World United States Missouri Independence

Chris and Dave's Journey Our Great Adventure

Independence, MO Aug 6, 2009

We stayed at a small campground within walking distance of many of the Truman sights in Independence. While it was rather warm and very humid, we enjoyed our personal tour provided by Steve and Vicki. It was wonderful to see the sights with friends who so obviously know and love the area. We got to see so much more than if we’d toured on our own. We saw the world headquarters for the Community of Christ Church which, until 2001, was known as the RLDS, or the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The building is quite unique and beautiful. We stopped at the U.N. Peace Plaza fountain to take photos; this plaza commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. On June 27, 1945 in the nearby Community of Christ Auditorium, President Harry Truman formally announced that the United States was a signatory to the U.N. “History has bestowed on us a solemn responsibility. We failed before to give a genuine peace. We dare not fail this time. We must not repeat the blunders of the past.”

One day the four of us took off for a tour of part of Kansas City to see some of the beautiful architecture and buildings. We stopped to take pictures of a most unique downtown parking garage – hope you enjoy the photos. We met mutual friends Jim and Sue for lunch before heading back to camp. It was a wonderful day.

We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with our friends. As a bonus we did see quite a few of the Truman sights, some SFT markers, and visited the Frontier Trails Museum. We included a photo of the First Presbyterian Church which is where a young Harry S. Truman met Bess Wallace, his future wife, in Sunday School in 1892.