It's time for Positively Kansas coming up.

From triumph to tragedy, this grand Kansas mansion is a reminder that money does not buy happiness.

We'll bring you the poignant details that are a reality check for what really matters in life.

Also, we'll show you how a central Kansas company has expanded from making the real thing to making toy replicas, whether it's for work or for play.

They've got you covered.

Plus, farming isn't all about wheat, soybeans and cattle.

See how this ranch and butler County produces fun for the whole family.

And in our Kansas Wild Edge report, you'll see how cooler weather brings a colorful spectacle to the great outdoors.

I'm Sierra Scott.

A half hour of information and inspirations queued up and ready to roll on this week's Positively Kansas.

Positively Kansas is brought to you in part by before investing your hard earned money, make sure your financial advisor understands your objectives.

Mark Douglass CFP Serving our community for over 25 years, providing customized financial solutions that focus on the individual.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas serves more than 900,000 Kansans in various programs.

Independent member owned Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.

An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, proudly supports PBS Kansas.

Program support provided by the F Price Cossman Memorial Trust and Trust Bank Trustee.

Bringing you that Kansas Wild Edge segment on Positively Kansas.

The pursuit of money and prestige is a common human trait, and just about everybody dreams of having those things.

At some point or another.

Then our first story as a reminder that no matter how rich and powerful you become, there's so much in life that you just can't control.

It's a lesson that becomes very real when you visit the Brown Mansion in Coffeyville.

I have people over and over.

I have never seen anything like this.

The imposing, stately and elegant appearance of this massive abode inspires notions of power, invincibility and triumph.

But if these walls could talk, they would likely tell an altogether different kind of story.

Money doesn't buy everything.

Inside this 16 room.

20,000 square foot mansion is just as the William Brown family left it.

You know, they started out with big dreams and they had very high hopes.

In the 1890s, William was running a successful lumber business in Coffeyville.

When he struck it rich on his property, he discovered the second largest natural gas well in the United States.

Soon, Brown's Coffeyville Mining and Gas Company was one of the most profitable businesses in Kansas.

The Browns quickly became the wealthiest family in the area, and they built the biggest, most expensive home this community had ever seen.

We have a picture of this being built.

Now, if this was being built today, people would stop and stare.

But think about in 1898 when they started building this thing.

This was the biggest thing that ever hit Coffeyville.

This whole area.

This neoclassical design, took eight years to build and was part of a 500 acre estate that included a working farm.

In 1906, William and Nancy Brown and their seven year old son Donald moved into this home, which was furnished with the best of everything.

With all that, well, I think this was built to showcase it.

And everyone who visited was no doubt impressed from the pristine, not free woodwork to the hand-painted walls that were the work of an Italian artist.

There are nine elegant fireplaces, all but one fueled by natural gas.

That was simply unheard of.

Usually back then, the rooms were very small.

They were very closed off.

But not this house.

We are a wide open floor plan.

You could see from one end to the other.

Eight rooms on the first floor provided the Browns with comfortable space for entertaining, relaxing, reading and dining to accommodate Mrs. Brown's petite stature.

Chairs were custom sized.

Meanwhile, the grand staircase was custom built to suit both Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

He stood four foot 11.

He was six foot three.

So the staircase was designed and with a very short riser for her short legs.

But they're very deep because of his deep his big feet.

The Browns only live in servant.

Was Charlie the butler?

He had a room in the basement and was a former prizefighter.

One of his jobs was to operate the manual elevator, which came in particularly handy for trips to the third floor ballroom.

This space was intended for big parties.

It includes a fainting room for women whose tight corsets got the best of them while dancing.

This was also where young Donald would study and exercise under the supervision of his governess.

Meanwhile, Donald's bedroom is among five on the second floor.

More than a century later, it remains just as he left it with an unfinished homework assignment still on his desk.

It's a very sad story.

Yes, it is.

But you see his toys and she's books.

Things that he would have played with.

Donald was the fourth son born to William and Nancy Brown.

And he had lived the longest 11 years.

They had two babies, baby boys.

They both died at birth.

And then they had another little boy.

His name was William, and he lived to be four years old and died from pneumonia.

And then the last part of the 1899, they had Donald.

And so he was six years old when they moved in here, and he only lived five more years.

Donald had suffered from type one diabetes.

They could diagnose back then, but they had no idea what to do with it about it.

That's why they took him to San Diego.

They thought maybe the change of climate in the wintertime might help.

