Looking out over the verdant and perfectly manicured fields, Karen True marveled at not only the beauty of the artificial turf but also the entirety of the Humboldt sports complex that accommodates football, softball and baseball and track and field.
This is really something for a small school district, True said.
True was one of 10 women who visited Humboldt Tuesday as part of Le Roys French Ridge Extension Unit. The club was chartered in 1944 to give farm- and housewives an outlet. Today it has 13 members from Le Roy and nearby towns.
Humboldts recent business revival attracted the women. They likened the towns offerings to those of Branson, Mo.
Quaint, one called it.
The old Marsh Arch bridge over the Neosho River, built in 1932 and one of three still standing in Kansas, caught their attention, as did the Neosho River Park. Even with the park still in the throes of flooding earlier this year, they found it appealing.
Kelli Frazell, director of the B&W fitness center, showed off the new facility to the women.
How did this all happen? the women repeatedly asked.
The answer is that several committees have worked tirelessly to improve the towns commercial footprint, as well as affordable housing stock.
Any observation would fall short not to mention the contributions of Joe and Jane Works at B&W Trailer Hitches and Walter Wulf Jr. and his support staff at Monarch Cement Co.
A few years ago Monarch and B&W promised to help replace 10 blocks of downtown sidewalks. The eighth block is nearly completed, with the rest due attention in 2020. The sidewalks are accentuated by replica antique street lights, trees, and brick runners along the edges.
The Workses, through JW-JW Real Estate, have purchased the bulk of the downtown properties and upgraded them to modern use. Others are coming.
Shortly before noon, the women settled around a table at Opies restaurant. Nobby Davis, owner and mayor, welcomed them, just as City Administrator Cole Herder did when they first arrived.
The women basked in the attention. After lunch, they shopped for sweets and clothes.
