Location Challenge: White Cloud, Kansas

The Documerica, State of the Environment traveling exhibit is live in EPA Region 7!
Here is where you can take a peek over the next few weeks:

Through this Wednesday morning (9:30 a.m.) in the EPA Region 7 building plaza located at 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, KS.

Wednesday, May 16 – 30, in the U.S. National Archives Kansas City, MO building located at 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City.

EPA’s Region 7 office more locally serves Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and nine tribal nations. Each Monday we have been posting location challenges within this area of the United States.

Last Monday, we featured Documerica photos from Nebraska. Today’s Location Challenge focuses on a little town called White Cloud, Kansas up in the northeast border of the state. If you live nearby, or know someone who does, give it your best shot to match one of these scenes as they exist today and submit them to State of the Environment on Flickr. Let us know which Documerica image you matched in your photo caption, as the best entries will be considered for a side by side display within the U.S. National Archives Exhibit: Searching for the Seventies: EPA’s Documerica Project that is planned for March – September of 2013 in Washington, DC.

Original caption: White Cloud, Kansas, schoolhouse, near Troy in the northeast corner of the state. There was an auction in progress sponsored by the Ha Hush Ka (WHITE CLOUD) Historical Society to raise money for the local museum housed in the school. The town was named after the last great Iowa Indian Chief, and the Iowa-Sac-Fox Indian Reservation is nearby. Some people would like to see White Cloud restored as an example of a 19th Century Kansas River Town. October, 1974 by Patricia Duncan.

Original caption: White House, Kansas, grain elevator near Troy in the extreme northeast corner of the state. It keeps the town alive economically, but it is a depressed area with many people on welfare. White Cloud is named after the last great Chief of the Iowa India Tribe which was given this land by treaty in 1836. The town is located at the edge of the Iowa-Sac-Fox Indian Reservation and has a population of 200. October, 1974 by Patricia Duncan.

Original caption: Flea market tables lined up at White Cloud, Kansas, near Troy, in the northeast corner of the state. It is sponsored by the Ha Hush Ka (Iowa Indian language meaning White Cloud) Historical Society to raise money for the local museum housed in the 100-year-old schoolhouse. Area indians participate in the flea market in which native crafts as well as antiques are featured. September, 1974 by Patricia Duncan

These images give a sense of the way of life and by that, a sense of the environment of the midwest in 1973. What does it look like now?

Telling the story of change is up to you. Share photos of the landscapes, the people and the way of life for State of the Environment. For a fun challenge, if you aren’t living nearby to match one of these scenes, search the full Documerica collection to locate and match images closest to you. Then and now entries will all be considered for the larger exhibit.

When you follow that link above, you’ll come to a search page like this. Simply type in your town or state to see images of the past. Enjoy, have fun, and we can’t wait to see your contributions to this historic project!

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.