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by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society As has been the case for the last seven plus years, I sit down pondering what to write about this week. On Sunday I took wreaths to the cemeteries where my family members, having lived a good life, have been “laid to rest” as the saying goes. Well, today this column is being laid to rest. But, I believe this column, too, has had a good life. And in the research and writing for my weekly musings, I have had a curious adventure, sometimes challenging, but always giving me interesting new insights into the history of our town. I’ve learned about many of the families that helped to shape our town. I’ve learned about the roads, and their namesakes. I’ve learned about many businesses both old and new, successful and not so much so. I’ve learned about the churches and traipsed through nearly every cemetery in the area. I’ve learned about Grain Valley when Sni-A-Bar Farms was world famous and I’ve learned about Grain Valley when they experienced the Great Depression, and lost sons during World War II. I’ve also learned about our schools, and the talented and successful people that call Grain Valley High School their alma mater. But mostly, I learned to be extremely proud of the place I call HOME. I am grateful to Cory and John Unrein, owners of the Grain Valley News for asking me to experience this great adventure! While writing a weekly column is not something I ever thought about doing, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. So, thank you! If you would like to read more stories about Grain Valley, send me your email and I will add your name to the growing list of readers who receive The Voice. It is a monthly newsletter from the Grain Valley Historical Society. I always include a story about Grain Valley and it is certainly my intention to expand those stores. Hopefully they will have more depth as my research of “all things Grain Valley” continue to find its way to my desk (computer). And, if you want to reread any old stories you can visit the Historical Society Museum at 506 Main Street in Downtown Grain Valley. We have notebooks with copies of all of the articles I have written and artifacts that might trigger a future article for The Voice! Come visit soon. Thanks for reading, Marcia “Marty” Napier [email protected]  Grain Valley Historical Society, 506 N Main ST Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society  by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society (originally published in the Grain Valley Historical Society's December 2025 edition of The Voice) As is evidenced in the photo below, on November 7, 1925, the Grain Valley School was totally destroyed by fire. Classes were held in the three churches in town and the 1925-26 basketball team played their games at The Royal Playhouse. The Grain Valley Consolidated District #3 centered around the first public school built on Capelle Street in 1887. Over the next two decades, they had added a two-year high school. By 1906, the little town, now 28-years old, was growing. William Rockhill Nelson, editor and publisher of the Kansas City Star, was buying up land to begin his beef-cattle experiment. The town had three churches, two hotels, and several businesses. It was time to build a bigger school. The second site for the Grain Valley School was at the north end of Main Street. On June 19, 1907, 1 ½ acres was purchased from James and Nettie Hall for $300. Construction began in 1908 on an eight room, two story brick building was completed in early 1909. The high school enrollment had increased to 15 students and in the spring of 1909 four students became the first graduates from the two-year program at Grain Valley High School. In 1913 Grain Valley became a four-year high school. On November 7, 1925, the building was totally destroyed by fire. Classes were held in the three churches in town and the 1925-26 basketball team played their games at The Royal Playhouse. The Class of 1925 had 3 teachers and 15 graduates. (The class of 2025 was just over 25 times larger!)  by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society When this column began over 7 years ago, I had no clue I would write more than 370 stories. My college degree, earned some 56 years ago, was in Home Economics Education. My older brother was the one with a degree in journalism. I didn’t even like to write papers for my English classes. But here I am, decades later, writing weekly stories. And, I can honestly say I have enjoyed it! The fun has been writing stories about Grain Valley! Over the years, I have come to appreciate this town more and more. And in this week of Thanksgiving, I am grateful that writing this column has given me the opportunity to learn so much about the town. Beginning in 1878, the Chicago & Alton Railroad stopped at Sni Creek to take on water and prompted James Cannon to build the first general store. The town was registered for incorporation in 1884. In 1913, William Rockhill Nelson choose Grain Valley to establish the world famous Sni-A-Bar Farms from 1913 through 1945. 