Herington

Herington is a fair-sized town for central Kansas, with over 2,000 residents. We came here because of a fairly cheap hotel where we could stay after our friend's musical in Marion. The next morning, we explored.

On the edge of town, the kids noticed a number of "box houses," which were actually mobile homes. We also saw a number of other houses, mostly modest, aging, and pretty well-maintained. 

We saw one house with LOTS of bikes in the yard, to which I remarked, "Wow, those people must love bikes."

"Or hate them," Magen replied.

The downtown is pretty lively, with Ralph and Izzy's Coffee Shop, the old Dilley Bros. Baking Co. building which has been turned into Pike's Body Shop, and several other businesses. The town has a swimming pool that was built in 1937, as well as a really nice park, a pond, and some fairgrounds. There's a historical society near the fairgrounds.

Broadway is an aptly named street that has a grassy median between the lanes. Probably the broadest way we've seen in a Kansas town. Also on Broadway, we saw a Carnegie library in excellent shape, as well as an old, rundown Masonic Lodge and an equally decrepit Presbyterian church. 

Just down Broadway from those buildings, we saw a lovely mural on the side of a combination Family Dollar / Dollar Tree store. It struck me as a strangely perfect metaphor for the complicated histories and futures of little towns like this one.

Though the modern town was founded in 1887, this is also the place where Father Juan de Padilla was killed in 1542 by Wichita Indians, who apparently did not enjoy being proselytized very much. There's a memorial to him in Father Padilla Memorial Park, near the swimming pool.

In addition to a medical center and a number of shops, Herington has a lake and a reservoir, for those who love the life aquatic. It is also the western terminus of the Flint Hills Trail.