Home On The Range: some discouraging words heard

There's a small cabin in Smith County, Kansas. In 1872, Brewster Higley sat in and wrote the song which would become Home On The Range.



That song, in turn, went on to become the state song of Kansas.

And the cabin?

Well, that went on to become a bit of a wreck. There's a campaign being mounted now, though, to save it. Orin Friesen is trying to raise $100,000 to restore the cabin to its original state.

Obviously, it was a little wood shack, so it's a bit ironic that in order to return it to being a cheap, knocked-up wooden building is going to cost thousands and thousands, but that's the price of authenticity.

"It matters that we preserve this cabin," Friesen said. "It needs to be saved for future generations. There are a lot of songs that belong to different states — Texas has a bunch, and Tennessee does too. But none are more famous than our state song. I can't figure out another state song that is so tied to a particular place."

Hmm. The good people of Tennessee might point out gently that Rocky Top is tied to Rocky Top, but you know what he means. Good luck, Mr. Friesen.