Pier Review of Hiram Young History

It appears that Kansas City has adopted Hiram Young as one of the top ten most influential historical figures for the pioneer trails history of this region and beyond.  An image of Hiram Young has been prominently placed in marble and concrete at one of ten bridge piers alongside images and interpretive information of Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Alexander Majors, and others on the new bridge over the Blue River adjacent to Red Bridge in South KC.  The site was the river crossing for the wagon trains heading west and is now adjacent to a City Park and golf course.  This innovative historical presentation has led to upgrades in infrastructure (roadways & bridges), improved public safety, biking & walking trails, and community pride touted by city employees, politicians, and citizens.  “This Red Bridge is so important in our district that it can’t be understated,” Councilman Scott Taylor said. “It’s not only an improvement for commuters but for joggers and bikers. As we attract new families to Kansas City, this is one of the amenities that families are looking for.”  Patrick Klein, Director of Capital Projects, stated “This bridge has had more public input than any bridge in the city.”  Community-minded folks saw the potential for a big infrastructure improvement to negatively impact an adjacent nationally designated resource so all the stake holders got together and created something special.  The improvements actually enhance the history of the site and make it more assessable to the public.  There are huge lessons to be learned here, especially for Independence.  The first lesson is that our history is not an obstacle to progress but a tool for progress.  Our history can enrich our development and redevelopment of housing, retail, infrastructure, and recreation while integrating a valuable dimension to our community assets.  No other community has the tools that we have here in Independence for community improvement.  The second lesson is that we need to keep the history communities engaged in discussions early in projects and not after decisions and directions are already determined.  It’s called “City Planning” not “City Reaction.”  We should be flattered that other adjacent communities see Independence history as an asset to the presentation of their stories.  It’s time for us to jump on the covered wagon and get with the program.  Our history is our biggest asset.  Every project in Independence should be reviewed with respect to its impact on not just our local history but this important national and international history.  And every project should be evaluated as if it would be reported in the New York Times.

Are You Privy to Local African-American History?

The census records for 1860 indicate that over 17 percent of the population in Jackson County were enslaved African-Americans.  But some in the local African-American community were actually free.  One of those former slaves who went on to become not only a free man but a successful businessman was Hiram Young.  Just imagine, if you were wanting to start up a small business and the first purchase on your business plan was your own freedom and that of your wife.  Hiram Young manufactured some of the best and most durable wagons for a long trip from Independence, across the Rocky Mountains, all the way to California and Oregon.  This was probably the most important aspect of this journey.  Local African-American history is rich and important to our local, national, and international stories.  Years ago, the Independence School District recognized their responsibilities to educate children of all races and established segregated black school while naming the school Young School after Hiram Young.  And when surrounding towns in Eastern Jackson County actually refused to educate the very few African-American youths in those communities, the Independence School District and Young School welcomed those students.  This we should be proud of.  Our local African-American heritage is integrated into our local story, a story that shaped and guided a great nation and beyond.  So what is the fate of the old Young School?  At one time, the Independence School District was in partnership with a local civic club to create a community center with an African-American Heritage Room.  But what is the status of that commitment to the African-American community?  This is something that certainly needs to be explored, but in the meantime the school district unloaded the building to Habitat for Humanity who is using the building as a warehouse for house parts and plumbing fixtures.  The photo above shows a row of white porcelain toilets that line the area just outside the old historic building where young African-American students used to line up to enter their school.  Now I’m all for recycling and salvage but not when it dishonors a commitment and a suppressed component of our rich history.  Unfortunately, this is not the only example of public school assets being flushed away while ignoring previous commitments.  It is important for all citizens of the City of Independence to have a voice in the management, maintenance and disposal of public resources.  When these assets have national importance and federal funding is involved (whether from HUD programs, tax credits, CDBG grant programs, etc.), it is actually federal law.  And one might also add, it’s also good government.  And we shouldn’t just look at the law to determine whether we choose to respect or disrespect our own rich heritage which, by the way, does include our fellow citizens of the African-American community.

