RJS added a comment to the alternate epilogue complaining that Kansas is not a Southern state and that Rachel shouldn't have a Southern accent. No, it isn't Southern, it's Western if it's anything other than Central U.S. geographically. If one reads the entire tale, it's evident that Rachel Harris is the only character with that accent. She had that accent in the episode "Green, Green Glow of Home," and that's why she has it here. I replicated the accent to make her stand out from the rest of the cast and differentiate her from Lois. It's one of the markers to identify and individualize her in each scene.
As far as Rachel calling Lois a "Yankee," that term also refers to people who live and work in the Northeast part of the country. That use is a bit archaic, but it's still legit. I've been called a Yankee by people in Oklahoma (which wasn't a state in 1865) because I've mentioned that I once lived in Ohio.
I'm sorry that Rachel's accent was RJS' takeaway from the story. I lived there for several years when I was a "yonker" (very young) and I remember the place fairly well even now.
Kansas was the literal battleground state for slavery in the U.S. before the Civil War. The population of the territory was supposed to vote whether the state would be admitted to the Union with legal slavery or without. Both pro- and anti-slavery groups flooded the territory with people with the intention of tilting the election their way. This state was the location for some of the bloodiest civilian massacres during that war, "Bloody" Lawrence being one of the most prominent. For a more in-depth discussion, see
this site.
The alternate take now has a link to these comments. I assume that's why RJS added that response there.
