It's time for another half hour of Hattebergs people.

And here's what's coming up.

I don't make him into a saint.

He had it.

He had his weaknesses.

But he did so much more than anybody's giving him credit for.

Historian David Nicholls of Winfield set the record straight about Dwight Eisenhower, his role in the civil rights movement, and he got national attention for it.

We'll revisit the story from 2007.

Plus, it's just so much a part of me.

It's really a monument to the people who built it.

Not enough parishioners and priests to keep it going.

This magnificent church could have faced the wrecking ball.

Learn how dedicated townsfolk step up and save it.

Also, a friend of mine said, you've got a terrible problem.

Who are you going to be?

On the radio live for an hour and you're just going to talk about Kansas?

I don't know what you're going to talk about.

Jim Countryman proved the naysayers wrong in a big way.

We'll go back to 2004 as he celebrated 15 years of doing a radio show unlike anyone else.

And we'll have this.

People come here to treat themselves.

When they stop at the hot dog cart.

They're stopping to give themselves a treat and they're in a good mood.

The year was 1984, and Phyllis Caulked had become the first licensed street vendor in Kansas history.

Larry was there.

She was dishing out her dogs to the hungry throng.

Hello, I'm Susan Peters, and I'm Larry Bird.

Those are just some of the Kansas stories we'll revisit on this edition of Hattebergs People.

These stories are like old friends.

Their lives radiate from the screen like prophets of the past.

They were teachers, but not in a classroom home.

Instead, they taught about life to those around them who cared to listen.

And I was their student.

Setting the record straight.

That was the goal of historian David Nicholls setting out to correct what history had got wrong about Kansas native son Dwight Eisenhower.

Now, nickel's groundbreaking book a matter of justice, is about the Eisenhower administration and its record on civil rights.

Now, in 2007, it attracted national interest.

Up until then, most historians had portrayed Eisenhower at best as a bystander in the civil rights movement or at worst, hostile towards the plight of African-Americans.

Nichols did the research and showed it was just simply not true, like the Eisenhower had bolted into the race for the highest post in the land.

I mean, I understand I don't make him into a saint.

He had it.

He had his weaknesses.

But he did so much more.

And everybody's giving him credit for it.

Historian and author David Nichols of Winfield believes that President Eisenhower deserves more credit for the civil rights revolution.

We are moving closer to the goal of fair and equal treatment of citizens without regard to race or color.

Nichols is a former professor and academic dean at Southwestern College in Winfield.

He loved his job, but history is his forte.

Only a handful of bystanders were there to see the nine Negro students arrive in this army vehicle.

The same way they went to and from school yesterday.

But I couldn't get past little Rock.

It didn't fit Eisenhower's role in it just has not been told, at least until until my book comes out.

Nichols book discusses the 1957 desegregation of little Rock High School.

It was here that Eisenhower, in a bold and unusual move, sent federal troops to Arkansas to enforce school integration.

I have today issued an executive order directing the use of troops under federal authority to aid in the execution of federal law.

At little Rock, Arkansas, troops were on the ground by the time he made this speech.

In Nichols research at the Eisenhower Library in Abilene.

He found Eisenhower's role not only in little Rock, but in the civil rights movement itself was little known or appreciated.

Mob rule can not be allowed to override the decisions of the courts.

Working with Eisenhower's original papers, Nichols found that early assumptions about Eisenhower his involvement in civil rights were simply wrong.

Eisenhower, Nichols says, was actually a leader in civil rights, and these newfound historical documents prove it.

It's the tip of the iceberg.

Because he had desegregated the district, Columbia had finished desegregating the armed forces.

He'd gotten civil rights legislation through just four days before that crisis, and little Rock broke out.

So in a sense, this simply confirmed in a very dramatic fashion who he really was in terms of his attitude toward civil rights.

Good night, and thank you very much.

This has been a special address by the president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower.

This one filled historian is certainly being noticed nationally.

He wrote a two page article in the U.S. News and World Report, and will soon have an op ed piece in the New York Times.

I'm not a better in time my entire life, and I'm 68 years old.

But isn't that a neat thing to be able to say?

Nichols wrote two more books about Eisenhower in recent years, and was considered one of the foremost experts on our 34th president.

He passed away in 2022 at age 82.

He was also a professor at Southwestern College in Winfield, and I remember going up with him to the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene while he was doing his research.