1926 brought us U.S. Highway 40, the Main Street of America, followed by an East Kansas City Airport in the 1950s and finally Interstate 70 (1965). I’ve been able to learn about the families that have lived here, some with a street or road named for them. I have spent hours in the local cemeteries and online, tracing the genealogy of many of these families. I’ve learned about Grain Valley during World War I and II, and the Korean War. I learned about Grain Valley during the Great Depression and the much more recent years of prosperity and growth. I have also learned about our schools; from small rural schools to reorganization in 1949; to the excellent school system we enjoy today. Mostly, I’ve learned about the many great and sometimes famous people that have called Grain Valley home. It has been interesting and informative. But, as I have stated many times, my research often leaves me with more questions than answers. I have two columns left. If there is something you would like to read about, please let me know. (COMMENT BELOW) I struggle to know how I should end this column. How do I finish what I started 375 articles ago?  My favorite photo. Grain Valley, MO. Circa, 1915 by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Only a limited number of us could speak firsthand of the Great Depression, because it began 96 years ago. The Depression began with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and lasted until 1939, ending with the onset of World War II. Some would argue that recovery began in the mid 1930s. So, how did Grain Valley survive during the depression years?  Grain Valley 5th & 6TH Grade Class, 1932 This past Monday while we waited for the next group of 7th grade students from Grain Valley North Middle School to visit the Smithsonian Exhibit, a few members of the Historical Society discussed several photos from the 1920s and 30s. As is normally the case, we had many more questions than answers. First of all, no one appeared to be down and out! We wondered if the two barefoot boys in the front row were barefoot from necessity or barefoot by choice. Everyone appears to be dressed for warm weather. We also wondered if the boys in the class were told to wear overalls. They surely didn’t all wear overalls every day. And did they always button the top button of their shirts? For girls, the 20s were the decade to “raise your skirts and bob your hair.” Well not every girl raised their skirts above their knees, but most all of the girls bobbed their hair. (Not always attractive in my humble opinion!) After some research, I learned that while the citizens of Grain Valley suffered financial loss and unemployment during the depression, they weren’t as “bad off” as other communities. WHY, you ask? Sni-A-Bar Farms was in its “hey day!” Many men were given employment on the farm. In reminiscing about the farm, my father told of how beautiful the pastures were along U. S. 40 Highway (now Eagles Parkway) because men were hired just to cut the thistles in the field and the weeds from the fence rows. Also, families could go to the farm during the summer months for free vegetables from the garden maintain by the employed town folks just to feed everyone. In the winter months they also provided root vegetables. The same article also stated that eggs were almost always available for anyone who asked. On Tuesday at the Bright Futures luncheon, we learned of how our community is providing food, clothing, and Christmas gifts to family who need assistance. We should all be proud of our town! You still have until December 13th to visit Voices and Votes at the Grain Valley Historical Society. We're open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10:00am - 4:00pm, and Thursday, Friday, and Sunday from 1:00pm - 4:00pm. Come visit! by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Do you remember your school field trips? When I was in sixth grade, my class went to the Wonder Bread Bakery and the Coca Cola Bottling Company. We got on the big yellow bus and headed for Kansas City. At lunchtime we stopped at a park and ate our sack lunches, which we washed down with Kool-Aid provided by our room mothers. We looked forward to the “educational” trip for weeks and had a great time. But the big treat came in high school. Every year, on the next to the last day of school, all four classes, freshmen through seniors, and our teachers headed west for a day at Swope Park and the Kansas City Zoo. My senior year (1964) there were 143 students, 13 teachers, and our principal and we all fit into one building. Our principal, Mr. Malone, drove one of the buses! It was before I-70 was built, so we headed west on U. S. Highway 40. To get to the park we turned on Sterling Boulevard, drove through Raytown to 63rd Street and on to the park. After an entire day at the zoo, playing baseball (watching the guys play), eating popcorn and cotton candy, and buying souvenirs, we headed back to school, arriving just in time to go home! This week, the Grain Valley Historical Society hosted the 7th grade history classes from South Middle School (next week we will welcome North Middle School, and the following week we will host students from GVHS) for the Smithsonian Exhibit, Voices and Votes. About half of the Grain Valley 7th graders, 158 students. visited. That is 15 students more than the entire high school 61 years ago. Can you just imagine the fleet of 25 or 30 buses it would require to take the entire high school to the park? Oh, wait, most high school students today would probably refuse to ride a bus. Well, maybe they could be bribed if it was free admission to a Chiefs game or a Taylor Swift concert! I usually find it amusing when folks my age talk about the “good old days.” What was so “good” about no central air or heat, outdoor “johns” and no televisions. On the other hand, a field trip to Swope Park every year was pretty cool! By the way, if you haven’t been to the Historical Society to see VOICES AND VOTES, DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, plan to visit before December 13, 2025. We are open from 10:00am - 4:00pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and from 1:00pm - 4:00pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.  