Independence, MO — Where Three Trails Begin
📍 Independence, MO
Out to the main courthouse for a group picture in bonnets and neckerchiefs — this was the nod to the start of three trails: Lewis & Clark, the Oregon Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail.
The photo on the left is a statue of Harry Truman as a boy — his first job was at Clinton’s.
Downtown Independence
We walked around the downtown area and found some fun stops. Clinton’s Pharmacy — Harry Truman’s first employer — is now an ice cream shop in its newest iteration. Throughout the town you find these heart sculptures in various forms. I saw a lot of reinvention happening: new shops, old architecture being renovated — check out the one below.
(Next door is a Medicare assist office.)
The Truman Library
Some highlights from the Truman Library: Harry was given a National Old Trails Board badge for his part in maintaining the identity of America’s historic trail system — including the Oregon Trail!
Things I learned about the Trumans: Bess was an athlete — an avid tennis player who loved baseball and Saturday Night Wrestling. There was also a display of fishing lures with a fly rod and reel. I’m getting familiar enough with fly fishing to know that those lures are not used with a bamboo rod…
Prairie Schooner Tour Group
We saw this Prairie Schooner tour group just after finishing our tour of the Truman House. Imagine crossing the country in this — loaded with your belongings, pared down to only the essentials.
“…not all readers are leaders, but all leaders must be readers.”
— Harry S. Truman Library