[meteorite-list] Meteorites are Pride of Two Towns in Kansas

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Jan 2 23:07:14 2006
Message-ID: <200601030346.k033kZ712147_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/13526195.htm

Meteorites are pride of two towns

Now one of the western Kansas towns wants to be the Meteorite
Capital of America.

BY BECCY TANNER
The Wichita Eagle
January 1, 2006

Haviland and Greensburg have always been close, but meteorites have come
between them.

People in Haviland are a bit put out that Greensburg seems to be getting
all the credit for the world's largest oriented pallasite, a
bullet-shaped meteorite.

It was found in western Kansas, between the two Kiowa County towns.

Haviland Mayor Jeff Christensen says Allen Binford, the farmer on whose
land the 1,400-pound meteorite was found, lives in Haviland.

Christensen has a vision. He believes Haviland, with its 612 residents,
should be known as the Meteorite Capital of America.

One of the nation's richest meteorite fields is in Kiowa County's
Brenham Township, halfway between the two towns.

"Haviland is a small town," Christensen said. "My dream is to get
Haviland on the map. A meteorite museum could bring several hundred
people to town."

But Greensburg, the county seat, has 1,574 residents and is home to the
world's fourth-largest pallasite meteorite. The meteorite is in the
Celestial Museum at the Big Well, the world's largest hand-dug well and
the county's top tourist attraction.

It doesn't hurt Greensburg's reputation, Mayor Stanley Adolph said, that
professional meteorite hunter Steve Arnold, who found the huge meteorite
on Binford's farm, recently bought a house in town.

Arnold also has leased nearly 3,000 acres of Kiowa County farmland and
plans to spend the next few years combing the fields of Brenham Township
for more meteorites.

"We're proud to have him," Adolph said. "Maybe he'll find us another."

Arnold said there are enough meteorites for both communities.

"I wish there were more communities in the world wanting to take credit
for meteorites found in their midst," Arnold said. "Kiowa County is the
only county in the United States where 100 percent of the residents are
aware of what meteorites are."

No matter which town lays claim to the meteorites, Arizona science
writer and meteorite collector Geoffrey Notkin said he thinks the idea
of a national meteorite capital might work.

"I am not sure anyone else would be able to stand up and dispute it," he
said.

Christensen said the idea is in the planning stages.

"If anybody is interested, I want to set up a museum," he said. "I want
to do anything to get people into our town."

Twelve years ago, farmer Don Stimpson bought property near Haviland that
has a meteorite crater on it.

A museum in Haviland, Stimpson said, could tell the history of how the
area became so meteorite-rich, showcase collections and perhaps host a
festival.

"Out here we've got dark skies," he said. "You can go out, and on a
clear night it seems the Milky Way is so close you can reach out and
touch it."
Received on Mon 02 Jan 2006 10:46:34 PM PST