{"id":12985,"date":"2019-02-27T22:15:20","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T22:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/?p=12985"},"modified":"2019-03-01T01:53:54","modified_gmt":"2019-03-01T01:53:54","slug":"drive-by-tourism-harry-s-trumans-birthplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/?p=12985","title":{"rendered":"Drive-by Tourism: Harry S Truman’s Birthplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0stand 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

I did. Luckily in these rural places, it isn’t too hard to pick out the grain elevator.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s the biggest thing around! I didn’t even have to ask anyone where it was. I could spot it easily.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is where Truman was born on\u00a0May 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n

Well, I swear! If you look, it’s out there somewhere on the internet! According to this source<\/a>, “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.”<\/p>\n

The “Young William” in question was William Jefferson Clinton.<\/p>\n

Well, I’ll be!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There was an interpretive display outside the house. This is Truman’s only baby photo.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the dedication of the house. Oddly enough, most of the internet sources I found, including my Preferred Source<\/a>, list him as the 33rd president.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Complete with the shield of the people who donated it.<\/p>\n

It was dedicated in 1959, and Truman himself attended the dedication ceremony.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This monument was apparently erected post mortem.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As was this one.<\/p>\n

And, if you are wondering where the birthplace is…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

it’s on Truman Street!<\/p>\n

Time to go find another elevator. I’m burning daylight!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0stand 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 … Continue reading Drive-by Tourism: Harry S Truman’s Birthplace<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1122,1124,1123],"class_list":["post-12985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-harry-s-truman","tag-lamar","tag-truman-birthplace"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12985"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13287,"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12985\/revisions\/13287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.towingsilver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}