While Kansas City is still known as "the BBQ Capital of the World, some would argue for Lockhart, Texas or Memphis, Tennessee. 
     Known as the “father of Kansas City barbecue” and dubbed the “Barbecue King," Henry Perry sold slow-smoked meats wrapped in newspaper for 25 cents in the Garment District in the early 1900s. He opened the city’s first barbecue restaurant in an old trolley barn, according to the Barbecue Hall of Fame. Perry trained Charlie Bryant, who took over the restaurant when the BBQ “father” died in 1940.
     Bryant passed the torch to his brother Arthur in 1946. Arthur added sweetness to Perry’s original barbecue sauce. The sauce helped put Arthur Bryant’s on the map. No less than four US presidents have eaten at Bryants.
 

​     As a nearly lifelong resident of Grain Valley and one who attended twelve years of school in the same two-story brick schoolhouse where my parents graduated in 1932, I am astounded. But then, as I think back over those past many years, I realize that like our community, most of the growth has occurred in the past twenty-five years.
     In January 1996, the high school moved from Main Street to the present location on Eagles Parkway. Many of you will remember the first phase of that building housed the middle school. The second phase included athletic facilities and by the fall of 1996, the high school plus eighth graders, about 475 students attended school there. The middle school campus on Main Street housed fourth through seventh graders, about 480 students and Matthews Elementary was used for kindergarten through third grade. In total, the district had approximately 1,400 students, doubling the number just 10 years earlier. In 1996, more that 200 housing permits were issued.
     Twenty-five years ago, in April 1996, the bond issue was passed to build the second elementary school. Sni-A-Bar Elementary was, of course, built on the campus with the high school. Since then the Early Childhood Center, two more elementary schools, two middle schools, and numerous additions to the senior high school have been added. And enrollment has increased by more than 300%.
     Twenty-five years ago baseball, softball, and wrestling were “new” sports. Grain Valley was playing nine varsity sports in the Show-Me West Conference with Butler, Holden, Pembroke Hill, St. Mary’s and Sherwood. Today, Grain Valley is one of the 27 schools in the Kansas City Suburban Conference and they participate in 17 varsity sports, band, choir, cheer and dance, speech and debate, and Scholar Bowl. And, they have their own broadcasting studio with GVTV!
     Twenty-five years, in the fall of 1996, all of the classrooms throughout the district were air conditioned for the first time. The district has a “vision” for an aggressive program in the future to make the internet available to all high school students. I can only imagine what a COVID-19 outbreak would have looked like twenty-five years ago!
     A few years ago, my brother and his wife were visiting from Florida. I drove them around the district to see all of the new additions. From the Pink Hill Campus on the North to Stony Point on the South, we saw the administration building (originally the home of my high school classmate Nancy Norris), North Middle School, the Early Childhood Center, Prairie Branch, Matthews, Stony Point Elementary and Middle School, Sni-A-Bar, Moody Murry Stadium, the tennis courts, the softball and baseball complex, the greenhouse, the athletic building, and the Transportation Center.
     But only once did he ask me to stop and take a picture. He was “blown away” by the two semi-trailers that haul the equipment for the Marching Eagles! In 1961, the year he graduated there were 11 members in the band. Times change!
 

