Long ago on independence square (Kansas City, Warrensburg: casino, salary, warehouse)

[MRG Dallas]

So that would be the industrial site immediately west of Bingham-Waggoner?


Edit: OK, now I see on Streetview an old light-colored building with "Gleaner Combines" partially whitewashed, adjacent to the RR tracks.

[WCHS'59]

It was still Eden but with metropolitan additions, and the flood poured through it. All conditions of mankind were there, in all costumes: Shawnee and Kansa from the Territory and wanderers of other tribes, blanketed, painted, wearing their Presidential medals; Mexicans in bells, slashed pantaloons, and primary colors, speaking a strange tongue and smoking shuck-rolled cigarettes; mountain men in buckskins preparing for the summer trade or offering their services to the emigrant trains; the case-hardened bull whackers of the Santa Fe Trail in boots and bowie knives, coming in after wintering at the other end or preparing to go out; river men and roustabouts, Negro stevedores, soldiers from Fort Leavenworth, a miscellany of transients whose only motive was to see the elephant wherever the elephant might be. Freight poured in from the steamboat landings, the great wagons careened through the streets, day by day the hordes of movers came in from the east, the lowing of herds pullulated over the town, the smithies and wagon shops rang with iron, whooping riders galloped their ponies through the mud, the groggeries were one long aria, and out from town the little clusters of tents grew and grew.

Bernard Devoto, The Year of Decision, 1846.

Commenting on the town of Independence, Missouri.

[WCHS'59]

The current railroad passenger depot on the Union Pacific Railroad running through Independence is at 600 South Grand, almost 1.25 miles southwest of the square. (The old Chicago and Alton passenger depot was another seven-tenths of a mile southwest of this depot)

Prior to 1913, Missouri Pacific passengers arrived and departed at the Liberty Street depot at Liberty and Short streets, two-tenths of a mile directly south of the square. That depot was built during the Civil War.

When a new site for a Missouri Pacific depot was being considered in the early 1900s, a suggestion was made for the depot to be on Lexington Street at the bridge where that street crosses the tracks. This would be across from where the now closed Natatorium was located in 1922. The waiting room would be on the same level as Lexington Street and the arrivals and departures would be on the lower level along the railroad tracks.

The south Grand site selected for the 1913 depot is only two-tenths of a mile away from that bridge.

The reasoning behind locating a depot on Lexington Street or in the general area of this bridge was that Lexington was becoming a major site for business activity extending from the square to and past this bridge.

At one time, Independence had fourteen passenger trains coming through on a daily basis.


Today, Amtrak has two trains on a daily basis, one in each direction. The train is called the Missouri River Runner. The stop in Independence is only a flag stop. One cannot even buy at ticket at the old depot. The depot is not even owned by Amtrak or the Union Pacific. It is the property of the city of Independence.

According to the Amtrak web site for the Independence depot there is an enclosed waiting area, but no restrooms, no ATM, no ticket office, no lounge, no elevator, no pay phone, no wifi, no checked baggage, no baggage storage, no baggage carts, and no baggage assistance.

However, if one wants to ride the train in a coach seat from Independence to Kansas City the cost is $7.54 and takes a scheduled 34 minutes. This compares to fourteen cents when I rode the Missouri Pacific streamliner from the same depot to Union Station in 1950.

If one wants to ride by coach from Independence to Oakland, California, the cost is $351.

[WCHS'59]

Santa Fe traders and those desirous of crossing the plains to New Mexico, are informed that the undersigned will carry the United States Mail from Independence to Santa Fe for four years, commencing on the first day of July, 1857, in stages drawn by six mules.

The stages will leave Independence and Santa Fe on the first and fifteenth of each month. They will be entirely new and comfortable for passengers, well guarded and running through each way, in from twenty to twenty-five days. Travelers to and from New Mexico will doubtless find this the safest and most expeditious and comfortable, as well as the cheapest mode of crossing the plains.

Fare through: From November 1st to May 1st, $150.00; from May 1st to November 1st, $125.00

Provisions, arms and ammunition furnished by the proprietors.

Packages and extra baggage will be transported when possible to do so, at the rate of twenty-five cents per pound in summer and fifty cents in winter, but no package will be charged less than one dollar.

The proprietors will not be responsible for any package worth more than fifty dollars, unless contents given and specifically contracted for, and all baggage at all times at the risk of the owner thereof.

In all cases the passage money must be paid in advance, and passengers must stipulate to conform to the rules which may be established by the undersigned, for the government of their line of stages, and those travelling with them on the plains.

No passenger allowed more than forty pounds of baggage in addition to the necessary bedding.

Mr. Levi Speidleburg at Santa Fe, and J. & W. R. Bernard & Company at Westport, Missouri, and our conductor and agents are authorized to engage passengers and receipt for passage money.

July 18, 1857 Hockaday & Hall

From: Kansas City, Missouri: its history and its people, 1808-1908, Volume I

[WCHS'59]

KANSAS CITY ANNEXES INDEPENDENCE.

It could have happened and apparently had a head of steam to do so.

Civic and governmental leaders in both cities met to discuss the options and how best to go about the process. Included was the preparation in both cities for an annexation vote to obtain a “yes” or a “no.”

It is not known as to which city came up with the idea but Independence had 10,000 citizens, many of whom were for the vote and many of whom were against the whole idea.

