"It's so important that we each support our rural communities to keep them bountiful and thriving. If we do not support them, who will?"

~ Shirley Black, Howard

Out-of-the-way places, hiking spots, scenic drives, made-from-scratch food, fun art, amazing architecture, and Kansas characters await you in this one-of-a-kind Kansas guidebook. Ask for personalized autographs.

Buy the book that will change how you see Kansas

Buy the book in bulk for all your employees or customers! Contact [email protected].

Beautiful Harland Schuster pictures showcase the 216 places in Kansas that were part of the 8 Wonders contests .

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In this collection of brief, evocative vignettes, Penner traces the influence of pioneer roots on the present generation as he chronicles the transformation of the land from untouched prairie to productive farm.

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Sport your allegiance to Kansas with fun t-shirts designed for Kansas Explorer Club members--or unofficial Explorers, too!

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Kansas Explorer Club membership

End-of-year donations help re-fill the operating accounts of many non-profits, including the Kansas Sampler Foundation. Think about the organizations in your life that do good work and send them a donation of any size.Every contribution means a great deal.

Donate here to Kansas Sampler Foundation

Prairie Harvest has a new brand, Prairy! Buy all sorts of treats ranging from pfeffernosse (peppernuts) to trail mix. Plus, other Kansas specialty products for sale, and gift boxes!

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All products are made with the freshest ingredients. No frozen bagged store bought fruits.

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Truffles, assorted chocolates, and the ever-popular pop-choc (chocolate drizzled popcorn).

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Jill Berning says, "I absolutely love making toffee and experimenting with different flavors. As of right now I have toffee with pecans or with toasted almonds. For the topping I use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate and semi sweet chocolate."

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If you can get past the Sandhill Plum Jelly, there are 19 other delicious flavors. The quick-bread mixes are also homemade, using Kansas-grown wheat, milled in Hudson at the Stafford County Mills.

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Hudson Cream Flour is for the home baker. It is made using a "short patent" milling process, a process in which the wheat is ground more times and sifted with finer-meshed sieves than in standard milling. Also, the short patent process sifts away more by-product, leaving only the heart of the wheat kernel to make Hudson Cream flour. The result is a flour that is smoother in texture and produces baked goods that are consistently light and fluffy.

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Each batch is freshly popped once per week, hand seasoned and out to the customer within 48 hours after popping. Fresh is always best!

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Stumpy's is owned and operated by The Cook family located in North Topeka.

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Hillside Honey is a family and veteran owned bee farm located in Kansas. We offer local raw unfiltered honey, infused and creamed honey, and a whole host of personal care products.

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It's the only mustard Marci Penner uses. Nine flavors! Lydia Hein (Granny) first debuted her family mustard secret recipe in 1990. It's been making sandwiches, sausage, and other meats better ever since.

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Pat’s Beef Jerky opened this family-operated business in 1990 in the former Liebenthal State Bank. Pat spent many hours trying recipes until the final secret recipe was found. Customers love it!

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No matter what dish you plan to make, Grandma Hoerner's famous pie fillings, savory sauces, fruit spreads, and more are here to impress your taste buds.

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Dwight Baldwin planted five acres of popcorn in the spring of 2017. In September 2017 the crop was harvested and the Baldwin family began marketing their popcorn under the Papa Baldy's label.

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In 2015, Nate and Stacey Freitag started Free Day Popcorn Company to provide consumers with the freshest popcorn available. The company name comes from the Freitags' last name. Freitag in German is Friday or literally, "frei" = "free" and "tag" = "day".

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Since 2013, Bill and Angie’s goal is to create a high-quality product in every handcrafted batch of popcorn

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Since 1970, Gary and Marian Schlaegel have been growing the pop "corn" on their family farm. They now have 20 flavors.

Popcorn gift boxes

The company’s spice blends include Italian, Cajun, Taco, Fajita, Chili, Jalapeno, Beef Sauce, Salsa, Garlic and many more. The company also invented dry soup mixes.

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Povitica is a European hand-made sweet bread. Choose from twelve flavors including English Walnut, Strawberry, Poppy Seed and Lemon Cream.

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Order a tin of honey or cinnamon roasted nuts!

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Coffee Roastery is a family owned and operated coffee shop and roasting company located in “Little Sweden USA”. They are an artisan microroaster, specializing in super-premium, single-origin Arabica bean coffees. Find many flavors along with the Christmas blend.

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When it comes to roasting, they do it small. Roasting only 3.8lbs per batch fits perfectly with Heidi and Kale's strict stance on freshness. No coffee is ever sold past seven days from roasting (actually its usually off the shelf in 3 -5 days). This keeps them roasting daily and guarantees you get the freshest coffee possible. After all...Fresh is their FIRST NAME!!

