This weekend marks 30 years since the Olympic flame made its way through Wichita; the flame was being transported across the United States on its way to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Summer Olympics.
In keeping with tradition, the flame was lit at the Temple of Hera in the Greek city of Olympia a month-and-a-half earlier. After three weeks in Greece, the flame was then flown to Los Angeles, for its epic journey across the U.S.A.
On May 17, 1996, a Friday, the Olympic flame began its day at the State Capitol in Topeka, then was taken by bicycle alongside Kansas wheatfields and cornfields, with winds gusting at 40 miles per hour.
At Emporia, the torch made a stop at the Teachers Hall of Fame, celebrating educators. Native American hero and Olympic great Billy Mills delivered a speech to a cheering audience. The next stop for the torch was in Newton at a refurbished park featuring the restoration of an historical locomotive.
By the end of the day, the torch had arrived in Wichita as a featured part of the annual city-wide celebration of Riverfest.
More than 100,000 people gathered on the banks of the Arkansas River for the torch's arrival.
The Olympic flame was transported by a canoe, paddled up the river as a 30-canoe flotilla escorted the flame. The flame was carried by Chief Eugene Stumbling Bear in a traditional Native American canoe, as thousands of loudspeakers serenaded the scene with "Summon the Heroes", the famous music for the Olympics from composer John Williams.
At 10:00 p.m., the canoe glided to a stop. The flame was given to a torch-bearer on the shore who ignited a cauldron at the foot of the iconic "Keeper of the Plains" statue at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers.
Hundreds of performers then demonstrated Native American dances and songs.
The Olympic flame stayed the night in Wichita, then departed the following morning heading to the south. Before leaving Kansas for Oklahoma, the Olympic flame made a stop in Arkansas City, because local firm Gordon-Piatt Energy Group built the Olympic cauldron burners used in Atlanta.
A little more than two months after its night in Wichita, the Olympic flame was in Atlanta for the opening ceremony, featuring the stirring and emotional surprise appearance and lighting of the cauldron by boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
