Traditions

Life is a balancing act between work and family, between family and friends, between self and others. If we lean one way too far then we loose our balance, our way in the world.

The only way to keep from falling is to focus, to put one step in front of the other, eyes straight ahead. No worrying about kids when you are working, no worrying about work when you are with your kids. Spend time with the kids doing what they like to do, but relax with friends making adult conversation and sharing thoughts that matter. And sometimes, it is necessary to get away from it all and work on self improvement. Read a book, exercise, take a trip, whatever recharges the mental batteries and keeps the motor running.

When we choose the name Traditions for the store, we had in mind the musical Fiddler on the Roof. At the heart of Fiddler on the Roof is the theme that life is a balancing act like that of a fiddler on the roof. The opening song Tradition itself refers to the precariousness of life against which tradition is our guide. But the story is also about new traditions, new ways of doing things, and our attitude toward this process can be deceptively tricky to pin down. So, take a deep breath and place the next foot in front of the other.

And how do we keep our balance? Traditions.

It takes Someone Special to be a Dad

Older now, I reflect back on my time with Dad.

From birth to the age of ten, I really needed him. Whether it was baseball and biking or books and homework, Dad was there to teach and show me the way. From 10 to 20 years, I would occasionally check in with him. My friends suddenly became a bigger part of my life and time spent with Dad was a second here and there.  From 20 to 30 years, I thought I knew everything and Dad was a phone call on weekends or a card on birthdays and holidays. From 30 to 40 years, I too became a Father. Then again, I saw my Father as a friend whose advice and wisdom I needed again. Maybe, I have finally grown up!

There are many quotes about fatherhood, but the one I like best is by Australian born photographer, Anne Geddes.

"Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a Dad."

 Although my Dad is no longer with me, I can still see him sitting in his chair at the end of a long day at work. I hear his voice when I speak to my own son and try to be the father my father was to me. I feel his spirit when from the closet I take out the hat he used to wear and put it on my own head. I know that he is not far away.

Father's Day celebrates all that Dad has done. So, for all those caring Dads out there who dedicate their time, give love beyond measure, and sacrifice endlessly in the hope of creating happiness for someone else – Relax and Happy Father's Day.

Tent Sale Through This Saturday, June 10th

Seeming far far far away, all the noise in my ear gets louder as if quite near; now sitting, thinking thoughts that mingle with dreams, of hills far away and their cool, cool, cool streams.

Sometimes, one needs to clear out the cob webs. And by cob webs, I mean the clutter that crowds in and confuses the mind with thoughts that really don't matter. So, it is nice to get a fresh start and wake up to something new and exciting.

Traditions Home is finishing its Tent Sale this week. We are clearing out the cob webs. No not old and dusty, but items that are slightly damaged, or items that have been around a little too long. And our wish to bring in the new is your advantage as we are selling all Yellow Tag items at great discounts.

Find us on Facebook.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1971 Congress, with the passage of the National Holiday Act, established a three day weekend by making Memorial Day the last Monday in May.

While Memorial Day is dedicated to remembering those who have died serving the nation in war, it is only fitting that this weekend serve to remind us that tragedy makes all of us Americans.A shared sacrifice is an American value.

The tornado in Joplin last week devastated an area six miles long and up to three-fourths of a mile across. There are over 120 dead and hundreds still missing. The tornado was indiscriminate in its destruction. Along with hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses, it struck a hospital and three churches. The tragic stories of love ones pulled out of cars or from the arms of a mother fill us with heartache. Missouri Governor Nixon said: "You almost felt like you were walking on the hallowed ground of a battlefield. ... We are going to battle back."

On Sunday President Obama plans to visit Joplin. No doubt he will remind us of the many natural tragedies that have occurred recently.  These include other tornadoes in Reading, Kansas and in Oklahoma, along with the masive flood waters of the Mississippi. In a memorial service on Sunday, the President will recognize the significance of the loss in Joplin but also make plans to move forward. We are a resilient nation. Memorial Day reminds us of that.

