War – KC Backstories

KC in WWII: The Sunflower Ordnance Plant, the Olathe Naval Air Base, and the Darby Shipyards

Part 3 of 3 (originally published 6/25/20) Last week, we looked at three plants that dominated the Kansas City area’s defense plant industry. This week’s offerings are no less important to the war effort, but less familiary to many and in some ways, hidden in plain sight. SUNFLOWER ORDNANCE WORKS – DeSoto, Kansas Location: WhatContinue reading “KC in WWII: The Sunflower Ordnance Plant, the Olathe Naval Air Base, and the Darby Shipyards”

KC in WWII: The Fairfax, Pratt and Whitney and Lake City Defense Plants

Part 2 of 3 (originally published 6/18/20) Last week the first in a 3-part series of Kansas City’s WWII experience laid the background on why the Kansas City area was able to land so many important defense plant contracts, considering the long tradition of military production plants located predominantly on the coasts. For this weekContinue reading “KC in WWII: The Fairfax, Pratt and Whitney and Lake City Defense Plants”

KC in WWII: Defense Plants Come to the Heartland

Part 1 of 3 (originally published 6/11/20) In July 1940, J.C. Nichols, Kansas City’s nationally renowned real estate developer, arrived in Washington D.C., with World War II still just beyond the horizon. At the request of his government, Nichols had agreed to join the ranks of the “dollar-a-year” men – notable corporate and institutional leadersContinue reading “KC in WWII: Defense Plants Come to the Heartland”

Another Refugee’s Story: Leon Goodhart and the Country Club Shoe Store

(originally published in 2010 in The Brookside Story: Shops of Every Necessary Character, and in the original KCBackstories FB page, 5/23/19. The following is adapted from the book version) The Country Club Shoe Store – A Family Enterprise This bit of history is not distant to me, though it grows more distant with each passingContinue reading “Another Refugee’s Story: Leon Goodhart and the Country Club Shoe Store”