Long ago on independence square (Kansas City, Jackson: coop, resale, recommend)

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

You confused me with the "effective January 2015" portion, which I now realize should have been 1915. Based on that change I'll vote for "Dry", aka, alcohol free.

"Dry" is correct.

I recall in junior high or high school a teacher saying that at one time there were saloons everywhere on all four sides of the square.

About fifty citizens living in Independence spearheaded the vote initiative in 1914; however, the manager of the pro side of the initiative was a citizen of Lee’s Summit. He opened an office on Main Street in Independence specifically to rally the populace to vote for it.

Leading up to the first failed vote in 1888, the local newspaper strenuously supported the effort. The newspaper editor received a relayed threat that if he did not let up promoting the idea, his office would be torn down brick by brick and scattered everywhere.

The eighteenth amendment took affect in 1920 and was repealed in 1933. Apparently the citizens of Independence had had enough of being dry by that time.

[Major Tom 58]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

"Dry" is correct.

I recall in junior high or high school a teacher saying that at one time there were saloons everywhere on all four sides of the square.

About fifty citizens living in Independence spearheaded the vote initiative in 1914; however, the manager of the pro side of the initiative was a citizen of Lee’s Summit. He opened an office on Main Street in Independence specifically to rally the populace to vote for it.

Leading up to the first failed vote in 1888, the local newspaper strenuously supported the effort. The newspaper editor received a relayed threat that if he did not let up promoting the idea, his office would be torn down brick by brick and scattered everywhere.

The eighteenth amendment took affect in 1920 and was repealed in 1933. Apparently the citizens of Independence had had enough of being dry by that time.

I knew the answer I just wanted to let someone else answer.......... Right!

[WCHS'59]

Woodcraft Equipment manufactured York archery for several years at 1450 West Lexington (this portion at one time called Electric Street).





What type of business occupied the building before Woodcraft took it over?

[WCHS'59]

A 2012 Charleston, SC, obituary for the founder of Woodcraft, Ovar Swensen, 1909-2012, WCHS ’29, says the Woodcraft company was began at a young age by Swensen and his brother as a company manufacturing “fire by friction” sets to the Boy Scouts, gravitated to archery and hockey sticks, and is now a nationwide company selling equipment and tools for woodworking.


One source says the company was founded in 1924. According to the obit, the boys were orphaned by this time and living in a boarding house.



Also, according to the obit, he gave up the business when he graduated from William Jewell in 1933 and became a medical doctor.


Anyone know about Woodcraft today?

[WCHS'59]

What building did the American Legion occupy during WWII?



After the war the Legion purchased the place for $100, and then proceeded to attempt to upgrade before giving up hope and relocating to a new home in old telephone building in the three hundred block of west Maple Street.

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Woodcraft Equipment manufactured York archery for several years at 1450 West Lexington (this portion at one time called Electric Street).





What type of business occupied the building before Woodcraft took it over?

This is how the business looked in the early 1970s, during a fire.

[Major Tom 58]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Woodcraft Equipment manufactured York archery for several years at 1450 West Lexington (this portion at one time called Electric Street).





What type of business occupied the building before Woodcraft took it over?

According to my Independence book, it was a canning factory. But it didn't say what was canned.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Major Tom 58

According to my Independence book, it was a canning factory. But it didn't say what was canned.

A cannery is the information i have.

Fruits and vegetables is the only information I have.

It may have been run by something called the Community Welfare League.

[WCHS'59]

Besides Frank James, what other equally famous outlaw was held in the 1859 Jail on north Main?

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

A cannery is the information i have.

Fruits and vegetables is the only information I have.

It may have been run by something called the Community Welfare League.

And now, the rest of the story...


In 1916, a women’s Bible study group in Independence, which happened to include future First Lady of the United States Bess Wallace Truman, was inspired by the verse, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Like so many founders of not-for-profit organizations across the country, they saw a need and stepped up to fill it.
The Community Welfare League was first housed in a log cabin near Independence Square that had earlier been the first courthouse in Jackson County in 1827. Then, as now, the agency depended on volunteers and the community for support, working closely with the City of Independence, the Junior Services League, faith-based organizations and the United Way to promote self-sufficiency and provide resources to those in need.

It’s not much different today. To help people keep warm, the agency used to provide coal. Today, it provides utility assistance. To protect children, it used to place children in foster homes and adoptions. Today, it helps parents feed, clothe and provide their children with school supplies and other necessities. It used to help people help themselves by finding work for them on farms and in factories. Today, it shows them how to write résumés, research job openings, prepare for interviews and be successful with jobs in hospitality, health care and other industries.

Community Welfare League weathered tough times during the Great Depression. The Federal government saved the agency from shutting down by making it in charge of a cannery, sewing center, daycare center and even a “cow hotel,” where animals that survived the Dust Bowl awaited new homes on farms.

By 1963, the agency operated eight offices in Eastern Jackson County and in 1976 changed its name to Community Services League to reflect its mission focus on self-sufficiency.


The organization still exists, with HQ at 404 N. Noland.