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Grass-finished beef, pastured poultry, pigs, and goats are the main feature but you can also get homemade soaps and dog bones. Try the German Bologna! Gift certificates available. Orders delivered.

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From meats to handmade preserves to doggie treats, buy from this family farm operation!

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Naturally raised dry aged beef grown without added hormones or antibiotics from a small family ranch in Kansas.

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"We are dedicated to raising high quality grass fed beef and lamb. In pursuit of sustainability, we manage our livestock holistically to take better care of our land and our animals.

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The wine is really good and the names are really fun! Blue Gingham Dress, Oil Can, Drunken Munchkin, Aunt Em's Prairie Rose, and many more!

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As owner Bob DesRuisseaux says, Prairie Fire is a "dirt to glass" operation. Find twenty five Kansas-grown wine choices with fun and attractive labels.

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Among the wines is the 2019 Christmas wine: This is a wonderful blended white, semi-sweet wine for holiday meals and parties.

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I n 2002, the vineyard began with an initial planting of Nortons (Cynthiana). In the following years they added Norton, St. Vincent, Seyval, Chambourcin, Fredonia, Vignoles, and Traminette vines. The vineyard now covers approximately 8 acres in Eudora.

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Famous for their elderberry wines, they now have over 40 wines made from fruits, berries, and some grape varieties.

 

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Kansas clay is used to make unique handmade ceramic jewelry and pottery.

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Find handmade tile and decorative pottery by Carol Long.

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Find Robin's original or digital art on many products on her Zazzle site.

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IBISwoman designers Kathy Richardson and Briana Zimmerling find inspiration in the gallery's huge, global collection of antique, vintage and contemporary beads. Find work from artists Carla Wilson and Lee Becker, too.

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Fine art prints, cards, and posters from National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson are on this site.

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David Drew is a native Kansas nature photographer capturing the unique and disappearing vistas of the prairie ecosystem.

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The Konza Press showcases the people, places and rich traditions of the Great Plains through the work of native artists, writers and photographers. They produce popular gift-books, greeting cards and other products.

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Danny Meisinger works to artistically shape clay in ways that bring function and beauty together.

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Expressing the quiet beauty of Kansas through watercolor and pencil.

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Handmade sterling silver jewelry with a gothic Western feel. Featuring vintage glass cabochons and my signature silver roses.

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Look for gifts exclusive to this premier Kansas event.

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Kansas Originals Market and Gallery showcases the fine art, folk art, exquisite crafts, and food products of over 200 Kansans—the largest selection found anywhere.

They offer gift baskets, too!

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Find holiday gift boxes filled with Kansas products.

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The Downtown Hays Market plays host to almost 80 vendors each season including farm and art vendors.

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Zach started off building Early American furniture with traditional joinery and a bit of carving but now has moved to a more Mid- Century style.

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Bison Woodworking is what happens when a couple of individuals with a passion for woodworking come together to make something great. Starting in a garage in 2006, Bison Woodworking was a one man show, turning out beautiful and unique kitchen islands and butcher blocks. Each one, built by hand, one at a time. Now with a small team, they can make that one-of-a-kind piece for you.

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Lil Grizz the hat maker is a legend of the old west come to life. For decades he has criss-crossed the country making hats by hand just as they would have been made in the 1800′s. His hat shop consists of a small wood stove, a set of antique hat irons, and rows and rows of hat blocks.

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Sands Level and Tool dates back to 1895.

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"We are a fresh, small business local to Wichita Comprised of Ernest Sharp and Rose Hansen, we decided to step outside of our comfort zone, and follow our passion for engineering and art. From graphic design to mechanical engineering, between the two of us, we will do everything in our power to turn your cool idea into reality."

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All items are designed and cut in the shop in Florence. Take a drive through the Flint Hills and shop in person, too!

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Since its inception, Fisher’s Rock Products has expanded its product line to include: paperweights, stepping stones, benches, novelty rocks, residential landscaping signs, and commercial signs, all made from limestone rock quarried near Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

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Add color and art to your table with these hand embellished serving utensils. Most are 18/10 stainless steel, each is beautifully designed and fully functional. 

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The Atom Pop is a stove top popcorn popper. It makes 2 1/2 quarts of popped corn. The bowl measures 10 1/2 inches in diameter at the top and the base is 3 3/4 inches in diameter. The conical shape and aluminum bowl allow the popcorn to be popped without stirring or shaking.

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Soy candles, soy wax melts, and room & linen sprays are hand-poured with hand-dipped incense. Other exclusive products will help make your space smell wonderful!

