From the Alvin and Rosalie Sara Check studio.

PBS Kansas presents Hatteberg's People.

Time moves forward, but the echoes of truly extraordinary lives never fade away.

On this edition of Harrisburg's People, we share the story of a Kansan who launched a one woman crusade to collect donations and pay off the entire national debt.

Plus, the famous circus performer who retired in Wichita and her dazzling memories under the big top.

Then we travel back to 1979 and western Kansas to kick up some dust with one of America's top mule breeders.

We're also going to spin, along with a local Yo-Yo craze, and share the unbreakable dedication of a World War Two tank commander who never stopped fighting for his brothers in arms.

It's living proof that while history books tell us what happened, it is the everyday people who show us what truly matters.

I'm Susan Peters and I'm Larry Hatteberg.

Another half hour of Hattebergs People starts right now.

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.

It's a financial time bomb that continues to tick louder every single day.

When we talk about the national debt, it's easy to hear those massive numbers and you just can tune them out.

But experts will tell you we should all be paying close attention.

A rising national debt can eventually lead to higher interest rates, ballooning inflation, and a crushing financial burden on our children and grandchildren.

So guess what?

Way back in 1985, Janine Grubbs of Topeka was sounding the alarm way back then.

She launched a one woman crusade to collect donations and pay off the entire debt of the United States government.

It's easy for us to become blasé about figures.

For example, the national debt 1.7 trillion.

Well, no problem, unless you understand just how much money that is.

Let's say you wanted to spend $1.7 trillion.

How long would it take to get rid of it?

Well, if you spent $1 million a day, it would take you 1,700,000 days to do it.

A few months back, Janine Grubb of Topeka was reading about just how big the national debt was.

So that's sort of how it got started.

I was just sitting there reading and thinking and decided I was going to take action instead of just being passive.

Janine has started dollars for America, which is a one woman quest to convince Americans to send money to Washington just for the purpose of lowering the debt.

Most people are very interested and they want to send in money.

They feel like, even though we send in a lot of money, it may not be able to take away the complete debt, but they feel it can have an impact.

Her goal is noble, but the debt is almost two huge to fathom.

Another way to see how much $1.7 trillion is is in terms of years.

If you spent $1 million a day, it would take 4500 years to pay off what the government owes.

So isn't it kind of like pouring a glass of water in the ocean?

If you eliminate every little thing that a person comes up with and say, well, it can't make a difference, then you eliminate the possibility of solving this problem because it's all the little things put together and all the dollars put together that can make a difference.

On the other hand, Janine says she's getting a lot of support from older people who believe that she's doing the right thing.

Some of them have said they're sending in a dollar a month.

Some are saying they're sending in like $25 at a time.

If every man, woman and child in the United States, and that's about 238 million people sent the government, $7,000, that would take care of the national debt.

Well, that probably won't happen.

But Janine says every little bit helps.

So if you'd like to help retire the debt, here's where to send your money.

Dollars for America.

Bureau of the Public Debt, 313th Street southwest, Washington, D.C.

202390601.

Larry had a big cake.

News.

Well, that address is no longer valid, so don't don't bother sending a check there.

Truth is, though, despite her tireless efforts, Janine was not able to stir enough interest to even make a tiny dent in the national debt.

In fact, six months in, she was facing her own financial crisis because she devoted so much of her time and resources to that project.

Janine later moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she lived until she died in 2012 at the age of 82.

But what?

What a nice lady and a novel idea.

And a wonderful idea.

If she could have pulled it off, of course, if she were alive today and trying to do it, we'd say there's no way you can pull it off again.

But 1985 was a little bit different.

She tried though.

That's the thing, you know, she gave it her all.

She tried.

And that's all you can do.

And I'm sure her relatives are very proud of her for doing that.

I'm proud of her.

But how interesting that she had this idea.

And you found her.

Okay, there's a lady in Kansas who's trying to get rid of the national debt by collecting donations.

Somebody sent me a letter.

No way.

Yeah.

So remember that?

Sent me a letter.

I do remember that you sent me a letter about her and said, hey, there's this lady, and you ought to go do a story on her.

We did, and there it is.

Now it's in Kansas law forever.

Okay, when the guns stopped firing, a new battle began.

The battle to remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Yeah.

World War two tank commander Kenneth Bradstreet was wounded three times in combat.

Decades later, he was focused on a different mission, making sure the rest of us never forget.

The moment I see the picture, I can smell it.

I can see it.

I can hear it.