Grain Valley High School from 1960 to 1975. Photo credit Grain Valley Historical Society by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Halloween began as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of summer and the harvest. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead blurred; spirits of the dead would return to earth, causing trouble and damaging crops. They lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off these ghosts. People carved faces into turnips, pumpkins, or other root vegetables to put a candle inside, creating "Jack-o'-lanterns" to ward off spirits. The Catholic Church later incorporated some of these traditions into the Christian holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1st) and All Souls' Day (November 2nd), with the evening before becoming "All Hallows' Eve" which was eventually shortened to Halloween. Over time, these traditions evolved in America to include trick-or-treating and jack-o'-lanterns, becoming the holiday we know today. Last Friday, as I sat in my driveway and greeted the two or three hundred ghost, great pumpkins, football players, cheerleaders and princesses, or the older teens without costumes, I reflected on the Halloween nights of my youth. First of all, there were no Disney characters or superheroes in my day. There certainly were no inflatable dinosaurs. Rather, there were homemade costumes, many of which would be politically incorrect today. Of course, there were ghosts, wearing an old bed sheet, but mostly, there were gypsies, hobos, cowboys, and cowgirls. There were three basic sources of “treats!” Churches had parties for the kids. We bobbed for apples, pinned the stem on a pumpkin, and paraded around in a circle while the “judges” selected the best costumes. And we ate! Cupcakes, candy, popcorn balls and apple cider. At my church, the party was held on the Sunday night before Halloween and us kids divided into small groups and went door to door, not to get candy, but to Trick or Treat for UNICEF; the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. While we usually got some change, sometimes a “rich” resident would give us a dollar! One year, I think I was in 7th grade, we collected $45. We were beyond excited to be able to send so much money to the organization in New York City. Elementary school children had Halloween Parties. The room mothers provided the treats, and the teachers provided games and activities. After lunch, we generally had time for one lesson before we were dismissed to go to the restroom and change into our Halloween costume. Do any of you recall, as I do, that your masked was usually unrelated to the rest of your costume. Now what was that all about? Sometime in the mid- 1990's, Halloween Parties were discontinued at many schools. In recent years, many schools have introduced Harvest Parties. Finally, there was Halloween night when even the country kids came to town to go door-to-door and trick or treat. There was usually one house on every block that you didn’t knock on the door. They were mean, meaning they didn’t hand out candy. Remember the Armstrong house, The Grain Valley News, October 9. 2025? And speaking of candy, in my day you might get candy, but more than likely you got a popcorn ball, homemade cookies, or an apple, if they had an apple tree in their yard. Of course, everyone went to the Frantz’s house on Charlotte Street. Roland and Louise owned the grocery store and they gave out candy bars that cost a whole nickel! by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society My memories of Lot 9 of the Graves and Ashcroft Addition go back to the early 1950's (yes, I’m old!). However, my family was here when the lot was vacant. My mother was around when it became a storefront, most likely for a general store. I seem to recall that my father told me when he came to Grain Valley in 1922 the store was a “new” general store. Early photographs reveal that they sold shoes. But who could have predicted that 100 years later, it would house an exhibit from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC? While the original structure may have been wooden, the current building is brick. It has been a general store, a grocery store (with several proprietors), an upholstery shop, and a gun shop. Since 1992, it has been known as the Grain Valley Historical Society. Before City Hall was built, it was used by the city for city council meetings. It is currently home to the Grain Valley Chamber of Commerce. While the building has a varied past, beginning Saturday, November 1, it will be home to the Museum on Main Street. Through a grant from the Missouri Humanities, the Grain Valley Historical Society is delighted to welcome the Smithsonian exhibit “Voices and Votes” to Lot 9. Please visit this wonderful exhibit in our community. Admission is FREE. November 1 thru December 13, 2025 Hours: Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10:00am - 4:00pm; Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays from 1:00pm - 4:00pm  Lot 9, Circa 1925  Lot 9, Circa 1985  Lot 9, circa 2025 by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society The Seniors in the photograph below were members of the last class to graduate from the original Grain Valley Consolidated District No. 3 building on Broadway (now Main Street). A few months after this photo was taken the building was completely destroyed by fire on November 7, 1925.  