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A podcast focusing on the perspectives, lives, and stories of Kansans to provide greater insight into the state we all call home.
AAK_Ep58
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Grandpa Auction Hoard
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[00:00:00]
Sydney Collins: In the episode, I talk about my grandpa and his auctions. Okay? Mm-hmm. So, I wanna show you this video- Mm-hmm ... of how we got rid of so much stuff. My grandpa was a very organized hoarder. He found out, you know, how cheap shipping containers were, and he just put stuff in them.
Mm-hmm. And one of those shipping containers was filled with records and eight-tracks. That's all that was in it. That's a lot of- It was a lot. So after the auction, we had to get rid of it, 'cause most of them were moldy and didn't get sold. Oh, gross. So here's how we got rid of it.
We created kind of a fireman's line.
Get rid of a hoard of record albums, people. And we threw them at each other from person to person to person to a back of a truck. Yeah. And t- and back of this tiny Ford Ranger.
Gus Applequist: Wow.
Sydney Collins: And then put those in the trash can.
Gus Applequist: I love- Thousands of [00:01:00] albums ... I love that there were fluorescent lights installed in- Yeah, he even installed
Sydney Collins: fluorescent lighting in, in the- Wow
like, it, I tell you- That's
Gus Applequist: a full commitment hoarder. Yeah. He,
Bomb Shelter Safe
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Sydney Collins: Also my favorite grandpa story is he put a shipping container on the back of his house and then built the house around it, and that was his kind of bomb shelter. He put, like, steel beams in the ground and attached it to those beams, and then he got a uh, like a bank safe door from an auction, built the door in, into the shipping container.
Like, he, like, there was a couch in there. Wow. There was, uh, water and all kinds of stuff, and then there was just, like, the safe. And what do you think was in the safe? I'll give you three guesses.
Gus Applequist: Tax documents. No. Cash.
Sydney Collins: Yes.
Gus Applequist: Okay. Diamonds.
Sydney Collins: No. Guns, coins, and marbles.
Those were my grandpa's most prized [00:02:00] possessions that lay,
Producer: that were in the safe.
Gus Applequist: Welcome to Ask a Kansan.
Producer: A
Sydney Collins: podcast where we are amplifying, connecting, and uncovering stories across Kansas.
Gus Applequist: Wow, that was a really extra delivery. We gotta
Sydney Collins: keep changing it up here.
Gus Applequist: Yeah, welcome to the podcast. Uh, today we've got a guest who's been selling property, among other things, uh, through auction.
She's had a really cool
Sydney Collins: life.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Yeah. And she's seen a l- and lived in about as many places in Kansas as anybody I've ever met.
Sydney Collins: So Lori has joined us. Lori is, one of very few female auctioneers here in the state of Kansas. She is a, a Kansan through and through. We'll let her kinda [00:03:00] tell about her, her life.
So I, without any further ado, here is
Producer: our conversation with Lori.
Meet Lori Rogge
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Producer: Hello, welcome. Hi. I don't even
Sydney Collins: have my mic up. There you go. We were just gonna freelance it today. Hello. Hello. Welcome, welcome. How are you? Good. Here, we'll make this real comfortable for you. All right. Kinda like a fist away almost. Yeah. That's what she said. There we go. We're good. Get all comfy in here.
There you go. Maybe bring it down just a
Gus Applequist: little bit so we can see your mouth. Okay. That's kinda the key. There we go. We're good? There we go. Yeah, that's great. All right. Thank you.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. Um, okay, so for our audience, can you introduce yourself
Lori Rogge: for us? Yes. I am Lori Rogge. I am with Gene Francis & Associates and Gavel Roads Online Auctions.
I'm a realtor and auctioneer, and live in Leonard, outside of Leonardville, Kansas.
Gus Applequist: Lovely. Yeah.
Sydney Collins: Gus was just mentioning that his mother is from Leonardville. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Really? She's a Lund or a Trumpf- Oh ... depending on how you Sure ... so, yeah. Yes. So, yeah.
Sydney Collins: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. There's that six degrees of separation in Kansas for you.
Uh, it's- Yeah. Yeah, no such thing.
Lori Rogge: A [00:04:00] lot shorter than that, I would say. Yes, most definitely. Yeah. So... Well,
Sydney Collins: you have a very interesting background.
Growing Up Kansas
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Sydney Collins: But I wanna start kind of you, Kansas. Where are you originally from? ~Where'd you ~
Lori Rogge: ~grow up? ~Well, I grew up all over the state. So I've never lived outside the state of Kansas, but about every touch of Kansas I've had, either lived there or have family from there.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Lori Rogge: I was born in Hillsboro, Kansas.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Lori Rogge: My father graduated from K-State in nine- around 1970 and started with Tip Top Credit Union back in Hillsboro, which is no longer in existence, but had an econ de- uh, ag econ degree from K-State, and started their li- their lives there. So- Wow ... he and my mother met at K-State, and my mom was from Wichita and my dad was from Harper County, so from Harper, Kansas is actually where he was from.
So my grandparents farmed there, and my grandmother was a teacher for 40 years in the Harper County area. And then, my grandparents on my mom's side, my grandfather worked at Cessna. Right. And then my grandparents moved [00:05:00] from Wichita about 1970 to Gaylord, Kansas, and my grandfather was in charge of what was called Gaylord Manufacturing at that time.
Mm-hmm. And my grandmother made draperies. So my grandmother did draperies forever and ever and ever. And so we, uh, I was born in Hillsboro. My parents, we all moved to Beloit, Kansas. Okay. And so moved to Beloit. My dad was with the Garrity State Bank in Beloit, which is still now in existence. Mm. And, continued on into the banking industry, and then we moved to Great Bend, and we lived at 3108 Broadway, and I mention that because we moved there, and about a year later, we moved there in the late '70s, and there was the epic flood of Great Bend.
Oh. Mm. So we were about the only street that did not have any flooding, so we had people come and live with us for a period of time. Oh, my goodness. Wow. I know. Wow. It was quite the thing. So anyway, my dad then got into land management at that time, and so land management across the state of [00:06:00] Kansas, and so it was with a new company, and they had hired him to handle the entire state of Kansas.
And back then, you did ag loan. You did not do ag loans at banks, is that that kinda was the land management- Oh, okay ... side of things, and so a shift there. Mm. So then my dad started to get into real estate. Mm. And so that kind of changed that. So he went to work for another company out, uh, in Wichita, so we moved to Mulvane.
Oh, my goodness. And so, um, from Great Bend, we went, moved to Mulvane, so I went to Mulvane to school for a period of time, and then we moved out into the country, and we still continued to, Live in Mul- or go to school at Mulvane, and then my parents started their company in 1984. So Gene and Connie Francis are my parents, and started Gene Francis & Associates in 1984 over on West Street in Wichita.
Mm. And then we moved to Goddard, and outside of Goddard. So we mostly lived in the country. My dad would- Mm ... get a hankering, we'd live into town for- Yeah ... a little bit. That's fair. But that farm kid always [00:07:00] ended up- Yeah ... pulling and going back out to the country again. So we moved to Goddard, and since my parents are in real estate, so my mom started out with Century 21 in the '80s.
Oh, okay. Which was the highest interest rates at that time. Mm. Never thought she'd sell a house, and probably had her record year at that time- Wow ... when interest rates were 17%. And gas prices were probably very similar to what they are right now. Yeah. Wow. So but anyway, so with that then, uh, my parents started Gene Francis & Associates right around that period of time.