"Cold November Rain"

Twenty years ago, the Rock-n-Roll hit “Cold November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses hit the US Billboard Hot Chart and peaked at Number 3.  In 1992, November came, it rained, and, yes, it was cold that Sunday morning when about eight neighbors stood on North Spring Street with protest signs to catch the attention of members of the First Baptist Church as they were heading to and leaving from church services.  The issue of the morning was to save the 2-story Victorian home of Bess Truman’s uncle, Judge Gates, at 322 North Spring.  More than just attempting to save a single home, the goal was to save an important Presidential neighborhood that had taken some huge hits in the previous decade by church expansion.  The 300-400 block North Spring, once part of the city’s Truman Heritage District, was possibly the only remaining block of uninterrupted Victorian structures in Independence (and many of those still had carriage houses until a few years before that).  At that time, the home was an important stop for tourists on the National Park Service neighborhood walking tour guided by Park Service Rangers.  In fact, in the early 1990’s, we had several times more tourists visiting Independence than we do today.  Those neighbors with the signs did get the church’s attention but enough to get them to expedite the demolition process, pull in a few strings, get their demolition permit the following day, then run a bulldozer through the home that afternoon, just hours before the City Council meeting.  The First Baptist Church choreographed the event to the minute and pulled off the upset like a Peyton Manning 2-minute offense.  Neighbors were told by city officials that there would be time to discuss and debate, but there wasn’t.  The outrage in the community and on the City Council was so prevalent that the council unanimously approved a demolition moratorium that covered the entire city (the moratorium still exists today in the form of our demolition ordinance).   With the demolition of 322 N. Spring, the First Baptist Church was allowed to construct another entrance into their large parking complex and add a few parking spaces.  The church now had eight entrances from four public streets and alleys.  The church also constructed a suburban-style brick and marble entrance monument that didn’t meet code and size standards in the zoning ordinances.  Neighbors filed a complaint and even convinced the City Board of Adjustments it was wrong and that it needed to comply.  But, as usual, it really didn’t matter; the sign was already built, set in marble and brick, and allowed to remain.  Keep in mind, 9 years before this event, the church demolished several historic homes on west side of Pleasant Street located in the National Historic Landmark District in order to have expanded parking facilities.  And remaining church-owned rental properties on Pleasant and Spring Streets continued to deteriorate awaiting their judgment day.  These local stories of community preservation are well-documented have even been discussed in national venues and conferences.  I’m bringing it up because it’s the twentieth anniversary of the Gates House demolition and because we still, even today, haven’t learned from these stories of our recent past.  Just a few months ago, another prominent institution submitted to the Heritage Commission for demolition a home at 112 N. Crysler (which wasn’t an isolated case).  The Commission rejected the demolition because it was considered “Demolition by Neglect.”  In November of 1992, in the aftermath of the loss of the Gates Home on Spring Street, there was a neighborhood meeting held at the Memorial Building.  Many neighborhood folks showed up including the NPS Superintendent, Ron Mack.  The most memorable person ended up being an elderly gentleman dressed up in a suit and tie claiming to represent the RLDS Church.  He made the most profound statement of the evening:  “We're not here to preserve history.  We’re here to make history!”  He was certainly correct.  History was unfolding then and even today.  It’s the story of one of the most historic communities in the nation that was content to witness much of the visual evidence of that history disappear through Urban Renewal, expansion of churches, and neglect, then wonder why heritage tourism numbers are down. When there is pride in your community, and more importantly, pride in the history of your community, then self-promotion comes naturally.  And successful self-promotion fills not only museums but retail stores, restaurants, hotels, and seats at the Events Center.  Every time I hear "Cold November Rain" on the radio, it reminds me of that Sunday morning 20 years ago.

