Visited Sept. 22-29, 2022
By Janell
We had eight nights to spend in the Kansas City, MO area. Our sons, Matt and Garrett joined us in K.C. for a quick weekend. Our campground was in a Kansas City suburb, and Matt and Garrett stayed in a nearby hotel. We hadn't seen either of them since early this year: Matt in January and Garrett in February. We didn't have a lot of time with them, but we saw Union Station, Penn Valley Park, Kansas City River Market, a couple of breweries, a handful of murals, and we did lots of walking. We also drove across the Kansas River into Kansas City, Kansas just to say we'd been there. K.C. Missouri had a lot more going on K.C. Kansas.
Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804
Three very different IPA's at Torn Label Brewing Co.
Union Station, built in 1914, is a beauty! But this wasn't always the case.
In the years after World War II, due to the popularity of automobile and airplane travel, there was a steady decline in railroad travel. As railroad travel decreased, passenger services and track maintenance were cut back, causing delays, which resulted in unhappy customers. By 1960, many railroads had stopped passenger traffic altogether, and in 1967, the postal service stopped using the railroads.
Some improvements were made at Union Station to modernize and attempt to increase the station's appeal, but in hindsight, they weren't the wisest of choices: mahogany benches were replaced with multi-colored plastic chairs (well, it was the 60's); a semi-circular mahogany and brass ticket counter was changed out for an aluminum and glass rectangle; a bank of modular glass-fronted retail kiosks were added; and lockers cluttered the formerly grand entry halls.
By the time Amtrak took over the U.S. passenger rail system in 1971, the number of trains passing through Union Station had dropped to just six a day. Contrast that with the peak in 1917, when there were 271 trains per day. In December 1985, the last ticket was sold, and the station was closed. The last retail shop (which had a separate entrance) moved out in 1987, and the building was empty.
Placards described Union Station's state of deterioration and its miraculous turn around:
In 1996, after being closed and boarded up for 11 years, most of the station looked like a building best condemned. The roof had leaked like a sieve for decades, and huge chunks of ceiling plaster were known to break off and fall ten stories into stagnant puddles on the cracked and pitted marble floors below. Fixtures were tarnished and rusted; stone walls were covered in soot; and grime and windows were boarded over. The sidewalks in front of the station had begun giving way as early as the 1970's, and weeds poked up through the crumbling concrete all around.
After decades of deterioration, public debate, and many close calls, the citizens of four counties across two state lines came together in an unprecedented act of civic cooperation. In order to save Union Station, a bi-state tax was voted on for four counties in Missouri and Kansas to pay $118,000,000 toward the $260,000,000 restoration. Generosity from private donors, foundations, and corporations, along with federal funding, Missouri tax credits, and purchases of commemorative bricks (installed along the front entry sidewalk) provided the rest. The renovations began in 1997 and were completed about two years later.
In the hallways upstairs, there were a lot of old photos and artifacts from the station's heyday and of its decline. Also, from upstairs one can take in grand views like this one above.
Overlooking the Missouri River from the Town of Kansas Observation Deck
The train you see on the bridge has stopped, and we made assumptions that it was waiting for another train to clear a track that ran parallel to the river. (We had just seen two trains on that parallel track, headed towards the bridge.)
The Town of Kansas Bridge crosses the railroad tracks and goes out to the Town of Kansas Observation Deck that overlooks the Missouri River (the view above).
The Town of "Kansas", so named after the nearby Kansa Indian Tribe, was formed in 1838. In 1853 it became the "City of Kansas", and finally in 1889 "Kansas City".
One of the coolest things we did in Kansas City, (or for that matter, one of the coolest things period) was to visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum. We'd never even heard of it until friends of ours in Columbia MO told us about it.
The Arabia was a steamboat that had departed St. Louis, Missouri in August 1856, and by way of the Missouri River, was bound for the frontier town of Omaha City, Nebraska. She was carrying 200 tons of cargo and 130 passengers, many of whom were women and children journeying to meet their husbands and fathers who had gone ahead to establish towns along the river.
The Arabia
On September 5, 1856, one hour north of Kansas City, Missouri, the Arabia hit a tree "snag" in the river and sank. All 130 passengers survived, but one mule and all 220 tons of cargo went down with the boat.
