Tag: kansas

With A Little Help From The Great Spirit

by Steve Garrett, posted in Within The Realm

It’s a story that can only take place in America. They had come west, illprepared, to a new home where they hoped to start fresh for themselves and their families. The new residents of Nicodemus, Kansas, mostly former slaves from Kentucky were unready for the rugged and harsh environment of the Plains, but a roving band of Native Americans came across the hapless migrants. After discussing the situation, the Great Spirit touched their hearts. The following day they returned to Nicodemus and shared their bounty with the new-comers. A story that had many causes and effects that could only happen in America.

The Great American Desert

by Steve Garrett, posted in Season Three, Within The Realm

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You won’t find it on any map, at least not anymore, but the Great American Desert played a pivotal role in the shaping of the history, geography and myth of the American West. It’s disappearance coincided with the closing of the American frontier. Find out more about this overlooked place…

Lorenzo Fuller: From High Plains to Television Pioneer

by Steve Garrett, posted in Within The Realm

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Lorenzo Dow Fuller, Jr. was a pioneer in the early days of television, but his parents were also Pioneers in their own right. His father was a traveling musician, taking his family on his tours throughout the Midwest.  Young Lorenzo played the harp, like his father.

After attending the University of Kansas on a scholarship, Lorenzo made his way to New York and quickly made a splash, becoming a sought after talent on Broadway, radio and television. He soon had a spot as the host of his own network show on the new NBC TV network.

His star began to fade and he spent the last many years of his life living anonymously in New York. He did make a final visit to his western Kansas hometown…although it should not have been his last.

Lorenzo Fuller – From Traveling Roadshows to Television Pioneer

by Steve Garrett, posted in Episodes, Season Two

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Lorenzo Dow Fuller, Jr. was a pioneer. He inherited that spirit from his parents, who were Exodusters, freedmen and their children leaving the South for new opportunities in the west. His mother was the first black child to settle n Rooks County, Kansas. Lorenzo came from a  musical family that traveled the Midwest as the Fuller Concert Company. A young Lorenzo  found his way to New York City and early success, especially in a new field – television. Hear the whole story of this meteoric rise in acclaim of this now unsung trailblazer.

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