And he would go up in the back research area that not many people are allowed, and they would bring him all these raft of papers so he could go through and work on it for a book.

It was he was fascinating.

He was meticulous going through his research.

Oh, he was right.

Yes, yes.

And thank God he did.

He did because it's an entirely different perspective.

Changed the view.

It's always a conundrum what to do with grand historic buildings that have outlived their intended purpose.

Well, folks in the tiny town of Phifer were faced with that dilemma when the town's beloved church closed.

It was the town's signature landmark, and suddenly its future was in doubt.

Fortunately, people like Carol Bullinger cared too much to let this amazing building and its history go by the wayside.

It's just so much a part of me.

It's really a monument to the people who built it.

In Fifer, Kansas, Carol Bullinger is the postmaster.

We're in a little valley, and all the farmers that all they have to do is step outside and they can see the church.

We really cannot let this church go.

It is just it's just so beautiful and so indescribable.

She's right.

It was built by town folks of German, Russian heritage.

They built it in 1918 at a cost of $56,000.

So you see their hard work.

You see the sacrifices that they went through.

And you can't.

You can't escape that.

That's part of it.

In 1993, this magnificent church closed.

Not enough priests, not enough people.

It's very painful.

And it's very painful.

Still, it doesn't.

It doesn't go away.

But those who remained wouldn't give it up.

Too many memories.

To me personally, this church has always been a sign of my faith.

We have never found a place that we felt at home.

I like this church.

I was born here.

I was raised here.

I got married here and raised my family here.

We've had so many people, so many people, since we were close.

Come up to us and tell us, for heaven's sakes, don't let this thing go.

If you need help, let us know.

We'll help you.

Those who remained formed a nonprofit corporation.

Open the doors now.

Stay open through donations.

It makes it a joy to take care of it.

Rising like a monument to the human spirit, this church endures.

Carol Bellinger's work days come and go, but the church remains as the community bedrock.

The church that could not die.

Lives are.

And together, where we're making progress.

The appreciation and dedication of those community minded volunteers has carried on to the next generation.

Their nonprofit group, Holy Cross Charities, continues to raise money for restoration and upkeep.

Holy Cross Church is open for tours as well as funerals, weddings and other gatherings.

It's so nice when the people of a community can get together and save these landmark churches, particularly in rural areas.

You can't tear buildings like that decaying.

No, they're part of the community landscape.

They're part of the community mindset.

And they're pieces of art.

Really?

Yes they are.

Yeah, I'm glad they did what they did with Holy Cross.

Even lifelong Kansans often don't know about all the good things the state has to offer.

That's why Jeanne Countryman became so popular on a local radio station during the 1990s and 2000.

Yeah, Jean was one of the biggest cheerleaders and shared his love of the state that is sometimes underappreciated.

It's exactly the way it was 15 years ago.

It is exactly the way I'm rolling.

Here we go.

We're in a building where radio stations sprout like Kansas sunflowers.

Jeanne Countryman's little talk show has been an oasis of positive Kansas information.

Very pleasant.

Good morning to you.

Wherever you may be.

For 15 years, every Saturday morning at ten countrymen who grew up in Kansas, radio tells folks what's good about their state.

When I started the program, a friend of mine said, oh, you've got a terrible problem.

You.

Are you going to be on the radio live for an hour and you're just going to talk about Kansas?

I don't know what you're going to talk about because there isn't anything to do.

He's proven that friend wrong.

During his varied career in his office home, his walls reflect a career in radio, television and public relations.

He created the linger longer Kansas Secrets and the R Kansas campaigns to encourage Kansas tourism.

He's been in some form of promotion most of his career, even living overseas in England, but has always come back to Kansas.

We talked to friends around the country and we tell them what the weather is here today and what it's going to be and what it has been.

You know why they're more and more they're jealous of of living here.

Kansas has been the butt of jokes in a number of movies and television shows about how uninteresting and boring that it is, and the parts of it, let's face it, are not very photogenic.

Until you get to eastern Colorado and then Kansas starts to look better.

And while focusing this week on his anniversary, he's been trying to convince the state for years that our Western heritage is important to visitors.

People are interested in cowboys and Indians, and we have a wonderful Western heritage here.

From the trails, to, that old cowtown home of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.

And a great story, to tell.

But there is a reluctance, for whatever reason, to tell that.