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"Every product and every package is made by our hands here on our farm. From the animal care, animal birthing, milking, making, packaging and labeling; our hands do it all. Everything is handmade and will be entirely unique in its own way."

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From Alpaca to Yak, The Shepherd's Mill creates exquisite yarns and fabrics from the nation's finest natural fibers.

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Jeana Padgham brings quilts to life!

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Rogue Tools are handcrafted and made from recycled disc blades. The grinding, welding and sharpening are all done by hand. Hoes are used in gardens and fields. Larger blades are used to clean sidewalks, driveways, car washes, farm buildings, and more. The fire fighting/trail building tools are the newest model

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High school student Gabe Backhus likes to use his own lures in the fishing competitions he enters. He is glad to sell them to others, too. Two classmates help him with this entrepreneurial effort.

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The book includes a number of photographs for each of fourteen sites in central Kansas, highlighting individual carvings but also the groups and settings in which they occur.

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Jim is the author or co-author of a dozen books that you can find on this site. They all involve his beloved Flint Hills.

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Author Ohm says , "Brown Enough is a novel, based on a true story set in 1956, featuring seven Blacks, three Mexicans and one white guy all tolerating the nearness of racism while playing baseball, the game they love."

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Author and historian Adrian Zink digs deep into the Sunflower State's history to reveal intriguing hidden and overlooked stories.

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Here is a book with a fresh look at the Christmas story through the eyes of the animals that shared the stable with the newborn Jesus.

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Meadowlark Books publishes memoir, poetry, short stories, and novels. Read stories that began in the Heartland, that were written here.

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Kansas Oddities: Just Bill the Acting Rooster, The Locust Plagues of Grasshopper Falls, Naturalist Camps And More.

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This 111-page paperback tells the story of how grain storage began, how elevators were invented, who owns them and how they work. See many historic color photos.

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Robbie Richten is at a crossroads. A promising relationship has faded. His freelance writing career in Kansas City is withering. He returns to his childhood home, a family farm in central Kansas, hoping to sort out his future. While there, he crosses paths with a friend and former classmate who has suffered a devastating loss. They connect anew, prompting Robbie to wonder if something more is possible.

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Heart of a Champion: The Life and Legacy of Coach Bill Freeman remembers a great coach and an even greater man. The author is Bill's daughter.

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Judi Kirk explores what's left of the historic, colorful, and dynamic local 20th Century full-service filling stations found across Kansas. Some have been abandoned while others have been restored and preserved, or found new lives as office space, pharmacies, or retail stores.

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Cheryl Unruh is one of the best writers of Kansas life and her vivid descriptions put you in the scene. Find her publications here.

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Cameos of Courage is set in Kansas and covers a span from the 1850's - 1880's. The book follows four ten-year-old girls making a home in Kansas: an abolitionist, an Osage Indian, an Exoduster, and a homesteader.

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Landenberger, the Wild Rose Poet, says, "This is poetry from the land that the Cheyenne loved the best, where the sky is blue as wonder and the prairie passed the test, where the grain is gold and tasty and the beef is number one, and the air is just the clearest under western Kansas sun."

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The press publishes work on American politics (including the presidency, American political thought, and public policy), military history and intelligence studies, American history (especially political, cultural, intellectual, and western), environmental policy and history, American studies, film studies, law and legal history, Native American studies, and books about Kansas and the Midwest.

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Discover the wonders awaiting you in the heartland! Each issue of  KANSAS!  is individually curated by dedicated editor Andrea Etzel to take you on a memorable journey through the Sunflower State.

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Buy RoJean's beautiful harp music via CD, DVD, sheet music, or a download.

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"Darkness bites off another minute of sunlight in this stunningly composed and orchestrated song of deepening winter, yet the light will soon return – spirituality without religious references – equally appropriate for northern and southern hemispheres."

Find many other albums, as well.

Buy Ann's music

“Meet a number of Flint Hills residents who are contributing to their communities in different ways in this 90-minute documentary from Dave Kendall & Laura Mead at Prairie Hollow Productions.” 

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Home on the Range Movie Soundtrack: The music from the story of America’s iconic song.

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Joe and Nakita Hirsch have a 14 passenger transit bus to take you on amazing Kansas adventures.

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Participate in a cattle drive or a sunset or moonlight trail ride. Get a gift certificate here.

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Their brand offers premium quality Kansas apparel and small goods rooted in local history. Their designs tell a story about growing up with grass stains on gravel roads in the Kansas side of Kansas City.

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Shirts made in America, designed and silk screened in a "little hometown!"

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Handmade Trendy Tees for Mamas and Kiddos made with love and high quality heat transfer vinyl.

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