Dusty-backed rattlesnakes, coldly oblivious to an artificial world, were displayed in an unlikely place: the storefront windows of the two-story 1907 Shirley Opera House, Atwood, KS. Rawlins County boys tasted fear and conquered it by rapping on the wavery panes of original glass, hoping to create a strike. This was an ageless form of entertainment, baiting danger at the expense of a perceived enemy. It was not, however, fit entertainment for the … [Read more...]