Gene Countryman's career in travel and tourism in Kansas is a wall of memories, but his radio show is here and now, and a penchant for humor keeps his audience listening.

How long you been listening this program?

Oh, forever.

15 years.

Okay, well, say something if you can.

So we're taping the program with you.

If you can say something really, really nice, it might end up on people's Sunday night.

It wouldn't be a total loss for you.

Well, I like your show, and, I like hearing what's going on.

Now, gene kept doing a show until 2010.

In 2023, he passed away at age 86.

I was fortunate enough he interviewed me about a number of stories.

He was a good guy.

And, his radio show touched a lot of people.

And, you know, sometimes now in with with the internet and everything, him and everything.

Yeah, we forget about radio, but he made a difference in the community, and people love it.

Absolutely.

And he displayed some of Kansas's best.

And you displayed some of Kansas's best people and audio and visual.

Exactly.

Okay.

Now we're going to go back to 1984.

It's the year Apple introduced its Macintosh computer, the Cosby Show premiered to great acclaim.

Ronald Reagan won the biggest landslide election in presidential history, and Phyllis Copt was making some history of her own.

Now, believe it or not, Phyllis was the first of her kind in Kansas.

Take a look.

Downtown Lawrence, Kansas, on a spring afternoon.

It's a time to stroll.

Or maybe just read.

Or perhaps a time to enjoy a New York style hotdog from the first licensed street vendor this state has ever seen.

Meet Phyllis kommt, a one time English teacher turned hotdog vendor.

Sorry.

You want sauerkraut?

Chewy people come here to treat themselves.

When they stop at the hot dog cart.

They're stopping to give themselves a treat and they're in a good mood.

I know, Jennifer Hudson.

You bet.

Although street vendors are common in cities like New York and Kansas, they're rare.

Phyllis broke new ground when she gained her license in Lawrence in 1980.

It took almost two and a half years of research before she was granted the license, but for her, the wait was worth it.

Car mechanics.

They see people who are not happy.

Her cars or something's wrong with the car.

Doctors.

Usually there's something wrong if you're right, but you come to get a hot dog and you're coming to have a good time.

And that's the fun of it for me, is just meeting people.

Did you know that this is the 100th year anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge?

I didn't, and neither did this customer.

They say it's more of an architectural and engineering feat than the parents.

This is just amazing at what you can learn by buying one of Phyllis's fabulous franks.

Do you want to read it?

I'll bring my.

I'll bring my my newspaper some day, and you can sitting your hot dog and read about the Brooklyn Bridge.

Only in a college town can you get an education while eating a hot dog.

No matter.

Hot dogs are popular with everyone.

That's right.

Everyone.

It's.

It gets to be a lot of work on a real busy days.

Like Saturdays are real busy.

But yeah, there's that element of for me.

Hi.

How are you?

And what's new with you?

Tell me something funny.

When it was just.

Super dog.

Okay.

Mustard, Onions, Brown.

Okay.

Too much crap.

Try my best.

I gotta keep people happy.

Oh, the bus driver.

All right, so how popular is the hot dog in Lawrence?

Well, there's a bus driver who's having his fourth dog of the day, who's in a world class hurry because he left his bus double parked.

So that.

No.

That's okay.

Well, a man has to do what a man has to do.

Okay.

You bus from Lawrence, this is Laurie Hedberg.

Yeah.

Superdog.

Phyllis eventually gave up the hot dog business, and she and her husband, Louis, of more than 50 years still live in Douglas County.

Lewis is an artist and is known for his Flint Hills landscapes.

Anybody who paints the Flint Hills automatically like them because, you know, Flint Hills are one of our most beautiful area.

They are beautiful.

And the way you photograph them, you should see pictures of the Flint Hills.

Well, and they're unbelievable.

You're very kind.

Her hot dog, Stan.

Just think of the neat people you would meet with a hot dog stand.

You know how I would be one of the funnest jobs you ever have?

You meet all different kinds of people.

It would.

Yeah, you'd meet some real hot dogs.

You are so funny.

Yeah.

This afternoon, I am, some people love the fast life of parties and travel, and some are like Jack Dale.

Yeah.

By 1984, Jack was still a relatively young man, but nevertheless, he had been there, done that.

He loved the quiet, simple life.

Everything's moving too fast, really, for for everybody.

You just need to slow down a little bit.

