Kansas has a great history and a lot to be proud of.

We recently came across something quite remarkable.

One of our small towns celebrated something big over the summer when they lit up the town square for the timeless sounds of classic America.

Our Chris Frank was there.

Now, if you think the Rolling Stones-- more than 60 years of band playing-- is something to make noise about, then consider a shout out to a Kansas municipal band playing continually since 1871.

On a hot summer evening in Iola, the Allen County courthouse clock rings eight times, signaling the 8:00 hour.

And as the eighth ring sounds, the Iola municipal band starts playing the national anthem as they begin their last concert of the season.

The Iola Municipal Band stands out for its longevity.

The band has been performing continually more than 152 years since 1871, and the band actually first formed in 1867.

Here, the Iola Band with ten mem Iola's Municipal Band performs Thursday evenings in June and July.

It's just the thing to attract folks to the courthouse lawn in the summertime.

It brings a lot of people together, people who have lived here for 70 or 80 or 90 years.

They even bring them over from the nursing homes.

John Sheehan, one of several playing in the band for decades.

Sheehan also does announcing in between songs.

82 year old Andy Dunlap has played in the band for more than 50 years.

The tradition is generational.

But it means an awful lot to me because I've got three sons that have all been in the band at one time or another, and another one's still here tonight.

Band performances have been held at this bandstand since 1918.

This historic photo shows hundreds in attendance.

Other photos show band members in various uniforms over the decades.

The number of band members has varied from about ten to more than 30 since forming a few years after the Civil War ended.

Band members start arriving to set up all the gear about an hour before the performance.

This is going to be real special.

Shes going to put the stand.

And we have our-- this is our banner.

This is a historic drum that talks about once its out there basically says, you know, we've been here for a long time doing this every year.

So this is our historical bass drum.

So it's got our emblem on it.

It's an 1871.

Band director, Jenna Morris places the bass drum in front for all to see and to be reminded how long the band's been around.

24 year old Morris is completing her second year of leading.

Morris teaches K through 12 music at Southern Coffey County Schools.

And if you get here early, you can hear some fine individual music as the musicians warm up.

Well, I got my trombone all decorated up with tinsel and ribbons and everything.

The reason David Parker has his trombone decked out like it's Christmas is because this night's concert's theme is Christmas in July.

Wow.

It's just an honor to play with a band that has such a history.

Some of the musicians like Parker, play in other towns bands.

And on weekends, Parker plays in a Tulsa jazz band.

Alan McKenzie from Independence teaches in Buckland and Ashland Schools in Southwest Kansas.

But on Thursday evenings, in June and July, he makes sure he's in Iola to play in the band.

I've been playing the saxophone since Im ten years old, went to Pittsburg State.

And I just love playing music and playing in all the area community bands that I can.

We play in the Coffeyville Community Band, the Iola Community Band, the Independence Community Band and I that's what I what I love to do is play music and travel around and play in the different communities.

And while the stage gets set, the town comes out.

There are park benches, but many make their own seating arrangements.

This band has developed a fan base of followers who plan their June and July Thursday evenings around these performances.

I just love the band and I came for years.

I enjoy it, but I think it's neat for the community to get together.

I think it's amazing that they've kept this going all these years.

Iolas support for their municipal band, more than 152 years, is consistent with the town's support for the fine arts in general.

The town also has its symphony, community and outreach theaters.

If someone new moves to town, one of the first questions asked of them is Do you play a musical instrument?

Longtime band member John Sheehan says there isn't a lot of pressure to playing in the band.

Sheehan says you are there because you like the music, not the pay.

Sheehan says the musicians aren't seeking fame and fortune.

They get paid, he says, so they are professional.

But says the musicians don't expect to be published or become famous.

Iolas support of this musical tradition goes along with the city's conservation of its colorful downtown buildings, Iolas courthouse grounds are larger than those in other county seat towns, with it covering several blocks.

Iola claims this is the largest downtown square in the United States.

The historic buildings line the square's eight blocks.

Building dates are prominently displayed on local storefronts.

