What's New?

Would you believe china? Yes! It's new to the Clover Cliff, but it's really quite old. Here's the story.

Tot Blackshere, J.R.'s son, came with his family from Virginia to Chase County in 1867 as a toddler.
We can't resist mentioning that he and his three siblings made the one-year trip to Kansas without
the benefit of anything that resembled an electronic game!

As most children do, he grew up on the ranch, fell in love and married in 1889. The wedding gift from
Tot's mother was a set of English china - J&C Meakin, Hanley, England. The pattern name is Indian Tree.
With our best imagination, we assume that a growing family served any number of elegant dinners
using these beautiful dishes.

J.R. Wilson, Tot's now-deceased grandson, and his wife Carol have lovingly cared for and enjoyed
this china over the years. Carol Wilson recently decided that it should have a permanent home
at the Clover Cliff Ranch. We thought that was a great idea because we love preserving memories
from earlier days in the Flint Hills. We especially appreciate the Wilson family's generosity, sharing
not only the china but also a large collection of photographs and stories from the original Blackshere family.

On your next visit, look for the china displayed behind glass in the office. Amazingly enough, 127 years
later it is in almost perfect condition.

What else is new?
We hosted a Labor Day weekend wedding. A group of artists came for a return visit. We entertained the
Prather-Poe family reunion - stories from that weekend will be coming soon. We never get tired of saying
that guests always make our days more interesting. We have been intrigued by the fact that many times,
guests who come as strangers leave as friends after sharing stories and experiences around an evening
fire pit under the stars.