Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions
This service is a courtesy for our print subscribers to give them access to our online edition at no additional cost. If you haven't registered on the new site, you must do it now before you do anything else.
From the plush velvet seat of the surrey where she sat, Cheryl Bowen watched as Farm Heritage Museum volunteers worked to put the tack on the life-sized plastic horse in front of her.
A piece of paper taped to the horse’s side declared its name — Twinkles, the name of the real horse that for more than two decades pulled the surrey in Parsons Christmas and Katy Days parades. The surrey also offered buggy rides around the park.
Cheryl and her husband, Bill Bowen, donated the fancy, fringed-top surrey with one stipulation: The right rear hoof of the plastic horse had to be painted white and the Bowen brand had to be placed on the horse’s left hip, just like the real life Twinkles.
The couple bought the replica surrey about 30 years ago.
“It was just something Bill wanted to do was have a buggy and horse. That was his passion,” Cheryl said. “It was Bill’s favorite thing, going into the park and taking kids for a ride around the park. The kids had a good time.”
Initially, the buggy was used to transport their grandchildren to school on their last day. Then, over time, Twinkles began pulling the surrey in parades in Houston, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas City and more.
The Bowens had a horse trailer to haul the surrey and Twinkles.
Whenever Twinkles finished a parade, he enjoyed a can of root beer.
“And we would tell him to throw a kiss to the kids and he would curl his lip back and throw his head back to throw them a kiss,” Cheryl said.
Twinkles is still alive but enjoys lazier days of grazing grass in the pasture now.
Cheryl said age is a factor for her and Bill as well, so donating the surrey, which has been a part of Parsons’ history for so long, seemed appropriate.
She said many of Parsons’ “celebrities” have ridden in the surrey for parades, like long-time Kansas Rep. Richard Proehl and his wife, Linda, who served as teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent in USD 503 for years. Ken Ervin, one of the museum’s volunteers, rode in it as well.
Ervin plans to build some mannequins for the surrey, and one will wear the old fashioned dress Cheryl used to wear in the parades.
Museum volunteer Steve Farrell said children who visit the museum love the horses, so the plastic Twinkles will carry on, receiving children’s attention for the next couple of decades.
“What they are doing here is just really wonderful,” Cheryl said, “with all the things that they have.”
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.