Historians to discuss Hare & Hare landscape firm

/
Historians to discuss Hare & Hare landscape firm

The State Historical Society’s Center for Missouri Studies at Kansas City will host a program Sept. 14th exploring the history and significance of the nationally renowned Hare and Hare landscape architecture firm.

The program will be at 6:30 pm at the American Institute of Architects - Kansas City, 1801 McGee St., Suite 100. There is a reception at 5:30 pm. Registration is appreciated but not required.

The program will feature a conversation between landscape historian Carol Grove and architectural historian and preservation consultant Cydney Millstein. Joan Stack, SHSMO’s curator of art collections, will moderate.

The father-and-son team of Sidney J. Hare (1860-1938) and S. Herbert Hare (1888-1960) founded the Kansas City-based architectural landscape firm of Hare and Hare in 1910. Sidney Hare worked as an assistant to George Kessler, one of the pioneers of landscape architecture and urban planning, when Kessler was designing Kansas City’s parks and boulevard system.

Read More

Cattle, Cowboys, and Culture: Kansas City and Amarillo, Building an Urban West

/
Cattle, Cowboys, and Culture: Kansas City and Amarillo, Building an Urban West

The Kansas City Public Library is excited to host the upcoming exhibit Cattle, Cowboys, and Culture: Kansas City and Amarillo, Building an American West.

The exhibit is created by the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum and West Texas A & M University.

Contact the Kansas City Library for more details about the exhibit and a special preview on Sept. 22nd.

The exhibit’s co-curators, Amy Von Lintel and Michael R. Grauer, are native Kansas Citians who now are historians in the Amarillo area. The exhibit runs from Sept. 23 to March 18, 2018.

Read More

New history of Children's Mercy Hospital published

/
New history of Children's Mercy Hospital published

A new history of Children's Mercy Hospital is a detailed rich, photograph-filled account of the first 120 years of the Kansas City children's hospital.

The new book For All Children Everywhere takes a comprehensive approach to the history of the hospital founded by two sisters Alice Berry Graham (a dentist) and Katharine Berry Richardson (a surgeon) in 1897.

"It's time someone took a greater interest in helping children like this," Alice told her sister upon encountering a crippled girl in the Kansas City streets. "And Katherine, I think you and I are the ones to do it."

The two established “The Hospital of the Little People” which eventually became Children’s Mercy.

Read More

Take a Kansas City Black History Tour

/

There is a wonderful opportunity to learn about Kansas City's famous 18th and Vine jazz district and learn about African-American history during special private tours the evening of Sat., Aug. 4th.

Crossroads at the Vine: A Black History Tour will include a bus tour through 18th and Vine and include a private tour of the Mutual Musicians Foundation - a landmark of jazz history - where drinks will be served.

Tours leave from Union Station at 5 pm, 5:30 pm and 6 pm. Tickets are $30 and can be booked online.

Read More

German Immigration Book Presentation

/

Presentation on The Long Way Home: A Better Life, a novel by Connie Shrout Roman

Where: 1859 Jail, Marshal's Home, and Museum- 217 N. Main St. Independence, MO 64050

When: August 3rd, 2017 7-8:30PM

Join JCHS and author Connie Shrout Roman for an evening learning about German migration to Jackson County in the 19th century. There will be a presentation on the novel The Long Way Home: A Better Life by Connie Shrout Roman, who has done extensive research in the JCHS archives. Visitors will also have the opportunity to view the temporary exhibit currently on display at the 1859 Jail, 'German Migration to Missouri in the 19th Century'. This event is free, but please RSVP via the Eventbrite Link provided.

RSVP HERE

1859 Old Jail becomes Blue Star Museum

/
1859 Old Jail becomes Blue Star Museum

The historic 1859 Old Jail and Museum on the Independence Square is now a Blue Star Museum - a program that provides free admission to active members of the military between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The national program provides families an opportunity to enjoy the nation's cultural heritage and learn more about their community.

Over 2,000 museums nationwide participate.

 

Read More

New book shares WWI letters home to mother

/
New book shares WWI letters home to mother

Well-known writer and local historian Pat O'Neill has a new book out sharing wonderful letters from WWI soldier Sgt. George Wiegert home to his mother.

The book "Dearest Mother: Letters from a Lonesome Sammy 1915-1919" shares some of the 223 letters the young man wrote home to his mother from the front lines in Europe.

The young man, who grew up in rural Nebraska before moving to Lincoln, shares the dreams and fears of an intrepid youth who volunteered to be a "Sammy" - an American soldier who participated in the war to end all wars.

Read More

German exhibit opens in April

/
German exhibit opens in April

Join the Jackson County Historical Society for a new exhibit featured at the 1859 Jail, Marshal's Home and Museum. Coming to Missouri: German Migration in the 19th Century explores the massive influx of German immigrants that came to Missouri.

There is a special open house for the exhibit on Thurs., April 27th at the 1859 Old Jail on the Independence Square. The opening is free.

Read More

Ginger Rogers' Independence birthplace to open as house museum

/
Ginger Rogers' Independence birthplace to open as house museum

The birthplace of Ginger Rogers at 100 W Moore Street in Independence, Missouri is being renovated and will open as a small museum open to the public this summer.

Rogers was born in a tiny room in the 1906 Craftsman Bungalow on July 16, 1911. Her mother, Lela, worked as a secretary nearby, and later was a Hollywood script writer and Rogers’ manager.

The Ginger House will be open to the public during a July 15-16, 2017 grand opening. The weekend will include a “Ginger Festival” with a dinner, silent auction, presentations, and tours of the home.

Read More

JCHS Announces Annual Award Winners

/
JCHS Announces Annual Award Winners

The Jackson County Historical Society will recognizes three distinguished history-related efforts with awards during its Jan. 19th annual meeting and dinner.

The award winners are Wide Awake Films, FamilySearch and a book about Kansas City collectibles.

Two JCHS volunteers - John Campbell (Archives and Research Library) and April Milam (1859 Jail Museum) - will also be recognized for this efforts.

Read More

A Journalist's Index of Local History available online

/
A Journalist's Index of Local History available online

Sue Gentry, a long-time Independence journalist and Jackson County Historical Society leader, kept a handwritten index of events, dates and individuals which she found of interest.

The paper index helped her write extensively about local history and answers questions about the community's early development.

JCHS has digitized the personal index and made it available online as a historic resource.

Read More