Exotic animals find place to roam at Nickerson farm

By PHIL ANDERSON

The Capital-Journal

NICKERSON --- Dr. Doolittle, eat your heart out.

Here on a pancake-flat section of Kansas prairie, you can talk to the animals, walk with the animals, hug the animals and even give them a kiss.

It is all here at Hedrick's Bed and Breakfast Inn and Exotic Animal Farm, 7910 N. Roy L. Smith Road.

As I drove to the farm on K-96 highway, about 10 miles northwest of Hutchinson, I could see camels and ostriches in the distance, and it wasn't because of the Kansas heat.

Since these aren't usual animal varieties in Kansas, I knew I was approaching my destination. I pulled into the Hedrick's driveway and saw what appeared to be the main street of an Old West town, complete with a long, two-story building.

I entered the office, where I was introduced to Gloria Grubbs, a 62-year-old employee and tour guide, whose love for the animals quickly became obvious.

"You get to go into the pens with the animals," she said. "You can hug them, love them, kiss them. It's fantastic. I love them."

We walked into a barn and through a door leading to a large pen where 50 or so kangaroos were kept. She had a name for just about every one of the kangaroos, and we fed them small bits of carrots by hand.

We then walked by a pen that held Hercules, a 34-year-old African thigh-spurred desert tortoise. Hercules stretched out his head from his shell to give this visitor a look.

Gloria also introduced me to Priscilla, a hedgehog, and Gizmo, a baby water buffalo.

Also at the animal farm were sheep, goats, zebra, an emu, a llama, giraffes, chickens, turkeys and just about every other manner of gentle-spirited animal you can imagine.

"I was a city clerk," Gloria told me as we walked among the animals. "I was behind a desk for 11 years. I like it much better out here."

Bus loads of school children --- up to 250 a day --- visit Hedrick's in May, when they are taking field trips as the end of the school year approaches.

Visitors at Hedrick's Bed and Breakfast Inn and Exotic Animal Farm, about 170 miles from Topeka, can arrange for special events for groups, including hayrack-wagon tours complete with homemade barbecue dinners, or can come as individuals or families. Those wanting to take in Hedrick's as part of a day trip can arrange for lunch to be served.

In any event, visitors are given full run of the place and are encouraged to interact with the animals, which are quick to show their affection to members of the human species.

Those who opt for overnight lodging can stay in any of several animal-themed rooms, decorated and painted by local artists. The bed and breakfast has been up and running since 1991.

"You can really relax," said Sharon Lingenfelter, a Hedrick's employee. "You feel like you're in another part of the world, not in Kansas, when you're here."

The response of visitors?

"They're amazed," Lingenfelter said. "The usual reaction is, 'We can't believe this is in Kansas.' "

In April, Hedrick's was featured on Disney's family.com on the Internet. Since then, the phones have been ringing, with people inquiring as to the location of Hedrick's. Most of the ones who call end up coming out to see this animal wonderland for themselves.

Hedrick's also has its own Web site with at least 25 pages of resources.

I bid Hedrick's farewell and headed south and east to Yoder, a small Amish and Mennonite town on K-96 between Hutchinson and Wichita. It was dinner time, so I stopped in at the Carriage Crossing Restaurant.

Here, family-style meals are served at your table, with the fare featuring a stack of roast beef, fried chicken and ham, or combination of meats, with homemade mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, gravies, hot breads and pies.

My server was a young Amish woman, who made sure my every need was met in a timely fashion. I thought to myself that it had been a long time since I had seen so many friendly people working in one place.

A manager and I discussed the differences between the Amish and Mennonites, who dominate this central-Kansas community.

Their religious faiths have much in common, with the major differences in lifestyle, she told me. The Amish, for example, still don't have electricity in their homes and don't make a practice of driving cars. The Mennonites, meanwhile, have integrated more modern conveniences into their lives but still emphasize the virtues of simplicity and modesty.

I asked the manager if many young Amish were holding fast to the faith of their parents or if they were leaving the lifestyle behind.

"Funny you should ask that," she said, then told me that many young people are committed to upholding the Amish practices of their parents.

As for herself, she said, her parents are Amish. She is now a Mennonite. And she is leaving the restaurant in two weeks to study at Wichita State University.

It is a little scary, she admitted. But she smiled as she said it.

Next up: Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, where old and new easily converge.

- Finding Kansas

Call Hedrick's at (888) 489-8039 for more information or visit the Internet at www.hedricks.com.

Copyright 2000
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