The Baton - Kansas City Police Historical Society

Volume 1, Issue 2
April 2009
The Baton
T h e
K a n s a s
2008
Corporate
Sponsors:
 Fiorella’s Jack
Stack Barbecue

The Armada
Group

ING Financial
Partners

Industrial Services

Midway Ford

The KCPOA

Zona Rosa
C i t y
Wii
2009
Corporate
Sponsor:
 Wal-Mart
Inside this
issue:
4th Annual Memorial
Luncheon
2
Board of Trustees
Elections
2
General Membership
Meeting
3
KCPD History Book
4
Museum Effort Update
4
P o l i c e
H i s t o r i c a l
Bowl-a-thon
When it got too late in
the year to coordinate a
bowl-a-thon of the nature the KCPHS has
hosted the past two
years, the Board of Trustees was faced with a
difficult decision: either
skip the 2009 bowling
tournament, or look for
an alternative event. So,
the Trustees agreed an
event of a different nature - in the form of a
Wii Bowling Tournament - would be more
desirable than having no
spring event at all. The firstever Nintendo Wii bowling
tournament took place on
March 8 and 15. Corporate
donors for the event included
Wal-Mart and the Kansas
City Police Credit Union.
a
S o c i e t y
Success
system, with a score of
277. Kevin’s son Christopher received the second-place prize, an external hard drive. Noah
Lockhart, son of Captain
Rich Lockhart of the Media Unit, received the
third prize, an iPod Shuffle. Sergeant Carl Abraham, Rob Browning and
Jalen Rutherford were
some of the other highest
scorers.
Participants in the
2009 Wii Bowl-a-thon
Officer Kevin Gooch of the
Vehicular Crimes Section
won the tourney, and the
Grand prize, a Wii gaming
The Board would like to
thank everyone who
came out to support the
KCPHS. KCPHS leaders
urge everyone to keep practicing, because they’re making plans for another bowling tournament (either Wii or
at the lanes) to occur next
year.
K C P H S t o H o s t t h e 4 t h A n n u a l
M e m o r i a l L u n c h e o n
The Historical Society will
host the 4th Annual Memorial Luncheon on May 21,
2009. This year’s event will
move the location from Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue,
where it has been held the
last two years, to the Web-
ster House. The Webster
House, located at 1644 Wyandotte, in the heart of Kansas City’s Crossroads District, will provide a unique
and unforgettable dining
experience. The decision to
change the location was
made for several reasons:
first, Fiorella’s allowed for
limited seating of only 60
people, which prevented us
from being able to sell tickets to department members
and retirees who wished to
(Continued on page 2)
The Baton
Page 2
KCPHS to Host the 4th Annual
Memorial Luncheon
(Continued from page 1)
attend. Second, the outdoor
seating area at Fiorella’s
meant we were subject to
unpredictable weather patterns that take place in Kansas City in late May. Third,
the Webster House provided a wider menu to select from and has seating
for approximately 100 people.
Tickets for this event will
be made available on a first
come, first serve basis.
Historical Society members
will need to purchase their
tickets early if they wish to
attend. Although the Webster House can seat as many
as 100 people in their banquet room, members are
reminded that several of
those seats will be provided
to families of officers who
have been killed in the line
of duty. So, it is estimated
that less than 50 tickets will
be available for purchase.
Those who wish to attend
will need to purchase their
tickets as soon as they become available. Look for a
special announcement to be
made as soon as the tickets
are available to purchase.
The point of contact for all
ticket sales will be Captain
Cheri Kelly. You can contact Capt. Kelly at 2345018 or stop by her office
on the 6th floor of headquarters.
Webster House History:
The Webster House is a
lovingly restored former
schoolhouse that was built
in 1885, in the striking Romanesque Revival style. It
is believed to be the oldest
standing Kansas City public
school structure and is on
the National Registry of
Historical Places.
In the 19th Century, Architect Manuel Diaz designed
the school in a style quite
modern for its time. The
design used scientific principles to improve interior
arrangements, heating, ventilation, seating and lighting
for the children. A Western
addition was added in 1888
by William Hackney, the
Architect for the Kansas
City Public Library.
The school closed in 1932,
when the neighborhood
became completely commercial. It has been a viable part of the community
for decades. Proprietor
Shirley Bush Helzberg has
Webster House will
be the location for the
4th Annual Memorial
Luncheon on May 21,
2009.
now restored the former
Daniel Webster School
building to its current
beauty. It has received
numerous awards for its
restoration and design. In
2002, this distinctive building became the home of
Webster House Antiques
and Webster’s Restaurant.
www.websterhousekc.com
B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s E l e c t i o n s
Ta k e P l a c e i n M a y
May means it is time for
the election of the members
of the Board of Trustees.
Last year’s election saw the
initial changing of the
guard, when Sgt. Tony
Sanders was elected President, and Civ. Alan Pierce
was elected Secretary. By
design, the election of the
Board of Trustees is staggered with half of the
Board being elected one
year and the other half be-
ing elected the following
year. This year’s elections
will involve the positions of
Vice President, currently
