Lamar – Towing Silver: Kim Davison's Travels

I called in to the office to get my marching orders for the day. I saw so many grain elevators that it took something really unique to make one stand out. I would put the address in the Google Maps and go where the voice in the phone told me to go. Sometimes I’d end up in unusual locations.

For instance, this lovely bucolic spot is not a grain elevator. I called my boss and asked for advice. He said to head back into town and see what I could find.

I did. Luckily in these rural places, it isn’t too hard to pick out the grain elevator.

It’s the biggest thing around! I didn’t even have to ask anyone where it was. I could spot it easily.

Along the way, I needed gas (and the restroom). I saw a sign at the exit to Lamar, Missouri that said Harry S Truman’s birthplace was in town. I had to stop off and see what I could see.

I parked next to the headquarters and knocked on the door. The ranger told me that there was a fee to take a tour. A fee! Well, I was already feeling a little guilty for taking a break, although I don’t think guilt was warranted. Damn my work ethic! I explained that I didn’t have time for a tour, and I would just look around. He smiled and told me to enjoy my visit.

Here is where Truman was born on May 8, 1884. The family lived here until 1890, when they moved to Independence, Missouri which is about ten miles away from Kansas City. I imagine that’s the how he came to the attention of the Pendergasts.

Here is the Truman outhouse. I include it not merely to be frivolous, but to point out that things have changed greatly in our lifetimes. I wonder if he was the last president to depend on an outhouse for sanitation?

Well, I swear! If you look, it’s out there somewhere on the internet! According to this source, “Young William grew up in a house without indoor plumbing and spent much of his childhood living with his grandparents while his mother trained as a nurse.”

The “Young William” in question was William Jefferson Clinton.

Well, I’ll be!

There was an interpretive display outside the house. This is Truman’s only baby photo.

This is the dedication of the house. Oddly enough, most of the internet sources I found, including my Preferred Source, list him as the 33rd president.