Long ago on independence square (Kansas City, Center: home, restaurant, shop)

[Mad Anthonie]

Happy Independence Day fans of Independence!

[daddymouse]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Happy Independence Day fans of Independence!

DITTO, fer sure!

[MRG Dallas]

Originally Posted by pearjas

Did anyone bother to check out the link I posted? =-/
They are going to be putting in a walking trail AND biking trail that runs through the square. Construction is currently scheduled to start second part of this year!

Cool project fer shure, but I think the presentation could have been much better. Map is too small, background is too light, and the small fonts make it difficult to read

Do you know of a bigger, better map so one can view the entire project?

[MRG Dallas]

Well, well, well, here we are again, Mid Summer, and the Rips are typically sleepin'


WAKE UP

[daddymouse]

Huh? Wait, WHAT? Did I miss something??

[daddymouse]

Well MRG, I'm afraid we may be the last two people left on earth.......

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by daddymouse

Well MRG, I'm afraid we may be the last two people left on earth.......

No, you're not.

But since it's been long ago since I lived anywhere close to Independence Square, and didn't frequent or live in its vicinity when I did, I can't contribute much to the ongoing conversation.

[CaseyMO]

Originally Posted by MRG Dallas

Well, well, well, here we are again, Mid Summer, and the Rips are typically sleepin'

WAKE UP

I have been fully awake and while I have lived in Independence or the immediate area most of my life, my knowledge of the area, and its history is very limited. I have tons of jpegs about Independence, but many of them have been used here and I don't have many stories about them.

I don't think I have posted this photo or previously told this story. Western Auto at Maple and Osage was a store where my parents purchased a bicycle or two for me. The first bike I had took me for a ride from Trail Ridge down E. Pacific to Ellison Way. East Pacific was a fairly new tarred street as it had been a dirt road in 1950. When I was about 7, when I went for this ride and the bike I had was a tad big for me. Once I passed Queen Ridge, East Pacific starts downhill and the last 100 to 150 feet being pretty steep. As I started down, the bicycle started speeding up and I ended up freaking out and not remembering how to brake the bike. I flew right over Ellison Way and into a ditch. There were no homes on Ellison Way yet that far north. I bent the front rim of my bike and I had to drag it all the way home with my tail between my legs.

That's my story, but now the story of my friend. In the photo below, you will see a young lad of 12 sitting on a bike. His sister was into modeling in the area and Western Auto wanted a young boy and my friend fit the bill. The year was 1957. He now lives in Arizona.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Mad Anthonie]

Good job CaseyMo, you have shaken me awake from my Sunday nap. In the days of my youth the bike to have was a Schwinn crate which came in apple, cherry, and orange. They featured the high-rise handlebars and banana seat. Us kids of lesser means had the knockoffs from Western Auto or Sears. We rode ours all over town.


A few times we rode from our home on Delaware to Fairmount and back. In order to avoid the steep hills on the direct routes down Truman or 24 Hiway we took the longer route down Lexington to Winner Road and through Englewood.



Other times we rode to a cousin's grandpa's farm near Blue Springs. That took us across the remains of the closed Selsa Road bridge over the Little Blue River. Aw, for the days of care-free youth!

[CaseyMO]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Good job CaseyMo, you have shaken me awake from my Sunday nap. In the days of my youth the bike to have was a Schwinn crate which came in apple, cherry, and orange. They featured the high-rise handlebars and banana seat. Us kids of lesser means had the knockoffs from Western Auto or Sears. We rode ours all over town.

In my day, I would have asked, "What's a Schwinn?