From the Alvin and Rosalie Sara Check studio PBS Kansas Presents Hattiesburg people.

They are the unsung heroes and the legendary characters whose stories have shaped the very soul of Kansas.

And on this edition of Hattiesburg, people will revisit the life of Pastor Gary Cox.

Now he spent his final days challenging the traditions of fundamentalism to share a message of spiritual grace.

Also, the battle for water on the High Plains is a story of grit that is, define Kansas farming for generations.

In the 1980s, some wondered if farming in western Kansas would become a thing of the past.

We'll examine the successes and challenges of that time.

I'm Susan Peters.

Join us for another tribute to the voices and the visions.

But shaped by Kansas spirit.

And I'm Larry Hatteberg and it all starts now on Hattebergs People.

These stories are like old friends.

Their lives radiate from the screen like prophets of the past.

They were teachers, but not in a classroom.

Instead, they taught about life to those around them who cared to listen.

And I was their student.

When the clock begins to run out.

The truce we hold dear suddenly come into sharp, unyielding focus.

In 2006, Wichita's Reverend Gary Cox was facing the ultimate deadline while battling a terminal disease.

He poured his remaining strength into a final mission, writing a book that challenged the rigid doctrines of fundamentalism in favor of the compassionate, inclusive faiths he had come to discover during the course of his life.

Sitting on my God.

I've got the perfect family.

I've got the perfect job.

I've got the perfect congregation.

I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing with my life.

All of this of the Reverend Doctor Gary Cox found his path to the pulpit the hard way.

I rejected Christianity when I was a teen.

It seemed to me that the the two adjectives that describe Christians were smug and judgmental.

For a while, he played in a rock band, then worked for decades in business and industry.

He studied philosophy, Buddhism and Hinduism.

I was really in my 40s when I became aware that there's a strand of Christianity out there that is so beautiful and so powerful, and that leads directly into the heart of God.

Just this Christianity was far different than that of the fundamentalist TV preachers who had left him cold in his youth.

The British theologian who said that the church Christianity is like a swimming pool.

All the noise comes from the shallow end.

Eternal God, we open our hearts in this hour to your gracious love.

Following the call to become a pastor, he now leads the University Congregational Church.

So Bible criticism is simply an honest, scholarly approach to the texts of the Bible.

Gary had found his calling, but his road to God took a detour.

I'm going to die.

But then again, that happens to everybody at some point.

Last year, doctors told him he had incurable kidney cancer and a major his life in months, not years.

I'm at peace with God and I hope I have years left in this world.

But if I only have days left, you know I'm at peace with that.

Good to see you.

Good.

Gary is surrounded by a congregation who support him and a family who loves him.

But since his diagnosis, his mission has been this book.

Realistically, this book will be my legacy.

A book called Think Again a Response to fundamentalism claim on Christianity.

And it's fine to believe the fundamental tenets of Christianity.

But it's not fine to to become smug and judgmental toward other people.

Once you accept those those fundamentals.

The book is a collection of sermons Gary has preached.

Troubled by what he sees as a religion that has become too judgmental by fundamentalists.

He wanted to show the other side of the faith.

I feel so strongly that Christianity, it can be boiled down to four words based on the teachings of Jesus, and that is love everybody and judge nobody.

Pastor Cox knows he's a small voice in a sea of fundamental disagreement.

I don't understand those who insist on a very narrow, fundamental way of thinking about the faith that divides the world into us and them, good and evil.

The saved and the unsaved.

I'm doing great.

Hi and hi, Bob.

How are you doing?

And facing death as he faces life, Gary Cox heads down another one of his many paths.

His book is done, but not he says, is his ministry.

We don't know what happens when we die, when we move beyond this world.

But we don't die in the nothingness.

We die in the arms of God.

And that should be our greatest comfort.

Gary died just a few months later at age 51.

His book, Think Again stayed on the top ten best seller list at Watermark Books for a long time after his death.

He was a very unique man, a very caring man.

Fascinating to be around, fascinating personality.

