 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2005-11-01 16:19:00
Remembering...
: With the new stadium coming into town, many old buildings will be torn down to make room. Do you remember how amazing and alive downtown used to be?
ANSWER: December in Wichita brings back so many beautiful memories of years past. The great thing about memories, God has given us, out of all His creations, the ability to go back and revisit these special moments.Do those of you who are adults, remember Christmastime in Downtown Wichita with many folks shopping, because there were no shopping centers yet? All were carrying packages and the Salvation Army booths had the bells ringing. There were two men who had lost their sight, one walked up Douglas playing the Accordion, the other sat in front of Hinkle's Department Store. Hinkle's always had great window displays for Christmas, and their Santa was located in the toy department in the basement. Just two doors east of Hinkle's, you could find McClelland's, where you could get the best frozen malt in town! On east, down Douglas, were Woolworth's, Grant's, and Kress (which we called Kreeses). Just across the street at Douglas and Broadway, there was the big Buck's Department Store with a Santa, his elves and electric trains all moving in the window. One block south was Innes, later Macy's, where every window was trimmed excitedly for Christmas. Wards, Sears, and all the rest were doing a booming business in the "really alive" downtown area. I want you to get your cameras and go downtown and photograph some of the existing buildings that will soon be going down with the building of the new Downtown Arena. Remember the Allis Hotel? It was gone in under five minutes. This will be the fate of many Wichita buildings, like the one at the corner of Emporia and William Streets. This building was the home of Flannigan's Mortuary for years, and later became Dancers. I encourage you to take pictures of the streets the way they are today. Then you can go back and remember not only what they looked like, but actually see (and share) them.I have a picture of the inside of the Miller Theatre hanging in my room; the big white console of the five manual pipe organ spotlighted by the stage on the left, where the flying fingers and feet of Raymond Shelly used to make that instrument come alive.The holidays are a great time to think back about all the precious thoughts of our city in the past, the streets and buildings as they were, and our many friends and associates. Take a lot of pictures…you'll be glad to have them in the future as you think about the past.And remember what Christmas is all about, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
