Life Member Program
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Life Member Breakfast 7:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. (Plated Breakfast)
Entertainment: Jeff Davidson - Bringing Kansas History to Life Through Song
Jeff Davidson, Greenwood County Kansas County Agricultural Agent, tells the story of how the development of Kansas as a territory and state influenced virtually all of western U.S. settlement. Mixing songs, factual stories, and humor, Jeff highlights the trials, events and life as pioneers traveled west. The stories of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails, the farming and ranching settlers, the Pony Express, the Civil War, the building of the railroads and the great Texas-to-Kansas cattle drives are included in his program.
8:30 a.m. Load buses for life member tours
Life Member Tours
Tour 1 Pioneers of Kansas
(Picture Identification Required for Fort Leavenworth Entrance)
How about DOIN’ SOME TIME in Leavenworth! Leavenworth, home to the famous federal penitentiary, was established as a frontier military outpost, and is the oldest city in Kansas. The history of Kansas begins here!
Take a guided tour of Fort Leavenworth, the oldest active military base west of the Mississippi. See the old fort grounds overlooking the Missouri River. Learn about the Buffalo Soldiers. See the old wagon ruts coming up from the Missouri River crossings. And learn about the current mission of Fort Leavenworth as home to the Command and General Staff College and Foreign Military Studies office, as well as the United States Disciplinary Barracks.
In Leavenworth, take a ride on a restored 1913 wooden carousel and tour the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum. Enjoy lunch with the “Harvey Girls” at the Riverfront Community Center, housed in the renovated 1888 Union Depot. Maybe you’ll be greeted by a convict and get your picture taken in jail … and receive an “I did Time in Leavenworth” button.
After lunch, travel to Atchison, Kansas to discover Atchison County at the County Historical Museum and the Atchison Rail Museum. Visit the home where Amelia Earhart was born and developed her interest in becoming a female pioneer of flying. Stop by the Snow Ball Ice Cream Shoppe for a treat before returning to the convention center.
Tour 2 - CANCELLED
Tour 3 Frontier Trails and President Truman
This tour visits Independence, Missouri, the hometown of Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States. Explore the life of President Truman and his wife Bess in a visit to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. History buffs won’t want to miss this museum that chronicles how a man from humble beginnings and Midwestern values became the most powerful leader in the world. Explore five areas of Harry Truman’s life: Family, The Early Years, Political Career, Life in the White House, and Mr. Citizen.
See the famous Thomas Hart Benton mural “Independence and the Opening of the West” that dominates the museum lobby. Watch the award winning film Harry S. Truman: 1884-1972. Learn about a typical day in the life of a busy President in the White House Gallery and see the original “Buck Stops Here” sign. See the details in the replica of the Oval Office, decorated exactly as it appeared in 1950. Visit the courtyard graves of Harry and Bess Truman, along with their daughter Margaret. The courtyard also features an American Legion Flame of Freedom, paths, and benches.
We will travel the streets of the downtown area adjacent to the Truman home and enjoy lunch in the historic district that hosts 43 historic sites. The afternoon provides an opportunity to visit the National Frontier Trails museum, the only museum in the nation exclusively devoted to the history of the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails – all originating in Independence. Hear the stories of daring pioneers who gathered in Independence to purchase supplies, outfit wagons and organize into caravans heading off into the great western frontier. The tale of the trails across the West is one of the most fascinating sagas in American history. The museum helps tell the story of those hardy pioneers that took those trails. Those that survived set the course of American history.
Tour 4 Steamboat Arabia, WW I Museum, Downtown Farmers Market
In the year 1856, the steamboat Arabia served as a lifeline to the frontier, bringing tons of new supplies westward to settlements along the Missouri River. “Steamboats a’comin” were the words townspeople listened for as they awaited the supplies necessary to sustain lives. However, just leaving Kansas City, the hull was pierced by a submerged tree, and the 171 foot-long Arabia sank in minutes with all her treasures lost. Buried for 132 years, enterprising “treasure hunters” recovered 200 tons of the supplies lost when the steamboat went down. Described as the “King Tut’s Tomb of the Missouri River”, this museum will fascinate visitors with the fine dishware, jewelry, guns, gold and other precious items recovered from the Steamboat Arabia. National Geographic Traveler called it … a time capsule of another age!
Enjoy a stroll through the historic City Market of Kansas City, now serving as the site of the downtown farmer’s market. Established in 1857, the City Market was the site for commerce, horse trading, medicine shows, political rallies and circuses in the town that was to become Kansas City. We will have lunch at one of the many restaurants in the area.
A visit to Kansas City isn’t complete without a visit to the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. This fascinating museum tells the story of WW I, where 36 nations took up arms in the world’s first global conflict. The museum shares deeply personal stories of courage, honor, patriotism, and sacrifice, through thousands of historical objects, photographs and eyewitness accounts. Visitors are taken through an epic journey through a transformative time in our world’s history.