Sunflower Journeys

“3301: EXPLORING THE GLACIAL HILLS”

We explore the Glacial Hills of Northeast Kansas with geologist Rex Buchanan and botanist Craig Freeman; next learn about the Capper Foundation’s 100 anniversary from CEO Jim Leiker; finally we revisit a story about Fort Riley and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Watch Online

“3303: EXPLORING THE CHAUTAUQUA HILLS”

We explore the Chautauqua Hills of Southeast Kansas with geologist Rex Buchanan and botanist Craig Freeman; next we learn about the relationship between Chautauqua events and the women’s rights movement from historian Sarah Bell of the Watkins Museum in Lawrence; finally we revisit a story on the women’s march of 1921 in Crawford county.Watch Online

“3305: THE SMOKY HILLS”

In the first segment we explore The Smoky Hills Central Kansas with geologist Rex Buchanan and botanist Craig Freeman; next we learn about the petroglyphs of the Smoky Hills of Kansas” from authors Rex Buchanan, Josh Svaty and Burke Griggs; finally we revisit a story about The Smoky Hills River Festival another festival cancelled by covid-19.Watch Online

“3302: CENTRAL KANSAS”

In our first segment we find out about attempts to control invasive species on grazing land in central Kansas; next we we review damage done to Kansas state parks during 2019 flooding and their recovery; finally, since a number of events in Kansas were cancelled because of covid-19, including the the mennonite relief sale, we take a look back at the 2015 sale in Hutchinson. Watch Online

“3304: SOUTHEAST KANSAS

We travel near Arkansas City to see evidence of the “Lost City of Etzanoa with Archeologist Donald Blakeslee; next we learn from owner Hayes Kellman about how the Boot Hill distillery in Dodge City uses grain from his farm to distill spirits and make hand sanitizer, finally, we revisit a story from 2016 about the bridges of Cowley County.Watch Online

“3306: HISTORY LESSONS”

We take a tour of historic Ward Meade Park with director John Bell; next author Chuck Warner discusses his new book “Birds, Bones and Beetles: The Improbable Career and Remarkable Legacy of University of Kansas naturalist Charles D. Bunker.”; finally, we look back at a the Bloody Benders – a segment that had reenactments filmed at historic Ward Meade Park in Topeka. Watch Online

INDEX

Download our .pdf index of all Sunflower Journeys productions. We have two links. One for the complete series and one that just includes updated pages from this last season to add to pages you may already have printed.

2019 Complete Index

The 2019 Update Packet includes a new table of contents, and a revised index and listings for the latest programs.

PAST EPISODE LINKS

Finding yourself needing to catch up on Kansas history, heritage and culture? We have assembled a MEGALIST of Sunflower Journeys shows that are available to view online. One hundred and thirty viewing options are available if you CLICK HERE. Some things to remember as you scroll through this list. In some cases, the people, places and activities represented in these segments are no longer with us. Sunflower Journey provides a specular archive of information and memories to share with our viewers.

ABOUT

Our show tells stories of the people, places and happenings that are important to Kansans. We strive to incorporate historic elements to our segments when the story calls for it, and research historic images, documents and moving images from, county, state, and often national collections.

These programs often feature the insights of knowledgeable individuals who provide the expertise and experiences upon which the resulting stories are based. Although the three segments of each program are designed to complement each other, they may also be viewed separately, which may be desirable for classroom settings.