Hometown Hero—Harry S Truman

I remember the first time I visited France. My friend Jenny and I traveled to the amazing Palace at Versailles with expectations of opulence and beauty. What we didn’t expect was a group of students sitting on the stairs with hands on their chins and bored expressions on their faces. I mean…how could you NOT be excited to have a field trip to such an incredible piece of history??? I guess that’s what happens when the palace is in your backyard so-to-speak, and you see it all the time.

While Harry Truman’s hometown doesn’t have quite the flair as Versailles, it is still quite a tourist attraction for many. For those of you who do not know, Harry Truman was the 33rd President of the United States and the only one from Missouri.

As for me, well, Harry Truman has been my hometown hero since I moved to Independence, Missouri, and I have treated his attractions as respectfully as all those kids waiting desperately to be done with their field trip—with indifference. Last weekend, however, I decided I wanted to visit Harry’s places through the eyes of a tourist willing to pay to visit Independence. The best part was most of it was free.

I’d like to start first at a place I did not visit. Harry S Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. Located 123 miles from Independence, Mr. and Mrs. Truman relocated to a family farm and then Independence in 1890 with his brother (John) Vivian and his sister Mary Jane. They moved quite a bit, but most of his formal schooling occurred in Independence. Once his schooling concluded, Harry eventually moved back to the family farm in Grandview, Missouri where he lived from 1906-1917.

I actually volunteered at the Grandview home in the late 1990s and early 2000s. My job was to sit on the porch with this crotchety old lady that I loved and wait for visitors to ask for a tour.

Each Saturday Betty would show up with an opinion on her mind and newspaper and banana in hand. She’d always make a comment about something I was or was not doing, and she’d often tell me I was not doing something well. Amazingly, I was unaffected by her brash and assertive demeanor. She ruled the show, and I was there to watch it. The Park Rangers from the Independence location didn’t love Betty’s persnickety attitude, and I think that’s why they sent me there. If I went, they didn’t have to go.

Betty taught me so many wonderful things about the Farm Home. She detailed how the historical society worked so hard to get the authentic furnishings (in the correct period but not the actual Truman furniture), and as I spent more time with her, I recognized her hard exterior was really the way she protected a place she loved deeply. She just wanted to make sure I loved it too before she opened up.

As we shared the porch together, Betty began to open up about her life. She had been widowed and regretted that she and her husband hadn’t celebrated their 45th anniversary. She insisted on waiting until the 50th, but her husband died of cancer before the celebration could take place. That incredibly personal story led me to insist our family celebrate my parents’ 40th anniversary in 2003. How glad I am that we did because my dad, too, lost his life to cancer in 2011…just shy of 50 years!

At any rate, my visit to the Grandview Farm was the first visit, since I provided tours over 24 years ago. So many things looked the same, but winter definitely makes a place look lonely. The surrounding area looks dilapidated, and the area doesn’t feel vibrant at all. Boards are on store windows, and open shops feel run down. The Farm Home has had structural damage as well, so it was closed. I did peek in the porch, and I walked the ten acre farm to check out the chicken coop and outhouse. Originally, the farm had over 600 acres, and there are still stone markers that stand to show where fences had been located. Now, all but those 10 acres are part of the city’s land development program.

Grandview takes about half an hour by car from Independence. When Harry would try to make it to Independence, Missouri, he would hop on the back of a train to Kansas City. Then he would find a street car and have it take him into the city of Independence. His round-trip visit would take about four hours, so he wasn’t able to do it all the time.

However, in 1910 those visits to his aunt’s house changed his life forever. Located at 216 N Delaware Street, Harry stayed with his aunt. One day the kids in the home were asked if someone could take a cake plate back to the Wallace home across the street at 219 N Delaware Street. Harry immediately jumped up and volunteered as he had hoped to see Bess Wallace. Turns out she was there, and two hours later he returned to his aunt’s home smitten. After that, no one else caught Harry’s eye.