Mm. And then in 1990, my parents built a building and are on 13 acres on the west side of Wichita at 119th and K-42 Highway. So they have moved, 19 times in their 56- ... year married life. Oh my gosh. And so I halted that at the point and the time that I graduated from high school. Mm-hmm. I then went to K-State.
Mm. I lived in Manhattan, and then we moved to Leonardville. Yeah. And my husband and I got married and lived in town, and now [00:08:00] 25 years ago, we built a house outside of Leonardville, and I plan to stay there. And you're like, "I'm done." Yeah, yeah. Well- It was always great to meet people. Mm. Yeah. That was the best- I'm sure
part of the whole thing. Yeah. So the relationships, and when I was growing up, you heard me say I graduated from high school in 1990, so we were writing letters and- Mm ... you know, long distance phone calls at that time. Mm-hmm. So didn't have the internet and all the great stuff. Mm-hmm. And now at least we can have Facebook and everything-
to follow up with everybody now, so.
Why Leonardville
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Gus Applequist: Why Leonardville?
Lori Rogge: Well, my husband is actually a transplant from Nebraska. Mm. So my husband is five years older than me, and graduated from the University of Nebraska, and so I was not going to leave Kansas. I was at Kansas State. Good for you. Way to, way to put your roots in.
Yeah. So I actually, while I was in high school, I worked for, of course for my parents, so we did that. So I have two siblings, and so it was voluntold- ... that you worked for the family business. But I also worked for other entities too. Mm. My parents didn't want us to just work there. Mm. [00:09:00] And, um, so I actually worked for Walt's Restaurant, which was in Clearwater.
~Mm-hmm. Mm. Um, ~it's now no longer- Mm ... sad to say. But- Mm ... um, so we were there. I worked there, and then when I went to school while I was still working at Walt's, I started when I was 14, and so my cousins actually worked for the University of Nebraska football team She was the- Oh ... executive secretary for Coach Osborne.
Gus Applequist: Oh, that's cool. Yeah. ~So ~
Lori Rogge: ~I was the only female at the football camp. Mm-hmm. So ~I was the equipment manage- one of the equipment managers for the University of Nebraska football camp during the summers for two years, and so I did that. So always wanted to do something wherever was a male-dominated field, I was just gonna- Mm-hmm
put my footprint in there, too. So I did that for a couple summers. And then when I came to school at K-State is that Brandon and I were dating, and he was looking for a job, and Leonardville, Kansas had an opening at Farmers Union Co-op at that time. So we had him move there, and then in 1992, we got married and lived in a little house in Leonardville.
And then like I [00:10:00] said, then we bought acres outside of Leonardville and built a house, so. Nice.
Sydney Collins: That is quite a life. It is. And we haven't even
Lori Rogge: gotten to your career
Sydney Collins: yet. Yeah,
Lori Rogge: everybody's always like, "What did your family do? Were they military?" And I was like, "No," is that we left, we never left the state.
Mm-hmm. We just... Like I said, your house is always for sale when you're a realtor, so. That's That's why we moved all over the place, so. That is very true. Yep. And it was those steppingstones, so.
Career Path Shift
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Sydney Collins: So what... You s- you said your parents kind of voluntold you to work kind of in the family business, but what has made you stay and want to work there?
Lori Rogge: So when I went to school at K-State, I had to have a job. Mm-hmm. So I paid for all of my schooling, and I didn't wanna have a lot of loans, and so I almost worked almost full time [00:11:00] while I went to school at K-State. I have a marketing degree. So when I came to campus we did not have any college credits, so at that time is that you didn't really have anything to take.
I did take a correspondence course. Mm. And again, you had to mail all of that in. Mm-hmm. It was the worst experience of my life, and it was not an online, but a mail-in- Yeah ... kind of thing. And I think I had to watch a teacher on a video or something like that. I never would recommend that. Mm. But much easier today.
And so I didn't really have any college credits to begin with, so I was a freshman to a senior. And so I took advantage of those four years, but at the same time, I got married when I was a junior- Mm ... at K-State. And so, you know, your world kind of changes a little bit there. But my parents' best friends lived in Manhattan, and she was a financial advisor.
And so I thought, "Well, I wanna stay in the business industry," and I never anticipated staying in Manhattan. Mm. I really at that time just thought, "It's a job." But the more I got into it and the [00:12:00] more mentorship that she ha- had, she was part of a team practice, and really encouraged me. And so I was an administrative admin until my junior year at K-State, and then I went ahead and got all of my securities licenses.
So I went ahead and got all my insurance license and security licenses- Okay ... just in case I was gonna do that. I still had in the back of my mind, though, that I would go to work for Hallmark or Coke That's kind of what everybody- Yeah ... in my class did at that time.
Sydney Collins: Mm.
Lori Rogge: Brandon started with his career and kind of moved up- Mm
in that realm. So then by the time I graduated from K-State, I was like, "I don't really see that I'm going to move out of the area right now." Mm. And Brandon's from Auburn, Nebraska. Me being from the Wichita area was exactly two hours in between. So then that way- Mm ... we could be right in the middle. And my mom's family is also from Brandon's hometown, too.
And so- Mm ... being in that distance for both was important to me, too, but I didn't really wanna leave the state. Mm. So had the opportunity then to, [00:13:00] um, be- join that team practice, and so I was a financial advisor for 10 years, and then I sold my practice, and I had a client that actually encouraged me to go to work for the KSU Foundation.
Mm. And she said, "I hate to lose you as a financial advisor, but I have a position on, at K-State Foundation that I think you would be really good at." And so I focused on retirement and estate planning when I was an investment advisor, and that role was with gift planning at K-State, so philanthropic giving- Mm
through your estate plans. Oh. So it fit. It was a natural fit. Yeah. Yeah. So I sold my practice. So I had a book of business that- Mm ... I was able to sell, so that was great. Mm. And so I did that, and then joined the KSU Foundation in 2005. And at that time was with gift planning, and then shortly after that, I became the, uh, senior director of development for the College of Engineering.
And then I did that for a few more years, and then our family business was continuing to grow.
Building Online Auctions
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Lori Rogge: And I constantly am mentioning [00:14:00] technology and the internet because that was the reason why my parents wanted a shift of business, is my parents were starting to see that the internet was making a very significant difference in not only real estate but in the auction field, too.
Mm-hmm. So with our auctions is that we do farm machinery and heavy equipment, gun and sporting goods- Oh, wow ... real estate, classic cars- Mm-hmm ... a wide variety of different things. And at that time is that I felt like we never, I don't feel like any of my siblings, none of us felt like that was the job position that we were- Mm
going to go back to with our parents. Mm-hmm. It was their company, and so it wasn't ever really you're gonna come back at some point in time. All of us have drifted back there. And at that- Mm ... time in 2015, um, things were kind of shifting at the KSU Foundation, and the dean that I was working for had just left.
And so my parents were like, "We really wanna do this internet thing- Mm ... but we don't know what to do." So [00:15:00] 10 years ago at that time and were like, "We think we need to do this. We just- Mm ... don't know how. And if you would join us," and my brother and my father had been talking at the time about starting an online auction company.
My dad was not ready for it to be named Gene Francis and Associates- ... in case it didn't quite take off. And so we started Gavel Roads Online Auctions. And so my father and mother and my brother Tyler and myself started that. And so we launched in 2016, and by 2020 we were one of the smartest businesses in the world because of COVID.