This Memorial Day many Americans are spending the weekend helping out fellow Americans. You too can honor Memorial Day and help.

CNN - How to help Joplin, tornado victims.

KAKE - Find out how you can help Reading, Kansas.

Memorial Day has many other traditions - flying the flag, visiting the cemetery, simply remembering loved ones, wearing a poppy flower as a buttoneer, and yes, even the Memorial Day cook-out are all symbols that as a people we honor our traditions. Be American, take time off, come together, honor others on Memorial Day.

42nd Symphony Designers' Showhouse

The 2011, 42nd Symphony Designers' Showhouse in Kansas City viewing ends May 22nd.

This 1912 English-style limestone home is located at 1000 Westover Road, just off  Ward Parkway, north of the famous Kansas City Plaza. The house features an Italian-tiled roof, large veranda and sun room, along with its 6 bedrooms. In additions to its noticeable English style, one sees a colonnaded front porch reminiscent of Greek architecture, Gothic influences in the three front gables, and the influence of the English and American Arts and Crafts Movement its straight forward construction and attention to landscape.

More than 30 designers and the volunteer staff of the Kansas City Symphony Alliance are involved in making the 2011 showhouse truly beautiful. Traditions Furniture is proud to be a part of this effort having done the Formal Entry and Library.

Stickley Furniture's 18th century Hepplewhite Collection greets the guest in the entry. This mahogany sideboard is the epitome of the Hepplewhite style, a design that is slender, curvilinear and rich in detail. This includes the serpentine bow front drawers in crotch mahogany and serpentine cupboard doors also in crotch mahogany. Drawers and doors both have double maple inlay that provide balance and contrast.

Facing the sideboard is an arrangement of Sid Dickens Memory Blocks. The arrangement represent the several motifs of the house, that includes music and the appreciation of nature through landscaping and design. Sid Dickens Memory Blocks are hand crafted, made with attentions to detail, and truly unique.

From the entry one enters the piano room, and then into the library. The placement of the room to the east of the home gives an impression of  light and airiness. French doors and over-scaled windows along all of the exterior walls add light to the room and allow the visitor to enjoy the beauty of the garden to the outside.

The library is long and narrow, but within the room are multiple study areas. Near to the entry is a Stickley writing desk in quarter-sawn oak. Quarter-sawn oak was used by Gustav Stickley in his furniture because of the beauty of its pattern as well as the durability of the native American oak. Decorating the desk are Stickley accessories and pottery by Door Pottery. Adjacent to the desk is the Leopold Leather Chair designed by Leopold Stickley, brother of Gustav. The lighting includes Tiffany style lamps by Quoizel. To the right of the desk is a Stickley Mica Newel Post.

The far end of the room features a built in cabinet with decorative accessories that befit a library, books, Door Pottery, and picture frames to record the moments of our lives. An upholstered sofa and chair by Stickley provide a sitting area where the affairs of the day can be discussed.

There are of course many other beautiful rooms in the showhouse. And the many great designers have added their own unique perspective on style. Like the flowers of Spring, creativity is blooming at the 42nd Symphony Designers' Showhouse.

Tickets are $15 at the door. Come and support a good cause, the Kansas City Symphony.

Knute Rockne

Spring in the Flilnt Hills

It is Spring 2011, and the Flint Hills of Kansas are ablaze as they have been for thousands of years. In the far distant past, the fires were begun by lightning. Today, ranchers who stock the hills with cattle for market burn the grass to remove weeds and to restore the nutrients. This annual rite of burning is celebrated each year by Kansas Flint Hills Adventures. It can also be observed by the traveler along Interstate 35 between Emporia and Wichita, but be careful as the smoke can make driving hazardous.

Knute Rockne

Kansas weather can be fickle - one day sunny and sixty, the next day a blizzard.  This is especially so in spring, when the cold Canadian fronts battle the warmer weather of the south. Kansas weather takes on the personality of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the result can be deceptively dangerous.

