It's January... Snow, north winds, icy sidewalks... and KANSAS DAY! Yes, January 29th is Kansas Day! This year marks the 160th anniversary of Kansas' entrance into the United States as the 34th state in the Union.
So check out the graphic in this week's KGI Blog. Isn't it a beauty? It was the cover art for the January, 1952 issue of "To the Stars," a publication of the Kansas Industrial Development Commission. We've pulled this issue out of the State Library of Kansas' KGI collection of "To the Stars" magazines for you to virtually thumb through while many of you are spending time at home.
The editors of "To the Stars" described the January 1952 issue cover as "a montage effect [of] the official symbols of Kansas." Can you see the different symbols?
The Great Seal
The State Flower
The State Flag
The State Bird
The State Tree
The State Song
Besides the beautiful cover the January 1952 issue provides the reader with 29 pages of information on the Sunflower State: people, places, industries, agriculture, geography, geology, history, government and fun events.
All in all this issue of "To the Stars" is a window into the state of Kansas seen through the eyes of those who promoted and praised her accomplishments almost 70 years ago. Filled with black and white photos, maps, charts and statistics you've got 30 pages of entertaining and informative brain food to keep those little gray cells active on a cold winter day.
You can check out the January 1952 issue of "To the Stars" here:
For those of you wanting to see more issues of "To the Stars" online you can find them here.
(as well as early issues of Kansas! magazine (1958-1961)