Because if we wouldn't have started that, we probably would've been sitting on the sidelines. So I actually had an auction in Glasgow, Kansas in March of 20- well, March of 2020. It was right around that time. And we stood in the streets of Glasgow because we had to be six feet apart, but we had an online auction component to that then.
[00:16:00] So We always were doing live auctions- until we launched Gavel Roads, and gavelroads.com is our bidding platform then. And so at that time back then is that we were standing six feet apart taking bids in the streets of Glasgow- ... Kansas, but then having that online component, too, and that really just kind of changed our world, is that my father has a global presence.
Mm. And so we have clients from Belgium. He's worked with the Flick family that own BMW and have several clients in the UK as well as that have had farms here that my father- Mm-hmm ... has sold over time. So, that was a 22,000 acre ranch in the Flint Hills. Wow. And so we sell from five acres to 20,000 acres, and land as well as camps and retreats and hunting recreational property, and every kind of fit that you could have in real estate.
Wow. So but having that online component has really started to change.
Learning The Chant
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Lori Rogge: And so in [00:17:00] 2015, when I left the KSU Foundation, I went and got my real estate license, and I went to auction school. So just because you're an auctioneer's child does not mean that you know how to chant. And so I was at the KSU Foundation, and actually one of our agents, uh, w- we were gonna do an auction for a painting, and we didn't have an auctioneer.
Mm-hmm. And Dan Bird, it's a very dear friend of ours, an agent, said, "Oh, well Lori can do it. Her dad's an auctioneer." So I- ... faked it till I made it, and my very first auction was a $10,000 painting. That's amazing. So not so bad there, but ...
Gus Applequist: How much of being an auctioneer is, is the chant? Is that what you called it?
Lori Rogge: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So when I- That makes sense ... went to auction school, I went to Mason City, Ida- Iowa with, uh, Worldwide. uh, College of Auctioneering, and they have locations in Mason City as well as Colorado, so you can kind of pick that. And it's for about a th- a 18-day period of time. And so with that is that you go, and I had a [00:18:00] class, mm, I think I had probably about 50 in my class.
Mm. And most of us had an auction connection. Mm. A lot of us were auctioneers' kids. Mm-hmm. And several came with a chant. I was t- we were told not to come with one, because they beat you down, you know- Yeah ... if you had one. And so I practiced. They gave you a CD. I listened to the CD. Growing up, we, my dad would auction off telephone poles.
Mm. When I was a kid, we would drive from where we lived at the time, so like Beloit or Great Bend, and my grandparents lived in Gaylord. Mm. So I will never forget that we had a little tape recorder that we had our music in that we would listen to, and my dad would be chanting all the way, you know- ... to the location that we would go to.
But none of us really, you know, were doing that at the same time. Mm. My brother is six years younger than me, and he went to auction school when he was 16. Oh, wow. And so he went a lot younger. I didn't really have a desire to do that. I was gonna have my own [00:19:00] career, so that- Mm ... wasn't something, and Tyler wasn't planning on working for the family business either, but Tyler used it as a shtick.
It's like- And that- ... it is a cool little- Yeah ... skill to have. So, yeah. So he kind of used it as that, and then, you know, he was younger than I was, and when I real- when my parents were really getting into their business- Mm ... he was young enough that he was gonna be there for a while. Mm. And then my sister is between us, and she always was clerking and cashiering and things like that.
So my mom was always the cashier, and then my dad, of course- Mm ... the auctioneer, and then we usually would have 10 to 30 people help us during auction day. Mm. And at the time when we started, of course, it was all handwritten. Mm. And so I just clerked or auctioned, or I ne- I didn't auction until, like, 2016 but always then, you know, did something else.
But then we switched to internet, you know? Mm. So then everything was, now we do everything with the computer, you know, when we do- Mm ... clerking and such like that now. And [00:20:00] so that number of people, especially in our office- Mm ... has shifted, unless we have, like, a gun auction that needs the FFL side of things.
But-
Sydney Collins: Mm ...
Lori Rogge: we do have now, we went from, like, 10 people in our office during auction day to three You know? So that changes that as well Right. But it was something, again, that it was kind of male-dominated, and I was like, "Well, I can do this, too." Mm-hmm. And my parents encouraged it. My dad was always very encouraging.
It was never, "You can't. If you wanna do it, do it." And so both of my parents were that way. My mom never wanted to, to go to auction school. Now I have five nieces, and we're trying to get somebody to go. Yeah.
And my brother-in-law is an auctioneer. My brother I, I mentioned my brother is, too.
And so in our family, that's who our auctioneers are, the three of us. And then we, of course, hire for the day, too, if we end up with live or online auctions. Do
Gus Applequist: your arguments ever, you know, turn into ... So
Lori Rogge: for- Did you [00:21:00] just see the SNL skit? I was
Sydney Collins: gonna bring it up. I was gonna bring it up. Have you seen the SNL skit?
No. Yeah, it's funny. There was one, like, this past weekend- Yeah ... where it was Matt Damon and one of the cast members. It's, like, a husband and wife who are both auctioneers. Yes. And the husband comes home late, and she's just like, "I've been home for three, three, three, almost four, four, four hours." Good job.
And it's like that conversation back and forth- Mm-hmm ... I've been practicing in my head for this specific... And it's so good. I saved it. I will send it to you later. Okay. All right. But it's just so funny. Yeah, it's all over social media now. It was bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper traffic.
Yeah.
Gus Applequist: How, how does it feel to, to see that represented on SNL as an auctioneer? Oh, I think it's awesome. Okay, good. Yeah,
Lori Rogge: absolutely awesome, because growing up, the only signs of auctioneers were Leroy Van Dyke had a song- Yep ... and so everybody tried to learn that. And then John Montgomery, Michael Montgomery had a song called Sold.
Oh. Mm-hmm. That, that went... That was also one. But when we were learning it, you learned [00:22:00] different like Betty Botter is different chants that you learned. Mm-hmm. So different I can't think what they're called. Mm-hmm. But anyway, is that you learned those to have the rhythm and the cadence of everything.
Mm-hmm. So but they did Betty Botter- Yeah ... a little bit on there, too. I sent it to my brother last night as well- ... 'cause Tyler really, he even got his fraternity brothers to learn all of that. So anyway, but so different things you learn.
Sydney Collins: It's... And, and even we just went, I just took my, um, youngest to the Flint Hills Discovery Center.
Oh, the center, yes. They have one. Yes. And they have a little, they have a little- Mm-hmm ... display of, like- Yep ... what it means to be, like, an auctioneer. Yeah. Like, how the chant is supposed to be structured and all that. Yeah. And it's really cool- Yeah ... 'cause I never knew that. Yeah.
Chant Mechanics
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Sydney Collins: Um, can, for our audience who hasn't been to the Flint Hills Discovery Center to learn that, can you kind of break down what the chant is, or if there's, I don't know, all the different pieces and
Lori Rogge: parts to it?
Yeah. Well, there's different components, for sure, is that, and it depends on the school that you go to. Mm. So and it also depends on what you're selling. [00:23:00] So livestock chants are very different than what you would do- Oh ... for real estate or what you would do for- even farm machinery and- Mm-hmm ... heavy equipment.
