Christmas Letter 2017

Well-- another year seems to have gone by in a blur and I'm sitting here trying to remember -- Gee- did we do anything interesting this year?

Rather than doing just another rehash of the same old same old, this year I thought I'd add a bit more local color about the area in which we live for the benefit of our out of town readers.

We live in Pawhuska, the county seat of Osage County.  Osage County is also the seat of the Osage Nation.  The Osage Nation wisely retained mineral rights to all the land in Osage County.  This has worked out very nicely for them vide infra. 

Pawhuska is probably the most formerly famous small town you've never heard of.  (Or at least it was until last year.  The advent of the Pioneer Woman and her downtown renaissance does seem to be putting Pawhuska back on the map.)

Established in the latter 1800s, Pawhuska cashed in on the oil boom of the early 1900s.  Money flowed into the town and it was really the cat's meow:  fancy buildings, exotic cars, resplendent theaters, you name it.  And (since the Osage Nation had retained all the mineral rights) at the time the citizens of the Osage Nation had perhaps  the highest per capita incomes in the world. If you've ever heard of the Million Dollar Elm (now deceased), it was in Pawhuska.  But, as the Osage oil boom declined and the depression hit, Pawhuska's glory began to fade.  As a reminder of its glorious/infamous past,  several Pawhuska buildings, including the entire downtown, are on the National Historic Register.  There are also numerous books, plays, and movies about Pawhuska and the surrounding area.  Other fun facts:  Pawhuska is home to the first Boy Scout troop established in the U.S.,  known as the "Gateway to the Tallgrass Prairie," (which draws visitors from around the world), home to Ben Johnson and John Joseph Mathews vide infra, and a Catholic Church with world renowned stained glass windows.  Please continue your Pawhuska journey on our pix pages.

Trish continues her work as docent at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve.  Along with fellow docents, she got to march in the July 4th parade and ride a float in the annual Calvacade parade.  She also leads periodic hikes to the John Joseph Mathews' cabin.  Quite apropos since Trish is a relative of his (first cousin thrice removed).   Part Osage, a locally famous author known as the Thoreau of the Prairie,  Mathews wrote a number of books (both fiction and non-fiction) about Osage life, culture, history, and living in the Osage.   

Trish and I pretty much traveled/vacationed separately this year.  

In August I went to Omaha to attend my nephew Zack's wedding.  Then, I took two trips to my brother's house, just north of Kansas City.  The first was an abortive attempt to view the eclipse. The second was to take my Mom up for a family gathering on her 92nd birthday.

Trish, on the other hand, got to go to Scotland and England and play Thelma and Louise again with Jami. Good trade, huh? I did get some cool presents out of it though. Be sure to visit our "Travel Pix" page.

We hope you all are doing well.  We wish you a Merry Christmas, a joyous Holiday Season, and all the best for the coming year.