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Stafford County Eco Devo Participates in South Central Community Foundation’s Matching Day to Spur Economic Growth in Food Sector and Youth Entrepreneurship

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By Ryan Russell

Stafford County leaders have been working to finalize details in opening a commercial kitchen at the Stafford County Annex in St. John.

While some of the initial construction has yet to be completed, the county commission has generously given to help get the kitchen going.  In addition, Stafford County Economic Development Inc. was awarded a grant by South Central Community Foundation to hold Youth Entrepreneur Challenge (YEC) this year with a focus being on value added food creation. 

The YEC youth are challenged to create a business concept and compete against each other.

Stafford County Economic Development will offer an entrepreneurship training program in 2024 — that is food related, once the kitchen is completed and licensed.

Additional programming will be in partnership with 4H extension with their youth programs to create commercially viable products.  We will also work with 4H extension to create year-round programming.

The idea behind this is that Stafford County has an abundance of raw food materials from the flour mill, produce farmers, a number of small farms producing high-quality meat and dairy products; however, there is a lack of value-added products that are marketable.

Additional funds are needed.

The goal is to raise $10,000 for the operational and programming costs connected to the Commercial Kitchen.  This will include the costs of bringing in people with the technical skills and knowledge to help with training in packaging and food processing.  We will also be putting in a gas stove and other equipment that may be needed depending on who uses the kitchen.

Here’s how that money can be raised:

Beginning in November, South Central Community Foundation is doing a matching day on Giving Tuesday.  They have a pool of $70,000 to use in matching.  Each organization has an opportunity to get the funds they’ve raised matched, and an endowment created that will gain interest every year to be used for whatever projects an organization has to fund. 

Though Giving Tuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, individuals can give throughout the month of November. Stafford County Economic Development is participating in South Central Community Foundations month of giving.  

So, give generously this November and help Stafford County Economic Development spur economic growth in Stafford County’s nascent food product industry.  To donate to support this important program, click on the link. https://www.sccfmatchday.org/nonprofits.cfm?id=1830

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Eco Devo Rents all properties but one, 412 W. Halveson, Macksville still needs a tenant

Stafford County Economic Development has been working hard the last 2 years to complete 10 houses that are in St. John, Stafford, Hudson, and Macksville respectively. These houses have government requirements for income and age and meet the need of a critical group in our community. We are now looking for a lucky person or family to move into the last house in Macksville. The 412 W. Halveson house has a large yard and has 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. The other houses in the county are now called for. The house on First and Monroe in St. John was recently filled and the house in Hudson has someone moving into it starting in November. If you or someone you know needs housing in Macksville please contact Housing Opportunities Incorporated (HOI) our partner who manages the houses. Reach out to HOI by phone (620) 792-3299.

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Partnership formed between Grays Photo Studio and Stafford County Economic Development to aid in renovation efforts

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By Beccy Tanner

St. John’s century-old photo studio, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013, is about to get an interior make-over.

The board at the W.R. Gray Photo Studio at 116 N. Main has created a partnership with Stafford County’s Economic Development office to help finish the building’s interior.

 The building was constructed at the turn of the 20th century.

“We’ve signed an agreement with Eco-Devo to complete the restoration of the building,” said Carol Long, president of the Gray Studio Restoration Board. “Basically, it is just for that. It’s not a longtime administration agreement. It’s just to complete the building.”

Ryan Russell, executive director of Stafford Count’s Economic Development, said his office would help write grants.

“We are an administrative and fiscal sponsor,” Russell says. “So, what that means, is that we will help them find the money to do the project.”

For years, the building sat vacant and neglected until Long and others within the community began a concentrated effort in trying to save it.

That’s when it was listed on the national register and a new roof was installed. Then, the building’s exterior was painted: windows were repaired on the structure’s iconic northern skylight and, the interior was essentially taken down to the studs and beams.

Now, it is time to finish the rest of the work.

“They need help with the finishing projects,” Russell said. “And, we are going to be looking at selling some tax credits and obtaining grants.”

Long said the goal for the building will be turn a portion of the space into a residential artist apartment.

However, the bulk of space will be utilized for a classroom and special events.

“This is not some favor to Gray Studio,” Long said of the help provided by Eco-Devo.

“They are getting compensation for their work … The reason this has happened is that we need somebody to have their mind on Gray Studio all the time – somebody skilled and with connections to grant writing and organizations that build the grants,” she said.

“We needed people in the know.”

Long said that for the past decade, the members of the Gray Studio board have been working on getting the building completed.

“We want to do programs when the building is done,” she said. “The building will house a workspace for classes and maybe a place for a resident artist to work. It will have a little retail space and museum.”

The reason the photo studio is so important to Stafford County is because it documented the early families who lived in the area.

The Gray family took photos in Stafford County for 76 years.

