Ricky's Cafe

Last Friday, the family went out to breakfast at Rickey's Cafe in Hanover, Kansas. It is a town of 664, a few miles past the farm, where Mrs. C's parents lived after they sold the farm to her youngest brother and his wife.

Ricky's has been in business for more than 40 years. The cuisine is simple and the prices are low.              

Hanover Cemetery

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We had some spare time before another family event Saturday. We drove to the small town of Hanover, the place where Carolyn's parents lived after they retired from the farm until her mother moved to seniors housing in the much larger town of Marysville.

Son Andy suggested we visit the cemetery - I'd never been. The monuments were uncrowded and there was no sound but the wind in the trees. Every graveyard has its quiet stories of success and tragedy. These photos illustrate some.  

 

Everyone Meets At Ricky's

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In the classic movie Casablanca, everyone meets at Rick's. (In fact, that was the original title.) In Hanover, Kansas, everyone meets at Ricky's.

Kermit Riekenberg, below, has owned the place to dine in Hanover for 47 years. Hearty, yummy country cooking at amazing prices. Several layers of my wife's family met there for breakfast yesterday morning. The lead picture sums up the atmosphere. We want to come back and taste the Supreme Potato Ole listed on the board. Heck, we just want to find out what it is.

The ham and cheese omelet is just enormous. My brother-in-law, Mel, put a dollar bill next to it just to show the scale. At the bottom, Mrs. C leaves, another satisfied customer.

Sorry again about the lack of recent comments. Limited WiFi access out here. The motel is supposed to have it but I can't get the signal at my end of the hall.

A Last Note From Kansas

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This is the last of the photos from Kansas shot last weekend. This is the grain elevator in Hanover, the town where my mother-in-law lives. It's like the gold depository for the local farmers.

A NOTE ABOUT YESTERDAY'S POST: there is something in the top picture I didn't notice. I mentioned in Monday's post that my wife is the great granddaughter of Juergen Kruse, who emigrated from Germany to the US in 1858. She noticed that Juergen's tomb is in that photo. It's one of the tall ones, just right of center. If you look carefully you can see the name Kruse near the base.

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STL DPB On The Road: Hanover, Kansas

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The little town of Hanover, Kansas, is home to my wife's 91 year old mother. Her brother and sister-in-law live on the old family farm about 8 miles / 13 km away. A new bar and restaurant, Turn 4, had its grand opening last night. The name refers to the last turn on a NASCAR track going into the home stretch. We all went for $3 dinners and $1 draft beer. You can only get 3.2% beer in bars in this state unless it's a private club. Rock on, Kansas.

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Home Of The WIldcats

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The athletic teams of Hanover, Kansas, High School are known as the Wildcats. This building is the press box and refreshment stand at the football field. Opposing players must be terrified.

Sorry I'm behind on comments on other blogs. I uploaded yesterday's post from the airport in Lincoln, Nebraska. The plane was way late. I missed my connection in Chicago. The last flight to St. Louis was full so I was stranded at beautiful O'Hare Airport. Got a hotel room and was on the first flight out Monday morning. Zoomed home after arrival, put on a suit and then drove two and a half hours to a hearing out in the boonies. Now, as I write this on Monday night, it's sleepy time.

STL DPB On The Road: More From Hanover, Kansas

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Kansas: grain elevators, railroad tracks, big sky. Post uploaded from the airport in Lincoln, Nebraska, on my way home.

STL DPB On The Road: Hanover, Kansas

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Hanover, Kansas, is a town of 653 people, a few miles south of the Nebraska state line, about a third of the way west from Missouri to Colorado. It's been on this blog a number of times before. My mother-in-law, Elvira, is here. She's 90 and still lives in her own home. Her next door neighbor, Ray, is 85. He served in the Army in France during World War II, then worked for 41 years as a section foreman on the Burlington Northern Railroad. He'll gladly tell you all about it. Ray has a 1929 Ford Model A in the garage. He says it runs but I didn't see it. Maybe one day he will fix it up. It's not for sale.

Leaving Kansas: Self-Portrait With Toyota and Prairie Sky

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Farewell to Hanover, Kansas. It looks like you could surf those clouds.

WHAT'S TONIGHT'S DESTINATION: beautiful Carbondale, Illinois, two hours' drive southeast of here. I'm spending the night because I have five disability hearings there on Wednesday. Carbondale is known as the home of Southern Illinois University, whose most famous faculty member was the renowned R. Buckminster Fuller, designer of the geodesic dome.

TOMORROW: back in the Lou. How about a flyover?

There is a new Arch photo
today on GATEWAY.

A Special Day

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Yesterday was the 90th birthday of my wife’s mother, Elvira. Her children organized a big party in the community center in Hanover, Kansas. About 100 people attended. I think that my mother-in-law was delighted but it disappointed her that there were so many people that she couldn’t greet all of them.

Elvira was not quite the oldest person at the party. At least one cousin was several months older. The young lady below, Mya, wasn't quite the youngest person but less than 1 is young enough. She and her twin sister Payge are the daughters of my niece. A friend of the family, Martha, was invited to entertain the guests with her accordion. She was great but why no polkas?

WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TODAY: a 7 to 8 hour drives back to STL. Could run into some snow. I'll be able to resume posting comments when I get home.

TOMORROW: CDPB monthly theme day, if I get the silly picture finished.

STL DPB On The Road: Hanover, Kansas

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We’re out on the Kansas prairie for Thanksgiving weekend. My wife’s mother lives in the town of Hanover, population about 500. It has its own high school that serves the town and surrounding rural community. Their teams’ nickname is the Wildcats. The logo has colors that remind me of one of those old posters from the Fillmore West. The football field, at the corner of town, has stands for just a couple of hundred people. We think this building is the locker room, refreshment stand, toilet facility and press box rolled into one. Opponents must be terrified on arrival.

WHAT I DIDN’T DO TODAY: eat too much. What happened? WHAT I DID DO: shoot a bunch of cool HDRs around town.

TOMORROW: with luck, the Great Marshall County Quail Hunt.

America's Breadbasket

Part of he Farmers Co-op grain elevator in Hanover, Kansas. It looks both sculptural and industrial. One of the nice things about driving around Hanover taking pictures is that whenever a car or pickup goes by in the other direction the drivers always wave hi, despite the fact that they have no idea who I am.

WHAT I DID LAST NIGHT: Stopped in Kansas City for the night on my way back to St. Louis and went to dinner in the new Power and Light District. Wasn't that impressed. A little two corporate, a little too plastic and they won't allow big cameras in the central enclosed plaza. They're no fun.

TOMORROW: Probably a little more prairie grass.

Family Pictures, Hanover, Kansas

My mother-in-law and late father-in-law sold the family farm years ago to my wife's youngest brother and his wife. They moved to a small, neatly kept house in nearby Hanover, Kansas, population 653. I posted several shots of Hanover when I was last there in November, 2007. Scan the archives for that month just search for Hanover.

My wife is the oldest of six. Their portraits hang over my mother-in-law's bed. My wife's picture is the one at the top. I think it's a gorgeous portrait, beautifully lit and posed. The subject's not so bad, either. It's an American story: girl from a farm in Kansas, boy from a cramped apartment in New York City, met in a bar in St. Louis on St. Patrick's day and now together 34 years.

WHAT MADE ME THINK THE WORLD IS SMALL: Driving across the open Kansas prairie, listing to Tristan und Isolde on satellite radio. Oh, and the owner of the motel where we always stay is Mr. Patel.
TOMORROW: More from Kansas.