Not long after the Missouri River claimed the Arabia, the river changed course and the Arabia was buried underground. There were attempts in 1877 and 1897 to recover the goods from the Arabia, largely because it was believed to have held a large amount of Kentucky bourbon. The 1877 crew found only felt hats and then abandoned the project. The 1897 crew found boots and lumber, but no whiskey, and so they also gave up the attempt.
The ship, with cargo that had been destined for 16 towns on the frontier, was now buried 45' under a cornfield. 132 years after sinking, the Arabia was discovered in 1988 by River Salvage, Inc., a group of self-proclaimed "treasure hunters". Three of the five treasure hunters were Bob, David, and Greg Hawley, a father and two sons who owned an HVAC repair business. Jerry Mackey, who owned some Hi-Boy restaurants in the area, partnered with the Hawleys. The fifth partner to join was David Luttrell, who owned a construction business and the excavation equipment!
Front: Bob Hawley and David Hawley
Back: Jerry Mackey, Greg Hawley, and David Luttrell
(Disclaimer: I'm actually not entirely sure which of Bob Hawley's sons is which in this photo)
Without a dime of foundation money or government grants these five men and their families unearthed the boat and opened an amazing museum.
When you enter the museum, there are a few short videos telling the tale of the sinking and recovery of the Arabia. The five guys above, with the permission of the land owner, began digging in November 1988 and continued for four and a half months. Although their original goal was to sell their discoveries, the historical importance of the finding quickly became apparent, and they started to plan a museum. The Arabia Steamboat Museum opened in November 1991.
They claim to have recovered the largest single collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world. As you'll see in a moment, the collection is vast and varied. The Arabia collection has been assessed at $12 million. If the items were to be sold individually, the total dollar amount would undoubtably be quite a bit higher.
After the videos, we proceeded into the heart of the museum to see the artifacts that had been recovered from the Arabia. This older gentleman was standing inside, and at first we thought he might just be another visitor like us; but then he welcomed us, and introduced himself . . . as Jerry Mackey, one of the excavators. We got a tour of the artifacts by Jerry, and we were delighted!! Listening to Jerry felt as if we were traveling back in time with him. Living history! We were fascinated! (At the start, we had Jerry all to ourselves, and then a handful of other visitors showed up, and we had to share him.) Jerry spent about 45 minutes with us.
Jerry said he shows up at the museum about once a week. We just happened to pick the right day. What luck!
The photo above shows just a small fraction of the recovered goods. The museum's collection consists of hundreds of thousands of items intended for daily life on the frontier, including more than 4,000 boots and shoes, 247 hats, 235 ax heads, 29 jars of pickles (still edible!), 328 pocket knives, and more. Most of the items were brand new merchandise headed to general stores out on the frontier. Because of a lack of light and oxygen underground, the bulk of the goods were remarkably well preserved. The Wall Street Journal called it "an Aladdin's cave of objects from the year 1856".
Regarding those pickles: they know they there were edible because Jerry ate them! In fact, having been in the food industry, Jerry sampled most of the food items they found. He drew the line at the ketchup however, as he said the color of it was black. There was some discussion about that being the color of ketchup of the 1800's, but Jerry wasn't taking chances (on that one anyway).
The excavation site
Later in our exploration of the museum, we were greeted by Matt Hawley, one of Bob Hawley's grandsons. Matt was four years old at the time of the excavation. He remembers being told by his mother that he could go out and get as muddy as he liked at the dig site as long as he stayed out of the crew's way. He said he and his friends had fun all day sliding down the muddy hill.
and then at the photo below, where the recovered hull has come to rest in the museum.
This is the snag that sank The Great White Arabia (so nicknamed because she was painted white).
Below are some photos of the recovered cargo:
Hardware of all varieties
Articles of clothing and an incredible quantity of calico buttons!
Medicines of the day
Fine china, some headed for market, and some belonging to the passengers
Gun powder flasks, among other things, displayed behind "new" glass window panes that were destined for market.
I asked Jerry how long it took for them to do all this work, and his reply was that they're still working on it! The museum is a work in progress, as more artifacts are cleaned and added to the displays.
