History
‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ Backstory
Ruth Henning couldn’t find the one book she wanted to read. So, like a lot of writers before her, she wrote the book herself. That book, “The First Beverly Hillbilly: The Untold Story of the Creator of Rural TV Comedy,” is a newly published memoir of Henning’s husband, television producer Paul Henning, who grew up…
A Ledger of Names, Mine Among Them, Tell Our Vietnam Stories
All 30 of the boys listed on the Vietnam-era Selective Service ledger were born in the spring of 1948, during America’s most prolific era of mass procreation, the end of World War II. At 18 years old, the thing first and foremost on our minds was to find a way to commit the same act…
Which Schools Are Integrated?
Lisa Gooden was set on finding the right school for her children in Kansas City. The choices were complex — public, private, charter, signature — but she felt good about all the buildings she visited. There were probably a dozen or so public elementaries within a couple miles of her neighborhood, so she didn’t understand…
KC Clergy Stood Fast With Anti-War Stance
He’s 84 now, and has been retired since 2003 from his role as pastor of a United Methodist Church in northern California, but the Rev. Phillip Lawson vividly remembers all the trouble he stirred up in Kansas City in 1970 by speaking out against the Vietnam War. He went to Hanoi and, in a radio…
KC Vet Recalls Discrimination in Vietnam
Thomas “Buck” Jenkins doesn’t like to talk much about his year of Army duty in the Vietnam War — a time in his life with too many bad memories from too many bad experiences. Like many, Jenkins returned home to people who criticized his service, yet had never walked five steps in his shoes as…