| It’s Your Museum--Enjoy! By Carolyn A. Larsen, Curator December Since the winter months are upon us, I thought you might like to see this item from an issue of January 1,1892 Weston Chronicle “During the week considerable ice has been stored away for the hot summer months. Our local ice dealers and others who put up their own ice have their houses well filled. All week several hundred men have been storing away ice in the mammoth ice houses of Swift and Yates at Bean Lake. Considerable ice was also stored at Sugar Lake by Armour. The firms at the lakes do nearly all their work by machinery. The ice is cut by plows operated by steam and is hoisted to the houses by a chute which runs by steam. The combined forces at Sugar and Bean Lakes are putting up not less than 2,000 tons of ice per day. The cost of cutting and storing the ice is about 15 cents a ton. It costs the firms taking ice from the Missouri river about sixty cents a ton to cut and store it. The ice is from eight to twelve inches thick and of a clear quality. If the weather continues cold the K.C. road will have their hands full in shipping ice to Kansas City and St. Joseph.” During the milder weather of October 11, 1940 we read: Lewis Turner and family of Union Star have recently returned from their vacation trip to California’s points of interest. They enjoyed a boat trip to Catalina Island; enroute back to port, Miss Mildred Turner had a thrilling experience that she will long remember--that of losing her hat when it blew off in the Pacific Ocean. They also saw a portion of the Pacific Fleet which was in port at San Pedro, Calif. The Turner family was gone ten days. Mr. Turner is a brother of W.G. and H. Turner and Mrs. Nellie McCalley of Weston.” What do you know about the town of Far West, Weston’s connections to it and about the ‘Mormon Wars’? Far West is in Caldwell County and close to the town of Holt. The time was in the 1830’s when Caldwell County was organized by the Missouri Legislature and designated a county in which Latter Day Saints were able to settle. Far West was made the county seat and quickly became a thriving community with about 100 buildings, including eight stores. Some of the mercantile businesses here in Weston did a fairly large trade with them for a number of years. Later the Weston merchants also traded with the Mormons in Salt Lake City, Utah. The town was laid out carefully in a square-mile area with blocks 396 feet apart and four main avenues, each about 132 feet wide emerging at right angles from a public square. This section was set aside and designated as a site for their temple. But, the temple was never built. Due to misunderstandings, fear, some jealousy and other political problems, the ‘Mormon Wars’ erupted and in 1838 Gov. Boggs ordered the Latter Day Saints out of Missouri. Far West was destroyed by setting fire to it. Clashes between the Saints and Missouri Militia were heated and often fatal on both sides. In the end, the Saints fled to Illinois. In Nauvoo their leader, Joseph Smith, Jr. was killed and the church split into several factions. The bigger group left for the Utah territory and the smaller group remained in the mid-West because they believed their Zion was in Independence, Mo. This group of Saints reorganized their church in 1852. In 1920, the headquarters of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints was established in Independence, Mo., where it remains today. Remnants of Far West remain and though no buildings are left, the place itself has been placed on the list of historical sites in Missouri and it is a special place to all Latter Day Saints. Lesson over. Come see us at your museum, where you can learn so much, much more. We’d love to see your smiling faces at 601 Main St. here in Weston. You can reach us by phone at 816-386- 2977 or me at 816-668-9986. |
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| The Historic town of Weston has many popular events scheduled throughout the year. For more information 816-640-2909 www.westonmo.com |
| copyright 2009 Weston Historical Museum |
| By Carolyn A. Larsen, Curator Did You Know This week is something in the order of questions and answers. Did you know that the brick building, north of and directly across from the old Laundromat was Holladay owned it and he sold whiskey there by the gallon. Customers had to bring their own containers. Before that the building held Doppler’ s Grocery. Did you know that the Railey Bros. Bank moved four times before finally settling at the corner of the St. George Hotel? Did you know that the store Moore Blessings was once a three-story building? Mettier built it in 1891 and he opened a billiard parlor on the first floor as soon as the construction was finished. Did you know about the three-story building, now empty, at the S.E. corner of Main and Thomas? It was known as the Ogden Building and about 1889 a strong wind hit Weston, taking off roofs, blowing down signs, etc. It also caused Ogden Building and in 1891 the floor was completely removed and a new roof put on and thus it remains a two-story building. Did you know when the building on