The type of photography that the family used was glass plate photography, started in the 1850s and used up until the 1930s when Kodak’s Brownie camera and film became more accessible to most families.

William Gray moved to St. John in 1905 from Fall River. He operated the studio until his death in 1947. His daughter Jessie took over the business until her retirement in 1981.

In 1986, she donated the glass negatives to the Stafford County museum.

 No one knew what they really had until Stafford County Museum curator and project director Michael Hathaway brought the 30,000 glass plate negatives up from the basement of the town’s old bank building and moved them into the museum’s library next to his office.

That was in 2004.

Gray had kept 11 ledgers dutifully noting each of the 30,000 photos.

Those business ledgers indicate his clients came from all over Kansas. Many of the photos include portrait sittings but also street scenes, crime scenes, festivals and, of course, who can’t resist a picture of oversized produce?

Now, with this new partnership, the building can be completed and it’s legacy can continue as an important landmark of Stafford County.

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Stafford County’s Fair will have a new look next year as 70-year-old building is replaced

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By Beccy Tanner

In its day, the old Quonset-style fair building on the Stafford County Fairgrounds was state-of-the-art.

It had an enclosed space, concrete floor, showers in the restrooms and giant electric fans that kept the air moving as fair-goers perused hundreds of 4-H projects.

That was more than 70 years ago.

In recent years as the steel framed-round top community building began to leak and rain water dripped on projects, the Stafford County Fair Board re-evaluated what they could do.

“The building’s roof had begun leaking and during heavy rains, it rained on photography exhibits and stuff like that,” said Billy Milton, fair board president. “We started looking into fixing the roof and got back an estimate that was going to cost between $30,000 to $40,000 to fix and that in 10 to 20 years, we’d have to do it again.

“We did not feel like that was the right area to pursue. It doesn’t make sense for us to be spend that much money. Our budget just is not that big to operate like that.”

A few weeks ago, the old 50 by 120-foot community building was removed from the fairgrounds.

And the ground has been prepared to receive a new building – a little bigger, 60 by 120-foot.

The construction will be more of a Morton-esque-style building.

The biggest hope and feature for it will be air conditioning, Milton said, and a more comfortable space for people to gather.

Using $250,000 in funds that was available to Stafford County to help stimulate the economy after the Covid pandemic, Milton said, the fair board was able to begin the process of replacing the old building. The money was awarded by Stafford County Commissioners with the stipulation it be spent by the summer of 2024.

“That led us to deciding to go ahead and replace the building,” he said. “It will suit our fair and the community a lot better than what we currently had … I have been on the fair board for the last six years and we’ve always kind of talked about wanting a new building – even back in the 1990s, there was talk about it.”

Milton said the fair board has partnered with Stafford County Economic Development to raise an additional $275,000 to pay for the building’s amenities – such as heating and air conditioning, a concession stand area with stove and refrigerator and install showers in the restrooms.

“The rest of it will be open for meetings, wedding receptions and reunions,” Milton said. “We entered into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with Stafford County Eco-Devo because our organization is not a 501-C nonprofit so that when people donate, they can still get the tax breaks and save a little bit of money with sales tax, also.”

The partnership allows for a tax-favored option.

People wanting to donate to the new building fund can do so by sending a check to the Stafford County Economic Development Office at P.O Box 233 at St. John, KS, 67576 or by calling 620-549-3527.

The checks can be made to Stafford County Eco-Devo with the words “Community Fair Building” in the memo portion of the check.

Donation levels include: Grand Champion level at $80,000 and up; Reserve Champion, $50,000 to $80,000; Champion, $20,000 to $49,000; Reserve, $10,000 to $19,000; Purple, $2,000 to $9,999; Blue, $500 to $1,999; Other and Add a Brick, $200 to $350.

A 4 x 8 brick with no clipart has three lines with 20 characters per line; the same size of brick with clipart has an equal number of lines with 15 characters per line; an 8 x 8 brick with no clipart has three lines with 20 characters per line; and with clipart, three lines with 20 characters.

People serving on the fundraising committee include Milton, Joanna McAlister, Barb Alpers and Sharilyn McNickle.

“Right now, with the amount of money we have, we have enough money to get the shell of a building. We can get it back to where we were before,” Milton said. “But the additional money will go towards plumbing, electrical, tables and chairs, a bathroom and kitchen area on the inside.”

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Oktoberfest in Stafford Starts Soooooon! Oct. 6th & 7th

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Check out the schedule here and also the other festivities on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StaffordOktoberfest .

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September 2023 Radio Show

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This is our September 2023 Radio show with our director Ryan Russel

Read more
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In the best of years and those not-so-good, Drach’s orchard is still all about family, fun and produce

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By Beccy Tanner

Jean Drach is apologetic as she answers the phone.

