Presidential Boyhood Home gets Recognition

The boyhood home of Harry Truman in the photo above located at 619 S. Crysler was recognized this summer by officials from the City of Independence. Unfortunately, the officials were from the Health Department and the recognition was for problems with weeds and trash/rubbish/garbage in violation of Property Maintenance Codes. Truman spent his impressionable boyhood years from age 6 to age 12 at this home. From this family residence, he enters the Independence Public Schools, he attends First Presbyterian Church Sunday School where he meets Bess Wallace, and he recalls his father’s celebration after the 1892 election of Grover Cleveland. In this rare Democratic Party victory celebration, his father decorates the weathervane mounted on top of the cupola of the home (the cupola has since been removed), which undoubtedly left an impression on young Harry. Other Truman residences in the city and the state are National Historic Sites, State Parks, and/or are marked with interpretive signs. This one (on the other side of the railroad tracks and approxmiately 1/2 mile from the Truman NHL Distrct) is one city officials would prefer you drive by without noticing. At Truman’s birthplace home in Lamar, Missouri, he only spent 11 months there and today it is a State Historic Site and House Museum and represents a source of pride for this rural community. We do learn from the Crysler property how absentee landlords maximize rental income while minimizing investment. There are actually 7 mailboxes on this property. Independence has many stories to tell but with this property we get a bonus lesson plan in economics. Anywhere but Independence, this would be national shrine. Here it is considered just another local public nuisance.

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.”

Happy Birthday National Trust

Our "Preservation" magazine arrived in our mailbox today from the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). It was actually 60 years ago (October 26, 1949) today that President Harry S Truman signed the Congressional Charter that created the NTHP. I thought I would read in the magazine a few lines or possibly even an entire paragraph that that might present this important story of the beginning of this great organization. It was not there. You might drop them a card to their headquarters in Washington DC (in the adjacent photo) and wish them Happy Birthday. Harry Truman appreciated and understood the importance of history and respecting those who came before us. That's what historic preservation is all about. In the hometown of Truman and in his neighborhood, you would think historic preservation principles would be the strongest. Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be the case. We have tremendous opportunities to turn things around but the entire community has to be on board. Wouldn't it be great to read in "Preservation" magazine stories of success concerning Independence, Missouri? I believe that is what the NTHP and the national preservation community wants, also.

Last Place in the Standings

The question has already been asked, “When Histories Compete, Who Wins?” Well, what else does local heritage tourism compete with? Look no further than the epicenter of competition where the Chiefs play football, the Royals play baseball, and, more recently, college football match-ups such as the “Border Showdown” with MU versus KU. It is called the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, yes, named after our good neighbor. With the high concentration of people coming to this part of the KC Area, someone a few decades ago thought it was a brilliant idea to locate our Missouri Tourism Welcome Center at the Sports Complex property. Unfortunately traffic and architectural designs were not considered with this site selection. The photo above is a view of the Welcome Center from street level taken last winter. One can easily miss it while driving by. On games days, it is almost impossible to get to because of the traffic. For game days/events that are near sell-outs, they actually lock the doors and close the Welcome Center to avoid traffic problems (which goes against the reason for putting here). And even though Jackson County taxpayers are spending $600 million to update the Truman Sports Complex property, not one dime was considered necessary to improve the Tourism Welcome Center. Visitors who are successful in getting there are greeted by a concrete building with no apparent front entrance. When you find the front door, you are greeted with a sign that states “Please do not leave valuables unattended in your car” which may lead some to go back to their car and keep driving out of town. It should not be surprising that the KC Welcome Center is in last place in the standings for visitor head-counts considering all six centers throughout the state that were operating the entire year of 2008. Yes it’s true, the Chiefs and Royals are not the only last place teams located at the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex.

School District “Passes the Buck”

As we strive for a community that runs on all cylinders, one of the bright spots is our award-winning public school system. Harry Truman was the only US President since 1897 to have never earned a college degree, yet was voted in the top 5 greatest US Presidents by educated historians in a recent C-SPAN poll. I believe that makes his Independence High School diploma one of the most important educational achievements in the nation. From Truman’s Sunday School experience across the street at the First Presbyterian Church to his public school time at the old Palmer building site, these experiences shaped his character. And with the Memorial Building across the street where the Truman Family voted, this block is especially important to this great American story. This story is important to not just the current 300 million US citizens, but future generations of US citizens. But is this story important to local citizens? What about the Independence School District who was actually responsible for the education of Harry Truman? The School District’s recent announcement to sell the Palmer School Building (which is contaminated with mold) essentially “Passes the Buck” to future owners of the property for its environmental cleaning, which makes one wonder if they appreciate and respect this story (their story). The Independence School District deserves support in the upcoming bond issue election so they can support excellence in local education. The Truman Neighborhood, and in particular, the old Palmer School Building, deserves local support from the School District so it can continue to educate the nation on the value of public school excellence while maintaining the story of one of the great world leaders. What else should we expect from the hometown of Harry Truman who coined the phrase, “The Buck Stops Here?”

Walk the Walk

The above photos indicate sidewalk views here in Independence. The one on the left is of the 300 block of Delaware Street in the Truman National Historic Landmark District (across the street from the Truman Home where 20,000 tourist visit each year) and the one on the right is in the valley out east adjacent to, well, nothing. The sidewalk on Delaware has been part of the award-winning Midtown/Truman Road Corridor Neighborhood Revitalization program over the last 12 years that promised to improve infrastructure and make the area pedestrian friendly. The sidewalks in the Truman Neighborhood are important not only to neighbors and tourist but also to maintaining the story of this world leader who routinely took walks to provide himself a connection to and a perspective of his own community. As we look towards the East in the lush green valley of the Little Blue River (in the old floodplain), we should strive for sustainable development for a prosperous future of Independence. However, maintaining what we already have in the heart of our historic community (on higher ground) is even more critical to the future of Independence. If we’re going to “talk the talk” on neighborhood revitalization, tourism, and, sustainable development, then we need to “walk the walk.”

Higher Learning Regarding Higher Ground

The history of historic preservation in Independence is now the subject of a book available at Barnes & Noble, “A President, a Church, and Trails West - Competing Histories in Independence, Missouri” by Dr. Jon Taylor, University of Central Missouri History Professor. It was also the subject of a presentation and panel discussion at last year’s annual conference of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) in Louisville, Kentucky which included Dr. Taylor, Dr. Dwight Pitcaithley of New Mexico State University, Dr. Craig Campbell of Youngstown State University, and Dr. Patrick O’Brien of the National Parks Service, Tucson, Arizona (first Preservation Manager with the City of Independence). That presentation was entitled “When Histories Compete, Who Wins?: Zion, Three Trails, and a President: Competing Histories and Memories in Independence, Missouri.” The preservation story of our community and Truman’s neighborhood is becoming well-know and has become, itself, a landmark in the pages of our nation’s preservation history. It is likely that more people outside of Independence understand our problems and conflicts with historic preservation than those inside our community and at City Hall. During conversations with Park Service leaders in other states, the question routinely comes up, “What’s wrong with Independence?” These issues are not just about preservation but also affect the success of economic development through heritage tourism and just basic community pride. On the question of “Who Wins?”, it appears that there are many in town with “L’s” on their foreheads!