The Storyteller Behind "Hatteberg's People"

KAKE-TV's Larry Hatteberg.

Ever since I began my internship at KAKE-TV, I have looked forward to working with one of the best journalists in the Midwest: Larry Hatteberg.

As a child, I loved watching his program "Hatteberg's People" on the Sunday evening news.

He told stories, and he showed them. Through the camera lens, you could see the uniqueness of Kansas and its people.

His success and the success of the entire station was the primary reason I wanted to intern for them in the first place.

And, today, I got a chance to work with this amazing storyteller.

As you can imagine, I was so excited when I went to bed last night, I could hardly sleep. When I did, I had dreams that I was driving around in a storm, running late, forgetting things -- afraid that Larry would leave me behind.

Fortunately, none of those dreams came true. I got to the station on time (actually a little bit early), and was more than ready to go when we hopped into the pale green Chevy Tahoe and took off down the highway toward Sun City, Kansas.

On the drive down we talked about all sorts of things: TV, movies, books, radio, and of course -- news.

I asked him questions about his career as a photojournalist and some of the people that he had interviewed for "Hatteberg's People."





It's no surprise to say that journalists (and Larry Hatteberg, especially) have the best stories -- stories about crazy people, humble people, unusual people, nice people, and the down-right amazing people of the world.

As the red hills rolled beside us along K-42 and Highway 160 -- driving through Harper, Attica, and Medicine Lodge -- the time just seemed to fly by! When two journalists get together, it's a lot of question-asking and story-swapping. But, it was fun.

When we starting driving through the Gypsum Hills, Larry pulled over and got video of the surrounding landscape. He said he wanted to give his story setting, so that the audience could visualize where exactly Sun City was.

Driving into Sun City, there wasn't much to see: a few houses here and there, an old post office, a nice white church complete with a steeple and bell, and -- of course -- Buster's.

As I found out doing research and talking to the people there, Buster's was a restaurant that once was owned by Buster Hathaway --  and Larry had done a story on him several year ago.

Buster, as many people said, was an old curmudgeon who never liked to make more than one trip to the kitchen. If your order wasn't right, didn't matter. He wasn't making a second trip just for you.

Buster and his wife Alma took over the place back in the 1940's after they got married, and (as I heard it) Alma kept her husband in line. And, legend has it, Buster's was the first place in Kansas to serve ice-cold beer on tap.

Now, Buster and Alma passed away a few years ago, and for a while, Buster's restaurant was unoccupied... until recently.

Last year, a Florida couple took over the restaurant and adopted it as their new home.

"(Sun City) has gotten to be home to where we look forward to coming back," Sally Goldman said, as she sat alongside her co-manager and husband Gary Goldman during Larry's interview.

Odd as it was, they left their home in Florida to manage Buster's restaurant, having never lived in Kansas and only visiting it on the occasional hunting trip. They expanded the restaurant and made several renovations (including some indoor restrooms), but Buster's still continues to be the sanctuary for the weary traveller or tired cowboy or hungry oil-field worker that it always was.

"We might be a younger generation of Buster and Alma," Sally said.

From the moment we stepped in the door, the Goldmans were all politeness and hospitality. They graciously showed us around, pointing out all of the remodeling that they had done. They told us of the stories that they had heard of Buster, Alma, and Sun City.

And of course what would Buster's be without a little barbecue? After they pulled it out of the smoker, we got the chance to sample some of the famous brisket that keeps people coming in for miles around.

I was captivated not only by the Goldman's story, but by the story of the town itself. Yet, what interested me the most was the way that Larry seemed to direct it.

Already, he said, he had a vision of what he wanted it to be like. He picked out his shots very precisely. He knew exactly what he wanted to be seen and heard in the story.

As he sat Sally and Gary down to interview them, he positioned them just as he wanted. He had the light fixtures already set up. Now, all he needed was their story... how they heard about Buster's, why they decided to move from Florida to Kansas (of all places!), how the business was going so far, what was their favorite part about managing Buster's, etc.

We talked to patrons who had been coming there for many years, and they told us stories of Buster. One man even remembered the last time Larry had been in Sun City, when he interviewed Buster all those years ago.

The whole time we were there, the ambiance of the place never faded. In fact, as more and more people came in for lunch (but there weren't too many), it made the place come alive even more so. People sat down at the bar, enjoying their ice-cold beer and smoked brisket, and simply shared stories. The walls were decorated with hunting trophies -- bear, deer, bobcat, cougar, and turkey -- cowboy paintings and photographs, and neon signs displaying different brands of beer.

On the outside, it didn't look like much; but inside, it was a treasure trove of country wisdom and small-town atmosphere... all in all, good food and good company.

Saying our goodbyes and thank yous, I felt as though we had spent the whole day there (and not merely 3.5 hours) because so much had gone on.

As we drove back to Wichita, Larry and I talked about our experiences at Buster's and all that I had learned (most notably was learning what a "dead cat" was). I asked him more about "Hatteberg's People" and his career at KAKE.

Between the actual story and the travel time to and fro, I feel like I approach journalism with a different vision now.

As Larry was telling me, he chooses stories based on what he thinks will be visually interesting. Now, I hope to see the story through the lens the way he does... But, I'm still learning.

I hope to go out on a "Hatteberg's People" story with Larry again this summer, but only time will tell.

Until then, I will be content to watch the 10 o'clock news on Sunday night and see how our "Hatteberg's People" story about Buster's, the Goldmans, and Sun City turned out....

Just as I have for most of my life... and just as I plan to do for years to come...


Larry asked to borrow my still camera. This is the picture he took.

**For more "Hatteberg's People" stories, check out http://www.kansaspeople.com/ or http://www.kake.com/hattebergpeople
And tune in to KAKE-TV (Channel 10 in Wichita) on Sunday night's 10 p.m. newscast to see this week's "Hatteberg's People" story. It will be featured during the second segment, after the first commercial break.

And check out this video-slideshow of some of the pictures I took on our trip!