Inspiring a 6th Grader
A side trip to the Grand Canyon to visit my grandparents when we moved from California to Oklahoma combined with 6th grade experiences that included a train trip and an excursion to a Chinese restaurant encouraged my inclination to travel and enjoy new experiences.
My family moved from Beaumont, California to Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 1966. That fall I started 6th grade and enrolled in Washington Elementary School which is the school my uncles had also attended. (Washington Elementary School was originally built in 1907; it burned down and was rebuilt in 1930.) I had a good teacher who wanted to expose us to new things.
One of the most memorable events was a train trip from Bartlesville to Independence, Kansas culminating in an outing at the zoo.
According to the schedule, we left Bartlesville at 8:10 and arrived in Independence at 9:00 with a stop in Caney.
The train was a regional train for the Santa Fe Railroad called the Tulsan. The Tulsan’s route was from Tulsa to Kansas City and was known for consistently being on time (Burns). The Tulsan ran from 1939 until the start of Amtrak in 1971.
After arriving in Independence, we walked to the zoo and park and enjoyed exploring both. Riverside Park was founded in 1914 and the Ralph Mitchell Zoo was added to the park in 1925. The highlight of the zoo was Monkey Island. In the 1930s, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) created Monkey Islands at various zoos across the country. However, the Monkey Island in Independence was particularly detailed and elaborate “with a castle, a main street with storefronts, a jail, a windmill, and even a miniature Liberty Bell (Monkey Island).”
While Monkey Island was a great place to observe the monkeys, it also had a significant historical impact. “Kansas has been home to several astronauts: Ron Evans, Joe Engle, and Steven Hawley, for example. But before these astronauts took flight, there was another native Kansan who ventured to outer space: Well, not an astronaut but an astromonkey (Wilson).”
Miss Able was born on Monkey Island in Independence in 1957 and became the first American monkey to travel into outer space on May 28, 1959 as a result of U.S. competition with the Soviet Union who launched Sputnik in 1957. Miss Able was a rhesus monkey and endured extensive training. She traveled with another monkey, Miss Baker.
Traveling by train for the first time, I was able to not only have an amazing experience, but it was an opportunity to learn some remarkable history. May the travels continue.
Sources
Burns, Adam. “The ‘Tulsan’: Chicago – Kansas City – Tulsa, OK.” America-Rails, www.american-rails.com/tulsan.html. Accessed 3 July 2024.
“Lost Bartlesville: Sean Hockens Remembers Local Tracks and Trains …” Enterprise-Enterprise, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, 29 Dec. 2013, www.examiner-enterprise.com/story/news/2013/12/29/lost-bartlesville-sean-hockens-remembers/27390230007/.
“Monkey Island, Home of America’s First Space Monkey, Independence, Kansas.” RoadsideAmerica.Com, www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11873. Accessed 4 July 2024.
Wilson, Ron. “K-State Research and Extension.” Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Miss Able, Astromonkey, 25 Oct. 2023, www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/stories/2023/10/kansas-profile-astromonkey-miss-able.html.