​Looking Back: The 1980s, Grain Valley on the Launch Pad

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society
 
A few years ago, I worked on a timeline for Grain Valley. The 1980s was the only decade in which I recorded NO events. All I’ve got is the population which increased by just over 40% from 1,327 in 1980 to 1,898 or 2,056 in 1990.

Allow me to diverge. There are several different sites on the internet which report the population of Grain Valley. Unfortunately, most record different populations for the same year.

One article noted, “From a few hundred residents during the immediate post-war years, Grain Valley's population jumped to 1,077 in 1980 — due mostly to the construction of new homes in the Valley Heights and Golfview developments.”  The population grew to 1,901 in 1990. So, take your choice but know that in 1990 the population was around 2,000.

In 1980 the airport had been completed, we had (note I’m saying HAD) a golf course, the High School building was nearly new (1976), Matthews Elementary was nearly new (1978) and the new housing developments were growing. However, the citizens were traveling to Blue Springs or Independence Center for groceries, clothing, movies and dining out! Other than a small hotel, a restaurant and a couple of gasoline stations at the I-70 interchange, Grain Valley was truly “a bedroom community.”

The decade began with the United States’ boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, a return to conservatism with the election of President Ronald Reagan, double-digit inflation, the eruption of Mount St. Helens and the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis. The decade highlights included technological advancements like personal computers and the internet, and it concluded with the deadly AIDS epidemic.
 
In between, Grain Valley, like all of America experienced the rise of the yuppie culture. The younger generation enjoyed watching MTV, featuring bands like Duran Duran and Culture Club and artists like Madonna, Prince, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson.

Ripped jeans and jackets—replete with safety pins and other metallic adornments—Doc Martens boots, spiked hair and heavy makeup were all the rage. Gone were the John Wayne and Gary Cooper Westerns. In the eighties we watched Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E. T., the extra-Terrestrial, Ghostbusters and The Empire Strikes Back; to name a few.
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And Ralph Lauren (Polo) and the Gator (Izod) made it to our town.