Patriotism still a Puzzle

We happened to have the TV on "Wheel of Fortune" last night where the evening's theme was a salute to our country's military veterans combined with patriotism.  After all, it was the day after Veterans Day.  Active military soldiers in uniform with their spouses participated in the popular word game for cash and prizes.  In the drama of the "Final Spin" under the category of "On the Map," the puzzle in the picture above was presented.  The word "Missouri" was solved quickly but, for some reason, they all had difficulty in coming up with the name of a city in the state with 12 letters that aligned with the patriotic theme.  It seems we need to get Independence, Missouri ready for primetime!

Grant US Wisdom

During our summer travels, we have visited other presidential communities (see blog entry 8-11-10) to see first-hand how they preserve and promote their history.  We were overwhelmed when we arrived in Galena, Illinois, which is considered one of several hometowns of Ulysses S. Grant, our nation's 18th president.  This little community in northwest Illinios, population 4,329, is at least an hour and a half from the nearest interstate highway but has a tremendous historic district and commercial area.  It boasts of 40 bed & breakfast establishments, yet has just a fraction of the history and historic attractions that Independence has.  There are two tourist visitor's centers, one operated by the city and the other by the local chamber of commerce.  Yes, that's right; their chamber actively promotes heritage tourism in their restored historic railroad depot.  There is even a third center that also promotes tourism, sells souvenirs, and sells tickets to sites.  There are two competing trolley tours charging $15 per head.  House museum tickets go for $12 per head (compared to $5 here) and there were people standing in line at the front door.  We called ahead two weeks in advance to book a Saturday night at a B&B and were turned away from three B&B's because we were only booking one night and ended up staying in a hotel (which was full also).  The business district was lined with specialty shops, restaurants, and people spending money (with no one complaining about the economy).  And this community had neither a Presidential Library nor the presence of the National Park Service (NPS) to assist them with preserving and presenting their history. To top it off, there are five other cities in the nation (White Haven in Grantwood Village Missouri - National Historic Site operated by the NPS, Grant Cottage in Wilton New York - operated as a New York State Historic Site & Museum, Grant's Birthplace in Point Pleasant Ohio - operated as a museum by the Ohio Historical Society, Grant's Boyhood Home National Historic Landmark in Georgetown Ohio, and, of course, Grant's Tomb in Riverside Park in Manhatten New York) that all boast of President Grant sites.  And each of these six "Presidential" communities in four different states treat their single presidential site as a precious national treasure even though President Grant was routinely ranked in the lower quartile in importance considering all US presidents.  Meanwhile, back in Independence, the hometown of Harry Truman, who is listed as one of the top five US presidents, the community hosts practically all of his historic sites (except for the Grandview Farm) including a presidential library & museum, three boyhood homes, and the expanded National Historic Landmark District.  And if our presidential history was not enough, we are the most important community in the country for pioneer trails history, we have religious history, and history in the Civil War and Border War conflicts.  So why do we struggle in preserving our history and promoting our town for heritage tourism?  These blog entries over the last few years are intended to answer those questions and present how entities representing government, non-profit, church, chamber, and school have all worked independently to take focus away from our rich history and, in some cases, to disrespect and degrade not just our local heritage but that of this great nation.  It's no wonder that noted New York Times journalist, A.G. Sulzberger, wrote two years ago that one might conclude that Harry Truman is our community's "less favorite son."

