Unlocking Doors....A Trip To Independence

I can’t believe it has been 5 days since I posted! My children have been home all week for Spring Break…husband as well. It’s a miracle I’m getting anything done. I did take the day off….truly took the day off yesterday and we drove a full 45 minutes up into the great state of Kansas to a small town called Independence (we live very near the Kansas border). It is a trip we all enjoy. It’s not too far and we have a great time…and it doesn’t break the budget! It’s a no lose situation.

Independence is a town of about 10,000 people. Not too big but certainly not dinky in appearance. My husband’s family hails from there abouts. They are all gone now but memories live on for him and we have made many new ones.

Founded on land taken from the Osage Nation, early Independence was home to many families made wealthy by the oil and gas booms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ornate Victorian homes and architecturally thrilling buildings still attest to the prosperity of pre-Depression days. Oil magnate Harry F. Sinclair, who founded the Sinclair Oil Company with its dinosaur logo was one of the more known. His retro building still stands prominent within the town. As we walked around yesterday, we wondered how many people still knew that building, now filled with multiple individual businesses, had once been the headquarters for Sinclair’s empire. Undoubtedly time will continue to lessen the historical significance of such.

I talked about William Inge, a famous playwright, in an earlier post about Picnic. He was born in Independence and, as is indicated in much of his works, the town had a huge influence over him. Each spring Independence Community College hosts an annual festival in his honor.

Miss Able, a rhesus monkey, was born at Ralph Mitchell Zoo. If Miss Able is ringing bells….you may have seen her in Night At The Museum 2. We’re very proud to have visited her birthplace! Miss Able along with Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, became the first animals to fly in space and return alive on May 28, 1959. Monkeys still live on the island sporting a rock castle surrounded by a water moat enjoyed by ducks and a pair of stately swans that love dog food (I’m out of breath). The zoo is free! It isn’t huge and occasionally many of the animals will have taken refuge inside. Still, it is a highlight of our trips. We have certain exhibits that are “must sees” and there is an awesome playground inside the zoo with a nursery rhyme theme (and 3 gorillas…. not sure how they fit in but the kids love to have their pics made on them). Yesterday my third grader had to take her Flat Stanley. Photographs abound…now to just get them downloaded. I’m so bad about that I’m in dire need of a personal assistant!

From Memorial Day to Labor Day The Miniature Train, Miniature Golf Course and Carousel are open (Weekday evenings and Sunday afternoons). Admission: the Carousel is 5 cents, the Miniature train is 25 cents and Miniature Golf is $1. The Mid-Continent Band plays every Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. at the band shell through the summer. How’s that for small town entertainment! I love it! Oh yes, they also boast their annual Neewollah event as Kansas' largest annual festival. Held the last week of October, Neewollah's musical stage shows, carnival, concessions, entertainment and grand parade attract more than 80,000 visitors each year. Do we attend? Don’t you know it! The last time we missed was the year my son was born on October 15. I simply couldn’t bring myself to take a newborn. It’s an action packed day. Hey, Chris…I do have my limitations after all! You did realize Neewollah is Halloween spelled backwards???

And, last but not least, the day would not be complete without driving through Dairy Queen for traditional treats. The store in Independence is owned and operated by an older group. They can still make Chocolate Sodas…as long as one of the three is there. I hope it is not a tradition that will go away with them although it does seem like it, huh?

That makes me sad but also serves as a reminder to me to teach my children. I love walking through history. We’re blessed to live in a place rich with such (Bartlesville, OK was home to Phillips Petroleum Company and Frank Phillips for many, many years. I’ll have to write about that someday…) It’s amazing how much history we have right outside our front doors. Opening one door can unlock the doors into the past as well as into the future. How many doors can you open right there in your own town? Try it. I’ll bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Portrait of a Written Snapshot

Last night I had the honor of attending the play Picnic with my oldest daughter. I hadn't intended to go simply because the logistics of getting out of the house without my other 3 children is nearly unfathomable. However, when my oldest (15) explained to her dad that she wanted to take me as an early birthday present and that her drama teacher has specifically said I should come to see the performance, how could he resist? So, I got a "night out" with my daughter.

The play, written by William Inge in 1953 is set in a fictionalized town near Independence, KS. My family and I just happen to spend many Saturdays in Independence. It is a nice 45 minute drive North from Bartlesville and my husband's grandparents used to reside there so he has fond memories of the place. It's a nice town to visit. They have a lovely park, a free zoo, a little train that takes you around the track twice for a quarter and a carousel that offers rides for just a nickel! I have a deep fondness for the old buildings and the newer statues that garnish the city in different places. I like to make my children pose by them. They look awesome on our Christmas cards :)

The play? Oh yes, the play. It was the High School Drama production which, I have to say, was quite impressive. Under the molding of a teacher I believe to be exceptionally skilled at her profession, Ms. Susan Crabtree, the cast performed wonderfully (I don't have to say that either. My daughter has an A in the class!). Just as I was with their portrayal of the Helen Keller story in The Miracle Worker in the Fall, I watched in awe as the cast and crew unfolded the story with an ease that made the task seem simple. Undoubtedly they put in a lot of hard work which paid off and was greatly appreciated by those of us observing.

In 1955, the play was made into an Academy Award winning movie by the same name. According to Answers.com, the film is "sometimes cited as a richly detailed snapshot of life in the American Midwest during the 1950s"; a statement which got me to thinking....isn't that exactly what I'm trying to do in my books and stories? Am I not offering my readers a snapshot?

Sometimes writing feels more like a play-by-play and the little details seem mundane or unnecessary, like when it takes 3 lines to let the reader know Terry has a mass of curls that she tucks behind her ears when she's nervous. Just like a fluttering hand to the throat of the main female character in a play right before she smoothes her skirt, however, these details may seem small but they are very telling and oh so important in the sculpting of that character. Each detail goes into the building of that snapshot.

I'm very glad I went to see this play. It took place in a short amount of time; the morning and evening of Labor Day as well as the next morning. Yet in that short span of time the character of these characters were brought out, explored, and exposed for who and what they truly were. We saw their past, their present, and their future. Not only did I enjoy the performance through the laughter and the tears (yep, I admit it! I was one of the ones with my tissue in hand) I believe it helped me to refocus in my goal as a writer. I realize now more fully that I must define the snapshot I want to create and compose the details in a compelling fashion that will evoke emotion in my readers just as the play did in its audience. The words are important, however, it is the snapshot those words create in the minds of my readers that will truly make the book a success worth telling others about. Thank you Susan Crabtree and the Bartlesville High School students. Bravo!