After Ghost Towns of Kansas Volume Three was released, I did not expect to write another one. I figured that “three” was a good number to end with, so why not finish while I’m ahead. I graduated from the University of Kansas in 1983 with a Masters Degree in History, and the job market was very tight. It took all my energies just to find a job in my field. In 1984, I began working for the Kansas State Historical Society on a government project, and then with the Archives Department. I continued to do speaking engagements and book signings. Late in 1984, I shared a book signing event with a couple of authors from the University Press of Kansas. The director, Fred Woodward, was also there. He proposed that we go into partnership to write a “greatest hits” book of the first three volumes. This was an exciting concept to me. Thus began the long run of Ghost Towns of Kansas: A Travelers Guide. What seemed like an easy task became a long, arduous process. The manuscript went through four revisions. Each time the manuscript got smaller and smaller. The original manuscript topped out at around 600 pages. This was way too long. By the time all was said and done, the manuscript was cut in half. Most all the material was derived from the first three volumes. Some new information was added, but it truly was a greatest hits. After what seemed like years, the book was finally released in March 1988. Ghost Towns of Kansas: A Travelers Guide, immediately took off and didn’t stop selling for many years. There were several other events that coincided with the release. In October 1987, I became involved in a concept album for the rock band Kansas, based on one of the ghost towns in my 2nd volume, Neosho Falls. Neosho Falls was part of the new book as well. For most of 1988, Kansas was in the studio recording tracks for what became In the Spirit of Things. In The Spirit of Things was released by MCA Records in October 1988. While it was an ambitious concept album centering on the rise and fall of Neosho Falls, it did not sell well. However, for my book it was like a free promotion. I also began working with several news film crews to produce a number of features on various ghost towns in the new book. These feature news stories continued unabated for years. Several were nominated for news Emmys, and at least four news Emmys were won. I also became involved in several episodes of Sunflower Journeys, KTWU’s televised feature series on Kansas and Kansans. Several of these included ghost towns in the new book. Based on the endless promotion, the Travelers Guide went on to become one of the top three biggest selling books on Kansas history. I don’t know exactly where the division lies, but it is still somewhere in there. Not everyone was particularly pleased with the Travelers Guide. Some of the communities in the book still had populations, and those residents were not happy that I labeled their town a ghost town. One of those communities was Osage Mission. The residents of Osage Mission raised the ruckus so loud that it caught not only regional attention but national attention. Reporters from the East and West coasts, USA Today, and others began calling to get my angle on the outrage that Osage Mission citizens felt about my calling their town a ghost town. Most of the time, these same reporters could not rustle up anyone from the town to defend their side. Once I agreed to be on a morning talk show in Los Angeles to give my side of the story, along with a representative citizen from Osage Mission. Despite numerous attempts to locate a resident, the deejays failed. The telephone operator even stated that “no such place existed.” Now obviously it did, but it made for a good story. Two other towns have been angry about my “ghost town” label: Fairview and Paradise. The controversy did little more than sell more books. For most of the 1980s and 1990s, my life was an endless ghost town promotion. There were some months when I made 5-10 speaking engagements in one month. Not bad considering this was not my full time profession. In 1993, I embarked upon a film project with Kansas City’s KCTV5 that took over a week to produce and took us across hundreds of miles of Kansas. Narrated by famed local newsman Wendell Anschutz, the five part Ghost Towns of Kansas series was nominated for several awards. It was a great experience. In 1992, I began work on the sequel, Faded Dreams. Faded Dreams was released two years later. From 1994 to 2001, I initiated several projects. There was talk about doing a photography book, F Stops in Kansas. I played around with doing a Kansas Trivia Guide and an enormous undertaking with Rex Buchanan that would have been an updated version of the WPA Guide to 1930s Kansas. Buchanan and I were unable to make this project work. In 1997, I began work on a new book, Sound and Fury: A History of Kansas Tornadoes. This book took three years to write and is currently in final edit mode for publication. The Travelers Guide remains the big seller thus far, and the most consistent. I still get letters and emails from folks who have enjoyed reading it and want more of the same.

Playlist:

White Cloud, Doniphan County
Iowa Point, Doniphan County
Eagle Springs, Doniphan County
Geary City, Doniphan County
Doniphan, Doniphan County
Sumner, Atchison County
Four Houses, Wyandotte County
Rising Sun, Jefferson County
Hickory Point, Jefferson County
Arrington, Atchison County
Kennekuk, Atchison County
America City, Nemaha County
St. George, Pottawatomie County
Juniata, Pottawatomie County
Pawnee, Riley County
Old Randolph, Riley County
Irving, Marshall County
Alcove Springs, Marshall County
Trading Post, Linn County
Centropolis, Franklin County
Minneola, Franklin County
Silkville, Franklin County
Black Jack, Douglas County
Franklin, Douglas County
Lecompton, Douglas County
Big Springs, Douglas County
Calhoun, Shawnee County
Indianola, Shawnee County
Sumner City, Shawnee County
Uniontown, Shawnee County
Peterton, Osage County
Bushong, Lyon County
Volland, Wabaunsee County
Newbury, Wabaunsee County
Wabaunsee, Wabaunsee County
Army City, Geary County
Diamond Springs, Morris County
Empire City, Cherokee County
Wilsonton, Labette County
Osage Mission, Neosho County
St. Paul, Neosho County
Ladore, Neosho County
Octagon City, Allen County
Cofachiqui, Allen County
Mildred, Allen County
Bassett, Allen County
Belmont, Woodson County
Neosho Falls, Woodson County
Guilford, Wilson County
Cave Springs, Elk County
Elgin, Chautauqua County
Midian, Butler County
Oil Hill, Butler County
Minersville, Cloud County
Agenda, Republic County
Waconda, Mitchell County
Dispatch, Smith and Jewell Counties
Webster, Rooks County
Long Island, Phillips County
Brookville, Saline County
Sveadal, McPherson County
Beach Valley, Rice County
Dubuque, Russell and Barton Counties
Rome, Ellis County
Chetola, Ellis County
Hunnewell, Sumner County
Runnymede, Harper County
Freeport, Harper County
Smallwood, Comanche County
Ash Valley, Pawnee County
Nicodemus, Graham County
Achilles, Rawlins County
Mingo, Thomas County
Voltaire, Sherman County
Threshing Machine Canyon, Trego County
Blufton, Trego County
Sidney, Ness County
Amy, Lane County
Farnsworth, Lane County
Monument Station, Gove County
McAllaster, Logan County
Russell Springs, Logan County
Sheridan, Logan County
Wallace, Wallace County
Henshaw Station, Logan County
Coronado, Wichita County
Colokan, Greeley County
Lexington, Clark County
Cash City, Clark County
Beersheba, Hodgeman County
Ingalls, Gray County
Ravanna, Finney County
Eminence, Finney County
Terry, Finney County
Hartland, Kearny County
Chantilly, Kearny County
Coolidge, Hamilton County
Kendall, Hamilton County
Trail City, Hamilton County
Old Ulysses, Grant County
Santa Fe, Haskell County
Fargo Springs, Seward County
Springfield, Seward County