Victorian Home Well Done

This evening is the 3-year anniversary of the fire 306 N. Pleasant Street in the heart of the Harry S. Truman National Historic Landmark District and within view of the Truman Home National Historic Site. The event was actually a non-event and received no coverage in the local media, even though it was considered to be a felony arson and actually came dangerously close to the home next door with human lives inside. “The Examiner” did print a few lines three days later on the inside pages of the newspaper. To put this news event in perspective, it was published next to a larger story about the local supper club hosting a singing group at the Community of Christ Auditorium. National historians back in 1971 thought this building was important enough to include in the original 22-page National Register form prepared for the district designation. Three of the 18 photographs in this document include images of this home. Two weeks after this fire, the community hosted Nobel Peace Prize recipient, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, for his farewell address to America at the Truman Library, only a few blocks down the street. It’s ironic that this part of the neighborhood looked like a war-zone while the Secretary-General was giving his speech on, yes, “World Peace.”