two favorite kansas legends
Posted on 13. Aug, 2010 by Nick in culture
words >KATHLEEN ALLEE
photos > DETOURART.COM
Recently a columnist from the Washington Post visited Wichita, declaring it a “charmingly eccentric” city. Well, that eccentricity isn’t just limited to our city; it must be blown throughout the state by prairie winds. There are so many strange, off-the-wall Kansas Legends. These are two of my favorites: two glorious displays of the wonderful and wacky spirit that must be inside all of us.
Who in their right mind would ever imagine that the Garden of Eden would turn out to be in Kansas? But it is, nestled on a quiet residential street in the small town of Lucas. A concrete Adam and Eve greet you with an apple. Above them on two tall concrete pillars are the Devil, frolicking concrete children, and two love storks. To the left, high in the air, an all-seeing concrete eye watches over the garden. In the backyard, an octopus representing truth grabs at the world. A tree is carved into the Goddess of Liberty, driving a spear through the head of another octopus. The creator of this concrete utopia was Samuel Dinsmoor. At age 64, he came down with severe dementia concretia (a disease that causes people to create compulsively and on a grand scale) and started building the concrete Garden of Eden as his residence in 1905. His house is made of limestone cut to look like logs; the sculpture garden surrounds it. He continued building and displaying up until his death. For his death, he prepared a 40-foot-high limestone mausoleum in one corner of the garden, complete with a glass-sided coffin! When he finally died in 1933, he was embalmed and put on display. Now, even after eight decades, you can look through the coffin and see the moldering creator of Kansas’ very own Garden
of Eden.
Address: 305 E 2nd St, Lucas, Kansas
Hours: Daily, 10-5
http://www.garden-of-eden-lucas-kansas.com
M.T. Liggett says he has “a very different kinda outlook on life.” (M.T. is an adopted name that some say stands for Moon Tosser) He expresses this outlook with art: hundreds of metal sculptures set on poles—some up to 20 feet tall— along the fence line of Highway 15, west of tiny Mullinville, Kansas. Liggett was born here in 1930 and has lived here all his life. His tools consist of a plasma arc cutter and an arc welder. His material is metal: junked farm machinery, car parts, road signs, railroad equipment, and more. Everyone enjoys his windmills and fanciful creatures. There are grinning dogs, ancient gods, a smiling pumpkin, a giant dung beetle, chickens wearing boots, and countless other imaginary creatures. Not everyone is so fond of his political pieces. Liggett calls them “totems.” Human caricatures of politicians are depicted with long, warty noses, buckteeth, potbellies, giant feet, and balloon butts. None of them are flattering, and no one escapes his scorn; Democrats and Republicans alike are burned at the stake. But Liggett is extremely proud of his art and enjoys being admired for it. If you linger long enough, he may even drive out in his pickup to look you over. He’s definitely not going anywhere soon, so as long as he can heft iron and grip his welder, he’ll be making art and putting it out by Highway 154 for you to drive by and fall in love with!
Address: South Avenue and Elm Street, Mullinville, Kansas
Hours: Daylight Hour
