he married Sara Ellen Clemens, and the couple had four children.

Dan Kelley, who wrote the tune for "Home on the Range"

“My Western Home” becomes “Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam”

After Higley completed “ My Western Home ,” he tucked it into a book. Later in 1873, Trube Reese brought his housemate, John Champlin, to Higley’s residence for treatment. He had sustained an accidental gunshot wound. Reese picked up one of Higley’s books ( PDF ) and the poem fell out. Reese read the poem, then suggested that Dan Kelley set it to music.

Kelley, his wife Lulu, and her brothers Cal and Gene Harlan played in the popular Harlan Brothers Orchestra. While considering the poem, Kelley started humming a tune. The orchestra members helped him complete it. The song received a new name, “ Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam .” The lyrics still did not include “home on the range.”

The song became an instant local hit. The orchestra played it for every performance, as far away as Hays, 100 miles southwest, home of Fort Hays . Because of the fort and the Kansas Pacific Railroad, Hays attracted cowboys. To soothe their cattle and calm their own loneliness, trail cowboys sang at night. Soon the cowboys and the cavalry began singing, “ Oh, Give Me a Home .” The song traveled along the railroad and the cattle trails — and its authorship was quickly lost.

Kelley died in 1905, and Higley died in 1911.

Flag of the Kirwin Chief, the first copy of "Home on the Range"

‘Plagiarism!’

The Smith County Pioneer published Higley’s poem in 1873, but the newspaper lost all of that edition’s copies. The Kirwin Chief published them in a now-lost edition on March 21, 1874. On February 6, 1876, the Chief published the lyrics again under the headline “Plagiarism!”

The Stockton News had published a poem “purporting to have been written by Mrs. Emma Race, of Raceburgh in Rooks County. … The poem  … was written by Dr. B. Hig­ley … and first published in the Kirwin Chief…. The edition printed Higley’s and Race’s versions, inviting the readers to compare them. The Race version differed by two words. The Kirwin editor fumed, “[Stockton’s editor] must look to his laurels, as he will find plenty of people who are willing to profit by the brain work of others.”

Race was only one of a host who claimed authorship.

“ Home on the Range ” tops the charts

Vernon Dalhart first recorded “Home on the Range” in 1927; reporters serenaded Franklin Delano Roosevelt with the song on the night he was elected President in 1932. Supposedly, FDR said “ Home on the Range ” was his favorite song. Soon the song was everywhere ( PDF ). It topped the radio airplay charts for six months. And it was copyright-free!

Or so the recording artists believed.

And then the gravy train stopped.

Who owns “Home on the Range” ?

William and Mary Goodwin of Tempe, Arizona, filed a $500,000 suit against 35 individuals and corporations. The Goodwins registered their copyright to the song “ An Arizona Home ” on February 27, 1905. He had written the lyrics, and she had written the melody. They said that “Home on the Range” derived from their song. All the professionals stopped recording the song.

Searching for America’s music

The Music Pub­lishers Protective Association hired Samuel Moanfeldt , a New York lawyer, to investigate the Goodwins’ claims. Moanfeldt started searching for the song’s origins. All trails he found led to a version that John Lomax had collected.

For 40 years, Lomax searched ( PDF ) for America’s music. He found a Black bar owner in San Antonio who could sing a large repertoire of cowboy tunes. The unnamed bar owner had traveled the Chisholm Trail several times and learned the songs on the trail. The trail operated from 1867 to 1884.

Under a mesquite tree, Lomax recorded the man’s songs, including “Home on the Range.” A few weeks later, Henry Leberman wrote down the song’s score. In 1910, Lomax published Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads . The bar owner’s version had replaced Higley’s chorus beginning  “A home! A home!” with the lyrics “home on the range.”

Obviously, the song had existed before the Goodwins had copyrighted it, but Moanfeldt needed more concrete proof.

Never got a cent

Reese and Cal Harlan told Moanfeldt how Higley and Kelley had composed the song. The Goodwins’ case collapsed, and their lawsuit never came to trial. The Goodwins received nothing from the song, but neither did the Higley and Kelley families. Later, the Chief edition came to light, proving Higley’s authorship.

In 1959, the State of Oklahoma placed a marker at the Higleys’ last home in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City newspaper interviewed Higley’s youngest daughter Theo Brumley. She said, “Neither my father nor any of his children ever got a cent out of ‘ Home on the Range. ’  But I’ve got a lot of awfully fine memories of him I wouldn’t take anything for.”

“ Home on the Range ” rolls on

With the authorship issue settled, recording artists began to cover the song again. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra , the Sons of the Pioneers, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry , Willie Nelson, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, and numerous others sang it.

You Ain’t Home on the Range

In 2004, Disney turned Home on the Range  into a traditionally animated feature film about three dairy cows, Grace, Maggie, and Mrs. Calloway, trying to save the Patch of Heaven Dairy Farm . They must catch wanted criminals and notorious outlaws Alameda Slim and his gang to earn a $750 bounty and save the farm. The song “ Home on the Range ” isn’t in the soundtrack, even though big names like Bonnie Raitt, Alan Mencken, and Tim McGraw performed a musical number. Voice actors Judi Dench, Estelle Harris, Roseanne Barr, and Randy Quaid played the main characters. Will Finn and John Sanford wrote and directed the film, and the Mouse House makes Snow White appear. The film received less-than-stellar reviews; Rotten Tomatoes ‘ audience score was 29 percent.

