Emporia’s Regal Plumb was celebrating hundreds of years of history in Emporia, as well as Emporia itself with a house party unlike any other Sunday afternoon.
The bed and breakfast, and former home of Emporia co-founder, Preston Plumb and his wife Carrie Plumb, opened its doors to the public for a Founders Day celebration through the mid-afternoon hours with plenty of refreshments, a jazz band and opportunities to continue supporting the successor to Plumb Place, Southwick House. Regal Plumb Owner Chris Stanley says the celebration had two key motivators: first, it is important to her to celebrate the home’s history and its namesake’s role in the founding of the Emporia community.
And second, she’s a big fan of a good party.
As mentioned, those who attended the open house had an opportunity to support the work of Southwick House, whose foundations were laid in the Regal Plumb with the house serving as the longtime home of its predecessor, Plumb Place, which served women in crises for over 100 years before its dissolution back in 2020. During an appearance on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia, Southwick Board President Jeremy Dorsey called the celebration an opportunity to pay homage to the past, while looking towards the future.
Dorsey adds that the organization owes a great deal of gratitude to Stanley, as she has been a major supporter of Southwick since its inception.
Stanley tells KVOE News she will always support Southwick because of the important void it is seeking to fill locally. She says to this day, she can still see the impacts Plumb Place had on so many lives and she wants to help ensure Southwick has every chance to do the same for generations to come.
Sunday’s open house comes with Southwick on the cusp of reaching its nearly $4 million fundraising goal towards a new transitional housing facility at 115 East Logan, which will support women and families in need. At last word, the agency was roughly $300,000 away from its target.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE NewsÂ
