"you hold an event and we turn up"           

THE BAD PENNIES
 

COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND  OCTOBER 6 - 9, 2001

 IVV walks in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma

MIDWEST AMERICA- HERE WE COME

                            By Mary Beth Celmer

A fun-filled four-day whirlwind trip led by Matt Pernick brought a group
of 25 Bad Pennies, primarily from MD and VA to OK, AK, MO. And KS from 10/6 - 10/9/01.

The effects of the 9/11 tragedy had us at BWI and waiting on long lines
for our flight out of Baltimore.  We departed  a little late but arrived
safely in MO.

As dutiful volksmarchers, we arrived at the airport and headed straight
for our first walk through the Tall Grass National Preserve in Kansas.
For many of us, it was our first real experience walking through the
plains of the Midwest, where our forbears plunged ahead, opening up and settling new lands in America.

We were struck by the timelessness of the prairie- it's been the same way
for over one hundred years.  There were times during the walk that all one could see were the rolling plains of the prairie and at other times there was not even a tree in sight- just prairie grasses, with their
varied colors and sprinkling of delicate wild flowers.  My imagination
went wild thinking what it must have been like for the pioneers with
their covered wagons- no shade, no water, no bathrooms, no food along the way, not to mention the threat of Indian's possibly hiding behind the rises off in the distance.
 
The weather was ideal, which made this a glorious walk.  We agreed we
would not have wanted to do this in the heat of summer or the wind and
cold of winter with no protection from the elements.

As we continued our walk, we never even saw an airplane overhead- or any sign of civilization - just acres and acres of prairie as far as the eye
could see.   If you want to "get away from it all," this is the place to
go! This land belonged to a cattle farmer back in the 1800's, and his
home and barn are still standing.  The family home now houses a gift
shop, and since the farmer was wealthy, the house was magnificent in its
day.

Sunday found us walking in Tulsa OK. We were fortunate to have a group of volksmarchers from the local club meet us, stamp our books, and accompany us on the walk, offering a bit of local history as we toured the city. We found ourselves unexpectedly delighted with this city.   We discovered a jewel as we walked around Swan Lake, where magnificent homes, many displaying swan sculptures, adorned the edge of the lake.  We walked through a community of charming homes in the center of town. The center of  town  had a street of six magnificent churches, each unique in design with marvelous architecture.

By Sunday night we were in Branson, MO, home to country music.  We
enjoyed a performance at the Country Tonite show, where we heard singing, foot stompin' guitar playing and a very funny ventriloquist. 

Our rooms at the Settle Inn were all in theme, from Camelot, to the OK
Corral, adding a different flavor to the usual cookie cutter layout of
most hotel rooms.

We started our Sunday morning brunch of a high carbohydrate, sugar and high fat meal with morning entertainment from Kitty Kelly at the hotel. She surprised us all with her lovely voice, and ability to get us all
involved and laughing.

We were now ready to walk off some calories from our junk food breakfast with a walk at the Pea Ridge Military Park in AK.  It was another bright sunny day, which started out cool, but the sun warmed us as the day wore on. We walked on a paved path through a civil war battlefield, passed a smattering of old canyons, plaques with descriptions of the battles, and neatly piled haystacks in the fields along the way.

Our van drivers skillfully and tirelessly drove us back to Branson, where
we went to an evening dinner and performance at the Showboat.

 Among the guests were 300 Baptist ministers, whose congregations sent them for pastor appreciation days.

Again, we enjoyed some fine performers including a dance couple who were skilled at their art and another ventriloquist, who had the entire audience exploding with laughter.

Tuesday morning was our last day in Branson and our fourth and final walk in the town itself.  The weather was a bit overcast.  We found the roads to be full of hills, dangerous, and downright unfriendly to walkers. 
There were no traffic lights or crosswalks. The town itself was full of
glitter and glits- restaurants, theaters and shops.   The people we met
in Branson, mostly employees of the various businesses were very
friendly.  This walk was in stark contrast to the flat plains, and
pristine beauty of the Kansas prairie.

We left Branson, and our faithful drivers drove the four hours back to
the Arkansas airport, arriving three hours before flight time.

As you've probably surmised, we had a wonderful weekend, full of unique walks, and lots of fun activities.  We met and made many new walking friends.   We arrived home, tired but full of good experiences. We have to thank Matt Pernick, who put it all together, and provided us with a unique opportunity, that we would not have had if we had to do it all ourselves.

Little Volksmarch on the Prairie and Other Fun on Adventure 24

    After running the gauntlet of security checks at BWI Airport, the Bad Pennies were off on another exciting adventure. Our first walk of the adventure was at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Once called Spring Hill Ranch because of its proximity to a nearby spring, this beautiful preserve covers 10,894 acres and is a feast for the soul. It was beautiful and I found myself trying to soak up the peace and quiet.  As a librarian and fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, it was easy to look around and to imagine what life was like in the days before the horseless carriage, the telephone, cell or otherwise and electric lights. It was also easy to understand why it was so difficult for some of the settlers. The silence was truly deafening. The group holding the walk was kind enough to extend the starting time and their kindness was truly appreciated. They made us feel most welcome.

