Louis Vieux Elm Vandalized (For the Last Time)

It was once the largest American Elm in the world, and now thanks to vandals the remains of this giant are no more.

Jeremy told me about this magnificent tree he'd discovered while attending KSU in the early 00's. It was more than 300 years old and stood 100 feet tall with a canopy that spread nearly that far. Some years ago it was damaged by lightning, then in 1998 a couple of morons blew it up with a pipe bomb which eventually caused its death. Thankfully they were caught, and sadly their "punishment" was a few hours of community service. Tuesday it was discovered that over the weekend (most likely) someone had torched the stump, leaving only a pile of ashes beneath the arbor which was recently built to protect it.



I've heard someone at KSU had saved some of the branches of the tree after it was bombed, which were then cloned, ensuring this gargantuan tree would live on in a much smaller version(s). What would be fantastic is if someone at the University would plant one or more of the clones in this vicinity.

Does anyone out there have a good picture of the actual tree? I found a few on the internets but they are tiny as well as blurry. If you do, and could send them to us at stevelafrench at gmail dot com it would be greatly appreciated!

Mammoth discovery in Scott County

Read about it here

I almost puked on myself when the bimbo on the local news said this mammoth was killed by the "Oldest human beings known to exist", which is exactly the kind of moronic drivel most of us can expect from idiotic newsreaders. This huge beast died around 10,000 - 12,000 years ago, probably killed by Clovis people.

Many mammoth remains have been discovered in Kansas, most of them in the form of petrified molars or tusks discovered in rivers. Potential kill sites such as this one are much more rare.

When growing up, the grandfather of the fundamentalist family next door found a molar while excavating gravel on the Walnut river outside of Ark City. They believed it was a remnant of the "monsters" wiped out by Noah's flood. I'm sure the newsreader would agree!

Ackerman Island

Ackerman Island, early 1900's

A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away...

Well, actually it all started in the 1870's in Wichita Kansas.

Floodwaters from Colorado formed this island in the Arkansas river in downtown Wichita, which ran from 2nd street to Douglas Avenue. Over the next few years, due in part to increased use of water in Colorado which reduced the normally robust streamflow to a mere trickle, the island became a semi-permanent part of the river. In 1890 Joseph Ackerman purchased and named the island. He built a business which provided sand, and in 1905 he sold the entire island. Shortly after, an amusement park named Wonderland was built there, which was home to the famous figure 8 "Great Thriller" roller coaster, at the time the longest in the country. Shortly after a baseball stadium was built, followed by 3 theatres, a bandstand and a dancehall.

There are uncomfirmed rumors that a tunnel was built connecting the Broadview hotel with the island in order to provide an escape route for imbibers during prohibition.

The "Great Thriller" at Wonderland Park, early 1900's

In the 1930's, due partly as an effort to relieve flooding downtown, the island was removed. Yes, removed! The PWP hired men for a few dollars a day to move the island by hand with shovels and wheelbarrows. The soil and sand was moved to the west bank, incorporating it with the western part of the island, which is part of Wichita's West Bank today.

Can you imagine if the island were still there? Downtown Wichita would be a much more interesting place, and if I had my way, the "Old Town" area would now be located on Ackerman Island.

Lynx in Kansas?

Seems to be true!

When I was growing up I used to dream of seeing Wolves or Mountain Lions in Kansas, even though I knew they'd been exterminated many years ago. Even animals like deer and turkey were rare until I was well into my 20's. Some years ago I worked with a woman in Augusta who told me the last bear in Kansas was killed on her property east of Augusta in 1959, which also happens to have been the year I was born. Though there still aren't bears around, there are plenty of deer and turkey, and several reliable people have told me they've seen Mountain Lions here... now I've never actually seen one, though I've seen tracks and actually heard one screaming one night very near to me when I was fishing on the Walnut river. Talk about being petrified! I was so scared walking home as I knew I'd be a big cat's dinner before I made it to the house!

I'm still hoping Wolves are reintroduced to the state someday, though with all the ranchers around that's probably a pipe dream.