Winfield, Kansas

East of Oxford on 160 is Winfield, county seat for Cowley County and home to the Walnut Valley Festival. Caleb and I stopped for a late lunch at Biederman's Bistro where I tried some yummy sweet potato fries, and then we walked down Main Street for a few blocks.
Winfield has many beautiful old buildings, but Saturday was hot and muggy. We didn't stick it out for very long. Cheryl over at Flyover People has been sharing her photos and stories from Winfield and the surrounding area for the past few days, though. Head over to her place for a better look around. Dave of Prairie Dust has some great images of the area, too, including some from around Cambridge and Dexter that Kansas Cowboy (who can sometimes be found at The Stockman Cafe) might appreciate.
Whew, that was quite the linkfest!

Now for some of the sights we took in on our short walk. I had to find out more about this place.
We've driven through Winfield a number of times, but rarely had the time to stop. This place has always caught our eye. The faded sign above the door reads "Bones 'N Things", which is somewhat intriguing on its own. What makes it truly mysterious and a bit eerie is the way it seems connected with the next building to the south.

The lettering on that building reads "Dawson Monuments" and there is a fence and yet another building which seem to connect the two. The sample monuments on display on the lawn behind the wrought iron fence give the intermediary space the aura of a graveyard. The building running behind and between the two businesses suggests a grisly sort of symbiosis which would be perfect if the second building was a mortuary rather than merely a supplier of monuments.

It's a combination that makes us chuckle--and shudder just a bit--each time we drive by it. The sign on Bones 'N Things is too worn and faded to tell what kind of business it is supposed to be without slowing down. (Danny is not easily persuaded to slow down.) This trip I was determined to find out more.

A peak in the window didn't offer much. Bones 'N Things appears to have been out of business for quite a while though the sign claims it was once a "multi-craft center".
What's left looks more like rummage sale gone wrong. Not nearly as exciting or gory as I'd imagined. I've probably been watching too much CSI and Bones.

Liermann's appears to still be in business, and I was hoping to stop inside.

Unfortunately, even though "your grandpa traded here" no one was home so we could not.
Cheryl got a much more artistic angle on the building. Liermann's and the adjacent building are what is sometimes referred to as Buckaroo Revival architecture. You can read more about it on pages 8 and 9 of the January/February 2007 issue of Kansas Preservation which you can find here in pdf. (Go ahead and look over the rest of the issue while you're there; I'll wait.)

Is everyone back? Good, let's continue with the tour. The Jumpin Juke Box (somewhere in the vicinity of and across the street from Liermann's) hosts a couple of star performers, The Blues Brothers, outside their front door.
That's Jake on the left,
and Elwood on the right.
Apparently they are a little too well loved by their fans and cameras had to be added for their protection.
Meanwhile the nearby Mercantile was guarded by these vicious attack animals.
And that's about all we had time for before melting into a puddle on the sidewalks of downtown Winfield and slowly oozing our way back to the car where the air conditioning eventually revived and returned us to solid form. It's always nice to leave a little something for next time.