Roxie’s reliable report : Home on the Range was the last traditionally animated Disney movie. The company’s next feature , Finding Nemo , was its first computer-animated offering.

"My Western Home" on the "Home on the Range" Cabin

Preserving the “Home on the Range” Cabin

Higley’s cabin remained on the farm where he built it, but it had yet to become a Kansas icon.

On April 8, 1947, Kansas named “ Home on the Range ” its state song. The resolution said, The song “is as truly Kansas as the sunflower.…” Hal Harlan, Dan Kelley’s nephew, had introduced the bill in the Kansas Senate.

After the song became the state song, the Smith Center Rotary Club restored the cabin. Pete and Ellen Rust , who had owned the land since 1935, agreed. They had refused to sell the cabin to people who wanted to move it away. In 1954, the club dedicated the restored cabin and installed an engraved marble plaque with “ A Western Home ” sheet music on its east end.

On March 26, 1973, the cabin entered the National Register of Historic Places.

The Western Writers of America surveyed their membership in 2010, asking which songs were the greatest Western songs. The state song of Kansas, “ Home on the Range, “ ranked ninth of 100.

Home on the Range Cabin, a musical Midwest Road Trip Adventure

An award-winning restoration

By 2011, Kansas’s 150th anniversary, the cabin needed repairs. Grassroots fundraising efforts gathered more than $113,000. Schamber Historic Preservation, LLC , restored the cabin in 2013, and its foundation rededicated it in 2014. In 2016, Kansas Preservation Alliance awarded the cabin its Honor Award of Excellence .

ElDean Holthus receives Kansas' Finest for "Home on the Range" Cabin

Kansas’ Finest: The “Home on the Range” Cabin

After Pete Rust died, Ellen Rust established a trust to preserve the cabin and 240 acres of land around it. Trustees include her nephew ElDean Holthus. For his tireless efforts to promote the cabin, Kansas! Magazine named Holthus one of Kansas’ Finest in its winter 2016 issue.

He told the magazine’s editor, Andrea Etzel, “I see people visit the cabin throughout the day, and they walk in like it’s a cathedral.

“They stand in the center of the cabin silently and look around. When I see the admiration and respect for the history they have, that’s a great reward.”

Rocking the Range

In 2021, I included the cabin as No. 26 in my book 100 Things to Do in Kansas Before You Die .

The song turned 150 in 2023, and Kansas Tourism invited various Kansas artists to interpret the musical icon. We enjoyed Maria the Mexican ‘s take.

Cabin post-rock signage

Visiting the “Home on the Range” Cabin

All respectful people are welcome to enjoy the cabin and its trails. Watch for post-rock guidance signs from Highway 8. Buying Ken Spurgeon’s  Home on the Range film would be a great souvenir.

Block out those discouraging words and embrace the place where the skies are not cloudy all day.

More to explore

While the cabin is northwest of Smith Center, the Geographic Center of the Lower 48 States is northeast of Smith Center. Visit historic Hays where the Harlan Orchestra introduced the world to “Home on the Range.”

Schamber Preservation also helped restore Goodland’s United Telephone Building . See more post rocks in our tour of Kansas rock formations .

In our book, Midwest Road Trip Adventures , read more about Kansas and Midwest road trips. Listen to more music in our Kansas music playlist .

Explore more of Kansas and the Midwest .

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5 artists with Kansas ties perform unique renditions of ‘Home on the Range’

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HOME ON THE RANGE: Sunflower State honored on 162nd birthday

FILE - Kansas Flint Hills

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - In honor of the state’s 162nd birthday, Kansas Tourism has released a video that showcases the values and essence of the Sunflower State set to lyrics penned 150 years in the past.

On Sunday, Jan. 29, the Kansas Department of Commerce said the Sunflower State celebrated its 162nd birthday. To commemorate the momentous occasion, Kansas Tourism released a video to pay tribute to the state song, Home on the Range , originally penned 150 years ago near Athol.

KDOC noted that the lyrics of the melody echo the aspirations, values and essence of Kansas in the past and in the future.

The Department indicated that the Kansas Day video, set to the famous song, highlights the uniqueness of the state. From scenic prairies and large night skies to urban and vibrant moments. The video showcases how the lyrics still ring true a century-and-a-half later.

KDOC said the video also features five artists from Kansas that have recorded their own rendition of the song. Artists include Andy McKee, Logan Mize, Maria The Mexican, XV and The Get Up Kids.

“ Home on the Range has been memorized and sung by generations of Kansans,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The genuine passion these homegrown recording artists bring to our state song should fill you with pride to hail from the Sunflower State.”

The Department noted that Kansas Tourism will continue the birthday celebration throughout the week and has asked residents to join the fun.

“There is so much to celebrate about Kansas that we decided to make this a week-long commemoration,” Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said. “This year, we are continuing the festivities of showing our love and state pride beyond January 29th. We invite all Kansans and those who love Kansas to join in our celebration.”

