The Garden City Telegram
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Soda fountains among Kansas' 8 Wonders winners
Published 10/24/2009 in Local News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
The Kansas Sampler Foundation has announced that soda fountains, as a group entry, were selected as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Customs, solidifying their importance to communities even as the shops lose some visibility across the state.
"When I was young and lived in Garden City, I'd always go to Traditions on Grant," said Janet Tobin, an employee at the Old Store, a soda fountain shop in Johnson City. "People come in, and they start telling stories. The other day an older woman and her two grown-up daughters walked in, and the girls were telling stories about when they used to come here during their childhood. This is what we do here; families share stories."
Tobin, who has worked at the Old Store for nearly two years, said she was excited by the news because without soda fountains, she feels "our country will lose a great tradition."
Fewer soda fountains exist in communities today than in the past: In the first half of the 20th-century, most Kansas towns claimed at least one soda fountain, and at the turn of the 21st-century, Kansas had about 50 soda fountains, according to the Kansas Sampler Foundation.
Today, the Old Store in Johnson City, Traditions Soda and Sandwich Shop in Garden City, and Clark Pharmacy in Cimarron are three of the remaining 38 in the state.
According to the Sampler Foundation, a few of the 38 ice cream stops date back to the 1920s and are located in their original location with the back bar, mirror, brass rail and marble counter. Others built after 1950 have Formica counter-tops and some early models have been converted to Formica. More than 20 of these nostalgic center pieces are located in a drug store and some operate as part of a full-scale restaurant.
More than 12,000 votes were submitted for the great customs of Kansas contest, sponsored by the Sampler Foundation, which aims to preserve and sustain rural culture.
The other seven winning Kansas customs, in alphabetical order, include:
* Bringing musicians together: For a decade there's been a lively jam session at the Emma Chase Cafe in Cottonwood Falls almost every Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
* Chanting a school fight song: The University of Kansas's Rock Chalk Jayhawk cheer is one of the best in the nation.
* Clicking your heels three times and saying "There's no place like home": Oz attractions in Wamego and Liberal tell the beloved story of the Wizard of Oz.
* Commemorating Veterans Day: An Emporia man helped change Armistice Day into Veterans Day and made Emporia the Founding City of Veterans Day.
* Displaying an ethnic handicraft: Traditional and pop-art Dala Horses can be seen throughout Lindsborg.
* Riding a carousel: Ride -- and learn about -- the famous C.W. Parker carousels in Abilene and Leavenworth.
* Using natural material for fencing: Learn the story of these hardy fence posts at the Post Rock Museum in Lacrosse and see them throughout the Smoky Hills.
For more on the winners and other customs submitted for voting visit the Kansas Sampler Foundation Web site.
Among the finalists that didn't make the top eight was swimming in the summer at Garden City's Big Pool, the state's oldest continuously-open and¬ largest municipal hand-dug swimming pool.
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