The year was 1906.

Apparently, a new mayor, James Allen Prewitt, put a stop to the nonsense.

[WCHS'59]

I see where Galen Boyer "Pontiac/Cadillac" has been sold.

I don't know who owned the dealership at sale but Galen Boyer Jr was in my William Chrisman High School class of 1959.

[pearjas]

WCHS mentioned Polly's Pop a while back in this thread, and that reminded me that on the square right now, there is a "coming soon" sign that says it's Polly's. There is also a Mexican restaurant coming soon right by it. The Community Service League has been located at 300 West Maple Avenue for quite some time, but shut down and moved (I believe it moved to Noland Road, unless the Noland Road location was already there). 300 West Maple is where the Mexican Restaurant sign is, and near 308 is where the Polly's sign is posted.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by pearjas

WCHS mentioned Polly's Pop a while back in this thread, and that reminded me that on the square right now, there is a "coming soon" sign that says it's Polly's. There is also a Mexican restaurant coming soon right by it. The Community Service League has been located at 300 West Maple Avenue for quite some time, but shut down and moved (I believe it moved to Noland Road, unless the Noland Road location was already there). 300 West Maple is where the Mexican Restaurant sign is, and near 308 is where the Polly's sign is posted.

Thank you pearjas. This is quite interesting. Guess we will have to wait and see what this is all about.

The location of this "coming soon" is on west Maple Street across from the now gone grand old Post Office building. Going into the door way shown to the left of the "coming soon" sign and then into the lower level was what might have been the last family eating place on the square in the "good old days" before most everything went out.

This was the location of the Tom Sawyer restaurant.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Someone previously mentioned their favorite soda pop and who could talk about old Independence without Polly’s Pop being a subject?

The Polly’s Pop plant was six blocks directly west of the square. Polly Compton purchased the bottling facility on River Boulevard starting in 1923, but the building had been producing soda beverages since 1905. With Polly’s ownership, the company logo was a large parrot on a bird cage swing holding a bottle of Polly’s Pop. The plant was in an area where a spring provided free water for the beverage.

It was the best soda pop in the world as far as I was concerned. Nehi did not compare. Black Cherry was my favorite. They also produced a cola flavor but I did not think it compared to Coca Cola. Other flavors were cherry, grape, orange, strawberry, root beer, two colors of cream, lemon, and others. I cannot help believe that the fruit flavoring was from real fruit rather than from artificial stock.

Polly’s pop came in six ounce and twelve ounce bottle sizes. I want to say that the six ounce bottle sizes were five cents and the 12 ounce bottles were ten cents—from the cooler plus two cent deposit for the bottle. I cannot recall what the six pack take home size cost—but probably 29 cents for the six ounce size plus fifteen cents deposit.

Pepsi Cola in twelve ounce bottles was only five cents. So Polly’s competed not only against Coca Cola but also against a cheaper Pepsi. Pepsi’s radio jingle pushed its value compared to other sodas: "Pepsi-Cola hits the spot / Twelve full ounces, that's a lot / Twice as much for a nickel, too / Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you" Pepsi even beat Coca Cola in price, which sold six ounces for five cents.

Polly was also the local distributor for Goetz beer, the St Joseph and Kansas City brewers of Country Club beer. Polly’s went out of business in 1967 having never been able to switch to cans. The bottling plant was subsequently torn down and the area became open space in 1980. The area is now the site of Polly’s Pop Park, a two-acre city facility.

One of my jobs at the C&J United Super Market was to sort returned bottles in a flimsy shed attached to the back of the store building. Deposit and return of bottles was a huge effort in the fifties. Polly’s pop branded bottles reportedly cost Polly ten cents to acquire but the deposit was only two cents (three cents for the cardboard six bottle carrier) and people were slow to return the bottles.

Polly’s sold more soda in our store than Coca Cola or Pepsi Cola and the bottle returns took up the largest space over the national brands. Coca Cola was available only in six ounce bottles and did not sell as well in our store but was more popular in the area overall because of fountain sales.

During the summer, one of the problems with Polly’s returned bottles was that mice, attracted by the dried flavoring in the bottom of the returned bottles, would manage to climb up to the top of the bottle and then slide inside trying to get at the sweet stuff. The mouse could not get out and would expire. By the time the Polly’s Pop truck made its once per week trip to the store, the bottle would be smelling really bad. This was not an epidemic but was frequent. Additionally, customers would drop their cigarette stubs into the empty bottles. How, the bottler handled these problems I do not know.

As I am writing this, one may buy an empty Polly’s Pop bottle on EBay for $29.99 on up to $59.99 each. A full bottle is probably worth much more.

A Polly’s Pop ten by thirteen inch metal sign is offered on EBay for $129.99.

Here is a refresher for anyone wondering about Polly's Pop.

[MRG Dallas]

We bought almost all of our cars at Galen Boyer, believe it or not I still have one of them, a "classic car"

Polly's was right around the corner from my grandparents' place, and on my way to and fro their house/The Square and 24 Hiway SC. Polly's had a screened back door that fronted River Rd. and was often open with no one there. Cases of pop were stacked nearby, quite the temptation for mischief. I know at least once we went back there but hopefully didn't take anything :-)

It was good, sugary pop in wildly different flavors. No doubt I have some fillings to show for it. Polly's revenge I guess for trespassing.