To participate, KDOC said residents should watch, like and share Kansas Tourism’s video tribute HERE . They can then make their own special salute to the state on their social media channels with the #ToTheStarsKS hashtag.

For more instructions on how to participate, click HERE .

Copyright 2023 WIBW. All rights reserved.

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The Symphony in the Flint Hills is a Must-Listen Experience on the Kansas Prairie

Smoke and symphony herald the changing of the seasons in Kansas' Flint Hills, where flames renew the land, and music connects us to it.

Jess Hoffert is the custom projects editor at Meredith Travel Marketing, where he gets to dream up and produce inspiring print and digital content for clients including Kansas Tourism, Visit North Carolina, Explore Minnesota, Travel Wisconsin and Visit Montana. He holds a B.A. in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, and was previously a staff editor at Midwest Living. When he's not on the road, you can find him building LEGO sets and watching the latest binge-worthy show with his partner, Andrew, and cats, Leo and Max.

kansas tourism home on the range

Courtesy of Kansas Tourism

As I silently rise from my folding chair on the prairie, raindrops begin to fall on the song lyrics in my program, as if to say, “You won’t be needing these.” A few hundred yards in front of me, under a soaring white canopy and a blanket of gray sky, the Kansas City Symphony conductor raises his baton. More than 80 musicians launch into the unmistakable first notes of “Home on the Range,” followed by a chorus of 7,000 voices. Since 2006, Symphony in the Flint Hills has popped up on a different Kansas ranch each June, and this song—this moment—has become a staple. As we reach the misleading “skies are not cloudy all day,” the conductor loses the spotlight to a cattle drive crossing the gently rolling hills.

Like the symphony, the landscape of the Flint Hills sings with an often subtle beauty orchestrated by nature and humanity. This undeveloped region covers some 4 million acres of east-central Kansas and accounts for nearly 70 percent of the world’s remaining native tallgrass prairie. The mostly treeless expanses teem with grazing cattle. Wildflowers thrive in rocky soil that prevented early settlers from plowing the terrain—offering a glimpse into what much of North America looked like before human hands touched it. 

C2 Photography

I get a sensory sampler by driving 43 miles from the college town of Manhattan to Council Grove, and then another 47 miles along the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway, which leads to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve . Here, I’m introduced to windblown waves of native plants—curlycup gumweed, wooly verbena, blue wild indigo—on hiking trails that thread the 10,900-acre preserve. One path leads me to a pair of bison staring into infinity as I snap pics from a safe distance. 

“The beauty of the Flint Hills is that it hasn’t changed much,” says lifelong Council Grove resident Lindsey Forge, who eagerly awaits the scent of smoke from restorative prairie burns each spring. The controlled flames pave the way for a fresh coat of the greenest grass, turning the hills into fairway-worthy mounds come April and May. Forge sees it as a literal example of new life rising from the ashes. 

Courtesy of Weathered Wood Home

In 2020, Forge joined a growing force of local entrepreneurs reimagining Council Grove’s sleepy Main Street, transforming an 1887 building into Weathered Wood Home, a boutique for her woodwork and other accessories. “I feel the same way about this building as I do my business,” Forge says. “Like the chippy Kansas barn wood I use, it has a story. I want to reclaim, repurpose and renew it too.” 

A few storefronts down, Jennifer Kassebaum runs Flint Hills Books, which opened in 2021. Growing restless in retirement, Kassebaum researched whether a bookstore could thrive in a small town like Council Grove. The data didn’t look promising, but Kassebaum banked on this drop-everything-for-your-neighbor community to come through. “The Shakespeare quote ‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’ was an inspiration to me,” Kassebaum says. “It took three years to open the bookstore, after careful consideration and a supportive spouse. I’m lucky that it now has many fans, one of whom recently commented, ‘I love how the bookstore makes me feel.’”

Before I leave Council Grove, I order the fried chicken special at Hays House 1857 Restaurant and Tavern, billed as the oldest continuously operating restaurant west of the Mississippi River. Around me, locals and day-trippers are buzzing about tonight’s symphony. It’s like a major sporting event, where the players arrive by motorcade and the field is … well, a field. Tailgating happens in massive tents, with a menu of barbecue and local craft beer and wine. And there’s even a post-show celebration with folk music and dancing well into the evening.

On the drive back to my hotel in Manhattan, I pull over at the Konza Prairie lookout point—just in time for sunset. The rain clouds part on cue, a wind gust comes out of seemingly nowhere, and I stand in silent awe once again.

kansas tourism home on the range

Kansas earns destination of the year award

K ANSAS ( KSNT ) – Kansas took podium awards including the Destination of the Year award from the National American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) annual travel competition.

Every year the NATJA gives special recognition to publications, travel journalists, photographers and destination marketing organizations. This year Kansas took home four awards including one gold award for a creative marketing campaign.

Awards were granted for the following categories:

  • Special Recognition: Kansas Tourism
  • Honorable Mention Award : Kansas Tourism, “Kansas Offical Travel Guide 2023”
  • Gold Award:  Kansas Tourism, “The ‘Home on the Range’ Project”
  • Bronze Award : Kansas Tourism, “Capturing Kansas: The Gordon Parks Legacy”

“Submissions for this year’s awards competition included a diverse group of journalists, publications, and destination marketing organizations from North America,” said NATJA CEO, Helen Hernandez. “Selection of the winners by our independent panel of judges was particularly difficult this year because of the outstanding quality and broad range of articles, images and marketing campaigns submitted for consideration. I wish to extend my congratulations to all the winners for their exceptional work in enhancing the travel experience of those exploring new destinations and adventures.”

