The Shawnee Dispatch / John Beal

John Beal is a contributor to The Shawnee Dispatch, Bonner Springs Chieftain and Basehor Sentinel. He retired in February 2008 as editor of those newspapers.

Recent stories

They don’t call them Badlands for nothing: By John Beal; August 27, 2008; The words “hell” and “devil” crop up often in the place names of western South Dakota.
More to getting old than just inconvenience: By John Beal; August 20, 2008; My stepfather had a saying about advancing age. “Growing old is no disgrace,” he would say, “but it’s sure inconvenient.”
Beal: Early Olympic moments on par for high drama: By John Beal; August 12, 2008; With almost two weeks of events yet to unfold as I write this, it’s a little early to talk about how the Beijing Olympics stand up against previous editions.
Beal: City’s problems follow flight to the suburbs: By John Beal; August 5, 2008; The situation seems almost untenable and it’s not going to get any better any time soon without some careful thought and a lot of hard work. Real gasoline prices — that is, with inflation figured in — have risen beyond the levels of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo.
Beal: A modest proposal to encourage voting: By John Beal; July 29, 2008; Swift’s essay, “A Modest Proposal – For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public,” bemoaned the poverty that gripped Ireland. Now, after the passage of almost 300 years, I have a modest proposal of my own.
Beal: White knuckles aside, flying still saves time: By John Beal; July 22, 2008; I have to admit that I’m something of a white-knuckle flier.
Beal: Wife bears witness to husband’s panic attack: By John Beal; July 15, 2008; One of the things they tell you to do in bear country is make lots of noise. This is based on the questionable-to-my-mind premise that bears are more scared of us than we are of them.
Legendary KC madam visits Shawnee Town: Character is latest in speaker series; By John Beal; July 15, 2008; Annie Chambers, Kansas City’s legendary madam, had a lot to say when she visited Town Hall last week. And the ears of the assembled ladies and gentlemen of Shawnee Town were burning when it was over.
Changes are accelerating in Johnson County: By John Beal; July 9, 2008; As we waited for the fireworks Friday at Shawnee Mission Park, I had the occasion to reflect on how Johnson County has changed over the years.
Don’t blame pop culture for being agent of change: By John Beal; July 2, 2008; I’m not the first to lament the state of contemporary music, and I know I won’t be the last.

Full story list

Recent photos

Actress Claudette Walker portrays Annie Chambers, a legendary madam who operated a bawdy house at Third and Wyandotte in Kansas City, Mo., from 1872-1923. Walker recounted the story of Chambers’ life with the assistance of a tableful of flamboyant hats and stoles that she shared with the audience of about 70 persons at Shawnee Town.

Marianne Payette Carter plays to the audience at Shawnee Town during her program, “Americana: Stories Behind Popular Folk Songs.” She spoke and performed June 10 as part of the Shawnee Town Speaker Series.

Children reach out to touch the hand of Shriner Dale Schmidt, who drove a small racer in Saturday’s Old Shawnee Days Parade.

This old fire truck is a fixture in every Shawnee parade.

The color guard for this year's Old Shawnee Days Parade reflected the spirit of '76.

Full photo list

Talking points

How often do you go to the library?

“I almost never go there at all — only with my wife, Kim. She checks out, I’d say, at least three books a week. The kids go with her, and she teaches them how to find things.”

— Chris Lopez

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