3rd Annual Easter Egg Roll

3rd Annual Easter Egg Roll

Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home

Hop on down to the third annual Eisenhower Easter Egg Roll, Saturday, April 4, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. This event is free and open to the public and will feature an Easter egg hunt, games, face painting, Easter bunny photos, a scavenger hunt and more. The egg hunt will begin promptly at 1 p.m. when the siren sounds--so don't be late!

"The Eisenhower Easter Egg Roll is a great partnership between several fine Abilene organizations," said Karl Weissenbach, director. "We are pleased to host this community event each year and hope everyone enjoys exploring our various exhibits. Admission to the Museum is free all day."

"Due to last year's success, we have ordered 8,000 eggs to be distributed on the grounds. We look forward to another fun-filled egg hunt to start the afternoon festivities. Thanks to the staff at the Eisenhower Presidential Library for hosting this annual event. Remember to be there early!" adds Jane Foltz, director of the Abilene Parks and Recreation Department.  

The Eisenhower Easter Egg Roll is modeled after the White House Easter Egg Roll that began in 1878. The Egg Roll is one of the oldest annual events in White House history, although the event was canceled occasionally during times of war and austerity. The Egg Roll resumed in 1953 after a 12-year hiatus when the Eisenhowers moved into the White House. Mamie Eisenhower desegregated the Egg Roll by inviting all children regardless of race to the event. Ike's grandchildren also participated in the Egg Roll when he was in office.  

The Eisenhower Easter Egg Roll is produced in partnership with the Abilene Parks and Recreation Department, Eisenhower Foundation, and the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. Other organizations volunteering their services for the activities include the Abilene Kid's Council and students from Abilene High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Student Council (StuCo).

The Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home, a nonpartisan federal institution, is part of the Presidential Libraries network operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Presidential Libraries promote understanding of the presidency and the American experience. We preserve and provide access to historical materials, support research, and create interactive programs and exhibits that educate and inspire. 

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A Traditional Farm Life 3-30-15 Mamie's Sugar Cookies

March 30, 2015

A Traditional Farm Life

By Shasta Hamilton

Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends!  Lovely green carpets are appearing everywhere.  The bleak world winter left behind is turning into the promise of life and new growth once more.  We just love when the wheat fields green up and begin growing again in spring.

Coming from a long line of wheat farmers, the promise that green carpet brings—while invigorating—is tinged with a touch of apprehension, as harvest is still several months away.  In this wonderful land of Kansas, many things can happen before the golden grains of summer are brought in.

Speaking of those golden grains, I was privileged to try a “new” variety of Kansas milled flour this week.  Farmer Direct Food’s flour is milled in New Cambria.  A customer tipped me off to the mill in New Cambria and a phone call there delivered a friendly voice and the promise of some flour samples.  The “samples” turned out to be two 50-pound bags, one each of their Handcrafters Flour (an enriched white flour made from hard white wheat) and one of Genuine Stoneground Whole White Wheat Flour.

Farmer Direct Foods, Inc. is a company aptly named.  One of their trademarks is “Identity Assured®,” meaning they can track each bag back to the field where the wheat was grown and the details of its care by the farmer.

The President and the Marketing Director dropped the flour off personally on their way back from business headquarters in Atchison to the mill in New Cambria.  This past Tuesday I was able to put their flour to the test—a Sunflower State Showdown of sorts.  Could my beloved Hudson Cream flour from Stafford County stand up to this upstart newcomer?

Our two white varieties—English Muffin and Black Pepper Onion Bread were up first.  They turned out pillow soft with good oven spring.  In short—beautiful, picture-perfect loaves.

With high hopes I turned to our two varieties with a high percentage of whole grains—Sunflower State Multigrain and Caraway Rye. 

How could it be?  They turned out to be whole grain bricks!  Both were complete failures.  Each recipe calls for bread flour specifically, and I had hoped that the slightly higher than average gluten content of the Handcrafter’s flour would save me from having to by a high gluten bread flour specifically for these applications. 