He was just a joy to be around.

And in his last days, he was inspired to write this whole different kind of religious book, if you will, spiritual book, if you will.

But it was a different than what he was used to.

And it is lasted for, it will last for generations to come.

And he saw life through different eyes.

And, I always like that too, because it inspires me to see things differently.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

All right.

Nothing is permanent when you're borrowing from the earth and Mother Nature always collects her debt.

Always.

Well, back in 1981, the lush fields of Holcomb, Kansas, hung in the balance as farmers raced against a ticking clock.

Fearing that the very water that sustain them was about to vanish forever.

They had transformed a dusty wasteland into a modern breadbasket, but feared they were now living on borrowed time.

Relentless winds howl across western Kansas fields.

Nervous jackrabbits populate the pastures in search of an easy meal.

And everywhere you look, the word flat takes on a new meaning.

This is western Kansas, where irrigation has turned the prairie from wasteland to cropland.

However, times they are a change in 32.

Aerial irrigation sprinklers cover 4000 acres of irrigated corn on the Leroy Robinson Farm south of Holcomb, Kansas.

Without irrigation, this land would revert back to grass and occasional cactus.

As the Sandhills reclaim their past, farmers like Leroy Robinson know that change is coming.

But then they're used to that.

Well, we can see down the road 20 years, probably we won't be able to raise corn and put on as much water and use as much water.

When our water gets down and where we can't raise this kind of a crop, we'll have to seed it back to grass and go back to pasture on a lot of this land.

Each sprinkler pumps at a thousand gallons per minute, and during hot summer months, they run continuously to keep the corn from burning up.

When Robinson began farming here in 1967, he had water for his sprinklers at a depth of 73ft.

Now he has to go down to 100ft.

So what happens when the well runs dry and the sprinklers have to be turned off?

Many farmers say they'll simply revert to dryland farming techniques or to a crop like Milo.

That only requires two good watering a year.

Farmers say they'll adapt their farming methods to cope with the changing water table.

They'll adapt because they have no choice.

Cattle symbolize western Kansas, both past and present.

But it's the future that some are worrying about.

Irrigation helps solidify cattle as a major factor in the western Kansas economy.

With the large feed yards game, the huge packing plants adding to the area's well, corn grown with irrigated water helps feed thousands of cattle in western Kansas.

Feed yards.

This is the Ingle Shark Garden in Dodge City.

At capacity, 30,000 head can be fattened before slaughter.

Will the depleting groundwater supply affect the cattle industry?

Well, surprisingly, some believe it won't.

Like Leroy Robinson, who said the farmer would simply adapt.

The cattlemen say they'll do the same if local farmers switch from corn to Milo or to wheat.

And the feedlot operators will change their feed or buy corn from Nebraska instead of relying on area farmers.

No, it won't affect our cattle feed and I don't think demand anything.

We'll, we'll be feeding here as long as our packers can and so forth, by cattle, and pay us so we can come out on them.

Will be all right.

Inside the Ingles feed yard offices manager Larry Pinker monitors cattle prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Currently, Pinker is more concerned with current cattle prices rather than future water problems.

On water bank, like others in western Kansas, say they'll just adapt but will adjust to the situation.

We've got the packing plants around here now.

Our our business is solid, on solid ground, I believe, and I believe we'll be here for long as everybody.

Some people call these sprinklers circles of life on the high plains of western Kansas.

It was the railroad that once tamed the frontier.

And then irrigation made it blossom.

But in a few years, that could all end.

And the ground that now grows, irrigated crops may return to its natural state.

And for the people we call farmers, it's just one more in a series of never ending challenges.

For some, the extra.

This is Laurie Hedberg.

Now, those farmers in 1981 were looking at a 20 year window, fearing the wells would be bone dry by the turn of the century.

Well, as it turned out, their predictions of a total collapse by 2001 were largely premature.

But the struggle out there, hey, it is far from over.

