We live outside the little town of Tonganoxie, Kansas. It is about 14 miles west of the far west boundary of Kansas City, Kansas, which is across the river from the larger metro area of Kansas City, Missouri. Whew.
Tonganoxie is a smaller town, which has grown by leaps and bounds in the last ten years, as people have moved from the city cores to the countryside. Like every other area in the U.S., we have been hit with foreclosure and job problems here, too, so while we have some vacant homes around us, on our road, there are all occupied homes. We are blessed in that respect. We live on a gravel road, off a main highway, so that we can unfortunately hear highway traffic, though it is blocked by a line of trees and a pasture that stretches from our north boundary to the corner. If we were further off the beaten path we would have more good country silence, but it would also be harder to get out in the winter, so it's a tradeoff.
Now it's autumn, and the country colors are particularly wonderful, especially on a sunny October day.
I come out of our drive and go left down our road, to Sandusky, and go up and down the graveled hills until I reach 4th street, the outskirts of Tongie. This old barn, a particular favorite of ours, is on the edge of town.
Just past the barn, we pass bean fields, newly harvested, just also on the edge of the town.
You know you are in a small town when the bean fields stretch almost to the city limits.
Next we see the town start to turn from country to city....
We start to pass businesses and restaurants on our way to the library. Since the post office was moved across the highway outside of town a few months ago, there is little traffic, even on Saturday, but there are a number of small businesses thriving in Tongie.
One of my favorites is Wild Horse Antique and Consignment Shop, run by Michelle Selby, on Fourth Street, which is the "main" street (though we have a Main street, too!). It's full of wonderful old and not-so-old things, and I have found something every time I have gone in there. It makes me feel good to walk in the door.
Michelle, selling me a wonderful light fixture (that proved too large for the kitchen!), a lovely green straw basket intended for holding Christmas gifts, and a cute little reproduction J and P Coats tin. I love going in her shop, it is decorated for fall and she hasn't jumped the gun with anything Christmas, like Walmart and the crafts stores... yayyyy Michelle!
My next stop was the library.
You can barely tell, but a patron is sitting in the sun, using his laptop at the picnic table!
Tonganoxie is a city of many churches....
Congregational
The Evangelical Friends Meeting
The Methodists, the Catholics, the Baptists, Assembly of God, and Christians are all well-represented,too, which tells us that folk around here are God-fearing and mostly good people.
We have a small hotel, recently remodeled into a bed and breakfast... I would love to run this hotel! It was built in the 1890s and has been a hotel, a rooming house, a bed and breakfast, and is now back to a hotel, run by absentee owners. It's called the Myers House Hotel.
And what would a small town be without country music, from Annie's Country Jubilee?
And the original train depot, here....
which I want to move magically to Calamity Acres, where it would be my scrapbooking studio and guest bedroom!
And lastly, what's a small town without some grain elevators, now for sale..... I can't think how I could use these, though!
Then it was on to Walmart, and Home Depot for a round of Saturday errands, and then home to do chores and watch a little college football.