the corner of Market and Main (now known as the Galleria) burned along with the building next door--the Masonic Hall--a man by the name of Daniel Linn burned to death in the fire? This was in early 1884. In December of that year the Masons contracted to have a new building erected. It would be several more years before the lot on the corner would have a new building. At the present time your writer knows little or nothing about Daniel Linn. Did you know that in 1935 Steele started a restaurant where he once had had his barbershop? Does anyone know where that was? Did you know that Price’s Building on west Thomas Street became, in 1916, Quinley’s Poultry Business? In 1917 the place belonged to A.L. McGhee who also did a Poultry Business there. In 1918 the building belonged to Bert Newton who, I believe, had a blacksmith shop on the premises. In 1939 it became Dr. R.J. Felling’ s office and later became Bobbi’s Beauty Shop. At one time it was also home to a dentist’s office. Did you know Weston once had a sandwich shop called “Judy’s”? It was run by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Stalder and was where the 5Blessings candle shop now resides. The Stalders were the parents of Mrs. Hazel Campess and the grandparents of Ms. Marion Monahan of Weston. Did you know that the Main Street Livery and Sales Stable stood where the Laundromat now stands? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that Smokey Joe’s Sandwich Shop occupied that space later. Did you know that the site on which James Farley is currently building an edifice was once the site of Old Mac‘s on the Levee Hotel? It burned in 1855 and was later rebuilt. The new building once held a Candy Kitchen, a Bakery, an Insurance Office, a boarding house and apartments (all at different times). It burned in 1936 and the spot has remained barren until this year as James started his construction. Before it burned in 1936 two different owners were R.O. Shenkner and later B.J. Bless. We hope you’ll stop in at your museum to check it all out. We’d love to see you. The number for answers, questions, corrections, etc. is 816-668-9986 and our location is 601 Main Street (on the N.W. corner of Main and Spring). |
| Drunken Kitchen hours in Platte City working at the Archives there. Currently I am putting all the cases of the Weston Court of Common Pleas in to a database. During the Court session of June1853 I found a somewhat amusing, yet serious case. It was the case of the City of Weston vs. Weston Kitchen, Mr. Kitchen was charged with “destroying religious worship”. The scene of this offense was the Weston Methodist Church, which then stood on Short Street and was, I believe, a log cabin structure. It seems Mr. Kitchen was somewhat inebriated at the time of his offense. He entered the church mid-way through the services and began to shout at the minister and his parishioners. He used “foul, blasphemous language” frightening and upsetting the women and children. When several men tried to escort the miscreant from the premises, he leaned heavily against the front door so that it could not be opened. Kitchen then began to admonish the men about attempting to throw him out of the “godly service”, thus denying him the chance to have The Good Lord cleanse him of his sins. After a great deal of shouting, cussing, beseeching, crying, etc. (on the part of both the miscreant and the churchgoers I believe. There is nothing in the file mentioning what the minister said or did during the entire fracas.) Kitchen was finally subdued by a number of men, carried out of the church and taken to the town marshal. The poor man spent the rest of the day in the calaboose sobering up and on Monday went before the court. His defense was that he needed to talk to The Lord and “all those sanctimonious do-gooders refused to let him do so.” The jury, of his peers, deemed that Mr. Weston Kitchen’s “. . .conduct was calculated to disturb the solemnity of a religious meeting on the night of the 17th day of January 1853. . we find for the plaintiff.” Did he go back to church--sober, we hope--or did he ever make his amends to one and all including The Lord? Unfortunately, the case tells us nothing more about Mr. Weston Kitchen and his inebriated soul. He was fined. However there was nothing telling us the amount of that fine or if he spent more time in the calaboose. If memory serves me correctly, I believe this was the same upstanding fellow who later rode his horse into another church in town, during the services. Mr. Kitchen, in my observation, did enjoy his liquid refreshment a bit too much. No, at this time, you cannot find this case in your museum. However we do have other humorous documents within your museum. Do come in and check them out--we’d love to see you there. (Please check the horse and liquid refreshments at the door. Thank you.) |
| Weston Historical Museum 601 Main Street - Weston, MO 64098 |
a German Lithograph painted late 1800's, depicts Weston, Mo when the town was a busy river port
| Weekly columns written by a former curator Carolyn Bless Larsen, Click on the titles below left to read your past favorites! |