While advanced technology and better conservation have allowed irrigation to continue right into this year 2026, the Ogallala Aquifer remains under tremendous pressure, forcing today's generation to re-imagine the future of Kansas agriculture all over again.

So it continues and continues and continues.

But I'm sure these farmers will find some sort of solution, don't you think?

I hope so, but that's going to be a continuing story out there of the drought and the lack of water and how they solve that.

I don't know, but I know there are people working on it.

It's amazing to see that story from the 1980s.

It is.

And although things are so different now things are kind of the same.

They are kind of the same.

And the, the people out there who have to work on this day by day, I mean, they see what's happening, they feel what's happening.

And so my heart goes out to them because there's nothing harder than farming.

Absolutely.

Well, thank for bringing us back in time to.

I loved that.

The truth of our existence is that nothing stays the same.

I hate that fact.

I want things to stays the same.

I know the video colors of yesterday.

They're always at a risk of fading into gray.

Well, Robert Elliott of Wichita made it his sacred mission to stop that decay.

Now, I caught up with him as he led the restoration of a historic church.

This was just the latest chapter in a lifelong quest to save the beauty and history that define us.

This is the house of God.

Those words mean everything to the people here.

And it has been a house of God for 100 years.

Saint Anthony's Church at Second and Ohio, now experiencing a rebirth.

This church is it's really a huge part of Wichita's history.

Robert Elliott is a master at restoration.

His job is to restore the ceiling murals, statuary and woodwork of this old church.

He.

I love coming here every day.

This work is for me.

It's an extension of my passion.

He and his talented group of artisans see it more as a mission and a privilege.

When someone walks into this church, they have an immediate response.

And a lot of people have told me it makes them feel more in touch with God, more in touch with their community.

More prayerful.

Robert runs his own company in Wichita, but works nationally on some of the most expensive homes in the world in Florida are in the range of 22 million to $15 million.

But it pales in comparison to working for so many people in affecting so many families.

The people of the parish of Saint Anthony's.

I've grown to really love them and care about them.

Sometimes painting with goose feathers, Robert Elliott and his talented staff have turned this aging inner city Catholic church into one of the most beautiful in the city.

Ten people come up to me and just say thank you.

Thank you for what you've done.

There's no way to put a monetary value on any of that.

With reconstruction nearly finished, those who have cared for and loved this historic church, along with artisans like Robert Elliott, are keeping the faith with a new generation of Wichita.

All the hours that we put in don't even compare to the efforts of the parish.

The parish has been working for 12 years to make this happen.

I couldn't be more proud to be here.

Well, that was more than 20 years ago.

And in the years since, Robert has led to several other major renovation projects, including the restoration of Wichita's old Carnegie Library and the statues of Mary, Queen of Angels Church in Fort Scott that was heavily damaged in a fire.

Unbelievable that he restores these churches because they're they're bits of history.

These churches.

Robert also submitted a truly unique art project for Wichita's new water treatment plant that would have integrated solar and wind power into art and nature.

It would have provided electricity and beauty at the same time.

He had some other creative and innovative ideas included in that plan that would have made the water facility truly one of a kind.

And it wouldn't have cost any more than this $1.25 million sculpture that was selected instead designed by an out-of-state artist.

Well, in 2025, Robert and his wife moved to the Philippines, where her family lives.

Now, he hasn't completely retired, though who could do what he's done, but now he mainly works as a consultant.

The work on the church that I saw, we see in this piece.

Wonderful.

I mean, just beautiful work.

We miss him here.

It's too bad his sculpture couldn't go up at the water treatment plan.

Because he'd be out in West Wichita forever.

Yeah, but they had an out-of-state artist.

You know, it's always nice to keep art at home.

Okay.

We built shelters to keep the world at bay.

But the strongest foundations are often made of the wisdom we leave behind.

Mike Craft of Wichita turned the humble task of building dog houses into a master class on the human condition.

He was a man who took immense pride in his handiwork.

But his real gift was a backyard philosophy that measured the meaning of life with the same precision as his lumber.

His name is Mike craft, and he's retired from business, but not from life.

