INDEPENDENCE

The Country Inn at which I stayed was in Kansas City, Kansas. It is very close to the Kansas Speedway. This is the speedway on a foggy Thursday morning.

Speaking of speed, I encountered almost no traffic in Kansas City, even driving during morning or afternoon rush hour. I don't know if this was an anomaly or if I just never drove through the regular trouble spots, but it was nice.
East of Kansas City is a town called Independence, the home of Harry S. Truman. The courthouse has a statue of the former president out front.
If Marceline has a lot of Walt Disney in it, Independence is Truman territory. This used to be Clinton's Drugstore where Harry got his first job at three dollars a week.
Just off of the town square is this old building that holds the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site Visitor Center.
Ties. I don't know if he bought these or they were given to him. Note the red Kansas City Athletics tie.
Here's his house. He and Bess came back here after his term as president was over in 1953 and they lived here until their respective deaths.
His car is still in the garage.
It was purchased shortly before he died in 1972. The license plate number represents the day Germany signed the documents declaring their unconditional surrender in World War II, May 7, 1945.
Across the street from the Truman's home is the Noland Home. Nellie and Ethel Noland were Harry Truman's cousins.
Looking through the front window at the Truman place.
The Trumans used to sit on their porch room in the back of the house.
They don't allow photos inside the house (and with the park guide right there you can't really even sneak one) so I grabbed this one off the interwebs. This is the kitchen. It was kept the same as it was the day Bess Truman died in 1982.
See what I mean? Truman all over the place. The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is right up Delaware Street from the house.
There are some interesting homes along Delaware Street.
There are little plaques in the sidewalk in front of some of the houses. This was the home of Phog Allen, the legendary University of Kansas basketball coach.
And here's the library.


Presidential libraries tend to have replicas of the Oval Office. This is Truman's.
The famous "The Buck Stops Here" sign that was on his desk.
I'll bet you didn't know what was on the other side.
This is the bible that was used when Truman was sworn in as president after the death of FDR.
Truman kept a lot of stuff for display at his library. This is a fascinating bit of history. It is his authorization to use the atomic bomb on Japan.
The torah and blue velvet mantle on the left were presented to Truman by Chaim Weizmann, the first president of the State of Israel, in 1948 as a symbol of gratitude for American recognition and support. The menorah on the right was given to him by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion during his first official visit to the U.S. in 1951.
Truman made some last minute handwritten changes to the American statement recognizing the new state of Israel. It says:

"This Government has been informed that a Jewish state has been proclaimed in Palestine, and recognition has been requested by the provisional Government thereof. The United States recognize the provisional government as the de facto authority of the new State of Israel."
It was following the end of World War II that the Cold War began and a lot of anti-communist feeling let to the Red Scare.
Got problem with commies preaching the overthrow of the government? Let Joe Palooka handle things. He'll run those commie bastards out of town!
There is always sadness when a soldier dies in combat. The letter that accompanied the return of this Purple Heart to Truman by an angry grieving father is pretty rough:

                                                         Nursery Rd
                                                         New Canaan
                                                                 Conn.

Mr. Truman

   As you have been directly responsible for the loss of our son's life in Korea, you might just as well keep this emblem on display in your trophy room, as a memory of one of your historic deeds.
   Our major regret at this time is that your daughter was not there to receive the same treatment as our son received in Korea.

                                                 Singed (sic)
                                                 William Banning
One of two new cars Harry bought in 1940, a 1941 Royal Club coupe.
The graves of Harry and Bess.
Truman kept an office at his presidential library. This is what it would have looked like.
On the corner of Waldo Avenue and River Road is Truman's boyhood home. Bess lived just up the street.

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