Keeper

April 22, 2023

One night when I was in Wichita, I decided to go out to eat at one of the many haunts I had frequented during the 12 years I lived there.  We stayed in the Delano District near where I worked and lived while in the city, so I knew several possible eateries.  I had a dual mission as I also needed to pick up some items from the pharmacy.  I started west because I knew there were several favorites nearby.  I drove up and down and they were all burgers (lunch) or Mexican (last night) and I was unmoved.  That lead me to drive past several places in Delano, but by then I had decided on a great German restaurant in Old Town.   I arrived to find the restaurant was no longer in business (5 years and covid).  I took the scenic route back so I could go along the river.  As I passed, I noticed the bridge and Keeper statute were lit up in the park, so I stopped for a closer look at this impressive monument.

When I looked online, I found The Keeper of the Plains is one of the best-known sculptures in Kansas and stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers in Wichita.  The Keeper of the Plains is a dramatic 44-foot-tall (13.4 m) steel sculpture of an American Indian which was donated to the city by its creator, Francis (Blackbear) Bosin.  Bosin was born of Kiowa-Comanche heritage in Anadarko, Oklahoma in 1921, and came to his adopted city of Wichita in 1940.  He began his career as a color separator and plate maker for Western Lithograph and as an illustrator for Boeing Aircraft.  Although the “Keeper of the Plains”is undoubtedly his most widely recognized work, Bosin primarily expressed himself through his paintings.  Bosin was almost entirely self-taught, and his early paintings were depictions of Indian life.  Over the years his work became increasingly complex, with a spirit of Indian mysticism deeply influencing his work.  At his death at 59 years (1980), the inventiveness and imagination reflected in his paintings had earned Blackbear Bosin a prominent place among American artists.

After I left the Keeper, I continued my food journey.  Driving along I passed a drug store and pulled in.  They had a variety of hand cream, but not the one I had been recommended to buy.  I left and continued my journey, only to realize I had forgotten to buy the other item, deodorant.  Rather than go back I pulled into a dollar store and bought the stick.  I drove back through Delano and the restaurants were all closing.  I became frustrated.  I had been driving aimlessly for the last hour and had not accomplished anything I had intended.  I pulled into yet another dollar store and bought a bag of ice (none at our rental) and a bag of chips for later.   My big “night on the town” ended up with a taco left over from last night and the chips I had purchased.  I got home just as the Kansas wind started to howl.

Thoughts:  My night out difficulties were the result of two struggles.  One, I did not know what I wanted and two, my time away had made just enough changes to make the familiar different.  I also realized that most of my “go to” eateries had been burgers or Mexican.  My other favorite restaurants were scattered on the outskirts of town, and I did not feel like driving.  When I lived in the area, I had been part of a coalition that helped influence a national ice cream chain to rebuild their store to include a small grocery section.   This is still the only market in the food desert created by the neighborhood’s big market closing five years earlier.  I was glad this source was there and used it several times during my stay.  My night and stay reinforced how important it is to have accessible food resources.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.