Mike builds dog houses, and by golly, he believes they're the best built ones around.

It's got this trust in there to make it strong.

If you take a minute, I'll show you what I'm talking about here.

I'll say, neighbors, for your information.

These are built.

Plumb, square and level.

They are corner studded, just like you'd build a house.

Top and bottom plated.

Mike is the kind of guy that could sell a dog house to cat lovers.

There's a lot of pride in his work.

Pride instilled from years of craftsmanship.

Keep him painted and set up on a couple of, four bricks.

And last longer.

And you will probably.

It'll hold up.

If you don't enjoy life white, you're missing everything.

That's the way I feel about it.

Oh, and getting old too.

You can tell that when I said it.

Knowing M.C.

craft is knowing a man who's seen a lot of life as the cars whizzing by on second Street near his home.

Mick said he could never just stop working.

That's why he builds dog houses.

His advice to those who are nearing retirement age keep busy before you retire.

Make up your mind what some of the things are that you're going to do, and maybe you want to do a little extra reading.

Or maybe you want to do some writing, or, maybe you want to learn a little hobby of some kind, but you just can't fish for the rest of your life.

Be it six months or six years.

Mick heeds his own advice, and for him, at age 69, life is good.

I have, I enjoy quite good health.

I've got a good wife.

I've got a good home.

I've got shelter over my head.

I got food to put in a stomach.

What else can you want?

There ain't nothing else.

Because after all, when you're gone, it's gone, boy.

Mick Kraft, the doghouse philosopher.

This is Laurie Hedberg.

Well, Mick enjoyed another decade of retirement before succumbing in 1993 at age 80.

You know, people, do you, when you hear about it, you think that's the weirdest thing ever?

Exactly.

But it's not, you know, they're what they're doing.

They're talking about life in a different way.

And it's the end of and wonderful it is.

And that brings him joy.

And because he's joyful, his probably loved ones were joyful as well.

I think people who saw the story would agree.

Okay.

The can Lady of Eskridge made a splash in her community that is still being felt today.

Yeah.

Macy divorced, spent 30 years collecting 90 tons of cans to raise money for a town swimming pool.

Now, the project made her famous, creating a lasting legacy.

This is a story of Kansas grit and community spirit from a woman who refused to let a good idea evaporate.

I like to be outdoors.

I'm a, more outdoor person than in my house.

And a lot of Good Housekeeping for 30 years.

Macy Deaver of Eskridge, Kansas, has had a goal.

Oh, I guess when I'm pool for a swimming pool for the city, there's nothing here but a ball program for the kids.

And every kid doesn't want to play ball.

For 30 years, this timeless woman has collected cans.

There is hard work to it.

But then what is there in life for this?

And if you accomplished anything.

Made jams and jellies.

Have you ever eaten choke cherry jelly?

Nope.

Oh, that's what it looks like.

She's collected scrap metal.

I sell copper, brass and scrap aluminum.

But all these years I've used my vehicle on gas.

But there's refrigerators, stoves, water heaters.

You know, my dad's on there.

And so, from this little house in Eskridge, Kansas, Macy Deaver, who looks more at home quilting, raised $100,000 for the town pool.

That's ahead in this, I guess.

I grew up with four brothers, so I was nine at Searcy.

And over her shoulder, you'll notice a poster of actress Glenn Close.

Macy met her when they were filming a movie near Emporia.

Yes, she sent me a check for $2,000.

I've tried about everything there is to get some money in her life.

She's raised a family, outlived two husbands, argued with City Hall.

If you don't keep the kids busy, they're going to get into mischief.

And then the city would raise heck about that.

And now, after the cans and after the jams and after the truckloads of scrap metal, the pool will be built right across the street from Macy's home.

Yeah.

The school gave us that land for a dollar.

And perhaps her son said it best.

He said you'll get to look out and see him swim.

Mom.

I said, yeah, I will.

Now, the new pool was dedicated in July 2001 and has been bringing joy to kids and families now for a quarter century.

