High technology, history intermingle in Basehor

Archive for Saturday, May 24, 2008

May 24, 2008

Basehor — The growing town of Basehor offers a few amenities of suburban life mixed in with the one-of-a-kind features of a small rural community.

One of the newest attractions in the southeast Leavenworth County community is the Basehor Community Library. Its brand new spacious building at 1400 N. 158th St., just opened to the public this past month and boasts the latest library technology such as self-checkouts.

"The first big one is wireless Internet," library director Carla Kaiser said about the library's attractions. "Whether they're bringing their own laptop or using one of our computers to catch up on e-mail."

To learn a little bit about the history of Basehor, guests can peek through the windows of the Basehor Historical Society Museum, 2812 N. 155th St. While it's not quite finished, the window displays give a little preview of what's to come.

Next door is Basehor's active branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Visitors can stop in for a meal and live music every Friday night.

Another major attraction that will catch road trippers' attention is Holy-Field Vineyard and Winery, 158th Street and U.S. Highway 24-40. Holy-Field's Summertime Music Series runs from mid-May to the end of July and features Friday nights full of live music, barbecue, work by local artists and of course, wine. Check holyfieldwinery.com for a schedule of year round events.

Visitors can also stop in any day of the week to walk through the vineyard and sample Holy-Field's selection of wines that are created in the cellars underneath the tasting room.

"They can learn a little bit about regional wines and grapes," owner Michelle Meyer said. "And, just see a boutique operation from the ground up."