For more local news,  click here . Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our  mobile app  and by signing up for our  news email alerts . Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by  clicking here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.

Kansas earns destination of the year award

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Birthplace of “Home on the Range”

home-on-the-range

Story by Ron Johnson, this article was featured in the fall issue of 1982 (Editor's note: This article has been lightly edited)

A small historical sign in Smith County along U.S. Highway 36 points to a rebuilt homestead, the frontier home of Dr. Brewster M. Higley.

Restored in 1954, the log and stone structure is located beside trickling Beaver Creek where at one time "buffalo roamed," "deer and antelope played" and Kansas' state song, "Home on the Range," was believed to have been written.

Since 1873, residents of Smith County and Kansas have recognized the country doctor as the author of the cowboy melody on the basis of a single newspaper account written in 1876.

"It's always been the general feeling that 'Home on the Range' was written by Higley in this county," Darrel Miller, publisher of the Smith County Pioneer in Smith Center, said. "Our factual proof says the earliest origins of the song are here."

With that statement, Miller took from his newspaper office wall what he and the state regard as the "hard" evidence, a photocopy of an early prairie newspaper, the K i rw i n Chi ef , dated February 26, 1876. "Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam," the paper reads, "Where the deer and the antelope play." The actual publication, now on file at the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka, records the words of "Western Home," an original verse written by Higley.

"This document is the earliest evidence of the words of 'Home on the Range," Miller said. "As you'll notice, the popular version has been adapted to read 'never' for 'seldom' and 'cloudy' for 'clouded.' "Higley is said to have then taken the poem to Dan Kelley, a Gaylord druggist-musician, who set the words to music.

But in spite of the Kirwin Ch i e f and the poem's slight differences, composers from across the region have laid claim to the perennially popular song. The Kir w in Chief itself printed above Higley's words a stinging editorial on plagiarism scolding a Rooks County resident and newspaper that laid a "false" claim to the tune.

From that date, the identity crisis concerning the authorship of "Home on the Range" continued though the song faded from the limelight until President Franklin Roosevelt revived it in the 1930's. "Home on the Range" was the toast of American radio until William and Mary Goodwin of Tempe, Arizona, brought a $500,000 lawsuit against 35 individuals and corporations who used it. The Goodwins claimed they wrote' and copyrighted a song in 1905 identical to "Home on the Range" entitled "My Arizona Home."

cabin-home-on-the-range

New York attorney Samuel Moanfeldt investigated the matter in several midwestern states until he traced a lead in the case to Smith County in 1936. "I remember when Moanfeldt visited the county, and he found everything he needed to prove the Goodwins wrong," Bill Lee, Smith Center resident, said. "The court decided Smith County was the birthplace." The Goodwin lawsuit and the flurry of attention in the '30s prompted the preservation of the song's origin, by book as well as by cabin restoration.

The late Margaret Nelson, a long-time Smith County educator and former Higley patient, compiled research into a 1947 version of county settlement and the life of Higley, appropriately titled "Home on the Range."

Coinciding with Nelson's publication, the 1947 Kansas Legislature recognized the tune's birthplace and made 'Home on the Range" the official state song on June 30, 1947. Additional preservation of the "Home on the Range" story came with the restoration of the cabin landmark which is privately owned by Mr. and Mrs. Pete Rust of rural Athol.

"The building had fallen into bad shape by the time of the Goodwin case," Lee said. "When L if e M agazi n e condemned its use as a chicken house in the 1940's, the Smith Center Rotary Club took action and rebuilt the cabin." But the cabin's reconstruction and Nelson's history failed to stop additional claims. The latest dispute involved a report by television's Charles Kuralt.

"Kuralt reported in his 'On the Road' series of 1975 that a Texas man named David Guion had written the song," Miller said. "With that report, people in our area became aggravated and lost confidence in a reporter who had their trust."

Miller and Lee conducted a letter-writing campaign as well as an editorial barrage in the Pioneer to call Smith Countians and Kansans to the attention of Kuralt and CBS. "The most we ever heard from the man was a form letter," Miller said. Lee said he was quite upset when Kuralt would not consider the newspaper relic at the historical society with the materials in Smith County. "I think it's funny that the K irwin C hief shows 'Home on the Range' was written before Guion was even conceived," Lee said.

Miller tried to look on the brighter side of the Kuralt affair. "I guess it's flattering to know that Smith County has something other composers would love to have," he said, referring to the authorship controversy. Readers of the Pioneer, however, don't get as upset now as they used to."

"There's a different appreciation now for 'Home on the Range,' " Lee said. "Outsiders and second and third generations of old Higley patients are not as strongly influenced by the pioneers." But Lee was adamant that his evidence proved Higley the true author.