It'll be in my mind forever.

A battlefield of memories bridged the gap between the concentration camps, war torn Europe and a 19 year old boy.

My mother gave me this flag and she said.

Keep this flag with you no matter where you go.

Because as long as you have that flag with you, you are free.

The boy has aged.

The memories haven't.

And this book here is all for the.

I see the pictures of brave men with the 12th Armored Division.

Bradstreet was all over Europe.

Today he is the unit's battle decorated historian.

Smart pay for those years.

I wouldn't want to do it again.

But if.

If the need came, I would pay.

But his personal mission isn't over.

A decade ago, this old veterans memorial at Satan's Grove in Emporia didn't exist.

It was just an old tank laden with graffiti and profanity.

A tank like Bradstreet had commanded.

It was a mess.

It was obscene graffiti on every part of it.

It hurt real bad.

When I touch this old hunk iron, it makes me, have a memory of some of those guys that I left behind or on the battlefield.

Bradstreet decided to make a difference.

He formed committees, sought support, both monetary and participatory.

And in 1991, the all veterans memorial was dedicated.

God gave me all these years extra.

I've got to do something more.

Today, Bradstreet is creating living memorials, new memorials in the minds of those who he hopes will never see what he saw.

My country and I love my flight.

And I hope that all of you do, too.

But the thing that I remember most are the people that served with me.

From these battlefields.

War took lives, but not the spirit of the men and women who fought.

Ken Bradstreet wants to make sure his fellow veterans keep these stories alive.

We've got to remember all of those veterans they gave for our freedom.

Well, since that story in 2000, a Vietnam memorial and a battlefield cross have been added to the Emporia memorial Park.

Again, Brant Street passed away in 2004 at age 79.

But look what has happened in Emporia because of Ken.

There's a Vietnam memorial at his memorial that he fought so hard for.

And I just want to tell Ken up there your goal of having us remember has been accomplished.

We're remembering or remembering you, too.

And we thank you for what you did.

Need more people to change history by making us remember?

Absolutely.

Well, it's a long way from the center ring of a circus to a quiet Wichita living room.

Well, for decades, Betty Leonard was one of the most famous circus stars in America.

But when her performing days came to an end, she settled into a peaceful retirement.

Sharing a home with her cats and her keepsakes.

Betty reflected fondly on a dazzling career under the Big top.

Deck of the House.

Midnight.

Every afternoon.

80 year old Betty Leonard feeds her cats.

Then, as the days grow warmer and longer, Betty settles down on the old porch swing, watching the cats and remembering her past.

This was Betty's past.

In 1917, Betty joined the circus.

She was all of 14, and for the next 21 years, Betty hit the big time, traveling with all the major circuses, including Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey.

She performed flying acts, animal acts, and worked the trapeze.

She loved it then, and she loves it now.

I always say I wouldn't give a million thought if I had to do it over again.

I couldn't do it for a million.

Betty Leonard circus days have long passed, but on the walls of her small home are the memories she treasures.

I don't have anybody.

I never had any children and a brother or sister.

And I have no people left.

But I've got a world of friends, and I value every one of them.

Betty's circus friends are her family.

One year, she sent nearly a thousand Christmas cards and letters to circus acquaintances scattered throughout the world.

It was just like a family.

You are good.

You called.

You had your ups and downs and all that.

But yet the everything that you shared, you shared with them.

These are all supposed to be the answer now.

But you know, one they're going to get answered.

And you see, he's got the clown stamps on.

If you stopped by the Circus Hall of Fame in Orlando, Florida, you might see some more of Betty's memorabilia.

But that's yesterday's news.

Today, Betty is content living in Wichita and taking care of her cats.

This is Laurie Hattiesburg.

Nobody actually had lived in Wichita since she retired from the circus in 1939.

She served as president of the Circus Historical Society from 1947 to 1957, longer than anyone else ever has.

And she was inducted into the International Circus Hall of Fame.

That was back in 1987.

So, okay, all that circus stuff, the National Circus Society and and the International Circus Hall of Fame.

I mean, it takes all kinds, right, doesn't it?

We would never imagine, as someone who performed in the circus for that long, was living right here in our mitts.

And what a cool profession it is.

And it's a profession that not many of us will make.

No, you know, it's not.

That's for sure.

But she did, and we're proud of her.

Betty Leonard passed away in 1988 at the age of 87.

I love those old pieces, Larry.

Oh.

They're fun, I laugh.

People are great.

Okay.

