Elk County Employees

[sixdogsmom]

Good for you Angie! When I used to go walking, I always took two sacks, one for aluminum, and one for trash. You would be surprised as to how quickly the aluminum accumulated, and the extra money was always nice! And there was always room in my own trash can for the little sack of trash I brought home. It does make a difference in the way the area looks, and it also makes an impression on the youngsters who see you practising the courage of your convictions. You go for it!

[W. Gray]

A comment concerning Pepelect's observation, above, on the efficiencies of paving Elk County roads thirty years ago.

There was a fellow that had the same thoughts about the roads in his county. (He did have access to a higher tax base, though.)

He was elected as a Judge of the County Court in the early twenties and was elected as the Presiding Judge a few years later. He was not a lawyer and was not really a judge. In this county a Judge of the County Court was actually a high sounding word for county commissioner.

In 1930, when many states were struggling to pave their highways, he began paving his county's rural feeder and primary roads. Not with asphalt but with concrete. A farmer himself, he believed that farmers should be able to get around the same as city folks and get their produce to market without having to endure inferior roads. He even had road markers installed at intervals, similar to K-99 markers, noting which county road one was on.

Of course there was some thought that the local county political machine boss received the contracts for all the cement used for the roadways--or received a kickback if his concrete was not used. But, almost the entire mileage of county roads was paved.

By the time I started driving, these roadways were still in excellent shape. I liked to drive on them because there was very little traffic, there were no speed limit signs posted, and there was no sheriff around. I could take several routes to Fort Osage on the Missouri River and not encounter a single road that was not paved. Most of these roadways, though, have since been covered with asphalt.

The county was Jackson County, Missouri, and the Judge's name was Harry S. Truman. His road improvements are essentially what propelled him from county to national politics almost overnight. He never held a state office.

[Diane Amberg]

Well, now. Thanks, very interesting.

[Wilma]

I never knew that about Mr. Truman.  I always thought he had a lot of common sense.

[Tobina+1]

There ya go... PEP could be the next Harry S. Truman.

[Rudy Taylor]

Actually, what propelled Truman to the U.S. Senate and ultimately to the White House was none other than Tom Pendergast who was known for his mob-level power and picking cronies for political jobs.

But Pendergast's best known project was paving Brush Creek in Kansas City, which ran through the Country Club Plaza where he sipped cocktails each day with his rich buddies.  It mainly served as a payback to a friend who was in the concrete business and another who was a contractor.

But having said all that, the paving of the darn creek was one of the best investments he ever made and it still looks mighty nice today.

Sometimes the patronage system seems to work, and if anybody can figure out a good way to get our Elk County roads paved using the political pal system ... I'd be all for it.

[Diane Amberg]

The Political Pal system...Is that something like Pay Pal?

[W. Gray]

Pendergast was the political machine boss I referred to above. He did handpick and put his support behind Truman for the Democrat senate position, otherwise there was no other way Truman could have run. Pendergast would have blocked him.

But, Pendergast picked him because of the name he had made for himself with his accomplishments, the largest of which was the road system. Pendergast needed someone that could beat the Republicans statewide. Presumably, someone who was closer to the boss than Truman could not have won.

Pendergast also supported Truman in the elections as county judge.

However, Truman always said that he was his own man and Pendergast owed him nothing and he owed Pendergast nothing. (a lot of folks have differing thoughts on this subject).

Truman's opponent tried to unseat him in 1940 using the Pendergast connection but failed.

Truman won that election without Pendergast support; the political boss was in prison by this time.

Roosevelt needed Truman because of his countrywide reputation in the Senate to round out his ticket. Truman did not want the position but Roosevelt shamed Truman into consenting even though Roosevelt never spoke to Truman before the convention and saw him very little after the election--did not even tell him about the atomic bomb.

Even after Pendergast went to prison, there was a Democrat political machine ruled by the Pendergast successor that ran roughshod in Jackson County. It was finally beaten, at least in Independence and eastern Jackson County, in the 1962 elections. An organization called the Good Government League barely unseated every machine Democrat that ran. They won successive elections after that making Democrat a bad word. I do not know how it is now.

Do you suppose Wichita copied Kansas City when they concreted that creek (I think) that runs parallel to I-35 through the city on the east side? I have always wondered why they would not have wanted to concrete The Big Ditch that runs on the west side.

[redcliffsw]

Here's some more on Harry Truman-

Early on, Harry Truman had business interests in Wilson County.
He attended meetings of the Confederate Veterans.

And, Harry Truman was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

[Wilma]

I remember back when Truman was running for office (I don't remember which one, but it was national), there was talk that he would be under Pendergrast thumb.  I wasn't old enough to understand much of what the adults were saying, but it stuck in my mind that most people thought that he would be just another puppet.  He proved different.  He was never anybody's puppet.

Also, Roosevelt did not treat him right as vice-president.  When Roosevelt died, Truman had no idea of what was going on.  Roosevelt had never kept him in on matters.  It was as if Roosevelt had no vice-president.  Guess Truman proved he could do as good if not a better job of being president than most others.  It wasn't easy taking on a job that he knew nothing about.  For the little haberdasher from Missouri it was a big step and he did it.