“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. ” – Marcus Garvey Diving into the histories of the families which converged into one and eventually made their home at Maison Steinbüchel, is an ongoing endeavor. We do so, to better understand the Kansas Historic Landmark […]
One Of A Passionate Line of Formidable Women – Dorothy Elisabeth Steinbuchel Wilson Gouldner
“To my sons. their beautiful wives, Claudine, and my grandchildren, not only those who now live, but also to those that follow, I dedicate these pages. This story would have been lost with my passing had not this been written. God Bless you! – your mother and grandmother, Dorothy Elisabeth Wilson (Guldner)” – The Dedication […]
Taking Time For Exciting Memorable Chance Encounters
For me, serendipity, coincidence and chance are more interesting than any preconceived construct of our human encounters. –Charles Traub Recently while my husband was blowing off our sidewalks, he spotted a gentleman taking time looking over our house from the curb. This is not an uncommon occurrence, since the house, even in its current “need […]
The Real Story Of Our Stunning “Tiffany” Window – A Sparkling Jewel
“Color is to the eye what music is to the ear.: – Louis Comfort Tiffany At the first turn of the curved front staircase in our home is a stunning Tiffany style mosaic stained glass window. We first laid eyes on it the summer of 1987 when we traveled to Kansas on a “pre-house hunting” […]
Five Invisible Threads Holding A Carousel True To Purpose
“Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche My husband and I are members of Botanica, The Wichita Gardens. This is the new home for the Joyland Carousel which opened to the public fall of 2019. We visited the building site several times while it was under construction. Then as an anniversary outing, in December […]
Repairing the Breach, Restoring Streets, Rebuilding Ruins
“And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise of the age-old foundations; you will be called repairing the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell.” Isaiah 58:12 There are a series of BLOG posts about how the families, for whom our historic home is named, converged […]
Three Happy Stabilizers In The Midst of Confusion
God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. – Francis Bacon (1625) Essays ‘Of Gardens’ In the midst of pandemic confusion, three stabilizers: zinnias, Butterflies and the Monet Garden at Maison Steinbuchel have provided peace and a sort of anchor this summer. The March into April shutdown prevented visiting […]
How An Attic Is Practical While Beautifully Mysterious
“As the years pass, I keep thinking that our greatest lack today is an attic. Modern homes never have them, with the result that young people live only in their own generation, feeling no intimate connection with the past. Their roots will go deeper if their homes have attics?” from “More Than Petticoats” – the chapter […]
A Time Tested Lesson In Processing Loss And Grief
“Trials make you strong. Failure makes you humble. Challenges make you strive. Life keeps you going and growing” ― Kemi Sogunle, Beyond the Pain by Kemi Sogunle Over the past months, the world, literally, has been in a state of shock. This pandemic, this silent thief, has us all dealing with loss at many levels. The loss: […]