PUBLIC NOTICE NS Oe ON eed SAS: By David Hann Lugas, Kansas is approximately 45 miles due South of the Geographical Center of the Conti- nental United States. Paradise lies 15 miles West, on State Highway 18. Highway 232, North from Interstate 70 leads into Lucas. Most travelers zoom down Interstate 70 ob- livious to road signs pointing to places other than the next Stuckey’s Pecan Parlor. One road sign advertises "Rock City, a geological wonder. ’' There are no relics of cave men or dinosaur bones at Rock City, as is implied by the sign which shows a smiling brontosaurus and puzzled-looking Neanderthal just a clump of grey, roundish boulders resembling giant clams. the storks, to see, own experience. battles. era of political corruption. It was a dog-eat-dog world and Dinsmoor's concrete figures pursue and attack one an- other, A cat arches its back at a concrete serpent which has a light bulb in its gaping jaws. The Goddess of Liberty thrusts a spear into the head of the trusts. A cement soldier sights along his rifle at an Indian. The tentacles of the trusts reach into the soldier's haversack and around the waist of a woman depicted as a camp-follower. A Doctor, Lawyer, Preacher, and Banker surround Labor Crucified. Dinsmoor felt these four represented the forces opposing and enslaving the working class. Later in the piece a man and woman saw the limb that the trusts rest upon. The saw is labeled BALLOTS. Since there is no path leading from this world into another, as there was in Eden, Dinsmoor may have felt compelled to resolve the conflict between Business and Labor in that fashion. This story proves that horror exists in the disguise of banality, that banality is often cloaked in blandness. The sub- ject: an interview for a job ina small town, at a small town junior college in Western Kansas. The subject guar- antees an abundance of stereotypes. Remember In Cold Blood ? It had all the cliches going, isolated individuals, violence, creeps croaking a healthy, Bible Belt family. Or have you heard about the cows with their rear ends chainsawed off? Western Kansas again. omething creepy out there. My story LEDO By Jacob Flake AAA RS (Lethe eseee Rantaddersacs if be=:9997 34s g per The First Woman and First Man welcome visitors, but above and beyond them Satan waits. His pitchfork points at a child that fell from one of Since there was "darkness over the land" according to Moses, storks carried babies under their wings and had lights in their mouths Dinsmoor saw no conflict in mixing 20th century technology with Biblical tradition. Violence was part of Biblical tradition as well as Dinsmoor’s He was a Civil War veteran of 18 Cain flees the scene of Abel’s murder into the Land of Nod. The 19th Century was like the Land of Nod to Dinsmoor, and he has Cain turning the corner from paradise into the post-civil war The Garden of Eden is worth a few hours drive West from Lawrence, thing else quite like it, " as we all have said about one place or another. Adam and Eve got into the Garden of Eden free of charge and visitors can see most of the cement sculptures from the sidewalk. A dollar en- titles the visitor to the Grand Tour- the mausoleum, grounds, and beautifully done interior of the Cabin Home. no rules concerning what may be eaten. SOS OSEH HHS GESOHHSHIOOSO [e {2 a a wu Vet Wey eit The next highway sign mentions the Garden of Eden, This Garden of Eden was built by Samuel P, Dinsmoor from Portland Cement. The 64 year -old Dinsmoor began working on his Eden about 1905 and continued until his death in 1929, Dinsmoor liked visitors and entertained them with his particular brand of religion and politics laced with humor and a touch of cynicism. The Garden is surrounded by cement figures taken from the pages of Genesis and Dinsmoor's in- terpretation of the Bible. Eve extends her hand toward the sidewalk, a concrete apple in her open palm, Her other hand joins Adam's, Their arms form an arch through which visitors may pass into the Garden of Eden. (eye The flag was being used by disho..est busi- nessmen and corrupt politicians for their own selfish motives. Dinsmoor felt the flag protected capital better than it did humanity. "It drafted the boys but asked the money to volunteer, ''he wrote. He felt the flag’s rightful use was as a symbol of liberty and therefore should be flown in all weather, day. and night. Dinsmoor's two cement flags, ripples frozen in place, have flown for over 70 years. One swings on ball bearings above the entrance to the Cabin Home. The other hangs over his mausoleum, Dinsmoor's sense of humor.carried into his views on Death and the Hereafter. He fash- ioned a cement angel to wisk him to Heaven. He also made a cement water jug to take along just in case he had to go below come resur- rection morn. Dinsmoor stated he was well prepared for "the good old orthodox future. " is warm milk beside these examples. No Gibson’s Discount tucked ina shopping murder. No violence. At least of the center. Ugh. There itis, the juco, an physically brutal type. But itis shoddy anthill of buildings enthroned on asphalt. with stereotypes. Ugh, ugh. "There is no- And there are From Lawrence to the townI will call Wheat all around, everywhere. Bell tel- — Ledo is a 3 hour drive. We arrive ephone and Eisenhower's interstate save (my wife and I) at 6 Sunday night. Next this place from utter isolation. The sun morning is the interview. Iteach Eng- isa nickle ina hard sky. There are 8 — lish, they're hiring. I've written scores trees in town and they're all on main es of letters, to bunches of institutions. street. You know Kansas is flat and No jobs around, so I should be happy to wheat in the west--but you didn't know be interviewed at all, but I'm scared off that so much green wheat could look by all those weird images of backwater so awful under so much unsheltered Kansas. Driving into town we spot a big light. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5