About Prairie Heritage, Inc.
on December 30, 2019 and votes
unanimously for Phong Nguyen as
the winner of the 2020 Jan Garton
Prairie Heritage Book Award
for his novel, The Adventures of
Joe Harper. The book is available for
purchase from thevollandstore.com
Prairie Heritage, Inc. is a tax-exempt, 501(C)(3) charitable organization. Its mission, as stated in its Articles of Incorporation, is to promote the general welfare of the citizens of the State of Kansas, by: working to preserve the tallgrass prairie and its heritage; working to preserve the heritage of African-American settlers and other prairie communities; educating people about the natural and social history of prairie areas; offering opportunities for people to make connections between ecology and society; and creating occasions in which people can experience the spiritual refreshment and artistic inspiration which the prairie provides.
Under the auspices of Prairie Heritage, Inc., hundreds of people have enjoyed hands-on prairie experiences.
Contributions to Prairie Heritage, Inc. are tax-deductible.
PRAIRIE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INCORPORATED (Prairie Heritage, Inc.)
c/o Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge,
11003 Lower McDowell Rd., Junction City, Kansas 66441.
(785) 539-5592
margystewart785@gmail.com
The officers of Prairie Heritage, Inc. are as follows:
President: Jim Sands
President Emerita: Ustaine Talley
Vice-president: Ronald C. Young
Secretary: Deliliah Hamilton
Treasurer: Margaret E. Stewart
At-large Board Member: Fredrick D. Reid
At-large Board Member: Pat Silovsky
Prairie Heritage Artist and Art-Educator in Residence: Betsy Roe
Board member Fred Reid takes young folks on a prairie tour during a Juneteenth celebration at Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge.
Betsy Knabe Roe shows
4-H students how to make
paper from native plants
at a workshop hosted by
Prairie Heritage at the McDowell
Creek Community Center.
A young photographer focuses on Purple Prairie Clover at a prairie arts workshop sponsored by Prairie Heritage, Inc.
Past president of Prairie Heritage, now President Emerita, Ustaine Talley is a leading researcher on the Dunlap Farm Colony and Dunlap Village, settled by African-Americans who immigrated to Kansas from Tennessee following the Civil War. Prairie Heritage is currently working to erect a monument at the location of these settlements, southeast of Council Grove.
Here is the Talley family in Dunlap Village, shortly after their return to Kansas from Nebraska. The family would work their Dunlap farm throughout the 1940s and part of the 1950s. Ustaine Talley is the 3-year-old, bottom right.
Artist-in-Residence Betsy Roe helps a young man make paper from native plants at a Juneteenth celebration at Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge.
Local historian Deliliah Hamilton, Secretary of Prairie Heritage, Inc., listens intently to the music at Geary County's Juneteenth Celebration. Ms. Hamilton designed a multi-part display of African-American history sponsored by Prairie Heritage, Inc. and presented at the celebration.
Members of the Kansas Native Plant Society enjoy a wildflower walk sponsored by Prairie Heritage, Inc. The walk was held in honor of Geary County's Juneteenth celebration, June 9-10, 2012.
Members of the Junction City Boys & Girls Club explore the creek on an expedition sponsored by Prairie Heritage, Inc.
Prairie Heritage sponsors a contour-drawing workshop on the tall grass prairie.