"I would feel that someone stole something that belonged to our culture if we were proven wrong," Lee said. "We're lucky to have the earliest evidence." He added a historical insight into what he feels is the county's "good fortune" and related an incident between Higley and the late L. T. “Trube" Reese, an early resident of Smith Center.

"Reese said he discovered Higley's words to 'Home on the Range' on a piece of foolscap paper in Higley's cabin back in 1873," Lee said. "He tried to convince the doctor to print it. I guess Smith County was lucky to have published it first."

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Orlando Magic | Guard Harris sits out 2-point home loss against Sacramento

Orlando forward Paolo Banchero defends against Sacramento big man  Domantas Sabonis, during the first half on Saturday night at Kia Center. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

Seventy games into the season, the Magic featured a new starting lineup in their 109-107 loss against the Sacramento Kings at Kia Center on Saturday night.

Coach Jamahl Mosley rolled with guards Jalen Suggs (9 points) and Caleb Houstan along with forwards Franz Wagner (18 points) and Paolo Banchero (22 points) plus center Wendell Carter Jr. (11 rebounds) because guard Gary Harris (right plantar fascia strain) was not available.

Reserve forward Jonathan Isaac scored 25 points for the Magic.

At halftime Houstan exited the game due to a sore left ankle.

The starters had marked the 16th distinctive opening lineup of the year for Orlando (42-29), which had entered the contest fourth in the East. Sacramento (now 41-29) had sat eighth in the West but just a half-game behind No. 6 Dallas (41-29).

Harris did not play in the second half of Thursday’s win vs. New Orleans (43-27) after he was ruled out with a sore right foot. Houstan filled in for Harris to start the third quarter against the Pelicans.

Houstan, Suggs, Wagner, Banchero and Carter are more than familiar with one another but they entered Saturday’s contest with only 12 minutes total played together as a group across three prior games.

Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox, right, drives around Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

The lineup had a minus-4.3 net rating in the small sample size but posted a 65% effective field goal percentage — a field-goal percentage formula that adjusts for 3-pointers being worth more than made 2-pointers.

Mosley pointed toward Houstan’s work ethic as one reason the second-year pro remains consistent for Orlando. Houstan has shot 36.6% from 3-point range this season.

“I joke with Caleb all of the time — I call him ‘The Machine.’ Because he is a machine,” Mosley said prior to tip-off. “He’s nonstop. A work ethic like that says so much about what he’s able to do and why he’s so consistent in what he’s doing.”

While Houstan is more than capable of filling in for Harris (who missed his 25th game this year due to injury Saturday), the availability of players such as Harris and Joe Ingles in the final 11 contests of the regular season and into the playoffs will be key for a young group such as the Magic.

Harris and Ingles are two of just four players (also including forward Jonathan Isaac and guard Markelle Fultz) on the roster who have postseason experience.

Ingles’ 57 games played this season are the most he’s appeared in since 2020-21 when he was with the Jazz (67). After joining the Magic over the summer as a free agent, he’s pleased with how things have gone.

“I couldn’t really be happier in terms of all of it,” Ingles said at shootaround Saturday about his time so far in Orlando. “For me, the family part is the biggest part. I’ve got three pretty happy kids at home and a wife who’s very happy living here. Obviously, I understand the other part of it is still my job.”

Ingles leads the team in 3-point shooting at 42.3% and offers a calming presence on the court. He can direct traffic for the second unit and regularly dishes out assists to teammates rolling to the basket.

With 50 playoff games under his belt (which leads the Magic), he understands there’s more work to be done this season.

“I don’t think any of us are satisfied with what we’ve done,” Ingles said. “It’s just that process of keep getting better, keep building on it and making sure we’re playing our best basketball at the end of the year.”

Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]

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An island with palm trees at its center ringed by beach with beach umbrellas is seen across an expanse of clear blue water.

You Haven’t Seen Blue Until You’ve Seen San Andres

The island, close to Nicaragua but part of Colombia, boasts waters in seven shades of the color. Counting them — from a boat, from a cay, from the shade of a coconut tree — is a meditative experience.

The attractions on San Andres include the tiny islands known as cays. Johnny Cay, which sits across the water from the more populated northern part of San Andres, looks like the dictionary entry for “deserted island.” Credit... Toh Gouttenoire for The New York Times

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By Shannon Sims

  • March 11, 2024

On San Andres, a small Colombian island in an archipelago off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, counting the blues in the famous “Sea of Seven Colors” is on every visitor’s to-do list. It’s a midday activity done en route as you cruise among the cays, or keys, dotting San Andres’s eastern side: low-lying (mostly) uninhabited specks that aren’t much more than coral topped with palm trees and circled by sandbars.

From my bobbing perch, I counted six: a deep sapphire, a dusky azure, stripes of teal, turquoise and cerulean and, in the distance, a swath of brilliant cyan against the edge of a tiny, palm-fringed island.

“Do you see seven?” the boat’s captain asked.

When I told him my tally, he laughed. “Six?” he said. “That means you can still relax a little more.”

San Andres is not on the radar of many U.S. travelers, but in Latin America, and especially among Colombians, it is a coveted honeymoon destination or a long-weekend retreat — a spot in the middle of the ocean to disconnect from whatever weighed you down on the mainland.

