First timer? In this once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” above.
Dan – Oh, oh. Things are slipping a little here. Three of the last four landings have been OSers, including today’s . . . KS; 50/46; 5/10; 31; 163.1. Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Argonia (pop 530), Milan (pop 130) and Mayfield (pop 110):
Here’s a broader view, featuring Argonia.
A new river, the Chikaskia, which flows on to the Salt Fk of the Arkansas (10th hit); on to the Arkansas (88th hit); on to the MM (353th hit). So, here’s a shot of the Chikaskia in southern KS:
I found pictures of railroad depots in each of the three towns:
Argonia:
Milan:
And Mayfield:
Since, relatively speaking, Argonia is such a large town, it’ll be my featured community.
So, as you can see in the above picture, America’s first woman mayor was in Argonia:
Susanna M Salter
Susanna Madora “Dora” Salter (1860-1961), U.S. politician. On April 4, 1887, at the tender age of 27, she was elected as mayor of Argonia, Kansas, becoming the first woman elected as mayor in the United States. Not only that, she was the first woman elected to any significant political office in the United States. Following her term as mayor, she moved to Oklahoma in 1893 after acquiring land on the Cherokee Strip, and later moved to Norman, Oklahoma, where she died at the age of 101.
Wow. Very cool landing spot, enabling me to honor the first U.S. woman elected to any political position. And, she lived to be 101, which was an incredible rarity back in the day. Anyway, moving right along:
• Argonia is the only town with this name in the world.
• The first child born in the town was Francis Argonia Salter (daughter of Dora); date of birth was February 13, 1883.
• The airplane, Argonia, flew into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. It was a C-47, piloted by Argonian Charles Young.
• The first group of Flying Farmers was organized here
Hmmm. There’s only one Argonia in the entire world. How about that! So, here’s a picture of “Dora” Salter:
And here is her house in Argonia:
And what’s a landing in KS without a tornado shot (near Argonia on May 29th, 2004):
KS
Greg
© 2009 A Landing A Day