No apples this year for sale.

 And the peaches that she and her husband, Larry, sold, they were brought in from Colorado.

But the heirloom tomatoes were awesome. It was a good year for tomatoes.

She credits two late freezes and blistery hot summer temperatures for this year’s lack of produce.

But this is just one year.

The couple have had lots of good years and have plans that next year will once again be bountiful.

Beginning in 2006, it was the couple’s dream to farm. They started an orchard with five acres.

Drach’s Farm & Orchard is located three miles east of the US-281 and K-19 intersection.

“We didn’t really know anything about crop farming or cattle, so my husband said let’s put an orchard in,” Jean Drach said.

That first year, the apple and peach trees were nothing more than sticks.

“We didn’t have much knowledge about fruit trees,” she said. “We thought we put them in the ground, and we’d have apples and peaches. But no.”

It took time and investigation and testing to see what varieties grew best in Stafford County.

“We did our research, especially on the peaches of what ones would grow in this area.”

The first year they planted 100 trees.

And then, planted another hundred.

“And now, with some of the storms, we are down to 168,” Jean said. “It’s just the two of us.

“It took us 10 years for the apple trees to start producing.”

The orchard has 20 varieties of apples; four different types of pears; as many varieties of peaches and – she emphasizes – in good years, also pumpkins.

There are also blackberry bushes.

The secret to much of their success all these years, she says, belongs to the sandy soil of Stafford County.

“It makes good, good planting for the trees because the water just absorbs down into the roots,” she said.

They have also grown potatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe.

“Now, that we’ve grown a little older we are not doing those as much,” Jean said. 

Like most farmers, the Drachs have discovered the Kansas weather – like the weather experienced this summer – can mean the difference between a good year and a poor one.

“It was unpredictable,” Jean says of the summer’s storms and heat. “We also feel that climate change is here because we are seeing a difference. In good years, each apple tree can produce up to 1,000 apples.”

Last year, the Drachs made 300 half gallons of cider.

This year, the apples split on the tree before they were ripe.

In years past, droves of people come out and pick apples and school groups come to explore and taste.

Their orchard is a feel-good, neighborly oasis in a sea of wheat fields and prairie grass plots.

They’ve had pumpkin festivals and pumpkin hunts, in fact it’s called the Great Pumpkin Hunt  (similar to Easter Egg hunts) in the orchard.

She encourages children to try the different varieties of apples to see which ones entice their taste buds the most.

“They get to walk the five acres and they are pretty pooped when they get back on the bus,” she says chuckling. “It’s (the orchard) turned out to be more than we ever thought it would be.”

And, that’s a good thing.

It’s a good thing area families and social events in Stafford County.

Typically, during the summer months, customers operate on the honor system. Refrigerators in a shed on the orchard grounds are filled with produce, customers are welcome to select produce from the refrigerators and pay for them by dropping their money in a mailbox behind the refrigerators.

“I have never heard anything negative about our orchard,” Jean said. “It’s been so nice.”

Some locals even consider it a stopping point as they do their regular chores.

“One more thing about the refrigerators, we keep pop, candy and Little Debbies for all the guys that are farming near by, or who check the tank batteries. One neighbor — there is a dirt road that goes between us and their house, she takes her grandkids down every Friday night and the boys get their own pop and candy and that makes their day because there’s nothing like that around here.”

It’s also true for the bikers who participate in the annual Bike Across Kansas and other bikers who use the route.

“We have a sign up for them and put a picnic table up for them,” Jean said.

The sign says “Bikers Welcome,” but really anybody is welcome.

“They stop, eat peaches, and take pictures. It’s great.”

One evening when a terrible storm came up, a biker called the Drachs and asked if he could spend the night in their orchard.

Of course, he could.

Some travelers have even left gifts for the Drachs – more soda pop and even Danish rolls.

It’s become a refuge for travelers near the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

In the meantime, the vision each year for the Drach Orchard continues.

“Hopefully, next year we will have a better crop,” she said.

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Jaffle Sandwiches part of Kansas State Fair’s annual tradition

It was in 1980 when Leanne and Wade Russell began their Jaffle Sandwich pilgrimages to the Kansas State Fair.

The couple from Hudson have always been great cooks. But that year, before the fair started, they were looking for something a bit different to try.

The Russells had a café in Sterling. And, in 1980, were searching for a way to take their food on the road.

When they are not at the state fair, Wade is the minister at Trinity Community Church in Hudson.  Leanne is a diagnostic therapist at the Center for Consultation and Counseling in Great Bend.

And they are parents to Ryan Russell, Stafford County’s Economic Development director.

But 43 years ago, they were looking for another way to share their love for cooking.

