History buff Roxie Yonkey will be signing copies of her book “Secret Kansas: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure” at 1 p.m. on May 1 at the Lyon County History Center. 

“The more you unwrap of Kansas,” Yonkey said. “The more interesting it becomes.” 

Yonkey’s book is a collection of the mysterious places and stories in Kansas documented through Yonkey’s own research. Yonkey has had experience in the past writing similar books about Kansas and documenting her travels in her blog Roxie on the Road.

A Nebraska native, Yonkey moved to Goodland Kansas in 1990 and took a job as a sportswriter for The Goodland Daily News. Living in Goodland, she found two loves: her husband Eric and Kansas history. She compares Kansas to a loaf of bread. 

“When you look at a loaf of bread, it looks just ordinary outside,” Yonkey said. “But when you start slicing it open, there’s all kinds of extra stuff in there. Sunflower seeds and millet and goodness knows what all else. That’s kind of the way Kansas is.”

Emporia is one of the many places featured in Yonkey’s book. One of the topics she plans to speak about is the famous Emporia figure William Allen White and his role in exposing members of the Ku Klux Klan in what she calls “white versus white supremacy.”

In the 1920’s the Klan was active in Emporia and one Klan-supported candidate was even elected mayor of Emporia in 1923, according to the Kansas Historical Society.

 “I didn’t know that William Allen White pushed the Klan out of Kansas. How interesting. So I know what aspect of William Allen White I’m going to talk about; his battle against the Klan. And they got rid of the Klan because of a contractual issue with corporation law. It’s just kind of strange that it worked,” Yonkey said.

Yonkey has added her Secret Kansas book to the list of her works devoted to Kansas history. She says that during the book signing she plans to ask for help from others so that she can begin  her “passion project” she calls “34 Kansas Women.” 

“We were the 34th state,” Yonkey said. “And Eisenhower was the 34th president, so 34 is significant.” 

Yonkey plans to ask those in the audience for their recommendations on which 34 women she should highlight in her next book which shines light on historic female leaders in Kansas. 

“You hear all kinds of talk about the men of Kansas and what all these men did,” Yonkey said. “But women were kind of shunted off to the side.” 

During the signing, along with discussing her new project, Yonkey plans to include a Kansas trivia game in which the winner will receive a twelve pack of Longford water which comes from an aquifer located in Longford Kansas. The Marquette distillery packages the water and sells it. After finding this out, Yonkey was intrigued to know more.

 “I was in Clay Center in October and I asked him to set me up with time to go visit Longford water,” Yonkey said. “And I did, got a tour, and I’m like, ‘Wow, I love this water.’ So I arranged with them to be the trivia sponsor.”

Those interested in discussing Yonkey’s book and joining in the trivia in a chance to win the prize can attend the signing at the Lyon County History Center on the 3rd floor.