Mortality Rate Goes Up on Spring Street

Just as we are learning of an exciting program from the City to take over 3 abandon, foreclosed, neglected, and derelict homes in the Truman National Historic Landmark District, it is becoming more and more clear (for those with their eyes open) how this part of the neighborhood has had a drop in investments and homes sell for the price of a cheap used car.  On Saturday, the 400 block of North Spring was victim to its second fatality (that we know of) within the last 6 months.  Four police cars, a crime scene van, ambulance, and an unmarked car full of detectives showed up in full force.  If you live on this block, you are more likely to be a victim of a crime, reside next to a sex offender, step on a drug needle, drop dead by the end of the year, and/or all the above.  And don't bother to ask public officials "What the hell is going on?"  Don't bother to tune in to the evening news or open the morning newspaper because you will find out that nothing really happened.  A building can disappear overnight, a duplex can expolode off its foundation, and two separate fatalities can occur, and nobody knows nothing about nothing, it's considered not news-worthy, and, for some strange reason, it's considered "normal."  One can easily see how an early plea to public officials concerning the presence of child rapist, Randy Lande, would be handled under those conditions.  And it's reminiscent of the death that occurred a while back just a few blocks away where a man died from the severe burns he received from a fire in his lap.  Nobody wanted to talk about that and there was nothing in the media to report, although there was short obituary in The Examiner that stated "he loved to garden."  I'm sure there was some "meth" to his madness even though his death was likely listed as accidental (if you can even find the public record).  As citizens are encouraged city-wide to participate in neighborhood watch and being aware of what is happening in the neighborhood blocks around you, here in this corner of the Truman National Historic Landmark District the policy appears to be "don't ask - don't tell."  It seems that the issue is not the need for more police (although we need more police) or that we need to dump federal money into sub-standard housing (although that is welcomed for the most part).  The reality is that there is little open and honest discussion about not just the presence of crime but the very few consequences for those choosing to commit crimes.  And there is very little collaboration between stakeholders.  Many of those who commit crimes do not serve time.  Some are sentenced to counseling.  Those who serve time always get out early.  Even with the most heinous and despicable crime committed against an innocent 8-year-old girl, the convicted criminal gets a reduced sentence because no one wants to sit through the horrific details that would be presented publicly during that trial, not to mention the public exposure of how the system failed to protect a child.  And if these types of problems are normal in the most important neighborhood in our city, then what can we expect in other neighborhoods?  We always look forward to new life coming to reinvigorate our historic residential neighborhood and contribute to our success, although carting out unsuccessful folks in body bags is not what we envisioned for creating these opportunities.

Paved with Good Intentions!

The road to the Temple and the Truman National Historic Landmark District is paved with brick and good intentions but it looks like h**l.  The present design was thoughtfully developed by the best professional landscape architects in Kansas City that public money could buy.  Yes, our Midtown / Truman Road Corridor (M/TRC) Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation hired those consultants and the City of Independence spent the money to give us these brick pavers.  Someone should have suggested to M/TRC way back then that having this type of landscape feature requires a little maintenance, not to mention some pride of ownership.  Ironically, this picture was taken on property owned and maintained by, you guessed it, M/TRC.  We've stated the obvious before but it deserves to be repeated again and again and again..........  The organization that is now getting public money to promote neighborhood revitalization has to lead the community and set high standards for neighborhood stewardship (their own standards), especially when making official judgments of other property owners on whether they've maintained their property good enough to keep their tax abatement.  The picture was taken the day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at the Harry S Truman Sports Complex when tens of thousands of visitors were in the KC area visiting tourist sites and spending money.  It is also adjacent to a triangular piece of ground that was supposed to be a beautiful landscaped park to be turned over the City.  Currently, Independence Parks & Rec does not have the budget to maintain additioinal parks due to, in part, added Parks & Rec responsibility at the Falls at Crackerneck Creek, not to mention overall city budget shortfalls for debt payments for the same development.  Under the guidance of the award-winning M/TRC Neighborhood Revitalization Plan, this block and the adjacent block bounded by Lexington, River, Maple, and Union Streets had to be clear cut of buildings to create a better view and path towards the Temple from Truman Road (not sure that goal was achieved).  It is interesting that out of all the structures (primarily historic) that were bulldozed on these two blocks, the one structure M/TRC chooses to remain is the architecturally-unappealing and marginally-maintained Convenience Store who's more recent goal was to introduce cash-and-carry hard liquor into the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, the operators of the store are not the only ones out of touch.  Good folks with good intentions are represented on the M/TRC board and staff, but it should be no surprise that they do not live near this area, and in some cases, do not even live in Independence.  The current leadership like to blame the economy and lack of money for the current state of affairs here and in many other areas of town.  From my observation, there are some very basic principles of civic pride and responsibility and, in the spirit of Harry Truman, just plain common sense that we seem to miss.  Maybe we should work on those while we sit back doing nothing hoping for the local economy to turn around.