Virginia Ann Wulfkuhle
Topeka, KS
Last updated:
03/10/2007
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After LHS
After high school, I obtained a BA degree in anthropology from
the University of Kansas in 1969, and an MA degree in
anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985.
Employment
I am an archeologist and have been the public archeologist
(spelled without the second “a”) at the
Kansas State Historical Society
(KSHS) in Topeka since 1993. Among many other
responsibilities, I head a team that directs the Kansas
Archeology Training Program field school for 16 days each
June, where amateurs can volunteer to work on real
archeological sites. I am editor of The Kansas
Anthropologist, the annual journal of the Kansas
Anthropological Association, and Kansas Preservation, a
bi-monthly newsletter of the KSHS Cultural Resources Division.
Before returning to Kansas in 1990, I lived in Texas for
almost 20 years. I was employed as staff archeologist at the
Texas Historical Commission in Austin and as curator of
collections at the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine.
Hearth & Home
My elderly cat, Kitty Clover, and I live in a 1920s-vintage,
three-story, four-square house in Topeka. Alas, Kitty Clover
has become a high maintenance pet since her 15th birthday. My
parents, who are in their early 90s, still live independently
on the family farm west of Lawrence. My sister, Linda
Wulfkuhle Cecchini (LHS'64), is a retired librarian. She and
her husband live in Wisconsin during the summer and in Florida
during the winter. LHS'66 classmate Steve Kesler and I were
married for seven years in the 1970s. We had no children
The Other Stuff
Currently, I am starting a three-year term as president of the
Professional Archaeologists of Kansas, which is the lead
sponsoring organization of Kansas Archaeology Month, an annual
public awareness and educational campaign. In addition, I am
active in the Kansas Anthropological Association, the Plains
Anthropological Society and the Texas Archeological
Society. And I am the state coordinator for Project
Archaeology, a national educational program for grades 3-8;
Kansas coordinator for the Society for American Archaeology's
Public Education Committee; and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and
Phi Kappa Psi. As is readily apparent, most of my activities
are related to archeology. As I work with lots of volunteers,
numerous activities are scheduled on evenings and weekends, so
I tend to put in considerably more than 40 hours a week. My
rare vacations usually include visits to archeological sites
and museums in the U.S. and in other parts of the world. I
also labor with my mother on genealogical records.
My Memories of LHS
I am very grateful for the excellent teachers who helped
prepare us for college and later life, particularly English
teacher Robert G. Wright. Because I was obsessed with
studying, I was unaware of much of what was going on in high
school. And because I lived on a farm, I generally did not
hang around after school. But I found a comfortable and
rewarding niche in Mr. Denny's theater group. |