A man stands to the left side of the photograph wearing a blue short sleeve button down shirt. He is bald and has a goatee. In the distance you can see a town and blue water beyond it.

Connecting with history

The archipelago of San Andres and Providencia is more than 400 miles north of the mainland of Colombia, and closer to 100 miles east of Nicaragua, but thanks to a historical wrinkle that is still being ironed out, it is part of Colombia.

Kent Francis James, 73, was the archipelago’s governor during the 1990s and advised the current local and national government on boundary issues with Nicaragua. But his passion, he said when I met him on San Andres, is helping tourists connect more deeply with the island’s history.

“We want you to come here not just to get your skin burned, but to bring home a better understanding of Caribbean history,” he said, as we sat on his home’s balcony and enjoyed the view of the water in the distance, framed by bougainvillea and palm trees.

Mr. James scanned the horizon and pointed out the shipwrecks that litter the island’s waters. “We were geographically on the route of the Spanish going up the coast with gold, so this is the place the pirates used to be on watch,” he explained, describing how voyagers often underestimated the shallow waters surrounding the islands’ many cays and ran aground — to the delight of pirates like the Welsh-born Sir Henry Morgan, who is believed to have used San Andres as a base of operations.

We were technically in Colombia, but Mr. James spoke in clipped English — his accent itself a nod to the island’s history.

Although it is believed that the Dutch and Christopher Columbus landed on the archipelago, it was the British who settled San Andres around 1630. English was the island’s first language, and still today it’s spoken by the native islanders.

Unlike most places in Latin America, San Andres has no record of Indigenous peoples on the island. It was seemingly uninhabited when the Europeans arrived. And that’s why when locals refer to “native” islanders, they are referring to the descendants of the original British settlers or, more frequently, the descendants of the once-enslaved Africans those settlers brought over.

This Afro-Caribbean ethnic group is called Raizal, a takeoff of the Spanish word for “roots.”

Posadas Nativas

Cleotilde Henry, 75, is one of the island’s Raizal leaders. Her family traces back to the African slave trade, she explained, as she set out crunchy slices of fried breadfruit and balls of sweet coconut on her dining room table. She didn’t make the treats just for me — she sets them out every day for the tourists who rent rooms in the upstairs of her home through the island’s posadas nativas , or native inns program.

“I was born in this house,” she said, pointing around the small living room to yellowed family portraits in wooden frames and crocheted table coverings. “So when I thought about what I could do to make money from tourism, the only thing I had was this house.”

Today Ms. Henry, who is also the president of the archipelago’s Posadas Nativas Association , rents 12 rooms, which can be found under the name “ Cli’s Place ” on travel-booking websites like Booking.com.

Across the archipelago, around 200 homes have been designated “posadas nativas,” offering an opportunity for tourists to stay with a local family — usually under the watchful eye of the matriarch — in their home, and to eat local, Raizal foods.

It’s the local solution to a universal challenge: how to retain the unique identity of a place when tourism starts booming. Less than 20 years ago, Raizal people accounted for 57 percent of the population of San Andres, but each year that number gets smaller, as Colombians from the mainland are lured to the blue waters of island life.

A bikini and a golf cart

Although the beaches of San Andres are not among the most beautiful in the world, the water a short distance offshore is, thanks to the sunken reefs, and so many visitors skip exploring the interior of the island in favor of getting wet.

Each cay differs from the next. Johnny Cay, which sits across the water from the more populated northern part of San Andres, looks like the dictionary entry for “deserted island”: a clump of palm trees ringed by white sand. Rocky Cay is not much more than its namesake rock, with a lean-to beach bar and a rusty shipwreck sticking out of the water beside it. You reach Haynes Cay by wading through waist-deep water, holding a wobbly rope connecting the cay to a no-frills restaurant built on a sandbar. A typical day vacationing in San Andres includes bopping among the cays, pausing to doze against their palm trees or swim in the water around them, and, along the way, counting blues.

Like the pirates of the past, today’s snorkelers and scuba divers are delighted by the sunken ships dotting the waters, as they get to explore the underwater ecosystems created by those wrecks. In 2000, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization established the massive Seaflower Biosphere Reserve , a vast protected marine area surrounding the islands.

“It’s like a mountain range under the water here, and that’s why we have deep spots but also these sandbars and cays,” explained Jorge Sanchez, 68, a former dive instructor on the island who invited me to his home one afternoon to view topological maps of the area’s ocean floor. Waving his hand across one map, he added, “The ocean species don’t know where the border is between Colombia and Nicaragua, so this is a great place to see all kinds of animals from different places.”

Even if you don’t enjoy the waves, San Andres is a gorgeous setting to enjoy the seven shades of blue from afar. And the not-too-steep hills and smooth-enough roads mean that the breeziest, most fun way to do that is by renting a mule (pronounced moo-LAY), a little golf cart, the typical way visitors get around the island.

I’d never driven a golf cart any significant distance, so when Ms. Henry suggested that I put on my bathing suit and take one around the island, I balked. But about an hour later, I was smiling like a fool, the ocean wind blowing back my hair as I chugged down the road ringing the coast at about 25 m.p.h., with motorcycles zipping around me. I cruised past the cays, hopping in the water when it called to me, making my way down to the island’s less populated southern end. I stopped for lunch at the Raizal restaurant Miss Janice Place for fried fish and coconut rice.