But maybe getting to get in touch with the good Lord a little bit more.

Jack Dale gave up his life in California as a dance instructor, gave up his life as a hairstylist, and as a fashion illustrator, gave up his sports car and the fancy clothes.

He traded them all for this little shop in the middle of Kansas.

I suppose at the time I thought I was enjoying the finer things in life.

But it's just just.

Just what you finally end up finding out is the finer things in life.

You know, for him, those finer things now include boots waiting for repair, watching his dog search for shade and the prairie wind blowing the grass.

Like I always said, I told my kids, if you want to get high, just get up early in the morning and go out and smell that fresh country air that'll bring you up quicker than anything.

The mornings are absolutely beautiful.

Cool nights.

It's really, really a good place with his just wonderful being in the country.

Really is he?

Sure beats a concrete jungle.

You.

Well, you can't beat those birds either.

The American writer Thomas Wolfe said you can never go home again.

Well, Dale believes you can.

From near Stanford.

This is Larry Hedberg.

Jack later moved to New Mexico, but he requested that his ashes be scattered in Kansas now.

He passed away 20 years after that interview of emphysema.

He was 66 years old, and Jack's obituary says he was an artist who liked to design turn of the century style clothing.

As we've said before, there are fascinating people who really stay hidden from the public.

They do, you know, you never know.

You walk down the street, you want to knock on doors and say, hey, what are you doing?

What's your story?

What's your story?

What's happening in your world?

And, with him, we kind of did, and I that's what the good thing about how to do it is we meet some fascinating folk.

Fascinating.

By 2008, viral videos had become a thing.

And Krista Eiler seemed to understand the new medium very well.

Now, Krista was a mom with an incredible voice.

Along with her entertaining personality, Krista found an online niche that struck a chord so to speak.

Where are we going to?

Where are we going to?

Well, we're going to La la on the from our co-host from Oshkosh that is Krista Eiler, better known as Spunky Mama on one of her YouTube videos.

Now, Krista is also a mom, a former TV reporter, a singer songwriter, and loves to participate in musical theater.

Town.

Baby, I can call my mom.

I've been a singer.

My whole life when I'm not there.

Where's my grandma coming from?

These guys.

And musical theater was always a part of my life that I just kind of put on the back burner and thought I needed a real job with insurance and all of that good things that real job would be as a TV reporter, which she was in Kansas City.

I realized there was packed ice on the road.

I didn't want to work every Christmas and Thanksgiving and every Kansas winter snowstorm that came my way.

If you don't know me yet, I am Funky Mama.

And what I do is I write rock and roll for kids and their families.

So funky.

Mama was born so I put that down, down, babe I can drive down, down babe I can come a night.

Utilizing her vast musical talents and her love for children, she performs high energy shows like this one at Wonder Scope in Kansas City.

To what I tell you, what I say over here.

Okay, I got my bonus.

I got the magical, mystical crew.

I want the music to be something that they can enjoy together, something they can move and groove to and just have fun.

And music is fun.

I love her grandmother's house.

After the show, she packs up and heads home, but nothing is ever easy and it's all part of Christie's chaotic life.

I still have the mommy guilt of.

I'm sure there's a lot of working mothers do that.

I'm leaving my children with three CDs now out and her latest being Mood Juice.

She is well known to families in northeast Kansas, even performed at the white House Easter Egg Hunt when she was very, very pregnant.

It's really very funny.

We all acted like little kids because we were all kind of giggly about it.

Another day and stop them at a recording station tap dance.

But, but my, I'm doing her work in a studio is okay, but she knows her life is with the kids.

The pre-K kids are so willing to just give you love.

Friends.

Until we meet again.

I'm funky.

Mom, everybody have a great day.

Now, many years later, Krista says she has returned to news reporting in the Kansas City area, but she is still performing and making videos, and you can find them if you just search Funky Mama music channel on YouTube.

Everybody wants to go to their computer, mama, pull that up.

She was a funky mama.

It was a funky mama.

Probably still is.

And I'm glad she's still in the television business, too.

Exactly.

Oh, well, that's all we have for this week.

Our email address, by the way.

Hattiesburg.

People at CP dawg, if you have a question or a comment or a compliment, we love hearing from you.

I'm Susan Peters and I'm Laurie Hattiesburg.

Thanks for watching.

We'll see you again soon.