A visitor's view of McPherson

We recently gave a one-night stay (Best Western) and free dinner (Bella Casa) at a travel show. The winner came to McPherson over Memorial Day weekend and had this to say about her stay.

Dear Anne,

We had a very lovely stay in McPherson. It was a beautiful drive, and we were treated with care and friendliness at both the hotel and the restaurant. I am glad that you provided us with a gift certificate to someplace that was unique to McPherson. The calamari and the pizza was incredible! Our room was well appointed and we had a restful nights sleep. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful as well. We will be back for the Scottish festival, we saw many little stores downtown that were unfortunately closed for Sunday or the holiday, that I would like to spend some money in. As well as the gallery at the Opera House. We thought also about bringing our bikes next time as well. You might suggest that, you have a lovely little town for riding around in.We also stopped in Lindborg on the way back. What a fun place! Its nice to see that the Swedes and the Scotts get along well in Kansas. :)

Thank you again,

Charlotte and Peter Neukirch

What Charlotte wrote reassures many of the ideas that have been kicking around in my head lately.

• It would be nice if the downtown businesses stayed open all weekend and for later hours. No one wants to drive to McPherson to see a closed sign.-We have some wonderful hotels and unique dining opportunities.
• Visitors to McPherson are likely to stop at another nearby community if they come for a weekend. It makes sense to try and partner with towns like Lindsborg, Canton, Marquette and the like to bring people to the county.
• We need to develop walking and biking trails throughout McPherson. Paul Katzer has done a wonderful job with this in Lakeside and Wall Parks. Jim Boyer has formed a committee to develop better sidewalks throughout town. I would love to see the bike trail from McPherson to Lindsborg developed so we can attract more cyclists. A dog park at Hess Park at the trail head would also be a draw.
• Like it or not, McPherson is seen as a Scottish town. Better to embrace it than deny it. I'm a Scot and proud!