On the way back, I planned to swing by Mr. James’s house, to tell him about my day. Without a good cell signal on the island, the only way I could do this was by popping in, so I headed toward his place, until the chugs of my mule became less frequent, and I finally realized the engine had shut off. My trusty mule was sliding backward down the hill. I slammed on the brake, slowing the slide, but couldn’t get the engine to turn over again. Fortunately, some utility workers witnessed the scene, suppressed their laughter and came to my rescue. They improvised a solution and hauled the golf cart to the top of the hill using long wires. I told them I was visiting Mr. James, and one of the workers turned and shouted over a wall of bushes — “Mister Kent! We found an American!”

Grinning, Mr. James emerged from his property to greet me, and as I waved a thank you to my utility-worker heroes, he explained he wasn’t surprised to see me.

“Because a tourist can spend their days on the beach, and fill their stomach with our food and rum, and then go home and never return,” he said. “But once you start to talk to locals about our history, you will always want to come back.”

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport has direct connections to Panama City, Panama, and multiple cities in Colombia, and from San Andres it’s possible to get a flight to the neighboring island of Providencia.

Once on the island, the best way to get around is either by taxi, easily found in downtown San Andres or arranged in advance, or by mule , which can be rented for around 200,000 Colombian pesos, or about $51, per day.

Staying at a posada nativa, or locally owned inn, is the maximum immersion experience on the island, and often will be the most affordable lodging option; expect to pay about 235,000 Colombian pesos a night with breakfast. Cli’s Place Posada Nativa , Posada Nativa Licy and Miss Trinie’s Posada Nativa are some of the most popular.

For a more upscale experience, Decameron operates many hotels on the island, including the Decameron Isleno at Spratt Bight beach, a centrally located, all-inclusive option for about one million Colombian pesos per night. Hotel Casablanca offers rooms with a view of Johnny Cay for about 1.1 million Colombian pesos per night. Short-term rental options are also available through Airbnb. Many are within condominium developments and have amenities like pools, doormen and gyms.

Niko’s Seafood is a midrange restaurant near the center of San Andres serving fresh-caught fish cooked for around 50,000 Colombian pesos.

La Regatta is perhaps the fanciest restaurant in San Andres, specializing in seafood like ceviche for 75,000 Colombian pesos a or grilled lobster with coconut rice (215,000 Colombian pesos) served on a patio over the water near central San Andres. Reservations required, request the patio.

Miss Janice Place on the southern end of San Andres in San Luis offers typical Raizal food for 40,000 Colombian pesos for mains accompanied by coconut rice and jars of natural fruit juice.

Namasté Beach Club San Andres is near Rocky Cay with chic lounge chairs and a menu ranging from beach snacks like empanadas (around 30,000 Colombian pesos) to proper dinner like fried local fish (50,000 Colombian pesos).

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

Italy :  Spend 36 hours in Florence , seeking out its lesser-known pockets.

Southern California :  Skip the freeways to explore the back roads between Los Angeles and Los Olivos , a 100-mile route that meanders through mountains, canyons and star-studded enclaves.

Mongolia : Some young people, searching for less curated travel experiences, are flocking to the open spaces of this East Asian nation .

Romania :  Timisoara  may be the most noteworthy city you’ve probably never heard of , offering just enough for visitors to fill two or three days.

India: A writer fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting Darjeeling, in the Himalayan foothills , taking in the tea gardens and riding a train through the hills.

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

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COMMENTS

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  2. Kansas Day Campaign Pays Homage to 150 Years of 'Home on the Range'

    TOPEKA - On Sunday, January 29, Kansas celebrated its 162 nd birthday. To commemorate the day, Kansas Tourism released a video that pays tribute to the poem turned song, Home on the Range, originally penned 150 years ago near Athol. The lyrics of the world-renowned melody echo the aspirations, values and essence of Kansans past and present.

  3. Kansas is "Home on the Range"

    Kansas is "Home on the Range". By Kansas Tourism on Jan. 29, 2023. In the early 1870s, Dr. Brewster M. Higley traveled to Kansas under the Homestead Act of 1862. He was an ear, nose, and throat doctor from Iowa, and he settled in Smith County. He was so taken by the beauty in the landscape of his new Kansas home that he penned a poem he titled ...

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    Published: Jan. 29, 2023 at 5:58 PM PST. TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The Kansas Tourism office found a special way to celebrate Kansas Day. They chose the state's 162nd birthday to debut a new video ...

  5. 150 Years of "Home on the Range"

    On Sunday Kansas celebrated its 162 nd birthday. To commemorate Kansas Day, Kansas Tourism released a video that pays tribute to the poem turned song, Home on the Range, originally penned 150 ...

  6. Home on the Range: Song of Kansas

    Trube Reese discovered the nearly forgotten, handwritten poem that inspired the Kansas state song, "Home on the Range" when it fell out of a book inside Dr. Brewster Higley's cabin in 1873. ... Kansas Tourism (785) 296-2009. Kansas Magazine Kansas Commerce KS Wildlife & Parks. Stay In Touch Join our newsletter Join Newsletter. Get a free

  7. 150 Years of Home on the Range

    This year for Kansas' birthday, we're celebrating our state song, "Home on the Range". Written 150 years ago, its lyrics became a calling, inspiring generations to love our land and dream of each new dawn.