Those historic buildings echo the band's music back towards the courthouse square, as the sunshine begins to fade.

And as the concert reaches its conclusion, band members and their listeners celebrate the end of another successful season.

Their 152nd.

From Iola, this is Chris Frank for Positively Kansas.

The Iola band will be back in action on Thursday evenings in June and July.

Bring some lawn chairs and relax.

Now to the less relaxing side of Kansas life.

Severe weather.

The state's deadliest tornado is getting another look almost 70 years later.

Jim Grawe visited with the author of a new book who sought out the personal stories of tragedy and survival, along with the reflections and perspectives of those still around to remember it.

You got this on camera?

Yeah!

Tornadoes have been bringing death and destruction to middle America for as long as people have lived here.

The deadliest on record in Kansas hit in 1955.

Author Jim Minick has written a book about it.

The book's title is Without Warning because there literally was none.

By the time the dust settled, nearly 90 people were dead and the town had been reduced to rubble.

Since then, America has suffered only one tornado more deadly.

That was the one that hit Joplin, Missouri, in 2011 that killed 158.

The Udall storm stands out as both a tragedy and a game changer for the way it forced improvements in weather forecasts and warnings.

The Udall tornado, I think, really woke the weather service up to how much better they needed to be communicating the message.

Even though the tornado... the storm system hit Blackwell, Oklahoma, in like an hour before it hit Udall.

And it killed roughly 20 people there so it and then it just slowly moved north in that hour's time.

So, you know, today, standard, there would have been plenty of warning.

But those were the early days of television.

Forecasters with their primitive radar and limited experience had given viewers the all clear by the time the 10 p.m. news had ended, people went to bed.

Then at 10:35, boom, I've never lived west of the Mississippi.

I was born after 1955.

I've never seen a tornado, let alone be in one.

So I was just fascinated by the phenomenon of this tornado, the power.

For the survivors, the impact of that terrifying and tragic night is indelibly burned into their thoughts and emotions, more than half a century later.

All the survivors are very weather conscious and very you know, they live with their phones.

If there's any threat of storms, they they are very aware of that.

And I think they've passed that on to the, you know, their children and their children's children.

Their stories are so dramatic and shocking that Minick who had intended to write a novel based on his interviews with the survivors quickly changed his mind.

But as I started gathering all these stories and these people were sharing them so freely, it just really quickly I realized I could not change it into fiction.

It was so powerful on its own.

Plus, I wanted to honor the gifts that these people were given and just to honor them for surviving.

The book includes many harrowing and courageous and almost unbelievable firsthand accounts.

Like Bobby Atkinson was 15 years old.

He felt the house lift and he jumped through the window and crouched beside the foundation.

The first wall of the tornado came through and and it was really strong and powerful.

Blew all his clothes off.

And then there was a lull.

And I was I think that's like the when the center passed over and he looked up and the house was gone and he saw and heard nobody else.

And then the second wall of the tornado came and it just pummeled him.

I mean, it broke both his arms.

It crushed his hand.

He he had concussions, was knocked out and broke one of his legs and had a two by two board puncture his back and like be lodged in his chest cavity.

So he waited and waited and nobody came to rescue him.

And so he crawled a half a mile because he couldn't walk and he had broken arms.

And I just imagine crossing that, crawling a half a mile over all the debris and then eventually got to the edge of town where their cars come and the search and rescue.

Minick says, Without Warning gives readers a sense of the importance of community, the importance of weather knowledge and preparedness, and the importance of determination and courage in the face of overwhelming danger.

I'm Jim Grawe for Positively Kansas.

The tragedy of the Udall tornado helped shape what television news would become.

It demonstrated the critical nature of weather forecasting by local stations, which had only recently begun broadcasting at that time.

If you're old enough to remember or you like to watch old TV shows from the fifties and sixties, you know that bridge was a popular game during that period.

Couples would enjoy cocktails and hors doeuvres as they squared off for an evening of congenial and spirited competition.

Well, now the game is being rediscovered by Kansans who find a lot of benefits in playing.

Anthony Powell has their story.

