A century ago, an explosion of free thought burst from Kansas. It filled pockets — and minds.

A century ago, an explosion of free thought burst from Kansas. It filled pockets — and minds.

A printing block for the title page of a Little Blue Book from the Haldeman-Julius publishing company of Girard, Kansas, rests on Max McCoy's desk. The slim, pocket-sized books sold for a nickel each and were produced in the hundreds of millions of copies from 1919 until the printing plant was destroyed by fire in 1978. The image has been reversed for easier reading. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)Funny the things you hold on to. On my desk is a pr…

Commentary - A century ago, an explosion of free thought burst from Kansas. It filled pockets — and minds.

Commentary - A century ago, an explosion of free thought burst from Kansas. It filled pockets — and minds. kcpnews2 Sun, 04/13/2025 - 09:06 Image (Kansas Reflector) Funny the things you hold on to.On my desk is a printing block from one of the Little Blue Books, produced in the millions by the Haldeman-Julius plant in Girard, Kansas. It’s a chunk of metal and wood, and it still has black ink crusted around its reverse characters. Numbered 1020…