We turn now to a unique piece of western Kansas history.

All the way from 1979, featuring a man who championed an often overlooked animal welfare, operating just outside of Dodge City.

Will Graham Bond better built a reputation as one of the top mule breeders right here in America.

I had one party, a lady call, and she was I had a mule.

She's going to try to raise something and I said, well, you'll never raise anything.

Just forget it.

A mule not only has trouble explaining its heredity, but its public image could also use a polishing.

And songwriters haven't helped matters much.

Oh, mule is an animal with long, funny ear kicks about anything you hear.

His back is brawny, but his brain is weak.

He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak.

And by the way, if you hate to go to school, you may grow up to be a mule.

But just how many traits?

And if you treat them mean and they mean to.

But you might be nice to them.

And that we just noticed, like these meals are coming up.

You hit them over the head.

It makes a mean they don't look like you.

See how these mules come up?

They want to be petted and nice.

You just treat them right.

And they'll be your best friend.

Now, being a mule is not all fun because someone's always wanting to know how old you are.

Two.

That is three.

Come in four.

See?

Starting to set in for four year old.

Let me list three.

Just three years old.

Coming for you.

These mules are sold all over the world, so grumble and surprise buyers are underdeveloped nations.

I sold a bunch of jacks, went to Costa Rica so they could raise meals out of quarter Horses.

I'd just last better and do better than horses because they can stand the heat and I can't stand the mountains and they're just way better.

They're surefooted and everything.

So this ranch has got 30,000 cattle on it, and they went all mules.

They tried horses and couldn't make it.

Grumbling is what you might call a mutual admiration society for his animals.

And apparently he's not the only one.

He sells a large number of his stock to the US.

Park Service, and he also supplies the mules used in the Grand Canyon.

Yes, a meal a last way longer than a horse, and then a sure footed.

And they won't go crazy or anything she like down there going down the Grand Canyon.

They got to watch horse.

He'll get tired or he may fall off.

These meals are particular what they do, and they'll just take care of themselves better.

They won't run into a fence.

If you have a runaway, a horse should just run right through that fence about to hit him for it.

Yeah, I mean, I don't.

Care.

Dependable.

They're all real dependable.

Your good meals.

And I don't get nothing mixed up with a barrel because that barrel, that's where they get their stubbornness.

And we don't have barrels.

Come on.

Come on.

Hurry home.

You.

Come on, come on.

As mules like that, you just get disposition.

Everything.

Come on.

Well, as grumbling, as a blood strain in his stock that has made his mules world famous.

And if you still aren't convinced that mules are magnificent.

And maybe you're just as stubborn as that.

No.

You know, down to carry with you.

Since 1979, worldwide demand for mules has continued to drop.

That's not surprising.

No, not surprising.

Even so, we'll had several more years of mule ranching left in him.

He eventually retired, passed away in 2003 at age 92.

It's it's just something, you know, you're in a conversation with somebody and you say, so what do you do?

Well, I raise mules.

I have a mule ranch.

That's right in western Kansas.

Where do you go from there?

Where somebody says he was a great guy.

Nice man.

I understand the mules love the mules.

Did you understand the mules?

He did okay.

He could work with them.

He could make them do whatever he wanted.

But you know how many people like that are very different.

Very different.

From ancient Greece to the first big American craze in the 1920s, the yoyo is a classic toy that always seems to bounce back into style.

Yeah.

By the late 1990s, the craze returned with a vengeance thanks to new designs and complex tricks right here in Wichita.

Two local champions turned that resurgence into big weekly events for people of all ages.

We're going to have, like, a miniature competition.

There you go.

Oh, yeah.

Not so skinny cat here.

And you put it on it.

Yeah, yeah.

You know that one?

Yeah.

Okay.

Round the corner.

See you there.

About 20 years difference between us, isn't it.

Yeah.

Yeah I'm 81 and I'm about 59.

And it's just, you never get too old.

There's something about kids and yoyos at the Solid Ground Coffee House on East Douglas every Monday night.

Wichita yoyo experts from the past and future, experts gather to perfect the art.

That's 81 year old Jean mock, a champion from the 30s.

And that's 50 something.

Larry Lawless, Wichita's champion in the early 50s.

And then we're going to pull up here.

They're here to help these kids continue the tradition.

After a lot of kids out to play yo, yo, you want to sort out some?

I have a lot to go down here, but you saw it pretty straight out today as parents remember their past.

New memories are being made.

Age differences melt away as the yo yo transcends generations.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Catch it.