So it was 80 years ago, on March 31, 1931, when a single engine plane carrying Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and 7 other passengers crashed on a stormy and foggy day. The tragic event has been remebered annually by family members and again, eighty years to the date, family members, including those of Knute Rockne, gathered at the crash site near Bazaar, Kansas. This time it was a beautiful Spring day.

History of the Crash

The  AP wire service reported the crash and it became front page news across America.

Kansas City, March, 31 -- (AP) --

KNUTE ROCKNE, famous football coach of Notre Dame university, and seven others were killed when a Trans-Continental and Western air passenger and mail plane crashed in flames today in a pasture several miles southwest of Bazaar, Kas.

ROCKNE boarded the plane here en route to California at 9:15 a. m. and about 11 a. m. the ship identified by its department of commerce license number, crashed and burned as it fought a fog and storm en route to Wichita, Kas.

GenDisasters, as posted by Stu Beitler.



The plane, a Fokker Trimoter, went down when the wing separated from the plane. A young boy working in a field feeding cattle witnessed the tragedy. He heard a terrific explosion in the foggy sky. Looking up he saw an airplane burst into flames and rocket toward the earth.When he came to the crash site, he found that all were dead.

Kansas Turnpike Authority

The traveler can view a memorial to Knute Rockne and the others who died at the Matfield Green service area at milepost 97 on the Kansas Turnpike, between Wichita and Emporia.

The memorial includes large photos of Rockne during his playing and coaching days, as well as some photos from his business ventures as a motivational speaker. Also shown are some of his well-known plays as a coach and speeches made to his players. Many of the images at Matfield Green are posted by Irish Musings.




Tragic events touch all of us. The cause of the crash, the structural components of the wing, led to an investigation and improvements in existing and new planes. But there was also a personal side to the story.

I have traveled the Kansas Turnpike between Overland Park and Wichita for over 20 years. Often I will stop at the Matfield Green rest area and view the life-size image of Knute Rockne. But it was only when a long standing customer came into the store that I learned of the personal connection for our customer.

Chicago native, John Happer, a friend of Knute Rockne, happened to be on the same plane. Mr. Happer worked for Great Western Sporting Goods, now Wilson Sporting Goods. And he, like Knute, was on his way to California on business. In Knute's case, it was to help in the filming of the movie The Spirit of Notre Dame.

Mr. Happer was our good customer's grandfather.

The Finger Lakes of Upstate New York

Spring comes lately to the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York.

But when it does come, it arrives in all its majesty. An azure blue sky on which are painted pillowy clouds in shades of grey and white. The water of the 12 Finger Lakes, so named because of their long narrow shape, takes on the color of the sky. This all leaves one to wonder where heaven and earth separate.

One hundred and eleven years old and going strong, L. & J.G. Stickley continues to build some of America’s finest furniture. And the home of Stickley Furniture is Manlius, New York, located deep in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. In such a beautiful setting, it is not unexpected that Stickley has been producing the finest furniture in America for one hundred and eleven years.

Since 1900, the Stickley philosophy has been "living in harmony with nature". And this philosophy is apparent from their commitment to using quartersawn oak, wild black cherry, and other natural woods, all of which are more abundant today than when Leopold Stickley started the company with his brothers in 1900.

In a tribute to the serene beauty of the Finger Lakes, Stickley Furniture introduces the The Finger Lakes Collection. It joins Stickley Classics with a unique interpretation of  American Western design influences.

The 85” Ledyard Trestle Table offers a substantial top with breadboard ends and classic trestle elements.Wild Black Cherry has never looked so good.


The 60” Geneva Dining Table has a grooved plank top with a molded edge which rests on a lattice-and-post base, creating a charming birdcage effect. Four cabriole legs with dramatic reversed curving incorporate carved volutes.

There is of course more. The 27 piece collection includes four dining rooms and several occasional pieces all crafted from cherry solids and veneers.

And you can see them this summer at Traditions Home in Overland Park and Wichita.