Hi! I am Cami. Near my home is a winery named Serendipity. I like to go there because it is out in the country and they have live bands on the weekend, and because I am always hoping something serendipitous will happen to me there. Well, I learned today that serendipity doesn’t work that way. You can’t go looking for it. It just happens to you when you are not expecting it. Serendipity, apparently, is an unexpected surprise. And it finally happened to me today — in Bonner Springs Kansas.
I arrived to begin researching for this blog — a Midwest travel blog with a spotlight on history and genealogy. I went first to the town library, where I discovered the Kansas Room. It holds historical and genealogical information. I met Nancy Landers, who has lived in Bonner since she was 5. We started going through their archives and ended up on the floor, digging through boxes and boxes of exciting finds. Nancy kept me enthralled with town folklore.
Nancy pushed a pile of old newspapers over to me. I so enjoy reading the section about the everyday lives of the townspeople.
This is an old phone book. This must surely be a curiosity to our youngest generation. Even for me, it was a delight to look through these pages, after I have long become accustomed to using whitepages.com.
I wonder if anyone in Bonner Springs today would recognize these names. I imagine you are thinking my moment of serendipity occurred as I turned these pages. But alas…..no. My ancestors are from other regions, far away.
I decided to do some browsing through the shops in the historic district. I entered Yowza Antiques, and was instantly mesmerized by Ivan. The good thing about shopping in a small town is the friendliness of the business people. The owners introduced themselves. A charming family with an infectious passion for history. Tamera and Patrick are the parents, and Kelsey, Kyler, and Karleigh are the adult children. I instantly started asking endless questions, as usual. My curiosity is insatiable. They fed the flame of my inquisitiveness. They explained that Ivan is a Russian marionette that is approximately 200 years old. His body is made of wood, with cork inside. His uniform is silk. Kelsey said when they enter the building in the morning, his head has often turned in a different direction during the night. Mysterious.
This is the front and back of a spool cabinet from the mid-1800’s. Tamera’s brother went hunting for arrowheads on a farmer’s property in Donovan. Louie, the farmer, told him that years ago, a small town near there, Geary, completely flooded. So Louie bought the whole town. The spool cabinet was in the general store. It survived the flood. So Tamera bought it from Louie the farmer. What a great story. The best antique store owners know the stories behind their items.
I found these enchanting. They have a large collection of chromolithographs from 1897 – 1903 era and thereafter. I had to google that term. I was unfamiliar with it.
I have rarely met a family with such an immense knowledge of all things historical. Come and visit with these people, especially if you share our great interest in the past.
I went up the road to this darling boutique. Upstairs they have this art studio, where you can take classes to make the crafts displayed in the window. Aren’t they super cute?!
Downstairs, they have a shop, where the proceeds are donated to a local charity, Avenue of Life.
Charlotte showed me some of their items. They are doing a really great work here. These are the types of places that are a joy to support.
You may be wondering if you missed the serendipity. Not yet. But it is coming.
A friend joined me for hot cocoa in the town’s wildly popular Third Space Coffeeshop. Everything is extra delicious and the ambiance is wonderfully cozy. A lady sitting nearby joined our conversation about the history of the town, and gave us the name of one of the town historians –Brad, whose business was just down the street. A huge thank you to Phyllis, who started the ball rolling. I was now on a direct path to intersect my serendipity.
Brad is the owner of the Alden-Harrington Funeral Home, which his great grandfather, Frank Alden, started in 1908. Brad is also the President of the Bonner Springs Historical Preservation Society. His brother, Jeff, happened to be there when we arrived. Jeff is the town Mayor.
Since their family has owned this business continuously, they have all the records. Oftentimes when a funeral business changes hands, records can be disposed of. So I asked Brad if he would show me their oldest ledger. And here is a page from it. You can email Brad for the funeral record of your Bonner Springs ancestor: BRH@kc.rr.com.
I asked Brad to name a notable person in their cemetery. He said Gene Clark, who was in the American Rock band, The Birds. Also, Chief Ne Con He Con, of the Wolfband tribe of the Delaware Indians.
Then Brad treated us to some personal history. He and Jeff took us out into a massive garage, where they have their great grandfather’s Model T from 1923. And …..
they have and still use a horse-drawn hearse from the 1870’s. It is just pure fun being with people who love history.
And now we come to that magical moment. As we turned to say our farewells, I noticed their business sign and turned towards the brothers. Is your last name Harrington? Yes, they answered. I hesitated. It is a common surname. But I continued anyway. “Are you also descended from my great+ grandfather, Sir John Harrington?” Their eyes lit up as they instantly registered the remarkable coincidence. Yes! We are related. We share an ancestor. I took a statistics class in college, which always causes me to calculate a statistic. So, truly — what would the probability be that a girl from San Diego would move to Kansas, and meet Phyllis in a coffeeshop one day, who would recommend she go interview Brad down the road, and in a random conversation they realize they are related??! Astounding. Oh how I love you, Serendipity!