Print edition: 
The 24 finalists for the 8 Wonders of Kansas People contest were announced Thursday, the latest in a series of contests aimed at promoting Kansas pride.
The series began in the spring of 2007 by asking people to list what they treasured most about their home state. Since then, the 8 Wonders contests have asked Kansans to name their favorite Kansas art, architecture, commerce, cuisine, customs, geography, history, and now people.
The series ends just as Kansas gears up for the 150th anniversary of its statehood in January.
Some notable Kansans will not be found on the list, said Marci Penner, director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, which initiated the contests.
Dwight Eisenhower, Gordon Parks, John Steuart Curry and others are not on the list because they were involved in previous 8 Wonders contests.
Contest criteria state that there has to be some kind of display or something for visitors to look at in a community to make a nominee eligible. The selection committee chose not to go with any living nominees.
People have until Oct. 22 to vote for the top 8 at www.8wonders.org. Paper ballots can be picked up at one of the finalists or by calling 620-585-2374. One e-mail address may be used three times to vote.
"The contest gives us a reason to pause and consider all the people who have left an incredible footprint in Kansas," Penner said.
The 24 finalists are:
Amazon Army, Pittsburg — A group of more than 7,000 women who, on behalf of striking miners, marched in December 1921 across the coalfields of southeast Kansas to protest unfair labor laws and practices. They were nicknamed the "Army of Amazons" by the New York Times. Forty-nine women were jailed during the protests.
Amelia Earhart, Atchison — Seven decades after she disappeared, Earhart is still one of the most recognized names from Kansas. She set a women's altitude record in the autogyro — a forerunner of the helicopter — and was the first person to fly from Hawaii to the West Coast and the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Arthur Capper, Garnett, Topeka — A newspaper publisher, philanthropist, two-term governor and five-term U.S. senator, Capper was the first Kansas-born governor.
Bernhard Warkentin, Newton and Halstead — In the mid-19th century, Czar Alexander II of Russia threatened to force Mennonites — who are nonviolent — to fight his wars. Rather than fight, they chose to live in a new land. More than 15,000 came to the United States from Russia between 1874 and 1884. Of those, 5,000 came to Kansas, many based on Kansas miller and banker Warkentin's recommendations. He encouraged the Mennonites to bring hard Turkey Red winter wheat. They settled in communities such as Goessel, Inman, Buhler and Moundridge.
Buffalo Soldiers, Fort Leavenworth — The term dates to when African-American regiments were formed in 1866 to help patrol the Western frontier and fight in the nation's wars. The first unit, the 10th Cavalry, was formed Sept. 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth.
Buster Keaton, Piqua — Considered one of the greatest silent film comic actors and filmmakers, Keaton was nicknamed "The Great Stoneface." Keaton became famous for death-defying stunts, pantomimes and his deadpan face.
Carry A. Nation, Medicine Lodge and Kiowa — The hatchet-toting prohibitionist identified all she thought was evil in the world, particularly liquor, tea and cigarettes. She became famous traveling from town to town, wrecking saloons and berating people who sold liquor.
Clyde Cessna, Rago and Kingman — Wichita's claim as Air Capital of the World began when Cessna, a Kingman County farmer who, with no formal training in engineering or flying, successfully flew his first plane, the Silverwing, in December 1911.
Cyrus K. Holliday, Topeka and Atchison — He came to Kansas in 1854 as an abolitionist and stayed to become one of the founders of Topeka and organized the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. He served as Kansas' adjutant general during the Civil War. He also donated the land for the state capital grounds and helped start the Kansas Republican Party.
Emil Kapaun, Pilsen — A priest and military chaplain currently being considered by the Vatican for sainthood because of his exemplary service and dedication while being held in a Korean prisoner of war camp in 1950 through 1951. He also is being considered for the Medal of Honor.
Frederick Funston, Iola — At the turn of the 20th century, Funston couldn't have been a better-known hero. He was an adventurer, war hero, journalist and public celebrity. Almost every American knew his name. Funston was the youngest brigadier general at age 35. He was a Medal of Honor recipient and nicknamed the "Man who Saved San Francisco" after the earthquake and fire of 1906.
George Washington Carver, Minneapolis and Beeler — An agri-scientist, botanist, educator, humanitarian and inventor. Carver headed the Tuskegee Experiment Station at Tuskegee Institute, which was designed to help Southern agriculture and poor black farmers. He discovered more than 300 products that could be made from the peanut.
Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence — The university was established in 1884 as a government boarding school to try to eliminate Native American culture. It has evolved into a university for Native American students emphasizing their culture, sovereignty and self-determination.
Jack Kilby, Great Bend — A shy, gangly kid growing up during the Depression in Great Bend, Kilby invented the integrated circuit — the forerunner of the microchip — in 1958. He went on to secure more than 60 U.S. patents and helped pioneer military, industrial and commercial applications of the microchip.
James Naismith, Lawrence — The man who invented basketball and started the University of Kansas basketball program in 1898.
John Brown, Osawatomie — One of Kansas' most recognized symbols, immortalized in paintings, songs and stories. Brown's fiery, passionate will to stamp out slavery during the mid-19th century was one of the sparks that helped ignite the Civil War.
Joseph McCoy, Abilene and Wichita — In the 1860s, the Chisholm Trail was one of three great trails that crossed the country. McCoy was the first man, in 1867, to drive cattle along the trail. He envisioned building stockyards at points along the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
Martin and Osa Johnson, Chanute — Legendary Kansas adventurers, the Johnsons were world famous for their films and books about remote locales during the first half of the 20th century. They traveled the world photographing the wildlife and peoples of East and Central Africa, the South Pacific Islands and British North Borneo.
Mary Ann "Mother" Bickerdyke, Bunker Hill and Ellsworth — Bickerdyke served as a nurse on 19 Civil War battlefields following the Union battle line through Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. After the war, she championed bringing Civil War veterans to Kansas for settlement. When Indian raids, droughts and even grasshopper plagues besieged Kansans, Bickerdyke was instrumental in securing help for settlers.
Olive Ann Beech, Waverly and Wichita — First woman to head a major aircraft company and the most successful female executive in aviation history.
Walter P. Chrysler, Ellis and Wamego — Considered one of the greatest car-makers of the 20th century, Chrysler got his start in Kansas. In 1925, he founded Chrysler Corp., which became the second-largest automotive company in the world.
Walter Johnson, Humboldt and Coffeyville — Nicknamed "The Big Train" by sports writer Grantland Rice because the pitcher's fastball sounded like the whine of a locomotive passing over the countryside. He was a pitcher with the Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927 and one of the first five players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
William Allen White, Emporia — His writing covered almost every subject affecting American life from the 1890s through the first half of the 20th century. He was nicknamed the "Sage of Emporia."
William Inge, Independence — A small-town boy, he became one of the nation's leading playwrights from the 1950s through the early 1970s. His Pulitzer-Prize winning plays — some made into popular movies such as "Bus Stop," "Picnic" and "Splendor in the Grass" — depicted what he knew best: life in rural Kansas.