And in 2002, Macy won the Jacqueline Kennedy Award for Public Service.

She passed away in 2018 at age 98.

All the money she raised from selling jams and jellies and everything else that she did for the community, I think, was about 150 to 150.

She gave that money directly to the community because the kids in Eskridge, Kansas, had never had a swimming pool.

And where do they build a swimming pool?

They built a swimming pool right across the street from her house.

They do.

They did.

It was the old school grounds.

And she could sit in her easy chair, look out the window and hear the kids playing in the water laughing.

What a great scene to her two.

She was wonderful.

Oh that's wonderful.

And she.

She had $150,000 in her hand and gave it to the kids.

Yes.

Right.

God bless her.

And, Eskridge, what must be a very small town.

Watson was bouncy, bouncy.

Okay.

On the way to Kansas City, some sort of on the Kansas.

And then on the off the beaten path.

You often went on the.

I'm always on the bus.

Yeah, exactly.

Okay.

We all fear being forgotten, but in El Dorado, one man made that impossible.

C.L.

Hagan was a living directory of names and numbers.

In 1981, I witnessed the uncanny power of the birthday man, a beloved character whose extraordinary memory ensured no neighbor was ever a stranger.

Mrs.

Henry Hill.

You like the fat C.L.

Hagan of El Dorado, has a good memory.

So good, in fact, that he has over 7000 birthdays memorized.

Mrs.

Melvin Maddox in our two line of the fifth.

If you've ever met Capp, chances are he'll remember when you were born.

And it's easy to remember four and five in the family.

And then there's one.

I don't know why.

Capp took a few minutes away from his job at the R.A.

Wells clothing store in El Dorado for a demonstration of his incredible memory.

Capp has kept a written record of all 7000 birthdays, and store owner Randall Wells read off names from the book to see if Capp could remember the birthdays.

Well, he didn't miss a one.

Clarence Smith, June or May 26th that had Mrs.

Roy Bidwell, the 19th, Mrs.

Willie Nichols.

And where the 4th or July 7th, Lance Garland, my 24th Jim Phillips or two Jim Phillips one is is September the 14th, which went to lie 30th.

That's right.

How do you remember all of those?

Carl.

Harry.

Repeat them several times to myself.

No big secrets.

No big secret.

You'd think memorizing birthdays would be enough for cap.

Well.

Guess again.

As Eldorado residents will attest.

He then calls many of those whose dates he's memorized and wishes them a happy birthday.

May I speak to Floyd Guard on this day?

One birthday call went to an Eldorado Bank executive who'd increased.

This flood guard.

May I help you?

Floyd.

Camp pagan.

Well, I guess.

Happy birthday to you.

Well, thank you very much.

Get.

Have a good day.

Well.

Thank you.

Real nice to be remembered.

Gab CL cap Hagan, the birthday man of El Dorado.

Have a good day.

Forward.

This is Laurie Hattiesburg.

Well, about a year later, Capp suffered a heart attack and had to retire from the clothing store.

He died seven months later at age 74.

But.

But he is still remembered as one of El Dorado truly unforgettable characters.

And he'd remember your birthday.

I remember mine.

Anybody he had met.

And he's unforgettable because he made other people unforgettable.

And by the way, I love traveling back in time with you.

These stories from the 1980s.

And, people stop me in the grocery store and everything.

God, we love those old stories.

I just want to thank you for them.

You're so sweet.

They're wonderful.

We've worked together for 100 years.

Years?

Maybe too long.

Well.

Gee.

That's great.

No, they truly are gems, and they're a little bit of an escape from this world.

And we all need that.

We sure do.

That's a wrap for this week.

If you'd like to help keep people on the air, we invite you to make a $100 donation specifically earmarked for this program.

And as a thank you, your name will appear on screen at the beginning and end of the show each week as a proud supporter.

Now, Susan and I volunteer our time, but producing television is expensive and is not possible without help from viewers like you.

And we thank you for watching.

I'm Larry Hattiesburg.

I'm Susan Peters.

We'll see you again soon.