The Kansas Sampler Foundation announced its “Eight Wonders of Kansas Customs” early Friday — and two of them are in Leavenworth.
Both the soda fountain at The Corner Pharmacy and the carousel at the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum were chosen to represent the state’s cultural heritage after about six weeks of online voting.
Ordering from a soda fountain and riding a C.W. Parker carousel were both customs that were included on the list that have Leavenworth connections.
The pharmacy’s owner, Ron Booth, said soda fountains have an important tie to Kansas history.
Even 30 years ago, he said corner pharmacies were plentiful — as were the soda fountains in them. Now, Booth said his is one of only 38 fountains in the state, and only 22 fountains located in drug stores.
Whether thirsty for a green river, a chocolate malt or a phosphate, Booth said he gets a lot of visitors at the pharmacy who take a seat at one of the stools.
“I think a lot of people have a lot of interest in soda fountains,” he said. “We have a lot of parents and grandparents who bring younger kids in.”
Jerry Reinhardt, director of the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, said the inclusion of the museum and its 1913 Parker carousel on the list came as a surprise.
“Most of those things that were nominated have been around forever and we’ve only been around for five years,” he said of the museum.
Nominated before in another category, Reinhardt said he didn’t at first know that the museum was in the running for the customs list. After finding out, he said he and other staff and volunteers at the museum urged everyone they knew to vote online.
According to a release from the Kansas Sampler Foundation, more than 12,000 votes were cast from around the world to narrow down the field of 24 finalists. Marci Penner, director of the foundation, said many of the nominees were neck-in-neck.
“This was the closest race we’ve had to date, and though it was the hardest to explain, it won my heart,” she said in the release.
The other six Kansas customs include “bringing musicians together” for a weekly jam session at the Emma Chase Café in Cottonwood Falls; “chanting a school fight song” in honor of the University of Kansas Jayhawks’ “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk” chant; “clicking your heels together three times and saying ‘There’s no place like home’” at the “Wizard of Oz” attractions in Wamego or Liberal; “commemorating Veterans Day” in Emporia, where a resident helped change Armistice Day into Veterans Day; “displaying an ethnic handicraft” in Lindsborg, with its traditional and pop-art Dala horses; and “using natural material for fencing” with the post rocks of Lacrosse and throughout the Smoky Hills.