  8. Kansas celebrates 150 years with 'Home on the Range' Campaign

    Jan 30, 2023 Updated Jan 30, 2023. TOPEKA, Kan. - Kansas celebrates its 150-year birthday with its new 'Home on the Range' Campaign. To commemorate the day, Kansas Tourism released a video that pays tribute to the poem turned song, Home on the Range, originally penned 150 years ago near Athol. The lyrics of the world-renowned melody echo the ...

  9. Kansas Tourism celebrates Kansas Day, 150 years of 'Home on the Range

    Kansas celebrated its 162nd birthday on Jan. 29, and a Kansas Tourism campaign is paying homage to not only Kansas but also to the state song, which is 150 years old. "Home on the Range" was originally penned as a poem 150 years ago in Smith County, Kansas, by Kansas homesteader Dr. Brewster Higley. The poem was titled "My Western Home" to describe the beauty of the site Higley ...

  10. Kansas Day Campaign Pays Homage to 150 Years of Home on the Range

    On Sunday, January 29, Kansas celebrated its 162nd birthday. To commemorate the day, Kansas Tourism released a video that pays tribute to the poem turned song, Home on the Range, originally penned 150 years ago near Athol. The lyrics of the world-renowned melody echo the aspirations, values and essence of Kansans past and present.

  11. 'Home on the Range' Cabin

    For its 150th anniversary in 2023, the Kansas Tourism Board solicited five renditions from Kansas musicians for Kansas Day, including an emo version by the Get Up Kids. As for the Cabin, in 1973 ...

  12. 5 artists with Kansas ties perform unique renditions of 'Home on the Range'

    WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - "Home on the Range" is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and Kansas Tourism wants you to think diversely about the state song. Written first as a poem in 1873 ...

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    The song turned 150 in 2023, and Kansas Tourism invited various Kansas artists to interpret the musical icon. We enjoyed Maria the Mexican's take. Look for the "Home on the Range" Cabin post-rock signage. Visiting the "Home on the Range" Cabin. All respectful people are welcome to enjoy the cabin and its trails.

  14. What We Do

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  17. HOME ON THE RANGE: Sunflower State honored on 162nd birthday

    Published: Jan. 30, 2023 at 10:21 AM PST. TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - In honor of the state's 162nd birthday, Kansas Tourism has released a video that showcases the values and essence of the Sunflower ...

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    This live concert/multimedia event was presented by the Western Music Association - Kansas Chapter as a tribute to the 150th Birthday of Kansas Statehood. ...

  19. News

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    The original site where the song "Home on the Range" was written. Dr. Brewster M Higley wrote a poem titled "My Western Home" to describe the beauty of the site he had chosen for his Kansas Homestead in 1871. He penned this now-famous work on the bank of the West Beaver Creek in Smith County, Kansas, where along with the help of a few ...

  21. The Symphony in the Flint Hills Strikes a Chord on the Kansas Prairie

    More than 80 musicians launch into the unmistakable first notes of "Home on the Range," followed by a chorus of 7,000 voices. Since 2006, Symphony in the Flint Hills has popped up on a different Kansas ranch each June, and this song—this moment—has become a staple. As we reach the misleading "skies are not cloudy all day," the ...

  22. The Original Homes on the Range

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  23. Kansas earns destination of the year award

    This year Kansas took home four awards including one gold award for a creative marketing campaign. Awards were granted for the following categories: Destination of the Year. Special Recognition ...

  24. Pome on the Range Orchards and Winery

    Pome on the Range near Williamsburg, Kansas offers produce, fruits, cider, Kansas foods and wines. Pome on the Range Orchard & Winery 2050 Idaho Road Williamsburg, Kansas 66095 (785) 746-5492. Market open 7 days a week, year around ... Kansas Attractions Kansas Travel & Tourism Home.

  25. Birthplace of "Home on the Range"

    "Home on the Range" was the toast of American radio until William and Mary Goodwin of Tempe, Arizona, brought a $500,000 lawsuit against 35 individuals and corporations who used it. ... Kansas Tourism (785) 296-2009. Kansas Magazine Kansas Commerce KS Wildlife & Parks. Stay In Touch Join our newsletter Join Newsletter. Get a free Travel Guide.

  26. MLB players name the most surprising team of 2024

    Kansas City Royals The Royals lost 106 games last year and haven't posted a winning record since their World Series championship season in 2015. But Kansas City was one of the most active teams during the offseason, adding veterans such as Seth Lugo , Michael Wacha , Will Smith and Hunter Renfroe to a young core led by burgeoning superstar ...

  27. Guard Harris sits out 2-point home loss against Sacramento

    Mosley pointed toward Houstan's work ethic as one reason the second-year pro remains consistent for Orlando. Houstan has shot 36.6% from 3-point range this season.

  28. The Blue Waters of San Andres, an Island Belonging to Colombia, Are

    Across the archipelago, around 200 homes have been designated "posadas nativas," offering an opportunity for tourists to stay with a local family — usually under the watchful eye of the ...