Unfortunately, I was wrong.  A further look at the literature regarding the Handcrafter’s flour revealed my mistake.  It is formulated specifically for lean artisan style “crusty” hearth breads—not for the enriched kind of sandwich loaf I was making.  It was as if I was using a plier to pound in a nail.  Oops!

Thursday evening I mixed up another batch of Sunflower State Multigrain, this time with Hudson Cream Bread Flour.  It had great gluten development and was an unqualified success.  How wonderful it was to see the bread rising nicely in the pans this time!

In short, there was no clear-cut winner.  Of this I’m glad, because each Kansas flour has it’s own special set of advantages.  Now I have multiple options for flour in my bread baking toolbox—I just have to be smart enough to pick the right tool for the job.  It’s a win-win situation for lovers of Kansas milled flour.

Come in to The Buggy Stop this week and tell us what you bake with Kansas flour.  We’ll give you a free cookie—made with Kansas flour, of course!

Not sure what to bake?  It seems only natural to pair Kansas flour with the memory of a Kansas hero:  The following recipe comes from “Eisenhower Recipes,” a cookbook compiled by the Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Mamie Eisenhower’s Recipe

for Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cream

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Cream butter, add sugar slowly and cream until fluffy.  Stir in well-beaten egg yolks and vanilla extract.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the cream.  Chill for one hour, roll and cut in any desired shape.  Sprinkle with sugar before baking.  Bake in a moderate oven 350° or 375° F. 10 to 12 minutes.

Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in Enterprise, Kansas.  She and her husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled children.  You can reach The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385.

Author Talk: "Eisenhower: The Public Relations President."

"Eisenhower:The Public Relations President"to be Discussed by Author

Dr. Pam Parry, author of "Eisenhower:The Public Relations President," will speak at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home on March 31. Beginning at 7 p.m. in the Visitors Center auditorium, the free program is open to the public.

In the 1950s public relations practitioners tried to garner respectability for their fledgling profession and President Dwight D. Eisenhower helped in that endeavor. He embraced public relations as a necessary component of American democracy, advancing the profession at a key moment in its history. But Eisenhower did more than believe in public relations--he practiced it.

The book is based on many hours of research in the Eisenhower Presidential Library archives. Parry's research shows that Eisenhower deserves credit as this nation's most innovative public relations president because he revolutionized America's political communication process, forever changing the president's relationship with the Fourth Estate, Madison Avenue, public relations and ultimately, the American people.

Currently Parry is Associate Professor of Communication at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Ky. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication with an emphasis in Media History and in Public Relations in 2013 from the University of Southern Mississippi. Her dissertation research explored the public relations philosophy of the Eisenhower Administration. Her research interests include public relations history and presidential communications and has been honored by the American Journalism Historians Association and the University of Southern Mississippi. Parry also holds a Master of Arts in Communication with an emphasis in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University in Washington, D.C., and a Master of Religious Education from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. She earned a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia.  

Copies of the book will be available for purchase in the Presidential Gift Shop, and a book signing will follow Parry's presentation.

The Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home, a nonpartisan federal institution, is part of the Presidential Libraries network operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Presidential Libraries promote understanding of the presidency and the American experience. We preserve and provide access to historical materials, support research, and create interactive programs and exhibits that educate and inspire.

Weiser Named Salina Chamber President/CEO

Weiser Named Salina Chamber President/CEO 

 Don L. Weiser, former Interim President/CEO of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, has been named President/CEO of the organization.

Quote by Frank

“I want to thank the Chamber Board of Directors for the confidence they have shown in me,” stated Weiser.  “The Salina Area Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest, strongest and most respected Chambers in Kansas.  I am excited to be President/CEO of such a dynamic organization, and I look forward to the continued working relationships with our community partners---The City of Salina, Saline County, Salina Airport Authority, and USD 305 to help make Salina a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

Don is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism.  He is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management.   He is a Past Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Communications Council, and is a Past President of the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Kansas.  He has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, and the Board of Directors of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Weiser has nearly 40 years of experience in Chamber of Commerce Management.