“Well, we just sold our restaurant in Sterling and were looking for something else to do,” said Leanne Russell. “And Wade found out that a space was open at the State Fair. So, he sent off for some information about some products for Turo. The guy sent back 30 pages about the Turo and one page about the Jaffle Sandwich.

“We looked at that one page and I said ‘the Jaffle Sandwich sounds good.’ So, we went with that.”

Jaffle is Australian meaning … well, sandwich.

But the Jaffle Sandwich is so much more than a sandwich.

“The cowboys would bake them with cast iron grills that had both top and bottoms,” Leanne said. “They would put the bread in and the filling and toast them over a fire.”

For those who are long-time fairgoers, the Russell’s Jaffle Sandwich booth is located across from Ye Old Mill.

“The first year we did this, we had to buy bread in Canada,” Leanne said. “The man we bought the Jaffle bakers from sold us the bakers but said we would have to buy the bread from him. His bread was quite expensive for back then.

“It was 80 cents for 1,000 loaves.”

Eight hundred dollars, a hefty price no matter what year it was sold.

Wade had to pick the loaves of bread up in Ontario, Canada.

Leanne had helpers but that first year and the sandwiches sold out, despite the fact that some Kansans can be picky eaters when it comes to trying something new.

The Russells invested in another 1,000 loaves to take their Jaffle Sandwiches on the road – to other events – next in line was the Neewollah Festival in Independence.

And then on to the Tulsa fair.

“So, through all that, we got to selling Jaffle sandwiches,” Leanne said. “People would try them and absolutely love them.”

But, at first, it was hard to get people to try the sandwiches.

“We never had any trouble getting people to try the Jaffles at Neewollah, but at the Kansas State Fair, it was hard, at first.”

But once they did, the Jaffles became a fair favorite!

“Each year, it is a lot of work, but we do enjoy seeing the people,” Leanne said. “People come by and say hi to us.”

Leanne said they even have a few truck driver customers who park outside the fair grounds and walk in – just to buy the Jaffle sandwiches.

“They tell the guys at the gate, ‘We’re just getting Jaffles!”

So, how many Jaffle sandwich varieties are there?

Five.

There is the Meat Jaffle.

“We called it that because 43 years ago, they wouldn’t let us call it the Pizza Jaffle,” Leanne said. “It has sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and a sauce,” she said. “That’s the most popular and then, we have chicken, ham and cheese, veggie and then the Dessert Jaffle – with an apple pie filling.”

And then, they also have Lemonade.

Pure lemonade made from scratch, none of that powdery stuff.

“We make it with fresh squeezed lemons and our own sugar water. It’s just pure juice,” Leanne said. “It’s pretty yummy.”

Leanne says that she and Wade plan on manning their Jaffle Sandwiches booth at the Kansas State Fair for many more years, until they can no longer do it.

Then, they hope, their grown children will take over their long-standing tradition.

“I just have felt all along that the kids were going to take over,” she said.

And, in his spare time, Leanne said, that Ryan will be helping out his parents this year at the fair.

And that’s always a good fair tradition when families get together.

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Stafford County Organizes A Letter In Opposition to Quivira Call for Water

A letter signed by 32 city and county officials from 5 counties was created in response the Quivira’s Call for Water. The letter which outlines the catastrophic effect the diversion of water would cause to these counties was sent to Martha Williams Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. It was also sent to Gov. Laura Kelly’s office.

Carolyn Dunn wrote the letter and a number of Economic Development Directors from several counties collected the signatures.

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Sunflower Trailer, a landmark for St. John

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It was only a few years after Keno Maxom opened Sunflower Trailer at the corner of the old St. John Motel off US-281, that Bruce Heller, first began hauling trailers.

It’s been a trailer dealership since 1991, according to their website, sunflowertrailersales. Com.

Their inventory is endless – equipment trailers, car haulers, tilt trailers, utility trailers, dump trailers, livestock trailers and more.

The address is 2-A, N.E. 20th Street.

“Then I was working in Chapman, Ks. and Junction City and hauling trailers for him and different things,” Heller said. “It got to be every night I was going somewhere half the night and delivering stuff. In 1993, he came to me and said, ‘Why don’t you come down here and we will just start growing this thing.”

And before he knew it, Heller had moved to St. John. “The more I was down here, the more I liked it.”

Now, he is the owner and president of Sunflower Trailer.

His customers technically come from across the nation.

“Yesterday, we had a guy come from Waco, Texas and last week, there was a guy from Colorado.”

More specifically, the business has customers in an eight-state region around Kansas.

“We’ve had some really good ones over the years and a lot are repeat business,” Heller said. “We go to the state fairs and set up for 10 days and man, you end up seeing people you saw 20 years before. I mean, it’s crazy how you hear from people. One guy bought a trailer from me in ’97 and a friend he knew decided he wanted to come try them. Pretty cool when it’s word-of-mouth.”

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