Bobbie Athon

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where and when Rock & Roll began. But the small Kansas town of Atchison can boast that one of its own residents played a part in its creation. As part of KPR's occasional series on Kansas history, Commentator Bobbi Athon explains.

From Waverly to Wichita to the Wild Blue Yonder... Olive Ann Beech earned more awards, honorary appointments and special citations than any other women in aviation history. Commentator Bobbie Athon tells us more about the First Lady of Aviation.

Among other things, the "Roaring Twenties" gave us speakeasies and flappers. And one of the most famous flappers from the 1920s grew up in a small southeast Kansas town. Guest Commentator Bobbie Athon tells us more about the rise and fall of Louise Brooks, who left Montgomery County, Kansas, and headed off for the bright lights of Hollywood, where she became an early star of the silver screen.

Eighty-eight years ago this month, legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven other men lost their lives in a fatal plane crash in the Flint Hills. Guest Commentator Bobbie Athon explains what happened near Bazaar, Kansas, on March 31, 1931.

A new exhibit at the Kansas Museum of History, called "105 Counties, 105 Stories," tells stories from every corner of the state. One of those stories involves a woman from Barber County named Carry Nation. Guest commentator Bobbie Athon tells us more about this feisty and fearless temperance advocate from Medicine Lodge.

Few Kansans in the 19th Century worked as hard to advance the cause of women as Clarina Nichols. She was also active in the abolition and temperance movements. But this important suffragette has largely been forgotten. Coming up on KPR, Guest Commentator Bobbie Athon helps us remember Clarina Nichols, a passionate advocate for woman's rights in the earliest days of Kansas.

The world's most popular aircraft comes with a Kansas name: Cessna. The company makes three of the most-produced airplanes in the world. In fact, the best-selling aircraft of all time is the Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The first flight for that airplane was June 12, 1955 - 63 years ago today! Guest Commentator Bobbie Athon tells us about the rural Kansas man who started the company that grew into an aviation empire, Clyde Cessna.

Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 -- 81 years ago. But she's been in the news a lot this month. The post office in her hometown of Atchison will soon bear her name. And Mattel is coming out with a new Amelia Earhart Barbie doll. Commentator Bobbie Athon reminds us who she was, what she did and why she remains an American icon today.

As Black History Month comes to an end this week, we remember one of the most important African-Americans in history - and his connection to Kansas. It's a connection for which Kansans should feel both proud and ashamed.

Saturday marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Allen White, a two time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and one of the state's best known writers. As part of KPR's occasional series on Kansas history, we learn more about the so-called "Sage of Emporia."