The chant is pretty much the same, but the speed or some of the words that you put into it. Mm. So some of the common ones are bid now, dollar down. You know, you add in pounds if you've got cattle or different- Mm ... types of things like that too. So the chants are very, very different. And our real estate chants, some of the auctioneers that...
I don't do livestock. So- Mm-hmm ... uh, I could, but that's just not one that I do. Their chant is very, very fast. Mm. And I've been told that people can understand me, so they appreciate that. I have a slower chant, and part of it's purposeful so that- Mm ... I remember the numbers that I am doing. Mm-hmm. So when you're going, you know, a lot of times I stop and start talking.
And so, like, I do benefit auctions too. Mm-hmm. And so on benefit auctions, I just did one for... Like, I've done Good Shepherd or Catholic [00:24:00] Charities of North- Mm-hmm ... North Central Kansas and such like that. But with those is that you gotta slow those down, but you have the sense of urgency too.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Lori Rogge: So when I'm chanting, a lot of times people will say, "Oh, I hear what you're saying."
You know, most of the time you can't understand- Mm-hmm ... what the numbers are, different types of things like that. So, but those chants have the dollar in them. And when you're learning, it's putting the dollars in there and jumping from one to the other, so jumping from increments. And I felt like the most difficult thing when I was learning is that when I was at Worldwide is that, you know, doing one, two, three, four, five is fine, but then you do two and a half, five, seven and a half- Mm
10, 12 and a half, 15, and getting to that, or 5, 10, 15, 20, and then putting the bid now or dollar down or different types of things like that, and then taking a pause and telling what you're selling-
Sydney Collins: Mm ...
Lori Rogge: you know, and things like that too. So in our... Depending on if it's professional or if it's benefit, depends on how quickly you go.
So- [00:25:00] Mm ... like when we're doing gun auctions, we usually have about 300 lots. And so we start at 9:00 AM, and the goal is to be done before 4:00. So we're trying to sell an item a minute. So my father's- Right ... always in the background saying, you know, "Speed it up." So he doesn't want a lot of stories.
However, he is the king of storytelling. So if he's on the block, meaning sitting up and- auctioning, then, you know, things might slow down a little bit. But for the most part, it's trying to be having that speed, but also the quality versus the quantity of the time that you're going, so being able to understand too.
Gus Applequist: After you have done this for a while, does it become more instinctual? Like, do you have to think about it really hard to do it still?
Lori Rogge: I still do, because I'm always nervous. You're always- Oh, me too ... in front of a crowd. Yeah. And even if I'm online, I always... I kinda want to have that nervousness. Mm-hmm. You know?
That it makes you Be more considerate of it, I guess. Mm-hmm. And so that, I always still have that because a lot of [00:26:00] times now we're doing live stream, so I'm not in front of a crowd except an online crowd.
Gus Applequist: Are you still chanting then? Yes. Yeah. And I chant
Lori Rogge: during that. Is, so we do online only, and we do that every two weeks on gavel roads.
Mm. And with that, it's just online. There's no video live stream with that. Mm. But we video live stream on our gun auctions- Mm ... as well as on our real estate, too. So our real estate auctions, my chant is lower because you're talking about a million dollars- Yeah. Yeah ... a lot of times, or hundreds of thousands.
Mm-hmm. And you're also talking about the piece that you have. So I have an upcoming auction that's happening in June that I have five real estate tracts on, and there's two houses, and 80 acres, and 155, an 80, and an 80, and we're gonna put those together and do a multi-parcel. Mm. So then you're dividing that.
Yeah. Mm. So there's a lot of pieces and parts to that. Mm. So I will auction off those tracts, then Tyler will come in and do the multi-parcel part of it so that I can be in the crowd- Mm ... visiting with [00:27:00] people about how they want to purchase and things like that. Mm. So there's a lot of pieces to it. Mm-hmm.
So not only the auction part becomes nerve-wracking, is that, and just visiting with the public and such
Reading The Room
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Gus Applequist: I grew up going to estate auctions with my mom. Yeah. She, she would look for knick-knacks and, but also, um, like artwork was her big thing. Yeah. Okay. And, uh, one of the things I've noticed is that you, have to make a lot of spur of the moment decisions. You know? Yeah. Grouping items or, or, you know, you know, l- you know, [00:28:00] kinda listening to your team and figuring out who's, who are they seeing that has interest.
And- Mm-hmm ... can you speak to that? Like, how do you read the room and, and kinda know what's going on?
Lori Rogge: Yeah. Eye contact is key, and being able to hear, you know? Mm. Yeah. So that's one thing that I would say our group is very, very proud of, is our energy level.
Sydney Collins: Mm.
Lori Rogge: So we are not a quiet bunch. And so when you are calling out bids, there's a lot of yapping going on.
Mm-hmm. And so our crew, we have ringmen and women. Mm-hmm. And with that, so that's the eyes and ears for us. Mm. But we tell people, and I have people that will just wink at me. I have people that will, you know, move a hand. It's all about subtlety. They don't want
Sydney Collins: you to see- ~Yeah ... that ~
Lori Rogge: ~they are, you know, that they're bidding.~
They're the ones- Yes ... 'cause they might have an enemy from across the room- Yes ... that's gonna be like, "Well, I'm just gonna up it just because." There's no friends at an auction. Yes. And so we use that tagline a lot.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Lori Rogge: Mm. And with that is that- You, that's the reason why the online component is that we have so many people now that [00:29:00] may live in the town that we're at, but they're going to bid online- Mm-hmm
because they don't want other people to know.
Sydney Collins: Mm.
Lori Rogge: So on our online, it doesn't show the name of the person bidding either. Mm-hmm. It's just a series of numbers.
Auctions Going Online
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Lori Rogge: So to your point about estate sales is that my mom was the queen of organization- Mm-hmm ... for any of our sales. Mm-hmm. We did antique and furniture for a very long time- Mm
until about, it's probably been 15 years ago now we stopped doing that, is that a lot of the family keeps all the good stuff.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Lori Rogge: And the nail in the coffin was when a family told my mom we were getting their estate, and when they brought it, they basically had, like, butter dishes- Oh, no
and things like that, that were junk. And my mom always said, "We do this for a service." And I was like, "Well, that's great we do it for a service, but we gotta have a little profit here too." Yeah. And that really has declined a lot. Mm-hmm. You don't really see that anymore, or it now goes to the estate or [00:30:00] the tag sales.
So we work a lot with those- Mm ... folks now- Mm ... and we'll refer that to, that component to them. There are still a few live auctioneers that will do that, but we're competing against everybody's life now. Mm-hmm. And that's what's become very, very difficult- Mm ... and that's why we had to add the online component.
So we used to do four antique and furniture auctions a year, uh, t- two to three gun and sporting goods, and we used to do four farm machinery consignment auctions a year- Mm ... on site at our auction facility. Mm. We've moved that to two now. Mm. And my brother and sister and I have talked about making it none.
Mm-hmm. And- Online
Sydney Collins: just works so much better. Yeah. Yeah.
Lori Rogge: However, we still do have some very committed patrons- ... that really still want us to do it, and we make good money doing it at least- Mm-hmm ... two times a year. So we won't stop, but it has shifted. And now, again, having the [00:31:00] online, and with that, it's very difficult that even though we're on the west side of Wichita, our internet connection is very spotty.
Mm. So we do computer that we enter our clerking in by computer, but we still don't take online bids. We- Mm ... people w- can do an absentee bid or call or things like that, that we still have that go down. Mm. And so that's still really hard that you still have to have the live side of things. Mm. And so we have our good old backup of our paper still.