Grain Valley High School Class of 1925 Shown in the photo are: Row 1: Mr. Holman, history teacher, Opal Rumbo, Lucille Rowe, Wilma Howell, Lois Tritt, and Nadine O’Connell. Row 2: Charlie McQuerry, Leonard Stephenson, Henry Wyatt, Marie Beggs, Eleanor Hendrickson, and Delores Warren. Row 3: Miss Caster, English teacher, Mrs. Holman, mathematics teacher, Maurice Frost, Theodore Holman (the son), Lawrence Williams, and Ernest Dobson.  Grain Valley School 1909 – 1925 While many of the students moved on after graduation, a few remained in and around Grain Valley and continued to make their mark on our community. Opal Rumbo (my aunt) married Clyde Fristoe. Prior to World War II, they owned a grocery store in town. Aunt Opal played the piano at the Methodist Church for more than 35 years. Lois Tritt lived on Walnut Street, and became a fixture at the Bank of Grain Valley where she worked for many years. In her late 40s, she married Clarence Dobson, Ernest’s father. They were both lifelong members of First Baptist Church. Nadine O’Connell was the daughter of Creola (Warren) and John T. O’Connell. Her daughter was Patricia Davis Parr (Grain Valley, Class of 1944). Although Pat moved to Blue Springs, in her will she donated $25,000 to the Grain Valley Historical Society. Charlie McQuerry was one of the eight McQuerry children for which McQuerry Road, north of Grain Valley, was named. Leonard Stephon was one of the eight Stephenson children with a long history, all living in and around our town. There are still numerous Stephenson descendants in the area. Deloris Warren married Howard Mollenkamp. After college, she returned to Grain Valley and taught at the elementary school for many years. Mollenkamp became president of the Bank of Grain Valley after the death of her father, William Durwood Warren. Maurice Frost ran the family grocery store in town for many years, but I don’t know where he landed after WW II. Finally, Ernest Dobson became a builder. Although he and his family moved to Blue Springs, he is responsible for more than half of the new houses built in Grain Valley in the 1950s and 60s. If you are interested, visit the Historical Society (after the Smithsonian exhibit closes on December 13, 2025) and together, we can research others from the Class of 1925. Or, for that matter, any other year! by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society The cars sold along Main Street and south of the railroad tracks are not the first automobiles to be sold in Grain Valley. Over 100 years ago, you could purchase a brand-new Buick from Clarence W. Childers, right on Main Steet! His dealership was in the Williams Building on the west side of Main, just north of the Bank of Grain Valley.  1925 Advertisement from The Oak Grove Banner Childers was born in Stewartsville, Kentucky in 1874. He came to Missouri where he met and married his wife, Lucinda Bowen on November 24, 1898 in Jackson County. According to the 1920 U. S. Census, they owned a farm in Sni-A-Bar Township where they lived with their two daughters, Edith (born 1900, death unknown) and Margaret (1905-2004). Another source gives his address as a farm in Lee’s Summit, but that could have been only a few miles out of Grain Valley. (Remember, the Lee’s Summit School District boundary is barely a mile west of Stony Point Elementary.) His occupation was listed as automobile company. Clarence and Lucinda were still living in Sni-A-Bar township in 1935, however by that time the building on Main Street housed Storms Drug Store and a restaurant. By 1940 the Childers had moved to Independence, Missouri. In 1925, Margaret married Vollie Hartley. Some readers may remember their business, Hartley Furniture Store in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Coming in 2 weeks: Voices and Votes, Democracy in America at the Grain Valley Historical Society. Join us for the ribbon cutting at 1:00pm on November 1st. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society At the age of 90, Miss Lizzie Armstrong died in 1966. Like her three brothers, Miss Lizzie never married. Therefore, she left $30,000 and land to establish Armstrong Park. Residents remembered her as a pretty woman and a constant presence on the front porch of her home which was eventually torn down to build the State Bank of Missouri  Before it was torn down the old Armstrong home was used as a kindergarten, the R-5 School Administration Building and, a temporary home for State Bank of Missouri. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society Miss Lizzie would dress elegantly. Even in hot weather, she was known to wear a dress, an apron, a shawl and a high collared shirt. She watched the school children walk past her home. One of her brothers, Ben Armstrong, was better known in Grain Valley. He was a short, merry-eyed man who kept mules that he used to turn over gardens for local residents for a small fee. Another brother stayed inside the house, and the third worked farms south of town. Miss Lizzie and Ben would often go to the free films shown outdoors on the lawn at the train depot on Front Street. Old timers recall seeing them as a pair, carrying folding chairs they would erect in the road, never on the grass. After the film ended, they would fold their chairs and walk up the hill on Main Street to their home. The curious matter of the siblings’ apparent celibacy was fodder for speculation. One story was their parents had enjoined them to never marry. It was rumored that if one of the Armstrong children took a spouse, they were to be cast out and cut off from