Long ago on independence square (Kansas City, Liberty: efficiency, volunteer, hotel)

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by Major Tom 58

Might be to early for a "clue" but is that a body of water in the background or a rock wall? Having optical illusions.

Yes it is!



































A rock wall, that is!

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Did Joseph have anything to do with this area?

Not that I'm aware of.

[Major Tom 58]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Welcome back Doc!

Today's visual trivia is from 1985. Please tell me where I was standing when I took this photo.

Ok, up to bat, 1st swing, would this be in the parking lot of Independence Center looking towards then undeveloped 39th street?

[WCHS'59]

What is this man’s name and what is his significance in the history of Independence?
(Although be forewarned there is a discrepancy in what local history says and what his family history says, although there is a discrepancy there, also)


“You could not help being happy in his presence.”

“Everybody loved (our man)”

Born in Independence, the son of Mary and Abner.

Died in 1905 in Kansas City at his daughter’s home.

The governor of Kentucky was a relative.

Buried in Englewood, but not ours.

Fought in the Mexican-American War.

Went to California in 1949, where he stayed two years, and then returned to Independence by way of Panama. He married Margaret and they had seven children over the years.

In 1855, he moved his family to Texas, where he served as a member of the Texas Rangers.

Served in the Confederate Army for two years after enlisting in Texas.

He was said to have endured many hardships in his life but was able to purchase 1600 acres in another county twenty years before he died.

He was locally recognized in 1950.

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Welcome back Doc!

Today's visual trivia is from 1985. Please tell me where I was standing when I took this photo.

Originally Posted by Major Tom 58

Ok, up to bat, 1st swing, would this be in the parking lot of Independence Center looking towards then undeveloped 39th street?

The original view...




...and pivoting slightly to the left...




both shots taken from the NE corner of Macy's, by the employee entrance, in 1985.

[Major Tom 58]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

The original view...




...and pivoting slightly to the left...




both shots taken from the NE corner of Macy's, by the employee entrance, in 1985.

Always good to see photos like these as they help me remember what used to be. In this case farmland. It just bugs me when I can't "see" the befores in my mind anymore.

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

What is this man’s name and what is his significance in the history of Independence?
(Although be forewarned there is a discrepancy in what local history says and what his family history says, although there is a discrepancy there, also)


“You could not help being happy in his presence.”

“Everybody loved (our man)”

Born in Independence, the son of Mary and Abner.

Died in 1905 in Kansas City at his daughter’s home.

The governor of Kentucky was a relative.

Buried in Englewood, but not ours.

Fought in the Mexican-American War.

Went to California in 1949, where he stayed two years, and then returned to Independence by way of Panama. He married Margaret and they had seven children over the years.

In 1855, he moved his family to Texas, where he served as a member of the Texas Rangers.

Served in the Confederate Army for two years after enlisting in Texas.

He was said to have endured many hardships in his life but was able to purchase 1600 acres in another county twenty years before he died.

He was locally recognized in 1950.

His recognition was in the form of a naming. His namesake also has had its ups and downs, for several years it was avoided by respectable persons due to an influx of undesirable activity. That activity was eventually eradicated by multiple Police sting interventions (during my dispatch days). Today his namesake is very popular with families.

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Here is a later photo of the old hotel and the pocket watch on the pole in front of what is now the former Fuch's place. By this point in time the hotel has moved its entrance and lobby down on the Liberty side, although it looks like that entrance might have been there all along. I do not remember the porch over the Liberty entrance. The former Maple entrance to the hotel is now a music store. I best remember this store as B&G Hosiery. When that sock store went in they did a lot of "fancy" rework on the exterior adding a lot of glass. I dont know why the brick for the hotel is so light. I only remember a dark red brick. Times have really changed from when a person could make a living selling nothing but socks out of prime selling space.

If'n my feeble memory is functioning properly the last business to occupy the corner shop was Douglas Optical. Directly across Liberty in the old Bank of Independence building was King Optical. Most people were unaware that they were owned by the same corporation.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

If'n my feeble memory is functioning properly the last business to occupy the corner shop was Douglas Optical. Directly across Liberty in the old Bank of Independence building was King Optical. Most people were unaware that they were owned by the same corporation.

I can recall going into B&G Hosiery at that location to buy a pair of socks. They had quite a lot of women's hose on display and a smaller selection of men's calf high and other socks including argyles. Back then people wore socks until they fell apart. Holes in the toe and the heel were darned by the lady of the household (she did not work outside the home) and my mother and others had an egg shaped "tool" that would be put inside the sock to hold the material steady while being mended.

Women's thigh length nylon hose held up with garters or a clip from a foundation garment (girdles were in style), though, did not last so long and could not be repaired. This hose had a dark seam up the back of the legs and women were all the time trying to keep their seam straight or complaining that it would not stay straight. They were all the time complaining about snags and a pair of nylon hose did not seem to last for many wearings.

It was also a time when women pulled out their white shoes on Memorial Day for strictly summer wear and put them in storage for winter when Labor day arrived going back to their dark shoes. A woman would not be caught dead wearing white shoes at any other time than between those two holidays. Except for older women it was mostly high heels for public wear back then. I cannot remember what they wore for casual. The school girls wore mostly penny loafers

Men's shoes were worn until at least one re-sole. I can remember putting thin cardboard in the bottom of a shoe until I could afford a re-sole. A re-sole was much cheaper than a new pair of shoes. The cardboard would not last very long, though. There were a number of shoe repair shops on the north and south side of the square and at least one in the 200 block of w Lexington and maybe on e Lexington and s Main as well. They repaired umbrellas, also. I have not looked but I think one, today, would be hard pressed to find a shoe repair store in Independence, or elsewhere.

[Mad Anthonie]

Wow! A check of the local yellow pages shows one shoe repair shop in Independence, and one in Blue Springs.