By Bill Spiegel, Byline Editor
When you’ve been in this business for a while, coincidences occur. I’ve stood in line at airport gates during vacations and seen people I’ve interviewed years before; I’ve been to a cafe in western Kansas where a gentleman was reading an article I’ve written. About the only thing that hadn’t come full circle was finding out what happened to the guy I interviewed on my first official “road trip” as field editor at Kansas Farmer magazine, back in 1995.
That winter, I headed to the very first Kansas Commodity Classic, in Great Bend KS. My boss suggested I stay at the Baltzell Motel, which charged $19.95 per night, rather than the convention center hotel. Imagine what $19.95 bought 30 years ago.
Anway, I digress. Since I was going to be gone for several days, I wanted to grab some other stories. I found a guy on the way who raised ostriches, which were all the rage in 1995. I made an appointment to visit his farm, near Clay Center, Kansas.
When I got to Clay Center, I realized something very important: I forgot my camera. There was no internet back then; no smart phones. No camera store or even a Walmart. SoI borrowed a Pentax K1000 from the local newspaper office, and headed to the farm, where I interviewed the farm manager, Jonas Metzner.
I remember he was a fun guy to interview. But the photo I made with the borrowed camera was terrible. Terrible! I’m surprised my boss didn’t fire me. 
After leaving Jonas, I stopped at a pawn shop in Salina, Kansas, and bought a camera. Found some Ektachrome film somewhere, and proceeded to Great Bend.
Over the years, I often wondered what happened to Jonas. I drove by the old ostrich farm fairly frequently on the way to my own farm, and for years it’s been vacant. Despite my proclamation in the lede sentence that says, ““make no mistake, ostriches are here to stay,” neither ostriches nor emus had staying power.
In December, 2024, I attended a meeting in Iola, Kansas. The company introduced its employees. Guess whose name they mentioned? Jonas Mentzer.
It had been 29 years!
I reintroduced myself and we had a great time catching up. He had his mom send him a picture of the Kansas Farmer article, and he said dryly: “I only hope your photography skills have improved over time.”
Judging by my ability to take selfies, they haven’t.
What an interesting career we have chosen.