the Armstrong’s inherited farm and property. Evidence seemed to support the tale. Miss Lizzie had a sister and brother who each married. They were never mentioned again, going unlisted even in the final will. So, it might have been Miss Lizzie’s only remembered achievement that she outlived her remaining brothers and was so able to direct the dissolution of their estate. According to a February 1973 article in the Jackson County Sentinel, they owned three farms south of Grain Valley and fed hogs. Miss Lizzie and her brothers moved to the property in town in 1920. In provision No 5 of her will, Miss Armstrong wrote: “I give, devise, and bequeath my 20-acre farm in Grain Valley to the city of Grain Valley to be used as a park and to be known as the Armstrong Park, and to be maintained by the city of Grain Valley. In the event I should sell the back 10 acres, the proceeds therefore shall be part of my estate and be used for the purposes set out by provision 6 of this will.” Provision No. 6: “I give, devise, and bequeath all the rest and residue of my estate; real, personal, and mixed, of every kind and nature, wheresoever same may be located to the city of Grain Valley to be used for the development and maintenance of the Armstrong Park mentioned in the previous paragraph so long as said funds last, after which the city of Grain Valley shall see that said park is maintained from year to year.” The will also specified that the school district could only obtain the land by condemnation. If the school district was successful in condemnation, any money obtained would go to the Christian, Methodist and Baptist churches of Grain Valley. The district condemned the north 10 acres to use as a football field and track. The house was used for various purposes over the years. The City of Grain Valley established a park board in September of 1971 to plan and administer the park. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society When no topic came to mind for this week’s column, I decided maybe a walk might help, so I headed for Armstrong Park to walk the trail, or maybe the old high school track at the back. As soon as I saw the sign on Main Street, it hit me. I’ve never written about the Armstrong family or how Armstrong Park came to be. So as I walked, I outlined this story in my mind.  Thomas J Armstrong was born on February 18, 1830, in Montgomery, Maryland. His family moved to Indiana where he was raised along with nine siblings and 5 step-siblings. In 1859, he married Mary Elizabeth Huffer in Michigantown, Indiana. They had eight children. Elizabeth died in 1877. Two years after her death, Thomas moved to Missouri, bringing six of the younger children with him to Sni-A-Bar Township in Eastern Jackson County. According to old newspaper stories, the Armstrong family lead private lives. Like other “old timers,” I remember “Miss Lizzie,” the youngest of the children, sitting on her front porch with her brother Ben. They were always there on Friday nights during football season, or for that matter when any event was going on at the school. They were making sure that no one parked on their land or in front of their house. If anyone actually knew why they opposed the school, I’ve never head, but they did oppose the school even after death. This was apparent in Miss Lizzie’s will. Quoting an article in The Examiner, July 27-28, 2002 Mary Elizabeth Armstrong, or Miss Lissie as she was known, was 90 when she died on her farm in 1966. Like her three brother who died before herm she had never married, She left money and land to establish Armstrong Park. Although she belonged to none, she also left a sum to be divided by the three churches in town at that time.  Armstrong Park Today. Photo credit: Marcia Napier Next week, read more about the unusual Armstrong family and their life in Grain Valley. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society As I continue struggling to find a topic for the weekly “looking back” article, the file for 2000 provided me with no real inspiration. Instead, I found pages of newspaper stories like the police blotter, the potholes, the water and sewer problems, roads closed for repair, and a survey asking citizens if Grain Valley should grow! Any of these topics could have been in the news this year. History tells us that some things never change. In addition to repairs on the sewer lift system, approving in-home daycare, and drug arrests at the Cozy Inn, a small hotel that once existed behind the old Pilot Truck Stop, there were also several highlights for Grain Valley.
 On August 1, 2000, Grain Valley officials celebrated groundbreaking of the $ 4.5 million city hall, community center and swimming pool project. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society When struggling to find a topic for the weekly “looking back” article, the news files at the Historical Society usually provide some ideas. This week when I opened the cabinet to find articles from 2000 (twenty-five years ago) a large number of old telephone books caught my eye. We keep them at the museum because they are old. We also keep them because they sometimes provide a way to identify former residents. The telephone book began in 1878, just one month after the launch of the New Haven, (Connecticut) District Telephone Company. This directory was a single piece of cardboard that listed the names of the 50 subscribers, consisting mostly of businesses and municipal offices. It did not include telephone numbers because numbers did not yet exist to identify individuals or businesses. To make a call, users would give the