Thursday, October 25, 2007

Truman Home

Jacob has a project for school in which he has to visit a local landmark. They sent home a list of about 40 different places the kids could visit (only one child per location) and Jacob chose The Truman Home in Independence, MO for his landmark. We took a good portion of the day and visited this landmark.

The kids had a great time (surprisingly). At the Visitor's Center, they showed us a slide show about the Trumans and the history of the home. They also gave the kids a packet which, when completed, could be brought back and they'd be sworn in as Junior Rangers, complete with badges. Jacob was all over that and couldn't wait to get started on it. We had to wait about an hour and a half until our tour, so we headed over to McDonald's for lunch and to fill out their Junior Ranger packet. They had so much fun doing that. Even Hannah was able to do it (with a lot of help).

The home itself is pretty neat. They only allow you on the first floor, but everything is the same as it was in 1982 when Bess Truman died...down to the calendar on the kitchen wall (complete with dates marked off until the day before she died).

After the tour, we headed back to the Visitor's Center to hand in their Junior Ranger packets. One of the official Rangers signed off on each of them and gave them their badges. Pretty cool. Here are some photos.

These signs were all over, directing the way to Truman sites


The boys work on their Jr Ranger packets


So does Hannah


A plaque in front of the Truman Home


The home itself


The kids sign their Jr. Ranger certificates


Admiring and showing off their badges


Horse and buggy parking only! (In front of the Visitor's Center)


Driving back home, the Kansas City skyline was so clear!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks like you had a fun day. I love looking at things like that. We saw the Jefferson Davis home in Biloxi when we were there. It's probably gone now. Taken out by Katrina.

Speaking of Independence, you are probably within a short drive of many Laura Ingalls Wilder sites.

Give Hannah a hug and kiss from Aunt Debbie. That eye looks sore.

Anonymous said...

I hope we'll be able to do something like that when we're visiting. I'm glad the kids enjoyed it. How cool.

Barbara said...

There are actually a lot of things to see and do around here. If you're looking for more Truman sites, they also have the Truman Library & Museum in Independence, which isn't that bad a drive. Like Deb said, I bet there's a lot of Laura Ingalls Wilder stuff around. I have to look into that. We'll find something fun to do when you're here.

Barbara said...

Okay...just looked into the Wilder sites ('cause I was all excited about potentially being so close to some) and she was in Independence KANSAS not Independence MISSOURI. We are 40 miles from Independence MO and 180 from Independence KS. That sucks.

Anonymous said...

How far are you from Mansfield, MO?

Barbara said...

200 miles from Mansfield. :(