You might be asking yourself, "Why are you rating a small town out in the middle of nowhere,…read moreKansas?" Great point. But I'm doing it precisely because it's a great little town. This town was mentioned in Thomas Frank's "What's the Matter with Kansas?" (which as an aside, is a great book for anyone who wants to know what the political landscape is like in that state) as a haven of the "ultra-Traditionalist" Society of St Pius X. True, there is a large school there - over 700 kids in a K-12 institution, as well as nearly 75 enrolled in a small 2-year liberal arts college (the two-year accreditation has been earned, the 4 year is in process). I think "ultra-Traditionalist" probably scares people a lot, so I would decode it a bit by saying that there is a majority in the town that attends Mass in the manner in which it was performed prior to 1962. It's the Traditional Latin Mass. Women wear veils, men dress up, etc. There's also, understandably, a more conservative bent to recreation, dress, and conduct. It's by no means anything like a Mormon or Amish community. Like any other place in which striving for virtue is held up as an ideal, there are going to be casualties, exceptions to the rule, and problems. That's called life. Apart from this religious aspect, the town itself is small, charming, with no stoplight and a decent park. The city government and business associations take supporting local business very seriously and there is no complacency here about the growing trend of "dead" small towns. There is too active a community in St. Marys for something like that to happen, and there are at least a couple very strong local employers. Like any small town, you can leave your keys in the ignition and leave your doors unlocked at night. And for a city boy who occasionally visits his sister, brother-in-law, and nieces and nephews out in St. Marys, it's a nice break from the "ordinary." More than likely, you will pass St. Mary's on 24 on your way to a K-State football or basketball game, or on your way to the Oz Museum in nearby Wamego.