But we used to have runners, so, like, nieces and stuff- Mm ... like that, and us kids, we used to run tickets, we called it. Mm. And so now it's instantaneous that our clerks are putting it in the computer and everybody- Mm ... goes up and can pay. Yeah. So that has really shifted. But- It's really s- very sad not to be able to do that anymore.
Mm-hmm. The Etsys, the Ebays- Mm-hmm ... the Facebook marketplaces have really taken over that. Mm. The collectors are on those. Mm-hmm. So now these [00:32:00] estate and tag sales, or even the auctions, are reaching out to those folks too, to make- Mm ... sure that they're available. But we just couldn't continue to do that anymore.
We have a facility that's perfect for it, but we just weren't getting the right things. Mm. And I had a colleague that used to sell just glassware. Mm. And he was, like, in Indiana area, and I remember he sold, it was a hen on a basket that, that's a very popular item. Mm. And he sold that for $67,000, like, in the '80s.
And in the 2000s, he sold it for $67. That's
Sydney Collins: wild. And he had
Lori Rogge: to shift his auction exposure because there just wasn't that. Mm-hmm. Now it's starting to kind of come back a little bit.
Auctions And Collecting
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Lori Rogge: It's starting to come back. But I don't think it'll ever come back to what it was, is the next generation doesn't collect- Yeah
like the others did. Yeah. You know, they want different types of things. I'm a knick-knack person. Yeah. So. You know I'm a knick-knack- There, it's not everybody But, you know, it's very much [00:33:00] changed, so. Hmm. But those, those things, you know, it- now it seems like everybody does some sort of auction, like I said, with their benefits.
Mm-hmm. Or I think I had mentioned to you guys is I participate in Women Grow the Farm. Mm. Yeah. And so another thing for, you know, a kind of male-dominated industry of a group of women coming together for that. And so of course we do silent auctions and different types of things like that- Mm ... with those types of things too.
But any component I can have of an auction, I'm in. So.
Estate Plans And Loyal Clients
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Sydney Collins: You mentioned loyal patrons. I'm gonna get real weird here. I promise there's a point. Do you have, uh, people who will put you in their estate planning- Yeah ... saying, "I want this auction house to do all
Lori Rogge: of my..." Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm. So my dad's a testimonial of that.
Mm-hmm. Is that my dad still sends out letters to people, and when I was at auction school, my dad wanted me to write letters to a whole group of people and mail out letters- Mm-hmm ... to them, because he had done that. And when I left for auction [00:34:00] school, somebody actually pulled out one of those letters that he had sent them 15 years earlier that their mother had passed away And she had his letter in her folder and had said that she wanted Jean Francis and Associates to sell their estate.
So we are very much a multi-generational family. So, you know, my dad really got in in the '70s. Mm-hmm. And so his connections when he was with a t- you know, with a credit union, they're no longer in existence, but the dairy farmers still are- Mm-hmm ... you know? Mm-hmm. Or many aren't, but the next generation is taking over.
Mm-hmm. It's really difficult for that next generation to come in to farm. Mm. So if they have a f- existing farm, then, you know, kind of moving towards that. But it definitely has changed over time in that too, so.
Sydney Collins: The reason I bring that up is my so my grandpa, my mom's dad, he was one of those guys that was just always at the auction 'cause he could get a good deal- to the point where the auction house that [00:35:00] was only, I don't know, maybe 15 minutes away from his house, retired his auction number. Oh. Yeah. And his auction number is on- Aw ... his gravestone. Wow. Oh. We put it on his gravestone. That's awesome. And so when he, when he was doing his estate planning, he said, "Well, I've spent so much money with these people, I want these people to sell all my stuff- Oh
that I bought from them." Yep, yep. So they came out, and they were really fun to work with. Aw. So that's, that's why I asked that question. ~That's special. Um- ~Yeah ... well, yeah, it was an interesting, uh... My grandpa figured out how cheap shipping containers were. Oh, at that time. Oh, that's dangerous. Not anymore.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, decided to fill them- Oh ... with all kinds of fun stuff. There you go. So- Yeah ... it was definitely auction
Gus Applequist: was m- What a gift to your family. Oh, it was. Yeah. What a gift, huh? Yeah. All the stuff he had
Sydney Collins: bought. In Clearwater, Missouri. Oh. And then the closest place we could stay was in a Tightwad, Missouri.
Oh. There was a Tightwad Bank. Okay. Population 169. Well, that fit your grandfather perfect, didn't it? Oh, he- ... would've loved every minute of it- ... 'cause we stayed in a rented double wide with the [00:36:00] ants and the cockroaches, so. Been there, done that. Yes, ma'am. To do the, to do the auction for that we- Yep.
~Yeah. Yeah. ~
Lori Rogge: ~But, yeah. ~
From Onsite To Online
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Lori Rogge: Well, we really used to go all over the state to do- Yeah ... our auctions too. Mm-hmm. Just to that point, is a lot of families we did that. And we haven't done that, I think, two years, we were just talking about to be on site for somebody's- Mm ... auction.
Sydney Collins: Mm.
Lori Rogge: Again, that's just changed so much.
Mm. That a lot of them, we just go online. So we had a family that we thought probably would have had, but he was a hoarder.
Gus Applequist: Yep. Oh. And
Lori Rogge: so- ... you know, and a hoarder is one thing. Mm. A dirty hoarder is another. Yeah. And so- A gross, yeah ... we couldn't have done it there. Mm-mm. And so there was a lot of- Yeah ... but we have a lot of that.
And I've just had two recent, um, auctions where I had somebody clear out, and we did sell some of the items in the houses And I had the tag sale people come, and then I'm selling the houses or the land. Yeah. Yeah. So you have to work as a team. Mm-hmm. So- Very much so ... yeah, it takes a village.[00:37:00]
Sydney Collins: Oh, goodness, it does.
Auctioneers In Small Towns
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Gus Applequist: Can you talk about the role that auctioneers play in these small communities- Hmm ... and how that's changed over time?
Lori Rogge: Yeah. Well, and it's very different now, is that those auctioneers that were in those communities are no longer.
Hmm. You know, you look at the average age of what an auctioneer was, you know, and like when my father start- there was several across the state, and you look at the Kansas Auction Association numbers, and they're pretty small.
Sydney Collins: Hmm.
Lori Rogge: So the National Auction Association is actually located in Overland Park, Kansas.
I didn't know that. Yeah. Hmm. So, my colleagues are all over the United States. Hmm. Um, in Kansas, like I said, there's not a ton, and the majority are male. Hmm. And I am pretty much the only one around the Manhattan area, and across the state there's, if y- and n- not including Kansas City, is there's three of us, four of us.
Wow. [00:38:00] Yeah, not very many. So, and most everybody now has, is kind of in the same realm that we are. Hmm. And so you don't really have those on a Saturday you show up- Yeah. Mm-hmm ... uh, everybody's kids are in something. And- Hmm Sure ... now with everybody's careers too being remote- Yeah. Mm-hmm ... is that people ask us to do that.
They'd love to come, but they can't. Hmm. And so that shift is really, really different- Hmm ... is that we worked, uh, when we were doing some of the... So we do list- traditional listings as well as auctions. Hmm. So we do both. So we visit with people and figure out what's best for them, is that which direction we're gonna go.
