"Herbie"

Circa 1950. Another image from the Harper Collection. 4x5 negative. Sleeve labeled "Herbie". Could very well be Herb Harper the photographer. May never know for sure. Don't know location either although, if it is Harper, it's probably in Northeast.

209 Park

Lawrence Welk at the Pla Mor

I'm in the process of cataloguing a few thousand old 4x5 black and white negatives, shots taken by Herb Harper. The shots, so far, are from 1949 to 1952 although I'm only two boxes into 8 total.

It's very time consuming and most of the negative sleeves are not labeled.

I did know instantly who was in this series taken circa 1949. The Pla Mor was at the corner of Linwood and Main and no longer exists. A couple of these shots were published in the Northeast News last year... but the rest haven't been seen for almost 60 years.

Welk on the bandstand.
The Pla Mor crowd.

Myron Floren with two admirers..
Two guests.... the card in the center of their table told me where they were.
Welk Dancing with the Champagne Lady, Roberta Linn, who was from Kansas City.
Linn receiving a corsage from the crowd.

Linn posing with some of the audience... probably a lot of folks were there who knew her before she joined Welk. She was with the band from 1949 to 1954.

I'll post more photos from the collection in the future.

Don't It Make My Blue Eyes Green

Another KC Landmark gone. The original Russel Stover Candies Store on Linwood has lost its blue and stately facade in favor of a new Cricket location. It seems we can't keep any history any more in this town. (I added blue tint to the above photo so the front would be more realistic.)

Trains Arrive at Union Station

Most of you are familiar with the model train display that is set up every holiday season at Union Station at the east end of the main hall. But I discovered that another exhibit is there year round right next to the Post Office. What fun. And a perfect fit for the station.

The Erector Set constructions in the center of this picture actually work with the original motors. I'd forgotten all about Erector Sets... even though I had one!


Don't know what the movie was... but the ads made me hungry.


A gentleman who was one of the managers of the display told me that it will be up until fall when it will be time to move it over to the east side for Christmas.



The display really attracted quite a bit of attention while I was there... the young ones loved it.

A Girls Gotta Work Ya Know

Spotted this doe at Sunrise Drive and Gladstone Boulevard in good old Northeast running along the sidewalk. For once I had the camera ready.
She ambled across the street.
And began her summer job as a lawn ornament.

Rose Day In The Garden

Sunday was Rose Day in the Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden (and the rest of the city too by Mayoral Proclamation). The Rose Garden in Loose Park is well known as a place for weddings and to admire the 150 varieties of roses. It was also a day to celebrate the reopening of the Garden after extensive renovation. The Rose Garden was established in 1931.

A wonderful treat for we spectators were several performances by the Kansas City Youth Ballet including a world premier dance entitled "Rose of Kansas City Walz" originally composed in 1901. The pictures of that dance are the very last of this series. The choreography was by Alecia Good who is also the director of the Youth Ballet. It was a wonderful experience.

Entrance to the garden on the east.

The Rose Garden is a public/private cooperation between the Kansas City Rose Society and Kansas City Parks and Recreation. The majority of the recent renovations were privately funded.

The Kansas City Youth Ballet.

The Rose of Kansas City Waltz originally composed in 1901 in honor of the building of the first Kansas City Convention Hall.