But that is where Donald died in October 1911.

That was a decade before insulin treatment became available.

That would have saved him.

I'm sure when they lost to Donald, it was it was beyond tragic.

This giant home that was perfectly suited for a large family and lots of children was now home to just two people whose lives had been devastated by loss.

When Donald died in 1911, his mom, Nancy, shut and locked his bedroom door and she never, ever opened it again or went into it.

The parties probably stopped.

I don't know if they ever sponsored another ball here.

It's amazing how many of the really great homes are actually very tragic that they were designed to be this family legacy that would continue on.

I mean, they're thinking Downton Abbey sort of family connections that will last for generations.

The Browns did have one surviving child.

Their oldest daughter, Violet, who was grown and on her own by the time the mansion was built.

She would become the final resident of the mansion.

William and Nancy died within two months of each other in 1934.

For the next 39 years, Violet, who was twice divorced, lived alone in the mansion with one maid.

Violet never remodeled.

She kept the 1906 furniture and changed virtually nothing.

In 1973, Violet moved into a nursing home.

She sold this place to the coffee Bill Historical Society for $50,000.

Now it's a museum frozen in time, paralyzed by tragedy.

Had the family grow and flourished.

And had a great presence in Coffeyville, they would have adapted and remodeled the house.

They would have added on something.

They would have changed out the light fixtures.

They would have added a new bathroom.

They would have added different things.

It would have been a, you know, a functioning space in.

There's a difference, as I've long said, between preserving something and mummify.

It or whatever you call it.

The Brown Mansion serves as a time capsule of well-to-do Kansas life more than a century ago.

It also demonstrates a reality as true today as it was 100 years ago then.

All of this, while nice, is not really what's precious.

The Brown Mansion is among several places featured in the PBS Kansas documentaries, Historic Buildings of Kansas, parts one and two, part three is currently in production.

Now to the story of a Kansas company that makes toys, but that's not how it started out.

Anthony Powell explains.

Goodwin Industries has been a fixture in the downtown of Byrnes, Kansas, since 1981.

Larry Goodwin, who started the business with his dad, showed us around when it began.

The primary focus was building and repairing farm equipment.

But they ventured into other areas as well, like manufacturing, grills and smokers.

We still have have a very good quality meat smoker.

It's a charcoal grill and smoker combination and probably puts out as good a quality meat as anything out there and it's easy to use.

In more recent years, Goodwin Industries has evolved into a different kind of family business.

With Larry and his son Zach and Dusty working out on the floor.

And Larry's wife, Teresa, taking care of the books.

Now, I like the freedom.

I like the change.

I like coming to work, knowing what I'm going to do and doing it and making different stuff.

Making various items out of metal for farm and other types of equipment is how their day is mostly spent.

When we were there, Larry and his sons were building part of an elevator.

I like to say we'll do about anything out of metal to make a dollar.

When you're in a small business, you don't get real particularly.

And that includes venturing into the toy manufacturing world.

These miniature farm equipment trucks have become a significant part of Goodwin Industries business.

It all started when Zach came home from college and needed something to do.

He started designing miniature cattle pens, and that evolved into making toys like this feed pickup.

It has an arm bed for hauling the big round bale of hay on.

Goodwin Industries makes practically all the parts and materials for the toys with each one taking several hours to construct.

Larry and Theresa display them at trade and craft shows.

Farming families love them.

Yeah.

You take the agriculture kids.

They know what.

What goes on, what dad does or grandpa and grandma do.

And they know what it takes to farm.

And this gives them something real life to where they can do it.

On the carpet, in the house.

As you might imagine, making the toys and other items gives Larry and his sons tremendous satisfaction.

You know, they say that when you're when you're retired, you do what you want to do.

I've probably been retired all my life.

Despite the tough times and stress of running a small business for over four decades, Larry can't believe how lucky he's been to own a family business where he grew up.

And, you know, it's not about the money.

It's about being able to raise your family where you want to and a good community being able to work with your kids.

But for the most part, we've figured out how to bridge our professional and our personal lives and make everything work.

Whatever it's taken.

Goodwin Industries has found a way to make it work since 1981, a small business success story and one that is indeed positively Kansas.

In Burns for Positively Kansas, I'm Anthony Powell.

Larry, his wife and two sons say their top priority is keeping Goodwin Industries in the family for decades to come.

A local Butler County Farm is drawing in visitors from far and wide with its own unique outdoor experience.

