By Ron Wilson, Director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

In this week’s Kansas Profile, I’d like to take you on a hunt for some hidden treasures. I’m not talking about lost diamonds or gold, I’m talking about something even more valuable: The little known people and places of rural Kansas. The good news is, we now have a guidebook which can help us find those hidden treasures, right here in our backyard. These little known places can be a source of fun, food, shopping, learning, and wonderful experiences.

Marci Penner is the founder of the Kansas Sampler Festival, the Kansas Sampler Foundation, and the Kansas Explorers Club. She is also the author of a new book, “The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers.”

Marci has a great love for rural Kansas. Several years ago, she and her father, who is also a great photographer, coauthored some tour guide books about Kansas. Marci really wanted to do an update.

But Marci never does anything halfway when it comes to rural Kansas. She had a grand idea: What if she could visit every one of the 627 incorporated towns in Kansas? That is quite a goal, but she committed to do it.

The result came three and a half years and 40,124 miles later. The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers is based on her journeys to every town in the state, plus to dozens of unincorporated towns and a handful of ghost towns. Some 500 towns are represented in the book, among some 3,597 entries.

To make her experience more authentic, but unfortunately more of a challenge, she did not set up appointments so that chambers of commerce could roll out the red carpet for her. Instead, she made unscheduled stops all over the state. The result was an unvarnished look at features, people, and attractions.

This book is a fabulous resource. Marci says, “This guidebook was meant to be much shorter, but the more I traveled, the more I found.”

Every entry in the book falls into one of eight cultural elements: Architecture, art, commerce, cuisine, customs, geography, history, and people. It is also organized by region, so the traveler can target his or her interests geographically in northeast or south central Kansas, for example. There are hours, descriptions, contact information, and even extra inside tips for making a visit more special or rewarding.

These entries cover the gamut of rural Kansas, from Abbyville, population 127, to Zenda, population 121. Now, that’s rural.

In between is a wealth of information about attractions, eating places, historic sites, and much more, in towns large and small. The spiral-bound book is dotted with more than 400 full-color photos of signs, sights, and scenic vistas.

Keep in mind that this is not just a listing of all the places to eat in a given town. Franchise fast food joints are not included. Only some locally-owned cafes and restaurants will make this list, and there are 672 of them.

Somehow, after all this food sampling, Marci remains her slender self. She also remains passionate about rural Kansas. In fact, she is co-chairing the Governor’s Rural Life Task Force.

The guidebook is available at many retail outlets and can be purchased on-line at www.kansasguidebook.com.  This Web site includes background information as well as a list of retail outlets where the book can be purchased, plus a link to order it directly.

“The guidebook is a project of the Kansas Sampler Foundation,” Marci says. “It was written to help further the mission of the foundation which is to preserve and sustain rural culture.” 

Her hope is that this book can bolster the small towns and businesses in Kansas. Marci says, "If thousands of our own people are traveling and appreciating Kansas, it can really make a difference in keeping (towns and businesses) alive."

Yes, we can go on a treasure hunt to find these hidden treasures right here in Kansas. Thanks to Marci Penner, we have a guidebook which is a traveler’s indispensable companion. We salute Marci and the Kansas Sampler Foundation for making a difference by highlighting these hidden treasures of our state.  Our column ends here, but the treasure hunt is just beginning.

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The mission of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is to enhance rural development by helping rural people help themselves. The Kansas Profile radio series and columns are produced with assistance from the K-State Research and Extension Department of Communications News Unit. Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/huckboyd/.