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07/25/2003 Archived Entry: "THE CZECHOSLOVAKIAN CAPITAL OF KANSAS"

THE CZECHOSLOVAKIAN CAPITAL OF KANSAS

The Midland was scheduled to open on Thursday...yesterday. Maybe it was a brief opening. They've had an official ribbon cutting by the Wilson Chamber and they have honored reservations of guests to stay there. Many loose ends have needed to be taken care of.

Linda and I stopped in about 6ish last night even though the sign said "Closed." I obey signs, but when Linda walked in, I assumed she was there on some business for the paper. Well... nooo! We just stepped into the lobby and looked around, admired the hardwood floors, table and chairs in the dining room and the sitting room. She wanted to take a tour. That idea didn't get far.

Marion Vaughn, the manager, was bustling around as they were receiving shipments and it was obvious they were playing catch-up. I suppose they will be ready for guests today. Everyone under the sun is going to want to tour the place. I asked her if they intended to serve meals on Saturday (tomorrow) as I'd heard from a Wilson resident that "the Midland was going to be serving 1,100 meals" (how could anyone believe that?) and heard from a couple other people that they had not yet received certification from the state for serving meals. She said they would serve a small number of guests from a very limited menu...probably one thing and "Czechish". She's going to be a very good person to promote the Midland.

For someone who may be hitting my website for the first time, The Midland Hotel is an old railroad hotel built around 1890 and operated until the late 1980s. Every one from Will Rogers to Sen. Bob Dole stayed there. In 1997 the Wilson Foundation took possession of the historic structure and led a $2.4 million renovation and preservation project. I have more about Wilson and the hotel on my website should you care to peruse it.

The small town of Wilson (population 800), one of my favorite places to just hang out, is ready for the 3,000 to 5,000 visitors they will have over the weekend. If it were an election year, there would be twice that many according to past experiences.

The two food eating contests aren't exactly what I envisioned. For men there is the wiener eating contest and for women it's Jell-O. I don't understand food eating contests anyway. I can easily miss that part of the festival.

I still haven't found out what the prize is they are drawing for Saturday night. There are always surprises.

It's going to be a good weekend to be in Wilson. I just wish, for my own personal tastes, it would be cooler. I'll go see what is going on and last as long as I can stand the heat.

It will be a weekend of "Vitame Vas" coming from the residents. Very nice.