April is the Coolest Month

You DO Heart the Humanities

April IS the coolest month. There's so much happening that you'll be hearing from KHC each week this month with new stories, events, and ways to get involved.

THANK YOU to the 113 (and counting) Kansans who said "We Heart the Humanities" and added their names to a letter to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee in support of funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities. There is still time to participate before the April 24th deadline. Click here to find out how.

Special Delivery

What happens when you spend 30 years traveling a region's main highways and back roads? For retired UPS deliveryman Greg Hoots, it ignited a passion to preserve the history of Wabaunsee County in northeast Kansas. Through his work with the Wabaunsee County Historical Society and the support of a KHC Heritage grant, Hoots is ensuring that the county's photographic history is archived and accessible now and for future generations.

Hoots' story has drawn national attention, from an article in Humanities magazine, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities, to a feature on the UPS employee website. As Hoots told Steven Hill in Humanities magazine, his motivation for the photo preservation project comes from connecting people with their history: "To get to know where they came from, who their ancestors were, what had to happen for us to be here today, for me that's what it's all about." Read more about the project here.

Hoots refers to this festive photo by Volland, Kansas, shopkeeper

Otto Kratzer as "Moonshiner's Night."
Image courtesy of Wabaunsee County Historical Society.

Heritage grants for photograph preservation projects are available. Contact Murl Riedel, director of grants, for more information.

Banner image: Greg Hoots