As we watched, a preservationist worked to restore a coat from the Arabia.
but clearly, the team is passionate about it!
Matt Hawley told us the team is already working on their next digging adventure: the Malta, a steamboat that sank in 1841 near Malta Bend, Missouri. It too lies beneath a cornfield, 1,000 feet from the Missouri River, due to the river's changing boundaries.
Some 400 steamboats sank in the Missouri River between 1819 and 1895. Apparently there's no shortage of adventure out there, for those with the time, funds, and passion for buried treasure!
The National World War I Museum and Memorial
Before visiting the museum, we went up in Liberty Memorial Tower to get a good look at Kansas City. Just two weeks after the armistice in 1918, Kansas City leaders met to discuss the need for a lasting monument to honor the men and women who served and died in World War I. An incredible community fundraising effort raised $2.5 million in just ten days! The monument was completed and dedicated in 1926. It stands 268' high and 36' in diameter. Underneath the tower is the museum, which was designated by Congress in 2004 as America's official museum of World War I.
Looking north from the tower, Union Station in the foreground
Looking south from the tower
Before entering the Main Gallery, visitors cross a glass bridge suspended over a symbolic Western Front poppy field. 9,000 poppies, each representing 1,000 deaths offer a poignant reminder of the nine million who perished as a result of World War I.
The most famous poem to emerge from WWI was John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields (1915). Apparently it was memorized by countless schoolchildren in Great Britain, Canada and the United States since then.
After the war, handmade poppies were sold to raise money for disabled veterans.
"No Man's Land" in the foreground of a short video
I've always found this discrepancy perplexing: either raise the draft age to 21 or lower the drinking age to 18 (or pick an age in between). You're either an adult or you're not. At least the voting age has been changed to match the draft age of 18 (in 1971). Thank goodness, because that one really didn't make sense.
A French tank
We thought the museum was very well done, and one could spend a lot more time there than we did. That said, we were there 2-3 hours.
Something that was interesting was that a class of Army privates, dressed in fatigues, were also visiting the museum that day along with an Army Sargent. (Actually I have no idea about his rank, but his voice was that of a commanding Sargent. Let's just say he doesn't know about using his "indoor voice".) Anyway, we found it encouraging to know that the Army deems it worthwhile to send their privates to learn about World War I.
The Truman Home
Independence, MO, about ten miles east of Kansas City, was former President Harry S. Truman's hometown. Harry was born in Lamar, Missouri but the family moved to Independence when he was six years old.
Born in Independence, Bess Wallace and her family moved into her grandparents' home, (the home above) when Bess was 19.
Harry and Bess had attended school together and graduated from Independence High School in 1901. The story goes that Harry always had a crush on Bess, but it wasn't until much later before anything came of it. When Harry was 26 and visiting his aunt and uncle (who lived kitty corner from the Wallace home), he volunteered to return a cake plate to Bess' mother. Bess answered the door, and thus began their courtship.
Harry and Bess Truman lived in this home for over 50 years. We toured the home, and it is preserved exactly as it was when Harry and Bess lived there. Unfortunately, they didn't permit photos to be taken inside the house.
Less than a mile from the Truman Home is the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.
President Truman's office
He used it daily from 1957-66, (after his Presidency), and it is preserved just how it was on the day he walked out of it.
The museum was quite comprehensive covering Truman's entire life, with much attention paid to his Presidency and, in particular, the war years.
Truman got quite a kick out of this incorrect headline about the 1948 presidential election results.
President Truman had a no-nonsense approach to decision making. The sign, "The Buck Stops Here", on his desk reflected his belief that he was ultimately responsible for the actions of his administration.
Obviously, the city of Independence is wild about Harry!
A giant bookshelf!
When the Kansas City Public Library's parking garage was built in 2004, they wanted to put something decorative on the face of it, and this is what they chose. Pretty appropriate choice, eh? There are 22 titles, and it covers an entire city block, with each book standing 25' high and 9' wide. After a giant bookshelf was chosen as the design, the decision of what books to fill it with, still remained. Being a public library, the public was then asked to submit their favorite book titles. The Kansas City Public Library Board of Trustees made the final selections from the list of submissions. I love it!
I was asked to stand here to give you some perspective.
