Day 3 - Independence, Missouri

Stalled westward traffic caused us to notice this farm on the road to Independence.

Harry S. Truman National Historical Site

A view from Harry Truman's cousins' house across the street where he first saw Bess

   This house where Harry and Bess Truman lived before and after his presidency felt very homey.  The furnishings are original and ordinary, but at the same time seemed extraordinary because of who had lived there.  I especially liked the kitchen because it reminded me of my grandmother's kitchen, complete with rick-rack trimmed curtains. According to the Park Ranger leading the tour, it recently cost $1,000 to replace six pair of cotton curtains which had dry-rotted over the years with the main expense being the rick-rack which had to be specially made.

   Although the Truman House has been a place where many well-known individuals have visited, including John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon (whom Truman loathed), Lyndon Johnson, Winston Churchill, and Bob Hope, it has basically been a place where a love story unfolded. This house was the family home of Bess Wallace Truman and she loved living there more than living in the White House.  It was to this house that the teenage Harry returned a pie plate, met Bess, stayed for three hours talking with her, and began a romance that lasted through 63 years of marriage. In this house, Harry and Bess nurtured their only child Margaret (who became a best-selling mystery novel author). In this house, Margaret's children visits felt the unconditional love of their famous grandparents. Outside this house at the fence that surrounds the yard neighbors in Independence often gathered and were obliged with conversation, autographs, and  acceptance by the former president and first lady. In a generous final act of love, this house was bequest to the people of the United States when upon Bess Truman's death in 1982, the National Park Service was given control to preserve it and open it to anyone who would like to visit.