And Spencer takes us out to the lazy main ranch where families, love of animals and art.

Makes this one of a kind farm, a hotspot for summer fun.

This is no ordinary farm tucked away between Andover and Augusta.

You'll find the lazy moon Ranch part agriculture and part entrepreneurship.

This gym combines farm living with animals, retail and art.

We kind of we got chickens a couple of years ago and then they say chickens are a gateway animal.

So my dad just kind of walked in the house and we were just all sitting down and he said, So you can have like four alpacas per acre.

It was kind of just out of pocket.

So we just like like what do we do with that?

And then now we have five alpacas and we have other animals and stuff.

So it kind of started from that.

Over the years, the pancreatic family has developed the Lazy Moon Ranch into an agritourism destination.

Not only can you purchase farm fresh eggs, you can also stock up on handmade soaps.

Finding a center gift or a one of a kind craft item and schedule an event.

But this summer's main attraction involves a few furry friends and a whole lot of paint.

We.

We really didn't know what to expect, but we kind of just put it out there.

You put it on like the like a Facebook page is like the ink.

That's the one.

And some other ones.

And people just thought it was a really cool thing.

Like people don't really get a chance to go see alpacas often or other animals, it seems like.

So you'll get people that like texter and they're like, he's just like, Is this real?

Like, do you guys really have alpacas?

And so they like they are so excited for it and it's really cool.

So people have loved it.

It's sold out.

I think every time that we like put a deal out for it and people love it.

This mother daughter duo pick up their paint aprons and head out to the barn where they join others for painting with the alpacas.

The event begins with a meet and greet as the painters get to know the alpacas up close and personal.

The curious animals make quick friends.

And after a few photos and selfies, they're off to the main event.

The painters take their seats as local artist and owner Aaron Pan Crafts instructs the group.

No experience is required to participate.

The 90 minute class is designed for all ages, and Aaron uses step by step instructions, making the process easy and fun.

Today, the group is painting dandelions.

The alpacas remain on site, feasting on hay and checking in on the painter's progress.

The whole experience is one participants say they won't soon forget.

I expected my inner Bob Ross to come out, but it did it.

But I would love to try it again sometime.

The painting session wraps up with more photos and selfies at sunset.

It's a great way to just do it with a partner or a family member or a spouse.

And it's just it's just a really nice way to relax.

And you get to paint with alpacas, which is not something you see every day.

And while the alpacas are tonight's main attraction, painters say that's just one part of the draw.

I think it would work really well for kids.

I came with a friend, but I would love to bring like my niece sometime.

And it's super quirky.

That's something I didn't expect to be really quirky out here.

I love it.

The family plans to offer more unique animal and art experiences in the future, painting their own version of a not so ordinary Kansas home on the range in Butler County.

I'm Anna Spenser for Positively Kansas.

The Lazy Moon Ranch is also home to goats, miniature donkeys and other more traditional farm animals.

Sometimes ducks are farm animals, but most of them are on their own in the wild.

In this week's Kansas Wildfires Report, Mike Blair shows us the colorful drama they create when summer green fades away.

God knew what he was doing when he painted Winter Cat.

He changed the look from summer green to one that better matched a rare and real color in the sheer landscape where polar sky overhead is potent blue.

Water is a deeper shade of sky in winter.

That's a blue.

You've got to see to understand.

And blue needs a perfect frame.

Not gold.

Exactly.

That would be too gaudy.

Such action must be subtle.

The tiny complement of weathered straw with maybe just a touch of red.

So that's what he did.

And winter cattails make the sunlit marsh a wonder to the eyes.

But you know what makes it better?

Ducks are not just outsized birds that sit around in free, but bold and active creatures that wings moving cursors on a winter scene.

Snow moon courtship brings it all to life.

mid-February is late in the dating game for ducks.

Many, especially the older ones, have already cared for the coming season.

But Younger's, still trying to figure things out, are now in a hurry to find a mate.

Handsome males faced with missing the prom are eager and persistent in wooing the few bells that remain.

And it's not unusual for at least a dozen suitors to chase and coax a hen.

This plays out over days, and you might think the jostling would be a nuisance.

But the hen.

Enjoys it, crowded by those among whom she alone can choose, Drake show off their best moves, their best colors, and then the courtship.

She gets more attention than a glamor model in the makeup chair.

She moves and teases.

She leads a swim, meet.

She thinks flight one minute, then blastoff the next.