So I love to have an auction, but that may not be best for somebody. Mm-hmm. Hmm. So I do a lot of traditional listings- Hmm ... especially for houses.
Producer: Hmm.
Lori Rogge: But for auctions and for those small communities is that they're just not there anymore. And so auctions, a lot of people think maybe they've just died.
We are busier than ever with [00:39:00] our auctions. We sell the majority of our real estate, a lot of real estate we sell at auction. And so we'll do live and online together, but we've m- done a lot that I never thought would just be online only. You know, you're selling some of your biggest assets online only, and- we have people from all over the United States and all over the world. Hmm. And so on our gavel roads when we just do the online only is that every two weeks we're doing an ag and construction auction. And we have peo- like, we had one on Tuesday, and we had people from outside the, you know, Chihuahua, Mexico.
~Wow. Um, ~you'll have 'em in Delaware, you'll have 'em in Texas, and you'll have 'em in Wichita. You know? Or for us too, Leonardville, you know, we've got in those small communities too, and those people are willing to travel too. And the thing is is a lot of 'em are hiring a trucking company to do it. Mm-hmm. Or the 80-year-old father is asking his 60-year-old son to do it.
Mm. Or the 80-year-old [00:40:00] father's doing it. Not happy- Mm ... but doing it, because that's just the way of the world. Mm-hmm. So we have a lot of upset people that can't c- you know, that aren't able to come to the auctions anymore. Mm. Or do come but there's... it's few and far between now. I mean, we used to have over 500 people at an auction, and it's more than...
less than half of that now. Wow.
Sydney Collins: Mm.
Lori Rogge: And so, and you've gotta be quick on your feet and timing-wise and things like- Mm ... that 'cause people can't stay around, so. Wow. You know? It's just... it's very different, but it's still there. Mm. And it's still a very large component of selling, so. But it's very unique.
Why She Gives Back
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Sydney Collins: Well, I wanna take a few minutes to go over the list of amazing things that you are also involved with.
'Cause not just... auctioning is not just your whole life. So I'm gonna read this list off, and you can talk about- ... any of 'em or just tell me if you've ever said no before. Kind of feels that way. So, uh, r- uh, Rural Riley County [00:41:00] Community Foundation, Greater Manhattan Community Foundation Leonardville Pride.
You know, what's Leonardville Pride?
Lori Rogge: So that's now kansas Empowerment Communities. Okay. It used to be the Kansas Pride Program. Mm. And they've kind of shifted names. Leonardville's kept Pride- Right ... with it, but it's community beautification. Oh, cool. So- Okay ... community outreach
Sydney Collins: ~for y- communities.~
~Um, ~Nelson Family Community Foundation, Flint Hills Association of Realtors, Kansas Realtors, Kansas Auction Association, National Auction Auction Association Women Grow the Farm, which you've talked about. Mm-hmm. Um, and then K-State Alumni Association Board. Mm-hmm. Wow. And I feel like there's probably- Sounds like a full-
some we haven't mentioned- Yeah ... I'm sure. Probably, yeah. But anyway, so, but. So what, um, what is kind of your- motivation to give back or to be involved in so many different things.
Lori Rogge: Yeah. Mm-hmm. I think it started with going to the K-State Foundation. ~Mm-hmm. Um, ~I never really knew philanthropic organizations before or even what philanthropy was- Mm
per se, is that my parents were a [00:42:00] family-owned business with commission base. So- Yeah ... you're either making really good money or it c- feast or famine kind of thing. Mm-hmm. And so luckily, my parents, for the most part, were always the feast rather than the famine. Mm-hmm. But I never liked that, is that I never really wanted to be part of a commission-based company, is that I, you know, having a regular salary would've been really, really nice.
Because there are certain things as growing up as a kid- Mm-hmm ... I remember I was 14, and I had to go buy a lucky pair of jeans because- ... they were $60 at the time. Mm-hmm. And my parents were like, "We're not buying that for you. Use your own money" kind of thing. Mm-hmm. And so that was where I thought I would end up first, was some salary-based job.
But I have that entrepreneurial spirit in me, and it's ingrained in that. And so that next challenge and making the next dollar is just kind of inherent in me. Mm-hmm. And so when [00:43:00] I was a financial advisor, I went to work for a company that was fee-based, and I was commission only. And so then when I went to the K-State Foundation, that was kind of a ray of sunshine, is that I had a regular salary, and people were giving back, and to be able to see that.
So from K-State, that was kind of my first start of realizing how important things are to people and what they wanna give back to. So going back to estate planning, is that with that, a lot of people want that charitable component inside of their estate plans, too.
You know, they're including their family members, but they count that philanthropic organization as part of their family. So we're very involved, too, in 4H. So- Mm ... i've been a consultant for the Kansas 4H Foundation- Oh, wow ... as well. And so I got into that after I left the K-State Foundation and in between our family business, and I've consulted for them for several years.
And so we were 4H-ers growing up, so again, that component. I also our f- family [00:44:00] church, too, so I go to church outside of Leonardville in a little country church. And so with all of those, the needs are great. And so- Mm-hmm ... you know, asking folks to do that isn't very hard because it's important to me, and so then I try to be engaged in those organizations.
Mm-hmm.
Rural Riley County Foundation
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Lori Rogge: So the most recent one is the Rural Riley County Community Foundation. And- That came about out of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. Okay. I was gonna point that out, yeah. So it is a community foundation that our focus efforts are on rural Riley County, hence the name. Mm-hmm. So don't say it fast three times-
because it is very hard to say. Roll it out, yeah. So we say R2C2F a lot of times. R2C2F. But with that is that it, the em- b- the vision of it was for the communities of Keats and Leonardville and Riley. Mm. And if we wanted to expand, the only reason why we didn't include all of northern Riley County is because Randolph, Kansas belongs with Olsburg, Kansas, and they're- Mm
Olsburg is Pottawattamie County, [00:45:00] and they have their own foundation called Blue Valley, which Randolph could join us too if they wanted to and be a component, or bringing in some of the smaller communities outside of Manhattan- Mm ... Ashland Bottoms or Zandale or different types of things like that. But it's providing funds, and right now our strong focus is Riley County School District, as well as those three communities.
And Leonardville, I'll pull that out because that's the area, you know, the community that I live in and around, and that community is about 300 people, and the majority of people do not work in the town because we don't have enough industry to work in the town. But we have community members that have stepped up, and the Nelson family is one of them.
So Kim Nels- Bailey is now Mike Jordy and Kelsey Nelson's mother and father was Al- is Alan Nelson. They started Nelson's Landing in, in Leonardville. And we had that- Are you piecing this
Gus Applequist: together yet, [00:46:00] Sydney?
Lori Rogge: I'm not Okay. So, and they- We'll get into
Gus Applequist: it in a second. I'm not.
Lori Rogge: All the names sound familiar- Yes
but it's not clicking. So Kim is the matriarch of Nelson Family Community Foundation, and Jordy Nelson is her son, who was a K-State football player and went onto- Oh ... the Green Bay Packers. That guy. Yeah. So, yes. That's the guy. So their family created Nelson Family Community Foundation. Oh, cool. And they're very engaged in our community, and Kim happens to sit on the board of the Rural Riley County Community Foundation with me, too, and I sit on their family foundation.
So anyway, but the Rural Riley County Community Foundation just started two years ago, and it's to provide support for those smaller communities.