​     Over the course of two or three years I have written several articles about streets and roads in and around Grain Valley and how they got their names. Early streets and roads were usually named for the families that lived along them. Some were named for geographical locations while others were named for their location, like Front Street which ran in front of the railroad station.
     In more recent years, I wonder? I do know that in the newer subdivisions, the names are chosen by the developer. Such is the case with the names in Greystone, north of town off Buckner Tarsney Road. The Greystone subdivision was developed by Roger Bennett and his sons. Roger married Margarette Elizabeth “Beth” Evans.
     Beth was the youngest daughter of William D. “Bill” and Jean Evans, and the God daughter of my parents, Charlie and Mildred Napier. As I drive through the subdivision, the names become obvious to me. They are the four nieces of Roger and Beth.  Stephanie’s daughters, Mary Court and Erin Court and  Tom’s daughters, Amanda Jean Way and  Jaclyn Drive. Hannah Way, Kim Court and Katie Court are named for great-grandchildren.
     When the Evans Family came to Grain Valley in 1949 there were only three members. Stephanie Sue, the new baby born on July 5, 1949; Jean, the new mother; and Bill, the father.
     They added son, Thomas Bowers Evans in 1952 and Beth in 1954.
     Bill was a recent graduate of Missouri Valley College, which he attended after time out as a U. S. Marine during World War II. He came to Grain Valley to teach history and coach football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and boys’ and girls’ track. That’s right, he was the coach, the one and only coach at Grain Valley High School.
     Today, those same 5 sports have 5 head coaches and 21 assistants! And I should mention that he drove the school bus on the morning route and to most of the athletic events held out of town.
     The Evans family became part of the Grain Valley community for many years. Over the next fifteen years they lived in four different homes. They rented an apartment from Wayne and Orvella Minter, who owned one of the grocery stores in town.
     Next they moved to a home owned, at the time, by Keith and Elouise Shrout on the corner of R. D. Mize and Tyre Roads. In 1956 they moved into town and lived on Smith Street in the old Perkins house. Finally, they bought a home from F. L. and Grace Stillions at the corner of Yennie and Thieme streets.
     Before leaving Grain Valley in 1964, they left their mark. They were active in the Methodist Church and Bill often filled the pulpit when the minister was absent. Jean was active in WSCS (Women’s Society of Christian Service) and the PTA. Bill was a founding member of the Methodist Men and the Grain Valley Lion’s Club.
     Mr. Evans eventually became the high school principal and remained with the school until 1957. He moved on to become a guidance counselor, and later principal at Westport, Southwest, and Van Horn in the Kansas City School District.  He retired in the early 1990s as assistant director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association in Columbia, MO.
     His granddaughter and great-grandchildren will forever live on in the streets of Grain Valley!
 

     During their voyage down the Mississippi River, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet,  were the first Europeans to set foot on land that would later become Missouri. 
     Around 1700, the first white settlement in Missouri, Ste. Genevieve, was established by Canadian settlers and Jesuit Missionaries.
     Known as the Mission of St. Francis Xavier, they were named for Francis Xavier, a Spanish Jesuit and one of the most prolific missionaries in the history of the Catholic Church. He was made a saint on March 12, 1622. 
 

​     After spending some time going thru old newspaper articles from twenty-five years ago, I continued to find stories about one woman and her impact on Grain Valley. 
     Twenty-five years ago, at the age of 85, Veatrice Henson was chosen by the Grain Valley Chamber of Commerce as “Volunteer of the Year.”  For eight years, beginning in 1988, Mrs. Henson spent her Wednesdays as a volunteer at the Community Service League’s  (now Grain Valley Assistance Council) food and clothing shelter.
     Her nomination included these words, “Rain or shine she does whatever is needed to be done. She’s the corresponding secretary, writing thank you notes to doners, and works in the pantry to fill food orders for clients.” 
     She received the honor again in 2008.
     Before moving to Grain Valley, Mrs. Henson spent her life in Springfield where she was born, married and raised her two children. She and her husband followed their children here in 1986.
     But the newspaper stories didn’t end at age 85 or with being named Volunteer of the Year. There was the story of her first airplane ride, an Angel flight used for humanitarian missions, when she was 87 years-old. There was a 90th birthday celebration. In 2005 (age 94) she was Grand Marshall of Valley Fair Days.
     The Grain Valley Board of Aldermen declared May 10, 2010 as Veatrice Henson Day. It was just after her 99th birthday.
     For her 100th birthday, she received world wide attention when she was chosen for Sprint’s All Together Now ad campaign. She became known as the Sprint Lady and received Happy Birthday messages from hundreds of thousands of people around the world via emails, text and voicemail messages.
     She received the “Royal” treatment with a limousine ride to Kauffman Stadium, seats in the Royal Crown section and was seen several times of the Kauffman Stadium jumbotron screen. The night’s highlight was when the entire stadium sang Happy Birthday to her.
     Mrs. Henson continued to volunteer with the Grain Valley Assistance Council until May, 2017. Her life journey ended peacefully on August 29, 2017. She was 106 years-old.
 

​     Did you know Missouri has been the birthplace of several famous actors. They include James Franciscus (Clayton),  Dick Van Dyke (West Plains), Scott Bakula (St. Louis), Jane Wyman (St. Joseph),  Janet Jones (Pattonville), Jack Okie (Sedalia), Jill Eikenberry (St. Joseph, Brad Pitt (Springfield), Geraldine Page (Kirksville), Kathleen Turner (Springfield), Steve McQueen (Slater), Redd Foxx (St. Louis), Wallace Beery (Kansas City), Shelly Winters (St. Louis), Dennis Weaver (Joplin), Dee Wallace and Ed Asner (Kansas City) and Ginger Rogers (Independence) to name a few.
 