Another busy day at the Wichita Bridge Club, where several times a week players try their hands at a variety of bridge games.

It's a welcome sight.

Many here thought they might never experience face to face playing after COVID.

We had kind of an emergency meeting of board members, and I'm a board member and we voted to close.

Of course, we were assuming it might be 2 to 4 weeks maximum.

Beck says the center was closed for nearly a year and a half.

During that time, many players played online bridge.

But the club also lost several members to the virus.

And it's been somewhat tough to get people to come back and play in person.

But the numbers are steadily growing.

Not only because folks missed the game, but more so because they missed each other.

People missed that socialization, the face to face caring that goes on.

And socialization is a big reason bridge has been played in Wichita and around America for over 100 years.

It was so popular in the fifties and sixties.

There was even a TV show devoted to it.

Here we go again with championship range.

And it's not just everyday folk who have and continue playing bridge.

Celebrities like Bill Gates and Martina Navratilova are also fans.

Meanwhile, back at the Wichita Bridge Club, we spoke to one of its longtime members, David Kopper.

I started playing in college when he went to KU in ‘65.

Ten years later, Kopper joined the Wichita Bridge Club.

When I started in ‘75, there might have been nationally, maybe 250 to 300000 players, and now we're down to 100.

Part of it is people found other things to do.

And young people don't go to this game anymore.

You know, they play video games or something else.

A big reason for that, of course, is due to technology.

But perhaps another reason is that bridge is hard to learn.

The thing that I think it is, is that you are working on combinations, patterns always needing to add the memory of how many cards have been played in a suit.

And every hand differs.

As we've already mentioned, bridge is very, very complex.

So much so that Mary Beck teaches an eight week course about the game at WSU.

It's an eight week adult continuing education class, a perfect fit for Beck, who is a retired Newton High teacher.

But before she could teach the game, Beck says she had to do some brushing up herself.

So she joined the Wichita Bridge Club.

I had played but didn't understand it, really.

And my parents played it.

My grandmother played it.

I just kind of knew the basics.

I started playing originally in about 1970, 69, 70.

Richard Vore is a newer Wichita Bridge Club member.

It had been many years since he had played when he joined the club and says he was a bit rusty at first.

I did try to come here and play and I was lost when it came to the bidding systems.

So you said yourself, I better take Mary's class.

Yes.

Vore says taking Mary Beck's class has made all the difference, and he's loving playing the game he learned more than 50 years ago, a game that he says has provided a big boost to his daily life.

The talent and the associations with other people.

I need to keep from being bored.

And I need something that will challenge me a little.

And I need to interact with people.

And that's exactly the kind of sentiment it's hoped will grow the membership here.

While club members know it's mostly the older generation that will be attracted to bridge, they invite younger people to see how much fun and engaging non technological games can be.

For Positively Kansas, I'm Anthony Powell.

As you heard in the piece, Bridge Club members love the mental stimulation the game provides.

In fact, some studies have indicated that perhaps Bridge might reduce the severity of dementia.

Now to the wild side of Kansas life.

In this week's Kansas Wild Edge Report, Mike Blair takes us to one of the best places in the state to see buffalo and elk in their original habitat.

Pristine prairie.

It's a rare thing to see any more since progress took most of America's grasslands.

But remnants exist.

Scan a clean, grassy skyline and you can see the natural world from a hundred years ago.

One such place is Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, near Canton, Kansas.

Here in McPherson County, four and a half square miles lie just as they've always been.

Grasses and wildflowers wave in the wind.

A spectacle of color complementing the ever changing sky overhead.

And the wildlife you see here is a testimony to the vibrant, healthy grassland ecosystem, once common long ago.

Some clues are obvious as you drive Maxwell's roads.

Once native big game, buffalo and elk roam the prairie untagged, allowing photographs without reminders of our modern era.

Perceptive visitors also find clues in the smaller fauna that depend on healthy prairie.

Maybe most notable among these are the beautiful, regal fritillary butterflies found only in places that now make up less than 5% of former sprawling grasslands across the nation.