And unfortunately, we can't get sup- support from some of the larger foundations because Riley County is a larger population. Mm. And most of them focus on 60,000 or less. Yeah, that's hard. Yeah. And we happen to set right on the line of some because we're in [00:47:00] Riley County and set on the Riley-Clay County line, but we're in Riley County.
Mm-hmm. So really diligently working for our donors. And so with that is our community members have moved away and, but still support our community. Mm. So we not only work on a local level for that, but then go into that national and global level to find our alumni and find the, where the community members have gone.
Or in their estate plans- Mm ... it all circles back to that, is that, you know, they're either gonna sell their lands or provide philanthropic dollars back into those communities. So that where, is where I've continued my bend. Uh, the K-State Alumni Association- Mm ... I was on that board and giving back to that as well as just not only being alumni there.
But all of those bends and then just kind of bringing it back into the local area where I'm at. When I came to work with my parents is that the one thing was, is that I didn't wanna move back to Wichita. [00:48:00] I had felt that I really had started my roots in the Leonardville area, Riley County. And so I really focus kind of on the eight counties surrounding Riley County.
Mm-hmm. But we work all over the state. We're one of the few companies that work all over the state, is that we don't go too far east of Lawrence. Uh, but we do, we are doing some partnerships with some other companies, too. And, you know, we haven't lived per se on the west side of the state, but all of my family's around the Tribune area- Mm-hmm
which is right along the Colorado border. Mm-hmm. And so we've sold a lot of land out in Western Kansas, past Salina, past Hays. Yeah. You know, so it is truly Western Kansas- ... out in the Dodge City, Garden City, Tribune area and such like that, that there was a lot of connections with Harper County and with Greeley County back in the day.
Mm-hmm. And that's kind of how that started. And my grand- or my aunt was a teacher as well as my [00:49:00] grandmother, as I mentioned. And my aunt was a teacher out there for 40 years, and my uncle and aunt owned the implement dealership out there. So then, of course, you kind of- Mm-hmm ... get to know everybody there as well.
So those relationships that we started and moved to all of those communities- Mm ... is what has built us up today. Wow. So, but just getting into all those connections.
Women Grow The Farm
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Lori Rogge: And then when I joined our family business, then I got engaged in Women Grow the Farm. And with that, that conference is really designed for women.
W- it used to be called Women Managing the Farm. Mm. And we just changed the name to Grow. I'm glad. Uh-huh. Many women didn't feel like they managed it- Yeah ... even though they did. Mm. And there's a lot of women that aren't physically working on the farm- Mm ... that they're a nurse or a teacher- Mm-hmm ... or a bookkeeper or what have you.
But they still have some sh- foot in it Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Every day they come home- Every day ... and are living with it. Yeah. So the Grow the Farm just meant you grow in agriculture. Mm-hmm. And that's what we focused on. And so most of our keynotes and such, they are [00:50:00] women, you know, speaking. Mm-hmm. We just had Marilyn Vetter, who is president of the Pheasants Forever.
Sydney Collins: Oh, wow. And- That's a- ... you know,
Lori Rogge: so some really key things as well as, you know, trying to bring the locals- Mm-hmm ... in there too, the Lyons family and, you know, just different families that keep them engaged as well. But, but a lot of women that are growing their farm, so. And it doesn't matter where they live.
We have two sisters that come every year, that one of them lives in Hiawatha area and the other one lives in California. Mm. And they come every year. So we usually have pretty close to about 300- Wow ... men and women that come to the conference. Mm-hmm. And, um, it is a private-public partnership. So the co-chairs are a private entity and a public entity.
So you'll have USDA, K-State, and then, like myself, I was a co-chair, and then you do that together. Yeah. So we have those two components. So that's what- It's unique for a conference ... the uniqueness of that party, that conference is. And it's in Manhattan. So it's- Right ... in Manhattan every year. Mm-hmm. So we've decided to just kind of keep it there.
Yeah. There's a few others across [00:51:00] the state, and it just decided that we'll just try to keep it the same time in February every year. It's always the second weekend of February. It always seems to run around Valentine's Day and calving and everything else- ... and the weather. But, you know, you just can't find that perfect time with anything.
Mm-hmm. So. Right. But just trying to be engaged in all of that and how they all kind of connect, so.
Sydney Collins: Well, thank you so much for being here today. Absolutely. I really appreciate it. Thank you for
Lori Rogge: having me. So I really appreciate it.
Gus Applequist: Learned a lot.
Lori Rogge: Yeah. Wonderful. So that's always a good thing. Yeah. Now you know it's much more than just an auction.
[00:52:00]
Hosts Reflect On Auctions
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Gus Applequist: Well, we hope you enjoyed that interview with Lori. so I grew up going to auctions, like I s- said in the interview.
I guess I just didn't realize that auctions have sort of been dying as a thing that we do- as a community, and it, it makes me sad.
Sydney Collins: Well, you see estate sales a lot of the time. But those are just really big garage sales most of the time. Yeah. They don't really have the auction piece to it.
when Lori was kind of explaining, you know, how things are dwindling and how, like, even the staff size went from only, you know, like 10 to three people in her office, it really kind of paints a picture of, like, where we're at.
Gus Applequist: Yet it's also, like, a... It seems like it's a good time to be an auctioneer- and that they're as busy as they've ever been. So it's, it's j- yeah, it's, it's an industry that's- It's like it's the give and take- Yeah ... of, of time. It's crazy. So, yeah. A lot has changed. So yeah, yeah, it was fun, fun interview. Mm-hmm. Thanks, Lori, for, for coming. I don't know if she was coming up from Wichita or down from Lenerville, but either way- Yeah
it's great to have her.
State Park Guessing Game
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Gus Applequist: Okay, so I have a segment for us today. Uh, last time, uh, we, we talked about state parks. Yep. [00:53:00] And, you know, there's 28 state parks. I was like, "Let's, uh, let's double or nothing on this thing."
Sydney Collins: Oh,
Gus Applequist: my goodness. So, uh- All right ... so it's the same format. I'm gonna show you a picture, and then I'd like you to guess which state park it is, and then you'll guess where that state park is.
All right. Okay? Where in the rectangle state park. So... okay. That
Sydney Collins: is... Hmm. Is
Gus Applequist: that Milford? Not a bad guess. Or Tuttle. Also not a bad guess.
Sydney Collins: Is it somewhere in that area?
Gus Applequist: No.
Sydney Collins: Oh. Well.
Gus Applequist: No, this is, this is, I'll just show you. This is Historic Lake Scott State
Sydney Collins: Park.
Oh! I know this. I've covered this. If you would've shown me the square, I would've known what it was. Dang
Gus Applequist: it. Um, yeah, so I guess I'm gonna cover it again then. Yeah, cover it again. Sorry. Okay. D- and do you remember where Historic Lake Scott is?
Sydney Collins: No. I remember Lake Scott.
Gus Applequist: Okay. Well, it's in Scott County.
Sydney Collins: Oh,
Gus Applequist: yeah. Makes sense.
Historic Lake Scott Story
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Gus Applequist: Um, yeah, so Historic Lake Scott State [00:54:00] Park, just north of Scott City in western Kansas. The... Yeah, there's a giveaway that you got, and that's- Yeah ... that stone foundation of El Cuartelejo I hope I'm saying that correctly. The only Indian pueblo in the state of Kansas. So here's the story.
