The Joyland Carousel – Exposing Hidden Connections

I have never been to the Joyland Amusement Park founded by the Ottoways in 1949.  Although still active until 2004, I simply never had a reason to check it out.  As a child, my amusement park exposure was limited to school playgrounds,  county fairs and carnivals, but I loved the carousels. I also love seeing lost things […]

The Abstract – Maison Steinbuchel’s Personal History

We have the original abstract of our Kansas Historic Landmark home dating back to the land grant of 160 acres from the Osage Land Trust.  In past BLOG posts, I have told how three individual lives, immigrants from France and Germany, converged in Wichita, Kansas.  How through love, hope, taking risks and even tragedy ended up as […]

A Story of a Blended Family : Marie-Louise Hahn Stackman and Herman Steinbüchel

A Story.  My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.  — Tahir Shah, In Arabian Nights Maison Steinbüchel, a Kansas State Historic Landmark, our home, is named for the family of Herman Frederick Steinbüchel , the second husband of Marie-Louise Hahn.  I have been digging into the details of […]