On a June day at Maxwell, hundreds of these butterflies can be found on common butterfly milkweed with host prairie violets on which they complete their development safely tucked away in the tall grasses.

Some visitors wishing to see them before they are gone, drive half a continent for the sheer experience.

Many similar rewards are waiting in Maxwell.

See for yourself the pristine prairie in the way it always will be in protected places like Kansas Maxwell Wildlife Refuge.

It's a reminder of our precious heartland natural resources, unknown and underappreciated by so many.

I'm Mike Blair for Positively Kansas.

Next week, Mike takes us on a search for some of Kansas's most interesting migrants as they're heading south for the winter.

Well, it has all the flavor of the California coast planted right in the heart of Kansas.

The first annual Rootstock event drew in hundreds of festival goers and plant lovers for an afternoon of music, art and vineyard vibes.

Anna Spencer takes us out to Colwich to experience the start of what promises to be a new festival tradition.

This beautiful spring afternoon is all about love, peace and potted plants.

Prairie Hills Vineyard hosted its first ever Rootstock event, drawing in a mix of music, art and wine aficionados alongside families and plant enthusiasts.

It's a unique combination, and one vineyard owner Dan Stockemer envisioned could work.

To do a music festival out here.

We've done a few others, but I thought, why not name it Rootstock and make it a spring garden art music festival?

And of course, I'm old enough to remember Woodstock and I didn't make Woodstock.

I thought, that's just a cool name, to name it Rootstock.

So that's what we did.

The Vineyard is both a home and a business, but also an oasis for Dan and his family.

Well, this was the dairy farm that I grew up on when I was a kid.

And so this was an open pasture out here.

I walked out here a thousand times or more.

Getting cows and bringing them back up to the farm.

And I moved back here in 1998 from Sonoma County and told my wife, we've planted vineyards to make it look like Sonoma County.

And that's what got started.

And 20 years later, here we are.

We've added a lot of buildings and we sell our grapes to Grace Hill Winery and they make great wine out of it.

The scenic farm and vineyard is also the perfect backdrop for weddings, memorials and now Rootstock.

Attendees can browse dozens of art displays, shop local vendors and enjoy a variety of food truck fare, all while wine tasting and listening to live musical performances, including American Idol star Phil Stacey.

So the first song were going to play actually features my child, McKayla Stacey.

Who is a television star.

Families and kiddos can fly kites, enjoy a hay rack ride or grab a balloon animal.

But what makes this event truly special are the gardening experts and vendors showcasing a wide variety of potted plants and offering educational presentations to all.

Thomas Montiell of Montiell Farms shared his expertise throughout the afternoon.

He says he started out as a hobby farmer who was looking for nutritional food options.

His passion pushed him to help others gain access to good food in their own neighborhoods through urban gardening.

Montiell Farms is a unique urban model of farming, where we actually grow throughout the county and multiple people's land, whether it be a business or personal lands.

And we grow foods with the idea of making them accessible in the neighborhoods, whether it be an urban farm, a local orchard.

But the ultimate goal eventually getting to a point, whether it's through Montiell Farms or people that we connect with, that every person has a farm or an orchard in their neighborhood within walking distance.

Today and every day, Thomas says, his mission is to connect with others and share his gardening enthusiasm, all while making a difference.

Buyers peruse his display, but also ask for advice like what to plant, when to plant and how to get the best results for their own gardens.

For me, the biggest advice is just to try and get started.

There's a lot of informational resources and almost everybody in the growing and farming community is willing to give and pass on knowledge.

We're almost always excited when somebody is willing to put a plant in the ground and give it a go.

So my biggest advice is just get started, take the first step, get a plant, get it in the ground and start asking questions, start looking things up.

So whether you have a green thumb or just want one, Rootstock might be the new festival tradition you've been searching for.

In Colwich, I'm Anna Spencer for Positively Kansas.

Event planners receive a lot of positive feedback from the event and look forward to offering the unique experience again in the spring.

Well, that's a wrap for this week.

We always like to hear from you.

Until next time Im Sierra Scott.

Be well.

I'll see you again soon.