     Did you know Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Brookfield is home to more than 100 bald eagles and one of the largest concentrations of Canada geese in North America. Bald Eagles have more than 150 active nests in Missouri. 
     Because of its big rivers, many lakes and wetland areas, Missouri is especially attractive to these large, magnificent birds. More than 2,000 bald eagles are reported in Missouri regularly during winter, making our state one of the leaders in the lower 48 states.
 

​     I don’t know when Harris Street got its name, but I do know that according to the 1930 U S Census it was South Main Street.
     At some time after 1930 it became Harris Street, named for the family living on the tiny street.  It was then, and remains today only two blocks long; one block on the east side and one block on the west side of Main Street, two blocks south of the railroad tracks.
     Charles Warren Harris was born in Perry Township, Ohio in 1868. He and his older sister, Annie, moved with their parent, Elisa and Sarah Harris, to Iowa around 1870.  According to the United States Census of 1900,  Charles and his first wife were living in a boarding house in Columbus, Ohio. However, on November 4, 1903, Charles married his second wife, Louiza “Lulu” in Jackson County, Missouri. Lula was the daughter of George and Melinda Stillwell.
     According to the 1920 US Census, they were living on Capelle Street in Grain Valley. By the 1930 US Census the Harris family included six children and they had moved to South Main Street. All six children grew up here, attended school here and married a local resident. 
     All six children continued to live in Grain Valley where they raised their own families and sent them to school here.  Mabel (1904), the eldest married Ronnie Peal. Ina Jane (1907) was next and she married Bill Mitchell, a Scotsman working at Sni-A-Bar. Clara Belle (1908) married Bill Shippy and Veneda (1910) married Hamp Smith. The boys were Carl (1913) and George (1917). Carl’s wife Velma (Robinson) and George’s wife Gladys (Smith) were local girls.
     Their Grain Valley relatives include family names many of you will recognize; Peal, Davis, Coleman, Affolter, Danner, Mitchell, and Todd, to name a few. And that great, great, great grandson I mentioned last week, Miles Bell. He and sisters Payton and Laney are descendants of Mabel Harris Peal, Evelyn Peal Affolter, Dennis Affolter, and Jennifer Affolter Bell!
     Former Mayor Mike Todd is also a great-grandson.  Charles and Lula Harris had 6 children, 11 grandchildren, and more than 20 great-grandchildren.
     So while Harris Street may be quite short, the list of Harris Family members is quite long. More than 100 years later, their impact on Grain Valley is still going strong.
 
 
 
 
 

​     Using Ancestry.com, I often do research on Grain Valley citizens from the late 1860s through the early 1900s. The United States Census from those years can reveal quite a bit of information.  It can also leave me very confused.
    For some time now, I have been totally confused when I find early families living on Cahill Street. There isn’t, nor has there every been a Cahill Street in Grain Valley. I finally found a resident of Cahill Street that I recognized, a family that lived on Capelle Street.
     Unfortunately, Mr. Millard Campbell did the census in 1920 and while his penmanship is generally quite legible, his cursive “p” does look like an “h,” it is difficult to distinguish his “e” from an undotted “i,” and several years of research has taught me that Capelle is often misspelled. Sometimes it has a final “e” and sometimes it doesn’t.
     This week I was seeking information on the Charles Warren Harris family who lived in a house on “Cahill” according to the 1920 U. S. Census. By the 1930 census they lived on South Main Street, 2 blocks south of the railroad.
     In 1930, Front Street was known as North Main Street and Main Street was Broadway. Are you now totally confused?
     Today, South Main Street is Harris Street, presumable named for the Harris Family. North Main is Front Street, Broadway is Main Street, and on farmland just south of Harris Street we find Broadway!
     Sometime soon when you are enjoying a Saturday lunch on the patio at Iron Kettle Brewery, drop in next door at the Grain Valley Historical Society and look at our 1924 hand-drawn map of The City of Grain Valley, when Front was  N. Main and Harris was S. Main, and…..you get the picture!
     Next week, learn more about the Harris family. There is a two-year old I know that is living just south of Grain Valley. Charles Harris was  his maternal great, great, great, great, grandfather.
 

​     The official state flower and state tree of Missouri can be confusing. Our state flower blooms on a tree and our state tree has flowers! 
     On March 16, 1923, Governor Arthur M. Hyde signed a bill naming the white hawthorn blossom, (Crataegus,) the official state floral emblem of Missouri. Though a specific variety of hawthorn is not named in the legislation, the Missouri Department of Conservation asserts that the downy hawthorn, (Crataegus mollis,) is the species deserving of the recognition. 
     In 1955 the state legislature designated the Flowering Dogwood as the State Tree of Missouri.