I’d love to say Harry and Bess married almost immediately, but that was not the case. Their courtship lasted nine years. He proposed a couple of times, yet she rejected his attempts. With persistence Bess finally came around. However, Harry had been given orders and would be sent to fight abroad during World War I. He chose not to marry Bess beforehand because he did not want to leave her with the responsibility of his care if he returned from war injured.

He did return safely, and the couple wed June 28, 1919 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Independence. They immediately moved into the Wallace home at 219 N Delaware with Bess’s mom and grandmother. He called this home his for 53 years.

If you decide to tour the Truman Home, make sure you drive downtown to the intersection of Main Street and Truman Road. On the corner, you will find the visitor center. While the tickets to get inside the home are free, you have to go to the visitor center to pick them up. The Truman Home is not a National Park, but it is a National Historic Site.

When you arrive at the visitor center, you’ll be greeted by the National Park Rangers as well as have the opportunity to get your tickets, purchase some Truman merch, and watch a movie that has not changed in years. The movie does a great job of giving the overview of Harry Truman’s home and life, but I’ve seen it many, many times. To say I’m anxiously awaiting a new movie is an understatement. Currently, none is in the works.

Street parking across the street from the house is offered for free. There is a restroom in the visitor center, and if you choose to go in the Noland House, you can find a restroom there as well. The Noland House has wonderful videos, sounds, and displays, but the home is not furnished. However, this is the place to be during inclement weather.

The Truman Home is partially surrounded by a rod iron fence (the original one). The Frank Wallace and George Wallace homes sit behind the Truman home. As Bess’s brothers lived in these houses, the Trumans did not wish to fence the brothers off from the family home. So the fence did not completely surround the home. Today one home hosts the administrative offices and the other houses Park Rangers.

Eight visitors are allowed in the home at a time for a guided tour, and the tour begins on the back porch. Here you’ll see the garage (Harry’s last car is still inside), the bushes (put up to keep the oglers out of the Trumans’ sight lines), and the path to the Wallace homes. If visiting in the summer, furniture adorns the back porch.

No photos are allowed in the home, so remember what you can (or look it up on the official site). You might be surprised how normal the home feels. The kitchen walls and ceiling are covered with Harry-approved and chosen wallpaper. The wainscoting is an unusual shade of green, and the linoleum floor was stapled down after some of it began to peel. One item in this room is not original—the soap by the sink. Unfortunately, someone stole it as a memento, so it was replaced by the Superintendent herself. The Park Service also counts toothpicks and will know if one goes missing.

A small “hallway” takes you into the formal dining room. While all rangers interpret differently, you’ll likely talk about the marbles Clifton (grandson of Harry) had as a boy, the Presidential china in the display case, and the epergne (aka “the ornate thingamabob”).

In the room north of the dining room, you’ll see the study filled with books. The chair in this room was not Harry’s as Bess replaced it after he died. You can step inside the room to see the floor to ceiling bookshelves. Harry was the last president who did not have a college degree. However, he had such expensive glasses for his poor eyesight that his parents didn’t let him participate in sports. As a result, he spent hours pouring over books in the town library. In his adulthood, he still enjoyed reading and kept books everywhere.

The tour concludes in the front hallway. You’ll see how frugal Truman was as you witness the pull chain that hangs in the foyer from the light three stories above. You’ll discover why Bess’s original White House portrait is the only official portrait NOT in DC, and you’ll learn how the Secret Service lost a gun battle with some young boys hiding in the bushes who were holding their own guns. In this case, they turned out to be the grandsons, so the Secret Service “surrendered” to them.

You might hear about Obama sitting on the couch in the parlor before anyone could tell him he wasn’t supposed to, and you might see the vent Clifton threw those marbles down. And without a doubt you’ll learn of the love the Trumans had for their daughter Margaret and the love they had for each other.

Imagine as you see the fireplace that Bess was feeding the fire with some of Truman’s more than 1,300 love letters. Listen to hear him say, “Bess! What are you doing? Think of history!” And Bess, Bess would calmly reply, “Oh, I am.” and continue to feed the flames.

No, Versailles this home is not, but it is one filled with memories and love. And quite honestly, I hope one day my home is filled with that same enduring love.