She swoops and dives and an aerial dance as the entourage keeps.

It somewhere in all of.

It.

She finds a man.

I love the winter marsh.

I like the biting cold, the clean air to bring hope for what's to come.

Ducks in solitude, in the wild lands are a show.

Worth a going.

I hope you go to see it.

To.

I'm Mike Blair for Positively Kansas.

Next time, Mike delves into the lives of pheasants, another popular Kansas game bird.

Now get ready to be blown away by a valley center.

Father and son glass creation team.

John and Gavin MacDonald have become well known in both Kansas and around the country.

Some of their work making it to the bright lights of Hollywood.

Anthony Powell paid them a visit.

From the outside.

Meridian Street Art Glass looks much like any other business in valley centers downtown.

But once you enter and go behind the scenes, you'll be blown away by what goes on here.

John McDonald and his son Gavin work side by side, bending, twisting and molding glass at temperatures that can reach 2000 degrees.

It's not fun in the summer time.

I like coming to work, but man, you get in here and it's just the humidity is up.

It's just like, I don't have to do this today.

Wintertime.

Awesome job.

Great job.

But when he takes a look around his store and sees some of the incredible sculptures, bases and other pieces they've created, McDonald knows it's all worth it.

It's endless what you can do.

I mean, it's so fun watching the free flowing, the fluidity, the just the flow of the glass and making sculptures and bowls and it's endless what you can make.

That's the beauty of it.

His experience with blowing glass dates all the way back to high school in western Kansas.

I started out taking pottery, you know, to do stuff with my hands all the time.

I mean, I, like, build stuff, do this and do that.

And then it's like, Hey, what's going on out there?

That's my teacher.

That is.

Oh, it's glassblowing.

It's like, Oh, I want to go check it out.

From there, he was hooked.

McDonald would eventually move to Wichita and work for famed card Art Glass in Key Time, where he honed his craft for several years.

In 1999, McDonald opened his own store in Valley Center.

Little did he know he'd be getting some help.

Years later.

Kind of just doing a little grunt tasks, polishing out pieces, helping around the shop.

Folding newspapers, doing all kinds of little, little odds.

And ends stuff.

Gavin McDonald got bit by the glass blowing bug when he was just 12.

He quickly learned It's not an easy profession.

You're going to drop and break a lot of pieces compared to the ones you make when you're learning.

Despite the difficulties like his father, Gavin couldn't be happier with his career.

You know, it's a solid and it's a liquid at the same time.

You're able to do things with it that you'd never be able to do with.

Another material, ever.

You know, at the temperatures we work at it with, it's just it's otherworldly, almost.

He makes some pieces and he's like, I can't even do that.

But it's fun to watch him do that and see where he goes.

And meanwhile, over the years, the McDonald's have carved out a niche business.

They make awards for companies and events, some winding up in the hands of the famous.

Entrepreneurs at Mart Michael Jackson.

And we've done some for Ted Danson.

With its longevity in the community, it's incredibly beautiful work and the reputation it's gained across the country.

Valley Center City officials are both prideful and grateful for Meridian's Street art class.

The entrepreneurial spirit in Valley Center is what laid the foundation for this community, and it continues to help this community thrive today.

And businesses like this add so much character and creativity to our town that we would not be the same without them.

The McDonald's work is indeed a big part of the Valley Center community.

You can see some of it on display at the public library.

And Gavin showcased a few of his pieces at the first annual Valley Center Artists and Authors event.

I'm very proud, and many people in our community are proud.

This work is astounding and it really signifies one of the truths about Valley Center, which is that Valley Center itself is kind of a hidden gem, and businesses within our community like.

This are also a hidden gem.

Meridian Street Art Class.

A hidden gem that once found provides a great way to brighten your day in Valley Center.

I'm Anthony Powell for Positively Kansas.

Well, that's a wrap for this week.

positivelykansas@kpts.org is our email address.

Until next time.

Im Sierra Scott, so long.

Positively Kansas is brought to you in part by program support provided by the F. Price Cossman Memorial Trust Interest Bank Trustee bringing you the Kansas Wild Ed segments on positively Kansas.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas serves more than 900,000 Kansans in various programs.

Independent member owned Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, proudly supports PBS Kansas.

Before investing your hard earned money, make sure your financial advisor understands your objectives.

Mark Douglass CFP Serving our community for over 25 years, providing customized financial solutions that focus on the individual.