No “Landmark” Left Behind

It has been over three years since March 2008 when the old Palmer School building was evacuated and judged to be uninhabitable due to issues with mold. Before the Independence School District (ISD) had invested all that tax money into the facility, it had successfully served as a school building for 8 decades. And, yes, it is an important contributing element in the Harry S Truman National Historic Landmark District. With that said, I believe this situation needs to be put in perspective. To my knowledge, the Palmer School building is one of only a very few public school buildings in the entire country that are designated as either National Historic Landmarks or part of Landmark Districts. The only ones I can think of in this region are the two school buildings in Topeka associated with the Brown vs. Board of Education and Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (Landmarks associated with the story of our nation’s civil rights movement in the 1950’s). All buildings designated as National Historic Landmarks and those contributing to Landmark Districts are not just important but are critical to the education of US citizens on the history of this great and exceptional country. From our struggles in civil rights to one of the great American stories of a young man with just a high school diploma from ISD and no college degree becoming one of the greatest US Presidents and world leaders in the 20^th century. Actually Palmer Junior High has its own history as it relates to civil rights. During its early years, Independence was a segregated community and African-American students were not allowed to attend there. ISD deserves high marks for its success in Western Independence and for its leadership in completing the new Ennovation Center and administrative offices at the old hospital site. But here in Independence, time and time again, the things that we do poorly overshadow the things we do right. We should all be proud to live in Independence and be a part of a public school district that has been a part of educational excellence since 1866. But that pride can be stronger and radiate beyond our boundaries if we would just remove the large “For Sale” banner on the Palmer building, clean it up, fix the problem, and make it again a contributing component to the educational and civic life of the Truman National Historic Landmark District. I’m reminded of one of the basic principles of stewardship I learned as a young Boy Scout. You “always” leave an area cleaner and in better condition than it was before you occupied it.