Jackson County (Mo.)
Historical Society
Portals to the Past by David W. Jackson
Generosity was this man's hallmark Secrets of a KC Legacy Lives on
through Rose Colored Glasses
This is another true, unique Kansas City story with a
lesson for each of us. It’s about how one humble citizen gave back to his
community during his lifetime, and how 60 years after his death, Kansas
Citians continue to benefit from his selfless generosity. Relocating with his extended family from Chicago to Kansas
City, he expanded his home furnishings and window shade business to include
offices in a dozen cities. In 1890, he purchased a new three-story, 12-room brick and
shingle “Kansas City Shirtwaist” house at 3717 Bell Street. His 2-acre wooded
lot was where his mother raised a vegetable garden, kept a cow and chickens,
and his father grew flowers and a variety of roses, for which the estate
eventually was named, “Roselawn.” Then, in
1911, the 52-year-old bachelor got married, bequeathed $1 million to his
bride, and set out over then next 36 years to give (that is, invest) more
than $10 million in local philanthropic causes. Though revered by the time he
died on November 4, 1947, he preferred anonymity. In fact, he gave away an
estimated one-third of his wealth, much of it secretly, for which the Kansas City Star dubbed him, “Mr.
Anonymous of Bell Street.” This German
native gave generously to an endless number of charities, including: the
Helping Hand Institute (today the Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries, which
recently preserved its early photographs in the Jackson County Historical
Society’s archives); the old German Hospital (today Research Hospital); and,
to the University of Kansas City, including hundreds of thousands of dollars
for residences, buildings and property known today as the Volker Campus of
UMKC. There was
assistance for the Jefferson Home for Women and Children; the Florence Home
for Negro Girls; the Andrew Drumm Institute for Boys; Children’s Mercy
Hospital; and, Wheatley Provident Hospital (the only private hospital in
Kansas City for African-Americans). He started
a retirement fund for schoolteachers, established a profit-sharing plan for
his employees, purchased animals for the Kansas City Zoo, and gave not only
to his own church, but to others. His
countless gifts to individuals were wide-ranging, and generally helped people
help themselves through employment or educational pursuits. His biographer,
Herbert C. Cornuelle, described an endless stream of people, in good times
and bad, approaching him in his office for a dime or a dollar, which he freely gave. Beyond the
financial assistance he broadcast, his example of modest, gracious living is
worth emulating. This unassuming Kansas City couple lived in the same home in
which they had started housekeeping. And, their beloved estate is still
intact today, much as their family left it. Take a drive after shopping and
dining along the 39th Street corridor some day, and enjoy the
peaceful Kansas City neighborhood anchored by Roselawn. Hopefully,
the home, outbuildings, gardens, and champion trees that comprise
Roselawn--an Historic Kansas City Landmark--may remain in tact for future
Kansas Citians to appreciate . . .and to be reminded of the power of one
individual to make the world a better place. Such is the legacy of Mr.
William Volker. David W. Jackson is archivist for the nonprofit,
membership supported Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society's Archives and
Research Library at 112 W Lexington Ave, Suite 103, Independence, MO
64050. The Society collects and makes available local history documents and
photographs. For more information, or to donate historical materials, visit
www.jchs.org, call (816) 252-7454, or e-mail info@jchs.org. |
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