     Then it was on to Tulsa.  This was a Route 66 walk and the route included 1 and ¼ miles of Old Route 66.  It was fun to look down and see the route commemorated with markers in the sidewalk.  The directions for the walk also took the group past Swan Lake and rather than take time to smell the roses, we took time to watch the swans.  They seemed to know they had an audience and preened accordingly.  Some of the Bad Pennies were lucky enough to be accompanied by the people sponsoring the walk and were treated to some local history.  That always makes the walk more interesting in my opinion.

     Next, it was on to Pea Ridge National Military Park.  Located near Pea Ridge, Arkansas, Pea Ridge National Military Park is a 4,300-acre Civil War Battlefield.  It was the site of the March 1862 battle that saved Missouri for the Union. The park also includes a two and ½ mile segment of the Trail of Tears.  Scattered about the fields were some shooting wagons, the Indian name for cannons. I’m glad that this day they were silent.  It was hard to look at the beautiful countryside dotted with bales of hay and to comprehend the atrocities that happened in those same peaceful fields.

      Finally we concluded Adventure 24 with a trip to Branson, Missouri.  That is quite the place. When we arrived at the Settle Inn, Branson’s “theme” hotel, we were impressed to see that we were mentioned prominently on the sign.  I wonder what passersby thought when they saw a prominent welcome to the Bad Pennies. I wondered if they were at all curious as to what on earth a Bad Penny was.  Our stay at the hotel included a breakfast show by the performer Kitty Kelley. The Bad Pennies pretty much comprised the whole breakfast audience so we were easy pickings when she wanted audience participation in her act.  It was very entertaining to see Marshall Hansen being serenaded by Kitty. He played hard to get.  Tom Mosely had his head polished.  Evidently the head, rather than the stomach, is the way to a man’s heart.  The Bad Pennies’ Australian member, David Parker, demonstrated his horse riding abilities on a very fine wooden steed and Ruth Watkins, Jan Hite, …………. and  I got to show off our kazoo playing talents to the room.  It was nice of Kitty to assure us they were BRAND NEW kazoos that had never been played before. Kitty’s husband, The Judge, might have been her soundman but he was a man of FEW words.  We also saw two other shows while we were in Branson; “Country Tonite” on dry land and a second on the Showboat Branson Belle as it toured Table Rock Lake. The highlight of the Branson Belle show, at least for me, was Irving the talking dog and his owner, ventriloquist Todd Oliver.  Irving is a very smart dog with his own website (http://www.funnydog.com). As you did the walk in Branson you couldn’t miss the signs.  Signs for all types of shows were everywhere in Branson but the publicity award has to go to Jennifer.  According to her billboards, she has the most recognized show in Branson.  I don’t know about that but I do know she has a very hard working publicist.  Everywhere you turned, there was Jennifer! 

     Of course no Adventure would be complete without a drawing to determine the Bad Penny from each van. The winners for this trip were Jan Hite, Jack Degan, Darlene Bell and Marshall Hansen.  Since David had his own vehicle there wasn’t much of a contest in his case.  The Baddest Penny of them all was Irv Hite.

      When I tell people how much the group accomplishes in just a few days they are amazed and actually, sometimes I am too.  I do know I really enjoy these trips.  I meet new people, I see more of our great country and I get my books stamped.  What more can you ask? 

                                                     Peggy Bercher

Tallgrass Prairie
National Preserve

The preserve protects a nationally significant example of the once vast tallgrass ecosystem. Of the 400,000 square miles of tallgrass prairie that once covered the North American Continent, less than 1 percent remains, primarily in the Flint Hills.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve will be a new kind of national park. It is approximately 11,000 acres in size, but most of that land will remain under the ownership of the National Park Trust, which purchased the land in 1994. The National Park Service will own up to 180 acres, yet the legislation calls for the entire acreage to be managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the National Park Trus

Tallgrass prairie once covered more than 140 million acres of the United States, from Indiana to Kansas and from Canada to Texas. Nearly all of it is gone, plowed under in the Cornbelt. The distant past of Kansas accounts for the survival of the Flint Hills tallgrass.

In prehistory, when it was covered by a shallow sea, the region accumulated more limestone than soil. The result was shallow, rocky land considered unsuitable for plowing but excellent for pasture. The natural prairie cycle of weather, wildfires, and animal grazing -- once bison, then cattle -- has sustained the tallgrass and its diverse plant and animal species ever since. Now you can find nearly 200 kinds of birds, 29 types of reptiles and amphibians, and 31 species of mammals. The National Park Trust invites you to experience a rare relic of the prairie. The Southwind Nature Trail, open daily from sunrise to sunset, starts in front of the ranch house. The trail winds its way through the lower prairie, across a tree studded creek bed, and up gently rolling hills to expansive vistas of this unsurpassed wilderness beauty. The loop trail measures 1 3/4 miles

[ Home ] [ Up ]

Send mail to matt@thebadpennies.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: June 13, 2010