In 1664, a group of Taos Pueblan people fled north out of New Mexico to escape Spanish colonial rule. They came up onto the n- high plains, formed an alliance with the Apaches- on the plains, who were already living, uh, in this canyon along Ladder Creek, and they built a seven-room pueblo with an irrigation system fed by a nearby spring.
This is 1664 they were doing this. About- 20 years later, they were forced back into the Rio Grande. And then in 1696, another group, this time the Picuris Pueblo people, fled the Spanish and resettled in the same spot. And so this site was discovered in 1898- by paleontologists from KU. And I'm no expert, but I don't, aren't pale- paleontologists, like, dinosaur- Those are the dinosaur guys. Yeah, so it's interesting. They were
Sydney Collins: digging for dinosaurs and found a- And, yeah ... old pueblo. [00:55:00] Yeah. It's
Gus Applequist: cool. And yeah, so there are... Get this, there's at least 25 documented archaeological sites inside of the El Cuartelejo Archaeological District- Wow
dating back as far as the 1300s.
Sydney Collins: Oh my gosh.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. So some of the earliest history, at least I've heard of, in, in Kansas. Wow. So when we say Historic Lake Scott, we mean it. So just a little bit about the state park itself.
It's about 1,200 acres, and it's built around a spring-fed lake that the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed in the 1930s. And it's, it's beautiful. I really, I found a lot of pictures- Mm-hmm ... I really liked. And, and there's bobcats out there, so I put a bobcat on it. Oh, yay. Okay, let's go on to our, our second one.
Yeah, what state park do you think this is?
Sydney Collins: Oh. It's another lake. Mm-hmm. Wilson?
Gus Applequist: Congrats, you guessed a lake. It is not, it is not Lake Wilson.
Perry Lake Highlights
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Gus Applequist: This is, uh, Lake Perry or Perry State Park.
Sydney Collins: Oh.
Gus Applequist: And yeah, Perry is- There's
Sydney Collins: a lot more lakes in Kansas than [00:56:00] I realized. There
Gus Applequist: are. It's true. So Perry State Park, which is on the southwest shore of Perry Lake, it's about 25 miles northeast of Topeka.
And Perry Lake is another one of the US Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs. Mm-hmm. Uh, the dam was built on the Delaware River, which was finished in 1966, and it was primarily built for flood control. The state park came in two years later in 1968 when the Corps of Engineers signed a long-term lease to the Kansas Parks and Resources Department.
So the lake covers a little over 11,000 surface acres- Hmm ... which is huge, um, with a little more than 160 miles of shoreline. There's two things this place is pretty well known for. Uh, one is it's one of the best sailing lakes in the region. Really? Yeah. Is that
Sydney Collins: just 'cause it's not hill- it doesn't have a bunch of- hills and stuff around it- I don't know
and the wind can get to it easier, or? Yeah, I,
Gus Applequist: I honestly don't know why- Hmm ... why, I didn't, I didn't do that research, I'm sorry. But, um, but- Well, you're the sailor ... you, I don't know if you can see this.
Sydney Collins: You have a laser pointer- I do have a laser pointer ... that is
Gus Applequist: [00:57:00] hilarious. Yeah, it's great. Um, we're using a, a smaller screen than normal, but there, there's like a whole bunch of sailboats on this lake.
Yeah. It's not just- Look at that ... just a few. So yeah, that, that is cool. And, and the other thing that's neat about Lake Perry is that there's a lot of, of trails, and, and all of our state parks- Yeah ... have some trails, I think. So this park has roughly 25 miles of equestrian trails, and another- Yeah ... 20 miles of hiking and biking trails in the rolling, wooded hills around the lake. And it's also known for white bass fishing, as well as sauger. I hope I'm saying that right.
Sydney Collins: Sauger?
Gus Applequist: Saugeye?
Sydney Collins: Saugeye.
Gus Applequist: Saugeye. Okay. Yeah, which apparently it's a great place to to fish that.
There's been a number of towns that were in the spaces that the reservoirs took up. Riley County actually had, had, had people that had to be removed from two towns where Milford was built.
Sydney Collins: Oh.
Gus Applequist: And then not long after that
Fort Riley was built. Oh. And when they built Fort Riley, some of those people had to move again. So that era- I feel for those people ... was really rough, yeah, in the history of [00:58:00] Kansas. But it, the same thing is true of Perry Lake. There was a town called Ozaki in, uh- Oh
the basin that had to move, and so you still drive through that when you're going to Lake Perry. Oh. Okay. We'll move on to our last state park.
Sydney Collins: Oh. This one's tricky,
Gus Applequist: I'm not gonna lie.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. There's horses, there's lots of green.
Gus Applequist: Doesn't it kind of look like the Shire?
Sydney Collins: It, it's very Shire-y. Mm-hmm. I, I have no idea from that picture.
Flint Hills Trail Park
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Gus Applequist: This, this is Flint Hills Trail State Park. ~Oh. Um, ~and this is a very unique state park. There's a, we only have two linear state parks. State
Sydney Collins: parks- Yeah ... that are just the trails. Yeah. They're not an actual park.
Gus Applequist: So yeah, where would you g- I mean, yeah. Flint
Sydney Collins: Hills.
Okay. Yep. So I'm gonna guess, you know, east Kansas somewhere.
Gus Applequist: Yep. Okay, so this is in six counties. Oh my gosh. Um, technically five, with a sixth to come, and that's Dickinson. But it's currently in Morris, Lyon, Osage, Franklin, and Miami Counties. Wow. [00:59:00] And yeah, this trail is the eighth longest rail trail in the entire United States and the longest trail in Kansas.
It connects with the Prairie Spirit Trail- Hmm ... which connects this trail with Ottawa. This was originally the Missouri Pacific Railroad that was built starting in 1886. And then in 1995, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy rail banked it and the Kansa, sorry, Kansa Rails-Trails Conservancy spent the next two decades developing it before it became a state park in 2018.
Huh. And yeah, it's, it's really special what they're doing. Here closer to Salina, we've had a, a great Rails-to-Trails project connecting kind of, Lindsborg all the way down to McPherson. Yep. And, Metal Ark. Yeah. There's... When you, when you see how far this trail has made it, you realize that it is possible that we- Yeah
could have a trail that goes all the way across Kansas. Mm-hmm. And, and that's, I think that's just really exciting. Mm-hmm. Um, just to help you understand a little bit more, there is a map of the trail and, and where it's going. So, [01:00:00] so my challenge to our listeners, uh, out there is, you know, there's a state park not far from you.
Oh, yeah. You know, I'm saying this as much for, for me as for anyone else, but get off your phone for a day and, and go out and, and experience Kansas through one of our beautiful state parks. Trust me when I say you'll be glad that you did. And check out those ditch flowers. I think we need a T-shirt about the ditch flowers.
We probably do.
Final Wrap And Call To Action
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Gus Applequist: Well, you've made it. You've reached the end of another episode of Ask a Kansan.
Sydney Collins: Make sure to find us online at askakansan.com. Sign up for our Curious Kansan newsletter, and make sure to check out the Ask a Kansan store.
Gus Applequist: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, uh, in one of the various places you can do that online.
That is the best way to help us, further our reach. Mm-hmm. You could also tell somebody about the podcast. That would be much, much appreciated. So without any further ado, thank you for tuning in. Hope you have a great rest of your day.
AAK_Ep58_wide: Bye.
[01:01:00]