Go back and you'll put your name up here.

And you're a big Martin.

Organized this little Monday night to keep the yo yo spirit alive in Wichita.

We're going to we're going to get you guys used to doing the yo yo competition this night.

Two groups are formed and the competition begins.

That's it.

They get time gone.

No world.

They don't want to do anything.

Don't get excited.

Just go out there and be natural, okay?

He's okay.

Okay, good.

Yeah.

What?

Okay.

Phillip, he's 35.

He's a winner.

He's a winner.

You're the winner.

Congratulations.

All right.

Actually, everyone wins because they get to be around people like Jean Mark.

And you turn your hand up and go down with it.

And then Paula and Larry Lawless.

This is called Double or nothing.

Good.

What you do.

Yeah, that was it.

But most of all they hone their skills.

Not on a video game, not out of their parents eye.

Instead with a simple piece of wood and a string.

Old technology with new faces.

And when the evening's over for the young and the old.

Keep young by hanging out and hanging on.

We almost did it to the yo yo yo.

Well, unfortunately, that local yo yo craze led by Gene and Laurie has come and gone.

Jean passed away in 2005, Larry in 2010.

You know those crazies, they do come and go.

But there are a lot of people when they get involved in that stuff, particularly the yo yos.

And you have to become a master yo yo player because they'll do complex tricks and it's fun to watch them.

I remember that craze in the late 90s.

I mean, it was all the craze, all the I mean, and those two brought it to life here in Kansas and and now we bring it to life on the small screen and and it lives on.

It does.

Well all right.

Now to a true Hattiesburg classic that's worth showing.

Again, it takes us back to the late 1970s, when we were all wearing polyester and doing the hustle.

You were probably doing my Bellbottoms were way too tight to boogie, but I still wanted to get in on the madness.

So in 1977, I headed to the local disco to meet up with Wichita's very own dancing queen.

By day, 20 year old Carla Brown of Derby works as a secretary at a small manufacturing company.

Her duties appear routine, but like others in their late teens and early 20s, there are two sides to Carla Brown.

She's one of the growing number of young people that enjoys disco dancing.

What is disco dancing, you say?

Well, if you could read Carla's mind, you'd see flashing lights, hear loud music, and watch the nimble feet of her partner, Paul Donahue.

Because five nights a week, Carla goes dancing at the disco.

Welcome.

The crone goes.

It's guys night.

Wednesday night, we have a stag party going on here at night.

You can dance to the dance.

I like to see the ones that seem to forget the dancing with the.

It's just an outlet for Friday night.

Everybody that you want to scream at all day long and couldn't find no place to go.

It's just the best way for me to do it anyway.

It's not strenuous on your body and it's good exercise.

Come to the.

And anybody can see that you have now this young.

And you say I'm a lot less shy on the dance floor now than I am out walking on the street.

I will speak to people on a basketball before I'll speak to them on the street.

It's just easier to dance when I raise my hand and you know, it just seems like everybody's one when you're dancing, I love dancing.

We can't wait on Saturday.

Carla Brown, the dancing queen.

This is Larry Hedberg.

Okay.

That is one of my favorite Harrisburg's people.

We've had it on this show before, but like you say, it's worth revisiting because sometimes when I go to the grocery store, they go, remember that that disco had a Berks people.

I loved it, but remember that because it's so much a part of history and it's so crazy and wonderful and wild and and wasn't disco kind of dumb?

Well, it was a little strange back then.

Yeah, but, you know, when you're young, that doesn't matter at all.

Carla could dance and still does like crazy.

And she was so wonderful.

And she's still cutting a rug out there, as they say.

She works now as an instructor at the Derby Rec Center, teaching everything from country western to ballroom dancing.

There's not much to my heart for disco dancing anymore.

I had so much fun shooting that she was great to work with.

It's just such a natural at dance.

And she's still dancing.

Yeah, and still teaching.

Yeah, I don't know.

I really want to learn how to disco dance sometime.

You contact Carla.

Okay?

Okay.

Well, that is all for this week.

If you'd like to see how to.

Burke's people stay on the air, we have a request of you.

Please consider a $100 donation to specifically help fund the production and broadcast of this show.

Now, Susan and I volunteer our time here, but making television is expensive, and federal funding has been eliminated as a thank you for your contribution.

Your name will appear at the beginning and end of the show each week.

As a valued supporter, we thank you so much for watching.

I'm Susan Peters and I'm Larry Berg.

We will see you next time.