sgmrt: kansas

[ljplicease]

I drove through Kansas from north to south. In Phillipsburg I had to wait at the rail crossing as they connected several train cars to the end of a train. It moved left, connected, moved right, they switched the semaphore, it moved left again. I was worried I’d be there forever, but I wasn’t. I stayed the night in Russell, which is apparently the home town of both Senators Bob Dole and Arlen Specter. I wonder if the sign that boasts that proudly was erected before or after Specter turncoated to the Democrats. I have nothing against Russell, I had a pretty good Sonic burger and shake there, but doesn’t it tell you something that they wanted to go to Washington?

Ensign Pavel Chekov once quipped that the Garden of Eden was just outside of Moscow. In fact the residents of Lucas know that the actual location is the corner of Kansas and Second Street. Samuel P. Dinsmoor, Civil War veteran and sculptor, is described by Wikipedia as “eccentric”. Calling Mr. Dinsmoor eccentric is like calling the pope catholic. The word simply does not have the magnitude do the man justice. Mr. Dinsmoor reminds me of that elderly opinionated relative that everyone has and nobody is fool enough to argue with at the family dinner table. He created the “Garden of Eden” as he called his lot in Lucas as a tourist attraction. Everything about the property exudes his unique personality and populist politics. I think it is fair to say that the man was a visionary.

He built the house out of limestone “logs” in the form of a log cabin house in two years, and spent the next 20 years creating the concrete sculpture that surrounds the house. The sculpture is highly political, but I don’t think I could possibly do it justice. You really have to go there to see it yourself. He also built a mausoleum where you can see Mr. Dinsmoor in his decaying glory inside the coffin that was designed all by himself so that he would continue to be a tourist attraction long past the end of his lengthy life.

He was a true do-it-your-self-guy. There is a little sign on the stairs down which indicate they were hand crafted by Mr. Dinsmoor, but his character is so self-evident in the piece it is not necessary to specify. He married his second wife when he was in his 80s and she was in her 20s. They had two children (both currently living), one of whom flew bombers in Vietnam. There can’t be many Vietnam vets whose father had been a Civil War vet.

“This is my coal house and ash pit, with Labor crucified above. I believe Labor has been crucified between a thousand grafters EVER SINCE LABOR BEGUN, BUT I COULD NOT PUT THEM ALL UP SO I HAVE PUT UP THE LEADERS – LAWYER, DOCTOR, PREACHER, AND BANKER. I DO NOT SAY THEY ARE ALL GRAFTERS, BUT I DO SAY THEY ARE THE LEADERS OF ALL WHO EAT CAKE BY THE SWEAT OF THE OTHER FELLOW’S FACE.”

—Mr. Dinsmoor’s booklet THE CABIN HOME.

This is the roof of the mausoleum, including an angel to help Mr. Dinsmoor up in the event that he was going to Heaven. He also had a bottle of water by his side in case he was going to Hell, he could reach up and have some water since there is no water in Hell.

Every door and window in the house is a different size or shape. Mr. Dinsmoor felt that it would make the house a more interesting tourist attraction.

Family portraits. The frames made from cigar cases are not from the house or Mr. Dinsmoor’s family, but “they fit the period” and are now part of the collection.

This flag is made of concrete, but it is on some sort of hinge so it actually blows in the wind. The bird perched on the top is a Turkey. Mr. Dinsmoor, like Benjamin Franklin, believed that the Turkey was a better choice for national symbol than the Bald Eagle. I counted and there are indeed 48 stars.

And what would the Garden of Eden be without Adam and Eve? Originally Mr. Dinsmoor had the pair buck naked, but this didn’t go down well with the founders of the town, so Mr. Dinsmoor gave Eve and extra-long hairdo to cover up her naughty bits, and Adam put on a masonic apron of some sort.

Eve’s buttocks.

An old radio.

Mr. Dinsmoor signed his creation, in a way, here under the porch roof.

So far the Garden of Eden has definitely by far been the highlight of the trip.

While driving through Kansas, I counted 7 Pro-Life signs and 5 Jesus signs. Today I drove 351.5 miles 1294.8 miles total and I am staying the night in Oklahoma City.