operator the name of the person they wanted to reach, and the operator would connect the call. The format changed in 1879 when Dr. Moses Greeley Parker suggested alphabetizing the names and assigning a unique number to each telephone. The concept of separated residential (White Pages) and commercial (Yellow Pages) directories emerged later. The Yellow Pages gained their distinctive look when a Cheyenne, Wyoming printer ran out of white paper in 1883 and used yellow paper instead. Reuben H. Donnelley later created what became known as the Yellow Pages for business listings. Directories became larger and more comprehensive as automatic switching systems allowed callers to dial numbers directly without an operator's help. The white pages had the name and address of anyone that had service with the phone company that published the book.  1956 Blue Springs & Grain Valley Telephone Book The yellow pages listed the phone number and address of businesses. It was also common for a phone book to be placed in phone booths.  Advertisement in The Yellow Pages 1956 Blue Springs & Grain Valley Telephone Book For decades, printed directories were the primary source of contact information, however, by the early 2000s, the internet had become the dominant source for local information and business listings, reducing the need for printed phone books. Today, phone books act as primary historical documents, providing a snapshot of businesses and residents at a specific time and place. They are invaluable tools for genealogists researching family history, as they list people and businesses that can help track ancestors. Beyond genealogy, phone books are sought by collectors interested in nostalgia, local history, and specific eras, like the early days of telecommunications Directories from significant events (like San Francisco before the 1906 earthquake) or those containing interesting advertising art can be particularly valuable. The White Pages didn't "stop" all at once but rather ceased automatic mass-delivery to homes starting in 2010-2011. Visit the Grain Valley Historical Society and see our collection of telephone books. The yellow pages provide a look at the businesses that existed from the 1950s through 2000. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society  Not since 1965 has any new transportation come to Grain Valley. Interstate 70, our last major highway, was completed through Grain Valley in September 1965. It brought Standard Oil, Apple Trail Restaurant, and Charlie Osborne’s Truck Stop to Grain Valley. It also brought Camper’s Inn and a small hotel to Exit 24 off of I-70. Sixty years ago, the population was around 600 people. According to the United States census, the 1960 population was 552; the 1970 population was 709. In 1964 there were 26 graduates from GVHS; the total enrollment for the high school was 143 students. The downtown, all two blocks from Walnut to Front Street, had a restaurant, a grocery store, a pool hall, a drug store, a barber shop, and the Bank of Grain Valley. The rest of Main Street boasted a plastics plant and some vacant buildings. There was also a gas station just south of the railroad tracks. So while a passenger train no longer stops in our town, and the airport no longer has a small jet parked on the runway (owned by Harmon Electronics), that doesn’t mean we haven’t changed. Those same roads now have 8 traffic lights between Duncan Road and Sni-A-Bar Boulevard. The population is nearing 17,000 and the senior class had over 350 students this year!  Exit 24, I-70, 2024 This will be the final article on Transportation in Grain Valley. Visit the Grain Valley Historical Society to see the entire exhibit about transportation in our town. Open Wednesdays from 10:00am - 3:00pm. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Thirty years after the Jackson County Roads Celebration (October 12, 1932), Harry Truman returned to Grain Valley. In 1932 he was the Presiding Judge of Jackson County. In 1962, he was the Former President of the United States of America. What a difference 30 years makes!  Harry S Truman at East Kansas City Airport, 1962 In November 2019, I wrote about the East Kansas City Airport in the Grain Valley News. The Heart of America Airport, located on US 40 Highway, just east of Van Brunt and across the road from Heart Drive-In, closed and became a mobile home park. At that time several of the private plane owners and pilots decided they would purchase land and construct their own airport. A parcel of 80 acres was found on the western edge of Grain Valley on Kirby Road at the end of Walnut Street. In the 1800s this land was owned by Britton Capelle. By the early 1900s it was part of the E. E. Kirby Orchards. The corporation purchased the land from Tom Cairns, owner of Cairns Flowers in Independence, Missouri. The Grain Valley Airport Co-operative was officially incorporated in 1956. Its’ uniqueness is still relevant today. It is one of the very few in the nation that is a privately owned/public use airport and is a testament to the average American businessman. No government aid was forthcoming for this private enterprise—there is no city, county, state or federal money invested. It was on the occasion of the first air show hosted by the East Kansas City Air Show that former President Harry Truman returned to Grain Valley for a transportation event! Visit the Smithsonian exhibit, Voices and Votes, at the Grain Valley Historical Society from November 1 to December 13, 2025, and see our local transportation display. |
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