Ensor Park and Museum hosted six female visitors "of a certain age," as they say, for a tour of the historic 40-acre site the morning of Tuesday, August 11. The women are part of a larger nationwide social group connected to the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) that is fondly known as The Ethel, a name derived from the name of the woman who founded the AARP back in 1958, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus.
The leader of the sextet that made its way to Olathe on a warm summer morning carried a tote bag with her that displayed on one side a pair of stylish glasses with the word "The" in the left frame and the word "Ethel" in the right frame, and the phrase "For women who weren't born yesterday" on the other side.
Howard Cripe, NØAZ, led the 10 a.m. tour, which had been arranged by John Gray, KDØVRS, and was assisted by myself. Because of the ever-increasing heat, we decided to visit the outbuildings first, then head for the Ensor home and the air conditioning that awaited us there. The first stop was the Peg Barn, where the women, all of whom live in the greater Kansas City area or farther out, were shown "Renaissance Man," the short documentary about Marshall Ensor, W9BSP, produced by the Olathe Historical Society. We then backtracked to the north room in the Peg Room to view Bill McCabe's 1875 ox yoke and other items before moving on to the south room where the equipment Marshall used to teach woodworking at Olathe High School is displayed.
The tour continued at the Cow Barn, which isn't included on a normal tour, and from there we went to the Machine Shed where Marshall's 1949 Ford is kept and where he repaired equipment for farmers in the area using his arc welder. Then it was on to first the Pioneer Cabin where Bill McCabe lived before he constructed the two-story house around 1890 and next the Summer Kitchen with its cream separator, pressure cooker and other items.
The cool air in the house was well received by the ladies, who later posed for a picture in the Radio Room (they were crammed in there for sure!) that was to be shared via Facebook with other "Ethels" elsewhere. The tour wrapped up right around noon, after which our "Ethels" were on their way to Gardner and lunch at a Mexican restaurant there.