held by Officer Don
Smarker, and Treasurer,
currently held by Captain
Cheri Kelly. Officer
Smarker has served two
terms as Vice President and
is ineligible for re-election.
Capt. Kelly has served one
term as the Treasurer and
has been nominated for a
second term by Past President Mike Schofield. Anyone interested in seeking a
position on the Board of
Trustees, or wishing to
nominate someone else for
a position on the Board,
should contact Tony Sanders or Alan Pierce before
the end of April. Elections
will take place at the upcoming General Membership meeting May 6, 2009.
2009 Board of
Trustees Elections to
take place at the
May 6, 2009 General
Membership Meeting
Volume 1, Issue 2
F i r s t
Page 3
A n n u a l
Shortly after the elections
last year, newly elected
President Tony Sanders
made the decision to change
the general membership
meeting from a monthly
meeting to an annual meeting. This was largely due to
the poor attendance at the
monthly meetings. The 1st
Annual General Membership
meeting will take place on
May 6, 2009, at 1400 hours
G e n e r a l
at the Kansas City Police
Credit Union, located at
2800 E. 14th Street. Tony
Sanders will present his
“State of the Historical Society” address, a brief presentation about the Historical
Society’s current and ongoing efforts to preserve the
history of the police department. Refreshments will be
provided, merchandise will
be for sale with special pric-
M e m b e r s h i p
M e e t i n g
ing available on all items,
and door prizes will be raffled off during the meeting.
So, mark your calendars!
Any questions regarding the
General Membership meeting should be directed to Sgt.
Tony Sanders. You can contact Sgt. Sanders at 234-5171
or by stopping by his office
on the 6th floor of headquarters.
New Merchandise Coming:
KCPD History Book
The KCPHS is in the beginning stage of compiling a
KCPD history book featuring
rarely seen items from its
collection to include KCPD
photographs, uniforms,
mounted patrol, antique saddle, badges, and other items.
ested in having a pictorial
record of the long and varied
history of the department.
In an effort not to duplicate
the last department book
published in 2001 (of which
copies are no longer available) this one is designed to
be a coffee table style history
The idea of the book comes
book, non-biographical in
from numerous requests by
nature with full color piccurrent and former department members who are inter- tures and artwork. The new
book will focus more on
pictures and stories related to
department origin and history.
The 2001 book was done is
black and white and was
created prior to the establishment of the collection of the
KCPHS.
If KCPHS members have
any items of historical sig-
nificance they would suggest be included in the
book, they are encouraged
to contact any KCPHS
Board member.
Profits from the sale of the
book will benefit the
KCPHS and its effort to
establish a permanent Kansas City Police Museum.
KCPHS is exploring the possibility of publishing a new book about the history of the police department.
WE’RE ON THE WEB!
VISIT US AT WWW.KCPHS.ORG
K a n s a s C i t y P o l i c e
H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y
P.O. Box 15351
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Phone: 816-234-5171
E-mail: [email protected]
Preserving our past,
Protecting our future.
Museum
“What’s the latest on the museum
effort?” This is a question members
of the Board of Trustees get frequently. In an effort to keep everyone up to date on the efforts to establish a museum exhibit dedicated
to the law enforcement history of
Kansas City, the KCPHS will be
posting updates in the Baton each
quarter. So, look for updates with
each new issue of the Baton.
To answer the question, not much
has changed in the last quarter. On
December 18, 2008, the Board at
Union Station Kansas City, announced they had hired a new CEO,
Mr. George M. Guastello II. Mr.
Guastello replaced the previous
CEO Mr. Andi Udris, whom the
The Kansas City Police Historical Society
was founded in October 2004 as a grassroots effort to preserve the history of the
Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
In May 2005, the Kansas City Board of
Police Commissioners recognized the Historical Society as the official repository of
Kansas City Police history and artifacts.
The following month, June 2005, the Kansas City Police Historical Society was incorporated with the Secretary of State of
Missouri as a public charity 170 (B)(1)(A)
(VI) fraternal and social organization comprised of law enforcement and civilian employees, both active and retired, from the
Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
This makes the Historical Society exempt
from Federal taxes under IRS tax code 501
(c)3.
Effort
Update
KCPHS Board had been negotiating
with for almost two years. As a
result of this change the KCPHS
Board made the decision to wait a
few months and allow the new CEO,
Mr. Guastello, time to get acclimated in his new job, before contacting him about the negotiations to
open a law enforcement exhibit.
As recently as last week, Mr.
Guastello’s secretary contacted
KCPHS President Tony Sanders to
request a meeting. So, the KCPHS
Board remains hopeful that a lasting
partnership can be established between USKC and the KSPHS. Details of the meeting will be released
in the July issue of the Baton.
Union Station Kansas
City Circa 1920’s